//------------------------------// // A Dark Day and Third Member // Story: My Little Hunter // by shooting star hunter //------------------------------// Star Hunter “P-P-P-princess Celestia.” My thoughts were racing. I was in the presence of Equestrian Royalty-THE EQUESTRIAN ROYALTY. There were several seconds of silence before I realized the appropriate response. With a bow, I continued “It's a pleasure to meet you Princess.” Blue looked down at me. “You didn't bow for me.” He commented. I got back up and took a more formal tone. “Would you like me to bow to you too?” He feigned thought for a moment. “No, I don't think so. Anyway,” He turned the the Princess, “Can you help us, well him?” She has this silly grin on her face. “It depends on what you need help with. Ah, if you don't mind me asking, when did you two meet?” “Well I was just walking through the forest this morning-” Blue started. “And I was sleeping in a tree-” I explained. “When I might have maybe possibly had a hand in him falling and hurting himself-” “Which brings us here because apparently, I just made friends with the nephew of Princess Celestia.” I finished. She looked between the both of us, then let out a chuckle. “I see. So you were hoping I could help fixing a wing?” “So is there anything you can do?” I asked her. Taking one look at me, she said “No, there is nothing I can do about your wing. Maybe you can ask your mother.” She said with what could only be described as pure mischief. A look of pure horror crossed Blue's face. “Y-you don't really mean that, do you?” Blue asked. “A pony should face their problems head on Blueblood, and you are no exception.” She said sternly. “This isn't about him,” he said nodding towards me, “is it?” “I suggest finding her before she brings the entire castle down.” At that, Blue rose to his hooves. The silence was heavy, similar to a funeral procession. I made a move to follow, but the princess stopped me. “Not you. I wouldn't trust that mare with any kind of magic.” I looked at Blue leaving the room. That's when the theatrics took over. I raised my hoof to my forehead and saluted him. An angry mother is something to fear, and I'm sure royals were no exception. My motion was not lost on him. Before closing the door, he turned and sent a salute back at me. “Wish me luck.” Blue told me before the door closed. “No wonder you two became friends. You're very much alike. Star Hunter, right?” Princess Celestia asked. “Yes Princess. I'm from Cloudhoof Village to the North.” I told her. “That's quite a ways away for somepony so young to travel on their own. Do you have a dest-” She was interrupted by knocking at the door. “Come in.” She responded. A grey unicorn pony wearing shining silver armor with gold trim walked into the room and stood at attention in front of the princess. “Princess, It's almost one o' clock. The ambassador will be arriving soon.” She had an irritated look on her face. “Ah yes. Him. I will be in momentarily.” She headed toward the door and stopped next to the guard. “Captain, would you please escort this colt to Iron Heart?” “As you wish Princess.” There was a twinge of annoyance in his voice, but if she noticed, it didn't show. “Thank you very much.” Then she looked back at me. “I'll send Blueblood to you if I see him.” With that, she was out the door. The pony that I could only assume was a royal guard gave me an intense stare. He let out a deep sigh. “Come on kid.” He led me out the door and to my next destination. Why am I always following somepony else? --- The silence that fell between us was calm. I could tell he was a quiet pony, which suited me just fine. Our walk was short and ended at a door. “This is your stop kid. I recommend you knock before you enter.” With that, he left me in front of the door. Knock. Knock. Knock. On the third knock. I heard several quick hoof steps. The door swung open, revealing a yellow earth pony with a light blue mane that reminded me of the sky. “You must be Star Hunter. Come in and let me have a look at that wing.” I opened my mouth to ask how he knew, but he didn't stop talking. “The princess told me you were going to swing by and whoa, look at that.” He had pulled the cloth off my wing and was examining it. “Looks broken. You might have to stay off it for a while. Oh! Where are my manners. I'm Doctor Iron Heart, doctor, physician, mane of mystery. You can call me Doctor, or Iron, or Heart, or Iron Heart, or maybe just Heart. Oh! How about Doctor Heart? I like that one!” That wasn't the last of it. He just kept going on and on. So much of my attention went to tuning him out that I didn't notice another pony had entered the room. She had a snow white mane and pale blue coat, in addition to some control of sound. “Dad, How many times have I told you: nopony want's to hear about the many different combinations of your name.” She turned to me. “Just call him Heart. It's what everypony calls him.” As soon as she started talking to me, three things became apparent. First: Doctor Heart, as I shall now call him, had stopped talking, which was a relief. Second: My wing was hurting because the bandage keeping it in place was removed. Third and finally: She