//------------------------------//
// 2) Rules every God has to Follow 
// Story: The Death of Lab 14 
// by SapphireRose87 
//------------------------------//

{Henry} 

Derek and I had set up a tent as we stopped to rest. Although I wanted to keep going, seeing as gods at least need two hours of sleep; taking a break to rest that's probably the best course of action to take.

I had just woken up and I looked to see Derek putting away the communication device we have for contacting the Resistance HQ. 

Derek smiled. "Yes, I already contacted the Resistance HQ."

"At least I wasn't awake to hear Pestcord's voice." I said. "It's a good thing he isn't my godfather! If he was, that would just give me license to shoot more lightning bolts at him for target practice."

Derek chuckled, "Yeah I agree with you on that one. That guy refuses to do his job at all costs! It's almost like his job is to annoy us."

I snorted. "At least he can only stay for a day or two. I wonder if we should talk to The Grand God Council about banning him from the In Between?"

"I bet he's getting on Leader Felix's nerves too." Derek said. "From what he told me Discord's been popping up every week, on the dot for fourteen times every time."

I laughed and then I smiled looking at the engagement ring I got for Derek after he proposed to me. I made it to match mine, right down the chain I had for my necklace around my neck. 

"You know you didn't have to get me a ring right?" Derek said.

I smiled. "Yeah I know, I wanted to."

"Well, I think it's time we go destroy another location of Lab 14." Derek said. 


*	*	*


{The Lord God Supreme} 

The Grand God Council was set up eons ago to keep law and order among the gods. Someone has to do it, or the gods would have free reign to do whatever they want and it destroys every univeres out there. None of the gods would be held accountable for their actions. The Downward was created for the reason of discipling gods that didn't do their jobs. 

I got picked for the position of the head of The Grand God Council. My name and title is The Lord God Supreme. The other gods that rule with me are Gods One through Five, they prefer to just have a title and not a real name just like me.

Every time we have a meeting, we discuss the  decisions that the gods have made and set it in stone so it cannot be taken back. We also relay visions that we have seen about new gods and certain events that are coming up. 

When we saw a vision of the In Between becoming a universe we felt flabbergasted by it. 

The fact that none of the gods wanted to volunteer to rule over it made us feel even more flabbergasted. Everyone knows if a universe doesn't have a god to rule over it, that universe can be destroyed and the In Between is an important universe to us. That's because we use it to share information with each other.

We breathed a sigh of relief when we saw a vision of two gods that would rule over the In Between, God Henry and God Derek. With that being said, we held the first God Con and relayed the information to the rest of the gods about the vision we saw. But we did not tell them everything we saw in the vision. 

We couldn't stop ourselves from talking about the new gods that rule over the In Between now, God Henry and God Derek. We did this as we sat around a special table that allowed us to open a portal to watch the gods and see our visions. It's a hard thing to explain how it's done. 

"I wonder," said God One, "if God Henry's going to ask who his real parents are?"

"Probably not," I said, "he's just happy that he's been adopted by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. To him, those are his real parents."

God Four said, "I don't blame him, especially with everything he went through!"

"His jaw will drop when he finds out he doesn't have any biological parents!" God Five exclaimed.

I smiled. "No kidding, when a universe core's magic is so strong that extra magic has to go somewhere."

"Who'd thought that those powerful thunderstorms that the weather team cannot control, can create a baby!" God Three chimed. "That's how God Henry was created. The same thing happened with Princess Sarah."

"Don't forget," I added, "that God Derek doesn't think he has any gods that run in the family. I have half a mind to tell him that so I can record his reaction."

We laughed at that thought.

"Why the original god in God Derek's family God Markcus didn't take the job of ruling over the In Between is beyond me." God One said.

"I have no idea," I said. "Of course, no one can figure that lazy god out, just like no one can figure out that pest of a demigod Discord. I do love the nickname God Henry and God Derek came up with for him, Pestcord and it suits him too."

We laughed at Discord's nickname that God Henry and God Derek gave to him. Discord makes a pest of himself everywhere he goes.

"It's a shame Discord's name can't be changed because his name is set in stone," I said. "It's also funny that usually a descendant of the original god the power gets less and less further the family line is. God Derek was the two hundredth descendant from the original god and he's actually the most powerful god in the family, actually more powerful than God Markcus!"

"Not to mention," said God Four, "he's more powerful than God Levi and God Divine combined! And, the first part of the vision is coming true. I can't wait for God Henry and God Derek to get married."

"Yeah, I heard they're engaged now," said God Two, "and we all know that once two gods are engaged, we're the ones that set the date for their wedding."

