Stronghooves strode confidently through the perimeter around the facility, trotting up to the front door and knocking on it.

“No answer…” He frowned, disappointed. “I would’ve thought there’d at least be some of that ‘you’ll never take me alive’ bluster.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Daybreak, would you be so kind?”

“Love to, sweetheart.” Daybreak giggled, loading up her repeating crossbow with an ammunition cartridge as Stronghooves stepped out of the way. Pulling the trigger, the mare let fly with a half-dozen explosive-tipped bolts, blasting the doors off of their hinges.

“Thank you, sweetie.” He chuckled, drawing his sword and flaring his horn as he led the way into the building. About three or four alarms blared in his ears as he stepped into the lobby, but Stronghooves didn’t care. He found that if he concentrated very hard, he could drown out the loud wail and filter only the noises he wanted to hear.

These enhancements are better than I could have imagined… He thought to himself.

Stronghooves levitated the weapon to a ready position above his head as Rolling Thunder’s security guards stormed into the lobby, raising crossbows and spears challengingly.

“Stand back!” One of them barked. “You’re trespassing on private property! Where’s your warrant?”

“I’m the Captain of the Royal Guard.” Stronghooves shrugged, striding towards them across the lobby. “I don’t need a warrant to kick your employer’s plot.”

“Last chance, Captain!” The security commander warned, backing away under Stronghooves’s advance. “The company’s been paying its taxes and everything! You don’t have any right to be here!”

“Are they paying you to give your lives for its wellbeing?” Stronghooves cocked his head, coming nose to nose with the commander.

“Well...no…”

“Then get out of my sight before I crush your throat.” He growled, narrowing his eyes. “And don’t think I won’t do it, either.”

“You’re mad…” The commander whimpered, stepping out of the way and gesturing for the others to lower their weapons. “What kind of pony just waltzes into the most heavily defended facility in Equestria?”

“This pony.” Stronghooves said simply, pushing the guard aside and approaching the express elevator. “Daybreak, do you reckon you’re still allowed around this building? I don’t much feel like sticking my horn into that lock to see if the security system’s going to accept me.”

“Oh, so you’d rather I do it?” She rolled her eyes, chuckling as she trotted past him and put her hoof up to the plate. The magical pulse that would normally emanate from the plate fizzled out this time, and the mare shook her head.

“Looks like we’re taking the stairs.” Said Daybreak. “Sorry about that.”

“That’s going to be tricky.” Stronghooves bit his lip, glaring at the guards until they silently filed out of the building. “There’ll be Operatives up there, and I bet you anything that those two are going to throw every last one of them at us to save their own asses.”

Shield passed the two of them, yanking a door off of its hinges and staring down the corridor. “Looks like they’re probably still scrambling their heavy hitters.” He nodded. “Come on, the stairs are down this way.”

Donning their weapons, the three soldiers ventured further into the building in search of Rolling Thunder.

Sky skidded to a halt as she looked down into the courtyard in front of the facility.

“Looks like somepony had the same idea as you.” Rat frowned, cocking his head.

“Yeah...something tells me they’ve got the front door covered.” Sky frowned, taking in the sight of the massive hole where the doors used to be.

“Are we still going ahead with the plan?”

“Yeah, we are.” Sky nodded. “Whoever’s doing this, they’ve got a bunch of Operatives in there to tangle with. We’re still gonna need that distraction. You still got the bomb?”

“Sure do.” Rat chuckled, patting his saddlebag gently. “Don’t worry, I didn’t drink it when you weren’t looking or anything.”

“Oh trust me, if you’d even taken one tiny sip, I’d know.” Sky winked. “You wouldn’t be able to walk properly.”

“Shit, it’s that strong?” Rat asked, his eyes widening. “You’re gonna have to make me a glass of this when this is over.”

“Deal, but this batch is for our good super-soldier buddies in there.” Sky nodded. “Shadow, Fox, you go with him. Remember, you guys shouldn’t actually enter the building. Just make a whole fuckton of noise so the Operatives come running and then lob the bomb, okay?”

