//------------------------------// // Two is Company, but so is Three. // Story: My Little Hunter // by shooting star hunter //------------------------------// Star Hunter The sun was setting and I needed to leave. I wasn't sure what I saw, but I knew what I had to do. I need to get back to the village. “How do I get back to the village?” I said out loud. The realization hit me hard. “I can't fly.” I looked at my wing, still bandaged from the incident several days before. My saddlebags were laid out on the bed. It would've been enough for the trip if I could fly. Since I would have to walk, it would take even longer. “What do I do?!” “Why don't ya get some help?” The voice came out of nowhere and made me jump. “H-hello? Is somepony there?” “Well you finally noticed us! Fireside, he knows we're here!” “Show yourself!” I said shakily. And why have you been following me? “We haven't been following you.” “What?! How did you know-” I though occurred to me. It was insane. I'm pretty sure I had gone over the edge. “You two-” “Eeyup.” I heard the second one sigh. “The pendant feather brain!” My gaze drifted down to the thing around my neck. I didn't recognize it though. It wasn't a disc, but a feather, just like in my dream. I flashed back to the two ponies. The silver maned unicorn and the gigantic earth pony. “That's impossible! You two are impossible!” “That hurts Star Hunter.” She chided. “But that's beside the point. My name is Silver Heart. The talkative one is Fireside.” “I have two ponies in my brain. I've definitely lost it.” “Oh no, you're gonna be stuck on that, aren't you?” She sounded irritated by this. “We are real and we aren't in your head-” she paused for a moment, “mostly.” I was sure of it now. My mind had created these two ponies for some reason. I'm talking to myself. I'm definitely crazy. “You're not crazy.” The deep voice said. Fireside. He instantly shut down my racing and panicked thoughts. “We're in the pendant, not your brain.” I took a moment to process what he had said. “That's absurd. There is absolutely no way you could trap two ponies inside a pendant!” “So you'd rather be crazy?” That took be by surprise. “Well I.... that's the only explanation! I mean really, how would you trap two adult ponies in a pendant?!” I was pacing now. “Long story kid. Maybe some other time.” She sighed. “I guess for now, you're crazy. Now, about you getting back to your village.....” This didn't seem real. None of it did. There were two ponies living in my head. Two ponies who could read my thoughts and talk to me. Silver Heart the unicorn and Fireside the earth pony. “No way. You need to tell me now! I don't want my crazy getting in the way of-” I was interrupted by knocking on the door. “Hey Star Hunter, are you awake?” Blue? Wonderful. --- Blueblood It had been more than a day since I last stood in front of this door. Star Hunter had been out cold since last night, but Iron Heart said he would be fine. I approached his door and found that I wasn't the only one wanting to visit. Sitting with her ear to the door was Candent. I approached her, although slightly apprehensive. I could her his muffled voice from inside the room, so I had to ask. “Is he talking to himself?” She looked up at me. “I dunno. Can't make out what he's saying and I only just got here.” “Well, no point in waiting then.” I knocked on the door a couple times. “Hey Star Hunter, are you awake?” A couple seconds passed before he peeked out the door. “Candent? Blue? What are you two doing here?” He sounded a little bit uneasy. I stared at him for a second. He was definitely hiding something. “Well, you haven't been-” Candent started talking over me. “I haven't seen you since yesterday and I was really worried since I came by earlier and you didn't answer your door, so I stopped by now and here you are and are you feeling a little better?” “Yes. We were worried about you. A pony doesn’t just get over something like this.” He let out a sigh. “Come in. I have to tell you something.” The only thing different form before was the bag on his bed. It looked like the saddle bag he had the day we met. Oh, of course it's the bag from the day we met. Then it hit me. “Are you leaving?” I asked him. He nodded. “I can't stay here. I need to go somewhere. I'm not sure where yet.” Candent turned and looked at him. “You shouldn't lie. We're friends, aren't we?” He let out a laugh. “It's really odd that I met you of all ponies Blueblood. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have hurt my wing, but I wouldn't know about my village. I would've returned to who knows what months later. It had to be you.” “So then star Hunter,” I said, looking him in the eyes, “where are you going?” “I need to return to the village. If, at least for one last goodbye. Before you say anything more, I've made up my mind and you can't really stop me.” A smile twitched across my face. “Ignoring the fact that I could easily stop you-” I noticed him take a slightly defensive stance. That took me by surprise. “I'm not going to try.” A look of surprise crossed his face. “Really?” “Yes, BUT, I can't in my right mind let you do it alone, especially in that condition.” I said, nodding at his wing. He face changed to slightly confused. “What? Are you going to send somepony with me?” “Hah! A guard? Absolutely not.” The smile continued to grow. This was a golden opportunity and I wasn't going to pass it up. “Star Hunter, I will accompany you on your trip to the mountains.” His mouth dropped open. “You?” He asked. “Want to come with me?” I nodded. “On a dangerous trip to my destroyed mountain village?” “Indeed.” “Where who knows what dangerous creatures could be?” “Oh absolutely! I could use a good adventure.” “Last question. You're going to come no matter what?” Bingo. “And there's nothing you can do to stop me.” I said to him. “So, what do we pack for this kind of thing.” I had forgotten that Candent was in the room. Currently, she was on the bed standing over Star Hunter's bag looking at the contents. “You don't seem to have much.” “Well Candent,” I started, “obviously we need food, medical supplies, and- wait. Did you say we?” She