_____ As Maria watched Alexander die, multiple thoughts ran through her head, one of which stood out among the rest. That was… a failure. And unexpected. She leaned back in her throne in the secret hideout that she had taken the liberty of creating. Questoa and Leviathan were also with her. Though, perhaps I should have severed Alexander’s connection to the Archon entirely. It’s a good thing I did not give Alexander any information about us. Regardless, it is of no matter now.

“Mistress,” Leviathan said. “What shall we do now?”

She hummed. “Questoa,” the naga perked up at hearing his name, “you may do as you like as long as you do not engage the hunters and accidentally give away our location. Be aware that I may have further use for you down the road.”

The naga nodded, obviously glad to not be stuck with the alicorn again and become bored. Though the battle made the event worth it, if only barely. However, he was disappointed that since Isla remained among the hunters still in Equestria, he could not stay and wait for his chance to kill her. He opened a portal and left the area. He would bide his time somewhere else, for now.

“Is there anything you wish of me?” Leviathan asked once the naga was gone.

“Not as of this moment, no. However, I would like for you to remain close at hoof. Just in case our enemies somehow manage to track us here, I will not leave this place completely defenseless.”

“It is unlikely they will be able to find this place,” Leviathan pointed out.

“At least for now, anyway. But one can never be too careful.” She continued her scrying. Before her were hundreds of images, all showing battles of various stages and outcomes. “And besides, we have other things to attend to.”

*Twilight*

_____It wasn’t long until I found Noel. He was sleeping on the grass, with Pinkie curled up on his chest. Off to the side was Alexander’s body since I recognized the clothing. I must be getting used to death quickly. Because I didn’t feel nearly as sick as I had before earlier today when I saw that his brains were all over the ground.

I… wasn’t sure how to really feel about that right now.

I walked up to Noel and Pinkie. Pinkie poked her head up. “Hey, Twilight,” she greeted. Her normal attitude was dimmed considerably.

Noel stirred beneath her and sat up. “How are you both feeling?” I asked.

“Pain,” Pinkie responded, now sitting up on Noel’s lap. “A lot of it.”

“Yeah,” Noel groaned, “that happens whenever we bring someone back to life.”

I jerked my head back and gasped. “Was Pinkie dead?!” I shouted.

“Yeah. Alexander’s doing. I would tell you not to worry but I don’t think I’d believe myself.”

I paused, not sure what else to say. So I asked a question instead, “So…” I said, pointing on Alexander’s body, “is that your doing?”

“No. The Archon did it. Just in time, too. Alexander was rinsing me.”

“Why didn’t he help before it got to that point?”

“Because things are really fucked up right now.” He proceeded to tell me of the things that the Archon had said to him.

I knew what I was about to say was an understatement. “That sounds… bad.”

“It is bad. We still don’t know the extent of the damage. And I feel fine but I think Alexander damaged me more than I thought. I can feel my powers returning, I’m still not quite back at full strength, but… they feel far away at the same time. Like they’re locked or something.”

There was electricity filling the air right next to us. I wasn’t sure what it was so I took a defensive stance, charging my horn in the process just in case it wasn’t friendly. Noel seemed to be calm, for some reason. A few seconds later, a portal opened up and I felt the Archon’s presence from before, it wasn’t exactly something easy to forget. This time, however, it felt a little… subdued, I think.

“Noel,” the disembodied voice from the other side stated.

“Yes, sir?”

“I have some news. I detect two others with you and I need to speak to you alone.”

I don’t know Noel’s master well enough to tell what his moods are, and he seemed a little on edge, but I did have a question. “This is Twilight Sparkle, mister, uh, Archon. Do you remember me?”

“Not exactly. Refresh my memory.”

“We spoke earlier, when you contacted Noel. Something about him breaking a rule?”

“Oh, yes, I remember. Do you need anything? I’m kind of busy right now.”

“Pinkie and I will leave you two alone but can you answer a question for me please?”

“Make it quick.” Yeah, definitely not happy right now.

“When we last spoke you said Noel would inadvertently explain one of the rules to us, I’m assuming the one that he broke, but I’m confused as to what he did wrong, exactly. I ask because he told me about what you told him earlier. What’s this about bending the rules?”

“Yeah, okay, I can see that. Quick lesson. In hunter versus Mary Sue engagements, all hunters are allowed to bring people back to life if they were caught in the crossfire. Hunters, can not, however, bring back anyone who dies otherwise, and they’re not allowed to revive another hunter.”

“But why? That seems like you’re giving the Mary Sues an even greater edge. So why bend the rules now?”

“I think Noel can explain it better, but I don’t have the time. Just trust me for now when I say that we have that specific rule for a reason because something is watching us. Now can I please talk to Noel, now?”

“Yes.” I really had no choice but to comply. With the sheer amount of power radiating from this man, and the fact that he’s normally perfectly capable of keeping someone like Alexander under control, I think he could squish me with barely any effort. Not that he would. I mean, he’s a friend, right? “Come on, Pinkie, let’s go.”

“Okay,” she despondently replied. I think she needed a few parties to get back to her old self. Then again, this is Pinkie I’m talking about. She probably only needs a few more minutes. We walked off, leaving the two alone. Then Pinkie said to me, “Twilight.”

“Yes?”

“Please don’t tell the others that I… died.”

“But Pinkie—”

“Please… I don’t want them to worry.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay. But if it somehow applies to a relevant discussion, I will mention it, okay? This isn’t something I’m willing to keep a secret for long.” She nodded in response. I decided another session of asking Noel questions was in order, with Princess Celestia present.

*Noel*

It was only as soon as the two ponies were out of earshot did the Archon feel comfortable with speaking. “As I said before, I have some news.”

“Well that certainly didn’t take you very long,” Noel responded, crossing his arms. He felt naked and realized that his helmet was ripped off in the fight with Alexander. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the helmet, lying some distance away. It was dented in multiple places, most likely Alexander’s doing when he used his telekinesis to toss it. It was currently unfit for use, regardless of how it got damaged.

“Yeah,” the Archon continued. “But you’re not going to like it. I don’t know about you, but with the amount of bullshit going on right now I am just absolutely livid.” Noel wanted to say that the Archon didn’t seem angrier than usual, but he knew better than to try to antagonize his master with such a statement. “There could be a literal shitstorm the size of the planet Earth right now and it still wouldn’t be enough to describe how much of a clusterfuck everything is. I mean seriously there’s just—”

“Sir,” Noel interrupted. He materialized one of the few storage crystals he had on hand, levitated his helmet over and stored it inside to be repaired later.

“Oh. Sorry. Anyway, here’s the current situation as we know it. All communication has been cut off between all hunters except the ones who are in the same universe as another. Portals are now all but impossible to open except for the stronger magic users. Thankfully, using advanced technology allows us to bypass this but progress in integrating such technology with our own has been… difficult. Some leaders from Earth are not pleased with how this was allowed to happen, despite them coming away with the least amount of damage, and technically none if you count the fact that a hunter will fix any damage once I can get one over there.”

Noel nodded. “I see. Anything else? Or is that it?”

“No, it gets worse. While I’m slowing reestablishing contact with as many hunters as I can, I had to do so through—fuck, we really need an actual name for the place—hunter headquarters first. I’m sorry to say that it was attacked by giants like the one you encountered.”

Noel was silent for a moment. “How bad?”

“At least two hundred hunters lost their lives. Twenty for every giant that participated in the assault. But as I said, I’m willing to bend the rules and some of our losses will be irrelevant. Perhaps it was their plan to attack and wound us gravely, or perhaps it was to show that they have the power to hit us like this. I will not be intimidated by this, and neither shall you. Though I don’t think that the Mary Sues were expecting us to be able to replace half our losses in that attack.”

“Half? Why half?”

“Some hunter’s souls were taken or consumed. We cannot revive them. Same goes to any other hunter who has suffered the same fate during this time. Any with intact souls, however, are being revived as we speak.”

“So there have been no… adverse side effects or—”

“Don’t worry about that,” he interrupted, knowing what else Noel was going to ask about. “However… some hunters that have been revived have indeed been brought back changed, unfortunately. So that is unaltered, for better or worse.” He sighed. “There are still battles going on all around the multiverse. However, it appears that whatever Maria did to interfere with the portals not only made it difficult or impossible but progressively more difficult the more times you try to open a portal to a specific universe.”

Noel fidgeted nervously at the implications of this. “So you’re saying that, if we’re not careful and don’t use our portals sparingly, it’ll reach the point that it’s eventually impossible for anyone to open a portal? Even for one such as yourself?”

“Eventually, yes. I would give it one hundred portals max before even I can’t break the barrier between worlds, even at my full strength. For any hunters on that world I would only advise opening ten portals and no more, unless instructed otherwise. Use that number wisely. Still, the alternate method should work once we fully implement it but it’s taking longer than I’d like.”

“It’s just one bad thing after another!” Noel shouted, raising his arms in the air in frustration. “Does this mean that the Mary Sues can essentially maroon us here whenever they like?”

“No, I’m certain they can’t. I’ve already tested out that theory and it appears as though they do not affect the portals whatsoever when they use them. It’s a small blessing, one that I would rather not have to be necessary in the first place but I’m thankful for it all the same. However,” the Archon said, his spirits a little higher than before, “I did find out that my personalities have absolutely no problem communicating with me between universes, aside from the Alexander debacle. This is because I had another personality in a different universe at the time of this event and I was able to communicate without the portals.”

“Sir, you’re not going to—”

“I am. Specifically Isaac and Abigail. If you need to contact me just talk to one of them, though you’ll definitely get more accurate responses from Abigail.”

“Okay, I can understand sending Isaac, but why Abigail?”

“It’s what I decided on doing. This will not result in a similar situation as Alexander, and I realize that I shouldn’t have sent that bastard when someone else would have worked much better.”

Noel clenched his fists in anger. “Why did you send him, then?”

“It was honestly in the spur of the moment. And I happened to be in a battle at that exact time so my attention was definitely split.”

Noel relaxed, but he wasn’t entirely okay with the decision. What was done was done, though. “I see.”

“There’s more.”

“Seriously?” Noel responded incredulously.

“I was working on a top secret project called the Forges of Kalotoroth. I don’t know how the Mary Sues found out about it but they attacked it just as it reached completion and have taken it under their control. I’m organizing an assault to recapture it as it is absolutely vital to our war effort.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“I know, that’s the point. A few more things and we’ll be done here. I’ll be taking some hunters under your command and have them join the assault, since they are no longer needed in… wherever you are.”

“Equestria, sir,” Noel corrected.

“I really don’t fucking care right now,” the Archon snapped back.

“Sorry, sir.”

“Anyway, continuing on. I also noticed something horrible. Somehow my favorite staff was stolen! You know the one with the green gem in it?”

Noel paused and raised an eyebrow. “That… seems very inconsequential in comparison to everything else.”

“It’s my favorite staff!”

“Can’t you simply replace it?”

“Fuck no, I can’t!” the Archon shouted. “I mean, sure, I have a bunch of swords and staffs but that one, along with my favorite sword but specifically my staff, are special! I can’t replace them! It’s impossible without the proper funds, which I do have but that’s beside the point, and I’d have to start over from scratch!”

“What do you mean?”

“Ugh, they’re bonded to me. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to track it, for now. It’s one of the few spells I didn’t bother casting on it because I didn’t expect something like this to happen.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that and I’m sure you’ll find it eventually.”

The Archon sighed. “Well… one last thing I suppose. I need to take a look at your memories. Specifically your first engagement here since I didn’t get full reports on that. I’ve already picked apart Alexander’s memories so I already know everything on his end. Then I’ll need to examine more memories later.”

Noel sucked in his breath. His mind immediately went to the hunter that he had failed to protect. He didn’t want to know how the Archon would handle that information in his current state. Plus he was in the perfect position to just come through the portal himself and strangle Noel if he felt the desire. “I, uh,” he stammered, “don’t think that’d be a good idea.”

“I will rip them out of your mind if you don’t cooperate.”

“Well, you see, I can’t!”

“One.”

Oh no please! “I mean, you don’t need my memories!”

“Two.”

“I’ll just go get Chloe or-or Todd!”

“Three.” There was a splitting pain as the Archon breached Noel’s mental barriers without hesitation and with very little resistance. Though, even if Noel had put up a fight, the Archon would have had very little trouble regardless. He was quick to find what he wanted and absorbed the information quickly. What the Archon found did nothing to alleviate his already bad mood. He copied the rest of the memories, as well, deciding that he would look over them later. When he was finished he released Noel’s mind. Though the man remained silent, Noel could tell that he was in trouble. “Seriously,” the Archon finally said flatly.

“I am… truly sorry sir.”

“This happened.”

“I forgot about him and… I failed in my duty, his safety should have been my priority.”

“You’re damn right it should’ve been!” The man was shouting. If there was any doubt that the Archon was angry before, it certainly wasn’t the case now. “I mean God fucking damn it, Noel! Really? You just forgot about a hunter, one of your own soldiers, dying in agony in the fucking dirt and you could have easily saved him? Oh sure, we make mistakes but shit! Forgetting about something like this is really no excuse! And then you go and have a fun chit chat with that dentist! Yeah! Yeah, that’s great! You can go and have fun, just forget about your own fuckin’ men I mean Jesus fucking Christ.” There was a loud sigh from the Archon. “You can be damn sure I’m not letting this go without punishment.”

“I understand,” Noel said, bowing his head in shame. “And I will accept any punishment you bestow upon me.”

“Good! Because I’m stripping you of your command of the hunters on this world. If you do well, you can earn it back, but for now, I’ll eventually be sending in another commander to deal with things in your place. And finally, your squad shall be participating in the assault on the Forge but you will be staying behind.”

Noel gasped. “But sir—”

“No buts! I’m aware that they normally work without you anyway, but that’s only for missions that aren’t serious and most hunters work solo for the vast majority of missions anyway. You running solo for the most part is no exception. But now, you’ll know they’re putting themselves in danger, with their safety at the forethought of your mind. And you won’t be able to do anything about it. Be glad that’s all I’m doing. Besides, I can detect how powerful you are right now and you’re still too weak to do much of anything anyway. Until whatever Alexander did to you wears off, you’re out of commission. I’d say about a week of rest minimum until I’d trust you with guarding a rock.” Out of the portal walked out two other humans. One male and one female. “Isaac and Abigail will remain here. I will require them to speak with the rulers of this world. If you have to speak to me, talk to Abigail, as I mentioned before. Dismissed.” With that final word, the portal closed and left a stunned Noel.

