//------------------------------// // Going on the Hunt // Story: The Struggles of Running a Book Store // by arcanica_scripta //------------------------------// “And you’re positive about this, Luna?” The younger alicorn nodded, making the older of the two pace nervously. “Indeed sister. The Herald seems quite informed of the circumstances surrounding her heritage and its history.” “I never knew…” She put a hoof to her chin in concern. “After what happened to Storm Breaker and with Rune Cluster, I had assumed all of the Heralds were deliberately causing all of those calamities.” She shuddered as she looked at her own hooves. “The lives I’ve taken… just how much innocent blood was spilled because of my misunderstanding?” “Sister, while I understand your concern and grief, what has happened is in the past. What matters now is the situation at hoof.” Luna placed a reassuring hoof on her sister’s back and gave her a comforting smile. “Yes, you’re right.” Celestia took a deep breath before nodding to her sister. “Now then, I suppose I should inform the Herald of my decision, shouldn’t I?” “Before you do, I believe I should inform you that besides Laughter, the other Elements of Harmony are not aware of who the Herald is,” pointed out Luna. “If anything, your message should take this into account. We believe she is trying to maintain her friends’ ignorance in regards to her status as the current Herald.” Celestia nodded as she paced while thinking over how to best inform Arcanica. “And any letters sent through Spike would first have to go through Twilight…” Her eyes drifted to an ornate medallion resting on her vanity. “Sister, I believe I have an idea.” “Wow, Arcanica. It was so nice of you to invite all of us.” Twilight took a sip of her juice as she accepted a plate of food from Applejack. The group of friends were currently sitting in a field, enjoying a picnic. Not only were the seven friends there, but they had also brought along their younger sisters and Blossomforth. “Yeah well, I felt like all of us should hang out when Equestria isn’t in danger.” She took a bite of her sandwich as she watched the four fillies play tag. “I just… really wanted to hang out with my loved ones today.” She sighed wistfully as she looked in the direction of Canterlot. She didn’t expect Celestia to show up the way she did in the days of old, what with Twilight and her friends being present and Ponyville not being a battlefield. But she couldn’t help but wonder… Was Celestia coming for her head? “Hey, Arcanica, you alright?” She turned and saw Pinkie looking at her in concern. “You seem super duper bummed about something.” She wanted to tell Pinkie, but wasn’t sure how without telling the others, so she simply shook her head. “I’m fine, Pinkie. Just thinking is all.” She frowned, but nodded nonetheless. “Okie dokie lokie, then…” She knew Applejack was staring at her, most likely seeing right through her lie, but chose to ignore it. No need to ruin a day out with friends. The picnic continued on from there, with the friends telling jokes and swapping stories as the afternoon went on. As the gathering began to wind down, however, she happened to glance in the direction of the Everfree Forest. She froze as she caught sight of a pony staring into the forest, her body unmoving. Arcanica was too far to notice any distinguishing features, but her coat was an unearthly white, and her black mane was blowing in the wind. Except there was no wind to move it. “Hey ya’ll! Anypony want one last slice of apple pie?” Her attention was drawn to Applejack as she distributed the last few slices of the dessert, which she gratefully accepted. When she looked back, the strange mare was gone. I’ve got a bad feeling about that one… “So, Darlings, you’ll be happy to know that I’ve finished all of the finishing touches and resizings on our gowns for the Gala,” announced Rarity. “All I need is one final fitting for each of you and we shall be ready to go for the most wonderful night of our lives.” “That’s great Rari-” Twilight stopped as a wailing howl echoed from the Everfree Forest. “What the heck was that?” “I don’t know,” muttered Fluttershy as the howling rang out once more. “It doesn’t sound like any creature I’ve heard from there before.” The howling persisted, sounding more like whatever was in there was calling out to somepony. “I can’t quite understand its howling, either. It sounds unnatural in terms of animal calls.” “Well it’s givin’ me the willies.” Applejack shuddered as the howling stopped for a brief moment. Arcanica stealthily moved towards Pinkie as the others discussed the howling. “Hey, Pinkie. Anything on the Pinkie Sense?” She did her best to keep her voice down, since she had an idea as to what was making the howling. She shook her head. “Nope. Not even a twitcha-twitch.” She noticed the look on the Herald’s face before leaning in. “You don’t think this is Herald stuff, do ya?” She nodded. “I’m