Equestria is devastated by a Changeling invasion. Their only hope lies in a robot sealed away for 30 years, conflicted by his sense of justice and pacifistic nature.
It's been 30 years since the invasion. Those creatures...they never saw them coming. The Changelings swept in and took over, killing anypony that opposed. The Elements of Harmony aren't around to fight back, and the Royal Princesses aren't in any better condition. The ponies learned to live in fear, scared that their current day could be their last. The only hope they had is the rebellion group, the Maverick Hunters.
On a scouting mission, one pony discovers a robot sealed away from before the attack, one who provides the best chance of fighting back. He's the only robot in existence who can think for himself, and is in constant struggle with himself over what he's doing is right. He'll need to make friends with other Hunters to go against the Changeling Queen and save Equestria.
A psuedo-sequel to my first story. It shouldn't be necessary to read it, as the previous events are only referenced as history.
Chapter 1: The Researcher Who Designed and Built Me
Chapter 1: The Researcher Who Designed and Built Me
September 18, 20XX
This is it. The power to create a perfect emulation of life is in my hooves. A robot that truly has free will, the ability to think and make decisions for itself, not bound by any sort of programming or integrated purpose. I had previously succeeded in this task with Blues, but his was due to faulty design interfering with his programming. This one is intentional, a new step towards the integration of robot and pony. If basic pony biology is discounted, it would be impossible to tell the difference between the two.
I based the design for this new robot off of Equestria’s savior, and my son, Rock, better known as Mega Stallion. His bravery and disregard for his own safety gave him the strength to defeat Discord, the God of Chaos. Rock is a loyal robot unicorn, equipped with a plasma weapon known as the Mega Buster. This new robot has an upgraded version, one that I hope he shall never have to use.
Releasing this creation unto the world is not something I can recommend at this time. If it has no programming to ensure that it will not harm living ponies, then I fear the worst. It could go on a destructive rampage, and I doubt it could be stopped. Therefore, I have sealed him inside this capsule to test his morality, a process that will take 30 years. I know that I shall not live long enough to see this through, and I no longer have anypony to take over my work. This robot will be released when the time comes.
I fear his only purpose then will be the world’s new champion.
Doctor Thomas Light
A small group of three ponies was sneaking through the destroyed town of Maresteropolis on a scouting mission. Each of them was wearing green camouflage uniforms, sticking to the shadows to avoid detection. After all, the enemy could be anywhere, watching.
“So, what exactly are we even doing out here? This wasn’t exactly one of the most populated towns in Equestria, and it looks like it’s been cleaned out.” One of the group, a purple unicorn stallion, was complaining to his partner, an orange pegasus stallion.
The leader, an opal pegasus mare, responded. “This isn’t a recovery mission, Sparky. We’re here to investigate claims of some kind of capsule that was found around here. We need to know if it’s a weapon, and whether or not we can use it. We’re on a top secret mission, so I’d appreciate it if you could put a lid on it and walk!”
Both of the stallions stammered. “Y-yes, Lieutenant Lightning Dust, ma’am.”
The trio continued in silence, in awe over the ruins that lay around them. Once a sizeable city, the skyscrapers now had chunks torn out, windows shattered, and some had even fully collapsed. Roadways were torn up, creating gaps where one could easily fall into the sewers below. And ever since the invasion, there were rumors that stepping in the sewage could mutate whoever did. The group took special care not to step in.
Thankfully, once they exited the area that was once populated, things cleared up, with the exception of some leftover debris. The trees were still in good condition, and the grass was still growing green. The only evidence of civilization past that point was a small cottage sitting alone. “Is that where we’re doing our investigation?”
Lightning Dust nodded. “Yes, it should be…” She paused when she noticed the group wasn’t alone, it looked like there were ponies inside the house. “We can’t take any chances. Get ready for a fight.”
The group treaded carefully, trying not to alert whoever was inside to their presence. All of them feared the exact same thing, a species that could take all three of them out working completely alone. If they were here, whatever was inside that capsule was as good as gone.
“Alright, we need to go quietly. I’ll take point, you two follow closely. Watch the sides, and check the house. If you see a threat, neutralize it, but don’t kill it until you’ve confirmed what it is. And if it is…one of those things, don’t hesitate.” Once the other two accepted, Lightning Dust got up against the front door and signaled for a breach. The unicorn carefully used his magic to manipulate the lock, opening the door slowly. But there was no sign of life.
“Stay close. We need to search every room, and stay alert.” None of them were aware of the creature hanging above the doorway, watching them. Not wasting the moment, it jumped down on top of the pegasus stallion, pinning him to the ground. In the second it took the other two to react, the creature took its curved horn and plunged it into his prey. It was blasted off, a coating of blood on its horn. It didn’t take long for the pegasus to go limp.
“Remember, the mission comes first! Keep searching, and don’t hesitate to shoot. We’ve got Changelings.”
The remaining two split up, charging through the house, the unicorn finding himself in a bedroom, two beds adorning it. He turned his back to the doorway, and he heard it shut behind him. Scared out of his mind, he tried to push it open, only to find it held shut from the other side. Panicking, he couldn’t see the Changeling crawling out from under one of the beds. It hissed, and was immediately met with a blast of magic, splattering its green blood across the wall.
He took a moment to breathe after the scare, only to miss its partner crawl out from the second bed and jump onto his back. It held on amidst the scared prey working to shake it off, biting his neck with its sharp fangs. Its saliva paralyzes the prey, and the unicorn went down. Still conscious, he saw the Changeling fire a burst of green magic, and it was over.
Lightning Dust, after taking out two Changelings single-hoofed, found the door that led into the basement. She quietly went down the stairs, and saw the object that made the entire mission a success. Sitting on the floor, next to a desk covered with papers, was a blue capsule. She went to take a closer look, failing to see the Changeling under the table, its black skin blending with the shadows.
Lightning Dust walked up to the glass on the front of the capsule, wiping the fog off with her hoof. She was not prepared for what was inside. Behind the glass was a blue unicorn stallion, wearing a matching armor set, a helmet on his head with a red jewel adorning the front. He appeared to be asleep, in a state of hibernation. Through no action of her own, the capsule door opened, and the pony inside fell to the floor.
The hiding Changeling got tired of waiting and transformed its body into a ball of flaming magic, barreling into Lightning Dust, slamming her against the wall. A little woozy from the impact, she could fuzzily see her attacker prepared for a finishing strike. Having trained herself to work while dizzy, she flew under the attack and pinned the Changeling to the ground. Not ready to give up the fight, it stabbed its horn into her front leg, making her fall to the ground in pain. Taking the chance, it also used its horn to slash across her side, her blood spilling on the floor.
The blue stallion, working to stand himself up, saw the action taking place. Not fully aware of his actions, he subconsciously collected energy in his horn, and blasted it out at the Changeling. Lightning Dust was shocked. Where a dangerous opponent stood a mere few seconds ago was now completely headless. Its decapitated body fell to the floor, not bleeding, its veins sealed shut by the blast.
Lightning Dust couldn’t stand due to agony, and just looked at the pony that saved her. He saw the condition she was in and frantically looked around the room, taking a first aid kit and removing the bandages inside, treating her with them. “Thank you for saving me. Who are you, and what were you doing in there?” Lightning Dust was a naturally harsh pony.
“I…I don’t know. I can’t remember anything. All I’ve got is a basic understanding of the world and my body. There’s nothing else in my memory. So, what was the thing I just killed? And what are you doing, and who are you?”
The stallion leaned down to let Lightning Dust lean on him as the two walked out. “My name is Lightning Dust. The thing you just killed was a Changeling, a vile creature that feeds on love and can change its form into anything it’s seen. They run rampant all across Equestria.”
The stallion was confused. “I’ve never heard of them. They’re common?”
Lightning Dust was confused too. She couldn’t comprehend how anypony wouldn’t know what a Changeling was. Unless…“Do you know what the date is?”
He thought, trying to think of what day it was. “It’s…if I’m remembering correctly, I was sealed in there September 18, 2013. Why, when is it now?”
“It’s 2043. You’ve been sealed away for 30 years. The world’s changed immensely since then. What exactly do you know?”
“There are three races of ponies, the pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies. Equestria is ruled by its two princesses, Celestia and Luna, ponies that can control the sun and moon. The ponies live happy and simple lives, ruled carefully and protected by the Elements of Harmony. Should I go on?”
Lightning Dust sighed. “This is going to be hard to hear, but…everything you’ve got in your head, all your facts, all of that is wrong. The Changelings invaded 30 years ago, taking Equestria hostage. They killed most of the population, and will kill anypony else who doesn’t obey. As for Celestia, Luna, most of the Elements of Harmony, we don’t know what happened to them. Some say they were taken prisoner, some say they were killed, nopony’s sure. We live everyday in fear, and the ponies lost hope. That’s where we come in. I’m part of a rebellion group that fights against the Changelings. Our numbers are growing, and we hope to take Equestria back someday.”
“If these things are as common as you say, I don’t think you’d have enough numbers to put up a fight. And they seem like threatening opponents. How can you trust anypony, when they could be one of those creatures?”
He saw the mare laying on him close her eyes as a tear came down her cheek. “That’s the thing. We don’t, we have to be careful of who we trust. Sometimes they’re Changelings, sometimes they’re traitors, we never know. But…I can trust you, right? You saved me, I owe my life to you.”
“You don’t owe me anything. I don’t know why, but even when I can’t think of anything else, the one thing I know is to help those in need. I want to fight for justice.”
“Then you’re a friend of ours. I’ll have to talk to my superiors, but I’d like to extend an invitation to join our rebel alliance. Welcome to…the Maverick Hunters.”
Canterlot. It was once a bustling city, a hub of business, economics, and ponies of all kinds. Not only that, it was the capital of Equestria, where the castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was located. The city was high on a mountain, proudly displayed for all the ponies to see. It looked nice, and it gave an aura of prosperity and order.
Of course, that was all in the past. It was nothing more than a wreck now, just a symbol of what the Changelings had done. The city was quite literally crawling with them, patrols to keep command over the city. One wrong move and anypony was as good as dead. Being a Changeling offered good opportunities for camouflage, and nothing escaped their watchful eyes.
Lightning Dust and the robot stallion she had rescued walked up to the front door of an ordinary house, and she knocked on the door. A muffled voice came from the other side, asking “Password?”
“Come on Mac, you know it’s me. Just open the door.”
The stallion inside asked again. “Password?”
Lightning Dust rolled her eyes, sighed, and replied. “Whatever.”
The voice on the other side of the door was quiet for a moment before opening the door fully, letting the two in. The guard saw the stallion that Lightning Dust had brought home. “Who is he?”
“He’s a robot that I found in the house outside of Maresteropolis. He was what was inside of that capsule, and he saved me from a Changeling. I think it’s fair to trust him.”
“And the rest of your team?” Asking was just a formality, as he already knew the answer.
“Deceased. I need to ask Captain Sparkle if this robot can join the team. He’s certainly a capable fighter.” Lightning Dust got close to Mac and whispered in his ear. “I think he’s the key to winning this fight. It’s just a gut feeling, but he’s worth the shot.”
Mac nodded, and walked over to the basement door. The three of them walked down the dark stairway into the cold cellar. Mac tapped the stone wall in a precise manner, opening the hidden door. Past the doorway was the hidden base of the Maverick Hunters.
The room was lit up bright with many computer screens monitoring what was going on in cities all across Equestria. Ponies were sitting at the desks keeping a close eye on what was being displayed, and other ponies were running in every direction following orders.
The robot was shocked. “When you said that the Maverick Hunters was a rebellion group, I figured that it would be low-key, small, not this. If Equestria is dominated by those Changelings, how can you maintain an operation like this?”
Lightning Dust laughed. “The Changelings may be numerous, but they’re idiots. The only advantage they have is surprise. We may not be able to change our shapes, but most of us have brains. Speaking of brains, I’d like to introduce you to my commanding officer, Captain Twilight Sparkle.”
She gestured to a pony standing at the front of the room. It was a purple unicorn mare with a tight black outfit, busy reading something. Lightning Dust provided the robot with an introduction. “Captain Sparkle, I’ve returned from my mission to Maresteropolis, and retrieved this robot. He was the one sealed inside the capsule, and he saved me from an attack. He wants to fight for our cause, and I feel he would be a valuable asset.”
The captain looked over from her reading to face them. When she saw the blue robot, she was overcome with shock. “You…it can’t be…,” she whispered, though still loud enough for him to hear. She looked him over closer, and shook her head. “Never mind. You just…look like a pony I knew a long time ago. So, you want to fight with the Maverick Hunters?”
The robot saluted. “Yes ma’am, I would. You fight for a noble cause, and I only want to help who’s right!”
Twilight nodded. “It’s good to meet someone so enthusiastic to fight. You’ll just have to meet with the leader of the Maverick Hunters for final confirmation. Come on, I’ll bring you.” She began walking towards a side room, and gestured for the robot to follow.
The two of them walked through hallways as the robot attempted to make conversation. “Twilight Sparkle? Weren’t you one of the Elements of Harmony? So what happened all those years ago?”
Twilight sighed, a note of sadness in her voice. “They just came too quick. They infiltrated unseen, and once they had integrated themselves, they struck. The Elements only work if all six members are present, and the Changeling Queen made sure they weren’t. I don’t even know what happened to my friends. They could be hypnotized, they could be captured, they could be…” She trailed off, not wanting to say the most likely option. “I don’t really like to talk about my past. So what about you? I don’t even know your name.”
“I don’t either. I was sealed in that capsule for 30 years, and I don’t remember anything about my life before that, if I had one at all. No name, no creator, you lost your friends, but I don’t even know if I had any. You mentioned I look like somepony?”
“Yes, you look like a pony I knew a long time ago. We weren’t friends or anything, but I respected him for what he did. He went up alone against Discord, the King of Chaos, and won. Truthfully, once the Elements were no longer an option, I was looking for him to save us again. But he never came. I shouldn’t have put so much faith in him, wanting him to go against an army, but I believed in him. And seeing you brought back some of that hope.”
The robot thought on it, and wasn’t sure what to think. This other pony, my predecessor I suppose, he sounds like a true warrior. Just seeing me brought back those old memories and beliefs. She wants me to be like him. But, what if I’m not? What would happen if I fail?
His thoughts were interrupted when Twilight stopped. “Alright, I’ll leave the two of you alone to discuss your recruitment. Just go in here.” She walked away as he entered the room.
Inside was a sort of training room, with dummies of Changeling drones propped up on stands. The room was empty, except for one pony taking a dummy on quite well. The pony’s coat was a bright red, with an incredibly long blond mane. Around its waist was a belt, serving no purpose but to hold whatever was hanging off of it. Once the pony was done training, it turned to the robot. He responded to the unsaid question. “I’m here to join the Maverick Hunters, and I was told to speak to you, ma’am.”
