I could clearly see Las Pegasus in the distance now, it’s buildings growing taller as the train drew closer. Harmony had arrived the night before in preparation for the concert I would be attending tonight. It would be good to see her again after our last meeting, even if the city we were set to cross paths in was on the bottom of my list of places to visit for personal reasons.
I had to try and enjoy tonight, a task made difficult with what I considered judgement day looming over the horizon. Thoughts of what the outcome might be if I won or lost kept me from slipping into a completely relaxed state of mind. Hopefully, Harmony’s songs would be enough to chase my fears away, if only for a little while.
I opened my saddle bag and pulled out the mask Rarity had spruced up for me. In the center was a diamond cut patch of the original green suit I had worn for a while when I was being trained by Lean Streak. She protested that the design didn’t fit, but I insisted. Upon learning of my reasoning from Applejack she added green trimming to the rest of the outfit, out of respect.
“Give me a bit of inspiration and I can pull just about anything together,” was her line upon presenting it to me.
Thoughts of my friends brought a smile to my muzzle. I let my mind drift off to what they might be doing right now, probably saving the world from catastrophic events or stopping some monster that wants to enslave everypony. There was the chance that they could just be going about their normal routines.
Applejack would be tending to her farm with Big Mac and Apple Bloom. Rarity working on new designs, while Pinkie Pie helped with the sales at Sugar Cube Corner, and talked to her imaginary friends. Seriously though, Pinkie Pie creeped me out when she did that, she would just stop and turn her head slightly and ask thin air an open ended question.
Rainbow Dash would be sleeping a good portion of the day away before speeding through her work. Fluttershy would be tending to the animals that came her way, while Twilight would be busying herself with a book or perhaps some duty that required her attention…which would then lead to the world ending crisis.
“Now arriving at Las Pegasus Main Station,” a voice over the intercom of the train said. “Please ensure all personal belongs have been packed as train staff are not responsible for loss, theft, or damage.”
I rolled my eyes at the policy as the train slowly came to a stop. As I waited I noticed a filly watching me, eyes displaying her curiosity. She clutched a small doll in her left foreleg as she watched me. A bat foal at first glance, but had traits matching pegasi too, though both were from the same genetic branch.
My hunch was confirmed by the mare beside her which seemed to be preoccupied at the moment. Her coat was purple in color, and her mane was orange and blue. Occasionally she would glance down at the filly, ensuring she was still close by like any mother would. While a bat stallion hung upside down, his eyes covered in what appeared to be some type of aviator goggles with dark lenses. Drool occasionally dripped from his open mouth, until the mare beside him nudged his side.
"Are you going to race against Zero?" the foal asked.
"I'm going to try," I replied.
"Please disembark now, and thank you for traveling with us," a voice said over the intercom of the train as the doors opened.
The mare comically gave the stallion's ear a tug to wake him up, dislodging him from his roost. He grumbled a bit before following her out, the light reflecting off his glorified sun glasses.
"Bye," the filly said sheepishly following after her parents.
With a halfhearted chuckle I followed suit, heading towards the hotel Thunderlane and the others were supposed to meet me at later tonight. Cloudchaser wouldn’t be among them this time, she had been called in by the Wonderbolts which left Flitter in charge while we were gone.
I wanted her to be here; it’s amazing what a good woman, or mare, can do for a guy. Whenever my motivation for continuing to go through with traveling, racing, and waking up at ungodly times was beginning to wax thin, she knew exactly what to say or do to keep me going.
I couldn't look at things so negatively though, I had my friends at my side, and Lean Streak with me in spirit. Somehow, I knew he would be watching tomorrow, his teeth gritting with every inch gained or lost.
Before I realized it, I was in front of the hotel I would be staying at, my body having switched to auto pilot as I let my mind roam through my inner most thoughts and concerns. Without the rest of my team here to try and enjoy the city, there wasn't much to do other than wait for the concert, which would be a few hours.
---
"You're one hundred percent certain about this?" Isabella asked. "As much as I don't like the guy, pegging him for murder is a bit much, especially for somepony halfway across Equestria."
"I fear for your niece’s safety, not to mention your brother's," Noctra replied. "I know murder is a serious charge, but what else could it be?"
Isabella crossed her arms in thought as she considered what the bat pony had brought before her. Noctra had stayed up through the night to tell her this and was probably running on fumes.
"Does Celestia or Luna know?" Isabella asked.
"Luna told me to drop it, that it was a dead end," Noctra sighed. "You already know how Celestia feels, so it's all on us Izzy.”
"We were told to stay away and leave him be, if you can't prove it's him, we'll both be in trouble," Isabella cautioned.
"I know, that's been going through my head every few seconds, but if I'm right then somepony else is going to get hurt too, or worse," Noctra said.
Isabella looked over at the nightstand where the bottle was hidden from view as she wrestled with the idea of going after a corrupt pegasus. She had already been down this road before, now she was having to make the choice willingly.
Not to mention the fact that having a small baby bump wasn’t helping things. Cadance had already tried to determine what it would be, and had been unsuccessful which did little to settle her. The results of the bubble gum alicorn, or lack thereof, had been buzzing around her mind lately, but with this new information brought before her it pushed it to the back of her subconscious.
"Can you get more of your friends?" Isabella asked.
"I can pull a few favors," Noctra nodded. "They'll want to know what's going on though."
"Then you'd better make sure they're friends you can trust," Isabella said as she threw what looked like a simple book bag over her shoulder, until she opened it to check the crystals inside.
The woman walked over to the nightstand and quickly stashed the two bottles that held the transformation potion, gifted to her by Discord. While she didn't anticipate needing it, she didn't know what to expect from Flicker.
"Going undercover?" Noctra asked.
"Hardly, just get your guys ready and meet me by the train station as soon as possible," Isabella replied.
“I don’t think you’re in any shape to be in the thick of any action,” Noctra chuckled nervously.
“Noctra, if this asshole killed my niece’s parents then I’m going to see him brought in,” Isabella huffed. “I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!”
“I have to agree with Noctra,” Blueblood said, causing Isabella and Noctra to jump. “I can’t let you go there, not alone anyways.”
“Babe, please, I have to make sure they’re safe,” Isabella pleaded.
“I know, there’s no stopping you once you’ve set your mind to something,” Blueblood sighed. “That’s why I’m going with you.”
“Wait…what?” Isabella asked wide eyed.
“You heard me, beside it will make getting there with a hooffull of guards easier if royalty is attending,” Blueblood smirked.
“He’s got a point Izzy,” Noctra commented.
“I do hope you have substantial evidence to hold Flicker accountable ,however,” Blueblood cautioned. “Outside of safe guarding me, any actions you take are of your own account. I suggest you make each one of them count.”
“There’s enough evidence, and now that Luna is around she can see into his memories if we can convince her,” Noctra said confidently.
“Then it seems all that remains is to bring Flicker back to Canterlot,” Blueblood said. “Assemble who you think would be best for this, since there’s no turning back once you start to read Flicker his rights. Make that very clear to them.”
With a heartfelt salute Noctra disappeared from the room as a blur, despite her obviously tired state, leaving Isabella and Blueblood alone together. The woman stared at the unicorn as a few tears escaped her eyes before she knelt down and hugged his neck tightly.
“If this is the one responsible for Brave Banner and Summer Star’s deaths then they will face justice,” Blueblood said as he stroked her hair.
“I know, I’m also saddened by that,” Isabella replied.
“Saddened?” Blueblood stopped stroking her hair in confusion. “Why would you feel sad about a criminal being brought to justice?”
“Because there’s a chance that Flicker is Scootaloo’s real father,” Isabella sighed.
Blueblood pulled away, scanning Isabella’s expression for any hint of morbid humor, or sarcasm. Thankfully there was none to be found, which brought about a new feeling of anger the stallion never knew existed within him. The thought of one’s own father trying to kill a child was absolutely deplorable.
“No father would willingly try to harm their own child,” Blueblood said. “Your niece has two wonderful parents that love her. Isabella, until I met you I didn’t know what it meant to truly care for somepony. This is my way of redemption for that.”
Noctra was careful to avoid the rays of sun that were shining through the window now. She was running on nothing but apple juice and caffeine. She had been trained to endure worse, and knew her body could take it, going so far as to switch her sleeping schedule entirely if the situation called for it.
She would need to take four days off in order to readjust herself, but could slip back into night life easily enough. That would take care of itself though, for now Noctra had to gather her close knit circle of friends that she could trust. In fact, the more she thought about it the risk and consequences of what she was about to do seemed to become greater each time.
Still, her choice had already been made, and her duty was to keep Equestria safe, from threats both foreign and domestic. Flicker most definitely fell under the latter category, and would have to answer for his crimes that he had gotten away with for so long.
---
Scootaloo and Start Sprint followed Flitter to the train station as they prepared to leave. It was her aunt’s idea to be there, win or lose, for the filly’s father since Cloudchaser couldn’t be there. The only one who didn’t seem to be in favor of the plan was Stormwalker, who seemed adamant about not going.
“Noh!” Stormwalker fussed, utilizing one of the words from his limited vocabulary.
“Is that his favorite word?” Star Sprint asked as they waited for the train.
“It’s that, Dada, wawa, and snoo,” Scootaloo replied.
“Snoo?” Star Sprint laughed.
“We’re still trying to figure out what it means,” Scootaloo shrugged.
“It means I have an awesome aunt,” Flitter giggled, removing Stormwalker from the side carrier to let him walk for a while.
“Aunt Flitter, do you miss Cloudchaser sometimes?” Scootaloo asked.
“Why would you ask that munchkin?” Flitter asked in return.
“Because you always seem sad whenever we leave the house,” Scootaloo replied.
“Well, I miss her, but she has you guys now,” Flitter explained. “I can’t keep her from her kids, even the one that’s fully grown and should know better sometimes.”
“You mean dad?” Scootaloo giggled.
