A few days after the train mission Cole, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were patrolling a section of the Neon district. Earlier that day Moya had informed them of large amounts of people getting sick from drinking any water. They found a small medical outpost in a large alley being run by Cole's ex, Trish.
She ran up to them after tending to a patient. She didn't look too happy to see them.
"This is like the fountain all over again, why aren't you guys stopping this?" She said as Twilight started to move towards Trish, but Cole put a hand on her shoulder. She got the message.
"Me and Twilight blew up a tanker full of that stuff under the park last night. Figured that would do the trick." He said as Trish got an annoyed look on her face.
"Well it's coming from somewhere," She snapped as she turned back to the camp." These people aren't getting sick on their own Cole." She finished as she returned to her patients.
Rainbow turned to him, "So, I guess were going to find out what's going on?"
"Yeah," He said as he dialed up Moya's number. "Hey Moya, it's that black tar again. There's sick people all over the place. Any idea what's causing it?"
"The only remaining source of water in that area is from the water towers on the rooftops." She replied.
"Alright, we'll head up there and see what we can do." He finished as he hung up the phone. He turned to address the rest of his group. "We're heading to the rooftops."
Fluttershy and Rainbow nodded as they took flight, reaching the roof of a nearby building in seconds. Cole and Twilight began to climb up that very same building. Cole had told all non-flyers of their little group to practice climbing and parkour as much as possible, stating that it was an invaluable skill needed to navigate the city.
When they reached the roof they immediately noticed a water tower with a large keg attached to it. It had several Reapers guarding it.
"Okay, Fluttershy and Rainbow, Take to the sky, try to distract them for a long as you can. Twilight and I will take em out and deal with that keg."
"Right," Rainbow replied as she and Fluttershy took to the sky, the Reapers immediately noticing them. After a few seconds of missed shots, the Reapers realized what was happening when one of their soldiers flew off the roof. The turned to see Cole and Twilight charging them. Their attempts to gun them down proved futile as their bullets stopped in midair, a purple glow surrounding them. Before the Reapers could react the bullets turned around and were sent back at them. Cole and Twilight began to take them out with blasts of lightning and energy.
After the last Reaper fell, the group gathered around the water tower, unsure of how they were going to remove the keg.
"I could blast it." Cole said.
"But then you'll get tar all over us," Rainbow argued. The rest of the group looked at her with confused faces.
"That sounds like something Rarity would say," Cole chuckled as Rainbows face turned red with anger.
"You said that stuff messed with your head last night. So it should stand to reason that...."
While Rainbow argued with Cole, Twilight crouched down near the base of the keg were it was attached to the water tower. I think I have an idea." She said as she raised her right hand. Before anyone could question what she was doing, a long, glowing purple blade sprouted from the palm of her hand.
She began to cut in areas where the keg was bolted to the tower. If she was right, then the weight of the tar in the keg would cause it to fall of the tower.
And it did just that after cutting the last support beam, hitting the ground with a satisfying thud.
She turned around to see Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash staring at her, wide-eyed and gaping mouths. Cole simply had a smirk on his face.
"I think we just found our way of dealing with those kegs."
About fifteen minutes later the group was ready to head back to the roof. They had removed three more kegs in the area, each one was surrounded by Reapers.
Twilight had taken a shotgun shell to the thigh while dealing with the last keg, and was laying next to an AC unit while Fluttershy tended to her wound.
"We should tell the others about this." Said Fluttershy as she finished transferring the wound over to her own thigh, taking a seat next to Twilight so that her enhanced healing could do its work. "If any of them come across these, we wouldn't want them to try destroying it."
"Yeah," Twilight began as she got up. "We'll tell them when we get back. Knowing the Reapers, they probably have a few more of these spread throughout the Neon."
(Author's note: This fit's the next scene well.)
"She's going to be pretty pissed about that, you know."
They all turned to see a man dressed in a white hooded trench coat with a scarf around his neck. He had several cybernetic-looking areas of his body, mainly his chest and right arm. His eyes were a bright blue with no pupils that gave off an dim glow.
"Who the hell are you?" Cole asked as his hands sparked with electricity.
"My name is of no importance," Said the man, who began to walk towards the group, "But it would be wise of you to hold still."
He vanished from sight, only to reappear inches away from Cole. The mans hands were gripping both sides of Cole's head for a few moments before Cole collapsed on the ground, grasping his head in pain.
"HEY!" Dash shouted as she rushed him, using her speed close the distance between them within seconds.
But it was no use. The man simply vanished and reappeared about ten feet behind her, bringing up his right hand and unleashing a bolt of pure, white lightning. It struck Rainbow with enough force to send her spiraling over the side of the building.
"RAINBOW!" Fluttershy shouted as she leaped off the building to catch her.
Twilight charged the man, both of her energy blades ignited. When she reached him she began to wildly swing, forcing the man to go on the defensive, but only for a moment. When he saw an opening, he grabbed her left wrist, squeezing tightly so that Twilight lost concentration, causing the blade in her hand to dissipate. She tried to strike him, but he grabbed her other wrist before she could act.
"Your eyes...." He said, "They remind me of myself when I was a little older than you."
"What are you talking about?" She said as she tried in vain to wrench herself free of his grip.
"The pain of losing someone you love, knowing that you'll never see them again. And the burning rage to make those responsible suffer." He pushed to the ground, releasing her as he prepared a lightning bolt.
She got back on her feet, rage filling her eyes, "Believe me when I say this," She said as she ignited her left energy blade. "I am nothing," then her right blade ignited, "like you." She finished as she charged him, swinging wildly once again as he backed up, avoiding the blades as he waited for an opening. when that opening appeared, he fired straight into her stomach, causing her to fly back to the ground. Before she could get up a boot connected with her stomach, causing her to writhe in pain on the ground.
"I'll leave you with this." He said as he turn to leave.
"My name is Kessler, and I'm your worst nightmare come to life." And with that, he vanished.
Twilight lay on the ground, clutching her stomach in pain. She had failed. Failed the group, and herself.
She let out scream full of with pain and rage into the midday sky.