The wind gently tousled Sunset’s hair as she glided along the pavement. Dash had the day off and Fluttershy had to be in early so the teen was riding her bike today. She was still at least a little ways from getting a car, not to mention her licence, but she didn’t mind riding. She was actually coming to rather enjoy it, and it was fairly nice out today too. Before long she was outside the station, forced to dismount to walk her ride inside.

“Lovely day, isn’t it?” a woman loitering on the sidewalk gave as she passed.

“Yes, it is,” the teen returned politely.

“It’s Sunset, isn’t it?” the redhead halted at a stranger's words. She turned cautiously to see them smiling at her from behind a pair of large, round frame sunglasses tinted a dark green.

“...Can I help you?” Sunset returned in a guarded tone. The woman’s smile grew, exaggerated further by her dark lipstick. She was tall, wearing a nice pair of dark green slacks and a simple business shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The first couple buttons followed her undone collar and her dark cerulean hair hung almost messily down her back and across her face.

“Actually Ms. Shimmer, I believe you can,” the mysterious woman produced a manila envelope from behind her back, holding it out to the teen “Be a dear and see Rupert gets these for us?”

“Who is ‘us’?” Sunset looked away from the folder, not taking it as she regarded the woman.

“While I can certainly appreciate a healthy paranoia, I assure you Ms. Shimmer, we’re on the same side” the woman gave with only the smallest hint of impatience “And while we found no use for this, I have no doubt your boss will be very interested.”

Sunset frowned as the envelope was nudged toward her again. She slowly reached out and took it, to which the woman immediately straightened back up with a smile.

“Wonderful! No peeking now! Well, I really must be going. Thank you for your time Ms. Shimmer, I do hope you’ve been enjoying your stay on our admittedly less saturated little mudball. Ta-Ta!” she gave jovially, already walking away. Words failed the former pony, only finding herself sputtering as tall woman rounded the corner, only pausing a moment “Oh and tell Bon Bon that Chrissy says Hi!”

Finally catching up with herself, Sunset dropped her bike and sprinted to the corner. The alley way was completely deserted. Her gaze darted all across the space nevertheless, searching frantically until she had to accept the stranger was gone. Shoulders slumping, she looked down the envelope in her hands. She briefly considered opening it herself but knew she had no way of resealing it without Rupert knowing.

She shuffled back to her bike, thankfully still there, and dragged it inside only to be confronted by another pair of faces she didn’t recognize. Thankfully, the two unknown men were chatting cheerfully with the Odd Couple, who didn’t seem concerned at all.

“Oh hey, Sunny!” Lyra caught sight of the teen and waved her over “Sunset meet Jack Spearhead and Gallus Magnus, finally back from Manhattan. Try to remember the faces though, sometimes they get sent out even more than us! Guys, this is the new girl, Sunset.”

Sunset parked her bike behind the front desk and shook the men’s hands.

“Shimmer, right? Heard you’ve been up to quite a bit since you woke up” one quipped.

“Oh, y-yeah. It’s… it’s been a month alright…”

“You alright?” Bonnie asked, “You look kind of shaken.”

“Yeah, it's just… this woman outside gave me this” she held up the envelope “Told me to give it to Rupert and to tell you that... ‘Chrissy says Hi’?”

“Chri- Ah Fuck!” Bonnie immediately slammed through the door as she took off outside. Lyra stayed behind however, frowning at the redhead.

“Tall chick? Green-Blue hair? Black nails and lipstick?” the casual hunter sighed dejectedly at Sunset’s nod “Yeah that’s Bon’s old partner, back from when she was still a Fed.”

“Bonnie was an agent?” Sunset perked at the news. She hadn’t known that, and wouldn’t have figured with how relatively young the woman was either. Spearhead was the one who answered the quirey.

“Yeah, not for long though. Wouldn’t ask her about it personally, she really doesn’t like to talk about it.”

“No, I don’t” the group jumped as the hunter in question made her way back inside. She held her hand out to Sunset “Here, Ly and I will get that to Rupert. He’ll want to talk to me now anyway. Twilight wanted to see you though, she should be in her lab as usual.”