“I wasn’t going to point hooves, but yes,” Flitter smiled warmly at Scootaloo, instinctively stretching her left foreleg out to keep Stormwalker from falling muzzle first onto the train station’s loading dock.
“He’s not that bad, is he?” Star Sprint asked.
“He’s not bad by any means, he’s got a good heart,” Flitter said. “It’s just he can be a bit foalish sometimes. I honestly don’t think he even realizes he does it.”
The loud whistle of the approaching train echoed across the mid-morning air. At its sounding, Flitter secured Stormwalker in the carrier once more, earning a few displeased grunts and whines from his sudden loss of freedom.
The small group didn’t have to wait long before the train pulled into Ponyville, grinding to a slow halt. The engine expelled steam from its sides as the conductor allowed the machine a brief reprieve from the seemingly endless toil of carrying passengers all across the kingdom.
Scootaloo’s eyes widened in surprise as the train cars’ doors opened to reveal Isabella. She hadn’t been expecting her other aunt to be dropping by, but that wasn’t the weirdest part by a long shot. The longer Scootaloo looked inside the train car, she realized Prince Blueblood was accompanying her, alongside a mix of two bat ponies, an earth pony and two unicorn soldiers. All wore armor that displayed their allegiance to their respective princess, but for both to be seen at once was an oddity.
“Oh, uh, hey Scootaloo,” Isabella smiled nervously.
“Hi Izzy, umm, what are you doing here with all these guards?” Scootaloo asked.
“We’re just on our way to see your dad,” Noctra replied quickly before either Blueblood or Isabella could speak. “My friends and I are here to keep Blueblood safe, since he’s a prince and all, you know how that goes.”
“How about that, we were on our way to go see him too,” Flitter said as she cast a knowing look towards Isabella. “No time like the present to catch up on things.”
“Yeah, there’s a lot to talk about,” Isabella said, nodding to Flitter.
---
Zero stared down at the ticket he had been given, it’s glossy surface providing a blurry reflection of the stallion as he pondered what to do with it. He knew Impulse would want to run a few final diagnostics before the race, but he didn’t detect any issues. Aside from the ever present boredom that seemed to accompany the curse of “perfection” he was fine.
Zero never had an interest in modern music, but it was a gift from his only friend’s sister. The little colt had been forth coming with every detail about his rescue. He couldn’t let something like this go to waste, so it was worth a try at least.
“One or two songs couldn’t hurt,” Zero said to himself as he headed for the door.
The afternoon sun had already started to set, and his internal clock was telling him that it was time to go. He didn’t mind, Flicker had visited again and was acting odd, and while Zero couldn’t experience fear in the literal sense of the word, something didn’t register with the looks that the pegasus would give the clock work pony.
Impulse, his ego by now inflated to an all-time high, ignored Zero when he brought Flicker up. He trusted him, despite his creepy tendencies and odd questions. The racer couldn’t bring himself to do the same, despite his ‘father’s’ wishes.
Unlatching the window, Zero took to the skies and flew towards the concert, not entirely sure what to expect. He knew there would be loud music, and a noisy crowd but little else past that. He couldn’t help but notice the lack of activity in the normally busy streets as he flew above them.
As he drew closer to the concert, he picked up a small vibration that developed into a steady throb. Zero landed just outside the concert to present his ticket, a small act of normality that even he had to adhere to. As he had expected the looks and stares he received varied in response from curious to hateful.
Zero shook his head and left the on lookers without a second thought. He was just following instructions, how could he be wrong for doing that?
“Umm….sir?” a timid voice called out from behind him, which belonged to a unicorn. “Y-you forgot this with your voucher.”
Zero’s eyes focused on what was held in her aura, he hadn’t been expecting anything else to come with the small, meaningless piece of paper. Much to his surprise, however, the mare was presenting him with a VIP pass.
“Thanks,” Zero said, not wanting to hold the line up.
VIP, things were starting to get a little more interesting now. Zero had been in booths before, but it had always been after the races, never when there was anything of interest going on. Now he was curious to see what he may have been missing out on.
Upon reaching the VIP both, Zero opened the door to find the last pony he expected to see at an event like this. Daniel didn’t seem to notice him at first, until the metallic whirring of his joints and shifting plates alerted the stallion of his presence.
The two stared at each other in silence, even as the steady throbbing of the music became muffled slightly once Zero shut the door. He could tell from Daniel’s expression he wanted to leave, but shook his head and turned away from him as he focused on the view the window provided.
“…hi,” Zero said in an attempt to strike up some sort of conversation.
“Hi,” Daniel replied, his gaze still fixed on the crowd below.
Zero knew he was perhaps the most hated among the racers for being what he was. It’s not that he could help it though; he hadn’t asked for life. While he didn’t know what he was before consciousness, he assumed it was far better than being despised.
Little else was said, even as the lights died down, and the music shifted. A voice suddenly rang out through the roar of cheers, lights flickering and flashing as the music picked back up with the mare’s voice.
“What made you want to come?” Daniel’s voice was quiet.
“A friend gave me a ticket...my first friend,” Zero replied.
Silence fell over the two of them once more as they focused on the song once more. Zero watched the unicorn move about with a methodical grace that could put royalty to shame. Every move the mare took seemed to be precise and perfect; it was then that Zero realized that this was part of a routine.
“You know she’s blind right?” Daniel asked.
“Her ability to perform such moves would be highly improbable if that were true,” Zero shook his head.
“See her horn?” Daniel motioned with his head towards the stage. “It’s aglow so she can see, she’s using her magic.”
“…utilizing an aura current as a form of echolocation?” Zero thought aloud. “What do you base this theory on?”
“It’s not a theory, she’s let me experience it,” Daniel replied. “Harmony is a friend of mine from before I looked like your run of the mill pony.”
“How did you become friends?” Zero asked.
“We just talked for a bit and kind of hit it off, there wasn’t much to it,” the stallion replied. “I’ve always tried to attend a few concerts and keep in touch since we both stay pretty busy.”
“You’re lucky,” Zero mumbled.
“How am I lucky?” his opponent asked. “Because I know a pop star? That’s not lucky, she’s happier being a regular pony than one that’s stalked by cameras and reporters.”
“That ponies look at you and don’t see a monster,” Zero sighed.
Daniel opened his mouth to say something but silenced himself. Zero knew the other stallion thought he was an abomination as well, it was no secret. Even his one friend thought that he was too strong, too good to be racing against others.
“Every time I go out I always receive stares as if I’m some sort of evil creature out to do harm,” Zero explained. “I’ve endured it so many times it doesn’t bother me so much anymore, but I still long for the impossible. I just want to be like everypony else, and even though I don’t have the ability to show my expressions like you do, I can still experience sorrow.”
“I know exactly how you feel,” Daniel said, taking Zero by surprise. “I used to be the monster that nopony trusted, I only had a few friends which kind of started out as acquaintances and conveniences. Some still see me as a monster, so I do know how you feel.”
“Then why do you despise me?” Zero asked, his voice practically pleading for closure.
“Because you didn’t work for what you have,” Daniel said. “Me and the others work hard to stay in shape and put a lot of effort into racing, but you were built to just have it all. You didn’t do anything to earn what you have, or work hard for your speed and power. Impulse just cooked you up and gave it to you. There’s no spirit of the sport any more or fun in that, it’s just about money then.”
Zero hated to agree with him, but the stallion raised a good point. He had been built to be better by default, to flat out ignore the rest of the racer’s abilities and simply trump them with advancements Impulse gave him.
“I can’t help what I am,” Zero turned towards the blue stallion.
“You can control your own thoughts though,” Daniel returned. “If you know something is wrong, why keep doing it?”
“You’re asking me to lose,” Zero said.
“No, I’m going to beat you tomorrow,” Daniel deadpanned. “’I’d never stoop that low, the same can’t be said of your maker. He’s just like his father, full of hate and greedy. I left him when he threatened to let my old mentor go, and use me like his son’s using you.”
Zero felt as if he was at a fork in the road in his life. For so long he had just followed instructions, but there had always been that nagging sensation that something was wrong, like he knew there was more to him than what he was doing with himself. He wasn’t a puppet, but he knew that it wasn’t right to go against Impulse either, he was the only family he had.
Zero saw something new in Daniel’s eyes, something he hadn’t seen before as the music changed once more as the concert transitioned into the next song. It was sorrow, but not for himself; it was for Zero.
Zero found himself distracted suddenly by the song’ lyrics as they reached his ears. They sounded so familiar to him, yet he was certain he knew nothing about this singer, or her songs.
“Shatter me~” Daniel sang quietly, voicing audibly what was playing through Zero’s mind as he turned to the stage once more.
The clockwork stallion’s vision shifted location as he drifted in and out of one of his visions. He could see her now, the singer, closer though. The stage was slightly smaller, but the sound of her voice was still as crisp and clear as it was now. He did know this song!
Each note, each chorus, everything about it was familiar. As familiar as the day he met-no, he had never met Harmony. Zero struggled to rationalize what he was feeling, denying the logical answer, his mind kept coming back to as his journal and visions with one conclusion.
“That’s the song she made-“ Daniel started to say.
“After she met you,” Zero finished.
“Yeah…how did you know that?” the stallion asked.
Zero placed a hoof against his chest as he looked at Daniel, a sense of relief overcoming him, only to be swamped by dread as he realized what this meant. These visions weren’t his, the memories were never of his own creation or nightmares which he was incapable of experiencing. These visions were Daniel’s memories.
“Zero?” Daniel cautiously approached him.
“I need to go,” Zero said quickly, throwing open the door before disappearing into the night sky.
The stallion didn’t heed the call of the former champion; Zero had more important matters to deal with. The pain of betrayal was streaming through him, and he felt as if he needed to get even. He felt for sure he was his own pony, but in the end he truly was just a copy, a fake.
All of his races, all of his accomplishments meant nothing now. He was just a recreation of something that was still alive and well, the difference being his inability to go through the same things that any other pony would. He could never have a family, he could never feel the touch of a lover, he couldn’t even experience love.
