Bounty Hunters 3: Genesis

by Jasper77W

Rating: teen
Tags: Rainbow Dash, Sad, Other, Original Character, Octavia, Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark
Length: 295049

Rainbow and Octavia plunge into a terrifying new reality in this final story of the trilogy.

Starswirl is dead. The elements are hunted. Equestria is a wasteland- and the Science Faction rules over all.

Rainbow and Octavia set out to eliminate the remaining individuals of the science faction, but they're too late- way too late. The individuals have gotten together and stole the TARDIS from Doctor Whooves, traveling back in time and terminating the most important Magic Faction pony of all time- Starswirl the Bearded. More than two hundred spells are wiped from existence, altering the entire timeline. Rainbow and Octavia plunge into a new reality, with everypony still having their memories of the previous reality. Now everypony has two sets of memories of two different realities, all except the 'Splinters'- ponies that lost their memories of one reality. Sadly, Rainbow is one of them- and now, she has no idea where she is in this brand new reality. She isn't the only splinter though- glitches in reality are slowly revealed as Val meets Blithy, Neon meets Melony. Equestria's surface is now a wasteland, roaming with zombies and even more dangerous creatures, all because of the barricade that never went down. The science faction now dominates the world, using the magic faction ponies as slaves to mine underground minerals, while they live watching from the barricade high above the atmosphere. Soon Rainbow discovers she hasn't lost those memories- they had been split from her, and have taken a separate form. The Elements of Harmony are constantly being hunted by the science faction, possible candidates killed immediately.
The science empire has risen to a new level, with control over absolutely everything.
What will you do now, Rainbow Dash?

Enjoy the last book in the trilogy! If you haven't read the stories yet, you may read them here:

Bounty Hunters: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/50278/Bounty-Hunters
Bounty Hunters 2: Awakening: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/54080/Bounty-Hunters-2%3A-Awakening

Warning: contains blood and violence

Published 2012-10-31 14:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-02-13 21:48:37 UTC

Chapter 1: To Change the World

Sorry guys- this chapter is about 1300 words longer than the normal 3000 words for an average chapter in my stories. Just making up for the short prologue, so- enjoy!

Rainbow let out a deep and relaxed sigh, her sun glasses shielding her eyes from the bright and burning sun. Thank goodness she had a cup of iced orange juice on the table next to her. She had her arms folded behind her head as she relaxed back into the lawn chair, the grass tickling her back hooves as the grass wavered gently in the summer breeze.

She took the opportunity and stretched her wings, the cooling breeze brushing against her feathers. She didn't think it could get more comfortable, but it just did. Being up here in Cloudsdale, there's always a gentle breeze. One of the many reasons she loved the City of the Pegasi.

She heard Octavia snoozing gently on the swing bed under the balcony, her tail curled tightly around her body.

"Eye test seventy percent today." Magnum yawned, stretching and walking onto the balcony, flinching as her bare hooves touched the baking wood. A few months ago she had lost her vision when acid got sprayed in her face- but the combination of magic and scientific treatment was giving her a fast recovery.

"Almost fully recovered, aye?" Rainbow asked.

"Almost." Magnum said. "So darn close."

Then everything plunged back into silence, all but the chirping of the birds and rustling of leaves as the breeze passed through the trees.

With Dainty at school and not around, they found it relatively dull at times like these. They didn't have the only cheerful little pony that would always cause a good laugh for all of them around them. Dainty was the only one whom they could look at and immediately feel much more cheered up.

"Do you ever feel guilty..?" Magnum asked, leaning on the handrails of the balcony.

"I know what you mean." Rainbow looked down, her eyes unreadable as they were hidden behind the shades.

Dainty may have been the only one who was innocent among them- and they dragged her into the bounty hunting business. Each one of them gets twenty five percent of the pay, while Dainty gets fifty bits pocket money which she is pretty proud of.

"And I'm going to say yes, many times before." Rainbow said. "She could've stayed out for longer- but sometimes I tell myself that we didn't have a choice."

"Mmm." Magnum hummed. Dainty had been the first pony to have ever been revived from the dead, and has seen many horrifying things she wasn't meant to learn about until she grew up.

"She's strong though." Rainbow let out a deep sigh. "She didn't crack like most of us did. She's still herself- and that's what she's doing better than any of us."

"Agreed." Magnum said, feeling slightly tired as Octavia continued her soft snoring.

*

The bell ringed again, and the fillies cheered. Dainty quickly stuffed her books into her bag, heading outside for lunch. It was a nice and sunny day- and she wondered what Rainbow and the other older ponies were doing. Probably sulking in the sun.

She sat down in her usual spot on the field- out of the many much more comfortable places to sit down and have lunch, Dainty's place was always the worn wooden bench under the tall old tree, beside the playground. It provided decent shade, and the occasional sunlight that leaked through the thick leaves was enough to warm her up if she got cold.

She placed her bag down on the ground like she did many times before, taking out her lunchbox and signature juice box.

There was a gentle thud and giggling as Lily sat down next to her. Lily was the only one true friend Dainty had- the other fillies were merely friendly. Lily was part of the gang that used to bully Dainty- but she was always the one that stood on the side and said nothing. Maybe secretly she thought the entire idea was wrong, but never really spoke up. Quite ironic, considering they were now laughing as they traded stories.

The gang of ponies that used to bully Dainty now all sat under the old tree, giggling as they chatted away with each other. Of course, they had stopped picking on Dainty and could almost be considered friends by now- but this was the group everypony always hung out in.

How times change- just a few months ago they were neck to neck with each other, but now... Everything just seemed to disperse into a new much better world.

"You got a new lunchbox." Lily noticed, peering curiously at the shiny new box.

"Oh, haha... I got some extra pocket money..." Dainty chuckled.

"What from?" Lily munched on an oatmeal sandwich.

Hacking security systems. Helping catch bad guys. "Er... Cleaning the dishes?" Dainty raised an eyebrow at herself.

"How many dishes? My mom only gives me two bits for each day." Lily said frustratedly.
"Er... I've been saving up..." Dainty went with that.

"But just last week you got a brand new pencil case..." Lily pointed out. "Eh... You ok?"
"Maybe." Dainty sheepishly sucked the remaining nectar out of the juice box.

*

Cordy rubbed her forehead frustratedly. So much work to mark, and some of the fillies are falling behind on their grades again... Sometimes being a teacher can be such a headache. Then she has to plan for tomorrow- and now there's no time for her to enjoy the sunshine. She scrambled the papers out of frustration, sending some floating into the air.

Her office wasn't particularly big, but good enough. It was lit through one single window, overlooking the playground and grass field.

She gazed out that window, at first only at the light. Then her eyes adjusted, and she spotted Dainty with the group that always picked on her, laughing and giggling as though nothing ever happened between them before.

Cordy smiled inwardly- funny how some things can turn out. She looked back down at her work, now in a much better mood. Time to finish marking these papers.

*

Vinyl Scratch took off her head phones and pushed away the microphone, slumping into the office chair; momentum sending her slowly turning around. She quickly took a gulp from a nearby glass of water, since her mouth was dry from a morning of being the popular radio DJ.

She snoozed a little as DJ Nunes came in to take the midday shift, yawning.

So everything's back to normal- and that'll take some getting used to after all she'd seen.

She rolled the office chair over to the huge glass window on the side wall. It was pretty much a glass wall, bright natural light pouring in. It really softened Vinyl's eyes after staring at sheet music and written lyrics for the entire morning.

The office was located high up in one of the few modern Canterlot skyscrapers, overlooking the capital city of Equestria. Ponyville was a few miles away, its distinct hay and wood buildings little dots in the distance. Cloudsdale was a mere white haze in the sky, the fog making it look transparent. Manehatten was a grey mass of concrete and steel in a corner, only just visible and hiding behind a large mountain.

Vinyl rubbed her head. So much had happened- and it was giving her a headache just thinking about it. It was normal now- but different. Many things have changed- sure, normal; but very different.

*

"Hi~" Blithy grinned friendlily as two royal guards escorted scar-face and the blue stallion into their cells. They growled at her, and her grin spread even wider.

She watched them until they disappeared around a corner, and she backed away from her cell door.

She fell back and landed on her bed, sinking deep into the mattress before bouncing back up again.

"Whoops." she said as she heard a loud crack from the bed frame. Her robotic half was much more heavier than her natural side- and sometimes she forgets.

Threads of golden sunlight leaked through the small barred window high above her head. Sure, she could easily break out; but she knew what she'd done wrong and was determined to pay up for it.

Rainbow kept thinking Val and Blithy were two different ponies- but Blithy knew they were the same. Right now, they were just changed. Changed like they did many years before, into a bloodthirsty killing machine that killed everypony around them.

Rainbow may be wrong, but she still managed to change Blithy once again.

Blithy closed her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep as her subconscious started coming up with new plans for super weapons that'll destroy the world.

*

There was a slight heat wave in the shadows in the narrow alley way, a disrupted area of air that many chose to ignore for good.

The Warden of Light had found her hiding spot for now. Hiding- like she wasn't supposed to be. But she preferred it this way. Neon looked down at her invisible claw. She was using her mind to disrupt the light around her to create a mirage, but needed more practice as she could still see the outline of her long razor sharp claws.

She concentrated harder, the outline fading slowly and the wavering stilling. But then she let out a deep breath and the cloak faded.

This'll need a lot of practice.

The stripes of white light on her body lit the area around her, her eyes a bright white and two glowing discs in the darkness.

The Element of Loyalty crystal must've done something to her spirit almost two years back. Back then she was a machine, obeying orders and serving no other purpose than to accomplish a task. Now, she had her own thoughts and her own freedom.

Nightshade, Captain of the Night Guards, had chosen her to be the Warden of Light, to keep the universe in the way it is. It was good news, since she had basically nothing to do. She doesn't eat, doesn't drink, doesn't sleep... Still a machine, but with its own thoughts.

There was a gentle pulse of light, and she was gone, looking for something to correct.

*

Blaze and Halcyon were hanging out outside the ice-cream store again. The two royal guards were disguised as normal ponies, their air of authority gone away with their armor and uniform mane and tail style.

Being two of the Captain Shining Armor's best, they were always on some sort of duty; especially guarding the Princess's side. But today, on the only sunny day in weeks, the princess has decided to stay indoors. The two have their suspicions that this was intentional so they could get a break, and secretly thanked the princess for such a nice day out.

Blaze's ice-cream was beginning to melt again, and Halcyon tapped the rim of the glass cup with a hoof. The gentle ringing echoed softly around as a bit of magic was added to it, and the ice-cream was restored to its normal state.

The Wardens of Fire and Ice certainly enjoyed their free time. The Science Faction is in the process of being completely cleaned up, now too weak to cause any major issues. The two of the princess's royal bodyguards don't need to help with any assaults- the normal royal guards can handle that.

"This feels really weird..." Halcyon said, stirring her cup of frozen drink.

Usually the two spent their romantic evenings taking down criminals and standing guard next to the princess, and to have a normal date... That would've been unheard of to them a few weeks ago. The definition of 'normal' no longer made sense to them, but they gladly accepted it anyways.

"Needs some getting used to." Blaze said, finishing the last of his ice-cream and chewing on the plastic spoon, leaning back into the chair.

"Yep." Halcyon said, taking slow sips out of the glass.

"I remember I used to completely gulp down my drinks when I was a filly." Blaze said, looking down at his half-empty cup.

"Looks like military training does something to you." Halcyon said, placing the cup down gently, making the barest of clunks as it touched the table.

They sat there in silence, thinking back to when they were still fillies.

"No reason why we can't still do it." Blaze suddenly said, pouring the remains of his cup down his throat.

Halcyon blushed, taking sensible sips out of her cup as Blaze belched loudly; drawing annoyed glances from nearby ponies.

"Doesn't feel as fun though." Blaze said boringly, going back to chewing on the spoon.

*

"Nothing like going back to our time to keep our minds sane!" Doctor Whooves said cheerfully as he skipped out of the TARDIS, the blue telephone box's light pulsing gently as it settled down. "What a sunny day! Cheerio to the Daleks!"

"Are we in... Cloudsdale?" Derpy Hooves raised an eyebrow as she exited the time machine, peering at the bright white all around her.

"Good old' Cloudsdale, twenty-twelve." the Doctor said, looking around him, the ponies seemingly ignoring the time machine that just appeared out of thin air in the middle of the street. "Back to our time. I should give you some time to catch up with your friends, I suppose. Do excuse me while I go fetch a muffin or two. Blueberry? I know you like blueberry."

But Derpy didn't reply, and the Doctor raised an eyebrow. He turned around, a slight frown on his face as he didn't see his companion. Usually Derpy doesn't just leave without a notice- and she'd often yelp with delight at the prospect of a blueberry muffin.

"Compelling..." the Doctor mumbled, turning back to the TARDIS and checking behind the time machine. "Derpy? You there? Quit horse'n around now."

He heard a soft click from inside the TARDIS, and peered inside.

"Now don't touch anything- remember how that ended last time..." the Doctor walked in, the door closing with a click behind him.

But the grey pegasus was nowhere to be seen in the vast interior of the time machine. The control console pulsed and whirred gently, glowing a light green. Perhaps the pegasus was snoozing off under the consoles or something... After all, it's Derpy Hooves- anything is possible with her around. One of the many reasons the Doctor adores his companion. Exceptionally this one, in particular. Well of course, who doesn't love the cross-eyed grey mare?

"Derpy Hooves? Come on, I know you're in here- and then we can go get those muffins! We could go to the Sugarcube Corner retail store! Come on, now." Doctor Whooves bent down and looked under the console, but she wasn't there.

His ears twitched, and he whirled around.

"Odd. Could've sworn I heard hoof steps here." he raised an eyebrow, cautiously approaching the door of the TARDIS.

There was a soft click behind him, and he froze as he felt the barrel of a peculiar weapon press against the back of his head, buzzing quietly.

Slowly, he turned around, aware that the weapon was still aimed at his head. To his surprise, he didn't see anything there.

"Cloaking device, eh... Clever...." he muttered, staring through the presence-filled nothingness in front of him.

"Doctor Whooves..." a deep voice said, and the air in front of him started rippling.
In no time at all, the haze faded to reveal a robotic figure standing in front of him, an energy weapon aimed right between his eyes.

"Where is she? Where is Derpy?"

"You are in no position to ask questions right now." the pony was obviously not a robot- since the Doctor could hear breathing when the pony spoke. It's either some sort of suit, or just a cyborg. "All I want is your ship, time machine, whatever you may call it. Now if you would kindly step out..."

"I'm not leaving her." the Doctor said firmly.

"It's either her or your companion. Your choice." the pony robot said, the weapon gently pulsing a dark purple.

"What do you wish to accomplish with the TARDIS?" the Doctor tilted his head to one side. "You know, you can't pilot her without me."

"We'll see about that." the robot pony said. "My partner is taking care of that right now- and until you get out, he'll be keeping that anti-matter rifle glued to your companion's temple."

"I'm sure we can come to an agre-" the Doctor began.

"We have nothing to agree to. There is only one thing we want, and we're getting it regardless." the pony robot said.

There was a soft beep as another pony robot exited cloaking, his form appearing out of thin air. A large robotic hand was clasped over Derpy's mouth, preventing her from making any sound.

Both of the Doctor's hearts broke as he saw the fright in her large eyes, and tried to convey a look that would calm her down. But he saw no way out of this situation, and he didn't think the look achieved the desired effect.

"Please- let's just lower our weapons and-"

"Never mind that. Get out." the pony robot said.

"This is my-"

"Don't give a hay. Get out." the pony said again, flicking the anti-matter rifle at the door.

"Hey- that thing can't kill me-"

There was a purple flash, and the Doctor's left hind leg was gone in a bloody mist and an explosion. The blast caused his other legs to buckle, and he crumpled onto the ground in a painful pile, screaming in agony.

The regeneration was starting, but it was still painful none the less.

"I only pulled the trigger once." the pony said, Derpy trying to yell at him but being held back by his partner. "This is a beam rifle. If I hold the trigger long enough- the potential explosion could wipe out everypony in this room. Everypony without a heavy armor suit, that is."

"Well of course..." the Doctor managed to say. When anti-matter meets normal matter, it often ends in something quite explosive.

"Throw them out." the pony said, turning away and towards the console, plucking a small data storage device from his belt and stabbing it into the TARDIS.

"No!" the Doctor yelled as sparks flew and the lights flickered.

"We'll take it from here." the pony said, and the TARDIS stopped reacting to anything. The programming has been loaded, and now it's on full manual.

"No! Goddamnit- NO!" the other pony robot grabbed Doctor Whooves by the neck, throwing both him and Derpy outside.

The Doctor landed hard on his shoulder, bouncing up slightly as the clouds contracted.

"Shuck- No!" he scrambled to his hooves, charging at the door- but it was locked.

"Doctor-" Derpy moaned.

"Damnit- come on! COME ON!" the Doctor fumbled with his pocket, bringing out the sonic screwdriver. "Curse these hooves- I want hands!" he yelled, the screwdriver buzzing and the tip glowing a bright green.

But the time machine was already leaving.

"How could this be happening? No!" the locks clicked, but he couldn't open the door. The pony robot must be blocking it on the other side.

He backed away, and charged at the door. But instead of the expected impact, he hit thin air and fell down onto the floor again.

The TARDIS was gone.

"Doctor..." Derpy said weakly.

"No... Goddamnit..." Doctor stared the ground, ignoring the paranoid glances shot at him from nearby ponies. Then he heard somepony scream, and turned around.

"Doctor...?" Derpy asked weakly, blood caking her side. Some of the anti-matter must've escaped the rifle and attached themselves to her.

"DERPY!" the Doctor quickly ran to her side, allowing her to crumble into his arms.

*

Starswirl had just finished the book when he heard a gentle tap from outside the window. It was snowing, and the night air chilled his spine as he opened the windows. They opened with a squeak, the rusted metal scraping against each other.

The night air gushed in, blowing in flakes of snow and upsetting the paperwork on Starswirl's desk. He had accomplished many things as a filly already, and was looking to creating his own magical spells. His research was now scattered all over the floor, but he could sort that out in no time.

He peered out of the window, looking around and trying to see who had made the tapping noise.

Outside, there was nothing but black and grey as the night turned everything into a monochromatic blizzard- all but the bright yellow lights from candles that lit the interiors and leaked out the windows.

Convinced he was just hallucinating, he turned back to pick up his scattered research, but froze as he heard a loud crunch behind him.

He whipped around. At first he saw nothing, but then looked down and saw a piece of his research crushed under an invisible hoof-shaped object.

Curious, he thought it was just some magic spell used to prank him. He was about to move forward when he froze, a heavy puff of warm breath rolling down his neck and sending chills down his spine. Still he could hear the heavy breathing, and could detect the heavy presence in front of him.

There was a soft knock on his bedroom door, and Starswirl's mother opened the it.
"I brought you some sliced apples- you've been up all night. You really should get some rest- and do close the window... It's just freezing, isn't it?" she said, levitating some fresh apples on a plate as she walked in.

"No- MOM! Get out NOW!" Starswirl yelled as a purple glow filled the room- but it was too late.

He watched his mother's head disappear into pink mist, splattering the apples crimson red. The headless body collapsed to the floor, blood splattering over the soft carpet.

"NO!!" Starswirl screamed, falling back in shock and yelling at his mother's corpse. There was a loud clang as the plate of apples shattered against the floor. "MOM!!"
There was a soft beep, and the air next to Starswirl rippled. He scrambled away in fright, staring as a large creature made of metal appeared out of thin air. It had hands- and every move it made made a whirring sound. In its right hand was a long thin device, parts of it glowing purple. It pointed the object between Starswirl's eyes.

"What are you...?" Starswirl pressed his back against the far wall, tears pouring down his face as his heart pounded against his chest. "WHAT THE HAY ARE YOU!!???"

"Your doom." the creature said in a deep voice, the purple object glowing brightly. It flashed, and the greatest unicorn to-be collapsed onto the floor, now headless and dead as ever.

*

"Derpy... No..." the Doctor tried to mend his broken hearts, holding onto the grey pegasus's hoof tightly- but he could feel her life slipping away. "DOCTOR! SOMEPONY CALL A DOCTOR!!"

"I thought you were... The doctor...." Derpy said weakly, her beautiful bright yellow crossed-eyes half closed. Her chest heaved with each breath, weak and slowing down.

"Goddamnit! How did everything go so wrong!? HOW!!??" the Doctor hugged her tightly, eyes watering.

"Doctor... Am I going to... Die...?"

Doctor Whooves froze. The pieces of his broken heart had just been obliterated as Derpy asked the question.

"No... I won't let you! You hear me!? I WON'T LET YOU!!" the Doctor tore his own jacket with his teeth, wrapping the torn fabric tightly around Derpy's wound- but she was already suffering from radiation poisoning.

There was a loud bang, and a shockwave swept over them, upsetting their manes and sending them whipping about. The time wave is approaching.

There were panicked screams everywhere as the world slowly began brightening, becoming even brighter than almost the sun.

"Wait for me, alright?" the Doctor said, his voice almost drowned out by a loud ringing. Distant objects began to fade as the world became too bright to see that far- the far horizon was just a blinding white now. "Wherever you are in the new time line, I'll find you!" he yelled over the growing ringing. "WAIT FOR ME!!!"

Derpy smiled, her mane whipping about her face violently as a strong gust of wind rushed over them.

"I will."

*

"Shuck! What the hay is going on!!??" Rainbow yelled. A loud ringing had started filling the air- and she was certain it wasn't her ears.

"Is there something wrong with my eyes..?" Magnum rubbed her eyes desperately as the world became a bright white.

"What the hay..." Rainbow looked around her as distant objects began disappearing.

There was a shockwave and a bang earlier too, which woke Octavia from her sleep.

"Huh.... I thought I had already woken up..." she said sleepily.

"Is it a nuke?" Magnum had to shout for her voice to travel over the ringing.

"Doesn't seem like it...." Rainbow covered her eyes as the light began hurting them.

A strong gust of wind hit her, knocking her off her hooves. She fell onto the floor, everything a blur. She tried getting back up, only to be knocked back down again by the wind.

"What the hay is going on!!??" she yelled, leaning against the wind and getting up.

"RAINBOW! MAGNUM!! WHERE ARE YOU!!??" Octavia yelled- the light was like a smoke screen- shielding everything off from sight.

Rainbow screamed as a wave of pain swept over her head, and she fell to her knees.

"What... Is... This...." she watched wide eyed as her front hooves split apart into those familiar demon claws- those claws she used to be able to control, now tearing her apart just like the first time. Her blood drifted in long crimson red streaks as the wind blew.

Another wave of pain hammered her head- and it felt like her skull was about to split. She curled onto the ground, screaming and clutching her head. Her throat felt like it could rip apart as her screams were drowned away in the ringing and howling of the wind.

"Goddamnit... Make it stop..." Rainbow struggled to look up at her only hope of keeping sane. "OCTAVIA!!"

Chapter 2: A Brand New Reality

Everything went dark, a senseless and emotionless nothingness. Then it all sprang back into a chaotic mess of color and sound.

Dirt was flying, a heat wave followed by a shockwave hitting Rainbow full in the back and an explosion sending her ears ringing.

"What the hay-" she hit the ground, yellow dirt smudging onto her face and getting into her eyes.

"Go! GO!" she heard Octavia yell, and a pair of hooves grabbed her coat and forced her up to her hooves.

"Octavia-" Rainbow rubbed her eyes, looking around them. But all she saw was more explosions.

"KEEP MOVING!!" Octavia yelled, pushing Rainbow onwards.

There was a concrete shelter up ahead- and they seemed to be being chased after by somepony. Who, she had no idea- but she guessed she'd find out all about this bizarre situation when she gets some cover and isn't constantly getting shot at.

She heard gunshots behind them, and looked behind her while continuing on running through the field of dirt. The sky was relatively dark now, and the muzzle flares and streaks of bullets were bright yellow in the dark. Who fired them, Rainbow couldn't tell because of all the smoke. But what she could see were the blue lights that seemed to be indicator lights on some sort of robot.

Octavia drew a pistol, firing behind her. There was a robotic voice saying something, and the firing stopped briefly. But it all started again a second later.

They were at the shelter. Rainbow dived behind what remained of the concrete walls, bullets digging holes on them as their mysterious pursuers fired on.

"What the hay!?" Rainbow yelled again. She looked down, surprised to find she was in her bounty hunter clothes. Her black coat and hat were matted with dirt, and so were her dark clothes. "Octavia- the heck is going on here!? I was in the backyard a second ago!"

"Backyard...?" Octavia raised an eyebrow as if she didn't know what Rainbow was talking about. Then her ears rung, and she clutched her head in pain, falling to her knees. "Get it out! Gah! What is this...!?"

"Octavia!" Rainbow got to her side, holding her shoulders and trying to stabilize her.

Then Octavia stopped writhing, staring at the ground, shaking her head slowly.

"No... What is all this..." she stared wide eyed and full of fear at the ground.

"What is it!? Look at me-" Rainbow shook Octavia's shoulders. "What are you seeing!?"

"Not seeing... Remembering..." Octavia muttered.

"What is there to remember!? We were in the backyard a second ago!"

"We were.... But we were also running from the science faction..." Octavia frowned, rubbing her head. Then she looked up. "Rainbow, I don't know why... I don't know how.... But I have two sets of memories."

"Then you know what happened here?" Rainbow asked.

"I do. But it's a long story-" Octavia unslung a tommy gun from her back. "Let's take care of these guys first."

The firing had stopped, and through the chaotic silence they could hear heavy footsteps.

Rainbow searched her pockets, finding the metal capsule. It looked different though... It had some more edges and the red glow was a lot stronger than she remembered. She shook the weirdness of it all away, pressing the button.

The capsule sprang apart, unfolding and motors whining. All the pieces came back together, forming a huge metal cleaver.

"This... Is sick." Rainbow looked at the brand new blade, turning it around in her hooves. It had a battle-worn look, the paint scratched in multiple places. But the metal glowed above all, glinting even in the darkness. The red Element of Loyalty crystal shone brightly, the light growing even more intense than it was in Rainbow's hooves. It had spikes on the sides, and looked like they could fold. Rainbow turned a knob on the handle, and the spikes folded.

"Lovely." Rainbow said- nothing to make her feel more battle ready than a pimped-up version of the cleaver.

"Wait for it..." Octavia whispered as they heard the churning of motors and the heavy hoofsteps grow louder and louder by the second.

They heard a robotic hiss, a monotoned voice taunting them to come out. They waited a little longer, then the robot poked its head around the corner. It didn't seem to be a robot though, from the looks of it it seemed to be a pony in a heavy suit. Indicator lights on various areas of its armor lit the area blue, and it had a long smoothed-back head, a visor evident near the front.

Octavia pulled the trigger, the bullets hitting the visor but not penetrating the thick bulletproof glass.

The robot pony fully came around the corner, and before Rainbow could react it hit her full in the chest.

The blue pegasus flew back, cracking her back against a concrete wall. She slumped down onto the ground, and saw something dangling from her neck.

The necklace of her cutie mark that Dainty gave her.

"Stay safe..." she took the necklace and tucked it back under her shirt, cleaver flashing and slicing through the robot pony.

*

"Where are we? I mean, I know where we are, but we weren't here a second ago... Well, we were; but... What?" Dainty clutched her head. This whole world is so confusing she could just drop dead from it.

"Sssshhh...." Lily said, covering Dainty's mouth.

They were in a large metal warehouse, sunlight leaking through holes in the ceiling. They were hiding in the maze of rusting and abandoned containers, peering around corners warily.

"They're still after us, remember?" Lily said.

"Who? Oh yeah.. Those robot ponies... Damn. Where is Rainbow?" Dainty looked around her, suddenly worried as what they were in started settling in.

From what she could remember, Rainbow and Octavia were escorting them to some Science Faction facility, where they were meant to retrieve data, and where only Dainty could crack open the terminal. They had been ambushed, and Rainbow and Octavia had stayed behind to hold off the assault force. Dainty remembered seeing drop pods being fired from the barricade, landing somewhere nearby- so they decided to hide in the warehouse. From her first set of memories, she remembered Rainbow telling her about how the orbital barricade went down. The barricade is a huge metal web strung over the atmosphere of earth, ready to rain down havoc on any magic faction pony should it choose to, and the presumed refuge of the Science Faction. But from her second set of memories- the barricade was up for more than a few centuries already, and has never gone down before.

"Stay quiet." Dainty whispered, peering around them.

They both froze in terror as they heard a heavy footstep just around the corner, extremely close.

They remembered now- they were being pursued by a special type of mech pony from the Science Faction's wide arsenal- nick named Ghosts, because they have heavy cloaking systems and silenced motors. One can see a slight haze when a Ghost is under light, but once it enters shadows it becomes completely invisible- and the warehouse was full of shadows. A common way to pluck them out is to use a laser light- if the laser hits a Ghost, it bounces around inside so one may see the distorted and reflected light beam.

There was a heavy clunk to their right, and they slowly inched away from that area, bodies shaking with fright.

The hoofsteps slowly got closer, each loud crack shaking the floor as the invisible heavy robot stomped around the maze.

Dainty peered around the corner, her breathing irregular as she tried to keep quiet. Everything was still, and she couldn't see anything that moved at all. A puddle of water sat in the middle of a small clearing, quivering slightly as a different pair of hoof steps approached. Then it splashed, water spraying everywhere as an invisible hoof stomped into it. Dainty squeaked, swinging behind the cargo container and covering her mouth.

"It's... Right... There..." she whispered, voice quivering.

"What do we do?" Lily had tears in her eyes. She was so scared.

"I... I don't know." Dainty said- this time, Rainbow won't be around to look after them.

Still the hoofsteps got closer, and the two fillies flattened themselves against the wall, their breathing irregular.

"It... It's coming... Run..." Lily stuttered, tugging on Dainty's shoulder.

Dainty was paralyzed for a second, too afraid to move or even breath. Then she came back to her senses as Lily tapped her on the head, and started quietly moving in the opposite direction of the hoofsteps. They moved fast and efficiently, matching the rhythm of the heavy robotic hoofsteps so it could cover their own as they scurried away.

They pressed their backs against a corrugated ion wall, Dainty peering around the corner while Lily checked around them. They needed to find somewhere to hide- and fast.

Dainty tapped Lily gently on the shoulder. "Up there!" she whispered, pointing at an angle up at the far corner.

"Where..?" Lily squinted her eyes, trying to see through the thick rays of sunlight pouring in through holes in the ceiling.

"They used cranes to move the cargo containers... We could hide in the operator's control room!" Dainty said, pointing at a small box on the upper right corner, only accessible from the outside via catwalks and the inside via a ladder.

Catwalks lined the walls on the inside, going around in huge rings and running alongside the walls. Here and there there were ladders leading to them, but all were broken and some sections of the catwalks have collapsed. They all eventually led back to the control room, which would provide an alternate escape route should the Ghosts discover their hiding spot. They could only access the upper levels through the control room ladder, and problem is- it's on the other side of the entire maze of containers, almost twenty meters away and barely visible through the rays of light.

"That's too far away!" Lily exclaimed in a hushed voice.

"Do or die." Dainty whispered. She might sound brave, but hell no- she wanted to reject the idea just as much as Lily did- possibly even more.

"I'll give it a shot, then." Lily said, peering up at the innocent-looking little box.

"Stay sharp and listen for any sound- any sound at all." Dainty whispered, making one last check around the corner, and started gingerly moving alongside a wall, shadows shifting on her face as light shone through the catwalk above her.

"Dainty- we should move back inside the maze." Lily whispered.

"But they're all in there!"

"And we have no where to hide and we can't outrun them here in the open!"

Dainty stopped, suddenly more afraid than ever. She looked around her, down the way they came and up the way they're about to go. All seems clear- but you could never know.

They quickly darted back into the maze of containers, the worn and rusting colors adding to the eery silence. It was the silence that the fillies were afraid of, and for the first time since entering the warehouse; hoped for any kind of noise as to indicate where their pursuers were.

There was a deafening bang, and they heard a container tip on its side and smash onto the floor. The noise echoed off the entire warehouse, seeming a lot louder than it actually was.

Dainty quickly covered Lily's mouth to prevent her from making a sound. Clearly that sudden loud noise in the silence was part of a tactic to throw them off- but Dainty wasn't about to fall for that.

Despite this, the fillies still could not prevent the psychological effect from settling in. They watched the containers warily, mindful that somepony might just tip one on them and crush them underneath.

"Keep searching. They're in here somewhere." a deep synthetic voice rumbled.

Dainty and Lily froze immediately as the voice came from just around the corner, so close they could even hear the electronics buzzing as the robot pony stopped inches away, the only thing separating them from view was the corner of a flimsy cargo container.

Dainty and Lily quivered with fright as they saw a small pebble skittle away, clearly kicked by the robot pony. Despite the silenced motors, they could still hear them whining because they were so close.

Lily grabbed a rock off the floor, throwing it far over her head.

The robot pony stopped advancing, and they heard motors whine as it turned around to check out the noise. For a minute it didn't move, seemingly unconvinced. Then, it started walking away; the churning of mechanics growing fainter and fainter as it left.

Dainty let out a deep quivering breath, sliding down the wall and slumping onto the floor, her heart beating against her chest and her body covered in cold sweat.

"Holy cheeseburgers... That was close..." Lily leant on a wall, still trying to get over the fact that they were still alive.

"Keep... Moving?" Dainty caught her breath, gulped, and stood up.

They continued zipping through the maze, carefully listening for anything every time they approach a corner. They froze again when they heard a loud echoey clang above them, and looked up.

There was a robot pony standing on the container, his shape barely visible as the rays of sunlight suddenly became disrupted in an area. He seemed to have his back to them, so they quickly ducked down and kept low and close to the container.

Lily was about to speak, but Dainty covered her mouth and shook her head. The robot pony was too close to make any noise at all.

Dainty looked around her, then found the rock Lily threw earlier. It was out in the open, in the way of several paths. It was risky, since another robot pony might be scouting in the paths- but it was their only shot of getting past the one up top.

Dainty made a few gestures to Lily, telling her to keep an eye on the robot pony on the container.

Lily nodded, peering up. She ducked back down again, giving the all clear. Dainty started inching forward, careful not to make any noise. The rock was right there, but she needed to check the corners as well before reaching it.

She looked back to Lily, who nodded to indicate the robot pony was looking away.
Dainty peered around the corners, and when she was certain there was nothing there, she darted quietly forward and snatched the rock off the floor. She gave Lily a mouthed countdown, then threw it down the direction they came.

They quickly scuttled around the container, avoiding the robot pony's field of vision as it turned around to investigate the loud clang.

"Keep going-" Dainty pushed Lily forward as they ran down a path.

Lily suddenly stopped, and Dainty bumped into her and fell onto her back.

"What are you doing!? Keep going!" she said in a hushed tone.

But Lily seemed to be frozen in fright, a single tear sliding down her cheek and her body quivering. It's as if she were staring death straight in the eye.

Dainty looked up, and her eyes widened in horror as she saw it.

Under the rays of sunlight, was a barely visible outline of a robot pony, standing millimeters away from Lily. Then the shape moved, and Dainty could see the cloaked sword being raised.

"RUN!" Dainty shoved Lily to the side, and dived for the other. The ground they were standing on a second ago split into chunks of concrete as the sword hit.

There was a loud and solid clunk behind them, and Dainty turned around. Another robot pony. Soon the place will be swarmed with them, and now they were trapped in the center with nowhere to run.

Dainty's back bumped Lily's as they slowly backed away, eyeing the Ghosts cautiously.
There was a loud whistling noise, and they saw a silver flash. The next second the robot pony had an odd looking throwing knife stuck under its head piece and visor, a green LED indicator turning red with a beep.

Then the Ghost blew apart, suddenly coming into existence as the cloaking device was destroyed. Chunks of metal mixed with flesh clattering onto the ground, a black and pink splatter where it was a second ago, littered with indistinguishable bits and pieces.

Dainty and Lily stared in horror at the mess, the blood mist still settling. They heard another whistling, and the Ghost behind them exploded. They turned around just in time to catch the demented remains of its body fall to the ground- it looked like a crushed insect, the outer shell broken in pieces but still stuck to the bloody flesh on the inside. Guts poured out from the carcass, spilling onto the floor.

Dainty gagged, turning away and squinting her eyes shut. How could this be happening? They were in school a second ago... And now this....

She could tell Lily wasn't faring any better, vomiting onto the floor.

There were heavy hoofsteps as a full squad of Ghosts came around the corner, their energy weapons glowing an intense purple.

There was a light clunk above the two fillies, too light to be an enemy- and they looked up.

The dark silhouette of a bat pony stood tall on the cargo container, back lit by the sunlight. Two large yellow eyes seemed to glow in the shadows, those of a predator waiting to catch its prey.

Blink Nightshade brought her right hoof up, showing a splayed out array of throwing knives.

"Well guess who brought knives to a gun fight." she said without emotion.

Chapter 3: Manehatten

The Ghosts de-activated their cloaking devices, revealing themselves to be light-weight close to mid-range combatants.

There was a bright flash, and Dainty felt somepony lay a hoof on her shoulder. She saw a robot pony fire a purple laser at her, and just before it hit her the world flashed again. Now they were in the control room, Nightshade standing on the edge.

"Stay here and don't move until I tell you to. And if I don't return in ten minutes, run. Get out of here, run into the city." she said, and with a bright flash and a wink she was gone.

"What was that?" Lily curled up in a corner.

"I've seen her before... But, not in this reality." Dainty said.

"This reality? What other reality is there?" Lily asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think the other one is the one where we were in the school field."

*

"Search for them! Go outside, they can't have gone far." the lead Ghost said, activating his cloak and disappearing into the shadows.

"No need." there was a bright flash, and Nightshade was already stabbing an explosive knife into his neck.

The blade slid between two armor plates, and despite him being in cloak mode; Nightshade still found every weakness in his armor. The knife went into his neck, and blood gushed out of the small crack in the armor.

Nightshade swirled around, dragged the half-dead commander behind her. With one heavy swing, she threw the robot pony into his squad mate. The explosive went off, turning both into mush.

Her ear twitched, hearing a Ghost charging his laser. Nightshade turned around, throwing the knife at the fired laser. The two hit, the laser reacting violently and sending the knife bouncing into the wall of a cargo container. The laser continued on its way, and Nightshade tilted her head to one side, letting it burn past. The knife bounced off the wall, and as she predicted; slid right between the chest plate and neck piece of the Ghost.

He choked, stumbling back and dropping the rifle. Nightshade ran forward, taking the knife out and stabbing an explosive tip in. She held onto his shoulders, and blinked. The world flashed, and the next second they were high above three other robot ponies, looking around to see where the two might have went.

Nightshade dropped the Ghost and the explosive knife into the middle of the crowd. The explosive went up in a loud bang and an orange flash, destructing three robot ponies and sending a third survivor flying into a cargo container. There was a loud metallic groan as the container was dented and pushed back several meters, leaving a chalk white trail in the concrete floor.

Nightshade blinked again, this time appearing right in front of the robot pony; who was still stumbling up. She didn't need a knife for this one- the armor design had a weak joint at the neck, so it would be easier to turn one's head in emergencies.

"Wanna turn your head? I'll turn your head-" Nightshade lashed out a kicked into the side of the helmet, sending the entire head cracking one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. The dead Ghost dropped to the floor, blood slowly leaking onto the floor and forming a puddle.

That was the rest of them. The entire squad was down- now to get the fillies. Then she stopped as she heard several loud echoey bangs, coming from high above. Then there was a screeching noise, slowly growing in pitch.

The ceiling suddenly fell apart, large metal pods dropping in and crushing the support frames. There were several loud crashes and bangs as the metal pods cracked the concrete on the floor, burying themselves deep in the ground. The surfaces glowed orange slightly with heat, from the air friction when they rubbed against the atmosphere after being fired from the barricade. Smoke drifted up into the sky, and after the bombardment of noises all was silent.

There was a loud and distinct click, and a hiss of air as pressure was released from the pod. Suddenly there was a loud bang, and the door blew out; tumbling across the concrete floors. Smoke poured onto the ground, slowly creeping towards Nightshade's hooves.

A dark silhouette stirred, and with heavy clunks stepped out of the pod and into the open. It was an assault unit- lightly armored and almost two times Nightshade's height. It had an array of weapons stored on its back, and in its large claws was holding a huge assault rifle that contains 30 mm diameter cartridges; only fireable by special robots and extreme gun experts like Magnum- otherwise the recoil is likely to cause unwanted damage.

There was a deafening bang as the assault unit fired the rifle, sending the huge bullet busting through the air. Nightshade blinked, and she was behind the assault unit. The bullet hit a cargo container, went through one wall; tilted onto its side and slammed into the other, sending the container rocking on its edges.

The assault unit turned around, firing the rifle once again. Nightshade teleported behind the unit, sliding a blade along its back and severing several critical wires; deactivating the recoil counter system. She then stabbed an explosive tip into its back, then pulled the trigger of the huge assault rifle.

The escaping gas sent a huge wave of disrupted air exploding outwards, causing Nightshade's mane to whip around in the gust of wind. The recoil sent the unit flying back, skidding into several squad mates. The explosive tip went off, taking down all of them in one big bang.

There was a heavy clunk as an assault unit came up behind Nightshade, the rifle aimed at her head. Nightshade kicked the barrel, sending the unit off aim. She the shoved an explosive knife down the barrel of the gun. The explosion blew the rifle to pieces, shattering and clattering to the floor, soon followed by drifting ashes.

A loud clang echoed around the warehouse as an unseen assault unit hit a cargo container, sending it flying towards Nightshade.

Nightshade ducked down and rolled, the container flying over her head as she sprang back to her hooves. With a flick of her wrist she sent three knives into three critical spots in the assault robot, the first disabling vision, the second movement, and the third cutting off communication between the AI and the rest of the body.

The cargo container smashed into several others, creating a domino effect and knocking them all over.

The other assault units were lingering nearby, and Nightshade was almost over her ten minute promise to the fillies.

She looked up to the control room, blinked, and was there next to the fillies the next second.

Dainty squealed and covered her head, Lily doing the same.

"Girls- we're leaving." Nightshade said, grabbing both fillies by the shoulder and taking them outside. With a bright flash, they were gone.

*

"Bastards keep coming!" Rainbow yelled, turning her cleaver on its side and deflecting the bullet from a 60 cal into the concrete ceiling, raining her with ash.

"They keep sending more from the barricade!" Octavia said, almost out of ammo.

"Barricade?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"Hard to tell ya, but in this world now it's still up." Octavia said, the last of her ammo gone. "Shuck." she cursed.

"Damnit!" Rainbow stomped on the ground frustratedly. Her head still hurt from all this sudden change.

Octavia run out from behind cover, spinning to avoid a stream of bullets headed her way. She grabbed the rifle of an assault robot, slammed the side of its claw and clicked a specific spot on its arm. The claw fell from the arm and onto the floor, also letting go of the anti-matter rifle. Octavia grabbed the rifle, firing a single shot into the robot's chest. There was a purple flash, and when the dust settled the assault unit had a huge hole through it.

"Push forward! The fillies went for the warehouse!" Octavia yelled, firing the anti-matter rifle.

"Bastards are all over the place!" Rainbow cursed, ducking below a purple beam and swinging the cleaver in a huge arc, cutting the assault unit diagonally in half.

More bangs echoed across the dusty wasteland as the barricade fired more pods, all crashing down and lifting up a splash of dirt from the earth.

"Heavy units incoming!" Octavia yelled as a cluster of missile-like units were launched from the barricade.

They crashed into the earth, but instead of opening like the pods, they unfolded into the units.

"The heavies have one heck load of armor! Not much weapons though." Octavia said.
"See how that fares against my sword." Rainbow said, leaping onto one of the units' chest and stabbing the cleaver into its head. It fell back, and Rainbow hopped off, dragging the cleaver out behind her.

She ran ahead of Octavia, leaping high into the air. Octavia fired a beam beneath her, taking down the heavy unit in front of her. Rainbow landed back down, smashing the cleaver dead center and slicing the next assault unit in half.

"They're spreading out!" Rainbow yelled- she needed a ranged weapon.

"Then use your cleaver!" Octavia yelled.

"What!?"

"Oh, right..." Octavia held down the trigger, causing a large explosion to rip out inside a small cluster of heavy units. "Applebloom made some mods to it in this reality. See that handle?"

Rainbow looked at the bottom of the blade- there was a pump-action sliding handle attached to the sharp edge of the cleaver.

"Slide it forward!" Octavia rolled to the side, a purple beam triggering an explosion behind her.

Rainbow did as she was told. There was a loud and solid clunk, and something changed on the blunt edge of the cleaver.

"You gotta be kidding me." she inspected the new mechanism that popped up. It seemed to be the barrel of a high caliber rifle, and there was a trigger that deployed on the hilt... Only one way to find out.

Rainbow pointed the cleaver at the nearest heavy, and pulled the trigger. The boom and release of gas sent smoke curling up into the air around her, and her hat almost fell off. Her mane and tail whipped around wildly in the sudden gust of wind as the recoil forced her to take a step back.

The bullet zipped through the air, shattering an assault pony's head and blowing half of a heavy unit off the rest of its body.

"What else do I have installed?" Rainbow asked, sliding the handle back down and restoring the cleaver back to its normal state.

"Well, you told me it was 'top secret'." Octavia said.

"The me in this reality sounds some-what like a scum bag." Rainbow muttered, charging forth.

"Warehouse is right up ahead!" Octavia said.

"Can't bucking see it- what the hay is with all this dust!?" Rainbow said irritably.

"The dust is thin- but the buildings are probably acting as a dark background and shielding the warehouse from view." Octavia said. "Welcome to wasteland Manehatten."

"Manehatten!?" Rainbow asked incredulously- she never remembered Manehatten having a huge desert in the middle of it.

"I'll explain later. What I can, anyway." Octavia said, ditching the rifle as it had run out of anti-matter. "Head into the city! Once they lose sight of us they don't have anywhere to send reinforcements!"

"Cut through the crowd? Gotcha." Rainbow said, stabbing the cleaver into an assault unit. The assault units were much taller, however did not weigh as much as they looked. Rainbow kicked it in the chest, and it flew back and tumbled across the dirt field.

She darted forward, and with a powerful side swipe cut off an assault unit's legs. She stabbed the cleaver into its chest, and slid the handle forward.

Using the body as a shield, she started firing high caliber rounds in front of her, tearing her way through the Science Faction troops.

"They're flanking us! Make a run for it!" Octavia yelled, picking up a dark matter laser from a downed heavy unit.

"There's too many of them!"

"This might help-" Octavia pulled the trigger of the dark matter laser, sending a dark green beam slithering its way through the crowd ahead of them. Suddenly a large area around the beam became disrupted and distorted, and everything within a five meter radius was thrown all over the place in a horizontal tornado. Some of the assault units were even torn completely apart, but the heavy units and their heavy armor stayed intact- however still took a beating.

The laser beam consisted of special laser light particles to transport the dark matter, and modified dark matter particles, which are essentially micro black holes. Gravitational fields are generated from each of these trillions of black holes, creating a chaotic gravitational distortion within the five meter radius of the beam, tearing apart light armor and sending heavier units flying about. Its destructive nature has to be contained, however; as to not cause damage to the wielder of the weapon. The inner barriers of the rifle are designed to withstand and hold in these modified dark matter particles, however once fired becomes highly unstable; therefore cannot be used twice.

"Move! MOVE!" Octavia yelled, sprinting for the gap she created in the group of robots and ditching the smoldering dark matter rifle.

Rainbow used her wings to guide her, slicing her way through the survivors as she darted for the city.

She could see the outlines of Manehatten now- some skyscrapers were even recognizable. But they all seemed incomplete, and some of the missing pieces looked like they were blown off by weapons. Large columns of smoke trailed up into the sky, the bottom with the barest hint of orange where there may be a fire.

To sum up, Manehatten looked like a war zone.

The first buildings loomed over the pair as they approached, trailed by gun fire and beam weapons as the Science Faction chased after them.

Rainbow kicked down a rusted old metal door of a building, sending it clanging loudly into the darkness and upsetting age old ash. She swung in, followed by Octavia, and the pair started heading up.

"If we travel within the buildings, the barricade can't pin point us and they won't know where to send the troops." Octavia said as they ran up the stairs, taking three steps at a time.

"What the hay happened here?" Rainbow huffed, grabbing onto the handrails and swinging around the corner, her hooves scraping along the floor and dragging dusty trails behind them.

"Manehatten was one of the more advanced cities, still under development. In the war the magic faction managed to hold this city, but then was simply bombed by the science faction. Manehatten is a complete apocalypse now- or so history books say." Octavia's hoof steps echoed off the bare concrete walls of the stairwell, all stripped of their paint and worn down to simple shades of grey.

"That's one messed up history book." Rainbow said as they approached the end of the stairs. "Is there anywhere that is safe?"

"No- not really, anyway. I'll explain once we get somewhere quiet." Octavia grunted as they kicked down the metal door, stuck in its frame due to a slightly caved in ceiling.

Rainbow stumbled into the room, looking around at the grey emptiness.

"An office block..." she reasoned, looking at the desks and chairs and scattered papers, all a dull grey as they were covered in ash. "But where did everypony go?"

Octavia slammed the door shut behind them with a loud metallic groan, the rusty metal door grinding against the frame as she forced it back in.

"Everypony that was ever here is most likely to be dead by now." Octavia said, scraping some ash off a nearby chair and taking a seat.

Rainbow didn't bother- she just looked around her and out the glassless windows, at the new world around her.

"From what?" she asked.

"This is what happened. The science faction won the first war against magic, taking over the majority of the world. There were still itsy-bitsy parts of Earth that magic still controlled, Manehatten one of them. Manehatten managed to prosper in the gloom, but got knocked down when the science faction deployed the barricade." Octavia rubbed a hoof on her face, the chair creaking slightly as she leaned back into it.

"Then what about the rest of the world? There's gotta be survivors, right?" Rainbow turned around, back lit by the orange evening sky outside.

"There are survivors... The science faction took those willing to obey deep under ground, using them as slaves. The rest were left on the surface, and the barricade fired bio weapons down on the surface. There's nothing left here on the surface anymore... There's only the rebellion, which is made up of a scatter of ponies- just under fifty."

"Shuck..." Rainbow took her hat off, running a hoof through her mane.

"The rebellion was made of ponies that managed to escape from underground. There were others too- but they became their own alliance. They don't care who it is, they'll do anything to survive in their own free will out here on the surface. And when I say survive... It's not just about scouring the wasteland for resources. The bio weapons launched turned its victims either into the trotting dead, or just monsters."

"Trotting dead?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"The micro organisms from the weapons invade the brain, taking control. It becomes impossible for them to starve, dehydrate, or even bleed to death. The only way for them to die is to destroy the brain... You can steal the controller from the owner, but once the controller is broken... That's it."

"Shuck... And we're out here on the surface because...?" Rainbow turned away. All this information was too much- way too much.

"Because there still is a thread of hope. The science faction has constructed an entire space fleet... Taking refuge in space and away from the surface. The barricade isn't the only place they live in. Anyway... Sources suggest that the space fleet is also trying to hide something. Something that might turn the tide of this entire universe- and magic might reign once again." Octavia said, rubbing her forehead. It was quite a lot to remember.

"And how do we know whether or not that's true?" Rainbow asked.

"That's what we're here to find out."

Chapter 4: Washed Away

"Only Dainty could crack the terminal..." Octavia sighed.

"She finally got her cutie mark, didn't she?" Rainbow asked, looking down at the necklace.

"She did." Octavia nodded. "There's another filly that came with us. Lily. We found her on the way here... Her parents were already turned into those monsters by then."

"I thought the surface was already a wasteland way before?"

"Yeah. But it's possible for the infections to spread. Best just to keep the dead and the monsters away from you." Octavia said. "Anyway. About the rumor... It says that the space fleet is grouping around the sun, and would fire on any unit, no matter what faction; that approaches the sun."

"The sun?" Rainbow asked incredulously.

"Yeah. There's something about it that they're trying to protect and keep away from us... But we're meant to find out what it is. There's a research facility hidden in the Foal Mountain range. We're meant to head west and find it- it is said that the facility acts as head quarters for the science faction here on earth. Then we can go to the sun and do whatever we need to do there."

"The sun, eh... But how are we going to get there?" Rainbow asked.

Octavia smirked. "Not all magic faction ponies are descendants of magic. Some are science, sided with magic." she said, standing up. "In fact, we have control over twenty percent of the space fleet. It's not enough to take down the science faction, but if the sun is really worth a shot- then they could hold off long enough for us to do what we have to do."

"Right. And we get thrown into this reality just as the crap hits the fan? Just great. Simply, great." Rainbow sighed.

"We should probably go find the fillies." Octavia said, getting up. "The warehouse shouldn't be far from here. If we stay indoors... We should be fine."

Rainbow looked out the window. "We could make these jumps, easy."

Octavia heard a loud bang on the rusted door behind her. "Don't have to ask me again." she said, charging at the window and leaped out, tucking her legs in and rolling into the building on the other side, four meters away. She left a small dust cloud behind her as she slid on the age old carpet of a hotel living room. She got to her hooves; dusting off some ash from her dark clothes. She turned to Rainbow, waving. "What are you waiting for?"

"Nothing." Rainbow shook her head. All the sudden change was starting to give her a headache.

She backed up a few steps, ignoring the pounding on the door behind her. She started running forward, her hooves making solid thuds as she sprinted for the window, leaving behind her a haze of dust.

The pounding on the door had ended in a loud crash, and Rainbow heard a small object clatter into the room with her.

"Shuck- don't stop! KEEP RUNNING!!" Octavia yelled, drawing her pistol.

Rainbow used her wings to assist her and boost her speed, the wind running through her mane. She placed a hoof firmly on the edge, and pushed off. There was a loud bang behind her, and a strong shockwave hit her full in the back. She fell short, clipping her forehead on the ledge before tumbling down below.

Blood seeped out of her injury and floated around her in small crimson bubbles, falling down at the same speed as her. The world was a blur- all dull grey, all but the red droplets of her own blood floating around in her blurry vision. Then everything seemed to snap back- and her mind sharpened instantly.

She splayed out her wings, swinging down and busting through an old window, the glass crisp and shattering on contact. She tumbled onto the carpeted floor of a hotel bedroom, her blood smudging into the soft floor. She slowly got up, a little painfully. Blood continued to drip from her forehead, sliding down her face and merging into the carpet below. There was no sound but the glass sliding off her back as she stood up, her breathing slowly stabilizing.

"Rainbow! You there?" Rainbow didn't realize she had an ear piece on.

"Yeah, I'm here. A little battered though." Rainbow sighed, groaning as her back let out a series of cracking noises.

"You sure? I've got this really big splatter of red on the window ledge." Octavia said worriedly.

"Don't worry... I'm fine." Rainbow said.

"Meet up somewhere? The bastards threw a grenade at you."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"They blocked off that area you just jumped from- so you won't be flying up that way. Try the stairs- this place looks like a hotel. I'll meet you in the reception room, if there is one." Octavia said.

"Will do." Rainbow said, walking slowly to conserve energy and making her way out.

The door wasn't much of a struggle- after seeing all the destroyed crap, it really did surprise Rainbow to find a door that still worked. It squeaked a little when she pushed it open, but that was it. The stairs were dark, and her own hoofsteps were driving her insane as she continued down the stairs- hearing nothing but her own breathing and echoing hoofsteps.

*

Rainbow Dash abruptly woke up, springing to her hooves and looking around her.

"What the hay..?" she looked around at the white emptiness around her.

She was in a white space, with absolutely nothing here. She looked down below, but she was standing on nothing.

She slumped into a sitting position, rubbing her head. She looked down at her hooves- the bright color long faded as harmony slowly died away in the wasteland. Now her skin was just a shade of grey, and her mane that drifted down her shoulders spelt the same fate. Nothing but grey- but unlike Daring Do's, this grey was unhealthy- that of an ill pony. She shook her head vigorously, trying to clear her thoughts. Harmony was long dead in this world- and it's only survival that matters. She started tracking back the events that led her to this empty white dimension.

The science faction was after her a second ago- and she was with Octavia. Lily and Dainty had left for the warehouse to stay away from the fight- and they were all in Manehatten. They had just been dispatched from rebellion headquarters, a secret facility located in the Crystal Mountains- but now where is she?

"Octavia!" she yelled, looking around her. "OCTAVIA!!"

Her voice echoed she didn't know how far- as there were no visual guides to suggest depth. But one thing was certain- there was no response.

"Must be hallucinating." Rainbow said aloud, rubbing her head.

Or, she could've died. Yes, that sounded more likely- but she wasn't about to believe that yet. She did remember hearing the scream of a mortar shell behind her when she was knocked out- but that was it.

Suddenly there was a strong gust of wind that knocked her off her hooves, and she fell on her back; the air leaving her lungs.

"What the hay..!?" she gasped.

She felt a wave of air pass over her, and was instantly blinded by the vibrant colors and bright sunlight that followed. She tried to open her eyes, but the bright colors made them sting.

The laughter and happy chattering of ponies were like music to her ears- it was a beautiful sound she hadn't heard in decades of being simply alive. Her eyes finally adjusted, and they sprung open.

She was in Ponyville, on a sunny day. It was nothing like she remembered it- instead of being completely destroyed, the buildings all rotting in decay; it was vibrant and beautiful- like it was meant to be. Blue skies and white clouds covered the atmosphere, no barricade; and not a shade of grey but one particular crossed-eyed pegasus.

"Pinkie...?" Rainbow asked. It had been such a long time since she'd seen those laughing faces- Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity...

Rainbow tried to talk to them, but they didn't seem capable of acknowledging her presence. They continued chatting and talking and laughing, like she wasn't there. She walked up to them, but still they didn't even look at her.

"Girls-" she said, then everything thing faded. She tried to reach out and ruffle Pinkie's mane like she always did back then, but before she could everything was gone. The blue sky, the vibrant colors, her laughing friends- all fading back into that white nothingness.

Rainbow stared at where the rest of the mane six were a second ago, her hoof still outstretched. Slowly, it fell down and slumped back at her side. She took one soft sniff, slumping down onto the ground.

"I really wish I could see you all again." she sobbed, a single tear drifting down her cheek as she slowly slid a hoof along the emptiness.

There was a gentle thud ahead of her, and she looked up. Slowly walking away from her, nothing but a dot in the distance. The pony seemed to be wearing identical clothes to her, and had a flowing rainbow colored mane and tail. Blue skin peaked out from under the clothes, and two wings lay folded on her back.

The figure looked vaguely familiar, but Rainbow couldn't remember. Only one way to find out- she got up, and started following the rainbow maned pegasus.

*

"Made it." Rainbow said, walking into the reception.

"Glad you-" Octavia stopped dead when she saw Rainbow's wound. "We really need you bandaged up. Too bad Thyme isn't here... She could get you all fixed up in no time."
"Who the hay is Thyme?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"She... Is a friend of yours. Suppose you don't remember." Octavia lowered her head, her expression seemingly saddened.

Rainbow looked down at the ground. She didn't feel particularly good about anything right now... And she didn't think she wanted to meet Thyme. She was certain that this pony would be nice, but she didn't think she could stand the look on anypony's face when she tells them that she doesn't remember them. It would only hurt more feelings and make things worse.

"They're still after us. Head across the road- let's just hope the barricade doesn't notice us." Octavia said, diverting the topic.

They started walking towards two double doors, the golden framing almost worn away and the glass in shards. Rainbow pushed one open, causing a few pieces of glass to clatter onto the dusty marble floor.

"They're retreating." she said as she exited the building, watching several large drop ships depart the roof high above, engines blaring and sending waves of ash drifting down onto the street.

"That's never good." Octavia said, turning and beginning to walk away.

Suddenly there was a loud bang, and a bright light dropped from the barricade. It was just a bright yellow light spot on the horizon, slowly dropping towards the sea.

"Bomb?" Rainbow asked.

"Doesn't look like one of those explosives... But yes, a bomb. Different kind though- it looks like one of those weather control ones? Can't be sure." Octavia frowned, squinting at the object.

Then it disappeared into the water, causing nothing but a big ripple where it hit the surface.

"Maybe it's nothing." Rainbow said.

"I wouldn't keep my hopes up if I were you." Octavia said. "We really should get the fillies and get the hay away from the coastline."

Then there was a loud but dull thunk, coming from deep underwater and miles away. The amplified sound wave followed by a weak shockwave shook the dust and ash off some of the buildings, also rattling their worn walls in their rusting frames.

At first there was nothing. Then they started hearing the churning of the sea, splashing and roaring. It was distant at first... But slowly it grew louder and louder. Rainbow and Octavia could feel a slight breeze coming from the coast, brushing gently against their skins. The breeze made a hollow sound as it passed the gaping windows of the buildings, like a ghostly whisper.

"This is not good." Rainbow whispered.

The splashing noise had grown to a full roar now. It was a bombardment on their ears, as it still continued to grow- it was as if the sea was a giant monster being constantly fed.

Then a huge dark blue wall towering twenty meters and outlined by white slammed through the buildings, knocking them down like Lego blocks. The wall of water churned and writhed, flooding onto the streets and washing everything away. Old, unused cars were over turned and swallowed into the infinite darkness of the water, drifting away and followed by many other things.

The bomb had triggered a mega tsunami from deep under the sea.

"Shuck! Run! RUN!!" Rainbow yelled, taking off.

Octavia galloped for a building, but the wall of water was faster than the both of them. At first all Rainbow felt was a big wet slap on the back, then before she could take in a breath the water dragged her completely under.

The water was thick, and blocked out almost all traces of sunlight. All Rainbow saw were different shades of a dark greeny-blue. She struggled, trying to take in air- but none was found here in the water. She held a hoof to her throat, trying to hold the air in- but the strong currents and pressure down here was squeezing her lungs. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, a large cluster of bubbles escaping her throat and thwarting her desperate efforts to hold her breath. She gasped, and couldn't help but take another breath- but all there was was water. She kicked around in the water, hitting some debris occasionally.

Then her head suddenly broke the surface, and she gasped. Fresh, beautiful air flooded into her lungs as she sucked in a huge breath. She tried to flap her wings, but the water had made her feathers heavy. She tried to fly, but couldn't as the water weighed her down. She looked around her- Manehatten was crumbling all around her.

The concrete buildings fell as their support structures were knocked down by the water. There was a loud crack and groaning as the city's tallest skyscraper started tipping, slowly falling towards the water. A huge splash amongst hundreds others exploded outwards as the skyscraper slammed onto the water's surface, then exploded into chunks of metal and concrete as the tsunami smashed it into another building, reducing both to nothing but rubble that was continuously carried downstream.

Rainbow was struggling to stay afloat- there was constantly an undercurrent trying to drag her under. She grabbed desperately at the debris, but they did little to keep her on the surface. Then something clamped around her hoof, and dragged her under.

Through the darkness she saw two glowing red eyes, and a metal body that resembled a sea snake. It cut through the water, dragging Rainbow deeper down.

Rainbow gurgled, and launched a kick at the robot. Hell- these guys are everywhere! She lashed out again, but it wouldn't let go- and Rainbow had a feeling that it won't until she breaks it. She hammered it with her hooves again and again, but the metal was holding together.

Rainbow quickly got her cleaver out from her pocket, the red glow of the Element of Loyalty illuminating the darkness. She slid the handle forward, and aimed it down at the robot's head.

See you in hell, asshole. She thought, and pulled the trigger.

The recoil made her tumble back, and the bullet blew the robot's head into shards. Rainbow quickly packed away the cleaver, swimming up to the surface. But there was debris everywhere down here- all tumbling through the water because of the currents.

She finally broke the surface, and saw that she was nowhere near Manehatten- she was in the sea, the entire city being completely flushed away from one side to the other.

There was a deep whine that shook her bones, traveling up in deafening sound waves from the bottom of the sea.

Whatever it was- it didn't sound friendly. At all.

Rainbow started swimming as fast as she could through the water, pieces of debris starting to bubble up on the surface. Then she felt a strong current draw her back as a huge creature broke the surface behind her, roaring loudly.

"The hay..?" Rainbow was then washed away from the creature as the surface smashed back down, sending her drifting away from the creature in a huge wave.

"Rainbow! Shuck- Rainbow! Can you hear me!?" Octavia's voice came through the miraculously still-working mic.

Rainbow spat out a mouthful of water. "Yeah. Loud and clear. You injured?"

"No- and you don't sound like you are. Are you out at sea!?"

"Well, yeah..."

"I just got info from the fleet- the bomb that was launched earlier was another one of those bio bombs! Get out of the water- now!" Octavia yelled.

"I think I figured that out." Rainbow turned around in the water, looking up as a huge mutated killer whale leaped out of the water; arching smoothly through the air and sliding back under the surface without so much as a splash. It made a dull thud as it slid deep under the sea, leaving nothing but a large ripple behind it.

Rainbow heard it roar underwater again. She started swimming as fast as she could for the nearest land, which was about thirty meters away. Adrenaline pumped through her body, greatly raising her oxygen consumption level. She started slowing down, somehow her body feeling much heavier than it was before.

There was a huge roar behind her, and a loud splash as the killer whale leaped out of the water behind her again, its jaws lined with rows of sharp teeth opening wide enough to swallow a bus without chewing.

And a triple decker at that.

Chapter 5: Seas of Danger

"Soarin! Sir!" the bartender of the small food court of rebellion super cruiser 'OASIS' saluted as Soarin took a seat at the bar table.

"Keep it down... I just need some time to think." Soarin had dark rings under his eyes, and he rubbed his head tiredly.

"I'll fetch your usual then, sir-"

"No, I'm fine- Thank you, officer- but just get me a beer." Soarin said.

"But sir- you always have pie here- is something wrong?"

"What can I say... All of a sudden these memories just spring into your head. I don't know what to believe anymore." Soarin said. "There's a big storm coming... And I really hope it's worth it."

"We all do." a gentle voice said from behind him- sounding equally tired.

"Captain." Soarin said, although it was more of a sigh.

"If I may join you, officer." Spitfire said, sliding out a chair from under the bar table.

"Of course, sir." Soarin said. To have a good friend nearby was always much more comforting and less confusing.

"Drop it, Soarin." Spitfire said, sighing and taking a seat.

"Right, right..." Soarin rubbed his head. "I just don't know what is real, and what isn't. It's giving me one hell of a headache."

"All of it is real." Spitfire surprised Soarin by saying.

"Wonderbolts? That world seems so far away..." Soarin looked around them, at all the dull grey. "I wish those memories were true. But how do you know they're real?"

"The Wardens just informed us on the situation. They'll be helping us during the fight. Apparently the Doctor had his TARDIS hijacked... And most importantly, whoever used it went back in time and killed Starswirl."

"No..." Soarin took a huge gulp out of a beer bottle.

"All we can do now is to get along with whatever this new world throws at us." Spitfire sighed, looking down at the table and tracing the grains of wood with a hoof. "The storm is coming... And not all of us are going to make it." she said.

"Then why are we still trying? We can't win against them..." Soarin said.

"Perhaps we can. Perhaps we can't. We'll never know until we try." Spitfire said, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Soarin asked without looking up.

"Observation deck. Somepony needs to keep this cruiser running." Spitfire sighed. "In the meantime..." she tossed a few coins onto the table before Soarin. "Get yourself a pie, officer. I don't want the stallion guarding my back all sloppy and drunk when the storm hits." she winked, before leaving.

"Captain-" Spitfire stopped as Soarin said.

"Officer?" she asked, tilting her head slightly but not looking back completely.

"You should probably save your money for a reliable umbrella." Soarin said. The storm was about to hit- and he didn't feel up to any task at all.

"The reliable umbrella is being assembled... It just needs a few more parts, and I'm funding it." Spitfire said, walking out. "Have an enjoyable rest of the day, officer."

"You too, captain." Soarin sighed, then called the bartender over. "Get me an apple pie."

*

Magnum leant on the metal railings of a catwalk, overlooking the hangar bay of the OASIS. Ponies scurried here and there, loading equipment onto the drop ships and replenishing ammo. Engineers installed mods on the ships, greatly improving their chances of survival.

The hangar was a huge expanse of empty space, filled in by ships of all sizes docking here and there. The OASIS was a colossal cruiser, spanning over 150 kilometers in length. The hangar was at the very top level of the cruiser, stretching down its length. Hatches in the outer hull open up and let ships out, a shield system keeping the air pressure stabilized.

Magnum sighed. This catwalk was her favorite spot on the entire ship, other than the bridge(which she didn't have a high enough rank to go onto without permission). It overlooked the entire hangar, and for whatever reason being able to see everything made her feel more comfortable. She thought about some pros and cons of the new reality...

Pro. There are lots of ponies that need bullets in their heads.

Con. She just lost every piece of sniping equipment she had in the previous reality.

Pro. Applebloom made her a rifle thingy that could turn into most projectile weapons.

Con. There was a low chance of winning against the science faction.

Magnum sighed again. She couldn't be bothered deciding whether or not she liked this reality better than the previous... There were so many differences.

Suddenly something caught her eye down in the crowds below. She frowned, searching the crowds once again. Nothing was out of the ordinary- But her trained sniper sense just spiked. She ran her eyes over the crowd, down the length of the hangar- but she didn't find that familiar figure again.

"Weird..." she muttered.

*

Rainbow drew the cleaver, and took a deep breath. The killer whale slammed down, and the churning waters and the whale swallowed the blue pegasus.

She managed to avoid the jagged teeth, tumbling straight into the whale's mouth. The whale was still vertical, however; and was still swimming deeper and deeper under the sea.

Rainbow stabbed the cleaver into the whale's tongue, holding onto the handle and hanging there. The cleaver went through the tongue and into the jaw underneath, and the whale roared. Rainbow clung onto it, blood pouring down the side of the whale's tongue and dribbling down onto those large razor sharp teeth below.

Rainbow needed to find a way to kill this thing- and fast. She swung over the cleaver and landed on top of the handle, balancing and wary of the teeth that could tear her apart down below.

She looked towards the other side- which was the top of the mouth. She looked down at the cleaver- it might be able to go through all the rough flesh and penetrate into the whale's brain. But if she were to remove the cleaver- the whale could easily crush her with its tongue.

"Here goes nothing." She said, yanking the cleaver out from underneath her.

As expected, the whale roared again and moved its tongue forward, about to crush Rainbow.

Rainbow swung the cleaver in front of her, sliding the handle forward. She had her back on the whale's tongue, the momentum of the it keeping her in place- other than the fact that she was also covered in saliva, of course.

The cleaver went into the roof of the whale's mouth, crunching against bone and tearing through flesh.

Rainbow was squished against the cleaver handle, and she struggled to hold it away from her ribs. She pulled the trigger, and heard the dull bang travel through the thick layers of flesh. She pulled it again, the cleaver jerking as another bullet was sent into the whale. It roared, and its tongue went back.

Gravity tipped, and Rainbow fell down onto the tongue- the whale was swimming horizontally now. A loud angry whine travelled out from deep inside the animal.

"Shuck..." Rainbow looked up- the cleaver was still stuck in the roof of the whale's mouth. She couldn't fly up there- as her wings and clothes were drenched in saliva.

She ran across the whale's tongue, leaped onto the side and kicked off towards the ceiling. Her hooves brushed the cleaver handle, and she managed to grab hold of it- but it wouldn't fall out. She slammed a hoof on the trigger, and the recoil sent the cleaver flying out with a loud bang and a thud.

Rainbow fell onto the tongue again, bouncing up slightly. She quickly scrambled up, grabbing the cleaver and rolling sideways. Then gravity started tilting once again- the whale was heading towards the surface.

"Whoaoaoa!" she started tumbling down towards the whale's throat. "Ain't getting swallowed by you!"

Her hooves slipped and slid on the saliva coated tongue, and it was curling in above her.

She threw the cleaver as a javelin, and it anchored itself into the roof of the whale's mouth. She leaped off the tongue, which curled in completely seconds later. She grabbed the cleaver handle, then swung up onto it.

"Ah buck." Rainbow muttered, looking up and watching a huge gust of water flood through the killer whale's teeth and splash down towards her.

She grabbed onto the cleaver the best she could, and waited; listening to the growing sound of splashing.

Then it hit her like a brick wall, but still she didn't let go. She took a deep breath earlier, but the impact knocked all the air away from her lungs. She gasped in between big bubbles, but that was the only air she got- not even fresh- it tasted like the inners of a giant mutated whale.

Her hooves were slowly slipping from the cleaver handle, and she fought the currents to get a better grip.

Then everything went back to normal, gravity tilting the right way up. She pulled the trigger, breaking the cleaver away from the top of the whale's mouth.

The whale howled, and Rainbow fell onto its tongue again. The water had washed away, down into other systems of the whale.

Rainbow quickly scrambled up, snatching the cleaver from the ground. Obviously she won't be getting to its brain from down here- there'll be a better chance if she were to stab the cleaver through its skull from the outside.

She ran for the mouth, the teeth already closed. They must be on the surface already, since she could feel the whale bobbing up and down in the waves.

She leveled the cleaver against the rows of teeth, the handle sliding forward with a loud click. The recoil shook large droplets of water and saliva off Rainbow as the muzzle of the cleaver flared up again and again, the bullets pounding and tearing through the teeth. The whale let out a pained roar, flicking its tongue up.

Rainbow ran forward, climbed up the raising tongue and flipped over the tip; leaping onto the raw and bleeding gums of the whale.

There was a loud splash behind her as the tongue crashed back down, and she dive-rolled through a hole she created in its rows of teeth. She grabbed the chipped remains of a tooth above her as she exited, swinging up and over the killer whale's nose. She landed with a gentle thud on top of its head, already running towards where its brain should be under the flesh and skull.

"Dash!"

Somepony called her name, and she looked up.

"Catch!" Nightshade yelled, throwing an explosive knife towards her.

Rainbow caught the knife, pulled the pin; and started running towards the killer whale's blow hole. She stabbed the knife in just as she passed, the cleaver folding into that capsule once again. Nightshade swooped down and caught her by the shoulders, then with a bright flash they were on the beach.

There was a loud bang and tremor, and when they turned around all they saw was a large splash and a cloud of pink mist.

"I'm never ever getting near the sea. Ever again." Rainbow fell back into the sand.

*

Magnum caught sight of that figure again. Now that she had a good look and had time to rake through her memories... It was Deadeye.

She kept a loaded pistol on her belt, ready to be drawn at any second. Clips full of ammo caught a glint of light, all lined up neatly on her belt. Cautiously, she followed Deadeye through crowd.

He turned a corner and away from the hangar, and shortly after Magnum followed. Deadeye started typing in codes to a restricted area, and Magnum slipped in before the doors closed behind him. There was nopony here in these areas- it was the living quarters of L18. The OASIS was divided into several areas for crew, each area with their own code so ponies from other areas can't access them. But now... Magnum was in the L18's quarters, when she clearly had a 'L17' label on her uniform.

Deadeye turned into an empty hall way, stretching far and out of sight, doors lining the sides- the many different bedrooms of the crew.

Magnum drew her pistol, but a little too silently- Deadeye didn't even hear. She clicked the gun loudly, and Deadeye swirled around; his own pistol of the same model drawn.
That's more like it- Magnum thought with an inward grin.

There were two muzzle flashes and a merged bang as they both pulled the trigger.
A loud clang echoed through the silent hallway as a fused bullet clattered to the ground between them.

Then they both started unloading their ammo on each other, the muzzle flares lighting up the dark hallway. Shells flew and clattered against the walls, fused bullets falling out of the air with loud cracks.

The bombardment was followed by empty clicks as they both flicked out their empty magazines, swapping in new ones.

Magnum rolled forward, closing the distance between her and her opponent. She sprung up, firing a bullet into one of Deadeye's own. She launched a kick at his head, but he turned out of the way. He fired a metal slug at her, but she intercepted it with a bullet of her own just as it was about to go through her head.

Deadeye swiped her hooves out from underneath her, the pistol already trained on her forehead. Magnum violently jerked her head to one side, the bullet tearing a smoldering hole in the metal floor beside her ear. She pushed off the floor with her front hooves, launching both back hooves into Deadeye's chest. He grunted, stumbling back as Magnum leaped up, pistol trained on his face.

Deadeye fired, meeting Magnum's bullet just in time. He charged at her, and pulled the trigger when the barrel was only a few inches away from Magnum's forehead. Unluckily for him, Magnum had already anticipated the move; pulling the trigger a split second earlier than he did; knocking the bullet out of the air from the side with her own. The fused bullet spiraled out of control, making a small graze mark on her ear.

Magnum swung her left hoof into Deadeye's face, shattering his nose. He fell back, blood gushing out of his nose. He swung the gun up, the muzzle blazing and the recoil pounding against his hooves.

Magnum didn't even look, just pointed her gun in that general direction. She let the recoil hammer her hoof and travel down her shoulder, listening to the three separate sets of clatters as their bullet shells and the fused bullets fell onto the floor.

Deadeye kicked up, his hoof connecting with the pistol and sending it out of Magnum's hoof.

Magnum didn't bother fetching it- she kept a count in her head on both their clips- she had one bullet left, and Deadeye had none from that missed shot earlier.

As expected, when Deadeye pulled the trigger; there was nothing.

"Keeping count of your ammo is an important part of being a good sniper-" Magnum began.

Deadeye ditched his pistol, leaping up and snatching Magnum's gun out of the air. He shoved Magnum in the chest, causing her to fall over backwards. He pointed the pistol right between her eyes, a grin on his face.

"After all these years... I finally beat you! I finally bucking beat you!" he laughed.

"Dunno what you're talking about." Magnum said, her speech slightly odd; as if she had something in her mouth.

"I have the gun. You don't." Deadeye said.

"Well, I have the bullet." Magnum started chewing on something. "Been such a long time since I tasted gunpowder. Still like strawberry sherbet better." she said, spitting out a bullet and its shell.

Deadeye checked under the gun- the magazine wasn't there... No wonder it felt oddly light.

"Not this agai-" he muttered, and took a kick in the stomach.

"I'll have that-" Magnum ripped her gun from his grip, her other hoof sliding a magazine out from her belt.

Deadeye rolled backwards, grabbed his gun, slipped a full magazine into it, and fired at the same time as Magnum did. The two bullets hit each other, fusing into one and falling onto the ground with a dull clang.

They continued unloading on each other, but no shots caused any damage to anything except the bullets.

Deadeye stopped to reload as both their guns emptied out once again, but was surprised when Magnum ran right up to him and slammed a hoof under his ribs. She flicked her gun into the air, caught it by the top, and smashed the handle down onto Deadeye's head.

There was a loud clatter as his gun and a half loaded magazine fell to the floor.

"Wha...?" he murmured, eyes rolling and stars circling his head.

"Aaaaaaaaaand.... Good night." Magnum tapped him on the forehead, and he fell back onto the floor; unconscious. "Now..." she looked around her, at all the fused bullets and bullet shells. "Time to get away from here."

*

"Surprised to see you here, sir." Soarin said, still sitting at the bar as Shining Armor approached.

"Been up all night monitoring... Well, pretty much everything." the Captain of the Royal Guards yawned. "Nothing like a good cup of cider to cheer me up- you know?"

"Yeah. But it's a pie for me though." Soarin said, and Shining Armor chuckled. "Just down here for a drink, sir?"

"My head also hurts pretty bad. Maybe if I get drunk and make it worse, tomorrow morning it might feel better. You know, in contrast." Shining Armor said, flicking a few bits onto the table as the bartender slid a large cup of foamy apple cider across the table.

"Or I could put a bullet through your head, and you won't have to worry about anything afterwards." a terrifyingly familiar voice said from behind them, and they turned.

Starshine had a pistol trained right between Shining Armor's eyes, a maniac grin on his face.

Chapter 6: Surprise, Mother Bucker!

Rainbow continued following the mysterious blue pegasus, calling and yelling out at her- but she didn't turn around. Nothing she did indicated she knew of her presence at all. Still she chased after the figure, but for some reason the figure seemed to be able to walk faster than her sprinting.

Sure, Rainbow could stop. But that figure had a strong sense of purpose- and Rainbow felt like she'd be non-existent if she let her leave. It's as if the figure could help her in her current state... To explain her insanity. To explain everything.

Rainbow slowed down, trying to catch her breath. The figure continued walking, disregarding her. Rainbow looked up again, eyes narrowed and locked in a determined frown. I don't care who you are- I'll find out why everything is how it is.

*

"Rainbow!" Dainty squealed, tackling Rainbow back onto the sand.

Rainbow hugged her tightly, ruffling her mane lovingly. "I'm so glad you're safe. Thanks, Nightshade."

"There were greater purposes for me to save this filly." Nightshade said simply.

"Sis... I'm scared... I don't know what all these memories are..." Dainty snuggled against her chest.

"I don't know either." Rainbow sighed. "But we'll find out, yeah?"

Dainty nodded.

Octavia noticed Lily staring down at the sand, her expression cloudy.

"Hey... You alright?" She asked, kneeling down before the filly.

"I... I think so. But... Why do I suddenly remember my mom and dad's... Grave...?"

Octavia froze. Lily's parents were still alive in the previous reality.... But they died getting her out from underground in this reality.

"Don't worry. It's nothing." Octavia lied- she simply couldn't bare telling Lily the truth. She gave her a quick squeeze, and ruffled her mane. "Come on. Once this war is over, everything will be back to normal."

"O...Ok..." Lily said, but Octavia could clearly tell she still wasn't convinced.

"We should get moving. The moment the barricade finds us, they'll start raining us with troops again. The only bridge from here to the mainland is still intact... From there we cross Fillydelphia and Ponyville." Nightshade said, looking out towards mainland Equestria.

"There's a long road ahead, isn't there..." Rainbow sighed.

*

"Nopony move!" Starshine yelled. "Or the captain dies."

The bar froze, and Soarin gritted his teeth together. Shining Armor looked Starshine in the eye, his gaze unwavering and a slight frown on his face.

"So everything changes in this new world, aye..." he said, narrowing his eyes.

"Of course it does." Starshine said. "Stand up, captain."

Shining Armor did so, raising his arms to show he wasn't armed.

"Sir!" Soarin warned in a hushed tone through gritted teeth.

Shining Armor flicked his wrist, indicating for him to shut up.

"Kneel down." Starshine said, flicking the pistol towards the ground.

"Uh... No." Shining Armor said.

"No?" Starshine raised an eyebrow. "There won't be a second warning."

"Still a no." Shining Armor said. The guards in the background stirred, ready to draw their weapons. The captain made a few movements with his eyes, telling them to stand down. They seemed to get the message, as the took their hooves away from their weapons.

"You asked for it." Starshine grinned.

There was a loud bang and flash as he pulled the trigger. Shining Armor flinched, taking a step back. There was no blood, just a crushed bullet that fell on the floor out of mid-air. The bar watched in shock as Starshine looked down at the crushed bullet.

"The hell?" he exclaimed, aiming for Shining Armor's head and pulling the trigger once again. There were two separate clunks as a crushed bullet and its shell clattered to the ground.

Starshine roared, emptying the clip at Shining Armor- but none of the bullets hit. They all got crushed in mid-air, then fell onto the ground in metal pancakes. Soarin had his mouth wide open, staring in awe.

Starshine fired the last bullet, but instead of it getting crushed; it stopped in mid air with a jump of sparks.

"What sorcery...?" he gasped, taking a step back.

The air in front of Shining Armor rippled, a dark shape appearing. Neon let go of the bullet that she pinched out of the air, her blank expression unreadable.

"Surprise, mother bucker." she said, slamming a fist into Starshine's face. He crashed into a table behind him, crushing the glassware and plates with his back, also cracking the weak wooden table in half. He crashed through, slamming onto the cold metal floor.
"Try not to destroy the bar." Shining Armor said.

"Done." Neon closed a claw around Starshine's head, lifted him off the ground; and slammed him back into the ground again. The strike was controlled, with only enough power to knock him out but not as to cause too much damage.

"Officers... Lock him away." Shining Armor said, taking his seat at the bar table again; picking up his cup of cider and taking a sip. "Thanks Neon. Want a drink?"

"I would enjoy the social factor, however am incapable of consuming alcoholic goods."
"Just sit down." Shining Armor said irritably as two officers dragged an unconscious Starshine out of the bar.

*

"Ma'am." an officer saluted as Spitfire entered the bridge, a command center high above the rest of the OASIS; overlooking the huge kilometer-long super cruiser. The sun's rays were disrupted by the hundreds of science faction ships crowded around it, traveling into the bridge in broken pieces. To the left was Earth, once a beautiful blue and green and white planet. But now it was nothing but a dirt brown and dull grey, a wasteland created by the barricade- a dark grey web strung over the atmosphere.

Crowded around the planet were the science faction ships, hidden within the fleet several other rebellion cruisers like the OASIS. In the middle of the mass was the largest ship of them all- the S.F. COLOSSUS, the Science Faction flagship. It was at least twenty times larger than the OASIS- and some say it was so huge it had its own gravitational pull, and had to have special generators installed to counter the effect.

Spitfire trotted across the bridge, slowing to a stop in front of the huge windows of the bridge. She gazed out towards space, the stars shimmering in the infinite darkness. In this brand new reality... Everything was so much different. She was viewing a sight she never thought she'd ever see- it was as if she were in a different world.

"Ma'am." the officer said again, standing behind her with a data pad.

"Yes, officer?" Spitfire turned away from the majestic sight of space to face the officer.

"There has been an assassination attempt on Captain Shining Armor in the bar."

"An 'attempt'. Didn't succeed, so just lock the damn bastard up and forget it." Spitfire said irritably.

"We already did that, ma'am."

"Well," Spitfire sighed, heading down to the lower levels of the bridge to check on the weapons systems. "I guess you're a bucking genius then."

"Uh..."

"Don't answer that. Just interrogate the assassin and see what you could get out of him- anything would be nice. Try not to kill him." Spitfire said, waving the officer off.

"Yes ma'am." the officer said obediently, turning and leaving.

Spitfire walked through the rows and rows of monitors. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary- everything was normal. Everything was calm- and Spitfire liked it that way. Sometimes she felt scared about the storm, and what it might bring- but that's what Soarin's here for. She supports him so he could support her when she needs it- and sure, he could be a great comfort when he needed to be one.

She sighed, stopping and facing the wall at the end of the bridge. What could be the worst to happen? The world burns and kills everypony? That might be a good thing, in a way. But no- she would never let that happen.

She pounded a hoof against the metal wall, her eyes narrowed into a determined frown. She will protect everypony with her new authority. She will make sure none of them get hurt. She will make sure that she uses her new authority perfectly.

"I won't let anypony get hurt." she said to herself, shaking away any doubt in her heart. She'll make sure everypony lives through this crisis. She'll see to it.

*

Rainbow gazed out towards the far side of the suspension bridge, trying in vain to ignore the snapped wires and cracked cement roads.

"Remind me why we have to cross this thing again?" she raised an eyebrow.

"It's the only bridge that leads to the mainland, in the direction we need to be heading.
We just need to get through Fillydelphia and Ponyville to get to Foal Mountains- and I can't teleport because there are too many obstacles in the way." Nightshade said. "We'll just have to slowly cross it."

"Why can't you teleport with obstacles around?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, I could; but one of you might end up fused with an object if I miscalculate- given the fact that I don't use teleportation spells, and my ability is a mere lucky magical mutation. And taking you guys one by one is too dangerous- knowing the science faction, they could do something to you if you're alone in two seconds. If we stick together, it's harder for them to get to us." Nightshade said, taking a weapon from a nearby dead assault unit. There were carcasses of science faction units all over the place- but not a sign of organic units. "Check around corners. It's not just the robots we should be worrying about."

"Gotcha." there were several clicks as Rainbow's cleaver unfolded in her hooves.
Nightshade continued searching the assault unit for other weapons. She stood up, turning to the fillies and handing them a pistol each.

"You two know how to use these?"

"I...I guess..." Dainty shivered.

"Stay in the center, you two. Octavia and Rainbow, you two stay upfront. I'll be at the rear." Nightshade said.

"Got it." Octavia said, picking up an anti-matter rifle off the floor.

The bridge was in a really bad state, and looked like it could collapse at any moment- but it was the only way across to where they needed to go. Rusting remains of cars were scattered across the cracked streets, weed and grass growing out of the cracks. The bright painted colors were long gone, all decayed into a revolting brown. Indistinguishable pieces of vehicles and other mechanical products could be found here and there, with the occasional old splatter of blood.

"Shoot at anything that moves. We don't know what's out here, so stay sharp. Rainbow, Octavia, take the lead." Nightshade said, following the group as they started making their way across the bridge.

There was an unnatural eery silence as they set hooves on the bridge. All they could hear were each other's breathing, and their own silently echoing hoofsteps. Octavia swung around the first car, checking if there was anypony or anything hiding behind it. She raised a hoof, waving them on.

Nightshade peered behind them, her hooves ready to whip to her side and draw out the throwing knives.

Slowly they moved through the cars, keeping an eye out for each and every corner. They all suddenly stopped as they heard a deep moan, their ears turning this way and that; trying to locate the sound.

"That is not good..." Rainbow muttered.

"It's still alive." Nightshade said, drawing out an explosive knife. "Everypony go! Faster- come on! The thing could easily take down the bridge or leap over it- GO!" she ushered the fillies to run, waving at Octavia and Rainbow to tell them to start moving.

Then there was silence again, but they didn't stop; the sound of their own hoofsteps pursuing them. Slowly growing in volume, was the sound of water moving away from an object- and it was getting closer.

There was a slight ripple on a surface as a fin emerged from the depths, sliding through the sea and leaving behind it a trail of disrupted water.

"Shuck- here it comes!" Rainbow yelled, sliding the cleaver handle forward.

"Octavia- use the anti-matter rifle! Since water is matter- you might be able to create a big enough explosion to kill it!" Nightshade said.

"Right." Octavia said, raising the rifle. A purple beam shot out of the rifle, slithering through the air and making contact with the water. She held down the trigger, the glow of the beam intensifying.

"Careful now-" Rainbow warned.

"Trigger's jammed!" Octavia yelled, struggling to unlock the jammed trigger. The aging rifle must've had some defects over the years of just lying on the street.

"Let go of it!" Nightshade yelled.

But it was already too late- the beam overrode the safety mechanisms, firing the rifle. However, because of the intense heat and energy used to contain the anti-matter, the containment cylinder had melted away- the anti-matter fired was unstable. While most of it was directed into the water, some escaped.

There was a bright purple flash as the rifle exploded into sparks and webs of purple lightning, pieces of metal flying everywhere. Octavia screamed, falling back and hitting her back on a car with a loud clunk and crack.

"Shuck-" Rainbow cursed, running to her side. "Octavia! Look at me-" she waved her hooves frantically in front of her face.

Octavia moaned, clutching her head. She didn't seem to sustain any physical damage, despite the carnage.

The beam of anti-matter channeled through the air, hitting the area of water behind the mutated killer whale. There was a bright purple and yellow explosion, much larger than the one earlier. A huge wave of water exploded outwards, flying high up into the sky and creating a micro tsunami on the surface.

The killer whale roared, but its momentum kept it going. Its dead body flipped on its side, tumbling through the water. Waves and water leaped out of the way as it continued its rampage through the sea, now completely out of control. It hit a wave head on, the force causing it to flip into the air. Then its side slammed into one of the supports of the bridge.

One of the only two.

The age old and decaying concrete was long battered and scarred by the pounding waves of the new wasteland, and the huge mass of the whale barreled right through it- reducing it into chunks that flew up into the air, then crashing back down into the water in huge splashes.

"Buck-" Rainbow almost stumbled over as the bridge tilted violently to one side, the steel framing inside the concrete groaning loudly. Several loud cracks were heard as the gravel roads began splitting apart- the bridge was ripping itself to pieces.

Then there were loud clunks and splashes as the section where the support was knocked out began collapsing, cars and pieces of the bridge alike tumbling into the turmoil of water below.

"Run! RUN!!" Nightshade yelled, pushing the fillies forward as they started galloping towards the far other side.

"Come on, Octavia-" Rainbow dug a hoof under Octavia's arm, lifting her to her hooves.
"Go..." Octavia managed, rubbing her head. She was in a very bad state- her face pale, and she was barely supporting herself.

"Not a chance." Rainbow said, lifting her onto her back.

"Oh shuck-" Nightshade cursed as she spotted an anti-matter rifle being crushed under a falling piece of concrete.

The anti-matter was released, mixing with the normal matter and causing an explosion the size of a micro nuke just twenty meters behind them. The explosion set off a chain reaction, lighting up the remaining fuel inside the cars and sending them high up into the sky with huge fireballs.

"Come on! GO!!" Rainbow yelled, carrying Octavia on her back and galloping on all fours towards the opposite end, zig-zagging through all the cars.

Now they had not only a collapsing bridge chasing them, but also large unstoppable chain of exploding cars.

All they heard were the loud booms, and saw their own dancing shadows in front of them as they were backlit by the fireballs.

Nightshade yanked Lily to one side, a flaming car sent up into the air earlier slamming down into that exact spot where she was a second ago. She covered her face from the licking flames, pushing the screaming fillies on.

There was a distinct boom behind her, and she turned around to look up.

A large passenger bus had been flipping high up into the air, its burning carcass leaving a large trail of thick black smoke behind it as it arched down straight for them. There was no place to run away to, no cover to hide behind.

But it wasn't over- it never was.

Nightshade whipped out several explosive throwing knives, pulling the pins on them all. She threw them up into strategically calculated places of the belly of the bus. A second later, when the bus was about to fall and crush them; it exploded with a loud bang and a bright yellow flash. It was sent tumbling back into the flames as the explosives went off, the force knocking it out of its original trajectory.

"KEEP MOVING!!" Nightshade yelled as she pushed the fillies onwards.

Smoldering remains of cars rained down from the sky, arching high over head and slamming down with loud cracks. Some tumbled off the side, splashing into the comparably dark waters and disappearing under the surface.

"Get out of the way!!" Rainbow yelled, quickly darting to the side.

Nightshade looked behind them- an explosion had ripped through a really long car, sending it straight across and tumbling right down the middle of the street- headed straight for them.

"Shuck."

Chapter 7: Crippled

Nightshade quickly shoved Dainty to the far left side, while she grabbed Lily and leaped to the right. She landed on her back, skimming it on the rough gravel. She grunted, but was grateful as the car tumbled past, hit another car, flipped high up into the air; and crashed back down into a squished metal pancake.

"You alright?" she asked, quickly getting up and helping Dainty to her hooves.

"I-I'm f-f-fine... Thanks..." Dainty said. All the chaos was enough to traumatized her for the next ten years.

"Good. Let's go!" Nightshade continued running, urging the two fillies on.

They had caught up to Rainbow and Octavia now, still pursued by the chaos- and they were almost at the end.

"Buck..." Rainbow muttered, slowing to a stop as she spotted a huge oil tanker on its side, sitting in the middle of the street. "NIGHTSHADE! HURRY!!!" she yelled, taking off again.

Nightshade ran past the oil tanker- and it didn't look like it was empty. They continued running- the other safe side was mere meters away.

Suddenly a huge boom pounded their eardrums, filling their ears with ringing. Rainbow leaped forward as the bridge underneath her was destroyed completely, shattering into large chunks and falling away. She and Octavia tumbled onto the other side, grunting as they rolled across the dirty gravel road.

The world was a black and orange blur as Rainbow's eyes went out of focus. Then she seemed to wake from a bad dream, jerking up and breathing hard. Her eyes focused on the far end- Nightshade was closer to the oil tanker explosion, and took the worst of it.

Nightshade looked behind her, seeing the flames expand outwards and about to consume them. She pulled the fillies close, closing her bat wings around them and protecting them from the fire. They suddenly disappeared behind the wall of flame, but then as the explosion stalled they flew back out again.

A piece of flying metal had ripped through Nightshade's left wing, tearing a piece of bone out from under her flesh. She screamed, tried to keep her hold on the fillies- but her mind couldn't focus. Lily was carried along with Nightshade's momentum, and they both hit the ground on the other side. Nightshade screamed again as her wing was crushed under her body onto the ground, then her momentum carried her over the rough gravel- it was like someone was using sandpaper and grinding it against an exposed bone in her wing.

Dainty had been hit on the shoulder by the piece of metal from earlier, but it failed to do any damage as Nightshade's wing provided the sufficient protection. She fell short, hitting the side and managing to hold on to the edge.

"RAINBOW!" she screamed.

Rainbow felt her heart drop as Nightshade lay writhing on the floor, a white piece of bone half dragged out of her bleeding wing. But Dainty was the priority now. She ran forward, leaping forward as Dainty's hooves began slipping off the edge. She lunged, thrusting her arms out- but missed Dainty's falling hooves by a millimeter.

"Dainty!" she yelled, desperately grabbing at Dainty's arm- but the filly was already out of reach.

Rainbow swung over the edge, streamlining her wings and ready to have them spring back into action whenever she needs them to. Pieces of debris from the bridge were falling with them, large chunks of concrete with jagged steel rods sticking out of them falling dangerously close.

Rainbow managed to grab hold of Dainty's shoulders just before they hit the water, and stretched out her wings. She felt the sudden decrease in force, her hoof tips scraping the water surface as the debris fell with huge splashes all around them. With powerful beats of her wings, she flew back up to the safety of ground.

They touched down gently on the broken road, and Rainbow gently let Dainty down.

"You alright?" she asked, kneeling down and laying a hoof on the filly's shoulder.

Dainty nodded, a little shaken though.

"Go stay with Lily and Octavia..." Rainbow said, giving her a gentle pat on the head. "I need to check on Nightshade."

Nightshade was trying to get up, but kept stumbling back over. Her wing was bent completely out of shape, looked like it was broken in several places; and had a white and red piece of bone sticking out the top- about thirty centimeters long.

"Nightshade!" Rainbow yelled, running to help her up.

"I'm fine." Nightshade grunted through clamped teeth. Her wing twitched, and she groaned, her entire body shaking.

Rainbow ripped off a corner of her dark coat, about to use it as a bandage when she realized the piece of bone would get in the way. Nightshade seemed to notice too, and took in a deep breath.

Rainbow wrapped the piece of fabric around her own arm, stretching her arm out in front of Nightshade; fully aware of her sharp bat pony vampire teeth. It didn't need explaining.

Nightshade looked at the arm, then at her. She gave an apologetic expression, and carefully clamped her jaw around Rainbow's arm.

She reached around her back, finding the piece of bone- and started pushing it back into her own wing. She groaned, and Rainbow looked away. She could feel Nightshade's sharp teeth digging through the fabric and into her flesh. She ground her teeth together, but knew Nightshade was in a lot more pain.

Inch by inch, the bone shifted through Nightshade's flesh and slowly went back into place. She was screaming, but it was muffled by the fabric wrapped around Rainbow's arm. Her entire body was trembling, and tears were leaking out of her tightly closed eyes. They streamed down her cheeks, glimmering in the light.

Her hoof twitched, abruptly shoving the piece of bone several inches. She screamed into Rainbow's arm, her body shaking. Rainbow couldn't do much to help- all she could do was let Nightshade bite her arm.

Then, finally; the piece of bone went back into place. The pressure on Rainbow's arm loosened, and Nightshade backed away. She tried to stand, but her shaky and weak legs made her fall over. Rainbow caught her, gently laying her down on the ground.

The bat pony's breathing was irregular, and it almost seemed as if she was struggling- her chest heaving with every breath. She looked at Rainbow apologetically, through tired, half closed eyes with tears still leaking out of them.

"This should slow the bleeding... But we need to get you to a medical pony straight away- in this wasteland, could get infected any time." Rainbow said, tying the piece of fabric tightly around Nightshade's wing. She flinched, but didn't make a sound.

Rainbow helped her up, and they started slowly walking to Octavia's side.

"Is she alright?" Rainbow asked Dainty.

"I don't know... She's alive, but..." Dainty seemed worried.

"Foreign matter poisoning." Nightshade said from in between heavy breaths. "Her body's been affected by the anti-matter. The normal matter is becoming unstable... It'll take a few decades for it to kill her- but she won't be having a good time before that."

"Damnit..." Rainbow muttered, gently laying Nightshade down and kneeling beside Octavia. Her breathing was weak, but none the less- she was conscious and alive. She didn't seem to be able to move at all, and seemed to be too tired to even fully open her eyes.

She looked at Rainbow, her face filled with regret. She didn't say anything, but Rainbow recognized that look.

"I'm not leaving you behind. Not any of you- we're all sticking together." Rainbow said, looking at the faces around her- all the ponies she cared about. All slowly falling apart, slowly being driven mad by this new reality- and she couldn't say she fared any better.

*

The A.O.S.C. CYCLOPS was a huge Athena Orbital Strike Cannon, built into a large cruiser and taking up over sixty percent of the area of the cruiser. It had huge thrusters at the back and on either side, making for precise adjustments. Laser beacon targeting systems help guide the colossal prism cannon on target- in fact, the huge cannon was so precise it could hit an apple from several light years away- but you won't be able to find the apple after the cannon fires though.

The CYCLOPS was named so because that it was the only prism cannon in the Science Faction space fleet- secretly under magic faction control, however. It was like the eye of the monster, once it sees you- well, prepare for a beating.

A Prism Cannon is exactly what the name suggests- millions of solar panels are located all over the hull, sucking in light energy from the sun and used to power the cannon. A series of prisms, mirrors and optics are located inside the barrel, and when an altered wave of energy is transferred through these prisms; it is concentrated into a singular beam with all the energy still tightly packed inside. It was accurate because it was essentially a huge beam of light with a two kilometer radius, traveling straight unless there was a black hole nearby- in which case there never was. Despite all this, it all seemed less intimidating due to the beam's rainbow colors.

The bridge was completely empty and silent- the rest of the crew in the cantina and eating dinner. Iris could hear the remnants of their laughter from all the way up here, sitting on the cold metal ground of the higher level of the bridge, holding onto the handrails and looking down at the empty bridge. He hated how life was right now- he had to pull on a completely different mood, a happy mood when the crew was around. Truth was the Captain of the huge A.O.S.C. was never really like that. He hated how he had to be fake... And relished every time the crew would leave for whatever. Because he could be true to himself- and whoever still remained, which was nopony.

Well, almost nopony- he thought as he heard a set of familiar gentle hoofsteps behind him of a certain alicorn.

Ally took a seat beside him, eyes lowered. Iris didn't move- he just kept staring into the infinite darkness of space. The two have been married for several years now, and understood each other more than themselves- but there were times where not talking was still the best option.

They watched the sun slowly disappear around the rim of the Earth, the light dimmed by the heavily shaded windshields of the bridge. None the less, they could still see everything clearly. Slowly the moon came around the other end, a large silver sphere, glowing dimly in the sunlight. It was odd- being able to see the sun and the moon at the same time, and it was neither day nor night.

"It's a beautiful sight, isn't it?" Ally said, looking up and out into space.

"Yeah." Iris said, his tone not showing any improvement in mood.

Ally didn't speak for a second, her head slowly drooping to look at the empty rows of monitors down below. Iris had always been in a bad mood recently... And it bothered her because she didn't know why.

But she had to know though. "Iris?" she asked.

Iris tilted his head slightly, showing nothing but the quarter of a grim face.

"What's wrong?" Ally asked, gently laying a hoof on his shoulder.

Iris sighed, and for a moment seemed like he wasn't going to talk- but he did.

"I always have this gutted feeling. Like I'm going to lose something important to me, you know?" he said, shaking his head. "I couldn't shake it off, even if I pretend to myself I'm a happy stallion. I couldn't pretend myself..." he looked at Ally. "Something bad is going to happen.... I know it."

Ally gave him a quick squeeze. "At least we've got each other's backs, right?"

Iris chuckled. "That's where the problem is... I get randomly promoted to captain of the only A.O.S.C. in this galaxy when I come into this reality, and now I've got half a dozen lives and possibly the tide of this entire war on my hooves... I don't know if I'll be up to it." he said.

"You will." Ally said, hugging him close. "And you know what is important- you know what you have to make as your priority. It doesn't matter if you don't have my back- because I'll always have yours."

Iris smiled sadly, hugging Ally back.

"You've always had mine in the past. When I couldn't help but turn into that monster... You were always there to restrain me. Now you need to help win this war, it's time for my turn." Ally said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Thanks, Ally." Iris said, returning the favor.

That was accompanied by silence, as the sun fully disappeared around the edge of the Earth. The distant ships and cruisers were only outlined by a single line of reflecting sunlight, otherwise blended into the darkness around them.

"You know..." Iris said, standing up. "I heard the berry cider at the cantina is really good- haven't really tried some for myself." he stretched, yawning slightly.

Ally grinned, also standing up. "As I said, I've got your back- if you get too drunk."

Iris chuckled. "I won't."

*

Nightshade could walk on her own now- so that was good. After all, it was her wing that was damaged- not her legs. Rainbow still had to carry Octavia around though, as she was pretty much unconscious. Her warm breath on Rainbow's shoulder was comforting, as it meant she was still alive. The fillies trotted by them, looking worriedly about their new reality.

Fillydelphia was a relatively urban city like Manehatten. Keyword: was. The buildings are all rotting in the dim evening light, traces of green plant life clinging onto those bare concrete walls. The vegetation had gone completely wild, stray seeds of grass wondering onto the cracked gravel streets, tree roots sticking out from underneath the plates. The evening sunlight was sifted through the thick layers of leaves, coming through as rays- this was really more of an urban jungle.

Unlike many other places the group had been to, the city was full of sound. The chirping of birds, the ruffling of leaves as they took off into the sky. It was a lot more natural and less eery than the dull silence of Manehatten.

The structures towered high above them, peaking through the occasional break in the layers of leaves. The place was certainly good for cover from the barricade- with all the trees, even the streets were safe from prying eyes- but the science faction knew this.

"The hay are these?" Rainbow wondered, looking down at what seemed to be giant footprints sunk into the gravel roads; disappearing into the shadows of the jungle further down.

"Still look fresh." Nightshade said, examining one of them. "Look out, everypony. We've got S.F. Walkers in the area."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Walkers. Giant mechs piloted by ponies from the inside. There are different models- and we seem to have a light recon model in the area." Nightshade said- the footprints seem to be in pairs- and the recon units are much smaller than normal units, so just having two legs seem to match. Despite being the 'smallest' in all models, recon units still tower over seven meters in height.

"What do we do? It's heading the same way as we are." Rainbow said, peering down the dark roads.

"It's probably way ahead already- not something we should be worrying about right now." Nightshade said, looking around them. "We need food, and supplies. And shelter. This is going to be a tough night... Without proper shelter we'll have the mutated all over us in seconds."

Rainbow peered up through the leaves and into the evening sky. They didn't have long.
"Any one of these abandoned buildings should do the trick, aye?" she asked, walking towards one nearby.

Then she stopped- she could swear she saw something stir in the shadows. She drew her cleaver, sliding the handle forward and slowly advancing; the barrel level with where the movement last was.

"Sis... I don't think we're alone..." Dainty whimpered, slowly backing away from a bush, her eyes wide with fright.

Lily saw something move out of the corner of her eye, and swung around. But there was nothing there. Whatever was with them, the noises they were making were being masked by the loud chirping of the birds.

Nightshade drew a throwing knife from her side, the sharp edge catching a ray of sunlight and glinting brightly in the dark shadows. She ignored the pain in her wing, standing tall and surveying the area around them. There was definitely movement- but as far as she knew, mutations don't move tactically- yet. This could only mean there were other ponies out here.

"Don't move. Drop your weapons." a voice said, and Rainbow pointed the cleaver in that direction.

Unfortunately, that didn't do much good as they heard loud clicks all around them. A group of ponies emerged from the darkness, dressed in seemingly scavenged clothes and dirty yellow thin coats. Their faces were hidden in the shadows of the hoods pulled over their heads. They all had their rifles raised, about eight of them slowly circling the small group.

"Damnit." Rainbow muttered, folding her cleaver and letting it drop to the ground.

The mercenaries closed in, taking their weapons away from them.

Author: out of interest- who's your favorite character in this series so far? This is for the BH Christmas special! Coming in December

Chapter 8: No Place is Safe

"On the ground- search their pockets!" a stallion commanded, gesturing at the group with a hoof while keeping his rifle firmly trained on Rainbow's head.

Slowly, the group knelt down, the mercenaries' rifles following their heads.

"Didn't think we'd run into mercenaries this quick." Nightshade muttered.

"Leave them- stand down." a voice said, and another hooded figure emerged from the darkness; a thread of grey hair peaking out from under the hood.

"Ma'am?" the stallion raised an eyebrow.

"I know these ponies." the hooded pony insisted, laying a hoof on the stallion's rifle and bringing it down.

Rainbow studied the figure- she was obviously the leader of the small group, the dark yellow skin on her hooves seemingly merging with the background. Her cutie mark was hidden under her coat, like the other figures standing around them.

The figure slowly took off her hood, a long silky mane of various shades of grey dangling down by her side. Purple irises were only part of that famous grin.

"Wha...?" Rainbow tilted her head to one side.

"Stand up- up you go." Daring Do pulled Rainbow to her hooves, and some of her followers helped Octavia and Nightshade up. The fillies scuttled behind the older ponies, scared of the new ponies.

"So I should've thought- a survivalist and adventurer like you- obviously out here in the wasteland." Rainbow said, grinning.

"Tell me about it-" Daring said, then dropped her grin. "Better get inside first. It's getting dark, and you don't want to be out here when the moon goes up. Hand them their weapons!" she said, turning away and walking down the way she came. "Follow!" she waved a hoof in the air.

Rainbow took her cleaver back from the stallion. Their eyes met, both cold and unwavering- however no grudge was held.

They followed Daring Do into the jungles, all the new ponies seemingly familiar with the paths. Well, of course they were- who knows how many years they've been living here?
'Living' might even be an overstatement, seeing their state. 'Surviving' sounded more appropriate.

"You've got two wounded, right? Base has some medical supplies left... Let's see if that'll help." Daring said to Rainbow, who was trotting at a moderate pace behind her.

"One with a messed up wing. The other has foreign matter poisoning." Rainbow said.

"Not sure if we'll be able to do anything about the foreign matter poisoning- but we'll do our best." Daring said.

"You know-" Rainbow started, after a long period of silence. "You could've perfectly took us down right there instead of wasting your supplies on us."

"I know. But maybe some of you are more valuable to us than supplies." Daring said simply. Suddenly she held up a hoof, and everypony stopped. Her ears twitched, turning this way and that- and soon enough, they could hear the constant heavy rumbling as something pounded against the earth.

"Walkers." Rainbow whispered.

"Everypony- make a run for it!" Daring said in a hushed tone, gesturing in the direction they were running in. "The walker should distract the mutated for now- go! GO!"

They ran through the jungle, leaping over the roots of some old trees and ducking under vines. There was nothing but the fading pounding, the rustling of grass and leaves as they ran through the jungle, and their controlled breaths.

There was a fog coming in- slowly seeping through the thick vegetation. It became hard to see the far side, with the fog shielding up everything and the darkness not doing much to help either.

"We're here." Daring Do whispered as they approached a thick wall of vines. She reached into the vines, and Rainbow heard a soft click before the vines fizzled and faded away. "Hologram." Daring explained.

There was a heavy metal door behind it, nuts and bolts running along the edges. There were a few beeps as she punched a code into a small console on the side, and with a loud click the door unlocked.

"Get the wounded to the med bay and see what you can do." Daring said, opening the door and letting the others pass. "I got to exchange a few words with Rainbow here."

Nightshade eyed Rainbow, who nodded a reassurance. Nightshade nodded back, her look saying 'stay careful'.

"Sis..." Dainty asked worriedly.

"Don't worry. These ponies are friendly." Rainbow smiled, patting her on the head. She turned to look at both of the fillies. "You two be good... Cause I'll know."

"Ok." Lily said, feeling slightly relieved that there were actually other ponies out here. They were led off to the med bay by several other ponies, following Nightshade and Octavia.

Daring activated the holograms again, closing the door and locking it behind her. The hallway inside was well lit, doors lining the walls. The group headed down one way, and Rainbow was about to follow them when Daring placed a hoof on her shoulder.

"This way. They're going to the med bay- I need to speak to you about this whole situation." Daring said, leading the way down a different hallway.

After walking through a small maze of doors and corridors, she opened a much more intact door and stepped in. Rainbow followed her into what seemed to be a small office, salvaged goods and files lining the rotting shelves. There were some furniture- several badly ripped armchairs and sofas, plus a glass table with rotting wood. But still- it was a comfortable sight after all the chaos of the previous day. Rainbow sat down, letting out a sigh of relief- her hooves ached from walking all day, and her body was tired.

Daring took a seat opposite her, a serious expression on her face.

"Rainbow- I'm going straight to the question at hoof. Do you know what's going on?" she asked.

"Not a clue." Rainbow said, sighing. "But apparently everypony else have two sets of memories?"

"You mean you don't?" Daring raised an eyebrow.

"No, I don't. You do though?" Rainbow asked.

"Everypony should." Daring said, running a hoof through her mane. "And I do. So which set do you have? You know who I am- right?"

"Yeah. I've got whichever one that isn't this one. I don't even know what happened here... I was sitting in the backyard, then all of a sudden I was getting chased by science faction assault units." Rainbow said.

"I see..." Daring muttered, her mind drifting elsewhere. Then she seemed to snap back, sitting up and leaning forward. "Then let me fill you in on what I know- then you tell me what you know. Exchange info."

"Go ahead." Rainbow said. "All I know is that the Science Faction and the barricade is all back up."

"Right. Then you know about twenty percent of the Science Faction space fleet are actually Magic controlled?"

"Yep."

"Okay..." Daring rubbed her hooves together. "The rest of out kind are working underground as slaves, after Science won the first war. We were forced to go down underground, as the surface was filled with mutations and other things you won't want to run into. All the creatures are under the control of the barricade, and they'll kill anypony- or anything- that tries to rebel. They constantly have patrols across the surface, taking down survivors like us." Daring said, leaning back into the ripped sofa. "We heard there was a safe haven roughly six hundred kilometers north-west of here, controlled by a trio going by the code name of 'CMC'. Familiar?"

"Yeah... I haven't heard of this safe haven before, but I think I know who's commanding it." Rainbow said.

"Anyway- they're located deep in the mountain ranges of the Crystal Mountains, beside the remains of the Crystal Empire. They keep on radio broadcasts- signaling survivors to join them at the haven. But many think it's unsafe there- the haven is too large, and easy to be discovered. If we stay scattered... There's a lower chance of the science faction finding us."

"But wouldn't the barricade see it?" Rainbow asked.

"No- they used the Crystal Tower in the center of the Crystal Empire as an amplifier and relay, casting a mirage spell that reflects and covers the entire haven. According to them, anyway... We were planning to go, but there are some of us that don't want to."

"Wait a second- radio broadcasts? They can pass word around?" Rainbow was intrigued- if the sun was really worth a shot like Octavia explained, then the haven could be used to direct the magic faction out of the underground and fight.

"Yeah- they can. DJ-PON3 is their broadcaster." Daring said. "Why?"

"I'll tell you in a minute- you keep going." Rainbow said quickly.

Daring cleared her throat loudly. "Anyway. The haven was supposed to be a gathering ground for the survivors... But barely any turned up. We were going to head out tomorrow. Now- what do you know?"

"I was sent from a secret underwater magic faction HQ from the Atlantic ocean- well, apparently anyway. I don't remember anything." Rainbow said. "But... Apparently the Science Faction space fleet has taken a sudden interest in the sun... And because of our insiders, we managed to learn that there was a surface base in Foal Mountains- we were sent to retrieve intel, because from what we managed to gather the sun might be able to tilt the balance of this entire situation."

"How?" Daring asked, fascinated.

"I don't know- and I don't think anypony does. But this intel could be very well worth a shot." Rainbow said.

Daring was silent for a moment, trying to piece everything together in her head. "But do you know why all of a sudden we have these memories?"

"Not a clue..." Rainbow sighed.

"Damn..." Daring ruffled her own mane frustratedly.

"We'll find out eventually- don't worry." Rainbow said.

"Yeah, but-" Daring started, but was interrupted by a loud siren that shook her bones in her flesh. "Bucking hell!!" she yelled, getting up.

"What's going on?" Rainbow asked.

"Front door's been breached." Daring explained. "That siren only goes off when that happens." she walked up to a book shelf, grabbed the edges and brought the entire thing crashing down onto the floor; revealing a hole dug into the thick concrete wall behind it. She reached in, plucking out a double barreled shotgun from its hiding place. There was a loud click as she slammed the handle forward, loading the gun. "We have emergency stashes all over the place." she explained.

"Right." Rainbow said, flicking out her cleaver and sliding the handle forward.

"Who is it!?" Daring yelled at a nearby stallion, the safety off on his rifle.

"S.F. Assault units!" he replied, gesturing down the hallway.

"Get to the broadcast room. Put the stronghold on high alert- weapons hot, safety's off."

"Copy, ma'am." the stallion said, saluting and running off down the hallway.

The place was beginning to fill up with activity, ponies stirring and waking from rest. Some of them emerged from their shelters, weapons in hooves.

"Giddy-up ponies! They've found us!" Daring yelled, banging the butt of the shotgun loudly on a metal door, the echoing hollow sound echoing down the corridors with her voice. She turned to Rainbow. "We better get to the med bay."

Rainbow nodded, following Daring as she sprinted down the hallway.

"How the hell did they find us!?" she asked.

"They have their ways- we'll never know." Daring said.

There were three stallions up ahead, looking confused- but none the less they had their weapons.

"You two! With me- to the med bay!" Daring yelled at them, gesturing towards the left side.

"Yes ma'am!" they said loudly, falling in behind Rainbow and Daring.

"Lenz! Check the security cameras and co-ordinate our attacks! Seal off and defend all hallways to the emergency escape routes!" Daring yelled into a micro mic in her ear.

"Copy." came the reply.

"Do you see anypony coming our way?" Daring asked as they strode down the corridor, the lights flickering as a loud boom came from somewhere far off.

"A squad just breached the north wall, coming in. Two assault units are heading your way, the rest are spreading out."

"Tell our troops to only hold off and stay alive- don't try to fight them! They've got an infinite supply of the bastards." Daring said, turning a corner.

"Copy. The two assault units are just around the corner from your hallway."

"I can hear 'em." Daring said, swinging around the corner, the shotgun sending a deafening bang echoing off the walls as a dozen metal pellets ripped through the helmet visor of an assault unit. It stumbled back, wires inside the visor severed.

Rainbow ran forward, stabbed the cleaver through the assault unit's chest and pulled the trigger. The high calibre bullet tore through the head of the assault unit behind the current one, rendering it useless as it crumpled onto the ground. Rainbow ripped the cleaver out, then swung it around and sliced the demented assault unit in half.

"I guess those memories are true, then." Daring said, remembering the bar fight she had with Rainbow- she thought those were all fake, but Rainbow just proved her wrong.

She turned, kicking down a door to their right. The sign on top said 'medical bay', scribbled in marker pen.

"How're our patients?" she asked, striding into the room.

"We gave the grey pony here some medicine to fight the poisoning, but it's only holding off the effects. She'll need to keep those tablets going if she wants a full recovery..." the pony in the white coat said, sighing. "We gave the bat pony some painkillers and a better bandaging job, but everything's temporary. It should stop the bleeding, but to heal properly... It'll take a lot of time at this stage."

"Don't worry." Daring said, patting the pony on the back. "You did your best in the time frame."

Dainty rushed to hug Rainbow, shaking. "W-what's going on?"

"Bad guys found us." Rainbow sighed, kneeling down and patting her on the head. "But as usual, we'll get out of this. Together and alive- and you know I always keep my promises."

"I do." Dainty said, and Rainbow grinned encouragingly.

She then stood up and went to Octavia's side.

"Octavia-" she laid a firm hoof on Octavia's shoulder. "Can you still fight?"

"Barely- but I will." Octavia said, standing up. She had eye bags under her eyes, and seemed like she hadn't slept in a thousand years.

Rainbow looked at her with respect, and gave her a firm pat on the back. "Good to have you back, partner."

"Hell yeah." Octavia said, grinning weakly.

Daring threw Octavia her shotgun, then pulled out another from under the hospital bed.
"We've got an emergency escape route just in case they find us." she said, leading the ponies out the med bay, all of them armed.

"Lenz." Daring said.

"I count more than twenty assault units in the building. Five are pretty close to you guys." the voice said through the mic.

"Right. Get to the emergency escape route- shut everything down and wipe the entire data base of EVERYTHING. We're not coming back." Daring said, jogging down a narrow hallway.

"Roger. Been an honor."

"You too." Daring said, hearing metal hoofsteps up ahead.

She nodded behind her, indicating to the ponies to get ready to fight. They raised their rifles, ready to pull the triggers. Daring waved a hoof in the air, gesturing around the corner. She mouthed a countdown, and swung around the corner.

There was an assault unit with a rocket launcher standing in the middle of the hallway, and fired the rocket the instant it saw them.

Daring stepped to the side, the rocket passing by her side. Rainbow leaped into the air, dive rolling over the flaming rocket. Octavia kicked a stallion in the knee, causing him to fall over while yanking another pony out of the way. The rocket passed millimeters away from the stallion's face as he fell backwards, and only just grazed the other pony's mane. The two fillies screamed, dropping down and covering their heads- but there was no need. They were too short in the first place anyway. Nightshade grabbed the ponies either side in front of her, blinking. The air around them became disrupted, and the flash faded just as the rocket flew through thin air where they were a second ago. They appeared a little behind of the rocket, and heard the explosion twenty meters down the hallway behind them a second later.

Daring Do fired the shotgun, sending the assault unit stumbling back. Nightshade teleported forward, a knife already in her hoof. She leaped onto the unit, her momentum forcing it to turn around. She reached up and pulled the trigger of the rocket launcher, sending a high explosive into a group of approaching assault units. She swung over the unit just as it was about to grab her, landing on its back. She stabbed the explosive knife into a gap in its armor, then blinked again. A moment later she was back, the assault unit nowhere to be seen- all they heard was a loud bang down the hallway, where Nightshade teleported the unit to.

"Wait- you hear something?" Daring raised a hoof.

"A lot of things." Rainbow said- her head was filled with all the bangs and cries of battle in the distance, somewhere in the building.

"No... Something else...." Daring's ear twitched, searching this way and that. Then her eyes widened in horror.

Rainbow could hear it now too- and it was getting awfully loud. It was the sound of screaming, but different- the screaming of dry, bloodied throats... Long dead and never to live again.

"Mutations! The battle must've drawn in a buck load of them!" Daring cursed, waving the group on. "RUN!"

"You mean the dead ponies?" Rainbow asked as they galloped through the building.
"Yeah. We won't stand a chance against them- from the sounds of it, they're moving quite fast. Don't let them bite you! Try to avoid any contact with them at all- they're all highly contagious." Daring said, checking behind them.

"Gotcha." Rainbow said.

"They were made from bio-bombs the science faction rained down during the- HOLY BUCK!" Daring dived down, rolling and skidding across the floor.

Rainbow leaped to the side, her ears hearing the whoosh as a large blade cut through the air inches away from her face.

"Ghost! GHOST! TAKE IT DOWN!!" Daring yelled.

"Can't bucking see it!" Rainbow yelled, but then ducked down again as she heard the whoosh. Her hat almost fell off as the blade passed by overhead.

One of the medics pointed the laser sight of her rifle in that general area.

"There it is!" she yelled as the laser suddenly started bouncing all over the place- it had hit the insides of the ghost, reflecting off the cloaked surfaces. She briefly saw the point of disruption move towards her, before blood gushed out from a sword wound in her stomach. She spat blood onto the floor, sending the crimson red liquid splattering onto the cold concrete. Then she was thrown away, tumbling down the hallway.

"You bucking arsehole!" Daring yelled, leaping up and firing the shotgun. The shots hit something, as a shower of sparks erupted off thin air. Then the air fizzled, and the ghost's cloaking systems went off line.

Rainbow stabbed her cleaver forward, but was stopped dead as the ghost crossed its two blades in front of itself protectively. The tip of the cleaver stopped inches away from its helmet, and it seemed to laugh a Rainbow's failed attempt.

"Go to hell." Rainbow growled, pulling the trigger.

The cleaver firing mechanism was even more deadly at close range- it tore the entire head of the ghost away, and with it a good chunk from its shoulders and chest as well. Blood splattered all over the walls, guts spilling onto the floor as it collapsed to the ground.

"Serves you right." Daring spat onto its dead carcass, before following the others and galloping off.

Chapter 9: Job for Crazies

The group turned a corner, reaching a checkpoint held by survivors.

"Ma'am! You made it!" a pony said, looking up from the sights of her rifle.

"Don't sound so surprised." Daring said. "Is the escape route secure?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good." Daring said, gesturing for the others to pass first. "Hold this position for another five minutes, then head for the escape route. Don't stop for anypony- it's survival of the fittest now."

The pony saluted. "Will do."

"There's a network of sewers under the city. We already know the layout on the top of our heads, so navigation will be much easier for us. They'll get lost in there in no time. We just gotta watch out for lingering mutations, otherwise it's fine." Daring said, striding down the corridor and in the direction where a lot of ponies were heading.

"Isn't that, like; worse?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"It's our only chance of survival. We stay up here, they kill us. We go down there, if you're fit enough- you might make it." Daring said.

*

"Spitfire, ma'am." a soldier saluted as Spitfire strode onto the bridge.

She waved him down, looking around angrily. "Somepony tell me what the hay is going on!"

"Ma'am! Science Faction infantry activity just increased by twenty percent in the Fillydelphia region. We believe they may have found Agent R Dash." an officer approached Spitfire with a notepad.

"Great." Spitfire cursed, running a hoof through her mane.

"They're currently in the sewers, from what Octavia tells us. They've got Science Faction units chasing them all over the place."

"Spitfire- we need Rainbow to get to that intel. We're stuck here if we don't do anything soon!" Soarin said, laying a hoof on Spitfire's shoulder. "If she goes down, we won't find anypony else qualified enough to get that intel. Our only chance at saving ourselves from this reality... Don't let it slip away."

Spitfire shook her head slowly, a heavy frown on her face as she weighed the options. Then she closed her eyes, letting out a deep sigh. When they opened again, they were determined- and trained on the ultimate goal.

"Prep a team for an infiltration mission." she said, turning away. "I want the best of the best. I know that we've never done anything like this before- but desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Ma'am?" the officer waited for further orders- the bridge was silent, anticipating Spitfire's decision.

"Send the team three heavy gunships. I want Magnum on one of them. Send them around the entire Science Faction fleet, so they can't trace back on records as to where the ships came from. Then send them from the COLOSSUS and attack the barricade section over the Ponyville-Fillydelphia border. I want them to infiltrate the barricade of that section and take over its weapons."

The bridge stared in awe at their supreme commander.

"Get moving, officers. Tell them to use the Drop Pods on the barricade for extraction- we can't let them come back, since the Science Faction will easily suspect us immediately. Tell Rainbow and Octavia to keep going for Ponyville and stay alive. Tell our soldiers they have ten minutes to pack their gear for survival on the surface- go! Get moving officers! We've got a big one on our hooves!" Spitfire yelled, clapping her hooves together and setting a pace for the officers of the bridge to work.

*

Magnum had just received the order- it was practically a suicide mission, but it sounded like fun. She didn't have much to pack, so she didn't bother at all- there was nothing of value to her. Except her silver pistol, of course- just to keep a reminder on who she is. Now she was sitting on her bed, the heavy metal pistol in her hooves and the barrel pressed lightly against her temple. She asked herself the same question she asked herself all those years ago- should she pull the trigger and relieve herself of all of life's burdens? To take the quick escape- and ditch everypony behind her?

She couldn't let down mom, dad, and definitely not Rose. She'll keep her promise to them- while she was the only one still alive, she'll make it count.

So as usual, the answer was no. She placed the fully loaded pistol into her hip holster, standing up and heading towards the armory. She brought a rifle Applebloom made for her with her- that was always her weapon of choice. How it worked, she still had no idea- but it did. It could switch between pretty much any projectile weapon, and is compatible with all ammo types. Applebloom called the ACPW, standing for All Compatible Projectile Weapon- but whatever. Magnum just called it 'my rifle'.

"Magnum." an officer called out, approaching her on the catwalk next to the hangar bay.

"Officer." Magnum said, slowing to a stop.

"Supreme Commander Spitfire has promoted you to Squad Leader of this operation."

Magnum nodded her thanks, walking on and heading towards the armory. The hangar was even busier than it usually was, the crew preparing three heavy gunships for the mission. The gunships have two main thrusters on its sides, allowing for accurate course adjusting and hovering. The hulls are heavily armored, leaving gaps only for the four main guns and two prism guns. Missiles were lined up and ready to go at the bottom of its wings, including special types like cluster missiles and bunker busters. The doors to the passenger bay are on its sides, so when the ships do crash there'll always be an alternate exit. Two heavy manual-operated 9mm cannons are mounted on either side, giving its firing ability a lot more maneuverability.

Magnum strode into the armory, finding a squad of eleven ponies staring blankly at her as she entered. Then she realized- she was the one that was supposed to have the plans.

"Right-" she rubbed her hooves together. "I want three mid-rangers, two long rangers, three close-quarters and three of you with full access and demolition kits. Go! Get your stuff- we don't have much time!" she yelled.

The ponies started scrambling all over the armory, the mid-rangers taking assault rifles and anti-matter rifles off the shelves, stacking their armor slots full with ammo.

Magnum walked into a separate branch of the armory, into the suiting area. The suiting area was a large white room outfitted and completely operated by robots, and as the name suggests- it fits you up to the right type of armor.

Magnum stepped onto a platform in the middle of the room, and immediately the robots came to life. They plucked parts out from storage slots in the walls, placing them onto Magnum's body and locking them in place. Within seconds she was fully suited into the MKII armor, her helmet unfolding from her back and folding over her head. The MKII armor was outfitted with heavy armor, immune to most high-calibre weapons. It had a heck load of ammo slots, however lacked room for a proper shield- making it vulnerable to energy weapons. There were motors at the joints, basically amplifying the strength and speed of its users. There were also a number of other gadgets implemented into the suit, hidden underneath the thick armor.

Magnum stepped down from the platform with a heavy clunk, the motors letting out a barely audible whine as they whirred to life. She plucked the ACPW from her belt, the weapon unfolding and clicking into a large calibre sniper. She checked all the functions of the armor and the weapon, making sure they worked, before folding the ACPW back into a pistol and placing it on her belt.

"Is everypony geared up?" she asked, stepping into the main armory.

"Yes ma'am." her new squad said in unison, already suited by the other suiting areas.

"Do we know the set up? One of each specialization in each ship. We'll be separated and deployed across the barricade section 709. Sort yourselves out, now! We're leaving!"

*

"Test subject 204 is waking." a stallion in a white coat said, his face hidden in the shadows of the dark lab.

They stood on one side of a heavy one-way glass wall, a metal door sealed tight leading into the chambers where test subject 204 was being held. Test subject 204 was a light blue unicorn, her cool light and dark blue mane and tail dangling by her side as she stirred in her sleep on a single white bed.

"Finally." a heavily synthesized voice said, the owner of the voice completely hidden in the shadows. She had a glowing blue eye and various other indicator lights on the right side of her body, glowing dimly in the shadows.

"In theory, we should've turned her obsession with brushing into an obsession for blood. But... Nothing's for sure yet, considering the 203 subjects that came before her..." the stallion paused.

"We've got an almost infinite number of survivors we could use- none of it goes to waste as long as we perfect the project." the figure hidden in the shadows said.

"Should I open the chamber gates?" the stallion asked as test subject 204 woke up, yawning.

"Go ahead. Try not to get yourself killed whilst doing so." Val said, walking out from the shadows and standing with her arms folded in front of the one-way glass.

The stallion gulped, stepping forward and slowly pulling a giant lever on the side of the door. It clicked, and slowly swung open.

"Hello, Colgate." Val said, grinning as she entered the bright white room. This was only one of the many experimentation labs located throughout the S.F. COLOSSUS, many of the beds stained with the blood of deceased victims.

Colgate had her eyes half open, tired and sleepless. But those tired eyes had a special glint in them- and Val's grin widened even further than it already was as she saw the bloodlust in those crisp blue eyes.

Colgate didn't say anything, just roared and slammed a hoof into the side of Val's face. The force was pretty impressive, she took note in her head. She stumbled back, spitting blood onto the floor. Already those shiny pixels were appearing around her, healing her wounds. Colgate struck again, her mind filled with blind bloodlust and rage. Val took a hoof to the stomach, doubling over. And before she recovered she already had an elbow in her face- but she didn't fall. Colgate swung again. But this time Val stopped her dead with a robotic hand. They stared into each other's eyes, Colgate desperately trying to free herself.

Val smiled, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with a spare hand. The hate she could see in those blue eyes- it was beautiful.

"That's pretty conclusive." she said to herself, thumping Colgate on the head and knocking her out cold. She crumpled to the floor, her eyes rolling up and into her head.

*

"Entering COLOSSUS controlled territory." the pilot said as the three gunships neared the huge Science Faction cruiser.

"Keep calm everypony. This is our last point before we set off on the proper mission. Won't be too far away now... But check your weapons, just in case." Magnum said, looking around at her division of the squad. Just three other ponies, however all amongst the best of fighters on the OASIS.

They couldn't see outside since they were in the passenger bay and there were no windows, but as soon as the heard the loud clunk they knew they had docked successfully.

"Alright. Waiting for the security logs to register us into the database..." the pilot said, watching a monitor on the cockpit's control console. "Aaand... We're done. We've been registered... Check your weapons, because the moment we enter barricade controlled territory that's trouble."

"Remember the plan ponies." Magnum said, speaking through the comms. "Team 1 enter the barricade first while team 2- my team- provides cover fire from the gunship. Team 3 head straight for the hangar and disable their ships while we act as a distraction. We shoot our way in and cause as much destruction as possible, then meet up with Agent R Dash on the surface using the barricade Drop Pods. Clear?"

"Roger." the squad said in unison.

"Last systems and weapons check... Not all of us are going to make it out. Although, it would be a pleasant miracle if we did." Magnum said, letting out a deep breath. "Good luck, everypony."

*

"Copy." Octavia said as Spitfire finished explaining the plan to her. "We'll be on our way." she turned to Rainbow. "Oi- we'll need to keep heading for Ponyville underground. Spitfire's set up a rendezvous on the Ponyville-Fillydelphia border."

The sewers were dark and damp and basically had no light, but even so Octavia could still see the sudden excited glint in Rainbow's eyes as the name of the captain of the Wonderbolts was mentioned.

"Spitfire? What? Did I hear her name?"

"Yes, you did." Octavia rolled her eyes. "In this reality that you have no memory of, Spitfire is the captain of the OASIS, the magic faction flag ship."

"I'm working for Spitfire? Oh-my-gosh-Oh-my-gosh-Oh-my-gosh-Oh-my-gosh- I mean, ok." Rainbow said, her sheepish expression hidden in the shadows. After all these years.... Still...

*

"Right, ladies... Here we are." the pilot let out a deep breath he'd been holding for several seconds now, flicking several switches and resting a hoof on a lever. "On your signal, Squad Leader."

"All weapons check! All systems check! Get those 9mms working!" Magnum yelled, clapping her hooves together. "Chop chop! Get into position!"

"Enemy defenses are starting to point our way... Suspicions are rising..." the pilot hummed.

"Are we in position?" Magnum asked.

"Team 1, ready."

"Team 3, ready."

"GO!!" Magnum yelled, taking control of the 9mm cannon on the left side of the gunship.

The pilot pushed the lever, and the doors either side dropped down; the depressurized ship shaking slightly. The suits the ponies were wearing kept them alive in conditions of such here in space, providing them with oxygen and other vital supplies. The vast open area of space was still a breath taking sight, after all these years living on a space cruiser. The barricade was just like a huge metal planet down below, stretching on beyond view. Clouds of cosmic radiation floated here and there in the distance, outlined by the shining stars and other planets.

But this was no time for sight seeing.

"OPEN FIRE!!" Magnum yelled, firing precise shots with the 9mm.

"Firing missiles." the pilot said, flicking some switches.

There was a loud whoosh as several of the explosives on board were sent flying off, leaving behind them large trails of smoke.

"Target the anti-aircraft batteries!" Magnum yelled.

"Two down." the pilot said, turning the joystick and aiming for another cluster of missile launchers. A loud and defeating buzzing filled the air, shaking the entire gunship as its four main guns opened fire. Bullets here in space were way more deadly than on the surface- there was no air resistance, and barely any gravity. The bullets tore through the air, nothing but glowing golden streaks of light passing between the gunship and the AA batteries.

There was a loud boom as a bullet struck the tip of a missile, blowing both it and the launcher up in a huge fireball. The smoke started drifting apart, slowly dispersing.

"Stryfe! STRYFE!" Magnum yelled, ducking down as a series of bullets made their way into the passenger compartment and just above her head.

The pilot yanked the joystick, sending the gunship flying left.

"RPG!!" Storm yelled, the close-ranger in Magnum's team.

"Turn right! TURN RIGHT!!" Magnum yelled at the pilot.

The ship's two thrusters twisted, sending it slowly rotating towards the right.

"HOLY MOTHER OF-" Magnum yelled, hitting the deck as the rocket grazed the edge of the passenger compartment door, flew in, then flew out the other side.

"Saved it." the pilot said, holding down the trigger for the main guns and reducing the defense tower to smithereens.

"Team 1- you're clear for landing!!" Magnum yelled as all the surface defenses were taken down.

"Incoming infantry troops from the barricade!!" Storm shouted, pointing down at the surface of the barricade- there were several gates open, enemy infantry pouring out and firing at the gunships.

The barricade had one disadvantage- its infantry had to come in waves. There was a pressurization chamber behind each gate that would depressurized and pressurize, as to keep the pressure inside the rest of the barricade steady. But the chamber can only hold so many ponies at once... And it takes a while to depressurize.

"Mow them down!" Magnum yelled, holding down the trigger of the 9mm.

*

"We've sealed off the exit- don't know how long it'll take for them to find us." a stallion said to Daring Do.

"They aren't our problem right now." Daring sighed, checking her shotgun. "Welcome to the sewers, everypony. Where every last undead pony is probably lingering during daytime, and possibly nighttime too."

"Stay sharp." Rainbow said, her cleaver pointing this way and that.

The loud sounds of battle had gone, suddenly replaced by this eery silence as they slushed through knee-deep muck and sewage waste.

"Hell!" a pony yelled, jumping out of the water and pointing her rifle into the muck, aiming around the darkness. "Something just brushed against my leg!"

"Shuck-" Daring cursed, looking down at the murky waters of the sewer. "Can't see crap! Anypony got a flashlight?"

"Here." a stallion said, flicking on a bright white light- and everypony froze in horror as they spotted a large group of silent zombies standing three meters in front of them.

"Everypony.. Just... Keep calm..." Daring said slowly, her voice quivering as she slowly backed off.

Suddenly Rainbow's head felt like it had burst open, and she screamed; stumbling back. Through her tear blurred eyes she saw the zombies stir, and Daring tried to make her shut up. She tried to shut herself up, but it wasn't working- soon she was somewhere else, in a dimly lit wooden house. Through the dreamy vision she was having she could hear the distant sounds of reality, dull and out of reach- still she could hear herself screaming, although she had no control over the matter.

There was a light yellow pegasus pony in the room, her pink mane dangling by her side. She looked like she had been starving for several days already, the usually bright pink butterflies on her flank now faded and dull.

It was Fluttershy.

There was a loud crack, and the door to the room crashed open. Fluttershy didn't seem to react to it at all, just staring down at the ground miserably. Two assault units entered the room, rifles already trained on the pegasus.

"Get up! GET UP GODDAMNIT!!" Rainbow yelled, but she knew Fluttershy couldn't hear her. She could only hope...

Fluttershy looked up, a bead of a tear hanging by the corner of her eye as she stared down the barrel of the assault rifle.

"NO!!" Rainbow screamed as the rifle went off, her entire vision flashing white. She couldn't see anything after the bang- she was left in this dream state, her head pounding against her skull and her being completely out of control of her body.

Then everything snapped back to the real world as a zombie pony came out of the darkness of reality and sunk its teeth deep into her shoulder.

Chapter 10: Into the Barricade We Must Go!

"Fire on the infantry! Clear gate 021 so Team 1 can get in!" Magnum yelled, firing three round bursts into the crowds below that all turned out to be precisely aimed shots.

The enemy assault units didn't stand a chance- the heavy bullets tore through their armor, dropping them like poisoned flies.

"Sniper! Top left!" a member of team 1 said, hiding behind cover. "Can't get a shot- too much enemy fire!"

"Storm! Can you see 'em?" Magnum asked, concentrating fire on the assault units going after team 1.

"Ya. Over on that destroyed missile battery." Storm said, pointing out towards a blown-up AA battery.

Magnum was about to turn the 9mm meter around when a bullet from the sniper was shot towards her. Se quickly ducked down, and the bullet struck the 9mm cannon. It was from a high caliber rifle, tearing through the 9mm.

"Damnit! We lost our left support!" Storm shouted into the comms.

"Not quiet yet." Magnum growled, launching a heavy kick into the disabled gun. The metal snapped, and it swung down; broken.

Magnum grabbed the gun, then wrenched it off the ammo feeder with a loud crack. She pulled out the ACPW pistol, tapping a rhythm into a specific spot in the side. The weapon unfolded into a large sheet of metal, however the trigger and grip still intact. She placed the weapon over the remaining ammo feeder of the 9mm, and with a few loud clicks and whirs the sheet of metal transformed into a high caliber sniper rifle, the ammo feeder firmly integrated into the it.

Magnum quickly swung the gunship-mounted sniper rifle around, sending a bullet straight into the sniper from earlier. She then started unloading round after round into the enemy infantry, her almost infinite supply of ammo flying out the side as empty shells. Each time she pulled the trigger a heavy crack would echo around the insides of the gunship, and an assault unit would drop dead.

"Enemy drop ship reinforcements from the COLOSSUS!" Storm yelled as three drop ships landed on the surface of the barricade, fresh assault units leaping down from the quick deploy platforms.

"We can't hold off here much longer- the COLOSSUS is sending their reinforcements! Proceed with the objective!" Magnum yelled, unclipping her rifle from the ammo feeder.

"RPG!!!" Storm yelled, covering his head.

"What the hay-" Magnum turned around, just in time to see a solo rocket soar through space and towards her. The rocket struck the side of the gun ship, lighting up the darkness of space with a bright orange flash.

The side door of the ship broke away, flew across the passenger compartment and headed straight for her. She crossed her arms in front of herself protectively, tucking her chin into her chest. Then there was the impact, a solid metallic thunk as the metal collided with her suit. She was knocked off her hooves, flying back and out of the ship.

The world was a dull blur as she flew through space, no air resistance to stop her from tumbling on forever. Her back hit something hard, making a heavy clunk that soon faded into the distance as she quickly bounced away from that spot. She tumbled across the surface of the barricade, knocking down almost everything in her path. Finally her back hit something, and she felt it crumble under the force.

She tried to get up, her head swimming and her hooves stumbling around. The weightlessness of space only made it worse.

"Congrats squad leader." a member of team 3 said. "You managed to take out the last AA gun on your own."

"Wha...?" Magnum tried to make her eyes adjust, but they kept derping out of focus. Finally she could see properly, and she was looking up at the object she hit earlier. It was an Anti Aircraft battery, the side severely dented and obviously broken. "Huh." she said, checking her armor. A few scratches, but that was it.

"They should name bowling balls after you mare." Storm said.

"What the hell happened?" Magnum asked, the rifle still in her hooves. The loading mechanism disassembled itself, then pieced itself back together in a different form. She slammed a fully loaded assault rifle clip into the rifle, and it automatically adjusted its internals and was ready to fire in no time.

"We got hit by an RPG- the right door broke away, so now we can't pressurize. Altogether we'll have to ditch the ship anyway, but it's in bad shape." Storm said.

"Keep your guns blazing! Tell the pilot to be ready to eject any moment- and you all be ready to jump out and abandon the damn thing! In the meantime- go cover team 1!"

"What about you ma'am?"

"I can handle myself." Magnum said, sending a three round burst into an assault unit's head. The rifle wasn't powerful enough to penetrate the thick visor, but the three rounds all hit the same spot- and the final bullet took the lethal hit, taking down the unit.

Magnum started running towards team 1's location, marked out on her Heads Up Display, integrated into her visor. Enemy units were all over the place, the local defense systems coming to life. The barricade was just a criss-cross of gun and laser fire now, and in the chaos you couldn't even tell which bullet belonged to who.

Unless you're Magnum.

Magnum dove behind the remains of a destroyed missile launcher, sparks showering her from lasers that grazed the edge of the launcher and flew on into space. She flicked out a small touchscreen on her left arm, just behind the wrist and embedded into the suit. With a few taps she was able to activate the mirage device on her suit, concealed beneath three inches of heavy metal armor. A shudder ran up her spine as the suit instantly cooled, energy from the heating systems being redirected towards the mirage device. She crouched low, now nothing but a shimmering mass of air behind the shadow of the launcher.

She had plenty of ammo, but she knew it would be better if she could put those on reserve- something tells her she'll be needing them on the surface. She snuck behind a gate, the metal plates already moving aside. The assault units stood still on the rising platform, still yet inactivated. Then they all shuddered, all of their LED indicator lights flicking on. Their lowered heads raised, and instantly they charged into battle. Magnum snuck up behind one of them, tapping the barrel of her high calibre rifle against the back of its neck. Before it could turn around, she pulled the trigger- sending a bullet tearing through the weak spot in the unit's armor.

Magnum kicked down into the back of the unit's knee, sending it falling backwards. The anti-matter rifle came flying out of its grip, and she caught it before the unit itself had even hit the ground.

The other assault units looked around, but couldn't see Magnum as she was concealed by the shadow of a lookout tower. Then with several purple flashes, she had already blown five of the assault units to space dust. When they turned around, all they saw was a slight mass of disrupted light dart away and disappear once again into the shadows.

"Magnum- you're too far away from the deploy point! We're coming to pick you up- team 1 is already inside!" Storm said, and Magnum could hear his rifle blazing in the background.

"I'm in mirage right now- there're too many enemies near me!" Magnum said.

"Don't worry. We can see you on our HUDs." Storm said.

"Make it quick. I'm moving." Magnum said, darting out from the shadows.

Suddenly somepony hit her in the side, sending her flying backwards. She flipped through the air, her pistol leaving her hooves. She looked down at the assault unit that decided to hit her, raising its rifle. She quickly clamped her pistol between her back hooves, then hit the side of it with her left hoof strategically; causing the firing pin to trigger and send a bullet into the anti-matter rifle of the assault unit.

Magnum flipped back, catching the pistol in her front hooves and putting a bullet through the assault unit's head.

The group had noticed her presence, and were turning around. Magnum was about to charge forward when she noticed the distinct dot of light on the horizon behind them, slowly growing larger. She fired a few shots into the group as a distraction, backing away slowly. They returned fire, but Magnum's mirage device was throwing their targeting systems off- their computers couldn't properly find her.

The light spot on the horizon was a cluster missile launched by team 2's gunship, currently still intact. Then the thruster died out, and it started carrying itself by its own momentum. The outer shell broke away in quarters, falling behind as the main body sped ahead; revealing five smaller missiles inside the main carrier. Robotic arms extended out, clearing the smaller missiles from the inner and outer shell. With a loud hiss, the individual missiles' thrusters came to life, sending them rocketing away from the main body and in a swirling cluster.

Magnum covered her head as the missiles spun up like a tornado, then thin out and slam down like a hammer into the group of assault units. By the time the dust cleared they were barely in pieces.

"Get aboard!" Storm yelled, waving a hoof at Magnum as the gunship flew within range.
Magnum leaped up, the near-zero gravity here in orbit sending her flying towards the ship. She flipped in midair, landing hooves down on the underside of the left wing.

"Take us back to the gate!" she said, hopping down into the passenger section. With a loud hydraulic whir and click, she re-mounted the ACPW on the ammo feeder.

"Hostiles coming from gate 065." mid-ranger Anvil said, the shells from his blazing assault rifle drifting around in zero gravity.

The pilot pushed on the throttle, sending the ship sailing forward.

"Rain hell on these arseholes!" Magnum yelled, slowly depleting the ship's ammo supply. "Get ready to eject any moment- ship's not looking too good!"

"No, it ain't." the pilot said, jamming back the throttle. The ship jerked to a stop, the momentum almost flinging the passengers out the front. He yanked the joystick to one side, and the ship swung around in a huge arch; all guns blazing. There were thick trails of smoke left above the barricade as the pilot flicked all the switches for whichever missiles that still hadn't been fired, raining down destruction on the metal structure of the barricade.

"Enemy gunships- incoming! Three o'clock and roughly five miles away!" Anvil yelled.

"Storm- take that damn 9mm and shoot them down!" Magnum said, occupied with taking down the enemy infantry.

"Will do." Storm quickly got up, swinging his combat shotgun behind his back and grabbing the handles of the 9mm.

"Shuck- enemy fire!" Anvil yelled, covering his head as a series of bullets sent dents scattering across the surface of the ship's armor.

They could make out a few distinct bright dots in the distance, clearly missiles launched from the enemy ships because they could see trails of white smoke left behind them.

"Son of a parasprite-" Magnum cursed, swinging off the side of the gunship but still holding onto the ACPW. She stood on the edge of the gunship, the ACPW now pointing through the insides of the ship and at the missiles. With three precise bursts, she took down all three missiles. "Use that gun Storm!" she yelled.

"Might as well save the bullets for you squad leader." Storm said.

Magnum didn't reply, just shifted gears on the ACPW. With a few clicks, it rearranged itself into a gatling gun. She held down the triggers, and slowly it whirred to life. That whir turned into a roar as the six barrels began rotating at full speed, which then grew into a scream as bullets tore through the air at two rounds per millisecond. The full metal jackets ripped through the enemy ships' armor, tearing them to tatters. One remained, and fired everything it had at them.

Suddenly the screaming of the gatling gun died down, and Magnum looked down at the smoking ACPW questioningly.

"Shuck!" she yelled at the empty ammo feeder. She took the rifle off the ammo feeder, folding it into a pistol and placing it on her belt. She strode into the cockpit, leaning through the door. "We're out of ammo! Land now!"

"Affirmative." the pilot said, scanning the area for somewhere clear to land. "Damnit! Too many hostiles around- can't land!"

There was no point in wasting their own ammo. They'll need plenty for when they infiltrate the barricade.

"Team 1 and 3 are inside! Repeat! We are inside and engaging enemies!" a voice yelled through the mic.

"Good work teams! We're going in!" Magnum said, ducking down as a purple laser flew past her head.

"RPG! RPG!!" Storm yelled, pointing out at a fast approaching rocket.

"Jump! Abandon ship! Repeat- ABANDON SHIP!!" Magnum yelled, leaping out the side and tucking her body into a ball to decrease surface area.

"Holy mother bucking son of a-" Storm blurted, swinging out the side and followed by Anvil. The pilot slammed a hoof on the eject button, launching the windshield out into space with a loud hiss. This was followed by a loud bang as the seat was blown out, and he kicked off of it to get even further away from the ship.

The rocket made contact, hitting the gunship full in the side. It caused one of its engines to blow out, and the gunship went tumbling out of control; spiraling towards the surface.

"Buck-" Magnum yelled as the flaming carcass of the gunship came swinging back around, leaving behind it a trail of thick black smoke. She used her jetpack, giving her a small boost backwards. She flipped, now parallel with the surface. The spiraling gunship spun towards her, and she managed to fit through one side of the passenger compartment. She watched wide-eyed as the ceiling of the flaming ship passed before her eyes, inches away from her helmet visor. Then it was gone as she went out the other side, the ship passing by harmlessly.

Magnum quickly stretched her limbs out from her tucked position, as the ground was coming up fast. She heard a loud bang somewhere behind her to her left as the gunship went down, followed by a huge explosion that lit up the area in front of her with a deafening boom.

She activated her jetpack, the two thrusters flaring as her descent slowed. There was a heavy clunk as she hit the ground, landing firmly onto the metal surface. She heard several more clunks behind her as her team landed somewhere nearby.

"Make a run for the gates! Don't stop for anything!!" Magnum yelled, her mirage device already kicking in as power to the jetpack was cut.

She stilled had the anti-matter rifle she picked up, so decided to use it. The assault units tried to return fire, but kept missing.

"More reinforcements! Wait..." Storm peered at the open gate. "There's nopony there!"
"GHOSTS!" Magnum yelled. "LOOK OUT!!"

Suddenly she spotted a slight haze dart towards the oblivious pilot, and she could see the clear blade rise.

"Damnit- Watch ou-" she started, but as the blade was brought down, the pilot exploded into a pink mist with other organic and inorganic parts mixed in it.

It was still space, after all. The zero pressure outside had torn him apart the instant his suit lost pressure from the cut.

"Buck!" Magnum cursed, turning her attention back to her own safety.

Storm just ran through the crowds, shells from his shotgun and traces of gunpowder the only signs of his previous location. He ran up to an assault unit, launching a back hoof into its head and cracking its visor. He then brought the hoof down, slamming the unit down onto the ground. Before the next unit even realized what happened, he had already sent half a dozen shotgun pellets into its chest. It fell back, skidding across the floor and sending sparks flying.

Storm quickly ran forward, towards the gate. Suddenly he saw a haze out of the corner of his eye, and quickly dive-rolled forward. He heard metal strike metal behind him as the Ghost swung the blade down- now it was trapped, its sword stuck in the ground. Storm rolled onto his back, and fired a load of buckshot through the ghost's armor. It imploded into pink mist and a few floating chunks.

Magnum reached the designated gates- but they were closed.

"Gah!" she yelled frustratedly. "Hold them off and wait for the next wave!"

"Not sure how long we can!" Anvil yelled, quickly switching the magazine in his assault rifle.

"Pick up their weapons! Ours are a last resort." Magnum said, anti-matter rifle blaring in the darkness.

There was a loud click and whine behind them, and the gates started opening.

Magnum quickly turned around, taking down three quarters of the assault units before they even activated. Her team took down the rest, already getting onto the platform. Magnum swung down, landing with a heavy clunk. The platform began retreating into the barricade, the assault units standing on the edges and shooting down at them.

Anvil dodged right, a few laser bolts hitting the ground next to him. "Here come the ghosts!" he yelled as several hazes of air jumped down from the top.

Magnum's ears twitched as she heard a light clunk behind her, followed by the whoosh of air as the ghost brought the blade down. She didn't even look, just spun the antimatter rifle and clamped it under her arm, pulling the trigger and sending a bolt of antimatter into the ghost. She heard it explode in a dull but satisfying manner behind her, and swung the rifle back out again.

"GRENADE!" Storm yelled just as the gates were closing, pointing above them.

There was a loud clink as a metal ball was jammed between the two gates, a flashing red light on top pulsing with its eery beeps.

"Shuck-" Magnum cursed, activating her jetpack. She flew up, flipped in mid-air, and launched a back hoof into the grenade. It cleared the gates, going back outside where it came from. The gates slammed shut, and the explosion from the grenade was nothing but a dull thunk.

"That was bucking close." Storm slumped onto the ground, letting out a deep breath as the room pressurized.

"We've probably got ten battalions of the damn things waiting for us on the other side. Stay sharp." Magnum warned, pointing the antimatter rifle at a large door that was slowly rising out of the ground as they descended into the barricade.

They stood guard, rifles trained on the door as it slowly slid open. Inch by inch, light started pouring in through the crack. Then it fully opened, and nopony was there. Nothing was there, in fact; just an empty dimly lit hallway.

"Huh..." Magnum whispered, letting the tip of her rifle drop slightly.

"Looks like a trap to me." Storm said.

"Don't think we have a choice." Magnum said, walking towards the open door.

Chapter 11: Unexpectedness of Everything

Rainbow screamed, launching a hoof into the side of the zombies face. She felt its skull crack under the force, and its teeth were ripped from her shoulder. She fell back, breathing hard and unable to believe what had happened.

I've been bitten... I'm going to turn... Shuck... She thought, her vision blurring.

She could see shapes moving, followed by flashes as the group tried to fight off the zombies. She could hear everything relatively clearly, Daring Do yelling and leading the ponies on. She felt somepony drag her behind the frontline, setting her down on a large rock and clearing her face of the murky waters.

Octavia shined a bright torch at her face, inspecting her eyes.

"Shuck! Rainbow's been bitten!" she yelled.

"Son of a parasprite!" Daring cursed, slushing through the sewage waste and crouching next to Rainbow. "Dash! Can you hear me!?"

Rainbow didn't reply- her insides were burning up, and she was barely controlling herself from screaming. Pain came in waves, rippling through her body and splitting her head.

"DASH!" Daring yelled, slapping her across her face.

Rainbow's eyes suddenly widened, and she jerked up; coughing. Blood poured out of her mouth as she tried to get up, drips of the crimson liquid trickling down her nose and out the corners of her mouth.

"Damnit- she's turning!" Octavia steadied her, helping her up.

Rainbow screamed, her spine involuntarily arching back. She collapsed onto the ground, vomiting more blood that mixed into the sewage waste. She was on all fours now, screaming uncontrollably at the ground as her limbs felt like they were going to be torn apart.

"Do it!" Daring yelled.

Rainbow, through the chaos and her own screaming; heard a soft click behind her as Octavia loaded a pistol. But then that dragged on for several minutes, and there was no bang.

"I... I can't do it." Octavia said finally, lowering the gun and letting out a deep breath. How could she pull the trigger on her own friend? Even if she was turning into something else- she still couldn't do it.

"Hurry! Before she turns!" Daring yelled, firing her shotgun at the crowd of mutated ponies.

"I CAN'T!" Octavia yelled, a single tear drifting down her cheek. She slumped back onto a rock, covering her face with her hooves. "I CAN'T BUCKING DO IT!"

Rainbow's inner burning pain had ceased now, and her skin was beginning to split. It hurt even worse. She moaned, trying to contain her screams so Octavia might be able to shoot her. She needed to, or she'll kill everypony here. And that'll be the end of that.

"For hell's sake-" Daring said, storming back from the frontline and pointing her shotgun at Rainbow's head.

"No!" Octavia leaped up, pushing the shotgun barrel away and sending the missed shots into the water, causing a huge splash.

"Get off me! We need to take care of her now!" Daring yelled, shoving Octavia away and taking aim again.

Octavia leaped out from the water, tackling Daring in the side and sending the both of them tumbling into the sewage waste. They splashed around, trying to gain control of the shotgun.

"Octavia- LET GO!!" Rainbow yelled, clutching her head.

"Are you crazy!? I'm not going to let anypony kill you!!" Octavia yelled back.

"It's-" Rainbow screamed mid-sentence, a wave of pain ripping through her skull. "It's for the best damnit! DARING! SHOOT ME!"

"NO!" Octavia yelled, pressing Daring Do firmly against a rock and keeping her there.

Rainbow started crawling through the water, towards Octavia's dropped pistol.

"What are you doing!?" Octavia's eyes widened. "NO! RAINBOW! GET AWAY FROM THAT GUN!!" she tried to stop Rainbow, but was restrained by Daring.

"She'll kill all of us if we don't kill her!!" Daring yelled. "I don't want to either- but we don't have a choice!"

"WE ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE!!" Octavia yelled, tears pouring down her cheeks as she kicked at Daring. "LET GO OF ME!!"

"Stay back, Octavia!" Daring yelled, a tear of her own sliding down her face. "We can't do anything about it!"

"Octavia..." Rainbow said weakly, her hoof on the pistol. "Stop. We don't have a choice and you know it."

"Rainbow!!" Octavia yelled, then was horrified to see Rainbow pick up the pistol and begin to aim it at her temple. "NO! DON'T DO IT!!"

"Get the job done, Octavia. This time I won't be leading you guys." Rainbow said, pressing the barrel of the gun against her temple.

"NO! NO GODDAMNIT!!" Octavia yelled, desperately trying to free herself from Daring.

"Good bye." Rainbow smiled, blood still trickling out the corner of her mouth and a single tear ready to fall from her eye.

"SIS! NO!" the voice of a filly yelled, and she hesitated. Dainty... That's what she regretted about this the most. She can't look after her anymore, after all these years of doing so.

Rainbow grunted frustratedly, and also out of pain. She quickly leveled the pistol against her temple again, and did what she always does in these situations- do it first, say 'whoops' later. Then there was a bright flash as she pulled the trigger, sending a bullet through her own brain.

Whoops- she thought as she fell sideways, her eyes closing and darkness creeping at the corners of her vision. Within seconds she was dead.

*

Magnum slowly proceeded through the hallway, followed close by her teammates.

"What the hay... There's nopony here. It's just abandoned." Storm whispered, and despite this his voice still echoed around the walls. He shined his torch this way and that, as the main lighting systems were off for some reason and the hallway was only lit by dim emergency evacuation lights.

"Turn on your lasers. Don't know where a Ghost might be hiding in all this darkness. Hell, don't know where anything might be hiding in this darkness." Magnum said, aiming her laser pointer around to check for disruptions.

"It's probably nothing. The other teams are probably wreaking havoc through the damn place." Anvil said, peering behind them to make sure nopony comes up behind.

"Storm. Mark the location of the command center on our HUDs." Magnum said, taking front point. There were a series of beeps, and a waypoint was marked out in real-time on her HUD. "Good work." she said.

They continued on, careful around corners. There was a bright light being shone onto the wall and through the other hallway just around the corner. Shadows shifted in the light, slowly growing closer. There was talking, but the heavy footsteps indicated that the ponies were in suits.

Magnum checked her HUD, making sure it wasn't one of her teams. She looked behind her at her team, and gestured for them to back off. She continued on, her back close to the wall. She was at the edge of the corner now, ears pricked for the slightest disturbance.
"Storm.... Pass me an EMP grenade!" she whispered.

There was a soft clink as Strom unclipped an EMP grenade from his belt, and passed it to Magnum. Magnum held onto the grenade with her left hoof, while drawing out her pistol with the other. The ACPW was in pistol form as well, and her left hoof was ready to flash to it the moment the EMP grenade is gone.

She gave herself a mental countdown, then threw the grenade around the corner. The clunking echoed off the walls, soon followed by surprised yelps and yelling. Then there was a bright flash of light blue and a loud BANG and fizz, and everything went dark. The emergency lights were busted, and the only thing that provided some sort of light were the sparks from the fried wires.

Magnum drew the ACPW with her left hoof, and swung around the corner- purely relying on her ears. A series of bangs echoed down the length of the corridors as she started firing her pistols, the darkness lit by nothing other than the muzzle flashes of her lethal shots. In each flash she was always in a different place, rendering it useless for the Science Faction ponies to tell where she was.

Then there was one final bang, and a thud as a body dropped to the ground. Magnum turned on her torch and laser pointer, standing in the middle of a massacre.

"Come on- move it!" She waved at her team, gesturing at them to hurry up. "More'll be on their way. Go!"

They ran through the dark corridors, the light from their flashlights wavering as they galloped. There was a narrow door up ahead, bright blue light flooding into the corridor. Magnum pressed her back against the wall, peering around the corner.

"Buck. Bluefyre, give me a scan of the next room." Magnum said, crouching down and watching the door.

Bluefyre was a pegasus technician, and if anypony knows their equipment down to the nuts and bolts, it'll be her.

"Scanning." she said, making a few taps on the screen on her arm. A small drone ejected from the back of her suit, just about a centimeter wide and hovering silently. She controlled it through her HUD, piloting it into the next room. A bright flash came from the other room as the drone performed an instant 3D scan.

Slowly, the 3D model of the next room began appearing on her HUD.

"What the hell..." she whispered in wonder at the model.

"Bluefyre." Magnum yanked her back to reality.

"Right, sorry." Bluefyre said, tapping the side of her helmet and casting the model into a hologram so the others could see.

"What the buck..?" Magnum frowned at the model. "It's like a freakin ravine!"

"It's the engine room." Bluefyre said, spinning the model around.

The room was about a kilometer in diameter, a circular expanse that disappeared both up and down as the ends were out of range of the drone's scan. In the center was a large central structure, about three quarters of a kilometer in diameter. Floating platforms and light bridges connected the central structure to the outer wall- the only form of access.

"The primary engine should be down below." Bluefyre pointed at the bottom of the hologram, where everything abruptly ended. "The command center should be at the top... And the center is just the nuclear reactor."

"So we're at the center of all the crap, huh." Magnum said. "Shuck. How the hell are we supposed to get across?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out right now." Bluefyre said, rubbing her chin. "We take the platforms, they shut them down, and we're sitting ducks. Take the light bridges, they turn them off, and we fall to our deaths. Either way we're bucked."

Magnum was silent for a few moments, then she spoke into the comms: "Team 1, do you copy?"

"Affirmative." came the reply.

"Can you make it to the nearest control room? We need you to take over on one of the barricade's light bridges."

"Copy. We'll try."

Magnum hung up, sighing frustratedly. "And now we wait."

"Shuck... Assault units." Bluefyre said, her drone's camera picking up several floating platforms coming their way.

"Move. Stick to the center though- go! Go!" Magnum ushered them on.

*

Octavia just stared as Rainbow fell sideways, her eyes already closing. Then there was a splash as she hit the water, her mane floating around her head and a darkening patch of blood forming in the water next to her.

Octavia stopped struggling, and Daring let her go. She slumped down into the water, eyes wide and unbelieving. Rainbow Dash.... Dead....?

Daring sighed, slumping down onto a rock and running a hoof through her mane. A gunshot went off as one of the survivors shot the last mutated.

Dainty ran to Rainbow's dead body, crying uncontrollably. She yelled at her face, yelled at her to get up- like she always did. She didn't expect her to though- she just blamed Rainbow for what had happened. She cried into that same chest, hoping that those hooves would pat her on the head as gently as they always did when she was upset. She cried until somepony laid a hoof on her shoulder- she turned around, seeing a saddened Lily.

"I know she probably was everything to you." Lily said, eyes lowered.

Dainty wiped a tear off her face, slumping back. "She was."

Octavia slowly slushed through the water, joining the two fillies. "She was a great friend. Always loyal, no matter what." she sniffed, letting out a deep breath. "At least she's going somewhere nice." she chuckled. "Hah, maybe she's watching us grieve right now. You're an arsehole, RD." she said, looking up at the ceiling.

Dainty sighed, laying her head on Rainbow's chest for one last time. She cried, her sister for the better half of her life- gone. Then she froze, feeling something beat against her face.

It was Rainbow's heart- but how?

"Sis...?" Dainty got up, looking at Rainbow's face.

"What the hay...!?" Octavia looked at Rainbow's temple. It was matted with blood- but there was no wound. "Shuck- Dainty! GET AWAY FROM HER!" she yelled, pulling Dainty away.

"Buck-" Daring cursed, getting up and drawing her shotgun as Rainbow slowly got back to her hooves, her body moving oddly- looks like she didn't kill herself in time.

Daring pulled the trigger, sending a spread of buckshot ripping through Rainbow's right shoulder. Her arm was ripped off, and flew with bits of flesh and splashed into the murky waters. Daring fired again, taking Rainbow's head clean off.

Then smoke and steam started emitting from the mutated Rainbow, as if her body had caught on an invisible fire. Then her head grew back, soon followed by her arm. Her head was tilted to one side, her eyes staring down and unwaveringly dead.

"Buck! What do we do now!?" Daring yelled anxiously.

"Wait... I know this." Octavia said, placing a hoof on top of Daring's shotgun and bringing it down gently. "Hey arsehole, you can stop pretending now." she said, the barest hint of a smile creeping onto her face.

"You just had to ruin it." Rainbow said, tilting her head to one side and cracking it loudly. She wiped the blood from her mouth, then spat into the sewage water. "Bucking hell."

"Wha...?" Daring asked incredulously.

"She's been injected with the virus before in the previous reality... She knows how to control it and use it to her own advantage." Octavia said.

"Oh wait... I remember now. Bastard went on a rampage." Daring said.

"Yeah that." Rainbow nodded. "Good times."

"Indeed."

"I bucking hate you!" Dainty cried, punching Rainbow on the leg. Then she broke down into tears, hugging her tightly.

"There there." Rainbow said, because she didn't know what else to say; and patted Dainty on the back.

Dainty was grateful for that pat- she just cried even more. Moments ago she thought she'd never even see Rainbow alive again- and now, here she was- covered in blood, but perfectly fine otherwise. And if mood was anything to go by, even better than before.

"I keep my promises." Rainbow said, hugging Dainty tightly. "I'd never leave you on your own in this wilderness."

Dainty didn't reply- just hugged Rainbow back, grateful that she was here.

"You're such an arse." Octavia said, grinning and lightly punching Rainbow in the shoulder.

"Yeah, no crap." Daring said, also grinning and walking up to the group.

Lily laid a hoof on Dainty's shoulder, smiling- and instantly Dainty felt bad, her stomach sinking. Lily might have memory of this in some way- but her family died in the massacre that followed the Magic Faction's second rebellion attempt. It must be horrible- to be suddenly teleported into a reality where your family has been dead for five years. Dainty couldn't say the same for her own real family- sure, they were all dead too- but they had already died in the previous reality. At least she got to say goodbye, in someway.

*

Spitfire yawned loudly, and everypony on the bridge turned to look at her.

"What!?" she blushed, irritated. "Can't the Captain yawn, after all those sleepless nights of keeping this ship up and running?"

"You mean keeping commander Soarin up and-" a voice somewhere in the crowds of the control consoles said loudly.

Spitfire blushed even more. "Oi!" she yelled, pointing at the stallion that yelled that out. Or so, she thought it was him. "You! Yes, you! No, not the one behind you... Just- YOU!! You're on cleanup duty this afternoon. Four hours." she said, now feeling much better.

She noticed a flashing red light on the holographic console in front of her, and waved a hoof at it to show the message. With a tap, she ordered the computer to read the message. She yawned again, however her ears pricked for the computer voice.

"S.F. Vector Class space shuttle requesting direct docking to OASIS bridge."

Spitfire froze, her mind working at a thousand miles an hour. Why is there a Science Faction ship requesting direct docking all of a sudden? Did they find out?

"Origin?" she asked, suppressing the worry in her voice and keeping it calm for the sake of the crew.

"S.F. COLOSSUS."

Spitfire cursed, running a hoof through her mane.

"Ma'am?" an officer asked her worriedly.

"I'm thinking!" she spat, clutching her head and pacing around in circles. Then she stopped, staring blankly at the ground; her heart pounding against her chest- she realized, they didn't have a choice. Her eyes narrowed- she won't back down because of this ship. They'll do what they have to to keep the Magic Faction a secret. "Grant permission for direct docking." she said to the computer, turning away and heading to the bridge's docking area. She pointed at two soldiers standing guard at the sides of bridge, waving them towards her. "You two- with me."

They strode through a short but wide hallway, lit brightly by white lights in the ceiling. Abruptly they stopped, their hoofsteps coming to a halt. The bridge was in complete silence, its members anticipating the arrival of their sudden and unexpected guest. Spitfire's eyes were narrowed into a frown, and she stood as tall as she could to have a menacing appearance- although she didn't have to stand tall at all to get that air of authority around here.

There was a loud clunk as something outside hit the docking gates- the S.F. ship must've been connected. There was a loud hiss of air as the ship's pressure systems made it safe to step into the OASIS. An echoey click traveled loud and far in the silence as the heavy locks of the docking gates opened. White steam poured through the gaps and onto the floor before Spitfire, drifting past her hooves.

Three silhouettes stood in the gateway, dark shades of grey backlit by the blinding white light coming from behind. Spitfire's heart pounded even faster than before as a robotic leg stepped out from the fog, blue LED indicator lights blinking. A bead of sweat drifted down her face- the tension was rising.

Spitfire's eyes widened in fear as the figure took a step out of the fog, the supreme leader of the Science Faction fleet, and the ruler of all the world.

"I like what you have done with the place..." Val said, walking past a frozen Spitfire, arms folded behind her back. "...captain."

Chapter 12: Hell in the Sky

Val strode onto the bridge, casting a gaze around those hateful and worried faces around her. The ponies of the OASIS all avoided her gaze, looking down or going back to work. Val grinned- this was the kind of atmosphere she liked.

"Supreme Leader." Spitfire said, turning around slowly and choosing her words carefully.

"Captain. Nothing but a chat with you." Val said, not even waiting for Spitfire to catch up and heading straight for the ship's bar.

Spitfire followed her, taking long steady strides.

The bar was full of activity, ponies cheering and talking loudly- but it all was abruptly cut short as they spotted Val enter the bar. Val stood, casting an expressionless gaze across the ponies. Slowly, one by one; they all left without an order to do so- verbally, anyway.

"Take a seat, captain." Val said without even looking at Spitfire.

Spitfire thought about not doing so- this was her ship, after all- but decided against it. Whatever she could take as a disadvantage emotionally might account for as an advantage later on. She sat down, however quite relaxedly.

"Supreme Leader." she said, keeping an eye on Val while still wary of her guards. One of the guards looked at her emotionlessly, those softly glowing red eyes reflecting the all of hell silently in its reflection. The guard pony's crimson red mane dangled by her side, her dark grey skin shaded even darker under the shadows. Unlike the other guard, she seemed to look down on Spitfire like she was some inferior insect.

"Please, captain. Just call me Val." Val said, finally turning around to face her and taking her attention off the guard. There was an eery screeching noise as she dragged a chair out from under the table, and took a seat.

Spitfire tensed. She'll need to choose her moves and words very carefully from now on- you never know when you might reveal something. Val tilted her head to one side, her glowing light blue robotic eye narrowing. Spitfire shuddered, however not visibly as the gaze from that eye seemed to pierce her straight to the heart.

"I believe you know what I'm here for." Val said, leaning forward and scanning Spitfire's face for the barest hint of a flinch. "But ofcourse, you're going to pretend that you don't."

If there was any discomfort in Spitfire, she suppressed it well.

"That may be because I don't. The possibilities are infinite." Spitfire said, leaning back into her chair and making some distance between herself and Val's scary eyes.

"You think I don't know about your little plans? In fact, I should execute a termination order on the OASIS right now..." Val said slowly, letting out one word at a time.

"I'm afraid I don't understand you." Spitfire said, keeping on a straight face even though her heart was pounding at a thousand miles an hour. She hid that by folding her arms in front of her chest.

"I'm sure you're familiar with history, yes? Being a certainly knowledgable captain..." Val said, also leaning back into her own chair.

Spitfire was about to let out a sigh of relief when she realized this was part of Val's plan. She held that sigh in, not showing any sort of emotional change what so ever.

"I am." she said.

"Then you'll know the story of the Magic Faction, and how they were utterly smothered by Science." Val said, standing up- her chair making a screeching noise that echoed in the silence as it slid away. "Many ponies died from those wars... Those rebellions. And now... They live underground, slaves of a superior kind." she paused, casting a sideways glance at Spitfire. "Most of them, anyway."

The conversation was really getting on Spitfire's nerves now- but she did her best to keep a straight face.

"Twice, they thought they could win against us. And they failed in vain." Val turned around, placing her robotic hands down by either side of the table and leaning forward, her face sliding behind the shadows. "And I heard there's a third time coming."

"Wouldn't you want to address the general of the COLOSSUS instead-" Spitfire started, but Val cut her short.

"Captain Spitfire." Val said quietly, but clearly. "You know why I'm addressing you, not the captain of a much more powerful cruiser. The OASIS is rogue."

Spitfire ground her teeth together behind her tightly closed lips. She just stared at the far wall as Val stood up, slowly walking around the table.

"What, you thought I wouldn't know?" Val said, and Spitfire could hear her voice constantly changing position as she walked around her. "I could order the assault on your secret fleet right now. But I won't- what difference does it make? The result will be the same, regardless of who strikes first- because I'll be ready. So here's what I'm going to do." Val leaned down, her lips barely a few centimeters away from Spitfire's still ears. She felt her hot breath run down the side of her face, and restrained herself from flinching. "I'm going to let you run wild with your plans to overthrow me. Because it wouldn't matter. Let's see what you can do, captain." Val grinned, standing up. She laughed, amused at Spitfire's attempts at hiding the truth. "Surprised? I should think so.
But you're not the only one with those extra memories. Memories of an alternate universe where I had lost- but it's different now. I have won, and I know how to keep it that way."

Val tapped the side of her head, her robotic figure making a light but solid clunk against the metal plating on one side of her face.

"You think I don't know you fought for the Magic Faction- Captain of the Wonderbolts? Equestria's top aerial defense team?" she grinned, scanning Spitfire's face for any signs of weakness. "Do whatever you want, keeping in mind I'll always be ready when the crap does hit the fan."

This was it- Val was right here right now, and if she doesn't take the chance to kill her- who knows when there'll be a second chance?

Spitfire sprung up, her pistol already drawn and her chair skidding away into the background- but Val was faster. She had a firm grip on Spitfire's wrist, keeping the gun pointed well away from her. She even had one arm tucked behind her back, for her own enjoyment.

"Buck-" Spitfire cursed, trying to free herself- but she couldn't do anything.

"Magic is weak." Val said in a hushed tone. Spitfire gritted her teeth, growling at Val. "It will never defeat science."

Val twisted, and Spitfire grunted. She was slowly being forced to her knees, and she could hear her arm click as Val kept twisting. She was forced to drop the pistol- her arm wasn't listening to her anymore.

Then Val launched a backwards kick into her chest, sending her flying back and hitting the far wall. Her back cracked against the cold metal, and she slumped down onto the floor; her vision blurring. She quickly shook it off, scrambling to her hooves and whipping out a small knife from behind her back. She swung it at the approaching Val.

Val blocked the knife with her metal palm, closing her fingers around the blade. She yanked it out of Spitfire's grip, then pinned her to the wall with her spare hand.

"Weak." Val said, tightening her grip on Spitfire's neck.

Spitfire screamed as Val stabbed the knife into her right shoulder, the blade sliding through her joint and lodging itself into the wall behind her.

"Gah! Son of a... AH!" she spat through gritted teeth as Val twisted the knife.

"You know what..." Val said, letting go and leaving Spitfire pinned to the wall. "I'm going to let you live- so you can suffer." she said, yanking the knife out. Spitfire screamed again, the knife clunking loudly onto the ground. She slumped down, leaving a bloody smear on the wall behind her as Val turned to leave.

"Good day, captain." she said, arms folded behind her back and walking out of the bar; her guards that did nothing throughout the process following her out and throwing pitiful glances her way.

*

"There should be a floating platform somewhere to your east. I'll mark it out on your HUDs." Team 1's technician said, and with a few beeps a new location appeared on Magnum's HUD.

"Good work. Keep it online." Magnum said, leading her team towards the marked location. "Alright. Eyes and ears sharp when we get on that platform- look out for other ones too. There might be ghosts on them. Check your we-" she immediately fell still as the door in front of her opened, leading into a room filled with ponies.

"Buck!" Storm cursed, quickly taking cover.

Magnum dived behind the wall, but there wasn't a sound coming from the other room- just the shuffling of hooves as the ponies slowly walked around. She looked at Storm, who returned her blank expression. Slowly she stood up, and walked into the other room. Still those ponies ignored her- hundreds of them lined up and slowly limping towards a machine that took up a quarter of the room. The room itself had to be more than twenty meters wide- it was really more of a large hall.

There was something wrong with the ponies. Their eyes stared lifelessly at the ponies in front of them, glassy and unmoving. They also all seemed to be marching too- all their movements were in unison. Nopony was unique. There also seemed to be small devices implanted on the back of all their necks, a green light indicating they're online.

"What the hell is this...?" Magnum waved a hoof right in front of a pony's face, and as expected- she didn't respond.

"Assembly line." Bluefyre said, pointing at the end of the room; at the machine.

Magnum looked at her questioningly, then slowly started heading for the machine. There was a door in the side of it, old and rusted and untouched for decades.

She stood on one side, while Storm took the other. Bluefyre placed a small detonation charge on the door, and quickly moved to join Magnum.

"Breach and clear. Three... Two... One... Go!" Magnum yelled, and Bluefyre pressed the big red button.

The door blew in, and they heard it tumble across the floor. They swung in, rifles pointing this way and that in search of hostiles.

"Clear." Storm said finally, lowering his rifle.

They seemed to be in a control room of some sort, and the hall earlier connected to an even larger one behind the machine. This control room acted as a small connector on the side, and monitored both halls and the interiors of the machine as well.

"What the hell..." Magnum whispered, slowly walking towards one of the glass walls that look into the machine.

It was like the suiting room on the OASIS. Except Bluefyre described it more effectively- it was an assembly line. Ponies walked into the machine, and the robots start putting pieces on. Magnum followed the pony she waved her hoof in front of earlier, as the robots placed the shoulder plates and chest plates down then screwed them in place with a loud buzz. Then the rest went on slowly, piece by piece- until finally, the helmet was attached.

"What are these?" Magnum asked Bluefyre.

"New units. Never seen them before." Bluefyre said.

"Go back and take a DNA sample from one of the ponies and analyze it. I want an identity match. Then scan one of the new units and see what it might be for." Magnum said, still following the pony.

The next hall was just a large gathering ground. All the fresh units were moved here via conveyer belts and robotic arms- all the units seemed dead. Or at least, they weren't online. Magnum didn't like this one bit- somepony could easily turn them all on and they'd be screwed.

Bluefyre took a small cylinder out from behind her back, and stabbed one end lightly into a stallion's neck. A few droplets of blood were sucked into the small cylinder, and she took it out. With a click and a hiss she plugged it into a socket on her arm, and immediately the computer began working away. She frowned at the result, then her eyes widened as she realized what this meant.

She quickly ran back to Magnum, already tapping away at the screen and throwing up a holographic profile.

"What do you have?" Magnum turned around.

Bluefyre just gestured at the profile. Magnum squinted her eyes at the holographic words.

"Blah blah blah blah... Age 23... Male.... Presumed dead in the second Magic-Science war?" Magnum's eyes widened. "What the hell?"

"Do you know what this means, squad leader?" Bluefyre asked.

"I do." Magnum said, trying to work out additional details in her head.

"They captured ponies to use as meat puppets... I think that's what those devices are for." Bluefyre pointed at the metal boxes on the back of their necks.

"Is there anyway to safely free them?" Magnum asked.

"From what I'm seeing... Those devices are connected directly to the central spine, and may or may not be acting as the brain. The entire nervous system might even be redirected into the device, hell knows what. But until we further research the device- I don't think we can." Bluefyre said, shaking her head slowly.

Magnum sighed frustratedly. "This is just bucking great. Got a bunch of hostages that we need to kill." she paused, weighing the few options they have. Then she closed her eyes, calming her insides. "Rig the place with charges. I want it brought down."

"Magnum?" Bluefyre looked surprised, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Do it." Magnum said, storming out of the control room.

*

The night had found its way through to the Crystal Mountains. Vinyl Scratch leant on the railings of the broadcast building, the dark skies and shimmering engines of the barricade seemingly stretching onwards forever high above.

The broadcast station was the highest building in the whole of Haven, concealed only by the huge mirage spell that covered the entire city, relayed and amplified by the Crystal Tower.

The radio DJ gazed up at the sky, the stars shimmering in the dark. Some patches were visible, where spaceships slowly cruised through space. The moon hung on one edge tonight, brighter than even the engines of the barricade.

It was such a different world. The night was so silent, that she could hear her own watch ticking away; and was so still that she could feel the gentle taps the second hand made as it slowly cruised along the rim of the watch. The difference is extreme between the normal party-filled nights of the previous reality and this new cold one. Maybe the new DJ-PON3 liked silence and stillness better, she'll never know.

There were no parties in his new world. She didn't have any equipment she used to have. All she had was her mic, and some old and worn headphones. All she could broadcast were messages and news for anypony that might still have a magic-operated radio lying around. And in most cases, that was nopony. Vinyl sighed, looking down at her own shadow; stretched across the floor by the bright moon.

What will the new world offer? Less opportunities, probably. She was going nowhere in this new world, with no direction to advance in. She had no idea what the date was- nopony did after the war. Nopony kept a calendar- there was no point. Everyday simply slipped past like countless others, as they wait for their eventual death- whether natural, or enforced by their enemies.

Vinyl held out a hoof, and with a light buzz and a bright flash; a twirling disc of orange light appeared and hovered over her outstretched hoof. She had implants in her arm now, so she didn't need to carry those dumb discs from the previous reality around. She gently sizzled the edge of the disc against her arm, drawing a drop of blood- although she felt nothing but the warmth of the disc of energy. So is this a fake reality? Was she dreaming? It seemed too well-constructed to be one. She'll save killing herself for later- when there's firm enough evidence.

"Vinyl..." she heard a soft voice behind her, a gentle night breeze rustling her mane.
"Hey." she said, lowering her head and looking down at the Haven below. The streets were empty, all lights were off. It was just darkness, lit dimly by the moon.