The group bid their adieus and Sunset made her way toward the prodigy’s sanctum. Still trying to shake off the shock and the worry it brought, she was just passing the clinic when a shill cry, followed by a bout of laughter drew her attention. She looked over to spot a very large man with even bigger muscles picking up Fluttershy in a bear hug before spinning her around. He then repeated the act with a suddenly appearing Pinkie Pie next. Not wanting to risk being subjected to the same, Sunset decided to carry on and find out whoever the enthusiastic man was later.

She saw the blinds to Twilight’s lab were closed so she knocked instead of just making her way in. Twilight’s work could be pretty gross sometimes, so while it could be something as simple as drawing blood, she learned the hard way not to take the closed blinds for granted. The next moment however, the door was opened by the scientist pulling a disposable tourniquet off her arm.

“Sunset! Good, you’re here. Now we’re just waiting for-”

“EVIE!” the pair looked to see Pinkie squealing as she glomped onto a blonde girl down the hall. She then latched onto the redheaded one beside her. “Applebloom!”

“Aw Pinkie, Ah haven’t been gone fer a month!” if the name and face hadn’t given away her lineage, then the accent certainly would have.

“So? Why should that keep you from getting a hug too?” Pinkie argued, giving the Apple girl another squeeze and earning a laugh from both the younger women. Sunset blinked as the pair approached and Pinkie skipped off to Celestia knew where; the blonde’s face was a virtual mirror of one of the most prominent in the former pony’s memory. The eyes were different though, less intense… softer. She had longer hair too.

“You must be Sunset!” the doppelganger smiled brightly, extending her hand to the fiery haired teen.

“Uh yeah, Sunset Shimmer…” she managed “And you’re not Aya.”

The gathered women giggled before the blonde answered.

“No, I just look like her. I’m Eve, and yeah I know, but don’t worry: only the first letter is capitalized.” the younger Brea quipped with a smirk before moving in for a hug from Twilight.

“Ah’m Applebloom,” the other girl, maybe only a year older than Sunset, offered her hand next “Betcha can’t guess who mah sister is!”

“Um, Fluttershy?” Sunset returned in mock confusion, prompting another chuckle. Twilight let the blonde go and stepped back to let them into the lab.

“Bloom will be interning with us this semester” the bespectacled woman explained as the girl in question retrieved a lab coat of her own “You two however, I would like to get some samples from. I do wish your sister was here too, but I hear that’ll have to wait.”

“Yeah, she and Rares got tied up with their last assignment up there.” Eve offered as the two youngest awakened made towards their seats. “Shouldn’t take too long to wrap it up though.”

“It’s nice to see this isn’t just old hat for me” the teen commented, seeing the other girl also already rolling up her sleeve.

“Oh I barely even feel it anymore, Twi’s poked me so many times.” she returned.

“I’m not that bad” Twilight sighed, handing the youngest Apple one of the prepped syringes.

“Just teasing Twilight” Eve winked at the doctor “I haven’t gotten to for over a month!”

“So you did miss us.” Twilight smirked, to which the blonde responded with a beaming smile. She saddled up next to the blue eyed awakened as Applebloom took the seat next to Sunset and wrapped the strip of plastic around the teen’s arm.

“So is Applebloom a nickname like your sister's?” the fiery haired girl asked the fellow redhead.

“Abigail Bloom Apple” she answered with a small smile and slid the needle into Sunset’s arm with a surprising gentleness “Ah ain't too picky about most variations but most just call me AB or Bloom.”

It struck Sunset again how common middle names, let alone family names, were in this culture. They were so rare in Equestria. She wondered if it was because there were simply just so many people in the world. The ponderings were drawn off course as the former pony realized something while the pair finished up.

“Neither of you are on suppressants, are you?” she glanced back and forth between the two.

“Nope, I’m a control.” Bloom answered proudly. Twilight answered for the blonde however.

“I’m hesitant to put any of the awakened on suppressants. I worry they’ll adapt and possibly render all our progress with them moot” she explained. “That and the fact Eve here is more stable than any of us.”