“Right.” Shadow nodded, pulling what was left of her hood up and baring her teeth. “We can handle that. You just focus on keeping safe.”

“Promise.” Sky said quietly, nuzzling her sister. “Okay, you guys ready?”

Fox, Shadow and Rat all nodded, trotting to the other side of the rooftop. Rat nocked an arrow, tying off the fletching with a strong rope and firing it across the street. The arrow struck the stonework above one of the windows, leaving a rope bridging the gap.

“Huh...good shooting.” Shadow admitted, before adding something under her breath that sounded an awful lot like “Not as good as me, but whatever…”

“We’ll meet back at Screwdriver’s in two hours. Good luck, guys.” Sky spread her wings, taking a small run-up before taking off and gliding across to a different window. Grabbing onto the windowsill, Sky hung there by her forehooves, fiddling with her lockpicks for just a moment and popping the window open with a satisfying click.

“So far, so good.” Sky muttered, looking down at the amulet as she pulled the window open and lifted herself inside. It glowed bright blue as she crossed the threshold, bathing her in a dim light that covered her whole body.

Huh...well it looks like it’s working, but I guess I’m not gonna find out until I actually run into a security crystal or something… She frowned, lowering her centre of gravity. Why couldn’t I have stolen the fucking owner’s manual from him, too?

Sky crept through what looked like a pretty nice lab, doing her best to ignore the klaxons that blared in the distance. She spotted about four security crystals set into the walls, but as she snuck by them, not one of them triggered, and this time no floating tasers decloaked around her either.

Wow...this is going stupidly well… Sky thought to herself. Now all I’ve gotta do is try to work out where the fuck Silver’s office is.

Shaking her flanks a little to loosen the tension in her body, Sky crept deeper into the facility, looking for a way up into the executive quarters. A distant explosion and the sound of distant screaming told her that Rat had done his job exceptionally. Sky pulled her face mask tighter around her muzzle.

The last thing I need is to inhale some of that stuff right now… Sky giggled. Besides, there’s plenty of time for that after this job’s done.

Sky couldn’t help but wonder what a bunch of super-soldiers going at it looked like, or indeed whether the building’s foundations could take it. She forced herself back into the present, cringing slightly.

Come on, focus. Get the crystals first, then you can look at the giant stallions fucking each other. Hell, maybe they’ll even let you join in!

Sky snickered as she climbed the stairs, invisible to the dozens of security crystals that lined the walls. Every few moments they sent out a magical pulse, no doubt a special kind of spell that would identify anypony who had entered the building unbidden. The pulse rebounded off of the walls and back into the crystals, similar to a batpony’s ultrasonic cry. It tickled.

“Okay...okay...I’m alright…” Sky giggled, wiggling her flanks again as the magic passed over her. This was the best that a job had gone in ages, and she couldn’t help but look around anxiously. Surely something had to go bad at some point, right?

To her surprise, as she stepped out onto the top floor of the facility, no platoon of hitherto-unseen stormtroopers burst out into the hallway to challenge her. Sky found herself trotting more daintily now, a little less cautious.

“Where the fuck is everypony?” She huffed quietly, spreading her wings to silence her hoof-steps. The big black marble door at the end of the hallway certainly looked promising, reminding Sky more than a little of Money Bags’s place.

Sky stopped in her tracks as she approached the door. She’d been expecting something a little more like Money Bags’s office, but this door had no lock. All it had was a square metal plate bolted to the doorway alongside it. Sky cocked her head as she examined it, silently wishing that Shadow were here. She’d probably be able to hazard a guess about what it was. Blowing her mane out of her face, Sky lifted a forehoof and pressed it to the plate. A pulse of magic shot down her body, rebounding off of the amulet and back into the doorway. With a flash of blue light, the doors swung open, satisfied that Sky Runner was, in fact, Silver Tongue.

