Good Will Hunter

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13

Chapter 1

After returning to the human world and reuniting with their friends, Hunter took a week to get his new life in Canterlot set up. Using his connections he was able to establish himself in the city with all the necessary identification and rented out an apartment on the cusp of the downtown area. With everything set, he invited Sunset and the girls over for a housewarming party. Carpooling downtown on a Saturday night, the girls headed up to the third floor of the building to apartment 9C.

“I wonder why he picked out such an… average place.” Rarity asked with as kind of a choice of words as possible.

“To keep a low profile.” Sunset answered as she knocked on the door. “Hunter wouldn’t do anything that would draw too much public attention.”

“You know him really well now, huh?” Pinkie asked.

“After what we went through in Equestria, yeah… I do.” She smiled as the door opened.

“Ah… seven high school girls?” Hunter eyed them with a bright smile. “That weird 45 year old in the apartment above me is going to be so jealous when I tell him about this.”

“Can’t just say howdy, can you?” Applejack asked.

“I’d like to think you expect more from me.” He stepped aside so they could enter.

“That was pretty much what I was expecting.” Sunset pulled him to the side and kissed him.

“Guess I need to try harder now.” He laughed as his arms wrapped around her waist. “So, what do you all think?”

“It’s great.” Pinkie beamed as she held up a portrait of an ice cream sundae. “I brought you this for your wall; I painted it myself in art class.”

“Aw, thanks Candy Warhol.” Hunter thanked with a wink.

“I brought you a starter house plant.” Fluttershy raised a small pot with some budding green.

“And I picked up this modest throw rug.” Rarity added. “It’s eggshell white which goes with anything, feel free to decorate around it.”

Twilight stepped closer and held out a small box. “I brought a carbon monoxide detector, few apartments come with these and approximately 500 people a year die from carbon monoxide poisoning.”

“That’s one less thing I have to worry about killing me.” Hunter noted as he accepted the gift.

Applejack and I were going to get something too.” Rainbow Dash came in. “But then we remembered it was you, so…” She trailed off with a grin.

“Ow.” Hunter smirked. “You’re lucky I deserve that more often than not.” He looked down at Sunset. “And what did you get me?”

“You’ll have to wait till later for it.” Sunset patted his chest.

“I’ll try.” He pecked her on the lips. “But thank you ladies for the gifts, this feels more like home already. Speaking of which, I packed the fridge for the evening’s festivities, so help yourselves.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” Pinkie hurried into the corner kitchen and popped the fridge door, pulling out sandwich platters, potato salad, macaroni salad and 2 liters.

“So Hunter, are you going to come back to school?” Fluttershy asked as everyone migrated towards the food.

“As much as I miss pop quizzes and cafeteria food, no.” Hunter wandered over to the counter with them. “But I can come visit.” He hooked his arm around Sunset. “Honestly though, I just want to focus on Sunny and I.”

“Well, you two have certainly earned some reprieve.” Rarity noted.

“We know that we could have a month or just a day before Hunter gets called away again.” Sunset admitted. “I want to make sure the time we share is special.”

“Not to be pessimistic.” Twilight interjected. “But this all sounds quite serious considering you two have just started dating.”

“Maybe.” Sunset nodded. “But Hunter and I have… unique lives, and given his job it’s kind of all or nothing.”

“I’m in for ‘all’.” Hunter pulled her close.

“Hey.” Pinkie called their attention. “After everything, now isn’t the time to worry about later. We’re all here together now, so let’s have some fun!” She rallied with a wide smile.

“Good call.” Hunter looked to Rainbow Dash. “Hey Racing Stripes, mind hitting the stereo in the cabinet over there?”

“Sure.” Rainbow Dash headed towards the cabinet below the television. “Did you actually put in a decent system?” She opened the doors and her eyes widened. “Whoa!”

“Hey, I know where and where not to skimp.” Hunter smiled. “The other two cabinets are speakers.”

“Nice.” Rainbow Dash said approvingly as she dialed in her favorite station.

The next hours were wiled away with food, dancing, joking and laughing. It was an interesting experience for Sunset’s friends; they had watched her change so much since her time as their enemy and that night they noticed her change yet again now that she had Hunter. Hunter had changed just as much, the unpredictable and purposefully off-key soldier had a new found warmth to him when he was with Sunset; and as line pushing as his bizarre sense of humor was at times, they could see the genuine joy in his eyes when he was able to make Sunset laugh. As seven o’clock rolled around, Rarity rounded up the girls to head home so the new couple could have some personal time. As the apartment emptied, Hunter closed the door and returned to the couch to sit with Sunset.

“I’d say the new place is appropriately christened now.” He noted as he fell to her side.

“Definitely.” Sunset leaned into him. “I needed this, this felt so… normal.” She laughed.

“It’s as foreign to me as it is to you.” He put his arm around her.

“I know.” She nodded. “I think that’s why being with you feels so nice. I’ve had boyfriends before, but knowing what I was and having this unusual life always made it feel insincere and made me feel like I was just pretending to be something I wasn’t.” She smiled up at him. “But you get it. I’m a pony from another world who has magic friends and deals with supernatural problems… and you actually get it.” She sighed contently. “I feel like myself when I’m with you.”

Hunter set his nose to her hair and kissed her head. “I get that too.” He concurred.

Sunset leaned away from him with a smirk. “Wow, that was a heartwarming response. I’m proud of you.”

“Do I get a treat?” He asked with a laugh.

“I suppose you should.” Sunset tapped his nose.

Hunter slowly brought his lips to hers as her arms slid around his waist; as they kissed he gradually fell back and pulled her atop him while their heads rocked back and forth. “This is even better now that I have lips again.” Hunter noted.

“Speaking of which.” Sunset rested on her forearms and looked down at him. “Did you get condoms like I asked? You can actually get me pregnant in this world, you know.”

“It was the damnedest thing.” Hunter began with a wry smile. “I looked and looked but they just didn’t carry Hippogriff size.”

“Hunter.” Sunset eyed him with a raised brow.

“But.” He raised his hand in testimony. “I did get the appropriate human equivalent.”

“Ugh.” Sunset slid off of him and pulled him up from the couch. “Come on, let’s find something more productive for that mouth of yours.”

“I’m both excited and offended.” Hunter chuckled as he was happily pulled along towards the bedroom.

In the dead of night, a team of men worked in assembly line fashion to empty the reserve of Canterlot Credit Union. The twelve of them worked in unnatural concert, their faces blank save for the quiet smiles they bore which registered their pleasure at the sweet song that was in their ears. From hand to hand the stacks of bills were passed until they were stacked neatly in the trunk of a plate-less car in the rear lot. The work finished within the hour, after which the men stood at attention in the lobby as a pair of shadowed forms walked along their rank.

“Thank you.” A sweet voice said with sincere gratitude. “Now, one final favor if you would.” She gestured towards the open vault. “Seal yourselves inside for me.”

Without word, the men all turned and filed into the vault; the final entrant pulling the door shut behind them which engaged the locking mechanism. The shaded pair left and returned to the car, quickly driving off down the quiet avenue.

Sunday morning was easygoing for Hunter and Sunset who slept in, not rousing till near eleven o’clock. While Hunter showered, Sunset checked her phone to see if she had missed any activity. Discovering a lengthy message from Rarity, Sunset read through it and quickly gasped as she rapidly opened her banking app; finding that all activity had been suspended due to unavailable funds.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Sunset reflexively shouted.

The bathroom door popped open and Hunter stuck his head out. “What’s wrong, Sunny?”

“Apparently the Canterlot Credit Union was robbed last night.” She tossed her phone onto the sheets. “My account is with them and I’ve basically lost my money. Not just me either, Twilight and Rarity have their accounts there too.”

“Hold on a sec.” Hunter ducked back into the bathroom, wrapping up and getting dressed. He hurried out and checked his own phone for the local news, finding a preliminary briefing of the story. “Damn.” He looked over at his distraught girlfriend. “Well, bank money is insured with the FDIC so it should only be a temporary loss on your part.”

“Really?” Sunset asked with renewed hope.

“Yeah.” He sat beside her with calming smile. “Geez, don’t they teach you anything in economics class?”

“Bank robberies isn’t on the syllabus.” She laughed.

“Don’t worry, in the meantime I can help with anything you need.” He assured. “I always wanted to be a sugar daddy.”

“Don’t say it like that.” She refuted. “I’ll pay you back when this gets sorted out.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Sunny.” He shook his head.

“I know, but I do anyway.” She admitted. “We’ve just starting dating, I don’t want to mooch off of you right off the bat.”

“It isn’t mooching.” He countered. “This isn’t your fault, shit like this happens.” He rose from the bed. “Besides, I’ve got more than I know what to do with anyway; not like it’s going to break me.”

Sunset raised her head in confusion. “I know this is a crappy question but… just how much money do you make?”

“Depends on the job.” Hunter explained. “But agents like me don’t just get paid minimum wage to risk our asses, there has to be some incentive to not run away the moment we get a chance.” He shrugged. “Last time I checked I was sitting on a little over 1.5 million in the bank.”

“1.5… million?” Sunset repeated in shock.

“Well, I’ve always been on the move and had to keep a low profile so I never spend much money on myself.” He elaborated. “This was my first time buying furniture… did a pretty good job if a I do say so myself.” He patted the dresser. “It matches and everything, take that male stereotypes.” He laughed but saw the confounded look in her eyes. “Me having money isn't a deal breaker is it? Cause if it is, that’s a weird one.”

“No.” She shook her head. “It’s just… I wasn’t expecting it. I keep thinking I’ve run out of surprises with you.”

“It’s never been a big deal to me.” Hunter said honestly. “It comes in handy, that’s about it; not really why I do the work.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get weird about it.” She went to him, taking his hands. “I appreciate the help, I’ll still try to keep it to a minimum though.”

“However you want to play it, Sunny.” He tipped forward and kissed her.

“Thanks.” She headed for the bathroom. “I’ll get my shower in and we can head out.”

“Sounds like a plan, let me know if you need help.” He offered with a sly grin.

The two of them spent the rest of the day together just doing normal things in their own abnormal way. It felt nice for both of them and after a successful date, Sunset returned home with the promise of school the next day. Canterlot High was abuzz as many students and faculty had been affected by the robbery on Saturday. As always, she met up with the others about an hour before class, finding Rarity the center of attention as she voiced her anger at recent events.

“Honestly.” Rarity huffed. “I wish robbers would be more considerate of how their actions affect others.”

“If they did they wouldn’t be criminals.” Applejack dryly pointed out.

“At least you're not the only one.” Sunset noted as she joined their circle.

“Ah, Sunset dear.” Rarity calmed and fixed her jostled hair. “You seem to be taking this well.”

“Hunter told me that it should only be a short time until our accounts get re-credited.” She detailed.

“That’s good.” Fluttershy said in relief.

Pinkie popped up behind Sunset with an inquisitive smile. “So, how’d things go with Hunter yesterday?”

“Great.” Sunset nodded. “Still learning new things.”

“Like what?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, turns out he’s loaded.” She said with a lingering tone of disbelief.

“Given his occupation, that doesn’t seem so surprising.” Twilight commented.

“How much are we talking about, darling?” Rarity further inquired.

“Over a million.”

“What!?” The girls shouted in unison.

“Keep it down.” Sunset instructed.

“Wowie.” Pinkie shook her from behind. “You know how much candy you could buy with that?”

“Well.” Twilight began. “Given that the average candy bar costs around $1.25 plus tax…”

“Twilight.” Applejack laid her hand on her shoulder. “You know a lot a words and I know one of them is rhetorical.”

“Oh, of course.” She blushed in embarrassment.

“He certainly doesn’t act like he’s rich.” Fluttershy noted. “It’s great that he’s so down to earth in spite of it.”

“I know.” Sunset nodded. “It just… feels kind of heavy, you know. Like I want to be happy about it but at the same time I’d feel lousy for being happy about something like that. I mean, I fell for him before I even knew so… it’s not a big deal, right?”

“Only if you make it one.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Sounds like your trying to tell yourself that more than any of us.”

“You’re right.” Sunset sighed. “I just know we already have some big parts of our lives that are going to rear their heads at some point, I don’t need any more points of contention.”

“You worry too much.” Pinkie assured as the thirty minute bell rang.

“I agree.” Rarity added. “But we can talk more at lunch.”

“Right.” Sunset went to her locker. “See you girls, later.”

When the lunch bell rang, the girls headed to the cafeteria and reassembled at one of the tables.

“Is it just me, or does today feel longer than usual.” Rainbow Dash groaned as she sat.

“You say that every Monday.” Applejack noted.

“Well, it’s true, isn’t it?” She asked.

“I think it’s just the mood.” Fluttershy offered. “Everyone is mad about the bank situation… especially Mr. Cranky Doodle.”

“He’s always mad.” Pinkie said as she dug in. “There isn't anything to do about it now, no point in worrying too much.”

“Actually, that might not be the case.” Twilight came in, claiming the table’s attention.

“Whatever are you talking about, dear?” Rarity asked.

“I heard some of the students talking about it; one of them has a brother who was involved in the case.” Twilight informed. “Apparently the bank was emptied out by a group led by one of the bank’s own employees. They were all found in the vault after they called for help with no memory of what happened. But the thing is, the brother told his family that the last thing he could recall was hearing a song that seemed to come from nowhere.”

“A song?” Sunset set her plastic fork down.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Twilight nodded. “Which is I found this so curious.” She held out her phone, displaying an advertisement for a series of performances by the Dazzlings.

“Them again?” Applejack balled her fist.

“That’s impossible.” Sunset shook her head. “They lost their power, I saw their gems myself when I got trapped in that time loop at the music festival.”

“Could they have repaired them?” Fluttershy suggested.

“I… I don’t know.” Sunset admitted. “I suppose it’s possible.”

“If there’s a chance that Equestrian magic is involved we need to look into this.” Rainbow Dash said excitedly.

“Rainbow, darling.” Rarity pulled her back down into her seat. “Sunset just got back from dealing with those awful escaped prisoners. The last thing she’d want is to be dragged into another matter, we should let the proper authorities handle things until more information comes out.”

“No, Rainbow Dash is right.” Sunset said surely. “The least we can do is investigate the Dazzlings and see if they really are involved or not. Right now, let’s just worry about school.” The girls quickly returned to eating, noticing they only had twenty minutes left before classes resumed.

Chapter 2

School had let out by the time Hunter arrived, the students either heading home or to whatever after school activities they partook in. As he began heading inside he stopped at the sound of his name.

“Hunter?” Flash’s voice called.

Hunter looked over and saw he, Bulk and Derpy by the far side of the stairs. “Hey, All Star.” He altered course. “Long time.”

“Yeah.” Flash held out his hand as he neared. “I thought you moved away?”

“I did.” Hunter took his hand. “But much like herpes, I have returned.” He looked up at Bulk. “Bulk, still buying your shirts in the children’s department I see.”

“Hey, this is a 2X.” Bulk shook his hand.

“And D.” He smiled. “What are you doing hanging out with these unsavory characters.”

“Bulk and I are going out tonight.” She answered with a quiet giggle.

“What!?” Hunter’s eyes widened. “When the hell did that happen?”

“A few months ago.” Bulk smiled down at her.

“Is he taking good care of you?” Hunter leaned closer.

“Yes.” She held onto Bulk’s arm.

“He better.” Hunter looked up at him with a faux intensity. “Or I'll buy him an outfit that fits properly.”

“So what are you doing here?” Flash asked.

“I’m here to meet with Sunny.”

“Sunny?” Flash paused. “Sunset?”

“Hunter!?” Sunset called out as she came down the stairs.

“Speak of the gorgeous devil.” He grandly gestured to her.

“Hey.” She hugged his side.

“So… you two… are dating now?” Flash asked.

“Yeah.” Sunset nodded. “Sorry, I was going to let you guys know.”

“Congratulations.” Bulk praised.

“Yeah… that’s, that’s news.” Flash said with much less enthusiasm.

“Listen.” Sunset pulled Hunter’s attention. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“Sure.” He glanced back at the others. “Hey, I’ll be around so I’ll see you guys later.”

“Cool.” Bulk waved. “See you around.”

“Bye.” Derpy waved as well.

Hunter followed Sunset back inside the school grounds, waiting till they were out of earshot to find out what was going on. “What’s up?”

“Twilight found out that there might be more to that bank robbery.” She began. “One of the people involved blacked out after hearing a song and woke up in the vault along with a bunch of others. We think it might be the Dazzlings.”

“The Dazzlings?” Hunter tried to recall the name. “You mean those three girls that either got too few or too many hugs from their fathers?”

Sunset couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Yes.” She stopped their walk. “Listen, I know we just went through a lot and you said you just wanted to focus on us, but I need to check this out.”

“I understand.” He nodded.

“You do?”

“You’ve got a lot more soldier in you than you realize, Sunny.” He smiled. “I know what It's like to feel that you have to do something. What do we do?”

Sunset laid her hands to his chest. “Thank you. We need to go to one of their shows and see if we can talk to them. All I have to do is touch one of them to know if they’re telling the truth or not.”

“Ok, that shouldn't be a problem.” Hunter looked up at the ceiling in thought. “When is their next show?”

“Wednesday.” She answered.

“Okay, I’ll work on getting the two of us in.” He promised. “We’ll write it off as a date night.”

Sunset laughed and nodded. “Okay, sounds good.”

“So, what are we doing In the meantime?”

“Well, Rainbow Dash has practice this afternoon and Twilight is working on a project.” Sunset led him down the main hall. “We’re just waiting for Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack, Pinkie said she’d buy us some pizza. We can wing it from there.”

“She means real pizza right?” Hunter asked as he draped his arm over her shoulder. “Not some kind of crazy, candy pie that looks like Willy Wonka threw up on it?”

Sunset reluctantly laughed. “Do you have any comparisons that aren’t awful?”

“I’ll work on it.” Hunter vowed as they wandered the school grounds.

That evening, Hunter returned to his apartment and went to work. He went online and paid for tickets to the Dazzling’s show to be picked up on site. Hunter then logged into the secure database where he kept files on all his past missions; looking back through his time in Canterlot before meeting Sunset, he brought up all the information he had collected on the incident involving the trio. He had not looked into them much, as Sunset and her friends had caught his eye far more. Sunset herself filled in the blanks, that they were not ordinary girls but sirens from Equestria who once held the ability to control others with their voice. With their past filled in, he began looking into their recent activity; back-peddling through their recent tours and reading reviews on fan pages about their shows and various interactions with them. Combing through photos of the girls as well as their available social media, he began to profile them to get a feel for their personalities. At close to eleven at night he stopped due to a knock at his door. He stared at the door for a moment, a follow up knock coming not long after; he went to the pantry and pulled out the 1911 he had hidden before approaching the door.

“A peephole would be nice.” He muttered to himself as he realized the door lacked one. “Remind me to complain to the landlord.” He told his gun as he parted the door.

“Hello, Hunter.” The man on the other side offered a light wave.

“Ajax?” Hunter fully opened the door. “Well, I figured someone would drop in on me eventually but I didn’t expect you.” He walked away from the door and let him enter.

“I had to see this for myself.” Ajax chuckled as he closed the door. “The most lone wolf of all suddenly deciding to settle down.”

“I’m not as lone as I used to be.”

“I know, her name is Sunset, right?”

Hunter turned at the mention of her name. “Already prying too much I see.”

“That is our job, you know that more than anyone.” Ajax countered. “Especially when one of our field agents is involved.”

“So, did you come here to chew me out?”

“Not exactly.” Ajax joined him in the kitchen. “You certainly turned some heads and irritated some noteworthy names though.”

“Nothing's changed.” Hunter hid his weapon once more. “I’m still on full duty for missions whenever they come up; and until my performance in the field suffers, which it won’t, I really don’t care who’s irritated at my decision.”

“That’s what I figured you’d say.” Ajax sighed. “But this was a bold decision and one that the higher ups aren’t too happy you made without running it by anyone; they’re more pissed off about the disrespect than anything else. I just don’t want to see you get in trouble by acting bigger than you are; you’re one of the best we have but you’re still under the same jurisdiction as all the other field agents.”

“This was important.” Hunter responded simply. “They’ll huff and puff but it’ll die down when more important shit comes along. Like I said, I still intend to do my job.”

“She’s really special, isn’t she?” Ajax asked.

“More than you know.”

“Wow.” He slowly nodded. “I never thought I’d live to see the day you started talking like that.” He headed for the door with a laugh. “Well, that’s all I wanted.”

“Hey.” Hunter stopped him. “I don’t care if you and everyone else want to look over my shoulder, but you tell the agency to keep their bullshit away from Sunset. She’s just a civilian.”

“For your sake, I’ll phrase it a bit more politely.” Ajax smiled as he opened the door. “Lily says hi, by the way.” With that, he left Hunter in the quiet of his apartment.

The Tuesday school day went by normally. By the cusp of the evening, Sunset set up her live stream and sat on her bed before the camera.

“Hey everyone, welcome to Shimmer Code.” She greeted. “Hopefully everyone saw the post about the stream tonight, I know it’s a day early but I actually have plans for tomorrow. Speaking of which, I have someone I’d like to introduce you all to” She waved an off screen presence over.

“Hey everybody!” Hunter bounded onto the bed beside her.

“This is Hunter.” Sunset informed as she stopped bouncing. “He’s… my boyfriend.”

“Sunny, don’t tell them that.” Hunter looked over at her in shock. “You’ll lose your lonely, single male demographic.”

“Hunter, don’t be mean.” She eyed him.

“Just being honest.” He glanced down at her laptop which was displaying the live chat. “See, I heart Sunset forever agrees with me.”

“Anyway.” Sunset resumed. “Since Hunter is a part of my life now, I’ve invited him to meet all my fans… we’ll see later whether or not that was a smart move. Now, normally I give my guest the chance to choose what game we play but since I know Hunter way too well, I’ll be choosing.”

“You see how she treats me?” Hunter smiled into the camera.

“Here.” Sunset handed him a controller. “Move your fingers, not your mouth.”

“Hmph, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard you say that.”

Sunset lowered her head with a sigh. “If you’re wondering what’s wrong with me for dealing with him, he’s actually incredibly sweet; but like most children he acts up when we have company.”

The two of them streamed for about three hours before calling it a night. After Sunset signed off, she began tearing down. Hunter went into the kitchen to grab them drinks, setting hers on the dresser as he returned. “That was fun.”

“Yeah, it was.” Sunset agreed. “It’s cool that we can do this together, everyone got such a kick out of you that I gained a whole bunch of new subscribers.”

“Does that mean I can come back?” He asked.

“Well, it was good for the stream so I guess so.” Sunset chuckled. “So, are we set for tomorrow?”

“Yep.” Hunter took a drink. “It’s an outdoor show so getting access to the backstage area should be easy.”

“Alright, I’ll meet you back here after school.” She went to him and laced her arms around his neck. “Plan on spending the night?”

“Depends, is the camera off?”

“Yes.” Sunset answered with a laugh.

“Okay then, I don’t perform for free.” He sat on the bed and pulled her back with him.

The next day, Sunset let her friends know what the plan was for her and Hunter after school let out. Once the day was done, she hurried home to change and Hunter arrived shortly after. The pair drove towards the outskirts of the city where Palisade Park, the venue for the Dazzlings' performance, awaited. There was a healthy crowd gathered and many local vendors had set up shop to cater to them as they awaited the show. The duo picked up their tickets at the entry booth and headed into the gated off grounds.

“Wow, they seem to be doing pretty well.” Sunset looked around at all the activity.

“Yeah, I researched their career so far and they’ve developed quite the following.”