He understood the punishment but he wished it weren’t necessary in his master’s mind.

Isaac walked up to Noel and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I am sorry that this had to happen. My thoughts go out to all those who have lost their lives. And it pains me to see people choose violence instead of seeking other solutions.” Isaac looked different from Alexander. For one, he was caucasian, he was taller by a few inches, his eyes were green and he had brown hair. He, along with his other counterpart, wore the same clothing that Alexander did when he first showed up. His mentality was also supposedly different. He was a vegetarian, a pacifist, soft-spoken, and a kind man, always thinking of others and working to ensure their feelings are not hurt. In other words, the complete opposite of Alexander in almost every way.

“I appreciate the concern, Isaac,” Noel responded with a smile.

“Come on,” Abigail said, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. “We’ve got work to do.” With that, she teleported them both to the entrance of Canterlot. Once they were there, there was another flash and the colors of their clothes changed. Though, the clothes themselves did not. Everything on Isaac was colored entirely blue. Abigail’s was purple.

Abigail…. Noel was unsure what to make of her at some moments, as she was essentially the Archon but in female form. Yet, at the same time she was entirely different. Noel theorized that, because the two were so alike, that was why the two were so different. Or they were fucking with him. She was the same height as Alexander, Hispanic, thus, sharing the same skin tone and hair color as he did along with the same brown eye color. She was not the most amazing person to look at, but she wasn’t exactly ugly, either. Abigail was competent in thought and planning, thus consistently relied upon by the Archon to attend to diplomatic matters. Supposedly.

The trio made their journey into the city, though Noel did not know where their exact destination was. He looked at Abigail, unsure how to ask the question that had nurtured itself in his mind since the defeat of Alexander. It was only now that he just thought of asking it. “Uh, Abigail,” he said. She looked back at him, ready for anything he might say. “Or, sir… I mean—”

“When we are in private or with people I consider friends, you may call me Abby,” she interrupted. “However, in public you will refer to me as Abigail. Only a few people get to call me Abby.” She shook her head. “Anyways, if you wanna speak to the boss just tell me and I’ll repeat his response verbatim. Do you need to speak to him now?”

“Yes, I do.”

She paused but did not cease in stride. Her eyes went ahead, staring up at the sky for a brief second before settling back on Noel. “I just communed with him. He wants to know if it’s important.”

“It’s not, exactly. Curiosity more so than anything else.”

Another pause. “By the way, he’s a little busy with something so there will be some time lag in between responses as I relay messages back and forth. However, he can try taking direct control of parts of my body and talk to you that way. He says you can ask but he may or may not have an answer for you.”

“Thank you. Can he talk through you, please? The pauses might get a little annoying if we continue like this.”

There was a flash of green energy in her eyes. She stumbled slightly before stopping, waving her arms to regain balance. After a few seconds her right eye flashed purple. “Okay. Trying to completely control another body like this as if it’s my own, even if it’s just a part, through two separate universes at once is incredibly difficult. Definitely going to be a one time thing,” the Archon said with her voice. “What is it?” she… he… asked. Abigail resumed pace.

“Okay, first, do I refer to you as male when you’re talking to me like this or what?”

“Ugh,” he/she groaned with a roll of the eyes. “If you’re talking to me directly just use male… pronouns or whatever.”

“Thank you.” Noel breathed a sigh of relief. “So… sir. A child?”

“Yes… a child,” he responded, confused. “What kind of child? What child are you referring to? Does this have any importance or are you just wasting my time?”

“Sorry, I mean… I was unaware that you had a child.”

“Three, actually.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You didn’t ask and no situation came up where that information would ever be relevant or useful to you. Thus, unimportant.”

“But—”

“If you want to talk about this more personally, we can. However, this conversation is entirely irrelevant and wasteful of my time. Call me when you have something that’s actually important to talk about. Otherwise, stupid questions like this should be directed at Abby. In fact, any questions you have should be addressed by her first since you may not know what constitutes stupid and important in my mind.” With that, Abigail’s eyes flashed purple, leaving her in complete control once again.

Noel was left stunned. How was that a stupid question? Abigail brushed past him. “Let’s get going,” she commanded without looking at him.

Noel shook his head and joined her and Isaac as they continued their journey. Nary a word was said between the three. All around them the city was slowly being repaired by the hunters. Hunters, meta-humans and ponies alike were busying themselves with tasks, moving to and fro in a bustle of activity.

After some time had passed he decided it prudent to ask a more relevant question to break the silence. “So where are we going, exactly?”

“The palace,” Abigail responded.

“To speak with the princesses I assume?”

“Yes.”

Noel nodded. “Is there any particular reason why haven’t we just teleported there, then? Surely you have the power to easily do so?”

“We do, and given tomorrow, I’m sure you could as well.” She gestured with an arm at the city around them. “However, hunters who may need us should be able to find us quickly without having to search around if we make ourselves noticeable.”

“Ah, good idea.”

Just then there was a shout of, “SUSPECT MOVING INTO SECTOR 6!” The three turned their heads at the source and saw a group of royal guards along with a hunter chasing a male pegasus.

The pegasus quickly passed by them. When his pursuers got close enough, Noel stopped one of the guards with an outstretched hand. “Guard, what’s going on?” he asked, though he had a suspicion he knew exactly what was happening.

The guard gave a quick salute. This guard’s equipment was unlike the other guards. His armor was heavier-looking, and instead of the standard-issue spear (at least, that’s what Noel assumed from what he had seen so far) he wielded a halberd. “Sir, we’ve been ordered by Princess Celestia to aid the hunters in tracking down any Mary Sues still in the city. We’ve also been instructed to report to a man by the name of Noel about this should we encounter him.”

“I’m sure she meant me then.”

The guard saluted again and held his pose. “Reporting for duty, sir!”

Noel would have responded to that but he noticed his two companions were continuing their journey without him. “Where are you going?” he called out.

“You can deal with this on your own, I believe,” Abigail called back, waving him off. “And you have friends to call upon if required.”

Noel shrugged and turned back to the guard. “At ease.” The guard lowered his hoof. “I didn’t sense that pegasus was a Mary Sue, why are you chasing after him?”

“That was no pegasus, sir. It is a changeling and we have reason to suspect that it is working with the Mary Sues.”

“Changeling?”

“A shapeshifter, sir.”

Master might find that very interesting. Noel mused. “Very, well. I want to see how this plays out so I’m going with you,” he declared.

The guard nodded, took off and searched his surroundings. He found what he was looking for and he called back down at Noel, “I’ve found them! Follow me!”

Noel took off. However, he was still weak. Teleportation was out of the question and pumping magic into his muscles wouldn’t help at this point. He was quickly losing in this chase. He tapped his communication crystal. “Todd!” he said.

“Yes, sir?”

“We’ve got some royal guards chasing after a potential Mary Sue sympathizer, can you teleport to my location and help me out?”

Todd responded with action rather than words. Noel explained quickly that they needed to follow the pegasus guard. With Todd there, he was able to keep much better pace by levitating his friend to his side and jump from rooftop to rooftop as they followed the guard.

*Abigail*

Abigail and Isaac were on their way to the palace. However, Abigail stopped them momentarily by raising a hand when she noticed something. The two walked up to a band of hunters, all carrying the corpses of their comrades. “All of you,” she called out, getting their attention.

They immediately knew who it was and the leader spoke up, “Ma’am… we were not aware of your arrival.”

“Of course not. I’ve barely been here an hour. Now explain to me why these hunters are dead.”

They all looked at each other in confusion. “I’m… sorry, but are you asking me why they’re dead, or how they died?”

Abigail facepalmed. “I mean, why are they still dead? Did you not receive your orders to revive them or were these hunters drained of their souls?”

The leader looked nervous. “But… what about the—”

“Don’t worry about them coming back changed. If it happens, it happens. But even with that small chance, each hunter is too precious to waste right now. This is an order from the Archon himself. Do not disobey your orders and spread the word, if you have to.” Abigail and Isaac turned and walked away.

The hunters behind them knew what would happen if they protested. So they set the bodies down and got to work.

*Noel*

The changeling had dropped its disguise by now and was cornered, and there was a pegasus with it. They were holding off the guards but the one hunter was completely immune to any of the attacks made by the pegasus, marking it as a Mary Sue. In fact, the pegasus was actually fairly useless in the fight, with the changeling doing most of the work. The changeling was using strange wind powers to keep the rest at bay, but with it outnumbered and surrounded, it would only be a matter of time before there was a gap in its defenses. Noel called up to their pegasus guide, saying, “You go on ahead and help out! We’ll catch up! Don’t worry, they’re not going anywhere.” The guard nodded and sped headlong into the fray. “Todd, have you figured out the threat level of the Mary Sue?”

“My scanners say it’s just a level zero,” he said, looking through his rifle scope.

“Anything about the ally?”

He shook his head. “No, nothing.”

“This is troubling. I can’t sense the MS.”

“I noticed that, too. Want me to take it out and then we let the royal guard deal with the changeling?”

“No… let’s go down there. For some reason the MS is just trying to survive. But it’s not killing anyone and being very careful about the environment around it. Something feels a little off here… I want to see what happens.”

Todd nodded and levitated Noel again, jumping near the scene. If the Mary Sue’s powers weren’t disabled before, they were now as soon as they entered the vicinity but the royal guards were still being kept back by gusts of wind.

All, that is, except for the one that guided them there. The pegasus rushed and tackled the Mary Sue, shrugging off the last, desperate, pitiful attack it made with its weakened powers. Noel looked on with interest. So… we have a potential hunter with us.

The changeling saw his comrade go down. “Azure Flight!” it called out. That was all the opportunity that the other guards needed and they went straight for the changeling while the hunter switched targets and helped pin down the Mary Sue. “Don’t kill him!” the changeling shouted at the hunter as the man drew a plasma pistol and pressed it against the head of the downed pegasus.

“Stop,” Noel commanded. The hunter looked up, baffled, as his leader walked towards the changeling. He bent down and stared it in its insectoid eyes. “Why not?” Noel asked.

“What?” Now that Noel was up close, he could tell that the changeling’s voice was no different from a pony’s. He had been expecting some difference due to its bug-like features but he was mistaken.

“You heard me. Why should I not give the order to execute that thing?”

“He…” it paused, “because he tries to help others. I just want him to go home where he can be safe again.”

“Cute. You know, a lot of Mary Sues say they are doing everything for the best, that they’re going to fix everything. And technically, they do. But they’re manipulating people without giving them the choice to accept them. They’re anomalies, and their very existence destabilizes worlds. In fact, you’re probably being manipulated right now.”

“I’m not,” it snapped.

“Said every single fucking person being manipulated, ever. There’s always that chance. You’re helping one after all.”

“Of my own free will! I was hired.”

Noel tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. “You’re a mercenary?”

“An assassin, to be more precise.”

Noel glanced at Todd, who shrugged, for a moment before he looked back at the changeling. “Why’d they come to you?”

“I don’t know, they didn’t tell me. All they did was hire me but I never got any contracts. But when I found out about their… actions… I knew that what they were doing was wrong. That’s why, if I can… I wanted to offer my services to whoever might be fighting them. Turns out that happens to be you.”

Noel examined the changeling. It turned out that the little bug actually had some innate resistance. That made two potential recruits. And if there were more shapeshifters like it around… the Archon would be very pleased at that information.

Noel rubbed his chin. “What is your name, and am I correct in assuming your gender is male?”

“Gust. And yes, male.”

“Okay. I’ll consider taking you in for training but I promise nothing.” He got up and went over the Mary Sue, who was still pinned down with the pistol to his head. He ordered the hunter to step aside, who did so reluctantly. “Both of you,” he said to Todd and the other hunter, “power down. But be ready.” They did as they were commanded, if a little hesitant at first. Noel sat on his haunches. “If you try anything,” he said to the Mary Sue, “we kill you. This is a one time only thing and I won’t offer you the chance again in any shape or form. Get out. Open a portal and go home, and stay home. If any hunter sees you again, there will be no mercy. Do you understand?” The pegasus merely gazed up at Noel. Noel asked for a pistol, this one shooting bullets, that Todd always kept on his person and aimed at the Mary Sue.

Mary Sues classified at threat level zero are at the lowest for a reason. They have difficulty understanding anything. Trying to reason with one is akin to trying to hold a conversation with a brick wall. Noel did not expect it to be any different from the others… which is why he was shocked when it nodded in understanding, got up, opened a portal, then left. All traces of it gone.

“That was… unexpected,” Noel said, tossing Todd’s pistol back to him. He was about to go over to the changeling when he heard a whine signifying the charging of a plasma pistol. Right next to his head.

“You shouldn’t have let that thing go,” the hunter said.

Todd aimed at the other hunter immediately. “You forget yourself, soldier.” If he saw even the slightest hint that he would pull the trigger, Todd would fire without hesitation. The only thing stopping him was that his fellow hunter did not have his finger on the trigger itself, but if that changed….

The ponies looked on, not sure what to make of the situation, or who to support. “Killing me will not help our cause,” Noel calmly stated.

“You know we’re supposed to kill those things wherever we find them.”

“Yes, that’s correct. But there’s no rule specifically saying we have to kill them no matter the cost. We are allowed to retreat or let them live if it benefits us, whether that be the long or short term.”

“I fail to see how this is beneficial.”

“That Mary Sue was a level zero. It understood the threat it was facing and retreated. If I’d executed it outright like I was originally going to, I wouldn’t have found out that information.”

The man lowered his weapon and holstered it. Todd lowered his, as well, but was still ready if the man tried anything. “Did you have some suspicion of this?”

“Not really. I felt like it was a coincidence but thought nothing of it. In truth, I expected the exact opposite to happen. This was blind luck, really. And what’s one level zero when they outnumber us by so many?”

The man looked away for a brief second. “Forgive my insolence.” He paused for a moment. “But if this turns out badly, at least it’s not on my head.”