The pony laughed, in a voice too deep to be a mare. The robot regretted what he had said, but the stallion thankfully wasn’t offended. “Don’t worry, you’re not the first one to think I’m a mare. I probably should cut my mane, but I just like the way it looks. My name’s Zero. And yours?”
“I don’t know what my name is. I’m a robot that was sealed away for 30 years in a capsule, and I just got released today. I want to fight with you, and Captain Sparkle said I should talk with you.”
“Well, she’s right. I’m the leader of the Maverick Hunters. You’ve certainly got the right attitude, but you can’t be a Hunter unless you’ve got something worthwhile. Are you a fighting robot?”
“Well, I wouldn’t call myself a fighting robot, but I do have combat abilities, sir.”
“Please, stop with the formalities. It makes me feel uncomfortable. Attack one of those dummies, show me what you can do.” Zero stepped back to allow the robot space.
Trying to replicate what he had done in instinct against the real Changeling, he pointed his horn at the dummy, attempting to gather the energy to fire another shot. It was harder than expected to perform the move, but Zero was patient. After a minute, he fired the blast, shooting a hole clean through the dummy.
Zero was impressed. “I don’t see many unicorns able to do something like that, besides Twilight. I say that you should be a Hunter. Just work on firing off the shot quicker, you don’t always have time to prepare on the battlefield.” He walked out of the room, the robot following, taking another look at the dummy he destroyed.
Back in the main room of the base, Zero and the robot walked in, standing at the front of the room. Zero called out to all the ponies in the area. “Attention, everypony! I’d like you all to meet this robot, the newest member of the Maverick Hunters! I’m sure he’s going to be a worthy comrade to our cause!”
The room cheered at their new recruit as Lightning Dust walked to him, giving him a hearty pat. Twilight also came over, a clipboard being held with her magic. “I don’t know if you had any sort of opinion on the matter, but if you’d like, I came up with a name for you.”
The robot shrugged. “I didn’t have any sort of idea. What did you come up with?”
“I mentioned that pony that you looked like? His name was Mega Stallion. He was a robot too, and I’d like to think of you as the successor to his legacy. So, I’ve come up with…Mega Stallion X! Or just X for short.”
The robot tilted his head in confusion. “X? Why’d you choose that?”
“X is commonly used as a variable, something that can be any number. It represents unlimited potential. That’s what you mean to us, a robot that can do anything!”
He nodded. “X…yeah, that makes sense. From now on, my name is Mega Stallion X.” Though he liked the name, the connotations it carried scared him. Not just the amount of faith that was being placed on him, but the other use of X, a letter denoted to the unknown, something that can’t be trusted. This whole battle is about trust. Do I deserve their trust? Do I deserve their admiration? I may have a name, but I’m nopony. I’ve got nothing that’s shown who or what I am yet. What’s going to happen when things change?
Zero smiled. “X and Zero, the unstoppable team. Just get your combat skills honed, and that’ll be the reality in no time.”
The main door slammed open, and two gruff stallions were carrying a purple earth pony stallion, properly bound and restrained. The guards threw him to the floor in front of Zero, who was both surprised and disappointed to see the prisoner. “Vile, how can you keep showing up here? You aren’t being controlled by the Changelings, so why do you keep committing these crimes? I’d be surprised that you’ve evaded Changeling capture this long if it weren’t for your complete lack of a heart. They have no use for you, and neither do I. Guards, take him out of my sight.”
Though he didn’t say anything, everything Vile needed to say was in the glare he gave Zero. Once he was on his way to being placed in a prison cell, Zero explained to X. “Vile is what we call a Maverick, somepony that fights against us, usually due to the Changeling Queen’s power to hypnotize. Vile’s the only one who just does it for laughs. Stay away from him, he’s insane.”
X thought on Zero’s, and a Maverick Hunter’s, definition of a Maverick. Somepony that fights against them. So would they be willing to declare a pony with a differing view as an enemy that must be destroyed?
Sirens began blaring through the room, knocking X out of this thought. Twilight was furiously typing on a computer, finding the source of the commotion. “We’ve got a reporting sighting of a Maverick! No, two! Wait…eight. Eight Mavericks. Each of them is attacking our troops. There’s something going on here, the Changelings must be carrying out some kind of plan.”
“Do we have any sort of confirmation on who the pony originally was?”
Twilight shook her head. “Negative. But everything is indicating that they’re really strong. Zero, you’ll need to be the one to confront them. Avoid lethal force if possible. And…X, I know you just got here, but you’re probably the only Hunter that could stand a chance. Will you go out?”
X agreed, though not without unseen hesitation. Twilight used her magic to float a small device over to him. “This is a communicator. You most likely have one built into your systems, but I’ll need to do some investigating in the future to be able to use it. Until then, put this into your ear. I’ll be acting as a guide while you’re on a mission. Do both of you understand your assignment?”
X and Zero confirmed their approval, and ran out the door. Twilight sat down and said to herself, “X, don’t fail us.”
“If the Maverick Hunters are constantly dealing with threats all across Equestria, then why do they make us walk? Isn’t there any kind of faster way that isn’t flight?”
“HQ says that they’re working on some kind of teleportation system. Twilight can use her magic to perform a natural teleport, but it’s too complicated to teach to any other unicorn. So, until that trans system is up and running properly, we’ve gotta walk. Just be thankful that Ponyville is relatively close, X.”
“I guess you’re right, Zero.” The two Maverick Hunters were walking through what was once Ponyville. Though a small town, it had still seen its fair share of action and excitement. Now, even the rubble had been blasted to pieces. “Ponies lived here once?”
“It wasn’t particularly big, but it was a pretty good town a long time ago. It was one of the first to be attacked by the Changelings. The Elements of Harmony lived here, so it was a prime target, and it offered the most resistance. Actually, right before I joined the Hunters, this was where HQ was located. The Changelings found out, brutally attacked the base, killed any ponies that didn’t make it out fast enough, and then burned the whole town down out of spite.”
“They certainly sound like monsters. So, how long ago did you join?”
“It’s been about 8 years now. I was just a colt off the streets of Canterlot, except for this thing on my belt. It’s the reason I’m still alive today.”
“I noticed that the first time I saw you. What is it, anyway?”
“It’s my Z-Saber. It’s a blade of energy that cuts through Changeling like it’s nothing. I got it when I was a young colt, an object to ensure that I would grow up strong. I suppose I was going to be trained in it formally at some point, but plans change…” Zero trailed off, lost in thoughts about his past before reality snapped him back. “Anyway, Twilight found me close to death after a year on my own. Once I had recovered, I showed her my combat skills, and she was impressed enough to let me join. She stepped down a few years later, and I’ve been commander ever since.”
“Twilight was commander?”
“Yeah, she founded the Maverick Hunters and was acting commander for most of its existence. She controlled the actions of the group and went on missions of her own. She lost a lot in the original attack, possibly more than the rest of us, and she wanted to make sure that nopony else had to suffer like she did. But she cracked under pressure, and started to go crazy. She stepped down to Captain to keep her sanity. She doesn’t talk about it, but I think thoughts of vengeance against the Changelings were getting to her.”
“If you two are done gossiping about the Captain, do you want information about your current mission? It’s probably not a good idea to go into a Maverick fight blind, Zero.”
“Lightning Dust, how long have you been listening?”
“What? I like to listen to your conversations. Do you know that you have a tendency to talk to yourself a lot?”
“Who I talk to and how I do it is none of your concern, Lightning Dust. Are you going to give me the information or not?”
“Alright. You see that mountain up ahead? Because if you can’t, you need glasses more than you need me. So, the Maverick we’re hunting is up at the summit. We don’t have any data on who it is, so I hope X is good at thinking quick, for both of you.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Now stop listening in on me. Goodbye.”
“You’re signing off without saying ‘I love you’? What kind of stallion are you?”
Instead of answering the question, Zero reached into his ear and shut off the communicator. He noticed X looking at him, confused and slightly amused. “Lightning Dust is a bit on the strange side. I don’t even know why I love her.”
The confusion took X’s center stage, pushing any sort of amusement out of the way. “You and Lightning Dust? Really? I’ll admit, I don’t know her very well, but she doesn’t seem much like the kind of mare that you’d want to date.”
Zero nodded. “She really doesn’t seem appealing, I’ll give you that. On paper, she’s pretty awful. But there’s just something about her. Anyway, can we not talk about my love life? She said that the Maverick we’re looking for is on top of that giant mountain outside of town, and that’s all the information they’ve got. We’re on our own for the rest.”
“What kind of pony stakes themselves out at the top of a really tall mountain? Even a pegasus would have trouble flying up there, with the low air pressure and all.”
“You’re a science kind of stallion, aren’t you?”
“Whoever built me, they must have been pretty smart. And they programmed in the basic knowledge of the world I have, so it only makes sense that they would have added more technical information.”
Zero accepted the explanation and kept silent for the rest of the walk. The base of the mountain got closer as it was finally right in front of their faces. Both X and Zero looked at the top from the bottom, truly noting the distance. X looked around and asked “So, how are we going to get up there?”
Boulders and other chunks of rock littered the base of the mountain. “It looks like whoever’s here doesn’t want to be followed. They blasted away whatever kind of walkway there was at one point. It takes quite a bit of energy to destroy that much rock. What exactly are we dealing with here?”
X looked at the cliff face they would have to climb, and he felt some kind of instinct telling him what to do. This is the same feeling I got when I figured out how to shoot. It’s like my memories are hinting at my abilities. So what is it now? X had no rational reason to try it, no confirmation that it would work, but he ran at the cliff and climbed. Not in the usual way, but kicking his legs against the wall to gain altitude. After making it up 30 feet, he slid back down slowly.
Zero’s eyes were wide with surprise. “How? How did you climb the wall like that? No hoofholds, no strength, it looked like you just flew right up!”
“I…I really don’t know. I just got this feeling inside my head, something telling me to try it. I thought the same thing the first time I shot a Changeling, that nagging thought of my hidden strengths.”
“I guess we’re going to have to see how many other secret abilities you’ve got, that was awesome! So…do you think you could carry me with your magic while climbing? Odd thing to ask, but we need as much time as we can get, and this is the fastest way up.”
X thought about it for a moment. “Well…I could try, but I’m not very confident in my magic skills yet. What if we made it near the top and I dropped you?”
“Then let’s practice quickly. Just make sure that you can hold me confidently. If not, we’ll move slowly. Or I can catch up, if you think you can handle your first Maverick on your own.” There was a hint of teasing in Zero’s voice as he closed his eyes, ready to feel X’s magic wrap around his body.
X began to breathe heavy as he focused energy into his horn, not trying to shoot this time. The familiar feeling of energy collecting came back, and he visualized Zero standing in front of him, also imagining lifting him up to make it happen. His horn began to glow yellow, as did Zero’s body before his hooves left the ground. With Zero in his magical grasp, X backed to the mountain and climbed, making sure to keep Zero close to the ground. Once he was confident he could multitask, X brought the two of them up.
After a few minutes of climbing, the Maverick Hunters had reached the top, where a large flat surface of rock awaited them. Zero investigated the area while X rested quickly. “Strange…this plateau isn’t natural, but it wasn’t blasted out like the walkways were. It looks more like it was carved. But there’s no way a pony or Changeling could do this. So, who does that leave?”
X looked up and saw a silhouette in the sky getting larger and closer, coming to engulf them completely in its shadow. “That!” He fired off a shot, hitting its shoulder, but the creature grabbed X in its claws.
No longer above them blocking the sun, Zero got a good look at the giant attacking them. He instantly recognized its species. “Dragon!” Zero activated his Z-Saber and leaped up to face the green dragon, swinging the sword into its scaly chest. Dragon scales are known for their durability and invincibility, but either this particular dragon had some pathetic body structure, or the Z-Saber was more powerful than expected, because Zero cut straight through, drawing blood.
In pain from its chest wound, the dragon was stunned enough to drop X, who retaliated with a powerful shot to the face. The blast knocked the dragon’s head back, giving Zero the chance to attack once again on the dragon’s leg, making it fall on the rock. Zero regrouped with X, the two standing together to fight the battle.
Now suitably mad, the dragon let out a deep roar and opened its mouth, the back of its throat glowing, just seconds before it let out a burst of flames. With no time to move out of the way, X fired a blow below their hooves, creating a hole in the rock deep enough for them to hide from the blast. Once it had ended, X leaped out and fired a barrage of shots while Zero ran forward to the dragon and grabbed its scales, climbing upwards to the head. Once he was as high up as he could get, Zero jumped up and stabbed his saber straight down into the dragon’s brain. It let out a brief cry before being silenced.
Zero jumped down and turned his saber off. “So, how did you like your first taste of the action? Good practice round, I’d say.”
“Most practice rounds don’t involve fighting a dragon, even one as weak as this one.” X reached into his ear and activated his communicator. “Captain Sparkle, we’ve neutralized the Maverick. It was a dragon, but it fell easy.” While he was talking, he absentmindedly walked into a nearby cave, towards the dragon’s hoard. Zero followed, admiring the large amounts of gold present.
Twilight responded, a large amount of worry in her voice. “A dragon? Did it say anything? What was his name? What colors was he?”
“It was a pretty solid green, didn’t mention a name, and didn’t talk at all. You sound a bit worked up.”
Twilight sighed in relief, but still sounded disappointed. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
Zero was pointing at a shining suit of armor amongst the hoard. “Hey X, how do you think you’d look in this Golden Armor?” He barely tapped his hoof on it, and the pile of gold and jewels began to shake. The items at the top rolled down as a figure burst out of the top, a smaller purple and green dragon.
The smaller dragon laughed. “What, you thought Eregion was the Maverick? Don’t be so stupid! He’s just the guard to take on whatever foolish ponies come up here! But you two are different. You’re Hunters, aren’t you? In that case, I’ll be glad to take you on personally!”
X talked through his communicator again. “Never mind, Captain Sparkle. Engaging the Maverick now!”
The dragon stopped and stood still. His face looked as though it was in regret before laughing again. “Captain Sparkle? What’d you do to get demoted like that? You were never the type to take failure, not when I knew you.”
“Spike! What are you doing?” A few moments passed in silence before Twilight realized the issue with the conversation. “X, relay whatever I say!”
X did as he was told, copying whatever Twilight was saying exactly. Spike responded, “I’m not Spike anymore, Twilight. When we’re shown the truth by the Queen, we’re given names more fitting for our new existence. I am now Magma Dragoon!”
“You’re not, you don’t belong to them, Spike. You’re my number one assistant, as you always were. I trusted you!”
“And that’s your problem, Twilight! I’m a dragon! You kept me as nothing more than a servant! I’m finally doing something I believe in, and I’m not going to let you or any other Maverick Hunter get in my way! Power up, Hunters! Show me what you can do!”
Spike put his wrists together and pushed his palms forward, yelling “Hadouken!” On command, a fireball appeared in his hands, firing out at the Hunters. X rolled out of the way while Zero jumped over it to Spike. Spike’s reptilian eyes sparked, and he jumped into the air with a fiery uppercut, shouting “Shoryuken!” The punch hit Zero, sending him spiraling to the ground.