certain it is. I could have sworn I saw somepony staring at the Everfree earlier, and they had this unearthly quality to them.” She looked at her friends as they started packing up as the howling resumed. “I don’t know what exactly is going on, but whatever is out there, it doesn’t belong in Equestria.” “So, are we going in tonight?” “No, I’m going after it once everypony is home. You aren’t getting involved in this.” She began lending a hoof with clean-up, effectively ending the conversation between them. I won’t let my friends get involved if I can help it. “Alright, last minute check. Rope?” She levitated a coil into her saddlebags. “Check. Water?” Two canteens joined the rope. “Check. Book?” She paused as she turned her attention to the Necroscriptus’ resting place on her desk. On one hoof, it wouldn’t hurt to have the source of her Eldritch magic with her. But on the other, she had never taken it out of her house before and was afraid of damaging it. “Oh who am I kidding?” she mused to herself as she slid the book into the left pocket on her saddlebags. “If this thing has survived since before Equestria, it can survive me hunting this creature.” Once the book was secure, she resumed her preparations, making sure to add a compass and a quick-light lantern. Her bags packed, she made her way out, grateful that Twilight was helping the four fillies with their homework today. As she locked her door, she noticed a blonde pegasus at the bottom of her stairs. “Excuse me, you’re Arcanica Hoofcraft, correct?” The mare’s coat was a soft yellow, and she was wearing an ornate golden medallion with braids in her mane. “My name is-” “Sorry, don’t have time for fans,” she said quickly as she moved past the shocked mare. “I’m busy. Maybe some other time.” Her eye flared to life as she activated the life-detection spell, allowing her to tell the mare was following her. Using her usual tactics, she ducked into an alleyway before slipping into Shevkiral’s domain to evade the mare. {Herald.} She stopped in her tracks before looking up. She was making progress towards the Everfree when the entity had gotten in her way. {We wish to speak with you regarding your presence.} “Don’t worry, Shevkiral, I won’t be here long.” She ducked between the towering being’s legs and resumed her trek. “I’m simply passing through on my way to the Everfree.” {We know. Just as we know what manner of beast you are intending to hunt.} She stopped in her tracks before looking at the deity as it moved to look down at her once more. {We felt it wise to give warning as to the nature of the creature’s heritage.} “Huh, well this is new. I thought you tended to avoid giving us Heralds a helping hoof?” She winced at the loud grinding hiss that echoed through the Plane. “Okay, so this isn’t what I thought?” {The creature you are facing is the byproduct of another of Our Ilk and their interests with your world.} It looked in the direction of the mangled forest of spires that represented the Everfree Forest in the Plane of Shadows. {Our sister, whom you no doubt know as Kreeshva Akzin, saw fit to bear a child to a beast of your world. That creature is what now roams the Forest known as Everfree.} “Akzin was in Equestria?! When?!” {Though time has little merit for us, it was at the zenith of the sun’s previous cycle.} Translation: yesterday. She facehoofed at the thought of Akzin entering Equestria. While far from the worst of the Outer Beings to enter her world, Akzin’s… unique perspective on life and procreation always resulted in nothing but disaster. “I don’t suppose she mentioned the beast that gave her a child, did she?” {She informed us the creature was known as a ‘manticore’.} The god moved its head down to her, its yellow eyes intrigued. {Tell us, Herald. What manner of creature is that?} She resumed walking, not acknowledging how the god followed behind her. “It’s a chimeric monster,” she explained. “Body of a lion, wings of a bat, and the tail of a scorpion. What I’m wondering is why she would try bearing the offspring of one of those. Doesn’t she usually visit ponies in their sleep?” {From what we gather of her exploits, Akzin enjoys birthing her creations as much as conceiving them.} The entity shuddered, or at least did the closest thing it could do to shuddering. {She claims that allowing beasts to claim her Equestrian form as their mate is the most satisfying feeling she knows.} Arcanica shook her head to clear away the image of a mare allowing a manticore to mate with her. The anatomical differences alone scared her. {We know not of the creature she sired in this case, but we know it to be something most dangerous. Take heed, Herald.} “Any chance I’ll be capable of killing it?” Honestly, if she could kill whatever Akzin had unleashed on Equestria out of boredom, she would be a happy mare. {Doubtful. It is one of her children, and would therefore only be capable of being sealed away.