“You’re not wrong there. Now go on, I bet you’re needed elsewhere.”

“Yes, sir.” He saluted and teleported away.

Todd walked up to Noel. “That was risky.”

“It was. But with recent events I think we’re all on edge right now. I know I am. If I was at full strength I would have shoved his face through the pavement.” He made his way towards the changeling, still held down by the royal guards, with Todd following him.

“Through the pavement?” Todd said with a disbelieving chuckle.

“Oh I would have done it, too. Not like it would’ve solved anything. And then I’d be the one in trouble.” Well, more trouble than I’m already in.

“Yes you would.”

Noel stopped in front the guards. “What were Celestia’s orders when it comes to hunter business?”

“She said to obey you in matters concerning it, unless she says otherwise,” a random guard replied.

“That’s kind of flattering, actually. Still, I’m going to ask politely for this. I would like to request that this changeling be brought into hunter custody. Whoever is in command here may decide if that’s a good judgement call.”

The guards looked at the one who had spoken before. He mulled it over in his head for a few seconds before speaking. “Very well,” he said. “Release the prisoner.” Those under his command did as they were told and the changeling went over to Noel when he motioned him to do so. “Don’t make me regret this,” the guard said.

“I can’t make any promises about that, sorry.”

The stallion shook his head and took off, the others prepared to follow him. Noel was able to stop one of them, though, before he got away. “You there,” he said, pointing at the flapping pegasus that had guided Noel and Todd to the situation.

He looked around and pointed a hoof at himself. “Me?”

“Yes you.”

The stallion landed in front of Noel, while the guard leader flew down. “Is there a problem, sir?” he asked.

“Not necessarily. I just want to speak to this young lad.”

“As you wish.” He flew off along with the rest his stallions.

The remaining guard looked a little nervous. “Do you need me for something, sir?” he asked.

“What’s your name?”

“Thunderbolt Sentinel, of—”

“Just your name will do.”

“Yes, sir.”

“No need to call me sir. I’m technically not in command by order of my master.”

Todd’s eyes widened slightly. “What?” he asked out of disbelief,

“The Archon stripped me of command not more than an hour ago.”

“Why?”

“I’ll… tell you later.”

Todd’s eyes narrowed. “Is… is it really wise to go around still acting as though you’re still in charge, then?”

“As far as I’m concerned, he hasn’t officially announced that and hasn’t let every single hunter know about it yet, even though he easily could have done so himself or by ordering me to. I think he’d be proud of me for using this as a loophole.” Todd looked unconvinced. “I believe I know my master better than anyone on this planet. Trust me, I can get away with this.”

“If… you say so,” Todd said, worried for his friend.

“It’s not important right now anyway. What is important is what Thunderbolt here is capable of.”

The pegasus raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“Like Gust here,” Noel continued, gesturing at the changeling, “you have an innate natural resistance to the Mary Sues. You’d make a good hunter.”

“Are you offering to have me join your ranks?”

“Not necessarily. I’m just making you aware of this fact. I know full well you obviously have a life here, with duties to Celestia and Equestria. I would like for you to come to the palace with me so that she can be made aware of this. Then we’ll see what happens.” Thunderbolt’s mouth worked up and down but no words came from his mouth. “We’ll teleport there. Regardless of whether or not you decide to become a hunter—or if Celestia allows you to—Celestia will have to be made aware of your resistance.” Thunderbolt nodded. “Before we go, though,” Noel continued, turning his attention to the changeling. “Gust?”

“Yes?”

“Are there any more of you?”

Gust tilted his head. “Like… assassins? Or…?”

“Changelings, I mean changelings. Are there any more of your kind?”

“Yes, many more. Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering.” He turned to Todd. “Get us to the palace.” Todd nodded and with a flash of light they were standing outside the palace doors. There were two hunters stationed right outside, along with two strange-looking royal guards. These guards, like Thunderbolt, were different from the others as they had purple cloaks. They stared at the human and changeling newcomers. Their gaze was an unsettling one. Like they were daring for something to happen. As if they were being judged.

“Noel,” one of the hunters said, “the Archon’s… um, constructs, have requested that you come to the throne room.” The ponies remained silent but kept their eyes trained on the changeling and Noel. Noel thought it likely they were not taking action because they assumed that the changeling was in the custody of Thunderbolt. He decided that he didn’t want to contend with these particular pony guards at any point in time if he could help it.

“I was heading there anyway,” Noel said. He turned to Todd again. “I need you to bring the rest of the squad here. Archon’s orders. Tell them to head to the throne room. I’ll meet them there. Or they’ll meet me there.”

“I can do that.” And Todd was gone again in another flash.

Noel tapped his remaining two companions on the head. “Let’s go you two.” And they went inside.

_____ Turns out the rest of his squad beat him there. Both princesses, (and of course, Isaac and Abigail) Twilight, who was sitting in front of Celestia and Luna, her friends, and for some reason even Discord was there.

“The fuck is that thing?” Abigail said, jerking a thumb at Gust. Twilight and her friends turned their heads and shot to their hooves as soon as they also saw the changeling, ready for a fight.

“Noel, why is there a changeling in the throne room?” Celestia calmly asked.

“Oh so that’s what it is.”

“He’s here for a reason,” Noel responded. “But don’t worry, he’s been taken into hunter custody.”

“Regardless,” Abigail said, “aside from the guard and the changeling, this conversation is for the current occupants only. They’re going to have to wait outside.”

Thunderbolt saluted. “I will watch over the changeling,” he said while dragging the changeling outside.

“I have a name…” Gust said right before the doors were enveloped in a golden glow and closed.

“Now for the finishing touch,” Abigail said. She twitched a finger and the entire room was surrounded by a shimmering field that flickered out after a second. “Now no one can listen in on us. Time to get to business.”

“Abigail and her companion, Isaac,” Luna said, “were just telling my sister and I about a proposal from the Archon. But they wanted to wait until all currently gathered had arrived.”

This should be good, Noel thought.

“I will show you something that the Archon had spoken to Noel about.” Abigail conjured a purple crystal with a flat side, and something that looked like some kind of projector built into it, then lazily tossed it onto the ground in the center. When it hit the ground, it righted itself and an image appeared above everyone’s heads, except for Discord, who was floating around it.

“Oooh!” Pinkie exclaimed happily, “a movie!”

Abigail raised an eyebrow but otherwise ignored her. “What you see before you is a model of an experiment that the Archon was working on. It is the Forges of Kalotoroth. You can also refer to it as simply the Forge if you like, by the way. Or whatever rolls off the tongue best,” she finished, waving her hand around a little.

Luna raised a hoof. “What is this Forge of Kalotoroth?”

“It is one of the most ambitious projects conducted by the Archon to date. It is an experimental war factory that belongs to the C.D.E. thus, the Dragon Autarch.”

“C.D.E.?” Celestia asked. “Dragon Autarch?”

Abigail smiled. “Even the Archon has someone he must submit to. As for the C.D.E. it stands for the Celestial Dragon Empire.” Twilight made a mental note that she no longer had to ask Noel what C.D.E. stood for.

“I see. And why are you telling us this?”

Abigail sighed. “When Maria set her plan into motion, it was at the exact time that the Forge was finally completed. In one swift move, our enemies then captured the factory right from under our noses.”

The room was silent until Luna spoke up. “Surely you have blueprints of the factory? Can you simply not build another one?”

“In theory we could,” Abigail responded. “Though funding another project of this scale is impossible. Plus, building a factory exactly like this will take too much time. This forge is too important.” She snapped her fingers and the image changed, revealing a sun next to the factory. “It is situated next to a star. It then uses the energy output of the sun to create whatever we need. If it goes into overdrive, it can extract materials directly from the star itself. So it is capable of creating war machines, ships, weapons, replicate any technology and almost any item, and any raw material that we need. In short; it is a superweapon, and possibly the greatest expression of our technology.”

This is a device that is among the stars themselves? Luna thought in wonder. “Your people have explored outside of your own planet?”

“Into space?” Twilight thought aloud with glee. Her eyes were wide in fascination and a wide smile adorned her face.

“Not just explored. I like to think we have conquered the stars. With the Forges of Kalotoroth, that makes it a bit more literal.”

“This is all very impressive,” Celestia said, waving a hoof. “And my condolences go out to your people for losing such an important device. I now have a strong impression as to why you told us of this. So please, confirm or deny my suspicions. Why are you telling us this?”

“We want help in recapturing the Forge.”

“As I suspected. Why should we help you? What’s in it for us?”

“Princess?” Twilight asked, tilting her head at Celestia in confusion. Were they not friends with the hunters? And if the hunters served the Archon, that made him a type of friend. If the Archon served the Celestial Dragon Empire, did that not make them friends, as well? The hunters had helped Equestria, why would Celestia not offer to return the favor?

Even though she had only said one word, Luna understood exactly what Twilight had meant with her tone. “It seems you have much to learn about ruling, Twilight Sparkle,” she said, draping a wing over the younger alicorn. “Watch and learn.”

Abigail smirked. “We are prepared to offer a trade of sorts. Do well in this assault and aid us in further matters and we shall be more than willing to consider a somewhat more permanent alliance.”

“I am listening,” Celestia said. On the inside she was intrigued, as was Luna, but she showed no outward emotion. Millennia of diplomatic relations with other countries had taught her well. But she always outlived the other races. And experience could not be handed down through the generations. Sooner or later, she would always talk with a new diplomat or a new ruler. Aside from the dragons, that is. But they preferred to keep their own council, and isolated themselves from the rest of the world anyway. Now she was faced with an entirely new opponent. One who was more than willing to talk. And if things went well here, one who could offer both an intellectual challenge and greater opportunities for Equestria. “What do you have to offer?”

“A factory. It is similar in both function and technology of the Forges of Kalotoroth but nothing quite as fancy as the Forge itself. The Archon himself designed it. It has a somewhat personal value to him and he’s quite proud of it. But he is willing to give this technology to Equestria, along with any instructions on how to operate it.”

“Shall you be providing the means to transport it here?”

“Yes. I recommend having a square kilometer of space, preferably on flat ground. Or we can discuss that in later detail. This deal will only matter if you significantly contribute to the assault, after all.”

Celestia nodded. “Understandable.”

“So do we have a deal?”

“Yes. I will speak with you in greater detail about this factory later.”

“Excellent.” Abigail dispelled the projected image with a smile. “I shall leave the choice of who you will send to you. I don’t really care who or what you send as long as your choice can pull their own weight.”

Twilight saw her chance. She raised a hoof and shouted, “I volunteer to help!”

Celestia was about to protest but Twilight’s other friends joined in. They all voiced their opinions quickly and offered to go along. It warmed her heart to see her ponies working together, bound by such strong bonds of friendship… however…. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Twilight.”

Twilight’s ears folded back against her head. “But why not?” she asked. She knew she could help, but this was also her chance to explore and study new magic. Even study how an entire race’s other technology worked.

“I am aware that you wish to help, but I cannot risk the Elements of Harmony in this situation. If things go well, there will be other opportunities for you, I am sure of it.”

Twilight opened her mouth to protest but eventually bowed her head. “I understand, Princess.” It was as the princess said; there would be other opportunities. She just had to be patient.

Discord, who had remained silent up to this point, thought to himself. This was his chance to get out and explore without being reprimanded, while also gaining more of Sun and Moonbutt’s favor. Perhaps they would allow him more than just an hour of free time to spread chaos, and in a larger area. It was also the perfect opportunity to really exercise his powers (what if he was getting rusty?!) and give the Mary Sues some payback.

“I believe I should go!” he announced, fireworks going off randomly.

“Oh no way!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flying up in his face, nose to nose. “Like we’d let you out of our sight!”

He slowly pushed Rainbow away with a single talon before responding. “I believe that the decision is not up to you.”

“Discord…” Celestia slowly said. Luna ruffled her wings in annoyance.

Discord knew that scolding tone anywhere. “Oh, Celestia, I just want to help! Do you not trust me?”

“I most certainly do not,” Luna asserted, stomping a hoof.

Discord gasped and put a paw to his chest. “Why Luna! I’m hurt!” He leaned in close to Luna’s face. “However,” he said, “I believe that lovely Abigail here said that the decision falls to Celestia here….”

“I did technically say that,” Abigail confirmed. Now how will you handle this, Celestia…?

“Discord,” Celestia said calmly and patiently, “why do you want to help?”

“Oh come now, Celestia! As I said, I just want to help out! And besides, I’m one of the good guys now!” He conjured a glowing halo above his head and smiled innocently.

Celestia sighed. “I will allow this.”

“Sister!” Luna stepped forward but Celestia held up a hoof to stop her.

“However, I want to attach a condition. Luna shall also participate.” She knew full well that Luna was protesting because, despite Discord having proved that he had been on good behavior (and admittedly a vital asset in helping bring Equestria back under control), he would be outside her watchful gaze. She was actually the first who had argued against freeing him for a second time. “She will go, or you do not go, Discord.” Luna stepped back in satisfaction, a smirk on her face.

Discord merely shrugged.

Abigail’s hands met together in one loud clap. “Then it looks like it’s been decided,” she said happily with a grin.

There were grumbles from Twilight’s friends, particularly Rainbow Dash, but none of them were about to oppose the princesses. Twilight herself kept composed. There will be other chances. There will be other chances, she told herself. Discord just got lucky. That’s all.

“When shall we be leaving?” Luna asked.

“Within the hour. I suggest you prepare. Noel’s squad shall be accompanying you throughout the Forge and you shall recieve your orders directly from me. Er, I mean the Archon, technically. Who is me….” She waved her arms around, pointing in different directions to represent herself and the Archon while continuing to ramble on before eventually stopping herself. “And… well you get the point,” she finished. She shook her head. “Anyways. However, while he will be giving the orders, he will only do so if he needs to direct you to a specific objective. Other than that, how you handle the situations thrown at you shall be largely left to yourselves. You will be given a contact stone if you require assistance or something.”

“Understood,” Luna said.

“Oh,” Abigail exclaimed. “One last thing, Noel shall not be participating in the assault.”

Everyone’s attention was drawn to that. Celestia raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?”

“In his fight with Alexander, he was weakened and is not fit for combat duty at this moment. There is another reason, however….” Abigail crossed her arms and looked at Noel, who had been trying to remain as small as possible, not that it did him any good at this point.

