Onward to Tomorrow

by SpartanD014

Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

… Call started.

“Cobalt?”

“It’s me. I found the bug in my room, and set it to send a loop of silence. We’re safe.”

“Good. There are… concerns among some of us, brought about by the fact that Harmony is still intact. The ship will be back in Equus’s orbit in nine days. Time is running short.”

“I know, but I’m having a difficult time, here. The laptop they confiscated had all my hacking software on it, I have nothing on this one. And with the new “buddy system,” I can’t do anything without somepony else breathing down my back. I… need some suggestions.”

“We’re working on something for you. It is complicated, but we hope to have it ready before Harmony returns. You simply need to be ready, and easily reachable.”

“I’ll check in as often as I can, but I don’t want to make anypony suspicious.”

“I understand. One more thing… the mare. The one you spend all your time with.”

“Star Step? What about her?”

“We know about you and her. And, quite frankly, it concerns us. You need to be wary of attachments, Cobalt. If you get too attached to this pony, you may forget your duty.”

“I would never forget my duty. My job here has to be done, I truly believe that. You have nothing to worry about.”

“I sincerely hope you are right. We will be in touch. Stay cautious.”

---

Twilight sat a few feet away from the bridge viewport, her head tilted slightly as she appreciated the view laid out before her. Several light years away, though still close enough to fill up most of the window, a massive nebula floated in space, its purple and green hues glowing against the blackness of the void. Several bright stars glowed from within the gaseous clouds, newly born from the matter within the nebula. The bridge lights were off, the room was lit only by the alien stars. Twilight stared at them, unblinking as her mind filled with thoughts of home. She longed for her familiar sun, the one she had seen every day since her birth. The sun that warmed her face every time she stepped outside. We will be there soon, she thought.

“An excellent view, isn’t it?”

Twilight turned around, nodding in agreement as Ace stepped further into the bridge.

“It almost makes all of this worth it,” the Captain continued, coming to a halt next to the Princess. “All the pain, all the suffering. These stars, they are the future for which we fight.”

“It really makes me wonder,” Twilight said, “why somepony would want to stop this. This beauty… who would want to keep us from it?”

“We’ll find who’s responsible,” Ace said. “We’ll bring them to justice.”

“It’s baffling, isn’t it?” Twilight asked, returning her attention to the view outside. “Why would somepony want to keep us from this? What could somepony’s reasons be, that would make them want to sabotage this expedition?” Ace paused, narrowing his eyes.

“... Hopefully we’ll know someday,” he replied. “There are three jumps remaining. We need to be extra vigilant; I think it goes without saying that the saboteur will not let us off this ship without a fight.” Twilight nodded, taking a few steps away from the viewport.

“Agreed,” she said. “I’ll continue to maintain the traps, and as long as we keep enforcing the buddy system, I think we can effectively eliminate more unexpected sabotage. We’ll force him or her to act openly, and we can seize that opportunity, hopefully before anypony else is hurt.”

“Three more jumps…” Ace repeated, staring forlornly out the bridge viewport. “Hard to believe home is so close, relatively speaking. Hopefully the ESA will be prepared for our arrival, even though they don’t know we’re still intact.”

“Princess Luna wouldn’t abandon us,” Twilight said. “They’ll be ready. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s starting to get late.” Without waiting for a response, Twilight exited the bridge, taking the ladder down to the crew deck. In her mind, Ace’s words echoed, causing the Princess even more worry. Three more jumps; only a fraction of the time the crew had spent on this ship, yet still plenty of time for something to go wrong…

---

“I can’t believe we’re almost home,” Star Step said excitedly, crossing to a few pictures that adorned her bedroom wall. They showed Star at various locations throughout Equestria; the Canterlot Palace, the Statue of Harmony in Manehattan, Fillydelphia’s historical district, and more. Cobalt was present in a few of the photos, but many outdated their relationship. Cobalt himself sat in the corner of the room, tiredly rubbing his eyes as he glanced at the clock above Star’s door. It was late, and soon their recently-imposed curfew would be taking effect. Cobalt did not know what a curfew was supposed to gain; given that he could freeze security cameras at will, if he was to sneak out in the night, Ace and the others would have no idea.