X fired a blast from his horn, colliding with Spike while he was still recovering from his landing. He laughed the attack off. “I’m a dragon! I’m fireproof! Do you think some plasma is going to hurt me?” He jumped into the air, coming back down onto X with a flaming kick, calling his attack with “Red Hot Kick!” X moved out of the way and returned with a roundhouse kick, powerful enough to send Spike flying towards Zero, who leaped back up with a Saber slash.
Spike’s scales were more resilient to the Z-Saber, but it still hurt. He was sent reeling to the ground in pain, breathing heavy. Opening his mouth, he began to charge up his own fire wave, but instead began coughing up blood. Taking the opportunity, X leapt to Spike with a swift punch to the face, bringing him down to the ground for good.
Spike looked up, eyes partially closed, panting. “How could I lose to you? I was promised victory! I was promised the riches I desired from opponents that lay dead at my claws!”
Zero brought his Saber up, prepared to swing. “This is the end of the line for you, dragon.” Spike closed his eyes, death the only way to remove the stain from his honor.
But X held up his hoof to stop Zero, and instead delivered another swift punch to the back of Spike’s head, knocking him out. He brought up his communicator again. “Captain Sparkle, Maverick Spike neutralized. Mission success.”
Twilight responded choked up words, as though she had been crying. “Did…did you…”
She wasn’t able to finish her question before X answered. “He’s still alive, knocked out. I don’t know what you can do to rid him of his ‘Maverick Virus’, but his fate is in your hooves. I couldn’t let him die when he was your friend.”
“Thank you thank you thank you!!! If you were standing next to me, I’d be giving you a hug! I’ll send in a team of pegasi to retrieve him.” Twilight cleared her throat before calming down. “But on a more serious note, there are two more Mavericks in the nearby area, and you two need to fight them. Try not to kill. There’s one in the Everfree Forest, and one at the schoolhouse. You’ll each be instructed once you’ve decided how you’re splitting up.”
“Understood.” X turned to Zero. “There are two more Mavericks nearby. We need to split up to fight them both. Twilight says not to kill them.”
Zero nodded and turned back to Spike, lying limp on the ground. He lightly kicked him, when he felt his body coursing with energy. It flowed through his veins, collecting in the hoof holding his Saber before moving completely into the weapon. Not completely in control, he brought out his Saber and performed a rising slash with it, the blade replaced with a fire sword. “I…I guess I learned a new move. X, try touching Spike and see what happens.”
X complied, tapping Spike before feeling the same sensation of energy. Once it had finished, his coat turned red, and he was able to perform Spike’s “Shoryuken” move. “Do Maverick Hunters always get new abilities from Mavericks we defeat?”
“No. These ones are special. But why do you think they’re different? I’d say that the Changeling Queen is planning something, and these are her ground units. All the more reason to keep moving forward with the attack.”
X and Zero made eye contact with each other, both yelling in unison “Then let’s get moving!”
X trotted through the ashes of Ponyville, the black dust covering his hooves. He passed one of the most intact pieces of the town, a sign charred and half missing. Difficult to read, but printed on it were the incomplete words “Sugarc….Cor…” The Changelings destroyed all of this? An entire town, a full populace, wiped out. Why? Why did they even invade in the first place, for any reason other than power? His communicator turned on, Twilight trying to talk to him. “Captain Sparkle, can I ask a few questions?”
Twilight’s voice was full of panic. “Big problem, X! Sensors are showing a whole lot of energy sources in the surrounding area! That Maverick planted bombs at the base of the mountain Canterlot’s on! If they go off, the mountain crumbles, and Canterlot goes with it! You need to destroy all the bombs before it’s too late!”
“How do I destroy a bomb without setting it off?”
“Just crush it with your hooves! Hurry, you don’t have forever!”
X ran off into the forest at the base of the mountain before realizing that he had no idea where the bombs were located, what they looked like, how many there were, and how much time he had. Still working as fast as he could despite all the unknown variables, he saw something in one of the tree branches. He jumped up and broke the branch off, and down fell the bomb sitting in it. X reared back on his hind legs and come forward on top of it, crushing it below him. That’s one. What am I thinking, I can’t get all of these!
He ran off into another direction, briefly looking back to be sure he wasn’t missing anything when he ran into a solid object and landed on the ground. Looking at what he hit, he saw a tall blue capsule, a glass door on the front. With his impact, the lights inside the capsule began to flicker on until they were fully activated, and an image also came in. It was a hologram of an old stallion with a beard, and he began to talk.
“So you’ve come…if you’re seeing this, then things are just as I feared. The world needs a new champion, and you’ve been chosen to fill that role. I’m sorry that I was unable to see you into the world, but just know that I’ll still be here to help you. I’m Dr. Thomas Light, and I created you. Step into the capsule to receive an upgrade for your helmet. This upgrade will grant you radar capabilities, to show you the location of nearby objects. Good luck, my son.”
The hologram faded away, and X was just left speechless in the revelations. The pony who created me is dead. I really had nopony in my life. I’ve been alone. He stepped into the capsule with his head down, the door closing behind him. The capsule lit up and began humming with power. A loud bang filled the area, and X could feel his helmet materializing new parts. A final flash, and the door opened. He stepped out, everything around him seeming clearer and more defined.
Focusing energy into his helmet, he began seeing red circles, moving around and focusing on certain areas. X walked over to the closest one, and sure enough, it was the location of a bomb. He destroyed it, and set to work on getting the rest.
After a trivial search for all the bombs, X destroyed the last one. He called Twilight to confirm. “Captain Sparkle, it appears I’ve destroyed all of the bombs. Further instructions?”
“How are you sure that you’ve got them all?”
“I found a capsule with a message from Dr. Thomas Light. He said he’s the one that created me, and gave me a helmet upgrade with radar. Do you have any sort of information on him.”
“Dr. Light? He’s the one that built you? He was a scientist that specialized in robotics, and he built the original Mega Stallion. That really makes you a successor. A second coming. You’re showing tremendous promise, please make the most of it.”
X was going to respond about how uncomfortable he felt about following in somepony else’s hoofsteps, but the sound of a motor running cancelled that point of conversation. The sound got louder as the flashing lights in X’s eyes warned him about a threat coming from behind.
X climbed up the trunk of a tree to scout the area, and saw an orange pegasus riding a motorized scooter to his previous location. The pegasus’ face was concealed by the green blast helmet it wore, a single red light glowing from the solid black eye covering. It reached up and pulled the helmet off, revealing a purple mane and its gender, a mare. She looked around a few times, and saw nothing. “Damn! I lost his trail! He’s gotta be around here somewhere, and he’ll see what fighting a Maverick is really like. Dragoon never stood a chance.”
If I can get one starting hit, I can gain a distinct advantage. But I need to stay silent and stealthy. Carefully aiming his horn at the target, he closed his eyes and fired.
The mare, however, was lightning quick. In the split second it took for the plasma shot to reach her, she flipped up the bottom of her scooter and blocked the attack. Once the wheels had landed firmly back on the ground, she just stared at X. “So, you’re the Maverick Hunter that disposed of Dragoon? Maybe you’d like to face a real challenge?”
X jumped down from the branch into the dirt. “I’m just here to enforce peace, not start petty fights with scooter gangs.”
The mare immediately got very angry, growling and shaking her hoof. “Scooter gang? Do you have any idea who you’re making fun of? I’m Ride Boarski!”
“Boarski? Are you insulting yourself, calling yourself a pig like that?” X was surprised with his newfound confidence.
She leaped directly into X’s face, pressing against him. “PIG? First chicken, then dodo, now this insult? You’re going to regret that, punk! It’s time to duel!” Grabbing her scooter by the handles, she swung the body at X, making a sharp swish as it cut through the air.
X fell to the ground to dodge, and sweep kicked the mare off her hooves. But she was very mobile, catching herself on her front hooves and backflipping away, still holding onto the scooter. She landed on the scooter, skidding it, kicking up clumps of dirt. She scoffed. “You might as well give up now, I’m one of the fastest and most agile Mavericks there is.”
X fired another shot, which she avoided by jumping. “Can’t touch me! I’m too hot to handle!” She leaned on the back of her scooter, the front tilting upwards.
X jumped up into a tree, and jumped off a branch directly onto the higher end of the scooter, creating a seesaw effect and launching the mare up high. Of course, she was a pegasus, so being suddenly sent in the air didn’t faze her, but it did separate her from her scooter. “What are you doing? If you were smart, you’d know not to separate me from my ride. SCOOTER! TO ME!”
Once she had yelled, the scooter began moving upwards to her, almost as if it was being pulled by magic. Still standing on it, X was knocked off by the sudden motion, landing flat on his back. The mare grabbed the scooter and aimed the bottom at X, when the wheels spouted spikes and fired off, hitting the ground a few feet in front of him.
The spiked wheels started rolling towards X, cutting a path in the dirt where they passed. He moved out of the way, and the wheels followed. Anywhere he went, they went with him. No matter how crazy he got with evading, they would always find a way to catch up. I need to lose these things somehow. And…I think I know how.
After gaining some distance against the wheels of doom, X placed himself underneath the Maverick, who was sitting in a tree branch laughing at his supposed incompetence. He readied himself, and slammed the ground with full force. The impact created a small crater around him. Perfect. The shredding of the wheels got louder as they approached at full speed. They hit the upwards-curved ground in front of him, sending them high enough into the air for his plan to work.
The mare was looking at the action below curiously. “What is he doing…” she whispered. She saw his coat instantly turn white and red, the wheels fly in front of him, and him performing a flaming rising uppercut on both of them. The punch was powerful enough to send both of the spinning wheels in another direction. Directly towards her. She didn’t even have time to yell before they both collided, one cutting the branch off the tree and the other colliding with her scooter, cutting it clean in half.
She fell to the ground, landing with a thump and groan. She shook her head and looked up, greeted by X’s charged up horn directly in front of her face. “I’ve been ordered not to kill Mavericks, but you’re going to need to follow my orders to get that privilege.” She put her hooves up in the air as surrender, and was knocked out by X.
A light fog and mist rolled through the forest, everything a gloomy dark green. The only thing standing out was the bright red Maverick Hunter.
His communicator came on. “Zero, the Maverick you’re trying to find is hiding somewhere in the forest. Be careful, the Everfree Forest is well known for having dangerous creatures. Even the Changelings don’t come in here.”
Zero looked at a few skeletons strewn about, not all of them complete. “I’ve noticed quite a few Changeling skeletons around. There’s something in here that’s got a taste for them. And before you say anything, Lightning Dust, yes, I’ve heard the stories about the ponies that took refuge in here and became feral. I don’t need a reminder.”
Lightning Dust laughed. “Are you telling me you believe that? That’s the kind of thing fillies and colts come up with to scare their friends on Nightmare Night. No, the important thing you need to know is Twilight’s theory on the Maverick’s objective. There’s some kind of hidden pond in here with the power to clone. If the Changelings can secure that, they’ll have infinite numbers."
“A cloning pond? Why haven’t we gone for that before? Wouldn’t it be nice to have numbers on our side for once?”
“Twilight says the clones it produces are stupid, only a single thought on their minds at all times. They’re completely useless.”
Zero smirked. “So, what’s the difference between a normal Changeling and a clone of one? Will their heads actually be hollow now?”
Both Zero and Lightning Dust chuckled when Zero bumped his hoof against a rock. Looking at it, he saw more pieces, all blown apart from one single boulder. In the middle of the rock circle was a hole. “Lightning Dust, I’ve found some hole. It leads pretty deep down. Should I investigate?”
“The hole was covered by a boulder, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Let me guess, the pond is down this hole. I should go down immediately. I’ll do just that, then.” Zero jumped down the hole and slid through the narrow tunnel, leading down into a large open cavern. In the middle was a pond, the minimal light shining off it in such a way that the entire room was lit. It was tranquil, calm and relaxing. Until the pond water rippled, and out walked two identical pink ponies.
One of them talked to the other. “Isn’t this great? Now there can be infinite us! The joy of us will spread far and wide!”
The other one hopped on her hind legs and clapped her front hooves. “Fun!”
Zero yelled across the cavern. “Are you the Maverick that’s been spotted in the area?”
Both pink ponies turned to face him, their sides nearly touching each other. One of them spoke. “Maverick? That’s insulting. I prefer the term ‘rebellious’. It’s nicer.”
The other one also talked. “Maybe we should forgive him. Look at him, he’s a pretty well-built stallion. Maybe we could have our own fun.”
The first one replied. “No, we can’t associate with Maverick Hunters like him. I’m feeling disrespected that Commander Sparkle didn’t come to reprimand me herself. Do I mean that little to her now?”
“Twilight Sparkle is no longer commander of the Maverick Hunters. My name is Zero, and that’s my job now. You wanted a fight against the commander, you’ve got it!”
The pink pony that was trying to be suggestive came up next to him, stroking her tail across his body. “I was looking forward to seeing an old friend again, but I think you’re better. Come on, there’s no reason to fight, not when we could be doing something else.” She winked.
Zero grabbed the hilt of his saber. “Sorry, but I’ve already got a marefriend.” Making a gamble, he activated the saber and sliced her head off, flying into the air before both parts melted into a ball of goop and flew back into the pond. “So, I just need to keep killing the clones. This could get very messy, real one.”
The real Maverick backed up to the edge of the pond. “You’ll regret killing me like that. Prepare to be swarmed by Infinity Mijinion!” Still facing him, she jumped into the pond, and out jumped another. Both jumped back in, and out came four. All four performed action poses, and spoke in unison again. “Now we’re angry, and that means you’re dead!”
Three of them jumped at him, and Zero instantly recognized the plan. She’s not strategic. If she was smart, she’d throw herself into the mix so I wouldn’t know which one is real. As long as she hangs back like that, she’s too easy to spot. Right before the clones could pile on top of him, he spun his body with saber extended, bisecting all three. He saw the real one panic and jump back in. Two came out, and they kept repeating to overwhelm the Maverick Hunter. Gives me a good chance to stop them.
Zero ran around the edge of the pond towards the pile of ponies, who all jumped him. Zero threw punches, kicks, and saber swings in every direction, each blow colliding with a different clone. But for each one he defeated, another would take its place. It would be never-ending, and he could see the real one grinning. Need to get to her.
Making height, he used his new technique to strike a clone and raise them both in the air in a swing of flames. Suitably high enough, he bounced off the head of another clone and jumped forward to the real one. She jumped to the side, and shot up with her hoof in the air. “CLONES! Giga Attack!”
All of the clones stopped moving and raised their hooves into the air, all calling out “IT’S RAINING LASERS!” Zero was blinded by the ceiling suddenly glowing bright, as it shot down heavy beams of energy, releasing a barrage so fierce that every clone was annihilated by it.
Once the light died down, the real pony opened her eyes to see the Maverick Hunter still standing, holding his saber in the air in a block position. Before she could run, he leaped, grabbed her hard, and put his saber to her throat. “I’d suggest you cooperate, unless you want infinity divided by Zero.”
