//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 - The Hunter // Story: Fear Within // by VirtualCipher //------------------------------// Dread fell from the cold air around Shining Armour as his pilot landed the airship carefully onto the ground like a bird landing smoothly on a tree branch. The airship was white, giving off a design that would make ponies know that it was made in Canterlot. It was armoured and it's appearance could relate to The Lavender Spirit, although, instead of looking like a fancy yacht, it gave multiple hints that it was a meant for taking hits due to the armour set around its sides. The downside on this airship: It didn't contain any weapons so unicorns would have to fire by producing magic. As the airship made contact with the rough looking ground, it was clear to them that they landed. They had reached their destination: The gates of Tartarus. Around them was a barren wasteland. The ground was stone, cold and lifeless just like the demons imprisoned in that hell ground. Around the pathway towards the double, tall, iron doors were sharp, vines much like spears ready to be thrown. Two grey, decaying trees were victims of this dark prison. From beyond, gloomy and dusky clouds merged together, not showing a single spot of sky anywhere. This was a frightening place to be in, let alone to be a prisoner. Shining Armour's allies showed fear on their face, gulping and nervously trembling as chills crept up their bones. "LET'S GET A MOVE ON! WE AIN'T GOT ALL DAY!" Shining Armour commanded in a roaring voice. The ponies snapped out of their state of fear and escorted themselves off the ship. Shining Armour observed all his ponies march off the airship, however, one of his allies caught his eye as he moved in a dizzy state, falling onto the ground in front of Shining. The guard looked directly into his captain's eyes, showing disappointment which is probably the worst thing to see. "What's your error, kid?" Shining Armour interrogated. The guard nervously spoke, his words failing to make sense, all that came out was an incoherent mess. "GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" Shining Armour ordered. "I'm sorry, Captain," The earth pony apologised. "It was just... flying isn't my thing and... well... I... think I'm gonna hurl," He turned around, coughing and barfing up spit. "This place is already hell, don't make it smell like one," He said. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's flying and well, this place is giving me the creeps," He honestly spoke. "I don't think I can do this." "You better not back out on me now, kid," The unicorn barked. "When you volunteered for this mission, I thought you knew what you were getting yourself into, and now you're talking about running like a coward?" "No... No sir!" He spoke, hiding fear from his face and showing no emotion, although, it was hard for the kid. "What's your name, kid?" Shining Armour asked. "Silver Strike," He told. "Well, Silver. What made you so brave to come here?" The captain questioned. "I want to help Equestria and do my part to stop this evil." "Then get a move on!" Shining Armour ordered. "You can help those two unicorns set up barriers in case the force field goes down." Silver Strike hesitated to question his captain's order, but he had to. "Is that possible? Can the force field go down? What happens if-" "GET A MOVE ON!" Shining roared in his face. Silver Strike screamed, "Gah! Yes, sir!" He ran towards the two unicorns, providing whatever assistance he had. Shining Armour observed the frightened pony help the two unicorns. His focus was now on his second in command, approaching her with ease. "How are we doing, Holly?" He asked. Holly was a white pegasus, her mane and tail coloured in black as coal. Her eyes were diamond blue. "How are we doing?" Holly repeated the question to herself. "We're setting up shop outside the spawn of Hell and there's only thirty of us. We've just about transferred all our armour and weapons to the field, we're just waiting for you to put up the force field, sir." Shining Armour nodded, "Very well. Have everypony within the area, we can't afford to mess this up." "Roger," Holly acknowledged. The Crystal Prince witnessed a few more of his guards loaded with shields, items that could help them against an attack. It was safe to say that they were prepared. Barriers had been set up as small cover for at least two ponies, spears were set up and shields were prepared. Everypony around Shining were stationed within the area. The white unicorn charged up his horn, a violet/lavender aurora engulfed his horn as it shot a beam into the air, a force field growing from above and sailing its way down to the ground. The radius was at least up to the size of a small town. Now, the gateway to Tartarus was protected by a force field, a strong magic barrier that would be hard to break into. Pronto, the captain sent a message to the princesses in Canterlot, notifying them of the situation. Phase one: Arrive at Tartarus. Complete! Phase two: Set up the force field. Complete! Phase three: Enchant Tartarus doors, expelling all threats from accessing. Ongoing... Shining Armour glanced at the barrier securing him and his team, they were all within the shield's radius. Many of his allies awed as his magic supported such a barrier, they had witnessed this before during the Canterlot Wedding, but it felt new and powerful. His allies showed an expression of relief, a sign that they felt safe. "No time for admiration! I want you all to keep a lookout for danger, we're Tartarus' main defence and we can't afford to