'Human' in Equestria: Maverick and Hunter

With Hatred, Comes Death

(Part One)

The weather had calmed down since the night before, the storm slowly traveling away from Ponyville as the sun started to rise. The sun was starting to rise over the horizon, the night subsiding and making room for the morning to come. Maverick sat at the edge of the Everfree forest, inspecting the damage that had been done by the battle between human and pony. The buildings on the edge of Ponyville had taken the most amount of damage, but most of the houses and shops further into the town were untouched.

Maverick let out a sigh and looked up at the clouds moving over head. He had not gotten any sleep last night, the thought of what would have happened if the elements of harmony had not existed and what would have happened if Hunter was hurt keeping him up the hole night. His eyes were heavy as he sat in the wet grass and he laid back, a feeling of sleepiness finally starting to take over him.

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Maverick opened his eyes slowly, the light radiating from the window making him squint a little. Maverick looked around the room he was in. It was his old bedroom back on earth, posters of various types of metal and hard rock bands occupying the white walls. Maverick lifted his arm to his face, and to his surprise, instead of a hoof, fingers brushed against his forehead. He sat up in the bed he was in and studied himself. He was sixteen again, his medium black hair hanging down to his ears and his bangs covering his forehead. He felt his chin, the soft hair running in between his finger tips.

“What the hell is going on...?” Maverick thought to himself. He got up off the bed and walked over to the window, ducking down to look past the shades hanging down in front of it. The blue sky had a dim yellow tint to it, results of the old planet taking on years of pollution from factories and other things. Maverick walked over to his dresser in the corner of the room and opened it, revealing the different shirts and pairs of jeans in the top drawer. He grabbed a pair of pants and put them on, slipping into a dark grey shirt afterwards. Maverick walked out of his room and into the hallway, a flight of stairs leading to the entrance of the small house he lived in with his parents. The confused teenager walked down the stairs and past the entrance of the house, masks with filters in them for when someone wanted to leave.

Two of the three masks were gone, Maverick’s mask sitting by itself on the wooden platform above the coat hangers. Maverick turned around and started down the hallway next to the stairs, leading further into the main floor of his home. He turned into the first doorway in the hall, a small kitchen layout with a dining room further back. Maverick turned around and walked to the end of the hall, a dim light radiating from under the dark wooden door. He studied the door for a little bit. Even though he had been away from home for seven years, he did not remember the door looking like this.

Maverick wrapped his fingers around the golden handle and turned it, the door seeming to open by itself. He let go of the handle the door slowly creaked its way open, revealing a storage closet and a small glowing chest on the floor. Maverick glanced behind him and knelt down to chest, turning his head from the hall back to the closet. He reached out and picked up the small glowing chest. It was light and some what warm to the touch, the golden lining of the edges seeming to let off a small amount of light. Maverick put his thumbs on the top of the chest and pushed forward, a small envelope laying in the red fabric that lined the inside. He set the chest down on the floor and focused his attention on the letter, which seemed to be the source of the light. Maverick flipped it over in his hands and read the back of the envelope quietly.

“To Carter and Serenity Blackburn.” The words scribbled on the paper read. Maverick turned the envelope back over and wedged his finger between the folded down part of the envelope, sliding his finger across the length of the it to unseal it. He took out the piece of paper inside of the envelope and unfolded the letter.

“Carter and Serenity Blackburn. Your son, Maverick Blackburn, has been selected to be transferred the newly discovered planet Umbra to become a soldier for the army in order to keep peace on the planet. Your son will be given special treatment once he arrives, but do not panic. If you refuse to cooperate, your son will be taken by force and you will be prosecuted for disobeying the law. You have one month to get him ready for transfer. We will give you another notice three days before his leave.

-Signed, General Gallimore”

“One... month?” Maverick said quietly to himself.

“Did my parents... keep this from me? But...why?” Maverick bit his lip and folded the paper again, placing it in the pocket of his jeans. He pushed the chest back into the closet and shut the door, the glow that previously occupied the closet resting inside Maverick’s pocket.

“Maverick, are you alright?”

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Maverick slowly opened his eyes to find Twilight Sparkle standing over him, her mane hanging down in front of his face.

“Wha... what?” Maverick asked as he rubbed his eyes. It caught him off guard to have a hoof rub against his eye lids, Maverick slightly poking himself in the face.