He ran through the woods, his skilled legs carrying him across and over fallen trees and other bumps in the terrain. He was breathing heavy, but wouldn’t stop. He was being chased. Being caught would surely mean death. He knew his hunter was close on his tail, willing to work as long as it took to bring him to justice. So he ran.
“You can keep running, drone! You’ll never escape! I’ll find you!” She was always taunting him, trying to make him give up. But she knew he wouldn’t. She’d dealt with runaways before, and she knew they would stop only with death. Not that she was complaining, she enjoyed the hunt. Especially in forests like these, despite the low visibility, she felt right in her element.
Drones that didn’t understand their place weren’t common, but also not unheard of. They lost their sense of duty, obligation, and unity. They didn’t want to be a part of their glorious master race anymore, and took off. Not for long, though. That’s where she came in.
She was their bounty hunter. Spike Rosered. The queen would ask her to hunt down a target. She came back a few days later, no questions asked. None need be asked. Everyone knew what once was a target was probably indistinguishable now. She still had loyalty to the queen, but her methods followed no laws.
The traitor she was hunting now, in many respects, was just the same as the others. A Changeling who rebelled against his role and tried to become an individual. Changeling drones were supposed to act as one unit, they didn’t have identities or names. Traitors gave themselves a name and went off. They didn’t last much longer than that.
There was one little respect where this one was different, a detail that gave him an identity without names. He had the most useful ability of any Changeling. Changelings as a species had the ability to transform themselves into the body of any living creature, assuming it was in the same size range.
This runaway was different. He could change forms just as easily as any other Changeling, but he got the skills and abilities of whatever he was copying. Sure, a Changeling turning into a pegasus or unicorn could still perform magic or flight just as well as they could in their normal bodies, but he could use any extra abilities the original had.
This useful “Perfect Copy” skill was highly regarded by the queen, but when a Changeling goes rogue, it no longer matters who they were before. Now, they’re nothing but dead. “You know, drone, you were doing so well as part of the team! If you’ll leave your insanity behind, I’m sure you’ll be welcome back!”
He could hear his hunter, and he knew she was just talking out her flank. Once you were a traitor, there was no going back. No matter what he said or did, he’d be dead upon capture. The only way to escape it was to get to safety.
Of course, that was easier said than done. He was the first one to make it this far, but she was gaining. He couldn’t think of anything to transform into that would aid his retreat, and his black skin already provided good camouflage in the darkness.
But where was safety? The Changelings wouldn’t take him back, and he’d rather die than go back. Ponies? They’d kill him on sight. His only possible option was to hide. Hide until his hunters left, and live in exile. That’s all he had left at that point. Exile.
“Get back here! You’re only making it worse for yourself if you keep on running!”
He wanted to keep quiet and remain hidden, but there wasn’t much of a point. A bounty hunter as skilled as Rosered surely knew where he was. So there wasn’t much harm in talking back. “Making it worse! How could it possibly be worse at this point?”
“If you stop right now and give up, I’ll kill you quick and painless. That’s the best offer you’re going to get, drone!”
“Painless? Ha! You aren’t even capable of killing without torture! You’re nothing but a psychopath! Why do you think I left? You’re all monsters!”
“We’re the psychos? We at least understand our place in the world! You’re not just rebelling against us, you’re rebelling against the natural order of things! You’re nothing but a drone, a worker, you have no place in the world! Why fight the inevitable?”
“Who are you to tell me my place? You’re nowhere near the top of anything, you’re just a flower pony that your queen took in! Do you really have a future? You just do your little job like the loyal servant you are, while I’m out here trying to make a change!”
“YOU CAN’T MAKE ACHANGE IF YOU’RE DEAD!” Rosered was losing her grip and just wanted a kill. Being a real part of nature, she fully understood how to use the forest to her advantage. She swung across branches and through trees to gain enough momentum to catch up.
Her target nearby, she leaped from a hiding spot of leaves and branches onto his back. Only to be met by the body of Princess Celestia, who used her regal magic to blast Rosered away. While flying through the air, she saw Celestia be consumed by green flames, and start running in the smaller, more nimble form of a Changeling again.
She slammed the ground with her hoof. “DAMN IT!” Struggling to get back up amidst the pain of a magic blast, she began running as well as she could. She wouldn’t let her target get away. Nothing ever evaded her in the end.
The thick treescape gave way to a clearing in the forest, hoofprints fresh in the dirt. He’s here, hiding like the coward he is.
He was hiding, using the best camouflage body he could think of. Rosered herself. With that body came intimate knowledge of nature’s quirks, allowing him to remain perfectly concealed. He just needed a perfect time and body to strike.
No. No other changes. If she’s going to die, it’s going to be from Changeling magic. He quietly changed back to his normal form, and got ready to strike. He saw a scuffle in a bush on the outskirts of the clearing, and backed away into the treetop.
Rosered also saw the motion, and pulled out her knife. “It’s over, drone! You’re not escaping now!” She leapt into the bush, the knife positioned for a kill.
But before she reached her target, she saw a blue pony jump out and ram into her. She got up from the impact and smirked. “Whose body are you taking this time? I’ve never seen him before.”
The blue pony was confused. “Taking bodies? What are you talking about? I’m only here to apprehend the Maverick, and it would appear that it’s you.”
“Oh…you’re a filthy Maverick Hunter. I don’t have time to deal with you, I’ve got a runaway to find, and you’re only getting in my way.”
He took a fighting stance. “I’m not giving up on you until you’re taken into custody. I’m not going to kill you, just please listen.”
She laughed. “You Maverick Hunters, you’ve always been weak! You’re too soft to kill me, even if you wanted to. I’ll fight you, and you’ll pay for making me lose…”
A flash of green magic flying towards her, hitting her in the side of the head, and coming out the other side interrupted her. She collapsed to the ground, making a few quiet croaks and groans, and died.
The Changeling dropped down from his perch and hissed at the corpse. He started to walk away before a yellow blast hit the ground to his side. He looked back to see the blue pony staring at him.
“What did you just do? You just killed the Maverick! How could you just kill a living creature like that? It’s immoral and wrong!”
The Changeling tried to back away, but the blue pony was too fast and caught up with him. “Well, what was I supposed to do? She’s the Changeling bounty hunter, and she would stop at nothing to make sure I’m dead! It was self-defense!”
“You interfered with justice! I was going to bring her in for reformation, and you just killed her in cold blood! Besides, why would a Changeling be escaping from their own bounty hunter?”
“Because…because I’m a traitor. A runaway. I couldn’t stand being a part of their gigantic herd, not when I’m different from the rest. So I left, and they’ll stop at nothing to kill me.”
“Well then, maybe I should give them what they’re looking for. You don’t mean anything to me.” He didn’t fully mean what he was saying, but he didn’t have any reason to like the Changeling.
“Please don’t. If I go back, I’ll lose everything. But, out here, at least I still have my life and individuality. That’s all I need.”
The blue pony realized this Changeling was sincere. He wasn’t like the others. He might be worth a chance. “Maybe I was a little harsh to you. My name is X. Do you have a name?”
“Changelings don’t get names unless you’re really important. That’s one of the first things runaways do. They give themselves a name and leave. So, I’m Axl.”
“That makes two of us, brought into the world without names or an identity. We just have to shape ourselves and the world around us.”
Axl nodded. “That’s why I left. I want to do something useful. I know I can. I can not only copy forms, but their abilities as well. I could make a difference in the world. And I want to take down my former queen!”
X was seeing himself in this Changeling. “That’s how I felt when I first learned about this world. I’m a robot, sealed away for 30 years. Things changed a lot, and I only want to help make things right. You’d do well as a Maverick Hunter.”
“ARE YOU COMPLETELY INSANE?”
Twilight was yelling at X, who had returned to Hunter Base with Axl in tow. He told her about their meeting, and how he felt that Axl would make a good Hunter. Twilight was not on board with the idea.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve brought a CHANGELING into our base! He could be a spy! That’s all Changelings are, anyway. They’re deceptive, liars, untrustworthy. I see that’s something you still need to learn.”
Axl wanted to speak up on his own behalf, but the circle of ponies ready to kill him on a moment’s notice kept him quiet. X had to do all his speaking for him.
“I’m telling you, he’s different! You can see sincerity in any creature’s eyes. He’s telling the truth, he doesn’t want to be a part of the Changeling horde anymore! You just need to give him a chance!”
Twilight got straight up into X’s face, her eyes screaming death. “You don’t understand! You’ve never had to deal with the Changelings, you haven’t lost anything from them! Do you have any idea what they’ve taken from me? EVERYTHING! Everything I held close, everything I loved, all gone! And Spike’s the only one I’ve gotten back! My friends, my family, they could all be dead right now!” She pointed at Axl. “And these things are to blame!”
X sighed sadly. “You’re right. I haven’t experienced pain like you have. And that’s why I’m fighting, to help and make sure no other pony has to go through what you did. And I want you to just trust him until he’s proven himself.”
“Trust him? Why should I trust a Changeling? Their ability, their entire reason for existing is to trick those willing to trust them! My brother was brainwashed by their queen on his wedding day, and Equestria was nearly destroyed because he trusted her, and everypony trusted him. How stupid do you think I am?”
X got really angry. She wasn’t even willing to listen. “Then why am I standing here right now? I just walked in with a Hunter who discovered me on a mission, and decided that I would be right to help you! You had absolutely no reason to trust me, and yet you did! What kind of a hypocrite are you?” Twilight opened her mouth, but X kept talking. “Let me guess, it’s because I look like the robot that you could trust? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not him! You’re just getting too lost in your past to see it! I can’t stand being compared to him, because I’m an individual! Just like Axl!” He got quiet, but was still clearly mad. “And if this is how you want to run this operation, then you’ll just have to see how well you’ll do without me.”
X began to walk out, until he saw Zero in the doorway. “Zero, I’m sorry, but I’m leaving. I’m not staying here.”
Zero put his hoof on X’s shoulder. “No X, please stay. I heard most of the conversation, and I agree with you.” Zero walked over to Twilight, stopping to wave the soldiers holding Axl captive away. “Captain Sparkle, explain your reasoning for turning down what could be a very useful comrade.”
Twilight stammered in shock. “Are you going crazy, too? He’s a Changeling, he’s probably just a spy waiting to backstab all of us!”
“Exactly. You said it yourself, Changelings are nothing but lies and tricks. Well, wouldn’t it be nice to have that on our side for once? Think about it, we’ve got someone that can disguise themselves as the enemy, work covert operations! And he’s a Changeling army defect. He’d know better than the rest of us their plans, patterns, everything useful! It’s perfect!” He turned back to Axl. “What’s your name, Changeling?”
“Axl.”
“Well then, come on, Axl! We’ve got Mavericks to go find!” Zero looked back at Twilight, who was both confused and angry. “I know what you’re thinking, Twilight. But too bad, I’m in charge.”
X, Zero, and Axl started to walk out before Twilight called out. “Axl…you killed one of the Mavericks. I need to know who they were.”
Axl transformed into Rosered’s body. Twilight looked him/her over. “That’s Roseluck. She was a flower pony back in Ponyville. Not really a friend of mine.”
“So…the kill is excused?”
“As excused as it’s ever going to get. Now get out before I can’t stand to look at you anymore.”
It smelled like death. That was the only way to describe it, the perfect combination of rotting bodies and blood. The stench filled the caverns, as was to be expected. Death filled every nook and cranny of this place.
Twilight was stuck to the wall through Changeling goo. Around her were some other special prisoners, her brother and his wife. None were in fighting condition. All three of them were taken in after a long and fierce battle against the Changeling forces. Though they had strength and intelligence, sheer numbers won out in the end. Instead of being killed upon surrender, they were taken back to the prisons.
The door to the room opened, and the Changeling queen walked in, her green mane and wings providing contrast against the dark room. She was smiling in the most evil way walking over to Shining Armor. “It’s been so long, my husband. You decided to marry this bitch instead of me. But our time together long ago was just so nice, perhaps I can arrange another wedding for us. You could be king, Shiny!”
Shining Armor growled. “Go to Tartarus, Chrysalis! You think I’d want to marry you after you brainwashed me, imprisoned my real love, and tried to invade Equestria? You’re scum.”
“But this time, I succeeded, didn’t I? We can rekindle the love we had all those years ago, you at my side, ruling over this pathetic land! The love you emanate will be a feast for me!”
Shining Armor remained silent for a few seconds. “And if I accept, what will happen to Cadence and Twilight?”
“The two princesses here? I might make a nice exception for your sister, she provided quite the amusement at our wedding. Your current wife…I really can’t take any chances of you cheating on me, now can I?” Chrysalis pulled out a sword, already coated in blood. She used her magic to hold it in front of Twilight. “I’ve used this sword before, Princess Twilight. On which ponies? Could it have been your friends? Maybe some of them were just too weak to live under my rule!”
Twilight began breathing heavy, seething with rage at the thought of the Changelings hurting her friends. Chrysalis laughed at how pathetic she looked, so much anger and nothing to do with it. She turned back to Shining Armor. “Honestly, honey, I’m surprised you were even considering joining me. You were always so loyal, only fighting for princess and country. Surely, you couldn’t even be imagining playing on our side?”
“I’ll be your king and husband if you agree to let these two go. My status as Captain of the Guard may be proving my loyalty, but I’ll gladly give it up to keep the ones I care about safe.” He let his head drop, as if in defeat.
Chrysalis tilted her head and smiled. “Aw, how sweet. Your love for these two is just extraordinary.” She started to turn around, before turning back and plunging her sword directly through Cadence. “It’s just a shame I’m already full.”
“CADENCE!” Shining Armor yelled, struggling to free himself and help his wife in any way he could. The Changeling goo was too sticky, and he couldn’t use magic. He could only watch as the queen pulled the sword back out, leaving Cadence’s wound to bleed out. Her head limped as her eyes began to close.
“NOOOOOO!” Shining Armor had been in battle before, and he knew there was no way she was going to survive. “You’re a monster! You think I would ever join you, after you do something so evil!? I’ll travel to the ends of Equestria to make sure you die painfully!” His anger made Twilight’s just a few seconds ago seem like a little filly having a tantrum.
“You’re betraying me, so soon? You know what the penalty is for treason, don’t you?” She pointed the sword’s tip towards Shining Armor.
He nodded. “If the only other choice is a living death under you...then I'd rather choose to laugh death in the face and face it with dignity!”
Twilight panicked, emotions still running high after the murder less than a minute ago. “Shiny, no! You can’t just give up like this!”
Shining Armor comforted his sister, talking through tears. “It’s okay, Twiley. There’s nothing left anymore, and I will go out with honor like the stallion I am. So do it, Chrysalis! Finish the job!”