“So how do we get to them?”

“I’m going to get by security by posing at Canterlot P.D., tell them I’m just running a check for the city to make sure everything is on the up and up."

“Think they’ll buy that?”

“I have one of their badges and a mock I.D.” He informed.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“I’ve got others if you want one too.” He offered with a smile. “We can play good cop, bad cop.”

“I’ll leave the undercover stuff to you.” She laughed.

“Alright, we can save it for when we get back to my place.”

“Focus.” Sunset elbowed him.

They spent the next two hours enjoying the pre-show atmosphere; when the sky finally began to grow dark they assembled in the crowd with the rest of the fans. A light show started up to decorate the night sky and manufactured fog flooded the stage to the applause of the audience. The three stars made their grand entrance and after a introductory monologue began the show. Sunset and Hunter had to admit their music was nothing to look down on and the crowd ate up every syllable. They remained on stage for an hour and a half before breaking for intermission. It was at this time when they made their move, Hunter talked his way past security and led Sunset into the back stage area. The Dazzlings were seated in tall chairs discussing things but halted as soon as they saw their old enemy.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Adagio rose from her seat and eyed them harshly.

“Adagio.” Sunset greeted.

“What are you doing here?” Aria immediately queried. “Don’t tell me you’re a fan now.”

“Not exactly.” Sunset answered. “But, I will say the show has been great so far.”

“Thank you.” Sonata smiled. “We’ve been working on…”

“Sonata.” Adagio stopped her. “So, to what do we owe the pleasure.”

“Actually, we’re here to clear your name.” Sunset explained.

“What?” Adagio’s face transitioned from anger to confusion.

“We’ve got a crime that we’re keeping up with.” Hunter detailed. “Some evidence suggests you might have been involved.”

“I’m sorry, who is this human?” Aria looked Hunter up and down.

“This is Hunter, he’s with me and he knows what we really are.”

“So.” Adagio smiled. “Finally found someone with low enough standards to date you?”

“That’s quite the attitude you’ve got there, Hair Spray.” Hunter stepped in. “I thought the purple people eater here was supposed to be the bitchy one, or are you branching out.”

“Excuse me!” Adagio’s eyes flared.

“Hey, you want to run your mouth we can play that game.” Hunter said innocently. “But I promise you I’m better at it, so how about we just be civil?”

“I already hate him.” Aria said sourly.

“Hold on.” Sonata took his attention. “What crime are you talking about? Did someone accuse us of something?”

“No.” Sunset took over. “There was a bank robbery and an account of one of the people involved having no memory of the crime after hearing singing.”

“So naturally you thought of us?” Adagio scoffed.

“You know any other sirens?” Hunter asked. “If so, we’ll go bother them instead.”

“Well, it wasn’t us.” Adagio carried on. “You know we cant use magic anymore.”

“That's how it was last time.” Sunset held out her hand. “Would you mind proving that’s still the case.”

“We don’t have to prove anything to you, pony!” Aria shouted.

“Jesus.” Hunter looked at her with a hint of disbelief. “You are one angry lady. I bet you have exclamation marks instead of periods.”

Aria’s face flustered and she glared at Sonata who snorted from behind her hands. “Don’t laugh at him!”

“Calm down, Aria.” Adagio instructed. "And just how are we supposed to do that?"

"I can use my magic to see into your mind." Sunset explained. "Just give me your arm."

Adagio growled in frustration as she stepped forward. “Just get it over with.” She held out her arm and Sunset took it in her hands. Her eyes went white for a moment and she stepped back as they returned to normal. “Satisfied?”

“Yeah, thank you.” Sunset said graciously.

“Then leave.” Adagio waved them off.

“Hold on.” Sunset raised her hand to stop her from leaving. “Are there any other sirens?”

“Not that I know of?” Adagio looked back at her. “As far as we knew, even in Equestria, we were the only ones left of our kind.”

“We’re not even truly sirens now.” Sonata said with lament.

“I’m sorry.” Hunter offered. “I’m more than familiar with that type of isolation.” Sonata smiled kindly at his words.

“Don’t talk to us like you understand us, human.” Aria pointed at him.

“Come on Hunter, let’s go.” Sunset took his wrist. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you're innocent; and I’m glad things are going better for you now.” Adagio grumbled but left it at that as they left. Sunset and Hunter returned to the car and sat in the parking lot with the engine running.

“Well, what now?” Hunter looked over at her. “With them innocent, we’re out of leads.”

“I know.” Sunset sighed. “We should probably just drop it.”

“But?” Hunter smiled.

Sunset shook her head with a laugh. “There’s still a good chance that whatever is happening isn’t normal, and if magic is involved we might be the only ones who can stop it.”

“That’s why we make such a good pair.” Hunter said as he backed up and began heading home. “I’ll start seeing if I can find out anything new and get us a lead.”

“Are you sure?” She looked over at him regretfully. “We’re supposed to be focusing on us.”

“This is us, Sunny.” He glanced over at her. “Like you said, I get you and you get me; neither one of us would sleep well if we didn’t see his through.”

Sunset reached over and laid her hand on his thigh. “You know, I was afraid of what might happen if you and I started to have problems being a normal couple.”

“Trying to be that kind of normal would probably drive us crazy.” Hunter admitted. “I love being abnormal with you, it’s just so… normal.”

Sunset started to laugh and nodded. “It sure is.”

Chapter 3

With the Dazzlings being a dead end, Hunter looked deeper into the bank incident to try and learn anything new. Feeling as though he was spinning his wheels and with 3 o’clock approaching, he decided to swing by the school to spend some time with the others. As he entered the grounds and started down the halls, he spied Applejack and Micro Chips at her locker.

“Do I need to make an apple computer joke? Because I will.” He said as he approached.

“Oh, hey Hunter.” Applejack waved.

“I heard you had come back.” Micro Chips noted with a half smile.

“Don’t sound so excited.” Hunter took his hand. “How’ve you been?”

“Pretty busy, actually.” He answered.

“Yeah, Rainbow Dash booked us another Rainbooms performance and Micro Chips is helping us with the stage work.” Applejack informed. “We were just getting ready to head to the music room, everyone else is already there.”

“Lead the way.” Hunter bowed.

The three of them traveled to the music room, the sounds of random instruments echoing down the hall. As they stepped in they found Flash and the rest of the girls idling in wait. As soon as she saw Hunter, Sunset went to him for a kiss. “I didn’t think you’d be by today.”

“I hit a wall in what I was working on.” He ran his hands down her back. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Okay, you can watch us practice and let us know what you think.” She returned to her guitar.

Hunter sat in as the girls rehearsed, Micro Chips testing out his lighting and effects to see what worked and what didn’t. It was the first time he was able to watch Sunset play and for once he was compelled to remain silent as he enjoyed their music. He chimed in between songs, offering what little he could as music was far from his area of expertise. His interpersonal awareness was sharp as ever though as he noticed how distant Flash remained over the course of the afternoon, the news of Sunset’s relationship with him obviously not sitting well. As the session wound down, Micro Chips and the girls began packing up for the day; Hunter saw Flash headed for the door and followed him out into the hall.

“Hey.” Hunter stopped him.

Flash turned back with some surprise. “What’s up?”

“Listen, I’m a lot of things but blind isn’t one.” Hunter leaned against the wall with a sigh. “I know you and Sunny have messy history and I get that it must suck to see her with someone else, especially me. So, before this turns into a shitty YA novel, I want to make sure we’re cool.”

Flash was flustered by his perception but could only laugh dryly. “Yeah.” Flash nodded, running his fingers through his hair. “I know that what Sunset and I had is in the past, it’s just…” He sighed and leaned on the wall next to him. “It’s been a lousy couple of years for me on that front. Sunset broke things off with me and just when I was about over it, I met Twilight.” He gestured towards the music room. “Not that one, there’s another one… she was really great.” His shoulder’s shrugged. “But as soon as she came she left, that’s when this Twilight showed up. I thought it was her but they’re completely different, but every time I look at her I can’t help but think about the other one so I always act weird around her when we’re alone.” His face belied how tired he was of feeling the way he did. “I’ve just been trying to at least start over as friends with Sunset and that’s been going okay, but yeah… when I heard she was seeing you it kind of stung. It just made it fully real that she’s moved on.”

Hunter slowly nodded. “Well, romance isn’t my best subject. Sunset is my first real girlfriend.”

“That’s… kind of surprising.” Flash admitted.

“I know right, I’m such a catch.” Hunter laughed. “I can say this though, you’ve got a lot of life ahead of you and there will be a lot of other women along the path.” He looked to Flash with sincere eyes. “But as long as you keep looking back over your shoulder, you’re never going to see any of them.”

Flash absorbed the advice. “That’s a good way to put it.”

“I hope so, that’s about all I got.” Hunter confessed. “So, we good? Because there are enough people in the world who hate me, I really don’t need one more.” He held his fist out.

Flash laughed and punched his fist into Hunter’s. “Yeah, I don’t want to fight about it; pretty sure you could kick my butt anyway.”

“Absolutely.” Hunter said without hesitation. They both started to laugh as Micro Chips and the girls finally filed out of the room.

“Okay, we’re all wrapped up.” Rainbow Dash informed.

“Cool.” Flash bounced from the wall. “Good luck with the show, I’ll see you all later.”

“Alright, later Flash.” Sunset called after him.

“I’ll make the final adjustments to the equipment tomorrow.” Micro Chips noted with a stretch. “Everything will be ready by Friday.”

“Thank you, we really appreciate it.” Twilight said graciously as he too left them.

With the boys gone, they circled around Hunter for an update. “So, did you find out anything new at all?” Sunset asked.

“Nothing substantial.” He shook his head. “I accessed the police files and read all the written statements, they all say the same thing; blacked out and woke up in a vault.”

“What about security footage?” Twilight inquired.

“The one that actually worked for the bank disabled the feed, there isn’t any footage of the robbery.” He answered. “There were no other witnesses noted, at least none that have come forward. I can start getting creative and look into some tangents, but I doubt it’ll give up anything useful.”

“It seems there isn’t much more to be done.” Rarity noted. “Other than wait for the scoundrels to make another move.”

“Hey, you’ve got a performance to prepare for so just put it aside for now.” Hunter advised. “I’ll keep my eyes and ears open in the meantime.”

“Speaking of which. Fluttershy came in. “You’re going to be there, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Hunter put his arm around Sunset as they began leaving the school grounds. “I’ll even throw my underwear at the stage.”

“Please don’t.” Applejack begged.

For the time being, life went back to normal and there was no further criminal activity that seemed related to the bank robbery. Come Friday, Hunter got to enjoy his first Rainboom performance and seeing Sunset up on stage was endearing; at the same time though it brought back the gnawing concern that the people he worked for were aware of her and actively keeping an eye on her in some unknown capacity. Again he forced it aside, not wanting the spoil the night for either of them. Coincidentally, the Dazzlings too had their next show that night. Now at a beautiful lake side venue, they were tearing down after another successful showing.

“It’s a shame we can’t stay here awhile.” Sonata looked out over the water. “It’s really nice here.”

“At the hotel prices around here?” Adagio scoffed. “Absolutely not.”

“But we’re doing so good now?” Sonata pointed out. “We can afford it.”

“I actually agree for once.” Aria sat on the box she was packing. “I can’t take anymore of those disgusting motels. Not to mention it’d be nice to not have to share a bed with this sheet stealing, snore machine.” She thumbed over at Sonata.

“Fine.” Adagio groaned. “If it will keep you from complaining for a night.”

“Yay.” Sonata cheered.

As they continued to work, the sound of footsteps on the grass caught their attention. Adagio noticed a pair of shadows extend her way and stood up straight with a sigh. “In case you haven’t noticed, the show is over.” She faced the strangers, caught off guard by the mature, elegant woman who stood before her.

“Hello, sisters.” The woman greeted.

“Sisters?” Adagio repeated, Aria and Sonata coming over to investigate.

“These are the ones you spoke of, correct?” She looked to the young man at her side.

“Yeah, that’s them.” He said, his voice saturated in bitterness. “I’ll never forget those faces.”

“Who are you?” Adagio demanded.

“My name is Melodiam. I am a siren, like you.” She calmly answered.

“What?” Aria’s usually sour face grew stunned. “That isn’t possible.”

“And how do you know about us?” Sonata asked.

“You don’t even remember me, do you?” The young man asked.

“Are we supposed to?” Adagio’s fist found her hip as she looked him over.

“Yes!” He shouted. “You used me for over a year! Putting me under your spell again and again to wait on you hand a foot! Keeping me locked up like a dog!”

Adagio let out a short gasp. “Cobalt?”

“That’s right.” He glared at her. “It’s taken me three cities but I’ve finally caught up to you. I’m going to make you pay for what you did to me!”

“Cobalt.” Melodiam laid her hand to his shoulder. “Do not let your anger at them blind you from our task.”

Her touch instantly calmed him and he backed down. “I’m sorry, Ms. Melodiam.”

“What is it you want?” Adagio asked.

“Your magic.” She explained.

“Well you're too late.” Aria said bluntly. “We lost our magic.”

“Oh?” Her eyes raised in interest. “How?”

“Our pendants broke.” Sonata explained.

“Sonata!” Adagio glanced over at her, not wanting her to unnecessarily divulge any more information.

“So, your magic is totemic?” Melodiam smiled. “That will make this even easier.” She extended her hand. “Give me your shattered totems, that is all I require.”

Adagio reflexively grabbed the pouch on her hip that held the pieces of her pendant. “Why? What good are they to you?”

“Cobalt.” Melodiam looked down to him. “The bags they carry, please take them.”

“Yes, Ms. Melodiam.” Cobalt stepped forward.

“Easier said than done.” Aria challenged as she and Sonata went to Adagio’s side.

“Hardly.” He smiled. “This time, I’m the one with magic.” He held up his wrist, displaying a bracelet that was oversized for his wrist. He knelt and laid his hand on the ground; the armlet began to glow green and hands formed from a mixture of dirt and rock burst from the ground. The Dazzlings backed away as several, humanoid forms comprised of the earth itself rose and shambled towards them. Aria threw a punch that burst straight through one of their torsos and she was promptly taken hold of. Adagio and Sonata followed soon after and the mindless creatures presented them to Cobalt. “That’s more like it.” A predatory smiled formed on his face as he watched the struggling trio. “You three humiliated me, emasculated me and stole over a year of my life.” He reached up and ran his fingertips down Adagio’s arm. "I'm going to enjoy this."

“Don’t touch me!”

“I’m in control now!” He grabbed the collar of her top and yanked her head down. ”I’ll touch you however I want!”

“Cobalt!” Melodiam called, breaking him out of his anger. "The bags."

“Right.” Cobalt released her, ripping the pouch from her hip. He went to Aria and Sonata and removed theirs as well, handing them off to Melodiam.

“Let us see now.” She dumped the pieces into her hand. “The fact that your magic is tied to these gems tells me much. As far as sirens go, you appear to be quite weak and inexperienced.”

“Think so?” Aria asked. “If we had our magic we’d be wiping the floor with you, you old hag!”

“Really?” Melodiam asked, not phased by the insult. “Considering you know only one of the siren’s songs, I doubt that very much.”

“One of the songs?” Sonata shifted her eyes to Adagio. “There are more?”

Melodiam laughed lightly. “There are seven songs of the siren.” She informed. “You obviously only know Suadere. There are also Amare, Ira, Dolorem, Renovatio, Animaequiores and insanire.” She cupped the pieces in her hands and held them up. “Allow me to show you the song of Renovatio.” Her lips parted and she began to sing in a voice of unparalleled beauty. As the words left her, the pieces began to glow and levitate before her; the Dazzlings watched in amazement as the shards slowly set into place and fused back into their pendants.

“That’s… incredible.” Adagio had no choice but to admit.

Once the pendants were reassembled, Melodiam silenced her song and caught them as they dropped from the air. “There, all better.”

“Wow.” Sonata said in amazement.

“To be honest with you girls, there is an eighth song.” She looked at her reflection in the pendants. “However, it is too powerful for any one siren to sing; but with your magic added to my own I will able to do so.”

“What song?” Adagio asked.

“The final song.” Melodiam locked eyes with her. “Mortem.”

“What does it do?” Adagio further inquired.

“You won’t be around to care.” Cobalt approached them again. “Ms. Melodiam got what she wanted.” His face twisted in sadistic pleasure. “Now it’s my turn.”

“Cobalt.” Sonata called his attention. “Please, we were different back then; we aren't like that anymore. We’re sorry for what we did to you.”

“You think a simple sorry can undo what you put me through?” He focused on her. “Oh no, you three are going to be my toys; and when I get bored with you I’m going to have my golems break you into little pieces.”

“If you lay one hand on me you sick freak…” Aria began, cutting off at the sound of police sirens.

“What?” Cobalt looked back towards the road. “How the hell…”

“Cobalt, we need to go now.” Melodiam instructed. “If we engage them we’ll draw too much attention to ourselves.”

“Damn it!” He balled his fist and the golems disintegrated, the Dazzlings falling to the ground. “This isn’t over!” He growled as he and Melodiam hurried off.

“Geez, I’ve never been so glad to see humans before.” Aria confessed as she dusted herself off. “Who called them?”

“I did.” Sonata pulled the phone from her pocket. “I got my hand in my pocket when that thing grabbed me, I was able to reach them from the emergency contacts.”

“I’m glad your brain decides to work every once in a while.” Adagio took her cheek with a relieved laugh. “You earned that hotel stay.”

"What do we do now?" Aria asked. "Our pendants are fixed, we can get our magic back if we can get ahold of them."

"We don't have any magic to fight her with." Adagio folded her arms. "Plus there's the matter of Cobalt, he clearly intends to keep after us which means we aren't safe."

"Can't we... ask Sunset for help?" Sonata meekly suggested.

"No way!" Aria stamped her foot.

"But, Melodiam must be the one she's looking for." Sonata continued. "And she and her friends have magic that could fight them."

"Adagio." Aria looked to her for support.

"I hate it just as much as you do." Adagio finally answered through a hard breath. "But we can't face them alone." She looked over to see two officers approaching. "Let's deal with this first." She stepped forward and began offering an edited explanation of what had just happened.

Author's Note

The siren songs are in Latin and go as followed.
Suadere - Persuade
Amare - Love
Ira - Rage
Dolorem - Sorrow
Animaequiores - Cheer
Insanire - Madness
Renovatio - Rejuvination
Mortem - Death
And Melodiam is Latin for Melody.

Chapter 4

After the show, Hunter followed Sunset home for the night. As soon as they were inside, she told him to make himself at home while she went to change. Hunter grabbed some water from the fridge and let out a thoughtful sigh as he looked around her place.

“Hey Sunny?” He called down the hall.

“Yeah?” Her voice echoed back.

“I’ve been thinking…”

“Oh god.” Sunset said worriedly.

“Ha ha.” Hunter sat on the back of the leather couch. “Seriously though, given how crazy things are in this city, have you ever thought about putting in any security?”

“Not really.” She emerged from the hall wearing only an oversized, night shirt. “That’s true, but this has always been a quiet area.”

“It’s always quiet until it isn’t.” He quoted. “I’ve got access to all kinds of stuff, how about you let me install some security equipment?”

“Seriously?” She grabbed some orange juice and joined him.

“Yeah.”

“Where’s this coming from all the sudden?” She asked.

“What, as your boyfriend it’s my job to worry about you.” He explained. “I just think it would make things safer for you; and it would be a comfort for me during the times I have to be away.”

Sunset’s face softened. “What’s wrong, Hunter?”

He lowered his head with a laugh. “Is it that rare for me to be sincere?”

“No.” She smiled. “But when you are there’s always a very good reason.” She rested on the couch beside him. “Did something happen?”

“I… got a visit from one of my superiors the other night.” He confessed. “He’s a friend though.”

“Was it about you deciding to stay here?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I knew it was coming and I was prepared for that, but… he mentioned you.”

“Oh.” Sunset looked down into her drink.

“Just as many people are pissed at me as happy for me, which is fine.” He shrugged. “And I don’t expect them to ever approach you or threaten you, because they know what I’ll do to them if they do. But they are keeping an eye on you now.”

“Are you worried they’ll find out about my magic?” She asked.

“They can’t, they don’t have direct eyes on you.” He assured. “It’s the usual government surveillance, watching who you call and your online activity; don’t watch a lot of internet porn do you?” He inquired with a laugh.

“Ah… no.” Sunset chuckled.

“I think their main concern is protecting my identity and operations, it kind of is a matter of national security.” He leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry, Sunny. I didn’t want that part of my life invading yours.”

Sunset smiled and rubbed his knee. “It’s okay, Hunter. To be honest, I kind of expected this.”

“I just don’t want you to be afraid.” He looked at her sullenly.

“I’m not.” She said surely. “I have you, don’t I?”

Hunter smiled in a way he rarely did; he put his arm around her and laid his head against hers. “You’re damn right you do.”

“And if all of my life is going to be part of yours then all of yours should be part of mine.” She continued. “Besides, I’m used to dealing with magic and monsters; a little government surveillance doesn’t scare me.” She ran her hand over his cheek. “But if it makes you feel better about it, we can install some protection.”

“Thanks.” He nodded. “I’ll get you set up with a VPN for your computer and your cell to protect your privacy. I can get you an alarm system with direct connection to emergency services, some exterior cameras, trip wires, anti personnel mines for your yard, bear mace…”

“Hunter.” She stopped him with a laugh. “Do everything up until tripwires.”

“You got it.” His typical smile returned. “Hey, you want a M1014 semi-automatic 12 gauge? Be it a burglar or magical monster it’s six rounds of shut the fuck up.”

Sunset leaned in and kissed him. “Let’s start with the non-lethal stuff first, okay?” She pulled him around the couch so they could relax for the night.

The weekend came and went. After school on Monday, Sunset sat in the gymnasium with Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Fluttershy. The lacrosse team was practicing in the background, their sneakers squeaking every odd second as they ran up and down the building. The large double doors cracked open and Trixie poked her torso in, she began waving at Sunset with a stressed out look on her face. Sunset waved back, motioning for her to come over. The doors parted further and Trixie was pushed aside by Adagio, her fellow sirens at her back.

“The Dazzlings?” Sunset stood from the bleachers as they started heading over, Trixie quickly exiting the scene.

“Hello, Sunset.” Adagio greeted as amicably as she could manage.

“What are you doing here?” Sunset asked.

“We’ve got a problem.” Adagio informed. “And we’re fairly certain it’s the same as yours.”

Sunset looked down at her friends. “Alright.” She turned back to Adagio. “Let’s go to the cafeteria, it’s empty right now.” She took out her phone and immediately called Hunter, knowing he would want to hear whatever they had to say. They took the Dazzlings to the cafeteria and sat in awkward silence as they awaited Hunter. Within about a half hour, the doors opened and Hunter walked in; a solid clap of his hands echoing around the empty space.

“Sorry, I would have been here quicker but as soon as I pulled into the parking lot my favorite song came on; had to listen to it.” He rounded the table and sat at the edge of the bench seat.

“Do you really think you’re as amusing as you imagine?” Adagio asked coldly.

“Good to see you too.” He folded his hands on the table. “So, what news do the psoria-sisters bring?”

“They think they ran into our bank robbers.” Sunset relayed.

“Oh?” Hunter eyed them. “Well, don’t keep us in suspense.”

“It turns out we were mistaken.” Adagio began. “There is another siren, a powerful one. She calls herself Melodiam and she came to pay us a visit after our last performance.

“I thought you said there weren’t any other sirens in Equestria.” Sunset recalled her comment from their last talk.