Zero thought for sure that discovering the meaning behind his visions would bring him peace, but it had only brought pain and turmoil. He didn’t know how to address Impulse Spark now, and any ounce of respect he had for Flicker was gone. The weight of being rejected by society only added to this new found anger.
As Zero flew over Impulse’s storage building, he knew what he had to do. He began to land, contemplating how best to vent his wrath upon the one he had believed in most. The artificial stallion now knew why he was constantly studying the jewel in his chest; it was to try and copy it, because he couldn’t make it work on his own.
As Zero landed, he noticed that the light was already on inside. He knew Impulse wouldn’t be here yet, and his curiosity put a small speed bump in the path of his wrath as he cautiously opened the door. Much to Zero’s surprise, it wasn’t Impulse within, but Flicker tinkering with a finished unnamed pegasus model.
“What are you doing?” Zero’s voice echoed through the large room as it carried his rekindled anger.
“Ah, Zero, just the pony I wanted to see,” Flicker chuckled as he finished pulling a wire out of the machine.
“Answer the question!” Zero demanded.
“Whoa, somepony found their temper button,” Flicker laughed as he closed the chest cavity of the pegasus he was working on. “I’m making a bomb, what has you all up in a tither?”
“Where did you get this jewel?” Zero asked.
“I found it a long t-“ Flicker started.
“The truth!” Zero closed the distance between the two of them in a flash, his eyes, mane and tail turning a bright red as heat began to emit from them.
“You want the truth?” Flicker laughed. “Fine, I stole your damn heart from that hairless ape. The saddest part is that even after beating him he’s still come back to try and take back what should never have been given to a fake in the first place. You two are just alike, the only difference is that one of you can actually die.”
“You’re a monster!” Zero shouted.
“And your services are no longer required,” Flicker grinned as he darted past the stallion, delivering a hard kick to the side of his head.
Zero reeled from the impact; Flicker was much stronger than some punk colt, and far more dangerous. The clockwork stallion didn’t react quick enough as he was toppled to the ground by another kick, to the leg this time.
“What’s wrong Zero?” Flicker called. “All that speed only good to you in a circle? No matter, you’re going to give me your heart so I can finish what I started. I intend to make our blue friend go boom tomorrow.”
“Shut up!” Zero roared as he got back on his hooves to fly towards the pegasus.
Flicker smirked as he dropped down at the last second, forcing Zero to crash in a failed attempt to turn. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the stallion had a point, this wasn’t the track, and rushing him wasn’t going to get him anywhere, not without a plan anyways.
“Divert power to eye R.O.Ms,” Zero said to himself as his eyes turned red once more.
“Say wh-“ Flicker was knocked to the ground as two solid beams connected with his chest.
Zero landed next to the downed stallion, two dark spots visible on the stallion’s coat where his improvised attack had dealt a stunning blow at best, but it was all he needed to get the better of Flicker.
“Was this your plan? Come here and tear everything up after you found out?” Flicker asked.
“I’m not going to let either of you get away with this,” Zero replied.
“You stupid bucket of bolts,” Flicker laughed. “I’ve gotten away with murder, fraud, and a plethora of other charges that they could never trace to me. What in Equestria makes you think you’ll be different?”
“I may turn Impulse in…but I’m going to kill you,” Zero’s tone turned dark once more.
“What do you take me for, a comic book villain?” Flicker asked. “I’ve been one step ahead of you this entire time and you didn’t even realize it.”
Zero had heard enough of the stallion’s insults and planted his metallic hoof against his throat, slowly forcing it down. Zero’s mane and tail had turned red once more as he began to choke the life out of him. He felt no remorse for what he was about to do, not even as Flicker’s muzzle started to change colors.
“Zero stop!” Impulse’s voice snapped the stallion out of his dark trance like state, causing his hoof to rise just enough to allow air to fill Flicker’s lungs once more.
“What are you doing!?” Impulse demanded as he tried to process the scene before him.
“Everything you told me was a lie!” Zero shouted. “And it all started with him!”
“Impulse, please, he’s gone craz-“ the rest of Flicker’s sentence was choked out in a gurgle as Zero pressed his hoof down on his throat again.
“Stand down Zero!” Impulse commanded.
Zero ignored his creator’s order, mentally severing the bond he shared with the unicorn. He didn’t want anything to do with him now, and was even contemplating roughing him up next before delivering him to Celestia. Even now, he thought he was strong enough to order him around, or had any sort of pull or influence after lying to him.
“I said stand down!” Impulse exclaimed.
“That is an order I cannot obey!” Zero replied.
Zero was suddenly thrown off of Flicker by a powerful wave of energy, which dislodged some of the plates covering his body. The source was Impulse Spark, who had already charged up another attack, which he fired without hesitation; the shot hitting Zero’s chest guard where the jewel was held.
The force of the third blast from Impulse dislodged the jewel from his body, causing the stallion’s vision to go dark as his now lifeless body crumpled to the floor; giving up one final mechanical groan as the gears stopped turning within him.
“…what have I done?” Impulse said as he approached the motionless form of what he had created.
“Saved my life,” Flicker replied, rubbing his throat.
“Without him we might as well scrap tomorrow,” Impulse said, staring down at his first project.
“Maybe not, you still have one that’s close enough to the stallion to pass him off as Zero,” Flicker said, motioning towards the nameless pegasus Impulse had finished. “You know what will happen if this gets out. It’s the only way now.”
“I just…what was he doing here?” Impulse asked.
“I don’t know, he just barged in and started trying to destroy things,” Flicker said. “If you hadn’t gotten off a bit earlier to meet me here…I’d prefer not think about what he might have done with me after I was dead.”
Impulse stared at the menacing looking stallion that was built to be more agile than Zero ever could be. There had been some cuts to its design, but it was still formidable, and more than capable of tackling anything the other racers tomorrow might be capable of.
“There’s no turning back now,” Flicker said, presenting the stone to Impulse who took it with a sigh.
The pegasus watched with an evil grin as he fixed the stone within the new stallion. Its narrow blue eyes sparking to life as it fell heavily onto the floor on all fours. Impulse picked up one of the controls that had been marked for this specific stallion, since it was still lacking the processes that Zero had.
“Odd,” Impulse mumbled as he ran a brief test of all the stallion’s functions. “I would have assumed that it would gain some form of conscience.”
“Zero was just a special case, since he had been exposed to more crystals before you even added that hunk of rock to him,” Flicker said.
Impulse said nothing as he tried processing what the artificial pony meant from his fury. He had only walked in on their conflict, but wasn’t given much time to talk down a potential murder. A part of him regretted his actions, but he couldn’t have blood spilt on his grounds.
The unicorn was too caught up in his thoughts to notice Flicker hide a second, crudely improvised controller beneath his wing. So far, everything was going according to plan. Now all he needed to do was wait.
---
"Rise and shine blue buddy," Mike said yanking the warm sheets that covered my body away.
"Do I have to?" I moaned still struggling to wake up.
"You can roll out of the bed willingly, or I'll shove it out the window and give you the jump start of a life time," Thunderlane threatened.
"Option one it is," I grumbled in response.
"Good, now get dressed," Thunderlane smirked.
I pulled out the racing outfit that Rarity had made for me and quickly threw it on, as quick as a pony could throw on clothes anyway. I opted to leave the mask off until I had eaten breakfast, which equated to the essentials, since by the time the race started everything would be broken down. Pony stomachs were akin to iron vats of death as I had come to discover, and appreciate.
The odd encounter with Zero ran across my mind as I stashed the mask beneath my wing. I had started to actually pity him the more we talked, and I had started to understand what Harmony had told me. A feeling machine was nothing more than myth on Earth, but here there was an actual artificial being that wanted nothing more than to have a friend of two.
"You okay?" Ike asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine, just anxious y'know?" I chuckled.
"Just remember why you're out there," Thunderlane said. "Why losing isn't an option today."
"I know, I told Zero last night I would beat him. I've never been one to break a promise," I tried to put on my most convincing smile.
Thunderlane was right though, I couldn’t lose today. I had to win even if it killed me, though that was stretching the conditions a bit, I was aiming to go into today’s race with that mindset. I couldn’t let last night stop me. If I did-no, when I beat Zero I had little doubt that Impulse would try to shut Zero down. I would need to be there to give him a genuine chance.
I kept these thoughts to myself as we went through the rest of our morning routines, even up to the track which was still as intimidating as I remembered it to be. The crowd was already starting to fill in the seats, anxious to see what fate had in store for today.
“Don’t get scared, get angry,” I whispered to myself.
---
“All signs look normal, perfect as expected,” Impulse said as he finished dressing Omega.
“Still no reactions?” Flicker asked as Impulse slid a remote into his saddle bag.
“None, which is a blessing from where I’m standing, but I’m still puzzled by his lack thereof with the jewel,” Impulse replied.
“At least you had a backup ready,” Flicker said making his way towards the door.
Impulse didn’t reply as he looked back at Zero, whom he had stretched across an examination table. He hadn’t gotten around to picking him apart yet, due to getting Omega ready. He wanted to break him down and start over, hopefully ridding Zero of his rebellious personality and the visions he had described in the little journal he had discovered.
The unicorn had noticed a few stray sparks which had also contributed to his delay in examining him. Impulse had dismissed it as residual energy, even though there was a part of him that believed it was something more than that. This part of his mind was silenced by science.
“Come, Omega,” Impulse ordered his new racer, leaving the prototype in the darkness of his storehouse.
The model Impulse considered complete obeyed without question or inquiry to his surroundings. Even though he had never seen the outside world before, he didn’t care. The only thing the automaton could process were the instructions given to him by Impulse.
Omega’s body was covered in the suit Zero had once worn to keep his robotic appearance concealed. Thankfully, Impulse had thought it best to stick to the full body suit tactic even after his secret was exposed. There would be little question as to whether or not this was the same stallion racing today which suited him just fine. He needed the curiosity of those around him to be at an all-time low for this to work.
