Hunter made his way through the cluster of trees and shrubs before coming upon Cobalt; barely conscious, he was weakly reaching up to the sky.
“Ms… Melo…diam…” He managed in a slur. “I’m… coming…”
“The hell you are,” Hunter grabbed his arm and ripped the magical bracelet from it; knocking his arm to the ground, Hunter aimed his gun at Cobalt’s head with hard eyes.
“You...” Cobalt stared up at Hunter, his half open eyes still registering his rage.
“Given everything you’ve done and everything you’ve tried to do, you deserve a lot worse.” Hunter pressed the barrel against his temple. “A year ago, I would have blown both your hands off to see to it that you never even touch yourself again, much less another innocent woman; fortunately for you, i have a literally magical girlfriend who is helping me get in touch with my sensitive side.” He pulled the gun away. “I’ll let the cops take it from here.” Hunter bound his hands and feet, dragging him out into the open and making his way over to the girls.
“Hunter!” Sunset hurried over to him as he approached. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, Cobalt is all wrapped up and ready to be handed over.” He looked over at the unconscious Melodiam. “She’s a different story, I can’t let the police keep her; she needs to be contained. I’ll send word to my HQ, they don’t have to know I was involved but I can recommend that based on my observation she needs to be taken into their custody.”
“Hey Hunter,” Sonata came running over. “Did you see us? We can sing again.”
“I sure as hell did,” Hunter looked her over. “You three did great today.”
Adagio and Aria joined them. “You know,” Adagio began. “I’ve spent the last year or so hating Sunset’s friendship magic and all that it stood for; I’m not sure how or why we were able to use it, it doesn’t seem like something we were worthy of.”
“Everyone is worthy of friendship, Adagio.” Sunset explained. “I really wanted to get that across to you, but it seems Hunter was better suited for the job.”
“Yes,” Adagio stepped up to him. “Thank you, I can admit that we wouldn’t have gotten through this without you.”
“Happy to help,” Hunter smiled. “I’m glad that you were able to find yourselves again.”
“Speaking of which,” She held out the pendants to him. “Here.”
“Your pendants?” Hunter eyed them.
“Sunset is right, we don’t need them anymore,” Adagio said surely. “They no longer represent who we are, but they are still powerful artifacts; I know I can trust you to keep them safe.”
Hunter nodded and accepted them. “I will.”
“Not to be rude, but we should get out of here.” Aria chimed in.
“She’s right,” Hunter agreed. “You don’t need to get wrapped up in this.”
“I’ll have Fluttershy get you back to your bus.” Sunset promised as she returned to her friends.
“What about you?” Aria continued. “All those students saw you.”
“Yeah,” Hunter sighed. “I need to take care of that; for now, just get yourselves safe.”
“Okay,” Adagio nodded. “You… stay safe as well.”
“Later!” Sonata waved as the three of them met up with Fluttershy who was quick to get them to her car and away from the scene.
Leaving Applejack and the girls in charge of handling the cops, Sunset and Hunter returned to the cafeteria where Celestia and the other students awaited. They let out a sigh of relief as the two of them finally returned through the hole in the wall.
Hunter immediately went to Celestia with a smile. “Honey, I’m home; how are the kids?”
“We’re okay,” She nodded. “Thanks to Flash and Bulk.”
Hunter looked around, seeing that they had kept up the fight in his absence. “Good to hear, we’re good out there too; it’s over.”
“Thank goodness.” Celestia exhaled all her stress and panic.
“My friends are working with the police, they’ll be here soon to speak with you and the rest of the students about what happened.
“Which means I need to get out of here.” Hunter noted.
“How are we supposed to explain all this?” Flash and Bulk joined them.
“Well first of all, everyone needs to work together to clean this place up; move the dirt out of the building and make sure you hide all the bullet casings." Hunter began. "All of you need to stick to the story that like all the other students, you barricaded yourselves here to remain safe and the damage to the building was caused by an unknown explosion from the exterior. The cops are just as confused as everyone else and they'll accept that as a statement just to coincide with the holes in their own memory." He went up to Flash and Bulk. "Secondly, I’ll take those guns off your hands.” Hunter took back his arms. “Good job guys, you really pulled through in a pinch.”
“Yeah, well…” Flash sighed and nodded. “It was definitely an experience, but it felt good to finally be able to help.” He admitted, looking to Sunset. “I always do what I can to help you girls, but honestly… I can’t do much except cheer you on; but today I was able to help protect my friends.”
“And believe me, we’re grateful.” Sunset said with a warm smile.
“Thanks,” Flash laughed shyly. “Given how crazy this school is now, I’d like to keep doing what I can.” He looked back to Hunter. “Can you… teach me how to fight like you?”
“What?” Hunter was actually surprised by the request.
“Yeah,” Bulk came in. “I want to help too; not to mention the fact that Derpy is a big part of my life now and I want to be able to protect her, I want to learn too.”
Hunter looked over as he heard similar words from some of the other students. Celestia put her hand on Hunter’s shoulder and gave him a thoughtful smile. “You know, Luna and I have spent a few years debating on starting a ROTC program; our key issue was finding a suitable instructor.”