“I’m also the only awakened that hasn’t learned to use any powers.” the blue eyed woman added.

“Really?” Sunset was frankly a little shocked. She might be able to understand why some of the infected had no desire to delve into it, if they even knew it was a thing they could do. She couldn’t wait to learn to use her powers though. Being an awakened just made it all the easier.

“I never had any interest in it,” she shrugged. “I had some… bad experiences growing up and it kind of just soured the whole idea for me. Plus, it also means I can offer another state of development for study. Helps figure all this out, right Twi?”

“It has offered some valuable data we might not have had otherwise.” the scientist acknowledged “I know your sister is glad you decided to live a normal life.”

“As normal as I can, at least” Eve gave a small sigh. She perked back up a moment later and smirked at the Apple “Bloom here on the other hand dove right into the deep end, didn’t you?”

“Oh Ah wanna learn as much as Ah can ‘bout us. The fact it means Ah won’t end up stuck workin’ on a farm is a bonus too” almost as soon as the words left her mouth her hands flew over it. The other two looked on with a sympathetic understanding but the redhead stared at Sunset with a pleading blush… and not a little bit of guilt, “Please don’t tell Jackie Ah said that.”

The teen simply made a zipper and locking gesture over her mouth. The youngest Apple visibly relaxed and returned to readying the samples. Sunset logged the information but doubted it would be of any use. All it would do is cause a rift in the family. She may not be looking for friends but she wasn’t looking to intentionally hurt anyone either.

The rest of the tests went by smoothly, the conversation mostly being Eve relating anecdotes of her stay in New York. She did mention some names Sunset recognized though, including reminding her of her new penpal.

‘I have to remember to follow up with her.’

“Shimmer, why’re you all geared up?” Rupert frowned as the teen ran up to the scene, decked out for battle.

“Dash said there were NMCs…” she responded hesitantly. The mechanic had grabbed her and rushed them out like lives depended on it, practically shoving her out of the car to the scene before driving off... driving off with a mischievous smile.

‘Oh damnit Rainbow, you dick…’

“Yes, there were” the bald man pinched the bridge of his nose. He shook his head “I know you were pranked but still for future reference; all you should need for cleanup watch is your sidearm. You can have your primary if you want though, so don’t worry about stowing it tonight.”

“Cleanup watch?” she echoed before her shoulders slumped “You mean I’m just babysitting?”

“Ensuring the safety of the clean up duty isn’t a responsibility to be taken lightly, Shimmer” the director shot her a stern look.

“Er, right. Of course sir. I’ll uh, go find a good spot.” she gave and slipped past the scowling man toward the building. She hurried inside to find three women waiting, the OC and who she recognized as one Indigo Zap, one of the bio-waste specialists she had only briefly met. Several large puddles of NMC slime were dotted throughout the warehouse behind them.

“Hey hey, new girl’s got her first baysitt’n job” Lyra grinned at the dejected teen “Hey, try to look on the bright side Shimmy, you finally got your first solo assignment.”

The casual hunter just giggled as she received an unamused glare back, passing the teen on her way to freedom.

“Don’t fall asleep” Bonnie offered simply before leaving herself. Sunset couldn’t entirely tell if she was joking or not.

“Settle in, new girl,” Zap gave from behind her mask and pulled down her goggles. “We got a bit of a night ahead of us.”

She hadn’t been lying. Sunset wasn’t sure how much time had passed but it was enough to grow tired of playing on her phone. She briefly considered trying to get a hold of Pyrrha but remembered it was even later in the night for her. She didn’t have much to say yet anyway.

“So why you all geared?” Zap asked, having noticed the girl now just staring off into space.

“Because Rainbow Dash is an asshole.” the teen grumbled.

“Yeah, that sounds like her,” Indigo laughed softly as she continued pushing the oversized squeegee through the goop. Sunset only then noticed the woman moved with a slight limp “You're the one that they found at the school, yeah? The one that turned out to be an awakened?”

“That’s me” the redhead responded with a bored tone, though she did brighten a little after “It did get me a fast track to being a hunter at least.”

“That would do it” the specialist mumbled.

