Gnarl moved through the kitchen and into the dining hall to find his Master sitting in silence, a glass of wine hovering in his aura. Gnarl walked up to him and it was apparent the Unicorn had something on his mind as the wine remained untouched and the meal in front of him had gone cold. Hunter said nothing as Gnarl came into his line of sight, continuing to stare at the far wall.
“Dark Master?”
There was no response that he could see as Hunter remained silent, a silence that had been stretched out over a day since his return from Equestria. Whatever had been discussed had been of some substance to render Hunter so quiet. Gnarl walked to his side and coughed quietly, but even then nothing happened. He gave a low growl at his Master and opened his mouth to speak louder when the stallion's red eye focused on him. His mouth snapped shut as the red gaze remained on him for several seconds as his Master gazed back at him.
“Yes, Gnarl?” Hunter said to him and Gnarl felt a chill go up his spine as his Master's gaze held a dangerous gleam to it.
“How are you this afternoon, My Lord?” He quickly replied, trying to keep his voice upbeat as he spoke.
“I’m fine.” His voice was dry and his tone chilly as he waited for the minion to go on.
Gnarl felt a bit of lightning lance up his back and he knew that he had annoyed the focused Unicorn. “What has you so distracted this morning?”
Hunter said nothing for several seconds before his magic brought his wine to his mouth. He didn’t drink from it as he watched Gnarl closely. He was ready to apologize and reason with the Dark Lord if the need came due to past experiences. Gnarl was quiet as his Master’s red eyes watched him, the seconds dragging into a minute before Gnarl looked away. Hunter finally blinked as Gnarl gave in to his gaze.
“My apologies, Dark Lord.” Gnarl released the breath he had been holding in.
“Forgiven,” Hunter said as he averted his gaze from Gnarl for a moment.
Hunter said nothing for several seconds as Gnarl continued to avert his gaze from him. He knew that Gnarl had not intended to engage in a contest with him and while he would have been within his rights to lash out, the slight had not been enough in his opinion. He sipped his wine as he leaned forward against the table and pushed his meal away from him as it had gone cold by now. He could heat it himself but he had no appetite at the moment. He had only ordered it to see if it could entice him to eat.
“What has you so occupied, Dark One?” Gnarl asked.
“Something that Twilight pointed out yesterday,” Hunter said.
“Which was?” Gnarl asked him, his tone careful.
“She had brought our actions to the other's attention and Celestia did not act as though our information was anything new to her. Luna acted in a way that proved that she did not seem to know much about the shadow organization in her kingdom. While Celestia just… was blank.”
Gnarl was now openly staring as the Unicorn spoke. Hunter looked at him as Gnarl looked away and blinked several times. “Is it possible that she knows already?”
“I think that is a strong possibility,” Hunter said to him as his wine hovered in his magic and he set it on the table.
“If that proves to be true then…” Gnarl let his next words hang in the air.
“Exactly. We have a large problem.” Hunter agreed. “Clearly there is a chance that she has been brought under their yoke already.”
“That would prove to be disastrous for Equestria,” Gnarl replied. “Luna on the other claw seems to be acting as she should.”
“According to Twilight, she is doing exactly what I would in her position. Asking more than my fair share of questions. Whereas her elder sister is just putting the information to the side.”
“How did Lady Twilight respond to this possibility?”
“As well as to be expected.” He said. “She was shaken by the chance of my thought being true.”
“She is quite devoted to her former mentor?”
Hunter leaned back in his chair. “She is on some level but I think over time that has faltered a bit in the face of things that have been done in her presence or asked of her. I think she is on the same page as I am but not to the point where I think she is going to act in some way.”
“What would you think to do, Master?”
“First thing I would do is get Luna on the same page as I am. Followed by finding out where the information is coming from in the kingdom itself. She and Luna have the power to take on her elder sister but I am not sure Luna would have the courage.”
“You don’t think so?”