“She isn’t Equestrian.” Adagio answered.

“She’s from our world?” Rainbow Dash asked in shock.

“That isn’t surprising.” Hunter admitted. “What did she want with you?”

“She wanted our magic.” Aria took over. “But we told her we didn’t have it anymore, then loose lips over here told her about our shattered pendants.”

“Well, she fixed them didn’t she?” Sonata defended. “You were excited about being able to get them back.”

“Wait… she fixed them?” Sunset repeated.

“Yes.” Adagio nodded. “She used a special song to repair them and then she stole them from us. We couldn’t fight back because of Cobalt.”

“Who?” Sunset asked.

“He’s a human that we… crossed paths with before.” She said simply. “Somehow he got a hold of a magical artifact that allows him to summon golems from the earth around him.”

“Did you recognize the artifact?” Fluttershy queried.

“No, it's nothing I’ve seen before.” Adagio admitted.

“I’ll ask Princess Twilight.” Sunset noted. “What did it look like?”

“It was brown with emerald studs.” Sonata informed. “It also had decorative carvings around the outside.”

“What about the siren?” Hunter took over as he pulled a note pad from his pocket. "What did she look like?”

“Well, in human terms she appeared to be in her late thirties or early forties.” Adagio described. “Long blonde hair with a white streak down the right side. Purple eyes, fair skinned, pronounced nose and she was wearing a white sweater.”

“Her nails were painted too.” Aria added. “Same shade as her eyes.”

“Right.” Hunter nodded. “What about Cobalt? You said you knew him, what’s his last name.”

“I don’t remember.” Adagio confessed.

“Do you know why he’s working with this Melodiam?” Twilight asked.

“He wants us.” Sonata explained. “Because of what…”

“That isn’t important.” Adagio silenced her. “All that’s important is that he is helping her and they both need to be stopped.”

“What exactly is she trying to do?” Fluttershy inquired. “Why did she want your magic?”

“It has something to do with a song.” Adagio continued. “She told us there were seven siren songs, the names were is some human language I don’t recognize. But then she said there was an eighth song that no one siren could sing; but with our stolen magic she could.” She worked the recall the incident. “She said it was called… Mortem.”

“Mortem?” Hunter repeated. “That’s Latin.”

“You know what it means?” Aria asked.

“It means death.” Twilight said shallowly.

“A song of death?” Rainbow Dash looked to her friends. “That sounds pretty bad.”

“Can you stop them?” Sonata looked over them. “We can’t do this alone.”

“Sounds like we need to.” Hunter put his note pad back in his pocket. “Fast.”

“Where do we start?” Sunset turned to him.

“I’ll run her description through a government database to see if I can I.D. her, since she’s a siren I’ll check if anyone at my agency has heard of her.” He stroked his chin. “I’ll need a description of Cobalt too, I’ll track down his public records and see if I can find out anything.”

“I’ll give Twilight the description of the artifact.” Sunset offered. “She should be able to tell us what it is.”

“What about us?” Aria gestured to Adagio and Sonata. “We’ve kept on the move, but we know that Cobalt is after us.”

“I’ll get you somewhere safe.” Hunter promised.

“You will?” Sonata asked.

“Yeah.” He stood. “In fact, let’s get that taken care of right now.”

“Okay, we’ll get on the move too.” Rainbow Dash got up. “Fluttershy and I will contact Applejack, Pinkie and Rarity to fill them in.”

“What can I do?” Twilight asked.

“Just sit tight for now.” Sunset laid her hand to Twilight’s shoulder. “We need to get information before we start making moves.”

“God you're sexy when you talk strategic.” Hunter smiled. “I’ll be in touch after I get them set up.”

“Right.” Sunset kissed him. “Talk to you soon.”

“Ladies.” Hunter walked around the table. “If you’ll come with me.”

“Alright.” Adagio nodded, leading her siren sisters as they followed him from the school.

Hunter had them follow him to a quiet industrial parking lot where they could leave their travel bus. Packing light and changing into hoodies to hide their identities, they piled into Hunter’s car and he took them downtown to the Gala Hotel. Ordering them a suite with two king beds, they went up to the fifth floor to get settled in.

“I’m calling the left bed.” Aria noted as soon as they entered.

Adagio sat in one of the deep chairs and crossed her legs. “So, what now?”

“For now, you three need to stay here and lay low.” Hunter instructed. “The tab on the room is open, so get whatever you need or want through room service. You’re still a popular group, so if people find out you’re here then Cobalt won’t be far behind.”

“Fine.” Adagio nodded.

Sonata saw that Adagio and Aria were still unwilling to show any real appreciation for what was being done. “Thank you.” She smiled at Hunter.

“No problem.” He grabbed her shoulder. “Just keep quiet and you’ll be safe. In the meantime, I’m going to see what I can dig up. Once we have more information, I’ll be back to fill you in.”

“Okay.” Sonata nodded.

“Now, tell me what you can about Cobalt.” He removed his note book again.

Sonata described him to Hunter but he could tell that there was something they were keeping from him by the way Adagio avoided any inquiry into what happened between them. Knowing it wasn’t prudent to argue about it now, he took what information they gave and returned to his apartment. After checking in with Sunset, he committed himself to research on their enemies for the remainder of the evening. Working through the night, he called her again in the morning to let her know that he was going to talk with the Dazzlings again about what he learned. She asked to come with so he got in a few hours of sleep before picking her up from school. They returned to the hotel and headed up to their room, Hunter knocked on the door and let them know who it was.

“Hey.” Sonata greeted as she opened the door.

“Everything been quiet?” Hunter asked as they entered.

“Yeah.” She answered. “We were just eating lunch.”

“Ooh, anything good?” He followed her into the main room, Adagio and Aria were plated up on the bed with quite a spread.

“Making the most of this I see.” Sunset eyed the expensive looking platters.

“Your human said we could have whatever we wanted.” Aria noted.

“His name is Hunter.” Sunset narrowed her eyes.

“It’s fine.” Hunter pulled a chair out and sat backwards on it. “But why don’t we take a minute to talk about your human?” His words made them stop eating.

“What about him?” Adagio asked.

“What the hell did you do to this guy?” Hunter asked in return.

“What do you mean?” Sunset looked between him and Adagio.

“Cobalt Streak.” Hunter began. “Age twenty five; went to Griffonstone High and was a prominent member of the track team. A missing person’s report was filed on him during his senior year, he just up and vanished with no word to his friends or family. Written statements from his friends noted he was last seen with a girl who they had claimed he was dating but had no affiliation with the school. Police attempts to find this mystery girl turned up empty and after two weeks the case was dropped and his family were told to assume that he was dead. He was officially buried three days later.” Hunter looked across the three of them. “Low and behold though, he wasn’t dead. Fifteen months later he wandered into a police station with only staggered memories of what had transpired during his disappearance. He was treated and released, family notified and was reinstated as a living citizen. After that his life fell apart; he started demonstrating extreme violent tendencies, especially towards women, and was in and out of jail several times. Upon his last noted release he disappeared from his hometown and took his anger on the road, stalking you three I imagine.” He glanced up at Sunset. “This is a kicker, from what I can gather he’s been in Canterlot for a while now.”

“How can you tell?” Sunset asked.

“Speeding ticket.” He explained. “Red light camera got a photo of him running a light with an older blonde in the passenger seat that matches Melodiam’s description. The ticket was issued over a year ago. Which brings us to his mysterious new power.”

“I haven’t heard back from Twilight yet.” Sunset noted. “Did you find something on that armlet?”

“You remember the magic shop the álííl ayą́ attacked?” He asked. “I said they got a shipment in that drew it there.”

“The missing Equestrian artifact.” Sunset finished.

“Yep.” He nodded. “I got to thinking about it as everything started to come together, I went back through his acquisition records and found an item that matched the description. Cobalt must have bought it right before the shop got attacked, I can’t say why or if he even knew what it was at first.” Hunter sat upright as he concluded his recap. “That's all the information I could find.” He looked to the Dazzlings. “So, how about you fill in some of the blanks?”

Sunset watched their reaction to his question, Sonata’s face grew deeply troubled and Aria merely looked away from them. “Adagio… we can’t help unless we know what’s going on.”

“Fine.” Adagio toned sharply. “I was the one he was ‘dating’ at the time. He had caught my eye as a decent specimen for a human and we were struggling at the time. I thought that having a human under our control would be to our benefit so we took him with us while we traveled.” Even Adagio’s face belied a shame at what they had done. “Our contempt for this world had reached an all time high with the ceaseless troubles we had just trying to get by and it… it just felt satisfying to take it out on him.”

“He was basically your slave.” Sunset said in disgust.

“It was years ago.” Sonata spoke up. “We aren’t like that anymore; I… tried to tell him that, but all he wants is revenge.”

“To be honest, I don’t blame him.” Hunter confessed.

“We reached a point where we started to find ourselves better off.” Adagio continued. “He was more of a burden by then, so we released him.”

They sat silent for a long minute until Aria had enough of the quiet. “Well?” She looked at Hunter. “Go on, tell us we deserve whatever horrible things he wants to do to us. That’s what you’re thinking.”

“That’s not what I’m thinking.” Hunter shook his head. “Look, I’m not excusing what you did; you destroyed Cobalt’s life. But revenge isn’t justice and at this point, he’s more dangerous and unstable than you three ever were.” He sighed. “I always try to do what’s right but at the end of the day I’m not a cop; my job isn’t to uphold the law, it’s to stop dangerous threats to the general public.” He stood from the chair. “You said you aren’t like that anymore and honestly, I believe you. You can act as bitchy and cold as you want, but I know a monster when I see one… and you aren’t monsters, at least not anymore.”

“I agree.” Sunset came in. “When you three lost your magic you had no choice but to live as humans and as much as you hate it I think it’s helped you empathize with them. You’re doing really well now, you’re successful musicians and those humans you claim to hate so much look up to you and idolize you.” She thought back. “You don’t remember this, but we spoke at the Starswirled Music Festival; you told me you paid the price for what you did at Canterlot High. That in moving forward you get a do-over with every new day, it’s called living life.” Sunset smiled at her. “You’re not the same as you were when we first met and you deserve to be able to keep moving forward.”

Adagio looked at her in surprise. “I… said that?”

“You did.” She nodded.

“Sunny and I are no strangers to having fucked up pasts.” Hunter stepped in. “I don’t deal in what was, I deal in what is; and right now the clear and present danger is the homicidal earth bender and his ancient waifu.”

“Did you learn anything about Melodiam?” Sunset asked.

“No, she’s a complete unknown.” Hunter admitted. “Not even my department has ever heard of her. My guess is she’s a hold over from ancient times, stories about sirens in this world have been around since 750BC. She’s been sitting on her ass for a long time now but it looks like she’s ready to make her move.” He shrugged.

“Can you really stop them?” Sonata asked rather meekly. “You should have seen Cobalt's eyes, it honestly scared me when I looked into them.”

“Don’t worry.” Hunter gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m pretty good at this; I won’t let him hurt any of you, I promise.”

Adagio and Aria didn’t fully know how to respond to the care and kindness they were being shown. Sonata took Hunter’s wrists and smiled at Sunset. “You’ve got a really good human.”

Sunset eyed Hunter with a proud smile. “Yeah, I do.”

Chapter 5

Sunset and Hunter left the hotel and started back towards her place, along the way she gave Twilight a call to give her an update to pass along to the others.

“What’s that?” Sunset asked after she finished her information dump. “Oh… I completely forgot.” She paused. “Yeah, thank goodness for Pinkie; I think her memory is the best out of all of us. Alright, I’ll grab something… okay, bye.”

“What’s up?” Hunter glanced over as he drove along.

“Sandalwood’s birthday is tomorrow, there’s going to be a party in the park after school.” She eyed him sweetly. “Can we stop so I can pick up a gift?”

“Sure.” He altered his course to head for the mall.

“I know a birthday party doesn’t seem appropriate right here at the moment.” She sat back in the seat. “But I think we need it right now.”

“You’re absolutely right.” Hunter agreed. “No matter how much trouble is on the horizon, you can’t lose sight of what’s happening around you. Little things like that keep everyone positive and reminds them what they’re fighting for.”

“More soldier wisdom?” Her head rolled over to look at him.

“No way, that’s all Lilly.”

“You mentioned her before.” She recalled. “Who is she?”

“Lilly is… kind of the heart of our agency.” He smiled. “She used to be a public affairs officer in the Air Force until she was brought into our fold. She handles all the document manipulation, paperwork, identification and funds we need for our missions. She’s the one that got me into your school in the first place and played the part of my mom on the phone with Principal Celestia.” He paused as he pulled onto the freeway. “All that aside, she’s a master people reader and it’s impossible for all of us hardened soldiers and combat veterans to get anything by her.” He laughed. “She knows what we go through and where we came from; she always knows what to say and when we need to hear it.”

“She sounds great.”

“She is.” He quickly looked over at her. “She was the first one to congratulate me on staying with you.”

“Well, give her my thanks for the support.” Sunset requested.

They soon pulled into the mall parking lot and the pair wandered the shops looking for something nice for Sandalwood. Picking out a gift and a card, Hunter took Sunset back home and followed her up to the door.

“I’m going to head back tonight.”

“Oh, okay.” Sunset idled in the doorway.

“I’d stay, but now that we know what we’re up against I need to start gearing up.” He squeezed her hand. “But I’ll meet you at the park tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Sunset brought him in for a kiss. “Is there anything you want us to do?”

“Not yet.” He shook his head. “We still don’t know exactly what their plan is, we can talk about it tomorrow after the party.” He gave her another short kiss before jumping back in his car and heading home.

Normal life got the chance to rear its head as several dozen of the students gathered for Sandalwood’s party. The grassy field was busy with activity while Bulk used the park’s grill to maintain a steady stream of burgers and hot dogs to accompany the buffet of sides laid out across one of the inlaid metal tables. Sunset sat at a separate table with Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Wallflower, Flash, Micro Chips, Snips and the birthday boy himself. As they sat and talked, Wallflower noticed how drained Sunset appeared.

“Are you feeling okay, Sunset?” She asked. “You seem worn out.”

“Oh… I guess I am, a little.” Sunset sat upright and perked herself. “Sorry.”

“Burning the candle at both ends?” Sandalwood asked with a small laugh.

“You could say that.” Sunset nodded. “Last few days have been long, been out with Hunter mostly.”

“Things been going well with you two?” Flash inquired.

“Yeah, it has been.” She smiled.

“That’s good.” He admitted. “I’m happy for you.”

Sunset saw the earnestness in his eyes at the sentiment. “Thanks, that means a lot.”

“I still can’t believe you put up with that guy.” Snips said offhandedly.

“Yeah, we’re still working on that too.” Rainbow Dash chuckled.

“I’m used to his mouth by now.” Sunset confessed. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“Ah ahem!” Hunter appeared behind her and sat at her side.

"Of course." Sunset sighed.

“Hey everybody." He greeted cheerfully. "A question for you. Why are girlfriends like haunted houses?” He looked over the table. “When the interior walls start bleeding you get the hell out of there.” He turned to Sunset with a gimmicky grin.

“Wow.”Micro Chips shook his head as the table tried to process what they just heard.

Sunset looked down at her open palm, trying to decide whether slapping him was worth proving herself wrong.

“Please hit him, darling.” Rarity begged.

“Nope.” Sunset put on a smile. “Not going to give him the satisfaction.”

“Can I?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I can see my work here is done.” Hunter quickly stood. “I’m off.” He hurried away, heading towards the food.

“You must really like him.” Wallflower giggled.

“He’s completely endearing when it’s just the two of us.” Sunset swore.

“The dude has a completely different vibe now.” Sandalwood noted. “So much more positive than the first time around. Seems like you’ve caused a big change in him.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Sunset glanced over and saw Hunter messing with Trixie and Snails.

The party carried on until five when everyone began heading home. Once the park was quiet, Sunset and her friends gathered at a table to change their focus to more serious matters.

“Okay, all cleaned up.” Applejack noted as she dropped a giant bag of trash from the party at the table side.

“Hold on.” Pinkie hovered over the bag as she jammed the last bites of cake on her plate into her mouth. “Herr yu go.” She mumbled through her mouthful, tossing the plate and fork into the bag.

“That was a fun party.” Hunter sighed as he looked over the girls. “Guess we should make sure he gets one next year.”

“Right.” Sunset nodded.

“Do we have any kind of plan on how to handle this new siren?” Fluttershy asked.

“Not really.” Hunter said honestly. “We have an idea of what she wants to do but without any notion of how, we’re a little stuck.” He admitted. “I get stealing the Dazzlings' magic to make herself stronger, that’s bad guy 101; but why rob a bank?”

“Well, it’s not like either of them can just get normal jobs.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Probably just funding their lives.”

“As a siren, she can control people to do her bidding.” Rarity interjected. “Why bother with money when you can have everything given to you for free?”

“Anything she uses her powers for will be reported as a crime once the person wakes up.” Hunter fueled his theorizing with their comments. “If she needs money it’s because she wants to do something legally so that it won’t leave a trail.”

“I have a theory.” Twilight spoke up. “We know she wants to sing the song of death, which means she’s obviously going to be targeting either a specific person or a large group. If we assume the latter, it would make sense to find something that would allow her to impact the greatest number of people possible.”

“Someway to broadcast her song over the entire city.” Sunset arrived at Twilight’s conclusion.

“Yes.” Twilight nodded.

“That sounds like something out of a movie.” Applejack came in. “Besides, it isn’t like anyone really listens to radio anymore. Maybe if she got on T.V., but you can’t be on every station at once.”

“I’ll look into it.” Hunter noted. “That does give me some ideas.”

“And what about the Dazzling’s stalker?” Twilight continued.

“Yeah, in some respects he sounds scarier than the siren.” Fluttershy commented.

“I do have some news on that.” Sunset chimed in. “Princess Twilight was able to identify the artifact.” She opened her backpack to retrieve her magical book. “She got back to me sometime late last night.” Laying the book on the table, she opened up to the last page. “It’s called the Earthen Brace; it was created a long time ago by a Unicorn who lived in a small town with a community of Earth Ponies. The simple farming town was always under threat from creatures and bandits. Since they couldn’t fight, he made the brace to allow the head of the town to literally summon an army from the land they worked to defend them.”

“It sucks that something made to protect wound up in such rotten hands.” Pinkie laid her head on the table.

“It’s just a tool, Pinkie.” Applejack stated. “Tools just do what they're made for, it’s all about who picks the thing up. Something like that could do a lot of good.”

“Quite.” Rarity nodded. “Perhaps if we are able to get it off of him we could keep this artifact for a change.”

“Equestrian artifacts are too dangerous for this world.” Sunset refuted. “It needs to be destroyed.”

“This sounds like it’s going to be a dangerous fight.” Fluttershy sighed. “Shouldn’t we get the police involved?”

“Or the army?” Rainbow Dash suggested.

“And tell them what?” Applejack asked. “That a nearly three thousand year old siren is plotting against the city?”

“She’s right.” Hunter laughed. “This is usually the type of thing that I’m called in for, fortunately I’m already here.” He rose from the table. “You gave me a few ideas, let me check some things out tonight.”

“Okay.” Sunset closed her book and returned it to her bag.

“Oh, and I finally got a hold of the stuff for your place.” He added. “I’ll install it tomorrow while you’re at school.”

“What stuff?” Pinkie asked.

“Hunter and I had a talk and he’s going to install a security system.” She looked up at him. “A reasonable one.”

“It is.” He vowed, leaning down to kiss her. “See you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Hunter.” She dragged her fingers along his arm as he walked off.

“I should be getting home too.” Fluttershy checked the time. “Don’t forget, we have a history test tomorrow.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Rainbow Dash groaned.

“I’ll toss this in the dumpster and head out myself.” Applejack hoisted her trash bag. “See you girls tomorrow.”

“Right.” Sunset took up her pack as they dispersed for the night.

Cobalt stood in the rear yard of an industrial building, a steady stream of men and women flowing in and out with electrical and construction equipment. He drowned out the noise of the labor as he focused solely on increasing his proficiency with the Earthen Brace. Over and over again he called forth his mindless servants, putting them through combat routines before returning them to the soil. In his mind, he could see the Dazzlings all too clearly; especially the looks of fear on their faces when he had them in his grasp. The knowledge that they were afraid of him brought a deep satisfaction that bordered on physical pleasure.

“Cobalt.” Melodiam approached him, snapping him out of his concentration.

“Yes, Ms. Melodiam.” He quickly turned to her.

“We have some heavier equipment that your golems are more suited to move.” She informed.

“Oh, of course.” He nodded as he held up his wrist. “I’m getting more and more control every time I use this.

“Well, you have been training with it virtually non-stop.” She commended. “That is of little surprise, although I am impressed how quickly you have adapted to it.”

“Thank you, Ms. Melodiam.” He smiled. “I’m still sorry I’ve been hogging it, considering it was supposed to be a gift for you.”

She laughed. “That is quite alright.” Her hand found his shoulder. “It suits you far better; besides, I have lived long enough to grow tired of baubles and jewels.” She looked up at the building behind them. “All I wish for now is a home so that I can end this nomadic existence and finally birth a new generation of my kind. A wish that I can now realize thanks to my encounter with you. Without you, I never would have known about those sirens and been able to take their magic; magic that will allow me the power to remove the male element of this city and put the females under my permanent control.” She laid her hand to her stomach. “My eggs will be ready soon and this time they will have a father to seed them.” She smiled down at Cobalt. “A father that can protect them with his own powerful army.”

Cobalt gently laid his hand atop hers. “It’ll be an honor, Ms. Melodiam. I owe you so much, you could have killed me for what I attempted but instead you showed me kindness and affection.”

“Your mind may have been broken, but I could see how strong your will was.” She lauded. “Once you’ve taken your revenge you will be free of your demons and will be whole again, and more than ready to stand at my side.” She gestured towards the street. “But first, we must complete our work here.”

“Right, just show me what you want done.” He obediently followed at her side as she led him out to the trucks that lined the street.

After a relatively quiet day, Sunset came home to find Hunter’s car at her curb. She found the door unlocked and went in to discover him putting in a keypad on the adjacent wall.

“Hey, Sunny.” He greeted.

“Hi.” She closed the door and dropped her backpack. “How’s it going?”

“Good, good.” He nodded. “Nearly done.”

“How long have you been at it?” She asked as she went into the kitchen.

“Couple hours, the instructions for these things are awful.” He tilted his head back over his shoulder. “Oh, and you’re good to go on your computer.”

“Thank you.” She called back.

“I changed your wallpaper too, that waterfall was just so bland.”

“If it’s something disgusting I’m going to beat your head in.” She went into her second bedroom office and clicked her mouse, her suspicious eyes softened when she saw a picture of the two of them together that he had taken. She laughed and returned to the living room. “Alright, bonus boyfriend points.”

“You need to give me more credit.” He smiled.

“You’ll do something sooner or later to lose it.” She chuckled.

“Yeah, probably.” He stepped back. “There, we should be good to go.”

“So how does it work?”

“Just enter the code to activate it after a ten minute delay and re-enter the code to disable it; you also have a key chain remote to deactivate it if you set it before you leave the house.”

“Cool.” She looked over the alpha-numeric pad. “What’s the code?”

“22266.” He recited.

“222…” She sighed and glanced back at him. “Really?”

“What, I wanted it to be something you’d never forget.” He grinned. “As far as your cameras go, I left a note next to your computer for an app that lets you watch the feed in real time. There is also a login which will let you set up the VPN on your phone.”

