//------------------------------//
// The Butcher of the Night 
// Story: The Hunters of Secrets 
// by Arkantos 
//------------------------------//

Ponyville Market was a place where anypony who had some kind of food product for sale could sell it for a couple of bits, the Equestrian currency. 

Fluttershy walked around the market and heard the ponies behind the stands yelling out, trying to sell their wares to the ponies that came closest to them. She saw several ponies with their saddlebags full of weekly groceries. 

There was one pony that Fluttershy liked more than the others, a unicorn with a white coat and a purple mane that was styled  fashionably. Her eyes were blue and her cutie mark was of three fine cut diamonds.

As Fluttershy looked at Rarity dreamily, it felt like time slowed down for her.

Rarity asked, "Darling, are you all right?"

Fluttershy realized that she had been staring for a long time and Rarity had noticed.

Fluttershy blushed and hid behind her mane, saying, "I'm okay, um, how are you? I mean, if you don't mind my asking."

"Well, since you asked, I'm doing fabulous. I just got my new materials for the summer fashion lineup. For the first dress, I’m thinking of doing some kind of Greek style."

"Oh. Well, I'm happy for you. And I hope you win the fashion lineup." 

As Fluttershy and Rarity continued to talk, they didn't see that nearby stood the black pegasus Thunderlane, nor did they see the maroon pegasus standing next to him.

Thunderlane said, "There she is. The daughter of Night Breeze."

The maroon pegasus said, "I thought she was a hero, not this timid pony." His disappointed face became even more disappointed.

"I know she’s not what you expected."

With a blank face, the maroon pegasus asked, "Does she know anything about her mother’s past?"

Thunderlane replied, "As far we know, no, she knows nothing about that."

"Good. The last thing we need is somepony like her around." He pointed his hoof at Fluttershy.

Soon after this exchange, Rarity and Fluttershy parted ways.





As Fiuttershy walked with her animal friends into her cottage, she quickly stopped when she saw her mother was inside too. Both ponies just stared at one another. While they stared, the small animals that were on Fluttershy’s back jumped off and ran to their small beds or hiding spots, looking back at both ponies and wondering what was going to happen next.

Night Breeze said in a calm voice, "Daughter, dearest, I got your message, and what you said in it troubles me."

"Well, it’s not like you to worry," Fluttershy said in a cold voice.

No change in Night Breeze’s voice. "It's my job to worry about your well-being."

Then Fluttershy opened her wings threateningly. "You didn't do a good job with my brother! Is he still hiding in your home with no job? And whose fault is that, I wonder?!"

Night Breeze gave her daughter a serious look. "You're brother was not doing what he needed to do to keep his job. However, I came here for you. The way you wrote of the event still worries me." 

Then Night Breeze started to walk to the door. "If you want to talk to me, you can find me at the cloud home. I made special arrangements to have it in the sky of Ponyville. If you want to tell me something, just look up."

Slam!





Meanwhile, inside a well-hidden cave somewhere in the Ever Free Forest,  a hoodie pony walked up to a sealed door emblazoned with an arrowhead, the hunter symbol. As the pony walked up to the door, two hunters aimed their crossbows. But the hoodie pony was quicker.

The hoodie pony ran straight at one of the hunters with her sword drawn out. The hunters fired their crossbows, but, surprisingly, the intruder deflected the arrows. The hunter that was getting charged started to panic. He pushed the button on his crossbow and it transformed into a sword quickly enough to block the swing of the hoodie pony’s blade. The hunter’s partner quickly reloaded her crossbow, but couldn't get a clear shot. Both ponies swung their swords at each other. 

Suddenly, a muscular creature in a cloak appeared and slashed its white claws at the huntress. She died instantly upon impact. But the creature didn't stop there. He continued to cut and slash at the dead mare.

When the hunter saw what happened to his partner, he said, "What are you doing with that thing?! If you were still with the Order of the Hunt, then you would kill him right now. The other hunters will track you down if you take this relic."

The hoodie pony replied with a low voice, "Interesting words for a pony who doesn't yet know he is at death’s door."

"What do you mean-"

The hunter looked down at his chest and saw several stab wounds. And he knew then that it was too late. As he dropped his sword, he said, "You're her, aren't you?"

"If you mean the Butcher of the Night, then yes, I am her." 

The hunter’s eyes widened as the Butcher gave one swing cutting the head off the hunter. The body collapsed like a sack of potatoes hitting the ground.

The Butcher looked at her friend who was still digging into the mare, creating a bloody mess.

The Butcher got tired of waiting and pressed a button to transform her sword into a crossbow. She used the butt of the crossbow to hit the ground, effectively getting the attention of her friend.

The hoodie creature licked the blood off its lips and said in a deep voice, "It took you long enough."

"Hey, I was being thorough with my kill. You just went and made a big mess."

"Well, what do you expect? I'm a werepony. And as a werepony, I get hungry. And when that happens, I go for the kill. And I don't use silverware. I dig in with my claws for that sweet, sweet magical essence. But anyway, I think we should get to the reason why we came here."

"Yes, I know." The Butcher dug into her saddlebag. "I know it's here somewhere, I just have to - ah ha!" She pulled two small pieces of the bag. One looked like an arrowhead. The other was a wicked-looking dagger. She gave the dagger to the werepony, and together they approached the cave door.

In the center of the door was a stone box with two engravings carved into it, perfectly sized to fit both of the pieces. 

As the arrowhead got placed, a dark green glow started to show. And when the werepony placed the dagger, a red glow started to show. Both glows started to spread all over the box before increasing to a blinding light. Both ponies covered their eyes for a long time. Then the light dimmed down.

The Butcher walked up and grabbed a very old spear. Then her partner noticed all kinds of runes on it, and he smiled very sincerely.

The Butcher grinned and said, "Soon the elements of harmony will be done for. And your pack of wereponies will be killing all kinds of ponies, just like the old days."