was staring at me, entrancing me with her eyes that were the color of some purple flowers I had seen earlier in the morning. I would have to find out their name. I'm not entirely sure how long she had me, but I did hear Heart's voice, which unfortunately snapped me out of my thoughts at the wrong moment. “-that's probably what's wrong with your wing. I'll spare you the painful sounding details.” Wait, painful details? “Are you ready?” Heart asked. “Yeah. Wait ready for- Ahhhhhhh!” He took my wing and pulled it so hard that it popped. Tears almost streaming down my face. “Why would you do that?!” He looked at me confused. “Didn't I say it would hurt? You pegasi with your heads in the clouds. Even so, was that really necessary. I mean really, a little pain never killed anypony.” Doctor Heart said. She gave me a flat look. “Don't believe that. It's a flat out lie.” How reassuring. “The point is that I didn't kill you and you didn't die,” He said while wrapping a bandage around my wing. “but I guess that's technically the same thing.” He paused looking around the room. Anyway, from what I here, you're stuck here while we wait for the little prince. You could stay here and-” He stopped talking and was staring at something on my chest. “Where did you get that pendant?” I looked down and found I had forgotten the gold disc again. “This? It was given to me as a going away present.” “Going away from where.” He was getting a little too close. “I'm from Cloudhoof Village.” “That's quite a ways away. Uh, I have to get going. I'm sorry, but there is somehting I must attend to. You'll just have to hang around ehre waiting for Blueblood and...” His voice trailed off as he started mumbling to himself. His train of thought was broken when the filly interrupted “I can take care of him!” In an enthusiastic tone. “It's not like I have anything else to do today.” Again, a little too enthusiastically. “Oh! Thank you Candent.” He said. I thought there was a slight glint in his eye, but I ignored it. “Try and stay out of trouble.” and with that, he left through a door on the opposite side of the room, leaving me with her. She turned to me abruptly. “I don't think I've ever seen you around here. When did you come to Canterlot?” “I- uh- yeah. I just arrived about an hour ago, in fact.” I told her, leaving out the circumstances of my arrival. “Excellent! I insist on showing you the castle. It's where you'll be staying umm......” she paused as a confused look crossed her face. “What's your name?” “I'm Star Hunter.” “Nice to meet you Star Hunter.” She said. “And you are?” I asked her. “Oh me oh my. I guess I haven't introduced myself. I am Regalia Candent The First.” she said, making an over dramatic bow. “But that's a mouthful, so most ponies call me Candent. Now we best be on our merry way. There's a lot of castle to see and so little time!” She quickly moved towards the door, and I was soon following. Regalia Candent The First. That last part seems a little unnecessary. --- Blueblood "I'm sure of it now. She's a witch. Sending me to face that monster. Have you no mercy Aunt Celestia?" The door closed behind me, leaving my new friend in the company of my Aunt and me to face a threat like no other. Mother. I was deep in thought when I heard the quick hoof steps and clanking of armor that told me a guard was headed in my direction. Just as I finished the thought, Captain Platinum came trotting around the corner and stopped just before crashing into me. “Ah, hello there Prince Blueblood.” He said with a bow. Right. I'm a Prince. “Hello Captain.” I said with little happiness in my voice. “You wouldn't happen to have seen-” I grasped at the word I wanted to say, but couldn't bring myself to it. “ah, seen my mother.” I winced. He chuckled. “I saw her returning to the garden.” “I was afraid of that.” Truth be told, I knew exactly where she was, but stalling was always nice. “Now I've got to get moving. The Princess's meeting with the ambassador. You know how forgetful she is.” He began to move away, but I stopped him. “There's no chance you can save me?” I asked him. “Oh, I'm sure you will be fine. Now I really must be going.” Before I could pursue the subject, he trotted away a bit hastily in the direction of the study. So much for stalling. Let's get this over with. --- Brunch my flank. After the verbal lashing from mother, the garden party that had been going since late in the morning was finally dwindling down in the late afternoon. As soon as I got the go ahead, I made haste out of the garden. Finally! Star Hunter was at the forefront of my mind the entire time. After meeting him this morning, I became curious about this Cloudhoof Village he told me about. I've seen every map of Equestria that the castle has, but not once have I spotted Cloudhoof Village on any maps. I was swimming through a maze of questions when a large mass hit me head on and I fell on the ground. “Ah, Prince Blueblood. Are you alright?” I heard Iron Heart's voice. “Yes. I'm fine. Just deep in thought.” I said, looking up at the doctor. “What were you so deep in thought about? You're usually so alert.” I debated whether I should tell him, but I couldn't imagine he had