fail. If so, we'll be up against every creature, demon, any horrific creature in that prison. They'll roam the land and turn into their own playground of horror and cruelty," Shining Armour spoke. He looked around at his allies, all seeming a little scared of what he was saying. "But we aren't letting that happen. If you take a look at the shield around us, we're safe; we're secure; we're protected. We have been given a responsibility as soldiers to defend this land from terror, a duty to protect our home. We are united, we are strong and we are defenders of Equestria! This is for the princesses, for our friends, our family! We will not fail! For the future of Equestria!" The guards around Shining began to cheer. It seems his speech had invited their courage and bravery back from the back of their hearts. "Alright," Shining lifted a smile and continued, "I want you all to keep a lookout for anything suspicious. You must stay within the shield's radius at all time. The shield can accept you as a pony to exit and enter, but no exiting, no matter what. You see anything suspicious: Alert me! Understood?" "Yes, sir!" Everypony acknowledged. "Then let's defend this prison. After the enchantment spell is completed on the doors of Tartarus, no threats will contain access and we'll be back home with our loved ones..." Shining Armour told, his face looking rather relaxed by the thought. "Let's get to work!" He ordered. Determination, hope and bravery had been built back up into their system, Shining Armour observed his allies enduring further away, positioning themselves just in front of the barrier. No pony was ordered to leave, it would be against his command if they did. "Well, that was some speech you did there, Captain," Holly approached. "These soldiers around us, Holly. They need something to fight for, they need to remember that being afraid is something that satisfies the enemy. They need to remember what they're fighting for. Friends, family and well, the future of Equestria." He told. The unicorn turned himself around, moving to his objective. He approached the doors of Tartarus with Holly beside him. In size, the two ponies fell insignificant, like insects. Both of them could hear the echoes of growling, screams, howls and any other sound that could send chills through beating hearts. In position, Shining Armour's horn glowed brighter than before, engulfed in the violet aurora. A beam shot from his horn like a torch and the grey doors of Tartarus began to brighten a little. Towards the bottom of the double, metal doors, a bright, clean, violet colour slowly began to rise. It seemed that this was the enchantment spell in effect. The focus on Shining Armour's face seemed concentrated as well as desperate. "Are you going to be okay, sir? You're keeping up the barrier while performing an enchantment spell," Holly spoke with concern. "I'll be fine, Holly. This won't take long." He reassured her. Holly took a glance at the guards, all at a distance from the both of them. She spoke, "That speech. You said we fight for our friends, family. You miss them don't you?" Shining Armour raised his head a little, "I'm assuming you mean Cadence and Flurry Heart, right?" Holly answered, "Yeah." A deep breath escaped his body, "I know it hasn't been that long since I last saw them, but it just doesn't feel right. Waking up without her, not seeing our filly. I have to ask myself are they okay? The Crystal Empire is fortified with Starlight's magic, Sunburst's and Cadence's. I know they're alright. But still, it doesn't change the fact that I miss them and I can't imagine how she must be feeling. I'm still glad that Flurry Heart is only a foal. She's unaware of the horror we're living in, unknown that we're being threatened by fears." "What about your sister? Is she alright?" She asked. Shining felt a little defeated when remembering her sister in such a state. "I don't know. She's become a victim of Fright's fear spell, you know?" "What?" "She risked her life to save Manehatten, being exposed to Fright's fear spell. After waking up, she told me the ones around her, the ones she loved were dying. And now, she's just watched one of her friends get tortured by that stitched up freak!" "I'm... I'm sorry to hear, Shining," Holly apologised. "What's done is done," Shining Armour told. "But I'm not letting any of them get away with this. Chrysalis, Fright, the Diamond Dogs... They're all going down." "Woah, easy there big guy," She calmed. "Perhaps it's best you calmed yourself a little and focused your strength on the enchantment spell." "Yeah, yeah you're right. Thanks for listening, I feel a little better opening up." "Hey, just because I'm the second in command here doesn't mean I can't be your friend," Holly smiled. Twenty minutes had passed and Shining Armour was about half of his way enchanting the doors. It would only be a matter of time for the spell to be complete. On the other side of the barrier, two ponies patrolled the opposite side of Tartarus' doors. They were further away from the guards, at a distance from anypony's supervision. One appeared to be an earth pony while the other was a pegasus. "Argh!" Hammer Heart growled in frustration, "How much longer must we wait? This place is really getting to me." "I hear you," Agreed his friend, Steel Wing. "It's cold and lifeless." He complained. "Is there any reason to why the shield's even up? Nothing's happened! Nothing's attacked us!" Hammer Heart told. "Yeah, that's supposed to be a good thing," Steel Wing informed. "No, I mean we're doing absolutely nothing but keeping a lookout for the enemy. Some