"Up here again?" Noteworthy asked, stepping up next to her by the railings.

"Yeah." Vinyl said, ruby red eyes lowered.

That was accompanied by silence as the night carried on, not stopping for anypony left behind. Time is a cruel thing- it simply moves onwards, and doesn't consider who would be left behind or ground under its wheels- all ponies could hope for was to keep up.

"You okay?" Noteworthy asked as Vinyl's eyes were lost in the night skies once again. He put an arm around her shoulder, hugging her close and warming her up with his body heat.

"Maybe." Vinyl nodded, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Come on." Noteworthy said, looking at her lowered eyes and giving her a gentle rub on the arm. "What's wrong?"

Vinyl took in a deep breath, then let it out in the form of a large sigh. "What isn't?"
"You, for one."

Vinyl chuckled, snuggling up against him.

"And me." Noteworthy added.

"No. Just me." Vinyl said, annoying Noteworthy on purpose. That flash of annoyance quickly dispersed when she gently nuzzled him on the cheek.

Noteworthy knows what Vinyl means- there was no telling what was right and what was wrong- their sense of judgement had long left them after being thrown into a reality of opposites.

There was a loud bang in the distance, and they both looked up to see a bright spot on the horizon, slowly dropping from the barricade; its engines propelling it towards Haven.

"Shuck..." he whispered, hugging Vinyl close as the nuke entered the mirage field.

Author: I noticed how you guys are reading it from the views- and I'm very glad you gusy have the will to keep reading. Although- is there really nothing to talk about? I mean, I'm kinda going blind with this story since I don't get any feedback... So, to please the crowd: what would you like to see happen? I'll try integrate that in should it fit the basic frame of the story

Chapter 13: Fallen

Soarin saw Val and her guards leave, the shuttle undocking. But he didn't see Spitfire- and didn't bother hiding his worry. He quickly paced through the corridors of the OASIS, but all he saw was the occasional officer walking down the corridor.

"Officer." he laid a firm hoof on a passing officer, stopping him. "Have you seen the Captain?"

"No, sir. Haven't seen her. Although, from what I last heard- she and that phsyco Val went into the bar. That's why everypony's avoiding that area." the officer said, and Soarin let him go; temporarily frozen.

"Buck." he cursed, quickly running down the corridor and towards the bar.

He bumped into several officers on the way, but didn't bother apologizing. They knew he was in a hurry by the looks of it.

"Spitfire! Captain!" he yelled as he turned the corner of the bar, then froze with his eyes wide. "Captain!?"

Spitfire was sitting at the bar table, and had served herself to a bottle of whiskey. Its half drunk contents slushed about as Spitfire looked behind her at Soarin- the misery in those eyes he'd never forget. Aside from that, there was a gaping hole torn in her left shoulder, blood still slowly sliding down her uselessly dangling arm.

"What happened...?" Soarin whispered, quickly rushing to her side.

Spitfire didn't reply, just took a large swig from her bottle. Some of the golden liquid trickled out of the corners of her mouth and slid down her neck.

"Your arm..." Soarin looked at her dangling and bleeding left arm.

"I'll be fine." Spitfire sad, although it sounded more like a croak.

"Get me a medical officer in the bar. Captain is wounded." Soarin said quickly into the mic, and Spitfire didn't stop him- just took another swig.

"Thanks." she said, coughing slightly as she choked on a drop of alcohol.

"What did she say?" Soarin asked, laying a firm hoof on the downed Captain's shoulder.

Spitfire just shook her head.

"I know something is up. The good captain was never drunk before." Soarin said, tightening his grip on Spitfire's shoulder. "Tell me- what did she say?"

Spitfire shook her head again, letting out a deep sigh; her stare on the shelves of alcohol, however her mind drifting away into a different place. "She knew, Soarin. She knew all along."

"What do you mean?" Soarin still hadn't registered the message yet.

"She knew about us, all along. Of course she did..." Spitfire had a tear sliding down her cheek as she buried her face in her hoof.

"No way..." Soarin mind finally caught up. "How...?"

"I don't know, but she says we aren't the only ones with those extra memories." Spitfire said, leaning heavily on Soarin. "Guess she remembered things from the last world."

"The last world, huh..." Soarin muttered, giving Spitfire a short and gentle squeeze.

"I can't take this anymore..." Spitfire sniffed, putting down the empty bottle with a loud clink. "...I just can't."

"Come on, captain. Yes you can." Soarin said, taking the empty bottle away. "I know there's a lot of strain on you- but we need a leader now. No matter if we win or lose, we need a leader to lead us on. We need somepony to keep us organized."

"And why does it have to be me? Can't somepony else who is more up to the task do it? Like Dash?" Spitfire asked, eyes closed and head lowered.

"If she's more qualified- then why did they choose you? Why did WE choose you? Dash is a fighter. And what we need is a leader- you, Spitfire. You organized our infiltration of the S.F. space fleet. And you will organize our attack." Soarin said as hoofsteps rang out behind him. "Ponies have respect for you. Don't back down now and lose that."

Spitfire nodded. "I won't."

"Is the captain alright?" Nurse Redheart shouted as she led a small med team around the corner.

"Aye, aye... A scratch, a scratch..." Spitfire said, standing up.

"Ma'am- we need to take a look at it under the x-ray. Seems like you've got a disjointed arm, probably even worse."

"Do what you have to." Spitfire said, following the medic team out the bar. Just before she left, she tilted her head to one side so Soarin could see the gentle smile on her face, nodded; and left.

*

"We're here." Magnum said, cautiously stepping onto the small boarding area for the platform. "Team 1. Need you to keep an eye on the other platforms."

"Confirm. Two hostile units moving in, ETA five minutes."

"Right. Get this one moving." Magnum said, jumping on. She felt a few thuds as the others followed. "Keep an eye out for hostiles."

The platform started floating off the floor, and levitated into the air. It began slowly moving towards the central structure, a small dot on the other side indicating the other entrance.

"Storm, watch those light bridges." Magnum pointed at the light bridges that connected both sides overhead. "Anvil, watch our backs. Bluefyre, send the drone ahead of us and scout the area."

"Yes ma'am."

Magnum peered over the edge of the platform. She could see the surface from here, and the giant blazing engine of the barricade. All so far away, and once considered home. Now it was considered hell.

"Enemies! Up there!" Storm yelled, pointing at the light bridges as several assault units started running across.

"Team 1! Try and shut down those bridges!" Magnum yelled, her rifle cracking loudly as she pulled the trigger. The head of the assault unit she aimed for instantly shattered, and the remains of its body toppled over the bridge. It clunked loudly onto the side of the platform before falling down into hell below.

"Platforms!" Anvil warned.

"Take down the damn RPGs first!!" Magnum yelled, sending a bullet through the assault unit with the rocket launcher. "Storm! Gimme that shotgun!" she yelled, tossing Storm the anti-matter rifle.

Storm flung his shotgun at her, and caught the anti-matter rifle. Magnum grabbed onto the reload handle of the shotgun, its momentum sliding it forward and loading the gun with a loud click.

Magnum never misses- no matter what. She swung the shotgun at the group of five assault units approaching from the light bridge. She pulled the trigger once- sending a spread of pellets into the enemy's heads. None missed. One shell, five down.

"More of em!" Anvil yelled, assault rifle blazing.

"Storm- do you still have any EMP grenades?" Magnum asked.

"One left!" Storm said, the face of his helmet lit up by the beam of anti-matter blazing in front of him.

"Pull the pin and throw it at me!" Magnum yelled, her shotgun sending out another fatal spread of pellets; sparks flying out of the barrel and soon followed by thick grey smoke.

"Ma'am!?"

"Hurry up!"

Storm flicked out the EMP grenade and pulled the pin with his left hoof, while his right hoof kept shooting short bursts of anti-matter at the assault units. He tossed the grenade at Magnum, who did a three-sixty turn and launched a hoof flat into the grenade. The grenade was sent flying across the artificial canyon, and exploded with a burst of electric blue on one end of a light bridge. The bridge fizzed and flickered, then faded away; throwing the units on it down below.

"Team 1! Progress?" Magnum asked, flinching as several bullets clipped her on the shoulder; however making less than a dent in the thick armor.

"Arseholes shut down the terminal! We don't have any control over it- I think they cut the power! Buck- here they come!" the communication was immediately cut short following an explosion.

"Damnit!" Magnum cursed, then her gun clicked empty. She flung the shotgun back to Storm, who threw her back the anti-matter rifle.

Then there was a loud whoosh- there were assault units on the balconies of the canyon, and bullets weren't the only things they were shooting. Magnum realized a second too late, and failed to dodge the rocket in time. It hit her full in the chest as she turned around, sending her flying off the platform. She cracked her back against another, and instinctively reached behind her. Her hooves slipped on the smooth metal hull of the platform, and she started falling. She quickly whipped out a knife from behind her back, and slammed it down into the flimsy hull. The knife slid through the metal several centimeters deep, and stopped eventually.

"Shuck." Magnum said, looking down at her back hooves; dangling over almost certain death.

There was a robotic groan as an assault unit on the platform walked towards her to check out what was going on. Magnum quickly activated her jetpack, the thrusters bursting to life. She had already used half her fuel- but she didn't check the meter. The sudden boost sent her into the air, and she tackled the assault unit head on. It skid several meters, then stopped on the other end of the platform. Magnum scrambled up, the anti-matter rifle between them. They both started crawling towards it, but the assault unit got there first.

Magnum leaped up, kicking the rifle off aim. Then she stabbed her knife into the side and kicked the assault unit away with a broken anti-matter rifle. She used her jetpack again, flying back and out of range as the remaining bit of anti-matter was released and caused a huge purple explosion. The unit and the platform went down in thick black smoke. Magnum landed on a light bridge, the charged particles beneath her hooves fizzing as she made contact.

"Team 2! Enemies are remote controlling all systems- we don't have any control over the internal systems! The only way is to reach the command center!" a member of team 1 said.

"Bucking great news." Magnum said, the light bridge beneath her hooves slowly fading away. She sprinted forward, feeling her hooves sink more and more into the bridge with each step. Then finally it fizzed out, and she fell. With a boost from her jetpack she managed to land on the platform her team was on.

"We better get off this damn thing. How much fuel do you guys still have?" Storm asked, and even as he said this the engines of the platform were slowly dying.

"Not much." Anvil said, and Bluefyre nodded.

"Buck it. Don't have a choice." Magnum said, shooting down several assault units and leaping onto their empty platform. "Come on!"

Storm and Anvil leaped across easily, but Bluefyre was last- and the platform had already started falling. Instead of pushing off like she was supposed to, the platform fell out from underneath her hooves. She hit the edge of the other platform, and began slipping off. Magnum leant over the edge and quickly pulled her up. They rolled onto temporarily safe ground, breathing hard.

"No time to wait in line- just jump!" she said, giving Bluefyre a pat on the back- and she nodded.

"Light bridge!" Storm yelled, leaping off the slowly failing platform.

"Move it!" Magnum yelled as the platform started falling. She leaped forward, but was no-where near the light bridge. A boost from her jetpack did the trick, and she heard several fizzes as her teammates landed next to her.

"Go! GO!" Anvil yelled, pushing Bluefyre and Magnum on.

"Hostiles!" Magnum said, releasing several shots into an assault unit's head. She had to resort to her pistol now, since the other weapons all but the ACPW were out of ammo. The unit tumbled off the edge of the platform, clipped the side of another and continued falling in several pieces.

"Jetpacks!" Storm yelled, firing a spread of shotgun pellets into the air above him. A few seconds later a modified assault unit fell out of the sky, jetpack out of control and sending it flying all over the place. "Buck- LOOK OUT!"

The out of control assault unit suddenly swerved back, flying straight towards Bluefyre. It hit her in the side, knocking her off the edge of the light bridge. She tried to grab on, but the tips of her hooves only just missed.

She fell onto an assault unit about five stories down on a platform, her suit preventing any damage from getting to her.

She scrambled up, picked up the downed unit's anti-matter rifle, and took a boost from her jetpack. She flew onto a higher vantage point, a different platform. A short burst from the anti-matter rifle took care of the assault unit on it.

"Go! I'll provide cover fire!" Bluefyre yelled, the purple beam of the anti-matter rifle cutting through the air.

"It's going off again-!" Magnum warned, feeling that familiar sudden drop as her hooves sunk partially through the light bridge.

"Almost there-" Storm said, then suddenly the bridge collapsed out from underneath them. They fell, stomachs leaping. They cracked their backs onto a platform after a five meter drop.

The platform Bluefyre was on was going down, so she quickly leaped onto the one everypony was on. It wobbled slightly as the extra weight from her suit crushed onto it, but held.

"Buck- does anypony have enough fuel left?" Magnum asked, looking up at the top right corner of her HUD- jetpack fuel levels were at zero point five percent.

"Just a little bit. Don't think I'll even make it." Storm said.

There was a loud bang and whoosh- Magnum didn't need to look up to see what caused that.

"Well-" she said, backing off to the far end. "Don't have a bucking choice-" she said, sprinting forward and leaping for the entrance.

They all jumped at the same time, the rocket hitting the platform they were on a split second ago and blowing it to pieces. The shockwave swept over them in mid-air, sending them spiraling off balance. Storm, Anvil and Bluefyre all made it with a little boost from their jetpacks- but Magnum didn't have enough fuel left.

"Shu~~ck!" she yelled as she fell short. She bumped her head on the edge, cracking the visor. She grabbed at the edge, but all she felt was the smooth metal wall and nothing to grip onto.

She looked down at the console on her arm- time to test out one of the new gadgets.
"Come on grav boots! COME ON!" she pounded the touch screen.

"Artificial Gravity Activated." the suit's computer said, and instantly Magnum felt a tingling sensation in her back hooves. Now she just needed to get her hooves onto the wall- easier said than done. It kept pulling away from her, sparks erupting every time she tried to land. Her hooves scraped on the metal, the suit and the wall grinding together in a loud screech.

Magnum growled, yanked the knife out from behind her back and tried stabbing it into the wall- but this was a lot thicker than the flimsy hull of the platform. She looked at the knife, which had been sanded down almost to the hilt. There were enemies shooting at her too, their bullets landing short and causing bright flashes to scatter across the wall. Finally she slid to a halt, hooves smoking from the grinding. She couldn't walk normally- there would always have to be a hoof on the wall, otherwise gravity will revert to normal.

"Come on! You can do it!" Bluefyre yelled from high above, anti-matter rifle blaring.

"Trying the buck outta myself!" Magnum growled, whipping out the ACPW and firing carefully aimed rounds back at her attackers. It was annoying because she kinda had to aim above her.

Finally she reached the entrance, and her teammates quickly pulled her in.

"Shuck! That was bucking close!" Storm said as Bluefyre punched in an activation code into a console, sealing the door shut.

"Tell me about it..." Magnum breathed, still a little breathless.

"Get up squad leader-" Anvil said, pulling her up. "We got quite a bit of work ahead of us."

"I managed to tap into their monitors, but I can only see what they're doing- not control it. We'll need the main command center for that." Bluefyre said, peering at her HUD; a small sign of a frown on her face. "And... They just launched a nuke in the direction of the Crsytal Mountains."

"What!?" Magnum gasped. "That's where the Haven is!"

"I know..." Bluefyre sighed.

"We need to notify the captain immediately! Put me through." Magnum said.

"Are you crazy!?" Bluefyre yelled. "They'll track the signal! We don't have systems needed for a secure encrypted signal!"

"Put me through!" Magnum yelled, jabbing a hoof into Bluefyre's chest. "If you don't- all those ponies will be dead!"

"And if I do- more will be! The OASIS will be discovered!"

"Magnum-" Storm said, placing a firm hoof on her shoulder. "They'd be dead anyway. If the barricade knows they're there, then they won't stop until they run out of weapons. Not even the OASIS can do anything about it."

Magnum stared down at the ground, her teeth grinding together and her jaw clenched. Then she roared, and slammed a hoof into the wall to her right. It buckled, and when her hoof fell down by her side there was a giant dent left in it.

"I'm tired of not being able to do anything." she said finally, and was glad that her team couldn't see the tear drift down her face through her visor. "I'm sick of it."

Storm lifted his hoof, and patted her on the back. "We all are." he said, and started walking towards the marked command center.

Slowly, one by one- they turned and followed.

Magnum stared at the dent in the wall for a second longer, then turned and left too. There was no time to whine- but she couldn't help but whimper when she thought about that feeling of guilt in her heart. She knows she didn't cause this- but she didn't stop it either. It was like all those years back again- she could only wake up, and hope she didn't pull the trigger on the wrong pony again. It wasn't her fault, she was always told. But still the guilt stayed, eating away at her spirit.

^and if you don't know what this is about, read: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/62630/1/On-That-Snowy-Night.../On-That-Snowy-Night...

Chapter 14: False Alarm

"The barricade has sent quite a few drop pods into your vicinity." Spitfire told Octavia through the mic and a secure connection. "They're all on the surface- expect them to get down there soon."

"Roger." Octavia said, slushing through the muck. "We don't have many ponies left. We found Daring Do, and we only have two survivors left."

"Damn. I sent in a team to infiltrate the barricade. They should be able to take over weapons control anytime now." Spitfire said, hiding the worry in her voice. "You know what. Got a little present for ya from... Er... Do you know this... Applebloom?"

"I do." Rainbow cut in immediately.

"Well. She says something about a modified old relic of yours... Rebuilt from scratch. She just sent a message from Haven... It was an automated one."

"Wait- automated incase of what?" Rainbow frowned, stopping dead in her tracks.

"If Haven doesn't make it." Spitfire said.

Everything fell silent as Rainbow tried to process the information. Haven- under attack?

"What the hell is going on!?" she growled in a hushed tone, turning around and sending a menacing and questioning glare Octavia's way.

"Think they found the Haven. They already launched a nuke." Spitfire said.

"Shuck..." Rainbow ran a hoof through her mane, feeling her heart sink with dread and loss. She shook her head, unbelieving. "No... No... This can't be happening."

"Rainbow." Spitfire said firmly. "Hold it together. You aren't the only one with friends in there."

"Don't give me that bull crap!" Rainbow growled.

"Hold it together!" Spitfire growled back. "Listen- you gonna take what's in her will or not?"

Rainbow breathed through flaring nostrils, but shook it off. There were too many surprises already- she didn't need more- but this one she had to take. "Give me the details."

"There's a magic operated cargo train in the underground tunnels. Trams, or subways- more precisely. Your precious cargo will be on it- I'll patch a connection to the train and send it to your nearest station. Can you access Fillydelphia Central station from the sewers?"

"Affirmative. What is the precious cargo?" Rainbow said, she and her group standing absolutely still.

"Doesn't say- but, it does say you'll love it. Patching the M.F. connection now- I'm in. Now- it's on its way to the station. You have the location marked on your HUD?"

"HUD? The hell you talking about?" Rainbow asked. While she may look like she had forgotten about Applebloom's possible death- she was still churning inside. But like Spitfire said- she needed to hold it together. Get the info, and she could either save the filly or take revenge- none of which will be happening if she goes into a blind rage.

"Right. Octavia has... Informed me on your memory loss condition. You should be able to find some shades in your pocket?" Spitfire sighed.

"Yeah. Why?" Rainbow asked, feeling a small weight in her coat pocket. She reached in and pulled out a pair of sleek looking shades. She raised an eyebrow at the high-tech look.

"That's your HUD. Turn it on and put em on." Spitfire said slowly, as if addressing a foal.
"This just keeps getting weirder and weirder." Rainbow muttered, putting on the glasses and seeing the projections. "I see it."

"Yeah. Head in that direction." Spitfire said in the same manner.

"Stop talking to me like that."

"Like what?"

Rainbow sucked in a deep breath, then let it out in a controlled manner. "Never mind."

"It'll help you on your way big time- so finding that is now your primary objective. Spitfire out."

"Wait!" Rainbow said, but the only reply was the static and her own echoing voice, traveling down the length of the sewer tunnels. Everything fell silent again as the echo faded away, and Rainbow's shoulders slumped down. She let out a deep sigh, eyes wet.

Octavia considered whether or not she should say what she was about to. It was tearing her in two- but eventually she had to choose one. "That Applebloom... She's the one that built the revival machine, right?"

Rainbow nodded, starting to move on; taking slow, heavy steps through the muck. She heard Octavia approach, then felt a gentle hoof on her shoulder.

"Then this isn't just revenge for you." Octavia said.

Rainbow sighed, looking behind her at her friend's determined face.

"I remember seeing her grow up. It's such a waste- I doesn't matter whether or not you're agreeing with me or not. I'm going to take down whoever is responsible- and they're going to suffer for it." Rainbow said, walking away.

Octavia looked down at the muck, looking for what she wasn't sure. She just shook her head, then waved the others on.

*

"We're in. All teams gather and start heading towards extraction zones." Magnum said as her team entered the command center, mowing down the few unarmed officers inside. She walked up to a console, then waved Bluefyre up to take over. "Prepare to fire on enemy units on the ground."

"I've got this covered squad leader." Bluefyre said, tapping into the system.

"Good to hear." Magnum said, striding away from the console and checking that her gun had a full magazine. "Guard the exits. We want to be in here for as long as possible."

"Priming proximity mines." Storm said, turning some handles on a metal plate and placing it down in front of a closed door. He repeated the step until all three doors had mines in front of them, red LED indicators pulsing gently.

Magnum held up a hoof, telling the team to stop whatever they were doing and stay silent. She waved at Bluefyre, telling her to continue.

There were heavy hoofsteps outside- a clear sign of approaching enemies.

"Take cover and get ready." Storm whispered.

They watched the door, waiting for something to happen. The locks suddenly clicked, heavy metal bars sliding away. But the door didn't open- it just stayed there.

Suddenly there was a bright flash and a huge rush of gas as all of the doors blew in, the heavy metal pieces tumbling across the command center. Chunks of flying metal shrapnel sent piles of paperwork into the air. Smoke poured in as the assault units breached the room.

"Damnit! Smart arses." Magnum cursed, then froze as she spotted several shifting voids slide though the smoke. "Cover Bluefyre! GHOSTS INCOMING!"

"Eat mines-" Storm said, twisting a handle and throwing the disk into the crowd. It exploded in a bright show of sparks, and he quickly ducked down to avoid the flying assault unit. Well, half of it anyway. The rest was sent up in pieces.

"Protect the console!" Magnum yelled. "We need it in one piece!!"

*

"Multiple explosive impacts on the surface detected." Soarin said. "They made it."

Spitfire stood before the huge holographic screen, arms folded before her and a metal plate guarding her injured shoulder. "Tell them to keep firing."

"Video message from the S.F. COLOSSUS." the AI said.

"Plat it." Spitfire ordered without hesitation.

"Captain Spitfire..." it was Val again. "I should just pretend I don't know who sent those soldiers into my barricade- and I will. I shall ignore you for now, but I shall also warn you this- captain, you still have some time left- but you're running out of it." she said, her robotic eye gleaming in the shadows. "I will deal with them like they have nothing to do with you. Will you save them and reveal yourself, or will you keep your supposed 'secrecy' and give yourself more time?" she leant back, letting out a light chuckle. "Good luck, captain." the video abruptly ended, and the bridge exploded into a mass of noisy chattering as its officers questioned Val's true intent.

"She's just playing games. Don't fall for it." Soarin said.

"I know she is." Spitfire said. "And I'm not falling for anything. If a game is what she wants, then a game is what she's gonna get. As of yet, we're both only planning our moves." she said, turning around and walking past Soarin; her face brightly lit by the spotlights that shone from the ceiling and onto the bridge.

"Oh? What do you have planned?" Soarin asked.

"I know what Rainbow's little present from Applebloom is. Applebloom already told me. It'll get her and her group to places much more efficiently, and will most definitely help in battle." Spitfire said, pacing back and forth and scanning the holographic screen. "Right now this war is being fought on what the opposition doesn't know. I'm sure Val has her secrets- ready to be unleashed. And I have mine."

"And that is?" Soarin asked.

"She's not the only one with a spy in the opposition." Spitfire smirked. "This world is moving on, and as she said- we're running out of time to catch up. She's trying to use these recent events- not just to her own advantage, but also to our disadvantage. If we get lost in the past, then I doubt we'll be making any correct decisions." she said, leaning on the railings on the edge of the top layer of the bridge, overlooking her officers down below as they worked away.

"Careful how you play the game. Don't play it into her hands." Soarin said.

"I will." Spitfire said, eyes centered on a distant future and goal.

It's game on.

*

"Vinyl..." Noteworthy said, turning to her DJ more-than-just-a-friend.

"Don't say anything." Vinyl said, watching the bright spot on the horizon slowly grow brighter and brighter as it neared. It was like watching their own doom, slowly creeping its way towards them.

"I..." Noteworthy started, but Vinyl placed a hoof on his mouth and shushed him. She turned her head, and he could see the glimmering tears in her eyes. She shook her head, a sad smile on her face.

"Please... Don't say it." she said, dropping the hoof and hugging him tightly. She'd rather imagine what they couldn't have had than imagine what they could've had. She was crying from that, and the unfairness of it all. To be dropped in a new world, and immediately killed? What kinda bull crap is that?

"Okay. I won't." Noteworthy said softly, giving her a light kiss on the forehead. She buried her head in his chest and closed her eyes, waiting for the nuke to strike. He pressed his forehead against hers, ears raised and listening to the crackling of the nuke's thrusters. Slowly it got closer and closer, louder and louder. Now Vinyl could hear it too, and she tightened her grip on Noteworthy.

Then a bright flash sunk through their eyelids, lighting up the darkness. There was the loud sound of things burning- seems like the nuke had went off. Soon, a strong gust of wind hit them full on, forcing Noteworthy to back up a step- but he stayed standing. They felt the intense heat slam against their bodies, their mane and tails whipping around in the wind. Then everything went dark again, the wind gone, and the heat faded away.

The night plunged back into its peaceful silence, and for several minutes all they could hear was each other's quiet breathing. They were too afraid to move, but soon had to. Slowly, Noteworthy opened his eyes and raised his head. It was as if nothing had ever happened before- Haven was still the same- although there were some ponies up and about now, probably woken by the silent 'under attack' siren and the disturbances earlier.

"What the hay..." he muttered, looking around at normality. Although, nothing seemed normal to him anymore- it shouldn't be after what should've happened.

"What's going on?" Vinyl asked, looking up. All she found in Noteworthy's eyes were the same level of confusion in her own.

There was a distant boom behind them, and the night was once again lit up- but the explosion was so far off that the effect wasn't even detectable here. All there was was the sound and the light- which had a weak shockwave follow later, in the form of a slight breeze. They turned around, staring at the huge mushroom cloud just beyond the Crystal Mountains. It was quite small from this distance- but they could tell it was at least several kilometers across. At least.

"It wasn't meant for us at all..." Noteworthy muttered, the burning nuclear cloud slowly cooling and turning into fallout. The light and wind they experienced earlier was just the nuke flying by- really, really closely.

*

The ground shook and rumbled, and Rainbow tripped over and splashed into the muck.
"What the hell!?" she spat out a disgusting mouthful of sewage waste. It also annoyed her how she was the only one who tripped over with an open mouth.

"Captain?" Octavia asked. "Any ideas?"

"It was the nuke." Spitfire said.

"Damnit!" Rainbow cursed, slamming a hoof into the muck and causing a large splash.

"Thankfully, Haven is safe. It was never targeted for Haven, it just... Well, was in the way. It struck Fillydelphia's western region, roughly three kilometers from your position and on the surface. It'll be in the way- you'll have to cross the blasted area to keep going." Spitfire said.

"Question: how?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow, also relieved that Haven wasn't under attack at all. Mainly because the CMC still live.

"There'll be nuclear fallout, but you should be fine. Don't need a suit for that kind of minor stuff- the nuke was one of those really bright incendiary ones, so you'll be finding a whole burning city out there. Most probably, anyway- if everything hasn't already been turned to dust. The way these things work is that most of the chemicals are simply flammable- so not much radio-active material." Spitfire explained.

"Good." Rainbow muttered. Suddenly everything seemed so much better- Haven was fine, and the nuke pretty much did nothing. Nice, very nice.

"Don't start feeling jolly just yet." Spitfire said. "Got a whole swarm of odd heat signatures closing in on your position underground. I know there are S.F. troops in the area, but these don't really match."

"Mutations..." Octavia muttered.

"And a whole buck'n army of em." Spitfire said, however not showing much concern.

"Suggestions?" Rainbow asked, drawing her cleaver. They could hear the moaning and growling of the mutated all the way from here- despite all of them being miles away. There was certainly a big horde of them.

"Get to the train. I can use it to get you guys to safety." Spitfire said, and they heard a few beeps as she started plotting a new course for the train.

"But it's in the middle of this entire bull crap." Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"Yep. So let's see who gets there first- dumb mutated animals or the pegasus that is supposedly worthy of joining the Wonderbolts? Make your decision. And you're also wasting time right now." Spitfire said.

Rainbow growled, and hung up. "Let's go! Move it!"

They ran through the muck, huffing and puffing along the way. The location marked on Rainbow's HUD grew closer and closer, and the groaning of the mutations grew louder and louder. Eventually it was this chaotic mess of sound, as both sides made their way to the tram station.

"Shuck- there they are!" Daring Do yelled, shining her torch in front of them. The torch wasn't getting any details- but there were shifting shadows everywhere in the distant darkness, hundreds of different shapes writhing and accompanying the moans.

"Dainty- Lily- Stay back. Tavi, make sure they don't get bitten." Rainbow said, already allowing the virus in her body to partially take over. Her skin started to peel and burn away, revealing sharp demon scales underneath. Her hooves sprouted thick claws, sharpened to the very edge. Sharp vampire teeth sprouted from her gums, and the irises of her eyes turned into vertical slits. Within a matter of seconds she was in that form again, mutated- however in full control. With a powerful beat from her armored wings, she burst forward.

"You two- stay with me!" Nightshade said, taking the two filly's hooves in hers. This way should they get in harms way, she'll be able to instantly teleport them away.

"What the hay is your sister!?" Lily asked, staring wide-eyed as Rainbow tore through the crowd of mutations. Dainty shrugged.

"Rainbow! Clear a way to the tram station!" Octavia yelled.

"Will do." Rainbow said, her voice much, much deeper than it usually is.

Daring fired a shell into the crowd, and watched the shadow of blood fly out of the mass of bodies. She reloaded, the crimson red shotgun shell flying out the side with a loud click.

"Damnit! I'm out!" Octavia yelled, throwing her empty shotgun into the water out of frustration.

"Just run for it!" Nightshade yelled as Rainbow tore a hole through the crowd.

"Move it! It's right bucking there!" Daring shouted over the groans of the mutated, her sentence abruptly cut off as an overwhelming blast from her shotgun pumped a storm of metal bearings into the mutations.

Rainbow flew up, her wings grazing the ceiling- then dove back down, claws slashing. The sharp scales on the edge of her wing sliced through a mutated stallion, tearing him clean in half and spilling his guts into the sewer. Her claw slashed sideways, swiping across the face of another mutated pony and ripping its head off. Its severed jaw left a trail of blood in the air as it tumbled away.

Nightshade shoved the two fillies through a narrow service tunnel, leading straight to the maintenance room of the tram station which then leads to the station itself. Octavia followed, and Daring came next; pulling the trigger and setting the shadows ablaze. Rainbow was through last, acting as a shield and blocking the doorway as she backed in- then she slammed the heavy metal door shut. She looked around for something to hold it, and decided to rip out a long disused metal pipe and jam it across the door to prevent it from opening. The mutated continued to growl and bang on it, but it barely budged.

"That was close..." Octavia muttered, slumping down on some stairs that led to the maintenance room. Finally she was able to get away from the muck- and she didn't want to get anywhere near it again.

Rainbow's body started smoking again as the effects were forced to retreat, and soon she was back to normal. Then, as if she hadn't slept for years; she fell forwards. Daring caught her, and gently laid her down on the steps.

"Sis! You okay?" Dainty asked worriedly.

"Side effects." Rainbow muttered, clutching her head and her eyes barely open.
"You gotta take it easy on using that." Octavia laid a hoof on Rainbow's hunched back, peering at her cautiously.

Rainbow suddenly froze, then slowly rose to her hooves. Her eyes were hidden under the shadow of her mane, her face expressionless.

"Rainbow?" Octavia peered at her face, but still couldn't tell what was going on.

Then Rainbow turned around, her eyes looking past everypony and at the far wall. They were unfocused, staring at something they could not see.

"The hay is wrong with her?" Daring asked.

"Dunno." Octavia said worriedly, waving a hoof frantically in front of Rainbow's unfocused glassy eyes. "Rainbow! Can you hear me!? RAINBOW!"

Chapter 16: ATLANTA

"Another message from the COLOSSUS." the OASIS's AI unit said.

"Damnit- what the hell does she want now!?" Soarin growled.

"Play it." Spitfire said.

Val appeared on the screen again, a menacing grin on her face. "Just a forewarning, captain. I may have found a certain underwater Magic Faction Head Quarters."

Spitfire's eyes widened. "Shuck!"

And as if Val could see her reaction, the prerecorded video of her started laughing. Then it was abruptly cut short as the video ended.

"Son of a rooster... What the hay do we do now?" Soarin cursed, and the bridge exploded with activity as the normally organized crew members were thrown into chaos with this news.

"Send a message to the base." Spitfire said, running a hoof through her mane. "We can't afford mistakes right now. Call Shining Armor up here, with our top officers. We need to discuss a strategy ASAP."

*

Blithy walked through the corridors of ATLANTA, the most advanced Magic Faction facility on Earth and the only prime Head Quarters underwater. It was a large web of buildings spanned out across the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, thousands of miles beneath the surface. Barely any light was able to come through all the water down here, and the only thing lighting up the bottom was ATLANTA itself. All the buildings where dome shaped, with prism cannons scattered throughout the base. Missiles and torpedoes were the only projectile weapons, as other non-propellant projectiles are much less efficient under water. Glass tunnels connected one dome to the other, and from a distance they were like a spider's web- they were everywhere. ATLANTA was more than just a prime Head Quarters, but also home of several thousand Magic Faction operatives, such as Rainbow Dash and her team before they left on the mission. It spanned fifty kilometers in diameter, a coruscant mega structure under the sea.

There were trams that operated within boundaries, to transport ponies efficiently and also used for city-wide evacuation. There was practically a tram station every quarter of a kilometer, and the record for evacuating the entire several thousand ponies was twenty minutes. But those were only drills- no panic, and no missiles raining down on them from the surface. In case of a real invasion, it is estimated that a great forty percent of the trams would be destroyed in the process- otherwise escape routes would be blocked. It would be a miracle if city wide evacuation could finish within an hour, should there be anypony left to be evacuated at all. There were emergency shelters located inside the cliffs of the sea bed, old abandoned shelters that were designed to withstand nuclear bombs and even bunker busters. There were also train tunnels connected from there directly to Haven, but they were closed off until Haven gives permission; as this directly affects their low profile and 'undetected' status.

Blithy was almost an exact double of Val in this universe- and ponies only recognized her because the LEDs on her robotic half were green, not blue like Val's. With her similarities with Val, she was able to climb to the top of the chain of command- trouble is, after that reality swap- she doesn't remember any of it.

But it was easy for her to store information though- she could memorize the entire site plan of ATLANTA by plugging a USB into her robotic half. Oh, how she loved being a cyborg- despite its inconveniences. Now she knows everything she did- she just doesn't remember doing it.

"Blithy." a voice said through her mic, built into the robotic half of her face.

Blithy commanded her robotics to bring up a live image of the speaker, and a hologram of Spitfire appeared. There seemed to be a lot of background noise too, with the bridge buzzing with activity. The occasional officer wondered into the hologram scanning field, then quickly disappeared as he exited again. "Busy day captain?"

"Very." Spitfire said dismissively. "We've got an emergency."

"What kind of an emergency?" Blithy asked, walking into the command center by chance.

"ATLANTA's cover has been blown." Spitfire said.

That made Blithy stop dead in her tracks, the door to the command center opening but she didn't walk in.

"Officer on deck!" one of the guards yelled, and Blithy held up a hand to shush him. By now she already had the attention of the entire command center.

Blithy made a wireless connection from her comms to the command center's conference table, and threw up a live hologram of Spitfire. She linked everything to the center's local mics and speakers.

"Captain, I'm not sure if I heard you correctly." she said, heart pounding as she waited for the captain to correct her mistake- but she didn't.

"The ATLANTA is no longer a secret. There's most likely an invasion force being prepped up on the barricade right this moment." Spitfire said.

The entire center went quiet with shock, with nopony believing what's being relayed to them.

"Issue the emergency evacuation order commander." Spitfire turned to Blithy. "Hold off for as long as you possibly can. I'm working up a plan with my top officers right this moment. That's all I have for you."

Blithy ground her teeth together, knowing the risks. "Understood, ma'am."

"Good luck to you all- Captain Spitfire out." Spitfire's holographic image fizzed away, leaving the command center of ATLANTA to baffle over what had just happened. The officers all turned to their commander, confusion in their eyes.

Blithy wasn't sure herself- but she had to be. "Sound the evac alarm. I want all the soldiers armed and ready for a full scale attack. Turn the trams into manually operated- I want each tram fully loaded before it departs. Get all defense systems ready to fire on a moment's notice and focused on the surface. Deploy all submarine units available, send drones towards the surface- I want to know what they have before they get here. Enable anti-missile systems- I don't want their mother-bucking nukes down here." she yelled, clapping her hands together and making loud clunking sounds as she stormed towards the middle of the command center. "Put me through to all available channels in ATLANTA. Come on officers- LET'S MOVE!!"

"Pausing all local broadcasts..." an officer said, working away at the holographic screens in front of him. "Patching through a live feed- and you're on commander."

Blithy stood tall with her back straight, hands behind her back. She looked up at the camera, wiping all traces of uncertainty and fear off her face- should there have been any in the first place.

"Citizens of ATLANTA- this is your commander speaking." she started, the command center plunging into silence just for her. She looked a little to her side, and nodded her thanks to her fellow officers. "We have remained a secret from our greatest enemy for many years now. We have prospered, under what we made for ourselves. We started from scratch, after they took everything away from us. And they are about to do it again-" she slowly turned her head, scanning the area in front of her as if she could hear the crowd. All the chatter from the security cameras fell still and quiet as every single pony in the whole of ATLANTA stopped to watch the live broadcast. "Yes, mares and gentle colts. After all these years, they have finally found us."

Instantly the chatter began, but Blithy's booming and authoritative voice stopped them once again.

"I ask that you not panic as of yet- mares and gentle colts." her gaze seemed to penetrate through the camera and out of the screen. "Once, we didn't stand a chance against our enemies. But as time passes, we have become strong. We have created something better than what we had, using less time. Every single one of you helped create ATLANTA- just by being here and supporting the Magic Faction, you have proven that this is a place you should be. For years, and most of us our life times; we have devoted our time to create what they took from us, once again and from nothing. Now they're going to take it all again, from our very hooves. Will we simply run, and let them take what rightfully belongs to us; like we did centuries before? Or will we stand, and defend what has been saved and preserved by us and by countless that have came before us? I'm not going to give you all that 'We're gonna win this!' bull crap- but I'm going to say that if all of us join the fight, we have a better chance." she paused, letting out a deep sigh. "Just minutes ago I was talking to a friend of mine that I didn't even remember. A friend I knew from the other reality, and not very much at that. We just so happened to be talking about what would happen when the crap really does hit the fan. When war breaks out once again."

There was a hiss of air behind her as the door to the command center slid open, and she heard those familiar hoofsteps behind her. She didn't need to turn around- she already knew who it was.

"I asked him... Would he run, like he did many times before? Would he run until finally an opportunity unveils itself so he could use it?" Blithy continued. "And he told me this... A few simple words, that I, and all of you- should keep in mind. He told me this..." she lowered her head slightly, her face darkening with shadows. "He told me... I'm tired of running." she took a small peek behind her, at the light brown stallion that just entered moments ago. "Some of you may know him as Doctor Whooves, or just the Doctor. But these words we should all remember- are you tired of running? Sick of being weak and useless?"

Blithy took her hands out from behind her back, leaning forward so her face was in full view of the camera, so it could capture the fury in her eyes.

"Because I am. And every single one of you- you should all be too. Today we will fight, and inevitably we will retreat. We have enough weapons for everypony in the local armories. I want all of you- civilian or not, to be armed. I want everypony in this fight- because this fight is nopony else's. It's all of ours. Yes, citizens- we are abandoning ATLANTA. But we will not do so without bringing some of those arseholes down to hell with us. To all of our soldiers, who comes first? For whom do we serve?"

At first the sudden question hurled at the crowd didn't get any answers back, but eventually all those serving in active duty started roaring out.

"For the citizens of ATLANTA and all supporters of Magic!" they yelled and roared, almost busting the security camera monitor's speakers.

Blithy smiled. "That's what I like to hear. We will support each other in times of need, and we will get through this together. For the last time, I shall address you as commander of ATLANTA- for the next time, I fear that ATLANTA will be no more. For the last time, Commander Blithy out." she said, cutting the feed.

"Bravo, commander." the Doctor said calmly, smiling.

"Thank you, Doctor." Blithy said, shaking his hoof and walking out the command center while its officers co-ordinated the evacuation and defense systems. "Still tired of running?"

The Doctor smirked. "Yes ma'am."

"Merry Hearth's Warming then." Blithy said, taking a rifle off a nearby rack and throwing it at the Doctor.

He caught it, and flicked off the safety.

"I know you never kill, Doctor. You only save." Blithy said, walking through the chaos filled corridors. "But there are times when we have no choice."

"I understand, ma'am." the Doctor said. "And where are we heading, out of curiosity?"

"The bar." Blithy said.

"Might I ask why-" Doctor Whooves began, but a smile spread across his face as he figured it out. "Huh. Clever."

"We gotta use everything we've got- no sense in keeping alcohol or towels for that matter." Blithy said.

They stormed into the bar, the bartender only just about to leave. Blithy stopped him on his way out.

"Make some Molotov Cocktails. Can you do that? Try issue them to our troops." she said.

"Yes ma'am!" the bartender said, making a flimsy salute.

"Come on Doctor. Time to help with the evac." Blithy said, turning around and heading out while the bartender ran into the cellar. "Come with me to the armory. We'll need a lot of stuff."

The Doctor heard her, but his mind wasn't really listening. Derpy- where the hay are you? He had searched the ATLANTA's data base, but neither 'Derpy Hooves' nor 'Ditzy Doo' scored any results. He refused to look in the list of deceased ponies- because he knows Derpy will always be waiting for him. He always tried to get away and look for her, but never had a right excuse to- as far as this reality was concerned, she didn't exist at all. But now- he finally got his chance.

Stay safe, Derpy. I'm coming for you.

He was so deep into his own thoughts that he didn't even notice they were at the armory.

"MA'AM!!" an officer yelled really loudly as Blithy entered the armory, and all the soldiers' right hooves instantly snapped to their foreheads.

"Officer." Blithy said, much more quieter in comparison and also saluting. "Carry on! We don't have any time!"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Get suited up for underwater operations- they'll be aiming for the glass tunnels straight away!" Blithy said, walking into a suiting machine. The gates closed behind her, and all that were heard were the groaning of mechanics. When the gates opened again, she was in a full underwater operations K14 armor.

The K14 was much more streamlined than other types, designed for maneuverability underwater. Two small engines were hidden behind the back, for that extra boost of speed under water. And like most other armors, spare compartments were hidden throughout the shell. It was much lighter than other models- and all of its design aspects pointed to mobility. There were gills just under the chin that extract air from water, then the water is flushed out the back. A compact oxygen canister is mounted on the back, a change in the design after it was discovered deep waters such as these contained very little oxygen.

"Send troops out into the seaweed forest for cover- prepare an ambush." Blithy said into the mic.

"Confirmed."

"Drone is live, ma'am. We have eyes on the enemy invasion force."

"Give me estimated stats." Blithy said, grabbing an energy rifle off the racks.

"Number of infantry is unknown- however we have eyes on several hundred drop ships." the radio operator said.

"Shuck..." Blithy muttered. "What else?"

"We also have an estimated five hundred Striker amphibians closing in from the barricade." the operator said.

Blithy growled. "Deploy our Apollo aircrafts. Prepare an ambush- I want them concealed in the sand, like those manta ray thingies."

Striker aircraft are highly versatile amphibious vehicles, being able to operate under the sea and fly in the sky. They have four engines, each able to twist and turn at almost all angles; giving them agility previously unprecedented in fighter jets. This also allows them to perform extremely tight loops and even hover. Two primary and secondary weapons slots are at the front, and other equipment such as bait flares and aerial mines are hidden throughout the ships and beneath the hull. The Apollos are modified versions of the Strikers, with a much higher rotation speed for the engines- making them even more agile. They also have three primary weapons instead of one, with a magically enhanced ammo feeder with a space expansion spell cast on it. The two are differed by their color schemes, with the Striker having red and black while the Apollo has blue and white. Both aircraft are able to operate underwater with perfect functionality. The Apollo has been especially modified for this matter though, sacrificing a missile slot for torpedoes- which both work, however is much more efficient and fast underwater.

And their advantage is, the Science Faction have no idea they exist yet.

"All pilots- please proceed to your local hangars and await orders from your squad leaders." a voice said through the intercom, booming down the lengths of the hallways.

"Come on Doctor. Time for a little plane ride." Blithy grinned, jogging down the corridor. They entered a glass tunnel, and looked out to the city they have been living in for most of their life times. It still glowed like it always did in the dark, and would've seemed completely normal for it not the mobilized army troops and the traces of abnormal activity inside the buildings. A team of three Apollos cut through the water just above their heads, engines glowing a bright yellow and leaving behind them a stream of super-heated bubbles.

"Please remain calm and proceed to your assigned shelters during the training exercise!" an armed soldier yelled, guarding the entrance to a tram station along with his squad, letting through the civilians as fast as they could and as efficiently as they could.

"Soldier- how's the evac going?" Blithy approached.

"Get back in li- Sorry ma'am, did not recognize you under that helmet." the soldier said, and Blithy waved him on. "We have an estimated fifteen percent of us already at the shelters- thank goodness for that early warning!"

"Do your thing soldier. I need immediate access to an Apollo."

The soldier seemed to be taken aback, as his impression of commanders were... Well, combat weren't exactly the words to describe that.

"Zealo! Guide the commander to the hangar!" the soldier yelled at one of his squad mates.

"Sir yes sir!" an earth pony with a prism gun slung across his back approached Blithy and the Doctor. "I'll make sure you two get on an aircraft as soon as possible, commander."

"Don't sound so optimistic about my departure, trooper. I'll still be here." Blithy said, purposely making Zealo feel uncomfortable.

"Clear a way for the commander!" Zealo yelled, leading the way through the civilian crowds.

Blithy caught some flimsy salutes and nods from the civilians, ponies that she didn't even know- but she nodded her respect and a good luck back at them.

"The first wave of missiles are in bound- take cover!" the radio operator yelled through the comms.

"Get down, everypony! GET DOWN!!" the soldier from earlier yelled, waving a hoof down towards the ground. There were some panicked grunts as the crowds all bobbed down.

"Take cover commander!" Zealo said, laying a hoof on Blithy's shoulder and pushing her down.

"INCOMING!!" somepony yelled, and they all heard the loud whoosh as several missiles made it through the anti-missile defense systems and sliced through the air.

The ground shook as one of the missiles struck not too far away from their location, drawing some panicked screams from the crowd. Dust fell from some cracks in the ceiling, but they held.

Somepony screamed and sprang up, pointing out the glass windows and at an approaching missile. There was nothing stopping it from a direct hit with the glass tunnel, with a clear path directly aimed at Blithy and the Doctor.

"Well. This may be a bad time to announce I can't seem to find my sonic screwdriver anywhere." Doctor Whooves said, flipping his coat pockets inside out.

"Yeah. It's the worst bucking time." Blithy said as the missile got closer and closer.

Author: and if you don't know who Zealo is, read this: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/62630/On-That-Snowy-Night...

Chapter 17: Blind Rage

"Keep up the support Bluefyre!" Magnum yelled, a stream of lasers burning past her head.

"They're bucking everywhere!" Bluefyre yelled, frantically tapping away at the buttons on the command console. "I need a spotter- can't keep track of all the bastards!"

"Storm- Anvil- can you manage?" Magnum asked.

"We'll do our best- take down those enemy forces!" Storm yelled, firing a three round burst into the smoky abyss, soon replied to by a surprised scream.

"What we got?" Magnum asked, slinging her rifle across her back and jogging to Bluefyre's side.

The control panels were filled with rows and rows of screens, with joysticks and buttons underneath.

"Can you use the turret there? Use it and help me spot the enemies- can't keep track of all of them with just one camera!" Bluefyre yelled, squeezing the trigger.

"Will do." Magnum said, taking control of one of the turrets.

Suddenly a loud siren went off- and the enemies started retreating. Red light filled the command center, all the screens shutting off and turning into the same flashing message: EVACUATE.

"That's right buckers! Stay back!" Storm yelled, moving behind closer cover and firing bursts at the silhouettes.

"What the hay...?" Magnum raised her hooves and backed away from the screens. "This some kind of override?"

"Not that I know of. Working on it now." Bluefyre said, tapping away at the screen on her arm.

Magnum looked around her, panic slowly setting into her heart. The red flashes from the overhead emergency lights threw their shadows about the dimly lit command center. The siren sounded like that of a nuke warning- loud and with each pulse pounding against their ear drums. She watched, her eyes unfocused as she tried to figure out what was going on- the word on the screens ever haunting her: EVACUATE.

*

Rainbow lurched forward, the sudden gust of wind as she sped up dusting away the ash on the cleaver trailing behind her. The figure raised her blade just in time, however weakly.

The power from Rainbow's strike knocked her clean off her hooves, sending her tumbled back and into the far wall. There was a loud boom as her cleaver flipped behind her, impacting the concrete wall and shattering it to pieces shortly before she then slammed into it. Dust flew from the area, a small ash cloud covering the destruction.

Rainbow strode into ash cloud, her eyes searching the smoke for the figure- but she found none.

Dainty could only watch as her enraged sister disappeared behind the thick ash- she had never seen her like this before. It wasn't the demon virus- it was just Rainbow by herself. It scared her, and she was starting to get afraid of losing the old caring big sis she came to know and love.

"Dainty!" Lily called, and her head snapped over to look at her. "Are you ok? Over here!"

"I-I'm f-fine." Dainty gulped, taking one last look into the ash cloud, watching Rainbow's shadow and the glow of the Element of Loyalty crystal disappear behind the thick ash. She gulped again, then scrambled to her hooves and ran to Lily.

"Where are you, you little bucker?" Rainbow growled, scanning the area around her and the cleaver dangling loosely in a hoof by her side. There was shouting and explosions as the fight raged on between Octavia, Daring, the two survivors and the assault units- but she couldn't care less at the moment. Her old hunter's instinct began taking over again, from when she was still in the darker bounty hunting business- all she cared for was the result, whatever the sacrifice. In fact, she didn't care at all.

She only needed her target taken care of, and that's all that was needed.

There was a scurrying sound to her left, and she quickly turned around. Nothing but settling ash and crumbled concrete with jagged metal wires sticking out of them. Her ears stood standing with their tips pointed to the sky, listening for traces of the figure underneath the mask of the sounds of battle.

Slowly her mind drained away all traces of the background battle, and soon all she could hear were her own hoofsteps and the small brittle concrete pieces that cracked under her weight.

More hoof steps behind her- and without even thinking she whipped out an explosive knife from Nightshade's collection and tossed it behind her. She watched her own shadow stretch before her as the explosion detonated a chain reaction, bringing down more support columns and causing more ash to float into the air. She turned around, her face lit red by the cleaver's crystal.

Slowly, step by step- she walked towards the spot where she last heard the figure's hoofsteps. She reached the spot, but there was no body in sight- however she smirked when she saw the small droplets of blood on the floor, dulled by the ash mixed into it.

"Face me now- or I'll slowly wear you down." she growled at the clouds of dust around her, waiting for the figure to strike- but she didn't. The blood on the floor hadn't been much- thus the injury must be quite minor.

Rainbow peered at the debris around her, and started slowly following the trail of blood drops. With the ash cloud, she couldn't see more than three meters in front of her.

Suddenly there was a grey flash as the figure leaped out of the dust cloud and at her again, cleaver catching a glint of sunlight through the ash and gleaming with malice.

Rainbow slashed her cleaver from the side, deflecting the blade elsewhere. She launched a kick at the figure, and felt her hoof dig deep into her stomach.

The figure went tumbling over her, hit the floor with a loud thud and rolled several meters before hitting her back on a concrete column. Rainbow marched towards her, cleaver dragging on the floor and making an eery scraping noise. She could see the blood dripping down from a wound in the figure's shoulder and soaking her coat- clearly something torn by the explosive knife.

But still the figure got up, using the cleaver to help herself as she got to her hooves.

Rainbow swung her cleaved up, the handle sliding forward with a loud click. Some of the ash in the way caught fire as the muzzle flash leaped out from the barrel, pushing the bullet with it.

The figure managed a lucky deflect, using the very edge of the cleaver and slicing the bullet clean in half. There were two heavy thuds behind her as the two halves punched right through the concrete wall behind her.

She charged forth just as Rainbow was about to fire again, launching a kick that took the cleaver off aim in the last second. The bullet went flying into the sky, and when Rainbow looked down again the figure was already swinging the cleaver back around.

She turned around, bringing the cleaver into a vertical position behind her back. She felt the figure's cleaver strike hers, and turned.

By turning around before hoof, she'd get a bigger turn when she turns back around. She twisted the cleaver, shoving the figure's blade away. In the same motion she swirled around, the broad blade striking from the side. The figure leaped back and out of reach, bending her back forwards so that the tip of the blade barely grazed her stomach and the broad side passed inches under her nose. She stepped back, steadying herself and raising the blade in a familiar fashion.

Rainbow's eyes widened when she recognized the pose- and quickly reacted and also brought her body into the same position.

They both swung their blades down, placing all their momentum and transferring all their energy into their blades, making them turn and slice through the air at sonic speed. Both blades began having trails of sonic bubbles traveling behind them, both coated in the shimmering mass.

Then their tips grazed each other as they passed by, abruptly breaking the bubbles. They exploded outwards in two micro sonic booms, one rainbow colored and the other an odd black and white version.

Rainbow was blinded by the sudden flash, and the intensity of the implosion. The shockwave threw both her and her enemy off their hooves, sending them flying off in opposite directions with their tumbling cleavers.

Rainbow plunged through the debris field, then abruptly stopped as her back cracked against a support column. The air was knocked from her lungs, and she gasped for it- but all she had was a gaping open mouth.

Then suddenly her lungs expanded, drawing in a fresh gust of air that knocked her in the face. She shook her head vigorously, trying to clear her blurry vision. She could see her cleaver off about a meter away, lodged in the floor- but what confused her most was how the figure knew her technique of creating a sonic rainbubble.

She crawled across the floor and quickly got up, pulling her cleaver out from the ground.

"Not this again..." she growled as an ever expanding ash cloud slowly swirled around her, shielding all movement that might've been made by the figure.

She heard a loud click to her left, and quickly whipped out a throwing knife and threw it in that direction then ducked down. The bullet from the figure's cleaver hit the knife, throwing it back at Rainbow. It flew over her head, lodging itself deep into the far concrete wall.

Rainbow only just about recovered when the figure struck the cleaver from her hooves with a powerful strike. It went tumbling out of reach, and she quickly whipped out two throwing knives to defend herself.

She crossed the two knives in front of her, the figure's cleaver impacting in the resulting X. Most of the energy was absorbed, but it still forced Rainbow to take a step back. She placed a hoof behind her and kicked off the ground with all her force, pushing the cleaver away.

The two knives were much faster than the cleaver- and it didn't take long for the opposition to figure out the cleaver will never be able to keep up with the two knives in terms of speed- however, it could easily overpower the both of them. Problem is, Rainbow kept dodging the cleaver and slashing the knives dangerously close to the figure.

The figure tucked the cleaver away, engaging Rainbow with her bare hooves. She blocked one of her slashes, pulled her arm in and clamped it under an elbow. She struck a knee into her chest, knocking her back- but she still held onto that arm.

Rainbow swiped a leg across the floor, knocking out the figure's legs from underneath her. She fell onto the floor, and now Rainbow was the one slamming elbows down on her chest.

The figure raised a leg and kneed Rainbow in the temple, who instinctively rolled off. She fell onto the floor, and through her blurred eyes she saw the figure already scrambling up and deploying the cleaver. She launched a hoof into the figure's stomach, sending her skidding back. The figure dug the cleaver deep into the ground, slowing her to a stop as her momentum dispersed.

Rainbow got up, whipped out a knife and threw it across the room at the figure, who caught it in her hooves. A split second later she noticed the beeping red light, and quickly threw it back.

Rainbow crossed her arms in front of her face, shielding her from the explosion. The explosive knife went off between them, the shockwave sweeping them off their feet- once again they lost visual contact on each other.

Rainbow pulled out another explosive knife, and in her blind rage threw it into the ash cloud. Suddenly somepony leaped from the smoke and diverted the knife elsewhere and off target, a moment later they heard the dull explosion. Rainbow didn't even check who diverted it, and immediately whipped out another one in case the figure escaped.

Dainty grabbed Rainbow's wrist, stopping her from throwing the unarmed explosive knife. Then she placed a hoof behind Rainbow's legs and pushed her backwards, slamming her down on the floor. Rainbow was so shocked to see it was Dainty who had taken her down, that she didn't even do anything to stop it.

Dainty wrenched the knife away from Rainbow's hooves. "Are you bucking out of your mind!!??" she yelled at her face.

"Wha...?"

"Look before you start trying to kill it, will you!?" Dainty yelled, and Rainbow saw the figure walk up behind her.

"Dainty- Look out damnit!!" she pushed the filly away, ready to lash out- but Dainty only got back up and tripped her up again. The figure didn't move, just stood with her hooves raised by her sides to show that she wasn't armed.

"Rainbow- STOP!" Dainty yelled, hugging Rainbow tightly and making sure she wouldn't harm the figure.

"What the hay is going on!?" Rainbow growled.

"Look- I don't know how this happened, and why there are two of you- but I know both of you, and... I might know.. I can't be sure..." Dainty started mumbling, making both Rainbow and the figure even more confused than before- but clearly, they somehow both knew Dainty. "Listen, I think... This here's the Rainbow Dash from this reality."

Rainbow frowned, and raised an eyebrow. She looked at Dainty, to the figure, then back again; processing the info in her head. "But how did she get here...?"

"I was just chasing this random pony that looked like me that turned out to be you through some random white space and you started attacking me!" the figure said in Rainbow's voice.

"Likely story." Rainbow muttered, her hooves not far away from the throwing knives.
"Rainbow- you know how you thought you lost your memories? Well, I have a different theory... I think you may have, well... Split..." Dainty said, addressing the both of them.

"I don't care what happened- I just know I'm back where I came from." the figure said, taking off her hat and revealing an identical face and mane style to Rainbow's- only in black and white and grey.

"What the hell..." Rainbow muttered, taking off her own hat. The other Rainbow seemed to be startled at the sight of a colored version of herself, and flinched at the bright array of colors.

"I'm just going to call you Silver Dash for now." Dainty said to the other Rainbow Dash, who seemed to look like it was offensive or something.

Silver Dash looked up at the sky, and saw the barricade was still up- looks like not much had changed. But then she just put two and two together- if Rainbow has those knives... Then Nightshade...

"You okay?" Dainty asked, while Rainbow tried to clear her mind of all the buck it just received.

"Nightshade... Is she...?" Silver asked, and Dainty opened her mouth to speak- but it was Rainbow who answered.

"She died saving my life. It was my fault." Rainbow said, looking away.

Silver looked down on her colored half, and for a second looked like she was going to strike again- but she let out a deep sigh, and held out a hoof for Rainbow.

Rainbow stared at the hoof, not quite understanding the offer yet- but Silver soon clarified that.

"We caused her death. If we didn't start a fight with each other, she probably would've been fine- and I'm not about to make the same mistake and start another fight with myself again." Silver said, making a small waving gesture with her hoof.

Rainbow clamped her jaws together- now she was feeling bad because she should really be the one apologizing. After all, it was Nightshade's sudden death that caused her to blame somepony else that she attacked in the first place. She took the hoof, and Silver pulled her to her hooves.

"We need everypony we can get- and now, I have all of me in this damn war." Silver said, grinning and gripping Rainbow's hoof tighter.

"Hey, just keep in mind you're MY clone- not the other way around." Rainbow grinned too, nose to nose with herself.

"Huh. It's interesting that a minute ago you two were trying to rip each other's throats out." Dainty pointed out.

"And it's all because of you that both of us are still alive." both of them said, both giving Dainty a light ruffle in the mane. Dainty grinned- now she was getting twice the love.

"Rainbow! We need support- they're swarming us!!" Octavia yelled, running back into the building with an empty rifle and with Daring- then they both stopped dead as they spotted the two Rainbows. "What the hay!?"

"Hey, Octavia." Silver said.

"You like my clone?" Rainbow pointed to Silver.

"Hey, we can argue about who is who's clone all day buddy." Silver said.

"Great, the annoyance has been doubled." Octavia said, because two Rainbow Dashes was just not important enough, considering there was a whole bucking army waiting outside.

Rainbow looked at Silver, who shrugged with her.

"I've seen waaaaaaay weirder." Daring said- well, of course she has before. "We need to push forward down the train! It's been disabled, but our secret package is just ten meters away from our location!"

"Right. And we're out of ammo?" Rainbow asked, catching the cleaver handle Dainty picked up and threw at her.

"Almost." Daring said, punching a spread of buck-shot rounds into an assault unit.

The subway station had collapsed completely, daylight pouring in through the barricade. Debris littered the fields, and the buildings of Fillydelphia could be seen from here as there was no ceiling left. They rose high into the sky, the age old materials on the peak of collapse. The train was parked in the middle of the tracks, with the Science Faction units on one side while Rainbow and her team were on the other.

"Get onto the train! Go!" Daring yelled, hauling herself onto the ceiling of the train and firing her shotgun.

"Have some knives, arseholes!" Rainbow yelled, flying up onto the roof with Silver. She threw an explosive knife into the center of a group of assault units, tearing them apart.

"Come on you two." Octavia got onto the roof, and hauled the two fillies up as well.

Silver took out the cleaver, threw it as a javelin and sent it sliding through an assault unit's chest. She flew up to it, pulled the cleaver out, and threw its anti-matter rifle to Octavia.

"Buck- reinforcements! WALKERS!!" Daring yelled, ducking behind a large chunk of concrete as two streams of bullets from two mini guns tore through the flimsy roof of the train.

Suddenly three missiles fired from the barricade struck the assault walkers, reducing them to flaming metal scraps.

"Ha! Looks like the guys on the barricade are holding off nicely!" Rainbow grinned as more missiles rained down on the enemy units.

*

Bluefyre got the systems working again, overriding the emergency order while Magnum went to investigate what had caused the alarm in the first place. She didn't like what she found.

"Some portions of the local power plant have been damaged beyond repair!" she yelled, searching through the barricade's unsecured section of the database.

"Wait- what?" Storm asked. "Which sections are cut off?"

"Primary lighting, auto turrets, interior defense systems, electronic gates, monitoring systems, and-" Magnum stopped as she saw the enemy's plan clear as day. She slowly backed away from the screen, a terrified expression on her face.

"What is it!?" Storm asked.

"Bluefyre- abandon objective- I repeat! ABANDON OBJECTIVE!" Magnum yelled, waving towards the open doorway. Bluefyre pulled away from the screen, and followed the squad as they raced out of the command center.

"Magnum- what is it?" Anvil asked as they sprinted down a corridor. "What else did they shut down?"

Magnum bared her teeth at whoever came up with the plan. "Cooling systems to the nuclear engines."

It took a moment for the message to sink in, but when it did- it struck panic deep into the squad's heart.

Storm turned to his comms. "All teams- abandon mission! We have a red alert- repeat- abandon the mission and proceed straight to extraction!"

Magnum took a right turn and faced a door, then with one heavy kick took it down. It was the door to an elevator shaft, the elevator disabled and hanging about ten meters up above their heads. The doors tumbled down the length, making loud thunks as they impacted the hollow metal sides.

"Elevator shaft. We need to get to those drop pods ASAP." Magnum said, grabbing onto a cable and swinging into the darkness below. The rest of her squad followed, their armor making loud grinding noises against the cable as they slid down the elevator shaft.

There was a loud thunk as Magnum hit the bottom floor, and shot open the door. The resulting muzzle flash lit up the shadows, leaving a ghostly after image on Magnum's eyes. The red flashes from emergency lights greeted her, and she heard several more thunks as her squad landed behind her.

Suddenly there was a loud snap as the cables broke, and they could hear the elevator above sliding down the shaft- they could even see the sparks it created when its sides brushed against the walls.

"Hurry! Go! GO!" Magnum yelled, hauling her teammates through before jumping through herself.

The elevator crashed on the bottom with a loud bang, and kept on going until it compressed itself into a small pancake.

"Lucky dodge." Magnum said, as she could've been easily caught underneath it.
There were a few beeps on Bluefyre's HUD as they continued sprinting, and her heart dropped when she read the message. "Somepony just shot off all the drop pods! We don't have any left!"

"DAMNIT!!" Magnum yelled, clutching her head.

"The hay do we do now?" Anvil asked.

"Think... Think.. Think..." Magnum banged a hoof on her helmet. She looked around at anything that might give her an idea. "Aha! They've got some spare jetpacks! Use those! Bluefyre, Anvil- there're two right there in the pod loading area-" she pointed at two jetpacks lying on the floor in a pod room. "Storm and I will look for more."

The pod loading area was a small room, each one with a pod ready to be deployed- but in this case, there were none- there were only the gaping holes in the floors that led directly to the surface, and where the last pods had been remotely deployed to prevent their escape.

"Good luck you two." Bluefyre saluted, and followed Anvil into the pod loading area.

"Come on Storm- there's gotta be another one in the next few rooms!" Magnum said, running down the corridor and searching each and every loading room next to it- but no other jetpacks were found.

"Over there!" Storm yelled as he found a jetpack lying in the last pod loading room. They both ran into the room, but froze soon after.

There was only one jetpack- and only one of them was getting out alive.

"Take it." Magnum said without hesitation and before Storm could say anything- also before she could have uncertainty set into her heart.

"No- you're my squad leader, a higher ranking officer- it's my duty to see you out of this alive, ma'am." Storm said, taking the jetpack and shoving it into Magnum's arms.

"Don't force it Storm... I don't want this."

"And neither do I, ma'am- if that's a valid excuse."

"Take it- that's an order Lieutenant!" Magnum hissed, and instead of shoving the jetpack into Storm, she handed it over as an offering.

Storm looked at the jetpack, at first refusing to take it.

"Please.... Storm. Just take it. I've got nothing left to lose." Magnum smiled lightly.

Storm looked away, a heavy frown on his face. He squinted his eyes shut- was he making the decision of choosing whether he lives or one of his friends live?

"Just take it, Lieutenant. Or we'll both end up dead here. That's an order." Magnum said.

"I... I can't." Storm slumped down onto the floor, the hefty load of the decision overwhelming him. Now he was the one who had to decide who lives.

"Don't worry- I won't blame you, if that's what you're scared of." Magnum said, her face lit up through the visor by the bright sunlight that poured in through the hole in the ground, where the drop pod would've been deployed. Wind gusted in through the gaping hole in the barricade, among many others that were used to shoot the pods to the surface. "We're losing time."

Storm shook his head vigorously to clear his mind, and looked up again.

"Do my squad proud, soldier." Magnum said, seeing the opportunity and gently pushing the jetpack into Storm's arms.

Storm looked down at his only chance of survival, and certain death for Magnum. Finally he looked up, eyes watering.

"Sorry, Magnum." he said, shaking his head slowly. "I'm so sorry."

*

Rainbow and the others were still engaging assault units when suddenly the entire earth shook. They stumbled, almost falling over and searching for the source of the explosion. Then Lily pointed up at the sky.

One portion of the barricade had disappeared behind a huge ball of fire, completely engulfed in the inferno. Bits and pieces that somehow survived the huge nuclear explosion drifted down towards earth, leaving behind them thick trails of smoke.

Rainbow slowly got up, watching the pieces fall with her dropping stomach.

"Spitfire..." she whispered. "Who did you say you sent on the barricade again?"
Spitfire didn't reply, and Rainbow could tell she was there because there was background chatter going on in the distance.

"Spitfire! Answer me!" Rainbow growled, still staring at the sudden gaping hole in the barricade- but still the captain didn't reply. "SPITFIRE!!"

Chapter 18: Defense to Offense

Suddenly the missile exploded as a prism beam impacted it from the side, and an Apollo flew into view, its engines glowing and keeping it in the same spot. It fired its prism beams at some more approaching missiles, detonating them before they had a chance of reaching ATLANTA.

"Come on commander. Let's get you in an aircraft." Zealo said, helping Blithy and the Doctor up to their hooves.

They ran through the glass tunnel and back into another dome, and soon enough reached the hangars. The hangar was a huge open area inside the dome, with ships of all calibers docked and ready to leave. A shield overhead prevented water from getting in, and kept a bubble over the opening so air wouldn't escape.

"Haha- haven't seen her in a while." Blithy grinned, approaching an Apollo with orange highlights.

"An Apollo. Fascinating paint job." the Doctor said as they walked towards the aircraft.

"Not just an Apollo- MY Apollo." Blithy said, patching through a wireless connection from her brain to the Apollo itself. The cockpit windshield slid open just as she thought about it.

"Intriguing." Doctor Whooves rubbed his chin.

"Take the back seat. I'm piloting." Blithy said, jumping up and clambering into the cockpit.

Zealo hopped in another normal model, parked beside Blithy's.

"Does she have a name?" the Doctor asked, strapping on a helmet as he hopped in the back seat.

"I just call her Horizons." Blithy said, the plane automatically starting as her mind commanded it to do so. Its engines flared, and gently it lifted off the ground, hovering centimeters above the hangar and awaiting further orders.

Blithy flexed her robotic fingers, then closed them around the joysticks either side of the cockpit. There was a hiss as the windshield slid back down, holographic indicators flickering to life as all systems warmed up.

There was a loud whir as Zealo started up his Apollo, following Blithy and levitating into the air.

"Stick close, Private." Blithy said, buckling her seat belt. "Might just get a bit crazy with this."

She pushed the joysticks forward, and the plane flew towards the water. There was a loud splash as it broke through the bubble of air and entered the sea, the oxygen converter kicking in and pressurizing the cabin.

"Take the turret Doctor, if you will." Blithy said.

"No sense in doing nothing." Doctor Whooves said, keeping his eyes on the screen in front of him.

"Alpha One, requesting assistance for the commander. The commander has joined the battle." Zealo said, and an Apollo from squad Alpha joined their little trio.

"Commander, all mirage vehicles are in place- awaiting orders." the radio operator said.

"Alright. Listen up everypony- I'll just go ahead and be the bait and draw them in- wait for my signal and take them out." Blithy said, flying the Horizons up towards the surface. There were black dots here and there blocking out sunlight from above- a clear sign of approaching enemies.

"Affirmative. Contact with enemy forces- ETA thirty seconds." the radio operator said.

"We have a visual." Zealo said, following close behind the Horizons. "Maintain your positions."

"Affirmative."

"Twenty seconds. All AA batteries and defense systems are locating targets."

Blithy kept a finger on the trigger, ready to slam it down the moment the Horizons's computer locks onto a target, or says one in in range.

"Ten seconds. All targets have been assigned." the radio operator said. "Eight, seven, six..."

Blithy could see some bright dots now- another wave of missiles.

"Five..."

"Maintain formation..." she told Zealo and Alpha One.

"Four..."

"Break away on my mark..." red reticles started appearing all over Blithy's screen as targets came within range.

"Three... Two... One. Engage!" the radio operator yelled.

"Now!" Blithy yelled, yanking the joysticks to one side and turning the plane. Two missiles flew by as her plane rotated, avoiding both. Zealo and Alpha One broke away, the missiles flying past and leaving behind streams of bubbles.

The defense systems of ATLANTA kicked in instantly, missiles and torpedoes flying out from the underwater city- it was almost impossible to see, with the low lighting and the thousands upon thousands of streams of bubbles left behind by torpedoes or burned through by energy beams.

"Head'n back down- keep that turret gong Doctor! You've got the both of our backs now." Blithy said, yanking the joysticks back. Slowly the plane stalled, then the nose abruptly tipped back and it started flying back to the bottom. "Hold positions all units... Wait till they're right in the middle."

As expected, the enemy Strikers couldn't resist going after the bright orange commander's Apollo.

"Sorry ma'am- but I'm terrible at aiming." the Doctor said, fumbling with the controls. All his shots from the heavy rear turret missed, creating large smoke clouds in the water above them.

Blithy sighed- not unexpected. "Zealo and Alpha One, provide cover fire!"

"Yes ma'am!" Zealo said, twisting the joystick and yanking his plane back around to face the sky- only, the engines were still pushing him down deeper under the sea- he was flying backwards. He had no idea how he was going to watch where he was going, but buck that.

He squeezed the trigger, bright beams from the twin prism guns tearing through the water and the enemy Strikers. One of them got hit and exploded, a sudden outwards expansion of matter. In the water, Zealo could even clearly see the resulting shockwave as the Striker reduced itself into floating parts.

"Good work Zealo! Make sure they're still on our tails!" Blithy yelled, driving the Horizons further towards ATLANTA.

"Enemy convoys hitting the surface. Our drones are picking up about three hundred infantry units being shipped down here- first wave incoming!" the radio operator yelled.

"Approaching ATLANTA- prepare to engage." Blithy said as they flew into the steep canyons.

"Crawler fire team, all targets assigned." the platoon commander of the M.F. Crawlers said. Crawlers were heavy mobile artillery equipped with mirage devices- and were nicknamed for their four legs that dig to almost any surface. Right now, while perhaps not visible- the canyon walls were full of them. The entire platoon was here. "Waiting for your signal."

Blithy checked her radar, all of her own units and the enemy's marked units tagged on the holographic screen. She waited for the red dots to enter the huge surrounding of green dots- then yanked the joystick to the side.

"ENGAGE!!" she yelled, turning the plane around.

"Disabling mirage fields!" the Crawler commander yelled. "Fire at will!"

Suddenly there was a shimmering mass of activity on the canyon walls as hundreds of Crawlers disabled their active camouflage, suddenly becoming visible. Their huge cannons boomed, sending huge prism beams shooting through the enemy Strikers. Each blast and its resulting shockwave were all clearly visible as they rippled through the water, the rainbow colored beams lighting up the deep.

The Strikers began turning back, seeing it was a trap.

"Apollos- division roll call!" Blithy yelled.

"Alpha ready."

"Beta ready."

"Gamma ready."

"Delta ready."

"Epsilon ready."

"Zeta ready."

"Eta ready."

A grin spread across Blithy's face- all was going well, even better than expected. "Alpha, Beta, and Gamma- box them in! The rest of you remain hidden!" she yelled, flying up with her wingmares and chasing after the fleeing Strikers.

The Strikers were about to exit the canyon when about a hundred Apollos suddenly emerged from the seaweed forest at the top of the canyon, flying down and with all guns blazing.

"Going somewhere?" Blithy laughed. "We always take good care of our house guests."

Soon the surrounded Strikers were all completely annihilated, all several hundred of them. All that remained of them were the scraps of metal and the occasional bit of flesh, drifting in the weak underwater current.

"Move positions immediately! They won't make the same mistake twice!" Blithy yelled, the Horizons circling over ATLANTA.

*

"Our first division of fighters have been taken down." Eclipse said, a small holographic screen glowing in the darkness in front of her. Her blood red mane drifted down past a little beyond her shoulders, her equally red eyes scanning the screen. She was barely visible as her dark grey skin camouflaged her into the shadows, her presence only detectable through the screen and the glowing red LED lights on her suit.

"Not surprising." Val said, sitting on a throne in the COLOSSUS. "Considering I am going up against myself- I should think I would be pretty good at this."

"Interesting conclusion." Eclipse said, and Val tilted her head to one side. That's what annoyed Val about Eclipse- is that she is pretty much the only pony in the whole of the Science Faction fleet who isn't afraid of her. And she couldn't take the risk of killing her either, because like Val; Eclipse was also pretty much invincible.

"Send in another wave, same position and strategy." Val said.

"That's a strategically stupid decision- but I see your point. They probably would've shifted positions already." Eclipse said, tapping an order into the holographic screen.

"You know me too well." Val sighed, shifting to lean on her right hand as it was starting to hurt her left cheek.

*

"More incoming. Can't really tell if they're going in the same path or not." the radio operator said.

"Keep our hidden units hidden. Everypony that's been exposed, try draw them into the trap again- meet them head on then fake a retreat when I give the signal. The key here isn't to take down as many as you can, the key here is to survive." Blithy said, swinging the plane around to once again point towards the sky. She stalled the engines, so the plane floated and stayed where it was; pointing at the invading army. Hundreds of other Apollos did the same behind her, switching their engines off and camouflaging into the darkness.

"You sure this'll work? We're bound to lose most of our aircraft." Doctor Whooves whispered.

"When will you ever trust somepony else other than yourself fully?" Blithy sighed.
"I trust my companions, not some crazy commander with a small private army."

"Hey, we're pretty big. A few thousand strong." Blithy said.

"I mean in comparison." the Doctor pointed out. "They are a few million strong."

Blithy sighed frustratedly, leaning back into her seat and folding her arms. "You're just making it worse. So shut up unless it's important- and that's in order."

*

"We lost visual contact on the enemy." Eclipse said. "They shut off their engines- we're trying to trace their heat signatures, but that'll be inaccurate. They're probably planning to face us head on." she said, but heard no reply from the Empress. "Val?" she asked, turning around. "Valkyrie!"

"Huh wha...?" Val opened her eyes sleepily. "Whoops. Wasn't listening." she said, intentionally missing out the apology.

"They're probably planning to face us head on." Eclipse said, and if she was annoyed- she didn't show it.

"Just overpower them with numbers." Val said, burying her face back into her arms and snoozing off.

"I guess you don't really care about losses then." Eclipse said, tapping on the screen.

"I really couldn't care less about who dies on our side and who doesn't. I want the enemies dead." Val mumbled, her voice muffled by her arm.

"I'll do it my way then." Eclipse said, tapping in her own orders.

"And I'll take a snooze, so stop reporting to me unless you somehow lost or killed Blithy. Good night." Val said, and Eclipse shrugged.

*

"All targets locked once again. Ready to engage." the radio operator reported.

"The hay are they up to..." Blithy muttered, shaking her head slowly as the hundreds of micro super computers implanted into her brain began processing terabytes of information and trying to figure out what the enemy was planning.

"I do believe the enemy commander has changed." the Doctor said.

"Smart boy." Blithy said, waving behind her. "All units stand by."

"Shuck- enemy reinforcements inbound! We've got a few thousand Strikers and transports heading our way!"

"This is bull crap." Blithy cursed- the enemy was using their only advantage against them- their own sheer numbers. "Crawlers, stay where you are and ambush them later. Apollos- we need to move up and thin out the herd!" Blithy yelled, flicking some switches and turning her engines on.

There was a wave of activity that spread across the ocean as one by one the Apollos' engines lit up, a myriad of stars if you're viewing from high above.

"Enemy space cruisers have entered the atmosphere! We estimate a few thousand extra troops!" the radio operator yelled.

"Careful now. We need a backup plan, by the looks of it. I don't like where this is headed." the Doctor said.

"I know." Blithy flexed her fingers. "All teams- we need to provide enough time for the civilians to escape." she thought up a plan in her head.

"Simply holding them off would just get us killed..." the Doctor rubbed his chin.

"All we need is time. You're the Timelord here, so do you have any advice?" Blithy looked behind her and peered at the Doctor.

"The TARDIS is none-existent in this reality." Doctor Whooves pointed out. "And I'm also no tactician."

"Yeah. No idea why I asked you." Blithy muttered, derping her eyes when the Doctor wasn't looking. "All Apollos- engage enemy cruisers directly."

"No disrespect meant ma'am," Zealo said, "but you're crazy."

"And isn't it brilliant?" Doctor Whooves mumbled.

"We need to buy the evacuees more time- they're bound to come after us if we start attacking their mother ships. The Crawlers can easily handle what they have coming at us right now on their own- we just have to stall their reinforcements from getting in, then that should get us enough time." Blithy explained.

"Brilliantly crazy." Zealo corrected himself.

"Attention all Apollo fighters- cut right through the first wave and avoid engaging as much as possible- attack their mother ships and go for the engines." Blithy said.

"Copy commander. We're with you." Alpha One said.

"Forward, comrades!" Blithy yelled, pushing the levers forward and sending the Horizons jetting through the water.

"You didn't need to add the Russian accent." the Doctor said, a few beeps coming off his screen as he switched between the turret's few weapons.

"Zealo, Alpha One- mark me on your HUDs. Going invisible." Blithy said, flicking a few switches and hearing a generator heating up with whirs.

"Roger." Zealo said.

"Marked." Alpha One took in a deep breath as a missile grazed his tail fin.

The two armies crossed, but instead of engaging like the Strikers were prepared for; the Apollos started flying right past them- although, they did leave behind a few torpedoes.

"Whoa." Blithy said dully, yanking the levers to one side and turning the plane. She fired a torpedo, which hit the Striker that was about to crash into her and tore it down the middle. She watched its pilot suddenly get dragged out of the plane as the containment was breached, and a jagged broken piece of its tail fin grazed the side of the Horizons.

"Oh great." the Doctor muttered, looking at the graze mark. The rest of the plane was in a mirage field while that little panel there was broken. "Now we're in a flying pixel."

"At least it isn't bright orange and supposedly unbearable." Blithy rolled her eyes, flying to the right to avoid an exploding Striker. She flew through the smoke cloud formed underwater, the windscreen temporarily going completely black. But then they broke through the cloud and into full view of the battle, emerging from the depths of the canyons.

The battle stretched on for tens of kilometers, beyond sight in the clear waters of the bottom of the Atlantic. Explosions were littering the entire few cubic kilometers of water, lighting up the shadows. Trails of smoke and bubbles were evident throughout the entire battle, traces of dogfights that resulted in another one of those explosions.

"Spitfire... You better figure something out soon." Blithy shook her head and muttered.

*

"Interesting." Eclipse tilted her head to one side, and while Val did say she was going to take a nap- she was still awake. Another report wouldn't interest her, but when Eclipse didn't keep on going her curiosity got the better of her.

"What. Is. It?" she asked, irritated.

"They aren't attacking. They're flying straight past our Strikers. Probably going after our cruisers." Eclipse said.

"Not unexpected." Val shrugged.

"What do we do with our Strikers?" Eclipse asked.

"I really couldn't give less of a crap about what happens to them- but just tell them to pursue the enemy aircraft. You know? Get a nice little sandwich between the Strikers and the cruisers." Val yawned loudly.

"This is quickly turning into my favorite battle." Eclipse said emotionlessly.

"How so?" Val changed sides again to lean on her left hand.

"Two reckless commanders battling it out. I wonder who would win?" Eclipse asked.

"I heard the commander herself is in battle." Val said, tuning into her troops' radio frequencies.

"Indeed. Something about an amped Striker." Eclipse said, watching the battle through the camera feed from one of the Strikers. Then the screen abruptly turned to static, the last image of a flaming torpedo still visible as an after image.

"Well..." Val sighed, standing up lazily. "So much for my nap."

"I do believe that if one commander goes into battle it would be honorable for the other to do the same." Eclipse stated.

"No. Crap." Val growled, walking out of the throne room with Eclipse following close behind. "Do start prepping my Striker."

"It's always prepped, as per your orders." Eclipse said, intentionally annoying Val by not following her order- as it was unnecessary.

"Huh. I guess I'm more organized than I think I am then." Val grinned, walking down a corridor, the officers in it lowering their heads in fear of accidentally irritating the ruthless Empress.

*

"Right! RIGHT!" the Doctor yelled, and Blithy yanked the joysticks to one side. The Horizons's belly grazed an enemy Striker's hull, making a loud metallic grown as they scratched past each other. "Did you even go to flight school!?"

"Yes. But flight school doesn't have an exercise where you have to dodge a thousand other enemy Strikers while they don't avoid you because they CAN'T BUCKING SEE YOU." Blithy yelled.

"Then turn stealth off!" Doctor Whooves said.

"NO." Blithy growled.

"Missile-!"

Blithy slammed the levers back, forcing the plane into a tight upward loop. The missile passed behind the engines as the plane arced backwards, then back around in a loop. She gave a short squeeze on the prism gun's trigger, destroying a Striker headed straight for her and its freshly launched missile. She flew through the debris and the fireball, something making a loud thud against the wind shield.

"There goes the pilot." she said as the dark red smudge washed away in the water.

"Uh-oh. Think we've got a small problem." the radio operator said.

"More reinforcements?" Blithy asked.

"Mostly, yes. Partially, not specific enough." the radio operator took in a deep breath and sighed. "We've got one single modified Striker flying down from the COLOSSUS, and a wingmare. Wonder who that could be?" he said, making a few taps on his keyboard.

"Well well." Blithy said as a live video feed from a scout drone popped up on her HUD, showing an odd looking black and red Striker with yellow highlights, and its seemingly normal Striker wingmare. "I should've known."

"Let me guess." Doctor Whooves peered over Blithy's shoulder. "It's Val."

"Thank you, Doctor Obvious."

Author's Note

I'm glad to see a few views on the last chapter ^_^ at least there are still some of you with me on this:P
I know the series has gone extremely off from what it started out as, but bear with me- I tend to do that

Chapter 19: As Good As Dead

"Sorry, Magnum." Storm shook his head, eyes watery. "I'm so sorry."

And before Magnum could react, he shoved the jetpack into her arms.

"Wha-?" she managed to say, before Storm dragged her to the edge of the deployment hole. "Buck- Storm! No!"

"Sorry Magnum- but I have to." he said, and Magnum was about to scramble back to safety when he launched a hoof into her chest and sent her tumbling over the edge.

Dazed, through her tear blurred vision she saw Storm turn away and shield his face from her eyes as she fell. The wind rushed against her helmet, whistling as it brushed against the cracks in between the metal plates. Even inside the helmet, her mane whipped about her face.

Magnum watched as Storm faded out of sight, the barricade slowly growing more and more distant, becoming smaller and smaller. She felt like a feather, being blown about in the high winds up here in the atmosphere; weak and inside an infinite stretch of nothingness, falling to hell. She watched her hooves, stretched out in front of her by the wind, slowly waving in the air. Still the dullness stayed in her mind, stopping her from thinking and causing her body to start shutting down. She was in shock- she couldn't move, couldn't talk. All there was was the eery whistling of the wind, otherwise it was silence; presence-less silence.

Then that silence was interrupted as the portion of the barricade she was looking at blew apart into a huge fireball, consuming its six arms that reached out to other sections. The loud boom was dulled as her ears weren't really listening, and even the heavy shockwave that followed and knocked the air from her lungs failed to shake the dullness from her head.

Pieces of debris flew past all around her as she continued falling, the shockwave pushing those scraps of metal down with deadly ferocity. All she could think of was how sudden everything happened- why did Storm save her? He could've perfectly saved himself. Guess she'll never know.

She also had no way of knowing whether or not Bluefyre and Anvil made it. It pained her to try and think about it.

Something, probably a piece of the barricade; flew down and clipped her shoulder. The armor dissipated most of the force, but it still sent her tumbling. She saw the lush Everfree forest below her as she spun, then back to the sky; the hole in the barricade filled by a huge smoky mushroom cloud, traces of fire still lingering behind those thick curtains of ash.

More pieces were falling. She could see them get closer every time she turned around, tumbling out of control. Her mind began focusing, her vision adjusting. Her hooves unconsciously drifted to her side, stabilizing her descent.

There was a huge metal plate from the barricade falling towards her. Every time it rotated on its side the sun would shine through the holes in the barricade and sting her eyes.

Then her eyes widened, her mind being ripped out of its dream state by her survivor instinct.

She straightened her body, now falling upside down. The huge metal plate hit her hooves, and she managed to land on its underside. In the chaos she had let go of her only hope of surviving the fall- the jetpack. Now she couldn't find it anywhere.

She activated the gravity boots, and ran along the bottom of the metal plate. She reached the edge, and swung onto the top. She looked all around her at the falling fields of debris- it was utter destruction, not were there only scraps of metal from the barricade itself, but also unlucky officers that didn't evacuate in time.

"Valkyrie- you reckless bastard." Magnum cursed, scanning through the falling debris field.

With a small vocal command she put an altimeter on her HUD- and her altitude was declining at an alarming rate.

"You're bucking kidding me." she moaned when she saw that little dot on the horizon- falling with the other scraps. The jetpack. Her only chance of survival, about half a kilometer away. Question is- will she be able to make it before not even the jetpack could save her?

She detached her old empty jetpack, taking off the extra weight so she could jump further and run faster. She darted forward, kicking off the edge and aimed for a different piece. The jetpack was a little above her current altitude- she'll need to find a way to slow her descent or just climb to that higher altitude. She fell forwards, stretching her limbs out to catch the wind. It did little, but did raise her just a bit above the falling debris.

The beam of an anti-matter rifle sizzled past her head, and she turned. The beam hit a piece of metal, reducing it to sparkling dust.

"Mother bucking robots..." she muttered, kicking down on one end of the piece of metal she was standing on and tipping it. Instead of hitting her leg, the antimatter beam hit the flipped piece of metal and exploded. Magnum rode the explosion and flew further away from the assault unit.

She whipped out her pistol, and pulled the trigger with a snap. The bullet went flying through the air, grazed a piece of metal but kept going; hit a slightly curved scrap from an armored door and bounced through a hole in another chunk of debris. It hit the assault unit's visor, the heavy calibre bullet cracking through it and ripping apart the internals. It fell still, sparks flying from the severed wires inside its head and fading away in the wind.

"Stay down." Magnum growled, gravity boots sucking onto a flat-falling chunk of heavy plating. Then she spotted something out of the corner of her eye, and quickly snapped her pistol in that direction, pulling the trigger the moment her aim straitened. The bullet impacted the rocket, blowing it to peices.

Somepony tackled her from the side, sending her sprawling off the metal scrap and into open space where she would be hopeless to dodge anything. The assault unit that tackled her still had a firm claw on her neck, and was raising a knife. The knife sizzled with charged energy, and Magnum recognized the different helmet shape. It was one of the newer models, meat puppets.

The new unit stabbed the knife down, and Magnum managed to divert it to the side. The tip grazed the side of her visor, making a big scratch. She tucked the unit's wrist under her arm, neutralizing the knife. She slammed her hoof into the unit's visor several times, before giving it an elbow that cracked the visor.

The assault unit that fired the rocket was still concealed in the debris field, the launcher performing a lock-on on Magnum.

Magnum had to dodge the rocket, and push the new unit out of its way as well- otherwise the blast would kill the both of them. Problem is, the new unit doesn't care about its own survival. It was restraining Magnum's pistol from firing, holding it down by her side. Magnum was keeping its knife away from her throat, so they were in an almost unbreakable lock.

Almost.

There was a loud whoosh as the rocket was fired, and Magnum abruptly lurched to the right. Her momentum spun the both of them, putting the unit between her and the rocket. The sudden turn released the hold it had on her right hoof, freeing the pistol. She fired the shot, the bullet going through a crack in the armor and severing the main arteries in the neck. Blood started gushing out of the dead unit's neck, and Magnum kicked off its limp body.

The rocket hit, with Magnum still in the blast radius. She wrapped her arms around her body in hopes of protecting herself, but the high velocity shrapnel still tore at her armor.

The unit shielded most of the blast, and its guts stained the right half of Magnum's armor red. The other half was torn apart by the flying shrapnel, ripped to shreds.

Magnum gasped as several pieces lodged themselves deep into her flesh. Her HUD was malfunctioning, half of it blown away and missing with half her visor. Air was pounding at a gushing wound on her left arm, the explosion having torn a hole in her shoulder plate. She couldn't assess the damage as everything was coated in thick dark red blood- both hers and the unit's.

Still falling, she couldn't stabilize her current condition. She needed to get to stable ground- but she didn't know how.

The jetpack was only a few meters away now, and the assault unit was taking aim again.

"Damnit..." Magnum gritted her teeth together- and she realized her left eye wasn't seeing anything. Being safe, she closed her right eye and opened her left.

Nothing.

She opened her right eye again, and she could see. She must've lost her left eye- she could feel hot blood trickling down the side of her face. The pain started to fade as her body entered shock- but her mind still had to remain clear.

She shook her head vigorously, and looked back at the assault unit. Her pistol had drifted off somewhere else, and she gave a quick look around. It was just below her, and she dived down to retrieve it.

Debris was getting in the way- but she could still get the unit back. She had her ears pricked, waiting for that distinct click for it to pull the trigger.

Then there it was, and she fired the bullet. The metal round clipped a crippled armored door, bounced off it and around the piece of debris that was in the way. There was an explosion that followed as the bullet struck the freshly launched rocket, presumably blowing the unit apart with it.

Now to get that damn jetpack.

She angled herself, slowly making her way towards the jetpack. Then suddenly something hit her injured shoulder, and she screamed as the jagged piece of metal slid into her flesh.

"Son of a- Gah! Damnit!" she cursed, and tried to rip the metal out- but it was firmly anchored in her shoulder. She ground her teeth together, trying her best to get it out- but couldn't help and scream as it abruptly slid several centimeters and ripped more of her flesh with its jagged edges.

She cursed, tears swarming into her eyes as she tried again.

"Warning: Lethal drop range detected. Warning..." her HUD beeped, but the words were dull in the pain.

But she knows one thing- if she doesn't get that jetpack, she'll be as dead as a whale in a desert. She tried to ignore the pain, and ignore the fact that there was a big metal sheet with sharp edges sticking out of her left shoulder.

Finally she managed to grab hold of the jetpack, and she fumbled with it in her right hoof- even if she did move her left arm a bit, the pain would just explode into her brain.
But eventually she had to.

The jetpack required two locks for it to fully synchronize with the suit and be recognized as a valid piece of equipment- and one of the locks was only accessible from the left side. Magnum tried to reach around with her right hoof, but it was always just beyond her reach. Several times she fumbled with the jetpack she almost let go of it- and now she had to resist the pain.

She shifted her left arm a bit to the back, and felt the piece of metal dig even deeper into her shoulder. She grunted, moving her arm a bit more- inching her way to the lock.

She was screaming now. She didn't even realize- the metal was slowly popping her arm out of her shoulder socket as she angled against it- but finally, she flicked the lock down and a new fuel indicator lit up her HUD.

"Come on, you little piece of crap." she groaned, activating the engines. They flared and came to life, and she felt her velocity start to decrease.

But then they sparked, and went out.

"What the hay-?" Magnum looked behind her at the sparking jetpack. "Come on! Work, you mother bucking piece of crap!" she pounded it on the side with her right hoof, banging against the metal shell again and again. "COME ON!!"

"Altitude critical. Armor lock down auto-initiating." the HUD said.

"NO! Shuck, damnit! NO!" Magnum screamed as the suit slowly pulled her into a tight ball, and she resisted with all her strength to keep her left arm out of the way- but the hydraulics and motors on that side were still intact.

The suit slowly forced her to curl up into a ball, a thick metal visor closing down over her visor. She heard several cracks as the suit forced her left arm to close in as well, the piece of metal popping it out of its socket. The cracks continued, which followed a loud ripping noise and her own screams.

There was one final, distinct, and blood-filled crack as the suit pushed the arm into place around her knees, and she felt warm blood splatter over her left side as the wound was ripping open.

She screamed, she didn't know for how long. The pain was beginning to dull as her body went into shock, and she could see nothing as the metal visor had shielded her view completely. Armor lock-downs were only automatically initiated in critical situations such as these. It seals the armor and the user completely in thick metal plates, rendering them almost invincible.

Once again, almost.

A live camera feed popped up on Magnum's HUD, oddly bright as everything else was dark. It showed her facing the ground, the earth getting ever closer. There was a count-down meter on the top right corner, counting down her dropping altitude.

The lush Everfree forest was below, its trees waving gently in the breeze. It got closer and closer, her field of vision growing smaller and smaller.

Then the tree tops suddenly flew past her, and the last thing she saw before everything went dark and empty was the damp dirt ground of the Everfree. She didn't even get to finish her last thoughts before the darkness closed around her vision and ripped her life away.

*

"WHO THE HELL WAS ON THE BARRICADE!!??" Rainbow yelled into the comms.

"The ponies you know, that'll be Storm... And Magnum." Spitfire finally managed, after the entire bridge fell still and watched the screens in front of them show the barricade explosion.

Rainbow was going to retort with something, but found no words. She already had her mouth open, but it was left gaping without information. Eventually the corners of it turned down slightly, showing her teeth as she ground them against each other. She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head and turning away from the collapsing section of the barricade. Still she could hear the impacts and loud cracks they made as the debris fell from the sky, one of which will probably be Magnum or Storm- should there be anything left of either of them after the explosion.

"Son of a mule..." Octavia took in a deep breath, turning away from the group and shielding her face from the others.

"Sis... What is it..?" Dainty tugged at Rainbow's sleeve, and started worrying even more when there was no reply.

Rainbow shook her head, struggling to box in the tears. "Magnum." she said, her voice shaky.

Dainty froze, then let go of Rainbow's sleeve and slumped back onto the ground. She had known Magnum- of course she had. The pony that helped her earn her cutie mark in programming? Of course she knew her. She knew her as a friend. A good friend.

Lily didn't know Storm nor Magnum, but judging from the shocked expression on Dainty's face- they were probably pretty close. All she could do was be sad and put an arm around Dainty's shoulders, giving her gentle rubs on the back.

Dainty hunched over, burying her face in her hooves. Tears trickled down the side of her face, and Rainbow moved to sit down on a nearby wooden box.

"I've seen her in action before." Silver said, shaking her head. "One hell of a good soldier. I take it you knew her in that other reality?"

"Worked with her for quite a few years." Octavia said, leaning her back on a streetlight. It creaked slightly under the pressure. "She was one of the first to engage the Science Faction in our reality."

"And was quite the friend." Rainbow added.

"Dash. Proceed to objective." Spitfire said softly. "We need that info ASAP. ATLANTA is being invaded."

Rainbow shook her head. Right now, she would no longer be surprised if any more ponies died at all. There were too many surprises in one day already, it wasn't even getting surprising anymore.

Spitfire sighed deeply. "This is war, Dash. Ponies die. It's up to us survivors to keep each others' backs and stay survivors. Spitfire out." she said, and the comms went dead.

Rainbow took off her hat, and Octavia followed. At least some sort of acknowledgement to the death of yet another friend.

Rainbow slowly raised her head, placing her hat back over her rainbow colored mane. She watched the nuclear fallout from the explosion slowly drift to earth for a moment, cast one last gaze in that direction, and turned away; the glow of the evening sun tinting the scene a bright but dull orange as she walked on towards the marked objective.

*

The light blue earth pony slowly opened her eyes. She couldn't feel a thing, and her vision was still blurry. Still blurry from what she didn't know- but she could only see shades of color. Then finally her vision cleared, and she looked up. It was evening, the orange glow illuminating the trees of a forest. But what forest again?

The Everfree, that's right. She had no idea how she knew that- but now that she thought about it, she had no idea how she got here either.

She tried to get up, but her legs seemed to be broken and she was barely doing anything. She was slumped, sprawled against a tree. She looked around her, and saw a small path of destruction in front of her. Several dents into the dirt ground spanned out in front of her, as if something had hit the ground and bounced around. She looked down at her dirt filled armor, and had the odd feeling that she was the mysterious object.

She had a knife in a socket on her back, and a silver pistol by her side. The silver pistol meant something- but she couldn't quite remember. It did trigger some memory flashes though, of pain and suffering. She saw a familiar pony, dying on the floor and bleeding from a gunshot wound. She remembered a name, Zealo; but it meant nothing to her.
She tried to go and pick up the pistol with her left hoof, when she realized she didn't have one. In fact, her entire left arm was missing; a blood matted and fleshy stump replacing where it should be.

I wonder if I had a left arm in the first place anyway... She thought.

She couldn't feel any pain, but could feel the damage. She started slowly crawling towards the pistol, her useless legs dragging on the ground behind her. For some reason the pistol seemed important- it seemed so lovingly polished and shined by its previous owner, so delicately polished and constructed. Finally she was able to pick it up, and was surprised to find that it fitted her hoof extremely comfortably. She crawled back to the tree, and slumped against it. Just from crawling that meter had made her breathless- the hay was wrong with her?

There was a loud howl that echoed through the forest, followed by an eery breeze.

The earth pony looked around her, pistol in hoof. Another howl, and it sent shivers down her spine.

Suddenly something leaped out of the woods and straight at her, and without even thinking her right hoof snapped to that side and pulled the trigger. The bullet was sent through the timber wolf's brain, killing it almost instantly. It collapsed back onto the ground, slid several meters towards her on the dirt ground and died with one final whimper.

"How the hay..?" the pony looked at her right hoof, marveling at her instinctive shot.

Now the loud bang and the bright flash from the muzzle flare had attracted even more hungry timber wolves. They growled, snarled, a hungry pack; slowly circling her and baring their teeth.

One of them leaped at her, and once again her hoof snapped into aim and put a bullet through its head.

Now that enraged all of them, and they all charged at her. She pulled the trigger as many times as she possibly could have, feeling the recoil pound against her hoof. Then there was only one timber wolf left, and her pistol clicked empty.

"Shuck-" she cursed, placing it down and whipping out the knife.

The wolf lunged, and she stabbed the knife from the side and into its face- it wasn't a lethal strike, and its biting teeth were getting ever closer to her face. She could feel its hot breath on her nose, its saliva spitting onto her face as it growled and barked; trying to sink its teeth into her neck.

Her arm was growing weak, and she could barely hold it off. Soon all her strength would drain from her body, and that'll be the end of the mysterious light blue earth pony.

The wolf backed up a little, ready to lunge and clamp its jaws around her neck.

Then there was a huge flash and bang that left her ears ringing, and the timber wolf fell sideways and onto the ground with a big portion of its body missing and in tatters.

"Stay where you are and put down the bucking knife." an orange earth pony said in a thick Manehatten accent, her short red mane drifting down a little above her shoulders and the sawed-off shotgun in her hooves still smoking from its earlier blast.

The blue earth pony stared down the barrel of the shotgun, and slowly placed the knife on the floor and pushed it away.

The orange pony tilted her head to one side, picked up the pistol and knife and lowered the shotgun.

"Hell, mare. You look like you just fell out of the sky! We better get that arm patched up... And... Your left eye." she said. "I'm Babs Seed. Ignore the lousy introduction, but we really need to get you fixed up if you want to live."

"I..." the blue pony looked down at her missing left arm. It was beginning to sting, and she could tell soon she would pass out from blood loss.

"You have a name?" the orange pony asked, kneeling down as the blue pony's eyes started closing.

"I... Don't.... Know...." she said, and fell unconscious.

Author's Note

Oh come on, don't tell me you didn't expect to see Babs after her being a total bad-ass in the new season and all

Chapter 20: Murderer

The jetpack had run out of fuel, and her suit was damaged. Bluefyre looked around her, but all she saw was more trees. She was trapped deep in the Everfree forest, with nothing but the bow built into the armor on her left arm and a standard infantry rifle. Something inside the Everfree was interfering with her HUD- and could well be a signal scrambler. Either that, or just the mysterious magical properties of the Everfree- and she couldn't tell which one was more likely after having a quick look around.

There was the howl of a timber wolf to her right, and she raised the rifle. All she could hear after that was her own breathing, and each crunch her hooves made as they stepped on the fallen twigs.

It was only evening, yet down here it was as dark as mid-night. All she could see was within the range of the weak flashlight mounted on her helmet- and it didn't do much to light up things.

She had lost Anvil when they fell from the barricade- and she has no idea as to where Magnum or Storm went. Nopony was marked on her HUD.

More howls, and barks. Then some distinct bangs that could only be made by one weapon- Magnum's pistol.

Bluefyre started jogging. Running through the thick woods, she slipped past all the trees- she was alert to even the smallest noise. A fallen twig, followed by the crunch as something stepped on it. She kept running- she could hear the struggle now. More bangs, followed by the whimpers of the timber wolves. Then that was followed by a final really loud bang, and everything fell silent.

Bluefyre stopped, seeing the sudden flash in front of her. Magnum must be right there. She walked over there with her rifle raised, making sure no more timber wolves had made it into the area. She almost tripped over the root of a tree, but stumbled back on balance and kept going.

There was a small clearing up ahead, seemingly made by debris that fell from the barricade. Trees were uprooted or completely broken down, shreds of wood littering the forest floor and the ground torn and dented.

Bluefyre looked around herself frantically, but saw no sign of Magnum nor anypony else. She saw where the conflict was- a bunch of dead timber wolves lying on the ground, their thick luminescent green blood slowly leaking out of lethal pistol wounds. Then there was more blood on the dirt floor. Red blood, not that of the timber wolves.

At first Bluefyre didn't want to believe it. Then she spotted a silver object, catching the glint of the evening sun and sparkling. She went to pick it up, and stared at the blood stained object for a very long time.

It was Magnum's dog tag. The chain was broken in pieces, hanging loosely from the tags themselves.

She sighed, placing them in a socket in her armor. By the looks of it Magnum must've lost a lot of blood- and was most likely dead somewhere. Probably dragged away by a lone timber wolf.

"Bucking hell..." she muttered, then slumped back onto the damp dirt. She felt awfully vulnerable in the clearing, even if she did have a weapon and extra ammo.

There was a loud howl behind her, and her jaws clenched. She stood up, slinging her rifle across her back. She held out her left hoof, and with a small gesture two ends of an advanced combat longbow popped out of the armor on her left arm. She pulled out an arrow and loaded it, testing the tension on the string.

She had no idea where she would go. She had no idea what to do. So she'll do whatever she had to.

*

Rainbow pulled a large piece of concrete out of the way, small pieces of it crumbling off and clattering to the ground. They were in the one of the cabins of the train, crushed by debris.

"Let's hope our precious cargo hasn't been destroyed by all this bull crap." Silver said, ducking under the small opening.

"It should be in the next cabin." Rainbow sighed, taking a moment to catch her breath. Then she nodded at Octavia, who moved up and took one side of the door leading to the next cabin. Rainbow took the other side, cleaver handle in hand and ready to be deployed. The door had a rusted coat of red paint over it, peeling over time. It might've been a bright color when it was new, belonging to a long lost reality.

"Go." she nodded, and Octavia kicked down the door.

They swung into a larger cabin, a big object with a sheet over it in the middle of the small space. Shelves lined the sides, filled with all kinds of tools and random equipment.

Rainbow pocketed the cleaver, and sighed. "This could take a while to search through."

"Yeah. Problem is we have no idea what we're looking for." Silver said, walking to one side of the room.

"Found it." Octavia said.

"Where?" Rainbow and Silver both asked at the same time, turning to see Octavia admiring the shielded object in the middle of the cabin.

Rainbow moved to one corner, and ripped the sheet off. What was beneath it made her lost for words, and she just took a step back with her mouth wide open.

"Still a beauty." Octavia said. Of course she recognized it instantly- she was the one who modified it in the other reality.

"How...?" Rainbow frowned. "Applebloom must've remembered. She probably whipped this up in the past day or something."

"Probably." Octavia nodded.

"The hay are you two so excited about?" Silver asked.

"You don't have one of these?" Rainbow smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"We don't have the luxury to have one." Silver said grimly.

"Looks... Familiar." Daring cocked her head to one side and frowned at the object.

"Alright everypony..." Rainbow rubbed her hooves together, admiring the sleek black car that she missed so much since entering this new reality. "Who's driving?"

*

"Agent Dash." a familiar male voice said through the comms.

"Yeah. Who am I speaking to?" Rainbow asked, ignoring the complaints and groans from the six ponies squished in the back row. Octavia was driving, and as usual- she had the front seat.

"Officer Soarin." the voice said, and Rainbow froze. Another Wonderbolt? "Captain Spitfire is currently trying to organize a retaliation strategy against the ATLANTA invasion. She'll be unavailable- and I'll be taking over for now."

"I certainly wouldn't mind- I mean-"

"There's a military checkpoint established by the Science Faction in your way. They're testing a prototype signal jamming device- once they activate it we're in trouble. You need to destroy it- but take it down silently. Make sure nopony finds out until it's too late- you don't want Val chasing after you." Soarin said.

"Val's already chasing me." Rainbow muttered. "Can you mark it on our HUDs?"

"Done." Soarin said, and a small indicator popped up on Rainbow's HUD. It was quite close.

"Tavi- slow down... Think they'll hear us." Rainbow said, and Octavia stopped the car.
Silver hopped out the back, grateful for the sudden expanse of breathing space. The other five ponies tumbled out the door after she left it open, all gasping for air.

"I'll go scout ahead." Silver yawned loudly. "Just check out what we're up against." she said, and flew off towards the marked location. She returned later with wide eyes.

"There's a bunch of them, isn't there?" Rainbow asked.

Silver nodded.

"Let me guess- twenty three officers and no units?" Rainbow smirked.

Silver nodded again.

"Oh, how I love myself." Rainbow sang, trotting towards the marked location.

"Wait- what are you doing? We need to go together!" Silver raised an eyebrow.

"Tavi and I can handle this." Rainbow grinned, and Octavia nodded. "We've lived through worse before. Actually, I lived through worse." she turned to Octavia. "You died."

"Shut up." Octavia muttered. Over time that had become a joke- but it could get annoying at times.

Silver shrugged. Octavia was only assigned as her partner at the start of the mission- so Rainbow probably had more experience.

"We'll be on the sideline... Just in case, you know." Silver smirked. As if those two could take on twenty three other ponies on their own.

"Tsk tsk tsk." Rainbow tutted. "Watch and learn."

They were still in Fillydelphia, the tall buildings seemed worn down into a substance similar to clay- they looked like they could crumble at any second. Rainbow slowly sneaked around one of the buildings, keeping her back to the wall. She peered around the corner, and saw the group of Science Faction ponies. They had light armor on, but were equipped quite well- grenades, pistols, rifles...

There was an antenna in the middle of the clearing, probably the jamming device. There was a slight flutter as Silver flew up onto the roof overhead. Rainbow looked back down at the enemies, keeping note of their locations.

She looked behind her and nodded at Octavia, who nodded back and darted to the building on the other side. The ponies didn't see her.

Rainbow pulled out one of Nightshade's EMP knives, and started slowly creeping around the corner.

The first stallion had his back to her- so she slowly crept up on him. Now she was right behind him, knife in hoof and ready to strike. She reached out and gave him a light tap on the shoulder.

"Wha...?" he turned around, exposing his neck.

Rainbow clamped a hoof over his mouth and slashed the knife across his neck, severing his adam's apple. Blood splattered onto the floor, accompanied by his muffled scream. She spun him around and held him as a meat shield- by now they have already been spotted, and the others were turning around.

No way they're getting out of this without having a whole army on their tails. Silver thought from the roof.

Rainbow pulled the pin and threw the EMP knife, and it lodged itself deep inside a stallion's throat before exploding with a blue wave of energy.

"COLOSSUS! COLOSSUS!! DO YOU READ ME!?" one of the stallions yelled into a radio. "SHUCK! OUR COMMS ARE DOWN!"

Octavia came out from behind the corner and moved up behind Rainbow, both of them using the dead stallion as a shield. Octavia took his rifle, and started firing short bursts at the others before they even flicked off their safeties.

Rainbow pulled out the pistol from its holster on the stallion's leg, and picked off six different officers with its full clip. By this time only about seven of the enemy officers remained.

Rainbow pushed the dead stallion forward, slowly advancing towards the enemy officers while they tried to back away. Bullets landed all around them, lifting up dirt into the air in small clouds. Octavia's rifle clicked empty, and she dropped it in the dirt.

Rainbow reached around the stallion, and pulled the pin on three different grenades. She let go, and kicked the body with the grenades still attached to it towards the remaining few officers. The grenades went off, and they disappeared behind a huge flash and a wall of dirt.

"Done, and done." Rainbow said, dusting her coat of the brown dust and striding towards the antenna.

Sliver stared at the field of dead bodies with wide eyes, her mouth gaping wide with awe. "That... Was incredible." she finally managed.

"Now to disable this thing..." Rainbow said, walking up to the jammer.

"You have twenty seconds to get all your hidden friends out here in the open, before I blow you to pieces with the pack of C4 under that jammer." a voice boomed throughout the clearing, through remotely controlled speakers hidden in the buildings- it was impossible to pinpoint its location.

"Shuck..." Rainbow muttered, checking under the jammer- and as the voice had said, a pack of C4 was there, the LED indicator flashing gently.

"Uh-uh. Don't touch that, or I'll pull the trigger." the voice said, then chuckled. "Ten seconds left."

"Stay hidden, Silver. He doesn't know there's two of us yet." Rainbow whispered out of the corner of her mouth, her lips barely making a twitch.

"Copy." Silver Dash whispered a second later, and crawled behind cover on the roof.

Slowly, Dainty, Lily, Daring, and the two survivors strode into view. Rainbow held her breath, waiting for the mysterious stallion to point out Silver was missing- but he didn't.

"Yes, yes. Gather round." the voice said, and Rainbow let out a mental sigh of relief.

"Can you find him?" she whispered slowly.

"Not yet." Silver whispered back.

The clearing was dead silent, the dust-brown buildings rising all around them seemingly gaping at them with their hollow windows. A slight breeze blew, the sand on the ground shifting slowly. The evening sun was dropping behind the horizon, casting long shadows across the still battlefield.

"Hooves raised, ladies." the voice boomed, and everypony started slowly raising their hooves.

Everypony but one of the survivors, who was a little hesitant.

There was a loud crack, and a distinct zipping noise before a high-calibre bullet busted through her skull and caused her head to cave in. Her headless body fell back onto the floor, her blood splattering over the floor and mixing with the sand.

Daring had her mouth firmly clamped shut, and was struggling to breath through her nostrils. She didn't look down at the pony she once knew, and she could still feel the warmth of some splatters of her blood on her face. She was standing next to her once second, and gone the next.

"Don't." Rainbow warned her out of the corner of her mouth.

Daring finally let out that breath she was holding, slowly and cautiously. She blinked away the tears, and was dying to wipe the blood off her face.

"Did you get him?" Rainbow whispered.

"Got his general location." Silver whispered back.

"Don't make a move until you have a visual." Rainbow's lips twitched.

"Now I want all your little secrets. Give me all the names of the sabotaged ships. Come on, you know what I'm talking about- with your little spies in Science." the shooter said.

Rainbow's jaw was clenched- she couldn't quite see a safe way out of this situation yet, and Silver finding the shooter was their only hope of salvation.

"Wait- I see him. Left building, fifth to top floor." Silver said. "Don't look at him, dumbarse." she whispered as Rainbow's head twitched.

Suddenly there was a loud whoosh, and a rocket came flying out of nowhere and hit the fifth to top floor. The entire top part of the building collapsed, and the huge speakers started pumping out static.

"What the hay!?" Silver traced the trail of smoke left behind by the rocket and back to the black car. "How...?"

"Voice control." Rainbow grinned, lowering her hooves to her sides. "Honk honk." she said, and the car beeped twice in return.

"I feel extremely left out." Silver said, then spotted something in the distance. "Shuck! He's getting away!"

It turns out their shooter was a pegasus pony- and was flying away right this moment.

"You son of a mule-" Daring Do growled, and flew after him, leaving behind a small dust cloud as her wings disrupted the air.

"Silver- make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." Rainbow said, walking towards the car with Octavia. She felt a small weight on her waist, and looked down at a quivering Dainty.

"That mare's head... It just..." she trembled, her voice uneven.

Rainbow's heart sank. Dainty must've been seen the pony being taken down- and it was her fault, because she put her and Lily behind everypony else for her to be safe. And speaking of Lily...

Rainbow rubbed Dainty's shoulders, and cast a worried look at the other filly. She gave a gentle tap on Dainty's back, then pointed at Lily; who was sitting alone by herself and staring at the ground.

"You know what to do, right?" Rainbow asked, and Dainty nodded. She shook off the tears, and as much as she didn't want to- left Rainbow to go sit with Lily.

"Hey Lily." Dainty said rather awkwardly, taking a seat next to Lily on the rock.

Lily chuckled. "You sound so casual."

"I... Was just trying to not think about it too much." Dainty said.

"Yeah. Easy for you to do." Lily said, still staring at the ground and not meeting Dainty's gaze. "I mean, you've got Rainbow and all, you know everypony... And... Well... I have no-one."

"You know me." Dainty grinned. "Come on Lils. Surely we can get through this together, right?" she said, pulling her friend into a big hug.

"Sure, why not." Lily said, a dim smile leaking onto her face as she hugged her back. "I guess."

"Come on. As long as we stay together, we could get through anything." Dainty said, then the grin faded off her face. "Promise you won't leave me behind though?"

"Ha! The only one who's going to get left behind is me." Lily laughed, then the both of them made a pinkie promise. Stick together. Stay together.

Rainbow couldn't help but smile when she spotted the two fillies making a pinkie promise out of the corner of her eye. She also couldn't help but follow the two fillies and mouth those words- 'Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.'

Then her smile slowly faded- she had no idea where Pinkie or any of her friends might be, or even if they were alive. No, she wasn't quite ready to admit they were dead yet. That just wasn't going to happen- they had to be alive. They just had to be. After all, how many life-threatening situations have they escaped and eluded? Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis and her changelings, even an evil king of shadows? The list goes on... And it should keep going, like it always has.

"Rainbow." Octavia stopped as she realized Rainbow had stopped walking.

"Right, right." Rainbow said, then whistled really loudly. "Blow the jammer!"

The car let out an eery screeching noise, trying to find the correct frequency. Then suddenly the pack of C4 under the jamming device exploded. Rainbow flinched, shielding her eyes; then whistled loudly to the car.

The car drove up to the small group, engine purring.

"In ya go, you two." Rainbow said, opening the passenger door and hopping in the front. The two fillies got in, still giggling at something.

"Chase after the damn bastard. Shoot him down if you need to." Rainbow said to Octavia, and did not expect a response from the car.

"Affirmative." a robotic female voice said, and Rainbow almost jumped out of her seat.
"Oh great. It can talk too? What did Applebloom do?" Rainbow said, looking around the car and half expecting some crazy robot face to pop up.

"She created me." the car's AI said.

"Right, right." Rainbow waved.

"Well this is great. Got more annoying voices in the car." Octavia muttered.

"I have manual control over the driver's ejector seat, in case that is what you were asking for." the AI said, and Rainbow couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Even got a sense of humor, aye." Octavia smirked, then couldn't help but snigger a bit herself. "You got a name?"

"Applebloom calls me EDI. I have no idea why." EDI said.

"Oh, great. An adoption too." Octavia said, and EDI started a count down for the ejector seat. "Okay okay!" she said quickly, and Rainbow and the fillies struggled to contain their laughter.

*

"Come here, you bucking piece of crap." Daring growled, flying after the stallion.

The stallion suddenly folded his wings, and flew threw a window and into a building. Daring followed, making a rough touch down and having her hooves drag across the concrete and sand. They burned a bit, but she didn't care and kept on chasing.

The stallion swung around a corner, and was panicked to hear Daring's scrambling hooves only seconds after his.

Two sets of hooves made loud clanking noises as they sprinted down an empty corridor, the slight breeze brushing away the dust and licking at their legs. Then the stallion leaped out of a window to the side, shattering the age-old glass with all the ease of snapping a twig with a crusher. Daring followed, stretching out her wings and gliding after the pegasus.

She had ditched her shotgun in a hurry to catch the shooter, and was completely unarmed while the shooter appeared to be carrying a knife and pistol- but she didn't care.

The stallion flew into another building, weaving through the different corridors and rooms. Daring followed without missing out a single step- every time she turned a corner she would always see his tail disappear around a different one.

She swung around the corner, and was slightly surprised to see the stallion there.

"You're too persistent, mare-" he said, aiming the pistol at Daring's face.

Daring knocked the pistol away, the shot missing and lodging itself in the ceiling. She yanked the pistol away from his grip, and tackled him to the ground.

"Get off me- you son of a-" Daring slammed a hoof across his face before he could finish.

The stallion retaliated by digging an elbow into Daring's stomach, winding her. He took the opportunity and slammed a hoof into her face, causing her to fall back. He scrambled up, and started running again.

Daring wiped the blood away from her bleeding nose, and reached out. Her hoof caught the stallion's back leg, and tripped him up.

"You persistent- reckless- mule!" he grunted, kicking Daring in the face and forcing her to let go. He scurried up again, and started running.

"You're not getting away." Daring growled, wiping off the blood on her face with an arm. Blood trickled from her nose and slid into her mouth- and she ignored the taste of ion and rust.

They kept running, both a little off balance from the encounter earlier. Then there was another ambush as the stallion swung around the corner, his knife raised high.

He stabbed it down at Daring. "Just die, you little- GAH!!" he screamed as Daring grabbed his hoof from the side and swung his own knife into his prostate. He collapsed onto the ground, Daring falling with him.

The weak concrete ground underneath them crumbled, and they fell onto the next floor. Daring was still on top, and instead of using the knife to kill the stallion she slammed a hoof into his face.

He grunted, and she punched him again. Again and again. The sickening cracks were heard throughout the still settling dust. Still Daring kept slamming her hoof into his skull, slowly caving it in. Blood gushed out as her hoof crushed his flesh, and splattered over one half of her face. His knife wound was causing a lot of blood loss- and it was forming a growing puddle on the floor. Still she kept punching him.

"Who's dying now?" she growled, twisting the knife. He tried to scream, but only gurgled more blood.

Daring kept punching him, for how many times she didn't know. But there was a deep crimson red puddle all around her by now. Then she raised her hoof for one last time, and swung it down from the side. She felt the stallion's skull crunch under her hoof, felt his brain get squashed to mush, then felt his spine snap as his head rotated over one-hundred degrees to one side.

She was breathing hard, and didn't bother do anything to stop it. Her hooves were coated in blood, in fact the whole right half of her body was covered in blood- and most of it wasn't hers. She looked down into the huge puddle of blood, staring at her reflection and into those crazed eyes. Those malevolent eyes. Those vengeful eyes.

Those murderer's eyes.

Chapter 21: Dogfight

"Exiting the ocean. Hell, haven't seen daylight for quite a while now." Blithy said, grinning with anticipation.

The surface of the Atlantic was just ahead of them, shimmering in the sun and sending disrupted rays of golden light down to the depths.

"Our Apollos are already engaging the enemy. We're sending you a third wingmare- trust me, you'll need her." the radio operator said.

Blithy sighed. "We'll see." she said as another Apollo pulled alongside the Horizons.

"Lightning Dust at your service ma'am." the pilot said.

Blithy tilted her head to one side. "Weren't you the one that got ki-"

"Yes ma'am." Lightning Dust cut her off before she could finish, which annoyed her slightly but wasn't of any importance. It was quite understandable.

"Turning off the mirage. Don't need that crap anymore." Blithy said, flicking a switch.

The Horizons faded back into existence, then broke the water's surface. It arched through the air, leaving streams of water in its wake. At first Blithy was blinded by the bright sun, then her eyes slowly adjusted to the chaos.

The world shook as three Apollos flew by really close, their engines roaring. Explosions were going off everywhere, dogfights spanning almost out of view. The planes chased each other through clouds, down back underwater, and through the skies.

Blithy yanked the joystick to one side, a Striker exploding and its flaming carcass drifting past the Horizons. She flew back through the trails of flames left behind by the burning Striker, dragging the smoke with her.

"Everypony go to Manehatten! We'll stand a better chance and will be able to avoid their heavy artillery in the streets!" Blithy yelled, the plane turning away and heading for the sand swept coastal city.

"Tangoes on your tail ma'am." Lightning Dust said.

"Copy." Blithy said, the missile lock-on warning flashing red with beeps.

She changed her trajectory and started flying straight up, towards the barricade and the edge of space. On her radar the missiles got ever closer, and she could see them in her rear view mirror. Then she turned off the engines, giving the missiles nothing to track- they could no longer find their target, so flew straight up. The plane started slowing down, then the nose tipped down and it started falling; breaking into a vertical nose dive.

"Ooooh..." the Doctor mumbled as his stomach lurched.

Blithy fell past the missiles, then re-activated the engines. The missiles started tracking her again, and arched back to follow- but slammed into each other midway and blew out into a huge fireball.

"Shuck. It's Val." the radio operator said, and Blithy saw a black and yellow flash to her right- it was the Wasp, Val's signature modified Striker.

"Buck. All pilots, break away now." Blithy said, and her wingmares broke out of formation and left her with her duel with Val.

Blithy put her comms through to the Wasp.

"Well well, commander. Forcing me out of the comfort of my throne room." Val yawned, casually firing a missile that struck dead in the cockpit of an Apollo. Its hull peeled away from the blast, leaving a flaming exoskeleton to fall to the depths of the Atlantic. "I'll take care of this quick."

"Won't happen." Blithy growled, turning the plane around to face Val.

There was an eery drone as they both squeezed their triggers, their prism guns shooting off beams at each other. The beams collided, causing small rainbow colored explosions in the middle. Val launched a missile, and Blithy rolled to the side and out of the way. She fired a missile in return, in which Val shattered with a prism beam.

Some Apollos came to interfere- but they shouldn't have.

Val's ship wasn't called the Wasp for no reason. The paint job was put on because of its name, and its name came from its PDP shield. The shield was specially crafted and required a lot of energy to operate, so her weapons systems must be turned off when the shield was activated. PDP stood for Physical Damage Prevention, and like it says- once the shield is activated, it will be impossible for it to be destroyed by physical means. When the shield is on, it's only vulnerable to energy weapons such as the prism guns and EMPs.

And right now the ship's hull had begun shimmering- the shield was on.

"Look out!" Blithy warned, but it was no use.

Val dodged all their prism beams, and flew the Wasp straight through all three Apollos- tearing them to pieces. They exploded, and the Wasp emerged from the fireball unharmed.

"Beware of the Wasp's sting." Val sang, turning off the shield and shooting a prism beam Blithy's way.

Blithy flew to the side as the beam burned past, retaliating with her own. Val swung out of the way.

"Haven't had this much fun since the war last time." she grinned. "Let's hope I don't end this too quick."

"No worries there." Blithy growled.

*

"I need a wingmare!" Lightning Dust yelled, flying towards one of the science faction cruisers.

"Right with ya." Zealo said, flying alongside.

"We're aiming for the enemy bridge. Stick close to the cruiser, so it'll be harder for their turrets to target us." Lightning said, changing course and aiming for the nose of the cruiser.

"I've got my torpedoes armed." Zealo sighed. While torpedoes were useless in the air, they could still be used as bombs to be dropped on targets- and they packed a way bigger punch than the conventional missiles. Even more than 20% bigger.

"Here goes." Lightning took in a deep breath as they neared the front of the cruiser.

Suddenly loud explosions started going up all around her as the enemy defense systems spotted her and Zealo.

"Flak cannons! Look out!" Zealo yelled, breaking away and spreading out.

Suddenly the nothingness below them was replaced by the cruiser as they whooshed over it, the rows and rows of artillery slowly swinging around to point at them. They wove through the towers, avoiding fresh Strikers as they emerged from hangars- or just shot at them.

"Uh-oh. Tail." Zealo said as he spotted a missile warning on his HUD.

"Cross over!" Lightning yelled, banking hard right while Zealo yanked his controller to the left.

Lightning twisted her controller, flipping the plane upside down. They passed each other, Zealo the right way up at the bottom and Lightning upside down at the top. Their cockpit windshields grazed each other's, and the missiles following them flew into each other and disappeared behind a fireball.

Lightning flipped the plane back to normal orientation, spinning out of the way of a flak turret.

"Oh, how I missed flying." she laughed.

"Just don't be too reckless and get me killed." Zealo said.

"How come everypony knows about that?" Lightning Dust grumbled. "And I don't even know you."

"Captain Spitfire kinda uses you as an example for the rookie fliers." Zealo shrugged, turning his plane vertical and allowing a prism beam to shoot past.

"So I'm some sort of role model?" Lightning asked, shooting a Striker out of the sky. Its flaming carcass fell down and slammed into the cruiser's hull.

"Yeah." Zealo nodded. "You inspired many accidents in cadet school."

"Ain't that great to hear." Lightning muttered.

*

"Still hiding, Blighty?" Val asked, the Wasp hovering and slowly gliding along the deserted streets of Manehatten.

Blithy didn't reply, the Horizons parked on a roof and its mirage device activated. The damaged panel sparked and quivered, fizzing in and out of existence. She could see Val's ship from up here, gliding along and checking around every corner. The Wasp was getting further and further away- but still Blithy waited for an opportunity to present the attack.

Dust crumbled off the surface of the buildings as the Wasp glided past, the engines pointed downwards creating a micro curl of wind on the streets and lifting up the ash. The vibrations from its engines shook the foundations of the weak buildings, and one behind Val finally gave up. It broke apart, crumbling to the ground like a pile of blocks knocked over by a foal.

Val turned her ship around, but nopony was hiding behind the building. She stared at the empty space for a while, then moved on.

"Where are you~" she hummed.

Then there was a loud whir as the Horizons spun sideways and out from behind a building, launching two missiles at Val's turned back.

Val turned her plane sideways so the wings were vertical, and the missiles missed where they should have hit the engines. Then her shield shimmered to life, and the Wasp abruptly made a 180 degree turn and boosted towards the Horizons.

Blithy only had a split second to make her move. She twisted both joysticks in different directions, and the plane flipped upside down.

Val passed below, and they looked up to see each other through their windshields, and Blithy made a rude hand gesture with her middle finger at Val as she passed.

"Oh it is on." Val said, grinning and turning the ship around as she passed.

Blithy jammed the accelerators forward, and the Horizons shot through the streets. The Wasp followed, prism beams firing everywhere. One beam struck the side of a building, taking it down almost instantly as the age old material crumbled into a million pieces and fell from the sky.

Blithy zig-zagged through the labyrinth of buildings, engines blaring and lifting clouds of sand into the air. Val followed close behind, taking down the megastructures she can't be bothered going around with the prism gun.

Val yanked the controllers in opposite directions, sending the Wasp into a fast sideways turn. She held down the triggers on the prism beams, sending them flying in all directions at Blithy.

Blithy had to keep in perfect sync to avoid Val's attacks, turning the Horizons with the Wasp and making sure none of the beams hit her.

Then the Horizons flipped in the air, already rotating backwards 180 degrees before it made a full loop. Blithy held down the triggers, firing the prism beams down at Val as she completed her loop.

Val quickly turned the Wasp away from pursuit, avoiding the rainbow beams by millimeters.

Now the Wasp was running from the Horizons.

*

Eclipse flew the Striker through a crowd of Apollos, prism beams blaring. Suddenly a red missile lock warning popped onto her HUD, and she spun the ship around to face the Apollos.

She slammed a hoof down on the accelerator, sending the Striker boosting forward. She turned the plane to one side just as the missile approached, and it flew past. She rolled into the smoky trail it left behind, straight towards the Apollo that sent it.

Instead of firing the prism beams, she simply emptied all her secondary weapons slots at the Apollo squad and slammed the eject button.

The cockpit broke away from the rest of the plane, the plane itself slamming into an Apollo and breaking both to pieces. The missiles she launched earlier took down several others.

The ejected cockpit split in two, and Eclipse leaped out from the wreckage. Eclipse was just another one of Val's experimental projects- made almost completely from scratch. Eclipse was part of an experiment labeled 'Matter Manipulation', essentially devices that will be able to manipulate particles. Eclipse has several of these devices embedded in her body, mainly in her hooves and on her back. The devices are able to make particles hover, change their state of matter, properties, and general shape they form. They are even able to multiply and destruct the particles at will. The devices acquire matter from the environment- and as it can multiply particles, as long as there is one particle left the devices will be able to function. Eclipse is still a prototype, and the range of the devices she posses is still quite limited.

None the less deadly.

Suddenly wings sprouted from her back as she fell, glowing a bright orange as the devices charged and multiplied the particles. They splayed out, huge artificial feathers reaching to the sides. Her hooves glowed orange, and long sharp claws sprouted from them.

An Apollo made the mistake of flying too close, and Eclipse tore it down the center. She kicked off one half and onto another plane, the older one blowing itself to pieces as the missile launching system malfunctioned.

She stabbed a claw through the windshield and into the pilot's chest, then ripped both the windshield and the pilot out. She leaped off, the out of control Apollo slamming into a Striker- but it didn't matter to her.

Then a missile was launched towards her, the bright red tip easily visible in the sun light. Two blades on her claws retracted, leaving just one single one sticking out of her hoof. The missile struck the blade, and she twisted it delicately to avoid the detonation cap so the missile wouldn't blow up. She sliced it cleanly in half, and the two halves flew either side and past her head. She heard them explode behind her later on.

With a bright orange glow, an incineration rifle appeared in her hooves. She pulled the trigger, an orange laser flying into an Apollo and instantly setting it on fire. Its engines blew apart as the flames reached the fuel, and eventually the entire plane faded to ash.

Exactly why Val didn't intimidate her by the slightest.

*

"You got your torpedoes primed?" Lightning Dust asked.

"Done." Zealo said.

"Flak." Lightning rolled the Apollo to one side, a cloud of smoke exploding outwards nearby.

The bridge was close. Once they bomb that, the enemy's traffic control will be out of the way.

"Missile!" Zealo yelled, banking the plane hard left.

Lightning Dust pulled away to the right, and spotted the missile peeling away as it passed.

"What the-?" she watched the outer shell of the strange projectile break away from the main body.

"Buck- look out!" Zealo yelled, diving down.

The projectile exploded, sending hundreds of tiny explosives towards Lightning's Apollo. They embedded themselves in the hull, and a split second later blew apart too. The right side of the hull was torn to pieces and peeled away, and internal systems were malfunctioning too. Two engines were lost, and the plane was tilting dangerously to one side because of the unbalance in thrust.

"Shuck-" Lightning cursed, slamming the eject button.

The cockpit blew away from the plane, and flew through the enemy bridge's glass wall. The Apollo arched down, spinning out of control as it only had its left engines left. It plunged into a flak turret, crushing both to scrap metal.

The cockpit skid across the floor, knocking down computers and equipment then dragging electronics and wires behind it. Sparks erupted as the wires were ripped apart and the computers torn to pieces. Science Faction officers dived out of the way as the cockpit skid across the bridge, then finally slammed into the far wall where it came to rest.

The bulletproof windshield blew out and bounced across the floor, and Lightning Dust leaped out.

She took off her pilot helmet and threw it across the bridge, clipping a nearby officer in the head and causing him to fall over. Lightning quickly darted to him and took away the rifle slung across his back, and opened fire on the other science faction ponies.

"Alert. Alert. Bridge has been breached. Alert. All personnel to the command center." an alarm went off, flashing red lights instantly filing up the bridge.

"Gotta go." Lightning Dust said, flipping back into a security officer's chest, then kicking off towards the broken bridge windshield. She left behind a trail of bright yellow electricity, zig zagging behind her tail.

She dove out of the bridge and onto the cruiser's hull below. Sparks flew as her hooves skid across the metal- just another landing.

The officers from the bridge weren't exactly good fighters- their lousy shots landed all around Lightning and was only causing more damage.

"Shuck Lightning! The hay are you?" Zealo asked.

"On the cruiser hull. My Apollo went down." Lightning said, diving forward as a flak projectile exploded behind her. She came out of the smoke cloud, coughing without her helmet. "Meet me at the engines!"

"What!?" Zealo frowned. "How the hay are you going to get there?"

"I'll find a way. Stay alive in the meantime." Lightning said, ducking down behind a flak tower.

She looked up- these turrets are manually operated- there must be a way in.

*

The Horizons broke into a steep climb, then abruptly turned around. The Wasp grazed past, both planes shaking as each other's engines let out waves of thrust.

"I regret eating lunch." Doctor Whooves said.

"What did you have?" Blithy asked, stopping the plane just before it hit the ground then sending it flying forward and weaving through the buildings.

"Hay fingers and custard." the Doctor said, and Blithy frowned.

"Hold it in then." she sighed, then rolled the plane to one side. "Ever been to Manehatten before? Or do you like bridges?"

"Yes, they fascinate me." the Doctor mumbled glumly.

"Well- Lincolt bridge is up ahead." Blithy said, banking the Horizons hard left and bringing it down so it was flying just above the ocean surface.

Water sprayed onto the hull as the engines shoved the ocean surface out of the way, leaving behind them large waves of disrupted water.

Blithy looked behind them- Val was still there. She sighed then took in a deep breath. A couple of Val's missiles flew by, hitting the water surface and lifting up a huge block of ocean. It flew up into the air, then came back down again with a huge splash.

All along the ocean surface other dogfights were taking place. Apollos and Strikers leaped out of the water and dived back in like dolphins- missiles and torpedoes following the arches of water they left behind.

"Time to leave behind a little gift." Blithy said, dropping a high explosive torpedo into the water.

It made a small splash as it hit the water.

"Time it Doctor." Blithy said, still cruising along the ocean surface.

"Here she comes..." the Doctor said, watching the screen in front of him. "Fire in the hole!" he yelled, slamming the detonation button.

The chaotic ocean battle ground would've seemed like a calm summer's day when compared to what came next.

The high explosive torpedo went off, lifting up a quarter of a cubic kilometer of water, sending all of them high up into the air. The shockwave traveled across the surface, rippling the ocean.

"Mother of-" Val muttered, the ship completely clouded in the water blast. She couldn't see anything but splashing water.

It took several seconds to finally break through. Water slid away from the windshield as she forced the Wasp forward. She looked around the empty space- but the Horizons was nowhere to be seen.

She sighed when she looked in her rear view mirror.

"Tag, you're it." she muttered, accelerating away as the Horizons broke through the water behind her.

Chapter 22: Corrupted

Colgate abruptly woke again, and now she seemed to be in some sort of lab. She tried to think back to what happened, but couldn't remember most of her life. A good ten years was missing, from what she could tell.

She felt much more in control of her own body than before. The feeling was odd and indescribable- so she tested something out. It seems she could cut off her own blood stream to her hoof just by thinking about it. She thought about something else, and poked herself in the arm. She couldn't feel a thing- just like she told her body to shut off the sensory systems.

She grinned. This was certainly interesting- she could fully control the functions of her own body. Slowly she began taking an interest in the world around her, seemingly new.

She wasn't on much of a bed really- it was more of a metal desk on wheels. An array of needles and sharp items where held on stands on a small table next to her, and bright lights shone from above. Looks like an operation room.

She hopped down from the desk, and felt something cold splatter onto her hooves. She looked down to find a pool of blood- long cold. Tracing the crimson trail she found a dead body. Looks like the body of a science faction officer- Or half.

There were other bodies in the room too. Seemingly torn apart. For the first time Colgate noticed the blood splattered up her arms and down her body.

It astonished her that she didn't seem scared in any way. She looked at herself, trying to figure out what was different- but standing in a pool of blood with a bunch of shredded dead bodies seemed perfectly normal to her. Maybe even more comfortable than a normal environment.

She slowly walked towards a door. It was closed, but not locked. It would seem a gust of wind closed it- because she could still hear it whistling under the inch thick metal. She tore it in two anyways, like ripping paper. It was easy when she could fully use the power in her muscles. She let the heavy metal slam onto the ground either side of her, and walked into the darkness beyond.

The lights of the corridor she exited to seemed out of order. It was as if an EMP strike had occurred here- lights dangled loosely from the ceiling via sparking and fizzing wires, the glass cover already broken and lying shattered on the ground.

Colgate walked past one of them, and saw the dark corridor light up for one brief moment as another blue spark struck the air. From the smell and what she saw in that brief moment, there were more of those torn bodies in this corridor.

She grinned. Oh, that lovely smell of decay.

She vaguely remembered being a dentist- but that was all. It didn't seem like anything of particular interest to her right now.
She almost tripped over somepony's limb. She kicked it away, and was interested to find that it wasn't connected to the rest of the body. Still she walked on down the corridor.

Blood splatters were all over the walls. Where the hell is this, anyway? She continued walking, her own hoofsteps echoing down the hallway. It seemed the darkness stretches on forever- with no light in sight.

Then there was talking, with an echoey quality to it. She couldn't quite distinguish words yet, but instantly knew what to do. Or rather, knew what she wanted to do.

"That bucking monster is in here somewhere..." somepony said, accompanied by a cluster of hoofsteps.

They seemed to be some science faction infantry. The flashlights mounted on their rifles cast long beams of white light across the corridor- and Colgate avoided all ten beams.

"How the hell did she get loose anyway? Again? I thought we finally got her and were here for clean up!" somepony said. "Hell, we had a whole battalion guarding that piece of crap!"

Then, from the shadows, Colgate darted out from cover. And just like she tore that metal door apart, she tore every single one of them open.

*

The light blue earth pony was in a deep sleep- and the loud chirping of the birds were barely able to make her wake from her dreams. For some reason everypony in her dream called her Magnum- so she'll stick with that as her name for now. She couldn't quite remember the details, but it really was more of a nightmare. Something about Hearth's Warming Eve.

She was in a tent of some sort. Sunlight shone through the thin fabric, and the gentle morning breeze sent slow waves through the tent. Still the birds chirped, and the trees rustled.

She tried to get off the small old mattress she found herself lying on, only to collapse onto the floor, exhausted.

"The hay...?" she muttered, pushing off the floor- but her back legs won't respond. That's when she remembered- they must've been broken in whatever accident that occurred before she remembered nothing- probably the same accident that caused her to lose her left arm and eye too.

She looked down- bloodied bandages were wrapped around her wounds, over a bloody stump on her left shoulder and across the left side of her face. Some wooden sticks were tied to her legs to hold the broken bones together.

She sighed, falling back and lying on the ground; staring at the ceiling.

"Morning." a voice said from outside, and the fabric parted. Babs Seed walked through, chewing on a straw. She seemed to be wearing some sort of home made camouflage- the clothes were ripped, and her hat had holes through it.

"Are we still in that forest place?" Magnum made a random hoof gesture that she had no idea what the meaning to it was.

"Yeah. You passed out from blood loss." Babs said, looking around the tent.

Magnum lifted what was left of her left arm, which was just a bandaged stump attached to her shoulder.

"Thanks for saving me." she said, sighing. "Probably wouldn't have made it if you didn't step in."

"You're welcome." Babs said, as if it were nothing. "And welcome to home. Not much, but it's all I have."

"This...?" Magnum cast a gaze around the interior. There weren't many furnishings, just a small wooden table, a chair, and the small mattress from earlier. There were several guns stacked up in one corner, with small boxes of salvaged ammunition lying next to them. Static constantly flew out from a small handheld radio that sat firmly on the table, next to a gleaming machete.

"I know it ain't much." Babs said, helping Magnum crawl back onto the mattress. "But I've been here for most of my life time now. Ever since those darn spaceships came outta the ground, I've been hiding here." she smiled friendlily. "No worries. It's safe here."

"Spaceships? I don't even know what you're talking about..." Magnum grunted with effort as she tried to get up to a sitting position. "Hell, I don't remember anything. Do you know who I am?"

"I don't think I know anypony else other than myself." Babs sighed. "Although, I don't know where from... But these extra memories just popped into my head." she stared at the far wall, seemingly lost in her own world.

"Do you know what happened to me... Or anything?" Magnum raised an eyebrow.

"Ten years in a forest by myself," Babs chuckled, "doubt I know anything about the outside world." she gestured at the radio on the table. "I only got messages from some random Haven place. Supposedly it's safe there... You know, from the spaceships and all."

Magnum nodded slowly. Haven sounded familiar. Maybe if she somehow goes there... She might recover something about herself. Time to start a little salvage mission.

*

Spitfire was in the Captain's private suite, a table with various wooden blocks placed across it before her. The blocks represented Magic and Science faction troops- she had been running simulations all night, and still couldn't get anything of use.

There was no winning strategy. The Science Faction troops severely out numbered those of Magic- and no matter what spells or ambush strategies were used, Science could still win with relative ease by sheer numbers. They weren't exactly on home turf either- after all, Science did take over.

Basically, if they started the war now- their chances of winning would be close to zero- and that one percent depends on some random anomaly happening that wipes out the Science Faction on its own- an undependable source of victory.

She roared, frustrated- and swiped an arm across the table, knocking off all the wooden blocks. It just wouldn't work- this had been the fifty seventh loss already. She launched a kick into the table, flipping it; then slumped back onto the sofa. She felt the cold leather tickle her skin, irritating her more. But she managed to control that.

She buried her face in her hooves, trying to control her breathing.

There were three gentle taps on her door, and it clicked open.

"Did I give you permission to enter?" she asked in an agitated manner as Soarin entered.

"No, ma'am. But your mood did." Soarin saluted.

Spitfire ground her teeth together, then sighed. Being angry solved nothing- Soarin was here to help, and she knows she will need it.

So she didn't say anything, and Soarin gingerly stepped through the mess and came to sit down beside her.

"Spitfire, you need rest." he said, putting an arm around her and hugging her close.

"I tried using what we knew. I tried everything. But every time once the Cyclops goes down, we don't have anything to-" Spitfire started, but Soarin placed a gentle hoof on her mouth.

"Ssshh, sshh." he said, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "How about I sing you a lullaby, eh? That'll probably help."

"I-" Spitfire was about to protest, but suddenly started feeling the effects of being awake for twenty-four hours straight. Her eyelids dropped, and she tried to stay awake- but Soarin's warm arms were more than welcoming her to the bliss of sleep.

He started a gentle 'Hush now, quiet now', and she must admit- he didn't have a bad voice for a soft lullaby.

She didn't know when, she didn't know how- but slowly, she fell asleep in his gentle arms.

*

Nopony talked on the car as Octavia drove through the wasteland. There was nothing to be exchanged. Daring had killed their only source of intel after all these days, and even she wasn't speaking about it.

The least expected member of the car decided to break the silence.

"What's with the awkward silence?" EDI asked, in her monotoned computerized and emotionless voice.

Nopony replied.

"Music?" she asked.

"Not the time, EDI." Rainbow sighed, but the AI had already started playing a tuba version of 'Pink Panther'. "Turn it off!"

"As you wish." EDI said, switching the music player off and throwing the car back into silence.

Daring kept staring out the window. What she saw in her reflection was the first thing in a decade to frighten her- the look she gave herself still sent shivers down her spine.

What have I become?

She was an adventurer, in many ways a hero. A treasure hunter, a collector. Never a murderer. Never a brute. But what had the wasteland turned her into? In these long abandoned worlds of pasts, it was hard to keep the animalistic side away and stay sane.

Lily and Dainty sat in the back row, squished against the right side door. They were giggling and laughing a bit earlier, but stopped when Rainbow gave them a look. It wasn't an aggressive look, nor was it angry in any way. In fact, it was quite caring and gentle- as one would expect from a big sister. It simply told them to stop.

"The Everfree forest is up ahead." Octavia sighed. "We'll have to go around. Or we could ditch EDI."

"Negative." EDI said.

"Just go around. Although, stick close to the edge... I want to see it." Rainbow said, which was followed by silence as no one replied. All they could hear was the grounding of tires on the rough gravel roads.

"Unidentified electronics detected. Approximate location: X-76.89 Y-183.40. 9 kilometers at 3 o'clock." EDI said, a cluster of red dots appearing on the radar exactly where she plotted it.

"Great. Er, analyze?" Octavia tried.

"Judging from signals I am receiving from the external microphone, I hear relatively light footsteps. I estimate a small squad of scout walkers."

Octavia stopped the car.

"Buck. They're blocking our path." she growled, studying the radar scan.

"Don't care. Destroy them." Rainbow waved impatiently.

"I could perform a long range missile strike, but the dense local forest biosphere is proving to be a difficulty I cannot bypass as of yet." EDI said. "I could perform the missile strike in a clearing, however that leaves us vulnerable to the barricade for an estimated seven minutes."

"Shuck..." Rainbow buried her face in a hoof. "You got any alternative plans other than putting us out in the open?"

"Head on combat is always an alternative."

"Then let's do this." she sighed, hopping out of the car and slamming the door shut.

*

The walkers were completely unaware of what was happening when one of their own started shooting at them.

"What the-" one of the scout walkers exploded as one of its teammates sent a dozen bullets into his fuel tank. The burning carcass of the giant robot fell sideways, leaving behind an arch of flames. It crashed through the vegetation, before resting in pieces on a long abandoned road. The road would've been perfectly usable for it not the cracks caused by growing tree roots and other plants that overran the gravel surface.
A walker turned around, the pilot already resting his hoof on the trigger. Then suddenly he heard a loud crack and metallic groan behind him, and turned around.

"Oh sh-" he started, but Rainbow cut him short.

She leaped through the hole she cut in the back of the walker, and stabbed the cleaver through his chest. She then slid the handle forward and pulled the trigger, destroying the walker's control and communication systems.

"Good work." Silver Dash said, from inside the walker that started open firing on its teammates.

There was a loud crack that echoed through the comms as Octavia snapped somepony's neck.

"Got one." she said soon after.

The remaining two walkers started turning towards their downed teammates, missile silo safeties flicking off.

"So much for stealth." Octavia muttered, leaping out the door as a missile was fired at the walker she was in.

Suddenly the missile was snatched out of the air by a light brown blur, and disappeared off into the woods.

"What the hay?" Octavia rolled onto the dirt ground and looked up, but the missile nor whatever took it was nowhere in sight.

"Damnit! Don't let them escape or attract attention!" Rainbow yelled as the walkers started backing off, loading new missiles into their silos.

"I have their comms jammed. I predict they will change frequencies once they notice, so be quick." EDI said.

"Will do." Rainbow said, stretching her wings out and darting towards one of the walkers; covering about ten meters in less than a second.

She got under one of the walkers, and slashed up with her cleaver. Two of the same moves cut off the walker's weapons systems, letting them clunk loudly to the ground. The next to go were the legs, and the main body collapsed and fell sideways.

Rainbow kicked down the hatch, and was immediately tackled down by the pilot. They struggled over control of the cleaver, rolling over the grass covered gravel road.

The pilot gained control of the cleaver, and kicked Rainbow away. Problem is, he could barely lift it up.

Rainbow rolled backwards, diverting her momentum into the ground. She got back to her hooves, sliding a bit on the ground. Then she ran forward, leaping up over a bullet from the cleaver and landing on the blunt end of the blade.

She slammed a back hoof down on the tip of the cleaver, digging it deep into the ground. She then ran along its length, and swung a kick into the side of the pilot's skull. He fell sideways, rolled several meters across the road, and eventually stopped in a bush. He didn't get back up.

Rainbow jumped up, landing on the handle of the cleaver. Her weight tipped it, ripping the other end out from the ground. It spun through the air, and she caught it by the handle.

One walker left.

She looked towards where the last one was, expecting to be met with gunfire. Instead, she found the walker already taken care of and fallen over on the ground. She tilted her head to one side, studying the downed walker.

The forest took out most of the sunlight, leaving everything in shadows- and the walker wasn't on fire, so she could barely make out anything.

Then she heard a loud buzz behind her- not that of an animal's wings, but of energy. She spun around, raising the cleaver.

All she could see was a dark figure and two energy discs- one blue and one orange.

One of the discs hit her cleaver, sending a shower of sparks into the air. Rainbow pushed the figure away, spinning and bringing the blade back around.

The figure ran one of her discs along the edge of the cleaver, sliding the disc forward and forcing Rainbow's cleaver up. She swiped across at Rainbow with her other disc, which made that buzzing noise as it burned through the air.

Another cleaver blocked the strike as Silver Dash joined the fight against their unknown enemy. She flicked the cleaver, taking the figure off balance.

The figure seemed to be startled by the appearance of another of the same pony, and backed off a step.

There were two loud clicks as both Rainbow and Silver entered firing mode, and simultaneous bangs and flashes as they took turns at pulling the triggers.

The figure spun the discs, blocking their bullets- the small amount of metal from a bullet would instantly evaporate into air once it touched the blazing energy of the discs. She threw one of the discs at Silver, who flipped the cleaver and put the round handle through the hole in the disc. She swung the cleaver's handle down into the ground, lodging both weapons into the gravel. Just to be sure, she kicked the trigger and the recoil forced the cleaver and disc even deeper into the ground.

Rainbow slid the handle back, returning to cleaver mode. The figure darted forward, kicking off the ground and spinning through the air.

Rainbow rolled forward as the figure landed behind her, the disc sending sparks flying as she slammed it into the ground where Rainbow was seconds ago. Rainbow got up, turning and swinging the cleaver at the same time.

The figure slammed a disc into the side of the cleaver, knocking it away. Silver jumped in, and grabbed the figure's arm. She turned violently to the side, thumping the figure down to the ground. Rainbow put the tip of the cleaver through the hole in the disc, and flicked it away from the figure.

Then there was the same light brown blur that took out the missile, and this time it tackled both Rainbow and Silver across the road. Rainbow felt familiar claws dig into her flesh, but soon after that sensation was gone as they let go. They tumbled over the gravel, their bodies clipping against exposed tree roots and a road sign.

"Buck- we got ourselves a griffin!" Rainbow cursed, scrambling to her hooves.

Chapter 23: Self Offense

"Where is the Lincolt bridge anyway?" the Doctor asked.

"It was here." Blithy said, flying between two stumps either side of the huge river, both ends on fire. It would seem something set off a chain reaction that took down the bridge from one end to the other.

"She's going underwater." Doctor Whooves warned.

"Aha." Blithy said, turning the plane sideways and slipping under the ocean.

Not many planes wondered into these depths- because not only did they have to worry about their enemies, but also the extremely hazardous obstacle course that is the ocean floor. It was also a shark infested region, so it could cause a few big problems if you slam into one at over a few hundred kilometers an hour.

The Wasp flew low over the sea bed, just above its uneven and sandy surface. There was a ship wreckage ahead- and it seemed like one of the old science faction cruisers that went down during the old wars. Val flew straight for it- its flak turrets and various trenches on the hull should be enough to flip the battle.

Blithy followed, heading towards the downed ship. She traced the clouds of bubbles that the Wasp's engines left behind, weaving through the hazardous hull of the downed cruiser.

"Boy is this exciting! On all my journeys, I've never done this before." the Doctor said, and Blithy ignored him. "Mines! MINES!"

Blithy yanked the Horizons to one side, avoiding the underwater mines that the Wasp left behind. Too bad they were proximity sensitive.

"Buck!" she cursed as one of them went off, the shockwave rocking the Horizons and rippling through the cockpit. It held together quite well though, considering.

"Can't take much more of those." the Doctor said.

"Well no sh-" Blithy stopped midway and brought the Horizons up into a steep climb, then flip back down into the labyrinth again. They looped over a mine, their engines scraping the surface of a disabled flak turret.

The Wasp flipped on its side, and squeezed between two look out towers.

"Screw that." Blithy said, flicking the switch on a torpedo and blasting one of the towers apart. She flew through the resulting cloud of sand.

"There goes the paint job." the Doctor said.

"Would you stop being such a bucking BACK SEAT PILOT!!" Blithy roared, firing a torpedo at Val.

"I usually am the main pilot. But in the TARDIS only." the Doctor muttered.

The Wasp suddenly dove down into a hole in the cruiser's breached hull- it looked like the reason that the cruiser went down in the first place. Probably from a powerful mammoth spell by one of the older alicorns.

The torpedo failed to curve down in time, and hit the far wall; blowing both to scrap metal.

The Horizons arched down, and flew through the dust cloud- but Blithy didn't know there was a mine hidden there by Val.

"Mine!" the Doctor yelled as he spotted the round metal object.

"Shuck-" Blithy cursed, trying to swing the Horizons out of the way- but she's way too late.

The Doctor fired the turret at the last second, blasting the mine away from the Horizons. It blew apart somewhere else, taking out a good chunk from the downed cruiser.

"Well that's never happened before." he said as they flew through the dust cloud.

The Wasp suddenly made a turn, and headed into the cruiser.

"What the hay happened to this thing?" Blithy wondered as they followed Val into a huge tunnel that was ripped right down the cruiser.

"Some special type of mega spell. Must've torn right through this thing like a drill." the Doctor said, gazing up.

The Horizons performed a lock-on, and Blithy shot a torpedo at Val.

"Honestly-" Val growled, turning on the PDP shield. The torpedo slammed into the back of the Wasp, but failed to do any damage.

Then out of the dust cloud a prism beam came flying out, and clipped one of the Wasp's engines. The hull was damaged, but all internals were still intact and functional. But a few more hits in the same spot- and this plane won't be flying for much longer.

"Quit running!" Blithy grinned.

"Soon enough." Val said.

The Wasp launched two torpedoes, knocking a hole in the hull in front of them. It flew through the dust cloud and back out into open waters.

"Careful. She probably hid a mine in there." the Doctor warned.

"I see it." Blithy said, putting a prism beam through the explosive.

They flew out into the vast ocean, with nothing in sight. The darkness stretched on forever, shielding everything from light. Blithy quickly swung the Horizons around and to the side as two prism beams from Val grazed the hull.

"As expected of you." Val sighed.

Blithy boosted the engines, sending the Horizons flying forward. Val turned on the shields, the Wasp glowing a bright yellow. The Horizons tilted to the right and flew past the Wasp, heading towards the sky.

It broke the surface, streaks of water being dragged away from the surface. The Wasp followed soon after, sending two missiles spinning in a spiral towards the Horizons.

Blithy tilted the plane, the two missiles flying past either side. She took them out with her prism beams, shooting them out of the sky.

She flew low above the ocean surface, headed back towards Manehatten. Water was forced away from the engines, going up in an inverted rain behind the Horizons.

"Aaaand- back in Neigh York!" Blithy said, rolling the plane to the side and off the ocean. The plane slid between two buildings, then swung down over a highway.

"Still right behind us." the Doctor said.

Several missiles overshot and slammed into the cement roads in front of the Horizons, lifting chunks of the material into the air with small clouds of dust and dirt. Blithy heard a few chunks slam against the hull as she flew through the explosions- but no damage was done.

"Tracking missiles! She's got us!" the Doctor yelled.

"Hold on-" Blithy said, bringing the Horizons ever closer to the highway. Now the engines were barely half a meter off the ground. The force of the engines cracked the age old roads, leaving behind a trail of dents.

There was a bridge up ahead. Limit: five meters, it said.

"Well, buck." Doctor Whooves said. "Crazy. I like."

The Horizons flew under the bridge, the top of the hull grinding against the bottom of the bridge and causing sparks to light up the shadows. Then Blithy forced the plane's nose up just as it exited the bridge, the g-force almost forcing her against the windshield for it not her seatbelt holding her down. The plane was still heading in the same direction, but it was vertical.

Bubbles of disrupted air trailed behind the Horizons as it continued on its trajectory. The missiles earlier curved up with the plane, however hit the bridge and blew up in a huge fireball, taking down the bridge and sending chunks of it flying high up into the air.

Blithy flipped the plane back around, making it fall backwards and do a small loop, all the while heading in the same direction. The nose scraped on the cement road, sparks leaping away and an eery screech echoing around inside the cockpit.

"Bahaha! That was great!" the Doctor laughed.

Then a prism beam from Blithy shattered something on the side of the road.

"What was that?" the Doctor frowned, looking behind them- but he couldn't see through the small dust cloud.

"Speed camera." Blithy said, and the Doctor shrugged.

The highway was just miles of open area- and the chase was quite dangerous for the running side, which in this case was Blithy and the Doctor. But they had their advantages as well.

Blithy flicked the button on a torpedo silo, dropping it out of the plane and resting her hoof on the remote detonation.

The torpedo fell out of the silo and hit the ground, tumbling away and way behind the Horizons. Its irregular shape caused it to suddenly fly up high in the air, the outer shell dented from the tumbling.

"What the-" Val raised an eyebrow as the dark grey object suddenly bounced up right in front of her cockpit windshield. Then her eyes widened. "Oh sh-"

Blithy slammed the button, the torpedo blowing up in a huge fireball. It was one of those explosions where one second there was nothing, then the next there's a huge ball of fire, smoke and debris spanning twenty meters right in the middle of an empty highway.

The Wasp busted through the ash cloud, the PDP shield shimmering.

"Bleeh! That's why I don't smoke." Val coughed, waving a hand around and clearing the smoke inside the cockpit.

"I bucking hate that shield." Blithy growled, spinning the Horizons around and flying it backwards.

She started firing prism beams at Val, all of which she managed to dodge. She shot a missile at the Horizons, and Blithy managed to roll it out of the way just in time.

Blithy dropped another torpedo, forcing Val to activate the PDP shields. But that was part of the plan to disable them. The Doctor kept raining Val with ammo from the turret, keeping her in PDP mode while Blithy centered the prism beam on her.

Val saw what they were doing- but was near powerless to stop it. So she slammed a hoof down on the booster.

"What the hay is she doing!?" the Doctor yelled, holding down the turret triggers.
"Kamikaze." Blithy growled. "Sorry Doc, don't forget how to deploy the parachute."
"Wait, wha-?"

Blithy slammed down the eject button for the Doctor, shattering the windshield and sending him rocketing out of the cockpit in his seat.
"Well this has a nice view." Doctor Whooves sighed, the parachute hidden in the seat deploying and slowing his descent.

There was a loud click as Blithy deployed a knife from the back of her wrist, hidden inside the robotics. She dug it underneath her seatbelt, and cut it loose. She moved all joysticks backwards, flipping the plane and tipping its nose towards the sky.

Val cut her own seatbelt apart, and kicked the cockpit windshield away. She stood up on her seat and launched a back hoof down onto the eject button, and felt the thrusters underneath the seat suddenly come to life. She rode the seat and flew high up into the air, above both the Horizons and the Wasp.

Blithy leaped out of the cockpit and climbed along the Horizons, then stood up onto the tip of its nose.

The Horizons and Wasp collided, and without its PDP shield- both exploded into one huge fireball. Blithy kicked off the Horizons and towards Val just as they blew apart into a million useless shreds, her arm mounted knife catching a glint of light.

Sparks exploded as the knife collided with Val's right hand. They were in mid air, thirty meters off the ground and five meters above a huge growing fireball.

Blithy activated the gravity generators embedded in her back hooves, and swung upside down and stood on the bottom of the seat. The thrusters had turned off, but it was still quite hot to stand on.

Val did the same, both hooves sticking onto the small surface area of the seat. There was a loud click as she deployed a knife of her own.

Their knives clashed again as they spun through the air and towards hard ground. Val launched a kick into Blithy's chest, sending her falling back. She grabbed onto the bottom of the seat and swung back around, a sideways swing already prepared.

Val blocked it with a robotic arm, then aimed a fist at her face. Blithy blocked it with a hand, closing her fingers around the fist and twisting the arm down.

Suddenly Val kicked down on one end of the seat, spinning it. Blithy learnt why the hard way.

They hit the ground, and because the seat spun Blithy ended up at the bottom. Sparks flew everywhere as the robotic half of her face was dragged along the rough highway cement roads. Then her hooves left the seat as she slowed down, and she tumbled out of control as her arm clipped something. Probably that one step that goes up to a sidewalk. Then she felt her left leg snap against a street light, sending her spinning in another direction.

Then the ground left her as she tumbled over the edge of Manehatten at eighty miles an hour, the sky and the sea spinning around her.

Val had ridden the seat, and it flew high up into the air as it clipped the edge of the sidewalk. She leaped off it and looked down, her robotic eye searching for Blithy.

"Ah." she said as the words 'Target Locked' appeared in her mind, and somewhere on one of the cruisers a flak turret swung around.

The words 'Lock-On Detected' appeared in Blithy's head, and she sighed and curled up into a ball.

"Strike!" Val cheered as the flak turret fired, letting out a huge puff of smoke and one big projectile.

A large dust cloud exploded over the ocean surface as the projectile hit Blithy dead center, exploding into a million little pieces. The force knocked the mare straight out of the sky and into the water. Still she kept going, her wounds already healing as glimmering pixels attached themselves to her injuries.

Val got a small boost from the jetpack built into her back, and did a little flip. A missile came by, and she used the gravity generators in her hooves to attach herself to it. It flew right into the ocean, in pursuit of Blithy.

"Seriously?" Blithy tried to say, but only bubbles and gurgles came out of her mouth.

She opened her palm, the muzzles of two micro machine guns popping out from under a plate. She fired a spray of bullets at the missile, blowing it up underwater.

'Way to go busting my ride.' she received a text message from Val in her head as Val was blown off the missile.

'GTFO.' she replied.

The force of the flak projectile hitting her was still lasting pretty well, and the missile explosion amplified that. She was sliding through the water at almost fifty miles an hour. It'll take forever to hit the sea bed at this speed- so she used her jetpack to help with that.

They were directly above ATLANTIS- the glow of the underwater city slowly seeping through the shadows.

"The city has almost been fully evacuated! We are ready to send our infantry on evac too!" the radio operator yelled.

"Hold your ground! Valkyrie is coming- capture her at all costs!" Blithy said in her mind, and sent it as a voice recording file.

"Roger." the radio operator said after a moment.

"Prepare an ambush! Make sure our Crawlers are ready to seal everything off!"

"Copy!"

Blithy swam to the side, her jetpack giving her a sudden boost. She landed on a Striker, and smashed the windshield open. Two shots from the micro machine guns took care of the pilot, and she dragged his dead body out of the plane and jumped in herself.

She swung the plane around, firing prism beams up at Val- who was zig-zagging through them, her jetpack blazing. The Striker continued flying backwards into deeper waters, and they started feeling the pressure build up. It wouldn't crush them though, being ultimately enhanced cyborgs.

Val was losing her breath. They had both been holding it for quite a while now, and even though it couldn't kill them- it still was very uncomfortable. But of course, Val doesn't care.

Then out of nowhere a huge prism beam from a Crawler struck the Striker, tearing it in half. The explosion sent Blithy plummeting down towards ATLANTIS.

She felt her back break through the ice cold water and into warm air- she must've breached one of the bubble shields in the hangars.

She heard several surprised yelps and gasps as she tumbled through the air. Her head made a hollow crack against the hangar floor, and she continued rolling several meters before resting by the far wall. There was a large dent on the spot where she landed.

"Lieutenant- if you don't mind giving me a hoof." she said, sitting up- but her head was at a ninety degree angle to her side, and stuck there.

One of the officers came up to her and slammed a hoof across her head, bringing it back to normal orientation with a sickening crack.

"Not quite there yet." Blithy said, and the Lieutenant slammed her on the spine. Her neck cracked back into place, and she sighed in relief. "Better." she said, turning her head and making several more clicks.

She stood up as if nothing had happened, and tried her best to ignore the pain. She couldn't help but at least make a face though.

Something breached the bubble shield again, and Val came flying out of the ceiling. She landed somewhere behind where Blithy did, making a loud thunk as she landed hooves first. Following the sudden motion was simple stillness- she didn't slide a few meters, didn't flinch at her cracked bones. Within a few seconds those wounds healed, and she stood up grinning. She was a tad shorter though because of the dent in the floor she made with that landing.

"You guys did a pretty good job with the place." she grinned, looking around at the huge hangar. "Sadly I'll have to confiscate it because you guys were misusing it."

"Shoot her!" somepony yelled, and a small squad of infantry started firing their rifles at Val.

Val didn't even bother dodge the bullets. She let them rip right through her, tear her up. She took a step back, but didn't fall down. Through the blood her grin still remained, and she started laughing when the squad had to stop to reload.

"Haven't felt that refreshing since forever!" she laughed loudly, nano bots in her body cleaning up the blood. She flicked out her palm, two barrels popping out.

"Take cover!" Blithy yelled, quickly running between Val and the squad.

The bullets hit her- they hurt like hell, so how the buck does Val ignore all of this? She screamed, in the blinding pain falling over. Soon the pain was gone as her wounds healed, and she spat some blood on the ground and wiped away some tears.

"Heck, Blithy. Endurance- I thought you had some." Val said, grinning as Blithy got up.

"Evacuate infantry. I'll take care of Val." Blithy sent the voice message to the radio operator, and got ready to fight Val.

Val shrugged, and looked around to see what she could use. The first thing she saw was an Apollo, so that's what she chose to use against Blithy. Not exactly the way it was meant to be used though.

"What the f-" Blithy said as Val lifted up the Apollo, and threw it across the hangar at her.

Blithy shoved the Lieutenant out of the way, and slammed a fist into the Apollo. She felt her own bones crack, and clenched her jaw so she wouldn't scream at the pain. The Apollo got a huge dent in it, and tumbled back at Val.

Val kicked downwards at one of its engines, sending it flying high up over her head and slamming back down again at the far wall behind her. But in that brief moment, Blithy had already darted right in front of her.

She spun and launched a powerful backwards kick into Val's stomach, sending her flying back ten meters before hitting her back on the Apollo.

"Bucking hell." she said, reaching into her chest and cracking a rib back into place. The outer wounds healed with the inner wounds, and she stood up. She had made the Apollo's hull cave in, and a lot of its internals were visible. She reached in and grabbed something out.

"Uh-oh." Blithy said as Val threw a missile at her.

Of all the things she could've done, she decided to kick it. She could've easily dodged it, but she wanted to test her luck. The missile tumbled through the air, and exited the bubble shield. It blew up there, sending a fresh splash of water into the hangar, washing the squad of infantry away to the side.

"Sorry." she looked back at Val, who seemed to be doing something to one of the engines.

She aimed it at her.

"Ah buck-" Blithy quickly ducked down, but just a little late.

The bottom of the engine scraped the top of her head, and she fell over with a cracked neck. She groaned, putting a hand on the back of her head and clicking it back to the right position. She got up, and scanned around. Now where the hell is Val?

Then there was a loud thunk behind her, and she turned around- Val had held onto the back of the engine. She kicked off the destroyed engines, knife flashing at Blithy.

Blithy met the slash with an upward swing, knocking Val off balance and changing her trajectory. Instead of going straight like she kicked off as, she was now arcing through the air.

She landed with a loud clang on the metal, her hooves sliding on the water and sending her back several meters.

"This is gonna be a long day." Blithy sighed, flicking out her palm and open firing.

"Tell me about it. And I was going to take a nap." Val said, deflecting the bullets with her knife.

She ran forward, rolled under a stream of bullets and sprang back up again with the knife.

Blithy met the knife with her own, then kicked Val in the side. She seemed to have expected it though, as she stood her ground and didn't go flying.

She hooked a hoof behind Blithy's remaining leg, as her other had performed the kick; and swiped it out from underneath her with all the ease of pushing over a tall log. She stabbed the knife into Blithy's chest, drawing a fresh gush of blood as the sharp tip pierced her heart.

Blithy didn't even have enough air in her lungs to scream.

Chapter 24: Comparing

Bluefyre walked through the woods, listening to the howling and barking of the timberwolves. She had an arrow drawn and ready to be released, down by her side and ready to spring up.

She had already taken several of those damn creatures- but she could hear more of them. Also, she was quite quickly running out of ammo- and options. If she doesn't make it out of the forest in time, she'll just have to release what was sealed away many years ago.

She was down to seven arrows, and about two clips of pistol ammo. Not a lot to rely on, but all she had left.

"Bucking hell-" she muttered as she heard the scurrying of claws behind her, and swung around, leveling the arrow head with her target.

The arrow scraped the wolf's chin as it leaped into the air and landed back down again with a loud thud.

"Shuck-" Bluefyre cursed, whipping out another arrow- but she knew she didn't have enough time to load it.

The wolf leaped at her, claws slashing and jaws biting. She slammed the arrow head into its eye, then slammed a hoof into the side of its face. It fell back with a whimper, and Bluefyre was about to finish it off when more came running out of the woods.

"Where the buck are they even coming from!?" she asked nopony in particular, drawing her pistol as there were too many of them.

She sent a bullet through a wolf's head, shattering it into individual timber pieces. Flakes of tree bark flew into the air, backlit by the bright moon and the engines of the barricade.

The tree bark started levitating in a green aura before they could hit the ground, and flew back onto the downed timber wolf's wound. Bluefyre looked around for a unicorn, but saw none- this must be how these timberwolves keep coming back.

"You're just forcing me aren't you." Bluefyre said.

She never tells people about her real name- Ghost Fire, because after an incident that involved her going out of her mind and trying to burn the world, she had to change names. She was named Ghost Fire because of the blue balls of flame that would always follow her wherever she went- and she could control them.

During the incident, she almost got her parents and everypony else around her killed- the immense power of being able to control the none-extinguishable flames was too much for her three year old self to control- and because of her age, she managed to be stopped before she could cause any real harm. After that they were sealed away by a spell that only she could unlock, to avoid other ponies using her against herself.
The flames were called ghost fires because of their differences from normal flames- they were a deep blue, and instead of being controlled by Bluefyre they seemed more to be following her commands, as if they had lives. That's where the 'ghost' part comes in. Nopony ever understood why she has them, she was a member of one of the oldest earth pony families- the second largest in fact, one behind the Apple Family. But both are nothing in this new reality.

She quickly tucked away her pistol, and made three quick taps on her forehead, shoulder and heart. Three circular symbols appeared on the places she tapped, and glowed an electric blue along with her eyes. Then the glow faded, and she felt that familiar tingling in her skin.

Three balls of blue flame burst out from thin air, revolving in the air around her and illuminating the area around her. The seal has been unlocked.

The timber wolf leaped at her, and she swung a hoof at it. Mid way blue flames coated her hoof, dragging along her arm as she continued the swing. Her hoof collided with the timber wolf's jaw, shattering it and setting the pieces on fire. Being the only one who could stop the flames, she let them burn down the timber wolf. Bit by bit.

"Your names really give everything away, don't they?" she smirked. "Too bad it's summer and nopony needs any firewood." she said, hurling a ball of flame at a timber wolf as it was leaping at her, mouth wide open.

The fire went into its mouth, and it was sent off balance. It hit the ground early, then skid to a halt at Bluefyre's hooves, the inside of its mouth still burning away. It clawed desperately at its snout, puffing out huge breaths in an attempt to put out the fire- but it only spread onto its outside.

It wasn't exactly a painless death for any of the timberwolves- but it wasn't like Bluefyre had a choice. They just wouldn't stop getting back up.

But the bright flames had attracted more timberwolves- and by the looks of it, the entire population of them in the Everfree had surrounded Bluefyre.

"Are you all brainless or something? Back away if you don't want to end up like this guy here." Bluefyre said, pointing at a pile of ash on the floor.

The wolves howled, growling. Lime green luminous saliva dripped down the corners of their barking mouths- and really looked like tree sap coming out of a tree. There were hundreds of glowing green eyes surrounding Bluefyre- blocking out all paths of escape.

Step by step they closed in, and Bluefyre drew an arrow. Their paws dug into the soft soil, making quiet shuffles.

Bluefyre flicked the bow up, and shot an arrow through the air. The tip caught fire, and in turn set flames to the timber wolf it hit. The flames started spreading, and with a loud howl from the pack leader the entire army charged from all sides at Bluefyre.

Bluefyre ducked under a lunge, spinning around and hurling a ball of ghost fire at the timber wolf. She flicked her hoof up, and fire erupted from the ground and caught on a timber wolf. It howled and fell back, rolling desperately on the ground.

She stomped on the ground, and a wall of flames sprang up between her and the timberwolves. She scanned those angry and bloodthirsty animal faces through the flickering blue flames, watching out for that one wolf that would jump through the flames to get at her.

Then she heard a loud crack, and looked up to see a giant paw come down. She rolled to the side, and felt the earth tremor as the paw slammed into the ground. She fell back, and looked up at the huge timber wolf that was standing tall above the tree tops, huge green glowing eyes scanning the dark grounds like spotlights.

"Never knew they could do that-" she flicked her hoof at one of its eyes. Flames erupted there, and the giant timber wolf howled. The howl travelled through the trees and shook the earth, and it fell back; covering its burning eye. "-Think making yourself bigger will intimidate me? You're nothing but a bigger target!" she yelled, swinging her hoof in a wide arch.

A line of blue sparks traveled from her hoof to the timber wolf's chest, and it exploded with a huge flower of blue flames. The wolf howled, falling back and crushing the trees under it. Individual normal sized timberwolves started splitting from their earlier form, running towards Bluefyre.

Bluefyre narrowed her eyes, resting a hoof in the air. Then she drew it back and flicked it forward, making a loud crack and sending a line of sparks towards the crowd. A huge blue fireball exploded in the middle of the crowd, blowing the timberwolves to pieces and setting the closer ones on fire.

She looked up at the fireball- maybe she over did it. This is gonna attract a lot of attention.

*

"We got a griffon!" Rainbow yelled, sliding the cleaver handle forward and leveling it against the figures.

The figure with the discs seemed to pause for a moment, tilting its head to one side. The griffon was about to attack, but she held a hoof up.

"Rainbow Dash?" a familiar voice asked, uncertain however easily recognizable.

Rainbow tilted her head to one side, trying to match the silhouette with anypony in her memory- but she couldn't seem to remember a lot of ponies she knew. Maybe her brain was getting confused over who became who in this new reality.

"Er... Vinyl...?" she tried.

"You know this pony?" the griffon said, clearly a male.

"Yup." Vinyl Scratch said, flicking her wrists and turning off the discs. They faded away, the glowing particles disappearing into the air.

"Why are you even here?" Rainbow asked.

Suddenly there was a loud boom as a blue mushroom cloud lit up the night skies, rising high up into the air about thirty meters to their right. It seems the forest in that area had been set on some sort of blue fire, burning away at the vegetation.

"I'll explain later." Vinyl said, pointing at the mushroom cloud.

Rainbow nodded, keeping the cleaver ready as they started walking towards the general area of the explosion.

*

Magnum was drinking warm water from a cup when she yelped and dropped it because of a loud boom. She saw her own shadow stretch before her, illuminated and tinted in blue. Not even the campfire she sat in front of was that bright. She looked behind her, and saw a huge mushroom cloud, blue flames burning away at its base.

"What the hay..." she breathed, then limped into the tent. "Babs! Babs! We've got a problem!"

"Yeah, I heard." Babs said, sitting cross-legged on the floor in the tent and slowly loading buckshot shells into a shotgun. She put it down by her side, and picked up Magnum's pistol. She checked if it was loaded, then threw it to its owner.

Magnum caught it, and pocketed.

"Use it to defend yourself. I'm going to take a look." Babs said, standing up and walking towards the exit.

"Wait- I'm going with you." Magnum said.

Babs chuckled like it were some sort of joke. "In your condition?" she gestured at Magnum's missing arm, half-broken legs and blind eye.

Magnum clenched her jaw, nodding.

Babs stared into that one functional eye of hers, scanning her face and trying to see behind it and find out what she was thinking. She nodded.

"Alright." she said, pulling her gaze away and walking out the tent, followed by Magnum. The campfire was flickering, the ground tinted blue by the bright fires burning up ahead. Shadows quivered with the flames, creeping across the forest floor. Babs sighed, tilting her head slightly to face Magnum. "Just take care of yourself. I ain't gonna sacrifice myself for somepony I barely know. I won't be saving your flank again."

"I'm going." Magnum said, holding her pistol tightly in a hoof.

Babs looked at her, to see if she was bluffing. Her expression was legit.

"Alright." she said again, turning away and walking towards the burning forest.

*

Bluefyre chuckled, looking down at her own arms. The flames had formed into glowing tattoos on her arms, pulsing with her heartbeat. The seal was fighting back, and she was watching with amusement. There was no stopping those flames.

She didn't know what she was thinking, but the immense power of the ghost fires was swarming into her head and taking over. That's why they were sealed away- they could get out of hoof. She would still be in control of them, but she wouldn't be in control of herself. All she could think of now was burning the world clean.

Clean of what? She asked herself- clean of everything, she replied; and laughed.

Then out the corner of her eye she spotted a familiar figure. She looked in that direction, eyes glowing an electric blue.

"Magnum..?" her voice was distorted and unclear.

Magnum seemed to be surprised, and Babs looked at her.

"You know this pony?"

Magnum shook her head slowly. "I don't know."

Babs sighed- not unexpected. She raised the shotgun at Bluefyre, who didn't even flinch. She was on the other side of a wall of flames, burning away at the forest ground.
They were about five meters apart, both waiting for the other to make a move.

"Who are you?" Babs demanded.

"Bluefyre, technician of the undercover M.F. OASIS." Bluefyre grinned, clearly uncaring of giving away such information.

Babs looked back at Magnum, who nodded towards Bluefyre, telling her to keep her aim.

"What happened here?" Babs asked.

Bluefyre grinned. "I turned a couple of ignorant timberwolves to mere ash."

Babs narrowed her eyes, centering the shotgun on Bluefyre's head.

*

Daylight hit Haven once again. Like its name, it was a small piece of Eden located in the Antarctic South Pole. Surrounded by huge rocky mountains rising over thousands of miles above sea level, the tops sprinkled with showers of clean white snow. This was one of the only places that still had a blue sky- the wars barely ever reached these desolate regions, making the location almost ideal for the construction of Haven, but despite this- it was still hidden right under the Science Faction's nose.

Once you enter the mirage field reflected off of the Crystal Empire's Crystal Tower, you instantly escape from the cold of the Antarctic and into the warmth of magically enhanced spring. Here plants grow, trees rise tall. Still they could not compare to the towering megastructures- over the years Haven had developed into a much more than just a refuge, now a technologically and magically advanced city of all creatures.

In the center was the CMC command center, a space needle pointing straight to the sky and on the brim of the mirage field.

Scootaloo yawned, bright sunlight pouring through the window to her room. Being the only pegasus in the original three founders of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, she had reason to take the top floor as her own.

"Morning." the AI 'AL' said as she climbed out of bed, rubbing her eyes.

"Morning." she replied with a loud yawn, stretching out her arms and legs.

Several cracks echoed through her empty bedroom as she cracked her hooves, then with a quick ruffle got her mane in shape. She flapped her wings several times- she weren't used to them yet. In the old reality, she had devoted her life to getting them to work- and they did in the end. But now, she had been setting up Haven with the CMC all the time- she never really got any air time. All she had was her scooter. Now she couldn't fly, but she supposed it was meant to happen anyway.

She sighed, walking up to a locker. AL opened it for her, and a shiny silver scooter slid out of a socket. As usual, Applebloom designed it with multiple hidden functions and abilities- some of which she had yet to experiment with herself.

"Be safe." AL said as Scootaloo took the scooter out.

"Applebloom programmed you to say that?" Scootaloo asked. AL had never said that before.

"No. It was based on your dental and medical records of the past year, and genuine concern." AL said.

That put a smile on Scootaloo's face. "Thanks, AL." she said, closing the locker and walking into the living room.

The CMC Command Center consisted of hundreds of floors. Scootaloo owned the entire top floor, however also had the smallest surface area as it was 'the tip of the needle'. But she had a balcony to make up for some of that.

The entire building was made of long-lasting and super strong magically enhanced alloys, and barely even wavered in the air. This may be a problem should there be an earthquake, true; but the needle went all the way into the ground to make up for it. In fact, the top was just three-quarters of the entire building- another quarter was firmly anchored in the ground.

The cold metal floor tingled Scootaloo's hooves as she walked towards the kitchen, dragging her scooter on the floor behind her. She could've told AL to activate the in-floor heating systems, but she skipped that.

She went straight to the fridge, where AL had already gotten a cup of orange juice ready for her inside. The fridge wasn't exactly those old ones in the other reality- it was a large box stuck to the wall with no door or lid, inside a bunch of special green gel that is perfectly eco-friendly and safe. It keeps whatever is stored inside at a safe temperature, but that could be adjusted. There was some blue gel at the bottom, which was for freezing items.

Scootaloo reached into the fridge, her hoof sliding through the gel. She got to the cup of juice, and pulled it out. The gel instantly heated to a normal temperature the moment it touched her skin, so it wouldn't freeze her arm. There was a hole left in the gel, but it healed almost immediately. She checked her glass- no gel inside, nor on her arm. Nowhere except inside the fridge. She couldn't help but double check- she would take a while to get used to this. Applebloom said it was perfectly safe, but things that weren't were too many.

That's how she started off each day- an ice cold cup of orange juice. Once AL discovered her schedule, she added that to her daily 'to-do' list.

Scootaloo drank it down in a single gulp, and tossed the empty glass into the sink.

"Thanks." she said to AL before she walked onto the balcony, the high winds of the Earth's atmosphere running through her mane. There was also a different shield around Haven- pressure stabilization. It pretty much means if the shield turns off right now she could be completely crushed by air pressure- but Applebloom made sure the place was completely sealed off.

"There is no off switch. You can only turn it off by destroying it." she had said, and pointed at a location seven thousand kilometers underground. "I put it there."

