Inside the throne room of the Castle of Friendship, six ponies and one dragon were animatedly conversing with each other, talking about their lives, and just enjoying each other's company for the day. Unfortunately, it was soon interrupted by the sudden arrival of a familiar chrome saucer. It barged in through the doors, causing the assorted creatures in the room to jump in surprise.

"GREAT NEWS, EVERYBEING!" Sunset yelled using speakers that popped out of her saucer before projecting her avatar.

Rarity glared at the holographic alicorn as she held up a hoof to her chest, "My goodness, Sunset! Did you really need to do that?! I almost had a heart attack!"

Sunset rubbed the back of her head and gave an awkward smile, "Sorry, this is just so exciting! They're back online!" she said excitedly.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, "Uh, who's back online? And what do mean 'online'?" she asked while gesturing air quotes with her primary feathers.

"My friends, of course! My digi-pals!" Sunset exclaimed as she looked around the room.

Seeing the absence of three other saucers, she frowned, "What the-" Sunset groaned, "Hold on, let me get them. They haven't mapped out the castle yet..." she muttered before going back through the doors and closing it.

Spike motioned his claws towards the doors, "What was that all about?"

Twilight turned to her assistant, "She's just excited to introduce you all to her friends. After the incident in the human world, Midnight promised to help her reactivate the three of them."

"This castle's gonna be real crowded soon with three more ponies 'round. Countin' you and Spike, there's nine o' y'all now." Applejack commented.

Pinkie Pie jumped on her seat with excitement, "It's gotta be super fun with all of them here! I can't wait to meet them!"

Spike shrugged, "I don't really mind since they help around the castle. Ever since they came along, I've got a lot more time to catch up on Power Ponies."

Sunset returned to the room with three more floating saucers. All three of them resembled hers in shape and chrome plating, the only differences were the color of the lights and cutie marks on top of them. The three saucers lined up next to each other beside Sunset before projecting their avatars.

The first saucer closest to Sunset projected an avatar that appeared to be an earth pony mare, she had a helio violet-colored coat, a curly violet mane and tail with white swirling highlights, deep violet eyes with pink spirals instead of pupils, she wore a yellow and white striped propeller cap with a light purple bill, and on her flanks was a cutie mark of a screw and a baseball. She had a wide grin on her face.

"'Ello! Name's Screwbawl, nice to meet ya! I'll be in charge of the thaumtek syst'ems and realit'y anchors. Sumfin' tells me, we're about to be real good friends!" Screwball proclaimed with a wave. The others noted her odd accent.*

The second saucer next to Screwball began projecting its own avatar as well. The avatar appeared to be a pegasus mare, she had a beige coat, a braided golden, yellow-colored mane and tail with a blue streak near her left ear, bright magenta eyes, an ornate gold amulet around her neck, and a cutie mark of the sun settled between two gold wings. She smiled warmly at the group before bowing.

"I am Golden Feather, it's a pleasure to meet you all. I will be responsible for the maintenance and general cleaning of the archives as well as this castle, if you so wish." she said. Twilight found her voice to be rather familiar. Spike smiled at the thought of even more help.

Following Golden Feather, the last saucer projected its own avatar. The avatar had the appearance of a unicorn mare, she had a light lilac coat, a swept aside purple mane and tail with a pale turquoise stripe through them, light purple eyes, a magenta beanie with white star patterns on it on her head, and a cutie mark of a purple four-pointed star with two wisps of magic above it on her flanks. She gave the group a casual smile.

"Hi, I'm Star-"

"Starlight Glimmer!" the six ponies shouted in near unison, completely interrupting Starlight's introduction.

Starlight flinched and folded the ears of her avatar, "Uh... yes... that's me, Starlight Glimmer. I'm going to assume you're familiar with this world's me?"

"Oh we're familiar, alright!" Applejack stated as she stamped her hoof on her throne's armrest.

"She stole an entire town's worth of cutie marks because she thought it made them all 'equal' and stuff. She's totally crazy!" Rainbow Dash explained angrily.

Starlight raised an eyebrow, "Cutie... marks?" she muttered and turned to Sunset.

"Mark of Destiny." Sunset informed.

Golden Feather gasped and covered her mouth with her hooves.

Starlight whipped her head back to the group, "She did what?!" she nearly shouted.