He took the hint and sighed. “I am currently being punished. Part of that punishment entails that I shall not be participating in the assault, as well as the fact that I am being stripped of command of all hunters on this world.” He did not want to mention why he was being punished just yet.

Abigail noticed this and was about to push the point further but was quickly shot down by a very disapproving Archon and a concerned Isaac. She instead turned to his squad. “You five get ready for deployment,” she commanded. “Report back here with whatever equipment you feel like you might need. Chloe is in charge.”

They all saluted and teleported out, except for Chloe. She went up to Noel, placed a hand on his shoulder, and stared him in the eyes. There were no words exchanged between the two, there didn’t need to be. She teleported out, as well. Though it was brief, he could easily tell from the expression on her face that she meant to give him some manner of comfort, and he was glad for that.

Luna nuzzled her sister. Celestia turned and furiously embraced her sister. They were confident in their abilities. But they also knew that there was the small chance that Luna or even Discord might not return. Or both.

“Come back safe, my sister,” Celestia whispered.

Luna pulled away and nodded. “Of course. When have you known me not to return victorious from a battle?” Luna replied smugly. Celestia rolled her eyes slightly and smiled. Luna gave one last look at her sibling and teleported away.

The Archon had been busy. He had managed to get into touch with meta-human command, and once he had the authorization, he had ordered Abigail to send out mental commands to various hunters, and meta-human commanders, letting them know that they would be needed for the coming battle. Having finished that task some time ago, she was stuck playing the boring waiting game, along with everyone else.

*Luna*

Ten minutes didn’t even go by. Noel’s squad had come back quickly since all they really needed to do was stock back up on any ammunition or bring extra weapons, and Simon had a box strapped to his back. Luna was the last to arrive. A sword hung at her hip, and someone like Abigail and Isaac could feel the power radiating from it. She was wearing armor with symbols of the moon etched into it, and it glimmered with a silver light. It was a remnant of ancient times that Celestia had kept safe. Enchanted with techniques long since forgotten, the armor was a part of her very soul and had served her faithfully in every major engagement she fought in. Luna would occasionally equip it every now and again; to reminisce in the feelings of battles long gone. But it was never the same.

With current times and the world so at peace, she did not expect to ever bear arms like the old days. Now, however, she felt the fires of nostalgia burning in her heart as her body, so used to years of combat, prepared itself for the rigors of battle as a force of habit.

Abigail teleported those required for the assault out of the throne room and onto the fields outside of Canterlot. All around Luna were thousands of meta-humans who had been requested to serve along with hundreds of hunters. A giant portal was opened and the coalition poured through with their gunships, tanks, and other vehicles, or even teleportation. Discord continued without hesitation, chuckling all the while. Luna took one last look at Equestria before going through. As she did so, she silently vowed that, not only would she return victorious, but she would do her part in establishing Equestria’s place as an even bigger superpower.

*Throne Room*

With some free time, Noel decided to tell Celestia something. It was one of the many things on his mental list to talk to her about and he definitely knew that neither of them had the time to go through all of those things at the moment. “Celestia,” he said.

She turned to him, a smile on her face now that things weren’t quite as serious now. “Noel, it’s been some time.”

“It has.” There was an awkward pause and Celestia idly played with her hair while the Elements watched them. Noel coughed. “Uh, well… Banana Prince told me the next time I see you to tell you that you still owe him… for… something… I’m still not sure what, though.” As he was talking Celestia slowly raised a hoof to her face. “Thinking back on that, maybe I should’ve asked him about that…. I mean, what—”

Celestia cut him off by groaning loudly. She sank down to her stomach and covered her face with her forehooves and her wings.

Twilight decided to step in at this point. “Um, Princess, what’s he talking about?”

She removed her wings and hooves from her face. “It’s not… it’s just… it’s not important right now and… ugh…. Ugh!”

All the Elements gave each other quizzical looks, while Noel and Isaac stood there looking impassive. In Isaac’s case, it was because he had absolutely no idea what to do. He eventually settled for sitting down on the floor, cross-legged. For Noel, it was because he knew Celestia was a big girl. Thus, he would let Celestia ride this out on her own.

After about thirty seconds, Celestia stood up and cleared her throat. “I hadn’t expected him to remember my debt after so long,” she stated.

Noel rubbed the back of his head and idly wished that his helmet wasn’t damaged. He wasn’t entirely sure how to ask this question, but knew that it had to be asked at some point. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off when Abigail teleported in, dusted off her hands and said, “Sorry that took so long. I was just finishing up making sure that strike team alpha was being directed to a specific ship.”

“Strike team alpha?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Huh?” Abigail raised an eyebrow. “Oh! Yeah, that’s the codename that the team that Luna and Discord are on have been given.”

“Oh.”

Abigail scratched her chin. “That kind of killed the mood of what I was about to say. Made it less dramatic. I can make do, however.” She cleared her throat. “Now then, I think we have a few things to talk about.”

*Strike Team Alpha*

Where are we? Luna thought.

All around the seven was a large expanse of white… and seemingly nothing else. They could see things, but at the same time, they saw naught but white surroundings. Luna, the only one who seemed out of her element in the mysterious place, repeated her question out loud.

“You are in a storage crystal,” a voice replied, “which your bodies have currently been dematerialized and safely stored inside of. This particular crystal is reserved specially for you.”

“Who are you?” Luna asked.

“I’m going to take a guess that it’s the Archon,” Discord said, his arms behind his head as he floated relaxedly throughout the space of the crystal.

“Correct. Good guess,” the Archon said, slight amusement in his voice.

“Well of course it was a good guess!” Discord finished with a chuckle.

“Anyway. Your team is going to be referred to as strike team alpha. Your objective is to head to the control room in the Forge. Once there, I can begin the process of retaking complete control, and expel any enemies that remain. I will provide directions and advice when necessary. However, you should not rely on me as I am trying to make sure they do not succeed in using the Forge’s factory capabilities against us. And, honestly, you’re probably going to be getting more orders from one of my apprentices that I’m sending to help oversee the assault. If you absolutely require help, I can make sure that Delta Squad is diverted to provide assistance. However, I have faith in the seven of you. We should make this quick, but do any of you have any questions?”

“Yes,” Luna said.

“Ask away. But uh, ya know… hurry up.”

Luna raised an eyebrow but continued on nevertheless. “Is this crystal safe? What if our transport is destroyed?”

“The MKIII turtle transport may be weaponless, but it’s the most advanced transport we have and we’re sending a few hundred of them in for the assault. And don’t worry, even if one transport is destroyed, the crystals are all linked together into a network. So even if your original transport is blown to tiny pieces, the network will remain intact. We truthfully only need one transport to make it, but it’s best if all of them reach their destination in order to deploy throughout the Forge for maximum efficiency.” The Archon huffed. “Funny. Any of the warships we’ve sent against this factory, even some of our most advanced and newest ones, have all been destroyed. But the turtles aren’t taking a single loss because of their insane defensive capabilities.”

“I see. One last thing.”

“Go ahead, you have less than a minute left until you’re inside. Oh, and,” suddenly two white crystals materialized before Luna and Discord, “take these negation crystals, just in case.”

Luna took hers and so did Discord, attaching them around their necks. “What should we do if the assault fails? If this factory is as powerful as you say, surely you do not want it to fall into enemy possession? Thus, should we destroy it as a last resort?”

“Under absolutely no circumstances will this factory be allowed to be destroyed. If it appears that this assault starts going to shit, then our remaining forces will retreat and then I and my friends shall get involved personally.” Luna would have said more to that but the Archon spoke before she could. “Looks like you’ve arrived. Prepare for rematerialization. Good luck.”

*Throne Room*

“There’s a lot of things to go over,” Abigail said. “But I think that that changeling has been waiting outside long enough.”

Noel reached out with his mind and requested permission to commune with Abigail, who accepted. ‘We should bring in the guard, as well.’

‘Why?’ she responded. Out loud, she command Isaac to go get the changeling and the guard, and included him in the mental conversation, as well.

‘Both of them have innate resistances to Mary Sues, they could make potential hunter recruits. Also, the changeling was going to be captured by the Equestrians. For what reasons, I don’t know, but I believe he’ll be better off with us than whatever treatment he might receive in a prison. Even if that treatment is good, I think we can both agree that he’ll serve our purposes much better.’

‘I’m assuming that the word changeling means it can change its shape or something?’

‘Yes, and there are more of his kind.’

‘Then I think the Archon should know about this,’ Isaac suggested. ‘Or at least be involved in this conversation personally.’

‘This sounds very interesting, actually,’ the Archon’s voice rang out amongst their heads. ‘I would love to know more about this. But I am busy with something, so we’ll have to do it later. You said that this guard and the changeling could be potential recruits?’

‘Yes,’ Noel responded. Just as he did, Isaac finished bringing in Thunderbolt and Gust. ‘I believe we’ll have a better time getting Gust—’

‘Who?’

‘The changeling.’

‘Oh.’

‘Anyway, we’ll have an easier time getting Gust to join us than the guard, Thunderbolt Sentinel. But if Celestia allows him to join our ranks, that’d be great.’

“Noel,” Isaac said out loud, “would you like to explain why these two are here?”

“Certainly.” He beckoned Thunderbolt and Gust over.

‘We’ll speak about this later and stuff, as I said,’ the Archon remarked. ‘But if you can, try and make a case for both and get them to join us. I’ll be listening in on this as much as I can.’

‘Yes sir.’

As soon as Thunderbolt and Gust stood beside Noel, he could tell that the Elements were looking tense, at least one, Fluttershy, he remembered, with a mixture of fear. All except for Pinkie, who just kept on smiling like always. Noel had no idea what kind of history the changelings and Equestrians had for the Equestrians to be so openly hostile or fearful, but he was sure he was going to find out soon. The only two ponies in the room who weren’t showing any of these hostile signs were Celestia and Thunderbolt.

“Celestia,” Noel announced, “there is something important you should know about Thunderbolt Sentinel here.”

“Oh?” she responded, raising an eyebrow. “And just what might that be?”

“He along with Gust here have a natural resistance to Mary Sues,” he said. He patted the changeling on the head, who tried to swat away his hand but Noel quickly pulled away before he could.

“That… is actually quite interesting.”

“Celestia, I wanted you to be aware of Thunderbolt Sentinel’s ability. This is because I have a request. Two, depending on how you look at it.”

She tapped a hoof on her chin briefly. “I have a feeling I know what it is, and it could not hurt to hear you out.”

“Thank you. I would like to request to have Thunderbolt Sentinel join the ranks of the hunters. That is, only if he decides to join, and if you’ll allow it. He is one of your royal guards, after all.”

“Hmm.” She smiled. “Sergeant Thunderbolt Sentinel, would you come here for a moment?” she requested soothingly. Thunderbolt did as he was asked. Celestia knelt down to his eye level. “I would like to thank you for your faithful service to Equestria. Regardless, while you would be missed, I shall not prevent you from making your own decision.”

Thunderbolt beamed. “Really?”

“Yes. You are free to join the hunters if you would like to do so.”

“I would like to join the hunters, then!” he shouted, happily. “I feel like I could make a contribution, and offer a pony perspective.”

“Diversity wouldn’t be a bad thing, as far as I can see,” Abigail commented offhandedly. Noel nodded in her direction.

“So,” Thunderbolt slowly said, “what should I do now, exactly?”

“Give us a few minutes,” Noel instructed. Thunderbolt nodded, went back to Noel’s side, and stood at attention. “Well, that’s one thing out of the way. I have one last request.”

“Go ahead.” Celestia gestured with a hoof for him to continue.

“The changeling Gust was captured by your guards, earlier, but I asked that he be brought into hunter custody, as I would like for him to become a hunter, as well.”

Rainbow Dash jumped into the air, beating her wings madly. “Woah, woah… woah!” She flew closer to Noel’s face. “Hold on a second there!”

“What in tarnation are you thinking, Noel?!” Applejack agreed, having risen to her hooves, as well.

“I’m thinking about recruiting a changeling as a hunter,” he responded with a raised brow.

“Are you insane?”

“Given how old I am, probably, to some extent. Doesn’t change the fact that I want the changeling as a hunter.”

“Well you shouldn’t!” Rainbow insisted.

“If I may have a word,” Isaac said as he stepped forward between Noel and Rainbow. “Your name is Rainbow Dash, correct?” She nodded. “And you are Applejack?” The farm pony nodded, as well. “Well, it is apparent that the two of you feel very strongly about the issue of the changeling joining the hunters. If it would not be too much trouble, would you mind sharing your thoughts as to why this is?”

“They’re evil!”

Isaac opened his mouth to respond but Noel beat him to it. “So?”

“So you can’t trust them,” Twilight added and stepped forward. “And you shouldn’t trust them because of what they are, and what they’ve done.”

“Excuse me,” Gust interjected. “But I believe you’re referring to the attack on Canterlot. I am not and never have been affiliated with Chrysalis’s hive, so I was not involved in the attack.”

Twilight’s mouth hung open slightly for a second before she said, “Okay.”

“He could be lying though!” Rainbow pointed out.

“He’s not,” Applejack said.

Rainbow looked at her for a moment. “Well, it still doesn’t change the fact that they’re evil!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Evil! Eeeeeeeeviiiiiil!” Abigail wriggled her fingers, pursed her lips, and finished with, “OooOOoh!”

Noel crossed his arms, “Seriously though,” he remarked, “how and why are they evil?”

“Well they could potentially infiltrate anything,” Twilight informed, “and they’re a fan of kidnapping and replacing your loved ones.”

“Which sounds like a valuable skill.” Twilight’s eyes narrowed at this, and the three humans in the room could feel some kind of tension rising.

“Yeah, well, while they’re at it they drain the love of others, leaving them, like, weakened and stuff!” Rainbow retorted. All the other ponies nodded either vigorously or slightly in agreement.

Abigail and Noel exchanged looks. “Yeah… I think we’re okay with that.” All the ponies, except Celestia, who merely raised a brow, gaped when he said that. That was probably the wrong thing to say.

*Strike Team Alpha*

Luna had felt nothing to indicate when she had been dematerialized into the crystal when she had stepped through the portal. However, being rematerialized was another matter.

