Rainbow Dash steps over the clock tower sniper while Misty does another fly around. The sniper Rainbow Dash had shot is wheezing and trembling in her bloody pool next to her dead partner, and Misty lands not too far from them. After Misty's, landing Rainbow Dash approaches the door to the roof and waves to Misty. Misty and Rainbow Dash get in position, with Misty's hind legs prepared to buck and Rainbow Dash keeping her weapons trained on the doorway.

As soon as Misty bucks the door off, leaving it dangling on one hinge, Rainbow Dash bolts in, sweeping the stairwell intently while Mist falls in behind her.

“Captain, me and Dash are in. Over,” says Misty over the radio.

A bundle of gunshots echo off of the brick walls of the tower, and both pegasi tense up and proceed down the stairs cautiously in the crouching position.

“We got Roar Shock on the run in guard armor. Two hostiles are down. Friendly has been executed,” says Spitfire, her voice quivering with rage. “Cripple him if that is what it takes to capture him, but we need that son of a bitch alive. Over and out.”

“Well, you heard the Captain,” says Misty after a slight pause. “Let's get this guy.”

Pinkie Pie travels down one of the many halls of the Celestial Spire, wincing and whimpering softly with every step she takes. When she comes to a stop for a chance to rest her legs, she closes her eyes and leans against the cool wall with an emergency fire ax next to her head. Pinkie Pie doesn't care if this rest is a lapse in judgment, she just knows that her shoulder and back feel as though they are being ripped apart, and for that, they need a rest.

Her hoof lightly rubs the sore shoulder, which makes Pinkie Pie realize that it is the same shoulder that Octavia shot when she had her chained up in the warehouse. Pinkie Pie's shut lids squeeze tighter and she hunches over, sobbing and shaking as the horrible memory of that fateful night haunts her. Tears wet her cheeks and drop to the floor as Pinkie Pie rocks and hugs herself. She wants to believe that she is in a nightmare and that Octavia had not shot her nor was beaten to death by her best friend. She wants to forget about the lights, the screams and squawks, and the gunshots. She wants to forget about the bar breaking her bones and Octavia's cries for revenge. She wants to forget that her sister forget what she sounded like.

She wants a reset button to make everything right.

“I'm sorry,” sobs Pinkie Pie. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.”

Then she shivers as her whole body tingles sharply, and she looks up to see two barrels aimed at her head.

Rainbow Dash ducks down as a chunk of the corner is blown to bits by the gunshot. Misty swears and pokes her head out and shoots a trio of bullets at one of Roar Shock's guards. The guard evades her shot, but isn't quick enough to avoid Rainbow Dash's spray. The terrorist screams and spasms from each of the shots torn into him, and when he collapses to the ground in a bloody pool, the remaining guard spins towards Rainbow Dash, only to get shot in the back of the head. Rainbow Dash looks down the hall to see Thunderlane and Spitfire galloping up to them, and Roar Shock looks at both parties before sitting down with a defeated sigh. Rainbow Dash keeps sweeping the hallway though, just in case more LoJ appear out of flower pots or fly in through one of the many windows lining the wall.

“You got me, Captain,” says Roar Shock solemnly. “You should be proud. All of those soldiers would have died for nothing if you failed.”

Spitfire snarls and quickens her approach, and right as she is withing striking distance, Rainbow Dash notices a flicker of a sinister smile on Roar Shock. Rainbow Dash extends her hoof and yells for Spitfire, but it is too late. Roar Shock's hooves are graceful as he swings them to Spitfire, and even though she is able to deflect the swing and throw a punch of her own, she is still pushed aside with a blinding strike to her head.

Thunderlane and Misty rush forward while Spitfire regains herself, and Roar Shock leaps on top of Misty to smash her in the tile. With the mare pushed down, he punches Thunderlane in the throat, sending the stallion stumbling back, coughing and wheezing for air, then he turns and bucks Spitfire in the chest. The fiery mare flies off of her hooves and smashes a framed picture of a potted flower with her back, and when she falls to the ground, her back is stomped on repeatedly and brutally.

“Screw this,” says Rainbow Dash to herself.

Rainbow Dash aims her weapons at Roar Shock and bites down on the firing bit. But rather than hearing the automatic gunfire she so desires, all she hears is a disappointing click, and Roar Shock's smile only serves to throw fuel in the fire of negative emotions Rainbow Dash has controlling her.

“It looks like you're out of ammo. What ever are you going to do now?” mocks Roar Shock.

In a blink, Rainbow Dash launches herself towards Roar Shock and tackles him in the chest. Both ponies roll over each other across the tiled floor, and when Rainbow Dash hops on his back she wraps her hooves around his neck. She smiles from his choking reaction, and the smile remains when she feels the deranged pegasus stumble and backpedal. That is until she realizes what he is trying to do after she looks over her shoulder and sees one of the windows coming closer.