“Alright.” She palmed his cheek and kissed him. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Hunter hugged her. “Now, about your installation fee.” He smiled, working his eyebrows.

Sunset shook her head with a restrained smile. “But I don’t have any money to pay.” She said in poorly acted fashion. “Is there some other way I can pay you?”

“You’re terrible at this.” He started to laugh. “I hope you don’t give the pizza guy or the plumber this kind of lackluster effort.”

“Shut up.” She laughed. “Go sit down while you still have some points, I’ll order us dinner.”

“Deal.” He kissed the top of her head.

Author's Note

In case you didn't check your phones, 22266 can be used to spell 'bacon' on an alpha-numeric keypad. If you're anything like Sunset, you probably look like :ajbemused: right now, lol.

Chapter 6

Despite the comfort, the Dazzlings were starting to go a bit stir crazy being stuck in a hotel room. Sonata kept mostly in front of the television while Aria whiled away the time on her phone. Adagio, for the most part, was happy that they kept themselves pacified and out of her hair; even so, her own patience was rapidly reaching its limit as anxiousness about their situation constantly crept into her mind. As they continued their wait, the three of them quickly whipped their attention towards the door as a pair of knocks sounded.

“Did one of you order something?” Adagio asked.

“Nope.” Aria answered dryly.

“Not me.” Sonata shook her head.

Adagio went to the door and laid her hand on the knob. “Who’s there?”

“Ben.”

“Ben who?” She asked insistently.

“Ben wondering if you missed me?”

“Ugh…” Adagio jerked the door open to find Hunter on the other side. “Cute.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.” He stepped in and closed the door. “How you holding up?”

“Bored.” Aria said without hesitation.

“It hasn’t been so bad.” Sonata left the T.V. to join them.

“I hope you came with news.” Adagio fell back into the chair.

“Not much.” He admitted. “I’m working on tracking them down, they’ve been quiet so far.”

“Any idea what she’s planning?” Adagio asked.

“Well, Twilight threw out the best guess that she’s looking for a way to broadcast herself. She gained the ability to sing Mortem, but the fact that she hasn’t made a move yet supports that idea.”

“She wants to wipe out the entire city?” Sonata fearfully queried.

“Or at least a chunk of it.” He shrugged. “I don’t know how the song works.”

“We’ve never even heard of it.” Aria noted.

“There’s no record of such a song in Equestrian siren history.” Adagio added.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Your world doesn’t sound like the kind of place that would come up with that type of thing.”

“The human world continues to impress.” Aria sarcastically toned.

“You have no idea.” Hunter smiled at her. “Trust me, something like this isn’t even close to the worst.”

“That doesn’t make me feel much better.” Sonata frowned.

“Sorry.” Hunter laughed. “Hey, you want to get out of here for a bit?”

“I thought that was dangerous.” Adagio reminded.

“It is.” He confessed. “But I know that you three can’t sit in here forever without a break. Just cover up, keep a low profile, let me handle any public engaging and we should be OK.” He stood and lifted his shirt, revealing the grip of a pistol. “And if anything does show up, I’ll handle it.”

“I’m in.” Aria put her phone away. “I’ll risk it just to get some fresh air.”

“Alright.” Adagio agreed.

Donning their hoodies and shades, Hunter escorted them from the room and out into the city for a few hours. He took them uptown into a quieter area of the city where they were able to walk around more freely and treated them to lunch and coffee at an outdoor cafe. Adagio and Aria slowly started to come around to him as he told them about his life and job, already past the point of feeling the need to keep his identity from the otherworldly trio. They, in turn, told him about their life in Equestria before winding up in the human world and the ups and downs of their own existences. After the fact, he took them back to the hotel and got them safely into the room.

“That was nice.” Sonata pulled her hoodie off. “Thank you.”

“Yes.” Adagio pulled her shades off. “I… appreciate what you’ve done.” She glanced at Aria.

“What?” Aria eyed her back. “I do too.”

Hunter chuckled. “Thanks, don’t hurt yourself though.” He followed Adagio into the kitchenette. “Hey, I need to ask you something. Something I couldn’t while Sunny was with me.”

“What?” She rested on the counter.

“I know you’re looking to get your pendants back if we’re able to beat Melodiam.” He began. “I need to know what you plan on doing if you’re able to get your magic back.”

Adagio paused at the question. “I take it you’re wondering if we’ll go back to using it against humans?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Look, you’re a straight shooter and so am I. I meant what I said about not seeing you as the same monsters that went up against Sunny; but I can’t ignore the fact that the change was made out of necessity and not choice.”

“I suppose it was.” She admitted.

“You know what I do now.” He continued. “I’m not going to lecture you or tell you what to do, at the end of the day it’s your choice. But, I have to be honest and tell you that if you get your magic back and attempt to use it to get revenge on Sunny or against humanity… I’m the one you’re going to have to deal with.” He looked at her with honest but stern eyes. “And as much as I like you, I won’t hesitate to do what I have to do to keep this world safe.”

Adagio stared into his eyes, seeing how sincere and serious he was being at that moment.

“Hey.” Sonata wandered in. “I’m going to order some ice cream, you want some?”

“Absolutely.” Hunter’s seriousness instantly faded. “Do they have sour apple? I bet that’s Aria’s favorite.”

“Shut up.” Aria scowled. “It’s mint, chocolate chip.”

Hunter looked back to Adagio as Sonata headed for the phone. “I’m not trying to threaten you or scare you, I’m just being real.” He gave her a quiet smile. “I genuinely hope that when this is over we’re all still on the same side.”

Adagio watched him head out into the room and return to being playful. She hadn’t spent much time thinking about what would happen should they win their magic back, but she definitely was now.”

After dessert, Hunter left them and started driving home. His mind wandered as he drove, playing with all the information he had acquired so far. Stopping at a red light, he looked over and saw a military surplus store that was advertising a sale. As he stared at the sign, a hole in his recent thought process suddenly became apparent and he perked up in the seat. He sped back to his complex and hurried up to his apartment. The computer was as he left it, opened up to commercial real estate sales; he redirected his search to industrial buildings and began combing through recently closed listings. One in particular caught his eye and he logged into the account he had made to see the details of the sale, smiling as he saw the stated buyer.

“There you are.” He muttered to himself as he picked up his phone and hit the contact for Sunset. “Hey Sunny.” He spoke as she picked up. “Listen, I think I might have found them. I’m going to head there tonight and check it out.” He paused as she responded. “No, I’m going to go alone. This is purely recon and if I’m wrong then you’d just be wasting your time. If I’m right though, I’ll find out what I can and call you in the morning.” He smiled as she made a lovingly insistent demand. “OK, I’ll call you as soon as I’m back here. I’ll be in touch.” He ended the call, setting his phone aside and heading into his bedroom to start getting ready. Three metal storage boxes, each sealed with a different combination lock, held the most often used tools of his trade. Dressing in black jeans with matching turtleneck and shoes, he loaded up a small duffle bag with what he needed and waited until nearly midnight to move out.

The target was a building in the western industrial district which was one of Canterlot’s oldest areas. He parked a mile away from his intended destination and stepped out into the eerie quiet of the rows of warehouses and manufacturing facilities. Donning black gloves and a ski mask, he began making his way through the back lots until he discovered an active parking lot. Swapping to a crawl, he made his way closer by moving between the chain link fencing of the lot and the line of shrubbery that accented it; once at a decent distance he slowly unzipped his bag and pulled out a pair of binoculars. He closely eyed the people that were moving in and out of the building, their blank faces dimly illuminated by the old flood lights that hung over the parking lot. He committed himself to a pattern of observation and movement, working his way across the entirety of area; he took down all the licence plate numbers he could as well as noted the company’s to which the commercial trucks belonged, he also used his phone to capture images of what was being moved in and out as well as the building itself. From his vantage, he could not make out much through the available windows but saw a woman that matched the traffic light photo he had seen before. Crawling his way around to the front of the building he was able to get a better look at what caught his eye about the property in the first place, a old but still standing tower that was set up with an air raid siren from decades ago. The sky above the roof lit up from time to time which let him know that they were working on some type of repair or modification to the existing equipment. After a few more photos, he fled the scene and returned to his car.

“Phew.” He pulled off the mask as he got into the driver’s seat, quickly leaving the area and getting back onto a main road into the heart of the city. Once safely back at his apartment, he checked the clock and saw that it was nearly two thirty in the morning; but as promised he called Sunset and the other end picked up just barely after one ring. “Hey.” He sat back. “Yeah, I’m okay and back and my place. They’re there alright and they’re working on something, which means that whatever she’s planning they aren’t ready yet; which is good. I still have some work to do here, but have everyone meet up at your place tomorrow morning and I’ll be by to share.” He paused and listened. “Okay, get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow… goodnight, Sunny.” He ended the call and laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as he psyched himself up for another few hours of computer work.

With it being the start of the weekend, the girls were free to gather at Sunset’s as she requested. Hunter arrived at around ten with a folder of information and a large iced coffee.

“Morning, Sunny.” He greeted with a sleepy smile as she let him in.

“You okay?” She asked after a kiss.

“Yeah… just… long night.” He wandered in, finding the others seated about the living room. “Morning ladies. Look, I’m a little tired so I’m going to need you to be smart-asses towards each other to pinch hit for me.” He fell to the couch. “Rare, if you could be flirty with AJ for me I’d really appreciate it.”

“OK, we’re going to do none of that.” Rarity said plainly. “What were you able to find out?”

“Alright.” He sat forward and laid his folder on the table. “She’s holed up in an old building on the west side. I was working with what Twi said and at first I focused on commercial properties that fit the bill. But, I remembered that some older buildings that had military use were sold off as industrial properties. Looking for anything that might have had some form of broadcast equipment, I eventually found one with an old air raid tower.” He opened the folder, pulling out the listing and sale information. “I checked the buyer and found it listed as a company purchase through Melody LLC, and the sale price was just below what was taken from the bank.”

“Clever.” Twilight admitted. “I never would have thought of something like an air raid siren.”

“Well, it does have siren in the name.” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

“So what, she’s going to use the set up to play her song?” Applejack asked.

“In a sense.” Hunter continued. “I don’t know what they’re doing, but she’s got at least thirty hostages working day and night doing something to the tower.”

“Those old sirens can be heard up to twenty five miles away.” Twilight noted. “If she amplifies its capability then even from the west side of the city she could be heard across all of Canterlot.”

“So we just need to stop her before they finish, right?” Pinkie asked.

“What about the people?” Fluttershy added. “We need to save them from Melodiam’s control.”

“We need to do both.” Hunter stated. “Which… is going to be tricky. Our priority has to be disabling that tower; I know the hostages are in danger but if she gets that song out over the city then everyone is dead.”

“Just get me close and I’ll rip it right off the dang roof.” Applejack promised.

“The first thing we need to worry about is protecting ourselves from Melodiam’s songs.” Sunset reminded.

“That’s true, and I have a way around that.” Hunter leaned back and looked up at her. “But the problem is the control she has over the hostages.”

“I can take care of that.” Twilight assured. “That is, if you have another of those high decibel emitters that you used on me before.”

“I do.” Hunter smiled at her. “What do you have in mind?”

“A hand held LRAD.” She answered.

The girls looked at each other in confusion while Hunter bristled with excitement. “Nice.” He said approvingly.

“What is that?” Sunset inquired.

“LRAD stands for Long Range Acoustic Device.” Twilight explained. “They are non-lethal and use focused, high decibel sound to incapacitate people. I can use Hunter’s weapon to make one of our own; if we use it on the workers it should shock them free from her control.” She set her thumb to her chin. “They won’t be happy when they come too though.”

“How long will it take you to whip one up?” Hunter asked.

“I can have one ready by tomorrow.” She nodded. "I basically have all the parts I need."

“That just leaves Cobalt.” Fluttershy came in. “What do we do about his golems? They’re just dirt and rock and as long as he has that armlet he can keep making more.”

“Leave them to me.” Hunter thumbed his chest. “Explosive rounds should be able to drop them pretty quick.”

“If we do this in teams, we should be able to hit them fast.” Sunset sat on the back of the couch. “I’ll work with Twilight and Fluttershy to save the hostages. Rainbow Dash can help Applejack can rush the tower; and Pinkie’s explosive magic and Rarity’s defensive magic can help Hunter deal with the golems.”

“That sounds like a plan to me.” Hunter reached over his head and took her hand. “Good call, General Sunny.”

"Thank all those battles in Equestria." She patted his shoulder.

“Alright, let’s take them down hard.” Rainbow Dash said eagerly.

“First things first.” Hunter stood and looked to Twilight. “Come with me and I’ll get you that decibel emitter. I’ll take you home and then focus on getting the gear we’ll need.”

“You mean we get to use real army stuff again?” Pinkie asked with wide eyes.

“Of course.” He smiled. “We need to match after all, makes us look like a team.”

“How exciting” Fluttershy clapped her hands together.

“I have everyone’s measurements committed to memory.” Rarity noted.

“Aw, I was hoping to take them myself.” He frowned, jumping as Sunset pinched the back of his neck.

“Get moving.” She toned with a smile.

Hunter took Twilight and headed back to his apartment, the other girls choosing to remain with Sunset for the time being to further discuss the impending battle.

Chapter 7

Hunter received a call from Twilight on Sunday afternoon to let him know that the LRAD was ready. He asked her to head over to his apartment, sending out messages to the others to do the same; the girls arrived in staggered succession with Fluttershy and Pinkie showing up last at around four o’clock.

“Sorry we took so long.” Fluttershy apologized.

“Don’t worry about it.” Hunter brushed it off. “We can’t move until nightfall anyhow.” He left Sunset’s side on the couch and headed for his room. “Be right back.”

“Are you all ready for this?” Sunset asked around.

“Definitely.” Pinkie pumped her fist.

“Yeah, saving the city is like our hobby now.” Rainbow Dash said with confidence.

“Glad to hear.” Hunter returned with suitcases. “But this is going to be a lot hairier than when we fought the álííl ayą́. It isn’t just our asses on the line, we’ve got innocent civilians to extract and our opponents are a far more dangerous than a wild animal.” He spread the luggage out on the floor. “Your outfits are in here, labeled and fitted to our seamstress' specs. Change in the bedroom and then I’ll show you your gear.” The girls began extracting their clothes and heading into the bedroom.

“No weird spy cameras or anything in there, right?” Applejack asked suspiciously.

“Of course not.” Hunter assured.

Applejack immediately turned to Sunset. “No weird spy cameras or anything in there, right?” She asked again.

“No, believe me I already checked.” Sunset promised as they walked.

“You know, four or five more insinuations like that and I’m going to start taking it personally.” Hunter called after them.

In about twenty minutes they returned wearing matching, black and navy blue suburban camouflage outfits. They each had hard knuckle tactical gloves, belts with clip on storage pouches, additional padding on the knees and elbows as well as protection level III-A ballistic vests.

“Ok, we look cool.” Rainbow Dash smiled.

“I’m having a little trouble moving.” Twilight worked her arms in an attempt to loosen up the material.

“They’re fresh out of the box, darling.” Rarity noted. “Just give it some time to stretch out.”

Hunter looked them over approvingly. “You could be centerfolds for Guns & Ammo.”

“Thanks, I think.” Sunset sat beside him again.

“So, what else do we get?” Pinkie asked excitedly.

“First of all.” Hunter picked up a box he had on the floor. “Here is your siren protection.” He removed the lid revealing eight headsets with inner ear speakers. “This is lovingly known as the conference call. It’s a blue tooth communication device with noise canceling ear pieces." He displayed a button on the righthand side. "Just hold down this button to activate the microphone. They operate on the same channel so the only thing we’re going to hear in the field is each other.”

“So we’ll basically be deaf?” Fluttershy asked.

“It’s a risk we have to take.” Hunter detailed. “It’ll be freaky at first, but rely on each other to call out anything in each others’ blind spots. Plus, each team will be able to keep the others updated on their situations so we can make calls on the fly if we have to.” He reached behind the couch and pulled up a metal briefcase. Setting it on the table, he opened it up to reveal a pair of batons.

“What are those?” Rainbow Dash leaned in.

“These are SWAT grade stun batons.” He explained. “You and AJ are going to take these.”

“Hoo boy.” Applejack carefully lifted one of the weapons. “Just how powerful are they?”

“Enough.” Hunter answered simply. “If you two are going to enter the building, you’ll need these to drop any of the controlled workers who try to stop you.” He hopped up from the couch and went into the kitchen, coming back with a map he had printed out. “Okay, here is an aerial map of the building I printed off the net.” He set it down on the small accent table; the girls got closer to observe as Hunter traced his fingers around the image. “Our plan is simple enough; they don’t know we're coming so we have the full element of surprise. Our entrance point is going to be the north side of the rear parking lot. My team will cause the initial stir, we need to draw Melodiam and Cobalt out of the building before anything else. Once we have their attention, they’ll engage and most likely use the hostages as weapons. At that point, Sunny’s team will flank and start disabling the hostages while we draw Cobalt in the opposite direction. In the chaos, RD and AJ will move in through this side entrance and start working their way up to the roof. Once you're on the roof, bring that tower down by any means necessary. Twi will head inside sometime after you and start freeing the remaining hostages while Fluttershy begins extracting the first round to this area across the street.” He then pointed to the eastern side of the building. “There is an old fire escape on this side of the building, use it to extract the remaining hostages and rendezvous with Fluttershy. Once all the hostages are safe, call the police and give them your location and a message that there is a fire at that address.”

“A fire?” Sunset repeated.

“Yeah, once the building is empty I’m going to torch it.” He detailed. “It’ll be controlled enough to not spread beyond the structure, just enough to get the fire department on the scene as well to help tend to the workers.”

“What about Melodiam and Cobalt?” Pinkie inquired.

“Well, that depends on them.” He said honestly. “If we can, we bring them down. There’s a good chance they’ll try to flee once they see they’ve lost control. Our top priorities are the tower and the hostages, taking them down is a luxury.” He checked their faces. “Everyone clear on what we’re doing?” The girls nodded in a round. “I know you all get into stuff like this a lot, but you’re really going above and beyond on this one.” He smiled.

“This is a bit more extreme.” Twilight concurred. “But I’m not scared as long as we face it together.”

“That’s right.” Sunset agreed. “The power and magic of our friendship can handle anything.”

“Don’t forget the power of high end, tactical gear.” Hunter reminded with a raised finger.

Sunset gave a conceding nod. “That too.” She said with a laugh.

With a plan in place, the eight of them headed out at nine o’clock using a mini-van that Hunter had rented under an assumed name. The gravity of what they were headed into was not lost on the girls as they noticed that Hunter had gone into full soldier mode. Hunter’s seriousness was not simply because of the job before them, but because that outside of Sunset he was leading a strike team of teenage girls into a military style operation. The weight of that was far from unclear and despite knowing how strong and capable they truly were, this was undoubtedly outside their wheelhouse. He cleared his mind of those thoughts as they came to stop up the street from the building; they piled out of the van and stood side by side on the empty street.

“Hey, before we do this…” Hunter began.

“We know.” Sunset took his hand with a sure smile.

“Yeah, don’t worry about us.” Applejack nodded. “We know what to do and you can be sure we’ll get it done.”

Hunter sighed, actually happy that they were able to read his feelings so clearly. “Okay, headsets in place.” They each strapped on the equipment and set their microphones in place. “Everyone read?” He heard all seven of their voices give him an affirmative. “Let’s move in, stay tight until we’re in position.” Moving low and swiftly, they weaved between the buildings and headed into position on the north side of the chain link fence. Applejack uplifted one of the posts and opened a way through; hiding behind a pair of cars, they crouched in wait as Hunter readied his M4 carbine rifle. He observed the area, watching the movement of the mind controlled hostages; taking Pinkie and Rarity with him, the trio rounded the far side of the lot and moved into the open. Hunter fired into the upper level windows, shattering them in order to get their attention. The workers immediately ceased and idled in place, within minutes the rear doors opened and their enemies made their appearance.

“Who the hell are you!?” Cobalt barked.

Hunter couldn’t hear his words but his face told all, he smiled and waved back at them. “Hi!” He shouted. “You must be Cobalt and that almost lovely lady must be Melodiam!”

“He knows who we are.” Cobalt looked up at Melodiam. “Do you know them?”

“No, and I do not care to.” She stepped forward and began to sing, the trio merely stood as her notes fell on deaf ears.

“What was that!?” Hunter pointed to his earpiece. “I can’t hear you!”

“Their ears are guarded.” Melodiam pointed at them. “Cobalt, kill them.”

“Yes Ms. Melodiam.” Cobalt leapt forward and laid his hand on the ground, five golems bursting from beneath the asphalt paving. “Destroy them!” He commanded.

Hunter walked forward as the livng soil marched at him, he fired two rounds into one of their heads and the explosive ammunition blew its head clean off; the body staggered and another pair of rounds to its legs sent it crumbling. “Let’s go, pull them south.” He ordered.

“On it.” Pinkie hurried up to his side, taking a handful of confetti and giving it a magical charge; hurling it into one of the golem’s torsos blasted it into chunks.

“They have magic as well?” Melodiam muttered to herself.

Cobalt kept two golems in front of him as a shield, summoning more and more as Pinkie and Hunter felled them. “You think your range is an advantage?” He raised his arm and his minions did the same. “Try this.” The raised arms of his golems narrowed and began firing rocks with intense speed.

“Rarity!” Hunter called as he and Pinkie recoiled from the pelting.

“Right!” Rarity stood at their backs and formed diamond shields before them, Hunter fired from behind the cover and kept downing as many of the creatures as he could.

“These are no ordinary humans.” Melodiam stepped into the lot and began to sing, the workers in the area gathered around her and she sent them to back up Cobalt.

“Team two, move in and engage the hostages!” Hunter called.

Sunset, Twilight and Fluttershy left their cover and charged at the controlled army. Twilight activated her LRAD and began waving it back and forth across the line of workers. The men and women paused, eyes beginning to water as they reached up and clutched their ears; they began to collapse in place and fall into the fetal position.

“What!?” Melodiam observed the new threat. “More of you!?”

“Ms. Melodiam!” Cobalt turned back.

“Focus on them!” She instructed. “I will handle these three!” Her hands contorted into scaled claws and she moved in on Twilight.

“Hunter, she's on us.” Sunset relayed.

“Okay.” Hunter acknowledged after another clip swap. “Team three, move in.”

“Right!” Rainbow Dash took Applejack’s arm and sped them into the building. Once inside, the workers that remained turned their attention towards them and began to advance. “Ready, AJ?” She asked, readying her baton.

“Yep.” Applejack did the same as they ran in and started battering the enslaved citizens.

Sunset sent Twilight to subdue the remaining humans on the field while she and Fluttershy held Melodiam’s attention. The siren charged and swiped at them, her nails shredding the cloth of their protective uniforms.

“I don’t know who you girls are.” Melodiam noted as she darted forward with inhuman speed. “But you’ll pay for this intrusion.” She grabbed Sunset by the collar and lifted her.

“Still can't hear you!” Sunset reeled back and punched her in the face, Melodiam’s head tilted to the side but slowly returned to face her. “Uh oh.”

“Let her go!” Fluttershy hurried in and wrapped her arms around Melodiam’s waist. While distracted, Sunset reached out and grabbed the siren’s face; her eyes went white as she used her magic to see into her mind.

“Ah!” Melodiam could feel the magic being used on her and hurled Sunset to the ground, the vest absorbing some of the impact. “What did you do to me!?”

“Back off!” Twilight returned and aimed her device at Melodiam, she clutched her ears at the intense sound and the girls were able to regroup.