“She might if she focuses on her ponies as I think she does. If she is more focused on her own family then it will have been a waste of time to get her in line. But for the sake of this conversation, we will go with the thought that everything plays out as we want.”
“Agreed.”
“So say we have her on the same page and Twilight is able to bring up a way to depose Celestia and seize the kingdom. She could either take the throne herself or place it on Luna if she wants it. If everything fell in place then that could be the outcome.”
“Do you think that things will work that way?”
“Oh absolutely not.” Hunter chuckled and sipped his wine.
“Master, I have a stray thought if you will indulge me,” Gnarl asked as he looked at the Overlord.
“I will allow it,” Hunter said as he set his wine on the table.
“What if you were to take Equestria’s throne?”
Hunter managed not to jerk in surprise but his eyes did widen at the thought as it came from Gnarl’s lips. The Overlord said nothing for several seconds as time ticked past him. He looked to the side to find the minion watching him closely.
“That is a stray thought.” Hunter agreed, his tone dark as he looked away from the minion.
“Equestria is weakened by the issues within its structure,” Gnarl added. “It is almost vulnerable, allowing it to flounder further rather than help it would work in your favor.”
“True.” Hunter’s voice was quiet as he considered what had been said. “They appear to have lost some of the stability they once boasted.”
“Indeed Master. And the young Princess would probably help you to overthrow them.” Gnarl said as Hunter looked at him. “Maybe.” Gnarl amended.
“I’m not sure how helpful she would be if I tried to overtake her kingdom.”
“Her care for you runs deep.” Gnarl pointed out. “Consider all that she has done that has been in your favor.”
“Also true,” Hunter said. “But I do not have the desire to overthrow Equestria.”
“No?”
“Not really. I can see the merits but I can also see the logistics of it. Removing the noble caste would be one battle to fight. They are much more ingrained considering what I saw of them. Very little is done without them being involved in some fashion.” Hunter said to her with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
“You believe they would go to battle with you over their titles?”
“They might,” Hunter acknowledged. “They might also stick to what they know how to do and try to flatter me into allowing them to remain.”
“Fools.” Gnarl snarled.
Hunter chuckled at the minion's tone and nodded. “Nopony said they would be successful. But I would also have to get the underworld under control and remove those that lay in the shadows.”
“You are more than capable.” Gnarl encouraged.
Hunter suddenly chuckled. “How invested are you in this ‘stray thought’ Gnarl?”
Gnarl said nothing for a few seconds as he carefully considered his master's words. “I have been thinking of what could become of your kingdom.”
“That’s all?”
“You could leave the nobles in Equestria and simply ensure they remain in their lane. Gates can be placed wherever you wish even within each city.”
“Easy Gnarl,” Hunter warned him. “Do not lecture me on my own capabilities.”
Gnarl bowed his head low to him.“My apologies Great Master. I am just thinking of what more you could have if you apply just a bit of your mind to it.”
Hunter sighed and put a hoof to his chin as he considered the merits of removing them entirely and placing himself on the throne. He knew that Gnarl was always thinking of ways to increase the power of the Empire but this seemed grander than his usual thinking. Hunter’s thoughts fell on Twilight and how she would never forgive him for harming her kingdom, and he sighed again as the image of her passed through his mind.
“We will table this discussion for another time. For the moment I will see how things play out in that kingdom and see if I can influence it just enough to benefit me.” Hunter assured him.
“Agreed Master,”
Luna paused as she finished raising the moon, her gaze falling to the small table on her balcony. A small white square of paper sat on it she sighed and idly flipped through the packet she had received from Princess Twilight days earlier. Her face went slack at the thought of what had been brought to her and her sister's attention. At the time she had been convinced to let it go when she had sought more information from Twilight while they had been sitting at the table. Celestia had convinced her that she did not need to worry about the information Twilight had found but she had begun to doubt Celestia in the following days. She had never thought that her sister would show such disregard for the potential of a black market within their kingdom—according to Twilight, it was quite involved in the politics and everyday activities of the kingdom itself.