She struggled to hold in the contents of her stomach for a few seconds. It was not unlike the first time she had teleported a long distance and had overexerted herself in the process. Except, instead of just merely being uncomfortable, this was painful.

It was also during these few seconds that she felt an arrow bounce off her armor. As soon as she felt the nausea pass she made her way to the nearest hunter, keeping herself a moving target in the meantime. Idly thankful for the enchantments holding together, she got a look at her surroundings.

They were all in a room, one with seemingly no immediate way to physically retreat. There were two hallways, both leading to a single passageway. There were a few hastily built barriers, with the Mary Sues launching a variety of attacks from behind. Chloe stood at the forefront. “Luna and Simon with me!” she commanded. All the blasts of energy, magical or otherwise, that struck her were ignored completely as they dissipated harmlessly. “Everyone else take the right side and head towards that opening!”

As familiar as she was with commanding soldiers, Luna decided that it would be best to defer to Chloe’s judgements, as her own experience with battling Mary Sues was unfortunately lacking. So she obeyed Chloe and followed her lead.

Chloe jumped over the barrier, stabbing an MS through the throat. On the other hand, Simon crashed into the barricade, sending it tumbling forwards and crushed the legs of another opponent underneath its weight while Simon kept charging through. Luna dispatched the MS by driving her sword through its cranium and moved on to keep up.

The two hunters continued onwards, each of their strikes connecting with something. Luna hung back slightly, and dealt with any stragglers that her allies passed by. The small skirmish did not take more than a minute and already the team was reunited at the doorway.

As soon as they did, a metal slab sealed the entrance. Chloe took one look at the obstacle, put her hands on her hips and chuckled. “Alright, who wants to knock it down? Or should we give everyone a shot?” The communication crystal in her gauntlet signaled her that a call from the Archon was coming through. “Yes sir?”

“Team, I’m monitoring your progress as best I can through any of the cameras. The further you go into the Forge, the easier it’ll be for me to regain control of the factory. Now, your ultimate objective is the control room. But your immediate objective is the auxiliary power room, which is just beyond that door. The central power grid is offline but we’re in the process of taking it back.”

“Isn’t it kind of pointless to secure either of them? Wouldn’t the control center allow them to just shut down either of them?” Chloe asked.

“I specifically designed it so it won’t work like that, exactly. The control room can only deactivate the central power grid if I’m the one who enters the code to do so. Otherwise, it can only activate the Forge’s production and defensive capabilities. The shields and the energy that allows it to fabricate the materials for war machines are reliant on the central power grid, but also the auxiliary power room. The auxiliary is completely independent, and in order to shut it down you’d have to destroy it. Unfortunately, having either generator operational is still allowing them to produce some basic stuff, which I have absolutely no control over right now.”

“Would it not be wise to shut the whole factory down until we have secured it?” Luna asked.

“The shields need the factory to be on, which relies on the power generators. You do know we’re basically right next to a sun, right?” the Archon replied.

“Yes. What of it?”

“…You do know what happens if you’re too close to a star, right?”

“These metal walls should provide us adequate protection, should they not?”

“Fuck no, not from the gamma radiation without the shields. And if the radiation somehow doesn’t kill you first, the heat sure will. So unless you want everyone on this station to die, then we need at least one of the generator rooms to be in our control.”

“Gamma radiation?”

“I… you know what? We don’t exactly have time for this. But I appreciate the thirst for knowledge. My apprentice shall take over for now.”

“Thank you, my lord,” a male voice said. “Strike team alpha, this is Nasion,” for some reason, Todd giggled at that, “I will be providing information about the auxiliary room’s current condition.”

“Anything we need to be concerned about?” Chloe asked.

“There are some platforms where the factory will deposit finished products. There are multiple Mary Sue overseers managing critical locations. One of those overseers is inside the room trying to cut off the power. The shields protecting the generator itself are holding but let’s not tempt fate. Oh, and try to avoid breaking too many things in there.”

“Yes, sir,” all the hunters said, and with that, the connection cut off.

“Well,” Chloe began, “I’ll ask again, who wants to break down that door?”

“I’ll handle this,” Discord said, striding forward. Everyone moved out of the way to make room for him. He stood there for a second and began stretching, joints audibly popping, among other movements. After he finished, he took a deep breath, let it out slowly, raised a claw against the door….

And flicked it clean off its hinges. Chloe giggled while Luna shook her head. “Did you really have to do that?” Chloe asked.

“Yes, yes I did,” Discord replied. Some of the others chuckled at that.

She rolled her eyes and the team went through the opening. When they were inside, they found that the place was like a dome. There were five platforms. The center, which was where the generator was. The other four platforms were all connected by bridges to the center one. However, the two to the hunter’s left and right sides both had a strange device integrated into the walls hovering above them. The one at the opposite side of the room was a platform identical in design to the one the hunters were currently standing on and was likely another way to get in or out of the auxiliary room. Each had two catwalks attached, instead of a wider bridge. Below at the bottom were pools containing either molten metal or lava, though it was probably the former. These pools were constantly being fed but the level did not appear to be rising, so the metal had to be going somewhere. They were thankfully so high up, that the heat wasn’t reaching them. It would make for a nasty ending if one were to fall, and if the fall somehow didn’t kill you, then the heat would eventually, for sure.

The first overseer, a human Mary Sue, sensed their presence instantly. She turned away from pounding at the generator, tightened her grip on her war-hammer and strode forward. “This,” she shouted, “is our forge now! You are all trespassers! Go back now! Or I will see that you never return!”

“Pfft,” Chloe muttered under her breath. She jumped high into the air and landed behind the overseer, who turned around quickly to face her new opponent. “Funny, I’d like to see you try,” she taunted.

The overseer shouted and brought her hammer down. Chloe sidestepped the attack and out of the corner of her eye she saw her allies take up various positions. The overseer was about to bring her hammer up but she struggled when a blue aura stopped her. Then a shot rang out as a bullet from Todd severed one of her arms and she cried out in pain. Chloe took her opportunity and skewered the overseer through the chest. She also felt just a twinge of hunger….

Removing her sword from the wound and letting it drop to the floor with a clang, she gripped the overseer’s head with her right hand. Then she began to feast on the soul of her enemy.

Unfortunately for Chloe, it wasn’t much of a meal. Regardless of this overseer’s threat level, she was a four or five but no greater, the soul was lacking in strength. It was a snack at best. When she stood up from the lifeless corpse she retrieved her sword. The runes glowed when she picked it up and the blood was absorbed into the sword. Luna walked by her and Chloe noticed a feeling of wariness coming off from the princess. Perhaps she was not used to someone like Chloe… not to mention she had just observed one of her many feeding habits. But at least Luna was not making any kind of fuss about it, for now.

Discord suddenly decided that, given their current situation, this place would benefit greatly from some fitting music.

Chloe and Kayla raised their eyebrows, while Luna looked unfazed. “Where the hell is that music coming from?” Kayla asked.

“Discord,” Luna deadpanned.

“But… but… how?”

“Discord is Discord.”

“I….” Kayla’s eye twitched, though her helmet hid that. “Okay.” Discord chuckled to himself.

“I must admit; that battle was shorter than expected,” Luna said casually.

“Good work team,” a voice rang out. It sounded like Nasion. “I’ll make sure some more hunters and meta-humans are redirected to your position to keep the area secure.”

“Where are you?” Luna asked, looking around trying to find the source of Nasion’s voice.

“I’m talking through a speaker in this room. I was watching that short little fight the entire time. Now that the overseer is gone, it’s easier for me to help regain control for the Archon. Oh, and I’ve disabled the factory’s production platforms now, so there won’t be any nasty surprises in the meantime. Those reinforcements should be there in about five minutes.”

This should be no problem trying to defend this position, Chloe thought.

“We’ve got a problem over here!” Todd shouted from the other side of the generator. Everyone else quickly ran to that side and they saw a gigantic, lumbering, metal beast. It was just coming out of the entrance, which it barely fit into.

“Nullification golem!” Chloe exclaimed in fear. Did I do this? Did I jinx it? If I did then that is so fucking unfair.

*Throne Room*

“How is this okay with you guys? How does this not bother you!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Abigail and Noel exchanged brief looks. “Honestly,” Noel said, “we’re not that picky with our recruits, especially these days. And Chloe kind of already does the same thing.”

“So she drains the love of others?” Fluttershy asked timidly.

“Eh… yes and no. She can, but she really doesn’t do it as a means to survive because she finds it ineffective. So not exactly part of her feeding habits.”

“But she doesn’t shapeshift, does she?” Twilight asked.

“No, she can.”

“Do all humans… do that?”

“No human can do that. At least, not naturally or without magic. Chloe can do so naturally but she’s not a human.”

“But I thought she was a human,” she claimed.

“So the horns sticking out of Chloe’s head and her helmet wasn’t enough of a giveaway that she’s not human? Or the eyes?”

“No. I assumed that she was another species of human. Just like how unicorns and pegasi are different, but still ponies in the end.”

Abigail laughed briefly. “Love to burst your bubble, but that’s not the case.”

All the ponies, except Pinkie, raised their eyebrows, but Twilight seemed to raise hers higher than anyone else’s. “I think, ‘Hate to burst your bubble,’ is what you meant to say.”

“I know what I said.”

“I—” Twilight hung her head and sighed. “You know what. Not important. I’m just basing this off my own previous experiences with humans.”

“I… what?”

Oh no, Noel thought, worried what the Archon might order Abigail to do….

“Oh, I was on Earth at one point as a human,” Twilight said casually.

“That’s impossible.”

“You’re telling this to somepony who has seen some pretty crazy things. In the past seventy-two hours, I’ve now seen even crazier things. I know you’re capable of opening portals to different worlds with considerable ease in comparison to us. Don’t talk to me about impossible.”

“No,” Abigail responded, shaking her head, “that’s not what I meant. I mean it’s impossible to get to Earth since we—the Archon is blocking all travel to and from there. Barring the current situation, of course.”

“Well, the world I went to was called Earth.”

“…I would like to discuss this further at another point in time.”

“Why not now?”

“Because if we tried talking about everything you could possibly have questions for, we’d be here for a while. And by that: I mean we could be here literally all day and not be any closer to answering everything. Way too much to cover.”

“I think we’ve gotten off-topic,” Noel remarked.

“Yeah, I think we have.” Abigail turned to Celestia. “Celestia,” she said, “you’ve been quiet throughout much of this. What is your opinion on us taking the changeling for hunter training?”

She hummed for a second. “I decided that I shall allow this.”

“WHAT?!” all the Elements shouted.

“But why?” Twilight asked.

“Twilight, Gust is but one changeling. And he was not part of the changeling attack on Canterlot. Imprisoning him for the crimes of other members of his species is unjust.” Twilight pondered Celestia’s words for a moment before nodding in agreement. “However,” Celestia continued, “I have two conditions.”

“And that is?” Abigail asked.

“If Gust is to join you, then I request that he be kept under guard just in case, until he is brought to wherever you shall train him.”

“Gust?” Abigail inquired, looking down at him.

“I have no reason to run away. I won’t mind,” he responded.

“There you have it.” She looked at Celestia. “And your second condition?”

“If Chloe is not a human, then what is she?”

“She’s a demon. A succubus.” At those words, the room suddenly got very tense. Even Pinkie looked a little deflated.

Celestia ruffled her wings. “I can say that, without context, that would appear to be a very worrying thing in our budding relationship. Luna would have a much more hostile reaction.”

“I see.”

“However, seeing as you are reasonable people, I’m more than happy to give you the benefit of the doubt. I’m sure that you can assure us that Chloe is not evil.”

“I can’t speak for that, as I’ve never gotten to know her personally. Noel, on the other hand….”

He took that as his cue. “I trust her with my life. She does what she does in order to survive, and only to our enemies. If that’s any consolation.”

“It is,” Celestia said.

“Then I assume this part of the discussion is over?” Abigail suggested.

Celestia nodded. “Thunderbolt Sentinel, would you kindly escort Gust outside? Once you leave this room, say this phrase: ‘The sands are blue today.’ My personal guard shall take it from there.”

“As you wish, Princess.”

Once the two of them left, Twilight said, “Well, that’s one more thing out of the way.”

“Yeah,” Abigail agreed.

“On that note, I would like to ask a few questions about the hunters,” Twilight announced.

Noel almost audibly groaned. I wonder how my team is doing….

“Don’t let it reach the generator!” Carlotta commanded.

“What do you think I’m DOING!?” Simon replied in strain.

I’m sure they’re probably fine…. No, no they have to be okay.

“What would you like to know?” Abigail asked.

“The Archon mentioned that the hunters have rules and that Noel could explain it to me better. What’s so important about the rule about bringing the dead back to life?”

“Oh. That,” Noel said. He scratched the back of his head. “Okay, well, like you know, hunters can only revive non hunters who have been caught in the crossfire of Mary Sue engagements. But if someone dies otherwise, we can do nothing about it. And a hunter cannot revive another hunter. It’s a rule, but we’re not the ones who made it, nor was it the Archon, either, even if he also made some of the rules.”

“And like I said, it seems like you’re giving the Mary Sues an even greater edge. He also said that it was specifically put in place because something is watching you. Or us. I don’t know. What did he mean by that, and why bend the rules now all of a sudden?” All the ponies sat down, curious about what Noel had to say.

“When my master said something is watching us, he meant something is watching the hunters.” He suddenly looked nervous, as if afraid to broach the very subject. “If you’re a hunter you might be able to get away with breaking the rule once, but most of the time not even then. We… we don’t know what it is, but we just call it the Watcher.”

“What is—oh wait, that’s right. Is there something more you can say about it?”

“It stops but it also doesn’t stop hunters from reviving others at the same time. We don’t know its goals, or its reasoning, we just know that it’s there. This is probably the worst part about it. If you’re a hunter and you even think about disobeying the rules… then… you feel something focus its gaze on you. That’s your first warning to stop. If you continue your attempts, then you start to feel a sense of dread. It’s completely unnatural, even if you’ve never felt an ounce of true fear in your life. And even then, if you still somehow manage to continue, you die.”

“That’s horrible!”