dangerous mission this is." "You know, the Captain isn't gonna like the way you're talking," Steel Wing warned. "Pfft, what's he going to do? The Crystal Prince is too busy flirting with that second in command, plus, he's too preoccupied with keeping the shield up. As long as I am at a safe distance, I'm good. Besides, all the Captain has done is put a fancy force field around us and enchanted those stupid doors! Nothing too interesting. I mean, why is he even the captain? I could do a better job in command! I could make the princesses respect me like a prince, Cadence would fall for me within an instant and I could have my own statue for the whole of Equestria to see! Hammer Heart, the brave, strong and fearless leader-" "Hey," Silver Strike interrupted. Hammer Heart yelped, surprised and rather annoyed to see the rookie. In response, Steel Wing gave a small laugh, "Yeah, some fearless leader you are." Hammer Heart barked, "What are you doing here, rookie!" Silver Strike stepped back a little by his sudden outburst, "Well, firstly, I wouldn't consider myself a rookie, I've been working as a guard for about two weeks now." "Have you actually been a part of the action on the field?" Steel Wing asked. "Well, no." He answered. "Well, you're still a rookie when it comes to combat," Hammer Heart announced. "Anyway, what are you doing here?" Silver Strike responded, "Well, you two are the only ones guarding this part of the shield, I only thought it would be helpful if I came to help-" "To help with what?" Steel Wing asked. "To watch the land around us? Yeah, real helpful." "Come on, there's no need to be a jerk about it. I was only trying to help you two," Silver Strike added. "A jerk?!" Steel Wing said. "I'm just speaking the truth. That's all we've been doing, staring at the land around us because nothing has come into sight yet." "Do you want to be attacked?" "No. Do you want to stop-" "Both of you, quiet!" Hammer Heart commanded. The two looked at him, confused to why he was concentrated on the outside. "What is it?" Steel Wing asked. Hammer Heart's eyes observed every little detail of the land outside the shield. "Well?" Silver asked. Finally, Hammer Heart spoke, "I saw something." "What?" Silver Strike trembled. "Really?" Steel Wing asked. "I can't be too sure, but I saw something, like a shadow," Hammer Heart told. "You're joking, right?" Steel Wing said. "I hope he is," Silver Strike backed up. "I'm not joking, I saw something zoom past us." Easily and already scared, Silver Strike began to panic, hyperventilating, "Oh no! This is bad, bad, bad. I'm going to alert the Captain!" He notified. Before the rookie could even turn around, Hammer Heart stopped him. "Kid, kid, kid... Relax, it's nothing we can't handle. Ain't that right, Steel?" Steel Wing gave a nod, with a cocky smile stroking his face. "But-but the Captain told-" "The Captain's busy right now, Silver. We don't want to disturb him over one little, insignificant shadow that could be anything," Hammer Heart said. "What if we alerted the captain and it turned out to be a mouse or something stupid? We'd look like fools, wouldn't we? So here's what we're going to do. We're all going to step outside the barrier and see if it's anything dangerous. If it is, we'll quickly head back into the shield and alert Shining Armour. If not, then we'll just go back to keeping a lookout." "But, we aren't supposed to leave the shield," Silver Strike warned. "We're only moving a few inches out, nothing to worry about," Steel Wing reassured. "Come on, Hammer." "You coming, Silver?" Silver Strike took a few steps back, looking at the ground, "Umm, I'm gonna stay here and keep a lookout... for... anything else." "Alright," Hammer Heart laughed, slightly mumbling under his breath, "Coward." Hammer Heart and Steel Wing both stepped out of Shining Armour's magic barrier, leaving the secure bubble. Silver Strike watched helplessly as the two ignorant soldiers ignored his warnings. They both observed their surroundings, looking left and right, checking the skies for incoming attacks. "Do you see anything?" Steel Wing asked. "No, I don't," Hammer Heart stated. A few more steps were taken away from the shield. Startlingly, the wind brushed against their skin, sending a slither of un-comfort down their spine. The two looked at each other with worriment, but they washed that away with confidence. Both ponies' ears perked upwards, picking up the sound of something scurrying. Fully alert, Steel Wing and Hammer Heart tried to pinpoint the source of the noise, examining the ground they stood on. Finally, both guards saw where the noise was coming from, their heartbeats quickening, their eyes targeting a filthy rat, staring back at them. "A... A rat?" Hammer Heart spoke. "What's a disgusting rat doing out here?!" In response, the rat squeaked at the both of them, looking rather vicious and foul. Hammer Heart and Steel Wing backed up a little as the rat's squeak pierced their eardrums. As the two backed up, the rat scurried away, fleeing from the two. "Hmm," Steel Wing hummed. "Tell me Hammer Heart, does that rat look like the shadow you were talking about?" He asked with a mocking grin, turning himself around and walking back. "Oh, ha ha. Let's just get back into the shield's radius before Shining Armour gives us- Huh?" Hammer Heart quickly rotated himself around, on high alert. He felt something tug on his tail, but nothing was there. That was until he looked down. His eyes widened, his pupils targeted what appeared to be smoke. Black smoke, coming from below. Astonished and concerned with the black smoke