looked at Star Hunter and I. “Well yeah, I'm coming too. If you don't let me, I'm telling the princess and your mother Blueblood.” Checkmate in one move. “Well that was settled quickly.” I commented. “For the best. If you two are coming with me, we need to get moving." I finished. A plan was quickly concocted and we dispersed until sunset. --- A couple hours to prepare for this quest. I already had an idea of what we needed, but there was one thing the was more important than all else. There was one guard on duty. This should be simple. “Excuse me sir, could you open the maps vault for me?” I asked him. “You got it.” I followed him down the halls to the gate labeled maps. Just a simple insertion of his horn and the gate was open. “Thank you.” “Not a problem at all.” He began to walk away, then turned back to me. “You do have permission to be here, right?” Oh I really wish he didn't ask that. I stared at him with my best look of contempt. “Who do you think you are talking to? I am a member of the royal family. What is your name?” “Dusk Crown, sir.” I could see that he hated being talked down to by me. “Well Dusk Shift-” “Dusk Crown.” “Do not correct me! Now you should know that there is no place in the castle that is 'off limits' to me. Now if you want to keep your job, I think you should leave.” He continued on his way, a little less pop in his step. I felt terrible, but I couldn't risk anypony finding out about this. Pushing the thought to the back of my mind, I continued on to find what I was looking for. Alright, where is it. I rummaged through the piles of maps to find what I was looking for. “No.” Tossing a map out of the way. “No.” Another map gone. “N- wait.” I looked over the map that was in front of me. I traced my hoof across the path that led into the mountains North of Canterlot, stopping when I saw something odd. “Cloudhoof Temple. That's almost the same name, but isn't it a village?” I'll know when we get there. That was the last thing I needed. Stuffing the map in my saddlebags, I rushed out of the library. “Goodnight sir.” The guard said behind me. That's when it hit me. I should probably tell somepony where I'm going. I went to Star Hunter's quarters. He was already in the garden, so I figured here would be a good place. Dear Aunt Celestia........ --- Candent It was finally happening. I was finally going to get out of the castle. Of course, that was only part of it. Star Hunter and Blueblood make a terrible duo. The depressed pegasus and stuck up unicorn? They would never survive. It was a good thing I picked up a little medical knowledge from my father's work. We agreed to meet at the side wall of the garden, though for what reason, I wasn't sure. “Let's see: medical supplies? Check. Food? Check. Rope? Excellent.” There were various other little things that I had packed, but those 3 were the most important. “Now the hard part.” It turned out rather easy to make it out into the castle garden without being seen. At least I think. My approach to the wall was pretty quiet too, but I stopped when I heard Star Hunter's voice. It sounded like he was talking to somepony. I decided to stay out of sight. Blueblood and I knew there was something he wasn't telling us. Maybe this would give me some clue. “-trust them.” He paused for a moment. “Of course, because talking to you two isn't crazy.” Another pause. “Silver, would you please stop the taunting?” Is he talking to himself? “No, I can't believe you unless you tell me how. They're going to be here soon, and I would rather not be talking to myself when they get here.” Too late for that. “Star Hunter?” I heard Blueblood whisper from somewhere. That stopped his ramblings. “Over here.” He said. “Is Candent with you?” “ I'm here.” I whispered, emerging from the shadows. “Alright, that's everypony then.” Blueblood said. “Let's get moving before anypony notices we're missing.” Star Hunter and I nodded. Through the darkness, I could see he was irritated at something. I was going to bring it up when I realized he had to be talking to somepony. Did it have something to do with that? I'll have to wait until I know more. Blueblood raised his hoof to the wall and pressed in one of the bricks. The rock disappeared, revealing a passage way. “How did you do that?” I asked him. He just smirked. That alone made me want to hit him. Maybe later. --- Celestia was beginning to worry. She had raised the sun to the point of coasting across the sky, but she hadn't seen Blueblood all morning. His mother had come to ask her if she had seen him, but to no avail. The idea occurred to her that he was hanging around Star Hunter. The thought of him brought a feeling of sadness. “They should be returning today with information.” She said to herself. The thought of them and what they meant to her brought even more sadness. “Today isn't going to be a good day.” She approached the room where Star Hunter was staying. The door had been left open. She peeked into the room. It was as if he was never there, save for a single scroll on the bed. She approached the bed with some degree of caution for no discernible reason. The scroll was enveloped in a golden aura and levitated to her eye level. It was adorned with the royal seal, so it must have been meant for her. Opening the letter, she began reading. Dear Aunt Celestia, If you are reading this, you've probably realized that something has gone amiss. While my absence may be of concern to you, I'm writing this to tell you not to worry(because I'm sure you would mobilize the entire guard to find me, right?). Anyway, I, along with Candent, have made the decision to accompany Star Hunter back to his destroyed village for one last goodbye. I hope you understand and wish you well while I am on leave. Also, there is a guard named Dusk Crown. I would like you to give him my sincerest apologies for me. With Love Your Nephew, Prince Blueblood Princess Celestia just looked over the letter with a smile on her face. “Oh Blueblood. I wish you would've come to me in the first place. May the elements protect you-” Her eyes fell on the last sentence. “and me.” P.S. I need you to tell my mother for me. Good luck.