//------------------------------// // Chapter 31: Betrayal // Story: The Koprulu Sector // by TheKopruluSectorUnion //------------------------------// Seeker stealthily made her way through the Templar archives, careful not to alert the guards. This was a special archives that held the precious memory crystals of the Nerazim, the now extinct Protoss tribes who had purposely severed their connection to the Khala. They did so with a form of self mutilation that involved severing their own psychic appendages. While Seeker herself rarely ever joined with the Khala, the idea of permanently severing her link was unsettling. Especially if it involved self mutilation. The unicorn equivalent would be to destroy a segment of the brain located right below the unicorns horn. One means was to perform a very complex and dangerous lobotomy. The other was simpler, though did more than just sever the link. By using a warp blade to sever the horn, it destroyed the magical essence in the horn, as well as the essence in the brain that allowed the user to control their magic. While the lobotomy was more complex, it would allow the patient to continue using their magic. The warp blade would completely destroy any magical ability they had. But when Seeker looked into Sovereign's mind, she saw what both Sovereign and Zamara already knew, that his situation was next to hopeless. In all likeliness, it was impossible for disconnect from the Khala from within. Even Zamara with all of her life times of experience couldn't do it, because it had never been needed to be done before. That only made Seeker feel that much worse, because she was now the first idiot in history to incapacitate the same Preserver she had sworn to protect. What she had done was unforgivable, and what she was planning on doing could be just as bad. But Seeker also knew there was no other way. She could either let Zamara continue grieving over the loss of Sovereign when she should be leading their people, continue letting Sovereign exist in isolation for all eternity while his body grows weak from inactivity, or she could do what no one else was willing to do. That was her role as a Dark Templar after all. It was her lot in life to be hated by all, even by the one she cared for the most. But if she was going to once again hurt Sovereign, for what she was sure would be the last time, as she had no intention of ever coming near him ever again, she needed to make sure he was prepared. Void magic didn't require the use of unicorn magic to learn. Anyone with any understanding of basic magic could learn and master it. Unfortunately it took Seeker a lifetime to learn, and she couldn't imagine Sovereign learning it in a day. At least not through normal means. Having made her way past all of the guards, she reached the chamber containing her prize. Seeker had taken Sovereign's amulet off of his body, as it acted as a keycard of sorts to the archive. She put it in front of the scanner which announced, Identity, Sovereign Grey Horn. Status Preserver. Full access granted. The doors opened as Seeker entered the archives and closed the door behind her. Security was sloppy. If it were up to Seeker, she would have removed all of Sovereign's access clearance. Perhaps Zamara was just trying desperately to convince herself such steps were premature, that he might still come out of his coma. The more she thought about it, the more she realized just how much damage she had done, not only to Sovereign, but to Zamara's mental state, and by extension, to the Khala as a whole. She was a mother and mentor grieving the loss of her son right now, and clearly in no state to be the leader her people needed her to be. Seeker further filled with guilt knowing that her actions would only hurt Sovereign and Zamara that much further. But in the long run it would be alright. While disfigured, Sovereign would at least be awake again. And Sovereign and Zamara would have someone to cast their blames on. Seeker knew when she was done, exile awaited. She would be dehorned, and thrown to the wolves. More than likely she would be left in one of the worst worlds of Consortium space. There she would be either sold into slavery, raped, killed, or all three, but it was justice and she knew it. Now within the forbidden chamber, she could see a library of decaying memory crystals belonging to the Nerazim. With even one of these crystals, Sovereign would be able to absorb a lifetime of knowledge from a Dark Templar. Normally completely absorbing a single crystal took months, and there were tens of thousands of these. Only preservers had the right, or the training, to properly absorb one. Once started, a preserver was expected to focus on that crystal for months at a time, never leaving the archive to make sure he could completely absorb the knowledge. It was vital he didn't stop, because once activated, the crystal would start to decay. Fortunately, new advancements allowed for production of crystals that didn't decay, but these crystals were from a different era. There were only thirteen living preservers at the moment, and only twelve of them were