The Lost Element

by XD-385

Equestria has long been known as the land of ponies. However, the name of Equestria is misleading. For far too long, a certain element has been missing from the world. And now, that element has been brought back. But for better or for worse?

58. Return to Maretropolis

Before this day could even get started, I was treated to quite an exciting experience in the depths of my dreams. Upon falling into slumber, I soon found myself standing in what I could only describe as a massive vertical tunnel with walls of fire all around me. I must have been falling through a seemingly bottomless chasm as there were other large blocks of debris seemingly floating through the air around me in freefall while smaller chunks of earth or maybe metal and concrete rose up before the walls of fire as they seemed to not be falling fast enough to keep up. I was still able to walk just fine despite falling at terminal velocity by that point on a large slab of solid ground. "Huh... Well, this is an interesting start to my night..."

I just stood there for a time, eyeing my surroundings and taking in the surreal atmosphere. The distant flames hissed faintly while a constant rumbling reached my ears as if I was plummeting towards the planet's core during a colossal earthquake. To my eyes, it looked like an arena of sorts one would use during some sort of epic boss fight in a video game where one would have to leap from foothold to falling foothold to avoid plummeting into the fiery abyss below while trading blows with the enemy. Before long, I was not alone any longer. A magical rift opened beside me before none other than the Princess of the Night jumped through and landed before me just before the portal closed behind her. She quickly turned her gaze towards me and smiled before said smile turned in a look of surprise. "Ah, there you... Oh my. I think you're clad in the wrong armor, my friend. Shall I fix that for you?"

"Wrong armor?" I replied before actually taking a moment to look myself over. I thought something did not feel right and it was only then that I knew why. My body was coated in a beautiful suit of futuristic white and gold armor that hugged my frame tightly. I recognized my form all too quickly. "Hey, check me out! Project H is back in action!"

"Indeed! And you wear the look well!" Luna retorted with a delighted grin, being more knowledgeable of the Project H series than her sisters.

I took a moment to reacquaint myself with my body's many functions while my helmet's visor slid into place over my eyes. I needed it after only truly being in that state once before and the second time was just a very convincing charade during Nightmare Night. "Let's see here... HUD is fully online. H-Buster is responsive. H-Saber is primed and ready. Particle shield is active. Wing and boot thrusters on standby. Yep! Everything's good to go!"

Luna then took a good look around me. "Hmm... This setting certainly carries an air of danger to it... This may make for an ample opportunity for us to train you further. Are you certain that you would not prefer that I outfit you in your armor and proper weapons? It's not like you can use that form in reality."

I considered this proposition for a moment before looking down at the H-Buster as my hand slipped inside it, arming it in the process. "I'd rather not. I always relish the chance to slip into the boots of this guy. It's the closest I'll ever get to emulating my childhood icon. Besides, using some of the weapon systems in this isn't all that far removed from casting magic. I just...will it to happen and my systems respond to it in almost the same way my armor's magic does. I could probably walk away from this with the same experience if I had been wearing that other armor."

"If you say so. I will not rain on your parade if you really enjoy being like that, however briefly it is." Luna replied with a calm smile. I think even she was enjoying seeing the new robotic hero in the flesh as well.

"Thanks, Luna. Anyway... Is Nightmare Moon and Celestia coming too? I wouldn't want them to miss out on this." I then asked while deactivating the H-Buster and restoring my right hand in the process.

"Nightmare Moon should be along shortly. I did ask her to check in on you tonight to see if you may be up for another session. As for Celestia..." Luna then said before her horn became coated in her blue magic aura. Another rift opened before us. I stepped forward to take a peek and saw Celestia on the other side taking a walk along a beautiful moonlit beach with gently crashing waves from the glistening ocean. And walking alongside her in a tropical robe was...me? Luna suddenly winced upon seeing this and muttered, "Oh my... What timing for her to be having such a dream..."

I immediately guessed why she was dreaming of me being with her right there and stepped back so neither of them would see me. Luna then called into the rift and motioned her hoof towards herself. "Celestia! Over here, if you have a minute!"

I peeked out from behind Luna's billowing mane to try and get a look at Celestia and the false me on the other side of the rift. I was hardly surprised. She seemed to acknowledge her sister's call and turned towards me... I mean the me in her dream. Before trotting towards us, she surprised me by sharing a brief kiss with my other self. She then trotted towards us and jumped through the rift before it closed behind her. She then turned to face Luna and asked, "So, whatever did you... Oh... Oh dear..."

"Heya, Celestia." I replied just as briefly by raising and waving my left hand for two seconds. An extremely awkward silence settled around us with only the rumbling of the distant trembling earth breaking it.

Celestia did not remain silent for terribly long, apparently not taking much time to recognize me behind my helmet's visor. Eyes glancing every which way, she then asked, "So... You saw that?"

I responded by directing my attention to Luna instead as she stood beside me. "You really weren't kidding about the kinds of dreams she has that involve me."

"No. I was not." Luna replied dryly, apparently finding amusement in the two of us actually catching her sister in the act of experiencing a dream where she was spending time with me. And probably planning on doing a lot more than that in due time before the night could end.

I turned my gaze towards Celestia and just looked at her in silence, waiting for an answer. I was not being accusatory. I was just a bit shocked to see such a thing. Finally, Celestia's ears drooped as she tried to smile in such a coy way. "So sorry you saw that, my sunshine... My heart commands my dreams at times and..."

She paused, clearly struggling to find the right words. I could tell she thought she did something wrong, so I decided to step forward and make it clear that nothing of the sort had occurred. I lifted my hand to her chin and adjusted my fingers to tenderly grasp her entire jaw and lifting it so she was looking right at me. "There's nothing wrong with that, m'lady. Don't be ashamed of following your heart."

To further prove my point, I then reached out and placed a kiss upon her lips. I saw Celestia's ears instantly perk up while her eyes showed quite a look of surprise. With a blush in her cheeks, she soon smiled sweetly and whispered, "Thank you..."

She leaned against me, resting her jaw on my left shoulder plate. Luna then smiled at us while I wrapped my arms around her neck for a tender embrace. "My sunshine... Just like how Father calls Mother on occasion."

Celestia seemed a bit embarrassed by this claim and pulled away from me to glance at Luna. "Sister, please!"

"No, tell me! Your folks used special wordplay with each other at times?" I then asked promptly, a bit curious to hear more about the former king and queen of Equestria.

Luna was all too willing to share that information. "They do. Or at least I think they still do. Father would often call Mother his 'sunshine' while she would call him her 'moonlight' at times. It was just their way of saying that they love each other. And Celestia always did take after her father more than her mother, despite being visibly cut from the same cloth."

I looked at Celestia, finding the tidbits of back story about their parents to be outright adorable. The Princess of the Dawn made no attempt to deny such a thing, but she was still blushing visibly and said nothing. I could tell she was just being timid for once, so I stepped forward and provide a tender retort for her wordplay minus the subtleness. I stroked my fingers on my left hand through her mane and said softly, "I love you too."

Celestia quivered in clear delight, smiling crookedly as her embarrassment began to fade. She leaned in to kiss me, but paused while glancing at Luna. The Princess of the Night dismissively shook her hoof at us and said, "Oh, don't mind me. Go right ahead."

The two of us smiled and leaned forward before sealing lips. Almost instantly, I felt Celestia lick at my lips for entry. I all to readily accepted, parting my lips to allow the kiss to deepen. However, it was very short-lived when Celestia withdrew from the kiss and looked at me with a bewildered expression as she licked at her own lips. "Your mouth is so...dry."

I all but burst into laughter when she said that. "Oh right! That's what happens when you kiss a machine. They don't eat, so no saliva."

"Well, that was a killjoy." Celestia said with a fake annoyed glare, but then let out a snicker. I am surprised I forgot about that part. However, Celestia then glanced skyward as a dream rift formed near the fiery walls. "Oh! Here she comes now!"

When we all gazed upward at the rift, Nightmare Moon herself burst through it on her sable wings just before it could close behind her. The Princess of Dreams swooped over us before diving low and curving back towards us. She flapped her wings to slow down while pulling her upper body back and landed upon the floating scrap of earth that was serving as our foothold for the moment. "Good evening, sisters! And... Hmmm... That looks familiar... Nightmare Night?"

"Yep! Only this time, it's the real deal!" I replied before reaching for the holster on my right thigh and drawing the H-Saber from it. I held it up just as the scorching plasma blade extended from the tip.

Nightmare Moon let out a quiet whistle as she beheld the technological marvel before her. "Oh my! Then that robotic form is also real! Very dashing!"

I smiled while placing the deactivated H-Saber back into its holster, glad that my beautiful friend was enjoying the show already. However, she then asked, "So then... Seems like we are due for another session... If that's the case, what is the threat of the evening this time? I do not notice anything that stands out or seems alive."

True. We had not encountered anyone aside from each other at the time. I crossed my arms and looked down at myself, taking note of my robotic body. "Well... If I had to guess, we'll be facing off against a robotic threat this time. But I just can't quite recall where I saw this place before... Somewhere in the Bottle Ship?"

Celestia and Luna glanced at each other before turning their gazes at nothing in particular in thought. I noticed this and chuckled, "No no no, it's not a sailboat in the shape of a wine bottle! It'll take too long to explain anyway."

Mere seconds later, we all heard it. A new second rumbling sound that was becoming increasingly prevalent over all other sounds. Celestia spoke first. "That sounds new... Where's it coming from?"

The very ground we were standing on began to tremble as well and only finally stopped once a noticeable robotic groan reached our ears as well. Nightmare Moon then looked up as her jaw dropped open. "James... Would you kindly explain what the devil that thing is?!"

Very cautiously, I turned around and gazed at the behemoth that now towered above us. With the right side of its body being red and the other blue complete with what seemed to be three heads on the top of its torso and shoulders, I quickly recognized it. "Oh! So THIS is what it looks like outside of a tiny two-dimensional screen!"

The being before us was clearly robotic, being somewhere around a hundred times my size. And I had even forgotten how freaky it looked! Only the very center of the torso and central head was a consistent color scheme of black and white, the robot's unmoving faceplate staring at us with glowing yellow eye lights. Towering white twin horns bringing to mind those of a stag beetle stuck straight up out of the front and back of its central head, a pair of undersized unmoving almost demonic-looking black wing segments with brilliant gold exposed circuitry lining the middles of the very sharp-edged wings. Above the shoulders were two long pointed segments with one being red and the other blue, glowing red eyelike sensors set into the base that almost looked like a twisted unholy face when combined with the white horns between them. What easily stood out most were the two sides of the body. The shoulders seemed to consist of robotic heads of slightly varying designs with each showing a similar blank frozen expression not unlike the central head with glowing yellow 'eyes'. The left arms was mostly blue and ended in the telltale form of a colossal buster cannon not unlike my own, four slender red crystal lights lining its cylindrical shape. I could easily stand inside the barrel. On the right, the forearm was coated in a red layer of armor plating ending in a hand that clutched an utter monstrosity of a green solid sword with a blade composed of cybernetic crystal, lines of circuitry embedded in the blade that was easily just as tall as the beast itself. I did not bother to look down and observe the legs since they were out of my field of vision while focusing on the parts that actually mattered. I am not sure if it was even standing on anything or if it was just hovering in the air before us. This time around, the robotic fiend had no hardware restrictions limiting its means of attack.

The towering behemoth of a machine devil glared down at us while a low grumbling mechanical growl moaned from its metallic shell. It sounded more like it came from within rather than from a voice emitter. Luna then glanced up at me with a look of horror and asked, "What is it?!"

"Big trouble, that's all you need to know! Just stay airborne as much as you can and unload on it!" I replied while arming the H-Buster and preparing a charged shot. As it turned out, the hulking giant had the same idea as me and took aim with its massive cannon even as illuminated energy began to be drawn into it. "Crap! Scatter!"

While my royal friends took off in every which way with their wings, I merely performed a mighty boot thruster-powered leap to the nearest floating scrap of solid ground. The cannon went off right as I left the ground, obliterating the slab of concrete I had been on with a massive blue orb of plasma. I returned the favor upon landing, taking aim with the whistling charged H-Buster and unleashing a large burst of blue plasma right into the devil's face. It let out a brief groan, damaged while still standing. As massive and menacing as it was, it was far too easy a target and was easy pickings as long as I stayed on the move.

"Keep at it, James! We'll assist from here!" I heard Celestia call out before a volley of magic beams began to pummel the giant robot while the royal sisters stayed on the move with strafing runs. Despite the constant bombardment, it did not seem to pay much mind to them. Either magic was just proving ineffective against its armored shell, or it was hellbent on taking me down.

I fired a number of smaller shots, striking it all over its upper body while constantly jumping from platform to platform to make myself that much harder to hit. That, and leaping from each foothold and constantly staying on the run with my boot thrusters was just a load of fun on its own. The giant tried to intercept me by firing sparking green orbs of a strange energy at me which would make a few sudden turns in flight to chase me down before hurtling through the fiery walls that surrounded the battlefield. I was just too twitchy for something so massive to accurately aim at.

While I was so busy on focusing on shooting at the monstrosity's torso and head, I failed to notice that its right arm was starting to rise with its colossal sword in hand. Nightmare Moon only noticed just in time and shouted, "What the devil... James! The sword!"

"The... What?!" I was in the middle of pulling off a massive leap before I happened to look up and see the giant holding its sword high. I looked ahead and saw the blade's long shadow being cast right over the foothold I was about to land on. "Oh crap!"

The instant I landed, I tried to jump out of the way of the incoming strike. And while I managed to avoid a direct hit, that massive blade crashed right through the floating platform and reduced it to rubble along with any other platform that happened to be aligned with it. I plummeted towards the fiery abyss below, but quickly realized I was in no danger. "Wait... Oh, screw this!"

I managed to right myself just as my back-mounted flight thrusters sprang open and flared up. In seconds, I rocketed right back up towards the battlefield with the H-Buster charging. And once I shot above the field of floating debris, I unleashed yet another charged blast at its face. My HUD scanned the target briefly, detecting a significant decline in its structural integrity and energy distribution. It would probably reach critical malfunction pretty quickly if things kept going the way they were.

Right out of nowhere, it tried to counter me by launching tiny, yet lightning-fast laser beams from the eyes on its shoulders and its own face. They were difficult to evade with them alternating rapidly and one finally clipped one of my flight thrusters and sent me into a spiraling descent. All the while, I noticed a low hum filling the air. I could not break my fall very well and landed with a crash on the nearest slab of floating debris I could veer towards. But when I staggered to my knees, I saw the massive brute once more pointing its colossal buster cannon at me. And it was taking longer to charge than the last time.

"Oh, so that's how we're playing now, huh? I'm game." I muttered while rising to one knee and adjusting the H-Buster's settings from charge shot to concentrated beam settings. My timing could right have been more perfect. After a few seconds to arm my cannon with my left hand bracing it, the giant's buster unleashed a massive blue concentrated beam of blue plasma at me right as I unleashed a focused beam of my own. They slammed into each other, unleashing a shockwave that blew away nearby bits of debris before pushing against each other.

"This...is nuts!" I yelled as I found myself being overwhelmed by the superior firepower of the massive cannon. The fiery orange beam of plasma coming from my right arm was being gradually pushed back by the much larger blue beam coming from the giant's cannon. It was like a sledgehammer pushing against a pencil.

Out of options, I glanced in the corner of my HUD as it responded to my will. There was only one thing I could do to match that thing's firepower. "OK, big guy... Let's turn it up. Disable limiter!"

With a flash of red across my visor, I felt an internal change within my mechanical body's core. With a hiss, additional heat vents opened up along the sides of the H-Buster to compensate right as the fiery orange stream of plasma coming from it turned an alarming red and even doubled in width as I felt the recoil increase! I had to remain still out of fear of losing control of my aim and letting that blast engulf me.

As the maximum output of the H-Buster steadily rose past 100%, the rate of the enemy's plasma beam's approach began to slow. By the time the H-Buster's output reached 500%, the struggle between the two colliding forces reached a stalemate with neither able to push back. And my enemy's beam was probably not even twenty feet from me by that point. I contemplated increasing the energy output further, but feared doing so to the H-Buster while in its current setting could have undesirable consequences.

I thankfully did not have to wait long for a solution. The three royal sisters soon swooped down to me and stood close to my sides as their horns were engulfed by their magic auras. Nightmare Moon gave me a confident smirk and called out over the roar of our cannons, "Allow us to turn the tables!"

They got their horns as carefully aligned with my cannon as possible and unleashed their own concentrated beams of magic right into the massive blue plasma beam that was trying to push past my own. Upon colliding, there was an immediate change. The four beams of energy coming from us was rapidly pushing back the enemy's attack! In barely ten seconds, we pushed it all the way back into the giant's arm cannon and... It actually startled us into ceasing our attack. Upon having its own shot backed up into it, a colossal explosion engulfed the giant's right arm as it suddenly reeled with a loud metallic roar coming from within its armored shell. Smoke rose from the cracked and smoldering cannon, almost half of its entire armored mass having been blown off and into the abyss below. The eyes on the central head soon glared right as me as I felt myself on the receiving end of its wrathful glare. "Oh, he's pissed now!"

With its primary long range weapon destroyed, the giant immediately changed its tactics to rely almost solely on its sword. With frightful and unexpected speed, it started swinging that sucker to try to cleave me in two. Swing after swing, it missed me while destroying more and more of our floating footholds even as the blade cleaved through the fiery walls of the battlefield without restraint. The entire time, I was charging up the H-Buster more and more as the percentage on my HUD tracked it. First 200%. Then 300%. Even up to 500%. I was not risking a shot until it was at least at 1000%. Until then, I was entirely on the defensive.

Finally, I received some extra assistance from the royal sisters. Just as the giant raised its sword high to bring it down on me, at least a dozen giant magic ice spikes shot from everywhere and impaled the giant's right arm in multiple spots with shocking ease. Its internal mechanisms immediately became jammed, locking the raised arm in place as the metallic titan groaned in frustration. Luna then called out from the far end of the battlefield, "Your move, Celestia!"

From high above me, I saw it. A fiery orange orb of solar magic shot down at the base of the massive sword's blade. Upon collision, there was a deafening blast as a huge explosion engulfed the base of the blade and even the giant's hand. I watched in awe as the crystal sword was shattered at the base and the blade fell right out of sight, leaving only the jagged shards of whatever was left of the blade on the broad golden crossguard. With nothing else being thrown at me, it was time to wrap things up. I took aim while standing on the last remaining piece of debris big enough to hold me and smirked. The H-Buster was charged to 1000%. "And that makes checkmate."

With a shot that had enough recoil to force my arm to fly straight up, I unleashed my shot. The red burst of plasma rocketed into the titan's head, exploiting in a massive burst of red energy that engulfed both the head and its shoulders and torso. I swear I felt the air ripple wit the concussion of that blast. When the smoke cleared, the robotic giant groaned in either pain, frustration, defeat, or maybe a combination of the three as smoke rose from its ravaged shell. Smaller explosions began to burst from all over it as its internal functions went haywire, its body seemingly being in the process of falling apart.

"Did that do it? Are we finished?" Celestia asked as she and her sisters came in for a landing beside me. We watched as the titan fell out of sight as it likely blew itself apart below us. A rather strong explosion, probably the one that served as its last breath, ripped through the air below us and caused our foothold to crumble before us. With nowhere else to go but down, we all went into a freefall and kept an eye on the abyss below. Before long, something dark and solid began to come into view that was still bordered by the towering fiery walls of the battlefield above. "What's this now?"

My friends spread their wings to slow their descent while I managed to right myself and fired up my boot thrusters to decelerate. I landed with a splash, finding myself in shallow water that barely covered my foot plates. I looked up and watched as the three royal sisters carefully floated down with flaps of their wings before setting down by me. Nightmare Moon glanced around as she muttered, "My word, this carnage... Is this all from that metal titan?"

"I don't think so... Although it looks like some of it is." I replied quietly while looking around, my HUD scanning for any signs of activity. Indeed, several large segments of the enemy's body littered the scrapyard we had found ourselves in. The only thing there that seemed to have no connection to the entity we had just fought was a large ruined stasis chamber of some sort just to our left. On its right, the blue shoulder-mounted head was leaning back against a pile of rubble with the giant broken blade of that crystal sword impaled though its right optic sensor. On the left, the red shoulder red was dented and scorched while lying on its side, the mangled remains of the ruined arm cannon lying beside it. Even one of those strange demonic wing-like segments was sticking up behind them on its pointed wingtip. And right ahead of us was the central disembodied head of the giant. Ravaged and damaged, but largely intact as it sat in the shallow water.

It was quiet. Very quiet. And I did not like it. There was some sort of suspense hanging in the air. "Wait... It's coming back to me... That head there..."

Luna glanced up at me and asked, "Oh, surely you cannot be serious! Is that thing going to rise from the grave?"

I looked around at my three friends and cracked an uneasy smile. "More like...come out of its shell."

No sooner had I said that, there was a noise from the direction of the titan's central head. A crack formed in its armored shell that began to leak rays of a purple light. Then another cracked formed. And then another. I felt a new sense of terror starting to open a pit in my gut. "Oh please, I'm not in the mood for this one... PLEASE tell me that's not what I think it is!"

In a flash of explosive light that shot straight up above us, the armored shell was obliterated by a force from within. When the light faded, something stood where it once was. But not quite the way I was expecting. A humanoid figure stood there while hunched forward as if unconscious. It looked exceptionally human, even compared to my robotic form. The central body was covered only by a sleeveless red jacket that stopped short of the midriff while the pelvic section was coated in white armor plating strangely reminiscent of some form of undergarments. The jacket almost looked like it was made of some tough fabric, but I knew it was probably closer to armor in function, even if nowhere near as encompassing as my own. The upper arms and thighs were exposed, being a shade of gray that looked too similar to a human wearing a skintight bodysuit. A white holster of sorts was located on the outer side of each thigh like the one that houses the H-Saber on Project H's leg. A pair of gauntlets and boots that coated the feet, shins, and forearms looked much closer to actual armor akin to my own, being mostly red while yellow around the wrists and ankles and with the boots having thick and sturdy metal soles. Upon the being's head sat a very solid helmet. It seemed to be black all around aside from a pair of thick red crests that parted over the top with two more that were colored white at the front tips and the entire back half while only being red right at the middle of the head. And much like my own helmet, a crystal-like object sat at the forehead section, but was blue and in the shape of an upside-down triangle. Lastly, long flowing artificial blonde hair hung down its back. Nightmare Moon cocked her head to one side and asked, "Another human-type robot like yourself? Was he being held captive within that thing or..."

I looked on in anticipation. Did the heavy damage done to the outer shell during the previous battle get through to it? Finally, there was movement. The robot slowly righted itself until it was standing up straight with proper posture. And it looked right ahead at me with an eerily blank stare set into its human face. And my fears were confirmed. The eyes were red. "Ooooooh, this is going to suck! This is gonna suck SO HARD! This is gonna suck harder than when Fluttershy pours honey on me!"

The three princesses looked at me with such strange stares. When I glanced back and forth at them, Celestia looked like she was about to start laughing, Luna seemed genuinely curious, and Nightmare Moon looked genuinely unsettled. The Princess of Dreams then snidely remarked, "We don't need to know what you two do on Saturday nights."

However, Luna then asked while Celestia started snickering madly, "Actually, I'd like to know what you mean. Where does she pour the honey?"

"Oh, for the love of... I was just trying to be funny to turn the tension down a notch!" I then yelled in irritation before turning my attention back towards the motionless machine warrior before us. "Because in a minute...this is really gonna hurt."

"So you say... But who or what even is that?" Celestia then asked as she too eyed the red robot, his hand slowly reaching for the holster on his right thigh.

I saw him take what seemed to be a cybernetic sword hilt into his hand and slowly raised it until he was holding it vertically before his chest. I proceeded to do the same, taking the H-Saber's inactive hilt into my right hand. "That guy...? I like to call that one the Red Devil. And... Oh please, be green. Please let that blade be green..."

No such luck. With a hiss, the sword activated and produced a long translucent triangular blade that got progressively wider the closer to the hilt it got, even tapering off into two points that extended past the base of the blade and providing protection for the hand. The color was a purplish magenta hue, appearing to be much more solid than the scorching plasma blade of my own melee weapon, even though I knew it was still composed of scorching deadly energy. Through the translucent blade, I saw the blank and stoic expression of the warrior's eyes become much more excited as the pupils shrank. And then... That smile. That demented murderous smile spread across his face.

"I do not care for that look in his eyes..." Nightmare Moon muttered as the tension began to rise. And then we heard it. A rising chuckling of a male voice with a slightly higher pitch than my own voice began to reach our ears. The devil was laughing in anticipation over his next kill. I could see it even from my current distance. Teeth bared in a frightful insane grin, the red robot was chuckling menacingly. A moment later, he quickly lowered his sword and howled in maniacal laughter while making sure we could completely see him.

And then, it stopped. The red robot gazed at us with such glee in his eyes while that devilish grin sat upon his face. My three companions were clearly unnerved with Luna being the first to speak. "That mad laughter... Even Discord never sounded quite that unhinged..."

"Maybe that's because Discord was never an outright murderous lunatic..." I muttered in quiet reply. I flinched upon seeing the mad warrior hunch forward as if preparing to sprint at us. Out of reflex, I activated the H-Saber, its scorching orange plasma blade extending from the hilt while I also activated the shield projector on my left arm. "Oh man, here he comes! This is not gonna be a fun one!"

With a brief chuckle, the red warrior let us know how he was feeling before once more letting out a maniacal howl. He then charged, but instead of dashing, he activated his own boot thrusters to propel himself over the shallow water and leaping into the air with sword raised above his head! My friends flapped their wings to propel themselves away as he came down while I made sure to raise my shield. The blade crashed into my arm with shocking force, almost making me stagger and successfully intimidating me into making a hasty retreat with my own boot thrusters.

Unfettered, the red devil charged me once more with his blade ready to try and skewer me. My HUD was hard at work scanning over this enemy, finding no exploitable weak points while also detecting an additional weapon in the holster on his left thigh. The mad warrior began to recklessly and repeatedly hack away at the translucent blue particle shield on my arm. Slowly becoming more frustrated than fearful, I managed to bash away his mighty blade with my shield and lash out with a quick slash with the H-Saber right across his torso. Even though the strike connected and he even let out a grunt of pain, I was surprised to see only a minor scorch line along his torso that cut right through his jacket. Even more startling was to see that he even seemed to be grinning as if enjoying the pain. I lashed out while I still had momentum, landing another slash upon his body, but also leaving myself open to a slash of his own that struck me right along the side of my helmet.

The two of us promptly retreated for just a moment to get out of range of further attacks. That warrior may have been insane, but he was not suicidal. I felt along my helmet with my left hand, finding a clean cut through my helmet's left stabilizer fin and a long shallow streak along the rest of it. Deadly as the blade was, my armor would not give that easily. I was certainly better armored than he was, but he was clearly compensating with relentless offensive capability. Not in the mood to get anywhere near my enemy for a moment, I swapped the H-Saber to my left hand and armed the H-Buster instead. "Well, ain't this a match made in heaven?!"

I fired a barrage of plasma shots at the Red Devil, only a few managing to get through and strike his body while he deftly deflected or intercepted the rest with slashes of his deadly sword. In fact, he even began to walk towards me while twirling his sword to deflect my incoming shots. When he was maybe ten paces away from me, we both got an unexpected surprise. Bolts of blue and yellow magic shot down around him as the royal sisters bombarded him from afar. It was wise of them to be minding their distance. Their soft bodies would put up no resistance to that demon's blade.

Each shot kicked up large splashes of water on impact while the mad warrior went into a seemingly panicked defensive stance out of disorientation, the water splashing over him and disrupting his view. Taking note of the water, I took aim again and accessed my Variable Weapon System. "There's what I'm looking for! Thunder Dancer!"

With a quick flash, a trail of white lightning shot from the H-Buster and began to rapidly zigzag all over the countless droplet of water that had not yet fallen back down, connecting itself together as it very briefly turned the splashing water that engulfed the Red Devil into an electrifying net! The robotic berserker let out an agonized shriek as he was electrocuted so thoroughly, dropping to one knee once the attack ceased. In a flash, Celestia appeared beside me before her horn seemed to extend as it was engulfed in fiery solar magic. "Allow me, James!"

The Princess of the Dawn charged the stunned warrior even as he barely climbed to his feet in time to block the first swing of her horn. With sparks and smoke rising from his mechanical body, he was focusing on defense while trying to catch his second wind. Celestia swung her head every which way, lashing out with her burning horn like a sword while the Red Devil blocked and parried each swing while being pushed further and further back. He finally stood his ground and held his blade up to hold back Celestia's burning horn, the mighty princess bearing down on him as she tried to overpower her opponent. The warrior's face had turned into a frustrated scowl, showing no sign of the previous throes of madness.

Such an expression did not stick for long. The Red Devil soon regained his murderous grin. I knew this was not a good sign and looked on in shock as his left hand released its grip on the sword's hilt and reached for the holster on his left thigh and drew a type of metal pistol from it. Right as he took aim at Celestia's right leg, I let out a yell. "Celestia! Get away!"

There was no time for her to even process my words. With a pull of the trigger, a shockingly heavy plasma shot burst forth from the barrel and blasted her leg right off above the knee. Celestia let out a shriek of pain as her focus ended, horn losing its fiery glow while she seemed ready to fall to the water below. But the mad warrior was too quick. He quickly adjusted his grip on the sword to that of a reverse grip and swung upwards in one clean stroke. I could only look on in silent horror as two seconds passed before...her head split in two.

The ghastly murder I had just witnessed did not stay before me for long. Before Celestia's corpse could even hit the ground, every last trace of her vanished in a quick flash of light. Even so, I was left momentarily shell-shocked. Was she dead?! Where did she go?! The two remaining royal sisters swooped down to my sides, equally reeling in shock and disgust with Nightmare Moon growling, "That wretch...! How dare you!"

Luna took note of my horrified expression, my hand shakily pointing to where Celestia had been standing. The sight of her having just been brutally slain, yet having her corpse vanish so quickly left me more confused than horrified. The Princess of the Night reached out with her wing and touched me upon my shoulder plate. "James, do not fear. Celestia merely woke up upon death. She is likely sitting in bed as we speak. One cannot perish in a dream. Death merely results in the dream ending and the dreamer awakening prematurely."

"Ri... Right... So, she's OK..." I muttered while trying to shake the gruesome image I had witnessed from my mind. It almost felt like I had just witnessed a mirage with how briefly it had been there in front of my face. The Red Devil was not paying us much mind for the moment, gazing in satisfaction at the traces of blood on his blade being rapidly evaporated into smoke until there was nothing left.

Nightmare Moon let out a disgruntled sigh. "As much as it pains me to say this, I fear that demon's weaponry is something we cannot truly counter. One wrong move, and we will be forced out of this dream. This fight rests entirely on your hands, my friend. Your armor is the only thing here that can handle that blade."

It was then that the mad marauder gazed at us most wickedly, once again letting out a demented chuckle. Luna took a step back, glancing up at me. "He comes!"

"Got it...!" I retorted while trying to find my fighting spirit. Celestia was fine. I just needed to keep telling myself that. And I knew I could win. All I had to do was outlast him.

With blade and blaster in hand, the mad warrior bombarded me with two large plasma shots and swung his blade to launch a crescent wave of purplish energy at me. My particle shield blocked the two shots before I merely sidestepped to avoid the deadly yet narrow sword beam. He then fired yet another shot at me, but I had other plans while Luna and Nightmare Moon took to the air to get out of the way. Activating my flight thrusters, I took to the air to evade the grounded warrior and began to go on a strafing run while unleashing round after round of every weapon system I could will into appearing in my Variable Weapon System databanks, my armored body flashing between many colors in the process. "Homing Torpedo! Boomerang Cutter! Magnet Mine! Ground Hunter! Crescent Shot! Ray Arrow!"

One by one, the Red Devil's deadly blade cleaved through whatever projectile I threw at him. But he was caught by surprise when he tried to intercept the swift laser-like Ray Arrow. It shot right through him, making my opponent noticeably stagger. Taking the opportunity, I dropped down to the ground and charged the H-Buster as my armored shell became a fiery red. Once charged, my boot thrusters activated as I hurled myself at him while coated in a layer of fire. "Here you go! Speed Burner!"

He barely had time to hold up his blade to block my attack right as I charged into him. Flames scorching his body, I slammed him right into the side of the massive wrecked red head that had been sitting on his colossal armor's right shoulder. I was thrown back upon impact, seeing the stunned warrior slouched over in apparent unconsciousness. Not wasting any time for him to wake up, I took aim and started to charge the H-Buster as my armored body returned to its base gold and white colors. "I hope this does it..."

I unleashed the stored energy in my arm once it reached maximum charge, a massive blue burst of plasma rushing right into him. The resulting blast all but blew apart the giant robotic head he had gotten stuck in, sending the mad warrior airborne and crashing back down into the water that coated the floor. Barely three seconds later, he started staggering to his feet. I suppose that shot just woke him up. And once again, he began to cackle that mad laughter as if he was really enjoying the thrill of this fight. I let out a mildly frustrated groan, "Yeah, I didn't think that'd put you down... But I think I've caught my stride by this point."

The Red Devil raised his sword above his head as the blade began to glow exceptionally brightly. He then slammed the blade down into the ground so hard that it unleashed a burst of energy in a wave that soon dissipated. Even the entire area shook from the force of the swing to the point that lingering debris from the earlier battle above began to rain down around the area in heavy crashes. I even had to stay on my toes to avoid any of them dropping on my head. In the confusion, the mad marauder charged at me with that murderous grin on his face and sword ready to dice me up.

Seeing that the H-Buster was not doing me all that much good, I quickly drew the H-Saber and extended the hilt for two-handed use. I narrowly blocked the first swing with my own blade, the two of us soon locked in a brief back and forth duel of clashing blades. With every successful slash I made, he returned the favor with a slash across my armored torso. Our blades soon locked, hissing and sparking while the Red Devil looked me in the eye and chuckled menacingly. Rather than be intimidated, I started to get annoyed and voiced it in the only way I could. By suddenly slamming the brow of my helmet into his own with a quick headbutt, causing him to stagger back while a noticeable crack lined the blue crystal on his helmet's forehead.

Taking the opportunity given to me, I followed up that strike by delivering the hardest kick to his midsection that I could muster. He gagged instantly before the impact could send him flying away from me. But I was not done. I had already swapped to the Strike Chain weapon data while passing the H-Saber to my left hand. With a quick charge, I shot a large grasping claw on a rapidly extending chain at the mad warrior and grabbed him right out of the air before rapidly reeling him back in towards me. Once close enough, I delivered yet another crushing kick to his midsection the instant the claw released him, sending him flying away only for me to repeat the process. And again. And again. It was only after the fourth time that once I grabbed him in the Strike Chain's claw that I changed things up. I started swinging my right arm with as much force as I could, flinging my captured opponent all over the place and crashing into mountains of metal junk and even the floor. It was only when I tried reeling him again for an impaling strike with the H-Saber that he took a chance to get out. While he approached on the hook, I saw him pull out his pistol again and take aim. Once he was almost within striking distance, he nailed me with a point-blank shot and ended up crashing right into me once I was stunned, sending us both sprawling across the waterlogged floor.

We both climbed to our feet at roughly the same time. The battle was definitely wearing us out, his body giving off sparks with many chips and cracks in his few armored components while a number of dark slash marks adorned my armor in numerous places. I glanced at the list of weapon data on my HUD stored in my Variable Weapon System only to glance at my enemy right as his boot thrusters launched him at me. I only narrowly managed to get my particle shield up in time to block a rising slash as the Red Devil jumped skyward in an effort to gut me on the way up. In the process, I returned fire with a new weapon that clasped around his torso right before he performed a somersault slash that launched a number of small crescent waves at me. One managed to hit while my shield arm was down, but damage was light.

It was only upon landing that my opponent actually noticed something was not right. Resting on his chest was an explosive device with a blinking red light in the center, four clasping arms wrapped around his torso while using powerful magnetic points to secure them. I smirked as the warrior tugged and pulled at the trap, now a sitting duck as the explosive neared detonation. "Parasitic Bomb. Enjoy!"

I quickly propelled myself backwards with my boot thrusters just before the bomb could go off, engulfing the mad warrior in a potent explosion. I watched in silence, wondering if that was enough. Before the smoke could clear, I was given an answer in the form of another plasma shot rushing out of the cloud of smoke. I blocked it with my shield and immediately rushed forward with a booster dash of my own now that I could see the battle-scarred machine warrior staring me down. But right as I was about to get close enough for a point-blank shot, I was caught by surprise when he suddenly slammed his left fist into the floor and triggering a dome-like burst of energy shots that scattered in all directions. I got hit by several, stopping me in my tracks.

Before I could even regain my composure, I was on the receiving end of the meanest attack my opponent had used on me yet. Shrieking with horrifying mad laughter, the Red Devil rushed up to me and just began hacking and slashing away at me in reckless abandon. I could not escape! The sword strikes were coming in too fast! The final strike was another rising slash that left a deep enough gash on my armor torso that it lightly grazed my internal systems. A great shock spread to my body's motor functions, causing me to all but collapse as I dropped to one knee. My visor's HUD was quick to alert me to my body's condition. Energy distribution was almost critical. I could not take much more. I drew the H-Saber from its holster, but could not bring myself to stand. And my enemy towered over me with such a sadistic gleeful grin on his face.