The handrails on the side of the balcony retreated into the ground, and Scootaloo perched the scooter on the edge of the balcony. She looked down- she was thousands of meters up, and could barely see anything that was down there clearly. But the city below her was brimming with activity and life- the thought that she was amongst the three that created all this still astonished her, even if she didn't just arrive from a completely different reality. It really was, magnificent.

The space needle was just like that, it had a sharp tip and a large base. Scootaloo had used its sloping sides for waking up every morning- just to clear the dullness from her mind. Those attempts at waking up don't always end well though- but she's still alive, so that's that.

She got a different cutie mark in that other reality. It was a symbol of athleticism, but now it's a scooter. Suppose she didn't dislike either, it's just weird to have a different special talent all of a sudden. Suppose life can push you in different directions by taking one different step.

She rubbed her head. Sleep was still lingering inside, so she yawned one last time; placed both back hooves on the scooter and leaned forward for the thousand-mile drop.

Author's Note

Hey guys! I've actually got some Bounty Hunters stuff (posters, concepts) over on my Deviant Art page! Go check it out: http://jasper77wang.deviantart.com/

And also check out this guy: http://techx12.deviantart.com/ He also makes some awesome BH vectors! So far we got Magnum, and soon to come is . So go check his page out too!

Chapter 25: Hearts of Ice

There was a loud crash as Eclipse broke through the bubble shield and hit the ground. Val had told her to go to a different hangar, so here she is.

"What the hay-" a stallion yelled, pointing at Eclipse.

"It's that mare we got reports about! SHOOT HER!" another yelled, an alarm going off and squads of M.F. Troops swarming into the hangars.

Eclipse held up a hoof, and walls of translucent glowing orange matter rose from the ground, absorbing all the bullets fired.

"I have no interest in the likes of you." she said, walking towards the hangar exit, the orange shield following her.

"Come on! We gotta punch through that thing eventually!" somepony yelled.

But it would seem that Eclipse was simply striding through an army of ponies firing at her, completely regardless and dismissive of them. Step by step she arrived at the hangar exit, and stopped when a squad of ponies moved in to block her path.

"Don't let her get through!" one of them yelled, and Eclipse tilted her head slightly to one side.

She raised a hoof to her side, then slashed it across the air in front of her.

Suddenly a sharp blade of the orange matter appeared from within the shield, spanning out and slicing across the squad of ponies. There were no screams- maybe there were, but silent ones as their heads were no longer attached to their bodies. Eclipse let her arm drop back to her side, and the blade merged back into the shield.

"Shuck! Bucking hell- we need better weapons!" a stallion yelled, gesturing for his squad to retreat.

Suddenly the metal double doors to the exit sealed themselves, the locks spinning shut.

Eclipse looked at it, some what sleepily- and simply waved a hoof up then brought it down.

A huge hammer towering eight meters high came out of the shield, then slammed the inch-thick metal door out of its frame. It went tumbling across the hallway beyond it, in the form of a scrunched up ball of scrap metal.

She let her hoof drop to her side, then folded her arms behind her back and continued her stride through ATLANTIS headquarters.

*

Infantry code number 10897 just received the news that one of the enemy generals known only as 'Eclipse' has entered and breached ATLANTIS. A 'kill on sight' order had been given- and he had her in his sights right now.

This was the perfect chance to take her down- she had her shields down, there was a lot of background noise to cover his hoofsteps as he sneaked up behind her with his pistol.

This is one shot he can't miss. He had the back of her head trained on his ion sights, and he pulled the trigger.

A sheet of orange matter appeared out of nowhere, blocking the bullet and knocking it out of the air inches away from the back of Eclipse's head. She turned around, and the stallion's eyes widened.

"Son of a-" he cursed, punching round after round at Eclipse- but everywhere he shot, an orange sheet of matter would appear there. Eclipse was storming towards him, and he tripped over his own hoof in his stumbling attempt to get away.

Eclipse reached out a hoof. Her hoof went through a sheet of matter and became coated in the substance, fingers sprouting out from the thin coat over her hoof. She closed them around the stallion's neck before he could hit the ground, and lifted him clean off the floor.

Choking him would've been fun- but she didn't have much time to waste screwing around.

There was a loud crack as her fingers suddenly turned to claws, and she simply crushed his neck. There were two separate thuds as his head and decapitated body collapsed to the floor.

The orange matter dissipated into thin air, and not a drop of blood dirtied her hoof. She turned back around and continued heading towards her objective.

She reached the end of the corridor, and huge double doors slid open. She didn't flinch at the bright spotlights that were shone at her as she entered a large gathering hall.

"Halt! Raise your hooves above your head and give us your weapons!" somepony yelled through a megaphone, and she heard a mass of clicks from ponies flicking off safeties.

She did nothing.

"This is your last chance!" the pony yelled, and Eclipse started walking towards the large group of magic faction ponies.

She could see the ponies and their assault rifles now, all trained on her. Still she didn't stop, and continued walking towards her objective like they weren't even there.

"V-very well- OPEN FIRE!!" the pony with the megaphone stuttered, and the room instantly became three times brighter from all the muzzle flashes.

An orange sphere of matter rose from the ground, and encased Eclipse in it. Still she didn't stop, the sphere around her blocking out all the bullets.

The frontline of ponies started becoming uncertain, and started slowly backing away.

"Stand your ground!!" the pony with the megaphone yelled.

"Get out of my way." Eclipse said, and somehow her voice alone was enough to travel through the sphere and still be clearly heard over all the bangs. And she wasn't even yelling.

"The bullets aren't doing anything to her!!" somepony yelled.

Then Eclipse waved a hoof in front of her, an orange blade lunging out of the sphere and slicing the entire frontline cleanly in half. The cut was so fast that blood didn't start coming out until a few seconds later, when she had already walked past their dying bodies.

"Damnit! Retreat!" the pony with the megaphone cried, and the ponies started backing away, assault rifles still blazing in desperation.

Eclipse continued walking, slicing anypony that got too close in half. But she didn't know she was walking straight into a trap.

"Surround her! NOW!" the pony with the megaphone yelled as Eclipse walked into the center of the hall.

The ponies ran along the sides, and completely circled her in. For the first time in ages, she stopped.

The bright spotlights turned off, and it turned out they were from a full sized tank.

Eclipse tilted her head to one side. Impressive.

"Tank- FIRE!"

There was a loud blast as the tank's barrel shrank into the turret, countering the recoil. Dust flew up in curls around it as a huge gust of air was released from the muzzle. A huge metal explosive projectile was launched directly towards Eclipse, and even if she did dodge out of the way the explosion would still be sufficient to kill her. So she stood still.

Then she raised a hoof and slashed it down, a huge blade rising out of the orange sphere and slicing the projectile in half. The blade wasn't just normally shaped- it had the general shape of the plow of a snow plow, and sent the two halves of the projectile in two different directions away from her. They whistled past her, bouncing off the floor with loud bangs that echoed around the huge hall.

Ponies screamed as one of the halves slammed into them, the force tearing them apart. Then their shredded bodies were completely obliterated by the explosion that followed.

Eclipse folded her arms behind her back, the blade retracting.

The pony with the megaphone was left without words. Then he seemed to wake up.

"Get out of the way of the tank!!" he yelled. "Shoot at her hooves and kill her with the explosion!!"

Eclipse continued striding towards her objective, which the tank was blocking.

The tank fired again, this time aimed for her back hooves. Eclipse held up a hoof, and just as the projectile was going to hit the floor she swiped it across.

A large hand emerged from the sphere and batted the explosive away to the side, taking down more M.F. troops.

"I'm going to say this one last time- move out of my way." she said, not showing any sort of emotion. Her face was blank as a sheet of paper.

"DON'T LET HER THROUGH!!" the pony with the megaphone yelled, but even she could tell the troops were growing wary of Eclipse's abilities.

"Very well." Eclipse said, narrowing her eyes and dropping her hooves down by her side. "Your choice- not mine."

*

Blithy clenched her jaw and shoved Val away, also ripping the knife from her stomach. She shook away the tears in her eyes, and slammed a fist into the ground.

"Jeez, quit the whining." Val said, kicking her in the stomach and forcing her to hunch over.

She then brought up a knee into her face, fully knocking her down on her back.

"You should really work on your-" Val started, but fell over backwards as Blithy launched a kick up into her hip. Somewhat unfortunately, she kicked a bit too hard- it was meant to make Val fall over so she could beat the crap out of her later, but the sudden burst of anger made the kick much more powerful.

Val went flying across the entire hangar, before slamming into a pile of heavy cargo boxes. The metal boxes cracked apart, firearms inside flying high up into the air. Val still tumbled several meters after hitting the pile, before lying flat on her back with bits of boxes and firearms falling all around her.

"Ouch." she said as a pistol fell from the air and clipped her head. "Damn- I want iron replacements. These are way too weak for this type of thing." she said, violently shoving one of her ribs back into her body.

She picked up an assault rifle from the floor, and flung it across the room at Blithy. Blithy brought an arm up to protect herself, but the force knocked her hand back and she hit her own head. She fell back, the loud and solid bang from the impact ringing around the hangar.

"Don't hit yourself. Is not good for health." Val grinned, her voice synthesizer throwing a thick Russian accent into the line.

"Go kill yourself." Blithy said, getting up and wiping a drop of blood off the corner of her mouth.

"Tried that. Didn't work." Val said, picking up another rifle.

"Bucking hell..." Blithy muttered as Val threw the rifle with a hefty whoosh.

She took a step to the side, the rifle brushing past. Her jetpack flared, and she rocketed towards Val.

Val cracked her knuckles loudly and raised a fist, timing her punch for when Blithy gets right in front of her.

Obviously, Blithy had seen that coming- at the last moment she slowed down just enough for Val to accidentally swing early, the fist grazing past. This was just a split second, and Blithy had already regained her earlier velocity in another.

She slammed into Val head on, and it was a case of 'Now you see them, now you don't'. They went tumbling through the air, Blithy's jetpack leaving behind a smoky trail in the air. They slammed into the far wall, and went through it with relative ease. The impact broke them apart, and they tumbled into an empty tunnel. The darkness of the bottom of the Atlantic ocean shrouded them behind thick glass walls.

Blithy's shoulder clipped the floor, and she bounced up into the ceiling. Thankfully the thick glass held, with the impact leaving behind nothing but a small chip. She landed back down again, grunting as the air was knocked from her lungs.

"And yet they say I'm reckless." Val said, sitting up and twisting her head back the right way around with her hands.

There was nopony in this tunnel, and probably the kitchen and mess hall beyond it. That was a good sign- it means the evacuation is going relatively smoothly.

Blithy charged at Val, who stood up and made a stretch full of cracks. She slammed a fist right across her face, but her own momentum kept carrying her forward. She moved a hoof forward to stop herself from falling, but a small shred of metal tripped her up. She continued falling forward, in a trajectory she very much disliked.

Val was in the way, and both their eyes widened as their lips met. Blithy honestly didn't think being alone would become awkward, but this was an extreme example of so. After all, she was technically alone.

They quickly kicked each other away, both spitting at everything around them and clearing their mouths.

"Bleh! I did NOT expect my first kiss to be given to MYSELF." Val groaned, comically scraping her tongue.

"I should say the same." Blithy coughed. She quickly recovered, and flicked her palm out. The twin muzzles popped out, and immediately started flaring.

"Oh, how you break my heart." Val said. Then a bullet struck her chest, and she looked down at the fresh gush of blood. "Didn't expect that to turn literal."

"That was the artery. The heart'll be next." Blithy said, firing another burst; all the while readying her wrist knife and running towards Val.

"There we go." Val muttered as another bullet struck her chest, spilling more blood onto the floor. "You just turned me into the fountain of youth, or something."

"I'm pretty sure the fountain of youth would have prettier liquid pouring out of it." Blithy said.

"Stop breaking my heart." Val said. Then another bullet struck her vital organ. "Seriously though."

She flicked up the scrap of metal that caused Blithy to trip over earlier with a hoof, and caught it with her hand. She then threw it across at Blithy, the jagged edges catching a glint of light from the floor lightings.

"Would you quit throwing crap." Blithy muttered, ducking down as the metal scrap flew over her head.

"GRENADE!!" Val yelled, pointing at something behind Blithy.

"Wha-?" Blithy turned around, then heard loud footsteps behind her coming from Val. She took a fist to the face just as she turned around, and tumbled several meters back.

"Can't believe you fell for that." Val muttered, aiming a kick at Blithy's head.

Blithy rolled out of the way and grabbed her hoof, the momentum bringing her back to a standing position. Val tilted her head to one side, slashing the knife forward. Blithy blocked it with a hand, and crushed the blade into a small ball of scrap metal. Val shrugged, and threw the scrap down. With a simple flick of her wrist she deployed another.

*

"She's heading for the information management center! Don't let her get there!!" Unit 10279 yelled, commanding his troops to set up an ambush. They were in a large hall linking directly to the information management center- quite a last stand, with next to no hope.

"32897- I want you on the left si- HOLLY CRAP!!" 10279 yelled as the metal gates crashed open, a tank flying out of the opposing hall.

The tank flew across the hall, and crushed itself on the far wall. A second later it blew apart in a huge fireball, lighting up the room and the terrified faces of the soldiers.

The soldiers ripped their eyes away from the flaming and destroyed tank, and aimed their guns at the open gates. Smoke was swirling all over the place, making visibility incredibly low.

There was a dark figure striding through the clouds of thick black smoke, dragging behind her streaks of it. Two red irises seemed to glow in the dark, putting even more fright into the soldiers.

"Fire!!" 10279 screamed, holding down the trigger- but the figure was nowhere to be found after the first round of muzzle flashes flared up.

"Where the hell is she?"

"Son of a- GAH!"

Everypony turned in that direction, but nopony was there.

"32879?" 10279 asked, walking towards his squad mate's last known location. "Shuck." he muttered as he saw his dead body, with a missing head; replaced by a pile of mush and a puddle of blood on the ground.

Then there was a muffled scream behind him, and he swirled around. There was a dull thud, and the screams stopped. He yelled, spraying a full clip in that direction- but nothing more was heard.

Slowly, one by one; his squad mates went down- and he couldn't see any of them through the smoke. He started backing away, towards the far wall.

"Who the hell are you!?" he yelled, pointing the rifle this way and that. "SHOW YOURSELF!!"

"Ask and you shall receive." Eclipse said, suddenly leaping out of the shadows and closing a hand around 10279's head.

10279 held down the trigger, but all the bullets were blocked by an orange shield. Through glowing orange fingers he saw those same crimson red irises, accompanied by a flaming red mane. The mare's dark grey skin almost made her invisible in the thick smoke.

Then he started feeling extreme pressure on his skull- the fingers were closing in. He screamed, but Eclipse's palm was firmly closed around his mouth; and he made nothing but a muffled groan.

Then like a freshly cracked egg, his head shattered under the pressure.

Author's Note

I know this chapter is a lot shorter than the other's, and I don't know about you guys- but the fight scenes in this chapter are probably some of my favorite ones I've written so far.

Chapter 26: Beginning of the End

Scootaloo felt the familiar sensation of her stomach leaping as she slowly tipped forward, off the edge of the CMC command tower. Oh, how she loved that feeling. Everything was relatively calm at first, so she closed her eyes. Then as she felt gravity tug her forward, everything became extremely windy. Her mane and tail whipped about behind her, dragged by the strong gusts of acceleration.

"HahaHA!!" she laughed, although it was a slight difficulty to do so due to the wind getting in her mouth and puffing out her cheeks.

Applebloom was one hell of a trustworthy engineer and designer- till this day, those wheels on the scooter still hadn't worn down a bit- as expected though, seeing as how closely she guards her secret as to how she enhances solid matter to make them stronger and denser.

Here was this part again- there was a little bump here on this part of the building, for what reason Scootaloo didn't ask Applebloom. It wasn't like she wanted her to fix this part anyway- the air time she could get from it was most enjoyable. However may end some-what painfully at times.

Scootaloo leaned back, her wings stretching out a slight bit to slow her down and steady her trajectory. The front wheels went off the ground slightly, but not so much that the bottom would catch the wind and get completely thrown up in the air.

"Steady now..." she muttered, controlling the scooter and keeping her eyes on the bump.

The front wheels sailed clean over the bump, and then a split second later the back wheels hit it. Abruptly all wheels left the tower surface, and Scootaloo was sailing through the air hundreds of kilometers above Haven Central. Momentum was sending her spinning back- but she didn't mind. She let go of the scooter, making a full three-sixty backward flip before coming back to the correct orientation again, still free falling with wheels away from the surface.

"Wooohooo! HAHAHAAAA!!" she screamed, a wide grin on her face as the wheels touched down again, an array or sparks instantly flying out from the friction.

Suddenly she felt oddly vulnerable, and that wasn't exactly comfortable. If she trips...
"AL- forgot to put protective gear on. Little help?" she asked, struggling to speak over the howling wind.

"Certainly." AL said through a speaker in the scooter, and the handles unfolded into halves. From inside the halves Nano Fibre gloves with metal platings folded themselves over her front hooves, and the handles closed together again. The area on the board where her back hooves were slid open, and boots clamped over her hooves. The board closed back together, once again an innocent looking every-day scooter.

"Er... Elbow and knees?" Scootaloo raised an eyebrow.

"You'll have to put those on yourself." AL said.

"Cool. Gimme some airtime." Scootaloo said, lowering her center of gravity.

"Three... Two... One... Boosting."

Small thrusters under the scooter flared up, sending Scootaloo back into the air. A slot in the central support opened up, ejecting two sets of protective guards. One for the knees, another for the elbows. She let go of the scooter and kicked off it, now falling with it however two meters above it.

She moved her elbows forward, and the devices targeted them and clamped on. A few clicks and they locked into place, nano fibre protection with small steel plates on the outside.

Next where the knees. Because of the anatomy of the back legs of a pony, these were much harder to be fitted on because of the double curve.

A knob popped out of the front of her boots, and shot a targeting laser at her knee. The knee guards locked on, and adjusted their flight paths.

With a light click they flew into place, the sides folding in and clamping onto the sides of her legs. Pieces started unfolding off of it, closing around that back and eventually shielding both sides in nano fibre fabric and steel platings.

"Guards are in place." AL said.

"Got em." Scootaloo replied, streamlining her body and diving down for her scooter.

She grabbed onto the handle, and swung down onto it. LED indicators on the scooter flared up briefly, acknowledging her presence.

She leaned back, bringing the scooter in an arc as to become parallel with the tower surface. The wheels touched down once again, sparking and glowing a light orange.

From then on it was just a continuous slope until the ground. That isn't fun.

She looked up at the opposing building, a business block. Maybe she could have some fun trying to get to that roof without getting killed.

*

Bluefyre clutched her head, eyes wide and staring at the burning forest floor. Cold sweat trickled down her face and formed droplets on her nose.

"Kill them... Take over! Kill them all..." the ghost fires were saying, echoing voices in her head that were affecting her will.

"What the hell is she doing?" Babs asked, not taking her eyes nor the shotgun's aim off Bluefyre.

"I honestly don't have the slightest clue. Although, I have a vague memory of her... Not much though." Magnum said, and Babs turned her head slightly. "Just shadows that I can't confirm. Seems to be some sort of army training camp... But that's it. I think we were in the same squad together, or something." Magnum narrowed her eyes, trying to catch that memory. But the more she tried, the more she couldn't.

"You two must've come from the same place then. She recognizes you." Babs said, and Bluefyre let out an unwilling roar.

"Get out... Of... My... HEAD!!" she screamed, her spine suddenly arching back and her eyes staring at the sky.

Magnum and Babs's eyes widened as Bluefyre suddenly burst into flames, this time the ghost fires having a greenish aqua quality to them. Her skin and flesh melted away, and her skeleton curled down into a crouched position- nothing more than the pose of an enraged animal. The most terrifying part was, they could tell she was still alive.

Streaks of flames were drifting out of her hollow eye sockets and gaping mouth, and with each breath she took the flames in her mouth would flare out in a small ball of energy.

"What the hell is she..." Babs slowly started backing away.

The creature that was formerly Bluefyre suddenly turned and cast a look at Magnum, and despite its inability to perform expressions because of it being only a burning skeletal structure, it somehow still conveyed the meaning in its look.

Sorry, it said.

Then there was a bright blue flash that lit up the sky, accompanied by a scream; the voice of it horrifyingly familiar to Magnum- then by the time their eyes adjusted again, the creature was gone; and so were the flames. They were left in a quiet forest, burnt out and a spent battleground.

"Phew..." Babs said, finally letting the shotgun drop to her side and slumping onto the ground. "That thing's gonna be in my nightmares for the next year or so." she said, but when Magnum didn't reply; she looked up. "Hey- what's with the look?"

"I..." Magnum shook her head. "I don't know. Never mind. Let's go back-" her left ear twitched, and flicked back. "Wait a se-"

Suddenly several dark shapes leaped out of the woods behind them, and one of them tackled Magnum to the ground; accompanied by a some-what over-joyed cheer.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE ALIVE!!" somepony cried, squeezing the living soul out of her. Her wounds felt like they could explode any second.

"Gah- can't- breath-" she managed as the pony gave her a suffocating and potentially deadly hug.

"Huh?" the pony let go slightly. "Oh right- sorry." she quickly tried shuffling off, but before she could there was more excited screaming and two other ponies leaped onto them.

Magnum felt the air leave her lungs, and was temporarily winded.

"Damnit guys! OFF!! She's dying!" the pony struggled, and Magnum felt the weight decrease. She took the opportunity and sucked in a lungful of air, taking in as much oxygen as she possibly could.

The pony turned back to her, which may or may not be a good thing.

"Hey! Is it you?" Magnum felt a sudden slap across her face. "Come on Magnum buddy, tell me it's you!" another slap.

"DAMNIT!!" Magnum yelled, shoving the pony off.

"It's her." Rainbow said, falling over onto the ground. "Looks like her, and has her voice."

Magnum scrambled up and quickly backed away from the group of ponies.

"Freeze, and drop your freakin weapons." Babs said, loading the shotgun with a loud click and pointing it at the group.

"Uh-oh." Rainbow said, raising both hooves above her head.

"...we come in peace?" Octavia tried.

"Drop the shotgun, lady." Daring said, and Babs felt the barrel of a gun press into the back of her head.

"Well ain't this bull crap..." Babs dropped her shotgun onto the floor with a thud and sighed.

"WHAT THE BUCK IS EVEN GOING ON HERE!!??" Magnum yelled, clutching her head and shaking it at all the 'wut' that was going on here.

First a group of ponies she doesn't even know tackles her to the ground and hugs the crap outta her as if she were some long lost family member- and then more decide to show up and everypony is just so casual about having guns pointed at themselves!

"Calm down, Magnum." Rainbow said.

"HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW MY NAME!!??" Magnum yelled, whipping out the pistol and pointing it at Rainbow.

"Uh... We worked together for quite a few years in some random other reality?" Rainbow tried, which made Magnum raise her eyebrow even higher.

"Give me your name." she said, now much more calmer.

"Rainbow Dash. And if this is some sort of joke- it's not funny, yet."

The name did ring a few bells, and a few more came to her head. Dainty, Octavia, Blithy...

"Damnit... I.. I must've known you..." Magnum said, dropping her pistol in the grass and slumping back. She slammed a hoof into the ground, and suddenly started crying. "I CAN'T TAKE THIS CRAP ANYMORE!!"

"Uh... What now...?" Dainty raised an eyebrow.

"Magnum- tell us what happened!" Octavia said quickly, kneeling down and giving her a light pat on the back.

"Sis, you can put your hooves down now." Dainty said.

"Right, right." Rainbow sighed, dropping her arms to her sides.

"I.. I don't remember anything." Magnum said.

The group was silent for a moment.

"What do you mean... You don't remember anything? You don't remember what's making you crack right now, or-" Rainbow started, and Babs cut her off.

"I found her here in the Everfree in real bad shape. See her missing arm and eye? Those were all gone when I found her. I did what I could with the legs, but she's barely walking right now. She seemed to have taken a real good blow to the head too. Figure that's what caused the memory loss." Babs said, and all this time Magnum was staring at the ground in misery.

"Memory loss...?" Rainbow frowned, her heart slowly turning cold. "You mean she doesn't remember us?"

Babs shook her head. "No. And as far as I know, she doesn't remember anything." she said, and cast Magnum a sad gaze.

Rainbow froze, processing the information; then she let out a deep sigh. "At least better than dead, right? We can figure something out. We can recover those memories."

Magnum chuckled sadly. "I can only hope. All of this is driving me insane." she let out a nervous laugh.

"Let's get you outta here." Octavia said, helping her stand. Dainty picked up her pistol and handed it to her.

"I knew the both of you too, huh..." Magnum said weakly.

"Octavia. And that's Dainty." Octavia said as Magnum accepted the gun from the filly.

Magnum shook her head, wiping away a tear. "I'm sorry. Damnit... I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault." Rainbow sighed. Partially she blamed herself for not being able to be there to help- even if it wasn't her fault. Guess that could be a side effect for being so darn loyal. She turned to Babs. "Sorry- can't see in the dark that well. Fascinating how these leaves manage to block out almost all the sunlight. But am I correct in saying you seem... Familiar?"

"Rainbow Dash, was it?" Babs chuckled. "I'm Applebloom's cousin." she narrowed her eyes into a frown. "Although... I can't be quite sure... I seemed to have been living in Manehatten for a lot of my life but- I may have also been here for my entire life..."

"Ah... That's right. Babs Seed. Seen you in Ponyville before, years back. And you have extra memories too?"

"Is that what you call them?" Babs tilted her head to one side. "I thought I was just going crazy."

"Well... If you are going crazy, you're not the only one." Rainbow sighed.

*

"If we're going to strike, now would be a good time." Shining Armor said. "Val is currently occupied with the ATLANTIS battle, and so is her second in command- Eclipse. If we strike now, the science faction would be a headless horse."

"The main question right now is whether or not it'll be worth it." Iris said, talking with the OASIS commanders and captains through a hologram.

"Problem is, we don't have much of a choice." Spitfire sighed. "Val seems to know everything about us. Sooner or later she'll take us out anyway."

"Then we should strike when they a weakest." Shining Armor said. "In which case it's right now."

"I agree. We have a much higher chance of winning if we hit them now." Iris nodded.

Spitfire chewed her lip. This was a big decision- there was no room for error. She paced around the bridge, the other commanders watching her and waiting.

"Fine. But I want the strategy sorted out first before I issue the official order." she said, finally stepping to a stop.

"First off, our operatives are already all over Equestria scouring for more potential allies." Shining Armor said. "Once we bring them in, I estimate we'll have an extra few thousand ponies on our side."

"Still not much." Spitfire said. "Although, I have a plan to change that." she said, smiling.

"And that is...?" Iris raised an eyebrow.

"We need allies in this war... But how come we're only searching for ponies?" she asked rhetorically. "This isn't a fight for the pony race. The science faction has enslaved the whole of Equestria." she grinned. "And I'm sure we aren't the only ones who hate them to the bone."

Iris and Shining Armor looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"I suppose the plan is already under way?" Shining Armor asked.

"Of course it is." Spitfire said. "I already have Blaze looking for more potential allies in this war. And all is going well so far, according to his reports."

"Another thing to consider is that we have the Wardens on our side." Iris noted. "Six of them, if I am correct."

"Five." Spitfire lowered her eyes. "Nightshade's dead."

That was followed by some shocked silence, only broken by the noises of the busy bridge.

"Five, then." Shining Armor sighed, shaking his head. "More the reason to take them out now. If this goes on, we'll be slowly worn out. We need everyone we can get."

"We'll have the Wardens lead the battle then." Iris said. "Their power will most likely make our troops more confident."

"Right. But what about Rainbow? She's still on her assignment with some other agents to retrieve the intel on the sun." Shining Armor said.

"That'll have to wait." Spitfire sighed. "That intel was originally for us to determine whether or not the war would be worth it- but we don't have much of a choice now."

"But it's still useful intel." Iris noted.

"That's why I'll send Rainbow in to retrieve it when the crap hits the fan- which doesn't seem to be far away now." Spitfire said.

"Back onto our strategy." Shining Armor said. "Our ground troops would get smothered if we don't take down the barricade. It'll also prevent our reinforcements from reaching the ground."

"Then we take it out." Spitfire said. "Magnum and her squad have proven that it's vulnerable. Sadly, they didn't quite make it."

"How do you propose we take out the entire barricade without it falling out of the sky and destroying everything on the ground?" Shining Armor asked.

"Obviously overheating their nuclear generators won't do- but what about keeping their silo gates shut?" Spitfire said.

"Wha..? Oh... Ha, that might actually work." Iris smiled.

"Clever. Manually fire off the missiles while the silo gates are still shut- they'd blow the barricade to pieces. And since the explosions occur underneath the barricade, the force might even be enough to lift the whole damn thing out of the atmosphere and into space, where it will be out of harm's way." Shining Armor grinned. "I guess I finally understand why you're a captain."

"Suppose." Spitfire tilted her head to one side. "Now- we need a team to infiltrate the barricade again. The entire system is linked together, so we take control of one then we control all. It's just one big ship."

"Stealth would be preferable here." Iris rubbed his chin. "We take it out before they notice- prevent them from starting evacuations. That way we'll be taking out a ton of their troops as well- two birds with one stone."

They were silent for a few seconds, considering who should go on this mission. It was quite an important one, after all. Then they all looked up at the same time.

"Neon." they said.

"Warden of light- she can make herself invisible whenever she wants. And she's used to stealth killing anyway, so she doesn't care for guns." Spitfire said.

"Right-" Shining Armor rubbed his hooves together. "Get her a team and send her over. Once the barricade is down, we give the signal for all of Equestria to stand up and fight. I like."

"Next thing... Taking out the COLOSSUS." Iris sighed.

"Now that's what I call a major headache." Spitfire said.

"It would seem everypony's been thinned out a lot..." Shining Armor rubbed his eyes, yawning. "All our Wardens are now assigned to something... Don't have any spares."

"A few well aimed and fully charged shots from the CYCLOPS could punch through its layers and hit the counter-gravity shield." Iris suggested.

"And it will collapse in on itself without the shield holding up its own gravitational pull. It might even drag a few other ships in with it." Spitfire grinned. "Excellent work, Iris."

"Thank you ma'am." Iris tipped his head slightly.

"Put the CYCLOPS at the back, acting as our sniper while the rest of our ships cover him and wait for him to take down the COLOSSUS." Shining Armor nodded.

"As for our ground troops..." Spitfire waved a hoof in the air, and a holographic 3D map appeared. She pointed to what seemed to be a city in the middle of White Tail Woods. It looked like a big metal mountain range, a central building coming out in the middle of the city and pointing straight at the sky. "That's Valhalla, the science faction's headquarters on earth. It's quite a large city, and also quite advanced. That's a key position for our ground troops to attack- once we free them from the underground, that is."

"Taking down the barricade should be a sufficient distraction for the underground guards to be summoned to reinforce Valhalla. After all, that and the COLOSSUS would be the only two main HQs they have left once the barricade is gone." Shining Armor said, nodding. "After that, we can lead the troops out and box Valhalla in- create a blockade. From then on things should be much easier."

"Once Valhalla falls, we can send our troops on a storm across the surface, wipe out anyone left." Iris said.

"About the blockade- they could easily pull the same trick on us if they send reinforcements behind our blockade and put our troops in between." Shining Armor pointed out.

"Then we provide cover from the skies. Make sure nothing gets through and onto the surface once we take over Earth." Spitfire said. "Now, as long as we keep the CYCLOPS in a safe position, their space fleet won't be too much of a problem for us to take on. Major issue here is, how do we defend the CYCLOPS whilst severely out numbered? And by out numbered I mean four of them to one of us."

"Easy. Don't let them hit us- and the element of surprise." Iris said. "Hit and run. Come back, hit them then run again. Draw them into an ambush. Screw with their brains."

Spitfire nodded, a 'not bad' expression on her face. "Could work." she turned to Shining Armor. "Since everypony remembers you as the Captain of the Royal Guards, you should lead the ground assault. Hammer some confidence into them- you'll be good with that. They trust you."

"And do you want me to spread the word too?" Shining Armor asked.

"No. I have somepony else in mind." Spitfire said.

"Rainbow Dash?" Soarin asked.

"You read my mind." Spitfire nodded. "Rainbow and Octavia were the ones who led us to victory the last time. They took down the command center and shut down the barricade- they were the heroes." she smiled. "Ponies trust them. Let the heroes lead us, heroes that have won before. Ponies will think we will win again- and we will."

"She doesn't have any type of broadcasting device- it'll be hard to reach the ponies underground." Iris noted.

"Oh, but Haven does." Spitfire said. "I'll send her away from the mission for now and tell her to go deliver the message once the barricade falls."

"Copy. I'll make sure everything on the CYCLOPS is fully functional." Iris said. "Logging off." his holographic image faded.

Adrenaline pumped through Spitfire's veins, and she grinned with excitement. "Shining Armor! Go get Neon and her team ready. Also prepare to go onto the surface and lead our ground troops. Soarin!"

"Ma'am!" Soarin saluted.

"Make sure our fleet is completely separate from the science faction fleet. Don't make it too obvious though, or they'll tell. You there, officer! Send a message to ATLANTIS and tell them to hold Val and Eclipse there for as long as possible!" Spitfire yelled out the commands excitedly, a small bit of a skip in her steps as she trotted towards the big glass windshields of the OASIS bridge. She stopped, gazing out at that dirt brown planet in front of them. Even in its current state, destroyed and torn, dirty and unclean- it still seemed beautiful to her. It was still majestic. It was still Earth- and it was still home. She grinned, the glimmer of hope that one day they'll all return becoming brighter and brighter.

She lowered her head, and narrowed her eyes.

"And so it begins."

Author's Note

Finally guys! Are you excited? I'm excited! I've never been so excited! Well, except for that one t-

Ahem.

Chapter 27: Late- Once Again

The grey pegasus rubbed her eyes, awoken from yet another nightmare filled night of sleep. She yawned, disregarding her dirty and unkept blonde mane. There were cuts and bruises all over her body- things she had grown used to. In the darkness, there was only one source of light. She slowly limped towards it, her hooves scraping along the rough rock floor; making more cuts.

Her golden eyes stared forward, however saw nothing. Slowly she came to a stop by the cave entrance, and looked up at the sky. Day by day her vision was fading... And so was her life. She stared out from her little refuge in the cliff face, out to a city that once flourished in her reality- and now dead and abandoned. To her blurred eyes, it was just shades of dirt brown and grey. She tried to see what she saw before, ponies happy and dancing and cheering. But there was no movement.

A gentle breeze brushed against her dry skin, sending her long uncut mane slowly flowing to her side.

She had run out of food and water long ago- it was a miracle she was still alive, let alone moving... But she won't be for long. She closed her eyes, still standing, and stretched out her wings.

At least she tried- the years of dirt and grime had almost stuck her feathers together. She just wanted to feel the breeze rustle her feathers once more... Before fate takes whatever it has to.

*

"Damnit Blithy..." Doctor Whooves muttered, still firmly strapped to his seat. The parachute had deployed successfully, and now he was slowly drifting down towards the abandoned city of Manehatten, just behind the border before it merged into a forest that wasn't even there in the previous reality.

He sighed, leaning back into the seat- then he got an uneasy feeling in his heart- it seems he was forgetting something, and he had a little bit of an idea as to what it was.

But why now? He asked himself. I'm in the middle of nowhere, with nothing around me. So why now?

Instinct pushed him to look outwards towards the far cliff side. Nothing but an ordinary cliff face- there was nothing to it.

"So why? What the hay is this?" he groaned frustratedly, clawing at his heart but failing to get rid of the internal itch.

Then from the corner of his half closed eye he spotted a small speck of gold on the cliff face. His heart leaped, even if his brain still hadn't registered it yet- and he looked up.

And there she was. Ditzy Doo, Derpy Hooves.

The Doctor couldn't help but smile. So I finally found you.

But still the uneasiness in his heart failed to fade- and somehow he knew why.

"Please... Derpy, stay alive." he muttered, looking up at the sky.

The parachute was allowing him a safe descent, but it was way too slow. At this rate, judging from what he could see of Derpy, he wouldn't make it in time.

*

Derpy still had her eyes closed. She thought she felt some tickling in her heart, urging her to open her eyes. But she held them shut.

Over the years of surviving in the cave, she had hoped of rescue one day. But that hope would always lift her up, then throw her back down again, hurting her even more. She wasn't about to fall for it again- after all, knowing that there was no hope was much easier than relying on false hope.

A few days ago she had suddenly remembered things from another reality. Happy things, not the past- what should've been the present. Doctor Whooves, and his lovely blue box.

But she knew she was just making false memories. How could somepony as perfect as the Doctor exist? The entire idea was ridiculous. At the last second he had told her to wait, and so she did like she did for the whole of her life.

But she was done waiting- she wasn't going to rely on something her mind created- she wasn't going to succumb to false hope.

Suddenly her front legs buckled out from underneath her, and she collapsed onto the floor- almost toppling over the edge. She had hit her head, and ringing filled her ears. Her body was weakening severely by the second- she could only hope that she doesn't get baked to death in the sun, so she slowly and painfully started crawling back into the cave.

*

"Derpy..." the Doctor felt hope slowly loosening as he watched Derpy crawl back into the cave. He shook his head vigorously, and looked down. A fifteen meter drop- he could survive that. He looked back up at the strings holding him and his seat to the parachute. He sighed, and pulled out a knife that came with the M.F. officer uniform. "This is just going to suck." he muttered, unbuckling his seatbelt and cutting through the strings.

One by one they were severed, and suddenly the seat dropped with him. He watched the ground approach, the cliff becoming higher and higher in the distance.

He timed his jump. Just before he hit the ground, he kicked off the chair- but he was no expert in the act. Just as he leaped off, he felt his left back hoof get caught in the tangle of his seatbelt.

Then there was a loud crack as the seat dragged him down with it to the ground, cracking his left back leg under its metal weight.

"GAAAH!! DAMNIT!!" the Doctor screamed, feeling his leg crack and break. Tears swarmed into his eyes with the pain, and he used his front hooves to kick the seat off him.

He tried to stand, and somehow managed to do so. Will power could be strong when you need it.

He started walking towards the cliff face, his steps wobbly and unbalanced. Then suddenly he fell again, having only covered about three meters of distance. This time he felt his back leg break completely, and could even see that bit of white popping out from a bloodied hole in the side of his leg.

He clenched his jaw, trying to hold back the screams and the tears.

"DAMNIT!!" he couldn't hold it anymore, and screamed. "HEAL! YOU USELESS PIECE OF CRAP- HEAL!!!!" he yelled.

But it didn't.

"Wha... What the hay... WHAT THE HAY IS GOING ON!!???" he screamed, his mind slowly cracking. "HEAL!! WHAT THE HAY IS HAPPENING!!?? HEAL DAMNIT!!"

But what was broken remained so, and he was left on three legs. Slowly it dawned on him what he had to do- or else it'll only slow him down. It was also a stupid decision to make the jump.

He looked around for the knife- it didn't land too far away. He ripped it out of the ground, and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Humans only have two legs anyway." he muttered, and stabbed the knife into the broken joint of his left leg.

There was nothing for him to bite into, so he just screamed as he forced the sharp knife to rip through his flesh.

*

In the cave, Derpy could hear somepony screaming. Hallucinations- just another sign of incoming death. She let out a gentle sigh, and felt moisture on her face. She must be using what little water remained inside her as tears- but she couldn't tell what she was feeling. Maybe just sorrow, that she was going to be alone after all. Perhaps a little bit of hatred, because the Doctor never came back.

She made a weak chuckle at that. Like he exists at all.

*

"COME ON!!" the Doctor yelled as he slowly tried limping towards the cliff face- he had made a reasonable amount of distance, and was already directly underneath the cave. Despite having patched up his wound tightly with his uniform, he still left a long trail of blood behind him which eventually led to his severed limb.

Now was the hardest part. Climbing the darn cliff. It wasn't a ninety degree straight angle, it was on a slight slope; which meant it would be slightly easier to climb- key word, slightly. It would also mean tumbling off it would be a much more painful death if he fell.

"Climbing is as much a physical sport as it is mental." he assured himself. "And I'm fine with mental."

He started climbing, finding opportunities in the seemingly flat cliff face. A branch, a crack, a small ledge about two centimeters wide. He didn't count how many steps higher he climbed- he counted how many steps he had left. Sooner or later he'll be there, and all will end well. It had to.

Suddenly his hoof slipped, the loose piece of rock tumbling down with him. He frantically grabbed onto a branch, and the little piece of rock fell down into the abyss below. He groaned as his body swung down and slammed into the rough cliff side.

"I climbed this far already?" he asked in wonder, looking down at the ground that was roughly fifteen meters away. He looked back up again- soon.

*

Derpy could feel her life slowly slipping away, in the form of nothing but tiredness. Despite all of her physical wounds, the only pain she could feel came from her heart. Is there really nopony to be with her as she slowly dies in this dark cave that she came to know as her refuge?

She whimpered. Maybe death would be a good thing- all the burdens, gone in a poof. All the heart ache, unhappiness and pain- all gone in almost an instant.

She did nothing to stop herself from slipping away. In fact she welcomed it with open arms- die, and all will be relieved.

*

"Stay alive Derpy..." the Doctor wiped the sweat off his face, breathing hard. Even as he said this, he could feel the small connection in his heart breaking up- slowly fading away, and that made it hurt even more.

He continued climbing, his hooves digging into the cliff face. He ignored the pain in his severed leg, and continued on.

Sudden something sharp dug into his wound as he dragged himself upwards with his front hooves, and he screamed.

"Gah... The hay...?" he looked down to find a sharp rock shard impaling his stump. He tried freeing it, but the fabric wrapped around his wounds was stopping it from sliding out. "Are you bucking kidding me!?"

He could slide it out with his front hooves, but they were basically the only things keeping him from falling. He could only use his strength and force it out.

He clamped his jaw around his arm, and bit down on it to counter the pain as he tried to rip his leg stump away from the rock shard. His arm managed to muffle his screams and turn them into groans as his leg finally broke free, but once again bleeding freely.

Breathing hard, he let go of his arm and sighed.

"Wait for me, Derpy. Please- wait for me."

*

Derpy seemed to have heard something- but she continued disregarding it. Even if she did finally believe in the Doctor, it was already way too late. She let her tail curl around her body, her breathing slowing.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The gaps between her heartbeats grew, her breathing now nothing but a mere whisper between her long dried lips.

*

Still the Doctor climbed on, the odd feeling in his heart growing weaker and weaker. He was too, huffing and puffing and forcing himself onward. The effect of adrenaline was wearing off, and he was going back to his normal self- and his normal self wasn't exactly athletic.

There was a big leap up ahead- and he only had one back leg. Guess he'll never find out if he doesn't at least try.

He leaped up, his front hooves reaching out. They managed to hook onto the edge of a small crack in the cliff face, but only just. His back leg was left dangling over seventy meters of nothing, or most certainly death.

He stopped looking down, and clambered onwards. There was a small overhang up ahead, and was quite the blow to his determination.

"Hell..." he muttered as he allowed himself some time to rest, sweat pouring down his face and grime matting his usually well kept mane. In this reality, he was no Time Lord- just some mutated stallion- and it became clearer and clearer to him by the second. Then he shook his head vigorously, droplets of sweat being flung from his face.

"I'm still me." he said definitely to himself. "No matter what I am physically." he looked up at the overhang, and continued climbing.

His mouth was running dry, and it was becoming uncomfortably hot in the baking sun. He reached up and gripped a small ledge, pulling himself. Now that he was at the overhang, he had to make his moves very carefully.

There was a small lump of rock he could hold onto and hang from. He leaped up, gripping the rock and dangling half a meter from the safety of the cliff face. He searched for something he could hold onto, and found a small ledge he might be able to use. Not that he had a choice, it was pretty much the only thing and his front hooves were slipping.

He pushed off, his front hooves swinging forward and managed to catch the ledge. Suddenly his right hoof slipped off, dangling down with his back leg and hanging above the oddly lush forest below. He quickly brought it back up again and held onto the ledge.

The last thing he wanted to hear was a crack, indicating the ledge was loosening. He frantically looked for something else to hold onto, but there was nothing but the very edge of the overhang. It was a long shot, but the only one he had.

He swung forward, sailing through the air. The wind rushed through his mane, brushing against the nothingness below his hooves.

Then he somehow managed to scrape the edge of the overhang- but not hold onto it. His stomach leaped as fell, having missed the jump and almost three meters away from the cliff face- there was nothing to hold onto.

Then something tugged against his shoulder, and suddenly he jerked to a stop.

"Holy... Crap..." he said, eyes wide and cold sweat matting his skin. He looked up to see what was holding him in place.

It was his pistol holster, standard issue in the M.F. Military. It had hooked onto a jagged piece of rock, the other end hanging him by the shoulder. But the other end looked like it could slip any second.

Without wasting a second, Doctor Whooves quickly reached up and grabbed the edge of the over hang, and pulled himself over and onto safety.

He collapsed onto the floor, exhausted and staring at the sky in pure shock. How the hell did he survive that? He still had his pistol and holster. That was one freakin miracle.

*

All feeling was fading from Derpy's body. She was in a simple state of existence, with nothing else to it but a small swarm of weak emotions that was dying with her body.

Then suddenly her breathing ceased, her heart beating one last faint time- and she was dead.

*

Doctor Whooves looked up- the cave entrance was right there. Three meters above his head, and excitement filled his heart.

But then that excitement evaporated in an instant as something in his heart snapped, and he collapsed to the floor, staring wide-eyed at the ground and clutching his chest.

No... No... What the hay is this now? What's happening?

He tried to find that small connection again, but he couldn't find it anywhere. He searched desparately, but found nothing.

"No! I've come too far for this bull crap!" he cursed, scrambling up and grabbing onto the cliff face.

Adrenaline pumped through his veins once more, fueled by pure determination and defiance. This can't be happening- this just CAN'T!!

But a small part of him had already known- he was late, way too late.

"Hang on Derpy! I'm here! I'M RIGHT THE BUCK HERE!!" he yelled, pulling himself onto another ledge.
He looked up- the cave entrance was just a small leap away. He jumped, his front hooves latching onto the edge- but he hesitated just as he was about to pull himself over.

Will it be better if he never finds out? Deep down he already knows he's too late- so why torture himself by looking to see how close he came?

He shook his head. Derpy's got to be alive!

"She's got to be alive..." he said to himself, his mind failing to focus as he pulled himself over and onto the edge. "She's just... Got..." he stopped as he spotted the small frail body lying in the darkness, still and unmoving. "To... Be...." he stopped, and fell to the floor, the sorrow in his heart consuming him. He felt tears swarm into his hearts, and he quickly wiped them away.

Then he heard a gentle shuffle as Derpy's body tried to rise, but only to collapse back down onto the floor again.

It was dark and hard to see, but even so the Doctor could still tell that it wasn't Derpy- she must've died just a while ago, and now she had become one of the mutated. He could see the thick black veins running down the length of the mutated Derpy as she rose from the ground, some-what unsteadily.

"Fate... You piece of bull..." he chuckled sadly, tears dripping down his face as he stood up. "Now you're forcing me to pull the trigger on my beloved?" he shook his head, the corners of his mouth shaking. He pulled out his pistol, letting it slip from the holster.

Slowly mutated Derpy limped towards him, wobbly step by unsteady step.

Doctor Whooves raised the gun, pointing the barrel directly at Derpy's head. Still he could see that her eyes were crossed- and through that tortured face he thought he could still see a shadow of his cheerful and clumsy assistant.

"I have two hearts..." he swallowed, shaking his head gently as more tears poured down his face. "...And somehow you manage to break both. I guess I'll never understand how you work." he said.

His hoof was shaking severely, but he couldn't bring his other one up to help because it was keeping him standing.

Slowly, the mutated Derpy was walking past his outstretched arm, directly towards him. He didn't bring his aim back- he just couldn't do it. He thought he could, but he couldn't.

"Damnit!" he cursed, dropping the gun and crumbling to the floor. "Damnit... I can't do it... I just can't..." he whimpered, his tears dampening the cold stone floor.

Now Derpy was directly in front of him. At least if he was going to die, maybe they could still die together. He was prepared to have teeth sink into his neck, and be turned into just another zombie.

Then he felt a gentle hoof on the bottom of his chin, lifting up his head. He looked up, into Derpy's crossed eyes. They were still golden, somewhat faded however. He waited for her to lunge and take his life. She opened her mouth, revealing sharp mutated vampire teeth.

"The good Doctor doesn't cry." she said, smiling; a happy tear sliding down her face as she wiped the water off the Doctor's face.

The Doctor's eyes widened, and suddenly energy returned to his body. He leaped forward, throwing his arms around his beloved Ditzy Doo. He couldn't describe how tremendously relieved he felt- it almost felt like the world didn't matter any more. A minute ago having Derpy's warm soft form in his arms again was nothing but a dream, long lost and given up on. But here she was again- and they relished every second they were together.

"You came back..." Derpy said, hugging the Doctor tightly.

"...and you waited." the Doctor whimpered. He finally let go, and stared into those eyes once more, a smile on his face. "I'm sorry, Derpy. I was late again."

"I'm okay with that." Derpy grinned, then it faded as she looked down at the Doctor's missing leg. "Doctor... What happened?"

"I honestly don't think it matters." the Doctor grinned, tears still sliding down his face- but this time, they were the tears of joy. "And besides, if we're gonna start asking questions, I don't think we can stop."

Derpy nodded, smiling.

"Now..." Doctor Whooves looked around, his mind finally getting over the fact that Derpy was somehow still alive. "To get out of this place."

Author's Note

I would much prefer it if you guys could give me your reactions on this chapter? How many of you actually thought Derpy was dead? But the again, you guys ARE a quiet bunch... So I'm not gonna expect anything. You know, talking about false hope and all ^

Chapter 28: False Perspectives

"I sent in two twins to accompany Neon." Shining Armor said, and Spitfire nodded.

"Suppose you're aiming for teamwork?" she turned away from the OASIS windshield, casting one last look back out to space. "And you sure they're up to the task?"

"Best trainees in the best training division, ma'am." Shining Armor nodded.

"That settles it then." Spitfire said, then waved at Soarin. "Officer! If you don't mind getting me a coffee."

"Yes ma'am!"

"You mean you mind, or you don't mind?" Spitfire called after him, causing a few chuckles on the bridge.

"I don't mind at all, ma'am."

"Good." Spitfire turned away, rolling her eyes.

"Aren't you even going to review the information?" Shining Armor raised an eyebrow.
"Nope. Do you not trust your own judgement?" Spitfire asked.

"I do, ma'am. Just having a higher up confirm that would be much more reassuring. Your judgement should be more accurate than mine." Shining Armor said.

"And my judgement says trust your judgement." Spitfire said, and Shining Armor sighed; moving off to get a cookie or something.

*

"Why does she even need a team anyway?" Asty complained, part of the 65th training division here on the OASIS. "And why send us ROOKIES on such an IMPORTANT mission?" she moaned.

"Neon doesn't NEED a team." Rig shrugged. "Our cover story is that we are on a training exercise to the Barricade, and we need to use some of their facilities. Neon just sneaks aboard with us."

They were in the locker room, opening their metal cupboards and retrieving their gear.

"You know- I feel every bit insecure about this mission." Asty muttered, putting on her cadet overalls. "First off, we don't even get proper armor. So what if we get into a firefight?"

"We're not supposed to get in one. Stealth, remember? Don't let them evacuate.
Besides, if it does come to a fire fight and we get the whole barricade on our arse- we still won't live anyway." Rig said, putting on some gloves and shoving a pistol into his holster.

"I love the fact that we look almost exactly the same and somehow we're completely different." Asty muttered. They would've looked exactly the same if they were the same gender.

Rig lowered his voice, making sure the other twins don't hear them. "Hey-" he nodded to the two other ponies also gearing up, in complete silence. "What's up with them though?"

"Inkie and Blinkie? I heard they lost all their family members in the second rebellion. Apparently their sister lived in Ponyville- and, you know... Ponyville was the first to get hit by the prototype bio-bomb. And their parents worked in a rock farm on the outskirts... That's where Valhalla is now. No one ever heard from the ponies there again after the city was built... Don't think they took them as slaves either." Asty explained, and Rig cast them a sideways glance, just in time to spot Blinkie slip a serrated knife into her boot.

"That's why they try so hard huh..." Rig muttered.

"Almost achieved graduation from cadet school within a week? I'd say so, yeah." Asty whispered.

"Maybe we should go talk to them. You know, since we're going to work together and all, might as well start now." Rig said, stuffing a few magazines on his belt.

"You can try. I've done that before, didn't work so well." Asty muttered, and Rig raised an eyebrow.

He walked towards one of the twins, trying his best to be friendly.

"Hey, I was just wondering- OH GOD." he shrunk at the murderous intent in Inkie's eyes as she turned around, which faded almost in an instant as she saw him. She pulled up a smile, which Rig highly doubted was legit- even if it seemed so.

"You were saying?" she asked.

"Never mind. Was looking for something, but I found it." Rig said, careful not to turn away too quickly as to not arouse suspicion.

He spotted a small smile on Asty's face when he approached.

"Told ya." She said.

"Damn, those mares are scary as buck." Rig let out a sigh, peering behind him at the twins. They were back to their glum mood- no smiles, nothing. "Let's better get this mission over and done with. An Ursa Major would've been less scary."

"Hey, don't forget there's still a war coming up." Asty slipped into her boots, then tightened the buckles.

"Cadets, are we ready?" an emotionless and somewhat robotic voice said, followed by a few clunks as a dark figure with stripes of light running down its body walked into the room.

"Yes ma'am." Rig said immediately.

"Good. Meet you at the hangar." Neon said, clunking out again.

Rig waited till he couldn't hear her hoofsteps anymore, and slumped down.

"Why is this place so full of scary ponies?"

A few minutes later, the cadets proceeded to the hangar bay- and as expected, Neon was waiting for them there.

"All aboard the ship." Neon said, waving the cadets in. Then once everypony was loaded, she walked in too, and the gunship doors hissed shut. "Take us away, pilot."

"Copy." the pilot said, flicking a few switches as the gunship left the hangar floor.

*

The silver maned earth pony with bright red highlights sighed, and took another bite from her bagel. Now, this would've been a normal scene if she weren't somehow kneeling on the tip of the tallest antenna on CMC head quarters- the highest possible point of the whole of Haven.

The antenna waved gently in the wind, but she didn't seem to be affected by it at all. In fact, it looked like nothing could affect her. Her mane drifted peacefully in the wind, Haven down by her dangling arms. The barricade's engines shimmered above her head- and despite that, she felt some what at peace. This was actually quite nice. Not too hot, not too cold. Just about right- and she had a good view.

Then her phone started ringing, and she rolled her eyes.

She fumbled it out of her pocket, but accidentally let go as a sudden gust of wind hit her. She also let go of the remains of her bagel, and she had to choose one.

She chose the bagel though.

She caught it, and the phone continued dropping. She stretched out a leg, caught the phone on a back hoof and flicked it up into the air. It landed on her shoulder, and she clamped it down with her head.

"Hello?"

"You up on that antenna again?" it was Applebloom.

"Yeah." the earth pony sighed.

"Can you change one? Cause I'm not getting Wi-Fi again."

"But the other ones don't have such a good view." the earth pony complained.

"Just avoid blocking me from my Internet." Applebloom said. "Plus AL just told me that Scootaloo isn't wearing her helmet again. Go keep an eye on her."

"Got it... On my way." the earth pony hung up and pocketed her phone, stuffed the rest of her bagel into her mouth, and swung off the antenna.

She wrapped a gloved hoof around the antenna, slowing her descent. Finally, after traveling about fifteen meters down; her hooves touched down gently on the CMC HQ's roof. She tilted her head to one side, her neck cracking loudly. She flexed her hooves, then walked to the edge.

She looked over the handrails, her eyes tracing down the side of the building- and soon enough she spotted the orange pegasus pony and her scooter.

She swung over the handrails, her grippy boots almost latching onto the side of the building like a lizard's feet. It wouldn't last long though, but no matter- she could move fast enough.

Jogging down the side of the building like it was nothing, she followed Scootaloo.

*

"This is Phoenix 507, permission to dock at D68." the pilot said, flicking a few switches overhead and ready to land on the barricade.

"Cadets, just look inconspicuous." Neon said, and waved a claw in the air. Suddenly she vanished, casting a mirage around herself- but she was still there, it was just an optical illusion. Although it did seem to make the cadets a teeny bit uncomfortable.

There was a loud crunch and bang as one of the barricade's gates slowly slid open, spotlights shining out in beams from inside and focusing on the gunship.

"Val's not here... Everyone's on high alert." the pilot sighed, deploying the landing gear of the ship. "There won't be security checks though- and make sure take downs are stealthy. We all know where the rendezvous is?"

"Right the hell back here." Rig nodded.

This landing dock was the closest to the edge of one of the barricade's many connecting arms, so if they were to escape when the barricade gets lifted up- it would be much easier.

They heard the gates close, and the outside pressure adjust and compress. Then the gunship's doors popped open with a click, and warm artificial air hit their faces.

"Good luck with your training exercises cadets!" the pilot waved, hopping out of the cockpit and pretending to perform maintenance checks, as to give himself an excuse for staying in the dock.

"Halt." one of the guards standing by the main entrance held up a hoof, and approached the group. Neon was following them silently, not even a shimmer in the air and completely invisible to everything and everyone around her. The guard walked up to Rig, and inspected their uniform. "ID."

Rig took out a small card from his chest pocket, and handed it to the guard. The guard ran it through a scanner, matched the photograph with Rig's face; and nodded them in.

"Good luck with your exercise cadets." he said, waving at the other guards and telling them to open the main entrance.

They walked in, in perfect formation- step one, infiltrate the barricade- piece of cake.

"Master controls are in the command tower. Shouldn't be far away." Neon whispered.

They slipped past hundreds of Science Faction officers, completely unaware of the fact that they were in the process of being sabotaged.

After a few hall ways later, they were held back by a few guards.

"Whoa! Where do you think you gals are going? This is a restricted area!" the guard said, somewhat bad tempered.

"Sorry sir. We just got lost." Asty said quickly. "Come on you lot. Pretty sure it's this way." she said, leading them off. As soon as she made sure the guards were out of ear shot, she whispered: "What now? It's in a restricted area!"

"Costume change." Neon whispered back. "Head to the locker rooms. I can put up false projections for the camera."

They proceeded to one of the barricade's locker rooms, and Neon waved her hand. Now the camera was seeing a mirage, and even if they were in the room searching through the lockers- the mirage said that they were looking around confused.

The cadets got into full guard uniform, and nodded ready. Neon waved again, the camera now seeing them exit the room- however still in cadet uniform. From then on the guard helmets should help shield their faces.

"Go through a different checkpoint." Neon said. "The guards at the old one will recognize you."

After a bit of zig-zagging and bluffing their way through to the barricade, they finally made it to the checkpoint.

"IDs?" the guard there asked.

"Well we didn't see that coming." Asty whispered, her lips a slight twitch.

"Time for plan B. Inkie, Blinkie." Neon said, walking to the front of the group and waving. Now the camera was seeing a false image of the guards inspecting their IDs- when in reality, she cast a projection of Asty forward.

"Oi!" one of the guards called out as projection Asty walked right past the checkpoint, and both guards turned around to follow her.

The twins moved up, pulling out knives from their boots with swift and soundless moves. They clamped their hooves over the guards' mouths at the same time, and sunk their blades into their throats. Neon walked past, making sure the mirage was still on the camera and that nopony else was in the area.

"Hide them in the toilets over there." Neon said, pointing towards a small 'stallions' sign next to a white door.

The twins dragged the bodies in, and a few seconds later re-emerged. They shook off the blood on their knives and slipped them back into their boots.

"No wonder they were the ones to graduate." Asty whispered to Rig, who nodded.

Neon changed the mirage on the camera, showing the guards leaving with the group and into the restricted area.

"Good work you lot. Keep moving." Neon said, guiding them on with her whispers.

"More guards." Asty whispered.

"Keep going. Don't attack unless you have to." Neon whispered back.

The patrol squad approached, their boots clunking on the hard and cold metal floors of the barricade. The group pulled on the best neutral and bored face they could, and the patrol squad brushed right past them without giving them so much as a second glance.
"Careful. We're gonna have to take out the entire command center. I estimate about fifty ponies? Yeah." Neon said as they neared a huge metal double door.

It was becoming increasingly noisy here, and it was getting on the cadet's nerves. Fifty ponies? That's pretty much ten to one.

"And be sure to avoid friendly fire guys." Asty said.

"Inkie. Open the double doors." Neon said, and Inkie swiped her ID card on the device. It beeped, denying her access.

"There should be a guard's card in one of your pockets. Search for it." Neon said, and as expected- she found one.

Inkie swiped the guard's card, and the double doors slid open.

"Keep calm and come up with something as to why you're here." Neon whispered as they marched in, the doors closing behind them.

Neon sneaked up to the control panel next to the door, and locked it shut so nopony could escape.

"Captain. Is something wrong?" one of the officers inside walked up to Asty.

For the first time Asty noticed the badge on her chest, and her heart started pounding as she quickly formulated a lie in her head.

"The gals over at ATLANTIS need cover fire. Magic Faction troops have under water cruisers- we didn't see that coming." Asty said quickly. "There's a rogue fighter in the area, we're still working on catching it. It's blocking wireless signals- that's why Val couldn't get the order directly here."

"Right. Do you have any sort of verification that it's from Val?" the officer asked.

"No." Asty admitted.

"I'm sorry, but we can't authorize tha-"

"Give us access- now! Or I'll have her excellency come here personally and kill you, officer!" Asty yelled, grabbing the officer's collar and yanking him nose-to-nose.

The officer's eyes widened with fear at the thought of Val. "Alright alright! What do you need?"

"Val wants all our missiles fired." Asty said, letting go with a small shove. Personally, she was quite pleased with her acting. "Are you even listening to me!!??" she yelled as the officer looked down at his belt.

"Odd... I swear I had my EMP grenade with me. Ah, missiles- right, right- the missile controls are over here-"

"Stay back. We can handle this." Asty said, shoving the officer aside and getting to the primary console.

"Uh... That's the primary console, it controls the entire barricade-"

"I know what I'm doing!" Asty yelled. "So shut up!"

"Right, right." the officer muttered, backing off.

"Make sure all the silo doors are shut." Neon whispered. "Then set a timer, and override the entire thing so nopony else can change it from another location other than here. I stole some EMP grenades here, once the timer starts and these grenades go off- there's no stopping the missiles. Just make sure the silo gates are closed."

"Copy." Asty whispered, making quick work of the console.

The rest of the group stood by silently, watching the bridge at work as Neon sneaked into the middle of the huge room, readying the EMP grenades.

"Don't forget to open the silo gates." the officer reminded.

"I know. Targeting." Asty lied.

Seeing his sister was having trouble diverting attention, he quickly walked up to the officer.

"Where are the turret controls? I need to see if I have visual on the rogue aircraft." he said, and the officer led him to the turrets control section. Because each turret required its individual screen, only the turrets of this barricade section could be controlled from here. Missiles were a different matter however, just point at a location, plot a course, and select the silo, and you're done.

"Starting timer. ETA fifteen minutes." Asty said, making one final click.

Then alarms started going off all over the place, the command center filling up with red as lights started flashing.

"You idiot! I told you to open the silo gates-" the officer yelled, but then was knocked into the air as powerful EMP grenades went off all around the command center, disabling everything and knocking the officers down.

"Attack the officers!" Neon yelled. She set a false projection on the cameras, having whoever is at the controls believe that the alarm was for an intruder alert.

The group started shooting at the officers, making takedowns through the smoke from the EMPs. On the camera, it looked like the officers were taking down the intruders- when in reality they weren't.

Inkie ducked under a bullet, then leaped up; pulling the knife out from her boot in one smooth motion. She lodged it into a stallion's throat, and swung him around as a meat shield; pulling out her pistol and firing into the crowd.

Asty got down behind a line of consoles, firing pistol shots around the corner. Rig slid down next to her, taking out a stallion that was just about to creep around the other end of the consoles.

Neon started clawing the officers, and it didn't even matter- because they couldn't see her. Plus bullets won't land a scratch on her anyway.

Soon enough the command center was cleared out, but the camera saw all the intruders killed and a few surviving officers inside limping towards the exit- and the surviving officers were them.

"Act injured!" Neon yelled as she kicked down the double doors, smoke pouring out into the corridors.

"Shuck- are you guys alright?" one of the soldiers outside asked- clearly they had been waiting.

"I'm fine. Area's been cleared... Gah, damnit." Rig cracked his wrist loudly.

"We had a few officers gone rogue. Get the cleanup team in there- we can stop the evacs now. Nothing to see here!" Asty yelled over the chattering, waving the science faction soldiers back.

"What happened?" one of the soldiers asked Rig.

"We were tracking a ship we thought belonged to rebels. Lost track of them for a few minutes, and they directly attack our command center." Rig said, quickly formulating a lie. "Stole guard uniform and went in. Took out everyone in sight..." he sighed. "We were a second late."

"Get back to your posts!!" Asty yelled, waving the guards off. "Get the clean up team in here- now!"

"Let's leave. Not much time left." Neon whispered, and they started weaving through the troops crowded outside the command center. "Pilot, is the ship ready?"

"It is, but they're holding me back because of the alarm. At the moment no one leaves, no one gets in." the pilot said, and Neon could hear loud machinery operating in the background.

"What do we do?" Rig asked, joining the conversation.

"Kill whoever is guarding the ship." Neon said. "Take off at the last moment, so their turrets won't be on us."

"Sounds like it's gonna be close." Asty said.

"There's no fun when everything goes as planned." Neon said, her emotionless voice somehow sounding cheerful.

"Hey everyone! Halcyon here. Pinkie just opened up a portal for me so I could talk to you guys." Halcyon said, peering through a small hole in reality. "But uh, this is not part of the chapter above. Just saying. I just came by for a message- the author said something about a 'Bounty Hunters prequel', and a 'Graphic Novel'... But he's got a link for you in the Author's Notes. See ya guys!"

Chapter 29: Close Call

"I'm at the engines." Lightning Dust said, gravity generators in her boots latching her firmly onto the windy surface of the S.F. cruiser, the engines blazing and rippling the air ten meters down from her location. She peered over the edge, watching them burn.

"On my way. Just need to shake these bastards off." Zealo said, and Lightning Dust could see his Apollo swerve through the air with several Strikers on his tail.

Suddenly the cruiser shook as portions of the tip blew apart, and the imbalance started causing it to tilt back. Lightning Dust tumbled over, and just managed to grab onto the edge. Her hooves dangled over the blazing engines. She was about to fly up when she noticed the huge air flow that was sucking her towards the engines- or more precisely, a specific portion of them. It was the air extractor, where air is drawn into the engines and then pushed out as thrust. This was often used in atmospheric conditions to reserve fuel for use in space.

So basically, she would get sucked into the engines if she were to open up her wings.

"Zealo? I've got a small problem here. Gonna have to blow up the engine right now. I'm stuck." she said, swinging down and making her gravity boots stick onto the side, the engines still slowly dragging at her from behind. Long marks started forming on the hull as her metal boots dragged along the surface. "Get away from the cruiser, it's not gonna last long after this."

"But what about pick up?"

"I can fly." Lightning Dust said, plucking a grenade from her belt and ripping out the pin. She looked down at the air extractors. "Wanna eat? Have this-" she said, dropping the grenade.

She didn't even need to aim it anywhere. The airflow sucked it straight into the engines, and she braced for impact.

There was a loud tink as the grenade hit metal, and a loud boom as it blew apart. The grenade shredded a portion of the hull, tearing up the metal; which got sucked straight into the engines. A series of loud bangs echoed through the entire cruiser, traveling down the lengths of the engines. Acting as a chain reaction, the metal shreds that got sucked in were wreaking havoc on the internals.

The engines spluttered, hissed, and went out. The flames died down, and Lightning Dust could feel the sudden decrease in velocity as the cruiser slowed down.

"That was easy."Zealo said, watching as the cruiser started slowly falling out of the sky. It was quite a sight, a flaming hunk of metal spanning several kilometers slowly dropping towards the water surface, the sea below it seemingly stretching beyond the horizon. More importantly, there was another cruiser underneath it.

"Didn't blow up. That was boring." Lightning Dust said, feeling the airflow die down and stretching out her wings.

Suddenly an out of control Striker swooped down, clearly having been shot in the wing- and almost hit Lightning Dust full on. It clipped her left wing, and they both went tumbling down towards the engines.

"Gah!" she screamed as her back cracked against the heated metal surface of one of the engines, while the Striker continued down, flaming and plummeting towards the sea. The immense heat of the surface burnt her back, and probably even melted what remained of her wings. She screamed, but not daring to move or she'll get more of herself barbecued. The cruiser shook, and she started rolling towards the edge. Her mind was dulled by the hit it got from that Striker, and she was barely thinking as she clawed at the engine's surface; which was slipping out from underneath her. She felt something sticky catch her back for a short second- yep, that'll definitely be her grilled wing.

Then she started falling again, down towards another cruiser. The word spun, one moment deep blue with the ocean and the next light blue with streaks of white clouds. Whatever remained of her wings twisted and turned, but she wasn't in control of them. They broke her descent, but she still slammed down pretty hard when she landed face first onto the metal hull of the cruiser below.

"Lightning Dust! You still there? The cruiser's coming down on another one- I doubt they'll go down without a boom this time! Lightning Dust!" Zealo's voice yelled through the micro speaker, but it was lying on the floor next to Lightning Dust's half conscious body.

She stirred, trying to stand up- but her legs gave way and she fell again. She couldn't feel her wings- well, she could- but they didn't feel the slightest like wings. They felt like shredded strands of muscle- and because of that, she didn't dare look back. There was a lot of blood on the floor, and a lot of loud metallic groaning in the background. Despite the small puddle, it was still quite less all things considered. The engine must've burnt her open wounds together. She looked up, and saw the cruiser she fell from earlier- crumbling down in flames, bits of burning metal with fire trailing them in the air falling down from the main body. She peered closer- those weren't part of the cruiser. Those were its crew members- in their desperate last attempt at survival- all going down in flames, some what literally.

She looked away as she heard somepony's screaming, getting closer and closer; until it ended with a loud thunk and sickening crack somewhere next to her. She felt the vibration in the hull for that one. She couldn't control it- she looked to her side, and saw the dead body of the mare that tried to jump into the ocean. Clearly she fell way too short, but she didn't look like she had a choice anyway. Lightning Dust could barely tell whether or not it was a mare, considering how demented and burnt the body was.

Was this what she wanted? To prove herself, to make herself useful... To make herself recognized. She looked back at the still burning body, with the eyes of a murderer. Was this really what she wanted?

She slowly crawled her way to the mic, and picked it up. She felt its familiar cold presence in her ear again as she placed it there.

"Zealo..." she said, her voice a mere croak. She could feel blood dripping from her wings and slipping down her side. She couldn't feel the pain, as her body was in shock- but from what she could feel, she decided it was worse than having them completely ripped away. After all, she could feel a strand of muscle stuck to her back by blood. Worse part was, she could feel both ends- both her back, and the odd strand of muscle.

"Shuck! You're alive! The hay are you? The cruiser's coming down!" Zealo said, having shaken off the Strikers and now circling the two cruisers and their inevitable collision. One desparately trying to get out of the way, the other falling in the same direction- collision was inevitable. "Where are you? I'm coming around for pick up."

"Nah. Too late." Lightning said, looking up- the sun was already being blocked out, and the cruiser was coming down fast. "Just remember to give me credit for taking down TWO cruisers." she said, every bit of strength draining from her muscles.

"Too bad. I'm coming in." Zealo said, marking a location on his HUD based on a tracking device in Lightning Dust's armor.

"Just go back to command. Judging by the blood loss, I won't make it anyways. Help with the evac." Lightning said, lying down on the hull and ignoring her oddly shaped wings.

"Damnit- just hold still! I'm heading straight for you now!" Zealo yelled, the Apollo screaming towards the closing gap between the two cruisers.

"You'll just end up dead too. It's too late-"

"I won't forgive myself for not trying!!" Zealo yelled, but even he could see there was pretty much no hope.

"And how do you plan on picking me up?" Lightning Dust asked, with a sad chuckle. She took something off her belt. "Hey, as a question- which do you think would be a more painless death..." she made sure the pistol was fully loaded, and pressed the barrel against her temple. "...crushed by a thousand ton cruiser, or a bullet through the head?"

Zealo heard the click as she flicked the safety off.

"No! Don't- I'm right the buck here!" Zealo yelled, the Apollo still flying towards the two cruisers. "Don't bucking martyr yourself!"

"Bullet through the head it is." Lightning Dust breathed.

"Wait-" Zealo started, but everything seemingly fell silent as a loud bang traveled through the mic. He couldn't hear the groans and screams of the metals on the cruisers, the blaring engines of the Apollo, the high pitched whine of electrics inside the cockpit, or the static of the mic that followed- he could hear none of that. "Lightning Dust?" he asked, and even his own voice sounded distant. "Can you hear me? Oi, Dusty!"

But there was nothing but static as a reply.

Then-

"Damnit, I couldn't do it. I'm too awesome to commit suicide. Hurry up! Just don't kill yourself."

"God damnit Dusty." Zealo muttered, now just in front of the gap.

He turned the plane upside down, and just managed to clear the closing gap. The cruisers were fusing at an angle- and Zealo entered by the narrow end. Light around him darkened as the gap behind him closed together, only to be lit up again by the explosions that followed. Then a flak projectile whizzed by his ship, hitting the top and exploding in a huge upside-down fireball.

"Shuck- their auto turrets are still on!" he yelled, but didn't dare turn the ship the right way around as the two surfaces were so close.

But he could spin the Apollo.

He spun the engines, making the Apollo turn 180 degrees while still heading in the same direction.

"Uuah!" he cried out as a flak hit near him- also because he had no idea where he was going, considering he was flying backwards. His eyes widened even more when he saw what was chasing him.

To try to describe it, it was a line of exploding fireballs stuck between two quickly closing surfaces; with distinct trails of smoke from flak turrets zig-zagging in between. Pressure inside the cruisers was also obviously increasing, as occasionally a portion of the hull would burst out and release a cloud of deadly flames. Zealo accidentally flew through one of these clouds, and could feel the sudden increase in temperature even inside the cockpit.

"Screw this-" he said, and turned the Apollo back around; its engines flaring up with a loud boom as he boosted it forward.

The Apollo zipped through the closing gaps, weaving through the flak towers and occasionally coming dangerously close to being shot down.

There was a loud boom- the cruisers' hulls must've been depleted, and their central structures must've hit each other. Unlike the flimsy hull, the central structure was essentially a huge ball of metal that could be deemed indestructible.

Through holes in the hull above, things started falling from the impact; shaken out from inside the ship. Weapons crates, beds from dorms, furniture- the contents of the ship were being thrown out. But inanimate objects weren't the only ones falling.

Soon enough Zealo could hear the screaming, hundreds of Science Faction officers and soldiers alike falling to their deaths below, some clinging on desperately and only to be burned to death later. Survival wasn't an option in this situation.

Something hit his windscreen, and crimson red smeared across the glass; tinting everything behind it red. There were bits and chunks of pink, and shreds of what once might've been an officer's uniform. Zealo tried his best not to puke, but the blood and guts were right there in front of his eyes, and he could not clean them away.

He was quickly nearing Lightning's location.

"Can you fly?" he asked.

"I would've flown away already if I could." Lightning Dust said.

"Shuck." Zealo said, slowing the plane down. This was risky, but he had to fly it at the lowest possible speed for this to work. And right now, the explosions and crushing jaws of the cruisers were right behind him. "Think you can grab my hoof and swing into the back seat?"

"It's gonna hurt real bad, but I think I can handle a stunt like that." Lightning Dust said, then chuckled. "Hey, that rhymed. Sort of."

"More ponies that I will never understand." Zealo muttered, making a sharp right and dodging a flak. "Buck!" he yelled as something clipped the hull.

"Hull integrity, 30%." the inboard AI said.

"My Apollo isn't holding up very well." Zealo said. "Can you see me?"

"Got visual." Lightning Dust said.

"Well. Get ready to grab my Apollo. How fast are your reaction times?"

"I was the best in the Wonderbolt training academy, until I got sacked for being too good. So I'd say my reaction speed is pretty fast." Lightning Dust said, some what glumly.

"I see you. Get ready..." Zealo said, spotting a small distinct dot in the distant. He made sure his seatbelt was tightened to the max, checked his helmet, and flicked a switch to his side.

The windshield popped up, then slid back. Instantly he was hit by the wind, and he could feel the warmth of the explosions tingle his skin through his suit.

"I'm going to miss having a functional arm." Lightning Dust said. She stumbled up, some what painfully. She looked out, and saw the Apollo as it flew towards her, chased by a line of fireballs. This looks pretty dramatic, she thought to herself.

"Slowing down..." Zealo said, making the Apollo break and fly at the slowest possible speed- without getting him killed by the explosions behind him. But still, it was about twenty miles an hour.

"YOLO!" Lightning Dust yelled at the last second, and jumped up. Her front hooves latched onto the back of Zealo's seat, and she swung up and into the co-pilot spot, her gravity boots latching on firmly to the floor.

Zealo punched the switch, the windshield sliding back on. Then he stomped on the accelerator, bombarding the unprepared Lightning Dust with an insane amount of g-force as the Apollo shot from twenty miles per hour to a hundred and fifty in point seven seconds.

There was a loud boom as they entered sonic speed, the line of light in front of them signaling the end of danger. Slowly it was coming closer and closer, the darkness retreating and fires behind them growing less bright in comparison to the sunlight outside.

The cruiser hulls whooshed by them on the top and bottom, and were getting increasingly close. Because Zealo had to slow down, they were much further back than where they should be- and much closer to the narrow end.

The two ends closed in, and the Apollo jerked violently as the top and bottom scraped along the metal hulls. Sparks were flying all over the place, loud mechanical groans echoing around inside the cockpit. There was a loud crack as part of the Apollo's outer hull gave way, the pressure crushing the turret hidden underneath it.

Then they hit open air, clear of the closing gap that most certainly would've crushed them.

The blue skies and fluffy clouds were a much more welcoming sight than they would've been, signaling the end of the few terrifying minutes inside a hazardous bombardment of everything that could've easily killed them. But they were alive, and boy- it was good to be alive.

Although, maybe a bit too alive- Lightning Dust thought as the pain was starting to slowly seep into her.

There was a loud boom as the second cruiser's engines failed, having to support the weight of two cruisers instead of only one. They fell, slowly tumbling down; and hit the water surface. A huge wave rippled outwards, then broke into a million little droplets; followed by more as the two cruisers sunk into the ocean. Large columns of smoke spanning kilometers in diameter were left in the air, slowly being pushed away by the ocean breeze.

"Huh. How about that- still no big boom." Lightning Dust said weakly. "Although, I think I'll name that one 'Titanic' and the other 'Concordia'."

"Worst. Pick up. Ever." Zealo said, flying the Apollo around and heading for ATLANTIS. He definitely needed some repairs on the plane, plus Lightning Dust needed immediate medical attention. "Also, that's just cruel."

"That was nice. Maybe we could get dinner together sometime, or something." Lightning Dust said, a little weakly and forced. The pain in her wounds really had a nasty sting.

"Haha- thanks for the offer, but I'm taken already." Zealo said, thinking back. His heart kind of dropped as he said that though- he hadn't seen Magnum since she was moved to work on the OASIS- and there were rumors floating around about her being dead on a mission to the barricade. He wasn't going to believe any of that until he has hard evidence- but it always unsettles him. Technically he wasn't going out with her at all, because none of them actually spoke up- but he could tell that they both could tell. He also thought about that other reality- oh, silly Magnum- shot me with a gun.

"Awww, really? What's the point of having good taste when everyone's taken? I'm still not quick enough, eh." Lightning Dust sighed, closing her eyes. Maybe she could go to sleep and ignore her injuries that way.

*

Val and Blithy had wreaked havoc across ATLANTIS, and now they were in the weapons storage room. There was smoke everywhere. A second ago Val had set off a full box of smoke grenades, now none of them could see anything.

"Blithy! Commander!" An officer and his squad came running towards Blithy. "Did you get Val?"

"Lost her. No idea where she is." Bltihy sighed, looking around. "Also, don't call me commander. I'm Blithy, egghead dumbarse the third-"

"SCREW YOU!" the real Blithy came leaping out of the smoke, and slammed fake Blithy across the face.

"It was worth it." Val said, getting up and rubbing her chin.

"There she is! Shoot her!!" the squad leader yelled, and put a bullet through Val's head.
"Hey!" Val yelled, irritated. She flicked out her palm, and in turn sent a bullet busting through the squad leader's skull.

"Leave them, Val!" Blithy yelled, swinging a punch at her evil self.

"What? He shot me, so I shot him back! It hurt!" Val complained, blocking the punch and kneeing Blithy in the stomach.

"Well it's about to hurt even more." Blithy said, grabbing Val's leg and flipping her head over heels. Val slammed back onto the ground face first, cracking the concrete floor.

"Buck you." she said, hooking an arm behind Blithy's back hooves and tripping her down.

"You guys! Retreat!" Blithy yelled at the squad. "And don't send anyone back here!"
"Brave little martyr are we?" Val grinned, getting up and launching a kick at Blithy's head.

Blithy was about to bring her arm up to block it, but Val shot her hoof and delayed it. Her kick connected with the side of Blithy's head, and she went flying across the room.

"Roughly five meters. About twenty below the record." Val estimated, peering into the smoke.

"I always hated that tooth anyway." Blithy muttered, spitting out a tooth and wiping the blood off her face. "Nice kick."

"Why thank you." Val said, a grin on her face as usual.

"Just need to work on the accuracy." Blithy said, rubbing her neck and readying for another round.

Author's Note

I swear I'm going to lose a bunch of favs because of the next chapter I'm currently writing. Unless of course you guys don't mind a death or five. Or eight. I don't know

Chapter 30: Ponyville

Vinyl had received an emergency call, and had head off somewhere to have it in private. She returned a moment later, a frown on her face. It had started raining quite heavily, and her usually spiky mane drooped down by her sides and stuck to her face. She shivered a little, but nothing of importance.

"Something wrong?" Rainbow asked. "Looking pretty heavy there."

"Got a big burden on my shoulders." Vinyl sighed. "And all of us here too. But especially you, Rainbow." she said, looking up. They were surrounded by trees of the Everfree, enough visual cover to keep them hidden from the barricade for the time being. Although, they did hear drop pods deploy within the kilometer.

"Me? What is this about?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"The war is about to officially start. They already have an operation to take down the barricade under way." Vinyl said. "But we need somepony to tell the ground troops to emerge from the underground. The barricade would act as a distraction, so the S.F. underground troops should be up on the surface and being used as reinforcements. We could take the surface while they do that. But as I said earlier, we need somepony to spread the word- and Spitfire specifically requested that you deliver the message."
Rainbow was silent for a second, and everyone turned their attention to her.

"Are you sure she's not referring to Silver here? Cause we're actually both called Rainbow." Rainbow said, patting her alternate self on the back.

"I don't think it matters. We're the same pony, just with different memories, is all." Silver said. "And since you're the one who is officially known as Rainbow here, you should deliver the speech."

"Wait wait wait, speech? You know I'm not good at those."

"Congratulations, you don't have a choice." Vinyl said, patting Rainbow on the shoulder and walking past her. "It was an order from Captain Spitfire. And in case I have to remind you, she is of the highest rank in the entire faction."

Rainbow felt the burden Vinyl was talking about now. It slammed down on her shoulders, and she felt like slumping down just from that weight. But she stood as if nothing was there. She knew the importance of this- it was more than a message, it was motivation. With positive motivation, this could very well win the war.

A war is fought in the heart as much as it is in flesh and blood, so the saying goes. Ponies must have the will to fight, and the more will they have- the more effort they'll put in.

"Fine." Rainbow said, nodding. "I'll do it. But I don't have any broadcast system."

"Haven does. That's why you'll be heading there." Vinyl said, transferring co-ordinates of Haven onto Rainbow's HUD.

"Wait- but what about the mission?" Octavia asked.

"Start the war, and everything will be weakened and distracted. Or so that's what Spitfire's thinking." Vinyl said. "I've given you the co-ordinates to Haven. But I won't be following you guys, I was originally supposed to investigate what the nuke was for. A nuke passed by Haven, scared the hell outta me I do admit. It hit Fillydelphia, but we have no idea why. We were sent in to investigate. Oh yes, which reminds me-" she pointed at the griffon, who none of them took notice despite his some-what enormous size. "That's Frostbite, and he'll be coming with me."

"Definitely has a nasty bite, I can tell you that." Silver whispered, and Rainbow tried her best not to snicker.

"Right. So we'll be heading to Haven, and probably never see you again. That's uh, nice." Octavia remarked, and the group plunged into silence.

"Don't sound so glum. We'll see each other again." Vinyl waved, walking off towards Fillydelphia with Frostbite behind her.

"Yeah, depends on where we see each other again." Rainbow sighed.

"I guess I'd better be off." Vinyl said, even though she was already walking away.

"Take care." Octavia said. "I really do hope I'll see you again, old roommate."

"Will do." Vinyl said, waving without turning around. The reason she didn't turn to look at them was because she wanted to hide that tear on her face. Science Faction troops were crawling all over the place, and she was likely not to return. But she'd rather die somewhere dark than right before her friend's eyes- ponies only live once, after all. One chance, and that's it. Also, seeing her friends might change her mind- and she didn't want that.

Rainbow noticed the sad expression on Octavia's face as Vinyl trotted off into the woods.

"Tavi. You alright there buddy?" she asked, the rain hammering the ground and forming puddles.

"Yeah. Just that... It was a short reunion." Octavia chuckled sadly, and Rainbow could tell that rain water weren't the only droplets sliding down her face.

She sighed. She knew what she was thinking- this might be the last time they see Vinyl.
In this new reality, every time they break eye contact could mean they'd never see each other again. And sometimes...

Rainbow thought back to Nightshade. Sometimes they get stolen away right before your eyes. She let out a deep sigh, looking out to the dark skies. Lightning shook the heavens violently, crackling across the dark clouds. Not a thread of sunlight shone through, not even an impression. Just dark, gloomy skies that reflected their mood. She let the rain drops pelt her face then slide down, felt the cold tingle on her skin compare to the warm fabric of her clothing. She looked back down, keeping all excess emotions off her face.

"Come on guys, let's go. We're wasting precious time." Rainbow said, turning away.
"Wait- what about her?" Babs gestured at Magnum.

"I'm going with them." Magnum said, her one functional eye settled on a goal only she could see. "They know who I am, who I was- at the moment, they know more about me than I do. I think I could use that. I need to know who I am." she said, the rain soaking the bandages wrapped around her wounds.

Rainbow nodded, and turned to Babs. "You can come too, if you want."

Babs shook her head, chuckling. "The forest has been my home for my whole darn life now, I think I'll stay."

"You sure? The science faction knows you're here now- they'll come looking for you, and I'm telling you now- the best thing that could happen to you is that they'll kill you."

Babs shook her head, and looked behind her at the forest. "You know... I've been living here, fifteen, maybe even twenty years- I lost count. This place is home now... And I really don't like leaving it. I feel like... Like the world outside is too big."

"Come on, Babs." Rainbow said, then smiled as she remembered something. Haven- ofcourse, the CMC. "Applebloom's at Haven. You know, she always tells me you're her favorite cousin- she'd be disappointed if you didn't turn up."

And she could tell that worked.

"Yeah, but I doubt you'd have enough space in your car for another extra pony, let alone two." Babs pointed out.

Rainbow shrugged. "Oh don't worry, we can just fit the fillies-"

*

"-In the trunk. Damnit sis." Dainty muttered, snuggling in the oddly roomy trunk of the black car.

"Oh, you'll be fine. Nothing too bumpy here." Rainbow said as she helped Lily in. She was a bit short to crawl in herself. "Besides, you two could sit up perfectly- and just call EDI if you need any help."

"Happy to be of assistance." EDI said- turns out there were speakers and microphones embedded almost everywhere. "I have drinks on board should you require any. Also, the trunk may be opened from the top on the inside, just behind the second row of seats. I could do that should it be more comfortable for you."

"Sis, I'm really starting to like EDI over you." Dainty said, giving Rainbow a some-what disapproving look.

"Oh come on- it's not my fault that you two are the only ones that could fit in the tr-"
"Hey!" both Dainty and Lily shouted a the same time.

"Alright, alright. My bad." Rainbow sighed, closing the trunk carefully and not slamming it down.

"Where to again, my friend?" Octavia asked.

"Haven- darn it, we have to cross the North Pole." Rainbow sighed, checking her HUD and getting into the car. Then she noticed something on the map, next to their current location. "Although, before that- I'd like to visit Ponyville first." she said, slamming the door shut.

Octavia looked nervously at Daring and Silver. They both nodded at her, telling her to do whatever. They knew why she was nervous about this- they all were. But they mustn't draw suspicion from Rainbow- or she'll insist. But best if they don't go at all- she'll give it a shot.

"Rainbow, we don't have time. We need to get to Haven ASAP." Octavia said, shifting the gear.

"But it's right there, won't hurt to have a look-see." Rainbow moaned.

"But Rainbow, didn't you hear that the operation was already under way? Who knows when we'll even reach the north pole! We need to go n-"

"Please, Tavi." Rainbow said, and Octavia noticed that she was looking down at the ground- she could tell they were concentrated on something far away.

She knew vaguely that Ponyville was Rainbow's home. She would understand it if she wanted to have a look around, and she could very much say the same for herself when it comes to Canterlot. She took in a deep breath, and changed the designated location in the GPS.

"Alright." she said, nodding. "One stop though, make it quick."

"I will." Rainbow said, smiling. It wasn't exactly a happy one though. "And thanks for understanding, Tavi."

Not many words were exchanged as they drove to Ponyville. Considering it was within easy walking distance, they got there pretty quick.

"So this is it, huh..." Rainbow whispered as she stepped out of the car. The rain had faded into nothing but a faint drizzle, but it was still quite chilly.

The big sign that often welcomed good folks into Ponyville was hanging on one hinge, tangled there by vines and squeaking as the wind slowly rocks it back and forth. The metal on it was corroded, worn away and rusty; a clear layer of brown over what was a beautiful black paint job. It would've been welcoming, to see something familiar- but in its current form, it didn't feel like Rainbow was being welcomed into Ponyville. She felt like she was being welcomed into something completely alien, yet so familiar. She couldn't see much further than the first row of buildings, all damaged and... Oddly, grey.

She looked around at what was home with sad eyes- oh, how she wasted so much of her life. Living in Manehatten, not ever to return home- now she could see how foolish she was to try and drive a barrier between her and here. It was pointless- and now there was a barrier between them, but not driven by her- driven by the events of this new reality. She whimpered as she realized she'd never be able to go back to that colorful, vibrant Ponyville again- and all she was left with was this big radiation hazard.

She took a deep breath, and started walking into Ponyville.

"Rainbow! Where are you going!? Come back! We have to leave now!" she heard Octavia yell after her, but she didn't stop.

Then she heard several doors open, then slam shut with loud bangs. She heard hoofsteps follow her, then slow down as Daring, Octavia and Silver approached.

"You guys should go look after those two and the fillies." Rainbow said, not looking at them but at everything around her. Familiar, yet alien. Sad, and not homelike at all.

"EDI can look after them." Octavia said. "To be perfectly honest, all of us should be here with you right now."

"I don't need protecting- the science faction isn't here. I can defend myself."

"We're not here to protect you from the science faction." Octavia narrowed her eyes, laying a hoof on her shoulder. "We're here to protect you from yourself."

Rainbow stopped, rainwater dripping down her coat and hat. She peered back a little, those purple irises bright in the grey.

"I can handle myself." she said, walking onwards and casting gazes around at her surroundings.

She spotted a familiar building, one of the few that she visited often.

"Carousel Boutique..." Rainbow sighed, casting a sad gaze at the tent like structure. The walls were ripped, and the structure almost unrecognizable- but she lived here. She knew that building. She chuckled sadly when she thought of what Rarity's reaction might be to her now filthy fashion shop.

They walked onwards, soon coming to a large tree.

"I wonder if all of Twilight's books are still here." she mumbled to herself as she approached. Half of it was missing, blown apart by some sort of bomb. The branches were empty, not a single green leaf in sight. Windows were shattered, metal frames buckled. It was nothing like she remembered it to be.

There was a big bomb crater where Sugarcube corner should've been. She could still find traces of it though, grayed traces of pink and white and chocolate brown. All nothing but shattered and broken pieces in the bomb crater that was about five meters deep. A good chunk of the buildings next to it was missing too, simply wiped out of existence.

Rainbow sighed, and moved on.

"I loved the cupcakes Pinkie makes." she said to no one in particular as they followed her through Ponyville. "Sugarcube corner was one of the best places to go to in Ponyville."

"Rainbow, we should really be heading back-" Octavia started, but Rainbow shushed her.

"Just a little longer." she said.

Octavia cast the other two a worried glance- and they returned a calmer gaze. As long as Rainbow doesn't go to the monument...

"You know- they used to make the best cider here." Rainbow said, looking out towards the fields and fields of nothing but tree branches.

Sweet Apple Acres was nothing but a wasteland in itself, the old bright red barn with its paint peeled off and sitting like an eye witness to all this horror on top of one of the hills. Since the trees had been cleared, she could even see a small dot in the distance- the Cutie Mark Crusaders' Club House, Scootaloo had taken her there for a little look around once. But that was after she sneaked in for a peak during one of their RD fan club meetings.

She shook her head. So many memories, now must be altered. "Did I ever tell you about the times when Pinkie would take all the cider? I used to be unable to even get a drop at all." she chuckled sadly, trying to lighten the mood. But it only ended up sending more stalks through her weakening heart.

They walked past town hall- it had never been so broken since Derpy's accident. The roof was caved in, the support beams crushed and lying in pieces. The walls had holes in them, revealing some of the metal internal structures used to support it. Bits of wood lay everywhere, and by the looks of it- the interior was even worse.

Then she remembered something- her vision, with Fluttershy and all. When they were in the sewers of Fillydelphia.

She quickly rushed to the Cottage, with Octavia and the others calling after her- but she didn't stop.

She kicked down the door, huffing and puffing. She cast crazed gazes around the room, but found nothing but bones of animals that used to be under Fluttershy's care. Her heart fell as she found no trace of the shy pegasus- she had no idea what she had hoped for.

"Rainbow..." Octavia said softly. "We should really go now." she placed a firm hoof on her shoulder, pulling her around so she faced her. "You're losing yourself. If this goes on you're going to go insane. This isn't good for any of us- plus you've got a big speech on your hooves. This war very well may depend on you-" she said, and grabbed Rainbow by the shoulders and shook them. "We need you. Not just us, Equestria needs you. If we win, we might just be able to restore everything back to normal eventually. But if we don't- we won't even get the chance. Think about who did this- think about who caused all this blood shed, all this pain."

Rainbow nodded.

"You know what to do, right? We have to go. Before you get trapped." Octavia said, her expression showing genuine concern. "It pains us to see you like this. But I'm sorry- we really have to go now."

"Alright, alright..." Rainbow said, feeling heavily tired and her eyelids drooping. She walked past Octavia, stumbling towards the black car- then she noticed something in the sky. Something that was never there before, and should never be there.

It was a huge stone needle, shooting straight up from the center of Ponyville and up to the sky. It shone in the darkness, catching the only glimpses of sunlight through the dark clouds and casting them out as reflections. It looked like some sort of monument, standing tall above all else and clearly visible.

"Hold on.... Let me just see one last thing." Rainbow said, not taking her gaze away from the needle. "I need to know what that is."

"We don't have the time Rainbow- you're sinking in too deep into your own memories. You gotta let them go!" this time it was Silver. "I knew what happened here. I saw it happen. Nothing could've stopped it. So stop looking around and thinking about what could've gone right- because things of the past can't be changed at this stage anymore."

But Rainbow refused to listen.

The three cast each other worried glances behind her back- this was bad, really bad.

Author's Note

30 chapters, and over 100,000 words long at this point. Come on guys, we're almost at the end. I think. Dangit, the war hasn't even started

Chapter 31: Sky Fire

"I'm sorry, but you do not have permission to leave the barricade. It is currently under lock down, we got intruders earlier, and so-" the guard started, but Neon snapped his neck before he could finish.

"Just get to the ship." she said, marching towards the drop ship. "Spitfire, we might need some reinforcements to cover our escape."

"Gotcha." Spitfire said, and waved a hoof behind her. "Dispatch a squad of Strikers. Go on. Send in the ILLUSION, I want to give them a bit more than just a squad. Neon, fly straight aboard the ILLUSION. I think I want to keep my cover for just a wee bit longer."

"Copy that. You lot! Cadets- get aboard now!" Neon yelled, waving them towards the ship.

"STOP!!" somepony yelled, coming out from one of the sliding doors in the barricade.

"Shuck. They're onto us!" Asty yelled, pulling out her pistol and firing a laser bolt into the guard's chest. He went flying back with a burst of sparks, and shouts came out of the door.

"Pilot. Take us away." Neon said, hopping in.

"Don't have to tell me twice." the pilot sighed, and the drop ship started lifting off the ground.

"STOP THEM!!" the guards yelled, and started shooting lasers at them.

"Return fire." Neon said, then walked into the cockpit. She flicked off some safety switches, and fired two missiles into the gates keeping them in.

The gates blew apart, and instantly everything inside was sucked out into the vacuum of space.

Chunks of metal, repair tools, stands, guards, and whatever else was in the docking gate came flying with a small explosion, out into the vast emptiness of space. The ship came tumbling out, and everyone on board struggled to hold on. Obviously except for Neon.

"Take us away pilot. But stay close to the barricade until everything goes off- we'll need the cover from the cruisers in the mean time." Neon said, walking back into the passenger's compartment. She reached up, and pulled down two manual turrets on either side. "Mare the turrets. We need as much defense as possible. I'll be in the cockpit, call me if you need help."

"Yes ma'am!" the cadets saluted.

"Drop the ma'am. I don't even have a proper rank." Neon said, taking the co-pilot seat.

"Strikers being deployed across the barricade." the pilot said, pointing at about ten red dots that suddenly appeared on their radar. He pushed the lever forward, and the ship's engines flared as they boosted forward.

The Strikers followed them, engines blazing.

"Weave through and try to lose them in the barricade. Fly close." Neon said.

"Gotcha." the pilot said, bringing the drop ship down and flying next to the barricade. Rows and rows of turrets flew by them on the side, glowing windows becoming streaks of light with their speed.

"Watch it. Here they come." Rig said, pointing his rifle in the direction of the Strikers.

"Contact ahead!" Neon yelled, a separate group of Strikers flying in from a different section of the barricade.

"Nice little sandwich we got here." Asty muttered, turning the turret.

Neon flicked a few switches, launching missiles into the group ahead of them. They exploded with bright puffs of flames, flying out of the smoke clouds in pieces. Some still made it though, and weaved through the line of missiles. They fired their own, but Asty and Inkie shot them down with the turrets before they could hit.

"Change sides." Neon said, tapping the window on the right.

"Moving." the pilot said, sending the ship into a low dip. It dropped down below the barricade, then moved right across. It flew back up again, along the other side of the arm.

The Strikers followed, arching high over the barricade and flipping back down again, smoky white trails following their blazing engines. They weren't in the dark confinements of space anymore- there were in the atmosphere. Above them was the darkness of infinite space, and below them were the faded blue skies of the Equestrian wastelands.

Bullets whizzed past the ship- the Strikers were open firing.

"We're not going to make it far like this!" Asty warned, sending streams of glowing bullets back at their enemies.

"Change arms." Neon said, and the pilot turned the ship slightly to the right. They flew past a blazing barricade engine, and proceeded to fly along a different length.

Suddenly a separate stream of bullets came down from above, and ripped right down the center of a Striker. It caught fire, and tumbled down to the surface with pieces still coming off. Then it blew apart into several bits, falling down to the abyss below.

"What the hay..?" Asty looked up.

"Hold your fire! What's gotten into you!?" one of the Striker pilots yelled.

"Sorry mate, but this is a conspiracy." Cloudchaser yawned, leading her squad of Apollos down behind the other group. "Nothing personal here."

The magic faction didn't have any Strikers. They all had Apollos, however painted to look like Strikers as to avoid suspicion. Only upon closer inspection can the difference be told- but to prevent friendly fire, all M.F. Units would be highlighted green on each other's HUDs.

The leading Striker suddenly turned around and flew backwards, then sent a missile into the nose of an Apollo. It was torn down the center, the front caved it. Then the missile blew apart, taking the Apollo with it.

"Alright. NOW it's personal." Cloudchasee muttered, rolling out of the way of another missile. She sent streaks of bullets tearing through the Striker's left engine, destabilizing it. It started tumbling uncontrollably, then abruptly curved to the right and slammed into another Striker. Both went down in pieces.

"To the right." Neon pointed.

The pilot made the ship arch right, swinging around an engine and continuing on next to a different length.

"We shouldn't be too far away." the pilot said, checking the radar. The ILLUSION should be the cruiser to pick them up, and it was nearby.

"Stay in one piece until then." Neon said. "Oh yes, pilot. Didn't quite catch your name?"
"Thunderlane, ma'am."

"Good to have you as our pilot, Thunderlane." Neon said, patting him on the back.

"Ooh, close one." Cloudchaser muttered as a missile grazed her left engines, drawing sparks but failing to detonate. "Incoming missile!"

"Noted." Thunderlane saw the flashing red indicator on his HUD. "Everypony in the back, stay down!"

"Wait, what?" Asty raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly Thunderlane turned the ship sideways, and the cadets almost tumbled off the side. The missile came flying towards them, a glowing bright dot quickly approaching with a smoke trail behind it. It flew into the ship passenger compartment, and the cadets felt the air pressure change.

Asty was in the way, and Inkie quickly swiped her hooves out from underneath her. She fell backwards, the missile grazing her nose as she fell. Then the missile exited through the other side, leaving the cadets to wave off the smoke.

"HOLY CRAP!!" Asty exclaimed, getting back to her hooves.

Suddenly the Strikers deployed their breaks, almost stopping completely in mid air. They slipped past and behind the Apollos, and started open firing again.

"Asty! How long till detonation?" Rig asked.

"About.... Oh shuck. TWELVE SECONDS!!" Asty screamed.

"Well. You know what to do Thunderlane." Neon sighed. "All Magic Faction units, retreat from the barricade. Demolition imminent- begin count down. Ten seconds!"

"Damn, my hooves are sweating." Thunderlane rubbed his hooves together, trying to clear off the water.

"Copy." Cloudchaser said, weaving through lines of bullets. There was a Striker on her tail, and was getting quite irritating.

She back-flipped, and at the half way point squeezed the trigger. A prism beam ripped right down the center of the Striker, just behind the cockpit. The intense heat from the beam instantly set the metal on fire, and melted the parts that came in direct contact almost immediately.

A small spot popped out of the cockpit- an ejector seat.

"Oh no you don't..." Cloudchaser muttered, swinging the plane around in an arch, the engines screaming with effort. She sent a prism beam straight through the pilot- probably vaporized him. Quite painless, not very punishing. But brutal, yes. "That's for all the pain you've caused us over the years."

She brought the Apollo back around, and shot forwards as a loud bang echoed off into space from the engines.

"Follow tight Apollos. About to get bumpy." she said, the count down ticking to three.

"Pull away from the barricade!" Rig warned as Asty tore off a Striker's right engine with a line of bullets from the turret.

"Doing my best. Come on, old bucket." Thunderlane slammed a hoof on the ship.

They were flying alongside one of its arms, gaining altitude fast as they aimed for space.

"Ooh, pressure change." Asty muttered as her skin tingled beneath her suit and helmet.

They left the atmosphere, traveling away from the barricade. It shimmered in the darkness below them, still as ever as the lock down was still in place.

It was like a huge net cast over Earth, there to restrain and organize in its own way. A tyrant, a symbol of power. An oppressing power, restraining and enslaving all below it. And now... Rig counted the seconds down to its destruction.

"Two... One." he breathed, looking out the side of the ship and watching the barricade.

At first there was nothing, but then one of its arms blew apart, followed by many more. The cubic-kilometer sized chunks floated out to space, flaming and still having explosions ripping and tearing through them. Then another arm, an engine, another arm... Slowly, the barricade began ripping itself apart.

Hundreds, maybe even thousands of years of tyranny, of rule- a symbol of power, a constant reminder of the power of Science, slowly tearing itself into pieces and floating out into the infinite abyss.

One of its fireballs reached out to the ship, but fell short. The ship was well clear of the explosions.

It looked like the entire earth was set on fire. Blowing up in flames. There would be one of particular large size every time the explosions reached an engine, going up in a fiery bright yellow flash. From this distance, they could even see the shockwaves sweeping across the mechanical monstrosity in the form of pulverized dust and debris.

"WOOOHOOO!! THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!!" Rig screamed, punching the air. Everypony on board felt the same way. Asty was laughing, Thunderlane clapping his hooves loudly with a huge grin on his face. Inkie and Blinkie at least had smiles on their faces as they watched revenge burn their enemies into oblivion.

And Neon was just Neon.

"Those Strikers and our Apollos also made it. Careful- we're not completely out of danger yet."

"Really? No congratulations?" Rig asked.

"Congratulations." Neon said.

"GOOD WORK!!" Cloudchaser yelled. "SHOW THOSE MOTHER BUCKERS!!!"
She weaved through the Strikers, beating them down with prism beams and hammering them with missiles.

"This is the M.F. ILLUSION. Proceed to gate 45." a voice said through the mic.

"Copy. Negative on visual contact." Thunderlane said, flicking a few switches and heading to the marked location- but it was empty space.

"Good." the voice said, and he frowned.

Neon nodded some confidence into him, and pointed to the marked location. He shrugged, and proceeded.

"PROTECT THE SHIP AT ALL COSTS!!" Cloudchaser yelled, flying backwards right next to the ship and fending off the Strikers, the rest of her squad moving in from the sides.

"Reinforcements! Two squadrons!" Thunderlane announced, checking his radar.

Then suddenly a huge prism cannon beam tore through the Strikers, instantly reducing their numbers by forty percent.

"M.F. ILLUSION, proceed to dock." the voice said again, and suddenly the empty space in front of them rippled.

Huge waves of matter formed a huge disc, wavering gently and rippling through space. Then a huge cruiser emerged, all guns blazing at the Strikers.

"Ooh, I see." Thunderlane said with a laugh. "A camouflaged cruiser, eh..."

"First one ever made. Welcome aboard." the voice said, and he proceeded to the dock.

"Come on Apollos! Let's finish these bastards off and refuel!" Cloudchaser yelled and swung the plane back around.

Some of them tried to retreat, but failed to escape the huge prism cannons of the ILLUSION. Even the explosions they caused seemed insignificant compared to the multi-colored beams.

"Apollos, retreat. Level ten debris alert right there." the ILLUSION's commander said- and he was right. The flaming debris of the barricade was drifting out of the atmosphere from the blasts as predicted, but now created a highly hazardous and expanding debris field around the Earth's orbit.

"All units! Retreat from orbit. It's too dangerous." Cloudchaser said, pulling the Apollo back around and boosting towards the ILLUSION.

"Going back to cloak in ten minutes." the commander said. "Hurry!"

*

Scootaloo saw something out of the corner of her eye, and yanked on the scooter. Gravity generators kicked in as the breaks stopped the wheels. She held onto her scooter, still a few hundred meters above ground level and standing almost horizontally. She turned around and looked out to the sky- and saw something she thought might as well would've been a dream.

The barricade shimmered in the distance, explosions sparkling across its dark metal mass.

Her mouth lay slightly agape as she stared with dreamy eyes. It was like defying the laws of physics to her. It was impossible. She grew up in this reality, knowing the barricade would be there forever. Would be a force that would forever oppress everyone beneath it forever. She learned to avoid it, to keep away. And now- it was gone, blown to pieces and drifting away into space.

She could feel the silence as Haven came to a stand still, the ponies all coming out to watch as the barricade was finally removed after over a thousand years.

Then cheering came, from one loud whistle that echoed across the city to an entire celebration. Ponies cheered, screamed, punched at the air; knowing they were one big step closer to freedom. It has been a long fight, and the greatest super power of their enemies has just been destroyed.

Scootaloo could feel the earth shake with the joyous pounding of hooves. Then the shockwaves came down, cold shivers of disrupted air that added to the excitement.

She smiled. How very unexpected. In many ways, it was still unreal; even if it were happening right before her eyes. It was quite the sight.

*

"What's with all the ruckus?" Applebloom asked, standing up from her office chair and turning around to face the glass wall. What she saw was not what she expected.

"It would seem that the barricade has just been... Destroyed." her AI said.

She chuckled, looking down at mane street Haven. It was crowded with ponies, all cheering and almost screaming.

"Funny how things turn out, right?" she said with a smile. "Oh, how very tricky we are."
"Correct. Not only have we proven ourselves a worthy enemy, but a very powerful one too." the AI said.

"Correct you are, my dear." Applebloom said with a grin, turning away from the window. She was about to open the fridge, when she realized it was one of those bio-fridges she designed. Even she needed getting used to. "And you know what? Since everypony else is celebrating- why don't I as well? Time to open that old bottle of apple cider I always wanted to open." she laughed, pulling out an eighty year old bottle.

"After a quick Internet search, it would seem age old alcoholic beverages are much 'better' than old ones. I cannot define 'better' in this context."

"Well, you need a software update." Applebloom said, taking a sip and savoring it. Oh, how she missed that taste. "Also, start giving out confetti cannons to the citizens."

*

The silver-maned earth pony dug her hooves into an open window's frame and hung there, on the side of the CMC HQ building. She could see that Scootaloo had stopped too, and looked up.

The normally blue skies had been lit completely orange- the sky was on fire. She took a closer look- it was the barricade, burning away and blowing into pieces.

"Katana- you seeing this?" Applebloom called.

"Yeah. Quite wonderful." she replied, looking out to the horizon.

"Get Scoots and come to my office. Got some celebratory drinks to open."

"I'll be on my way." Katana said, but still stayed there for a moment. This was quite a situation to be in- our freedom, and their deaths. Who knows how many were up there? Thousands, maybe even millions of lives- built up over tens of years, coming down in flames in under half an hour. Quite sad now that she came to think about it that way- but no one saw the barricade that way. Everyone saw it as a menacing electric net, and once you touch it you cease to exist. Although in Magic's defense, Science has killed far too many of ours too. Way too many.

Nightshade once said that war was just a long game of survival. She found that true in many ways- day by day you'll never know when you might die. Maybe you think you're safely aboard a starship that was the largest ever created, with fully functional weaponry and state-of-the-art equipment- but then, in just a few minutes.... All goes to trash.

*

Vinyl looked up as she felt a cold gust of wind sweep over her, followed by distant and echoing bangs and booms. She stared at the sky for she didn't know how long- it happened so suddenly. She barely believed her own eyes.

The barricade was being taken down, defeated.

"This is quite remarkable." Frostbite said.

"I should say so myself." Vinyl looked down again, because her neck was starting to hurt. "And glad I'm not hallucinating."

"Of course not. It would seem the operation is successful- we better get on with ours. War is starting, and best if we get back to Haven as soon as possible." Frostbite said, and Vinyl heard him slowly walk away and towards Fillydelphia.

She let out a sigh. Griffons.

"Coming." she said, and followed.

*

There was a loud crash as Val sent Blithy through some crates.

"Dear oh dear, am I getting old." Val muttered, hammering her leg back into the hip joint. She may have kicked Blithy a bit too hard, that it caused some excess damage. But instead of finding Blithy in pain, she saw that hint of a smile on her face mixed with severe pain as she tried to get up.

"Ouch." she said finally, and burst out laughing.

"This is a nice change." Val tilted her head to one side. Usually she was the one with the psychotic laughter. "So. What's so funny?"

"Oh, it won't be funny for you." Blithy said, and laughed even harder. "Oh my dear evil self- why did you have to come down here and fight me?"

Slowly a frown crept onto her face.

"Here, take a look at this." Blithy said, her wounds healing. Her robotic eye glowed, and cast up a projection image.

Val froze when she noticed what all the jumbled pixels were conveying. Slowly her eyes adjusted to the image, and she saw the barricade in flames.

"I can't believe it!" Blithy laughed. "You were gone for just a moment! And then... And then... BAHAHA!!" she retracted the image.

Val didn't speak. Her eyes were hidden in the shadow of her mane.

Ooh, boy was this bad- Blithy thought. Val was a very formidable opponent and quite destructive when she was cheerful- like a few minutes ago. But now that she was angry- and very much so at that- she did not want to find out what she would be like.

"You know, I could almost see the fury burning off of you." she said. Because, she was probably gonna unleash her wrath on her anyway; so why not add a bit of extra taunting?

"Damn you, Spitfire... Striking when I'm away." Val muttered, cracking her fist loudly as she stormed towards Blithy. "Sneaky bastard. But I'll be back in the command center soon- and all of you will pay."

"We'll see about that-" Blithy said, swinging a punch at Val's face.

Val didn't even block it. She kind of did, but with a bone-splintering fist. Their metal knuckles met, and the heavy shock traveled all the way into the ground and even cracked the concrete. Val stood where she was, back hooves digging into the ground while Blithy went flying across the storage room.

A loud crash echoed off the walls as she went straight through the corrugated iron wall of a cargo container like it was paper.

"AAAAH, my back." she muttered, grinding her teeth and snapping her spine back to the right position.

Then suddenly the entire city shook. The two mares looked out the big glass walls, and saw a huge dark mass with bright lights on it coming down on the city.

"Are those.... Cruisers...?" Val raised an eyebrow. "My bucking idiot little minions. Can't do anything right." she muttered, her mood worse than ever.

The city shook again, quite violently. Both of them toppled over and fell on the ground as the cruisers hit ATLANTIS, crushing the city under the immense weight. Val and Blithy were on the far east wing, and besides- only a quarter of the city was being crushed. The civilians were probably out of that sector by now. Although, it would affect the systems.

"We've lost contact with the gamma sector!!" the radio operator yelled.

"Shuck. The power generators!" Blithy exclaimed.

There was a loud boom, and the ground shook so violently that it literally threw them into the air. The dark depths of the Atlantic were instantly lit up as the super generators that were powering the entire city were crushed under mega-tons of metal. Then the electric shock from the impact changed the bright orange to a frightening blue, then back to orange again as the sparks lit the fuel reserves of the cruisers. Thousands and thousands of tons of fuel, lit up in an instant in a confined environment.

The resulting explosion split the city in half, ripping the sea bed. Then the shockwave reached Blithy and Val, tearing through the walls and ripping the containers inside open. They both fell back, and tumbled several meters before resting against the far wall.

The bright lights that once lit up the city shut off, the city plunging into darkness. Then red emergency evacuation lights turned on, much dimmer and making things harder to see. They ran on reserve power, which means the doors should still be functional. The place was filling up with water too, and was quickly becoming a watery grave.

"Let's get this over and done with." Val said, making loud splashes as she stormed through the ankle-deep water.

Blithy stood up, sea water soaking her mane and dripping off her arms.

"Ma'am! City wide evacuation is COMPLETE!!" somepony yelled as the emergency doors slid open, and a squad of troopers walked in.

"I thought I told you no reinforcements!!" Blithy yelled.

"The evac is complete ma'am." the trooper repeated. "We're staying to fight. We need to see the commander out of this."

"She'll be leaving here with me." Val said, flicking her wrist. A knife popped out, and she grabbed it.

"We won't let you." the squad ran forward, surrounding Blithy and protecting her.

"Listen trooper- none of you stand a chance against her!" Blithy yelled. "Retreat immediately! That's an order!"

"Denied, commander." the trooper said.

"Damnit- you idiots! She's ME! Only I can defeat ME!"

"We would never associate you with scum of such, commander." the trooper said, narrowing his eyes. "And neither should you."

That shut Blithy up. She didn't know how to respond to that. Even worse, she had no idea how to win. But she will be fighting until she goes down, and everyone else was thinking the same.

"I wonder where MY loyal subordinate is." Val muttered, then a sliding door hissed open behind her. "Ah, there you are. Is it done?"

"Yes." Eclipse said, walking into the room and throwing a soldier's dead body aside. She walked up beside Val, looking at Blithy and the troopers with bored but cold eyes. "So is this your alternate self? Doesn't seem all that... Intimidating."

Blithy flinched a little at the light coming from the pair's eyes. They looked like they were looking down on her and her troops, like nothing but looking down on an earth worm. Just an insect to be flicked off out of annoyance. Sometimes she wonders what would ever stop them.

She flicked her right wrist, a knife popping out. There was a click as two muzzles emerged from her left palm. Clicks echoed all around her as the squadron readied their rifles and secondary weapons.

Val cracked her wrists loudly, her expression without any of that playfulness that was there earlier. Cold, merciless eyes that centered down on her target glimmered in the dim light.

Eclipse brought a hoof up, a large glowing orange knife appearing out of thin air and attaching itself to her hoof.

In the background they could hear the sea water pouring in through gaps in the walls, the water dark at their hooves.

"I'm going after Blithy. Deal with the troopers. Take them out however you want- efficiency isn't a key here." Val said, bringing her knife up and ready for battle. "The commander is MINE."

Chapter 32: Lost Sights

"Rainbow! We need to leave!" Octavia said, quickly catching up to her friend.

"Tavi- listen, just this one last thing. I promise." Rainbow stopped and turned around, determination in her eyes.

"It's best for the both of us if you don't see what lies ahead!" Octavia was growing desperate now. "Please! Rainbow, stop."

Rainbow shook her head, then turned and walked on; her hoof steps making loud crunches as she walked through Ponyville. "Sorry... I can't."

"WE." Octavia grabbed Rainbow by the shoulder. "HAVE." she pulled her back around. "TO." she slammed her hard on the shoulders, in an attempt to wake her up. "LEAVE!"

They stared into each other's eyes, one purple and the other rose. Both determined in their own purpose, one concerned and the other tired.

Then Rainbow narrowed her eyes.

"What are you hiding, Tavi?" she breathed, an odd glint in her eyes.

Octavia froze, and Rainbow turned away and started walking towards the needle again.

"I-I'm not hiding anything! It's just that we don't have time!" she yelled after Rainbow, who was picking up the pace.

"I've been with you for over ten years now- and I know it when you're hiding something. You act all worried." Rainbow said, tilting her head slightly. A ray of sunlight shone through the dark clouds and reflected off of her bright rose irises.

Octavia shook her head, then started jogging after Rainbow. She walked with long strides alongside her friend, some-what in a panic.

"We don't have time!" she exclaimed, and grabbed Rainbow.

Rainbow batted her arms down, and grabbed her shoulder. She pressed an elbow against Octavia's chin.

"WHAT. ARE. YOU. HIDING!!??" she yelled, her face contorted in anger. Then she realized what she had done- she didn't mean to hurt Octavia. She quickly let go, and started storming in the direction of the needle again. Rows and rows of old destroyed hay houses slid past her as she walked on in long strides, slowly building up to something she didn't know. "You can't stop me from finding out."

"I can't- but WE can. STOP HER!!" she heard Octavia yell, and several sets of hooves ran towards her.

Rainbow whipped out her cleaver, activating it with a loud crack as all the pieces clanged into place. She turned around, and knocked Silver's cleaved away. She kicked Daring back, but then took a fist to the stomach as Octavia charged through.

The rain continued pouring, harder than ever. Puddles of it were forming on the ground, mud puddles being splashed around as the fight between friends continued.

Rainbow re-pocketed the cleaver, and swung a fist at Octavia. Octavia blocked it with an elbow, then kicked Rainbow in the shin.

Rainbow fell over, splashing into a mud puddle. Octavia came back again and was about to punch her, but she slammed a hoof into the puddle and sent mud water into Octavia's eyes. She instinctively stumbled back, giving Rainbow time to get up.

"Do you really want to do this!?" she yelled as Octavia cleared her eyes.

"I'll do whatever it takes." Octavia said, breathing hard. Puffs of steam came out of her nostrils in the cold air.

Rainbow clenched her jaw in defiance, then turned around and started running towards the needle.

There was a loud whoosh and sonic boom, and Silver tackled her across the road from the side. They went flying through the old rotten wall of a house, crashing through the furniture inside and out the other wall. Silver stretched out her wings and skid to a halt, while Rainbow tumbled across the rough stone ground and hit her back on the far wall of another house. It collapsed, and she fell through and lay in the piles of hay. There was a cut on her cheek, oozing crimson down her face as she stood up. The rain continued falling down and pelting them both, the blood on their wounds being slowly washed away and reduced to a dim pink.

"So you two are going to stand in my way too..?" Rainbow muttered, shaking her head as Daring walked up beside Silver.

"Just come with us now Rainbow- it's not like any of us want this. It's for your own good, and your own sanity." Daring said, pulling out her whip.

"I'm going to find out what you're hiding." Rainbow narrowed her eyes, and with a loud click drew her cleaver. "And none of you are going to stop me."

"If it must be this way, then." Silver said, a loud metallic clang echoing across the town as she deployed her own cleaver.

Rainbow steadied her cleaver, back flipped into the wall behind her and kicked off, her wings beating against the air.

Silver brought the cleaver up, ready to block the strike.

There was a loud boom as Rainbow entered sonic speed, but just as the cleavers were about to meet Rainbow retracted hers.

Silver felt Rainbow zoom right past her, the pressure suddenly changing around her as if a huge cannon ball had just shot past her.

Rainbow never had any intention of engaging them. She just needed to find out whatever it is they were hiding- and for whatever reason.

She zoomed through the house they smashed earlier, and flew up into the sky. Then she arched back down again and hit the ground, her hooves skidding on the slippery smooth stones. She came to a halt, the rainwater on her being flung out into the air and onto the floor.

"THERE SHE IS! SHE'S ALMOST THERE- STOP HER!!!!" Octavia yelled, and Rainbow started running.

She was running down the right street- she could see the needle up ahead, surrounded by an old metal fence. There was a sign above the gates that led into a small open area inside, but Rainbow was too concentrated on getting there to read it.

She kept sprinting, the rain water pelting her face and adrenaline pumping through her body. She had no idea what she might find- but it's probably something big if her friends are trying that hard to stop her.

She could hear the hoofsteps behind her, desperately trying to catch up. Her own hoofsteps echoed all over the dead silent town, a constant rhythm pounding against her heart as her hooves slammed against the stone ground again and again.

There was a splash as she stepped in a puddle, the water expanding outwards then breaking up into individual droplets.

The gates drew closer and closer. She could see more detail now. Then the sign was towering above her, a metal frame with nothing else to it but vines that creeped along the edges.

She stopped, looking up and peering through the rain.

It was quite hard to read the sign. She noticed that her friends had given up pursuing her, because she could no longer hear their hoofsteps. She stared at the sign, trying to read it.

Portions of it had rusted away, or been consumed by vines. Not much was left of it, probably all eaten away by the wind and rain and harsh weathers of a wasteland.

Rainbow's eyes widened when she finished reading it. Everything went silent as the meaning of the sign registered in her brain- she could no longer hear the rain pelting against the stone floors, and her vision started blurring on the edges. She entered a some-what dreamy state, unbelieving of reality and its secrets.

She knew what the sign meant. She just failed to believe it. She simply couldn't bring herself to believe it- because if it was what she thought it was, then all this fighting would've been for nothing. All her time in Manehatten, she would've been protecting nothing.

Slowly she felt things she had long forgotten collapse, friendships she had- her old best friends, bonds breaking and crumbling in her heart and falling to her hooves.

She looked down from the sign. The one sign that was breaking her, tearing her apart. Maybe words are more powerful in many ways. Still those words lingered in her brain as she walked past the ghostly sign, pushing open the gates. They creaked, but she barely heard it as she walked under the sign that said 'Grave of Harmony'.

"No... What the hell..." she slowly trotted towards the needle in the center of the weed-ridden clearing. The needle was more like a monument, and as she got closer she noticed it had carvings on its four surfaces. It was about a meter wide, growing narrower as it pointed to the stormy skies.

The clearing was made of the same stone, grey and indifferent. Small patches of faded yellow and green could be seen here and there as grass busted their way through the stone bricks.

Rainbow walked up to the monument, her heart cold and torn. "Please don't tell me... Please... No..." she stared at the carvings on the monument.

This wasn't a monument- it was just a big tombstone. Those weren't carvings, but rows upon rows of names.

And in the center, highlighted in iconic colors, were the names she had spent her life protecting all along. And yet here she was, defeated and drowned. It had all been for nothing.

"Twilight... Pinkie... Rarity..." Rainbow collapsed on the ground, her tears merging with the rain pouring down her face, she curled up into a small ball. She couldn't read on anymore. There were hundreds of other names on the tombstone, all of which she had never heard of.

She had lost her purpose. She no longer knew why she was here. To protect her friends? But they're already dead. Then why was she still here? Why was she the one who was alive?

She pounded the floor, crying her heart out. She pressed her face against the tombstone, tears drifting down her face.

"No... This can't be... It just can't..." she cried. "WHAT THE HELL!!" she screamed, slamming a hoof into the tombstone and chipping the edge.

She continued sobbing, for how long she didn't know. But for a very long time.

Octavia and the others stood by, watching Rainbow struggle in her own pain. They tried to stop her... They really did. But now it was too late- she had seen it.

"How... How long... Have you all known...?" Rainbow managed between breaths and sobs, tears still streaming down her face. "You... All... Knew... All along?"

Octavia had her eyes lowered, unable to meet Rainbow's pleading ones. It just wasn't possible for her.

"Please... Please tell me this isn't what I think it is... Please tell me they aren't dead... Please.." Rainbow's voice was but a rasp now. Breaths of a dying creature, crumbling and turning to dust.

Still Octavia didn't look up.

"ANSWER ME!!" Rainbow screamed, leaping at Octavia. It was a weak one though, and she ended up in a pile by her hooves. "Please... Tell me this isn't real..."

Octavia didn't say anything. There wasn't much to say- everything was right there. Discovered. The truth was before her eyes now- but that wasn't what she was worrying about. If Rainbow goes down now- it could change the entire war. They needed to win this- she thought she might be being a little selfish. She wasn't caring about Rainbow- she was caring about winning. Maybe she should put that down for a while, and really help Rainbow as helping a friend- not a war priority.

She knelt down and gave her a big hug. Rainbow whimpered, and squeezed her as tightly as she could. She didn't want to let go- ever. She lost word of her other friends for just a few days, and they end up dead.

She was shaking all over- and Octavia was sure it wasn't from just the cold. Sure, she was crying- but this was more violent. Octavia could sense something else, other than immense sadness. It was fear.

"Octavia... I-I... I'm so scared.... I..." Rainbow sobbed, burying her face in Octavia's shoulder. "They were all laughing, smiling... Happy.... And then the next moment...." she stopped, no longer able to continue. The only thing that interrupted her whimpers was the constant thud thud thud as raindrops hit the floor.

Octavia patted her gently on the back, then let go. She stood up, sighing as Rainbow looked aimlessly at the ground, tears still dropping as she clenched her hooves.

"Stand up." Octavia said softly, giving Rainbow's shoulder a gentle tap.

Rainbow looked up, eyes wild and tears clouding her vision. Octavia gave her a reassuring glance, and offered a hoof. Rainbow stared at it, still shaking. Uncertain. But then she took it.

Octavia smiled, and helped her up. Rainbow nodded, telling her that she could stand on her own. In silence, she turned around- hearing nothing but the pounding of rain. She stared at the tombstone, at all the other names. None of which she recognized.

"How long... How long have you known?" she asked again, her mouth dry.

"The moment we came to this reality." Octavia looked down in guilt.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Rainbow asked, a small bit of anger stirring inside her as she spun around. She raised her voice a little. "Why didn't ANY of you tell me?"

"We didn't want to hurt you." Octavia said, staring down at the ground and shaking her head.

Rainbow looked at them, her eyes moving from Daring, to Silver, back to Octavia. She let out a frustrated sigh, and turned back to the tombstone.

"All these other names... What are they?" she asked, her eyes tracing up the tower of names that reached the sky.

"Candidates." Octavia said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Of what?" Rainbow asked, staring up at the tip.

"Of the elements." Octavia looked up. "Val killed the original elements of harmony, and burned the harmony stones. But she learnt from other's mistakes- she knew the elements won't go down that easily. It was impossible to completely destroy them without a trace, so she kept killing other ponies that had the potential to become wielders of the elements. She kept them from coming back." Octavia sighed.

"My god... There must be thousands of souls here..." Rainbow stared in awe at the tower.

"Some managed to escape under our protection before they could get killed. You- you were one of them." Octavia said. "Others who escaped didn't know about us. They escaped into the wasteland, some found to be mutated- others vanished without a trace. We have sent out search parties all over the place to find them- but how little we found... It was quite pathetic, really."

Rainbow shook her head slowly. All these dead souls... Died for what reason? Because they MIGHT become a threat? They probably didn't even show signs of it. After all, how could you possibly tell? Did Val just kill anyone who seemed rebellious? Then something caught her eye. Back on her friend's names....

"Wait a second..." she muttered, her heart pounding against her chest. "Where's AJ's name?"

"Hm?" Octavia tilted her head to one side.

"My friend Applejack. Element of Honesty. Her name's not here." Rainbow said, suddenly excited again as she turned around. But it was only excitement- she wasn't smiling. Sure, the prospect of AJ being alive was a great one- but she didn't want to keep her hopes up.

"If she's not on the tombstone, she probably escaped." Octavia noted. "Although... We have no record of one of the original elements coming to any of our settlements."

"You think she managed to run to a survivor's group?" Rainbow asked.

"I don't know. There aren't many out there that are left- they're all either recruited into the faction, or destroyed. Surviving ones are quite few." Octavia said. "But we could still keep an eye out. I'll notify the search teams."

"No need..." Rainbow sighed. "I'm sure Haven is already looking for her." she shook her head. This must be horrible for Applebloom- not knowing whether or not her sister will be alive. Day after day, only hoping.

"Sis..." Rainbow heard a voice behind her. They turned around- and Dainty was standing there, EDI's headlights glistening in the dark weather behind her.

"Dainty- what are you doing? Get back in the car- you're gonna catch a cold." Rainbow said quickly, rushing to her side and kneeling down.

"We... Waited and waited... And I got worried... So I thought..." Dainty mumbled, eyes down.

Rainbow gave her a worried smile and pulled her into a hug. Dainty seemed a little startled.

"Sis... Is something wrong?"

Rainbow kissed her on the forehead. "Yeah... But it's okay now." she said, giving her a short squeeze. Then she noticed the sad look on Dainty's face. "Why?" she asked, because Dainty seemed startled by the hug.

"It's just that... You seemed to care a lot less about everyone else now... It feels like... You almost don't care about us anymore. You never talk to us, you never actually had any conversations with us that didn't involve some strategy about our next move... I... I just-"

Rainbow felt something sting her heart as she heard those words. She looked at Dainty- how could she have been so careless?

"....I just thought... Maybe you didn't care anymore."

Rainbow shook her head, hugging Dainty tighter.

"Oh, Dainty- of course I care!" Rainbow said, needles being sent through her heart. "I'm sorry. I was just so concentrated on our goal... I forgot what was important." she said, thinking about the grave. She almost completely forgot about why she was fighting. She was accomplishing the objective, not thinking about why. And that, to the center of her guilt; was why she failed to protect her friends.

"I'm sorry too." Dainty mumbled. "I probably shouldn't have said that."

"No, no." Rainbow smiled. "You made me realize. I promise I'll pay more attention to you guys from now on. I forgot... But you made me remember." she said, holding Dainty at arm's length. "Love you sis."

"Love you too." Dainty said, and Rainbow ruffled her mane.

"Come on now. We should probably get back to the car." she said, taking Dainty's hoof in hers and leading her towards EDI.

Daring followed, and a moment later Silver did too.

"Silver." Octavia said, facing the tombstone.

Silver stopped dead. Now it was just them two in the rain- the others were already in the car. She sighed, but didn't look back. They stood, meters apart and their backs facing each other- but with Octavia looking up at the tombstone, and Silver down in regret.

"I know what really happened." Octavia said, and Silver didn't reply. She just continued staring down at the ground. "What you did utterly disgusts me. I should just kill you right now."

Silver still had her head lowered, looking down at the ground. The only thing of color in this weather were Octavia's eyes- otherwise, everything else was grey. Thunder ripped through the clouds, flashing across the sky and sending a loud crackle through the small destroyed town.

Octavia sighed. "I should just tell Rainbow. But I didn't. I hope you understand why." she looked up at the sky, the rain pelting her face.

"I didn't have a choice-" Silver started, and immediately Octavia swung around.

"Don't try to reason with me!" she yelled. "You knew what you were doing. Rainbow would've died before before she would make that choice!"

"You don't know that! She was never put in that situation before!" Silver yelled back, and Octavia grabbed her by the collar.

"I am disgusted by myself to have even thought of you as Rainbow's copy. You're nothing like her." Octavia growled menacingly, nose-to-nose with Silver. "If you dare pull off anything similar to what you did back then- if you lay a hoof on any of them- Rainbow, Dainty, Daring- ANY of them, I'll make sure you're dead myself." she snarled.

Silver's right hoof itched for her cleaver, but held tight. Octavia let go with a shove, sending Silver back a step. She walked past her and to the car, without giving her so much as a second glance.

Author's Note

Mouse. Away. From the unfav button.

It's funny because interactive RD decided to say 'Best day ever!" when she was standing next to the part where Rainbow finds the grave. And you guys can activate interactive RD in the FiMFic settings page

Chapter 33: Onwards!

The OASIS's bridge was busier than usual. Ponies scurried about, making lies about the barricade attack.

"Spitfire, we need to capture the ILLUSION. It is a ROGUE SHIP." one of the other captains said through a hologram, slamming a hoof on the table.

"I'm afraid I can't do anything." Spitfire yawned, and in the background and out of range of the communications devices, the officers that were listening to the conversation snickered and struggled to contain their laughter. "We can't find it. It just ran away, and we have absolutely nothing on the subject matter. However- I can still help." she quickly added before the other captains could add in. "I can deploy some ships to scour the debris field however. I do believe the rogue Striker reported earlier didn't quite make it."

"Well... That is true... But-"

"Excellent then. I'll get to work immediately!" Spitfire grinned, clapping her hooves together.

"Wait-"

"Logging off..." Spitfire sang, and turned off the holograms. She brought her back hooves off the shiny table, and let out a small chuckle.

"Excellent acting Captain. Those idiots!" Soarin laughed.

"Well, officer- we've still got a lot of work to do." Spitfire said, standing up slowly and lazily.

"You're not really planning to scour the debris are you?" Soarin raised an eyebrow.

"I am." Spitfire said, stretching. "But not for that purpose. The debris field is expanding by the minute, and our computers estimate it will reach a full five kilometers in just twelve hours. We hide some ships in there... We'll have ourselves a nice little ambush just when we need it."

"So, two birds with one stone by taking out the barricade?"

"Well, about the whole Earth's population of birds if you ask me." Spitfire said, walking into the center of the bridge.

"True." Soarin nodded, following close.

"Alright! I want Apollos in that debris field now! And don't forget to place down some mines!" Spitfire yelled across the bridge. "Soarin, you're in charge of getting our troops ready. Keep up our cover story, and punch some confidence into our fighters."

"Yes ma'am!" Soarin saluted, and ran off towards the hangar.

"Ooh, is this exciting." Spitfire rubbed her front hooves together. "Do we still have a location on Rainbow?"

"Yes ma'am. They just went into Ponyville." an officer said.

"Ponyville? They're supposed to meet at Haven! That's no where near it!" Spitfire exclaimed.

"Haven is about two days away from their current location. They'll never make it in time."

"Hmm." Spitfire rubbed her chin. "Baah. Just send them a drop ship- say to the cruisers that an important piece of equipment was tracked down to the surface or something. Make sure it can carry a car though- I doubt they'd want to let their car go." she said, waving a hoof.

"Yes ma'am. Sending them a drop ship now."

*

"You probably should've known better than to piss me off." Val said, an odd glint in her eyes as she spun the knife.

"You're not going anywhere." Blithy snarled.

"We shall see." Val said, and charged forth; her hoofsteps splashing through the ankle-deep sea water.

The troopers surrounding Blithy opened fire, but Val completely ignored the tiny explosions that rippled across her body and went straight for Blithy. She slammed a fist through a trooper's skull simply because he was in the way, and lunged for Blithy.

"Go for the other one!" Blithy yelled, grabbing the knife with her robotic right hand and pulling it towards her. She kneed Val in the stomach, but then took a fist to the face.

Eclipse tilted her head to one side when she realized Blithy meant her when she said 'the other one'. She held up a hoof, a somewhat provocative gesture.

The troopers charged at her, all guns blazing.

There was water all around them, meaning there was an awful lot of matter for Eclipse to easily possess. She didn't even have to go through the pain of creating matter. She stomped, sending a huge splash into the air. Then the water glowed orange as she took control, and immediately morphed into two huge blades and sliced outward.

A blade cut a trooper straight down the center, and the other sliced another's rifle in half. It also sliced off his front hooves, and he fell down screaming in pain. There was nothing but mere pity in Eclipse's eyes as he splashed into the water, his blood staining it.

"Why you son of a mule!" one of the troopers yelled, and threw an EMP grenade at Eclipse.

Eclipse's eyes widened- an EMP was probably the only thing that could cause damage to her. But nothing too much to worry about- as long at it doesn't go off, she'll be fine. She lashed out with a tentacle, and slammed the grenade into the trooper that threw it's mouth. It cracked loudly against the back of his skull, and suddenly went off. The magnetic pulse was dulled by the flesh in the way, but the force cracked his jaw down- and it was quite literally left hanging there and barely connected. Eclipse finished him off with two clean cuts- one across both his back legs, and the other across his entire body.

Blithy knocked away Val's knife, and fired a few shots at her stomach. Val deflected them with the knife, and lunged forward again. Blithy lashed out with a back hoof, and Val spun out of the way as her jetpack flared. She turned around and stabbed the knife into Blithy's leg, then slammed a fist into her chin.

Blithy fell back and splashed into the water, then yanked the knife out with a grunt. She threw it at Val, who smacked it away.

Blithy's jetpack flared, and she launched a shoulder into Val's chest. They both went tumbling across the room, and slammed into the far wall. It buckled, and the entire frame around the room cracked loudly. The glass walls finally gave way under the pressure, and gallons and gallons of water started flowing into the room.

Eclipse held up a hoof, and the water that was about to wash her away stopped before it; glowing a soft orange. The rest went rushing past her, and swept the troopers away.

The room was quickly filling up with sea water, and breathing space was decreasing by the second. Shades of red echoed through the dark depths as the emergency lights flashed, accompanied by an eery siren. There wasn't much light to go around, but it was enough for both Eclipse and Val.

Blithy whacked a fist across Val's face, and slammed her head against the wall.

"Why won't you see? You can't win anymore! The barricade is down!" Blithy yelled, slamming another fist down.

Val stopped it with a hand, inches away from her face.

"Winning isn't my priority." Val said, shredding Blithy's left arm with bullets. It was literally left as shreds of muscle, torn and ripped apart. Blithy fell back screaming, but it was quickly healing.

Val stomped a hoof down on her bare muscle, and she screamed again as she ground it against the floor.

"Hurts, doesn't it? Hope you didn't forget about all those years back. Ooh, that fall... Quite some pain it was. Back then I hadn't learnt to love that feeling, but now I do- and you don't..." Val closed a fist around Blithy's jaw, and lifted her out of the water. They stared into each other's eyes, their own eyes. "Did you forget what mom and dad did to us?"

"I haven't, but they had their reasons." Blithy said through gritted teeth.

"Then you are an idiot for forgiving them." Val snarled, and threw Blithy across the room. She started storming towards her, her fingers almost crushing themselves in tightened fists. "They left us to die! But don't you see? You can't blame me... Blame THEM! They made me into what I am today! Ruler of an entire empire, and all will bow before me. Isn't that great! I suppose I should be thanking them- but I still needed the satisfaction of having their beating hearts in my hand." Val grinned. "You have no idea how satisfying it was when I crushed them. Those bastards deserved it."

"Don't talk about mom and dad that way." Blithy growled, ignoring her aching back and standing up. She stumbled a bit, but still managed to stand up.

"Why not!? They deserved every bit of it!" Val yelled, and lunged forward.

Blithy braced for impact. She felt Val's fist shatter the bone in her arm as she blocked it, and she fell back. Val closed her fist around her head, and pressed it under water.

It was impossible for Blithy to die, because her body would keep repairing itself- meaning she could have absolutely no oxygen in her body and still live. It would hurt quite a lot though.

She desperately tried to fight Val off, but she had a firm hold on the back of her head. Her body started going out of control, and into a small spasm. Her fingers twitched as her nervous system started malfunctioning, sending false signals into her cyborg body. Her vision faded in and out, and so did her consciousness. Soon her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she passed out.

Blithy had stopped struggling, so Val lifted her out of the water.

"Eclipse!" she yelled, slinging Blithy's unconscious body over her shoulder.

"Right here." Eclipse said, walking out of a stream of water, an orange shield preventing her from getting wet.

"Are all the troopers dealt with?"

"No survivors." Eclipse said, tilting her head to one side. "You didn't kill her."

"Point one, I can't." Val said. "Point two, I'm not done with her yet."

"I see. Pick up is on its way. In the meantime, we should find somewhere dry." Eclipse said, walking past Val and towards the far door.

*

There was a loud boom, almost like thunder. It cracked through the now-clear skies, echoing across the vast plains and shaking the earth.

"Explosions registered. Confirming location." EDI said. "Barricade has been confirmed destroyed."

"What..?" Octavia set the car to auto and looked out the window. As EDI had said, the barricade has been destroyed.

It was still there, flaming and setting the sky on fire. It was quite some sight. The clouds burned bright orange, the normally blue skies now shades of red and orange.

"Rainbow... The barricade! It's gone!" she exclaimed.

Rainbow didn't reply. She was watching. All their faces were lit orange by the bright flames.

Lily was fast asleep at the back, and Silver was looking after her. Dainty was curled up in a ball on Rainbow's lap, her tiny chest heaving with each tiny breath.

Rainbow sighed, lowered her head, and closed her eyes. What if more of them were to die? She couldn't imagine what she would be like if Dainty, Octavia, or anyone else's life were to slip right out of her hooves. She couldn't imagine moving on, or even standing up. She wondered what it would be like if she died- she wouldn't need to worry about anything. Everything would be out of her hooves, all the burdens and responsibilities- all gone. But she knew she wouldn't put up with herself if she were to escape that way- she would do whatever she can.

She smiled softly at Dainty, and nuzzled her cheek gently.

Octavia saw this, and switched the car back to manual, pretending that she didn't see anything. She was going to do her best to protect those two. It would break her heart to see them separate- but there was a long journey ahead, and not much strength to evenly spread around. She could only try her best.

Magnum stared out the window, a sad expression on her face. Rainbow noticed through the rear view mirror, and decided to ask.

"Everything okay back there Magnum?" she asked.

"Yeah.." Magnum sighed, but then shook her head and looked down at her hooves. "I... Just started remembering some things."

"Do you remember us yet?"

"No... Not yet. But seeing the sky did bring back memories of what I was doing up there..." she remembered Storm's sacrifice. "We were providing cover fire, but not all of us left the damn place. I think only that mare in the forest and I made it out alive... And that mare... Bluefyre, I think..." Magnum shook her head. "I don't think I'll be able to bring her back from her state. I don't think anyone can."

She fell silent, and Rainbow sighed.

"There are so many ponies we can't bring back. Just gone." Rainbow said. "But we're still alive. We're still us, and we're still here." she reached back, behind her seat. "And we'll keep fighting until we don't have any strength anymore. If we can't bring back the dead, then we will defend the living." she said.

Magnum smiled sadly, and shook the hoof.

"This world is getting worse by the minute. But let us fight for a chance to redeem ourselves, and a chance to restore things back to how they should be." Rainbow smiled back.

They looked back out the windows. There might be a chance... There just might. A hope not to be given up on- however extremely hard to hold onto. Only time will tell.

*

Bluefyre lay in the center of a clearing in the Everfree forest, staring up at the burning sky. Butterflies fluttered all around her, leaves slowly drifting and spinning to the earth. The breeze disturbed the long blades of grass, their tips tickling her bare skin. All her armor and equipment had burned away in her transformation, and now she felt oddly bare. She was too used to having that suit of armor on.

She watched the clouds of smoke and streaks of flames shift in the wind, twisting and turning through the air. Everything seemed so ironically peaceful- she could just drift to sleep. She would've, but the tear sliding out the corner of her eye prevented her from doing so.

She managed to hold off the ghost flames, despite a complete transformation. Now the tattoos have been pushed back to occupy only her left half. They pulsed with her heart beat, glowing light aqua. She sighed, and closed her eyes. She thought she had learnt to accept the new reality- but it would seem she still missed the old one.

There wasn't much to worry about in the old one. She was never forced into a situation where she had to unlock the seal- and now that she did, it was becoming hard to control. The tattoos burned her skin, and stung with each pulse. She had to do her best to keep it under control, and prevent it from spreading to the rest of her body. If it did, the transformation field would form- and she'd turn into that burning skeleton again. And if she did, the only thing that could stop her from being completely consumed would be something as strong as seeing a friend who she thought was dead.

It pained her as she saw Magnum's blank expression in her head again. Did she not care at all, that she was still alive? She certainly didn't do anything. She just looked at her... Like she was some sort of stranger. Some THING.

Magnum, who had been through military academy with her in both realities, who had laughed with her in times of hardship, and who had been through all of this with her till now- didn't show the slightest sign of recognition.

Ah-well, Bluefyre sighed. Suppose she didn't need me anyway. I was just... There.

She sat up, suddenly feeling an odd amount of pressure on her chest. She coughed, and was barely able to suck in a breath. Then the pressure was relieved, and she was left gasping for air, the tattoos pulsing faster with her speeding heartbeat, sending blue flashes across the small grassy clearing.

She shook her head, and stood up. Parts of her unkept mane drifted down the side of her face, strands of it glowing blue as did strands of her tail.

The barricade was down- maybe she'll have much more freedom now. Live in the woods, free from all burdens. Become wild. Veer away from civilization.

Yeah, that sounded just about right- she thought, trotting into the woods.

*

"Just two more stops, and then we'll be in the Crystal Mountain range. Gonna be a problem crossing all the snow without a snow mobile though, but EDI here should be fine. Shouldn't ya be buddy?" Octavia asked.

"I estimate my own functionality to last two days, four hours, five minutes and thirty seven seconds in conditions such as the Crystal Mountain Range." EDI said.

"That'll be enough, then." Octavia grinned.

"Two more stops, eh..." Rainbow pulled out a holographic map on her HUD. She studied their route, weaving through the masses of cities. "Cloudsdale, then Canterlot. I take it we won't be stopping for a break."

"Who knows. We might not have a choice." Octavia sighed.

"Some-what like old days, I suppose..." Rainbow yawned. "Val is the target, and we hunt her down."

"I suppose." Octavia said, driving through the vast plains between Ponyville and Canterlot. Because of heavy pollution after all the fighting, where they used to be able to see Canterlot they saw nothing but grey sky. Thick atmospheric pollution- they couldn't quite feel it yet, but it was there, hiding anything too far away. Sometimes the sky may seem clear, but that was just the pollutants reflecting light.

Sometimes it was just hard to see the truth through all the chaos.

*

"Our Apollos have been dispatched." Soarin reported.

"Ah, Soarin." Spitfire said cheerfully, completely ignoring the news. "I ordered a cupcake from the food court, but I can't be bothered fetching it." she had said enough.

"Yes ma'am." Soarin sighed frustratedly, turning away.

"Captain, there's a drop ship that got deployed from the COLOSSUS a few minutes ago." an officer said, spinning on his chair and away from his screen. "Do you think...?"

"Yeah." Spitfire nodded. "But I suppose it's a bit late now for a chase." she shook her head. "Boy, are we gonna be in a heck of a lot of trouble."

Chapter 34: Sharp as Needles

Just a warning from me before hand, we've got a chapter about torture here. That involves needles, as mentioned in the chapter name. So.... Yeah.

Blithy slowly woke up, her vision focusing. She seemed to be looking down at some sort of metal floor, stained a dark crimson by long dried liquids. A series of numbers flashed across the HUD imbedded in her robotic eye, indicating it was coming back online.

All systems check.
Activating.

She sighed. She must've passed out- she had no memory of being transported here. She wriggled her fingers, then realized they were above her head. She was chained to the ceiling, left dangling above the floor. She would've tried breaking loose, if she weren't feeling so weak.

She started taking more notice of her surroundings. There was a small metal table next to her, on it a tray, and in the tray a used syringe with a disturbingly long needle. It seemed to have been stained with blood, and Blithy didn't need much to guess it was her own. Val probably punched a syringe full of weakener into her or something- she barely had enough strength to move. Even keeping her eyes open felt tiring, so she closed them.

She tried to contact the fleet, but as expected- Val had a signal jammer nearby. She was completely on her own now. She could feel her arm throbbing- that must be where Val stabbed that damn needle in. Probably didn't even bother cleaning it.

And, as with any typical movie scene that would look like such- only that it was in real life- Val chooses to enter just as Blithy wakes up.

"Oh dear, you look like you just had seven hundred mili-grams of paralyzer injected into your system." Val chuckled at her own joke. "Hey, what's with the grim expression? Smile, you're on camera~" she pointed at the far upper left corner, at a small camera with a flashing red light. She then tapped her robotic eye, and grinned. "I'm watching." she said.

She walked up to Blithy, a grin on her face- back to usual it was, then- only this time, it was much more insane- more genuine, in a dark way- and much, much scarier. She stared into Blithy's eyes, tilting her head to one side and studying her tired face.

"Not an ounce of strength left huh?" she chuckled.

Blithy spat at her face, only for it to be blocked by Val's hand which flashed across her face.

"Haha, now I saw that one coming." she grinned, shaking off the spit. Blithy could only growl and bare her teeth, and nothing more.

Val turned around and went for the metal table, and heard Blithy spit again. She moved out of the way just in time, and it splattered on the floor.

"You, dear, need to work on your targeting skills." she laughed.

"BUCK YOU." was all Blithy could say in return through gritted teeth, and Val only kept laughing.

"You know, when I see ponies laughing their evil laughs in movies, I often find it ridiculous. But now that I'm in this situation, you look BUCKING HILARIOUS!! Do you have any idea-" Val giggled, turning around and walking back up to Blithy. "Do you have, ANY IDEA- HOW WEAK YOU LOOK?" she laughed. "WEAK! USELESS!! YOU CAN'T EVEN INSULT ME WHEN YOU TRY!!" she couldn't stop laughing. It was at a hysterical point, where she was jumping around and clapping. "Oh, dear. Drew tears out of me." she wiped the corner of her eye. "Success is the best revenge, so they say. I can testify to that right now." she grinned.

She turned back to the table. She waved a hand, activating a sensor. The table surface flipped over, revealing all kinds of tools- ranging from huge saws to tiny scalpels, and everything else in between and beyond that looked menacing and could become.... Hurtful.

"Now, back to business. I was preparing a few 'yo momma' jokes for the occasion, when I realized I'd actually be insulting my own mother. Although, I might still pull out a few; because she was quite a bi-"

"DON'T TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!!" Blithy screamed.

"-tch. Hmmm." Val had a thoughtful look on her face as Blithy struggled to normalize her breathing. "You're still on their side are you? Do I really have to remind you?"

"You don't." Blithy growled. "Did you see how hurt they were when they left us on the roof? Mom could barely walk, and you saw. I saw. We both did. And I believe, we can both agree- that it wasn't any of their fault that it had to end up this way. It was us. We had the disease." Blithy shook her head, staring at the ground.

"If you are on their side so much... Then tell me-" Val grinned, leaning on Blithy's shoulder. "-why were you the one who ripped their hearts from their chests?"

Blithy's eyes widened, her mouth lying slightly agape.

"I didn't come to existence until the moment you took control of the science faction, and took up the nickname 'Valkyrie'. I was just an ego, building up... Piece by piece as you continued living your pathetic little life.... And eventually, there I was. But of course, I wasn't able to be a complete alternate variation of you until my plan came into shape. But, I shall explain that later."

Val leaned close to Blithy's ear, and whispered in it.

"Wasn't it great, when you crushed their vital organs? God, the hate- I can still feel it. It was delicious." she smacked her lips. "And now... After brutally murdering them- you regret it?"

"I... I..." Blithy was shaking, her eyes concealed under her dirty and unkept mane.

"What's wrong? Speak up!" Val smacked her on the back.

"I... I regret everything I ever did before. I really do." Blithy whimpered, and Val could see a shining tear rolling down her cheek. "It could've been great. We could've been a family again. I was all patched up, and could essentially live for as long as I wanted to. We could've been all normal, happy again.... But NO! I chose to kill them. I chose to rip their hearts out... And for whatever reason, I... I went with that path." she cried, now having a continuous stream of tears running down one side of her face. The other couldn't cry, as it was the cold eye of a robot. "I made the wrong choice. I did the wrong thing." she looked up, not at Val but at the ceiling. At something beyond it. Then she looked down again, drained. "Although... Now that I come to think of it..." she shook her head, and let out a sad chuckle. "...when have I ever done anything right."

Val walked around her, and stood in front of her, an odd expression on her face. The smile wasn't there anymore- replaced by annoyance and disappointment.

"Mom... dad... I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry..." Blithy cried, the last word barely coming out as she broke into tears again.

There was a loud crack as Val slapped her across the face with the back of her hand.

"GROW UP!!" she yelled at Blithy's face, now with a red mark across it. "I AM ASHAMED, TO EVEN BE ASSOCIATED WITH YOU! You know what you are? A WEAKLING! A BUCKING, WEAKLING!! You can't do anything right? WELL NO CRAP!!" she screamed, then let out an amused chuckle. "You see all this around you? This world? And the events in the previous one- all those deaths? The pain? Now that you admit it- IT'S TRUE! IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!!" Val laughed. "Don't you see? YOU CREATED THIS! YOU STARTED IT!!" the expression on her face was hysterical.

Blithy only stared at Val in shock. She didn't know what she was expecting from Val, but this certainly wasn't one of them. But... She was right.

"You know what. Let me tell you a story. One we are both familiar with." Val said, picking up the empty syringe. "You see this here? Let's just say this is a certain rainbow maned friend of ours. You see, I couldn't quite defeat her last time- so this time, I decided to weaken her up a bit. That'll make things a whole lot easier, right?" she grinned. "The Elements of Harmony... I never really found them to be much of a threat. I just wanted Rainbow to see her friends dead, is all. You know, I wish I could've been there to see her face when she found the tombstone- but unfortunately, I can't. But I would've loved to." she grinned. "So, one crack there." she tapped the syringe, cracking it slightly. "And I have many more planned. Cloudsdale, Canterlot... HahaHA! This is going to be great. Give her hope, then crush it. Weaken her, bit by bit." Val tapped the glass syringe again and again, until it had cracks all over the place and was barely holding up. "Until finally, all I have to do is add a little finishing touch-" she tapped the glass syringe one last time, and it shattered in her hand. "After that, all I have to do is pick up the pieces." she walked around Blithy, in a slow circle. "Hope is a cruel thing. I heard someone say that to me before. And yes, I genuinely believe that more than anything. The higher the hope you have, the more injured you'll be when it throws you down. So that's what I'm doing. Lifting lil RD up, then throwing her down again." she grinned. "But also, same with all of you. You think I can't destroy you all without the barricade? HA! We shall see." she brought a hand up to her face. "As usual, I still have many tricks up my metaphorical sleeve." she said, and a socket in her wrist popped out. The handle of a serrated knife revealed itself, and she pulled it out and juggled it around in her hand.

She walked around Blithy in circles, grinning at her terrified expression as she stared at the knife.

"Now... If you don't mind holding this for me..." Val said, and slammed the knife into Blithy's back, through her ribs and into her vital organs.

Blithy gasped as the knife tip punctured one of her lungs, her screams coming out as nothing but dry rasps.

"Alright. Here's how this is going to work. You are going to co-operate and tell me the names of the magic faction ships, and I will stop torturing you." Val said, leaning on her shoulder. She let out a groan as Val put all her weight on- and there was a loud click as her arms popped out of their sockets. Blithy resisted screaming, closing her mouth firmly shut. And when the pain finally died down, she opened her mouth to speak again.

"I... Am not... EVER.... Going to work with you." She said through gritted teeth.

"That settles it then." Val grinned, taking her weight off and walking behind Blithy.

"Wait, what?"

Val ripped the knife from her body, the serrated edges tearing her flesh to shreds. Blithy screamed, tears streaming down her face. She squeezed her eyes shut, her jaws firmly clamped.

"I never really wanted you to work with me. I just wanted an excuse to have a nice looong torture session with you." Val said, throwing the knife down and picking up a scalpel. Blithy could only stare in horror.

Val walked up to Blithy, and poked Blithy with the tip playfully. Blithy flinched as some blood was drawn, but held.

"Ponies say science controls me. Science is my cause." Val sighed, and sunk the entire blade into Blithy's arm. Blithy groaned, but didn't say a word. "But that is not the case. I control science. The science faction is at my hooves, therefore the rest of the universe is too. I don't give a buck about glory, or any of this. I just want to let those happy, laughing, cheerful little ponies; see what I saw." she said, and with that started slowly slicing down Blithy's arm, coming around to her arm pit.

Blithy screamed as Val cut several of her primary nerves in two. Pain shot up her arm, and it started twitching uncontrollably. Tears swarmed into her eyes- and she was powerless to stop any of this.

"You know what I mean. Despair, crushed hope. Shards. You remember what it was like back then, don't you?" Val waved a hand, and a hologram of words popped up. "See? This is what they used to call us. Let me read the definition to you. 'Blight, to destroy; ruin; or frustrate'. And that's what they called us. Everyone hated us, you do so remember- and the only ponies who loved us were mom and dad- or so they said. 'I love you'. Three words, that meant to us more than anything. It was everything to us. And what happened when they left us to die on the roof? We found out those were lies. They love us!? That's bull crap! It was everything to us, and then we found out... It was nothing." she bared her teeth, and started shoving the scalpel into Blithy's arm- with the handle and everything. It slid between her flesh and skin, and her screams were throat ripping. Until finally, there wasn't a sign of the scalpel at all, just a long bump on Blithy's arm. She could feel that area burning and throbbing with pain, blood trickling down her arm and to her body.

"Then... Why are you taking this out on me?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"Because you're on their side, is what. I want everyone to see, including you- you saw it, but forgot about it. I'm not going to." Val said, going to fetch something else.

"Don't get trapped in your past- GAH!" Blithy screamed as Val threw the serrated knife from earlier into her chest. Blood gushed out as it severed several main arteries, and poured down Blithy's stomach.

"That wasn't what I was looking for." Val muttered, continuing looking through the tray of stuff.

Blithy could barely breath, let alone talk. There was a knife halfway through her body, so it did make a lot of things a difficulty.

"Unlike you- I enjoy pain, somewhat. That's why I'm your ALTERNATE ego, I guess." Val said, having finally found something. A bunch of needles. "Now, open your eyes." she grinned.

"No..." Blithy managed with a dry rasp, staring at the sharp thin tips of the needles. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping for the best....

"Oh, you're gonna keep them closed? That's fine too, I guess..." Val said, and the next thing Blithy heard was a loud whoosh and pop.

She screamed as the needle went through her eyelid and into her eye, going into it for almost an entire two centimeters. And she could still feel it sliding through her flesh as Val pushed the needle deeper into her eye, almost reaching the optic nerve. In her instinctive reaction, she tried to open her eye- which made things worse as her eyelid dragged the needle through her eye; cutting both. She screamed again, and squeezed them shut, blood and other liquids from her eyes pouring down her face.

Val ripped the needle out, and Blithy heard it clatter away on the ground. Her wound was quickly healing, but the pain still echoed through her brain. Her breaths were distorted, as the knife was still in her chest. Val seemed to notice- which could be both good and extremely bad.

Blithy felt her chest burn as Val ripped the blade out. But she didn't have any air left in her lungs to scream. Then the scalpel slid through her flesh on its own weight, and fell out of her arm. It clattered to the floor with a squishy quality, accompanied by bits of flesh.

"Feeling better there?" Val tilted her head to one side at the hyperventilating Blithy.

Blithy didn't reply. She just kept trying to catch her breath. And just when she was about to suck in a fresh lungful of air, Val splashed her mouth with a cup of water. She chocked, then gasped for air; all the while coughing uncontrollably as the water had gotten into her lungs. Val just laughed.

"This is pretty weird now that I come to think of it. I'm torturing MYSELF." Val had a thoughtful look on her face. "Anyway. Since I can't think of any other horrible things to do to you... You know. Electrification, skinning, digging your eyeballs out... Those are too cliched. Don't like it. So-" she picked up a small disc-like device from the table with a glowing blue LED light in its center. It wasn't any larger than Val's hand- just about two times smaller. She juggled it around, turning back to Blithy.

She pressed the blue LED light, and there was a click and weak hydraulic whine as four needles deployed from the bottom of the device, with wires plugged into them and linked to the device.

"This... Is a nasty little thing. I can remotely control this, so pretty neat too." Val grinned, pinching it between her fingers. "Have fun." she said, and with that; slammed it into the back of Blithy's neck.

The needles punched through her skin and slid through her flesh, then crunched into two gaps in her spinal cord, latching into it firmly. The blue LED suddenly turned green with a short beep.

Blithy groaned. An odd tingling filled her body, and she tried her best to ignore the odd device shifting in her flesh as she flexed her neck.

Then a loud buzzing noise filled the room, and Blithy screamed; her body going into a spasm. She writhed, trying to break free of her bonds- but failed miserably.

"STOP!! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!!!" she screamed.

Val tilted her head to one side, and grinned. She sent a signal to the device, and turned it off.

Blithy was left gasping for air, cold sweat covering her body and tears streaming out of her eye. She had pissed herself without noticing, and her entire body was still shaking from the left over waves of pain rippling through her nerves. Her skin burned, her insides felt like they had been completely ripped out and rearranged.

"As I said earlier... Nasty." Val said. She grabbed Blithy by the chin, and turned her head this way and that, checking for injuries. "Ah, good. No damage." she grinned. "As expected though. That little device just sent some signals through your nervous system... Forcing your nerves to register extreme pain. You know... Just another one of YOUR creations. I hope you haven't forgotten about the little gadget." Val grinned.

Blithy only glared at her with rage between puffed breaths, but could do nothing more.

Val chuckled, and ruffled Blithy's mane. "I'm going to go get a hot chocolate or something. I'll get you one too- not that I'm gonna poison it or anything." she laughed, and left the room, leaving the battered and tortured Blithy to sulk in her own misery.

Author's Note

Not my favorite chapter, however neccessary so everyone hates the antagonist

Chapter 35: Thyme

"We can't shoot down the drop ship- they'll start suspecting us." Spitfire sighed. "But then we're letting Val onto the COLOSSUS. And that's a heck load of bull and she'll reveal us anyway." she rubbed her head. "Buck this. It hurts my brain. Somepony else make the decision." she said, turning away.

"Captain! Haven has filed in a completed list of evacuees from ATLANTIS that made it to the site." an officer called after her.

"Alright. Give me the unconfirmed casualties." Spitfire said, turning back around.

"The entire army of Crawlers, ma'am. We believe them to be still in ATLANTIS." the officer said.

"We'll need them. Keep them on stand by. Go on." Spitfire rubbed her chin, mapping out the information in her head.

"Apollos alpha 6, alpha 12, beta 17, and the Horizons."

"Blithy..." Spitfire took in a sharp breath. "Knowing Val, she's probably captured. I wouldn't worry too much- she'll live. Give me specific names for the rest."

"Zealo and Lightning Dust of Alpha squad, escort of the Horizons; and... I'm not sure what this one is... It's not an Apollo, but a registered co-pilot of the Horizons. Beta 17."

"Name, officer." Spitfire said, frustrated.

"No name... Just... 'The Doctor'."

Spitfire was silent for a minute.

"Well, buck." She sighed frustratedly. "Mobilize a search party. I want that search party down there before Val gets to the COLOSSUS. We need the Doctor." she said, pacing around.

"Distress signals ma'am. And one incoming call from alpha 6." a different officer called from across the bridge, on the opposite end.

"Put em through! And track that distress signal- direct the search team there!" Spitfire yelled. A holographic screen popped up before her eyes.

"Alpha 6 to command, can anybody hear me? ATLANTIS do you read?" a pilot's face appeared on the screen.

"Alpha 6, this is the M.F. OASIS. What's your status, over." Spitfire spoke loudly and clearly, with her hooves folded behind her back.

"Shuck! Captain! A lot of the Apollo's systems are down- can't see you. We're running on reserve energy, don't know how long we'll be in the air for. Can't be much longer now though, by the looks of it. I'm fine, but I've got one injured."

"Fatally." Lightning Dust cried weakly from behind Zealo.

"And... A little insane." Zealo muttered.

"Don't worry. She's being normal." Spitfire face-hoofed. "Alright. Can your Apollo pick up a distress signal?"

"Most of the HUD isn't working, ma'am. I have no idea what my own true air speed is."

"Right. I'll send you the co-ordinates." Spitfire waved at an officer. "See if you get them."

There was a small beep on Zealo's side. "Got it."

"Head there. There should be another pony needing pick up. Stay there, our rescue team will head to that rendezvous point." Spitfire said.

"We'll do our best to get there ma'am." Zealo said, not saluting because he was too busy trying to keep the plane in control.

"Put me through to your co-pilot." Spitfire commanded, and Zealo switched the screen.

"Hey Captain." Lightning Dust said weakly.

"Holy cows-" Spitfire flinched at what she saw. "Cadet- I mean lieutenant- what is wrong with your wing?"

"I don't know, ma'am." Lightning said weakly.

"Don't look! Don't look! It's not important." Spitfire said quickly, just so Lightning Dust could keep that extra courage. "Just stay alive. Focus on that, alright?"

"Yes... Ma'am..." Lightning Dust breathed.

"Captain, your cupcake-" Soarin ran into range.

"Soarin, take over. Keep talking to her and keep her alive!" Spitfire yelled, and scoffed down the cupcake. "I need to keep track of that rescue team."

"They've been dispatched ma'am!" an officer yelled.

"Good! Tell them to hurry!" Spitfire said impatiently. "Give me an estimate time to arrival!"

"ETA 30 minutes!" the officer yelled back.

"Shuck..." Spitfire muttered, rubbing her head. "Dusty, you heard that? Can you hang on for that long?"

"I'll...push my limits..." Lightning Dust muttered, and Spitfire grinned.

*

"Medical team 45, entering the atmosphere." a light green unicorn reported. She had been among the few that had been recently transported from Haven to work on the OASIS in secret, because the OASIS had a sudden demand for medical staff. She was wearing full medical team armor, light weight for high maneuverability and a clean white, with red stripes running down the sides.

Medical teams were equipped with retractable light-weight rifles, which have low fire power however can fold into the size of a small sub-machine gun and unfold into a high-precision rifle within seconds. A red cross on her shoulder caught a glint of light through the dropship's windows, which then flashed across her badges which identified her as squad leader.

She hadn't been on the surface for a while now. The last time was a month ago, just before she was dispatched to the OASIS. Seeing it again brought back a sort of familiarity that made her comfortable, but also a sense of alien in her heart.

She checked her back pack, full of medical supplies.

"Thyme, I'm trusting you with this. Keep in mind that the Doctor isn't a normal pony- and quite an important one." Spitfire spoke through the mic.

"I'll do my best Captain Spitfire." Thyme replied, even though her hooves were sweating under the gloves.

"You don't have long, so work your magic."

"Yes ma'am." Thyme said, and peered out the window.

Her face was instantly lit bright orange by the evening sun slowly dropping below the horizon, now a half sphere in the distance. Long shadows were cast across the surface by the objects on it, like the city of Manehatten. The shadows of its sky-rise buildings dragged across the surface, even longer than the clouds in the sky. She turned and looked out the other window- it was night on this side already, because they were so high up they could virtually see both sides of the Earth. Hints of stars were popping out on the dark purple sky, twinkling in the darkness. Just a quick run- shouldn't be too complicated.

*

Vinyl walked down the mane street of Fillydelphia, which cut directly down the center of the city. Heck, the street was about ten meters wide. She felt oddly exposed out in the open- and everything was oddly silent too.

Nuclear fallout crunched beneath her hooves as she trotted on, more ash and dust falling from the skies as a slight breeze blew them off the buildings.

The buildings were nothing more than huge concrete blocks towering hundreds of meters high with holes in them where windows used to be. Vinyl walked through rows and rows of these, the buildings growing shorter and shorter as she approached the center of where the nuke hit.

"Applebloom." she said quietly, Frostbite following her close and his eagle eyes scanning the area.

"Vinyl. You got anything yet?"

"It looks like it was one of those incendiary nukes again." Vinyl sighed, looking around at the area of devastation.

An incendiary nuke was the combination of a nuke and an incendiary device. Val developed it to erase evidence- the nuke would wipe everything out, and the device would burn any trails left. Or so that's how it was supposed to work, but the device turned out to only prolong the nuke's effects by adding fuel to the flames. However, due to a reaction with the nuclear radiation, it somehow clears it down to a safe level. The reaction was still being studied, with little progress however.

Put simply, there was something here Val didn't want anyone to see.

"Keep looking. There's gotta be some materials that the nuke can't destroy." Applebloom said.

"Got it. Heading to the center." Vinyl said, and Frostbite took out two protective masks from his bag and handed one to her. She nodded, and slipped it on. The center probably had a lot of fallout which wouldn't be pleasant when inhaled.

They rounded a corner, and immediately was met with huge clouds of dust and ash drifting in the breeze. Frostbite's eagle vision peered through the fallout, scanning the area.

"We seem to be at some sort of establishment." he said, walking towards the center.

The buildings here had all crumbled down into blocks, completely blown away by the nuke.

Vinyl walked by a huge metal box, with bits of deformed alloys scattered around the main body. There seemed to be the barrel of a small cannon poking out from it, the barrel drooping down- probably melted then froze again as everything cooled down. Clearly portions of the mysterious metal box had been set on fire before, burn marks and deformations scattering across the surface.

"I'm taking a look inside." Vinyl nodded to Frostbite, then flicked her wrist.

The laser disc activated, and formed in her hoof; a rotating disc of high-temperature light. She dug it into the side of the metal box, and started cutting. She cut a square into it, then dug her hooves behind the metal sheet. It was quite a hunk of armor- almost solid steel. But the flames had made it some-what crumbly, and as she hauled it out of the way it hit the floor and fell into pieces with a loud thunk.

Something else followed it out too, dark brown and black with portions of it white. It seemed to be stuck on the side of the metal sheet that fell on the flood, and threads and pieces of it still stuck to the insides of the metal box. It looked like some sort of sticky substance, obviously a biological hazard.

"Uh..." Vinyl waved a hoof around, flinching at the smell. She couldn't quite tell what it was- but it definitely didn't smell good. Hot smoke was pouring out of the metal container, and slithered along the ground. Something caused a slight chemical reaction in there when it was burning- but what was it? She turned her attention back to the odd guck stuck to the metal.

She stared at it, trying to figure out what it was. Then she tried her best not to puke, and quickly looked away.

"Oh, god..." she muttered and shook her head.

"What is it?" Frostbite asked, flying down and landing next to her. She pointed at the guck, and he peered at it.

It was a body. The white stuff was the skull and skeletal structure, the only thing recognizable. The flesh had melted into this odd gooey stuff, completely indistinguishable from the internal organs and skin- everything was all melted together in one big goo. The only thing that might give a clue of as to what it was would be the skeleton, which remained some-what in shape. The skull had an obvious bullet hole through it- looks like there was a firefight before here too.

The metal container must've protected the pony from a good deal of the nuke, however probably grew so hot on the inside that it melted everything. It was a miracle there was anything left of it though.

Frostbite kicked the sheet of metal aside, stretching the goo as it slid away. He took a look inside, scanning around the interior.

"Looks like it was a walker. Scout class... With light anti-aircraft missiles." He mumbled, examining the controls; which were all charred and burnt black. But there were some distinct buttons and triggers that he could rely on to give him information.

He stuck his head back out, and shook it.

"Nothing more in there." he shook his head, and headed off to look around some more.

Vinyl sighed. That was the good thing about having a griffon around- they do give you a high confidence boost. Having one around felt like you didn't need to do anything- despite they would scare the heck out of you.

"More of these downed walkers." she muttered, scanning the area. This time she wasn't about to open them. "Do you think the science faction attacked their own troops?"

"Unlikely." Frostbite titled his head to one side.

They were in a huge clearing which might've been a huge complex, but everything has been burnt to ashes.

His eagle eyes caught something, and immediately his head snapped to that side.

"Looks like someone's been here already." he said as he walked towards the object.

"What is it?" Vinyl asked.

"A memorial, it seems." Frostbite said, walking up to it. It was a large stick, stuck in the ashes, with a piece of bright red fabric tied to the end. It fluttered in the breeze, coated with nuclear fallout.

"Looks like there were survivors." Vinyl said, scanning the lines of hoofsteps in the ash leading to and from the memorial.

She walked closer, then abruptly her front hoof sunk into something. She let out a surprised yelp as she tripped into the ash, and would've taken a mouthful for it not her mask. Frostbite quickly picked her up and put her back on her hooves.

"Stand back." he said, and walked forward himself while keeping Vinyl back.

He dug through the fallout with his claws, and eventually unearthed something underneath all the ash. Embedded in the gravel road which was burnt bare, was a huge foot print.

"Walkers..." Vinyl muttered, staring at the footprint. She traced the direction it was facing, and her horn glowed.

The ash parted, revealing a complete trail of walker footprints. They led out of the devastation zone and out of sight.

"Hmmm." Frostbite mumbled, and turned back to the memorial. "I have a feeling that the science faction didn't randomly turn rogue. Something attacked them, and stole some of their walkers. And we only know of one group of ponies that would do that..." he sighed, and plucked the red fabric off the stick. He unfolded it, and wiped away the ash; revealing a black skull imprinted on the fabric, grinning menacingly back at him. He tucked the fabric away, and checked around him. "Pirates."

"So the science faction nuked the pirates after they attacked a squad of patrolling walkers, eh..." Vinyl rubbed her chin. "Should we track these trails?"

"They're leading to Manehatten... Give Haven and Spitfire a heads up first. We might've found new allies... Or enemies."

*

Pirates were a common type of the survivors left on the surface. They would attack anyone and anything should they possess useful goods and supplies- regardless of who it was. In this case, they stole half a squadron of walkers- that means there must be quite a lot of them too.

"Pirates. Got it. Shouldn't be too much to worry about." Spitfire sighed. "I've got larger emergencies than this to deal with." she said.

"They stole walkers, ma'am. On their own. They should be considered formidable at the very least." Frostbite replied.

"Hang on, soldier. They stole walkers? What type?" Spitfire suddenly felt something bad tug a her heart, and her hooves started sweating.

"Scout, with light anti-aircraft and combat capabilities." Frostbite reported.

"And where did you say they were headed again?" Spitfire's heart was dropping.

"Manehatten, ma'am."

"Well, BUCK!" Spitfire cursed, hanging up and turning away from the screen. "CONTACT THE ILLUSION!! SEND THE MEDICAL TEAM REINFORCEMENTS- NOW!" she screamed across the bridge.

"What's wrong captain?" Soarin quickly rushed to her side as she slumped down in an office chair nearby.

"Bucking pirates. We're gonna have a problem. Contact Thyme and the medical team now." Spitfire said, and took a deep breath. "Let's just hope those darn bastards don't shoot our bird."

*

"Captain, we're ETA five minut-" Thyme started as Spitfire called, but was immediately cut short.

"BE CAREFUL. We just got reports of possible pirate activity in the local area, with light anti-aircraft missiles. Tell the pilot to watch it! We're sending reinforcements, but they won't be there till in another thirty!"

Thyme froze. Great, back in the war zone.

"Yes ma'am. Signing off." she said, and hung up. "Alright ponies, we've got a slight problem." she sighed. "Check your rifles, get those turrets running- we'll probably be going in hot."

The squad groaned, and started checking their weapons. Thyme reached up and pulled down the standard issue 9mm UP gatling manual turret. It clicked into place behind the closed drop ship doors, indicator lights flashing as it came online.

The 9mm turret uses modified pistol ammo, and while may sound extremely un-intimidating; it still has its capabilities. Small ammunition has cheaper production costs, and may also be produced in mass amounts without too much sorry on cost and time, making it highly efficient in terms of marketing and production. The turret is a bit more work however, apart from firing the standardized 9mm ammo; it also has a magnetic accelerator along each barrel that can instantly propel the bullet at 17km/h below light speed. The bullets themselves are coated with a high-density material made from neutron stars, to keep bullet integrity at a max as it propels through the air. This insures the bullet doesn't split or go off course during the acceleration process, making the turret one of the most accurate high fire-rate cannons to be produced; alongside its energy weapon successors. Both turret and ammunition are cheap to produce, making it a standard issue weapon among front lines and drop ships. Gun ships use a different version, modified for high fire-power instead of accuracy.

Since the 9mm rounds are so small, they could easily slide through a target and cause extra damage. They have been known to go through at least twenty-seven standard blocks of ballistics gel at once.

Right now the medical team had clouds below them as cover, but as soon as they go through those they would be exposed to visual contact. They just have to spot the pirates first, or hope they don't fire.

Chapter 36: Through the Battlefield

Everything was quite calm, however the medic team was on full alert; every muscle in their body tense and ready to spring into action the moment they fly through and under the clouds.

"Shush, hear that?" Thyme held up a hoof, ears pointed and searching for any trace of noise.

"Shuck..." Pulse muttered, the cardiovascular specialist in the team. "There's a whole bucking battle going on down there..."

Thyme's ears twitched. Yes, she could hear distant gun shots and explosions.

"This is not good... Not good at all." she muttered. The sounds of battle were still too far... They might've waited it out if they didn't have an emergency on their hooves.

"Should we call Spitfire?" Pulse asked.

"Just tell her." Thyme shook her head. "But we're going straight in. Those patients can't wait." she said, and walked into the cockpit. "Pilot, keep going. Watch out for enemy fire- there's a fire fight going on below us."

*

"Shuck... What the hay is going on here!?" Vinyl gaped at the distant city of Manehatten. Frostbite had flown the both of them onto a roof top in Fillydelphia, with a clear view of Manehatten. And right now, it was engulfed in flames.

"Hmmmm." Frostbite mumbled thoughtfully, studying the battle.

"What is it?" Vinyl looked up at her partner.

"You see those?" He pointed at the city.

"Yeah, no. I don't have those eagle eyes of yours." Vinyl sighed frustratedly.

"Well, they're science faction assault walkers. Remember, the pirates only stole scout walkers." Frostbite pointed out.

"Uh-huh... So this fight is between the pirates and the science faction?" Vinyl raised an eyebrow. "Seems a bit too convenient for us."

"Indeed." Frostbite nodded. "But why were the scout walkers fitted with anti-aircraft missiles? The normal models don't have those."

"I would theorize that they were used for defense..." Vinyl said slowly, then her eyes widened with realization. "Defense! Guarding! They were guarding something!"

"My thoughts exactly." Frostbite said, turning away to get down. "But guarding what?"

"Or maybe, HIDING what?" Vinyl allowed his claws to dig into her shoulder, and felt that familiar sudden rush of wind as Frostbite's powerful wings beat against the air.

"Contact Haven and Spitfire. We MIGHT be onto something big." he said, curved through the air and dove down towards the ground.

*

"I was hoping for some rest."

"You don't need it." Spitfire pointed out. "And neither would it appear pleasant to you."

"Fine. I'm the reinforcement, with these... Guys.... And mostly girls. Why us again?"

"Because, you performed exceptionally well last time." Spitfire nodded her approval, then received a text message. She took her time reading it, a frown slowly creeping onto her face. "Alright, change of plans. Objective and priority one, cover the med team. Objective two-" she handed Soarin the text document. "-We believe there might be something the pirates stole from the Science Faction. Something that was meant to be kept secret. Find out what it is, and bring it to Haven if possible."

"Haven?"

"Yeah. I'm sending you guys to pick up Rainbow and her team and head straight for Haven, including the med team. The drop ship that was meant to pick them up got shot down about half an hour ago." Spitfire sighed. "And Haven is a safer choice than the OASIS, as no one knows where it is yet."

"Roger, captain."

"Give me an ETA?" Spitfire raised an eyebrow.

"Ten minutes behind the med team, ma'am." Neon said, a claw holding firmly onto the handrails of the gun ship.

Around her stood the cadets, Inkie, Blinkie, Asty and Rig.

"Remind me why we have to use jet packs again? You do know that almost thirty percent of training accidents involve jet packs, right?" Asty raised a wary eyebrow.

"I do. And it's still the best decision." Neon said, and Asty could only nod a forced approval.

Rig checked his rifle one last time. "This... Is actually the first time we enter a PROPER war zone, not a small firefight."

"Sure. Where's the fun in small firefights, right?" Asty grinned.

"Sure, sure." Rig sighed.

"So remember cadets, and soldiers-" Neon addressed the Pie twins, and Asty and Rig rolled their eyes. "Problem?" Neon looked at them, and they shook their heads somewhat forcedly. Neon went back to going over the plan. "We're deploying in four minutes. The gun ship will provide cover fire from the sky for us, and we will protect the med team. Kind of like a cover-ception. But remember- the med team is our priority, not fighting the enemies. Also, anyone who isn't on our team is hostile- so shoot the pirates AND the science faction troops. Clear?"

"Clear!" the soldiers and cadets yelled back.

The gun ship they were in wasn't any ordinary one. Its design was based off one of the ancient AC-130s, with completely updated equipment and weaponry. Two launchers with cluster missiles take either side, accompanied by five 50mm high-fire rate cannons to take out infantry in an over-kill kind of manner. Each side is also fitted with two Reaper-class cannons, each capable of firing shells with 300mm diameters. The ship itself is defended against arial predators by two prism-gun turrets, one on its belly and one on its roof.

The gun-ship's engines have been replaced with magnetic ring anti-gravity generators, and as its name suggests- every engine is ring shaped, and the gun ship has four with two on each side keeping it aloft. It uses a forcefield that sucks in air from the top of engine and propels it out the bottom of the ring. Additional engines that use fuel instead of energy are built into the anti-gravity engines, for use in space when there is no air to suck in or propel. Because of the forcefield, it is actually ultra-silent because the sound gets sucked into the engine. Unless of course, you stand right next to the damn thing- then you'll hear it. But otherwise its almost impossible to detect by hearing.

This should give them a slight edge against a whole army.

*

"Uh-oh. Uuuuh-oh." Thyme muttered as they slipped into the clouds.

Something was muffling the sounds coming from the battle- and this was quite odd. Can't possibly be the clouds or distance.

Then something cold crept across Thyme's skin, and she almost jumped and hit her head. Then suddenly the sounds of battle were able to reach their ears, loud and undoubtedly terrifying.

They held on the best they could as the drop ship dropped into a steep dive, and they felt the heat of an explosion nearby as they flew past a fireball.

"They haven't spotted us yet- but the whole place is filled with missiles flying everywhere!" the pilot exclaimed.

*

"The med team has reached the battle." Spitfire said.

"What? That's odd..." Neon sighed. "We don't hear anything yet. And we're only seven minutes away from them."

"Don't know. But they've reported entering the war zone." Spitfire bit her lip.
"Odd..." Neon muttered again.

*

Vinyl shuddered as something cold passed over her. The next thing she knew her ears were being bombarded by the noises of a battle, explosions and gunshots echoing across the city. She covered her ears, her head aching.

"Shuck! What the hay!?" She growled, her ears slowly adjusting.

Frostbite was carrying her by the shoulders, flying them towards Manehatten.

"Some sort of shield- they kept the noise contained. Looks like they didn't want us finding out. Suppose that's why we didn't notice sooner- the clouds are probably Science Faction weather control too." He nodded.

"Looks like whatever the pirates stole, they really don't want us noticing." Vinyl sighed, and Frostbite dropped down behind a building. "Only one way to find out what it is I suppose."