“So what about you? How’d you end up cleaning monster goo for a living?” Sunset asked in return.

“I got attacked by some of the fuckers a few years ago, shredding up my leg. Hence the limp.” she answered with surprisingly little venom behind the words “But, since I wasn’t lucky enough to either end up mindless or an infected, it stayed fucked up. Lost my scholarship and had to find work.”

“Oh, uh… sorry” the teen winced at the cleaner’s casual account. She seemed to be noticing a depressing pattern of stories being told in a way that failed to convey the horror behind them.

“Eh…” Zap gave dully with a shrug “Anyway, I knew Dash back from these stupid games that our schools used to host and she told me about MIST’s openings. Couldn’t be a hunter with a bum leg, so I got certified in bio-waste disposal and became what you see before you. Pay is pretty good and the people are alright so y’know, it could be worse.”

“Could be...” Sunset repeated for lack of a better response. She watched the woman work just a few moments longer before a way to pass the time occurred to her “You guys get paid by the hour or by the job?”

“Salary, actually. But we do get a small commission for each job. Why?” She paused as she spotted the teen stand up and pull another squeegee out of her cart. “You know, you technically gotta be licenced to clean up viscera.”

“You gonna report me?” the fiery haired girl asked with a sly grin.

“Nope,” the former athlete smirked back.

The pair’s night moved by a bit faster after that.

The prismatically maned maiden awoke with a start, blinded by an accursed blaze of burning luminescence. She flailed her arms in defense against the rays, vain though the attempt may be. Roused further from her slumber, she strained to see the damnedable source of the sudden illumination.

A vision of red and gold flames took form within the nebulous fog that was her sight. Twin cyan orbs burned in her direction, from within a vexed glower set beneath the shimmering pyre. Finally, the dashing young woman found her voice.

“Sunset? What the hell-”

“You’re a dick.”

“Uhhh… oh. Oh yeah,” a small fit of tired laughter found the mechanic as the teen closed the door behind her. “Oh come on! You could at least turn the light back off!”

Sunset slouched in the armchair of Doctor Amore’s office. She didn’t want to be there. It had actually been a week since her last appointment; whether that meant she had finally convinced them she really was fine or that the counselor was just busier with almost the whole staff being back she wasn’t sure, but she wasn’t going to complain. She still didn’t want to be there though.

“So you had your first cleanup watch the other night,” Cadence started “How’d that go?”

“Uneventful. So, I suppose fairly well” the teen answered evenly.

“You were with…” the tri-colored haired woman glanced at her folder “Zap, huh? Learn any new swear words?”

Okay, that got a small snort from the young woman.

“She’s alright.”

“Did you help her clean?” Cadenza asked casually.

“I, er- uh, no.” Sunset straightened a little “I mean, we’re not supposed to.”

“Oh yes, of course” the counselor returned with only a hint of pandering. Sunset frowned as she watched the woman make an addition to her notes with a small smile. “Have you met everyone yet?”

“I think so.”

“...And?”

“They seem competent.” Sunset answered simply. She resisted the urge to sigh as the counselor continued to stare at her expectantly “They seem nice, I guess. I understand I may not be seeing much of some of them but the rest seem alright. Ms. Bouquet told me about her little bounty point system and that she’d look into upgrading me from the MP5. I’m glad Mr. Biceps didn’t pick me up and spin me.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll happen eventually” Cadence smirked, making another note “How are things going with your penpal.”

“My correspondence with Pyrrha only just started” the former pony stated “She has shared some curious visualization concepts though; they should be interesting to test if nothing else.”

“...Aaand?” the counselor repeated. Sunset didn't know what kind of elaboration she wanted this time though. The woman rolled her eyes, “What do you think of her as a person?”

“She seems exceptionally competent” unlike her charge, Cadence did not resist her own urge to sigh. She made another note before raising her head back up to the girl, concern dominating her features.

“Sunset, why are you so very dead set against making a real connection?”

“I’ve made plenty of connections” the teen argued “I’d say the fact I took the opportunity to make a contact at another branch proves I can make connections rather well.”