“Thank you.” Fluttershy took her shoulder. “But you need to go inside and break the other hostages free.”

“Right.” Twilight back stepped and began running for the building.

“Fluttershy.” Sunset called and pointed back. “Those people are starting to come to, start moving them into position.”

“Will you be okay?” Fluttershy asked in worry.

“I’ll contact Hunter, just go and get them safety.”

“Right.” Fluttershy ran back towards the rousing workers and initiated the migration.

“Hunter?” Sunset called as Melodiam began to regain focus.

“Yeah, Sunny?” Hunter asked back over the sound of explosions.

“I could use some backup, I’m on my own against her.” She explained.

“Right, on its way.” Hunter acknowledged. “Pinkie, back up Sunset.” He ordered. “Rarity and I will handle this.”

“Okay.” Pinkie nodded and fell back, moving across the lot to aid Sunset.

“This is endless, Hunter.” Rarity noted as she formed a circle of diamonds around them, pushing several forward to interrupt the golems’ advance.

“We don’t need to win, just buy time.” He readied the 40mm under-barrel grenade launcher on his rifle. He fired into the midst of the creatures and blew most of them apart with a single shot, Cobalt was taken by surprise and fell backwards onto the ground.

Back inside, Rainbow Dash and Applejack ascended the building’s stairwells, sending every hostage they came across to the ground in a convulsing heap. They soon emerged on the roof and beheld the modified tower.

“Holy smokes.” Applejack looked it over.

“Take it apart, I’ll check the escape route.” Rainbow Dash sprinted over to the fire escape and began testing it for stability.

“Done and done.” Applejack approached the structure and cracked her knuckles; reaching down and taking a firm hold of the base, she activated her magic and began to tear it free from the roof. “Look out below!” She called over the channel as she tossed it over the face of the building and sent it crashing down into the front parking lot. She then started stomping on the modified power sources and electrical equipment that had been mounted to the roof, sparks flying up into the night sky.

Back on the ground, Melodiam paused her assault at the deafening crash. “No!” She looked up and saw the sparks. “The tower!”

Twilight exited onto the roof next, the freed workers groggily following behind her. “I’m here, are we ready to go?”

“Yep.” Rainbow Dash gave her a thumbs up. “Hunter, we’re moving the hostages down to ground level now.”

“Perfect.” Hunter praised. “You’ve got five minutes before I light the place up.”

“Okay.” Rainbow Dash looked over the group. “Okay, let’s move.” The three of them began moving the workers down to the parking lot and towards the rendezvous point.

Back on the ground, Hunter was getting low on ammo but Cobalt was nowhere near out of golems. Rarity was sweating bullets from the amount of constructs she was forming and moving about the battlefield; seeing that she was wearing out, Hunter fired his last grenade and cleared them an opening to run. Cobalt was stunned by the blast but began giving chase as soon as his eyes cleared.

“Cobalt!” Melodiam called to him as she hurried to his side.

“Ms. Melodiam, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“They’ve destroyed the tower and freed the humans from my control.” She hurriedly explained.

“What!? How!?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She shook her head. “This location is lost, we must go.”

“No, I can still stop them.” He refuted.

“No, I cannot risk losing you.” She held his cheeks. “You are too important.”

“Damn it!” He lowered his head. “Alright.” He called back his golems and they lifted Melodiam from the ground, fusing themselves into a legged chariot of sorts. Cobalt looked back at the building to see Hunter tossing some kind of incendiary into it, flames beginning to build up around the lower level windows. “Once I find out who you are, you’re all dead!” He growled, slowly following after her.

Within ten minutes, police and fire engine sirens began to echo over the empty district. Hunter and the girls rushed back to the van and left the location as quickly as possible.

“Is everyone okay?” Hunter asked over his shoulder as he drove.

“Pinkie’s arm is bleeding.” Fluttershy noted. "So is my side, but it isn't bad."

“She got me in the leg.” Sunset added.

“I'm okay.” Twilight informed.

"I imagine I'm going to have bruises from the rocks." Rarity rubbed her body.

“I feel you on that one." Hunter nodded. "Do any of you need medical treatment?"

"I'm working on that now." Fluttershy took Hunter's field bag and set herself to Pinkie's arm. "Nothing here looks like it'll need stiches."

“Yeah, I'm good.” Pinkie smiled. “The important thing is that we won!” She cheered.

“Heck yeah we did.” Rainbow Dash grinned. “You should have seen AJ and I, it was like being in an action movie!”

“Not to toot our own horn.” Applejack chuckled. “But those zombified workers didn’t stand a chance.”

“And my device worked perfectly.” Twilight beamed. “I mean, of course it did… but still.”

“Well, I’m exhausted.” Rarity sighed but smiled. “Still, that was rather exhilarating. Hunter and I made quite the team.”

“And Sunset and I were giving that siren a run for her money.” Pinkie punched the air.

“Please, stay still.” Fluttershy begged as she tried to tend her wound.

“I don’t know about all that.” Sunset said humbly. “But… I did punch her in the face.”

“You did?” Rainbow Dash laughed, slapping her shoulder. “Awesome.”

Hunter smiled as he listened to them recap everything in their adrenaline fueled state. A few injuries was just below the best he could have hoped for and for now he was happy to take the win, even though he knew the war wasn’t over yet.

Chapter 8

Once safely back at Hunter’s apartment, Fluttershy worked to fully attend to her friends' injuries. Hunter had taken Sunset into the bathroom to dress her leg. She had stripped to her underwear and sat on the edge of the tub; Hunter straddled the edge of the tub beside her to clean and bandage the scratches. Having removed his shirt, Sunset could see the multitude of forming bruises on his torso from all the rock impacts he had absorbed.

“Those look like they hurt,” She reached out and lightly ran her finger over his shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’ll be alright.” Hunter assured with a chuckle. “At least Rarity and I will match, I know how important that is to a fashion forward gal like herself.” He smiled up at her. “You know, I have to admit; a girlfriend that can run ops with me… huge turn on.”

Sunset laughed. “That’s a line I never thought I’d hear.”

“Seriously though,” He nodded. “You all were fantastic out there; there are trained soldiers who have botched similar operations and every one of you was cool headed and on point.” He finished wrapping tape around her bandage and sat back. “You’re good, I suppose that means you have to put your clothes back on now.” He frowned.

“I can take them back off later.” She took his cheek and kissed him.

“My kind of debriefing.” He smiled.

“Hey you two,” Twilight’s voice followed a knock. “We’re set out here, are you almost done? I hope you’re maintaining professionalism.”

“Why don’t you come in and find out?” Hunter called back, awkward silence and footsteps following his words. “Yeah, I thought so.”

“Stop it,” Sunset batted his nose. “Let’s get out there, I need to tell everyone what I saw when I grabbed Melodiam.”
Sunset got dressed and they rejoined the others in the living room; as they took their spots in the room, Sunset sighed and palmed her knees. “Okay, I was able to grab ahold of Melodiam and read her memories; I know what her plan is now.”

“She intends to kill the humans of the city, right?” Twilight asked.

“No, only half,” Sunset explained. “She wants to keep the females alive to serve her and her… family.”

“Family?” Applejack repeated.

“She and Cobalt aren’t just working together,” She elaborated. “They’re… together together.”

“Aw, gross.” Rainbow Dash’s face twisted in disgust.

“I know right,” Hunter eyed her sarcastically. “A human having sex with a demi-human creature… can you imagine?”

“Well… you two are different.” Rainbow Dash quickly added.

“Nice save, darling.” Rarity shook her head. “So, she intends to multiply?”

“She’s getting ready to lay her eggs and she wants the city to be her nest; guarded by a legion of mind controlled women with Cobalt as their king.” Sunset concluded.

“But he hates the Dazzlings,” Fluttershy recalled. “Why is he with her if she’s basically the same thing?”

“Cobalt’s mind is twisted,” Hunter noted. “He spent his adult years attacking women because of what happened to him; somehow or other he sees some type of perfection in her and now he’s dedicated to the ideal she represents.”

“That’s the last type of guy that needs to oversee a society of women.” Twilight added.

“But she can’t do it anymore,” Pinkie pointed out. “We stopped her plan.”

“For now,” Rarity came in. “She’ll surely try again.”

“Not just yet she won’t,” Hunter countered. “Now she knows she has enemies, we’re going to be the new focus.”

“I suppose it’ll be easier to protect ourselves rather than trying to protect a whole dang city.” Applejack surmised.

Hunter smiled. “Now you’re catching on.”

“You could sound less happy about it at least.” Rarity eyed him.

“So what do we do now?” Pinkie asked.

“Well, I need to go check in with my new BFF’s at the hotel,” Hunter laid his head back. “They’re probably getting antsy and they could do with an update. For now, just go back to business as usual.”

“I suppose we do have school tomorrow.” Fluttershy reminded.

“Can’t we call in sick?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I mean, I think we’ve earned it.”

“I’m not missing school.” Twilight shook her head.

“I think Rarity should stay home for sure,” Hunter laughed. “Unless you want people to think your mom beats you.”

“You do have a point,” Rarity looked at her bruised arms. "I suppose it will be a turtleneck and jeans for me then... not really the season."

“I can just tell everyone I cut myself baking a cake.” Pinkie grinned.

“I guess so,” Applejack observed her heavy bandage. “As long as you tell them the cake won the fight.”

Rarity stood as their laughter at the idea died down. “Well then, I suppose we should return home.”

“Hey, Applejack?” Sunset called her attention. “Would you mind getting Twilight home? I’m going to stay here with Hunter tonight.”

“Sure thing,” Applejack motioned for Twilight to follow. “Hope you don’t mind the back of the truck?”

“Isn’t that illegal?” Twilight asked.

“Just keep your head down.” Rainbow Dash put her arm around her with a laugh.

“I’ll ride with you,” Pinkie promised. “It’s super fun.”

As the girls headed out, Hunter moved over beside Sunset and accepted her into his side. “So, now that you’ve fought them… what do you think?” Sunset asked.

“Well,” Hunter sighed. “Those golems are a problem, that’s for sure. There doesn’t seem to be a limit on how many he can create; Pinkie and I were dropping those things like flies but they just didn’t stop coming.” He paused in thought. “Cobalt’s situation is unfortunate, but he’s chosen to side with her in wiping out countless lives… there’s a good chance I might have no choice but to kill him.”

Sunset’s head dropped a bit in hearing that. “I know it’s your job, but it’s still weird to hear you say stuff like that so calmly.”

“It isn’t my first choice, at least… not now.” He admitted. “Ridgeback and Skyfall left me no choice but to kill them; still, if they had chosen to stand down they could have lived. Celestia and I may have butted heads, but in working with her I see that you can bring down threats like Cobalt without jumping to the ultimate solution; especially when you’re fighting alongside friends.” He hugged her close. “And I’ve got a pretty sweet set of them on my team now.”

Sunset smiled. “I’m glad to hear that,” She rested her cheek on his shoulder. “So, you aren’t mad at us for making you go soft?”

Hunter patted her arm. “Trust me, the last thing you make me is soft.” He said with a grin.

Sunset reflexively smacked his chest, he recoiled in pain and she quickly sat up and began apologizing, having forgotten about his bruised body.

Across the city, in a sheltered location, Cobalt’s golems worked to clean up and furnish the area to a level of comfort suitable for Melodiam. The siren had sat silent since their escape, disquieted by the reality of their set back. Cobalt returned with a pair of his minions at his side, each carrying procured food and water. He quickly went and knelt in front of her, face mixed in anger and disappointment.

“Ms. Melodiam, I know you’re angry… I am too, but I promise I’ll track them down and kill them for what they’ve done to you.”

“Your words are noble enough, Cobalt,” She finally spoke. “But without means, they are just that.”

“About that,” Cobalt smiled. “Watch this, Ms. Melodiam.” He summoned one of his golems and reached into its chest, pulling out a handful of soil. He concentrated on the small mound and it formed into a rat sized golem.

Melodiam’s eyes perked at the feat. “Interesting.”

“I’ve been thinking about how to track them this whole time,” He began, setting the tiny creature down. “My golems are too big to just walk around the city and the concentration it takes to maintain them increases the farther away they are; but this little guy takes no energy at all and his range is hundreds of times that of a full sized model.” He pointed out into the street. “I’ll make an army of these little ones and fan them out across the city; I’ll find them in no time, you have my word.”

A smile returned to the siren's face as she stood and took his shoulders. “You continue to impress me, Cobalt. I knew you were the right choice for me.”

Cobalt took her hands and brought them to his lips. “Thank you, Ms. Melodiam.” He walked back outside and knelt on the ground, laying his palm down onto the earth. Rows upon rows of the tiny golems began to rise and immediately scurried off into the night to spread across the city in search of their master’s enemies.”

The next morning, Sunset left early to stop by her place and get ready for school; Hunter immediately went back to bed to recover from the previous night without bothering to set an alarm. Getting back up at around twelve thirty, he showered and headed back to the hotel the check up on the Dazzlings. As he approached the door he could hear Adagio yelling and the sound of furniture being violently tossed; he used the extra room key he had taken to rush inside, finding Sonata hiding behind an overturned chair.

“Oh, hey Hunter.” Sonata waved.

“Geez, did you forget how to knock?” Aria lowered the lamp she was holding over her head.

“What the hell is going on in here?” He asked.

“I just found out that Sonata charged over two hundred dollars on her phone for some stupid game.” Adagio glared at her cowering siren sister.

“I needed gems to pay for the upgrades on my village,” Sonata defended. “I need my farms at max level or my villagers won’t survive the winter.”

“You moron!” Adagio growled.

“Easy Moe, leave Curly alone,” Hunter flipped the chair back over. “Last thing you need right now is a noise complaint.”

“Fine.” Adagio stormed over to one of the beds and sat. “I take it you have news?”

“Yeah, we went up against Melodiam and your worst fan,” He sat in the chair. “We were able to put a stop to the immediate threat of their plan, but they got away.”

“You let them get away?” Aria asked sourly.

“She had enslaved hostages and a modified air raid tower that she was planning to use to broadcast her song over the city.” Hunter detailed. “Those took priority over capture of the enemy,” He frowned a bit. “I’m fine, by the way.”

Adagio flustered. “We can see that,” She gestured to him. “Why ask about something we can clearly see for ourselves?”

“You’re so cute when you try to be nice." Hunter laughed. "Anyway, I saw your pendants.”

“Are they still okay?” Sonata asked.

“Yeah, she’s got one around her neck and the other two around her wrists.” He explained.

“So we’re back to waiting then.” Aria sighed.

“Unfortunately,” Hunter nodded. “But, the large scale danger isn’t hanging over us anymore; I'm hoping they’ll come after me now.”

“Wait, you want them to come after you?” Sonata repeated in confusion.

“As long as they’re focused on killing me, they aren’t harming innocent people.” He stated confidently.

“That's… quite noble.” Adagio admitted, impressed to hear such a thing from a human.

“Hey, you up for another outing?” He quickly asked.

“Yeah!” Sonata cheered.

“Absolutely.” Aria concurred.

“Cool,” He pushed himself up from the chair. “I’ll wait in the hall while you change.”

Hunter took them out on the town again for lunch; he went over the battle in full with them and also ended up telling them about his time in Equestria during his last adventure. They asked him about what modern Equestria was like, having not seen it with their own eyes in so long. Hunter told them as much as he could, admitting that the nature of his mission didn’t leave much time for sight seeing. With a few hours burned, he took them back to the hotel and set course for Canterlot high; he arrived about fifteen minutes before the final bell and headed into the halls to wait for Sunset to get out of class.

“Hunter?” Principal Celestia called as she headed down the hallway in the opposite direction.

“Ah, my favorite former principal.” He smiled as she came to a stop before him.

“How have you been?”

“Good, keeping busy at least,” He noted. “I had to break up with my last girlfriend though.”

“Oh.” Celestia recalled the bizarre encounter with her doppelganger. “I’m… sorry to hear.”

“Yeah,” Hunter nodded. “It was odd, did you notice that she looked exactly like you?” He asked.

“Um… well, I had noticed a… slight resemblance.”

“No, she could have been your twin.” He insisted. “Once that hit me, things just got weird… especially when we were….”

“I understand.” Celestia quickly cut him off. “These things do happen.”

“I guess so,” He shrugged. “But it all worked out, I’m dating Sunset now and things couldn’t be better.”

“Really?” Celestia smiled. “Well, that’s wonderful to hear.”

“How about you?” Hunter inquired. “How’s the whirlwind lifestyle of the modern principal?”

“I don’t know about whirlwind, but things have been relatively calm lately.” She noted as the final bell began to ring. “Oh my, time already,” She smiled down at him. “It was good to see you again.”

“You too, I’ll see you around.” Hunter let her pass as students began rushing from the nearby classrooms. He greeted many familiar faces as he proceeded towards Sunset’s locker; he found her packing away her books for the day with a tired look on her face. “Ah, mission lag,” He chuckled as he neared her. “Happens to the best of us.”

“Hunter,” She perked and quickly hugged him. “Figured you’d be asleep.”

“I passed out again after you left,” He confessed. “But I’m so sore that if I just sat around all day I’d be in even worse shape.” He glanced down her body. “How’s the leg?”

“Good,” She patted the bandaged area. “It doesn’t hurt at least.” The two of them started down the hall. “Any plans for the night?”

“No, we need to take it easy and heal up for the next fight.” He put his arm around her as they walked.

“Well, Rainbow Dash has another game tonight; want to come with?”

“Sure,” He nodded. “I could go for a night of fresh air, popcorn and hot dogs of questionable origin.”

“Great,” She smiled. “Flash and the guys will be there too.”

“Ooh, that means I can finally talk boy stuff like cars, power tools and boobies.” He noted with all the giddiness of a schoolgirl.

“Seriously, this is a good opportunity for you; you’re going to be living here now so you should start playing a bigger part in everyone’s lives.” She suggested.

“Fair point.”

“Yeah, so have fun… and don’t embarrass me.” She toned.

“You know, the more you tell me not to, the more likely I am to go out of my way to do it.” He reminded with a smile.

“You want to sleep on the couch tonight?” She asked with an equally smug smile.

Hunter chortled with a quiet nod. “You win this round, Shimmer.” He conceded.

Chapter 9

Hunter drove back to his apartment the following morning after Sunset headed to school; as soon as he got home he showered and fixed himself a late breakfast. As the day began to transition into afternoon he heard his phone ring, hurrying into the bedroom to answer it.

“Hello?” His head jerked away as Adagio’s voice began yelling from the other end. “What!?” His eyes widened as he received news that the hotel was under attack from Cobalt’s golems. “Stay in the room, I’m on my way!” He shouted, immediately hanging up and falling to his knees in front of his bed; he thought quickly of what options he had as he began arming himself, knowing that he couldn’t get into an extended firefight in the middle of a crowded hotel. Taking what he could, he ran back down his car and raced over to the hotel. The scene was chaos when he arrived, panicked people fleeing the building that was covered in monsters scaling the exterior walls. Police were already on the scene and trying to battle the bizarre creatures to little effect. Hunter put his ski mask back on and ran into the building, sprinting up the stairs towards the Dazzling’s room. Golems began entering the hotel through windows, sending guests fleeing as they roamed the halls in search of their targets. Having brought something with some kick, Hunter pulled a desert eagle and blasted their heads off as he barreled down the hallway towards the door. Jamming the key in, he pushed the door open only to be met with a lamp to the shoulder.

“A robber!” Sonata shouted as she reared back to hit him again.

“Sonata!” He pulled his mask off. “It’s me!”

“Oh… Hunter,” She dropped the lamp. “Sorry.”

“What’s going on out there?” Adagio asked.

“They’re everywhere,” Hunter began. “But they haven’t pinpointed you yet.”

“I thought this place was safe?” Aria joined them. “How did he find out we were here?”

“No idea,” Hunter shook his head. “But I need to get you out of here now.”

The window shattered and a pair of golems shambled into the room; Hunter took aim but paused as one of their eyes began to glow blue and a mouth formed on its face.

“There you are.” It spoke in Cobalt’s voice.

“Cobalt?” Adagio instantly recognized the sickly speech pattern.

“Ok, this is new.” Hunter admitted.

“Thank you for leading me to them… Hunter, is it?” The golem carried on.

“I didn’t lead you anywhere.” Hunter defended.

“Really?” One of the miniature golems appeared on the larger one’s shoulder. “My little friend here begs to differ.”

“Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Hunter eyed the tiny creature.

“Hardly.” Cobalt’s voice continued. “This little one saw you four out and about yesterday, I was looking for you but I didn’t think I’d be so lucky as to find them as well.”

“Piss off!” Hunter fired and blew the head clean off, silencing him.

“Not this time!” The second golem’s eyes lit up as it took over; more golems began to pour into the room and attacked the Dazzlings.

“Get off of me!” Aria barked as she struggled against one of the intruders.

“I've got him!” Sonata retook her lamp and smashed its head in as Hunter began firing at the rest of the mob.

“We need to get out of here!” Adagio turned for the door but was taken up by one of the monsters. More entered the room and Hunter was forced to grab Aria and Sonata and flee the confined area.

“Move, down the hall!” He ordered.

“But… Adagio.” Sonata reached for the door again.

“We’ll save her,” Hunter took her wrist and pulled her along. “Cobalt has to be on the roof.” He noted as they ran.

Aria skidded to halt before a fire station and busted the glass, pulling out the fire axe. “This will help.” She hefted the weapon and caught back up with them. Hunter reloaded as he led them back to the stairs and they began to ascend the building all the way up the roof. Hunter kicked the door out and as expected they found Cobalt looking down at the terrified people below.

“Cobalt!” Aria readied her axe.

Cobalt faced them, Adagio encased in the body of the golem at his side. “Oh… an axe,” He laughed. “I’m terrified.”

“We’ve got a lamp too!” Sonata brandished her weapon of choice.

Hunter raised his gun and aimed it at his head. “Let her go, Cobalt.”

“I don’t know who you are,” Cobalt began. “But do you have any idea who these three are?”

“Sirens from an alternate world,” He answered. “Didn't think I knew, did you?”

“And you’re defending them!” He challenged. “Do you know what these three did to me!? They treat humans like playthings, they’re a threat to this world.”

“Says the guy trying to kill off half the city so he can act out his repressed manhood fantasies.” Hunter countered.

“What?” Cobalt stared him down.

“I know all about you, Cobalt,” Hunter nodded. “More importantly, I know what you’ve done; I’m not defending what they did to you but you had other options. You could have gone to the cops, reported them and had them tracked down legally; but instead you decided you wanted revenge. You’ve hurt a lot of people; and as soon as you crossed that line you lost any sympathy you deserved.” Hunter readied his finger on the trigger. “And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you hurt them or anyone else!”

“Then damned you’ll be!” Cobalt outstretched his hand and sent his army forward.

“Sonata!” Hunter called her attention as he began firing. “See that hose over there!?”

Sonata looked near the station on the roof and saw a fire hose. “Ah, gotcha!” She dropped her lamp and rushed over to set up the connection.

“Stay close, Aria!” Hunter neared her as he pulled a grenade from his belt and rolled it into the midst of the golems, the blast blew them apart and took a chunk out of the rooftop. As the remaining golems neared, a heavy stream of water whizzed past them and turned one of the earthen creatures into mud. They glanced back to see Sonata braced against the wall, a huge smile on her face as she used the water to provide cover fire. “Let’s go!” Hunter tossed his head forward; he and Aria ran for Cobalt, chopping and shooting their way through while the water made quick work of the rest of their opponents.

