Wrath of the Harbinger

Things were calm in Ponyville. The hunters had been going about their business. It hadn’t been very long after the giant attack earlier and already some of the hunters were offering their help to resume rebuilding the town, (Noel had only repaired the damage caused by the giant) with magic, of course, to speed things along. So it was as Applejack was walking that she spotted a particularly large hunter rebuilding a house the old-fashioned way. With hammer and nails. She walked over to the hunter, since he was working on the same house she had volunteered to work on, as well. Once she was there she set down the bucket of nails she was holding in her mouth. The cart, filled with building materials and other supplies, she was pulling still remained attached to her barrel. “Howdy there, partner.” She said as she started detaching the cart, as well.

The hunter stopped his hammering and looked down at Applejack. “Hello.” He said back and then continued his work.

Applejack eventually got the cart unhooked. She breathed a sigh. “So, what’s yer name?”

“Simon.” He replied, not looking away from his work.

“Well, Simon, mind if ah ask ya a few questions?”
“Go ahead, I don’t mind.” He stopped hammering for a moment and glanced at Applejack to give her a smile before going back to work.

“So, you’re a hunter....”

“Yep.”

“You’re not using magic right now like the others. Why’s that?”

“Magic has a time and a place. I can use magic but I normally only do so when I’m actively on a mission. I’m not in combat right now so I don’t see a need to do so. If I use magic for everything then I start missing out on some of the good things in life. I think we all do.”

“That’s certainly a good philosophy to live by, I can tell ya that.”

Simon smiled. “Thanks. I can tell you’re an honest hardworking pony, aren’t you?”

“Well, I’m certainly honest.”

“And a farmer too, judging by your hat.”

“Ah sure am!” She proudly said.

“Good. Hey, could you please pass me a board and that bucket of nails for me?” Simon said, pointing at the objects in question.

“Sure thing.” Applejack said.

“Thanks.” Simon said as he took the materials.

Applejack, not wanting to idly sit around, began working on the house as well since that’s what she came here to do. And so it was that they toiled under the sun together, the sounds of hammers and nails joining in the echo of hard work with other hunters as they too worked on repairing damage to buildings. The duo had been working for nearly an hour when Simon said, “hey, we’re almost done here. You wanna go look for some paint and some brushes so we can paint this while I finish up here?”

“Took the words right outta ma mouth.” Applejack responded as she started to trot off to go back to the farm, taking the cart with her. It wasn’t long as she was walking that she was intercepted by Kayla on the way. “Howdy Kayla.” Applejack greeted. “Whatcha doing out here?” Wait, shouldn’t she be watching Alexander, or something? Applejack thought.

“I escorted Alexander back to our camp.” Kayla replied. She walked alongside Applejack, deciding to enjoy the nice weather. “Right now... I’m not sure what I should be doing so I decided to relax. There’s word that we’re dealing with at least ten thousand Mary Sues.... I would like to get as much rest as possible before we deploy to take care of them.”

“Ten thousand sounds like a lot.” Applejack stated.

Kayla sighed, her eyes downcast. “It is.”

“And how many of you are there?”

“Thirty six, counting Alexander.”

Applejack stumbled for a second when she realized just how high the stakes were, even if she didn’t know the cosmic consequences for her world she understand the danger that the hunters were facing. “Those seem like long odds.”

“They are. Not counting Alexander we only have thirty two hunters fit for duty, we had three incapacitated when that giant showed up.” Kayla scratched the back of her head. “It’s odd though. The Mary Sues could attack us right now and kill all the hunters, but they’ve dug their heels in Canterlot and seem content to stay there. Then again, maybe they don’t want to lose more Mary Sues than necessary since we’ve set up here in Ponyville.”

“So is there another reason they aren’t attacking? If it were me in charge ah’d have run ya’ll out of Equestria by now. That would make sure that any of yer reinforcements wouldn’t get here.”

“No, killing all the hunters here wouldn’t do shit to stop the inevitable army that would come through anyway. If a hunter dies a signal is sent back to our home and we’re aware of any danger in that world. I can guarantee you that they somehow know everything that we’re doing right now. They had a good window of opportunity to get rid of us, especially during the giant attack. But with Alexander here any assault would be practically suicidal for them. But with the amount of them... it just doesn’t make any sense.”

“Well, how long till yer reinforcements get here?”