active thanks to Seeker, so naturally they weren't going to finish absorbing these devices anytime soon. Tragically most of these crystals would eventually decay on their own over the next few centuries, most before any of their knowledge could be claimed. The void wouldn't be the same as the Khala's light, but at least by using the void, Sovereign wouldn't be a complete cripple. Since he would only have a few minutes, Sovereign wouldn't be able to completely absorb all of the memories. He would attain enough knowledge of the void to properly use it, but that would be it. It would take months or years of experience for him to master it on his own. The more personal details of the Nerazims life would most likely be lost in the back of his head, too damaged and fractured to recover. So many crystals, they'll probably never notice if I borrow just one right? At least not immediately, she thought to herself. As long as she put it back before anyone noticed it was gone, she should be in the clear. With the rapid decay, it would most likely decay completely before anyone ever picked it up and noticed it had been tampered with. Seeker quickly wrapped one of the crystals in a thick cloth, and made her way out of the archive back to the isolated Nexus. She was careful not to touch the device with her bare hooves. As a Dark Templar, she had used these crystals to store her own memories, and knew that touching them with bare flesh would activate it. As much as she hated doing so, she was going to have to hurt Sovereign and Zamara one last time. Sovereign was rather confused by Rain Sights sudden disappearance. "Rain!" he shouted as he made his way down stairs. He received no response as he entered the kitchen to find it empty. She said she was going to make me something to eat but... Sovereign paused as he heard a voice coming from behind. A voice he never expected to hear ever again. "Sovereign! My stallion, my angel, my love. I've been looking all over for you." Sovereign turned around to find Sweetie Belle staring at him. She smiled innocently as her head tilted to the right. "How rude, I don't even get a, "So nice to see you again Sweetie?" I thought I had turned you into a gentleman." Sovereign noticed she was in her ghost suit. He hadn't seen her wear that thing once since she had left the academy. "Sweetie Belle, you shouldn't be here. Why haven't you left Korhal yet?" he asked. "Without my sweet beloved? Sovereign how could you even ask me something like that?" countered Sweetie Belle. "You know as well as I do that there was no way I was leaving without my boyfriend. I was so worried about you. But now that I see you, it seems my worries were misplaced. You don't have any chains on you. You aren't in a cell. You've been well fed and taken care of apparently. In fact, I don't see anything keeping you from simply walking out that door, and searching for the mare you gave your heart to. You know, that same mare that didn't want to get close because she was afraid someone would be hurt. That same mare that despite her initial feelings allowed herself to herself open up to you. That mare who allowed herself to get close to you because you assured her you wouldn't break her heart?" "Sweetie I-" "So Sovereign, why haven't you been looking for me?" Sweetie Belle finally asked. Sovereign noticed she didn't have her rifle, which did bring some comfort. He didn't want her to find out like this. In fact, this conversation was never even suppose to happen. She was suppose to think he was dead. Finally, he spoke. "Sweetie, you know I love you. And I don't ever want to do anything to hurt you." Tears began to form around Sweetie Belle's eyes. She waited patiently for what she hoped would be a good explanation. Sovereign continued. "But-" Why is he saying but?! No Sovereign, please don't do this! "I just don't think we should see each other anymore. I just keep getting in trouble and holding you back. You would be much happier if I wasn't around to drag you down anymore," he finished. "That's the best you can come up with?" she asked in a soft cracked voice that Sovereign could barely hear. "I was hoping you could at least explain yourself. Not feed me this crap!" she shouted. "Sweetie I'm not lying. I really think it would be what's best for you," he insisted. Sweetie Belle used her magic to pull her duffle bag into sight. The bag opened and something started to make its way out. It was too small to be her rifle, but she had other weapons, and that gave Sovereign cause for worry. Instead of a weapon, an envelope was revealed. The envelope opened, and she spilled pictures on the floor. Pictures of Sovereign and Rain Sight having sex from just a few hours ago. Who took these pictures?! he thought to himself. Of course, Twilight. First she makes me sleep with her, then she takes pictures of it. In his rather nervous state, Sovereign had forgotten to shield his mind against any intrusions. "It was Twilight!?" asked Sweetie Belle excitedly. "So... you didn't do this because you wanted to... she forced you into it right?" she asked optimistically. "Yeah," answered Sovereign. He was telling the truth, and Sweetie Belle didn't sense an ounce of guilt. "So that's why you didn't try to find me" she continued. "It's not because you were cheating on me. It's because you were just ashamed. But it wasn't your fault. You were under mind control the whole time. It's not like you were planning on staying that mare right?" "Yeah... the whole time..." lied Sovereign. Sweetie Belle didn't need to read his mind to tell that was a lie. "Sovereign... she took A LOT of pictures. How long into were you mind controlled for?