“What could be the reason?” She crossed the short distance to the table, floating the packet into the air with her magic and holding it just above her snout. “Could they truly be nothing to worry about?”
Her thoughts spiraled as she considered what could be the truth and what had been said to placate her. She had never thought to ask about the shadows of the kingdom and had never wondered about it, but now that it was sitting in front of her she found herself concerned. Her elder sister’s words had given her pause to temper her reaction and she had been told to not worry. But now that she had a few days to consider what she had heard, and after reading through the packet many times, she was finding that this was not the time to be complacent.
“We must act.” She said to herself as the packet opened in front of her. “We must see what has been hiding in the shadows.”
Her hooves carried her into her bedroom and she penned a letter to Twilight asking her to meet her as soon as possible. She had been told and instructed on how to contact Twilight but so far she had not seen any reason to reach out to her. Luna said nothing to the air as she penned her request, she hoped the young mare was still awake at this late hour.
“Will she be willing to meet with me? I have never considered her opinion until this moment.” She lamented as she sent the letter. “Please be awake.”
Twilight sat quietly at the map table as she sipped a cup of coffee as she read through more reports of Nobles living either beyond their means or under what they should be making. The ideas from her meeting with Hunter still swirled in her mind as she considered what he had said. She sighed deeply and scrubbed her hooves over her face.
“I still can’t believe he would think that.” She said to herself. “But… He could be right. She acted strangely…”
Her head swam with the possibilities of what he had said and she tried not to let herself spiral into what-ifs. She picked up her coffee and simply held it in her hooves—trying to sleep right now when she was so conflicted would be impossible for her and she had decided to give up trying an hour before and now she was just letting herself think. As she put her cup to her lips she considered trying to talk to Celestia further. But a part of her said that it would be pointless and she would be silenced as Luna had with promises and words to please her. A deep groan pulled from her as she sipped her drink.
“Hey, Twilight!”
Twilight screamed as her name was called. She nearly dropped her coffee on her papers and her hooves nearly dropped the cup for a moment before she got a grip on it.
Spike trotted to the table and set a scroll in front of her as she. “I think it’s from Princess Luna.” He said to her as she panted from the fright he had given her.
“Luna?” She breathed out as she set her cup down. “What makes you think that?”
“When I got the letter it wasn’t the same magic. It’s weird to explain but it’s different and she’s the only other pony who can send letters to me.”
The letter floated off the table as she gripped it with her magic. “Oh. Okay. Thanks, Spike.”
“What does it say?” He asked her after a few minutes. “Was it that long of a letter?”
“No. It’s pretty short but she wants to come here to talk to me.” She replied. “She doesn’t say about what but if it’s important enough for her to reach out then she deserves to be heard.”
“You're right.”
With a deep breath and a flash of his fire, the letter vanished as it went back to Luna. The baby dragon waited for a few minutes, then with a flash, Luna appeared in front of the map table. Luna looked at Twilight and her mouth grew into a grin. She sat at the table with Twilight and she set the packet on its surface. Her eyes fell on Spike and Twilight realized why she was looking at him.
She smiled at Spike. “You’re okay to go back to bed Spike. Thank you for bringing the letter to me. I appreciate it.”
“Okay. You guys have a good night.” He commented and waved to them as he headed for his room.
Twilight said nothing as he vanished from sight and she was left alone with Luna. “What can I do for you, Luna?” She asked her, her voice calm.
“We have questions for you.” She said and Twilight nodded in reply enticing her to go on. “We find that many things that thou…you have brought up in this packet are things we seek to ask about.”
Twilight said nothing for a moment before she summoned her copy of the packet and nodded. “What can I do to help?”
“Thou mentioned that the Overlord had tracked the shadow group to the depths of Canterlot City.”