“I don’t know. A few hours? A day? I’m really nervous.”

“Hey, tell ya what. Once ah have some free time ah’ll cook ya up some apple pie. That’ll calm down yer nerves.”

Kayla smiled and looked down at Applejack. “Thanks, I’d like that very much. Make sure to make some for Simon too, I hear he loves pie.”

“Ah will, don’t you worry.”

Kayla, still looking down at Applejack, didn’t notice the tree in front of her path. When she collided with it there was a loud thunk and a dazed Kayla. She shook her head to get her bearings while Applejack snickered, reminded of Rainbow Dash’s occasional crashes. “And that is why you look where you’re going.” Kayla said to no one in particular, continuing to follow Applejack.

It wasn’t long until they reached her farm. They had continued talking along the way, telling each other stories in the short time that they had. “Hey,” Kayla said, “it was nice talking with you Applejack, but I’m gonna go out and head back into town. Kick back and explore for a bit, or something.”

“You do that.” Kayla nodded and started walking off. Applejack nearly let her go before she stopped and decided to ask a question. “Hold on, Kayla.” Kayla stopped. “Do you know where you’re going?”

“Back into town?”

“No, no, ah mean, ya know where you want to go, specifically?”

Kayla paused, her mouth open in response but nothing came out as she thought about it and she closed it instead. She raised a pointer finger and opened her mouth but once again paused and closed it once more. She spent a few more seconds tapping her finger against her chin but eventually shrugged. “Not a clue.” She finally said. “Got any suggestions?”

“Well, if you’ve got a sweet tooth ah’d recommend going to Sugarcube Corner. If you like reading any books, go to the library. And if you’re into the kind of thing there is a spa. Ah can give ya directions if you’d like.”

“No thanks. If someone gives me directions to a location I’d probably get myself lost.”

“Well, the ponies in Ponyville know where just about everything is. Once you get back just ask somepony and they can help ya out.”

“Sure thing, will do. I can’t wait for those pies!”

“Take care now, ya hear?”

Kayla waved to Applejack and started walking back into town. Applejack walked to her barn where she kept the painting materials. After a few short minutes she had everything she needed to help with painting so she stuck it into the cart and headed back to Ponyville. Simon had most likely finished and was probably waiting on Applejack by now so she made sure to make good pace.

When Applejack finally got back she could see that Simon was just finishing up. She detached herself from the cart and they both got to work immediately. The two made little conversation, content to simply work and let their actions speak for themselves. If they had both been the same species one might assume that they were working in perfect harmony with each other- and I feel like there was a horrible pun or some kind of joke in there. I don’t know how but I definitely know that it was there. By the time the two had finished their work it was definitely the afternoon. It was about time for dinner, actually.

Applejack wiped her brow. “Hey, Simon, since we’ve finished up here anyway ah think it’s about time we both got something to eat.”

“Yeah, I’m starving. I skipped lunch today. I’m gonna head back to camp and make sure I get something in my belly soon. Probably shitty food but there’s bound to be something.”

“Maybe ya don’t have to eat… ‘shitty’ was it? Yeah, maybe ya don’t have to eat shitty foods. Come over to my place at Sweet Apple Acres, I’ll fix ya up something.”

“You don’t have to do-”

“There’ll be pie.” Applejack interrupted. She wanted at least some of these hunters to know about good ole Ponyville earth pony hospitality. And what better way to do it than by inviting some of them over to dinner? Especially if she knew that Simon liked pie, if Kayla wasn’t lying or exaggerating that is.

Simon stopped moving and his eyes widened slightly. A smile crept on his face. “Pie?” He asked. He had to be sure. The last time he had pie was… was… it was a long ago damn it. Hopefully it was apple pie.

“Yep.”

“What kind of pie?” Please, please, please please…. Simon thought.

“Apple.” Yes! So many times yes! He cheered inwardly but he didn’t stop the smile that adorned his face. “You like apple pie?” Applejack asked. She had a feeling that she already knew the answer but it sure would be nice to hear it.

“I love apple pie.” Though it is a little suspicious that she picked pie as a dinner choice. It was as if she knew that I liked pies in general. “Hold on, when you interrupted me, it was like you knew that I liked pies. Did you know that I love pies? Not that I’m complaining!” Simon said, waving his arms in front of him defensively. “I’d just like to know.” He rubbed the back of his head to get at an itch. Or possibly to hide his nervousness. One of the two. Or both.