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Almost the entire time!" he replied quickly. She simply glared at him. "About the first ten seconds." Poor Sovereign had no idea he was under the influence of an aphrodisiac the entire time. Tears began to form and fall from Sweetie Belle's eyes. "Tell me... were you going to stay with her?" she asked. Sovereign tried to approach her to calm her down. Before he could get close, she yelled. "Were you going to stay with her?!" At this point in the conversation, Sovereign had put up his mental barriers. It was a good thing too, because he was felt himself get assaulted with a rage induced mental attack. The attack threatened to drive him to insanity had he not blocked it out. "Yes," he finally answered. Sovereign's heart broke as Sweetie Belle began to cry even harder now. "Sweetie Belle, please understand. It's not because I don't love you." "Stop..." she managed to say as she ceased her sobbing, though the tears did continue. "I wish things could have ended differently between us Sovereign." Sovereign noticed the drawers and covers in the kitchen began to open up, and six pistols floated in the air around him. "You're right, it's time we started seeing other people." There he lay, perfectly still. To anyone unaware of the forces at work, they would think he was simply sleeping right now. Though in a few days, he would probably be hooked up to a feeding tube, and someone would be brought in to help him wipe whenever he excreted. Zamara would probably do just about anything to help keep him alive. Zamara meant well, but she was going about it in the wrong way. But both her and Sovereign knew the situation was hopeless. Zamara simply wasn't the person to be making this decision. It was essentially asking a mother to pull the plug on her son, knowing he still had a tiny fragment of a chance of coming out of his coma. Seeker would have to do this dark favor for the both of them. Her blade extended, and she held it near Sovereign's horn. Seeker took a deep breath and prayed. Sovereign continued to meditate in his purgatory. Each night he did feel tempted to simply detach himself from this prison that Zamara had helped him to construct. He could then simply let his mind fade away, and let himself be absorbed into the Khala. But that wasn't an option. He was a preserver, things were expected of him. His people needed him. Zamara needed him... Seeker needed him. That mare had done more to help him keep his sanity in his first year as an active preserver than anyone else had. She had also been the one who stayed with him during an otherwise lonely childhood. She wanted to see him again, and if he just let himself fade away, all of her dedication would have been for nothing. He closed his eyes and again concentrated. He had no idea if he was making any progress at all, but his will to survive urged him to push on and escape from his mental cell. Something seemed different this time however. He could feel the memories slowing down. As they did, he was having a much easier time sensing his own mental fragments. He couldn't believe it, he was doing it, he was detaching from the Khala! Sovereign filled with excitement as the flow of memories calmed, and piece by piece he began to recover the fragments of his mind. He had been trapped here for weeks now, but soon he would once again be able to walk the plains of Aiur, to see his mentor with his own eyes, instead of just a mental projection. To hold hooves with Seeker, and celebrate by taking her to dinner and a show. Not only that, but his time spent within the Khala had helped him gain a better understanding of it. He would have much more control over his abilities after he escaped. As he finally finished absorbing his mental fragments, he again tried to reconnect to the Khala. Something was wrong, he could no longer sense the Khala's embrace, its light had dissipated. Sovereign felt a burning sensation coming from within. It was getting hotter, the pain unbearable. He had never experienced true pain before, his powerful connection to the Khala always helped him block it out. Sovereign finally opened his eyes, and tried to shout, but a set of hooves covered his snout. For some reason he felt empty inside! Everything felt so cold now. It was all so quiet. "Sovereign, please calm down!" said a familiar voice. Sovereign closed his eyes and focused. He wasn't alone. His connection to the Khala had been severed, but he still had all the memories of the Khala locked away in his head. He called upon the memories of thousands of