“Right.” Twilight agreed.
“How deep doth thou think they are engaged in Canterlot?”
“I think things happen only with their agreement.” Twilight informed her as she watched Luna closely. “Do I think they have control of every aspect of the city…? No. But I think they have their hooves in most of it.”
Luna looked troubled as she flipped to another page of the packet and looked up. “Page seventy-five.”
Twilight flipped open the packet and went to the page that had been specified. “Hunter's involvement?”
“How involved in this hunt is he?”
“He was the driving force behind it.” She informed her. “I would have had no idea where to look without him. He was the one that got the initial information from a prisoner he had captured and he went from there.”
Luna looked down at the packet and sat down in the closest chair. “Doth thou think there is something that needs to be considered after what has been said in this packet?”
“I think we need to realize that we have been complacent in our actions,” Twilight looked down at her hooves for a moment. “Though without a bit of help we would be in the dark completely.”
“The Overlord has his hooves in the business of the kingdom.” Luna began but paused as Twilight gave her a sour look.
“Hunter is not after the kingdom. He has enough on his plate and he was only after that group. He has gotten what he wanted so he is not invested in their capture or defeat. I have been asking for his help every now and then though.”
Luna said nothing for several seconds as she processed what had been said. “Thou trust him?”
“With my life,” Twilight replied. “He has proven that he is able to be trusted and deserves that trust. He could have ignored me and shown me the door when I was there but I proved that I was there to understand him and not harm him. Through that, he showed me that he was receptive to listening when the proper respect was paid.”
Luna cringed into her chair. “Right. We were not so good about respecting him and his home.”
“I think you need to apologize to him for that,” Twilight advised as she looked at Luna. “I can’t force you to do anything, but I do think you need to talk to him as well.”
“About?”
“What you’re worried about. I am not the best at deciphering the intricacies of court and the black markets. Whereas he is intimately aware of those details. Even with his limited interaction with the one here, he is aware of them and what they could do to us.” Twilight explained. “He might still be awake if you want to speak to him personally.”
Luna’s eyes widened at the point she had made. “You mean to call him here? Thou canst do that?”
Twilight smiled and put her hoof to her lips and gave a shrill whistle. A loud screech sounded behind her and Basher came racing out from a small house in the back of the room. He came to her side and stared up at her with his sickly yellow eyes, waiting for her to give him instructions.
“He left this minion with me so I could send him letters.” She explained as Luna stared at the waiting minion. “He normally goes back home at night but he always waits till I go to bed to leave. Since I’m up so late he’s still here.”
Luna's jaw dropped as the minion reached out and patted the mare’s shoulder. Twilight reached out and patted his head as she gave him the signal to wait for her to give him instructions. Twilight watched Lunaclosely as she seemed to be considering what to say next.
“He cares enough for thee to leave one of his soldiers with you?”
Twilight managed not to giggle about her elder’s tendency to mix old speech into modern speech. She simply nodded to avoid laughing. “He’s my close friend. It was his idea to leave Basher with me.”
“You believe I should offer an apology to him?”
“Yes. Once he is treated properly he is very open to discussion. You just need to be respectful.” Twilight said to her as she watched her closely.
“Do you think he will be willing to speak to me?”
“I think saying you’re here will interest him enough to bring him here,” Twilight admitted. “He will probably come to see what the subject is and what he is asked to explain. What are you hoping to gain from talking to him?”
“Perspective from the outside. Our sister’s actions trouble us.”
“You too?” Twilight asked her and Luna nodded. “I mentioned it to him and he had an idea that set me on my heels just to warn you.”
“What could he have said to upset thee so much?”
“Well… I really think hearing it from him will set it in stone for you but if you want me to say what he said I will.”
Luna paused as her hooves tapped absently on the tabletop for several moments before she nodded to Twilight. “What did he say?”