“Three jumps,” Cobalt said, joining his marefriend by the pictures. He stopped a few feet away, the words of his confederates echoing in his mind. They were at least partially right; Star did distract him from his objectives. No, he thought. Distract has such a negative connotation. It’s more like she… attracts my attention.

“I can’t wait to get off this ship,” Star continued, turning and smiling at Cobalt. “As soon as we’re out of decontamination, I want to take a nice long walk in the sun. I need to feel real air on my face again, not this filtered stuff…” Cobalt only nodded, trying to mask any of his other emotions. At this, Star suspiciously raised an eye, closing the distance between the two of them. “Is everything okay?” She reached out to him, but he moved at the last second, working his way to the door.

“Yeah, I’m just tired,” Cobalt replied, yawning as if to prove his point. “I’m ready for this to be over, too. It’s been a long expedition, it’s about time for it to come to an end.” Star frowned, unconvinced.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” she asked, once again reaching out. This time, Cobalt did not move. He allowed her to make contact, if only to ease her worries. “I haven’t done something wrong, have I? We’re… we’re alright, aren’t we?” Cobalt looked into Star’s eyes, and he felt his doubt rising once again. How can I give this up? He thought.

But almost as soon as the thought entered Cobalt’s mind, something within him seemed to snap. No, he thought. This is for the best. This is why I am here. This is for the good of Equestria. I cannot let this expedition continue. The saboteur smiled comfortingly, placing a hoof of his own on Star Step’s shoulder.

“Everything is perfectly fine between us,” he assured her. “I’m just a bit nervous, is all. I don’t want anything to go wrong.”

“I understand that,” Star said, nodding. “The bastard trying to kill us all has been quiet since the jump drive was replaced. I… I’m worried something will happen soon.”

“Don’t worry,” Cobalt said, pulling Star into a tight hug. “We’ll at be at peace soon. Everything will be fine.” Star smiled, and looked Cobalt in the eye.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” she asked. “I hate sleeping alone. It’s always so cold on this ship…”

“What about the curfew?” Cobalt said. “One of the higher-ups might not like us breaking it.”

“Are we technically breaking it?” Star reasoned. “The curfew just says everypony must be in bed by ten. And besides, what about the ‘buddy system’?” The comms specialist smirked, and Cobalt smiled back, nodding.

“Alright,” he agreed. “I’ll stay with you.” Star smiled and trotted to her bed, pulling Cobalt along with her. She crawled under the covers, yawning, while Cobalt’s eyes once again turned to the clock. Time was against him; where once it had been in seemingly endless supply, he now had a mere nine days to bring this ship down. Just how he would go about it, he did not know. But he had to make his move soon; Equestria was depending on this mission.

---

Quick Fix had become more than accustomed to long shifts in her career; as a combat medic, one had to be ready around-the-clock to treat wounded. The move to a veteran’s hospital was certainly more peaceful, but she had had more than her fair share of sleepless nights at work. And now Harmony was providing even more sleepless nights. First Golden Bolt, then Astral Breeze, and most recently Sharp Sight; ponies who she was sworn to help, yet was unable to in their times of need. Granted, working on a spaceship was far different from working in a hospital or medical tent, but she wished she had been able to do more.

“Alright, three glasses of apple juice,” Lightning Flash said, carefully carrying a tray to the mess hall table where Quick Fix sat. She grabbed one of the glasses, as did Vibrant Flame, sitting across from the doctor. “Officially the most exotic drink we have on this ship. It’s times like now that I wish we hadn’t finished the grape juice four weeks in. Well, bottoms up.” Lightning grabbed his own glass and downed the entire drink at once, while Fix and Vibrant decided to take theirs more slowly.

“Nine days,” Vibrant Flame whispered, more to himself than to either of his companions. “I… I wish they were here with us…”

“There’s nothing we could have done to help those we’ve lost,” Fix said, though she did not believe her own words. However she rationalized it, the doctor was not used to being so helpless. Normally there was something to do, some way for her to help those in need.

Ace had been no help. From the start, he had made working on Harmony a challenge. Fix respected the stallion’s leadership, but she did not trust him; her time among black ops soldiers had taught her not to trust a single one of them. In the medical tents, they would let their barriers fall. Words would slip out, that normally the black ops would take to their graves. It had not taken Fix long to learn that they rarely meant what they actually said, and that they always had ulterior reasons for doing things.