Suspicion wouldn’t be on him at least, aside from the usual hate from those who wished for things to remain traditional. Impulse cared little about the future of the sport he had intruded upon; used as little more than a hoof stool.
Then there was Daniel, whose recovery could never logically be explained. Despite this, he was still allowed to return without question, clearly a sign of lingering favoritism. This time Impulse wanted to leave no doubt as to who was better. Though it would have been more significant if he was racing against Zero, but to the crowd it would still hold that excitement so long as they remained unaware of the switch.
“Today is the day traditions die,” Impulse smiled, unawares to the inward glow of the jewel.
A crack tainted its brilliantly glowing blue surface, turning red as it made contact with a spare wire Flicker had added. The only outward indication of the shift in the jewel’s status was a brief head twitch from the automaton, which went unnoticed by its creator.
---
“Remember to stick close to Isabella and Blueblood,” Flitter whispered to the two colts under her care.
“You still haven’t told us what’s going on,” Scootaloo said as she was ushered out by both her aunts.
“Nothing’s happening, aside from spending the day under guard,” Isabella tried to put on a convincing smile. “I go through this whenever Blueblood and I are together, so why not take a few more victims?”
“You say that as if you don’t enjoy trying to get the guards to crack a smile by any means necessary,” Blueblood mumbled.
Scootaloo’s wings buzzed in agitation. She knew the adults weren’t being honest, she wasn’t a clueless filly. The guards had been talking about a plan last night, one that involved some weird stallion, not that Scootaloo concerned herself with what they did, but why did she have to stick close to the guards in the city?
“Can’t I stay with Noctra?” Scootaloo asked.
“Sorry kiddo, but we’ve got some business to take care of, can’t have a filly seeing things she doesn’t need to,” Noctra replied, which caused Isabella to face palm.
Scootaloo’s muzzle scrunched up in thought as she debated whether or not to sneak away. Star Sprint could keep up with her no problem, getting away from adults was another chore entirely.
“I know that look missy,” Isabella said gaining the filly’s attention. “If I have to I’ll carry you for the rest of the day. We don’t want that, right?”
“No,” Scootaloo sulked, knowing Isabella would make good on her promise.
“Good, now let’s get moving,” Isabella said, nodding to Noctra who was quick to take off with another bat pony and a unicorn from their group.
Roughly a dozen guards from the city met those that had arrived with Blueblood. A few silently questioned the low number count, but fit in to their post easily enough. A few cast questionable looks at Isabella and the tag along. These went largely unnoticed though, as none wanted to be singled out by the prince.
“So far so good,” Isabella murmured as they walked towards the large stadium that held the track within.
Truly a work of art, if one could appreciate pony architecture, the track would have looked more at place around a football field. The noise from the crowds could be heard from quite a distance away, which was reason enough for the group to pick up their pace.
"Do you think my dad can beat him?" Scootaloo asked, looking over at Star Sprint.
"Absolutely, you saw how hard he's been working to put Zero in his place," Star Sprint replied.
"What do you think the adults are on about?" the filly whispered, doing her best to remain unheard.
"Well, Blueblood's here, maybe they just want to be safe?" Star Sprint offered.
"Something doesn't feel right though," Scootaloo frowned.
"Maybe you're just nervous about your dad," her colt friend shrugged.
"Maybe..." Scootaloo sighed as Star Sprint unknowingly hit the nail on the head.
The tangerine filly was extremely worried about her father today. The last time he had raced against Zero, he could have died. She couldn't stand the thought of losing another daddy, the very idea caused her stomach to curl in on itself.
Scootaloo's vision became shaded as they neared the track, the towering walls of the building blocking out parts of Celestia's sun. The shift in light caused her to look up in time to see a stallion clad in a black and red body suit. It had to be Zero, his mane and tail gave him away, as they were composed of energy isntead of hair like a normal pony's.
She noticed another stallion with Zero and Impulse, smiling as her eyes locked with his. His smile was less than friendly, however. It sent chills down the filly's spine, until a group obscured her view of the mysterious pegasus. When the group had passed, he was nowhere to be seen.
Scootaloo instinctivly walked closer to Flitter and Isabella. She considered herself a tough filly, but that stallion gave her the creeps.
---
"Hard Hoof, go check Impulse's house, Lucky Shot and I will look into the storage facility,” Noctra said, as their already diminished group spilt up in search of Flicker.
The noble stallion’s butler had been very forthcoming as to his current whereabouts after a little persuasion. Much to their disappointment though, they couldn’t get specifics from him, since he had none to give. It seemed that Flicker didn’t trust the house help with too much information aside from the bare essential facts.
“Your goggles still good?” Lucky Shot asked.
“Just peachy,” Noctra replied as the sun reflected off her night vision goggles.
Even though they curiously shared a name with a product from Earth, the night vision goggles used by bat ponies blocked out the sun’s harmful rays, should they have to move about during the day. Sun glasses simply didn’t cut it for them, which was why these lenses were made from shade glass; a highly reflective material that was quite durable as well.
Noctra had managed to sleep through the night thanks to a spell from the unicorn currently at her side and felt more than ready to take Flicker down if he gave them problems. She felt confident, however, that dealing with guards would discourage him from trying anything funny. Hopefully he would realize that his life of crime was being brought to an end.
“This is the place,” Lucky Shot said, looking up from the small piece of paper which had the address to the storehouse written down on it.
Noctra knocked once, for legalities sake. No matter how she felt about this stallion, she couldn’t barge in and forcibly take him out, yet anyways.
“Anypony in there?” the mare called out. “This is the royal guard, we’re coming in.”
A forceful buck was enough to send the door flying off its hinges and into the dark building. Noctra went in after Lucky Shot who quickly found the lights and switched them on, bathing the large room in light.
“Sweet Celestia…” Lucky Shot said as he observed the rows of projects that Impulse had been working on.
“Impulse has been a busy little bee,” Noctra snorted. “Look at all of these…whatever they are!”
“No kidding,” Lucky Shot said taking note of a green blinking light behind one’s eye. “It’s like a mad scientist’s lab in here.”
There wasn’t much of the building to explore, since it was all technically one giant room, until she saw something that held her gaze. It was what appeared to be a construct of Impulse’s that had taken a serious amount of damage, judging from the way the chest was seemingly blow apart.
“Is that Zero?” Lucky Shot asked as the two guards approached the table the artificial stallion was stretched out on.
“By the moon, it is!” Noctra jumped. “But what’s he doing here?”
“More importantly, who’s racing against your friend?” Lucky Shot asked.
“Can you turn him on?” Noctra asked looking to the unicorn for answers.
“I don’t know a thing about these guys Noctra,” Lucky Shot replied. “But, his chest looks simple enough, like it held a power source.”
Noctra looked around frantically, hoping to find some sort of usable energy for the mechanical stallion. There had to be a reason as to why he was here, and she needed answers. The bat pony fumbled through draws, boxes, and all other manner of containers seeking out anything that might power Zero back up.
“Noctra, I found something!” Lucky Shot called out.
The unicorn held up a box of crystals of various colors, all teeming with energy. It answered the nagging question as to how Zero was able to move in the first place, now all they had to do was hope they could get him back on.
“This one should fit,” Noctra said as the two dug through the box, hoping to find one that matched Zero’s chest.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the mare shoved it into the stallion’s lifeless body, causing several sparks to shoot out from the damaged portions of his body. Like magic, Zero’s eyes slowly flickered back to life, his mane and tail reappearing as well, casting their familiar blue light on the steel table.
“W-where am I?” Zero asked.
“Zero, can you hear me?” Noctra waved her hoof in front of the stallion’s muzzle.
“Y-yes,” Zero replied.
“Zero, my name is Noctra and this is Lucky Shot, we’re with the Royal Guard,” Noctra explained. “Can you tell us why you’re not at the track?”
“The track...Flicker!” Zero exclaimed, sitting up right after mentioning the name.
Noctra and Lucky Shot shared a brief knowing look as their new friend tried to get up off the table. To Zero’s credit he was much sturdier than he looked, as he was still able to walk on all fours.
“Where’s Daniel?” Zero asked frantically.
“He’s at the track, don’t worry about Flicker, we’ve got a team ready to take him in,” Noctra said reassuringly.
“That’s not going to be enough,” Zero said picking up what appeared to be a metallic plate with a sliding notch underneath it. The stallion slid it slowly over his shoulder until a locking sound was heard, pulling the metallic plate into place while his other hoof bent the inner workings of his chest back into place.
“Stay with him, I’m going back to Isabella and Blueblood,” Noctra said receiving a nod from Lucky Shot.
---
The seats were packed as always, filled with ponies from all walks of life. Some seated for entertainment, while others had bits placed upon their champion in the hopes of taking home more than just a memory of the race back with them.
I was out early onto the track, joined by Whitefire. The stallion hadn’t fared well against Zero either, and from the looks of things hadn’t been discouraged by it. I was still shorter than him, which added to his intimidation factor.
“How do you think it’ll go today?” Whitefire asked.
“Hard to say, but I didn’t come without a plan,” I replied.
I scanned the crowd briefly for my team and was pleased to find a familiar muzzle among them. Harmony had arrived just like she promised, and given the noise of the crowd I had little doubt she could see me. Testing my theory, I waved to her and laughed when she smiled and waved back excitedly.
“I hope it’s a good one,” Whiteifre said. “You’re friend’s coming this way.”
Sure enough, Zero was slowly approaching the starting line. His eyes seemed different somehow, but I dismissed it as Impulse making some sort of last minute adjustments. It was probably to intimidate me or scare me.
“Where did you go last night?” I asked, causing the robotic stallion’s head to slowly turn towards me before wordlessly turning away after a few seconds.
“He’s not worth the effort, just focus on beating him,” Whitefire snorted. “One of us has to.”