dead Khalai that came before him to give him strength during this time, or at least company. He was able to hear their voices now. While not as comforting as that of the Khala, it would have to be enough. As he calmed down, the hooves around his snout released. He turned around to see a tear filled Seeker looking at him. "Seeker... what did you do to me?" he asked in an angry whisper. She didn't say a word. She simply used her void magic to levitate a severed grey horn in front of him. "No... no Seeker please no..." "It was the only way," she finally said. "Sovereign you were trapped. I couldn't just leave you-" "I could have found a way! I'm a Preserver. Our people needed me! Now I'm... nothing. What am I now?! What good can I do anyone!?" he asked in a voice filled with sadness and realization. Tears now began to form in his eyes as he felt his self worth disappear. "I'm useless now." Seeker wrapped her hooves around her beloved. "You aren't worthless Sovereign. If you weren't worth something to me, do you think I would have done this? I know you probably hate-" "Hate?! That doesn't even begin to describe it!" said Sovereign fiercely. Seeker expected that. She had no illusions that things would ever be the same between them ever again. "-but... I did bring this for you," she said revealing a memory crystal. "It's not the Khala, but it will allow you to once again use magic, if only of a different variety." Sovereign knocked the crystal out of her hands. The second his flesh touched the crystal, a flash of all the memories held within entered his mind at once. But due to his brief contact, they memories couldn't properly imbed themselves, and quickly fragmented in the back of his mind. "Was this your plan Seeker? We could both be Dark Templar, so we could be both be hated together? I suppose it didn't matter to you did it? As long as you were happy, that's all that was important." That was something Seeker wasn't prepared for. "Sovereign I swear that's not what I intended at all. I only did it because I knew there was no other choice. It was my fault you were stuck in there, and I wasn't about to just let you rot for all eternity. You know as well as I do that there was no way you were ever going to escape." Sovereign calmed down. He thought on her words and realized she was speaking the truth. He wasn't going to escape that place. If even Zamara with her thousands of years of experience didn't know a means of escape, what hope did he have? "You're right... I'm sorry." "You don't have anything to be sorry about. I'm the one who did this to you remember?" said Seeker. "I'm going to let Zamara know now. You won't be the only one without a horn tonight." She began to walk towards the exit. Sovereign didn't try to stop her. Zamara could not believe what she had just been told. This stupid, incompetent, useless mare had once again found a way to take a worst case scenario, and somehow make that even worse. The only useful thing she'd done for anyone so far was finally deciding to turn herself in so she could rid the Khala of her stupidity once and for all. If Zamara were a void user, she'd probably have severed her horn then and there. "I did what I had to do Supreme Matriarch. There was no other way," explained Seeker. "I'm willing to except my exile." She had already told Zamara about her intrusion into Sovereign's mind, and his dehorning. Though she did not bring up the stolen memory crystal. That detail seemed minor enough. Zamara rubbed her hoof between her eyes in frustration. "Seeker... I've been trying very hard to be patient with you. But every time I show the slightest bit of leniency, you always find a way to make me regret it," said an irritated Zamara doing her best not to show her rising temper. Before the conversation could go on any further, one of the Templar entered Zamara's chambers with a message. "Supreme Matriarch. I regret to inform Sovereign is nowhere to be found. We've been searching the isolated nexus high and low, and are certain he has made an escape." Zamara's began to tremble in anger. She took a deep breath before answering. "Send search parties for him. Find him and retrieve him. He is not to be harmed," she said as calmly as possible. The guard gave a salute and left the chambers. Seeker looked up towards the still shaking Zamara and began a sentence, "Supreme Matriarch I-" Before she could finish the sentence, Zamara ran at her, place her forward hooves around Seeker's horn, and unleashed a concentrated burst of psionic energy, shattering Seeker's horn to pieces. The young mare fell to the ground screaming in agony as blood trickled down her face. Finally Zamara spoke. "That is what Sovereign is feeling right now! Yours will grow back, his won't. Right now he is wandering about, cut off from the Khala, alone and afraid Seeker. He has no idea what he is suppose to do with his life anymore because of you!" Seeker continued to roll around in agony, covering her bleeding horn, and doing her best to suppress her screams. Zamara looked down at the sight. She immediately regretted what she had done. Even if only a temporary