Chrysalis licked her lips. “That’s what couples do, isn’t it? Do whatever their special somepony wants? But we’re used to pleasuring each other, all that experience before the wedding. I really shouldn’t be saying this in front of your wife, what if she gets jealous? Oh wait, we don’t need to be worrying about that anymore, now do we?”
“You want me dead, do it without taunting me or acting like a bitch. I want to die the way I lived, with valor and respect. For a creature with a hunger for love, you really have absolutely no heart!”
Chrysalis rolled her head. “Isn’t the wife the one that never shuts up? It’s for the best that we never got married! I’m done with you, this is over!” She took the blade and slit Shining Armor’s throat. He went limp instantly.
She looked at Twilight, who was completely lost in crying to acknowledge Chrysalis. “And that just leaves you. You’ve grown considerably since our last meeting, You’ve gotten some very nice wings. Celestia finally decided that you were worthy of being a princess, did she? And how did that turn out?”
Twilight was too choked up to respond, so she kept talking. “You shouldn’t have taken up this promotion. You don’t look good with wings, and you’ve ruined everything that made you so ‘great’. It’s up to me to fix the Princess’s mistake.” With Twilight too distraught to even be paying attention, Chrysalis poised her sword for a three kill streak, but stopped short. “No. Your punishment must be more…severe.”
She used her Changeling magic to free Twilight’s torso, allowing her wings to expand outwards. Chrysalis tapped the wings with the sword, soft enough to not even leave a cut. “You welcome death now, like your brother did. That is why you shall not receive it. Torture. Of both the mind and the body. I shall repair what the ponies had destroyed. Starting with you.” She swung the sword harder, cleanly cutting off Twilight’s right wing. Until the blood started flowing, entering the pool collected below the three bodies hanging from the wall.
Twilight cried out in pain, the agony cutting out the Changeling queen’s words. “You’ve had everything in life handed to you. You managed to achieve the status of princess for writing in a book a lesson you completed in one hour! You’re spoiled. You must feel despair, despair that can only be achieved through false hope. So I’ll let you free for now. I know your type, you’ll start a rebellion and rise up. You’ll fight to the last breath to make me die. And only then, only when you see how futile and use pointless your simple race is, when Equestria is ashes, that’s when you have my permission to die.”
Chrysalis cut off Twilight’s other wing and used her magic to fully free Twilight from the wall, where she fell into the pool of blood. Attempting to stand, she flopped back down and watched Chrysalis walk out. After some more tears, the pain caused her to pass out.
“So, is there anything else you need to know about Changelings?”
Axl had spent the entire walk back down to Ponyville answering Zero’s questions about the Changeling race and various information regarding their species, military, and home. Zero was preparing to organize a full-scale invasion, take out the queen, and end this entire war for good. “What’s the Changeling home country called?”
“It’s called Chrysalis. Yes, it’s also the queen’s name. It’s supposed to represent her divine right to rule or something. She’s full of herself, I imagine she just started calling herself Chrysalis to gain power. She needs to die, simple as that.”
X had been keeping quiet. Not being a long standing part of the war, he hadn’t been overly curious or interested in the enemy. But there was still one thing he had been working with, and he needed to understand. “So, why do they make ponies go Maverick? How does that fit into their grand plan?”
“First question from you, X. Changelings feed on love. We, or rather they, use their shape shifting powers to disguise as ponies that some other pony loves to feed. Once in an optimal position, they hypnotize the pony that loved them to keep in control. Now, they’re powerful enough to turn ponies into Mavericks, making them loyal and loving to the queen. Food for the hive and soldiers with abilities beyond their own.”
Both X and Zero’s communicators came in. “X, are you there? We’ve got the readings of the last 4 Mavericks! You should split up and each take out two.”
“Zero, just so you know, Twilight still isn’t considering the Changeling a part of the group. Last 4 Mavericks are out there, and it’s looking like you’ll need him, whether Twilight likes it or not. One of them is located in Cloudsdale, and he’s the best one to go for it. Relay the message to him.”
“It’s really quite simple, X. You need to come back here, I can cast a walk on clouds spell, and then some pegasi around here can get you up to Cloudsdale. Easy!”
X cut out the message and looked at Zero. “Let me guess, Twilight had some convoluted plan to get one of us up in Cloudsdale so we wouldn’t have to use Axl?” X nodded. “She does that. I think she’s shut out making new friends and trusting anyone new.”
“So, what did HQ say? Why didn’t I get a communicator?”
“It probably has something to do with none of the other Hunters trusting you, Axl. But one of the Mavericks is in Cloudsdale, and you’re the only one with wings. They’re all yours. I’d recommend finishing the job fast before Twilight goes and builds X wings to do it himself. The two of us will go find two other Mavericks. Once those three are done, we meet up and take out the last one. No killing this time. Understood?”
X and Axl saluted. “Understood, Zero!” Axl flew up into the sky, leaving X and Zero on the ground.
“X, you find the Maverick that’s on the lakeside. It’s probably one that can go underwater, so you won’t be affected. I’ll get the one in the mines.” X nodded and ran off. Zero quickly followed suit to the old jewel mines outside of Ponyville.
A mess of clouds high in the sky. In a normal life, this would mean nothing beyond a lazy weather team. But these weren’t just ordinary clouds, they were the remnants of the once great pegasus city, Cloudsdale. The city of the sky, it was where rainclouds and rainbows were made. But since Changelings “shut down” production, weather had started to take a more natural course. While still functioning, it wasn’t nearly as efficient or convenient. In fact, most of the time, the weather was complete crap.
It was unexpected for anything to be in the ruins. There was no reason to visit, it had no strategic advantage for a Changeling or Maverick, beyond requiring wings to reach it. “Who would even come up here in the first place?”
“Clearly, I did,” a female voice said softly.
Axl looked to the source of the sound, a cyan pegasus sitting on the edge of a cloud. Her rainbow mane was long and unkempt. “Should have figured you’d become a Maverick Hunter, drone. You ran away, killed Rosered, and delivered yourself directly to me. You should know what happens next.”
“Spiral Pegasus. Should have figured I’d meet you out here. You were always eager to get out in the field and do the dirty work yourself. But why are you spending your time in this wreckage on the off chance we’d have somepony to meet you?”
She turned to face Axl. “You know me, I like to spend my time high in the sky. It gives me a clear view of everything going on below. I see all.”
“Then can’t you see that you’re on the wrong side of this war? Your friend is out there in the Maverick Hunters, and she wants to have you back. I won’t return without you!”
Spiral Pegasus lowered herself and spread her wings. “You won’t take me back alive! The skies call for me, accept me! I was born in this city, these clouds are my allies! I fight to the death, you can never take me as a prisoner! Let’s fight! For Rosered!”
Pegasus dove straight forward into Axl, sending him tumbling on the clouds. He fired blasts, but she was well known for her speed, dodging the attacks effortlessly. She stopped moving and delivered a strong flap of her wings, creating a gust of wind powerful enough to turn the cloudy floor into wisps of white fluff. With nothing left to stand on, Axl now had to rely solely on his flight skills. Against the famous Spiral Pegasus, he stood no chance.
She, of course, knew the extent of her abilities and the mediocrity that Changeling bodies provided. “And now you realize why it was a bad idea to defy my side. These skies shall be your grave!”
Does she not remember my copy abilities? Axl engulfed himself in green flames, and emerged a bright fire orange pegasus mare, body clad in tight blue spandex. “You may be a famous flier, but can you compete with captain of the Wonderbolts?”
Both of them backed up and flew forward at the fastest speeds they could manage, front hoof extended out. The punches collided, a boom echoing out for miles.
The two pegasi recovering from the sheer force, they flew back and repeated. And again. It became nothing more than two blue streaks clashing across the sky, meeting to form a blast of power and energy. The grass and ashes scattered away from the struggle, fleeing with the wind their blows carried.
Axl could tell this was a battle of attrition, so he was thankful Spiral Pegasus was too stubborn to realize it as well. With Pegasus flying back, he transformed into the form of Princess Twilight, creating a magical bubble shield around her body.
Too much momentum to stop, Pegasus slammed into the shield, and a loud shattering sound was heard. Axl opened his eyes to see pieces of the shield falling like broken glass, along with the body of his opponent, eyes closed. He reached out with magic and grabbed her, slowly floating back down with her.
He placed her on the ground and checked for the heart, still beating inside her body. “You’re not dying on me, Pegasus. The last thing you saw was Twilight as the victor, and the next thing you’ll see is her as a friend.”
Zero wished he were a unicorn. The caverns he was spelunking were dark, and a horn for light would be very useful. He also didn’t have night vision like X probably did. All he had to light the way was the dim green glow of his Z-Saber. It didn’t help much.
Ever since the Changelings invaded and ponies needed some source of hope or power, legends and stories starting spreading about many topics. Quite a number involved the fairly unknown nature of gems, and their supposed mystical properties. The tales told of some emeralds granting unlimited power, and crystals that could grow and shrink things. It would be nice if some of those were true.
The caverns winded in every direction, no indication on which way would be the correct one. It didn’t help that his communications weren’t working this deep underground. It was all just a guessing game at this point.
Zero jumped down another tunnel and hit the ground, quickly surveying the area, not expecting to find anything. Which is why he was caught off guard by a sudden purple-blue flash flying towards him, hitting him and binding him in a transparent crystalline structure.
A bright yellow flash ignited on the opposite side of the room, illuminating the entire area. A thin, unshaven gold colored unicorn with an eyepatch walked towards him, clearly hardened with many years worth of battle scars. “Well, would you look at that? I managed to snag the ever-so-powerful Zero in my trap. I thought you would be better than this, Maverick Hunter. You’ll be a fine trophy for the queen.” His voice was deep and rumbling.
“No prison can hold me, Maverick. You’ll see soon enough what kind of a dangerous bite you’ve reeled in.” Zero looked at his prison guard’s cutie mark, a snail. “Your special talent is being slow, eh?”
“You won’t mock me like this! I am Crystal Snail! These caverns shall be your grave!”
Zero shattered the prison binding him and readied his saber. “Then show me what you’ve got!”
Crystal Snail charged at Zero, his head held in front of him to use his horn as a lance. Zero jumped into the air, his legs curving behind him to deliver a roundhouse kick. But Crystal Snail fired out his Crystal Hunter, materializing a platform below Zero’s hooves, throwing him off balance. Snail took the chance, jumping and performing a flying kick into Zero’s chest.
Zero recoiled, pulling his saber for a swing. Once again, Crystal Snail countered it with another Crystal Hunter, encasing the saber in the crystal. “Face it, Zero, my crystals are simply just too much for you!”
Zero, not up for listening to taunts, picked up the saber, struggling with the extra weight of the crystal block, and swung it at Snail’s face. The force of the swing shattered it, cutting his face and sending him tumbling to the ground.
“DAMN IT! Forget the queen, your head is going to be on my wall!” He fired a Crystal Hunter at Zero’s hooves to trap him for a finishing blow.
Crystal Snail may have been familiar with Zero and his legacy, but not with his fighting abilities. Zero was famous for learning fast and not falling for the same move twice. He swiftly jumped behind the crystal block as it materialized, turned around, and kicked it hard with his hind legs straight into the still dizzy and immobilized Crystal Snail. He didn’t see the collision, but he heard the shatter. Crystal Snail groaned and fell unconscious.
Zero walked over to his limp body and pushed it with his hoof to confirm it was safe. “Are Mavericks enhanced by Changeling magic or something? He took just a little too much crystal to the face. Well, maybe he’s just got a thick skull.”
X slowly trotted towards the Ponyville lake, alone. He was ready to face one of the last Mavericks, ready to end this war. But one question kept repeating itself at the front of his mind; why? What were the Changelings planning? What would he have to fight? And when the time came, would he be able to do it? As much as he thought, the answers always seemed to escape him.
Still lost in thought, he failed to notice that he had arrived at his destination until his hooves hit the water. X stopped walking and sat in the shallow end of the lake. He shut his eyes, unable to focus on the mission at hoof. Taking advantage of his distraction, a pony slowly surfaced and grabbed X to pull him under. The pony was not anticipating X’s weight, as they both sunk to the bottom.
X, struggling against his captor, hit them in the face with the back of his leg and a kick against their leg. The shock broke him free, and the two of them landed on the sand. X had no trouble breathing, being a robot and all, but he questioned why he wasn’t alone. He inspected the other pony, a gray pegasus mare with a blond mane. Her eyes were covered by a pair of dark goggles, and a small apparatus connected her nose and mouth.
The pegasus spoke, an impressive feat for somepony underwater. “Finally, the famous Maverick Hunter shows his face around here. Your reputation precedes you, Mega Stallion X. The Changelings are starting to get scared of you. They call you ‘The Oncoming Storm’. But I fear no pony. You’re going to need to better against Bubble Crab!”
Bubble Crab pulled out a bubble wand, one commonly used by foals. X sighed, rolled his eyes, and lowered his head. Crab blew into the wand, and some small bubbles floated out towards him. After what seemed like a minute, the bubbles were closing in on X, and he held his horn out to pop the bubbles. His horn collided with the bubble.
X blanked out for a second, and when he came to, he was blown back 20 feet, a giant crater where he had previously been standing. Bubble Crab called over to him. “You underestimated the power of bubbles! This is what happens to those who don’t believe!” She blew more bubbles.
This time, X would play it safe. He fired upon the bubbles as soon as they left the wand, popping them from a distance. Interestingly, they did nothing special. Maybe it only works through physical contact. He kept shooting through the bubbles to Bubble Crab, who ran when her defense broke.
X charged a shot and blasted the sand below her hooves, sending her tumbling forward. He ran to her and jumped, surprised at the extra height he was getting, and kicked Bubble Crab.
She recovered and went on the offensive. She unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks at X, swiftly moving. Every attack missed. X barely had to dodge, she just missed on her own. She finished the combo with a falling hoof chop. X raised his hoof in the air, caught the attack, and used his free front hoof to punch her in the stomach. She staggered backwards, giving enough of an opening for X to punch her in the face.
Bubble Crab wobbled, her goggles broken and the apparatus between her mouth and nose floated out. Her nose started bleeding and air bubbles escaped from her slightly open mouth. That…was a breathing device. X grabbed Bubble Crab’s mostly limp body with his magic and ran to the surface, the water thankfully not impacting his running speed.
They broke the surface of the lake, and X laid Crab on the ground. He stood worried for a moment until she began to cough up water. She started breathing heavy and weakly opened her eyes to look at X. “Everything in the world changes and evolves, but some things remain constant, don’t they?”
X was confused, but he still nodded. “Why do you say that?”
“I fought the original Mega Stallion all those years ago. We fought here, under the water, he won, and he brought me back to the surface so I wouldn’t drown. Those were simpler times. Even amidst the threat of destruction, things were bright and happy, and we all knew that somepony would set everything right. But look at everything now. It’s all wrong, no one is happy, and it’s going to stay like this forever. To think, I fought for something I believed in once.”
X grabbed her hoof. “No, it won’t end like that. I promise, as long as I’m fighting, it’s for a better future.”
