Discord Space

Silence. Pure, blissful silence. She had almost forgotten what it was like, nothing but faint ambience of dying computer systems. And of course, the voices of everypony on the station, screaming in terror. They had been there all along, but until now, she hadn't opened her mind to the wonder of what lay ahead. She could destroy it all, and herself. Shut off the voices. End the flashes of orange. Remove Discord's voice from her head. Or, she could just let it be. The station had food replication technology, solar panels to keep the power going. And Discord was there, his power had obviously been returning during the crisis. He could keep her safe. Necromorphs were malleable by nature; it wouldn't be any problem to make them more friendly looking. It would be better than returning to Equestria, only to be slammed in an asylum as a Chaotic. Either way, she would never see Sweet Apple Acres again…

"Welcome to Government Sector. Please remain on the course designated by your locator at all times." For good measure, she checked that her locator was still locked on the station overseer's office. Jet Set had to have been removed from the picture before she even arrived, for that matter he might not have made it through the first day of operation. Or had he become an alias for Twilight since the station was first commissioned?

Remember Applejack, the necromorphs will continue to see you as a threat, until you complete the game. Don't be afraid to shoot them up however, there's still plenty for you to become friends with when we're done. The office sector was deserted. An incomplete game of solimare blared on one screen; some others displayed highly inappropriate material. "There's always a few, isn't there. I wonder what they're doing now, kinda hard to get going with blades isn't it."

"Princess Sparkle, please respond. Princess, there are necromorphs closing in on your position, we have no security teams left to escort you. Please hurry." She hesitated in her advance. That was way too easy. Did they really think that she would fall for a trap so blatantly obvious? "What the hay? Too late! They've already reached the inner bulkhead. Locking down doors. Princess, if you can still hear this, I advise that you teleport now before shields are restored."

"Well, that's a bit more like it. Kinda funny how that worked out, all this time I assumed you were a bucking coward. But you decided to stay and face me instead. Shame that doesn't mean anything, I'll still gladly shoot you in the flank." She checked the count on all four of her weapons. Two rockets loaded, five blades ready to fire. Once she was in an upright position, the latter would be at just the right level to slice heads.

No body, no limbs, nothing to come back and bite me in the flank. She checked her locator again. Her office wasn't too far, if it could even be called her office. A seeker rifle would be pretty effective at keeping anything at bay given the sheer length. But that would give her extra room to perform the execution with precision. Every single moment had to be perfect. This would be her one and only chance after all.

Further along towards the docking bay, she could hear the necromorphs. They weren't concerned about her, not yet at least. Their focus had been shifted to whatever lay inside the lab, the big experiment that caused it all. All the better, she needed time alone for this. It wouldn't do at all to have her goal interrupted by a stray slasher. You're so close Applejack. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe long enough to complete your goal. Just, be ready to run when you achieve it.

"Yeah, sure. It's not like I want her head for a trophy, video is enough." A sign marked the entrance to the office clearly. The doors were wide open, no blood or other signs of necromorph attack in sight. Beneath the helmet, she licked her lips in anticipation. "Time's up darlin'." Shade's utmost stealth was clear in her mind when she stepped out into the open. Standing upright, each step barely making a sound on the carpet, her stride stopped four metres away from the table.

Twilight's horn and mane was just barely visible above the top of the chair. Deep purple with violet streaks. Unmistakable. "Farewell partner." The next three things she did came with cold precision. A ripper blade fired, followed by the grab of her kinesis, and a single rocket, one after the other. The blade was well ahead of the other two, with good reason.

Its sharp cutting edge tore right through the chair with a brief flurry of feathers. They themselves were splattered with blood as the blade reached the back of Twilight's neck. Metal ground against bone while it severed her spinal column clean through. A sharp ting marked the end of its life when slamming through into the solid metal wall beyond. Her head began to spin in the air above the sliced chair.

Her kinesis came into effect at that moment. The tip of the beam grabbed onto the head, pulling it back after a few milliseconds. It passed by the rocket at the metre mark. All of that happened in just a matter of seconds, followed by a rather satisfied explosion that completely obliterated the table and chair. Parts of Twilight's body flew all over the back wall in a splatter.