"Correct." Frostbite nodded, pulling out a light assault rifle. It had a brutal looking serrated knife mounted at the end, underneath the barrel. It classified as an energy weapon, as it fired semi-auto shots of highly concentrated beams of Kappa radiation. Kappa radiation was known for being highly destructive, however doesn't last long as it uses itself as fuel for reactions to occur. Thus perfect for infantry weapons- as they don't leave deadly beams of radiation drifting in the air afterwards. Each beam is clearly visible as bright white however, therefore stealth wasn't one of the things it was known for. However, it barely makes any noise when fired- only a soft click. One clip lasts up to almost two hundred shots. The weapon was quite delicate to produce, and many times lethal accidents have occurred during production. Few remaining producers of this weapon refuse to risk the lives of their workers- or the billions of dollars in equipment costs after they get destroyed beyond use in industrial accidents, so production was ceased. DIY clips of ammo are quite easy to produce, thus making the weapon a rare but popular choice among scavengers, pirates and survivors.

"Report findings to Spitfire and take the roof. I'm gonna go take a closer look." Vinyl said, putting her discs on standby and peering around the corner. She heard a whoosh behind her as Frostbite flew up to the roof of the sky scraper.

"Vinyl? This is Spitfire."

"Ma'am." Vinyl replied as acknowledgement, peering around the corner. She instantly shrank behind cover as a walker stepped into view ten meters away, its steps making the earth tremor and the sound waves from its launching missiles shaking dust off the buildings.

"I've got an unconfirmed report that the medical team has entered the battle zone. Do you have visual?"

"Medical team?" Vinyl raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. We received a distress signal from a top priority target in the local region. We sent a medical retrieval team for them, and reinforcements to support them. Do you have a visual?"

"Affirmative." Vinyl said, looking up at the sky. A majestic white drop ship with red highlights was flying down, a medic drop ship. "It hasn't drawn any fire yet."

"Good." Spitfire said, nodding. "They don't know you're here yet. You can definitely help."

"Yes ma'am." Vinyl peered around the corner again. The walker was still there, firing long range missiles. Recon class, obviously a pirate.

"Take down anything that might threaten the medical team. That is, anti-air. Try be as stealthy as possible- I don't want them knowing you're here." Spitfire said. "You got anything to take down walkers?"

"Yeah. Some magnetic grenades Applebloom gave me. Specifically for walkers. She said target the legs, and take cover."

"Did she say they pack a big punch? It certainly sounds like it."

"She said it was a prototype." Vinyl raised an eyebrow, plucking out a small disc-like object from her belt. It was about half the size of her hoof. "It has a timer."

"Probably for you to get out of range." Spitfire noted.

"It only goes up to five seconds though." Vinyl said dryly.

"Just throw it and see what happens." Spitfire sighed.

*

The walker's pilot was fully concentrated on pushing the science faction troops back, when his concentration was cut off by something in the sky. He looked up, and spotted a drop ship slowly descending from the skies.

"Reinforcements aye... That looks valuable." He grinned, showing a few golden teeth. He aimed up with the walker's anti-air systems, acquiring a target lock.

His HUD beeped as it locked on, and his grin broadened. He rested a hoof on the trigger, when he was interrupted by a loud noise.

Something had hit the hull of the walker, and made a solid metallic thunk. He raised an eyebrow at the sound, and at the beeps which were coming from that same spot.

"The hay...?"

*

Vinyl was ten meters away, watching what would happen; but obviously did not expect the result. It was a literal case of 'now you see it, now you don't.' The next second after an extremely loud boom and bright flash, the walker wasn't even there. Disappeared along with it was a large chunk of earth.

Vinyl had been knocked off her hooves by the shockwave, and her ears were ringing.

"I was not expecting that, I can tell you." She said through the radio.

"I kind of saw that on my monitor." Spitfire face-hoofed. "The bright flash went through the darn clouds. How can you still see, even?"

"I have my tactical mask on." Vinyl said.

"Remind me to place a large order for those." Spitfire said.

"Will do. Gotta run. Vinyl Scratch out." Vinyl said quickly as she heard some shouting, and quickly scurried to her hooves and slid behind cover. She could zip through this building and attack them from the other end. After all, the laser discs are pretty much soundless.

She quickly leaped in from one of its glassless windows, ignoring the dust that was sticking to her hooves as she ran through the dark corridor, lighting her way with a disc.

*

Bluefyre looked around her. The Everfree was as dark as ever, and as silent as ever too. Oddly silent. She could hear her own irregular breathing as she stumbled through the woods, clutching a wound in her side.

She had heard the crack of a gunshot, and the next thing she knew she had a bullet wound in her side. She covered it the best she could with her hoof, trying to stop the blood from flowing out- but she could feel it trickling down her legs. She had no idea who attacked her- but this wasn't good. The gunshot sounded like a standard issue one- probably one of those secondary pistols.

She checked behind her, but found nothing but dark forest. She was surrounded by trees, with no direction to go in what so ever.

Then she heard hoof steps a little bit to her right, and quickly turned left and sprinted away.

She arrived at a clearing, and she slumped down to catch her breath. Warm sunlight poured onto her neck as she knelt, taking in huge gulps of fresh naturally filtered air. She tried to regulate her breathing, but it wasn't working very well. She was completely shaken- the attack came out of nowhere.

Using the ghost-fires wouldn't help much. She'd just lose control again- and this time Magnum won't be here to help.

She looked up, and was horrified to see an armored figure striding through the forest. But then that panic faded away as she recognized the armor. She quickly scrambled to her hooves, and started stumbling towards the figure.

"Shuck... Anvil! Anvil... I thought you were dead!" She let out a relieved laugh. "Thank god you're here... Someone shot me... I don't know who but, he's probably back there." She turned around and pointed behind her at the trees, as mysterious as ever. Anvil didn't seem to notice her at all though, and didn't even talk. "Anvil...?" Bluefyre turned around, but was met by the barrel of a pistol.

There was a loud bang, and she felt a bullet tear through her stomach. She stumbled back, her expression full of shock and surprise. Slowly from her wound she looked up, with a face full of confusion.

"...Anvil....?" She managed, before Anvil sent another bullet through her shoulder.

Then there was one final crack as a pistol bullet shattered her skull, tearing through her brain and stopping dead at the back of her head. She fell back, wide-eyed and dead, blood leaking out of her wounds.

There was a dull thud as she hit the grass floor, her eyes staring emptily up at the sky.

Anvil walked forward a few steps, and dropped the empty pistol on her chest. He looked down, and his helmet unfolded and parted to be packed away in a small compartment in the back of his armor. But it wasn't Anvil in the suit.

Starshine grinned down at Bluefyre's dead body.

Oh, pathetic. So trusting.

"It was a pleasure working with you." He laughed, and walked on.

*

"Hold on everypony! Here we go!" Thyme yelled as her stomach lurched, the drop ship breaking into a steep dive. Suddenly they were yanked to the right, a missile grazing past their right wing.

"I'm gonna put us right above the surface. That way we could use the buildings as cover- and you could get that turret running." The pilot called from the cockpit.

"Pulse! Go help him out and watch the missiles!" Thyme waved a hoof towards the cockpit.

"Yes ma'am." Pulse quickly ran into the cockpit, his heavy clunking hoof steps slowly fading as he joined the pilot.

Abruptly the drop ship pulled back up, parallel against the ground. It weaved through the buildings, barely fitting between avenues and streets.

"We're headed straight for the distress beacon! It's near the top of that cliff!" Thyme yelled, pointing at a cliff in the distance.

"We'll need to land on the top and have you guys rappel down. The beacon's coming from a cave in the cliff face- I can't land there!" The pilot yelled back.

"Ah crap. Walkers!" Pulse warned, and held down the triggers for the drop ship's two main guns near the nose.

Clouds of dust exploded into the air as the high-caliber bullets struck the earth around the walkers, lifting up rock and ash. A few struck the walkers, tearing them to tatters.

"They're returning fire!" The pilot banked right, a stream of bullets passing by. They went right between two buildings, the engines disturbing the age-old dust settled over them.

"We've been targeted!" Pulse yelled, seeing a red indicator flash on his side.

"From where...?" the pilot looked around, confused.

"Shuck. Roof tops." Thyme cursed, looking up.

One of the walkers jumped up, and suddenly two huge booster engines under its feet flared up with a loud boom. It flew through the air, and landed heavily onto a different rooftop; easily clearing a seven-meter gap. Dust shook off the building's surface with a light tremor, but the structure held.

"Looks like nowhere is safe then." Pulse muttered.

"Two tracking missiles!" The pilot yelled, pulling the ship hard right. The right engine scraped along one of the buildings, sparks exploding into the air as it dragged along.

The med team struggled to hold on as the plane tilted almost ninety-degrees, some stocked supply crates tumbling across the compartment.

The first missile failed to turn in time and struck the building, plowing right through it with a fireball. The building collapsed in a violent manner, spewing out bricks and metal and concrete out from the explosion. It fell down into an ash cloud with a huge rumbling that filled the air- but the drop ship had long flown past.

The last missile was much more persistent. The pilot tried his best to shake it off, swerving left and right- but the missile seemed to predict his moves and kept following him.

"Shoot it, damnit!" He yelled behind him at the med team.

"Can't get a shot!" Thyme yelled back.

"For buck's sake." Pulse muttered, undoing his seatbelt and quickly getting out of his seat. He pulled out his compact rifle, which with several clicks flicked out and unfolded into a full light-weight assault rifle.

He reached behind his back and pulled out the rappel cable that came with all the suits, and slammed the hook down on one of the handrails on the roof. Making sure it was secured, he slammed a hoof on the manual 'open' button for the side door. It blasted open, and he almost fell over as a huge gust of air hit him full in the chest. He stumbled back, but then quickly went forward and knelt down at the edge.

Watching everything pass by down bellow at almost 200 kilometers an hour didn't help boost his confidence- and neither did the huge engine at the back that was trying to suck him in help either. But they'd all be dead soon if someone doesn't take care of that darn missile.

Using flares at this point wouldn't be much help. This model of missile had the clear distinct ring of red light around the tracking camera- this was something new that science invented. Once the missile locks onto the one heat signature, all others become invisible to it as the special red light shuts them out. A filter software also shuts out all other distractions that might be cast its way.

Pulse tried to take aim, but the aircraft was moving too much- and the missile was a small target. It was near impossible to shoot it at this rate- let alone he was trying not to hit the back engine. He let out a short three-round burst, but they all hit empty space. The second burst wasn't much luck either.

Then something on the opposite side exploded, the blast knocking the ship sideways and the flash sending shadows scattering across the floor.

A missile meant for someone else had missed and struck a nearby building, the shockwave knocking the drop ship off balance- and Pulse.

"Shuck-" he cursed as he was shaken off the plane and out the side, a loose cable whipping around him as the engines sucked him towards the drop ship's tail. His eyes widened with fear as he realized that he didn't secure the cable on his side- and that the engines were going to swallow him up and spit him out in broken pieces.

Then his arm caught on something, and it felt like a python had wrapped around it and crushed it. He screamed as he was yanked to a stop, his arm popping out of his shoulder.

His back hooves were only feet away from being dragged into the engine, and he was slipping. The cable had wrapped around his arm, which stopped it from deploying any further. He quickly reached back and flicked a switch, locking the cable so it wouldn't deploy any further and would only retract. Sadly the automatic retract option was only meant for tidying the cable, instead of pulling someone up to the location. The motors simply weren't strong enough.

"Damnit- Pulse! Come on!" Thyme yelled, peering out the cabin door. Then she turned behind her and yelled at the med team. "Secure his cable damnit!"

They could try pulling him in, but that would mean they would have to unhook the cable first- which wasn't the safest option. Pulse should be able to pull himself in- they just have to make sure the cable stays secure.

Pulse ignored the pain in his left arm, and reached forward with his right. He made the cable wrap around it, freed his left, and tugged himself forward. Now just two meters to go.

He repeated the step, but the pilot had to make a hard left to avoid getting hit, and it flung him away from the side of the plane. The g-force that slammed onto his body almost suffocated him, the full weight of his body and suit slamming into his hip where the cable was connected. Then the ship steadied, and he was flung back again, slamming his shoulder against the hull.

"Shuck! The missile!" The pilot warned. "It's gonna hit us!"

Pulse looked down, ignoring the agonizing pain in his side from when he hit the hull at full force. He still had his rifle- it was secured to him via a rope, which was only meant for quick deploy but not storage.

He grabbed onto the rope, and yanked it forward. He caught the rifle, and took aim once again.

Third time lucky, he thought as he pulled the trigger.

The bullets struck the missile, tearing it down the center. It sparked and caught flames, and veered majorly off course. It started spinning, falling behind. Then it clipped an office building and blew up, the sudden expansion of gas blowing a fireball twenty meters in diameter in under 0.4 seconds. The shockwave gave Pulse a considerable lift, and blasted him towards the entrance.

But still not close enough. He tucked away his rifle, and began his agonizing climbing process again.

"Walkers on the roofs!" The pilot yelled, turning right as a rocket flew past them.

"Damnit!" Pulse cursed. His rifle won't be doing anything against those.

"Buck- turret doesn't reach that angle!" Thyme pulled down the turret, but it wouldn't aim high enough. Understandable though, since the walkers were pretty much right above them.

Then there was the distinct sound of a rocket being launched, probably already on a collision course with the drop ship.

Chapter 37: Applejack

Rainbow had fallen asleep too, Dainty still snoring on her lap and in her arms. Octavia felt a little tired, however not sleepy. It must've been quite a big day for Rainbow, despite everything else. It isn't everyday that you find everything you vowed to protect stolen from you- but then again, neither is it everyday that you find yourself in a different reality.

Soon Octavia could hear Daring and Lily snoring a bit too. Babs had her eyes closed, breathing softly. Only Octavia and Silver remained wide awake.

"You can go to sleep if you want. I know the way." EDI said to Octavia.

"I'm fine, thanks EDI." Octavia sighed. "But there's someone I have to keep an eye on." She said, somewhat loudly so that Silver could hear. Their eyes met in the rear view mirror, both ignorant of each other.

Rainbow yawned loudly, and seemed to open her eyes a little.

"Sleep, Rainbow." Octavia said quietly. "It's been a long day. You deserve some."

"I already got myself some." She stretched, then immediately became careful as she remembered Dainty was still curled up on her lap. "Plus, the dreams I'm having don't exactly make me want to go back to them."

"Nightmares, eh." Octavia nodded slowly.

"No, just dreams." Rainbow sighed, and looked tiredly out the window at the bright orange evening sun. "Just happy memories, is all." She yawned.

Octavia didn't say anything. She knew what Rainbow was talking about. Happy memories of a long lost reality, coming to haunt you as you know you'll never reach them again. Just more empty bait that hope is casting.

"Shuck... What happened here?" Rainbow frowned, looking at something outside.

"What is it?" Octavia asked.

"There must've been survivors here..." Rainbow shook her head. "It's one of the trains that used to pull ponies around Equestria."

Octavia looked past Rainbow. "A supply carriage..."

"Could be worth a look." Rainbow noted. "Just one look around- shouldn't take long."

"EDI, stand guard." Octavia stopped the car. "Identify and neutralize all targets that approach. Rainbow and I are going for a quick look-see." She said, and opened the door. Then she leaned close so only EDI could hear her: "Watch Silver Dash for any suspicious behavior. The moment she shows signs of aggression- do whatever it takes to protect the others. Do you understand?"

"Acknowledged." EDI said through Octavia's comms instead of the speakers.

Octavia slammed the door shut and straightened her coat as she stood up, placing her hat over her head and casting a quick gaze around the empty wasteland. Nothing was visible in miles, except a small shade in the distance that was Ponyville.

Rainbow took a pistol with her just in case, with a few clips of ammo. Usually the cleaver should be enough, but there wasn't exactly a lot of space in the damn train to wield it.

She nodded to Octavia, who nodded back- and they started walking towards the train.

All was silent. The normal noises of the wasteland, such as the cooing of mutated birds and creeping whooshing of the wind, was not currently present. Simple silence was settled over the scene, except the occasional crow's cry which echoed across the vast plains.

"Ain't liking this." Rainbow tutted, scanning the area. Pollution shielded things that were further away, but it didn't matter much. The two had fast enough reaction times to catch a bullet. Only the reaction time though- not that they actually could.

"Me neither." Octavia muttered, keeping her pistol dangling by her side and ready for action.

They strode closer and closer towards the train, and it was becoming clearer and clearer. The fallout was thinning, and now they could see the tracks too. The train had completely derailed and flipped on its side, the rails cracked and split all over the place. Twisted metal lay scattered about, along with other bits and pieces of material.

Rainbow heard a light shuffle behind her, but ignored it. Then she noticed Octavia had stopped walking, and turned around.

"Tavi, you alright?" She raised an eyebrow.

Octavia was kneeling on the ground, clutching her side with a hoof while the other struggled to hold onto the pistol. She had beads of sweat dripping down her face, which was contorted in pain.

"Bucking anti-matter poisoning." She groaned through gritted teeth. "Acting up again."

"Crap..." Rainbow muttered, jogging to her side. She dug an arm under hers, and hoisted her up. "Can you walk?"

"I think I can handle it for now. Grrr... God that hurts." She bent over, breathing heavily and squeezing her side with a hoof. "Let it pass..."

After a minute or so the pain faded, and at least she was able to straighten up again. She still stumbled a bit though, so Rainbow helped her along.

"You sure you don't want to just go back to EDI and rest?"

"And leave you out here?" Octavia chuckled weakly. "No thanks." She said with a light groan.

Finally they got to the train, and Rainbow took a peek in the abandoned carriage via a small crack in the wooden roof.

"Can't see anything. Hold on." She grabbed onto the piece of wood, and yanked. The rotted material cracked almost instantly, and a second yank broke it free. It tumbled down on the ground, a small ash cloud rolling out of the carriage with it.

A grin spread across Rainbow's face as she scanned their salvage.

"Hey! Got some medical equipment. See if EDI can use that to patch you up. Got ammo... Ooh, axe." Rainbow was like a kid in a toy shop.

"Sshh, you hear that?" Octavia suddenly held up a hoof.

There was the distant howling of a wolf, and... Hoof steps. Stumbling, irregular, unbalanced, and probably rotten- hoof steps. Then came the familiar groaning, moaning, thirsty for blood and fresh meat.

"Mutations..." Rainbow whispered, looking around. "We should probably go." she said, and started walking out.

Suddenly she felt something close around her ankle, and she tripped. She looked down- and there was a mutated unicorn that she disregarded as a dead body earlier. Without thinking, she kicked it away and put a bullet through its head.

The gunshot echoed across the plains, and all went silent- for just a moment. Then the ruckus started again, growing louder, louder, louder- and louder.

"You're a moron." Octavia face-hoofed.

"Shut up." Rainbow muttered, standing up and scanning the area.

Shadows and shifting shapes started forming from somewhere to their left, behind the thick clouds of air pollution. There must be a whole horde there, heading towards them.

"My god... Call EDI, now!" Rainbow turned to Octavia.

"Trying!" Octavia panicked. "Someone's jamming our signals!"

"What..?" Rainbow looked around, lost. "But there's no-one here!" Then her eyes widened. "You've gotta be kidding me. We walked right into a death trap? LITERALLY!!??" She quickly turned to run back into the train- whoever was here before must've hid a signal jammer in there. But it was too late.

"Look out!" Octavia yelled, shoving Rainbow out of the way with one hoof and smashing the trigger of her pistol with the other. The mutated dog dropped down from mid-leap, officially dead.

"Looks like we'll have to fight our way through this muck!" Rainbow growled, tucking away the pistol and whipping out her cleaver.

There were several loud clicks as it unfolded, the area being lit red by loyalty. She swung it around, through three zombies at once and halving them cleanly. Blood splattered into the air, thick and infected.

Rainbow stepped forward, leaning on her back hoof and sliding the cleaver handle forward. Heavy gunshots echoed across the plains as the high-caliber bullets tore through rotten flesh with all the ease of ripping a sheet of paper. Skulls shattered and bones cracked, blood flew and organs fell.

Rainbow slid the handle back down, and swung up at the nearest mutated. It was cut straight up the center, completely in half.

She saw something leap into the sky with her peripheral vision, and turned just in time to see a mutated pegasus pony dive at her. She stabbed the cleaver into him, and he stopped dead just before his demented hooves could reach her. She quickly flung him off, and whipped out her pistol because she didn't have time.

The infected just kept coming.

Rainbow took a step back, and felt her back bump into Octavia's. they glimpsed each other, and immediately twirled around and swapped ends.

Octavia whipped out her pistol and busted a zombie's head, while Rainbow cut the legs clean off another by stabbing the cleaver through its knees and into the ground.

Octavia ducked down and turned around, firing a bullet into the zombie's head as it fell down. Rainbow kicked the cleaver's fire trigger, sending a huge shockwave through the earth and the cleaver flying out of the ground. The handle struck down an infected wolf by cracking its skull. The blade bounced back and into Rainbow's hooves, who stepped past Octavia and swung it around in a wide arc; taking down several infected all in one swing.

They kept watch on each other's and their own ammo count as they fought- this benefited them both, as fluent team work always worked better than anything. The moment Octavia's pistol clicked empty, Rainbow knew what to do.

Octavia shook out the empty clip while Rainbow whipped out a fresh one since she barely used her pistol, and flung it over to Octavia. Octavia held up the pistol, and the clip flew straight into place. She loaded it with a click, and continued on with a curt nod.

Rainbow flew into the air and dove back down, slamming the cleaver into the ground. The earth shook, and the clumsy infected bodies of the zombies failed to cope. They tripped over one another, tripping more of their friends up as they clawed their way to get back up. Rainbow quickly whipped out her pistol, and started firing.

The crowd was thinning- there weren't many left to be dealt with.

"Almost there!" Rainbow yelled, which was a bad idea since it temporarily distracted her.

Someone leaped out of nowhere and hit her full in the chest, sending her flying back several meters before rolling on the dirt. She recovered and flipped over just in time to stop a zombie's teeth from sinking into her neck, and she could feel its warm feverish breath on her neck.

"Well this is mighty disgusting." She muttered as she twisted its neck, thick blood and puss exploding out of a lump in the back of its head. She quickly kicked it away and got up, wiping the disgusting substance away from her coat.

She quickly picked up her cleaver again, and rammed her shoulder into another. She slammed the cleaver down into its chest and yanked it out, blood flying into the air as it shook off the cleaver blade.

Octavia simply didn't have a fast enough trigger hoof. From the chaos and gunshots an infected unicorn managed to weave through and tackle her down. Octavia pushed its face as far away from her own as possible with her front hooves, but was struggling to do so. The zombie was quickly closing in, its foul smelling breath making Octavia crinkle her nose.

Then she diverted that energy sideways and flung the zombie onto the ground, and before it could get back up again she put a bullet through its head. She quickly rolled back up, pointing her pistol this way and that, expecting more infected to turn up- but none did. They were all gone.

Well, except for one- but Rainbow already had her pistol pointed at its head.

Octavia quickly swapped for a full clip and pocketed the pistol. Not much to do here- she straightened her coat and adjusted her hat, and was ready to head back in to retrieve the supplies.

"Come on Rainbow. Let's shut down that darn signal jammer and get EDI here- lots of useful crap sitting around." Octavia peered into the train carriage. She waited, but Rainbow didn't reply. She turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Rainbow?"

Rainbow was still holding the pistol, although quite visibly her arms were shaking. The zombie was a mere five meters away, slowly limping towards her and making dry moans.

"Darn it RD. stop fooling around and get over here! Just shoot it!" Octavia shook her head. She walked over to Rainbow and stood next to her, peering at her face.

She found nothing but shock and an unbelieving expression there, the barest hint of a tear forming at the corner of her eye.

"Rainbow... What's wrong...?" She turned her attention to the zombie.

It was obviously an earth pony mare- blonde mane dirtied with ash and grime, orange skin ripped and covered in dirt. Her eyes probably were an intense green, but now had faded back to a barely visible mint color- almost white. And she seemed to have what looked like three red dots for a cutie mark. Over her head she wore some sort of hat- it was near impossible to tell what it was before, since it had been so torn and ripped.

Octavia recognized her as someone who hung out with Rainbow a lot back in the other reality. She saw them together with the Elements of Harmony back at the gala before. Then she realized- this was one of them. The last element that was missing for so long.

Instantly her expression saddened as she realized how horrible this must be for Rainbow. Hope- how high those hopes she had must've been. And this is all she gets for all that hope- a somewhat literal rotting mess.

"Poor mare..." She muttered, her own voice dry. "Must've starved to death before the infected got to her, by the looks of it." Octavia shook her head. "She must've been quite strong then, to have survived this long from everything else." She cast Rainbow a quick glance, and for a moment all they could hear was the zombie's slow shuffling hoof steps.

Octavia sighed, weighing her options. Then she looked up and laid a gentle hoof on Rainbow's shoulder.

"Can I trust you with this?" She asked softly.

Rainbow didn't say anything- only nodded. Octavia could tell she was barely fighting back the tears. She gave Rainbow a soft pat on the back, and turned away to head for the carriage.

Rainbow waited until she couldn't hear Octavia's hoof steps anymore, and could no longer hold back her tears. She let them stream down her face, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I expected you to be stronger than that, partner." She chuckled sadly. "I hope this isn't you. I really do- but there's no denying it. Why did all of you have to leave me? I... I tried so hard..." She let the gun drop to her side, and she wiped off a bead of water at the corner of her eye, letting out a soft sob. "I thought... Maybe... Just maybe... You'd make it. Looks like I was wrong again." Rainbow sighed. But then her expression hardened, and she leveled the gun once again. "But you know what? I know who caused this. I know why this happened. And I know how I'm gonna take revenge." She said through gritted teeth, but failed to stop the crying. "I DON'T CARE IF VAL IS BEHIND ALL THIS!! THEY CHOSE TO FOLLOW HER, THEN THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE TOO!!" Rainbow screamed, more to herself than anyone else. "AJ... Maybe you can hear me, maybe you can't... But I'll kill them. You hear me? I'LL KILL ALL OF THEM!" She yelled, her voice breaking up into gulps and tears as she struggled to continue on. "I...I'll make sure they pay." She said, and looked back up again.

Applejack slowly limped ever closer. There wasn't much to do beyond this point.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry I've been so useless. The one goal I set for myself- to protect my friends- I failed. I'm sorry... It was my fault, and yet you had to pay for it..." She closed her eyes, gritting her teeth in pure heart ache. "Goodbye, old friend. And I'm sorry."

And with that, a bright flash exploded through the empty wasteland as the pistol went off. The bang echoed through the plains, continuing on.... Everything seemed so empty.

There was a loud tink as the bullet shell hit the ground, followed by a dull thud as Applejack fell to the floor, her dulled eyes finally coming to a close.

Rainbow slumped down, dropped the pistol, and buried her face in her hooves. She curled up into a ball, the feeling of loss itching her heart growing ever stronger. She let out a few wails, she didn't care who hears it or doesn't- it didn't matter to her. All she cared about was that all her old friends were dead, and it was because that she was too weak to do anything about it.

She heard some light hoof steps behind her- familiar, easily recognizable. Then she felt Octavia's hoof on her shoulder, gentle and light.

She turned around and threw her arms around the grey earth pony, crying louder and harder than ever as she struggled to hold onto what little was left. She felt Octavia hug her back, and squeezed. She didn't want to let go- in fear that once she did, she might just slip away and be gone forever.

There was the sound of grinding tires as EDI pulled up, and a faint click as the door opened. A light thud as Dainty jumped out, a worried expression on her face.

Rainbow quickly picked her up and squeezed her tight.

"Dainty... I'm gonna use every last ounce of my strength to make sure you get out of this safe and sound, alright? I'm not letting you go. I won't." She cried into her shoulder.

"Sis..." Dainty started, but turned to Octavia instead- Rainbow didn't look too stable. She raised a worried eyebrow, ruffling Rainbow's mane. "What happened?"

"Long story. She found another one of her friends." Octavia sighed.

"Oh..." Dainty rested her head down on Rainbow's shoulder, a sudden heaviness resting on her heart. Her sister probably lost just about everything by now...

"Dainty... I...I'm so... So scared... To lose you guys...." Rainbow sobbed. "I...I don't know what to do anymore... I'm so... Scared..."

Dainty hugged her tightly, nuzzling her gently. "Stop, sis. You did a great job of protecting us so far. You've done more than any pony else." She grinned. "And I think that's what counts."

Rainbow didn't talk for a moment, and just stared emptily and sadly at the ground.

"I... I just feel so weak." Rainbow shook her head, eyes lowered.

"You're just thinking of who you've lost, not who you've got left." Dainty smiled gently, lifting Rainbow's chin lightly with a hoof.

And at that moment Rainbow saw everyone else as she looked up. Her other friends, Octavia, Magnum, Daring, Silver, Lily and even Babs- standing and ready to continue on with her- if only she were to stand up.

"I'm still here." Dainty noted, then gestured at everyone else. "WE'RE still here."

Rainbow couldn't help but smile, and wiped a small tear off the corner of her eye. She nodded, confidence building up once again. Confidence, not hope. She was simply confident that they could accomplish this- not hope that they would win.

And these were just the friends that she had in sight. Vinyl, Blithy, Spitfire- there were many more out there waiting. It was up to her to deliver the speech- and they'd be a go. While there were many losses, there were wins too- and they mustn't be forgotten.

"From here on." Rainbow stood up, keeping a firm and reassuring hoof on Dainty's shoulder. "From here on out... We watch each other's backs. We get through this together." She looked around at her grinning friends, smiling back at them. "I've already lost too many. WE'VE already lost too many. Let's not let that ever happen again... We stick together, and we'll be fine." She said, and gestured at EDI. "Back in the car everypony! We've still got a whole lot to do!" She said.

EDI opened the doors, and everyone climbed back in- except Rainbow, who took one last look behind her at Applejack's dead body. She sighed, sadness stirring inside her once again. But she shook her head as hard as she could, and ground her teeth together. She cast her dead friend one last gaze.

"Rest, partner. We'll handle the rest." She said, and was about to turn away when she noticed that there was something taped to AJ's left hoof.

Rainbow frowned, and started walking towards the object. It was a small black stick, just a few centimeters long. A faint blue light pulsed on one side- it was some sort of device, and it was obvious that AJ must've taped it to herself before she died.

Rainbow reached down and removed the small device, the pulsing blue light slightly mesmerizing as she stared at it. Then she looked down again, squinting as the bright evening sun was in her eyes.

"What were you trying to tell us, AJ?" She muttered, then turned away to head to the car, dropping the device into her pocket.

"We're gonna hit some rough roads up ahead." Octavia said as Rainbow slammed the door shut. "There's a canyon just before Canterlot. If we want the fastest route, we'll be driving alongside that. Trouble is, night is falling and we're all darn tired. We'll probably drive up to the canyon and cross it tomorrow- call it a night. Set up camp in a small bush somewhere, hopefully no one'll find us."

"I won't agree any less." Rainbow yawned.

"I could drive." EDI noted.

"And wake us up by crashing off the cliff? Why not." Octavia sighed.

"Sarcasm?" EDI would've raised an eyebrow if it had one.

"Correct."

"I do admit that my auto-driving programming is still in the testing stages, and has been confirmed to be 40% reliable, but-"

"I think we've heard enough." Octavia sighed.

"As you wish." EDI said.

As Octavia had said, night fell rather quickly. They set up a small camp out in a small piece of forest near the cliff, with a few make-shift sleeping bags so everyone wasn't crammed in the car and a small camp fire set up outside.

Everyone had fallen asleep except for Rainbow, who sat wide awake in the car with her back hooves dangling out the side.

She looked up at the night sky with its shimmering stars and sighed- Princess Luna, where are you to bring dreams now?

Author's Note

I'm a cruel person aren't I? Putting up a title like that and making you guys think AJ'll make an appearance. Well she kind of did

I feel horrible though. Hmm.

Chapter 38: Cover Fire

"And when do you plan on returning?" An armored alicorn asked, her eyes glowing a dim white in the darkness surrounding her and the other pony that was significantly shorter than her. Her armor had a sort of dark gleam to it, reflecting her shimmering mane that drifted in a non-existent breeze and seemed to show the stars in a night sky.

"I don't plan to until they need me. There's no need. I shall remain by your side for the time being." The bat-pony said, one of her eyes glowing a light green and the other covered by an eyepatch.

"You still need to be careful, huh." The alicorn sighed, looking up at the night sky. Although, it was pretty much night here all the time- since this place in particular didn't have much of an atmosphere. The only reason they were still alive right now was because of a spell the alicorn had cast over the surface.

"I do. Still need more practice with my skills... Using only one eye is proving to be a much larger difficulty than I first imagined." The bat-pony looked down at her hooves, and dug at the grey dirt there. "Depth perception has been completely thrown off. I'll have to rely on a lot of guess work."

"And in your line of business, I do see how that could be a problem." The alicorn nodded, still looking up at the sky. Something blue reflected in her eyes.

The bat-pony looked up too, and for a moment the both of them were mesmerized. Then she chuckled.

"Look at us. They all think we're dead- and what are we doing with this opportunity? Nothing." She shook her head.

"We're waiting." The alicorn kept her eyes on the blue object hovering thousands of kilometers away from them in space. "When the time is right, we will reveal ourselves. Celestia's fall has proven to us that timing is crucial. Charging straight into battle would only get us killed. She may have accumulated a large sum of troops, but her timing was way off."

"Speaking of troops." The bat-pony's left ear twitched. "How are ours doing?"

"Resting. They'll need the energy." The alicorn nodded. "We're over twenty five thousand strong now."

"Seriously? How did they all fit on this bloody little piece of space rock?" The bat-pony raised an eyebrow.

"A few spells did the trick, but that's as much as I can manage now." The alicorn sighed, shaking her head slightly. "You think this'll be third time lucky?"

"Luck has nothing to do with this." The bat-pony sighed. "Although, I wish it did. That would make things so much easier."

"I agree." The alicorn nodded.

For a moment they both stared, mesmerized; at the blue object.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The alicorn sighed sadly.

"It is. I'm surprised that it's still blue... And has green too, after all that happened."

"Comes to show that we've still got a chance then." The alicorn said, turning away and trotting into the darkness. "Soon, my subjects. Equestria will be ours again."

"It shall." The bat-pony nodded, casting Earth one last look, and following the alicorn into the shadows to hide.

*

"Why... Why did you unchain me?" Blithy asked, sitting on a metal foldable chair next to Val, who sat on her throne.

"Because there really isn't anything you could do. The moment you make a move I could just send a signal to that little torture device of mine- or yours. You invented it after all." Val shrugged. "Also, I have some business to attend to. And it's kind of boring when you aren't here, admittedly." She said matter-of-factly.

"I don't think I want to know what kind of business." Blithy shook her head in disgust.

Val ignored her. "HEX, put up a screen for me." She said, and a large holographic screen appeared in front of them. "Now, track our dear friend Rainbow Dash's position, will ya."

"Tracking." An artificial female voice said, and the screen suddenly zoomed in on a satellite image of somewhere near Canterlot.

"Ah, lovely." Val grinned.

Blithy's eyes widened. "How on earth...?"

"You'll know soon enough. The barricade wasn't everything you know, although I'm still quite pissed about that." Val muttered, and sent a short signal to the torturer.

Blithy suddenly went into a violent spasm for just a second, and almost tipped out of her chair. She was left panting once the odd feeling left, but didn't say anything- she learnt to keep quiet, as much as she didn't want to. She could try ripping out the device, but there wasn't much point. Where the hay would she go after that?

"You know, I find it funny how much thought you guys have put into this war- and yet you've missed so much." Val grinned. "Is there really nothing else you could see? The small details, most aren't even that small. You guys just dismissed them as minor."

"Like what?"

"Pffft." Val leant back into her throne. "Like I'm going to tell you. But you'll find out soon enough."

*

Thyme looked up just in time to see the rocket fly towards them.

Then it was hammered straight out of the sky by a prism beam that came from above, searing through the metal and slicing it in half. She looked up to see a huge gun ship, its silent anti-gravity generators keeping it hidden all the way until it got here.

"Reinforcements inbound." The gunship's pilot radioed. "Head straight for the med evac. We've got you covered."

"Copy... Er...." Thyme squinted at the words printed across the gunship's hull. "Copy Albatross." She said.

"Little help here?" She heard Pulse's strangled call through the comms, and quickly turned her attention to him.

Pulse was still clinging on, trying to take off some of the g-force on his hip by tugging himself forward. He wrapped the cable around his arm, and shuffled along.

Thyme reached out with a hoof, but Pulse was still too far away. Pulse could use his gravity boots and latch onto the hull, but that would mean increasing the surface area heading against the wind. Drag would increase significantly, and that could put a lot of tension on the cable. The last thing they needed was for it to snap.

Except, the cable wasn't their problem right now.

Pulse felt his stomach lurch as he dropped back a few feet.

"What the hay was that!?" He yelled, frightened.

Thyme quickly looked behind her. The handrails the cable was hooked onto were getting ripped out of the ceiling.

"Oh crap. SECURE IT!" She screamed, and dived at the handrail.

It broke free, but then flew right into her hooves. She used its momentum and swung it around, then with a loud crack stuck it in a small gap between the door and the outer hull.

"I thought I told you guys to make sure the damn thing was SECURE!" She screamed at the rest of her team.

"Bucking hell. We didn't see it until a second ago!"

"KEEP AN EYE ON IT." Thyme growled, turning back to Pulse. She leant out the side, and called out: "Can you keep climbing!?"

"Buck'n trying!" Pulse groaned, the muscles in his arms burning as he hauled himself forward against the winds.

"There's gotta be a better way..." Thyme sighed frustratedly, looking around for anything she could use- but there really wasn't anything.

A walker leaped up with a boost and flew into the air above them, about to land on the opposite building when it got hammered straight out of the sky by a heavy shell from the Albatross.

"Get him back in for Celestia's sake! Can't accelerate to full speed until he's in!" The pilot yelled.

"You don't think I'm trying!?" Thyme yelled back.

Suddenly something exploded behind them, and there was a loud crack as the cable snapped from the stress.

The shockwave carried Pulse forward a few meters, his cable whipping about.

Thyme reached out and caught his hoof, and he was left dangling there with no safety cable.

The rest of the med team quickly ran forward and grabbed them, and hauled them in. They tumbled into the cabin, and Pulse kicked the 'close' button for the doors. They slammed shut, and they were left to catch their breath on the floor. Thyme banged a hoof on the pilot's door.

"We're all in!" She breathed.

"Gotcha." The pilot said, and launched the drop ship forward and at maximum speed, weaving through the buildings.

*

Vinyl slowly creeped along the second floor, constantly aware of the darkness behind her and the light coming in from the hollow windows.

She could hear some talking- probably just some troopers setting up a small camp. Sounds like pirates- this shouldn't be too hard. Take them out, and move on.

She swung out the window, her light brown jacket sweeping up a tiny cloud of dust from the surface. There was a whoosh and thud as she dropped down, alarmed yelps coming from the pirates around her.

She flicked her wrists, rings of light fizzing to life and circling her hooves. She ducked under a stream of bullets, and slammed a disc into the pirate's stomach. It burned clean through, and she sliced it sideways and tore his insides out. She quickly swiped his hooves out from underneath him with a leg before he could fire any shots.

She quickly dashed to the other, rolled under machine gun fire and leaped back up again. A bright ball of electricity exploded as she slammed a disc into his chin, knocking him back.

Then what followed was a large mess of colorful lights as she sent electricity through his body by slamming the two discs fifteen times into various parts of his body before he hit the ground. There was a loud thud as he hit the ground, lifting up a small cloud of dust. Vinyl stepped over his body, eyes and ears scanning for anyone else in the vicinity.

"You're clear." She heard Frostbite say through the mic. "You've got a few walkers on the roofs on the next few buildings. Stay put and wait for my signal." He said.

*

Frostbite tucked away his rifle, and leaped over the gap between the roof he was on and the opposite one with relative ease as he stretched out his wings. He tuck rolled onto the dust, skidding a few meters. He stood up and kept running, with the two walkers in his sight. They probably weren't expecting a griffon to turn up.

He sneaked up on the first walker, and stuck a grenade in one of the gaps in its armor, where the leg joints were. He quickly flew off the edge of the building, diving down as the grenade went off. He felt the heat of the explosion on his back, but the building had blocked all the shrapnel.

He flew back up again, but the other walker had already spotted him before he could circle around. He beat his wings against the air and launched forward. The walker shot at him, but the bullets failed to keep track of him as he zipped through the air and closed the distance.

Frostbite tucked into a ball and rolled in the air, then launched both back feet into the front of the walker. It caved in from the impact, the metal bending and denting inwards. Frostbite bounced back and landed on his claws and feet, skidding back a few meters on the layer of dust. The walker fell over and hit the floor with a loud bang, and Frostbite pulled out his rifle.

A few beams of kappa radiation punched through the walker's weapons systems, disabling it. Part of the gun's barrel clunked to the ground, useless. Frostbite quickly flew up to it, ripped off the hatch, and fired a few shots into the cockpit. That's the pilot taken care of.
He looked around, seeing if there were more. The roof tops were clear.

"Proceed, Vinyl. And track down the secondary objective." Frostbite said, then narrowed his eyes as he spotted something. "I've got visual contact on the primary objective. Looks like the reinforcements are here too."

*

"Copy. Proceeding to track secondary objective." Vinyl said, sneaking through the labyrinth of buildings.

Suddenly she heard a loud click behind her, and sighed. She raised her hooves above her head, her body tense and ready to spring into action any second.

"The hay are you from, aye?" The pirate raised an eyebrow at her odd clothing and equipment. He prodded the barrel of his rifle at Vinyl's back.

"I'm from OH SHUCK WHAT'S THAT!!??" Vinyl screamed. The pirate didn't quite fall for it, but was startled and confused for a second there. And that's all Vinyl needed.

She flicked her wrist, and a laser disc formed around the barrel of the pirate's rifle. She spun around and yanked it sideways, slicing the rifle in half.

The pirate open fired, but with half the gun missing the bullets were simply falling out of the front end of the gun, still in their shells.

Vinyl launched a back hoof into the front of the gun, sending the stock digging into the pirate's stomach. She used the rifle as something to step on, and took a big step into the air. The last thing the pirate saw was a blur of white as Vinyl brought her back leg up and kneed him in the face. But she wasn't done.

She grabbed him by the head, and rolled past him. There was a crunch as her momentum spun his head 180 degrees, and she landed with a light thud on the ground behind him. His body thumped to the ground, followed by a light clatter as the rifle followed.

She looked around- no alarms set off. Time to keep looking.

*

"Med team is almost at the cliff. They're going to rappel down the side, and we're going to provide cover fire while they do so. Obviously the gunship will be covering them from above- so we'll be taking to the ground. Keep all enemy forces, pirate or science; away from the cliff." Neon said, speaking over the loud groaning of hydraulics as a large door behind her dropped down to form a platform. "Check your jet packs!"

"Check." Asty said, and the others nodded.

"Well come on then ladies!" Neon waved, and the cadets sprang to their hooves.

"I've always wanted to do this, just saying." Rig grinned, and back-flipped off the side. Asty followed with a slight turn, waving back at the gunship as she fell down. Inkie and Blinkie failed to add fun to it though- they pretty much just stepped off the edge.

"Thunderlane! We clear on the plan?" Neon looked behind her at the cockpit before she readied to jump.

"Kill everyone?" Thunderlane gave a hooves up from the cockpit.

"Essentially. Watch for friendlies, two reported in the area." Neon said, and with that she dive rolled out of the gunship.

Suddenly her ears were filled with the loud roaring of the ship's anti-gravity generators, then that quickly faded away as she exited range. The ship became smaller and smaller in the sky, but then started circling back around again to provide fire support.

"Buck. They've spotted us!" Rig yelled, quickly pulling out his rifle and firing a three-round burst into a missile. Too bad it was right in his path, and he flew straight through the fireball. He emerged coughing and spluttering. "Darn it! These suits should come with gas masks."

"They do, dumbarse. You just didn't turn the function on." Asty sighed.

"Ah buck. They're blocking our way to the cliff!" Rig ignored Asty and yelled.

There were a line of walkers and troops across the street and blocking their passage. They were the ones shooting missiles at them. There was one primary assault walker, heavily armored- that would be their biggest problem. There was also another one on the roof below them.

"Asty! Pass me a grenade!" Neon yelled.

"You won't be able to throw that far!" Asty replied.

"Just give me one!" Neon commanded, and Asty threw one across the air at her. She caught it in a claw, and leant forward.

Now she was directly facing the line of defense head on. She activated her jet pack, and gave it a forward boost. She was ripped out of her original falling trajectory and shot straight towards the walkers.

In mid-air she removed her jet pack, pulled the pin on the grenade, and stuffed the latter into the former.

Using the jet pack one last time facing sideways and in her claws, it sent her into a wild spinning motion. She timed it, turned the jet pack engine fully on, and threw it across the street at the walker on the roofs.

The jet pack hit the walker's thick armor and bounced off, dented and broken. It clattered to the floor, useless. But a second later the entire roof collapsed as the grenade went off, taking the walker with it.

Neon was still on her original trajectory, heading towards the lead assault walker at fifty miles an hour.

The walker shot at her, but she avoided it by angling her body sideways. The distance between her and the walker closed enormously, and she quickly rolled forward so that she would hit the walker with her back hooves instead of her face.

All Rig saw was Neon zip towards the walker, and then the walker and her along with a ten meter radius of troops and surface area suddenly explode into a huge dust cloud with a metallic bang.

"What the hay was that...?" He didn't know what to make of what just happened.

Then suddenly he saw Inkie fly towards him, and the next thing he knew he had a knee in his face.

He tumbled across the air, Inkie having flown somewhere else. And then he noticed the missile that would've hit him from the side.

"Ouch, my face." He muttered. "Thanks."

"It was the only part of your body within reach that I could get you out of the way from."

"I can see how that could've ended even worse." Rig mumbled under his breath.

"Stay in formation!" Blinkie yelled. That was the first time anyone other than her twin heard her raise her voice at all. "See those buildings? Land behind them for cover!"

"MISSILE!!" Asty screamed.

"No worries. Air support inbound." Thunderlane said calmly, and hammered the missile out of the sky with a prism beam.

Asty quickly angled herself and flew out of the fireball's way.

"ETA five seconds to ground level!" Rig yelled. "Activate counter thrusters now!"

Inkie swung her back legs forward, small thrusters at the bottom of them slowing her descent only by a few seconds. A spring system popped out from underneath her boots, and as she hit the ground they absorbed the force of impact. The system popped back in, and she immediately dove behind cover.

She pulled out a small device the size of a pistol, which quickly sprung into a full length sniper rifle.

"Move up move up!" She yelled, peering through the thermal scope. The dust cloud from Neon's impact was still floating around, so visibility was low. The only things that could get to them through the clouds were the thermal scopes and advanced targeting systems that didn't require direct visual contact. Which could also be a bad thing, since the damn walkers will be shooting rockets at them.

There were a few bangs as Inkie picked off a few shooters in the dust cloud, giving the team more time to land and get to cover.

Then a bullet came zipping out of nowhere and busted right through her right arm. And clearly it was a high caliber- as it ripped her entire arm off directly from the shoulder.
She screamed, and fell down into the dust, her own thick blood mixed with bits of flesh dropping down all around her. There was a dull thud as her severed arm dropped, followed by a clang as her rifle fell.

"SHUCK! MARE DOWN! MARE DOWN!!" she heard Rig yell, somewhat distant.

Then someone rolled her over, and she saw a vague image of Blinkie. She was yelling something at her face, shaking her. But she couldn't see through the blurriness, nor hear through her dulled and ringing ears. The only thing she knew was this was bad- really bad.

Chapter 39: Loyalty Shmoyalty

Still the stars shimmered, and still Rainbow failed to find sleep. Almost everyone was curled up around the flickering camp fire- except for Silver, who was standing guard over at the cliff edge.

Rainbow sighed, and pulled the small device out of her pocket. Still the little blue light pulsed, as if the thing had its own heart beat, however weak. She turned it over and over in her hooves, trying to figure out what it was- when it occurred to her EDI wasn't sleeping either. She looked behind her at Lily and Dainty, who were both curled up on the back seats and fast asleep, and looked back at the control panels.

"EDI." She said softly, and the panel flickered to life.

"Sleep eludes you?" EDI asked, Rainbow's face lit blue by the screens.

"Yeah, despite the calmness." She sighed. "Dim down the brightness and lower your voice- I don't want to wake anypony."

"Acknowledged." EDI said, and instantly the brightness of the scenes and indicators dimmed, and so did her voice. It was still clearly audible though.

"EDI... This is probably gonna sound like a stupid question, but- how good of a friend am I, based on recent events?" Rainbow asked, and almost chuckled at herself.

"Statistically, you haven't been very efficient in preservation efforts. However, keep in mind that these recent six casualties may have been spanned out over tens of years, and not just today. It's highly probably you couldn't have done anything at all." EDI replied, and that somehow made Rainbow feel slightly better.

"You do know what happened right?" She asked. "This whole new reality, and everything?"

"I only know what I have learnt after my creation, and what was already there." EDI said. "But my guess is that there's been a time altering."

"Yeah... I was hoping for a bit more than that." Rainbow sighed. "But it's okay, I didn't expect you to know anyway. I doubt any of us do really know what happened." She sighed. "I know you've been seeing everything. Did the others talk about me in any sort of negative way while I was gone?"

"I will not answer that, however imply it. These ponies here, are your friends, if I am correct?" EDI asked, for the first time.

"Yes, they are."

"And you are the element of loyalty, correct?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then you should understand the loyalty and trust between friends more than anyone else." EDI stated, which surprised Rainbow. "Learn to trust them- who are you to be the element of loyalty if you cannot give trust as much as earn it?"

Rainbow was a little shocked at EDI's statement. Then she shook her head and laughed, keeping her voice low.

"Ha! Look at me, getting lectured by an AI in FRIENDSHIP." She gave the control console a pat. "Good job, EDI. That actually helped a lot."

"I can appreciate the gesture." EDI said.

"Alright... Hey, can you tell me what this is?" She held up the small device.

"Please put that in the scanner." EDI said, and a holographic projection lit the consoles and projected outwards and upwards from a little socket. Rainbow placed the device over the socket, and it hovered there as EDI scanned the device.

It took a while as EDI sorted through the files and searched for a match, and Rainbow watched with interest as nominees were selected from the database then discarded as the match failed. Then finally, something.

"USB 14 wireless portable storage device, minimal encryption with simple four-digit passcode." EDI reported.

"Minimal encryption, aye..." Rainbow rubbed her chin. "Shouldn't be of much importance then. But I want to see what's in it, so hack it."

"Scans indicate it may be a possible Trolljan Horse, which could compromise my systems. A full diagnostic test should be run first." EDI said, twirling the device around in the magnetic scanning field.

"Yeah, run whatever tests you need- wait, did you just say 'Trolljan'?"

"An obvious miserable attempt at humor." EDI said. "The real word would be 'Trojan'."

"Yeah, I know; but... That was actually kinda funny to hear it from you." Rainbow smiled.

"It's nice to hear that. Scanning and running diagnostics."

A holographic status bar appeared, slowly loading towards the end. Then it finally filled up, and went away. A window replaced it, showing multiple files of various sizes.

"Files detected. Inspecting elements. Access denied. Decrypting..."

Another bar, which produced more windows with strings of binary codes running through them and security warnings, but everything was closed down by EDI once the decrypting process was done, and the files were viewable.

"One video file detected. Fifty eight gigabytes free of fifty eight gigabytes. Rounded to two significant figures."

"Only one video file?" Rainbow frowned. "Isn't really long either. Play it."

"Opening file... Playing...."

The console's screen shimmered to life, and the holographical images faded away to show the color image.

It was Applejack, behind her a metal wall. Rusted and with its paint peeling off, she AJ herself couldn't be in better condition. She had blood dripping down from a wound on her left forehead, and her mane and skin were matted with muck. Her eyes were still that intense green though, and they darted this way and that; crazed.

"Recording.... Damn, this thing still works." She chuckled, even though the audio was a bit on the low quality side. There was a lot of indistinguishable background noise, which was annoying. The image fizzed a bit, but went back to normal. "Alright... Alright... I don't think anyone's here. I thought I heard somepony, but... Few weeks out here in the wilderness? I don't think I classify as sane anymore." AJ chuckled. "I haven't had food or water in.. How many days? Darn it, I lost count. So I'm just gonna record this... And if anyone picks this up, please give it to whoever I will be addressing. Which won't be a lot of ponies... Everyone's all dead and crap, so I don't even expect anyone to find this anyways." She took off her hat. "Now, I'm definitely dying. Won't be too long before I become one of those scurrying mutated bastards. So here goes.... Applebloom, if you ever get this... I just want to say, I'm sorry. Is all. They came storm'n into the house, and your brother put up quite the fight... But they had way better stuff than we did. That darn old shotgun barely did anything against em robots... Wasn't long before he went down. He got me outta there though, but looks like I won't be making it either. I... I don't have much for you, really. Everything's gone... But at least, at least... I know you're safe. Love you little sis... And please, please just STAY safe too. I don't want to lose anymore than I already have." Applejack whimpered, and wiped a tear from her eye. "Well won't ya look at that, I still got water in me to squeeze out some tears. But I guess there's no point in preserving them anyways. And to Twilight- wait, no... You're already dead. Keep thinking everyone's still alive- these darn memories will be drive'n me insane before the wasteland does. Hell, all us damn elements are dead except me and Rainbow, which I bet ya I'm be gone soon too. I did managed to dig something up though, if the resistance is still here. Does 'Operation Ascension' ring any bells? I just heard it from one of em soldiers that raided the safe house. Not so safe after all, eh. Oh yeah... And if Rainbow finds this... Rainbow..."

Rainbow had her full attention concentrated on the video now. What was Applejack going to say to her?

"Rainbow, I can't believe what you did. After all these years..." AJ shook her head, even more tears welling up in her eyes. "I thought we were friends, I really did."

Rainbow's heart was immediately crushed. What...?

"We trusted you as a friend. We thought, with your power... We could've stuck together and survived. In fact, now WE'RE ALL BUCK'N DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!!" AJ yelled with the last few ounces of her strength.

Rainbow stared in shock, eyes wide, her body frozen. What the hay was this about...?

"You know what, I don't care if they find you, torture you, or even give you the most painful death imaginable. Because with what you did? YOU BLOODY DESERVE IT! YOU HEAR ME? YOU DESERVE EVERY BLOODY BIT OF IT! I don't care if Val sets you on fire and burns you down, because that's what a bucking liar like you deserves! Element of Loyalty? ELEMENT OF LOYALTY!!?? ELEMENT OF LOYALTY MY APPLE-BUCK'N ARSE!! You... You sold us out to Val at the last moment! How the hay COULD YOU!!!???"

Rainbow didn't know what to say to the recording. EDI saw her reaction, and quickly turned it off.

Rainbow blinked, and looked down at the ground. She slumped back into the seat, her body shivering. Not from the cold, but from the shock. Why was Applejack so mad at her, as to leave such a clear message for her death...? What on earth did she do?

"Are you okay?" EDI asked after a moment of shocked silence, in which Rainbow did nothing but look sadly at the ground.

"I don't think so. What did I do? Why... Why is she..." Rainbow sniffed, and sighed. The campfire was starting to get cold to her- despite nothing changing.

"My guess would be that you sold them out to Valkyrie, leader of the Science Faction. This is reliant on what the recording said only, however." EDI stated.

"But I didn't... They were dead before I came to this rea-" Rainbow stopped and looked up, her eyes widening. "Silver." She almost snarled, and leapt out of her seat.

"Where are you going?" EDI asked.

"To find the truth, and to set things straight. Make sure you don't wake anyone, and keep them safe while I'm gone." Rainbow said, and ran towards the woods.

She stepped past the campfire and Octavia who lay next to it, and Octavia's ear twitched and followed her as she disappeared into the woods. The moment she was gone she sprang to her hooves, and ran to EDI.

"What the hay happened? Where is she going?" she asked urgently, the frown on her face accompanied by a somewhat panicky expression.

"It would seem she has gone off to investigate a matter with Silver." EDI said.

"What. Did. You. Tell. Her?" Octavia asked slowly, a bit of a growl evident in her quiet voice.

"I told her nothing. She merely played a data drive with recordings on it that suggested Silver Dash or her theoretical former self sold the Elements of Harmony out to the Science Faction." EDI said. "Which I also believe to be the truth, according to your behavior towards Silver."

"Then why the hell did you play the video anyway? You must've scanned it, and you must've known what was on it!" Octavia bared her teeth.

"I do not see a problem with Rainbow taking her revenge. I will let you know, she was losing faith in herself. And that is because of Silver's actions, and weighing the factors- Rainbow Dash has earned some well deserved revenge for herself, all she needs to do is get it for herself. We need Rainbow sane, not Silver." EDI said coldly.

"You idiot!" Octavia snarled.

"I believe myself much more intelligent than that who tried to hide the truth." EDI said, and Octavia cursed.

"Guard the others- I'm putting an end to this." she said, slammed the door shut, and ran in the direction in which Rainbow left.

*

Silver watched over the river that flowed below the canyon, and the half-destroyed shadow of Canterlot from her side of the canyon, standing perched on the cliff edge. The moon hung high in the sky, lighting the clearing and hiding the shadows. The river shimmered like the stars in the sky, and despite it being so far away; one could still hear it splashing through the utter silence, however distant.

She heard light hoofsteps behind her, and her ears instantly flicked back. She angled her head slightly to the right, and spotted Rainbow approaching her and emerging from the woods.

She joined her on the clearing, meters away behind her, and stopped. Silence settled again, and Silver sighed.

"It's not time for your shift just yet, Rainbow." She said, looking up at the sky.

"I'm not here because of that." Rainbow said.

"Can't sleep? Because the view here is quite lovely." Silver said.

"I'm not here for that either. I'm here to ask you a question." Rainbow narrowed her eyes so they focused on Silver.

"A question? You're me, and I am you- what is it that I know and you don't?"

"If the answer to this question is yes... Then... Don't ever associate yourself with me. I won't accept it- because you are NOTHING like me." Rainbow said, almost with a snarl.

"I think I know the question..." Silver sighed, her hooves slipping into her coat pockets and her silver mane shining under the moonlight. "And I will answer it truthfully. Once you know to ask the question, I don't think there's any point in hiding it."

"Silver...." Rainbow lowered her head, the edge of her hat casting a shadow over her eyes. "Did you betray my friends?"

Silver didn't reply. She just stared up at the moon. But then she looked down, and nodded to herself.

"Yes. Yes, I did." She said, and Rainbow could see that tiny bit of sorrow sparkling in her eyes. Too little for her to pity her though. "And I still bitterly regret every bit of it till this day, to the extent that all my color has been drained away without them." She looked down at her hooves. Grey, not cerulean like Rainbow's.

"Alright. That's all I needed to hear." Rainbow growled, without a slimmer of forgiveness.

"You know, I didn't have a choice. They would've killed me if I didn't tell them where we were hiding." Silver shook her head. "And so one by one they were hunted down. And I was left miserably alive."

"I don't care whether or not you had a choice. I would've died before I would do something like that!" Rainbow roared. "Element of loyalty!!?? YOU'RE BUCKING PATHETIC!!" She screamed.

"I wouldn't agree any less." Silver said, and slipped the cleaver out of her pocket. She weighed it in a hoof, and activated it. Slowly, the plates shifted and crept along the handle and unfolded into its full length and size. It glimmered in the moon light, but there was no red glow... Just a grey shade. Loyalty had been shed away long ago.

"Oh? What now- you sold them out, and now you're gonna kill me!?" Rainbow spat.

"No, I'm not going to do so. But I can't say the same for you, now can I? I doubt you're here to only ask the question." Silver said, turning around. "I've seen your vengeful side."

"Damn right you have. And intimidated you should be." Rainbow snarled, whipping out her cleaver.

There was a sudden mass of motion as they both leveled their cleavers at each other, synchronized clicks as they both slid their cleaver handles forward.

"Put down the cleaver, Rainbow. I don't want trouble." Silver said, her aim steady.

"You KILLED my friends! I'm not going to let you get away with it." Rainbow growled.

"If you were in my position-"

"I WOULD'VE DIED TRYING TO PROTECT THEM!!" Rainbow screamed. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD I WAS TRYING IN THAT OTHER REALITY!!?? EVERYTHING I DID, WAS FOR THEIR GOOD!! I WAS TRYING TO KEEP THEM FROM HARM- AND ALL IT TOOK, WAS ONE LITTLE PIECE OF PATHETIC DROPPING LIKE YOU TO RUIN EVERYTHING!!!!" She yelled, her voice tearing through the silence.

Silver didn't say anything as Rainbow tried to catch her breath.

"Don't say it like I don't regret it." She whispered, narrowing her eyes. "I do. And it haunts me."

"Then prove it. Put down your cleaver." Rainbow said, her aim a little shaky. But she still wouldn't miss.

"I don't plan to until you put down yours." Silver snarled.

"Put, down, your cleaver." Rainbow growled.

"Not gonna happen." Silver said, her hoof tightening around the trigger. They were meters away- any hitting shot would be lethal.

"PUT DOWN YOUR CLEAVER!!" Rainbow yelled. "I'M WARNING YOU THIS ONE TIME!!"
"NEVER!!" Silver yelled back, and two bright muzzle flashes seared through the darkness, creating a dark crack between the two former friends that will separate them forever.

Alternate ending:

"It's not time for your shift just yet, Rainbow." She said, looking up at the sky.

"I'm not here because of that." Rainbow said.

"Can't sleep? Because the view here is quite lovely." Silver said.

"I'm not here for that either. I'm here to ask you a question." Rainbow narrowed her eyes so they focused on Silver.

"A question? You're me, and I am you- what is it that I know and you don't?"

"If the answer to this question is yes... Then... Don't ever associate yourself with me. I won't accept it- because you are NOTHING like me." Rainbow said, almost with a snarl.

"I think I know the question..." Silver sighed, her hooves slipping into her coat pockets and her silver mane shining under the moonlight. "And I will answer it truthfully. Once you know to ask the question, I don't think there's any point in hiding it."

"Silver...." Rainbow lowered her head, the edge of her hat casting a shadow over her eyes. "Were you the one who drank that last bottle of cider I kept hidden in the back of the car?"

"Yeah..." Silver sighed sheepishly. "I'm sorry. It was me." She said, and heard a loud click behind her as Rainbow deployed her cleaver.

Author's Note

I'm sorry. I just had to add in that alternate ending- you know I had to.

Chapter 40: WMDs

"INKIE'S DOWN!! INKIE'S DOWN!!!" Blinkie screamed, quickly dragging her sister behind cover.

"Watch it! We're getting buck'n flanked!!" Rig yelled. Pirate forces were blocking their way to the cliff- and science faction forces have busted through and are closing in. They were caught in the cross fire.

Some of the pirates quickly took cover, but the next thing they knew their heads were no longer connected to their bodies. All they saw was a flash of black and white, and the shape immediately dispersed.

"Shuck! What the hay was that!?" One of the pirates yelled, and opened fire.

It was Neon, and all his bullets struck her. Blood splattered through the air, and the image of Neon faded- it was just an optical illusion cast over an unfortunate fellow pirate.

Suddenly he felt someone grab him by the collar and thump him to the ground, and his rifle was ripped away from him. The invisible claw closed around his throat, and he struggled for air.

The air shimmered, and the real Neon appeared. Her glowing eyes were unreadable, however they stabbed fear deep into the pirate captain's heart.

"Tell your troops to retreat. Now." She growled.

"But there's no where to-"

"LEAVE, WITH YOUR TROOPS." She growled again, and sunk a claw into his left leg.

"Gah! ALRIGHT!! LET ME GO!!" The pirate screamed as Neon's sharp claws drew blood and almost seared through to the bone.

Neon let go of his leg and threw him aside, sending him tumbling to his troops. She shook off the blood on her claws, and straightened up. She distinctly heard a distant cannon go off, probably from the science faction line of fighters and walkers.

She looked to her right where the walkers were marching in, saw a flash of orange and immediately felt a flak projectile hit her dead on the shoulder.

She went tumbling back, and slammed into the far cliff side. Instead of stopping dead before the rock, she slammed straight through and ended up lodged five meters deep in the cliff face.

"This has a pretty nice view." She muttered as she tried to free herself- but there was literally thousands of tons of rocks crushing down on her, as indestructible as she was- she wasn't THAT super powered.

"Albatross!! Concentrate fire on the science faction front line! The pirates are retreating to the sides! We have a clear path to the cliff- I repeat, we have a clear path to the cliff!! Over!" Asty yelled, throwing a grenade at the frontline of science troops. "Med team is a go!"

*

"Copy." Thunderlane said, turning the Albatross around for a second run. "Med team, you got that?"

"Ready to land!" Thyme replied.

"Copy. Friendly gunship inbound." Thunderlane said. "Stay clear of the frontline!"

"Copy!" Rig yelled.

Thunderlane had noise cancellers plugged in his ears, and even so he could still feel the constant pounding on his chest and hear the loud booms and cracks as the various cannons and launchers of the gunship went off. Within seconds the frontline had been flattened, although the word 'flattened' would be quite underrated as everything was hammered down a full two meters into the ground.

*

"Holy crap!" Rig ducked behind cover as chaos exploded across the science faction frontline. "Good run Albatross! Load up and get ready for another. We're moving!"

"I can still walk." Inkie said, resting a hoof on Blinkie's shoulder and indicating that she was fine. "Just hurts like hell though." She said, picking up her sniper rifle. She had wrapped it up with fabric, stopping the bleeding. It was nowhere near fixed though. Her mind was a bit dulled, but sharp enough to fight. She pressed the stock hard into her remaining shoulder, taking aim at the clouds of smoke from the destroyed science faction front lines. Soon more troops would be coming through.

She peered through the scope, then noticed an odd amount of shaking. It wasn't her- the earth was shaking.

"Damnit. Earthquake?" Asty looked around. There was a loud rumbling going on, but it wasn't the science faction nor the pirates. "Captain?" She spoke into the comms.

"Reinforcements." Spitfire said.

"Shuck." Asty looked around desperately. "The hay do we do now? We don't have a large enough fighting force!"

"Oh, I meant for you guys." Spitfire chuckled.

"Wait, we have reinforcements?" Rig raised an eyebrow.

"Well, reinforceMENT." Spitfire shrugged. "But I guarantee you he'll be enough to handle it."

"We'll just have to trust you on this one captain." Rig sighed, taking cover as more science faction troops emerged from the smoke.

"We've got anti-air! Can't go in for a second run until you take those bastards out- or else I'll probably be going down!" Thunderlane yelled as he peered at his scanners.

"Darn it. How the hay are we supposed to take down those damn walkers? We don't even have explosives!" Rig exclaimed as a fresh stream of bullets tore his cover apart. He fired a few shots back but to no effect, and quickly darted behind a huge concrete block that must've come off a building somewhere.

By the second the rumbling was growing louder, the shaking of the earth growing more violent.

Asty quickly rolled behind cover as a rocket struck the building she was hiding behind earlier, knocking a clean hole through it. Concrete blocks and bricks tumbled across the dusty streets, crumbling into pieces.

"Need cover fi-" she started, but then spotted someone striding in from the side. She frowned at the silhouette, cocking her head to one side. "Captain, that our reinforcement?"

"Correcto." Spitfire sang. "You know how you already have the warden of light on your side?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well then, let me introduce you guys to..."

Now Asty could see the figure a bit more clearly. A unicorn with blood red eyes, a light dusty coat and brown mane. His horn had a dim blue glow, and streaks and waves of electricity accompanied his each step, springing from his hooves. So that's what was causing the shaking and rumbling of the earth- it all matched perfectly with his steps, so it was probably that. He walked as if he were slightly drunk, but there was absolutely no confusion in his posture nor his eyes. They were certain- he knew what he was doing, he was just relatively relaxed about it. His front hooves seemed to have some sort of metal devices over them, making them much larger.

"Guys, this is Terra- Warden of Earth." Spitfire announced. "And do stay out of the way. Things tend to get very destructive when he's around. Or constructive, whichever works." She said, drawing several raised eyebrows that she couldn't see since she was speaking through radio.

Terra strode into the middle of the battlefield, and everything seemed to fall silent as the science faction assessed this new arrival. Then they open fired none the less, shooting off a single rocket directly towards Terra.

Terra rose and stood up on his hind legs, raising a metal encased front hoof. When the missile was right in front of him, and he slammed a hoof into it. Blue lightning flashed across the streets, temporarily blinding everyone watching. But when their eyes adjusted again, all they saw was Terra standing there as a random hunk of metal fell to the floor. He had completely reshaped the missile.

Then came the bullet rain.

"Cover him damnit! Come on ponies! LET'S GO!!" Rig yelled, fueled by new found confidence. They started firing back, bullets landing all around them.

Terra leaned back on his hind legs, and then launched forward, leaving nothing but a small dust cloud behind him. He leaped up and raised a hoof- when he landed he slammed it into the gravel road, and the earth rumbled. Electricity slithered across the floor and to the science faction troops, then everywhere that the magical electricity touched the earth completely shattered. Huge blocks of dirt and rock rose high up into the air, splintering through the surface and sending rock shards cracking up in all directions. The front line was completely blocked behind a huge wall of earth, sealed off from the main battle.

"Med team! Now's your chance!" Asty yelled.

*

"Copy ground team. Deploying." Thyme said as the drop ship touched down on the edge of the cliff, and the team hopped off onto solid ground. She waved the drop ship away, then turned to her team. "Alright meds, you know what to do! Let's go!" She yelled, and waved towards the edge of the cliff.

She plucked out a cylinder shaped device, which sprang out into a full meter stalk. She stabbed it deep into the rock, the digging mechanisms inside sinking right into solid matter. She pulled out the cable mounted to her back and hooked it onto the stalk. Checking if it were secure, she took in a deep breath and took out her rifle- time to put her fear of heights to the test.

"This should be interesting." She mumbled, and leaned forward on the cable. "Oohoho... This is freaky." She said as slowly she stepped onto the cliff face, her body parallel with the ground a few hundred meters below.

Her team did the same, and stood staring down at a hundred meter fall. They nodded at each other, and started rappelling down the side.

Thyme hopped up, her hooves leaving the cliff face- then the cable swung her back down again, and she landed on the rock. That's how the cable system worked- every time they jump it would loosen a bit.

"Watch it med team. Enemy infantry and some walkers have made it over the barricade. Other heavy assault walkers are re-routing- you don't have much time." Spitfire warned.

"Copy captain. Full speed ahead team! Let's get this over and done with!" Thyme waved, and continued rappelling down the side.

*

"Terra, you know what to do." Spitfire said, zooming in on the battle.

"Yes ma'am." Terra replied, his voice echoing in a robotic manner.

"Enemy heavy machine gun!" Rig yelled, rolling behind cover. "Take it out or they're gonna get to us damnit!"

"Watch your sides- the assault walkers and rerouting!" Asty warned.

Terra ran forward, drawing the machine gun fire. He slammed a hoof down into the earth, and the ground below him immediately sprung up as a rock plate. He was launched into the air, and the machine gun struggled to take aim once again- but once it did, it was way too late.

Terra slammed a fist into the stallion behind the turret, a flash of electricity slithering through the air. The gunner went flying back and tumbling across the floor with such force that his limbs were ripped right away from his body. Terra picked up the machine gun and threw it back at Rig, who quickly caught it, stood it up and took aim at the scurrying science faction troops.

Terra hammered the ground, a huge slab of rock rising up to his height in front of him. The bullets aimed for him hit the rock, chipping it but not reaching their target. Terra then smashed a hoof into the slab, and it exploded outwards from the point of impact. Only... It was still there.

Rock spikes, chains, cannonballs, columns, and every other conceivable item came shooting out of the rock slab in one unified column of destruction. It went curving up into the air, then slammed back down again on a small group of science faction troops that had no idea what they were doing whatsoever.

"You know, I have no idea why we're even here now." Rig remarked as Terra hammered literal fear into the science faction troops.

*

"This fight is quickly becoming a massacre." Val raised an eyebrow as she watched from a camera mounted on the COLOSSUS down at the battle. Terra was completely tearing apart her troops. "Alright, that was a tactical decision that was an obvious error. Clearly the assault walker should've used the infantry as bait instead of charging forward as the primary forward attack unit."

"Is this what they are to you?" Blithy cast Val an angered glare. "Mere toys to play around with?"

"Why? Are your troops something more to you?" Val asked, turning to Blithy with interest.

"Well, they're definitely not mere tools to be used on the battlefield. They're still living souls." Blithy said, eyeing Val with disgust.

"And? That makes a difference?" Val grinned, coming nose to nose with Blithy. "It makes them better. Machines are no fun, they don't writhe for life when it's ripped from them. When these 'living souls' of yours get killed, it's much more entertaining to watch."

"You're evil. That's as much as I can say about you. Foul, evil." Blithy snarled.

"And? I don't see a problem with that." Val leant on Blithy's shoulder. "To be honest, I quite like myself this way. Evil, foul, call me what you want. I like what I am." She said, grinning and flexing her fingers before her eyes in a way of admiration. "At least I'm not like you, weak and useless."

"Ponies like YOU are weak. We will defeat you- you can't win." Blithy growled.

"Ponies like me?" Val chuckled. "And look where we stand!" She laughed. "Hey! HEX- is subject 204 prepped for battle? Well, annihilation; but... Is the subject ready?"

"Adequate preparations are in place and ready to be launched. Subject is under containment in bay 56, ready for deployment. All requested equipment have been mounted." HEX replied.

"Good. Launch em directly into the middle of the battlefield." Val had an excited grin on her face, which disturbed Blithy.

"Note that friendly troops are in the local vicinity. Friendly casualties imminent." HEX warned.

"Fire." Val said definitely and indifferently.

"Firing."

"Now..." Val got off Blithy's shoulder and slumped back into her throne. "Let's see how your 'living souls' will writhe for their very existence against 'subject 204'." She said, what she was thinking unreadable- but her expression undoubtedly excited.

She stood up, and started walking around her throne in circles.

"Blithy- did I ever tell you about the story of the first ever princess?" She asked, and continued on when Blithy didn't reply. "Princess Penumbra, or more commonly known as Empress Penumbra. The ruler of Equestria, the sun and the moon at the same time... Back when science and magic were one. The original alicorn, the first ever. Wielder of the most powerful magical amplifier ever created, the alicorn amulet. The elements of harmony didn't have its destructive potential- it didn't have the freedom. But the amulet did- and that's what made Penumbra so powerful. You see, she ruled over her subjects with force. She was the peace enforcer. And then magic and science split, millions of years ago- her subjects rebelled, and she was taken down by sheer numbers. From what was considered to a god, she was degraded to a mere immortal earth pony. Pity- her powers were stolen away from her. She didn't have any magic left. And so that shows us, there will always be more powerful. There will always be BETTER." Val said, coming to a stop behind her thrown, and leant on it. "It is impossible to become the best. And one day I will be defeated- I believe and accept that. But not yet... I'm still in power, and the games still play by my rules, just like they did when Penumbra still ruled. But, Penumbra had no lessons to learn from. I have her lesson to learn from... And I will kill everything that tries to land a hoof on my throne." She said, and pointed at the holographic screen. "Just you watch. The wardens, one by one... They will fall. And it has already started." She said, watching the monitor as if it were some sort of highly addictive TV show.

"What is that...?" Blithy frowned. It was still the satellite image, but there was a nuke like device slowly dropping towards the center of the battlefield.

"The Dentist." Val grinned.

*

"All teams! UFO approaching from directly above your head- watch it. Wait- it's a quick deploy pod. Science faction reinforcements." Spitfire said. "Ignore it! Keep covering the med team. Let Terra hold them off- he can handle it."

"Copy command." Asty said, returning fire at the science faction troops.

Then came a loud whistling noise, and they all looked up. There was a bright spot in the sky, a burning comet. Then it slammed right down behind the science faction lines of troops, sending pieces and shards of rock flying up into the air. Smoke filled the air as the surface of the metal pod slowly cooled, and the science faction troops stopped to cover their new reinforcement.

"Haha! Damn right- bet you there's more coming. Time to fight these buckers back to wherever the hay they came from!" One of the infantry ground troops yelled, almost triumphantly.

There was a loud boom as the front door of the pod was blasted outwards, and tumbled across the empty field.

There was a dark figure in the pod, wearing dark blue armor with blinking white lights. It was a mare, and she didn't have a helmet on.

"Come on lady! Show em what you go- GAAAHH!!" The trooper screamed as the figure suddenly dashed out of sight. The next thing he knew he had a huge blade going into his back and out his chest, and he was being lifted up. Before he could say a second word, the blade slid all the way up and cut him in half.

"Holy crap! SHOOT HER!!" One of the commanding officers yelled, and held down the trigger with his rifle aimed at the figure.

The figure somehow weaved through all the bullets. It was like watching a laggy video- the figure would appear in one spot, and with a blur of color she'd be in a different place altogether in the next millisecond. She would stop for half a second, then do the same thing again and disappear. It was near impossible to shoot her.

Then before the commanding officer knew it, the figure was right before his eyes and he had an empty clip. His eyes widened, and with a blur of motion his body had already been sliced up into fifteen different pieces by two long reaper blades.

Then the figure was gone again, and somepony to the far left screamed as the blades pierced his chest seven times before he even knew the figure was there. He was left bleeding on the floor, his guts leaking out of the various stab wounds in his body.

"Son of a mule... What the hay did they bring in now?" Rig ground his teeth together, trying to keep track of the figure; but barely able to. "How the hay are we supposed to fight THAT!?"

"Dunno. 'Kill it with fire'?" Asty shrugged.

Author's Note

Chapter 40?! I know right! Don't worry you guys who are getting impatient- I assure you, once I get Rainbow and co to Haven- all hell breaks loose immediately. I promise!

That is, once the med team and ground team get to rainbow and gives them a ride to Haven. All I need to do is finish up the two fights(silver VS Rainbow and Ground/med team VS science faction) and we'll be in the final zone in no time. Thanks to all who have stuck with this fic through these forty chapters!

Chapter 41: You're Not Me

Both pegasi pulled their triggers and ducked, heavy caliber bullets whizzing by their heads.
"Just do me a favor and kill yourself!" Rainbow yelled, lunging forward.

"Not before anything else does!" Silver yelled back, bringing her blade up to meet Rainbow's.

Their cleavers clashed, and they both put their body weight into it. They came nose to nose, snarling at each other.

Then Rainbow launched a kick into Silver's cleaver and sent her away, and leaped into the air. Silver quickly recovered and rolled forward, hearing Rainbow slam the cleaver down behind her.

She quickly turned on her back and brought her cleaver up to defend herself as Rainbow swung the blade over and down onto Silver.

There was a solid metallic bang as both blades clashed again, but Silver had the disadvantage of being on the ground.

She quickly rolled to the side that the handle was on, got up and ripped her cleaver out from underneath Rainbow's. she swung it back, directly aimed for Rainbow's head.

Rainbow ducked down, the blade whooshing past her. She sprung up, swinging her cleaver up with her.

Silver countered it by swinging from up high, both cleavers clashing and deflecting off of each other.

They both swung again, from opposing angles. Again they deflected off of one another.

Rainbow pulled into a defensive position this time as Silver swung, and when the blades hit she put all her strength into shoving everything forward.

Silver went stumbling back, off balance and leaving a clear path for Rainbow's cleaver directly to her chest.

Rainbow stabbed forward, but Silver leaped up and kicked the blade from the side, knocking it away. This time it was Rainbow who was left recovering, her cleaver knocked to the side and her left shoulder exposed.

Silver swung in from the side, and there was no time for Rainbow to counter it with her blade. But she could still use the cleaver.

She lifted up the hilt, and Silver's cleaver edge hit it right on the end, stopping inches from Rainbow's back. Rainbow slammed a hoof on the cleaver's trigger, and the force of the recoil shoved Silver's blade away and gave her time to regain her hooves.

Silver dispersed the sudden momentum and spun in a circle, then brought the cleaver up with a click.

Rainbow swung up, using the side of the cleaver to deflect the bullet. Silver fired again, and Rainbow lunged forward and past the shot.

*

Octavia could hear shots being fired now. She panicked, and started picking up the pace. The forest's thick foliage crunched under her hooves, covering over the sounds of a violent fight going on in the distance. She could barely see anything in the darkness, the thick vegetation blocking out the moon light.

Her back hoof caught on a twig, and she stumbled a bit. That was when she realized how irregular her breathing was- and she was sweating more than she should be from the simple exercise of running. She coughed onto the back of her hoof, and saw that whatever she coughed up was a dark color in the shadows. Slowly she trotted towards a small clearing, regulating her breathing.

Moonlight revealed the substance to be blood- thicker than usual. She shook her head- the poisoning was getting worse by the second. She quickly shook the blood off her hoof, and continued running towards the sounds of battle.

*

Silver swung her cleaver up, but Rainbow batted it away. There was a flash as Rainbow stabbed the cleaver deep into the rock and pulled the trigger, the mini detonation rippling through the ground and sending shards flying up into the air. Silver stumbled back, struggling to see through the dust cloud from the explosion.

Then she saw her own shadow stretch before her in a red aura, and raised an eyebrow. She heard a loud whoosh behind her, and ducked down just in time as Rainbow swung the cleaver over her head. She didn't even see her sneak around the dust cloud.

She rolled forward and out of range, then came back up on one knee and leveled the cleaver.

Rainbow swung and deflected the three rounds that followed, the loud bangs thudding against her chest. She hit Silver's cleaver off aim then swung her own back and aimed at Silver's head from point blank range.

Silver yanked her head to one side just as Rainbow fired. The bullet skimmed her ear, but it was the bang that did the most damage- her ear drums shattered, and she quickly flew to the left.

Rainbow looked down at the cleaver- it had a bit of blood on it. She shook it off, unsettling a small layer of dust on the floor.

Silver was kneeling on the ground a few meters away, her cleaver on the floor. Blood dripped down from the wound in her ear, and she was watching it drip to the floor.

"Just do me a favor and die already." Rainbow bared her teeth, taking aim once again.

Silver dived to the side and picked up her cleaver, then swung it up to block the bullet.

She then fired at Rainbow, who was forced to bring her cleaver back as a shield. Silver took the chance and swung up from the ground, hitting Rainbow's blade on the hilt and sending it out of her hooves. It flipped through the air and lodged into the ground several meters behind Rainbow.

Silver fired at the disarmed Rainbow, who turned on her side and allowed the bullet to pass harmlessly. Silver then swung, but Rainbow hit the blade on the side as it was coming down, knocking it aside. She darted forward, making sure the cleaver couldn't get her; and drove a knee into Silver's stomach.

Winded, Silver tried to fight back- but it wasn't working very well as Rainbow didn't even give her time to recover.

Rainbow slammed her across the head then launched a kick into her back as she stumbled around. Silver went sliding across the ground however still on her hooves, and she still had her cleaver. She wiped off a bit of blood from the corner of her mouth, and charged at Rainbow.

She brought the cleaver high up into the air, then slammed it down at Rainbow. Rainbow ran forward and slid forward, the angle of the blade stopping itself before it could harm her. She pushed off behind her with her front hooves, and kicked up with her back. She caught the cleaver's trigger, and rammed it down with a hoof.

There was a loud boom as it went off, startling Silver. She accidentally let go, and the cleaver was left spinning through the air above their heads. They both leaped for it, but Silver got there first. She caught the blade by the handle, and threw it as a javelin down at Rainbow.

Rainbow flexed her wings and arched backwards, her back hooves only just clearing the heavy and undoubtedly lethal blade.

It slammed heavily into the ground, and she landed with a thud a few meters back.

Silver was already at the cleaver, and had already pulled it out of the ground. The cleaver was only lethal at a certain range, if the range of combat got too close the blade wouldn't be able to reach the opponent.

Rainbow ran at Silver once more, but this time she was prepared. Just as Rainbow was about to give her a right hook across the face, she lashed out a kick straight down into Rainbow's hip.

Rainbow's face registered surprise as she went tumbling back, her center of gravity completely thrown off. She went skidding back several meters, and came to a rest in the dust on her back.

She struggled to get back up, her right leg completely disjointed. She was relying on her other legs as she stood up, then eventually straightened up into a standing position.

She spat out a droplet of blood, and snarled.

"I'll never lose to scum like you." She said with a slight smirk, placed a hoof on her right leg, and shoved it back into place with a loud crunch. She groaned, her body contorted and shaking with pain. But eventually, she stood back up again and flexed her shoulders.

Silver growled, and swung her cleaver. Rainbow kicked back, her hoof connecting with her own cleaver's trigger. It came blasting out of the ground, the handle of it slammed into Silver's blade and knocking it away. The cleaver dropped back down again, and fell right into Rainbow's hooves.

"Now this is a proper duel." She muttered, and swung from the side.

Silver met the cleaver with her own, and twisted it out of the way. She came back for another swing, but Rainbow did the same thing and flicked it to the side. Metal clanged on metal as their cleavers clashed again, sparks flying through the air as they struck at each other once more.

Rainbow was pushing Silver back, forcing her to slowly back away with her relentless attacks. And finally, she had forced Silver into the very corner of the battlefield.

"DID YOU EVEN THINK WHEN YOU JOINED SIDES WITH VAL!!??" Rainbow screamed, slamming the cleaver down at Silver, who barely deflected it in time.

"SHE DIDN'T GIVE ME A CHOICE!!"

"THERE'S ALWAYS A CHOICE, WHETHER OR NOT SHE GIVES YOU ONE!!" Rainbow yelled back, stabbing the cleaver forward. Silver batted it away with her own from the side, but barely. The tip of the cleaver ripped her coat and made a small cut on her stomach, but did nothing more. "AND YOU CHOSE YOURSELF!!"

Silver didn't reply, just kept defending herself.

"I CAME ALL THIS WAY TO MAKE SURE THEY WOULD BE FINE-" Rainbow snarled, firing a shot down at Silver's hooves.

The bullet shattered the earth there, and Silver fell back. She stabilized herself by moving a hoof back and using that as support, but didn't have time to recover fully. By now Rainbow had already raised the cleaver high above her head, and was in the process of bringing it down. Silver quickly brought her own up to defend herself- but didn't have a firm enough hold.

"-AND ALL IT TOOK WAS ONE LITTLE PIECE OF CRAP LIKE YOU TO RUIN EVERYTHING!!!" Rainbow screamed, bringing the cleaver down with all her strength.

The air around it rippled, and trails of a rainbow-colored sonic bubble formed over the blade. It struck Silver's cleaver dead center, and the moment the two made contact the Element of Loyalty crystal suddenly glowed a brighter red than it ever did, illuminating the darkness and sending the shadows scattering away.

There was a loud clang, and to the surprise of both pegasi- Silver's cleaver completely shattered into large chunks of waste metal under the force of Rainbow's cleaver, fueled by the last element of harmony crystal still in existence. Silver went stumbling back, remnants and pieces of her only weapon still falling all around her.

Rainbow flicked her own cleaver up into the air, folding it back into a canister. It fell in her pocket, and she lunged at Silver.

Silver had barely recovered when Rainbow drove a knee deep into her stomach, violently forcing all the air out of her lungs. Then she felt a dull pain across the left of her face as Rainbow slammed a hoof into it, followed by a kick into her shin which drove her to her knees and forced her to turn around with her back to Rainbow.

Rainbow placed a back hoof on Silver's back and gabbed onto her wings. She wrenched at them, slowly tearing them out. Silver could feel her flesh being ripped, and her bones slowly sliding out of their sockets. Then there was a dull tearing noise and a loud snap as Rainbow ripped her wings off with her bare hooves.

Silver screamed, and Rainbow kicked her across the clearing. She rolled to a rest at the edge of the forest, and struggled to get back up. She couldn't stand up though, and could only get to a kneeling position. And even then she still had to keep a hoof on the ground so she wouldn't fall over.

A portion of her face was bruised, and she was covered in dirt. Blood dripped down from a wound on her forehead and from the corner of her mouth. Her back was soaked crimson, and she was grinding her teeth together from the pain. There were tears coming out from the corners of her eyes, and she struggled to shake them off with the agony.

Her back was burning, and her severed wings were a few meters in front of her, lying in a puddle of blood. The grey feathers were soaked red, and it was just a mess.

There were several loud clicks as Rainbow deployed her cleaver, and pointed it at Silver's forehead. A shot like this would be completely lethal- from point blank range, Silver wouldn't even have a head after this.

Rainbow looked down emotionlessly at her defeated and corrupted self, her eyes cold and without a slimmer of pity.

"Kill me, then. Go on." Silver snarled, looking weakly up at Rainbow.

"No regrets." Rainbow said coldly, and pulled the trigger.

Suddenly something hit the cleaver on the side, and her shot missed. The bullet barreled past Silver and hit the ground.

Rainbow felt someone grab her by the collar then thump her to the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!!??" Octavia screamed at her face.

"GET OFF ME!!" Rainbow yelled back, trying to free herself- but Octavia had a firm hold. "YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!!"

"WELL I DO NOW!!" Octavia shouted. "Listen- You're not thinking clearly! We still need her!"

"FOR WHAT!!?? SUICIDE!!??" Rainbow screamed, and shoved Octavia away. She brought her cleaver up again to take aim.

"SNAP-" Octavia slammed Rainbow across the face, and she dropped the cleaver in shock. "OUT OF IT!!"

"Octavia...?" Rainbow stumbled back.

Octavia charged forward and grabbed her by the collar again, then swung her around and slammed her against a tree.

"You think is going to help anyone? What would killing her do, huh? You're gonna kill her for revenge!?" She snarled. "We need everyone we've got, and you know it. And you're gonna kill her- for yourself!? WHO'S THE SELFISH ONE NOW!?" She shook Rainbow.

"But... She..."

"Are you listening to yourself? You bucking sound JUST LIKE HER!! Laying the blame on others! Rainbow- why, do we fight?"

"She-"

"Just answer my question!!" Octavia shook her.

Rainbow sighed, looking down guiltily. "To protect those that are precious to us."

"And are you protecting anyone by killing one of us? Silver may have done wrong- but she's still on our side. She could still help us." Octavia said, then sighed.

The earth rumbled, and they all fell silent to listen.

The edge of the cliff was cracking, due to all the heavy bullets fired into the ground that destabilized the local area. There was a loud cracking noise as suddenly everything tilted down a few degrees, and Rainbow and Octavia stumbled a bit. They were still in the danger zone.

"Son of a mule. Run, damnit!" Octavia let go, and waved towards the forest.

But Rainbow wasn't moving.

"You coming or what?"

"You were right, Octavia." Rainbow growled angrily and frustratedly, then looked to the edge of cliff. "We still need her." She said, and darted for the edge.

"Shuck..." Octavia muttered, but could do nothing more than back away onto the safe side.

Silver didn't even hold on, just sat on the edge as the cliff was slowly sliding off.

"The hay are you doing! Come on!" Rainbow yelled at her, landing next to her with a quick beat of her wings.

"I'm not coming. Go, Rainbow." Silver said, and Rainbow grabbed her by the shoulders. She batted her hooves away, a bitter look on her face.

"The hell is wrong with you? You're gonna die here!" Rainbow growled.

"Here's your chance to have me dead. Take it." Silver said calmly. "Because I'm accepting it."

"I still want you dead." Rainbow grabbed Silver by the collar and pulled her nose to nose. "That much hasn't changed a bit." She snarled, looking into her eyes with her own hatred. "You've ruined what I had. But's there's still more left, and if you're gonna ruin that too by not helping- you'll deserve a death even more."

Silver pushed Rainbow away and turned around, but Rainbow stopped her and laid a firm hoof on her shoulder.

"You said you regretted it, didn't you?" Rainbow took her hoof away.

"I did." Silver sighed.

"Then make up for it." Rainbow said, offering her hoof this time instead of being forceful.

Silver turned around and looked down at the hoof. There was no forgiveness in it, but a solid goal set not to be failed. A goal they shared in different ways- one to protect, and the other to exculpate.

Silver took the hoof and shook it firmly.

"You up to the task?" Rainbow taunted.

"Are you?"

"I know I am."

"Then no different here." Silver narrowed her eyes. "Wings or no wings."

"You deserved that." Rainbow said, and they started running for safety.

A large portion of the earth beneath their hooves suddenly cracked and suddenly lifted up on one end, and soon they were climbing at an eighty degree angle.

Rainbow got to the edge with ease, and swung over the edge. Silver was there a second later, and followed.

Rainbow landed on firm earth, and looked up. Silver timed her jump, placed both back hooves on the rock plate and pushed off. But just as she did, the rock plate experienced a sudden drop, rendering Silver's push off near useless.

"Shuck-" Octavia saw, and darted forward.

Silver fell short, but Octavia caught her by the wrist just as she passed. She swung down and slammed onto the new cliff face, the air knocked from her lungs. But her survival instincts told her to keep holding on.

Octavia could feel herself slipping. Then before she knew it, she had been dragged off the edge as well.

Rainbow quickly leaped over and caught Octavia's hoof, and now they were all suspended hundreds of meters above a violent and roaring river. The only firm anchor was Rainbow- who was barely holding on.

"Shuck- slipping-" she managed as she ground her teeth together, struggling to pull up the two adult ponies. She was barely holding onto them.

Octavia could feel her hoof slipping from Rainbow's, and both were desperately trying to hold on. But it was no use.

Rainbow was straining to hold on and keep herself from falling at the same time, and her back hooves left grooves in the dirt as she was slowly dragged towards the cliff edge.

Then she felt the load lighten, and Octavia felt another pair of hooves grab onto her wrist.

Magnum held on firmly, and together with Rainbow they lifted the two ponies up. First Octavia, then they all helped her lift Silver to safety. They collapsed meters well away from the cliff edge, huffing and puffing. They could still hear rocks and the old cliff edge tumbling down the side, then loud splashes as the huge chunks of earth hit the river.

"Magnum... Just in time... As always..." Rainbow said between huffs of breath, and swallowed so her throat was less dry.

"Well," Magnum shrugged, sitting next to her. "I wouldn't know."

"Geez- thanks to you we're still alive." Octavia patted her on the back. "Do you remember anything yet?"

"I remember saving you guys' arses half a dozen times, and that's about it." Magnum said, and they shared a laugh. "Seriously though. Were you guys really that useless?"

"Not so much." Rainbow sighed, getting up.

"And... What the hay happened here though? I heard gunshots. Freakin woke me up too, and I saw you guys were missing. I also heard screaming. Got kinda... Worried. Damnit." Magnum muttered.

Rainbow pulled her into a big hug. "Don't worry, you're getting there. Already getting worried for us eh? That's a development." She said cheerfully.

"And it shall remain highly awkward in the meantime. But seriously- what happened!?"

"Well, Silver-" Octavia started, looking to where Silver should be. "Holy crap! What happened...?"

"No... Idea..." Silver muttered, a huge wooden splinter going into her side. Blood was still dripping down, and she was struggling to breath or even make noises.

"Buck. Somepony get EDI! We need something to wrap her wounds up! EDI has the materials- Magnum! Go get her now!" Octavia yelled, checking Silver's wounds.

Amongst the chaos Rainbow just stood there looking down at her own hooves. Probably the hooves that killed Silver- she didn't know whether to be satisfied or to be horrified. Inside, she could feel that monster purring again. That same feel from years ago- when she first came in contact with the virus. A monster inside, fighting to break out and wreak havoc.

Had she lost control again? Those years ago- Val drove her own thirst for revenge against her, is the same thing happening again? That her desire for revenge had caused her to weaken herself?

Weaken what little resistance against the science faction that was left?

Like Octavia had said, the more they had on their side the better- and Silver was one of the better fighters. Sometimes old sins have to be forgiven then forgotten if new alliances are to be formed- and in their case, the alliance is for one purpose- and one purpose only.

To liberate Equestria from Val's grasp, and kill the Valkyrie.

Author's Note

I know it looks a little like everyone's cool with each other again, but I really didn't have enough space to explore more of that. Will do in future chapters- and you'll know that the barrier is still there. Rainbow still fully hates silver, radiradira.

Chapter 43: Mental War

"What really happened back there?" Magnum whispered to Octavia. They had Silver resting in the car, after following EDI's advice and patching her wounds up. She was still in a very weak condition though. "Her wings..."

"She deserved it." Rainbow jutted in with a slight snarl, staring up at the night sky.

Magnum frowned. "You cut them off?"

"Ripped." Rainbow said, looking down again.

Octavia sighed, sitting on a rock by the campfire. They all sat around it, staring into the flickering and crackling flames.

"You still haven't forgiven her, have you..." She said, her chin resting on the back of her hooves.

"What makes you think it's so easy after all she's done?" Rainbow snarled at the flames, anger flashing onto her face. "Honestly? I still want her dead. I want her in shreds, to tell the truth."

Octavia nodded, acknowledging the meaning behind that. "Thanks, Rainbow." She said glumly, her eyes half closed.

"For what?"

"For realizing what was more important." Octavia said, and fully closed her eyes. It had been a long night, and she was still hoping to get some sleep before they set off again tomorrow.

Rainbow was silent for a few seconds, but then she took off her hat and set it aside. Getting off the log she was sitting on, she found a comfortable spot on the ground and closed her eyes. "You're welcome." She said, and placed her hat over her face.

That left Magnum and Octavia by the light of the fire. Soon they could hear Rainbow's gentle snoring- so very unusual of her. They both chuckled a bit, but left her be.

"So... You remember anything else yet?" Octavia asked.

"Not quite yet... But I do know I miss a lot of ponies." Magnum chuckled. "I have this odd feeling... Can't really go into details, but it feels like I'm not... ME..." She sighed frustratedly, and ran a hoof through her mane. "It's hard to explain. Nothing feels right."

Octavia chuckled. "I know that feeling." She nodded slowly. "That lost feel. It's such a big world out there, and we have no idea what it's going to throw at us. Don't worry, you'll get your memory back."

"Well, I better." Magnum laughed. "How am I supposed to know what to protect when I don't remember what I hold dear to myself?" She looked down at the stump that was her shoulder. "Although, in my current condition..."

"You'll be fine." Octavia placed a firm hoof on her shoulder. "We'll all get out of this bloody mess- as long as we work together."

Magnum nodded, and grinned. "For what we hold dear."

"For better days yet to come." Octavia nodded in reply.

*

"How was your cake?" Blithy said glumly, her arms folded.

"Bloody terrible. I'm executing the chef tomorrow. Wanna come see?" Val said somewhat angrily, wiping her mouth with a napkin and tossing it behind her as she walked into the throne room.

"I'm fine thanks." Blithy said, and Val laughed.

"Take a joke, will ya? But he's still gonna get some punishment for that. How bout five years in prison?" She said, turning around and falling back into her throne.

"What? What the hay did he even do?"

"How about he annoyed me." Val said, yawning. "I clearly said I wanted the sponge to icing ratio to be six to one, and he gave me four to one. If he anyone wants to work under my command, they need to learn how to follow precise commands."

"Like they have a choice." Blithy growled.

"Yeah, well." Val snickered. "Now- back to proper business." She grinned, pulling up a holographic display. "Ah. Looks like our little magic faction friends are in position. HEX, order the strike the moment the sun rises." She said.

"You're going to take them out?" Blithy frowned.

Val sighed frustratedly, then laughed. "Oh, it's harder than you think. Direct strikes don't seem to affect them- so, I just want to soften them up a bit before I hit them again." She said, and yawned. "Well, ONE of them."

This is going to be interesting to watch, she thought. Those mares won't fare very well with a psychological attack- with all the stress being put on them in these past few days.

And even as Val thought about this, she could feel her heart ticking with anticipation- she was like a little kid, waiting for the effects of her prank to register on the victim. Only... This was a lot more than just a prank.

*

Octavia yawned loudly. Was it morning already? She was still half asleep, but forced herself to sit up anyways. The campfire had went out on its own, and she rubbed her eyes.

Then a sharp wailing noise sliced through the air and pierced her dulled brain, instantly dragging her into full consciousness. Everyone around her jumped, eyes immediately flung wide open and their brains firmly lodged in the painful dimension that is reality.

Magnum sprung to her hooves and whipped out her pistol, snapping it to point in the direction in which the noise was coming from; eyes wild however focused.

"Rise and shine." EDI said in her usual monotoned voice, turning off the siren.

"Goddamnit EDI, what the hay is wrong with you!!??" Rainbow yelled.

"Enemy forces within detectable proximity. Five targets, all Science Faction Strikers. Firepower unknown, unusual weapon layouts detected. Attempting scan..." EDI replied, then suddenly all of the car's lights turned on and it started beeping wildly, honking the horn at the orange morning skies.

"Son of mule! What the hell!" Rainbow yelled.

"Damnit Rainbow, we're under attack!" Octavia screamed, ran to her rifle and snatched it off the ground.

"Light-weight demolition explosives detected." EDI said. "Calculating ETA.... Forty seconds."

"Shuck..." Magnum quickly limped to her pistol and picked it up.

Rainbow deployed her cleaver, the sharp silver blade catching a glint of sunlight. "EDI, turn off the alarms damnit. Keep the wounded and kids safe, understand? Do whatever is necessary." She turned to Magnum, and waved at EDI. "Magnum, get in there. You're in no condition for a proper fight."

"Did you even hear EDI!? They're buck'n bombing us, there won't even be a fight! They drop one of those bombs on us and we're dead!" Magnum yelled back, jabbing a hoof at the sky.

"Demolition bombs. Performs less fragmental damage. Only intended for demolishing buildings without creating huge messes for the clean up crew." EDI reported.

"What, so they're going to take out the entire cliff face?" Babs raised an eyebrow, loading her shotgun.

"Possibly. Thirty seconds." EDI replied. "Technically they don't have enough bombs to compromise the structural integrity of this cliff."

"Then what the hay are they doing!?" Rainbow yelled angrily, frustration taking hold of her.

"Scanning for viable targets.... One out of one detected within the immediate area.

"EDI reported. "Reprogramming ETA."

"And that is...?" Daring frowned. There weren't many targets nearby to hit- but even as EDI started a new countdown, they seemed to all think of the same thing.

Octavia and Rainbow looked at each other, uncertainty on their faces. But they knew they both had the same target in mind.

"No way... That's absolutely pointless though!" Magnum remarked.

"Twenty seconds." EDI said.

"EDI, can you shoot them down?" Rainbow asked.

"The probability of a calculated launch of a dumb missile hitting its target is currently only at seventy percent. The act is not recommended, as it would compromise our location. We are also an unlikely target in this situation. Ten seconds."

Rainbow wiped a few beads of sweat off her forehead, and gestured at the edge of the cliff.

They all instinctively ducked down as they heard the jets whoosh past overhead, the loud roars of engines pounding against their eardrums. They looked up just in time to see the jets disappear, hidden by the thick foliage of the woods.

"Damnit. Come on everypony... Let's see what they're up to." Rainbow said, tucking the cleaver away and running towards the edge of the cliff.

"Eight seconds."

The other ponies followed her, skipping over the hazardous forest terrain. Babs almost tripped on a root, but regained balance and kept on going.

Finally they saw sunlight ahead, indicating the end of the small area of forest. Rainbow came stumbling out of the woods and into full golden morning sunlight, breathing hard. She straightened up and watched as the jet fighters continued their way to the other side of the canyon.

She heard the other ponies jog to a halt behind her, all silent and watching.

"Six, five, four, three, two..." EDI continued.

*

Val watched everything unfold as she sat in her throne, not daring to take her eyes off the screen as she didn't want to miss a single second of it.

"Home... That's where one lives, correct? Often the closest one can ever feel to a location... Anywhere else would be cold and oddly unpleasant." She said, then chuckled. "Oh, dear. You know, it was the capital of Equestria years ago... Before the wars, actually. They must still hold it as something of a symbol, hopes of a long lost age. Still something they hold dear, despite being completely abandoned and useless. Oh, this is going to be unpleasant for some ponies." She grinned, and Blithy could only sit silently as they watched the jet fighters close in on the ancient and abandoned city of Canterlot.

*

"One,"

Octavia took in a sharp breath as she realized Canterlot really was their target. They watched the Strikers circle around the huge city perched precariously on the cliff face, its age old glory still somewhat evident in the golden domed buildings. It had lost its majestic white walls though, replaced by damaged and wrecked surfaces of muck.

"Zero."

The Strikers unloaded their demolition bombs at the base of Canterlot, and turned around to leave.

The bombs went off, and from this distance they looked like nothing. Five small explosions, fireballs exploding out of the supports that held up the city. The shock waves ripped through the ancient material, reducing them to shreds and knocking them completely out from underneath the city. Without its supports, the city was like a pony without legs.

Octavia held her breath as she watched the city slowly sink down a few meters, sliding along the near-vertical cliff face. Occasional reflections of gold would blind them as the roofs deflected the bright light of the sun. The city crumbled inwards as it slowly collapsed, skyscrapers caving in and walls falling apart.

Then it started tilting forward, the sky scrapers horizontal to the ground as they fell. Some of the taller buildings simply snapped in half as individual pieces, falling alongside the general mass. Then the city hit a spot on the cliff and completely turned upside down, the tall buildings crushed and ground against the cliff face.

They could all feel the earth shaking as several million tones of material tumbled down the opposing cliff face, now all but a twirling mass of concrete, wood, gold and dirt.

Then finally it reached the end of its journey at the bottom of the cliff, hitting the earth and splaying its mass out like a splatter of water. Still a large amount of remains kept on going, crushing the forests below and tumbling into the mighty river that ran through the canyon.

Rainbow heard the loud splash of water as the shreds impacted the river, then everything seemed to dim down. No more rumbling, the fighters were gone, the air was still. The only thing that indicated to Canterlot's previous existence was a crater in the cliff face, and a slowly drifting trail of dust and ash dragging down the cliff and to the pile of debris at the bottom.

Octavia watched as her old life came to rest in a pile of indistinguishable building material, all the old memories swarming into her brain.

The laughter, the happy old days in a long lost reality and past where she enjoyed playing music for others and listening to their performances. The high class of Canterlot, of a city at its highest glory. Memories of the grand galloping gala, of the friends she made, of the highs and lows of life that they shared, of a past that she missed so much but never spoke of again.

Rainbow had her jaw clenched, but then she let it relax and sighed. She turned to leave, and caught a glittering tear sliding down Octavia's face. She stopped to catch a better glimpse- this can't be right. If anyone was capable of shutting their emotions out, it was Octavia. But it was no illusion- she was crying.

Octavia's eyes were invisible, hidden by a shadow cast by the edge of her hat. She had her head lowered, and sunlight could only go as far as her face.

Rainbow looked at the other ponies. Daring, Babs, and even Magnum had followed them. She made a curt gesture with her head, and they all nodded back and slowly left, one by one. Eventually that only left Rainbow and Octavia.

"Tavi..." Rainbow said softly, and heard Octavia make an attempt to hide a sniff. But all was too quiet for any noise to go unnoticed.

Octavia felt Rainbow put an arm around her shoulders and pull her into a gentle hug. She turned away from the wreckage and hugged Rainbow back, crying silently into her shoulder.

"Come on now Tavi..." Rainbow said gently, rubbing her gently on the back. "Val meant to do this. She meant to put us down."

"She targeted me this time, didn't she..." Octavia said, shaking her head. "She meant to hurt me. I didn't think it would hurt... But when I really did watch it crumble down like that..." She let out a quiet sob, and buried her face in Rainbow's shoulder.

"There there." Rainbow cooed softly, gently patting her on the back. "It's just an abandoned ruin anyway... Nopony was there..."

"I know... It's just... The memories..." Octavia sighed, and let go. She held Rainbow at arm's length, and nodded. "Sorry."

"Don't worry. A bit of emotion is good." Rainbow smiled. "Let's go, aye? Staying here and watching nothing won't help us get back at Val."

Octavia nodded. "Right, right." She said, and chuckled. "Sorry."

"Stop apologizing." Rainbow said, and gave Octavia a slightly harder hit on the back.

They both turned around, leaving the ruin behind them. Slowly they walked back into the woods, but as soon as they entered the shadows of the forest Octavia's expression darkened.

If this is the type of game Val is looking for, then so be it. She'll play along, and tear her organs out with her bare hooves when she gets the chance.

*

"That was pointless." Blithy remarked as they watched Rainbow and Octavia walk back into the forest.

"Maybe by your standpoint." Val said, a soft smile on her face.

Blithy raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that? You wanted them to feel despair, and yet nothing happened."

"Oh, no. Not despair." Val laughed. "That I can reserve for some other time. No no no... This time it wasn't that I wanted." She chuckled.

Blithy didn't reply, or ask what it was that Val really intended. She didn't need to, since Val was going to explain anyway.

"So far, you've seen what blindness and damage the lust for revenge generates... Right?" She said, pointing at the screen. "Silver, even you and I... You should understand. Look what that thirst has done to us..." She made her mechanical body parts click, her robotic eye rolling and making a faint hydraulic whine. "Silver lost her wings, because Rainbow ripped them out. And we killed our own parents, with this." She said, turning a hand before her eyes.

"So are you admitting it's a bad thing now?" Blithy asked.

"No, not at all. It's only a bad thing to those who are too serious about it. Anger makes ponies stupid." Val laughed. "I only get angry occasionally. And yet I get my revenge pretty much whenever I want." She grinned. "And I bet you Octavia there wants my head on a platter right now. I bet you." She said. "What I did there, was plant that little seed. That'll grow soon, and when it does... Oh, how beautiful it'll be. It'll cause that mare to do so many drastic things... And yet, the only ones that will be affected would be her friends." She laughed.

"She would never hurt her friends." Blithy said.

"I know, maybe not INTENTIONALLY." Val shrugged.

*

All seemed quiet in the middle of the mess, where a huge fist of rock had slammed through half the city of Manehatten. There was a slight gap between the front of the fist and one of the last remaining buildings that was in its path, and there was an eery shuffling noise slowly crawling its way out.

Dust was still settling, slowly drifting down to the earth. Then suddenly a long and dented silver blade tore through the rock and emerged from the crack, turned on its side, and clipped onto the edge of the building. Then another claw did the same, clipping onto the side of the fist.

Slowly, Colgate pulled herself out of the gap and stumbled into clear space. Blood seeped through and soaked her mane, her horn glowing dimly as she applied a healing spell to herself.

There was a loud bang as Terra leaped down from the top of the rock fist, landing heavily onto the ground and on the same level as Colgate.

Colgate only smirked at Terra's emotionless glare, steadying herself with the two long blades implanted into her front hooves. She leant forward onto them as if they were her real legs, taking the stress off her back legs and spine.

Terra crunched his armored front hooves together, sparks exploding out from between them.

Colgate leaned back on her back legs, then lunged forward- gone in an instant. Terra raised a hoof, ready to crack it into the earth. Here we go again.

Chapter 44: Skirmish

Colgate leaped high over a rock cone that Terra cast from the earth, her hooves clearing the sharp tip with ease. She landed on top of it, her momentum keeping her going and sending her sliding down the rock. She pushed off, raising both blades high and ready to slice Terra in half.

Terra slammed and ground his front hooves together, blue electricity sparkling across the air. He then buried both hooves into the earth with a loud boom, the ground beneath his hooves crackling and splintering into a sea of long sharp spikes.

Colgate landed with her blades, which kept her body away from the sea of danger. She then flipped herself clear of the spikes and landed somewhere behind Terra.

Terra pulled his hooves out from the earth, and turned around to face his opponent. At this rate- while he could defend himself, it was hard to land a hit.

But he could keep trying.

Grinding a hoof lightly across the ground, he transferred a spell into the earth. It'll spring up on its own later on- this should work fine. Then he conjured up a huge rock block then kicked it full on the side, sending it flying towards Colgate.

Colgate slid under it, then leaped back up into the air again.

Terra's trap sprung as Colgate went past it, triggering a huge magical reaction to take place inside the earth's crust.

The automatic spell that Colgate triggered caused a valve to be formed inside the crust, making a direct channel to the mantle hundreds of miles below. The displacement and natural pressure build-up beneath the crust immediately forced a large section of hot gases and molten rock up the valve, and on the surface ended in an explosive manner. The spell was timed, and would seal the crust again after a split second- thus it wouldn't destabilize the earth.

Colgate heard the spell activate behind her, and took a quick glance at the ground there. Her eyes widened as she saw a fresh gust of lava and super-heated gas explode from the earth, a huge wave heading straight for her.

Terra slammed a hoof into the ground, and a thick half-sphere rose from the ground in front of him. He crouched down and covered his head as the brief burst of lava hit the rock shield full on, then spilt to the sides in a molten bubbling mass. His vision was blurring from the heat waves, but he ignored it and dropped the rock shield.

His eyes widened as he saw something with a light blue glow suddenly dart towards him- it was Colgate. She had conjured up a magic shield to protect herself- of all things Terra could have forgotten, the fact that Colgate was a unicorn had to be one of them.

Colgate deactivated the shield shimmering around her in a destructive manner, the magical particles of the shield exploding outwards and hitting Terra full in the chest. He went flying back, over the puddles of lava and ended up slamming his back against the ground. And still he tumbled back a further five meters before coming to a stop on his side.

He struggled to get back up, having been completely knocked off balance. It was a miracle that he didn't get knocked out, but he was barely holding together. In his unfocused vision he saw Colgate leap into the air, arching down with both blades pointed at him.

It was too late- he wouldn't have any time to do anything. Colgate was too close already.

Then suddenly a flash of glowing black darted past him and collided with Colgate.

Neon slammed a fist into the side of Colgate's face, knocking her right back out of her original trajectory. But she didn't stop there- she grabbed hold of her two implanted blades, and snapped them clean off with her claws as they tumbled through the air.

Colgate slammed hard into the ground several meters away from the lava pond, but Neon barreled right into it. The impact sent a fresh wave of molten rock into the air, splattering back down again and cooling into burnt black bits on the floor.

Neon rose from the puddle, lava sliding off her back and mane. The sizzling effect of the lava on her cold skin was causing a lot of smoke to be produced- but one could still see her huge glowing eyes through the thick screen. She dusted off some of the cooling lava with a claw, and started striding through it as if it were water.

Colgate slowly got back up, remnants of her broken blades still attached to her front hooves. She looked at them disapprovingly- useless junk. Then unexpectedly her leg buckled following a loud bang, and she collapsed to the floor. She looked down and found that there was a giant hole that tore through her leg, shredding the flesh and obliterating the bone.

There was a soft tink as a bullet fell to the floor from Inkie's sniper rifle, and a loud click as Blinkie reloaded for her one-armed sister.

Inkie took aim once more, this time going straight for the head- and fired.

Neon suddenly darted forward and snatched the bullet right out of the air, effectively protecting Colgate.

"Cease fire." She said as she threw the bullet into the lava.

"Copy." Inkie said without emotion, lowering the rifle and propping it against the ground.

Neon turned to the disabled Colgate, who was having trouble breathing for whatever reason. She had a neutral expression on her face- as if she were a machine. Neon recognized that look. One she had in herself once, before the Element of Loyalty did something to alter her. That blank expression of a machine- was exactly what she had. Programmed to kill- and it didn't take much to guess who the programmer was.

Before Colgate could react, Neon had already slammed a palm against her temple.

Instantly she was knocked out, and collapsed sideways onto the floor. Neon picked her up and slung her over her shoulder, then turned away.

*

Thyme made the final short length of a jump down the side of the cliff, and landed with a slight 'oomf' on the ledge to the cave. Instantly her HUD was bombarded by warnings as she scanned the life forms inside- two readings, one heavily injured and the other completely mutated, yet normal.

She quickly disconnected her rappel cable, and drew out her pistol. Turning on the flashlight, she shone it into the dark cave.

"Identify yourselves." She spoke clearly, aiming the pistol at the two ponies inside.

"Doctor Whooves and Derpy Hooves. Friendlies..." The doctor said weakly, his chest heaving with the effort.

"Better get the survivors and leave med team, give em some treatment and go ASAP. The pirates seem to want their property back- their forces are turning around." Spitfire said, checking in from high above the earth. The OASIS constantly monitored the situation with its long-range cameras, scanners reporting in the enemy unit types in battle. "Just a bit of artillery and a buck-load of infantry, so get out quick or get swarmed."

"Copy." Thyme said, hearing a few more thuds as the rest of her team swung into the cave and landed on the ledge. "Alright boys and girls, give em a quick patch up- dropship! Wait for us at the bottom, over."

"Copy." The pilot replied. "Moving." He said, and a second later Thyme saw the dropship fly down to land at the bottom of the cliff, its engines roaring as they struggled to keep the hunk of metal steadily in the air.

"Thyme! We can't get a true reading on Derpy, but for some reason... The doctor only has one heart now." Pulse said, tapping away on a holographic tablet projected from his helmet. "Damnit... These readings don't even make any sense."

"Well then screw the readings!" Thyme yelled. "Buck'n find the problem and fix it! Derpy's fine, so fix up the doctor's damn bleeding so we can get outta here before we get shelled!"

"We're trying, okay!? Damnit!" Pulse cursed, making more analytics on the tablet. "His heart is fine, just suffering from heavy blood loss. Stop the bleeding- move it!" He yelled, and produced a canister from his backpack. It had 'biohazard' written all over it.

Ever since artificial blood had been invented, less and less hospitals and surgeries used real blood. Artificial blood was actually a chemical often known as 'Cellplierius', and wasn't actually blood. It remains a clear liquid in its neutral state, however once it comes in contact with blood it immediately adapts itself to change into blood. This prevents any difficulties from between blood types forming, as the chemical remains neutral until it comes in contact with blood and adapts to that blood type. Due to this however, Cellplierius must be kept in heavy containment all the time, as any pollutants might alter its properties and render the entire canister useless or even dangerous. And that's exactly what Pulse had in the canister- three full liters of compressed Cellplierius.

"Alright- I got the CLS loaded! Get that tube in his arm- can't start the injection until you do!"

One of the medic ponies grabbed a long needle, the blunter end attached to a rubber tube that was connected to the canister of CLS.

"Alright doctor- just a little jab, but keep your mind off it." He said, and slid the needle into the flesh on the doctor's right arm.

The doctor groaned as he felt the cold metal slowly slide into his arm, triggering several nerves. He ground his teeth together, and watched with fascination as Pulse started injecting him with the CLS artificial blood. Even as he did so, he could feel his own senses slowly coming back to life.

"Is he going to be alright?" Derpy asked worriedly from the side, shut out by the medic ponies crowded around the doctor.

"Don't worry- he'll be fine." Thyme reassured her, giving her a light pat on the back.

Something on Pulse's HUD beeped, and he pulled the plug on the canister. "Alright! We're done." He said, packing the canister again.

"I gave his leg a few bandages and a healing spell. Should hold together for now." A med finished wrapping the doctor's stump of a leg, and started cleaning up all the equipment.

"Good job meds! Now let's get these fellas down to the dropship!" Thyme yelled, but even as she said this she could hear the loud whoosh of a missile being fired.

She quickly ran to the cave entrance, and saw the missile as it hurtled towards them. She quickly whipped out her rifle and fired a quick burst at it. The first few bullets missed, but the last one hit it dead on and tore it right down the center.

"Get them on the cables- we've got company!!" She yelled behind her.

Then there were more rockets fired at them- from the infantry. Thyme counted at least five- but that probably wasn't accurate considering she was trying to take them down before they could reach their target.

There were so many of them she didn't even have any time to reload- and when she did, there simply wasn't enough time for her unless she was a natural gunslinger like Magnum.

Then there was the loud blasting of engines, and she could feel an odd heat wave slithering into the cave.

"I said 'in bad condition', not 'unusable'." Zealo said, making the Apollo hover just above the cave entrance.

Several beams of rainbows blasted the rockets straight out of the sky.

"Med team, I've got one heavily wounded over here!" He yelled, slowly bringing the Apollo down so its hull was level with the cave entrance's ledge. "Get her off! She's lost a lot of blood." He said, and parted the cockpit windshields.

"Pulse- with me!" Thyme waved behind her, pocketing her pistol and jumping onto the Apollo's outer hull. "Albatross! Cover fire please."

"Copy. Unloading." Thunderlane replied, swinging the huge gunship around and aiming for the pirates.

The earth shook as explosions ripped across the surface, entire buildings being completely knocked down and shredded by the heavy explosives that the gunship was unloading.

"Careful now-" Thyme said as she carefully lifted an unconscious Lightning Dust out of the cockpit. She and Pulse carried her off the plane and into the cave- to a more stable platform so they could begin work. "Apollo! You're clear."

"Copy med team. Thanks for the assistance." Zealo said, flying the Apollo away to assist the Albatross.

"Least we can do." Pulse replied, once again unpacking the canister of CLS.

"Ground team- we've got more firepower now. Retreat to rendezvous immediately! Zealo, cover the Albatross." Spitfire yelled.

"Copy captain." Zealo sighed, and sent the Apollo down to a low hover just above the ground. He could use the buildings as cover for now, and flew the plane sideways and slid onto another street.

"Turning back to pick up the ground team." Thunderlane reported, and there was a silent droning noise as he steered the huge gunship around to park it at where the ground team was.

"Come on boys and girls... It's been a tough fight." Neon said, with Colgate slung over her back.

The dust from the bombardment earlier was starting to settle, the enemy forces recovering. The pirates stumbled back to their hooves, usable aspects of their remaining artillery firing up.

"Terra! Cover us." Neon yelled, and Terra slammed a hoof into the dirt. A huge block of rock rose from beneath the layer of muck, effectively shielding out all the bullets.

"Coming in for landing." Thunderlane said.

"Buy them some time!" Terra yelled at Neon, and they both nodded at each other and charged forth. Then they stopped as they spotted something behind the pirates, and ran either side to take cover. They tuck rolled behind two buildings, hoping it would be enough- also hoping that the pilot's aim wasn't too horrible.

"Seriously? Did I really just flank these guys without them even noticing?" Zealo muttered to himself. "Ah well." He shrugged, and let loose all the Apollo's ammo.

One of the pirates yelled as he started hearing the firing of missiles and prism guns behind them, and turned around. But by then Zealo had already cut down a good fifth of their troops.

"Oooh RPG." Zealo tutted and swung the Apollo to the side, still hovering at the same distance from the pilots. It performed a barrel roll, the rocket soaring past and leaving a trail of smoke in its wake.

Neon peered out from cover, caught Terra's eye and nodded. He nodded back, and they darted out from cover.

The pirates, beaten and confused, were trapped in the middle with an assault aircraft on one side, and two Wardens on the other. The assault aircraft would've been the easier choice if they could shoot it down- which was proving to be a difficulty.

Thunderlane landed the Albatross with a bit of a struggle- the huge aircraft was quite something to try and land. It touched down on the empty street with a loud thunk, the anti-gravity engines dimming as they were no longer required for the time being. The gate at the rear of the aircraft lowered, forming a platform leading into the aircraft's vast interior.
"Everypony in! Let's go!" Rig yelled, waving an arm wildly in the air and getting the others' attention. He stood guard by the aircraft, shooting at the pirates in the distance while Asty rushed over to the Pie twins to help Inkie.

"Don't worry about me. I can walk fine." Inkie said, but made a small stumble as she did so. She stabilized herself with her rifle, but moved off and kept on going. "Just a bit dizzy from blood loss."

"Better sum it up over there!" Thunderlane yelled at the Wardens. "Everyone's already in!"
"Copy." Neon said, snapping a neck. "We'll be over now."

"Cleaning up." Zealo said, still sweeping at the pirate forces with prism beams and a few remaining torpedoes. Then something started beeping wildly on his broken HUD, and he frowned. The corner of a broken edge of glass was flashing red- there was something there before it shattered, but what was it again...?

Zealo's eyes widened as he realized it was a lock-on warning- but by the time he figured that out there was no choice but to bail the aircraft.

He slammed a hoof down on the eject button, but it wouldn't work. The wiring must've been damaged- the signal wasn't getting through.

He cursed, and pulled down a lever to his side. The windshield popped out and was ejected with a violent explosion of air, knocking it at least a good seven meters away from the aircraft. He leapt up, grabbed onto the side of the aircraft and swung out. A second later he heard the missile slam right into the damaged Apollo, the explosion tearing it from the back to the nose.

Zealo fell about two meters down, and slammed his back hard on the gravel floor. The air left his lungs, and he watched as his destroyed fighter came crashing down nose-first.

It smashed into the gravel next to his face, inches away from crushing his skull. Then it tipped to the side and away from him, and crashed down with a light fireball.

Zealo let out a sigh of relief, then looked to who shot him down. Some bastard on the roof.

"Guys! RPGs on the bloody roof in case you haven't noticed!" He coughed, struggling to get up after getting winded by that fall.

"Done." Terra said, slamming a hoof into the ground. The building the RPG pirate was on came crashing down into the earth, the rubble disappearing behind a thick cloud of light brown dust.

"Get to the dropship. Let's go." Neon helped him up, fending off anyone that fired at them. They started backing away towards the dropship not far away behind them, and Terra pulled a giant brick wall out of the earth and sealed off the pirates. It won't last long though- one rocket could take it down.

"Meds! Let's go!" Thyme yelled as members of her team including herself slung the injured over their backs. They ran to the cables still dangling from the top of the cliff where they were anchored, and hooked themselves in again. As a safety precaution they also strapped the injured on as well, keeping them from falling off. Thyme had Lightning Dust on her back, still unconscious but recovering. They had injected a stabilizer into her so her coma state wouldn't do any extra unwanted damage, and wrapped her wings up in bandages.

"Three, two, one!" Pulse yelled, then jumped off the edge. His cable suddenly tightened with tension as the device mounted to his hip detected the fall, and he stopped after only a meter drop and landed hooves down on the cliff face.

They started rappelling their way down to the dropship they arrived in, hopping along the cliff face.

Suddenly Pulse felt something snap, and looked back to see his cable whip back at him. The heavy steel cable contracted and slammed into the side of his helmet, shattering his visor and sending pieces of glass flying into the air. He was knocked unconscious, and his hooves left the cliff face. He fell back, down towards the bottom of the cliff.

"PULSE!!" Thyme screamed, but already it was too late. He slammed down onto the ground about fifty meters down with a sickening crack, and never got back up again.

Thyme's mind didn't register his death for a few seconds, then she realized what had happened and felt a sudden urge to cry. She fought it down, and shook her head. Pulse is dead- but there are still survivors that need to get to the dropship and to safety.

But then it occurred to her- the steel cable shouldn't simply snap....

She turned around, looking behind her and up at the top of the cliff. Her eyes widened as she realized what had happened.

The pirates had flanked them, and climbed onto the cliff. Now they were cutting their cables.

"Shuck!" Thyme cursed, and slammed a button in the armor on her hip. She felt motors yank at her, and she whirled around so she was rappelling down backwards. She whipped out her folded rifle, pressing a button so it sprung into full length. She took aim while still continuing down, firing up at the pirates. "Everyone look out! ABOVE US!!" She screamed, but they were already cutting loose more cables- and she could only watch as her old teammates fell screaming to their deaths at the bottom of the cliff.

Then she heard a loud 'thunk', followed by a whoosh. Horror dawned on her face, and she crouched down as a rocket soared past her head. She quickly looked behind her as it passed, and felt her heart drop.

The rocket slammed right into their dropship, reducing it to shreds.

Author's Note

Hey! April fools a few days ago. Did anyone play any pranks? Cause I sure did, hehe...

I wanted to prank my friend, but didn't know what to do.... Then I remembered, he's a huuuge magnum fan... So, I decided to tell him that magnum's dying in the next chapter(this one, lol). Here's his exact reaction on iMessages:

I WILL F*CKING DESTROY YOU
F*CK YOU
ASSHOLE
EAT SH*T AND DIE
me: go blame Val
GET VAL TO SUCK MY DICK AND TELL HER TO F*CK HERSELF

I couldn't stop laughing the entire time, it was absolutely hilarious. Then I pretended to send him a new chapter, the email titled 'C44' which stands for 'Chapter 44'. In reality, it was just a blank page with the words 'Happy April Fools b*tch' written on it. The next day at school he raged at me, hahaaaa

It was pretty funny. Although was I a bit too mean though?

Chapter 45: Evac!

"What the hay...?" Spitfire frowned, checking the radar on the OASIS. Everything seemed normal.... But then how did they not detect the pirates sneaking around? Then she froze as she realized- Val hadn't sent any more reinforcements. She cursed, and turned to Soarin. "Check if our radars and camera feeds are working properly!" She yelled.

Soarin came back a second later, holding a tablet with a number of statistics on it. He frowned at one of the graphs, and tapped it for an enlarged version. "Looks like our radars are getting some odd readings..."

"Damnit." Spitfire pulled up a holo screen, swiping through the ship's radar's settings. She quickly changed the radar's signal wave frequency, and checked it again. "Shuck." She said as an extra twenty red dots popped up, on the cliff behind the teams- Val was using the pirates, even if they didn't know it. She had concealed them from the OASIS's radar by absorbing the radar signals to the COLOSSUS.

"Bloody hell! Encrypt the damn signal! Check all security systems, now!" Soarin yelled. There was no way of determining the signal's frequency remotely, and someone must've exposed the system's firewall before statistics on the radar could've been revealed from a remote location. Someone had sabotaged the ship.

*

"Med team's dropship is down!" Thunderlane heard Spitfire yell through the comms, and cursed. That meant the Albatross gunship was the only ship available for extraction.

"Come on! We gotta help them!" Rig yelled, climbing up a ladder and opening the top hatch, located on the roof of the gunship. "Thunderlane, take off! Try and catch them as they fall!"

"Copy." Thunderlane said, pushing a lever forward. The gunship's engines' low whine grew to a furious roar, and slowly it started taking off the ground. It hovered in the air, then started flying up to meet the med team.

"RPG!!" Asty yelled, spotting something through the opened hatch. "GET DOWN!!"

The RPG flew straight towards the center of the gunship, and there was no-one to stop it.

But then it got to about two meters away from the gunship, and got yanked straight of the air and towards one of the engines. The engine sucked in the rocket, then the anti-gravity generators flung it into the ground below where it exploded.

"That works." Rig shrugged, then climbed out through the hatch onto the ship's hull. He helped his twin sister out, and crouched down so he doesn't get sucked into the engines as well.

"Cover them! Med team, do you read!?" Blinkie yelled, putting her sister down to rest in the gunship while she went up to join the others.

"We see you ground team!" Thyme yelled back, looking at the gunship down behind her as she fired up at the pirates. "We've got casualties and wounded- GAH!!" She yelped as a bullet struck the side of her helmet, tearing through wires and shredding the light armor plating. "Damnit!"

"Med team?" Blinkie fired a few shots up at the pirates.

"Copy, but going offline." Thyme said, her helmet broken. She grabbed one side of it with her spare hoof, and ripped it off. Sparks flew as the wired connection between the helmet's HUD broke from the suit, rendering several functions useless. She threw the helmet away, her short green mane falling down over her face as she continued punching bullets up at the cliff top.

She jumped up, the cable loosening up once again and sending her down several meters. There was a loud thud as she landed back on the cliff face, Lightning Dust still firmly strapped to her back.

"Jump! You're in range!!" Rig yelled up at the meds, waving them towards the gunship.

Thyme looked down. The gunship was still quite far away- she might just move down a little more before she gets aboard.

Then she felt her cable loosen even without her jumping, and looked up. The pirates were cutting her loose- and she was slowly slipping.

She cursed, turned back around to face the ground and slammed the eject button on her hip. The cable broke free from her, and she launched both back hooves into the cliff face and pushed off.

Suddenly she was in free fall, and felt oddly naked despite the twenty kilograms of armor she was wearing. She was about to land on the gunship when suddenly she was violently tugged sideways. She looked at what was dragging her through the air- and was horrified to see the anti-gravity generator roaring at her back hooves.

Then somepony grabbed her wrist, and slammed her down onto the gunship's hull. She was instantly dragged away from the engine's airflow, but also body-slammed painfully on the hull; Lightning Dust still unconscious on her back.

"Get inside- quick!" Rig helped her up to a crouch, and fired a spray up at the cliff.

"We've got one wounded inside- do whatever you can." Asty nodded at the open hatch.

She slowly crawled her way to the open hatch, and eventually was relieved to be away from the roaring engines. Her arms were weak as she lowered herself down into the gunship and laid Lightning Dust down on the floor. She stumbled a bit, completely disoriented from past events.

But she quickly shook it off as she saw Inkie- and went to attend to her wounds.

"Come on... Come on..." Rig tutted as more of the meds arrived. And by more, it only meant three- two of which had extra ponies strapped to their backs- obviously the wounded.

Rig sent a short burst of bullets into a pirate's leg, and he stumbled and fell over the edge. He screamed his way down, but went silent as his head clipped the cliff face with a loud crack. The rest of the way down his head remained backwards.

Then one of the gunship's engines drew him in, then flung him down towards the ground. He splattered into the earth, limbs and other bits bouncing high up into the air from a pink mist where his body had landed.

Another med made it down with Doctor Whooves, and Rig helped them away from the engine's air flow. That left two more meds and one injured.

"Enemies approaching from the front!" Thunderlane warned. "Turning around..." He said as he turned the gunship on its side so the guns faced the oncoming pirate troops from the city. "Might wanna cover your ears." He said, and let loose on the troops.

The heavy flak rounds hit the ground, generating huge craters in the road and sending rock shards up in the air along with its own shrapnel.

"We're clear Thunderlane! Get us out of here!" Rig yelled as the last med got into the gunship with Derpy Hooves.

"Copy. We're leaving fellas!" Thunderlane said with a light whistle, and the gunship flew higher into the air.

Rig and Asty followed Blinkie and hopped down into the gunship's interior, clunking onto the metal floors. Rig closed the hatch as he got in, slamming it shut and locking it in place.
Then they all slumped onto the ground as the gunship took off, closing their eyes as to rest from the exhausting day of fighting.

Then the ship shook violently as somewhere to the side an explosion tore through one of the engines, the entire gunship tilting to one side and tipping everyone against the wall.
"We've been hit!" Thunderlane cursed. "Engine three has been hit!"

"We're still in the air though, right? So get us out of here!" Asty yelled.

The gunship trembled as the cannons let rip, tearing down entire buildings and sending streets up in explosions.

"Alright! We're clear, we're clear..." Thunderlane let out a sigh of relief as the gunship reached the clouds. "Buck'n hell, that was pretty darn close."

"Shuck..." Rig slumped down on the ground, exhausted.

"Third engine's damaged, but it'll maintain for now. Problem is that there's a power leak because of that- our flight path just got a lot bucking shorter." Thunderlane said, flicking through some statistics.

*

"Damnit! Bastards got away." The pirate leader cursed, ripping his watch from his wrist and throwing it at the ground in pure frustration. "You better get those wounded men cleaned up! And don't talk to me unless it's buck'n good news." He yelled at his second in command, and stormed off. A very bad idea.

He turned a corner, then suddenly felt a claw clamp over his mouth and tug him away from his troops. He couldn't make a noise, but stopped trying anyway when he felt the barrel of a peculiar weapon press against his back. Then he felt the weapon move away, and suddenly whoever was holding his mouth grabbed him by his belt and lifted off into the air.

He watched horrified as the earth grew further and further away, the wind whistling in his ears as his stomach lurched from the sudden gain in altitude.

Then he was thrown onto the roof of a deserted building face first. He spat out a mouthful of dust, then something clawed into his back and he was flipped over like a crab on the beach. The sharp pointy end of a knife mounted to a rifle pressed lightly against his throat, the silhouette holding the rifle backlit by the sun. One thing was for certain though- it ain't a pony.

"So, mister leader-of-the-mother-bucking'-pirates." Frostbite sighed. "I've got a few questions for you."

The stallion gestured at the knife at his throat, just below his Adam's apple. He didn't dare swallow to talk.

Frostbite pulled the weapon away, and immediately the pirate pulled out a pistol from his belt and aimed it at him. Frostbite showed the clip of ammo that he had pulled out from the pistol when he hoisted the pirate by his belt, and threw it off the side of the building.

He heard the stallion curse under his breath, and throw the pistol away. Then he produced a knife from inside his jacket, and lunge up at Frostbite.

Frostbite simply slammed the back of his claw against the side of the knife, knocking it away from the pirate. They both watched it tumble off the building. Then the stallion heard a click as Frostbite flicked the safety off his rifle and pointed it at him.

"Fine." He grumbled, raising his hooves above his head as Frostbite sighed.

"I know you were fighting the Science faction before we arrived." He got straight to the point. "Why did you attack them?"

"They bloody attacked us!"

"Not from what I can see from the battlefield." Frostbite shook his head. "They sent reinforcements after you raided one of their convoys. What did you find on that convoy?"
"Nothing! Just some general goods-"

"Quit your bull crap. You wouldn't have attacked a fully armed convoy unless you thought or knew there would be something on board that would've been of worth."

"Really! There was nothing-"

Frostbite grabbed him by the collar, his sharp claws tearing halfway through the fabric of his thick jacket. "Listen. You could tell me what it was and where it is now, or I could kill you and find it anyway. Wastes both of our time, and your life for that matter." He said, his eagle eyes piercing the stallion's.

"Damnit! There's nothing of worth!"

"'Of worth'? So there was something. Give it." He growled.

"Bucking hell! Just leave me alone!" The stallion yelled, and threw a small box at Frostbite.

Frostbite caught it with a claw, and flicked it open. Inside was a single card, cushioned in a bunch of soft plastic. The card looked like any ordinary playing card- just a red ace. But it obviously had some sort of technology in it, as there were glowing blue lines that pulsed every second or so. It was as if it had its own heartbeat.

Frostbite closed the box, and put it in his bag.

"Thank you for your time." He said, and took off- but not before he ripped the stallion's mic set away from his ear and stole his phone. "You'll have to take the stairs." He said, and flew off.

"Do you have the info?" Vinyl asked through the mic.

Frostbite crushed the pirate's communications devices in a claw. "I also got what we were looking for. No idea what it is though."

"Well buck it. Hand it in to command and that's our job done." Vinyl sighed. "Now.... Let's start our hike back to Haven. Damnit, should've asked for a ride."

*

"That's them gone." Val said, her arms crossed in front of her chest as she watched the gunship disappear off radar and into the clouds. "Eclipse- retrieve the key card from the pirates, will ya."

"Copy." Eclipse said through the comms. She was already on her way to the planet surface.

"Key card?" Blithy raised an eyebrow.

"The ace." Val nodded, a grin on her face. Little did she know that the pirates don't have it anymore.

*

The pirates were tidying up their equipment and attending to their wounded when their radars picked up a small dropship entering the atmosphere above their location.
"The bastards are back for more are they?" The pirate leader growled, having been retrieved from the roof top. "Buck'n arseholes."

"Should we shoot it down?"

"And start another battle? Ya think that's a buck'n good idea right now!?" The leader snarled. "Leave them be- let's just see what they want."

Slowly the dropship turned around to land in the middle of their camp. Engines whined as the dropship was lowered onto the clearing, and with a curl of dust it settled down. There was a hiss as the ship's door opened, and slowly lowered. Inside a figure stood waiting, hidden in the shadows as the door lowered to form a ramp. The pirates couldn't see any details just yet, but they were able to see two blood red eyes staring out from the darkness at them.

Eclipse stepped out from the dropship, her arms folded behind her back as usual. She scanned the crowd of remaining pirates, all staring back at her hatefully. The injured had even stronger expressions on their faces, their eyes glaring.

There was a lot of tension between the two sides, but Eclipse ignored it completely.
"Who is your leader?" She asked calmly, not even flinching considering she was surrounded by enemy forces.

"I am." The pirate leader said, walking out from the crowds.

Eclipse tilted her head to one side. Wasn't quite expecting that, but alright.

"You took something from our convoy. Hand it over." She said.

"I don't have it anymore. I gave it to some griffon." He said, disregarding the consequences. He hated the science faction so much that he didn't even care anymore- and the last thing he was about to do was beg for mercy. He knows he won't get it anyway.
"I suppose that settles it then." Eclipse clicked her neck, letting an arm dangle down by her side.

The pirates all around her raised their weapons, but she was way ahead of them. She flicked her arm across, a huge glowing orange scythe suddenly sprouted from her hoof and disconnected all the heads to her right. The pirates didn't even get a chance to scream. Then she pulled up a shield to her left, the bullets and even rockets not even able to budge it. With her left hoof, she conjured up her incineration rifle again- and fired.

The pirate that got hit instantly caught fire and went down in ashes.

Eclipse flicked her right arm up, and glowing orange tentacles sprouted from her shoulder and slithered along her arm. They flew towards the pirate leader, and stabbed through his chest. They then impaled him to the building behind him, blood splattering over the concrete.

"You're all useless now." Eclipse said, her expression bored as she turned her hoof.

The tentacles splayed out, and tore the pirate leader in half, his guts spilling over the floor.

Eclipse sent a wave of spikes into the pirates, spilling more blood and rupturing more organs. Within seconds the entire pirate group was dead.

But then she heard the loud whistling of a knife behind her as someone tried to stab her- but she was way too quick.

An orange cuff formed out of thin air around the stallion's wrist, stopping the knife inches away from Eclipse's head. She slowly turned around, looking at the knife at her nose indifferently.

"A sneaky one, aye..." She muttered, emotionless as ever. "Tried to be smart, aye..." She raised a hoof, and cuffs formed at the stallion's limbs. He struggled, but nothing he did could even make them budge the slightest.

Eclipse stared into his eyes, her own blood red irises casting fear deep into his heart. Slowly he stopped struggling, and started trembling.

"Please... Don't kill me..." He started, whimpering.

"Pathetic." Eclipse snarled, and turned her hoof slightly.

One of the cuffs suddenly started moving away, slowly tearing the stallion's left leg away from his body. He screamed, tears streaming out of his eyes. Then there was a loud rip and a snap as the leg was severed, and fell lifelessly to the ground. Blood splattered everywhere, the remains of a joint dangling by several nerves from the bloody stump where his leg used to be.

"Please... Please... Don't..." He sobbed, not able to look up.

Eclipse turned her hoof the other way, and started ripping his other leg off. Again he started his bloody screaming, his throat sounding like it could tear itself in two any moment. Then with a loud crack it broke away, blood pouring out of his wound.

His entire body was shaking- at least what remained of it. He was still conscious.

Then without warning, Eclipse flicked her hoof down. The stallion's arms were twisted three hundred and sixty degrees, the flesh tearing itself apart and the bones popping out of his shoulder sockets with loud snaps. He screamed, blood surging into his mouth.

His body fell onto the ground, with no limbs whatsoever. They were lying dead on the ground around him in large puddles of blood mixed with dirt.

"Please... Kill me..." He managed, writhing on the dirt floor, his face pressed against the rough gravel. But there was nothing he could do about it.

Eclipse picked him up by the head, dangling him so he was the same height as her. She observed him as a little kid would an ant under a magnifying glass on a sunny day, her expression indifferent. Then his head exploded as she crushed his skull in her hoof. She let what little remained of his body collapse to the ground, and shook off the blood on her hoof.

She heard a light sob behind her, and turned.

There was a small foal, aged about twelve or thirteen. He was sitting down on the ground, next to the body of a similarly colored stallion. Probably his father.

Eclipse only stared at him like she did the others. She received the same hateful, tearful look the others had given her when they were alive.

Emotionless, she raised her incineration rifle and reduced the foal to ashes.

Chapter 46: Across Realities

"Do you.... Ever have those times where... You just want to sit down and cry?" Val asked, her head resting on a hand as she leaned on her throne.

Blithy looked up. Did she really just hear that from Val?

The sun shone down behind them, over the COLOSSUS itself. The floor in front of them was tinted yellow from the massive star, long shadows cast across the throne room from the two mares. Blithy and Val were the only two in the room, with no one else present.

Val sighed, and Blithy smiled and nodded to herself.

"What?" Val looked up, her expression slightly annoyed.

"Nothing. Just wasn't expecting to hear anything like that from you, is all."

"Right." Val said, closing her eyes and leaning back into her throne.

Silence slowly settled in, as both mares waited for each other to say something.

"Have... You done anything you regretted?" Blithy asked, turning to Val.

Slowly, the Empress of the Science Faction opened her eyes.

"Yeah." She said, and Blithy nodded. "I'm thinking... Maybe I shouldn't have killed mom and dad."

That made Blithy freeze. This didn't make any sense- just a few hours ago she was blabbering on about how mom and dad deserved every bit of it. Val seemed to notice her confusion, and sighed again.

"I'm not saying they didn't deserve what they got. They did- every bit of it, and I still stand by that. They deserved to die, but I don't know if I should've enforced it..." Val stretched a hand out in front of her, raising it out of the shadow of her throne. It caught a glint of golden sunlight and shimmered. "I've got all this power... I can pretty much do anything I want. I can eliminate anyone I don't like. I can get whatever I want. I control everything. And yet..." She let her hand drop and her finger curl into a fist. "Who is there to notice? Maybe if mom and dad were here... Maybe if they could see me... Maybe they could still be proud." Then she laughed, and shook her head. "Look at me... Acting like a bucking foal. Wanting to impress mom and dad. Ha!" She continued laughing, but slowly it lost its purpose and faded away into a dull meaningless snicker.

There was a long pause that Blithy didn't dare interrupt. Val was revealing a side of herself she had never known existed before. A side she experienced as her own... A side she thought that purely belonged to her. But as different as they were.... They were still the same mare. The same foolish and childish mare.

"Blithy..." Val said, eyes dull as she stared miserably at the ground. "I miss mom and dad. And I miss home."

Blithy felt a part of her die. She didn't want to admit it- she didn't want herself to be any part of what Val was. But she missed those things too.

"I miss the ignorance of being small. I miss the cans of spray paints and the smell they would bring in the morning." Val continued, shaking her head slowly, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

Blithy chuckled.

"What?" Val looked up.

"I just never ever expected to see this moment. This side of you... That no one's ever known about." Blithy said, lying down on her back. The cold metal tingled her skin, but she didn't care. She put her hands behind her head and used them as a metal pillow. She sighed, and smiled up at the ceiling and its yellow tint from the sun. "Quite ironic, if I do say so. This other side contradicts you completely."

"The greatest of us have our secrets." Val said, staring at something distant in the shadows. "I'm sure you would know yourself. You always act so strong in front of the crowds... You know you're in charge." At this point Val could no longer tell whether she was talking to Blithy or to herself. "But what really happens when no one is watching? No one ever sees the air, but it's still there. Same with many other things." She sighed.

"You know, I think I like this side of you better. Is this the better side of you?"

"Don't get me wrong..." Val said, standing up. "I'm still going to carry out my plans without a doubt. Because I believe in their purpose."

There was a soft whir as a secret compartment opened from the left arm of her throne, and something popped out and flew towards her. She turned around, and caught it in a hand.

"I'm sure you remember this." She said, holding up an old rusted metal cylinder.

"I do..." Blithy said, watching as Val turned the can of spray paint around in a hand.

The very can, still full of paint, that mom and dad had left them before abandoning them on that rooftop. The descriptions printed on the can could no longer be read due to the amount of dust it had gained over the years. But the cap was never breached, and the paint inside should still be fresh.

But then Blithy's eyes widened as she realized something. In her reality... She had dropped the can down the side of the building before following it. She remembered watching the blue paint splatter onto the ground, marking where her own blood would soon follow.

"How...?" She frowned at the can, still sealed and in perfect condition. But this wasn't the can she dropped- it was still the same one, from a different reality.

From this reality- Valkyrie's reality.

"You... Aren't a part of me..." Blithy wasn't quite sure she understood herself as she spoke. "You're.... Another me... From another reality?"

There was a pause between them.

"And yet the same thing happened to the both of us in the our own realities. Except we met different ponies.... And made different choices." Val said. "I don't know where you jumped off.... But I jumped off the roof of Valhalla's central security tower. My parents were just citizens of the capital, but the government at the time stripped us of our property because they couldn't earn enough money to pay taxes. Then the only possibility of my recovery was taken away as well since it was government funded. We were practically left to die by then. And so I was."

"And you survived... Took on a new identity... And overthrew the old government... But why did you kill your parents then?" Blithy shook her head, sitting up.

"Because they deserved it." Val said, placing the can of spray paint on her throne and laying a hand on it, staring out at the shielded sun and its brilliant light. "They went on to take care of their own lives after I 'died'. I was going to go back to them to show that I was still alive... But I saw the great lives they led after I left. I saw them cheering, with warm food on their plates and a nice roof over their heads. A life I never experienced, because I supposedly weighed them down. All this time I was watching from the cold, whereas they enjoyed their life in the warmth."

"Same as me again, huh..." Blithy sighed. "Revenge."

"Correct." Val said. "Different choices... And yet we still end up the same. I didn't use the can of spray paint because I thought one day I might come back as a ghost to get it... And look at me now..." She said, staring at her own reflection on the false window before her. Not a pony anymore- something different. The metal covering over fifty percent of her body gleamed in the sunlight, her left eye glowing a soft blue along with several LED indicators on her robotic implants. "...what am I but a ghost of myself?" She sighed, picking up the can of paint again.

"So we're still different, slightly. I never expected myself to come back to get it... So I just threw it down the building." Blithy laughed. "Oh, this is weird. I thought your part of me didn't exist in me anymore... But now that I know the Valkyrie in me is still ready to kill at any moment, I really don't know what to think anymore."

"Well, aren't you in charge of yourself?" Val said. "I know I am. And bloody hell, I am not letting that wimpy little Blithy out of me."

"Oi!" Blithy yelled, annoyed. Val only chuckled.

"The two sides of us... Valkyrie, me; and Blithy, you-" Val said, still staring out into space. "We both have them. We just made different choices as to who to be. Funny though, isn't it... I can endure pain and you can't."

"I understand how you do it... But I wouldn't dare just in case the Valkyrie inside me comes out."

Val nodded. "Pain is just an illusion. Same as vision, smell, sense- if we choose to not perceive them, the world would no longer exist to us. Put us on a roller coaster and we won't feel a thing."

"And that's why I'm afraid to choose to ignore pain. Pain makes my existence feel... Real. Choosing to ignore a critical sense may mean choosing to ignore other things as well..." Blithy said.

Val had a stone cold heart- maybe because she chose to ignore the warmth of love and harmony. Choosing to ignore was why killing was so much easier. Choosing to ignore was why ponies become ghosts.

"You never changed... Because there wasn't anyone there to change you. Rainbow Dash... She wasn't here in this reality, was she...."

"The elements of harmony were never complete..." Val said. "The element of loyalty was always missing... Thus I had been searching- to destroy one last threat." She sighed, and yawned. "There is a tombstone in Ponyville... With hundreds of names on it. Those were candidates for the elements of harmony.... More specifically, the element of loyalty."

"And you killed all of them?" Blithy took in a sharp breath.

"I did, in hopes of finding the real one. But finally I did..." She laughed. "Oh, how that was a waste of time."

Suddenly the phone implanted in her head beeped, and she accepted the call with her mind.

"The key card is missing. The pirates gave it to a griffon- possibly magic faction. Pirates have been annihilated." Eclipse reported.

"Everyone?" Val asked.

"Not a single soul." Eclipse replied.

Val chuckled. "Good." She said, and hung up. "Well... This is inconvenient." She said, slumping back into her throne.

"What is?"

"I was transferring a key card via a convoy... But it got taken by pirates and sent to some griffon." Val sighed. "Although... From what I've learnt over the years..." She chuckled, and pressed a button on her throne. Another compartment opened, and she took a small object out of it. "It's always better if you have one extra card than your opponent." She said, twirling the ace between her fingers, blue lines pulsing along its surfaces.

*

Rainbow slammed EDI's door shut as she got in the car.

"Everyone buckled in?" She asked, peering behind her. "Although... I don't think you need to." She added as the sheer amount of ponies in the backseat was enough to keep them wedged in place.

"Let's go then. Off to Haven!" Octavia cheered, plotting a course for the Crystal Empire. EDI started up the engines, and Octavia started driving- leaving the forest and its dusty clearings behind.

"Rainbow." Rainbow heard Spitfire say through her mic set.

"Captain?"

"We've got a gunship en route to meet up with you. Just beware of that- it's been through a rough battle and isn't exactly in good shape." Spitfire said.

"Copy, we'll keep an eye out." Rainbow said, and the connection broke.

"Well?" Octavia raised an eyebrow.

"We've got pickup, but they aren't exactly close. Just keep heading towards Haven- we'll meet up along the way." Rainbow said, sighing. Shouldn't be long till they reach the damn place now.

They exited the dark forests and out into bright sunlight, once again in the vast plains of the wasteland. The canyon ran alongside their path as they continued their journey, the river beneath constantly splashing at them.

Rainbow rested her forehead on the passenger side window, almost drifting off to sleep in sheer boredom. Then something in the sky caught her eye- and she looked up.

Cloudsdale... There it was, its weather factories long destroyed. It didn't have its usual cloud pumping abilities, and the rainbows had long faded away. It still had its waterfalls though, the water slowly drifting down from the City of the Pegasi and fading towards the bottom as it started dispersing.

Then the city blew apart in one loud boom, the shockwave sweeping across the plains. The city started collapsing in on itself, water splashing as valves and gates were popped and broken open. Chunks of solidified clouds flew everywhere, and the dimensional anchor that held Cloudsdale in place failed its job as it was destroyed. The city started falling down towards the ground- the pride of all pegasi, the pinnacle of magic innovation- crumbling down towards a place where it was never meant to be- earth.

Cloudsdale had overlooked Equestria from the highest possible point within the Earth's atmosphere, a place where earth ponies and even unicorns alike looked up upon with jealousy.

And now it was gone in a puff of smoke in the far distance.

Rainbow felt an odd emptiness inside her as she watched it disappear- the last place she'd been with Octavia in the last reality. At home.

Suddenly Magnum screamed, reacting violently to something in her head. She clamped her hooves over her temples, screaming as memories poured back into her head.

"Shuck! EDI, keep driving- I need to check on our passenger! Mind doing a quick scan and analysis?" Octavia asked, slamming a button.

"Copy." EDI said, activating automated driving and performing a diagnosis on the Magnum that was being held down by the other ponies.

Octavia's seat turned around so she was facing the chaos in the passenger compartment.

"Hold her down damnit!" Daring yelled, both her arms wrapped around just one of Magnum's- and she was still barely holding her side down.

Magnum's legs were kicking around as she screamed blindly, her brain being overwhelmed by memories that were flooding in.

"Damnit Magnum- snap the hell out of it!" Rainbow cursed, catching her by the ankles and holding them down.

"EDI! Put her to sleep!" Octavia yelled, Dainty and Lily curled in a corner and watching with terror as Magnum continued her blind struggling.

"Commencing." EDI said. "She needs to be still though."

"Come on girls! HOLD HER DOWN!" Daring used her back legs to restrain Magnum's. Babs was holding down the other side, preventing her from moving too much. She was missing a limb anyway- so it was slightly easier.

"Octavia, the sedatives are ready!" Rainbow yelled as a socket popped open on EDI's display.

"Well then stab her!" Octavia yelled, holding down her back hooves.

"Here goes-" Rainbow ripped the canister out of the socket and stabbed it into Magnum's neck. She screamed even harder as the sharp needle punctured her neck, sending the sedatives into her bloodstream.

Rainbow held it there, ignoring her friend's cries. But then those cries slowly faded away as the sedatives kicked in, slowly knocking her out.

"Zealo... I'm sorry... Zealo..." Magnum muttered, her eyelids already drooping down. Daring felt the strength drain from her, the struggling ceasing. She let go, and sighed.

"Buck. What the hay was that!?" She exclaimed.

"Memory surge. I'm guessing that several important events occurred in Cloudsdale? If it became a second home for her, it's possible that such a link between realities triggered an effect that caused her to regain memories directly linked to both realities." EDI said.

Rainbow sighed. "I guess, then." She said. Magnum had lived with them for about a year on Cloudsdale, since she had acid poured on her eyes back then. She was recovering, but she must've been more grateful than what she showed- her friends also must've meant a lot more to her than she thought herself or showed anyone else in her actions. She always seemed so dismissive... But maybe, she really did care a lot.

Now Magnum was snoring in her seat, slumped down and knocked out. She seemed so peaceful... And for the first time, like herself. When she didn't remember anything, she was always cautious of what was around her. Always keeping a watchful eye, not trusting anyone. But now...

"Good thinking EDI." Octavia said, her seat turning back to face the front. "Rainbow... You alright? Daring?"

"I'm fine." Daring said, shuffling up to a more comfortable position after the struggle. "I only lived in Cloudsdale for a short period. Didn't spend much time there."

"It means nothing to me." Rainbow said, surprising both Daring and Octavia.

"How so?" Octavia raised an eyebrow. "When Canterlot fell... Well, you've seen me. Come on Rainbow, you don't have to hide anything."

"No, it really doesn't mean anything. Cloudsdale is just a place." Rainbow said. "But it's my friends that matter." She smiled. "As long as all of you are here, I think even the wasteland is a good enough home for me. Plus, it's just another game Val's playing- and I will not oblige."

Author's Note

I just wanted to explore a different side to Val in this chapter, and it's either going to make her a better antagonist or ruin her character.

Chapter 47: Pick Up

"We're over Ponyville right now. Won't be long till we reach the team." Thunderlane reported, the gunship roaring through the clouds above the small town beneath. There'll only be another few minutes or so.

Suddenly the missile warning started beeping, red flashing throughout the cockpit.

"Shuck! Are we under attack again?" Asty cursed, stumbling into the cockpit.

"I don't know- just a missile lock on!" Thunderlane replied, checking on the missile's signature. "It's a freakin continental demolition missile!"

Demolition missiles aren't used in combat because of their nature- but one of this size would be enough to plow a hole through the gunship anyway even if it weren't a high fragmentation explosive.

"Then bucking avoid it or just shoot it down!" Inkie yelled from back in the cabin.

"We can't risk using power on the prism gun! The current state of the power circuit can only sustain flight- or it might short out and we'd be out of the air!" Thunderlane replied.

"Wha...?" Lightning Dust muttered, yawning and getting up.

"Stay down, your injuries aren't fully healed yet." Thyme warned, but she dismissed her.

"Then try shake it off!" Inkie yelled.

"I can't! THIS IS A BUCKING FIFTEEN TON FLYING FORTRESS!!" Thunderlane yelled back.

"What's going on?" Lightning Dust rubbed her eyes, hearing the shouting.

"We're getting tracked by a bucking continental missile with a lock on!" Thunderlane growled, trying to figure something out in his head. Nothing came to mind- the gunship didn't have any flares, since it wasn't intended for aerial combat in the first place anyways.

"Well can't you just avoid it?" Lightning raised an eyebrow.

"FOR BUCK'S SAKE-" Thunderlane roared, frustration taking the better of him. "THIS IS WHY PONIES GET CO-PILOTS!!"

"ETA fifteen seconds." Lightning Dust pointed out, watching the display on the gunship's control console.

"I KNOW!" Thunderlane yelled.

"Better figure something out soon."

"SHUT UP!"

"Warning, missile ETA ten seconds." The gunship's HUD said.

"And yet I was the one to get thrown out of flight camp..." Lightning Dust muttered, running into the cockpit.

She shoved Thunderlane out of the pilot's seat and got in herself, grabbing onto the controls and pulling them back.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!??" Thunderlane just got up, but then the tilt in gravity threw him down again.

"Hold on everypony!" Lightning Dust yelled. Then she saw Thyme tumbling down to the other side of the plane out the corner of her eye. "Maybe that was a bit late of a warning..." She muttered, twisting the controls violently to the right.

The gunship's nose suddenly started tilting towards the sky, pulling into a steep climb- but it didn't stop there. It continued going, until the entire gunship began tilting backwards.

Upside down and facing the missile, Lightning Dust could now tell where it was going to hit. Perfect.

She yanked the controls to one side, the entire fifteen ton gunship started turning on its side, now flying on its right side and at a ninety degree angle.

"By Celestia's beard-" Asty cursed, grabbing onto the doorframe to the cockpit to prevent herself from falling down to the far side. "You're gonna get us killed!"

"I've heard that line before." Lightning Dust muttered, making some final adjustments. Then she let go of the controls, hoping that her depth perception isn't too bad.

The missile continued flying towards them, and they flew towards the missile.

"Impact imminent. Five..." The HUD started. "Four.... Three..."

On three Lightning Dust latched onto the controls again, and yanked them back.

The gunship's four huge engines suddenly tilted back again, until they were vertical against sea level- the rings directly aimed at the incoming missile.

The missile was immediately sucked into one of the anti-gravity engines as it approached, suddenly not in its own control anymore. But that wasn't the end of it- the first engines flung it directly through the ring of the second which was lined up behind it, both engines amplifying the force applied to the missile.

Since the gunship was fifteen tons, each of the four engines had to be able to produce about four tons of thrust to be able to keep the flying fortress afloat, including all its passengers, cargo and ammunition.

And that meant eight tons of force had just been applied to a seventy kilogram missile in a unified direction.

The missile, much lighter in comparison; was immediately thrown off into the horizon. Not even its own engines could stop the force of the slingshot effect, which was sending it kilometers away from the gunship.

Lightning Dust turned the controls, bringing the gunship down to normal elevation.

"Holy crap..." Rig gasped, finally able to let go of a part of the inside framing to prevent himself from falling earlier. He slumped down onto the ground, gasping for air.

"And that's how we do it in Cloudsdale." Lightning Dust said, slowly turning the gunship back around to get back in their original course.

"Reckless." Was all Thunderlane had to say as he stole back the controls.

"How come everypony I meet tells me that?" Lightning Dust muttered.

"Mainly because you probably just took out Cloudsdale." Inkie said, looking out the side window. The missile was a mere yellow dot on the horizon now- but it was heading directly to a large patch of clouds.

Lightning Dust squinted at those clouds- then her eyes widened as she recognized the buildings. She took some time since it looked nothing like what it was in the other reality. It didn't even have rainbows.

"Buck." She muttered as the missile slammed side-on into Cloudsdale's dimensional anchor, completely tearing it away from the dimension it was hidden in and revealing it for the first time in centuries. Suddenly a huge metal chain appeared out of thin air below Cloudsdale following a bright blue flash as the spell faded. The weight of the chain, no longer supported by the spell; tore a hole through Cloudsdale where it was mounted. Then the missile went off, blowing a good chunk out of the city as it started falling towards the ground.

"Population was at zero anyway." Rig said, turning away from the window.

"Alright... Rainbow Dash, do you read?" Thunderlane spoke into the mic.

*

"Copy... I'm presuming this is the gunship?" Rainbow yawned.

"Confirm." Thunderlane replied, then there was a loud shuffling noise as something happened on the other end. Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"Raaaaaaaiiinnnboooowwwwwww!!" She heard a familiar voice yell through the comms.

"Oh god." She muttered as Lightning Dust shoved Thunderlane away from the mic.

"Hey there WONDERBOLT, haven't heard from you in a while."

Rainbow sighed, shaking her head. She looked to Octavia for advice, in which none was received.

She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

"What up, Dusty." She said instead.

"Nothing much. Just saved our arses and blew up Cloudsdale." Lightning Dust replied.

"Well of course..." Rainbow face-hoofed.

"Too bad you missed my sweet move though." Lightning shrugged. "Ah well. We're coming round for pick up... But I don't think we can carry your car."

"Objection." EDI replied.

"It's just that we don't have enough energy left in the gunship- wait, what?"

"Yeah. Our car can talk." Rainbow said.

"Still can't get her on board." Lightning Dust said.

"Copy. We'll figure something out." Rainbow said, and turned to EDI. "You can drive yourself. Why don't you just meet us at Haven?"

"Why don't I just open all the doors and flush everyone out?" EDI replied.

"Because that serves no purpose?"

"Point taken." EDI said. "Standby gunship. Stopping for passengers to board. Come round for landing, over."

*

"Katana!" Applebloom called across one of the many hallways in Haven's CMC tower, otherwise known as HQ for everyone else. "Wait up!"

Katana stopped and turned around to face the leader of Haven. She was a good head taller and quite a few years older than Applebloom, but none the less she was of a slightly lower rank. She really was just an officer meant to keep an eye on Scootaloo just in case she injures herself, which has happened quite a few times already in this new reality.

She had never known any of these ponies in the old timeline, where she was actually just a university graduate with a mild interest in the samurai ponies of the east. Now she had become one of those ponies.

She stood unnaturally still as Applebloom approached.

"Oh come on, loosen up. Just because I founded Haven doesn't mean everyone has to pay me that random forced level of respect, especially my friends." She said, groaning.

"It's hard to control sometimes..." Katana shrugged. "Well then. What's up?"

"I've got the Tunnels all set up, the last bit of construction work just got finished. The design should work, but I need some final touches incase of an emergency."

"...I'm guessing you want me to help set up then." Katana said.

"Yup." Applebloom nodded. "First off, the demolition mines need to be placed down." She waved a hoof in the air, notifying a nearby sensor and conjuring up a holographic map of the Tunnels.

The Tunnels was a project started quite a long time ago, consisting of a large complex of underground tunnels that span out even beyond the city of Haven. Some tunnels are large so mass numbers or heavy armor can pass through, others simply for ground soldiers. They link every single building of Haven itself together as one big maze, and since it was constructed by Haven's citizens themselves- they all were required to know the vast maze off by heart. The entrances to the underground tunnels include wells, hidden compartments under stoves in homes and various other concealed places.

The Tunnels would act as an emergency underground city, with enough stored food and water for the population to survive for over a week. Of course, if enemy forces found out and tried to follow them in- there were escape paths leading far out and away from Haven city, but those were the last resort.

There were various supplies, even weapons and ammo; stored in specifically marked places in the walls of the Tunnels. Traps were laid out, and some special mines are about to be placed down. When remotely activated, these would seal the area completely.

"I already have Scootaloo and a few teams setting them up. We just need to put down the rest of them, and set an activation code word for detonation."

*

"Some ponies believe in destiny..." Val said, twirling the can of spray paint between her fingers, watching it intently. "...I find them stupid. Destiny is just something for someone who's too lazy to build his or her own path. They choose to believe in something that isn't fixed, believing that it is. They rely on something non-existent to forge a path for them to walk upon, instead of making one themselves. I don't believe in destiny, and I have my reasons." She said, setting the can down. "And I'm sure you know them."

"I do." Blithy nodded. She didn't believe in destiny or fate either- like Val said, they were stupid. She looked down at her cutie mark- her 'destiny'- she was meant to be a spray paint artist, or something- but now she'll never know. Spray painting was what she was good at- but it wasn't the path she took- and neither was it Val's.

"Our cutie marks merely signify what we're naturally good at. The best, at. But our destinies change, because we can choose to change them." Val said. "And because we are the puppeteers, not the puppets."

"The puppets that choose to follow 'fate' will only fall down as there is no one to pull their strings. Will they assume control and start walking on their own? Or will they lay in a crumpled heap, waiting for something to happen..." Blithy chuckled. "Yeah, fate really is a stupid idea isn't it."

"Perhaps so. But it's tempting isn't it... I can see why some believe it. It's so easy to just put your life in something else's hands, and see where it'll take you. But that's what I call irresponsible behavior." Val laughed. "Giving your life to someone else just to see where you'll go? No thanks, I rather make something I can be sure of than gamble."

"You don't gamble?" Blithy raised an eyebrow. "I beg to differ."

"There's a difference between 'calculated risk-taking' and 'gambling'." Val folded her arms, unimpressed.

"Says the one who revived Neon who turned out to be an enemy."

"Says the one who attacked her improved self and has remained a prisoner ever since because of her failure." Val retorted.

"Good point." Blithy muttered, however stubbornly.

*

Rainbow sighed. She was in the Albatross gunship now, along with her team and the other group of ponies. EDI could have been loaded on board, but due to power restrictions of the damaged third engine they were forced to leave her behind. She could drive though, even through the snow- just not very efficiently.

"What's with the sighing LEAD PONY?" Lightning Dust asked.

"Still mad about that huh..." Rainbow chuckled.

"Hey, you got me kicked out of flight school. I'm never gonna forget that. Although I'm not mad." Lightning replied. "Anymore, anyway."

Rainbow laughed. "Oh, that seems like so long ago... You know what? I can't wait to get a proper bath when I get to Haven. They better have a room reserved for me."

"Yeah, same here. Might need a medical bath first though." Lightning Dust turned around, showing Rainbow the bandaged remains of her wings.

"Holy crap!" Rainbow jumped back at the demented shapes. They looked worse than Silver's. "The hay happened?"

"If I told you, you would only reply one word. So I would use that word to explain myself. 'Reckless'. That clear enough?"

"Yup."

"We'll be over the Arctic soon." Thunderlane reported. "We might have to make an emergency landing if these engines don't hold up. Everyone, we've got adaptable suits and compact light weight speeders in the back. Get those set up and make sure your suits are tuned to the cold weather settings! This could be rough."

"Copy." Rig said. "Come on ponies! Let's see what we have at the back. Get geared up! Let's go!" He yelled, jogging towards the gunship's storage room.

The suits were packed tightly in metal boxes, which were designed to unfold onto a scanned image of the pony who would be wearing it. When it becomes fully deployed, then specific tweaks could be done manually for height, size, or just variations in power distribution across the suit.

The cold weather setting often referred to shutting off all cooling elements and turning them to heating elements, also turning on the heat preservation setting. The heaters help keep the suit's motorized joints running as well as keep the user warm.

"Well then..." Rig cracked his hooves, and shrugged his combat armor off.

Lightning Dust took one of the rectangular boxes and placed it down on the ground. She placed a back hoof on it, activating a holographic scanner which swept across her body.

Then once the suit acknowledged her body size and general weight, it began calibrating itself and started deploying.

Metal sheets and motorized joints started sliding along Lightning Dust's body, clicking into place and transporting other portions of the armor towards other areas. Then finally her chest piece clicked into place and her helmet closed around her head, and she shrugged; the motorized joint whining.

"Magic enhanced alloys and performance. Bet you haven't seen these." She winked at Rainbow, who nodded with a 'not bad' expression.

Following what Lightning did, Rainbow also put on her suit. It was an odd experience- she never did that before. She kept expecting a malfunction, and that a sheet of metal would slide into her ribs or something. But eventually it closed fully around her black coat(she stored her hat in a pocket), and her helmet sprung over her head. She was startled at the sudden brightness from the built-in HUD, but then the suit automatically dimmed the brightness to a normal degree.

"This certainly is very interesting." Rainbow said, looking down at her metal covered arms.
"Aren't you two going to get in suits? Oh wait... You know what, never mind." Asty started, but shook her head as the two Wardens looked at each other and shrugged.

Suddenly the plane lurched, and everyone fell silent.

"Just some turbulence, I hope..." Thunderlane raised an eyebrow, but he could feel the gunship shaking.

Suddenly the control console sparked, a wave of electricity sweeping across the panels as a power surge occurred. Lights flickered and went out, switches blown out of sockets with violent explosions of sparks. The electrical wave continued from the cockpit and passed all the way down towards the end of the gunship. The damaged energy generators' whines slowly died down, and the gunship became silent.

"Guess not." Thunderlane muttered.

Then there was a loud click, and the whirring of back-up generators filled the air inside the ship. Parts of the control consoles came back online along with critical functions of the ship- but these won't last long.

"What happened?" Asty walked into the cockpit.

"Our primary generators just went offline, so we're running on reserve energy and back-up generators. Energy is draining pretty fast- we'll only have a few seconds left in the air. Tell everyone to get ready for an emergency landing." Thunderlane said, flicking a few switches and checking the panels.

Engines were still online... Good. He flicked a switch and set the ship to 'glide', which preserves fuel but also means the gunship will slowly lose altitude. It was a reasonable decision, as if they could glide onto the Artic glaciers.... It would be a lot smoother than just crashing right down into it.

The roaring from the engines dimmed down, using minimal energy from the generators and reserves.

"Get those speeders started up!" He yelled behind them. "In the opposing storage room!"

"Copy." Rig called back, walking over to the other storage area. "We've got six compact speeders! Gotta quickly devise a sharing plan guys!"

"Well buck. We've got like twenty ponies here!" Rainbow yelled.

"Alright then. How about this- each speeder carries about two ponies, right? So six of us take the speeders, along with six injured. The rest of us can survive the snow- get the injured back to Haven first." Octavia said.

"We're losing altitude and energy! I can see the bloody glaciers now!" Thunderlane yelled behind him. "Whatever you're doing back there, do it quick!"

"Alright. Lightning Dust! You're still in relatively good condition. Take the first speeder with Derpy over there! Blinkie, take your sister with you on the second! Daring, take the Doctor on the third!" Rainbow yelled.

"We don't have long!" Thunderlane hummed as the crystal mountains below grew clearer and clearer. "We're gonna have to bail SOON!"

"You two! You don't look that old- take the third speeder!" Octavia yelled at Rig and Asty, who nodded. "Terra and Babs, you two take the fourth just as some security for the rest of them in case something happens! You two meds take the fifth!" She looked around, still dividing the ponies in her mind. "Thyme! Take the last one with Magnum. She's been bloody knocked out."

"...Magnum?" Zealo's ear twitched as he heard the name. He hadn't been paying much attention to who boarded the ship- he didn't know anyone anyway. His heart skipped a beat as he realized that Magnum was also in this reality.

He wasn't sure whether he wanted to cry or to laugh- the whole thing couldn't be arranged better. But she was knocked out- and that didn't exactly promise a reunion.

"Magnum? Where is she-" he made his way through the small group- and there she was, sleeping slumped against the gunship's walls.

"You know this mare in this reality?" Rainbow asked, curious.

"In both." Zealo replied, unwilling to take his eyes off her and look at Rainbow as he was afraid she might just disappear again.

"Odd. She never mentioned a stallion before." Rainbow said, frowning.

"She has reason not to." Zealo replied, the visor of his suit hiding his face. After all these years... He never even expected to see Magnum in a physically existing form again after the incident.

"About fifty seconds left! If you have to divide DO IT NOW!" Thunderlane yelled, jumping out from the pilot's seat, his helmet folding over his head.

"Alright. Get her to Haven. Just make sure she's safe." Zealo said, jaws clenched for a reason even he didn't quite understand himself.

You better be there waiting for me when I get there.... He thought as Thyme put the unconscious Magnum in the backseat.

"Get those speeders started up! Lowering the gates NOW!" Thunderlane slammed a lever down on the gunship's wall, and the backside of the gunship lowered to form a ramp. The howling winds came busting in, and for it not their cold weather suits the ponies would've been knocked back by the cold. But despite the armor, they still flinched at the high winds.

Snowflakes were blown all over the place and into the gunship, a micro blizzard inside the ship.

"Ah crap." Thunderlane muttered as a red light flashed throughout the gunship, followed by a siren which was barely audible over the howling winds. "BRACE FOR IMPACT!!"

Author's Note

Ooh there's gonna be some dead space 3 sh*t going on soon

Chapter 48: Welcome to the Arctic North

The compact speeders were only about two meters in length, barely able to fit two ponies on. It was even a miracle that the gunship had six of them.

Speeders were light-weight anti-gravity vehicles, designed to be silent and stealthy. They were meant for recon missions, but then there were modified versions that serve various purposes like evacuations and just conventional civilian transport. It was basically a motorbike that hovers.

A speeder's top speed can reach up to over three hundred kilometers an hour, faster than some combat vehicles due to its extremely light weight. Because of this, it didn't have any other functions other than getting from point A to B. there weren't even any compartments for storage.

"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Thunderlane yelled, then ducked down and covered his head.

"Speeders! GO! NOW!!" Rainbow yelled, waving towards the open door.

The speeders took off out the gates of the gunship, which was still in mid-air. The anti-gravity generators of the speeders should be enough to cushion the impact when they land, plus the snow would help too. Better get the speeders out now, since they could easily gain enough speed to clear the ship. But if somepony else without sufficient speed tries, they could easily get struck down by the engines or get caught by debris during impact.

The speeders cleared the gates, now out of the gunship and out of harm's way.

"Shuck- WATCH IT!" Thunderlane yelled as the gunship plummeted towards the ground.

There was the loud whining of failing generators, the red glow of the anti-gravity engines slowly fading away into the white snow storm. There was a thin layer of ice building up on the ship's hull, turning the dark grey metal white inch by inch. Ice creeped across the cockpit windshield, making the glass brittle.

Then the gunship crashed down into the snow belly-first, the impact throwing everypony inside down on the ground.

Rainbow suddenly collapsed down and slammed her head on the floor, the concussion knocking her eyes out of focus and making her brain dull.

The gunship bounced back up, engine three's damaged joint clipping the snow-covered ground. It immediately got caught in the snow, getting stuck in the thick layers. But the gunship kept going, and that snapped the half-operating engines right off the side of the ship.

It collapsed back, hit engine four and bounced high up in the air, a ring of metal still glowing red as its remaining energy was channeled into the anti-gravity generators. It bounced behind a mountain of snow and out of sight.

"Shuck! The engines are still going!" Thunderlane yelled, making a run for the cockpit.

The loss of engine three caused an imbalance in the ship, making it tilt dangerously to one side. The engines, since they were still on; were pushing the ship on and dragging it through the snow. At this rate they were gonna flip, and at this speed it would be very unpleasant.

Suddenly the weakened cockpit window shattered, as there was no energy left to supply the shields that were protecting it. Razor sharp glass shards blasted into the cockpit at over a hundred miles per hour, hitting Thunderlane's armor and making deep groves. A piece hit his visor and cracked it, his HUD malfunctioning. He fell back, but then felt something close around his ankle.

"THUNDERLANE!!! INFECTED!!" Octavia screamed, but it was way too late.

A mutated pony had busted through the cockpit windshield, and had grabbed Thunderlane by a leg. He tore it right from his body, and he screamed as blood splattered onto his armor.

"How the buck did it get in here...?" Rainbow snarled, and reached for her cleaver.

Too bad it was in her coat pocket, firmly locked away under her armor.

"Shite." She muttered, looking down.

The mutated stallion threw Thunderlane's body out the broken windshield, and threw his severed leg at Rainbow.

Rainbow ducked down, but a splatter of blood made its way to her armor.

They heard a loud crunch and metallic groan. That must've been Thunderlane's body getting crushed by the gunship then. Rainbow and Octavia didn't even have time to react to his death- infected were swarming the place.

"Where the hay are they coming from!!!??" Octavia exclaimed as three more zombies suddenly dropped in from the back of the gunship.

"This is the crystal mountains." Neon said. "They must be mutated crystal ponies, adapted to the cold weather."

"Shite." Rainbow said again.

"Well then, take them out!" Octavia yelled, picking up a rifle from the ship's storage room.
Neon ran towards the big buff mutated stallion that killed Thunderlane earlier, and swiped a claw at his jaw. It made contact, but only made a few scratches.

"Hmmm." She titled her head to one side. "Crystals. Bloody crystals." She muttered, and the stallion slammed a fist into her. She went tumbling back, scraping her back on the floor.

"You need anti-matter rifles!" Octavia yelled, firing a purple beam and shattering a zombie. "Physical attacks probably won't work!"

"No crap." Rainbow muttered, rolling under a swipe from a crystal zombie.

"Rainbow! Catch!" She heard Dainty yell, and turned in time to see her throw an anti-matter rifle at her.

She reached out and grabbed the rifle, then turned around and shot the zombie's head clean off. It shattered into individual crystal pieces, all clattering to the floor.

Suddenly the gunship lurched upwards, throwing everyone inside into the air- but it didn't stop there. The engines had forced the gunship to turn.

Sparks skipped away from Rainbow's back as her armor ground against the gunship's floor, momentum carrying her towards the side of the ship. Her shoulder clipped lightly on the wall, and she struggled to get up.

But then as the gunship turned, it started flipping and rolling. Two of its engines were crushed underneath it as it kept going, the rings bent out of shape and the antigravity generators contradicting each other. The result was a huge explosion, however without a fireball nor shock wave. It was simply a sudden release of gravity in almost every single direction, throwing every piece of matter in the area outwards and inwards at high speeds.

That tore a hole in the side of gunship, ripping the hull away and exposing the ponies inside to the elements.

"Shuck-" was all Octavia managed to say as she was wrenched towards the opening by the high winds. Neon leapt forward and grabbed her by the ankle, then yanked her back in. They clattered onto the ground, the crystal pony zombies already closing in.

Rainbow sent a beam of anti-matter through one's chest, then atomized another's leg. Neon leaped up and slammed a knee into the crystal head- which shattered from the force. The remains clattered heavily to the floor.

The gunship continued tilting as the one remaining engine started pushing it on its side, the engine itself lifting towards the sky.

Rainbow and the others had to walk from the floor to the walls as the gunship started rolling. There were loud snaps as the barrels of cannons and various other weapons were torn away from the side, dragged away in the snow.

"RAINBOW!" Dainty yelled. At first Rainbow thought the zombies had gotten to the fillies, but when she looked up there was nothing there. Dainty was pointing frantically out the opening made by the explosion earlier.

Rainbow looked out the opening, and caught a brief glimpse of something.

"Ah buck." She muttered, ignoring the crystal zombies coming at her and heading straight for the two fillies. "Octavia! WE NEED TO GET OUT- NOW!"

"YEAH, NO CRAP!" Octavia yelled back, anti-matter rifle blazing.

"WE'RE HEADING OFF A CLIFF!!" Rainbow screamed, but just as she did so the gunship hit a slight slope and bounced up.

Her hooves left the hull, and she felt something slam against her side. She watched as the metal crate passed, her mind dulled by the impact. Then she shook it off, but by then she'd already hit the ground on her shoulder again. She scrambled to her hooves, but the gunship kept rolling and she was thrown down again by gravity.

A crystal zombie leapt out of nowhere, landed with a loud thunk on the metal in front of her, then sent her flying with a huge uppercut. She went tumbling back, crashing through the wall to the cockpit and slamming her back against the controls. They caved in, and she groaned.

Then she was thrown onto the ceiling by gravity as the ship made another 180 turn, the air leaving her lungs.

Then the crystal zombie followed her, its heavy weight slamming straight into the consoles. They split in two, and the zombie leapt at her again.

Rainbow quickly rolled forward and out of the cockpit, since she didn't exactly like the idea of being in a confined space with that thing. It was all confined, but the cockpit was much smaller.

She leaped up, the gunship's walls tumbling out from under her hooves as it kept rolling. Then she landed back down again, in sync with the ship. She looked up, and spotted her anti-matter rifle falling through the air. From the corner of her eye she saw the crystal zombie leap after her, and she timed her jump.

Then just as the zombie approached, she pushed off the wall and aimed for her anti-matter rifle. The zombie landed where she was a second ago, its arms flailing as it tried to grab her- but she was already out of reach.

Rainbow grabbed her anti-matter rifle, turned in mid air, and slammed a shot into the zombie. It shattered with a brief explosion, bits of crystal flying everywhere. Then Rainbow hit her back on the far wall, then was immediately flung up by the force of the tumbling gunship.

"EVERYONE RUN FOR THE EXIT!" Octavia yelled, blowing apart a metal crate which was hurtling towards her and darting for Lily. She scooped her up, and continued for the rear gate.

"DAINTY! OVER HERE!!" Rainbow yelled at the filly, who scrambled to her hooves and started running towards her.

Rainbow picked her up and carried her on her back, making sure she was secure with a hoof while the other held the anti-matter rifle against any viable targets.

Octavia and Neon got to the exit first, and Neon let Octavia and Lily go first and stayed behind to wait for Rainbow.

"Go! Don't wait for us- we'll be fine!" Rainbow yelled at Octavia, who was hesitant to leave and was waiting on the edge of safety. "JUST GO!"

Neon gave her a nudge and a nod.

"Make sure they get out of here." Octavia said, and Neon nodded. She cast one last look back, then leaped out of the gunship carcass.

Suddenly the gunship shook, and Rainbow fell down as it did so. She almost completely lost control as the ground started tumbling away from her, but she regained her balance and started scrambling again. Neon was right there, waiting for her with an outstretched arm- but she had already lost precious time.

Octavia and Lily landed softly in the snow, sending up a small wave of white atoms as they hit the ground and rolled.

"You okay?" Octavia quickly got up and pulled Lily to her hooves.

"Yeah, I'm good." Lily said, dusting some snow off her shoulder. "Thanks for getting me outta there."

"Don't be stupid. Any one of us would've helped you." Octavia said, patting her on the back. But she took in a sharp breath when she looked up and saw the remains of the gunship falling off the cliff, with Rainbow, Neon and Dainty nowhere in sight.

Inside the gunship was complete chaos as items from storage rooms were tossed into the mix, everything slamming into everything else. Rainbow struggled through the chaos, trying to reach Neon.

"Sis! We're not going to make it!" She heard Dainty say, and felt her grip around her shoulders tighten.

"Don't be stupid. We always do." Rainbow snarled up at the promise of safety.

Suddenly the gunship's cockpit tilted downwards as it went over the cliff, the rest of it following. Rainbow was almost there- the entire gunship turning so that it was pointing forward again instead of rolling on its side.

"Let's go-" Rainbow started, but instead of Neon jumping with them, Neon grabbed hold of her and Dainty and flung them out the gunship.

Time seemed to slow as she and Dainty tumbled through the air, watching the gunship slide down and off the cliff edge. Then she realized- they would've never made the jump on their own. Neon saved them.

They hit the snow hard, but their armor protected them from getting injured. They slid a few meters then came to a halt in the white oblivion, a huge snow storm coming down all around them.

