High in the Smoky Mountain, Soeris stood on the edge of one of the many chasms that made up this mountain. The Smoky Mountain was treacherous, not just for the brutal climb for non-pegasi but the weather was typically hostile and the mountain was rumored to be a regular dragon lair location.

With all that in mind, the black pegasus had to wonder how in Equestria Time Turner made it up and down so often.

“Soeris, Ditzy is making dinner. Do you actually plan on joining us this time?” Time Turner’s voice carried a definite edge to it as he approached the black pegasus; even after being told of everything Soeris had done, the brown Earth Pony was reluctant to trust him.

Soeris didn’t answer the other stallion and simply continued staring out to the west. Time Turner followed his gaze and gave a solemn nod as he saw where his gaze lay.

Soeris had never found out exactly what had happened in Canterlot that had led to the warrant for his arrest but it seemed that the confusing events had failed to erase that particular fact. Still Soeris was wanted for crimes against Equestria.

He couldn’t help but see the irony of being given a warrant for the wrong crime against Equestria.

“Come on back Soeris, Derpy’s about to make us some of her muffins for a little dinner and come on who can resist a muffin, I mean especially if it’s a Trottingham Muffin, I honestly don’t know how other ponies can resis-”

“Thank you, Doctor.” Soeris interrupted the brown earth pony approaching him. “I’ll be inside soon. I don’t suppose that there’s been any luck finding a way for Scootaloo to have something too?” The pegasus sounded hopeful even though he knew the answer already.

“Sorry.” Time Turner said with a shake of his head. “I’m a doctor not a ghost hunter, I don’t even know if ghosts can eat. They certainly don’t need to though.”

“No, no they don’t.” Soeris agreed. “But with everything else that Scootaloo has had taken from her in her present state I had hoped I could give her back at least that much.”

Time Turner nodded; the former Ponyville Doctor understood at least to some degree what it was like to not be able to give your child what they wanted, though these were obviously extreme circumstances.

Even if Soeris wouldn’t tell Time Turner how he came to be involved in the rainbow factory and it’s conspiracy, it was almost irrelevant with the love and dedication he had shown to Scootaloo.

“Well when you want some dinner just take it, we’ll set a plate aside for you.” The Doctor said before turning round and heading back into the small house they now called home.

Soeris didn’t take Time Turner up on his offer immediately or even turn to acknowledge it instead keeping his eyes firmly glued on the distant Canterlot. Truth be told he wasn’t even sure why he had kept observing the city for so long but something about it felt wrong, surely there should’ve been something more happening by now, a platoon of guards to raze the factory or to arrest him, an alert that the Princesses had been hurt, something…

“Do you think everypony is okay up there?”

Soeris jumped with a flap of his wings. He still wasn’t used to Scootaloo’s newfound habit of floating up out of the ground to say hello.

Soeris sighed. “I honestly don’t know Scootaloo. We can only assume that something happened to Princess Luna because otherwise I can’t think of any reason why we’ve not seen new developments. Still, if that’s the case, how in Equestria did the CWC get so powerful?”

“Cloudsdale Weather Corporation? Do you really think that this whole thing with the factory goes that high?” Scootaloo asked. Even though she had been through the factory in the worst possible way the filly had difficulty believing that it could be honestly approved by the pegasi government even after being told repeatedly.

“I know it does Scootaloo. First hoof knowledge if you remember.” Soeris said so quietly it was almost inaudible.

Scootaloo turned to gaze at him while Soeris turned away. Even after helping her hide, trying to help her and betraying the CWC, he still couldn’t look his own daughter in the eyes and not feel that he had lost all right to live.

“I guess you would. You helped keep them secret didn’t you?” Soeris sincerely wished that Scootaloo would yell at him, try to hurt him or even tell Time Turner and Derpy who would surely do much worse to him. Instead she was calm, almost understanding.

It was very offputting.

“Yes. I kept them secret from any who would inquire or get too close. If nothing else I never had to get my own hooves dirty, as if that’s any sort of consolation.” He added with a bitter laugh. “Should’ve taken the chance much earlier and killed every single factory bastard who came in the door.”

“You left.” Scootaloo insisted. “You left them, you’re going to bring them down. You don’t need to punish yourself anymore.”

Soeris didn’t answer that though he looked away from Canterlot for the first time to look directly at Scootaloo, still trying not to meet the ghostly filly’s eyes too much.