disfigurement, she should not have lashed out the way she had. She was the Supreme Matriarch of the New Khala, and was expected to conduct herself as such. She reached down and cauterized the wound with a small amount of lightning, then helped the mare to her feet. "I'm sorry Seeker," she began. "It was wrong of me to strike you. I've been very stressed lately, but it was no excuse." Some tears were still running down Seeker's blood soaked face due to the extreme pain she was in. "It's... alright... I... deserved that..." replied a still trembling Seeker. "I need to find Sovereign," said Zamara. "I'm sending the Dark Order to find him and bring him back unharmed. You're to report to medical and get some rest, is that understood?" asked Zamara. "Yes... Supreme... Matriarch..." replied Seeker still holding her shattered horn stump. Seeker began to wobble her way out of the room to reach medical. As vicious as Zamara's attack might have been, it may have also spared her from exile. A grace she still wasn't certain she deserved. Regardless, Sovereign needed to be found. She knew the preserver... former preserver better than anyone else. If anyone could track him, it would be her. Though the more she thought about it, the more she questioned how far Sovereign could have possibly gotten with a severed horn. She never imagined how disorienting it would be to walk without hers. But now that she knew what it felt like, she only felt that much worse for Sovereign. In a month or two, hers would grow back. Sovereign however had been permanently disfigured by her warp blade. If anything, he might not be to hard to find. Sovereign stood nervously as he the six pistols floated around him. Then at the edge of his eye, he saw the sight of a trigger squeezing. Sovereign jumped out of the way as the bullet narrowly missed him, then rolled as three more went off, all coming just as close. "I would have given everything up for you Sovereign!" shouted Sweetie Belle as the bullets continued to fly. Sovereign wasn't sure if he should be grateful of concerned that all the weapons were silenced. On one hand, they probably weren't going to attract the attention of K-sec anytime soon, so at least he wouldn't be arrested due to the sound of gun fire. On the other hand, they weren't going to attract the attention of K-sec anytime soon, so this domestic dispute could go on for a while, and he wasn't certain how long he could go on dodging bullets. Sovereign managed to get out of the kitchen and get behind the walls of the living room. He was only in his underwear, which in hindsight probably wasn't helping the situation. He quickly undressed himself and turned invisible. A bullet smashed right through the wall and into a cabinet in the living room, knocking over a series of expensive looking plates, cups and bowls. There was no way a pistol could have done that, so apparently she had brought her rifle after all. "Sovereign! Please come out honey," pleaded Sweetie Belle. "I just want to talk things through with you." "Oh thank the Khala," said Sovereign revealing himself, "So about the thing with Rain Sight." Sweetie quickly ran around the corner with her rifle floating in front of her, now fixed on him. He still hadn't quite gotten it through his head that he shouldn't believe a thing Sweetie Belle said at the moment. Sovereign ducked just in time as the bullet flew over head. Damn it! She lied to me! Why does every mare always lie to me?! he thought as he turned around see two of the floating pistols were now in front of him. If he had his warp blade with him, he would have tried to slice them in half, but at the moment he was unarmed. He teleported out of the way just as the pistols fired, and Sweetie Belle's rifle sent a round through the floor into the basement. Sweetie Belle lowered her goggles in search of her hidden lover. "Sovereign honey. I've been thinking, maybe I'm overreacting a bit," she said in an apologetic tone. Sovereign threw a cup into the air only to have it shatter to pieces as a pistol went off. Nope. She is still insane, he thought to himself. "Sovereign, we have to move past this. I'm willing to try again, but we can't make it work if you don't come out first," she suggested. She received no reply from Sovereign, and her goggles weren't picking up any void shadows. Apparently she had trained him well. The old Sovereign would have left his invisibility on like an idiot, and given himself away. It seems he turned it off as soon as he was out of sight. "Honey, I trusted you in spite of all that had happened. I think it's only fair if you trusted me for a moment." Sweetie Belle saw a piece of grey tail sticking out from behind a wall. She opened fire into the wall, shooting three rounds. Two of his pistols moved ahead of her, as she turned the corner. She slowly snuck up on what she thought was Sovereign only to find it was a mop. She quickly turned around to see Sovereign had snuck up on her. Sovereign quickly tapped his hoof on Sweetie Belle's horn, sending a shock wave of void energy into her brain. That would have knocked an ordinary pony