“Well, here’s to them, then,” Lightning Flash said somberly. “Sharp, guess we won’t be hitting up that hoofball game when we get home… Two years… Hard to believe they’re gone.”

“Yeah,” Fix agreed. “There’ll be justice.” For everyone involved in this, the Doctor thought. Whether that’s just the saboteur remains to be seen…

---

Call started.

“Cobalt, we have something for you.”

“Finally. We’ve only got two jumps left. What is it?”

“It’s fairly complicated, so pay close attention. First thing’s first: it has become clear to us that Harmony will return to Equus, whether we want it to or not. However, we may be able to use this. We’re sending you some instructions to repurpose the virus that has currently crippled communications. You will write these changes into the code, and deploy it.”

“I understand. What do these changes do?”

“Let us just say… it will ensure that Harmony will go out with a bang. However, it is almost certainly going to be noticed by the crew once the ship returns. Therefore, the crew must be eliminated.”

“And how do you suggest I do that? That is the difficult part of all this.”

“... The final option. The one we have wanted to avoid this whole time. Deploy the new virus sometime in the night, then, using the codes you copied on the night you killed Sharp, put the ship into lockdown. From there, you will return to the crew deck, enter Princess Twilight’s room, and eliminate her manually. The difficult part is ensuring that she remains asleep; she will most certainly hear the door open, and if she wakes up, her magic will greatly overpower yours. Be fast, and get the job done. Once she is out of the way, move on to the rest of the crew, starting with the officers. They are the only ones who can lift the lockdown, so do not let them wake up either. Once everypony is dead, what you do with yourself is up to you. Do you understand?”

“... We avoided this for a reason. If Twilight wakes up, she’ll wipe the floor with me. If Ace or Skychaser wake up, they can disable the lockdown with their own codes. There is too much beyond my control that can go wrong.”

“As you have already said, only two jumps remain. Do you have any alternative ideas?”

“... No.”

“Very well. Begin with the repurposing of the virus. Should some better idea come to you in the next six days, let us know. Good luck, Cobalt.”

Call ended.

“... Damn it.”

---

Princess Luna sat at her desk, wearing a look of worry as she stared at the wall opposite her. She was not focusing on any particular detail of the wall; rather, she was lost in her own thoughts, and in the reality that would soon be upon her.

One day more, she thought. Did the rescue work? Will Harmony make it home? Her worried frown grew as she considered the possibility that the rescue plan had failed. She imagined the crew of Harmony, trapped in space for the rest of their lives, victims of regressive terrorists. Her worry grew into anger, and she scowled, trying to hold her hooves steady on the surface of her desk. Why did I allow this plan to go through? Harmony was meant to symbolize progress for all life. Instead, it has been tainted by our own petty squabbles on Equus. And I allowed it to happen.

The Princess’s office door swung open, and Princess Celestia stepped inside, appearing no more at ease than her sister. Celestia carried heavy bags under her eyes, and held a fresh cup of coffee in her telekinetic grip. While Luna had been busy organizing the capsule recovery in the event that the rescue was successful, Celestia had been spearheading the investigation into Cobalt’s profile, trying to find anything condemning. From what Luna had heard, little progress had been made.

“Any luck, sister?” Luna asked, eyeing Celestia’s coffee longingly.

“No,” the Princess of the Sun replied, shaking her head. “Or, very little. We have connected Cobalt to a small terrorist ring, but they were eliminated six years ago. Intelligence at the time indicated that the ring was working for a larger organization, but we lost all leads.”

“Mm,” Luna sighed, frowning. “So, I suppose we’ll be making little progress until the stallion himself is in our prison.”

“Assuming we capture Cobalt,” Celestia said. “Harmony has been out of communications for weeks. As much as it pains me to say it… the ship could be lost. We have no idea if they are on their way home or not.”

“Well, we’ll know tomorrow,” Luna said. “Assuming everything goes to plan, and Harmony jumps back to the correct coordinates, the Phoenix capsule should land in the plains just west of here. However, I highly doubt that everything will go to plan, so just in case, I will be deploying fifteen naval vessels later today to begin patrolling the sea. Should the capsule land in the ocean, it would be a much easier capture for our enemies.”