The little white pony swayed her flanks a little as she made her way into Silver Tongue’s office, taking in the surroundings. It was a tad more utilitarian than Money Bags’s, with a fancy rug, a desk and a set of crystals lining the walls. Some kind of projector, perhaps. Both Silver and Rolling Thunder were nowhere to be seen, and Sky began to feel just the tiniest bit anxious as the doors swung shut behind her.

Where the hell are they? If the big bad guys would be anywhere during all of this, they’d be locked away in some kind of panic room. Sky thought to herself, venturing deeper into the office.

She saw movement out of the corner of her eye far too late to do anything about it, the whine of charging magic deafening her moments before Silver struck her with his spell. She was cast across the office, slamming into the wall and slumping.

“You.” Silver growled simply, stepping forward out of the shadows and baring his teeth. “I should’ve known you’d be behind all this, terrorist.”

“You...ugh...you know I’m not a terrorist.” Sky grunted, getting shakily to her hooves and staring him down. “Your dad set me up and you fucking know it.”

“Yes, I know all about it.” Silver nodded, pacing around her with his horn lowered. “My father contracted those rivals of yours to take the crystals and you to take the fall. We were going to offer the job to you, but they took it first. Tough luck, I suppose.” He shrugged, chuckling.

“And what’s gonna happen now that everything’s falling to pieces around your ears?” Sky asked, matching his pace and snapping out her crossbow. “What’s gonna happen when I give those crystals back, along with all the letters that prove that your dad was behind this?”

“I don’t discuss hypotheticals, Miss Runner.” Silver smiled mirthlessly. “You and I both know that you’re not walking out of here alive. I’m going to kill you personally, and there’s not a pony in the world who’s going to be able to save you.”

“Wow, you’re just tempting fate today, aren’t you?” Sky rolled her eyes, clipping a green dart into the firing mechanism. “I’m gonna walk out of here without a scratch, sweetie. Better ponies than you have tried to take me down and majorly fucked up.”

“Then prove it.” Silver growled through gritted teeth. “You’ll get nowhere with that kind of smooth talk, you vapid little mare.”

Sky grinned, raising her hoof and firing right between his eyes. Silver’s horn flared, catching the dart out of thin air and crushing the glass capsule with his magic. He leapt forward, swiping at her with one of his heavy forehooves, but Sky danced out of the way, spreading her damaged wings and kicking off from the ground to avoid his swing.

“This isn’t going to work!” Silver shook his head, flaring his horn and taking another shot at Sky. The little burglar jinked sideways, darting out of the way of the pulse and covering her head as it blasted a hole in the ceiling. Chunks of plaster and stone came raining down around them, a spiderweb of cracks running across the walls.

Silver launched himself at her while she was down, taking her by the throat and slamming her into a wall. Sky choked as he increased the pressure around her windpipe, his horn lighting up again as he prepared to shoot her at point-blank range. She wrapped her forehooves around his own, trying to pull him off of her neck, but there was no budging him.

Fuck...okay, you wanna fight dirty? We’ll fight dirty, then… Sky glared back, lifting her hind legs up as he held her by her throat. Spreading her wings again, she kicked out with both of her back legs at the same time, catching him in the crotch and launching the stallion off of her. Silver doubled over with pain, staggering back into his desk.

Taking only a second to catch her breath, Sky darted forward, grabbing the end of his tail and tying it off around one of his desk legs. She hopped out of the way as he took another clumsy swipe at her, diving behind the desk to avoid the spell that he sent whizzing over her head.

“You...don’t understand yet, do you?” Silver wheezed, standing up and shaking his head to defy the pain. “You’re just...delaying the...the inevitable…”

“I dunno, seems pretty evitable to me right now!” Sky snickered, peeking out from behind the desk. She quickly withdrew her head as he fired off another spell, cracking the wall on the other side of the room.