I nodded as the final countdown started, taking my place beside the larger stallion. I shook my head, clearing my mind of the thoughts that had previously troubled me about Zero. He was an enemy again, any form of connection between the automaton was put on hold.
“You can do this, you can do this,” I quietly chanted as the time ticked towards zero at an agonizingly slow pace.
The boom of the gunshot signaled the start of the race, and a sharp increase in volume from the seated crowd. Their voices were hardly noticeable though as I took off from the starting line, air whistling past my ears as they folded flat against my scalp briefly upon becoming airborne, before swiveling behind me in preparation for what was to come.
I had pulled ahead of Zero which was a bit strange, but beneficial nonetheless. I had to gain as much of a lead on him as early as possible. This was where Thunderlane’s training and strategy were starting to really show.
Is that his limit? I thought to myself. No, I can’t get distracted, I know he can move faster than that.
I could hear the distinct sound of Zero’s mechanical parts beginning to flex their metaphorical muscles as he caught up with me. Had Thunderlane and Rainbow Dash not routinely prepared me for this very moment, I would have probably started panicking, but just this once I wanted him to try and catch me.
“Time to eat my dust, literally,” I smirked as I positioned myself in front of the artificial stallion, forcing him to fly directly into my trail as we entered the first turn.
---
Impulse watched from the privacy of his booth as Omega started to lose momentum. The sudden development threw the unicorn for a loop as he tried to speed up whilst behind his blue coated foe. The lack of any substantial results frustrated the stallion as the racers entered the second turn with Omega still in second.
“Impossible…how could he possibly be maintaining a lead on Omega?” Impulse snorted as he ordered the stallion to try and fly around, only to be cut off by Daniel.
Flicker took note of this and nodded in mild affirmation. It seemed as if the ape had found a kink in Impulse’s toys. While they were fast, they were also unable to adjust to changes in magic in or around their bodies as quickly as a real pony could.
“Seems I was right,” Flicker commented, earning a snarl from Impulse.
“How is he doing this!?” the unicorn demanded.
“You still haven’t figured it out yet?” Flicker scoffed. “And you’re the one with the horn. Your toy lacks instinct, the one thing you can’t build, any real racer would have pulled out from behind Daniel by now.”
“You seriously think Omega can’t out muscle him?” Impulse huffed ignoring Flicker and throwing a switch on Omega’s controller as the racers entered the long stretch to the third turn. “I’ll show you just what he can do!”
---
The ominous sound of magic charging up came from behind me. I knew Zero going down this easily was too good to be true, and put a bit more effort into staying ahead of him. The problem with Thunderlane’s strategy was energy consumption, however, and that left very a small margin for error when it came to beating Zero.
I had to continually make adjustments as I flew ahead of him, carefully listening for his mechanical wings. While we had discovered Zero’s flaw, it seemed Zero had found the hole in our plan and was beginning to exploit it. It would only be a matter of time before the mechanical pony would over powered me.
As the sound of Zero’s wing’s grew closer, a second set of rapidly flapping wings joined the canopy of sounds behind me. I chanced a look over my shoulder and saw Whitefire boxing Zero in behind me, preventing him from getting out of my trail.
As Zero was forced back into position, I heard a loud snap come from behind me. As curious as I was, I couldn’t look back again, not unless I wanted to risk losing precious inches that I couldn’t afford to give up. I had to stay focused on the end goal, which was within reach if I could hold on just a little bit longer, as we flew into the third turn.
I continued to listen behind me as Whitefire pushed himself well beyond his limit to keep Zero in check. As I had expected, the stallion’s wing beats became less frequent as he fell behind, leaving me alone with the robot once more as we entered the final turn, rushing towards the finish line.
Whitefire’s efforts had not been in vain though. I could hear Zero’s body groan and struggle as it tried to shake off the stress of being exposed to a pegasi’s flight trail for too long. The only thing giving him speed now was his artificial body, and that wouldn’t be enough this time.
I looked back once more upon hearing a loud crash. Zero’s wings had finally given up the ghost, rendering him nothing more than a fancy earth pony now. More importantly, it disqualified Zero from the race entirely, and threw a wrench in Impulse’s winning streak.
Crossing the finish line felt different this time, as if it meant more than it had before. As I landed and became aware of the spectators once more, I took another look at the fallen stallion that was miraculously back on his hooves. His wings were a tattered mess, but he still had enough energy to walk to the finish line.
---
Impulse lost it as he watched Daniel cross the finish line, throwing the controller against the wall. Thankfully, it hadn’t sustained too much damage, and Impulse could always carry the scrap heap back manually, but the fact that Omega had been bested by the stupid stallion was unacceptable.
“He’s ruined everything!” Impulse roared.
“Not everything,” Flicker chuckled as he pulled out the remote he had crafted. “For me anyways.”
“What are you doing with that?” Impulse asked, his anger quickly subsiding due to curiosity, with a small undertone of fear.
“Just a bit of insurance, to insure our human friend has flown his last race,” Flicker replied.
“…you want to kill him?” Impulse panicked.
“Kill is such a dark word, I think terminate sounds a bit better,” Flicker said. “But yes, I want him dead. Didn’t you?”
“I never wanted him to die,” Impulse shook his head. “By the goddess, Zero was trying to stop you! Why would you do this!?”
“As much as I’d love to talk about that, I have a pegasus to fry,” Flicker flipping a switch on the control as Omega walked closer to the other racers that were gathering at the finish line now.
Before he could push the button, Impulse blasted the remote out of his hoof, sending it sliding across the floor. Flicker sighed as he turned to face the unicorn, rushing him before Impulse could react, and threw him against a wall.
“You should have just kept playing the role of yes colt, but it seems I was wrong about you,” Flicker said as he picked Impulse up before he could respond. “You lack the guts to do whatever it takes to see your goals through!”
“My goal isn’t worth killing for,” Impulse said. “I regret having not said no sooner!”
Flicker threw Impulse against the window, causing it to crack slightly. The unicorn slumped to the floor as the pegasus picked up the remote. “You took care of the only stallion that could stop me, to that end I suppose you were useful.”
The stallion looked down at the group of racers once more, smiling as he removed the cover of the button. This was the moment he had been waiting for, finally he would be rid of the damned ape. Flicker was just about to push the button when he noticed a blue blur dive down from the sky towards Omega.
---
Zero had left Lucky Shot behind upon repairing himself. He didn’t have time to wait if what Flicker had told him was true. Even if Daniel won the race he could still lose his life if he didn’t intervene. The stallion had initially wondered how Flicker would have carried out his plan, until he noticed Omega missing from his stand.
He left the warehouse knowing he had roughly four hours of energy to work with, which would decrease as he performed more strenuous activities. He could only hope that Impulse and Flicker would come quietly. Being one for logic, Zero anticipated trouble and had Lucky Shot help reinstall the crystals that powered his legs and wings before Impulse had fitted his body with the jewel now resting in Omega’s chest.
Zero could hear the cheers of the crowd as he flew closer to the track. His internal clock let him know that the race had already started and that it would most likely end in a few seconds given the speed statistics of Omega, and the improvements Daniel had made.
He poured more energy into his speed, well aware that the reckless action might cause him problems later, but saving the lives of a multitude of ponies was far more important. If his calculations were correct, Flicker had no idea how strong a bomb with that jewel as its catalyst truly was. It wouldn’t just take Daniel out; it could wipe out the entire audience.
Zero’s sights were soon set on Omega as he flew over the track. The walking bomb was steadily approaching Daniel and the other racers; its wings ruined and scrapped as if it had endured some sort of trauma.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Zero dove towards Omega at blinding speed, forcefully slamming into him within the span of a few seconds. Several screams broke out from the crowd as Omega recovered from Zero’s forceful blow.
“Zero?” Daniel asked, earning the stallion’s attention.
“Get out of here! Omega is a bomb!” Zero exclaimed.
“Wait, what!?” one of the racers squeaked nervously.
“How are there two of them?” Whitefire panted.
Before Zero could respond he was thrown like a rag doll to the side by Omega as it detached its ruined wings from its body. Immune to an impact that would have killed a normal pony, Omega charged forward to try and crush Zero beneath his metallic hooves, eyes glowing an ominous red.
Zero tucked his hind legs against his chest, pressing both of his hooves against Omega. In one fluid motion, the stallion was sent flying through the air before being impaled on a track marker. Omega twitched violently as the sparks coursing through his artificial body fried his motor controls.
Zero looked down at his fallen sibling, taking note of the ominous glow emanating from the cracked metal plating on his chest. Though he had dispatched Omega easily enough, the danger was far from over.
“Thanks,” Daniel said as he approached Zero from behind.
“Don’t thank me yet, the bomb is still inside him…and it detonated,” Zero said coldly.
“But, we’re still here, how could it have detonated?” Daniel asked.
“It’s catalyst is magical in nature, it’s simply expanding its explosive capabilities,” Zero explained. “It’s behaving too chaotically to contain.”
“We have to get these ponies out of here, then,” the blue stallion said.
“I agree,” came the feminine voice of Noctra from behind them. “But we still have to find Flicker. Can you try to disarm it?”
“No, I lack the capability to do so,” Zero replied.
“Guys, why is his eye blinking green?” the mare asked pointing at the mechanical stallion.
“It’s an incomplete homing script, in the event one of Impulse’s projects was destroyed-“ Zero started to explained before a shadow passed overhead, followed by a loud thud before what appeared to be an earth pony version of Zero stood up. “Which apparently Impulse managed to finish.”
---
Loud thuds sounded all around me, followed by a rising canopy of screams as Impulse’s robotic ponies landed in different parts of the track. I looked up as more shadows passed over us, counting at least three more metal pegasi that came in low.
Two of the unicorns that were in the crowd fired off burst of magic. The resulting blast only managed to hi two concrete pillars, but the resulting debris acted as shrapnel to nearby ponies. They had the same problem that Zero had before, they were just reacting to whatever signal this copy had sent out, they couldn’t rationalize the situation.
“We have to stop them, they’ll run wild if we don’t!” Noctra exclaimed.