“Oh, shit!” is all Rainbow Dash can say before Roar Shock leaps backwards out the window, using her armored body as a way to break out. Then it all becomes a blur.

Rainbow Dash can't see much of anything except for blurs of her hooves and tail, the occasional Roar Shock, and broken planks of wood and painting equipment that pop into her line of sight after breaking through some scaffolding. Each scaffolding she hits is like a punch to her back or sides, and one particular hit snaps one of her air tubes, which clouds her vision with the fog and sends warning bells ringing as it becomes harder to breathe.

Gasping for air, Rainbow Dash is barely able to grab a hold of a hanging scaffold, and after jerking to a stop, she pulls herself off and removes her helmet with shaking hooves and gulps in the sweet, fresh air. Her eyes have to adjust to the sunlight again, but she is quick to spot Roar Shock flying away from the tower. Rainbow Dash gets up, snaps her wings open and launches herself towards the terrorist leader, and when he looks over his shoulder, she takes a mental snapshot of his shocked expression before their bodies collide in the air. Rainbow Dash can barely hear Roar Shock's voice over the rushing wind beating against her face, and while her eyes are focused on Roar Shock, she can tell that they are losing altitude and she pulls up right as they are about to hit a parked trolley. Her bladed tail scrapes against the sheet metal roof, and right as Rainbow Dash tilts up to get more altitude, Roar Shock punches her on the cheek and forces her down to the roof. Rainbow Dash's back is used as Roar Shock's shield when they crash through the roof, then they both bounce across the floor a good few dozen feet before sliding to a stop. After clambering to her hooves, Rainbow Dash barely has time to block Roar Shock when he swings at her, but a second punch to her cheek sends her snapping down.

“You know, you are my favorite of the Element Bearers,” claims Roar Shock, “but right now, you are really starting to piss me off.”

Growling, Rainbow Dash punches the ground before charging Roar Shock once again. The stallion holds out his forehooves to keep the enraged mare at bay, however, Rainbow Dash jumps to her hind legs and slams her hooves on Roar Shock's head, sending him to the ground with a grunt. Then she grabs him by the head with her forehooves and swings him against the trolley wall hard enough to crack it and send broken glass raining down on him. While Roar Shock is on the ground, Rainbow Dash stomps towards him and raises her hoof above his back.

“You're a pain in the ass, too,” snarls Rainbow Dash.

When she brings her hoof down, Roar Shock rolls to the side and swipes out her footing. She stumbles and falls on her rump, and is tackled in the chest by the stallion a blink later. They two roll around on the floor, snarling and dealing blows to each other that is quickly leaving their faces bloodies and bruised, with little bits of their own blood dripping on each other. Unfortunately for Rainbow Dash, Roar Shock managed to get the upper hand in the fight and once again gets on top of her. He bites down on her mane, ignoring her pained cry as he tugs her head back to where she is forced to stand, and he slams her face through one of the trolley windows.

The window breaks easily, and when Rainbow Dash's face is pulled out, she gets more cuts that drench her face in red, and Roar Shock punches the air out of her before striking her in the head again and again and again. And he keeps punching her until she is on the ground, then he kicks her in the ribs and stomps on her head.

Rainbow Dash is numb at that point. She can't really feel anything except for throbbing all over her head and chest, and all she can feel is her slick blood mixing with sweat. She hears Roar Shock talking, too, but she can't understand what he is saying over her thumping heart and raspy breathing. Then she feels his hoof on her and her world spins as she is turned to her stomach.

“Good, your radio is still in tact. I'm going to need to borrow this,” says Roar Shock between his pants.

He proceeds to remove her radio pack with a combination of hoof and tongue work, in spite of her weak groans and protests. Rainbow Dash gets a sickly feeling in her gut when she feels his tongue on her ear that unclips her headset. When Roar Shock gets the radio off of Rainbow Dash's suit, he swiftly clips it on to the armor he stole and looks down at her. In spite of her bloodied and battered state, she still manages to form a sinister glare, but unfortunately for her, the glare holds no sway over the terrorist leader.

“Relax, Dashie, I won't be long,” says Roar Shock.

Then he stomps on her head.

In the communications room, Soarin is chewing on one hoof while his other taps madly against the floor. The sounds of his soldiers fighting and dying and begging for help are a living nightmare, and even though the officers' movements are blurs of hooves and magical manipulation, they still seem like they are moving too slow.

“Where's Gust's unit?” asks Soarin again, his tone now shaking with panic.

“ETA ten minutes, sir,” answers one of the officers.

“He needs to get his tail over there right now or else it's a demotion for him!”

The officer is about to relay his message when-

“Oh, Captain, my Captain, how have you been?” crackles Roar Shock's cold, sadistic voice over the radio.