Fluttershy nodded slowly, "And she forced them to live like that for goodness knows how long..." she added with a shudder.

"Wha- that's enough to warrant magical extraction!" Starlight exclaimed.

Screwball put a hoof to her chin, "Huh, would h'ave expect'ed h'er to be a securit'y guard, considerin'..." she muttered.

Starlight shook her head sadly, "Of all the things..." she looked at the assorted ponies and dragon, "I can assure you; I'm not going to be a maniacal dictator or whatever. I'll be in charge of the security systems, like the cameras, traps, turrets, sentinels, drones, and all of that."

The ponies seemed reluctant, but eventually nodded and smiled. This might take some time getting used to, though.

In a puff of red smoke in the middle of the Cutie Map, Cosmos appeared with a set of colorful crystals and a manic grin on her face, she was also giggling to herself. Floating beside her were a set of hats, uniforms, robes, and accessories that not even Rarity could identify, and the bulb of her stinger split apart into a pincer that held a thick book.

"Does this mean we can do a seven player Live Action Battlemace match again?!" she asked with clear excitement in her eyes.

Sunset gave her an awkward smile and rubbed the back of her head, "Sorry Cosmos, we're actually planning on touring around the castle and Ponyville. Maybe next time?"

Cosmos sighed in disappointment, "Oh... okay then. You guys have fun." she said with a halfhearted smile as she disappeared in a swirl of red energy.

Sunset turned to the group of digital equines, "Alright everybeing, let's start the tour!"

Twilight raised a hoof hesitantly, "Um, can I maybe... tag along?"

Sunset smirked and rolled her eyes, "Sure, princess. They probably wouldn't mind answering a couple of questions for you," she looked at the three holographic ponies, "right, girls?"

"Nah."

"Of course I don't mind."

"Nope!"

"Then let's go!" Sunset said as she made her way to the hallway.

Cosmos groaned, "Now who in the great plains of Tel- Equestria should I ask to play some Battlemace..." she muttered as she flew above the skies near Sweet Apple Acres. She always enjoyed flying above the orchard, it gave her a sense of tranquility whenever she saw it, which helped her think. Sometimes she'd lay around on a cloud and watch the Apples work, other times Cosmos would meet Rainbow Dash as she was bringing over a cloud to help Applejack water the crops. Right now, though, she just wanted to find somebeing who would play a live action match of Battlemace. She was mulling over who she should ask when she heard the sound of an explosion coming from somewhere among the apple trees.

She descended on to a tree and made herself invisible before peeking out at the source of the noise. Cosmos saw a treehouse built on top of a low growing apple tree. A couple of paces in front of it, were three fillies who were bickering as they gazed down upon a smoking crater. She recognized one of the fillies as Applejack's little sister, Apple Bloom. Upon a closer look, she recognized the two other fillies from the welcome party, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Rarity's little sister and Rainbow Dash's biggest fan respectively. Getting curious, she slithered down the tree and made herself visible again.

"Yo! You three! What the Hades was that?" Cosmos called out to the filly.

The three fillies turned around to see a tall chimeric creature looking at them with yellow slitted eyes. The sudden appearance startled the unicorn and pegasus fillies while Apple Bloom, being used to her frequent presence around the farm, smiled and waved.

"Howdy Cosmos! Watcha' doin' here? Tryin' to convince AJ and Big Mac to play battleaxe again?" she asked.

"It's Battlemace," Cosmos corrected, "and no, I was just flying around when I heard something explode." she peered over the fillies, "Wouldn't happen to be from here, would it?"

"Oh, we're just tryin' to get our cutie marks in fireworks makin'. A lot harder than I thought..." Apple Bloom admitted.

Sweetie Belle nodded, "We might've made TNT instead..."

"And now we need to cover this crater up before anypony finds out." Scootaloo added.

Cosmos approached the crater, "I'll handle it." she said as she lit her horns and zapped the crater. The charred hole instantly vanished, leaving only flat grass. It was as if the explosion never happened at all.

"Neat!" Scootaloo commented.

Cosmos waved a hand, "No problem. Now, if you'd excuse me, I- hm..." she stopped mid-sentence and tapped her chin spine while staring at the Crusaders with narrowed eyes. A unicorn, an earth pony, and a pegasus. Just like...

She then snapped her fingers as she got an idea, accidentally causing a wormhole to rip open, which she immediately rushed to close.