“Yeah, Kayla told me about it.”

“Oh, well, that explains it. Again, I’m not complaining.”

“Oh, hey, would you mind inviting her? She told me that she was feeling nervous and it was her idea to make sure I made a pie for you.”

“Yeah, good idea.” Simon tapped his crystal, the same kind Noel had, set into his gauntlet. “Hey, Kayla, I’m heading over to Applejack’s place to have some dinner. You wanna come with?”

“Fuck yes I do. I’ll be waiting for you guys there.”

The glow from the crystal faded and it returned to its dull state. “That must be a pretty useful trinket ya got there.” Applejack commented.

“Yeah, it is. Saves a fuckton of time and sometimes a fuckton of lives.”

“Eyup.” Applejack said. She decided to ask him what the word ‘fuck’ meant at some point. She noticed that Noel… well actually every single human here used it. She would’ve thought about using the term hunter but she was pretty sure that Alexander didn’t exactly fall into that category. He didn’t even look like a hunter with all their fancy schmancy armor. He definitely used their mannerisms. Either way, Applejack started walking back to her farm and Simon followed suit. Like Kayla, they talked on the way there and he voiced his concerns about the inevitable battle. Also like Kayla, he didn’t seem too confident about it. However, unlike Kayla, as soon as they came close to the tree that she ran into he instead managed to sidestep it. Though as big as he was he probably could’ve simply trampled it if he so desired.

True to her word, Kayla was indeed waiting for them back at the farm. “How’d you find your way back here?” Applejack asked. “I thought you said you’d get lost.”

“No, I said I wasn’t good at following directions to a location.” Kayla responded. “Most of the time.” She muttered under breath. “But since I’ve already been here I remembered where to go.” I also teleported here but she doesn’t need to know that. Kayla thought.

Applejack shrugged. “Works fer me. Come on ya’ll let’s get inside and get some grub!”

Simon and Kayla had to admit that the Apple family were certainly a good bunch of folks. Simon in particular thought so. He enjoyed their company and talking to them. Big Mac, a stallion of little words but strong. Granny Smith. Probably batty, but she means well… or it could be that she hides a strong sense of wisdom underneath all that- or maybe not, she just burped and laughed. And then there was the adorable Applebloom. Simon answered her questions, or at least tried. He also watched his mouth and, when Applebloom wasn’t looking, shot glares at Kayla to make sure she also watched hers until she finally got the hint.

“So… why don’t ya’ll have cutie marks?” Applebloom asked.

Simon lifted an eyebrow while Applejack nudged her little sister. “Now, now Applebloom. Just because they don’t have cutie marks don’t mean they need em or nothing.”

“Actually,” Simon spoke up, all heads turned to look at him, “I’m curious as to what a cutie mark is.”

Applejack cringed inwardly. She hoped that Applebloom wouldn’t bore their guests to death. Applebloom got a huge grin on her face and she took a deep breath. Simon could already tell that he dun goofed. “A cutie mark is the most wonderful thing in Equestria! It’s your entire destiny all in one little thing. When you finally discover yer special talent it appears on your flank, like all ponies! See,” Applebloom cried said, pointing at her family one by one, “Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny Smith all have theirs as apples so that means that mine must be an apple too! I’ve been trying my hardest to get mine with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Together, we’re known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders! And one day I know I’ll get my cutie mark and it’s gonna be so special and awesome!” Applebloom was jumping up and down from excitement. A gigantic smile adorned her face, her eyes tightly shut as she imagined the day when her cutie mark would come in.

Simon smiled warmly at the display. He continued watching the Apple family as they bantered back and forth, smiling, laughing, and generally having a good time. This is why I’m fighting. The Mary Sues won’t take this away from them. This is genuine happiness, not forced emotions. Simon and Kayla joined in when they could, having as much fun as the Apples were. For the two hunters, it was a nice reprieve from their troubles, and it was nice.

“We can spare two battalions. Eight hundred hunters each.” Claudia said to Noel. They were still in Ponyville and another portal had been opened, this time on Claudia’s end so she could discuss some important things with Noel. Pinkie was relaxing on Noel’s lap, her legs folded beneath her. Her hair had regained its usual poofy style by this time and she seemed to be back to her old self.