Chuckling madly like a demon that was certain of victory, he raised his sword high as he prepared to cleave me in two. But at that moment, my body stabilized enough for me to move. With a clear lock-on, my optic sensors focused exclusively on his right hand. And upon swinging down, I caught it. With an iron grip, I grasped his right hand and stopped the blade's strike. And with an upward swing of my own scorching blade, I let out a yell. "I am so SICK OF YOU!"

My aim was true and it did what I needed it to do. With a single stroke, I cleaved the Red Devil's right off right above the elbow. He let out an agonized shriek, staggering back and trying to clutch at the sparking stump with his left hand still clutching his pistol. I then rose to my feet and created some distance between us by delivering yet another hard kick to his torso and sent him sprawling a good distance away. I plunged the blade of the H-Saber into the waterlogged floor to free up a hand, the burning blade creating hissing steam as the water constantly boiled away around it. I managed to get the fingers of the warrior's severed hand open, forcing it to release its grasp on the deadly blade. Once in my right hand, I swung the blade out to my right, the magenta blade turning a familiar virtuous green. Once I took the H-Saber into my left hand, I stared ahead at the Red Devil as he glared at me with such insane fury. "My turn."

I charged ahead with twin swords ready for action. While my enemy may have lost his primary weapon, he still had his sidearm and was putting it to good use by unloading shot after shot at me in an attempt to repel my advance. My weapon's blades deflected each shot in spite of their size and power. And once I finally closed the distance, it was time for fun. I went to work just as the mad warrior was lining up a shot on my head, the deadly energy blades slashing through his torso over and over in a flurry of strikes. I was practically on autopilot, intensely focused on hacking away at this marauder until there was nothing left of him.

It strangely felt like I was not getting anywhere. Even as my enemy reeled from each slash too much to counterattack, it seemed like nothing I did was enough. How much punishment could he take?! Finally, out of sheer frustration, I stabbed both blades right down into his armored boots and pinned them to the floor so I could try something else without him escaping. With a yell of pain, the Red Devil fired another point-blank shot into my chest and sent me flying back a good distance.

I fell flat on my back and slid through the water, my HUD detecting that I could take next to no more punishment. My torso's armor plating was a mess on the front. But then again, so was his. The many slashes he had taken had practically ripped his chest open enough to reveal some of his internal workings. As I climbed to my feet, my visor scanned over his body while he wheezed in frustration. I could see it in a gash on his chest. His micro-fusion core was exposed. And while he could have freed his hand by dropping his weapon and pulling the swords out of his feet to attack me up close, the madman was clearly not willing to risk dropping his sidearm.

The mad warrior took aim at me one more time and glared at me while his metal pistol began to charge up a shot for once. Glimmering light began to be drawn into the barrel as it began to hiss. I would have been worried and considering playing it safe by keeping my distance, but I was feeling too pumped to back down by that point. As I armed my H-Buster once more, I glanced down at my reflection in the water. Instead of myself, I saw someone else looking back at me. A familiar blue armored machine hero with a red gem set into the front of his helmet. I smiled. I knew I was going to be just fine. And with that, I rushed forward with my boot thrusters carrying me along.

The Red Devil responded as such to my sudden approach. He unleashed a huge burst of red plasma from his pistol, even bigger than anything my own H-Buster could produce. But I was too quick and I was too low to the ground. Practically gliding across the watery floor, I slipped right under the huge plasma shot as it struck the area behind me with a loud blast. As I came to a stop before the mad warrior, I used my momentum to slam the H-Buster into his midsection like a punch, making my opponent gag from the force of the impact while being forced to stay grounded by the two deadly energy swords impaled through his feet. With my weapon charged and ready to unload and the mouth pressed firmly into the gash in his torso, I spoke calmly while looking over his right shoulder. "Light's out, maverick."

It was over. With a twitch of my arm, I unleashed a concentrated plasma beam right through the red maverick's torso as he let out a long howl of agony. The enduring orange beam of plasma shot into the air behind him only for a spherical red explosion to soon follow at its tip. With that one shot, I ripped the micro-fusion core right out of his body and promptly destabilized it to critical mass. As the H-Buster began to quiet down, so too did the Red Devil. He soon fell silent and rigidly stiff. I took a step back and took a good look at him. His red eyes lacked any sort of light or awareness in them, seeming oddly blank. His face was forever frozen in a contorted twisted fusion of agony and murderous insanity. With the very source of his life removed and destroyed, his body had permanently shut down while slightly hunched forward. Now nothing more than a metallic corpse forever frozen in place.

I let out a long relaxed sigh. That was a tough fight. I soon heard the flapping of wings as the two remaining royal sisters landed behind me. I turned to face them, each showing expressions of amazement and relief. Nightmare Moon spoke first with a noticeable sigh in her voice. "My word... All I can say is... Well done. Just...well done."

Luna reached out with her hoof, tracing it over the scorched plating and deep cuts over my armor. "Are you all right? This level of carnage... Yet you do not seem to be in pain..."

I gently patted Luna on the head with my right hand after I deactivated the H-Buster, finally letting myself relax. "Yeah, I'm good. Tired, but I'll be fine so long as I don't step on a tack."

Nightmare Moon then walked over to the lifeless Red Devil and looked directly at his face. "Such madness... No warrior I have ever seen has shown such murderous joy. Your dreams bring us to some of the most outrageous conflicts, my friend."

"Not like I can help it. You can't really control what you'll dream about." I retorted while walking over to her and retrieving the H-Saber and returning it to its holster. "Don't remove the other one. He'll probably fall over without something keeping his feet pinned."

Nightmare Moon glanced at me, but then reached up with her hoof and gave a gentle push on the holster of the Red Devil's own sword. It tilted to the right and fell to the water, the blade dislodging itself. With nothing to support it, the mad warrior's corpse leaned forward and fell into the watery floor with a splash while still remaining amusingly stiff. "Oops. Was that my fault?"

I could only snicker at the sight before me. I then took a step forward and pressed my foot down on the back of the Red Devil's head. "Man, the Mega Man Zero fans would not be happy if they saw this."

Luna then approached while eyeing the robotic corpse as if it could spring back to life at any second. "Yes... Well, it seems we still have some time left after that... Any suggestions on what to do next?"

I looked down at my fallen foe, new thoughts going through my head. But it was during this moment of silence when I realized someone was no longer with us. And I immediately became filled with concern. "Do you think we could check on Celestia? I mean... This guy did...you know..."

Nightmare Moon gently touched her wing tip to my left shoulder plate. "There is nothing to fear, James. Just as if you would take a sudden hard blow or die in a dream, she merely woke up upon death. No real harm can come to you in a dream."

Not surprising to hear that from the Princess of Dreams herself. Even so, I just wanted to know if she was all right. "Yeah, I'd expect as much, but... Do you think we can visit her right now to check up on her?"

"I suppose we could. Assuming she has gone back to sleep by now." Luna replied while her horn was coated by her billowing blue magic aura. "Hmmm... Is that... Ah, there she is. And how fortunate. The exact same setting as before. The memory must have still been fresh in her mind."

In a flash, a circular dimensional rift opened up before us depicting a familiar moonlit tropical beach. Luna then turned to us and asked, "Shall we?"

"By all means. I could use a fruit smoothie after that one." Nightmare Moon retorted before she leaped through the rift and landed upon the sand. She then looked back to us. I jumped through next and was followed by Luna before the rift could close. The air smelled so fresh and sweet compared to the musty junkyard we had just been in.

"She should be close by... Any ideas on where to start?" Luna asked while glancing around. A tropical forest bordered the beach as far as the eye could see, but there was no sign of any signs of life.

I got a surprise just when I was starting to feel worried. My auditory sensors were picking up a distant sound. Drums? My HUD scanned ahead in the direction the sound seemed to be coming from. The readings I was getting on my visor detected activity just around the bend up ahead. "Heh, I guess this stuff is still good for something. Let's check over there."

There truly is nothing like taking a midnight stroll on a beach with nothing but the sound of splashing waves reaching your ears. Neither one of us dared to interrupt the moment while we walked along. While it was still just a dream sequence, I felt myself fill with a twinge of excitement knowing I would be able to experience it in person in several months when Fluttershy and I go on our honeymoon.

Several minutes later, the light of torches could be seen once we rounded the bend on the beach. It seemed we had stumbled across a seaside resort. As we drew closer, the exterior became more clear. A number of patios with grass awnings sprawled out over the sand. Twirling sticks with flames on the tips spun around as a trio of unicorn fire dancers performed for the audience. The one we were searching for stood out all too well against the moonlight and the glow of the flames. Celestia was seated at the very edge of the outdoor seating while sipping a fruit smoothie and wearing a necklace composed of tropical flowers.

The instant I saw her, the recent unpleasant memories resurfaced. I could still remember all too well the instant that mad machine warrior split her head in two with his sword. Overcome with concern, I burst into a sprint and bolted right for her. Celestia did not take long to notice my approach and turned to face me. "James?!"

I said nothing as I grabbed her in my arms for a tight embrace. My fingers then traced over her lower jaw and the center of her muzzle, searching for any signs of injury. I found nothing. "You OK? Nothing hurt?"

She understood all too well why I was so clingy. The Princess of the Dawn spoke softly as she folded a wing over me. "There there, my sunshine. I'm just fine. I woke up in bed the instant that happened. I suffered nothing worse than a splitting headache... No pun intended."

Her sisters hurried over as quickly as they could as well, the muffled footsteps blending with the shifting of sand right behind me. Nightmare Moon spoke first. "Are you well, Celestia? That was very reckless of you to charge a new enemy without any prior knowledge of his capabilities."

"I suppose so... I really wasn't expecting him to draw an extra weapon from his hip like that." Celestia replied while looking rather embarrassed. Considering that she is one of the most powerful entities in the world, it must have been humiliating to be sucker punched like that. However, she then took a close look at my battle-scarred armor and placed her bare hoof upon it. "Oh my lord... What did that lunatic put you through? Luna! Fix him up!"

I glanced over at Luna while the Princess of the Night nodded in agreement. But just as she was starting to focus her magic to alter my body back to pristine condition, she paused while turning her gaze to the rest of the vacationers nearby. No one had really noticed us yet and were decked out in various tropical attire ranging from trunks to hair bands. Luna then cast a smirk at me while a bright glow formed at the tip of her horn. "I have a better idea. Let's get you into something a bit more fitting for this location."

Before I could even think about what she was implying, there was a flash of light and I found myself detecting the gentle tropical breeze upon my skin. And I soon found out why. I was no longer wearing the guise of the robotic Project H. I was flesh and blood once more and decked out for the occasion. I was wearing khaki shorts and a loose fitting tropical shirt that was blue and adorned with floral patterns while leaving my bare chest and torso visible without any buttons to close it. My feet were snugly tucked inside a pair of sandals. "Hey, now I could get used to this! Nice one, Luna."

"Indeed. You're quite dressed for the occasion now. Now then... What is there to do around here, Celestia?" Nightmare Moon then asked before her eyes fell upon the fire dancers, a fierce drum beat filling the air as they performed most vigorously.

The Princess of the Dawn pointed at the stage, but then over yonder as well. "Well, we've got live entertainment right here, but there's also a juice bar right there and a hot tub or two over there. I've already had a dip and am just taking it easy right now."

Nightmare Moon's expression brightened at the mention of a hot tub. "That last one sounds just perfect right now. Luna, shall we?"

"Absolutely. But I get the deep end!" The Princess of the Night replied before taking off in a gallop.

"Oh come now! I'm taller than you!" Nightmare Moon retorted while she took off in playful pursuit. Celestia got a quick chuckle out of seeing her sisters engaging in playful banter. It was indeed adorable to see the nocturnal twins enjoying themselves so.

Celestia then took a long slurp of her drink through a straw before glancing at me. "You must be thirsty after all that. Why not order a drink over there? Just tell them you're with me."

I did just as she said and went over to the juice bar for a drink. I soon came back with an icy cold glass filled with a strawberry and banana smoothie. "They even had my favorite. What'd you get?"

"Mango and pineapple. I think I'll try papaya next time." Celestia retorted before taking another long slurp of her drink. She then asked, "So, how'd it go? You were successful against that warrior, right?"

I cracked a bit of a smirk, remembering the satisfaction of finishing him off in such a unique way. "Yup. Blew a hole right through his torso and took his power supply out with it. Not the way it's supposed to go normally, but screw the canon."

"I wish I knew what you meant by all that. I know I've been keeping an eye on Earth for a long time, but I can't keep track of every little thing." Celestia retorted with a chuckle. She took it all in stride though. I was the dreamer and she was just along for the ride. "I really must take greater care when I get in close to a new threat though. I can't afford a screw up like that in the real world."

"Yeah, but you'll never have to deal with that kind of weaponry either. Science fiction and all that. Seriously, some of that stuff is just overkill." I then said while taking another slurp of my drink. "Mm, that's good. I can never get enough of that combo."

We continued to observe the fire dancers at work, twirling their flaming sticks. Eventually, that performance ended and up came some hula dancers in grass skirts with little flower tiaras set upon their heads. The music became much calmer to reflect the change to the much slower tone. I glanced over at the distant hot tub, seeing Luna and Nightmare Moon looking all too relaxed while they soaked away in it. Before much more time could go by, Celestia stood up from her seat and asked, "I think I'll go for a stroll by the seaside. Care to join me?"

I glanced up at the beautiful Princess of the Dawn as she beckoned me to take her up on her offer with a whimsical smile. Seeing that she was genuinely asking me to spend some private time with her, I gulped down the rest of my drink and stood up after kicking my sandals off. "Sounds good. Lead on."

We slunk away without anyone being the wiser. I found myself walking along the very beach the night sisters and I had approached from, our footprints still left in the sand. We walked side by side along the crashing waves, Celesta soon stepping closer to the sea and walking in the wet sand even as the crashing waves washed over her bare hooves. I decided to keep my feet dry, enjoying the dry and surprisingly warm feel of the soft sand beneath my feet.

My eyes fell upon the Princess of the Dawn as we walked in silence, only the sounds of the waves reaching our ears. With her beautiful white body and pastel colored mane and tail standing against the gorgeous dark blue night sky over the horizon and a full moon hanging in the sky, she was practically glowing in the contrast of the darkness behind her and the gentle moonlight bathing her. I was left momentarily enraptured by what I was seeing to the point even Celestia seemed to notice I was giving her an odd look. "James, is something wrong?"

Her words snapped me out of my stupor, making me fluster briefly as I realized what I was doing. "Oh, uh... No, nothing's wrong. But something is... Um... How do I put this... You remember how I said you look hot in red?"

That got a quick chuckle out of her. "How could I forget that?! But what of it?"

I knew this was going to be heavy-handed, but I wanted to be clear with my words. With a deep breath, I readied myself and told her exactly what I wanted to say. "Well... You are absolutely radiant in the moonlight. Maybe it's because of the contrast in color, but... Just look at you. You're absolutely GLOWING right now."

Celestia blushed furiously at my words while noticeably taken aback before she glanced at herself. Indeed, that silky white coat and aurora-like mane and tail of four colors seemed to be practically glowing in the light of the moon. The expression on her face soon faded to one more composed and then to one with a smug smile. Or was it a smirk? Either way, it got me feeling rather nervous. Especially when she began to wordlessly approach me. "Uh... Did I go too far? Did I come on too hard?"

Next thing I knew, she had stepped forward suddenly and wrapped me up in her glorious wings, bringing our faces close together. She then whispered to me while showing such a loving smile, "My love. How could I ever feel anything other than delight when I hear such sincere praise from you?"

Never before had I ever heard such a powerful declaration of love starting in just two words. Especially one directed at me. I was engulfed in such warmth from those words that I even became momentarily dazed. My hands fell upon Celestia's shoulders for support while I replied, "Those are some strong words, Celestia... Are you sure you know what you just said?"

The enrapturing Princess of the Dawn brought her face even closer to mine until our noses were touching. Without losing that amorous gaze, she spoke as softly and sweetly to me as a love goddess. "I meant every word, my sunshine. You are not a difficult person to fall in love with. My heart became yours after just our first private outing together months ago. From the moment we first joined lips, I have pined for no man other than you."

I could still remember that moment she spoke of. That first kiss under the moon as we rode the train home from Canterlot that night. And indeed, I could still feel it in her embrace. That kindred connection that is difficult to describe. Indeed, I do love the Princess of the Dawn. And at that moment, our kindred bond overcame my insecurities and I felt myself relax. My hand rose to her cheek while I tilted my jaw forward. For once, I made the first move and brought my lips to hers. The beautiful princess let out a muffled surprised gasp deep in her throat, but it soon turned into a sigh of delight as she pressed into the kiss while her wings gripped me even tighter.

Our kiss deepened in seconds. Our tongues danced, the flavors of fruits still lingering on our breaths. God, she was wonderful. Truly a woman like no other. And of all the people in the world that her heart could yearn for, I was that man. It felt like such an honor to be the recipient of her love and I would do everything I could to cherish it. Our kiss soon ended as we both breathed the warm tropical air with the scent of the sea mixed in. I gazed into Celestia's beautiful pink eyes while my hand continued to caress her jaw. "I love you too."

Celestia could not even speak. She merely smiled as a single tear escaped her eyelids. I promptly wiped them from her cheeks, kissing her where the tears had been. She soon stepped away from me and turned, but never once looked away from me. Her right wing never truly left me and soon the longest feather of her wing's tip dragged up my exposed chest and lightly cupped my chin in an obscenely flirtatious manner. It was no different than a human woman holding one finger to my chin and that look on Celestia's face showed she knew it. But she soon whispered loudly, "Catch me, my love!"

Out of nowhere, she just took off down the beach in a full gallop while just barely staying out of the wet sand being splashed over by the waves. Not minding her getting playful, I took off in a sprint to catch up to her. "You're on!"

Needless to say, I found myself utterly outclassed in speed. No human could ever hope to keep up with an equine. Sure enough, rather than getting closer, the glowing form of the Princess of the Dawn only became increasingly distant the longer I ran. I called out while trying to not be too out of breath, "Oh, come on! You know I can't keep up with you ponies! Gimme a break!"

My voice seemed to reach her since Celestia's legs slowed down to a more subdued gallop. I finally started to close the gap between us, but I still had to sprint. Finally, I caught up to her and threw my arms around her neck while trying to keep my pace up. "Gotcha!"

Celestia immediately burst into raucous laughter, as did I, while we quickly slowed to a stop. We stepped a bit further away from the ocean and just fell back onto the soft warm sand. It was almost silly, the two of us goofing off like mere children. And yet, I simply did not care. All because I was with her.

For a time, we watched the stars. Nothing but the sound of the waves reached our ears. If I was not already asleep, I could have easily dozed off for a nap. Soon, Celestia broke the silence. "I should be awakening soon to start the sunrise."

That disheartened me. I did not want to say goodbye so soon, especially while spending time in a place where we did not have to worry about any inhibitions. I turned to look at her and asked, "Does that mean we need to say goodbye?"

Celestia turned her head to look at me and smiled. "Absolutely not. I think this side of the world can enjoy the night a bit longer. We don't know when the next time may come when we can spend time together like this, so I'm going to enjoy this for as long as I can."

"You don't have to do all this for me... You shouldn't put one man before the world's well-being." I replied, feeling somewhat uneasy about her forsaking her royal duties solely out of love for me.

Celestia turned on her side and draped her wing over me, pulling me across the sand and into her waiting arms. "I know, my love... I know. I'm not so foolish as to do such a thing. But postponing the sunrise for a few hours longer won't bring any harm. Some might even enjoy the chance to do some early morning stargazing."

"Hmm... I guess you've got a point. No harm in that, especially since it's cold enough outside already." I said with a slight chuckle while also turning and draping my arm over her side. I bet it made a lot of people confused when they woke up at 8 AM and saw the moon was still out! With how busy Celestia tends to be, she can afford to get a few extra hours of sleep once in a while.

I felt Celestia kiss my cheek and then felt her place a quick peck on my neck. Her affections actually got me thinking to the point where I had to speak up. "You know... You've never been this...open with your feelings to me before..."

Celestia whispered softly while she held me to her body. "This is MY dream, James. I have the right to indulge in ways I never could in the real world."

"Heh, makes perfect sense, now that I think about it. No one can complain about what you do in your dreams." I retorted, mildly amused I had not even considered that.

"Very true." She held me close to her body, my face nestled in the crook of her neck with the ocean waves stopping just short of our feet. I am not even certain how long we were in that one spot, nor am I certain how we went as long as we did without Luna and Nightmare Moon having come looking for us. They must have been quite occupied with the festivities back at the resort.

Before long, Celestia tilted her head up and directed her gaze towards the forest that bordered the beach. "Say... Where do you suppose that leads to?"

I turned my gaze upwards too while still lying on my side. In the rows of trees stood a curiosity. A wall of natural rock formations overgrown with plant life was sticking out of the forest with a large gap set into it. It probably led into a secluded alcove of sorts like a massive hollowed out boulder. Celestia, responding to her own question, looked back to me with a smile. "Shall we investigate?"

"By all means." I said while we scrambled to our feet. After brushing the sand from my shorts and shirt, the two of us approached the opening in the rock wall and made our way through. The trees bordering the rocky path blocked out the moon with their branches, forcing Celestia to rely on her magic to illuminate her horn. The path was lined with soft grass that was easy on my bare feet. We did not go far before we found the end of the path. "Hello... What's this?"

"Oh my..." The Princess of the Dawn muttered as we beheld the majesty before us. Spread out before us was a cozy circular alcove surrounded by rock walls while the unobstructed night sky hung above us, the full moon casting its glow upon the field of flowers before us. Nothing but a blanket of yellow hibiscus flowers stood before us, practically glowing in the moonlight as the very centers of the flower were a vibrant red. And just to add to the atmosphere, fireflies flitted about while periodically glowing. Celestia stepped forward, truly in awe of the sight before us. "Truly the icing on the cake of our time together..."

"You can say that a... Eh?!" I started to reply before being distracted by the feel of Celestia's tongue dragging against my cheek. The Princess of the Dawn then took off into the field of flowers even while she let out a delightful giggle. I smirked in amusement and chased after her. "Oh, you little tease!"

I caught up with Celestia in little time, the two of us laughing together while we gently fell into the field of flowers. Our laughter soon died down while we observed the moon, the fireflies, and the seemingly glowing flowers all around us. It was just such a magical moment that you can really only experience in such a rare location. Dream or not, it felt so real with how calm I was with her.

"So romantic, wouldn't you say?" Celestia whispered to me while she turned to look at me. Her beautiful eyes were filled with subtle traces of longing. I responded in kind by placing a tender kiss upon her lips.

"Like no other place I've seen. It's like the flower field is trying to convince us to make out." I replied with a hint of wit. Indeed, it was very tempting to just forget everything and begin kissing the beautiful princess.

"Then why delay?" Celestia retorted with a quiet chuckle. She leaned forward as her eyes closed and I did the same. Our lips sealed momentarily, only to part briefly just to kiss again. Our kissing became increasingly intimate as our arms wrapped around each other, holding and caressing. Celestia managed to slide my shirt off, leaving my upper body bare as I felt her silky white coat grazing against my skin. Eager to please her more, I soon broke away from the kiss and moved myself down a bit before planting kisses along Celestia's neck. The Princess of the Dawn relished my tender touch, gasping and shuddering even as I even began to tenderly nibble along it. "Ooooh, my love... Yes, right there... Don't stop..."

My hands dragged over her sleek chest and her back even as my lips and teeth continued to give their undivided attention to her flexible neck. One hand traced down her spine and soon over the glorious curves of her hips, my fingers dragging over her cutie mark and digging my fingertips into her flank. She squirmed at my touch, utterly surrendering herself to my affections. But then I went too far and before I knew it, my fingers had slid between her hips and began to caress something noticeably moist.

Celestia let out a wheeze of delight as I touched her where no man had ever touched her before. And I immediately cringed upon realizing what I had done and pulled my hand away. "Oh god... I... I didn't mean..."

Before I could say anything or even apologize, Celestia grabbed me in her wings once more as I practically lied down beside her. I expected a very stern glare. Instead, she was looking at me with a most sweet smile even as her cheeks became flushed with pink. She whispered to me so sweetly, "No, do not be ashamed, my sunshine. Just for tonight, let's not let anything come between us."

Trapped in her loving clutches, I was subjected to Celestia's tender kisses as she began to sweetly court me. I felt myself heating up in subtle arousal as her lips and tongue caressed my chest and neck only to be followed by the gentle nipping of her teeth. Just as I began to consider what her intentions were, I felt something that caused my arousal to skyrocket. Her upturned hoof caressing me between my legs.

"Celestia..." I whispered with a light gasp, feeling my length steadily becoming hard from the princess's loving caresses. Just as my erection became entirely stiff, I felt Celestia grip my shorts in her magical grasp before they slid past my feet and off into the flowers beside us. While she did so, I slid my hand down her chest and between her legs, soon finding her soft teats. Even as the soft flesh on the underside of her hoof gently cupped my balls, my hand caressed and groped the soft mounds of flesh coated by only a thin layer of her coat.

"Oh, James... You...truly know what a mare wants..." Celestia whispered to me as she crooned her neck in response to my touch upon her soft mammaries. She wrapped her neck around mine however she could in a type of traditional equine hug. Her wing draped over me in an embrace of sorts, my length occasionally throbbing at her touch.

"You're pretty good at this too... First time?" I asked in return, finding her to be coaxing me with surprising ease. Maybe too much ease.

"In terms of shared dreams... Yes. But not necessarily the first time entirely. I am merely following my heart." My beautiful lover replied before she soon engulfed my length in her mouth, prompting a gasp of surprise from me. She began to suck me off with a smooth rhythm, her tongue caressing my hardened length for maybe only twenty seconds before she pulled away and rolled onto her back, her loving eyes never turning away from me. "Now please... Follow your heart as well. I am yours for tonight, my sunshine."

Wings spread wide while lying in the glowing yellow flowers, the radiant Princess of the Dawn displayed herself to me in a way she had never done before. Her pale coat glowed in the light of the moon as did her flowing billowing mane. I stood above her, admiring her unparalleled beauty while she never looked away from her. A warm smile upon her face, she cooed softly, "You're very handsome, my love. And you have the gentlest eyes."

There was nothing I could hide from her. I was just as bare as she was now. Truly, she had the body of a goddess. The more I looked over her, the more I craved her. My heart ached for my kindred sun as hers ached for me. I dropped to my knees before letting my hands roam over her heavenly form, groping her soft teats and even sliding between her hips to caress her needy marehood. This did not go on for long before I was suddenly pulled forward by an unseen force and found myself all but lying atop Celestia's chest while she hooked her hooves over my shoulder. With a very amorous gaze and loving smile, she whispered softly to me. "My love... Take me."

And so I did. With a steady push, I entered her as she gasped in utter delight. She clung to me tightly, holding me to her body as her mighty lungs inflated below me. With a slow rhythm of my hips, I plunged my hardened length as deep into her as I would go while my lips caressed and pecked at her neck. "Oh god, Celestia..."

"Yes... Yes, please... Oh, James..." Celestia whispered in newfound pleasure. There we were. Man and mare, locked in the throes of loving passion. My teeth tenderly nibbled along her neck, sometimes biting too hard and pulling tiny strands of her soft thin coat from her skin. One hand reached low, trying to tenderly massage her soft supple teats and even squeezing them as if to extract milk. Everything I did, Celestia relished.

Before long, Celestia made a new move. I felt myself being engulfed in her magical grasp before being pulled from her and rolled onto my back. I gazed up at the glowing moon above before feeling Celestia crawl over me until her face stood between me and the moon, creating a lunar eclipse of her very own. She smiled so lovingly as her body rested atop mine, the soothing rhythm of her breathing only surpassed by the beating of her heart against my own. "My love... Allow me this time."

I felt Celestia slide herself down and took my waiting erection into herself once again. She sighed blissfully as I once again entered her, her glorious wings spreading wide in a beautiful display as I caressed the sides of her ribs. I could not find words to speak to her. All I could focus on was the gentle warmth within her as our bodies grinded together, our eyes frequently locking with only brief lapses in focus brought on by our tender yet distracting lovemaking.

I really wish there was more I could do to describe such an experience with the single most beautiful mare in the world. We touched, we whispered, we kissed. It was all so simple, yet so magical as we made sweet tender love in that secluded magical alcove kissed by the moonlight. And in time, I could feel our climax approaching. My length began to periodically throb, signaling that the time was drawing near. I whispered to my kindred sun, "Celestia... I think I'm..."

The radiant Princess of the Dawn looked down at me with only a joyous smile. She pleaded with me in a desperate whisper, "So am I, my love... Please... Every last drop... Let it all out inside me... Please!"

I could not refuse her. I began to thrust my hips up into hers in an eager attempt to bring forth my own climax. She began to whimper and yelp, the pleasure becoming too much for her to bear. Just as I groaned her name, I felt the building tension in my pelvis suddenly release as I unloaded my seed directly into the beautiful creature above me even as she too lifted her head to the sky and groaned my name, her hips pushing down on mine as her inner walls quivered around me.

And just like that, it was over. So brief, yet so satisfying followed by the gentle encompassing warmth of the afterglow. Celestia slowly relaxed herself until she was resting atop me once more, her lungs inflating and deflating against me in delightful steady rhythm as I too panted in unison with her. She smiled at me oh so lovingly and whispered, "You...truly are a lover, my dear..."

"As are you, m'lady..." I whispered in return. And yet even though there was no reason for me to fear anything deep in the depths of this dream realm, a lingering doubt began to surface in the back of my mind. A familiar doubt that had been present before not that long ago.

I believe Celestia began to notice something was amiss when I began to avert my eyes. Her smile turned into a concerned frown. "My love, is something wrong?"

I could not hide anything from her. And so I decided to come clean. "I... Can't really hide it, huh? I know we already discussed something like this a while back, but... I feel like I just did something I don't have the right to... Like what we just did was taboo... It just feels like you're so far abo..."

Celestia seemed to know where I was going with that since she silenced me by gently placing her hoof over my lips. Her frown immediately turned into a calm smile. "James. May I tell you a secret? Something that will put that lingering little doubt to rest?"

I merely nodded. In response, Celestia lowered her head beside my ear. But instead of speaking, I heard something else entirely. Song. And it was a song I recognized almost immediately as the beautiful Princess of the Dawn quietly sang to me. "You are my sunshine... My only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray... You'll never know, dear...how much I love you... Please don't take...my sunshine away..."

It was not even the full song, but it was enough to make her point clear. And it touched me on a level I did not expect. With that gorgeous voice singing the lyrics, tears just burst forth from my eyes from nowhere. So simple, yet so beautiful. I felt a single feather of her wing lift a tear from my face as Celestia lifted her head to look down at me with a truly happy smile. "No matter what your standing in Equestria's society is... No matter whether or not a crown rests upon my head... You are and always will be my sunshine, dear James... You know this to be true, my love. So please... In the one place where we need not fear anything... Where prying eyes cannot see or judge... Do not deny us the choice to let our hearts sing the song they want each other to hear."

Chocking out a shamed sob, I reached out and held onto her while burying my face into the soft coat around her throat. I felt her arm wrap around me, holding me to her body. I felt ashamed, yet reassured. I wanted to love her without fear of stepping past a boundary I should not tread upon. I just needed to remind myself that there was no boundary to begin with. Certainly not after this beautiful shared dream of ours.

Far too soon for my liking, I felt the world quiver around me. Or was it I that quivered? Whatever it was, Celestia seemed to notice as well. "Is it time for you to awaken, my sunshine?"

"I... Yeah, I think it's about time for me to go... I really enjoyed our time together..." I whispered back to her, satisfied yet unwilling to leave. But alas, all dreams must end. I gently rested my hand upon Celestia's hoof and whispered to her, "I love you... We'll meet up again sometime soon, right?"

"Count on it, my love. Take care today. I love you so." The Princess of the Dawn responded quietly before we joined lips one last time before I could leave her to her dream.

Moments later, I felt all sensation of touch fade as my vision became a blur momentarily as if seeing through closed eyelids. When I did open my eyes, I found myself looking up at the rafters in my bedroom. And yet... Why was it so dark? Did Celestia really delay so much in raising the sun like she said?

I took a quick glance at the clock on the nightstand next to my side of the bed. Just a bit past 9 AM. Indeed, Celestia was late in raising the sun. My stirring must have disturbed Fluttershy since she soon sat up in bed beside me. Dark as it was, I could still see her clearly. "Mmm... Morning, dear... Wait... Why is it so dark? Did we wake up too early today?"

"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure Celestia just overslept for once." I replied while pulling my covers down. It was then that I only happened to notice something about my boxers. There was a stiff bulge in them. It seems that in spite of what happened in my dream, my body was still unsatisfied. Still, I tried to avoid giving it any attention.

Fluttershy moved some of her unkempt mane out of her eyes and asked, "You think so?"

"Well, we were sharing a dream up until I woke up. She was more interested in spending time with me than raising the sun today." I explained while hoping that Fluttershy would not look down. One cannot really complain about what happens in someone else's dreams, but still...

Unfortunately, Fluttershy did happen to glance down and take note of what was clearly my hidden erection. My lover then gave me a sly smirk and asked, "It looks like someone woke up excited. Why is that? Did something happen in your dream?"

She had me cornered. Not wanting to make up excuses, I proceeded to confess. "Well... At one point near the end, we... Well... Yeah. That happened."

Fluttershy's sly expression quickly turned into a wide-eyed stare like she was trying very hard not to laugh. Needless to say, she failed. My fiancée burst out laughing, catching me by surprise. "Oh my goodness! With her?! How many other stallions have dreamed of that?!"

That got me laughing too. Indeed, I have to wonder how many other stallions in Equestria have experienced wet dreams involving the gorgeous Princess of the Dawn. Her beauty is simply unparalleled. "Good question! I'd guess every stallion considering how hot she is!"

As our laughing died down, Fluttershy then caught me by surprise as she rubbed her hoof over the bulge in my shorts. Her expression of amusement had faded away while a look of amorous affection filled her eyes. "Well, she might be the most beautiful mare in the world, but she doesn't know how to please my man like I do. Does she?"

I quickly felt the change in tone in the air. I gave my lover an amorous smirk and leaned back until I was leaning against the bed's headboard, my erection growing stiffer the more she rubbed it through the fabric. Truly, this was going to be a good start to my day. "Well, that's not a very fair comparison, to be honest. Unlike her, you have experience, baby."

"That I do." She whispered tenderly to me before pressing her lips against mine for a deep sensual kiss. Sighing and wheezing, we kissed each other over and over in sweet passion. I rubbed my hands over my lover's shoulders and down to her swollen sides as our daughter stirred within her. I soon felt her pull my boxers down further to reveal my hardened erection, but instead of feeling her hoof rub against it, I felt Fluttershy push against me as she pulled herself forward and began to rub her beautiful firm and round belly against it. "Mmmm... She's kicking, honey... Can you feel her?"

I could indeed feel movement pushing against the inside of her womb. Every now and then, one of those shifting bulges in her belly caress my throbbing length. The subtle touch sent jolts of anticipation through me. "Oh baby, I do... She knows daddy is here..."

"Hehee... She always loves it when you touch me... Loves it when you make mama feel loved..." My beloved whispered back to me as she began to gyrate herself from side to side, gently rubbing her firm belly against me. I sighed and groaned in delight as the growing result of our love grinded against me. My hands slid down her back and to her flanks, grasping and rubbing them as my fingers dug into her sensitive cutie marks. Her hips felt different in a way... Fuller... Motherly... It filled me with such erotic glee as I could feel the subtle changes in my lover's body as she slowly underwent her transformation from a meek and sweet mare into a beautiful ravishing mother.

I could not wait any longer. I held Fluttershy in my arms and kissed her deeply while pushing her up onto her hind legs, my hand reaching down and groping her dark swollen teats. She squealed in the kiss as I coaxed warm milk from her puffy mammaries. Finally, she broke the kiss and gaze into my eyes with lust. "James... Take me... Mama needs you now..."

"And Daddy needs Mama too." I whispered back while groping and squeezing her beautiful motherly hips. She melted like butter at my touch, panting and whimpering as I began to crawl behind her on my knees while still holding her up. Once behind my beloved, I pushed my hips forward and sank my length to the hilt into her winking marehood. "Mmmm... God, you feel good."

Fluttershy gasped as her wings spread wide. One of my arms was draped across her chest while the other rubbed over her swollen pregnant belly. I could feel our daughter squirming within in response to my touch as if she was saying hello to her father. Fluttershy moaned passionately in response to my affections both inside and out. "Ooooh James... Oooh, I love carrying your foal in me... I love it when she moves when we're together..."

"I bet you like being full of life." I whispered into her ear just before kissing it. "You've never been more beautiful than you are now, baby. Pregnancy suits you."

"It does... And you're the one who made me this way... Mmmm... I... I never thought it would be such a...oooh... A wonderful experience... I wish I could...stay like this all the time..." Fluttershy moaned in utter delight while my hand groped and rubbed her beautiful belly. She has grown to adore being pregnant in more ways than one. It certainly suits her more than I could have ever imagined. "I want your foals, baby... I want as many foals as I can carry..."