All noise dies in Soarin's drooping ears, and he becomes ghostly pale as he focuses on the radio from where the League of Justice leader's voice came from. The communications officers cast worried glances at each other and look to Soarin questionably while the new Captain of the Royal Guard cautiously approaches the radio equipment.

“Captain, I know you are listening. And you should know that I got Rainbow Dash right at the mercy of my hooves.”

Soarin pales and his hooves move like blurs as he flips switches and plugs in a headset, and when the headset is on he turns his back to the officers to hide his growing fear and rage.

“Love Joy, what did you do to Rainbow Dash?” says Soarin venomously.

“I'm no longer 'Love Joy', Captain, so I would appreciate it if you didn't use it. For formality's sake.”

“You're not getting any formality from me. What did you do Rainbow Dash!”

Roar Shock grins at Rainbow Dash when her pitiful attempt to stand up is met with an agonizing groan. He shakes his head, then smashes her face against the seat of the trolley and throws her to the ground.

“She's alive, but broken, and I have her radio, so I suggest you show me some respect unless you want me to do something very horrible to her.”

Rainbow Dash tastes copper when she coughs, and she can feel the warmth of her blood dribble past her lips. Her legs tremble as she yet again tries to stand, and with the help of the chairs, she manages to stand all the way. Rainbow Dash is now panting and blinking blood out of her eyes, and she turns to face Roar Shock, who is chuckling and cracking his neck. She expands her wings and crouches for a pounce while growling viciously.

“Oh, hold on, your loyal servant is not done yet,” mocks Roar Shock.

Rainbow Dash screams and charges Roar Shock, and the sadistic pegasus manages a small yawn before he springs into action. He side steps Rainbow Dash and stomps on her tail, and while she is tugged back, yelping, he hooks his hoof around her neck and slams her down. The impact shakes Rainbow Dash's vision and sends bells ringing in her ears, but she still rolls back up and swings at Roar Shock. He rolls underneath her hoof and bucks her in the side, sending her stumbling, then he bites down on her armored wing and swings her against the trolly wall. The glass shatters and the wooden interior breaks into splinters while Rainbow Dash dangles. When she tries to get back up, Roar Shock bites down on her tail and throws her into the seats. The seats snap loose, sending her falling to the floor, and her back is stomped by the terrorist, and he continues stomping her until she is coughing blood and twitching on the floor.

“Okay, now she's done,” says Roar Shock.

Back in the control room, Soarin slams his hooves on the table, not caring about the concerned eyes boring at the back of his skull.

“Dash, can you hear me!” cries Soarin.

“Captain, we already discussed this. She can't hear you. I have her radio,” says Roar Shock casually.

“What did you do to her!”

“I just made sure that she wasn't going to be getting up at the moment.”

Roar Shock starts pacing around Rainbow Dash, watching her with a twisted smile as she shifts and groans weakly on the floor.

“I wonder what would happen if I killed her?” taunts Roar Shock as he presses his hoof against Rainbow Dash's back.

She gurgles a swear and tries pushing herself up, but Roar Shock stomps on her back, making her yell in pain as she is smashed into the trolly floor. Then he kicks her over so that she is lying on her back and presses his hoof down on her neck. She gasps for air and tries to push him off, but he stomps on her gut, making her cry out in agony and curl up. Roar Shock growls and kicks her again before pressing on her neck, turning her grunts and cries into chokes.

“Love Joy, I swear to Celestia if you hurt her-”

“But I already hurt her quite a bit,” interrupts Roar Shock as he stares down at Rainbow Dash. “It's such a shame, too, since she's a really gorgeous mare. And its a pity you aren't here to see her, Captain. She could sure use your help, right now.”

Soarin swears and paces in circles, while Roar Shock's taunting torments his ears. The other communications officers in the room have resumed their work, but have their attention split between their equipment and the distressed Captain.

“How does it feel, Captain, knowing that no matter how hard you have fought and begged, you still have to see the ones you care about die?”

“Love Joy, don't do anything stupid,” orders Soarin.

“My days of stupidity are behind me. You should have let us continue removing the filth from society. The League and Royal Guard would have been great allies, but instead you razed us.”

“That wasn't me, that wasn't Rainbow Dash, that wasn't the whole fucking nation! So let her go, NOW!” screams Soarin, face red and chest heaving, and completely uncaring about what others are whispering or thinking now.

Roar Shock chuckles on the other end, and Soarin falls to a seat, wiping his mouth and blinking tears out of his eyes when he hears Rainbow Dash choke on the other end. He turns away from the officers in the room and rubs his brow with his hoof.

“Don't you hate that feeling, Captain? That feeling of hopelessness and despair? Your whole wonderful world is begging for help, and yet you are trapped, so all you can do is wait. And watch. And listen. And hope that they do not suffer long in the fires.”