Noel tapped his chin and grinned. “Hmm, I seem to recall you saying that there was no way you could spare an entire brigade, but now you’re saying that you can spare 1,600? I wonder what brought on this kind of decision....” Noel had a shit-eating grin on his face.

Noel could hear the grinding of teeth on Claudia’s end, she was that angry. “We were... persuaded. This is the best we can do on such short notice. We’re running extremely low on hunters right now but we’ll see what we can do to divert more resources to your disposal since we have plenty of weapons and technology.”

“When you say plenty-”

“We have way, way, more than we need. Seriously, we’ve started taking up some of the empty dorms.”

“Why do we have so much equipment?”

“There was a malfunction with the factory.... We couldn’t shut it down for a while so it worked overtime and overclocked itself. So in the end we got a bunch of weapons, equipment, vehicles, ordnance, you name it.”

“Well, then, that’s good to hear. How about you send a lot of those weapons our way for this battle? Especially any explosives, that’ll help you make some space while also helping us out. Sounds like a win-win to me.”

“Same here. I’ll make sure the request is approved.”

“Sweet.”

“Oh, and I supposed I should mention that you’re also getting a lot of meta-humans from our allies.”

Noel grinned. He knew about the meta-humans. They were from a ‘recently’ discovered alternate Earth and had been allies with the Archon for the past eighty years. However, the hunter’s home slowed down time and while time had passed normally for the meta-humans, hundreds of years had passed for the hunters. Thus, they had actually been allied with the hunters since the founding of their organization. The meta-humans agreed to supply weapons and technology in exchange for the personal protection from Mary Sues courtesy of the Archon himself.

“Is Felix coming with them?” Noel asked hopefully. He was rather fond of the most powerful meta-human around. Funny guy to be around.

“No, but he was the one who appropriated ten thousand meta-humans for this operation. I believe he said he was also sending in Delta and Epsilon Squad.”

“Delta Squad is their top squad.” Noel stated. Not to mention trained by Felix himself. “He must really be really concerned if he’s sending them in. I think he’s only sent them out once and that was for an invasion against non-Mary Sues. So why isn’t he coming himself if he’s willing to spare them?”

“Unofficially, his boss, Lisa, said he’s busy. Officially, and she told me to repeat this, by the way, ‘The little shit better have a good fucking reason why he’s sending out so many of our soldiers. I’m making sure he’s going to clear out a hive as punishment especially for not fucking asking me about this shit.’ she then proceeded to continue to go on a rant but I’m sure you get the idea of what she was going for.”

“Yeah, yeah I do.” Lisa may have been just a normal human, but she always had one hell of a yelling voice. Plus she was the only one who Felix would ever take orders from. Thus, automatically making her scary as hell.

“But yeah, that’s what we’re sending you. They’ll be here tomorrow in the morning.”

“Sweet.” Noel said and he was about to close the portal but realized that he wasn’t the one who had opened the portal, so therefore he couldn’t deactivate it. Not without forcibly closing it, at least. Claudia spoke up once more.

“Noel… the council has been talking and we think that even if you win the battle here, we’ll have to establish an outpost on Equestria. You said that there’s at least ten thousand MS’s in Canterlot alone but also probably many more hiding around the entirety of the planet. We can’t leave that as a possibility so I’ve been the one who has been advocating for the building of an outpost.”

Noel nodded, even though she couldn’t see him do the action. “I understand. There’s definitely something else going on if there’s this many MS’s here in so little time. A portal or some kind of tear in the barrier between universes. Whatever it is, we’re going to fix it and I think we might be here for a while until we do.”

“Yeah. I’ll make sure to leave more hunters with you after this battle is done.”

“If I or any of us survive. After this you might be sending in new hunters to a different commander, in the end.”

“Don’t say things like that, Noel. Promise me you’re going to stay alive, you hear?”

“No promises.”

Claudia would’ve said something else but she decided against it and closed the portal. With the portal gone, Pinkie Pie and Noel were left alone, except that they hadn’t moved from the spot where Alexander had been summoned. So maybe that doesn’t count as being totally alone since they were out in the open? Whatever.

With that, Noel went back to what he was originally doing before Claudia had contacted him. Petting and comforting Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie stirred and she shifted to her side, her hind leg kicking out as Noel scratched behind her ears and, as she exposed her underside to him, rubbed her tummy. She sighed in content, her tongue lolling out of her mouth.