“Scootaloo. Look at yourself. Look at what Rainbow Dash became. Look at what happens everyday in secret and the type of ponies who get off with it scott free. All of that, I helped happen. I failed my family, I failed my princesses and I failed at being a decent pony. Whatever happens to the employees of the factory if it gets taken down, I’ll face the same punishment happily.” He muttered before turning on his heel and walking back towards the house.

“Why didn’t you ever say? That me and Rainbow Dash were related?” Again that tone, curiosity instead of accusation.

Soeris stopped and thought about it without turning to face the ghost of his daughter. In truth the reason he had was weak even in his head.

“What good would it do? To let you two know that your father ensures the deaths of foals by the day remains secret and that the two of you would be expected to either fly or die? Scootaloo you were better off without me and honestly you probably still would be if I just left you with Time Turner and Derpy Hooves.”

Scootaloo zipped over to Soeris and placed herself in front of him.

“So that’s it? You’ll just run off and let them face it alone? You know the ponies they need to fight better than anypony else and you’re willing to just keep out of it and let innocent ponies walk to their death. Why does that sound familiar?” Scootaloo snapped with an cold look in her eyes as she glared at her father.

Instinctively Soeris wanted to hit something, anything, but he simply kept his anger internal. It’s not like she’s not telling the truth. He thought bitterly to himself. “Fine Scootaloo. You’re right. I shall bravely take them into the jaws of death with me alongside them, I am sure that will be a great comfort to them to see the face of the pony that doomed them before they die.” He whispered before he stormed past Scootaloo, being very careful not to walk through her, marched past the dining room and stomped up the stairs to the bedroom that he and Scootaloo shared.

“Finally ready to do something direct?” Scootaloo asked as she floated up through the floor to the muffled objections of Derpy Hooves.

“You’d have me do something different?” Soeris demanded as he pulled out a binder from the rucksack he had been living out of for several weeks. “If I’m going to stand with Derpy and Time Turner against the CWC, I think it’s time they met The Flock.”

Scootaloo only looked confused as Soeris hurried back down stairs. She drifted through the floor in time to see Derpy ushering Dinky out of the room, they grey mare looking reproachfully at Soeris who had thrown the file down on the table.

“Time for you to see the kind of ponies we’re up against.” He stated before flinging the file open, immediately the assembled ponies were greeted with several close up photographs of a several pegasi, Scootaloo recoiling slightly as she recognised the sapphire eyes of Kuleco glaring up at her from the page.

“This,” Soeris began as he picked out one picture and placed it above the rest, “is Doctor HoofSing.” The yellow pegasus in the picture looked at them from the photo with an emotionless stare in his mismatched eyes, one a relatively normal cyan eye and the other a grey artificial eye with a red lens for the iris and pupil in one. “He was there even before I worked for the CWC and I’ll be a Diamond Dog’s uncle if he isn’t running the place right now with Atmosphere and Rainbow Dash gone.”

“Fascinating.” Time Turner remarked as he looked at the pegasus’ mechanical components. “Tell me, how did he come to need these mechanical augmentations?”

“I don’t know, not sure if he DID need them, wouldn’t put it past any member of The Flock to volunteer themselves to be turned into a freak for the ‘greater good’.” Soeris spat bitterly. “This will no doubt be his partner in running the factory now, Professor ElCee.”

Soeris moved another picture to the top, this one of a grey mare with an electric blue mane. She looked a bit younger than Doctor HoofSing but she shared the same emotionless stare as he did, though even with the lack of emotion in either of their eyes Scootaloo couldn’t help but feel hate radiating from them and the shiver she gave seemed to show that Derpy felt the same way.

“Not as much knowledge about ElCee on file. She’s mostly in Equine Resources and prefers to stick to the offices, doubt she’d ever get her hooves dirty willingly.” Soeris noted as he shuffled through what little notes the file contained on ElCee and placed them under her picture.

“She doesn’t even do it herself? She’s okay to just, just let it happen while she’s in a position to stop?” Derpy sounded enraged and upset in equal measure.

“Even if she honestly could stop it entirely I doubt she would. Especially considering who she uses to enforce her will.” Soeris had to visibly restrain himself from ripping up the picture of the green pegasus as he placed Kuleco’s picture under ElCee’s.

“Please tell me I won’t have to get near him again.” Scoots whimpered, the mere sight of Kuleco’s picture bringing back memories of his sadistic laughter as pain had flooded her very being.