“You’re an idiot…” Silver growled. “And worse than that, you’re a burglar. You don’t understand how any of this is meant to work. You don’t understand that you’re not going to win because you’re not meant to win. By the end of this, you’ll be dead and I’ll be lauded as a hero for bringing down a criminal and a terrorist.”

“You’ll be sleeping and I’ll be home free, sweetie.” Sky shook her head, crawling around the other side of the desk. Underneath it, she could see Silver magic his tail free, galloping away to the other side of the room. “You’ve sent super-soldiers and the guards after me since you pulled that shit with the crystals. Why the hell do you keep betting against me?”

“With the Operatives you had help.” Silver shook his head. “Every time you’ve survived one of my Operative attacks you’ve relied on somepony else to save your miserable hide, throwing them into the fight in your stead like a filthy coward.”

“What would you rather, I just stand there and die like a good little bitch?” Sky shrugged.

“Erm...actually, yes!” Silver nodded, smiling as he lowered his head and blasted a hole in the desk. Sky galloped away to the other side of the room, her only cover quite literally blown.

“Come on Silver, we’ve been married a few hours and this is how you treat your new wife?” Sky grinned, holding up her hoof to show him her wedding band.

Silver blanched, his eyes going wide as he stared at the ring. “Wait...no...you didn’t…”

“I’ll let you guess who was in that wedding dress a few hours ago, sweetie.” Sky grinned. “Here’s a hint. It wasn’t Misty.”

“Oh, I didn’t...” Silver sat back on his haunches, shocked.

“But you did!” Sky giggled, loading her crossbow up again. “Don’t worry Silver! I’m a little rough around the edges but you learn to love me!”

“No...I did...I couldn’t have...UGH! No, it doesn’t matter!” Silver shook his head, getting to his hooves again and flaring his horn. “I’ll just kill you and make it up to Misty. She’ll know damn well that this wasn’t my fault...assuming you didn’t kill her, that is.”

“I don’t kill ponies, sweetie.” Sky rolled her eyes. “I dunno where your stuck-up bimbo marefriend is, but she sure as hell had a mouth on her!”

“Well, in that case I’ll find her after I’m finished with you. I’m sure that she’ll love to hear all about how I killed the pony who tried to take her place at her own wedding.”

Sky rolled her eyes. There really was no talking to this asshole. He loved the sound of his own voice far too much, and seemed genuinely convinced that he was going to get away from this unscathed. Raising her crossbow again, Sky let fly with another sleep dart, missing Silver by only a few inches as the tycoon darted out of the way.

“You know what’s wonderful about choosing to fight here?” He grinned, going back to pacing around her. “I don’t even have to hit you in order to kill you.”

He lowered his horn, a wave of magic emanating from it and spreading out across the whole room. It caught Sky in the chest, slamming her into a wall and burning the edges of her cloak and hood. She couldn’t see or hear anything for a moment, the high-pitched whine of the impact ringing in her ears. Her whole body ached from a mixture of magic and blunt trauma, the heavy bruising making it difficult for her to get up again. Nonetheless, Sky jumped out of the way as he sent another spell her way, scorching off part of her cloak and exposing her bandaged wing.

“You see,” he continued, trotting triumphantly over to one of his crystals and sending a pulse of magic through it. “We have a wonderful setup for dealing with intruders like you. Do you remember when you first broke in here just over a week ago? We sent a shocking pulse through your body that was designed to stun, not kill. It’s quite a wonderful enchantment.” He smiled, glancing up at her as a dial slid out of a compartment in the wall. “Did you know that I can also set it to kill?”

Sky glanced down at her chest, her eyes widening as she met the stallion’s gaze again. “Silver, you don’t wanna do that!”

“Actually, Miss Runner, I do.” Silver grinned. “You’re not just a thorn in my side, you’re a statement that my Operatives are fallible under the right circumstances. By dying, not only do I prove that they’re not, I also become a hero for taking down a wanted criminal. Over time, ponies will forget that those crystals disappeared from the museum altogether. They’ll merely remember that you were evil and I was good. That’s all that matters.”