“Fine then!” Cobalt pointed off the roof. “Jump!” The golem holding Adagio turned and walked off the side of the roof while Cobalt made a break for it; Hunter dropped his gun and dove for the side, reaching down and taking a handful of Adagio’s top. His body began sliding forward as the added weight of the golem began pulling him over the edge.

"I’ve got you!” Aria gabbed his legs and stopped their fall, holding on for all she was worth.

“Ha!” Cobalt doubled back and ran at them. “Now you can all die toget…” He was suddenly blasted off the roof by a jet of water; as he fell, a dozen golems on the ground came running and mashed themselves together to catch him and set him safely on the grass. Sonata killed the water and ran to help, the two of them pulling Hunter and Adagio to safety. Aria beat the golem off of her and she got to her hands and knees, panting heavily from the fright.

“Good thing you wear that puffy ass shirt.” Hunter noted as he stared up at the sky. “Great job you two.”

“Adagio!” Sonata dropped down and hugged her as she sat up on her knees.

“I’m fine,” She patted her back. “Thank you.”

“We should probably leave now.” Aria looked back at the condition of the roof. “Unless you want to explain this to the cops.”

“No, we should definitely go.” Hunter pulled himself up and collected his weapon. “Come on, we can sneak out the back.” He took them back downstairs and out through an employee entrance in the back; they ran for his car and he quickly got them away from the scene and headed back for his place. “Sorry,” He glanced into the back seat. “It’s my fault he found you.”

“It isn’t like you could have known about those little ones,” Adagio defended his actions. “Thank you for coming to save us.”

“Yeah.” Sonata nodded.

“At least you won’t have to pay for the room.” Aria added, Adagio and Sonata both looking at her crossly. “What?”

“Actually, that is true.” Hunter laughed. “I just hope their insurance covers monster attacks,” He twisted his lips in thought. “I wonder if that would go under ‘act of god’.”

Adagio sat back into the passenger seat. “So, what now?”

“Well, looks like you’ll be bunking with me till this is over.” He concluded. “Not quite as fancy as a hotel room, only one bed too.” He smiled across the cab to see her glaring at him. “Which… you three are welcome to,” He immediately added. “I’ll take the couch.” Once back at his apartment, he let them get settled while he called Sunset to let her know what happened and put in a special request. School was still in session, but she promised to be over as soon as it let out. Hunter returned to the living room and found his new roommates sitting quietly, no doubt stressed by the fight. “Okay, I’m having Sunny run by your tour van to grab you some extra clothes.”

“Thank you.” Sonata still managed a smile.

“Are we even safe here?” Aria asked as he sat down with them.

“Yeah, he followed us back to the hotel after he spotted me; but he still doesn’t know where I live.” He assured.

“This is ridiculous,” Adagio’s head lowered. “I admit we’re not saints, but we’ve been trying to move on from our pasts… and this is our reward.”

“You can’t look at it that way,” Hunter moved over to her side. “It takes a lot of strength to change and you three seem to have been doing a great job; but that’s the thing about pasts, no matter how far forward you move they’re always right behind you.” He smiled over at her. “I know what you’re going through; I’ve been working on changing ever since Sunny and I grew close.”

“Really?” Sonata looked at him in interest.

“Yep,” He nodded. “I was a child soldier, raised and trained to do nothing but fight monsters and madmen while living in the shadows.” He patted his chest. “Look at me now; I’ve got an apartment in the city, friends, a social life and a magical girlfriend from another world,” He laughed. “If you had told me this is what my life would be now even just a year ago, I would have thought you were insane.” His whimsy faded into grim understanding. “And yeah, like you, my past is still right behind me; so close I can feel it breathing down my neck, but that doesn’t keep me from moving forward because I know that what’s ahead of me is better than anything that’s ever been at my back.” His hand fell atop hers. “So don’t lose hope, we’ll get through this and get you back on your path.”

Adagio looked down at his hand in silence for a long minute. “I won’t do it, just so you know.” She spoke.

“What?” He asked.

“You asked me if I intended to use our magic against humans should we get it back… I won’t; Melodiam has shown me a possibility of what the three of us could become, I won’t become a monster like that again.” She held her head up with positive eyes. “Life may not be perfect, but you’re right, it is better than what it was and I won’t lose that… or take it away from them.” She looked over at her siren sisters.

“I’m with you.” Sonata nodded surely.

The corner of Aria’s mouth upturned ever so slightly. “Same here.”

Hunter patted Adagio’s hand. “Glad to hear; now that we’re cool I’d feel bad if I had to shoot you.” He pulled out his phone as Adagio quickly looked back at him in shock. Hunter sat back and hit his contact for Lily. “Hey Lily,” He began as she answered. “Everything’s going great… thank you.” He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m sure all the other field agents are making whip sounds, tell them to come do it to my face. Listen, I am having a bit of a hiccup that I could use your help with; this city is being threatened by an ancient siren and a human accomplice with a magical artifact that allows him to conjure semi-autonomous lifeforms from soil.” He laughed at her response. “I know right, but I’m going to give you a list of equipment that I’m going to need to stop them; but this is going to have to be off the books since this isn’t an official mission.” He listened to her concerned response. “I know, but if you can bypass the official requisition channels and get the stuff to Firebird he’ll pass it on to me; just tell him I’m cashing in that favor he owes me.” He stood and headed for the bedroom. “Thanks Lily… give me a minute and I’ll tell you what I need.”

As Hunter vanished into the bedroom, Aria raised her brow in consideration. So, there are other humans like him?” She looked to Adagio. “Not sure how I feel about that.”

“The hum… Hunter, has more than proved the caliber of his character.” Adagio stated confidently.

“I told you.” Sonata smiled at her brightly.

“Fine, you were right,” Aria eyed her. “If we live through this you can have a cookie.”

“Yes.” Sonata pumped her fist.

Sunset arrived not long after four, bearing some of their luggage with fresh clothes and other personal effects. As the Dazzlings went into Hunter’s room to change, Sunset sat with him on the couch.”

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, things got a little crazy but I had some pretty good backup,” He laughed. “Even without magic, those three are tougher than they look.”

“What about them?” Sunset looked to the bedroom door.

“They’re hanging in there; I think the thing hitting them the most is feeling so powerless in this situation.” Hunter surmised. “When they had their magic they were a force to be reckoned with, now they have to rely on us and that probably isn’t sitting well with their pride. Still, they’re coming around.”

“You’ve been a great influence on them,” Sunset praised. “They haven’t had many positive interactions with humans, so having you be there for them like this must really be affecting their outlook.”

“Me, a good influence?” Hunter scoffed.

“In your own way,” Sunset amended. “They’re from Equestria like I am; having you understand and accept what I am so easily meant a lot to me… I’m sure they feel the same way. They can be themselves around you in a way that they can’t with other humans.”

Hunter considered that for a moment as the Dazzlings returned; he looked them over with a light laugh. “Feel better?”

“Yes.” Adagio nodded, looking to Sunset with a pride swallowing sigh. “Thank you, Sunset.”

“No problem.” Sunset smiled.

“Well,” Hunter began as he stood. “We’re on a strict delivery only meal plan until this is over and tonight sounds like a good night for comfort food.” He looked over the trio. “What’s your favorite food?”

“Oh no.” Adagio palmed her face at the question.

“Tacos!” Sonata’s hand jumped up like an eager student.

“Tacos?” Hunter grinned. “Your favorite food is tacos?”

“Yep!” She beamed.

Hunter put his arm around her and smiled at Sunset. “Can I keep her? Please?”

“Absolutely not.” Aria yanked her back into their fold.

“Mexican food works for me.” Sunset giggled.

“Consider it done.” Hunter took up his phone yet again to place an order.

Chapter 10

As the night got later, the Dazzlings headed back into the bedroom to get ready for the evening. Hunter walked Sunset to the door and idled with her in the threshold.

“You sure you don’t want me to stay?” She asked as her arms encircled his waist.

“Yeah,” He ran his fingers through her hair. “I’m ninety-nine percent sure we’re okay here, but just in case I don’t want you here if something bad happens.”

“Okay,” She kissed him, smiling as she backed into the hall. “You behave now.”

“Of course,” Hunter chuckled. “Those three have been traumatized enough for one day.”

“That’s right,” Sunset laughed. “Good night.”

“Night, Sunny.” He waved as she started off down the hall; locking the door securely he went to the bedroom door with a knock, he was given the clear to enter and joined them. “Everything good?”

“Yes.” Adagio noted as she pulled back the covers.

“Cool,” He nodded. “I’ll be right out here if you need me; I sleep with one eye open anyway so try and get some sleep.”

Sonata appeared beside him, quickly hugging him. “Thank you.”

Breathing a light laugh, he put his arm around her and patted her back. “Sure thing, see you all in the morning.” He left them for the night and returned to the couch, sighing heavily as he laid his arms out across the back. Mind full, he turned on the television and did his best to zone out under the murmur of the late night show. Dozing off at some point, he was awakened in the wee hours of the morning by kitchen rummaging; peering over at the fridge he saw Aria pulling out sandwich material. “No rest for the mildly wicked?” He asked with a laugh.

Aria noticed him watching her and went about her business. “With that chainsaw in Sonata’s throat? Rarely.”

“Nobody’s perfect,” He shrugged, gesturing to the adjacent recliner. “It’s quiet out here.”

She finished constructing her midnight snack and sat in the chair. “Wasn’t trying to wake you.” She noted, taking a bite.

“That’s okay,” He assured. “I’m a light sleeper anyway. One time, I got sent to Sri Lanka under the cover of an exchange student; I lived off of sporadic, thirty minute naps for almost a week while I was tracking down a rumored Naga in the jungle.”

Aria looked down at her sandwich in thought. “In Equestria we were always on the move; every species was hostile towards us, so I know the feeling.”

“Because of all the mind control?”

Aria grumbled but slowly nodded. “We did what we had to do to survive,” She eyed him. “You’re a warrior, you understand.”

“Yeah… I do,” He admitted. “You are too, aren’t you?”

“I had to be, like you did.” She quietly confessed.

“Is that why you’re still on the fence about me?” He smiled at her.

“Like I said, you understand.” She took another bite. “Sonata was quick to trust you, but she’s always like that; that’s why I stay on her so much. It may seem mean, but she’s too… naive; and Adagio is always working on some scheme or master plan, with Sonata’s head in the clouds and Adagio’s in the future… I have to be the one in the moment.” She let out a hard sigh. “I know you mean well, but I can’t turn that part of myself off.”

“Now that I really do understand.” Hunter nodded. “On a mission I can’t worry about what happened or what might happen, only what’s happening and how to best handle the situation. It makes you seem defensive and apathetic, but in reality it’s the sacrifice you have to make because you care the most.” Aria looked at him with far softer eyes than she had ever done so before. “Now that I’ve been around you for awhile, I can see just how much heart you’ve got locked away in there.” He pointed at her chest. “For whatever it’s worth coming from me, I’ve learned that you don’t have to hide it all to still do what needs to be done; in fact, in a couple of ways it makes it even easier. You should try and open up a little more; I appreciate wanting to handle your business on your own but my shoulders are lighter than ever now that I have Sunset and the others to share my life with,” He grinned. “And as you’ve seen, I can still kick plenty of ass.”

Aria actually laughed at that as she considered his advice. She took a deep breath through her nose as her head lowered a bit. “I’m scared,” She confessed. “I can’t remember the last time I was scared. Losing our magic was one thing but not being able to defend myself… or them… I hate it; I feel so weak and its frustrating.”

“That’s a normal feeling for a soldier,” Hunter assured. “Feeling powerless is the worst feeling we can have, especially when we aren’t able to protect the people we care about. We’re supposed to be the strong ones, we’re supposed to be the ones on the front line taking on all threats; when we lose that ability it’s easy to feel like you’ve lost an entire part of who you are. On top of that, it is hard to ask for help when you’re used to being the one to handle things.”

Aria smiled. “I didn’t think a human could understand that type of thing so well.”

“Here,” Hunter quickly stood and went over to the entertainment center, he reached behind it and unstrapped something from the rear panel. Heading back over to her, he held out a sheathed knife with a leather bound grip.

“What is that?” She asked as he unsheathed the seven inch blade.

“This is a KA-BAR, straight edge combat knife,” Hunter knelt at her feet. “I’ve had this a long time and it’s just as sharp as it was on day one.” He held it out to her.

“You want me to have it?” She asked.

“Well, I’m not going to give Sonata a knife,” He laughed. “I know I can trust you with this, one soldier to another.”

Aria reached out and took the weapon, looking down into his eyes with a newfound bond. “Thank you.”

“Just remember, that’s for keeping your enemies in line… not your buddies in there.” He patted her leg with a smile.

“I’ll try.” She smirked, setting the knife safely at her side. As Hunter returned to the couch she turned her eyes to the television. “Anything good on?”

“Probably not,” He took up the remote. “But that won’t stop us from looking.” Hunter flipped through the early morning programming as the two of them sat and continued to talk until the dawn.

At the height of morning, Adagio and Sonata finally emerged from the bedroom; wondering where their third had gone, they were surprised to find her and Hunter together in the living room.

“There you are,” Adagio observed. “How long have you been out here?”

“I dunno,” Aria shrugged. “Few hours.” She looked up to see Sonata standing over her; her eyes drifted over to Hunter and then back down to her, a wide smile on her face at the idea that they had finally gotten close. “Wipe that stupid grin off of your face!” Aria blushed as she stood. “I’m going to take a shower.” She quickly went back into the bedroom.

“How you feeling?” Hunter asked as he sat upright.

“Well enough,” Adagio answered. “What is the plan for today?”

“I’m expecting a shipment of equipment to show up later,” He noted as he stood to stretch. “When it gets here, I’m going to need you three to hide out in the bedroom for a minute. I can’t have my HQ knowing that I’m hanging out with three sirens from another world who know my true identity. If that happens we’ll have much bigger problems than Melodiam.”

“Can do.” Sonata said with a thumbs up.

“Perfect,” He patted her shoulder. “How about breakfast?”

“I can handle it.” Adagio said as she moved into the kitchen.

“You sure?” Hunter asked as he followed her.

“I know how to prepare food,” She curtly informed. “Once we started to grow more successful, I decided to learn since we could finally afford more ingredients than bread, peanut butter, onions, ketchup and ramen noodles.”

“Ah, the college diet.” Hunter nodded understandingly as he sat at the table to wait.

Running a few minutes behind, Sunset hurried through the lunch room to get her food; she spied a table with Rarity, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack and went to join them.

“There you are, darling.” Rarity scooted over to give her room. “Fashionably late at that.”

“I was on the phone with Hunter,” She informed. “He’s still got the Dazzlings at his place.”

“How is that working out?” Rainbow Dash chuckled at the thought.

“Apparently pretty well,” Sunset admitted. “They seem to respond to him; it helps that he’s so comfortable around all the weirdness.”

“I’m surprised you’re so okay with him being locked in an apartment with them for so long.” Twilight noted.

Sunset laughed and nodded. “I trust Hunter; besides, we already had that talk a while ago,” She held her hand up. “He said even he’s not crazy enough to cheat on a girl who’s a walking lie detector.”

“Oh my,” Rarity began through a giggle. “I never thought of it like that.”

“So where are the others?” Sunset asked as she dug in.

“Pinkie and Fluttershy are using lunch to have a quick meeting with the rest of the cheer squad.” Applejack relayed. “It isn’t like that girl isn’t constantly packing snacks anyhow.”

“Has there been any more news on Melodiam?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I’m stating to get antsy.”

“No,” Sunset shook her head. “She wasn’t with Cobalt at the hotel attack which means he probably went rouge to go after the Dazzlings. We don’t know where she is and looking for her is dangerous because of Cobalt’s spy golems. We’re both on the defensive in this situation.”

“Well, a stalemate isn’t an option for either side.” Twilight surmised. “Someone is going to have to make a move.”

“Hunter said he’s getting a weapon shipment from his headquarters… although, they aren’t exactly aware of that fact.” Sunset said with a hint of worry. “I’m going to check on him after school so I’ll be able to tell you more later on.”

“I guess that means we just have to keep laying low?” Applejack grumbled.

“Well, if you two would like you could give me a hand after school.” Rarity interjected. “I’ve been working on a design for the summer and I could always use a couple of models.”

“Sounds so much more exciting than fighting monsters.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, but it beats another night of fielding Big Mac’s poetry.” Applejack admitted.

“Poetry?” Twilight asked in surprise.

“Sugar Belle just took up a creative writing class so now he decided that he’s going to be a poet.” Applejack listlessly detailed. “Y’all ain’t lived until you've heard seven stanzas about hay and tractors.”

“I’m happy not living then.” Twilight barbed.

The five minute bell rang which prompted them to wrap up and head for their next classes. Once school was out, Sunset immediately headed over to Hunter’s apartment; as instructed she wore shades and her beanie to help hide her visage in case the area was being watched. She shed the disguise as she came upon the door and knocked, eventually being greeted by Sonata.

“Oh, hi Sunset.” She smiled.

“Hey,” Sunset stepped inside, finding Hunter on the couch with an amused smile on his face. “How’s everything going?”

“Great.” Sonata beamed. “Nobody has tried to kill us today.”

“Um… awesome.” Sunset said with a titled smile, she headed over to the couch and looked down at Hunter. “So, how’s life rooming with pop stars?”

“More like living with a vaudeville act.” He reached up and took her hand, pulling her down into his lap and wrapping his arms around her. “Fun though, did you know Addy could cook?”

“Addy?” She looked over and saw Adagio at the kitchen counter working on lunch. “Really?”

“Is that truly so shocking!?” Adagio growled as her vegetable chopping increased in pace.

“She really lets you call her that?” Sunset looked back at him in shock. “You’re getting along better than I thought.”

“Yeah, you’d better watch out,” Sonata snickered. “I think Aria is starting to crush on him.”

“Shut up!” Aria’s voice rang out from across the room, Sonata ducking to avoid the pair of scissors that zoomed over her head.

“Hey!” Sonata glared back at her. “Hunter said if you’re going to throw something to make sure it’s blunt!”

“It’s pretty much been like this all day.” Hunter noted.

Sunset could only laugh as she smiled down at him. “Well, it seems you have things under control. What about the gear you were expecting?”

“In the bedroom, want to check it out?” He asked.

“Sure.” She nodded as they got up from the couch.

“I suppose that means you’re staying for lunch?” Adagio asked from kitchen.

“You don’t have to worry about me, Adagio.” Sunset assured.

“It’s fine,” Adagio countered with a bizarre mixture of short-tempered graciousness. “It’s the proper thing to do.”

“Wow.” Sunset whispered to herself as she followed Hunter into the bedroom.

Over the course of the afternoon and into the evening, Cobalt sat on the roof of their current hideaway; his mind receiving a constant stream of data from the dozens of golems he had sent out across the city. Over the course of the day he finally pieced together the leads he needed and worked to get as much verification as possible. His eyes closed and he smiled, eagerly jumping up and heading back down to where Melodiam waited.

“Ms. Melodiam.” He hurried into the back room his creatures had set up for her.

“Cobalt,” She rubbed her stomach. “Please tell me you have news, time is running short.”

“I do,” He nodded and knelt at her side. “I’ve managed to track down those girls that were with Hunter. They’re just a bunch of teenagers.”

“Perhaps, but they wield magic.” Melodiam sat upright. “Where are they?”

“I know they go to Canterlot High,” He informed. “I can ambush them all at once before soldier boy can interfere.”

“Excellent,” Melodiam smiled. “But this time, I will go with you.”

“You can’t,” He eyed her stomach. “You’ll be jeopardizing your eggs; I know I shouldn’t have gone after those sirens without a plan, I let my anger get the better of me and it won’t happen again.”

“No,” Melodiam stood and steeled herself. “We need to get rid of these nuisances now; my greater plan may have to wait but I need them gone before my eggs are ready.” She held his cheek. “If we miss this chance, your mortal lifespan will not last long enough to have another. I will help you kill them myself and then we will be free to take our time to rebuild.”

“Alright,” He nodded. “If I get you close and protect myself, can’t you just sing Mortem to eliminate them?”

“Unfortunately not,” She admitted. “Mortem takes time to sing and its effects are not instantaneous.” She held up her hand which deformed into a claw. “ I shall tear them apart with my own two hands, I have enough energy to manage that much. But this time we will not move without a plan, I want to make sure they have no options for escape.”

“Yes, Ms. Melodiam.” Cobalt headed back outside. “I’ll recall my golems and we can get started.”

Melodiam ran her hand over her swelling stomach, resolve to not lose this rare chance washing over her face as her mind began forming a plan of attack.

Chapter 11

Third period was in session at Canterlot High and the day carried on as many others before it had; Rarity sat in her class, mind half on the lesson and half on the sketch she was making in her notebook. A collective gasp from the room shocked her and her head rose to find that the room had gone dark.

“Oh dear,” Ms. Cheerilee looked up at the halogen lights. “Looks like the power went out… again.” She closed her lesson book. “I swear, the wiring around here is older than I…,” An embarrassed laugh left her. “Anyway, sit tight while I go find out what’s going on.” As she left the room the students began immediately talking and socializing; Rarity, however, could feel that something was off. She took out her phone and messaged Applejack, asking if the power was out in her area of the school as well; she got a positive response as well as a similar sentiment that this wasn’t sitting right with her either.

“Attention students,” Principal Celestia’s voice came on over the PA system. “We’re experiencing a power outage and the maintenance staff is looking into it now, please remain in class until further word.”

Ms. Cheeriliee soon returned, silencing the class as she entered the room. “Okay, you heard the message; if the power outage is something serious we’ll make arrangements to end the school day.” She rolled her eyes at the positive reaction. “Don’t sound so disappointed.”

Rarity sat as best she could but could not shake the nagging feeling in her mind. She casually made her way over to the window and looked out into the adjacent parking lot; a frightened gasp left her as she spied a forming wall of familiar creatures gathering on the asphalt. “Oh dear,” Rarity glanced back to the oblivious students. “Ms. Cheerilee? May I be excused to the restroom?”

“Of course, just be careful.” Ms. Cheerilee answered.

“Oh… I will certainly try.” Rarity hurried out of the room and started messaging her friends about the impending attack. A return message from Sunset organized them to meet up in the lunch room; Rarity replied with an OK and started hurrying down the hall. Rounding one of the corners, she skidded to a stop as a quartet of the soulless abominations approached from the opposite end of the hall.

The eyes of one of the golems lit up and it pointed a malformed hand at Rarity. “Hello,” Cobalt’s voice came through. “I recognize that hair, you’re one of those girls that was with Hunter.”

“Cobalt,” Rarity constructed a pair of magical diamonds. “A little old to be back in high school, aren’t we?”

“We’ll see how funny you are when your lungs are filled with dirt.” The golems began to move in.

“I hope you don’t think I’ve just been sitting on my fabulous rear since our last fight.” Rarity said smugly; she twirled her index fingers in the air and her constructs began to spin like saw blades. “I’ve been practicing!” Launching them forward, she diced the soil that composed their bodies and sent them spilling to the tile. Rushing past the pile of wriggling limbs, Rarity sprinted through the hall; she used her new technique to carve up anything in her path as she made her way towards her friends. Principal Celestia came back on the PA with an alert, now fully aware of what was happening and calling for the teachers to barricade themselves in the rooms with their students and wait for help to arrive.

Across the building, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy also made their way towards the meeting place; Pinkie using her stash of confetti to blow apart the golems in their path. “I sure feel bad for whoever has to clean this up.” Pinkie looked back over her shoulder, the walls, floor and ceiling covered in dirt from the explosions.

“Let’s survive first, then worry about that.” Fluttershy grabbed Pinkie’s waist, halting her as more golems approached.