“Are you alright? You’ve been out here for quite a while, it’s almost four.” Twilight said as she walked next to him and sat down. Maverick sat up and looked towards the town ahead of him. The ponies of Ponyville were back in the town, a small group of them rebuilding one of the damaged shops and a few pegasi clearing the clouds to let the sun through. The grass between the Everfree forest and Ponyville was gleaming in the sunlight, the rain from last night glazing the field. Maverick sighed and looked down at his hooves.

“Yeah... I’m fine.” Maverick said quietly. The dream was still fresh in his mind, Maverick feeling as if he could reach into a pair of jeans around his hind legs and pull out a small piece of paper with the truth on it. Something about it triggered something inside of him, feeling as if he needed to do something. His parents had kept the information of his draft into the Umbra military for his own good. No sixteen year old know that they have to be sent to war, rather, be converted into a weapon to be used by the military. Maverick had been doing the same thing with Hunter, his only ‘brother’ and closest friend, yet he never could bring himself to tell Hunter that he was a Beta unit. Hunter’s heart would be shattered if he knew the truth, born from a test tube with no parents or any siblings, aside from Maverick. Yet, the truth would have to come out eventually. Hunter would find out one way or another, and there would be no telling what his reaction to it would be. Twilight remained quiet as Maverick sat in silence, sensing something was wrong.

“Twilight... is Hunter still at the library?” Maverick asked.

“No, he left earlier to take a walk through Ponyville, I’m not sure where he is right now.” Twilight said.

“Alright, I’ll see you later, Twilight.” Maverick said as he got up. Twilight watched as the distraught stallion walked off towards Ponyville, dragging his hooves as he made his way across the field.

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Hunter walked up slowly to the fountain in the middle of Ponyville town square, resting his front hooves on the edge of it. He looked down at his reflection in the gently moving water, the sad expression on his face flowing around in the ripples. Apple Bloom’s question still raced around in his mind, Hunter beginning to question Maverick.

“He wouldn’t lie to me... he was the one that taught me everything I know, there can’t be any reason for him to keep such a thing from me... or is there?” Hunter thought to himself. Hunter glanced down at the ruby pendant around his neck, the red crystal swinging back and forth in the gentle breezes in Ponyville.

“Why would he give this to me? He told me this was the only thing he had from his parents... yet he gives it to me, a soldier that lost his memory in an Umbra riot with the civilians. What makes me so special to him that he decided to give the last thing he has of his family... to me?” Hunter continued to stare at his reflection in the water, which was soon joined by another. Hunter shifted his eyes to his left, Maverick leaning against the fountain and staring into the clear water. Maverick stayed silent for a second, but finally built up the courage to speak to Hunter.

“Hunter... there is something I need to tell you... something I should have told you a long time ago, but I never had the heart to get it out.” Maverick said, keeping his sight towards the water in the fountain.

“I’m a Beta unit... aren’t I?” Hunter asked slowly.

“...Yes, Hunter, and I’m sorry. I know I should have told you sooner...”

“Then why didn’t you? I have lived my entire life, thinking that someone actually loved me once, thinking that love was stripped away from someone when I was taken... but it was all lies?” Hunter’s tone started to become more angry with every word he said.

“I didn’t want you to know because I knew that this would happen. Deep inside, I knew that I would have to tell you some day, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell you the truth.” Hunter pushed himself off of the fountain and turned to Maverick, a slight angry expression on his face.

“So, what, you lied to me because you didn’t want to confront me about it!? What did you expect to happen if you waited this long to tell me, for me to accept that no one has ever cared for me!?” Hunter yelled.

“My parents hid the fact that I was being transferred into the Umbra military for one month, both of them knowing it would tear me apart that I would have to leave them to become a weapon! I did not tell you because no one should know that they were born from a test tube and their sole purpose is to kill! I never wanted this, the military took their own actions without my consent!” Maverick yelled as he pushed off the fountain and turned to face Hunter. The ponies in the town square were starting to stare at the two soldiers fighting, but Maverick and Hunter seemed to take no notice of them.

“The least you could have done is ended my life when the military presented me to you! Do you think I wanted to be born like this!? Why don’t you tell me what my TRUE past is!?”

“You were born three years ago from a test tube in the base I was stationed at to become an Alpha unit! I did everything I could to keep the information from you that you were a Beta unit because I was afraid of what your reaction would be! You never lost your memory, you were never taken away from your home, and no one ever cared for you!” Hunter grabbed a hold of the ruby hanging from the necklace around his neck and held it out in front of him.

“What about this!? You gave me the only thing that you have from your parents! Why!? If no one cares for me, why would you trust me with the only thing that reminds you of them!?” Tears started to form in Hunter’s eyes, a drop or two flowing down his cheeks.