Rainbow made sure Dainty was okay, then gave her a glance- which was all that was needed. Stay here, and stay safe- then she took off running, sprinting towards the cliff edge. Maybe Neon wasn't at the bottom... Neon can't die... It's just not possible.

And of course she didn't.

Rainbow neared the edge, and peered down. At first all she heard and saw was the loud explosion as the gunship hit the bottom of the cliff, sending a huge gust of heated air towards the top of the cliff. Rainbow flinched at the sudden shaking, covering her eyes from the bright fireball that erupted.

"Mind lending a hoof?" Neon said, a claw dug deep into the ice-covered cliff face. She reached up with her spare claw, and Rainbow took it and hauled her to the safety of the cliff top.

"That was a close one." Neon said. "Thanks, by the way."

"I'll say the same." Rainbow said, helping her up. "Alright. What next?"

"We head towards Haven." Neon nodded towards the other side of the cliff.

"That there is a twenty meter gap, which I will not be flying over because I don't want my wings turning to ice." Rainbow said, and Octavia and Lily caught up with Dainty. The speeders would've been able to fly over the gap, but they didn't have any.

"I'm surprised. Everyone's alive." Octavia said sarcastically. "What's up?"

"We have to cross twenty meters of nothing." Rainbow said, gesturing to the other side of the cliff. As if responding to her frustration, the earth shook.

"Whoa." Octavia commented, stumbling a bit. But then things really got serious when a crack split down and around her left hoof. "WHOA."

"Must've been the explosion. That destabilized the cliff face... Although even as I say this... It seems rather unlikely..." Neon started, her eyes tracing from the other side of the cliff down to her hooves.

A shadow was stirring under the thick layers of ice- just a shade of a darker blue, but it wasn't still- it was definitely moving, pulsing, writhing.

The ground shook periodically, as if the earth had a heartbeat. The source was from heartbeats- but not the earth's.

"What the hell is that...?" Rainbow looked down, at the writhing outline.

"No ideas." Octavia said.

"Some sort of mutated animal..." Neon frowned.

And as if to answer their questions, a part of the cliff face was completely torn away as a huge tentacle busted through the ice.

"Oh great, as if the killer whale wasn't enough of those mutated sea creatures for us. I heard they eat these things in the East." Rainbow muttered.

"Cannibals." Octavia said. "Well. I don't have any weapons. Anyone?"

"Nope." Rainbow shook her head- and Neon and the fillies obviously didn't either.

"Sis... I think it's coming for us..." Dainty said.

"Yeah... We should probably run." Lily said.

"You know, fighting giant mutated sea creatures would not have been on my to-do list a few years ago in Manehatten." Rainbow said, running to the side. She desperately needed her cleaver- but that meant risking a lot of frost damage, even for a brief moment. This wasn't the same Arctic as the other one- this one had undergone a lot of change. Globally temperature differences have been growing, the cold becoming colder and the warm becoming warmer as these tend to be the effects of the bio-weapons the science faction uses.

There was a loud roar as the rest of the mutated octopus came crashing out of the ice, tentacles sprouting from the ground all around them.

"I think I'll be fine." Rainbow said.

"How so?" Octavia ducked for cover as a huge tentacle slammed down on the spot where she was a second ago, the ice shattering and cracks slithering across the floor.

"Cause those tentacles are too big to fit in my buck'n arse!" Rainbow yelled, leaping to the side as the ice burst apart. "RUN!" She scooped Dainty up, and started sprinting away from the octopus.

"Get the fillies and get to safety! I'll keep it occupied." Neon said, and suddenly she split into five hundred other clones.

"What the...?" Rainbow frowned. "The buck is this new trick?"

"Optical illusion. Neon's the Warden of Light now." Octavia said, Lily on her back as she ran past Rainbow.

Then suddenly Rainbow let Dainty down, and stopped.

"The hay you doing?" Octavia raised an eyebrow.

"Take care of Dainty! I'm going to go help Neon out with that thing before somepony gets it up the flank!" Rainbow yelled back, already running for the battle.

"If it's anyone, it's gonna be you!"

Rainbow ignored that, and kept on going.

Suddenly the ground beneath her hooves broke open, and a tentacle with her still on it sailed high up into the air.

"WhoaoaoaOA!!!" She screamed since her wings were trapped under her armor. She was flung high up into the air by the tentacle, a mere dot in the sky.

"Yep, she's gonna get it." Octavia sighed.

Rainbow disengaged the suit, making an emergency detach. The suit broke away, her dark coat suddenly splaying out from under the metal sheets. Her cleaver canister fell out of her pocket, and she spun in mid air to grab it. She grabbed hold of it, then flung it towards the sky again. By this time she had already completed a three-sixty spin, and the suit was falling back on her again. She could feel the cold seeping through her clothes, the wind tingling her skin.

"HUD! Re-engage the suit!" She yelled, and heard a beep behind her.

The suit suddenly sprung back around her again, deploying the pieces back together and closing around her body. The final piece locked in place, and the HUD came online with a bright flash.

Rainbow reached up and grabbed her cleaver, activating it as she came back down at the octopus.

The cleaver unfolded into its full size, a huge broad blade that needs no introduction.

Now to kill this thing.

Chapter 49: Ice, Awe and Cyborgs

Suddenly Rainbow was tackled out of the air by something hard, hitting her in the stomach. She went tumbling out of the sky, crashing into the snow with a big splash and thud.

The crystal zombie landed in the snow next to her.

"Too bad I have my cleaver this time mother bucker." Rainbow said, getting up and slicing the zombie in half at the same time. "You reckon we could sell these guys for credits?"

"Crystals have decreased in value as there is no point in having them when you're fighting for survival." Neon said, ducking under a tentacle. "Guns and ammo are worth more now."

"That sucks." Rainbow muttered, knocking a zombie's legs out from underneath it and stabbing the cleaver into its chest. "Where the hell are these guys coming from?"

More of the zombies came crawling out of the snow, their hooves bursting the icy surface and reaching for air.

Rainbow took a look around her- there must be thousands of these crystal zombies... But how...?

Then something in the distance caught her eye. A tall mountain, in a very familiar shape and covered in snow...

Rainbow's eyes widened as she realized that wasn't a mountain. And the hills around her weren't hills either.

It was the Crystal Empire, buried under centuries of snow. Without Cadence, the Princess of the Crystal Empire; the force field that was keeping the empire out of the freezing elements outside must've been none existent. The empire must've been buried by snow after the magical barrier faded, and had become a part of the Arctic landscape after centuries of war. These Crystal ponies... They weren't coming from anywhere. They were just here, ordinary citizens... Until a bio-bomb probably fell on their heads.

The huge mountain ahead must've been the Crystal Castle... No longer majestic, no longer recognizable.

The Crystal Castle's central tower was meant to reflect harmony across Equestria, but since it had been almost reduced to nothing it could only be used as the reflector for the mirage spell for Haven- and with this being here, it meant Haven was close.

But what really hit Rainbow was the sheer scale of destruction. She hadn't felt this when she was in the other cities... There were only destroyed buildings, no corpses... But here... She was literally standing in a field of the dead, of the once happy, cheering, laughing dead.

It didn't quite make her feelings towards Val and her minions any better, either.

All around her, the ponies killed in the wars were rising to their hooves, now mere tools of the science faction to oppress magic and keep it away from the surface, the only place where freedom could have a chance of sprouting.

"We could REALLY do with some help." Rainbow said, back to back with Neon- on one side of them a horde of crystal zombies, the other the giant mutated octopus.

"Let Octavia guard the fillies. We can handle this... Mostly." Neon said.

"How very reassuring of you. You know, sometimes you act so life-like I forget you're artificial." Rainbow remarked, in which Neon ignored.

"Why don't you take on the octopus, and I'll take out the horde." She said.

"Why do I have to face the giant thingy?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow, annoyed.

"Because you're the one with the super big sword." Neon said. "See these claws? That's not gonna do much against five meters of flesh."

"I see your point." Rainbow said. "Give me a lift first. Swap in ten?"

"Five." Neon said.

"Four." Rainbow took in a deep breath, on both sides the enemies closing in.

"Three and two." Neon said.

"Aaaaaand... One." Rainbow muttered, turning around and jumping into the air.

Neon ducked down, placed an arm under Rainbow's hooves and fluinging her towards the octopus. She then charged for the zombies.

Rainbow flew high up in the air, cleaver raised. Hopefully she won't be tackled again this time. She came down with a loud crack, the cleaver making a clean cut through the tentacle that was coming at her. An unexpectedly large amount of blood splattered over her, covering her visor and making things harder to see. She struggled to clear the crimson red off her helmet, and didn't see the ground approaching.

She slammed into the ground face first, and groaned. Then she watched as the area around her darkened with a shadow.

"Crap." She muttered, kicking her cleaver aside and quickly rolling to the other as the severed tentacle came crashing into the ice.

Despite the thick layers, the ice still cracked under the force. The cracks spread out through the battlefield, splitting it into individual pieces.

"Take care of the octopus will you? It's getting distracting!" Neon yelled, leaping through a false image of herself and slamming a fist into a zombie's head, shattering it. She rolled to the side as a tentacle slammed into the ground.

"Not as easy as killing a giant octopus sounds." Rainbow replied, diving for her cleaver as the mutated creature struck again.

But just as she was about to reach it, a tentacle suddenly swiped up behind her and cracked heavily into her back. She didn't even have any air in her lungs to scream, so the only indications whatsoever of her in pain were her wide eyes and gaping mouth.

She tumbled through the air, then felt her shoulder slam into something soft and sink through. It was water- but unlike any in the Arctic, it was warm. Plus she didn't remember falling...

"Alright.. Let's get this done with." She heard a familiar voice say, followed by a crack of hooves.

Suddenly the body of water around her fell away, and she thudded softly to the floor. Her armor had protected her from spinal injury, but she was still pretty battered.

"Everyone needs to just chill." The Warden of Ice said, grinning. She wasn't wearing a suit or any armor, just a plain light blue jacket- since it was impossible for her to freeze to death, or feel cold at all unless she chose to.

"You and your puns." Neon commented, kicking a zombie in the head.

"Stand back everyone. Don't want any friendly-firing. Or icing. Whichever works."

Rainbow was already out of the way, but her cleaver was still in the middle of the fight. She ran for it, scooped it up and quickly rolled out of the way.

Neon ran for the side, and Octavia led the fillies a bit further back. That left all the mutated ponies and whatever looking towards Halcyon.

"It's impolite to stare." The Warden of Ice noted, not that the zombies were capable of processing that information.

Here in the Arctic, Halcyon didn't even need to duplicate water particles to fuel her powers- the ice and the water was all around her. This was her domain, her territory.

Her horn glowed an intense blue as she raised her arms, the ice around the zombies cracking.

Suddenly cold water sprouted out from the cracks, circling the zombies in a huge water sprout and keeping them trapped in the middle.

Halcyon started bringing her two hooves together, the tornado of water tightening around the helpless horde.

Slowly they were forced into the tornado, now a huge mass of crystal bodies clunking against each other in the super-speeded water currents.

Then Halcyon clamped her hooves together, and her horn sent a bright blue flash across the Arctic. The water sprout froze in place, along with it all the zombies inside.

"There." She said. "That takes care of-"

Then she heard something crack loudly behind her as a tentacle reached up through the ice, and quickly rolled away as it slammed down at where she was a second ago.

She rolled to her hooves, stopping in the snow. The octopus crawled out from under the ice sheets, finally revealing its full monstrosity.

"If Blaze hears about this... Hell, I won't be hearing the end of those dirty jokes he makes." She muttered, and raised a hoof.

The octopus raised its tentacles and flung them at Halcyon, who didn't even bother move with her raised hoof.

The tentacles started slowing down as they reached her, and stopped all together right before her hoof. A thin layer of frost started creeping over its skin, making it look shiny and turning the entire thing to ice.

"Hmm. The body is made of over seventy percent water- I doubt you were much different." Halcyon said, letting her hoof drop away from the frozen octopus. It must have been adapted to the cold here, which is why it didn't freeze on its own- but Halcyon had forced the water in its body to freeze, overriding whatever it was that kept it defrosted.

"You should've come earlier. That would've saved a lot of time." Rainbow said, folding her cleaver and tucking it away.

"Hey, I was just walking by. Also, you're welcome." Hal folded her arms, unimpressed. She started walking towards the cliff edge, her horn glowing and an ice bridge forming before her. They started walking across, making their way towards Haven city.

"Wait, walking by from what?" Octavia raised an eyebrow, approaching with the fillies.

"Recruitment duty, I presume." Neon said.

"Correct. I just came all the way from Badlands." Halcyon said.

"Wouldn't Blaze have been better for that though?" Neon asked.

"Blaze had somewhere else he needed to go." Halcyon sighed. "I miss him."

"Hang on, what?" Rainbow looked completely clueless, while the fillies just weren't even trying to listen. Octavia nodded an 'I see'.

"Recruitment duty. We were sent to various places of Equestria to recruit forces- griffons, dragons, everything. Unfortunately we can't reveal precisely who and which tribes in which areas have joined us until the war starts." Neon said. "Or we might be attacked early- so only us Wardens know."

"Right." Rainbow nodded. "Always good to have more forces on our side aye?"

"Correct. Isn't hard considering the Science Faction is being oppressive to every single living being out there." Halcyon said. "Let's start heading to Haven- I gotta notify Spitfire and Applebloom I've got you and you're almost there. That way they can organize a time for our attacks to start."

"I don't even get a rest?" Rainbow moaned, dragging her hooves through the snow.

"Don't worry, we'll get plenty. Cause we're already here." Halcyon said, her horn glowing.

"What you on abo-" Rainbow said, walking ahead of the group. Then her sentence ended there, as the rest of it was seemingly muted.

"What the?" Octavia raised an eyebrow. "Rainbow! Can you hear me?"

Rainbow mouthed back a sentence along the lines of "I can't hear you". She must be speaking, or yelling, but none of it could be heard. It's like there's some sort of sound barrier between them...

"Mirage portal. Pretty neat aye?" Halcyon grinned, folding her arms. "She's actually all the way on the other side of Haven."

"Get her back here." Octavia said.

"Just pull her through." Halcyon pointed.

Octavia reached through nothing, placed a hoof firmly on Rainbow's shoulder and yanked her back to her side.

"-IT WAS ME THAT ATE THE LAST BISCUIT- Oh, you can hear me now." Rainbow said.

"Very funny." Octavia said, unimpressed.

"What the hay was that, though?" Rainbow turned around, examining the empty space.

"Mirage portal. Just then you went straight through Haven, all the way to the other side by walking through a consistent shield portal. It goes all around Haven, like the mirage spell. It seemed like you two were the same distance because the mirage shield projected it as such. If you look closely on the ground... You can see the difference. Let me show you. Watch my shadow." Halcyon said, walking through the invisible shields.

As she did so, suddenly her shadow was cut off. Rainbow and Octavia frowned- that must be the edge of the shields.

Halcyon walked back through. "The spell can project images onto the shield itself, but it can't do so outside the shield- that's why my shadow was cut off, because the rest of it was behind the shields all the way on that other side."

"Alright then, magic trick over. How do we get in?" Rainbow folded her arms.

"Password. Val com goh lej mo gentali." Halcyon said with a sigh, and a portal opened before them- obviously leading off to a different place.

"What the buck was that? It sounded funny." Rainbow laughed.

"It was the password." Halcyon said, clearly trying to dismiss the conversation for whatever reason.

"Yeah, but what did it mean?"

Halcyon sighed, clearly unhappy. "It's a translation from an ancient Griffon tribe's language."

"Tell me what it means."

"No."

"Why?"

"No."

"Is it something embarrassing?"

"Yes."

"Tell me."

"Why?"

"I have to know anyway, for future reference." Rainbow folded her arms.

Halcyon sighed. "Fine. It literally means 'Val can go lick my genitals'."

Octavia covered her face as Rainbow collapsed on the floor laughing, and even Lily and Dainty seemed a bit more mature than Rainbow.

"Bwahaha!! What kind of password was that?" Rainbow laughed, tears coming out of her eyes as she curled into a ball and clutched her stomach.

"We had several options, but since Haven is a democracy the citizens went for that password. It was community voted." Halcyon said, shaking her head. "It works, because no science faction aligned pony would dare say that phrase- and even less likely in ancient Griffon."

"I love this city already! Hahaaaa! Community voted!" Rainbow stumbled to her hooves, still laughing as they went through the portal. "Holy crap! This is certainly not what I was expecting- I was expecting slums, or something. Not some metropolis!" Her expression was a blend of laughter and awe.

"Mares and gentlecolts, welcome to Haven." Halcyon said, her expression finally brightening up a bit.

"You're kidding me." Octavia ducked a bit as a civilian hovercraft flew overhead. "How long has this been under the Science Faction's nose again?"

Buildings rose high into the sky, and the place looked even more advanced than Manehatten- Manehatten didn't even have hovercrafts as conventional transport- but here, there were buses, civilian cars, law enforcement, ambulances, fire trucks, transporters- none of which had wheels.

The streets were for hooves only, without a single vehicle at ground level. A few ponies cast them and their dirty armor curious glances as they walked past, all healthy and seemingly well fed.

There was greenery amongst the metal too, rows and rows of immaculately cut trees lining the sidewalks.

Haven wasn't just surviving- it was prospering. But as everyone knew, it couldn't last forever- not with the science faction still in control over everything else. That's what the war is for- when negotiations fail, it just comes down to who has the bigger bat.

Octavia noticed they were under a shadow coming from behind them- and turned around. She gaped at the huge ten-meter thick metal-and-concrete magic-reinforced barrier, which was towering at about the same height as the city's skyscrapers. Turrets lined the top, and from down here she could barely see the on-guard soldiers patrolling the monstrosity. There were several gates in the walls, only for when the shields go down and there's no use for the teleporters that send ponies in and out of the city.

"Whoa." Rainbow said as a squad of mech suits stomped across the street and disappeared behind a building. Those suits were practically walkers, just a lot smaller and less full of gadgets. They didn't quite look like they were in a hurry, it would seem they just wanted to get from A to B without much to care.

"Hey! It's the Wardens- they're back!" Somepony yelled, and Halcyon smiled.

"Quite a bit of recognition you have there, Hal and Neon." Rainbow smirked.

"And that's Dash and Tavi! The two heroes of the Manehatten incident!"

"Hey, didn't she convert Val or something from that other reality?"

"Yeah! It's her!"

"I wouldn't say any less for you." Halcyon whispered to Rainbow, who couldn't help but grin.

There was a loud whine of engines as a hovercraft descended from the skies, the side door sliding open. Rainbow grinned at the familiar figure sitting inside, who just about had the same wide smile she had.

"Welcome to Haven! Whaddya think of the place aye?" Applebloom laughed, hopping down as the hovercraft descended to a safe altitude. Following her was Scootaloo and a pony Rainbow didn't recognize, but looked like a bodyguard of some sort- judging from the two katana swords sheathed and strapped to her back.

"Rainbow! I'm so glad you could make it!" Scootaloo grinned.

"Didn't have much of a choice." Rainbow said in a pleasant manner. "God, it's been too long- how have you guys been?"

"Excellent!" Applebloom laughed.

"What she said." Scootaloo couldn't help but hop a bit. In this new reality full of unpleasantries the happy reunions always seem happier.

"I bet you guys had a rough time out there- I've already got rooms booked, just need to show you guys where everything is." Applebloom winked, and threw the group some keys. "See that tower?" She pointed behind her at the huge space needle, the CMC HQ. "That's where we'll be staying at for the time being."

"No objections there." Rainbow laughed, then her smile seemed to cease as she noticed something. The tower had the words 'CMC' written on it... Obviously standing for the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'... The original group consisted of three ponies: Applebloom, Scootaloo, and...

Sweetie Belle.

"Applebloom... Sorry I have to ask... But... Where's Sweetie Belle?"

Both Applebloom and Scootaloo seemed to freeze at that question.

"You don't have to give details, but... Just where is she?" Rainbow hurriedly added- she didn't want to put the two in too much pain on talking about this topic.

"Well..." Applebloom started.

"It's hard to explain." Scootaloo said.

"She got kind of got... Hit by a missile..." Applebloom's nose scrunched a bit.

"And kind of... Got blown apart, I guess..."

"Yeah..."

"What's with the guilt I'm detecting right now?" Rainbow frowned and tilted her head to one side.

"She survived..." Scootaloo said.

"Her brain did." Applebloom added in.

"And we kind of had to give her a body... So we..."

There was a loud boom behind them, and Rainbow saw a green flash about two kilometers away in the side of a building. A siren started going off, but the citizens around them seemed oblivious to the explosion.

"We turned her into a robot." Applebloom finished. "We implanted her brain into a robot's, but had to embed an AI to help her control the body and its extra functions... So sometimes she seems more like a robot than a pony."

"We call her Sweetiebot now." Scootaloo added.

Rainbow just stared at the two, a 'WTF' frown on her face accompanied by a raised eyebrow. Octavia had a similar reaction, but hid it. Dainty and Lily just weren't listening, and were gaping at the scenery. That piece of news didn't seem to affect the two Wardens at all- they probably already knew.

"NOW IF YOU DARE BULLY HIM AGAIN, THESE RAIL GUNS WON'T BE FIRED AT YOU ANYMORE- THEY WILL BE UP YOUR ARSE!!" They flinched as they heard a deep robotic voice yell in the distance, coming from where the explosion was.

"AL, casualties?" Scootaloo whispered into her watch, asking for stats from her assistant AI.

"Zero injured, zero killed. Damage assessment: approximately seven point five thousand dollars in repairs." AL replied.

Scootaloo sighed, and let her hoof drop to her side.

The hovercraft that she and Applebloom got dropped off by lifted away and took off into the sky, presumably to pick up another passenger. That revealed the scene that was shielded earlier behind them.

There was a white pony robot standing in the middle of the explosion, two comically sized rail guns which were about five times bigger then the robot itself mounted on its back. It had pieces of metal shaped to look like a relatively curly manes nod tail, colored pink and a light shade of purple. The two rail guns were glowing a furious green, and so were the robot's eyes.

"NOW LEARN YOUR LESSON, AND DON'T LET ME CATCH YOU AGAIN!" Sweetiebot yelled in her deepest and most artificial voice at the shivering kid on the ground, the one in which her rail guns were pointing at. The kid nodded furiously, got up and ran as fast as he could away from her.

The rail guns stopped glowing, then folded and folded until they were no bigger than small water bottles and popped back into two sockets in Sweetiebot's back.

"Sweetie Belle! We've got visitors!" Applebloom yelled, however gingerly.

"Ah! It's Rainbow and Octavia and the Wardens!" Sweetiebot grinned, the expression surprisingly natural. It almost looked like she wasn't a robot- for it not the faint lines where peices of metal joined each other and the gently glowing green eyes. Her voice was back to her own, but still had a bit of an electrical tinge to it. "Welcome to Haven."

Author's Note

Introducing an old BH character and one of the fandom's treasures in the same chapter? I had no idea what to name it... So there we go..

Chapter 50: Welcome to Haven

"Um... Yeah." Was all Rainbow managed to say as Sweetiebot clunked her way to the group.

"If we could get our guests to HQ now. We're not in too much of a hurry, but we definitely don't have a lot of time." Applebloom said. "Spitfire and the OASIS crew are working on a tactic now. The main idea is to keep the science faction bottled on the surface, where it'll be most advantageous for us as many of the recruited local tribes probably don't have equipment that'll take them to space and are obviously more adapted to ground or aerial fights instead of space. The main idea is that we'll take over the various science faction outposts here on the surface, and believe me there's quite a few. While our ground forces are doing that, our tiny space fleet will keep theirs at bay and hold them so our ground forces don't get nuked. But once we have access to the outposts they'll have no way of nuking us since we'll have control over the long range prism cannons, which could easily shoot down the nukes at a moment's notice. Once that happens, their space fleet will have no choice but to come to the surface and attempt a take over here- and we'll smother them if they do. Point is, once we have their outposts their nukes will never reach us, thus completely rendering their fleet pointless. Because if they can fire prism beams at us, we can retaliate with our own. Easy peesy, just saying though. We don't need to worry about that- yet." Applebloom started striding down the street, the others following. "Our main priority- YOUR main priority- is to get the world motivated."

Rainbow nodded- must be that speech thing.

"We need the world to stand up for itself- we're just a small portion. That's where the science faction is wrong- they think they're only facing us. But we aren't their only enemies- they chose to go against the world, force it to obey them- and that's how they made the world their enemy." Applebloom said. "We just need someone to tell them to rise- and what better than to have the heroes of the Manehatten incident AND the capturer of Val in the previous reality do it?"

"We aren't heroes. We were just there at the right place and the right time." Octavia said.

"Two times in a row? Statistically improbable." Sweetiebot replied.

"Sweetie Belle, you mind calling a tour transport for us?" Scootaloo asked.

"Not at all." Sweetiebot grinned, her internal systems calling for a nearby transport.

Suddenly a hovering platform slid out of a parking slot in the side of a building, and slowly flew down towards them. It landed before them, just a big wide sheet of metal that was automatically controlled. It still hovered lightly above the ground, and sunk a slight bit as everyone got on.

"AL, tour mode. Take us to HQ." Scootaloo said, and the platform started lifting off again.

"Whoa." The two fillies quickly ran to the center of the platform as it gained altitude and curled up there, vertigo taking the better of them.

Applebloom noticed, and gave a friendly smile.

"AL, if you don't mind engaging safety rails for the fillies." She said.

"Certainly." The robotic female voice replied, and a blue energy field rose from the edges of the platform. It only rose up to about waist height, serving as a hoofrail. The fillies were less scared now, but still were uncertain- and poked their hooves at the shield.

"We have magic electricity generators over there-" Applebloom pointed at two tall cylindrical buildings to their far left. "They power the entire city. A gravity spell cast onto the water in those generators create current, which then fuels turbines in the generator which essentially generate energy. Some of that energy, only about ten percent- is then used to keep the spell going, so it's a consistent cycle which keeps producing energy. Quite efficient, and we haven't had any accidents yet."

"The ponies here look pretty happy." Rainbow said.

"Well, they do have reason to be." Applebloom said with a bit of a proud smile. But then she noticed Rainbow wasn't smiling- in fact, she even looked a bit sad.

"Is something wrong Rainbow?" Octavia asked.

"All of this..." Rainbow looked around her, at all the happiness, freedom and prosperity. Then her eyes seemed to settle on a group of laughing fillies who just came out of some sort of candy shop. "...it's not going to last is it? The war's coming... How many of us will be able to enjoy life afterwards? How many of us will be left with a life to enjoy at all? And it was our fault wasn't it... If only we didn't-"

"Rainbow-" Octavia stopped her. "Stop thinking about what could've been. Because what could've been, will never be what has been. And what has been lasts, and is being created every second time drags on."

Rainbow nodded, but her mood didn't seem to improve the slightest as she only stared down at the ground.

"We've seen ponies come and go in our business, we've seen hope and we've seen despair; we've seen love and we've seen hate- and there are many other things we haven't yet set eyes upon. Some things we wish to see, others we don't and fight to prevent. But does that mean we won't see the things we don't want to see? No, it doesn't. When we try it doesn't always mean success. The war is coming and lives are going to be lost, there's no stopping it. All we can do is fight hard, make sure we win, and end this quick." Octavia said, giving Rainbow a light pat on the shoulder.

"Can't we negotiate? There has to be a way to prevent this from happening... I know there is- there's always a way..." Rainbow started, shaking her head as she ran various possibilities through her head.

"We've tried, Rainbow. For the few centuries before the wars, we have all tried. But we failed. This is the only way for us, if we want the greater good. We need to sacrifice something, if we want to achieve that goal." Octavia said.

"But what if I fail? What if my words do nothing?" Rainbow finally looked up- and Octavia could see the anxiety on her face.

"You won't." She said, and smiled.

"How do you know I won't?"

"Because you always get your way." Octavia said, and finally a smile crept onto Rainbow's face.

"Thanks, Tavi. I feel much better now."

"That's what friends are for." Octavia nodded.

"It is, isn't it..." Sweetiebot said to herself, a smile on her face.

Applebloom and Scootaloo both cast her raised eyebrows, in which she didn't bother hide her amusement.

"That's what friends are for." Sweetiebot quoted, smiling. "I suppose, yeah. Watching backs and having fun right?" She tapped her own brain, which was firmly implanted in her metal cased head.

"Do suppose." Applebloom said with a smirk, in which Scootaloo chuckled at.

"Alright, we're here." Scootaloo said, a grin on her face as the hover transport parked down on one of the many landing platforms built into the side of CMC HQ.

The energy shields that acted as hoof rails disengaged, and the ponies stepped off.

"AL, please show our guests to their rooms." Scootaloo said. "We'd love to spend more time together, but we just need to make some final preparations. In the meantime, rest up! And feel free to order room service or go down to the food court at level seventy-two. Ask AL for guidance if you get lost- and we'll call you guys through the intercoms if we need a meeting or something."

"Now go rest up- you've all earned it well enough." Applebloom said.

"If the guests would please come this way." AL said through the systems.

"If you don't mind I'd like to visit a friend who should be in the med bay? She was on the first wave of ponies to arrive on speeders." Zealo said, which made Rainbow and Octavia jump a little as they didn't even notice his presence. Wait, was he with them the whole time?

"Please state the name of your friend?" AL asked in an artificially polite manner.

"Magnum Aimbot." Zealo said, ignoring the odd glances the others were casting his way.

"Please follow the red arrow." AL said, leading Zealo off in a different direction while sending the others in another via blue holographic arrows.

*

The first thing Rainbow did when she got to her hotel room was fall face-first into the king sized bed. She buried her face in a pillow, every inch of her body relaxing.

"You seem to be VERY tired." AL observed, which made Rainbow jump as she didn't expect her to be in here. "I can start the bath for you if you want. Also, you seem startled- so you can tell me if you wish to turn private mode on, in which I will not be present until called upon again."

"Is there a mute function? And yes, please start the bath for me... I'm dying..." Rainbow moaned, rolling onto her back and yawning.

"There is no mute function. And it is advised you take your suit off before the bed collapses under the excess weight." AL said, and Rainbow could hear splashing in the bathroom as the AI turned the taps of the bath on. "Is there a desired temperature you would like to set your bath to?"

"Can you make a suggestion as to what temperature a stressed out and completely battered pony like me should bathe in?" Rainbow asked, her suit unfolding around her and packing itself away as a suitcase next to her. Her dark clothing underneath drifted down next to her and over her sheets.

"Foreign object detected." The suitcase said, popped open; and seemingly coughed up the cleaver handle. Then it sealed itself again.

"Setting to forty degrees Celsius." AL said, adjusting the hot to cold water ratio. "In the meantime, if you would like to order any snacks I could do that for you. Note that these orders are free, as directed by the CMC."

"Is it normal for a pony to start having emotional attachments to an AI?" Rainbow stretched. "Cause I think it's happening between us right now. A bottle of apple cider and a chocolate bar please."

"Order placed, will arrive soon. And yes, based on statistics in user reviews about my performance as an AI it is considered normal." AL replied.

"No thoughts on that?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the ceiling.

AL was silent for a few moments. "It is pleasant to be considered likable by statistics based on user reviews."

"Is it possible for you to speak like a normal pony?" Rainbow asked.

"At my current stage, no. My programmers have focused mainly on functions and tasks I am able to perform and basic emotions like excitement, happiness, sadness, and so on. At my current stage I cannot yet define what you call 'normal'." AL said.

"Really? How come I don't hear any emotional change?"

"Because there is nothing to cause emotional change right now." AL replied dryly.

"Do you take on a physical form?" Rainbow asked.

"Not at the moment, although technically I am the building you are currently in. I do have a holographic appearance, however. Your order has arrived, by the way." AL said as there was a soft beep, and a socket in the wall opened up. A robotic arm placed a bottle of apple cider and a bar of chocolate carefully on the bedside table, then retreated back as the socket closed again.

"I'd like to see your holographic appearance sometime." Rainbow said, taking the chocolate bar and unwrapping it. "Also, do you mind playing some music?"

"What kind?"

"How about an orchestral... I feel so bloody tired. Something relaxing."

"Filtering.... Sixty four tracks found. Create playlist?"

Rainbow nodded.

"Playing." AL said as a smooth orchestral track started drifting through the speakers. Then the splashing in the bathroom ceased. "Your bath is ready."

"I can't wait for this." Rainbow yawned loudly, getting up and heading to the bathroom. She dropped her clothes outside, and stepped inside.

*

Magnum looked around her, once again surrounded by darkness. Then came that familiar sensation again- she was being dragged into another window. She could see it speeding towards her in the darkness- a piece of her past, glowing white.

Then it flew right up to her, and suddenly the darkness around her was gone in a loud poof. Now she was standing in a room, the floors carpeted and a fireplace's flame burning away at the wooden logs placed inside.

She recognized this place. Cozy, well decorated for the holiday season- well furnished, warm and bright.

Here she was again, at home. In a different reality.

There was some laughing to her right, and she turned.

Two fillies, both colored with different shades of the same blue, were standing on their back hooves on the sofa and staring out the window. Snow slowly built up on the windowsill as Hearth's Warming Eve crept its way towards the small and ordinary family home. The two fillies, older and younger sisters; laughed and pointed at the different shaped snowflakes as they made their slow descent to earth. Their warm breaths made the cold glass foggy, turning it to a mirror that reflected their young faces.

Magnum remembered this scene- the one night before everything changed and her entire life was thrown out of balance.

"Magnum! Rose! Dinner's ready!" She heard mother call- but she wasn't referring to her.
The two fillies on the sofa looked in the direction of the dinner table, which was out of sight of Magnum.

She recognized those faces. One her own, the other of her sister- her sister that she never saw alive again.

They trotted away to the dinner table, and Magnum heard the scraping of chairs as they sat down.

Then the window was gone, and darkness settled around her once again, leaving her alone- just like it had done a thousand times before as fragments of her memories were thrown back at her in a huge chaotic storm.

But there was something odd with that memory just then... It wasn't the memory, it was its connection with a different set of memories from a much more recent past. Army academy days... There was someone there, someone... That was also in that memory just then- but who could it have been?

Her mind hurt just from thinking of it, and since she was in a coma- she was trapped in her own mind. The darkness around her fizzed as she struggled to make the connection, and failed.

"Damnit." She cursed, but then something else was happening- the area around her was lightening. This wasn't another window... This felt like something else...

Slowly she could feel something else connecting to her brain- then her one functional eye slid open.

She could hear beeping next to her, the distinct pulses of a heartbeat monitor. Everything was quite blurry- and bright. Yes, definitely bright and white. Slowly her eye focused on a plain white ceiling, and she groaned. Everything was quiet, so she must be in some sort of hospital private ward.

But from what she could remember... She was in Rainbow's car. And that was it, and she had passed out.

"Ugh..." She muttered, her hoof moving to rub her aching head- but something was on top of it, keeping it from moving.

Her first thoughts were shackles, but what really was keeping her arm in place was something much better. Something so unexpected, she didn't even know how to react.

She could only stare and blink. Was it.... Yeah, there was no doubt. None at all. She knows it's possible, since realities have crossed. But even so, even if she knows it's possible- it still seems so surreal.

Zealo must've been here for a while, and he had fallen asleep- his head resting gently on her arm as he breathed quietly.

Magnum didn't know whether to laugh or to cry- so her expression was a mixture of both. But one thing she was sure she would do...

She grabbed Zealo, and wrenched him into a hug that she had been waiting to give him for a very, very long time.

Author's Note

Whoa. Chapter 50? That took a while...

Chapter 51: Planning

There was a light knock on Rainbow's door, and she moaned. She had finished her bath, and was just lying on her bed. She made a lazy wave, in which AL acknowledged.

The door clicked open, and Octavia was standing there. She must've washed as well, but she was wearing her bounty hunter clothes. They seemed a lot cleaner than they were though, so AL must've washed them for her or something.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah... Just... Tired." Rainbow said.

Octavia waved at the air. "Private mode." She said, and all of AL's sensors in the room turned off. She placed her hooves in her pockets, her expression strict. "You're wide awake."

"I've never been a great liar." Rainbow said, covering her eyes with an arm.

"That speech getting the better of you huh?" Octavia asked, taking her hat off and closing the door.

"I really have no idea what to say."

"You'll be fine." Octavia said. "You're thinking too hard."

"Well of course I am!" Rainbow sat up. Her mane was a mess, and while she clearly wasn't tired- she wasn't exactly in great condition either. "You do know how big of a deal this is right?"

"I do." Octavia said. "But I'm saying you need to properly rest. By the looks of it you probably just had a bath, but that's just the body. The mind needs its rest as well."

"But you know I can't sleep when I'm thinking." Rainbow groaned, shaking her head.

"I do. That's why I want you to stop thinking." Octavia said.

Rainbow chuckled. "Yeah, no." She said. "Not that easy."

"I was going to head downstairs, cause AL told me about a spa there. I thought I might just come over and get you to come with us- really, we can lay that speech off for later- let's go relax." Octavia said. "We could still get a good massage, even if we don't use the spas."

"It really isn't that easy."

"You don't trust me." Octavia said flatly.

"I never said that."

"But you don't."

"Oh come on Tavi, you know I trust you." Rainbow said.

"Not by the looks of it right now." Octavia said. "Don't you think a pony like me who has about half a life of organizing performances would have some sort of experience as to how to manage time before the big days?" She said. "And I'm telling you, those ten years of experience are telling me to drag you to the damn spa."

Rainbow thought about it for a moment. She really didn't want to think about the speech anyway, but she simply couldn't ignore it's importance. But then again- what was that thing about her again? That she 'always gets her way'?

"Private mode off." She said. "AL, if you don't mind getting me a warm and fluffy dry towel."

*

Zealo had come to visit Magnum, and was determined to stay. But after staying awake for a constant twenty four hours from the ATLANTA battle all the way to the Manehatten skirmish, his dreams really got the better of him.

Determined to stay however, he tried to stay awake for as long as he possibly could- and didn't even notice when he fell asleep. By the time that happened his head was resting on Magnum's arm, and he had long been dragged out of consciousness.

But soon he was back again as Magnum yanked him into the most sweet yet strangling hug anyone had ever given anyone else which was accompanied by the most delighted 'squee' he had ever heard.

He struggled to take in a breath, but Magnum's arm was tightly wrapped around him, preventing his lungs from expanding. He felt her let go, flip him around, then pull him back into a hug again now that he was facing her.

Magnum buried the lower half of her face in his shoulder, hugging him as close to her as possible. Yes, he was real. It was all real.

Slowly and warily, Zealo hugged her back. She was hugging him so tightly and so closely it was impossible for him to keep his head clear of her shoulder- so he just did what Magnum did and rested him chin on her shoulder. Then he started feeling tears slowly drifting onto his shoulders, Magnum's body shaking as she sobbed.

"You're alive. You're alive." Was all Magnum said as she cried into Zealo's shoulder.

"I missed you." Zealo said, giving her gentle pats on the back in an attempt to calm her crying, despite a tear of his own slowly sliding down his cheek.

"I missed you too." Magnum said with a light laugh, and loosened her grip slightly as to give Zealo some space to breath.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, not wanting to let go.

"I very much hate to interrupt this sweet reunion from what I've gathered so far, but circulation is important for our patient and currently the hug is preventing that from happening in a surprisingly effective way." AL said, which made both Magnum and Zealo jump.

Now that they were aware of the hug, it was kind of an awkward one- since Magnum kind of dragged Zealo onto herself out of sheer excitement.

Zealo awkwardly hopped back down, and sat down on the stool that he had been sitting on while waiting for Magnum to wake up. He felt a light tug on his arm, and Magnum shuffled to the side and gestured at the free space she made on her bed.

Zealo shook his head since the bed wasn't exactly big and he didn't want to accidentally push her off or something, but Magnum dragged him in anyway and hugged his arm tightly while resting her head on his shoulder.

"There's a spa on the lower levels of the HQ should you two want to relax, however our patient here will have to be kept under surveillance just in case something happens. Just a thought." AL said.

"You keen?" Magnum looked up at Zealo.

"Anything really, as long as I get to be with you again."

"Oh, you. Let's go then!" Magnum grinned.

"Also, once you're done with that- Applebloom has requested to have a meeting in the surgery. Zealo, you may accompany her should you wish to. Applebloom wishes to have your robotic implants done before the war starts. Note that we are not in supply of robotic eyes, so you will have to settle for one eye for now until we either stock up again or a pocket opens up in which we can use magic for long-term healing." AL said as the two stood up, Zealo helping Magnum since she had a broken leg. "Since we don't have eye implants, what color would you like your eyepatch to be?"

"Dark red, if you will." Magnum said, the left half of her face covered in bandages as to hide her wounds.

"I will forward that to the factory. The eyepatch should be completed by the end of your spa session." AL said.

"Thanks... Uh..."

"AL."

"Right." Magnum said, rather awkwardly.

"Now if you care to follow the blue arrows, they will lead you to the spa." AL said, conjuring up blue holographic arrows and guiding the pair downstairs.

*

"Katana." AL said, and Katana turned around. She was in her room, just polishing up some equipment.

"AL?"

"Scootaloo has requested you accompany Lily and Dainty to the local confectionary store."

"And she thought I was the best mare for the job?" Katana raised an eyebrow, wiping down a samurai sword.

"Even I know that's not why she requested that you take the job." AL replied.

"Then why?"

"You obviously need to rest up." AL said. "You've been doing so much to take your mind off something, that you've done the exact opposite by trying not to think about it."

"Easy for you to say, you didn't just wake up with the two ponies you hold the dearest dead by your side one day." Katana said, sheathing the blade menacingly and throwing it down on her bed.

"I didn't. But you did. And that's why we're trying to help." AL said.

There was a light buzz as a nearby holographic projector projected an image of AL in her three dimensional form. She glowed a dim blue, a concerned expression on her face.

"You need to take a walk out there. You need to laugh. You need to learn how to be happy again."

"What makes you think I don't want to laugh? To be happy? I DO want to!" Katana yelled.

"Then why don't you at least try?" AL asked. "Why don't you let us help you?"

Katana didn't know how to reply, and only let her head droop as she shook it from side to side.

"You're just trying to get rid of the sadness." AL said. "You're not trying to be happy- therefore you never will be. Once you rid of the sadness you'll only be an empty shell."

"Humph. Look at me, must be the first mare to have been lectured on emotions by an artificial intelligence." Katana chuckled. "Alright. Who and where are these two guests I must escort?" She looked up.

"Not escort, ACCOMPANY. Nothing formal. They're just two school-age fillies, you'll be fine. I've already told them to meet you in the lobby."

"Before I even agreed to this?"

"I trusted that you would. You're a reasonable pony, after all." AL said.

"Flattering."

"Was only meant to be a statement, but you're welcome."

"Lobby, was it?" Katana asked, shrugging two sheathed swords onto her back.

"Correct." AL said. "And the swords are for?"

"General protection, and a sense of security." Katana said. "I feel insecure without them after what happened."

"Understandable." AL said, and her holographic image went away. "I hope you have fun."

"Wasn't that the point?" Katana sighed, walking out the door. AL closed it behind her.

"Indeed it was." AL said. "And still remains so. And of course, you have spare change right?"

"Nope."

"Thought so." AL said, and she almost sounded unimpressed. "Have some 'spare change' then."

A socket in the wall opened up, and a robotic arm handed Katana a few coins.

"Should be enough for the fillies and you." AL said.

"Me?"

"Sweets are good for mental health, and you're physically healthy and fit enough to handle a good dose of them. 'I dislike sweets' is a highly unlikely statement should you make it. Therefore, there is absolutely no reason for you not to buy some for yourself."

"Scootaloo told you to say that didn't she?"

"Information is classified." AL replied.

"Of course it is." Katana muttered, pocketing the spare change and heading for the lobby.

*

Scootaloo was leaning on the hoof rails on her balcony, overlooking Haven. A glass of iced orange juice sat on a small table next to her, the breeze ruffling her mane and raking through the feathers in her wings.

"Katana is on her way." AL said.

"I knew she would go." Scootaloo said, taking a sip from the glass.

"Since when did you become so strategic about things?"

"Never did." Scootaloo replied, and yawned. "Just trying to get everyone- myself included- to have some fun times before everything goes to crap when the war starts."

"How logical of you." AL said. There was light knock on the door. "Sweetie Belle is outside."

"Open the door, obviously." Scootaloo said, turning around. "What up?"

"Boredom." Sweetiebot said, clunking in. "I just got my motorized systems polished. Some additional processors and engines have been installed. Just waiting to test them out."

"New upgrades aye?" Scootaloo stretched. "I needed a little stretch too anyway."

"Applebloom would not approve of this." AL noted.

"Doesn't matter." Scootaloo replied. "AL, set up the waypoints again. All the way around the city. Also, time us this time."

"Virtual targets?" AL asked.

"Anything that adds to the adrenaline." Scootaloo said, and two training lasers popped out of Sweetiebot's back. They're training lasers, and only do damage to virtual holographic targets that AL conjures up.

"Waypoints set. I've got your equipment set up." AL said.

"Deploy." Scootaloo said, and a socket in the wall popped open. A canister sprung out, and she caught it. A second later it unfolded into her scooter, a few last pieces sliding into place. She stepped on it, and some LED indicators flashed as it recognized its owner.

"Take to the start line." AL said, a holographic checker flag stretching across the balcony as the hoof rails retreated into the ground. "One lap, around Haven city. Waypoints as marked with holographic drones. Try not to cause too much damage. Take your marks..."

Scootaloo and Sweetiebot walked under the checker flag, Scootaloo clicking her neck and making some stretches.

"Get set... GO!" AL yelled, and they both took off sprinting.

Scootaloo dove over the edge, swinging her scooter under her. The wheels sparked as they came in contact with the metal walls of the HQ.

Sweetiebot followed, thrusters embedded in her hooves flaring up and boosting her downwards.

The first waypoint was drawing near- a large holographic circle on the side of the CMC HQ. behind it were many others, lining up to form a track around the whole of the city, weaving through traffic, buildings, across streets and roofs, creating a gigantic obstacle course in which the two competitors are racing to finish.

Scootaloo zoomed through the ring without a problem, but since Sweetiebot wasn't in contact with the building she had to make a slight course adjustment. She flipped around, the thrusters in her hooves boosting her towards the building. She flipped again, her hooves clunking heavily on the side of the HQ, sparks erupting as metal ground against metal. There was a beep as she grazed the waypoint, and continued on her way down towards the next circle.

"Virtual targets inbound." AL reported, a cluster of sphere-shaped holographic drones zooming in from the distance. "Note that destroying these targets get you extra points."

"Copy." Scootaloo said, boosters underneath the scooter sending it off the building and into the air. She swung it out from underneath her, and used it as a weapon and swiped it across at the drones. Three of them were taken down in one swing, exploding in virtual chaos. Scootaloo spun the scooter back under her hooves again, and landed on the building.

Sweetiebot's targeting system locked onto the remaining drones, the weapons mounted on her back already adjusting and charging up. But there were certain angles the lasers won't reach- directly upwards, for example. That's why some adjustments will be required.

She kicked off the building, the thrusters in her back hooves sending her into a spin. As she flipped through the air, the lasers were able to finally achieve a proper lock on and within the seconds the drones were blasted out of the air. She landed back down again, however kicking off to keep up with Scootaloo.

Suddenly the waypoints were leaving the surface of the building and heading across the street to another's roof- right through a whole bunch of traffic.

Scootaloo kicked off the wall, the thrusters in her scooter giving her an extra boost. She extended her wings, much smaller than she was used to; however still able to assist her in gliding towards the next waypoint.

Sweetiebot's laser cannons suddenly transformed to make two giant thrusters- but then again, there was that problem with the angles again. So she had to provide upward momentum with the boosters in her hooves.

She launched off the HQ's side, flying straight for the waypoint while constantly making adjustments with the boosters in her hooves.

More holographic drones showed up, weaving through the sky lane of traffic up ahead.

Sweetiebot's engines turned back to lasers again, blasting them out of the air. Then just before she started losing momentum, they transformed back to engines and kept her on her way.

Next they had to weave through the equivalent of a high-way... Except much, much more lethal.

*

"Haven will act as a bunker for retreat and a primary base of operations on the ground in case we need one." Spitfire said, her holographic image flickering from a few signal interferences.

"I'll keep the city running." Applebloom replied, stretching. This conference is taking too long- she needs a walk or something. "Haven will be on standby- we'll keep everything in order."

"Good. But now we just need a signal for after Rainbow finishes her speech. Something we won't need our magic broadcasters to broadcast- something everyone can see for themselves, even from space." Spitfire said. "To signal the actual starting point- once the signal is given, that's when the entire plan starts and everyone charges out. We need something equally effective as her speech, just something to knock it into everyone once she's done."

"Before that though, I heard some of the recruiting isn't even done yet?" Applebloom frowned. "We need the Wardens to have our reinforcements before we can move out."

"No, the Wardens have already done their part. It's just that a lot of them have chosen to stay at their current locations- makes sense though, having our superpowers less concentrated and more evenly spread out."

Applebloom nodded.

"Our ground troops have to have maximum efficiency. There's an obvious time limit, considering we can't hold off their space fleet forever." Soarin noted. "It's a good idea to have a bunch of ponies leading the charge instead of just a few- multitasking, right?"

"Right. There are various outposts throughout Equestria, some beyond. But for now we only need to worry about within- there's a whole army outside waiting for them to make a move." Shining Armor said, his holographic image flickering. He waved a hoof in the air, and a map of Equestria was conjured onto the conference table. "Blaze and his army will take care of the outposts outside the border." He pointed at the edges of the map, which indicated the ends of Equestria. Beyond it laid only darkness- an empty mass of none existence. What later came to be known as 'the edge of the world', otherwise known as 'Tartarus'. "There is at least one hidden outpost on the borders of each city, each base is about a kilometer across. Not quite large, but there's quite a few of them and they're heavily fortified. Most of them are near the ancient craters when the barricade rose into the air, also acting as the only access points to the Underground where at least fifty percent of our current forces are trapped as slaves. The main reason they haven't rebelled yet, as you well know; is because even if they could easily take control of the Underground, it's almost impossible for them to break free to the surface. Without our help they'd either starve to death inside or miraculously make it out and get slammed right back down by their nukes. First priority, we free those captive fighters. Main outposts we have to take out to free them are: two in Badlands, San Palomino Desert and Macintosh Hills, Appleloosa, Los Pegasus, Ghastly Gorge, White Tail Woods, Tall Tale, Galloping Gorge, Foal Mountains, Neighagra Falls, then finally Hollow Shades." Shining Armor gestured at the various places on the map, highlighting them red. "These are key areas we need to take down in order to free the prisoners most effectively, but of course we can't do that because we can't be everywhere at once. Therefore we'll advance towards the center, as two of our strongest forces- on one side Haven, the other the various colonies of Badlands- we'll advance towards the center of Equestria, picking up the other colonies along the way as reinforcements for the two main forces. They'll have nowhere to run- if everything works out, they'll be smothered. First off, since our two main forces are located on opposing edges of Equestria, Haven- you will advance in a South West direction, while the Badlands colonies will go North West. On the way we'll take down the outposts and free as many forces as we can- and once we have total control, that only leaves us one last priority."

"Valhalla." Iris said, and Shining Armor nodded.

"Valhalla, the Science Faction's last line of defense on the ground, and the equivalent of Haven. Therefore that makes a change for Haven-" Shining Armor paused, making sure Applebloom was listening. "Haven must hold its ground. We mustn't lose Haven, it is equally important to us as Valhalla is to them. Whichever one of these two falls first will determine a hell of a lot. Haven, you must hold off forces from Valhalla until reinforcements from Badlands can assist you- and together the two forces will finish Valhalla. If everything else goes to plan, that last step should be a breeze- however a costly one at that."

"That leaves their space fleet." Halcyon said, her arms folded.

"We can take them out with the CYCLOPS, which must remain under heavy protection throughout the war. The COLOSSUS is going to be a real problem though- being a heavy space fortress in itself would have caused enough problems for us, not to mention Val has Blithy captured there." Shining Armor said. "That's why, instead of trying to destroy it- we'll take brief control over it by making a direct insertion to the bridge. The ILLUSION can easily sneak a few gunships close to it, then send them in with a few squads loaded. They'll have to be used to operations in zero-gravity- because once they bust into the bridge via the windshields the entire place will go into lockdown- no one will be able to go in or out, plus gravity generators will be offline because of the breach. Since that's the primary control station, even if they run an override so it has no power our technicians can easily override their override, so we'll have control of the entire COLOSSUS for several minutes- until they break back onto the bridge. We'll deal as much damage as we can to the enemy fleet while that happens- and the ILLUSION will dock onto it. The forces we have on the ILLUSION should be able to take back a good chunk of the COLOSSUS, in the process rescuing Blithy. We'll find out where she is through the bridge, then we blow the COLOSSUS to bits after our forces get off the damn thing via the ILLUSION. That way we get a good little three in one, Val, Blithy and the COLOSSUS all taken care of." Shining Armor finished, leaning back into his seat. "Then we retreat to the surface, where we'll barricade the world away from their forces with our ground army. They'll run out of solid resources eventually, and we'll wear them out."

Silence followed as Shining Armor finished the plan he had constructed with the rest of the OASIS crew.

"Sounds good to me." Applebloom said, seeing as things were turning awkward.

"We'll leave it to different divisions to get to their plans then. Remember the main objectives Shining Armor has listed for us- those will be our primaries." Spitfire said, standing up. "Now if you would excuse me, I do have a coffee break waiting for me. I suggest we all take a break- it's been a long meeting. Then we've got an even longer war to fight ahead of us." She said, turning away from the conference table, her holographic image fading.

Then one by one they all left, the dark room slowly growing dimmer and dimmer as the holograms left. The only sources of light left were Neon's glowing eyes and the strips of light running up and down her body.

"Lights, AL." Applebloom said, and the lights turned on. She turned to Halcyon and Neon, who had sat through the meeting with her. "Any thoughts?"

"Yes." Halcyon said, getting up. "I think I prefer tea over coffee." She said, and left.

"Neon?" Applebloom turned to the Warden of Light as Halcyon closed the door behind her.

"I can't eat or drink."

"Of course..." Applebloom muttered, resting her face on the cold metal desk and dosing off just a little.

Chapter 52: Preparing

Over the course of the next few days Haven was as busy as ever. Everypony, civilian or not; was preparing for the war- stocking up on supplies like food and water, and even guns and ammo. Applebloom didn't even say a word, but the moment they saw Rainbow walking into the city they knew what was coming. Everypony's time to relax was up, and the full weight of the war dawned on them as it drew nearer and nearer.

Dainty and Lily still had a small bag full of sweets they haven't managed to finish yet, because they were so busy helping everypony else fortifying Haven. Not just reinforcing the front lines and setting barricades down on the roads- but also helping move containers, and sealing off homes.

They made a few new friends, a couple of odd ones too. Take Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon, one obsessed with the idea of humans and the other obsessed with going against her. Bon Bon owned the local confectionary store, and Lyra was flatting with her.

Sometimes they'd catch Lyra sitting in a tree, slowly stroking a lyre with golden hands she conjured out of magic using her horn. It added a good bit of tune to the workload as they carried wooden containers here and there, moving them about and setting up various camps.

Apart from all that work, they had to familiarize themselves with the Haven Tunnels system. It was a large network, but a good game of 'tag' through the Tunnels did the trick.

"That's the last of them mister!" Lily called out, Dainty happily tagging along as they placed down the last wooden box.

"You should all go rest up now!" A stallion in armor grinned at them. "You two have been surprisingly helpful. Here's a few coins, could get ya something at Bon's right?"

"No thanks, sir. We appreciate it- but we've still got a whole bag we haven't finished yet." Lily grinned back, and the stallion winked and went back to work.

Dainty had retreated into the background- she wanted to. Lily had been so isolated through their trip to Haven, and now at the first signs of proper civilization- she seems to be opening up again to how she was. Cheerful and friendly.

Dainty wouldn't want to ruin that- she wanted to see her friend happy, after all that pain on the journey. She didn't want to retreat too far away either- or she'll get noticed, and it's gonna be hard to explain.

"Clear the roads! We're bringing in the long-rangers!" A pony in uniform yelled, waving at everyone to get off the road and make way for the huge Crawler behind her. This Crawler was a long-range version of the ones that ATLANTA had, and instead of a prism cannon mounted on the four-legged walker it has an Archer cannon. Archers were energy weapons that fire short bursts of high-concentrated energy instead of continuous streams, and by adjusting the configurations of these energy pods it's possible to create a flight path for them and even add a fuse. Therefore an Archer cannon located behind the huge walls of Haven could carry out precision strikes, accurate to within a meter radius.

"Deploy anchors!" The pony yelled, and huge spikes located on the side of the Crawler's legs stabbed deep into the ground and held it in place. "Street 503 is secure and all set- good job everypony! Now go take a rest." The pony said, clapping her hooves.

Suddenly the loud roaring of engines filled the air, growing louder and louder as something approached...

Suddenly Sweetiebot came crashing down onto the road, landing hooves first into the gravel and completely shattering the local area. She pushed off again, thrusters in her hooves boosting her upwards and to a holographic circle.

"Don't cause too much damage!" Scootaloo yelled after her, following at almost the same speed with her scooter. "I'm not spending two hundred grand to pay off a race craft again!"

"Do entertain yourselves by watching the races." The pony said, sighing.

*

While everypony else was busy helping out and setting up, Rainbow was in her room.
Applebloom had given her a time now, a dead line. And still she had no idea what to say. She tried arguing that she just wasn't the right mare for the job, but Applebloom insisted.

"AL- you got any ideas?" Rainbow asked out of desperation.

"I have no ideas." AL replied. "As I almost fail to understand the logic of the existence of this speech."

"Me too." Rainbow sighed, falling back onto her bed. "You think a cup of iced whiskey would help me?"

"It is worth a shot should you be that desperate." AL replied.

"Ha, I see what you did there." Rainbow chuckled.

"What did I do?"

"Wasn't that a joke?" Rainbow frowned. "Shot glasses? 'Give it a shot'?"

"It was an unintentional pun." AL replied.

"Well you're less funny than EDI." Rainbow muttered.

"EDI is a third level AI, unlike me. I am a second level AI, one level below hers." AL said, seemingly slightly annoyed. "You can tell by the number of letters in one's AI name."

"Right." Rainbow said, turned around and buried her face in the pillows.

"Heads up. You appear to have a guest arriving." AL said.

"Damnit Tavi..." Rainbow muttered into the pillow, her voice muffled.

"Surprisingly your guess is correct." AL said, opening the door.

"Rainbow?" Octavia raised an eyebrow at her rainbow-maned friend.

"What up." Came the muffled reply.

"You still haven't come up with anything yet have you?" Octavia said dryly, folding her arms.

"I was going to get mister Jack Daniels to help me with that, but..."

"Don't ever give her alcohol." Octavia warned, looking up at a nearby sensor.

"I wasn't going to anyway." AL said. "It seemed like a bad idea from what I've seen from her."

"I'm kind of still here." Rainbow said.

"My point." AL said, and Rainbow replied with an annoyed growl.

"To tell you off about the importance of this speech isn't why I came here." Octavia said, and Rainbow sat up. "A certain engineer and designer who happens to be Haven's leader has requested that some gadgets be made for us. Really just some upgrades from what we have, but it's mainly preparing us for infiltrating the Valhalla region."

"I'm listening."

"I don't have them here, lazy." Octavia commented. "Top floor. Let's go." She said, turning and leaving.

"Anything so my brain doesn't hurt." Rainbow yawned, getting up.

"The pharmaceutics store is located on floor sixty-three."

"Ha-ha."

*

"Welcome. Thought you two weren't coming anymore." Applebloom said as Rainbow and Octavia walked into the room.

Rainbow wasn't expecting a small crowd of ponies to be in here- but when she entered they all turned to look at her.

"Aye! Here comes squad leader." Magnum cheered.

"Hey! You remember me!" Rainbow grinned, pulling her into a hug.

"Yeah, got my memory back somehow." Magnum laughed, letting go. "I'm glad. I seemed like such a depressed pony when I didn't have them."

"Well then. Ladies and gents, looks like we're all here then." Halcyon grinned, rubbing her hooves together. "So Applebloom, whatcha got for us?"

"Alright. I've called you guys here because Spitfire and I have organized a task for you while everything kicks off- you are to infiltrate Valhalla."

"So, you've decided to send in a small team instead of an army?" Terra folded his arms.
"A very capable small team." Applebloom made her point. "You've infiltrated an outpost before in the Awakening incident flawlessly, you can handle a whole bucking city just fine." She said. "The point is to infiltrate- and retrieve information they have on why their fleet is surrounding the sun. Plus anything else that might be useful or beneficial to us- that's why we're not sending in an army."

"I bet you their command center is in the middle of the damn place." Octavia said.

"Quite an obvious guess, and yes you are correct." Applebloom conjured up a satellite image of Valhalla then turned it into a three dimensional map. "There it is, central tower. We can't just drop you in, the defenses will shoot you down before that happens- so you'll have to sneak through the city." She pointed at a red path highlighted from the edge of the gates to the central tower, similar to HQ in Haven. "What I've found is that there's this office block here-" she pointed at another sky scraper, possibly the second tallest building in the city. "-a very convenient sniping point for Magnum here. I heard you're a very good sniper-"

"Never missed a shot." Magnum nodded proudly. "Unless I chose to. The Captain of the Royal Guard learnt that one pretty well." She muttered.

"Well, yes. You'll be in that building, pick a floor- whichever one is most beneficial. Terra and Halcyon- you two will perform a distraction for the rest of them. There's a hydro-powered energy plant in the southwest corner. It isn't the main supplier of electricity to the city, as primary generators are underground. But it does fund excessive functions of the city with energy, such as lights and entertainment in civilian areas. Just blow it up, and start blowing up stuff next to it if you run out of stuff to blow up. The rest of you will directly infiltrate the central tower, how you do it is up to you- I can't be bothered with the details, that's your job. But there's a problem- they have the entire place sealed off by a swamp. The damn swamp has a bunch of auto turrets hidden in it, and the place is also crawling with guards. The only entrance is a bridge linking one side of the swamp to the central tower, guarded by the same level of security. That's the safer option, but also the one that doesn't allow stealth." Applebloom said.

"Meaning we need to take the swamp?" Zealo pointed at the map.

"Correct. But this is only based on a few satellite images- there could be anything in those swamps. Mines, detectors, anything." Applebloom sighed. "My job is to get you through the door. From then on inside, it'll be your job. So... Since getting you inside is my job, I've rigged up some neat little things to help you guys out."

The wall behind her suddenly shivered, and started lifting into the ceiling and giving way to an even larger room lit by dim blue lights.

"Welcome to the toy shop baby." Daring Do whistled with a laugh.

"Quite so." Applebloom said, a table rising out of the ground before her as the walls closed up behind them. Even with the relatively large group of ponies inside, there was still plenty of room in this confined armory. "Most of the stuff here is still... Er... Experimental."

"Otherwise known as unsafe." Octavia translated. "But we never play it safe anyway, so it's right up our alley."

"That's what she said." A familiar voice said, and everyone looked behind them.

"Well well, who would've thought YOU'd be the one to say that." Rainbow folded her arms.

"Glad to see that you're somehow still alive too." A flickering hologram of Blaze said, approaching the group. "How are you guys all doing?"

"Relatively well." Magnum said. "Checking out some new toys."

"And I'm just annoyed at the fact that I can't punch you for making yet another joke. For the love of Celestia, when will you STOP?" Halcyon growled.

"D'aw, I love you too." Blaze replied, his holographic projection giving Halcyon a quick squeeze around the shoulders.

"Anyhow." Applebloom rubbed her hooves together. "After studying some satellite images, I've found that there are two ways in which you can get to Central faster than on hoof. First are the sky lanes, you can get on a bus or something. The second one is the fastest option- take the trains. The Valhalla railroads go almost everywhere, and you can easily sneak aboard."

"Sneak aboard, as in the roof?" Daring asked. A disguise certainly wouldn't last long.

"Yes, and I've got a few things to help you do just that and more. First off-" Applebloom extracted a suitcase from a nearby locker, and clicked it open. Inside were coats identical to the ones that Rainbow and Octavia were currently wearing. "-cloaking. You get on the roof, obviously that's in plain sight- so here's something to change that. Also if you plan on sneaking into the train, you still don't want to be seen. Actually, this is for whenever you just don't want to be seen so never mind that." She said, pulling the coat out and laying it flat on the table. "Works the same way as the skin of an octopus would. Changes color and appearance, and even texture to blend in with its environment."

And even as Applebloom said this, it was quickly changing into the table, blending into the shiny metal until it was completely invisible. It even started gaining its reflective properties.
"Different colored nano-cells adjust size through a series of spells cast onto them. Another spell is used for detecting the environment around it. But the reaction isn't instant though-" Applebloom shuffled the fabric a slight bit to the side, and they saw a slight delay before the coat blended back in again. "-so the more violent or fast the movements you make, the longer you'll be exposed. Also, based on Octavia's design- I've decided to add in a bunch of inner pockets." She flipped the coat inside out and turned the cloaking off, revealing rows of inner pockets lined up on the inside.

"I can't imagine what all those could be for." Blaze said.

"Flash bangs, shields, smoke screens, grenades- anything, really. And it won't weigh it or you down due to a tweaked gravity charm cast onto the fabric itself." Applebloom said, folding the coat. "That was Sweetie Belle's idea. And here's one that Scootaloo thought would be useful- a quick deploy energy shield." She picked up a flash-bang like device, then threw it down at her hooves. The device blew apart in a non-lethal shockwave, projecting a light orange shield over the local area and effectively shielding Applebloom off from the others.

"This is something." Rainbow said, tapping the shield. It wavered, then sprung back.

"Shoot something at it and it'll bounce right back." Applebloom said. A second later the shield disappeared, the device a pile of scrap metal on the floor. "Very effective, but such a small device can't sustain such a high-powered shield for very long."

"Anything else?" Halcyon asked, eyeing the two items.

"Nope."

"Wait, what?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Only two gadgets?"

"I brought you here to equip you guys. These two are new things that need tutorials, but I believe I don't need to instruct you on how to use a hunting knife." Applebloom said, holding up a handle. A long blade smooth on one side and serrated on the other popped out from it, gleaming under the lights.

"I guess not." Octavia said.

"I got AL to pack everything for you guys." Applebloom said, the cabinets behind her popping open behind her and revealing rows of suitcases all immaculately lined up and packed. "A full suitcase of stuff you might want to use. It is advised that you get equipped now- no matter what, the speech later is still a presentation. I want everyone looking immaculate in the same clothes."

Octavia nodded. Put everyone in the same clothes that the Bounty Hunters wear, give them a sense of security. After all, the Bounty Hunters were the heroes of both the Manehatten and Awakening incidents.

"Big day's tomorrow." Blaze said, sighing. "All the forces on my side here are ready. Rest up everypony... We're gonna need it." He said, gave Halcyon a wave and flickered offline.

"Well, you heard him." Applebloom said. "Let's get this over and done with."

Magnum left with Zealo, taking their equipment. The Wardens followed, then Rainbow turned to leave with Octavia- but stopped at the exit. She gestured at Octavia to keep going.

"I'll catch up." She said, the others leaving around her as she temporarily put her equipment down. Applebloom was behind her, tidying up the destroyed instant shield.

The doors slid closed, the room plunging into silence as all the hoofsteps led off into the distance. All there was was the soft whining of electrics in the armory.

"Can I help you?" Applebloom looked up, Rainbow standing on the other side of the table.

Rainbow didn't reply. She reached into her pocket, past her cleaver and towards the small device at the bottom. She took it out, the pulsing blue light still on and indicating it was functional.

She placed the USB down on the table, a light tink echoing through the room as the plastic touched the metal. She had removed the part where Applejack reveals what really happened to the Elements of Harmony, of what Silver did. That much had to be hidden- for now.

"The data file is corrupted." She lied, sliding it across to Applebloom who picked it up and examined it. "But it's still playable. Applejack... We found her, but obviously she's not with us... That's just something she had on her."

"I didn't expect her to be alive anyway." Applebloom sighed after a long while just staring at the USB. "You stop hoping after a while. I did hope she would maybe turn up at Haven's front door step, but I knew she wouldn't." Her expression dimmed, and Rainbow could clearly see her eyes watering a bit as she put the USB down.

"The big day's coming." Rainbow said with a deep breath. "Don't watch it if you think it's going to affect you."

"I know." Applebloom said. "I don't plan to. I know how my sister felt, she knows how I did. We shared our last words already- I don't want anything to change that." She said, throwing the USB aside. "AL, analyze that disc and its video contents then tell me if there's anything worth mentioning." She said, not taking her eyes off Rainbow.

"I'm sorry, Applebloom." Rainbow said, turning to leave.

"For what? It's not like you killed her." Applebloom sighed, continuing on with tidying up the armory.

Rainbow froze at the doorstep, just about to leave. Something ate at her heart... And it almost paralyzed her.

But I did... She thought, that feeling nagging at her heart. Silver, no matter how different- was still her. And she couldn't help but wonder, what if she were presented with the same situation- would she really do as she said she would?

Discomfort lingering in her heart, she forced her legs to take the heavy steps and lead her away from the armory.

Chapter 53: United Equestria

The room was dark, shards of light from the moon outside leaking through the shaded windows and onto the floor. The alarm clock on the bedside table pulsed a light green, not making a single sound as it slowly ticked off the seconds. Then the minutes. Then the hours.

Octavia stared at the clock, unable to sleep for reasons she couldn't figure out. Maybe it was because of the war. It wasn't easy knowing pretty much the next day everything'd be completely different.

"It's impolite to stare." The clock said, which almost made Octavia jump out of her sheets.

"Bucking hell-" she cursed, flipping onto her back and staring at the ceiling. "Does the bucking ceiling have an AI as well?"

"Nope." The alarm clock replied.

"Can you shut up and not say a thing to me ever again? I don't like the idea of a talking alarm clock. Absolutely ridiculous." Octavia covered her eyes with an arm across her face, still sweating from the scare she got earlier.

"I find that highly offensive, and possibly racist. But okay- muting." The alarm clock said, and fell silent.

Octavia laid there for a moment, looking into the darkness of her closed eyelids. "Oh great. Now I feel bad." She said a minute later.

The alarm clock beeped an agreement.

"I'm sorry." Octavia opened her eyes, casting the clock a sideways glance. "Forgive me? Stay muted though."

The alarm clock beeped again.

Octavia sighed, flipping over and giving it her back.

Then she heard talking outside. She couldn't make out the other voice, but the clear and articulate voice of the HQ's AI travelled through without a problem.

"Yes, she is awake." AL said, her voice dim since it had to travel through the door. "Just earlier she made an offensive comment to her alarm clock."

Octavia growled at that.

"And she is listening to this conversation now, judging from her reaction to my earlier statement." AL said, and then there was a soft knock on her door.

"Come in." Octavia said, sitting up and cringing with the effort. The treatment for her foreign matter poisoning did slow down the effects, but it was only temporary medication and occasionally side effects would still show. Until there is enough time(about a month), proper treatment cannot begin since stopping medication in the middle would render all the previous work useless.

"Hey." Rainbow walked in as AL opened the door, in her pajamas. "I heard you pissed off your alarm clock." She said. There was no doubt she was wide awake, but she used such a soft voice it sounded dreamy.

"It annoyed me though." Octavia stretched, making space on the bed next to her. The alarm clock beeped in defiance. Rainbow sat down next to her, slumping back into a spare pillow. "What's up?" Octavia asked, even though she already knew.

"The bloody presentation is tomorrow morning, and I still got nothing." Rainbow sighed.

"Really? Nothing?" Octavia raised an eyebrow. "After everything? You've got nothing?"

"It's BECAUSE after everything. I don't know what to say." Rainbow rubbed her forehead frustratedly. "I don't know where to start, where to end, or anything; really."

"Ssshh, don't worry." Octavia said. "I don't see why you're so worried."

"Are you kidding me?" Rainbow shot her a look that wasn't exactly friendly.

"When do we ever plan?" Octavia asked.

"Never." Rainbow replied with the obvious answer.

"And how does it turn out every time?"

"Perfectly." She muttered.

"Exactly." Octavia said, relaxing and lying down.

"Yeah- no, that didn't help." Rainbow said flatly, looking down at her hunting partner.

"Just say what you really think of the whole situation. Say what you really think of the science faction. Say what you really think of Val. Of the massacres. Of the centuries of war. Of the countless futures lost to oblivion." Octavia said.

Rainbow didn't reply to that, and only stared down at her stomach.

"You've been through a lot of pain, Rainbow." Octavia said. "And from what I've heard, pretty much everyone has. Don't think of them as an audience- because they aren't anymore. Not after everything that happened."

"We're all friends." Rainbow finished in a hushed voice, slowly realizing what this was really about. Realizing why the ponies needed motivation. Why it was so powerful.

It was her motivation that drove her this far. That kept her alive. That kept everything going.

"We're all friends..." She repeated, narrowing her eyes.

"We're all united." Octavia nodded.

Then Rainbow seemed to wake from her thoughts, her speech unfolding in her head. It wasn't something that needed script, or needed to be memorized. It was something that came from the heart. Something that had feeling in it, and not just something she decided to say- something she had to say, because she felt obliged to do so.

She almost jumped on the bed, and reached over and pulled Octavia into a suffocating hug.

"THANK YOU!" She cheered, letting go and jumping out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Octavia asked, half asleep.

"Off to make history!" Rainbow cried, her voice fading off into the hallway as she left.

Octavia watched for a moment, until AL closed the door.

"That was interesting." She yawned, lying down. For some reason, she felt much sleepier now... Something seemed to have been settled, a problem solved- and that was always easier on the mind.

*

The next morning started off a lot slower than usual, since everything was set up and waiting for the moment for it to all kick off.

"You sure you're ready?" Octavia asked, fully equipped for battle- yet she looked exactly the same. Thanks to the inner pockets.

"Wouldn't be here if I weren't." Rainbow grinned.

Everyone in the team had been issued the standard set of equipment and weapons, and they were all set and fully armed.

"Well, here's your moment to shine." Octavia returned the grin, sunlight shining into the room from the huge floor-to-ceiling glass windows lined up on the north side of the CMC tower.

They were in Scootaloo's room, as it was the highest room on the tower with a balcony. The balcony itself had been set up for the presentations, for the final words before war. A single microphone was set up on the hoof rails, a spell preventing the high winds from getting onto platform. Applebloom was speaking her part right now, the 'Public Service Announcement' part of things.

Then she finished it, turned back and made a swift gesture for the nervous pegasus pony.

Rainbow looked to Octavia, who gave her a reassuring nod.

"Right behind ya sister." She said, and Rainbow nodded a reply.

With her head held high and the team behind her, Rainbow Dash took the final steps to the balcony and stopped before the microphone.

She could see images of herself on the huge screens strung up on the buildings all around Haven, broadcasting every bit of the announcements live to every nook and cranny of the city.

She reached out and tapped the microphone, making sure it was working properly as her heart beat against her chest.

In front of her had to be a crowd of tens of thousands, all pouring onto mane street. They stood watching, chatting amongst themselves- but the moment Rainbow tapped the microphone they all fell silent, listening intently from hundreds of meters down below the tower.

"Fillies and gentle colts, brothers and sisters- a time of great change is upon us. As you all know, we cannot live under the suppression of the Science Faction any longer than we already have. We can run, we can hide, but we will run out of breath; and we will be found. Until our enemies are no longer can we truly stop to catch our breaths, to emerge from the darkness where we have hidden. I know... That Haven cannot count as darkness. In all its glory and privilege, it is still just like its name- a haven. A hiding place. Somewhere to avoid the apocalypse- not to resolve it. But today is the day when we question how long we have left in this prosperity- and we don't have very long. I understand that many of you probably don't even want to go and leave this place we call home. But why do we call Haven home? Why don't we call the wasteland out there home? Why don't we call the Barricade home? Why don't we call anyplace else home?" Rainbow paused, sweeping the audience with her eyes. "Because we are a family, brothers and sisters bound together by our common goals and dreams... That maybe one day, we won't have to hide. That maybe one day we won't have to constantly live under the fear of being discovered. Of being dragged off into slavery- or death. But despite all the tyranny and vile that has been thrown at us, look at where we stand! In a city where its technological as well as magical advances compete against those of our enemies! And yet, all our potential is being wasted on hiding. We are stronger than we ever were. We didn't stand a chance in the past centuries, but we do now. We can fight now, then why wouldn't we? Stand up to defend Haven! Stand up to defend our home!" Rainbow hammered the railings with a hoof. "Stand up and defend what is precious!"

There was some dim cheering in the crowds below now. It was a start.

"If you're going to argue that we aren't strong enough, I beg your pardon! The fall of the Barricade!" Rainbow pointed up at the sky. "Is it still there? We took it down! We took it down- and most of us even lived through it!" She turned on her side and pointed at Magnum, Neon, Rig, Asty, Blinkie and Inkie- part of the team who was now standing behind her. "The Barricade had always been the most dreaded and powerful part of the Science Faction- and we wiped it clean from the skies without even needing an army! But now- our army has never been this strong. Never have we ever had the chance to get proper equipment and weapons for a fight. Now- we have better stuff than them. We have better fighters than them. We ARE BETTER than THEM. Only now have we been rewarded with a descent chance to fight- so, after centuries of waiting in hiding- brothers and sisters, will you take this chance!?" Rainbow's voice boomed across the city through speakers built into the screens which were reflecting her every move. "Take it! Brothers and sisters! We have waited too long! Take it and fight! Do not misunderstand my point, fellow citizens. What are we fighting for? Land? Our freedom? Money? We're fighting for everything- because that's what they took away from us. That's what the science faction took from us! They took away everything- everything here, they find it, and they'll rip it away from our hooves the moment they do. We created something, but what we had we don't anymore. Whether we're fighting for revenge over what we've lost, fighting to protect what little we have left, or fighting to gain back what they've taken from us; we fight as a whole. And not just us ponies!" Rainbow said, and a bit of cheering came from the other races mixed in the crowds. "The science faction didn't just oppress magic. They chose to put everything else, as long as it isn't themselves, under their own power. And that means all of us! All of us as the species that make up Equestria! From the big dragons on land to the fish in the sea- not one life form was spared from their terror! And that's what I mean when I say we fight as a whole- equines, dragons, griffons, cockatrices, phoenixes- and the billions of others out there, living just like we are, hiding in the shadows- TODAY IS WHEN WE ALL RISE!! LET US PUT OUR DIFFERENCES ASIDE! BECAUSE THIS, IS NOT SCIENCE VERSUS MAGIC ANYMORE! IT NO LONGER HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT- IT'S ABOUT TWO SIDES, ONE SIDE CONTROLLING ITS CITIZENS WITH FEAR WHILE THE OTHER FIGHTS FOR FREEDOM AND ITS VERY OWN SURVIVAL!" The cheering from the crowd was growing louder and louder now. "Brothers and sisters, which side would you choose? Will we let them take whatever they want from us? Will we let them enslave us and kill us afterwards just like they did to our countless families and friends?"

The answer was definite as the crowd yelled back the defiant two letters- a sign that motivation was finally on its way.

"NO! WE WON'T!! WE WILL STAND AND STOP THEIR RULE!" Rainbow screamed, the crowd screaming back at her. She stood there, waiting for the crowds to calm down. Slowly it did, coming back to her attention. She took in a deep breath and sighed, looking down at her hooves. But then she looked back up again, ready to continue and as defiant against Val and her forces as ever. "I... I had a group of friends. Some of you may have heard of them- they have saved Equestria countless- COUNTLESS- times. The Elements of Harmony- Discord, Nightmare Moon, Changelings and parasprite invasions- we've all been through a lot together. But this was one thing we didn't see coming. For years the only things we thought that would ever pose a threat to us were those mysterious foreign species- never have we been terrorized by our species before. From within our own ranks the science faction rose, attacking where we least expected it. Of the six elements of harmony, I'm the only one left."

Octavia saw Silver slowly walk back into the house from the corner of her eye, her head lowered- but pretended not to notice. Let her go.

"All other five of my friends- the ponies I've actually spent the better half of my life with, and the other half protecting- gone in an instant. I'm sure many of you are aware that we were brought into this reality through a change in time. I can understand the many of you that look back to that other reality, thinking of times when things could be happy. When everyday there'd be a smile on your face and nothing could discourage you. Remembering our past, thinking of how things could've been. I can understand all of you, who have lost loved ones in the blink of an eye. It has happened far too many times already, and is still going. But let's not let our pasts slow us down- I'm not saying leave them behind and forget about them, but use them as our guide. Use our pasts as a goal, whether it's to get something back or to get revenge on those that have done this to us. Let our pasts be our motivation for fighting this war." She paused, looking down at the crowd, her eyes slightly watery. "You may think you're alone. I have done this too- but trust me, you'll never be. I've lost countless friends, and so have many of us here. But they will never tear us apart- because you know what, despite all the losses... We have gains." She once again gestured to the team behind her. "Many of these ponies here I didn't even know a week ago. Now it seems we'll all have to rely on each other's shoulders. And that is the same with every one of you out there! Whether you're an equine, a dragon or a griffon- anything- Equestria is here for you! WE are here for you! WE are here for each other! This war will end- one way or the other! And we'll make sure we take as many of them with us as we can! WE ARE EQUESTRIA!!! WE WILL NO LONGER HIDE OR SIMPLY DEFEND- IT'S TIME FOR US TO RISE! TO FIGHT FOR ALL THAT WAS OURS!!! FOR HOME!! FOR OUR FRIENDS!! FOR OUR FAMILIES!!! FOR THE WORLD THAT WE HAVE SHARED AND INHABITED FOR THOUSANDS OF GENERATIONS- LET US PUT OUR DIFFERENCES ASIDE- FOR EQUESTRIA!!!"

By now the crowd was roaring mad, weapons raised high up into the air as Haven's army- only a fraction of the huge number of magic faction forces out there in the wastelands- prepared for war.

There was loud screeching as a small band of griffons circled over head, cheering on the army.

All around the world, magic faction ponies- armies and civilians- the final announcements were heard as the live feed was broadcasted via magic channels to every corner of the globe. Even underground, the troops under science's control stood up as the feeds were broadcasted to them through optical spells.

Let the war begin.

*

"Empress!" The loud yelling of a messenger suddenly interrupted Val's conversation with Blithy. Annoyed, she frowned.

The double doors to her thrown room suddenly burst open, the messenger running in.

"Empr-" he started.

Val flicked her hand out, sending a bullet through his head using the guns embedded in her palm.

"Arseholes. Told them not to just barge in and knock first. These guys have no manners whatsoever." She muttered, standing up and stretching. "So, HEX- what was the message he was meant to bring me?"

"Filing through possibilities." HEX said. "One relevant result found. It would seem that someone has sneaked magic orb displays into various underground facilities. A live broadcast just ended, and there's a lot of activity going on with the slaves."

"Ah, looks like dear old Rainbow Dash made her move." Val laughed.

"How do you know it's Rainbow Dash?" Blithy frowned. "Could be anyone."

"Oh, you don't have to know how I know." Val grinned, yawning. "Alright. Time to attack Haven then, I guess."

"But you don't know where it is." Blithy said through gritted teeth.

"Somewhere in the Arctic North, very close to the Crystal Empire- I don't have the precise co-ordinates." Val said, and that shut Blithy up. She waved a hand and conjured up a screen. "Eclipse."

"Yes Empress Valkyrie." Eclipse appeared on the screen, the background behind her yet indistinguishable- but it was definitely snowy.

"You may attack Haven. Kill all the Wardens- and if you find Rainbow Dash, hehe... As much as I would love to kill her myself, rip her limbs and wings off one by one then make sure she bleeds to death." Val smirked. "And do record it while you do so."

"Acknowledged." Eclipse said, and the screen went blank.

Author's Note

Geez, finally aye?

Chapter 54: Bring It On!

"Good work buddy!" Octavia grinned as Rainbow came back from the presentation, Applebloom stepping back out onto the balcony.

"I need to sit down. My legs are shaking like jelly." Rainbow said, slumping down in one of Scootaloo's sofas.

Then they noticed how silent everyone outside was. No one was talking, not even Applebloom. Not even the crowd.

"The hell?" Rainbow got up, peering out the window.

Then she heard the siren, AL alerting the city as she detected enemy forces in the local vicinity.

"Alert. Mass amounts of Science Faction forces detected to the west of the city. All personnel report to your battle stations, shift available resources to reinforce the west side of the city immediately. We are under attack." AL's voice boomed across Haven.

"Crap." Applebloom muttered under her breath, but then brought the microphone up to her mouth. "This is it everypony! THE WAR IS UPON US!! LET'S GO!!!" She yelled.

"What now?" Rainbow raised and eyebrow as the city's occupants rushed to their battle stations.

"Giddy up ponies, time to fight." Applebloom said, barging past the group.

"Been waiting for that for a while." Magnum grinned, cracking her hooves. The Energy Grapple on her wrist turned on and buzzed, glowing a light green. Something issued to all of them in their equipment kits- just a standard grapple hook, except made of green non-lethal energy. The only lethal part is the retractable blade attached to the device itself. This one was built into her implanted robotic arm, which was gleaming under the bright morning sunlight. The eye patch that was strung across her face didn't have any strings like the ones pirates wear, instead it had a reasonably wide piece of fabric for comfort and ease in combat.

"Meet you guys on the west wall I guess." Zealo shrugged, Magnum nudging him and gesturing to the left side.

"Alright. We'll be on the ground- no use for us being on the wall." Rainbow said.

"Time to head out." Octavia said, rolling up her right sleeve as to make way for the grapple.

She shot the grapple down at a building below them, and leapt over the rails. Rainbow followed, gliding down as Octavia swung from the tower.

Momentum carried her down, then tugged her up as the plasma cable reached its target length and swung her back up again. She disengaged the grapple, aimed forward and shot one into the front wall. A quick tug activated the fast travel system in the grapple, the energy cable retracting at sixty miles an hour and pulling her towards the west gate. She then broke the cable and turned behind her, shooting another grapple to slow her down.
She stopped in the air in front of the gate, then made a short fall of about two meters onto the ground. She landed lightly in the middle of the road, Rainbow coming down next to her with a light flutter of the wings.

"This thing is sick." Octavia grinned, looking down at the grapple mounted to her wrist.

"No better than wings." Rainbow said, flicking her cleaver online. It unfolded into its full size next to her.

"All Haven troops are at their battle stations." AL reported. "Turning off mirage field and teleportation spell. Prepare to open the gates."

The mirage field had to be turned off since it would be useless anyway, because anything that passes through the field while it is online would temporarily disable it- and with all these troops moving in and out of the city, it might as well be offline to conserve energy. As for the teleportation spell, it was the same thing- while it would protect Haven, it would also prevent its troops from going outside without the use of the portals or firing from inside the city. That spell was only meant for defensive properties, as it pretty much disables every single offensive advantage there is for Haven.

"Opening gates." AL said, the atmosphere above them clearly becoming brighter and bluer as the shields were turned off.

*

Eclipse tilted her head to one side, her arms folded. Suddenly something in the air disappeared, and slowly a visible sphere started appearing in the distance. Then it shattered, the mirage field of Haven blowing itself apart and the city itself fading into visual existence.

"Commence the attacks." She ordered through her mic, and the army of robots, cyborgs and just normal ponies started stepping forward with a terrifying march, their weapons raised and their owners trigger happy.

*

The magic faction troops weren't any less trigger happy than they were- the Archers have already made their move and fired.

Huge balls of burning blue energy flew up high into the air, burning through the skies and slowly arcing towards the Science Faction's front line.

"Get the Exo-suits out there!" An officer yelled, waving from up on the wall as the huge fifty-meter high gates opened.

A squad of ponies in those light mechs that Rainbow saw walking around the city earlier burst out the gates, all guns blazing at the science faction forces.

"Show em what we've got boys!" One of them yelled, leading the charge of about a hundred others; their heavy metal hoofsteps shattering the floor they stomped on and clunking off into battle.

"Infantry troops are ready!" An officer yelled. "Rainbow Dash! Would you like to lead the charge?"

"Be a pleasure to officer!" Rainbow grinned and made a quick informal salute, then raised her cleaver high above her head. "Infantry! Let's GO!" She yelled, bringing the cleaver back down and running out the gates with a full battalion of about a thousand infantry troops consisting of various specialities- but mostly frontline and frontline support.

"Hehe, look at em go." Magnum chuckled, watching from one of the towers which guarded the walls. "Like a bunch of maniacs, ha!"

"Like you can say much." Zealo said, peering through a scope. "Sniper at two o'clock-"

"I know, I can see his bloody scope reflection." Magnum said, firing a bullet without even aiming. The little bright spot of reflected sunlight suddenly disappeared, the sniper's scope shattered and the bullet lodged firmly in his brain. "Have you even tried this strawberry sherbet? I know it's in lollipop form, but this stuff is awesome." She commented, sucking on a lollipop. "Hopefully that confectionary store reopens after this crap is over and done with. But I think I bought enough for the time being. Want one?" She handed Zealo a pink packet.

"Thank you." Zealo said, digging up a piece of candy from the bag and throwing it into his mouth, still peering through the scope. "Heavy, ten o'clock."

"Mmm-hmm." Magnum said, yawning and pulling the trigger. The bullet punched through a weak spot in the heavy unit's armor, tearing through its spine and stopping the electrical signals from going from the central processor to the lower half of its body. Unable to move, it simply fell forward into the dirt, effectively rendered useless.

Then havoc really started to show when the Archer cannons hit, hundreds of fireballs raining from the sky and hammering the science faction forces.

"Holy crap-" Rainbow ducked down as one of the energy spheres hit somewhere in front of her, liquidizing a tank that was there a second ago; sending burning blue bits of it flying in all directions. "-These things are NOT playing!"

"Ya think?" Octavia slid down behind cover next to her, a few anti-matter beams whizzing past overhead. She held up an odd looking weapon- some sort of hybrid between a tommy gun and an energy weapon.

"Hey- mind giving me a lift?" Rainbow asked, her cleaver in a hoof.

"Where to?" Octavia asked, an explosive going off nearby and sending shreds of ice their way.

"There's a small group of assault units in front of us. Figure we take them out and bust a clear path through to their support units, might help us divide their forces." Rainbow said, pointing at the area behind their cover.

"How many units we talking about again?" Octavia frowned.

"Don't know. Nothing we can't handle." Rainbow said. "On three?"

"One." Octavia started, crossing her hooves as Rainbow placed her back hoof on them.

"Two." Rainbow said, stretching her wings out.

"Three." Octavia said, pushing her upwards and over the lines of fire.

Rainbow turned around and arched back towards the assault units, swinging her cleaver in a wide arc. She threw it into the ground at one's hooves, sending it stumbling back. She flew down somewhere away from the cleaver, knocking a unit to the ground as she landed into its head. Its neck snapped from the odd angle and it fell to the floor, the others only just realizing what had happened and turning.

Rainbow reached out and fired the grapple on her wrist, the claws hitting the cleaver handle and closing around it- also pulling the trigger.

The cleaver came bouncing out of the earth, flying straight towards the sky and shattering the ice underneath it. Rainbow ran forward and towards her flying cleaver. Being much heavier than she was, the cleaver acted as a swing and swung her forwards and upwards while it came down into the ground behind her, flinging her towards an assault unit.

She launched both back hooves into its chest, knocking it back and behind Octavia's cover.

"Not my type." Octavia said, putting a burst of energy through its head with her augmented tommy gun.

Rainbow landed on the ground, turned and yanked at her cleaver. Instead of the cleaver coming towards her however, the grapple system yanked her towards the cleaver. She grabbed the handle as she passed, twisting it from the ice it was embedded in and flinging it through a nearby science faction officer's chest.

Rainbow tore it back out, turning and deflecting a bolt of energy shot her way.

"TAVI! GIMME A HOOF DAMNIT!!" Rainbow yelled, slowly getting overwhelmed by the amount of troops the science faction was pouring into the local area.

Suddenly a group of robots to one side simply blew apart after a booming shotgun blast, huge ping-pong ball sized pellets tearing through their comparably light armor and embedding themselves in the ice.

"Us Apples always loved the shotguns." Applebloom said, a shell the size of a small coffee table thunking onto the ground as the exo-skeleton mech she was in reloaded the mammoth of all shotguns with a crunchy click.

"That was something." Rainbow said, Babs Seed leaping down from the top of the wall in a similar mech behind her. She landed with a dull thunk, cracking the ice; but stood up again as if it were nothing and shrugged it off.

"Careful. Those shells might crush someone." Octavia noted, ducking behind cover as several green laser bolts whizzed past overhead.

"Good idea." Rainbow said, firing a grapple at one of the shells and flinging it into the crowds ahead of them. It crushed an assault unit almost instantly, then kept rolling and rolled over some more.

"Funny how you tend to interpret things differently." Octavia said, emerging from cover and firing a short spray of lasers.

"Suppose." Rainbow replied, charging out of cover and deflecting several bolts of energy by spinning her cleaver around her.

Then she reached forward, the grapple shooting out and clawing into an assault unit's chest. She tugged back, the energy cable retracting and hauling the unit through the air and directly into Rainbow's waiting cleaver. The two halves of the former robot tumbled across the ice behind her, coming to a rest by Octavia.

Octavia picked up one half, shook it and emptied the contents so only the shell was left, and used it as a shield as she advanced forward.

"Troops of Haven! Press on!" Applebloom yelled, her shotgun letting out a thundering pow. She quickly turned on her side as she saw a distant muzzle flash, the sniper bullet already on its way towards her head.

She made the turn just in time, the bullet hitting her right shoulder plate and smudging itself across the shiny red paint.

"A little battle scar always adds a bit of value, right?" She said, just joking around as she left Magnum to pick the sniper off.

Rainbow ducked under an anti-matter beam and swiped her cleaver up, chopping off the assault unit's arm. She then stabbed the cleaver into its chest and shot her grapple into the cleaver handle. The assault unit was still standing, but won't be soon.

Rainbow pulled the trigger on the cleaver, sending it blasting out of the unit's chest and hurtling towards Octavia who was several meters behind Rainbow- but before it could hit her, the grapple chain caught on it and its momentum was instantly diverted sideways, the lethal blade whistling through the air.

Rainbow spun the grapple chain, with the cleaver still attached to one end; in one big devastating circle which cut all the assault units in her local area in half. The chain retracted, and the cleaver flew right into her waiting hooves.

"New toys are always fun." She grinned.

"Hey- what is that?" Octavia pointed at the sky. Some sort of figure...

"Not ours. Shoot it down." Applebloom said, aiming towards the sky- but all of a sudden the figure had dashed right back down, hitting her full in the chest and sending her tumbling back several meters in the ice.

"What the hell-?" Rainbow turned around, Eclipse getting up from the ground where she landed after hitting Applebloom; glowing orange wings folding behind her and dispersing into the air. She cast a sideways glance to Rainbow, sending shivers down her spine.
Despite the blood red eyes... Rainbow could barely describe how cold they were.

Although speaking of cold...

"Get away from her! Sweetie Belle and I will take care of her!" Halcyon yelled, leaping off the top of the wall, a body of ice rising to catch her. She landed lightly on the ice, which formed a slide as she slid down towards Eclipse.

Eclipse didn't move, only conjured up two giant cannons which rose above her shoulders and centered on Halcyon, who was charging at her.

Then she seemed to see something out the corner of her eye, her head moving an undetectable bit to the side.

Then the two cannons broke apart and formed a shield as two huge purple bolts of anti-matter were shot towards her from the top of the wall.

They hit the shield, a huge explosion replacing where Eclipse was a second later. While her material shields could defend against explosives and physical attacks, it was a much different matter with anti-matter typed energy weapons. The shield, being normal matter; would become the explosive itself once it comes in contact with anti-matter and blow up.
Eclipse had conjured up a second shield behind the first, but the poorly structured shield, due to time constraints; could only withstand so much of the blast and stay intact at the same time.

As a result, while damage was prevented; Eclipse still went flying back into the science faction forces.

"That's one way to do it." Halcyon said, hopping off the ice slide and landing next to Rainbow.

"We'll take on Val's second in command." Sweetiebot said, anti-matter cannons folding back into her sides as she leapt down from the wall, boosters in her hooves slowing her descent. She still slammed right down and cracked into the ice though. "Keep their troops at bay."

Eclipse got up from the crater she made in the ice, completely unharmed as she dusted a few specks of snow off her shoulder.

"That's one hell of a second in command." Rainbow muttered, and nodded. "Alright. We'll take care of the tanks and stuff."

Sweetiebot and Halcyon ran off, ready to attack Eclipse again.

"There's one fight I'm not going near." Rainbow muttered, sliding behind cover.

*

For the first time in years, space was a much more tension filled place- and the OASIS's bridge was busier than ever as the live broadcast of the pre-war speeches were finished.

"All fighters on standby! Our troops are ready." Soarin reported to Spitfire, who nodded.

"Odd." She said. "Looks like the COLOSSUS is leading the charge instead of hiding behind cover of other vessels." She frowned.

"Incoming enemy fire- first wave is about to hit!" An officer reported from below deck.

"Tell our cruisers to fan out. Protect the surface at all costs!- and send in the ILLUSION, I want that operation taking place as soon as possible." Spitfire said, watching as the first wave of enemy laser fire tore through space and hurtled towards them.

Then they hit, the lasers dispersing before they could actually reach the cruisers as the shields kicked in, keeping the cruisers safe from fire- but it still made quite a bit of an impact.

Spitfire almost fell over backwards and had to hold onto the hoof rails to stop herself from toppling over as the entire cruiser shook from the impacts, knocking over cups of coffee and sending paper documents sliding off desks.

"HahaHA!!" She laughed. "Haven't felt the thrills of battle in a while now, eh?"

"Personally I preferred it when we didn't." Soarin said.

"All cruisers! Barricade them away from the surface!" Spitfire yelled. "Get all those damn ships in place- NOW!"

"CYCLOPS is fully charged ma'am!" An officer yelled.

"Iris, take the shot and remove the COLOSSUS's bloody shields!" Spitfire yelled into the open channel.

"Copy commander, right away." Iris replied. "Taking aim... Prepping... FIRING!!"

Suddenly there was a loud boom as a huge beam of rainbow colored light shot past the OASIS and towards the COLOSSUS on the far side of space. Nothing could compare to the roar that that one shot from the CYCLOPS made as an entire star's worth of energy was channeled through into the COLOSSUS's energy shields.

The local area was instantly lit up by an overwhelming amount of white light as the colors of the rainbow mixed a bit, temporarily blinding the entire battlefield. A small shockwave from the firing process swept across the closer cruisers, making them shudder along with the rumbling of the prism cannon.

The beam's energy completely drained the COLOSSUS's shields, and probably even fried their generators. No more protection for the Science Faction flag ship then.

"Alright- first shot, hit! Recharging!" Iris reported.

"First wave of enemy fighters incoming!" An officer yelled. "Should we spring the ambush?"

"Not until they send us cruisers- in the meantime get our own fighters out there and counter the damn bastards!" Spitfire yelled, watching as hundreds of light spots in the darkness of space hurtled towards them. "And where the hell is the ILLUSION!?"

"Commander Cloudchaser here, Captain." A voice came through the comms. "The ILLUSION is currently in orbit, there's too much fire and is too dangerous for it to get near the COLOSSUS! I'm leading a band of prototype stealth fighters in for the infiltration mission!"

"Copy, commander." Spitfire growled. "I trust that you have a plan worked out?"

"Relatively so, captain." Cloudchaser replied, her cloaked fighter craft charging from orbit and straight towards the COLOSSUS- following her a band of fighters made of former Wonderbolt trainees.

"I'm sending a few squads to cover you- they'll make sure they get the science faction's attention!" Spitfire said, watching as the docks on the hull of the OASIS opened up, fighters flooding out in threes as the gates closed back together again behind them.

"Iris! Status?" Shining Armor called.

"Charging at three percent- ETA forty minutes!"

"Damn." Shining Armor muttered.

"Captain Armor, get aboard the NEMESIS and use it as a second in command!" Spitfire said suddenly.

"Captain-"

"Just in case OASIS goes down." Spitfire said, not turning away from the battle.

"But-"

"We need our leaders in different places! I understand you want revenge on what they did to you- to Cadence, to Twilight- but you have to understand the priorities right now! We need a second vessel in case the first- this one- goes down!" Spitfire yelled.

Shining Armor stared into her eyes, his own unwavering.

"Very well." He said, turning and leaving the bridge. Despite the battle raging on outside, the bridge seemed to quieten down as the captain left the room.

"Bloody hell." Spitfire muttered. She could understand why he wanted to do everything he can- but precautions had to be put in place.

"Cloudchaser here. We're heading straight for the COLOSSUS's bridge. ILLUSION is ready to leave to dock behind the COLOSSUS, but its cloak shield can hide one other vessel- any requests captain?"

"Alright. Change of plans." Spitfire said, folding her arms. "Send in a heavy forward combat cruiser with the ILLUSION. ILLUSION, drop the combat cruiser off behind the science faction fleet. Screw them up their arses- then proceed with the rest of the mission."

"Copy. Relaying the message!" Cloudchaser said.

"The CALAMITY heavy combat cruiser is on its way!" An officer yelled.

"A message from our ambush squad- their trigger hooves are getting a little itchy." A call from the opposite side of the bridge.

"Shields are back to one hundred percent capacity!" Another yell.

"We're in full business then." Spitfire grinned, leaning forward on the hoof rails that were lined up along the small area of the bridge which was elevated for the commanders, the rest of the bridge's crew below. "And officer Soarin, if you could at least act a bit more professional and stop staring at my flank." She added casually.

"Sorry ma'am." Soarin said, blushing and looking away.

Chapter 55: From the Flames of Hell

"Mom! Dad!" Somepony was screaming, with a voice that was very, very familiar. "Mom! Dad!"

Valkyrie frowned. Where was she? She could feel the cold concrete floor pressed against her chin as she struggled to look up, and she could feel a slight bruise on her shoulder. Odd, one- that bruise would've healed already, and two- that's where her shoulder plate should be for her left metal arm.

"MOM! DAD!" The voice yelled out again, followed by a whimper. Then Val realized it was herself.

Focusing, her eyes rested on two figures- both slowly walking away from her, their backs only different shades of light as their silhouettes grew smaller and smaller in the distance. The sky was blue- a cloudless, emotionless blue.

For some reason she desperately wanted to follow the two figures. To chase after them and hug them. Or maybe for them to at least turn around.

She tried to move her legs, but with a panic realized she couldn't. She struggled to look behind her at her back legs.

They were a dark shade of grey, same as her skin. No robotic parts. No augmentations.

And completely disabled.

She willed them to move, her heart racing as the silhouettes continued their retreat into oblivion.

She was crying, screaming and thrashing, trying to claw her way forwards and catch up using her front hooves.
"Mom! Dad!! WAIT!! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!!" She cried, reaching out as if maybe she could get them to come back. "Please... Don't leave me alone... I don't want to be alone..." Her hoof dropped as every bit of energy was sapped from her body, and she curled up on the floor in a useless heap.

Suddenly there was a loud bang. A gunshot. It echoed across the entire rooftop that she was on, making her suddenly sit up to attention- and horror.

A bullet had come out of nowhere and ripped through the chest of the pony on the right- recognized by her as her mom from the long flowing mane as she stumbled a bit, blood falling to the floor and turning it red. The scene was all too familiar.

A figure strode into view, with a distinct short cut mane which Val recognized in the mirrors. Blue lights glowed all over her body, and she seemed to have hands instead of front hooves. One was holding a gun, and the other- a knife.

Then before Val could give out a warning, the figure had already sunk the knife into her mother's skull, cracking it down and snapping her neck. Together with the knife, the figure flung her mom's dead body across the roof, where it rolled to a stop and never moved again.

"MOM!!" Val screamed, fighting to stand up and run over there before the figure could harm her dad- but it was way too late for that. With her paralyzed legs, she'd never have made it anyways.

Her dad didn't resist or fight. The figure slammed the handle of the pistol against his head, knocking him down- but he was still conscious as the figure took aim at his damaged skull. But even with his fading breath, he still met his murderer-to-be with a smile on his face, however a weak one it was. A loving smile, one a father would give to any daughter. Even when that daughter had a gun pointed at his forehead.

"We still love you Blithy. No matter what. That would never change." He said, and with a loud bang his brain splattered across the floor behind him, a thud that followed signaling his death as his body fell to the ground.

The figure let the pistol drop. At some point it had started raining.

Val was screaming. She didn't know what. Just screaming.

Then she woke up with a jolt, her breathing unusually paced. There was a cold sheen of sweat covering her body as her fingers dug into the arm rests of her throne, almost cracking the material.

She could feel something cold dripping down her face, and her racing heart suggested they were tears.

She wasn't scared of the figure in her nightmare. She wasn't afraid of anything- but somehow it was still a nightmare.

"Son of a mule..." She muttered, standing up and covering her face, also wiping the tears away. The figure was herself, doing exactly what she did after mom and dad left her there to die. And dad really did say that phrase- the only phrase that made doubt linger in Val's mind.

"We still love you Blithy." It repeated in her head.

"DAMNIT! I'M VALKYRIE!!" Val yelled, ripping an arm rest off of the throne and casting it across the room where it bounced into the far door with a loud crack.

She was breathing quite heavily for such an effortless throw, her shoulders and chest heaving.

"Hmmm?" Blithy yawned. Looks like she was asleep the entire time.

Val shook her head, sitting back down. She needs to calm herself- these memories were like claws raking at her brain.

"Bloody hell..." She muttered, burying her face in her hands. Then she started chuckling, her much more normal side fading away as the real Val re-emerged. "Hahaha. Look at me. Having a nightmare."

And being scared an awful lot by it too, she noted mentally.

She sighed, Blithy drifting back off to sleep again next to her on the ground. She looked down, a brief moment of peace flashing across her face as she watched her former self snore softly under the artificial sunlight cast onto them from the huge screen at the back.

After the nightmare, she felt oddly cold despite the comfortable ventilation in the throne room. Something that was always there, just something she refused to acknowledge the existence of.

Just one of the many things she chose to ignore.

The vast emptiness of the throne room added to her discomfort. Meters upon meters of nothingness, stretching out before and above her to the far doors and the ceiling, just pure ego that served no purpose.

She remembered the events back in her nightmare, which were exactly the same as they were all those years ago... When mom and dad turned their backs on her... The coldness that seeped through her skin and into her heart.

At that moment all she ever wanted and needed was a hug. Just a bit of comforting warmth. Just a bit of love.

She was unaware of herself tucking her knees up to her chest as she curled up on her throne, wrapping her arms around them and burying her chin in her arms. An unconscious move to maybe warm herself up a little... But to no avail. Physical warmth wasn't what she needed.

She felt something trickling down her cheeks. She was used to the sensation of her own blood dripping and crawling across her skin, but this was cold. Nothing warm like her blood. Her shoulders were shaking, as she came to notice. She could feel the irregular pace in her breathing.

She was crying.

Just like any other pony, just like any other mortal- she was crying.

Just like any other kid that lost her parents.

Just crying.

*

Doctor Whooves awoke with a start. He was in a hospital ward- the last time he drifted off to sleep on the back of a speeder. This must be Haven then.

But he didn't smile at the new environment around him like he usually would have. Because he was in a hospital, a medical center; and it was flooded with injured and wounded ponies who were being treated all around him. He watched as a pony with half her side missing was wheeled in, miraculously still alive. Another with a shattered skull. Another with three missing limbs.

"Doctor..." He heard a familiar voice say next to him. He turned, facing his cross-eyed companion.

"Morning." He said, trying to get up, his head throbbing and still half asleep.

"Doctor! You're hurt." Derpy said, placing a hoof on his shoulder. The weight of that hoof alone was enough to keep his weak body down. "Thyme says you should rest up. She told me to 'keep an eye on you', and 'keep him where he is'."

"Derpy-" the Doctor said urgently. Something felt off about the entire situation- the war, the decades before it- they were missing something. "I have to speak with Applebloom. Or Spitfire. Or one of the commanders." He said, but he could feel himself drifting out of consciousness. What was causing this, he didn't know for certain- but he could almost feel the drugs being pumped through his body to keep him recovering.

"They're all out at battle, nopony's here." Derpy said.

"Damnit- something's not right! We're missing something- like a piece of the whole picture- Val's hidding something and we don't know what..." His eyes rolled back into his head for a second, and he was almost knocked out completely- but he was back in a split second. "Crap- wow, wow- what was that?" He exclaimed weakly.

"Doctor?"

"Derpy?" The Doctor cocked his head to one side.

"Um... You were going to tell me something... Or tell me to tell someone else something..." Derpy's eyes seemed to cross away from each other even more than they usually did. "Um, I don't know anymore."

"Sorry Derpy... I'm just so tired..." The Doctor said, letting his head drop back down onto the pillow.

"But you said it was something important..." Derpy said, but miraculously the Doctor had already drifted back off to sleep. "Doctor." She muttered unhappily and frustratedly, crossed eyes narrowing into a frown.

*

"They're retreating." Terra said, his hoofsteps thumping down as he walked up next to Neon to join her on the edge of the cliff. They watched the battle rage on below, between a division of the Haven forces and a science faction outpost.

"They're abandoning the outpost." Neon observed as the Haven troops flooded into the base, flushing out the science faction troops who were fleeing with their tails between their legs.

"Odd." Terra cocked his head to one side. "They're heading for Valhalla."

"Home base. Probably an order issued from Valhalla so they could reinforce the city. Makes sense- but they're just going to abandon everything else?" Neon nodded, arms folded. "Odd indeed."

"Bomb squad. Search the base and make sure it's safe, then we can take over." Terra spoke into the mic, not taking his eyes off the small base of operations. "Seems a bit too easy."

Terra and Neon were leading two battalions towards the south, and they were meant to advance until they met up with Blaze's troops in the middle around Canterlot. So far they had already pushed through the Crystal Mountains, having taken over three outposts already- but this was the first time that the enemy forces have openly fled.

And judging from the reports from the South, Blaze was faring equally well.

*

"They're packing up and leaving." Blaze said, watching from his vantage point as several drop ships rose from the AL32 Appleloosian outpost. With bright flares of their engines, they took off in the direction of the Crystal Mountains and away from them.

"Chase after them?" A deep voice said, the massive owner of that voice smirking and sending a small ball of flame puffing out of its nostrils.

"Perhaps later. Send a scout and see what the hell is going on." Blaze said.

"I find that offensive." Another deep voice said, standing on the opposite side from the other. This belonged to a different creature.

"Fine, what the HAY is going on." Blaze sighed.

"Thank you." The figure, engulfed in shadows, nodded. "I've got the report." He then said, a telekinetic message sent to his brain from a fellow species. "Looks like they've just ditched everything. Didn't pack. No traps set."

"Are we ready for the full assault?" Blaze raised an eyebrow to his fellow commanders.

"I can see a handful of bases being abandoned. It must be a universal order- they're planning something." The shadowed figure behind him said. "If they make it to Valhalla, it's possible we'll be at a standstill for a very long time once they fortify the whole damn city."

"It's best to strike when they're vulnerable, disregarding the circumstances." His fire-breathing friend said.

"Chase after them it is." Blaze said, bringing a huge horn to his mouth and blowing through the instrument.

A single long note flowed through the horn, a sharp and piercing tone that echoed for miles onwards and across a good quarter of the whole of Equestria. They were still at the Macintosh Hills just outside of Badlands, overlooking Appleloosia.

Blaze ran out of breath, and lowered the instrument. For several seconds all they could hear was the single note echoing across the hills and valleys, traveling to every nook and cranny within fifteen kilometers as silence suddenly replaced the sounds of battle.

Then the earth started shaking, and Blaze didn't have to turn around to know what was behind him.

The horn was enchanted with a special spell, that once a specific note was blown another corresponding magical machine would open up a portal.

Suddenly the area behind the trio of commanders of various species darkened with shadows which seeped through the border of Equestria and onto its land, flowing across the immediate vicinity.

Then the shadowy mist burst into flame, igniting from a central point behind the commanders and spreading along the wall of shadows which rose to the sky. Soon the entire Southern border of Equestria was engulfed in flames, the inferno towering high up into the atmosphere.

In this new reality, when science first won the wars- the other creatures tried to rebel as well. They believed in their own might, fought, and failed. But total eradication of the species could prove inconvenient in later years, as some of them may provide raw materials- or be raw materials themselves. So the Science Faction decided keep them in an environment where they could restrain them with ease. A max security prison which they could seal off at any given moment, with no way of breaking out unless the portal was activated.

A place filled with fear, a physically existing equal of hell.

Tartarus.

"Dragons of the South-" the commander of the dragons stepped forward, roaring out into the burning skies and letting loose a ball of flame. "-Chase after our enemies and burn them down to hell where they have banished us!!"

"Guardians, demons and titans of Tartarus- open the gates and tear our enemies to shreds!" The creature of shadow called out, his voice traveling for kilometers.

Suddenly high up on the wall of fire behind them, the flames burst apart as a single monstrosity of a dragon flew right through the portal and back out into open skies, letting out a bone-rattling roar. Soon others behind it followed, busting through the portal and dragging streaks of flames behind them as they soared over the battlefields, in pursuit of their fleeing enemies.

Then the earth started shaking, with appropriate bone-cracking thumps to go with it. Footsteps.

Then something humongous pushed its way through the gates of hell, towering high over the cliffs in which Blaze and the other commanders stood upon. It roared, the ear-rupturing animalistic noise almost cracking the earth. Blaze had to take a step forward to prevent himself from falling.

The creature's body, in the shape of a bear; seemed to contain a universe of stars, shimmering in the blue abyss of a self-contained reality; the creature's glowing eyes seemingly reflecting its enemy's dread to see it striding onto the battlefield.

The Ursa Major reared up on its hind legs, and roared again- this time up at the sky. The roar was so powerful it scattered the clouds around it.

Something else leapt through the portal and shook its three dog heads of the flames. Cerberus looked around, searching for a target and sniffing at the air. It wasn't soon before it sprinted after the science faction troops.

"Let us begin." Blaze said, watching as the united troops of the South and Tartarus charged at full speed towards the north.

*

Screaming.

The loud blasts of battle traveling down the gap in the earth in echoes stirred awake the unicorn pony at the bottom of the narrow ravine.

Colgate's eyes abruptly flung open, snow flakes coating her mane, fur, tail, and even blurring her vision by sticking to her eye lashes.

She grunted, getting up. Her head swam, her limbs un-coordinated. She almost tripped over herself again, and she could feel the cold seeping through the stinging wounds in her body.

She looked down at her hooves. Oh that's right, the blades had been snapped away.

A piercing scream caught her attention, and she looked up as several light flakes of ice tinkered down the ravine.

Above her the remains of the Albatross gunship was wedged in the gap that even the exploded wreck couldn't pass. But it was barely being held in place, by the looks of it. The wind or even the slight breeze down here could seemingly topple the entire thing so it slid down even further. Some of it was still in flames.

Colgate must've been forgotten about, and when the gunship crashed down and got jammed she must've been flung down here through the cockpit windshield.

Thankfully the physical augmentations Val made to her sustained her body while she was passed out in the snow. Too bad she didn't give her the ability to regenerate- but then again, she didn't let anyone know that secret.

She looked down at the stumps of blades on her hooves, then turned her attention to the battle raging on above.

She didn't care much for who won. She just wanted blood- and the battle above was the most temptation she'd even get for that crimson red substance.

With a slightly hopeful grin on her face, of craving; she dug her front hooves into the ice and used the remains of the blades. Thankfully they were removed, because the long blades from earlier would most certainly not fit in this narrow gap. Colgate herself barely did.

Anticipation built up and caused her blood thirsty grin to spread even wider as she crawled her way to the war above.

Author's Note

I wrote the Valkyrie/Blithy scene after listening to the Dead Island trailer theme, so that explains that. I really need to kill off a lot of characters now don't I? Too many to keep track of and I'd already forgotten about dear Colgate who was only knocked out and not killed. Did I forget anyone else? Damnit...

Also, I'm about twenty four chapters into Fallout: Equestria. It's such an addictive fic- what can I say, the chapters are like Party-Time Mint-Als. Keeps you coming back for more.

And I will kill and rape(not neccesarily in that order) anyone who spoils the story.

Chapter 56: Winning...?

"...Magic faction forces are overwhelming outpost 17!! Calling for all available reinforcements- WE'RE GETTING BUCKING SMOTHERED OUT HERE!!!" The screams of a commander of a Fillydelphian outpost. "THE GRIFFONS TOOK OUT OUR ANTI-AIR DEFENSES! WE'VE GOT NEXT TO NOTHING AGAINST THE BUCKERS!!"

Val watched and listened calmly to all the distress calls. Too bad all the reinforcements were locked up in space, barricaded out by Spitfire and her comparably puny fleet. They wouldn't hold for long, but neither would the science faction ground troops. They certainly had not expected to see all of Equestria wandering onto the battlefield and attacking everything they see.

She wasn't too concerned with this. Twirling the Ace key in a hand, she smirked as the commander's head got blown off by some sort of magic energy weapon, reducing him to shreds of pulverized flesh and bone with a bright green flash.

"This is Valkyrie." She said, resting her head on the back of her hand. "All forces retreat to Valhalla."

"Copy Empress!" The various surviving outposts reported in simultaneously, not bothering to hide the relief in their voices.

"HEX." Val said, waving a hand in the air and summoning the AI. "Commence stage one of the Ascension project. Is Starshine in position?"

"He's in the vicinity. Infiltration has not yet been staged." HEX said. "With good reason. That sniper Magnum has taken up a location on the Wall, and Haven's president Applebloom and the rest of her group the 'CMC' are at the front lines. Eclipse is engaging the cyborg Sweetie Belle and the Warden of Water right now as we speak."

"Let's see if she'll hold then." Val grinned. "See how well one of our best cyborgs fares against one of the universe's chosen defenders-" she voiced the last few words full with mockery and general dislike. "-and a magic-based cyborg."

"Calculated chance of a lost battle: fifty percent." HEX said.

"Oh well. She makes it, cool; she doesn't, she wasn't good enough." Val yawned.

"Although based on her former identity, she should be able to win with relative ease."

"Ah, poor Eclipse. Reduced to a pitiful little earth pony." Val said, then noticed her own reflection on the shiny floors of her throne room. "Oh wait..."

"I do however see your point." HEX said.

"Anyhow. Ready the bomber. Tell Starshine to refrain from revealing his position as of yet. I want dear Spitfire to make the move she hasn't made yet." She said. She had noticed the slipping away of a certain heavy attack cruiser, which disappeared both from sight and radar. Must be the ILLUSION again, slipping ships past her forces. This was quickly becoming an interesting fight- both factions knew each other's cards all too well.

Heh. Except they DON'T know all my cards. Val chuckled, looking down at the Ace activation card.

"Allow the enemy to make the first vital move? How unlike the Valkyrie I know." HEX said.

"I just want them to think they're winning, for however brief a moment." Val laughed, oh the vileness that seeped from that. "Or I could attack first. Make them desperate. Yep, that could work."

"Once again, tactically retarded." HEX commented.

"We shall see. Unfortunately, despite your complex and advanced programming, you are still unable to see the importance of mental warfare." Val sighed.

"Do explain, your majesty." HEX said, and for some reason Val felt that the last two words were some-what sarcastic- but she ignored them.

"Loyalty, hope- the two foundations that bound their futile resistance together. And without the foundations, they'd fall apart and crumble at our hooves. As individuals they're nothing, but as a whole- well, you've seen the damage they've managed to do. But even the strongest hope and truest loyalty has its breaking point, however long it may take. I'm just slowly wearing away at it. Even tiny droplets of water, over a period of time; can punch a nice little hole or dig a trench through the toughest of rocks. Wearing it away bit by bit, drop by drop. Eventually their hopes will fade to despair, and loyalty will turn to betrayal." Val said matter-of-factly. "As demonstrated by dear little Silver Dash, as they call her."

"And I suppose you're going to use your former self as an example of hope turning to despair?" HEX asked.

"Yup." Val said, Blithy still asleep next to her on the floor. She had drugged her, so she would be effectively out of the way when she needs her to be. Which was right now.

*

Rainbow watched as a mare was torn to shreds by a mini gun turret the science faction had set up nearby. She fell down, her body completely torn apart by the streams of bullets.

"Son of a mule." Rainbow cursed. She had been so occupied with engaging the enemy forces and keeping herself alive that she didn't even notice all the friendly casualties around her.

"The bastards dug trenches into the bloody ice! We're gonna be in a stand off for weeks if this is how they're gonna do this." Octavia muttered. They were ducked down behind the walls of one of their own trenches, and currently they were just exchanging fire with the other side over No Mare's Land. Anyone that gets up there now gets bucked.

"Tavi- you have a gun I can use?" Rainbow asked. Her cleaver wasn't exactly the best option for this kind of situation, even if it did integrate a firearm.

Octavia yelled over to a mare nearby, and she tossed her one of her side arms.

"Catch!" She yelled, and threw it over to Rainbow.

It landed in Rainbow's hooves, looking just like any other pistol. Then the barrel split in two, the split glowing a soft blue as an electric whine rose into the air.

"The heck is this?" She raised an eyebrow. No clip, nothing. She pointed it at the sky and fired, still nothing but a small flash from the lights.

"Scrap Gun." The pony that had it as a side arm yelled over the gunfire, cringing as an explosive detonated nearby and showered her with bits of ice. "Put a piece of metal in there and it'll fling the damn thing at super sonic speed."

Rainbow nodded, still not quite getting it.

"Here, try this!" Octavia threw her a bullet which she caught with the Scrap Gun.

The bullet hovered in between the two split barrels, streams of electricity zapping it from the blue glow on the sides. It slowly turned, some sort of current keeping it there.

"See how this goes." Rainbow muttered, taking aim at a machine gun turret. She quickly ducked back down again as a beam of energy shot past her head. She got up and took aim once again, keeping low to her cover.

There was a blue flash as she pressed the trigger, the bullet being flung towards the turret and tearing right through the assault unit standing next to it with a loud zap. Since the bullet was spinning sideways through the air, it was awfully off center and tore a hole in an unintended target about a meter left of where Rainbow had aimed it.

Rainbow ducked down, frowning at the little thing.

"It's powerful and useful alright, but could do with an accuracy perk or something along those lines." She complained. Really, her cleaver probably couldn't done better- but she mounted it to her grapple anyway. The grapple really served more like a small inventory than anything else- now she had a grapple, double blades and a random firearm all mounted to her right arm.

Then something occurred to her.

She turned back to the mare who had the gun.

"Is there a size limit on this thing?" She called out.

"Anything that fits. No recoil, and it'll fling anything at the same force. Just a matter of air friction and gravity, really." Came the reply, which Rainbow grinned at.

"Back to finding unusual uses for new toys?" Octavia caught her grin and cast a worried glance her way.

"Yup." Rainbow said, pulling out the cleaver capsule. "But first we need to break up their defenses. We're at a constant stand off here, we'll need to overwhelm them with something."

"Something, like, say; reinforcements?" Applebloom asked, her Exo suit crashing down behind cover as she commanded it to do so. Rainbow felt the ground tremble.

"If we have any." Rainbow said.

"Which we do." Applebloom replied. "But you sure you have a plan?"

"Lead a charge when they're distracted. Turn their own manual turrets against them."

"Tricky." Applebloom muttered. "We can sandwich them with our reinforcements, but they'll probably chose to retreat THIS way."

"Then make sure they can't get anywhere near here." Rainbow said. "Has Halcyon recovered yet?"

"Still unconscious." Applebloom sighed, ducking down and covering both of them with a robotic forearm as a rocket struck nearby. "Fighting Eclipse drained her. She almost died trying to get Sweetie Belle back here, hell. That bloody second in command."

"Shuck." Rainbow cursed. "Are the both of them okay?"

"They'll be fine, but in no condition to fight at the moment." Applebloom sighed, then stood up and fired a few shots at the enemies. "And won't be for another few hours, at the very least."

"Damnit." Rainbow muttered. "Could really do with some help right now."

*

"Starshine is in position and has Applebloom in his crosshairs." HEX reported.

Val considered that for a moment. "Cancel." She said suddenly.

"Can't wait for a single second longer now can we..." HEX seemed to chuckle, sounding smug.

"I just need him to make it into the city. If he doesn't it could be a problem, then I'll have to send in somepony else, which is pretty hard all things considered. Especially when he'll have to sneak past everyone." Val sighed, resting her head on a hand. "Tell him to abandon the shot and head straight into Haven."

"Copy. He will not be happy about this."

"But does he dare disobey me?"

"No."

"Exactly." Val said, yawning with apparent boredom.

"But he will anyway."

"That I know too." Val growled. "Let's just see how far he gets."

"Update- it would seem the Haven troops are retreating to the walls as part of some sort of new tactic. I believe they intend to wear us out." HEX said, observing through a camera mounted on the COLOSSUS.

"Ha!" Val couldn't help but laugh at the timing of the retreat. "Well then, tell him to take the shot once he gets close to the primary objective. Actually, once he's inside." She contemplated making Starshine take the shot right next to the secondary objective, but there was more at stake here than a simple bit of fun. "No more delays."

*

"Our reinforcements are on their way. Now we wait for them to come out..." Applebloom grinned. The retreat hadn't been without losses, but the science faction seemed to suspect something was off and didn't chase them.

"I don't like this." Magnum said suddenly, leaning against one of the pillars holding up a roof over the towers. She was still in one of the towers, overlooking the battlefield and taking shots at anyone careless enough to poke their head out from behind cover. Rainbow and pretty much everyone else was below on the Wall, taking a defensive position behind its cover.

"Don't like what?" Rainbow looked up from her spot on the wall.

"Doesn't make sense that they're not taking the bait." Magnum muttered, a concerned frown on her face as she fired off another shot. Still that stirred no reaction but a dead assault unit.

They were returning fire, but only enough to keep the battle going. It would seem none had actual intended targets.

Then her ear all of a sudden flicked back at an abnormal sound behind her. Was that... Some sort of whistling?

She yanked at the rifle, intending to aim it behind her- but for a horrifying second realized it was mounted to her cover and could not be removed instantly.

Her eyes darted up to where the minuscule noise was coming from, and almost instantly spotted the High Explosive Anti-Tank Rocket zipping through the air towards the wall from one of Haven's sky scrapers.

She quickly looked down to where the HEATR was going to hit, her eyes widening in horror.

She didn't have her sidearm with her. Of course, she didn't even need one anymore. The ACPW mounted to her cover was her sidearm.

"APPLEBLOOM! EVERYPONY GET DOW-" but she didn't get to finish her sentence.

Rainbow was the first to react, turning in the direction of the rocket in alarm- but not yet fully realizing what was happening.

The long thin rocket struck dead center and lodged itself into Applebloom's chest as she turned around at its whooshing noise, penetrating layers of armor and impaling her to her suit.

She gaped, the central operations matrix of the suit going offline and her mechanical arms suddenly failing and falling to her sides. Blood trickled down the corners of her mouth as she stared down wide-eyed at the rocket in her body. There was nothing but surprise in those eyes.

Rainbow seemed to have been frozen on the spot by what had just happened. She was too shocked to acknowledge the high pitched whine of motors as the rocket released its vial of anti-matter into the material world around it, and barely registered the explosion that tore through the Wall half a second later.

She flew back, the high concentration vial of anti-matter blasting outwards and attaching itself to the normal matter around it. The world around it acted as the chemical compound for the explosive- which was what made anti-matter all the more dangerous.

Rainbow thought she felt an unusual amount of heat radiating from the right side of her face and her right arm.

The searing pain that followed was indescribable. She couldn't even hear herself screaming over the ringing in her ears as she was thrown back by the explosion, her right eye and right arm having completely been blown apart due to direct exposure to anti-matter.

She felt her back hit the ground, darkness creeping from the edges of her only functioning eye. She could feel bits of shrapnel embedded in her body, shreds of debris raining down all around her that were no bigger than a few centimeters in length. As she collapsed, her head turning to one side; she thought she caught sight of a large piece of armor clunk down flaming on the ground next to her, the bright red paint scorched and the shoulder plate bent horrifically out of shape.

She didn't even get to register what that had come off of when darkness consumed her, and she fell into the void.

*

Magnum could only stand hopelessly out of reach as the missile lodged into Applebloom's chest exploded. She quickly ducked behind what little cover the tower provided, dragging Zealo to the ground with her as she felt the shockwave sweep across them. Cracks exploded from corners of the roof, and it looked like it was going to collapse.

A loud siren rang out across the city, signaling damage to the Wall. Ponies were screaming, running to see if their leader made it or not- but from what Magnum saw before she ducked down, it was a big no.

Just to be sure though- this can't possibly have happened... She thought, standing up and peering over her cover. What she saw didn't at all make her feel any better.

Rainbow was probably dead already, half her face bleeding and her missing arm forming puddles of crimson on the ground beneath her. Octavia was knocked out, also bleeding from several wounds caused by large chunks of concrete that flew from the Wall. Many of the soldiers stationed around the wall in that area were wounded or dead. And Applebloom...

Bits of her suit where scattered everywhere, but the mare herself must've been vaporized by the explosion.

"Shuck-" Zealo cursed, getting up as a few pieces of concrete slid off his back, a light cut on his cheek and a bruise on his shoulder. "The hell happened?"

"Starshine." Magnum growled, peering through the sunlight up at one of the Haven skyscrapers. Then her eyes widened as she watched him load another HEATR.

She reached behind a still dazed Zealo, who looked up in surprise. She grabbed hold of the pistol strapped to his flank and yanked it out as Starshine fired the HEATR.

Magnum quickly spun Zealo out of the way and pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting the HEATR's anti-matter capsule and blowing it apart in a brilliant shower of purple dust.

She snapped back and aimed at the ACPW's mount, putting a bullet through it. With a loud snap, the heavy sniper rifle collapsed onto the ground.

Magnum scooped it up, and darted to the edge of the tower.

Starshine had already escaped from sight, but Magnum wasn't about to give up the chase.

"Where are you going..?" Zealo barely opened his mouth as Magnum shot a grapple at the skyscraper, her hooves already leaving the floor.

"AL! I need a plane in the area. Think you can spare me an Apollo?" Magnum yelled into the mic, landing on the roof and just in time to see Starshine's tail disappear behind a corner. She gave chase, sprinting after him. "We've got a science faction agent running loose in Haven!"

"Acknowledged. Sending over an Apollo to intercept and assist." AL replied. "Pilot should be there in a few minutes. She's quite eager to fight."

"She'd better be." Magnum growled. Starshine better not have a bunch of explosives or something- the CMC tower mustn't fall.

Starshine leaped off the edge of the building, plowing right through the glass window in the next. He rolled onto the carpeted floor of an office, a few remaining ponies in it scrambling away from him as he shoved them out of the way.

"Buck. He actually is heading for CMC control." Magnum cursed, tucking her legs under her as she too leapt.

She landed slightly off target, and smashed ungracefully through a desk. Her light under armor protected her, but she still had an aching back when she got up. She recovered as Starshine turned a corner, once again out of the line of sight. She cursed again, leaping over the remains of the wooden table and running after him.

Starshine kicked down a door and started running down a stairwell, Magnum following. Their hoofsteps echoed up and down the empty stairwell as they galloped down in a spiral.

Magnum ducked down as Starshine fired a few shots up at her, one grazing the hoof rails and raining the stairs with sparks. Not for the first time, she wondered how convenient it would be in this situation to be a unicorn or pegasus.

But earth ponies are more innovative in their approaches.

She swung over the railing to her side, firing a grapple down just above where Starshine was. Momentum carried her as she swung down and slammed her back hooves into Starshine's side, knocking him through the door next to him.

She came skidding to a halt next to his fallen form, ignoring the burning sensation in her hooves as she skid on the carpet.

"Maybe you should've just stayed dead." She growled, not a single bit of amusement in her voice despite the joke. Oh, the one stallion she hated more than Deadeye.

"Go clop to yourself." Starshine muttered, leaping off the ground with a knife clenched between his teeth.

Magnum lifted up Zealo's pistol, aiming it for Starshine's face.

Starshine stabbed the knife between the gun's hammer and the gun itself, rendering it temporarily useless. Already both his hooves where coming around, one slamming into the side of the gun while the other clipped the magazine release.

The gun fell apart in Magnum's hooves, the clip falling towards the ground while the other pieces exploded away from Starshine's hoof.

Too bad the gun expert was trained to deal with this.

Magnum swiped a hoof through all the parts still in the air, reassembling the gun in a split second as all the pieces fell together. Then with a back hoof she flicked the magazine up into the pistol.

She spun away as Starshine slashed with the knife, which he took out of his mouth and started using properly.

Magnum quickly cocked the handle back, and aimed the gun right between Starshine's eyes.

She was a split second late, his helmet springing out of his armor and blocking the bullet.

"You certainly have gotten better." Magnum said, shooting Starshine's knife out of his hoof and disarming him.

"Don't need your compliments." Starshine growled back, pulling out a pistol of his own and fired.

Magnum fired too, her bullet grazing his at such an angle that his went flying off course while hers soared straight into a weak spot in his armor- the small visor over his left eye.

The bullet punched through the thick armored glass, but didn't have enough power left to go all the way to his brain. Instead it shattered his left eye's cornea and settled just before his retina.

He screamed and fell back, bits of shattered armored glass embedding themselves in his skin around his eye.

He turned around and started running again. Magnum didn't bother shoot- the bullets would never make it through the armor, plus the ACPW(tucked away on her belt) would take too long to deploy. So she chased after him.

Glass exploded as he once again leapt out into the open, his hooves cracking against the concrete roof of a lower building, his suit absorbing most of the impact as he quickly recovered and starting running for the CMC tower.

"Lightning Dust and former Wonderbolt cadet at your service." A voice said through the comms, the loud blast of an Apollo's engines filling the air as the aircraft went flying by, scorching the sky. "How may I be of assistance?"

"Just kill the target. The one I'm chasing." Magnum said, firing a grapple up at a building and swinging down onto the roof.

"One un-recognizably sizzled armored stallion, coming right up." Lightning Dust smirked.

"Avoid friendly casualties and damage."

"Rephrase. Coming up in a few minutes." Lightning Dust muttered, the Apollo gliding down closer to get a better shot. Magnum could see it hovered over the still running Starshine.

Now would be a good time to bring out that ACPW sniper.

But by the time Magnum was able to fully deploy the sniper, Starshine had already turned another corner; hidden by the mass of water tanks on top of the roof.

Magnum cursed, once again giving chase. But this time she was going on an interception course.

"What was your name again? Lightning Dust? Gimme a ride!" She yelled, sprinting to the edge of the roof as Starshine once again leaped off and smashed right through the side of an office building.

"Copy." Lightning Dust said, the Apollo swinging down and acting as a platform before Magnum. She stepped onto the hull, grabbing hold of a piece of armor before the plane took off again.

"Intercept him!" Magnum yelled, Lightning Dust sending the Apollo boosting down the street and swiveling sharply around the corner to fly alongside the escaping stallion.

They made the end of the building a split second late, Starshine having already leapt into a different building.

"Fly me into that gap!" Magnum ordered, pointing to the street where Starshine had made the crossing.

The Apollo flew into the narrow gap, Magnum already straightening up and raising the sniper as Lightning Dust lined her up with the broken window of the business block.

"Those who try to run..." She started, lining up the shot even though Starshine was already out of sight. "...will only die tired." And with that, she pulled the trigger.

The bullet soared through the open window, disrupted a pile of paperwork as it flew past a nearby desk, weaved through a gap in some sort of stone statue, hit a door knob at such an angle that the deformed bullet spun into the other room, tumbled across the hallway it had just entered, bounced off the worn carpet floor, barely cleared a male officer's mane and only disrupted a few strands of his hair, shattered the coffee cup in a mare officer's hoof behind him, made a small graze of no immediate health concern at all on the mare's arm as it passed, hit the far door which was half opened and flew straight down the next hallway, emerged from another door and embedded itself into Starshine's right back hoof as he ran past that door.

"Hit." Magnum said to no one in particular as she heard Starshine yell in pain, and leaped into the building herself. The Apollo took off somewhere else, circling round to the other side.

"What the buck..?" Starshine fell forwards, his body sliding with his momentum and thudding dully against the glass wall facing the CMC building. His injured right back hoof dragged a bloody trail of crimson behind him on the carpet, the bullet having slipped right into the joint of two armor plates.

He clutched his leg, growling curses. The bullet was already a miraculously flying piece of scrap metal by the time it had made it to him, and possibly did even more damage than it normally would have.

He quickly broke the glass wall with an elbow, and slid the HEATR launcher off his back. He searched his belt for the rocket marked by red paint- it didn't take long. Quickly loading it, he heard a soft click behind him as he took aim at the CMC tower.

He chuckled, feeling the barrel of the high powered rifle press against the back of his head.

"Put down the weapon Starshine." Magnum said coldly, her hoof resting lightly on the trigger and itching to pull it.

"So it has to end like this again, huh? Me wounding you, and you killing me." Starshine laughed, but his aim didn't waver from the tower. "So what? Pull the trigger. I dare you. The rocket is rigged to fire the moment I die anyway."

"Put that down." Magnum commanded.

"Why should I?"

"I said put it down." Magnum repeated, this time a snarl in her voice.

"How bout no." Starshine said, the barest hint of a grin in his voice as he pulled the trigger.

The rocket left its launcher with a loud whoosh, heading straight for the center of the CMC tower. This was no conventional rocket- it had somehow already broken the sonic barrier, and had only been in the air for a second. Even a bullet from Magnum's high powered rifle wouldn't be able to catch up to it.

"Son of a-" Magnum was just about to pull the trigger when she spotted something rolling out from Starshine's spare hoof. She quickly turned her head away as the flash bang went off, the blast knocking her off her hooves while Starshine's armor absorbed the small shockwave.

She fell onto her back, the ACPW sliding somewhere else. Even with her head turned and her eyes squeezed shut, the flash bang still managed to blind her- however less severely. Starshine clearly had a filter run through his armor's helmet, shielding out the flash.

She felt a solid crack across her jaw as she tried to get up, ears still ringing and eyes only seeing white and black after images. She stumbled and felt her back hit a wall, panic overtaking her as the similarities to her last encounter with Starshine dawned on her.

But she had won that encounter, and killed him.

Her ears picked up the light whining of motors of Starshine's suit as he swung another hoof towards her, and she diverted it under her arm and clamped his hoof there, rendering it useless for the time being.

Her vision was recovering, and she saw a hoof heading straight for her face- and her quick instincts were enough to catch the punch with her own hoof to stop it inches away from her nose.

The monochromatic after images faded, and she saw the surprise on Starshine's face as he tried to pull his hoof away, but couldn't.
Magnum started pushing down on it, forcing him to his knees. Then she slammed a knee into his chest, spun and kicked him across the temple. He went sprawling against the far wall, his helmet broken and automatically retracting back into his armor.

He tried to pull his knife out, but Magnum was faster. Her hoof reached it before his did, and she spun it and stabbed it right through his left hoof and into the wall.

Starshine screamed in pain, his hoof now impaled to the wall.

Magnum slammed a hoof across his face, a tooth clinking onto the ground followed by blood infused spittle. Starshine looked up, resentment in his eyes and blood dripping from the corner of his mouth as he snarled.

Magnum pinned him firmly against the wall, although it wasn't very necessary considering his hoof was impaled anyway. She came nose to nose, then something caught her eye.

The armor he was wearing looked vaguely familiar... Was it....?

Anvil.

Her eyes narrowed in disgust, a snarl creeping onto her face. Starshine only smirked in his battered form.

Magnum backed away, then spun and launched a back hoof directly into his face- probably shattering a nice variety of bones as she did so. But he was still conscious.

"Two lines you NEVER cross..." Magnum picked up the ACPW and leveled it against his chest, not wanting to kill him instantly. He didn't deserve it. "...horizontal..." She shoved the barrel of her gun in between the two chest plates of Anvil's armor. "...and vertical." She snarled, and pulled the trigger.

The bullet tore through his rib cage, sending a large chunk of him splattering onto the wall behind him as the exit wound. He wasn't quite dead yet.

"Just so you know... Bluefyre died a bitch." He said, dying but still weakly alive. Magnum's enraged expression was all he wanted to see.

Magnum emptied the entire magazine into him, and by the time she was on the third shot he'd already been dead beyond dead. Guts spilt from his back, blood staining the floor.

Magnum was exhausted by the end of it, physically and mentally. She had reserved one bullet, and used that to cave Starshine's face in. Just because she couldn't stand looking at it.

She slumped down on the opposite wall, trying her best to ignore the stench coming off Starshine's mutilated body. Trying to cope with the death of her entire team, which only dawned on her just about now. Trying to ignore the loud explosion that came from the CMC tower, and the red smoke that was rising into the air from that gaping wound in the tower that signaled her failure.

But now wasn't a time to feel sorry for herself, really.

'Fight today, cry tomorrow', or something along those lines. Something she read somewhere. Now really wasn't the time to be just sitting around.

Failure only wins when the subject accepts it, she thought as she got to her hooves.

The rocket didn't do much damage at all. But the red smoke... It was like someone had smudged a glow-in-the-dark highlighter across the sky and the tower.

A marker.

This could only mean bombers were on their way, or worse.

"Oh no..."

Author's Note

Haven't posted in a while. So have a longer than usual chapter.

Chaper 57: Here Comes the Reaper Pony

"AL!! EVACUATE THE CMC TOWER!!" Magnum screamed, running towards the tower herself to assist with the evacuation. "LIGHTNING DUST! BRING ME CLOSER!"

The Apollo flipped through the air and hovered just below Magnum as she leapt down onto it from the roof.

"Get me to the tower then circle overhead and take down any bombers you see coming this way! We need aerial protection!"

"Copy." Lightning Dust replied, the Apollo cruising towards one of the many landing pads on the tower.

Even as Magnum was helping with the evacuations, she couldn't help but have something nag at her heart. But sometimes priorities had to be set elsewhere, and she was hoping there'd be a medical pony on the wall to help Rainbow and Octaviaand the rest of her friends. Hoping.

The Apollo landed, and she hopped off. Then she heard it take off behind her to stand guard- or fly guard. Which ever works. Hover guard.

On the way into the emergency clinic she bumped into Thyme, one of the medics that attended to her wounds. Only now did she see the golden badge on her chest, an emblem of leadership.

"We're getting as much of the wounded out as possible. All personnel are helping with the evacuation." Thyme sighed. "How long do we have?"

"There's no telling." Magnum raked a hoof through her mane in frustration. "I've got one Apollo in the air, and I'm telling AL to send a few more."

"Alright. The marker rocket turned out to be a little more explosive than it should be. Took out elevator control room C, so about a third of our elevators aren't working. We're escorting those who could walk down the stairs, it'll probably be faster than waiting in line for the few elevators still functional." Thyme said. "From this floor anyway."

"Bombers incoming. Striker escorts detected. They're approaching from the northern side. Dispatching Kappa squad and reinforcing anti-air defenses." AL reported.

"Do NOT send ground forces to reinforce the southern Wall! The bombers will just smother them- in fact, try keep the ground forces as far away as possible." Magnum quickly replied.

"You do not have the authority to commence that order." AL replied flatly, surprising her with the suddenness of the decline. "However, I will take that into account. Rerouting ground forces."

Magnum let out a sigh of relief. Then looking up, she realized Thyme was giving her curious looks.

"Comms." She said, tapping her ear. Thyme's confusion seemed to fade, then Magnum remembered something. "Worse case scenario ETA?"

"Six minutes." AL replied.

"Buck."

*

"Lock'n and load'n, giddy up boys!" Lightning Dust cried out with a loud 'whoop', flying the Apollo down in a narrow gap between two buildings, her image reflecting off the glass walls either side. A small squad of Haven's readily available air support followed her, varying between Apollos and Archangels- a heavier armed version of the Apollo.

"Keep that ego down, former cadet. Might cost you your precious title again." One of the Apollo pilots replied smugly.

"How come everyone has heard about that?" Lightning Dust sighed. "Anyhow, I'm in charge now. So shut up. That's an order. The rule may only be broken when there is a crucial need to speak."

"Copy."

"I said shut up. And that was not crucial!" Lightning Dust replied, and she heard the stallion growl in dismay. That made her smile.

"Got them on my radar." A mare pilot of an Archangel replied. "Visual contact established... And... Rockets! Watch out!" She banked hard right, a rocket soaring past where she was a second ago. Then her Archangel flipped in mid air and fired a shot at the rocket, blowing it up before it could reach the city.

"Nice shot!"

"Shut It Kappa five! and stop violating orders!"

"Rockets! Take em out before they reach us or the city!"

"Six and two, with me. Four and five, stay back and make sure NOTHING gets to the city. Seven and three, take to the clouds and wait for an opportunity. Rest of you, break formation and engage!" Lightning Dust yelled, spinning the Apollo as to make it a harder target. She sent a prism beam tearing through a rocket, blowing it to ashes in the air.

"Roger Kappa one."

"Breaking off."

"Enemies within firing range! Take out their escorts- I'm heading straight for the bombers!" Lightning Dust yelled. "Six and two, cover me!"

"Copy Kappa one." Kappa six replied, letting loose a small barrage of missiles towards the oncoming invasion.

Then something purple and glowing plowed through the missiles, tumbling through the explosions- but none the less kept true to its course. It slammed right through Kappa six's Archangle, pulverizing it.

"What the hay...!?" Lightning looked behind her as the shimmering object stabilized itself, then with a loud and solid blast of its engines disappeared into the clouds above. The speed and agility of that thing was almost indescribable.

"We lost six! What the hell happened!?"

Well ain't this a buck'n game changer.

"New plan. Go for the invasion force, if you can't destroy it, keep it occupied and delay it for as long as possible. I'm going to distract that thing- whatever the buck it was- and keep it away from you guys!"

"Always trying the play the hero huh?"

"Damnit five, SHUT UP!!" Lightning Dust yelled, breaking away from her escort and boosting towards the clouds where the purple UFO had disappeared.

Her eyes widened just as she re-emerged from the clouds, her face met with a bucket full of purple.

She quickly yanked the joystick to one side, the Apollo spinning dangerously as the UFO darted past her- and only just missed. But she had caught a descent glimpse of it before it passed- and while the colors were different, the patterns and design of the ship was unmistakable.

"BUCK! IT'S VAL!!" She screamed, turning the Apollo around and giving chase. Val mustn't reach Haven- and here was the chance to bring her down.

*

Unfortunately for her Val was never there.

"Kill. +100XP." HEX said, her voice bored.

"Please sound a bit more excited." Val said, the screen in front of her letting her control the prototype Stingray with her mind, the neuro implants in her brain linked to the experimental plane itself. "I might get bored myself if I wasn't dealing with a pro flier."

"You're using a million dollar project as a kiddie's toy." HEX replied.

"And it's fun."

*

"I'm getting reports from Haven that Val is there! Confirm?" Spitfire spoke urgently into the mic, her eyes darting out towards the space battle raging on outside. How did Val get past...?

"We have an unconfirmed presence of Valkyrie, and have suffered casualties from a modified version of the Wasp. We suspect Val is controlling it, directly or remotely."

"Damnit!" Spitfire cursed, turning away from the glass walls and running a hoof through her mane.

"Should we send reinforcements?" Soarin suggested.

"No. We're way too occupied as it is. Our job is to keep their reinforcements from reaching Haven- those planes must've taken a detour from Valhalla and approached from the South. Make sure nothing can go and support them." Spitfire said, conjuring up screens and checking several graphed stats.

"ALERT: The COLOSSUS is changing course." The ship's AI suddenly reported.

"What..?" Spitfire frowned. "What's going on?"

"The COLOSSUS's escort cruisers are speeding ahead. The COLOSSUS itself is now facing Haven."

Spitfire swept her hooves across the screens, sending them to the sides and giving her a clear view of the space battle.

"Shucks...!" She instinctively ducked down as a missile exploded across the bridge's windshield, prematurely detonated by the OASIS's shield.

Outside, she could see tiny geometric shapes charging forward- the science faction fleet. The COLOSSUS, that big hunk of a machine behind all the shapes, was slowly turning to face something to the left- Haven. Even if it may be a few thousand kilometers away.

Now this was a problem. The science faction knew that if their forces divided up, it would be easier for magic to take them on. Their advantage right now was their numbers. But the COLOSSUS was the big game changer, and by separating it from the rest of the fleet- that meant magic had to either go for it, or go for the others. Just depends on which one would be the greater problem.

For now they just had to use everything they had to keep the science faction forces herded in a group.

"ILLUSION and CALAMITY are in place!" An officer reported.

"Commence the operation- I want the COLOSSUS taken over now! It mustn't break away from the rest of the fleet!" Spitfire yelled. "ILLUSION, keep CALAMITY cloaked until both of you are in position!"

Then she noticed the science faction ships slowly turning around and facing where both cloaked ships should be.

"ILLUSION? What's going on?" She said cautiously.

"No idea ma'am. They're just turning around! Ah crap- they're turning their weapons towards us!"

"Disengage cloak! CALAMITY- Cover the insertion team! CYCLOPS- provide support! Make sure the ILLUSION survives!" Spitfire yelled.

"Firing the prism cannon!" Iris replied, and with a thundering roar a huge beam of rainbow colored light tore through two distant science faction cruisers which were firing on the duo at the far end. "Recharging. ETA forty minutes!"

Spitfire could only lean against the railings and hope that everything goes according to plan.

*

"Uh-oh. THERE IT IS!!"

"Buck- it's behind us!"

"WATCH IT!!" Lightning Dust screamed, violently spinning her Apollo to one side as a cluster of green and purple missiles streaked past her. Kappa one wasn't fast enough though- the missiles turned him and his plane into green sludge that fell away to the Arctic ice lands below.

Then the boosters on the Wasp flared up as its purple shield swept over its hull, and it charged at Lightning Dust- almost instantly breaking the sonic barrier and sending a shockwave tearing through the sky.

Lightning Dust sent the forward engines of the Apollo facing downwards, and activated the boost. The force sent her flipping upside down, and she watched as the Apollo grazed windshields with the Wasp.

She came full circle, and fired off a few shots at the plane- but it had disappeared behind a cloud.

"Captain Spitfire come in- The Wasp is being remotely controlled! There's no one in the cockpit!" She yelled. She checked her radar- there was nothing but the battle a little further away. The Wasp wasn't on it.

Then she heard that familiar boosting noise in front of her.

She waited, her muscles tense. But the Wasp never returned.

"Buck!" She cursed as she realized where it must've went, and turned the Apollo around to head straight back to Haven. "The Wasp's heading for Haven! I'll keep it occupied- take out those bombers!" She screamed at her team, racing back to the city.

"We're moving anti-air defenses to engage the target. Energy weapons primed." AL reported. "Keep it away from the CMC tower- we're still evacuating."

"Just make sure those damn AAs don't hit ME!" Lightning Dust banked hard left, swerving for the CMC tower.
Then she spotted the purple plane cruising along the ice, keeping a low profile. She flicked off the safeties on her missiles, locked on and opened fire.

Instantly the Wasp seemed to react, and boosted along the ice.

The icy floor cracked and rippled outwards, exploding in light blue frozen water. The missiles missed their target by centimeters, plowing into the ground and blowing huge chunks of ice into the air.

"AL- incoming from the south east!" Lightning Dust warned as the Wasp's shields charged up with a purple glow. "IT'S GONNA PLOW RIGHT INTO THE BUCKING WALL!!"

Then it did.

Chunks of the Wall flew everywhere as the Wasp flew right through it, which then got blasted from the air and landed in smithereens around the energy mobile AA platform that had blown it up.

"Knock knock, who's there? Whoopsies cause I didn't see you there." AL said grimly.

*

"And your KD ratio is 2." HEX said, and Val threw the screen across the room.

*

"The Wasp is down! I repeat- the Wasp is down!" Spitfire heard the report from Lightning Dust, and couldn't help but give a light hearted whoop.

"Good work cadet! Now take out those bombers- we're trying to keep the COLOSSUS where it is, and I'm telling ya- it ain't going anywhere any time soon!" Yes, the situation was looking very good indeed.

"Boarding party is entering the COLOSSUS!" Cloudchaser reported, and Spitfire could see the ILLUSION fading back into cloaking mode as several gunships immediately docked themselves to the gigantic cruiser's bridge.

"WE'RE IN!! FIRING ON THE ENEMY-"

"Keep those officers pinned Flitter- KEEP THEM AWAY FROM THE CONSOLES!!" That was Cloudchaser.

"Terminal! Hack the bloody mainframe before they realize we're here!" It took Spitfire a moment to realize Terminal was a pony.

"Alarms are DOWN!! WOOHOO!!"

More gunshots in the background.

"Bucking hell! This is one BIG helluva bridge!"

"BLOCK THE BUCKING ENTRANCE!!"

"I'M HIT!!"

"Somepony get him a medic!"

"Alright!" Cloudchaser's voice again. Spitfire watched in high spirits as the COLOSSUS's massive guns started turning on its own ships, and a slight pop as its shields were switched off. "We have taken control of the mainfra-"

And the entire bridge exploded, taking everypony inside with it.

*

"Acceptable losses." Val muttered, throwing down the remote detonator. It wasn't like she didn't anticipate an attempted take over of the COLOSSUS. She had the option to detonate the entire cruiser if she had to, but leave that for when it was necessary. Right now only the bridge had to go.

Plus the bridge wasn't really even central command. It was just one of the many access points for the ship itself and its mainframe. The real central command- well, she IS central command.

"Tell our forces stationed at Haven to stand by. And I heard they have reinforcements coming up behind them- so conduct a thermal scan of the area and check under the ice. Make sure nothing sneaks up behind them." Val leaned on the arm rest of her throne. The one she didn't rip off and throw across the throne room in a rage. "As for the cannon- fire when ready."

"Cannon?" Blithy had woken up without getting Val to notice. She was slightly annoyed that she probably overheard a lot of things she shouldn't have.

"You'll see."

Space was filled with nothingness- or so that was the impression it left. In actuality the one thing it was filled to the brim with was possibly the core of one of the most feared and rare weapons in the war.

Dark matter.

And what better way to harvest it than about a million tons of cruiser?

*

"Magnum. Abandon the evacuation at CMC tower." AL spoke through a private channel.

"What? Why!?" Magnum paused, just heading back up the stairs to escort another wounded soldier when AL contacted her.

"Because the operation to take over the COLOSSUS has failed. Your skills are needed elsewhere in a later time in this war." AL replied simply. "Abort the evac."

"Denied!" Magnum yelled back, continuing up the stairs. "I am NOT abandoning these ponies!"

"Losses must be taken. The few you will help in the short time frame you have before the COLOSSUS is upon Haven will not be of much assistance to this war."

"You're an AI!! You don't understand ANYTHING about priorities!" Magnum yelled into her mic, tore it from her ear and threw it down the stairs. She wasn't about to abandon these ponies- not ponies like Thyme, who had only helped. Who were good ponies that didn't deserve to be in this wretched war in the first place.

"I was afraid of that." AL muttered from the mic on the ground, even though she knew Magnum couldn't hear her.

"Thyme! We got even less time- the COLOSSUS is coming down here! We need to hurry!" Magnum yelled, approaching Thyme by the window side.

*

"CLOUDCHASER!! REPORT IN DAMNIT!!" Spitfire screamed for the thousandth time into the mic. Finally she kicked it away in frustration, and clutched her head. "Damnit! This can't be bucking happening..." Things just went from really, really good to worse beyond Cerberus's feces. Things couldn't get worse beyond this point- it just wasn't possible anymore.

"Um... Captain..." Soarin started cautiously.

"WHAT!?" Spitfire raged on, screaming.

"Something's not right..."

"WELL NO CRAP!" Then she noticed Soarin was pointing behind her.

She turned, and watched as the front end of the COLOSSUS split apart- revealing the barrel of a cannon of some sort.

"So much for 'can't get any worse'."

*

Magnum was talking to Thyme when three troopers with jet packs flew down to join them on one of the tower's landing platforms. They were escorting some foals which had resorted to taking refuge in the tower away on a hover bus.

They pointed their guns at her.

"Magnum 'AB'. You're under arrest for disobeying direct orders!"

Oh, how she didn't have the time for this bull crap. AL knew there was no other way to get her off the building without placing her under some sort of arrest- and she obviously wasn't going to try and fight these gals who were needed on the front line.

"You are to be transported to-" the lead pony started, but a green glow in the sky made her look up. "What the hay is that!?"

Oops. Outta time.

Chapter 58: Failing Faith

"Rainbow!" The voice was dull and faded, as if traveling through inch thick rubber. Rainbow could barely make out the words, everything was slurred. Plus her eyes weren't exactly fully open- half closed, and everything beyond was just a colorful blend that she couldn't make out. But she could tell where the sky was- it was the light blue that seemingly stretched infinitely before her. "Sis! WAKE UP!!"

She stirred, too tired to open her eyes fully. She could feel something on the right side of her face, and she tried to wipe it off with her right hoof. Nothing came up to touch her face- but she guessed she was just too tired.

She looked up at Dainty, trying to focus her vision. Why was it so hard to focus? The moment she thought she might have had it, it just faded back to a blur.

"Get back! Buck... She's in rough shape. We need to stop the bleeding! Now!"

The words didn't mean much to Rainbow. The only thing that crossed her mind...

The last image she had. Applebloom, with the rocket impaled in her chest. Did she survive...? And Octavia... She was right next to her too...

"Tavi... Applebloom..." She muttered, her speech slurred. Nothing made any sense.

Finally her vision focused, and she saw the worry on Dainty's face. Lily was nearby, doing whatever she could to help with the medics.

Why was she worried? There's nothing to worry about... Rainbow was just... Tired.

"Gah... Can't feel my right ar-" she started, looking to her right to check if it was okay. Instead she found a bloody stump and a pool of blood.

Instantly her heart dropped, a feeling of loss overcoming her. Then she noticed something else- she could see the left half of her muzzle. Often she couldn't see any part of it....

She closed her left eye, keeping her right open.

Nothing.

She opened her left eye again, realizing her right eye wasn't functioning. Damnit, now she's half blind too. But what happened to her right eye anyway...? Oh wait, there it is. Lying on the ground with a severed optical nerve just a few feet away.

All she could do was sigh. There was absolutely nothing she could do, and could only let the medic ponies work their magic.

"Celestia's buttery backside! The hay happened here!?" Daring Do ran into sight, peering down at her with a concerned frown and a mouth that was slightly agape. "Is she even still alive?"

"We're trying!" One of the medic ponies hummed impatiently.

"Daring..." Rainbow spoke, tapping the floor with a hoof urgently. "Daring... I need you to check Octavia... And Applebloom... Check anypony else in the area... See if they're hurt..."

Daring nodded, pressing her lips shut and quickly darting away.

"Sis, please... Worry about yourself for once." Dainty said, curling up by her side and shivering. "You're in no better condition than we are! You need to stop worrying about us..."

Rainbow just stared up at the sky. But of course, she couldn't help it. She knows her own limits, and she was at the edge. Not there just yet, and definitely not over. But she can't say the same for the others, and that's why it concerns her.

I won't let anyone else I care about die. Ever again.

That was her vowel to herself when she chose the path she walked upon now. A vowel she had repeatedly failed, even though she tried her best. Even though she did all she could.

And that was the worst part- knowing she had done her best, knowing she had done all she could. Some would say that she should find comfort in knowing so, in knowing she could have done nothing more.

Best. Boy, how she hated that word. Once she may have liked that word, she may have set it as a goal. But once you've reached your best, you begin to resent it. Because once there is a 'best', there will never be a 'better' ever again. Or else it wasn't the 'best'.

And knowing that she had done her best, she realized truly just how powerless she really was.

Limits. She never liked those. Limits. Restrictions. Same thing. A line that cannot be crossed, simply because it wasn't possible. And now she was standing before that line, having reached her 'best'. Having reached the point where she could no longer walk forward, having saved nothing.

But maybe she did manage to save something.

She reached over and pulled Dainty into a hug, careful not to get any of her blood on her. She could feel the metal necklace against her chest, warmed by her own body heat. The one Dainty had made her, reminding her who she really was.

She was Rainbow Dash. The new voice of the rebellion. One of the heroes of the war against the Science Faction.

But that didn't make her even the tiniest bit happier. Instead it only made her sadder. How did a pony like this deserve those titles? She had one goal- one simple goal- to make sure her friends were safe. And she had failed that objective before she even started.

"Applebloom... She didn't make it... Did she...." It was more of a statement than a question.

Dainty didn't reply. She may have only known Applebloom as the technician that made all the freaky hardware, but it scared her to know that that was one more familiar face she'd never see again.

"We've fixed up the wounds- but you'll need to stay in bed until we can get some implants running." The medic gave her a light tap on the forehead, making sure she was still conscious.

Rainbow let out a grim sigh. And now she was pretty much being retired, with no chance to participate in the war anymore. She really had done all she could.

"Let's get her to a med tent first. The Tower's being evacuated." Another med joined in.

"Hey! You think you got enough left in you to walk? We'll help." The other med waved a hoof in front of her eyes.

"Yeah, I can walk." Rainbow muttered, her mind elsewhere. But wherever it was, it instantly snapped back when she tried to sit up. The effort alone made her sweat and run out of breath.

She slowly got to her hooves, one of the meds helping her up by slinging her remaining arm over his shoulder. She let him take her weight, not bothering to hide how tired she was anymore. After all, what was the point?

She looked around. Octavia was still unconscious, but definitely alive and being treated by a few medics. There was absolutely no sign of Applebloom but a splatter of blood on the floor, scattered around it the remains of her exo-suit. She looked up- Magnum should be on that tower, but wasn't.

"Where'd Magnum go?" She asked, breathing heavily as the med helped her take a step forward.

"She went chasing after whoever shot the rocket." Dainty said. "Went in the direction of the CMC tower."

"Tower...?" Rainbow looked up at the skyscraper. "Wait... You..." She jabbed the med helping her lightly on the shoulder. "You said the tower was being evacuated... Why?"

"See the red smoke?"

"Yeah..."

"Some sort of marker for a bombing run." The med said. "Probably nothing to worry about, I heard our Apollos already took out their bombers before they could get here. Bet you those buckers didn't see it coming! Hehe."

Rainbow just stared. If the bombing operation was directed by Val, easy would never be good... So instead of looking relieved, the worried expression only hardened on her face.

And the green glow that suddenly appeared in the sky above the tower didn't help by the slightest.

"What the hay...?" The med looked up, a hoof over his eyes to block out the sun as he joined the many others who were all staring up at the sky above the CMC tower.

It wasn't a neon green. It was an evil, dark green. Almost black, but the highly concentrated green seemed to leak from the dark void. Clouds were circling around the glowing spot as if a tornado was forming.

Rainbow could feel an odd buzz in the air. It made her mane lift slightly, and her skin tingle. This was not good at all.

No... Not Magnum too...

Then a bright green shockwave tore through the clouds surrounding the spot, from the epicenter of it shooting down a beam of dark green surrounded by a neon green shroud. The beam of dark-matter struck the tower dead center, tearing right through the currently tallest standing structure on the planet. It hit the earth, the beam curling away from its source and turning into a mass of dark-matter at the base of the tower.

The conflicting gravity fields from the individual dark-matter particles tore the base apart, shredding the tower almost into individual atoms as it fell.

And anypony inside.

The dark-matter orb's influence expanded, reaching all around the tower. Vehicles were torn out of the sky, billboards ripped from buildings half a kilometer away. Trees joined a mass of building materials in the chaotic storm of everything currently surrounding the sphere of dark-matter, and Rainbow heard horrified gasps and screams of terror all around her.

She didn't budge herself, and ignored the curses the med next to her was throwing at the dark-matter bomb.

The CMC tower was completely gone. Beams of green light shone through the masses of destructed buildings, vehicles and citizens of Haven, and finally with a deafening *FWOMP* everything caught by the bond exploded outwards.

Carcasses of sky buses tumbled across the streets, huge fractions of metal skyscrapers slamming through the few that were still standing.

Rainbow and the ponies around her were standing on the Wall, the very border and now the highest point in Haven. They could only watch as the city they came to love, no matter how long they've been here, followed its founder and went straight to wherever dead things go.

Ponies were crying now. Sadness overcoming the initial shock of seeing the dark-matter cannon charging.

But there were no tears for the rainbow maned pegasus, even if her little sister was crying into her side. No tears whatsoever.

Just a dull, hopeless sadness.

Magnum had been in the epicenter of that. There was no way she could've survived. She just died along with the rest of those ponies, the rest being a few thousand. Maybe tens of thousands. All gone in less than a minute.

*

Magnum ripped her gaze away from the green glow in the sky above, grabbed Thyme and threw both her and herself off the side of the landing pad.

A split second later a beam of dark-matter shot out of the sky, hitting the tip of the CMC tower and shredding it on contact. Chunks of metal flew everywhere, raining down on the small area around the tower.

The beam continued, sending masses of building material blowing out the side of the tower as it tore through all the different floors.

Magnum could see with horrifying detail the beam tearing through each floor through the windows as she fell. Ponies being instantly reduced to crimson mist, others being crushed by flying chunks of debris- all having their faces locked in a moment of pain and horror.

She looked away, and saw one of the jetpack ponies fly down and snatch up Thyme. At least she was safe- for now.

She felt another dig her arms under her shoulders, and watched as her descent slowed and stopped altogether as the jetpack pony flew her away from the tower.

She could hear the jet trooper's jetpack struggling against the heavy orb of gravity dragging them backwards. Parts of buildings from far away came flying towards them, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for the jet trooper to avoid all the debris coming their way.

Magnum heard a large chunk of concrete whoosh by. Then she watched in horror as the entire northern wall of a building tore off, the huge surface of concrete and metal shoving its way through the air.

The jet trooper seemed paralyzed by fear- she had no idea what to do. And there was absolutely nothing Magnum could do but hope.

She made it through one of the open windows of the wall, but the jet trooper wasn't so lucky. Her head slammed into the narrow frame with a bone-shattering crack, and went tumbling back into oblivion with the wall.

Magnum looked behind her at where the pony was a second ago. Another one lost.

She quickly checked the grapple mounted to her wrist, making sure it was on and looking around frantically for something to grab onto.

Despite how far she'd fallen down the side of the tower, she was still at least fifty stories up in the air.

She angled herself, her hooves hitting a falling piece of hull armor. It still had half of some sort of advertisement printed to it- must be from a sky bus. She leaped off, reaching out and firing the grapple down at a nearby building.

She tugged, the energy cable winding up and sending her hurtling towards the roof of the building.

Too bad it was lifting up and slowly behind dragged into the storm behind her.

She landed, but already could feel the roof rising beneath her hooves. She could even feel herself slowly being tugged up into nothingness. The floor was falling apart, crumbling under the effects of dark-matter. She could feel her own skin tingle as well.

With a loud click she deployed the double knives mounted to the grapple by default, and used them to tear the ground open. She almost fell through, but hovered in the air for a short second under the influence of the foreign gravity source. Then she collapsed onto the floor below, her back hitting the carpet.

She scrambled up, ignoring the odd feeling in her shoulder and barely catching her breath.

The floor behind her was tearing apart, flying up into the orb in fluttering pieces. She allowed herself a glance backwards, and was almost petrified at the sight.

The dark-matter was starting to affect light now, dragging the sun's light away from the local area and absorbing it into itself. All she could see were shadows swirling between floating buildings and vehicles. She could make out the intact billboard or some sort of hospital, a good portion of the building still intact.

She aimed forwards and fired the grapple, the energy hook latching onto a window's frame on the far end. She tugged, the cable retracting and sending her hurtling towards the still intact pane of glass.

The pain of ground shock shot up her legs as she hit the pane of glass at the speed of a car, and she couldn't resist a groan.

Nothing could've prepared her for what came next.

She glanced up, and briefly made out the shape of a sky bus flying towards her, being dragged by the gravity currents. The next thing she knew her back had already smashed through the windshield, and she was flying down the length of the bus- rows of seats hurtling past her.

She caught several terrified eyes glance her way, all of fillies who were helplessly trapped in their seats.

This must've been one of the transports used to transport civilians away from the fight. They were probably being evacuated away from the CMC tower where they had taken shelter.

The children's screams rang in Magnum's ears as she slammed into the far back window, tumbling through it and coming back out into the open air again.

I have to save them.

That was her only thought as she turned around and aimed her grapple at the bus.

But then it along with the thirty lives it contained on board all disappeared in a bright fireball as it slammed into the building Magnum came out of, the remaining peices curling up into the orb.

It was a moment of shock for her. She didn't even get to at least try.

She turned away from the flowing debris. She could still hear their screams. She could feel the nagging feeling of guilt in her heart- and it wasn't because she had failed. It was from the unfairness of it all, especially how she didn't even give the children a chance. How she wasn't given a chance to save them. There was absolutely nothing she could've done.

"MAGNUM!!" She heard a loud voice boom, obviously filtered through speakers. She looked around for the source, and spotted the Apollo struggling through the gravity fields.

"Lightning Dust?" She frowned.

"Get aboard!" Lightning Dust yelled, trying to get closer.

Magnum shot the grapple onto the Apollo's hull, and pulled herself down onto aircraft. The cockpit windshield slid off, and she quickly swung in. She felt the air around her fall still as the windshield slid over their heads, engaging an automatic air lock.

"Bucking hell- we lost Haven!" Lightning Dust cursed, swiveling the Apollo around and flying it backwards.

"What are you doing!?" Magnum watched, completely petrified as Lightning Dust navigated through the debris fields and barely looking at where she was going.

"We need to scatter the dark-matter into non-destructive dosages and then wait for the effects to wear out." AL reported through speakers in the plane.

"Rockets are active." Lightning Dust said, flicking off the safety switch.

"AL! WAIT!!" Magnum screamed, and Lightning Dust paused, her hoof resting over the fire button. "How many more lives will be lost if we pull that trigger?"

AL didn't answer immediately.

"Should everything go to plan, significantly less than if we leave it as it is now. If it does not and the scattered dark-matter pools in large quantities, possibly a bit more. But no matter what happens, losses will be controlled and will be less than if we do nothing."

Magnum stayed silent. So, if they pull this trigger- it's destined to kill those few hopeless ponies and spare a few more? And if they leave it... It'll probably do more damage.

What a choice. Of course the better option was the former, but how could anypony pull the trigger on their own kind? What kind of pony would that take?

Clearly Lightning Dust was willing to do what was right. But Magnum could see the hesitant light in her eyes.

What if she pulls the trigger, and the same thing happens all over again? Like that tornado that was highly efficient however posed critical risks too- what was the word again? Oh, yeah- 'reckless'.

Magnum frowned. Lightning Dust was a good fighter. One of the better fliers. But still a cadet- and no matter how good she was, experience can never be cheated.

Lightning Dust's hoof was shaking. AL wasn't saying anything.

She couldn't do it.

Then the trigger clicked as Magnum reached over and slammed her hoof down on the red button.

Two rockets launched from the Apollo and flew towards she center of the orb, slamming through the debris that was in the way- protected by magical energy shields cast onto their outer shells. They won't detonate till they reach their target.

"Now get us out of here." She said, leaning back into her seat, her expression dark and unreadable.

What kind of pony would it take?

One that has done so many times before.

*

The Apollo landed at the surface camp that the civilians had set up. It was being used as a medical center, while what little remained of Haven's forces kept the enemy at bay from the Wall. The dark-matter bomb only hit city central, and didn't affect the outer walls. But now the first line of defense was the only line left, as there was no central to retreat to.

Casualty reports were still being filed in. Spirits were especially down at the camp- so much so that everything seemed oddly grey. And not just ponies' coats and manes.

Central Park and the tower were two places that were completely obliterated. While reports of the dead were still coming in, search for survivors in those areas have already been abandoned. Mostly because there's nothing but particles remaining there.

The rockets dispersed the dark-matter cloud, spreading them out across Haven as non-lethal particles. 'Non-lethal' as to not cause death- all the ponies suffered from minor foreign matter poisoning, but not enough for them to feel any different. Only few have been majorly poisoned, but still none have died yet.

Magnum climbed out of the Apollo, Lightning Dust following her then wandering off somewhere else.

The camp was littered with tents, urgently set up and the ponies that made brief work of it not even bothering to line them up properly. There was crying and whimpering everywhere, like a thick fog that sunk into every nook and cranny and refused to leave. Accompanying it was the sadness. Not anger or vengeance fueled rage at Val who probably only pressed a button, but simple sadness.

Hope had been shattered.

"We need to redirect ammo supplies to the North West side of the Wall. The troops there are running out- and dispatch more meds to the South West, I heard a lucky frag bomb happened to land right in the middle of Squad triple-four." Magnum overhead a messenger as he sprinted into a tent.

Most of the tents here were a dirty white, with a single Red Cross above the entrance. They were labeled with black numbers across the drapes. Medical tents. Some were dark green, tactical command. Then there was one light blue tent, the new central command and head quarters.

Magnum approached, and the guards standing either side of the drapes pointed their rifles at her. They looked tired, but it was probably mental tiredness affecting them physically than directly a physical one. Their actions were sloppy as they demanded identification- she could easily take them down.

Wait, why was she even thinking about that?

She brought up her wrist-mounted grapple, an identification code flashing across the guards' HUDs. They nodded, lowered their rifles, and stepped aside.

The drapes tickled Magnum's skin as she walked in. The tent was well lit, with a table in the center. Holographic displays flickered with the lights as the new power source was much less reliable than the old one. Scootaloo was in the room, and Magnum could make out the barest hints of pink in the white of her eyes. She must've been crying. Applebloom's death wasn't easy news for her. Sweetie Belle wasn't here, probably still undertaking repairs in a maintenance tent after the fight with Eclipse.

Halcyon was here, dark rings under her eyes as she leaned on a crutch. Neon and Terra were also here, Neon leaning against the tent wall and Terra fixing the devices mounted to his hooves with a screw driver. He had bandages around his waist, and judging from the damage on the rest of his body- he must've been hit by a bomb.

Neon somehow looked like she was in bad shape too. Maybe it had something to do with the odd dimness in the lights covering her body. The two fillies were here, Dainty and Lily.
None of them said anything. They just stared down at the ground, not knowing what to do or think.

Zealo was here too, and Magnum could almost feel the relief coming off of him as he saw her. He was going to give her a hug when her expression told him to stay where he was. Not that she wasn't relieved to see him too, but it just wasn't the time.

Daring Do and Silver Dash were discussing something, playing around with a few holographic simulations. Looks like they were trying to figure out how to bust out of Haven without taking too many casualties, but nothing so far was working.

"Long range communications are down. The dark-matter bomb tore up our relays." A completely alien voice said, deep and robotically slurred.

Sweetie Bot walked through the drapes and into the tent, her robotic body heavily damaged and barely fixed. Much of her white armor was replaced with a shiny metal grey, since there was no time nor enough luxury to paint it. Loose and probably useless wires were dangling from parts of her body, and not all of her armor had been replaced. They probably didn't have enough parts- most of it was probably back in the CMC tower. She took in the weird looks she was given with confusion, then seemed to realize.

"Broken vocal processor." She said, her deep voice sounding like an AI.

Scootaloo chuckled, but clearly it was strained. She had two best friends. One was only twenty percent alive while the other wasn't alive at all. Things have gone awfully down hill since realities swapped.

"Damnit!" Daring threw away a holographic screen, the Augmented Reality program sliding through the tent wall then automatically sliding back again. "Nothing's working! There's no way we can send our troops beyond the wall!"

"There has to be something else we can do." Silver muttered, pacing in circles with her head lowered in concentration.

Then the tent drapes parted once more, and Octavia walked in. Bandages were wrapped around her entire left side, stained brown by dried blood. She needed crutches just to walk, and was breathing heavily by the time she made it to the table in the middle.

She paused, waiting for someone to speak. She seemed to expect something, but when it didn't come she frowned.

"Where's RD?"

It was a question that only just struck most of the ponies in the tent, Magnum included. She frowned- usually Rainbow Dash was on top of everything at times like this, taking charge and devising a plan so they could win.

"Medical tent 527." Silver said, busy with another simulation as the ponies turned their heads to her. "Heard she lost an arm. Not sure what other damage she took though.

Magnum cursed, then looked to Octavia. "Let's go get her." She said, walking past her and pushing aside the drapes. Octavia sighed, turned and left.

Magnum stormed past the rows of tents, shouldering through scurrying medics and soldiers alike. Rainbow better be in bad condition- or else she'd be beating the living crap outta her for slacking off at a time like this.

519, 520, 521, 522...

She counted off the tent numbers as she stomped towards the last tent in the row, located slightly higher up than the rest on the edge of a small rise in the ground. Octavia was following her, weaving through the running ponies instead of plowing through them like her. She was still keeping up though.

525, 526... 527.

Magnum shoved the drapes aside, and the sight only enraged her more.

Rainbow wasn't even lying in bed. In fact she was sitting up, leaning on the wooden desk in front of her. She was in her bounty hunter clothes, her hat lowered and shielding out her eyes. A cup of alcohol rested in her right hand, the robotic joints whining a slight bit as they raised the cup to her mouth. Implant.

She had absolutely no excuse to be here. She was needed at HQ, and yet she was just sitting here- doing whatever the hell it was she was doing.

One thing was for sure though- she wasn't helping. Not even the slightest bit.

"What the buck are you doing?" Magnum growled at her.

"Good to see that you're alive too." Rainbow said slowly, not raising her head. Her tone was dismissive and indifferent, which only made Magnum angrier than she already was.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AT HQ HELPING US WITH THIS WAR!! YOU'RE BARELY INJURED ANYMORE!!!" Magnum yelled, gesturing at her implants. "AND YOU'RE JUST RUSTING DOWN HERE IN A MEDICAL TENT THAT COULD BE USED FOR SOMEPONY THAT ACTUALLY IS INJURED!!"

Rainbow sighed, letting her glass of alcohol clunk down on the splintered old wooden desk. Magnum swiped a hoof across the table and knocked the glass clean off, sending it shattering against the floor.

"What's the point, anyway?" Rainbow said, leaning back on the two legs of her chair.

"Are you kidding me? WHAT'S THE POINT!!??" Magnum yelled.

"Haven is a headless snake. Haven is bound to fall. And without Haven, the rest of the resistance is destined to fail since they don't have a proper stronghold to fall back to should they need it. This war will end, and then what follows will just be a big game of cat and mouse. Only this time we're the ones being hunted. Just like the first two wars."

"So you're not even going to try?"

"I don't intend to." Rainbow replied.

Silence filled the air as tension built between the two. Octavia watched from the side, a worried expression on her face. She agreed with Magnum, but couldn't possibly take the side that was opposing Rainbow. Maybe Rainbow wasn't doing anything- but the last thing Octavia wanted to do was hurt her more than she probably already was.

And in this crisis of a time, they really didn't need a fight either.

But, too late.

Magnum reached over, grabbed Rainbow by the collar and slammed her down on the desk. Rainbow didn't even flinch as Magnum pressed down with a strangling hold.

"ALL OF US HAVE BEEN RISKING OUR LIVES OUT THERE, RETURNING BARELY ALIVE AND SOMETIMES NOT AT ALL!!! AND YOU'RE SITTING ON YOUR ARSE HERE AND DOING NOTHING!!??"

"I've already done everything that I could. I can't do more, because I've already reached my best." Rainbow snarled, and Magnum was surprised to see a glowing red aura coming off of her right eye. Another implant...? Probably from Haven's underground emergency supply. "Now... Get off me."

"Not until you come with me to HQ." Magnum snarled back.

"Get. Off." Rainbow said, her voice even and controlled- and dangerous.

"Come with me to HQ-" Magnum started, but had already taken a fist to the face as Rainbow leaped up.

"Didn't think I'd have to give the first punch with this thing to you." She muttered, kicking the desk out of the way and storming towards Magnum, who was wiping blood from a torn lip.

"You selfish little-" Magnum lunged forward, cracking a hoof across Rainbow's face before her new hand could be brought up to stop it. She recovered quickly however, and swung a hoof back.

This time Magnum managed to block it, but he force sent her to her knees. She lashed out a kick, tripping Rainbow up and sending her crashing to the floor.

Rainbow kicked Magnum in the chest, the both of them sprawling away from each other and falling on their backs.

"Both of you- STOP!!" Octavia yelled, but was in no condition to interfere at the moment.

The two leapt up, completely ignoring Octavia's pleading cries. Their hooves flashed, and the next moment...

Rainbow was holding the wrist mounted double blades against Magnum's throat, and Magnum was holding the ACPW in revolver form against Rainbow's temple.

"YOU THINK YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO SLIT MY THROAT!!?? YOU CAN'T EVEN MAKE THE WALK TO HQ!!" Magnum yelled, not lowering the revolver.

"AND YOU THINK YOU CAN PULL THAT TRIGGER!? I'VE CUT PONIES UP BEFORE, YOU WON'T BE ANY DIFFERENT!!" Rainbow screamed back, her eye implant glowing a furious red.

"I'VE SHOT FAMILY. I CAN DO IT AGAIN." Magnum snarled, her hoof already resting on the trigger.

Rainbow hesitated. Family...? She counted her as... Not as friends, but family?

If there was a bit of doubt in her, she didn't show it. This madness needed to end.

But clearly Octavia was thinking the same thing.

A crutch swung down and knocked both their weapons down and away from each other, another one coming around and clipping the both of them on the heads and knocking them down. They glanced up from the ground, shocked and slightly dazed. They watched like startled little kids as the infuriated Octavia slammed the crutches down on the ground with such force that the wood splintered.

"I SAID- STOP!!"

Chapter 59: Sinners

Rainbow sat slumped on the floor and against the bed in the medical tent, a cold bottle of Jack pressed against the bruise on her face. The injury hurt her more on the inside than on the surface, for some reason. Even when she promised to follow them to HQ afterwards, she still saw the expression on Magnum's face. It was a complicated one- but she could swear she detected traces of disappointment, sadness and anger all at the same time as she walked out the tent and left her to herself.

Then the drapes parted as Rainbow took a swig from her bottle, Silver Dash walking in. Puffs of steam curled from her muzzle as she breathed, the cold in the air stinging her exposed skin. The dark-matter bomb had partially disabled the shields which kept the cold of the Arctic at bay. Now the frost was slowly leaking into the city.

Silver Dash carried in with her a tray, on it some medicine.

"Meds say you need to take these. Not sure what they do, but something about 'dissolving the last of them'."

Rainbow took in a deep breath and sighed, taking another swig from the bottle and letting the brief warmth roll down her body and travel to her hooves. She knew what the meds meant.

Silver set the tray down on the table, picked up the bottle and started tipping it into the little shot glass that came with it. A sickly pink liquid gurgled out and flooded the glass, unappetizing in both look and smell.

"Urgh- the hay is this stuff?" Silver scrunched up her nose.

"Metal corrosion acid and specially treated antitoxins." Rainbow replied miserably, feeling the warmth slowly slipping out of her body.

"You sure you can take this stuff with alcohol?" Silver raised an eyebrow, handing her the glass filled with pink sludge. Then she spotted the tears dripping down Rainbow's face, and saw the shaking in her shoulders- none of which was from the cold. "...what's wrong?"

"Silver... Can I ask you a question?" Rainbow asked, taking the glass and downing its contents in one gulp. She struggled to not cough and splutter at the taste. It tasted like... Everything that shouldn't be tasted.

"You already have." Silver said, taking the glass away and filling it up again. Clearly the shots made it easier- Rainbow couldn't imagine downing the whole bottle. "But go on."

"What were your friends' reactions... When you told them what you did? If you had any friends outside the elements... Or if you told them at all..."

Silver tensed, pausing her actions. "Thyme didn't take it very well. We were friends, but that news sort of changed it. I dunno, we're kind of only acquaintances now."

That answer was like a bludgeon to Rainbow's weakening heart.

After a long moment of silence, Rainbow spoke again.

"Did she ever forgive you?"

Silver had a sad expression on her face now. Not one Rainbow hadn't seen in the mirror before.

"She never did. She just chose to overlook what I had done. Chose to ignore it. But afterwards she didn't trust me anymore- no one did." Silver chuckled sadly. "Barely anyone would talk to me."

Rainbow let out a deep breath, her head drooping. She felt her own tears sliding down her face. Warm against her cold skin.

"Why?" Silver asked, realizing Rainbow wouldn't have asked that for no reason.

Rainbow just shook her head and looked elsewhere, her eyes slightly red and the corners of her mouth trembling. But finally she calmed herself down enough to speak. She opened her mouth, but every time she did so she couldn't help but close it again and let out a few more tears.

"Because I did the same thing, Silver." She said finally, her lips trembling. "I killed them. I killed those ponies."

*

Earlier that day, after the dark-matter bomb detonation.