“Please, let her go, nopony else has to die,” begs Soarin quietly.

“On the contrary, Captain, everypony has to die,” says Roar Shock coldly.

“You talk too much,” groans Rainbow Dash.

Roar Shock frowns and presses harder against her neck. Rainbow Dash wheezes for air and tries to push his hoof off. Her eyes roll to the back of her head and her wings flap weakly while her pushing becomes flimsy and desperate.

“Do you remember the cheers and celebrations of Captain Armor's victory? I do. Vividly,” says Roar Shock, his voice cracking and eyes shining in the setting sun. “I remember how your masters killed my children and tried to kill me and my brother just to take my technology for themselves!”

“Love Joy-”

“LOVE JOY IS DEAD! JUST LIKE MY CHILDREN!” screams Roar Shock, face now red and wet with tears. He pants heavily and wipes his tears and mane before swallowing and continuing in a much more calm tone. “This nation cheered for their deaths, and now they will see me cheer when their children die in their arms, begging to be saved. Begging to the Higher Powers to save them. And they will see that there are no gods among us. It is just us, and they will know that it was by the will of one stallion, not the will of their phony deities, that brought this nation to its demise!”

It is as if the end of Roar Shock's speech is a cue for a grand entrance, because once the last word leaves his lips, there is a whir of a Gatling gun, and the walls and windows of the trolley explode inward, showering the two pegasi with shards of glass and wood. Roar Shock stumbles away and Rainbow Dash curls up and covers her head, her swearing drowned out by the loud weapon and the destruction of wood and glass.

Next thing Rainbow Dash knows, Spitfire breaks through the destroyed wall, zooms past her, and tackles Roar Shock right in the chest. The glass and broken wood bounce off of Rainbow Dash as two battling pegasi snarl and roll over each other like rabid wolves. Their fight is brutal and blurry with movement. In one second, Spitfire throws Roar Shock against the wall and socks him in the jaw, the next Roar Shock is on top of her, stomping on her back. It is hard for Rainbow Dash to follow, and when they tear through the emergency door and roll out of view, she tries to go after them. In her struggle to get up, Rainbow Dash cries through gritted teeth from a sharp pain that shoots throughout her legs and back sends her crumbling to the ground, swearing in sobs.

Rainbow Dash tries to stand up yet again, this time dragging herself to one of the seats and using that as a platform to pull herself up, but Thunderlane swoops through the hole, lands awkwardly next to her and gently forces her down to the floor. Thunderlane's helmet hisses when he removes it, revealing the blood matted over his eye and cheek, and after setting it down, he carefully inspects the injuries on Rainbow Dash. Her wings are barely able to move and her face is not much better than his; her blue coat is practically drenched in crimson from all the cuts on her face.

Rainbow Dash makes another attempt to stand, this time hooking her hoof on Thunderlane's neck to hoist herself up, crying through her teeth as the pain returns with reinforcements. Thunderlane barely has to apply pressure to her before she falls back down, panting and whimpering with streams of tears washing the blood off of her face.

“Fuck, this hurts!” cries Rainbow Dash.

“I-I know, just please stay still and I'll do what I can, okay?” says Thunderlane quickly.

Lyra stares at the blinking lights of the communications equipment with a knot in her stomach. Normally one might be bored if put in such a position, but the fate of the whole operation rests on her making sure that every security cycle checks out. And her anxious mentality is only made worse by the uneasy pacing Mullet is doing.

“You okay?” asks one of the terrorists.

Mullet nods and looks to Lyra.

“Anything on the radio?” he asks.

Lyra shakes her head, and Mullet resumes his pacing, that is until they hear someone singing. Her voice ghostly, childlike voice is bouncing off the walls and sending a freezing wave of fear through everyone on the floor. The League of Justice ponies exchange concerned glances, and Lyra's coat pales as the familiar voice tortures her memory of what happened to her partners and Terra at Iron Will's house. The one responsible for all those gory ends is now coming here, and a big part of Lyra thinks that she is the number one target.

Mullet orders Lyra to stay put before drawing his weapon with his mouth and carefully walking down the corridor. Lyra complies with a nod and slides off of her chair, cowering away from everyone with her weapon floating next to her and ready to fire. The others follow Mullet's lead, leaving Lyra alone in the communications room, watching and waiting for their end.

“You can't kill her,” whimpers Lyra.

She watches the four ponies carefully approach the doorway. The door is still closed, but Lyra knows that Pinkie Pie is out there. The singing has stopped, and dread suffocates everyone with its silence. As the silence drags on, Lyra's heartbeats become harder and her grip becomes less stable. She checks her rounds, and -

“Ladies and gentlecolts!” booms Pinkamena's insane voice, making Lyra jump and yelp. “Tonight, it is your liiiiiiiiiiiive entertainment! Featuring Pinkamena Diane Pie and her little friends: Rob, Bob, Cobb, Dob, aaaand Hacker!”