"Oops." Cosmos muttered as she stitched the wormhole together using her stinger.

"Uh..." was all the three fillies could say.

Once, she was done, she looked back at the fillies, "Say, would you three like to play a round of Live Action Battlemace?" Cosmos asked.

Apple Bloom scratched the back of her head, "Gee, I dunno' Cosmos, we don't really know how to play..."

"That's okay! I can teach you. And who knows, maybe you can get yours Marks of Destiny from it. I know many a being who has." Cosmos added.

Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow, "Mark of destiny?"

"Cutie marks." Cosmos corrected herself.

The Crusaders then huddled together, discussing their next plan of action before looking back at the anticipating spirit with smiles.

"Alright, Cosmos. We'll try playin' a round." Apple Bloom said.

Cosmos smiled excitedly, "Great! Now-"

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS BATTLEMACE PLAYERS, YAY!" she interrupted by three fillies shouting at the top of their lungs.

Cosmos rubbed her ears, "Sour Hades, they're loud." she muttered.

She clapped her hands once, which transported all of them into the control room of a spaceship. Outside, other spaceships can be seen opening fire upon each other with lasers right above a blue planet. The Crusaders rushed towards a nearby window and stared in awe.

"Woah... where are we?" Scootaloo asked, her eyes were still locked on the battle going on outside.

Cosmos smiled proudly, "We are inside my custom Battlemace Fifty Million simulation bubble. It's able to warp reality in such a way that it's as if we're in an entirely different universe, even though we're actually still in Equestria. We're still near your treehouse. If somebeing looked from the outside, they'll just see a big red bubble with the words 'Simulations Active' on it." she explained as she waved a hand across the room.

Sweetie Belle looked back at the spirit, "So all of this isn't actually real?" she asked while pointing at a ship that just got bisected.

"Eh, sort of. It's not real enough to be dangerous. Only enough for us to have fun and interact with the simulations. We can't like, actually get hurt or die in here" Cosmos continued.

Apple Bloom nodded, "Well, that's a relief."

The three Crusaders continued to spectate the battle for a moment before turning back to Cosmos to start playing the game.

"Okay, so, before we begin, we need to be in the proper attire." Cosmos said as she lit her horns and covered all four of them in a ball of red light.

As the light dissipated, they all reappeared wearing special costumes that was unlike anything the fillies had ever seen before.

Cosmos was wearing a black greatcoat that was highlighted with gold trims and a bright red interior, under the coat was a shiny silver breastplate with a gold insignia of an alicorn spreading its wings and a blue rhombus-shaped gem below it near the base of the neck. On her head was a black peaked cap with red and gold highlights, as well as a smaller version of the alicorn insignia at the center.

To Cosmos' left was Sweetie Belle. Most of her body was covered by a dark purple robe with silver trimming, the parts that were visible appeared robotic and covered by metal with green lights, one of her eyes was covered by a green lens with wires connecting it to somewhere under the hood and her mouth was covered by a respirator of some kind. On her back were a set of mechanical claws that were holding a long staff with an axe head that resembled a gear as well as limbs that held glowing blasters.

Sweetie Belle looked at her hooves, "Am I a robot?!" she asked in a heavily modulated voice.

"You're about eighty percent robot. You're a Mecha Cleric, a devoted follower of the Mechassiah, who you believe is using the Empress as their avatar. Mecha Clerics augment their bodies with technology as they find it to be a sacred act of removing oneself from the weakness of the flesh." Cosmos explained.

In front of Cosmos was Apple Bloom. She wore heavy, ornate, red-colored plate armor with gold highlights and large oversized pauldrons with the same alicorn insignia on them. She was covered from the base of her neck to the tip of her hooves. On her withers were two large machine guns, allowing just enough space to move her head around.

Apple Bloom looked over her armor, "Am I some kinda' knight or somethin' ?"

Cosmos tilted her head, "In a way. You're a Star Marine. A Division Master, specifically. One of the Empire's most loyal and powerful soldiers. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a helmet to fit you. Sorry about that."

Lastly, to the right was Scootaloo. She wore a similar set of armor as Apple Bloom, but hers was less bulky and more muted in color and had more intricate patterns with equine skull designs on the pauldrons, along with a thick red cape that covered her back and sides.

"This is so cool! Not as cool as Rainbow Dash, but still cool!" Scootaloo exclaimed, waving around her cape.