“Yeah, but…”

“BUT NOTHING!” Silver roared, trying to keep in his laughter at this point. “You’ve lost, Sky Runner! No matter how fast you run, you won’t escape this building before those crystals fire. You. Have. Lost. But hey, if you want to beg a little first, maybe offer me something to spare your life, I guess I could see my way to giving you a head-start…”

“Silver, you really really don’t wanna do this!” Sky shook her head, limping towards him. “Step away from the dial or you’re gonna die!”

“No, Miss Runner, I won’t.” Silver chuckled, cranking the dial up to its highest setting and hovering his hoof over a black button. “You, on the other hoof...well...you’ll see. Goodbye, Miss Runner.”

Sky was halfway through pulling the amulet out from under her armour to show him when Silver’s hoof hit the button. The crystals situated all around the room fired in sequence, bright blue lightning arcing between them before striking the one pony in the room that wasn’t wearing a protective amulet.

Silver’s eyes went wide for the split second before the magic struck him, starting at his horn and bathing his whole body in light. Sky held up a hoof to shield her eyes as he was engulfed.

“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?” He screamed, his fur, mane and tail starting to scorch off. He tried to run, but the magical pulses froze his limbs in place, preventing him from escaping or stopping the inevitable.

“YOU KNOW WHAT? THIS ISN’T EVEN MY FAULT!” Sky shrieked back, trying to make her way towards the dial to turn it down. She’d come to clear her name, not to be responsible for anypony’s death. “I TRIED TO TELL YOU! I PINCHED YOUR FUCKING AMULET!”

Nonetheless, as she forged towards the dial, the realisation crept in that there was no way she was going to save him. The magic flowed into his veins, then into his bones and organs. Silver screamed with agony, flopping onto his side as every pain receptor in his nervous system fired off.

“YOU...FUCKING...BITCH!” Silver screamed.

Sky finally made it to the dial, trying to pull it down into the “off” position. It didn’t budge quite that far, and she flapped her wings furiously to try and get a little more force behind the pull. The dial clicked reluctantly into a different position, and she didn’t think to take a second look at it. As long as it wasn’t going to kill him, she didn’t care.

As Sky rounded on him to see if he’d be okay, a pulse of magic shot down through the crystal chain and into his body. Through the bright light, she caught a glimpse of his face, glaring at her with pure hatred and frustration. Silver knew as she did that he hadn’t been killed by her or by her machinations, but by his own foolishness and arrogance.

As the magic died away and Sky blinked in the dim light, Silver Tongue was gone, replaced by an unconscious little baby dragon with a suspiciously similar colour scheme.

“Well well well, I didn’t know you had that setting.” She giggled, holding a hoof up to her muzzle. “I tried to warn you...stupid bloody stallion…”

She sighed softly, stepping away from Silver and glancing around the room. With the security system powered down, Sky was left in a dim half-light, the walls and ceilings covered in cracks and gashes from Silver’s magic. The office was, it seemed, a collection of secret compartments and hidden drawers disguised by plaster and stone. The little white pony cocked her head, approaching the wall and running her hoof along its surface.

“C’mon...where’s that safe…” She muttered under her breath, tapping the wall and perking her ears to listen to any disparity.

After working on the wall for about five minutes, one of her hoof-taps produced a harsher sound than before. Sky pulled back, grinning as she drew back a hoof and gave the wall a smack, and the plaster crumbled away.

This looks pretty promising… She thought to herself, as a sliver of black metal caught her eye behind the cracked plaster. Grabbing the chair from behind the desk, Sky whacked at the plaster, smiling wider as more and more of the wall came away. Sure enough, it was none other than a great big black steel safe, a relatively simple affair with a combination lock.

Must’ve been betting most of their bits on a burglar never making it this far… Sky thought to herself, pulling the tapestry out of her slightly charred saddlebag. She lay it down on the ground in front of the safe, glancing between the two of them.