“Don’t worry, Fluttersy.” Pinkie took out two more handfuls. “It’s like I was made to fight these things.” She easily dispatched the enemies before them.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy looked out the window in shock, hundreds more of the golems ready to move in.

“Uh oh,” Pinkie frowned as she beheld them all. “I’m going to need more confetti.”

“Hey you two!” Rainbow Dash blazed around the corner and stopped in front of them. “Not the time to be standing still.”

“Look.” Fluttershy pointed out the window.

“Whoa,” Rainbow Dash sighed. “Looks like he was up all night making those; but we need to get going, Sunset said that Hunter is on his way.” She grabbed their hands and sped them across the school and to the lunch room where the other girls had already gathered.

“Fluttershy, Pinkie,” Sunset smiled in relief. “Thank goodness.”

“Well, we’re all here,” Applejack noted. “Now what?”

“We need to hold this room until Hunter gets here,” Sunset informed. “We can fight the golems, but if Melodiam shows up we don’t have any protection against her singing.”

“Where are the police?” Twilight asked in frustration. “Shouldn’t they be here by now?”

“They probably can’t get close to the school,” Applejack guessed. “Who knows how many of those things are out there.”

“Cobalt is making sure we have nowhere to go this time,” Sunset surmised. “He wants this to be the final fight.”

The doors to the cafeteria suddenly burst open and Principal Celestia hurried in with a large group of errant students that she had rounded up. “In here, hurry!” She ordered. As students came rushing in she turned to see Sunset and her friends already inside. “Girls? Why aren’t you in your classrooms?”

“Uh…” Sunset fumbled.

“We were in the bathroom!” Pinkie blurted out.

“All of you?” Celestia asked but quickly shook her head. “Nevermind, as long as you're safe. All the students should be accounted for now; we just need to wait for help to get here.”

Flash, Sandalwood and Trixie joined the girls on the far side of the room. “You know what’s going on, don’t you?” Flash asked. “More magic stuff?”

“Yeah,” Sunset nodded. “Those things are after us.”

“After you?” Trixie repeated. “Why?”

“That’s… a long story.” Sunset admitted.

“A story we don’t have time for at the moment.” Twilight came in.

“We’ll help however we can.” Sandalwood offered.

“Appreciated,” Applejack thanked. “For now, just try and keep everyone calm.

“Okay.” Flash nodded, the three of them heading back into the crowd.

“This is bad,” Sunset rubbed her forehead. “Hunter is on his way here with the Dazzlings, everyone is going to see him; but we’re going to need his help to win this.”

The room's attention was claimed as a loud banging began to rattle the doors. “Students, get to the back of the room!” Celestia ordered. Bulk and some of the other boys began flipping tables to make barricades as Sunset and her friends stepped forward.

“Let us handle this, Principal Celestia.” Sunset bravely took the lead.

“Yeah, we’ll show them some school spirit.” Pinkie readied her confetti.

The doors busted open and dozens of the monsters came pouring in; the girls charged and took advantage of the forced funneling to even the odds. Celestia and the other students could only watch as they attempted to battle back the horde but the numbers game quickly began to overwhelm them. Slowly but surely they were forced to fall back as the golems gained ground, climbing over the fallen bodies of their kin in order to get at their targets. Under the chaos of the melee, the side of the cafeteria wall was blown out by an explosion and Hunter leapt through the hole; without word he readied his under-barrel and launched a 40mm grenade in the rear of the pack. The explosion felled the back line and he proceeded to empy his clip across the heads of the forward line. More bullets began flying as the Dazzlings hurried inside and fired on them as well; Hunter sent another grenade out and polished off whatever was still standing and the room fell silent.

Hunter lowered his gun and looked over the room with a troubled breath. “Well… there’s a lot more people here than I was led to believe.”

“Hunter!” Sunset ran to him, looking back at Celestia and the confused students. “I’m sorry, they showed up to hide here and we had to…”

“It’s okay,” Hunter hugged her in one arm. “As long as everyone is alright.” He glanced back at the Dazzlings. “Nice shooting, ladies.”

“Sir yes sir!” Sonata saluted.

“Knock it off!” Adagio knocked her hand down.

“I had to deputize them,” Hunter noted. “Desperate times and all that.”

“Hunter?” Celestia slowly approached them, the students at her back.

“Hunter?” He looked across them with a casual laugh. “Who’s Hunter? I’m... Charlie,” He gestured back. “And these are my angels.”

“Excuse me?” Aria eyed him harshly.

“Play along.” Hunter whispered back.

“What is going on?” Celestia asked.

Hunter sighed and nodded, climbing up onto one of the tables and sitting down. “Alright look, I’m sure you all have a lot of questions and I promise that I’ll answer them. First of all, yes… that is Rainbow Dash’s natural hair color; I don’t quite understand it either.”

“Hunter!” Several voices rang out in unison.

“Okay, okay,” He raised his hands. “I’m not a student, I’m a soldier; and right now your school is being attacked by a siren and a lunatic with a magic bracelet that lets him summon these things to fight for him.”

“So Melodiam is here.” Sunset concluded.

“Yeah, she’s the reason the cops are out of the picture.” He thumbed towards the hole in the wall. “She has them under her control and in a shootout with their own people.”

"So we’re on our own?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah,” Hunter nodded.

Flash joined them and looked Hunter over. “So, you’ve been a soldier the whole time? Even when you were here last year?”

“That’s right,” Hunter confirmed. “I was on a mission in the city, that’s how I wound up getting involved with Sunset.” His eyes carried regret as he observed his friends. “I’m sorry I lied, I had to; this is my life and this is what I do.”

“It’s okay, man.” Sandalwood assured. “We definitely can’t blame you.”

“Yeah,” Bulk nodded. “I knew there was something different about you.”

“It certainly explains some things.” Micro Chips added.

Celestia let out a taxed sigh. “This situation just gets more and more unbelievable.”

“I know right?” Hunter held his gun up. “When was the last time someone brought an assault rife to school and it ended positively?”

“We need to move,” Adagio stepped in. “More of those things will be here any minute.”

“Addy is right,” Hunter stepped over to Flash. “Listen, Cobalt is targeting us so the best way to protect everyone is to give him what he wants.” He reached behind his pack, pulling out his desert eagle. “But the golems are going to be everywhere, which means I need you guys to protect the students.” He extended the weapon.

“Whoa!” Flash took a step back. “I’ve never even held a gun much less fired one.”

“No time like the present,” Hunter extended it again. “Please, we need all the help we can get here; I know you can handle this.”

Flash swallowed hard and slowly took the gun. “What do I do?”

“Easy,” Hunter stood behind him. “Safety is off, hold it with both hands.” Flash did as instructed. “Arms out, lock your dominant elbow, keep some slack in your opposite for some control; don’t put your finger on the trigger until you’re ready to fire.” Flash held the stance. “Aim for their heads or their legs to drop them, got it?”

“Y…yeah.” He nodded.

“Good,” Hunter went to Bulk, pulling a shotgun from his back. “Big guy, meet your new friend Mr. Mossberg; pump -action 12 gauge, this thing will blow a hole right through those walking dirt clods.” Hunter quickly went through the basic operation and gave him additional rounds.

“I’ve got this,” Bulk nodded surely. “We’ll keep everyone safe.”

“Good man,” Hunter slapped his chest. “Ladies, let’s go bag us a siren.” He smiled over at the Dazzlings. “No offense.”

“Believe me, I’m looking forward to it.” Adagio assured.

“Please be careful.” Celestia looked over them helplessly.

“We will,” Sunset promised. “Let’s move.” The eleven of them headed out through the hole in the wall and started fighting their way across the school grounds. They made their way to the front and found Cobalt surrounded by golems as he sent more out into the school.

“There you are!” He smiled as they assembled in front of him. “How brave of you to serve yourselves up to us.”

“This is over, Cobalt.” Sunset vowed. “We’re not going to let you terrorize our city anymore.”

“After today it won’t be your city anymore.” He assured.

“Quite right,” Melodiam appeared and stood at his side. “You have set us back far enough, this time I’ll make sure you’re removed from the equation.” She raised her hand and began to sing.

“Not this time!” Hunter lobbed a pair of canisters at them, they spewed a thin mist which caused the duo to start choking and gasping for air.

“What was that?” Aria asked.

“A capsaicin aerosol,” Hunter explained. “It’ll keep her from singing; as an added bonus we won’t have to listen to Cobalt’s lame villain lines anymore.”

“Damn you!” Melodiam screamed in a rasped voice, Cobalt's golems absorbing the canisters to stop the spray. “Fine then… I’ll kill you with my own… two… HANDS!” The elegant woman doubled over in apparent pain as her entire body began to contort and warp in hideous fashion.

“Uh oh,” Rainbow Dash looked over her friends. “What’s happening?” They watched in horror as Melodiam’s human form was replaced with a powerful, amphibious frame; her once beautiful hair now hung like seaweed over a pair of yellow eyes, teeth sharpened to razors and claws ready to shred flesh. She wound herself closer on a serpentine lower half and roared with malicious intent.

“Well shit,” Hunter bit his lip. “Didn’t plan for this.”

“A mistake that will be your end!” Melodiam promised as Cobalt ran to her side.

“We’re not afraid of you!” Sunset put her foot down. “Our friendship has seen us through all kinds of threats and you’re no different!”

“That’s right!” Twilight stepped up and took her hand.

“Come on, y’all!” Applejack took her opposite. “Time to kick it up a notch!”

“Aw yeah!” Rainbow Dash grinned with excitement. “About time!”

“I love this part!” Pinkie joined them.

“I’m always ready for a costume change!” Rarity added.

“Okay, let’s do this together!” Fluttershy completed the chain.

Hunter and the Dazzlings stepped back as the girls lifted into the air, encased in rainbow light.

“It’ll be nice not to be on the receiving end of this for a change.” Adagio noted as she watched the brilliant, magical transformation.

Sunset and her friends descended in their pony-hybrid forms and stood ready to face off against the monster siren. “Applejack, Rianbow Dash, help Hunter deal with Cobalt,” Sunset instructed. “We’ll deal with her.”

“You got it, sugarcube.” Applejack nodded as she, Rainbow Dash and Hunter peeled off to engage the golems and their master.

“We’ll take the lead!” Rainbow Dash called. “Just watch where you aim that thing!”

“No problem, Stripes.” Hunter took aim and began firing into the heads of the golems as the two girls used their enhanced speed and strength to push them back.

Although unable to sing, Melodiam’s voice remained a deadly weapon; she cried out in a piercing decibel that sent a shock wave of air at the girls. Harnessing their magic, the five of them formed a barrier that deflected the attack; as soon as they lowered it, the Dazzlings opened fire on Melodiam but the bullets did little against her ancient scales.

“Pathetic, would-be sirens!” Melodiam closed in with amazing speed and backhanded them away. “You are a disgrace to our kind!”

Sunset caught Adagio while Fluttershy and Pinkie saved Aria and Sonata. As Melodiam charged in again, Rarity raised a giant diamond to block her and Twilight reinforced the construct with her own magic. They held her at bay while the others recovered.

“She’s right,” Adagio growled. “Without our magic… we can't stand against her.”

“That isn’t true,” Sunset stood her up. “You’ve already proven that.”

“Sunset is right,” Fluttershy nodded. “Even Hunter thinks so.”

“Siren magic is great and all, but it’s nothing compared to the magic of friendship.” Pinkie added as she stood before Sonata.

“We’re all in this together, Adagio.” Sunset assured. “You may not think it, but you’re our friends too.”

“We are?” Sonata asked unsurely.

“Sure!” Pinkie smiled back at her. “I actually downloaded your last album.”

“So how about it?” Sunset held out her hand to Adagio. “Let’s stop her together.”

Adagio looked at her hand and laughed in acceptance. “Alright.” Adagio’s eyes lit blue as she took Sunset’s hand, she yelled out in shock and was overwhelmed with magic; Sunset was forced to let her go and back off as the siren rose and began to undergo a transformation of her own. Her clothes altered into a beautiful gown with a metallic scaled skirt and a single shoulder strap that bore her mark; her nails and hair highlighted and her ears flattened and became webbed. A thicker, finned tail sprouted from her rear and her pupils became thin, vertical strips of deep blue.

“Wow!” Sonata ran to her as she landed. “Look at you!”

“That’s incredible.” Aria noted in a rare shock.

“How?” Adagio looked herself over. “I don’t have my pendant.”

Sunset put her hand on her shoulder. “Looks like you don’t need it anymore.”

“Girls!” Rarity called as Melodiam smashed through her construct.

“Enough!” Melodiam slithered past Rarity and Twilight, making a move for Sunset.

“No!” Adagio shouted, her rich voice forming a shock wave of her own; Melodiam was knocked back and looked at the girl in disbelief.

“I bear your pendants,” Shed held her wrist up. “How do you still wield magic?”

“I’m not entirely certain,” Adagio stood defiantly in front of her. “But I’ll worry about it later, after my friends and I deal with you!” She held her hands out to her sides. “Aria! Sonata!”

“Right!” Aria responded as the two of them hurried to Adagio’s side and took her hands; the magic radiating from her coursed into their bodies and they too were transformed as she had been. The three of them stood as one with renewed power and for the first time in well over a year they chorused their magical song. Melodiam quickly roared back at them, but the clash of tones flowed in the Dazzling's favor as they started to force her back.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack stopped at the sight as Hunter came running up to them. “Holy cow,” Rainbow Dash looked to Applejack. “Did they just… siren up?”

“Sure looks that way.” Applejack laughed. “Who knew they had it in them.”

“Man,” Hunter sighed in disappointment. “I’m all about friendship now too, don’t I get like an infinite ammo RPG or something?”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s how it works.” Applejack noted.

“Ms. Melodiam!” Cobalt too halted, seeing that she was in danger; he started to run towards her but a bullet at his feet stopped him.

“Ah ah!” Hunter shook the barrel of his gun. “We aren’t done yet!”

“That’s it!” Cobalt scowled at them in rage. “No more games! I’m going to bury you all alive!” He raised the artifact to the sky and his golems fell back and began to converge on him; they piled onto his body and Cobalt vanished as a towering golem formed from the mass of soil.

“Damn,” Hunter looked up at the giant. “I really wish this dog would stop learning new tricks.”

“Well, at least there is only one of him now.” Rainbow Dash said, trying to see the bright side. The three of them separated as the titan stomped down onto their location, its eyes glowing as Cobalt began speaking through the form.

“Not so brave now, are you!?” He bellowed.

Hunter fired into the torso but as expected, his primary weapons were now useless. Applejack leapt up and punched a chunk out of its leg but the area was quick to repair itself.

“Dash!” Hunter called, Rainbow Dash sped to his side and they ran back towards the school.

“Got a plan?” She asked.

“Better, I have explosives.” Hunter produced a charge of C-4. “Get this to AJ and have her pitch it into his gut, I’ll detonate it remotely and we’ll blow Cobalt out of that thing.”

“Got it!” Rainbow Dash took the charge and doubled back, speeding over to Applejack and passing off the ordinance. “Can you get this inside his body?”

“Sure thing,” Applejack turned back and clutched it in her hand.

“Hey slowpoke!” Rainbow Dash called up. “Over here!” Cobalt abandoned pursuing Hunter and turned his attention to the taunting Rainbow Dash. “Go for it!”

“Here goes!” Applejack wound up and fast balled the charge with all her strength, it sailed up and buried itself in the golem’s stomach. Rainbow Dash immediately ran back to Hunter and relayed that all was ready; Hunter detonated the charge and the golem’s entire upper body exploded. Cobalt was sent flying and crashed down into the trees below.

Back across the battlefield, the Dazzling's beautiful song continued to deflect the stark cries of Melodiam as they pushed her away from the school. Sunset and her friends united at their backs, they combined their magic and fired a massive blast into the siren’s chest. Melodiam was taken off her tail and sent flying, landing hard on the ground.

“She’s nearly down, finish her off!” Sunset called up to the Dazzlings.

“Right.” Adagio nodded as she, Aria and Sonata approached the staggered creature. Again they began to sing and a swell of magical energy started to build up above them; Melodiam struggled to fight back but had barely enough energy to remain upright as she watched the bright light grow larger and larger. The Dazzling’s song came to a crescendo and the magical wave crashed into Melodiam; she reverted to her human form and finally fell still on the ground.

“Woo hoo!” Pinkie cheered as they ran up to them.

“That was amazing.” Fluttershy commended.

“And lovely sounding as well.” Rarity added.

“We can sing again!” Sonata beamed. “We’ve got our voices back!”

Sunset took Adagio’s hand and smiled. “Good job.”

“Thank you,” Adagio smiled down at herself. “So, this is friendship magic?”

“That’s right,” Twilight affirmed. “But it seems to have attuned itself to your siren nature.”

“This feels… better than before.” Aria admitted.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash came running, taking notice of the fallen siren. “Cobalt is down,” Applejack relayed. “Hunter is taking care of him now.”

“Chalk up another win for the good guys!” Rainbow Dash punched her fist into her opposite hand.

Adagio walked over to Melodiam and collected their pendants; she held them up and looked at her reflection. “Yeah, good guys,” She smiled back at Sunset. “I like the sound of that.”

Chapter 12

Hunter made his way through the cluster of trees and shrubs before coming upon Cobalt; barely conscious, he was weakly reaching up to the sky.

“Ms… Melo…diam…” He managed in a slur. “I’m… coming…”

“The hell you are,” Hunter grabbed his arm and ripped the magical bracelet from it; knocking his arm to the ground, Hunter aimed his gun at Cobalt’s head with hard eyes.

“You...” Cobalt stared up at Hunter, his half open eyes still registering his rage.

“Given everything you’ve done and everything you’ve tried to do, you deserve a lot worse.” Hunter pressed the barrel against his temple. “A year ago, I would have blown both your hands off to see to it that you never even touch yourself again, much less another innocent woman; fortunately for you, i have a literally magical girlfriend who is helping me get in touch with my sensitive side.” He pulled the gun away. “I’ll let the cops take it from here.” Hunter bound his hands and feet, dragging him out into the open and making his way over to the girls.

“Hunter!” Sunset hurried over to him as he approached. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Cobalt is all wrapped up and ready to be handed over.” He looked over at the unconscious Melodiam. “She’s a different story, I can’t let the police keep her; she needs to be contained. I’ll send word to my HQ, they don’t have to know I was involved but I can recommend that based on my observation she needs to be taken into their custody.”

“Hey Hunter,” Sonata came running over. “Did you see us? We can sing again.”

“I sure as hell did,” Hunter looked her over. “You three did great today.”

Adagio and Aria joined them. “You know,” Adagio began. “I’ve spent the last year or so hating Sunset’s friendship magic and all that it stood for; I’m not sure how or why we were able to use it, it doesn’t seem like something we were worthy of.”

“Everyone is worthy of friendship, Adagio.” Sunset explained. “I really wanted to get that across to you, but it seems Hunter was better suited for the job.”

“Yes,” Adagio stepped up to him. “Thank you, I can admit that we wouldn’t have gotten through this without you.”

“Happy to help,” Hunter smiled. “I’m glad that you were able to find yourselves again.”

“Speaking of which,” She held out the pendants to him. “Here.”

“Your pendants?” Hunter eyed them.

“Sunset is right, we don’t need them anymore,” Adagio said surely. “They no longer represent who we are, but they are still powerful artifacts; I know I can trust you to keep them safe.”

Hunter nodded and accepted them. “I will.”

“Not to be rude, but we should get out of here.” Aria chimed in.

“She’s right,” Hunter agreed. “You don’t need to get wrapped up in this.”

“I’ll have Fluttershy get you back to your bus.” Sunset promised as she returned to her friends.

“What about you?” Aria continued. “All those students saw you.”

“Yeah,” Hunter sighed. “I need to take care of that; for now, just get yourselves safe.”

“Okay,” Adagio nodded. “You… stay safe as well.”

“Later!” Sonata waved as the three of them met up with Fluttershy who was quick to get them to her car and away from the scene.

Leaving Applejack and the girls in charge of handling the cops, Sunset and Hunter returned to the cafeteria where Celestia and the other students awaited. They let out a sigh of relief as the two of them finally returned through the hole in the wall.

Hunter immediately went to Celestia with a smile. “Honey, I’m home; how are the kids?”

“We’re okay,” She nodded. “Thanks to Flash and Bulk.”

Hunter looked around, seeing that they had kept up the fight in his absence. “Good to hear, we’re good out there too; it’s over.”

“Thank goodness.” Celestia exhaled all her stress and panic.

“My friends are working with the police, they’ll be here soon to speak with you and the rest of the students about what happened.

“Which means I need to get out of here.” Hunter noted.

“How are we supposed to explain all this?” Flash and Bulk joined them.

“Well first of all, everyone needs to work together to clean this place up; move the dirt out of the building and make sure you hide all the bullet casings." Hunter began. "All of you need to stick to the story that like all the other students, you barricaded yourselves here to remain safe and the damage to the building was caused by an unknown explosion from the exterior. The cops are just as confused as everyone else and they'll accept that as a statement just to coincide with the holes in their own memory." He went up to Flash and Bulk. "Secondly, I’ll take those guns off your hands.” Hunter took back his arms. “Good job guys, you really pulled through in a pinch.”

“Yeah, well…” Flash sighed and nodded. “It was definitely an experience, but it felt good to finally be able to help.” He admitted, looking to Sunset. “I always do what I can to help you girls, but honestly… I can’t do much except cheer you on; but today I was able to help protect my friends.”

“And believe me, we’re grateful.” Sunset said with a warm smile.

“Thanks,” Flash laughed shyly. “Given how crazy this school is now, I’d like to keep doing what I can.” He looked back to Hunter. “Can you… teach me how to fight like you?”

“What?” Hunter was actually surprised by the request.

“Yeah,” Bulk came in. “I want to help too; not to mention the fact that Derpy is a big part of my life now and I want to be able to protect her, I want to learn too.”

Hunter looked over as he heard similar words from some of the other students. Celestia put her hand on Hunter’s shoulder and gave him a thoughtful smile. “You know, Luna and I have spent a few years debating on starting a ROTC program; our key issue was finding a suitable instructor.”

“You want me to be a teacher?” Hunter asked in shock.

“Why not?” Sunset went to his side. “You’d be great at it and there isn’t anyone better.”

“Well, a civilian job would be nice… you know, for tax purposes.” Hunter considered.

“And since you are not a student, it would give you an opportunity to remain with Sunset and your friends.” Celestia added.

Hunter laughed to himself, taking to the idea. “Alright, but I’ll need one thing in return,” He looked around the room. “Knowing who I really am is a dangerous secret, and one I absolutely need to be sure that you’ll keep; it’s literally a matter of national security.”

“Your secret is safe with us,” Flash vowed. “I promise.”

“Same here.” Bulk nodded.

“I think it’s safe to say we all will.” Sandalwood added.

Hunter leaned back and eyed Trixie. “Trixie? I know you’ve got a mouth on you.”

“I do not!” Trixie stamped her foot. “Besides, it isn’t like this is any different than all the other crazy stuff I have to keep under my great and powerful hat.”

“That’s actually true,” Micro Chips concurred. “I’m starting to get used to things like this.”

“Good,” Hunter smiled. “Cause if you don’t, I’ll have to make you all disappear.” He said with unnerving calm.

Sunset saw the looks on their faces and quickly raised her hands. “He’s… he’s just kidding,” She glanced at Hunter. “You’re kidding, right?”