“Agreed, but we’ve got over a thousand ponies here,” I said. “And if Omega really was acting as a bomb, then Flicker is probably nearby. We can’t let him get away.”
“So what’s the plan?” Mike asked as Ike and Harmony accompanied him.
“You guys should get out of here,” I replied.
“If I was a betting stallion, which I am, I’m willing to wager you’re not leaving with us,” Ike said. “We’re not going to leave you behind either.”
“I’m with them,” Harmony said.
“We need to get these ponies out of here before anything else,” I mumbled. “Mike, Ike, Harmony, help keep thing in order, if any of those things try to attack them while they’re fleeing, take them out.”
“On it,” Ike said before disappearing alongside Harmony and his brother.
“Noctra, try to find Flicker, we can deal with Impulse later,” I said turning to the bat mare who nodded before flying off. “Zero, you and me will give them cover. We can’t let them get into the city.”
“Agreed,” Zero said before taking off into the air.
I took off a second later, crashing into a robotic pegasus. The metallic stallion reeled from the impact briefly, giving me enough time to deliver two firm kicks that resulted in the abomination’s rapid descent. I couldn’t stay occupied with one stallion for too long though, the stands were full of panicked ponies; dotted with the occasional robot.
As I flew over the crowd I noticed another metallic stallion crashing through the crowds. From the looks of it, this particular robot appeared to be an earth pony in design. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do much to it without some momentum behind me. Given little time to think, I dove as fast as I could, grabbing the metallic, and tossing it down onto the track.
The pegasus from earlier had recovered and was charging straight towards me. I waited until the last second before moving out of the way, spinning to land a kick on its flank which provided enough momentum to get it’s metallic head lodged in the concrete surface.
“Don’t go anywhere,” I huffed.
---
Isabella and Blueblood were ushered through the crowded halls by the guards. Chaos had broken out as the desperate cries of ponies rang out over the canopy of confusion. At one point the floor beneath them shook as the metallic stallions’ rampage continued.
“Stay close Scoots,” Isabella said as a crack began to form in the ceiling.
No sooner had the words left her mouth, the floor above them caved in, cutting off the woman and filly from the rest of the group. A thick wall of concrete now stood between them and their exit. Forcing them to find another exit.
“Izzy! Are you okay!?” Blueblood shouted as loud as he could, his voice muffled due to the density of the ruble.
“We’re fine, just keep going, we’ll find another way out,” Isabella replied. “Come on Scoots, we can’t stay here.”
“Is there another way out Izzy?” Scootaloo asked as she was scooped up by the human.
“Absolutely, there’s never just one exit,” Isabella reassured her, doing her best to remain confident herself.
The two didn’t get far before a metallic unicorn rounded the corner, its lifeless eyes locking onto them. Its horn started to glow a bright red as it charged up an attack, firing at Isabella without hesitation.
Isabella wasn’t as helpless as she appeared, however. Digging into her bag, she pulled out two bright yellow crystals, no bigger than her pinky finger, and gripped them tightly in her hand as Scootaloo clung to her for dear life.
The telltale kick start of a unicorn’s magic sounded once more as the metallic stallion took aim at Isabella again. This time she was ready for it, and tossed one of the crystals at the unicorn. A split second later, sparks danced across it’s metal body, followed by two loud pops as the surge of electricity popped its artificial eyes. As the sparks began to fade, Isabella threw her second crystal, causing the stallion to shake violently.
Not wanting to waste her opening, Isabella grabbed what appeared to be a section marker, and swung it like a club. The force of the impact knocked the top portion of the stallion’s head off, sending it sliding across the cold floor, sparks occasionally flying from it’s now empty eye sockets.
Once the sparks had died down again, the stallion simply stumbled without its head, but remained active, blindly groping for Isabella and Scootaloo. She rationalized that it wasn’t controlled by its head, which was why it was still able to move.
“Let’s keep moving,” Isabella said as she cautiously maneuvered around the stallion.
---
Flicker smirked as he left the private booth, preparing to leave under the smoke screen of the chaos he had caused. He would simply slip away like he had before, getting off scot free. That was the thing about crime, one only had to worry about being caught.
“Where will the winds take me next, I wonder?” the stallion mused as he traversed the seemingly empty passage way.
“Straight to jail,” Noctra replied, taking him by surprise.
Flicker turned to see five guard ponies, each one glaring angrily at him. To the normal criminal, it would be an intimidating sight, but the noble pegasus was no normal criminal, and they would need more than five to stop him.
“Cute, is that all you brought against me?” Flicker asked.
“Flicker, you’re under arrest for murder, plagiarism, attempted murder, theft, and harming a member of the royal guard,” Noctra went down the list of charges.
“Serious charges, coming from a mere guard,” Flicker chuckled. “Do you really want to go down this road?”
“You started this the day you murdered Summer Stars and Brave Banner,” Noctra snorted.
“Well then, I guess you should take me in,” Flicker shrugged.
The mare motioned with her head for two of the guards to do as the stallion suggested. Aside from the rampaging metal stallions, arresting Flicker had been easy, too easy. Noctra kept her eyes glued to the stallion as one of her squad mates produced a set of cuffs.
In a flurry, Flicker jumped into the air, kicking the earth pony to his right hard enough to snap his neck, whilst he twisted the stallion opposite to him with his forelegs. The unicorn of their group took aim at Flicker while Noctra and her fellow night guard member took after the stallion in the air.
Flicker laughed as he dodged the pitiful attacks from the unicorn, as he gripped the bat stallion by the head, slamming him muzzle first into a support beam. Noctra was kicked to the side, giving Flicker enough time to take out the unicorn before he could try to fire another offensive spell at him.
“Monster!” Noctra exclaimed, swinging at the stallion who laughed at her rage.
“While my brother was in the military I learned all I could from him,” Flicker explained, landing a solid blow to Noctra’s stomach. “That includes fighting.”
The mare weakly took another swing at Flicker, still trying to take in air. The stallion easily moved out of the way before proceeding to toss Noctra like a rag doll against a wall, cracking the glass of her goggles. Satisfied with his work, Flicker turned to make his escape, before remembering that Scootaloo was still here.
“I may have missed first place, but a consolation prize is always worth the wait,” Flicker smiled.
He may not have the resources to take down her father, but he could still break his spirit. In the stallion’s eyes, that was the next best thing.
---
Mike and Ike kicked at a robotic stallion in opposite directions. Their earth pony strength crushed the metallic pony like a soda can, an impressive feat that quickly lost its flare as two more of the robotic monstrosities appeared.
“How many of these things are there?” Mike asked.
“Who cares, just keep hitting them!” Ike replied, tackling the artificial unicorn before it could cast its spell.
Mike looked up in time to see a mare screaming as a metallic hoof was raised high above her head. The earth pony moved in quickly, grabbing the artificial pony by the neck, and slinging him over the railing, plummeting to the hard ground below.
Ike felt two cold forelegs wrap around his neck, mechanical parts whirring as they shifted and tightened their hold. The stallion began to gasp for air, desperately trying to damage the artificial pony enough to slip free.
A shrill scream echoed through the growing fog of Ike’s mind. The tightness around his throat lessened enough for him to slip free and stare in awe at what had saved him. Harmony’s horn was bathed in light, as her voice rose in volume.
Cracks began to appear in the metal plates of the pony held in her aura as the mare concentrated on her target. The cracks emitted the same bright light as her horn before flying free of the stallion’s body, revealing the delicate parts that controlled its movements. AS a last act of concealed violence, Harmony focused on the pony’s spine, ripping it from the metal body in a gruesome display, casting sparks in every direction.
“Damn,” the brothers said in unison.
“Never seen a mare fight before?” Harmony asked, flicking her mane back catching another metallic pony with her magic.
“Quit gawking, we’ve still got ponies to help,” Ike said, clocking his brother with his hoof.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Mike huffed taking out another metallic earth pony.
---
Zero dropped the motionless body of one of his siblings, having torn its core from its chest plate. His enhanced eyes saw a pegasus with her wing trapped beneath a piece of debris, a small foal and bat stallion beside her, trying desperately to free her.
The artificial stallion’s eye detected something else as well, the integrity of the floor above them was falling, meaning a structural collapse was imminent. Zero didn’t want to chance fate and reacted quickly by putting everything he had into his wings.
As Zero’s readings predicted, a large section of the floor above the small family started to fall towards them. The three closed their eyes, waiting for an impact that never seemed to come. The mare finally opened her eyes to see the rock hoisted on the metal stallion’s shoulders.
The bat stallion didn’t hesitate in trying to move the rumble that had his mate trapped once more, managing to lift it long enough for the mare to crawl free. The small foal smiled brightly up at Zero as she was scooped up by the mare.
Once the ponies were clear, Zero flew out from under the large piece of ruble, allowing it to fall. He could sense the strain from keeping such a large piece of debris from crushing them had taken a large chunk of his power.
Zero leaned against one of the support beams as he rerouted his energy to balance what was left. He could see the heat signature growing from the track. It wouldn’t be long now until it finally reached a critical point and consumed the stadium in fire. Thankfully, the spectators had almost cleared the large structure, making Flicker’s efforts meaningless.
Several fires had been started as a result of the magical crossfire between fleeing royal guard and mechanical unicorns. Clouds of smoke now dotted the sky above, creating an ominous atmosphere to match was taking place below.
Daniel landed beside him, his mask torn on one side, blood and sweat falling from his tired body. Zero regarded the racer with a nod, still sorting energy where he could, essentially catching his breath, if one could consider such an act on par with rationing energy.
“Not…getting sleepy on me… are you?” Daniel asked in between pants.
“I don’t sleep,” Zero replied.
“Think you can handle a few more?” the stallion asked, tearing off the bloodied mask.
“Try not to fall behind,” Zero said as both took off from their temporary break.
---
The lights in the passageways had been flickering, their connection to the main power degrading as the fire spread throughout the lower portions of the structure. Isabella had been in dark places before, but nothing quite like this.