The door is kicked off of its hinges and while the terrorists move to get a better position, Lyra sees a blur of pink and gold zip by with a fire ax slicing through the air and striking one of the terrorists in the chest with enough force to send her flying off of her hooves.

Lyra screams and one of the League of Justice ponies swears, then all of them, minus Lyra, shoot at the doorway, splintering the frame and wallboard, dinging the railing, and chewing off parts of the concrete floor and wall. The panic shots also blow out the lightning fixtures in the stairwell, covering it in darkness with only sparks to light it with minimal effectiveness.

“Move up!” orders Mullet.

The two he ordered up are hesitant, but they obey Mullet's orders and carefully approach the doorway with the blue stallion behind them. Once all three of them are in the stairwell, the lead stallion is tackled to the ground by a pink blur. The other two swear and try to shoot at Pinkamena, but she pushes the weapon down on the closest stallion, and Mullet stops himself from shooting when she twists him to be a meat shield. When her first victim gets up, she pushes the meat shield into Mullet, thus knocking both stallions to the ground, then whirls around and punches the first stallion in the face. He grunts and stumbles back, but before he can regain proper footing, Pinkamena bucks him in the chest with both of her hind hooves and sends him flipping over the railing, where his scream fades and comes to an end with a distant thud.

Mullet and the other stallion get to their hooves, and Mullet dives for his weapon as Pinkamena lunges at them. He turns to shoot her, but the other stallion is once again in her grip, only this time her hooves are holding his head in a bone crushing grip. Mullet cringes and struggles to focus on getting his sights on Pinkamena as the stallion cries over her cackle and the cracking bones. Then she gives on hard twist and the stallion's head twists almost completely around and he drops to the floor with his eyes and mouth wide open.

The body drops and Pinkamena grins at Mullet.

“Your turn, Hairy,” pants Pinkamena.

Mullet unloads his clip at Pinkamena, but she easily avoids the shots and rolls up next to him, punching him in the jaw as soon as she springs up. The punch sends him colliding with the wall, and he grunts upon impact, and when he makes a dive to retrieve his weapon, Pinkamena slams him face first into the floor and uses his body as a vaulting board. She springs towards the weapon, scoops it up with her tongue and spins to face Mullet as she pulls the trigger. Two of the three bullets miss him, but the third strikes him in the shoulder.

Mullet screams as the bullet rips through his armor, and as he stumbles, Pinkamena whirls around and bucks him in the chest. He flies off of his hooves bounces and rolls down the stairs, coming to a sudden stop when he hits the concrete wall. Pinkamena exhales loudly and wipes her mane back as she waits for Mullet to give any signs of life, but when he remains motionless, she smiles and twirls towards the doorway on the tip of her hooves. Once she is facing the communications room, she freezes, squints her eyes in an over-the-top fashion, then grins and starts skipping towards Lyra.

“Hey, Lyra, remember me?” yells Pinkamena happily. “We still have to finish our Bernese dance!”

Lyra whimpers and shakes in her spot as Pinkamena bounces closer to her, constantly repeating “Dance with me, Lyra! Dance with me!” over and over again. Lyra forces herself to look away from Pinkamena, and sees that the door is wide open. All she has to do is get past Pinkamena and run as fast and far away as possible.

Lyra takes a deep breath, and then bolts out from under the table. As she runs, Pinkamena's twisted smile gets wider and Lyra's horn gets brighter, and right as they are about to run into each other. Lyra shoots Pinkamena with telekinetic blast, sending the pony flying into the wall and landing on a flowerpot that is crushed by her weight. Lyra runs past Pinkamena without looking back, praying that she can reach the doorway, but it seems to be a million miles away.

“Where do you think you're going, McMeanie Pants!?” shouts Pinkamena.

Lyra looks over her shoulder and sees Pinkamena running after her at a speed only a pegasus should be able to fly at. Screaming with terror, Lyra pushes her legs to the limit to get an extra boost, and right as she reaches the doorway, Pinkamena pushes her to the ground by jumping on her back. The impact of being sandwiched between the sudden extra weight of a pony and the hard floor knocks the air out of Lyra's lungs, and leaves her stunned on the floor, gasping for air.

Pinkamena bites down on Lyra's tail, and the unicorn's eyes widen and her hooves snap to the doorway when the demented earth pony starts pulling. Lyra screams in protest and tries to pull away from Pinkamena's teeth, but she proves to be too strong and yanks her off. Lyra screams again and tries grabbing the floor with her hooves as she is dragged far away from the doorway. It is like going rewind in super speed, seeing her one last hope for escape pulled away, and while Lyra's hoof is extended towards the exit, she is turned on her back and Pinkamena descends on her.