“He posed a question to me. He asked me if her actions seemed normal to me and I said no. So he told me to stay calm and he was going to say something that stuck out to him.” Luna nodded to encourage her to go on. “He asked me if I thought Celestia was working with the shadow group due to her actions.”
Luna’s eyes went wide as she surged to her hooves. “No! Our sister would never…!”
“I know I said the same thing!” Twilight shouted over her to be heard. “So I need you to think about how she reacted to the knowledge in that packet, how she did not care about it and asked no questions. You asked enough questions to convince him and me that you were genuinely concerned.”
Luna fell silent as Twilight spoke. She slowly sat back down and Twilight felt her own hackles go down as she had been ready for things to turn out disastrously wrong when she spoke. Luna sat in silence as she considered what had been said.
“He said this from his perspective as somepony who has been on the receiving end of betrayal and war. That is how he perceived it and how it rang true to him.” Twilight responded with a slight smile. “Do you want to hear from him?”
“Yes,” Luna said to her, her tone clipped.
“Okay.” Twilight quickly wrote out a letter and gave it to Basher to take to the Netherworld. “Give him a few minutes.”
Hunter said nothing as he sat at the dining table and slowly finished his glass of wine. A stack of papers sat off to the right side of his empty plate that sat just in front of him. Wrath sat in silence as he licked his claws free of the juices from a small steak he had just finished inhaling, and Dezhara finished her bowl of food before rubbing her head against his leg, looking for his attention. He rubbed his hoof over her head for several seconds before sighing and leaning his head back against the high-backed chair. He opened his mouth to speak when the sound of scrabbling claws caught his attention. He looked to the entrance of the dining hall to see a minion come careening around the corner and recognizing him as Twilight’s minion, waited for Basher to reach him. He brandished a letter to him and held it out with a gleeful look on its face.
“For the Master!” Basher shouted as Hunter took the letter from him.
“She’s up late.” He said under his breath. “What could she need at this hour?”
He unfurled the scroll and read through the short request, his eyes widening a bit at the request. Gnarl came around the corner as the Overlord set the scroll down. A short noise escaped him as the minion came up to take the documents from him for the night.
“Master?” Gnarl asked as he saw the scroll on the table.
“It’s a request from Twilight… And Luna.” He replied with a glance at the letter in his magic.
“Luna?!” Gnarl squawked and flailed a bit as he listened. “What could that rude Princess want of your Great Majesty?”
“I’m not sure. But I intend to find out.” He replied. “She has piqued my interest if nothing else.”
“Be cautious Master.”
“I don’t think Twilight would allow anypony to harm me but I will take Dezhara as well as Wrath.” Hunter bargained with his Advisor.
“Agreed Master. Maybe have some extra minions.” The Minion Master said to him.
Hunter did not agree or disagree with Gnarl as he got to his hooves and made for the Main Gate in the Throne Room. His armored hooves thudded dully on the metal flooring as he made for the throne room. He made for the center of the room and set a hoof on the dire wolf to keep her close as he commanded the gate. Wrath clung to his shoulder as the magic from the construct peaked and he closed his eyes for a moment to allow it to work around him.
He opened his eyes to see the side of the crystal castle where Twilight lived. He looked down to find Dezhara a bit unsteady on her paws, but she seemed to recover after a few seconds. He walked down the gate's short stairs and made for the front of the castle and its double doors. Wrath raced ahead of him and he opened the doors for him and he walked into the front room of the castle. Twilight looked up as he came into the room.
“Hunter!” She called out.
He stopped in place and she came up to him, hugging him tightly for several seconds before she motioned for him to follow her. She reached out and patted Dezhara for a moment before she led him to a chair and he took a seat between her and Luna, saying nothing as he refused to acknowledge her. He heard a sigh and Luna stared at him for a moment before she bowed her head.
“We owe thee an apology for our actions before. We did not treat thee with the respect and courtesy that thee deserved.”
He nearly choked at her words. “Oh?”