"I know, but it won't be for a couple of months from now though.  Although it does seem that part three is coming true before part two is. I can't figure out many visions anyway." I shrugged. "I guess just as long as it comes true, it doesn't matter."

"I guess so." God Four said.

"I also can't wait until we have another God Con so God Henry and God Derek can attend!" God Five beamed with excitement.

We all nodded in agreement. "Uh-huh."

"I bet you anything Princess Celestia will try to retreat to Equestria to escape from God Henry and God Derek killing her," I said. "I doubt that'll work considering she was one of the ones that stole Princess Twilight's twin boys Prince Milton and Prince Martin from their cribs!"

Gods One through Five nodded, agreeing with me. 

"What I still can't get over is number one, everyone that was traveling with God Henry and God Derek are all royalty now! Number two, Discord actually adopted a child, I feel sorry for Princess Jane." God Two said. 

"Anyway," I said, "now that there are gods ruling over the In Between, I say we set in stone that all of the other gods must adhere to the rules set for every universe in that place. That means right now, the In Between is officially a universe, all in favor say aye!"  

"Aye!" Everyone in the room, including me, said.

"That settles it. I'll relay this information to every The Higher in every universe." I said. "This decision is set in stone and cannot be taken back."

That signaled the end of the meeting for The Grand God Council.


*	*	*


{Henry}

After destroying two more locations of Lab 14, Derek and I decided to make a visit to the Resistance HQ. Thankfully, ever since Derek warned Leader Felix about his agents getting too close preventing us from doing our jobs, the agents have stayed back. 

Since Leader Felix found out that Derek and I can fly, he set up a launch pad that looked similar to a helicopter launch pad for us to land on when we entered the building through a trapdoor in the ceiling. We also gave Leader Felix an audio recording warning agents of the Resistance of our presence. We made sure for it to say that all unauthorized personnel evacuate the building. Of course since Discord isn't an agent there's a good chance he might be there.

Family members, friends, along with Leader Felix and Discord came to greet us once we entered the building. 

"Derek!" Earnest and Liza said. They gave Derek a bear hug after saying hi. They did the same thing to me after that.

"I can't believe that my son is an actual god now!" Liza said.

"You can say that again!" Discord cheered.

I groaned, "Seriously Pestcord, when are you going to take a hint and get lost?"

"I'm not a pest!" Discord whined.

"Yeah you are!" I heard Spike say. I turned around and smiled when I saw him. We gave each other a fist bump. Discord looked at me expectantly for me to do the same thing with him.  I wasn't about to do that with him. 

Discord fake sobbed. "You gave a fist bump to Spike and not me? But I'm you're-"

"I swear if you say you're my godfather, I'll shoot a lightning bolt at you right now!" I snapped. "You know for a fact that you're not my godfather!"

"Yeah, that job is all already taken! It's my job!" Spike said. He stuck his tongue out at Discord and put the letter L sign on his head. I learned from Spike that you would do this if you wanted to call someone a loser.

I couldn't stop myself from laughing at Spike when he did that. 

"I heard that The Grand God Council set in stone that the In Between is officially a universe now?" Leader Felix said. "I thought the In Between was already a universe!"

"Well it is," said Derek, "because it was built by gods. Even though it was a universe, because there were no gods to rule over it, it doesn't really count much as one. Now that Henry and I are rulers of it, it's officially recognized as a universe. Thankfully that means Pestcord can't stay long here."

Discord scoffed. "What I want to know is why God Henry hasn't been disciplined for shooting lightning bolts at people."

"Because The Grand God Council put a rule in place and you should know this rule Pestcord," Derek growled, "is that a god has every right to defend their territory! You overstay your welcome a lot! You get in the way of us doing our job and you know it, which is exactly why you earned the nickname Pestcord. The same goes for those that live in the In Between, if they get it the way, we have every right to drive them away so we can do our jobs."

Spike smiled. "I take it people getting in your way has been happening a lot lately?"

Discord nodded. He answered before Derek or I could say anything. "Oh yes, I've been watching them myself. There's a memorial set up by the trees that God Henry chopped down and God Derek drilled a hole into it. People just want to see the new gods that rule the In Between!"

I grit my teeth to show my annoyance with Discord, "I think we can answer for ourselves Pestcord! How long have you been here now?"

Discord shrank back in terror of me. Earnest and Liza covered their mouths to stifle a laugh at Discord's terror.

"And I'm not a god, so I can stay however long I want!" Spike teased. He stuck his tongue out at Discord again.

Earnest chuckled. "I think it's hilarious that Discord, The Lord of Chaos, is afraid of someone!"

"Yeah and it just so happens to be he's afraid of the god that discovered he could summon lightning bolts because he pissed the guy off." Leader Felix laughed.