“It’s even worse for the few hunters who literally cannot feel any fear. When they feel the gaze, that’s all they get. It is very unwise to provoke the Watcher. Even then, sometimes you don’t want to revive someone. If the Watcher doesn’t stop you then… sometimes people come back… changed. Not physically, necessarily, but mentally. At times you would never know, but with others they can be unpredictably violent or act like their complete opposites. Which reminds me,” he turned to Abigail, “why is the Watcher allowing hunters to be revived now?”

“I don’t know,” she answered. “Perhaps out of some sick sense of justice or fairness. Or maybe when Maria did what she did, she somehow cut off the connection the Watcher has to the hunters. But I wouldn’t bet on the latter. For now, anyway.”

“So then why was Noel able to bring the ponies in Ponyville back to life?” Applejack asked.

“Well,” Noel began, “it’s like I said. Sometimes you can get away with it, and sometimes you can’t. The only way to know for sure is if you try and then you feel the gaze. I technically broke the rules and I did use up more of my energy than usual but it was for a good reason.”

“So then why’d the Archon get on you ‘bout it then if the Watcher didn’t?”

“Oh, he always knows when I break a rule or something.”

“So how are you able to revive others anyway?” Twilight asked.

“Well, we hunters have these things called loadouts, and we each have two. Well, actually technically we have three. But the third one is always reserved for the revive loadout. Any hunter who doesn’t take it is looked down upon, and you’re seen as really full of yourself. And if you’re out on a solo mission, it’s strictly forbidden to not take it. But a loadout is a special ability, and there’s a whole bunch of them that I won’t even begin to list right now. Word of advice; just know that if a hunter tells you their loadout, don’t take it as a way to judge their character. It really doesn’t tell you much.”

“Word of advice taken. Is there anything else you might like to share?”

“Not particularly.”

Twilight paused. “Are you saying that because you don’t have anything else to share? Or are you saying that because you don’t have anything you want to share?”

“The latter, I think.”

“Why not?”

“That’s just a quirk of his,” Abigail interjected. “He doesn’t like talking about the Hunter Organization for very long, for some reason.”

“It’s true,” he confirmed.

Rarity didn’t know how she didn’t notice this before. Perhaps it was because of the worrying events that were happening out there. Or the fact that she was actually trying to pay attention to the details here. But this was horrifying! It was the most dreadful thing!

“So that means you can direct any other questions to me. Guess I’ll serve as the exposition,” Abigail continued.

“Excuse me darling,” Rarity said. “Before we do any of that, there is simply something I must speak with you and Isaac about and it is of the utmost importance!”

“Yes? Is something wrong?”

“Yes! Yes there is! I don’t know how I didn’t notice this before! Oh it’s just dreadful!” She put a hoof to her head, as if she were about to faint.

“Well what is it!?” Abigail shouted.

“Your clothes!” she said and pointed a hoof at Abigail. All the other Elements sighed.

“I… wait, what?” In the heads of Abigail and Isaac, the Archon started laughing uproariously. Abigail checked her clothes and that of her partner’s with a quick spell and found no danger. “There’s nothing wrong with our clothes,” she informed.

“Oh but there is. You see, I’ve only just noticed this, but when that horrible man, Alexander, was here, he was wearing the exact same clothes you are. Now, this would be a disaster if it were true. But I’m hoping that wherever you come from, the fashion style is not where everyone is wearing the same thing! Oh, and your ensembles are all one color. That is just dreadful to look at.”

“Uh, it’s just a coincidence if someone off the street is wearing the exact same outfit as you. When the Archon created us Alexander’s clothing was just the default at the time and he didn’t want to go through the hassle of changing it. We just changed the color ourselves.”

“Created? Hold on a minute. You’re not saying…?”

“Oh, yeah we must’ve not mentioned this. But we’re like Alexander.”

All the ponies tensed up again, but this time it was briefer. “But… not exactly like him, right?” Rarity asked cautiously.

“No. Oh thank fuck no.”

“He was still a colossal jerk when he was here,” Rainbow pointed out.

“Ah, yes, that. Now, I’m aware that Alexander may have not left the best impression—”

“‘Not the best impression?’” Twilight interrupted. “He killed Pinkie.”

“Uh, sugarcube? Pinkie looks pretty fine and dandy to me.”

“No,” Pinkie said, “it’s true. But Noel brought me back to life!”

Isaac fidgeted. “I knew we shouldn’t have tried to keep that quiet!” he said. He was trying to look as small as possible and his eyes were darting all around the room, attempting to avoid contact with everyone else.

‘Don’t tell them that you fucking dumbass!’ Abigail shouted in his mind.

‘Sorry!’

“But I’m still okay!” Pinkie assured everyone. “See?” She pulled out her party cannon and fired it, spraying confetti all over the humans.

Where’d she get that? Abigail wondered.

“I’m sure you can explain this situation,” Celestia said.

“Uh… Isaac, you wanna take over here?”

“If you want me to.”

‘Just get on with it,’ the Archon said to him.

“I mean of course! I’d be happy to fill in for you!” He stepped forward and cleared his throat. “I’m not sure what Noel told the rest of you, exactly—”

“That Alexander is a piece of the Archon himself,” Noel added.

“Er, yes. What Noel just said. However, as you can clearly see, Alexander is not the only one that represents a fragment of the Archon’s mind. There not only three of us, or four, or five but many more than that. And we are each a part of his soul, something we carry inside us whenever he puts us into a separate body. As multiple personalities, we embody a purpose that we were designed for.”

“So you each have a set purpose in mind?” Twilight asked.

“Yes. Some may view this as unfortunate. As we are, in a way, completely separate people, with our own wants and desires. But at the same time, we are not. We’re capable of acting like… ‘normal’ people but yet still one-dimensional. I represent the Archon’s inner peace and kindness. So please trust me when I say that I will never do anything to harm another living thing if I can help it.”

“So essentially, you’re a good guy and the complete opposite of evil?” Rainbow implied.

“I would not be so arrogant as to claim such a thing. That would make me a braggart.”

“Okay, we get it, you’re probably a nice guy,” Abigail said, rolling her eyes. “Now can we get on with this?”

“Let me guess,” Rarity deadpanned, “are you the Archon’s rudeness?”

“Oh ha ha, very funny. Why don’t you go f—ow!” She clutched her right eye and doubled over. “Okay, okay! I’ll shut up!” After she said that, she stood upright again.

“Who are you talking to?”

She almost opened her mouth to reply but closed it quickly. Isaac answered for her instead. “The Archon can see what we’re doing at any point in time, and he can feel our thoughts since we are linked to him. It also means he can give us instructions instantly, even across other universes. Or reabsorb us if need be.”

“That must come in handy,” Applejack stated.

“So then why didn’t the Archon stop Alexander when he turned on us?” Rarity asked.

Twilight perked up. “I believe I can answer that.”

*Strike Team Alpha*

“Luna, stop shooting magic at it!” Chloe shouted.

“Then how else am I to fight this automaton?” Luna replied. So far, any magical attacks had absolutely no effect on the golem. And while Todd’s weaponry was having better success than the rest of the team, it was only by a small margin.

“By not wasting your magic!” Chloe dodged a swipe from the slow golem, aware that even a single hit could possibly kill her.

Luna looked around frantically. There had to be some kind of mundane object lying somewhere. She spotted the war hammer of the fallen overseer and picked it up in her magic. Then she threw it as hard as she could at the head of the golem.

It bounced off with a loud clang but it sent the construct reeling. The hammer tumbled down and Luna saw it fall into the pits of molten metal. That gave her an even greater idea. Discord had been just about as useless as she was. Everything he had conjured into existence was immediately dispelled upon striking the golem. But now she had a plan.

She located Discord and flew over to him. “Discord,” she said.

“Yes?”

“Do you see that molten metal down there?”

“Yes.”

“How quickly do you think you can cool it down so that the heat does not kill us, and how much of it can you gather up here?”

“Instantly and as much as you want. Why?”

She smiled.

Knowing immediately what her plan was, Discord teleported a large amount of the metal to their location. It was instantly cooled down and shaped into makeshift spears. Eight of the spears were now floating in the air. Luna took four while Discord took the other half. She looked at the draconequus and they both sent one spear hurling towards the golem.

The projectiles struck true and pierced straight through the golem and it stumbled. Seeing that the job was not finished, Discord and Luna attacked with the rest of their arsenal, turning the golem into a pincushion. It finally ceased its movements moments later with all life from its glowing blue eyes vanishing.

Luna flapped towards the center platform, with Discord not far behind her. Just as she touched down, Chloe walked up to them. “Hey,” she breathed out, “thanks to the both of you. I don’t know how long we could’ve kept holding that thing off.”

“All in a day’s work,” Discord casually stated.

“You are welcome, Chloe,” Luna said.

Chloe nodded and tapped her communication crystal. “Hey, Nasion!”

“Yes?” he replied.

“I thought the Archon said that the factory is only limited to producing basic stuff for now.”

“It is.”

“You call a full on nullification golem fucking basic?”

“It’s basic for the Forge.” Just then, more hunters and meta-humans arrived from the door that the golem had came from. “These guys will stay here and secure the area. You can move on to your next objective.”

“Okay then. Where to next?”

“The control room is below you. Just keep going straight, there will be another large room. After that, just keep heading down.”

“Alright then.” Chloe cut off the connection and took another glance at the golem. “Let’s hope we don’t run into any more of those anytime soon. But just in case we do,” she looked at Discord, “do you think you can make more of those?”

“Certainly.” He conjured up twenty of the rods, all ready to go. “Have fun with those.” Simon walked up to the rods, took out a storage crystal, and dematerialized all the rods into the crystal. Don’t know why I’m doing this, I’m just gonna forget about it somehow if I don’t use them, He thought.

“Discord,” Nasion said through the speakers, “we could use your help throughout multiple locations in the Forge.”

“Oh? Well where do you need my services?”

“Here, take this,” one of the new arrivals said, throwing a slate to Discord, who caught it in his claws.

“Use your magic to absorb the information from that slate, you’ll know what to do next,” Nasion instructed.

Discord did so and he magicked away the slate to… somewhere. “Well, looks like I’m needed elsewhere,” he said. “Don’t have too much fun while I’m away you guys!” And with that, he snapped his fingers and disappeared.

“Come on, let’s get going,” Kayla said impatiently, already at the door. The rest of the team hurried and joined up with her. “Oh shit,” she said before they continued any further.

“Something wrong?” Carlotta asked.

“I just noticed that that song is still playing because it’s just continuously looping. And I forgot to ask Discord to turn it off before he left.”

“Huh,” Todd said, “you’re right. I didn’t even notice it.”

“Can’t say I agree about asking Discord to turn it off, though,” Simon added.

“It’s not terrible music but it’s not good either and I don’t wanna listen to it while we’re fighting!” Kayla responded.

“Fuck off, Kayla,” Chloe said. “This music is great. Really sets the tone.”

“Are we seriously doing this right now,” Carlotta deadpanned.

Luna stepped forward. “Kayla, you are a warrior who has seen terrible things. This is surely not among the things that should ever bother you.”

“Yeah,” Kayla agreed, “but it takes the edge off if you can just vent and be goofy when you’ve got a moment, you know?”

“Come on,” Chloe said and punched Kayla’s shoulder. “Suck it up. Let’s go.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever.”

Luna stayed still for a brief moment as she watched the rest of the squad continue on their way. “Hmm.” She trailed along behind them.

As soon as they entered the room they were supposed to go to, Chloe noticed something. Amidst all the details, it was out of the corner of her eye and she focused on it. It disappeared, having known it had been found out, but Chloe immediately knew what it was because of the insignia it was wearing on its chest. What’s a renegade doing here?

*Throne Room*

“Renegades?” Celestia asked.

“Yes,” Abigail answered. “As far as you know, there are two major factions directly involved in this battle with the Mary Sues. The Hunter Organization, and the Mary Sues themselves. However, there’s a third faction in the midst of all of this. And we really don’t talk about them much.”

“Who are they?”

“Well, to begin, they’re what the name implies them to be. They’re hunters who have gone rogue.”

“Why would they turn traitor?”

“They’re not actually traitors. They just disagreed with how we ran things. There was no great battle and no story with how they got away and we’re hunting them down. We let them pack up and leave with relatively no harsh feelings. Now they do things by their own rules. Mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“They’ve still got to obey the rule about reviving people, because the Watcher still enforces that one. A former renegade came back, with her memories wiped, and said she’d only joined the Renegades because she didn’t like how she couldn’t revive her friends. Turns out they all just had to live with that.”

“So what about any interactions with them?”

“Eh, we just let them have free reign. They may break every single one of our rules they think they can get away with, and we do fight them at times. But why attack allies who are helping you, even if they’re not conforming to your rules and only fight back in self-defense? Plus, it wastes a lot of our resources trying to find them since they can’t be tracked like Mary Sues. But you can tell who they are if they have an insignia visible on their chest, which looks like a closed red fist. Well, normally. I don’t think they’re obligated to do that. So basically they work in mysterious ways by helping us on the sidelines. They don’t directly interfere with us, and we don’t fuck with them.”

*Strike Team Alpha*

The room was bigger than they originally thought. It was large and cavernous. There was molten metal flowing down the sides of the walls into large pots and molds. There were four large platforms, each representing a different level. The unfinished weapons and other experiments were scattered around on the top platform. All around the hunters were the sounds of hammers pounding away. There were also assembly lines, but they remained silent for now.

“That dome there at the bottom,” Nasion said through Chloe’s crystal, “that’s where the control center is. Clear each platform first. Leave no survivors.”

“More golems,” Luna observed. “But they look different.” Indeed, these golems were smaller and had blue stripes on their shoulders. The vast majority were made out of rock but a scant few were made of metal.

“They’re not null golems but they’re still resistant to magic,” Chloe replied. “We’re better off smashing them with physical weaponry.”

“I believe that I can take care of this,” Simon said as he stood up and took off the box on his back. “Hold this for me.” He tossed it with one hand and Kayla caught it but had to use magic to steady herself and enhance her strength to not fall over. Simon glowed red and he jumped off with his ax above his head. The first golem barely had time to look up before Simon cleaved it in two.

“Should we help him?” Luna suggested.