“I’m not talking about your ability to network, Sunset. I’m trying to get you be close to someone, anyone” the doctor elaborated “We need to be able to trust each other at MIST, especially the hunters.”

“People don’t need to be friends to trust each other.” the teen countered.

“No, but it makes it a whole lot easier” the doctor gave her own retort “I know opening up to people can be scary-”

“I’m not scared.” The fiery haired girl cut the woman off. “I just don’t see the need.”

“Everyone needs support eventually; Nobody can do everything alone, Sunset. Not even you.”

“I disagree.” the teen returned plainly.

‘Honestly, it’s like I’m right back with Celestia lecturing me about friendship.’

Cadence let another minute sigh escape her, the scratching of her pencil filling the silence as she added to her notes. Even after a month, trying to convince the girl that being so closed off was only going to make things harder for her in the long run still ended the same. She got along fine with everyone, and even her subtle manipulations were beginning to taper off, but she had yet to actually accept the people in her life as actually part of it.

She could only hope that she’d recognize there were people here trying to help her before everything caught up to her.

“Fluttershy says you’ve been having bad dreams…” she read next from the file, finally rousing the girl from her slouch.

“W-what?” Sunset stuttered, her confusion clear as she sat up “No I’m not.”

“You could have fooled her” Cadence riposted “I take it you’re not remembering them?”

“N-no.” she returned hesitantly “What did she say?”

“That you’re having fits of tossing and turning, even groaning loud enough to be heard from the hall. She also says your mitochondria get pretty agitated too.” the counselor informed her, seeing the worry grow on the girl’s face “She did say they don’t last very long; that you calm down before she feels the need to wake you.”

“She didn’t say anything to me,” the teen mumbled.

“She may not have been aware you’re not remembering them. I’m sure she just didn’t want to pry. You know how Fluttershy is.” The counselor studied her patient. The news was hitting her fairly hard, certainly harder than any mention of her lost memory usually would. The way she grew tense, subtly curling into herself spoke volumes louder than she was sure the girl realized. “You don’t seem to be suffering any fatigue, but I can prescribe you something that may help you sleep more soundly.”

“Um, n- I… I don’t know.” Sunset fumbled back quietly.

“You don’t have to decide right now. I’d even advise against it.” Cadence returned quickly “I don’t want to put you on medication if you don’t need it. I just want you to know it’s an option.”

“I… yeah, okay” the teen’s gaze danced into the distance as she hung her head “Okay…”

“You said there’s a summer camp out here?” Sunset grumbled. The sun was barely up and she and Applejack just spent the last hour, if not more, driving out to the middle of the forest to the east of the city.

“Yeah, but with school back in nobody should be out here. Already passed the turnoff anyway. Rangers closed off the trails for us too.” the cowgirl assured the hunter in training, pulling her truck into the final parking lot at the end of the road. She turned off the engine and looked off into the trees “Don’t suppose you felt somethin’ on the way up here an’ just didn’ mention it, did’ya?”

“Nope” Sunset frowned along with the blonde “Guess that means we’re walking.”

“Yep.” They climbed out of the pickup and grabbed their guns. They weren’t in their full combat armor but they were in lighter tactical garb. The heavier protection might have been nice against the size of the sighted NMCs but it would be too much to trek through the woods in. Sunset slung her new primary over her shoulder and took her position behind the senior hunter “Y’all get comfortable enough with that?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not the same rookie that fumbled at the sight of a starving stranger anymore” the teen assured, adjusting the new M4 hanging from her shoulder. It was still bereft of any bells or whistles but it was an unquestionable upgrade from the submachine gun. It didn’t ‘shoot itself’ but she felt confident she reached the point that she hardly needed it to. She did offer a relenting shrug though “That and I ran another thousand drills with Jodie when she picked it out for me.”

“Ah, so just nine thousand more ta go huh?” AJ smirked back before leading the way along a hiking trail, shouldering her own primary. The cowgirl preferred the single, more impactful shots of a shotgun to something automatic; Sunset wasn't sure the exact model but it was a semiauto with a few Bounty Point bought customizations and could put out a lot of hurt in short order. The Apple did gripe about the reloading sometimes though.

