Leon, Percy, Chloe, and Draco all stood in Ryan's office. He had just found out who they were and why they were here.
"I can convince the prince to completely ignore this place," said Leon.
"Not good enough. The more ponies that know about this place, the less room for improvement. I know you want to end the war between us and the mermares, as do I, but the way things are now, it won't happen," answered Opus.
"There must be some reason as to why you are fighting. Is it property, trading, rare minerals, anything?" Percy asked.
"Yes, rare substances." Opus reached for a file in one of the cabinets, and handed it to them. "BETA. The sole reason as to why Rapture was created. This resource, found only in the ocean, enables us to use technology deemed impossible and immoral above ground. It allows us to genetically change ourselves into what we have always wanted to become. So far, they only test this on my brother, Lexicon Ryan. He is second-in-command down here, but that may soon change. He's the one who invented the soldiers of destruction, nicknamed the Big Stallion.
"Though I only intended for this city to be built on helping the great and powerful, I soon realized that the advancements here were never supposed to be discovered. Splicing one's genetic structure is too dangerous, because it could completely corrupt a mind and body. That's why my brother, who knows nothing about leading a city, is vying for power. He wants the mermares completely wiped out, knowing they stand in the way of making him more powerful. He was never as coldhearted as he has become.
"That's where you come in, Phoenix Bearer. You have the power to both destroy these Big Stallions and change my brother back. He is the only reason we still attack the mermares, even after I had advised him to stop. I ask that you change him back, without harming him," Opus finished.
"We can do that, but where is he?" asked Percy.
"He is in his isolation chamber, on the far side of the city, most likely injecting himself with BETA right now in the containment unit. Be warned, though. Only I can get through without the Big Stallions becoming hostile, so you must either sneak past them or destroy them. I know that Celestia told you they cannot control what they do, but with the atrocities they have committed, they don't deserve the second chance. Unless you do this, you will not receive the Amulet of Amendment," explained Opus.
"OK. We'll find him. Is he a force to be reckoned with?" asked Leon.
"His splicing has made him unstable, so he will attack anyone, but fortunately his power has weakened. A side effect of constant exposure to BETA," answered Opus. "Good luck, Phoenix Bearer. Take this with you." He gave them a syringe, and the Amulet of Amendment, which shone a bright orange. They stared in shock at Opus. "Yes, I can trust that you can accomplish this task, even after you've received the amulet. It allows the new Spirit of Amendment to perform much more acrobatic and physical feats than before, and allows them to think clearly in the face of danger or threat. You'll need it to change my brother back. The syringe will be a backup plan. Should he cause too much trouble, pierce him with this, and drain the remaining BETA from him." He then motioned for them to leave, and so they did.
"Now that we have the amulet, do we still have to help this pony out?" Draco asked.
"Yes. He gave us the amulet, and trusted us to turn his brother back. We need to head to the isolation chamber on the other side of the city and cure him. The trouble we might have is dealing with those Big Stallions," Percy explained.
Draco suddenly looked like he was going to vomit. "Draco, you can't get seasick now!" stated Leon. Draco then spat out fire, which formed into a letter. Leon took it and opened it. It consisted of a diagram of the Big Stallion, its weak points, and its mood light meanings. He looked it over, and showed it to the other two ponies. They nodded in agreement, and started to head towards the far side of the city. "Draco, stay here until we get back." Draco nodded, and they left.
…
They ventured onward for a while, until they came across a dead end. The tunnel toward the isolation chamber was completely shut off from the rest of the city. We need to find a way in here. Opus had said something about him having access. Percy thought. He then saw a service radio on the wall to right of the tunnel. He picked it up, and dialed a code that he remembered somehow, and waited for a response. "Yes? What is it?" asked Opus.
"We need the code to the tunnel leading to the isolation chamber. Would you kindly give it to us?" Percy asked.
Opus told him. "The code should be 1-9-5-9."
Percy punched in the code, and the tunnel had opened up. The huge metal door blocking entry had slowly lifted up, and on the other side of the tunnel was a Big Stallion guarding the tunnel. It turned towards them, and its green viewport light turned yellow. It approached them slowly, trying to identify the newcomers to the chamber.
"Here comes trouble…" Chloe worried.
"When I give the shout, head into the isolation chamber, Percy. Chloe, you should stay back. This could get very messy," Leon ordered. The Big Stallion continued, and its viewports were still yellow. It readied its rivet gun, and its drill was starting to rev up. "Now!" With that, Percy galloped towards the isolation chamber, while Leon had pulled out his amulet.
He placed it on, and his transformation took place. His mane and tail caught on fire, his eyes turned red, and his coat turned yellow. He flared in fiery rage, and charged towards the Big Stallion. The Big Stallion's viewports turned red, and it stuck its drill out. Leon quickly dodged it, and tackled the Big Stallion's ankle joint head on. The drill foreleg piece then fell off, still revving in place. The Big Stallion, completely ignoring that its own leg fell off, aimed its rivet gun at Leon, and fired repeatedly. Leon continued to dodge the rivets, and proceeded to tackle the Big Stallion's hind legs. He head-butted the right hind leg and it fell apart completely. The Big Stallion fell over, but it would not give up. It aimed its rivet gun again at Leon, who was charging now. It fired a single rivet, and Leon fell over.
"Ah! Son of a bitch!" Leon yelled. He was cringing in pain, and could not ignore it.
Chloe looked in horror at Leon, and she galloped full speed towards him. The Big Stallion, still enraged, shot again at Leon, scoring another hit on his front shoulder. It dragged itself towards Leon to finish the job. Leon, seeing Chloe run towards him, shouted at her. "No! I'm fine, stay back! That thing is still alive!" He then picked himself up, but realized that his right hind leg had a rivet sticking out of it. "Damn! That smarts!" he yelled. He was bleeding profusely out of his wounds, and knew he could not run. I still have my wings he realized, and he flew towards the Big Stallion's other foreleg. He charged into it, and the foreleg with the rivet gun fell off the armor. The Big Stallion now had no weapons, and it was still squirming on the floor.
Leon went limping up to the Big Stallion, and looked at its viewports, still red with anger. "A pony chooses, but a slave obeys," he stated coldly, and he stomped the helmet off. It cracked, and fell apart completely. There then lay not a monster anymore, but an earth pony. His eyes stopped glowing red, and turned into a calm, gray color. The pony lay there, unconscious, pale, and scrawny. Man. He's in worse shape than any pony I've ever seen. Maybe if Chloe… He hadn't finished his thought before he fell into unconsciousness, where he transformed back to his usual self.
"Leon!" Chloe shouted. She ran towards Leon, and observed his wounds. She had tears in her eyes, and she couldn't hold them back. She removed the rivets stuck to his leg and shoulder, and pressed his wounds. She used her magic, concentrating all of her focus on Leon. Please, Leon! Don't go to the light! I need you. As she concentrated, the wound on Leon's leg and shoulder slowly closed up. She wiped the blood that had dried on his coat, and removed the amulet from Leon's neck. She held him very closely as tears fell from her eyes, not knowing if he would wake up again.