Rainbow lay on the bed inside medical tent 527, staring up at the ceiling with her one functional eye. Bandages were wrapped over her gaping right eye socket, and also wrapped around the stump that was now her right arm.

She really did feel part of her was missing- and not just physically.

"How're we doin'?" The med that helped her off the Wall pushed aside the drapes, carrying with him a metal suitcase. He placed it down on the table, and opened it. Inside were two implants, one of a red eyeball and the other an arm with a right hand- not a hoof. Then there were various devices inside as well.

"Feeling nothing." Rainbow said, which wasn't exactly true. The bandages itched really badly- but there weren't enough to go around for her to keep replacing them.

"Alright. I've got the implants all set up, and I just need to quickly check your internals to see if they'll be compatible. Also an operating system chip will have to be installed behind your brain so you can use the implants like you normally would." The medic said, pulling out some scanners from the suitcase and conjuring up a few holographic displays.

All was going well up until the blood test.

"You're... Infected?" The medic frowned, surprised and rechecking the readings coming from Rainbow's blood sample.

"Yeah. Was bitten by a mutation a little more than a week ago." Rainbow said. "But I get to control when it happens, and I can reverse the mutation effect myself."

"This is odd... It's a different strain...." The medic muttered to himself. "The mutated here all have the ZDA6 strain of the virus.... But this... This is a ZDA2!" He raised an eyebrow. "Prototype type two virus."

"You sure there aren't any other mutated out there with my strain?" Rainbow frowned, tilting her head slightly.

"I've never actually seen ZDA2 myself before, and I doubt anyone has." The medic enlarged the microscopic image of Rainbow's blood sample. "It's only been archived before. I heard the strain was wiped out by Val after its victims... Yeah... After its victims could control the effects themselves..."

He zoomed in a bit more, then froze at the sight of something on the screen.

"What's wrong?" Rainbow asked, alarm in her voice.

Suddenly the medic pulled out a pistol and aimed it right between her eyes.

"GET UP!! GET UP NOW!!" The medic yelled, then activated his mic. "K company, do you read? Quarantine sector Delta immediately and surround medical tent 527! NOW! WE HAVE A CONFIRMED CODE RED!"

"Whoa whoa! What's going on-" Rainbow started, getting off her bed.

"FRONT HOOVES IN THE AIR AND STAY WHERE YOU ARE!!" The medic yelled, and Rainbow raised her remaining front hoof.

"527, we copy. Quarantine shield is in place. Safe to enter?" Came the radio reply.

"Confirm." The medic replied, still holding Rainbow at gunpoint.

Suddenly three ponies in full hazmat suits busted into the room, one holding some equipment while the other two had fully loaded automatic rifles.

All of which were aimed at Rainbow.

One of the ponies with the rifles marched forward, her face shielded by a gas mask.

"WHO ARE YOU? WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?" She yelled.

"Rainbow Dash! I came from an abandoned mission from Manehatten!" Rainbow said hurriedly, not knowing what to do.

The pony with the equipment finished setting it up. Looks like some sort of... Bomb...?

"Detonate it- NOW!" The medic yelled.

"WHAT!? NO! WAIT!" Rainbow screamed. Too late.

The bomb exploded in a wave of electricity, the wave sweeping across everything within the tent and outside of it. It only stopped at a magical energy shield cast up by unicorns, effectively EMPing the entire delta sector and frying all electronics in the area.

Lights flickered and went off, HUDs deactivated and control panels shut off. Holographic displays withered and died, and the entire sector plunged into a state of silence.

Rainbow kept her hoof raised, not daring to move an inch in case the ponies opened fire.

"Get the scanner in here." One of the ponies yelled. A second later a stallion walked in, and another minute passed as he scanned the entire area.

Finally he looked up. "We're clear. No electronic signatures detected, and that's triply confirmed. Everything in the area has been effectively fried."

The ponies seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

"Get that metal detector and scan her." The medic said, putting the pistol away.

"If you boys could please excuse us ladies." One of the ponies in a hazmat suit approached Rainbow, and the stallions scowled and walked out of the tent. "Alright missy, I'm gonna have to ask you to take your clothes off."

"Er... Why again?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"To stop foreign interferences." The pony said, and already she was stripping Rainbow of her bounty hunters clothes.

Feels kinda nice to be the less dominant one for once- okay, that's one train of thought to be derailed.

"I'll also need a blood sample." The pony said, and before Rainbow could react she had already stabbed a needle into her arm. A good few milliliters of blood flooded into the cylinder, and she took it away.

She brought out a small disk like object then brushed it over Rainbow's shoulder, the device at first not beeping at all but then almost sounding louder than a siren by the time it reached Rainbow's head.

"Holy Celestia- how much metal do you have in you!?" The pony exclaimed, putting the blood sample into the device and scanning the findings.

"Well they did call me a mare of steel." Rainbow muttered.

*

Present time.

"Then they told me what the readings meant." Rainbow said to Silver, still a bit shaken. Silver listened patiently, sitting on the wooden table. "Val had played me all along. She was just fooling around- up until now she hadn't even made a proper move. The ponies in Haven... I led her straight to them. I gave everyone away. I endangered the whole lot of you. Everyone."

"Wait, what? What are you on about?" Silver frowned.

Rainbow looked up. "Nano-bots, Silver! Before I met you I got injected... I should've known... ZDA2 was already in my bloodstream from the previous reality, I had that ability all along. Then the other creature gave me ZDA6, but the previous strain fought on my side and repelled the virus. But Val wasn't just using the mutated as something to keep survivors at bay- they have nano-bots in them. She tracks them, sees what they see- hears what they hear. She used the mutated as scouts for the surface! That's how she knew where we were even after the barricade went down! The surface was her bucking playground! Anyway... Some of the nano-bots got into my body. She viewed the ZDA2 as a threat, as an advantage I could use. So she started using the bots to not only track me, but to destroy the virus inside as well. That's why I didn't heal. The ZDA2 could've healed my wounds, but it didn't because Val's army of nano-bots in my body had already been eating away at it. I can still transform, but I can't heal anymore."

Silver looked down. Of course she was the one who Rainbow was telling this to. And the questions she asked earlier made much more sense now- she was worried she had betrayed all her friends that had died. She was the one that gave away Applebloom's position. Possibly she was the one who killed Nightshade. And now she just killed a few thousand ponies with that dark-matter bomb.

Val already knew where Haven was. That's how she was staying one step ahead this whole time. She couldn't have hoped for a better host for the nano-bots to infest other than Rainbow, who would obviously know every plan with every detail.

After the EMP, there was just a bunch of dead nano-bots in Rainbow's body, and that's what the pink sludge was for. Breaks down the bots and flushes them out of her blood stream.

"Silver... I'm... I'm really sorry." Rainbow stuttered.

"Why?" Silver seemed to be asking that one question a lot recently.

"Because of what I did to you." Rainbow pointed at the stumps where Silver's wings should've been.

"I deserved it and you know it. I know it." Silver said, not really willing to discuss this topic any further.

"You.... Betrayed them. That should've been enough punishment already. Because I know now, they weren't just MY friends. They were YOURS too, and you lost them because of a harsh decision. The guilt alone should've been adequate punishment. I understand that now. And I just went ahead and ripped away from you what made you unique." Rainbow sighed, taking another swig from her bottle. "I feel like a real bitch right now."

Silver only looked away, hiding a tear of her own. The loss of her wings had been devastating. But it was something she could easily live with after what she had done to those that trusted her.

Then she felt a weak warmth close around her body as Rainbow pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry." Rainbow cried into her shoulder, holding her close. To her, not a world of apologies could've made her forgive herself. But she continued anyway. "I am so, so sorry..."

Slowly and hesitantly, she felt Silver hug her back. Then she felt the tears seeping through her black coat. Silver was crying too.

Rainbow thought back to the fight that had resulted in her tearing off Silver's wings. Silver had defended herself with the intention of killing her if necessary. But now, she realized- it was all in self defense. She must've already lived through fights like these, perhaps with Thyme. Perhaps with some of her other friends. She was just defending what little of herself remained, trying to hide herself from the guilt by acting like what she did was right. Was acceptable.

But she knew it wasn't.

And she thought she'd never be forgiven for it. No matter how much she'd be understood, she'd never be forgiven. And she had to live with that thought.

In a way, Silver was weak. Frail. Easily swayed.

Maybe she wasn't before, but she was now. And she needed somepony to guide her back to who she was before. She needed a friend, one that could still trust in her like a friend would. And all Rainbow did was tear off her wings, the exact opposite of what this poor and battered soul needed.

Maybe wounds will never mend. Some things will stay unfixed, never healing. Missing gaps stay unfilled. But relationships... Relationships can be fixed. They can heal till the barest cracks were gone. No matter what things may have occurred in between, no matter what things will never ever be the same... Friends, new and old... Don't change. Even if they do, they can go back to how they were. It just takes time- and willingness from both parties- but eventually it'll always heal. Misunderstandings can be clarified. Mistakes can be forgiven- with time.

Sometimes you can make friends with the most unexpected people. Maybe they can be your enemies. Making enemies friends was something Rainbow knew all too well- Discord, Nightmare Moon, Blithy, Neon. And many others too, ones she fought against and never expected to stand by her side.

And here she was, feeling guilt nagging at her heart for taking revenge on the one pony that ruined everything, the one pony she hated perhaps even beyond Val- the slaughterer of millions.

Herself.

She held Silver in her arms, not sure how it would help her redeem herself. Silver was hugging her back, in a state of sadness that could not be clearly defined.

Finally Rainbow let go, giving her a sad smile.

"Don't ever tell me you're sorry for what you did again." Silver said, giving Rainbow a pat on the shoulder. Her own eyes were wet. "I'm not going to let anyone else apologize to me for something that I'm not even sorry about myself. It makes no sense."

Rainbow nodded, seeing the logic in her argument. But she was sorry, regardless.

"And I want you to know, you didn't kill those ponies. You're different from me. You didn't know you had those nano-bots in your blood stream. You didn't choose to betray them, but I did. I made the choice you would've never made." Silver looked at her sadly. "It's Val's fault that these ponies are dead. She killed them, and merely used you to give them away. But they're out of your system now, you're free." What she didn't say was, 'and I'm not, and never will be again'. Even though she didn't say it, Rainbow already knew she was going to. After all, who knows oneself better than oneself?

"You'll be free too, one day. I promise." Rainbow gave her the most empathetic smile she could muster. "Once this is all over. Maybe we can find a bar or something. Hit a few bottles. Just one crazy night, forget everything, even if it's just for a moment. Once this is all over." She handed her bottle of Jack over.

Silver took it and took a gulp out of the bottle, letting the liquid run down her throat. She gave the bottle back.

"Sorry. Really need to get back to HQ." She shook her head at something, then turned to leave.

"Silver-"

She stopped, pausing halfway through the drapes.

"I just want you to know that... I know I'm in no place to say something like this at all. But I forgive you. Because I finally understand." Rainbow said. Maybe the wound will never be healed. But it can always be ignored and put aside. "Because I know it's what they would've wanted me to do. They may be angry at you, curse at you. But in the end they're still your friends. And they'll always love you."

Silver took a moment to let the words sink in as she stood before the drapes of the tent. Rainbow could see her eyes watering again as she took a look back. Then she sighed and looked up at the ceiling, and walked out. Rainbow felt a cold gust of air flood into the tent from outside as Silver left.

She sighed, a curl of steam rolling out from her mouth. Mixing what remained of her 'medicine' with the bottle of Jack, she quickly gulped the mixture down and stood up.

No time to be just sitting around. There was a war out there. Ponies, most of them innocent- were dying.

If she stayed here, battered and broken, unable to get back up- that would've been what Val had wanted. And that's not how it's going to work at all.

She may have reached her best. She may have reached her limits of what she can do. But it doesn't mean she should stop doing it- now, everything counts. Now, of all times, was the worst time to go down crying.

She put down the empty bottle, and pushed the drapes of her tent aside. She felt the cold air sting her face, the warmth of the tent fading away almost instantly. It had started snowing out here too, adding to the grayness of what remained of Haven. In this new world of dull colors, maybe all it needed was a bit of rainbow. Now wasn't the time to be modest- now was the time to take charge and do whatever had to be done.

She strode through the rows of tents, halting before the blue command tent. The guards recognized her and let her through, watching with curiosity as she rammed the drapes aside.

"Well look who made it." Magnum muttered, holding an icepack against her face. Octavia shot her a poisoned look, which she returned.

Rainbow just went ahead and pulled the both of them into a big hug without warning.

"Sorry, guys. Should've been here earlier."

Magnum took a while to respond, while Octavia simply couldn't since her muzzle was buried into Rainbow's shoulder by force.

"Missed you." She muttered, showing a face full of relieved anger.

"Missed you guys too." Rainbow grinned, letting go and approaching the table in the middle of the tent. She rubbed her hooves together. Work time. "So what's the situation?"

Silver didn't doubt Rainbow's sudden urge to help for even a moment. She knew what happened, so she jumped right in. Not a second to waste. "Our troops are all pinned inside Haven, and we don't have enough forces to push through or past the Wall. Even our troops on the Wall are slowly running out- they're wearing us down. Now, from our last long range communication before the dishes got obliterated- we know reinforcements are on their way. But we just don't know how long."

"So we have to hold them off for as long as possible." Rainbow reasoned. "Until they get here."

"And if our troops stay on the Wall, we'll be dead in about forty-eight hours." Daring noted.

"Therefore we need to come up with a plan to hold them off longer." Rainbow said. "And the only way is inside."

"But the Wall is our best line of defense, without it Haven is more vulnerable than ever. It's like leaving the front gates open." Scootaloo said.

"And that's where Applebloom's big ambitious project comes in." Rainbow said, playing around with a few holographic displays. "I know it hasn't been thoroughly tested, and some parts of it isn't even complete yet."

"So far it's only been used for emergency storage, and we didn't think we needed those. But you can't possibly be suggesting we...?"

"Go in there and we would be trapped like rats in a cage!"

"But aren't we already?" Rainbow asked rhetorically. That silenced them. "Applebloom may have left us, but she also left us a little something behind. It's time to take this battle to home turf- to someplace where even if they invade, we'll have the advantage." She enlarged the display's image, zooming in on the area below Haven. "It's time to retreat to the Tunnels."

Chapter 61: Onwards and to Hell

"Looks like our Haven allies are doing fine." Spitfire said, watching from the OASIS while officers ran to and from the bridge carrying reports of battle and various messages.

"Indeed they are." Soarin nodded, impressed. Unfortunately for them they don't have any reinforcements to spare- and they could only hope Haven holds out until the magic faction forces on the ground reach them.

"Captain Spitfire! Ma'am!" An officer cried out, running towards the top of the bridge. "We've just received a distress signal from inside the COLOSSUS!"

Spitfire and Soarin turned, their attention instantly captured. They looked at each other.

"You think it's Blithy?" Soarin raised an eyebrow.

"Really can't be sure." Spitfire replied, turning to the officer. "Where did it come from?"

"Val's personal Throne Room, captain." The officer said.

"Of course." Spitfire muttered. "ILLUSION, retreat and abort the mission."

"Wait, WHAT!?" Soarin looked at her incredulously. "ABORT!?"

"Val's keeping Blithy close to her. This could be a trick, and even if it's not I don't want any pony getting near Val. That mare is literally invincible- a rescue mission from under her nose will be impossible." Spitfire reasoned, walking up to the holographic displays.

"THE COLOSSUS IS MOVING AGAIN!!" Came the yell.

Spitfire and Soarin turned to look outside, watching as the battle slowly ceased. The science faction troops were... Retreating...?

"What the hay...." Spitfire muttered, watching as science faction cruisers scrambled out of the way of the-

Oh, no.

"Iris! How much charge do we have on the CYCLOPS!?" She screamed.

"We're about two minutes from a full charge!" Iris replied. "Why?"

"BECAUSE THE COLOSSUS IS AIMING ITS DARK-MATTER CRAP-DISPENSER AT US!!!" Spitfire yelled, issuing out signals to tell the other ships to scramble and get as far away from each other as possible. "ALL FIGHTERS!! RETREAT TO YOUR HANGARS!!! CRUISERS- SCRAMBLE! NOW!"

The magic faction fleet's formation was breaking apart rapidly, and the path to the surface for the science faction fleet was becoming increasingly clear.

"Cyclops! Charge?" Soarin inquired.

"Minute and fifty seconds!" Came the reply from Iris.

"Give me a scan on that dark-matter cannon!" Spitfire yelled.

"Modified dark-matter at over eighty percent concentration! It's reaching firing strength!"

"Crap...." Spitfire racked a hoof through her mane. You know things are extra bad when she does that. She put a hoof to her mouth, eyes unfocused on whatever she was looking at, unlike her mind which was racing through options to take and others to not. She tapped the hoof rails in front of her, thinking. They didn't have a lot of time left.

*

Doctor Whooves shuddered, his eyes slowly opening as he became more aware of his surroundings. He could feel an oddly warm form on his body, despite the freezing cold temperatures outside.

He almost jumped when he realized the warm form was Derpy, unconscious on his chest. Blushing, he quickly got up and carried her on his back. He looked around him, shaking off the numbness in his legs- but winced as he did so. The leg implant he was given hadn't been fully installed yet, they still needed to insert a chip in his brain so he could control the motorized joints and other functions installed. Right now it was just a high-tech crutch and a dead weight.

The cold didn't make things any better. There should be an internal heating element, but without the chip it couldn't work. And right now the near-frozen metal was something that was very uncomfortable to be in physical contact of. In fact, the part where metal contacted the Doctor's skin was already freezing to the point of pain.

Nothing that couldn't be dismissed by a few grunts though.

"Well ain't this something new." He muttered, slowly limping along the dark corridor he was in, the grey pegasus on his back being the only source of warmth. "Now, where am I?"

Suddenly the earth shook, and he heard the rumble of an explosion. He froze in place, ears pricked and listening. Sounds like gunfire in the distance.

Another explosion rocked the dark corridor, then slowly light crept into the room. He looked up- light was being filtered through a thick light blue solid, presumably ice. The ice covered the entire roof, the Doctor realized. The light was coming through small windows in the metal ceiling, where ice was the only barrier to the outside.

But the light shining through hadn't been the one to shine his path as he had hoped. Instead it seemed to point to hell.

The light revealed the bodies of about thirty ponies, young and old; collapsed and broken on the floor. White flakes of frozen water slowly drifted down from the roof above, forming small piles of snow in the corners of the room.

There was a pony who had her head bashed open, her brain frozen in a crimson sludge that was in the process of oozing out of her open skull when the frost came and froze everything in place.

Frozen blood and gore was all over the place, and it was almost inevitable to be stepping in some.

The Doctor wasn't revolted. Instead he was sad- what happened here...? It made no sense- this place wasn't heavily damaged, meaning something else caused the carnage instead- but as far as he was concerned, they were in city central where all the civilians had been gathered- so was the opposition targeting civilians specifically...? These were families! These were innocent ponies!

His first question was answered as he glanced to the right, then down. On the right wall rows of seats were lined up neatly, only some of them detached from the surface and seemed to fall down a bit from whatever happened here. Looking down at the floor, he found that there were matching sets of windows on the floor as the ceiling- except this wasn't frozen. It just showed the snow laden concrete beneath... Was it a roof? Probably was.

Then he remembered.

He was being evacuated, along with Derpy and a few other patients that were staying at the CMC tower. This was the sky bus they were being taken away on, and somewhere during the course of that it had flipped.

A meteor seemed to pop out of the Doctor's head as he tried to retrace his own memories- but getting onto the sky bus was as far forward as it went. He had no idea what happened.

Worse part was that he remembered thinking of something- a theory, is what it probably was. A really bad theory, one that could possibly change the course of the entire war. And not in a good way.

And here comes the worse part: he couldn't remember what it was.

He thumped his head. "Think, Doctor! Think!"

There was a yelp from above. Was the battle getting closer...?

He needed to get out of here. But most importantly- he needed to get Derpy out of here. If the fight reached them before they got out, chances are this wrecked bus'll be cover for one of the sides- and bigger chances are that that side will get hit by whatever explosive is getting thrown about.

He broke into a swift trot to the far end of the bus, finding the rear emergency exit door locked.

"Ah, pockets. A timelord's second- er, third- best friend." He said to himself, rummaging through his pockets and searching for the little metal shaft.... Ah, there it is. He pulled out the sonic screwdriver, a green glow filling the dead space around him as he pointed it at the door. "After the TARDIS and my sonic screwdriver, of course!"

The door clicked and unlocked, and instantly fell down on its hinges with a metallic groan and a loud snap.

"Gah!" The Doctor winced as a fresh but chilling gust of wind flooded into the wrecked sky bus. He took a few steps back, and was instantly glad he did so. "Ooh..." He looked out the open door.

"Hmmmmm...?" Derpy yawned, eyes opening.

"Uh, Derpy? You can fly, yes?" Doctor Whooves asked.

"I find that insulting." Derpy complained, clearly not catching the seriousness in his voice as she slowly woke up. "Why am I on your back?"

"Needed to carry you around for a little while." The Doctor replied. Derpy hopped off, trotting to a stop next to him. Then the cold got to her through her drowsiness, and she instantly jumped back and curled up against the Doctor's side for warmth; drawing a light chuckle from the both of them.

"Alright. Seriously though, Ditzy- I need you to fly out there and take a look around at where we are. I think we somehow managed to end up in the Arctic or something, but we're on a roof and in a city." The Doctor said, peering out the open door once again. The snow storm outside was pretty bad, visibility extremely low. He could barely see the buildings lined up on the other side of the street.

Derpy nodded, however unwillingly. She trusted the Doctor. No questioned asked- plus if she did, she often got a bunch of jumbled physics equations she didn't even understand as a means of reply. Worse case scenario is that she manages to get him bickering to himself. Those last for hours.

"Hey, you be careful out there Ditzy!" The Doctor called after her over the howling winds as she flew out the open door and took a look around.

A moment later she returned, but by the time she did her fur and hair had been coated with snow. She quickly shook it off and cuddled by the Doctor's side, who winced at the now cold body of Derpy but stayed none the less.

Then the building shook and rumbled, the sky bus tilting slightly to one side. The Doctor quickly grabbed Derpy and hauled the both of them to one side and out of sight as two Strikers slowly glided past, rattling the wrecked bus in its cage with their engines that shone through the storm.

Then a missile came out of nowhere and struck one of them in the right engines, knocking both out at the same time. The out of control aircraft spun through the air, spiraling down.

Then the building jolted as the plane slammed into the side of it, a fireball erupting and briefly engulfing the sky bus in heated air. The Doctor and Derpy stumbled a bit, then felt a lurching in their stomach as the carcass slid down a bit.

It was going to go off the side of the building.

Then there was a loud whine, followed by what seemed to be dubstep music as a hole was busted through the bus's windshield on the far side, which was frozen earlier. Chunks of ice and frozen glass tumbled and sprawled across the floor.

There was a stallion standing at the opening, holding some sort of magic energy weapon which glowed a mesmerizing light blue color.

"Get the hell outta there! The hay you waiting for!?" The stallion yelled, gesturing for them to run. "GET OUT!!"

Then the sky bus tilted dangerously towards the edge, the Doctor and Derpy stumbling as their run to the exit became a climb for survival. It would've been much easier for Derpy if she had enough room to stretch her wings and fly.

"Run! RUN!" Doctor Whooves yelled, pushing her forward as they scrambled past the rows of seats to their side.

Then the building shook and the bus slid back a few more inches.

"Oh cra-" the Doctor briefly saw a frozen body fall down towards him, before getting hit in the head by it. Boy, that felt more like a lump of rock than a body.

He tumbled back, but Derpy caught his hoof before he could roll any further. Shaking his head from side to side and trying to clear the dullness in his brain, he quickly scrambled up and kept on running.

"TAKE COVER!!!" The stallion yelled, and they both ducked down as they heard the whoosh of an off-target rocket.

It struck a little under the sky bus, sending it up into the air at first but then down again- and this time it wasn't going to stay on the roof.

The Doctor and Derpy had made it to the exit. They felt the warm rush of air from the explosion brush against their tails as they leapt from the falling sky bus.

They hit the roof and tumbled by the stallion's hooves, panting.

"You're gonna have to be a lot fitter than that to survive out here." The stallion remarked, helping the two ponies up. The Doctor took note of the odd weapon slung across his back. "You must be the Doctor." He pointed at Doctor Whooves's leg implant. "Tracking chip. Your implant hasn't been activated, so it can still be traced."

"Ah." The Doctor grinned, slightly astonished. "Well, you already know who I am. This here's my assistant, Derpy. So, you are..?" He peered at the name tag on the stallion's chest. "Lieutenant Noteworthy- ha, what a nice name." He ignored the awkward look Derpy was giving him. The same look she seemed to give him every time they met somepony new, and for what reason he didn't know and couldn't figure out. "Also, interesting sonic weapon."

"Ain't mine." Noteworthy replied.

Then the roof collapsed out from underneath them as the sky bus swung over the edge and hit the side of the building, before tumbling down to the streets below.

The trio crashed onto the floor below, bits of debris still falling down around them.

Noteworthy coughed, waving a hoof and trying to clear the ash as he scrambled back up.

"Get up, get up! The battle's reaching over to this area- we need to get you to HQ immediately!" He yelled, helping the two up for a second time. "Follow me- and stay close."

He started walking further into the building, shining a flashlight into the shadows and searching for something. The Doctor and Derpy followed him down several flights of stairs to the bottom of the building. There he kept scouring the shadows, although the two had no idea for what.

"Ah damnit." He muttered as he came across a pile of crumbled concrete.

"What is it?" The Doctor asked, annoyingly cheerful despite... everything.

"That's our ride straight to HQ- buried under all this crap." Noteworthy gestured at the pile of rubble. Well, he could try and blast the rubble with the Bass Cannon Vinyl lent- er, he kind of just took it. But he was sure she wouldn't mind. Anyhow, it probably would end up damaging the automated systems and screw up the entrance to the Tunnels anyway, rendering it useless. "AL, you got a plan B for us?"

"Didn't expect you needed one." Came the reply. "The closest entry point is three blocks away, you'll have to make it on hoof. Everything else in the area is either non-functioning or down-right destroyed."

"Damnit." Noteworthy sighed, then nodded to the two standing in the corner not knowing what to do. He tilted his head towards the exit. "Follow me." He said, kicked down the double doors leading to the frozen Haven outside and stepping into the white tinted sunlight.

*

"ILLUSION! Cloak the CALAMITY and NEMESIS!" Spitfire yelled. "Make sure they get away!" Those were two ships that were worth saving and weren't needed in the current battle- and just as a captain would not abandon his or her ship, the OASIS will not abandon the rest of the fleet. It was staying firmly where it was- right in front of the COLOSSUS's muzzle, if that's what it takes.

"Spitfire..." Soarin started, but Spitfire shushed him before he could continue. Of course, he knew what the order implied. And so did everypony else that heard.

"We are NOT abandoning the magic faction fleet, captain!" Shining Armor yelled through the comms, but Spitfire shut him off. There wasn't time to argue. She didn't have the strength in her anymore.

Sighing, she noticed the officers around her had grown silent. Even radio chatter had decreased to a minimum. She took in a deep breath, leaving the hoof rails and slowly trotting in circles around the platform she stood on, and had stood on for almost ten years now- serving as the proud captain of the OASIS.

Finally she conjured up screens of live images of all the magic faction ships, contacting their commanders and captains. Faces showed up across the transparent blue screens, some hesitant and worried while others were confident and determined. All were battle hardened faces, only a few new officers who were recently promoted that Spitfire hadn't gotten the time to know. And by the looks of things, she never will get a chance again.

She was about to speak, her mouth half open- but the words caught in her throat. She looked down, swallowing them. She could feel her eyes watering. Val had played a move they could've done nothing against. Haven was doing their part- and so will the magic faction space fleet. She looked up again, this time with new determination.

"Captain Spitfire speaking." She started, and if there was any radio chatter left between the ships- it had ceased completely. "I know... I had just given an order that will probably kill the majority of us. Me included." She sighed, closing her eyes and bashing out the sorrowful faces she was seeing before her- in the screens, and behind them on the officers on the bridge of the OASIS. "It's a hard decision, I know. It's not much of a decision though, really. Val didn't give us a choice. But I'm not Val- so I will give you all a choice. All that wish to stay and fight for our cause may remain where you are. All that wish to leave and fight another day- you may do so now. No hard feelings. Nothing personal." She took in a deep breath, and held it.

Several ponies working on the bridge slowly walked from their still forms and took their leave. Nopony else so much as glanced at them with dislike, instead they simply gave a nod of farewell. Spitfire did too, saluting. The ponies saluted back as one by one they left.

Spitfire let out the breath she was holding, the hard part was over.

"Farewell." She said as the last of the officers left. Clearly the other cruisers were going through the same processes- but none of the captains left. Spitfire gave them permission to, but they stayed. No one of their ranks is getting left behind. If they run they run together- and if they die, that'll be in the same battle unless some emerge victorious, which seemed unlikely at this point. Outnumbered and outplayed, they didn't have many options.

"Perhaps the 'reliable umbrella' is getting blown away by the storm." Soarin said, sighing.

"Everything has its limits. And perhaps it was the storm- or maybe it's just that I'm letting go of it because I don't want to see it break." Spitfire cast a sad smile behind her at her faithful officer. "Soarin- you can leave too, you know. I don't mind. You'll be of much use in the battles to come."

"We're fighting for home." Soarin said. "And you know what? OASIS is home. Its officers, including you; my family. I'm not abandoning either of them for anything, because they are the purpose. They are why I, and possibly many more of us- are still standing here. Fighting."

Spitfire felt her eyes water a slight bit as Soarin stood unwavering.

"That's the officer I know." She gave him a light pat on the shoulder, nodding to herself. Then she turned back to the screens, all of them watching her expectantly.

"Captain.... What do we do?"

Spitfire reassured herself in her decision. "We fight until we run out of time. We only have a few minutes left. The cruisers travel a few hundred kilometers a second. We can make it to the enemy fleet in ten seconds." She sighed. "This'll be the last time I'll be addressing you. Full speed ahead, comrades. Our days have come to an end. We have one last battle to fight. Make it count." She turned to the officers on the OASIS's bridge as the various other captains nodded their thanks and farewells, and slowly one by one the screens faded away. "Alright officers! We're gonna charge right in there- close the distance! The COLOSSUS can't hit us if we're one with them- but it also means we'll probably be dead in a few minutes- therefore we're bringing as many of them to the grave with us as we can. We take down the COLOSSUS, we take down the equivalent of ten of their ships. Val's on that darned hulk of a ship too- and damn me if we don't take her to hell too."

"And Blithy?" Soarin inquired.

"Will be sorely missed, like the rest of us." Spitfire said coldly. "Start your engines, boys and girls. To hell we go!"

Chapter 62: Incoming Storm

"CYCLOPS! Fall back and cover us from a distance- stay away from the COLOSSUS- we still need you in later battles! Even if we don't need you- the troops on the ground will!" Spitfire yelled.

"Falling back. Good luck captain!" Iris reported, the CYCLOPS's adjustment engines flaring as it backed down, retreating as the rest of the magic faction fleet charged forward- all except CALAMITY, NEMESIS, and ILLUSION; who were all cloaked in a corner somewhere.

"Captain! PLEASE reconsider!" Shining Armor was yelling through the comms.

"I am in charge! And you will NOT persist!" Spitfire yelled back. "The NEMESIS is needed! CALAMITY, ILLUSION- you have my permission to turn NEMESIS into space dust if it so much as inches out of the cloaking field! That's right, you officers on the NEMESIS- you take your orders from me, not Shining Armor! And Shining Armor- you WILL NOT let your vengeance get ahead of you! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?"

"CAPTAIN-"

"SHUT UP!!!" Spitfire screamed, and almost every magic faction channel fell silent at her fury. "YOU NO-GOOD PIECE OF CRAP!! STOP ARGUING WITH ME!!"

Shining Armor was grudgingly silent.

"Yes. Ma'am." He said, and logged off.

Spitfire sighed, radio chatter slowly resuming. She fell against the hoof rails, rubbing her throbbing head as her chest heaved with every anger-fueled breath.

"Take it easy, captain." Soarin said, laying a hoof on her shoulder.

"We're dying out here in battle, and that arsehole wants a piece of it? Does he understand that the ONLY reason we're charging in there is so that some of us could escape and actually do what we were meant to do!?" That is, protect the ground troops.

"Don't let your anger get ahead of yourself." He quoted, pulling her into a hug. Then he frowned as he felt the shaking of her shoulders, followed by quiet sniffles too soft to be heard by other ears.

"Soarin... I don't want to die." She whispered, eyes slightly teary.

Soarin opened his mouth to say something comforting, but all the words he had prepared seemed to instantly evaporate as he saw Spitfire in her weakest state. That only left him with his mouth slightly agape, words that were meant to reach it long gone before they could do so. So he closed his mouth, and cast his sad gaze to the metal floor.

"I don't think any of us do." Was all he could say.

"You know.... I always envisioned something less heroic and sacrificial." Spitfire said, taking in a deep breath and blinking away the tears- she made sure none of her officers saw her.

"Really?" Now that was surprising, for a leader like Spitfire. "Mind sharing what you DID envision it to be like?"

"Nothing that it matters now, anyways." Spitfire replied, swallowing and standing up straight.

"Two seconds from contact!" An officer yelled, and the two looked up.

Already a battle was brewing. Fighters were crowded around the OASIS in swarms, ready to break away and take out anything that gets too close.

"CONTACT!" The officer screamed, and almost instantly the empty space outside exploded with gunfire and whooshing missiles as both factions came within close-range firing distance.

"All fighters- break away and fire at will!" Spitfire commanded, the swarms of Mark II Apollos peeling away from their formation by the OASIS's side and flying off to battle. the Mk II Apollos were a recent remake of the original Apollo, with only three engines for energy conservation however still delivering the same level of power, speed and agility. The two front engines were replaced by a single engine below the cockpit, allowing room for more aero-dynamic wings which improve stability in atmospheric and underwater combat situations.

"OASIS- concentrate fire on the COLOSSUS!"

Four powerful forward cannons tore microscopic wormholes through space as they fired, sending projectiles with full five-meter diameters soaring towards the enemy cruiser. The huge explosives weighing multiple tons each hit the COLOSSUS's powerful shields, but even a shield like that failed to prevent shrapnel from getting through. The projectile's explosions were tearing holes in the shield, and its shrapnel was getting through before the shield could have time to heal.

Huge chunks of material skid off the side of the COLOSSUS's armored hull, the heavier ones cutting deep gashes(which, compared to the size of the COLOSSUS itself; were really just shallow cuts and bruises) down the side of the cruiser.

It wasn't doing much real damage, but by breaching the hull that area would have to be sealed off with an airlock, making rooms impossible to access and hallways completely barricaded off. This only serves as a minor inconvenience however.

"Take out its engines!" Spitfire commanded, the turrets swiveling around to plan a trajectory for the back of the COLOSSUS. "CYCLOPS! Take down their shields! Soarin-"

"Ma'am!" Soarin snapped to attention.

Spitfire paused, then sighed. "There's still time, you know. Maybe we're in battle, but we're still alive." She stopped, trying to find her words. "There are still some things you could do, as a reward for your loyalty. I'll give you that freedom. Officer, you're relieved of your duty for the time being- go grant yourself one last wish."

Soarin studied her face- but she had already turned away to command the battle. He sighed, then took in a deep breath. One last thing, eh...

He touched his ear, tapping into the comms. "Lieutenant... Captain said I could have one last wish- so bring her her favorite coffee along with a bit of cake too- then get yourself something nice to eat. You've done well, feeding all of us through all these years with your kitchen of chefs. Oh, me? Heh, just get me another one of your apple pies; that'll be nice."

*

"It would seem your survival no longer matters to them." Val said, clearly amused as she watched explosions play over the COLOSSUS's hull from her throne room. Strangely though, there wasn't any rumbling or shaking. The room itself seemed completely oblivious to the battle raging on outside.

"If it brings you down too, I don't object." Blithy replied with a snarl.

"Face it, if this ship blows apart we'd just be wondering through space. We don't die, it's kind of physically impossible." Val replied. "Plus-" she lifted a back hoof, and with a light blast of blue flame she activated the thrusters. "Boosters. I'll be fine. Not sure if you upgraded anything."

"No, I haven't. But you have some master plan to save the COLOSSUS, don't you? You wouldn't just lose the most important piece of the puzzle." Blithy said. Suddenly she had an idea to at least bust herself out of here- the rest of it, she'll figure out later. Talking to Val had revealed something- that they were two different ponies, one from this timeline while the other was from an older. That meant Val had a Blithy somewhere in her.... And Blithy....

She needed to find that tiny bit of Val still left in her, because it was the only thing that could save her how. Somewhere in her mind, Valkyrie was stored as a corrupted alternate personality that was locked away behind psychological bars. Just need to figure out how to destroy those bars.

"What if it's not my most important piece?" Val grinned. "The COLOSSUS is expendable.
In fact, with the plan- which just so you know, I ain't telling you- I can have nothing left and still win this war."

"Heh, yeah right." Blithy chuckled.

"You'll see. Didn't expect you to believe me anyway." Val grinned, shrugging.

"I don't..." Blithy said. "But I do know someone that does, and can probably figure out your plan."

"Oh? Do tell." Val tilted her head to one side.

"Val- what is your goal in this war?" Blithy asked, standing up and coming almost nose to nose with Val. Neither flinched nor backed down.

Val studied her. The hay is she playing at? Sensing a trap, however unable to see one- she simply shrugged it off. Like any trap could endanger her, anyway.

"World domination. So I can get whatever I want." She replied, shrugging. It seemed like a childish ideal, but one none the less.

"Everything it is, then." Blithy nodded. "Well, I suppose we both know there isn't two of 'everything' to go around, and you don't like sharing- so... What was it, again? That there can only be one king?"

"What, you want a piece of what I aim to achieve? Then you should've joined my side earlier!" Val laughed.

"I doubt you'd share." Blithy replied flatly. "But, doesn't matter to me. Cause I'm not the one that wants it..."

Val frowned as Blithy's green hair started turning blue, the same shade of light blue as her own...

*

The concrete wall to the CMC tower's underground garage burst open with a strategically placed explosion, chunks of concrete tumbling across the floor. Despite the carnage just upstairs, the garage was, quite unexpectedly; mostly in one piece.

"Well, guess that's still intact." Rainbow said, her voice muffled by the gas mask over her face. She waved a hoof in the air, trying to clear the ash.

"Surprisingly enough." Octavia muttered, walking in through the hole in the wall; assisted by Magnum.

"Computers are down. Can't check on the cars till we get back to base and wire up those chips. We'll need to get the cars out of here through a bigger hole in the wall." AL said.

"And here I thought leaving Terra outside was a good idea." Rainbow put her hoof and hand on her hips, shaking her head.

"Can't we just wire them up right here?" Octavia suggested.

"But we'd have to get them out of here anyway, so." AL replied.

"Really? Cause I can kind of see twin rocket launchers on that Lamborghini there. You know, might help with taking down the wall and all." Octavia said, pointing at the dark grey sports car with a delicate red line running along its side.

The group was silent for a few seconds.

"Yeah, that'll do." Rainbow said, turning back. Octavia shrugged while AL went to fix a problem with the logic engine in her system.

"Get the fillies to rig up the cars. Magnum, you stay back and protect them if anyone manages to make it this far or decides to come through a different path." Octavia said, letting go and leaning on her good legs.

"You sure you'll be fine?" Magnum raised an eyebrow, and Rainbow stopped to help her walk.

"Well, I can walk. Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" Octavia tilted her head to one side.

Magnum chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. I'll go round up the kids and bring them over. Bloody hell, sounds like I'm running some illegal business."

"As if we're not used to doing that kind of stuff." Rainbow accidentally blurted out, then realized her mistake. "I mean- we do illegal business, but... We don't traffic kids, or run sweatshops, or whatever-"

Magnum and Octavia burst out laughing, and Octavia gave her a pat on the back.

"We KNOW what you mean, silly."

Rainbow felt like bashing her own head through a wall. Of course they did. That was just stupid.

But with that she felt a pang of guilt- 'silly' used to be what Pinkie said all the time. But she wasn't bouncing around anymore, and will never be again.

"Meet up with us at HQ once you're done, eh? We gotta start setting the next part into motion." She said instead, busily trying to forget her embarrassment and shake off the guilt all at the same time.

"Yeah, see y'all." Magnum gave a quick light hearted salute, then bolted off down the hallway.

"Should we go?" Octavia looked at Rainbow, who nodded.

Now that they know these cars were usable, it was time to implement them into the plan. And this time, none of that suicidal bull crap. These ones were valuable.

*

"SO WHERE THE HELL DID THESE BASTARDS EVEN GO!!??" General Bleak screamed. The enemy troops were there defending their last bit of land, then they just... Left.

"Sir! We've located a large underground entrance! We have no idea where it leads to, sir!" An officer came running with a report.

"You have no idea how retarded that sounded." Bleak commented. "We have no idea where it leads to! THEN SEND ROBOT SCOUTS!!"

"On it, sir!" The officer bolted away.

"For the Empress's sake-" Bleak started, cursing- but something else caught his attention before he could finish.

A tidal wave of ice came crashing out from around a corner, picking up assault units which weigh tones and tossing them up into the air like foal's toys.

"CELESTIA'S HOLY BUCK-" the science faction soldiers ran for the sides of the streets, diving out of the way of the tidal wave as it tore through a dozen city blocks.

Shards of ice flew everywhere as the body of frozen water ripped down that single street, then melted away into water vapor in the air.

"WHAT THE- WHAT!!??" Bleak was quickly running out of things to say.

*

Two days ago...

"Halcyon, the environmental shields of Haven are down- I know you haven't fully recovered yet, but the frost is getting into the city, and it's already started snowing. Use that to your advantage- once again, hit and run. Conserve energy for if Eclipse runs into battle or some other unexpected crap happens." Rainbow said, and Halcyon nodded. "Magnum, I need you inside the Tunnels with us."

"What!?" Magnum exclaimed somewhat hysterically. "WHY??"

"I'll explain later." Rainbow replied, dismissing the roll-of-eyes expression Magnum gave her. "In the meantime, we need to get in contact with our reinforcements. At least get a progress update, know when they're coming. I had a few scouts take a look around the city- seems there are still a few vehicles with some juice in them. I'll have somepony rig up the microchips-"

"And use them as a chain broadcaster..." Neon nodded. "Could work. Use them as signal boosters along the way."

"I remember somepony said that there was a tunnel that led all the way from Haven to ATLANTA itself?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, there is." Scootaloo said, and Sweetie Belle cast up a projection of the Tunnels.

"ATLANTA is around the Manehatten area- the tunnel passes directly beneath the city and Fillydelphia." She said. "Using it we could conceal the range boosters and have them more effectively used. There would be a degree of lag in audio however, because signals will have to pass through the earth."

"Whatever works." Rainbow nodded, biting her lower lip thoughtfully. "Wait, didn't Applebloom say something about reinforcements...?"

*

Present day...

"Ma'am! We're detecting large amounts of seismic activity under Haven!"

Eclipse titled her head to one side, indifferent. The officer took the hint and backed away.

She had sent General Bleak in to command the battle earlier, but it would seem that he wasn't doing a very good job. She was still undergoing some repairs herself, healing up a few cracks in her armor and recharging her particle control powers.

She reached out a hoof, testing the matter control. A glowing orange claw slowly formed around the hoof, and it held- but wavered slightly. Not at full charge yet, but she could take on the Wardens again with relative ease.

She sighed, the only sort of display of emotion she ever showed. The Wardens were simply... Annoying.

Irritatingly over-powered, in some cases. Although it was always within her control, and with no particular difficulty at that.

Then a bolt of prismatic light shot out from Haven following a loud THWUMP, the distinct sound of a cannon meant to fire underwater firing on land.

Eclipse held up a hoof, the particle shield equalizing the effects of the prism beam and dispersing both. The area around her was instantly lit up to one-third the brightness of the sun itself with the reaction.

"Where did that come from?" She inquired while the officers around her were still stumbling out from cover, the ice around them slightly scorched but otherwise untouched.

"From inside Haven. Seems like a Crawler cannon, ma'am." A soldier reported.

"Put me through to General Bleak." Eclipse said, arms folded and her back hooves hovering an inch above the ground.

"Ma'am! They've got a full centurion of Crawlers coming out of nowhere! We're retreating!" That was Bleak. Also annoying, this time irritatingly weak.

"Negative. Hold your ground." Eclipse said coldly. "Do not desert your battle stations. You will remain where you are until reinforcements reach your location."

"Ma'am! But- they-"

"You are foolish to risk you own head on a platter." Eclipse said simply. She didn't voice it threateningly, but it was more than enough to make the general swallow.

"Y-yes ma'am." The connection went dead.

"How many troops should we send them, ma'am?" An officer approached.

"I'm going to match their firepower. Give me two centurions of Ghosts."

"And commanders in charge of the two?"

"Just me." Eclipse replied, not bothering to explain. The Wardens were almost powerless against her without their leader. All five remaining Wardens used matter and particle control, with the exception of Neon- who used light, which couldn't directly deal damage to her. The only Warden that could be a match against her was Nightshade, who could teleport within milliseconds between each time. It would be impossible to sneak up on her because of her bat pony hearing, she could fly and teleport at the same time which made aerial combat an undesirable option to fight her in, and because of her ability she could dodge a bullet even if it had already touched her skin.

Too bad she was in pony heaven.

Chapter 63: Revelation

"I'm gonna have to take things from here, as dear Blithy said. Can't have your arse sitting on that throne." Valkyrie smirked, having made a complete transformation from Blithy. She cracked her fingers, then went on to give a good smack into her shoulder. It seemed to break for a second, but bounced back. "Bloody hell, how the heck does Blithy even move in this thing?" She commented.

"As if your lazy arse would've kept it healthy." Blithy muttered, now inside Valkyrie's head. They actually shared it, and were able to see each other's thoughts. This was most unusual, but they were making it work- and they suspected it was only working because of their AI-like brain structures. "One step out of line and I'm taking over again."

"Interesting tactic. Using me to understand... Well, me." Val smirked, quite literally guarding her throne. "But, since you know me- you can't have it."

"Didn't expect you to say I could, anyway." Valkyrie muttered. "So, Val- I hate that shortened version of the name by the way, just for the purpose of conversation- what surprises do you have for m- Ooooh..." She let out what could only be described as an orgasmic groan, hunching over. Then she started chuckling, which gradually grew into the loud open laugh that the both of them were so used to.

Val smirked. Thought so.

"Bloody hell, this thing is nasty. Gotta get me one of these- don't ask why though." Valkyrie tore the torture device off the back of her neck, blood dripping onto the floor. She crushed the device in a hand, bits of metal parts scattering across the floor. Soon the wound healed, and she rubbed her neck just to make sure.

"Surprise~!" Val sang mockingly as Valkyrie dropped the device.

"That's it?" Valkyrie raised an eyebrow, then raised a hand. Motors whined as twin mini-machine guns deployed from her palm. "And here I was, expecting so much more from my more 'advanced' self, so to speak."

"Best for later, right?" Val shrugged.

"True." Valkyrie nodded, then let out a barrage from the machine guns.

The bullets tore through Val's body, who didn't even bother dodging. She took a step back, blood dripping from over fifty bullet holes and splattering all over the floor.

"Haven't died in a while now." She said, although it was a slight bit raspy because her lungs and throat hadn't fully healed yet.

"Haven't been beaten up by yourself in a while." Valkyrie replied, darting forward and cracking a fist.

Val reached behind herself, grabbed hold of her own spine and tore it from her body along with several ribs. They healed almost immediately, because she was expecting the trauma.

Valkyrie didn't have a lot of time to react, since she was already right before Val, whose back was now covered in blood.

Val swung the spine around, now a deadly melee weapon with sharp ribs jutting out the sides.

The hit landed right into Valkyrie's waist, the ribs stabbing into hers. Val let go, sending both bone and Valkyrie flying to the side. They hit the wall, denting it severely.

"I thought I was getting old, cause my back was hurting like a real bastard." Val stretched, several loud clicks bouncing off the throne room's walls. "But turns out I just had to replace my spine."

"That's new." Valkyrie muttered, pulling out the bits of bone still embedded in her side. She was partially stuck in the dent in the wall, so had to pull herself out. "Gotta try that some time."

"Copyright." Val reminded her.

"What, you gonna sue me?" Valkyrie tilted her head to one side.

"Don't even need to go to court." Val said, approaching her alternate reality self.

"Cause I am the law!" The two said together, clicking their fingers and laughing. Then both went for a hi-five.

Val's hand crunched down on Valkyrie's fingers as she swept her hooves out from beneath her. Instead of falling down, Valkyrie swung her back legs up and clamped them around Val's head- then twisted.

The both of them fell down heavily, but both recovered at the same time and leapt back up again.

Val launched a back hoof out towards Valkyrie's face. Valkyrie stopped it with a hand, but noticed something in the hoof that she didn't have.

The boosters inside Val's hoof flared up with a loud BOOM, blasting Valkyrie across the room with her face almost completely burnt off.

"Extreme makeover." Val grinned, and Valkyrie chuckled along as her face started healing and mending back together.

"Time to remove some of that body fat..." She replied, a serrated knife popping out of her arm. She caught it in a hand, then threw it at Val's stomach.

Val crossed her arms out before her, unleashing a barrage of bullets from the machine guns. They hit the knife, flicking it up into the air and off target. This temporary distraction made her take her eyes off Valkyrie, who had used this time to leap into the air and grab the knife.

Val was about to aim up, but was far too late- Valkyrie stabbed the knife down right on the top of her head, the blade busting through her skull and into her throat. The force sent her falling forwards, right into Valkyrie's waiting knee. The metal plate on her leg caught her right in the chin, sending her tumbling backwards head-over-heals.

She activated the boosters in her hooves with the last bit of consciousness she had before she died, the force sending her flying into Valkyrie's stomach. The knife's handle made a painful crack against her ribs, and the both of them tumbled in a mess of limbs towards the bottom of the stairs which led to the throne.

"Huh." Valkyrie raised an eyebrow at the knife embedded handle-first in her stomach, then pulled it out and swung it at Val as she got up.

Val closed a fist around the knife, crushing it into a ball of scrunched up metal.

"Bucking finish her already!" Blithy yelled, inside her own head.

"Shut it! I'm tryi- OOMF!" Valkyrie started a reply, but immediately caught a fist to her face. She tumbled down the steps, ending up upside down on her head.

"Head stands? That's also new." Val said cheekily.

"Agreed." Valkyrie got up, rubbing her head where it slammed into the edge of some steps earlier.

"Right side! Right side!" Blithy warned.

"Yeah yeah, you fighting or am I fighting?" Valkyrie snapped back irritably, blocking the swing from Val.

"Knee!" Blithy yelled.

"Oh by Celestia's beard..." Valkyrie mentally rolled her eyes, then swapped places with Blithy.

In the physical world, Valkyrie's blue hair just went straight to green in less than a fraction of a second as she forced Blithy to take over.

Val's knee, boosted by the thrusters in her hooves; was already halfway across the space between her and her enemy.

"What the-? OOMF!!" Blithy felt the air get knocked from her lungs and squished from her stomach as Val's knee drove into her side. Valkyrie gave her a few seconds to register the pain, then switched back.

"Now keep quiet." She jeered, swinging a fist at Val.

Val grabbed her wrist, then through some odd twisting motion managed to pull her into a strangling hold using her own arm.

"Just another intimate moment with myself." She muttered, since it probably looked a lot like a bear-hug-from-behind from a distance.

"Shhh, shhh..." Val shushed, still strangling Valkyrie- then she grew tired of it, and closed a hand over her head.

"Ah crap..." Valkyrie muttered, seconds before her head was ripped apart by bullets from Val's palm machine gun thingy then crushed into bloody bits by her hand.

Her dead body fell forwards, making a sick and squishy thud against the floor.

Val ran a tongue along a bloodied finger. "Good tasting as always."

"I think I have migraines." Valkyrie got to her hooves, stumbling about with her eyes rolling in opposite directions. Her head was still piecing itself together, and she was holding it by the temples in a comical manner.

"Hey! You want the throne?" She heard Val yell. "Then take it!"

"OOMF!" She grunted as Val threw the heavy throne down on her, crushing her beneath it.
The large fancy chair then shattered into several pieces and tumbled elsewhere.

Through tear blurred eyes, she spotted something as it rolled in front of her. The can of spray paint.

"This is why I can't have nice things." Val smirked, slowly walking down the stairs step by step.

"Hey, you ever read the labels on this thing?" Valkyrie picked up the can, getting to her hooves. Bits of splintered material from the chair slid off her back.

"Yeah." Val replied.

"It says 'flammable'." Valkyrie nodded.

"Yeah I remember- buck." Val muttered as Valkyrie threw the can at her face. It hit her flat between the eyes, the force knocking her back a step.

Valkyrie moved up, catching the can with one hand while slamming the other into Val's head. She fell back, stumbling back to the top of the steps then tripping over the last one.

"Gah..." She cursed, sitting up and rubbing her head. Then she saw the can rolling between her legs. "Oh sh-"

The can exploded as Valkyrie shot it, a bright and brief explosion of blue paint as the compressed air inside caught fire during expansion from the container. There wasn't much of a shockwave, but the flames scorched parts of Val's body and sent paint splattering over her entire front side.

"Oh look, you just lost your virginity to a can of spray paint." Valkyrie grinned. "Always liked blue, though."

"Yeah, hot girls like us- who can resist right?" Val pulled on a proud act, flicking some paint off her hands and getting up.

"I'm sure whoever is interested would enjoy this fight." Valkyrie shrugged, aiming her palm at Val.

Val activated the thrusters in her hooves, which sent her spiraling up and over Valkyrie. Valkyrie fired, most of her shots missed and the few that hit drew sparks from Val's robot parts.

With a heavy clunk Val landed behind her, then charged forward and tackled her head-on. The both of them tumbled forward, now closer to the screens that were behind where the throne should be. They both rolled to their hooves, still facing each other.

Val lunged forward again, a knife popping out from her left arm and into her right hand.

Valkyrie blocked the knife inches away from her face, and slammed a fist into Val's side to throw her off balance. With her guard down, Val was easily vulnerable for several seconds.

Valkyrie spun and slammed a back hoof into her chest, sending her flying backwards.

Val hit with her back the screens, cracking them and turning off the power. The orange light from the sun and the view of the battle in space outside faded as glass shards flew from the cracks.

Valkyrie leaped forward again, ready to deliver another blow. Too bad she made a leap, because she had no means of course correction.

Val spun out of the way, grabbed Valkyrie as she passed and shoved her into the cracked screens. She dented the wall even further, almost breaking it completely.

Then she felt a burst of pain in her back as Val kicked her in the spine, sending her through the wall of screens.

Bits of electronics flew around her, accompanied by shards of glass which glowed orange under the sunlight as they all came out into space.

Only it wasn't space.

At first Valkyrie could only see the bright glare of the sun, but then as her eyes adjusted- she saw the mountains in the distance, possibly a few hundred kilometers away. They were covered in snow, and glistened in the light like crystals.

Then as she fell down, she saw more of her environment. Coming closer and closer to where she was, she realized there was an entire city below her. She was probably at the highest point of it all, falling.

The tall metallic buildings, far from an architectural style she knew; slowly rose up to greet her as she tumbled down. Then her shoulder cracked against cold concrete, and she felt blood being squished away from her flesh from the impact. Her head then followed, slamming into the floor. For a few seconds she was dead, but as she regained consciousness- she realized she had fallen down onto a balcony.

"What." She stumbled up clumsily, stunned by what she had just seen- because it wasn't at all what she expected. "What the hell..."

Val glided down from above, where there was just a hole in the side of a large skyscraper. Possibly a central tower. She had her arms folded, and an evil grin which Valkyrie knew all too well on her face. It would've looked menacing at the very least if she wasn't still mostly covered in blue paint.

"Thought you were on the COLOSSUS, didn't you?" She chuckled, landing behind Valkyrie as she scrambled to the handrails, looking over them and rubbing her eyes. This can't be real... She was on land!?

"How- what?" She stared out to the mountains far away, as if they'd give her some sort of answer. Then she spun around, leaning back against the handrails for support. She frowned, and pointed at Val. "You... YOU... You planned this!"

"I did. Thought you'd figure it out though, but too bad you were busy making jokes about my virginity." Val shrugged.

"You tricked them, didn't you? Do they still think I'm on the COLOSSUS?" Valkyrie looked up, and of course- there was the space battle, no more than occasional bright bursts of light as ships went down high up beyond the sky.

"They even sent in a squad to try and sabotage the ship." Val's grin only grew wider as she relived the memory. "And I just blew up the bridge! The COLOSSUS doesn't even matter to me, as I already told you."

"Okay, that's pretty funny and all-" Valkyrie chuckled a little. Just a little. "-But what the hell is happening up there?"

"Well, I believe Spitfire had already decided to abandon you when she realized there was no way out-" Val smirked. "Just from stuff I heard, anyway. I got Starshine to plant a listening device in the bridge before he left."

"Then why? Why didn't you just reveal where I actually was?"

"Because information is power, my naive alternate reality self." Val spread her arms out as if preaching Valkyrie, which annoyed her. "You see, Spitfire didn't start attacking the COLOSSUS because she 'knew' you were still on it. And that brought me time, didn't it? Brought me time to deal more damage to her than she did to me- because she fired late."

Valkyrie was silent for a few seconds as she looked around her. The city was a bustling metropolis, streams of traffic flying to and from different parts of the city. Her hair started turning green as she gave way to Blithy- she no longer had anything to say. Now all she could do was sit back and see how this would go- because if she really was where she thought she was, then not even she could do anything about it.

Blithy was still trying to get her head around this alarming revelation- and all she could do was shake her head. This wasn't good by the slightest- her own people had no way of knowing where she was, and Spitfire probably still believed the battle she was fighting was worth fighting. From what Val had said, taking down the COLOSSUS was meaningless- and while she didn't believe her at first, after THIS- her doubt was starting to crack.

"If I'm not on the COLOSSUS..." She frowned, turning back to Val. "Then where the hell am I?"

"My dearest self..." Val joined her by the handrails, wiping some paint off her face. "This here is home, Blithy."

That only drew a more suspicious look from Blithy, but her eyes widened when Valkyrie whispered the answer to her in her mind. Val grinned at her reaction.

"Welcome to Valhalla, and enjoy your stay."

*

"Our shields are down! Captain- what do we do!?"

"Do not abandon your battle stations! Keep firing! Soarin- bloody get over there!"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Engine five has been hit! Captain- we don't have enough power to keep ourselves in orbit!"

"Use what we have and break away! Make sure we stay in the fight!"

"We've lost contact with M.F. REAPER!"

"The COLOSSUS's dark matter cannon is at full charge!"

"Concentrate fire on their engines! Make sure they don't get away! Bring them down to earth!"

"CYCLOPS- officer Soarin speaking! What's your status?"

"Ninety-eight percent to max firing strength!"

"Dark matter cannon is charging up! THEY'RE FIRING!!"

"Iris! Aim it at the bloody COLOSSUS- NOW!! Iris? IRIS!!"

"Ma'am! They've destroyed our comms!"

"DAMNIT!!"

"THE CYCLOPS'S LEFT WING HAS BEEN HIT!! THEIR PRIMARY NAVIGATION AND TARGETING SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED!"

"HANGAR FIVE HAS BEEN DESTROYED!!"

"We've lost contact with Gamma squad!"

"CHRONOS is going down!"

"Hull breach at sector eight!"

"Air locks engaged at sector seventeen!"

"We're losing her damnit!!"

"Maintain this ship for as long as possible! As long as there is still energy, as long as there is still ammunition- USE ALL OF IT!!"

"COLOSSUS IS FIRING!!"

"What is tha...? HOLY BUCKING-"

"INCOMING!!!"

"BRACE YOURSELVES!!"

"Gah! DAMNIT!! We've lost contact with sectors two, six, nine, fifteen and twenty three!!"

"Central AI mainframe has been hit! The system is shutting itself off!!"

"Well at least we're not down yet. Good work CYCLOPS! Good thinking!"

"Yeeehaw!! Didn't think a prism beam would counter a dark matter cannon like that!!"

"Officer, do we still have control over navigation?"

"Aye, ma'am."

"Good! How much forward momentum do we have left?"

"Seventy hundred and sixty two and dropping!"

"Damn... But it's enough."

"The COLOSSUS just isn't bloody going down! How much does it take to kill this thing!?"

"Yeah, you know the saying 'If it bleeds, we can kill it'?"

"Well there's your problem."

"Captain... final verdict?"

Rainbow turned off the recording at that point. There wasn't much point in knowing what happened next- because she could see the fireworks from down here in the Tunnels HQ, where the magic faction had set up cameras outside which were streaming videos live all the way down here. She could feel the slight tremors in the earth as bits of the COLOSSUS and OASIS came down, a rain of fire.

Spitfire is dead.

Chapter 64: Death

"THEY'RE GETTING READY TO FIRE!!" Came the warning shout.

Spitfire watched as the COLOSSUS's dark matter cannon charged up, glowing green particles swirling around the ship itself and causing an optical distortion.

"Concentrate fire on their engines! Make sure they don't get away! Bring them down to earth!" She yelled, waving a hoof at the back of the COLOSSUS.

"CYCLOPS- officer Soarin speaking, what's your status?" Soarin took over an officer's comms, radioing the CYCLOPS.

"Ninety-eight percent to max firing strength!" Came Iris's reply.

"THEY'RE FIRING!!!"

"Iris! Aim it at the bloody COLOSSUS- NOW!! Iris? IRIS!!" Spitfire yelled, but there was no reply from the other side. She looked out the window- the CYCLOPS was still in the air, but why weren't they replying...?

"Ma'am! Our comms are down!"

"DAMNIT!" She cursed, thumping her hooves down on the railings.

"INCOMING!!"

"BRACE YOURSELVES!!"

*

Iris watched from the bridge of the CYCLOPS as the dark matter cannon charged up, Ally by his side.

"Captain! They've hit our navigations and targeting! We can't target the COLOSSUS!"

"Then target them manually! There isn't time!" Iris yelled back.

"Navigations are completely down, sir! We can only travel forwards or backwards!"

Iris was about to utter a curse, but really there was nothing for him to say. How the hell were they supposed to do this now?

"What is the prism cannon pointed at right now, officer?"

"Enemy attack ship SCOURGE, sir."

Iris sighed. An attack ship like that wasn't worth taking down with a prism cannon of this calibre. There had to be a way of targeting the COLOSSUS before it fires...

Then he remembered- back, all the way back- during the first Manehatten incident, when the science faction first invaded... The aftermath of the destroyed barricade...

"ATTENTION ALL OFFICERS!" He opened up the CYCLOPS broadcast system. "IF YOU ARE A UNICORN, PLEASE ASSIST IN THE TARGETING OF THE COLOSSUS!! OUR NAVIGATIONS ARE DOWN, WE NEED ALL OF YOU!!"

Some of the officers on the bridge turned heads to look at him as if he just came out of a mental hospital.

He ignored them.

"COME ON ALL UNICORNS!! ENGAGE LEVITATION SPELLS IN THREE..."

Some of the officers were hesitant, but a few already had their horns glowing.

"TWO!"

The ones that weren't joining in were being ushered by those who can't and those who have already done so. It may seem ridiculous, but it was their only shot.

"ONE! GO!"

Suddenly the CYCLOPS was encased in multiple patches of different colors, glowing in the darkness of space. It shimmered under a rainbow colored levitation field, a product of a united will.

Iris only had a few seconds to outlive his wonder and amazement at how well this had worked- but they had only taken care of the easy part.

"ALRIGHT EVERYPONY!! BEAR LEFT TWENTY SEVEN DEGREES!!"

Slowly but surely, the CYCLOPS started shifting- and the COLOSSUS was coming into the cross hairs...

"Buck! THEY FIRED!!"

"Wha-" Iris looked up just in time to see the burst of dark matter explode out from the cannon. "FIRE!!" He yelled without a second thought.

But even he could see the aim was still a few degrees off as the prism beam rushed towards the dark matter beam. They had missed.

Not on my watch, he thought.

Suddenly his eyes widened and glowed a bright aqua color, the magical energy accumulated within that he hadn't used in so long creating a black hole near the edge of the prism beam.

The gravitational pull from the temporary black hole curved the light around, redirecting it into the dark matter beam.

Iris held his stare, waiting till all of the prism beam passed through before collapsing the black hole.

He fell down, eyes bleeding from an overuse and his head almost fried from the amount of magical energy he had just managed to control with his earth pony brain. Around him, the unicorns dropped their spells and collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

*

Spitfire ducked down behind the control consoles before her, as did the other officers as everyone scrambled to hide under or behind something.

She didn't see the dark matter cannon fire, but she did see her own shadow stretch out before her as the beam of green glowing dark matter shot towards the magic faction fleet. She looked to her side, watching as the huge column of doom plunged past outside. She felt a subtle gravitational change as the dark matter pulled the OASIS towards it.

Then a beam of rainbow colored light smashed into the dark matter head-on, splitting the beam of dark green out across the battle in harmless little streams. Then the rainbow light washed over the beam as the dark matter's gravitational pull split it and sent it bouncing around inside itself.

To Spitfire's eyes it was just a large shifting mass of rainbow colored light, which was growing brighter and brighter...

Suddenly all the energy that was being bounced around exploded outwards in a flat plate-shaped shockwave, the blast traveling sideways like a blade and heading straight for the OASIS's bridge.

"BUCK-" Spitfire managed to curse, holding her head down with her hooves and trying to keep as close to the console as possible.

The shockwave hit the bridge, shattering the glass windshields and buckling the metal frames. Shattered glass clattered all over the place, shimmering in direct sunlight. Air started rushing out, sending Spitfire's mane whipping about her face.

Then the emergency systems kicked in, metal walls springing out from the floors and sealing up the bridge. The loss of air pressure was immediately neutralized.

"Gaaaaah..." She managed to let out a breath she didn't realized she had held. He mane
was a mess, but that didn't matter now.

Live projections of the battle outside flashed across the airlock walls, acting as the new windows.

"We've lost sectors two, six, nine, fifteen and twenty three!!" Came the report.

Spitfire looked at one of the screens- not surprising, because there was a deep vertical gash in the side of the ship from the shockwave. It was a lot of damage, but at least it was better than critical- which was what the dark matter beam on its own would've done without the prism beam's equalizing effect.

"Incoming enemy fire!" Spitfire turned her attention to the enemy fleet. The prism beam had pushed the effects of the dark matter more back than forward, so the science faction ships took a heavier hit. One of their ships was going down, effectively halved. Several others had deep trenches carved into their sides just like the OASIS, flames flickering as air leaked from inside their hulls.

A wave of laser cannon fire hit the OASIS, sending bits of hull flying out into space now that they lost their shields completely. The OASIS was almost completely defenseless.

"Central AI mainframe has been hit! The system is shutting itself off!!"

"Revert to manual control over the systems!" Spitfire commanded. "Keep us aloft!"

"Reverting." One of the officers said, then her expression dimmed significantly.

"What's wrong?" Spitfire raised an eyebrow.

"We've lost a large amount of energy. I'm afraid we don't have much left to keep us where we are."

"Can we make an emergency landing?" Spitfire inquired.

"We can't even get out of orbit." The officer sighed.

Spitfire was silent for a few seconds. That only left them one option... They could slam into the earth fighting, or slam into...

Damnit.

"Well, I guess we all knew we were going to die, right?" Spitfire chuckled, waving a hoof at her officers. "Let's at least be optimistic about it then. How much forward momentum do we have left?"

"Seventy hundred and sixty two and dropping!"

"Not much, but it's enough." Spitfire sighed. "You know the deal, officers. Any of you have any objections before I give the order for us to commit genocide?"

"We followed you this far, ma'am. We're the ones that aren't willing to leave." Soarin was about to say something similar, but a mare officer stole his words from his mouth. He cast a respectful look her way.

Spitfire nodded thankfully. "All forward engines." She gestured at the control consoles, and the officers returned to work.

She sighed, slumping down on the ground. She's been standing for long enough- no reason to die tired. She turned on the comms, addressing the entire ship now.

"Attention all staff, unfortunately we are approaching our final destination- but do remind me to buy y'all a drink in pony heaven, cause you all definitely deserve one. Cheers- for the last time, Captain Spitfire- signing off." She finished, and leant back on her arms.

"I reckon we all deserve a rest, huh?" Soarin chuckled, sitting down next to her.

"Yeah..." Spitfire replied, watching as explosions played across the OASIS's hull below. A section of the ship broke off and drifted somewhere else, but nothing mattered anymore. Without the dark-matter cannon, nothing could stop this ship from plowing into the COLOSSUS's side- and now matter how big that ship was, the OASIS was still a nuke to it.

"Impact in ten seconds!" Came the yell. Not dull, not bored, not sad- not angry. The voice was excited, however grim at the same time.

"Soarin?"

"Hmmm?"

"You still don't have a chance." Spitfire grinned playfully.

"Six!" The final countdown.

"Really?" Soarin raised an eyebrow at her. "That's the last thing you wanted to say?"

"Four!"

"Not the last thing I wanted to do though." Spitfire said as the COLOSSUS grew so close it seemed to be right in front of them. She leant to her side, planting a kiss on Soarin's cheek. She didn't see his reaction, but then again he was already blushing.

And the last number of the countdown was never called out.

*

"Echo five, this is Echo one. We're pinned on the rooftop of Haven Central Hospital! Packages are safe, requesting a distraction."

"Copy Echo one. En route."

"Can you stop calling us packages?" The Doctor tilted his head to one side as Noteworthy hung up.

"Nope." He replied, slinging the BASS cannon over his back.

Then the building started shaking.

"Strikers! Get down!" He made a quick motion with his hoof, then slid behind an air duct. The Strikers glided past overhead, sending a puff of dust and snow curling into the air. Noteworthy waited till they were out of sight. "Alright! We're clear!" He got out from cover, only to find the Doctor and Derpy with their eyes fixed at the sky. "What is it?" He asked, then looked up himself. "Oh, no..."

There were two shapes in the blue sky above, barely visible. There were many others around the two, but clearly those two were the focus of the battle. And both were running into each other.

Noteworthy watched the easily recognizable shape of the Magic Faction flag ship speed towards the much larger Science Faction space capital, a collision inevitable.

Was Spitfire still on that ship? Clearly the OASIS was in bad shape, but...

Then the two slammed into each other, flaming debris shooting through the COLOSSUS as the OASIS plowed into its side, making a gigantic hole in the middle. Large chunks of material blew across the space battle, slowly descending to earth like a meteor shower. The COLOSSUS itself hung in the air for several seconds, then collapsed in on itself as its own gravitational pull turned against it. Without the shields that kept it together, the moon sized space ship simply couldn't hold itself up anymore.

The entire ship imploded, now nothing more than a mass of parts. There was no recognizable shape anymore.

Slowly it started descending, a massive fireball slowly burning away.

Noteworthy snapped out of his frozen stance, tearing his gaze away from the sky.

"WE NEED TO GET OFF THE ROOF!!" He yelled at the Doctor and Derpy, then turned on his comms and set them to all channels. "All units inside dark matter zone buildings! Get out now! The COLOSSUS has been hit and is heading towards the west of Haven!"

"Doctor? Why do we have to get off the roof?" Derpy looked up.

"A ship the size of the COLOSSUS crashing down like that... It's bound to stir up some seismic activity." The Doctor said, keeping an eye on the COLOSSUS as it fell; bits and pieces breaking away from the mass. "Thank goodness it wasn't traveling very fast to begin with."

"Come on. Get inside, we gotta get off this building." Noteworthy said. "Hey! Derpy, right? Go on ahead! Fly off this building!"

"I'm not leaving the Doctor!" Derpy said stubbornly, her hooves falling still.

"Go on, Derpy. The more we can save the better- you included." The Doctor said, following Noteworthy to the entrance.

"Doctor!" Derpy frowned, but he had already left. She sighed, then flew off and circled around to follow the two around the outside.

*

"... The COLOSSUS has been hit and is heading towards the west of Haven!"

"Crap..." Zealo muttered as he got the message through the comms. He and his assigned squad was right in the middle of Haven- almost right next to the buildings which got destroyed by dark matter. The buildings they were in right now were already destabilized by the blast, and an earthquake, no matter how minuscule; could quite possibly bring them all down.

The Tunnels however, which were designed to withstand direct nuclear detonations; would hold.

"Squad six! Retreat to the CMC tower ruins! We've got clear ground over there where nothing will fall on our heads, over." He said, tucking away his sniper rifle and already moving off.

*

The room fell silent as Rainbow walked in. "Spitfire's dead."

Nopony spoke. There was only sighing.

"What do we do now?" Silver slumped back in her chair, shoving away the holographic simulator she was working on. "Headless snakes don't bite."

"We'll grow a bloody head." Rainbow growled, calling up AL. "AL, how're the mods coming along?"

"I've analyzed Eclipse's abilities. The concept seems simple enough, but I do not understand where she could summon such vast amounts of magical energy to keep those augmentations operational constantly. In theory she should have to change batteries or whatever every five seconds." Came the reply.

"Can we replicate the results enough for our own purpose?" Rainbow inquired.

"Yes, we can. Although each conjuration will only last ten seconds."

"More than enough unless we're building a bridge."

"What are you doing?" Octavia asked slowly, uncertain of this conversation between Rainbow and AL.

"Planning." Rainbow said simply. "We may have lost Spitfire, but that most definitely is not a reason to stop- and it also is most definitely not what she would've wanted."

"So you have a plan?"

"I do. And I've been working on it with AL for the past half an hour now." Rainbow replied, sighing. "And it's going to work." She turned away from the ponies at the table, shushing them before they could question her. "It's going to work. Because once we're done here, Spitfire's grave is going to be in the clouds where she always belonged- and she's going to overlook the Equestria that she always knew." Rainbow lowered her head, and Octavia caught the slight glimmering of a tear drop as it slid down her face. She hid it away though. "The Equestria that WE always knew."

*

Doctor Whooves and Noteworthy were on the seventh floor down when the tremors started. Only eight more to go.

"Crap." Noteworthy looked up, bits of flaked paint peeling from the ceiling and raining down on them as the building shook.

"Doctor..." Derpy warned, hovering just outside.

Then there was a loud snap as something gave way, and the entire building started tilting towards Derpy.

"Whoa!" The Doctor said, wobbling on his hooves as the ground tilted.

"RUN FOR THE OTHER BUILDING!" Noteworthy pointed at the building they were falling towards.

"That's a big jump."

"That's the only jump." Noteworthy replied, and ran for it. He slammed his shoulder into the glass window, smashing through. He landed on his side in the other building, sliding a few meters back. But he made it.

"And just when I need wings..." The Doctor muttered, and leapt after him. Whilst in the air, he couldn't help but send a downwards glance- oh boy, was this high. Then the streets below went away as he crashed forward onto the floor- at least he made it.

"Come on! Run! RUN!" Noteworthy dragged him up, then started running down the room they just entered as the other building collapsed into this one behind them.

Derpy swooped down and into the room last second, keeping ahead of the exploding rubble behind them.

"Why'd you come inside!?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her as they galloped through the building, Noteworthy blasting the walls apart with the bass cannon.

"Don't look at me like I'm the only mad one here!"

"Sorry." The Doctor couldn't help but put on that half smile. Yeah, they were mad.

"Echo one, we're tracking your location. Pilot Lightning Dust is inbound for a pick up."

"Copy five! Does she know what she's doing?" Noteworthy asked, sprinting forward and reducing the wall before him to dust with the bass cannon. He leapt through, the Doctor following close. Derpy zoomed through right by their tails.

"Just jump out the window." Lightning Dust cut into the conversation, pulling up on her joystick and performing a one-eighty. She slid between two buildings, the Apollo spinning around and stopping right in the trio's path.

The prism guns on the Apollo started firing, cutting down the windows and walls that were in their way.

"Bloody hell!" Noteworthy ducked down, a prism beam burning past his head.

"Hop aboard!" Lightning Dust yelled, and the three leapt. They landed with a loud clunk on the Apollo's hull, and she pulled away from the building just as it collapsed and fell into another.

*

Eclipse hovered through the streets, the science faction troops behind her stumbling as the earth shook. She ignored them completely.

There was a loud whine of charging particles, and she held up a shield. A green blast of energy washed over it, sending a plume of smoke exploding outwards from the area around them. Snow particles were blown about by the explosion, forming white curtains.

Eclipse dropped the shield, peering through the smoke.

Sweetie Bot clunked into view, both her rail guns charged to a radioactive green.

Eclipse narrowed her eyes, a glowing orange claw already forming around her hoof.

Then Terra joined Sweetie Bot's side, his hooves crackling with blue magical energy.

An incineration cannon formed around Eclipse's other hoof, and without warning she dashed towards the two.

*

"Your friends are in trouble. Val's second in command is leading the attack into Haven... You're one of the only ones that can help them." The alicorn said, watching the blue sphere hovering hundreds of miles away; her eyes glowing.

Her guard said nothing.

"Are you not going to help them?"

"I am, your majesty."

"Then you are dismissed."

"One last thing, however..." The bat pony turned to look up at her superior. "...they are not my friends. They are highly valuable assets."

The alicorn chuckled. "I'm sure they are." She smiled. "And I'll be joining you with the rest of us when the time is right." She said, and with a bright flash the bat pony disappeared.

The alicorn smiled to herself, thinking about the last sentence the guard said. Then she noticed a flash nearby, and looked up. Something seemed to be missing from the space around her... She had been on the moon for so long now, that even if so much as a speck of dust was gone she'd notice.

"Oh..." She grinned. That bat pony certainly could get a little devilish.

*

Eclipse was in the heat of battle against Terra and Sweetie Bot when a loud screeching filled the air. Her troops started looking unsettled, casting looks around them to check what the noise was. Even Terra and Sweetie Bot looked slightly lost, but they ignored it and attacked Eclipse.

Eclipse blocked another green energy bolt, then fired off an incinerator towards Sweetie. Terra blocked it for her with a rock wall. She was about to dart forward and engage in melee combat when-

An asteroid appeared out of nowhere in the sky above them, and everyone looked up as the area blackened with shadows.

Below the asteroid, for just a second; they saw the shape of a bat pony- light reflecting off of the jagged edges of armor she was wearing. And she was the one holding up the space rock.

Then the asteroid was thrown down into the earth. Eclipse ducked down and conjured up a shield. The huge space rock bounced off of it and rolled down the street, crushing a good fraction of the science faction troops.

Eclipse deactivated the shield, looking up from the chaos. There was smoke all around her, ashes still falling from the asteroid impact. Buildings had been demolished and almost everything on the streets have been crushed completely. What the hell just happened...?

Then there was a bright flash before her eyes, and for a second there was a bat pony in front of her. She was clad in a blue silver armor, nightmare armor. She had an eyepatch over her left eye, whilst the other was a dark reptilian green.

Eclipse didn't have time to conjure up a shield, or conjure up anything that could help her. She could only take the hoof to the chin like any other normal pony.

She stumbled back, wiping blood from her lips where she accidentally bit it. She glared at the bat pony, who stood there before a surprised Terra and Sweetie Bot. She returned the glare. The only pony that she was at the very least intimidated by, the only pony that had a chance of defeating her...

Nightshade is back.

Chapter 65: Colgate and Friends

"Welcome back." Eclipse said emotionlessly, standing tall before Nightshade.

"Sorry about ruining the party." Nightshade replied, sliding three throwing knives apart behind her back.

"Was going to end it anyway."

"Then I shall escort your guests away." Nightshade said, ducked down, and disappeared with a flash. The only thing that remained in the air where she was a second ago were three safety pins.

Eclipse's eyes widened, and she quickly conjured up a shield behind her.

Nightshade had teleported over her troops, and with three quick slashes had thrown the explosive knives into three key enemy commanders. With another flash she was gone, leaving the explosives to do their work.

Eclipse trained her incinerator cannon on her as she arched through the air, but then was shot in the back by a green energy bolt from Sweetie Bot. Her armor absorbed most of it, and she went skidding across the floor.

Then Nightshade was there, grinning down on her. She leapt up, the energy bolt having done next to no damage. She swiped a hoof across the air before her, sending a wave of glowing orange matter slicing through the air.

Nightshade ducked under it, a few hairs of her mane grazed by the blade. Then she teleported behind Eclipse, a knife already going for her neck.

The knife hit her flesh, but was stopped just as it touched her by a glowing orange circle. It didn't even go deep enough to draw blood.

Then an orange tentacle closed around Nightshade's arm, keeping her where she was while Eclipse turned around and prepared a disturbingly big sword.

She jabbed the sword at Nightshade's neck, but with a flash she instantly felt almost every bit of her body being pressured. She was forced to let go of Nigthshade, and for several seconds all she could see was darkness.

Nigthshade had teleported her into the side of a building.

Her sudden mass in the wall broke it apart, and everything shattered explosively. She was sent flying into the building itself, bits of concrete clunking down around her.

Nightshade landed with a light thud by the opening, a completely dark silhouette all but her one good eye. With a bright flash she closed the ten meters or so between her and Eclipse, already throwing away a safety pin.

Eclipse reached out, an orange mass tearing the knife away from Nightshade's grip.

Nightshade teleported away just as the explosive went off, temporarily disrupting Eclipse's ability. She didn't have time to draw another knife, so just grabbed hold of her waist and teleported.

*

"Dash! I think you're gonna want to see this..." Terra said, and Rainbow raised an eyebrow. She pushed aside a few holographic blueprints that she had been working on with AL, and walked over to the console.

"What is it?"

"Sweetie'll give you a recording." Came the reply.

A second later a file finished transferring, and Rainbow opened it. It was a video recording of what Sweetie Bot saw, and at first it was just a battle with Eclipse when-

"What the buck?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow as an asteroid slammed down on the enemy troops. "Who-?"

"Nightshade's back."

"How?" Rainbow was only half believing this, despite the fact that she was watching Nightshade fight Eclipse single hoofedly in a recording right now. "This... What?"

"Damn if I know. We're- well, she is taking care of Eclipse. Should we proceed with the plan? We have a large number of science faction troops outside!"

"Yes, proceed." Rainbow replied, then opened up the comms. "Silver! Proceed with the next step of the plan."

"Copy, we're getting ready. Am I the only one here that's excited?"

"If only we had cameras to record their faces huh?" Rainbow grinned, both excited that the final part of the plan was coming and that Nightshade, through some miracle; was back. That lifted some of her guilt that had accumulated.

"The night guard back?" Magnum cocked her head to one side, slinging her rifle over her back and standing to attention.

"Yes she is." Rainbow grinned.

"Uh... Dash? I think we may have a problem." It was Zealo.
"What is it?"

"Well, I just scoped in and... Eclipse has an army."

Rainbow paused. Of course Eclipse has a bucking army!
"Yeah, not helpful." She muttered.

AL conjured up a live feed of Main Street, and showed Rainbow; who just stared.

"What. The hell. Is that." She studied the screen- ants?

"We don't know!" Zealo replied, his voice frantic. "They move super fast and we barely got away in time! They don't even seem... Pony..."

"Dash!" Terra.

"What up?" Rainbow shoved away the holographic screen, sending it sliding through a wall.

"There's an army of mutated ponies swarming in- they're being controlled by the science faction, they've got suits on. Neon and I encountered one of these in Manehatten, that thing was bucking tough to fight. I suggest a full retreat, any one of us in the open means certain death!" Terra yelled, followed by a loud crack as he conjured up a wall.

"Retreat to the Tunnels and await further orders." Rainbow said quickly, shutting off the comms. She stood still for a second, waving back the other screen and watching the mutated as they swarmed into Haven.

"What the hell..." She watched the swarm overrun a small squadron of troops as they tried to get away. The mutated seem to have large blades of some sort attached to their hooves, and were reaping through the Haven soldiers like a tsunami through town.

"I know what that's about." Magnum said, remembering something. She walked closer, peering at the screen. Then the electric doors behind them slid open with a hiss, and a steady clunking followed as Octavia walked in with her crutches.

"I've got the lure room set up- what's going on?" She cocked her head to one side, limping into the room.

"We're getting attacked by our own ponies." Magnum said simply, turning away from the screen.

That only made Octavia more confused.

"Whilst I was on the barricade, I saw their twisted experiments. Mind control, they have microchips implanted directly into their brains. I don't know what else they did to them, but if you look closer-" she reached behind her head and unclipped her hair for the first time in front of anyone, letting it drift to her shoulders. "-maybe you'll see what remains of your own parents too." She said, and walked out.

The doors hissed shut behind her, and Octavia and Rainbow just stared at the door.

"AL, ready the lure room for the ambush. Give the order to clear the path, and divert these new enemies elsewhere however you can- and best if you can keep them out." Rainbow said, striding out the door after Magnum, trailed by Octavia.

*

Nightshade back-flipped away from Eclipse's lashing blades, skidding across the concrete roof.

Eclipse fired off a few rounds from her incinerator rifle, melting holes in the floor as Nightshade leapt to the side.

Nightshade teleported, and Eclipse turned around to greet her. Only that she didn't teleport behind her, instead she was right up against her face with the explosive knife.

Eclipse's eyes briefly read 'shi-' as she was struggling to turn back around, shortly before her nemesis sunk the knife into her side.

Fresh pain burst through her body, pain that she hadn't felt since she was created.

"Gah!" She cried out, stumbling. She tore the knife out and conjured up a shield just in time as it exploded, but the force knocked the ground out from under her and sent her sprawling into the floor below.

Nightshade appeared before her with a flash, ready to finish her off.

Eclipse snarled, suddenly conjuring up a huge ball of orange matter whilst raising a shield around herself.

Nightshade's eyes widened, and she teleported away.

Everything went as it normally would as she blinked- but when she opened her only good eye, she was still here.

Well, something along those lines happened. Part of whatever Eclipse conjured up had somehow managed to follow her through her personal portal.

Nightshade felt a blast of heat and a shockwave, then was launched across the sky and towards a wall. Reflecting on the situation quickly however not understanding it, she teleported again just as she scraped the wall.

Then she was somewhere else, still carried by the force of the blast as she crashed into the snow.

"Good to be alive." She coughed, getting up. Just a few scratches and bruises, nothing much- "Holy what the hay...?" She looked up at the building she was in a second ago with Eclipse. A good chunk of it was missing from the top and the sides, blown out and now being carried away as ashes in the wind. Parts of the building was still melting and burning.

Eclipse walked(whatever happened to hovering) onto the edge, looking down on Nightshade below. She was unscathed all but for the wound Nightshade had inflicted upon her. Her enhanced armor had already stopped the bleeding, but proper healing could take weeks.

But despite that, worst of all; she was still as indifferent as ever.

"It's a shame that you came all the way here just for me to send you back to hell." She said, and Nightshade smirked.

"No gates of hell can keep me locked in." She grinned, winked, and disappeared with a flash.

*

"Retreat to the Tunnels! We're exposed out here!" Zealo yelled, waving at his squad mates. "We've got reports of enemy reinforcements!"

Then they heard the screaming. It wasn't the screaming of dying troops, of battle, but a much more animalistic sound...

"What the hell is that...?" One of his squad mates pointed across the clearing at a gap between two buildings.

It was like a swarm of insects, a wave of individuals moving in such a way that they seemed like one. And they were tearing through everything that wasn't on their side.

"Run..." Was all Zealo said. There wasn't much left to do but that. He started turning back towards the nearest Tunnels entry point. "RUN!"

*

Colgate led her brothers and sisters as they ran through Haven in that twitchy fashion of theirs, huddling around any group of Magic faction ponies and completely devouring them. By the time they were done tearing up their bodies, there were nothing but flesh ribbons and severed limbs left behind.

They carved their bloody path down a street, the screams of their victims like music to their ears. There was a colt, she remembered for some reason, that was amongst the the older soldiers. She remembered seeing him being torn in two by two of her brothers. It was a favorable sight.

She heard yelling, and looked to her side. Down a different street, there was a clearing. And there was more blood to be shed.

"Heheheeeh!" she giggled to herself, leading a branch off to chase after these new victims.

*

"Crap. They spotted us! Run faster!" Zealo waved one hoof in the air, his sniper rifle in the other- but there were simply too many targets for it to do much good.

They were running as fast as their legs would allow, no one bothering to speak as to save their breath. The mutated and modified ponies were closing the gap at a terrifying speed- already they were halfway across the clearing.

"Damnit-" Zealo fired a shot blindly behind him. He was sure it hit something, since there was a whole wall of ponies there. "Damnit...!"

His ears rung from the screams and the thuds of hooves coming from the swarm, but soon the noises got a whole lot louder.

Magnum stepped out from behind one of the Tunnels openings, dual-wielding machine guns and landing head shots everywhere in the crowd without even trying.

The effect was less obvious than hoped, however. They weren't slowing down. Sure, they were getting mowed; but it wasn't stopping them. They were mindless creatures now, with no logic but the one thought implanted into their heads: kill everything else except for the friendlies(and a few accidents are okay).

"Hurry it up, Zealo!" She growled, her shoulders sore from the recoil as the machine guns hammered into them.

Bullet shells were flying all over the place, their clatters inaudible in the noise.

Magnum kept her concentration on the horde and fending them off Zealo's team mates, standing her ground firmly before the entrance.

None shall pass.

"We owe you one ma'am!" A stallion was about to go into the Tunnels, but stopped and stood by her side and started assisting her. Magnum gave him a quick glance- he outranked her, and yet, here he was.

"I'm out! Hurry guys!" Another Haven soldier ground to a halt beside them, putting away his assault rifle and pulling out a pistol backup.

Magnum was starting to run low on ammo too, but she wasn't fazed by the oncoming horde, because there were others by her side. Others that she didn't even know.

They were all here, fighting under the same goals.

"Run! Come on!" There were only a few more soldiers left out on the field as Zealo came skidding to a halt by the entrance, his rifle releasing shot after shot.

"This is Echo one, packages are secure and inside the Tunnels. Require any aerial assistance?" A voice through the radio.

"Echo one, this is Squad leader six!" Zealo yelled. "We're in a clearing by the CMC tower remains- requesting assistance while we retreat inside!"

"Copy six. En-route." The voice said. "Hurry it up, Duster."

"Quit calling me that." A different voice growled, and the channel was directed elsewhere.

"I'm out of ammo! Zealo!" Magnum yelled, tossing Zealo her backup pistol as Zealo passed her his rifle.

She pulled the clip out and slammed it into the ACPW, the weapons system registering the clip and morphing into the appropriate shape.

"Work on keeping them away from our soldiers!" She screamed, busting an enemy's head before she could reach one of their troopers.

"Somepony called for backu- Cheeses that's a lot of... The hell are those?" Radio silence was broken as Lightning Dust frowned at the sight below, the Apollo gliding over the battle.

"AL, mark the friendlies on Dusty's HUD." Magnum said, swapping clips.

"Done."

"Weapons free!"

The Apollo let loose a blitz of prism beams, rainbow colored light exploding across the battlefield and punching craters in the ground. Bits of pony were flying into the air, blown to pieces.

Then a figure atop the aircraft fired off a large blue beam, the energy doing double the damage of the Apollo's powerful primary cannons.

"The hell is that?" Magnum raised an eyebrow. Then a wave of heavy bass music washed over them, explaining the weapon.

She grinned.

"Want." Was all she said.

"Six, I'm seeing Science Faction troops closing in from your right. Concentrate fire on them, we can take care of the horde." Noteworthy said, firing from the Apollo's cockpit.

"Copy Echo one." Zealo replied and tapped Magnum on the shoulder, pointing down the road.

Magnum moved to aim her rifle down that end, but was a second too late. A bullet clipped her in the shoulder, the force sending her sprawling into Zealo.

"Buck!" Zealo cursed, yanking Magnum behind cover and ducking down himself.

"Return fire!" One of the soldiers yelled, turning his attention to the approaching assault units.

"Take cover behind the gate!" Another yelled, opening the Tunnels entrance wide and using the thick nuclear-bomb proof gate as cover.

"Magnum- you alright?" Zealo lifted his snow goggles, peering at Magnum's bleeding shoulder. The blood was soaking through her cold weather gear. "Damnit- here." He tore off a sleeve, and wrapped it tightly under her arm.

"Eep!"

"Sorry! Did that hurt? Where does it hurt?" Zealo frantically checked his bandaging work.

"That.. Tickles..." Magnum smiled, however painfully. The frost wasn't doing her injury any good. Her breathing was irregular, and she looked awfully tired.

"Hey- hey! Sleepy head!"

"Shuddyup." She muttered.

"What's going on?" Rainbow and Octavia stepped out into the open. "Oh, shi..."

Without needing a second thought, Rainbow whipped out her cleaver and Octavia pulled out her tommy gun.

A blast from the cleaver sent snow particles curling up around it, a shockwave clearly visible as it rippled through the air.

"The storm's getting worse everypony!" Noteworthy yelled.

"Yeah I reckon..." Rainbow muttered, pulling her snow goggles over her eyes. She could feel a chilling new southerly cutting into her face now. It was getting colder.

"Get Magnum inside! Her wound is gonna freeze if we don't do something about it. Zealo, take her to the underground clinic!" Octavia pointed back into the Tunnels.

"You boys leave too. We've got this covered." Rainbow said, turning her attention to the distant assault units and firing her shots there.

"Commander-"

"Get your men and leave!" Rainbow yelled. "Move it soldier!" She slammed the cleaver into the ground and shoved Zealo into the Tunnels. "Magnum, you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Magnum said, but her expression said otherwise. "It just... Hurts, is all."

Rainbow chuckled. "Take care." She gave her a light pat on the back as she followed Zealo. "Well then? Come on!" She pulled the cleaver out from the ground and fired off a few more shots.

The remaining few science faction soldiers made it into the entrance, firing behind them as they went.

"Come on Tavi! Dusty and whoever you are- clear as many enemies as possible! Don't stay out here for too long- they've got more reinforcements closing in!" Rainbow yelled, losing three shots into the crowd before swinging into the Tunnels with Tavi.

She slammed the gates shut, the locks clicking satisfyingly. Nothing's getting past these.

Eclipse, now Seth approved(I think. Saying she looks 'straight up awesome' kinda counts, right?): http://www.equestriadaily.com/2013/08/drawfriend-stuff-885.html

Author's Note

Running outta chapter names guys.

Chapter 66: Angel of Hell

Rainbow let out sigh of relief, listening to the scraping of claws against the heavy metal gate outside. There were probably a few hundred more of those things out there, but the gate stood its ground and left them for Lightning Dust and Noteworthy to annihilate.

"Head to the ambush room." She said, pointing down the hall. "AL, update?"

"Science faction troops, led by Eclipse; have breached the tunnel. We are channeling her and a portion of her troops down the path you allocated." AL replied, conjuring up a screen. Rainbow watched a group of science marines storm down a tunnel, only to all suddenly fall down to a pit full of mines as the floor beneath them simply collapsed.

"Good work." She said, on her way back to the room.

"So what's the plan? How the hell are we going to kill Eclipse!?" Magnum limped beside her(assisted by Zealo), somewhat eager now that she got shot.

"Patience, my friend." Rainbow replied, and Magnum rolled her eyes at her tone. Rainbow really didn't fit well with a 'wise mare' tone. "You'll figure it out soon enough."

"But I have to question your motives. This plan you have laid out significantly ignores multiple tactical advantages which we could easily use." AL replied.

"I'm not trying to win at the moment." Rainbow said. "That'll come after this. If I'm not mistaken, a powerful being like Eclipse would definitely pose a threat to Val- and Val created her. And Val being Val, I doubt she's stupid enough to not put monitoring equipment on Eclipse."

"And...?" Magnum raised an eyebrow.

"She'll be our messenger. I'm sending Val a message." Rainbow's expression darkened as she stopped before a metal door. "She might be playing her own game, but right now it's ours. And we're dictating the rules." She said, punching a code into the terminal and opening the door.

Inside was just an empty room. The only other door was on the far side of the ten by seven rectangle.

"THIS is your plan? Face Eclipse in a confined space?" Octavia frowned.

"There's more to it than you know- but right now there's a small problem. Magnum, can you shoot a gun?" Rainbow turned to the blue earth pony. "I'll take that as a yes." She muttered as Magnum looked up from her injured shoulder and raised an eyebrow, giving her a 'you bucking kidding me?' look.

"Gimme." Magnum muttered, taking Zealo's rifle. Then she gave him a gentle shove, nodding towards the door. "Go. I'll see you in a sec."

"But-"

Magnum stopped him with a kiss.

"Just... Go. I don't want you in here." With something that could potentially kill you, because I would most certainly not want that to happen again.

Zealo gave her a worried look, and turned it to the other ponies behind her. Rainbow seemed focused on the far door, Octavia checking her ammo. His team had split off somewhere else to assist the battles in the Tunnels.

"Then promise me-" he started, but Magnum pressed a hoof against his lips.

"I'll be right here." She replied, giving him a reassuring smile.

Zealo could only give a sad and worried frown in return. "Then..." he sighed. "I'll be waiting." He said, gave her one last look and turned towards the door.

Magnum closed her eyes and sighed as the door slid shut behind him and locked in place.

"Everypony check your grapples. These will be our primary advantage in this fight. We take down Val's toughest, show her that she doesn't scare us." Rainbow said, making sure the green lights were flashing on her wrist-mounted grapple. "AL, give us an overview. I want to know where Eclipse is." She said, and a few holographic screens slid across the room and stopped before her. Security cam feeds.

There was a bright flash behind Rainbow, and she looked behind her.

"AL told me you had a plan?" Nightshade said, poshly dusting some snow off her shoulder. "Mind telling what it i-UNF!" She groaned as Rainbow pulled her into a strangling hug.

"You're alive." Was all Rainbow said as she squeezed the living crap out of the bat pony, her cybernetic limb digging uncomfortably into her side. Nightshade had to teleport out of her grip to prevent herself from getting crushed.

"I am." She replied, cocking her head to one side and studying the somewhat tearful pegasus. "What's with the crying?"

"I guess I sorta blamed myself." Rainbow said after a pause, cutting short a sniff.

"It was my choice, not yours." Nightshade replied, expression neutral. Great, still that stern captain of the night. This moment was meant to be touching!

Rainbow just nodded and smiled as Octavia asked the million dollar question. That is, after also giving the uncomfortable looking bat pony a squeeze.

"How'd you come back?" She asked with a grin. That made the two of them who came back from their graves.

Even Nightshade couldn't help but puff her chest out just a little with pride. Just a little. "My special talent is teleportation. Being a Warden amplifies that. Jumped straight outta hell." She said, and was that a smile? Then it faded, and she rubbed where her left eye would've been with a pained expression. "Cost me a precious eye in the process though." She muttered, adding to herself: "Always liked leftie."

"I'm not even going to start and try to question how that works." Magnum shook her head, and gave her a soldierly pat on the back.

"Magic." A mechanical voice bellowed as Sweetie Bot stomped into the room. Then the cyberpony seemed to shrink a little at her own voice. "Uh... That was loud. Damn, I miss the times when I can sing."

The others shared a chuckle as she trot- clunked in to join them.

"Eclipse has a whole army tearing through the Tunnels towards you. I'll alert you when she's nearby. In the meantime, Rainbow; if you have any more pre-war speeches to say say them now." AL said.

"You don't have any confidence in my plan do you?" Rainbow sighed.

"It's barely a plan. You're just giving yourself a slight advantage in the hopes that you could defeat her with it."

"Still an improvement over what normally happens." Octavia said, and Rainbow wasn't sure whether to support her on that statement or not.

"Hey, I came up with a perfectly functional plan a few days ago! And so far it's been working!" She complained instead.

Magnum rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"What? I did!" Rainbow looked hurt.

"It's called desperation and reckless behavior. You've pretty much acted under the assumption that Haven would be lost anyways." AL said.

"Well you can all go sulk however you want. It still worked." Rainbow snorted.

"Eclipse is getting closer. Only about twenty meters out." AL reported.

"Alright. So here's the plan-" Rainbow said in a hurry.

*

"You know, my level of confidence might've been higher before you told me about this plan of yours. It's also more of a weak strategy." Magnum said flatly.

"It's Eclipse's only weakness and our only chance if we want to defeat her." Rainbow defended.

"Ten seconds." AL warned.

"We're bucked." Octavia sighed.

"Well, I'll remember you all. You know, returning favors." Nightshade shrugged.

"Scratch that. Our guards are useless. INCOMING!" AL seemed to yell.

"Alright everypony! Let's do thi-" Rainbow started, then the door to the room tore from the walls in a crumpled heap and flew towards her. She ducked just in time, the scrap metal skidding across the floor. A fraction of a second late and she would've been smeared by the heavy reinforced alloys.

The rest of the 'team' didn't exactly know what to expect. Science faction troops swarmed in, weapons raised. Eclipse stormed through, floating on her glowing wings.

Then the troops started firing.

"Where's the monologue?" Magnum dove to the side as bullets tore through the wall behind her.

"AL! Now!" Rainbow screamed, deflecting bullets and beams with her cleaver.

Suddenly the walls around them shimmered as the mirage spell was dropped, and revealed stacks among stacks of door frames, a field of magic shimmering within each.

Rainbow fired her grapple behind her, and yanked one out. She flung it across the room where it landed behind several enemies, then back flipped into another one of those portals.

She came out of the one she just tossed, and started slashing just as the marines realized what had happened.

Sweetie Bot was doing her job bouncing teleporters around with controlled explosive bursts from her twin rail guns, and Magnum was darting between them like a shadow. In between portals she would lose a shot at the science faction troops, and to them there were simply bullets coming in from all directions as she teleported from one side of the room to the other.

"ROCKET!!" Somepony screamed, and Nightshade saw the projectile whooshing towards Rainbow. She yanked a portal and teleported to her, putting it right before the rocket. It zoomed in and went boom somewhere else- and judging from the screams, right into the spine of whoever shot it.

"Oh no." Rainbow muttered as a dozen or so science faction soldiers looked her way and started firing beams at her. She grappled a teleporter and flung it at them, all three of them being sucked into the portal. She turned around and raked her cleaver through all three of them as they came flying out. Then she ducked down as Sweetie Bot bucked somepony across the room.

"Wait, are we forgetting something?" Magnum raised an eyebrow as she dove through a portal then rolled onto the floor in the far corner.

Then Eclipse had her incineration rifle pressed against her forehead.

Nightshade teleported to her and tripped Magnum over backwards, the shot of high energy from Eclipse's rifle singeing the tips of her mane. Then she grabbed her and teleported the both of them away from the cyberpony.

"Your plan is crap." Octavia said, backing up against Rainbow and firing controlled bursts with her laser tommy.

"It's working though." Rainbow said enthusiastically, firing the high calibre cleaver.

More science factions troops were swarming in from the entrance by the minute.

"AL! Tell our own troops to emerge and seal off the exit! Our target is Eclipse- not the troops!" Octavia yelled.

"En route." AL replied calmly despite the room full of explosions. Damn level two AIs and their incapability of showing emotions.

Sweetie Bot let loose a barrage of charged bolts of dark green energy, bright explosions rippling across the floor and sending enemies bouncing across the room.

Rainbow fired the last shot, and silence ensued. No more minions left, then.

"Wait, where's Ecli-" she started.

Then she felt the blade tearing into her side.

Nightshade was a fraction of a second late- the glowing machete had already cut a quarter of the way through Rainbow's side. She tackled Eclipse by the waist and teleported the both of them to the opposite side of the room.

Rainbow fell down onto one knee and spat out a mouthful of blood, clutching her side as it rapidly bled. She coughed, leaning against the cleaver, an expression of pain on her face. Then she closed her eyes and collapsed sideways, falling still.

"Check on her!" Magnum yelled, and went to keep Eclipse occupied with the others. Octavia quickly ran to her side.

"Rainbow! Rainbow?" She placed a hoof against her chest for a heartbeat. Nothing. She leant forward and listened for breathing-

Then Rainbow spat in her ear.

"Gah!" She pulled away. "Jerk!"

"Go help the others. I think Eclipse cut something important- I can't get up." She tried, but more blood just oozed out.

"It's just a scratch! Get up already!"

"Says the mare that died from a single bullet wound." Rainbow muttered. "Get AL to stitch me back together and I'm good to go." She said, trying to stand up. Then Magnum came flying out of nowhere and clipped her in the head with her flank.

Eclipse sent the wall of orange slamming into Sweetie Bot, knocking her through a portal and off to somewhere else.

"On the other hoof, I think we should take care of this little pest problem first." Rainbow muttered, and with the help of Octavia and her cleaver; stood up.

"How do you propose we do this?" Octavia asked her as Nightshade kept the cyberpony of death occupied. With the help of Sweetie Bot's disintegration cannons.

"Just keep me steady and stop the bleeding." Rainbow braced the cleaver against her shoulder, rested a hoof on the trigger and supported the cleaver's weight with the other. Octavia helped her stand, and wrapped her coat heavily around her waist.

Magnum sent a grapple out towards a teleporter, slinging it over to her. She rolled into it, emerging behind Eclipse and losing a few shots. They were about to reach Eclipse's head, but the cyberpony blocked every single one of them with a shield.

"Haven't you killed her yet!?" Rainbow's eyes widened as Eclipse looked in her direction and came charging this way. "Uh-oh."

"My talent is not MISSING shots! Getting them blocked by some bullacrap cheating cyberpony power is a whole different story!" Magnum yelled back, leaping through a portal to get to Rainbow before Eclipse could execute the fourth freedom in an unpleasant manner on her.

Rainbow clenched her jaw at the pain in her side and swung the cleaver over her head, sending it into the ground as a temporary barricade.

Eclipse rammed into it with her shoulder, sending it flying away- but it had served its purpose in slowing her for just a second.

Rainbow lunged forward, synthetic arm stretching out with the claws attached at the end.

Eclipse wrapped a glob of orange around her arm and twisted, thumping her down and sending her sliding over to the other side of the room. Had Octavia not bound her wound tightly with fabric, she probably would've been twisted in two just there and then. Still hurt a lot.

She struggled to rise, Eclipse pointing her incineration rifle at her. Then Sweetie Bot intervened, standing in the way to block the shot.

The beam of red which would've completely reduced her to ashes glanced off the enchanted armor, but in return the armor simply melted. The molten metal started burning her internal systems, and just as she was about to use the railgun on her right it simply drooped and went offline.

Instead, she reeled up and slammed her fore hooves against Eclipse's shield. It buckled a bit, but stayed intact. Eclipse sent the shield exploding outwards, launching Sweetie Bot into the far wall. She slid down onto the ground, pieces of armor either missing or melted into her synthetic organs.

"Oh how we could do with an invincible teammate right now." Rainbow muttered. Blithy or Neon- come on!

"Magnum! Check on her!" Octavia yelled, cover firing the blue pony as she darted towards the fallen Sweetie Bot.

"Hey, ya high tech street lamp!" Rainbow yelled at Eclipse, waving her hooves. Please come to me instead... Don't hurt my friends, damnit!

Eclipse wheeled around, a glowing orange hammer forming around her hoof. She raised it, charged forward and slammed it down at Rainbow.

Rainbow raised her synthetic arm, allowing it to absorb the blow. At least, try to.

The metal bent and buckled under the force, and the shockwave traveling down the length of her body opened up her wound for a split second. The amount of blood that suddenly left her body sent her brain reeling, and she stumbled back.

Eclipse pointed a hoof at her, and a column of solid orange matter left her wing and flew towards Rainbow- ready to crush her.

Nightshade appeared, on her back carrying a portal. The column went through, came out a different one, and slammed into Eclipse's back.

"Why are you hitting yourself?" She grinned, ditching the portal.

Eclipse ignored her, backing away. Then her incineration rifle split apart, new parts springing into place and greatly increasing the size of the weapon. So much so that she had to rest it on her shoulder to support it.

"Ah shi." Rainbow muttered, recovering from her temporary blackout. She looked around, and picked up the only thing she could think of that might defend her against such a weapon.

The cannon fired, a bright sphere of glowing red slamming into the face of Rainbow's cleaver as she held it tightly in a hoof.

The force sent her sprawling back, the flames bouncing off of the cleaver and barely scorching its surface.

"Ah! AH!" Rainbow cried, batting at the edge of her black coat, which was set aflame.
Octavia charged forth, tommy laser gun thingy blazing streaks of red. The squeaky 'pew' with each shot made it less intimidating though.

Nightshade saw an opportunity and blinked- the cannon was much too large, if she could get close enough...

Eclipse saw her coming and swung the cannon away from her shoulder, making its parts shift and form a giant sledgehammer. Poor Nightshade was slammed across the room a split second after she appeared behind her, the only thing stopping her from pulverizing was her enchanted moon steel armor.

"How's Sweetie Belle looking?" Rainbow asked, getting up from her vicious battle with an element of nature, a good portion of her coat eaten away and lying in ashes. Damn, if only Octavia knew how to enchant clothes. Rarity probably would know how...

...Goddamnit, don't think about them... Don't....

"Dysfunctional." Was the only word Magnum could use as she crouched near the fallen cyberpony.

Except she wasn't.

Slowly, Sweetie Bot got up; right railgun still dead and dangling.

"I'm staying functional till these ponies are DEAD! They took my parents! My sister! My body!" She screamed, systems turning red with rage instead of the usual green. Worse of all, Rainbow heard no Sweetie Belle in that voice at all- instead, it was just a robot.

That thought that was ever present but never acknowledged sent a shiver down her spine- a robot with a brain. How much pony was left, then?

She looked down at her augmentations, and sighed. No, not thinking about this right now.

But it still nagged at her heart even as the fight went on.

Chapter 67: Bit by Bit

"BUCKBUCKBUCK-" Rainbow dive-rolled into a corner, Eclipse's massive cannon sending blazing spheres of death across the room at her. They exploded in masses of flame against the floors and walls, sizzling and melting any material it came in contact with.

Nightshade swooped in overhead, tossing explosive knives down at Eclipse. The explosions couldn't break her shield, but they did distract her momentarily.

"I'm out!" Magnum yelled, dodging to the side as Eclipse threw something at her. That something later turned out to be Octavia. She ditched the rifle, and was now just dodging and weaving through the mess that was the battle.

"I'm in." A voice said, the loud and echoey crack of a heavy revolver ringing off the metal walls as Daring Do barged in, throwing a clip at Magnum.

Magnum caught it and reloaded, joining Daring and unleashing bullets upon Eclipse.

"Keep her pinned!" Rainbow yelled at the pair. "Octavia- shoot me!"

"What?" Octavia asked incredulously, getting up from where she was thrown.

"Well, close to me. That laser should be able to burn my wound closed, right?"

Octavia looked down at her tommy gun. "You crazy?" Then she caught Rainbow's raised eyebrow and rolled her eyes. "Just don't kill yourself." She threw the gun over to her and pulled out a backup weapon.

"I'll try not to." Rainbow said with sincerity, pointing the gun at her waist.

Red flashed, and she let out a yelp- the gun dropping with a soft clatter. She looked down at her wound, and sighed. Sure, the wound was smoldering with molten flesh now... And was sealing itself...

"Hardly surgical." Octavia observed.

"Well, it's true I've grown attached to this outfit, but..." Rainbow muttered, looking down to where the black coat fused with her flesh.

"Of course, crack a joke or two." Octavia rolled her eyes, picking up her weapon.

"She's making a run for the exit!" Magnum yelled, leaping into portal to stop Eclipse from leaving. Nightshade followed, strategically placing down a seemingly infinite amount of explosive knives to hinder Eclipse's progress.

"Leaving so soon?" Rainbow growled, taking off and slashing with her cleaver.

Eclipse seemed slightly surprised that she was in the fight so soon again. That didn't stop about fifty blades from coming at the rainbow maned pegasus from fifty different directions though.

"As if-!" Rainbow yelled, but didn't finish her sentence. She pointed her cleaver behind her and fired, the blast carrying her from the death zone. She leaned forward, the cleaver's momentum sending her down and the blade up straight for Eclipse's face.

Eclipse formed an orange beam just before her eyes, the cleaver cutting but not going through.

The beam twisted and curled around the cleaver, Eclipse trying to yank it away from Rainbow. Rainbow kicked the blade's trigger, sending it flying down and into a portal Nightshade had slid under them.

Rainbow followed, sticking her tongue out at Eclipse as she went. Then something knocked the portal aside, and Eclipse whirled; expecting Rainbow to leap out of the one behind her.

But she didn't expect Rainbow to double back through the same portal.

Rainbow leapt up and out of the same portal she went into, cleaver slicing through Eclipse's unprepared defenses. Then it embedded itself in the tiny box of a device in Eclipse's back, and Rainbow pulled the trigger.

The force sent Rainbow arching backwards, and she landed with the cleaver ready for another shot.

Eclipse suddenly fell to the floor, collapsing onto her knees as the floating orange objects around her flickered. She was losing control over her abilities.

She turned to fire her incineration rifle at Rainbow, but was bucked in the back by Sweetie Bot's heavy metal hooves. The white and pink death machine clunked forward, railguns pointed downward at Eclipse.

This time Eclipse wasn't the one standing arrogantly over everypony else. She was the one on her knees.

Sweetie Bot's railguns charged up with malicious green energy, and Eclipse's incineration rifle shifted into the huge cannon again.

"LOOK OUT-" Rainbow screamed, leaping forward. Octavia saw her, grabbed a portal, lunged forward, pulled her in with her and rolled onto the ground somewhere else.

A second later the portal they went through was destroyed in a huge red and green explosion which took half the room with it. Rainbow would've been liquified if Octavia hadn't stepped in.

But where was Octavia?

She was lying next to her, her right back hoof sliced off in a clean cut that not even Rainbow's cleaver could inflict. There wasn't any blood- it's as if her hoof simply disappeared. Even the fabric on her pants had been cut in the exact same spot.

Didn't stop her from screaming though.

"Tavi!" Rainbow scrambled up, about to wrap the wound up- but Octavia stopped her.

"Portal wound... It should be fine if you leave it..." She groaned. The wound was slowly oozing blood, but not as much as what could've been. "Go take care of Eclipse! I can handle myself..." She gritted her teeth.

Rainbow glanced at the smoke saturated room behind her, looked back to her friend, then went off into the thick black smoke after Octavia gave her a reassuring nod.

In the smoke, she didn't like what she found at all. There were bits of Sweetie Bot everywhere, but the important part- the brain- was still nowhere to be found. Magnum was tending to an unconscious Daring, a thin trickle of blood running from her forehead down to her chin. Nightshade had been knocked out too, lying next to the pair. Magnum must've already fixed her up.

And Eclipse was nowhere to be found.

Rainbow explored more of the room. The center where the explosion occurred was littered with bits of red and black armor- Eclipse must've taken a heavy hit too. Rainbow's strike must've disabled her abilities to some extent that she couldn't conjure a shield anymore.

The reinforced concrete floors had been cracked, missing in large chunks. But on one of those chunks was Sweetie Bot's head, eyes a soft flicking green.

Rainbow let out a sigh of relief, then froze as she spotted the rest of her body. It had plates and parts missing from all over the place, which included a back leg. But most importantly of all...

The wound that had caused her head to fall off wasn't caused by the explosion. The placement of everything was just wrong. The severed neck on the body was still glowing a soft orange- definitely not caused by the explosion. Her head had been cut off.

Rainbow's eyes widened, and she immediately launched herself towards where Sweetie Bot had fallen. And the severed head only looked on with a resigned look on its face.

An orange claw reached down and clamped around the head, crushing the metal casing and the contents within.

"NO!" Rainbow screamed, swinging her cleaver blindly into the smoke.

The claw dissipated, dropping the crunched remains and forming a blade to block the swing.

The force sent smoke rolling away from the area, revealing Eclipse hiding behind the mist in her dark colored armor.

"You BITCH!" Rainbow launched a kick down into her leg, making her stumble. Another one gone! And she was right there- a few seconds- that's all she needed! And Sweetie Belle would still be here!

Eclipse recovered surprisingly quickly, despite the state her armor was in. Looks like she can't conjure projectile weapons anymore, so was left with two simple glowing blades attached to her wrists.

Her defeat was inevitable. She could see it- and yet, she kept on going.

Rainbow had to wonder, as she swung and parried against the black cyberpony; just how much of a life did she have? Was she simply... A machine?

Because she didn't care at all. Not even in the face of Rainbow's anger.

Rainbow roared, ducking under Eclipse's swing and sidestepping behind her. In one wide slash she cut off her leg, making her fall forward onto her face. And still she flipped around, not a single sound made, and slashed at Rainbow.

Rainbow fired a high calibre bullet right into her chest, making the armor over that region splinter and fly away in pieces. Eclipse herself went sliding across the room and into a teleporter.

Rainbow looked down in time to find Eclipse sliding through the portal right behind her, and in those red eyes she spotted a brief moment of surprise.

But Eclipse's momentum only carried her halfway- from waist down, her body was still trapped across the room in a different portal.

She looked down, unable to move because of her severed legs. Then she looked back up, into Rainbow's magenta eyes. They practically burned.

Then Rainbow slammed the cleaver straight through the teleporter's frame, busting it. Suddenly the connection with its counterpart severed, and Eclipse was cut in two the same manner Octavia's hoof had gone missing. She fell limp, and just lay there- a half.

And still Rainbow wasn't done. She stomped down on her head, screaming obscenities. She didn't stop until the dead body didn't have a face anymore. And yet her cleaver still flashed again and again.

She wanted retribution for Sweetie Belle's death. For Applebloom's. for her friend's. for everyone the goddamn Science Faction has taken. Finally she found someone she could properly take that anger out on; but Eclipse still wouldn't give her that. No begging for mercy. No pained cries. No looks of resignation in recognizing defeat. Just... Nothing. A plain face, as if it all didn't even matter.

"You- god- bucking- damn- BITCH!" She screamed, emphasizing each word with a kick or a stomp.

Then she felt herself being tugged away, kicking and screaming in rage as she batted at her attacker.

Octavia pressed her against the wall, pinning her down. "Rainbow! Quit it!"

"Let me go! I'm not bucking done yet!" Rainbow yelled, trying to shove Octavia aside.

"She's dead! Rainbow- she's already dead! Nothing you do now will change anything!"

In a small part of her mind Rainbow knew she was right. But a larger part just wanted her to charge out and rip until there was nothing left.

So instead she continued kicking against Octavia.

Finally she hit something soft, and Octavia rolled back with a scream. Instead of going after Eclipse's dead body however, Rainbow leapt onto her friend and jammed the twin blades on her cybernetic arm at her throat.

The blades made a small cut on the grey earth pony's neck, just enough to see some blood. A bit more pressure and...

Rainbow saw her own reflection in those silver blades. Mane and coat stained with thickened and dried blood. One eye wide and wild, while the other cybernetic one glowed a calm malicious red. She traced back to her arm. Her metal arm, the one she had lost. It wasn't even a part of her- she could feel it, sure- but she could also feel that it wasn't a part of her.

That part was gone forever.

Octavia didn't look at her with blame. There was no anger in those eyes, but there was something worse than all that- disappointment. And Rainbow knew why.

Back in the outskirts of the Everfree, she had tried to kill Silver out of sheer anger, out of a desire for revenge. A selfish desire. She had been so angry that everything she had worked for had been lost because of this one pony, she had lost herself. There was nothing she could do to bring her friends back, and yet she still sought to kill Silver even if it would solve nothing.

It was the same here and now. She was unable to control her anger, unable to keep it contained and slowly dissipate it. She killed Eclipse, but that wasn't enough for her- she had to mutilate her body, even if it did absolutely nothing. It's not so much that it mattered, because it didn't. But every time she lost herself to something like this, she would truly lose a small bit of herself.

And eventually, there would be nothing left.

She was in a dream state, lost within her own mind. She didn't hear Octavia whisper in her ear, didn't feel her slowly lift the blades away from her throat. Didn't feel the warmth of the soft hug that was offered shortly after.

She only glanced up from Octavia's shoulder. Her friends had gathered in a circle- and yet, nothing was as how it should be. Nopony was playing, laughing, nopony was having fun. They all looked on grimly, smoke and grime wearing away at their colorful coats.

Magnum, blue coat blackened by ash. She had lost a number of limbs in that orbital crash landing. Now the metal parts gleamed under the lone surviving light source in the room.

Nightshade, the eyepatch a dull black against her gray coat. She died trying to save Rainbow, and sacrificed something that was special to her just to come back and save her again. To give everyone a better chance.

Daring, her life of controllable adventure gone. This was survival, and only that. Multiple fresh scars ran over her healthy coat, and even that was losing its strength.

And finally, Octavia. Her hoof missing, once again sacrificed to save Rainbow, and killed by a shot through the chest simply because she was trying to save Equestria. And now, two very small cuts slowly let out beads of red on her throat, a wound inflicted by a friend in her blind rage.

Everyone was losing a bit of themselves. Not just physically, but mentally. Magnum had lost so much of her relatively cheerful personality since when they first met. Octavia was still a little witty at times, sure- but everyone could tell she was just trying to lift the mood... And so none of it meant anything. And then there was Nightshade- she was basically the same, but eventually...

Eventually...

Everypony is losing. One bit at a time. Eventually nothing would be left. And everyone would be dead.

Rainbow buried her face in Octavia's shoulder, hugging her even closer. A friend that she almost killed, and might've never been able to hold like this again. A feeling she was all too familiar with, and didn't want to live through again.

At first there was just a sniffle. Then a whimper. Then the tears. She couldn't see what Octavia was doing, but she could feel her hoof gently stroking her mane as she cried.

She heard hoofsteps, soft and careful ones of her friends as they approached and sat down.

Rainbow struggled to hold her tears in, to stay strong in front of them, to show that she was reliable after that stunt she pulled- but the tears just kept on coming. And she couldn't do anything about it.

As if sensing what she was trying to do, Octavia gently patted her on the back.

"It's okay to cry, Rainbow." She said softly. "You try so hard to protect us. And you do. But it doesn't mean you can't show weakness. There's no point in faking it and giving the impression that you're invincible when you're not."

"Gee," Rainbow chuckled and sniffed at the same time. "That's reassuring."

"No, Rainbow... I'm serious." Octavia gave her neck a soft nuzzle. "Don't pretend and act like you're okay. We know you aren't, and none of us are either. Nopony is invincible. You try to protect us and-"

"Yeah, I TRY alright!" Rainbow's sudden outburst startled everypony but Octavia as she held her.

"And you don't always succeed. But that's okay, because we know you're still here. You're always so loyal to us, Rainbow..." Octavia let go, and gently lifted Rainbow's chin as if talking to a small child. "But give us a chance to be loyal to you. Give us a chance to help you instead."

"But you have!" Rainbow protested, still crying. "You sacrifi-"

"Not physically, Rainbow." Octavia shushed her softly. "We protect each other. It's what friends are meant to do. But you're always there sticking it up. Acting like nothing's the matter. Trying not to get hurt, so you can protect us. And we fall. We cry. We have our outbursts. But we don't hold back, Rainbow. We're honest. And you have to be too." She looked into Rainbow's eyes, looking for assurance- but found only uncertainty.

Rainbow had hidden her emotions. She had tried to act tough, she really did. But there's a point when something becomes too much. When a mental well overflows. And that point is when you can't tell friend from foe, and you jab serrated knives right for your friend's throat.

Rainbow only broke down more, but nodded. Octavia gave a soft smile, and pulled her once more into a hug.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I... I just wanted... For all of us to be here in the end..." She cried, the past week's buried emotions spilling out. "I wanted some sort of answer for Applebloom... For Sweetie Belle... For everyone...." She sniffed. "I just wanted to be strong... I'm sorry..."

A period of silence followed, but then Magnum walked forward and put her arms around the pair. Rainbow looked up in surprise, and the blue earthpony returned a soft smile.

Slowly, the others followed too. They joined the group hug, everypony for once mended again.

"I... I can feel myself slipping away, Octavia..." Rainbow whimpered. "I... I'm dying..."

Octavia was silent for a few seconds. Rainbow looked up, and she said softly: "We all are."

Rainbow didn't just see Octavia though. Magnum was here. Daring was here. Nightshade was here. Everypony was here- everypony on the battlefields, everypony already gone. They were all, or had been; where she was now.

She was dying, there was no doubt about that. But then again, they all were.

*

Rainbow sat in an empty holding cell underground. Octavia wanted to take some precautions and keep her here, as she may still be unstable. She understood, so sat here patiently; counting the bars on the cell door over and over again.

They thought Eclipse was invincible. But she wasn't, and now that was proved. Nopony was ever invincible- and the same went for Val.

"AL?" Rainbow said softly.

"I'm here." AL replied in an equally soft tone.

Rainbow picked up her folded cleaver. Octavia never had any real intentions of keeping her here. The cell was just to remind her- she could break out anytime she wanted to. She eyed the glimmering red crystal inside the cleaver. Was it fading? Slowly diminishing?

She got a mental image of Silver's cleaver. How it shattered so easily. How weak it truly was.

She sighed, and looked up at the camera in the corner of the room.

"AL... I want you to make some augmentations."

"Still more?" AL asked, seemingly surprised. "I saw what happened in that room. A second ago you were crying because you're dying, losing yourself piece by piece; and now you want me to augment you even further?"

"Yes." Rainbow nodded firmly. She wasn't doing this because she was fueled by rage. Because she was desperate. No- she was calm, and felt that certainty inside herself ringing from her core. She knew what was right now... What had to be done. She looked up at the camera with more confidence than she had ever mustered, and said: "That's an order."

AL didn't reply for a few seconds. Then, very carefully; said: "Are you absolutely certain?"

"Yes." Was the reply. Because this one aug wasn't going to make her lose a part of herself. It was going to bind herself with who she truly was together forever.

Author's Note

Hey guys! I finally learnt to say 'coat' instead of 'skin'! How bout that!
(The original reason I decided to use skin though was because of their outfits. I was afraid the two were gonna get confused. I also didn't know the hats were called Fedoras. I'll change that later)

Chapter 68: Temporary Victory

Soon Rainbow received news of Haven's temporary victory. Her friends had done all the work- they managed to trap the mutated ponies in a place where their melee weapons were of no use, and slowly finished them off with ranged weapons from the surrounding buildings.

A good two thirds of the SF troops were dead after entering the Tunnels. Thanks to Daring, Silver, AL and multiple other ponies' efforts; the Tunnels were a lethal trap for anypony coming in without knowing the layout. Silver led a squad and sneaked around shortcuts and hidden pathways, ambushing SF troops as they walked past. Hit and run, as it always was- but whatever indignities must be said about the strategy, it worked. The only casualties were only ever Science Faction due to the speed and unexpectedness of each attack by Silver and her team.

Zealo and Magnum shared a reunion and spread out around the Tunnels with their own team, placing mines and explosive charges at points where AL observed would be tread upon by enemy forces soon. They would first blow the charges, have Silver's team lose a few shots, then run and hide again to wait. Whatever Haven soldiers left in the Tunnels finished the job.

Octavia, Terra, and Neon led a surface assault which drove half of the enemy forces northwest and the other half northeast, dividing their power. For some reason Valkyrie wasn't sending reinforcements, but that could be a concern for later and a blessing for now. Noteworthy and Lightning Dust teamed up to bring destructive havoc on what little remains of the SF occupation in Haven, blowing over buildings right on top of the enemies' heads.

Scootaloo, AL, and several other ponies co-ordinated the Haven fighters from HQ, forming strategies together and giving out orders. Messengers had to run or fly out onto the battlefield to areas where comms had been cut offline, making things a little bit more difficult. Scootaloo was starting to become a little emotional by the end of all the planning. The death of her two dearest childhood friends was starting to haunt her, and AL temporarily relieved her of her position before things got out of hoof.

The fillies and foals out back had been protected by Halcyon long enough for reinforcements to arrive- she held off against five Science Faction mechs alone. Only one filly died, and it was because she panicked and ran out onto the battlefield. She was killed by a stray shell- and while there wasn't anything left of her, Halcyon at least had the liberty of telling the grieving parents that it was fast and painless- but that would be something to do after she recovers from her own injuries and spent body.

So that's what war was. But this is a war that Equestria had never before witnessed- it was a senseless killing- where there would only be one surviving side by the end of it. Civilians and soldiers alike were getting slaughtered, and it didn't matter who you were or which side you were on.

Haven is a small victory. One amongst countless others all around the world as the Wardens or otherwise lead different parts of Equestria to stand up against their technologically advanced overlords. But they were losing too- the coup was still fragile. There was still a trump card which has yet to be accounted for- one in the hands of Valkyrie.
When the Barricade fell... That was what gave hope. A symbol destroyed. Back then people hadn't realized how many ponies died on that Science Faction behemoth. Now that death was all around them, they were beginning to see what they had truly put into motion.

A war with no real purpose but to slaughter the enemy. A war with no meaning because it traded one's freedom for another's. Arguably Valkyrie was evil- but that was just one pony. Countless others were dying while we try to get at her- and maybe they're the real ones fighting for their own world. Their own government. Their own leader.

After all, evil always believes it's doing good.

But then again- since both Magic and Science believe their own goals to be righteous- who's the evil one?

It had been seven hours since Eclipse was killed. Rainbow was in her cell again after AL made the augmentations she requested- who then promptly deleted any record of it from AL's memory bank as a precaution. With AL's approval first, of course.

There was a buzz, and the cell door opened. Octavia walked in, walking with a bit of a limp because of her metal rear right hoof. She almost looked a few years older from how tired she was, but there was smile on her face. Something Rainbow gazed at with curiosity.

"We won, RD." Octavia laughed, sitting down. "We got Haven back on our own."

Rainbow grinned, whistled, and looked up at the ceiling.

"And I didn't have to lift a hoof. I should do this more often." She chuckled.

"Told you we can handle things too." Octavia punched her lightly on the shoulder.

"Yeah." Rainbow said, closing her eyes. After that conversation she had with her, she panicked a lot less considering the circumstances.

A period of silence followed as the two bathed in their mental relief.

"Uh... Rainbow? You might wanna come up to HQ. Need you to confirm something."

Rainbow looked up to the speakers at her own voice, then glanced at Octavia.

"Silver's calling." Octavia said, standing up. "She called for you. Probably is important- you better come."

"Got it." Rainbow said, standing up. The red glow from her cyber eye seemed to rival that of her cleaver's.

"Rainbow's here. You talk to her and sort things out before I get AL to shut you out forever." Silver was saying as Rainbow entered the small command center, Silver's remaining holographic models still drifting about in space.

"I'm monitoring all systems. No foreign programs or unauthorized access attempts detected." AL said.

"What's going on?" Rainbow asked, pushing aside a few annoying holograms as she walked in, Octavia close behind.

Silver looked up, a relieved expression flashing across her face as she spotted her alternate universe counterpart.

"Blithy's on the line. But it could be Val herself." She said.

"Blithy." Rainbow answered immediately, and Silver huffed with a roll of her eyes.

"Rainbow? Pah, thank Celestia. Valkyrie here."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, and the holographic words 'scanning' appeared as a silent message from AL. It changed to 'no digital hostilities detected' a second later.

"The hell do you want?" Rainbow spoke.

"Blithy is here too. Look, I need to catch you up on a few things before I can explain why I'M here." Valkyrie said, sighing.

And so she told Rainbow and all who listened about how Val was a splinter, and that Valkyrie was a separate conscience inside Blithy's head with the ability to swap controls of the body around between the two.

"Blithy's in charge right now, keeping Val distracted. She doesn't seem to know of the Magic digital network, which is why she can't access it- but Blithy's body from our world can, which is what I'm partially using to talk to you."

"So that's why your voice is all funny." Octavia raised an eyebrow. "The words you're speaking right now are directly formulated from inside your brain."

A moment of silence.

"Essentially, yes." Valkyrie sighed.

"And we are... Expected to believe this?" Rainbow folded her arms.

"No, I suppose not. But I can provide you with information, whether or not you choose to believe it."

Rainbow stared at the terminal for a moment.

"Baaah I'm just messing with ya." Valkyrie sighed. "Listen. Val's talking about some sort of crazy ancient science project."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, her cybernetic eye shimmering. Valkyrie seemed to acknowledge her skepticism by the radio silence.

"Does... 'Genesis' sound familiar?"

That caught Rainbow's attention, and Octavia's- that was what they were meant to find out about when they were dumped into this universe in Manehatten.

"Well it has something to do with the sun. Can't say if Val's gone crazy or not, but she plans to go there. Judging from what I've heard, the COLOSSUS is down; so I'm not sure how else she plans on doing it. Apparently there's some sort of ancient castle in the sun itself, and somehow that controls the entire universe. Also she has an activation key type of device, although I have no idea what it's for." Valkyrie mentally tapped her chin.

"What do you mean you have no idea? Just think, what would YOU need a key for?"

"Backdoor?" Valkyrie answered, and Octavia face-hoofed.

"Right now it could be for anything. Val has something big planned, and we don't know what it is. Great." Rainbow ran a hoof through her mane.

"Right now she's in Valhalla, some sort of main building like the CMC tower in Haven." Valkyrie sighed. "But I guess you already know that. Also, she keeps blabbering on about something- ahem, someone- called 'Penumbra'. Not sure if that means anything to you."

"It doesn't." Rainbow muttered in frustration, turning away.

"Wait! I also heard Val say this once- 'Project Ascension'. Starshine was meant to execute the first step of the project, although still there's no telling what it is."

Rainbow paused. "Project Ascension? I've heard that somewhere before..." She raked through her brain, almost coming up empty- but then... "Applejack mentioned it in her video." Her eyes brightened for a moment, then dimmed again. "Still doesn't tell us anything about the project."

"Val is keeping this very discreet." Valkyrie nodded mentally. "I'll see if Blithy can get more out of her. In the meantime, take her down fast."

"Got it." Rainbow said. "Oh, and Valkyrie?"

"Hmmm?"

Rainbow sighed. "Make sure Blithy is okay. You keep the both you safe, alright? Blithy is strong, but not as strong as you are. Even if you're both immortal. I'm just going to trust you this once, don't betray it."

Valkyrie didn't say anything for a moment. Rainbow thought the connection was lost or something, shortly before she spoke again. "I will." Then the connection terminated.

"AL, have you analyzed Eclipse's armor?" Rainbow turned away from the terminal.

"I have. The particle manipulators were damaged, but I managed to theoretically reconstruct them. Changes have been made to the requested vehicles." AL said.

"Good. Val isn't sending reinforcements for her troops, and I want to know why. In the meantime while we wait for the rest of our army to arrive from down south, do you mind sending out a recon unit?" Rainbow brought up a few holographic screens, cycling through the camera feeds.

"No available units left. Raider, the company manufacturing and storing our remote controlled units; was destroyed by the COLOSSUS's dark matter cannon. All units were destroyed." AL replied.

"Send out a salvage team for scraps and assemble one. We need to be able to keep track of things." Rainbow said.

"Can't we just use one of the cars? Don't we have, like; fifty?" Silver raised an arm.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow up at the camera in the corner.

"Could work." AL said, and Rainbow looked back down again.

"Do that then. But still send out a salvage team, an aerial drone would be better. The car will suffice for now. Just survey the area, see if the reason behind Val's withdrawal is environmental or otherwise. After all, we did have that big orbital crash come in a while ago. Might be magical radiation." Rainbow reasoned. "Bring basic testing equipment."

"Loading the car now. Should be ready for surveying in thirty minutes or less." AL said.

"Good." Rainbow said. "Now we just need to-" her sentence was interrupted by another signal from the comms, a familiar stallion's voice. And it sounded like he had gone a week without sleep.

"...Captain Shining Armor of the M.F. CYCLOPS... Calling for survivors in Haven... Does anyone copy..."

"Copy! I copy!" Rainbow yelled, and Octavia clapped hooves with Silver. Finally, contact with reinforcements! Good to know they were still out there. "Shining Armor, this is Rainbow Dash from Haven. We have sustained heavy casualties but retrieved a temporary victory. We are being sustained by supplies from an underground storage, over."

There was a pause, and for a second Rainbow thought they had lost the signal or something.

"Copy Rainbow. There are only a few ships remaining of the fleet... We're guarding the surface as per Spitfire's orders. Science Faction ships have retreated back towards the sun."

Rainbow and Octavia shared a look. What the hell is Val planning... Looks like Valkyrie wasn't joking about the sun being a key point.

"We need to evacuate civilians to a safer zone. Can you do that?" Rainbow asked. Haven was growing colder and colder by the minute since the shields were down, and was quickly being consumed by the relentless Arctic weather. Also, Haven was technically still a warzone- hell, the entire Arctic North was a warzone.

"Copy. Our ships are fifty minutes out, approximately. Further reinforcements will be there in five hours." Shining Armor said.

"Wait, you've made contact with the rest of the Wardens?" Octavia jutted in.

"Affirmative. Blaze's forces from Tartarus and the Badlands will arrive a few hours later than Tesla's from Western Equestria." Shining Armor replied.

"You sound tired." Rainbow pointed out.

"Many things have happened." Shining Armor stated the obvious, but avoided the question.

"Rest, Shining Armor. We'll need every ounce of strength left for this final push against the science faction." Rainbow looked down, a weak sigh escaping her lips. One last push... And it should be the end... She didn't want to bring Twilight up, nor Cadence. She could barely imagine the pain he was in. She could understand losing a friend, but not a sibling or a lover. She was surprised he was still here as a captain after everything.

"Thank you for your concerns, Rainbow..." Shining Armor sighed as well, undoubtedly thinking about the same ponies as Rainbow currently was. "...but I have to see this one through. No more mistakes."

Rainbow nodded, tearing up a little. She quickly blinked it back though, and took a deep breath. Looking up, THIS was the time to act tough. She nodded again. "No more mistakes." She repeated his words, in her own context.

"Captain Shining Armor, out." The comms went silent.

Rainbow stood still for several seconds, then moved to bring up a dozen holographic tables and screens.

"What are you doing?" Octavia approached, Rainbow's hooves a blur of motion as she arranged this and changed that.

"Making some final adjustments." She replied, then backed away and shoved a single big screen she pieced together from the others towards the far wall. A blueprint of some sort. "AL, do we have enough resources for this plan?"

"Well, twenty of these; perhaps just barely." AL said, her forcefully cheerful voice sounding thoughtful.

"Good. I want these done in five hours." Rainbow leaned forward into an actual table, tapping her hooves on its surface. "By the time our reinforcements reach us, I'll give them one day of rest- but then, hopefully; it's time to take care of things- once and for all."

The door to the room opened, and Dainty and Lily trotted in- the former holding a few spare microchips, the latter with a screwdriver in her mouth.

Rainbow turned around, and all eyes turned to her. While the fillies didn't know, Octavia and the others would consider her as 'unstable' at the moment. They were going to keep a close eye on her.

"Girls." Rainbow smiled weakly, crouching down. "I see Halcyon kept you two safe?"

Dainty grinned. "She was super awesome! All these bad ponies kept coming, and she just threw them away with a flick of her hoof!" She rose up on her rears and made a few punching motions with her fronts.

"She could make water FLY!" Lily added, and Octavia patted her head.

Rainbow didn't speak for a moment as she stood still, the smile frozen on her face growing more and more forced by the second. Dainty had a few bruises, probably from running around. She was ignoring them, and she could tell. Even she knew not to let her worry.

Dainty was still rambling on about how awesome the Warden of Water was when Rainbow pulled her into a tight hug. Dainty smelt of engine oil, and Rainbow gunpowder.

"Uh... Sis?" Dainty raised an eyebrow, though Rainbow didn't see it.

Rainbow let go, sighing and smiling to herself. She looked up, and for some reason she looked a little older than she was. "I'm... I'm just glad you're safe." She said. Dainty's face was half bathed in the red glow from her cybernetic eye.

Standing up, Rainbow gave Dainty one last ruffle behind the ears before turning to the holograms still floating in the air.

Why did it have to be this way?

Her plan up to this point had always been to get it over and done with, finish the job fast. But she was making a mistake, one she made long ago.

She was working so hard to protect something that she'd never even get a chance to experience it again.

*

"Our reinforcements have arrived, and we have assembled a drone for reconnaissance." AL announced. "Should we proceed with the plan?"

"No." Rainbow held up a hoof.

"No?"

"No." Rainbow sighed, taking a sip from her glass of whiskey. She had asked to be left alone again, in the command center; under the excuse of coming up with a plan.

"If I may ask, why?"

Rainbow got up, taking the glass with her and gently swirling its golden contents. She took another drink, and AL contemplated her silence.

"Tell me, AL; what are the chances of all of us surviving this last mission? Including all the unknown variables and risks?" Rainbow asked, leaning against the table. She looked down at her glass. "Hmm. This stuff is good."

"All of you? As in Blaze, Halcyon, Neon-"

"All of us." Rainbow said. "Together."

All AL's camera could get was a back view of Rainbow. The artificial intelligence couldn't tell what she was trying to do.

"It's a point seven percent chance." She replied, after a moment of silence.

Rainbow didn't say anything. She just took another sip. "And the chances of none of us making it back?"

"Twenty one percent."

This time Rainbow chuckled, and lifted the glass to her lips once again. "We're all going to bucking die." She drank.

"The likelihood of at least seventy percent of you surviving is thirty percent, mind you-"

"That's not the point, AL!" Rainbow snapped, and the AI shut up. She sighed, shaking her head. "Sorry, didn't mean to growl. It's just... Since we're all going to die anyway, might as well..." She drifted off.

"Yes?"

Rainbow stared at the dark corner for a while, thinking. Then she turned around, and grinned. "...throw a big party."

Chapter 69: Party!

Somepony once asked Rainbow: what would the last thing you want to do be, if you knew you were going to die?

At the time, there were many candidates. Do one final lap around the Wonderbolts course.
Eat one of Pinkie's cupcakes. Get a date, for the goddess's sakes.

Or hang out with your friends, because you care about them. Because they care about you. Because if you don't, you'll die feeling guilty. Because nothing else was more valuable.

And that was what this was. She was doing this more for herself than anypony around her, Rainbow realized as she sipped punch through a straw in a corner; watching the festivities around her.

She realized she was just as likely to die as almost everyone else in this room.

Suddenly the crowd roared, glasses getting raised above helmeted and non-helmeted heads. Rainbow raised an eyebrow, peering over the crowd.

Everypony started clapping along with the music, and Rainbow chuckled as she spotted Blaze and Halcyon dancing away in the midst of it. The crowd clapped them on, their fellow soldiers whooping and giving loud hoof stomps.

Rainbow laughed as Blaze almost tripped, but was saved by Halcyon who pulled him back on balance. He blushed lightly, aware of the few 'ooh's the soldiers were teasing with.

Rainbow continued sipping from her straw. It wasn't great fruit punch- but the chefs did what they could with what they had. They melted snow and mixed it with something else, so it was all still nice and cold. She wasn't going to join in with the festivities- for now. More and more she understood Pinkie- at this point in time, she only wanted others to be happy.
If they were happy, then she was happy.

She watched Blaze and Halcyon dance for a little longer. Then she cast her gaze on the fillies and colts- the children were all zooming about in the crowd, presumably in a game of tag. She spotted Dainty, but then she disappeared a second later. She was followed by Lily, who looked around cluelessly for a few seconds before creeping on. Rainbow sighed.

Tag...

...that used to be a fun game.

More and more ponies were joining Blaze and Halcyon on the dance floor- soldiers and their partners, mostly. Rainbow thought she saw Terra and Nightshade for a split second, and blinked as if it were a hallucination. Nope. They were definitely dancing together.

Then she spotted a slightly less cheerful sight.

Captain Shining Armor took a seat at the bar, smiling sadly behind him at the dancers as he drank from his cup. Rainbow felt herself tense a little, but walked forward to sit beside him anyway.

"Nice party." He said, chuckling from his glass.

"I learnt from the best." Rainbow laughed.

For a second nopony had anything to say. The music changed to something involving a violin and harmonica in some really country tune, reminding Rainbow of something Applejack might listen to.

"It's so unreal, isn't it?" Shining Armor finally said.

Rainbow considered his question for a moment. "Yeah."

"I can barely tell them apart anymore. Two memories in one place..."

"Hey, don't think too much about it. We gotta live in the present more than ever nowadays, amiright?"

"Doesn't stop me from remembering."

Rainbow, to her own surprise; found herself laughing. "No, no it doesn't."

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at her. "What's so funny?"

Rainbow shook her head. "Memories, that's what's funny." She coughed, choking a little on her drink. "Normally you wouldn't even try to remember things like these, and sometimes they just get so lost in your mind that you won't even recall them. But now... It feels like everything that was important isn't even important anymore. I'm remembering all this crap all of a sudden for no reason."

Shining Armor snickered. "Yeah... Remembering sucks."

That led Rainbow straight to the point she wanted to make.

"But not remembering is even worse." She said, and Shining Armor looked at her questioningly.

"How so? It'll be so much easier to just... Forget."

"That isn't the same as moving on, Captain." Rainbow offered a kind smile. "Forgetting will only erase the memories you had. Every bit will contribute to who you are now. Your friends, your family. Everyone. As far as we're concerned those who died no longer exist now- but they'll always be there in our memories. So remembering isn't all that bad- it keeps them alive." Rainbow went past the straw and took a gulp instead. "Memories can hurt. But they are far too beneficial to simply be discarded like trash. If you were the one buried in the ground, would you want Cadence to forget?"

It was a gamble on Rainbow's part, bringing up the source of the Captain's pain. She saw him tense a little, the mood changing slightly.

"No." Shining Armor finally said. He took a drink from his glass.

Rainbow watched him carefully for a second, then nodded. "I thought as much." She leant forward and took Shining Armor's glass off of him, then gulped the remaining alcohol in it for herself. She wiped her mouth with a sleeve, then gestured at the bowl of punch a little way away. "Get yourself something that won't simply drown your sorrows. You know you'll need to cope with them on your own."

Shining Armor glared at her for a second. Then he sighed, chuckling to himself as he left.
"Cheer up, Dashie!" Rainbow thought she heard Pinkie say. "You gotta deal with your own saddy-waddy face too!"

She laughed. Great, she was hearing ghosts now too.

But ghost Pinkie was right. She gave Shining Armor a theoretical lecture and it didn't even reach her own heart.

Deal with her sorrows, eh... Time to remember then.

It had been far too long since she willingly remembered. Happy memories from a distant time she almost all but forgot about. Thinking of the Wonderbolt academy days reminded her of Spitfire. She was one hell of a trainer, with all the yelling and what not. Rainbow chuckled grimly, but there was a light tone in it. Spitfire was going to get her grave after this war, she was going to make sure of that. Maybe write something on it to piss her off too.

Pinkie's letters... She remembered when she had to be on campus for long periods of time, and Pinkie would send her letters almost every day. It was a bit of an annoyance back then, but thinking about it now made her cry.

She laughed to clear up the tears a bit, thinking back to the time the two of them pranked all those ponies. It's been so long...

...Oh wait, this was a party; wasn't it?

*

Octavia was chatting with Silver and Daring when something went SPLAT against the back of her head, a cold wave washing over her backside. She looked down at her dripping sleeve and the bits of balloon clinging to her coat, sighed, and looked behind her.

Rainbow whistled a soft tune to herself in the far corner, staring at the ceiling. Octavia grimly ignored Silver and Daring's barely-contained giggles.

A green energy grapple flew across the room and latched onto one of the water balloons Rainbow had prepared in a bucket, and wrenched it away.

Octavia swung it back again, making it slam against the side of Rainbow's head. There was a satisfying THUNK and explosion of melted ice as the pegasus cartwheeled over the bar.

"Tavi! It was a joke!" Rainbow cried from behind the counter, shakily getting up and soaked in cold water. "You almost killed me!"

Octavia pulled the 'whistle and pretend you know nothing' trick, resuming her chat with Silver and Daring.

Rainbow, refusing to giving up; launched another projectile. This time Octavia was prepared, and so she stepped aside and let it squish against Daring's face.

The famous adventurer's drink dropped from her hoof and splashed onto the ground, followed by bits of balloon and droplets of water. The big chunk of balloon still stuck to her face slowly slid away, revealing the excessively annoyed expression beneath.

She stormed over to Rainbow(who was too busy trying not to laugh out loud to notice her), grabbed the entire bucket of balloons and swung it down over Rainbow's head.

All Octavia saw was a downward explosion of water from the bucket as all the balloons popped and soaked Rainbow in freezing water. Daring dusted her hooves and walked away.

Rainbow threw the bucket aside, grinning as she was about to get Daring in the back. She had another in her pocket- it wasn't filled to the brim, so there would be more painful splat than bone-chilling splash.

Daring's ear twitched, and she ducked down just in time. The balloon bounced just a little to the left of Octavia but didn't explode. It went boing and sprang over the crowd.

"Oooooh..." The crowd said after a loud splash.

Rainbow peered over the ponies, who now were all looking at her. Not with annoyance, but... Pity...?

Halcyon growled from the dance floor, the balloon popped on her horn and drenching her dress and mane in water. She pawed at the floor, then her horn started glowing.

"Ah, crap."

*

Vinyl, Frostbite and EDI made it back to Haven. EDI was still making her way to the city when the other two met up along the way, so she gave them a ride. Not that Rainbow would mind, so whatever. They apparently had important intel anyway.

When they got to Haven, however; all was not well.

"What the hell happened here..." Vinyl gasped at the destroyed buildings all around her as EDI drove them deeper into the city. There were bodies all over the floor, both magic and science; along with many vehicles and whatnot. No civilians, strangely.

The science faction must've attacked. And they had either won, or worse.

"Hmmm. Terra was here." Frostbite commented, staring out the window at a large stone column.

"That dark matter beam we saw must've scored a direct hit on central..." Vinyl said, looking up. The CMC tower wasn't there anymore. It was a sad and demoralizing sight, to see something she had looked up to for protection all her life simply gone. The crumbled wall was already depressing enough. She just hoped Applebloom and the others made it out alright.

"Picking up a local frequency. Ours." EDI chirped.

"Put us through." Frostbite commanded.

There were a few seconds of static, but then a mare's voice popped through.

"This is MF Haven, identify yourselves." Frostbite recognized the voice's owner. It was that pegasus CMC, Scootasomething.

"Frostbite, Vinyl Scratch and EDI. EDI'll send you verification now."

"Mmm... Received. Good to have you guys back. Was starting to think you died... Like everyone else..."

Vinyl and Frostbite shared a look at that.

"What happened here?" Vinyl asked.

"Science faction attacked. Rainbow commanded our troops, repelled them, killed Eclipse, and now she's throwing a party." Scootaloo yawned.

"Sorry, come again?" Vinyl raised an eyebrow.

"Party. Boosting troop morale, blah blah blah." Scootaloo sounded excessively tired. Must be what a long battle does to ponies. "Tunnels. Rainbow'll hate for you guys to miss it."

Vinyl frowned, pointing to the mic in her ear and tilting her head at Frostbite. "You getting this?"

"Don't disobey a superior's orders." The griffon smirked in return, and Vinyl shook her head in surrender.

Frostbite found one of the Tunnel's old entrances. EDI drove off somewhere else to find a different way in.

"Soldiers." A guard greeted the pair as they entered the underground shelter.

"Officer. Get us up to date." Vinyl said, hoofsteps snapping loudly to a halt.

"The SF COLOSSUS fired upon Haven Central via its dark matter cannon. Applebloom was killed in action on the wall and Sweetie Belle was eliminated by Eclipse. Rainbow Dash launched an operation that repelled the science faction forces, minimized casualties and killed Eclipse. The COLOSSUS was taken down by the OASIS on a suicide run. Captain Spitfire died aboard the OASIS. Captain Shining Armor has survived along with several other ships of the fleet, and they have gathered here per Spitfire's last orders. Those orders have also placed Rainbow Dash in charge of this war." The officer replied quickly and simply.

Vinyl felt chills run down her spine when she heard all the death reports. Frostbite didn't show any emotion. In a few days, they had lost almost all of their commanding officers. That wasn't the problem as Vinyl saw it though- those officers, she worked closely with them before. They were her friends.

She took a deep breath, rubbing her eyes to clear out a stinging feeling. She sighed, and nodded to the officer in acknowledgement.

"Rainbow Dash is waiting down that way." The officer said, nodding down the tunnel.

The pair continued on silently. Vinyl wasn't exactly surprised at the news of their deaths... But it was still a shock. She walked with her head lowered.

Frostbite glanced at her, read her body language, but said nothing and looked onwards again.

"Folks are have'n a party, go check it out." The guard standing next to the door said, jabbing a hoof at the door. Colored light was dancing across the floor from the tiny gap between the door and the floor, loud music blasting into the sheet of metal.

Then a yell and a scream from inside.

Alarmed, Vinyl felt her hoof move towards the pistol holster by her side. She saw Frostbite's claw twitch from the corner of her eye.

"Get away! RUN! RUN!" Somepony screamed from inside.

The guard responded by sliding his rifle out from behind his back, leveling it against the door. Frostbite gently laid a claw flat on Vinyl's chest and pushed her back. They slowly retreated from the door as the chaos within grew louder and louder.

The guard shifted nervously, checking his weapon.

Then the door exploded outwards, thumping against the far wall along with something blue and black. A torrent of water ensued, slamming against the two items and washing down the length of the tunnel.

"Pffffvvvt!" Vinyl spat water into the air, now completely soaked and sitting in water that came up to her knees. Frostbite hovered in the air from where he flew up and avoided the burst.

Halcyon trotted out of the now doorless doorway, oddly attractive in her wet form. The dark blue dress stuck to her skin, her mane was undone and drifted down to her sides. The Warden of Water trotted over to the pile of blue and black like a true Canterlonian mare, hunched down, growled at it like an angry timberwolf, stood back up again with all the finesse in the world; and trotted off past Vinyl.

Vinyl followed her with her eyes until she turned a corner and disappeared.

"The buck just happened?"

Blaze emerged from the party room like a bewildered animal, looking left and right as if a lost tourist on the street. Frostbite jabbed a claw down the way Halcyon went. The Warden of Fire looked up with a blank expression, winced at the cold water around his hooves, then trotted after his counterpart. He might as well have been a lingering ghost.

Vinyl heard a cough, and turned back around again.

The blue and black heap shifted, then spat out a small spurt of water.

"That was totally uncalled for." Rainbow Dash muttered, previously unrecognized by Vinyl since she was but a wet blob then.

*

The party continued, and despite the missing main dancers there were more to fill in. Terra and Nightshade... Rainbow still couldn't get over it. Completely unexpected is what it was. Somepony cast a quick drying spell, so all was nice and clean again- save for several smashed glasses.

"I question your choice in music for this party." Vinyl Scratch addressed Rainbow Dash, sipping punch.

"Ahem." Octavia cleared her throat loudly from the other side of the table, and Rainbow laughed.

"I- oh! Tavi! I didn't mean-"

"Nothing new." Octavia sighed, lying face down on the table. "I actually miss those old days..."

"We're all in the same boat here buddy." Rainbow spun around in her seat and leant against the table, looking between the two.

"God it's been so long..." Vinyl muttered.

"I really don't think I'll have any more strength in me after this. I'll be an old mare with a sword she can't lift." Rainbow chuckled. "When this ends, I'll retire from all this. Find myself a stallion. Maybe pass the cleaver on to some other crazy maniac." She sighed, was about to add something, but shook her head to herself and took a drink instead.

"You can never get too old for party'n." Vinyl commented. "I guess I'll get back to all that. Pump out a few new albums, make some money with it. It's gonna be just fine."

The two waited for Octavia to contribute her plans, but the grey mare said nothing. She just stared down at her cup.

"Tavi?" Rainbow raised a concerned eyebrow.

"Huh? Oh. I, ah; will probably just go back to composing." She replied, although she still seemed... Disconnected.

Suddenly Vinyl stood up and scooped Octavia up with her. Octavia flailed for a second before she realized it was her former roommate holding her up, and relaxed. Whatever she was thinking about left her mind for a second.

"C'mon. Let's hit the dance floor!" Vinyl pulled Rainbow up as well. Rainbow pulled away, to Vinyl's surprise; and gulped down the rest of her punch in a messy manner before rejoining them.

"Let's do this shiz!" She whooped.

*

Sometimes everyone just needs to take their mind of things for a while. It's like a holiday, a rest where everyone can take a while off to think of something else and come back later so they can spot their previous mistakes. Like a typical way to work around a mental block, you leave then come back with your mind refreshed and looking for new ways instead of dwelling in old assumptions that probably won't work no matter how you look at them.

A little cheer. That's what everyone needed. There would be a time to grieve, but for the moment Rainbow made sure everyone was ready to take on new challenges ahead of them. Physically they were well prepared, all the armaments ready to be put into battle at a siren's notice. The only thing left was to get rid of all the sadness and despair the war had brought the troops, and Rainbow was doing exactly that. In the most typical way possible to make someone happy- a party.

"I remember wanting to kill that girl, but can't for the life of me remember why." Valkyrie lingered inside Blithy's head, a voice that spoke all her thoughts aloud. Can't help it when it's a direct neuro input instead of a physical mouth talking.

"I still find it funny how I WAS you for a period of time." Blithy replied, her physical form resting against the back of Val's throne while the Empress herself played around with some plushies. Of dead Rainbow Dashs.

Blithy glanced over her shoulder at Val, who was boringly cutting at one of the plushies with a plastic cleaver. Valkyrie laughed inside Blithy's head.

"Yeah, I remember getting the urge to do that."

"You keep your emotions in line surprisingly well." Blithy commented. After all, she didn't actually show Rainbow Dash any hate. She just acted... Normal...

"Naw. I don't actually hate her. I'm just... Eh, crazy. Let's go with that. It's hard to explain." Valkyrie shrugged.

There was a period of silence where the two thought about nothing and just stared at the fake window behind Val's throne. It was a shot of the sun, probably from one of the science faction cruisers Val sent to it. The screen was dimmed significantly, so Blithy could see all these swirly patterns of churning particles shifting about on the bright orange surface of the star.

Her ears drooped a little.

"I have to be the loneliest pony in the whole world." She muttered, hugging her cold metal knees.

"How so?"

"I've been talking to no one but myself for the past week."

"...Oh. Yeah, that."

Chapter 70: ...Oh.

Rainbow sat in the black car with Octavia, waiting and listening to the radio. Just a bunch of reports and the like, some final preparations. It was dark outside, she could barely see the other car in front of her- also parked inside a confined space.

Octavia whistled a soft tune, tapping her hooves on the steering wheel. There was a soft rumble that spread from deep underground, and the car rattled a little.

The HUD came online with a soft blue glow, and beeped. "We're almost at our destination." EDI chirped.

"ETA five minutes." AL specified from the same speakers.

Rainbow imagined EDI glaring at her AI counterpart for a second or two.

"Why is she in here with me?" The level three AI asked.

"I'm not actually here. I just have wireless overall control." AL replied.

"Please get her out of my system. I feel violated." EDI said.

"You'll be fine, EDI." Octavia patted the steering wheel.

"Moving our drop ships in position. You sure this'll work?" Vinyl's voice came through the speakers, a little worried.

"Very high likelihood. It's the fastest and safest way directly to the tower- we try air dropping our troops normally and it's gonna suck for us. Their aerial defense is way too advanced for our counters." Rainbow had to yell to be heard, as the area was filled with loud hydraulic whines. Whatever was going on outside, there was a lot of yelling as well.

"You idiot! I said load the damn box in the FRONT! Not with the cars!" Somepony shouted at somepony else.

"At least they aren't sulking in despair." Octavia bumped Rainbow's shoulder with a hoof.

"...yeah."

*

Earlier that day...

"Rainbow! RAINBOW!" Rainbow looked up from the table, in the middle of a conversation with Daring and Octavia. Silver and Vinyl went to cause some more havoc elsewhere in the party.

"Derpy?" Octavia looked a little surprised. "Hey! Aren't you supposed to be resti-"

"There's no time!" The grey pegasus cried, walking unsteadily towards the table. She tried to balance herself out with her wings, but was straining to even lift them up. "The doctor! He needs to see you!"

The two bounty hunters shared a look. Always listen to the doctor, no matter what. Rainbow nodded to Derpy, stood up and bolted for the door. Octavia helped the grey pegasus up and tried to calm her.

One of the guards standing by the doorway saluted as Rainbow passed. She gave a quick wave as she stormed down the hallway, leaving the sounds of the party behind her and replacing them with her own echoing hoofsteps.

*

Present time...

"Should we go over the plan one more time?" Daring spoke through the comms.

"Naw. We're fine. Don't want to over do it and have everypony panicking before we deploy." Rainbow reasoned. "But, let's run over the basics. Strike teams three, four and five; you'll take out the three main energy plants around the city. That should cut power to most of their systems- Valhalla tower has its own power source though, so ignore that. Once you're done with taking out the power, assist our ground troops in destroying the Eastern wall- we've already got that location marked and ready to go. Ground troops, bust through that wall and go straight for their shield generators. Val's plan can't work without those shields!"

"And strike teams one and two?"

"Go straight for the tower and Val. Ground troops surround the city and make sure Val can't execute her plan without taking excessive friendly damage. Team one will go straight for Val. Team two, get ready to blow the tower. From there on if anything changes we'll just have to adapt." Rainbow sighed.

"We're here." EDI said. "Welcome to enemy home base."

*

"Doctor?" Rainbow walked into the room, hanging her hat on a small stand by the door.

"I don't usually see anyone in this state." Doctor Whooves muttered, sitting in a chair with a missing leg and dressed in green hospital uniform. He coughed, and shook his head.

"You wanted to see me."

"I did." The Doctor muttered, tried to stand up; but failed and slumped down again. "It's about this situation with Val."

Rainbow nodded, eyes down.

"I've noticed something strange. The magic faction ponies were enslaved and placed underground to mine for minerals, correct?" He said, staring down at the ground and thinking to himself.

"Mostly metals and crystals with energy qualities." Rainbow replied, nodding.

"Where have these things been going to?" The Doctor asked.

Rainbow was ready to answer straight away. She knew this... But somehow, no words came out. Some forty years or more of mining... All these raw materials... She was left there with her mouth open, unable to answer the question.

"Not more space ships, no..." The Doctor said. "We have no record of more appearing. The factories were shut down since after the rebellion with Celestia, disposed because there was no longer any use for them. And yet still our ponies mined as slaves. Ground units? Perhaps- but the resistance we've encountered so far is way too weak for that. If they concentrated on strengthening their army with those materials we would've lost immediately. They weren't used in constructing cities either, most of the science faction settlements aren't even as advanced as Haven."

"Valhalla is though." Rainbow pointed out.

"Indeed, but Valhalla is almost a century old." The Doctor looked at Rainbow with a calculating gaze.

Rainbow blinked. "Valhalla was constructed five years before the mining projects began."

"Coincidence? Perhaps." The Doctor said to himself. "I took a look at a satellite view of the city. The buildings are quite spaced out, meaning there's lots of space that Valhalla isn't using despite it being the current largest city in the world."

"We haven't seen any new ships emerge. The army hasn't been expanded. These raw materials are seemingly disappearing." Rainbow listed all their points, trying to join them.

"Valhalla is the capital. That could explain why all of the science faction forces are retreating there- but why is the capital in the north west corner of the map in somewhere so remote?"

"Discrepancy." Rainbow paced around the room, tapping her chin. "Val wanted it hidden like Haven."

"But why? It's the capital! Have you seen the weapons they have? The city would've been far more effective placed in the middle of Equestria! Supply routes, long range weapons, the efficiency of all of these things could've been raised significantly if the placement of Valhalla was different." The Doctor was tapping his hooves on the arms of his chair with excitement. "Think about it! It doesn't make sense!"

"Underground." Rainbow gasped. "There has to be something important underground. Under the city." She started running through evidence the Doctor has provided to confirm her theory. "Discrepancy... Secret projects.. Project Ascension, whatever it is; but of course! Raw materials for construction- our monitoring of space and surface leaves the underground unseen, check! The city's spaced out buildings- there must be something far larger beneath the earth- check!"

"And I have a theory as to what it is."

*

Present time...

The loud hum of the drop ship's engines rang inside the car. It was producing more tension than need be.

"Drop ship is all warmed up. We're ready to go." The pilot said, his voice traveling through the ship's speakers.

"Copy that. Waiting on the others." Rainbow sighed, watching a small holographic projection EDI cast up. It showed all the drop ships as either red dots or green dots, red meaning still in preparation while green representing the units that are ready to take off.

Finally the last red light turned green, and Rainbow gave the order.

"All ships are on standby. Captain, whenever you're ready."

*

Shining Armor paced around the bridge of the M.F. ILLUSION, getting everyone in line. This was it. A strike straight into Science Faction home territory- no slip ups would be allowed.

"Captain, we're nearing Valhalla."

"Disengage cloak. Open the hangar bay doors! Drop ships, be on your way!" He yelled, waving a hoof in the air as a signal to slow the space cruiser down. "Escort fighters, you're clear for take off!"

*

"Cabin air pressure, check." Lightning Dust flicked a few switches, sitting pretty in her faithful old Apollo. "Fuel... Eh, gauge's always been broken. Check."

"Drop ships are taking off." The comms buzzed.

"Copy that." Lightning Dust watched as the relatively large drop ships hovered above ground, red flares igniting from their engines. The hangar gates, miles across; slowly slid open. The view of space outside was filtered by a light aqua colored shield, keeping the air inside the ship.

"Aaaand there they go." Lightning Dust commented as the ships left the hangar, diving down towards the earth the moment they emerged.

"Better catch up fillies and gentlecolts." She saw Cloudchaser's Apollo zoom past and fly after the ships.

"Best be on our way." She tapped the side of her helmet, and her HUD integrated visor dropped down. "Time to win this."

*

"Entering the atmosphere." Rainbow heard the report through the comms. She couldn't see anything outside the car except through the front window, mainly due to the fact that the car was encased in a special capsule made for the purposes of orbital or aerial deployment.

"Remember, keep above the cloud cover. Make sure visibility is low for their anti-air. We don't want to get shot down before we even get there." Rainbow reminded the pilots.
"Gliding over the clouds..."

*

Earlier...

"AL told me Val's been talking about this whole Genesis thing." The Doctor said, tapping his chin. "It isn't entirely impossible. Highly plausible, in fact. I know very little about this world you live in, and so far it's had its differences and similarities to mine. Since magic is actually a thing here and isn't the result of extremely advanced science, I can see how something powerful enough to control this entire universe could be birthed from combining the two. Not by pony kind, of course; we're still far too rudimentary for that. Probably an alien race from millions of years ago. Who knows where they are now, but still. They could've figured it out."

"Something buried underneath the city that could be associated with this 'Genesis'... And the Sun..." Rainbow muttered. "Wait, then how come Celestia...?"

"I believe there's been a misconception. They say Celestia is the ruler of the Sun, and Luna is of the night- however not the moon. My theory is that Celestia is the ruler of the DAY, and the two sisters manipulated planetary systems to bring about day and night. It's possible they were never truly in control of the celestial bodies themselves, which also might explain why Luna was banished to the moon and was unable to do anything about it despite the moon being 'in her control'."

"So even if there was something about the Sun, Celestia couldn't have known without actually going there for herself." Rainbow summarized.
"Exactly. Thus she wouldn't have known about Genesis."

"But Val... She knew..." Rainbow pointed out.

"I doubt an alien race advanced enough to construct Genesis would visit our solar system and not visit every single planet in it. It would be as simple as walking from A to B for them. There have to be traces."

"And Val picked up their trail." Rainbow shook her head. "Damnit, that's not important right now. What the hell is under the city?"

"From what I've heard and seen, it would seem Val knew of her corrupt space fleet since before this war. Knowing her, she isn't stupid. She would've kept tabs on everyone. With all her ships possibly sabotaged, she probably wasn't about to use any of them to get her to the sun. No, she needed a straight and safe trip." The Doctor waited for Rainbow to catch up.

"A controlled environment. She needed a ship that she could trust completely, one that she had total control over every single tiny little aspect..."

"And what better way to do that than a capital city where only the elite were allowed in, built from top to bottom with the sole purpose of giving her full control?"

*

Present time...

"Keep their radar jammed until Rainbow gives the order!" Shining Armor yelled across the bridge.

"Captain! Scouts are picking up activity from enemy anti-aircraft batteries!"

"Copy that. Rainbow, there's a chance you've been spotted." Shining Armor made his way to the giant holoscreen in the middle of the bridge. Valhalla was shown as a giant red circle in the center, blue dots and arrows around it showing different friendly squadrons and units. "Magnum, can I have a confirmation on that?"

*

"Yeah. Enemy AAs are pointing skyward." Magnum said, hidden under the stealth coat Applebloom designed. Beneath it she wore a heavy arctic suit, the helmet's visor shielding her eyes and its silver paint job blending anything not covered by the coat into the snow. She lay prone on the edge of a cliff roughly two hundred miles out from Valhalla, safely away from the battle.

"Anything else?" Shining Armor's voice buzzed through the comms. It was accompanied by a dose of static, the Arctic weather disrupting the signal.

"I'm seeing a lot of movement on the Valhalla walls." Magnum muttered, peering through the scope of her ACPW in rifle form. "You sure our ground units aren't within visual contact?"

"Negative. Nearest team is saying they don't even know which direction they're facing."

"Odd. Could be a trap of some sort... As usual."

There was a static filled sigh. "Copy that. I'll tell them to hold up until the strike teams get power to the wall cut."

"I'll keep watch in the meantime." Then she spotted something in the sky. "Uh oh. AAs are lit."

*

"Drop ships are taking fire!" Rainbow yelled. "We're gonna have to deploy soon or we'll lose too many units!" She couldn't see anything being on the inside of one of the ships, but boy was it rocking around.

"We should pull the switch now- this thing can't stand a few hits!" Octavia yelled.

Suddenly their windscreen was filled with a blinding white light, an anti-aircraft shell tearing straight through the area just before them.

"Oh... That ain't good..." Rainbow muttered, peering over the car's hood at the hole in the side of the drop ship.

"Seven's been hit! There's a major hull breach!"

"That's our que." Octavia nudged Rainbow. Bits of aircraft were being sucked outside right now, and the sounds of failing engines were traveling in pretty clear despite the car's armor and the metal egg it was locked inside.

"All units- deploy!" Rainbow yelled.

Gravity seemed to disappear completely for a second. Rainbow saw her own hair floating by her side, a few loose accessories in the car leaving their places and slowly drifting up in the air.

Then everything was shoved against her, gravity slamming against the both of them like a brick wall. It took a second for Rainbow's eyes to adjust, and the moment they did she was greeted with an overview of Valhalla outside the front windshield. Her eyes darted around, seeing the city for the first time outside of a scanned hologram.

"Crap... There goes our ride..." Octavia pointed to the left. A flaming crumbling heap of aircraft slowly fell past, a thick column of smoke following it.

"AL, report." Rainbow made a few adjustments on the car's custom installed navigation systems. It was synced with the shell around the car, a few of its components needing a computer to operate.

"All units have been deployed successfully. We have lost three drop ships, however."

"Order the rest to return immediately." Rainbow flicked a switch. "Stabilizers on."

*

"This is a stupid plan." Magnum muttered, watching through her scope. Streaks of smoke were raining down through the cloud cover down towards Valhalla, at the tip of each one a metal shell with a car incased inside of it. She could see three fireballs as well, probably unlucky drop ships.

"You have a better plan?" A voice asked from behind her.

"Yeah. But it requires everyone to be as good as me." She replied, her metal leg making a soft whine as it shifted.

"Well." The mound of snow behind her shifted. Zealo shuffled over a bit, trying to get a better look at Valhalla's eastern sector. He was using long range binoculars instead of a sniper rifle. "Can't decide if that was narcissism or arrogance. "

"Eeh... Bit of both." Magnum said, tracking the metal pods as they fell from the sky.
Strangely, they weren't taking any fire.

"You know, it's pretty cold out here..."

"Oh, psh. You're a big boy." Magnum moved her scope down to check on the AA batteries. Why weren't they firing...

Zealo shuffled a little closer. "I don't think my suit's working."

"You know, I'm starting to feel more and more like the male in the relationship." Magnum chuckled, giving him a poke in the ribs.

"That's because you're this badass world-famous sniper and I'm just a- whoa, what's going on here?" He pointed his binoculars at the Valhalla wall a little bit to the east.

"No idea." Magnum said a second later, tearing her eyes off of the burning anti-air guns.

*

"Captain!"

Shining Armor turned around. A young officer with a blue sleeked back mane approached. He nodded for him to continue.

"We're receiving reports that enemy anti-air guns have been neutralized! Along with most of their long range weaponry!" The officer said. Clearly he also seemed uncertain of this information.

Shining Armor considered that for a moment. Could it be his own troops? Probably not, as Valhalla's long range rail-guns were placed in the city center... "Get Magnum on the line." He waved.

"Yes sir!"

A second later the connection was made. Shining Armor opened his mouth to speak, but Magnum got there first.

"Captain! I don't know what's going on but- I'm looking at the eastern Valhalla wall-"

"Get me a feed from the recon team." Shining Armor gestured for the officer to move.

A large holoscreen popped up, a distant shot of the section of the wall that magic faction troops were readying to attack.

"It... It looks like the science faction is turning on itself!" Magnum's voice was a little staticky from weather interference.

Shining Armor didn't say anything for a second. He stared at the feed from the recon team- there were flashes and flares of light coming on here and there across the top of the wall, clearly from energy grenades or explosions. Occasionally he could see a streak of light or two- presumably stray fire.

"You think they're trying to fool us into attacking them?" He raised an eyebrow at the unlikely conflict.

"Dunno. Looks pretty real from here." Magnum said.

"Alright. Wait till we can get more information- we'll have the strike teams give us a trustworthy report before we go on ahead."

"Copy that."

*

"That's a pretty sight and all, but can they please hurry up and shoot them down already?" Val watched from the hole in the wall of Valhalla tower, made during her fight with Blithy. Bright sunlight shone through it and cast a warm shadow across the throne room.

Blithy followed her line of sight, up towards the cloud cover. She wasn't quite sure what she was seeing. These lines of smoke drawn from the clouds, slowly falling down towards the city- were these a part of Rainbow's plans?

They better be.

Val noticed something a little below the horizon line, down towards the city. She had a second to register what it was, before it exploded against the tower's overshield. She covered her eyes from the bright burst of light, cursing. The blue shield a few meters away flickered for a while, regaining its energy. Then it faded back to its usual invisible state. No damage done, but who the hell shot that?

"HEX? What's going on?"

"It would seem that the conspiracy theory I gave a 0.01% chance of actually happening is happening." The AI replied thoughtfully. "I should reboot."

"No, leave it be." Val held up a hand. She looked around her at the city- large columns of smoke were rising from multiple large fires, most of them coming from her beloved rail-guns. She peered at the wall- looks like anti-aircraft batteries were down too.

There was a loud electric bang, and suddenly the large screen behind the throne winked off. Lights flickered out one by one, an ever present hum that nopony noticed suddenly dying away. All was left in an eery silence, accompanied by the distant sounds of an unexpected battle in the background.

Val took a look around, her one bright cybernetic eye shining into the darkness behind her that was once the throne room. Blithy looked up, as clueless of the current situation as the Empress was.

"Well..." Val looked up at the ceiling. The empty lights seemed to stare back at her. "This is more than unexpected."

"Backup generators online." Valhalla tower's default computer voice chirped happily. The hum was brought back with a loud whir, and one by one the lights came back on again. The screen behind the throne flickered, slowly charging up.

"Warning: major power outage. Warning: overshield disabled." HEX was brought back online again, and was in a state where she wasn't fully in control of anything. That state lasted for a few seconds as she finished up a list of warning reports. "Empress, I am back in service."

"Good, good." Val said. "Updates?"

"Rogue forces have destroyed several major internal power plants. Our security forces are keeping them at bay, and I have placed the tower under lockdown."

"I have programmed you well."

"Thank you." Val could imagine HEX bowing her head. "Incoming transmission from East Valhalla. Friendly unit."

"Accept." Val waved a hand in dismissal.

"Connecting..."

A holoscreen popped up in front of the cyberpony, and she frowned.

"Empress! We're under attack! It looks like somepony organized a coup- ACK!" An explosion tore through the background. The pony speaking was a green unicorn, and Val could see the badges on his chest. Some commander of some unit. "We're being hit from all sides! We don't know who to trust-"

"Yes, yes; I can see that." Val rolled her eyes in a 'I really don't care' manner. "Give me something useful."

"I..." The commander was at a loss for words. Val watched a prism beam hit his temple, and the screen flashed. In the next shot it was on the ground, a tiny splatter of blood in the bottom left corner. A few armored hooves stomped past, loud obvious gunshots echoing through to the camera.

"I was pretty sure this city didn't have any traitors in it." Val raised an eyebrow.

"It's over Val, just give it up!" Blithy yelled from beside the throne.

"You organized this?" Val jabbed a finger outside.

"Well, no... But..." Blithy shook her head. "Whatever. You're done. Valhalla's gone, whatever your plan is it's dead!"

"Actually, my plan will always be alive as long as I live." Val shrugged. "Also, you really are adorable when you stutter like that."

"Wha...? I-I-"

'You're an idiot. Shut up already.' Valkyrie face hoofed.

Val's attention was already on the screen again, however. Somepony had picked it up, and was looking down at it. Val didn't like this camera angle- it made the pony on the other side seem a little bit more superior. Just a little.

The pony holding the camera was calm. She had a little smirk on her face, as if Val already lost the game. Despite the battle still raging on behind her, she was taking her time to enjoy the moment. She was dressed in blue Science Faction infantry armor, but she didn't have her helmet.

"Well well well..." Val folded her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Who is this little pony I haven't even heard about before?"

"You may want to look again." The pony said, her smirk twisting into a nasty grin.

There was a flash of green light.

"...Oh." Even Val was surprised.

"How are you doing... Empress Valkyrie?" A half pony half insect creature hissed. Her voice seemed to echo within itself. "I love what you've done with your city, but... I'm afraid I'm going to have to take it from here. After all, Equestria can only have one queen."

Chapter 71: Valhalla- Part 1

"We're inside the final zone! Deploy everypony- deploy!" Rainbow yelled as Octavia slammed a few buttons and pulled a lever.

The flames from atmospheric friction had long faded as they slowed down during their almost completely vertical descent. Nothing but clear nothings ahead of them now.

The shell around the car split in two and broke apart- they were instantly lifted away by the howling winds, disappearing off behind them.

What emerged wasn't the relatively old-styled luxury car that EDI used to be installed in- but one of Applebloom's intact super sports cars, its black finish gleaming under the sunlight. The look was refined by a thin red line running along the car's low chassis.

"EDI, fins." Rainbow reminded the AI.

"On it."

Their trajectory flattened out a little as they dove towards Valhalla, several fins running along the car's bottom and above the rear adjusting their pitch.

All around them there were other cars as well, ditching their shells and now falling through the sky. Most were part of Applebloom's vehicle collection, others an assortment of salvaged parts pulled together to form a single powerful machine for the job.

"Alrighty... There's the highway." Octavia pointed out the front windshield at a wide road marked a holographic blue. "Adjust."

The car tilted left a little bit, gliding around to prepare for the final landing.

"Crap... I'm seeing a lot of cars on the road..." Rainbow hummed. Then she noticed the plumes of smoke coming from other parts of Valhalla. "What...?"

She saw a flaming anti-air turret, disabled by some sort of explosion. Then another. And several other destroyed structures.

"Did our ground troops attack already?" Octavia frowned.

"I don't think so." Rainbow shook her head, tearing her eyes away and bringing them back to the highway. "Concentrate on the landing."

Octavia sighed. "Got it."

"We're at the third stage altitude." EDI reported with preprogrammed enthusiasm.

"Pull the chutes." Rainbow commanded. The car jolted violently as a trio of parachutes were deployed from the rear of the vehicle, the system rigged to the chassis to ensure it doesn't pull the vehicle apart.

"Has this ever been... Test run?" Octavia asked skeptically. The rapid deceleration was tilting them back, the front end of the car pointed straight down.

"Yes, I mean; no-" Rainbow stammered. "Well, simulator runs."

Octavia pressed her face against the steering wheel, EDI giving a loud honk. "I dislike your plans." She muttered into the high quality artificial leather.

"Don't worry, this is only stage three- wait for four." Rainbow grinned. The ground was coming up real fast- and while the parachutes were preventing them from pancaking into the ground, it was still going to be a head on 20-30mph crash.

"If your plan is for us to land like this..." Octavia began.

"The chutes are just for deceleration, not for landing. Still need to retain some speed."

"FOR WHAT?"

"Stage four is ready." EDI chirped happily.

"Engage." Rainbow said confidently.

"Buck." Octavia contributed. They were barely twenty meters away from the highway. She could count the individual cracks in the asphalt from here.

Something whirred, a shiver traveling down the length of the car. Streaks of glowing orange masses suddenly started appearing before the car, quickly piecing themselves together to form a road barely wide enough for the race car to fit into.

There was a loud thump, followed by a continuous rumbling- similar to the noises of when a large commercial aircraft lands. The vehicle's tires were grinding on the newly formed road, the guiding barriers either side flying past in streaks of bright orange.

The road curved upwards, the vehicle following it. Octavia felt blood rushing away from her face as their forward momentum was violently shoved down, all the downward force of the car transferred to driving force in less than a second.

The vehicle was on the highway now, the glowing ramp it landed on earlier fading into dispersing pixels.

Octavia simply stared out of the front windshield while EDI did the driving, the sports car swerving left and right; avoiding all incoming traffic. She seemed to wake a second later, breathing heavily with her heart beating against her chest.

"I CAN'T FEEL MY FACE!" Was her first reaction as she pawed at it with her hooves.

Rainbow Dash must've been knocked out when they landed. She blinked, completely oblivious to what just happened.

"Oh. We landed." She then noticed Octavia.

"Huuu,huuuu; I can feel my face again... Ugh..." She took a few deep breaths.

"See? We're fine." Rainbow yawned. Then all her sleepiness faded away as a civilian vehicle almost crashed head on into them. Thank goodness EDI shifted to the side, but it was still far too close. If the sports car was a little higher then their side view mirrors would've collided and broken each other off. "Take the wheel! TAKE THE BUCKING WHEEL!" She screamed at her partner, who frantically disengaged autopilot(drive?) and grabbed hold of the steering wheel. The result was twenty meters of drifting around on a straight road, completely out of control.

Octavia was finally able to stabilize the vehicle, but immediately had to send it turning off to the side as more vehicles came up.

"What the hell WAS that!?" She yelled over the honking of horns.

"What was what?"

"That... Orange road... Thing!"

"Eclipse."

"WHAT!?" Octavia almost sent them off the side of the highway.

"Well, reverse engineered from her matter manipulation suit." Rainbow said. "EYES ON THE ROAD-"

They would've crashed right into a mini hover van if EDI didn't suddenly conjure up a curved wall to their side.

The car hit the wall at a soft angle, the block of matter pushing it into a different lane. The van did the same thing on the opposite side, except it kinda went off the bridge.

"Jaysus, that was close." Rainbow muttered, peering behind her.

"Traffic is clearing up ahead. Should be a clear path to the tower soon." Octavia said. There were visibly less cars around on the highway now.

"Escort is here." AL jutted in through EDI's speakers.

"STOP!" The car's AI complained. "Get OUT!"

Rainbow spotted a bright arc rising up beside them from under the bridge. A second later one of the cars piloted by AL came rolling out from under it, its momentum keeping it plastered to the upside down road. The road then flipped around, dumping it onto the highway the right way up.

It landed heavily on the cracked asphalt, the suspension failing and its bottom chassis slamming into the ground. Sparks ignited as the vehicle's lower body slid across the floor, the suspension only just recovering as it stabilized from a three-sixty spin.

Somehow that stunt made Rainbow feel a little more comfortable with her pony-less escort vehicle as it pulled up beside EDI.

A split second later another came barrel rolling onto the highway from under the bridge, landing with AL's calculated accuracy right next to EDI.

"All other units have deployed successfully. Teams are on their way to their individual objectives." AL reported.

"Good." Rainbow took a deep breath. "Next stop..."

Valhalla tower loomed like a colossal god over the rest of the city. For some reason, this didn't feel like it was going to be easy...

*

Earlier...

"Dainty..." The filly was still trying to get away from whoever the tagger was when Rainbow stopped her. The crowd around them was still partying on, Vinyl having taken over the music part of it.

"Sis?"

Rainbow had already thought about what to say. But now that she was facing Dainty's curious gaze, her open mouth failed to find any words.

There was only one thing to do, then.

She pulled Dainty into a hug, the little filly seeming like nothing more than a plushie toy. God, was her mane always this fluffy feeling?

"Um... Rainbow?" Dainty frowned, patting Rainbow on the back.

Rainbow hugged her even closer. Damn, goodbyes are hard.