The head came to rest in her hooves. Purple bandanna, missing eye, long slender horn. Just about all of her skin had been dissolved by some sort of potent substance, but there was no doubting that it was in fact Twilight's head. And she had captured every single moment on camera. "Hey Shade, I'm transmitting now. Take a good look; I can officially confirm that Princess Twilight Sparkle is dead. If you ever get a chance to swing by Sweet Apple Acres, give my love to the family. So long."

Immediately after the recording finished, she tossed Twilight's head to the side. "Now, what was it about running, Discord? I seem to be lacking a reason to..." A series of squelches drew her attention back to the end of the office, now a patch of charred carpet and wood. Most of Twilight's body had survived the explosion, and now seemed to be regrowing. "Oh buck. This is not fair!"

She fired off a stasis pulse and galloped off. A regenerator. Of course, the alicorn would become a regenerator, it all made sense now. Unlike the others, they were just figments of her imagination, right? This time, she had seen Twilight go from a corpse who had probably injected herself with deadly acid, to a necromorph that could regenerate, as well as presumably use magic and fly. An earth pony was no match for that.

Just outside, scores of slashers accompanied pregnants, twitchers and unicorns on the final approach to the docking bay. There was very little time left before the shields went up, and any chance of getting inside would be gone. "Come on Applejack. This is just one enormous rodeo. There's always a side entrance that you can use, just get in past the bulkhead and you're clear."

A terrible cry from behind her drew the attention of pretty much every body wreaking havoc on their path towards her. Trapped between the innumerable and the invincible. One of those choices led to her goal. She noticed Twilight's mangled body coming out of the office towards her when she reared up for what could be the last charge. Somehow, she would eventually destroy her completely. "Yeehaw!"

Necromorphs went flying with each rear of her head. The twitchers had a hard time keeping up with their own messy way of walking. More than once though, she felt a blade slash one of her hind legs. Nothing slowed her down. In fact, the sheer amount of necromorphs there proved to be the perfect cover against the unicorns. Each attack caused the unprotected bodies to disintegrate down to piles of bubbling flesh.

Her body met open air. The gallop had left her virtually blind to her surroundings, only now she could see the polished walls quickly transition into crushed metal. Their kinesis tug hadn't been completely accurate; most of the tramline had gone right into the floor. But it had brought the doors down low enough for her to get through. A single rocket could potentially blast through before the shielding locked her out.

"Full of bad ideas today, aren't I?" There was a few metres distance at most between her and the horde. About six seconds of breathing room, enough time to fire and get moving again. But she'd be cutting it very close with the explosion. Remember Applejack, you get a free instant refill on your health. Take the chance, you won't get it again.

She made her move in sheer desperation. The moment she aimed her hoof at the door, a single rocket flew off. The remaining four seconds she left to give the explosion enough time to do its work before resuming the charge. "Warning. Shield activation imminent. Please step away from projected field zone." Of course, there had been little consideration for how well her RIG held up against explosions. Now was the best and worst time to test.

Alarms went flying inside her helmet when she made contact with the outward force from her leap. Better than having her face melted off immediately. Shrapnel slashed her hip as she passed through the ruined doorway. It had dissipated by the time she landed on the other side. "Breach detected, closing down secondary bulkheads. Shields online and running. Lock-down complete."

Her RIG was covered in scorch marks and smaller slashes, all of which faded away very quickly. "So this is explosion resistant, among other things. Maybe..." The platform beneath her fell away to drop her down into the corridor behind the main bulkhead. Several laser pointers were trained in her direction. "Aw come on. This ain't fair." There was no questioning the score of security ponies with rifles aimed right at her head.

"Applejack! Drop your weapons and surrender, by order of Princess Twilight Sparkle." Applejack actually scoffed. She actually had to remind herself of what exactly happened, that she herself had cut her head off with a saw blade not even a minute earlier.