“Huh...guess Rat was right…” Sky muttered, reaching up and taking the knob in hoof. “Three o’clock...eight o’clock...six o’clock…”

There came a loud click from within the safe’s locking mechanism, and Sky couldn’t help but squee with delight.

“It’s nearly over...I’m nearly free…” She whispered excitedly.

However, as she swung the door open and gazed into the safe, her face fell. It was completely empty save for a few files and a couple of bags of bits.

“Where the hell are the crystals?” She muttered.

Stronghooves dispensed with the pleasantries, driving his sword in between the doors of the Enhancement Chamber and prising them apart with a growl. Time was of the essence and he had no patience for this kind of obstacle.

“THUNDER!” He boomed, barging through the twisted doors with Daybreak and Shield in tow. “DON’T YOU DARE!”

The geriatric stallion sat down in the chair, clipping the restraints down over his hooves and flashing a smile at Stronghooves. “Ah, Captain! I was hoping you’d come! You’re just in time to see me turn into the most powerful stallion in Equestria!”

“I can’t let you do that, Thunder.” Stronghooves shook his head, trotting down towards the crystal array. “You’re irresponsible and motivated by the worst possible cause. Leave the safety of Equestria in the hooves of the Royal Guard where it belongs.”

“The safety of Equestria isn’t my concern, Captain!” Rolling Thunder laughed, sending a spark of magic between his horn and the outermost crystal. “With an army of super-stallions at my back, I can think much bigger than that! Soon you’ll come to see things my way, Stronghooves, even if you don’t want to!”

Stronghooves skidded to a halt as the light arced between the crystals. The contraption had lumps of a strange-looking metal built into its mechanism, acting as pylons for the magic coursing through it. As the beam hit the gem at the centre and arced down to Rolling Thunder’s horn, the old pony’s eyes glowed bright green, his body growing more and more empowered by the second.

“DAYBREAK!” Stronghooves roared over the screech of magic. “TAKE IT OUT!”

Daybreak nodded, levelling her crossbow at Rolling Thunder and pulling the trigger. The explosive bolt ricocheted off of the magic engulfing the stallion, blasting a hole in the nearby wall.

“Shit, that didn’t work…” Stronghooves snarled.

“I’ve got this!” Shield barked, his horn lighting up as he attempted to project a magical forcefield around Thunder. The magical barrier flickered into existence for just a moment before shattering underneath the inexorable power of the crystals.

“There’s no way we’re gonna be able to stop it!” Shield shook his head. “We’re gonna have to wait until he’s finished the transformation and stop him before he can control us!”

“No…” Stronghooves growled. “I’m not going to let that happen.

The risk is way too high. I don’t think we could kill him before he takes control of me. Stronghooves thought to himself. He could make me kill Daybreak and Shield...and...and Sky...I’m not going to let this happen…

Ignoring his friends’ shouting behind him, Stronghooves broke into a gallop, roaring with rage as he charged straight into the centre of the swirling storm of magic. The power from the crystals arced into his horn as well, his eyes glowing bright blue. Stronghooves wrapped his hooves around Thunder’s neck, throttling him and ripping the chair out of the floor.

With a flash of magic, the centre of the room exploded, casting the two of them into opposite sides of the circular chamber. Each of them cracked the wall with the force of their impact, sliding to the floor with a grunt.

“You’re too late!” The Count laughed, getting to his hooves. “You’re far too late! Do you know what those enhancements did to me?”

“Yeah...we busted your plan open when I got my powers back. You’re trying to control the Operatives.” Stronghooves growled, getting up and wiping flecks of blood off of his mouth. His enhancements worked faster than ever, repairing his bones and his damaged tissue only moments after the blunt trauma itself.

“Yes…” Thunder chuckled. “It took a lot of studying, but I finally worked out how Sombra was able to enslave an entire nation. Channelling magic through crystals to change a pony’s body is not exactly a new thing, and Sombra was able to take control of an entire nation of ponies who’d done it to themselves. All it required was a little refinement, a little reverse engineering, and...well…” He waved a hoof, and Daybreak and Shield dropped to their knees, bowing. “Perfectly sentient slaves!”