“Tomorrow…” Celestia repeated. “The time does fly. Luna… if all of this works out, and the crew returns to us unharmed…” Luna eyed her sister, wondering what the elder Princess was suggesting. Only once Celestia looked up and made eye contact with Luna did the Princess of the Night understand her intent.

“‘Tia,” she said, “the crew deserves to know what we have done. They have been lied to, betrayed, and hurt by more than just Cobalt. If we keep it a secret from them, we are no better than those we seek to defeat. The crew has suffered, and been through far more than their training covered, all because of us. They deserve to know.”

“I know, but…” Celestia faltered, turning away. “But what if the information leaks? What if the public is informed about what we did? If our citizens know that we used the Harmony mission as nothing more than bait, then support for the terrorists will rise, not fall. All of the crew’s suffering has been for the purpose of destroying those who would see Equestria fall, not giving them more leverage.”

“I thought it was your intention to eventually tell everypony,” Luna said. She stood up, crossing to a window and drawing up the blinds. “Look, I will support you. As co-rulers, it is important that we have one another’s backs. But first, ask yourself: what does your conscience want you to do?”

“... My conscience knows that the crew, and the entire world, has a right to know,” Celestia admitted, sighing. “But we have to be rational. We can’t risk it.”

“Then we won’t,” Luna decided. “But remember what that saboteur said: not all sins can be washed away. This will stay with us forever.”

“So be it,” Celestia said, joining her sister at the window. The two Princesses stared out over the Horseshoe Bay, watching as the fresh moonlight glistened on the still surface. The space center was still active, with everypony preparing for tomorrow’s hopeful return of Harmony. “... There will be another mission. Ponies were excited for Harmony, only to have it snatched away from them. I do not think we will have much trouble building support for a second mission, assuming we can eliminate the terrorists.” This drew a smile from the Princess of the Night, whose mind was flooded with new ideas.

“Well, since you mentioned it, the R&D department has been pitching some improvements to the jump drive,” she said. Her smile slowly faded, and her eyes widened as the idea of many more years of work came upon her. “... Maybe a vacation first.” Celestia smiled, draping a wing over her sister’s back.

“When our work here is done,” the elder sister said. “We still have a crew to save, and after that, a terrorist organization to destroy…”

---

Twilight’s eyes traced the patterns in the stars laid out before her, trying in vain to find any familiar constellations. Despite being only one more jump away from Equus, a considerable distance still lay between Harmony and home. Familiar skies would not be visible until the ship was once again safely in orbit.

It was hard for Twilight to believe, but home was coming. Provided nothing went wrong, by this time tomorrow, she would be on solid ground once again. She would feel the wind in her mane, the sun on her face, and the presence of her friends. And yet, something tugged at the back of her mind, warning her that something would go wrong. After all that had happened so far, the saboteur would never simply give up. And with time running short, they would strike soon. Twilight did not know exactly when or where, but she feared the worst.

“Mind if I join you?”

Twilight turned around, finding Ace standing in the empty bridge’s doorway. She offered a smile, waving the Captain inside.

“Of course not, Ace.” The stallion stepped further inside, joining Twilight by the viewport. They both stared out, in mutual admiration of the cosmos. While she longed for the comfort of home once more, Twilight knew she would miss space. When she wasn’t hunting down a murderous saboteur, the ship had become a rather comfortable place.

“... You’re up later than usual,” Ace observed, glancing at a nearby clock.

“Yeah,” Twilight said. “It’s just… last night, and all that. You’re up late, too. I’m guessing it’s for the same reason I am.”

“... Something is going to happen,” Ace said. Twilight nodded. “The saboteur is determined. He or she will try something, they have to have a plan.” Twilight looked to Ace, raising an eyebrow.

“So what do we do about it?” she asked.

“... Let them go through with it, for now,” the Captain replied. “I’ve got an idea. I don’t want to stretch your magic too thin, but do you think you could handle a few extra traps? One at the entrance to the bridge and one at the entrance to the security office should suffice.”

“I think I can handle that,” Twilight said, nodding. “The traps overall will be weaker, but I shouldn’t have a problem setting them up. But I have to wonder, what’s the point? The ones around engineering haven’t been triggered yet, and they’ve been up for weeks. Wouldn’t it make more sense for us just to stay awake until we’re safely in Equestria once again?”