"Hey, news flash. I just killed her. Orders don't mean anything anymore. Though if you want to question that, she should be coming by any moment now!" In the following spray of bullets, several hit her helmet directly while she moved for cover. None penetrated through to shatter her skull into a brain shredding mess. "Never a dull moment is there? Well, time to introduce them to the new and improved Princess."

Toilets would provide her an extra minute to escape the inevitable search. Just about everypony she knew still had qualms about even setting hoof in the wrong side. "Spread out, search every room. She can't have gone far; otherwise the sensors would have picked her up." Applejack slipped into the mare's room shortly after. A vent low down for dispersing fresh oxygen seemed to be the best escape.

"Now, if only I had a map." She lifted the cover up with great care. This was a moment where Shade's expertise in stealth would be invaluable. Still, she managed to crawl head first into the vents without making enough noise that anypony outside would hear her. The door opened as she lowered the cover back into place. It would only take a light flash into the vents for them to find her.

As she entered the room, her search light scanned over each of the walls briefly. "Applejack, I don't take pleasure in doing this. But Twilight was right about one thing, letting the necromorphs into this lab will cause an event that nothing can stop. Turn yourself in now, and I will personally ensure that the others do not treat you poorly. I've seen enough death; there is no need for more." There was no response. "Fine, I tried to be reasonable."

Each time that a cubicle door slammed open, Applejack took another step away from the vent cover. By stretching out each stride to the comfortable limit, her tail was well out of sight by the time door eight slammed open. "No sign of her in the restroom. Moving on." Applejack let herself breathe out for a moment when she heard the guard hesitate. "Fine, checking vents and other means of escape as well."

Her heart rate shot up at that moment. This was no different from before, she couldn't turn around properly inside the vent to prevent her from warning the others. The cover opened up again, light from a flashlight poured in. "All clear. Moving on to next room." A minute passed, after which the door opened and closed again. Applejack didn't move for another few minutes, and even then she kept her steps very light when moving.

It took some time to work her way through into a control room above the main corridor. One side gave her a view of the security barricade, the other displayed the bulkhead. "Perfect, now it's time to wreak some chaos." She kept very low to the floor until she could reach the control panel discreetly. Excellent work Applejack. You're so close now, the anticipation is breathtaking!

Her head poked up enough to get a look at the screen. No bullets went flying, and she didn't hear any alarms going off. Another lick of her lips focused her concentration as she began to access the controls. "Shutting down shields. Kinetic locks disabled. Automatic defence systems offline. Sensors offline. Warning, biohazard detected in Bulkhead 3. Evacuate area immediately."

"She's up there! Open fire!" Glass rained down under the assault of bullets going through the observation window. "Forget her, they're breaking in!" Applejack turned off her helmet to peer through the windows facing towards the bulkhead without being noticed. Twilight was wedged in between the two massive doors, forcing them open. The kinetic locks had to have been the only thing keeping her out. "Is that the Princess?"

Another dragon made its appearance when Twilight's body fell through. This one punched a massive hole right through the split in the doors to open the way for more necromorphs. Applejack had to move to the other side and watch the resulting massacre for herself. Hundreds of bodies, all tearing the handful of security guards into shreds. A hoof flew up over her head to land somewhere near her tail. How delightful! This is why I chose you Applejack; you can truly appreciate the beauty of Chaos. Go now, and wreak havoc on what remains of the station!

Twilight passed by at that moment. With the bandanna gone, the gaping hole in her skull seemed to glare at her. She was gone again amidst swarms of slashers. Applejack crawled over towards a door on the other side of the room. "I'm looking forward to it." Only when the vast majority of the horde had passed through did she feel confident enough to open the door.

The observation room gave her a disturbing view of the necromorphs running by. At any moment, one of them could see her walking down the ramp and attack. And, when one attacked, more would follow right behind. They seemed too intent on getting deeper into the lab to care however. "Okay, I'll need to find a map. Any chance you could help me with that Discord?"