She was playing to my most sacred desires. She knows how much I adore pregnant mares. And how much I relish the thought of making them that way. I kissed and nibbled along her neck as I thrust deep into her. "And daddy will give mama as many as she wants... You want me to fill you, love?"

She pleaded in love and longing, nuzzling the side of my head with her own. "Please! I... I love you, James... My love..."

Our lovemaking became increasingly passionate, the two of us teasing and praising each other back and forth as two lovers so very much in love with each other. I Our voices became more strained as orgasm drew near for us both, teasing turning to begging as we eagerly wished to reach climax together. I right as I felt my loins about to burst, I held onto my beloved as tightly as I could. "Fluttershy... Baby, I'm..."

"Me too...! Please... Fill me...! Give mama your foals, daddy!" Fluttershy pleaded as she quivered in my grasp. As I felt her inner walls spasm around my shaft, I pushed as deep as I could and groaned her name as I unleashed my seed as deep as it would go. All passion faded into a warm afterglow as I continued to hold up my dear lover. But as she panted in my grasp, her attention was drawn towards the window. "Oh...? Is that the sunrise?"

She was right. A gentle glow was starting to cast itself over the darkness just beyond the window. Although delayed, Celestia had stayed true to her duty and was bringing the sun over the horizon to truly start the day. "Wow... Couldn't pick a better time for it to happen."

Fluttershy looked over her shoulder at me and smiled sweetly before the two of us shared a kiss. With morning having arrived, it would be best for us to take a quick shower to clean up. But just as I was starting to release my grasp on her, Fluttershy placed her hoof on my hand while she gazed at me with a much more amorous expression. "I'm serious, honey. After Gladesong is born, let's have another when the time is right."

Her words tickled my heart. I then whispered back to her while placing a kiss on her nose, "Definitely something to look forward to and discuss, baby. Although we may have to add onto the house some more before then. It's almost too small here for a family of four as is." With nothing else to discuss, we made our way into the bathroom to clean ourselves up before Scootaloo could come knocking.

Breakfast was largely uneventful. Along with omelets, Fluttershy fried up some pancakes with chocolate chips mixed into the batter. Utterly delicious. Right afterwards, Scootaloo headed out for a day with her friends out at the clubhouse. With no insulation, the clubhouse needs a portable space heater in order to be used during winter. I think Apple Bloom is the one who provides it, but where do they plug it in? I do not recall anyone instilling electrical outlets in there. It probably runs on a battery.

I watched from the window as Scootaloo buzzed away on her little snowboarding scooter. It was such a genius move for Apple Bloom to swap out the wheels for that. "Man, I wish I had something like that. She makes getting around so fun."

Once the rambunctious pegasus filly was out of sight, I went over to the phonograph in the corner and set Fluttershy's new record on. She really does have good taste in music for relaxation. The usual noise from the construction workers out back was absent since Sundays tend to be their day off. The floor and walls of the new room are all but complete, although they are holding off on tearing the wall down to make a doorway until spring gets here.

Fluttershy was doing the dishes in the kitchen while I lounged on the sofa in the living room, almost tempted to doze off for a nap thanks to the relaxing tunes coming from the phonograph. I even closed my eyes for a while, but was snapped back to attention when I felt a kiss upon my lips. Fluttershy was standing before me while she giggled lightly. "Long week?"

"Yeah, you can say that. Sundays are just such lazy days for most people, so it's hard resisting the urge to take a nap." I replied, glancing at the fireplace while a pair of chipmunks scurried across the tiny walkways hanging from the rafters. When my eyes glanced at the window nearest the door and saw clouds on the horizon, a question popped up into my head that had been eating away at me since last Sunday. "Say, honey... Can I ask you a few things?"

"Sure, dear. But... One second." Fluttershy then went over to the phonograph and flipped the record over before resetting the needle. The record had already played through one side and it was time to start the other. She then came back to me and pulled herself up to the sofa before relaxing upon me. "What's on your mind?"

"Um... About last Sunday..." I asked while trying to think of the right words. "While I did greatly enjoy what you and Rainbow Dash did for me... What made you decide it was OK for her and I to... Well, you know..."

Fluttershy's expression quickly became one of uneasiness. It was a very difficult question, to be sure. Even so, she still found an answer. "Um... I'm not entirely sure how to answer that, James. I mean... I hope you don't think I'm one of those kinds of mares who likes seeing her husband getting...that way with other mares. But with Rainbow Dash... She's..."

She paused for a moment, trying to find the right words. I provided her emotional support by reaching out and gently cupping her cheek with my hand. "Take your time, dear. There's no rush."

"Thank you..." She whispered softly almost as if not wanting to drown out the music coming from behind us. "Well... Rainbow Dash and I... We go back a long way. We've been friends longer than with anypony else. And after she overcame the temptation to take you from me back on Hearts and Hooves Day, I knew she would never betray me. I know she loves you. Loves you so much... And...after all that happened just a little while ago... I wanted her to be happy. To know what it's like to love and be loved. So... I let her...you know."

My thoughts went back to that night. I could still remember the pleasure. The intimacy as I shared love between those two beautiful mares. It was a wonderful night and I could still remember the look on her face as Rainbow shed tears of bliss. "Yeah... That was an awesome evening we had together. But... Well, it'd be for the best if we kept that information to ourselves... Anyway, do you regret what we did? And if you didn't, did you enjoy it?"

Fluttershy looked rather nervous at first while her eyes darted around, but she soon gave me a crooked smile. "Well, I did enjoy it. Watching you two showing so much love was just so...touching to see. You weren't making love for the pleasure. You were doing it out of love for each other. And... I know it wasn't exactly something most people would smile upon, but... I don't regret what we did that night. It just felt...right. Maybe society wouldn't see it as being right, but it felt right. I'm glad we did it. I'm glad we all got to be happy that night."

That got a smile out of me. Indeed, we did enjoy that night together. I continued to tenderly cup Fluttershy's cheek while my other hand stroked her beautiful flowing mane. "Me too, if I'm going to be honest. It felt magical from start to finish. And I'm glad you didn't have any doubts about me, honey. You know I'll never leave you."

"I know, James... I know better than to doubt you now. You'll never leave us." She replied before leaning forward and pressing her lips against mine, her swollen belly pressed firmly against mine as our daughter stirred within. "I love you, baby."

"And I love you, honey." I whispered back in response. The two of us began to tenderly make out, kissing sweetly and deeply. I was not aware that a few of Fluttershy's little animal friends were watching from the rafters, probably enjoying the show. I only got a quick glimpse of them right as we stopped while they started to scatter.

For a little while longer, we continued to cuddle on the sofa up until the record finally played all the way through and the only sound we were hearing was the faint scratching of a needle dragging across a flat disc of plastic. I started to sit up and stretch, trying to fight off the urge to sleep. "Man, I really don't want to take a nap... I think I'll head into town and chill at the spa for once. Would you like to come?"

Fluttershy responded while placing a kiss upon my cheek. "No thank you. I already went this week with Rarity, so I'm good. I still have a few things to take care of around the house anyway. But you have a good time. All right?"

"Will do, honey. I'll see you later." I then got up and retrieved my heavy winter clothing from the coat rack, wrapped myself in a scarf, and headed on out.

One of my favorite things about winter out where we live is how quiet it is. With no one living around us, there is very little sound, but with a thick layer of snow covering the environment, it is enchantingly silent. I could hear nothing but the sounds of my boots trudging through a thin layer of snow that covered the path towards town. Things quickly changed once I entered Ponyville proper, though not by much. There generally is not much activity on Sundays to begin with, so it was still rather quiet in town with the snow absorbing the sound all around me from the small number of townspeople going about their business. Most people would rather stay indoors than get out in this freezing cold.

As I made my way through the town square, the snow around me helped muffle the sound of flapping wings getting closer. Before I knew it, someone or something grabbed onto me from behind and basically started piggybacking on me. With my head movements restricted by my scarf, I could not look over my shoulder at my impromptu passenger. "OK, who's there? That you, Scoot?"

The voice of an older mare responded right behind my head. "Guess again, big guy! Where you going?"

Of course. It was Rainbow Dash. Almost tempted to laugh, I just gave her a straight answer. "Heading over to the spa to relax for a while. Wanna join me?"

"You bet! I'm always up for a hot soak at this time of year." She then went airborne and flew ahead before holding the door for me. I hurried into the spa's lobby so she would not keep the door open for long and keep the cold coming in.

Rainbow Dash and I both signed up for a session of heat treatments. For those not in the know, the spa has three sessions to choose from. The heat sessions involve the hot tub and sauna, the physical session involves massages, cornicures, and pedicures, while the rejuvenation session involves facials, seaweed body wraps, and mud baths. Of course, one could also go for the full suite of services like Fluttershy and Rarity tend to prefer.

We were lucky that no one was using the sauna at the time. Most patrons at this time of year tend to focus more on the hot tub than the sauna, though some do enjoy a good steam bath when the air is so cold and dry. I swapped into a pair of swim trunks I keep around at my usual work station while no one was looking and joined Rainbow Dash in the sauna. While one of my employers were technically supposed to be supervising us, my status as an employee at the spa was enough to let me keep an eye on things myself.

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh, breathing deep the steam while letting her mane hang free. Most prefer to wrap their manes in a towel to help keep them kempt, but Rainbow has always preferred a wild look that definitely suits her. I was just relaxing in the corner, letting my skin bask in the soothing steam. Rainbow Dash let out a long sigh and asked, "Nothing like steaming things up at this time of year, huh?"

"Yep... Feels as humid as the tropics right now." I replied while just closing my eyes for a moment. It really was relaxing in there to the point where I was almost tempted to give in to my earlier urges and just slouch over into slumber. Although I am not certain if taking naps during a spa visit is allowed...

A minute or two later, I heard the clopping of hooves and opened my eyes to see Rainbow Dash approaching the water bucket and ladle. When she bounded up to the seating beside it, she took the ladle in her mouth and starting pouring more and more water onto the hot rocks. The water hissed as it rapidly evaporated into more and more steam. Before long, the steam was too thick for me to even see the door leading out in the main chamber or even Rainbow Dash herself. "Heh, it's like a rainforest in here now!"

Rainbow Dash strangely did not reply, but she soon stepped back into my view and hopped back up to the seating beside me. She gave me a gentle smile and said, "Nothing like a little extra cover, right?"

"Cover? For what?" I asked, only to freeze as Rainbow Dash put her hoof on my hip. I glanced down at where she was touching me before looking back up at her face. The bold and brash mare was giving me a very loving smile and stare without saying a word. "Rainbow...? What are you..."

I did not even get the chance to finish my question. As I spoke, she slunk over to me and threw her arms and wings around me for an embrace before tenderly pressing her lips against mine for a surprisingly sweet kiss. While shocked at first, I let go of my concerns and pressed into the kiss as well while holding onto my dear friend. The kiss ceased briefly only for her to kiss me again. Her lips parted, allowing our tongues to dance as she grinded herself against my body, her soft supple coat dragging against my chest and belly. When did she get so good at kissing?

Moments later of muffled gasps and deep moans from Rainbow's throat, the kiss finally ended while we just stared at each other in the heat of passion that had flared up between us. Rainbow Dash, such love in her eyes while a deep blush adored her cheeks, whispered softly to me. "Love you, baby."

"Love you too, beautiful." I whispered back, touched by Rainbow's brazen display of love for me when no one else could see us. She leaned forward and held onto me in a firm yet tender embrace. I returned the favor by wrapping my arms around her and gently stroking my hand over her wild and beautiful rainbow mane. Soon, I found the will to speak. "You know... Something seems different with you since last week."

Rainbow Dash let out a soft chuckle while she reached out and kissed my ear while her chin rested upon my shoulder. "Maybe that's because I finally feel like a mare and found my stallion."

Those words actually got me to sweat. And not just because the thick cloud of steam was already making me sweat to begin with. "Uh... Did that night...really hit you that hard?"

My beautiful friend spoke softly to me. "James, I can't even describe how it felt to just be taken like that by the man I love. It was... Just... It was like some part of me that had been restless for a really long time was finally at peace. I swear, I've never felt so...feminine before. I never felt so much like a mare until that night. I loved it. And I keep dreaming about it too..."

"Rainbow... Are you sure you're not considering moving on and finding someone else?" I asked as the uncomfortable feeling of us having to move on from that point crossed my mind. I know Rainbow Dash loves me very deeply despite the fact that we would never be a couple. I wanted her to be happy, even though the thought of seeing her find another man did make me feel a twinge of worry.

"Are you kidding me, handsome?" She replied with a bit of a smirk on her face while she pulled her head back to look at me. "I can't do that... My heart just won't let me. I didn't know what it was like to fall in love until I met you. My heart will always be yours. As will my body, because you were my first. You took my virginity. Like or not, you'll always be my stallion. And you'll always have me no matter what happens."

Those were powerful words. To hear such a declaration of such undying devotion... It genuinely touched me. I held Rainbow Dash to my chest and whispered softly to her, "Thank you... Just... Thank you for always being there for me, dear..."

"Always, baby. No matter what happens, you'll always have me." She cooed back to me in the sweetest tone of voice I had ever heard out of her.

For a moment, we just sat there cuddling. Unfortunately, the steam started to thin. Not wanting any random stranger to see us, I reached over to the bucket of water and dumped some more onto it to restore the smokescreen. When I started to pull my arm back, Rainbow Dash intercepted it. She put her hoof down on it, causing me to instinctively turn my hand around and hold it. I lifted it up between us, causing her to smile oh so lovingly at me in ways I almost never see out of her. It was almost like a completely different mare was looking at me. Smiling, I then kissed her hoof right below the ankle. Rainbow then sighed and whispered, "Gosh, I love you..."

"Love you too, beautiful." I whispered back before Rainbow finally adjusted herself until she was sitting beside me. She constantly leaned against me with her eyes closed, head on my shoulder while I gently stroked my hand down her side. While I looked down at her, a number of questions started to drift through my head. "Hey, Rainbow...? Mind if I ask you...how you ended up falling for me? Like...how we got to where we are now?"

She looked up at me with a bit of a playful smile. "Whoa... That's gonna be a walk down memory lane. You sure you've got time for that? It's kind of a long story."

"As long as it holds my attention, I'll listen." I retorted with a smirk of my own.

Rainbow Dash straightened herself a bit before just looking out into the steam as if recollecting her memories. "Well, we both know I didn't make the best first impression when we bumped into each other for the first time. Kinda embarrassing that the first thing I ever did was fall on you. That's a step down from how Twilight and I met. Anyway, moving on..."

I outright laughed at the memory. Indeed, it was a horrible first encounter. At least with Rarity, I got to talk to her before she bashed my head on her doorway. Regardless, I continued to listen. "Anyway, at first, I wasn't too sure of what to think of you. You were quiet and really shy, but I guess that's to be expected when you suddenly find yourself in a whole new world outta nowhere like that. But after a few days, I started to see you as someone who was somewhere between Fluttershy and Twilight if that makes any sense. Shy and sensitive, but stern and smart too. I felt like you were someone worth protecting. Just a real nice guy."

"Heh... Thanks, Rainbow. So, when did that start to change?" I asked in return, feeling rather touched by my friend touching upon earlier times.

"I'm pretty sure you know when that was." Rainbow said softly before she turned her head to look at me. "The day Nightmare Moon came back. I think the start was when you and I were flying together for the first time. Just the two of us flying below the full moon... I'd be lying if I said I didn't think it felt a bit romantic at times. And then in the Everfree Forest. It was a blast taking on the Shadowbolts with you like that. Like we make a pretty good team. But then..."

Her expression became more solemn. I had a hunch of what was coming next. "When Nightmare Moon went after you... I was the only one who could catch up in time, so I went it alone. And when she caught me in her magic and that lightning... Man, I was terrified. I seriously thought that was when I was gonna die..."

It was clearly not a pleasant memory for her to recall. She held a hoof to her forehead while closing her eyes, a long sigh escaping her nostrils. I reached out and gently grasped her other hoof, prompting Rainbow Dash to look at me with a soft smile. But that smile soon faded as she continued. "When I woke up a bit later... That was scary. You were hacking and slashing away at Nightmare Moon right in front of me. But when she...impaled you..."

I instantly remembered that wound when I regained my senses at that time. It was a pain unlike any I had ever felt before. I noticed tears starting to build at the edges of Rainbow's eyes. "I still remember...the feeling of your blood splattering onto me... I couldn't believe you had just put yourself in harms way to protect me like that... And when you...left your shield over me to keep me safe while going off to finish things with her... God, I thought I would never see you alive again..."

Rainbow Dash leaned into me, clearly shaken by those dark memories of such a fateful night. I draped my arm over her, holding her to my chest. "I guess...it was the moment I thought I was about to lose was when...something started to blossom in me. I didn't know what you really meant to me until I thought I was about to lose you forever. I knew then that...I couldn't lose you. But...I had no idea how love works. I was seriously confused for a good while on what to do and what to think..."

"Yeah, I remember that you were pretty distracted for a while after that night. I seem to recall you saying something like you 'didn't even know half of what you were feeling' at the time." I replied, thinking back to the train ride we had while getting Mitta up to Canterlot so the curse upon her could be removed.

She let out a quiet chuckle, probably amused that I remembered that line so well. "Heh, yep. That's what I said. I just had no idea what it's like to fall in love. Even though we couldn't be more different if we tried, I still felt so... Ugh, and to think I almost used a love potion on you to get you all to myself on Hearts and Hooves Day..."

"Yeah, what was up with that? Not something I'd expect from the bearer of Loyalty." I retorted with a smirk. I still remember that picnic.

"Hey, I stopped you from drinking it! So my title of 'Loyalty' still stands!" Rainbow Dash spoke up before letting out a laugh. However, she then showed a calm smile. "But still... I think you and I have been pretty good to each other over the months. I've gotten a bit more humble and you've gotten bolder and more confident."

"Wait, you think so?" I asked in surprise, not expecting such a show of humility from Rainbow Dash of all people.

She looked up at me with a very sincere smile. "James. You made me a better mare. I've done things I'm not proud of, even to my best friends. But I feel like I really understand why now and know how not to repeat my mistakes. And I feel like it's because you rubbed off on me quite a bit." Rainbow Dash then winked at me and added, "But I can also tell I've rubbed off on you. You're braver now. I can see it. But even before then, you were always the kind of guy who is only really cool when he needs to be. And that's a lot better than being cool al the time."

I suppose she was right. I have gotten much more sure of myself over time. It seems we truly have been a good influence on each other. "I guess so. For being as cocky as you can be at times, I suppose you are a good influence. But still..." I then pulled her closer to me until I was holding her in a firm embrace. "No matter what happens, please don't ever stop being you, Rainbow. I've always loved you for who you are."

Those words coaxed a very touched smile from my dear friend. "Hey, don't worry. No matter how much I might tweak my behavior over time, I'll always be me. Can't imagine being anypony else." But she then placed her hoof over my chest, my heart beating steadily under it. "But as for you... Don't ever change either. I don't want to see the James I fell in love with become someone else. Always stay you, all right?"

"That's a promise, love." I replied quietly, prompting an almost tearful smile from the beautiful pegasus. Without another word, we sealed lips once more for a deep and loving kiss. We just sat there for maybe another five minutes, cherishing each other and sharing our love through many kisses. However, there was one last question I had on my mind. Once our current kiss ended, I whispered quietly to her. "Hey... One last question for you."

"Name it, handsome." Rainbow whispered back to me with such love in her eyes.

While we held each other in a tender embrace, I asked, "Just wondering about last week... When Fluttershy agreed to let you and I... Well... Was that planned? Did she really agree to let you and I make love together?"

Rainbow Dash's expression became one of puzzlement. "I'll be honest with you. I really didn't see that coming at all. We talked and planned that night out for a while, but she agreed to let you and I kiss, touch, and everything else just shy of intercourse. So it was a big shock when she encouraged me to... Did you ever get an answer out of her?"

I smiled, not at all surprised that it had been unplanned. "Actually, I did. And Fluttershy said she just wanted to see you happy. She had a lot of faith in you and trusted you to never take me away from her."

Her face... It was covered in a look of shock. But it soon became one of sincere gratitude and a very humble smile while she nodded her head forward until her forehead was resting against my chest. "Oh, Fluttershy... That's really brave of her. Sometimes I don't feel like I deserve a friend like her. I've been a real jerk sometimes..."

"That's not the Rainbow Dash I know. She's cool and respectable. And she doesn't betray her friends' trust." I replied quietly, my fingers dragging through her mane. "Like you said, I've been a good influence on you. Right?"

My loyal friend lifted her head and looked at me with a reassured grin. "Heh... Yeah, that's true. No way am I gonna hurt her again. You and Fluttershy are an awesome couple and that's not something I want to see change... Phew, I think I've had just about enough of this steam bath. How about we hang on in the hot tub for a while?"

It was kind of funny for Rainbow to just up and change the subject like that, but she was right. I was reaching my limit on hanging around in that steam and even the steam itself was starting to thin out. "Ugh, sure. I think I've had enough of this."

Rainbow Dash hopped down from her seat, but then looked back at me while I climbed to my feet. "Hey, quick question. How're things with Fluttershy in bed? She treating her man right?"

That was a bold question, but I decided to answer as honestly as I could since I knew I could trust her. "You kidding? I don't think her sex drive has ever been this strong before she got pregnant."

My friend let out a laugh at that revelation and started to walk towards the door. "I'm not surprised! I swear, you just wait. Once she pops out that foal, she's gonna be the hottest mom in town!"

I held my face in my hand while letting out a wheezing snicker. I am aware of how the female body tends to change once motherhood has occurred. I could only imagine how it would effect Fluttershy in the end, though pregnancy has been kind to her. Regardless, I hurried over to the hot tub while trying to not let myself be distracted by such kinky thoughts.

Rainbow Dash and I just soaked in the hot tub together while a few other locals did so at the other end. Seemed to be a quartet of friends enjoying the weekend together. We did not really talk much, although I did start rubbing Rainbow's back beneath the water. She glanced at me for a second and smiled, just showing me quiet appreciation for my affections. But then I decided to get a little bolder and rubbed my hand down further and gave her flank a firm squeeze.

The result was about as much as I expected. Rainbow Dash's eyes opened wide while her wings started to open, but they were forced closed by sheer will. Rainbow then gave me a sly smirk and whispered, "What's up, handsome? Can't keep your hands off me? I'd totally make out with you if no one was watching."

"Just returning the favor you gave me back in the sauna." I whispered back before digging my fingers firmly into the curve of her rump, Rainbow biting her lower lip to try to hide her enjoyment of the attention. "You mares always have gorgeous hips, regardless of who you are."

Rainbow Dash smirked at me before she moved her hips sideways and started grinding them against my belly. "Tell you what. Whenever I come in for a massage, you can massage my cutie marks anytime."

Knowing how sensitive those are on her, I knew what she was really requesting of me. "You got it, Rainbow. You know my workdays."

Not much else happened during our stay. Unfortunately for Rainbow Dash, she had to stick around a while longer than me due to her coat and feathers being thoroughly soaked. They would freeze before she could get back home, so she had to wait around to dry. I just bundled up and headed out, not sure of what else to do with my day.

Before long, I passed by the library. I glanced up at the impressive tree, seeing its many green leaves coated with a thick layer of snow. It always amazes me how plant life in Equestria does not ever seem to be affected by winter cold in areas where ponies reside. Conifers would make sense, but not deciduous trees. Still, while passing under its canopy, I passed by the window closest to the front door. Spike was inside sorting some books while handing some up to Owlowiscious who was perched on a higher shelf. My thoughts went to Twilight. How was she today?

Feeling I had nothing better to do, I stepped through the front door and immediately pulled my scarf down. "Afternoon, you guys. Is Twilight home?"

Owlowiscious looked my way and just waved his wing at me in greeting since his beak was occupied by a book. Spike spoke up instead while he looked at me with a smile. "Hi, James! And yeah, Twilight's upstairs reading an assignment Princess Celestia gave her. You can go see here if you want."

"Thanks, Spike. I'll be back down in a while." I replied before marching up the stairs and into the loft. Twilight had the fireplace going with a moderate flame billowing and crackling from a few small logs. While I hung my winter gear on a clothes rack near the stairs, I called out. "You here, Twilight?"

I got no response. But when I looked up, I saw Twilight relaxing on her bed with a book floating before her face. I know she heard me, and yet she showed no response to my presence or voice. Perplexed, I walked up the steps to the upper level of the loft and stood right next to her. I then peered over the top of the book, watching silently as she showed me no mind while a page would occasionally turn. She was very focused on whatever was in the book, although I cannot recall the title.

Under any other circumstances, I would have been tempted to just leave her be. However, after having spent some serious romantic time with Fluttershy, Celestia, and Rainbow Dash today, I was feeling a bit too amorous to just leave Twilight be. I knew she loves me and I love her. I was certain she would not mind if I let her know I was there with a touch.

Smirking to myself, I stepped around to Twilight's side. I glanced down at her flank and gently rubbed my hand over the curve of her rump. My touch caused her to gasp in surprise while starting to turn her lower body sideways to prepare kick, but she quickly stopped herself when she looked at me with a delighted smile. "Huh?! Oh, James! When did you get here?"

"Just a minute ago. I called for you, but you didn't respond. I was even standing right in front of you." I replied while taking a seat on the edge of her bed.

"You did...? Oops... I guess I was too caught up in what I was reading. You see, Princess Celestia sent me...a small assignment to do over the... Um..." Twilight started to speak, but became increasingly distracted while I stroked her back with my hand sliding down over the curve of her flank. She glanced at what my hand was doing before looking back at me with an adorably nervous smile. "Um... What's gotten into you today? You're normally not this...flirty..."

"Yeah, I guess I'm not. But for some reason...I'm just feeling very lovey today." I replied while showing her a calm smile.

Twilight began to blush furiously. She averted her eyes for a moment while still smiling meekly. "Oh my... Well... It HAS been a while since we last kissed..." She then looked at me and asked, "Do you think we could share one?"

"One? We'll share as many as you want." I retorted with a smirk before leaning forward while Twilight leaned back under her head was resting upon the mattress. Her expression calmed while her eyes closed. Mine closed too and soon, I felt my lips upon hers.

Our lips pressed together briefly for a kiss before parting for just a second. They touched again. And then again. But on the fourth time, I went deeper. My lips parted as my tongue forced its way into Twilight's mouth, prompting a startled muffled gasp from her only for it to dissolve into a passionate loving moan. I felt Twilight's tongue reach out to mine, the two dancing in a fervor of passion. I felt her arms wrap around me along with her legs. She clung to me, urging me to kiss her more. I think we only stopped after maybe five minutes passed, our faces pulling away from each other while a string of saliva monetarily connected our tongues. Twilight, her face flushed with a deep blush, could only whisper exhaustively. "Wow..."

"Yeah... Haven't had one like that for a while." I whispered back while tempted to chuckle.

"Uh huh... I forgot...how wonderful that feels..." Twilight sighed as she reached out and hugged me tightly. She whispered into my ear, "I love you..."

"I love you too, Twilight." I whispered back while wrapping my arms around her and pulling her up to a seated position. We just held each other, basking in each other's presence. Of my six closest friends, I had always seen more of myself in Twilight than anyone else. And I could feel itself while we held each other in our arms. Eventually, I glanced over Twilight's shoulder and saw the book she had been reading lying beside her bed. "Hey... Should I let you get back to your studies?"

Twilight wasted no time in provided a response. "It can wait. I just want to enjoy this moment with you." She then leaned to the right, pulling me down to the bed with our heads resting upon the pillow. "May we take a nap together?"

After that trip to the spa and spending so much time in hot steam and water, I was feeling quite drained and eager for that nap I had kept putting off earlier. "You know... That sounds like a great idea."

"You sound really tired. You went to the spa today, didn't you?" Twilight asked with a bit of a giggle, her body turning around so I was holding her back against my chest. "Then let's hope we sleep well. Sweet dreams, James."

"You too, Twilight. Sweet dreams." I whispered back while feeling her place a hoof on my hand. Several minutes later, I felt myself slipped into slumber.

Maybe an hour later, I thought I heard a voice and opened my eyes to see Spike looking right at me and Twilight while standing at the edge of the bed. I froze in anticipation, realizing that he had caught us in a rather...compromising position. That look he was giving us was definitely skeptical. Finally, Twilight asked while still being held in my arms, "Um... Something wrong, Spike?"

He quickly lost that weird stare while his expression softened into a more sincere one. "Uh... Yeah. Bon Bon came in looking for a copy on confectionaries, but I can't really find it. Do you know where it is?"

Twilight quickly sat up in bed and replied, "Confecti... Oh, that one! Yes, I think I put that away on one of the highest shelves! Hold on, I'll get it for her."

"OK, I'll go let her know you'll be right down." Spike said before hurrying down the steps to the lower half of the loft and then rushing down the stairs.

"Sorry, James. I better get going." Twilight then said while she hopped off the bed and trotted down the steps to follow Spike. But before she could head down the stairs, she looked back up at me and asked, "Say, would you like me to brew some tea for us while you're here?"

"Sounds good, Twilight. I'll take whatever herbal teas you've got." I replied while watching her disappear from view. I then stood up from the bed and headed down the steps and took a look around the loft. The fireplace was still burning hotly, but I tossed another chopped log onto the fire to top it off anyway. But while my eyes scanned my surroundings, I noticed something on the table closest to one of the windows. "Hello, what's this?"

It seemed to be a thin book of sorts. Closer inspection revealed it to be a comic book. But not just any comic book. "Ooh! Project H, issue #3! Looks like it really did take off!"

I took the book in hand and examined the cover. It seemed to depict Project H standing with his back turned to the viewer with a number of shadowy figures looming above him. "Hmm... Looks like a team of villains will gang up on him this time."

I was tempted to read through the book myself to pass the time, but a thought then occurred to me. My memories of that tea tasting gathering at the library a few months back came to mind as I tried to recall exactly what it was that Spike did that triggered that glowing portal in the book. I recalled that he seemed to open the book to the back cover, so I turned the comic book over and looked inside. The last page was just a list of the editor staff and such, but the back cover's interior was just blank. "Nothing out of the ordinary... What did you do, Spike?"

Just as I was about to close the book, I noticed it. Tiny text in the bottom left corner. While miniscule, I brought the page close to my face to get a better look at it. "What's this? Some sort of contest code?"

Whatever that message said, I had no time to take the words to heart. The instant my eyes finished reading and processing the words in my mind, I was in for quite a surprise. The entire interior of the book suddenly became engulfed in a bright white glow! "I didn't even say anything!"

Thinking that this was a bad sign, I quickly set the book back down on the table before me and began to slowly back away. "Maybe I should just... Aw, crap!"

Before I knew it, I was suddenly swept off my feet and plunged face-first into the glowing light. At first, all I saw was just white. But my vision began to rapidly clear until I was greeted by the sights and sounds of a busy metropolis. I seemed to be standing at a crosswalk on a city street waiting for the walk signal to come up. It felt incredibly alien after spending a full year in Equestria, but then I looked down at my hands. Coated in white while white and gold metal bracers covered my forearms. I winced as I realized exactly what I had done and grimaced to myself upon realizing my predicament. "Well...shoot. Looks like I'm flying solo this time!"

"Flying where? You're on the ground, buddy!" A completely random passerby retorted as the walk signal came up and a number of ponies trotted past me and across the street. Somewhat embarrassed that someone had just overheard me groaning to myself, I abruptly changed direction and walked away from the stallion that had just barked at me and almost walked right into oncoming traffic. It really has been too long since I last had to deal with automobiles. It took the sudden honk of a bus to make me realize I was about to become an unwitting victim of vehicular manslaughter and jump back.

"Looks like Deadpool got it wrong... There really are automobiles in this version of Equestria." I grumbled to myself while watching droves of vehicles pass me by. But they were all being piloted by ponies. Although I did notice a number of robotic ponies piloting some of the more advanced looking vehicles, reminding me of the premise of the series. "Well, hopefully this stuff doesn't ever come around in the real world. Lord knows the last thing Equestria needs is global warming."

I took a good look over myself. Even though Project H was past the prototype stage by this point, I found that his outward appearance was entirely unchanged. Remembering how ridiculously banged he was at the end of the pilot, I smiled to myself while admiring my current armored form. "Man, the doc did a nice job of fixing the guy up. Still looking good!"

Trying to not let my solitary predicament get the better of me, I decided to put my worries aside and just started exploring. I took a walk down the block as it was sometime in the afternoon. Contrary to the pilot where it was the middle of the night and practically the entire city was abandoned, Maretropolis is actually a typical bustling metropolis. It did feel a bit cleaner than anything like New York City or even my native Saint Louis, but also had the makings of a city that was starting to step into the sci-fi future. Robots were here and there, some being lowly mechs that carried out mundane duties while others were pony type robots who interacted with other robots and ponies like ordinary citizens. An age of machines coexisting with people was underway. And not a single maverick was in sight.

After a good while of aimless wandering, I came across a construction site that looked vaguely familiar. As rivet guns hissed and jackhammers rumbled, I looked up at the towering steel girders that were serving as the frame of an add-on to a skyscraper. I stopped and crossed my arms, finding the location to look too familiar. "Isn't this the same construction site where the girls and I took on Alpha and the Devil Gigas? That must've been one hell of a mess to clean up."

Just as I was contemplating whether or not to inquire as to what had happened, I froze in anticipation as the familiar clanks of heavy metal feet reached my auditory sensors. But I quickly calmed down as I realized it was an industrial ride armor walking along while pushing huge metal crates on wheels. The pilot seemed to be an ordinary unicorn stallion using the dashboard to pilot the device. "Phew... Man, it's gonna take me a while to stop getting spooked by that sound. That Devil Gigas was scary..."

I just looked back and forth at the construction site for a while, observing how the business works in a futuristic setting. None of the workers ever approached me or paid me any mind, so Project H must have become a common sight and accepted member of the populace. How much time even passes between issues anyway? For all I knew, a full year could have passed between the pilot and issue #3. There was no telling how much time it took for Doctor Luminous to put the guy back together.

My curiosity having been satisfied, I turned away from the construction site and started to continue on my way. However, I froze after only a few steps as my auditory sensors detected distant sounds from within the construction site. And they were not pleasant ones. I heard yells of alarm as if one of the local foremen had noticed a mistake and was trying to point it out to the workers only for his yells to turn into shouts of fright along with those of several other individuals. Heavy clanks and crashes followed as the sounds of the shrieking foremen started to get closer. I turned to face the site and saw maybe half a dozen ponies and pony type robots fleeing out of the mess of girders only for a large hulking mech to crash right through one of the support beams on the ground. It was blocky in design, having a single red optic sensor set into its round 'face'. Four long cylindrical legs supported its body while two arms ending in large grasping pincers hung forward. While clearly a construction mech and being maybe only 2/3 the size of that Ursa Minor carrier I scrapped at the end of the Project H pilot, that thing's behavior was strangely erratic and belligerent. Everyone who even saw that thing made a run for it. Suspecting the worst, my retractable visor side into place over my eyes as my HUD came online. A targeting reticule locked onto the hulking mech and began to scan it. As expected, I got a reading.

VIRAL INFECTION DETECTED

"Good thing I got in some practice last night." Not the least bit surprised, I scowled at the threat. My right hand slid into my right forearm as the H-Buster was primed for action. Rather than be intimidated, I found myself becoming increasingly psyched up for a chance to once again emulate my childhood icon. "Maverick sighted. Proceeding to eliminate threat."

I said hello by unleashing a rapid barrage of plasma shots into the mech's armored chassis, but to little effect. The most I did was leave a number of scorch marks upon its armored shell. The red optic sensor in the middle of its face flashed right before it turned to look at me. It seemed I had its attention. "Yeah, that's it! Over here! Leave everyone else out of this!"

Almost as if to vocalize a response, two emitters of sorts extended from the sides of the mech's head as a glow began to emanate from inside them. I cringed as I realized what was coming and made a run to the side right as the maverick's two plasma cutter beams fired, cutting through the ground as it turned to follow me. Considering they were starting to pivot around the mech's round face, they were probably designed to cut large circular holes through concrete.

I had to use my boot thrusters to quickly change direction before those plasma beams could trip me up. Knowing the H-Buster was not going to punch through that shell, I turned to my Variable Weapon System. "OK, let's see what Project H picked up after the pilot..."

A small list of icons popped up in the corner of my visor like before. But instead of being limited to two slots, I saw that a number of weapon systems had been assimilated. I chose one that I recognized right away. "Here we go! Let's see if some Homing Torpedoes put a dent in it."

I selected the weapon and found my body had changed colors to reflect this. My softer armored components had turned a warm cream color while my hardened plating became a shade of grayish green. I quickly charged up the H-Buster and then unleashed the shot once at full charge as I propelled myself through the air and leaping over the pivoting plasma beams. Five small missiles burst out of my arm and rocketed forward before impacting the maverick on its face and legs. The explosions were enough to throw it off balance and make it momentarily stagger to the point of having to cease firing its plasma cutters, but it soon began to regain its footing. "Man, why are these industrial robots built so... Hang on, what's that?!"

Out of nowhere, something streaked by me before zipping around and under the hulking mech. I recognized that white and purple blurs almost immediately. Pinkie Pie had shown up after all! The mech seemed to be trying to follow my speedy friend, but it kept almost stepping over itself. At times, it would randomly try to snap at her with its pincer arms and constantly missing. My friend kept barking at the mech, but it did not sound quite like her. "Over here, metal head! Nope, over here! What's the matter?!"

