Chapter 9: Battle for Equestria
Nails sat alone in the cell that they had placed him in. They were planning to execute him in a few minutes and from what he had heard, it wasn't going to be pretty. It had been three days since he had let himself get captured and he was going to put his plan into action. His gun was at the end of the hall that his cell was on and he was certain that it was fully loaded. He looked out at the pony that had been positioned to guard him. He knew exactly how to approach this.
"You know?" said Nails in the direction of the guard, "Even though Iron Foot let me keep these cigars. I don't really think I want them. You look like you smoke; these are some of my favorites. Perhaps you would like to try some?"
"Heh, you're being awfully nice for a pony on death row." said the guard.
"Well, I completed my mission and that's all that matters. I guess that you could say that I'm at peace."
"Well, I do like to smoke. I guess I could try some." said the guard, "But if I see you do something that may be an attempt to get the keys. I won't hesitate to hurt you."
"Agreed." said Nails as he extended his claw out with the cigars in it. The guard raked them into his pocket and then kept one in his hoof.
"Dammit!" said the guard, "I ain't got any matches on me."
"I got a lighter."
"That'll work." said the guard putting the cigar in his mouth and then sticking it through the bars.
"Besides," said Nails as he lit the cigar, "If I was to try and escape from here I wouldn't try to sneak the key away from the guard. No, too much room for error. I would just blow open the door."
"Oh yeah? And how the hell would you do that?"
Nails walked to the back of the cell with his lighter still out. He looked at the inscription 'Just press down to light em up.' he flipped open the lid and put a finger on the gear. He pressed down and the bottom of the lighter popped off revealing a small lever. The guard just stared while Nails smiled.
"Surprise motherfucker."
Nails flipped the lever and the cigars that he had made out of C4 detonated all at once blowing out the lock on the door and instantly killing the guard. Nails had taken cover while brain matter and gore flew all over the room. He quickly sprinted up to the door and gave it a strong buck right on the lock in case the explosion hadn't done its job. The door was launched into the wall on the other side of the room. Nails quickly turned to see two more of the guards sprinting towards him. He picked up a piece of metal that had come loose during the explosion and examined it. One of the ends was sharp and jagged, which was perfect for what he needed to fight these guards. He quickly assumed a defensive position and waited for the first one to reach him.
A few seconds later right as the guard was feet from Nails he collapsed onto his back legs and drove the blunt end of the metal into the ground. The sharp end met its mark in the charging pony's chest and blood flowed onto the floor. He didn't wait to see if he would be able to use his makeshift spear for the other pony. Instead, he used his teeth to pull out the knife of the other pony as it was vaulted over him. He quickly let go of the metal and got the knife to his claw just in time to aim a stab into the throat of the other pony. Nails then went to the end of the hall and got his gun. He didn't check the breach to save time, but he was certain he and six shots and there were seven other guards in the building. He hoped that he would be able to shoot Iron Foot but this didn't look like a possibility. He heard hoof steps on the stone behind him and turned to see another guard charging down the stairs. Nails quickly pulled the hammer and fired a shot all in one fluid motion. The bullet impacted the pony's chest and they hit the ground dead. Nails made his way to the stairs. He needed to move as fast as possible. Iron Foot was no coward but he wasn't dumb either. Nails knew that the more time that Iron Foot had, the more prepared he could get. He wanted to avoid a fight with a prepared Iron Foot.
He quickly charged up the stairs where another guard was already charging with a double bladed sword in their mouth. Nails fired a shot and the bullet hit its mark in the pony's head. He turned around and saw an empty corridor. He quickly sprinted down the corridor where he collided into another guard. They had been much smaller than Nails and had taken the full force of the blow falling backwards dazed. Nails saw this as an opportunity to conserve ammunition so he quickly snapped the pony's neck. As he looked up another guard was charging. Nails fired a shot and hit the pony in the chest. He sprinted down to the end of the hall and right as he turned it an arrow flew right past his head. He looked to see two ponies. One was in front with a double bladed sword and was squatting; the other had a crossbow and was attempting to shoot Nails. The archer had another shot loaded and was ready to shoot. Nails quickly aimed and fired his gun before the second shot got off.
Whether it was supernatural intervention or sheer dumb luck, the bullet cut through a weaker part of the first pony's neck and impacted into the chest of the pony directly behind them. The bullet killed them both and Nails realized that now it was just him and Iron Foot.
Nails charged to the door that hid Iron Foot and kicked it open. When he looked inside, Iron Foot was standing in front of a desk, looking away from him and seemed to be smiling.
"I really love that surveillance system we have here Talon." said Iron Foot as he continued to look away. "It allows me to see everything that goes on in this facility, and thanks to it also having microphones. I can hear everything as well."