“He’s using his rules of nature loadout,” Chloe said. “Trust me. He’s got this.”

Luna looked over the edge of where they were. How far down did he fall?

As if to echo her question, Kayla said, “This place is huge. How big is it?”

“This chamber alone is one kilometer in width, and a mile high in height,” Nasion answered.

“Holy fuck.”

That’s impressive. “Just how big is this factory?” Luna asked.

“In its entirety? Uh, I don’t know off the top of my head. But I know it’s about six thousand kilometers in diameter,” Nasion said almost casually.

“Impressive,” Todd said.

Luna’s brain stopped functioning for a moment. This so-called factory was so big that it could fit the entirety of Equestria inside it and still have room.

“That’s been about thirty seconds,” Chloe said. “Simon’s loadout should be wearing off now.”

Right on cue, Simon stopped glowing red but not before he used the flat of his ax to hit a metal golem so hard it went flying and pulverized another golem in its path. The rest of his team jumped down, sans Luna, their magic compensating for the fall, to provide support for him. Not like he needed it. The entire platform was almost cleared and there were only three golems left.

Luna, who had lagged behind slightly, soared towards the closest opponent. She struck the right arm with her sword and severed it. It clutched its arm in an imitation of pain and Luna idly wondered if it could even feel actual pain before she took off its head. While it confused her that these foes had fallen so easily, she wasn’t about to complain. When she looked to her companions, who had taken off ahead of her and engaged the rest, she saw that Simon and Chloe were having just as easy a time dispatching the golems as she was.

Kayla’s blade slid off the construct she was fighting and she jumped back before it had a chance to hit her. Simon came up behind it and took its head off.

“That was surprisingly easy,” Luna commented.

“Enchanted weapons are pretty effective against regular golems,” Simon explained.

“The first platform is cleared, head on to the next one,” Nasion instructed. “There’s an overseer down there, too, so be aware of that.”

*Throne Room*

“Yes, well, your entire apparel is all one color. It’s looks dreadful,” Rarity said.

The Archon laughed again. “You’re still on about that?” Abigail asked.

“It’s been bothering me this entire time. As soon as I have time, I will make you some fitting clothes so you don’t have to go around as a fashion disaster.”

“That might not be necessary because we don’t know how long we’ll be around until we’re reabsorbed again.”

“But thank you for the offer!” Isaac said happily. “Also, the Archon would like to apologize for sending Alexander here. He made an error in judgement. While he can’t physically be here at the moment, his wishes that it be known that he is genuinely sorry. Rest assured that Alexander is being punished accordingly, and will physically never set foot in Equestria again if you wish it.”

“That would be a relief if he never comes back here again,” Celestia said.

“As you wish.”

“I have a question,” Twilight said with a raised hoof.

“Go ahead,” Abigail said.

She pointed a hoof at Isaac. “He’s supposed to be kindness and inner peace,” she pointed at Abigail, “and you’re supposed to be planning, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then what possible purpose does Alexander have besides being… Alexander?”

“You basically just answered your own question. That’s the concept he embodies, and he can know nothing else. We’re really exaggerations of the concept or traits that we embody. Like, let’s get an example from one of you, we’ll have a fun little experiment.”

“You can use me, if you want.” Twilight stepped forward, eager to see how this played out.

“Alright then. Take any random trait about yourself. Something you like, something you hate, aspire to, could be anything, really.”

“I really like to study magic and learning in general.”

“Alright, that’s two things, we could work with that, but for the purposes of this experiment, let’s go with just one of those.”

“Okay, magic.”

“Alright. Let’s say the Archon used a spell to take a fragment of your soul, and then create a separate personality based on that with magic in mind. What do you think will be the result?”

“A personality that likes to study magic?”

“Close. You’ll end up with something that is completely obsessed with magic and studying it. But it’s merely a representation. It does not define who you are.”

“Ah, I see.”

“So, uh yeah. Not too hard to understand. Everyone get that?” There were nods all around. “Cool, cool…. Uh, now what?”

“So each of these personalities have names, right?”

“Does she always ask this many questions about stuff like this?” Abigail asked, turning to Celestia, who nodded with a motherly smile on her face, as did the other ponies. She turned to face Twilight again. “The answer to your question is yes.”

“So then what’s the Archon’s real name?”

“Twilight,” Noel interjected, “didn’t I already talk to you about this?”

“Ah ha!” she exclaimed, pointing a hoof at him. “Yes you did! But you said hunters can’t give out the Archon’s name. I’m essentially speaking to the Archon himself so he can tell me!”

“No,” Abigail said flatly.

“What?”

“The answer is no. For now.”

“Horseapples,” she said dejectedly.

“Anything else?”

“I believe I would like to pose a question,” Celestia said.

Finally, bet Twilight was going to keep asking me questions literally all day. “Go ahead.”

“Who is the Archon, the Autarch and the C.D.E. exactly? If we are to be working together in the future, I would like to know more about your people.”

“Oh goodie. Well, the Archon and the Autarch are rulers of the Celestials. They are two of the Six Great Heroes.”

“‘Six Great Heroes?’”

“Hold on, the Archon wants me to repeat him, verbatim.” She cleared her throat. “Funny honorary title given to us. We didn’t pick it, trust me. Certainly don’t feel like a hero in the traditional sense. Either way, yeah. People just gave that to us after the War of a Thousand Sins, which is a story for another time.” She shook her head. “Anyway. There’s me, the Archon, which is obviously not my real name, it’s just my title. Then there’s the Dragon Autarch, who everyone obeys. His wife, the Dragon Empress. Then there’s Irisell, the weakest of us, Gaveris, and my personal and most powerful apprentice, Sigrid.”

“Wait,” Twilight said, “you give us the names of the last three, but not the names of the Autarch, Empress, and yourself?”

“Yeah, weird, huh? They really don’t care if their names are out there. But the rest of us? We like our privacy.”

“I hope to speak with the Autarch and the Empress in the flesh soon at some point,” Celestia said. “And you, as well.”

“Thanks. If the Autarch comes here, he will give you his name personally. As will the Empress.”

“And you?”

“Eh, I’ll do it when I feel like it.”

Celestia giggled. Throughout the entire time, the Archon had felt a sense of familiarity coming from her every time she spoke, and he did not know why quite yet. But he knew he found himself very fond of that giggle. “Well,” she continued, “you’re certainly entitled to that right. Would it not be too much to ask if there are any others to whom you answer to?”

“The Autarch and Empress are the only ones in the entirety of the empire who outrank me, so they’re the only ones I obey in theory. In practice, the Empress knows it’s a good idea to say please and thank you whenever she needs something from me. But I won’t challenge the Autarch. I respect him enough as a friend.”

“Well, while you could not be here in person, perhaps we should feel honored you decided to give us the time of day, here,” she said playfully. “You must be very high in the social ladder.”

“You flatter me. And yes, I am. Hilariously enough, I can technically boss around the rest of the royal family. Though I don’t think the Autarch would appreciate it if I started ordering around his dad.”

“His father is not in power and still alive?”

“Yeah, he abdicated a long time ago. I can tell you the story later.”

“Please do, this sounds quite intriguing.”

“I’ll try to make some time for you.”

The conversation kept going as Noel listened with incredulity. Is… is my master actually getting along with somebody? I think he actually likes her! This was going better than he expected.

*Strike Team Alpha*

“Is she gonna run out of bullets anytime soon?” Carlotta shouted.

“Todd, you think you can take her out?” Chloe suggested.

“I’d prefer to not get killed! Thank you very much!”

Strike team alpha was pinned down on their third platform. This overseer had seen fit to prepare by setting up an intense anti teleportation field in a small area. She had a large minigun in her hands, which so far had been spewing an endless amount of bullets for five minutes straight. Thankfully for the hunters, but not their eardrums especially Luna, the multitude of pillars offered plenty of cover and they had to use their shields very little to protect themselves. And they were hoping to conserve as much energy as they could for future conflicts. Also, in their favor, the pillars, whenever damaged, repaired themselves through some strange magic that Luna had never seen before.

“You know what,” Kayla shouted over the din of bullets, “I’ve had enough. I’ll handle this. Watch our flanks.”

“What are—wait what the fuck are you doing!?” Chloe saw Kayla bound out into the line of fire. Instead of being turned into a cloud of red mist, Kayla vaulted and clung to one of the pillars. The overseer focused her fire on Kayla, who quickly jumped to another pillar, over and over again.

Chloe poked her head out from her piece of cover and saw that Kayla had made an impressive distance. Through multiple jumps, she had made it just about ten meters away from the Mary Sue. She made one last jump and landed behind the overseer who turned her weapon on Kayla just in time and fired. It would’ve been a grisly end for the hunter if the bullets hadn’t passed through an illusion.

Chloe couldn’t see the MS’s face but she imagined that her reaction was priceless when Kayla stabbed it in the back, kicked the overseer down, and finished her off with a stab through the head.

The rest of the hunters advanced and Kayla stood there, stretching, with a large grin on her face. “That was fun.”

“You couldn’t have done that before?” Carlotta asked.

“I honestly thought she was going to run out of ammo eventually,” Kayla replied with a shrug. Her grin disappeared and she flinched when she sensed a bullet get way too close for comfort. She saw that the shot had come from Todd and she turned around to see a Mary Sue falling down with a new hole in their head. She turned on him, vexation on her face. “Dude, you almost hit me!” she told him.

He walked up to her and looked her straight in the eyes. “Next time you’re going to do something like that, let us know first.”

“I did!” As soon as she said that, she knew she fucked up.

To Kayla, he looked way too calm. But she could see something spark in his eyes as soon she voiced her meager defiance. And it was something she hoped she would never have to see again. She’d seen and fought scary things before, things that weren’t Mary Sues. But she’d never seen something like this before. “Telling us, ‘I’ll handle this,’ is not a sufficient description.” Even his voice felt too calm. “I didn’t know what you were doing, and as soon as that overseer turned around, I saw a perfect opportunity to kill her…. I nearly shot you in the back.”

Kayla paused and her mouth hung open for a second before closing. “Oh,” she meekly said. Even with her helmet on and her eyes difficult to see, she felt like he was piercing her very soul with his gaze

“Think about that next time you want to show off.” He brushed past her without another word.

She shuddered, glad to be rid of his glare. All the others continued after Todd except for Luna and Simon. “You seem distraught. Are you alright?” Luna asked.

“I’ve never seen him like that before.”

Simon put one massive hand on her shoulder. She suddenly felt small. She didn’t know why, she was always smaller than this bear of a man. But she just felt smaller than usual for some reason. “He doesn’t like talking about it if he doesn’t have to. He’ll tell you if you ask him. Ask him about it when we have free time,” Simon said quickly.

“I… uh, thank you?”

“Let’s go.”

And so they joined up with the others.

*Throne Room*

“No. The meta-humans are from Earth.” Twilight had begun asking questions again. Noel had stepped up to answer. It was torture. And the Archon had abandoned him to this fate.

“So then how are they not from the Archon’s Earth?” she asked.

“I told you. It’s a different Earth. It was created separately. The history sure as hell ain’t the same, and it’s in the year 2,420, while the Archon’s isn’t.”

“Well how was it created?”

“We don’t know, and it’d probably be a waste to find out. We see universes that are similar to each other, but aren’t exactly parallel or alternate dimensions or something. This Earth is probably only named the same. Just like the Earth you probably visited. Either way, turns out the meta-human’s Earth is actually missing a continent. And according to my master, it’s not like it was one anyone would ever particularly miss. Oh, and the landmasses are completely different, too, apparently, despite also being named the same.”

“But then the meta-humans are still humans, right? Or at least they claim to be.”

“Right.”

“So then why are they called meta-humans then?”

“Uh,” Noel rubbed the back of his head and looked at Abigail, who just shrugged, “I can’t really answer that. You’d have to ask them yourself. It’s kind of a touchy subject that only they want to talk about.”

“I will as soon as I get a chance then. But it still doesn’t explain how the same species evolved in two different places, let alone two different universes.”

“And I told you, it’s a cosmic coincidence. We tried figuring it out, and nothing the Archon found or any of his colleagues was of any help in answering the question. Humans just seem to pop up in hundreds of worlds that we visit. Weird, I know. Also, dragons live here on the planet of Equestria, as well.”

“Mundus,” Twilight said flatly.

“…What?”

“The name of this planet. It’s called Mundus.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yes. Equestria is the country, not the planet.”

“So… have I been saying it wrong this whole time?”

“I don’t know—”

“It was a rhetorical question!”

“Alright jeez. You’re cranky today.”

“It’s just….” He sighed loudly and rubbed his temples. “I’ve got a bunch of files to change now…. Fuck.”

“It’s also called Earth!” Pinkie interjected.

“Yes,” Twilight breathed out, “that is also another name for our planet.”

“That actually seems to be a common thing,” Noel said, “bunch of planets named Earth. But many of them don’t even have humans on them.”

“Mundus means ‘the world,’” Abigail said to no one in particular, her hand on her chin.

“What?” Twilight and Noel said at the same time.

Abigail hadn’t been paying attention. “Huh?”

“What makes you say that?” Twilight inquired.

“Well, it’s Latin.” No one seemed to know what that was, judging by the blank stares. “Latin is a human language. Mundus is a Latin word and it means ‘the world’ in that language.”

“Strange. It’s just a name to us. It doesn’t mean anything else.”

“How did you know that anyway?” Noel asked Abigail.

“Uh, well, the Archon took a couple of Latin classes in high school.”

“Doesn’t a translation spell completely defeat the purpose of having to learn an entirely different language?”

“Okay, long story short; he had to pass high school. At the time it would’ve been too suspicious if this Hispanic kid suddenly knew how to speak or understand perfect Latin and shit. And he’s sure as hell not fluent. Pretty sure we just remember random words at this point. Oh, and it’s basically cheating.”

Noel huffed. “Okay then.” He shook his head. “Crazy Earth rules,” he muttered.

He didn’t remember how he even got into the corner or where the dunce hat came from.

*Strike Team Alpha*

“Could you two hurry it up!?” Kayla shouted.

“We can’t rush this, you know?” Carlotta calmly said over the din of weapon fire and magic blasts, even as most of the attacks washed over her and Todd harmlessly.

“We can’t hold them off forever!”