below and just in front of his hooves, he began to touch it. "Woah," Hammer Heart awed. "Steel, you gotta see this." He let out a moan of annoyance, his head turning around, "See what?" "This-" Abruptly, an armoured arm came out of the smoke and grabbed Hammer Heart's face. The whole hand tightened around his face and muffled his screams. The sharp fingers dug deep into his skin. Steel Wing's eyes detected the danger his friend was in as did Silver Strike who continued to watch safely within the Shining Armour's magic barrier. The armoured, dark hand pulled Hammer Heart's face to the ground, bashing it against the terrain repeatedly. The two ponies could hear his muffled screams as they watched in terror and disbelief. Despite seeing changelings invading Canterlot, dragons hunting them down, diamond dogs attacking... This was nothing Steel Wing had ever seen before, and that made him afraid. After several more times of Hammer Heart's face being battered against the ground, the hand finally set free his grip, not before pulling his face to the ground one last time, causing Hammer Heart to become unconscious. The whole arm sunk back into the smoke, disappearing from sight. Steel Wing's heartbeat began to increase, his breathing rapidly beginning to produce as he noticed the smoke beginning to move... Towards him. Quickly, Steel Wing snapped out of his trance; regaining his sense, and turning himself around where he saw Silver Strike secure within the barrier. Despite the rookie being safe, he appeared to be in the same state of horror as Steel Wing was, watching in dread, not believing what had just happened to Hammer Heart. As the pegasus hurried back, he noticed he was just an inch away from Shining Armour's magic barrier. An inch away is all that he could make it to... Steel Wing felt his hind legs being held by something with a strong grip and cold as well. He did his best to turn himself around despite his brain telling him not to. The black smoke enthralled his hind legs to the point where they weren't visible to his own eyes. The smoke's grip was strong, the armoured claws emerging from the darkness as the sharp fingers wrapped around his legs. Steel Wing felt trapped, sharpening his glance back at Silver Strike. "Ple-" His whole body was thrown down onto the ground, being thrown like he was nothing but waste. Steel Wing was thrown back by the smoke next to his unconscious friend. The black smoke began to slither its way towards him, almost acting like a snake. From his perspective, the smoke began to take form. The armoured arms with sharp claws were recognisable from Hammer Heart's beating. The legs were crooked, the tail was sharp and the facial features were hidden behind a mask. A pale, white, emotionless mask that resembled a skull. Thornes surrounded the side of his face, producing a rattling sound as he looked down at his victim. The creature took his step towards the frightened pegasus who was still in shock by looking at this intimidating, daunting beast. "Sta- Stay away you- you-" Steel Wing stuttered. He couldn't even finish his sentence, he was scared to insult him. Despite Steel Wing's warning to keep away from him, the creature continued to advance towards him. No warning came when the creature's clawed foot captured Steel Wing's hind leg, preventing him from moving back any further. From Silver Strike's perspective, he saw the dark creature kneel down, readying his claws as he saw his teammate struggling, trying to break free from the claws of the monster. However, the struggling stopped as the creature's other claw smacked down onto Steel Wing's face, knocking him unconscious along with Hammer Heart. The rookie slowly backed away but stopped himself as he noticed the creature rise from the ground, his head slowly turning towards the barrier. Dark smoke accompanied the threat, walking up to the barrier and staring into Silver Strike's eyes. His left claw was risen, scratching against the barrier which produced a sound of terror. However, the sound didn't bother Silver Strike, no. What bothered him was that the creature was cutting his way through the barrier, his fingers beginning to force their way towards him. Snapping back to reality, Silver Strike needed to warn the captain. "Shin- Shining Armour... Shining Armour!" He hurried to the doors of Tartarus. Shining Armour began to feel powerless. Keeping up the force field with his magic while enchanting the doors of Tartarus was beginning to make him feel weary. The spell has almost been complete, he couldn't give up now. He was so close. With the rest of the soldiers on guard, Holly stood by the captain. She noticed something approaching them, a pony. Finally, after what seemed like an hour of reaching his destination, Silver Strike felt his breath draining away. Holly looked at her ally with a confused expression, "Silver Strike. Is everything alright?" Despite her question, Silver Strike failed to answer, still trying to regain his breath. "Spit it out, rookie!" Holly told. "We... We have a problem. A big problem!" "Silver Strike, I swear if you're-" "SOMETHING'S OUTSIDE! It took Hammer Heart and Steel Wing!" "What?" Shining Armour asked, his attention still targeted on Tartarus' doors. "Come again?" Holly seconded. Silver Strike trembled, he began to choke, "Something's outside. It beat Hammer Heart and Steel Wing, it threw them around like they were nothing." "What were they doing outside the barrier!" Shining Armour interrogated. "And what's this thing that hurt them?" Holly asked. "They saw something and they thought they could handle it. I... I don't know