"I think we're almost there Scootaloo," Isabella said as the two rounded the corner into a larger lobby.
An all too familiar stallion pushed open the door leading to the emergency stairwell. Isabella noticed his wings and wondered why he hadn't flown away, until she got a good look at his muzzle and fireball cutie mark.
Flicker noticed Isabella as well, stunned to see her. The brief moment of shock was washed away by a sickening smile as his eyes fell upon Scootaloo.
"Scootaloo, we meet at last...formally, of course," Flicker chuckled.
"Scoots get behind me," Isabella ordered, putting herself between the stallion.
"No need to be afraid, you wouldn't keep family away from each other, would you?" Flicker asked, taking an exaggerated step towards them.
"Izzy, what's he talking about?" Scootaloo looked up at her aunt for answers.
"It's nothing Scoots, he's a bad stallion and that's all there is to it," Isabella replied.
"There's much more to it than that," Flicker grinned. "A father would know, after all."
Scootaloo recoiled away from Isabella. Her wide eyes danced between the two adults, her mind numb and over whelmed with questions. Her parents were dead, so how could this stallion possibly be her real father?"
"You're lying," Scootaloo said. "Daniel's my dad."
"Now he is I suppose," Flicker shrugged. "But I knew your mother before Brave Banner, she's the one who hid you from me. Took you away like everything else the damned unicorn elitist feel entitled to."
"That's not..." Scootaloo shook her head as she backed away.
"You are my daughter," Flicker said. "Your mother was to be my bride, but-"
A crackle of energy cut Flicker off, snapping Scootaloo out of her mental trance. The stallion had lost his hold on her, a snarl replacing the smile that had adorned his muzzle only seconds ago.
"Don't forget the part where you murdered Brave Banner and Summer Stars because she loved somepony else," Isabella fumed. "You got away with rape, she's probably rolling in her grave knowing that it was you who killed them."
"You killed them?" Scootaloo's eyes started to water as she shook with a mixture of rage and sorrow.
"You're no father, you're just a donor, a beta male," Isabella spat.
Flicker roared in response to her last comment, rushing towards her with enough force to knock Isabella on her back. The stallion raised his hoof in assumed victory, preparing to crush Isabella's head. Isabella smiled darkly, delivering a devastating punch to the pegasus' head.
Flicker had trained and studied to fight other ponies, what he, and the entire royal guard lacked, was the training to fight humans. With only two in existence, and no other extensive studies conducted of their combat abilities, no guide was in circulation.
Isabella reached into her bag, hoping to grab another crystal, but instead pulled out the full bottle of Discord's potion. She didn't think twice and broke it over the stallion's head, not wanting to give him a chance to recover.
The glass broke Flicker's flesh, allowing the liquid to sting his fresh, open wounds. The sick liquid mingled with his blood, keeping him preoccupied long enough for Isabella to grab a small, red crystal this time; the warning label Discord stuck on the bottle giving her an idea.
With careful aim, she threw the crystal at Flicker, pegging him directly in the forehead. The seemingly harmless attack soon revealed a more sinister side, as fire erupted from the small stone, catching hold of the liquid on Flicker's body.
"I bet that hurts!" Isabella shouted as the stallion stumbled to and fro, desperate to put out the fire spreading across his body.
Flicker continued to flail helplessly, unaware of the ledge leading down to the floor below. His wings, burnt and useless, were unable to aid him as he fell down the hole that led to the lobby, his body landing in the fountain with a loud splash.
Isabella got to her feet, Scootaloo staying close by her side. The filly looked up at the human, the woman who had just dispatched her father.
"I'm sorry Scoots, but he was a bad pony, he wanted to hurt you," Isabella said, kneeling down to the filly's level. "No dad would ever want to harm his kid."
"...I have a real dad," Scootaloo said with tears in her eyes.
"Let's go find him," Isabella smiled, stroking the filly's mane. "I bet he's worried sick about you."
As the two left the upper lobby, the pool below them began to churn with activity. Its surface was slowly broken by two growing horns that dribbled water back into the pool, as a jagged, twisted fore hoof planted itself firmly on the rim of the structure.
---
Zero held the last mechanical stallion in his cast iron grasp as I tore its weakened head from its body, giving him access to the delicate core which he quickly destroyed. The cries a chatter of the crowd were still the prevalent sounds of the area, but they were now accompanied by the cracking flames that licked at the air.
"Weeee need to le-ave," Zero informed me, his robotic voice stalling a bit.
"You okay Zero?" I asked, flying towards the second floor where I could see the rest of our mery crew.
"My my vocal box w-aas-z damaged," Zero replied.
"We're almost done buddy," I said.
"B-uddy?" Zero looked over at me, his left eye lens was cracked down the middle, but otherwise he was expressionless as always.
"Yeah, it's what you call a friend," I smirked.
Zero remained silent, up until we landed next to our small group. Harmony's mane was disheveled and her coat was messy, as well as sporting a few cuts. Mike and Ike were both covered in blood, bruises and other fluids that presumably came from their metallic foes. The only pony unaccounted for was the nocturnal member of our small band of misfits.
"Hey, where's Noctra?" I asked.
"Not sure, we haven't seen her pass through here at all," Ike replied.
"Maybe she took Flicker out through another exit?" Harmony offered.
"W-e d-don't have tiiime to deb-ate, the boomb is going to go -o-ff," Zero reminded us.
"He's right, we need to move," I said motioning with my head for us to leave.
"Yo!" I heard Isabella shout as she and Scootaloo ran towards us. "You guys leaving without us?"
"Scoots?" I cocked my head. "What are you doing here?"
Scootaloo smiled, tackling me in a hug. "I love you."
"I love you too squirt, where did this come from?" I asked.
"We ran into Flicker, it's a long story," Isabella explained. "He's not a problem anymore though, I kind of cooked him."
"That means Noctra might still inside," I looked at Zero who nodded, trotting after me at a slow pace.
The telltale sound of magic firing up rose above the cackling flames. I stopped and turned back to face Harmony, but was shocked to see her horn with the same light glow as always.
"Move!" Zero shouted, pushing me with his fore hooves.
I was about to question his actions, until a powerful green beam of energy knocked the stallion to the floor. A second one quickly followed suit, this time ripping the stallion in two from the force of the impact.
My eyes widened in horror as I watched the metallic stallion's eyes go dark, losing the light within them. His mechanical insides whirred to a halt, as parts were spilt out across the floor, some drifting into the flames to be consumed by the rising heat.
"Don't look Scoots," Isabella said, holding the filly against her.
"Z-Zero..." I mumbled.
"Ashes to ashes," a dark voice hissed. "Dust to dust, though in his case I suppose scrap to scrap is more appropriate."
"What in the name of Celestia is that!?" Ike shouted.
I watched in horror as the creature Ike had questioned presented itself. It was a towering monstrosity, with long, powerful wings. It stood roughly five feet tall, excluding the two horns atop its head, bringing it to roughly six feet. One horn was segmented and grey in color, the other was white and smooth, but both were wickedly curved, as if designed to impale some hapless victim. Its coat was pitch black, accompanied by bold, red eyes.
Most startling of all though, was this odd being's cutie mark. It was a fireball, much like a certain pegasus noble I was all too familiar with.
"Flicker?" I mouthed.
"A...a bicorn?" Harmony stammered.
"A what?" Isabella turned to the unicorn.
"He has two horns!" the mare exclaimed. "But...that's impossible!"
"Umm, maybe not," Isabella confessed. "I kind of, hit Flicker with a potion..."
"And I am indebted to you Isabella, broodmare of Prince Blueblood," Flicker laughed.
"Hey!" Isabella snapped.
"Your species is a cancer though, and must not be allowed to flourish, which it most certainly will under your watch," Flicker commented.
As the stallion's horns began to glow a bright green, I mustered up what strength I had left to charge the much larger bicorn, as Harmony had dubbed it. It was unsettling to think that this is what Flicker's heart reflected; a twisted form of an alicorn, but he was certainly arrogant enough, not to mention cruel enough for it to fit his profile.
I drew my foreleg back to punch the stallion, only to receive a muzzle full of green magic, as I was sent sliding across the floor towards Isabella. Any energy I had mustered up after fighting against metallic abominations had been evaporated in the blink of an eye.
"I spent my life around unicorns. I learned a thing or two about magic," Flicker boasted. "You should have known better."
"Daddy!" I heard Scootaloo cry, squirming free of Isabella's grasp.
Mike and Ike both charged Flicker, as Harmony's horn flared to life. While the stallion easily dispatched the twins, Harmony's attack hit the bicorn's left horn, dazing him slightly before he retaliated with an attack of his own.
A ball of light surrounded Harmony in an effort to protect herself from the dark magic. Flicker simply chuckled as small cracks formed on the shield, its energy quickly draining.
Isabella grabbed a handful of crystals and threw them at the stallion while he was distracted. Sparks danced across his coat, fanning the flames of his wrath towards her. I could only watch as a sickening beam of energy sent Isabella into a wall, rendering her unconscious.
"Is that all you've got?" Flicker taunted.
I tried my best to move, but my body refused to obey. I had to do something, I couldn't just let my friends die.
I heard the faint tink of glass hitting stone. I weakly looked over to see Scootaloo dragging an almost empty bottle of the potion Isabella used to change into a unicorn. I knew what her intent was, and as much as I didn't want to rely on chaotic energy to put an end to Flicker, I didn't have any other option.
Scootaloo read over the bottle as she moved it closer to my mouth. She quickly uncorked the bottle, allowing its contents to spill out onto the ground, giving me the drop I needed from the lip of the bottle.
I watched in horror as Harmony tried to fend off Flicker one last time. The stallion shrugged off the attack by tossing her aside like a used toy. His real prize now was Isabella, and soon it would be me.
"I could drag out your death," Flicker taunted the still form of my sister. "But I suppose a quick end is due, since you did give me this...power."