“You were born from my DNA, Hunter, you were the closest thing I had to family on Umbra for three years! I treated you like a brother I never had, someone that I could relate to and talk to if I ever needed the comfort! I cared for you when no one else would, and this is how you react to the love I had for you!? You were a partially failed Beta unit, the military would have discarded you if it hadn’t have been for my actions to take you in and teach you everything I knew!”

“You should have let them kill me! I don’t want this, I never will! I am not your brother!” Hunter ripped the ruby pendant from the necklace and threw it into the fountain, the red gem slightly cracking as it slammed against the stone. He gave Maverick one last glanced and he turned around, running from the fountain to get away from Maverick.

“Hunter!” Maverick yelled, but his Beta unit continued to run in no particular direction, his only desire to get Maverick out of his sight. Maverick sat down and put a hoof up to his face, the tears he was holding back pouring out of his eyes and onto the ground.

“I never wanted it to be this way... I’m sorry Hunter...” Maverick said quietly to himself as he sat in the middle of Ponyville town square, crying as hard as the day he was taken from his home. Maverick felt a pat on his back and he turned his head, Twilight Sparkle’s hoof resting on him. The ponies that were in town square continued to watch as Maverick sobbed, Twilight taking him back to the library.

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Hunter slid to a stop in the Everfree forest, feeling hatred and anger like never before.

“Why!? Why did you keep me alive!?” Hunter yelled, taking his anger out on the trees and vegetation surrounding him. Hunter continued to kick and punch, slowly chipping away as his energy. The upset soldier eventually reduced to tears once more, laying down on his stomach and resting his head on his folded fore legs, surrounded by the destroyed environment around him.

“I have no purpose other than to kill... yet Maverick continued to nurture me out of love... did he ever stop to think that I didn’t want this?” Hunter said quietly through his sobs. There was a light pop in the distance and Hunter lifted his head from the ground. Though it was only audible for a brief second, the pop sounded familiar. Hunter got up and wiped the tears from his face, staring in the direction where the sound came from. There was a distant sound of trees tumbling over and machinery moving around, the ground rumbling slightly as the sounds grew louder. Hunter flipped on his night vision and looked into the darkness of Everfree, his eyes growing wide at the sight of what was tearing through the forest, heading straight for him.

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Maverick stared out the window at the setting sun, Twilight standing next to him with a worried look on her face. Hunter was still gone, and Maverick’s worry began to take over his sanity, Maverick quietly mumbling to himself as his eyes gleamed with tears still. Twilight took no further actions to try and bring Maverick back to himself again, the hours she had tried to before proving to be useless.

“This is my fault... I did this... Hunter...” Maverick continued on talking to himself, his lips barely separating as he spoke.

“Maverick, he’ll be back, don’t worry. I’m sure he’s just walking it off, he’s fine.” Twilight said in a final attempt to calm Maverick, her hoof lifting to rest on Maverick’s back. Maverick shook a little as Twilight’s hoof touched him and she sighed, turning back to head upstairs and get ready for bed. She was stopped, however, by the sound of someone crying out in the distance and Twilight looked back at Maverick, his eyes wide open.

“Maverick!” A distant voice called out, pain and helplessness radiating from the cry. Without hesitation, Maverick bolted out the library door, Twilight following him out of curiosity and worry. Maverick ran through the streets, following the origin of the voice. He came to a stop at the entrance of Everfree, and he froze with the display set in front of him. There was a rather large unicorn standing at the entrance of the Everfree forest, approximately the size of an Ursa Minor, Hunter laying on its back, his back left leg twisted at a disturbing angle. His eyes were staring at Maverick, Hunter bruised and cut beyond belief. The unicorn holding Hunter spoke in a familiar voice, a transmission coming from further back in Everfree.

“Such a shame he had to find out this way, Maverick. I’m just surprised that you managed to keep him from finding out for this long.” The general spoke through the Giga unit holding Hunter, his voice slightly distorted as it spoke through the machinery.

“General, you bastard! Let go of Hunter!” Maverick yelled. Twilight Sparkle was standing further back into Ponyville, watching as Maverick stared into the glowing orange eyes of the Giga unit presented in front of him.

“If you say so.” The Giga unit tilted sideways and Hunter slid off of its back, the Beta unit landing on his broken leg, Hunter yelling in pain. Maverick was only angered further, trying to avert his eyes from Hunter’s suffering.

“You’re going to regret what you have done.” Maverick spoke.