“And force them to attack openly?” Ace shook his head, frowning. “We don’t want that. If we drive the saboteur to a desperate final act of violence, somepony is sure to be killed or wounded. I’ve already lost three ponies on this mission, I won’t lose another. No, our best bet is to let the saboteur proceed; this late in the mission, any plan they have is likely to be more flawed, or easily countered. If we let the saboteur carry out this plan, at least partially, we can lure him or her into a false sense of security, and confront them with no trouble at all.” Twilight nodded, understanding the logic, though she felt no safer than she had before.

“We’re cutting this pretty close,” she said. “Both us, and the saboteur. Not a lot of room to maneuver.”

“Yes, we are,” Ace agreed. His expression changed, though it was barely noticeable. Had she not known him for several months now, Twilight doubted she would have seen the change. She squinted at the Captain, wondering where she had seen the expression before. Finally, an image of Celestia filled her mind; specifically, an image of her guilty countenance from the last time they had spoken. “Twilight… This whole mission wasn’t for nothing. I just want you to know that.”

The bridge was cast into darkness as Ace turned out the lights, and the Captain made his way back to the entrance, looking back to Twilight before exiting. “Time to go,” he said. “I’ll see you in the morning, Twilight.” He exited the bridge and disappeared down the ladder, leaving Twilight alone once again. The Princess stared at where Ace had been standing, wondering what had brought about his words. They were strangely cryptic, like Celestia’s had been. Is everypony hiding something from me? She thought.

Twilight took one more look out of the viewport, knowing this would be one of her last opportunities to do so. She smiled at the view, but forced herself to look away, knowing that if she did not, she would end up here all night. Twilight exited the bridge and headed down the ladder as well, entering her bedroom with a yawn. Her eyes glanced over her laptop, and she longed for the days when it could still communicate with Equestria. Home would bring her safety and familiarity, but the thing she missed most of all was her friends.

I’ll see you tomorrow, the Princess thought, picturing her friends in her mind. Before her departure, they had promised to be at the landing site to welcome her home. As Twilight lay down in her bed, she imagined the scene: they would be grouped together, each one watching the capsule as it made its descent back to Equestria. A smile graced her lips as her eyes shut, and for a moment, she allowed her fears of what the night would bring to disappear. For a moment, she was at peace...

---

The clock struck midnight. His eyes wide open, Cobalt rose from the edge of his bed and crossed to his laptop, retrieving a USB that was sitting next to the computer. On it was the fruit of several days of work: the modified virus. Exactly what it did, Cobalt did not know; all he knew was that it involved a very minor course correction a few minutes after jumping back into Equus orbit. Beyond that, the saboteur was in the dark. And now, his mission would be concluding. He picked up the USB, as well as a small piece of paper, and opened his bedroom door, poking his head out to ensure the immediate area was clear. The command crew had to know something would be coming; Ace was cautious, and would not sit idly by while a saboteur remained unknown among his crew. So, with extreme caution, Cobalt exited his room, silently closing the door behind him.

Personally killing every member of the crew was not how he wanted to do this, but his confederates were right; no other options remained. He had spent the majority of the past few days thinking of alternatives, but each one had a major flaw; he could disable life support, but doing so would trigger an alarm that was hard-coded into the ship’s OS. He could try blowing off the rest of the storage pods, but the probability that they would create a large enough explosion was miniscule. He could try getting in a spacesuit and blowing the reactor himself, but doing so would almost certainly be noticed, and the ship would maneuver away, leaving him stranded in space. No, Cobalt thought as he came upon the bridge. This is the only way.

As he neared the bridge door, Cobalt’s heart-rate accelerated. He had no idea what to expect in the room beyond; somepony could have stayed awake, or the door could be set to trigger an alarm. Preparing for the worst, he pressed his hoof to the door’s switch, letting out a sigh of the relief as the door quietly slid open, revealing the dark and empty room beyond. Tightly clutching the USB in his telekinesis, Cobalt stepped through the door, and promptly froze in shock as the floor began to glow beneath him.