Nails didn't wait for him to say anything else. Nails pulled the trigger.
'Click'
"I believe that at this moment you would say. Surprise motherfucker."
"How did you do that?"
"Simple, you would have expected the gun to be fully loaded and you would have tried to either double up a shot or try to kill a few of the guards without it saving one bullet for me. You would have had too much adrenaline in your system to check the breach when you first picked it up. Therefore, you are very predictable."
"I'm predictable? You are the predictable one."
"How so?"
"I knew you would come here. Based on several of my observations I also know there is a knife in the top-right drawer of that desk. I planned for this day."
Iron Foot glanced down at the drawer. He had in fact placed a knife in it.
"How did you know I would come here?"
"Doesn't this place seem a little bit familiar? As I recall, it was where you first killed a pony. There were times when our trail to you grew cold and nopony could find you. I always knew where you would go. My team just didn't believe me. But, isn't that the curious thing about prophecies? They always have to come true on their own time."
"I know for a fact from my scouts that have been observing you since I was caught. That there was one moment, just one, where the prophecy could have been shattered. You had to save her life though; you just had to doom yourself didn't you?"
"I know that you would have let her fall. All you care about is yourself. That's what makes me different from you. You may be a soldier, but I'm a warrior."
Iron Foot had heard enough. He opened the drawer and picked up the knife before lunging at Nails. Nails had been ready and easily dodged it before pulling a knife of his own. Nails slashed at Iron Foot but he had already recovered and blocked it with his own knife. Iron Foot then picked up his front legs and aimed them at Nails' shin. Nails jumped back but dropped his knife in the process. Iron Foot noticed this and took advantage of the situation by doubling his assault. Nails ended up backing out of the room into the hallway where he picked up the dead pony's crossbow and fired a shot. It missed Iron Foot but had done its job of distracting him while Nails picked up the double-bladed sword and took a defensive position. Iron Foot assaulted once more and Nails was able to parry each slash, the speed of each attack was too quick for him to try and land a blow of his own. To a griffon, Iron Foot would have looked very awkward with the blade in his mouth. Nails, however, knew that Iron Foot could see his blows land without need for hand-eye coordination. Nails continued to back up until he reached a set of stairs he hadn't taken yet. Seeing this as an opportunity to regain himself he tried to throw Iron Foot off balance with a strong sweeping blow. Iron Foot caught it with his blade but was backed up from its force. Nails quickly ducked down the stairs and surveyed his surroundings. He appeared to be in a maintenance room with several wires and containers. Hitting one of those with a blade would result in losing the fight so he would have to avoid them. He didn't have time to think of a strategy as Iron Foot made it down the stairs. The fight resumed and Nails found himself being backed up again. He had been right, Iron Foot was definitely the better of the two fighters and if Nails didn't think of something quickly je would surely lose the fight. Suddenly the worst happened. The other end of Nails' sword that he had forgotten about struck a wire. The electricity coursed through his body and blew him back against a wall. He fell over on to his side as the pain ran all through his body. Iron Foot slowly walked up to Nails.
"And so." said Iron Foot as he got to Nails, "The final hope of Equestria has fought his last battle."
Iron Foot went to make the lethal cut to the neck but Nails wasn't done yet. As weak as he was at this moment he found the strength to put a hoof up to Iron Foot's neck trying to keep distance between him and the knife.
"Why do you still fight me? You have lost. You failed Equestria, you failed your princess, you failed the elements of harmony, and you failed that Rainbow Dash."
Hearing Rainbow Dash's name sparked something within Nails. Somehow, his body sent a final rush of adrenaline through his veins. The world seemed to slow down as memories of the time he had spent with Rainbow Dash flowed into his mind. His saw her face in his mind.
"Any last words Talon?" said the face as it morphed back into Iron Foot.
"The name is Nails, Motherfucker!"
With that Nails found all of his remaining strength and used it to thrust his claw into Iron Foot's neck. He felt it cut through vein and artery as blood spilled out onto the floor. Nails kept forcing his claw deeper and deeper until he felt bone. At this point he started to curl his claw up and send it down Iron Foot's throat. Iron Foot gargled the blood as it filled his mouth and spilled out onto Nails and the floor. He felt the claw leave him and he fell onto the floor. Nails got up and looked down at Iron Foot.
"No loose ends this time." he said as he picked up the sword. "No second chances." Nails lifted the sword up into the air and swung down with all of his strength. The sword cut through Iron Foot's neck and his head rolled away from his body. Nails looked down at his work and then turned around. He saw that the wire he had cut earlier had come into contact with a rag and the rag was beginning to smoke. Nails took that as a sign to leave and quickly rushed up to grab his gun and he also found Rainbow Dash's locket. He sprinted out of the building as he saw smoke roll up from the stairs.
He got a good hundred feet away before he sat down in the sand. He lit a cigar as smoke rolled into the sky. He sat there for a few hours until he heard a voice overhead.
"A few days alone and you pull this off? What the hell did you do this time Nails?"
"What are you doing here? I thought I said one week!"
"You did. We were camped out a few miles away when we saw the smoke. We would have gotten here quicker but we ran into a head wind."
"And why were you a few miles away?"
"So that at exactly one week we could get here quickly and possibly save your life, but you seem to have done a damn good job by yourself."
"I killed the bastard, nothing more to it." said Nails as he took out a cigar and lit it. "Now if you'll excuse me, there's probably a funeral I have to stop."
"Well, you might want to go see Whiskey first. He said he was going to send a letter to the elements about Iron Foot's death. Perhaps you could ride with me since he asked me to deliver it."
"Let me guess, he also wanted you to find my body to give me a proper burial?"
"You know him so well."
"I also know that you would have been too lazy to look for it."
"True."
"I would have haunted your ass for the rest of your life."
"I wouldn't doubt it Nails." said Delta as the group set out for Sandstone.
"Do you think I could get a bath or somethin first? I hate having Iron Foot all over me."
"So, that about sums up everything that happened." said Nails.
"So it's all over?" asked Rainbow Dash, "You can stay here permanently?"
"Well, about that."
"Don't you want to stay here? Don't you want to stay with us?" asked Fluttershy
"Of course I do." said Nails "It's just that..."
"The wars not over yet." interrupted Delta, "We have to leave to go back to Forshan soon."
"Why? Didn't he kill Iron Foot?" asked Twilight.
"Yes I did, it's just that there are more soldiers of Iron Foot still in Forshan. The griffons, Forshan, and I are going to be launching several joint operations to try and hunt down the remainder of the soldiers and kill them." responded Nails.
"So, I guess you're leaving again." said Rainbow Dash, "How long should it take?"
"Well, it would have taken a week or two if someone hadn't burnt down the building that might have had the information on each of the bases." said Delta.
"Not my fault."
"Without anything to go on except for any contacts that Nails has."
"And I have a lot of contacts."
"It should take us around a month or two."
"A whole month?" said Rainbow Dash.
"I'm sorry Rainbow, but it has to be done." said Nails.
"I know, it's just that I lose you then I get you back, and now I have to lose you for a whole month."
"Look on the bright side. By the time I get back you should be flying again."
"Promise that you'll come back."
"What do you want me to do?"
"He could Pinkie swear!" yelled out Pinkie Pie.
"What's a Pinkie swear?"
"It's like a contract. If you break it... Well... I'd be more scared ah Pinkie then I would of you." said Applejack
"Really?"
"Personal experience."
"Ok, so how do I make a Pinkie swear?"
"You cross your heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in your eye!" said Pinkie Pie who acted out each step.
"Ok then, Rainbow Dash. I'll return. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
"That makes me feel better." said Rainbow Dash.
"Nails." said Delta who was standing by the door.
"Its time." said Nails as he turned for the door.
"Wait!" yelled Rainbow Dash.
Nails turned around and felt Rainbow Dash's lips meet his. He kissed her back and brought her into an embrace. The two kissed in silence for a few moments until someone broke the silence.
"Get up boy, Get up! Time to go to work!" said Delta in the background.
Nails broke of the kiss and turned around to face Delta who had a wide grin on his face.
"I'm gonna get you for that."
"I know you will, but I'll say it again. It was worth it."
"Why don't you see about how I'm gonna get there?"
"You're walking. I'm not taken any chances." said Delta as he walked out the door.
"I'm going to need laxatives, super glue, and the hottest peppers you can find."
"I'll show you where to get them." said Rainbow Dash. Just because she was losing Nails for a month didn't mean she would hate it. If he was going to have fun then so would she. The month would go fast.
The two left to go into town. Nails needed to get ready to go on one last mission. Eliminate all enemies.
Author Notes
1. I would like to thank everyone that read this far in the story. For those of you hoping to see Nails hunting down terrorists, well, I'm sorry. BUT! His story's not over yet. He still has to live in Ponyville but before that can happen; I think that it's time we take a look at his past. I don't know everything I'm going to do in the next story so any suggestions are welcome. Please review, any critique is welcome.
P.S. You will get to learn just what Nails did to Delta.
2. I'm sorry it took me so long to get these chapters up. I got so caught up in my other writing, correcting, ACT, school, and football and I was just writing faster than I could upload. So, I guess I'm going to try and do better at uploading but I'm not making any promises.
3. For those of you wondering how the C4 would have burned, it actually burns pretty well so it wouldn't have been detected in such a short time.