“It literally hasn’t even been thirty seconds, they’re all level zeros, and we’ve all conserved more than enough energy up to this point. You’re all fine, quit bitching.”

“Well—” Whatever Kayla had to say, it was muted when Carlotta cast a deafening spell on herself.

“So did Nasion say the blue wire is supposed to be cut, or the orange one?” she asked, two wires of the named colors pinched in her fingers as they stood before the panel to the door.

“It was the blue one,” he informed flatly.

“Cool.” She cut the blue wire and sure enough, the massive door that led to the control room opened. It was amazing. Even with all their combined might, the door absolutely refused to open, and showed no signs of damage when they tried to breach it. And teleportation was still not an option at that moment.

Carlotta quickly disabled her spell and shouted at the others to hurry through, which they did so with haste.

When they got inside, the doors behind them shut through courtesy of the Archon, and they found a multitude of species inside the control center. Many of which Luna had never even imagined. There was a strange creature that looked like a lizard but whenever it was fired upon, it collapsed into hundreds, perhaps thousands, of tiny creatures.

The Mary Sues took very little losses as they immediately began to retreat. Luna noticed one particular thing, however. At one of the desks with flashing lights stood a bizarre human. It appeared normal but there were red glowing lines across his face. Perhaps he was using some kind of artifact or an illusion to change his appearance?

His allies grabbed him and pulled him away and Luna saw for the tiniest moment that the lines on his face changed from red to blue. And just like that, the fight was over and it hadn’t even lasted more than a minute when the MS’s opened portals and rushed through to safety.

“Fantastic,” the Archon’s voice rang out, “I now have complete access to the Forge once more and we’ve just recaptured the central power grid. One moment please.”

Just then, a feminine and metallic voice rang out. “Automated security systems online. Eliminating hostiles.” Screams could be heard outside the control room, accompanied by the noise that Luna had learned to associate with the strange energy blasts that Todd fired from his ranged weapon. It was a gun, if she remembered correctly.

“Strange,” the Archon stated, “I’m looking at the camera footage for the control room. I could sense all the Mary Sues except for the one at the console. As soon as he was pulled away, I suddenly had complete access to the factory again.”

“Perhaps it wasn’t a Mary Sue?” Carlotta suggested.

“You think they’ve got some kind of mercenaries or something?”

“I can definitely tell that it wasn’t a MS,” Chloe said. “I couldn’t sense him at all. But everyone else, yeah, they went off on my internal radar.”

“…Fuck. This is troubling. However—”

“Hostile forces at: twenty eight percent,” the voice rang out.

“Who is that?” Luna asked.

“That would be one of the factory’s AI. I haven’t given her a name yet. And before you ask, AI stands for artificial intelligence.”

Luna shut her mouth. Though she wanted to ask what an artificial intelligence was in the future. How could one’s intelligence be artificial? And why would this woman not have a name? She was obviously not given one at birth, but why? The more she thought about it, the more she really wanted to ask the Archon so many questions. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure if he would be willing to do so. And judging by the tone of his voice, she did not know if he was in an eternally foul mood or not. She also did not want her reward for participating in this battle to be the answers to her questions. She doubted he would do that, but she did not want to risk such a thing.

“All hostile forces eliminated,” the woman said. “Awaiting further instructions.”

“Huh,” the Archon said in surprise. “It looks like whatever Maria did just wore off completely.”

Just at that moment, Discord popped into the room with a flash. “Oh, we won didn’t we?” he said.

“That appears to be the case,” Luna answered.

“Yeah,” the Archon agreed. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll open a portal to make sure you’re all sent home. Good work, all of you.”

*Throne Room*

“So,” Abigail said, “just a few things to cover real quick. Here’s a brief summary of the rules I wanted to cover. Um, the revival rule is something we’ve covered yeah. Some exceptions, some not. Then there’s the no direct interference one. Which is… kind of open to interpretation. But basically, the hunters go to a planet, do their thing, and then leave. They can’t make or influence any decisions for the indigenous populace. Whether on behalf or against them. No staying longer than necessary unless invited. Then there’s no killing non-Mary Sues unless in self-defense, and no plotting out events to instigate such a situation. And just in case said hunter tries that, because there’s no way to enforce the last part of that rule, all hunters actually deal far less damage to a non-Mary Sue. Annnnd… I feel like that’s it, for now.”

“Well,” Noel said, “there is one thing I’d like to mention. Hunters do have this weird thing that’s probably unique to each one. See, each hunter has a weakness, but none of us know what it is. That’s because it requires a specific set of circumstances to take effect, and if you somehow do find out what it is, it’s likely too late. I knew a woman who was a friend of mine. She was rising pretty fast in our ranks. Lots of victories, seemed like one of our best heavy hitters. Then one day she slipped on a banana peel and died.”

The Elements gasped. “That’s horrible!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks, but it was a long time ago.”

“So how did she die, then, exactly?” Twilight asked.

“That was her weakness. We call it the hunter’s bane, because we all have one. Once those specific conditions were met, she just died. No damage was done to her body, she didn’t cast any spells to prevent it… gone in an instant. Damn shame.” He shook his head. “Kind of insulting, too, when you think about it. But when the hunter’s bane goes into effect… any other hunter just knows that it happened to you. You, as well, if you’re extremely lucky to survive.”

“Also,” Abigail said, “Maria seemed to be particularly interested in this world. Enough to the point that she planned everything from here. So we were thinking of setting up an outpost on Mundus. Hunters will be stationed here on this world in case of emergencies. Unfortunately, it does imply that your planet is possibly under constant threat of Mary Sues. However, we can’t quite set it up without permission from some kind of authority to build it on this world. You just so happen to be that kind of authority. But if you allowed us to, it would be an alliance with the Hunter Organization.”

Celestia tapped her chin. “I will allow it,” she finally said after some time. “But where will you be building this outpost?”

“We were thinking of… the Everfree Forest? I think it’s called?”

“That is completely fine. But such a place is dangerous and outside of pony intervention. Are you sure your hunters can survive there?”

“Well, with that warning, we’ll be sure to be extra prepared. It shouldn’t be a problem.” She paused for a moment. “Well, it looks like the battle was won.”

“On the Forge?” Noel asked. “Is everyone alright?”

“Your squad is okay. We’re just finishing up a few things and they’ll be here in a few minutes.” We also need to give his squad an actual name, She thought.

“And what of Luna and Discord?” Celestia asked.

“They are also okay.” Celestia breathed a sigh of relief. “They should be back in about a minute. Luna and Discord were of an amazing help, by the way.”

“I’m glad that is so. So the terms of our deal…?”

“Are in full effect. I have faith in the hunters, but I don’t think alpha could’ve done it on their own.” She breathed a sigh. “Either way, I think that’s about it.”

Noel wanted to mention and entrust the information to the ponies that hunters had one other weird quirk to them. If a hunter were to hear rhyming or poetry and they were unprepared, such a thing would cripple said hunter. A weird exception to this is song lyrics, so hunters can thankfully enjoy the comforts of music.

However, he decided against mentioning this. Besides… he’d never run into anyone who actually talked in rhymes or randomly read poetry out loud. So what were the chances that he and his hunters would possibly run into something like that? There was nothing to worry about.

Soon enough, a portal opened and strike team alpha walked through. But they were accompanied by something else….

“WHY IS THAT SONG STILL LOOPING!?” Kayla shouted in exasperation.

The Archon recognized the song immediately. “Wow!” Abigail exclaimed in joy. “Holy shit! We haven’t heard that song in ages! Where’s it coming from?”

“That would be me,” Discord claimed proudly.

“I’m not even gonna question how I didn’t hear it earlier or how you know about it or anything like that. I’m just glad to hear it.”

“Well at least someone around here appreciates my work!”

“But he won’t turn it off!” Kayla accused.

“Excuse me,” Discord said darkly, the room growing foreboding as he closed in on her until he was nose-to-nose with her, “but you never asked me to turn it off.”

“Could you please just turn it off, though?” Kayla begged, her eyes wide.

“Sure!” The music ceased playing, the room grew bright once again and Discord pulled away with a smile on his face. “All you had to do was ask!”

Kayla only made a strange sound in reply.

“Okay then,” Abigail said, “looks like our business here is done. The C.D.E. will be sending in someone else to deal with diplomatic matters so don’t worry. Isaac and I were just here to act as communication between the Archon and the hunters and all that good stuff, so we were temporary anyway. But with the distortion caused by Maria now gone, we don’t have much of a purpose here anymore. ” She groaned. “Dammit. And I didn’t even get to make one sex joke.”

“Don’t worry,” Chloe assured. “I’m sure you’ll find some time for something like painting, you know?”

“Oh, I’ll find some time for finger painting,” she said with a wicked grin on her face. Isaac merely sighed in resignation.

“Really, Chloe,” Carlotta deadpanned. “Did you have to do that?”

She burst out laughing. “Yes!”

Just then there was a loud thud as something clung to the side of the palace. “Abigail,” Celestia said slowly, “why is there a dragon outside my palace?” Sure enough, the blood dragon that the Archon had sent was still in Equestria, and it was staring at them through the window.

“Oh fuck,” Abigail hissed. “Forgot to send him home.”

Author's Note

How many references can you spot?

So, just like the last chapter, this took way too long to get out and I apologize. Information on why (if you’re at all interested) is in another blog that I’ve put up, along with fun facts with this chapter. Be sure to point out any mistakes so I can purge them with extreme prejudice.

So let’s get to the interesting things first! That’s what we want to see!

Next up, the new hunter commander! And we get to meet one of the Six Great Heroes (I’m honestly not sure if I should capitalize that or not, I think I did at some point in my notes off-site… pretty sure I had a specific system…) in the next chapter! Huzzah. I guess.

How many of you guessed, (aside from Scarheart, who read one of my layouts for a future chapter, so while he can cheat, I will frown upon that. Oh and maybe a few others.) or suspected that the Archon had someone to answer to, huh? How many? How many thought he was the big boss?

Special thanks to Thunderbolt Sentinel for... Thunderbolt Sentinel.

Special thanks to zekromthepokemon for Gust and Azure Flight. Don’t worry, Azure Flight will be important later.

I honestly want to talk about so much more about what I have planned but I know I shouldn’t. Anyway! Here’s a special surprise for you guys!

You guys get to decide what chapters are released now! How? I’ll explain. The next five chapters will focus on a specific hunter from Noel’s squad, but not necessarily Noel himself. Though he might appear in each chapter, the focus will not be on him. This chapter’s purpose was twofold. First, to introduce the multiverse (or whatever term you want to use) beyond the Equestria we’ve been introduced to a bit more, and thus, give us a taste of what’s to come. Second, to get some more characterization to get you guys interested in voting for each hunter. The purpose of the next five chapters are to give the hunters more characterization. That’ll probably be about 50k more words of filler. Jesus. So just comment on this story (or send me a message or whatever) about which hunter you want to see in which chapter. Like, Todd: Chapter 7! I suppose likes on a specific comment can influence the votes as well.

Oh hey! Let’s give you a format to use!

Chapter Seven:

Chapter Eight:

Chapter Nine:

Chapter Ten:

Chapter Eleven:

There! Now you can copy and paste! I made it easy for you guys. Don’t say I never did anything for ya. Oh, and if any of you were wondering, depending on how you vote, it will definitely affect the timeline of the story and events from chapter to chapter. And there’s a changeling chapter, which would make more sense to have it as the next or eighth chapter. However, only Scarheart knows what hunter gets the changeling chapter and he’s DEFINITELY not allowed to cheat for this one by letting everyone know. If he does, I’ll just change the hunter it goes to. I really don’t want to have to do that.

However, just so you know, yes, the changeling chapter is already mostly done so if you can guess right, (I suppose) you can make it so that you’ll be getting a new chapter earlier than expected. Woohoo. Unfortunately, if it’s made into chapter seven, it’ll probably be around 20k+ words, and maybe even longer than this chapter. That’s because I’ll have to fit in the new hunter commander (however temporary they may be) along with the changeling stuff, one of the Celestial’s heroes, AND the hunter. The changeling content alone is already 7k words. If it’s chapter 8 (which I’m kind of hoping for at this point) it’ll be much shorter. Now that I think about it, if the changeling chapter is made into chapter 7, in order to include everything that I want, I might have to split it into two chapters, which I don’t want to do.

I’m also sorry, but not sorry that this chapter was so long. Not sorry in the sense that it’s this long, and sorry because I had NO IDEA that it was going to be this long. And I didn’t even put in all that I wanted to put in. In my head, it was going to be about half this length. Good job, Malozi, you fucktard.

So some of you may have noticed that I got rid of the cover art. That’s because I’m looking for some new, better art, though I appreciate the previous artist’s (Jdbener) efforts greatly. Oh, and uh, alternatively, if anyone not only knows anyone who can help make some better cover art for this story, but is an artist themselves and are willing to show me some examples of work and provide cover art for me, that’d be appreciated. If not for free, then I’m perfectly fine with someone discussing price with me.

Due to a blog I posted, I’ve been thinking of doing quite a bit of editing for chapters 1 through 4 of this story. More information can be found here. If you’re still here and haven’t clicked on that link to that blog, which I highly recommend, ~~here’s what’s basically could happen~~. The first four chapters of this story will be rewritten but the originals will be up in a Google docs, and it’s pretty much only if people vote for that to happen. It won’t change anything, story-wise, but it’ll make things flow better and fit the ‘tone’ of this story. It removes the 4th wall-breaking narrator which sounded great in my head, just like most of what I do or say, but really, it wasn’t. Too damn silly.

Update: I saw no reason not to rewrite the chapters, so I am doing so anyway.

Jesus Christ I didn’t mean to make this author’s note so damn long. It was longer but I cut it. A lot of it. It’s in a blog, which will be up soon, if you wanna go see those cut notes. Oh, and this story is over a year old, and it passed its anniversary. So, hurray, I think?

Anyway! So if you enjoyed this chapter/story, leave a like and until next time, I’ll see you later! Buh bye!

Oh and uh... don’t forget to vote for those hunters! Because that is how the story will proceed and cannot continue otherwise. So, again, either let me know in comments, a blog post, or send me a PM.

PS: My vote is for Simon.