She sat up and shook her head. “It isn’t that simple. The queen has a plan, one to finally crush rebellion and make all remaining ponies her slaves. She’s going after the Crystal Heart, and once she has it, it’s all over.”
“What’s the Crystal Heart?”
“I don’t know. It’s something that was hidden a long time ago, and the queen’s been determined to get her hooves on it for years. She says it will give her and her army enough strength for total control.”
“We’ll stop her. We should get moving. You need to get back to Hunter Base. You’ll be safe there.”
X began to walk, expecting the pegasus to follow him. She stood still, and firmly said, “No.”
X turned back. “Come on. I promise, it’ll be fine. They won’t hurt you.”
“I believe you, but it’s not what I want. I’ve been controlled by the Changelings for so long. When your thoughts aren’t your own, they can make you do anything.” She closed her eyes and started to cry. “Those monsters…do you know what they do? They test your loyalty to the queen. I…I had to kill my daughter! And the stallion I loved!” Her screaming was strained through her choked-up throat. She fell to the ground. “I’ve got nothing left. Nothing to live for anymore. Please, just take this torture away.”
X was taken aback. He hadn’t been expecting something so dark. “But…but that can’t be…” He couldn’t say anything. There was nothing he could say that would change her mind. “But I can’t…I can’t do something like that! I can’t kill!”
She didn’t even look up. “It doesn’t matter what your choice is, I’ll go through with it without you if I need to. But you could do it quick and painlessly. You’d be doing the right thing.”
X still wouldn’t accept it. What kind of monster would I be if I went through with it? What would make me better than them? He looked at the pegasus, and he saw the heartbreak on her face. There was no exaggeration, she had nothing to fight for. “Just give me your name.”
She looked up. “Promise me you won’t forget. There once was a pony named Derpy.” She held her hooves out to her sides, like she was embracing a loved one. I guess she will be soon.
X lowered his head, pointing his horn directly at her. “I won’t forget.” He desperately wished for the universe to throw something down, something that would stop him from finishing the job. But fate isn’t so nice. Before he could register it, she was lying on the ground, a hole in her chest and a smile on her face.
It was then the full force of everything happening hit him at once. He collapsed next to her body, and screamed as loud as he could to the world.
Zero and Axl found X an hour later in the same spot. They looked at each other awkwardly, piecing together what had likely happened, but neither wanted to say anything. Zero stepped forward and put his hoof on X’s shoulder, who didn’t even respond to their presence. “X, you’re a good pony. You’re nice, caring, and filled with a sense of justice. But I’ve been a part of all this long enough that I know it doesn’t always turn out right. As long as the world is like this, horrible things like this are going to happen. That’s why we need you, X. To end this war now and put everything right.”
X stayed silent, almost as if he didn’t hear, until he responded 10 seconds later. “But what are we going to have to become to win? What makes us better than the Changelings? In the end, we’re all going to sink to the same level of scum.” His voice was quiet, a tone of complete loss.
Axl would have been insulted if he didn’t hate normal Changelings like they did. “I have absolutely no idea what really happened here, but she’s dead for a reason. I know enough about you to know you wouldn’t kill in cold blood. You got really mad at me for getting Rosered off my tail. No matter what, we’ll always be better than other Changelings.”
“He’s right, X. What are Changelings fighting for? Domination, control, and murder. Us? Freedom. We’re working for a noble cause, to save all the other ponies. We accept we may not return, but we fight to the last breath trying. One more Maverick left, X. It’s time to finish it.”
X stood up, still not facing his comrades. “Then we should get moving. She told me about the Changeling’s plan, something about stealing the Crystal Heart. We need to contact Hunter Base for further information. Until then, it’s time to face the final Maverick.”
Zero laughed, not in a funny way, but in a happy one. “You’re doing good, X. The last Maverick should be on the outskirts of the forest. Three friends against one Maverick, we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
X and Axl looked at each other. In unison, “Friends? We’ve barely met, and most of that time has been separated.” Both were surprised at their perfect harmony, increased by Axl changing into X in the middle of the sentence. Maybe we are a perfect team, X thought.
“Maybe it hasn’t been long, but I like you guys enough to call you my friends. They say you can tell everything about a pony by first impressions, and you guys have been positive. I’ve got enough to trust you both. Now come on, that Maverick isn’t going to defeat itself!”
The three of them ran out, X behind the group, when he turned back to look at Derpy’s body one last time. “Derpy, you gave up on hope for this world. It’s time to show you were wrong. Watch, I’ll make the world a better place.”
“Yes, the Crystal Heart. It’s an ancient relic of the Crystal Empire. It was used once a year at the Crystal Fair to channel the happy feelings of all the Crystal Ponies to repel their former tyrant, King Sombra. The Changeling Queen must want it to fill the swarm with enough love to make them unstoppable.”
X was listening to Twilight’s explanation. “So, if this Crystal Heart can make their army all-powerful, why now? Not only would they not need that much energy to completely squash us, but this war’s been going on for a long time. Why is it a top priority now?”
“That’s easy. Changelings are very susceptible to cold temperatures, and the Crystal Empire is located right in the middle of the arctic. It’s always been a priority, but Changelings were dropping dead in the middle of the snow. She didn’t have the strength for a full-on sweep of the area, and there weren’t enough Mavericks either. Which still raises one question, what changed so suddenly? Why is it an attainable goal now?” Axl was only a drone in the army, despite his skills, he wasn’t high ranking and was certainly never told anything.
Zero chuckled. “Do you still think it was a bad idea to let a Changeling in our team, Twilight? He’s provided plenty of valuable intel in the time we’ve had him.”
“I’ll accept him when I know he’s not a traitorous bitch! I’ll get back to doing research on their next possible plan and movements, you just get back to finding that last Maverick.” Twilight cut off her connection.
X and Axl looked at Zero. “Hey, don’t look at me, she’s usually like this. She gets angry and moody when she’s being proven wrong.”
“Hey, you’re lucky. You get to go out in the field, I have to spend all day with her.”
Zero softly groaned. “Lightning, am I crazy, or haven’t we already talked about you not butting into conversations?”
“You’re certainly crazy, but right. I just like doing this, and you can’t really stop me. You’re approaching the signatures of the last Maverick. Give ‘em your best!”
“I will. Now get out.”
“Why are you acting so distant? I’m not disconnecting until you call me by the sweet little nickname you gave me.”
“Ugh…see you soon, my sweet little iris.” Zero turned off his communicator and looked at his friends, both trying not to laugh. “Oh, you be quiet.”
“You certainly don’t sound happy with her. Is there a reason you’re still together?”
“I’ll give you that, X. She’s really annoying most of the time. But it’s something I can live with, and she makes up for it any other time.”
Axl shook his head. “Ironic, I suppose. Changelings feed on love, we understand it fully, yet as a species we never experience it. It’s just a life of loneliness until the queen mates with us.”
After hearing this, Zero stopped, thought about it for a second, then immediately punched himself in the head and gagged. “Axl, please. That is absolutely disgusting, and I never want to hear anything remotely close to it ever again.”
“You think you’ve got it bad? The Changelings subjected to it aren’t thrilled with it either. Some of them don’t even make it out alive. The queen’s not light.”
Zero quickly put his hoof over Axl’s mouth and got close to his ear. He then screamed “STOP!” Axl, at least partially sure he was now deaf, complied.
X, content with staying out of the conversation, noticed a rustling in the bushes. He walked closer to investigate, when a yellow flash burst out and flew up into the thick of a treetop. He pointed his horn at the trees. “Identify yourself immediately, or we will use force.”
Zero and Axl, now past their discussion, stood by X’s sides. The trees rustled, and the yellow flash dropped to the ground, revealing itself as a pegasus mare. She looked at the three Maverick Hunters in front of her and scoffed. “Of course. I would be confronted by Hunters. Is this all the world has come to? It’s nothing but an endless cycle of violence. Why do we crave nothing but war? It only ends in death, it always does.”
She noticed Axl. “So, this is where you end up. You go through all the trouble to leave our army and just join another. You’re so desperate to die.”
“You’re always just so depressing, Pandamonium. You always talked about how everyone does nothing but wait for death. You ended up as a bit of an outcast for a reason.”
X looked between Axl and the Maverick. “You know her?”
“Of course. All of the Changelings knew all of their commanding officers, by name if they had one. This is Bamboo Pandamonium. Most of the others don’t really like her, and I think you heard why.”
“I don’t need to care what the other Changelings think of me. We’ll all be dust one day, there’s no point to any of this. But don’t think I’ll let you go, oh no. I’ve still got a mission to show you all what happens when you defy our might.”
Zero stepped forward. “There’s no point in resisting. It’s three of us against just you. It’ll be better for all of us if you just give up now.”
“You think I’m alone? The forest is my natural element, I always have some of my own personal soldiers.” Pandamonium whistled and sat back. As the seconds passed, the Maverick Hunters looked at each other, confused. A sound could be heard in the distance, grounding louder as the ground began to shake. A very large, very angry panda burst into the scene, roaring loud enough that it could probably be heard from Canterlot.
Pandamonium looked at the clearly shocked Hunters before her. “You didn’t think I had the name ‘Bamboo Pandamonium’ without something worthy of that title? He’s been my secret weapon for a long time, and he’s always ready to rip apart any pony I deem not worthy. You will make for a tasty meal.”
Zero whispered into Axl’s ear. “I don’t suppose you could transform into something like that to put us on even ground?”
“Not possible. I can only change into things close to my size. That…thing falls well outside my range. But, I think I may have another idea. Cover me.” He jumped right onto Pandamonium, forcing her to the ground. He started up his magic and placed his horn directly onto her chest, fighting her to keep her down.
The actual panda wasn’t pleased with the Changeling’s mistreatment of his master, and he bared his claws to defend the mistress. But a blast of energy flew straight past his face, singeing the fur on his face. And the source was the blue pony in the group. As loyal as he was, stopping the one that threatened to kill him was a higher priority.
He charged at the two ponies, standing at each other’s sides. When he got close, they rolled away from each other, and began their assaults from the sides. Flurries of punches and kicks hit the panda on the base of his ribs, creating a steady stream of pain. X and Zero jumped into the air, and landed on the creature’s paws for a boost to the head.
The panda was having none of that. He closed his paws around the ponies, hoisting them into the air while they struggled to break free. When it became clear it was a futile effort, Zero called out. “Axl, you almost done over there?”
“Almost!” Axl kept working with Pandamonium’s body through his magic, extracting and copying her very essence of power.
The panda growled and opened its mouth, revealing very sharp teeth within. It lifted the paw holding Zero up head first. Acting on quick decisions to save his friend, X activated the Moving Wheel he obtained from Boarski and fired it from his horn, where it landed on the beast’s wrist and cut it. In pain, he dropped X, who continued with Dragoon’s Rising Fire and shoryukened it in the chin. The force of the attack not only caused it to release Zero, but propelled it a few inches off the ground and landed 4 feet away. It stood back up and roared loudly again. It would kill now, no question about it.
“Done!” Axl removed his horn from Pandamonium, who was a bit out of it from being magically invaded. He punched her in the head to knock her out, and jumped off of her body. His body was engulfed in green flames, and he transformed into her. “Panda, I order you to retreat and to leave these ponies alone!”
The panda looked at his master yelling at him. He wasn’t the smartest, but he could tell something was off. Not to mention, he still really wanted to kill his attackers.
When Axl Pandamonium noticed the beast wasn’t leaving, she flew up into his face and looked him directly in the eye. “Is this insurrection? Are you deliberately disobeying me? You will leave now!” Her eyes widened and stared, and the panda backed away and left, a bit scared of the yellow pegasus floating in front of him.
Once the threat was gone, Axl turned back into his normal body. “Sorry that took so long. Changelings can instantly transform into the shape of something else, but in order for me to use their powers, I need to extract their ‘DNA Core’. Due to her general unpleasantness, I never did it while I was still part of the Changeling army.”
X called up his communicator. “Captain Sparkle, we’ve fought the final Maverick. Yellow pegasus mare. We will return to Hunter Base.” There was silence on the other end. “Captain Sparkle, do you read me?” Still nothing. “Zero, I’m not getting Hunter Base.”
Zero attempted to make a connection. “Lightning Dust, we’re having trouble getting through to Twilight. What’s happening on your end?” He was also unable to get through. “This is really bad. Either someone’s blocking our connection, or something really bad has happened back at base. We need to get up there and investigate. X, grab the Maverick.”
X used his magic to place and hold Pandamonium on his back, and the three Hunters ran off to Canterlot.
The hunters eventually reached Hunter Base, after spending a few hours running. Pandamonium had woken up in that time, though she didn’t act like a threat, and never got off of X’s back. They had discussed the various possibilities of what occurred, and placed most of the guesses as worst-case scenarios. They were right.
The base was a wreck. All the screens and computers were broken and shattered, smoke filled the air, scorch marks littered the walls and floor, as did blood. Bodies scattered the floor, but other than the dead, the place was deserted. They called out for anypony to respond, only to be met with silence.
All four of them were in shock. None of them knew what could have caused any of this. Hunter Base was always so secure, so safe, and in their absence, it was completely destroyed.
A door on the opposite end of the room creaked open slightly, but they noticed. It stayed still for a moment before bursting wide open, a turquoise bolt zooming out. It collided with Zero and stopped moving, slowed down to reveal itself as Lightning Dust, holding Zero tightly. “Zero, you came back! I was so scared! I didn’t think we would ever see each other again!” She was fighting to speak through tears.
Zero patted her on the back and pet her in an attempt at comfort. “It’s alright, I’m here now. What happened here?”
“Vile escaped.”
Twilight was standing in the same doorway. “We don’t know what happened, but he secretly escaped from his cell and raided the armory before making himself known. With the weapons and armor he stole, he killed every Hunter here, barely suffering a scratch. The two of us and the prisoners are the only ones left.” She pointed at Axl, using her magic to pull out a knife. “And he’s to blame!”
Axl jumped backwards. “Me? What could I have done? I haven’t been here in hours!”
Twilight was advancing, holding the knife out as she walked. “But when you were here, you set something up past our guard! Changelings are slippery creatures, deceitful and untrustworthy.”
Zero, while still comforting his marefriend, glared at Twilight. “I know we’re dealing with a lot of death here, but you need to think logically. It’s what you’re known for. Vile has no allegiance, he would never side with anything. He works alone, he’s very proud of that. Any escape attempt was his doing and his doing alone. And considering he hates Changelings with a more violent passion than we do, Axl would have nothing to benefit from setting him free.”
Twilight was skeptical. “Really? Then how do you explain his destination? We had just barely finished the Trans Server, and he uses it after his rampage to send himself to the Crystal Empire! The Changelings are congregated there right now, he went to provide his unstoppable assistance in obtaining the Crystal Heart!”
X was taken aback. “They’re already at the Crystal Empire? We have to go now! We’re running out of time!”