A memory chip dropped out of thin air. She plugged it into her suit without hesitation. "Right, there's an inner chamber that the whole lab surrounds. I bet that's where the source of this is being kept." It was accessible through several locations, the closest of which worked out to be the manufacturing plant. "They had the whole set up here, shame that somepony let monsters in to wreck it all."

Oh, Shade left you an extra present. It's a cloaking module; you can remain invisible for two minutes at most before it burns out. You might find it best suited to make it through this part without detection. A small, cylindrical object dropped down at her hooves. It certainly looked like Changeling technology. "Fine by me, I wouldn't mind being able to sneak past them without getting my hooves dirty."

The module attached to her chest with ease. While approaching the door that would take her back into the main corridor, she reminded herself not to run wildly. Invisibility didn't mean silence in any regard. A few necromorphs became distracted by the opening door momentarily. Soon they moved to investigate, finding nothing of course. Applejack had passed through another doorway by then.

Carnage was a sight that had been lacking until now. Quite a few mangled bodies hung limp from vents, letting blood drip into pools below them. But most of it was what she had become accustomed to. Gutted bodies, limbs all over the place. Only a couple of dead necromorphs to the number of guards left in the slaughter. "They really need to work out that you need to cut the limbs off if you want them to stay dead."

It was a repeated scene through all the rooms she passed through. More and more scientists turned up as she progressed, as did the number of research notes detailing only an 'experiment'. There didn't seem to be much point in trying to learn more from writing, when she would see it for herself soon enough. Go on Applejack, you're so close now. The next room will give you a view of what you've wanted to see all this time.

That was reason enough for her to pick up the pace. This last room had another bench, which she chose to ignore in favour of seeing the wonder Twilight had created. It didn't redeem her for being a traitor to all of Equestria, but it was less reason to hate the regenerating necromorph walking around somewhere on the station. "Alrighty then, where is it?"

Discord appeared with a statuette on his paw. Unlike any model she had seen before, it looked like two whips of stone twisted around to form an odd sort of claw at the peak. "That's it? For pony's sake, this what is causing all the disasters on this station?" Discord let it fall to the floor while letting out a long burst of laughter. Once again, he was having fun at her expense.

"Oh Applejack, don't be so serious. This is a model of the Black Marker, the artifact found on Equestria with the weapon that Twilight used. Just beyond that wall, she built a replica to study it in secret." Applejack picked the model up to look at it closely. The markings seemed to glow very faintly. "And why would she bother you may ask? Well, it's quite simple..." He leaned down towards her as if to reveal a secret. She leaned closer as an instinctive response.

"I'll tell you when you reach it, for now you should hurry to the inner chamber. Things are about to get interesting." He vanished in the usual fashion with that. Applejack didn't speak for once, not even the urge to complain about his ways caused her to open her mouth. Her full attention had become fixated on the model in front of her eyes, and the strange symbols burning deep into her mind.

Night. "Fine, if you're going to play games. This had better not take long." Once again, she consulted the map. Her path into the inner chamber was just a few more rooms away, and she hadn't encountered a single necromorph in that time. "Why do I get the feeling that's gonna change any time now?" Determination was taking over her whole body. The end goal was too close to miss now.

Rooms were becoming a blur by then. There wouldn't be much point in stopping to search for materials now when the end was so close. Her pace had reached a point where she almost fell to her death when crossing through yet another door into the expanse. Before her stood the inner chamber, surrounded by countless walkways. Necromorphs were streaming into that chamber from several doors around the outer wall.

"Warning, biohazard detected in Marker Containment. Evacuate immediately." Applejack began towards the door leading into the chamber. An end to the madness around her at last. Already, she found herself envisioning life on the station after the end. No more rules to follow, no schedules to keep. Oh dear, it seems that even in death, Twilight isn't going to let you win that easily.

Two mangled hooves landed firmly on the walkway before her. A lot of the flesh hadn't regrown, leaving bones sticking out in every direction. What remained of the wings had become two sets of bone blades. The horn in turn now bore several spikes for cutting up anything that tried to get near. Twilight definitely wasn't in a good mood.