"Yeah believe or not, there are rules that go along with ruling the In Between,"  I said.

"Yup," said Discord, "every universe has the same set of rules."

Leader Felix titled his head. "Huh? What are they?"

"Not much," replied Derek, "there are three rules that need to be followed. The first one is the whole barrier thing, if a god has overstayed their welcome for more than two days, then that god will have to answer for upsetting the balance of power in that universe. That's why we only visit Equestria at least once and awhile, but usually after it's been more than a month since our last visit. Although I'm pretty sure Princess Sarah and the others would love us to visit more often."

"The second rule is that we have to build a planet for the universe at least once a year," I said.

Leader Felix seemed puzzled by this. "Huh, I thought that was an option, not a rule!"

I nodded. "Oh yeah it is a rule, why do you think there's a red moon in the sky?"

"I was wondering about that," said Spike, "will any creatures be able to move it in the In Between besides you guys?"

I shook my head. "Nope, not unless we give someone the responsibility to do it. Until then, it's staying right where it is."

Discord nodded. "Yup, it doesn't matter whose responsibility it is, just as long as you make one."

"The third rule is as long as a god does their job to do the best of their ability, it keeps their universe safe," I said. "Which means we have to take care of problems that pop up everywhere in the In Between."

"So gods can be everywhere?" Liza asked.

"Not necessarily, and we can't rule over the personal lives of everyone that lives here," Derek said. "We do have tools to help notify us of big issues that pop up." 

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Tools?"

"It's a special alarm that alerts us, even if we're sleeping the alert will wake us up because it's combined with our god powers. Once we are alerted, we'll see to it that it gets taken care of." I said. I glared at Discord. "And there are some gods or a certain demigod in this place that don't know how to follow the rules! Why The Grand God Council hasn't sent you Pestcord to the Downward yet is beyond me!"

"Hey, I broke you out of Lab 14, didn't I?" Discord said defensively. 

I rolled my eyes. "True, you did that, but you failed to do the last part of your job!"

"What was the last part of his job?" Earnest questioned.

"He was supposed to steal Henry's voice box back for him!" Derek growled. "But nooo, he didn't care to do that!" He turned to Discord. "Henry went without his voice for almost a year because of what you failed to do Pestcord!"

Once again, Discord shrank back in terror, but not because of me this time, but because of Derek's anger. Honestly, I can't wait for the day when someone finally puts him in his place!


*	*	*


{Cora}

I still feel nothing but anger against Discord for breaking Experiment Henry out of Lab 14 last year. I'm still angry that Experiment Rose and Experiment Sebastian failed to keep Experiment Henry at Lab 14 when he came back. Not to mention, my previous assistant Eleanor left and so far I haven't tracked her down yet. There's no way she could've gotten her tracking device out, for high ranking employees they have the tracking device inside the brain. 

For some strange and odd reason, another powerful experiment of Lab 14 who escaped and went to Star Labs, Experiment Ada, came back to me. She said she desperately wanted to finish playing with Experiment Henry. That works for me because I had originally picked her to bear children from Experiment Henry before Experiment Rose. 

My new game plan I have now is I'm going to send tracker experiments that I just created after Experiment Henry and bring him back to Lab 14. I'm not going to call Experiment Henry, God Henry anytime soon.

I also had to hire a new assistant named James and I have a feeling that he hates as much as Eleanor did. Oh well, I could care less about how he feels at the moment. 

As I stood at the observation balcony, I stared down with pride at the tracker experiments. They're not finished yet they needed just a little extra something added to them.

I'm so proud of my achievements. That's because ever since I created Experiment Henry, I can make new experiments now with my eyes closed so to speak. 

While admiring my latest creations, someone tapped me on the shoulder, I turned around and smiled when I saw my James standing there.

"Are these the latest experiments you've created Head Cora?" James asked. 

I couldn't hide my joy even if I wanted to. "Oh yes! These experiments are the ones that will track Experiment Henry and Experiment Derek and bring them back to Lab 14 where they belong."

"Why do all the girls look the same? Why  do all of the boys look the same?" James inquired. 

"Because they don't need names," I answered, "they're only purpose is for tracking. If this works I might use them in place of the tracker cats that failed at their jobs miserably last year. I sent a scout out to find them and I found three dead bodies. I have no idea what happened to them." 

James looked down at the floor. "Oh." 

"And seeing that since Experiment Henry wants to kill me so badly, hopefully, that'll bring him back here also," I said. "Last year I thought for sure that him wanting to kill Experiment Rose right with me would work! I almost had them married too!" 