Axl held his hoof in front of X. “It’s not that easy, X! This is the Changeling’s final attack, all of their forces are going to be in this one location. Even if they’re weakened by the freezing temperatures, it’s still pure numbers. Three Hunters against an army like theirs would be complete suicide. We need a plan of attack!”
“I have a plan: attack.” Zero pushed Lightning Dust away and looked her in the eyes. “I need to leave now. You understand, the fate of Equestria and the entire future is at stake here. You’ll need to handle yourself.” He walked towards the Trans Server room while motioning for X and Axl to follow. “Twilight, do we still have any eyes? Is there anything here that still works so you can continue your duty as mission control?”
Twilight ran after him. “You can’t just brush me off like this! This Changeling needs to be killed!”
“The entire pony race is at fate here, Twilight. It’s too important to bank anything on the possibility of Axl being a traitor. We’re going to the Crystal Empire now, and we need your help to increase the chances of a successful mission. That’s an order, Captain Sparkle.”
It wasn’t often that Zero referred to her by her rank. He was completely serious, in full battle mode, ready for a final fight. “Alright, commander. I’m trusting you on this. I’ll set up the Trans Server for a teleportation to its previous destination.” She ran out of the room, Lightning Dust following.
Zero turned to his two comrades. “Alright men, we’re going out there to stop the Changeling infestation once and for all. It’s going to be a difficult fight, it might seem impossible, but I believe in your strength. And know that if we don’t come back, we died for a noble cause. Everything that ever will be is resting on us. So, do I have your support?”
X and Axl put on their most serious faces and saluted. “Sir, yes sir!”
“Then let’s get moving!” The three of them marched to the Trans Server room, where Twilight was waiting. She motioned to the platform where they stood. After punching in a few commands, the device lit up, and they were teleported to the arctic regions for war.
Teleportation is a very odd sensation. For unicorns, the act of teleporting involves using magic to open a small hole in the fabric of space and time to instantly move to another location. The Trans Server that the Maverick Hunters had developed worked a little differently. The “ripping a hole in existence” part was still there, but it split the molecules of the object being teleported, and reassembled them at the destination point. The very prospect of this method would be terrifying if it hadn’t been tested to perfection with Changeling prisoners.
Once the teleport had finished, Zero and Axl collapsed into the deep snow, short on breath. X stood straight up, realizing his body had been created with measures to prevent teleport unease. He helped Zero up, while simultaneously using his magic to pick up Axl. Feeling the effects of the chill, wind, and snow, Axl transformed his body into Rainbow Dash’s, giving him the necessary resistance.
With all three Maverick Hunters standing, they looked in the distance, taking in the awe-inspiring sight on the horizon. The sun was in the sky, its light shining on the Crystal Empire castle, refracting onto the snow. It would be a wonderful thing to see, if the Empire’s borders weren’t surrounded by blackness, which could only be one thing.
“There’s no way we can fight through an army that size,” Zero said. “We need to get in quietly, find the Crystal Heart, and get out just as easily.”
“Oh no, we’re at an opportune moment here, Zero, and I’m not letting this moment pass. This is going to be the best chance we’ll have at killing the queen, and I plan to follow through with it.” Axl was passionate about his plan.
X nodded. “He’s right, Zero. Even if we could find the Crystal Heart without alerting the Changelings to our presence, what are we going to do with it? If it isn’t where it’s supposed to be, they’ll know we’re behind it. And then we’ll have that entire army right at Hunter Base’s doorstep. But, if we stop the queen now, the rest of her forces will disband.”
Zero sighed. “Alright then, we find the Crystal Heart, send it alone back to base, and then we kill the queen. We can’t risk losing it in the fight. Axl, you’ll blend in with the army, sneak in through the main path, and me and X will go through the back.”
“That won’t work, Zero. Changelings have a hive mind, remember? Even if I look like any other Changeling, I’m marked. They’ll know if I’m in their midst. Besides, I’d prefer not to be exposed to the cold again. The only way I’m getting through the front would be some form of distraction.”
As if on cue, a series of large explosions set off in the blackness, sending Changeling bodies flying through the air, and the rest convening on the blast points.
Axl took the opportunity, speeding off to the Crystal Empire. Zero smiled. “Thank you, Vile. His massacre should be enough to get Axl through. So, we need to sneak around the back, X.”
They threw snow over their bodies to work as a cover, and slowly snuck around the Changeling army, keeping their distance. Thankfully, despite their power, Changelings were not masters of tactics. All of their forces were concentrated in the front, making the back end too easy to walk in.
X and Zero still had to sneak through alleyways, as a few Mavericks were standing guard. But their low numbers made infiltration on a mission this scale simple. The sounds of their hoofsteps were silenced by the layer of snow that covered the streets. Despite its location in the arctic, the Crystal Empire was never subject to the cold. But the shield that had previously protected the castle had fallen, letting the natural elements take their toll.
They reached a back entrance, a door up on a balcony. X used his magic to levitate Zero up, and followed by climbing the wall. “That wall-climb is always cool,” Zero said as X jumped onto the balcony. The two of them slowly opened the door, and quickly went in before they were noticed.
Once inside, Zero asked the obvious question. “Alright, this castle is big, and it’s probably got its fair share of secrets. So, how do we find the Crystal Heart? Where do we even start looking?”
X questioned the same thing, until he remembered one of his new skills. He activated the radar function on his helmet, scanning the castle layout, but didn’t find anything. “I can’t locate it. Are we too late?”
Twilight came in on the communicator. “No, your helmet just isn’t calibrated to the special type of energy the Crystal Heart is emitting. It’s searching for electrical power, while we need magical energy. I have a program that includes the energy signature. Sending it now, stay where you are to prevent a loss in connection.”
X and Zero stood still, waiting for a confirmation of data arrival, when a wall further down the corridor erupted in an explosive burst, smoke only revealing a pony silhouette, walking out of the carnage. The stallion was wearing a purple helmet, completely obscuring his face, eyes behind a thin eye slit. His armor was a matching color, and fully armed. A giant cannon on his shoulder, machine guns on the front hooves, a belt of explosives, and bombs on the back legs. Only one pony could ever be this crazy with weapons.
“Vile.” Zero glared at the stallion. “You’re here to stop us, aren’t you? I never would have put you as a Changeling ally.”
Vile laughed. “Ally? You should know me, Zero, I work alone. Always. I’m here to prove to the world that I am the ultimate, and I’m ready for all the killing that comes with the title! But Changelings aren’t any fun, it’s nothing more than squashing bugs. You two will be different, though. I’ll blow your bodies to Tartarus, and paint this empire with your blood! And then, when the Maverick Hunters have fallen through my work, anything still alive after this pitiful war will see me as the perfect warrior I am. I am the potential of the pony race, their future!”
X was appalled by Vile. “You think you have potential? You’re insane, Vile!”
Vile hadn’t paid much attention to the blue robot, not until he spoke up. “You must be X. The Mavericks you two threw into prison talked about you. You’re the newest soldier. I know your type, you’ve just entered this war, ready to fight for justice. You’re naïve if you think that, honor and heroism won’t solve anything. Power is our only future! But you don’t believe me, do you? You’re going to try to arrest me, like you always do. But you’ll fail!”
X looked at Zero, who simply nodded and spoke. “No, Vile. You’ve been a problem for too long. We’re now authorized to use lethal force. Understood, X?”
X nodded with intention, and Vile laughed again. “But that’s only if you can manage it! Those ancient weapons won’t be a match for my fully armored body! Show me what you can do!”
Vile shot a tornado attack out of his shoulder cannon, and the fight began. X and Zero dashed across the room to meet Vile, who jumped into the air when the Hunters got close and released a bomb from his legs. Upon hitting the ground, it burst into a wave of green fire, which ran along the ground. While X and Zero dodged it, Vile was propelled further up from the blast, pointing out his front hooves and firing bullets rapidly.
The bullets hit the crystal floor, bursting in small sparks upon contact. X and Zero ran to dodge the attack, quickly lifting their hooves to avoid the bullets. Vile laughed. “Dance, puppets! Dance!”
Upon landing, Vile continued his onslaught with another tornado pointed at X, yelling “Straight Nightmare!” It hit X, forcing him against the wall, crushing him under the pressure. Dazed, he collapsed on the floor, forced to watch the ensuing battle. “You’re the Maverick Hunter that had the Changelings running? You can’t save the world, you deserve nothing better than to die here!” He pointed his machine gun hoof at X.
Zero leapt in to defend his friend, saber bared, making a broad swing at Vile. He ducked under it, and spun his lower body for a sweeping kick. Zero hopped a foot to avoid it, and swung his saber downwards, which Vile blocked by holding his leg out to stop Zero’s.
Any time Zero tried to attack, Vile countered without letting the saber touch him. He was a master at hoof-to-hoof combat, expertly blocking Zero’s sword with each swing. Zero didn’t let up, keeping the two fighters in a stalemate, until Zero performed his signature triple slash technique. First swing, blocked. Second, jumped backwards out of the way. The final, largest slash, Vile slid to the side, giving him a perfect opening while Zero recovered. He uppercutted the saber out of Zero’s grasp, and headbutted him to the floor.
Out of the corner of his eye, Vile saw X standing back up, pointing his horn directly at him and charging it. Vile, completely aware of X’s personality type and its flaws, grabbed Zero and held the Hunter in front of him, pulling out a knife and holding it against his captive’s throat. “Give up, X! If you want to shoot me, you’ll have to hit Zero, killing him in the process!”
Zero yelled at his partner. “Don’t listen to him, X! Go ahead and blast him!”
X kept his horn pointed at the target, but a look of doubt came onto his face. He hesitated, moving between an attack position, and surrender. He knew that he couldn’t let Vile go, but he also couldn’t kill Zero. He was caught.
Zero, knowing that X wouldn’t pull the trigger, took matters into his own hooves. He used a hind leg to throw Vile off balance, giving him enough freedom to pull the pin off of one of Vile’s grenades hanging off his belt.
Vile, too full of anger, insanity, and determination to care, dropped his knife and held Zero as hard as he could. If he was going to die, he’d take the Maverick Hunter with him. X ran over to help, but stopped when Zero called out to him. “X, there’s nothing more you can do! It’s over!”
The grenade went off, and the area where the two of them were standing became nothing more than a pillar of smoke. Shrapnel from Vile’s armor flew out in all directions, but didn’t affect X’s titanium armor. When the smoke had cleared, Zero’s upper body was lying in a heap on the opposite wall, burned and bleeding. Vile was whole, only mildly singed, kneeling in the blast zone, and breathing heavy. His armor was gone, revealing only the purple earth stallion, his eyes overtaken by madness. “You…you can’t kill me that easily! You’ll join your friend soon enough!”
Vile charged at X, too stunned by everything that had just happened in the past 30 seconds to do anything. He plunged his knife into X, ready to savor the scream of pain and the bloodflow. But it never came. X was too consumed by something other than pain to feel it; rage. And Vile, who had just realized what X was, was also overtaken by a different emotion; fear.
X used his magic to pull the knife from his body, and dropped it to the ground. He punched Vile in the face as hard as he could, sending him staggering backwards. He held his hooves up for defense, but another swing from X broke through it. X kept punching, hitting Vile with each attack, until his face was bruised and bleeding. X stepped back, and pointed his horn at Vile, not charging. He instead fired a thin, but concentrated, blast of energy, shooting cleanly between Vile’s eyes. Vile let out a few soft sounds, before falling to the ground.
X, now thinking more clearly, ran to Zero’s body. He knelt down next to his friend. “Zero…Zero…Zero, it’s going to be alright!”
Zero weakly opened his eyes, and turned his head towards X. “You…you can’t hesitate, X. You have to…be quick…and decisive.”
“Don’t waste your energy talking, Zero! I’m going to get you out of this, I swear!”
Zero groaned. “There’s…no time for that. You have to…fight the queen. You can do it…I know you can.”
X was close to tears. “Z…Zero…”
“Go now…Maverick…Hunter X.” Zero’s head went limp, and his eyes closed. X wanted to scream, to yell so loud that the entire Crystal Empire would hear him, but he couldn’t. Even if he beat the queen, he had failed. His best friend had died because he wouldn’t shoot. He could have thought of something, some way to hit Vile without endangering Zero. But it was all too late now.
X’s communicator came back on. “Alright, X, I’ve finished sending the data. You should be able to use your radar to locate the Crystal Heart now.”
X didn’t want to reply, didn’t want to say anything, but he knew that he had to let them know. He was prepared to give a report, but could only say two words. “Soldier down.”
The other end was silent for a few seconds, before it went dead. They were all in shock. Why wouldn’t they be? They had known Zero for longer than he had, they knew what he had survived before, and they cared for his safety too. But were they really in the same pain X was? Not only had the two of them grown attached in the short time they had known each other, but they had to be next to each other when he died. It hurt. X laid down next to his partner’s corpse and cried.
X was ready for a fight. Everything the Changelings had done, every injustice from the last 30 years, it was all about to be repaid in full. The war had torn apart so many ponies, either through murder or betrayal. X wouldn’t let their tyranny stand for another day, and he was determined to make sure the queen died. Watching your best friend die is enough to send any pony into a rage like that.
He marched, determined, through the hallways of the Crystal Empire’s castle. Now that the Changeling army was no longer occupied fighting Vile, they had entered the castle, and were obstructing X’s path. Not in the mood to deal with them, he never stopped moving, pushing or shooting the Changelings away. He didn’t have the time or energy to waste on the bugs.
His helmet radar was continuously pointing him in the direction of the Crystal Heart. The guide brought X to a large set of doors, hinting at an important room beyond them. Sure enough, as he forced the doors open and walked through, he entered the throne room. And sitting on the throne was the Crystal Empire’s princess, Cadence.
Cadence turned to X, and her eyes flashed green. “You…you must be that Maverick Hunter that I’ve heard so much about. I suppose you’re here to fight me?”
X had realized, through observation and history records of the Royal Wedding Attack, who he was really talking to. “That’s me, Mega Stallion X. Queen Chrysalis, for everything you’ve done, invasion, murder, abduction, and starting a war, it is my job to fix what’s broken and kill you!”
Chrysalis chuckled. “Well now, when did you Maverick Hunters get so bold? You’re all the same, no matter how you project yourselves: wimps, trying to fight what they don’t like. Ponies not under my rule are too weak, they don’t deserve to live at all!”
X felt like he had been insulted personally. “You’re wrong. There was a Maverick Hunter that was brave, strong, and fought because he knew it would be the right thing to do. His name was Zero, and because of this war, he’s gone!”
Chrysalis, still in Cadence’s form, looked surprised. “So, this war finally took Zero? He always was different from the rest. It’s incredible that he managed to hold off the inevitability of death until now. Speaking of assured death, what happened to my little traitor?”
X realized that he had lost track of Axl shortly after they arrived, and hadn’t heard anything since then. Not willing to show weakness, he replied, “He’s out there, fighting through your army. He’s far stronger than you give him credit for, and he did right by betraying you.”