Finally, she began to run around the thing at such speed that she even began to creating a vortex. Ever so slowly, the mech began to floating just off the ground. But while seeing that heavy hulking metal menace starting to float above the ground was crazy enough, the colors of the vortex caught my eye. Along with the white and purple of her outfit, I was seeing not shades of pink, but blurs of lime green and orange. Who was really there?

"Man, this sucker's heavy! I prefer the little mooks! At least they're easy to knock down!" I heard Pinkie Pie yell before she suddenly zipped away and let the mech crash heavily to the ground before its legs could catch it. But right as it started to climb to its feet, that blur started encircling its front legs for just a couple of seconds before zooming away. In that brief instant, the mech's front pair of legs had been shackled together by thick metal cables, causing it to stagger and hobble a bit to spot itself from falling forward. My ally then spoke from right behind me, "Go get 'im, Hunter! Aim for that spot on the underside! That's its power source!"

"Underside? Uh... Oh, got it!" I replied while my HUD locked onto a green domed cover of sorts on the mech's underside. It was probably meant to be retractable for maintenance. I fired a single Homing Torpedo, the flying missile swerving around the mech's legs and slamming into the domed cover. The blast shattered it as the mech suddenly became still. The red optic sensor on its face became dull just before it fell in a clanking heap and did not get up. I kept the H-Buster pointed at the mech for the next five seconds as a precaution, but lowered my arm when it did not even budge. I deactivated my weapon and regained my right hand before turning to face Pinkie Pie. "Phew... And here I thought I was gonna have to handle that thing alone. Thanks, Pi... Uh... Wha...?"

"What's the matter? Did that thing get me?" My companion replied before quickly looking herself over. "Nope! I'm good! So, what's the big deal?"

I had no idea what to say. While the outfit was the same from the last time I saw it, the mare wearing it was most clearly NOT Pinkie Pie. Her exposed face was instead lime green with pink eyes and her mane and tail were orange. They were nowhere near as poofy as Pinkie Pie's either, instead being rigid and zigzagging like lightning bolts. Fitting for someone who almost runs as fast as lightning, but still...

Just before I could even ask who this mare was, my train of thought was interrupted by the sounds of approaching police sirens. Sure enough, a small number of police cruisers and a criminal transport van for mass arrests came to a stop on the street bordering the construction site. A number of ponies dressed in police officer uniforms and hats emerged and quickly spread out through the area, but the only one who did not look like an officer approached me and my unnamed companion instead. He was an older looking stallion with a light blue coat and a well kempt white mane and mustache while draped in a brown longcoat of sorts. "Ah, Fili-Second! Project H! Good to see you two on the scene."

Before I could get a word in, 'Fili-Second' patted me on the leg with a clank. "He's got a name, you know! Don'tcha, Hunter?"

"Uh... Yeah. Hunter. That's what...uh...everyone calls me these days, Mr... Uh..." I nervously retorted as I found myself becoming increasingly uneasy now that I was in a situation all alone that I had no idea how to react to. I took one long look at the stallion before me while he adjusted his glasses and asked, "Gordon, right?"

"Not quite. Coltdon, to be precise. Anyway, thanks again for you help in dealing with these rogue machines. We're still trying to figure out a plan on how to properly tangle with them. Was that one over there the only one?" He replied while surveying the construction site and the lifeless husk of the mech I had just scrapped.

Fili-Second held her hoof towards the mech's body and retorted, "Looks like it, commissioner. Hunter was already keeping that thing busy when I just happened to show up. I was just about done making my rounds and was about to head back to HQ when I saw it."

The foremen who had fled earlier were starting to return and were being interviewed by the officers who were on the scene. Commissioner Coltdon then looked at the two of us with a smile and said, "Well, it seems like this outbreak was contained pretty well. We're lucky they've been so sparse lately. Anyway, we'll take it from here. As always, your help is appreciated."

"Anytime, commissioner!" Fili-Second replied before she turned to me and said, "I'm gonna head on back! The girls are gonna want to hear about this. Why don't you come on over? You're always welcome at our place!"

And with that, Fili-Second zipped down the road in a streak of white, purple, orange, and green and was gone in just a single second. For the next fifteen seconds or so, I just stared in that direction while everyone else went about their business as I processed what I had seen. Finally, I asked a question to no one in particular. "That...wasn't Pinkie Pie...was it?"

I really was all alone in this world within the pages of the comic book and no one even knew I was there. I bet Twilight Sparkle came right back up to the loft and expected to find me only to find no trace of me. Still, there was some hope. If I could follow the book's plot to the end, I would be kicked right back out into the real world. However, while I idly traced my hand over the side of my helmet, I suddenly recalled something. Doctor Luminous. I could certainly count on him. I brought my fingers instinctively to the side of my helmet and spoke up. "Hey, doc? Are you there? Was that really Fili-Second a minute ago?"

I got the mother of all surprises in response. "Hello! You have reached the residence of Isaac Luminous. I am currently not in right now, but if you would..."

"An answering machine?! Gimme a break, doc!" I groaned with an exasperated shout while I cut the transmission short. "Meh... I guess even he has a day job."

I once more looked in the direction that Fili-Second had taken off in. I thought back to her offer. Was I supposed to go to the Power Pony headquarters to advance the plot? Nervous as I was about walking into a den of superheroes, I shrugged my shoulders. "Might as well."

Knowing it would be easier to search for the place by air, my flight thrusters folded open from my back before flaring up and launching me skyward. Once I cleared the city's towering rooftops, I hovered in place and began to rotate myself. "OK then... What does the Power Ponies HQ even look... Are you serious?!"

I found what I was looking for in seconds. Standing somewhere close to the very center of Maretropolis was a skyscraper-like tower. What made its identity clear was the fact that it looked like two Ps with one resting its curve on top of the other. The Ps themselves were coated in a solid orange material while the window panels inside and below them seemed to have a yellow tint from where I was floating. I was tempted to laugh and I did indeed let out a snicker. "Oh my god... EAC is soooo lucky D.C. Comics doesn't know they exist or they'd be sued out the wazoo! At least its not set upon an island in the bay, so I guess that's something."

With my destination in sight, I flew forward and set myself down outside the front gate after circling the structure to figure out how I would get in. The tower was surrounded by a surprisingly tall concrete wall maybe twice my height topped off with a short electric fence. There was no way to get into the surrounding courtyard from the front door, which was at the end of a path where the wall turned inward. I walked cautiously up to the armored door and saw a panel of sorts next to it. Before I reached out for it, I noticed what seemed to be a surveillance camera watching me from up in the corner just under the awning that extended out a ways. Or was it watching me? It was motionless in spite of those types of cameras tending to slowly swivel back and forth to maximize their field of vision. Regardless, I pressed the call button on the access panel and waited for someone to respond. "This feels like a terrible idea somehow..."

Maybe five seconds later, I got a response. A woman's voice I did not recognize spoke up through the intercom on the wall above the access panel while sounding mildly annoyed. "You are... Wait, why is... Ugh, did somepony call in to have that camera fixed yet?! I'm still not getting an image!"

I heard the distant voice of Fili-Second once again speak up. "They said they'll show up tomorrow, Mare-velous! I called them just... Wait a second! Is that Hunter calling in?"

"No idea. I can't see anything while the camera's down." My host replied before she then seemed to direct her attention to me once more. "Anyway, are you the technician we called in and just happened to show up early?"

I felt that telling a fib to one of the Power Ponies to gain access would be a bad idea. "I'm afraid not, ma'am. I'm not programmed to perform repairs on any type of surveillance systems."

"All right then..." I heard her grumble before clearing her throat. "Anyway... You are trespassing on the grounds of the Power Pony headquarters. State your business."

It was at that point I was tempted to just say goodbye and walk away. But since I had an invitation from someone who was likely one of the real Power Ponies herself, I felt it would be rude to turn her down. "I was invited to come by."

My response seemed to confuse my host. "Invited? By who? The Power Ponies only request... Huh?! Ow! Radiance, what's your problem?! OK, quit pushing!"

I heard a very brief scuffle happen on the other end of the intercom. It sounded like someone got shoved aside. Right before the shuffling sounds could end, I heard quite an elegant woman's voice speak up that sounded remarkably similar to Rarity herself. "Mare-velous, don't you recognize that voice?! Come now, you shouldn't make things hard for a friend."

I could only stand and listen, not sure of what was going on. The same voice then spoke to me in a sweetly tone of voice, "So sorry about the delay, Hunter dear. You're cleared to enter. We're all up in the lounge, so feel free to come on up. 15th floor, third door on the right."

The intercom shut off right then and was followed by a click and a clank as the door became unlocked. I just stood there a moment longer while the tone of that final voice echoed in my head. "That sounded like... Did Rarity get dragged in here without me knowing about it?"

Not wanting to delay things any further, I stepped through the door as it slid open automatically. The entryway was very tidy with a few potted plants in the corners. It felt like the entrance to a classy office building. There were a pair of doors on the sides that probably granted access to the rest of the ground floor, but I was only interested in using the elevator before me. For once, the proportioning of the room felt just right for someone of my height. I did not have to mind my head at all.

I pushed the button for the 15th floor once I was in the elevator and soon felt the gravity intensify as I began to move up. I crossed my arms and just waited while letting my thoughts roam. This was already starting to turn into an intriguing adventure, although I would feel better if I knew for certain whether someone I know was along for the ride or not. For all I knew, I was entirely on my own.

The elevator soon came to a stop while the pull of gravity became momentarily weaker. A bell chimed and the door opened to reveal a hallway. It definitely looked familiar. Like the inner halls of another tower shaped like a letter of the alphabet. "What did she say? Third door on the right?"

I turned right and walked down the hall, passing two doors before stopping at a door with a panel of sorts set in the wall next to it. Probably an emergency lock and intercom. I could already hear voices and even noise akin to some sort of video game. Nervousness set in. I was not comfortable just walking into a room full of people I did not know in the slightest. But since they were familiar with the character whose role I was stuck with, they would probably not give me any trouble.

With some hesitation, I pushed down on the handle and nudged the door open. A wall was before the door, but immediately trailed off into the rest of the lounge. I heard a large television blaring out noise from some sort of racing game and saw a pair of ponies sitting on a curving sofa that was a half circle in shape. One was a mare while the other was a colt. I recognized the colt immediately as Hum Drum since I had seen him once before in one of Spike's comic books while I almost mistook the mare for Rainbow Dash. The uniform she was wearing was entirely identical to the one Rainbow Dash had been wearing when we got sucked into the Project H pilot, but I quickly noticed that the colors of her body were not quite right. Her coat was an even lighter shade of blue to the point of being almost white and her eyes were a beautiful sky blue. Her mane and tail were of two varying shades of very pale violet. Her headdress was off and resting on the sofa beside her, letting me see her face unobstructed. Not that there was anything that thing was hiding to begin with. Hum Drum was also not wearing his mask either.

Curious if my HUD could scan their identities if their faces were not covered, I activated my visor and let it slide into place over my eyes. The HUD immediately locked onto them with a scan reticule as it accessed my databanks. It seemed to be linked to an identity archive. Much to my surprise, it came up blank for Hum Drum. However, I did get a name when it scanned Zapp and not much else. "Aurora, huh? Beautiful name..."

Zapp, or rather Aurora, seemed to be rather annoyed as she crossed her arms while her wings did the work with the controller. She then growled with a surprisingly deep and bold voice, "Delay in response again! Confound this contraption! Did Fili-Second sabotage mine with peanut butter again?"

Hum Drum glanced at her worryingly and replied, "I don't think so. I think I got it all out after the last time it happened. Maybe we just need to clean the controller socket."

Right after that, I heard what sounded like a victory fanfare as the race ended. Hum Drum looked pretty happy with his victory while Aurora just stiffly dropped her controller in utter irritation while letting out a long sigh. However, her eyes suddenly opened wide when she happened to glance in my direction. I froze as I felt I had just been caught in the act of doing something disreputable. But rather than respond with alarm or hostility, Zapp smiled wholeheartedly and waved invitingly to me. "Salutations, Sir Hunter! Any success in hunting irregulars lately?"

Hum Drum turned to look at me as well and was equally delighted to see me. "Oh, you made it! Fili-Second told us all about it! There was a big one at a construction site, right?"

While seeing a smile from Zapp was reassuring, it was Hum Drum's presence that calmed me the most. It is hard to stay nervous when a kid is happy to see you. Maybe it is my paternal instincts, but I already found myself liking the adorable little colt. I stepped into the lounge and closed the door behind me, but kept my visor down for the moment. "Uh... Yeah, it was a big one. Durable too. If Fili-Second hadn't restrained it when she did, it might've taken a long time to take it down... And wasn't that the same construction site where we took on Alpha and the Devil Gigas?"

Fili-Second then sat up out of nowhere from behind the sofa, apparently having been lounging around on it just out of my sight. Her cowl was down, leaving her head completely exposed. My HUD quickly scanned her and almost snickered at how her name was just flirting with a copyright infringement lawsuit. Marey Allen. Former Maretropolis PD. "Yeah, that construction site just can't catch a break. It's gonna take forever to finish that project if they have to keep cleaning up the messes those bonkers bots keep making!"

I rolled my eyes a bit, indeed wondering just how frustrating it must be for that company. But I then looked down at Fili-Second and asked, "Well... Uh... What should I call you while you're off duty up here? Is it Fili-Second or Marey?"

Fili-Second shrugged her shoulders and held out her hoof to me. "Meh, forget about keeping our names a secret when you're in our place up here. Marey Allen! Pleased to meet ya! First time up here, right?"

I could not help but smile at her hospitality and shook her hoof before turning my gaze to Zapp. She bowed surprisingly elegantly and spoke with her noticeable knightly flair, "Aurora. It is an honor."

"It's a pleasure. Anyway, where's the rest of the..." I started to ask in reply before I paused upon noticing a golden rope float by my face while clutching a soda can in a lasso. "Team?"

"Thanks, Mare-velous!" Fili-Second said in gratitude while the can was released and dropped onto her upturned hoof. She then reached over the top with her hoof and snagged the pull tab on it, opening the beverage with a click. I then turned my head to look in the direction the rope came from and found my answer. Three of the remaining members of the Power Ponies were at the other end of the lounge in what seemed to be a kitchen of sorts while seated around an island table.

"Over here, Hunter! We're not hard to miss." That succulently sweet voice I had heard at the entrance spoke from who was easily the most stunning mare in the room. I recognized her as Radiance immediately, her appearance being all but identical to Rarity. The only difference in their costumes was that instead of the many gemstone decorations on her outfit and in her mane and tail being those of Rarity's four-sided diamond cutie mark, they were instead a more traditional five-sided gemstone design. The mask over her face had been removed, allowing me to get a good look at her yellow face and emerald green eyes. Her beautifully curled mane was a shade of violet. My visor locked onto her face and immediately got an identity confirmation. Green Gardener, Maretropolis Zeppelin Corps. I was rather unimpressed with such an uninspiring name for such a beauty queen, but I was not going to inquire about it as I walked towards them. Who decided on their names anyway?

"Heard you took down a big one over at the add-on under construction at the Maretropolis Trade Center. Nopony got hurt, right?" A more stoic tone of voice then asked, forcing me to direct my gaze towards the form of Mistress Mare-velous as she snacked on a salad. Her outfit was entirely identical to the one Applejack had worn the last time I saw it, but the yellow apple patches on the front of her boots had been replaced with crescent moon shapes. The cowl that covered the top of her head and most of her muzzle had been pulled down to reveal her entire face, her coat being a light yet pale tan color and her eyes bringing to mind the color of dark caramel. Her mane and tail were an especially surprisingly muted shade of blue, maybe navy blue. The biggest surprise of all came when my HUD scanned her. I was hardly surprised to see that someone as young as Hum Drum was not in my databanks. Kids tend to not be registered unless they draw all kinds of the wrong attention. But I did not find anything on Mare-velous. Nothing at all.

"I'm pretty sure there were no casualties, Mare-velous. Fili-Second already told us that nopony needed to be hospitalized." The mare I recognized as Masked Matter-Horn then said nearby while she seemed to be accessing a large screen across from the table that seemed to be displaying a map of the city. Her uniform was identical to Twilight Sparkle's, although the patches on the front of her hooves lacked the six-pointed star of Twilight's cutie mark and instead had those pointed rock spire designs on them I had seen on the design when my HUD was showing me data on the Power Ponies during my approach over the bay last time around. Her color scheme was all cut from roughly the same side of the spectrum. Her coat was pink, her mane and tail were orchid, and her eyes were a shade of purple. She was without her skullcap and goggles though, so I got a good look at her face when she left the monitor and came back to the table. My HUD got a match immediately. Trot Summers. Graduate of Professor Celestia's School for Gifted Youth... Wait, what? I thought Celestia was still the ruler of Equestria even in this alternate universe. Does she also run a private school?

I looked back and forth at the three mares at the table, somewhat at a loss of what to say. I had never actually met them before, yet they all looked at me with inviting expressions as if they were welcoming a friend into their home. Mare-velous' smile was a bit more subdued, but probably because she is one of the more serious members of the team. Trying to find a way to break the ice, I decided to ask a question. "How long...has it been since that night when we first met?"

Trot provided a response while her smile was replaced with a disheartened frown which was then replaced a moment later by a more relieved smile. "That was roughly a year ago by this point. You were out of commission for six months. We were wondering if we'd ever see you again, but you caught us by surprise when you showed up to provide emergency assistance when Long-Face took hostages while raiding the city's water plant. You've been a big help on and off ever since."

My thoughts immediately went back to that black and white mime with blank red eyes. I cringed almost, having not thought about that guy in months. "Yeah... He's creepy. What's up with that guy lately? Things been quiet?"

Mare-velous had her rope set its fork down while she paused in eating. She looked noticeably bothered. "Well, he's out of prison. He and the rest of the Maretropolis Big Six staged another jailbreak about three weeks back. But instead of running riot, they've been staying under the radar. And it's got me worried. The last time, they got the drop on us. This time... Who knows what they're up to?"

Sounded like something that was relevant to the plot of the current issue I was in. My assumption was that the Power Ponies and I would have to deal with them at some point. But while I thought about this, my eyes scanned the three mares before me along with the two mares and colt behind me. It felt like someone was missing. "Uh... How many are there of you again? Six or seven?"

Trot Summers gave me a bit of an amused smiled before she said, "Data banks acting up? Hold on, she's right here." She then leaned over the side of the island table while looking down at someone who was out of sight. "Hey, Spruce. Get up here. We have a guest."

"We do?" A new voice spoke up before someone peeked over the top of the table in a most adorable fashion. An unmasked pegasus mare I did not recognize in the slightest looked at me with expressive golden eyes. My HUD promptly found a match as it scanned her. Spruce Spanner. Veterinarian, Sparkle Labs. Now knowing the names of the entire team, or at least those who names were in my data banks, I deactivated my visor and allowed it to retract back into my helmet. The mare before me seemed all too happy to see me and went airborne to hover above the table. Indeed, I was seeing none other than Saddle Rager. The eye mask that normally sat upon her face was gone and I was quick to notice the butterfly brooches upon her wrists and sash had been replaced with flower designs instead. Her outward appearance was radically different from Fluttershy. Along with her coat being a shade of pale brown, her mane and tail was styled into beautiful long flowing brunette locks. For someone who was known for being the furious muscle of the Power Ponies, Saddle Rager is certainly a beautiful and very friendly mare in her own right. "It's been a while! This is your first time in the HQ, right? Can I get you anything?"

While definitely not quite as timid, shy, or soft-spoken as Fluttershy, Spruce was every bit as sweet as her and very eager to please. I found myself liking her right away. "Uh... I'm good right now. Although... Now that I'm paying attention, something smells sweet. Are those cookies?"

Spruce set herself down on the side of the kitchen island while still keeping her head up to look at me. "Oh, I was just checking on the cookies I was baking. Speaking of which..." She then ducked out of sight for five seconds before lifting her head up with a metal tray lined with two dozen chocolate chip cookies and set it on the table while holding a potholder in her mouth. "They're done!"

"Let me help you with that, Spruce." Radiance added while using her magic to lift the cookies off the tray and let them on a circular plate nearby. Her magic aura was a vibrant pink, roughly the same shade as the many diamond decorations all over her. Whether or not that was the result of her enchanted bracelets, I cannot say. "Cookies are done! Who's hungry?"

Fili-Second, Hum Drum, and Zapp all looked our way with enticed grins and looks of hunger. Spruce Spanner then took the plate in her hoof and started passing them around while hovering through the air. She started with her friends at the table before holding the plate out to me. "Want one, Hunter?"

"Please... Wait..." I replied with a smile only to stop while reaching for one. It took a couple of seconds, but I soon remembered an unfortunate design flaw that comes with being entirely mechanical. "Wait, that's right. No stomach. I can't eat that stuff."

"Oh... I guess that's true for robots... I really need to figure out how to make treats that are machine-friendly." Spruce then said with a look of disappointment. It was a shame. I could tell she really wanted me to try her cookies for the first time.

"Sounds good. Just don't feed me any battery biscuits, if you can help it." I said in an attempt to be humorous, although lord knows she would never get that reference.

Spruce then flew over to the rest of the lounge to pass around the cookies to the rest of her teammates. But while I watched, I heard the refrigerator open and looked to see Mare-velous' rope reach into it and float back out with a familiar sturdy blue drink can in its grasp. She then looked at me and said, "Sorry you can't enjoy cookies like we do. Try this instead. We've been keeping these around just in case you ever stopped by. That scuffle with that rogue mech at the construction site must've worn you out a bit anyway."

I took the icy cold drink can in hand and quickly opened it with a pull of the tab. I recognized it immediately. The same kind of liquid energy booster that I tried during the Project H pilot. "You know what I like. Thanks." I then took a long gulp of it, my body being briefly surrounded by a glowing green outline. "Mm, just as refreshing as the last time."

Right after that, I left the table and lounged around on the sofa on the other side of the lounge while just observing the seven Power Ponies interacting with each other. In all honesty... Even though I had never seen them before, it felt so similar to watching my own circle of friends interacting. Trot was the brains of the team, Marey was the goofy wisecracker, Radiance was the elegant mare of class, Spruce was the patient and gentle sweetheart, and so on. Granted, they were not a perfect imitation of my own friends, but the atmosphere was very similar to the occasional get-togethers I have had with them. I know Spike said that the Power Ponies strongly disliked each other at one time, but you would never know that by looking at them now. They truly were getting along quite well to the point where it was a pleasure just watching and listening to them.

I turned my head until I was looking at Mistress Mare-velous, who was seated right next to me. My thoughts went back to when I first scanned her. No background whatsoever. Knowing that Mistress Mare-velous is a bit of a mouthful to say repeatedly. At the instant her chat with Radiance ended, I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. "So, uh... What exactly should I call you?"

She did not seem to understand my question. "Huh? Just call me Mistress Mare-velous. Or even just Mare-velous. Everypony else does."

"No, I mean your actual name." I retorted before I extended my hand towards the rest of the team. "Marey Allen. Trot Summers. Spruce Spanner. They all have real names, but what do I call you? I have nothing in my database to go by."

She was surprisingly stoic with her response while leaning back her head and resting it on the top of the sofa. "That's classified. Anypony who happens to depart from the hidden city of Alfalfis are sworn to keep their identities secret."

I slouched forward in my seat while feeling absolutely exasperated at the reveal of her land of origin. That name... It seemed to be a spin on the name of a legendary lost continent in myth from my own home. "You're kidding... You hail from a legendary lost city steeped in myth...and its name is derived from the alfalfa crop, of all things?"

"Don't ask, because I don't know! I didn't name the place!" Mare-velous retorted loudly while looking noticeably embarrassed. Perhaps she had not once considered what the name of her home was similar to. "Look, just call me by my alias. It works for me."

Trying to be at least a little humorous, I gave her a snide stare. "I'm not calling you 'Mistress', all right?"

Much to my surprise, Radiance spoke up next while looking past Mistress Mare-velous. "He most certainly is not! Besides, he already has one!"

"Whoa, TMI! I don't need to know what you and Hunter have been up to Saturday nights the past month!" Mare-velous retorted while looking rather unnerved. Why? Something happened an issue or two ago that I was not aware of?

Radiance struggled to suppress a laugh, but Trot then looked at us from over yonder. "Come to think of it, what really is your name? You can trust us to keep it secret, if that's what you really want."

The rest of the team were all eyeing Mistress Mare-velous while she started to look increasingly annoyed as she tried to just lounge on the couch. "It's got nothing to do with trust! It's personal policy, all right?! Just call me whatever you want!"

Taking her up on her offer, I immediately came up with a name I could use for her while smirking slyly. "OK, sorry. That good enough for you, Horseshoe Cuddletrousers?"

The look on her face when she looked at me. It was a struggle for me to not laugh. It seemed to be a bizarre fusion of irritation, shock, and utter bewilderment. The rest of the Power Ponies were not able to hide their amusement so easily. They all burst into raucous laughter while Mistress Mare-velous buried her face in her hooves and groveled in mumbling annoyance. Fili-Second then called out, "What's gotten into you today, Hunter?! You're usually not this much of a riot!"

"What?! I've gotta call her something, right?!" I replied while just holding out my arms. They all just continued to laugh while I heard Mare-velous grumbling about apparently considering revealing her name to the rest of the team at some point.

After the laughter died down and Mare-velous regained some semblance of her composure, she hopped down from the sofa and approached the other side of it. "Spruce! Switch places with me!"

"Uh... OK?" Spruce retorted without much of an argument. The two mares passed each other and took each other's place. I looked down at the unmasked Saddle Rager while she glanced up at me in mild shyness. "Uh... Hello, Hunter."

She was just so adorable. It was hard for me to decide if she was just as attractive as Fluttershy herself. She was very beautiful, even if Radiance was generally more...well...radiant. "You know, you just might be the cutest member of the Power Ponies."

My praise did not go unappreciated. With a noticeable blush on her face, Spruce Spanner averted her gaze momentarily while smiling nervously. "Oh dear... That's very sweet of you, Hunter. But I bet I'm not all that cute when I'm angry."

My thoughts went back to the first time I saw Fluttershy access Saddle Rager's superpower. That wrathful hulking beast. I tried to picture Spruce in such a state. Whatever image did come into mind was not a pretty one. "Heh... Yeah, that's true. The sweetest and prettiest mares tend to be the scariest when they get mad. Probably because no one expects it."

"Well, you don't have to worry about me getting angry at you. You've always been a good friend to us, Hunter." Spruce replied while she gently leaned against me. I gently draped my hand over her shoulder, rubbing it in the same way I would with Fluttershy. She then asked, "Say... If it's not too much trouble, may we cuddle while we have a moment?"

"It's no trouble at all." I said while reaching out with my arm and holding her against me. My other hand began to drag my fingers through her lovely mane and repeatedly dragged my fingertips across her scalp. "Is that OK?"

"Mmhm... For having a body of metal, you have a very soft touch." Spruce replied quietly. For being someone known for her raw might and frightful rage, the real Saddle Rager is quite a sweet and cuddly mare under the mask.

After a couple of minutes, the two of us were interrupted when Hum Drum bounded up onto the seat beside me. On his upturned hoof was the last chocolate cookie. "I saved a cookie for you, Hunter! You wanna try it? Spruce is really good at baking."

"Well, I can't really..." I started to reply before getting cut off by the colt shoving the cookie right into my mouth. Much to my surprise, I could taste it! "Mmm! Didn't think I could actually taste that! It really is good!"

However, Spruce looked rather concerned. She glanced up at me with a worried gaze and asked, "Um... Are you sure you can honestly eat that?"

"You know, I was wondering that too! But I think I can actually... Huh? Wait..." I spoke while chewing the cookie thoroughly. However, when I tried to swallow, I found I simply could not. And I felt no moisture in my mouth at all, giving me the uncomfortable feeling of stuffing my mouth full of dry food. I was quickly reminded of my mechanical body's limitations. "I can't swallow!"

"Can't?! Allow me!" Zapp shouted before she swooped over to me and grabbed me from behind before pulling me up to a standing position. Her arms were wrapped around the softer material right at my midsection. "The Heimlich maneuver should suffice! One... Two..."

Before I could object, she started giving me very sudden and firm squeezes while hoisting me up with each go. I suppose she mistook my claims of being unable to swallow as being the same as saying I was unable to breath. "Hey, you... Oof! I can still... Ugh! Aurora, knock it off! I don't even have lungs to breath with! I just said I can't swallow this stuff! See?"

I stuck out my tongue, revealing the completely dry and messy crumbs the cookie had been reduced to. The rest of the Power Ponies did not seem to like the sight of the remains of my snack, looking understandably revolted by it and my messy dry mouth. Radiance then explained, "Hum Drum, dear... Robots do not possess a digestive system of any sort. They cannot consume normal foods. Please refrain from feeding our friend here anything that is not composed of liquid energy."

The embarrassed little colt beside me could only sum up his embarrassment with one word as he scratched his head. "Oops..."

With a sigh, Trot Summers called me over to the kitchen area. Especially the spot by the kitchen sink. "Over here, Hunter. I'll get you cleaned up."

"Thanks, Trot." I retorted with my voice emitter functioning uninhibited by my partially obstructed mouth before walking over to join her. I kneeled by the sink and stuck my head over it in an attempt to spit out the cookie crumbles, but the lack of lungs prevented me from doing so. "Well, how am I supposed... Hey!"

Before I even knew what she was doing, Trot went to work with a spoon and started digging the contents of my mouth out and into the sink while letting the water wash it all down the drain. It was quite humiliating, having someone dig food out of my mouth like a brain-dead mental patient who cannot even feed themselves anymore. But even after that, I still was not done. "OK. Lie on the counter and get your mouth under the faucet."

I knew where this was going. While the bulk of my mouth's contents had been removed, there were still remnants of chocolate chips and buttery grease along with tiny crumbs lining my mouth and teeth. I did as I was told, climbing onto the counter and tilting my head back over the sink with my mouth open. My helmet's stabilizer fins would only allow me to do so much, but there was just enough room. I also tilted my head to the side in hopes of preventing anything from getting up my nose. It was like I was getting my own dental checkup.

"OK, now just hold still." Trot said while pouring some liquid soap into my mouth. I tried to not mind the taste, although the smell was pleasant. To be fair, I have tasted worse. She then soaked down a dish sponge on a stick and then pushed it into my mouth, leading to a very bizarre experience as I felt like a toilet getting a clog removed. "Heh! Haven't played dentist since I was a filly. And here I thought robots never needed to see a dentist! You don't mind me scrubbing your titanium teeth, do you?"

She pulled the sponge out just a second later, allowing me to talk while she adjusted the location of the faucet. "I guess you can, but I don't see the point. I'm pretty sure the only thing that can give me cavities is dynamite."

Without missing a beat, she lifted the lever and turned the water on, letting the flowing water directly wash my mouth out. While hot, I felt no pain and the water even failed to flow down my throat. A moment later, Trot shut the water off. While there was lingering moisture in my mouth that would eventually dry, I felt much cleaner and the taste of soap was entirely gone. "Phew! Much better! Good thing I'm waterproof."

While I sat up on the counter, I noticed Hum Drum glance at a clock on the wall. "Hey! It's almost time for the show!"

I watched the adorable colt cycle start cycling through channels on the TV screen while tapping buttons on the remote. The entire group of the Power Ponies hurried to the sofa and spread themselves out on it in clear gleeful anticipation. Curious of what could have them so excited, I stood up and leaned over the back of the sofa and looked down at Mistress Mare-velous. "Your favorite show on soon or something?"

She looked up at me with a pleasant smile. "It's something we make a point to watch at least once a week. Keeps us in touch with how friendship works."

Aurora then looked my way and added, "Hum Drum introduced us to it. A charming theatric that revels in and educates us with the magic of friendship."

That sounded familiar. I quickly put two and two together and quickly came to the conclusion that it was the same show my friends and I watched while taking a breather in that break room down in the city's utility tunnels. "Oh, that one. Yeah, it is pretty good."

Just as Hum Drum got the channel to where he wanted it, Radiance hopped over the back of the sofa and practically jumped on my back, hooking her hooves over my shoulder plates. "Actually, Hunter... I've already seen this episode. Shall I show you around instead since this is your first time here?"

Since I had no prior knowledge of the headquarters' layout, I was rather curious of what there was to see. The rest of the team were already giving their undivided attention to the screen, so they probably would not mind us stepping outside. "Uh... Sure. I'm game. Lead on."

We left the room without incident and found ourselves walking down the hall and passing the elevator. Radiance proceeded to indulge me in conversation while I followed her. "I must say it's a joy to finally have you here, Hunter. We've hardly had time to spend together outside of providing each other assistance in our duties. Although I have genuinely enjoyed the few nights you and I have spent together."

I played along and acted like I knew what she was talking about to avoid seeming off about something. "Yeah, I guess our schedules don't mesh very well sometimes. Those mavericks are pretty inconsistent in their attacks."

"Mavericks? I thought they are called irregulars in some circles." Radiance then asked while glancing over her shoulder at me.

I rolled my eyes, mildly annoyed that a proper universal name for these rogue machines had not been decided upon. "Irregular, maverick, potato, potato. Whatever floats your boat."

That little wordplay got a brief chuckle out of my host. "My word, you certainly are not this amusing most of the time. Did the good doctor include a wittiness chip in your most recent upgrade?"

"Uh... No idea. Anyway, where are we heading?" I asked in return while trying to change the subject. I honestly have no idea how Project H even acts, but he sounds like a nice enough guy if the Power Ponies get along with him enough to openly invite him to visit their home.

"Right...here!" Radiance then said while we stopped before a sliding door along the hallway's wall. It had a panel by it that Radiance tapped with just the tip of her hoof. A faint beep was heard before the door slid open. "Step inside, my dear. Welcome to my humble abode."

I paid no heed to the implications of her tender words and peeked into the room. It must have been her private chambers and it definitely looked like something Rarity herself would have. I stepped inside, feeling as if I was standing in a luxury suite in a five-star hotel. It was fairly spacious and included an equally elegant bathroom. I really do not know how else to describe it. It was a luxury hotel room along with some home necessities. I noticed bits of jewelry on a dresser, a pile of fashion magazines on shelf with Radiance herself in costume on the covers, and so forth. Even her costume's eye mask was resting on the dresser. "You have expensive taste... Where do you girls even get the funds to maintain this place anyway?"

With a rather sheepish smile, Radiance provided me a rather straightforward response. "Taxpayers' money."

"Touché." I retorted before looking around the place. Glancing back at her again, I remembered her real name. "Your name is Green Gardener, right? It...doesn't seem to suit you as much as your alias, if I'm to be honest."

She did not seem to be all that fond of her name, but rolled her eyes in sarcastic amusement while she spoke to me. "You want to know how I got that name when the only thing green about me are my eyes? Papa was colorblind. Simple as that."

That got a snicker out of me out of me while I reached for the handle of the only closed door in the room. "Oh my... Well, that yellow hue of your coat goes very well with your indigo mane. So you really are quite radiant. And Radiance does sound more catching than Green Gardener."

"Hehee, it certainly does. That's why I prefer to model in costume. How many issues will sell when a 'Green Gardener' is the cover model instead of Radiance? And please, do look inside." She replied with a delighted smile.

I did as she requested and took a peek inside while flipping the light switch. Before I could even turn the lights on, my olfactory sensors detected the scent of metals like copper. When the lights came on, I was greeted by a sight that greatly contrasted the elegance of the rest of Radiance's quarters. It seemed to be a type of workshop with metal contraptions and components lying about on a workbench and many wooden shelves. I looked back at Radiance and asked, "You work with machines?"

She hopped up onto her bed without looking away from me and lied down upon it as she patted one end for me to sit down on it. "I was a zeppelin pilot before I took up these spectacular bracelets as Maretropolis' knight in shining accessories. So I'm quite fluent in the workings of motors and engines. And I've even been tinkering in robotics lately to help myself and the rest of the team keep up with this growing mechanical threat in the city. In fact, the good doctor even provided us with the means to convert one of our vacant rooms into a maintenance bay. So, if you ever get banged up while out on patrol, you can just stop on by and I'll fix you up myself! Convenient, no?"

Not something I ever would have expected from such a glamorous mare. As beautiful and elegant as she is, Radiance certainly does not mind getting her hooves dirty in the right situation. Then again, it does give her the excuse to indulge in a hot bath afterwards. "Luminous set you up with the means to repair me? Nice."

I finally took a seat on the edge of the bed, but I was quick to notice Radiance holding her head up on the tips of her hooves while giving me quite an enamored stare. That got me thinking. Why did she lure me away from the rest of the team? "Hey... What are we doing here alone like this anyway?"

The lovely Radiance giggled sweetly before she pushed herself backward off the bed and onto her feet. "Well, you and I have reached first and second base so far. I was thinking this would be a prime opportunity to push things...a little further."

I have to say I am it was really sad in hindsight that I really did not get those terms she was using right away. "OK? I guess I'm game."