“You have been a very! Very! Very! Bad pony!” snarls Pinkamena, with each “Very” and “Bad pony” landing a punch to Lyra's face.

One last hard punch sends Lyra's head cracking against the floor and her world flashes blank white for a fraction of a moment. But once her vision returns as a blurry mess, her ears are ringing, the taste of warm copper plagues her tongue, and she blinks the trickle of red out of her eyes. It takes another moment for everything to become clear enough to see, and what she sees is Pinkamena standing above her, panting and drooling with blood all over hooves, chest and face.

Lyra coughs and turns to her stomach and pulls herself forward, leaving a trail of crimson dots and streaks from her face, opened with many cuts from Pinkamena's hooves. She tries to make another crawl to the door while Pinkamena just watches her doomed mission with a sadistic smile.

“Killing meanies is my job,” pants Pinkamena rabidly.

Lyra whimpers and begs for Celestia's help as she crawls on the ground as quickly as her battered body will allow with Pinkamena giggling and walking after her. Lyra reaches for a bench to help herself stand, but Pinkamena is on her before she is fully up.

“Having trouble? Here, let me help you up!”

Pinkamena bites down on Lyra's mane and tugs it back hard, making Lyra scream in pain and her weak hooves scrape uselessly against the floor as the hairs are ripped out. Then Pinkamena slams Lyra's face into one of the many benches lining the walls, snapping it in half and leaving Lyra on the ground, quivering and coughing blood. Whimpering and begging through her agonizing sobs, Lyra gets on her wobbly legs with ropes of blood dripping from her scratched face, only to collapse against the wall. She winces and pulls herself away in an attempt to run when Pinkamena walks over to the axed corpse and eagerly yanks the weapon out, but she only manages a few steps before she falls to the ground again.

“Man, it sucks that I gotta kill you. You were really pretty, Lyra. Lovely Lyra would have been a good nickname,” says Pinkamena in a mockery of despair, and she keeps up the ruse with a sad sigh and shake of her head while leaning against the ax. “But, alas, the dear Lovely Lyra of Mulberry Lane made some bad choices and became a meanie.”

Pinkamena then shrugs, puts the ax in her mouth and starts skipping towards Lyra while humming the Smile Song. Lyra holds out her hoof defensively as she pushes herself back with the other hoof, sobbing and begging Pinkamena not to kill her as the deranged pony comes closer to her. It seems that the closer she gets, the wider her smile and the worse the pain Lyra is suffering from become. When Pinkamena is standing above Lyra, her sadistic smile is stretching across her entire face and her body is shaking from her giggling. The pink pony's eyes zero in on Lyra's wide, terrified eyes and she spits the ax into her hoof and holds it up above her head. The blood shines in the light and drips on Lyra's face, and the injured and terrified unicorn whimpers loudly and holds both of her hooves in front of her face.

“Please, don't do this,” begs Lyra.

“Nighty night, Lovely Lyra,” snickers Pinkamena.

Pinkamena brings the ax down, but Lyra stops it with her magic. Pinkamena grunts over Lyra's whimpers as they struggle to gain control of the ax. The ax barely moves up or down, and when Pinkamena's grunts turn into vicious snarls, Lyra gradually guides the ax to the side, then lets her magic go. The aura disappears in a puff and the ax is imbedded into the floorboard with Pinkamena stumbling over it, and Lyra's hoof shoots up and strikes Pinkmena's jaw. The pink pony grunts and falls to the ground with a fresh bruise and bloody mouth, and gets up, growling ad Lyra scrambles to her hooves.

Lyra's horn glows again to pick up her revolver, but Pinkamena bats the weapon away and tackles Lyra in the barrel. Lyra gasps explosively from all the air being forced out of her lungs, and Pinkamena screams furiously as she pushes the unicorn away. When both stumble and roll over each other, Pinkamena is the first to get up and she rolls on top of Lyra and starts pounding on her face. Lyra tries to block Pinkamena's relentless assault by holding her hooves in front of her face, but once one of Pinkamena's punches goes through, her defenses crumble. All Lyra sees are pink hooves and flashes, and Pinkamena's psychotic cackling and taunts torment her ears. One powerful punch slams Lyra's head against the floor, and all she can do is twitch and whimper with her blood pooling out from the gashes on her face as Pinkamena towers above her.