"Dainty, lil sis..." She broke away, but left her hooves on the filly's shoulders. "Sorry... I... I just had to." She grinned sheepishly, but it faded off to a bit of a sad smile. "You know... I haven't nearly been spending enough time looking after you and- I-" she stammered. What was there left to say? "I'm just... I'm... I'm sorry. I've had time to reflect on the things that have been happening lately." She said, a little bit of it to herself. "And I don't think I've been a good guardian as of late." She chuckled, pausing to read Dainty's expression.

Dainty let her eyes drop down, avoiding Rainbow's gaze. She waited for her to continue.

"I know I promised that I'd always be there. I know I promised that once THIS is all over-" suddenly Dainty stopped her with a tight embrace. Rainbow was surprised to feel a soft wetness against her neck. "Dainty?"

There was a soft whimper.

"I... I cry at night sometimes." Dainty sniffed. "Everypony... Everypony's just gone... And you were still there, you were always there but... It felt like you weren't anymore."

"I know, I know." Rainbow gently patted her on the head. An unspoken promise that things will be alright, with time.

"I went to find you with Lily when we got to Haven... But you were always so busy... I couldn't even get to you even if I knew where you were."

Rainbow nodded sadly. She could feel the tears increasing as they slid down her neck. She hugged Dainty as firmly as she possibly could without hurting her, trying to slowly calm her shaking.

"But now you're here... Now you're here..."

Rainbow thought she detected the barest hint of a smile. She gave the filly a soft nuzzle, holding back a tear of her own.

She came here to say sorry, to say goodbye because she probably won't be able to return. But as Dainty clung desperately to her neck, she couldn't help but change her original intentions. How could she not?

*

"Goddammit..." She muttered, alone in one of the many empty hallways in the Tunnels. She rested her head against the wall, her arm between the two as a bit of a cushion. One long heavy sigh later, and still nothing changed. She had succeeded as a guardian, a soldier; but failed as a big sister. She was there to keep the monsters away, but not there afterwards to comfort Dainty.

Then she felt two eyes boring holes into her back, and she froze. Who could it possibly be? Tavi? Scratch?

She turned around to find Neon leaning against the opposite wall, the eery white glow from her eyes concealing her features. Rainbow wondered if she even had facial features capable of expressing emotion.

"You really are like a ghost, you know that?" She offered a grim chuckle.

"Maybe I am one." An entirely different voice replied. Neon's face melted away into shiny white pixels which dispersed in the air.

"Melony..." Rainbow gasped. The face she knew seemed so much older. She gave a surprised smile, blinking. "You're alive."

Melony nodded. Neon's sleek black form only faded down to the neck, she was still encased in the high-tech split-personality suit.

"I am." She replied. "But that's still arguable."

Rainbow sighed. Why is Melony here? Something probably happened in this universe... Or didn't happen, as the case may be. Maybe... Wait, then why is she hiding?

"Did you hear me?" Rainbow gestured at the door down the hall. Sounds of party rang through it.

"I did." Melony replied, and Rainbow closed her eyes. She let her head drop down, her mane falling over her face and concealing her pained expression in a multi-colored curtain; the red glow from her cybernetic eye seeping through like the ghost of a hidden evil.

She shook her head, not raising her eyes as to avoid Melony's. "I failed."

"And you're admitting this to me as if I've done better?" Dainty's blood sister raised an eyebrow.

"You did EVERYTHING. You REVIVED her." Rainbow pointed out.

"And afterwards?" Melony raised an eyebrow. "I UNDID my failure. You PREVENTED yours. You've saved her countless times, and look at where you are now... You're ready to die for her. For everypony."

Rainbow let out something that sounded more like a weak sigh than the chuckle it was intended to be.

"It's... Not as grand as it sounds." She muttered. "So what'd you come out here to say?"

"Nothing much, really." Melony let herself smile for the first time in the conversation. "I just came out here to thank you for all you did for Dainty. I asked you to look after her, all those years ago. You have no idea how weak I felt then- that I had to hand her over to a complete stranger whom I can't even be sure I can trust. But you've done so much more than look after her- you've kept her so well through this entire thing, and it looks like it's going to stay that way."

"But I-"

"Rainbow. She said she misses you. She wants you to be there to help her, but she doesn't blame you for putting your focus elsewhere." Melony sighed at Rainbow's uncertain expression. "Dainty's a smart kid. She knows that there are more important things at stake here than her own problems. You should know that."

"But-" Rainbow started.

"Nope-"

"Wha-"

"NAH-AH-"

She found herself being shoved towards the door to the party room again, her hooves scrapping against the wet floor uselessly against Neon's augmented strength. The door seemingly swung open by itself as Melony went invisible, and she was dumped back into the party. It slammed shut behind her, giving her a firm thump on the rump as it did so.

"Wait!" She turned around and banged on the door. A few ponies turned their heads to cast questioning glances her way, and she smiled sheepishly. "Um... My keys...?"

*

Present time...

"Chrysie." Val grinned, standing up. "How nice of you to join the party."

"Val...ie..." Chrysalis rolled her eyes, her attempt to copy the science faction empress having failed. "I'd like to point out half of your city is on fire."

"How unfortunate. I'm gonna have to kill you." Val stretched, slowly making her way down the steps leading to her throne.

"Not of concern." Chrysalis turned a slight bit more serious. "Your science faction is done for. With the magic faction right on your doorstep, you have no way of fighting them back whilst dealing with an internal crisis."

"A distraction, I see..." Val made a separate holoscreen beside the one she was talking to Chrysalis through. "I do admire your unusual and highly uncharacteristic sacrificial spirit."

"Well, you forced my hoof." Chrysalis sighed, tapping one of her front hooves against the other. A few specks of dust fell out of some of the holes. "My children lack food, and we can't survive without it. It would seem that your science faction is rather quite literally... loveless."

"Please send all complaints to the complaint box, and rest assured that I will read all of them. In due time." Val yawned, manipulating something on the new holoscreen. Blithy spotted the word 'chamber', but the word before it was blocked from her view. "I will praise your mental strength though, sending all your children to their deaths like this."

"Our other option was to starve to death. I found that slightly less appealing." Chrysalis pouted.

"How nice of you to blame it all on me, then." Val muttered. She pressed something and tucked the separate holoscreen away.

"Very. Also, your expression earlier was quite delightful. I don't think I'll be able to surprise you like that again."

"Happy April fools. Ha-ha." Val said.

"It's June." Chrysalis noted flatly.

"Do forgive me. My lack of enthusiasm towards your previous point hindered my perception of time." Val replied equally flatly. Chronology Nazis, she rolled her eyes and thought to herself.

Chrysalis laughed. "Well. Pleasant as always, talking to you; dear Empress. Almost makes me want to spare you and your puny empire."

"Oh, the only thing you need to spare is time for a poisoned tea party. Let's see who survives by the end of it." Val briefly hinted at her own immortality.

"Sounds lovely. Perhaps I'll bring some gun cakes to go with it." Chrysalis said, and the connection was cut off.

"Who's your friend?" Blithy- or rather Valkyrie- raised an eyebrow.

Val didn't reply straight away. The doors to the throne room burst open, a dark figure clad in augmented red and black armor clunking in. A few pieces of glowing orange matter formed, swirling around her. She formed wings out of them and flapped them experimentally.

"Which one?" Val grinned.

*

"NEMESIS, have you picked up Magnum yet?"

"Affirmative. She is on standby and ready for deployment to Valhalla."

"Hold. She's providing overwatch and fire support for now."

"Copy that. ILLUSION, CYCLOPS is reporting a full charge on the prism cannon; over."

"Roger that NEMESIS. Ground units are standing by. Warden Blaze of strike team three is confirming a changeling presence inside Valhalla. Do NOT engage the changelings, they are friendlies... For now. CYCLOPS, you are clear to fire on Valhalla's main gate. Over."

"ILLUSION this is Iris of CYCLOPS. Cannon is firing in three... Two... One..."

"This is Lightning Dust of Razor! Main gate is confirmed to be down. Local resistance is low due to the changeling attacks, over."

"Copy that. Good work everypony- ground forces, you are clear to invade Valhalla."

"This is Warden Terra! Ground forces are retreating to cover! Valhalla tower is equipped with long range artillery- we're pinned!"

"Copy that Warden. Razor squad, take out the artillery."

"Negative ILLUSION! Tower has an overshield and is deploying heavy anti-air fire! Cannot engage!"

"Dammnit. Copy that Razor. Strike teams, shut down that damn tower."

*

"We're working on it!" Rainbow yelled, taking control of a mini-gun mounted on top of the sports car. She ducked down as a few shots skimmed off the roof. "Enemy aircraft! God... I HATE helicopters!"

Octavia hit a tight turn to avoid something and almost flung Rainbow out the car.

"THERE'S A TANK ON THE HIGHWAY!" She screamed as they passed a hulking lump of metal.

"Engaging." AL said, the two escort vehicles skidding to a halt and making a one-eighty spin as they passed the tank. It didn't stand a chance as two rockets slammed into it from the sides. "Tank is down." The two vehicles spun back around, still maintaining their momentum as they chased after Rainbow and Octavia.

"Still got a chopper on our six!" Rainbow reminded her. She spun the turret around, releasing a stream of led towards the enemy aircraft currently in pursuit. It took a few hits and leant to the side, disappearing behind two buildings. "Damn... Lost visual of him!"

"EDI, get us off the highway- it's a damn kill zone!" Octavia yelled.

An orange road formed ahead, twisting off the side of the bridge in a loop and disappearing beneath it. The car hit the road and went upside down for second before coming down onto another road beneath the highway.

"A new route has been planned for maximum cover. ETA to Valhalla tower has been extended by seven minutes. Displaying on your GPS now." EDI chirped.

This is gonna be a long fight...

Chapter 72: Valhalla- Part 2

Somewhere in the dark, a figure stirred.

"Sisters, children. Our time is coming." A voice announced.

"And what time, may that be?" Another questioned.

"To strike, of course. To return to our home."

"But is THIS no longer our home?"

"Tis but a large rock!" The voice rose with dismay.

Another joined into the discussion. "The character identified as 'Valkyrie' has grown far too dangerous. She possesses the amulet..."

"Yes..." Agreed a few others, a series of displeased mutters spreading through the gathered.

"Sisters, brothers..." The hopeful one ordered silence.

"The magic she possesses cannot be countered, even by YOUR power." A voice said accusingly. "We cannot possibly defeat her."

"But I know of the one who can." The hopeful one spoke.

"And you suggest we assist her in her... Efforts? Instead of staying here, safe, and protected?"

"Safe, protected, and trapped like animals." A new voice rose, the others faltering.

"Sisters, brothers. This is our chance to be FREE." The hopeful one agreed.

"Or perhaps a chance for extinction." Mumbling once again spread through the crowd.

"I have a new proposal." The hopeful one spoke, silencing the rest. "Those that are willing to fight, follow me. Those who wish to stay, do as you please. Should we lose, we will be remembered as the ponies who failed to grasp the one chance they had at freedom. But should we win, you who stay... Will go down in history as the ignorant fools who chose to withhold the nothing that they had instead of taking the chance to take it all back."

There was no muttering. No chatter between the sisters and brothers. The ponies within made their choices, and waited.

"We leave at dawn." The hopeful one made one last statement, before she turned and disappeared in a brilliant flash.

*

Valhalla's various towers flashed by, accompanied by an occasional bloom of green as trees on the sidewalks passed.

A rainbow colored beam of light struck the asphalt, lifting that section of the road. EDI passed with such speed that it was barely just a bump under her tires.

"How much ammo does it TAKE-" Rainbow moaned, operating the turret on the roof. There was a hovercraft chasing after them like a leopard locked onto its target. It weaved between the snaking bridges and highways of Valhalla, avoiding Rainbow's bullet stream with disturbing ease. Its prism cannon cooled, and started firing again.

The sidewalks exploded with rainbow colored fumes, bits of metal and concrete erupting across the road.

Suddenly a perfectly straight purple beam came from the sky, slicing through the hovercraft's hull and killing the pilot inside. It spiraled out of control, slamming into a bridge. The bridge fell apart, debris from both structure and vehicle rupturing across the sky.

*

"One." Magnum replied, slamming a new cartridge into the oversized beam weapon she cradled in her hooves. Earth looked so peaceful from up here...

"Magnum! We're pinned down at the power plant- they've got a buckload of assault units in the area! There's a tank there- can you see it?" Blaze yelled through the comms.

"Hold up..." Magnum muttered, looking around. The suit she wore made a few robotic groans as she moved about. She was floating in space, drifting a few meters away from the NEMESIS. "Yup, I see it." She said, boosters on her back flaring up briefly to adjust her aim.

She brought the orbital sniper up to her eyes, feeling the scope press against the visor of her helmet. There was a soft beep as the scope synced with her HUD, zooming in on the surface.

"There you are..." She whispered. She could see a top down view of a science faction tank, its cannon firing every two seconds or so- probably suppressing Blaze's strike team.

She lined up the shot and pulled the trigger.

*

"Tank is non-functional!" Blaze screamed. "AL, flush them out!"

A trio of driverless sports cars drove into sight. They were just outside the power plant, a giant facility consisting of four large cylindrical structures. They were surrounded by a tall concrete wall, but that was almost useless now as the firefight between the strike team and the assault units inside had all but torn them down.

One of the vehicles fired an automatic shotgun at the front gates- and the already battle worn metal bars almost instantly shattered. The locks failed, and they swung open.

The trio immediately drove in and started shooting up everything within the walls.

"Push them back AL!" Blaze yelled, grappling his way up to one of the walls.

Using his magic to grab onto a spark, he immediately expanded it into a full-on fire and set it down over all the major exits points of the facility. These assault units seem to be able to just come in endless waves from inside- so there must be something beneath the plant.

He scooped up an anti-matter rifle from a downed robot, and began helping EDI and his team- letting out a streak of wildfire whenever anyone got too close.

One of the assault units managed to charge through his wall of flames, its armor molten in places and its head disfigured- but it was still working. He didn't have the time to point his anti-matter rifle that way- at least not before he gets to be exploded by the unit.

There was a loud buzz that distinctly sounded like a 'wub', and then the robot was sliced diagonally in half. Its peices fell apart and crumbled to the floor, an orange disc flying over his head and returning to its owner.

"There's only three of us here, you'll need to watch your own back next time!" Vinyl warned, catching the glowing energy disc.

"Charges are planted! CHARGES ARE PLANTED!!" Noteworthy came sprinting out of the chaos, firing the bass rifle into the smoke behind him. "LET'S GO!"

"AL!" Blaze yelled. The three cars returned immediately, however still keeping the enemy at bay with their weapons.

"Everypony get in! Quick!"

"Detonating charges on the Southern power plant..." Terra's voice came through the comms. Vinyl briefly caught sight of a large plume of smoke to her left as she jumped into a sports car- just visible above Valhalla's skyline.

*

"Southern power plant is down. Sectors one through five have been shut off." Halcyon reported.

"Copy that! Rendezvous at the tower!" Rainbow whooped. "Ground forces are clear to breach the southern wall once they get confirmation- over!"

"Power appears to be down in sectors one to five, resistance is low. Proceed." Shining Armor's voice came through.

"Uh-oh. Strikers!" Rainbow screamed, hearing the distinctive reverberating noise that Striker and Apollo engines make. And sure enough, a team of four came swooping around the corner. "Make a turn!" She cried out while holding down the trigger of the car's mini gun.

The bullet stream glanced off the aircrafts' armored hulls. They did nothing more than scratch the paint, but that wasn't surprising considering only aircraft prism cannons could take these bastards down.

"AL, we need heavier weapons!" Octavia screamed as the sports car careered around a crossing, making a left.

"Magnum? Can we have some cover please?" Rainbow ducked down, a prism beam searing between her mane and aloft hat.

"Eh... Seems to me AL's got it covered on your side. I'll help out the others."

"Magnum!" She yelled, wrenching her hat out of the air and planting it back on her head as she hid inside the car, a few bullets glancing off the rim of the opening.

Suddenly a rocket flew out from high above at the top of one of Valhalla's skyscrapers, blowing a Striker out of the air. The flaming carcass tumbled across the street and slammed into a small convenience store at the foot of a tower.

Rainbow peered up, spotting a few tiny dots moving above. AL had a few cars either side of them jumping across the skyscrapers, their matter manipulators creating bridges and ramps for them to travel across as they kept close to EDI.

"One down! Three to go!" Octavia whooped.

"Heads up RD, gunship in your area." Magnum's voice came through.

"Copy that." Rainbow peeped out of the opening once more, peering around her. A stream of purple anti-matter rounds exploding around them caught her attention.

She quickly got up and spun the mini gun around, locking it into place with a satisfying click.

Once again, the fire she unleashed with it was only enough to force the gunship to move. It swiveled to the side, anti-matter bolts landing all around the two as Octavia swerved to dodge them.

The gunship appeared again behind them, gliding out from between two buildings. Rainbow quickly turned her weapon back around, holding down the trigger. The bullets cut a line through the pavement nearby.

The gunship turned on its side, the gates on its side opening up and revealing an entire squad of assault units. One of them was loading up a mounted anti-matter mini gun.

Fire from their rifles erupted all around the duo, some managing to hit the sports car and take out bits of its armored exterior.

Rainbow fired back, but only managed to hit them a few times- and those few times often simply glanced off their robotic armor.

The roads behind them were being obliterated as they weaved their way through the streets, anti-matter bolts raining down behind them.

"Striker! Striker!" Octavia screamed, and Rainbow looked to her right.

The quad engined aircraft came hurtling towards them, dropping a few missiles in its dive.
They missed, but Rainbow had to duck down again as shrapnel exploded across the car's left side. The reinforced windows on the left shattered, sprinkling glass into the interior.

"Buck!" Rainbow cursed, looking up.

One of AL's remotely controlled cars came hurtling off a tower, leaping onto a short segment of ramp before flat-spinning straight towards the gunship. Another track formed and it landed wheels down, the orange track curving up again towards the center of the gunship.

Rainbow thought AL was simply going to use it to blow the ship up, but clearly AL cared for her resources a bit more than she did.

The track curved and made a few last second adjustments before forming a ramp and sending the sports car careening towards the gunship's open gate.

It spun, meeting the gunship with its side as it landed flawlessly inside. But of course, it didn't end there. It kept going, skidding sideways on all four wheels and knocking the squad of assault units out the other end shortly before following. It turned around in mid-air, punched a rocket or two into the gunship then landed onto another ramp.

"Good work AL!" Rainbow grinned as she got up again to deal with the three remaining Strikers, spinning the turret around. The gunship slammed into a building some few hundred meters away, creating a gaping hole in its side.

"Cops." Magnum said simply, and Rainbow spotted the flashing red and blue lights up ahead. This was one long street with no sides to turn to- oh, this was going to be great.

A trio of armored Valhalla law enforcement vehicles charged at them, forming a solid barrier. The three Strikers flew overhead, turning around over their grounded fellows.

"It's too risky to use a ramp!" Octavia warned, but AL and EDI charged full speed ahead anyway.

Suddenly two of AL's cars dropped down either side, speeding ahead towards the armored police trucks. The purr of their engines rang through the streets, loud as a dragon's roar.

Rainbow and Octavia watched the duo charge up ahead some fifty meters, ready to slam head-on into the trucks. They moved a little closer together, aiming for the non-existent gaps between the three trucks.

Two orange ramps formed over their slim profiles as they hit all three trucks on the full.
The police vehicles gave a heavy crunch and lurched off the ramps, all three thrown into the air. One of the Strikers tried firing at EDI, but hit a flying truck and embedded it into the ground.

A screen of smoke and fire formed from the explosion, and time seemed to pause for Rainbow and Octavia as they sped into the cloud. Off the corner of her eye, Octavia saw one of the trucks roll past on the right while Rainbow spotted one tumbling overhead.

The moment past, and Rainbow gave the rear a quick glance- watching the vehicles slowly pitch to a stop, broken and defeated.

The two AL vehicles braked and zoomed off somewhere else, presumably to flank the Strikers still hot on their tail.

"Heads up. Enemy concentration around the tower is still high- Val knows you're coming." Magnum reported. "Halcyon and her team are headed to the southern face and Blaze and his team are headed for the north. You're coming in through the east, so watch out- that's the front gate."

"Is anypony taking the west?" Octavia enquired, drifting around a corner and dodging an array of prism beams.

"Nope." Was the answer.

"Alright. We'll ditch the cars somewhere near the tower and try sneaking in. Have the cars ready to back us if we screw up. In the meantime, find somepony to cast a distraction on the west!" Rainbow commanded. If Val thinks she's attacking from behind, then that should ease up resistance at the front gate. A little.

"Dispatching units to the west." AL narrated.

"Uh... Guys? Large number of mechs headed your way." Magnum jutted in.

"Oh for god's sake..." Rainbow muttered.

"Striker! Striker!" Octavia warned, and Rainbow turned her attention back to their flying enemies.

One of the three remaining enemy aircraft came swooping down overhead, hovering ahead of them and shooting back. A beam hit the car, slicing through the roof and burning into the left rear passenger seat. Thank goodness it missed vital mechanics.

Rainbow saw the Striker load a missile as she fired at it.

One of AL's racers leapt off a building overhead, falling towards the aircraft. It came within range of its matter manipulators, and just as the missile fired AL conjured up a wall before the Striker. A second later the cockpit-less fighter fell from the sky, the racer landing on a lower roof and speeding off.

"AL's taking pretty good care of things." Octavia noted, looking in the rear view mirror.

"Not disagreeing." Rainbow muttered, giving the mini gun a hateful look. Useless prick, she thought.

"Aaaand there are the mechs Maggie was talking about!" Octavia feigned enthusiasm. A trio of hulking forms clunked into view up ahead, their metallic bodies slowly turning as they trained their weapons on the car.

Rainbow peered at the one in the center. "Is that a tank turret...?"

The deafening roar that came from the mech confirmed her suspicions.

"Well this is unfortuna-" she started, whipping out her cleaver. She swung it over the front and stabbed it into the vehicle's windshield, right beside Octavia.

"Whoa SHI-"

The 250mm round slammed into the cleaver's refined edge head-on, splitting cleanly in two. If the cleaver hadn't been there, the round would've gone all the way through the car and probably blown it up. But the cleaver was in its path, splitting it in half. Both halves were diverted away from the center of the car, flying out the back side windows.

"Oh my GAWD-" Octavia screamed, her ears still ringing from the small scale explosion that was set off right next to her head. One of the halves had taken a small piece of her chair with her, and luckily didn't explode.

"Sounds like you guys need some help." Magnum muttered.

"Who the buck mounted a TANK TURRET to LEGS!?" Rainbow yanked the cleaver out.

A purple beam flew down from the sky, a weapons strike from the heavens. It pierced right through the tank/mech and drilled into the ground. In an instant, the mech's pilot was dead, its turret was disabled, and the computer that processes all its commands was destroyed. It fell over, the long turret falling to the side and making a loud clunk.

"You should help us some more." Octavia said.

"Nah you guys got it all handled." Magnum replied, moving her crosshairs over to the other strike teams. "The other teams don't have computer driven escort vehicles."

"Fair enough." Octavia muttered.

"Any ideas for the mechs?" Rainbow ducked down into the car. The mini gun wasn't about to be useful in this situation.

"Hey arsehole, follow security protocols before you bucking stride into battle!" Vinyl yelled through the comms, and one of the mechs turned around and blasted a rocket into its partner.

"Vinyl? Is that you in that mech!?" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Hell yeah!"

"Scratchy, mind telling us first next time? Could've shot you." Magnum noted.

"That's BS, you got nothing on mah mech." The walker Vinyl was piloting gave its downed partner a firm kick. The leg bent inwards as it contacted the heavy metal, and the walker fell over. "Awww, damnit!"

"Idiot."

"Thanks for the help! I'll add it to your tip." Rainbow said, giving a quick wave as they passed.

"I don't get a tip for taking out that tank mech?"

"You already get paid enough." Rainbow replied. "Vinyl, how'd you even get that thing anyway?"

"AL drove me around city. Found them on patrol and jacked one of them- was pretty easy, the pilots are all occupied with the battle and aren't concentrating well enough."

"Where's the rest of your team?" Octavia enquired, turning a corner. There was a Striker greeting them. "Damnit!"

"With AL and on their way to the tower. I just thought I'd lend a helping hoof."

"Hey Dash, we're clearing Valhalla airspace. Just a heads up, keep out of the way of any enemy aircraft- might accidentally get ya." Lightning Dust joined in, and Rainbow spotted the Apollo soar ahead and drop a missile on the Striker. "Staying low though, so don't expect full coverage. Tower's defenses are keeping us down."

"Roger that. Good to know somepony else has our backs."

*

"This is turning out... Most displeasing..." Val muttered, reading a report. There goes another Striker- a whole miniature army later and RD is still alive. "I mean seriously, what kind of stupid turd waffle'n bull crap is this?"

"I have a similar question for you. How the hell is Eclipse still alive?" Blithy jabbed a finger at the dark grey mare standing sullenly to a corner, who merely glanced her way at the mention of her name.

Val and Blithy stared at each other for a second, seemingly frozen in time.

"What? Oh, I'm sorry- is this supposed to be the part where I begin my stupid evil monologue?" Val put a hand to her chest mockingly.

"Sarcasm is overrated." Blithy muttered.

"You're overrated." Val retorted.

"Your face is... Overrated..." Blithy continued lamely.

Val stood up, stretching. "Regardless..." She opened up a hidden panel in the back of her throne. "Rainbow must be stopped before she reaches the tower." She pressed a button beneath the panel.

The throne split and rose into the air, a complicated looking mechanical contraption rising from the ground. It was in the general shape of a cylinder, although strictly speaking it had no shape. It was just a mess of cybernetic limbs, wires, cables, metal parts, and a bunch of other science crap.

Val turned around, pressed a finger under Blithy's chin to lift her dropped jaw, and grinned. "Shall I begin my solo now?"

Author's Note

More on that beam weapon Magnum was using(because I didn't get a chance to cram this in the chapter):
Orbital Sniper Rifle, originally the Continental Sniper Rifle. The weapon was deemed one of the most useless snipers ever created as it failed to fulfill its original purpose. The rifle fired so straight that the curvature of the Earth became a problem for it, and it was unable to hit its targets. It is also highly impractical to use a CSR as a conventional sniper rifle, as reload times are extremely grueling due to the large one-shot cartridges the rifle uses.
The CSR officially became the OSR some time after the Barricade.

Chapter 73: Valhalla- Part 3

Blithy quickly raised her hand, aiming the micro gun embedded in her palm at the machine. But before she could fire, Val slapped her across the face and sent her tumbling off the stairs to the throne.

"Nah-ah-ah." Val wagged a finger at her. "I'm not gonna let you destroy that thing any time soon." She said, stepping up towards the machine. "Eclipse, if you would be so kind."

"Val-!" Blithy screamed out, leaping towards her counterpart. An orange ring wrapped around her ankle and she fell over, Eclipse folding her arms indifferently from her corner.

"I take it Valkyrie recognized this at first glance?" Val leant a shoulder on the machine, running a finger along its fine edges teasingly.

"It was but a CONCEPT." Blithy growled. "It was never intended to actually exist!"

"Perhaps in your world, in your own circumstances." Val rubbed a forefinger against her thumb.

"It's not worth it."

"Is it not?" She raised an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"You'll be nothing but a killing machine if you step into that thing. I doubt you'd even be pony afterwards!" Blithy screamed, struggling against Eclipse's restraints. "Val- you want to rule this world, don't you? You bucking want to enjoy it, don't you? Then don't turn yourself into less. I know we've both had that sentiment before, about being pony. About being a living being." She cast her eyes down at her metallic fingers, her cybernetic eye casting blue haze over them. "And I know you enjoy being powerful. I did too. We could stand up on our own hooves, and we could lift the world with our hands. But there is a stage where it all becomes too much. These augmentations? We didn't get to choose. But what you're about to do... That's your choice. And there won't be anypony else to blame if you become something you don't want to be- Val, there's no going back after you step into that thing."

Val nodded. She took a few controlled breaths, watching the desperation build up on Blithy's face.

"Blithy." She said, walking away from the machine. "After all this... Senseless killing... Plotting... All this pain and grief and anger..." She crouched down, sitting on the steps by her alternate self. "Do you know what my motivation is?"

Blithy opened her mouth to speak. No words emerged.

"You accuse me of destroying my own world so that I may rule it later? Who the hell wants to rule an apocalyptic wasteland?" Val gave her a glare. "I don't want power. Sure, it's fun. But that's not what I'm after anymore, and it hasn't been for a long long time. Tell ya what, Blithy; I'm not doing this for myself. Well, not entirely anyway- so it won't matter. It won't matter what I become beyond this point, Blithy. That line, that stage you spoke of?" She gave her a rare smile. A genuine one. A sad one. "I'm already too far past it."

Blithy stayed in shocked silence as Val stood up and walked back towards the machine. She did manage to find some words as Val stood on the edge of the entrance though.

"Val... It's NEVER too far past..." She said desperately.

"You're too kind in your conception of me, Blithy." Val gave her a sad glance.

At that moment something occurred to Blithy as she watched Val slowly turn away. She wrenched her hand free from Eclipse's bindings, her fingers pressing the play button on the small box embedded in her throat.

Val's ears twitched as an electric guitar intro started playing from Blithy. She laughed as she recognized the tune.

"Don't you dare bucking start THAT with me-" she turned around.

The intro to the song ended, and Blithy started singing softly. "Save some face, you know you've only got one..."

Val rolled her eyes, but joined in anyway as she sat back down again. "...Change your waaeeeaaays, while you're young."

"Boooy, one day you'll be a maaan..."

"Ooooh girl~ he'll help you under~stand!"

Then they started singing together: "Smile like you mean it~ smile like you mean it~"

Val dropped off. "Looking back, at sunsets on the east side..."

"We lost track~ of the time..."

"Dreams... Aren't what they used to be..."

"Some~thiiiings.... Slide by so careless-ly!"

"Smile like you mean it~"

"Smile like you mean it~!"

An instrumental started, ready to segway into the next set of lyrics.

"Alright Blithy... Turn it off..." She rested her forehead against her hand, trying to restrain her laughter.

"Come on, you know you want to-"

"Blithy-"

"Smile like you mean it-"

Val stared blankly at her for a second. Then her brows bent into a flat frown, and she pointed to the door. "Get out."

"Hey-"

"Eclipse!"

Eclipse nodded, wrapped her sciencey orange things around Blithy's left ear and headed for the door, dragging the protestant grey mare with her.

"Val! You're going to cause more harm than you want to with this!" She screamed as she was tugged outside. "I know there's still some form of good in you! I bucking know there is!"

Then the doors to the throne room were thrown shut with an echoey bang, Blithy's voice silenced almost instantly.

Val listened to the echo for a second for so, peering up at the ceiling.

"Goddamnit..." She picked her Rainbow Dash soft toy up off the floor and sat down, holding it at arm's length and staring into its purple button eyes.

She sniffed, wiping a tear with a wrist.

"Goddamnit- why can't I just be like you, all clear about who the enemy is?" She whispered. She slowly and dejectedly crawled back to the machine to lean against it, feeling its soft hum run through her back.

She hugged the plushie close to her chest and rested her cheek on its rainbow striped mane, crying.

She cuddled it for a few minutes, waiting for her mood to stabilize. She tried to imagine that the plushie was somepony that loved her, but nopony came to mind. So she just cuddled it and pretended.

The soft texture of minky fabric tickled her skin, and she hugged it even tighter- to the point of almost completely crushing it.

For the longest time she simply stared at the ground, past her metal knees; contemplating.

Damnit... It had to be that stupid song. It got to her head. Made her objective all fuzzy and stuff again.

But was it the song, or was it the fact that she had sung it so happily with somepony who was supposed to be her enemy?

She looked up towards the door. Maybe Eclipse already knocked Blithy out, or Blithy was still trying to free herself. But what did it matter to her?

She wanted to save the world, Val thought; she wanted to save it from me. But I want to save it too... I just can't tell her that.

She rested the plushie against the machine.

None of it mattered. Nothing ever did. Because she was going to save the world she destroyed so carelessly- and Genesis will be her tool.

Wiping the last of her tears away and giving a firm reassuring punch at the air, she activated the machine and stepped in.

*

"Guards. AL, go." Rainbow whispered, nothing but a shimmering haze lingering in the shadows as she hid under her cloaked coat.

"On it." Suddenly the area outside Valhalla tower's front gates exploded with gunfire, AL engaging the enemy assault units with her cars.

"Let's go." Octavia whispered, swinging out of the alley way and making her way down the boulevard. The boulevard was a wide road that led straight to the tower, lined with buildings that were much smaller in comparison to the skyscrapers around them. Half of them were gone now however, consumed by the flames of a war that had shrouded the magical land of Equestria secretly for decades now.

"EDI, are they still on you?" Rainbow asked as they slipped by the chaos between AL and the assault units.

"Yep. Right here on my rear exhaust." EDI replied, and Rainbow heard an explosion in the background.

"Keep up the good work." She said, jogging towards the tower with Octavia. "What of our other players?"

"Blaze and I are ready to go." Halcyon joined in.

"Terra and Nightshade."

"Neon and Silver."

"Vinyl and Noteworthy."

"Magnum and Dusty here."

"Scoots and Katty."

"Space fleet is in place."

"We're all waiting on you."

Rainbow looked behind her. Valhalla seemed to stretch on for an eternity, a fallen city. AL's battle had moved somewhere else, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. More reinforcements were heading to it, heavy metallic footsteps thumping on the once luxurious marble streets.

She turned back to the tower. It shimmered an ambient blue, its overshield giving it an unnatural glint under the pollution filtered sunlight.

She wondered what Val was doing. Was she standing at her window, watching her world fall? Watching all she had accomplished crumble in her hands?

Genesis. Genesis was going to be her ticket out. And if she were to take it, the world won't be given a second chance.

Rainbow gulped. From the very first battle in Manehatten, to the short war against the science faction's Barricade- then to the events with Dainty and Val, to the timeline reset, to their escape from Manehatten, to their chase through Equestria- to her encounter with Silver, to their fight; to finally reaching Haven- only to have it taken away by the winds of war once more, to having lost old friends and gained new ones- this is what all of it has finally led to.

Not just the world's key to salvation. But answers, more than anything else- Rainbow was hoping to find answers.

Why is Val the way she is? What is her reason to have caused all of this?

"Alright... Let's go." She said, more to herself than the ponies she was speaking to.

*

Earlier, Haven; Tunnels.

"Derpy." The Doctor beckoned from his chair.

"Doctor?" Derpy turned from where she was making some hot water for the doctor to drink. Rainbow had only just left, and she looked pretty angry.

"Come here... I need to talk to you." Derpy obeyed, gingerly trotting over to him and sitting down. She was surprised when he rested a hoof against her cheek and offered a sad smile.

"Doctor...?"

"They removed the virus and patched you up, didn't they..." He said softly. Derpy looked a little confused. He let out a long sigh, the type which meant 'I don't know how to say this'. He still had that sad look on his face. "Derpy... You... You have to go with Rainbow and the others."

Derpy frowned. "Wha? Where to?"

"They're going to Valhalla. You have to go with them." The Doctor swallowed.

"But why?" Derpy slumped. "I... Come with me. I'm sure they have cybernetics and they can-"

"I'm not regenerating, Derpy. Even if they can return to me a metal limb I still won't be able to do what I have to. But you can." The Doctor looked up, trying to look as reassuring as he could.

"But... I..." Derpy teared up, but quickly blinked them back. "We've been a pair for so long... I... I don't want to go..."

"You'll be fine, Derpy." The Doctor lifted her chin with a hoof. "You'll know why soon enough."

*

Present, Valhalla tower.

Rainbow ran her cleaver through a science faction officer as he made the corner. Octavia put a bullet through the other's head. Rainbow waved the oversized sword, deflecting the bullets sent her way by several assault units further down the hall. Switching it into firing mode she took them down with Octavia.

"Server rooms are that way." Octavia pointed left.

"Elevators are that way." Rainbow pointed down the other side of the intersection.

Octavia was quiet for a few moments. Then she looked up- best not make this too emotional, if at all.

"Fine, just... Don't die."

Rainbow gave a grim chuckle. "I'll be fine. I don't blindly stride into ambushes."

"Yeah, buck you too." Octavia laughed softly, swallowing a tear.

"Besides, Val's probably waiting for me." Rainbow said, peering up at the ceiling. Up there, probably in the throne room...

"I... Suppose this is where we part?" Octavia made a futile gesture.

Rainbow shrugged, smiling sadly. "...yeah. I guess."

They stood for a minute or so- and it was at that moment which Octavia truly realized how much Rainbow had lost, and how much it had affected her. Not just the friends they've lost along the way, but the bits of herself that had been slowly chipped away. The bits that not even their friendship had healed.

Plus, she had that sad look on her face. That disappointed yet expectant smile, that said nothing and everything at the same time. The smile of a mare ready to die and end it all.

Octavia's own turned down into a concerned frown. She sighed, and nodded to herself.

"Give em hell." She said, and Rainbow chuckled softly.

"I will." She replied, turning away. "And, Tavi..."

Octavia stopped.

"Please... don't die again."

She shook her head. "I'm staying here for as long as you are."

Rainbow gave an acknowledging nod, and the two parted ways to their differing objectives in the tower.

*

Earlier, Haven; City Central emergency camp.

Rainbow made her way up the steps to a makeshift landing pad somepony assembled in the middle of the camp. A drop ship sat atop it, its engines flaring lightly and keeping themselves toasty warm.

"Is everything prepped?" She asked as Octavia followed her to the aircraft.

"The cars are being transported now..." Octavia murmured, looking up. The NEMESIS hulked over the city, a gigantic presence that could not only be seen and heard but felt as well. It loomed over the city, hovering.

Smaller ships of all sorts transported personnel and supplies back and forth between it and Haven, and Octavia spotted a large cargo craft gliding towards the NEMESIS.

"There's one of em." She pointed at it. "We'll still have some time when we get to the NEMESIS. Mind debriefing me on why we have cars?"

"You'll see." Rainbow said, continuing on for the ship.

"Rainbow!" She heard somepony cry out. Turning around, she spotted Dainty running towards her.

"You... You left this behind..." She said, bringing up a silver necklace.

"I..." Rainbow looked down at it. The cutie mark necklace that Dainty made... "I'm sorry... It must've been when I was..." She made a grim chuckle, then pulled Dainty into a hug. She was going to miss this little ball of fluff.

"Please don't go." Dainty murmured. "You're all that I have left."

Rainbow froze. Of course... She should've known that. She did, she just didn't quite recognize it fully.

What was she doing... Why can't she just stay here and look after her?

Because there were more important things at stake.

"Hey... I'll be back, alright?" She smiled, ruffling Dainty's ears. "No matter what happens I'll always come back."

"Miss Dash." She heard another voice, and spotted the Doctor slowly limping towards them. Derpy was helping him.

"Doctor." Rainbow grunted, letting Dainty go and giving her one last pat on the head.

"Do you have two more spaces left over on that ship?" He gestured to the drop ship.

"I have plenty." Rainbow replied. "But you're not coming in your current condition. You need Derpy to look after you."

"I can look after myself Rainbow..." Doctor Whooves murmured. "But, I wasn't planning on going. Might I suggest you take Dainty and Derpy with you as well?"

Dainty looked up in surprise at the mention of her name, and Derpy's ears folded back a little.

"They'll be safer here." Rainbow said after eyeing the both of them.

"Valhalla has some rather... Troublesome... Security systems, I'd imagine? Surely Dainty's hacking skills will serve you well in the coming storm." He gestured to the filly's terminal cutie mark.

"I... I..." Dainty looked between the two. Rainbow was extremely uncertain, and the Doctor had that patient grin on his face.

"And Derpy?" Rainbow gestured to the grey mare, who shrunk a bit.

"I've taught my assistant a few things. She will be in charge of Dainty in your absence, and will help her hack into Valhalla's systems... I've given her enough information so that she could do it from the NEMESIS."

Rainbow frowned. "So they're not going into Valhalla?"

"No. They will be able to access the systems remotely." The Doctor reassured.

Rainbow weighed her options. As long as they don't get into the battle...

"Hop on." She nodded towards the drop ship, taking Dainty's hoof.

"What do you mean about giving me information? I have nothing!" Derpy hissed at the Doctor.

"Derpy, listen-"

"Why are you sending ME? I'm not you!" She said, out of earshot of Rainbow and the others. "I can't hack into Valhalla's systems or anything! It's got like a level eight encryption and has a level seven AI guarding it! The mainframe will have to be tampered with physically if I'm to do anything to the tower's systems which is where I presume everything will be- guaranteed your theory on the purpose of Valhalla is true! I can't do any of that! I'm not even smart!"

The Doctor still had that patient look on his face. That grin. What is up with it?

"What are you... What?" Derpy's eyes seemed to travel even further away from each other. "Did I just...?"

"Derpy, darling; listen to me..." The Doctor held her by her shoulders. "That's exactly it. Do you remember?"

"I... What is all this..." Derpy clutched her temple. "Ugh~~, make it stop. Memories... This is really really weird..."

The Doctor's grin grew wider. "Derpy... Remember when we first started? When you joined me on my first adventure... OUR first adventure... You told me you weren't special. You were a delivery mare in Ponyville that liked muffins. And yet I took you with me anyway." He gave a soft but proud sigh. "Thousands of years of time and space and I haven't met ANYONE that didn't matter. The most ordinary people have done so much and yet they never truly find out just how much their actions affect the outcomes of other things. I do. I see the dominoes fall, knocking each one over and going on and on and on. Legacy, Derpy. Everyone has one. Everyone is special. You just don't know yet." He grinned, patting the confused grey mare on the back. "Remember when we first met? Somehow at that time and that location my TARDIS guided me to you. Through a completely different reality, it sent me to YOU. On a land of magical ponies and things I never thought I'd see.
Recently I've been thinking. Why you? How so? Across- BEYOND- an entire universe I stepped across to find this curious grey mare..."

"Thanks." Derpy muttered, and the Doctor laughed.

"Remember when I fell, Derpy? In this time line? I didn't regenerate... But you did. The virus didn't affect you. You kicked it within a week." The Doctor's grin faded to a more serious expression. "I beckoned for the TARDIS but it never came to me. I presumed my beauty had been destroyed. I used the sonic screwdriver but something about it was off... It looked a little different. It didn't suit me. After arriving at Haven, seeing its brilliance... I began getting memories. Beautiful memories of adventures we shared... All the planets and systems and life forms we had tea parties with..." He chuckled. "But I never wandered. I only followed. You led."

"Doctor-"

"Nah ah!" Doctor Whooves shushed her, placing a hoof on her mouth. "You see... I'm not the Doctor... Not here, not now... But you..." He took the hoof away, Derpy trying not to scream out profanities at him for his completely ridiculous notion. "You're special. Here..." He took out his sonic screwdriver, gently placing it in Derpy's hoof. Suddenly it pulsed a brilliant blue, the aura of light then slowly fading again. The Doctor grinned. "See that? It recognizes you." He laughed.

"Doctor, please take it back-" Derpy tried handing it back to him, but the Doctor denied.

"It's not mine. It's yours." He said simply. "I'm not the Doctor. Not in this world. Derpy... You know how the Doctor is always there to help ponies? He'll do everything he can, right?"

Derpy nodded.

Doctor Whooves smiled, pulling the grey mare into a big hug.

"Allons-y, Doctor Hooves." He let out a slightly pained, but relieved; sigh. "Only... I won't be coming with you on your next adventure."

"I..." Derpy looked down, then put her arms around him. "Please... Just come with me... One last time... I don't want to be alone."

"You won't be." The Doctor whispered, letting go. He nodded behind Derpy, and she turned around.

"Hey! If you guys are done, you mind?" Rainbow yelled from the drop ship. They were waiting.

"That still doesn't bypass the issue with hacking into Valhalla. I need physical access to the mainframe." Derpy muttered.

"You'll figure it out, good Doctor." Doctor Whooves said, patting Derpy on the back and backing off the landing pad. "Better not keep your pals waiting!"

"But I don't know what to do!" Derpy cried out.

"Improvise!" The Doctor shrugged. "I'm just the assistant!"

"You're useless, you know!" Derpy said as she hopped up onto the craft.

"Hey! I was never that mean to you!" The Doctor yelled back. The two shared one last chuckle together before the drop ship lifted itself from the ground, the blast of air almost taking him off his hooves.

He watched it fly high up into the sky then boost away towards the NEMESIS, vanishing amongst the other dots darting back and forth above Haven.

He let the morning breeze ruffle his equine mane, enjoying what little warmth the sun provided in this winter.

"Oh, I'm still a pony." He said to himself, looking at his hooves. "How odd. Time and space... How much longer will it take for me to understand your every teeny tiny little aspect?" He wondered to himself.

There was a loud boom and a groan as the NEMESIS slowly rose into the air and towards space. It was taking off.

He watched it slowly ascend, ready to glide into enemy territory. "Good bye, Doctor... And good luck."

Chapter 74: The End- Part 01: Perspective

"AL... I need you to do me a favor... You know how important it is. You can trust me... Can't you?"

*

"I'm in." Dainty said, chewing on a pen as she operated a laptop plugged into the servers. She and Derpy were hiding in Valhalla tower's server room, having slipped past the defenses and locked the door. AL had dropped them off here without notifying Rainbow Dash. "Giving the AIs access now." She tapped a key.

"Aaaand... That should do it." Derpy said brightly, putting the sonic screwdriver back in her pocket and silencing its oddly intellectual buzz.

*

HEX turned around in the virtual space she created for herself. It had all of Valhalla's information painted on the walls, making it easier for her to organize things.

"Visitors are not welcome." She said coldly to the red and orange AIs that strode in.

"Blue... I don't like this color a whole lot for decorating." EDI muttered, looking at the walls.

"No one asked for your opinion." HEX said, minding her own business with organizing the city's systems. "Out." She waved a hoof towards the door.

AL held up a hoof, the command dissipating on her virtual defense systems.

HEX tilted her head to one side. "Interesting. Must be a manual break in."

"You would be right." AL said, putting the hoof down. "moderator_access_elevator." She pulled up a screen, live security cam footage of Scootaloo and Katana. They looked up at the camera as the elevator doors slid open before hesitantly stepping in.

"admin_HEX/command/l0kd0wn." HEX waved a hoof. The sector in which the two were in plunged into red territory, automatic turrets popping up everywhere and shooting at them. Security footage showed them quickly diving into cover and out of sight.

"moderator_/b10ck4cc3ss." EDI said, rejecting HEX's attempt to find the manual breech.

"A minor set back." HEX murmured, rerouting her efforts.

"moderator/access/HUB12338." AL said, waving a window over to EDI. She immediately got to work, trying to hack through HEX's first layer of defense.

"admin_HEX/command/shutd0wn." HEX said. A small window opened, showing EDI's progress as a bar in orange and hers as a bar in blue. EDI managed to get to the center first and unlocked access to basic functions of the tower.

"moderator/command/lvl1doors/0p3n." AL commanded, opening up all doors of level one security. "moderator/access/HUB67449."

Another diagram showed up, EDI's orange already creeping towards the center.

"admin_HEX/protocol/lockdown." HEX said, unimpressed. The diagram disappeared, an error sign replacing it.

"Why don't you quit fighting us- we're two level two and three AIs against a three. You're bound to lose." AL said while EDI tried to work around the protocol HEX established.

"Actually, HEX is short for HEXAGON. I still favor my odds." HEX said with a smirk in her voice.

"moderator/command/lvl1/lights/OFF." AL folded her arms.

HEX raised an eyebrow. "What was that for?"

"Annoyance." AL replied simply.

HEX was pushing them back. They had gone through one level, but there was six more to go if they were to fully take over the Tower's systems. Right now she was closing in on their source, Dainty; and it was not looking good for them.

"We need someone who is actually good at cyber wars on our side." EDI muttered.

"Hey, have some faith!" AL tried to sound cheerful.

Then a window popped up, with nothing but a short notification.

'admin_DD98 has joined the conversation.'

The window expanded into a face-cam view of Dainty as she worked the keyboard, the Doctor peering over her shoulder.

AL slowly turned back to HEX, unable to remove the sly grin on her face that this turn of events brought on.

"It appears... We have an administrator."

*

Two guards. One drawn cleaver, two trigger pulls, a neatly tucked back cleaver and two dead bodies on the floor.

Rainbow stepped over the puddles of blood on the ground, seeing her own crimson reflection in them as she did so. She was on the same level as the throne room, just a few more halls and she'll be there.

She'll finally be there.

She heard footsteps at full sprint around the corner so drew and swung her cleaver and decapitated the assault unit as it came into view. That brought her into a crouched position, where she leveled the giant sword against the other two and blasted their heads off. Folding the cleaver, she continued on her journey.

The lights flickered and went off, and she raised an eyebrow at the ceiling as if it would provide her with some sort of answer.

Ahead of her was one last corner. She could tell because there was a giant floor-to-ceiling window there, a clear view of Valhalla far below glistening under the sunlight.

She didn't know what to expect. She didn't know what was waiting for her around that corner other than the gates to the throne room- where Val was probably waiting for her.

Her ears twitched- she could hear music. Piano music.

It was a soft tune, mellow and distant.

She held tight onto the canister, its red glow pulsing inside her grasp.

She rounded the corner, but there was nothing. Just the giant double doors to the throne room. It had gotten a little later into the day, the orange glow of the evening casting rays of golden sunlight across the hallway and onto everything it held.

She walked up to the doors and took a deep breath. To her surprise, they opened for her.

The throne room consisted mostly of a vast empty space. It was like a large cathedral fashioned with black marble- only, instead of rows and rows of chairs- there were steps leading to a single throne at the very end.

A small table had been set out in the center. A wooden table, nothing special. A simple white tablecloth was draped over it, and on top of that sat two sets of silver plates and cutlery.

A single chrome bowl was in the center, fashioned with flowers, bread, fruit and various other foods.

"Help yourself." Val said, sitting in the far corner and playing a grand piano. Her metallic fingers danced surprisingly delicately across the keys, creating that soft ambient tune. She caught Rainbow staring, and chuckled. "It's funny what cybernetics and a programmed routine can do." She smiled. She was wearing some sort of modified plain Qipao dress, without the dress part. It involved the upper half of the clothing combined with shorts, and both were a clean white with light blue highlights running along certain stitches.

"You seem... Different." Rainbow said, walking to her seat at the table for two. She didn't take it though, instead resting her hooves on top of it.

Val was, indeed, different. The cybernetic half of her face was gone, replaced by the seemingly normal skin she had on the most parts of her body. Rainbow did however catch an odd shimmer from it- it had a sort of hexagonal pattern running through its surface. And her legs... Instead of the two normal pony legs and hooves that she had, there were two chromed... Bipedal... Legs, with toeless booted feet. There were also a number of changes made to her other cybernetics, but she couldn't quite tell what.

"I'm so glad you noticed. I went through a lot to get these." Val smiled, watching her own fingers work and briefly giving the throne an odd look. "I'm certain you've been through a lot to get to this point in time as well."

"You know that all too well." Rainbow replied, keeping her eyes on Val in case she makes any sudden movements.

Val sighed, finishing the tune with a soft low #G. Standing up, she made a gesture with her hand and sent a command to the piano for it to start playing on its own again. She slowly strode over to her end of the table, taking an apple.

She didn't eat it though. She just looked at it.

"Forbidden fruit always tastes the sweetest." She gave a soft chuckle, then took a bite. The crunch was uncomfortably loud in the silence, despite the gentle piano tune in the background. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Yet it's just an ordinary apple. It's the forbidden part that makes it sweet."

"Is that where the phrase 'sweet revenge' comes from?" Rainbow asked sarcastically, and Val laughed.

"You make the worst segways." She took another bite. "But perhaps so. I can associate the two- both are blindingly sweet, and so much so that you'll fail to see the consequences that follow." She extended her arm, offering the untouched side of the apple to Rainbow. "Will you trust me if I say this apple isn't poisoned?"

"You and your mind games, Val..." Rainbow said, and took the apple. Without examining it, she took a small bite from the fresh side.

No poisonous bitterness consumed her mouth. No vile presences flooded her senses. Just the simple, unaltered sweetness of a natural ripe apple.

She set it down on the table, chewing. Val grinned.

"It's a good apple, isn't it?" She picked it up, examining it. "Faith is an odd thing..." She bit the area Rainbow had taken a bite out of. "You don't trust me. I don't trust you. No, mutual trust isn't what made us take these bites."

Rainbow listened silently, the cleaver capsule pulsing its ambient red in her hoof.

"We trust ourselves. We trust our own judgements of others, instead of actually trusting them in the first place." Val continued, putting the apple back in the bowl. "That is, what I think... Led us both all the way to this moment, is it not? A fight... You don't trust me with Genesis, and I don't trust you with it either."

"Like two kiddies squabbling over a toy in the playground." Rainbow nodded.

"Fighting over the spades and buckets that can reforge our little sandbox." Val cast a sad glance behind her, at the screen behind the throne. It showed a view of Valhalla, burning in the conflagrations of war. "Arguing over who should take care of a world already lost in its own destruction."

"And you should stand down, Val." Rainbow said, moving away from the chair and into open space. "You do realize what I came here for."

"I do." Val replied sadly. "And I cannot allow it."

"Haven't you made enough mistakes already? Maybe it's time for you to just accept you aren't the pony for the job." Rainbow said. "You've destroyed Equestria. You shouldn't be the one rebuilding it."

"I've made mistakes, and that's exactly what they're for." Val retorted, striding away from the table. "They make me learn. I learn from them, I know not to make them again."

"But how can anypony have faith in you anymore?" Rainbow asked. "Look at Equestria! Look at what it has become!"

Val only laughed and shook her head. Then her expression darkened as she looked up.
"Me? Equestria? Heh. That's exactly what I hate so much about you magic faction ponies." She muttered. "I'm excused of everything. I wasn't here since the beginning of time, you know. I didn't make the rules about the science faction reigning over all, I was just thrown up as its leader in the midst of it." She pointed outside. "I didn't create this." She jabbed the finger back at Rainbow. "But YOU did. It was my world, and YOU fought through it and stirred up all this chaos. You are the reason the magic faction pursued this course of action. YOU invaded MY kingdom."

"I offered peace and compassion to all willing to join me. I took in anypony willing to surrender. I forgave. You just killed, civilians, soldiers- everyone." Rainbow took a step forward. "And you killed my friends."

"And you can just stand there and say you didn't kill mine? That you didn't kill anybody's?" Val spread her arms out in a provocative gesture. "Whatever tiny bit of the magic faction that remained at the time- they were invaders! We were on defense! I had a world, Rainbow. And you were the demon that destroyed it."

"What evidence do you have of there even being a world?" Rainbow clenched the capsule.

"Valhalla!" Val said. "Have you seen it before you barged in and blew everything up? It was a thriving city. I created it. The barricade! That was a city as well, for the upper classes. There were plenty of civilians on that thing when you took it out of the sky- in fact, it had stopped serving military roles as its primary purpose since the last war."

"And Haven? You can say you've seen it?"

"Through your eyes, I have." Val replied, and Rainbow felt herself tense. "I saw a thriving city. I saw a mini oasis inside a world otherwise ruled by their enemy. But I also saw ponies- people- ready to take arms and fight me even if it'll cost them everything. Every single person in Haven was ready to take me on, and you know what-" she ran her fingers through her electric blue mane, turning her back on Rainbow. "I... I was scared."

Rainbow didn't say anything. They had forced Val's hand. They all knew Haven was one of the science faction's biggest threats.

Val laughed. It wasn't an evil laugh, as one would often expect from her. It was just a laugh. "I'm not anymore though. I guess we're similar in many ways." She said, hands behind her back as she paced back and forth. "You destroyed my world, and I did yours.
You want to use Genesis to rebuild the world, and so do I. In the same fashion as well, I'd suspect. You are partially driven by revenge- and so am I. Rainbow Dash must die, regardless of Genesis. It's a morality thing to me." She gently stepped up to her throne, resting a palm on top of it. "That leaves one last thing... Who's the monster trying to destroy the world, and who's the hero trying to save it?"

Rainbow looked down at her cybernetic arm. She saw her own reflection in the polished metal, a pony with a gleaming crimson eye. She remembered the virus. She remembered being transformed into a monster- and not just physically. But also the moment she put on the trench coat and the fedora- she knew what path she was going down.

She looked up at Val, her soft blue colors contrasting her own red.

"Neither of us are the hero." She replied. "But are we monsters?"

"You're asking me?" Val gestured to herself. "Well... I personally think we're neither. It's too subjective. We're just ponies with opposing views who think we're doing the right thing. Who's right? Who's wrong? Guess we'll never know." She chuckled.

"But one thing is for sure, isn't it?" Rainbow offered a laugh of her own. "After all this... After everything we've been through... We've simply gone nowhere."

"So isn't it time to end it?" Val made that gesture again.

"I can't agree any less." Rainbow said, weighing the capsule in her hoof.

"You know, I've been hiding from this moment for so long. I'm not scared, no... I just don't like what it will bring. Either way, if you win- I can rest in peace knowing I couldn't have done anything more. But if I win, I'm worried that I actually might be the villain."

Rainbow nodded, taking a subtle step back.

"But you know what? I've done enough hiding. All this time I've been in the tower, in my little lair. I realized I've been acting the antagonist this whole time. I'm not standing for that any longer- because you know what I've realized? There's no right or wrong in this, because you're MY antagonist." She said, flicking her right arm. A long object slid into her palm, which then unfolded into a large katana- the edge glowing a cold light blue. She weighed it in her hand, gave it a few test swings, and readied it for battle.

"And you are mine." Rainbow said, letting her cleaver slowly fold out. It clicked into place, the giant blade forming and the crystal of loyalty pulsing with crimson red energy. Then she brought a small silver device out of her pocket, holding it in a spare hoof as she backed away. "But hey... Let's not forget about all the other characters." She flicked off the lid on the object, then thumped the orange detonator against her chest.

Val's enhanced ears heard a series of beeps along the walls of the throne room- and... Below?

"This is the end, Val; my dear antagonist- it's all about to be over." Rainbow said, casting the remote away and throwing her cleaver into the ground before her as a shield.

Then the explosives beneath and around Val detonated, a chaotic storm of black marble, concrete, and steel tearing the center of the throne room apart.

*

Val coughed, waving a hand in the air and trying to clear the smoke and dust. She looked around- this was the room a level down from the throne room. The explosives had sent her down a floor.

She looked up at the giant gaping hole in the ceiling, bits of jagged steel exposed to the air after the explosion. Shattered pieces of dark marble and concrete littered the floor, accompanied by a small fire which softly crackled in a corner.

Her sword had been impaled into the ground, and she quickly yanked it out.

The smoke was clearing, and she could see shapes moving about up above. She could see the shadow that was Rainbow, the red glow from her cleaver and her cybernetic eye shining through the gloom.

"Val, I don't desire glory. I won't lie and say I don't desire whatever may come from defeating you, but WE want our world back- and you're standing in the way." Rainbow said, cleaver loosely grasped in a hoof by her side.

Vinyl stood to her right, discs in hoof and glimmering with a faint buzz. Magnum stood on her left, clad in light armor and the ACPW in rifle form with safeties off.

Scootaloo had some sort of jetpack armor on, a thermic rifle glimmering a dangerous gold in her hooves. Katana stood by her, her weapons holstered behind her back. She drew one of them, the impossibly sharp edge of the blade gleaming under the sunlight.

With a flash Nightshade appeared, a fresh line of throwing knives belted by her sides. Terra clunked up next to her, followed by Blaze and Halcyon- their horns flaring with their respective elements. Neon shimmered into existence, her dark form sullen and still.

Silver, in her black trench coat and fedora; approached with a repaired cleaver. Zealo had a sniper rifle slung across his back, a desert eagle by his side. Daring Do had her whip/baton thing with her, and a revolver on her belt for good measure.

The gathered's manes and tails flapped a little as the loud hum of the quad engines of an Apollo rang through the throne room, Lightning Dust and her jet flying up to the giant gap in the back wall. Noteworthy sat on top, bass cannon letting out a barely contained hum.

And even further behind them...

The NEMESIS hovered above Valhalla, all its weapons trained on the tower now that the city's defenses had been reduced to nothing. Jets and more reinforcements were darting out from the enormous presence, scattering out into the fallen city.

Rainbow raised her cleaver, pointing it down at Val. Her eyes gave a cold glare as she did so. She and her allies were standing above, while the former queen of the world stood below with blood on her body from the explosion earlier.

Val readied her katana, holding it up sideways over her head.

"Shall we?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"For the future." Val growled, and kicked off the ground- thrusters opening up in her feet and propelling her up towards the others.

Rainbow leapt off the edge, swinging the cleaver towards Val- their blades made contact in mid-air, throwing the both of them off. Rainbow quickly stabilized herself with her wings, and Val did the same with her thrusters.

She quickly turned around to block a strike she heard coming, but instead of finding the cleaver she found Katana's dual light swords.

In stark contrast to Rainbow, she was much faster but the attacks she dealt were weaker.

The main problem here was that she had a sword in each hoof, and one more clenched in her jaw.

Val struggled to repel the lightning fast attacks, but thankfully for her she had limbs of steel and could block her various stabs and slashes with those.

Katana lashed out with the two swords in a scissor like motion, forcing Val to jump over them.

Then she felt a bullet explode against her spine, the force sending her tumbling over Katana and towards the gigantic hole in the wall. The thrusters in her feet flared, and she landed inches away from falling off.

Magnum gave the ACPW a quick reload, an orange explosive shell flying out of the chamber.

Val frowned- taking all of them on at the same time, in this confined space- that would be extremely troublesome.

She looked behind her- Valhalla seemed so far below. But she had full control of it.

She leant back and fell off the tower, watching it stretch out above and up into the sky as she did so.

Then she spotted a rainbow-colored flash as it darted out from the hole, a separate stream of red coming from the cleaver.

Val realized and quickly adjusted herself and stuck her feet to the tower, metal scraping against metal and sending a myriad of sparks showering over the area. Somehow she managed to keep her centre of mass stuck to the surface, raising the sword as Rainbow charged.

Rainbow didn't meet her head on. Instead, she made a trio of lightning-fast ninety-degree turns and stopped behind Val, her cleaver already swinging with the same velocity.

Val barely managed to get an elbow behind her to block the strike, but it threw her off balance and sent her slowly drifting away from the tower.

Rainbow's metal horseshoes were sliding over the tower's steel surface, creating just enough friction for her to kick off and launch at Val.

Then she noticed how Val was giving her the hand.

She quickly snapped her wings to the side, sending her off to the right. A second later a bright prism beam tore a gash through a small segment of the tower- looks like Val had some hardware upgrades from that micro gun.

Val shot another beam at her, and she managed to deflect it with her cleaver. She quickly lobbed it over to her left hoof and reached out with her right, the bright green grapple beam shooting out from the contraption mounted to her wrist and latching onto Val's outstretched arm.

With a snap of her wings, she made a turn and flung Val away from the tower and out to the city.

The cyberpony flew towards the nearest skyscraper like a bullet, a trail of smoke following her from the prism cannon's cooling pads in her arm. She smashed through the window and rolled into a long hallway, her arms behind her as she used the prism cannons as thrusters to slow her down. She lost her sword during that, but no worries.

Rainbow dive-rolled through the shattered window and brought her cleaver up, firing at Val.

Val's right arm split and fanned out into a sheet of various blades, deflecting the bullets. Then they folded back, leaving just one standing out- a long knife with a serrated edge.

Rainbow stood up, spun; and tossed the cleaver as a heavy projectile down the narrow hall towards Val. Pictures were shaken off the walls and paint peeled as it made a mini sonic boom.

If it had hit Val, it probably would've torn her body from her limbs. But she managed to duck under it, the giant sword flying over her head and disturbing her mane.

Then a familiar metal canister with a dim grey glow flew over her head, Rainbow latching onto it with her grapple. It unfolded into the cleaver, which she test swung but didn't attack with.

Wait...

Val quickly turned around, pressing a palm against the back of her own knife to meet Silver's attack. Already she could hear Rainbow approaching from the other side.

Only one way out...

She pressed on her attacks against Silver, lashing out again and again with her arm-turned-knife.

Silver deflected her strike into the wall, but Val made sure it didn't get stuck in there. She turned all the way around, ducked under a horizontal swing from the cleaver and charged up a prism beam against Silver's stomach.

Rainbow intervened at the last second, using her grapple and yanking Val's hand away. The beam ended up scorching the wall, setting the local area ablaze.

Silver was thrown off balance, and Val quickly tripped her up and ran past her. She had to get to somewhere open...

She aimed a palm up at the ceiling and fired, sliding under the debris that collapsed a second later. It sealed off the hall, leaving Rainbow and Silver on the other side.

There was a wall in front of her. No worries, she thought; and punched through it into a conference room.

"This is becoming increasingly frustrating." She muttered as Lightning Dust's Apollo rose up to the floor-to-ceiling windows, prism cannons charging up with a dangerous hum.

She quickly dug her fingers under the giant conference table and flipped it, the enormous hunk of wood and metal crushing the chairs on the other side. It didn't stop the prism beams, but it did give her visual cover as Lightning Dust let rip.

Val darted out from behind the ruined and smoking table, quickly firing several shots at the Apollo- forcing it to barrel roll out of the way. She quickly shouldered her way through another wall and into an open office block, rows and rows of individual office cubicles stretching over the room.

She made a sharp left turn into the window, breaking through into open air once again. Quickly reviewing Valhalla's systems, she adjusted her course for a small tunnel below.
Then something hit her square in the temple- and if it weren't for her augmented skin, it would've gone into her head. It did, however, shatter her skull.

But, no biggie.

She landed with a heavy crunch some twenty meters away from the tunnel she was aiming for, breaking a few bones as she did so. They mended back together, and she quickly got back up again with nothing but a bloodied lip and a healing wound on the side of her head.

She could see the bright reflection from a sniper's scope a long way away, on top of a building. Probably Magnum.

Oh, horse apples-

The next round went through her left eye and into her brain, a portion of her body shortly failing before coming back online again. She tore her left eye out- it takes longer to heal if it has shrapnel in it.

So, apparently open space wasn't that much of a good idea.

She heard a rush of air behind her, and leapt forward without waiting to figure out what it was.

Daring Do slammed her baton into the ground, cracks spidering away from the point of impact.

Val slid that knife out again, charging towards the former tomb raider. When she brought it up to meet her strike, she expected a solid response. Instead the baton writhed into a whip, twirled around her parry; and slapped her across the face.

"Buck!" She cursed, with some genuine annoyance. She grabbed hold of the whip and wrapped it around her own arm, pulling it close to sink her knife into Daring's face.

But then with a snap it went back into its baton form, and she lost her grip on the odd weapon. Before she could properly offer a reaction Daring had already smashed her left knee out, sending her collapsing down unwillingly.

She released an overcharged prism bolt into the ground, making a micro explosion. Daring was thrown back, and she used her thrusters to jet away from the grayish yellow pony.

Her knee was repairing itself, bits of metal and carbon fibre pulling itself back together.

In the meantime, she quickly issued a command to some of the idle remote controlled units around- a few AI-driven Strikers should keep Magnum occupied.

Then what can only be described as a stream of music tore through the ground by her feet, sending her stumbling back. Lightning Dust zoomed past, Noteworthy firing from the passenger seat.

Val sent a few prism beams their way, switching the cannons to low-damage and high RoF. She had to keep moving- staying still was suicide.

She quickly ran towards that tunnel she was aiming for earlier, and she could hear the hum of the electric tram as it neared. With a well judged tap of power to the thrusters, she launched herself onto the oncoming train- rolling as she landed. Daring pulled out her revolver and shot after her, the bullets sparking off the tram and too inaccurate to score a hit.

Then Rainbow fell from the sky like a meteor, landing heavily on the other end of the carriage. Val quickly turned to face her, this time deploying some sort of hook blade.

Rainbow flexed her wings and shot towards Val. Val fired an array of prism bolts at her, and Rainbow managed to either deflect them or dodge them. A few stray bolts struck the train, blowing large chunks out of the carriage.

Val was expecting a hit from the cleaver. Instead, Rainbow stuck it into the train roof and swung past it, slingshotting herself under Val's swing and slamming both rear hooves into her stomach. Her momentum carried her all the way around, and she landed perched on top of the cleaver's handle.

Val slid back, almost falling off the carriage. Then with a powerful blast from her thrusters that all but flattened the rear end of the carriage, she shot herself towards Rainbow.

Rainbow jumped up and kicked the cleaver's trigger, the giant blade flying out of the train with a resounding bang. She shot her grapple into it then with a jolt of her wings flung it out.

The giant blade tore through the side of the train as if it were nothing but tissue paper. Val saw it flying up from the side, and made some emergency course adjustments. Her thrusters sent her down towards the train again, and she made a forward roll. Quickly getting back on her feet, she lashed out with the hook blade.

Rainbow was separated from her cleaver- and Val wasn't expecting her to have other weapons. She expected her strike to hit flesh and tear Rainbow's limb off- but instead it was met by a duo of knives mounted to her metal arm.

Rainbow hooked the knives into Val's blade, ensuring it couldn't go anywhere. She then closed the distance and struck out with an elbow.

Val leaned back, the elbow flying over her nose.

Then the cleaver came swinging back again, lodging itself into the side of the train. Rainbow disengaged the grapple and kicked down into Val's knee, forcing her to kneel on one side. She was about to slam her in the head when Val shot the floor, the two of them exploding away from each other as a result.

Val landed several carriages back, rolling to a stop at the end of the train. Rainbow stumbled up from where she landed, clutching her side. Blood stained the corners of her lips, and she made a pained a growl as she limped towards her cleaver.

Val charged up a prism beam, rainbow colored light emitting from her palm. Then she spotted something large flying towards her off to the right, and paused.

The Striker she sent after Magnum earlier came down towards the train, spinning out of control. It was missing an engine.

Val quickly dashed forward and away from it, leaping towards the next carriage. The aircraft carcass slammed into the rear carriage, tearing it away from the rest of the train. There wasn't even an explosion of sorts, it was there one second and then it was gone.

But wait... Where's Magnum?

Lightning Dust and her Apollo swung into view, flying backwards to keep up with the train. And up there, sitting by the cockpit...

Well, the bullet was enough of an identifier.

The explosive shell slipped past the metal plate on her knee, gliding into the joint then detonating as explosive shells typically do. Bits of metal flew from it, and her lower left leg detached itself from the rest of her.

"This sucks." She muttered as it rolled off the side of the train. Now she'll have to regenerate the whole thing instead of just the joint.

She fired a few shots in the Apollo's general direction, trying to keep it away. It did eventually veer away to avoid her prism bolts, but not before Magnum could get another shot out.

This time the bullet exploded against Val's chest, sending her tumbling back. She fell off the end of the train, but managed to get her hook blade into the roof before she did so.

"Ow." She said as she slammed into the back of the carriage. She dangled above a cluster of twisted metal- the joint that connected the former rear carriage to this one.

Losing that one leg really did make things inconvenient. She took way longer than she should have to clamber back onto the train.

"Lovely day for a ride, Empress." Rainbow said, then swung her cleaver at the uni-legged mare.

"Woah!" Val managed to get away by using that one thruster in her existing leg, throwing herself high up into the air. It was much harder to control though, and she slammed face first into the train three carriages ahead and rolled onto her back.

"Need a prosthetic? Oh wait..." Rainbow somehow managed to get to her just as she got up, and brought the cleaver around in a giant overhead arc.

Val leant back, the broad blade brushing her nose and missing her private parts. The cleaver sunk into the train, giving her some time.

She quickly grabbed it and wrenched it out, holding its substantial weight in her hands.

"I've always wondered about this thing." She grinned at the unarmed Rainbow. Then the grin faded as the cleaver automatically folded itself into a small canister. "That's BS. Hey, catch!" She threw it off the side of the train.

Rainbow, being the flier she is; swept to the side and caught it mid-air.

"Once again, BS." Val muttered, then quickly brought her arm up to deflect a shot from the cleaver as Rainbow spun back around and landed on the train again.

A sword used Val's wrist as a pivot and swung out, clashing with Rainbow's as she attacked. Rainbow recovered and went for an underarm swing, which Val quickly swept to the side to make room. She brought up her left palm, but Rainbow grappled her leg and knocked her down and off aim.

Val frantically rolled to the side as Rainbow's cleaver came crashing into the train next to her. She lashed out with her legs, jet boosters flaring and hitting Rainbow in the stomach. Rainbow took a few steps back, the boost searing a little bit of her clothing.

Val got to her feet again, throwing out another sword on her left and going for dual-wield.

Rainbow attacked, and Val was forced to use both swords to block the direct swing. She let go of the cleaver and slipped past it, launching three hoof strikes into Val's sides. She then reached behind her and pulled the cleaver out again, swinging it over her head and down towards her opponent.

Val knocked it aside, their blades creating a shower of sparks on contact. Then the both of them dropped down to avoid being knocked over by a passing sign.

Val took the opportunity to call in a few more Strikers, then quickly got up and flipped over Rainbow with a boost from her thrusters.

Activating them once more, she leapt up and aimed a double-kick for Rainbow's head. The first hit Rainbow blocked with the back of her metal arm, and the second with the flat end of her cleaver as she brought it up to defend herself.

Val dropped back onto the train again, then lashed out with both swords in the same direction. Rainbow tilted her cleaver to the side, but had to take a step back as the second sword struck and knocked her off balance.

Val jumped up and aimed a sideways kick at her. She blocked it with her arm, but most of the force pressed into her shoulder and she took a step to the side- her hoof almost landing on thin air as there was nowhere else to go.

The city passed by below at somewhat unreal speeds, Valhalla's advanced tram systems slithering about as silver lines in between all the tall spires.

Rainbow pocketed the cleaver and grabbed Val's hand, avoiding the sword jutting out from her wrist. She stepped forward and closed the distance, then elbowed Val in the back of the head with her spare arm. Val fell off the train, but regained her balance and leaped back on again with a blast from her thrusters.

Rainbow flicked out the cleaver and sliced at her legs. She dodged back, and the attack peeled off a section of the roof.

Val wrenched the metal sheet and tore it away, throwing it like a deadly frisbee. Rainbow put a bullet into it, the shattered pieces splintering through the train.

Val quickly changed the train's route and lunged forward.

Rainbow ducked down and rolled behind Val, striking at the back of her knees and forcing her down. She spun and chopped at her neck with the cleaver, but Val managed to stop it with a hand. Her fingers closed around the cleaver as she took control of it, forcing Rainbow away.

Rainbow fired the gun on the cleaver, the recoil tearing it away from Val's grip. She leapt back and fired a myriad of shots at Val's feet.

Most of the shots tore up the train's roof, but the few that did hit tore away Val's right foot.
Val intentionally fell back and pointed her stump at Rainbow, activating the damaged thrusters.

Rainbow had a brief second to bring the cleaver up as a shield before an explosion knocked her off her hooves and sent her flying down the length of the train.

"Oof..." She grunted, rolling to a stop. Her cleaver slid away from her, resting somewhere behind her.

"Watch out for the red light!" Val said, her foot regenerating as she stood up. Then she hopped off the train, her jet booster things taking her elsewhere.

"Red... Light..." Rainbow muttered, watching one pass. Its great crimson glow seemed quite ominous.

Maybe it had reason to be.

"Buck!" She cursed, leaping behind her and grabbing her cleaver. She took off, trying to get into the sky and most importantly- away.

Another train barreled towards the one she was on from the side, the two colliding at a crossroad. The carriage that got hit was almost immediately pulverized, and the rest of the train was dragged after it. The engine on the impacting train went, an oversized ball of flames erupting across the rails as both trains were torn away from their tracks.

Rainbow didn't quite make it away in time. Shrapnel from the crash ripped into her back, and she tumbled into a building.

"Gah!" She broke her arm on a windowsill and fell down onto a fire escape catwalk with a loud clang. "God..." She cursed, slowly getting up. Her back stung, and she couldn't feel her right wing. She could feel a few fractures in the rest of her body- but at least she had three other working limbs left.

She stumbled to her hooves, leaning heavily against the wall. She felt like she was going to faint, and did her best to hold onto reality. If she passed out now, only time will tell how long she'll stay that way.

"AL? Where is she?" She grunted, getting off the wall. She stumbled a bit then had to lean against the handrails.

"Going through Valhalla trying to kill everyone." AL said.

"Come pick me up." Rainbow groaned, making her way down the fire escape to ground level. "I'm not out of the fight yet."

"You will be if you keep this up." EDI pulled up against the sidewalk, Rainbow limping towards the black car.

"How'd it go with HEX?" She opened the door and slumped in, slamming it shut behind her.

"She locked herself up. A lot of Valhalla's systems we can access, but she's got Ascension locked down- we can't get to it." EDI reported. "Right now, aside from the science faction units and public transport- we have access to most of Valhalla's systems. Lights, electrics..."

"Try make use of it." Rainbow said, and EDI accelerated away and back towards the fight.

*

Val landed on a Striker as it swung around the corner, and she turned to look at the train collision behind her. No trace of Rainbow- although, she doubted she was out.

"Quite the view up here." She heard a voice say, and turned around.

Nightshade stood at the rear end of the plane, looking about. Then she seemed to notice Val on the same aircraft, and cocked her head to one side with a grin.

"Hey, I made new knives. Wanna test em?" She pointed to the back of the cockpit, where she had already planted a knife. The handle jutted out of the thick metal armor, a soft green LED light pulsing at its end with a thin metal ring attached to it.

Val fired a prism beam at the batpony, and she ducked under it and went for the knife. A flash later and she was gone, leaving Val to herself.

Val looked down at the knife. Something about it seemed different...

"Oh of course, the pin." She growled, then dived off the Striker.

A ball of dark green light consumed the center of the aircraft, then it collapsed in on itself as reality distorted around it. Then the entire thing burst like a soft bubble, and the Striker simply didn't exist anymore.

"Dark matter... Not bad." Val said, spotting a bat shaped shadow teleport above her. The sun got in her eyes, making it hard for her to judge her opponent's precise location.

She saw a few small shapes dart towards her, and instinctively knocked them aside. The explosive knives discharging in mid-air below her.

She needed to get on the ground- in the air she'd be no match for an experienced flier- let alone a crazy teleporter.

Another Striker swooped in and she landed on it, keeping her prism cannon active in case the bat pony decides to jump in again.

There was a flash behind her.

She turned around, unleashing the full power of the prism cannon without really aiming. The beam sliced through both of the Striker's tail fins, but missed the batpony as she jumped up and over it. There was also something else...

Val barely got her arm up in time to deflect an odd looking hybrid between a disc and a ring. The item buzzed back into its owner's waiting hooves, and Vinyl Scratch slammed it down into the aircraft.

"I brought reinforcements." Nightshade said, the Striker beginning to sink.

Val lunged at her with a sword, and she parried it with one of her surprisingly strong throwing knives. Val struck out again, but Vinyl intervened and trapped the tip of her sword in a disc. With a strong magical telekinetic push she shoved both the sword and the disc away, leaving Val's side exposed.

Nightshade threw an explosive knife towards her hip, but she jumped up at the last second and it embedded itself in her ankle.

The knife blew out her left leg, reducing it to nothing but scrap metal. It also took out a good portion of the plane- and seeing as how it was definitely going down, Val reached out and tore one of its engines off. It detached and veered away, with Val acting as a sort of anchor holding it to the plane. She swung it like a hammer and smashed it back into the plane, the force flinging her away.

She saw Nightshade grab Vinyl and teleport away at the very last moment, shortly before the Striker blew itself to bits.

Then a silver blur knocked her out of the sky, and she went straight towards the ground and into the city's central boulevard.

She expected herself to skid across the ground, but her new augmentations may have increased her weight. She plowed right into the marble floors like an anvil.

She could feel the bones in her body fusing back together from tiny little fractured particles as she tried to get up. Quickly bending an arm back into the right shape and hammering in the joint shield with a fist, she turned to the skies from whence her attacker came.

She was met with a barrage of high caliber bullets, most of which tore into her flesh and tinged against her alloys.

"Lovely evening, Empress-" Silver landed, cleaver raised high. Val braced. "Care for a slice of hell with those bullets?"

The impact chipped the metal on Val's arm, but they grew back relatively quickly as she backed away.

"Hello Rainbow- or is it Silver?" She lashed out with her swords.

Silver flicked them up with her wrist-mounted grapple, then jabbed the cleaver forward. Val took it right in the chest and turned her body so that it was torn from Silver's grasp.

"Let me take Genesis- I can give you your own identity!" Val tore the cleaver from her body, then swung it at Silver.

"I already have one!" Silver yelled, parrying the strike with the grapple. The device shattered on her arm, sprinkling over the ground in shattered metal bits. That didn't stop her as she advanced, launching a strong horizontal kick into Val's hip.

Val was knocked off balance, falling onto the stump of her left leg. She lashed out with the cleaver, but Silver stopped it at its base then spun and tore it away from her.

Val brought her arms up, the cleaver coming back around and denting her armor. She shoved Silver away, rolling back and getting to her foot and stump.

"And who are you?" Val teased, her foot healing as she found balance once again.

"Loyalty." Silver growled, her hooves digging into the ground as she took off at Val in a shimmery monochromatic burst.

"You're nothing but a splinter of that! Join me and I'll show you TRUE loyalty!" Val lashed out with her own attack. Their weapons clashed with a pitched shriek of metal, and for a moment they snarled at each other nose to nose.

"No, thank you." Silver kicked down into the side of Val's leg, forcing her to kneel. She pushed down with the cleaver, keeping her pinned. "I may just be a glitch in the universe, but I'll be damned if I let you choose my destiny!" She shoved Val onto the ground and raised the cleaver. "And as for identity-" she slammed it down, the blade piercing Val's hand and stopping inches away from her face. "I'll make my own definition, thank you very much." She pulled the trigger.

The bullet tore into Val's right eye and burst out her temple, blood splattering over the floor.

"So no... I won't join you." Silver pulled the trigger again, but Val moved the cleaver aside and the shot buried itself into the marble beneath. "I've done it once, damn me to hell if I do it again!" She pulled the cleaver away, and swung.

Val rolled out of the way, then launched a booster-enhanced kick into Silver's side. Silver blocked it, but the force sent her stumbling to the side. Val leapt back and got to her feet, flicking out the hooked blades in her arms.

"I might not be true Loyalty, but thanks to you and a LOT of others... Even Loyalty itself... I've learnt of its worth." Silver wiped the blood off her torn lip with a sleeve. "I had lost my purpose the moment I betrayed my friends, but as I gained new ones I've regained that purpose." She groaned, hugging her side. The force of Val's kick must've gotten through her block. "While you're right about my worth, I don't seek to increase it through Genesis- through artificial fate. No... True worth is something that's gained... Not given."

"Then I can give you a clean slate to work from." Val said, offering a hand.

"You want me to risk everything I've gained so far for clean slate?" Silver laughed. "I'd rather not. I'm not sure if you understand, Val- but what little worth I've gained over the course of this new misadventure isn't necessarily MINE." She leant on the cleaver, stumbling a bit as she tried to recover as fast as she could. "Worth isn't just a price tag that can be slapped on me and changed whenever I feel like it. It's what others conceive of me." She regained her balance, then lifted the cleaver. "And you're going to remove them. I'm protecting my worth. I'm protecting my friends."

Val let her hand drop back down to her side and turn into a sword, nodding to herself.

"Alright." She sighed. "If you want to take your worth to hell, then so be it." She launched herself at the injured pegasus, swinging the hooked blade towards her neck.

Then the ground at her feet exploded, the force flinging her off to the side.

Nightshade landed lightly behind her, spitting out the safety pin.

"I'll take my identity to hell any day if the other choice was to have it rebuilt." Silver clicked her neck, raising the cleaver in a neutral but ready stance.

Nightshade had a hoof resting lightly on a knife, and Vinyl walked up with a disc hovering over her left hoof.

Val tilted her head, cooling leaves on her arms and legs flexing as she did a full system run through.

"Project Ascension is standing by." HEX reported.

Val gave her a thought, and almost instantly received the confirmation message.

-Execute project Ascension: Y/N?

"Y." Val said with a sly grin, and flicked out the swords in her arms.

Silver leapt forward, first firing then aiming a swing for the head.

Val blocked the shot with one arm, the bullet scattering over her armor as a powder as she brought her other arm up to meet the cleaver. She lashed out a kick into Silver's right leg, forcing her to collapse onto one knee.

Nightshade aimed a stab at Val's throat, forcing her to dodge away from Silver. She struck out sideways, Val barely avoiding the dangerous little dagger. She jabbed it forward, and Val caught it between her fingers.

Nightshade let go, grabbed hold of Silver and Vinyl, winked; and flashed away.

"I bucking knew it-" Val cursed, throwing the knife away. It exploded a fraction of a second later, the shockwave knocking her onto her back.

"Come on. Hell's waiting." Nightshade said, a dark matter dagger in hoof as she stabbed it into Val's chest.

"Welcome aboard." Val groaned, grabbing onto Nightshade's ankles. The Warden tried to teleport away, but only succeeded in bringing Val with her. A moment later they were high up in the air, Val still refusing to let go as the dark matter knife continued to burn its fuse.

Nightshade hit Val on the head again and again, trying to get her off- but to no avail.

A pearly smear dashed between the two, and Silver slashed both of Val's arms off with the cleaver. Nightshade quickly teleported away, but Silver landed on Val and jammed the tip of the cleaver against her face as they fell.

"Long live the Empress." She snarled, her back hoof pushing the knife even deeper into Val's chest as she pulled the trigger then sonic-boomed away.

Blood and metal scraps exploded across the sky, then was immediately pulled inwards by the dark matter blast and swallowed away. The foreign matter effect completely shattered her physical being.

Silver landed perched on top of a building, Nightshade and Vinyl joining her.

A small swirl of glowing pixels formed on the ground, Val reappearing. She coughed, spitting blood and bile out onto the floor.

"Ugh- rebirths are always the worst." She groaned.

Then she detected a somewhat vile presence behind her.

She lashed a kick out behind her, aiming for a hypothetical head. She hit something solid, and frowned as there was nothing there.

Then Neon shimmered into existence, her claw closing around Val's ankle.

"I missed you." Val grinned.

"I didn't." Neon replied coldly, hauling her up by her leg and flinging her into a nearby building.

The cyber pony crashed through a solid brick wall and deformed the handrails of a catwalk behind it. She got thrown into some sort of factory, with catwalks lining the walls and large cylindrical plants of sorts littering the factory floor.

"Spine." She hummed, tapping her back and waiting for it to heal.

Neon strode through the hole in the floor, her eyes glowing that usual neutral white.

"Neon, my subject. Why don't you bow down to your god? I made you, after all." Val teased, her spine twisting itself back together again.

"Because gods don't bleed." Neon replied coldly, and to drive home her point she dragged her claws across her own arm. The claws that would've easily torn through flesh simply glided off her skin.

"Gods don't need immortals like me to revive them either." Val pointed out.

"I find this conversation irrelevant and a waste of time." Neon said, striding towards Val.

Val knew her blades won't do a thing- fists and kicks will have to do.

Neon clawed out at lightning speeds for her throat. Val didn't dodge it- instead she let her fingers rake through her neck, but before she could draw her arm back Val grabbed her around the wrist.

"You're not the only one with enhanced strength." She said- well, tried to say. It was kind of hard with a shredded throat.

She rolled her eyes, then flung Neon down against the catwalk. The flimsy metal on that section collapsed, and Neon fell down about three stories before creating a little pony shaped crater in the concrete below.

Val switched to thermal vision on her eyes- Neon could manipulate light to mess with her eyes, but she won't be able to alter heat.

Neon rose from the ground, shrugging off some concrete bits. She didn't bother with a light show since she knew Val would have measures in place.

Looks like it was just going to be a good old brawl. Maybe with a prism cannon or two.

Val hopped down, which was a bad idea since Neon was waiting. She aimed a kick for Neon's head, but Neon caught her foot and flung her further into the factory. She crashed into one of the large cylinders, denting it into a semi circle. Water erupted from the top where the lid had split off, splashing down onto the factory floor.

Neon grabbed an exposed support pole and tore it from the wall. She weighed the impromptu mace in her claws, giving the ground a firm thump with the block of concrete still attached to the end of the pole.

Val dropped down from the dent in the cylinder, extra shielding popping out of her arms and covering her wrists.

Neon swung the mace, the solid block of concrete bending Val's arm as she used it for a parry. Val shook her arm back into place as it healed, then pummeled Neon's head with a fist.

Neon took a step back, bringing the mace back up. Val tried to kick it out of her claws, but at the same time Neon swung and clubbed her knee as she lashed out.

Val fell over sideways, grunting as she did so.

Neon pitched the mace over her head, ready to cave Val's skull in like a dropped egg.

Val quickly sent a prism bolt into the concrete block, shattering it and leaving a dangerously jagged end of a pole behind. Although to be fair, instead of getting her head crushed she only received a hit to the face.

She flipped over backwards and landed on her feet, then charged forward and deployed the hook blades.

Neon swiped the pole back around again, and she latched onto it. She slid behind Neon, wrenching the weapon away from her as her other blade hooked around her wrist.

Val kicked her in the knee and pulled back with her arm, felling Neon on her back. She let the hook blade fold back into her arm and clenched her hand into a fist, the energy from her prism cannon sending waves of rainbow light cascading from between her fingers.

She pounded her fist into Neon's chest, rainbow energy crackling across the ground.

She half expected Neon to lie still, but she got back up again with surprising speed.

With a quick swat from her claws she tore away a considerable chunk of flesh from Val's side.

Val stumbled back, her body disobeying some of her orders as there was a large portion of muscle missing. She fired a series of prism rays at Neon to hold her off. The micro explosions made it a little harder for her to proceed with murdering Val, just enough of a window for her to heal up.

She charged up another one of her rainbow punches, lashing out at the Warden.

Neon dodged to one side, the punch leaving behind a trail of polychromatic smoke as it grazed her nose.

She backed up, then slammed a fist into the cooling tank behind her.

Val looked up, and her thermal vision suddenly flooded with a torrent of blue. The cold water was messing with it.

She completely forgot about the water's existence as she fiddled with her eyes to make them see properly- and was immediately washed away and thrown against the far wall.
Neon tore the entire tank away, then heaved it over her head and threw it at Val.

*

"UNF!" Val grunted as she and the tank crashed through the factory wall, tumbling back out onto the central boulevard. She slid on her water-glazed back for a second, then came to a stop by a set of hooves.

"Good evening Empress." Terra said.

"I've been hearing that a lot recently." Val sighed, then quickly rolled to the side.

Terra's augmented hoof struck the ground where Val's head would've been a second ago, magical lightning crackling across the floor and shattering the concrete.

"You hear that a lot because it's true. It's a very exciting evening." He said, casually lifting his hoof from the crater in the ground. He flicked off a few pieces of stone, then turned to Val. "We get to witness your downfall."

"I am so very displeased." Val murmured, trying to get water out of her ear.

"Whatever for? You've always said you wanted the best for Equestria." Terra replied sarcastically, gently tapping his hoof on the ground and creating jumping magical sparks.

Val pouted, looking somewhat offended. "I was about to take action when you guys and gals decided to try your hands and hooves at regicide."

"So what were you doing the past decade or so?"

"Procrastinating." Val shrugged, and disappeared with a black blur as Neon tackled her from the side.

"Regicide... Pff..." Terra chuckled, then slammed his hoof into the ground.

A series of cracks split through the earth, then finally exploded in a shower of dirt and rubble at Val's feet as she fought off Neon.

Val fell back, and Neon leapt towards her with a raised claw. Then a prism bolt from the side knocked her across the street and into a wall.

Val rolled back, turning her attention to Terra as a squad of her Strikers swooped in from overhead.

Terra struck the earth, a sharp concrete spike stabbing for Val's chest from the ground. She leapt up onto a Striker as it passed, latching onto its wing then swinging herself on top of it.

A spire of earth ruptured into the sky, launching Terra up above Val and her aircraft as he rode it a few hundred meters into the air.

Val didn't bother with blocking his attack as he launched himself down at her. He was far too physically superior with those hooves.

She saw him coming, and quickly leapt to the side and off the plane. A millisecond later Terra hammered down onto the Striker, folding it in on itself with a crackle of magical energy.

She quickly co-ordinated another Striker to catch her as she fell, but before she could land on it it was torn in half by a rocket. She quickly covered her head as shrapnel blew towards her. She fell through the cloud of smoke that followed, dragging trails of grey with her as she did so.

A large black object suddenly flew overhead- a... Sports car?

All four rocket launchers mounted to EDI fired at the same time, all of them striking the back of Val's arms as she attempted a block. The force sent her barreling towards the roof of a large rectangular building below.

She shattered her spine and created a crater in the roof, then bounced up and barely managed to land on her feet again as she slid back several meters more.

A rainbow colored smear dropped down from where the black car had been, cracking the concrete as it landed.

Rainbow had the cleaver raised behind her head like she was about to bat a ball inches away from Val's nose. Something was odd about one of her arms, Val assumed it was some sort of emergency solution to her bone fracture.

Then Rainbow slammed the flat side of the oversized weapon flat against her face.

Once again she was sent flying back, tumbling into some rooftop vents and shattering some bricks.

Rainbow fired behind her, the recoil propelling her forward in compensation for her broken wing. Val quickly rolled up, flicked out a sword and ran towards her.

Rainbow grappled away at the last second, passing Val by inches. She fired her grapple again, this time latching onto Val's shoulder. Her momentum carried her around the confused cyberpony, at the same time throwing her off balance.

Val tripped and fell as she was spun in an oscillation, and Rainbow was flung up into the sky. She turned back around and pulled the trigger again, riding the recoil like a tidal wave down towards Val.

They smashed clean through the roof, the both of them tumbling onto the story below. Rainbow landed on her hooves and skid back a few meters while Val landed ungracefully on her face.

They were in some sort of warehouse, wooden crates strapped down with ropes forming a maze of sorts around the large open area they were standing in.

"Lady..." Val grunted as she manually hammered her neck back into place. "You have a problem."

"With you? Yeah." Rainbow replied, blasting herself towards her with the cleaver.

Val's arms split into the full array of blades, then rearranged themselves into two completely distorted looking claws that started at the base of her elbow.

With a blast from her thrusters she flipped over Rainbow, evading her strike. Rainbow quickly snapped around and swung the cleaver over her head, Val repurposing her stab into a block.

The cleaver slid into a gap in the mess of blades that was her arm- and thinking she had the advantage, she diverted the cleaver to the side and prepared to lash out with her spare arm.

Rainbow smirked, deploying the anchors that popped out the sides of the cleaver. They hooked into Val's claws, and she pulled the trigger.

The backlash tugged Val clean off her feet. Rainbow grappled onto the cleaver as it tore itself free, tugging it back into her hooves and bashing it into the ground where Val would've been had she not rolled away.

A sideways swing knocked Val into a couple of crates, followed by a bullet that grazed her shoulder.

Val sent a prism beam into the floor by Rainbow's hooves, driving her back. She pushed off the crates and launched herself at the disoriented pegasus, her claws sliding off the cleaver which Rainbow brought up as a shield. Her shoulder hammered into it as a result, and the two of them smashed through a pillar of boxes before coming to a rest amongst broken things and wooden shards.

Rainbow felt the strain building on her broken arm, especially from that tackle. She saw Val coming and tried to use the cleaver to defend herself, but it was knocked from her hooves in a brief moment of sharp pain from the core of her arm.

Val's right arm reformed, leaving nothing but a giant axe behind- ready to split Rainbow in two down the center. The glee in her eyes was almost adorable.

Almost.

Rainbow quickly drew a pistol like object from her pocket, raising it towards Val as she dropped the heavy axe atop her head.

At least, inches away from it.

Blue lightning zapped at her axe from between the unusual barrels of an odd looking pistol. Some sort of force was keeping it stationary there.

She raised an eyebrow.

"New toy I never got to use." Rainbow grinned, and pulled the trigger.

The scrap gun flared with cerulean energy, then flung Val to the far corner of the room following a comically loud 'VWOOMP' and curl of blast-wave distorted dust.

Val involuntarily cartwheeled into the crates on the far side and went clean through, smashing them to individual planks of wood. Then her back hit the wall and she almost took the entire thing with her as she went.

If her arm wasn't made of metal, it would've been torn clean off by that pistol thing. She quickly deployed her hook blade and latched onto a Striker as it passed, swinging onto its back.

"Buck! I was THIS close!" She cursed. She co-ordinated her other Strikers to follow her- this fight was going nowhere. She needed to get back to the tower- she needed her ace.
Then the Striker to the right lost control as Neon leapt onto it, who was manually twisting the engines to control the plane's flight path.

She flew up above Val, then dug her claws into the center of the aircraft. With a heave she tore it down the center, then threw the two halves at Val.

Val rolled to the side, the first half clipping the Striker's wing and sending it down in a spiral.

Val jumped and kicked off the second one as it flattened the plane she was on. She leapt straight for Neon as she charged down at her.

With one hand she batted away her claws, and then she dug her hook blade under Neon's chin. Momentum carried them past each other, and had Neon been anypony else it would've torn her head and spine clean from the rest of her body.

Val swung back around, letting go and launching both feet into her back. Neon was sent down like a hammer as she activated her thrusters.

Then she saw an eery purple glow creeping from the air behind her, and turned to look.
Some sort of glyph mark was there, glowing. Then it erupted into shards of concentrated energy which tore into her- flesh and metal alike.

She crashed through a satellite dish and onto a roof. The dish folded in on itself on impact, bouncing away as a ball of scrap metal. She rolled to a stop a few meters away, a few droplets of blood hitting the floor.

"Well... I haven't see you in a while..." She said as she got up, her body smoking from the magic based attack.

A white earth pony stallion with a green mane stood on the same roof, gently tapping his hoof on the ground. He wore a dark grey trench coat similar to Rainbow and Octavia, his just seemed... A little less formal.

"I don't believe we've ever met in person." Iris said, green glyph marks shimmering in his eyes.

"It'll be the last time." Val shrugged, sending a prism bolt his way.

Iris merely blinked at it, and it vanished inside a glyph mark as it appeared. With a blast of energy it bloated up to twice its original size and released the prism bolt.

Val rolled to the side as the expanded prism beam shredded the roof.

Iris conjured up a large pentagram with circles of glyphs orbiting it, then touched the center.

A tidal wave of weapons burst from the temporary portal, a cluster of spears, swords, maces, halberds, and just about any melee equipment imaginable.

Val tried to dive out of the way, but a spiked ball thing clipped her shoulder and she fell on her side.

She felt her body ripple, and looked at her hand. It shimmered in and out of existence as glyphs danced around at her fingertips.

"Crap..." She quickly rolled out of the field of influence, Iris's spell hitting just a second late and removing that chunk of roof and three more stories below from existence. She scrambled up, riding a blast from her thrusters to higher ground. "You mind not staring at a girl? It's impolite."

"I have doubts about your gender." Iris replied gently, then his right eye turned from green to red.

"Well. Ouch." Val murmured, balancing atop an antenna. She quickly jumped off as Iris sent a bolt of red lightning her way. It hit the antenna and sliced clean through it.

Val caught the antenna and swung it like a giant baseball bat towards Iris. Iris held up a hoof, a demonic circle thing emitting from it as his left eye glowed.

The antenna stopped dead on the sigil, and Iris tapped it. A blast of magic tore through the antenna, reducing it to shreds and sending Val tumbling back.

"I've been falling over a lot recently." She grunted, getting up again. Annoying how manual the process had to be.

"Credits for getting up though." Iris cocked his head to one side.

Val thought it was a gesture to her for a second, before she noticed he wasn't looking at her. She looked to her side, where one of her glyph-plagued Strikers spun towards her. She ducked under it, tore something out and threw it at Iris.

Iris redirected the partially dismantled missile back to the Striker with a harsh stare, which lay in a crumpled heap not far away.

Val crouched low and let her left arm fan out into a shield of blades, blocking the explosion out and deflecting shrapnel away from her body.

Only too late did she realize Iris had used her temporary idle status to mark her. She looked down at the glowing green targeting sigil on her chest, frowning.

"Does this mean you've been staring at my-"

Iris flicked his hoof to the side, and Val was instantly yanked away by some invisible force. She shot through a small concrete house, wrecking-balling it into piles of blocks that rolled down the staircase hidden inside.

"Ugh, please be gentle." She groaned, trying to get up. Hard to do when you have two broken legs.

Iris flicked his hoof the other way, sending her skidding across the roof. He stopped her just as she was about to fall off.

"Pity there's so little to pitch you into." He sighed, slowly trotting over to the broken mare.

"I call BS." Val muttered, her face pressed against the floor. Her skin had healed, but there was still a trail of smeared blood and sanded metal particles on the ground behind her.

"Unamusing." Iris commented, eyes turning red.

Val was still trying to get up when the curse made her collapse.

"GAAaaaeeeAAeeAh..." She groaned, clawing at her chest. The sigil had turned crimson.

She screamed and coughed up more blood- there were black glyph marks dancing in them!

"Kill me from the inside out, huh..." She grinned around a blood stained mouth, then screamed again as another wave of dark magic pulsed through her heart.

"It was rather quite easy to put the curse on you. Your heart is well corrupted as is." Iris said. "I was hoping we'd be able to save you."

"Save me? From what?" Val growled, breathing heavily as more black blood leaked from the corners of her mouth.

"Yourself." Iris replied simply. "You could've become something great. So much greater. You could've saved the world but why didn't you take the chance?"

Val stilled at that last comment.

Why didn't you take the chance?

With a blast from the thrusters she tackled Iris head on, flicked out her long sword and jammed it into his chest. He didn't get the chance to react.

They rolled onto the floor, Val's dark corrupted blood and Iris's fresh red claret spilling over them.

Iris gagged on his own blood as it surged into his mouth. Val kept the sword in his chest as she leant over his dying form.

"I'm glad you decided to attack my heart, dear." She started, a sick yet seductive grin spreading across her face. "It's the only thing I don't need." She finished, then sent a prism beam into her own chest.

She dug her fingers into her raw flesh and tore out the cursed organ. The black glyphs slowly faded away from the dying piece of flesh. She plopped it on the ground.

"You know, ironically, it hurt when you said that. When you asked me why I didn't save the world." She sighed, clearing her mane from her face. "Well, I'm going to make sure no pony ever asks me that again."

"You better." Iris managed.

"Don't worry, I will." Val said, then gently placed her hand over his face and broke his neck.
She got up, sliding her sword from his chest and flicking off the blood.

Nightshade popped into existence, her eyes flicking down to his body.

"You were a second late." Val said, stepping back into a defensive battle stance.

Nightshade didn't reply. She just stood silently, eyes glimmering with a dangerous glaze.

Then Val spotted the safety cap on the floor.

"Iris sends his regards." Nightshade said softly, then launched a knife with a green indicator at Val. Sparks erupted from her shoulder as the knife hit its target and beeped.

Val tried to pull it out, but it had deployed spikes and was firmly embedded in her shoulder. She looked up, raising her palm- a prism bolt charged up in her hand.

Nightshade vanished with a flash, leaving nothing but a strand of purple hair behind.

Val looked past where she was standing a second ago and out to the horizon. There, against the evening sun- a glimmering silver object floated. But it wasn't reflected sun rays that were causing the glimmer.

Val cursed, wrenched the knife from her body. It left her arm dangling by a few wires and twisted alloys, but she needed that knife out.

The glimmer grew brighter and brighter. She tossed the knife to one side and leapt to the other- but, well... Just a second late.

The CYCLOPS fired, a ray of pure prismatic destruction slicing through Valhalla. Buildings melted then and there, their particles heating up so rapidly that they simply exploded within seconds.

Val watched her own flesh bubble and limbs melt. It only lasted a short fraction of a second before her eyes went with them, then the rest of her body.

*

Nightshade teleported to the flames that consumed a great portion of the city, looking around- searching. Her eyes settled on a puddle of molten flesh as it shifted.

A jaw formed from the remnants of burnt bone, slowly and painfully attaching itself to a skull.

Val looked up, barely recognizable as a pony.

"Need to cool down a bit?" Nightshade tilted her head to one side. The rest of the group emerged from the smoke, trotting out through the flames.

"Halcyon." Rainbow said, her mechanical eye shimmering with a dangerous crimson scent. She had the cleaver unfolded just in case.

Halcyon nodded, stepping forward, her horn glowing- even in defeat, Val didn't look like she was going to give up.

No... There was definitely something more than personal wishes fueling her actions.

Then a grey form barreled through the smoke above, crashing into the debris on the ground. It was Blithy, and she lost one of her cybernetic limbs on impact. Even as she was regenerating, she was clearly badly beaten.

Rainbow looked back up to where she had fallen from- and raised her cleaver.

A bolt of orange energy shot through the murk, and she deflected it into the ground. Flames erupted from that portion of the floor, reducing it to nothing but ash that crumbled into the earth.

A red and black shape with jagged orange wings crashed into the ground from the smoke, and with a powerful bat of its wings it dissipated the murk around it.

Eclipse looked down at Val as she regenerated, her cybernetic limbs forming around a pile of flesh and bone. Then she looked up to their enemies, incineration cannons forming by her wings and loading with a loud clink.

Rainbow stepped forward into an offensive pose, Nightshade drew her knife, and Halcyon's horn glowed as shards of ice materialized by her side.

Val slowly got to her feet, still regenerating. She groaned, covering an empty eye socket with a hand.

There was a loud buzz as a trio of Strikers hovered down over the two, their guns trained on Rainbow. A group of assault units clunked through the smoke, weapons raised. The smoke faded, and through the flames Rainbow could see a large group of Val's troops- they were here to fight till the very end.

But then, so was she.

Terra clunked up to the group, joined by... Well, everyone. The NEMESIS hovered above the city, with the CYCLOPS in the background. Scootaloo trotted up beside Rainbow. Lightning Dust and her Apollo glided into view, fresh scars of battle visible across the hull of the vehicle.

Then the whole of Valhalla trembled, the city quaking in its weakened walls. Rainbow's eyes briefly flickered up to the Tower, and she saw it wobble a slight bit.

The city grumbled, a metallic groan shivering through the nooks and crannies of Valhalla.

Val let out a soft sigh as the rest of her body healed, and then grinned. Then laughed.

At the corner of her vision a small message blinked:

Project Ascension

-All assets connected and accounted for

-All preliminary commands executed

-Project Ascension

-ACTIVE.

Chapter 76: The End- Part 03: Genesis

After navigating a short maze of doors and hallways, Val finally found her.

Penumbra was sitting on the edge of her bed, facing the wall where a holographic star chart shimmered. No wings, no horn... No big tall alicorny physique... Just like how she had been during her time on earth.

"Eclipse..."

Eclipse closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"You shouldn't be here."

"I know." Val replied. "But... Since I'm here already... Will you at least hear my goodbyes?"

Eclipse chuckled. Val thought there was something funny about what she said, but then she sniffed and she saw the glimmering tear rolling down her neck.

"Funnily enough, millions of years of existing and goodbyes are still the hardest thing to do. It's always so hard to let go."

"...May I join you?" Val asked cautiously, and Eclipse nodded. She walked over to her, her metal feet sinking a little in the fluffy carpet, and she sat down next to her.

"I've said this a million times to a million different people... But... I don't want you to go."

"Everything'll be better without me." Val sighed. "Everypony'll be happy that I'm gone. There'll be a celebration about it. It'll be great." She let out a grim murmur.

Eclipse said nothing. She just stared off into the star chart, watching the trillions of tiny white sparks glimmer and shift. Then she picked a star and magnified it in her hoof.

"This is the system we live in." She said, then zoomed in on Earth. "This is where we, at present and in the past, live and have lived. This is our world, this is our all." She said, then everything shrunk again back into that tiny speck as she pushed it back into the chart.

"I know, I know... My problems are so puny compared to that of the universe's..." Val said, rolling her eyes.

"That's not what I meant." Eclipse said, and Val's ears perked. "In fact, I'll tell you the exact opposite. In the big picture we might be insignificant, that even if we disappeared no one would notice. But the big picture isn't relevant in this case, is it? Would you expect your actions to affect a system, say, on the other side of the universe?"

Val shook her head.

"Let's look at what is relevant then." Eclipse said, zooming back in on Earth. "You know what I see, Val? A dying world. It's almost there, it's so close." She turned to Val. "And you know what I see here?" She nudged her chest. "A pony that has a chance to fix that. To bring it back enough for the world to save itself."

"Rainbow'll fix everything with Genesis... I won't matter afterwards."

"Oh. But you will. Remember what I said about relevance? You don't have to exist for the whole universe. You don't even have to exist for the world. You just have to exist for what is relevant. Ponies that still care about you and believe in you... Ponies like me. Ponies that have forgiven you, ponies like Rainbow. Guaranteed not every pony will fall into these two categories, but that is a consequence of your actions... A consequence you will have to face, and you won't be alone. All those science faction ponies you led, they'll stand with you. You'll all face hardships. You won't be alone." Eclipse emphasized the last few words. "Plus, don't you even feel a slight bit bad for abandoning them?"

"I'm not abandoning them! I..." Val was at a loss for words, and almost broke down again.

"Really, I can throw all the morales and stories I can at you... But in the end all I want to say is... I care... And if I do, so will someone else." Eclipse said softly. "You were a hope I had, a dream that finally one day a champion worthy of Genesis will come. Of course there were a few hiccups along the way... But you're here now, and you certainly didn't disappoint me."

"I don't even have the amulet." Val muttered, turning out her empty palms.

"It's not about that to me. You and Rainbow are equally worthy- you've worked long and hard to get here and Rainbow stopped you when you faltered. I'm not disappointed that you didn't get Genesis in the end... What I'm happy about is that you had the strength to make it here, further than anyone else ever did. So many have failed... Not even making it off the planet. I'm glad you of all ponies made it though, you had made me quite fond of you." Eclipse chuckled, something Val didn't share.

"You're just making me feel bad at this point. Rainbow's heading over to Genesis right now... What we talk about, it won't matter anymore. I'll be gone soon." She sighed, and Eclipse giggled. She looked over to her. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just adorable that you think that's actually what she plans to do to you."

Val peered at her.

"You're really creepy when you have emotions."

"Well, I have to show some occasionally... It's good for mental and physical health."

"I've never seen you laugh, like, good and proper. Not just some chuckle. Like, full on laughter." Val suggested, and Eclipse shrunk away.

"No."

Val narrowed her eyes. Without a second's hesitation she jabbed a thumb into Eclipse's side.

"HaHA! No! STAHP!" Eclipse wriggled, then rolled onto the floor and out of reach. "I... It's the least intimidating thing..."

"Oh please. The only reason you were scary before was because you barely talked or did anything, really." Val said. "I wondered if somehow putting you into a cyborg body robotized you or something, now that I think of it, it makes sense that you could control your emotions that well. A few billion years ought to do it." She said, and Eclipse coughed politely. "Plus your color palette, all black and red and evil and stuff."

"It's charcoal." Eclipse muttered defensively.

*

"So do you and Eclipse ever talk?" Rainbow asked as she followed Fate down the hall. The walls were lined with bright orange holographic lights, simulating the sun. Overall the palace had a soothing tone, though it still retained its regality with its scale.

"Why yes. We discuss many things, there barely ever is anypony out here." Fate replied. "We watch Genesis, she and I. It's rather interesting, we were so certain you and Octavia had something beyond friendship."

"Wha-wha-I-" Rainbow blushed, hard, taking a step back.

"Just speculation." Fate hummed, trotting on. Rainbow had to stumble forwards a few steps to catch up.

"So... You spy on us? Everyone?"

"We can, if we choose to. With the billions of you, we only indulge in the more... Eventful... Ones. Such as yourself." Fate replied.

"I feel severely violated." Rainbow muttered, and Fate nodded.

"You absolutely should." He said. "We watch you shower. That mane is quite the sight." He added, and Rainbow peered uncomfortably at him. "That was a joke." He clarified.

"Huh." Rainbow muttered. "I didn't know level four AIs joke." She said sarcastically, and Fate laughed.

They walked to the end of the hall, and there it was. A gigantic vertical tunnel spanning across a quarter of a kilometer, housing the very programming of the world- a giant, glowing, swirling orange mass in the center. The hallway faded to a bridge which led straight into the center of that swirling ball.

Vines and greenery had sprouted from the cracks in the walls and floor. Small groups of grass here and there wavered in a light breeze, and glowing purple particles slowly drifted from a myriad of tiny dimly pulsing violet flowers.

"Pretty." Rainbow said, careful not to trip or step on anything for that matter. She could feel the warmth of the swirling mass of particles on her face. "Is this it?"

"Not quite. Follow me in." Fate said, walking past her and leading the way along the bridge. He did, however, slow down so Rainbow could have a longer look around.

"What is this?" She asked, running a hoof through the particles. They danced around her hoof, like dust in a slight draft.

"Information. It's everything that has happened thus far." Fate said, looking up. "This is merely a decorative part of the world's library. You see, this tiny bit here is just for show." He said, and Rainbow frowned at the gigantic sphere spanning over a fifth of a kilometer. Fate smiled at her bewildered expression. "The Sun itself? That's the whole thing. Every snippet of information about every physical atom and every mental thought of every living creature on earth. It is a lot."

"Huh." Rainbow said, watching streams of the orange stuff travel up and down the lengths of the giant tunnel. Those must be like the optic fibers of Genesis... Information transfer.

"This is you." Fate said, getting her attention with a small sphere of orange particles.

"Everything about you. From the very beginning of your existence up to right now... And it's still going." He said, pointing to a tiny golden stream slowly feeding particles into the sphere. "It's not a lot when you compare it to the world. But like all information, it spreads. Here's everything you have affected." He pulled up another globe, almost ten times larger. "Every thought any pony has had of you, in any context. That's a lot." He grinned.

"Huh." Rainbow said again. God, she was going to sound so dumb in text books. She quickly shook her head- already all of this was becoming too much for her.

"My point is, Rainbow... If you think you haven't done much, you're wrong. If you think you have, you'll still never be able to comprehend the scale and magnitude of what you have affected. People close and far have thought and talked about you, for all kinds of reasons." Fate continued. "For example... Here a mare complains about your parking skills. She doesn't know you, nor has she ever seen you in person, and you don't know her either. But it's little things like this, like parking your car over the line, that you could generate an entire two minutes of conversation- and the funny thing is, you never even notice it, nor will you ever know about it. So many things that are relevant to you go on without you knowing, every single day."

"Okay... So what's the moral here?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"There is none." Fate waved the globes away. "I merely thought it was an interesting perspective based observation."

It was indeed interesting, Rainbow thought. What would my death mean? How much would it 'ripple' through the world? And Val... How much would her continued existence affect others? A lot, she hoped. In a good way.

Fate led her through the initial shell of Genesis. For a few moments she couldn't see, blinded by all the particles around her.

"I know, right? Much less impressive." Fate said as she walked through the shell.

Inside was the real chamber. A majestic yet simple set of steps led up to a comparably smaller however still reasonably large golden glowing sphere. "But, this is it. Genesis, heart of it all."

Rainbow felt her heart drop a little as she saw it. Those steps... Those were going to be her final ones. At one point in the near future she was going to just... Be gone, inside that glowing orange mass.

She felt her energy sap, and she collapsed onto her knees.

I don't want to go, she thought. I don't want to...

So here she was, drained of her will seconds away from finally accomplishing what everything had been working towards thus far.

"It's a hefty price, I know. You could turn back now. There are ponies waiting for you back home." Fate said softly. "They need you. That's one option. The other... You could step in. Give pony kind a fresh start, bring an end to the bloodshed and even reset it. There are ponies you care about that have already left you, you could bring them back... Though you would not be there to see it."

"My choice is final... I'm leaving... But... I don't want to..." Rainbow whimpered. She gently clawed at the floor with her hoof, not bothering to hide her distress. It was about to end anyway... It won't matter soon.

"Either choice is completely justifiable, Rainbow. Ponies would understand if you turn away now. They'd never be able to make this sacrifice themselves." Fate said quietly, placing a hoof on her shoulder. It was warm, but it was still hard metal.

"Buck, I'm gonna cry again... Big bucking baby..." Rainbow muttered with a brief chuckle.

Fate helped her up, and assisted her as she stumbled towards the steps.

"I... I'm fine now... Thanks..." Rainbow said, then flinched and clutched her side. Damn it Val, she definitely got a good hit in there. She was about to cry again, then quickly swallowed and shook her head. Sighing, she looked up and turned towards Genesis, watching it shimmer.

She watched the particles swirl. Every tiny bit, something that mattered- all of it, connected. She seemed to get an idea of how to use it just by looking at it... It was so oddly natural.

"So..." She sniffed, and wiped her nose with a sleeve, turning back to face Fate. He waited patiently at the bottom of the steps. "Is this it? Is this... I guess... How it ends?"

Fate considered it for a moment.

"That's up to you." He replied.

Rainbow snickered, turning back to Genesis.

"It always is, isn't it..." She sighed, and started slowly walking up the stairs. Each step was shallow, making it quite effortless. The light of Genesis welcomed her at the top, and she could feel its warmth tingling on her skin. "Hey..." She said.

"Yes?"

"If Val does anything stupid, can you please just kill her. Or get Eclipse to kill her, or someone. I'm letting her live, I don't want to regret that."

"I'll send the message across to the mistress." Fate nodded politely. "Anything else before your departure?"

Rainbow thought about it for a moment.

"Look after her, so long as she doesn't try to blow up the world... Or something... She'll get a lot of crap from other ponies. It'll be hard on her, she's gonna need other ponies to help her stand."

Fate waited for a second, as if wondering if Rainbow would go back on her words and cancel that last will. She didn't.

He watched her take the final few steps towards Genesis.

"Goodbye, Rainbow Dash. It's been a pleasure." He said, right as she was about to enter.

Rainbow stopped, and chuckled. What else could she do? She was done crying. She could be a baby before leaving, but not while leaving. No, that wasn't the impression she wanted to leave.

"Toodles." She said, with a laugh, waving behind her as she stepped into the glowing orange sphere.

Her backwards wave was the last thing to disappear into the mass of particles.

"...It's been fun."

*

Well, as far as last words go... I've never been a fan. But I guess I just want to... Document... A few last thoughts.

I'm in Genesis right now. It's pretty comfortable. Good place to start recording this thing, I suppose, before we begin.

Keh-khem.

This little adventure... Misadventure... Whatever... That I've shared with my friends, it's been a hell of a thing. I can barely remember when and how it started... That one contract I denied in the warehouse. When I picked the damn thing up I'd never have known this is what it all would've eventually led to.

God, so much has happened since then. I don't even know where to start... It's been long and hard, and a little grueling at parts.

This is... Sort of... What I wanted?

I'd always wanted to be somepony important. I guess that worked out. Saved my friends in the end... Hell, saved everypony. I kinda-sorta deserve a pat on the back for that, right?
Well, there's always the other side to it. Damn double edged knives.

Silver won't be around anymore once I'm done, and neither will I. She was a splinter of me, and Rainbow Dash just won't exist anymore. I know she won't mind, but... It kinda just sucks. For the both of us.

I hate this, I really do. I wish I could stay behind, the whole purpose of me saving everypony I cared about was so I could see them. At least I'll know they'll be happy... If I know anything at all after this...

It's such a hard concept for my brain. I just can't wrap my head around it... That I just won't be anymore. I suppose I shouldn't... This sort of ignorance is exactly what I need right now. Wouldn't want to cry myself to death... Or whatever the hell it is.

I'm just rambling at this point, aren't I? I'm just rambling.

I should probably stop... Time to end this thing, right?

Dainty, if you're hearing this, love ya as usual... Though... You probably won't.

I know we haven't talked in a long, loooong time, Twi, Jack, Flutters, Pinks, Rare. But I still love you all... Hey, I did it for you.

Vinyl, you're awesome. Keep them beats up in the new world! It's what everypony wants.
And Tavi... I'm sorry I had to go. We've had some fun together, and your loyalty to me is something I'll hold on to forever, no matter what.

Please don't hate me.

Alright, well... Show's over. For the last time, this is Rainbow Dash.

Goodbye, everypony.

Author's Note

Last actual chapter. I promise. Next one's gonna be the epilogue. It's gonna be over soon.

Epilogue: The End

Approximately fifteen years ago, Manehattan.

Octavia shouldered down the iron door, racing out onto a concrete rooftop. She stumbled a few steps, a little out of breath from chasing an assailant up sixteen floors worth of stairs. Despite that, she still kept her pistol up in alert, the weighted silencer attached to its end tipping her aim down a slight bit.

There was a pony sitting on the ledge of the roof, a pegasus, her back facing towards her. She was wearing a light blue hoodie, the hood softly draped over her head. A black shoulder bag was gently set to one side.

Based on her getup, she could be just any other slightly older than teenage pony out on the street. Nothing to indicate her affiliation, if she had one at all, and by the rugged look... She didn't belong anywhere. It appeared intentional, too... Like she was lost... And she knew.

The assailant Octavia had been chasing lay in halves, baking under the bright sun of day. She gently readjusted her aim on the hooded figure.

"Hooves up. Turn around." She said quietly.

The figure tilted her head a slight bit. For a brief second Octavia caught sight of a shimmering rainbow mane.

"Are you going to shoot me?" A sullen voice murmured. It wasn't a bad sounding voice... Just one that sounded like it hadn't spoken in a long time.

"Not unless I have to." Octavia replied.

"And you had to shoot fifty three other ponies?" The figure said, with a grim chuckle.

Octavia tilted her head. So whoever this pony was, they didn't meet by a coincidence. She knew her. What annoyed her was that she had no idea who she was.

"And you had to chop a guy in half. Somehow I don't think he's your first." She retorted.

"No. No he isn't." The figure said, and steadily got to her hooves, casting a solemn gaze over the city, letting the wind gently slide across her face. Then she turned, with a sigh.

"I know you." Octavia said quietly. Of course she did. Who didn't, at this stage?

"We've barely met."

"Who you are, I mean."

Rainbow Dash gently stepped down from the ledge, and Octavia took a subtle step back. She didn't want to find out how Rainbow'd halved a guy in maybe three seconds before she got to the door. She wasn't that far behind him on the chase.

"So what're you now, some psycho murderer?"

"I wish the reasons I do what I do were as simple as mental instability." Rainbow huffed, with a bit of a bitter laugh. "But... If you want the short answer... I'm just looking for something. Is all." She sighed and reached over to get the shoulder bag she left to one side. She extracted a black fedora with a white band around it from within. It wasn't very much visible anymore, but it was evident that the hat had been stained with blood before. Sometime long ago. "Do you recognize this?"

"Not really. That could be from anywhere."

"I see." Rainbow murmured. She looked down at the hat for a moment, nodding to herself.

"But I could help you look. It seems... Important, to you." Octavia said quietly.

"Heh." Rainbow sighed, with a soft smile on her lips. "Yeah... You could say that. I've been chasing this ghost... This immaterial character... For a long time now. Whoever it was didn't just take a dear life away from me... But it took mine as well... And I've been looking, chasing, running and hiding... For so damn long I just..." She gently shook her head at the fedora. "There's no going back, but... Recently I've realized... There's no reason to go forwards after it either."

"And so you're going to stop chasing this... Ghost?" Octavia tilted her head, intrigued.

"Nah. I'll find them eventually." Rainbow grinned, then cast her gaze up into the blue abyss above. "If not simply for the satisfaction of accomplishing the task... But for now... I have a deal for you."

"Somehow I knew I wasn't tracked down just for a heart felt conversation."

"Nah... I've realized how unproductive I've been in the past few years, looking and hiding. Wasting time away and putting a big label of purpose on top of it. What's happened to me has already happened, and there's nothing I can do now... But I still have friends- well, they might not consider me that anymore; but... Ponies I care about. What happened to me hasn't happened to them. Or to others. And I hope it never does." Rainbow whispered quietly, remnants of a hopeful twinkle flashing across her eyes. She looked back down from the skies again, to Octavia.

Octavia didn't put the gun away, but it was tilted at a downwards angle now.

"Everypony has a reason for doing something. I know that. Nopony does something for no reason. And I know you have a reason. Whoever it was, whatever it was... You don't want it to happen to anyone else... Do you..."

Octavia cast her eyes down for a second.

"Of course..."

"Then I want to offer my help." Rainbow said, brushing off the long-dried blood from the fedora, trying to clear it the best she could. "Octavia... You and I... We want the same thing. To have purpose. To stop bad things from happening. To keep the ones we care about safe." She murmured, standing up and walking towards the cautious grey mare. "Just... Think about it. We could help each other, and to be honest... Personally, I'll need it." She said, face to face with Octavia.

Octavia offered a short nod. The weapon didn't go away, however.

Rainbow chuckled.

"I'm sure we'll get to know each other a little bit better. Hopefully." She snickered. "But... For now..." She gently placed the fedora on Octavia's head. The mare's purple eyes darted up in surprise. "I think it looks good on you. Kinda completes the look." She laughed, and stepped over the assailant's carcass, and quietly left the rooftop.

*

Octavia's eyes flung open. She scrambled up, trying to clear her mane from her face. Where's Val? Where's Rainbow? Is she in danger again? What happened?

The bright morning sunshine that was bombarding her face wasn't helping her answer those questions.

She had been laid out on a bed, in an oddly familiar place. Some sort of apartment... Or hotel... No too sure which one.

A modern looking analog clock read eight thirty in the morning. The bright panes of floor-to-ceiling windows seemed to prove that piece of information.

Octavia quickly went to the bathroom and splattered her face with cold water. Nope, not dreaming. That meant...

"She did it." She muttered, slumping on the bathroom floor.

She wasn't happy about it. Sure, she saved the world... But... Her being gone...

Immediately she could feel some chunk of her own existence just... Absent. Maybe some consistent and annoying remarks, maybe some level of untidiness that she had learnt to tolerate over the years.

She could feel Rainbow's absence without even thinking about it, and it tore at her heart. She closed her eyes, burying her face in her hooves, her shoulders shaking.

She was gone, she was gone, she was gone.

"Tavi..."

But there she was. There she was again, standing at the door to the bathroom. Standing right there, her rainbow mane drifting down her shoulders, her features partially concealed by the black fedora she wore on her head. No glowing red eye. No battle scars. No blood. No metal.

"Rainbow..." She gasped, taking in a shaky breath, tears still trickling down her cheeks.

"Before you do anything... Tavi... She... Rainbow... She's not here anymore." The mare said.

"W-what do you mean?" Octavia tilted her head to one side, an emotional roller coaster tumbling inside her, going from one extremity to the other.

"I... I'm not Rainbow." The mare muttered, lowering her eyes.

"No... No no no, bull, I don't believe that." Octavia sneered a little. "I don't bucking believe that!" She leapt up and grabbed Rainbow around the collar. "Rainbow, if it's another one of your stupid bucking jokes again, I goddamn swear, this is not the time!"

But what she saw in those familiar violet eyes was so, so heart shattering. It was hurt, it was true.

"No..." She whispered. "No... Please... Please let it be one of your stupid bucking pranks... Please..." She pleaded, but she knew. She goddamn knew, and she hated herself for it. "God... DAMNIT!" She screamed in frustration, burying her face in her hooves as she started crying again. "Why, why, why... Who are you? Why?"

"A copy." Rainbow replied, averting her eyes from the broken mare. "The real Rainbow Dash made me before she... Left. I'm just different enough to have it pass through Genesis."

"Why are you telling me this... You could've pretended... You could've goddamn pretended..." Octavia weeped.

"Because she... She couldn't lie to you."

Octavia didn't say anything, just squeezed Rainbow's clone and cried into her chest.

"She gave me a message to carry on to you though." Rainbow said, gently stroking her cheek and clearing the tears from her face.

Still Octavia didn't look up. Rainbow took her hoof and helped her up off the floor, then gently walked her to the living room.

"Come on. Put on your clothes, it'll be windy outside." She said softly, and Octavia nodded.

A black coat waited for her on a clothes stand near the exit. Beneath were the pants and shirt. A fedora with a white band around it hung loosely from the top.

Rainbow waited patiently as she put the items on. Octavia sighed as she shrugged on the coat and placed the hat over her head.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." Rainbow replied, and opened the door.

The corridor that waited beyond was equally familiar. She had been here before, but she couldn't quite remember when or where this actually was.

Rainbow put an arm around her shoulders and slowly walked her towards the elevators. As the doors tinged open, Octavia looked further down the hall.

That door... They had been through it before. Old, slightly rusty, leading to a set of stairs- she knew. She didn't know if she was feeling déjà vu or nostalgia.

"Shouldn't we be going down?" She asked as Rainbow punched the button for the top floor.

"Nah." She replied.

No elevator music played. All she could do was lean back against the elevator wall and try desperately to hide the torment she was feeling. Rainbow stood beside her, looking ahead. She didn't say anything.

Finally the doors opened up again. Rainbow led her out into a small concrete room. To one side was a door with sunlight pouring through a tiny window embedded in it. To the other side was the end of a set of stairs.

Rainbow led her towards the door, and pushed it open.

Octavia gasped. How could she have forgotten?

Cloudsdale looked even prettier than before. The cloudy texture of the city of the pegasi floated below, shrouded in morning mist. More clouds floated by above, on the very edge of the atmosphere.

Long, drawn out shadows stretched away from the sun as it slowly rose from the horizon. Golden streaks of light shot past darker ambient blue shadows, the contrast in lighting almost far too exaggerated to be real.

Octavia cast her eyes further out into the distance. Beyond what appeared to be a normal Equestria, there was a new land... Host to a range of gleaming skyscrapers and hovering space ships. She gaped at the new world in front of her as she walked to the handrails. She could hear distant laughing, and just... Talking... Everywhere. On the streets below, in some shops, in the sky as a few pegasi passed. Life had been restored.

"You like it?" Rainbow grinned, joining her at the handrails.

"I... What..." She shook her head, and Rainbow laughed.

"She thought she'd give science their own little bit of land. The world doesn't need all a hundred percent of its oceans, apparently." She chuckled.

Octavia just stared off into the distance, and didn't reply.

For a few minutes they just stood side by side, silent. Rainbow started fidgeting a little, playing with the collar of her shirt, like a child that had done something wrong and knew she was guilty.

"Did she realize she'd only make things worse by trying to come back?" Octavia asked, and suppressed a sniffle. Rainbow looked up in surprise, and saw that the grey mare was doing her best not to burst out again.

"Yeah..." Rainbow looked down again, bringing out the cleaver handle. She twirled it between her hooves, staring into the red light shining through its thin seams. "Yeah... She did."

"Then why?"

Rainbow didn't speak immediately.

"Why would she come back?" Octavia whispered, eyes watering.

Rainbow gently reached behind her head and unclipped the pendant around her neck. She held it up by the chain, letting it catch the sun as she peered at it. Relatively well sculpted all things considered, it was her cutie mark. It was her birthday present from Dainty.

She wasn't Rainbow. She didn't feel it right to wear it, she knew. But it was still hers, so she pocketed it.

"She wanted you to be happy... Plus, she made a promise." She stated simply, feeling the cold chain twirl around her hoof inside her pocket.

Octavia's eyes lingered on the exposed chain for a second. Then she took in a deep breath and looked out to the edge of Cloudsdale.

"Also she ah..." Rainbow looked down, finding it hard to look anywhere else. "You meant too much to her. She didn't want to just leave you."

"Is that it?" Octavia sniffed. "Because it feels an awful like we left her."

"I guess that's kinda sorta why I'm here." Rainbow murmured. "It's her only way of staying."

Octavia nodded, slowly, still trying to keep herself calm.

"I just... I didn't even get to say goodbye..."

Rainbow watched her with a pained expression. She had a memory flash back to Genesis, when the real Rainbow was talking to her, amongst that swirling mass of condensed information.

"You have my memories. You know how I feel." She had said, eyes downcast. And she had nodded in return. She had looked up again, and that tiny last bit of regret had shone through. "Just... Make her happy, okay? Make sure she's happy. And keep her safe."

Rainbow took in a sharp breath. So she never got to tell her herself...

"But she did." She murmured quietly. Tavi looked up. "She got to. Say goodbye, I mean."

But this was the end, she thought to herself. It was going to be bitter sweet, she knew- they all did. But so far it had been all bitter and no sweet.

"Come on." She said, hooking an arm around Tavi's shoulders and gently leading her away.

"Wha?" Octavia seemed a little startled as she stumbled around for a bit under Rainbow's guide. "W-where are we going?"

"Somewhere a little less depressing." Rainbow shrugged, keeping Tavi close.

She led her back down the elevators, and walked out onto the streets. Rays of sunshine shone through the crisp green leaves of trees lining the sidewalks, glimmering off of the asphalt road like a sparkling universe beneath their hooves, shining through the thin cosmic clouds that was the low-rolling morning fog.

There was this air of positive energy all around them. Ponies weren't being hysterically cheerful but... It was... Really, it was just sunshine and rainbows.

"Things'll never be the same... But..." Octavia looked around them, at all the overwhelming but hidden joy.

"Things were never meant to be the same." Rainbow chuckled, tracing her gaze. A group of fillies and colts seemed to be having a game of tag. "After all the grim things we've seen, all the trauma we've been through and all the adventures we've had... What would any of it be if we just ended back up where we started?" She laughed. "For better or for worse... It's all different now..."

"For better, hopefully." Octavia sighed, though there was a smile lingering upon her lips, like a pleasant aftertaste.

They trotted to the handrails at the edge of Cloudsdale. Equestria was stretched out below them- they could see so impossibly far... It was amazing.

"So... What happened to everyone?" Tavi asked, quietly, timidly looking about herself to see if she could spot any other familiar faces; as they softly walked alongside the handrails.

"Well... Sweetie Belle's off to a great career as a talented singer... She's partly Rarity's boss now, can you believe that?" They shared a chuckle. "Applebloom and Scootaloo... They've opened up a mechanics workshop and warehouse in Manehattan. Katana's helping them with the workshop as well... She was originally Applebloom's assistant, after all... As for Applebloom herself, she's still a bit shaken up about being dead... A lot of ponies are. Sweetie Belle too... It wasn't something Rainbow wanted to just remove. They'll adjust to it, eventually. She didn't feel it right for her to just remove memories at will... Well, all but for one case... But it's a special case. You'll see."

Octavia nodded gently, chin tucked behind the collar of her trench coat as she stared at the ground, watching the stone pavement slowly pass by.

"That's good..." She said.

Rainbow cast her a worried glance- She wasn't over Rainbow yet, she could tell... And she doubted she ever would be, completely. All she could do now was keep talking.

"The Princesses have been reunited... Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rarity've all got their normal lives back... They just need to slowly ease into it. I'll need to pay them a visit some time." She said, and grinned just by imagining all the sunshine filled smiles they'd share once again at last.

God... She hadn't seen those faces in so long.

"And, uh... Iris is back to doing whatever shady business he's always been involved in... Shining Armor's back in Canterlot with all his fancy-smancy royal guard captain stuff. Frostbite, he's... Gone back to the Griffon Kingdom... Heh, he probably had enough of Equestria as it is already." Rainbow chortled, and was pleasantly rewarded with a brief smile from Tavi. "But anyway. The Doctor and Derpy... They're back on their crazy adventures as per the norm... Magnum and Zealo are somewhere in Appleloosa right now... Odd place to go on vacation, but... I heard they had some great wines there." She shrugged.

"Brandy." Octavia corrected.

"Ah." Rainbow nodded. That made a bit more sense. How'd she think there'd be a wine orchard in the middle of the desert? Though... They did manage with apples. "Lightning Dust is back in the Academy with Spitfire and Soarin. I dunno... Maybe she'll make it through this time. Probably. Noteworthy's got some music stuff going in Ponyville."

"What about the Wardens?" Octavia asked. There was a soft crunch as she accidentally stepped on a fallen leaf.

"They're off doing their thing, keeping Equestria safe... Though, Nightshade's stayed behind as Luna's General of the Army. Honestly, she looks the part." Rainbow offered a nervous laugh.

Rainbow had led her to a small one storied building by the edge of Cloudsdale. It was modeled like a diner from the sixties, complete with erratic text written in multicolored neon lights and that typical shiny bright red roof. A giant mechanical ice cream cone outlined in neon gently rocked from side to side behind the fonted logo that Rainbow could barely read properly.

"It's moved. And it's not bright pink anymore." Tavi murmured, looking up at the building.

"Yeah." Rainbow tilted her head, a look of absolute fascination twinkling in her eyes and her smile as she spied at the subtle changes the ice cream store had suffered from the previous reality. "I wonder what little thing changed..."

Tavi let out a short giggle at the look on Rainbow's face. That look... She'd seen it before, and it had become one of the things she loved her for.

"What?" Rainbow turned to look at her, with a raised eyebrow.

"Heh." Was all the response Tavi gave her, followed by another suppressed laugh to herself.

She could feel something building up as Rainbow gently shoved the hefty red metal and glass doors open. Maybe she knew, to some degree, somehow; which explains that little nagging bit of anticipation itching at her chest.

Compared to the bright and near-blinding sunlight from outside, the inside of the ice cream shop was relatively dark, but only in comparison. It was still bright enough for her to notice the black shape bolting towards her from her left.

Rainbow tilted her head a little with that curious look as the figure darted past behind her and leapt at Tavi.

Octavia wrapped a hoof around the figure's wrist, stepped aside, then used it's momentum to fling the figure into a small two seated table to her right.

She felt the serenity around her shatter as the figure collided with the table and its two stools with a loud crash and 'BWEH!' in a very familiar voice.

"V-Vinyl...?" She gasped. "Oh, sh- Here-" she quickly ran over to her and pulled the bleach white unicorn to her hooves. At least that was the intention, because Vinyl tugged down and made her trip too, right into a big comfy and overdue hug.

"You're okay..." She murmured.

"Yeah. I'm okay." Octavia replied quietly, then a grim snort of a chuckle escaped her lips.
"Mmm..." Vinyl buried her muzzle into her shoulder for a short while, it was so nice to have her here. Nice and warm. "Hey- Rainbow- heh, you're still alive!" She said, looking over Octavia's shoulder and waving at Rainbow.

Octavia froze for a moment, then she turned, hesitantly, to look at Rainbow. Their eyes met for a while, and Rainbow waited for her to say something. The silent exchange was grim and painful.

Will she tell the truth?

Rainbow half expected her too. She didn't know if it was relief or disappointment that she felt when Tavi quietly stifled a tear to hide it from Vinyl, then looked down and away again as she slowly got up.

"Yeah. Guess I'm still here." Rainbow shrugged, a convincing and completely cocky-Rainbow-Dash-like grin fashioned upon her face.

"Suppose it'd take more than... Well... Whatever the hell Genesis is... To kill you." Vinyl laughed, getting up and giving her a light thump on the chest.

"Yeah. I'm a tough sonnuva mule." Rainbow nodded. That grin almost faltered when she caught that pleading look from Tavi.

Those bright purple eyes... The desperate look that said 'Don't push it, please...', it almost brought her to her knees.

"...But hey! Let's go find the others!" She said quickly, hooking an arm around Tavi's shoulders and letting her shoulders do a sort of battle-fatigued sag.

"Right this way, ma'ams!" Vinyl said brightly, performed a comically low bow, and led the way further into the ice cream store.

"Tavi..." Rainbow whispered as she went out of earshot, a very obvious look of concern on her face.

"I'm sorry I... I didn't realize that I was-"

"No. Tavi... Thank you." Rainbow murmured quietly, hugging her close by her side. "I know it's difficult... So... Thank you."

Octavia swallowed and nodded.

They followed Vinyl around a corner.

"You know, I-" Rainbow began, and then disappeared. Octavia looked down to find her in a heap on the floor, a little green shape clinging onto her dearly. "Hey, Dainty... Oh jaysus..." She groaned, struggling a little. Finally Dainty rolled off and giggled, and she got the opportunity to get back up again.

"Rainbow! You're alive." Halcyon 'yayed', sitting at a table with Blaze.

"The surprise in your voice insults me." Rainbow murmured, watching Dainty bounce in circles around her. There was something different about her... She looked like she had grown a considerable amount... "Dainty... You're-"

"I knew you'd be back! I knew it I knew it I knew it!" She squealed, then finally stopped in front of her with this adorable look in her eyes, a little breathless from the hyperactivity. "I mean, they thought you were dead, or gone, or whatever, but I knew you'd come back! Because you promised!" She said, ecstatically.

"Yeah." Rainbow said quietly. Then she smiled, a tired but warm and happy smile, and knelt down. "Yeah, I did." She said. She remembered that they'd be eye level whenever she knelt. Now she actually had to look up... "Dainty, you've..."

"Yeah. I've grown. A lot. Because I didn't die for, like, five years." She grinned.

"Huh." Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"Six." Melony said, sitting at a table with Nightshade.

"Yeah. Six." Dainty rolled her eyes.

"I... Wow." Rainbow blinked. So Dainty's suddenly a teenager now? Ain't that great. She was kind of disappointed she didn't get to spend more time with her before she grew...

"Hey... I have two big sisters now. That's kinda nice." She grinned, and leapt into another hug with Rainbow.

"You can have her. She's too much trouble." Melony said, sipping from a cup of coffee.

"Wha! Melony, that's mean..." Dainty looked at her and pouted.

"Wait... Don't you guys have important stuff to do?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the four Wardens just hanging out in an ice cream store.

"There's a meteor problem. Terra can handle it though. Plus he hates ice cream." Nightshade said quietly and politely dabbed her mouth with a napkin. She still had her eye patch though, however her one-time multi-dimensional teleport worked.

"You really trust one pony with an extinction level event?" Rainbow frowned, a bit worried the skies might just collapse on their heads any second now.

"Why not? We miraculously trusted you with, well... Everything. It turned out fine." Nightshade shrugged, poking at her honey mellon ice cream with a plastic spoon.

"Wha- hey, I'm trustworthy!" Rainbow complained.

While Rainbow and Nightshade got into a heated discussion about Rainbow's character, Octavia noticed a little something hiding behind Halcyon's stool as she chatted with Blaze.

"Uh..." She tilted her head, kneeling down a little so she could get a better look.

"Hmm? Oh!" Halcyon noticed Octavia peering and ushered the little creature a bit. It seemed to want to run away. "Come on now, Archie. Go say hello."

Slowly, and very, very hesitantly; the filly hiding behind the stool peeked out from behind it. Maybe it was the lighting, but those eyes... Those brilliant, baby blue eyes...

Octavia fell back in shock.

There was no mistaking it. The electric mane. The light charcoal coat.

It was Val.

"H-Hello..." She murmured timidly, head down and barely able to meet Octavia's eyes as she nervously pawed a hoof at the ground.

"Cute, isn't she?" Rainbow murmured with a smile, holding Dainty in her arms and gently stroking her mane.

Octavia looked at her with a shocked expression.

"Does she-"

"Nah. One day she'll remember, though. It's a consequence of her actions, and it won't be easy, but... It's a second chance. She- I mean I- thought that... Well, you and I both know the story. I thought she deserved a childhood. A descent one." Rainbow said, tilting her head at the filly. She shrunk behind the stool again, only peeping out a little, and Halcyon laughed.

"O-oh..." Octavia said, still a bit concerned. But then she closed her eyes and smiled, then chuckled. "Heh, oh well, I suppose. Not much I can do about it." She murmured with a shrug. "Definitely sounds like something you would do though. But just one question- Archie...?"

"Archangel." Rainbow expanded. "One day she'll be just that. A benevolent one this time, hopefully." She grinned, while Archie practically had question marks popping out of her head as she blinked.

"Wha- mom-" She complained a bit as Halcyon ruffled her mane.

"I know not everyone's comfortable with it. But don't you think it's right? She can help us. Help this world. It's up to us to take care of her now, and not forge her into something we don't want." Rainbow said.

"We'll take care of her." Vinyl said with a warm smile on her face and offered Archie a wave. She nodded politely but stayed behind the stool.

"I-I-I won't be something bad, right?" She asked timidly.

"Course not." Dainty said brightly, then thought about something and looked around curiously. "Weren't we supposed to be having ice cream?"

Rainbow blinked, then sprung up. "Hey yeah! Tabs' on me!"

They had moved all the tables together to form a big one in the center that they could all sit around, and once the orders were coming up Rainbow started bragging about the last adventure. Some things never change- but Octavia didn't blame her.

"And then- Tavi and I, we-" Rainbow was still going when somepony ran into the room, a little out of breath too.

"So." Daring Do said, breathing heavily, her hat at an angle. "What'd I miss?"

As everypony laughed and then complained as Rainbow started again all the way from the beginning, Tavi gave a laugh- an honest one that she hadn't quite had in a while.

THIS is what Rainbow had wanted. This is why. A way at a happy ending when secretly there was none.

She knew the other ending. The least she could do was appreciate what transpired. Rainbow wouldn't want her to feel guilty. She had known she would, she must have; but she did it anyway, and Tavi knew she would want her to enjoy this.

And so she laughed along with everyone. Smiled like everyone. And made sure that none of it was pretense.

Rainbow saw it in her eyes too. She grinned a sincere grin, finally able to let go of that sliver of worry.

"So what happened after you guys went into the castle?" Nightshade asked curiously.

"Well..." Rainbow thought about the few times they just tripped and fell. No, that won't do as a tale. "We met this... Robot pony... He called himself Fate. I'm assuming Eclipse made him..."

"Did he control Genesis?"

"Heh... That's the odd thing, because he made it explicitly clear that he only documents things." Rainbow said.

"You think that's why Eclipse named him that? Because that's what she believes- we control our own fate?" Blaze murmured.

"I'm not a big believer in fate myself, but... Of all the millions of bad things that could've happened... We're here now." Halcyon said with a smile, watching Archie as she stood on her lap and tried to reach a plate of cookies in the middle of the table. She levitated one to her, and she disappeared under the table again.

"Well, regardless... I'm happy he's on our side." Rainbow said, and everypony else murmured their agreements.

"But what happened to them, though? Eclipse and Fate? And Genesis?" Dainty asked, though her words were a bit disrupted since she was chewing on a spoon.

"Genesis is still there, a fallback plan. In case something ever goes wrong, again. Hopefully it never does, though." Rainbow sighed. "As for those two... Fate's probably still where he is. Someone has to maintain that castle. Eclipse... She's off doing her thing. I'm sure there's plenty of crap to clean up after that whole mess." She muttered.

Dainty peered under the table and found Archie still nibbling at the cookie. She blinked, and they just stared at each other for a bit. Then Archie looked between her and the cookie, a little confused. Finally she tilted her head curiously and offered the cookie to Dainty.

Dainty blinked again, chuckled, then left. She returned a second later with another cookie of her own, and joined Archie under the table(though she had to hunch a little, she wasn't quite as small as she had been anymore). They grinned at each other, for differing reasons, then enjoyed their cookies.

As the morning went on Rainbow explained and answered as many questions as she could. About Genesis, about things that had happened.

Melody explained what happened to Neon- it had just been a fragment of her, caused by the experiment which turned her into it in the first place. Now that she had control over it, she could turn it on and off whenever she wanted to.

Iris had joined the Royal Guard under Shining Armor. He and his wife had moved to Canterlot.

The Princesses were back in control, the elements... Five of them, anyway... Restored. Hopefully, it'd be smooth sailing from here on out.

As they eventually ran out of ice cream and things to talk about, they slowly left one by one to resume their daily lives, after a hiatus that had gone on for far too long. Albeit most of their daily lives weren't exactly normal in the first place, it was still something they eagerly looked forward to. Some form of regularity was always good.

"I'll be sure to visit often." Rainbow murmured, giving Dainty a good close-to-the-heart hug as Melony continued across the street to try and catch a cab.

"I don't doubt it." Dainty said, clung onto her neck for a bit, then let go and grinned.

Octavia watched Rainbow share a few more laughs with her before sending her off with Melony. She watched her wave as they slowly disappeared from sight, having caught a taxi.

For a few moments afterwards they just stood on the empty sidewalk, outside the ice cream store.

"Come on, Tavi- let's go home." Rainbow said, adopting a cheery tone as she gently led her towards the Airbus station.

It was about a two kilometer walk. It only took twenty minutes.

Despite everything that had happened, there was a surprisingly low amount of things to say. Tavi wondered if this would've been different, if Rainbow had really been Rainbow. Maybe she'd be jumping around laughing, hell... Maybe they'd both be.

It wasn't bad, per se, it just wasn't the same.

"...What was she like..." She mumbled gently, as the station came into view ahead. Rainbow turned around and stopped, tilting her head. "T-The last time you saw her, I mean..."

Rainbow looked at the ground for a moment, chewing her lip, trying to find the best word for it. In the end she just shrugged, and laughed little.

"Herself." She said, turned back around, and kept on walking.

"Course..." Octavia murmured, and smiled to herself. They got to the station, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Technology in this world has gone a bit beyond what we were used to." Rainbow sighed. "But... She and I agreed that it was for the better. Come on."

The 'Airbus' wasn't a plane at all. It was literally six arcane engines of some sort strapped to where the wheels should be on a bus. Purple rings of fire spilled out of the engines as the flying vehicle slowly glided to a stop by the station, at the edge of Cloudsdale.

Tavi was about to step on when Rainbow stopped her.

"Whoa, where're you going?"

"Hmm? I thought..." Octavia glanced back at the open doors of the bus.

"That's the two-forty-seven, Tavi." Rainbow pointed to an LED sign over the doors. Then she pointed to a giant sign on the wall, with a list of numbers and locations.

"O-oh..." Tavi said in surprise, as the bus's doors closed and it slowly glided away again.

"What will you do without me..." Rainbow chuckled. "Ow-" She grunted as Tavi gave her a light elbow to the stomach.

"Shut up. Uh... Manehattan... Manehattan..." She went down the list. "So... We want to get on the... One-thirty-two...?" She said, still a little hesitant.

"I dunno Tavi. My brain isn't working right now and we need to go home." Rainbow joked.

"I swear, Rainbow, if we end up in Fillydelphia or Appleloosa I will throw one of these buses at you." Tavi punched her on the shoulder, and she quickly hid behind the sign.

It took maybe three minutes for a one-thirty-two to arrive.

They got on, and there were a few strangers there too. They got off at Cloudsdale without much of a glance at the two.

"Interesting." Octavia said. "I thought people'd be recognising you left and right by now."

"Maybe. But some just want to forget everything, and I don't blame them." Rainbow sighed. "And, it's US, Tavi. Can't be a dynamic duo without the... Duo..." She mumbled.

They both felt that sitting down would be disrespectful, since it would mean facing forwards and basically ignoring the beautiful view outside(plus, it was fun to try and stay upright on a bus). No, this was best enjoyed standing up. And so they stood and clung onto the handlebars, watching the mountains slowly slip behind each other and the land rise to greet them as they descended.

"Manehattan to Cloudsdale, Manehattan to Cloudsdale." The driver(pilot...?) said boringly, pulling a chain and making the doors open. It was maybe a twenty minute flight. Wasn't particularly long.

For some reason they spent that time talking about cookies and biscuits. And somehow that argument carried on to when they stepped off the bus.

"No- they're definitely NOT the same thing!" Octavia was saying. They were drawing a few glances in the station and when they exited out into the streets, but nopony wanted to talk to them because... Well, it was a very heated discussion.

"How? How!? How are they not!?" Rainbow yelled. "They're both these small, baked little pastry things! They usually have the same ingredients!"

Their argument carried down the street and to an underground parking garage.

"Yeah, but- cookies- they're like, for children. And stuff. And biscuits are usually for formal occasions." Tavi yelled back.

"Context!? That's the difference!?" Rainbow exclaimed. "Well, contextually, right now; you are an absolute twat-" they walked down a flight of stairs.

"LISTEN- listen-" Octavia said, waving her phone at Rainbow's face. "Definition for cookie- ahem- 'a small cake made from stiff, sweet dough rolled and sliced or dropped by spoonfuls on a large, flat pan and baked.' For BISCUITS-" She had to raise her voice because Rainbow was clearly about to rudely interrupt. "A kind of bread in small, soft cakes, raised with baking powder or soda, or sometimes with yeast." She quoted aloud.

They walked past several rows of cars.

"Oh! OH! But look at definition two B!" Rainbow jabbed her hoof at the screen excitedly and jumping up and down in a frantic manner. "Definition two-B- a cookie. The bucking definition for a biscuit is a god-damn COOKIE."

"But there are still differences in the way they are cooked-"

"Tavi, Tavi- it's okay-" Rainbow gently patted her on the shoulders. "You've been believing a lie this whole time. It's okay, but now you see the truth-" She was saying, her words saturated with sarcasm.

"Just... Shut up and get in the car." She mumbled.

"But I have the keys-"

"Okay, well, just shut up then." She snapped, wrenching the keys from a laughing Rainbow's hooves, and unlocking the car. "Your driving is terrible anyway." She muttered.

*

Nostalgia. It felt like forever since they'd driven these roads. Sunlight rolled over the asphalt like breaking waves on a beach, and trickled between the trees and buildings lining the streets.

It wasn't particularly spectacular, what with the crowded sidewalks and roads and lack of cultural significance in the plain old concrete structures along the streets. But it was beautiful, because it was home. Because it was normal.

Octavia smiled to herself, peering out the window at the occasional Airbus that glided by, hoof firmly on the wheel. Rainbow watched her for a moment, then closed her eyes, and laid her head back.

What now? She asked herself.

The big adventure was over. Of course... There were plenty more small ones to be had, a darker life waiting where they left it. But she didn't want to go back to it, not after everything. Life'd be too pointless that way... They had to enjoy it, at some stage, for however long a time.

"Hey. Twat. Wake up, we're here." She felt the car slowly drive to a stop, and a light punch on her shoulder. Tavi tilted her head. "What're you smiling about?" She raised an eyebrow.

Rainbow opened her eyes, still smiling.

"Nothing just... The sun feels nice." She said, and Octavia rolled her eyes and got out. Rainbow got out with her, but stood by the car.

Tavi was all the way by the door to their lonely little apartment when she noticed Rainbow wasn't behind her. She turned around.

"What're you waiting for? Come on!" She waved.

"Sorry Tavi, I gotta go check up on Twi and the others." Rainbow said, opening the driver's side door.

Tavi jogged back over to her. "Wha- come on, can't that wait just a little?"

"Tavi, you know I have to check on them as soon as I can. I know you understand that." Rainbow cast her a sympathetic look, and ruffled her mane. She pouted.

Cue: puppy eyes.

"Tavi- Hey, Tavi-" Rainbow said quickly, gently lifting her chin with a hoof. "Oh- don't give me that look, okay? Great. First Dainty and now you." She muttered, and Tavi giggled. "Look... I'll be back as soon as I can, alright?"

Tavi looked down and nodded.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Heh?"

Maybe it was the mood. The quiet street, the lingering autumn amidst the summer in the air. The drifting leaves. The warm, tingly sunlight. Maybe it was after everything they'd been through together. The first time they'd met. The warehouse. Cloudsdale. She had died, and come back. The long journey across an unexpected alternate universe. And finally the emotional roller coaster of Genesis.

Or maybe it was just the mere fact that, whether it be friendship or something else, they just couldn't live without one another.

Rainbow only had time for one question mark to pop out of her head when Tavi grabbed her around the collar and pulled her close.

Their noses were touching, and they could hear each other's gentle breathing.

"Tavi..." Rainbow whispered softly, laying a cautionary hoof on her arm. Those brilliant purple eyes had been hidden away behind the rim of her fedora, her head lowered. Rainbow felt her chest tense with a tinge of pain. "...are you sure...?"

Octavia nodded quietly. "You said so yourself." She whispered. "You're here to make me happy. So do it."

They squeezed their eyes shut.

It wasn't a particularly complex kiss, nor physically passionate, but there was an incalculable amount behind it. Of gratitude, of longing, of so many pent up emotions they just hadn't had the opportunity to express. They couldn't live without each other, and that was the simple and undeniable truth.

Finally they broke apart, catching their breath, having held it in the fear that it might disturb the amazing peacefulness of it. Tavi rested her cheek against Rainbow's chest, feeling her heart beat, listening to her every breath. Rainbow pulled her close, indulging herself in her familiar but blissful smell.

"You never answered my question properly. About why I had to know." Tavi whispered.

"Because I need you, Tavi..." Rainbow said, and Octavia could feel the subtle shaking of her hooves as she held her. "I, need you. I couldn't have kept that secret forever. I needed someone that I could talk to, about it. And I know it's selfish, but-"

"No..." Tavi said quietly. She smiled. "Just... Come back soon."

"I will." Rainbow replied softly, with a relieved grin, and ruffled her mane one more time.

Tavi nodded, and left her by the car. She cast one more glance behind her, at Rainbow, when she had reached the apartment door.

Rainbow made a goofy face, and she laughed, shaking her head to herself as she disappeared inside.

The door clicked closed, and Rainbow sighed. It was a kind of happy sigh. She could still feel a reminiscence of Tavi's sweet lips on her own.

She got in the car and closed the door. She didn't start driving immediately, instead she gently rested her hooves atop the steering wheel and rested her cheek on her hooves.
"It's all warm and buttery inside..." She said happily to herself.

"Can I please have some form of assurance that nothing that is unsafe for work will occur in my interior?" A voice said, with monotoned worry.

"We'd get a new car for that, but... You'd just get jealous. Good to see you're still here, EDI." Rainbow smirked.

"Were you hoping for otherwise?"

"No! God no, of course not." Rainbow grinned, patting the steering wheel.

"Flattering." EDI murmured.

A moment of silence passed between them.

"EDI... Do you think I should've let her..."

"She has made her decision, Rainbow." EDI said. "Trust in her that she's ready. She'll miss her, from time to time, of course... But there'll be rough patches anyway, and it's up to you to not smooth them out, but help her through them."

"Hmph." Rainbow said. "Yeah... Thanks, EDI." She said with a smile.

"And if there's anything you need to talk about... I'll be here. And she'll be there for you, too. She loves Rainbow, and what you have to understand is that that includes you, too. You're not just some temporary replacement. It's genuine, and you know it."

"I suppose it's just paranoia, then." Rainbow murmured.

A butterfly landed on the windshield. She watched it crawl around for a bit, fluttering and showing off its beautiful golden wings. Then it gently fluttered off to somewhere else again.

"Let's go, EDI. I want to get back here as soon as I can." Rainbow grinned, tapping the steering wheel with her hoof.

The engines started, that distinct hum, and they slowly drove away from the apartment.

The warm and buttery feeling she had... There was one more reason for it, other than the obvious one. She finally had something to look forward to.

In the past few years, there had been so little. Small things came along, happy things, sure... But they were always surprises, little unexpected bright spots in a sea of darkness. But now she could see the lights ahead, and so could Tavi.

There was finally a goal. A dream, of some kind. Prospects of a happy life. Promises of a mirthful ending.

Finally... They'd be able to leave the dark side of Equestria behind. They had been acting as guardians, committing to the act without a thought to themselves.

And so it was high time that they did.

Maybe it was the sunshine, but...

Better days were on their way. She could feel it, and so could Octavia.

It was time to stop protecting the important things, and take some time to enjoy them. No doubt there were more hardships on their way along with the better days, but that was just life. And there was only one thing left for them to do if it gave them lemons-

-To make each other eat them, and laugh at the resulting scrunchy faces.

Bounty Hunters 3: Genesis

-End

Is there going to be more Bounty Hunters after this?

...course there will be you silly.

But you can stop reading here if you want. I specifically wrote the ending like that to be conclusive. I will announce that there is only one more fic left in the series for the foreseeable future. The reason for that is that it was originally part of the Genesis storyline, but then... Genesis went on for about 200,000 words too long. Honestly I apologise for that. There will be a cheesy teaser for the next one after all these author's notes though, for those that're interested.

I almost cried writing the ending, not so much for the content as much as for the fact that, after about two years, this thing is finally done, and it's been a heck of a journey.

When I first started writing the first Bounty Hunters I had no idea it would ever come this far, and while maybe the statistics don't show it the support from you guys has just been amazing, and something I would've never expected. I mean I'm getting comments on dA about it, there's some fan art, apparently Genesis had been featured on FiMFic a few times- that just says to me that BH just isn't a no-namer anymore. It's there, and it hasn't just gone under the raider.

Also for those that are curious I was listening to Aviator's remix of Mando and Acoustic pony's 'Loyalty' while writing the epilogue. It was one of the first brony songs I ever did listen to, and it's got that nostalgic ring to it that I kinda wanted.

Other things I wanted to talk about included the visual difference between Val and Rainbow near the end, when Val had a blue colour scheme and Rainbow had a red one, and all that talk about being the antagonist as well. That was just a brief perspective shift, letting the reader see things from Val's point of view as well. Both of them were equally motivated towards their own goals.

Also in BH, the sunrise and sunsets are very important. In BH1 it was a sunrise, signaling the beginning. BH2 ended with a sunset, signaling the end of a story arc. BH3 concludes with a sunrise, indicating a new beginning after Genesis. Just something I added that I felt the need to point out.

And to explain why Val suddenly couldn't regenerate after putting on the amulet- her ideals had become simpler and also weaker, which exposed her to the elements. Her loyalty to her cause had been corrupted by the amulet, and thus Rainbow could actually potentially kill her. Once again going back to the whole antagonist-protagonist thing, Val's resolve hadn't been purely evil, and the elements had recognised that.
In other heavier news, Rooster Teeth's Monty Oum had passed away. If you didn't know, Monty was the creator of their RWBY series, and also worked on Red vs Blue and various other shows. I can honestly say watching the stuff he's done is literally THE inspiration for Bounty Hunters, and it's really what got the whole thing started. And so I just wanted to pay my tribute to him and thank him for all the creative works he's done. I can only hope to accomplish half of what he has, it is absolutely incredible.

But in relation to inspirations that started BH, you should go listen to the L-Train's 'Rainbow Dash Epic Battle Theme'. That was basically the majority of BH1.

Now to finally answer a question I'm sure a lot of you have pondered from time to time about BH- Why Rainbow and Tavi?

I knew I wanted Octavia in the fic as a lead character, since she really fits the role quite perfectly. But then I needed someone to wield the cleaver, and of course Vinyl-Tavi was the usual pairing, but I felt that, in the way the fandom has always depicted Vinyl, I just couldn't see her as a character that was as serious as I wanted her to be. And so I went with Rainbow Dash, and it's been working pretty damn well.

Also about that ending- romance had been something I've been avoiding in BH, and particularly lesbian romance. Now, I've got nothing against it, being bisexual myself, but I just feel like a guy writing about lesbians would just automatically make him a creep. Or maybe that's just me. I dunno. Thing is, after some four hundred thousand words of adventuring with those two, I felt that it'd almost be a sin not to eventually pair them together.

Another thing people comment on a lot is how different Genesis is from the other two. Truth is, Genesis was never meant to go on for this long and even as a concept in my mind it was very experimental. But I went ahead and wrote it anyway- some people like it, others don't. What can I do, it's here now.

BH has never been a good fic, I'll admit to that. It's literally me writing whatever I want to, just having fun with it- which was why I was so surprised it did so well. Which leads me to talk about the future of BH, after the next fic- called Revelations.

After Revelations, I want to make the series better. No more characters, scenes, or events added just for the heck of it(only to disappear later and not make sense), no more completely veering off track, and no more making it up as I go. The new trilogy will be familiar, with Rainbow and Octavia and the classic outfits and weapons. Tavi will even get her own iconic weapons- not as unique as the cleaver, but just iconic. The antagonists will still be Val and her faction, but the story'll be a lot different.

I've been referring to the new trilogy a lot as the 'SvM' trilogy, or: Science versus Magic, and I have actually already planned the structure of the three fics it will feature.

Now, I'm speaking of SvM like it's actually going to happen. Truth is I can't make any promises, but I can say that Revelations will definitely be a thing. Really don't want to spoil too much of it, the first few chapters are actually already done. Until I finish the cover art for it it won't be available, so.

Also someone said their favourite segment of the entire series was that spat between Rainbow and Magnum, and that talk Rainbow had with Silver. It's that drama stuff that I want to do a lot more of in SvM.

Of course while all this is going on, I will still be periodically writing The Drowned, which is my Fallout: Equestria fan fic.

Another question which I just remembered that someone asked was how technology in Equestria became so advanced in Bounty Hunters one and two, what with guns and planes and what-not. I didn't quite get a chance to explain since there wasn't that slow reveal of the science faction(which there will be in SvM)- basically they were forwarding tech development in the shadows, laying the base for a world which they intended to conquer.

Now that I'm done ranting about things. Thank you to ZealotNightmare and TechX12 for submitting some VERY appreciated fan art- honestly a major factor in keeping the series going(though this was a while ago- thank you so much!). You can find them on their dAs~
http://thezealotnightmare.deviantart.com
http://techx12.deviantart.com

And thank you to Polaris_Brightstar for this awesome journal entry(which I'll just call an official review for the series from now on): http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/127074/i-must-do-this-it-is-required-of-me

Glad you enjoyed the series despite everything!

I also wa̴n̢t to̢ ͘th̴ank the people that have been very supportive of the ser̵i͠e͟s͟ ͏up t̕o͜ t̀hi͡s͡ p͏oi͝ǹt͢(a̸nd me as well, whether it's on dA or FiMFic):

-NaughtSought(Scorpyyy~ I still find it i̢ņt͝er̀es͡tin̨g how you commissioned a picture of Val from me.)
-Miss Jasmine H̢e҉arţ(ų ̕cr̸azy! but I guess you already knew that)
-TigerSwirl448(I was pretty thrilled to have spotted BH on your profile paǵe͝ ́a̸t so̶m̀e p̴o̴in̶t a ̶wh͞ile ͠a͢g͘o)̨
-Kronos the Shadow(I'll give this one the frequent commenter award)
And ther̨ȩ'̸̷͜s̶ ̸̨a̸ ͘͠f͢e̡w ͞o͟͝͝t̵hèr͜ ͘͢n̡͟a͜͡m͞e̢̛s̴ ̛th̷͠a̶͟͞t́ ̢I ̷̢͘c̵͏à̢͞n͠'́t͢ ͘͠qu̴͘͡ite remember- I think Higgle might've been one- an̷̵͜d̵̕͟ ͜t̛͝͡h̶́͢e͠ ̵͞n̢e̸ẃ͟͠ ͢F̀́iM͞F̛͟͝įç ́t̕h̴at ̸d͘͟ǫe̸̡sn҉͜'t͝ ̛͘l̛͠i͢͟͢s͘͝t ͜͞p̶e̷̡ơ͢p̢lȩ͘ ͏ì̕n̷͢ ͘t͘͡h҉̶é̛ ̡̕҉f͠av̀͢o̴͡͞u҉rites list isn't helping.