“You want me to be a teacher?” Hunter asked in shock.
“Why not?” Sunset went to his side. “You’d be great at it and there isn’t anyone better.”
“Well, a civilian job would be nice… you know, for tax purposes.” Hunter considered.
“And since you are not a student, it would give you an opportunity to remain with Sunset and your friends.” Celestia added.
Hunter laughed to himself, taking to the idea. “Alright, but I’ll need one thing in return,” He looked around the room. “Knowing who I really am is a dangerous secret, and one I absolutely need to be sure that you’ll keep; it’s literally a matter of national security.”
“Your secret is safe with us,” Flash vowed. “I promise.”
“Same here.” Bulk nodded.
“I think it’s safe to say we all will.” Sandalwood added.
Hunter leaned back and eyed Trixie. “Trixie? I know you’ve got a mouth on you.”
“I do not!” Trixie stamped her foot. “Besides, it isn’t like this is any different than all the other crazy stuff I have to keep under my great and powerful hat.”
“That’s actually true,” Micro Chips concurred. “I’m starting to get used to things like this.”
“Good,” Hunter smiled. “Cause if you don’t, I’ll have to make you all disappear.” He said with unnerving calm.
Sunset saw the looks on their faces and quickly raised her hands. “He’s… he’s just kidding,” She glanced at Hunter. “You’re kidding, right?”
“It’s about sixty/forty,” Hunter shrugged. “But I’ll take the job.” He proclaimed with a raised finger. "I’ll email you my totally real resume and get started as soon as this place is cleaned up.” He started walking for the door. “The school looks like a war zone.”
It was a long afternoon for everyone as the police interviewed the faculty and students in an attempt to fully assess what had happened. Having had it out with their own men, most of the chaos was blamed on some form of hypnotism from the strange woman they had taken into custody. Cobalt was positively identified and his unconscious body was shipped to a hospital for treatment of his injuries under police watch. Celestia and the students gave their edited account of what had transpired, admitting to not knowing either of the suspects or why they had chosen to attack the school. During the interviews, Rainbow Dash used her speed to lead the girls in a frantic attempt to move the massive amounts of soil that decorated the school grounds to remove any evidence of the golems’ presence. Parents began arriving in droves as they were contacted and instructed to pick up their children and Celestia agreed to close the school until the investigation and all necessary repairs were completed. Finally, at nearly five in the afternoon, Sunset and her friends were free to leave and they promptly dragged their weary bodies to the diner for a meal. In lieu of their exhaustion, they still mustered the energy to celebrate their victory and the ensured safety of their city.
Sunset held her water glass up with a tired smile. “Here’s to another baddie going down hard.”
“Agreed,” Rarity nodded as the girls bumped glasses. “Let’s hope that this is the last for a while.”
“Seriously,” Pinkie concurred. “That has to be the last of the Equestrian artifacts, that was like… what… the fourth or fifth one? I can’t even remember anymore.”
“Something like that,” Applejack sighed. “This place seems to be a magnet for the darn things.”
“It makes sense,” Sunset admitted. “This city seems to be one of only a few locations that parallel Equestria, maybe it’s some kind of fate or destiny that they wind up here.”
“We could always move.” Twilight suggested.
“No way!” Rainbow Dash refuted. “Then who would handle all the crazy stuff that goes down?”
“I hate to admit it, but the police just aren’t capable of handling this type of thing.” Fluttershy added. “I guess that’s why people like Hunter exist, I don’t know if we could have won without his help.”
“I’m not one for firearms,” Rarity confessed. “But his armaments certainly come in handy.”
“It’ll be great to have him back at school with us,” Pinkie added. “Maybe we should join his program too.”
“I think I get just the right amount of him as it is,” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Besides, we don’t need military training, we have awesome magic.”
“And I don’t do camo, dear.” Rarity turned her nose up.
“Well, we’ve got some time off now,” Applejack changed the subject. “Any ideas on what we should do with it?”
“We should take a trip!” Pinkie excitedly suggested.
“We could go camping,” Fluttershy offered. “It might be nice to get out the city for a bit.”
“That could be fun,” Sunset said in consideration. “I’m sure Hunter would like that too.”
“He won’t put land mines around the campsite will he?” Rainbow Dash asked half seriously.
“I can’t make promises.” Sunset admitted with a laugh. After they finsihed eating, Sunset headed home and found Hunter waiting for her; he sat on the porch in his normal clothes with an equally tired look on his face.
“Was starting to think you ran away.” He noted with a smile.
“Sorry, we were starving so we stopped to eat,” She held out her hand as she came upon him and pulled him to his feet. “Been here long?”
“Nah,” He assured. “I’ve been making phone calls and cleaning dirt out of all my guns.”
“Is everything square with your headquarters?” Sunset asked as she unlocked the door.
“Yep,” He confirmed. “Nobody is wise to my involvement and they’ll be picking up Melodiam and transferring her to a black site facility.”
“You know, I almost feel bad for her,” Sunset confessed. “What she was attempting was unconscionable but she just wanted to raise a family, like any woman I suppose. And as messed up as their relationship was, from her memories it did seem like she loved Cobalt.”