“You’re filth.” Stronghooves growled, spitting out his own blood and drawing his sword.

“And you’re mine, Captain.” Thunder grinned, waving a hoof at him. “Now...kneel.”

Stronghooves braced himself as he felt a rush of magic around his body. However, it passed over him with no effect, and the stallion blinked, looking down at himself stupidly.

“I guess I must’ve absorbed that power, too.” Stronghooves chuckled, looking back up at Thunder with a confident grin. “Don’t worry, when you’re gone I won’t use it for anything except recalling the Operatives you have searching for my sister.”

“I see…” The Count ground his teeth grimly, his horn lighting up as he pulled Shield’s blade out of his hooves, throwing a salute. “Well then, I suppose the only thing to do is remove you from the equation. It’s a complication, but a temporary one.”

“This “complication” is far stronger than you, Thunder.” Stronghooves narrowed his eyes, returning the salute with his own sword and pacing toward him.

Both stallions raised their weapons over their heads in an aggressive ready stance as they approached, their gazes locked. As they reached the centre of the chamber, they began to pace around one another, paying attention to one another’s hoofwork. There was a moment of calm before the storm, broken only by the sound of heavy breathing from the two combatants.

Thunder was the first to take a swing, his blade coming around in a flashing arc as he tried to sweep Stronghooves’s legs out from under him. The Captain brought his own sword down to block it, flicking Thunder’s weapon out of the way.

The Count snarled, pressing the attack and forcing Stronghooves onto the defensive. He swung his sword in wide arcs that Stronghooves had no trouble blocking. As Rolling Thunder got more and more used to his new physique, he struck faster and more confidently, pushing Stronghooves back up the staircase. The Captain found himself struggling to block the blows as Thunder struck out at him again and again, dancing out of the way as the blade threatened to cut his hooves off. While he needed only one good strike to kill Rolling Thunder, he suspected that the Count had a way to kill Operatives without resorting to enchanted weapons.

Stronghooves darted out of the door, taking up a more defensive stance and readying his weapon. As the Count burst out into the hallway with him, Stronghooves raised his sword up to protect his head, blocking every aggressive brutal slash the stallion sent his way. As Rolling Thunder pressed onwards, the enhancements working on body began to undo the ravages of age itself. With every moment the Count got younger, stronger and faster, able to parry and strike on par with the Captain.

Stronghooves’s horn flared, creating a shield out of pure magic to turn aside the strikes he missed.

“Give it up, Captain!” Thunder laughed. “You’re not going to save Equestria, you’re not going to save your sister and I assure you that you’re not going to stop me! Just lay down and die like a good little boy!”

Stronghooves grunted, backing up against an unyielding door and faltering. There was nowhere for him to retreat to now.

The Count brought the blade down in a powerful swing. At the last possible second, Stronghooves darted sideways, letting the stallion cleave a massive gash into the wall. Kicking out with his hind legs, Stronghooves caught him in the ribcage and knocked him onto his side. Rolling Thunder lowered his head, flaring his horn as he cast a spell at the Captain. Stronghooves’s horn lit up as well, his blue beam connecting with Thunder’s green and stopping midway between the two stallions. As Thunder got back to his hooves and flourished his sword, both ponies concentrated their magic, focussing on trying to push the magic down that beam towards one another. While the spell would certainly not kill either one of them, it’d give their opponent time to get in a free hit with their weapon. That was all either of them needed.