what it is, but it can turn into smoke and then it began to cutting its way into the shield." Shining's face transformed from anger to worriment, "That's impossible." "I saw it. It looked right at me and it could still be there!" He alerted. Not knowing the enemy, Shining Armour was a little sceptical. What Silver Strike was describing didn't sound like a changeling, diamond dog nor a dragon. Was it Fright? It couldn't have been, he has never contained the power to turn into smoke. However, with the amount of dark magic being produced by him, that could have easily changed. Holly turned to her captain, "Sir, I'll go and handle the situation." "No, Holly. We-" "You need to stay here finish off the enchantment spell. I'll round up some reinforcements to handle the situation." She cut off. "But Holly-" "Sir, whatever creature Silver's talking about sounds dangerous, and if it can really enter the barrier, then it's best you finish off the enchantment spell in case he succeeds on entering." "I... I understand," Shining Armour acknowledged. "Be careful." Holly nodded and signalled Silver Strike to lead her to the where this event occurred. The remaining twenty-eight ponies took off into groups. One group protecting Shining Armour while the other group went with Holly and Silver Strike to take on this creature of darkness. Shortly after, Silver Strike brought Holly and the rest of his allies to the exact same spot where he witnessed the danger. "Here," Silver Strike announced. Other than his afraid expression, he looked confused to see that there was no creature waiting on the other side, nor were there any scratches on the barrier. Silver Strike was dumbfounded. "Is this some sort of sick joke?" A unicorn asked, being back up by others. "No. It was here, it was here." He stated. "I knew this "creature," you told us about was going to be all in your imagination. Just comes to show how afraid you really are." Another said. Silver Strike was feeling a little betrayed by his allies, why did they refuse to believe him. The fact that he wasn't brave like the others also got to him, sure he was afraid, but wouldn't anypony be in this situation? "I don't think he's lying," Holly spoke, the team turning to her. "What makes you believe him?" A guard asked. The ponies finally looked at where Holly was looking and that's where they saw the knocked out bodies of Hammer Heart and Steel Wing. Over their hooves, body, face, they could see them battered, bruised and cut. "Wh- What happened to them?" "Are they alive?" "I guess Silver was speaking the truth." Seeing the two cold, lifeless ponies unconscious outside of Shining Armour's barrier meant, even more, danger could be harmed towards them. "I'm going to need at least four ponies to help me retrieve them. Who's volunteering?" Holly asked. The group looked at Holly in disbelief, the shock in their eyes defined them as cowards. "But Shining Armour told us to stay within-" "This is different. These two are injured and we're not leaving them to rot," Holly stated. "I'm going out there to bring them back into the barrier, but I can't do it alone. Only five ponies are needed." Already regretting his choice, a unicorn approached Holly. Four more of the guards stepped up to the challenge, either feeling brave or stupid. "Alright, we need to make this quick. From what Silver Strike has said, this creature can be dangerous. We don't want to end up like our two friends over there." She told. Slowly, Holly made her way out of the barrier as did the five ponies behind her. The air filling up their lungs were filled with tension as they finally approached the two bodies. The coast was clear. Holly lowered herself and could still feel the beating heart of Steel Wing. Hammer Heart was also lucky. "We need to bring these two in. I'm going to need help," Holly spoke, trying to lift up the unconscious pegasus. "Wh- What's that?" A unicorn asked. Holly looked back, staring in the same direction as everypony else. The way it moved was like a snake, but it was smoke. Black smoke, hovering towards them. "Is that smoke?" One said. Holly's eyes widened, her pupils shrinking as the weird entity began to get closer. She remembered Silver Strike's words, what ability this creature had. Her head turned back to Silver Strike who was looking frightened, quickly alerting her to come back. "Quick! Grab these two and get inside the barrier." She commanded, her voice sounding desperate, but vigilant. The guards obeyed her command, grabbing the unconscious Hammer Heart and Steel Wing, dragging them inside the barrier. Holly was last to enter. Relieved, but curious to see what this threat would now do, their attention turned back outside, watching the smoke progress its way towards them. Finally, the smoke took the form of the intimidating creature, the emotionless mask coming face to face with Holly. Everypony was stunned, their minds going wild on what this thing was. "What is that thing?" Somepony asked. A few of them began to ramble on about what this thing truly was. This creature just stood there, staring into the eyes of Holly as she narrowed them down, beginning to ask questions. "What's your business here?! Who are you?!" She barked. He remained silent, still looking down into the eyes of the pegasus. Annoyance fell upon her as her questions were ignored. The creature proceeded to move his right hand, touching the barrier. His fingers began to scrape along the surface of Shining Armour's force field. Just as expected, a gentle push was given to the creature, causing him to go a few inches back. "Nice try!" Holly snarled. "We restrict