There had been sightings of aggressive animals in the area and MIST was called in when one hiker managed to get a shaky video of a deer as it charged him. It was blurry but a couple frames, as well as the man’s testimony, suggested it was indeed mutated. Granted, if they couldn’t find it themselves, the FBI would send in a larger force for a full sweep, but their NMH senses would give them a better chance of tracking it down before that was necessary. Even if they didn’t sense the creatures, they may act as a lure themselves.

Sunset didn’t much like the idea of essentially being bait but as she had been coming to learn, being a hunter was hardly a normal job. They’d been on the trail for a half hour before Applejack paused, looking at her phone.

“Ya gett’n a signal?” The teen pulled out her own phone. She was met with a no service warning as soon as she turned on the screen. AJ sucked the inside of her cheek at the rookie’s head shaking “Well, not like back up would’a gott’n here quick anyway. Shame we lost the gps but I reckon Ah can get us tha rest o’ the way.”

The fiery hair girl followed the blonde off the trail. She let AJ get ahead a ways and began veering to the right while making sure to keep the other hunter in sight. Spreading out would give a slightly better chance of one of them sensing something and the area was just too big to run the redundant sweeps. Sunset wasn’t too sure how much time had passed but the sun was well and good filtering through the leaves before she felt something.

“Got something.” she called cautiously. She let AJ jog over before continuing. “Can’t tell the direction but that’s definitely something, right?”

“Yeah that’s something alright” she muttered and glanced back where she had been before gesturing to the teens right “Ah reckon that general direction, consider’n Ah couldn’t feel it back there.”

Sunset nodded and fell in behind the cowgirl again, closer now that the threat was near enough to sense. They kept course, the feeling getting stronger. Quite a bit stronger.

“It’s either a lot bigger than jus’ a deer or we got more than one. Stay on your toes Sugarcube, Ah’m guess’n the latter.” Applejack warned and quickened her pace. Not more than a couple minutes later Sunset caught a glimpse of a clearing through the trees. AJ hadn’t missed it either and gestured for her to stay low, creeping forward to the open area’s edge. “Damn, right on both counts…”

Sunset crouched behind a tree and saw what prompted the irritated whisper. Milling around the other end of the space was a quartet of oversized doe and an even larger stag. The females all had small tusks jutting from their jaws and their hooves now stretched halfway to their knees. The stag was the same while also having its far too long antlers curling back protectively along its form and ending in countless razor points at all angles.

Applejack was shifting her weight, readying herself and raising a hand to instruct her partner before she froze and her eyes flew wide. The teen followed her gaze and paled slightly as another four legged form stepped out from the trees, looming over even the oversized animals. It was also definitely not a deer. AJ pulled a pair of binoculars though she really hadn’t needed to. Sunset could make out enough with how big it was.

It stood easily taller than either of them and it’s front half was covered in long, gangly hair. As seemed to be a common trait among NMC, it’s four legs seemed overly long. The claws at the end of them didn’t seem terribly sharp though. It’s long neck swept over one of the doe that shuffled back to allow the clear alpha to pass. It turned its head and let its stretched, ape like face sweep over the clearing. Sunset had the sinking feeling it could sense they were near by as it grew agitated.

Most worrying of all though were the clearly artificial mechanisms implanted along its back. Sunset looked to the other hunter with concern.

‘A-NMC?!’ she mouthed, slumping at the nod she received back. The mutated deer were one thing, but the presence of an Artificial Neo-Mitochondrial Creature complicated things significantly. They weren’t necessarily more dangerous than other NMCs but, as the name suggested, it meant it wasn’t an accident. She took a deep breath and waited as she spotted AJ shuffling her way over as quietly as possible.

“Alright, so Ah know this looks bad but other than be’n a bit bigger than usual, it does look like a standard Chaser. An’ other than that stag, the deer shouldn’t be too much trouble if we’re careful” she gave in what was little more than a breath. Sunset nodded, forcing herself to relax further as the senoir hunter continued “Ah’m gonna get into a position ta crossfire. When I give ya the signal, toss as big a fireball as you can make before they spot ya and Ah’ll hit’em with an energy shot from the side as they close. Sound good?”