Cosmos turned to the armored pegasus filly, "And you're an Inquirer. You hold one of the highest authorities in the Empire, only answering to the Deity Empress herself."

"And what are you supposed to be, Cosmos?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Cosmos stood straight on three limbs and gave the Crusaders a salute, "Kommander Cosmos of the Astro Soldiers, reporting for duty!"

She then turned her gaze towards the ongoing battle outside, "Alright, so here's how this is gonna go..."

"And that is Sweet Apple Acres, one of the biggest farms on this side of Equestria!" Sunset explained as she, three other holographic ponies, and one princess made their way through the dirt road to Sweet Apple Acres.

They had been going around Ponyville for quite some time after the tour of the castle finished. Along the way, Twilight had asked them various questions regarding Skyros, its technology, and other sapient AI programs like the four and ecstatically wrote every piece of information down on a long piece of parchment.

The three recently reactivated supercomputers seemed to have unanimously agreed that they liked the town of Ponyville. Screwball was very curious about the anomalous properties of the Everfree Forest, Golden absolutely adored the–from her perspective–old-timey aesthetic of the town, while Starlight enjoyed the generally peaceful environment of the surrounding area.

All in all, they seemed to appreciate the small town. If they keep up this attitude, they'll get accustomed to existing in Equestria in no time.

As they all continued along the path, Sunset's digital mind drifted on to the information they heard earlier today. Starlight's counterpart was a fugitive, a criminal, a criminal who forcefully extracted Marks of Destiny and brainwashed the ponies under her rule to live in a twisted dystopian society where everybeing was 'equal'. Or at least, in her eyes. And now she's somewhere out there, seeking revenge on Princess Twilight and her friends. They could send drones out to find her, but the six ponies quickly dismissed the idea. Such an attitude made Sunset worry for the wellbeing of her hosts. This train of thought would have continued if she didn't hear four beings shout at the top of their lungs.

"FOR THE EMPRESS!" was heard coming from somewhere within the orchard.

The five beings turned their heads towards the source of the sound, only to see the dissipating form of a simulation bubble and the sound of cheering.

"What was that?!" Twilight asked.

Screwball's saucer made a 'ping' noise, "It's just' Cosmos, princess. Nufin' to worry about'." she said.

"It's a bit weird she'd just conjure a simulation bubble like that, though." Starlight commented.

"That's where the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse is. What's she doing over there?" Twilight thought aloud.

Sunset emoted a sigh, "I think I know what's going on. C'mon, let's check on them."

The four holo-ponies and one princess made their way into the orchard and through the apple trees. When they approached the clubhouse, they saw the sight of three fillies jumping for joy with an amused yet slightly concerned looking spirit off to the side.

"Cosmos?" Twilight asked with a confused expression.

Cosmos turned towards the newcomers with a smile, "Oh, hey there! I uh... I think I did something..."

Sunset raised an eyebrow, "And what would that be, exactly?"

Cosmos silently pointed a finger at the three fillies. The three were still hopping around excitedly, they were giggling and yelling about... cutie marks. Twilight approached them and her eyes widened, they have cutie marks!

Upon closer inspection, they seem to share a similar design. They all appeared to be a gold and blue insignia of an alicorn, with its wings spread far to the sides. Twilight thought it resembled the Alicorn Amulet that Trixie found. Below the neck of the alicorn itself though, was where they started to differentiate. Apple Bloom's mark had an apple with a sword going through the top, Sweetie Belle's had a musical note at the center of a machine cog, while Scootaloo's had a large 'I' which was covered in the middle by a wing with a lightning bolt inside it.

Twilight turned back to the spirit, "Cosmos, when did this happen?"

"When we beat the Entropy Lord, they made this little motivational speech to the NPC soldiers, which was adorable by the way, and then they started floating and glowing in this magical sphere. When they popped out, they got their Marks." Cosmos explained as she shrugged, "It's great and all, but I can't help but feel like I messed up something. Like, it's as if I just disrupted the threads of Fate. Might need to some Wallbreaking back in the archives." she muttered.

The three fillies ran up to the pondering spirit with bright smiles.

"Ya got us our cutie marks!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.

"Can't wait to see the look on Diamond Tiara's face when we show these off!" Scootaloo added.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sweetie Belle said as she jumped repeatedly.