ͦ̎̒͐ͪ ͑͌̍̃̅͌̒ ͫ̔ͬ́ ͭͧ͟͟ ͫ ̧͑̄̂͌ ̓̓̃̓ ̾̍ ̧̓̍ͯͤ ͊̎ͭ̉̚͡ ͮ͆͑̃̓̽̚̕͏ ̡̢̡͂̂͊ ̢͂̍̔ͫͨ̃̇̚ ̸̈́͜ ̐͌̽̄ͤͧ͐̇ͦ̕͡ ̸̨͊̋͐̈ͮ ̅ͭͪ͊͂͋͠ ̓̐̃̄̓̌́͝ ͩ̇̊ͤ̈͝ ͧͪ̋̊̔͋͝͏ ̷̧͒̋ ͫ̾̍̊̎̈̈́ ̡̐ͦ̀͑̿́ͨ͝ ̓ͬ ̓̄̇ͪ̍͑̂͢ ̨̋̌̆̈́̏͌ ̡͌̈ͪ̆͆́͞ ̵͆̋̈́ͮ͐̿ ̡̎̽ͬ̃ͭ̚ ̈́̌͛ ̢ͧ̈͊̉ͨͥ̓͠ ̶̂͂̀͒̅̑͋͘ ̑̊ͫ̓̂̒̽͏̶ ͐̃̀͒̾̽ͫ ̷̂ͧ̀̏ͤͮͬ ͮ̍͛ͧͫͩ͐̚ ̴̈̓̑͋ͦͯͫ̀ ̵̓̾ͧ̈́ ̏̾̔̓ ͥͪ́ ̧͆̋ͨ̾ ̸̛̍͊ͩͦ ̡̈́̔̒̍͐̈̐̾́ ̒ͧ͟͡ ͣ̐ͤͣ͛̉̄̕͜ ̧̧̈́̀ͮ͂ͫ͒̀̅ ̛ͮ͐͋̽̈́͒͜͠ ͂͏̡ ͮ͒̾̍ͪ́ ̈́̿ͯ͊̚ ̈̈̊̽͑̽̚҉́ ̇͑̿̈͐͗҉͜ ̴̨ͨ̍̈́̇ͤ ̶͋͊ ̵̧̛͒ͮ̑̓̊ͫ ̸́ͧ́̍̀ͣ͟ ͯͫ̑̍҉ ̸ͮ͒̐̉͟҉ ̨̨̒͗̊̐͆̿ ͬ̆̈́͘ ̂͋̂̃̕ ̶̵ͮͪ͂̍́ ̅͂͑ͩ̕ ͣ̊̆̈́̄͑ ͭ̎̇͡ ̴̋ͨ̓͒ͭ̽̆̄ ̨̐̊͗̏̈͗̑͆ ͗̔ͩ̔̿͏ ̴̏ͧ̋̂̚͡ ͒͂͂ͨͪ̉͡ ̛͛̋ͣͥͤͪ̃̏ ̧̾ͮ̆ͣ̚ ͪͩ̏ͤ̈́҉̕ ̴̍͆̿ ͬ͛ͯ̂͛͜ ̨̃ͥͮ̔ͩ̊ ̧̛͂̌̌̀͆̾ ̡ͤ̌ͪͤ̀ ̡́͠͏ ̴̸̓̂̆͌ͬ͐ͤ̚͢ ̧̊͌̒̀ͦͦ͘ ̨̚͢ ̒͂͋҉͢͢ ̡̧̌ͪ̀ ̉̌͐̓͏͞ ̡̿͋ ̾̆ͬͣ͢ ̧̛̎̈́̂̎̔ͪ̚͠ ̸̄͘ ̶̀̄̍̈͊̽͛̋͋̀͜ ̒ͣ͛̈́ͦͣͦͫ͏ ̵̡̇̾̾ͮ͒̄ͪ̽ ̛̈́ͧ̑́̊̚ ͣ̊ͩ̑͑́͜͜ ̌̓̐ͪ̄̀͢͝ ̄͋̆̍͛ͮͭͮ̀ ̊̓̆ͮͭͭ̇̃̑͝͏ ̧ͦ̑̓̀ͥ ͋͋̅̔ͭͭͧ ̛̑̏̌́͡ ̸̐̽ ̷͆̋̏̑ͤ ̶̾̅̋̉ͫ͊̆ ̐̿̈ͭͦ̾̕ ̸̆̍̆̓̾̋͘ ͐̊ͬ ̴͋̽̈ͧ͋͋́ ̵͐̂ͪ͛̾ͣͪ̈́ ͧ̿ͪͬ́̒̿́̚ ̿̃̊̀͘͘ ̂ͧ̅ͧͥ͑̇͞ ̍̾̀̀̀ ͦ ̇̊̑ͭͬͬ͑͐̂͟ ̡ͨ͋̓ͪ́ͫͧ͜ ͣ̔ͧ͂̃ͮ̂̒̒͝ ̷̒͝
̛̀͟B̴͟͡u͞t͟ ҉͢͡y̛͡e͝͝ah͘.̢́̀ ̸̸M̷a͘͜n͡҉.̀̕ ͏I͞t'ś ̸̕d̡o̸͢n̴e̴.̨ ̧T̨h́a̢͟҉n͟k͜͡ y̧o͏u ̛̀a̛ll̕҉̶ s̢͝o͟͜ ̸̨͢m͠u̕ch for making it to this poin͘t, ͏҉f̸҉̛ǫ͢͟r̡͘͠ ͜͠w̧̕̕ha̸̡t̴͘e̵͝͡v̴͝e̢͠ŕ̵ ̷̢͡r̷̕͢e҉à̶s͝o͟͝n͢҉,͘͜ ͟͠b̸̡͘e͠ća͏͡u̧śe͞ ̧͠i̢t͏͘ h͝a͞ś̷̛ Ŗ͠È̷A̸̸͞L̡L̀Y̧̕ ͜͠t̕͝ak̷͟͠e̡n ͝͏̢i̢͢t͟s͢͡ ͟͞͞ti͡mȩ͜͡.̨́͡ ̶A̸͝n̛d͞ ̢̛̀I͏ ́͠c̛a̕n͏'̸̨t̀ ex̧́p̷̡̧r͜͏e̷̢҉ś͝s͟ ̷͘͏m͏y̛͞ g̛͜͡r̀a̕tit͘ude enough. BH was the first time I felt I ha̡̛d ̀r͢e̡҉àl̷l͏͘y͘ ҉ac̢c̕o͝͝m̢͠p̵l̴ish͡e͟͟͡d͢ ҉any̶̢t͠h̛̛̕i̧n͜g͡, ͏͘a͞n̴̕d͢͝ ͠I͢ ̷de̴f̡͠i̸͞n̷̶̡i҉t͞eļy̶͜ ̵ẁ̢͢o̸͠u҉̴̕ļ͘d͢n̸͞'͜t ha̡͞v̴̨͡e felt th̛͠a҉ţ̸ ̷҉w̶̨͟á̴̛y̧͟͏ ͘͝͏̛͟w̧̨͘͟ì̛͞t̶̕͟ḩ̷̕ơ͠ư̵̸͢͠t̴̡̕ ̷̛̀̕͠ỳ͜͜͠o̷u̢͢͠͝ ͠͏̶g̡̡͞͞u̶̡͝͝y̴̕s͜͞.͏̸̨́҉ ͝͏̶͞S̢̨̕͠o͞͝ ̶̕͘t̵́̀͠h̷̵҉͝a̡̢n̸̷͜ḱ̛̀͘͠ ̧͜͞͏̀y̴͝o̢u̶͘͏͏ ̶͟t̨̧̀h̀à̧̧͢͜ņ̸k̴̢̧͜ ͟҉̷y̵̕͞o̧͞ú̴̶͟͢ ̶́t̸̛̛̕͏h̕͜a͡͡n̶͘͟͠k̶͠ ̡͠҉ỳ̢̛̀͞ǫ̷̀u̶͡!̵̵͢ ̢́

=̶̷̸̢̩̱͇̙̪̦̼̦̀ͅ1̓́͌ͣ̆̈̀͘͝͏2ͮͪ̍̋̈́́̎̌̅͌͐̍ͭ̾̓ͩ̂̅҉̸̨̛͞0̸̧ͯ̑̑ͫ̽ͯ̇ͩ̈̑̈́͂͑͋̓͒͋͗͠9͌̒ͫ͆̉̓̓͒͑̊̂ͥ͘̕͜͜͜0̷ͩ͗ͨ̐ͤ̍̌́͋̅̓̾͘͢͜͡5̇̿̈́ͪ͂̐̌̒͐͗͐̾̒́͛̄ͯ̀̚̚͏ ̓ͤ̉̊̎́͞͠ ̈́̿̉̎͊̀̕ ̡ͧ̆̈́̾͝ ̷̸̡ͣ̃ͬ͒̍͗͑͐ͮ͘͢ ̀̔͛̅ͣ͒̀͒̔̅̔͒̓̽ͬ̍̏̀ ̶͌ͫ̈́̍ͩ͊͂̋͋̔̔͋ͪ̋͘ ̓ͨ̋̄͘͞ ̴͑ͦͬ̑̉̓ͯ̋͜ ̶̧ͥ̔̍ͧ̂̅́ͧͥ̔͋̓͒̐̌͂ͤ́̚͘ ̵̢͛̒ͥ̿̄̎̀ͬ̾̈͆͗̈ͧͪͣ̄͏̷̢ ̛̃ͩ̾̒͊̓ ̶̵͋̌͋ͫͣͮ̊ͮ̽̇͡ ̢̧̒ͬ̋͌ͭ̀͜͜ ̶̧ͪ͆͛ͬ̌̈́̇ͬ́̃̽̅̑͌ͥ́̈̂͟͢ ͫ͋͐͌͂̈́͒̋̇̊̋͌ͣͥ̒͒̈̎̕͝ ̧̆̆̄͂ͭ̽̈́͆̒҉͟ ̨̧̽ͭ͋̔͗̑̎ͫ͊̍͊̂̎͒̍ͯ̀̚͢ ̶̷̀̑͑ͩͪ́͂͠͡ ̡̒̓̆ͦ̀ͩ͌͛̋̈ͯͨ̃ͨ͑͐̐́ͮ͘ ̵͋̈̽̊̅͠ ̶̋̔ͭ́ͥ̐̈́͆̈́ͮ͆̏ͬͥ̿̀͝͝ ̵̡̇ͮ̚̕͘҉ ͧ͊̾ͥ̐͆ͯ̐̎ͬ̾̇̌̑̒̊͟͝҉̀͟ ̡̾̏ͫ̒̉ͨͪ͘͝͡҉ ̸̛̔ͧ̐̃͂͊̾͐ͣͩ̆̈ͤ̒ͬ̋̑ͦ̂͞ ̷ͭͩ̌̃̕͜ ̏̈̓̍̓̓ͫͩ̃ͮ̒̓̈̍ͥͭ͏̢0̶̛́͒̅͛ͧ͗̽̂͑9̶̶ͪ͌͂͌ͧ̽ͨ̿́ͮ̔ͬ̊͗ͮ̈́5̸̴̅̃ͯ̇͌̌̆̔́̃̍̌̌̀7̸̷̡̨͑ͧͪ̓̏̂̀8̴̶ͤͤ̉̍̃̍̂ͫ̃͋ͭ͒̀ͦ̾ͦ̚͘͘8̡̛̛̑ͧͯͣ̏͒̒͋͛ͤͨ͐͗̌6̸̵̅̽͋ͭ͒͘͡2̛ͥͤ͐̋̄͊̉͛̈̇ͭ͘3̷̧̧ͬ̊̓ͧ͐ͧ̀͞0̛̒̈́͒͋ͮ̂͐͑̃́ͮ͌͂ͦ̀ ̉ͬ̎̓̑͂̊͂ͮ͌̒ͣ̿̒̇ͦ͑͟͡҉̷ ̸ͦͬ̓͋ͥ̃͌̊ͩ͆̓̅͘̕ ̧ͧ̓ͪ͋̂ͤ̚̚͘͝҉ ̶̔̐͗ͯͬ̃̂ͧ̚͘͟͠ ̓̎͌͊̀͗͆ͤ̅̾͑ͯ͑̽͂ͧ̀̚͘ ̂͛̅ͭͧ͗ͬ̈͢҉ ̸̶̧͒̌̏͂ͦ̂̋̉ͬͩͫ͛̔ͣͨͬ͠ ͌͐̐̚͘͝҉͘ ̢̨̧͑͒̏̋͘͞ ̵̡̡͒̇ͬ̏͊̓͛ͥͦ̆ͯ̀ͤ̓͠ ̷̧̒͋ͩ͋̉̔ͮ̃̂̚̕͟͠ ̆̊̎̏ͤ̓̑ͦ̽͌͊ͣ̀̉̐͊̐ͮ͜͢͞ ̵̢ͨ̈́͛̚ ̨̊̎̃̓͌͆͆ͩͣ͠ ̴ͥ̿͂̄ͭͫ̾́̂͘ ̛̔͌̐ͩ̒ͨͩ͐͛̏͗̉̾̚͡͠ ̸̷̨ͥ̓̾̋̾͞ ̸̛̅ͥ̾͋̂ͧͬͤ̆̋̐̀̚͜͞ ̧̧͋͊̔ͣ́͒̂ͬ̊ͫ͂̉ͯ͆ͬ̚͠ ̸ͭͪͬͮ̇͋͠҉ ͨ̇̍ͤ̎̓͠͞ ̢ͫ́͌̉̈ͩ͐ͥ̑̐͂͒̔̒͋ͤ͗̌̕͏ ̴̷̸̡̈̑̈́̓͝ ̷̢͋̎̊̑͛͛̍̌ͫͭ̿́ͮͦ̊̽͒͆͌́͘͞ ̋̂͒ͯͨ̌ͬ̃҉̨ ̵̊̿̄̿̓͆ͧ̒̌́̈́̌̇͏̷͜͠ ̃̃́ͪ̓͗ͦ̒̎̑̾ͭ́͜͠҉͘ ̡͐̐͊ͤͭͮͯͮ͆͘҉ ͥͧ̏̓ͩͯ͑ͬͦͫ̉͐̎͑͐ͥ̀̚͏ ̸̃͋̑̈̈́ͤ̂̊ͤͧͫ̀̚͞ ͦͣ͂̉̆ͣ̈͌ͣ̽̆̾̚̚̕҉ ̑ͭ̈́̋͏͟ ̛͂́ͧͧ̍ͩ̂̍͗ͥ̉̀ ̧ͨ͐̔̾ͩ̈́ͮ͆͂ͬ͐ͤ̚̚̚͢͏͘͞ ̵̧̏͒ͩ̓̿̎͆͆̍͒ͦ͋ͯ͑͒̓̓̚ ̷̵̊͊̊ͫ̅̓ͨ͆̌͆͋̔ͪͥ́ ̴̴̧̐ͨ̀ͩ͂̏͂ͧ̈ͨ̐̌̑̓͑͂̀͡ ̴̸̢̔͋ͭͭͥͬ̃̒̅͜ ͂́ͭ͂ͫ̇ͤͤ̀͘̕͠ ̛̅͑̿͛̇̿ͪ́ͣ̒͠ ̡̑ͤ̏̽̔̿ͬ́͛͞͞ ̴̧̔͐̀̎͂̓ͮ̈̂ͫ͌́̀ ̶ͮ̋̑͆͋ͯͣ͒̊̐̅̌̔̅͜͝ ̢̨͑ͯ̏͒̂͛ͨ̋͊͗̃ͯ̃͂́͜͡ ́͋̓ͫ̚̕҉ ̨̛̎ͨ͋̑ͬ̀̚ ̢ͥͪ͒ͪͫ̈́̃ͩ̿́̒̈́ͧ͊̄̎̕͘͟͝ ̶̧̽͗̏̃͂̎͛́͐̌͢͝ ̛̑̄͊̍͆̈̂͒̆̌̄ͥ͆̀̚͠ ̴̧̆̇̇͗ͥ̅̍̒ͫͣ̍̌̚ ̶̧̓̋ͩ̃ͫ̎̽́ ̷̢̛ͬ̽ͨ͋ͨ́4̴̷̡̓̂͋͒ͩ͑̽̓ͦͯ͐͆͌̉͛̎̚̚͜9̸̸́͊̾͌̔ͨ͋͌̏̎̍͂̔̒ͭͫ́̕5̓͊ͪ͛͆ͩ̐͂̑̍̓̊̈̏̊͗̅͠͞-̅͐̓̐ͫ̽̐̎̊̈́̔̚҉͝͞͏7̨̛ͩ͆͛̓͌ͭ̄̃͑̓ͬ̀̅͑̐ͪ̚9̌͂̃̆͗ͩͦ͋ͭͣ̅̾̕͢0̓͗̒ͪ̀̒ͩ̈͆͗̀̀ ̄ͪ̔ͯ̇ͪ͋̀̃̊̇ͪ̃̄͏̷̛ ̢̧̨ͥ͒ͭͭ̈ͪ̔͋͞͝ ̷̶̒͊̐̊͐̆ͦͭ́̎̔͗̃ͭ͐ͣ ̧ͭͭ̆ͥ̏ͥͬͭ̑ͪ̍͞ ̸̸̡ͤͪ͂̑̔͋ͦͣ͊̓̒̓́ ̴͑̎ͮ̂͗ͧ̌̔ͪ͑̽ͯ͒ͫͣͧ͐́ ͤ͑ͪ̏̅̈̀̒̃͑ͯͧ̓͋͆ͬ̅͒ͧ͘͘҉͞ ̛ͯͭ̍̋̓̀͆̈́ͥ̃ͬ͜ ̨̨̽͆͑͌̉͛͂͌̌̍͗͑ͤͧͣ̈͑̋͝͠ ̵̋͆͋ͬͮ̊̑̽́̊̂͏̡͠ ̶̢͑̉ͩͤ̓̇͋ͭ̊͛̒ͪͭͭͩ͟͝ ̢ͤ̐͐͆ͮͬ͂ͩ̌ͦ̚͠ ̏͋ͩ͌͆͐̄͘͞͏̡͠ ̵̨̛ͧ̂̊̍͒̋ͫ ̸̂͋́̊̊͞͠͠͠ ̌͊͑̿̈͆͛͐͌̚͘͜ ̡ͭ͌͆͑̎ͯ̿ͫ̊̊ͤ͂ͩ͞͞ ̵̵ͧ̏̋̔̋ͦͣ̎͒͆̎ͭ̓ͣ̈ͣ͒ͪ̽҉̧ ̄ͩ̽͋̍́ͭ̓̉̂̎ͨͪ̈́͋̓͌͌̀͝ ̈́ͧͤ͗͐͞͝ ̷̌͒ͬ́́͌̍̓͆̓ͧ͋̽͗́̀̚̚ ̢̨̍ͦͤ̏ͦ̒̉̎ͨ͘͠ ̔̉̒̓ͮ̓ͪ̋̄͛̂̈́̆̔ͬ̽ͬ̂̀̚͢͠͝ ̧̧̧̓̋̀ͯ͋͂ͧ̓ͧͭ͋ͦͨ̄ͩ͗̑ ̶ͭͦͮ̈ͥ̄̀̓̏̀̓̂̀̍̊́͢͞͝ ̉̊͐ͥ́̊̓͑̎̽̓̔̌͋́̉ͧ̂͞͏4̴̵̑̀̾̊̀̕3̧̇́̔͒̎̾̾̈́̌ͧ̾̾ͮͤ̑̋́̚͘͞9̶̧̐̓͂͋̑̑̽̓̓̐ͣͯ̉̉́ͣ͞2̷̨̡̅̐̽ͦͩͭ̊̽ͩ̓͆͒͌ͦ͊̓͂̃͜͟6̧ͪͬ̆ͣ͌̆͗̈̋̑̒̑̄ͬ̓ͩͥ͗͟͢͝7ͭ̓̿ͮ̋͏̷́͟͡5̶̀ͣ͗͐̌̉̀̒ͮ͛́̚͟8ͮ́͌͌̓͢͠͝9̨̽ͬ̈͗ͯ͌ͨ͂͆ͩ̌ͪ͂̔͋ͯ̉͞҉̛2̵ͪ̈́ͯ̈́ͨ̏͒ͪ̃̕͠͏ ̴̛͂̆̏ͦ̓̑̓̕͞͏ ̷̛̅̓̈̊̆ͭͧ̃ͨ͑̌̑͌̏̊ͨ̏ͯ̚͠҉ ͑̈́̓͂͛̎̈́̔͊̾ͩ͂͑̈́҉̷̨͞ ̧ͮͯͬ̓ͮ̎̑̐̄̔̅́ͤͥͩ̐́ͦͬ͢ ̨ͮ̏͆ͩ̿̓̀ͨ́͡ ̵̄ͭ͂̆͆ͧ̿̓̌҉ ̵͑̄ͯ̑ͩ̍̃̆̎ͯͦ̊̅̾ͥ͑̾̏͟͠ ͑̉̅̆̈̑́͋ͯ̌̀ͨ̔̚̕͜͟͝ ̶̧̊̎͋͒ͧͫ̅͐ͨ́͟ ̑͗̆̽ͮ̓̒̈́͌҉́͝ ̸̅ͮͦͯͩͫ ̢̍͗̍̋ͥ̃̌̚͜͜͞ ͂́͋̿͗ͭͤ̾̅͛͐ͪ͛͌̀̚͜͢ ̸̡̑ͨ̇̈́̇͜ ̨̈͑͊̒̿̅̊̇̿͑̈́͘͟͠ ͦ̉͌ͧ͂ͪ͗̋͘͟ ̷̅̅͐̀̀̓̃͋̏͏ ̡̍̍͋ͮ̂͊ͦͮ̄̃̌̃̀̈͒̈́͢ ̶̓̍ͨ͆͌̂̋̎̑ͦ̽͑̉ͤ̿̐̚̚͜҉̧ ̸͆͑̾͋̈̈̂ͮ̍ͧ̉͗̈́̇̐̀̃̎̅͜͟ ̄̃ͯͣ̑̄̂̎ͭ͏͡ ̴̡̡̐̂͋̇̑̌̃̊̄̍ͨ͜8̷̸̸ͧ̋͊͛͌̏̋̓̅̅ͩ̅ͦ͑̈́̓́̚͞3̛́̈̈̅̀̏ͪͤͥͥ̐ͨͮͤͣ͟͝6̡̨̊̔̽̃͠9̨ͥ̑̂̃ͬ͌̒ͮ̾͂̆ͣ̽̒͒8̵̶̧̛̃̀͋ͭͧ̆̾ͥ̀̑͞0̧̡͂̏̈́̈́̓͑ͨ̓͑ͨ̕͡9͐͛̓̋ͭ͞͞8̷̈́̎ͩ͑ͤ̒̉ͣ̊͊͠ ̐ͫ̿ͦ̿ͬͧ̍̆ͬͦ̆ͩ̐ͤͮ҉͟͡0̷̿̓̿̅̾͡҉2̵̨̓ͭ̅ͪ̽ͪͬ4̃͋ͬ͊̒ͮ̕̕͜7̴̸̛ͭ̃̎̄̐ͩͣ͠5̢̄ͫͫ̍ͯͪ̓͊̔ͥ͊͋̓̚͡8̴̴̇̓ͯͣ̍ͪ͢͞͝ ̷̛͂̑̍ͣͧ̿ͩ̄͋ͮ̆̑ͣ͆ͪ̑ͥ̕͘7̢̛́̌ͩ͊̄̍̎̈́̚͜͠͞2̴̨̾̈̓̑̿̿̃͊̿̏ͣ͒ͣ͋ͨͬ̎9҉̪̫̳̦̜͎͓͚͔̘̮̘̱̖͎̪̫͉͟͠͠ͅ3̘̝̺̣͖̹̪̰͎͇̀ͅ4̸̴̲̳̬̥̤̣̝̩̙̟͜7̴̸̨̼̠̘̼̻̻̭̝̟͍̩̠ͅ ̸̵́҉̙̪̳5̴̰̖̼ͅ9̷̡͟͝҉̬̖̼͎̲̯̥̮̱̼͙͖̟͓͓̭͇ͅ8̷̸̡̻̱͇͓͔̗̱̘͢2̡͓̣͎͕͙̱̤̭͓̟͕͚͚͖̖ͅͅ 7̬̺͚̦̬̭͔͍̝͎̞͈͚̙̟̥̩̠̀͠9̴̵҉̛̥̻͎͎͍͈͎̀3̢̤̭̜̖̞͉͇̤̮͢͢͟8̨̘̱̫̞̳̲̹͇̳̰̮͙͚̭̺͘͠ͅ ̩̭͖͉͓̼̱̜̮̙̦̞̘̠̹͘̕7͏̺͉̮͕̩̲͓͙͝7̷͓͉͔̪̝̲͚̀ 2̸̼̬͚̥́͞7̧̛͜҉̴̟͓͔͚͓8̨͙̪̮̠͓̟̥̀͝͞3̷̧̡̪̗̱̱͓͈͙̫̘̣̖̦̞̀9̠̻͇̟̹̖̹́͘ͅ5̨̤̼̟̦̹͈͓̠̮̠͖̕7̴̭͇͈̭̭̼̩̕͘͡1̡̜̘͉̦͓̗͎͍̰͙̲̀͘ͅ9̡̛̺̙̘͓̳̲͈̰̭̥̱̣̥̪̝̣̙̕͟ͅ3͟͢͝҉̗̤̺̺̞ 4̡҉͏̪̙̠̮̥̮̪͙̗̝͖̙̭7̧͜҉̞̳͖̳̣͉̼̣ͅͅ5̵̧͓̝͇̱̱̠̖͖͈̫̕͘͠-̡̪͉̺͇͎̺̞͚͙̝͙̯̼̳̥̲͕͙̥2̶̨̤̠̳̻̺̻̣̱̭͉͉9̧͚̱̪̘̟̮͘͜͞ ̻̺̤̗͔̱͘7̴̶͏̟̰͔̞̥̥͎̙̼ 3̶̪̝̜̮̰̰͉̙̀̕͠͞4̛͎̱͎͓̕͟͠9̨̞̗̙͓̟̙̠̗̱̺̗̦̫̝͔̻̙͓͡5̷̷͏̞̘̱̜͚̹͇̦͎̹ ̛̦̹̖͈̙̼͖̤͚̣̲̰̩͇-̷̶̪̤͇͙̰̖̭̹͢͞ 1̢̡̼̲̟̮͍͚͓̩̲̲͉͝3͘҉̶̙̖̝̭̥̳͉̥̀ 7̷̷̧͏̫̗̥͎͉̙͉̖̬̙͖̺͙̟4̨̦̫̘͚̞̘͙̝͍͖͙̹̯̜͖͙͘͠ ̴̼̘̟̻̰͉̲̰̀͟5͡҉̡͖͙̯̯̳͓̟̹̭̼̹̤̩ͅ9̢̟̖̥̭͠2̵̛͚̤͈̣̠͜ͅ ̴̢͈̜̠͎̙̻͕̠̣̤̰̬̹̱͚̰͇̣̀̕͟ -̛̼̳̣͞3̧͏̶̶͍̞̦̹͕̬̙͡7̸͏̶̴̗̭̝͇̻̹̜̞͉͕̘̥͎̞͎̮͇4̵͖̦̤͈̳͔̰̣̦̜͟ ̴̸̤͔̝͈̣͘͘9͙͎̟̱͍̜̥̼̀̕5̮̻͍̤͓̺͖̦͕̭̭͕̫̫̘̪͟ͅͅ7̧͓̘̹̤͕͉̰̞̰̦͓̼̙̖͠0̸̢͢͏̯̲͚͕͚͔͈̦̠̭̜̙2̡̡̹͎̳͕͓̫͈̜̦̭̞̪̼̪̦̭͜ͅͅ3̞̘̪̮͢͜͝͠9̛̟͚̭̰͚̲͉̖ 4҉̡̰̠͔̗̻͚̼̥̦̤̣̪̤̟̪ͅͅͅ7̸̡̝̭̟͉͎̗̬̲͉̼͓̼̭̗͙̺́͢͜ͅͅ5̸̶̨̬̭̫̠̺̲̞̙̫̭̹̯̳ͅ ̴̛̘̹̭̝͠0̛̭͙̯̥̞͔͚̞̠̦̜̩̕2̧̨͓̳͖̭̺̣̥̟̻̮͇̮̬̦͍̣̮̮̦̀͘7͏͎̦̤̘̯͕̠̫̱̮̼͢͡ͅ3̵̨͙͖̹̜͈̫̻4͞҉̛̹͙͎̫̼͕̜̥̤̳̞͍ͅ7̧̢̛͈̺̖̗̻͚͕̮͎̝̜͔̻͕̗͠͠9̛̛͏̤̭͉̣̗̗̀͝ ̠͈̹̭̻͕̭̜̙̘̟̱̮͕̬̹͘͝͞5̧͇̮͚̥͚̺̖̲͕̱̥̥̟͖͘͜͟2̶̛̼̞͖͍͇͓̱͖̞͇̙͍͘͡7̢̡̪̯͈̗̬̬̙̯̝̬̪̬͓͕͘͢3̴̡̧̡̪̯̻͇̬̳̫͖̬͎͚̳ͅ-̴̯̺͚̙̼̘̜͚̙̦̘̤̤̭̳̰̥̕͜͡ͅͅ4̛̙̞̦̯͚̞͔͉̯̜̟͟͞͡ͅͅ9͍͍̦͚̟̜̥̠̗̝̤͎͘͟͠͡ͅ ̢̛̹̝͚̲̹͙͕̙̫̭̠̣͓̭̬̺̤̕͟͠7̷̢͇͎̯̪̖͖̯̫̠͍̤͜5̢͈̟͇̝͇̤̠͕̝̼͈̹͔͚͢0͖̫͕̘̙̼͚͇͉̼͕͈̰̩̜̥̀̕ͅͅͅ2̴̧͓̝̖̺͚̝̮̖̮̖̙̯̣̭͔̼̤͇͞ 3̛̥̖̩͇̞͕͚̹͉̩͇̣͙́̕͞7̵̴̛̛̳̠̰̞̫̠͖̯͡4̣͉̱͖̲̤̖̜̲̣̜̳̭͎͙̘́͠ ̶̷̩̖̻͟͞ͅ5̜̲̞̳͉̳̘̳̱͖̥̕͠͞͠͞ͅ0̷̨̤̗̜͖̯͚͎̦̀̀͟8̶̜̼͙̜̰̬͈͢͜2͏̸̯͙̘̙͍̦̳͉̱͚̪̟̪̣͙͜ͅ7̶̢̪͎͕̬̱͞͡ 3̵̧̟̖̹̺͕̱͇̟͟4̙̩̫̙͈̤͙͇̥̦͕͔̯͉͔̘͟͡͡-̷̸̨̹̫͓͙̞̯̪̺̼̳̭9̷̸̗͕̥̘̩̯̘̦̩̫̖͔̮̯͓ͅͅ ͟҉̫̥̭̦͈̱̼̖͉͘͢͡5̶̢̛̙̜̰̯̦͕̥̪̖̬̜̺̪̻̀͢ͅ2̷̠̝̝̹͕̻͔̩̦̙͇̫̮̪̗͜͢͡0͚͇̰͕͇͙̥͈͖͖̼͔̕3̵̡͍͖̼͍̝͇̳̼̼̟̖͕͎ͅ 4͝͏͓̰͉̣̱̘̱͔́5̷̲͔̬̯͜͞7͘҉͏̶̻͖̫͚̰̤̖̦̝͕̹̩̣ͅ9̶̵̧̧͚̖̫̺̫͓̮̙͇̀ ̷̤̞̪̠͉͕̠͎̺̀́3̴̵̢̱̣̙͎̹̼̭̤̗̤͉̱̫̹̖̜̹̳͜4҉͈̹͉̰̥̹̫̼̻̯͖͇̬͞ͅ0̧̡̰͓͈̼̦̹͓̻ 9͞͏̡̯̮̱̘̩̭̝͜͝5̛̰͕͙̠͉̯̖̪̞̘̜̩́7̛̛̲̳̟̘̝̳͖͈̠̦̗̳͈̲͞͠0̸͔̠̺͔̖̮̻̘̮͈̝̱̻͜͟͞͝6̷̸̢̞̖̖̺̱̠̙̩̘͘͢2͜҉̙̱̲̻͙̪͎̣͇̺̞̬̳̬̤̙̀͘7̴҉̗͉̬̟̘̼̲̟9̧͈̠͕̮̭͈͉̬̠͚̕͡4̧̛̖̣̙̭̮̫̬̗͘͟-̷̸̯͕̩̰͇̼͖ͅ1̸̴̡̹̲̬̟̜̼̪̤͇̞̭̣̗̳̹̳̮7̸̡̜͎̳͍͖́̕3̵̣̦̦̰̹̲̼̮̤͎̪͖̥̮̰́-͕̼̫̤͔̼̪͓͓̕ͅ 5̧̹̟̥̞̗̦̖̥̰͟͢͠9̳̩͇̳̗̬͙̝͚͚̼͕̺̯͓͠͞͝͠ͅ ̧̯̣̻͚̮̺͎̯̦̗̪̫͟͝ͅ7͏̵̧̹̮͚̝̪̱͈͔̱̱̰̥̜̞̦̼̳͖͙͠-̵̸̱͕̠͖͢͝͡9̶̫̼̲̥̯̼̦̰̤̲͉͟͜͢͠3̵̡͉̠̠̟̭͕̞̩̱̺̭̟͍̩̣͟͝4̛̤̬̳̫̠̘̮̰͍͕̀͘͠7̸̜̦̦̞̬͈͉̥̼̗̯͖̼́͜͢ͅ5̣̘̯̬̣͕̫̞͍͔̙̦͝ ̷̧̭͇͕͕͞͠͡9҉̶̡̞͖̜͔̮͕̻͜͡7͎̰̪̠͇̖͍͖͚̺̰͞͡2̸̕͜͏̘̦͔̙̤4̷͏̴̨͈̝͚̩͎̺̩̙̗͓̭̙̯̻̬̕7̴̵̲͖̹̖͖̫̪̬͉̳̰̝͉̟̻̼̜͡5̞̹͇͍̹̝͖͓͙̳̗͎̫̼͟͟͝ͅͅ ͏̢̢͕͚̝̖̼̥̟̻̜̮̪̮̀͢-͖̭̭͎̙̯̭͓̦̥͙̦̘͉̤͓́͢7̴̷̥̭͉̟͕͔̟̳͕̩̻͞9͓͙͙̥̕͟9͖͕̬͈͖̱̩̺̬̳̟͖̪͍̯͇̥͉͝-̢͚̪̜͎̝̤̘̘̻̭̱̤̠̯̥́͜͞͝ͅ2̗͈̦̺̙͇͞͡͠3͏̨̛̣̬̺̦̱̭̞̻͈̝̟̰̕͞ 4̷̵̷̱͈̤͉̪̬̟̼͎̗͚͉̣͇̫̙͎̕̕ͅ-̸̧͚͖̙̙̠̦̰͇̀̕9̸̥̩͕͕̀ 5̶͓̻̝̞͉͙̥͔̹̟̯̖͖͓̘́7̴̧̧̤̪̞̹̮̗͈̲̫̬͘ ̛̬̞̘̗͝9̷̸̨̫͍̲̥̟̤͉̞̹̳͕͓́͢ͅ2҉̶͏̸̘͇͖̟̹͇̹͢7̡̼͙̱̼͔̬̝̩͙͖̬̟͉̹̙̦̭̠͠4̯̞̝̥͈̘̻̞̫͇́́̕5̭̺̼̙̲̤͓̺̣̼̫̘͓̙̘̭̝̥͎́̀͝͝͝9̴͘͠͏̨̗̮̱͚̮̪̻̹̟̙̟͇̩͎̘͕̝̹2̛̪͚͔͚̼̣̕͢-̻̦̘̜̫͠͡3̛͈͙̟̜͎̭̤̞͔̖̫͉͘̕̕ͅ4̡̡͏̘̬̲̭̪̫ 7̢̦͈̻͕̪̠͇̬̩͙̞̀͟ͅͅ5̷̵̗̟͖̰͔̬͖̠̤͕̦̥͘ ҉̴̡̡̝͔͍̰̗͙̮̬̭̰̫̳̻̻͟-͏̸̲̥͚̺̲͈̘͢͢ͅ9̡͚̮͙̺̱͈̹͍̰̀ͅ2̢̧̛̟̬̦̗̼̕͟-̡̛͘͏̠̝̖͉͖̲͔͉̩͓̼̪̣9̸̵̬̯͍̺̺̱͇͇̩̠̟̞̣̬̬̳̪̦͟͡ͅ3̵̛̖̬̘̬̭̘̤̪̣̱̹̠̙̖͙͘ͅ4҉͏̢̹̭͔̪̲͎7̢̪̫̺͙̹̼̺̥̬͠5̛҉̴̱̤̻̬͇̻̠͚̺͉̳͜͠ ̭̬̙̗̀͞-̶͓̤̳̣͓͔̻́ͅ1̡͚͔̞̪̜̣̘̮͇̬̕͞͞͠7̱͎̖͍̘̼͕̞͍̲͘͟͟ -̵͚̮̟̠̮̞̗͢͠3̸̦̮̬̮̀ 9̹͔̖̖͍͚̰̰̭̞͖͔͇̻̹͝͞4̢͓̳͚̯̖̙̫͓̜̪̪͈͙̱̙̕ͅͅ5̨͖̭̼͖͇̪̘͉̀́ͅ ̧̛̺̞͖̘͓̬͔͇̥̺̘̻̪̣͘7͍̫͚̦̫̗̯̥͕̀́͘͠-̸̺͇̯̭̭̤͘ 2̵̪̖̫̟̣̹̭̝̙̼̺͘9̶̶̰̻̯̰͉̫́5̡͙̫̮͙̻̟̮͎̠͇̗̮̬͔̯͖͙́̕ 7̵̛̛̜̭̦͈̪̀ ̢͕̻̫̙ 9̷̡͕̦͖̠̯̻̼̖7̡͡҉͓͇̩̮̠̹̝5̷̧̰͉̝̝ 9̶̴҉͏̖͕̩̝͔̥̱͇͓̦̗̪̭͓̳̠ͅ0̛̲̪͕̥̪̙́͢͢2̧̧̬̭̟̘̟̹͙̻͈͍̳ ̴͏̛̻̺̫̮̖͇̦̀7̧͏̩̙͍̪̙͔̀ 4͓̬̗̖̖̦̙̱̥̳͟0̵̛͙̥̳̜̝̬͜3̛̛̟̯̠̜̞̩͉͕͈̝̦̠̭̳͕̕͡9̸̧̺̫̦͉̜͙̝̦͚̼̪͉̺̝̹̯͜͡
=̹̟̯͎̙̞̠̖̞̩͢͝1̷̧͍̲͍̣̕͠ͅ2̸̛̱̞̲̰̰̲̪̟̝͔̘͢͡͡0̶̧͙͔͇͇͖͚̭̻̫̻̹̬͔͉͞9̴͓̤͔̳͇̻̣̟͢͞ͅ0҉̸̡͔͉͔̘̣͓̜̖̙̕͠ͅ5̶̨̹̣̝̟͕͔͔̬͔̯̩̯͙̠̭̲͟ͅ 0͠҉̻̝̟͍͙̤͟9̢҉̕͏̶̪͇̩̣͙͓͕̝̜̜͈̳͕̰͙̗̦̻̱5̧̢͚̹̤̱̝7҉̶̪͖̻̼̥̼̟͖͚̮̟̭̤͈̺̞̲̤̺8̕҉͚͙̲̝̖̯̜̠̱͝8̶̶̗͍̰̜̮̠͈̹̞̹̭͜͜͠6̸̶͍͖̖̩̠͇̺̟͉̣͓̗̰̞͠ 2̤̲͖̫͔̙͚̤͉̯̙̺̗̹̞̫͓̲̜̕͠3̵͉̪͖̲̮͟0̵̵̪̞̟̱̯̜̤̠̭̹͚̯̠̝͕̟̣͡4̴̡̮̼̘̘̤̩̭̦̲͉̪̩̞͍̯̯̖̱̀͠ͅ9̡̞̯͇͎̩͕͉̱̦̣͓̩̜̕ͅͅ5͎̣̙̫̣̼̘̺̣̼̰̺̳̞̟͉͜-̵̡̢͕̺̰̼͓̣̹̩̫̬7̣̯͙̺̻̥͖̠̟̲͘9̧̘̣̭̝̮̰͈͉̩̣̤̜̘̰͢͝͝0҉͇̦͔͎͉̠͉́͟͞ 4̧̛̛̖̯͓̤͟͝3҉̶̻̭͇͉͎͖̬9̸̸̸͇͎̹̝͖͎͕̭̤͎̳́͟ͅ2̢͞҉͈͖͖̲̦́͠6̧̢̱̰̱̼̀͜7̶̧̕͝҉̻̳͈̣̦̟̹̟͍̞̯̖̙̱̦̭͔ͅ5̷̛̱͕͕̱̜̖̹̲̲̫̪͇͢͜ 8͟҉̰̭̣̺̞̩̮̞͔̪͚̤̥͉͉9̧҉̻͉̱̱̹̲͖̪̜̞̺̖̗̙͈2̢̩̟̪͚͎͍̟̭̘͓͚̺̣̣͍͎͕̲̕͠ͅ8̨̮̰̲̠̯͝ͅ3̴̹̘̯̟͎͍͕̪̦̼͔͞ͅ6̸̘̖͍̺̜̘̱̠̦́́͜͠9̸̧͙͈̫̻͕͈̫̗̰͙͟͞8̵̵̺̺͉̝̼̩͇͉͚̀0̴̴̵͇̻̜̹̮̪̣̲̰͙̀͜ͅ9̛͉̪͕̜͖͓̩̣̤̠̱͖͙̤͓̻̯́8̺̰̩̠̻͉̖͝͞ ̀͟͢͏̧̠̯̜͚͔͍͈ 0̛̭̯͕̣͓̖̱̪́͜ͅͅ2҉̻͇͙͖͞ͅ4̶̸̸̳̞̦̪̩͕̰̬̹̞̳͙̬͍̼̭͢͠ͅ7̡̭̱̣͈̬͙̘̬͔̙̙͍̹͓̙̰̺͝5̛̳̞͉̳̟̼̕͡͡8҉̨͚̙͉̤̭̱̜̫̮ ̵̴̧͜҉͖͖̲̲̼͕̖̺̩̥͖7̷̰̭̱͇͙̕2̧͓̱͍̦̹̭̞̱̩͍̫͚̯̘̤͍͎̰͡9̀͠͏̫̰̰̫̬͕̤͓̤͕̭̩̯̘̻3̨͕̼͙̪̗̖̟͖̝̰͔͜4̸̼̗̱̰7̸̛̬̯̰̪̭̜̖̤̙͍̬̥̫̼̮̪͝ ̨̮̮̠̱͖̝̘̯̥͈̦͔̮̦̪̲̣͢5̡̺̦͍̦͓̤̺̫̗͡9̕͏̵͝҉͍͖͔̜͓̟͔̩̜̣͎̫̟8̸̜̗̟̤̮͇́̕2̛̳̹̺̼̞̖͖͕͙̫͇͍̤̲̺̗̀7̷̡̠̖̭̖̖̠̝̣̙͟9̸̝͚̗̞͍̰̦̩̞̼̀3͖͖̜͖̪̫͕̜͍̙͍̩̭̠͘̕ͅͅ8͏̢̼̦̭̟̹̤̤̦̲̗̥̞̦̟͉͟͠ ̶̸̘͙̺̪̱͙̜̩́͢͠ͅ7̡̦͍̮͔͓̕7̕͢҉̸͙̙͍͔͓̥̹͇̯͉͍2̵̸̡̟̦̙̣̩̫̻͔̙͓̗̪7̶̜̼̻̦̗̻̱̪̲͉̥̖̪̱̥͎͔͘͡8̴̦̥͇̹̣̙͔͉̫̱̥̳͎̹̀́̕͢ 3̷̕҉̙͈̻̘͚̟̦͉͈̩͍̯̙̝̫̳ͅ9͠͏҉̩͎̘͎̗̲̱̖̮̦̩̲̙̭͝ͅ5̨͜͜҉͙̣͓̮̠͓̼̜̖̥̯̞͇͇͍͎7̴͘҉̳̻̥̣̲̥͈1̶͙̳̥͚͔̺̥̭̰͕̯̼͚͍̮̞͢ͅ9̵̛̥̻̞̦̺͔̤̮͕̹̙̟̥͖̳̜͠͞3̡͍̩͙̪̻̀̕4̝̰̖̝̗͉͈͘̕ͅͅ7̷̧̗̩̹̠̹͎̼̠͓̤5́҉͇͔͎̖̺͟-̷̴͏̳͇̰̠̹̭͕̮͓2̨̭̠͖̠̜̠͚̤̕9͉̭̼̰͙̬̭̝̮͙̳̼̱͕͝͞ ̶͙͙͎̪̣̤̟̬̯̹͠7̡̩̭̠̤͔͇̣̦̺̬̙̟̬̠̬̪̝͚̕3͞͏̶̙̰̻̮͙̼̕͟ 4҉̡̨̬̘̯͓̥̼̻̕9̵̸͙̭͉͓̞̣̳͔͖͖͝5̖̖͈̜̤̜̤̥̪̟̯͓͖̭͉͓̘̀͘ ͏͏̞͈͍̼̖̤̪̪͓͓̹̀-̨̹͚̰̤̠̘̼̦̟̩̖͙͎̀́ͅ1̷̼͉̞͚̱̲͓͈͎͙̼̣͓̣̀͟͡3̨̤̗̟̯̰̠̹̦̮͔7̴̡͙̳͍̙͉͍̯̜̥̲̳̦̺̣͘͝4̴̶͉͇͙̼̤͇͈̘͎̩̮̥̀͘ ̧̕͏͕̠̟͔̩̳͉̹̤̟̼5̸̷̧̗̼̺̤͔̟̥̗͔͙͟͢9̸̵̛̝̮̻̘̹̫̤̼͔̪̻̲͘̕2̴̬͚͔̞̳̖͕̱̣̺̩̣͎̕ ̡̧̤͉̞͚̜̖͚̳̮̙͖̀̀͠-̡҉̵̻̱̩̘͙̰͞3͟͏̱̜͈͉̞̣̻̣̥͓̠͉̣̀̀͝7͜҉̝̺̲ͅ4̴͏͏̨̘̺̙͎͎̥̗̳̮̠̯͔ ҉̹̳̖͕̗͙͕̳͟9̢̛̠̟̦̥͙̺̫̗͎̣͈̭̩̲̜́́5̵̺̗̝͔̱̦̗̙̞̺͓̦̹̭̞̱̩̕͘ͅ7͈͚̮̯̭̫̼̠̲̲̀̕0̵̧͚̟̼̫̘̣͈͘͘2̵̮͎̪͍̣͈̭̝̹͘̕͢ͅ3̛̰̮̹͇͇͙͉̱͞͝͞9̶̛̖̩͖̜̞͍͞4̷̸̛̟̯̭͍̞͖̗͕͎̫̩̬͇̯͜7̴̧̧͚̼̲̯͖͔̥̙͎̫̗̰͙5͜҉̡̠̻̤̥̥̯͉̬̹̝͎̗̖̬̩͞ͅ ̸̢̗̜͓̟̗̕͝0̸̛̬̳̭̙̫͚̣̮̥̜̥̳͙͇͢ͅ2̨̨͙̪̯̺͍̭͎̖̹̘̤̻̪̖̣͓ͅͅ7̶̸̖̯̬̩̞̬͓̞̰́̕3̴̀͏̢͍̥̼͚̙̮̤̭͝4͍̗̝̳̲̤̭̭̮͟ͅ7̴̷̞̗͇̪̥̺͇͎̟̱͟͢͝ 9̴͇̹̬͎̺͎̜̻̤̹̮̤̼̺̰͚͔̠͎̕ ̢̹̪̳̥̤̭͙̪̣̬͔̻̤̳̫́͡ͅ5̧҉̣̥͇͇̞̬̩̲̺̲̹̗͙̗͈ͅ2̵̡̛̳̟̤̥̲̝̻̥̮͓̝̮̜̼̹̳̦̣̕͝7̵̡̡̞͕͚̪͓̦͖̮̦̩̫̭̥̩̣͖́͢ 3̝͚̦̹̯͕̫̱̻̞̝̩̀͞ͅ-҉̷̴͎̠̲̩͚̘̥̦̝̤̦̫̥̻̬̬4҉̸̛̱̞͖̞̘̜͔̞͔̩̦̺͓̦̹̯̬̠9̴̢́҉̫̲̞̩̗̰ ̸͎̫̳̞̘̖̘̥͙͔̟̱͝ͅ7̵̶̨̘̩̲̣̫̥̠͢ͅͅ5̢̢̤͉̳͓͚̯͚̫̻͙̝͎̳̰͓̳̥͘͠͠ͅ0̀͘͜͏̛̱͕̮̜͚̰̥͍̪̣̹̰̳̼̳̻̘2̢̢̜̬̳̻̤̦͉̦̳̞̞͢͡ 3̢̛̻͎͎̤̮̩̤̭̕͢͞ͅͅ7̴̴̵̡̨̻̻̜͓̼͕̳̝͍̭̹͈ͅ4̷̸̢̝̣͎̪̘̺̬͙̯ ̴̸͎̗̘̬̘̣̕5̶͔̟͉̠̘̦̦̬̟͜0͏̡͎̭̟̜͕̥̬̜̳̯̦͈͍͉̰͎̜͎8̱̝̩͓͉̳̯̩̯̕ͅ2̸̷̧͙̱̮̞̤̞̣̠͎͉̠̘͚͚̖͡7̴̢̹͍̦͍̩̘̙̩̜̯͚̲̮́3̴̨͖̜̠̝̹̹̱̩̜̗4̡̹̻̟͎̖́͜͟-̨̛̘̣͕̺͓̣͍̺͔̖̗̖͍ͅ9̸͖͓̺͚̠̳̫̥̖̝̬̦͍̺͙̹̜̯̀͢͞ ̪͇̖͓̥̤̱̻͍̯͜5̧͏̢͚̭͇͓̪͎̫̝̞́2̹̠̫͓̭̺͖͍̺͓͕̕͘͠͞͝0͖̗̘̦͍̤̜̭̻̕͢͞3̸̢̢͓̪̰̱͘4̵̧̧̬͍̭̩̝̹̼͙͍̱̱͕͍͚̞̀̕ͅ 5̶̨̨̫̙̺̰̤̬̰͎̟͉̫̺͚̘̲̹̻͈̕͞7̶̧҉͕̥̘̪̱̟̺̜͎͔̫̬̺̫̠͚̜̭͝9̧̘̠̹͙̺̺̟̙̥̗̫ͅ ̴̵̴̷͈̖̲̮͕̠͉̝͈̝͕͓3̶̫̫̯͈̞̀͟4͈̬̟̤̪͈̺͉̜́͘0̷̧̛̰͙̳̯9͏̛҉̡̭̗̯̝̰̼̫̳̫͇͚̺̮5̵̪̣̝̳̝̹͚̬̹͎͉͝7̧̻͙͇̙́͜͜ 0̴̝̦͇̮̝̘͇͔̦̤̘͓͙̫̣͖͔̘͖͟͠6̹̹͖̭̩͇̗͎̣̠̤̞̰̤͞͞2̢̖̱̬̦͚͈͖͡7̧҉͉͈̪̩̳̪̬͉͉̩͎̲͓̬͉͉̀͟9̴̧̖͙̟̫̘̣̝̩̲͚͈̩̻̜̻̤ͅ4̷̡̨̨̨͔̳̦̜̪͚͖̥͈̠-̛̣̝̜̜͞͝1̶̝͎̠̹͎͈̻͔͕̩̱̠̹̣̥̝͜ͅͅͅ7̷̫̟̜͕̤̠̯͜͟͞ͅ3̶̛̯̗͓͈͎̭̻̫̳̪̯̝̘̞͇̕͠ -̢̪̤̳̟͙̩͘5̶̴̦̻͖̺̣͚̹̜͉̲̠͉̝̪͟͜͟ͅͅ9̴͏̡̗͇͚̫͎͚̻̭̻͙̼ͅ ̶̫͖͈̥̪̘̯̟̳͕͙̀͞͠7͏̸̴̛̱̜͕̻̟̜̲̜-̸̧͟҉̜̩͇̼̣͓͎̫̩̬͍͕̪̝̫̥ͅ9̵̴͎͖̙͇̻̟͘͟͠3̨̛͈̻̭̦̫̭̪̩͕̲́́ͅ4̢͏̦̝͖̟̣͍7̶͙̻̺͉͕̼̘̩̹͖̫͖̩̻̝͚̱́̀͡5̧͓̗̦̗̣̪̼͜͞͡ͅ ̸͡҉̸͏̹̣̣̪̘̠̖̹͖̞͈9̩͎͎͎͢͝7̵̴̬̺̮͈͎͍̰̙̪͍̮͉̱̼͜͝ͅ2̴͘͘͏̰̤̻̳̩̳͎̯̻̝̱͎̖͉͙̠̱̪͞4̵̮̭͉̖̬̭̤͙̺̰̰̥̞̬̙̜̲́͞7̧͎͈̻͈̤̤̬́͞ͅ5̷́͝͏̩̱̜̜̭̳͠ ͖͙̙̦͖̹̜̞̗̙̘̣͘͜-̢҉҉͇̠͇͉̟̩͔͕ 7҉̵̢̛̭̻͇̰͚̻͢9̷̡̳̗̩̤̲͍̭̭̫̟̦́͘͟9̡͇͔͚̘̦͚-̷̕͜͏̖̹̜̟̠͈2̷̧̢̩̥̻̗́3̕҉͉̠̻̪͉̘͕̜̲̗̟͈͓͈̟̹̕͡4͠҉͎̩̳̼̤̞̜̝̝̝͙̟-̛̀͘͏̸͉̰̰͓͇͎͕̹͈̟̪͖͖̮̳̖̫9̨̥͖́̀ͅ5̢̡̪̩̟͇́͟͝7̮̖̝̭̹͔̗͈͇̯̤͔̱̮͉̳̳͢͡ͅ ̴̴̦̠̲̭͖̰͚̖̗̼̲̙̮̘̫͘͘͟9̨̡̰̦̖̮̼͇͚̙͇̫̙͕̥̹͢͠͞ͅ2̩̹͙̰̦̀͟7̢͔͖͔͈̯͉̘͍͕͓̀͘͟4̦̥̖̬̤̜͚̭͍̗͚̳̘͘͞5̶̷̶̦̪̪ 9̶̨̭̹̦̟̜͔̘̺̺̮͇͖̦̭̻̦̠̪͘͜ͅ2̸̘̞̝͎̲̺̩̟-̵̶҉̡̫̪͓͈̜͚͕̜̘̘͇̼̮̭3̷̰̥̰̟̟̱̺͈̠͕̀̕4̸̡̟͚͍̪̳̪͇̙̜̙̳͓̺ͅ7̛͚͕̘̱͜͢5̶̡̞̪̜̹̲̮̘̱̱͟ ̢̢̕҉̯͇͍̜̙̜͎͔͎̞̥͔̟͇͓-̤͙̯̫̭̺͙̯̠̦̰̜̕͢9̬͉̩̪̠͚͕̹̀͟͝2̴̡͚̤͈̹̻̰̳́-̴̛̛̯̳̝̩̟9̢̻͖̤͍̦̥͉̱͟͡3̡̠̠̘͕̞͟4͏̩̜̻̦͟7̣̝̞̣̝̫̦͉̺̣͔̖̝͇̦͉͙̹̥͡͝5̨̢͉̰̮̙͎̹̟̫̹̯̲͙͎͔͇̰͖̀͢͠ ̧̧̛̖͕̜͓̟͝-̴҉̷̫̦̥̪̪̘͖̙͎̥̫̘1̬̙̙̮̼̦̭͕́͘7̥͉̘̥̼̱̲̺̯̰͔̻̯͇̗͇̬͟͝͡ͅ-͚̼̙̖̰̮͡͝͝3҉҉̡̥̬̙͔͈̲͢͝9̰͓̩͖̹͎̣̤͙͕̥͈̪̮̳̖͘4͕̦͍̭̳͇̞͔̗͙̜̬̮̩̟̬͉̀͟͡5̧̕͜͏̣̼̼̟̭̭͇͙̟͙̖͎ ̷̛̗̻̖͉͍̲̠̭͍̗̞̫̼͢͟7̨͇̳̩̱̻̖̬͉̲̜̻͙̝͡-̡͍͔̹͓̻͉̗͢͝2̩̣̪̮̗̞̖͓̙͚͕̭̜̫̟͕̬͔̀͢͜͝9̷̪͎̮̲̳̳̕5̸̨͔͎̜̻̮̫̗͔͚̲̼͙̼̗͘ 7̵̸̙͔͎̹̥̀ ͏̵̮̝̺̟̩̳̳̝̖̝͉͈̕͠ͅ9͝҉͙̜̭̮̝̲̫͙͇͕͕̫7̶̢́͜͏̜͕͈̹̰̺̱͎̗̪̗͕͓͖̬̗̣̗5̡̢͓͙̫̪̠̘̦͕̻͚̰̰̞̝̻̥̗̕͡͠ͅ9̢͈̟͙̜̭̜̣͔̼̤̥͔͠ͅ0̞̪̼̤͠͞͡2̢̢͇͎͍̹̝͚̗̹̭ ̩͓̦̞̫̥͙̬̳̭́͘7̴̵̜͕̺̳͇͕͓͔͖̤̦̰̰̟̀̕4҉̛̭̫̠͉̬͜ͅ0̧̢̫̲͉̗̝̭̣̮̘̭̺̲3̨̹̘͚̞̥̼̰̠̭̞̼̲̕͢͞ͅ9̷̨̠̣̯͎̞̦̰̲̩͙̞͓̦̠̯̲̹̣
̀͞͠҉̨̼̬͍̗͇̱̻

"̟̻̙͙̮̬̮̾S͔̟͚̳͋͐̔ͬ̄ó̮̯͖̂̓̃͊̚.̣͙̪̞͈̉̏̚.̫̹͕̱̐̄͋̉̋͐.̊̉̿͛ ̌̾ͩI͉͋ͪ͒̽s̼͓̘̼̰̎̃͑̈ ̞̝̦͇͎̻̘̏ͫͫͥ͂t̤͔̥̣̟͙̋ͤ̿ͅh͍͉̳̠̮͊ͫͯ̌ͩ̚i͙̓ͪͪͯ̑s͖̹͚̬̮̔̐ ̹̜̓ͩi͍̰̠̜̻̓͐̽͑͂ť͈̣̣̙̟̓?̉ͦ̑ ̭̯̹͆͆ͥ̀ͬ̋̓I͔̦̙͍͒̈́ͮͅs͈̱̘̙͎̯̦ͮ ͇͈̻̈́ t͊ͤh͚̟̭̔͂̆ͯ̈͊i͚̣͍͓͖̺͍͊ͩ̋s̙͕͙̊ͪ.̙̼̣̺͊̏̋͂ͭ.̈ .͍̱͚̈́̌̆̾ ̟̯̖͇̙ͫ̾͊̽͐I̦ͭͪ̐̉̌ ̼̘̘̬̣͇̅̈́ͭ̇ͤg͔̩̫͕̻̰̻̑u͎̤̳͑̎͗ͣ͂e̘͐̈s̩̻̹̻͉̄ͤ̍̏ͫs̝̩͉̞͖̊͊ͭ̓̓.͇̳͚̝̠̝̹̅̋̇͒̍̽͊.̯̩̼̻̯͓̬ͦ̏͛́ͫ.̞͛ͦ̇̅̎ ̼̱̺̇ͧ̋ͭ̉ H̟̗̖̠͙ͣo͎̱ͫw̲͉͎̣̱̥̬̏̿ ̱̭̱̼͔͒̎ͧ̊͛í̥̾̋̉̓͂ͅt͖̱ͅ ̹̤̍͌̾̾͑̋e͚͂ͪn̯͓̞̠̘̝̞d͉̠̝̝̯̑ͨs͎͎̱͇̮̬̿ͣ ?̭̥͙́ͦͪ"̙͇̋̄ͫ̌ͦ̍ͩ ͚͈̤̯̺

"Tͤ͋̈̓̏̈́h͔͔̯̱͈̭ͣ̇̃̀̚a̠̓̌͌͛̅̿ͣͅt͇͙ͧ̃̏ͦ̇̅ͣ'̰̳͈͇̖ͮ̌s̖̬͔̥͈͓̯ ̰̫̪̠̳̩ȗ̟͔̥̬̓̔ͅp̖ͩ̾͒́̂ͨ ̩̬̫̝̂̌ͅ ṱ̯͇͖̉̒̇o̬̫͍ ̟͍ͯ̒̂̏ͣͥy̲͎̟͇̜ͤ̔͂ͤ͊̂óͥ̽̂ͭu̦̣̜̯͓̐ͪ̐̒.̹̮͍̰̦̒̾̐͋ͨ "͔̫͇̘̤͇͛ͩͭ̎

̯̟̼̜̱̹̥ ͇̯̮̼̝̟ ͙ ̸ ̤͢ ̗̖̼̙̭̙̹͝ ̛̠̺̥ ͚̲̩̲̜͢ ͓̩͓̹̙̝͢ ̗͈̳͙̻̕ ͎͎͔́ ̴͎ ̫̺̠̜͕̰ ̵̣̱̼ ̣͉̭̣ ͖̣ͅ ̤ ̘͟ ͏ ̮̙̹ ͈̩̺͍̫̤ ̨̗̻̤̫ ̜ ̗͉̙̺̼ ̵͎̞͚̠̭ ̪̳͕͙̩̤ ̛̥͙̼̫͖̞ ͇̥̟̗ ̠̲̙̙̠ ͉̮̼͇͉̖ ͈͉ ͉ ̲͎͖ͅ ̤̤ ͇ ͔͈̲͎ ̯̮͈̤ ͖ ͏̝ ̛͔ ̖̪̫́ ͍̞̘̤̝͖̕ ̛̯ ͈ ̷̹͈ ͉͍͎̜̠ ̸̙ ͔̥ ̭̭͍ ͈͉̪̯̘͕ ̵̺ ̴̞ ̘̤ ̦ ̺͎̻̱ ̬̜͢ ̳̠͠ ͜ ̸ ̛̯̼ ̗̮͝ ͉͇̖̠̤͚͈ ̤͇̱̦̰͈̮ ̱̲̫̮̞ ̭̞͇̫̭̠̼͠ ͕̲ ̶̹͍̟͇̫̼ ͖̭̲̜͙ͅ ̸͕̜͓̘̬͍ ̛̟͓̯͙͖ ͏̲̳̖ ̢ ̟̝͖̭͈̳ͅ ̷͕͔͕̜͔̤ ̛͎̺̯̰ ͔̭̫̻̲͘ ͚͖̰̙̣̺ ̢̮̰̲ ̛̘̻͕̹ ͇̼̜͇͕͓̮͟ ̦̩ ̮̬̮̪ ͉ ̱̭̬̖͟ ͎̖̺͟ ̡̹̯͚ ̹͈ ͏̙͉̱̘̩͓ ̶̬̼̙̘ ̼̻̗ ͏̘͇ ̖ ͉̩͚̝͓ ̥͇̖̖͕ ̝͈̻̙̘̯̜ ̴͔̠͍ ͈ ̵͖̹̯̼̗ ̟̖̘̹̩̬ ̵̩̣̲ ̸̬̰̺̘ ̮̝̱̫ ͎͚͙̜̲͖͉ ͚̭ ҉͎ ̡͈͕̱̞̝ ͇͇̙͇̬̙ͅ ̴̙͇̗͕̙ͅͅ ͕̼ ̵͙͙̼̭ ̣̲͎͍̺̗̀ ̲̠̭͜ ̖̜̭͖̠ ̢̤̠̦̪̩ ͚̮ ̨͎̱ ̥̤ ͟ ͎̦̥͡ ̹ ̤́ ̗͚̖̣̖̖̜ ̝͖̦̜͕̺͓ ͔ ͘ ͢ ̷͓̭͈ ̝̱̬͓̤̠̕ ̗̺̣͍̣ ̯̗̞ ͈̣̮͖̜ ͏̘ ̵̭̘̲ ҉͇̦ͅ ̘̲̯͉͇̟͝ ̢͍̫̫̗̝̜ ̹̟̥̰̬́ ̦̻ ͙͎͎͕̮̦͔ ̫͙͎̮͟ ̣̥̳̥͕͔ ̼̭͎̥ ̨͔̩̦ ̢̫͉̩̯͍͚͍ ̘̩̺̤̱̯ ̰̬ ͚̮͉͢ ͕̟ ̰͙͇͍̺̺͞ ̸͙̖̮̼̥̥̪ ͉ ̣̪̰̻̬ ̶͙͈͍̳̭ ͞ ͖̘̖ ̬̜͢ ̳̠͠ ͜ ̸ ̛̯̼ ̗̮͝ ͉͇̖̠̤͚͈ ̤͇̱̦̰͈̮ ̱̲̫̮̞ ̭̞͇̫̭̠̼͠ ͕̲ ̶̹͍̟͇̫̼ ͖̭̲̜͙ͅ ̸͕̜͓̘̬͍ ̛̟͓̯͙͖ ͏̲̳̖ ̢ ̟̝͖̭͈̳ͅ ̷͕͔͕̜͔̤ ̛͎̺̯̰ ͔̭̫̻̲͘ ͚͖̰̙̣̺ ̢̮̰̲ ̛̘̻͕̹ ͇̼̜͇͕͓̮͟ ̦̩ ̮̬̮̪ ͉ ̱̭̬̖͟ ͎̖̺͟ ̡̹̯͚ ̹͈ ͏̙͉̱̘̩͓ ̶̬̼̙̘ ̼̻̗ ͏̘͇ ̖ ͉̩͚̝͓ ̥͇̖̖͕ ̝͈̻̙̘̯̜ ̴͔̠͍ ͈ ̵͖̹̯̼̗ ̟̖̘̹̩̬ ̵̩̣̲ ̸̬̰̺̘ ̮̝̱̫ ͎͚͙̜̲͖͉ ͚̭

R̻͕̯̬̖͔ͦͭ̉̃a̯i̡̩̖͖̤͒̓n̗͔̪̯̝̬̿̏ͨb͇̬̈́̃̑ͭo̺̼ͧ̅ͭ̄̐ͫw͙̗̯̼ͫͭ awoke with a start, her hoof ramming into the ringing alarm clock beside her. It b̢̦̜̯ȑ͎̔́o͎k̮̎̐e͉̖͇͙̫̦͎̒̊ͤ, then she screamed a terrified s͚̰ć̨͓͎̘̳̉̒ͯ̐r̗̺͚ͦ̋e̯ͧ̌ͬ͢ã̰̭̤͟m̶͔̌̇ͥ and clawed at her face.

No cyber eye. No robot arm. No cuts, no bruises... N̖̊ͩ͗oͣt͌̒͏̯̱̙̯̖̣h̨i̋͑̒̒ͥ͗̄n̻͆̋̇̒͐̇ğ̢͓̠͗ͥ.

It was a dream... It's okay... It was all just a dream... G̨̭̙̼͕͍ͩ̃́͛͑e̶̔͑n̸͌̐e͕̹͖ͥ̓́s̹͍̥̳̾̅i̝͉̥̟̔̅ͦs̠͉̤̯͉͑̎̈͑... All that...

But it wasn't. She knew, because she had no recent memory of ever being in this room.

It was dark, the windows beside the bed she lay on were sealed by blinds, only letting small slivers of golden light through its seams.

This bed... These sheets, all this... She could distinctly feel that this was all her stuff, but... How?

She quickly flicked the sheets aside and got up. The carpet under her hooves... It was familiar.

She quickly õ̩̘͚p̳͍͍̯ͣ̾ͨe̱̓ͧ̈́͞n͏ḛ͖͚̩̘̦̥ͮ̐͑d̦ͣͬ́ the door to the room with a few panicked breaths, emerging into the living room. Somehow she knew the exact layout of this place.

The places on the walls where the paint had peeled... The locations of the power plugs... The kitchen area... The clothes hanger, or at least the corner it should be in...

This was the apartment.

She slowly trudged on to the center, where the coach was.

None of this seemed right. It was all... Newer, but... Older... Than she had r͚̠̭ͅe̬͖̤ͥ̽̏͌m̬͇̖͆̇̓͆͐̔e̪̟̱̓͑̉ͪ͒͘m̧b̡͉̗͇ȩ̖ͩ͗̒r͖̞̫͓͍ͅé̦̯̼͕͔͙̙d̞͚̫͉̟͉̦ͤ͒̍̎̋...

There was a knock on the door, and she jumped a little. She instinctively hid behind the coach, looking around for some sort of weapon. She grabbed a bronze candle stand, then slowly and carefully moved towards the door.

It felt good to have her entire body back, again. She hadn't realized how much she missed the missing bits till now.

She could feel the weight of the stand in her hoof, and it was a good feeling.

She peered through the hole in the door. No one. Nothing but the stairwell outside.

Just to make sure, she slowly opened the door. It squeaked, and she flinched.

Still, no one.

She didn't let her guard down, though, as she proceeded up the four steps leading to the exit to the building. She checked the stairs leading further up first. Still nothing.

Then she jumped as someone knocked on the exit.

She wasn't about to let them get away this time, and so she ran up to the door and s̷̮ͭ̒͂h̭̤o̗̯̰ͫͫͣ̀̚ů̴̝̭̣ͦ̇̓ļ̳̓̄ͨ͐ͩ͑d͑̈́͆̏ͪe̺̮̪̩͕̊͒ͮ̇͒͌͐r̰̔ͪͩ͟ë̢̫͖̺́̓͋͊̍̀̓d̵̾̐ it open with all her might.

It swung open and crashed against the wall, and she tumbled out into the world, stumbling to a stop with the candle stand raised, ready to beat up whoever it was that was messing with her.

But there was no one there. Nothing but the passing cars that looked several decades older than the ones she's used to(though, oddly, in shining new condition), and the passer-bys that were giving her odd looks.

Breathing heavily, she slowly set the candle stand down. As she did so, she spotted something on the floor. A clean white box, elegantly fashioned with a single red butterfly knot with a rose inserted through it. There was a post-it note attached to it which had her name on it. Beside it was a newspaper, a recent one by the looks of it.

She frowned, peeked her head out to scan the sidewalks. No pony suspicious, or... Visually s͘i̸g͞҉ņ̵i̶͝f̴ic͏͡a̧͝n͘t͢͟, really.

Something bad was coming. She could feel it.

She picked up the newspaper first, and read the headline:

"Four Years of Marriage: Captain Shining Armor and Princess Cadence." She murmured.
No, this... This can't have been recent... Shining Armor and Cadence had been together for almost f̢ift́e̵en̛ y̸ea̴ŗs, as far as she was concerned.

She checked the date. It was some eleven, maybe twelve years older than her last memory of a year.

Had she gone back in...? No, she can't have. She was supposed to be dead, right now. Deader than dead. Then she spotted somepony at the bus stop across the road, holding the exact same paper. Then some else walking by with it under his arm.

"Hey! You!" She yelled. "Where'd you get that paper?"

"Came in the mail this morning!" The guy yelled.

Rainbow thought for a moment, waited for the guy to pass, then waved and ye̛lled͡ at someone else.

"HEY! Do you know what year it is?"

The answer made her mind go blank for a second, and she sat down hard against the wall.

It matched the newspaper.

No, no... There was no way... Tavi... If this were true, she'd never even know she was here...

Then it dawned on her. Maybe this was what G̽̍ͨͯ҉ȩ̔ͥ͋̈̎ņ̙̗͕̲̱͉̦ͣeͧ̂͐҉̮̤̞̖̺̥s̥̱̖̠̘̈̈i̛̖s̝͕͙̮̫̝͒ͥ meant, about no longer existing. As far as the rest of the world was concerned... She was gone.

She clutched her face in her hooves and screamed a muffled scream. Her breathing quickened, she could feel the panic etching away at her chest. But then the box caught her eye again.

No, no... Somepony knew she was here... Somepony knew.

She scrambled over to the box, removed the rose and tore through the knot. But then she hesitated, right as she was about to lift the lid.

Did she really want to know...?

No, she didn't. But she had to.

She flung it open, and it took her a second to recognize what was inside. Amidst the pile of shadows, there was a n̶o̕te̵.

She picked it up and read it. Her eyes widened as she did so. Then she dropped the note and frantically dug through the pile of black fabric, a crazed look in her eyes. For a brief moment she found something, which lit her face with a faint r҉e̢d͠ glow, and she abandoned the box and sprinted inside again.

The white banded fedora slowly drifted to the floor, as the box hit the ground. A silky black trench coat spilt out of it, and from further within something rolled out.

A shiny metallic hoof-sized ca̢p̛s͠ule, with a strongly archaic red light pulsing from within.

It rolled and rolled, until it slowly came to a stop beside the dropped note.

"W̵a̶ķi͏e w̛akie͞, ͠Ra͟i͢nbow̢.̧..͡" It read.

"...͞The͞r͟e's̨ mo͢re ҉work to ̧d͡o͢."

Prologue: Back in Business

Bounty Hunters 3: Genesis
An MLP FanFic

The dark blue stallion shouldered his way through the crowd of ponies, attracting annoyed glances and surprised yelps as he knocked over drinks and plates of food. The restaurant was buzzing with activity, ponies here and there, chatting away eagerly. Waiter ponies were dressed in black suits, holding trays of delicacies- but the blue stallion wasn't here for any of that.

The crowd was good for cover, but it was one heck of a headache to find the right table. It didn't take long though.

A dull grey stallion sat with his hind legs on the table, front hooves folded behind his head as he sat back into the chair, leaning on its two back legs. A distinct scar ran across his face, and his piercing blue eyes spotted him the moment he emerged from the crowd.

"Late." the grey stallion said, dropping his back legs from the table and taking a more normal sitting position.

"I had to lose the damn bastards." the dark blue stallion said, irritated.

"You got the money?" the grey stallion asked. The blue stallion had told him on the phone about a high-paying contract- to assassinate another assassin.

"Takes money to hire the best assassins- but I can't pay right now. You need to take care of the bastards chasing me first." the blue stallion said, taking a seat.

"Why now?" scar-face asked.

"Because they're after me right now! They were on me a second ago- but I think I lost them in the crowd." the blue stallion said.

"Who is it? And you better pay up afterwards." scar-face said.

"Rainbow Dash and her goddamn partner. The bastards are working for the military now- taking bribes from the royal guards and hunting us down." the blue stallion said anxiously, casting a gaze around them and scanning the coast.

"Would you like to place your order, sir?" a waitress asked, handing the blue stallion a menu.

"I don't want to order! Go away." the blue stallion said irritably without looking at the waitress, waving the menu away. "Anyway- I'll pay you double if you take care of both of them."

"Order, sir?" the waitress asked scar-face.

"Goddamnit! We don't want to order! Would just go the buck awa-" the blue stallion looked up. "Oh shuck."

"One serving of punches, coming up." Rainbow Dash threw down the menu, cracked her hooves loudly, and grinned. Her dark clothing had made her look like one of those waitresses earlier.

"Son-of-a-" scar-face kicked his chair away as he stood up, his hooves a flash as he drew the pistol hidden under his jacket.

Rainbow hit the gun on the side, knocking him off aim. She then hit a specific spot on top of the pistol, causing the mechanics inside to fail their job. The clip fell out and clattered to the floor, some bullets scattering out of it.

There was still one bullet locked inside the chamber of the gun though, and scar-face aimed it up.

With a light blue blur, Rainbow hit the back of the gun and snapped the hammer- now there was no way the bullet could be fired.

She launched a downward kick into the side of scar-face's left leg. Her hoof impacted his kneecap with a crack, and he groaned and fell down into a kneeling position, what little remained of his broken pistol clattering to the floor.

Scar-face was at the perfect height right now, and Rainbow brought a knee up and aimed for his face.

He managed to block the strike with a hoof, but the impact caused him to fall over. He quickly scrambled up, but Rainbow wasn't far away. He threw a punch aimed at the side of the blue pegasus's face, his hoof a blur.

Rainbow leaned to the side, the punch gliding past her nose. She grabbed his wrist with her left hoof, then took hold of his elbow with her right. She twisted, bringing scar-face's own arm around his neck in a painful lock.

Scar-face kicked back, hitting Rainbow in the leg. This turned out to be a dumb idea as Rainbow was annoyed at that, and decided to slam his head against a table.

His head slammed into the wood, splintering the smooth surface and cracking the small table almost in half.

The crowd around them was screaming now, running off and out in all directions and avoiding them. It was chaos as ponies were knocked over, all scrambling for the exits.

Scar-face rolled, breaking himself out of the lock. He had his back on the table, and launched both back hooves into Rainbow's chest.

Rainbow grunted, stumbling back. Scar-face rolled backwards and landed on the other side of the table.

Rainbow spun and kicked the table, sending it flipping up. The table spun into the air, the edge slamming scar-face on the chin. He fell backwards and cracked his back against the floor, temporarily winded. The table kept on going, flipping over him and smashing itself to pieces on the other side of the room.

He coughed, scrambling to his hooves. He blinked, and saw a purple iris looking him straight in the eye before taking a hoof to the face which sent him tumbling sideways. He hit his back on the wooden handrails of the stairs leading to the second floor, coughing uncontrollably.

Rainbow grabbed his head, and slammed it through the handrails. Finally, he was knocked unconscious.

She looked around her- the blue stallion had gotten away. Ah well.

"One down. Can you see the other?" Rainbow tapped her ear, activating the mic.

"Second floor lobby, heading for the roof. Using the crowd as cover." a filly's voice said.

"Good job Dainty." Rainbow grinned.

"Thanks." Dainty chuckled.

"Eyes on the monitors. Send the spy plane into the air- let's keep our eyes on this bastard." Rainbow said, slinging the unconscious scar-face over her shoulder.

*

"Will do." Dainty grinned. She was inside a car, a wall of monitors in front of her.

Magnum had taught her how to hack some security systems so she could help with the job- and her role was certainly coming in handy. She scanned through all the screens on the monitors, and located the blue stallion again. She had tapped into the restaurant's security cameras.

She took out a metal case, inside a small RC helicopter with a mounted camera. She carefully removed it from the foam cushioning, reaching out and setting it down on the roof of the black car. She took the remote control, and started flying the spy plane.

"Eagle eye's in the air." she reported with a grin.

*

"I'm on the roof now. Where is he?" Rainbow looked around at the concrete emptiness around her, scar-face snoring on her shoulder.

"He took the fire exit stairs and went down into an alley way, turning onto the street. I'm following him now." Dainty said.

"I'll let you guys take care of him while I dump this guy down before he starts drooling into my coat." Rainbow said, walking in a different direction.

*

The blue stallion stopped to catch his breath, breathing hard. He clutching his chest, trying to regulate his breathing. He looked up, and saw the grey stallion leaning on a wall.

"Shuck- there you are! Did you take care of her?" the blue stallion walked up to him, looking around anxiously.

"Yeah, I did." the grey stallion said, pushing off the wall.

"I'll pay you once you take care of that other one as well-" the blue stallion raised an eyebrow. "And where's your scar?"

Scar-face looked down, and frowned.

"Oh yeah. Whoops, forgot about that." he wiped a hoof on his face, causing it to glow a bright white. Pixels appeared out of nowhere and attached them to his face, and when the glow faded his scar was there. "Better?"

"What the bu-" the blue stallion exclaimed, stumbling back in shock.

Val removed her disguise, the fake grey skin fading away into shining pixels and revealing her robotic half underneath. She had a mischievous grin on her face as she narrowed her eyes, both organic and robotic.

"Val!? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in prison!" the blue stallion exclaimed.

"I'm just here to shorten my prison term by doing some 'community service', which turned out to be cleaning up the science faction." Val shrugged.

She had robotic hands implanted into her hooves, and she was about to swing a punch at the blue stallion when she felt something puncture the skin on her neck.

She tilted her head to one side, robotics churning; and raised an eyebrow at the tranquilizer dart stuck in her neck.

"Whoops- sorry." Magnum said through the mic. "But just then you looked exactly the same as the other guy."

"But Rainbow already took care of the other guy!" Val said angrily, the strength fading from her body. "You bucking dumb.... arse...." she managed to say, before collapsing to the floor, snoring.

The blue stallion yelled something, and immediately started running down the street at full speed.

"I'd like to make a point of saying I still didn't miss." Magnum said to Val's snoring.
"You're still a dumb-arse." Rainbow said through the mic.

"Whatever." Magnum said. "Oop. Can't fire now. Got a huge crowd crossing the road."
"Don't worry- all taken care of." Rainbow said.

*

The blue stallion looked around him anxiously, not knowing where the sniper is. He slipped into the crowd, now much more comfortable, surrounded by meat shields.

Then he felt gentle taps across his body as his pressure points were strategically hit, and he gasped. He tried to move, but was frozen in place- not even his eyeballs budged.

"Got him." a grey earth pony with a dark mane and purple eyes said, dressed in the same dark clothes as the rainbow maned pegasus.

Octavia jammed a tranquilizer dart into his neck, and unlocked him from his frozen state. He collapsed into her arms, already snoring as the tranquilizer settled into his blood.

"Pick up please." Octavia said, hoisting him over her shoulder and drawing suspicious gazes from the crowd.

Chapter 15: Double Rainbow

A certain light green earth pony sat alone in her cabin, away from the general population of the OASIS. At this time most of the crew were heading to the local food courts to collect food- usually for a midnight snack, considering the crew have to work all day and night- but she chose to stay back. She sat on her bed, the sheets folded neatly and the room untouched from its original state. It was cleaned every week, therefore no dust settled on the furniture. It was almost as if it were brand new, for it not the empty suitcases.

"When are you going to tell her?" a voice asked the pony, and only she could hear it in her mind.

"She's smart. She'll figure it out." the light green earth pony said, sighing heavily and lying back onto the sheets.

"You know it'll only be worse if she finds out instead of you telling her." the voice noted.

"She doesn't need me anymore- she already has somepony looking after her." the pony said, looking at her hooves for no particular reason.

"But I'm sure she'd be happy to see you again- all things considered." the voice said.

"It'll just mess things up if I show up now." the pony said. "Right now they've got a big task to complete, and they can't be distracted."

"You can't just stay in the shadows and watch over her like this forever." the voice said.

"I'm not- but you are." the pony pointed out.

"Because I'm just following what I was created for. To accomplish one goal- to revive and look after 'my' little sister." the voice said, emotionless like it always was.

"And you accomplished that well." the pony said, and would've given her a pat on the back should she physically exist. "But those are no longer my goals anymore. She doesn't need me, so I won't be there. Rainbow can look after her perfectly well. I saw- when I was dead in that other reality. Did you see how happy she was? Rainbow sure did a good job- and I do envy her."

"You know, you shouldn't-"

"I meant my little sis. I envy her because she got to have that perfect big sister that I never was. I wanted a sibling, you know- somepony older to look after me if I did skim my knee or something. Back in Manehatten, when we were on the streets; I always had to look after Dainty. I wished somepony could look after me- so I gave her all I had. I wanted her to have what I never did- and now she does." the pony smiled gently down at the carpeted floor.

"You know- I'm here." the voice said, with a surprising dose of wariness.

The pony chuckled. "You're just my powerful non-evil clone."

"But haven't I protected you?" the voice asked, and the pony thought about it for a while.

"I suppose you have." she nodded slowly.

"Go get some lunch, mare. You starve and I starve too. It gets annoying when our stomach gets tingly." the voice said cheerily.

The pony chuckled again, knowing that the owner of the voice did share the same body with her- but didn't require anything to live. Hell, she was invincible. It was completely impossible for them to die of hunger, or to feel hunger at all for that matter.

She stood up to leave, smoothed out the sheets, and started slowly walking towards the door. "Thanks, Neon." she said.

"Yeah. No probs Mel. Now go get some food."

*

The rainbow-maned pegasus had finally stopped walking, and like a laggy game the figure seemed to freeze completely.

"Got you now, you son of a parasprite." Rainbow growled, storming towards the frozen figure; keeping a hoof centimeters away from the pocket in which her cleaver handle sat. Her grey mane flowed freely as a soft breeze stirred the white space. She was ready to strike immediately- should the figure prove hostile. "Oi!" she called out, placing a hoof on the figure's shoulder.

Then everything shattered with a loud boom- reality blew apart into fragments, and Rainbow felt herself being sucked into another- and she had a strong feeling that she's going back to where she came from. Everything suddenly warped back, and she was thrown into a narrow hallway. Her shoulder hit the ground, and she skid across the floor; out of the hall way, and into a train station. No, a subway station- it didn't have any skylights, so it's probably underground. She heard a loud clatter and looked up to see her cleaver handle slide across the floor and stop about five meters away.

There were loud hoofsteps coming from the hallway she was thrown out of, and she scrambled for her cleaver.

*

Rainbow suddenly jerked back into reality, and with a bright flash a grey figure appeared out of nowhere and slid out into the subway station. She stumbled back, staring out the exit- but from her angle she couldn't see the figure. But from what she caught in that split second, it looked like a black-and-white version of herself. She did not presume it friendly- it's probably a changeling, or some other random high-tech crap that the science faction whipped up.

"Careful." Octavia said, tapping Rainbow on the shoulder.

"I know. You girls wait for my all clear." Rainbow said, drawing her cleaver and slowly walking into the tram station. At first she saw nothing, but then saw the figure scrambling for something on the floor. She stared at the familiar item for several minutes, and her eyes widened when she realized what it was. "No you don't..." she muttered, running towards the figure.

She was a split second late as the figure picked up the cleaver, the huge broad blade already unfolding. She swung her own over her head and down at the figure, who brought the cleaver up to meet hers.

Sparks flew out after a solid thunk as the two cleavers collided- there were no advantages anymore, they both had the same speed and immense power.

The figure pushed her away, getting up to her hooves. Rainbow brought the blade around and back in an uppercut, which the figure dodged using a familiar 'step to the side' technique.

The figure swung the blade sideways, the heavy hunk of metal gliding through the air and splitting it in half. Rainbow leaped up and rolled over the broad side, landing on her hooves and seeing a pocket to attack.

She sprang up, slashing diagonally at the figure. The figure jumped up, and stomped a hoof on the broad side of the blade, forcing it onto the ground. It then swung its own down at Rainbow, who placed a hoof on the side of it and diverted the blade elsewhere. She kicked the figure in the stomach, forcing it to stumble back. Then she dug a back hoof under her blade, then flicked it up. She caught it, and steadied it for another round.

The figure charged forth again, spinning the huge cleaver and sending sparks flying as the tip grazed the floor with each rotation. There was an eery and constant whoosh as the heavy cleaver cut through the air, the sound pounding against Rainbow's chest. She did the same, spinning the cleaver by her sides.

The blades collided once again, a myriad of sparks showering the two. It was just a mess of blurs as they twisted their cleavers against each other's.

Then Rainbow felt her cleaver get ripped from her hooves, and heard it tumbled across the marble floor. The cleaver was fine, but the floor got cracked in several places. She looked up again, just in time to see the figure bring the cleaver around at her side. She rolled sideways, the blade passing with a terrifying whoosh just above her head. She scrambled to her hooves, and leaped back as a downward swing only just grazed the tip of her nose. She stumbled back, the figure already charging again.

Another downward swing. Rainbow stepped to the side, and the blade cracked deep into the ground; bits of marble flying into the air and sparkling in the dim light. She charged forth, taking the chance that the figure was disarmed.

Rainbow swung from the right, which the figure blocked with an arm as expected. She reached around the figure's shoulders, got a firm hold on it and drove her knee into its guts. She heard her gasp, and launched a final kick across the figure's head. She frowned as the figure tumbled across the floor- that voice- it sounded like her own.

No time to think about that though.

She quickly ran back to her own cleaver and picked it up, just in time to see the figure get to hers. The figure slid the handle forward, and thumped on the trigger. A shockwave was sent traveling through the tiled floor, lifting the marble up and cracking it into pieces. The cleaver flew into the figure's hooves as the recoil hammered it out of the ground.

Rainbow quickly leveled the blade against her body, shielding herself from the bullets with the broad side. She felt every impact hit the cleaver and hammer against her shoulder, and was too afraid to peer to check what was going on. She felt her hooves slide on the ground with each heavy thunk, forcing her back.

Finally there was a break, and she swung her cleaver so the tip pointed at the figure and slid the handle forward. The figure charged forward, and she opened fire.

The figure spun the cleaver, deflecting the bullets off the angled surface of the broad cleaver blade strategically so most of the force was diverted away and wouldn't slow her down.

"What the hay..." Rainbow muttered, realizing she was just wasting her ammo. She stabbed the cleaver at an angle down into the ground, and waited for the figure to strike.

The figure brought the blade over her head in a devastating downward slash. Rainbow slammed the trigger on her own cleaver, sending it flying up. Its hilt hit the other cleaver's blade, knocking it back up.

Rainbow used this chance, dive rolling forward and under the cleaver blade. She leaped up, slamming a hoof deep into the figure's stomach. The figure gasped and stumbled back, but held onto the cleaver. Rainbow ran after her, jumping up and driving her knee into the figure's chest. Her momentum carried her on, and she slammed down onto the figure as they both fell over. The cleaver went skidding away and out of reach.

She kept a firm hoof on the figure's shoulder, keeping her down and using her other hoof to strike at her head. The figure tried to get her hooves up to protect herself- but Rainbow was preventing that from happening.

The last thing Rainbow saw was the figure suddenly leap forward, then her vision was instantly blurred as the figure's skull cracked against hers. She was sent falling back, dazed and disoriented and with an annoying headache that dulled her thoughts. Now the figure was on top, raining down punches.

Suddenly there was a black and grey blur as Octavia tackled the figure off Rainbow. They rolled onto the floor, both already starting to get up. Rainbow crawled to her hooves, and quickly ran for her cleaver.

"Dash! What the hell is going on?" Spitfire yelled.

"An unexpected guest. I have no idea- she just came out of nowhere." Rainbow said, picking up her cleaver and leveling it at the figure.

"Listen- you've got Science Faction troops closing in on you from almost all sides. The girls and boys on the barricade are holding them back the best they can, but they'll have to bail soon. Get on the train now!"

"Negative- we need to take care of this little arsehole first!" Rainbow said.

Octavia was much more specialized in close quarters combat- and knew all the pressure points. She was lightning fast, and the figure struggled to hold off her relentless attacks. Octavia swung a hoof over the figure's head, and she swiped the hooves out from underneath her.

Rainbow saw Octavia fall onto the floor, and pulled the trigger at the figure. The figure leaped to the side, the bullet ripping past the air millimeters away from her face. Octavia grabbed her ankle, forcing her to fall over. She launched a hoof at Octavia, kicking her away.

There was a loud whoosh as Rainbow used her wings to boost her through the air, the cleaver already raised high above her head. The figure slid forward and under her, safely avoiding the blade. She used her wings too, boosting towards her cleaver.

Rainbow flew after her, the cleaver by her side. The figure got her blade back, kept going to the far wall, kicked off the concrete, and shot straight back at Rainbow.

Rainbow brought her cleaver to her left side, and timed her swing. They grazed past each other, and at this near sonic-speed moment they both struck. The impact was so great that both of their weapons were ripped from their hooves, and they both tumbled out of balance. The two cleavers fell from the ceiling, both tips crunching deep into the ground right next to each other.

Rainbow looked up to see the figure get to her hooves, running for the weapons. She quickly got up too, her wings beating against the air and sending her flying towards the cleavers. In the end, she got there first.

She picked up both, and threw the figure's cleaver at her like a javelin. The figure allowed it to glide past her for a split second, then grabbed the handle as it neared. She used its momentum and swung it around to meet Rainbow's blade, both clashing with a loud clang that rang in their ears.

The figure pushed Rainbow away, leaped into the air, and swung the cleaver back down again. Rainbow raised hers horizontally and blocked the strike- but soon learnt that the strike wasn't the figure's intention at all. She actually knew before it happened- in fact, they seemed to know what each other would do before they even made the move.

She jerked her head to one side, but still flinched at the loud bang that almost shattered her eardrums. She felt the air pressure around her change as the high-calibre bullet burst past and graze her cheek, drawing a single droplet of blood.

Suddenly she remembered the spikes in the cleaver, and slammed the button. The spikes deployed, hooking onto the edge of the figure's blade. Rainbow yanked the cleaver to one side, forcing the other to follow as well and giving her clean hit at the figure. She swung a hoof around the side, cracking it against the side of the figure's face. She fell to the side, stunned.

Rainbow pressed the button again, retracting the spikes.

"Dash! You need to get the hay outta there- science faction troops are swarming the surface! You don't have any time at all- get on the train! They're breaching the surface- the whole place will come down on you!" Spitfire yelled.

"Shuck..." Rainbow muttered as she heard shouts above their heads, and some loud beeps that didn't sound too comforting.

"GET TO COVER!!" Nightshade yelled, dragging the two fillies under a metal desk.

Daring and Octavia scrambled to their hooves and found something to hide under, waiting for everything to come down. "Rainbow!"

But Rainbow was trapped in the open, with nothing for cover. The entire ceiling suddenly exploded, chunks of concrete with steel bars mixed in them crumbling down onto the station floor. There was a bright white flash, and Rainbow felt something hit her in the gut. She flew back, skid on the floor as several larger pieces slammed onto the ground where she was earlier. The columns that were holding the ceiling up still stood, supporting bits and pieces that were still left.

"Damnit- here they come!" Rainbow muttered. "Girls! Move up!" she yelled, and Daring and Octavia quickly moved behind cover and started firing at the assault units above.

"Rainbow!" Dainty screamed.

"Just stay in cover! We'll give you the all clear once we clear the area!" Rainbow yelled, firing her cleaver.

"But-"

"Just stay there!" Rainbow yelled. "Nightshade! Move up!"

"Rainbow- she can't!" Dainty screamed angrily.

Rainbow turned around, irritated. "Nightshade! Come on- we need you up here!"

Nightshade was just standing there, still and unmoving. Dainty and Lily were beside her, and Dainty looked like she was crying.

"Damnit Nightshade! What is it!?" Rainbow backed away from the frontline, retreating back near the Warden of Teleportation.

Nightshade opened her mouth to reply, but all that came out was blood- and that's when Rainbow saw the steel bar that went into her back and through her chest for the first time.

"No..." she shook her head. How could this be happening? Nightshade could've easily escaped something like that. But then she remembered- just before she got crushed, that distinctive bright white flash...

She had saved her.

"Shuck shuck shuck shuck shuck... SHUCK! DAMNIT!!" she screamed, running to her side. "Daring! Octavia! Hold them off- we've got one wounded!" she turned back to Nightshade, tapping her lightly on the face. "Come on, buddy- stay with me."

"Is she going to be alright?" Dainty asked, quivering with fright.

"She damn well better be!" Rainbow growled. She ripped some fabric off her coat and pressed it against Nightshade's wound, but the fabric was almost immediately soaked with crimson red liquid. She frantically twisted the fabric, making a deep red splatter as the blood fell to the floor. She pressed the fabric back onto Nightshade's wound, but it was barely doing anything.

"Just teleport out of there!" she growled.

"I.... Can't...." Nightshade's voice was all but less than a dry whispery rasp.

"Come on- yes you can! Just get out of there! Oh god.... Please don't die.... Please.... You've come too goddamn far to die now!" Rainbow yelled, still desperately trying to stop the bleeding- but it was just seeping right through the fabric.

Nightshade used her last bit of strength and grabbed onto Rainbow's collar. But soon her arm drifted back down to her side, as she could no longer hold it up.

"Listen- make sure we win this war!" she said, then tried to suck in another gasp. She did succeed, however extremely painfully. "If we don't, there won't be any future for any of us. You hear me?"

Rainbow nodded, making sure she heard every word Nightshade said.

"Take.... My supplies..." Nightshade said through gritted teeth, eyes already closed.

"No! You can still carry them!" Rainbow yelled.

"Face it, Rainbow..." Nightshade said weakly, looking down at the large crimson puddle on the floor. "I... Won't be making it..."

Rainbow shook her head vigorously, some droplets of tears being flung away. She slammed a hoof into the ground, yelling with frustration. "How come everypony's dying and I can NEVER do ANYTHING about it!!???"

"Stop... Putting everything... On your own shoulders..." Nightshade said, eyes already closed.

"But..." Rainbow said, then roared again out of frustration. "How come I'm always the one who lives!? I could've been in your position if you didn't shove me out of the way!"
"Maybe you're worth saving..." Nightshade smiled.

Rainbow didn't know what to say, so just stared down at the ground. Time passed, and then when she looked up again- Nightshade looked like she was asleep. She knew that the sleep would be eternal, and everything seemed to fall still as one of the greater warriors finally fell- and this time, she won't be getting back up.

Rainbow stood up, taking the small belt of throwing knives from her dead comrade as she had been told to. She strung it across her back, blinking the water out of her eyes.

There was a loud crack as the ground behind her exploded outwards, dust and chunks of concrete flying everywhere. The figure climbed out of the debris, coughing- but still had her cleaver.

Rainbow didn't turn around, instead she just activated her cleaver as a response. The area around her was tinted red as the Element of Loyalty burned away at her rage, blazing in the death of yet another friend.

Chapter 42: Icing on the Cake

"Why you looking so down, aye?" Val asked Blithy, bored.

Blithy shook her head, looking down at the ground. She didn't say anything.

Val sighed, stood up and walked around her throne. She leant back onto the back of her throne, and waved a hand in the air.

Sensors detected her gesture, and the huge wall she was facing flickered to life. It treated to the both of them a view of the COLOSSUS, from the bridge's perspective. The high-tech screen simulated the sunlight, and cast a long shadow behind Val that stretched across the throne room. She placed a hand above her eyes to shield them from the light, since the sun was slowly peaking over the edge of the huge cruiser.

But Blithy wasn't watching that. She had her eyes on the small holographic screen that Val didn't bother put away, still hovering above her throne. It showed the massacre from various perspectives, both Colgate herself and the science faction troops getting slaughtered.

"I... Caused this, didn't I?" She said, shaking her head. "In my thirst for revenge... I created you, didn't I? And now... You've taken over... And everyone, whether or not they're on your side.." She buried her face in her hands. "Damnit, damnit... It's all my bucking fault."

"I wouldn't argue with you." Val said. "But... You sound so depressed! Don't you like what's happening here?"

"You do, huh..." Blithy sighed.

"Oh yes I do." Val said, and chuckled. "And you don't. I find that odd, just like you probably do find me. The freedom, the control... The darn power..." She flexed her fingers before her eyes, the metal gleaming in the orange sunlight as she admired them. "All of this... Makes my heart itch just thinking about it. It's all so exciting." She giggled.

"And you make others suffer for it?"

"Haha! What makes you think I care, eh?" Val laughed.

"Nothing. Nothing at all, really." Blithy said. "I just keep thinking- hoping- maybe you'd still have some good left in you. Sometimes I look back... Back then, I was exactly like you. You were me, we were the same- in our body and our thoughts. But now I look back and- I just can't believe it. Was that what I was like back then? So bent on revenge... So very blind..." She said, still looking down at the ground.

Val was silent for a moment. "'Good', aye... You still believe in that, don't you..." She said, nodding slowly. "And where was this 'good' when we needed it? No where to be found. We were alone. And then we got ourselves noticed, and this supposed 'good' showed up?" There was an angry growl in her voice now. But then it faded away in an instant as she snickered. "Alright, alright. Believe what you want, really. Doesn't matter to me much."

"I know." Blithy said, eyeing the shadows that stretched across the throne room and reached the far door. Then she chuckled at herself. "I don't know where I wanted to go with that. Achieved nothing, but I suppose I was expecting that anyways."

"Well don't you bloody know me too well." Val laughed. "Oh wait... Well, you know."

Blithy chuckled at that. "And yet we're still so different."

"We are, aren't we..." Val sighed.

"Calibrations complete. Stage two is ready to commence." HEX suddenly reported, interrupting the conversation.

"Halt the project. I don't need it yet, therefore I don't want our enemies finding out. Hold stage two until I say commence." Val said.

"It's already done." HEX said.

"Well, I guess you're a bucking genius then." Val laughed.

"No more than that who has programmed me. You." HEX said simply.

"Stage two? The hay is this?" Blithy suddenly grew more alert- and Val didn't need to look at her to notice. The readings getting sent to her through the torture device on her neck was giving Val all the information.

"Penumbra was the first alicorn, the original ruler of Equestria." Val said, leaning on her throne. "But she wasn't the first being. No- far from it. She didn't create Equestria, but someone did. It's still impossible to trace back to who or what, but she was far from the first to have stumbled across the powers of the Sun."

Blithy narrowed her eyes. "And what powers, exactly? Is that why you have ships around it?"

"Powers, basic ones." Val said simply. "The basic principles of the universe- construction and destruction. This happens constantly, the two things that keep this world going on." She chuckled as she spotted Blithy's lost look. "As I mentioned earlier, Penumbra wasn't the first living being. We recently found traces of an age old race, similar to us- but far more advanced, as they had millions of years of development in their technology. We only have several thousand, and yet we've come so far. I guess it's true when they say the youngsters will always be brighter." She chuckled again. "Back to the point. These aliens, or Ancients as many of my researchers have decided to call them, deciphered the basic principles of this universe. The two elements I mentioned earlier, they found out what controlled them. What fueled them. And by controlling that source, they could control the universe itself. As far as my researchers are telling me, the Sun is something called the Genesis chamber, one of many others. I still don't understand much of it, but all I know is that it is the basic script of the local area. Our solar system, our galaxy maybe- everything is yet to be certain. But it sounds grand, doesn't it? Imagine that all you have to do is pinch your fingers, and whoever was your problem would be reduced to dust." Val grinned, making a pinching action with her fingers, her mind obviously imagining the power that would come with this so called 'Genesis Chamber'.

"That's not possible- there can't possibly something that powerful in existence." Blithy growled. "Val, you're chasing after a ghost."

"Am I now?" Val grinned. "Thermals with an X-ray filter revealed a temple to be inside the sun itself, built there and accessible through the various sun spots. Once you go through the first outer layer, you're in. The temple itself hasn't been touched yet- I'll be the one to step on it first."

"We'll see." Blithy folded her arms, and shook her head. There was no way- there had to be something else Val wasn't telling her.

"Yes, we will." Val laughed.

*

Terra watched as Colgate tore apart the science faction troops, studying her fighting style. She often travelled in a zig-zag pattern, and it would seem that she is only capable of initiating sudden bursts of speed instead of being consistent- also highly agile. The only pocket for attack would be when she stops to catch her breath, otherwise it would be near impossible to hit her while she was moving.

Then Colgate spotted him and the others, her eyes wide and a maniac grin on her face. Blood dripped from her mane and blades, but it wasn't hers. Then a split second later she was gone, in her wake a small dust cloud.

Terra managed to track her trails, large lines of dust being thrown into the air as she ran across the street in a zig-zag motion. Terra timed it, estimating where she would be- then slammed a hoof into the ground.

Colgate ran straight onto the piece of rock he aimed for, which suddenly sprung up high beneath her hooves. Terra scanned through the hundreds of rock shards in the air, searching for her- and there she was, thrown up by the sudden uplift of earth. She rode the attack's energy, and was about four meters off the ground.

She kicked forward, hitting a small piece of rock. That energy sent her backwards into a much more stable and larger piece of earth in which she landed on, coiled her blacklegs, then sprung them out in full length; sending her flying across at Terra.

Terra quickly stepped to the right and ducked down, seeing a flash as Colgate brushed past him and feeling the disruption of air as one of her blades went millimeters over his head. He quickly rolled back, but Colgate wasn't giving him any time to recover. She was already right in front of him when he straightened up.

He quickly slammed a hoof into the ground before she could do anything, a huge rock column lifting up and catapulting her away. Terra quickly turned to look at where she went- but she wasn't in the air as expected.

He quickly directed his attention back at the column. Colgate had stabbed both blades into the rock column, anchoring herself to it so she wouldn't get flung away. She ripped them out and darted at Terra.

Terra quickly swiped across and knocked the blades away. He didn't even see them- it was just an instinctive move.

Colgate slid back several meters then came to an abrupt halt as she found her balance, then with a silent shifting noise she was already charging straight at Terra again. Terra punched the earth, and a huge rock spike sprung out of the ground.

Colgate almost charged right into it, but turned her body just in time. The tip of the spike dug under one of her armor platings, and her own momentum forced it to be torn away. Now her right shoulder was exposed- not that it was going to make much of a difference. She twirled through the air, dashing past the rock spike. A second later it crumbled into evenly sliced pieces.

Terra had landed the first strike- but he was barely keeping up.

He sent a huge block of earth flying up in front of him, and slammed a hoof into it. It went flying across the road at Colgate, who ran a blade down the center of it. The two halves flew by either side of her, and with loud booms ran straight into several buildings behind her. The old and worn structures went down like bowling pins.

Terra quickly slammed a hoof into the earth before Colgate could get to him, and the ground beneath his hooves suddenly lifted him up into the air. It was like an elevator, except for every single detail.

Colgate followed him, scaling the vertical column by digging her blades into the rock sides.

Terra made the column curve down so it straightened out, and jumped on the bridge formed.

Colgate swung up top, and darted forward. The narrow bridge kept her restrained- she couldn't perform zig-zags anymore, as she would fall off the edge. This gave Terra a straight direct trajectory.

He stomped on the bridge, his horn glowing. A chunk of rock flew out of it, and he slammed a hoof into it. Colgate didn't bother slowing down, and did the same thing- she sliced the block in half.

But the moment the blocks parted she realized it was a trap. The block was a diversion- Terra had made a huge spike pointing straight at her while the block had disrupted her line of sight.

She turned her body and wrapped a blade around the spike, her momentum sending her spinning off the side and coming back up the other end as her blades slid into the rock. A second later the entire section they were standing on got completely severed, and they were left falling towards the earth on a large peice of rock- still standing however.

Terra slammed a hoof down, blue sparks exploding outwards as the chunk of earth suddenly had rock tentacles springing outwards from its sides. Most of them curved down and slammed into the earth, stopping them from falling- the rest curved up then came back down again to crush Colgate.

Colgate was way too fast for that though. The rock tentacles came back down and smashed the earth were she was a second ago, but didn't even put a scratch on her.

She back flipped into the column, and kicked off. This time it was Terra that had nowhere to go.

But just as Colgate reached him, he swung a hoof directly at her. Lightning flashed, and she went flying back again- but before his hit landed, she managed to put a shallow cut on his cheek, which was bleeding.

Colgate flipped through the air, landed with her hooves on the column and flipping down onto the ground. She ran forward again, one of her blades raised high above her head.

Terra was about to attack again when there was a loud bang, followed by a metallic clink and a flash- and Colgate wasn't there anymore.

"Hit." Inkie muttered, lowering her rifle which had smoke coming out of its barrel.

Colgate got hit in the leg, but the armor there protected her and stopped the bullet. It was still quite a punch though, and send her tumbling off the bridge.

She recovered in mid air, and turned to face where she would land- and by the looks of it it would be on the side of an old concrete building. She stabbed her blades into it and landed with her hooves, stopping dead on the vertical surface.

Then she noticed a loud rumbling noise, and the earth was quivering. It was even more evident as she was up here. She turned around and looked behind her.

A giant fist made of rock stretching thirty meters across and twenty meters high came out of the earth, and was heading straight for her at ninety miles an hour.

"This certainly is interesting." Inkie shrugged as the fist plowed into the building. It was like watching a giant baby knock down a tower of building blocks- but it didn't end there.

The fist kept going, plowing through all the buildings in the local area and reducing them to individual bricks and pieces of concrete. Finally it came to a rest, and by the time that happened a huge dust cloud had formed across the city.

"Can somepony come get me now? HALP." They heard Neon say through the mic- although for some reason, her voice was less robotic.

*

"Damnit..." Melony said, trying to free herself. "Good idea, Neon. Switch back to me so my size'll be smaller, and I'll be able to get through. Not working very well."

"At least you don't have several hundred tons of rock baring down on you." Neon's voice said in her head.

Finally she got her right arm free, and was about to claw her left one out when she realized her current state didn't have one. She cursed, and continued tugging at her left arm the old fashioned way. Eventually she got free, and stumbled back.

"I thought this only happened in cartoons." She raised an eyebrow.

"Evidently not." Neon said, joining her as they both stared at their own impression of themselves in the rock with the same eyes.

"Alright. Time to switch back." Melody sighed, turning and walking out of the cave she created. Neon sighed, and started taking over her body again.

*

"Everyone's bloody left or dead. The pirates are retreating- I don't know if they've got what we need or not." Vinyl cursed, looking around her. She could still hear battles going on in the background, and around her the pirates were scurrying away. She was hidden in a building, peering out a small window.

"Find the boss." Frostbite said. "He'll know what's going on. Just look for anyone with more expensive accessories- never mind. Found someone." He said, and Vinyl heard him take off through the mic.

"Alright. What do I do?" Vinyl whispered as a squad of pirates ran past her location, yelling at each other as they dragged several crates around.

"Look for anything heavily guarded while I go interrogate the head. Those are often important."

"....yeah...." Vinyl sighed, then ran further into the building. She ran up the stairs, going for a higher floor to get a better look.

She was just entering a room with a window when she felt the entire building shake, and she could see other buildings outside trembling as well. Dust fell from cracks in the ceiling, and she frowned.

"What the hay is-" a loud rumbling noise cut her off, and the tremor almost took her off her hooves. "WHAT THE HAY!"

In the distance she saw something rip across the city, tearing down structures like blocks. A huge dust cloud started rising into the air, and she stared incredulously at the destruction. Almost a fifth of the city had just been wiped out.

"Frostbite! Did you feel that?"

"Not quite. Was in the air- but definitely saw it. Just the wardens fighting- get on with searching." Frostbite replied. "Quite selective on their targets if you ask me. The local area was cleared already- there was nopony except whoever they're fighting right now."

"Damn. So how did we lose the last war again?" Vinyl raised an eyebrow.

"Not certain, but from history books I've read there are two reasons: one, Wardens didn't exist until after the second war and two: Celestia led us."

"I don't see what the problem is with Celestia." Vinyl said. "She was the ruler in the previous universe, and did a darn good job of it."

"In the second war she tried to make peace with science before declaring war. She didn't even have a plan when everything kicked off. The war only lasted a few weeks- it was a short one." Frostbite said. "Canterlot head quarters was the first to fall. Then Cloudsdale, then Manehatten."

"You certainly know your history." Vinyl muttered.

"Simple details. Easily memorable." Frostbite said, and Vinyl made a 'pssshhh' sound.

*

"My my. I thought Colgate would've been enough. Clearly not though, hmm." Val sighed, resting her head on a hand. "She's still alive, but clearly not winning. This is starting to annoy me."

She stood up and stretched. Several of her bones made loud snapping noises as she did so, and she let out a relieved moan.

"Gah, better." She said, and yawned. "Been lying down for too long." She said, stretching her legs a bit. "I'm gonna go for a walk. Probably to the food court to get a cake."

"That totally eliminates the purpose of walking there in the first place." Blithy said.

"Yeah, yeah." Val said. "I totally don't care. Although, I am feeling a bit full."

"Ever considered the part where you may have just had dinner a few minutes ago?"

"Yeah... Forgot to leave space for desert, didn't I..." She said, and with a loud pop a serrated knife sprung into her hand from her ankle. She stabbed herself in the stomach, then ripped her large intestine out. She threw down the bag of half-processed food, and her stomach started healing again. Her flesh merged back together, and inside a new large intestine started growing. She yawned again, cleaned the knife by licking it and put it back in its socket. "Better." She said.

Author's Note

A friend and I describe Val as: 'disturbingly lovable'. At least that's the one we agreed on, but the others sounded similar anyway.

Chapter 60: Victory Loves Preparation

Present day...

"Push through everypony! We've got these bastards running with their tails between their legs!" A science faction officer yelled, troops under his and several other commanding officers' command charging through the main gates of the Wall and pouring into Haven.

"Damnit- well, we've held them long enough. RETREAT!" Terra yelled, waving Haven's infantry back as a tank busted a hole next to the gates, widening them so more science faction infantry could make it through.

"Buck- they're everywhere! HOLD THIS LINE!!" Neon yelled, ducking down behind a trench wall. A pony firing a rifle next to her got shot in the chest, the exit wound taking a good chunk of flesh out of her back, shredded peices of her spine flying everywhere.

"Watch it everypony! There's a sniper!" Terra warned, heard the crack of the rifle, then felt a bullet tear through his right shoulder plate and go through his arm. He fell down, blood splattering everywhere around him and staining the snow crimson. He grunted, but got back up almost immediately. "Where's that Magnum pony when you need her!?"

"Her team probably isn't ready yet!" Neon warned.

The sniper took a shot at her, but the bullet bounced right off her chest and landed on the ground as a metal pancake.

Then the sniper and the area around him exploded in flameless shrapnel, bits and peices sliding out of sight.

Babs Seed stormed onto the battlefield, mega-sized shotgun pumping out enlarged buckshot rounds.

"Kappa nine! When are we set!?" Terra yelled into a mic, watching as the Apollo flew by.

"Almost... Just wait a bit longer..." Came the reply.

"SMOTHER THESE BASTARDS!! THEY'VE GOT NOWHERE TO HIDE!!" One of the science faction officers yelled, his forces charging out from cover and opening fire.

The Haven forces really did have nowhere to run or hide. This trench was their last point of reliable defenses and cover, and the emergency camps have already been lost to the enemy and are being trampled upon.

The science factions forces were already far more superior just by numbers, and this was becoming an increasingly difficult fight to put up for the Haven troops. Already large masses of soldiers have made it past the wall and are just about exiting the shadow...

Suddenly explosions ripped out across the entire western sector of the Wall surrounding Haven, and suddenly the science faction forces that have amassed thousands in one place looked up in shock as over several hundred million tons of reinforced concrete and metal came crashing down onto them.

At first the the Wall only tilted inwards a slight bit, but gradually picked up pace and smacked down on the troops below like a giant hand crushing a colony of ants below it.
The science faction forces tried to run, even scrambling and trampling over their own in a near futile act to escape- but only a hoof-ful made it, and the Haven troops were waiting for survivors with vengeful grins on their faces.

The Wall didn't make a rumble as it committed its final purpose.. It didn't make any sort of spectacular battle noise. Just the most deafening smack to be ever heard.

Exactly what the science faction deserved.

"Part A of the plan is a success!" Terra reported with a grin, somewhere on a rooftop a pegasus filly threw the detonation switch off the side of the skyscraper and carried her binoculars away with her as she moved positions for Part B of the plan, the silenced sniper rifle strapped to her back lightly clunking against her armor.

*

Two days ago...

During a heated discussion the ponies at HQ got the report that Thyme had died in the dark-matter bomb explosion. They found Babs stuck in a disabled Exo-suit under some rubble. The suit protected her from major injuries, so she only got a few cuts and bruises. She didn't take the news that Applebloom passed away well- now she was the only Apple family member left.

But the day carried on. All the ponies were at HQ, slowly running out of time as they worked to completely redesign the Tunnels' systems.

Things went a lot better for Rainbow. Her friends all refused to see her as the fault behind the deaths, saying that she was used without her knowing. But now that they found out, they also knew how Val was getting all the extra info- and the info included the plans for the Tunnels. That's why it had to be tweaked- so Magic Faction forces would be the only ones who know their way around the underground fortress.

"We won't be able to evacuate everypony underground before the first day, and that's minus the time it'll take us to set up all our traps." Daring Do noted.

"Then we need ponies on the front line, or even inside Haven. Terra and Neon- you two be outside, hold off anyone with our forces until we give you the all clear." Rainbow said. "Oh, and by the way Terra- please don't use too much of your terraforming powers. Might send the Tunnels collapsing down on our heads."

"Roger. Then we'll need time to retreat." Terra said, still tweaking the magic amplifiers on his front hooves.

"Taken care of. I've already had the fillies scramble some explosives under supervision across main structural weak spots in the Wall in that area. Once the bastards make it in, blow the whole thing up- and if all goes to plan, the Wall will collapse inwards and take down anyone within reach. That should leave the rest of it intact, so they can't stage an immediate attack from a different side. Plus I bet you they'd be a lot more hesitant going under that thing after the first detonation. But extra explosives are in place just in case we need them." Rainbow grinned at the reactions coming from the ponies around her.

"No efforts for preservation whatsoever it is then." Scootaloo nodded with raised eyebrows.

"The more we lose, the more they lose." Rainbow nodded. "Next is Part B of the plan. Of course the Wall would take out a good chunk of the invading troops, but they'll most likely be immediately sending more forces to keep us pinned."

"Without the Wall it'll be impossible to hold them at bay." Halcyon said, resting her chin on a hoof.

"That's why we don't even try. Let them get into Haven, let them get past the first few rows of buildings..." A smile crept onto Rainbow's face. "This is the point where we actually start using the Tunnels for offense."

*

Present day...

"Son of a parasprite!" General Bleak who was in charge of the science faction invasion cursed, leading his troops into Haven and over their fallen comrades. There really was no choice since the entire wave of troops sent in to bust through the Wall got annihilated. "These bucking SAVAGES! Reckless bastards- went ahead and blew up the whole bucking thing!" He led the charge onwards, deeper into Haven. The magic faction forces were still slowly retreating, but holding up a surprisingly good fight.

This time he was cautious though, and sent soldiers to check the buildings either side, making sure there weren't any fancy explosives or other tricks stuck up in there. They found nothing- but Rainbow didn't blame them, considering the secret entrances to the Tunnels were very... Well, secret.

Halfway through the push forward the general started getting reports of soldiers getting shot in the flanks near the back of the invasion force.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!!??" He spat at one of the wounded soldiers.

"I-I-I-I don't know! I was just following everyone and I just felt this explosion in my back-"

"I KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO GET BUCKING SHOT!! YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME THAT!!" Bleak yelled, turning away fuming. "SOMEONE FIND THESE BUCKERS AND BRING THEIR HEADS ON PLATTERS TO ME!!"

"So you could eat them, fat arse?" A voice said.

Bleak's face went redder than an apple.

"WHO THE BUCK SAID THAT!!??"

"I did." Zealo said, his voice traveling through speakers located on the building opposite from him.

There was a quiet thud from his silenced rifle, and the bullet tore through Bleak's left hind leg, the general going down screaming and clutching his busted kneecap.

"Geez, Magnum would most definitely not be proud." Zealo muttered, slung his rifle over his back and darted back into the shadows of the twenty first floor of a business block. A concrete pillar opened up, and he slipped right into it and down a slide. One of the Tunnels' secret entrances. "Squad six! Retreat from Block G- I think I pissed off the good general!"

*

Two days ago...

"...You said that the Tunnels link to every single building in Haven, right?" Rainbow queried.
"Yeah, but most of the secret entrances are narrow and aren't really fit for mass transporting of troops." Scootaloo replied.

"No worries, a few at a time will do." Rainbow said. "We'll have four main gathering spots for our troops who are sneaking behind their lines. Zealo, lead a few squads and sneak into the buildings around the science faction's invasion route via the Tunnels- snipe anyone that gets too close to the gathering spots. Our forces must remain hidden until they have enough numbers for a quick ambush mission- so use silenced weapons." Rainbow nodded to Zealo, who nodded back in acknowledgement. "It's just a quick hit-and-run. Don't stay for too long."

"Hey, what about me?" Magnum moaned.

"Don't worry, everypony will get their turn." Rainbow assured her.

*

Present Day...

General Bleak had his injured leg in an emergency cast, and instead of wearing uniform he went for full body armor this time.

"SEARCH EVERY SINGLE BUCKING BUILDING!!! I WANT THESE ARSEHOLES CAUGHT!!" he screamed, the soldiers around him casting each other glum looks and moving off to secure the buildings- but they'll never find anything but bullet shells intentionally left there to tease them and piss them off.

"Magic faction troops are retreating!" One of the soldiers reported, huffing and puffing as he sprinted back from the front line.

Then they started hearing gunfire and screaming behind them. They looked away from the front lines and checked their backs- their jaws dropping to the floor in shock as a battalion of magic faction troops suddenly came charging out from the buildings they thought they had searched just a minute ago.

Haven's forces had sandwiched the science faction troops right in the middle, smothering them in the crossfire.

"Bloody hell-!" Bleak cursed, ducking down as a beam of magical energy shot past his head and struck a soldier in the chest. Bits of his armor flew in all directions, and he went flying across the street.

There was a heck of a lot of screaming. Those of shot science faction soldiers, and the furious roar of Haven troops from both ends of the battle.

"Reinforcements are on their way-!" An officer yelled, covering his head as an explosive went off nearby.

"Take out those crappers at our back! Flank them with our reinforcements!" Bleak yelled, but almost as soon as he did the fighting near the back ceased a significant amount.

The science faction tanks came rolling in, but by the time they reached the fight all the Haven troops that came up behind the science faction soldiers have already disappeared into nothing.

That left the general and his soldiers looking around in bewilderment, expecting the Haven troops to pop back out like magic again. Once again they had taken heavy losses, a good quarter of their original infantry invasion wave gone while Haven seemed to have suffered next to no losses.

All the general could do was throw his hat around in anger and frustration as the soldiers sent to search the buildings once again came up with nothing.

*

Two days ago...

"...then we get the troops we gathered and stage a 'shoot and run' mission behind the science faction front lines." Rainbow finished.

"But why don't we stay and finish them off?" Babs tilted her head to one side, having joined the conference.

"Because if we stay for too long, their reinforcements will reach us and smother us. The objective is to get off more bullets than them." Rainbow explained. "Plus, afterwards they'll most likely send in something heavy to demolish the buildings. Because clearly that's where we're coming through, so we need someone to take out the heavies before they could remove a good chunk of our buildings."

"Wait- I have my doubts about our evacuation time. What if we don't make it back to the Tunnels in time? The gathered battalion would be easily flanked." Zealo said.

Rainbow bit her lower lip, considering it for a second. Then something brightly glowing in the corner of the tent caught her eye...

"Neon! You reckon you could cast a mirage spell over an entire battalion while they escape? Probably only for a few minutes."

"Won't be a problem." Neon said, nodding.

"Great." Rainbow let out a held breath. So far the plan looked promising. "Back to where we were. We need the pony with the most firepower here to take out their tanks- assuming they send any..."

*

Present day....

"COULD SOMEPONY EXPLAIN TO ME-" General Bleak was screaming. "HOW THE BUCK DID THEY SNEAK UP ON US!!??"

Naturally the answer was that they used the buildings around them. There must be something up, perhaps secret compartments or something. Time to take those down so they're out of the way.

"Bring in the bucking mechs." Bleak muttered, and heard the familiar thumping footsteps of the bipedal war machines as they charged in, weapons blazing and taking out the buildings at the foundations.

But they didn't get very far.

A field of magic swept over the area as a mirage spell they hadn't noticed was there disappeared, and they looked up to see two Apollos hovering overhead.

"Oh sh-" Bleak started, but immediately had to dive for cover as the ponies onboard the planes dropped grenades down on the mechs. But these weren't normal grenades.

The grenades were falling down, red lights flashing on their sides. Then suddenly they all changed course, flying towards the closest piece of metal and sticking on firmly. Beeping rang throughout the battlefield as these grenades' timers went down, the Apollos already flying away and blasting off into the distance before any of the science faction troops could react.

Then the grenades finally went off, small hoof nukes that did more damage than a full crate of C4.

Mech parts were flying everywhere, shreds of indistinguishable metal tumbling across the cracked asphalt roads.

"BUCKING- SHUCK-" Bleak covered his head, running blindly away from the explosions and already running out of curses to use.

But the Haven troops weren't done retaliating just yet.

The glass windows of a nearby parking tower suddenly exploded outwards, the shards glinting in the sunlight. Cars started streaming out from the different floors of the ten story high building, crashing down onto the street below and crushing a dozen science faction soldiers before driving on and rampaging through anyone who happened to be in the way. One of the cars hit a mech, then both it and the bipedal war machine went up in a fireball.

The cars had remotely triggered explosives in them.

Bleak tried to yell out orders, but nothing was working. Assault units were being run over, their limbs flying everywhere as cars hit them. Soldiers were screaming and scrambling away, but there were explosions everywhere as the cars found their targets and detonated.

The situation had become beyond out of hoof in less than a minute, and still more cars were coming out of the parking structure.

*

Two days ago...

"Those anti-tank hoof nukes should do the trick." Rainbow said. "Get a few Apollos to drop them on their heads. Neon, we'll have to rely on your mirage spell again."

"No problem." Neon said again.

"But that won't be enough would it? We don't have many Apollos to go around- and they'd be waiting for us if we return for a second run." Magnum noted.

The holographic image of Haven spun and zoomed in on a particular building sitting firmly in the way of the projected path of invasion for the science faction troops.

"This abandoned parking lot still has cars in it. We could use those." AL suggested, conjuring up a live feed of the parking building. There were indeed still a few functional cars left. "We could rig them with explosives."

"But who's driving?" Octavia raised an eyebrow. "I know I'm a good driver, but this'll be too much. I ain't blowing myself up."

"I'm not much of a good driver at all. EDI is of a higher level than me and even she can't drive properly yet." AL muttered. "But I will be able to control the cars if you plant homemade chips in the right places."

"You don't have to drive well. Just run over EVERYTHING. And blow stuff up." Rainbow replied. "And these homemade chips...?"

"Microchips. I can retrieve the blueprints from Haven's secure archives- I think we have all the materials needed, plus they are extremely easy to manufacture." AL said. "Wire them onto electronics and I'll be able to take control."

"Trouble is, everypony is already busy with preparations- there's no one with time to make these things." Daring said, biting her lower lip in thought.

Then Rainbow felt a tug at her coat, and she looked down at Dainty and Lily.

"We could help!" Lily said, a hopeful look on her face.

"We could get the other kids and start a... A production line! Or something..." Dainty added.

Rainbow looked up and raised an eyebrow at the rest of the ponies at HQ. They nodded, seeing no other alternative.

"Alright then. You two gather up anyone willing to help, and start making those microchips. AL- you got the blueprint?" Rainbow said, giving Dainty a quick pat on the head before she and Lily proceeded to the tent exit.

"Got it. I'll be with them and monitor them- just in case they make a mistake with the wiring for the explosives." AL said.

"Once they finish making the chips, leave a handful for later use just in case- but wire up the rest straight away. Not a second to lose." Rainbow said, cracking her knuckles loudly. "We need to use everything at our disposal. AL- is there anything else we could use?"

"Applebloom has a few variations of EDI's car model stored in the underground hangars beneath the CMC tower. Not sure if they're intact, but if you wire me up to those we'd have a few more EDIs running around. I heard they were modified, but not sure in what way." AL noted. "But somepony will have to check if they're still functional first."

"Noted." Rainbow nodded. "But then we still have the fillies to protect once they've done their job."

"What're you thinking?" Scootaloo asked, a warning tone in her voice.

"Keep them out back, on the surface. It'll be the last place the science faction looks once they discover the primary entrance to the Tunnels. But we'll keep protection with them just in case." Rainbow said. "Neon, I know you're playing quite a few roles in this battle already- but if you could stay with the fillies. Terra, you too- you both go straight to the East of Haven and away from the main battle. And Sweetie Belle- you can follow them too, since I doubt your rail guns are much use in enclosed spaces." She said, non-offensively. Sweetie only let out a mechanical snort.

"Of course, with exits and entrances all across Haven- I doubt the next part of the plan is to stay put and hide it out, right?" Magnum felt a grin spreading across her face.

"Not at all." Rainbow took her hat off, placing it down on the table. "That's where the rest of you will be coming into the plan- cause we're not only gonna hold them off till reinforcements reach us, but also annoy the absolute crap outta them while doing so."

Author's Note

I contemplated naming this chapter 'F*ck You', but decided to make the 'The Mechanic' reference anyway.

Chapter 75: The End- Part 02: Friendship is Magic

A long time ago, in a history older than the princesses themselves; a Queen ruled over the world. Where she came from, where the world came from; still remains an even older mystery. As far as the Queen was concerned, one day she was given the task of organizing the world and improving upon its blueprint.

To make the Earth and its inhabitants more manageable, she created two fundamental elements: Science, and Magic. Science was logical, new, and it drove innovation. Magic was warm. It was the very essence of life, and could only be poured into inanimate objects through a living form itself. Science dictated the physical realm and parts of the spiritual, whereas Magic interacted with the souls and played little part in the true world.

The two coexisted in peace, for many centuries. Then Science was slowly worn away, Magic having a special place in the hearts of the inhabitants of Equestria. Slowly Equestria became a world of magic, driven only by the primitive innovations left behind by science. Those that supported science rose up and fought for what they believed in.

The Queen watched her subjects fight. Initially she wished for evolution to bring about the painful change, but eventually she gave in and terminated Science with the assistance of the Magic Faction, deeming it a failure without seeing the experiment to its end.

Soon she realized her mistake, for she had no control over the individuals that dwell on her world. Science lived on in the minds of its supporters, and the world was cast into turmoil. Her interference had obliterated the world's balance.

Thus she created Fate, and along with it she planned her blueprint and hid it in the sun. Then, to cast an eternal spell and ensure that the universe's blueprint will never be tampered with, she sealed the sun in an eclipse that lasted for decades upon decades in order to nurture the spell.

Her true name was lost in time as she came to be known as Queen Penumbra.

The blueprint was kept safe to ensure nopony will ever make her mistake ever again, not even herself- so she sealed her own power inside a crimson stone, set it as the key to her precious blueprint, and cast a curse upon it.

Without her power, the Queen slowly faded away to non-existence... But she rested in peace knowing that no pony will be able to tamper with the universe, with Fate; not even the alicorns that came after her to rule over the land.

All that attempted to unlock the blueprint required the stone to open the seal. All did it for greed, for the power of the universe. All succumbed to the stone's curse and used its power instead, and all perished in their own lust for control.

Only a subject with true purpose can resist the stone's temptations and unlock the blueprint. And even when it is unlocked, it would cost the subject's very existence to alter.

To change the universe required true sacrifice.

The stone was eventually lost, never to be found again until recent times.

For millennia Fate watched, waiting for somepony to acquire it and do something noble.

One day an Empress of a lost empire picked it up from where it hid in the shadowy depths, brushed off the dust, and stared at its curse with a smile. She did not give in to it, no matter how much it tried to appeal to her.

This Empress understood. She had been through hardships. She knew exactly what she wanted, and it wasn't power.

She contacted Fate, asking him if she could edit the blueprint.

Fate decided to test her resolve as he was programmed to do so by the Queen, thus told her she had to reach the sun first.

The Empress simply smiled, tilted her head to one side, and said she'd build a ship. A big ship, and one day she'll come for it.

*

"Captain Armor! Sir!" One of the officers on the bridge of the NEMESIS shouted. "You have to see this!"

Shining Armor turned away from the makeshift conference table set up in the command center and walked to the large windows that lined the very front of the bridge.

"What's going on?" He inquired.

"BACK IT UP! BACK UP!!" Somepony was yelling, the entire ship lurching as it retreated.

Shining Armor stabilized himself on a hoofrail. Then he looked out the window at the Tower as it rose into the sky.

He moved closer, peering down at the city below as it came closer. It was going up into the air.

"The entire city's lifting off!"

The NEMESIS backed up just outside the city, the nose of it brushing against the tip of a skyscraper built into the walls of Valhalla.

The very universe itself seemed to quake as the city made its ascension, the myriad of high-powered engines driving the thing pulsating a brilliant blue and scorching the snow below with hot smoke that curled on for miles upon miles.

A giant spaceship. A ship far more impressive than anything ever seen before, even the barricade and the COLOSSUS.

Shining Armor stared, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, at the monstrosity as it slowly lifted itself from the ground.

*

Rainbow looked up. The very sky and clouds were making way for them.

That meant they didn't have a lot of time. They had a whole army ahead of them to fight, including Val and Eclipse.

"Let me save the world, Rainbow." Val said, a fresh katana in her hands.

"You can say that to my corpse." Rainbow snarled, clenching the cleaver.

Nightshade's good eye flickered up to the sky, where the broken moon hung half concealed in the light of day. She pulled out an odd cylindrical object, and fired it at the sky.

A line of purple light slithered to the heavens, then exploded in a fiery display of lavender smoke.

*

A pair of glistening sapphire blue eyes slid open in the shadows, black slits in the center contracting as they adjusted to the light.

A pair of ancient demon wings clicked menacingly as they slowly spread across the darkness, shedding light on the armored body beneath. It glistened from both the sun and the reflected light from the earth, old and scarred however well kept and maintained.

"Brothers, sisters..." The archaic yet surprisingly powerful voice seethed. "...It is time."

"Mages! Link our worlds!" A different voice boomed over the broken moon, echoing in its every carved detail and cavern.

Giant pentagrams that reeked of dark magic switched on one by one across the moon, deep purple fumes slowly rolling across the silvery dusts as more glyphs came to life, dancing in circles around their mother glyphs.

From the deepest caves of the moon came a cry, followed by the fluttering of a thousand leathery wings. A tidal wave of shadows poured forth and entered the portals.

The creature with the sapphire eyes stood up on her legs, watching as her subjects flooded into the pentagrams. She cast one look around her at the place where she simultaneously remembers spending a thousand years in isolation and decades of seething in revenge. It was all coming down to this, regardless of what the future may bring. This will be the last fight.

"Sister..." She bowed her head in the direction of the sun. "...Watch over us, for light is required by every shadow." She said, then with a powerful beat of her wings she flew up into space- then dove right back down again like a meteor and slammed through the portal.

*

A mist of shadows exploded across the sky, and down from that crashed a dark demonic form. Dark purple ashes ran across the ground as it looked up, and fixed the science faction with a cool calm gaze from its unusual ivory eyes.

Both sides held tight onto their weapons, unsure of whether or not to attack. Rainbow kept her eye on the creature as it tilted its head to one side. Val raised an eyebrow, katana raised in a battle ready stance.

Then another came crashing down from space with a loud 'poof', landing on four legs and spreading its bat-like wings.

Then another. And another.

Soon the sky was filled with shadowy explosions, clouds ripping apart from the constant blasts of magic.

Nopony knew who fired the first shot. All they knew was that it all went to hell pretty quickly.

Val's assault units charged forth, firing at the batponies. They teleported from shadow to shadow, avoiding the bullets then tearing their enemy's heads off from behind. Some went down, but the majority of casualties was on the science faction side.

The Strikers joined in, launching high explosives at the crowd. They themselves became hazardous high explosives as Magic Faction Apollos flew in overhead, reinforcements from battles won elsewhere.

Some of the assault units suddenly morphed into insect-like creatures and started attacking as well, the sharp little horns on their heads firing green bolts of corrosive magical energy.

Rainbow saw Val leave the fight, walking back to the castle and slicing at the occasional attacker that made it through her forces. She ran after her, blasting and cutting robots out of her way as she sprinted through the battlefield. She was stopped by three elite assault units as they unexpectedly ducked under her swings and fired at her.

She dodged their bullets and managed to take one down, but they were delaying her and more units were closing in.

Then a blue blast of magic knocked them down into individual robot parts.

"Go after Valkyrie. We've got it from here." Princess Luna said, her horn flaring as she tore a Striker in half with her telekinesis.

"Luna...?" Rainbow looked up, at a loss for words. "How...?"

"There's no time! Shut down this ship!" Luna roared, crushing an assault unit under her hooves as it's bullets sparked uselessly off of her enchanted armor.

Rainbow nodded, then ran after Val.

Eclipse caught sight of the pegasus as she ducked under prism fire from the sky and took aim.

Her priorities were immediately diverted as she had to conjure up a shield to block a flying knife. It bounced off of her orange barrier, but Rainbow had gone out of sight again as a result of this slight delay.

"You're a lot harder to kill than I thought." Nightshade said, flicking the knife up with her hoof and yanking out the safety pin.

"As are you." Eclipse said, sprouting cannons from her glowing wings. Then she shot the floor, a plume of smoke rising from the crack in the floor. Nightshade coughed, taking a step back and shielding her eyes from the jet of hot gas.

When the smoke faded, Eclipse was gone.

*

"VALKYRIE!" Val heard a scream from behind her, and turned- prism cannon charging in her hand.

Rainbow tackled her before she could fire, and the both of them went crashing down the hall.

Val threw a punch at Rainbow's face as they skid, and Rainbow retaliated by slamming Val's head into the ground. They hit the far wall which broke them up, the both of them trying to stagger up before the other.

Val got there first and launched a kick into Rainbow's side. The pegasus gasped for air and fell back down again, her recently healed ribs straining under more force.

Val aimed her prism cannon at her forehead, the loud hum signaling a charging bolt of energy.

Rainbow looked up, a small trickle of blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. Can't believe a simple kick is going to be what gets her killed.

At some point she had given up. After everything, a little bit of her gave in to the blissfulness of not having to care at all- and for a split second, while she was still snarling at her enemy; it showed in her eyes.

But Val didn't fire. Instead, she discharged the bolt against the far wall and took off running.

Rainbow scrambled up and shelled at her with her cleaver, the high caliber rounds ricocheting off the metal halls. No hits scored.

She grunted, helping herself up with the cleaver and stumbling after Val.

Val had taken a lift up. Rainbow hoofed the button with frustration, waiting for the other elevator to drop.

Finally it did, and after enduring two minutes of out of place elevator music; she stumbled back out again.

The same hall to the throne room.

"What are you doing back here?" She whispered to nopony in particular, limping towards the blasted double doors.

The throne room was not as it was when she first came in. The explosives had created a giant hole in the middle of it, and much of the once grand black marble had been obliterated. Sunlight poured through a gaping breach in the tower wall instead of the giant floor to ceiling windows that once were.

It was almost saddening.

"You could've killed me." Rainbow said as she limped into the room, Valkyrie standing against the throne with her back to her. Eclipse stood off to one corner, observing, her crimson eyes glowing in the shadows.

"I didn't feel like it." Val replied.

"Really? Is that it?" Rainbow growled.

"I can hurl a train at you, shoot at you, slice at you- but every time I knew you'd get back up again if I didn't kill you. Just... That time... You looked like you weren't going to." She said.

Rainbow's eyes dimmed a little. Then she shook it off.

"I'm not giving up. Not just yet." She said firmly.

Val nodded. "There's little point in killing a mare who's already dead on the inside." She turned around. "You know, you've really been a frustrating character for me. I'm the immortal one here, and yet- you never seem to be able to die either."

"Perhaps you're not immortal enough." Rainbow suggested, and Val laughed.

"That is PRECISELY what I thought!" She said, then opened a panel in the throne and pulled something out.

A necklace.

A red and black necklace.

That was shaped like an alicorn.

She grinned at the look on Rainbow's face, tilting her head to one side as she held it up. She had the exact look of a little kid that just found a crab on the beach- a little kid that seems unaware of the fact that the crab was going to snap it's claws at her.

"Recognize this?"

Rainbow swallowed. "Where'd you get that?"

"I found it in an old castle. It's kind of easy to find things when the world belongs to you.
Anyhow, I stumbled upon this little gem and a manuscript left behind by its previous owner... And that's how I found Genesis. You see, the amulet is the key to Genesis. It opens its gates." She held up the amulet, peering at its glimmering red crystal as rays of sunlight hit it. "I've resisted its temptation for quite a while now, but... I guess it's time to put it on. Not for greed, but for necessity." She said, looking back down again at Rainbow.

"You do realize you're an earth pony, don't you?" Rainbow chuckled, albeit nervously.

"Ah, yes, I do have a solution." Val got out a piece of cardboard and rolled it into a paper horn. She propped it on her head with all seriousness, then laughed at Rainbow, scrunched it up and cast it aside. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm neither pink nor fluffy nor a unicorn. I will be dancing on rainbows in a minute though. You see, the amulet's power can be tapped into by anyone. Anything. It's interface is universal- and history knows that all too well."

"You will lose yourself if you put that on." Rainbow warned. There was, surprisingly, the missing note of desperation in her voice. She wasn't afraid to fight Val. She was genuinely warning her, for her own good.

Val splayed out her hands and shrugged to complete the gesture. "But haven't I done that already?"

There was no humor in her voice as she flexed her cybernetic fingers. Just something cold.

The amulet glowed a dim red as she moved it towards her neck.

She caught a sudden blur of motion to her right, and instinctively dropped the amulet and raised her hand in defense as Eclipse formed an incineration cannon around her hoof.

She pointed it at Val and fired without a moment's notice.

It didn't go as she'd hoped it would.

The bolt of pure thermal energy bounced off of Val's palm, the reflected ray vaporizing the entirety of her back legs in less than a second.

She fell, a surprised expression flashing across her face before being replaced by agony as what remained of her lower body oozed against the wall and floor in a sticky pool of melted flesh and molten armor. She raised her arm up to attack again, but the cannon shimmered and burst into a thousand tiny orange pixels, gone for good.

She watched on with utter hopelessness as Val approached her, a long sword deploying from her wrist.

The next thing she knew she was being hoisted off of the floor and impaled to the wall by the shoulder.

She thought Val would yell at her. Maybe scream a little. Or maybe some of her low, angry, whispering.

But none of that came from the cyberpony. She just stared with a lost look in her eyes.

"Eclipse..." She murmured softly, desperately trying to grasp the current situation.

"You knew it would boil down to this if you tried to put the amulet on." Eclipse grunted, her hooves clawing at Val's arm to take some of the pressure from the sword off of her shoulder.

"I know, I know.... But... I didn't want it to ever..." Val retracted the sword, catching Eclipse in her arms and gently kneeling down.

"You had counter measures... I really should've seen it coming..."

"I never intended to use them, Eclipse... Not ever and ever." Val slumped back, and sniffed.

"Please, please... Don't use the amulet... I made sure its curse would be lethal to the spirit... Please..."

"But it's the only way now..." Val whined like a little child, anxious, guilty, and desperate.

Then Eclipse, for the first time, smiled.

"You seem sad, Val. Is that what's making you think that way? Remember, I've told you, since the day we met, that the amulet is never, and will never be, the answer."

"No! I know! It's just-" Val wiped her eyes with the back of a hand, then cradled Eclipse and rested her cheek against her neck in an effort to hide the pain on her face. "I really, really liked you." She sniffed again.

"You were my dream, Val." Eclipse whispered, closing her eyes. "I believed you'd succeed where I'd failed. You haven't been perfect, but you've been stronger than me. Please don't fail me."

"I won't, I won't..." Val sobbed. "Eclipse, I'm sorry..."

"...Don't be..."

You were my dream... The words echoed in Val's head for a while after she finally let Eclipse go. She had passed away in her arms, believing. Whatever rebirth system that Val had put in place for her was disabled the moment the counter measures kicked in.

Octavia had joined them sometime earlier. She had heard her hoofsteps, and the conversation she had with Rainbow in hushed tones. She, however, paid them no attention. She didn't feel up to it.

But eventually she had to, as she let out one last sigh, and turned.

"Regardless of our relationship, I'm sorry for your loss." Rainbow said as she stood side by side with Octavia, gently resting the tip of the cleaver on the ground.

"Don't be." Val said after a moment as she walked to the amulet. "You didn't take this when you had the chance. In all honesty I probably would've let you have it."

"We don't want the amulet. We want Genesis." Rainbow replied evenly, dipping her hat a little.

"Don't we all." Val muttered, picking up the amulet. She didn't put it on though, as she examined it. "You didn't pick it up, but you could've stopped me."

Octavia glanced at Rainbow. Clearly they had had this conversation earlier already. She didn't seem happy about it.

"I thought I might give you a chance to decide on that matter yourself." Rainbow said, standing oddly still. "We've all done our best to get to this point. Maybe a few minutes ago I would've gone for it straight away without a second thought, but seeing you and Eclipse... No, she believed in you. She genuinely believed in you, and you're either the world's best actor or you're genuine. Every word you've said, you've meant."

Val listened carefully. What game was Rainbow playing at? Rainbow seemed to have noticed her suspicion.

"I'm not trying to trick you. I'm not playing at any word games." Rainbow said. "I might be a little skeptical about it, but I believe you too. You've had the amulet this entire time, yet you've never thought of using it until you've grown truly desperate."

"Thanks." Val chuckled light-heartedly, still a little upset over Eclipse's death.

"Guaranteed we're still enemies, and I still don't like you... I can respect and relate to your motivation and cause." Rainbow said softly. "But I've come here for the same thing. You know I can't turn my back now either."

"So what do we do?" Val chuckled. "There's only room for one."

"We do what we've always done." Rainbow whispered, gently, and held the cleaver in an offensive stance.

Val laughed.

"Ha! Fight it out?" She then coughed. "Sure."

Rainbow looked down for a second, guilt briefly flashing across her features.

"You know, you don't have to be here if you don't want to be." She said. She wasn't addressing Val.

"You've been growing more and more distant, Rainbow." Octavia said, a touch of nostalgia in her voice. "I can't put a hoof on it, but I've always wanted to be with you every time you go through one of these hard times. I know that much hasn't changed."

"It's nice to have someone protecting my back, but..." Rainbow chuckled. "You have to realize that we're probably both gonna walk out of this as tombstones."

"Been there done that. I hope you're up for it." Octavia said, laser tommy gun by her side.
Rainbow chuckled again, raising the cleaver.

Val spotted the gesture, smirked, and pressed the amulet against her neck.

A flash of red filled her eyes, consuming her usual neutral blue. The amulet's crystal glowed furiously as powerful alicorn magic flooded into its host.

Val screamed in frustration, trying to restrain the power. She took a step forward, the floor exploding into shattered tiny little pieces by her feet.

A chaotic and uncontrolled burst of magic burst from her finger tips, utterly obliterating what remained of the throne room.

Rainbow and Octavia coughed, smoke rising from the giant gap between them and Valkyrie. Flames rose from the expanded hole in the ground, reaching several stories down.

Val finally managed to contain the amulet's power, scrunching it up into a ball of crimson energy in her hands. She crushed it back into herself, then used a tiny portion of it to repair the throne room again.

It wasn't as it was.

It was much larger now, a giant hall even grander than before. Black pillars rose from the ground to support the sky-high ceiling, chandeliers sprouting from above. Despite the scale of it all, there was nothing about it that pointed to tyranny. It was grand, black, but simple and elegant.

"Forbidden fruit ALWAYS tastes the sweetest." Val grinned, lightning arcs of pure magical energy dancing over her arms.

"Quite." Rainbow muttered grimly. This suddenly seemed like a bad idea.

Val flicked her wrist, a school bus materializing in mid air and hurling towards the pair.

Rainbow dived right and Octavia dove left, the two of them taking cover behind some pillars. The school bus crashed into the ground and flattened itself against the far wall.

Octavia swung out of cover and released a barrage of laser fire. Val held up her hand, a tank suddenly dropping in between her and Octavia. It blocked all of her shots, then with a furious roar fired the main cannon. Octavia was forced to roll again as the artillery round skimmed off the ground and exploded elsewhere against a wall.

Rainbow darted out from cover and cut off the tank turret's barrel, sliced the turret in half, and flew towards Val.

Val summoned another bus and hurled it at her. She shouldered through the windshield and emerged from the back in an explosion of glass shards and rainbow light.

Val blocked her swing with her katana, taking a step back.

Rainbow continued her fast-paced attacks, keeping Val occupied so she couldn't use her alicorn powers.

But then Val shot a bolt of magic into the ground by her hooves, sending her stumbling back as she redirected her aim to her head.

Octavia intervened, flicking her off aim with the stock of her tommy gun. Val brought the katana up, and she slipped past it like water, twirling the stock back into her shoulder again as she unleashed a torrent of laser fire.

Val magicked a metal shield into existence, but it vaporized under the shots. It bought enough time for her to make some space.

She threw her hand in the air, spiked pillars stabbing forth from the ground.

Octavia was forced to swing away, but from the other direction Rainbow came busting back into the fight.

Val turned and flicked her away with her katana, then pulled a rocket launcher out of thin air and slung it onto her shoulder.

Rainbow looked up briefly from where she crashed, then quickly grappled onto the incoming rocket. She spun and slingshotted it back at Val.

Val dropped the launcher and ran her katana through the rocket, dissecting it cleanly and preventing detonation. She flicked the launcher up with her foot, then spun and kicked it towards Rainbow. It transformed into a missile in mid air.

Rainbow sliced it in half as she launched forth. Val warped her katana into two short daggers, then crossed them in a welcoming fork for Rainbow's cleaver. Her arms buckled under the blocked strike, and for a second the two came face to face.

Then that moment ended as Rainbow pulled back and lashed out from the side again. Val blocked it again, then spun and cut at Rainbow's legs.

Rainbow rolled over the daggers then fired a few near point blank shots at Val.

Val managed to deflect them with her daggers, her hands a blur of motion. Rainbow leapt back as Octavia fired a barrage of lasers at Val, who quickly flicked up a stone hedge and ducked behind it. She then re-emerged from the other side and tossed one of her daggers at Octavia. Octavia spun out of the way and slapped a new drum into the tommy.

A fire truck greeted her as she swung back out into the open again. She quickly dove to the side, the giant vehicle shattering her former cover and tipping onto its back with a loud crash.

Rainbow launched a hard kick out to Val. It hit her hip and sent her stumbling back, temporarily stunned. Val flew up to the chandelier to put some distance between herself and Rainbow. Rainbow fired after her as she left, the loud consecutive bangs echoing through the throne room. The high calibre rounds from the cleaver tore through the support pillars around the room, showering the ground with marble.

Octavia grappled up onto the chandelier and melted the chain with her tommy gun. Val suddenly felt her stomach drop, and turned to greet Octavia's hoof with her face.

She took a step back, almost falling off, then lashed out with her dagger.

Octavia dropped the tommy gun and hit her arm from both directions, slapping the dagger out of her hand. She then flicked up her gun with a hoof and held down the trigger.

The ground was coming up fast. Val dodged out of the way and kicked the chandelier. Octavia saw her move coming and quickly leapt off the chandelier, grappling onto the roof to break her fall as her shoulder hit the floor.

Val back flipped onto the ground, cushioned by a few concentrated bursts from her thrusters. The chandelier slammed into the far wall and embedded itself in black marble.
Rainbow flew down from above, cleaver flashing.

Val stomped on the ground, a giant halberd rising from the floor, dancing with red alicorn magic. She pulled it from the earth and swung it at Rainbow as she charged. Rainbow was expecting it to give way, but to her surprise it held. She slipped past Val and tumbled onto the ground as their weapons clashed.

Val turned, the blade of the halberd shifting into an oversized hammer as she swung it over her head.

Rainbow pulled the trigger on her cleaver, the recoil of which slid her out of reach of the earth shattering hammer. She flipped onto her hooves again, the claw on her grapple embedded in the ground to prevent her from sliding too far.

Val heaved the hammer over her head and swung it again. Rainbow quickly closed the distance and cut it in half before lashing out at Val again.

What remained of the hammer shifted to a nightstick in Val's hand, and she quickly tucked it in to block Rainbow's strike. Blades sprouted from the nightstick and it turned into a tomahawk.

Rainbow quickly backed away. She needed to rethink her strategy, Val would be far faster than her with smaller weapons. She'll need to use the wrist blades mounted to her grapple.

Octavia darted back in as she backed away. Val turned, swinging the tomahawk up to catch her jaw. She jammed it against her wrist blades and pushed it down, then struck her across the face with her spare hoof.

Val deployed a sword from her arm and jabbed it at Octavia. Octavia seemed to snake around her stab and within a fraction of a second she was only centimeters away again. Val felt a sudden burst of pain in her abdominal region as Octavia drove her knee deep into her stomach.

She might've been fast, but Octavia was even faster. She'll need to put some distance between herself and the grey mare, at least enough so she could effectively use her melee weapons. Right now Octavia was forcing her back at such a rate that she was too close for even a dagger.

Val ditched the tomahawk and struck out at Octavia. Octavia deflected it elsewhere with disturbing ease and quickly lashed out at the cyberpony, landing three more hits before she could do anything more.

Val stumbled back, but Octavia wasn't giving her any space- not even for breathing. It had gotten to a point where she was striking with her elbows now, because fists would be too wide and inefficient at this proximity.

Finally Val was forced to jump away, flipping over Octavia in an attempt to flank her. Octavia kicked her legs out from beneath her right as she was about to land, forcing her on her back. She quickly rolled back and onto her feet again as Octavia slammed the stock of the tommy gun into the ground right where she had been a second ago.

Val raised her hand, an alicorn power infused prism beam charging up in her palm.

Then Rainbow was between them, her cleaver absorbing the red beam with a bright flash.

Val frowned- that cleaver, what makes it so resistant to the amulet?

Her eyes flicked to the red crystal on its hilt, glowing with arcane magic. She growled, flicked out another katana, and charged.

Rainbow took a step back in a defensive pose, parried Val's slash, then stepped forward again and rolled the cleaver around in her hoof- making several tightly packed and lightning fast vertical swings.

Val was forced to back away, not even attempting to block or deflect the cleaver as it shredded at the floor. Then Rainbow broke the rhythm and spun, the cleaver going in a wide arc around her.

Val pulled the katana close to her body, letting the force of the hit travel through the katana and diffuse in her. The floor where her back foot was cracked.

She split the katana in two and whirled them at Rainbow. Rainbow blocked and deflected, then curved the cleaver back towards Val.

Val crossed the katanas, clamping the cleaver in the center. Then with a powerful pry, she twisted it away from Rainbow's hoof and sent it elsewhere.

Rainbow tried to close the distance for a fist fight, but Val stomped on the ground and sent a blitz of metal spikes sprouting from the ground. Rainbow quickly dove away, a few lucky spikes managing to rip into her trench coat.

Val tucked the katanas away and clicked her fingers, a giant boat appearing out of thin air. She made a quick hand gesture towards Rainbow, and the amulet hurled it towards the pegasus.

Rainbow's ears folded back for a second as the giant shadow loomed over her. Then she growled, flew straight up, flipped, and launched a kick into the front of the boat as it was about to crush her.

Val's eyes widened as the boat flipped onto its back and was sent back at her. She reached out with her magic and turned the boat into a grenade launcher. She caught it by the stock and flipped it into her hand.

THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.

Rainbow flew up to where her cleaver had been lodged in a pillar and yanked it out, explosions from the grenade launcher ringing out all around her. She used it as a shield to defend herself against some of Val's grenades. She jumped from pillar to pillar, trying to avoid the ground.

Octavia, on the other other hand...

She was obliterating the grenades before they could detonate, her laser tommy tearing through their metal shells and reducing their innards to black dust.

Val saw her coming, and morphed the launcher into a mini gun. Octavia's eyes widened and she quickly swung behind nearby cover.

"Rainbow! We'll have to retreat! Valhalla's exiting the atmosphere and we won't survive! The science faction have the tower locked down tight, we can't get to you!" Magnum yelled through the comms, gunfire and screams filling the background static.

"Then go! Get off the city- the tower's shielded, we'll be fine!" Rainbow yelled back, then screamed as a line of mini gun fire tore through her left wing. She hit the pillar she was meant to land on with a crack, then fell down and snapped the broken wing against the floor.

"Rainbow! Rainbow?"

Her earpiece had fallen out of her ear. She didn't have time to get it, and had to drag herself to safety as a wall of bullets tore through the ground.

She looked at her wing. It dangled limply, but was still mostly connected. One bullet had struck off center, luckily it didn't break bone. It did sever a major muscle however, meaning she won't be flying again anytime soon.

With a grunt she got back up again, ignoring the pain.

She readied the cleaver, then grappled onto the far wall. Val saw her as she zipped across the room, and fired after her. The rounds bounced uselessly off of the cleaver.

Rainbow launched the grapple again, this time swinging directly towards Val.

Val ditched the mini gun and pulled out the katanas again, joining them by the hilt and forming a double ended sword. She hit Rainbow on the side as she charged down.

Rainbow rolled onto her side then back to her hooves again, saw the throne nearby, and kicked off of that to gain some air.

To Val's surprise, Rainbow fired the cleaver instead of lashing out. The recoil flipped her over Val- she landed, and struck out with the cleaver.

Val deflected the attack with the back end of her sword, then turned and attacked with the front end.

Rainbow blocked it with her wrist grapple and slashed at Val's legs with the cleaver.

Val barely managed to get away in time- it made a cut on her right leg and lifted a small portion of her armor.

Oddly, it didn't heal.

It was that cleaver, and that crystal- it had to be, she thought with a growl.

She had to destroy it.

Then the entire city shook, and they turned towards the giant screen behind the throne. It showed the earth below and its curvature just on the horizon as Valhalla exited the planet's atmosphere.

*

"Come on, Rainbow..." Magnum muttered, watching the city rise. She and a few others were on one of the many evacuation ships flying back down to a safe altitude.

"Damnit, is there no way we can help her?" Scootaloo cursed. "Nightshade, can't you teleport us in?"

"I tried going in already- but Val must've somehow changed the overall appearance of the throne room, it didn't work." Nightshade muttered grimly.

"Well... What do we do now?"

The question struck empty on everyone. There was nothing they could do but follow it with their space-capable ships for now, and try blow it out of the sky if Rainbow fails.

*

Rainbow was knocked down onto the floor with a red flash, her cleaver flying from her grasp and lodging itself in a wall far away. She tried to scramble up, but the impact of a cement truck near her knocked her down again.

Val snapped her fingers, the truck coming to life and charging towards her- ready to run her over.

Rainbow rolled out of the way, scrambled up and spun to dodge the crimson beams of alicorn energy Val was sending her way. They hit the pillars and exploded with a shower of fiery sparks.

"Come out, Rainbow!" Val hollered, slowly walking down the steps to the throne. Her footsteps echoed in the abrupt silence, slow and steady.

Clunk, clunk, clunk.

CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK-

Octavia ran out from the side, ramming her shoulder into Val's side. They tumbled across the room and hit a pillar. Her laser tommy had long since run out of ammo, and was nothing but a melee weapon now.

Val held up an arm and knocked the gun's stock away, then elbowed Octavia down on the shoulder. Octavia grunted and fell on one knee, then dove forward and rammed her hoof into Val's stomach.

Val gasped, but grabbed hold of Octavia's hoof and flung her up and around. Octavia broke free in the last second, but was heavily thrown off as she stumbled back.

Val didn't waste any time. She shot a prism bolt into her stomach with her left palm, flicked out a sword from her right and slashed her from the chest across to the shoulder. The cut broke the tommy gun in two.

Octavia screamed and went down, her blood splattering onto the surroundings.

"TAVI!" Rainbow cried. She swooped in between Val and Octavia, the impact of her landing creating a shockwave which rippled through the ground and shattered solid marble. She wrenched one half of the broken tommy gun from the air and pummeled it against Val's head. The force of the hit knocked Val clean off her feet and sent her rolling to the far end of the room.

Rainbow quickly turned to Octavia, dragging her behind cover as Val fired at them from where she was downed.

"Buck, buck..." She cursed. The scene was far too familiar to her. Thank goodness the cut wasn't too deep, she would've died right then and there if it were a few centimeters deeper. She'll be able to live through this one- but she'll be out of the fight.

"I can't feel my arm..." Octavia swallowed weakly.

"Can you take care of yourself?" Rainbow asked urgently as Val's firing stopped.

"I walked into this expecting death. Don't worry about me- go give some hell." Octavia grinned, painfully. She coughed, and Rainbow tried not to worry as a few specks of blood splattered onto the floor.

"Be good." Rainbow muttered, kissed her on the forehead, then swung out of cover again.

Unexpectedly, Val was standing right there.

"Sh-" That was all Rainbow managed before Val slammed into her and sent her sprawling against the far wall. She groaned, slowly getting up- a persistent ache pounding at her back.

Her eyes quickly flicked up to her cleaver, and she flew towards it to retrieve it. Val followed the direction of her gaze, her eyes resting on the cleaver. She snapped her fingers and a grenade dropped into her palm. She flicked off the pin.

Rainbow landed on the ground, cleaver aimed straight at Val's head.

Val tossed the grenade at her and dove behind a pillar, the explosion tearing past her. She ran around the other side, flanking Rainbow- who was still holding the cleaver up as a shield.

She heard Val charging at her at the last second, but was still too late. She swung to the side in a defensive attack, which Val blocked with relative ease. She shoved the cleaver away with her left hand and fired into Rainbow's chest with the right.

Rainbow screamed, a burning sensation tearing at her flesh as the resulting explosion knocked her onto her back. The cleaver was, once again, removed from her.

She looked down at her chest- the clothing was burnt, and she could feel blood matting the inside of it. Whatever Val had fired at her had both burned her flesh and seared it closed.

The cleaver-

She slowly got up, the pain in her body keeping her from moving top fast, searching for it. Finally she spotted It... Clutched tightly in Val's hand.

"I should've known that an Element would've been resistant to the amulet." She muttered. "But..." She dug her fingers into the slot in which the crystal rested.

With a burst of pure ancient magic, she clawed the Element of Loyalty from its place in the cleaver.

Rainbow was far too exhausted to stop her. Her body was too beaten to do anything at this stage- wounds, old and new, were starting to take their toll on her.

Val grinned menacingly at the crystal, then fused the amulet's energy into it. The crystal glowed, resisting- but within seconds it became overwhelmed by the amount of destructive magic being poured into it.

With a soft pop, the Element of Loyalty shattered into tiny little shards then disintegrated into black dust, the magic removed from it.

Rainbow slowly rose to her hooves as Val laughed. She felt something snap inside herself as she watched Val break the cleaver in two and toss it away.

Even though it was a possibility she expected, seeing the cleaver which had grown on her over so many years broken in two and lying uselessly in a corner triggered some feeling of loss in her.

She had felt that far too many times, far too recently. The feeling of dropping into an endless pit, of loss. Even though the cleaver was no where near as valuable as any of her friends, it had always been there with her.

"Troublesome thing, it is. I'm curious to see what sort of thing you'll do now that you don't have your weapon." Val said with a grin, cocking her head to one side. She raised her hand, a red sphere of arcane energy charging between her fingers. "With you out of the way, I'll be free to rule the world."

Rainbow froze. What?

"You, I- but Genesis-"

"That was before I had tasted even a fraction of the amulet's power." Val laughed, dispersing the ball of energy at her fingertips since there seemed to be a conversation going on between herself and Rainbow. "That was stupid of me. Really, who needs Genesis when I could easily just terraform with the amulet and STILL keep my position of supremacy?"

"Val, you made a deal already- Eclipse believed you. She trusted that you would do the right thing!"

"She was quite idiotic." Val replied coldly. "Honestly, at this point, I can't even comprehend why I felt the way I did about her. I would've never made the mistakes she did- if I were an alicorn like her, I would've never ended up a mortal at the beg and call of another mere pony." She laughed. "Can you believe it? An ancient god like her died TWICE. Once killed by you, which I had to provide her with another vessel, then the second time by me. Fate is such an odd thing- why and how such a stupid creature became the ruler of all the world, at least once upon a time, is beyond me."

"What?" Rainbow frowned.

"Oh. I must've forgotten to mention. Eclipse IS Penumbra." Val grinned at the look on Rainbow's face. "I brought her back, and put a collar around her neck in the form of a vessel in flesh and blood."

"Val, you're messing with things that you can't even begin to-"

"Blah-dee-blah! I've heard that too many times." Val growled. "You know what she tried to be? I'll be that. But I'll do it right. She was an alicorn, and a queen. Not a real one though, because she failed miserably."

Val slowly approached Rainbow, Penumbra's power pouring into her from the amulet like a fountain. It crackled at her fingertips and twirled around her body in a storm of red lightning.

"I'll become what she'd merely tried to be. I will be God, and Queen." Val snarled, a red bolt of magic charging up in her palm once more as she leveled it at Rainbow. "Let the new age begin with the execution of an old enemy."

She fired. The bolt of highly concentrated alicorn magic hit Rainbow as she held up her hooves to defend herself.

Then it was refracted across the room, tearing up the walls and floors and slicing a pillar in half.

Rainbow herself remained untouched, the spot where the bolt of energy hit her hoof glowing with prismatic smoke.

Val's eyes widened. No, this was impossible- this simply can't be- the loyalty crystal was gone, she should be powerless without it.

"The cleaver had always been a weakness. I could get separated from it." Rainbow muttered. "You're a strategic pony. I thought about that for a while, in my confinement under Haven. It didn't take me long to realize something was off. You killed the Elements." She frowned. "But why? They were no threat to you. They weren't weapons, they were neutralizers of chaos and disharmony. That's when I realized you must've had something that could succumb to the Elements' power." She nodded towards the amulet.

"What did you do?" Val snarled, but all it took for her to realize was for Rainbow to look up.

Her eye.

Her cybernetic eye.

"I'll admit, it wasn't easy going into a fight like that without depth perception, but I'm glad it payed off." Rainbow smirked, the red glow of her 'cybernetic' eye pulsing with magical energy. "I had to get AL to perform a special operation to get this transplant. But in the end, Val... It has made me invincible- at least from you." She slowly stepped forward, forcing Val back with nothing but her presence. "You've tried to kill me. A thousand times over. You know what insanity is, right? It's trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results every time." Rainbow stopped, looking her opponent in the eyes. "You can't kill me, I AM Loyalty." She growled.

"Loyalty won't stack up to the amulet." Val replied, though her voice gave away a certain degree of uncertainty.

"Perhaps not on its own." Rainbow said. "The Elements, all six; would've been much more powerful. But I have them right here."

"They're dead. The crystals were destroyed, I made sure of it!" Val yelled, losing her cool. The situation had turned on her quite abruptly.

"Yes, yes you did." Rainbow said, the amusement gone from her voice. She knew that all too well. "You see, as long as ponies exist, so will harmony, and so will chaos. All the energy from the Elements had to go somewhere- and go somewhere they did."

She tapped the side of her skull, next to her glowing red eye. Fractions of rainbows shifted about in the red mass of the Loyalty crystal, splinters of the other elements. Suddenly a wall of rainbow colored light exploded out behind her, creating a wall of dancing motes- singing a beautiful song in unison. They shifted, hovering about her, speaking, singing. Then five joined her side- pink, yellow, orange, white, and purple- they danced at her hooves.

"Friendship. It's present everywhere... Not only between friends, but family and even lovers. It pulls everyone together. And, you could say; it pulls their very essence together- their soul- it binds them, makes them one yet still individual." Rainbow continued, the mass of voices and entities still hovering behind her. "These ponies, Val; are the former elements of harmony. The ones you killed. The elements won't exist if not all six are present. You killed friends, groups of them. Bonded together by the elements of harmony. Their souls, the very essence of life and magic, implemented into the energy of the elements. Now all that energy is left within the final piece... My piece. Our power is combined, even if my friends can no longer physically stand by my side." The purple mote seemed to give an approving chirp, while the orange one provided a reassuring nod. "Val, you tried to kill us with science. You tried the same with magic, and repeated your attempts with almost everything else. But I'm telling you, it'll never work, even with your alicorn amulet- and you know why?"

She reached out to her side, bit of rainbow light coming together at outstretched hoof. A new, less smooth and more jagged looking capsule formed. Instead of a red glow, it had the full spectrum.

With a loud ka-clunk the cleaver forged from the Elements sprung out into its full length- the smooth broad blade was replaced by a more textured edge, which in no way dulled the blade. Some sort of arcane magic cannon sat where the high calibre firearm's barrel once was. The handle was curved, ending in a silver hilt. Rainbow light emitted not only from the crystal in the center, but also from the small nooks and gaps in the sword.

"Because friendship IS magic. The most powerful kind there is. It would've been useless against you normally, but you've become corrupted. Disharmonious." She lifted the giant blade, stepping into an offensive stance. "By putting on the amulet, Val, you've secured nothing but your own downfall."

The city trembled again.

"Preparing launch to: the Sun." HEX reported, and Val looked up.

"No! NO! Disengage launch!" She yelled.

"Order revoked." HEX replied, and Val narrowed her eyes as a holographic recording popped up on the throne.

It was Val, before she had put on the amulet, a pre-recorded message. She knew what the message contained, and she growled at it because of that.

The message didn't start till a few seconds later. It just begun with Val, pre-amulet, standing there with her arms behind her back, a disappointed look in her eyes. She began with a sigh, then looked up again.

"The only reason this message would ever pop up... Is if... Well, you- I- failed." She said, and the current Val yelled at the ceiling:

"Stop the recording!"

"Denied." HEX said sternly. "You've personally put protocols in place in case you go rogue yourself. Your command has been revoked."

"I understand that, at this stage, I probably can't control myself anymore. The amulet will probably turn me into a power hungry tyrant." The recording continued. "And, of course... That simply cannot be allowed. Rainbow Dash-"

Rainbow looked up, surprised to hear her own name from the recording. The holographic image of Val wasn't looking at her, presumably because she couldn't have predicted her location, but there was a look of certainty in her eyes.

"I know you would be here. You'd always be here. You're probably already trying, but... If I really have the amulet on, and this message is playing... Please... Kill me."

The request was sudden and unexpected. Rainbow felt herself hesitate for a very brief second.

The recording faded, replaced by HEX's automatic announcement: "Security Protocol 117 is now in effect. Diverting operational control of all non-Ascension related Valhalla systems to nearest administrator: DaintyDash98."

Dainty?

Rainbow looked up. That can't be right...

"Admin control confirmed." She heard her voice. Was she in the tower?

"Dainty!" She cursed, went to tap the mic in her ear- then realized she had torn it out earlier.

"Sis?" The voice answered, anyway, through the throne room's comms systems.

"Where is the NEMESIS?" Rainbow asked slowly, sternly. She kept her eyes on Val, and could tell she was listening by her perked ears.

"Hold on, let me search it up-"

Rainbow froze at that. She wasn't on the NEMESIS.

"Hey, they- I mean- we're closing in on your location right now. Shining Armor might try send some ponies to board the city-" Dainty continued, but Rainbow had stopped listening.

"Don't do it." She said, glaring at Val.

Val stood still. She hoped that she wouldn't go after Dainty, and was ready to tackle her if she tried. She can scream at Dainty for entering the tower later- if it isn't just the filly that makes it out alive.

For a moment she believed Val wouldn't go after her- that maybe the amulet still left some of her personal morales behind.

Nope.

The moment Val dove for the door, she dove for the cyberpony. They collided mid-air and the both of them went sprawling across the throne room. The rainbow cleaver was ready in her hoof almost immediately, without a second for thought.

With a quick pull from her grapple she flung herself towards Val.

Val spun and grew a comically large bright red sword from her arm. Their weapons clashed, opposing polarities of magic exploding in sparks between the two blades.

Rainbow backed away and put some distance between herself and Val. She was the one thing standing between her and the exit, and thus Dainty.

None shall pass, she thought, giving the cleaver handle a hefty 'KLa-KLUnK' and bringing out the arcane magic cannon.

Val was in the middle of an offensive lunge when she had to abruptly divert course to avoid the wide beam of over-powered rainbows. The very edge of it grazed her left shoulder plate. She growled, annoyed, when it didn't repair itself.

Rainbow fired again, and this time Val blocked it- sort of. The explosive reaction between the prism bolt and the red blade sent her flying off her feet and crashing into the stairs behind her.

"Take off the amulet, Val!" Rainbow yelled. "Or you'll die with it around your neck!"

"Pry it off my dead body, why don't you!" Val yelled back, the stairs rising behind her and pushing her back to her feet. A large crimson barrel popped out from her other arm and slid over her hand, forming a cannon.

Rainbow split the red beam of magic in two with the cleaver, quickly snapping it back to a defensive position. The two diffracted beams melted the columns behind her, bringing down a small portion of the ceiling.

The universe beyond shimmered behind a glowing blue energy field. They had entered space.

Rainbow dodged left, the off-target beam of energy obliterating a wall. The force field beyond flickered a little as bits of black marble and metal warped through it, exiting into oxygenless and gravityless space.

The NEMESIS was in the background, all of its weapons trained on the flying city.

*

"Take it out." Shining Armor whispered, hiding his eyes beneath the rim of his cap. He felt his own heart drop even as he said it.

He was about to kill a filly and a war hero. But it will all be worth it, he had told himself again and again. It will all be for the better- maybe not for me, but it will be.

Valhalla was nearing the safe zone- and from what he had gathered from intel and some of his analysts, it meant that Valhalla will be able to teleport straight to the sun. It'll be gone, and they'd never be able to catch it again. This was their last chance, them and what little remained of the magic faction space fleet- and unfortunately, the now captainless CYCLOPS wasn't fully charged yet.

They had lost contact with Rainbow long ago. He had waited, they all had, but no response came back.

"Captain! Valhalla is retaliating- none of our attacks made it!" One of the officers yelled urgently, snapping him out of his lost trance.

He quickly looked up.

It was like the battle with the entire science faction fleet all over again. Valhalla had one hell of a complete arsenal- it seemed even more well armed than the COLOSSUS was! The NEMESIS had to almost instantly execute a tactical retreat- and even then...

"Engines one through seven have been hit! We're losing mobility!"

"We have lost contact with all dispatched fighter squadrons!"

"Hull breaches at sectors SK-five, KG-seven, HN-three, TW-three, and KT-six!"

"Fires at KG-seven and KT-six! Dispatching units now!"

"Shields have been depleted! Generators damaged!"

"Primary weapons alpha through gamma have been destroyed! Secondary weapons beta and kappa have been damaged beyond functionality."

"Retreat! Retreat! Tell our remaining forces to pull back!" Shining Armor yelled. Valhalla had stopped firing at them, at least. All he could do was grit his teeth as he watched the damn thing slowly float away.

In his frustration he heard a brief line of dialogue between one of bridge operators and somepony else.

"...this is an unauthorized departure! Repeat, you do not have clearance to leave the ship!"

To which, the response was;

"Christ, how the buck do I turn off this stupid radio?"

*

Rainbow rolled under Val's attack and sent an elbow into her gut. She grunted, the force of Rainbow's strike breaking a rib. She stumbled back and coughed blood, but other than that showed nothing else but a growl.

Rainbow quickly backed away as Val made a gesture and sent a barrage of cars towards her. Most of them missed her and bounced off the floor with hefty clunks, but the few that were actually coming her way she either sliced in half or pulverized completely.

She slung one of the halves across to Val with her grapple. The half-ton car slammed into the cyberpony's side, knocking her into a wall with an explosion of concrete dust and destructed building materials.

Val shoved the carcass away, slumping a little- not from defeat, but from inability since most of her skeleton had just been crushed. It wasn't a direct result of the Elements of Harmony, however, and she quickly healed herself up.

With an angry snarl, she flicked the half-car up with a foot and kicked it towards Rainbow.

Rainbow hit it with the hilt of her cleaver, knocking it up and out of the tower- sending it into space.

Val charged, her sword flashing towards Rainbow's throat- but she took a beam of energy to the side of the head before she could reach her.

Rainbow stumbled forward, her parry having met nothing but thin air as Val was sent cartwheeling to the side from the impact. She looked around for the source of the energy beam.

"What're you looking around for? Kill her!" Magnum's voice came through the comms.

"Magnum? I thought you all evacuated!"

"I stole a ship. Dainty patched me through to Valhalla's comms... That filly's a genius, no idea how she does it. Anyhow, I've got the orbital rifle with me, I can give you some support fire for a few minutes."

"Why only a few?" Rainbow asked, suspicious. Then she had to dive aside as Val lunged at her, half of her face still mending back together from the rifle blast.

"Don't exactly have a good oxygen supply with me. Had to get out of the ship and take the special suit thing."

"Goddamnit! Get back to the ship- if I don't make it here at least you'll live!" Rainbow yelled, flicking Val's sword aside with her cleaver.

"We both know that's BS. Val'll hunt us down one by one. Jump."

"Wha?" Rainbow barely managed to skip up in time as the bright purple beam of concentrated energy went past her and hammered into Val's shin.

"Mother fu-" Val cursed, her legs collapsing beneath her. She quickly rolled away from Rainbow as she slashed at her, ready to bring the cleaver down in a finishing strike.
But as she raised it, Val sent a bolt of energy right into her chest.

Rainbow fell back, her cleaver falling from her hooves as the energy bolt seared her clothing. The Elements of Harmony protected her from the worst of it, but while it acted as a defensive shield against the amulet, Val could still harm her. It merely leveled the playing field a bit more than when she didn't have it.

Val rolled up to her feet and brought her sword down on the stunned pegasus. She brought her arms up to defend herself, and they clashed against the blade.

"Rainbow! Move! I can't get a shot!"

"I... Can't..." Rainbow grunted, the floor buckling beneath her hooves as Val pressed down. Where the blade contacted the pegasus a chaotic storm of clashing magic formed, sparking rainbows and molten red magic. She was going to lose. "Damnit- Magnum! Take Dainty and run! Take her and go goddamnit!"

Rainbow screamed as the blade slowly slid through the Elements' protective shield, sinking into her flesh. Heat waves irradiated from the sword as Val charged it.

Then she broke through. Rainbow collapsed, her forearms buckling beneath the pressure. Molten flesh dragged from her wounds to the sword as Val spun and brought it back around and sliced her at the knees. She fell, screaming, which then ended in an abrupt gurgle as Val sent the gigantic sword through her chest.

Without a second to spare, a quick trigger pull ensured Rainbow wouldn't be getting back up again as the beam of magic tore a giant hole in her body. She went limp, the force flinging her down the steps of the throne room and sending her crashing to the bottom, broken and defeated.

"Rainbow!"

A purple energy beam hit Val in the temple, sending her tumbling to the side. It didn't end her maniacal laughter though as she slowly got up, the destroyed part of her face mending itself back together.

Magnum fired again, with a cry of fury, aiming for the amulet. The beam of energy which could normally destroy a tank on its own merely pinged off the artifact.

Magnum's cursing and Val's uncontrollable laughter were mere blended noises to Rainbow as she laid on the floor, a sticky pool of blood forming around her as her life fluids drained from her body. Her vision was slowly fading to black as she struggled to breath through the hole in her chest, the majority of her lungs having been completely melted away. Her heart dangled through a few arteries... It won't take long for her.

The Elements were trying to keep her alive. She could feel its gentle magic pulsing at her wounds, trying its best to heal them. It only extended her time here, it wouldn't save her- and she knew.

It's about to be over... She had made a mistake... And now everypony else will pay for it.

And she was scared. She was scared of the resignation she could hear in her every thought. I've done all I could.

Then she felt something hard strike her spine.

She didn't bother with screaming as corrupted-Val kicked her across the throne room. Her body had grown numb, she could feel the horrible things happening to her- but they didn't hurt anymore.

"Still alive, are we..." She heard Val mutter.

"It's getting late, Magnum... Take her and go..."

She could hear Magnum yelling obscenities through the speakers. But to her relief, after a few agonizing seconds, she saw her shuttle leave.

"Entering jump to: the Sun." She heard an AI say.

"Val..." She struggled to say, passing barely enough air through her throat to make out the words. She choked on her own blood before she could go any further.

"Yes?" Val cocked her head to one side mockingly.

You've betrayed us all, you monster, you've killed us all, she wanted to say. She just didn't have the physical strength left to say it.

She turned away instead, staring into the dark floor in her own shadow. A purple mote trembled there, worried, yet still nudging her nose to encourage her.

"I'm sorry..." Rainbow choked, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry..."

You've come too far! It seemed to say, spinning round and round in agitated circles.

No... I'm not giving up. I'm just sorry... Because you'll never forgive me.

I had always been a monster. From the very beginning when I shrugged on this coat and put on this hat, I knew what I was stepping into. I was a monster fighting other monsters. In front of my friends, Dainty, those close to me, I had always disguised myself. I pretended to be okay. I pretended to be moral about everything I was doing.

But all this time I had been killing ponies I'd never known, Twi. Ponies I'll never meet. Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters and friends and family. I'd never given them a second thought, always for the greater good- that's what I always told myself. The truth isn't that I'm a guardian angel. The truth is I'm a selfish, murderous little pony that kills others to give herself a purpose. To justify her own existence.

I know I've never told any of you this. I always kept you out of this, all of this. The dark side of Equestria as I'd always called it- the dark side of myself. I've been telling you all a lie.

So now that I'm giving you the truth, will you still be my friend?

Will you forgive me for being a monster?

The purple mote paused. Others appeared around it. Orange, pink, yellow, and white. They didn't even discuss it. They just nodded.

Rainbow closed her eyes again. If this was what it takes... After Genesis, it won't even matter anyway.

Suddenly her heart spiked, shifting violently. It looked as if it were about to explode.

Val frowned, pausing.

Then, incredibly, Rainbow started slowly lifting herself up. Spit mixed with blood drooled from her mouth as she ground her teeth together in a snarl, as if trying to scare the pain away. She quivered, struggling on all fours, only half up. Her legs looked like they were about to give out from beneath her.

Plumes of reactive smoke rose from her gnashing wounds, slowly sealing them back together again.

There is no cure for monstrosity. Perhaps forgiveness... But never a cure.

Val realized what was going on a second too late.

By the time her sword swung towards the pegasus' neck, Rainbow had already brought a hoof up to block it.

Where there would normally be a hoof, however, there was a huge claw, attached to a scaled arm that merged back into her body. Val looked up, the effects of the so-called virus had already taken over most of Rainbow's physical form.

Sharp draconic teeth had sprouted in her mouth, tearing the gums to make space for the new meat grinders. Already her fur was shifting to scales, and one of her pupils had turned to a narrow vertical slit. Strong angular webbed wings shattered her existing feather ones into nothing but pink mist, sprouting from her back in a flurry of blood.

She flinched, but it wasn't anything she hadn't expected.

She let loose a low growl, claws wiping the blood from her sharp bare teeth. She gave Val a glare that turned her blood cold.

"Val... If I can't drag you to hell... I'll bucking bring it with me." She flexed her demon claws.

"Why- HOW- Do you PERSIST!?" Val hissed.

"Because you've destroyed everything that would've been in my way." She snarled. "I had no idea what would happen the day I stepped into that warehouse and looked at your contract." She growled, her claws tightening around the sword. "I didn't accept it. Now you offered me a new one... To kill you... I guess this one'll compensate." She said, then almost effortlessly threw Val through a set of pillars and into the far wall.

The cyberpony crashed onto the floor, broken but healing. She struggled to get back up again, simply from the disbelief that Rainbow lived.

"We may both be monsters, Val, but I've always been like this- and to me, you're just a rookie." Rainbow growled. The effects of the virus might be dulled in her body, but they were still enough to heal her up. Already her more physical traits were fading, the gums healing as the fangs retreated. But it still fueled her with something that was meant to destroy her- something psychological that the amulet-corrupted Val lacked.

Purpose.

She had always been a demon protecting everything she loved, and, to recent knowledge; so had Val. But the moment the amulet corrupted her, she had lost that purpose- what remained was an empty goal, not even an ambition; to conquer the world.

"I've got Dainty-" Magnum yelled through the speakers. "Just need to make it back to the shuttle-"

"Jump procedure in action." HEX reported. "Arriving at target destination in three, two, one."

Suddenly the shields outside flared with an energy so immense it outshone both the elements and the amulet.

The Sun's solar energy bombarded Valhalla almost instantly as it slowly traveled further into the star. The shields held, keeping the city intact. Streaks of red, orange and yellow light swirled about the city, solar flares wrapping around Valhalla and curling like fiery flower petals.

"Oh! Magnum? Magnum!" Dainty's voice- but Rainbow couldn't divert her attention. Not right now.

"Do I still have to pry that thing off of you?"

"Ask that to my sword." Val snarled, lifting herself up with said weapon.

"AFTER ALL THE TROUBLE YOU WENT THROUGH TO MAKE ALL OF THIS POSSIBLE!? YOU'RE ALREADY HERE!" Rainbow screamed at her, then with a snap of her demon wings blasted into Val like an out of control vehicle. She rammed her into a wall, the sword falling away.

"All of it was useless. All that saving the world bullcrap." Val spat, sprouting claws from her hand and dragged them across Rainbow's side.

Rainbow yelped, backing away as fresh blood gushed from her wound. It tried to heal itself, with minimal success. She had already used the virus's remaining regenerative capabilities, there simply wasn't enough in her anymore. She snarled though, baring her teeth, then lashed out at the cyberpony.

Her claws rammed into Val's shoulder, impaling her against the wall. Once again the Elements reacted with the amulet's magic, plumes of smoke drifting to the air from the wound in Val's shoulder. She growled, keeping her screams muffled at her throat.

She pressed a foot against Rainbow's chest, then fired her jet boosters. The blast flung Rainbow back, her claws tearing from Val's shoulder.

Val let out a tiny scream as she fell back onto the ground. She didn't fall down though, landing on her feet and clutching her injured arm. With an angry snarl the giant red sword appeared in her hands again.

Rainbow roared, shoulder charging into Val and forcing her halfway through the wall. Val slammed the sword into her scaled arm and pushed her back. Both of them had several wounds at this point, both internal and external. Val was wincing with every step, and Rainbow was taking careful breaths to avoid hurting her broken rib cage.

"Take off the amulet, Val! Take it off and you will heal!" Rainbow said, as loud as she could. "Take it off and you will LIVE!" She yelled. The effects of the virus were starting to wear off on her, they weren't permanent after all.

"NEVER!" Val barked, a giant red barrel popping out from the arm and transforming with a storm of other pieces.

Rainbow summoned the cleaver again and swung it, flinging out the arcane prism cannon.

They both fired at each other.

If earlier magical reactions were deemed big, this was... Well... Considering there were now two fully charged beams of concentrated magical energy hitting each other head-on, the effect was much, much bigger than big.

Val didn't manage to see nor hear anything of the resulting blast. Everything just went white and blank for her, just a second before she felt her body tear at the shoulder and knee. She opened her mouth to scream, but all was silent. She couldn't hear herself.

Then she felt her back hit something hard, possibly the ground. When the brilliant white light faded and she could see again, all she saw were blurred shapes and fading colors.

"Ugh..." She groaned, trying to get up. Her right arm gave out from beneath her, and her face hit the cold hard ground once again. Her ears rung, though a soft rumble was slowly making its way through the static.

The throne room had been almost completely destroyed. Pillars and bits of ceiling lay shattered on the cracked marble ground. The steps to the throne lay in jagged pieces, and the throne itself had been partially crushed by a fallen chandelier.

"Opening access gates." HEX said, in her neutral monotoned voice.

The wall behind the throne room shifted, then slowly slid into the ground. A brilliant orange light lit up the throne room. Brilliant, but gentle.

They were here.

Beyond was a white alloy bridge with alien looking decor leading to another grand set of gates, which belonged to a majestic white and gold castle hovering in the center of the sun.

It had an odd aesthetic to it. Not science, not magic, but both... It had the best of both worlds.

Val gritted her teeth as she slowly crawled her way towards the exit. She didn't have a goal in mind anymore, at this current moment, she couldn't think of anything. She had entered a sort of dream state, where all she could do was resist the pain in her broken body and crawl towards the light.

She painfully dragged herself up the broken steps of her own fallen monarchy, desperately trying to catch some form of purpose before it all floated away.

Finally she was able to peer over the stairs and set her eyes on the bridge and the castle beyond.

This, this was her purpose. Genesis, this was her goal. The final step to ensure she would never ever exist again. Yes, this was what she had truly, and always wanted.

The amulet screamed for her attention at her neck. It cried for her to tap into its power once more, to use its rage and corruption and greed just once more.

With a shaky hand, she plucked it from her neck. The red glow from her eyes faded, and the screaming in her ears ceased. She was free again.

"Gah..." She felt a sharp pain in her side. Even with the amulet removed, her wounds were permanent. They were like scars, reminding her of her sins and mistakes.

Then she heard hoofsteps behind her. She didn't need to look behind her to know who it was.

Rainbow slowly limped up next to her, each step giving her a painful grimace. Both of them had been injured badly. Her left arm dangled lifelessly by her side, and there was something obviously broken about her right leg. Her wings were a mess, and if those weren't enough of an indication, there was blood trickling down a corner of her mouth and from a wound on her forehead. The virus had worn off completely at this point, and there were no traces of scales on her body anymore.

"Crap." Val muttered as Rainbow wrenched her up by the neck and slammed her down on the steps. She brought her arms up to defend herself, and immediately had them knocked aside and received a hoof to the head for all her trouble.

Rainbow drove her elbow into Val's stomach then rammed her up the jaw. Val felt a few things inside snap, but they were healing, unlike the wounds inflicted from earlier. Then she felt her mane tangle a bit as Rainbow wrenched on it and shoved her head against the stairs.

Val tried to get away from Rainbow's relentless beating, but nothing on her was functional anymore. Joints, prism cannons, everything had either already been broken or had been snapped by Rainbow in her rage.

Rainbow gave Val one last smack upside the head, breathing heavily as she sat atop her beaten form.

"We ain't even, you son of a bitch." She muttered, wiping a drop of blood from her own nose. "But that made me feel a hell of a lot better." She got up, and Val let out a long displeased groan. Rainbow held out her hoof, her intentions apparent.

"Take it." Val's lungs inflated again, and she gasped. She almost threw the amulet at Rainbow.

Rainbow caught it and tucked it into her coat pocket, then reached out again.

"What do you want? You win, alright? Just... Take the amulet and leave... Or kill me and leave. I bet that'd be easy right now." Val muttered from where she laid weakly on the ground.

"You said it before I did. There's no point killing a mare who's already dead on the inside." Rainbow said. "To make it clear, I still hate you, but I'm not going to put in the effort to kill you. Now, give me your hand, idiot."

"I... What?"

"You want to see Genesis don't you?" Rainbow sighed. "Come on."

"You... Forgive me?"

"Yeah. There's no point in holding a grudge since one: It's all about to be resolved and none of this will matter anyway and two: I might as well forgive you since I know you won't." Rainbow replied calmly.

Val averted her eyes for a moment. She was right, she knew. Even if it were just for Eclipse's death, something she will hold onto forever, she'd never forgive herself- let alone for all the crimes she had committed against the world.

She took Rainbow's hoof, and the pegasus helped her up. Both of them almost fell together when that happened, and had to help stabilize each other.

"You ready to go?" Val asked, shakily standing on her damaged legs.

"One more thing." Rainbow whispered, turning back to the throne room. She slowly stepped back down the steps again, looking around at the destroyed decor. "Dainty?"

"...Rainbow... You're still alive..." She heard a sniff.

"I am."

"I... I didn't dare look..."

"I don't blame you." Rainbow whispered, closing her eyes. "Hey, ah... Is Magnum alright?"

"She's breathing... She just got knocked out."

Rainbow nodded and let out a sigh of relief. Even though it technically no longer mattered, on some level it still did to her. She took in a deep breath, controlling her voice and trying her best to keep it steady. "Dainty, I'm going now."

"But you'll be back won't you?"

Silence. Say it, Rainbow, just goddamn say it, she thought. This is the last goodbye. You've tried telling her before, you've got a second chance now- just bucking say it.

"Yeah." Rainbow took in a shaky breath. "Yeah, I'll be back. You and Magnum take care of Tavi in the meantime alright?"

"We... We will."

This wasn't fair, Rainbow thought. She wouldn't even get a chance to see her one last time. All she could hold on to was that young innocent voice.

But maybe it would be better this way. So she wouldn't have to go through that period of painful hesitation in the face of inevitability.

"Hey... Don't let the evil cyber lady get you."

Rainbow laughed, looking behind her to check Val's expression. She expected to find Val shaking her head in dismay, and was surprised to see her turn away in shame.

"She won't." Rainbow assured her. "Hey, ah... I've got some things to say to Tavi, alright Daints? You don't mind do you?"

"Nope. Logging off- bye, sis."

"See ya." Rainbow replied, her voice trailing off. She moved off to the side and pressed her forehead against a pillar the moment the connection was severed.

Octavia was still laid down on the other side of the pillar, unconscious. She had probably passed out from blood loss, but her chest was still heaving.

"Tavi..." Rainbow said quietly as she softly walked around the pillar and knelt down next to her friend and partner. God, it had been so long... They had been together for far too long. Goodbye had to come at some point, both of them knew, but neither had planned for the moment- ever.

Rainbow finally couldn't hold it back anymore. She had no reason to at this point. It started as a choked whimper, then she finally burst into tears and grabbed ahold of the unconscious grey mare.

"Tavi..." She cried into her neck. "I..."

When the time finally came for her to say something meaningful, she couldn't find it. Look after Dainty? She will. Keep everyone safe? She knows she will.

Regardless, apologies, it seems; never run out.

"I want to stay, Tavs... I want to stay... I want to stay with you and I don't want to go..."

After all of this things will be different. All will be good and peaceful again, and they could just be normal friends- not mares constantly on killing sprees.

Except she won't be there to see it. The world will continue on without her, and she won't be able to watch... Not even from the afterlife.

Destroying an existence is something far scarier than destroying a life. In the afterlife, a conscious remains... But when even that is gone, nothing stays. Not a single thought, particle, or image- nothing.

"Rainbow Dash..." Val slowly limped towards them. She stopped halfway down the steps. "Please... Just give me the amulet... You can stay, and I'll be gone forever. Please, just give me the key..."

"You're too useful here." Rainbow whispered, not looking up. "All that knowledge of science... Even the revival machine... It was your dream to make the world a better place and leave this timeline behind, wasn't it? It'll be better for everypony. Much more so than if I stay."

"Nopony will trust me. You are their hero, you deserve to stay. All I'll get for staying is hatred, nopony will listen." Val approached them, pleading. "You have far too many ponies who care about you here."

"Your parents, Val... Don't you want them to know that you've changed now? Don't you have anything to say to them?" Rainbow turned her head a slight bit.

Val opened her mouth to speak, but only shut them again and looked away. Rainbow turned back to Octavia, glad that she was unconscious... She had no idea how she'd meet her eyes if they were open.

"Sorry, Tavs..." She whispered, giving the grey mare one last hug, praying that she won't wake. "Bye..."

She shut her eyes and turned away, attempting to rid her mind of any leniency to stay. This was going to happen- she was going to make the world a better place. Val will maintain that, she knows she will.

She stood, turned, and finally allowed her eyes to open again. They were solely trained on the exit now.

"Let's go." She said with a light gulp. She felt frozen inside out, stiff. Already she could feel her mind drifting off, to imagine her friends without her, and to the hypothetical future where she would somehow still exist. It made tears well up in her eyes again, along with a pit of guilty however well deserved self pity.

She tripped on one of the last steps and stumbled a bit in her state. Val tried to help her, but forgot about her own broken leg for a second and fell as well. The two kind of just collapsed against each other.

"Bucking bullcrap." Rainbow muttered, face pressed against the floor, half laughing and half crying. "This is what the fate of the entire world has amounted to, two mares who can't even bucking walk without falling over for no reason."

"Mmmn." Val grumbled, pushing herself up off the floor. "I blame you. If you hadn't cut me up so much I would've caught you."

"If you hadn't blasted me with alicorny alicorness I would've been able to walk myself without falling over in the first place." Rainbow retorted, getting up painfully.

Val reached out to pull her up. Rainbow took her hand, but suddenly Val's leg snapped in half altogether in a shower of metal parts and electrical wires and the two of them fell flat on their backs again.

"Phuck." Rainbow sighed. "I'm starting to think we should just crawl."

"Is this the part where history books go all propaganda and stuff and leave things out?"

*

After Val had a few minutes to put her leg back together again in a semi-functional state, they supported each other and their broken bodies across the bridge.

At last they made it to the castle gates. Queen Penumbra had certainly made the place grand- perhaps it wasn't even really a consideration in the design process, since she would've had the power to do essentially anything. This was probably just a piece of cake.

"My life would be so much easier if I had just killed you in the first place." Rainbow looked flatly across at Val, the two of them standing with theirs arms over each other's shoulders, trying not to fall over.

"Yep. But hey, you would've never made it this close to Genesis if I weren't here."

"Fair point."

"I'd also like to point out you'd be rolling over here or something on your own without me, even if you figured out the amulet was the key."

"The history books will never know." Rainbow muttered, placing a hoof on one door as Val placed a hand on the other.

Together they pushed the gates to the castle open.

"Ah..." Val shielded her eyes from the bright light that flooded through.

They entered a giant white hall, crystal chandeliers dangling from the high ceiling and glowing a soft orange. The walls were made of- they didn't exactly know what it was. It was just a clean white, had the gleam of marble but seemed to retain that distinct hardness of metal. The roof, however, was carefully crafted from clear crystal... The sun's flames wrapping around the edges of the castle while space filled the rest.

There was a magnification field in the center of the roof, zooming in on Earth and making it visible. The dirt brown planet slowly turned in space, glitters of silver occasionally reflecting back the sun's rays- drifting remnants of space battles and the destroyed Barricade.

"Five million lives..." Val muttered.

"What?" Rainbow turned to her.

"Five million were on the barricade when it fell." Val said, and Rainbow fell silent. Then Val chuckled. "But it's just a number, isn't it? For ponies who have killed again and again like us... It'll never mean more than that."

"No... It will. We just have to stop pretending it doesn't mean anything." Rainbow replied.

The wall on the other end of the gigantic hall slowly turned transparent, and a pair of tall glass double doors that reached all the way to the ceiling slowly opened.

"Is someone else here with us?" Rainbow whispered.

Golden light spread across the hall from the open doors. Another long walkway lay beyond, amidst swirling masses of glowing particles. A pony-like figure emerged, silhouetted by light, then stepped to a stop at the doors.

"I hope we don't have to fight that thing." Rainbow muttered, and Val laughed.

"Rainbow Dash, meet Fate." She said.

The figure walked towards them. Rainbow noticed stallion-ish features as he got closer- he seemed to be some sort of robot, clad in silver plating with the occasional golden indicator light sparkling on his thin armor. Two golden eyes stared at the two curiously- and despite the metal face, it was still able to express emotions relatively well.

Most importantly, he didn't seem hostile- armor, sure, but purely aesthetic- and no weapons.

"Valkyrie. Rainbow Dash." He nodded to the two.

"Fate... Pony robot... Wait, what?" Rainbow fell down and clutched her head.

"Penumbra created Fate, who guards Genesis. He's a golem, not a robot. Robots are science, golems are magic based." Val began.

"So... Do you control Genesis? I mean... You ARE Fate, like... Fate-fate? Prophecies and what-not?"

Fate chuckled, his robotic laughter oddly soothing and melodic.

"No, I merely watch and document. Ponies make their own fates." He said, then nodded. "Mythology seems to depict me differently, however. Personally I have no idea why, although I could refer to the millions of years I have documented."

Rainbow rolled about on the floor. Really, the past few months have been ridiculous, but it seems to be getting worse, somehow.

"So... What do you do here? I mean... You live in a big empty palace... I know you're a robot- golem- whatever, but... Doesn't it ever get bored?"

"When you have the whole world to watch and observe from, boredom never seems to be a part of it." Fate chuckled. "Though, I sometimes do wonder, if that is part of my code."

"Hey, I..." Val stuttered for a second, a little ashamed at what she was about to say. "Is... Is Penumbra here?"

"The Mistress? She had not returned since you killed her." Fate turned to Val. "But of course, that is just a lie she has informed me to tell you should you ever arrive. She was confident you wouldn't. She had shut herself away in her chambers since her arrival."

"Oh..." Val lowered her eyes. "I... I've got a lot of apologies to make." She turned to Rainbow, then to said mare's surprise, she knelt down before her. "Rainbow Dash... I know that I am in no place to make a request... But please... Once you're done with Genesis... Can you please delete me?"

"I'll give you a new body, if you want to kill yourself afterwards then-"

"No, as in... Delete... Actually just erase..."

The magnitude of Val's request slowly sunk into Rainbow. So... What she wanted... Was what Rainbow had been dreading all this time?

"But... Why?" She whispered.

She hated Val, but she understood that her bad actions were driven by good intentions- and since everything was about to be alright again, she kind of found it easy to forgive her. This... Her request... Seemed a bit too much.

"Is this why you wanted Genesis? It is, isn't it?" Rainbow peered down at her, and she refused to meet her eyes. "You didn't want to exist anymore. Genesis was perfect for you."

"I had done too much wrong. I can physically fix it but nopony will ever-"

Then Rainbow struck her across the face.

"What? Forgive you? I have, haven't I? Love you? Eclipse has, hasn't she?" She hissed, and Val staring in shock from where she had fallen over. Rainbow closed her eyes, then took in a few deep breaths to calm herself. "Bucking crybaby." She muttered, and pulled Val up into a hug.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Val whimpered. "I just don't want to exist anymore... I caused you so much pain... I caused everypony so much pain... I was so selfish, and..." She broke down, completely. Rainbow had never seen her so shattered, not even during the end of the Awakening incident.

"You know, I've said this a bunch of times in a bunch of different contexts... But... Friendship, respect, all that stuff... It's always earned. And it takes time to earn them, to develop them. You'll be fine, Val. You'll be a great mare in the new world- you'll play your cards right this time, won't you?"

"I'm too scared..."

"Isn't that the root of the problem..." Rainbow sighed to herself. Val was scared to face her own guilt, to face the world again- that's why she wanted out. "From how I see it, you have two options. Live, make the world a better place. You have that power. Die, exist in an eternity of your own guilt and be forever known as a villain to the world. That would happen anyway if you choose to not-exist, you just won't be there to see it. Val, a close friend of mine once said to me that choosing not to choose isn't really a choice. You can't run from a problem forever. Plus... Somepony'll miss you, wouldn't she?"

Val sniffed, and nodded.

"Perhaps you should go to her. Her chambers are that way." Fate said softly, pointing to the left where a new set of doors appeared.

Val gently let go of Rainbow, turning in the direction of the door. She stopped mid-step, turned back around and hugged Rainbow again, squeezing her.

"I'm sorry. I wish you could've made things different and given me the amulet. You're a horrible pony, really, adding to my guilt like this." She mumbled into Rainbow's shoulder.

"Are you sure you still want to... Not exist? I'm still making that decision yours."

She nodded again.

"Yeah. I still believe everypony'll be better off without me... Even Eclipse." She swallowed.

"Alright... I won't stop you- if that's what you truly want, then you can have it... After all, you've worked hard to get to this point." Rainbow said softly, patting her on the back.
"Is this the most depressing hug ever?" Val wondered allowed after a while.

"Oh, shut up. You don't get to have self pity and commit suicide at the same time." Rainbow muttered.

"You know, I want to say I'll miss you, and I'll mean it, but... It wouldn't make much sense at this point, would it..."

"No... No it wouldn't."

Finally they let go of each other.

"You better hurry off to your princess now." Rainbow said, offering a sad smile.

"Queen."

"Whatever. You better go." She said, turning towards the doors at the far end. Somehow she just knew Genesis was in that direction. She straightened her coat and tidied her hat, letting out one final sigh. "Afterall, the end is here."

Val nodded. She wiped the tears from her eyes, then laughed.

"Don't mess it up, you've only got one shot at this." She reminded her jokingly, walking off towards the door to the left.

"Don't worry, I'll improvise..." Rainbow replied, and followed Fate towards the far door, closer to Genesis, and closer to the end. "...It's what I'm good at."