My host smirked rather slyly while she seemed to reach under her bed. I thought I heard a pair of clips come undone while it sounded like she was opening a chest. Out of nowhere, something flew through the air towards me and into my hands. I cringed as I realized what I was holding. It was clearly a dildo in the shape of a stallion's... Why do I even need to write what it is? You know what dildos are! Actually, it was not quite a dildo. Closer inspection revealed some belt-like straps. It was a strap-on. But rather than be bothered by what I was seeing, I was momentarily irritated for an entirely separate reason. "Oh... Gee. Thanks for reminding me of what I don't have right now... Wait a second. You use these?!"

"Ohohoho of course not, darling! Heavens, no!" She replied with quite an amused laugh before pulling herself up to the bed and turning her back to me. But she then provided the true answer while looking over her shoulder at me with a hint of lust in those beautiful emerald eyes. "That's for YOU to wear."

I instantly tensed up as my visor suddenly lowered over my eyes, probably in reaction to me suddenly feeling incredibly uneasy. I could not move as I realized what kind of a trap I had just walked into. All sorts of words warning me of a bad situation were popping up all over my HUD like pop-ups on a computer monitor, my mind screaming panicked obscenities I dare not write here. What was I going to do? What was I going to tell Fluttershy?! I watched in unblinking dread as Radiance's magic aura gripped a zipper at the base of the back of her neck, slowly trailing it down towards her hips while she gave me a most teasing smile and stare. The instant that zipper reached the bottom, I would be greeted by the scandalous sight of whatever was between her curvy hindquarters. However, just as the zipper almost reached the base of her tail, we were both startled by the sound of some sort of alarm blaring from a speaker set into the ceiling I had not noticed.

"Oh, what a killjoy! Why now?! We were just getting started!" Radiance groaned as she begrudgingly snatched the strap-on out of my hands, zipped her suit back up, and stashed the toy back where she had gotten it from. Me? I was counting my blessings for having just narrowly avoided such a fate. I then watched as Radiance snatched up her mask and set it over her eyes. She then trotted over to me with a very apologetic smile and placed a quick kiss upon my lips. "I am oh so sorry we got interrupted like this, my love. I'll make it up to you another time. But for now, duty calls!"

"Oh god, now I know what it was like for Koga when I wrote that scene back then..." I grumbled to myself as I watched in otherwise relieved silence as my unknowing potential rapist galloped out of the room and left me alone. While my visor retracted back into my helmet, I suddenly had a thought. I then held up one hand and extended my fingers one at a time while speaking aloud five names. "Celestia. Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash. Twilight Sparkle. And now Radiance? Good god, what is the deal with me spending such quality time with some of the hottest mares around today?!"

Somewhat confused, I climbed to my feet. However, I then froze as I thought back to what had just transpired just moments ago along with memories of the most recent Nightmare Night festival. "Wait... Radiance and Project H are in a... Bwahahahaha! Oh my god, Sweetie Belle! You totally called it!"

I managed to compose myself and ran out of Radiance's room and back down the hall to the lounge where the rest of the team was likely gathering. Sure enough, I found the team gathering around the monitor that was in the corner near the kitchen, every last one of them fully suited up and ready for action. I approached in curiosity as the monitor display a grid-based map of the city, three blinking dots revealing what was likely trouble. But as I drew near, I glanced up at a large flashing red beacon in the upper wall. What caught my eye was the label set next to it. I immediately scowled at it, finding it to be too cheesy to laugh at. I then glanced at Zapp, who was hovering in the air next to me, and asked, "Really? General Badness Alarm?"

Zapp could only sheepishly rub her head in clear embarrassment. "We granted Hum Drum the honor of labeling it. Perhaps the time draws near for a revision..."

I merely snorted while I shook my head. I then stepped closer to see what the deal was. "Well, anyway... What's up?"

"Trouble in three sectors, it seems." Masked Matter-Horn replied while she pressed a few buttons on the monitor's control panel to zoom in. "Seems like there's a disturbance at the harbor... Another break-in at Sparkle Labs... And there's trouble in the...local arcade, of all places."

"Looks like we'll have to split up for this one. I'm game for whichever location." Mistress Mare-velous spoke up while her golden rope twitched in its harness on her back.

Radiance then took a closer look at the map before turning to Masked Matter-Horn. "Well, I don't have any suggestions. What do you suggest?"

Saddle Rager then stepped forward. "I can handle Sparkle Labs. I used to work there, so I'm familiar with the layout."

Matter-Horn nodded and turned to face the team. "All right. We will be spread a bit thin this time, but we've handled worse. Zapp and Fili-Second, you take the harbor. Mistress Mare-velous and Radiance. You go with Saddle Rager to Sparkle Labs. Hum Drum, you're with me. And..."

She then glanced up at me while Hum Drum approached her. I looked down at her and was about to ask why she was looking at me, but she then spoke with an inviting smile. "How about it, Hunter? You up to providing some assistance with me?"

"With you?! Well, sure! I'm good for... Huh? Hold on." I replied before being interrupted by a beeping sound in my head. My visor suddenly lowered over my eyes and display a grid-based map of the city, a blinking dot pointing out a very specific type of trouble in the southern sector. "Scratch that, Trot. Maverick sighting down south. I'll have to handle it."

"That's OK! We can handle it alone, right?" Hum Drum then asked enthusiastically while looking up at the team leader.

With a disappointed and concerned frown, Masked Matter-Horn shook her head. "On second thought... You stay here, Hum Drum. If something goes wrong, I won't be able to protect you on my own. Instead, stay here and provide radio assistance to Hunter. You know the frequency to contact him, right?"

"Well... Sure. I can be his spotter today." Hum Drum said with a bit of a disappointed frown. He then approached the main control panel and started fiddling with its controls. As he did, one of the large window panels across the room opened outward and into the city.

Masked Matter-Horn then turned to the rest of the team. "We have trouble to stop. We know our destinations, so let's move out. Power Ponies, go!"

I watched as the team rushed for the window. Fili-Second zipped towards it in a blur of white, purple, and orange while Zapp swooped out into the city at speeds that would make Rainbow Dash proud. Saddle Rager flew off in another direction while Radiance quickly conjured up a trio of compact pink biplanes that she, Masked Matter-Horn, and Mistress Mare-velous promptly boarded. Radiance and Mare-velous followed Saddle Rager while Masked Matter-Horn flew off in another direction. In all that commotion, I forgot I had business to take care of myself. At least until Hum Drum called out to me. "What're you waiting for?! You've got some rogue machines to take out, right?"

"Uh... Right! On my way!" I retorted before running to the window. I stopped and braced myself as my flight thrusters folded open and began to flare up. I soon rocketed outside and took off across Maretropolis, my HUD guiding me to the area of the maverick sighting.

I flew along quickly, staying above the skyscrapers while keeping an eye on the map in the corner of my visor. I was heading in the right direction and was about to mutter something to myself, but was startled when I heard a voice speak up in my head. "Hum Drum here! How's the weather?"

"Huh?! Doc?! Where have... Oh, Hum Drum! Hello! Hacked into my frequency, huh? What's up?" I spoke in response, not expecting to hear a voice over my internal receiver that was not Luminous.

"Just checking in to see if I got your frequency right. Anyway, you'll be at your destination in about ten seconds if you keep this speed up." I heard the colt wonder say while my eyes scanned the streets below me. As fast as I was flying, my optic sensors quickly took in everything I scanned. "Aaaaand they're right below you!"

I came to a quick stop above the streets and quickly detected smoke rising from below. A quick scan revealed a few burning vehicles below while a trio of rogue mechs were just smashing up or torching whatever they could get their clasps on. They seemed to be from a welding plant. "Just some mechs. This won't take long."

My flight thrusters deactivated and folded in, causing me to go into a freefall while I took a swan dive towards the trio of rampaging mechs. It seemed like no one had been directly harmed and would prevent bystanders from getting in the way. While I fell, I checked my Variable Weapon System for any tools I could use. It seemed that Luminous had carried out his promise and increased the number of weapon slots by quite a bit. Knowing I was running out of time fast, I quickly selected Shotgun Ice as my armored plating turned a shade of icy blue with traces of yellow on my softer segments. I drew the H-Saber from its holster as its hilt extended for two-handed use. As I righted myself and plunged downward, a thick ice blade was projected from the top of the hilt. And with a mighty crash, I rode that thing right down to the ground and impaled it through the largest of the three mechs. It was slammed to the ground and instantly went offline. "One down! Who's next?!"

The other two mechs turned to face me, their single optic sensors glowing red as they focused their attention on the one who had just taking down their fellow rogue machine. Rather than just let them get in a shot at me, I decided to speed things along. I swapped from Shotgun Ice to the Rocket Tackle and zipped up to each of them before dicing them up with the Hypersonic Blade technique with the H-Saber. I tried to keep the scuffle quick so I could hurry up and rendezvous with Masked Matter-Horn. While the ruined mechs fell apart in a pile of metal scrap with glowing orange molten edges, I checked my HUD's map of the city to figure out where she had gone. "OK, mission accomplished. Now where's... Oh, come on!"

Right when I said that, another blinking red blip popped up on my map to reveal the location of another maverick sighting. "Guess it's in the red today. Keep me updated, Hum Drum. This is probably going to take a while."

For the next half hour or so, I motored through the many maverick sightings of Maretropolis and made metallic mincemeat out of the masses of malfunctioning mechs my monitor mentioned. Heh, I love that little tongue twister I put there. Lots of M's. By that point, I must have put down around twenty or so mechs. Feeling a bit lost and not entirely sure where I was or where to go next, I glanced around in irritation while expecting another maverick reading to appear on my visor's map out of further contrivance for the plot. "OK, I'm done here! Anymore maverick's wanna make their presence known to me?"

The abandoned warehouse lot I had found myself in remained deathly quiet aside from the distant noise of the city. I deactivated the H-Saber as its glowing orange plasma blade vanished. "OK! I guess I'll just disarm myself! I know there aren't anymore outbreaks I need to deal with right now!"

Things were still quiet. No readings on my map either. My holster for the H-Saber's hilt opened while I lowered my weapon towards its resting place. "I'm putting my weapons away now! Surely there are no other bloodthirsty mavericks that want to ruin my busy afternoon!"

With a click, the holster closed. And nothing happened. No blips on my map. No calls from Hum Drum. Nothing. "Huh... I guess that was it... So much for... Oh, for god's sake, what is it this time?!"

I unintentionally snapped when I suddenly heard someone speaking through my internal receiver. I heard Hum Drum jump back and shout, "Sorry! But yeah, that was a lotta rogue machines you took down! Weird that they kept popping up like that as quickly as you could take them down."

"Plot contrivances. They have to fill up the time somehow." I replied, not expecting Hum Drum to understand what I was talking about at all. "Anyway, what about the rest of the team? They doing fine?"

"I guess so. They've arrived at their destinations a little while ago. I think they'll be fine. You wanna come on back? Radiance showed me how to get that tech working in the maintenance bay for you." Hum Drum then asked while the faint sounds of electronic beeps could be heard in the background.

I checked the corner of my HUD that displayed the current condition of my body. Everything was in the green and my fusion core's output gauge was still full and stable. "I don't think that'll be necessary. Those mavericks never landed a hit on me. But sure, I'll head on back. Nothing else to do right now and the rest of the team sound like they're doing fine. Maybe I'll run into something on the way back."

I started to walk back to HQ, but decided to fly the rest of the way to speed things along. Once I returned to the awkwardly designed headquarters of the Power Ponies, I began to circle the building in an attempt to figure out which window I had departed from. There were so many window panels to examine that it quickly got tedious. "Was EAC even thinking when they decided to design the place like two giant P's stuck together? What do the girls even do with all that space?!"

Hum Drum must have spotted me passing by because a large window panel opened right after I passed it. Taking it as an invitation, I flew through the open gap and found myself back in the same lounge with Hum Drum standing by the main control panel. No sign of the other Power Ponies though. I quickly set myself down as my flight thrusters powered down and folded back into my backside and my visor retracted into my helmet. "I'm back!"

"Hey there! Nice work taking down those irregulars. I've got an ice cold can ready for you in the fridge." The little cold replied while he trotted over to me, his mask still set over his eyes.

"Sounds good. Oh, and I got this for you on the way back." I then said while holding out a paper bag to him. Along the way, I had stopped by an ice cream parlor to get something for the kid. I was sure he would like it.

"For me? Really?" Hum Drum asked as he took the bag and opened it up. His eyes lit up as he lifted the takeout container from the bottom. "A banana sundae?! Thanks!"

"With fresh hot fudge too! Enjoy." I retorted while grabbing one of those energy drinks from the fridge and pulling the tab. I was quite surprised that I can access Doctor Luminous' bank account whenever I need to make a purchase. That energy drink certainly felt refreshing, even though I really did not need it. I took a seat at the kitchen island while Hum Drum got started on his little snack. "Any word back from the others?"

"Not yet. It usually takes a bit for them to handle some of these cases. And sometimes they go out for pizza afterwards." Hum Drum replied without a hint of worry in is voice. He certainly must know his teammates well.

"Sounds like they're pretty good friends. But... They weren't always like that, right?" I asked while sipping my drink. I was curious to hear this tale of the Power Ponies' past from the colt wonder himself.

Hum Drum did not seem happy to be reminded of the past. "Ugh... Like you wouldn't believe. They always worked well in the field, but they were complete jerks with each other and argued all the time when they were home! It took our greatest enemies teaming up on us and stealing their superpowers just to get them to finally listen to me. You know something's messed up when the villains are better friends than the Power Ponies."

"I can imagine... Say, what about you? How'd you get into the superhero business?" I asked while genuinely curious about Hum Drum's past. I knew better than to ask him regarding where his parents were since child superheroes tend to be orphans by default.

I watched as the colt put his spoon down for a moment while he looked at me. "It's because of Mistress Mare-velous. I sometimes got in trouble while in the city and she was always the one who rescued me. After a while, I asked her if I could help her in any way. I guess she got a soft spot for me after a while since she let me tag along. So I became Hum Drum, her sidekick. She taught me a bunch of stuff like how to rappel down walls with a grappling rope and stuff like that. And it was just us for a while until Mask Matter-Horn asked us and the other superheroes of Maretropolis if we could join together to make a superhero team. I don't think they agreed to it because they liked each other though. I think they were OK with it because they did better in teams."

For some reason, I was not really surprised to hear that Hum Drum had known Mistress Mare-velous longer than the others. At the same time, I eyed the child for a moment while contemplating whether or not to ask him his real name. After a moment of consideration, I decided against it. While I was having a good time for the most part in this fictional world, I did not want to get too attached to characters I would probably never see again after the end of the day.

Once Hum Drum had finished his snack he quickly bounded over to the entertainment lounge and powered on the TV and the video game console. "Hey, you wanna play some E-Zero while we wait for everypony to get back?"

That title caught my ear. "E-Zer... If that's what I think it is, you're gonna have a hard time besting me. I'm an old pro!"

For the next few hours or so, it was just me and Hum Drum. We played games, watched recorded episodes of his favorite cartoon to bond a little, talked about the Power Ponies' storied history, and reminisced about our joint operations. The only one I could actually remember was the events of the pilot, so I had to pretend that I was having 'memory bank issues' to get Hum Drum to recount all the other events for me.

Hours went by. Before we even knew it, the sun had set. And still no sign of the Power Ponies. After powering down the game console and turning the TV off, I reclined on the sofa while glancing at my new little friend. "Hey... They're still not back. Do they tend to stay out this late?"

"Not when there's nothing to do... This is getting weird." Hum Drum replied while sounding noticeably concerned. I know he must be used to sticking with the entire team at all times, so he was likely getting restless being left behind with nothing to do.

Right as I was about to help myself to another drink to pass the time, we both froze upon hearing a beep come from the main control panel. It seemed to an instant message of sorts. I approached the device's interface and used the integrated touch pad to move the mouse cursor. "Seems we've got a message on...EOL? Really?"

"Yeah, we really need to update to a more modern program. Anyway, who's it from?" Hum Drum asked while trotting over to the computer panel.

"Um... I..." I got down on one knee so I would have an easier time using the device since the control panel was close to the ground. I eyed the screen as I brought up the program, finding the username of the invite to be a jumbled mess of letters, numbers, and symbols. A simple yet brilliant way to remain anonymous. "I have no idea. I think it's just a prank. Let's see what they sent."

I clicked on the name and opened the conversation. The question was simple and direct. "Is this Hum Drum?"

The two of us said nothing while we looked at each other in silence. I suppose it would not be a surprise that someone would know how to contact the Power Ponies via instant messenger, but it was almost unsettling that whoever this person was specifically asked for Hum Drum instead of asking for the Power Ponies in general. Hum Drum stepped forward and tapped his hooves along the buttons. "Yes, I'm here. Can I help you?"

The mysterious contact quickly provided a response as another line of text popped up in the window. "Call Project H."

A scowl slowly set in on my face. I was already starting to suspect what was going on. The reason the Power Ponies had not returned to HQ was likely because they had been lured into a trap and were now likely being held hostage in an attempt to draw me out. Was it the work of Alpha? Was he ready to step back into the spotlight? Regardless of who this person was, I tapped away to provide a written response. "This is he. What do you want?"

We got a response in mere seconds. "You are invited."

Hum Drum and I stared at the screen as a subtle tension descended upon the room. Bit by bit, more and more lines of text began to pop up on the window. "Come to the hockey arena. Enter through the south utility entrance. Come alone."

Just as I was about to stand up, one last line of text popped up to reveal that I was not speaking to just one person. "We are expecting you."

Right after that, the nameless contact signed out. I let out a sigh while rising to my feet. "Great... A hostage situation and an invitation for me to walk into a trap. You think it's Alpha again?"

"I don't know... But I don't like this. You think whoever that was kidnapped the rest of the team?" Hum Drum then asked while he started to bring up a map grid of the city to try to pinpoint the exact location of where I was told to go.

I looked at the map, having no idea where anything was. "It's pretty obvious by this point. Whoever set up those crime scenes were probably in cahoots with each other and were trying to spread the team thin so they'd be easy to capture. But I doubt simple robots would be able to pull this off. Especially not mavericks with their blind drive to do nothing but cause destruction..."

Hum Drum fell silent. I glanced over at him while he looked noticeably worried. I suspect he knew who was likely behind it, but was hopeful that it was not what he thought it was. He then looked at me and said, "Well... I guess you better get going. No telling what might happen if you don't show up..."

I walked up to the kid and patted him on the head. I could tell he wanted to come and help out, but there was no telling what was lying in wait for us and I had been specifically warned to arrive alone. I patted the colt on the head and tried to smile. "You heard them. This is my fight. Besides, I need someone to serve as my eyes and ears. You wanna be my spotter, Hum Drum?"

The adorable little colt looked up at me and cracked a smile too. "Yeah... Yeah! I know plenty about Maretropolis! I'll get you where you need to go. Just get going and I'll be in touch."

"Gotcha, kid. I'll keep my receiver open." I replied before walking to the window panel leading out into the city. With a press of a button, Hum Drum got the window open for me. With my flight thrusters flaring up and my visor closed over my eyes, I launched myself out of the headquarters and took off over the darkened city.

I flew aimlessly for a minute while observing just how much more illuminated Maretropolis was compared to the first time I saw it. Last time, it was in the middle of an evacuation, but now it was just typical city nightlife. Hoping Hum Drum could hear me, I spoke into the tiny intercom on the inside of my helmet's plating. "So... Hum Drum? You there? Where should I go from here?"

"Yeah, I'm here. OK, head west for now and you should come to a huge mall area. The hockey rink is right under it." I heard Hum Drum's voice respond inside my head. Checking the map on my HUD, I adjusted my flight path until I was heading west. Sure enough, a large shopping mall soon came up on the horizon with empty parking lots. I noticed a blip come up on the map display as it zoomed in, showing the mall itself. Right outside of the building, an access point was detected.

"You see those stairs going down past ground level at the side there? That leads to the locker rooms and offices of the hockey arena. Go there." Hum Drum confirmed over the transmission. I landed right outside the edge of the vast parking lot and walked along the edge of the building's perimeter. There was no one around to be seen aside from the odd passing vehicle and the entire mall was closed for the night. I carefully descended the narrow concrete stairwell until I reached the bottom and found a single door. A quick touch of the handle revealed that it was indeed unlocked. "It's open? Somepony really is in there right now..."

"Yeah... And I don't like it." I muttered in return while slipping into the room and closing the door behind me. I was instantly plunged into complete darkness and silence. My optic sensors adjusted and began to render my vision in the ultraviolet spectrum for night vision. I was in a hallway that passed a number of offices. No sign of anything out of the ordinary, but I was hesitant to turn the lights on. I needed to maintain a stealthy approach for now. Speaking of which, I was quick to notice that my armor's default white coloration stood out too much in the dark. I would need to swap to a darker color to be less noticeable. I quickly checked the list of weapons assimilated into my Variable Weapon System and found the familiar icon of Boomerang Cutter. Upon selecting it, my armored form took on a familiar hue of dark purplish gray and aquamarine. "All right... Commencing mission. Keep me updated, Hum Drum."

I stepped lightly as I made my way through the vicinity. No sign of life or trouble. No traps. No signs of a struggle. I soon found my way in to a VIP lounge with a bar, but moved on and went down a short flight of stairs. Before long, Hum Drum spoke up with a noticeable amount of static in his voice. "Hey, I think I'm getting a lot of interference here... Am I coming through OK?"

"You've got a lot of static in your voice... Maybe restart the call?" I replied while forgetting that we were using an encrypted channel instead of a communication program.

"You sound pretty garbled too... I can still see what you're seeing though. Maybe we should..." And that was all I heard from Hum Drum before the connection was lost. Apparently my mysterious host had set up some sort of jammer field to interrupt wireless communications. I was on my own.

Once I reached the bottom of the stairs, I stepped out into what was clearly the locker rooms of the hockey teams. Or at least one of them. Nothing out of the ordinary and I was detecting no signs of anyone waiting in ambush in the lockers. Where else was I supposed to go?

I soon found a way out and noticed something was not right as I reset my weapon systems to their default settings, my armor returning to its pure ivory hue. The hallway leading out to the hockey rink was open and unobstructed. And up ahead, I could see that the rink itself was dimly lit by lights hanging above it. Everything else beyond was engulfed in darkness. I scowled at how obvious this path was. "This just reeks of 'boss fight approach' here... Are you seeing this, Hum Drum?"

Still no response. I could only wonder if the visual display being transmitted from my optic sensors were still being broadcast to him. I was not even able to contact Doctor Luminous by that point. With nowhere else to go and knowing all too well that this was clearly a trap, I decided to check my weapon reserves to see what I was capable of.

A quick diagnostic revealed that the shield generator on my left arm was functional and the H-Saber in my holster was online. H-Buster was fully operational. My attention was then directed to my Variable Weapon System. A list of icons came up, much more than I had ever seen before. The doctor truly followed through on his promise to increase my maximum capacity. "Let's see here... Fire Wave. Rocket Tackle. Storm Tornado. Boomerang Cutter. Homing Torpedo. Strike Chain. Shotgun Ice. Thunder Dancer... Hmm... Room for two more."

It seemed at the time the Variable Weapon System's maximum capacity had been boosted from two slots to ten. And I had already assimilated eight into my data banks. I directed my gaze to the hockey rink ahead. This was more than likely building up to be the main event of this issue's plot. Knowing that the only way I was ever going to get home was to see the plot through to the end, I began to approach my destination.

I was no longer concerned with maintaining stealth and did nothing to soften my footsteps. My clanking metal feet echoed throughout the vast blackened stadium when I stepped out onto the concrete rink. The ice was completely absent, granting me proper traction. My eyes glanced from one side of my field of vision to the other. No signs of life. No unusual sounds. I was becoming increasingly anxious. If someone was there and wanted to just take me down at that point, they would have already taken a shot at me.

Only a few steps onto the rink later, I heard a heavy slam behind me. Upon turning, I saw that the hallway I had just emerged from had slammed its doors and locked itself shut. Every other way in and out of the stadium was probably sealed too. With nowhere else to go, I proceeded onward. It was not until I was standing directly under the large hanging score box dangling over the very center of the hockey rink that I noticed something up ahead. At the very top of the rows of seats standing before the encircling wall that had doorways leading in and out of the seating area at the opposite end of the stadium I had entered from were five stationary figures shrouded by the shadows. They did and said nothing while they watched me in silence. Were they waiting for me to draw closer before announcing their presence?

Not wanting to give my hosts the pleasure of getting in the first word, I stopped right in the middle of the arena and activated my visor's infrared settings. My field of visor beyond the visor suddenly displayed in varying hues of blue and black to detect the lower temperatures of my environment. Sure enough, the five figures waiting in the shadows were displayed in vibrant orange, yellow, and green hues to show that they were warm living organisms. They were all clearly ponies of varying shapes due to their attire, but the form in the center caught my eye. Among its form was a mass of twisting and wild tendrils. I recognized the form immediately and, having decided to skip the pleasantries, raised the H-Buster and fired a quick shot right through the mass of hair just to the side of its owner's head.

All five of the mysterious equines flinched or yelped in startled surprise by my response to their presence before they could even speak to me. They remained in the shadows while I lowered my weapon and even deactivated the H-Buster while restoring my right hand. A moment later, I heard the familiar voice of a certain stallion speak up in the distance even as my visor returned to its default settings. "Uh... I think he knows we're here... You think we should just skip the taunting gloats and turn the lights on?"

The figure I had shot at let out a deranged chuckle, not sounding the least bit fazed that I had just narrowly avoided shooting her in the face. "Well, why not? No point in hiding when he can clearly see us. Hit the lights, Pharaoh."

One by one, sets of lights came on systematically. The front row seats surrounding the rink became illuminated by rows of lights, then the rows of seats closer to the back. When the final rows of lights turned on, there they were. Five colorful villains lined up in a row and eyeing me with hints of excitement and caution. I recognized all of them at once. From left to right, there stood High Heel, Pharaoh Phetlock, the Mane-iac, Long-Face, and Shadowmane.

My eyes focused directly on the Mane-iac immediately, her face and unnaturally colored eyes looking right at me with that usual stare of mad scheming. I already knew what to expect from the likes of Phetlock, High Heel, and Long-Face after that freak skirmish during Nightmare Night. And now that I was truly the mechanical Project H, they were of no danger to me. Shadowmane was likely in the same corner as them, but the Mane-iac was indeed a threat to my robotic body. She could probably tell I was looking right at her while my eyes narrowed in caution since she then called out, "Welcome, Hunter! I haven't seen you for quite a while. The good doctor put you back together just fine, I see."

I decided to not play her games and simply spoke exactly what I wanted to know. "Where are they?"

High Heel spoke up in return. "They? Who? Oh, wait... You mean..."

Shadowmane then spoke up to complete the sentence, her voice quiet and subdued even while she spoke up to insure I would hear her from that distance. "You mean...your friends?"

To complete the impact of the statement, she pulled something out from her cloak and held it high for me to see. Something I did not expect. A golden rope hanging lifelessly from her hoof. The trusty rope of Mistress Mare-velous.

My eyes opened wide in shock as my HUD confirmed the identity of that rope. Had the Power Ponies been murdered? To my surprise, Pharaoh Phetlock let out a laugh and called out to me. "Oh, you should see the look on your face! Well, chill out! We're not THAT heartless. Your friends are alive and well, don't you worry."

Well, that calmed my nerves to some degree. Pharaoh Phetlock never seemed like the kind of guy to take pleasure in the act of killing. However, Long-Face then provided a rather...dark response in that hauntingly depressed tone of voice he always used. "They need to be alive in order to feel the despair of seeing you be destroyed. They're watching us, even now. Helpless and unable to protect you."

I was hardly surprised by this reveal. I had already assumed that the Power Ponies had been tricked into separating so they could be captured in a coordinated attack by their archenemies. But why lure the protagonist of Project H out like that? I mean they were there to destroy me, but... To be honest, only the Mane-iac was of any real threat to me and I had already proven once before that the robotic hero was more than a match for her. I could not help but smirk at that claim. "You're picking a fight with someone who's completely out of your league? Not smart. I already handled the Mane-iac once before. The rest of you aren't a challenge at all."

I knew that Phetlock, Long-Face, and High Heel had no memory of that scuffle we had on Nightmare Night, but the Mane-iac seemed to cast me a resentful scowl when I brought up her prior defeat. However, Shadowmane then spoke up. "We're still missing somepony... Give him a moment. He should be here any second."

"Him?" I glanced around cautiously, wondering if someone was already in the shadows somewhere while targeting me from afar. However, my auditory sensors then detected a faint sound coming from below. My eyes focused on what seemed to be a drain for removing the melting ice between games in the arena. Was something happening on the other end?

Mere seconds later, I got my answer and it was much more frightening than I could have anticipated. Something burst right up out of the drain and rapidly expanded almost like a genie emerging from a lamp. It let out an unsettling yet loud gurgling groan as it took on a vaguely equine form with nothing but hues of red and black. Startled, I immediately armed the H-Buster and opened fire on it. "What the hell...?!"

My shots burned right through the liquid life form even as it dove towards me like a living tidal wave. It lashed out with its 'arms' while I was forced to rapidly retreat backwards with my boot thrusters. My HUD quickly scanned the abomination even as it took on a more consistent form, its constantly shifting liquid body looking like some ghastly otherworldly stallion that stood as tall as Celestia herself. My scans could not come up with anything consistent or identify its molecular composition. The only thing I got was an identity. Smudge.

"The... THAT is Smudge?!" I yelled in shock as I finally saw the only villain of the Power Ponies series that I had yet to lay eyes on. Truly a frightful being that lacked any real sentience at all. That thing could not even speak, instead making creepy and loud groans and gurgles. The liquid nightmare seemed ready to charge me once more, but was stopped when a whistle came from the far end of the arena.

Smudge and I turned our attention to the other five villains and saw High Heel waving at...Him? Her? It? Well, since it has a name, I shall refer to Smudge in masculine pronouns. We both turned our attention to the femme fatale of the group while she called out. "Good for you to join the party, Smudge! Now get up here! You can't take Hunter on by yourself! At least not yet."

With a moan of agreement, Smudge washed over the arena swifter than the quickest snake and bounded up over the glass panels separating the spectator seats from the ice rink like a trail of water being sprayed from a fountain before bounding up the steps and finding his spot next to Shadowmane. The smug cloaked thief glanced at him while he seemed to look at her before she looked at nothing in particular and spoke, "You always were a creepy one."

Incapable of speech, Smudge could only grumble in minor disapproval. I guess that creature can still think and comprehend words to some degree. He at least has enough ambition and intelligence to be willing work alongside other villains. My HUD carefully scanned the members of the Power Ponies' rogues gallery, trying to figure out what they had up their sleeves. High Heel still had her spiked stiletto heels and a number of shoe-based gadgets on her person while I detected a strange magic in the snake-like figurehead on the front of Pharaoh Phetlock's headgear along with a large supply of bandages tucked under his cap. Probably for making his mummy minions. However, I paused when I noticed something hanging from a holster on his left side that had never been present before. As I stepped back into the middle of the ice rink and deactivated the H-Buster, I pointed at him. "Hey, Phetlock. What's that you got there?"

The rest of his allies glanced at him too, apparently having not noticed the object either or maybe just curious of what I noticed. He glanced back and forth at his allies and shrugged his shoulders. "What? A pharaoh can't rely on his minions all the time, right? Sometimes, he must take the fight into his own hooves."

He then proceeded to all too willingly draw his weapon. He reached to his left and grabbed what seemed to be a sword hilt in his teeth before pulling it free of its holster. My HUD scanned its form and provided a fully 3D diagram of it. A sword that abruptly became curved maybe a third of the way up the blade and staying that way up to the tip, bringing to mind a sickle blade. An Egyptian khopesh. Truly a fitting blade for the pharaoh. Instead of the traditional bronze, the blade seemed to be composed of much more exotic materials to give it much greater durability. Something like that could possibly be a threat even to a machine like Project H. I honestly felt strangely impressed towards the rather jolly and lighthearted Phetlock for having disciplined himself enough to take up swordplay and make himself a greater threat to his enemies.

My scans continued. I did not find anything I did not see before on the Mane-iac and Long-Face still possessed vials of his sorrow gas and a spring-loaded syringe under each wrist like before, even though such things would be entirely useless against a machine like I was at the time. Having never really encountered Shadowmane since that very brief encounter in the utility tunnels under the streets, I was especially curious about what she had up her sleeve. Aside from the completely useless rope of Mistress Mare-velous, I detected a small number of explosive devices contained in a pouch, but more than anything else, I detected numerous throwing daggers. Certainly a threat to anything that was not a machine. And since Smudge clearly had nothing to hide, there was no point in scanning him a second time.

As Pharaoh Phetlock put his sword away for the moment, I decided to not waste anymore time. While Smudge and the Mane-iac were easily the most dangerous of the bunch, High Heel, Pharaoh Phetlock, and Shadowmane were only a mild threat while Long-Face was completely harmless. Not to mention I was far better armed with my Variable Weapon System being fully loaded with a variety of versatile weaponry. This fight would be tricky, but I would likely come out on top. And I really was not in the mood to hurt anyone. "Look... I'm really not in the mood for this right now. Don't make me destroy you. Just tell me where they are and I can get outta here."

"Them? They're at the end of the hallway right under us. Right across from where you came in." High Heel replied while she and her allies continued to watch from afar.

Without a word, I began to approach the end of the hockey rink where the other net would have been. But not even ten steps later, Long-Face spoke up with a depressing sigh. "Only problem is you won't get that far... You'll have to pass a retinal scan to get in. And you'll be in pieces before that happens..."

"Look, you guys are picking a fight with the wrong guy!" I finally all but shouted while lifting my hand to point at the Mane-iac directly. "I've already handled you once. And the rest of you are small fries compared to the mavericks I handle on a routine basis. And I'm not in the prototype stage anymore. I'm far better armed this time around! Besides, what do you have against me anyway?! My fight's with the mavericks, not you."

The six villains looked back and forth at each other while a number of them just laughed. Pharaoh Phetlock then provided a response. "Very good question! Why would we want anything to do with you anyway?! Well...?"

Shadowmane then spoke up next in her slithery voice. "Let's just say you've been bad for business. Whenever you've had the time to render assistance to the Power Ponies, you've always insured our operations would fail. You've tipped the scales and made things uneven for us. So we're taking the time to even out this imbalance in power."

"You've got a problem with me helping out my friends?" I asked in turn, not surprised that Hunter would most likely get to know the Power Ponies by assisting them in crime fighting whenever he had nothing else to do.

"We do when it impedes our ambitions." Long-Face sighed while his melancholy stare started to become one of unsettling somber excitement, his frown turning into a sinister grin that I had come to loathe. "So... You're going to have to...disappear."

I hunched forward just slightly, expecting them to charge me at any time. Smudge gurgled out a distorted chuckle that almost sounded like a drowning man. But it was the Mane-iac who spoke next while her deranged smile became a look of scorn. "Yes, you have been a thorn in our sides for a while. And on top of that..."

Her hoof rose to her suit's neckline and seemed to snag on something. Slowly, she pulled a zipper down until the front of her suit was opened up to her pelvic section. Her hooves then pulled the edges of the gap open, revealing a sight that made me and even her allies cringe. "I still owe you. Remember these?"

Right there in her chest was a pair of oval burn scars that had not yet fully healed. I immediately recalled when I left those upon her during the fight with her in the pilot when I snagged her around the neck with the Strike Chain and reeled her in for a dropkick with my boot thrusters flaring up. Indeed, that whole fight left her body mangled and broken in such a way that probably would have killed her off had she been anyone else. The Mane-iac then zipped her suit back up while that maniacal smirk graced her face once more. "But you do have a point. As we are now, I doubt we could take you down. However..."

High Heel then lifted a device in her hoof and pressed a button on it. "We came prepared."

I heard a sound right above me. Fearing that a trap was about to drop on me, I looked up while ready to dash away with the help of my boot thrusters. However, it was anything but that. The bottom of the hockey arena's score display had opened up from the bottom as what seemed to be a large metal sphere lowered from it until it was hanging right out of the bottom. A number of varying sized pink glass circles adorned it. I had no idea what to make of it, but it seemed harmless. It was then that High Heel pressed another button on the device she was holding, causing a steadily growing hum to rise from the spherical device as it began to activate. "One guess on what's about to happen!"

My HUD tried scanning the device even as it was about to do...something right above me. My scanners could not really make out anything about what it could possibly be, but it did detect something that perplexed me at first. Six indecipherable energy signatures were swirling inside it. "Six? What are... NO!"

It was too late for me to even consider what to do as I quickly remembered something. All I could do was watch as my fears were confirmed. The device expelled bursts of concentrated pink energy that raced into the six villains in an instant. They felt no visible pain, but seemed delightfully excited as they were exposed to this strange energy for only a brief moment. Seconds later, the machine became silent while I quickly noticed a few small differences in some of the ponies before me. While the rest appeared to be no different, the Mane-iac and Long-Face were sporting the horns of a unicorn set upon their foreheads. My HUD was quick to scan them again, yet it seemed confused as if it was detecting not six, but twelve individuals instead. As a sense of dread settled over me, Phetlock shouted out the truth. "Figured it out yet?! You're not just facing us this time. Now you face the Power Ponies themselves!"

It was no wonder they needed to capture the Power Ponies before coming after me. That device above me was some sort of superpower extractor. And now... It made me cringe, knowing that the essences of Maretropolis' elite defenders had now bonded with its greatest villains. Cackling in mad laughter, the Mane-iac howled in excitement. "Ooooh yes, it's been too long! And once we're done with you, Alpha's next! Those rogue machines have been interfering with our operations for a while, so we'll gladly send that metal moron to the scrap heap!"