all creatures from entering within Tartarus' grounds. You can't enter! Turn back now before you hurt yourself." Despite Holly's warning, the creature seemed to ignore her, resuming to place his hand over the barrier, scraping his sharp, spear-like fingers along the surface yet again. This time, his feet began to burrow into the ground like a tree connected to its root, preventing him from being pushed back by the resistance of Shining Armour's magic. As the creature stabbed his claws into the shield, Shining Armour's magic produced a shock which should have sent him flying back, however, it was confirmed harmless towards him. He didn't flinch, scream or show any sign of pain. Everypony watching grew worried. Finally, the knife-like fingers began to peer through the shield, he was making his way in. The sound of disruption burnt the ponies ears while watching, their eyes began to feel corrupted with dismay. They all began to move back a little, Holly included as she observed this creature's power of defiance. Suddenly, the creature's hand thrust through the barrier, tearing a hole into their defence. It was obvious that the magic supporting the shield was trying its best to push back the interfering threat. The shield began to shoot violet like electricity as a sign of interference. Most of the ponies were witnessing the determination of the creature, they were prepared for the creature to intrude, but he wasn't going to fit through, right? The rip in the barrier was the size of the creature's hand, it was impossible for his whole body to fit through. It appeared that the panic and uneasiness the ponies felt made them forget of the creature's abilities. The lower half of the creature's body faded into smoke, his arms following the transformation as did the passionless mask. Dauntingly, the smoke crept it's way into the rip of the barrier, moving like a snake, but hovering. As the dark, ghastly smoke successfully entered within the barrier, the rip managed to restore itself; regenerating its defence, but none of that mattered. The enemy was inside. The smoke reformed the creature, the white, pale, grim mask formed as he stared down at the ponies blocking his path. Some of the guards felt frightened, others felt intrepid to stop the creature. As the second in command, Holly stepped forth from the crowd, confronting the creature. She growled, "You have entered a restricted area! Turn back now or suffer-" Her voice of valiance trailed off as her head was consumed by the armoured hand of the enemy. The creature's hand tightly pushed Holly's face to the ground, her nose being bashed against the ground. The impact was hard and enough to knock her out. That was it. The second in command was knocked out cold, everypony was speechless. They looked back up at the creature, not sure on what to do. Trembling in fear wasn't an option. "Gaaah!" A unicorn let out a war cry, charging towards the creature. Two earth ponies followed him, charging at the same speed. Aware of his attackers, the creature extended his left leg, his claw-like foot grasped the earth pony's face, pulling him to ground. To his right, the other earth pony jumped at him, however, the creature's arm accelerated, knocking the pony back. The unicorn proceeded to fire from his horn, surely knocking him back against the solid surface of Shining Armour's barrier. Before the creature was hit, he disintegrated into smoke, shooting up into the air and returning back to his normal form, landing back down on the unicorn. Against the unicorn's body, he felt scratches being pushed along his body. Snapping out of their state of pure shock and trepidation, two unicorns focused their fire on the creature's chest, emitting a beam from their horns that would surely hurt it. The creature's hand reached down to the unicorn he was standing on. His whole hand tightened and held the unicorn by the neck, using him as a shield against the two magic beams possess. A tortured scream escaped the unicorn's lungs as the two beams fired directly at him. The creature proceeded to move forwards as the screaming of his 'shield' grew louder. The two unicorns firing stopped. Ruthlessly, the creature threw his pony shield at the unicorns, knocking them to the ground. This beast of hate resumed his path, continuing to walk towards the crowd blocking his path. Two pegasuses hovered above their enemy, circling him like predators. With enough speed, they managed to send kicks to his stomach and back, causing the creature to lose balance a little. They repeated this pattern of attack which was a mistake. As one of the pegasuses resumed aiming for his stomach, the creature dodged with all his speed, grabbing the pegasus' tail and throwing her against the other pegasus, their heads colliding with each other, causing the two of them to fall to the ground. "We can't let him reach Shining Armour!" A pony shouted. "What do we do?" Another asked, desperate for an answer. From the looks of it, the creature showed no sign of damage. Their attacks seemed useless, but preventing him from reaching the captain was all that mattered. The remaining guards continued to stand their ground, but breaking off into groups, surrounding the creature. Left and right, even in front of him, the creature's path was blocked. Each group contained at least five ponies. Spears were pointed at the threat, shields were readied, but the creature did nothing. The guards proceeded to get closer with caution, their spears still pointing towards the enemy. With confusion being built up, the guards observed the creature lower himself down onto one knee, placing