“You have...no...idea...what I’m capable of…” Stronghooves growled, advancing on Thunder and growing more aggressive. “I’ve destroyed every last Operative you’ve sent to stop me, and I’ve got...plans...for...my...sister! You...just...won’t be around...to see them…”

Both stallions roared with effort as the magic between them glowed brighter than ever, filling the hallway with what sounded like a localised thunderstorm. It proved particularly difficult for Stronghooves and Thunder to maintain their magic and strike and parry simultaneously, requiring incredible focus from both of them. However, as Thunder pushed Stronghooves back once again, it became evident who the victor was going to be. Thunder’s necrosis spell drew ever nearer to Stronghooves’s horn, shunting aside the Captain’s attempts to defend himself or push it back. Stronghooves felt himself growing weaker by the second, all of the energy sapped out of him by the stress of mixing tests of his martial and magical skill.

There’s no way I’m going to win… He thought as fear began to set in. He’s going to kill me here and now...damn it, I need…my friends…

“HEY, DIPSTICK!” Came a shriek from behind The Count.

Rolling Thunder whirled around just in time to see Daybreak level her crossbow at him, letting loose another crossbow bolt. While he caught it with his magic, the arrowhead detonated in his face, sending the aged old billionaire reeling back into a wall. Stronghooves struck out at him with his sword, knocking the Count’s weapon away and forcing him back onto his haunches.

“No…” He growled. “No...you’re not going to do this to me!” Rolling Thunder growled. His voice grew dissonant by the moment as his spirit began to reshape itself into something resembling Sombra’s.

“Count Rolling Thunder,” Stronghooves snarled, stepping forward and raising his sword over his head, “you are guilty of the crime of treason against the Two Sisters. The sentence for treason is death, effective immediately.”

And with that, the Captain drove the blade into Rolling Thunder’s chest, driving it all the way in to the hilt. The enchantment on the sword took effect almost immediately, spreading out from the point of impact and beginning to necrotise Rolling Thunder’s flesh. It worked fast, doing damage faster than even the Count was capable of healing. The stallion let out an ear-splitting scream as his body began to fall apart, his muscles and bone structure exposed to the elements as his skin and fur melted away. Stronghooves twisted the blade, puncturing one of the Count’s lungs. The old stallion coughed up blood, glaring at his enemy with blind hatred.

“I...won’t let you...do this…” He growled. “I know what you’re like, Stronghooves...you’re...unhinged...not fit to use these enhancements…”

“Then perhaps you should ask yourself why you gave them to me in the first place.” Stronghooves shrugged, his face impassive. “Call me what you want. I’m still the Captain of the Royal Guard and a stallion who wants his sister to be alright.”

“You’re...going to…” Thunder began, but Stronghooves drew the blade out of his body. Bringing it around at neck height, Stronghooves tore through the already weakened flesh of Thunder’s neck, decapitating him in a single swing.

“Thank you, Daybreak.” Stronghooves smiled up at his marefriend. “I thought he had me there for sure. You really did save my life today.”

“Someday you’re gonna have to save my life too, you know…” Daybreak chuckled, leading him away from Thunder’s corpse as it rapidly skeletonised. “So that’s it, then? It’s over?”

“Nearly.” Stronghooves nodded. “Silver’s still in here somewhere, and I’ll bet anything that he’s going to be hiding behind every security measure he could get his hooves on.”

“I don’t know about that, Captain.” Shield shook his head, stepping out of the enhancement chamber. “Something’s attracted the attention of every Operative in this building, and whatever it was it wasn’t us. There’s no way that Silver would use them that defensively. They’re super-soldiers, for Celestia’s sake.”

“Good point.” Stronghooves frowned. “Of course, if somepony’s been able to attract the attention of every Operative in the building, then that can only mean one thing…”

“Sky’s in here.” Shield and Daybreak said together, nodding understandingly.

“Yeah…” Stronghooves grunted, sheathing his sword and galloping off down the hall. “Stay here and secure the crystals!” He commanded, charging up the nearest staircase he could find.

It’s time to meet my little sister again...I hope she’s missed me as much as I’ve missed her.

Author's Notes:

Well, that was an okay bossfight. Now how about I start picking up all of these loose plot threads and reconcile Sky and Stronghooves?