"Well, it's good to know you're willing to do something nice for the world..." I retorted while carefully eyeing my enemies. My HUD was able to detect who each superpower had bonded with. High Heel contained the essence of Saddle Rager, Pharaoh Phetlock was brimming with the power of Fili-Second, the Mane-iac was channeling the magical abilities of Masked Matter-Horn, Long-Face was armed with the abilities of Radiance's enchanted jewelry, Mistress Mare-velous' golden rope had come to life and was floating near Shadowmane, and Smudge was charged with Zapp's electrical energies.

The Mane-iac seemed to look up at nothing in particular, although I was suspecting she was taunting the captured Power Ponies through the various cameras that were meant to broadcast hockey games to television sets. "Are you seeing this, Power Ponies?! Don't look away! You wouldn't want to miss your friend's demise, would you?! And this time, IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Was she seriously trying to break their will? Probably shackled somewhere and left with no choice but to watch? Nothing short of cruel. Long-Face then sneered at me with that incredibly creepy grin of his and spoke, "So... Ready to despair? You're not escaping from us now."

However, High Heel then spoke up among her allies. "Just make sure his legs are still intact when we're done here. I want those boots!"

"I'll take his sword. That'll make for a useful safecracking device." Shadowmane hissed, ready to loot my robotic corpse.

The six villains prepared to charge. I was trapped with no assistance on its way. There was nothing I could do but hope that I could hold my own against these supercharged villains with everything I had. While they may have had the might of the Power Ponies, they lacked the experience. Maybe I could take advantage of that. With nothing else to say, I held my right arm out to my side as my hand retracted. The H-Buster was primed and ready while I took aim at them all. "Fine. Bring it!"

Like a pack of wolves, they descended upon me. It was indeed startling to see Pharaoh Phetlock suddenly zip away in a blur while the rest of my enemies charged me at normal speed. I fired a quick volley of shots, but the Mane-iac's new unicorn horn intercepted my shots by firing bursts of a sickly lime green magic energy. Seconds later, they scaled the glass perimeter and were upon the iceless rink. In an absurd barrage, they unloaded upon me. The Mane-iac fired off bursts of magic energy while also lashing out with her mane's tendrils, Smudge unleashed arcing trails of lightning, Long-Face conjured up ephemeral pink crossbows and fired equally pink bolts, and Shadowmane hurled a few daggers right at me. Not able to deal with such a concentrated team effort, I rocketed skyward with my flight thrusters flaring up just in time before I went on a strafing run as I circled the entire arena, bombarding the ice rink with multiple small plasma shots.

While the Mane-iac and Smudge tried to shoot me down from below, Long-Face took to the air as the false alicorn conjured up large pink shields to block my shots. Along with those, he also conjured up two large mallets that, fittingly, had rather depressed round frowning faces lining the heads. He kept trying to intercept my flight path by swinging them as I approached since he could not possibly keep up, but I managed to weave around them while trying to shoot him down only for his shields to block each shot. However, I soon noticed something running along the wall right next to me that I almost did not have time to defend against. I barely got my shield generator up as that translucent particle barrier formed from my left arm, blocking a sword strike from Pharaoh Phetlock as he scurried along the wall beside me. And right before I could even think of how to deal with him, I suddenly felt something grab me from around my boot. "What the?! Hey!"

"Gotcha." Shadowmane had snagged me with Mistress Mare-velous' rope! Before I could even try to undo it, it yanked me out of the air and slammed me into the wall right as Phetlock changed course to avoid getting hit. Once I was left dazed from that blow, it yanked my upwards and started flailing me about into the many steel girders and frames that lined the ceiling of the arena. I finally got my bearings and started pulling back by flaring up my flight thrusters to maximum output, pulling in the opposite direction the rope was trying to pull me in. I drew the H-Saber from its holster and started hacking away at the animated rope, but nothing I did even singed it! The material seemed to be completely indestructible!

Right as I put my weapon away, I was hit with another shock. Quite literally. I was engulfed in pain as my HUD briefly went haywire as a powerful high-voltage current rushed through me. Smudge had just scored a hit on me with a bolt of raw lightning and gurgled loudly in delight. Left momentarily stunned, I was unable to prevent Shadowmane's rope from hurling me to the hard concrete floor with a crash. My flight thrusters reflexively folded back in just in time, preventing damage.

Just as I was starting to climb to my feet, I paused at the sound of a vehicle's motor revving up. Then, much to my disbelief, the gates leading from the locker rooms I had entered from burst open as High Heel swept onto the track in by far the weirdest automobile I had ever seen. It was barely larger than a go-kart and... Well, it certainly fit her interests in footwear. The car was designed like a giant sneaker complete with oversized shoelaces! Although it did strike me as surprising that High Heel was holding off on using her newly acquired superpowers and resorting to her own unique tricks. "Let's go, Hunter! You and me!"

"Uh... Sure?" I retorted in bewilderment while seeing a giant shoe trying to slam into me as opposed to stepping on me. Even the rest of her teammates were standing back to let her have some fun and to avoid a case of friendly fire. I evaded her at first by performing a massive leap over her vehicle with the use of my boot thrusters and landed at the opposite end of the playing field. Undeterred, High Heel pulled off a rather impressive drifting turn and glided around the edges of the ice rink and came roaring back towards me as fast as her vehicle would permit. I quickly scanned the incoming vehicle and determined that I could stop it with raw strength alone. But rather than just grab it and toss it, I had a different idea. I reached back with my leg and waited. Right as she was about to ram me, I performed a hard kick right into the car's bumper and punted that thing clear across the hockey arena with High Heel shrieking as it tumbled through the air. The instant it crashed into the distant seats, I threw up my arms in elation over having finally just gotten a shot in at one of my enemies. "Woo! Field goal!"

Surprisingly, the rest of the villains just stood back and only seemed to be smirking at me as if I had just made a mistake. Phetlock even outright laugh at me. "Ha! You're thinking of the wrong sport here! But just you wait. You're in for it now!"

"Huh? In for what?!" I retorted before turning my gaze back toward High Heel's wrecked overturned vehicle. I quickly realized why Phetlock said what he did. Seconds later, it was torn apart from the inside as a beastly roar echoed throughout the stadium, a hulking muscular creature having burst out of it. But rather than be intimidated, I slouched forward with my arms hanging low. "Oh, you can't be serious..."

With an impressive leap, High Heel cleared the glass barrier and landed back onto the field with her increased weight creating noticeable cracks in the concrete floor under her hooves. Her voice had taken on a much deeper yet still vaguely feminine pitch as she roared, "That's more like it! Now, I'm gonna... Uh... Wait, what's wrong? What's with that look? What happened?"

Where in the world do I even begin with what I was seeing? I was unsure whether I should have felt intimidated or amused. Indeed, High Heel was now accessing Saddle Rager's superpower and was every bit as large and bulked up as Fluttershy was when she was using it. But... Could she have chosen a superpower more unfitting?! Her sleek and stylish red suit had multiple tears in it and her feminine face now had a far broader jaw line. I will never know how those shoes were still containing her hooves, but... Oh man, I just burst out laughing at what I was seeing. "Pfffffft hahahaha what the hell?! Look at you! Why'd you get stuck with that ability?! From femme fatale to total beefcake!"

High Heel could only stare at me in utter shock. Maybe she had never considered what that superpower tends to do to one's appearance. My laughter was even proving to be contagious as the rest of the villains started to laugh as well, starting with the Mane-iac as she cackled madly with her usual brand of howling laughter. The only one who did not join in was the chronically depressed Long-Face, who even muttered, "I really don't see what's so funny..."

Finally, High Heel could not take the mocking any longer. Face flushed red with rage and irritation, she charged me at great speed before winding up for an uppercut. "Beefcake?! I'll show you a real beefcake!"

"Oh, this is gonna sting." I muttered to myself as I realized all too late that I was about to take a hit. And the instant that hoof struck my torso... It was over and done with in a blink of the eye. I rocketed backwards, through one of the glass panels lining the edges of the rink, and crashed into rows of seats before coming to a stop. How hard did she even hit me?! There was even a noticeable hoof-shaped dent right in the middle of my breastplate! Dazed and even a bit sore, I slowly sat up in the rubble. "Whoooaaa... And I thought the Devil Gigas was a heavy hitter! No wonder Saddle Rager could take that thing on..."

"Right, the comedy corner's closed now! Back to business!" The Mane-iac then shouted while she rose up above me on her mane's many tendrils and took aim with her new horn. But instead of a sickly green, the pulsing aura that coated it was an icy blue. Remembering Masked Matter-Horn's affinity for elemental magic, I only narrowly managed to jump out of the way as the mad mare shot a bolt of freezing energy and cased a jagged lump of ice to form where I had been sitting.

After being forced to evade several more shots to avoid getting pinned by an icy trap, I decided to return the favor as my armored body became hues of icy blue and creamy yellow. "Two can play at this! Shotgun Ice!"

Accessing my frigid weapon, I fired bursts of round ice chunks at the Mane-iac. Se weaved around them just fine, as I expected and hoped she would. She clearly was not anticipating the weapon's unique ricochet feature. When the flying chunks of ice collided with whatever piece of the stadium they touched, each shattered into several smaller and much sharper shards that flew every which way. The rest of the villains scrambled to evade the flying ice shards, but quite a few of them shot right into the Mane-iac's backside. However, much to my annoyance, her incredibly thick mane ended up cushioning the blows with the ice shards becoming little more than shiny hairpins. The Mane-iac took note of this and looked over her shoulder at the result of her impromptu touchup. "Hey! If I want to style up my mane, I'll do it my... Oh dear."

"Hey, I'll take what I can get!" I shouted as my boot thrusters launched me up in front of her with my weapon systems returning to default settings and my H-Buster charging up for a heavier shot. I was right up in her face before she could properly respond. But when I unleashed the huge blue burst of plasma at her, I was in for a shock. A large pink shield appeared between us right as I fired, blocking the blast as the plasma quickly dissipated upon impact. "Oh, come on!"

"Long-Face, you're too kind!" The Mane-iac said in thanks to her gloomy companion. Before I could even drop back to the ground, she snatched me up in her clutches once more with one hairy tendril wrapping around my throat and the other carefully restraining my right arm. "I must say this is getting fun! Keep it up! I'm not done with you yet!"

With another mad laugh, the Mane-iac hurled me right back into the middle of the hockey rink and even shot me squarely in the chest with a blast of heat-based magic along the way. Upon landing, I was quickly set upon by the rest of my enemies. However, I was surprised when I heard the sound of glass shattering around me and found myself engulfed in a thick cloud of mist. My HUD immediately detected crippling amounts of extremely potent depressants in the gas, but it was completely harmless to a machine like me. Long-Face had just shattered several vials of his sorrow gas around me, but to what effect? He knew his standard means of attack were useless against a robot like Hunter.

I quickly found out why. Every second or so, something streaked by me and slashed me with some kind of blade. With that kind of speed, I knew it was Pharaoh Phetlock performing hit-and-run attacks with his sword while probably taking care to not inhale as he passed through the emotionally overwhelming gas. Long-Face was not trying to disable me through his sorrow gas, but was instead using it to create a smokescreen! Try as I might, I could not see where Phetlock was coming or going from and my armor around the legs and pelvis was starting to gather dents and scratches from each slash.

The longer I stayed in one place, the more hits I would take. Taking my chances, I faced one direction and flared up my boot thrusters to launch myself out of the smokescreen. And boy did I pick the wrong direction to emerge from. Cruising just off the ground, I ran right into Shadowmane's rope as it tripped me up right at the tip of my foot panel and caused me to crash flat on my face. Already annoyed as it was, I lifted my head to glance ahead and looked on in mild horror as Smudge's liquid form sloshed towards me like an incoming deluge.

I had no time to react. In an instant, he swept me up into his liquid body. Just as I was wondering what this was supposed to accomplish, I was given a very rude awakening. I was engulfed in electrical energy, screaming and yelling inside his very body as I was overloaded with raw lightning! After maybe a full ten seconds, Smudge just threw me straight to the floor. Sparks popped from my body as I lay still, aching and groaning as smoke rose from several areas of my body.

For the moment, I was down for the count. I really did not want to move. This team of supervillains were truly proving to be quite a force to be reckoned with. But I was not entirely unconvinced I could beat them. For the moment, I stayed where I was. Maybe if I could buy myself some time, I could think of something to do or an opportunity would present itself.

Apparently convinced that they had me against the wall, the six villains began to draw in close. Soon, they were all looking down at me with expressions of smug satisfaction, at least from the faces that were not covered or practically nonexistent. Shadowmane whispered calmly through her face's mask, "That didn't take as long as I expected at all."

"Yes! We're unbeatable when we're a team! Even more so when we have everything our enemy's team has!" Pharaoh Phetlock spoke in delight, oh so proud of himself for actually being efficient in a fight for once. His sword was once more stowed away in its holster so as to not poke his allies while they were gathered closely around me. High Heel in particular was taking up a lot of space.

I said nothing, trying to give the illusion that I was all but disabled. I was indeed tired and sore, but I was not quite done yet. My body's internal mechanisms were already in the process of stabilizing my systems to allow me to keep fighting even with the damage I had accumulated. According to my HUD, my body's integrity was down to 50%, though in terms of concentrated damaged to my body parts everything was still in the green. The Mane-iac, looking especially smug, looked down at me with a deranged grin. "I guess Project H ultimately means Project Hopeless. We win, Hunter. Any last words for the friends who are watching you?"

"Ye... Yeah..." I weakly sighed while shakily reaching up with my left hand. The villains looked on patiently, clearly convinced that I was down for the count. My eyes carefully looked back and forth at the six faces before me. I had already assimilated a lot of the abilities I could get from them or the Power Ponies. What had I not tried yet?

My eyes fell upon Long-Face as he gave me a most unsettling smirk. His horn seemed to be filled with the energies that were contained within Radiance's bracelets and was necessary to use them. I would not have been surprised if Radiance was even missing her horn at that time since it seemed he had 'borrowed' it. I weakly lowered my hand and grabbed onto Long-Face's horn in a way as if I was trying to grab on for support. He seemed puzzled by this or just found it awkward judging by the change in his expression. And it was just the opportunity I needed.

My Variable Weapon System went to work, scanning Long-Face's body and finding a match. But while it displayed a wire-frame model of his body, it then did the same with Radiance's bracelet as if it could not tell he was not wearing one. A new icon filled one of the two remaining slots in my list of weapon systems, making me smirk. The icon seemed to show a stick figure running. I knew what it was right away. "I just...need to even the playing field!"

Finding my second wind, I quickly used the Variable Weapon System's combination feature to equip both Fire Wave and Rocket Tackle for what I needed to get out of that mess. The instant I turned a combination of fiery orange and yellow and the H-Buster began to whistle as it charged up, the villains took a step back as they all bantered or yelped in surprise. "That's right, back up! Speed Burner!"

I rocketed up into the air as my body was coated in a flame aura, but stopped just short of ramming my head into the stadium's ceiling. I then used my boot thrusters to propel myself to the far end of the hockey rink to get some distance as the flame aura faded. I landed with a clank and turned to face the increasingly frustrated villains. I then extended my left hand to them, my body finally stable. "Credit where it's due! If you took him on as you are now, the lot of you would totally destroy Alpha!"

"You got that right! But you're going down first!" High Heel roared as she stamped the floor hard enough to leave another crack through it. They all were ready to charge me, but were still showing signs of caution. They were waiting for me to make the first move. And I most definitely obliged.

"You're welcome to try. It's never a good idea to hunt a Hunter." I retorted while feeling pretty confident. I swapped from my current weaponry and solely equipped my newly assimilated weapon. I was expecting to turn a shade of orange, but that was not the case. Instead, my armor plating turned a beautiful shade of sapphire blue while my softer areas turned the same shade of pink as Radiance's bracelets. Even my visor's outward coloration had become pink to match! Stunned by how gorgeous my color palette had become, I could only look myself over in awe. "Whoa, that's beautiful! I'd expect no less from Radiance!"

"Radiance? So, when he touched my horn..." Long-Face muttered with a puzzled tone before glancing up at his horn. An instant later, he suddenly looked at me with an irritated scowl. I suppose that was the first time I had ever seen him look even remotely flustered.

"I've got the magic touch, gloomy goon. Now that the lovely Radiance has shared her power to me..." I replied before charging up the H-Buster. They all took a step back, having no idea what I was about to unleash upon them. But I knew. Somehow, I just knew what was about to happen. "I can finally call in reinforcements! Soul Body!"

With a flash from my arm, five silhouettes appeared around me. They were all a shade of sapphire blue and completely featureless, yet they clearly had the outline of my body. They were pure energy constructs and waited for my command. "There you go! Now it's six against six! Oh, and Mane-iac! If I'm the one you want, then I'm the one you get!"

One by one, my five energy clones rushed through the air as if propelled by an unseen force. They all slammed right into the five other villains and just pushed them away before exploding in bursts of energy that just sent each of their targets flying, although Smudge was outright splattered every which way for a moment. The Mane-iac just glanced around as they all went flying past her, giving me time to charge her while once against dumping another charge shot into Soul Body to conjure up five more clones to keep the rest of my foes busy. She only just narrowly realized I was coming and used her slippery mane tendrils to retreat to the side. "You and me, huh?! Fine! Let's pick up where we left off!"

I quickly swapped to Boomerang Cutter and fired off a trio of spinning sickle blades. The curving trajectories made it truly difficult for the tricky villain to evade them on the roundtrip and she had to also focus on attacking me as well. It was even proving to be too much for her to handle. She just could not focus on evading my trickiest projectiles, firing magic from her horn, and lashing out with her mane and tail all at the same time!

With the Mane-iac starting to become overwhelmed by everything that was happening around her, I decided to take a big shot at her. I quickly charged up the H-Buster for a maximum charge, but then swapped back to my default settings so I could unleash a proper charged plasma shot. If it was anyone else, I would be worried about whether or not they would survive it. But considering what I put the Mane-iac through the last time around? She would most likely live.

I unleashed the large blue plasma shot, the Mane-iac looking at me with a look of fright as she finally realized I had lined up my sights on her. But maybe halfway towards her, something happened that even now I have a hard time comprehending. Shadowmane's rope lassoed the plasma shot and held it in place! Yes! The rope! Lassoed! A scorching burst of plasma! How does that even work?! I even reflexively pointed at the unbelievable sight before me and screamed, "WHAT?! OK, NO! You can't do that! That's not possible! Who the hell writes this stuff?! I call total hax!"

"Hack this." I heard Shadowmane reply right before her rope flung my own shot right back at me! I was so utterly dumbfounded by what I was seeing that I did not even try to block or dodge it. But I did find out what it is like to be on the receiving end of a charged H-Buster shot. It hurts. That thing slammed into me with such force that it sent me flying across the rink and into the boundary. That one shot knocked down my body's integrity by 5% in a stunning show of power. More than anything, I still was trying to process what I had seen. If Mistress Mare-velous' rope could lasso a substance completely lacking in mass or physical properties, then what could it NOT grab?

I looked around to quickly survey the situation. Much to my surprise and even amusement, Pharaoh Phetlock was summoning mummy minions right out from under his headgear while the golden snake effigy on the front glowed brightly. The bandages that came out in droves quickly formed into groaning mummies who then tried to gang up on my Soul Body copies. Without weapons, the Soul Bodies could only rely on melee attacks and were quickly tangled up in the normally useless mummies and their bandages. "Huh... I guess those things come in handy for something."

With my temporary allies having been contained and likely on the verge of dispersing, I knew my enemies would be focusing on me soon. And sure enough, Long-Face came swooping at me with a pink spinning drill on his arm. I promptly readied my flight thrusters and took to the air to escape him. "Hey, I already had some dental work done today! Forget the drill!"

"I think I saw something else in there. Come closer. I promise I won't use the laughing gas." Long-Face replied with the creepiest grin I had seen on his face yet. I was on the run while the Mane-iac and Smudge tried to shoot me down with bursts of magic and lightning and I made sure to not go near the walls so Phetlock would not be able to catch me. I strongly considered using Storm Tornado, but if that darn rope could grab my own plasma shots out of the air, I would not be surprised if it could wrangle a gale too. And sure enough, that rope was flying through the air behind Long-Face as if waiting for a chance to grab me.

I had an idea. I allowed Long-Face to chase me a bit closer to the ground, but not quite low enough to put me in range of High Heel's punches or too close to the Mane-iac's flailing mane. Right after we passed over Shadowmane and even came close to Phetlock's hoard of moaning mummies, I charged up the H-Buster and turned around while my armor turned the hue of electric blue. "Zap!"

Right as Long-Face rushed at me to run me through on his drill, I unleashed Thunder Dancer and sent a trio of lightning bolts right into him that then jumped to the golden rope that was following him and then jumped right into Shadowmane and the swarm of mummy minions below and just started rushing through all of them in an instant! Long-Face and Shadowmane each let out a shriek of pain as they were very briefly electrocuted and collapsed, although Pharaoh Phetlock was quick and considerate enough to quickly catch the stunned Long-Face before he could hit the ground. His mummy minions were not so lucky. The intense electricity and the accompanying heat caused the entire swarm to ignite until they burned away to nothing. By then, the Soul Bodies had already vanished in their clutches.

Swapping to Soul Body once more and charging up to unleash another quintet of temporary helpers, I turned my gaze to High Heel. Perhaps six of us could overwhelm her and knock her out. As I rocketed towards her and summoned up five Soul Body clones that then rushed at her as well, I started to reached for the H-Saber's holster. "Right, now it's your turn!"

"Not this time!" She roared in that bizarrely guttural voice. The burly femme fatale reached out to her sides as if winding up for a double punch, but I was ready to evade if necessary. But just when I was around ten feet away, she swung her arms forward and slammed her hooves together as if trying to smash a fly between her hooves. And... Well, how do I even describe this? The instant that happened, a deafening shockwave burst from her hooves in all directions like... Well, it just kept going and even repelled me and the Soul Body copies! It was like a torrent of sound and force!

The rapid vibrations in the air even began to outright scramble my body's systems while the Soul Body copies were just vibrated out of existance! My HUD started displaying random bits of code and other errors while my own optic sensors began to randomly display static and other bizarre visual errors as I let out a stuttering yell. Everything was just going nuts! The instant that shockwave ended, it sent me flying backwards and crashing along the ground until I landed right on my face. Steadily, my body began to stabilize, although I still smacked myself in the side of the head a few times to try and restore my sense of balance and vision. There was even a crack running through my visor. "Uuuugghhh... What the crap was that?!"

"Huh?! What?! Can't hear you! My ears are still ringing!" Shadowmane yelled surprisingly loudly while she and the rest of her allies rubbed their ears or looked outright disoriented. Even Smudge was quivering and gurgling like gelatin as if the sound waves had almost reduced him to a puddle. I looked ahead at High Heel, who looked noticeably embarrassed that she had unwittingly caught her allies in a case of friendly fire.

I struggled to get to my feet, my gyrostabilizers still trying to correct themselves. That clap of her hooves apparently generated a localized sonic boom of sorts. Even a number of the light bulbs throughout the stadium had shattered, creating patches of shadow here and there. High Heel then let out a strangely cute deep chuckle while rubbing her head. "Uh... Sorry. Won't happen again."

"Tch... Better not." I grunted while my armor plating turned a shade of purple as I equipped the Strike Chain function. I quickly fired a rapidly extending chain with a small clamping claw on the end. High Heel, having never seen it before, could not react in time before it latched firmly onto her chest through her red bodysuit. Once in my clutches, I swung my arm as hard as I could and hurled her towards the other side of the stadium where her allies were all gathered. She crashed and rolled along the concrete floor before righting herself. The rest of her allies quickly gathered around her and were prepared to charge me aside from the Mane-iac as she hung off to the side. Deciding the take a chance, I swapped weapons again as my armor turned a silvery gray. They were all lined up right where I wanted them. "Here's something new! Storm Tornado!"

I pointed the H-Buster at my enemies and unleashed a howling horizontal vortex that quickly swept them right off their feet and hurled them into the spectator seats. However, I was quickly bombarded with a flurry of magic shots and even had one boot frozen to the floor by an ice shot from the Mane-iac even as her flailing mane carried her behind me. "Forgot somepony that time, didn't you! Now you're all mine!"

I struggled to turn around but found that I just could not turn enough to line up a shot on her even as I could hear the magic in her horn being focused further for a much stronger blast. I had a hunch of what was coming and swapped back to my default weapon settings before shooting the weakest shot I could muster into the ice that was encrusted over my foot. The intense heat of the shot was enough to crack and shatter enough of the ice to get me free and I promptly turned around while charging up the H-Buster for a concentrated beam shot. When I faced her, I was momentarily stunned by how big that surging aura around her horn had gotten! It was big enough to engulf her entire head. Not wasting any time as the mouth to the H-Buster glowed with power, I took aim. "Oh, it's on!"

At the exact same time, we unleashed our attacks. The mane-iac's sickly green magic beam slammed right into my focused orange plasma beam and began to push back and forth between them. I at first thought we were an even match since neither of us could really push through the other's attack. However, when I tilted my head to the side to try and see around the two interlocking beams, I saw that the expression on the Mane-iac's face showed that she was struggling to maintain enough focus to keep the magic barrage going. Given enough time, she would likely become exhaustion and allow my attack through.

Unfortunately, I was not going to get the chance to see who would hold out. Over the roar of clashing beams of magic and plasma, I could not make out the sound of someone coming up behind me. Just when I was starting to detect a presence looming above me, I let out a shout of shock and pain as two heavy hooves slammed into the sides of my head in a ridiculous subversion of boxing my ears. It was enough to make me drop to my knees as my attack ceased just in time for the Mane-iac to reach mental exhaustion, my head sandwiched between High Heel's mighty hooves.

I was stunned to the point of not even being able to stand. It felt as if I had suddenly come down with a case of vertigo. And this time, my enemies would not miss the opportunity presented to them. High Heel roared, "Mane-iac! Your turn!"

As I wondered what she meant, I was given a sudden uppercut straight to my back that sent me flying right up above the Mane-iac before me. Tired as she was, I heard her let out a cackle and shouted, "Oh, now this is more like it!"

Over and over, the mad mare blasted me from below, juggling me through the air as she bombarded my body with bolts of magic. After maybe a dozen or so hits, one of her mane's tendrils shot out and grabbed me around the waste before hurling me across the stadium and into the waiting blade of Pharaoh Phetlock. Before I could even hit the ground, he dashed past me and left a slash through the softer material around my waist and struck my internal metal skeleton. Several more rapid slashes later and somehow making me land on my feet, he rushed up from behind and slammed into me with a dropkick that sent me once more hurtling across the hockey rink and into Smudge's viscous clutches. The liquid creature somehow solidified himself enough to function like a stretchy slingshot. And slingshot really was the correct term as I felt him stretching backwards as I crashed into him. But once he stopped giving under me, I was blasted right out of him and back across the stadium as if I had just been shot out of some lightning cannon. I came to a scraping stop at one point right as I was finally starting to regain my senses. However, I then heard a sudden series of beeps before an explosion went off right under my back and launched me into the air and into the clutches of Shadowmane's rope as it grabbed me around my left boot. Had I just fallen onto a cluster of her conceal explosive devices?! Regardless, she began to slam me back and forth into the concrete floor like a rag doll over and over before finally flinging me skyward right towards a giant floating pink mallet that was about to come right down on my head. It was the end for me.

The mallet came down hard and sent me flying face first into the floor with a thunderous crash, a shallow crater forming under me. My body ached. My head spun. I could not bring myself to move more than a few inches. The villains of Maretropolis had finally overcome the mechanical sentinel of the city through sheer versatility and teamwork. My cracked visor's HUD pointed out that my entire body's wire-frame display was in the yellow. I had sustained significant damage to all major parts of my body. Even more worriedly, my body's integrity had dropped to a mere 10%. I could not take much more punishment at all. Dazed and exhausted, I just laid there and waited for the end to come. Was this how the plot ends? A cliffhanger that leads into the next issue?

One by one, the six villains gathered around me. Long-Face, still singed from being zapped by my Thunder Dancer shot, sighed in gloomy satisfaction. "So... This is the despair of a fallen hero..."

I felt something slither around my neck before hoisting me up to my knees. I lifted my head and saw the deranged grin of the Mane-iac looking right at me as I hung from her mane. "Good fight, I'll give you that much. Maybe now you know what it was like for me when you slammed me into all those skyscrapers back then."

"Enough gloating. I want that sword, so can we wrap things up here?" An impatient and exhausted Shadowmane hissed as she coughed a few times from the damage she too had sustained from Thunder Dancer.

"Gladly." The Mane-iac replied before another tendril slipped around me neck while two more restrained my arms to prevent me from trying to fight back. It seemed like she was ready to pop my head off like a cork. "Any last words? Remember, the cameras are still rolling. Anything you want to say to your friends? Or at least...your beloved Radiance?"

She knew. I suppose the budding relationship between Radiance and Hunter was known in very small circles. I felt no real attraction to that dazzling superheroine, but I knew the Mane-iac was just trying to break Radiance's heart while she was forced to watch from somewhere nearby. But I could not find any words to say. I was too drained and dazed to really think of anything to say.

I felt the Mane-iac's grip starting to tighten, ready to pull my head off. But just when I thought I was on the verge of being sent back out to the real world via Hunter suffering a critical bit of damage, something happened that I did not see coming at all. Bursts of an irritating smoke engulfed us as what sounded like smoke bombs went off around us. The villains coughed and stammered while they all retreated in all directions even as the Mane-iac released me from her grasp. I was left unaffected due to lacking lungs, but I did nearly collapse in a heap. I only barely managed to stop myself from collapsing and propped myself up on my arms. Who was my savior? Who had come to rescue me in the nick of time?

I saw a form emerging through the smoke. Small and in the form of an equine, I was left baffled. The crushing blow I had received to the sides of my helmet had damaged my HUD's scanning capabilities and prevented me from detecting anything beyond the most basic visual spectrum. A voice then spoke up as someone approached me through the smoke. A voice that instead of filling me with relief, filled me with a complex feeling of fear and panic. "Hunter! You OK?! Did I make it in time?"

Hum Drum. Of all the people who could have come to my rescue, it was the one person I did not want to see there. I know he meant well, but he could not possibly provide any real aid against this villainous dream team. I could only look on as my disorientation was replaced with crippling worry for the child before me as the smoke began to steadily dissipate. "Kid... You?! What're you doing here?! I told you to stay behind!"

"I had to do something! I saw everything that was happening and made my way here! I tried to get the Power Ponies out, but I can't find a way into where they're being held! So...I came to you." The colt wonder explained while not looking or sounding terribly worried at all.

"OK, I get that, but... Look at this! They're not trying to just beat me up or anything. They're trying to destroy me! Get outta here before they decide to get you too!" I all but yelled while trying to keep my voice down. But it did not matter. The smoke faded and Hum Drum was revealed to the six villains as they watched from nearby.

Pharaoh Phetlock hardly seemed fazed by Hum Drum's arrival and almost sounded like he expected him to arrive at any time. "Ha! So, the colt wonder has decided to crash the party! Hey, kid. This is for adults only. You better go home."

I was honestly surprised that one of the villains was openly giving Hum Drum the choice to leave rather than immediately trying to capture him there and now. Hum Drum looked around while I hoped that maybe this would give us an opportunity to slip away. He had to have gotten in from somewhere. However, the Mane-iac did not seem all that pleased with Hum Drum's arrival at all. She slunk a bit closer, towering over us both on her mane and tail's powerful tendrils and spoke in a disturbingly calm and focused voice. "You heard the pharaoh. Go home."

"I... I can't. Not yet. I have to do something to help!" Hum Drum defiantly barked while backing towards me, his eyes focused on just the Mane-iac while starting to reach for the blue belt around his waist. I could see a number of pouches lining it, likely containing a variety of gadgets that could be used on the job.

The Mane-iac's demented smirk began to fade and was soon replaced by a scowl, her unnatural eyes maintaining their constant look of madness throughout. With that stare combined with the less than happy look of her lips, it felt like she could burst into rage at any given time. "Look. On any other day, I would simply tell you to beat it. But today, I'm not letting anything or anypony stop me. I'm taking that hunk of scrap metal apart, even if I have to go through you. I'm only going to tell you this once, kid. Get. Lost."

Her voice seethed with malice and desperation. She was determined to destroy Hunter at any cost by this point and was now so frightfully close to fulfilling her revenge. Hum Drum, clearly intimidated yet not backing down, started to carefully retrieve a collapsible slingshot from one pouch while keeping it concealed beneath his cape He then responded, "I won't. Hunter's my friend. He's helped us a lot over just the last few months, so I've gotta help him too."

I was both touched and horrified by his words. The fact that he was putting himself in harm's way to help me filled me with a type of fear I had never once felt before. This was a helpless situation for the child who is easily the most hapless of the Power Ponies. And knowing that the Mane-iac's hairy tendrils are strong enough to lift and throw hundreds of pounds of weight and can strike hard enough to pierce asphalt was enough to make me dread the thought of what would happen if she went after him directly. I pleaded in my mind for something to happen to resolve this situation. Anything that would prevent the child from being harmed.

"Don't make me say it again, Hum Drum!" The Mane-iac growled as the horn on her head was coated in a billowing green aura. Was she really going to do it?!

Much to my shock, High Heel roared at her ally as well. "Come on, let the kid go! You know he can't stop us!"

Even Shadowmane raised her voice higher than usual, showing a surprising display of moral superiority over the deranged mare, or maybe just a focus on practicality. "It won't get us anything in the long run. There's no point in attacking him."

Finally, Pharaoh Phetlock stepped up while even offering to intervene. "Hey, how about I have some of my mummy minions restrain him and escort him out? Then we can get back to business."

"NO! Nopony moves! I'm not letting this piece of metal trash get another chance to slip away!" The Mane-iac shrieked in frustration while the magic aura surrounding her horn billowed more fiercely. Having already slipped out of their clutches before by feigning defeat, I knew she was too smart to give me another chance to get out of a hard situation.

Hum Drum froze as the tension in the stadium reached a fever pitch. The three villains who had spoken out began to bombard their ally with pleas and complaints, trying to convince her to let Hum Drum leave without trouble. Long-Face and Smudge stayed out of the bickering, the former likely not feeling enough care due to his chronic depression and the latter probably due to being barely able to think at all. The Mane-iac did not respond, but seemed to be growing increasingly frustrated. Fearing that she would attack at any second, I decided to try to force her to back down. The H-Buster began to whistle as I charged it up and pointed my weapon towards the Mane-iac, my left hand bracing it for better aim as my HUD locked right onto her head. "Hey...! You touch him...and your head comes off!"

Everyone was silenced. The Mane-iac looked right at me with a glare that seemed to show a look of fearful defiance. Hum Drum glanced at me without a word before looking back towards the Mane-iac. A shot of that power to her head would undoubtedly kill her and she knew it. A full thirty seconds passed before I got a response. The magic aura surrounding the Mane-iac's horn faded and her height decreased slightly while her mane and tail's tendrils relaxed. Taking this as a sign that she was backing down, I vented the gathered energy in the H-Buster through the additional vents in the sides.

Little did I know that I had just walked into a trap. Right as I lowered my arm, the Mane-iac's cautious expression became one of demented glee as her magic aura suddenly surrounded her horn. It all happened too fast for me to line up a shot. Rather than target Hum Drum, she shot me instead! That bolt of magic struck me right in the soft spot between my pelvic and torso armor and even partially slipped through the gash that had been left there when Phetlock slashed me there with his sword. It sent a painful jolt throughout my entire endoskeleton, causing me to all but collapse. I would have fallen right on my side had I not propped myself up with my left hand.

"Hunter! You OK?!" Hum Drum shouted in shock as he turned to look at me, taking his eyes off of our enemy just long enough to give her the moment she needed.

"Kid...! Look out!" I shouted back as I saw the Mane-iac winding up one of her mane's tendrils for a strike. Would Hum Drum respond in time?

"Should've stayed in bed today, hero!" The Mane-iac roared as her tendril swooped low towards Hum Drum like a snake rapidly closing in on him. Right as he turned to look back at her with a gaze of fright...

It felt like time had just slowed to a crawl. There was nothing I could do to intervene as I looked on with a sense of horror I had never felt before. The instant the tendril slammed into Hum Drum's torso, it coiled in an instant and launched him like a spring at breakneck speeds. He crashed right through one of the glass barriers at the far end of the hockey rink, flying on a low angle until he cleared the spectator seats and smashed right into the concrete wall at the back, leaving a noticeable cracked impact point. I could on look on in horrified silence as the colt remained embedded in the indentation before falling to the floor and out of sight. And I swear, the instant that happened, I thought I heard muffled screams from deep inside the stadium's corridors.

I felt compelled to call for him, but no words came. My nonexistent lungs were devoid of breath. Even the rest of the villains around me could only look on in stunned silence as if they too could scarcely believe what the Mane-iac had just done to the Power Ponies' sidekick. Someone who had always been borderline harmless to them. Completely forgetting about the threat of the enemies before me, I turned and flared up my flight thrusters before rushing through the air towards the fallen child. Behind me, I heard Smudge gurgle loudly as if preparing to pursue me, but I heard the Mane-iac speak up to hold him back. "Leave him be, Smudge. He's not going anywhere. Not until he's in pieces, that is."