"Oh come on. This is a bigger cliché than anypony can possibly imagine." She stood upright to aim her rocket launcher directly at the necromorph approaching. She could either try to fight, or take the easy way out. "I've had enough of this." Another stasis charge hit Twilight directly. Applejack resumed her normal pose and continued on, delivering a swift kick to send the slowly moving body off the edge for good measure.

The door opened up her long awaited sight. Hundreds of metres tall, a Marker in full view of the platform she found herself standing on. "Convergence is at hoof, Applejack. Witness the glory of Chaos and Harmony, coming together." A terribly loud sound threatened to blow her eardrums right through her RIG's helmet. Necromorphs began to fly around the expansive inner chamber, collecting together between the two prongs into a lump of flesh that grew with every passing second. Only then did she see Discord beside her.

"That sound... The weapon made the exact same sound. But, why is this Marker collecting all the bodies together? What does Convergence mean?" He was gone again, without even leaving a lingering voice in her head. "Fine, I guess I just have to get down there myself. It'd be a lot easier if I could just fly over though." Gravity was still online, despite the flailing bodies circling the Marker on their way up to join the growth.

Not all of the bodies were being pulled up however. On her way down the thin stairs, she could see sickly black necromorphs closing in. These ones she did recognize right away. Changelings. They had all the features of typical necromorphs, though one key difference seemed to be the infused nano-fibre RIGs. A lot harder to kill than usual, and potentially far more deadly. She couldn't fight them, not with her limited weapons.

"What is it with these necromorphs and running? Discord, could you please put up signs that inform ponies to be more active?" To her surprise, that was exactly what he did. The funny side of being the example of somepony who wasn't active however was lost on her. "Works for me, this had better be a short run. I don't know how long I can keep this up."

Don't worry Applejack. There is only one or two security measures to bypass; you'll work them out very quickly. You're so close now, don't disappoint me. A single burst of stasis allowed her to run right through a whole group of varied 'necrolings' without getting hurt. All except for an infant, launching barbs at her far faster than the normal ones. She crawled underneath a slowly opening bulkhead before sealing it up again to save time.

That was one encounter too many for her liking. In her eagerness to get to the end, she had neglected to construct more ammunition. Her frustration grew when she moved to the next door, only to find that the scanner rejected her RIG. "Consarnit! Discord, this ain't easy. I don't got time to hack a control panel y'know." One of the vents burst open. Twilight was back, making her urgency far stronger. "Buck."

Take a quick look around. Your RIG isn't authorised, but perhaps somepony else can help you with that. More of his riddles. There was one thing that she could do in the meantime. "Sorry Twi." Two ripper blades aimed at her upper and lower body severed all the limbs at once. Coupled with a burst of stasis, that had just bought her a minute at most. "Okay, somepony to help. Somepony to help..."

One of the scientists was slumped over in a corner. "Sorry bout this partner, just be glad you did something worthwhile after you died." Kinesis didn't work on other RIGs unless the owner had died, fortunately that seemed to be the case. She couldn't see herself carrying him over and opening the door before Twilight came back to rip her apart again.

"Registering RIG, Marker Scientist Six One. Access granted." The stasis burst had worn off by then. Applejack didn't look back on her way out of the room and into the open air once more. Above, she could clearly see the growth now. It had come into contact with the prongs of the Marker, spreading down through the grooves. A quick glance gave her a look at the other corridor going back towards the gangway. One more room, then a clear run.

"Make us whole Applejack. We need you to make us whole." Rainbow Dash stood to one side of the path as she galloped past. She didn't care if it was just a leaper, or a total figment of her imagination. Neither would help get her to the Marker faster. Behind, she could hear the necrolings catching up again. Another door opened up to a room containing a vital bench.

"Applejack, you are the only one who can reunite the Elements. Make us whole." Fluttershy and Rarity watched while she made a few more rockets and ripper blades. Plasma was in no short supply. You will face Twilight one more time before the end. Be ready. This time she took on her upright form when leaving the last room. Everything was starting to become a blur now.