“If he comes near you again I swear to you I will rip him apart piece by piece with my own hooves.” Soeris said it slowly and calmly but the chill that ran through the room was more intimidating than any of the feelings the pictures had given. “But anyway, Kuleco’s info is largely limited to ElCee and HoofSing’s own personal access. I can’t get too much on him but given that he was involved in Atmosphere and Rainbow Dash’s experiments he probably has his own plans.”

“Which by the way I would point out we know almost nothing about.” Time Turner interjected. “I mean yes we know about using the rainbows to emotionally influence Ponyville but do you really think that was all they hoped to accomplish?”

“No, no I quite doubt it. But whatever their plans are we can stop them just as easily by killing them.” Soeris insisted as he moved two more pictures, this time moving them under HoofSing.

“These two, Dusty Wings and Cloud Clipper.” He pointed at a brown mare with a messy brown mane and a scraggly light green stallion respectively. “They work under HoofSing’s direct orders. I don’t even know how much of their orders come from the CWC and how much come from HoofSing himself but these two are the muscle of the operation, anypony HoofSing or any other member of The Flock wants gone-”

“What pray tell IS The Flock?” Time Turner interjected. “You mention it often Soeris but you never clarify.”

The black pegasus took a moment to let out an annoyed sigh at being interrupted again before answering. “The Flock is essentially a sick privileged club for these psychopaths. You’ll hear plenty of talk from the workers about how they are a “proud member of The Flock” but these guys are the ones who actually do anything significant. Almost everything of the factory’s outside influence you can trace back to this lot.”

“So we take down The Flock…” Scootaloo began.

“And the factory becomes isolated and without it’s resources or it’s enforcers. Which gives us ideal time to destroy it without it being a lost cause.” Soeris finished for her with a nod before moving on to the last picture.

“This one’s an oddity. Far as I know she’s not even a member of The Flock but my informant at the factory insists that it’s worth keeping her in mind.” He told them as he left the last picture alone on the page, the picture showing a beautiful silvery mare with a cranberry coloured mane and a very bored expression. “Goes by the name of Prism Dust, don’t know how much she’s involved in the day to day operations but she’s an engineer and supposedly a prodigy.”

“And this helps us how?” Derpy asked as she looked down at Prism.

“Not sure precisely but if my informant thinks she’s worth keeping in mind chances are good that we’d be fools to overlook that advice. So, we know our targets; somehow, someway, we have to dispose of these pegasi. Without them The Factory will have zero chance to recover, it’ll be like losing Rainbow Dash and Atmosphere all over again without anyone to come back and pick up the slack, we can end it forever.” For the first time the black pegasus seemed to smile genuinely at that thought, even with the slight flicker of enthusiasm at the idea of murder.

“All fine and good, just one question.” Derpy spoke up. “How the hay do we get at any of them short of banging on the front door? I avoided that factory once because of some kind pegasus, I don’t intend to go wandering in there myself if there’s a better way.”

“Bait.”

The three adults turned to look at Scootaloo, Derpy looking slightly puzzled while both Time Turner and Soeris looked appalled.

“No.” Soeris responded immediately.

“What other plan did you have exactly?”

“I am NOT putting my daughter in danger yet again! For once I have the chance to do some good and I am not about to throw that away by letting yourself act like a piece of meat for a timber wolf!” Soeris insisted.

“Guys…”

“Oh and what better options do we have, the alternative is letting them keep making rainbows and probably killing us before we can do anything to stop them.”

“Guys!”

“I shouldn’t have to tell you Scootaloo what they’re capable of and Kuleco at least has ways to hurt you, don’t you dare act like just because you’re dead we shouldn’t care what happens to-”

Soeris was interrupted as Derpy tackled him to the floor and rolled him under the dining table, Time Turner following under with them.

“What the hay are you-”

Soeris sentence died in his throat as the three adults stared in horror out the kitchen window. Scootaloo followed their gaze.

Had she not been dead already she might have died with fright as she saw them; the two enforcers from the pictures, Dusty Wings and Cloud Clipper were at best ten feet from the house, holding Dinky down as she tried to scream through Cloud Clipper’s hoof.

Above them, his black trenchcoat like uniform flapping in the mountain wings, Kuleco stalked forwards while drawing one of the many knives concealed in his coat.

“A daughter of a failure is as good as a failure to me.” His declaration was just audible in the kitchen as he drew level with Dinky. “I’ll let you choose then failure; tell me where the ghost is and I’ll let you keep one leg.”

Author's Notes:

This chapter was rewritten at certain points, I apologise if that's noticeable.