} They reached the forest, and the deity began to dissolve its body. {Remember, Herald. You are not the first to face such a malignant creature. Learn from your predecessors and their… exploits.} Its piece said, Shevkiral vanished, allowing Arcanica to exit the Plane of Shadows in the shade of a large oak tree. “Well, that was different.” “He likes you,” supplied Rune Cluster as she enjoyed the atmosphere of the Everfree Forest. “Shevkiral appreciates Heralds who don’t actively blow him off or misuse their powers. It wouldn’t surprise me if he tries laying claim to you when you pass on.” “Is that what happened to you? One of Them claimed you?” She recast her detection spell, and took notice of the various life forms lingering through the forest. They were all so bizarre it was hard to pick out her target. “Not quite. I had already chimerisized by the time I passed on, so there was no reason for one of them to claim me as theirs since I fit in enough as I am now.” She studied Arcanica as she tried picking apart the different auras. “You’re genuinely going after this thing, aren’t you?” “If I don’t then somepony will get hurt and Celestia will blame me for it.” Deciding she might as well get started, she began walking further into the forest. “What about you? Are you here to help me?” “In my own way, I suppose.” She grinned at the unamused glare Arcanica gave her. “Oh, come now, Arcanica. I can’t give you everything, now can I?” She shook her head and sighed heavily. “Stupid ghosts.” “Hmm… where could she have gone?” Celestia was flying over Ponyville, grateful that her disguise was normal enough that nopony questioned her flying around. She had wanted to meet Arcanica under the guise of being a fan of her works (which was admittedly true), but was swiftly blown off by said Herald. “Maybe I made this disguise a little too well,” she muttered. It was one thing to go unnoticed or ignored, but she hadn’t anticipated getting blown off the way she had been. She tried following her, but the Herald had vanished into thin air from an alley way, leading Celestia to conclude she had at least figured out the traveling technique that Rune Cluster had been extremely fond of in her day. Back before she let Discord’s lies get to her and made her- No, now wasn’t the time to mourn her old friend. Now was the time to track down Arcanica. “Hmm… well she was wearing saddlebags, so perhaps she was going out of town for some reason?” No, that wasn’t it. If Arcanica remembered the lives of the Heralds that she had personally executed, she’d probably be more afraid of Celestia cornering her in the middle of nowhere. So traveling was out of the question. Perhaps she was running some errands? Again, that would have made sense, but her saddlebags had looked pretty full. And who goes shopping with full bags? As she continued to muse over the possible locations of the Herald, she let her wings take over and enjoy the flight. She rarely got the chance to fly these days, so this was a welcome change. As she savored her flight, she noticed something strange. The Everfree Forest, which she knew was usually still from the air, was surprisingly active. Birds were fleeing in every which-way along an erratic-looking path, and the trees themselves shuddering and some occasionally collapsing along the same path. As she watched and flew closer, she could hear an unearthly howling and roaring as the path jerked around erratically. Maybe she’s down there. Pulling her wings close to her body, she flew down towards the Everfree and felt unable to resist the nostalgia. The last time she had truly been to the Everfree was when she had closed off the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, and that was almost 1000 years ago. Deciding to reminisce later, she flew over the canopy and descended near the last site of the commotion. “Oh my,” she said in concern. She put a hoof to her mouth at the level of destruction surrounding her. The ground looked as though somepony had decided to gouge the soil with a dragon’s claws. The trees surrounding her had large indents as if something was thrown into them while others were missing large chunks after something had clawed at them. This was clearly the site of a battle, but she had no idea who was winning and who was losing. The howling and roars resumed nearby, far too close for her comfort, and she heard the sounds of conflict resume. “Don’t think you’ll get away that easily!” she heard somepony yell. She heard the sound of rattling chains as the roars turned into a shriek. “Gotcha, you damn monster!” There was a loud crashing as the monster roared. “Uh oh.” Before she could go to investigate, a familiar red mare was thrown from the brush. She slammed into the ground and rolled for a few feet before stopping. “Ow.” She landed and ran over to the mare. “Are you alright?” Arcanica groaned as she stood back up and shook her head. “Okay, chains don’t work.” She took notice of who was