Connor Pemberton (character)

Connor Pemberton is a male Welsh Briton and acting leader of the Apex Pilots during the Equestrian Civil War.

Following his rise to Apex Firebug during the Dimensional War and after racking up an impressive 400 confirmed unaided kills during the Final Battle, Connor was promoted to the rank of Brigadier but refused to be granted any form of personal unit, instead wanting to remain an Apex Pilot.

His wish granted, Connor held no direct command over any personal infantry or armour division but rather held great influence over the rest of the army as a whole; able to issue orders without consequence. His Titan, Blaze, was upgraded from an Ogre to the new "Scorch" giving him brand new weapon systems and Thermite-based attacks.

After his marriage to Live Wire, Connor was expected to quit the Apex Pilots by non-Apex units. They assumed he would want to become a desk-jockey so he could assure his new family would be safe and he would never leave them, but he remained a frontline unit.

Connor helped Thames and Sea-Knight in the war against the Militia, and for his time in there he was offered the rank of "Field Admiral" by his peers. Connor outright denied the promotion and remained a Brigadier, which shocked his superiors but ultimately they knew he made the choice that was best for himself and those he fought with.

As he fought in more battles, Connor's Neural Link to Blaze got stronger and stronger, with the two able to anticipate the other's movements exactly with no form of communication. Connor was starting to be known as a War Hero and as such he was heavily respected by the Briton race as a whole, even by those on opposing factions. Connor claimed he was no War Hero, a fact he reinforced by single-handedly wiping out a Militia camp and leaving no survivors; not even civilians or children. He claimed this was to show he wasn't getting soft as the rumours had been saying. In fact, his brutality seemed to grow though he managed to disguise it more and more effectively, turning him into what was referred to as a "Stable Psychopath" much like Grand Admiral Robert Thames was.

During an operation to investigate a Solar Accord facility in the Frozen North, Connor was bitten by a Divinium Zombie. Expecting to change, he was mistaken as he was lucky enough to have the genetic code necessary to "hold back" the infection and thus he only suffered partial and temporary side-effects. This meant he would not suffer from necrosis, but his irises turned a permanent bright red and he would infrequently enter a state of rage, in line with his previously-existing problem of Bloodlust, but now with his infection enhancing it he became nigh-immortal during these bursts and ran like an enhanced Divinium Zombie, his eyes glowing bright red. However unlike other Zombies, he would not attack those he considered allies and would eventually calm down. He would remember everything he did in Zombie form. His "half-undead" status meant other Divinium Zombies of all kinds would ignore him entirely, thinking him one of their own, allowing him to hide in crowds of the undead or sick them on his foes if he was otherwise outnumbered. He had no direct control over the other Divinium Zombies, however. His condition means he can also infect others to turn them into full Divinium Zombies via a bite, but only if it breaks the skin and it takes longer for them to turn. If Connor turns an individual, they become a "Wild Zombie." His infection means he suffered from voices in his head in his sleep, which he assumes is the Apothicons trying to control him, but they have never been successful as Connor retains all of his mind.

Connor showed what he was capable of in Operation: Flyby as the Apex Pilots infiltrated a Solar Accord transport plane and took Flurry Heart hostage. During the raid, Connor suffered a burst of rage and his infected side kicked in, letting him tear through the enemy forces without even thinking single-handedly. He was later calmed by Scootaloo.

Following the birth of his only child, a filly named Topaz, Connor would become a prime fighter in the Battle for Ponyville which left him and his family homeless. By pulling strings at command, he managed to procure a permanent residence at the Sierra Madre Hotel and Casino a full three years before it officially opened, staying in Room Six on the Twenty-First Floor. Connor also managed to grant Scootaloo her own room for permanent residence on the same floor, Room Two, since she had also been made homeless by the battle.

Continuing to serve the Midnight throughout the war, Connor managed to kill Ace Pilot Soarin and Ace Pilot Fleetfoot in the same battle, having gone berserk due to his condition as he engaged Fleetfoot in unarmed combat outside of their Titans. As he was impervious to damage and as fierce as the undead, Connor easily caught up to and decimated Fleetfoot with his bare hands, reducing her entire upper body to little more than chunks of torn flesh and splintered bone.