“Yes. We did not treat thee well and assumed that we could act in such a way and thou would bend to our request. We deserved to be shown the door after a short time.”
Hunter said nothing as he cast a quick glance at Twilight who was smiling broadly at Luna. He gave a low sigh and leaned back in his chair. “I will forgive it so long as it does not happen again.”
“We give thee our word that we will not act in such a disrespectful and disgraceful way again.”
“Understood. Then I will forgive your actions. I trust there is a reason beyond your apology that I was asked here?”
“Yes.” Twilight cut in. “Luna and I were talking about that stray thought you had.”
Hunter said nothing for a moment before he recalled what she was talking about and he nodded in understanding. “I see. And?”
“And dost thou truly think our sister to be in league with this shadow group?” Luna’s head tilted as she spoke.
“She did not act in a way that would tell me that she was unaware of them. While it could be that she is tending to them in her own way she did not seem to have alerted anypony besides herself to any of her machinations.”
“But thou believe it possible?”
“I think anything in this situation is possible,” Hunter added. “She could be seeking them out for information of her own. I do something similar in my own kingdom.”
“Thou use the black market?”
“I do. I keep a very close eye on it and see to it that things are kept within the normal parameters, because of that I tend to keep a tight grip on the market itself. There is very little that they do that I am not kept abreast of.”
Luna suddenly jerked and looked at him. “Could she be receiving information from them?”
“It’s possible. I do.” He admitted with a shrug.
“We had received some information about thee whose origin she could not explain to a satisfactory degree.”
“Oh, this I have to hear.” Hunter chuckled.
“We received information that said thee were possibly related to King Sombra.”
Hunter said nothing as Twilight's eyes went wide. He looked at her and she shook her head almost frantically. Luna looked from him to her and back to him as he leaned forward in his chair.
“And?”
“That was all. We are choosing to alert thee to this instead of keeping it to ourselves.”
“I appreciate that.” Hunter was quick to assure the mare. “Do you know where the information came from or was she unlikely to tell you?”
“She did not say. She only said that it was a trusted source.” She said with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Then it is very likely that it came from them. Though how they found out is beyond me.” He said to her, choosing to grace her honesty with some of his own.
Her eyes widened. “Thou are related…?”
“Yes. However, it is many generations back obviously. He is the third son of an Overlord from far back in my lineage.”
“Does anypony else know this?” Luna asked as she looked back at him.
“Outside of those that were there when I found out no. So Cadance, Shining Armor, and Twilight are the only ones who know. Though that now includes you as well. I trust I can ask you to keep it to yourself?”
“Yes. We have no desire to throw ice upon our much-improved relations. And thou have no desire to overtake Equestria or the Crystal Empire?”
“No.” He said to her, choosing to keep what Gnarl had said to himself. “I have enough work to do in my own kingdom.”
“We thought so,” Luna said with a bright smile. “How long dost thou think she might have spoken to them?”
“That’s hard to say. If she is receiving information then I would say she is on the surface of their radar. She is not privy to the innermost workings but she would be kept informed about surface relations. I would be more worried about your nobles, to be honest.”
“Why dost thou say that?”
“Nobles are easily led astray unless they are of particularly strong will. Money is able to bring even the most headstrong to heel.”
“Hunter abolished the nobles in his own kingdom due to several circumstances,” Twilight said to her with a small smile.
“I recall thine mention of it, though it was only in passing. Thee removed them for trespasses against thee?”
“Yes.” He said to her as he suppressed a shudder at the memories that came to him. “They participated in a murder attempt on myself and the slavery of my ponies.”
“They tried to harm thee?” Luna seemed stunned as she leaned forward in her chair.
He chuckled. “They tried. I abolished the noble caste entirely in all of my cities on that day.”
“Would thou be of the opinion that we are not wise to keep them?"