any input on the subject. Instead, I asked “You wouldn't happen to have a-” “I left him in the care of Candent. They're wandering the castle right now, probably going to see the princess next.” He leaned a bit closer. “From what I hear, he's going to be sticking around for a while.” He didn't wait for a response, and instead trotted past me. He mumbled something to himself. “Yes, it went perfectly. She'll tell him.” I was going to ask him what he said, but thought better of it. I had a pegasus to save. His other bit of information came to the forefront of my mind. I arrived at the throne room, where I was told he would be, but I only found my aunt addressing a group of guards. “You have your orders. Investigate, search for survivors, and nothing more. If-” She paused for a moment. “If you encounter it, you have my permission to use force. Captain Platinum, will you be accompanying them?” “Yes my lady.” He responded. “Then you are all dismissed. Go.” On that note, they all turned and left passing me. “What as that about?” I asked her. She seemed surprised by my presence. “Oh Blueblood! Just a trivial matter. Nothing important.” She was lying, but I chose not to pursue the subject. Instead I asked “Where is Star Hunter?” “I sent him to Iron Heart. He should still be there.” She paused. “I assume all went well with your mother and I won't have to assign a guard to you?” “Yes Aunt Celestia. Just a simple misunderstanding.” I said, giving her my best smile. “I'm sure. You should get going. I've got some.... matters to attend to.” I was about to move when I heard her voice. “And this is the main hall. Through there is the throne room. It's where- Oh! Hello Blueberry!” I looked up at my aunt. “Please excuse me for a moment. I have somepony to deal with.” Candent. --- Star Hunter “And this is the main hall. Through there is the throne room. It's where-” Candent paused, looking in. “Oh! Hello Blueberry!” “Who's Blueberry?” I asked her. As if to answer my question, Blue trotted out of the throne room and met us. “You're Blueberry?” He shot her a glare, then looked back at me. “Please don't ever, EVER call me that.” “Oh, but I thought you loved that nickname.” there wasn't a hint of hostility in her voice, but you could see his irritation. “You would think so you... you... ARGH!” He turned away from her and looked at me. “Of all the ponies in the castle, you had to find the most infuriating one.” I couldn't hold back a laugh. “Yeah, laugh it up feather brain. How's your wing?” “Painful.” I told him. “And I still can't fly with it. Your mother?” “Likewise.” A pained expression on his face. “Hey, I'm still here!” Candent had come to my side. “So, how do you know my favorite fruit?” “Well, he's the one that brought me to the castle.” “Hm, this could complicate things.” She said, amused. “I'll have to find a way to thank him for my new friend.” “Please don't. I really don't need anything from you.” He said in a surprisingly cold manner. “Oh, no. I must insist.” Candent told him. She looked past him and instantly straightened up. “Princess, good afternoon.” She was so silent that none of us noticed her. “Good afternoon to you as well.” She looked directly at me. “Star Hunter, may I speak to you?” Without waiting for an answer, she retreated into the throne room. I proceeded to follow and, behind me, Candent and Blue. Without looking back, she said “Blueblood, Candent, could you please wait outside?” The two retreated through the door, which shut behind them. I found myself standing before a none to happy looking Princess Celestia. Oh dear. What did I do to deserve this? I approached her and bowed in respect. “Hello Princess.” What I couldn't see on her face before was clearly sadness, which troubled me. Something was very wrong, and it must have something to do with me. Taking Stock of things again. I've just learned my two new friends hate each other and I was face to face with Princess Celestia looking none too happy. On top of all that, I can't fly! This day couldn't possibly get any- “Star Hunter. I'm so, so sorry.” Princess Celestia began. Wait what? She had me follow her to a balcony that looked over Canterlot. “There's no easy way to say this. We've received word from the north that a pegasus village was destroyed.” My mouth had suddenly dried out. I found myself hoping this wouldn't go in that direction. “No.” She continued, crestfallen. “Star Hunter, there's no easy way to say this. Cloudhoof village is,” she stopped “Cloudhoof village has been-” I didn't give her the chance to finish. "No. No no nononononononono.” Tears started streaming down my face. "What about Rainbow Dash? Mom? Dad? Airheart?" Names of ponies I knew started flowing through my mind and out my mouth. "So far, I'm not aware of any survivors.” I looked up to find a glassy eyed Celestia staring down at me. She pulled me close and I just continued had crying. I just left the village. Where do I return to? Is it even worth returning anywhere? Everything became a blur in my memory after that. At some point, I was brought to a room to stay for the night. The sun had long since set before exhaustion finally took over and I closed my eyes. Then she showed up.