Cosmos gave them a smirk, "Um, you're welcome?" she said tentatively.

Sweetie Belle stopped for a moment, "But wait, now that we have our cutie marks, what are we gonna do after?"

Apple Bloom put a hoof to her friend's withers, "Ain't it obvious? We'll spread the word about the wonders of cutie marks, and help ponies get theirs in the name of the Empress!"

Cosmos' eyes widened and the spines of her frills clicked awkwardly, "Wait, wha-"

"And we'll guide them in the search for a higher purpose to serve the Empress' will!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

Sunset looked at the spirit with worry, "Cosmos, what's going on?"

Sweetie Belle smiled confidently, "We'll bring peace and harmony throughout all of Equestria and fight the forces of Entropy in Her name and the Mechassiah!"

Cosmos raised her hands, "Girls, I don-"

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS OF THE EMPIRE, YAY!"

"Oh no..." Cosmos, Sunset, and Twilight said in unison, leaving three somewhat confused holographic ponies to spectate the whole ordeal from the sidelines.

Apple Boom ran up to Cosmos, "Do ya' think we can get our costumes again, Cosmos? We'd like to keep 'em."

Cosmos lit her horns and summoned three necklaces with gold chains and a multicolored eight-pointed star as their centerpiece. She floated them over to each of the Crusaders.

"Tap the star five times to make them appear, tap them five times again to make them disappear." she said as the Crusaders put them on.

"Don't encourage them!" Twilight said exasperatedly.

Cosmos turned back to the princess and leaned in close to her ear, "Maybe they'll get over it once they get it out of their systems. This'll just speed up the process." she whispered.

Twilight hesitantly nodded, "Okay, if you're sure..." she muttered.

A week passed, and Cosmos was flying over the orchard again. This time she was joined by Twilight. They were both looking over the newly renovated clubhouse, which now resembled an ornate gothic castle with the logo of the Cutie Mark Crusaders emblazoned upon the alicorn insignia of the fictional Eternal Empire of Equidae placed right above the entrance.

Twilight looked down at the eye-catching structure, "You said they'll get over it." she remarked.

Cosmos shrugged, "Just give them time, princess. It's only been a week. And we've only played like, twice since the first. They'll get bored with roleplaying as the Empire soon enough."

Twilight snapped her head towards the spirit, "Roleplaying?! Cosmos, Cheerilee said they wear those costumes to school every day! They called Snips and Snails blasphemers and tied them to a tree in the Everfree! They're totally convinced, Cosmos!"

Cosmos tugged the end of her cobra hood, "W-well, I mean, Applejack said Apple Bloom's been working harder around the farm ever since she got the armor, a-and Rarity told me Sweetie's mecha claws have been helping her a lot in the boutique. Oh! And Scootaloo can fly now because her armor has jet boosters. Those are good... right?" she asked nervously.

Twilight heaved a sigh as she rubbed her temples, "What if they get hurt or hurt others doing something 'in the name of the Empress'?" she asked while doing a quoting gesture with her hooves.

"That's where the necklaces come in. They're essentially extensions of myself. If they ever get into trouble, the necklaces will send a psychic signal to me, and I can swoop in and prevent them from doing anything rash." Cosmos assured.

Twilight could only relent and sigh once more. It seems like they'll just have to see what happens next. Hopefully those three will get over this phase eventually. For now, Ponyville would just have to deal with three fillies in weird costumes preaching about the 'wonders of cutie marks' and how they 'lead ponies to salvation if they believe in the power of the Deity Empress of Equinekind.'

Author's Note

* I need your honest opinion on Screwball's Cockney accent. Should I do this, where I put apostrophes to imply the presence of a glottal stop, or should I also remove the letters that she wouldn't pronounce as well, only leaving the apostrophes?

Anyway. So that happened. Cosmos turned the CMC into Imperial zealots and twisted the timeline. Oh dear.

I know this will be controversial. How will Diamond Tiara deal with her mom then? Well, let's just say, the Crusaders of The Empire won't stay as three ponies for long...

And Starlight's working on security? My my... Have fun sneaking into the castle, Glimmer!

Next Chapter: Midnight has a scythe?

If you want to share ideas on how this story should go, consider commenting!

Corrections and criticisms are more than welcome, I can't improve without those now, can I?
Have a good existence!
:)

"Remembered forever, the land of Equestria"