the palm of his hand onto the ground. There it rested, black smoke beginning to emit from his hand. The smoke trailed its way to the three groups. As the smoke began to circle the three groups, they noticed it transform into a dark, solid surface. Within an instant, the ink, visible smoke had transformed itself into a dark, stone-like prison that captured the ponies. They screamed and banged against the rough, resistant walls of the stone prison they were in. There was no doubt about it that this was the work of dark magic, but how did this creature possess such a raw ability? This creature was relentless, he resumed his path passed the screaming ponies as they continued to try and break free from their confined lock-up. All that stood in this beast's way now was Shining Armour. It was almost complete... Shining Armour heard the screams of his teammates. He heard his allies fighting, the group were focused on what mattered the most and that was protecting him. He had started the enchantment spell and only he could finish it. Slowly, the violet aurora that was consuming the doors of Tartarus had almost reached the top, indicating that the spell was almost complete. His ears picked up the sound of fighting from a mile away and he hated every bit of it. He should have been helping them fight, to stop the creature that was interfering, but his mission was to secure Tartarus' entrance. The guards that were protecting him vanished from the scene, he ordered them to help Holly and the others after hearing screams of panic. He was alone. The white unicorn produced a growl, his eyes closing, forcing all the energy and power he had left to make the enchantment spell increase in speed. Exhausted and feeling drained of energy, Shining Armour felt a cold, tight grip around his horn. His eyes snapped open wide, staring up at the creature. There, he felt swallowed by the dark eyes of his enemy. Without a care, the creature lifted Shining Armour into the air, still holding him by his horn. Both their eyes were levelled with each other. "The door. Open it!" The creature commanded, his voice sounding rough, cold and dead. Shining Armour continued to struggle, growling at the creature he was being interrogated by. "Get lost!" The creature tilted his head, his emotion was unknown. "You're too late, anyway!" Shining Armour forced his words. "The enchantment spell is complete." He lied. "You can't enter without the princess' permission. Your mission failed!" The grip tightening around his horn was the creature's response. The endless, black eyes still made contact with his eyes. He watched as the creature's other arm raised, the back of his hand banging against the doors of Tartarus. Violently, the aurora that surrounded the doors shattered like glass, the enchantment spell Shining Armour had produced was broken. His lies failed to deceive the creature. The eyes of the unicorn failed to keep in contact with the creature that was holding him, his focus was on the haunting doors. His facial expression was a mix of defeat and anger. All of that effort was for nothing, his mission had failed. He failed Equestria. He turned his head back to the creature's face, growling at him, "What are you?!" He demanded to know. The creature continued to stare at his prey, "I am Equestria's newest fear. I am The Hunter." He told. Shining Armour still struggled, trying to escape from The Hunter, doing his best to hurt him as well. The disturbing, dark smoke began to emit from his claw, the darkness being absorbed into Shining Armour's horn. Through the roots of his brain, pain travelled into his head, he felt like his skull was tearing itself apart. The round, magic barrier that was covering the entrance of Tartarus began to break, cracking and tearing itself apart. The shield was disrupted by the pain Shining Armour felt. As The Hunter watched Shining Armour scream in agony, an iron shield was thrown at the back of his head. Aggravated, he still held onto Shining Armour, his head slowly turning around in anger as he saw Silver Strike looking guilty and regretful to what he had just done. The Hunter released Shining Armour from his grip, dropping him to the ground, his attention now focused on Silver Strike. Concerned for his own safety, the rookie began to back away, tripping over himself but still moving back as he watched his enemy endure closer towards him. On his way, The Hunter picked up the shield that was thrown at him. Closer, he approached the worried earth pony who began to crawl away. Silver Strike's heart sank to his stomach as he felt his tail being stepped on; interrupting his escape. He turned his head to see the chilling, blank skull. The empty eyes peered into his soul, showing no mercy. "No, no, no. Please! Please!" Silver Strike begged, crying for help. Brutally, The Hunter bashed the shield against Silver Strike's head repeatedly, not showing any sign of stopping. Shining Armour's eyes were filled with horror, watching the poor kid being beaten. "Let... Let him be!" Shining Armour growled, still weakened by the pain his head was feeling. The Hunter ignored his cries, he didn't even acknowledge him. Over and over you could hear Silver Strike's scream beginning to weaken until there was silence. Only the sound of the shield banging against him was heard. Finally, The Hunter threw the shield to the ground, walking away from the now pummeled, beaten earth pony. For a moment, Shining Armour felt disconnected from the world, from Equestria. He looked around him to see his allies fallen, ponies were hurt, injured. Holly, Hammer Heart, Steel Wing, Silver