While the former pony still wasn’t anymore keen on being even more obvious bait than subtle bait, she did remember the kind of damage the cowgirl’s powered up shot could do from when she first saw her; And that had just been a bit of fun on the range. If anything could take down the chaser or stag quickly, that was it. She set her jaw and nodded back firmly.

“Good. Just stick to tha trees as we mop up, it’ll be harder for ‘em ta charge in here” the blonde finished and crept away. Sunset kept an eye on the pack as she waited, making sure not to lose Applejack but not trusting the wary creatures to cooperate with their plan. The hunter saddled up though and lifted her scattergun before nodding to the teen.

The gathered NMCs were roused into an anxious anger the moment she started building up energy, turning about spastically as they searched their surroundings. She let the flame reach the edge of its tipping point before she let it fly. Panic erupted as the mutations caught sight of the ball and scattered. One doe was too slow to react as it was engulfed in flames and the small explosion knocked another off its hooves.

Their disorientation was short lived as the remaining three spotted the fiery haired hunter and charged. She shouldered her rifle and unleashed a burst, only to see it shatter against the Stag’s wide horns. A moment later the boney appendage exploded as shimmering buckshot knocked the stag off course. The chaser and one of the remaining doe continued unimpeded however.

Sunset dove to the side, dodging the oversized Chaser that slammed right into a tree. She was tempted to spin back to take advantage of the downed NMC but was forced to continue her roll to avoid the doe’s jagged tusks. She did manage a quick, point blank burst into the twisted animal’s hide however. It managed a couple small bounds before falling with a squeal, dying before it hit the ground.

A pair of deep booms sounded behind her, telling her AJ’s location and freeing her from worrying about overpenetration. She readjusted her aim to the raising NMC, zeroing in on the implants along it’s back.

Her shots flew wide as a heavy weight slammed into her side, lifting her up and tossing her several feet into the clearing.

“Sunset!” she heard Applejack cry before another heavy boom echoed across the open area. The teen rolled along the dirt as the second, unseen chaser's head snapped aside in a shower of blood and stumbled enough to miss her. She quickly pushed up into a crouch and snapped her rifle back up to the first camel-esq NMC now charging the blonde.

Her first burst went wide but the second managed to score a lucky shot through the beast’s ankle, sending it tumbling as the limb crumpled beneath it. She rose to her feet but blanched at the sound of heavy hooves closing from behind. Hand once more aflame she tossed another ball of fire out as she spun, despite knowing it wouldn't be enough. She couldn't build it large enough fast enough.

She didn't have the tinder.

Just before it reached her, another, far larger flash slammed into the mutated buck. The force launched it clear across the clearing and knocked Sunset on her ass. She blinked through the dust to see a blur of black, blonde and denim dash in front of her, followed by the the rapid pops of a machine pistol firing in bursts.

A cacophony of enraged squeals and angry snorts came from all around, rousing Sunset to dive for her fallen M4. She snatched the rifle in her grip but before she could raise it against the closest doe and great sphere of crackling green lightning washed over her. While feeling like no more than a warm static to her, every NMC caught in the wave fell to the ground in convulsions.

A rapid series of heavy shots echoed from beyond the trees. She blinked as the spasms of every downed NMC ended with fist sized holes erupting with each boom. Then, as quickly as the battle had turned south, it was over.

The former pony rolled herself over onto her plot, looking around numbly at the fallen beasts. A shadow then fell over her.

“You alright there kiddo?” Sunset looked up to a pair of sparkling blue eyes under a short bob of blonde hair. A bemused smile graced a strikingly attractive face as the figure bent down and offered a hand.

“Aya Brea. Good to finally meet you, Sunset.”

Author's Note

The rough of the next chapter is about a third, maybe half way done but I'm also going to be trying to get the next chapter of another one of my stories (Locked Heart) out too, so it might be a little longer than a week for chapter 7. Not sure, may be sooner again, but just a warning.

Other than that though, as always: Thanks for reading and hope to see you for the next chapter. Have a good one!