Noel found the sight adorable and saw no reason to really stop until he got bored. After a few minutes, he did get bored and at the exact same time, Pinkie Pie took that moment to get up anyway. She stretched and faced Noel with her usual smile. “Thanks for staying with me, Noel.” She stated.

“No problem. I wasn’t going to let Alexander get you down like that.”

Pinkie Pie hugged him. Noel awkwardly returned the gesture, not used to receiving so many hugs without warning in the same day. “You’re a good friend Noel.”

“I wouldn’t say good, but I’m fine with saying friend.”

“Silly Noel! You’re helping us! That makes you good in my book!” She said, with a playful swat to his chest. Noel was glad he was still wearing his helmet so that he could hide his smile. “Hey, when you get back, I’m going to throw you a party. Don’t you forget to come to your party, okay?” Her smile had lessened a bit, but it was still there. “I’m going to make sure you take off that helmet when you do because I want to see you smile. I’ve made some of your other friends smile but I haven’t seen you smile yet. And I will make you smile if it’s the last thing I ever do!” She proclaimed, a hoof pointed to the sky in determination.

If I smile then she’ll see no reason to keep trying to make me smile…. That means I must not smile in front of her! Noel decided what to do there and then. It wasn’t a very smart decision but it was his plan of action, nevertheless.

“Well, I hope you can make me smile.”

“Oki doki loki!” She exclaimed excitedly. She then bounced off to go do whatever it is that a pony like Pinkie does. Noel watched her go for a few moments before heading off to the crystal that was still outside Ponyville. He activated it and he was soon back at the camp, where he saw Alexander sitting on a log, brooding.

Noel walked up to Alexander. He wanted to make sure Alexander knew about the plans that the hunters would be making an assault soon and that friendly fire would not be tolerated. He also wanted Alexander to be appeased just a little bit so he wouldn’t randomly explode and kill someone before the battle had even begun. “Alexander.” Noel said.

“What.” Was the venomous response.

“We’ll be heading out tomorrow because that’s when our reinforcements will be arriving. I want you to be ready by then.”

“Good. I’ve been itching to kill something for hours now.”

“Yeah, I bet you have.” He turned to leave but Alexander’s voice stopped him.

“I have a few things to say to you, Noel.”

Noel groaned and turned back around. “I’m not in the mood for bullshit right now, Alexander. It better be important.”

“I suppose it could be important, from a certain point of view. I just want to know when I can really let loose. Should we have some kind of code phrase, or something?”

That’s… actually a good question. Noel thought. “I suppose so. I was going to send you into an area that’s the thickest with Mary Sues and then just let you have at them. But if I can direct you with a magically binding phrase that can switch you on or off then you’ll be of even greater use in the battle. And we can hopefully avoid as much collateral damage as possible.”

“Good for you. Just send me into the thick of it, no backup, sure. I bet you’re just hoping that I’ll die taking as many as I can with me, aren’t you? Just get me out of the way so you don’t have to worry about me ‘accidentally’ killing any of your so-called friends. Just get me killed on purpose. Or maybe you despise me that much and just want to see me lying in a pool of my own blood. I live in the Archon’s head, Noel. I know what you two talk about and when you’re talking about me. Come on, admit it.”

“I doubt that I’d be able to get rid of you so easily.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Alexander grinned. It was a manic grin, one that he adorned frequently and it always got worse when he was bathing in the blood of his enemies. “But we both know you need me for this battle. Hell, the Archon thinks so too otherwise he wouldn’t have sent me. Because he always knows best doesn’t he? Because that’s what you want to believe, you desperately want that to be true. Don’t you?”

Noel didn’t respond. Alexander continued. “You know as well as I do that even if you somehow manage to get me killed, that’s not gonna stop me. I’ll always be there, Noel, because I’m a representation of the Archon. I can die as many times as I want and I’ll always be back. I don’t have to worry about trying only once, I can try as many times as I want without a care in the world. I have truly nothing to fear. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Noel walked off, completely done with the sick man’s bullshit. “So let me pose a question to you, Noel. You don’t need to answer it, just think about it, sleep on it if you want, that’s fine too. What do you fear?” Alexander chuckled darkly.