Strike. All those who tried to protect him failed and all while he was performing an enchantment spell that he couldn't complete. He failed. He was bone-tired, hurt, but furious with what this monster had done to his friends. The vigilant unicorn rose from the ground, rising back on his hooves as he made a stand, blocking The Hunter's path from entering Tartarus. The Hunter merely tilted his head, his claws being engulfed by smoke. "Don't," He warned, knowing that his enemy was going to confront him. Shining Armour ignored his warning, at this point he didn't care if he was going to get hurt. He needed to put a stop to this madness. Filled with anger and hate, he charged at The Hunter, teleporting himself just above his enemy, getting the drop on him. Quickly, The Hunter's tail whacked him across his face, falling back to the ground. Instantly, Shining Armour turned his head, his horn shooting a beam which managed to land a direct hit. While he was taken back by the hit, Shining Armour used his magic to levitate one of his allies spears, throwing it at The Hunter. By surprise, The Hunter burst into smoke yet again, but this time there was no trail of where he was travelling to. The spear landed, missing him completely. It appeared he had the ability to teleport. Forthwith, The Hunter attacked from behind, his claws slashing against Shining Armour's back. The Crystal Prince's reaction delayed, he wasn't fast enough to react to The Hunter's incoming attack. This didn't stop Shining Armour from fighting, however. After being battered to the ground, he quickly charged at The Hunter's leg, causing him to fall onto one knee. Again, he lunged himself onto The Hunter's back, performing a spell aimed at the back of his head. It charged, the aurora surrounding his horn began to glow brightly. Brutishly, The Hunter's tail wrapped around Shining Armour's neck, strangling him, stopping him. Left and right his tail moved, dragging the unicorn along the rough surface. The damage taken by Shining Armour was severe. His cuts were deep, his legs were bruised, his magic weakening from exhaustion. Finally, The Hunter's tail dispatched from Shining's neck, only for a second, however. With ease, The Hunter picked up his prey by the neck, his keen fingers digging into his skin. The eyes of The Hunter captured his stare, his other claw readying to punch him. "Look around you, Armour. Your words of wisdom did nothing; the faith you had in your friends resulted in a pathetic attempt of trying to delay the inevitable. Your bravery isn't something that should be admired, it needs to be feared by those who want to be you. They will get hurt, they will feel pain and they will know fear." Shining Armour failed to make any sort of comeback. He was defeated, there was nothing for him to do, but retreat. The weakened captain turned his focus on a scroll container that was left near a stack of spears. Using his magic, he levitated the scroll container, channelling his magic to perform a teleportation spell. Within a second, he disappeared. For a moment, The Hunter was blinded by the shine of the teleportation spell. He looked back at his hand only to see and feel nothing. Slowly, his hands levelled back down to his sides, walking to the doors of Tartarus. Cautiously, he surveyed the area, looking at the damage he caused, the moment of victory was his. From his waist, he pulled out a dark orb belonging to the changelings. After pressing his fingers against the cold, round surface of the circular sphere, it hovered into the air, levelling itself in front of The Hunter. The orb projected Fright's body like a hologram. "Report..." Fright spoke. "The shield projected by Shining Armour is no longer active and the guards have been dealt with. You and Chrysalis are able to continue with the breakout." "Good. Your strength, intelligence and agility is something that should be feared by our enemies." He complimented. "Has the captain been dealt with?" "No." The Hunter told. "He managed to flee from the area like the coward he truly is." "Then we must act quickly. No doubt about it that he must be calling for reinforcements. Stay on guard, Hunter. The breakout will begin momentarily." He gave a slight nod as a response. The projection of Fright faded, the orb falling back into the palm of his claw. The path that was left behind him was chaotic. Ponies were injured and trapped, the smaller barricades used as defences were broken into pieces and the spears were thrown in odd places around the terrain. It was obvious that The Hunter had won, but the breakout was not complete. At a safe distance from Tartarus' area, Shining Amour rested on the cliffside. From his point of view, the doors of the prison were tiny. The outpost he had set up was wrecked into pieces; a mess between good and evil. He emptied the container and out fell a writing feather and a scroll. There were no more choices he could make. He had failed his mission, the taste of defeat was sickening his stomach. His mind triggered many of the creatures he fought in the past, but who was this "Hunter?" Dark magic, teleportation, vicious attacks in combat. This was a threat everypony needed to stay clear from. Using his magic, he wrote a letter addressed to Canterlot, teleporting the scroll to its destination. Who knew how long it would be before any sort of reinforcements arrive. There was no medical opinion needed, just by looking at Shining Armour, it was obvious he was in bad shape, but it wasn't as bad as his friends'. Powerless and defeated, Shining Armour closed his eyes... Hoping that he would be able to wake up soon.