The queen didn’t like to be reminded of anything willingly leaving her command, and she certainly wouldn’t accept the notion that they’re better off that way. “You’ve been a problem for too long, Maverick Hunter! It’s time you learned the truth of life.” She lifted up her horn, and released a flash of green light, which at first didn’t do anything. But a few seconds later, a spot on the ceiling began to crack, and collapsed. The chunks of crystal fell to the floor in front of Chrysalis, along with a blur of blue.
Once it had stopped moving, X was able to clearly see what had fallen. It was a pony. A blue unicorn stallion, to be more precise. One wearing a set of matching blue armor and helmet. It looked almost exactly the same as X, but a little smaller, more simplistic armor design, and eyes nothing more than black voids.
X was surprised and confused by what he was looking at, until he realized who he was dealing with. “I’m not going to fall for your Changeling tricks, Chrysalis.”
“This is no trick. What you’re looking at is the original Mega Stallion. He was a hero back in his own time, and he fought back against our forces a long time ago. But, as you need to learn, resistance is futile. He was persuaded to join our side, and he’s been our loyal secret weapon. Isn’t that right, you little blue bomber?”
The original looked up, and spoke in a highly robotic voice, while still maintaining a tone eerily similar to X’s. “Affirmative, master.”
Chrysalis rubbed his head with her hoof. “There’s my good little loyal robot. Now, destroy this fake!”
He complied, charging up his horn. X wasn’t sure what he should do. If she’s telling the truth, he’s like my older brother! I shouldn’t fight him! Before X came to a decision, and before Mega Stallion’s charge finished, the door burst open, and in rushed a red stallion, with long blond hair and a green saber.
He didn’t stop running, and leapt into Mega Stallion, slashing him with the saber. Upon landing once again, he looked back at X, who was in absolute shock. X reached out, still skeptical. “Zero?”
Zero simply looked at X with sadness, and tossed his saber to him. “Here. He’d probably want you to have it. Besides, you’ll need it more than I will.” Zero was consumed by green flame, and once he was visible again, he was another blue stallion, with sunglasses and a yellow scarf. “You take on the queen, X! This robot’s mine!”
Chrysalis hissed. “Traitor! You’re worthless, drone! You don’t deserve to be a part of this fight!”
Axl sighed. “You’re right. I lived my entire life under your rule. Once I defected, I realized something. That I was worthless, empty, hollow. Changelings may not get cutie marks, but we all still have destinies that you denied. And by helping defeat you, I’m going to discover mine!”
Chrysalis growled, and ran off in the direction of the Crystal Heart. X pursued, Zero’s saber in his mouth, before Axl called out. “Don’t show any mercy, X. She’s crazy and needs to go down.” X nodded and continued the pursuit, while Axl and Mega Stallion started their fight.
Chrysalis was fast. Her body, while not very durable, was light, and wing propulsion certainly helped. X was dashing to keep up, as they both entered a room with a very long staircase heading down. Chrysalis, having wings, took the fast route and jumped down the center. X followed, slowly gaining by not having wings to slow down his descent.
At the bottom was a door, which Chrysalis ran through once she had safely landed, X close on her tail. The room was small and empty, save for the pedestal in the center, the Crystal Heart balanced perfectly atop it. The queen raced to the other side of the pedestal, keeping eye contact with X. “I was hoping for more of a challenge in taking this. But, I suppose the magic protecting it died along with its bearer.” She laughed, clearly pleased with that detail.
X was eyeing the Crystal Heart, when he realized that he didn’t really know what sort of importance it carried anymore. And with that, he had a simple plan to keep it away from the Changelings. He fired a shot at it, intending to destroy it, but the plasma bounced off and hit the wall next to X.
Chrysalis laughed again. “Really now, Maverick Hunter? You think that a magical artifact like this could just be destroyed? Think!”
X, not wanting to deal with this for longer than necessary, decided on the next best option. He fired again, this time aiming off center, straight at the queen’s head. She brought up a green shield as her disguise faded away. “If you’re just going to be stubborn and take the fight, then I accept! I didn’t become queen for no reason!”
X wanted to start the fight then, until Chrysalis grabbed the Crystal Heart with her magic, prompting X to do the same. They both pulled on the artifact, neither having any advantage over the other. X had his superior robot strength, but Chrysalis had power. As they both put their all into the tug of war, X realized the simple win. He stopped fighting, letting Chrysalis stumble backwards from the sudden force. With an opening presenting itself, X fired Boarski’s Moving Wheel, cutting through the floor, pedestal, and would have done the same to Chrysalis had she not regained her balance and moved.
Chrysalis, getting mad, began firing a stream of magic. X countered by rapidly firing his buster, the two attacks colliding in a show of strength. Neither was gaining ground, but neither was giving up.
Axl rolled out of the way of a plasma shot, charring the floor where he was standing just a moment ago. Mega Stallion had certainly earned his place in history as Equestria’s greatest fighter. He never relented, never left himself open, and knew how to use everything he had. Meanwhile, all Axl had in his current form was a similar buster, as well as a shield. He could switch forms, but he liked using whatever body seemed appropriate. And Mega Stallion’s brother just seemed right for the situation.
Another charged shot was fired at Axl, who blocked it with his shield, coming out from behind it with a charged shot of his own. It seemed like it would hit the unmoving Mega Stallion, but he brought up a jewel shield effortlessly, reflecting the shot back.
Mega Stallion laughed, one of the worst sounds Axl had ever heard. “You died before brother, there’s no reason to think you’ll survive this time!”
“Then the queen really did destroy you. I know about your history, Mega Stallion. You were a hero, who selflessly risked yourself for the good of Equestria. But now you’re just a mindless drone, blindly following orders and fighting for the wrong side! And if you won’t change like I did, then there’s only one fate you deserve!” Axl held up his hoof with the buster, and felt immense amounts of energy collecting in it. It was dangerous, but it was his best chance. “Big Bang Blast!”
A large, fiery burst flew from the buster, too large to dodge at such close range, barreling towards Mega Stallion. Disillusioned with power, he brought up the Jewel Satellite. The blast hit the shield, not breaking through, but still pressing against the defense at a constant rate, threatening to make short work of the shield. He summoned a Leaf Shield and Plant Barrier to help, but only succeeded in slowing the force down. Due to the pressure it put on Mega Stallion’s body, all he could do was fire at the blast, which only made it stronger. But he wouldn’t give up, and kept fighting as long as the shields held up.
It was inevitable, though. His defense broke, and he went down. Big Bang Blast and robot connected, and the result was an explosion large enough to shake the castle. Axl hid behind his own shield, protecting him somewhat from the force and heat. Once the smoke had cleared, there was nothing left of what was once the great Equestrian hero. Axl didn’t care, Mega Stallion had died long ago, once he gave up on fighting for justice. He believed that X was worthy of carrying his legacy, because he had what all heroes needed: a soul.
Speaking of soul, Axl could feel his chest growing hot as he grew weaker. This was the drawback to using a Big Bang Blast. Being a Changeling that could fully transform into another being, instead of just illusions, gave him all their abilities, but also their weaknesses. The unstable solar core that had been the downfall of the real Blues was now also threatening to take Axl. Thankfully, he could negate the threat just by switching forms, but he was too weak from the battle to consciously perform the change. His body turned back to his real Changeling form as he fell unconscious.
A large shockwave was enough to give X an opening. He leapt in with his saber, only for it to be shot out of the way with Chrysalis’ magic. Any swing with his saber was countered with magic from her, and both were faltering.
Considering the relatively short time they had been fighting, as well as the small size of their arena, it was incredible how hard the battle had been. Scorch marks covered every surface of the room, as did cuts from blades of different sorts. The fight was fierce, and all the while, the Crystal Heart had been juggled between the two of them. Both were close to falling, and neither had been better at any point.
X, now with a clear goal, was starting to think more logically, while Chrysalis was falling under rage and her own determination. But having nothing but anger as a driving force can net a victory, as Chrysalis put all her strength into a single swing of her front hooves, knocking X aside and making him lose his grip on the saber. Before he could get back up, the queen used her magic to pick the saber up and activate it. She stabbed it forward, through X’s chest.
X was still, a look of shock on his face, his only sounds quiet breaths and chokes. Chrysalis, more surprised that she had won, was silent. Her face broke into a smile, growing larger, and she let out a loud laugh. “It’s over, Maverick Hunter. You gave it your all, but you need to realize that justice is a dead concept. Law no longer exists, nothing is absolute but my word alone. And with the power of this Crystal Heart, that will be the eternal truth.”
X couldn’t do anything but watch as Chrysalis slowly grabbed the Crystal Heart with her magic and brought it towards her. She placed it in her hooves as her wings floated her upwards, and she held the artifact above her. “Crystal Heart, give me strength!” They were both expecting a flash of light, a surge of energy, some indicator of success.
But it never came. Chrysalis looked confused, and tried it again. Once again, no result. She made a feral roar, overtaken by pure animal instincts. “Why isn’t this working?!”
X choked out an answer. “Because…because it’s…pure love…You…aren’t worthy…of it.” He used his magic and grasped the saber’s hilt, pulling it from his body and holding it out to the queen. “And it’s time you learned there’s no place for creatures like you in this world.”
Chrysalis felt defeated. She had failed, and now considered her life worthless. But she would never let the Maverick Hunters have the victory. “I’ll bring this whole castle down around you if I have to! You won’t win!” Her horn flashed again, and the castle began to shake and crumble.
X understood his cue. “It’s time to go.” He climbed out of the pit as fast as his body would let him, which considering the gaping wound through his chest, wasn’t very quick. He limped out the top of the stairway, into the throne room. Without stopping, he grabbed the still-unconscious Axl and slung him over his back. Parts of the ceiling were falling down, threatening to crush the Maverick Hunters. Everything was falling, and X was losing hope of making it out as he started losing sense over his body. Is this it? Is this death? Everything turned white as he lost all feeling of being whole. It was all over now.
The last standing pieces of the castle collapsed to the ground. Dust and smoke were caught by the harsh arctic winds and blew across the Crystal Empire, already half-buried in snow. But it didn’t matter, the entire empire had been abandoned for decades.
The Changeling army was dying off, freezing in the cold weather, dropping into the snow, quickly being buried by nature. They could have flown off, gotten somewhere safe, but they stayed, unmoving, in the empire.
Watching events unfold, standing on a cliffside a mile away, were Maverick Hunters X and Axl. While the castle was crumbling around them, when they were sure of their imminent death, they had been teleported out by Hunter Base, and now watched over the destruction they had caused.
X was close to the ground, struggling with his wound sustained in the battle with Queen Chrysalis. Being a robot, it wouldn’t kill him, but he certainly noticed its presence. Axl wasn’t doing any better, still weak and unable to transform, shivering in the cold. Much longer in this weather, and he wouldn’t survive.
Without anywhere to go, they continued to watch over the Crystal Empire, when a flash of light occurred behind them. Neither looked at it, but they heard the hoofsteps in the snow, and a coat floated next to Axl. “Here, put this on. We don’t want you freezing.”
Axl looked, and saw Twilight holding the jacket with her magic, urging him to take it. He complied, wrapping it around his body, giving him warmth. “Thanks, Twilight. You’re willing to trust me now?”
“After everything that’s happened, I think you were right. You’re not like the rest of them, and you’re worth having around.”
X continued to look at the Changeling army, nothing more than black dots from their distance. “So, we’ve destroyed their queen, but wouldn’t that just make the army want revenge?”
“Don’t worry, X. Changelings operate on a hive mind, their actions controlled by the queen. Now that she’s gone, they can barely even think. They’ll do nothing but sit down there and freeze to death, like the bugs they are. The only ones safe from complete and sudden idiocy are the ones that the queen personally disconnected. The traitors.” Axl smiled.
Lightning Dust, who had teleported in with Twilight, walked up next to X. She didn’t say anything, showed no emotion, just watched the Crystal Empire’s ruins with him.
X looked at her. He knew what needed to be said, just not how to say it. But he knew she needed something, so he tried comfort. “I’m sorry. But he died honorably, to make this possible. We’re all going to miss him.”
Lightning Dust shook her head and quietly sighed. “The two of us…we didn’t know each other as well as we should have. He was always too busy with work for us to truly connect. So, I just need to know, what kind of a pony was he, really? You knew him better than I did.”
“He was exactly how you thought of him. He was brave, strong, honorable, and a friend.”
Twilight trotted next to X, and put her hoof over his shoulder. “It doesn’t matter how short your time with him was, this is more your loss than ours. He had been cold, separate, and disconnected from us. Then he met you, and he saw something we didn’t. I saw you as a name, a relic of the past. But Zero saw you as something different: an equal. He knew it didn’t matter who made you, what your purpose was, or what your family had accomplished. He saw past all that, saw your soul, and knew that you could do it.”
Twilight turned to the other Maverick Hunter. “Axl, I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. I was blinded by what you were, and couldn’t see who you were. I should have learned a long time ago that good can come from evil. But, how does it feel? Knowing that you’re the last of the Changelings?”
Axl stared out at the former Changeling army. “Down there, that’s everyone I ever knew. I grew up with them, I fought with them, and I served under them. But what’s important is, I always hated them.”
The four ponies laughed, and continued watching over the snowy landscape. They knew that they should go back to Hunter Base, but there was something about watching the mission success that was satisfying.
Twilight spoke up with the words that none of them wanted to hear. “But you do all know this isn’t the end, right? Equestria will always have evils, and there will always be Mavericks.”
X turned around to face them. “Then we just have to make sure that there are always Maverick Hunters to fight back. In the meantime, Equestria’s going to need a lot of help to get back to a normal life. And Twilight, we’re going to need a Princess.” He smiled and nudged her.
Twilight smiled back. “Then my first act as princess is to make the Maverick Hunters Equestria’s official task force and guard, with Mega Stallion X as their commander. Do you accept?”
X bowed before Twilight. “Princess, it would be my honor.” Lightning Dust and Axl cheered, hugging X.
In the middle of the affection, X looked at the former Crystal Empire. You had faith in me. I’ll make sure it wasn’t misplaced. Zero, I’ll make you proud. Watch, with their help, I’ll make this world a better place. A world you would be happy to live in.
----------3 years later----------
X stood before a row of Hunters, each wearing golden armor that has always designated those chosen to keep Equestria safe. The ponies (and one dragon) were ready for orders from their commander.
“Alright, we’ve got a potential Maverick in sector 1138. You’ve all been trained to deal with this, so I expect you to complete this mission successfully. We’ve been too used to living in peace.”
The Hunters and their commander ran out of the base, out to face the threat. X had sharpened in his time as commander, and had changed. He now wore a long red scarf that Axl insisted made him resemble one of Dr. Light’s old inventions. Zero’s saber was strapped to his belt as he entered the streets of Canterlot.
“I can face any enemy now. Any threat that rises, I will stop it. And I’ll always feel this way, as long as I have this saber. I’ll do it for you, Zero. We’ll be together forever. Like old times.”