The psychotic pony's chest is heaving from her shallow breathing and her pink hooves are covered in crimson. Lyra can only watch as Pinkamena raises her hoof for one last strike, and right as she is about to have her skull crushed, a gunshot rings out and Pinkamena jerks away from Lyra with a spurt of blood coming from her head. Hyperventilating and trembling, Lyra stares at Pinkamena's motionless figure, and when a shadow falls over her, she sees Mullet standing over her holding a pistol in his mouth and bleeding. The blood is trickling down his shaking legs and he is breathing heavily, and Lyra clambers to Mullet and wraps her hooves around his neck, sobbing in his shoulder and shaking too hard to stay sitting. Mullet drops his weapon, closes his eyes and wraps his hoof around Lyra's neck and slides to the ground with her.

“It's going to be okay,” says Mullet softly while his bloody hoof gently strokes Lyra's mane.

“Thank you,” sniffles Lyra.

Mullet smiles at her, but when he looks away from her, his smiles fades and his blue coat pales. Lyra stares at him for a moment before she looks over her shoulder and gasps at the sight of Pinkamena pushing herself up, giggling and sobbing hysterically.

“Pain. I'm in pain. Sweet, sweet pain,” giggles Pinkamena agonizingly as bloody globs drip from her head. Her hoof glides up to her face and wipes the thick coating of blood off and holds it to the light so it can shine like a gory beacon. “So much pain. It's beautiful.”

Pinkamena turns around and grins broadly at the two ponies. Her cheek had been shot off by Mullet, leaving a gash to show her bony jaw and teeth, slick with blood. Then she starts limping towards them, laughing and crying, and Mullet hugs Lyra tighter as they both slide away from her, whimpering and quivering in her presence.

“Do you want to feel beautiful?” cackles Pinkamena.

Pinkamena leaps towards them and Lyra screams and emits a telekinetic burst from her horn that strikes Pinkamena in the chest. The pink pony flies off of her hooves, straight through the doorway to the communications room, and hits her back against the equipment. She shrieks in agony as she is covered in a blinding show of sparks and blue flames, and when she is pushed to the ground by an electrical explosion, it is revealed that the impact crushed the equipment beyond repair.

Lyra and Mullet become transfixed by the tiny flames dancing in the communications room and the colorful haze covering Pinkamena's motionless body and the equipment. After what seems like minutes of horrible silence, Mullet swallows and looks at Lyra, and she looks up at him.

“We have to warn the others. The Royal Guard will be here any minute,” he says, grunting when he tries standing.

Lyra nods and after helping Mullet up, they both limp to the stairs, not noticing Pinkamena's burnt hoof struggling to reach out to them.

Rainbow Dash gasps when Thunderlane injects her neck with a small needle. In seconds, she feels the pain subside just enough for her to stand, but not enough to take it all away. Each step feels like she is wearing a sock of thorns, and a piercing pain still tortures her back. Rainbow Dash limps away from Thunderlane and looks out the window just in time to see Spitfire smash Roar Shock's face through a wagon window. She smiles weakly at that, but that smile disappears when Roar Shock whirls around with a knife of broken glass in his hoof and slashes at Spitfire's face.

The fiery colored mare's helmet protected her, but it still sends a sickening feeling through Rainbow Dash's gut. Roar Shock is not going to quit fighting until he is either dead or paralyzed. And she finds both options to be very tempting.

“We have to help her,” says Rainbow Dash with a grunt as she limps towards the gaping hole in the trolley, but her path is blocked when Thunderlane gets in front of her with his hoof extended.

“You aren't going anywhere,” he says sternly. “Besides, you're in no condition to fight and Misty is already... helping.”

Thunderlane's voice drops and he looks out the window, confused at what he is seeing, and Rainbow Dash does the same thing. She doesn't get to look long before Thunderlane screams for her to get down and pushes her to the ground. A fresh wave of pain explodes all over Rainbow Dash, but something hits the trolley hard enough to bend the metal and break the window. Then she hears Spitfire scream in pain. Both pegasi scramble to their hooves and the first thing Rainbow Dash notices is Spitfire covered in a green aura and floating in the air with her body being twisted and bent.

Rainbow Dash calls for Spitfire and limps as quickly as she can to her commander, pausing when she sees Misty lying on the ground in front of the trolley. She can't tell if she is dead, but her teammate isn't moving, which does not bode well. Rainbow Dash snaps back to Spitfire when she hears her captain cry out again, and pales when she sees her back bending to near breaking point.

“Check on Misty!” barks Thunderlane.

Thunderlane flies towards Spitfire and tries pulling her down, and Roar Shock makes no attempt to attack or flee, for he is too stunned to move. All he can do is watch with wide eyes and a slack jaw as Thunderlane fights to get Spitfire out of the magical haze. As for Rainbow Dash, she already has Misty's helmet off and is checking her pulse, but after realizing that she can't feel anything past her armor, she puts her ear next to the mare's nose. Rainbow Dash sighs with relief when she hears and feels the breath, but is also worried because it is very shallow.

“Thunderlane, Misty's alive!” shouts Rainbow Dash.