“That’s what makes war so complicated,” Hunter followed her into the bedroom. “Both sides are fighting for what they believe in and what they believe to be right. Conflict is nothing more than a difference of opinion and perspective; and in conflict there are no such things as good guys or bad guys, just winners and losers.” He sat on her bed with a heavy sigh. “And since history is written by the victors, they’re the ones that have the luxury of passing out those labels in that particular chapter of history.”
Sunset absorbed his philosophy with deep consideration. “I suppose so; that’s why friendship is so important in Equestria, because friendship is the glue that can keep creatures together even when they have conflict. That’s what Princess Celestia taught me… or tried to at least.” She shed her shirt and tossed it on the dresser, undoing her bra and sending it to the hamper.
“You got it eventually,” Hunter said wryly. “You taught it to me after all.”
“Beat it into you is more like it,” She laughed and sat in his lap. “Speaking of teaching, everyone is excited to have you at school with us."
“Me too,” Hunter ran his hand up her back. “Now we can have inappropriate teacher/student relations.”
“Don’t get fired in five minutes, okay?” She laughed, kissing him shortly. “So, how about a hot shower and a nap.”
“Best idea I’ve heard all day.” He let her up and ditched his shirt as he followed her into the bathroom.
Rightfully so, Sunset and Hunter passed out for the rest of the night; not waking until late the next morning when Hunter’s phone started going off. He dragged himself away from Sunset’s warm embrace and answered to the hyper greeting of Sonata. She informed him that they were heading back on the road and they wanted to stop by to see him before they left. He told them to head for Sunset’s and roused his semi-conscious sweetheart to let her know what was happening. Hunter made them a small breakfast while Sunset contacted the girls and asked them to head over as well; the Dazzling’s tried and true tour bus rolled up not long after the others arrived and the procession went out to meet them.
“Afternoon ladies,” Hunter greeted as they filed out onto the sidewalk. “Ready to hit the road?”
“More or less,” Adagio confirmed. “Now that we aren’t being hunted anymore, we need to reorganize our tour schedule.”
“Not to mention write some new songs that we can actually sing on our own.” Sonata added excitedly.
“I’ll be the first one to download the album.” Hunter promised.
“We mostly came… to thank you, all of you,” Adagio looked over them. “I honestly didn’t know how all of this was going to end, but I certainly didn’t expect the one we got.”
“We’re happy for you,” Sunset smiled. “Your pasts really are behind you now.”
“I can’t wait to hear your new stuff,” Pinkie noted. “I know it’ll be awesome!”
“It’ll be nice to sing with my own voice again.” Aria admitted with a small smile. “I didn’t realize how much I missed it.”
“Well, we do wish you luck.” Rarity added.
“And when you get the chance, maybe you can come back and see us.” Fluttershy added.
“Really?” Sonata asked.
“Absolutely,” Hunter took her under his arm. “Tell you what, next time you’re in town you and I are going to go to a border town that I promise you has the best tacos on the continent.”
“For real!?” Sonata’s eyes lit up.
“Yeah,” He smiled at Sunset. “Although, I think my girlfriend had better come too; I don’t want her to get the wrong idea when I come back bragging about all the taco I ate while we were together.”
“I wish you were just a little less proud of yourself when you say stuff like that.” Sunset shook her head.
“Well, we need to get going.” Adagio motioned back to the bus.
“I’m going to miss you.” Sonata hugged onto Hunter.
“Same here,” Hunter squeezed her. “My place is going to be so quiet without the sound of you three trying to kill each other.”
Aria stepped up to him as Sonata moved away and actually smiled. “I’m glad this world has humans like you in it, makes it a little more tolerable.”
“That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.” He held his hand out, she ignored the gesture and hugged him; Hunter laid his arm around her and grabbed her shoulder. “You keep those two in line, okay?”
“I’ve got my knife right here,” She patted her hip as she stepped back, looking at Sunset. “You really do have a great human, make sure you hang onto him.”
Hunter looked to Adagio and held his arms out. “Come on, you know you want to.” Adagio rolled her eyes but nevertheless hugged him. “That’s right,” Hunter whispered. “Just let it happen.”
“That’s enough,” Adagio pushed him back but merely laughed.
“Take care of yourselves.” Hunter laughed back.
“You too.” Adagio went to Sunset, holding her hand out. “Sunset, I made a promise to Hunter that we wouldn’t use our magic against humans again; now that we share a magical connection, I want to make the same promise to you.”
“Thank you,” Sunset took her hand. "You know, after this change, I could make a case with Princess Celestia to let you return to Equestria if you wanted. I'm sure she would consider it."
Adagio laughed lightly to herself. "I appreciate that," She glanced back at Aria and Sonata. "But we've been here for so long now, I doubt we'd even recognize Equestria. Besides, we have an actual life now and that isn't something I'd be fond of giving up."
Sunset nodded understandingly. "Well then, if you ever need us you know where to find us.”
“Thanks,” She smiled. “Till then.”
The girls said their goodbyes and the Dazzlings headed off down the road, Pinkie continuing to wave until their bus was out of sight.