“It’s about sixty/forty,” Hunter shrugged. “But I’ll take the job.” He proclaimed with a raised finger. "I’ll email you my totally real resume and get started as soon as this place is cleaned up.” He started walking for the door. “The school looks like a war zone.”

It was a long afternoon for everyone as the police interviewed the faculty and students in an attempt to fully assess what had happened. Having had it out with their own men, most of the chaos was blamed on some form of hypnotism from the strange woman they had taken into custody. Cobalt was positively identified and his unconscious body was shipped to a hospital for treatment of his injuries under police watch. Celestia and the students gave their edited account of what had transpired, admitting to not knowing either of the suspects or why they had chosen to attack the school. During the interviews, Rainbow Dash used her speed to lead the girls in a frantic attempt to move the massive amounts of soil that decorated the school grounds to remove any evidence of the golems’ presence. Parents began arriving in droves as they were contacted and instructed to pick up their children and Celestia agreed to close the school until the investigation and all necessary repairs were completed. Finally, at nearly five in the afternoon, Sunset and her friends were free to leave and they promptly dragged their weary bodies to the diner for a meal. In lieu of their exhaustion, they still mustered the energy to celebrate their victory and the ensured safety of their city.

Sunset held her water glass up with a tired smile. “Here’s to another baddie going down hard.”

“Agreed,” Rarity nodded as the girls bumped glasses. “Let’s hope that this is the last for a while.”

“Seriously,” Pinkie concurred. “That has to be the last of the Equestrian artifacts, that was like… what… the fourth or fifth one? I can’t even remember anymore.”

“Something like that,” Applejack sighed. “This place seems to be a magnet for the darn things.”

“It makes sense,” Sunset admitted. “This city seems to be one of only a few locations that parallel Equestria, maybe it’s some kind of fate or destiny that they wind up here.”

“We could always move.” Twilight suggested.

“No way!” Rainbow Dash refuted. “Then who would handle all the crazy stuff that goes down?”

“I hate to admit it, but the police just aren’t capable of handling this type of thing.” Fluttershy added. “I guess that’s why people like Hunter exist, I don’t know if we could have won without his help.”

“I’m not one for firearms,” Rarity confessed. “But his armaments certainly come in handy.”

“It’ll be great to have him back at school with us,” Pinkie added. “Maybe we should join his program too.”

“I think I get just the right amount of him as it is,” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Besides, we don’t need military training, we have awesome magic.”

“And I don’t do camo, dear.” Rarity turned her nose up.

“Well, we’ve got some time off now,” Applejack changed the subject. “Any ideas on what we should do with it?”

“We should take a trip!” Pinkie excitedly suggested.

“We could go camping,” Fluttershy offered. “It might be nice to get out the city for a bit.”

“That could be fun,” Sunset said in consideration. “I’m sure Hunter would like that too.”

“He won’t put land mines around the campsite will he?” Rainbow Dash asked half seriously.

“I can’t make promises.” Sunset admitted with a laugh. After they finsihed eating, Sunset headed home and found Hunter waiting for her; he sat on the porch in his normal clothes with an equally tired look on his face.

“Was starting to think you ran away.” He noted with a smile.

“Sorry, we were starving so we stopped to eat,” She held out her hand as she came upon him and pulled him to his feet. “Been here long?”

“Nah,” He assured. “I’ve been making phone calls and cleaning dirt out of all my guns.”

“Is everything square with your headquarters?” Sunset asked as she unlocked the door.

“Yep,” He confirmed. “Nobody is wise to my involvement and they’ll be picking up Melodiam and transferring her to a black site facility.”

“You know, I almost feel bad for her,” Sunset confessed. “What she was attempting was unconscionable but she just wanted to raise a family, like any woman I suppose. And as messed up as their relationship was, from her memories it did seem like she loved Cobalt.”

“That’s what makes war so complicated,” Hunter followed her into the bedroom. “Both sides are fighting for what they believe in and what they believe to be right. Conflict is nothing more than a difference of opinion and perspective; and in conflict there are no such things as good guys or bad guys, just winners and losers.” He sat on her bed with a heavy sigh. “And since history is written by the victors, they’re the ones that have the luxury of passing out those labels in that particular chapter of history.”

Sunset absorbed his philosophy with deep consideration. “I suppose so; that’s why friendship is so important in Equestria, because friendship is the glue that can keep creatures together even when they have conflict. That’s what Princess Celestia taught me… or tried to at least.” She shed her shirt and tossed it on the dresser, undoing her bra and sending it to the hamper.

“You got it eventually,” Hunter said wryly. “You taught it to me after all.”

“Beat it into you is more like it,” She laughed and sat in his lap. “Speaking of teaching, everyone is excited to have you at school with us."

“Me too,” Hunter ran his hand up her back. “Now we can have inappropriate teacher/student relations.”

“Don’t get fired in five minutes, okay?” She laughed, kissing him shortly. “So, how about a hot shower and a nap.”

“Best idea I’ve heard all day.” He let her up and ditched his shirt as he followed her into the bathroom.

Rightfully so, Sunset and Hunter passed out for the rest of the night; not waking until late the next morning when Hunter’s phone started going off. He dragged himself away from Sunset’s warm embrace and answered to the hyper greeting of Sonata. She informed him that they were heading back on the road and they wanted to stop by to see him before they left. He told them to head for Sunset’s and roused his semi-conscious sweetheart to let her know what was happening. Hunter made them a small breakfast while Sunset contacted the girls and asked them to head over as well; the Dazzling’s tried and true tour bus rolled up not long after the others arrived and the procession went out to meet them.

“Afternoon ladies,” Hunter greeted as they filed out onto the sidewalk. “Ready to hit the road?”

“More or less,” Adagio confirmed. “Now that we aren’t being hunted anymore, we need to reorganize our tour schedule.”

“Not to mention write some new songs that we can actually sing on our own.” Sonata added excitedly.

“I’ll be the first one to download the album.” Hunter promised.

“We mostly came… to thank you, all of you,” Adagio looked over them. “I honestly didn’t know how all of this was going to end, but I certainly didn’t expect the one we got.”

“We’re happy for you,” Sunset smiled. “Your pasts really are behind you now.”

“I can’t wait to hear your new stuff,” Pinkie noted. “I know it’ll be awesome!”

“It’ll be nice to sing with my own voice again.” Aria admitted with a small smile. “I didn’t realize how much I missed it.”

“Well, we do wish you luck.” Rarity added.

“And when you get the chance, maybe you can come back and see us.” Fluttershy added.

“Really?” Sonata asked.

“Absolutely,” Hunter took her under his arm. “Tell you what, next time you’re in town you and I are going to go to a border town that I promise you has the best tacos on the continent.”

“For real!?” Sonata’s eyes lit up.

“Yeah,” He smiled at Sunset. “Although, I think my girlfriend had better come too; I don’t want her to get the wrong idea when I come back bragging about all the taco I ate while we were together.”

“I wish you were just a little less proud of yourself when you say stuff like that.” Sunset shook her head.

“Well, we need to get going.” Adagio motioned back to the bus.

“I’m going to miss you.” Sonata hugged onto Hunter.

“Same here,” Hunter squeezed her. “My place is going to be so quiet without the sound of you three trying to kill each other.”

Aria stepped up to him as Sonata moved away and actually smiled. “I’m glad this world has humans like you in it, makes it a little more tolerable.”

“That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.” He held his hand out, she ignored the gesture and hugged him; Hunter laid his arm around her and grabbed her shoulder. “You keep those two in line, okay?”

“I’ve got my knife right here,” She patted her hip as she stepped back, looking at Sunset. “You really do have a great human, make sure you hang onto him.”

Hunter looked to Adagio and held his arms out. “Come on, you know you want to.” Adagio rolled her eyes but nevertheless hugged him. “That’s right,” Hunter whispered. “Just let it happen.”

“That’s enough,” Adagio pushed him back but merely laughed.

“Take care of yourselves.” Hunter laughed back.

“You too.” Adagio went to Sunset, holding her hand out. “Sunset, I made a promise to Hunter that we wouldn’t use our magic against humans again; now that we share a magical connection, I want to make the same promise to you.”

“Thank you,” Sunset took her hand. "You know, after this change, I could make a case with Princess Celestia to let you return to Equestria if you wanted. I'm sure she would consider it."

Adagio laughed lightly to herself. "I appreciate that," She glanced back at Aria and Sonata. "But we've been here for so long now, I doubt we'd even recognize Equestria. Besides, we have an actual life now and that isn't something I'd be fond of giving up."

Sunset nodded understandingly. "Well then, if you ever need us you know where to find us.”

“Thanks,” She smiled. “Till then.”

The girls said their goodbyes and the Dazzlings headed off down the road, Pinkie continuing to wave until their bus was out of sight.

Chapter 13

It took a little over a week for the school to re-open; the day prior to the start of classes, Sunset went with Hunter to meet with Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna to discuss his new role. The quartet sat in the principal’s office as Hunter filled out and provided the necessary paperwork to get him on the payroll and into the system.

“Alright then, Mr… Steele,” Celestia shook her head with a smile. “Everything is in order.”

“Perfect.” Hunter sat back with a smile.

“Now, we do want to discuss what you intend for the program,” Celestia continued. “It has to fall within the school's guidelines and regulations.”

“Well fortunately for you, I can provide all the equipment,” Hunter noted. “I’ll be happy to teach the students proper firearm care and maintenance, short and long range shooting exercises and…”

“Hunter,” Luna cut him off. “Obviously, you cannot bring firearms to school.”

“Bomb disposal and explosives?” He suggested.

“No.” Celestia answered dryly.

“Can I at least teach them close quarters combat?” He asked.

“No.” Luna answered with equal measure.

“Okay… but you’re really handcuffing me here; and not in the fun way.” He folded his arms.

“What exactly do you want him to do?” Sunset took over.

“The program should focus on teaching the discipline, teamwork and community forward thinking that is associated with the military,” Celestia detailed. “The traits that make upstanding citizens.”

“So the opposite of whatever you learned.” Sunset smiled over at him.

“Hilarious,” Hunter smiled back. “Well, I suppose I can stick to the basics; run them through the drills and fitness programs that I went through to get them into tip top shape. Go through self defense, situational awareness and survival skills; maybe share some stories to give them a little perspective on life.”

“That sounds much more appropriate.” Luna nodded.

“Alright, so how do Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays sound?” Hunter asked. “Don’t want to work them too hard.”

“That’s acceptable,” Celestia agreed. “Keep in mind that I will be maintaining an eye on how things are progressing.”

“So behave.” Sunset added.

“Yes moms,” Hunter sighed. “Sheesh, it’s like I have a reputation or something.” He and Sunset stood. “See you tomorrow then.”

“Alright, good luck.” Celestia offered as they left the office.

“So, are you excited?” Sunset asked as they walked down the empty hall.

“Yeah,” Hunter admitted with a thoughtful smile. “Can’t say I’ve done anything like this before, so it’ll be interesting.”

“How about we go out and celebrate the new job then?” Sunset looped her arm around his. “On me.”

“Celebrating on you sounds awesome.” Hunter laughed.

Hunter took to his new position rather quickly and the boys who had signed up just as quickly took to his teaching. The start was a little sloppy but things fell into place and within two weeks Hunter had everything optimized. He felt more like part of the world around him than ever which is something that Sunset could see develop in real time as they spent their days and nights together. On a subsequent Friday, around an hour after the final bell, Sunset headed out to the track where Hunter held his course. She came across Principal Celestia along the way who was en route to perform her end of the week check on him.

“Going my way?” Sunset asked with a laugh.

“It would seem that way,” Celestia chuckled. “I’m just checking in at this point, Hunter seems to have things well in hand and the effect he’s having on the students in his program has been wonderful.”

“He’s taking this really seriously, which kind of surprised me at first but I guess it makes sense,” Sunset considered. “This is what he knows more than anything, in a way I suppose you could say it’s sacred to him.”

“Well, I admit that I understand him so much more now.” Celestia confided. “Although, I still have some reservations; having processed so much falsified paperwork and documentation makes me feel a little… criminal.”

“You get used to it,” Sunset assured. “Besides, his higher ups are way more dangerous than yours are.”

“True,” Celestia laughed shortly. “My career continues to go down some unexpected paths.”

The pair emerged on the other side of the school; as they walked out onto the grass they could see Hunter leading his students around the track in a measured jog. Watching from the sidelines as the group rounded the path, they could hear them all keeping time as Hunter led them in a military cadence.

“Left, right, a left right lay yo!”

“Left, right, a left right lay yo!”

“Lo, right, a lefty righty lo!”

“Lo, right, a lefty righty lo!”

“I met a girl named Pinkie Pie!”

“I met a girl named Pinkie Pie!”

“She was so sweet, that I’d thought I’d die!”

“She was so sweet, that I’d thought I’d die!”

“I met a girl named Rari-ty!”

“I met a girl named Rari-ty!”

“Loveliest lady that I ever did see!”

“Loveliest lady that I ever did see!”

“I met a girl named Apple-jack!”

“I met a girl named Apple-jack!”

“And I got cock-blocked by her brother Mac!”

“And I got cock-blocked by her brother Mac!”

Celestia laughed lightly as they started to pass by. “Not exactly what I was expecting.”

“I’m more mad that this is exactly what I was expecting.” Sunset confessed as they neared.

“I don’t know much, but I can tell!” Hunter carried on.

“I don’t know much, but I can tell!”

“Our Prin-ci-pal is thick as hell!”

“Our…” The boys trailed off, not daring to repeat after him.

Celestia shook her head and pulled out her whistle. “Oh good, he found the line after all; I was beginning to worry.”

“You know he’s only doing this because you’re standing here.” Sunset noted.

“I know,” Celestia blew the whistle and stopped them. “Hunter, a word please!” She called.

Sunset watched in amusement as Celestia called him out, the other boys being dismissed for the day. After a few minutes he came over to her with a restrained smile. “Just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” Sunset asked with a tilted grin.

“Some women just can’t take a compliment.” Hunter shrugged. “Still on for dinner tonight?”

“Yeah, go hit the shower first,” She wiped the sweat from his cheek. “I’ll be waiting by the car.”

“Be right behind you.” He leaned in and kissed her before jogging off to the gym showers.

Sunset and Hunter spent the weekend together as they had been ever since the battle with Melodiam and Cobalt had ended. The two of them fell into a welcome routine and an entire month passed by before they knew it. However, as both of them knew would come to pass, the specter that loomed over their heads finally came calling as an innocuous Tuesday night brought Hunter a call from his headquarters. They were sitting on the couch watching television when his phone rang, Sunset had grown conditioned to become cautious whenever his phone rang as it did so rarely. Hunter grabbed his phone and headed into the kitchen, returning about ten minutes later with burdened eyes.

“That was them, wasn’t it?” Sunset asked, fearful but certain.

“Yeah,” Hunter confirmed. “Going to have to take a little business trip.” Sunset’s face washed over with a barrage of emotions, not being able to speak any meaningful words. “Hey, it’s okay.” Hunter immediately went to her and sat at her side, taking her hands.

“I know, we both knew that this was coming sooner or later.” Sunset finally managed. “What’s the mission?”

“Don’t know the details yet,” Hunter explained. “I just got word that Lily will be in contact to fill me in and that I should get ready to head out in twenty four hours.”

“So quick?” Sunset asked with disheartened eyes.

“Look at it this way, the quicker I go the quicker I can come back.” Hunter squeezed her hands tightly and smiled reassuringly, but it faded as tears started to build in her eyes. “Sunny…”

“I’m sorry,” Sunset took her hands back and wiped her eyes. “I’ve been preparing for this since before we came back from Equestria, it’s just…”

“It’s alright.” Hunter got closer and hugged her, she quickly buried her face in his neck as he rubbed her back. His heart sank as she started to cry and the knowledge that he could do nothing to ease her upset made it all the worse.

It was a long night for both of them as Hunter barely had time to stay with her before he had to begin preparing. Sunset assured him that she would be okay and that everything she was feeling was expected. When he left in the morning to start prepping for his mission, Sunset called her friends and asked them to come by so they could see him before he actually left. Having them near made things easier and when Hunter returned in the afternoon they made sure to have a positive time together for both their sakes. Also knowing that they needed some final alone time, the girls gave him their well wishes and assurance that they’d be there for Sunset until he got back. At the cusp of the afternoon, Hunter got his things in the car and returned to Sunset for one final goodbye.

“Okay, all ready to head for the airport.” He stood in the doorway as she came to join him.

“Alright,” Sunset nodded with a reluctant smile.

“I will call you every night and check in with you,” Hunter promised. “Between seven and eight, no matter what’s happening.”

“Thank you,” Sunset took a deep breath through her nose. “I’ll be okay, Hunter. Please don’t get distracted worrying about me, that’s the last thing I want.” She looked at him with serious eyes.

The two of them just looked at each other, neither wanting to move from that spot. Hunter finally reached out and took her shoulders, gazing into her eyes with boundless confidence in what he was about to say. “Sunset,” He smiled. “I love you.”

As close as they were, as much as they had been through, they had yet to actually speak those words to each other. Sunset felt a swell of warmth and emotion run through her as she looked into his eyes; a bit overwhelmed, she lowered her head with a subtle laugh. “You picked a hell of a time to finally say that.”

“I know,” Hunter said apologetically. “But I want to make sure I do say it, because I mean it. And if anyone or anything thinks it’s going to keep me from coming back to you, they’re out of their fucking mind.” He laughed, rubbing her arms. “I know this is hard enough, so don’t feel like…”

“Shut up,” Sunset looked back up at him. “Of course I love you, Hunter. That’s why this is so hard.” She reached up and took his cheeks. “Now go get ‘em.” She pulled him in for a long, passionate kiss.

“Yes ma’am,” He whispered as their lips parted. “I’ll call you tonight.”

“Okay,” Sunset nodded, letting him go. “I’ll talk to you later then.” Hunter slowly stepped from the doorway and Sunset pushed it closed, spinning around and falling back against the door as her home fell silent. Her brave smile faded and tears once again flooded her eyes as her mind readied itself for what was to come.

Hunter was gone for nearly three weeks and it was one of the roughest times of Sunset’s life. Having fallen in love after so long and with such an emotional investment in Hunter, the stress of wondering if he was okay hounded her everyday. Her friends spent a great deal of time with her to keep her spirits up, but even they noticed the growing tiredness in her eyes from the worry and lack of sleep that plagued her. The only time it was fully alleviated was when Hunter called, for in that hour or two she had him on the phone she knew that everything was okay; but from the moment he hung up until the moment he called again, Sunset’s mind could not help but fret that that could have been the last time they would speak. She fought with herself; feeling stupid at how much she was letting this bother her but her rational side, more often than not, lost the argument. Relief finally came when, after seventeen days, Hunter told her he was coming home. The welcome news returned her cheer and she eagerly awaited him the following afternoon. Her heart leapt at the sound of his car and she hurried to the door to let him in.

“Hunter!” She held open her arms with a relieved smile as he rushed to her.

“Sunny.” He wrapped his arms around her and settled his nose in her hair.

That was all they needed to say; Sunset’s fingers dug into his back as if to make sure he didn’t suddenly leave again and Hunter teared up as he fully realized just how desperately he had missed being near her. After several minutes, she pulled back from him and wiped her eyes. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

“Me too, Sunny,” Hunter brushed her hair back and kissed her. “Told you I’d come back safe.”

“Yeah, you did.” She nodded, pulling him inside. “Did that slice on your arm heal up?” She asked, recalling the story of the injury.

“Mostly,” He lifted his sleeve and showed off his stitches. “Damn thing was jagged so it’s healing slower.” They sat on the couch and Sunset was quickly against his side, her body finally relaxed and she let out a calming breath. Hunter looked down at her, seeing the lines under her eyes and the exhausted expression. “Sunny, be honest, how did it go while I was gone?”

Sunset sighed and stared at their reflection in the television screen. “Honestly… it was awful,” Sunset reluctantly admitted. “I knew it was going to be hard but… it was so much harder. If it wasn’t for my friends… I… I don’t know if I could have handled it.”

Hunter held her close and silently cursed himself for putting her through all that. “I’m so sorry, Sunny.”

“It isn’t your fault,” She sat up, laying her hand on his. “You did everything you said you would and I’m so grateful for that. This was the first time and the first time is always the hardest; it’s just something I’m going to have to get used to.”

Hunter flipped his palm and clasped her hand. “Sunny, I had a feeling things would be difficult for you and the last thing I want is to subject you to that over and over again. So, I took the time on the mission to really think about everything; you, me, my life and my job. I figured I’d gauge everything on what you told me when I got back and hearing how hard it was for you is all I need to know to feel confident in this decision.”

Sunset realized what he was considering and wrapped her other hand around his. “Hunter, no,” She refuted. “I already told you, I have so much respect for what you do and I don’t want you to feel like you have to choose between me and…”

“I want you to become my partner.” He cut her off.

Sunset’s jaw dropped, her entire train of thought derailed; she released his hand and sat back, looking at him in shock. “W…what?”

“I want you to become my partner in the field,” He reiterated. “I can make a reccomendation and set up an interview with Ajax. With his okay, you can go into a program that will train you to become a support operative; it isn’t anything like the program I went through so you don’t have to worry about that, but it will classify you as agent like me. We normally run solo for obvious reasons, but there are agents that work as a team based on certain circumstances."

“Hunter… I…” Sunset stammered, completely overwhelmed by the idea. “That sounds crazy.” She confessed.

“I know,” Hunter nodded with a light smile. “But think about it; next year is your senior year, but what about after that? Twilight plans on moving on to a university for a masters in science and technology, Rarity plans on going to business school so she can finally open her own shop, Applejack intends on going to an agricultural trade school so she can better run her family’s farm, Fluttershy is set on going into veterinary medicine, Pinkie wants to go into culinary baking arts and Rainbow Dash is guaranteed a free ride on sports scholarships.” He detailed. “What about you, you never really mentioned any type of plan for what comes after high school.” He reached out and took her hand once more. “Honestly, you could go on to college and do whatever you wanted, you’ve got talent coming out the ears. Still, like we said, you and I aren’t normal and we’re not built for normal lives. Let’s keep doing what we do best, keeping the world safe… but let’s do it together.” Hunter brought her hand up and kissed it. “I love you and I always want you with me; if we fight together then there won’t be anymore worrying about each other while we’re apart, we’ll be side by side and have each others' backs.”

Sunset stared into his eyes and saw how serious he was about the offer; even so, she couldn’t help but be hesitant. “Hunter… I just don’t know. That sounds wonderful but… it’s a lot to ask.”

“It is,” Hunter admitted. “But I’m only asking because I know you can handle it.” He smiled. “Look, I’m not asking for a yes or no right now, that would be crazy. We’re nowhere near a point where you'd have to make that call, all I’m asking is that you think about it. I’ll be with you no matter what you decide, without question.” He assured.

Sunset nodded with a quiet smile. “Okay, I’ll think about it.” A quaint laugh escaped her. “I wish you would save these bombshells for your missions.”

“Does that sound like me at all?” He laughed.

“No,” Sunset admitted. “For now though, can I just enjoy having you back?”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Hunter vowed as they cuddled up on the couch.

“Good,” Sunset got comfortable. “Now tell me how the mission ended?”

“You got it.” Hunter dramatically cleared his throat and launched into a story detailing the end of his mission. Sunset closed her eyes and listened, pushing out the stress she had felt while he was gone and putting aside any consideration of the fantastic suggestion that was just presented to her; all that was important to her was the moment they were in right now, and she had every intention of relishing it to the fullest.

Author's Note

These two aren't done yet. Sunset and Hunter will return. :twilightsmile: