S4E10: Interception

An act of sabotage leads ERAC into a trap, where they find themselves standing opposed to someone who is very displeased with their recent victory...

Plot Summary
G Squadron was in the process of rushing their squadron leader, Yeshaida, to the infirmary having found him after the events of Investigation - Pursuit. Along the way, the Anathemites appeared to see what was going on (scaring the daylights out of the pilots in the process). Yeshaida was given to the care of the doctors when a loud scream caught ther attention. Rushing to the source of the scream, they found themselves in Rarity's room. Rarity herself was going berserk, being restrained by several doctors. The reason was obvious: her goggles had been stolen.

After Rarity was sedated, Wolfgang alerted A Unit to a break-in at the base's armory. On investigating, they found that only a sniper rifle had been stolen. Wolfgang had tracked the thief leaving through the lower entrance of the base, heading in the direction of Ponyville's ruins. A Unit and G Squadron (sans Yeshaida) rushed after the thief.

The two groups found an army of Hellgate's zombies waiting for them. One of the zombies was a white horse (later revealed to be a match for the one that knocked out Yeshaida) held the goggles. However, the sniper rifle was still missing, and Hellgate seemed genuinely surprised that they had appeared. Still, he was not about to let an opprotunity to take revenge for their previous destruction of the Hatred Cannon pass him by, and he moved to engage the groups, trying to use the goggles as leverage to force them to hand over the Bearers prematurely. Meanwhile, A Unit found themselves victim to infrequent rainbow sniper blasts from elsewhere. Arachnos attempted to have Executioner hunt down the sniper, but the sniper proved too fast to be located; by the time Executioner made it to the source of the blasts, the sniper had already vacated its position. The fight quickly turned against Hellgate as the Anathemites began cutting through the ranks with Nihility, throwing them into the inescapable void from which their regeneration was meaningless. As the last of his detachment was slain, Hellgate warned his enemies that he was aware of their plan, and that the upcoming showdown was all but inevitable.

At that moment, an old pony emerged from to investigate the sounds of the battle. The pony could not recall their name, and seemed to be somewhat senile. She claimed that her memory was going, but referred to a "daughter" that helped her in day to day life. She then invited them to her hut for tea, which happened to be located through a tiny hole in the ground. Despite their apprehension, A Unit and most of G Squadron went to investigate. What they found was a modest home made out of the ruins of Ponyville, and the old horse revealed her "granddaughter" (she would constantly switch terms). It was revealed to be none other than Sweetie Belle in a catatonic state, alive but having mentally shut down due to her experiences.

A conversation ensued, but with the old pony's degrading mental health, including a point where she forgot about her guests entirely, ity was not going anywhere. Ketsueki, wanting to speed things along, requested help from another pilot of G Squadron, Ken, of whom was currently keeping watch from outside. Knowing Ken's penchant for violence, Ketsueki asked him to knock the old horse out so that the both of them could recieve proper medical attention. With the owner of the hut subdued, she and Sweetie Belle wee escorted back to ERAC Headquarters.

During their examination, Yeshaida was discovered to have gained consciousness, and he confirmed what he saw before he was knocked out. The implication that Hellgate was responsible had baffled them, as they could not fathom a reason for stealing the goggles and a sniper rifle. Wolfgang arrived then, and asked if they had retrieved the goggles, to which Terminos affirmed. Wolfgang reported that Sweetie Belle had suffered no physical harm, but as they suspected, her mental faculties had shut down. They wanted to try reuniting her with her elder sister to see if that would yield positive results, but to do that Rarity would need to be removed from the state of panic she was in.

Terminos reapplied the goggles, and Sweetie Belle was brought in. The two ponies stared at each other for several minutes, before rushing into a tear-filled embrace. Rarity's memories unlocked and Sweetie Belle returned to normal. The reunion wasn't all pleasant, however, as Wolfgang had to urgently fill Rarity in on the situation regarding Hellgate. She agreed to go, and Wolfgang said that Sweetie would be taken good care of. He then went off to organize the rendezvous with Hellgate, warning everyone that this night they would need to get as much rest as they can, no exceptions. The following morning, ERAC would enact their plan, setting the stage for the final battle...

Soundtrack

 * 1) Opening Theme - Main Theme (Sonic: Time Attacked)
 * 2) Discomfort on the Home Front -  Environmental Sound (Intrigue) (Metroid Fusion)
 * 3) The Scream: - Hotline of Fate (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All)
 * 4) Theif - Phantom ~ UNKNOWN (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies)
 * 5) Unexpected Encounter - Doomsday Device (Rockman ZX Tunes)
 * 6) Slam Down - Back to Mad (Super Mario Bros. Z Edit)
 * 7) The Warning - Mithos Yggdrasill (Tales of Symphonia)
 * 8) After the Fight - For Endless Fight II (Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero Idea)
 * 9) Reunion - Cutscene: No Reason (Sonic Unleashed)
 * 10) Rarity - Rarity's Stage (My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic)
 * 11) Night Before the Showdown - Neo Arcada (Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero Idea)
 * 12) Ending Theme - Dream a Dream (Pop It Don't Drop It Edit)

Trivia

 * This episode marks the end of the three-episode-long chain of episodes that were originally one episode.