standing in front of her. “Wait, why in Celestia are you here?!” “Oh, well you see-” The screeching howl echoed behind her and Arcanica shoved her to the ground. “Get down!” A large fireball flew over their heads and exploded against a tree. “Damn, that thing can spit fireballs? What in Tartarus is wrong with you, Akzin?” Much to Celestia’s confusion, she glared at something to her left. “Oh shut up, Rune. I know she doesn’t decide what her children can do.” “Um, are you speaking to somepony?” This was new to her. Was there actually some merit to Herald’s being insane? “You wouldn’t believe me. Just know that this is something you won’t be able to help me with.” She got back up and ignited her horn. The left pocket of her saddlebags opened up and she pulled a book bound in black leather. “Alright, time to see what else I can try…” She quickly began flipping pages, her right eye erupting into black mist as she scanned the pages for something. “Alright, combustion beam, petrification, sandwich vision… aha!” She stopped flipping pages and smirked at the page she stopped on. “A proper combat spell.” “Look, Arcanica. Can you please just let me-” She ignored Celestia’s attempts at discussion and put the book away. “Look, lady. I don’t know what your deal is, but I’d get out of here if I were you. Things are about to get messy.” She charged off through the underbrush, her horn and eye still radiating with that same black energy. “Where are you, you son of a bitch?!” “Hey, wait a minute!” She tried rushing after the unicorn, but quickly lost track of her in the gloom. “Hello? Arcanica?” “AHA!” She flinched as a purple flash of light illuminated an area ahead of her. The creature shrieked in pain and she heard a large crash from the clearing. “Gotcha you damn- OH SHIT!” There was a loud crash before she heard something charging up. “EAT FIRE DEATH!” A tree in front of her exploded as the creature itself was sent flying. Its body was smoking lightly as it crashed into the ground behind her. She tried to look at the creature, but had to take to the air in order to avoid Arcanica’s next beam of energy. In the air, she saw the creature’s hide resembled an eel in texture, with its mouth being split on the lower jaw. Its legs ended in large claws and had large spikes on its joints. It had three large tails that resembled vipers and were moving independently of one another. She felt horrified to realize it was looking directly at her despite not having eyes. “What in Equestria is that thing?!” she found herself screaming. It opened up its mouth and shrieked at her. She was unnerved to see it unfolded, and dodged when a large fireball shot out of its maw. “BACK OFF!” A purple beam of energy slammed into the beast and sent it reeling. The red unicorn came storming out of the trees, her right eye and horn both radiating the black aura she knew all too well when it came to the Heralds. “You know, I wasn’t sure what I was gonna do with you. Part of me was afraid I wasn’t going to be able get rid of you. At the same time, I was convinced I would have to find some way of killing you. But you know what? I have a much better idea.” She grinned at the eel monster as her left eye erupted into black mist as well, her irises glowing magenta in the black mist. “I’m gonna put you somewhere where you’re not going to be able to survive.” Her horn began to crackle with black and violet lightning before a bolt was fired into the shade of the tree behind the monster. The entire area darkened, and Celestia felt something she hadn’t known in centuries: true fear. The creature seemed to feel the same way as it tried to escape. It leaped at Arcanica its five tendril-like tongues reaching for her when it found itself slammed into the ground. A large grasping limb, too thin to be possible yet stronger than the beast had extended from the now void-like shadow and grabbed ahold of its tails. Slowly, the limb began to retract, dragging the creature with it. Terrified, the creature began to frantically claw at the ground in an effort to get away. Two more limbs shot out and grabbed onto its hind legs, effectively taking its support out from under it. It screeched frantically as the limbs began retracting more quickly. “Naah… Nooaagghh…” it howled, and Celestia gasped when she realized what it was trying to do. “Nooogghh…” “Wait! I think it’s trying to-” “NOOOOOO! NOOOOO!” She flinched at its volume when its tails were dragged into the black void behind it. “NOOOO!” More limbs extended, latching on to various parts of the creature’s anatomy as it was dragged further into the void. Any further screams were cut off when one of the limbs grabbed its maw and held it closed. Its screams now muffled, it was wrenched into the black void as it struggled futilely against its captors. Once it was gone from sight, the area began to lighten once more as the shadow lost its void-like quality. “What… what was that?” she asked