A purple rune cast the bridge in its glow, and as it grew in intensity, Cobalt felt control over his body slipping away. The edge of his vision began to darken, and his limbs felt weak. He fell to the floor, his magic failing and depositing the USB a few feet away. The cold floor was replaced with a feeling of pure numbness, but through it all, Cobalt willed his eyes to remain open. He recognized the trap; it was a stun rune, meant to incapacitate ponies for varying amounts, based on the strength of the mage. Based on Cobalt’s knowledge of Princess Twilight’s skills, he felt it was safe to assume that, should he succumb, this rune would keep him stunned for the better part of a day. He would not let that happen. This was his last chance; if Cobalt failed here, then Harmony would return safely. The crew would return home, he would be taken prisoner, and his cause would suffer for it. If he failed here, then everything that he had spent years preparing for would be for nought.

NO! Cobalt screamed in his mind, pooling all of the energy he could into his horn. He focused on another part of the room, and, closing his eyes in concentration, performed a simple short-range teleportation spell.

When his eyes reopened, Cobalt found himself lying upside-down on top of Star Step’s comms station. He had missed his destination by close to a meter, but he was outside of Twilight’s rune, which was the important part. Even so, the effects of the trap still lingered. He struggled to keep his eyes open, and his body begged for even a moment of rest. Every movement weighed down on him, and he slowly rolled off of the comms station, hitting the floor with a thud. Wincing, Cobalt forced himself to his hooves, channeling what little magic he had into energy usable by the rest of his body. This would present a setback, but not one he could not overcome. As long as he was careful, paced himself, and watched out for more traps, enough of his magic would recharge by the time he returned to the crew deck.

Cobalt retrieved the USB from the floor, and transported it to Lightning Flash’s station near the front of the bridge. He quickly powered on the station, plugged the USB into one of the free slots, and sat down as it was detected by the computer. Almost immediately, the program he had written executed itself, effortlessly getting past the antivirus and uploading itself to the navigation systems. As soon as the program stopped running, Cobalt ejected the USB and powered the computer back down, then quickly crossed to Ace’s chair. He retrieved the small piece of paper he had brought with him, upon which was written the security access codes for the ship’s senior crew members. Entering Ace’s code into a panel on the chair, Cobalt accessed the security systems, disabled the alarms, and enabled a lockdown. He looked to the bridge door as it closed shut, sighing. Now came the hard part.

Don’t think too much about this, he thought, quietly opening the door, exiting the bridge, and climbing back down the ladder. Just go through with it. You’ve done this once already, you can do it again. These ponies are guilty, they deserve this fate. By working with the Princesses, they only allow their influence to spread. The crew must die. Taking a deep breath, Cobalt stepped out of the ladder well, depositing himself onto the crew deck.

“Cobalt?”

Cobalt looked to the source of the voice, his eyes widening as he found Star Step standing outside of her door, a look of fatigue and confusion on her face. He crossed to her, wondering what the mare was doing out of her room at this hour.

“I was just using the bathroom…” she explained tiredly, looking to her door. “But now my door won’t open… It’s not responding to my access code…” Star returned her eyes to Cobalt, and her gaze became suspicious. “What… what are you doing up? And… why are you coming from the ladder?” Suddenly, a look of realization came upon Star’s face. Her jaw dropped in shock as her eyes widened, and she took a step away from Cobalt. Cobalt frowned, knowing what had to be done.

This is the right thing to do. This is the right thing to do. This is the right thing to do. This is the right thing to do.

---

Twilight’s slumber was suddenly and unpleasantly broken by a loud shriek from beyond her door. She darted up in bed, eyes on her door as her tired mind tried to decide what to do. Before she could come to any conclusions, her door slid open, and the dark figure of a stallion sprinted into the room, his horn alight with green magic. Twilight’s eyes widened as she realized what was happening, and she managed to roll out of her bed just as the assailant fired. The beam of magic barely grazed her side, and Twilight screamed in pain as she hit the deck, hard. She looked up, her eyes adjusting to the darkness and trying to find where the attacker had gone. She felt a hoof strike her wounded side, and she screamed again as the renewed pain ran through her body like an electric shock. Twilight rolled again, coming to her hooves and winced as her wound reminded her of its presence. She could clearly see a figure in front of her, and she lit her horn, firing a bolt at him.