I landed before Hum Drum and was shocked by what I was seeing. Lying before me was the battered colt, on his side with a noticeable black eye where the side of his head must have collided with the wall as blood oozed from his mouth and pooled under his head. Overcome with a complex mix of emotions, I shuddered while dropping to one knee and tenderly touching his head. "Kid... Are you OK?"

I heard him groan quietly in agony, trying to move and failing to do so. A glimmer of hope filled me as I saw he was still alive. "Come on... Hang in there... You're gonna be OK, all right?"

His mask fell off while he weakly turned his head to gaze up at me, eyes barely open at all. He whispered to me, his voice barely audible. "Hunter... Did I...screw up again...?"

I was trying so hard to not cry. I felt as if it was my fault that the colt before me had just suffered an attack that he could not possibly walk off. Doing all I could to smile reassuringly, I tenderly stroked the side of his face to calm him. "No... No, you didn't screw up... You stopped them from turning me into scrap metal. Just sit tight... I'll finish things up here and we'll... Kid?"

He became unresponsive. Eyes closed with no signs of noticing my touch. Fear began to sweep over me as I tried to get my HUD to perform an in-depth scan on his vital signs, but the visor kept displaying error screens. I could not feel his pulse through my metal hands and nothing I did could rouse him. "Hum Drum... Come on, don't do this to me... Wake up... Tell me you're OK..."

Nothing. He remained still. The possibility began to dawn on me as I lifted my hand from him, tears finally spilling free and flowing down my face. "Oh god, no... Kid, why didn't you stay behind..."

Bowing my head, I heard Pharaoh Phetlock scold his deranged ally somewhere in the distance. "What were you thinking?!"

The Mane-iac provided a very cold response while sounding quite proud of herself. "Save your words, Pharaoh. With the heart of the team gone, the Power Ponies will lose morale. And in time, they'll disband. The city is as good as ours now."

"I get that, but... I still don't approve of this..." I heard Phetlock grumble, clearly disturbed over the Mane-iac's underhanded tactic.

Hearing the Mane-iac's sadistic words triggered something in me. Slowly, I rose from my feet as a great sorrow filled me. But as I turned my head just enough and locked onto the Mane-iac's grinning face, a building wrath began to fill my mind. How dare she do such a thing to a child. Still utterly remorseless, she called out to me in gloating. "You done yet?! If you're finished surveying that helpless runt, let's get back to business! We've got a city to conquer!"

I felt my face tense up as I failed to bring myself to even blink. The world suddenly slowed to a crawl as my body remained unaffected. With Rocket Tackle activating, I also equipped Fire Wave to combine them for Speed Burner. I knew exactly who I was taking out first. With my boot thrusters flaring up well past standard limits, I rocketed towards the Mane-iac at nearly supersonic speeds while coated in an aura of fire. Right before we collided, I saw her expression turn into one of utter horror as if she just finally realized what was happening an instant before I could reach her.

Time's flow returned to normal the instant I slammed my shoulder plate into the Mane-iac's torso and rocketed across the stadium and crashed us both into the spectator seats among a spectacular spray of debris. I rose to my feet to survey the damage. Moaning in both pain and disorientation, the Mane-iac lay before me. The entire front of her suit had been burned away, leaving her chest and underside scorched in third-degree burns and probably a shattered ribcage. With one blow, I had brought the maniacal mare to her knees. But I was not done yet. There were five others still standing. The bloodbath was only just beginning.

Grasping the Mane-iac's scalp in my left hand, I dragged her back down the trail of debris as an unsettling silence fell over the stadium. The other five villains looked on in silent shock and caution as I approached the edge of the hockey rink. Unblinkingly, I stared them down as my armor returned to its default pale colorations.

The terrible combination of wrath and sorrow still boiled within me in ways I could not even begin to describe. All I knew at the time was that I was going to make these bastards pay for what had just happened to Hum Drum. Slowly, I lifted the barely conscious Mane-iac higher so that her comrades could get a good look at her and the damage she had suffered. After maybe ten seconds of them looking on in silence, I made my message clear. I raised the H-Buster's mouth to the side of the Mane-iac's head. High Heel let out a guttural shriek, "Wait...!"

I was not having any of it. The instant I released my grip on the Mane-iac's scalp, I fired. The small burst of plasma blasted her away from me until the Mane-iac fell right into the path that led into the back of the stadium where the Power Ponies were likely being held captive. I had a hunch that after taking the punishment I had dealt to her both then and in our first encounter, a tiny plasma shot to the side of the head would probably not be enough to finish her off. But it was enough to make my point clear. I was no longer their prey. From that point onward, the villains of Maretropolis were fighting for their lives.

My armor took on a greenish gray coloration as I selected the Homing Torpedo function, the H-Buster beginning to whistle as it charged up. The five villains still looked on in horror and disbelief now that I had just put down their vilest ally. Taking aim with the H-Buster, my HUD locked onto all five at once. "Who's next?"

I unleashed the charged shot, five missiles bursting out of my arm with each going after a different target. This incoming barrage was enough to snap the remaining villains out of their stupor as they tried to defend against this attack. High Heel merely batted her missile away and into the spectator seats, Smudge shot his down with lightning, Pharaoh Phetlock just rushed out of the way faster than his missile could track him, Long-Face blocked his by conjuring up a shield, and Shadowmane intercepted hers with a masterfully thrown dagger. Satisfied that my point had been made, I swapped back to my default settings as Phetlock zipped closer to me and stopped in the middle of the stadium. "Hey, cut it out! That wasn't our idea! Look, we quit! We'll just..."

His words failed to reach me. In my eyes, they were all guilty. My HUD locked onto the speedy pharaoh as my boot thrusters launched me into the air for a massive jump as I drew the H-Saber from its holster, the scorching plasma blade emerging from the hilt's emitter. "We'll... Uh... Aaaagghhhhh!"

Phetlock shrieked in horror as I came right for him and very nearly cleaved him in two. Had it not been for Fili-Second's superpower, he never would have retreated in time. Upon landing, I rocketed towards him with another booster dash and attempted to slash him over and over while he frantically tried to stay out of my reach. He finally gathered enough courage to rush at me and trip me long enough to throw me off balance and stop while shrieking to his allies, "Kill him! Kill him kill him kill him KILL HIM!"

Terror was beginning to sink in. Rather than attacking in anger or out of a plan to take out a common enemy, the villains of Maretropolis began to strike at me out of fear. They all struck at once. Lightning bolts, daggers, pink magic arrows, and shockwaves coursing through the ground bombarded me. But it did not faze me while rage was pressing me onward. Either by rushing through the bombardment or just blocking them with my particle shield, I set my sights on the biggest target in the stadium.

"Get away from me!" High Heel roared as she prepared an uppercut and narrowly missed my head as I weaved around her massive arm. I returned the favor by cleaving the H-Saber's plasma blade right through her, leaving a deep gash that was immediately cauterized by the intense heat. The superpowered femme fatale let out a roar of agony and fell to her side, likely having just felt pain unlike any she had ever felt before in her life. The scent of burned hair and flesh reached my nose, but soon faded as I was set upon by a barrage of lightning from the liquid Smudge. I blew him away with a Storm Tornado, but was then puzzled when I noticed that High Heel had stopped screaming surprisingly soon.

I turned to glance at the hulking mare and watched as she climbed to her feet with no sign of the wound remaining. A gash in her red bodysuit was present with singed edges, but I did not even see a scar. A healing factor! It was no wonder Saddle Rager could take just as much as she could give and keep coming back for more. High Heel let out a groan while she put a hoof on her side. "I'll never know how Saddle Rager puts up with that pain...!"

Without a word, I took aim with the H-Buster once more, but almost lost my balance when something snagged it and dragged it around behind my back. My right forearm had been lassoed in Shadowmane's rope with it literally keeping one arm tied behind my back. No matter how hard I pulled, the rope would keep my arm where it was. The sly thief then yelled surprisingly loudly from nearby, "Take him down! Quick!"

"Gladly!" High Heel growled before she approached me with a frustrated glare set into her face. Rather than be annoyed or worried, I just got creative. My HUD locked onto High Heel's face to insure my aim would not be off. I then turned sideways and fired the H-Buster from behind my back, striking the unsuspecting femme fatale right between the eyes. While weak, it still left her grabbing at her face and yelling in sharp pain. I then turned my attention to Shadowmane staying far away in the seats and started bombarding her with a volley of smaller plasma shots. She ducked and weaved around my awkward firing, but it was finally enough for her to will her rope into releasing my arm due to having a much harder time figuring out where I was going to shoot from. Although a large pink shield did pop up to protect her from some of my more accurate shots.

With Shadowmane keeping her distance, Smudge trying to pull himself back together after being blown away, High Heel trying to shake off the shot to her face, and Pharaoh Phetlock just being far too afraid of me to even dare approach me, I focused on Long-Face as he hovered above the very edge of the stadium while dozens of floating pink crossbows took aim. With Radiance's superpower at his disposal, he was easily the most versatile of my foes. If I did not deal with him first, this fight would drag out much longer than desired.

Readying the Rocket Tackle, I watched as the crossbows fired a volley of bolts right at me. Wasting no time, I rushed at Long-Face and through the storm of bolts before slamming into him and into the wall. He let out a yell of pain from the two impacts, his conjurations vanishing from loss of focus. I pushed back and let him fall to the floor and took aim with the H-Buster, trying to decide how to deal with him. He immediately tried to fly away, but yelped in pain as one wing drooped low. Broken and useless. He even had trouble standing as if he had just sprained an ankle. He was not going to escape me.

The rest of the villains could only look on helplessly as I had their comrade completely at my mercy. Any interference could prompt me to fire and blow his face off. Long-Face knew this too and began to desperately crawl away from me while never turning away. My eyes fell upon his horn. A horn that was not his. He seemed to be trying to conjure up something with it, but was too panicked to maintain focus with something he had very little experience with. Seeing I would not be needing to kill him, I restored my right hand for the moment and began to walk towards him.

"No... Please, no!" Long-Face yelled in terror as he began to desperately fling his remaining vials of sorrow gas at me, the glass vials shattering against my dented armor and engulfing me in the harmless gas. I never looked away nor flinched, my unblinking eyes focused right on his face. When he lifted his last vial of sorrow gas, I suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the horn. He utterly lost it, dropping the vial without breaking it and bursting into panicked screams as I lifted him up and secured him in a headlock with one arm while my other hand remained firmly grasping his horn. He shrieked and squirmed, calling out to his allies to save him. I responded by casting a glare at each of them, daring the four remaining villains to even try to stop me even as he stabbed his wrist-mounted syringe into my exposed throat in a futile attempt to make me release him, the liquid serum doing nothing to hinder my mechanical body.

I began applying more pressure to his horn as I tried to tilt my hand forward. Trying to remove it and render him helpless. The chronically depressed stallion screamed and begged in my grasp, so certain he was about to die. I offered no response, but I finally got somewhere. Just as I was starting to wonder if it was even possible to remove a unicorn's horn, especially an artificial one like his, Long-Face's horn snapped off just above the base. I even took a closer look at it, finding the horn to be composed of some sort of crystalline substance. Probably something very similar to a real unicorn horn. Either way, Long-Face's primary means of attack had been disabled.

"Is... Is it over?" Long-Face muttered as my grasp on him slackened. While he was no longer a threat, I was not about to let him off easy. I dropped his horn before grabbing him by the back of his head and then slamming his face into the concrete wall behind me. Not hard enough to crush his skull, but just enough to knock him out. I released my grasp on the gloomy pegasus and watched as he dropped to the floor and fell over, a dazed groan hissing from his lips as he lapsed into unconsciousness. I turned my gaze to the rest of the villains, ready to continue the struggle. One down. Four to go.

Smudge let out a gurgling roar of vengeance as he unleashed a continues stream of lightning to try and whittle what little physical integrity I had left down to nothing. I took off in flight, rushing along the edges of the stadium and returning fire with bursts of Homing Torpedo, the lightning bolts shooting down some while a few more got through and caused the liquid villain to get splattered every which way and disrupt his attacks so long as he had to pull himself back together.

A dagger glanced off of my armored chest, my eyes falling towards Shadowmane as she stood near the center of the arena. Deciding to go after her next, I tried using Rocket Tackle to close the gap and slam her into the floor. The slick thief just barely managed to dodge at the last second, causing me to crashing into the floor in a kneeling position with one hand propping me up, having just barely pulled out of the fall and lessen the impact. Before I could even stand up, High Heel charged right into me and sent me flying back a moderate distance.

Upon landing on my feet, the hulking femme fatale came charging at me again and winded up for a punch to my face. Too angry to consider evading, I matched her punch with one of my own. My right fist slammed into her hoof, generating a shockwave from the point of impact. While my mighty robotic body was able to almost match the force of that punch, my arm could not completely endure the shock of the impact as the metal casing around my right forearm had a few large cracks appear through it. I stepped back, shaking my arm from the strain on my internal systems, only to have another punch strike me hard enough to send me flying towards the far end of the stadium.

I was not about to let myself crash into the seats again. Before I could collide with anything, I righted myself so that I was facing forward and fired up the Rocket Tackle. The output of my boot thrusters was high enough to stop my horizontal movement and send me rushing back towards High Heel at breakneck speeds. I managed to flip myself over again along the way and slammed my metal feet into her face for a supersonic dropkick. If that had been anyone else, the force of the impact would have ripped their head off. But for High Heel, she was sent hurtling across the rink and through the barrier again, crashing into the seats with a spectacular spray of junk flying everywhere as if a runaway bulldozer had driven through it.

I landed upon my feet and had to act quickly before High Heel could get up or her allies could counterattack. Smudge was almost back into one puddle of fluid and Shadowmane and Pharaoh Phetlock were in no place to attack me. I quickly equipped Homing Torpedo and began to charge up the H-Buster. However, I knew I was going to need a lot more firepower to take down the burliest bruiser of my enemies. Going against my better judgment, I disabled the limiter on my weapon systems, causing the whistling of the H-Buster's charge became even higher in pitch as the glowing light from its mouth turned red. This was going to hurt.

Once at max charge, I unleashed the Homing Torpedoes as I dumped the Variable Weapon System's entire energy reserves into that one shot. A volley of missiles was fired in rapid succession from the H-Buster and reached a grand total of fifty missiles before my reserves ran dry. Just as High Heel started to stand up, the incoming missile storm slammed into her in a barrage of explosions that almost took up the entire rows of seats she had crashed into! Nothing but a trail of smoke rose from where the femme fatale had fallen, leading me to believe she was at least knocked out.

"You... You wretch!" I heard Shadowmane yell as a dagger struck me right in the throat. I glanced down and saw the dagger's hilt at the edge of my vision. I quickly plucked it from my neck and dropped it, any damage done to my internal systems being negligible. The instant I cast her a glare, I swear I saw Shadowmane flinch as she realized just how ineffective her attacks were against my robotic body. Utilizing Rocket Tackle again, I cleared the entire hockey rink and pinned the slick thief to the wall by her throat before she could try to snag me with her rope. She gagged in my grasp while my right hand was restored and reached under her cloak for an opportunity to give her a taste of her own medicine. I found what I was looking for and drew one of her own daggers from her stash and raised it up, ready to gouge her face open.

Her eyes opened wide in terror as I made my first stab, just narrowly missing her while she tilted her head to the side at the last possible second and making the blade strike the concrete wall behind her. Undeterred, I tried again only to miss once more when she tilted her head to the other side. Before I could attempt a third stab, I was startled as something suddenly snagged me around the throat and hurled me away from Shadowmane before releasing me. She had gotten her rope around me at the last second and created some distance between us. When I landed back in the hockey rink, I glared back up at the frightened thief and her rope. However, my HUD detected a reaction in response to me touching Shadowmane's dagger. It displayed a wire-frame image of the dagger and then something that resembled a type of pickaxe. I glanced down at my body, finding my armor plating having taken on a shade of indigo while the softer segments remained white. While I did not speak the identity of my newly assimilated weapon, I knew the name by heart. Metal Anchor.

Dropping the dagger, I armed the H-Buster again and pointed it straight up before firing a shot. Something burst forth from the mouth and quickly took on the form of a device that was somewhere between a pickaxe and anchor. Once the device dropped back down with the handle falling into my grasp, I locked onto Shadowmane and hurled it at her with as much strength as I could. The spinning anchor went fleeing through the air and struck the concrete wall behind where Shadowmane had been standing with a clank, the sharpened tip of the anchor's point sinking several inches into the hardened concrete. I began repeating the process, trying to strike the fleeing thief with my new weapons until a rushing blur began to encircle me. Was it the pharaoh?

Much to my bewilderment, I saw an army of the pharaoh's mummy minions just spring up around me. He must have used up every last one of his bandages to conjure up so many mummies since the entire hockey rink was full of them with me stuck in the middle. Smudge had pulled himself back together and was waiting for an opportunity to strike me from the sidelines. With the mummies moaning and groaning around me as if they were ready to try and drown me in a sea of bandages, I quickly swapped to Fire Wave once more while disabling the limiter. I was in the mood to try something.

The H-Buster whistled as it reached maximum charge. But as the mummies made their move, I made mine. I directed the H-Buster right at the floor and only then fired, releasing a wave of flames that shot out in all directions and immediately turned the entire hockey rink into a sea of flames. The mummies groaned and flailed as their hollow bodies burned away to nothing but cinders, the ashes of there bandages floating through the air around me as I glared at my remaining enemies from the very middle of that hellish sight. They could only look on in ghastly horror as my means of destroying my hollow captors had turned into a attack of psychological warfare.

As the flames died down and the hockey rink became safe for them to enter again, Smudge desperately tried to get in another attack as he rushed towards me like an ocean wave in an attempt to snatch me up. I did not anticipate this and was swept up in his gurgling clutches as he prepared to zap me from within once more. Right as I was subjected to another concentrated burst of lightning, I responded with my own counterattack as I combined Fire Wave with Rocket Tackle and activated Speed Burner, engulfing myself in a fire aura. This proved extraordinarily painful for Smudge as he let out an agonized gurgling groan before quickly releasing me from his grasp before I could evaporate him to death.

Once he got some distance, Smudge went berserk. He began raining lightning down all over the hockey rink while roaring incoherently, even for something like him. Even his remaining allies dared not try to approach me out of fear of getting zapped. What was I going to do? There had to be an effective means to take down a completely liquid opponent without getting too close.

It then occurred to me while I weaved around whatever bolt of lightning I could and blocking the rest with my left arm's shield generator. My body's armor turned a hue of silvery gray as I armed myself with Storm Tornado. While Smudge may have had access to one of Zapp's means of attack, I had the other. I charged up the H-Buster and pointed it at the ground before releasing the shot, creating a howling tornado all around me that reached right up to the stadium's ceiling.

The rest of the villains did everything they could to avoid getting sucked in either by clinging to some part of the environment or just getting behind something sturdy that would protect them from the tornado's pull. Smudge was far too close to even hope to retreat and began to shriek and roar while trying to pull away. It was all for naught. The liquid creature became increasingly stretched out as he got sucked into the tornado and began to swirl all around me in a swirling funnel of red and black.

Now that I had him right where I wanted him, it was time to put Smudge down. I armed myself with Shotgun Ice and combined it with Storm Tornado to try something new. I had a hunch of what was coming next as the H-Buster whistled while charging, my armor an icy blue. With the charged shot primed and ready, I pointed my weapon skyward and called out the name of this new yet familiar weapon. "Drift Diamond!"

The roar of the tornado was joined by the howling screech of a blizzard, the largely colorless tornado taking on a frigid blue hue as ice and frost filled it with many beautiful yet chilling ice crystals lining the funnel. I looked up and watched in silence as the red and black liquid form of Smudge became increasingly coated with a layer of icy blue. His distended form continued to swirl above me for a moment longer until the tornado ran its course and faded away. No longer supported, Smudge's spinning form fell to the ground around me and shattered into countless shards of frozen liquid. Frozen solid and in too many pieces of count, Smudge was out of the fight.

I looked to the far end of the stadium and could still see Pharaoh Phetlock and Shadowmane eyeing me warily. I had already decimated at least half of them team and they would be next. However, I then heard a roar of sorts before feeling heavy tremors coming up from behind me. Upon turning, I saw High Heel once more charging at me for another blow. Even after being bombarded by fifty missiles, she was still coming! There was no sign of any visible damage, although her outfit was even more ragged by that point. When she tried to punch me with a straight jab, I managed to evade her enough to grab her arm and use her momentum to pull her up over me and then slam her down onto her back.

My body returned to its default white coloration as I selected the H-Buster's basic settings and took aim at the stunned femme fatale's face. But before I could charge up a shot, I felt something grab me around my leg and fling me into the air before slamming me against the ice-encrusted score box above us. Shadowmane was truly proving to be a massive nuisance with that rope.

Rather than get dragged around helplessly again, I decided to fight back the only way I could. I flared up my flight thrusters and began to try flying in the opposite direction the rope was trying to drag me in. It kept changing, forcing me to change direction to avoid slamming into something. My eyes soon fell upon the sly thief at the far end of the arena while she stayed as far back as she could. She was next.

I swapped to the Strike Chain and charged up the H-Buster with my armor plating turning a shade of purple, deciding to give her the opportunity to know what it is like to get yanked around. Right after the rope tried to pull me in a new direction, I took aim at her and fired. The Strike Chain's large grasping claw at the end of its rapidly extending chain was open and ready to grab Shadowmane. The sneaky thief was momentarily stunned by the incoming attack, having never seen the Strike Chain in use before, and was securely grabbed around the neck before getting dragged back towards me at high speed. And right as the claw was about to be retracted back into the H-Buster's mouth, I lashed out with a punch and slammed my left fist right into Shadowmane's face.

High above the ground, there was nothing High Heel or Pharaoh Phetlock could do to interfere as I laid a wrathful pummeling upon their comrade. Simple and to the point, I repeatedly punched and slapped Shadowmane across the face with my left hand. At one point, the covering set over her muzzle was ripped off, revealing her coat coloration to be a dark gray. She tried to get in a word, but my assault was too relentless even as blood began to spurt from her mouth and nose.

Finally tiring of this means of attack, I decided to deliver the coup de grace. Upon releasing her from the grasp of the Strike Chain's claw, I delivered a rising kick to her underside and sent Shadowmane shooting up and crashing into one of the stadium's steel support girders above. I think that impact may have knocked her out, but I still was not done with her yet. Once Shadowmane fell and was about to pass me, I delivered another hard kick to her side that sent her crashing into the partially frozen score box among a flash of sparks and broken plastic. I then merely watched from above as the thief fell to the concrete floor below. She did not rise again after that.

Only two remained. I descended and landed gently upon the floor as my armor turned an indigo hue with Metal Anchor activated. I drew H-Saber from its holster and began to walk towards Pharaoh Phetlock and High Heel as they stood beside each other. They had power and speed, being surprisingly complimentary to each other. As the H-Saber's hilt extended to the length of that of a longsword, Phetlock began to cower. "He got Shadowmane... How is this happening?! How are we supposed to beat this guy?!"

I offered no response. Silent rage was still driving me on as I held the dormant sword hilt out to my side as if daring one of them to make the first move. High Heel, clearly not as intimidated as her ally due to knowing she could take whatever I threw at her, just growled in frustration. "There's no way he can take much more by now... Just charge him! If we whittle him down bit by bit, we'll outlast him!"

With some reluctance, the pharaoh drew his sword once more and grasped it between his teeth. He was fearful to approach me, but he knew that it was either going to be me or them. There was no escape until one side fell. "OK then... Here I go!"

The pharaoh took off towards me only to zip away in a blur. He was trying to disorientate me before moving in for a slash. He zipped around the hockey rink, going every which way. But I just stood there as my HUD carefully scanned him every time he passed my field of vision. He was fast, but my HUD was able to somewhat keep up with him. Finally, I noticed a change in his movements. His bobbing and weaving were starting to draw increasingly close. Raising the H-Saber above my head, I prepared for his assault. Magical energies began to emit from the hilt as Metal Anchor was channeled into my weapon. The energies then solidified and took the form of a most fearsome weapon. A massive thick steel blade. And right as Phetlock came charging right at me from the front, I swung my blade down.

"Huh, wha... AAAAGGGHHHH!" I swear that pharaoh shrieked like a little filly as he came to a screeching halt and stopped just short of my sword. The massive blade crashed into the concrete floor, smashing through it quite a bit in the process. He immediately darted away from me and hid behind the hulking High Heel. I hoisted my sword's blade, which was just as tall and almost as wide as myself, to my shoulder and stared my enemies down. I was strangely not bothered by what must have been at least a hundred pounds of weight attached to the H-Saber's hilt. While a sword of that size and weight would have been impossible to use in reality without hurling myself off my feet, I suppose the laws of physics work a bit differently in the comic book world.

"What're you waiting for?! It'll take him forever to swing that thing! Go get him!" High Heel roared at her cowering ally as he peeked out from behind her. I began to approach them as virtually all control over this fight had fallen into my hands.

With a battle cry of sorts, Pharaoh Phetlock charged at me in a desperate sprint. He circled me while landing glancing blows along my legs and pelvis while I tried to block his strikes with my own sword. When he came charging at me from the front, I reacted just in time by powering up my shield generator and charging at him with the use of my boot thrusters. I slammed my particle shield right into his face and sent him flopping along the ground once I came to a stop. It was during that brief lapse in the action that High Heel leaped towards me and tried to land a falling punch on me. I narrowly weaved around the punch, her hoof smashing into the concrete floor. But that gave me enough room to gather more momentum for a counterattack. Taking my sword's hilt in both hands, I ran my sword right through the hulking mare for an impaling strike.

A spectacular spray of blood burst from her back as that massive blade skewered my opponent. She gasped and gagged, but no words came as her blood oozed from the gaping wound and splattering across my armor. I turned and then swung my sword down in the other direction, slamming the maimed femme fatale into the ground and dislodging my weapon as a fresh layer of crimson adorned the blade. However, I did not expect Pharaoh Phetlock to suddenly let out a scream. "You... GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Before I even knew it, I was being subjected to slashes from every which way. With no choice, I combined Metal Anchor with Rocket Tackle in an attempt to use the Hypersonic Blade technique. My sword was altered noticeably, becoming a much slimmer blade for quick strikes while time seemed to slow down. I saw Phetlock coming at me at normal speed with a look of rage in his eyes that matched my own. Our blades clashed as I tried to get in a strike, but Phetlock was able to counter my slashes with his own as High Heel's blood was flung everywhere. I kept the Rocket Tackle's effects going for as long as I could while Phetlock and I were nothing more than slashing blurs locked in a duel. But my Variable Weapon System could only keep going for so long before I ran dry. The instant my weapon reserves were drained to nothing, I was subject to a furious flurry of sword strikes to the front of my body at such speed that I could barely see them. I staggered back once they relented, momentarily stunned as I noticed my body's integrity was now down to 5%. I needed to wrap this up quick.

My HUD locked onto Pharaoh Phetlock as he retreated back to the far end of the hockey rink, staring me down with a furious glare. He was fast. Too fast. How was I supposed to handle him now? After a second or so, I had an idea. It would be risky, but it was the only trick I could think of. I returned the H-Saber to its holster while charging up the H-Buster, my armor returning to its default white coloration. At full charge, I waited for Phetlock to make his move.

The instant I saw any movement, I lowered my right arm towards the ground in front of me. I was praying that he would charge me head-on and that was exactly what he did. I unleashed my charged shot right into the floor before me, blowing a crater into the concrete floor. It was literally a result you could miss if you blink. The bits of floor that were turned upwards as a result of the blast ended up creating a small and very temporary ramp. And sure enough, Phetlock ran right up that ramp just as he was starting to slow down upon detecting something was wrong. The speedy pharaoh went airborne and screamed in terror as he went spinning through the air all the way across the stadium and crashed into the back row of spectator seats with a surprising spray of debris in what was by far the funniest screw up I had seen all night! If I had not been so angry, I would have definitely laughed at the pharaoh for having effectively knocked himself out.

And then there was one. I turned to High Heel as she began to rise from the puddle of blood she had been lying in. Not even a scar remained. Her healing factor truly was proving to be the one thing that was allowing me to unload my wrath upon her while surviving. She growled at me with most of her red bodysuit now in tatters. "You had to do that to the pharaoh... We didn't want this! What's wrong with you?!"

At that moment, I simply did not care. All that mattered to me was that there was still one enemy left standing. An enemy that had she not been there, no harm would have come to Hum Drum. I drew the H-Saber from its holster and once more accessed Metal Anchor to generate its massive steel blade once more. I gripped the hilt in both hands and raised it high, indigo armor still splattered with her blood, ready to put this struggle to an end. High Heel was also eager to put an end to this as she snarled at me. "I'm gonna put you down myself, you piece of scrap! Come get some!"

I rushed towards her and began to swing my blade at her with surprising speed, the tip cleaving through her flesh for light wounds while she tried to pound me with her hooves. She did manage to land a blow on me and sent me hurtling to the far end of the rink, but I was quick to make a counterattack. Upon landing, I performed a massive leap with the aid of my boot thrusters and hurled myself at High Heel while performing a spectacular somersault slash with my mighty blade. I was not entirely expecting to hit anything, so I was quite surprised when I felt the blade smash into something soft on its way down. Having come out of the spin, I was shocked to see that High Heel had blocked the swing with her arm even as the blade sunk deep into it. Gritting her teeth from the pain, she grinned viciously at me. "I'm finally getting used to this!"

She suddenly tossed her arm up to dislodge the blade and caught it between both hooves before snapping that thick slab of steel in two! Upon dropping to the ground and releasing my grip on the H-Saber, I lifted my arm and took aim with the H-Buster in an attempt to lack a Metal Anchor into her head. But before I could line up a shot, she slammed her hoof down into my head and sent my face right into the floor. And right before I could even try to get up, she stomped her hoof down onto the side of my head and would not let up. She was going to crush my head like a tin can!

I yelled and groaned as High Heel began to apply more pressure to my head and deal the decisive blow. My visor became increasingly cracked and soon the left side shattered. I had to do something soon or this would be the end! I glanced all over the floor before me, trying to think of a way to get out of this trap. But as the remaining right side of my HUD scanned the area before me, I noticed something that I could hardly believe was there.

At the very edge of the hockey rink was a glass vial containing a liquid. I recognized it immediately. Against all odds and by some twisted miracle, Long-Face's last vial of sorrow gas had wound up on the hockey rink. And while a few cracks lined the glass, it and the contents within remained intact. It only then occurred to me. Saddle Rager's power is fueled by rage. If she were to become overcome with sorrow...

It was my only chance! Swapping to the Strike Chain, I locked onto the tiny vial and lined up the H-Buster with it before firing the rapidly extending chain with a clasping claw on the end. The claw clung to the vial and quickly retracted back to me and into my hand as the claw disappeared into the H-Buster. With the vial in my restored right hand, I lifted it up towards High Heel and crushed it in my palm. A cloud of gas burst forth from between my fingers and up into High Heel's face before she had any idea of wait was happening. "This... NO! Not Long-face's... I can't stop here!"

For just a few seconds, I felt High Heel apply even more pressure to my head in a desperate attempt to crush me. However, I soon felt the pressure let up and soon even felt High Heel's hoof lift off my head. I glanced up at her, seeing the hulking mare struggling to keep her emotions under control. "No... Not now... I can't... I can do this... I can... Bwaaaaaaahaaaaaaa!"

Just like that, High Heel burst into uncontrollable sobbing and collapsed to the floor beside me. She writhed and wailed as her bulky body began to...shrink. The hulking muscle that made up her body began to regress back to that of an ordinary mare. And soon, there she lay before me without a hint of rage and with her outfit all but ruined.

I shakily climbed to my feet as my body's integrity was at its limit. I retrieved the H-Saber and returned it to its holster before looking down at the crying femme fatale before me. I took aim with the H-Buster as my armor's colors returned to normal, but I soon lowered my weapon regardless. She was already completely helpless and screaming like a heartbroken widow. And to top it off, the bulk of my rage had already burned itself out. She would soon cry herself to sleep regardless, so there was no need to add on anymore helpings of punishment. My work was done. Victory was mine.

Turning a death ear to the weeping mare before me, I began to turn and gaze around in a haze at the scale of destruction I had caused. Exhausted and emotionally drained, I could scarcely think as I beheld the levels of collateral damage my rampage had brought to the stadium. The villains I had defeated were still lying where they had fallen. Long-Face was still slouched against part of the furthest wall, the Mane-iac was lying in the path leading to the back where the Power Ponies were being held hostage, Shadowmane and High Heel were at my feet, Pharaoh Phetlock was buried in rubble, and Smudge was in too many pieces to count and strewn about the hockey rink with no sign of thawing. But where was...

I immediately snapped out of my stupor as a name came to mind. Hum Drum! Was he safe?! Was he even alive?! Had he been swept up in the Storm Tornado and tossed to his death? Had he been caught in the blast radius of that missile barrage I had unleashed upon High Heel? In a panic, I fired up my flight thrusters and rushed upward so I could survey the area. I noticed something standing out right away. At the top of a row of steps between two rows of seats was something that was white. White as a bandage. "Is that...?"

Bewildered, I flew towards it before setting myself down at the top of the steps. Indeed, it was roughly what I expected. The last of Pharaoh Phetlock's mummy minions had wrapped some of its own bandages around a cup holder that was attached to one of the spectator seats to secure it in place. And much to my shock, wrapped in the mummy's bandages was something else. With his face unobstructed, Hum Drum hung tightly bound in bandages. The mummy just looked at me with its blank blue eyes, not showing any signs of hostility.

I could not comprehend what I was seeing at first. The mummy minion had been keeping Hum Drum safe throughout the battle by keeping him as far away as possible and secured to one spot. Why? Had one of them developed a conscience? Or had their pharaoh decided to...

A jolt of horror shot through me. Much earlier on, Phetlock had offered to remove Hum Drum from the stadium. Had he...tried to keep the colt safe? And I...

If I had a digestive system at the time, I would have felt exceptionally nauseous. I felt sick with myself, having not shown mercy to those who tried to convince the Mane-iac to let him leave. I even denied them the choice of surrender. All for the sake of my wrath towards the allies of that psychotic mare. I did everything I could to focus on what was important at the time. Struggling to retain composure, I reached out to the mummy. "Give him here..."

Hum Drum's captor made no attempt to resist. Its bandages unfurled and lowered Hum Drum to the floor. He looked no better off than before, but the bleeding seemed to have stopped. My damaged HUD still could not get any kind of reading on his vital signs, so all I could do was hope that he was still hanging on. As tenderly as I could, I scooped the colt into my arms. "Kid... If you're still there... Just hang on. We're almost done here."

While I cradled the silent child in my arms, I looked down at the mummy as it untangled itself from the cup holder. It looked up at me, seemingly unsure of what to do. I looked towards the far end of the stadium where Pharaoh Phetlock was likely all but buried in debris. "Go to your pharaoh. He's not well."

The mummy minion did as it was told and galloped around the edge of the stadium to reach its master. I then walked down the steps and across the hockey rink to reach my destination. But with every sign of battle I passed, ranging from structural damage to the area or a fallen enemy, I felt increasingly disgusted with myself. Why did I not stop myself? Why was it necessary to have gone that far?

I reached the door that led to where the Power Ponies were held and found that it was indeed secured by a special kind of lock. A panel set into the wall seemed to have a scanning device on it. A retinal scanner, just like I had been told. And right behind on the floor was a barely conscious Mane-iac. Feeling a glimmer of rage return to me, I set Hum Drum down in the corner and walked back to the Mane-iac with the intention of putting her to good use.

If you were expecting me to pluck out one of her eyes and use it to get by the lock, you have a sick imagination. Instead, I grabbed her by the back of her head and dragged her other to the door before shoving her face up against the panel. Her barely open eye was scanned promptly, causing the door before me to slide open. I then dropped the Mane-iac where she was and picked up Hum Drum before continuing on.

A short hallway was all that stood between me and my destination. I shuffled through the dark passage, sore and exhausted. When the door before me opened, I stepped into a large locker room that had been adjusted into some sort of holding chamber. The Power Ponies were shackled to the walls above me while some sort of pedestal was before them. Probably where that strange extractor had been placed before draining them of their powers.

I could not even look directly at them while they all silently looked down at me, although I did notice Masked Matter-Horn and Radiance were lacking their unicorn horns. I shambled over to the pedestal-like device before me and reached out with one hand to grab an obvious lever on it. Certain it would free them, I pulled it down. Indeed, the sounds of clasps opening was heard along with the clacks of hooves striking the floor. No longer needing to focus on anything, I slouched to the floor and just sat down with Hum Drum in my arms. My mind was a mess of clashing emotions.

"Hunter... Darling, are you both all right?" Radiance spoke softly as the Power Ponies began to gather around me. I could not even look at them. I could not even speak. I just turned my gaze to the floor and nothing more.

Masked Matter-Horn seemed to understand what was wrong and stepped before me while trying to coax Radiance to not get too close. "Give him a minute, girls. He's shell shocked. You saw what happened."

Saddle Rager took a step forward and tilted my head back manually so I could look directly at her. "Hunter... May I see him? I'm a medic."