“We’ll see about that.” The general said. Maverick and the Giga unit charged at each other, the ground rumbling as the large unicorn galloped across the field between Ponyville and Everfree. Maverick jumped in the air as he got close to the Giga unit, a giant hoof gliding across the grass below him with unrelenting force. Maverick made his way under the unicorn and pushed off as hard as he could from the ground, latching onto the unicorn’s tail. The Giga unit wiped around, Maverick lifted further from the ground as the Giga unit’s tail flowed through the air. Maverick let go as the unicorn’s tail slapped against its side, digging his teeth into the flesh to steady himself. He lifted his fore legs and pulled himself up on top of the Giga unit.

“Maverick! Catch!” Twilight yelled in the distance, a long metal pole gliding through the air. Maverick carefully jumped up and curved his hooves around the pole, landing back on the Giga unit with the pole in his hoof. The Giga unit began to buck, trying to get Maverick off of it as it kicked the air violently. Maverick held onto the Giga unit’s mane and jumped off, hanging at the right side of its head.

“This one’s for Hunter!” Maverick yelled, swing the long metal pole with all his force into the side of the Giga unit’s head. The pole made its way through the Giga unit’s head and the end of the pole punctured through the other side, resting stable in the unicorn’s skull. The Giga unit roared in pain and swung its head around, the motion of its mane flinging Maverick into the air above. Maverick regained his balance in the air and he looked back down at the Giga unit below, the unicorn trying to get a grip on the metal pole stuck in its head. Maverick began to fall, and he took the opportunity to make the final blow. As he came closer to the Giga unit, he lifted his hoof, and swung down. The force of his hoof slamming on the end of the metal pole flung the other end up into the air, the Giga unit’s neck creating a loud snap noise along with the sound of metal ripping apart. Maverick landed back on the ground, his hooves digging into the dirt with the force of him falling. The Giga unit fell over sideways, the ground trembling enough to make the trees in the Everfree forest shake. Maverick stood up and shook his hoof, stinging a little from punching the metal pole.

“Good riddance.” Maverick said, spitting in the direction of the deceased Giga unit. He turned his attention towards Hunter, who was still laying at the edge of Everfree, breathing heavily. Maverick ran across the field and stopped next to the injured soldier, Twilight teleporting next to Maverick.

“Hunter, you’re going to be alright, just hang in there.” Maverick said, examining Hunter’s hind leg. Hunter stayed quiet, paying no attention to Maverick as he slowly lost conscious.

“Hunter!” Maverick yelled, shaking him a little. No response. Maverick put his hoof up to his Beta unit’s neck and checked for a heartbeat. There was a faint pulse, relieving Maverick of some of his worries.

“Twilight, go get help. He won’t be able to recover from this on his own.” Maverick said. Twilight nodded and headed back towards Ponyville, a small group of ponies already forming at the edge of the town to see what had happened.

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Maverick sat on the chair beside the hospital bed, Hunter resting peacefully. The door to the hospital room opened and Twilight Sparkle and her friends walked in.

“How is he doing?” Twilight asked, standing at the end of the bed and looking at Hunter.

“He’s going to make a full recovery, but his leg took some serious damage, the doctors don’t think he’ll be able to walk without assistance for a while, even with his healing capabilities.” Maverick said. Maverick had gone back to the fountain to get the ruby gem that Hunter had thrown, the pendant resting in Maverick’s hoof. He stared at the red gem hanging from the chain around his hoof, the ruby swinging back and forth slightly.

“I knew I should have told him earlier. If I had... this would have never happened. This is all my fault.” Maverick said sadly, putting a hoof up to his face.

“Don’t say that. You did what you thought was right out of your love for Hunter, doesn’t that mean anything?” Applejack asked.

“But what does it matter? Hunter was almost killed because of me, I won’t be able to let that go!” Maverick said, his voice raising with every word he spoke. Maverick sighed and got off of the chair. He wrapped the chain around Hunter’s hoof and set the pendant down on Hunter’s chest.

“Make sure to watch over him, I’ll be back.” Maverick said calmly as he made his way to the hospital room door.

“What? Where are you going?” Twilight asked as she turned to face him.

“If the general wanted to get the Giga unit back to Umbra, he would have put an inter-dimensional unit inside of it so it could return. I doubt he would want to waste a perfectly operating Giga unit that he could tap into. I’m going to put an end to this. If Hunter wakes before I get back, if I get back, don’t let him leave.” Maverick said as he walked out of the hospital room, shutting the door behind him. The six ponies exchanged glances and and walked over to the window. Maverick was running back to the field separating Ponyville and Everfree, hatred and a thirst for vengeance coursing through his veins.