unconscious, but she had received training in resisting mental attacks. Fortunately it did temporarily shut down her powers, and the pistols and rifle fell to the ground. Sweetie Belle quickly knocked his hoof away from her horn, then tried to strike him in the face. Sovereign was quick to dodge, grabbed her extended hoof and swung her over head in hopes of slamming her into the ground. Sweetie Belle however did not let go of his hoof when the tried to launch her, and countered by landing gracefully, then rolling to her side, twisting Sovereign's hoof, then forcing him to the ground instead. Sweetie Belle got back up, and tried to deliver an axe-kick like stomp to his head. Sovereign teleported out of the way just in time, as her hoof smashed an impressive sized crater into the flooring. An attack like that was obviously backed up by psychic force, meaning her powers were once again active. Sovereign still wasn't sure what to do about the situation. He certainly didn't want to hurt Sweetie Belle. After all, he was the one who drove her to this state. He also knew for a fact that Sweetie Belle was certainly trained well enough to kill him if she wanted too. That's when he had a sudden realization. Sovereign continued running and teleporting, while dodging more salvos of bullets. As he did so, he noticed just how close the bullets were landing to him. Many of them were actually grazing his fur, There is no way someone could land those many round that close and not hit him once. She was missing on purpose. Sovereign remembered sensing her rage from earlier, so in her mind, she probably at least thought she wanted him dead. Though there was a good chance that subconsciously, she wasn't quite ready to kill him yet. He also remembered something else about that attack, and how it would have driven him to insanity had he not had his mental barriers up. Had she been in this state the entire time? Perhaps even prior to showing up? Sovereign used his magic to turn on the living room TV which, thank the Khala, was one of the few things that didn't have bullet holes yet. He turned it on and changed it to the local news, then said, "Sweetie Belle you win!" Sweetie Belle turned towards his voice and fixed her weapons on him preparing to fire, but for some reason still couldn't quite pull the triggers. The TV began to catch her attention as the news reported hundreds of Imperials had been killed in a wave of uncontrollable violence. It had been described as the most atrocious act of psychic terrorism Korhal had ever suffered. The barrels of Sweetie Belle's weapons slowly lowered as she saw all of the dead and insane Imperials on the TV screen. The mothers crying over the loss of their children was especially to much to bare. "Twilight did it," she said softly as a tear ran its way down her cheek. "She turned me into a killer. That was her intention the whole time... I did that." The weapons fell to ground as Sweetie Belle dropped to her knees. "I'm a murderer!" she cried. Despite the lovers quarrel they had just had, Sovereign still couldn't stand the sight of Sweetie Belle being brought to tears. "It wasn't your fault," said Sovereign. "Twilight-" "Showed me some pictures!" shouted Sweetie Belle. "That's all she did. I'm the one who did... this." she said while pointing a hoof to the TV screen. "Sweetie Belle... I'm the one who hurt you," said Sovereign as he wrapped a hoof around her. "I'm the reason you lost control. If you want to blame someone, you can blame me. Everything you said was true. On the bus you said you didn't want to be in a relationship because you knew someone would get hurt. I'm the idiot who kept pushing it. I should have listened to you." Sweetie Belle wiped a tear from her eye. She still felt terrible for what she had done to those people, but Sovereign's hooves wrapped around her helped to clam her down. "Sovereign. Do you still love me?" she asked. Sovereign wanted to say no. That certainly would have been in both of their best interest. But he still hadn't quite grasped the concept of lying yet. Or perhaps he had, and he just couldn't bring himself to lie to her? Sweetie Belle smiled. She knew what the silence meant. "You aren't wrong when you say things would be easier on both of us if we just didn't ever see each other again. But you said something else on the bus as well. You told me that if I didn't want to be with you, you would understand and would never bring it up again. But you also said that it had to be because I didn't love you, not because I thought it would just be easier on you if we weren't together. Well I did love you, so I did decide to try to make things work, even though I knew it would be difficult. Now I have to ask you the same thing Sovereign. If you don't think we should be together, I'll never bother you again. But it has to be because you don't love me. Not because you think it'll be easier on me." Sovereign throat began to swell as he prepared to answer her question. Sweetie Belle gazed into his eyes and again asked. "So do you still love me?" Sovereign knew what he wanted to tell her, he knew what he should tell her, but instead he said, "I do." A tear faced Sweetie Belle wrapped her hooves around him once again. "I knew you did! That's why this is going to be so much easier now," said Sweetie Belle as she levitated one of the pistols behind Sovereign. "What's going to be so much easier now?" he asked. Then he heard the sound of a pistol going off right as the bullet pierced his flesh. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo had finally arrived at the rendezvous point. Scootaloo used her goggles to zoom in on a distant contrail, and saw a small shuttle was now approaching. She could hardly wait. Then it stopped and turned around. "It's leaving!" she said. "Why is it leaving?!" "Because I told it to," answered Rainbow Dash. "What? Why?!" shouted Scootaloo. "Squirt, I can't risk you killing the person on board," explained Rainbow Dash. "They'll turn around again, they're just waiting for me to give the go ahead." "Then give the go ahead!" shouted Scootaloo now pointing a pistol towards her. Rainbow Dash just shook her head. Originally the only thing she cared about was getting back to Consortium space alive. While she may have come to like Apple Bloom, she certainly had no intention of risking her sisters future for her sake. But with Twilight's recent orders, Apple Bloom and Jet's Streams fate was now intertwined. Either they both survived, or neither of them did. "I can't do that yet squirt. Not until you hand over your weapons, and get out of your armor," she replied. "You're trying to protect this bastard aren't you? You told me you don't care if he lives or dies!" shouted Scootaloo. "Why do you care all of a sudden?" "Because I need HER help with another mission. If I don't come through, my little sister is going to pay," answered Rainbow Dash. "I can't let you jeopardize my sisters safety. And believe me, you might want to think things through before you kill the mare who helped you escape." "That mare you are referring to killed my father! You expect me to just let her walk away after that?" asked Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash sighed. She was considering telling Scootaloo about Apple Bloom, but she also feared that if she found out right now, she might do something irrational. Having just lost her father, it wasn't to hard to imagine Scootaloo wasn't in a sound state of mind at the moment. Odds were that Apple Bloom would not be willing to help her further if anything happened to Scootaloo, even if Scootaloo was in the mood to kill her. It would be much easier to deal with her if she were unarmed. "Just hand over your weapons and undress. Once I have what I need from her, you can do whatever you want. Hell, I'll even let you kill me if that's what you want. But my sister has nothing to do with this. I'm not going to let you get her killed." Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash stared down one another for several seconds. Finally Scootaloo lowered her weapon. "Alright. But remember what you said. As soon as you have what you want from her, she's mine." Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. Scootaloo handed over her weapon and began taking off her armor. Fortunately she still wore her orange prisoner suit underneath, so she wasn't completely naked. In the distance she could finally see the shuttle once again on an approach. The shuttle came in smoothly and began its landing. Even though she was unarmed, Scootaloo still couldn't wait to meet her mysterious benefactor, if only for the sake of quelling her curiosity. As the docking bay doors opened, they were only met by a lone pilot. Scootaloo couldn't believe it, it was her! Or at least a clone of her. Scootaloo knew she had clones from what her father had told her, but she wasn't expecting to meet any of them. This clone seemed a year or two younger than Scootaloo, which made sense if her parents waited a while before handing over her genetic material. The clone quickly ran to Rainbow Dash and embraced her in a passionate hug. "So glad to see you again sis!" she yelled as she squeezed tight. "I can't believe it, we're both finally free again!" Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and returned the hug. She did her best to hide her sadness about the grim truth of her little sisters freedom. But now wasn't the time for that. This was their moment, and she wasn't going to let Twilight ruin it. "It's good to see you again squirt," replied Rainbow Dash. Squirt? Is that why she's been helping me? Because I look like her sister? Thought Scootaloo. The clone released her sister and approached Scootaloo. "Hi..." she said somewhat nervously. "Umm... I'm Jet Stream... I guess... I'm your.." "Clone," interrupted Scootaloo. Jet Stream frowned in disappointment while Rainbow Dash gave a disapproving glare. I was hoping sister, she thought to herself. "Yeah..." said Jet Stream. "I'm your clone." Scootaloo didn't bother introducing herself to her double. If that was Rainbow Dash's "sister," if you could even call a clone your sister, then that meant that her benefactor was still in the ship. It was time to meet face to face.