I could only quietly nod and gently lowered the unresponsive Hum Drum to the floor. Saddle Rager then turned him until he was on his back. She held a hoof to his throat, probably to check for a pulse. She then lowered an ear to his chest while a look of silent fear adorned her face. The rest of the team looked on in dread, fidgeting in anxiety, muttering quiet pleas for their little friend's well-being, or gnawing on a hoof to help ease the tension. Maybe ten seconds later, Saddle Rager lifted her head and breathed a sigh of relief. "He's hanging in there... We need to get him back home fast so I can perform the necessary procedures."

The rest of the Power Ponies joined in with quiet words of genuine relief and even some quiet sobbing from one or two of them. They had the right to get that emotional. I heard them scream when the Mane-iac attacked the poor kid. They saw their sidekick almost get killed back there.

Finally having a reason to feel a positive emotion, I bowed my head and let out a quiet groan. "Oh, thank god..."

I then felt someone scoop something under my arms and started to pull me up to a standing position. I heard the voice of Zapp right behind me. "On your feet, Sir Hunter. We have no reason to tarry here."

"Yeah. Tie Hum Drum to me and I'll hurry on back to... Oh... Right. We still don't have our superpowers back yet..." Fili-Second then spoke up with a disheartened frown. But she then asked, "Wait! That thing out in the middle of the place! Is it OK?"

"It better be! We'll never get our powers back if it got busted in the fight! Come on, let's go fire it up! We need to get Hum Drum back as quick as possible." Masked Matter-Horn commanded before she led her team out of their prison. I tried to follow, but staggered a bit as I felt far too emotionally compromised to stay steady. Before I could fall, I felt someone hold on to me. I looked to my right and saw Saddle Rager looking at me with such an expression of worry. For the remainder of the trek back into the stadium, we said nothing while she draped my arm over her for support as she hovered next to me.

We soon joined the rest of the Power Ponies out in the stadium, Hum Drum draped across Masked Matter-Horn's back. The place had fallen silent now that High Heel had fainted from excessive crying. They were all looking up at the stadium's score box. Radiance then turned to me and asked, "Well, Hunter? How's it looking?"

I turned my gaze up and focused on the spherical device that was still hanging from the score display's underside. After all that happened, it was still right where it had been left even though it was largely encrusted in ice from being caught in the middle of that Drift Diamond maelstrom. What was left of my HUD focused on it while performing an in-depth scan. While partially frozen over, no damage was detected. "No anomalies detected. It's still functional."

"Superb. Now, where is the controller..." Zapp replied before flying up and circling the stadium. She was likely searching for the device that High Heel had used to activate it in the first place. It did not take her long to drop down to a row of seats and lift something from them. "Got it!"

"Hang on..." I finally heard Mistress Mare-velous speak from behind me. I stepped aside as she dragged the Mane-iac out into the hockey rink. Probably to insure she was close enough for the device to affect her. Once the Mane-iac had been dropped out onto the edge of the hockey rink, she looked back at us with a face that seemed almost as stiff as stone. It was almost odd that she had barely spoken since being freed. "OK. Fire it up."

"Right. Hunter, could you hold Hum Drum for... Hunter?" I heard Masked Matter-Horn ask, although I was distracted by a pile of rubble off to my right. I could not look away, seeing that lone mummy minion standing beside it. In that pile was Pharaoh Phetlock. The one person there who went out of his way to try and insure no further harm would befall Hum Drum.

"Ladies... Do you think the pharaoh is..." I muttered, unsure of how to put the words I was trying to think of.

To my surprise, Fili-Second looked at me with a bit of a reassuring smile. "Him? Well, if he's got my superpowers, he's probably gonna be just fine. I don't have anywhere near Saddle Rager's level of endurance, but I do heal up fast. He's probably already a lot better right now."

Accelerated healing. Something I had not considered. Not quite enough to be labeled a healing factor, but it did soothe my conscience enough knowing he would likely not have to be hospitalized for very long. "Cool... He...doesn't seem that bad compared to the rest."

"True... He's more of a nuisance than anything, but I don't think he's really genuinely evil. At least compared to the Mane-iac." Saddle Rager added while she released her grasp on me. "Now please... Hold Hum Drum for a moment so he doesn't get caught in that thing's beams."

I did not object. I took the unconscious colt into my hands and stepped back. With nothing else to stall them, Zapp pressed the button on the device she had found. The device hanging under the stadium's score box began to hum as the round pink glass objects lining it began to glow.

It was all over and done with in a matter of seconds. Beams of pink energy burst out every which way, striking the unconscious villains and the Power Ponies. Once it was over, I noticed a few physical changes. Radiance and Masked-Matter Horn had regained their horns on their foreheads. Fili-Second threw a few quick rapid-fire jabs with her front hooves, Zapp poked her pendant to create a few sparks, Saddle Rager snarled as if she was thinking of some very angry thoughts and expanded her muscles slightly before regressing to normal, and Mistress Mare-velous' golden rope came floating back over to her. Everything was back where it needed to be.

However, we all turned to face the sound of a groan from nearby. The Mane-iac had regained consciousness after being exposed to that device's effects and was trying to avoid lying on her heavily burned underside. Judging by how dazed she seemed to be, that shot to the head from earlier must have given her a concussion. Fili-Second just shook her head in disbelief. "I swear, that freak has survived some of the craziest stuff over the years! I bet you could have a skyscraper fall on her and she'd be back for more in a month!"

"I think that's what you call Joker Immunity." I muttered as I felt a spark of anger starting to rise within me. But before I could even consider taking a shot at the Mane-iac, I paused when Mistress Mare-velous stepped between us. "Hm?"

"Back off, Hunter. I've got this one." She replied with a very cold tone of voice that was dripping with barely contained wrath. She stepped forward while we all stood back, her golden rope floating up beside her.

The Mane-iac seemed to be barely aware of Mare-velous' presence. At least until that rope suddenly coiled around her neck like a noose and lifted her head to look at the stone-faced superheroine. With one of the most intimidating icy cold tone I had heard from her all day, Mistress Mare-velous spoke unblinkingly towards her enemy. "Got your attention now? Good. We saw what you did. And lucky for you, Hum Drum's going to be fine. So this time, I'm letting you off with a warning. We're going to let the police know where you are and you'll live to make a full recovery. However... If you EVER lay a hoof or a single strand of hair on Hum Drum again..."

What came next was actually rather frightening. The rope's grip on the Mane-iac's throat suddenly tightened. Too tight. The Mane-iac began to desperately claw at the ground, gasping as one hoof fruitlessly tried to grab at the rope's death grip. She was being strangled to death! None of us dared to intervene now that the Mane-iac was entirely at Mistress Mare-velous' mercy. As the Mane-iac's desperate eyes began to grow bloodshot, Mare-velous issued her warning. "Do it again, and next time I see you, this rope will tie itself around your throat just like it is now. And it will never let go. Not until your heart finally stops beating. But that won't ever happen. Will it?"

The Mane-iac desperately shook her head to make certain she understood her enemy's warning. Satisfied, Mare-velous willed her rope to release her captive. The golden rope quickly untangled itself like a retreating snake, letting the Mane-iac's head fall to the floor as she breathed deeply in freedom. She would likely pass out, so we left her alone by that point. At least she would likely have had Mare-velous not knocked her out with a sudden punch to the head. That mare... By far the most intimidating of the Power Ponies aside from Saddle Rager.

With nothing else to say, Mare-velous turned to Fili-Second. "I'll tie Hum Drum to you. Get the kid back to HQ. Do what you can to hook him up and make sure he gets what he needs until Saddle Rager gets there to handle the rest."

"Got it. Saddle him up." Fili-Second replied while I set Hum Drum on her back. The golden rope wound itself around her and tightly bound the colt to her torso to insure he would not come loose. She then looked back at us and said, "Feels like he's tied on tight. I'll get going. Just make sure you girls tell the cops what happened here on your way back."

"I shall visit the police department myself. Now go! Hurry!" Zapp retorted before Fili-Second zipped across the hockey rink in an instant and through the doorway that led back into the locker room I had originally entered from. She was probaby going out the same way I came in since most other ways out were still locked down. Zapp then turned to me and said, "We shall go on ahead as well. Are you coming, Sir Hunter?"

I paused for a moment. My eyes glanced at the lone mummy minion in the spectator seats nearby. "Actually... I need to take care of something first. I'll be along shortly, all right?"

"If you say so. We'll be back home when you finally leave. Come on, girls. Let's go." Masked Matter-Horn replied before she and the rest of the Power Ponies hurried across the hockey rink and through the only way out. With no one else watching, I hurried up the steps towards Pharaoh Phetlock.

The mummy minion merely stood its ground since it seemed to know I was not hostile at the moment. There in the pit of debris was the humbled pharaoh, lightly moaning from his wounds. True to Fili-Second's words, his body did not seem quite as busted up as I would have expected after such a spectacular crash. He was still in bad shape, but was clearly not in danger of dying. "Hey... Phetlock..."

The pharaoh groaned weakly as he glanced at me in dazed terror. "No... Please... No more... No more... I beg you..."

He was terrified of me. Seeing him in the state he was end made me shudder in guilt. Of all the people in the arena, he probably deserved punishment the least. And yet, I refused to show him mercy. I tried to reach out to him with one hand, struggling to hold back my tears as I beheld the results of my rampage. In the end, I could not bring myself to touch him due to him becoming increasingly agitated the closer I got. I instead chose to speak to him from a short distance. "No, I'm not going to hurt you. I just... I want to say I'm... I really appreciate what you did for Hum Drum. You had this mummy here keep him wrapped up and safe, right? The kid's probably gonna be OK, so you..."

I faltered in my words as I could no longer hold back the tears. I held my face in my hand while I let out a quiet sob. "Oh god, I am so sorry... You didn't deserve this... Just... The cops are on their way. They'll get you to the hospital and... Just hang in there, OK? You're...gonna be fine..."

I could not bear to look at my victim any longer. I turned and ran across the hockey rink and back into the darkened locker room to find my way out. I had to get away from there. It was too painful to behold. Once I was outside, I flared up my flight thrusters and took to the air under the glow of the moon. I could already hear police and ambulance sirens wailing in the distance as they were dispatched to clean up the mess.

I flew above the city, just gazing down at the many illuminated buildings. It was quite beautiful, in all honesty. But I did not have time to waste. I needed to get back to the Power Ponies headquarters and make certain things were all right. It was probably what the plot demanded anyway and I really wanted nothing more than to go home and enjoy some tea to calm my nerves. The unique shape of the Power Ponies' home loomed on the horizon and I quickly approached before finding Zapp waiting at the front door. She beckoned me to follow her inside. "Welcome, Sir Hunter. I shall escort you."

"Thanks..." I muttered as my flight thrusters folded back into place. I followed Zapp onto the elevator and took it up to the tenth floor. It led out into a hallway not unlike the one on the 15th floor. One could easily get lost in such a place. Not far down the hall, she turned and led me into a quiet room illuminated by a large lamp of sorts above an operating table. It was clearly a room intended for medical procedures. The rest of the Power Ponies had gathered around, their masks and cowls removed in the safety of their home. Spruce Spanner was already using an X-ray machine to scan Hum Drum for internal skeletal damage, the colt's superhero attire having been entirely removed.

The rest of the team looked at me for a moment, but the sight of Hum Drum in such a state was too much for me. I stepped back out of the room, took several steps to the left, and just slid to the floor with my back to the wall. I sat on the floor while just trying to process all that had happened in this one issue of Project H's comic book series. How did things get this heavy?

I held my face in my hand, memories of my rampage flashing through my mind. The sight of my foes falling. Their pleas for mercy. And worse, the indescribable smell of blood. A smell that was still clinging to parts of my armor. That smell... It jarred me in ways I could not describe. As if it was trying to bring a forgotten memory to the surface that I simply could not recall. A memory my mind had lost, but my body could still remember. And it made me feel sick. I knew I had done something horrible in the past where blood was spilled. Something I could hazard a guess as to what, but I did not want to even speculate why the smell of heavy bloodshed felt so familiar.

As my thoughts raced, I heard the door beside me close. My eyes peeked between my fingers and saw the form of Mistress Mare-velous slowly walk by me. She paid me no heed at all. While I was tempted to let her be, I needed some solace. Someone to talk to. And I needed answers. "Mare-velous... You got a minute?"

She stopped in her tracks and looked my way with a noticeably pained expression. She too probably needed to step out of the room so as to not have to see Hum Drum in the state he was in. While she seemed tempted to continue walking, she heeded my words and sat down beside me on her haunches. "Yeah... I guess I do. I need somepony to talk to myself. So... What's up?"

I lowered my hand from my face and turned to look at her. Her mask had been removed from her face, leaving her identity unobstructed. The remains of my HUD still could not find a match on her. Not wanting to keep her waiting, I sighed and asked what was sure to be a difficult question. "Have you...ever killed someone before?"

It was a question she was not expecting. Her face's expression seemed pained for a moment before she looked away from me. "Yeah... I have."

I was not surprised. I then asked, "Well... How does it feel? Can you...describe what it's like to...end the life of another?"

Once more, Mistress Mare-velous fell silent as she tried to find the right words. "Well... It's not a good feeling. In this line of work, you constantly have to make choices that can effect many other people. Whenever you face a threat... You have to choose between two choices on how to deal with the person before you who is a threat to society. Capture or destroy. And when the choice is to destroy... It's never a good feeling."

I waited a few seconds to make certain I was not about to interrupt Mare-velous' explanation. "I think...I know what you mean... I feel like I've killed before too and... I feel like it's something I don't want to remember."

"If you don't feel something when you take a life for the first time, there's something seriously wrong with you. It's normal to feel some regret. The feeling of wondering if what you did was the right choice. It's something we superheroes have to deal with frequently. Even when you know that sparing your enemy would only bring more harm to others... Even when you know destroying the threat is the right choice... It's never a choice that'll bring you a happiness. At best, the only good you can take out of such a scenario is the relief of knowing the threat will never harm anyone again." Mistress Mare-velous explained with a rather disheartened expression before she looked at me. "When the day comes where you finally destroy Alpha, I can promise you won't take any pleasure from it. No matter how evil he is."

"I can believe that..." I retorted before looking at her once more. A moment went by without us saying anything. I took note of how oddly silent she was and how she was the only one of the Power Ponies who stepped out of the room. Thinking back to my time with Hum Drum before leaving the headquarters, I brought up another question. "Hum Drum... I heard you and him worked together before the Power Ponies were founded."

I noticed a very slight smile spread across her lips. "Yeah... Hum Drum was just a little street kid trying to get by. I bumped into him now and then while still working solo. I sometimes even had to rescue him, hence why we kept bumping into each other. Even though I tried to not get too attached to anypony I rescued, he grew on me. He eventually approached me after I protected him again and tried to repay me by becoming my sidekick. I didn't like the idea, but he had grown on me a bit too much by then. So I let him join up and taught him a few things about how to keep up with me. He never was all that good at it, but... Ever since he joined up with me, I haven't killed since. I... I don't want him to have to see that. The kid's the closest thing to a little brother I've ever known."

It was no small wonder why Mistress Mare-velous was so distraught over Hum Drum. I knew they went back a long ways, but not that far back. For someone who seems like a mare who is tough as nails most of the time, this incident had resulted in her showing a vulnerable side I never dreamed I would see from her. After another moment of silence, I decided to try my luck with a new question. "Who are you?"

"You already know that, Hunter. I'm Mistress Mare-velous." She replied dryly, almost like she was trying to avoid the question.

"No, I mean your real name. I don't want to talk to the mask. I want to talk to the mare under it." I pressed further, trying to convince her to not hide behind any facades or walls of mystery.

She turned to look at me for a good fifteen seconds. I waited, never looking away from her. It felt like she was scanning me. Trying to decide if she could really trust me. She soon looked away and spoke a word. "Fortuna."

"For...tuna...?" I asked, not expecting the word at all.

"Fortuna Duke." She explained once again. She did not look at me as she spoke. Probably trying to figure out if she had not made a mistake in revealing her name.

I thought on the name for a moment. Fortuna. A name derived from luck and fortune. I almost cracked a smirk as I noticed a connection between that name and something I usually see with her. "Does that name have something to do with all those lucky horseshoes you carry around?"

"Hey, my name's got nothing to do with my use of hoofarangs." She snapped at me while sounding strangely amused by my question. Fortuna was looking at me, but also looking noticeably more relaxed. "Although... Maybe I do have a lot of luck on my side when compared to the rest of the team."

"Really? Do tell." I retorted, curious of where she was going with this.

Fortuna gazed up at the ceiling, not really looking at anything in general. "Well... When you compare me to the rest of the girls, I'm probably the least superpowered of the Power Ponies. All I have is a psychic connection to my rope. Sure, it's unbreakable, but if the enemy finds a way to restrain and contain it, I'm only stuck with unusually high physical strength and my hoofarangs. So in the end, I guess I do need a bit of luck to keep up with the rest of the team."

I let out a short chuckle. I guess Fortuna really is a lucky mare in the end. Although she then looked at me and spoke in an almost playful tone of voice. "Just remember, you never heard my name from me. You can't go telling everypony in the tower just because I felt it was safe to tell you."

"No worries. It's safe with me." I replied, my spirits having been lifted a bit. However, right when I looked away, I felt Fortuna wrap her arms around me in a tight embrace with her chin resting atop my helmet. "Uh... Fortuna...?"

"Hunter... I just want you to know the team and I really appreciate all of your help. Don't scare us like that again, all right? I sincerely thought you went maverick back there... Don't ever stop being you. Please." Fortuna whispered to me in an even greater showing of weakness than before.

Unsure of what to say, especially since she thought she was speaking to someone else entirely, I just placed my hand on her arm. "I won't... And thank you."

Seconds later, I heard the door to my right open. Fortuna quickly released her grip on me in an attempt to hide the lowering of her emotional defenses. Radiance peeked out of the room, her mask still missing from her face. "Ah... There you are. Hum Drum has regained consciousness. If you'd like to see him before Spruce begins the operation..."

"Say no more." Fortuna replied before stepping past her friend and out of sight. I suppose she is the kind of person who has a hard time being open with her feelings.

"Oh, Hunter? Wait just a moment." Radiance then said before disappearing back into the room. She came back out roughly ten seconds later with a wet rag floating in her magical grasp. She began to rub it over certain parts of my armor, a noticeable red stain starting to set into the white cloth. "It'd be for the best that Hum Drum doesn't see you like this. You do look good in red, but not that crimson hue and certainly not when it's splattered haphazardly around your armor."

"Thanks..." I muttered, being reminded that my armor had been adorned by splashes of High Heel's blood. Still makes me shudder thinking about what happened back there... Once my armor had been cleaned of the dried blood, I followed Radiance into the room. Sure enough, Hum Drum was conscious and looking around at the very relieved Power Ponies. At first, I did not say anything. They were all too happy to see their little friend alive, even if he was not quite well.

"Is...everypony OK? Did we win...?" Hum Drum asked while looking noticeably dazed. He more than likely had a concussion from that impact with the wall.

"We sure are, Hum Drum. Just... Don't ever go into anything like that unless one of us is with you again. We can't lose you... You're the heart of this team." Trot Summers replied while visibly holding back tears.

"You had us scared, kid. We thought we lost you..." Fortuna then whispered while she rubbed her hoof over her little friend's head. "Anyway, I think someone wants to see you right now. You helped save his neck, you know."

She then looked over at me, signaling me to approach. Fortuna stepped away as Hum Drum turned his attention to me. I stepped forward, only just then seeing the colt awake since the moment before the Mane-iac attacked him. I did all I could to maintain my composure as seeing someone who I had sincerely thought died right in front of me was on the verge of destroying my emotional integrity. I stood beside the table and got down on one knee to bring myself closer. "Hey... How're you holding up?"

Hum Drum looked genuinely embarrassed and averted his gaze momentarily. "I'm sorry... I really wasn't thinking things through. I just wanted to help you and... I really screwed up back there..."

I was not going to have any of that. I grabbed Hum Drum's hoof in my hands and just rubbed it tenderly. "No, don't say that... If you hadn't gotten there when you did, they would've ripped me to shreds. You were just the push I needed to come out on top. So, don't... Don't say you..."

I could not hold out any longer. The sheer emotion running through me finally burst out as my words dissolved into pitiful sobs and whimpers, my head tilting down towards the floor. It hurt to see him in the state he was in, all because he had tried to protect me in an impossible situation. The only thing that had allowed me to triumph over those who had me all but defeated was sheer vengeful rage and relentless brutality. And with all that rage having run its course, I was filled with overwhelming relief to know that the child I had thought had died right in front of me was going to live.

I felt a hoof tenderly pat me on the back as Zapp spoke softly. "A true hero does not hide his tears, Sir Hunter. Weep all you must. Hum Drum will survive this ordeal."

Marey Allen, probably in an attempt to change the subject, spoke to Spruce Spanner. "So, doc... What's the diagnosis? Is he gonna be out of action for a while?"

"Probably... Nothing permanent, but it's not looking good right now. A concussion, internal bleeding, cracked ribs, several contusions, and even a few fractured vertebrae. He'll be back on his hooves, but it's going to take some time." Spruce replied while sounding understandably unhappy. However, she then turned to me and seemed to eye the significant amount of wear and tear I had endured in the earlier struggle. "Hunter... You don't look so good either... Shouldn't you get to the maintenance bay?"

I calmed myself enough to at least stop crying and took a good look at myself. Dents and cracked armor all over and with a few particularly large cracks running through my right forearm. I was a mess. "I... I guess I probably should get some repairs done before anything else can happen..."

"You just leave that to me, darling. I know my way around machines." Radiance replied before stepping towards the door. "I'll go ahead and get him started. Hum Drum, you rest easy until morning. You've earned it."

"Right... And... Sorry for all this..." Hum Drum replied as Spruce pulled over a facemask used to administer sleeping gas.

Once the mask was on Hum Drum's muzzle, I gently caressed the colt's head. "Sweet dreams, kid... And be good."

Hum Drum could only weakly smile at me before he started to doze off. The rest of the Power Ponies stayed behind while I followed Radiance down the hall. I said nothing, my mind still processing everything that had happened up until that moment. Radiance seemed to notice this and slowed down until I was walking beside her. "Is there anything I can do to help you, my love?"

It was still awkward having someone mistake me for her lover, yet having no means of convincing her that I was not him. All I could do was let out a sigh while once again holding my head in one hand. "Just... I don't know... I feel like I just need to sleep this off..."

"I understand you must have a lot on your mind, dear. Well, here we are. Step on in and the good doctor will get to work." She replied before leading me into another room at the opposite end of the hall. Once we stepped inside and the lights turned on, I was quite surprised by my surroundings. It was quite similar to Doctor Luminous' own lab. Walls of metal with many computer-like devices everywhere including a table for me to be affixed to for maintenance. Radiance then tapped on the almost vertical slab while trying to cast me a smile. "The doctor will see you now. Please lie down and we'll get started. All good patients will receive a lollipop at the end."

I could not help at least kind of chuckling at her attempt at modest humor. I leaned back onto the panel while feeling retractable restraints slide over my arms, legs, and waist to keep my body restrained. While Radiance went to work on a computer panel nearby, I just looked towards the ceiling without saying anything as if I was undergoing a dentist visit. Once more, she detected that somethng was not right with my mood and looked over her shoulder at me. "My love, what is troubling you? Your silence is worrying me."

"What kind of question is that...?" I muttered in return. "You know what's troubling me. You saw everything I did... My god, her blood was all over me..."

Radiance stopped what she was doing and came over to me. After pushing a stool closer to me, she stood up on it so her face was almost parallel to my own. Her expression showed great concern, but no disgust as I brought up probably the most gruesome act I had committed that night. "Yes... I did see the carnage you wrought. We all did. And we can't really fault you for what you did."

"I almost killed them! Even the ones who begged for mercy or tried to surrender! The ones who tried to let Hum Drum go..." I all but shouted in self disgust, trying to not think of the memories from just an hour earlier.

For a moment, Radiance offered no response. However, she then got my attention with a gentle nuzzle against my cheek. "Yes... You could have. Yet you didn't. If you really wanted to see them die, you would have slaughtered them all. But you didn't. I'm convinced you only did what was necessary to defeat them while also punishing them. As for High Heel, I suspect it was because you knew she could take it. Saddle Rager has endured some horrible injuries over her career, yet has always walked them off in the end. The same applied to High Heel while she was in possession of that power. And I must say it was quite ingenious of you to best her with Long-Face's own sorrow gas. And it was very noble of you to lower your weapon afterwards. The fact that you did not attack further shows how much restraint you really had over yourself."

I thought on her words for a moment. She was right. I could have done so much worse had I really wanted to. I could have shot Long-Face while he was down. I could have chopped off the Mane-iac's head while she was stunned. I could have snapped Shadowmane's neck while she was in my clutches or crushed her head beneath my foot while she was unconscious. I could have...but I did not. And as I mused over these facts, Radiance continued to speak while she went back to work setting up my repairs. "And to be completely honest with you... Had that been us there and with our powers intact... I'm convinced somepony would not have walked away from that struggle with their life."

"Uh... Really?" I asked, not expecting such a grim statement from the most beautiful member of the Power Ponies.

Without even looking at me, Radiance continued to talk while she tapped a few spots on the panel before her. "When we saw Hum Drum become unresponsive, we wept. We thought for sure that he was no more. We so desperately wanted to bring justice to the one who seemingly murdered him. But then you channeled all that rage for us and brought swift and crushing retribution yourself. But if I had been there... Oh, the things I would have done to that wretched lunatic. She has done many twisted things, but she had never harmed a child until tonight."

I just tilted my head back and gazed at the ceiling while just listening to the soothing voice of the lovely Radiance. "Regardless... I am truly sorry you got dragged into this tonight, my dear... We should have known that something was not right with the six of us getting spread thin like that. Hopefully those scoundrels will know better than to try such a stunt again after tonight."

I began to see bits of code and letters pop up in the corner of my vision. It seemed my body was beginning to shut down for maintenance. Radiance soon came up beside me again and smiled at me. "I have begun the shutdown procedure so I can begin fixing you up. Just sleep tight until I reactivate you, all right?"

"Thanks, doc... I'll leave it to you." I whispered, strongly suspecting that I was on the verge of leaving this fictional world. As rough a ride as it had been, I was almost unwilling to leave after having made new friends in the form of the Power Ponies themselves. Strange as that sounds.

With a more somber smile, Radiance reached out and placed a soft kiss upon my cheek. "Sweet dreams, my love. Everything will be all right soon. Just you wait."

Moments later, I closed my eyes as all of my senses became dull. That bizarre sensation of being completely devoid of any sense of self or emotion. And right at that point, a bright light appeared before me and I soon found myself dropping right onto a hard wooden floor. "Ugh! Oh, come on! All that and it just drops me like that?"

I glanced around me while feeling a bit sore on my front. I was back within the upper loft of Twilight's home. And right behind me was the comic book I had just been inside. I slowly rolled over onto my back and let out an annoyed groan. "This warrants a complaint to the editors... Hey, EAC. How's about a complimentary feather cushion for the return trip?"

I just laid there on the floor for a minute, letting myself rest after such an adventure. But barely thirty seconds went by before something came into my field of view. Rainbow Dash stood over me while looking right down at me. With a bit of a concerned stare, she then asked, "You OK?"

For a moment, I was unsure of what to say. I really was not expecting anyone to find me so soon after returning from the comic book realm. Still, I tried to find the right words to respond with. "Uh... No idea, to be honest."

"If you say so... Hey, where were you anyway? Twilight came up here looking for you and asked me to help figure out where you went." Rainbow then replied before glancing over at the comic book that I had just emerged from. It did not take long for her to put the clues together before she looked back at me with a more shocked expression. "Wait a minute... That comic book right there. You didn't...?"

"Yep... I did. And I went solo this time. Curiosity got the better of me." I replied in no attempt to hide what had happened. And I was definitely in no hurry to go back.

Rainbow just glanced back and forth at me and the book. "Whoa... Well, how'd it go?! Was it awesome?! What happened this time?"

"Well, I met the real Power Ponies. Pretty cool bunch. And it's true. Zapp doesn't sound like you at all. And funny thing about Radiance? She does machines." I explained while trying to avoid the obvious question of what really happened in the story's main plotline.

"Seriously?! I guess that makes sense. She's not me... And huh? Radiance? The really hot mare Rarity got stuck as? She tinkers with stuff like that? Never would've guessed." Rainbow replied while sounding mildly amused.

She must have missed the nuance I was implying as I said that last line. "No, Rainbow. I mean she does machines."

"Yeah, I know. You just said that. What else could you have meant by that?" She retorted while looking down at me.

The only reason I was pushing this revelation as far as I was is due to Rainbow Dash being quite the pervert. And so I sat up and looked her in the eye. "She tried to make me wear a strap-on. While I was in the form of Project H. The two of them are in a relationship by now."

Rainbow Dash's expression just went blank for a good ten seconds as she stared at me without a word. She then raised a hoof and said, "Hold that thought for a minute."

I watched as she went over to a large decorative vase that Twilight had in the corner, picked it up, and stuffed her head into it. For a good thirty seconds, Rainbow Dash burst into uncontrollable muffled laughter as she rolled around on the floor. I just scowled at her in silence and only spoke up once her laughter finally started to come to an end. "Are you quite done with that?"

She finally pulled the vase off her head and put it back while looking like she had been laughing hard enough to bring on the tears. "Ooooh man, I wish I could've seen that! I bet you almost blew a fuse!"

"You have no idea..." I grumbled while climbing to my feet. I could already smell the tea that Twilight had been brewing. "Anyway, I'm going to get some tea to calm my nerves. You want any?"

The two of us headed downstairs and found Twilight sitting by the center table. She glanced up at me as soon as I came into view and said, "Huh? You were upstairs the whole time? Where were you hiding? It's been four hours since I last saw you."

"I was stuck there for that long? Feels like it was longer..." I retorted, not entirely sure how long I was really in the book. Perhaps the flow of time differs somehow between realms...

Before Twilight could even inquire as to what I meant, Rainbow Dash stepped into view to provide an explanation. "Let's just say Project H here just couldn't resist the call for adventure and went to pay the Power Ponies another visit! He only just got back."

"You... What?! You activated the spell on one of Spike's comic books?! Are you OK? You don't look hurt." Twilight said in a louder voice than usual before she took a step towards me. Not that there was anything wrong with me. I was no better off than when I first got sucked into the thing.

I tried to smile, even though I was still very emotionally drained from the experience I had just gone through. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm not hurt or anything like that. As for my nerves... That's another story."

Twilight went ahead and poured me a fresh cup of tea that was probably a fresh batch and levitated the cup over to me. "Well, there's nothing some warm tea won't do for some frayed nerves. Go ahead and relax. It sounds like you've earned it."

I just took a seat at the table while Twilight and Rainbow Dash just had a chat by the window. I took a few sips here and there, but would just stare into the fluid sitting in my cup more often than not. The recent memories still lingered in my mind. It was silly, honestly. I was that worked up over completely fictional characters that did not really exist. And yet even though the world I was in was entirely fictional, I know my actions back there were not.

Twilight eventually noticed that something was not right with me and came trotting up beside me as Spike passed me and went upstairs. "James...? You've hardly touched your tea."

"Yeah... I guess so." I muttered before taking another swig of it. It really was good tea. I could taste orange in it. "Just... I've got a lot on my mind."

Rainbow Dash then came up alongside me and asked in a soft tone, "Just what happened in there? Last time, we all came out of there in pretty good shape. But now... You look like you've seen a ghost."

I took a deep breath before providing a rough timeline of the events of that chapter in the Project H series. "I would up in the middle of Maretropolis, took on a large rogue mech with a little help from Fili-Second, met the real Power Ponies at their headquarters, almost got shagged by Radiance, had to rescue the Power Ponies from their supervillains after they stole their powers, Hum Drum got hurt and I... I went too far..."

"Soooo... Wait. This was a crazy six against one fight you got stuck in? Now that's nuts! How'd you pull through?!" Rainbow exclaimed while also sounding quite excited over the thrill of a battle of a robotic hero against supervillains.

"I..." No matter how I tried to word my response, I kept feeling myself clam up as my throat tightened in response to the memories of the carnage I had wrought. "I don't wanna talk about it... It...got really graphic... When I saw Hum Drum drop like that, I just... There was...blood all over me at one point..."

For a moment, my friends said nothing. I took another sip of my tea, trying to settle my nerves. I was especially grateful that Spike had left the room before I could mention anything that grim. Finally, Rainbow Dash whispered a response. "Sounds like you really made them pay for what they did... How'd you survive against all of them?"

"By the skin of my teeth... I think I only managed to overcome them through sheer ferocity... Hum Drum's gonna be fine, thankfully. The villains will live as well, although some got it worse than others. Everything's going to be OK, but... God, it still hurts remember everything that happened..." I groaned quietly, trying to rid my thoughts of the ugly memories.

I got a response from Twilight I did not expect. She reached out and placed a soft kiss upon my cheek and whispered softly to me. "Well, it sounds like you had a really rough time. You just take it easy for the rest of the day. And you help yourself to as much tea as you want before you head home. Can I get you anything else?"

"Nah... The tea's enough... Maybe you can brew some more in a bit?" I asked in return, eager for more sweet and fruity warm tea.

"Sure thing. Rainbow, can you help me out with this upstairs?" Twilight said with a reassuring smile before leading Rainbow Dash upstairs. Right as they went upstairs, Spike came back downstairs with his comic book tucked under his arm.

While I did not pay him any mind at first, I noticed Spike walk up to me while looking a bit concerned about me. When I did glance at him, he spoke up quietly. "So... It happened to you again?"

"You heard that, huh?" I mumbled, not really in the mood to talk by that point.

"Um... A little. I just heard that you got sucked into this book and... Something bad happened." Spike replied while putting the comic book on the table.

"Yeah... It did..." I then looked down at Spike for a prolonged moment. The longer I looked at him, the more I realized that if Spike had been unfortunate enough to also get sucked into the comic book with me, it would have been him who would have gotten assaulted by the Mane-iac in Hum Drum's guise. Seeing Spike completely fine before me filled me with truly a sense of catharsis I needed after all that. Spike is a good kid and I would loathe to see him put in harm's way. I reached out and gently patted Spike on the head. "You know... I'm really glad that wasn't you back there."

"Huh? Oh, you mean Hum Drum? I already read through that issue and yeah, he does get hurt, but he'll be fine. You can't have the Power Ponies without Hum Drum!" Spike replied with an optimistic smile that I was not expecting.

This response got me curious. Were my actions in that issue far more graphic and extreme than what was really canon? I glanced at the comic book beside me before looking back at Spike. "Say... Is it all right if I take a quick look through this?"

"Sure. Just be careful with it. I only just bought it yesterday." Spike replied before going to fetch himself a cup of tea.

I set my cup down and flicked through the pages of the comic book. Up until the point where Hunter departed the tower to go rendezvous with the missing Power Ponies, everything seemed to going as it happened for me. And I do admit I did snicker when I saw that in one of the panels that depicted the Power Ponies returning to the lounge to check the alarm was Hunter and Radiance entering the room together. I suppose that spicy event really did almost happen. As for the fight itself... Well, I do not want to spoil it for anyone who reads that series, but while the villains did get pretty roughed up in the end, it was nowhere near as bad as I put them through. Hum Drum also did not seem to be quite as badly wounded as what he seemed to be when I looked at him. Although that may have something to do with the art style not matching how things look in reality. In the end, the outcome was not quite as dark as it was through my eyes. That helped calm my nerves since this confirmed that what I did had no impact on the canonicity of the series. It might as well have not ever happened.

Still, I wanted to at least try to get my mind off of that dreadful climax of the plot. I turned to Spike as a thought came to me. Precious information had been divulged to me towards the end of the plot. Something that I noticed was not mentioned in any of the panels towards the end of the comic. "Say, Spike... Mistress Mare-velous. She doesn't talk about what her real name is, right?"

The dragon child glanced up at me, not really thinking much on the issue. "Nope. She's the only one of the Power Ponies who hasn't revealed her real name to anypony in the comics so far. Lots of fans like to debate over it."

A smirk came to my lips. Time to end that mystery. "Her name is Fortuna Duke."

Spike froze mid drink as his eyes opened wide. Almost spitting out his tea, he raised his voice a bit higher than usual. "Huh?! Where'd you hear that?!"

"From the mare herself. We had a heart to heart and she revealed her name to me. Just don't tell her I gave you this information, all right?" I jokingly retorted, knowing that a fictional character would never find out about me revealing her name to someone in the real world.

"Oh my gosh... You're not kidding. I gotta go write this down! The guys will flip when I see them at the next book club meeting!" Spike all but yelled as he ran upstairs with his comic book in hand. I actually got a good chuckle out of that. Nothing makes a comic book fanboy gush like an unexpected revelation about one of his favorite heroes.

As of right now, I am just typing out this at home on my typewriter. Fluttershy has been trying to help set a calming atmosphere around the house tonight by keeping our phonograph constantly playing her relaxation music albums. Scootaloo is also letting me rest and has left me alone. Today was...quite a roller coaster and that is still not really doing it justice. I think I just need to sleep this day off. Hopefully my dreams will help push my memories of today's afternoon into the corner of my mind. I hope Luna visits me tonight. I could really use some time with a good friend.