I could tell by the look on James face, he wanted to protest and say something, but he chose to keep his mouth shut, so I opened it for him. "Out with it James! If you have something you want to say, then say it!"

James shook his head. The look that he had on his face to me looked like denial. "It's nothing, honest."

I raised an eyebrow and glared at him. "Uh-huh yeah sure it's nothing. Do you have anything you need to show me?"

"Um, no I was just wondering about your tracker experiments, that's all," James said. "I'll get back to work now."

Without another word, James turned around and left.


*	*	*


{Princess Celestia}

It's nighttime in the In Between now, but I can't sleep. How can I sleep? That red moon in the sky makes me feel uneasy and I don't know why. It appeared shortly after talk of the new gods ruling over the In Between started. 

From what I know of, one of the gods ruling over the In Between, used to be an experiment for Lab 14. His name was Experiment Henry, now people are referring to him as God Henry. There's no way I'm calling an experiment god. 

I sighed as I looked up at the red moon and said to myself, "I think people and ponies have lost their damn minds around here lately! There aren't any gods that rule over the In Between, no way! Lab 14's still around, so it can't be so."

"Worried about that red moon in the sky Daybreaka?" I heard Discord say.

I let out a long drawn out sigh, "What do you want Discord?"

 "You know, that is still offensive right?" Discord said while glaring at me. "Daybreaka!"

"If you call me that name one more time!" I snapped.

"What are you going to do about it?" Discord sneered. "I wonder, do you know who created the red moon?"

"Apparently, Experiment-" I said.

"Oh no you don't!" Discord cut me off. "You really need to start calling him God Henry!"

"He's an experiment!" I snarled. "I'm not calling him god as long as I live!"

"Alrighty then," said Discord, "you'll be calling him God soon enough. I heard God Henry and God Derek have decided to go after Lab 14 and that witch Serpenta first, so you have so more time to live. However, it's going to be very short-lived. Honestly, I'm surprised they haven't made a sun yet. In case you're wondering about your sister, Nightmara can't do anything about the red moon either! Oh well, I just decided to walk in for a visit, you know, because my powers don't work at night. So I'll just be walking out now. See you later Daybreaka!"

Discord taunted me with his laughter as he turned around and walked away.



*	*	*


{Henry} 

I never thought I could go outside of the In Between, just to other universes, but actually outside of it until I became a god. After I created the red moon, sometimes Derek and I take days off to get away from the job of destroying Lab 14. Every time I went to the red moon and looked down at the In Between, it reminded me of a puzzle. 

Ever since Derek and I took our first day off, he showed me what a puzzle looked like. A puzzle looked nothing like that stupid ball Cora would have me play with. From what Derek told me all you have to do in order to complete the puzzle, you need to make sure the puzzle piece fits in the right spot. That worked for me. It's now one of my favorite things I like to do with Derek, besides other things couples do together. 

As I sat on the red moon looking down at the In Between, Derek sat down beside me. "I'm glad we could take another day off." 

"No kidding, but I am surprised we haven't run into any more crazy experiments like Experiment Rose or Experiment Sebastian!" I said. "If we do, I have no problem killing them before the wedding." 

Derek snorted and teased, "Oh really, you know, you can't get to the honeymoon without a wedding right?"

"Yeah, I don't need a honeymoon with whatever creature Cora wants me to be with."

Derek rolled his eyes. "I was teasing Henry! Besides, if you're going to marry anyone, it's going to me. I wonder what planet we're going to create next year? Maybe something with chaos and thunderstorms in it all the time?"

I laughed. "Too bad you can't be Lord of Chaos like Pestcord."

"Well, true, there's a 'Lord of Chaos', but I think I could be the 'God of Chaos'." Derek joked.

I chuckled. "Yeah, I bet you could outdo Pestcord any day."

"What does Pestcord say a lot? Sense? What fun is there in making sense?" Derek mocked. "Oh yeah, I love playing pranks on people! It's a favorite hobby of mine."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I noticed. I still haven't gotten you back for that birthday party that you invited my not godfather to!"

I groaned as Derek burst into laughter. He composed himself. "Oh yeah, and even though it was real, when you and the others came to the Inn I had to alert them that it was mating season for the horses. I wish I had a camera for their reactions to that. Yeah, you don't want to be around a horse when it's in heat, especially if you're a pony."

"Too bad I was dealing with making sure I didn't bleed to death by my stitches at the time," I said. "I would've loved to see their reactions to that."

Derek pulled me onto his lap and kissed me. Every time he does that, he reminds me that he is my protector. I never thought that I would find someone like him that I would be able to lean on. 

"I love you, Henry," Derek said.

"I love you too Derek," I said. 

We didn't say anything else as we sat there staring down at the In Between.