She looks over to Thunderlane to repeat her message, but her whole body becomes frozen by a terrified chill going through her veins. Thunderlane and Roar Shock don't notice what Rainbow Dash is seeing at first, but when they do, Thunderlane releases Spitfire and steps back with his weapon aimed at the newcomer while Roar Shock steps behind him, confused and worried.

Approaching them from a hiding spot in an alley comes a stallion in a full body painter suit. His horn is glowing green and his steps are heavy with confidence. Spitfire's cries are silenced when she is thrown against a brick wall, and after falling to the ground, still, Rainbow Dash swears and gallops as quickly as she can to engage the Painter while Thunderlane backpedals and shoots at their new enemy. The bullets bounce off uselessly from an invisible shield that is only known by the green shock waves caused by the impacting bullets, and Rainbow Dash skids to a halt when she sees the horn glow brighter.

Before any words can be spoken, the Painter's horn emits a bright flash of green light, and from that comes a burst of energy and a sonic screech that destroys everything around it. Glass, wood, brick, asphalt, none of it is spared from being broken apart by his magical surge, and the three pegasi barely have a chance to scream before they are overtaken by the wave of crushed rubble. The three bounce and skid across the ground, and Rainbow Dash screams in pain when her wing snaps from an awkward land, but the blast continues pushing her until she hits a parked motorized wagon. The vehicle shakes, and its door and window break upon Rainbow Dash's impact, and she collapses to the ground, coughing thin sprays of blood and sobbing as blood pools in her sleeve from her injured wing.

Her eyelids feel like stone as she blinks, and each time her eyes open from the slow blink, the Painter is closer to her with his protected eyes focused on her. Grunting and blinking blood and tears out of her eyes, Rainbow Dash stands up and grabs a piece of the broken door with her hoof and holds it out in front of her like a crude knife. Her eyes struggle to focus on the threat approaching her, but they keep drifting from the Painter, to Spitfire's motionless body, and to Thunderlane, who is using a fire hydrant to help himself get up. When Thunderlane is standing, he is visibly panting and fighting to keep himself and his aim steady. Thunderlane is only able to get off one round before the Painter retaliates by blasting the charcoal pegasus out of sight into a wrecked shop.

Rainbow Dash screams and swings at the Painter, but her hoof gets covered in his magical aura and is twisted to the side until it feels like her bones are going to splinter. Rainbow Dash whimpers and drops the weapon as she tries to twist her body with her hoof so it doesn't snap, but her attempts prove meaningless since the Painter uses his magic to flip her on her back on the pavement. Rainbow Dash's world flashes white with a horrible pain rippling through her skull, and when everything returns to normal, the Painter is standing above her with his hoof on her chest and a sparking prod aimed at her face.

Despite all of her best efforts to show defiance, Rainbow Dash still whimpers and her wet eyes focus on the electrically charged gem at the weapon's tip. She can feel its static tugging at her and smells her hair burning from its charge. Rainbow Dash shrieks and closes her eyes when the Painter jabs the weapon towards her, but when she doesn't feel her face getting stabbed she opens one eyes and sees that he struck the ground next to her, leaving the prod impaled in the asphalt. Rainbow Dash trembles even more when the Painter leans down so that his masked snout is nearly touching her bloody face.

“Consider this a warning of what is to come, Element,” says the Painter grimly.

He steps away from Rainbow Dash and after yanking out his prod he starts walking towards Roar Shock, who is also on the ground, groaning and shifting in the rubble. But when he sees the Painter approaching him, he snarls and gets up with his wings expanded to brace himself for a charge.

“As for you, Rainbow Dash was right. You do talk too much,” comments the Painter.

Then his horn glows bright and Roar Shock screams in pain as body contorts in ways that it should not, and while he is writhing and fighting to break free, the Painter coolly approaches him and zaps him in the back with the prod. Rainbow Dash closes her eyes and turns her head away as the small electrical storm attacks Roar Shock's body. When the zapping and screaming ends, she looks back and sees Roar Shock lying on the ground, smoking and limp with the Painter standing over him.

“But that is no reason to exclude you from a noble purpose.”

Then his horn glows and he and Roar Shock disappear in a burst of light, and Rainbow Dash blacks out soon after.

Author's Notes:

[Insert disappointed Nostalgia Critic expression here]

This part was a complete pain in the ass, and I know that the big showdown -the one you guys waited 386,688 words for- will be an even bigger pain in the ass. I tried to make the chapter as exciting and shocking and blockbuster-y as possible, but I still think something is missing... Maybe its quality. Maybe the meds are messing with me (which would not surprise me). But its here now and now my face has been acquainted with the library desk.

And now that that part is finished, I can move on to the sixty eight part finale and go to my real job, folding towels and rugs and dreaming of the day when pigs fly.

That is all. Good day and God bless.