"Equestria is in danger. Discord can help, if you make us whole." Pinkie Pie faded as Twilight dropped down from above. I swore to protect Equestria against any and all threats! If that means killing one, or even all of the Elements of Harmony, then so be it! This time to her horror, Applejack's attempts to use stasis failed. Somehow, she had worked out how to counteract the effects of her only real weapon.

There was no fighting somepony that could just regrow everything. "Fine, taste rocket again Twilight!" The second rocket blew off her lower legs. That was enough for Applejack to get moving once more. Just ahead, one of the heat vents for the Marker itself lay open. "Oh I see now. Come on Twi! Keep up will ya?" A blast of heat caused her to stumble away from the open door momentarily. Twilight wasn't far away now.

Applejack took the chance and rushed through to the other side. Once Twilight was inside the chamber, she blew the door controls. You are making a big mistake Applejack. "Yeah, so did you Twi. Funny how that works." Both doors closed as another heat blast blew through the room. The necromorph trapped inside practically sublimed into a grey cloud of smoke.

Congratulations Applejack, you've completed the final stage of this game. Now, come on up to the Marker, and you'll be given your reward. No more necromorphs, no more hallucinations. She checked the state of all her weapons again before starting up the gangway. Above, the growth was continuing to increase in size. Convergence, bringing all the death and destruction together, to create something new.

Discord had chosen to relax on a beach chair, a piña colada resting on a small table to the side. "You wouldn't believe how good active Markers are for tanning. Anyway, come close so I can finish everything up." The warmth on her face was intense when she folded her helmet away. For once, he wasn't actually kidding about science. By then, she was right beside him in what felt like a pretty awkward position. "You will get to live on this station, without being hurt by the other necromorphs, simply because you are going... to become one."

Another loud burst from the Marker rocked through her body until she fell to her knees. "Convergence is my way out of your head, only the process will kill you. I'm sorry Applejack, but I had to use you for this. You're the only Element left that I could access; the others have gone their own ways. Now, time to let go." Pain flew through her spine when he grabbed onto her head. Betrayed by the one being left she had trusted. But of course, it was Discord after all.

*

Deep in the recesses of her mind, Applejack woke to a turbulent storm of memories. Every single necromorph she had killed, from Loud Mouth right to Twilight, flashed through her eyes. The final moments of her waking life were blurred as Discord arrived in her mind. At last, she remembered his betrayal. "Discord you bastard! I did everything you said, for what? Just so you could explode my head and get into that hunk of flesh?"

His laugh caused the rocky surface beneath her to shake violently. "Face it Applejack, you were on your last hooves anyway. Unwilling to keep up with the times, after what technology did for you in the war. You were the only one who clung to the days when I was still around. I'm only doing this to survive, nothing personal at all! Be glad that I'm not going to use your remains to build my new body!"

A beep came from her shoulder. The plasma cutter still worked, at least it seemed that way. It's not over... "Discord." He glanced in her direction from laughing to find a blade sawing off his legs. Bursts from her cutter removed his bird arm and the tail. Applejack took her time to walk over and crush his other arm off. "You shouldn't have told me that you were stuck in my head. Because this is my head! And nopony gets to mess with it!"

There was a moment in which he struggled to look up at her. Now nothing more than a head and really long body, it actually felt pretty pathetic. "I'm sorry Applejack. But, you wouldn't kill me, not like this? Plasma and Shade are still alive at least; I kept my promise about saving them." A firm kick in the jaw came back in response. This time when Applejack got to her knees, it was to speak to Discord on his level.

"I'm insane, remember? Promises mean nothing to me." Using her hoof, she hurled him right off the edge of the rocky platform into oblivion. Whatever sound the Marker made when activated shook through her head again. This time it didn't cause bodies to collect. A familiar face rose up from below to stare down at Applejack in her lowered position.

"I became obsessed with wealth, hoarding and plotting until I lost it all in the war. Nopony cared to help me out of the hole I had dug for myself, until I eventually sold myself off as a slave. All because you couldn't face the truth." She got back to her hooves and fired a rocket right at Rarity's floating face. She disappeared with a scream that nopony could possibly produce.