nervously. “Well, that monster was the offspring of an Eldritch god and a manticore, and a young one at that. If it was left alone, it probably would have hurt somepony, if not kill them.” Arcanica looked at her, her eyes still radiating that black mist in a way that still reminded her of Sombra’s eyes. “As for the spell, I opened a gate into the Plane of Shadows and dragged it in there, where there are much more terrifying creatures waiting for it. Now I’d like to ask a question.” Arcanica narrowed her eyes at her. “What’s with the disguise, Celestia?” “Y-you can see through my disguise?” She was shocked to watch the Herald nod. “But, how? Not even I could dispel this disguise without the proper medium and focus.” “It’s the eyes.” She blinked and let the Eldritch mist vanish. “They allow me to see the world in ways nopony else possibly could. It’s a manner of blessing from Them. That includes seeing through mortal illusions and spells.” Her smirk from explaining her trick vanished as her stare hardened. “So, I take it you’re here to take me out before I turn Ponyville into the next Marethon or something?” Celestia dispelled her disguise before shaking her head. “No. I came here to see you myself. Luna told me of your innocence, as well as my errors in judging the Heralds before you. I wanted to inform you that I was planning to allow you to continue so long as you promise to protect Equestria from those who would harm it.” She walked up to Arcanica and gently extended a hoof. “We can discuss this at greater length if you would like, but for now, I believe getting back to Ponyville is a good idea.” Hesitating for a moment, Arcanica nodded before accepting the princess’s hoof and allowing her to teleport them back to her store. “So that’s what happened.” Celestia sat there in contemplation as she sipped the tea Arcanica had provided. “I had no idea I had stopped Great Pillar from fixing his own mistakes.” The Herald nodded as she sipped from her own cup. “Yeah. Him and Sky Dazzle were both trying to more or less fix the same problem. The only difference is that she almost succeeded. Sure, there was a great loss of life in both cases, but compared to letting those monstrosities run rampant? They both felt it was well worth the sacrifice.” The Princess nodded, but still wasn’t comfortable considering one Herald created a potential scourge and another committed genocide trying to destroy said scourge. “Arcanica, though I believe I know your answer, I have to ask. Are you planning to hunt down similar threats to Equestria?” She sat there in contemplation for a long while before looking at Celestia. “No. I probably should, but I’m not going to throw away my life just to find problems to fix. If something happens here, I’ll get involved. But I refuse to abandon my friends and family just to go monster hunting.” The Sun Princess smiled at her conviction. “A wise and noble answer, Arcanica. To hold one’s friends and loved ones so close is a truly wonderful thing.” She then got a thoughtful look on her face. “Actually, I have a request, Arcanica. My sister had always been close to the Heralds we knew in our youth, and she is currently struggling to readjust to Equestria. Would you be willing to submit letters to her similar to how Twilight and I communicate?” “I’m not sure Princess Luna needs a student like me, Princess.” She chuckled and shook her head. “Not quite as a student. But as a friend and to aid you in your studies in the ways of the Void. Of the two of us, Luna is more inclined and knowledgeable in such topics. I believe she can help you more than simply wandering and trusting on the aid of the other Heralds.” She watched as the unicorn thought her offer over, before she glared at something beside her. “I’m not telling her that,” she said hotly to who (or what) ever was beside her. Chuckling at the exchange, she used her own magic to summon a scroll. “I know, how about this?” She placed the scroll on the table between them with a friendly smile. “If you decide to take up my offer, this spell will allow you to send your letters directly to Luna. I’m certain she would appreciate the sentiment.” “I’ll… think on it.” She accepted the scroll and placed it off to the side. “Thank you, Princess.” “Of course, Arcanica.” She looked at the clock and sighed. “Well, I suppose I should get going. I took a bit of an unplanned personal day coming here, and my duties will have piled up in my absence.” “I assume this is all off the record and not for Twilight to know?” The alicorn shook her head with a chuckle. “I’m afraid Twilight would panic if she knew I came here today without letting her know. So I would appreciate you keeping this between us.” “Of course, Princess.” Arcanica bowed as the alicorn took her leave after disguising herself once more. She cleaned up from the impromptu tea party before looking at the scroll in thought. Maybe I’ll send her a letter next time I learn something.