“Shit!” said the attacker, diving out of the way. Twilight recognized the voice. Cobalt. She charged her horn, ready to fire again, but paused before letting the energy loose. They needed him alive; the crew needed answers, and since it was obvious that Cobalt had allies, he could potentially reveal them.

Her goal now set, Twilight charged as much energy into her horn as she could, ready to channel it into defensive shields. Cobalt was a powerful unicorn, but Twilight knew she far outmatched him. If she could just tire him out, it would be no challenge for her to stun him and take him prisoner. Cobalt charged his horn once again, letting loose a powerful strike that was easily deflected by Twilight’s shield. The bolt was followed by a second, a third, and a fourth, all of which Twilight managed to either dodge or deflect. And with every missed shot, the Princess saw Cobalt’s anger, and his fatigue, growing.

“Fucking die!” he screamed, charging at Twilight and using his greater mass to topple the Princess over. Now on top of his quarry, Cobalt brought his hoof up and swung down at Twilight, only to be blown away by a burst of energy from Twilight’s horn. He flew across the room, landing on Twilight’s desk and shattering the plastic construction. Dazed, he struggled to stand, though he still managed to channel a small amount of magic back into his horn. He fired, and once again Twilight deflected the shot.

“Please, Cobalt,” she said, trying to sound as calm as ever. “This is clearly your last resort plan, and for good reason. You know you can’t win. Give up now, and maybe your punishment won’t be quite as harsh.” Cobalt huffed, finally managing to stand up.

“Bullshit,” he said. “I know how this ends. There’s no version of this where I survive. But that’s fine. I don’t want to survive; all I want to do is take you down with me.” His horn glowed, but surprisingly, no shot was fired. Instead, Twilight fell to the floor as she felt an impact on the back of her head. A moment later, her lamp hit the floor as well, dropped from Cobalt’s telekinesis. Cobalt stalked forward, gathering more energy in his horn as Twilight tried to regain her composure. Her vision was blurry, and her head spun, but she managed to collect some traces of magic. It was not enough, however, and Cobalt pressed the tip of his horn to Twilight’s chest. He fired, and Twilight’s pupils shrunk as she felt the warmth of the bolt pass straight through her. Cobalt smirked and stepped back, looking down onto the Princess.

“Now onto the re--”

A pony-shaped blur spun into Cobalt, sending the saboteur to the ground. The attack was immediately followed up with a flurry of punches, each one hitting Cobalt directly in the head. Twilight, her vision blurry, was barely able to make out the antenna cutie mark of Star Step as she viciously tore at Cobalt. The earth pony was not without her own wounds, however; Twilight could see blood dripping from her chest, and she could tell that Star’s attacks were slowing. And as soon as he had an opportunity, Cobalt blasted Star once again, sending her off of him with a pained grunt. Breathing heavily, Cobalt looked between Twilight and Star Step, blood dripping down his forehead. He slowly crossed to Star, channeling more magic into his horn. Her eyes widening, Twilight watched as Cobalt lowered his horn directly to Star’s forehead, ready for the killing blow. She willed herself to move, to do something to stop him. But with every passing moment, her body became weaker and weaker. The Princess could feel her very life fading, falling to the floor in a pool of blood. Summoning the last of her magic, she charged the most powerful stun she could, and fired it at Cobalt.

The attack hit its mark, and Cobalt toppled to the floor, caught completely unaware. Ignoring the great amounts of pain, Twilight forced herself to stand and walked out into the corridor, going a few doors down to Ace’s room. She entered her override code, disabling whatever lockdown Cobalt had enabled, and fell to the floor as Ace’s door slid open. The Captain was already waiting, an uncharacteristic expression of fear on his face.

“Twilight!?” he cried, though his voice was distant and muffled in Twilight’s ears. The Princess looked up, the corners of her vision fading to blackness. “Princess, stay with me! You have to stay with me!”

“In… my room,” Twilight groaned, each word a painful mountain for her to climb. “Go… get… him…” Her eyes began to close, and Twilight felt the pain slowly fading away.

“Princess, no!” Ace yelled urgently, bringing his face closer to Twilight’s. “Do not go to sleep! You have to stay awake! Princess! Twilight!” His words fell on deaf ears. Twilight’s limbs went limp, and all of her worries faded to nothingness as she allowed her eyes to close…