The platform shook again, this time from behind her. "I was drafted into the army as a front line soldier. When the Changelings captured me, I endured so much pain and torture that they had to keep me in stasis so I wouldn't kill myself. It all ended when I was shipped up here to become one of Twilight's experiments. All because you couldn't face the truth when it mattered most." Fluttershy's reaction was identical, a terrible scream that ate away more of her shrinking platform.

"I fled to the Lunar Colony when Twilight went mad. There, they forced me to work in the worst conditions just to survive, until I suffered radiation poisoning and lost my wings. All because you couldn't face the truth when it mattered most, when we needed you." Applejack clung to the edge when Rainbow Dash's demise caused her to slip off. Yet another face had appeared by the time she climbed back up.

"I had to work in a weapons factory, exposed to radiation and stasis on a daily basis. By the time I got out, over half my body had to be replaced with artificial parts just to stay alive. All because you couldn't face the truth when it matted most, when we needed you. This is your fault Applejack!" Pain was causing her vision to blur, made worse when Pinkie Pie exploded. Beneath her, the entire platform crumbled away to drop her down into the void.

One last face awaited her, one that she didn't want to face. "I clung to the past, hoping that things would get better. But when they didn't, I dropped everything and tried running away. And when things got tough, I completely snapped, and killed everypony I ever knew. All because I couldn't face the truth when it mattered most, when they needed me. This is your fault Applejack, just kill yourself and be done with it!"

Applejack looked down at her rocket launcher as it pressed into her chin. End it now, you said yourself you've got nothing to go back to. Despite what everything was telling her to do, she slowly aimed her hoof at the floating head. "Nice try Discord." The last rocket shattered Applejack's face clear through. Below, the Marker with its fleshy growth appeared for a split second. That too exploded into thousands of the symbols she had seen on it.

*

"Warning. Fatal energy containment failure detected. Station destruction estimated in approximately forty five seconds. Evacuate immediately, evacuate immediately." She woke to find herself on her back. The familiar alarm of her health readout rang in her ears. Above, what remained of the Marker would barely fit into an oversized sandwich. Nothing more than a thick frame and some charred remains.

It didn't matter anymore. She had done it in the end; the station would be utterly destroyed. All the necromorphs would be vaporized, unable to do any more damage. And her suffering would end too, no need to face the consequences of killing Twilight, or being declared Chaotic. "It's okay Applejack. We're here for you. Don't be afraid."

They were all there. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to her left. Pinkie Pie and Rarity to her right. No longer taunting her with stories of horror and suffering. Just there. "Thanks girls. For what it's worth, I'm sorry that Twilight couldn't change in the end." A bright light at her hooves caused her to look up again. Princess Celestia was standing there. Of all ponies, she hadn't made a single appearance until now.

"Your work is not over. Equestria will suffer greatly in your absence, and you are the only pony who can save it. Sleep for now, I will watch over you. Discord will never haunt your mind again." Applejack closed her eyes in the long awaited peace. As her helmet closed up, she felt the floor beneath her warm up. "Station destruction in three, two, one."

From the test lab, through to the docking bay where the kinesis shuttles sat. Across the advanced RIG lab, and hydroponics. While Manehattan Towers split into two, the main Docking Bay vaporized. Flesh on the Medical Deck burned, damaged ships disintegrated in the Repair Bay. The last part of the station to be touched by the explosion was quite possibly the table at which Applejack, Plasma Blast and Air Head ate lunch on her first day on the job. Equestria's glimmering jewel in the sky, the pinnacle of space technology, gone forever.

*

"This is Pegasi Cruiser Stormcloud. We have collected the package and stored it in stasis, what are your instructions?"

"Take it back to the asylum in Cloudsdale. Keep it in stasis for as long as possible. Somehow, the Marker was destroyed, and her brain holds the key to that. Inform me of any results you find, when you find them. Twilight Sparkle out."