“I think you’re out of your minds for having them considering the rot in your kingdom. I would bet my kingdom's treasury that most of, if not all of, the nobles, are in league with them.”
“There are quite a few that are living beyond themselves,” Twilight said as her magic gripped several of the documents in front of her. “I have been researching them with some help from Rarity.”
“I can see that. Well done.” Hunter said to her.
Twilight flushed slightly as she set the papers back down. Luna said nothing at the sight of the papers. “How many dost thou think are in their pockets?”
“If I had to hazard a guess?” Twilight looked at Luna. “About seventy-five to eighty-five percent of them. I could be wrong on the math though. There are a few that seem to be either very good at hiding it or are holding out.”
Hunter shook his head at the numbers and rubbed his hoof over Dezhara’s fur. “Interesting.”
“That many?” Luna said as her jaw remained open. “We had not thought that so many would be hurting our kingdom.”
“The thing is they do not do damage on the surface level,” Hunter said. “They work in the shadows and manipulate the public to work in their favor. The nobles play a large part in this since the more land and power they have the more they can charge for their loyalty.”
“They would sell themselves?” Luna said.
“For the right price? Absolutely.” He replied. “Most everypony has their price. You just have to find out what it is. For some ponies it's money, for others it's power. It just depends on the pony or the noble in this case.”
Luna looked crestfallen as she considered what had been said. “If we ask thee to help us willst thou?”
“Depends on the request,” Hunter said quickly. “Will I help you overthrow your sister? Maybe.”
Luna looked at him and Twilight looked stunned. “Princess Luna?”
“If our sister has sold herself to these cretins then she cannot be allowed to harm our ponies,” Luna said. “Our ponies must come first. Thou took the same oath as thee are a Princess as well.”
“I know but there has to be a way to keep everypony away from each other’s throats,” Twilight said to him. “Celestia may be getting information from them but that is not a reason to depose her.”
“I agree,” Hunter leaned back in his chair for several seconds before he went on. “But you have to be ready for her to act and be ready to head her off. Complacency got you here in the first place. You can’t afford to be complacent now, it could lead to death and the ruin of your kingdom. The rot is years set in if not longer and you now have to fight it the hard way.”
“Can we look to you for advice?” Luna said to him.
Hunter fell silent as his mind spun to determine how this would benefit his position. He knew that having a kingdom owe him was significant. He remained silent as the two mares waited for him to speak up.
“I can offer advice, but nothing more at this moment. If the situation changes then we will re-evaluate at that time.” He leaned forward and leaned against the table for a moment.
Luna and Twilight both nodded. Luna sat back in her chair as she looked at the Overlord. “How do we approach our sister now?”
“Carefully,” Hunter replied. “You cannot allow her to know that you are on to her. If she grows suspicious then you are in trouble of your own. Alicorns are not completely immortal from what I know. You can be killed by a sword or well-placed arrow. Keep that in mind as well. It’s imperative that you not give her any indication that you suspect things.”
“How do we act around her?” Twilight said.
“You don’t. Act as if nothing has changed and she will be none the wiser. In this case, Twilight, keep your suspicions to yourself this time.” He said to her as she cringed and nodded. “And Luna? Do not ask her anything. Pretend that you agree with what she said to you about the packet you received. Give her no indication that you suspect her of anything.”
Luna nodded and got to her hooves. “We thank thee for your help, Overlord. We were lost as to what to think. We will take thine advice and ensure that we have facts before we act. If we need to, however, can we depend on the Netherworld Empire?”
“Maybe.” He said quickly. “Depends on the situation and the timing. If I can avoid getting into the middle of a fight between Princesses I will. But if it looks like it will spill over onto my land then I will see what can be done.”
Luna nodded and made for the doors as her horn charged and she was gone a moment later.
Hunter leaned back in his chair and a deep sigh escaped him. “You can’t make it easy can you?” He said to the waiting Princess of Friendship.
She giggled and shook her head. “I’m sorry.”