I felt my foreleg lengthen into an arm, forming a fist which I clenched as I forced myself up onto refreshed muscles. Fatigue vanished even as Flicker gathered energy to finish off Isabella. Feet, toes, thumbs, canines, everything was in place, and not a moment too soon.
"Goodbye!" Flicker laughed.
I gripped a piece of pipe that had been dislodged during the chaos beforehand and hit the bicorn in the back of the head with all my might, causing his attack to veer left and up into the ceiling.
"Daniel..." Flicker shook his head free of the pain, turning his side to me with a grin.
"This ends here Flicker, there's nowhere left for you to run after today," I said.
"Oh I'm not planning on running anymore," Flicker laughed. "You're just a loose end, you and your daughter."
"If you want her, you'll have to get through me," I said, my mind shifting once more into daddy t-rex mode. I would rather die than let him lay a twisted hoof on Scootaloo.
"Human against pony, I can't think of a better end to your story in this world!" Flicker laughed as he rushed me.
I didn't reply as I copied him, reaching forward to grab his horns. Their green glow stopped at the base as I wrapped a hand around each of them. It was a trick I had learned a long time ago, and one that would possibly save my life now.
Flicker thrashed in a violent rage, but while he had grown bigger, he had retained his light weight, making him no heavier than me. I counted myself lucky for this, as I doubted I could handle the weight of a real horse.
Flicker tried his best to bite and paw at me with his sharp hooves. I held firm and retaliated by kneeing him in the neck and chest when I could. While we were at a stalemate so long as he remained on the ground, what I didn't account for, was his wings.
Flicker flapped the powerful limbs, rising up off the ground slightly. It was enough for me to lose my grip on one of his horns which was all he needed to deliver a now weakened blast into my chest.
I staggered backwards from the pain, but rushed forwards to try and overwhelm him once more. Flicker was ready for me this time, and rose up on his hind legs, jabbing me with his hooves, which knocked me down to the ground, before he tossed me backwards with his magic.
Before I could get back up, I felt a hoof land firmly on my body, pinning me in place. I looked up to see the hateful glare of Flicker, his expression twisting into a sinister smile as he leaned in closer.
"I think I'll just paralyze you, that way you can listen as I slaughter those you hold dear," Flicker hissed. "So you can die knowing that you failed."
I struggled beneath him as his horn neared my neck, it's green glow charging to immobilize me. I could feel the icy grip of his magic along my back and closed my eyes, awaiting the pain that would soon follow, frustrated at my own short comings.
"Flicker!" shouted a voice from beyond the lobby.
The bicorn looked up, the chill fading from my body. I looked as well, trying to see who had called out the stallion's name.
From the flames came the clacking of hooves, followed by the familiar form of Noctra. She no longer wore her goggles, and had a nasty gash on her forehead.
The mare roared in rage as her pupils turned into little more than paper thin slits. Her mouth hung open as bared her fangs for all to see.
Flicker tried to attack the nimble bat pony, but missed and recoiled in pain as Noctra screeched directly into his ear. Blood oozed from the bicorn's damaged ear, granting me my freedom once more while she bit and pawed at the stallion's body.
Flicker's horns began to glow again, until my hands gripped them tightly. The energy was sent back into the stallion's body, causing him to snarl and snap in rage as he tried to buck Noctra off, while trying to free himself from me.
I noticed a power panel and lined the stallion up with it before shoving him into it. The glass shattered into his side and wing, ruining the near flawless coat of the chaotic creature. Noctra had jumped free and had screeched right beside the stallion's head.
Flicker managed to free his head once more and tried to blast Noctra, but missed while he was disoriented, causing a large crack to form along the ceiling.
I had teased Cloudchaser thousands of times with her ears, since they were extremely sensitive. When I bit down on Flicker's ear, I may as well have kicked the stallion in the genitals. He screamed in pain, his voice raising an octave as I chomped on his ear, punching any part of him I could.
Flicker slammed his large head against my chest, knocking me off balance. I instinctively grabbed onto one of his horns for support in response, which resulted in a crack forming along it as it bore my weight.
A cracked horn was a useless horn when it came to magic, and Noctra redoubled her efforts, now that Flicker could only attack her from one direction. I followed suit, slamming the stallion up against a support beam in the process before wrestling him to the floor.
Flicker kicked and flailed in a desperate attempt to rid himself of us, and sent Noctra skidding across the stone floor, it was a vain effort as it was obvious now that Flicker was running out of energy, unable to keep up with both of us. I proceeded to forcefully ram him against the support rails, breaking his left foreleg in the process.
Noctra rejoined me as we watched Flicker rise to hit hooves once more. The stallion was beaten and bruised but still refused to yield. His pride was the only thing keeping him standing now as he glared at both of us.
"Damn ape...you think you've won?" Flicker coughed, blood oozing from his mouth. "I am Flicker..a proud son...of Can..terlot...and you...you are but an animal...a savage beast…"
"Maybe, but at least I'm not a monster like you," I replied. "It's over Flicker, give up while you still can."
"Give...up!?" Flicker panted angrily. "I...will never...be defeated!"
Flicker's right horn turned a brilliant shade of green as he prepared another spell. I had assumed he was exhausted beyond the point of spells, but I had blundered, and could only prepare for his counter attack.
"Daniel, watch out!" Noctra shouted as she flew backwards.
I looked up in time to see a large piece of stone fall from the ceiling, and jumped out of the way. Flicker's attack never came to fruition, as his right foreleg and wing were crushed beneath the ruble that had fallen.
Flicker grunted feebly and pawed at the debris that held him in place. His movements became frantic as the floor beneath him began to crack from the added weight and slide backwards into the raging flames below.
Noctra and I stood in silence for a few seconds, staring at the gaping hole that had only seconds ago supported Flicker. It was hard to believe that such a foul creature could lurk within the heart of a pony.
"It's fitting," Noctra said quietly. "Now he knows what it's like to burn."
"Come on, let's get out of here," I sighed, tired and bloodied.
---
Flicker weakly held his head up, observing his surroundings. Fire surrounded him now, and at the center of this hellish landscape was a glowing discarded figure. It was Omega, Impulse Spark's second rate project.
The sound of hoof steps approaching him distracted Flicker from the bomb. His eyes widened as he discovered who it was that had found him.
"No...you're dead..." Flicker whimpered.
Summer Stars and Brave Banner both stared hatefully down at the stallion, the one who had attempted to kill their daughter. Their eyes were empty and chilled Flicker to the core as he stared into their empty sockets.
"You're not real," Flicker sobbed. "You're dead!"
The two ponies said nothing as the bomb in Omega's chest flashed. It was its final warning before it scorched everything on the ground level. In a blinding wave of heat, Flicker was eradicated, and scorched beyond recognition.
---
Two Days Later...
"Well Doctor, can you fix him?" I asked, staring down at the damaged body of my friend.
"It's...hard to say," Doctor Whooves replied. "The damage to this robot is extensive. If I could, it would take time, though he does still seem to have a small charge that I can't quite explain."
"Yeah, go figure," I smiled knowingly.
"I make no promises, but I will try my best," Doctor Whooves said putting on his best smile.
"Thanks Doctor," I nodded, leaving him to his work.
It was good to be back in Ponyville, where there was no apocalyptic beings, natural disasters, or life ending threats that needed attending to at the moment. After walking in Twilight and her friend's shoes, I could say without a doubt that it wasn't for me.
"Do you think Zero will be okay?" Scootaloo asked.
"He's in good hooves Scoots, that's all we can do right now," I replied, rubbing the filly's head.
We walked home in silence, the occasional look between us being enough to know that the other had a lot on their mind. The quiet between us was only ruined upon opening the door to our house, where an anxious Stormwalker awaited.
The colt rushed towards us, stumbling briefly before meeting us the rest of the way into the house. His legs and wings had grown strong over the past few months. He was only slightly shorter than Scootaloo now, but was still able to lean against his sister of his own accord.
“Hey Stormwalker,” Scootaloo smiled, wrapping her forelegs around the colt.
I felt a warm body press up against me as I watched my kids. Cloudchaser nipped my ear gently, causing me to turn my head into her waiting lips. I smiled mentally as we kissed, thankful to simply have her by my side. Twilight could keep the exciting life, I was happy with mine.
“I’m glad they love each other,” Cloudchaser said quietly.
“Yeah, I hope they stay close,” I nodded.
“I hate that Scootaloo met her real father like she did,” Cloudchaser hung her head slightly. “She deserved better.”
“She has better,” I replied watching the tangerine filly. “She has a mom and dad that love her. All I see is our filly.”
Scootaloo looked back at me, her large purple eyes shining vibrantly. There was no trace of Flicker in her to be found, aside from her blood. That was now impossible to prove though, since no trace of the stallion had been found after the horrible turn of events at the finals. Even after Noctra and Isabella had informed me of Scootaloo’s true origin, I still only saw my daughter. As long as she saw me as her father, how could I ask for more?
---
“Our human friends turned your offer down?” Celestia asked as she and Luna walked the Grand Hallway.
“Isabella was rather descriptive in her rejection, and Daniel insisted that he was better suited to being a father than a soldier,” Luna replied.
“I don’t blame them, I feel they’ve earned a bit of peace,” Celestia giggled lightly.
“Sister, you know Twilight and her friends cannot be everywhere at once,” Luna looked up at Celestia.
“Which is why we have to have faith in our little ponies to do the right thing when the time comes,” Celestia nodded.
“What of Impulse Spark’s stallion?” Luna asked.
“I was talked out of melting him down,” Celestia shrugged. “One of your friends believed he could be bettered suited to protecting ponies than as a glorified desk ornament. Though I believe the Crystal Empire would be better suited to a stallion of his…qualities.”
“I agree,” Luna smiled as she turned to look at the new stained glass image depicting those who had stood against Flicker. “I doubt it would be fitting to throw away one of Equeustria’s heroes. Who knows when we may need them again."