//------------------------------//
// Chapter 52: Pony Hunt 
// Story: The Reader 
// by GnollReader 
//------------------------------//

"So..." commented Flying Shield as she stood in the courtyard before the quarters with her sister. Loud trashing and screaming could be heard from the inside. "How many feathers do you have left?"

"None, I only put away one before the transformation." Purple Haze answered while looking at the quarters. There was loud clonk and a pony came crashing through one of the windows only disappear in a puff of smoke and reappear in another puff before the two mares. "Seems the spell is working."

"Sure it is, it's a basic training spell. No wounds, no blood..." the pony on the ground gave a pained groan, "Doesn't protect you from the impact though. You don't get hurt but you definitely feel it." She gave the pony a nudge with her hoof, "And what's you excuse for dropping out this early?"

"Didn't duck, captain." the pony groaned as it held its head.

There was an explosion as the head of a hammer burst through one of the walls, "Seems like somepony ducked." commented Flying Shield as she watched. The hammer was pulled inside again and two loud clonks could be heard. Two puffs later two ponies appeared and fell onto the first one. A pony could be seen trying to get out of the hole in the wall but it was pulled back before it was even halfway through. There was another clonk and another pony was added to the pile. The shouting and trashing inside continued.

"Does he know?" Flying Shield asked as she gave the growing pile of groaning ponies a distasteful look.

Purple Haze shook her head, "He doesn't know our traditions well enough. He thinks it's for good luck..."

"But you do like him?" a window was thrown open and several ponies quickly scrambled out of it and dashed down the nearest path into the castle. On the other side another group exited through a door and ran into the opposite direction. "Looks like things are finally getting interesting..." another clonk and a puff later the next pony was added to the pile.

"Damn, I was almost out..." the pony cursed as it held its head.

Flying Shield returned to her sister, "Well?"

"What?" Purple Haze pretended not to understand the question. She saw Flying Shield give her a knowing smirk, "Oh come on! Don't you put me through this too! It's already hard enough without knowing how he feels about these kinds of things!" They watched as the gnoll exited the building and looked around. He smelled the air for a moment before giving off a mighty roar and shooting off after the ponies which had left through the door.

"Just ask him then. My sister and a huge gnoll with big teeth and a hunger for guard helmets, sounds like the perfect match to me... and if things don't work out I'll even wait for a week before hitting on him myself." The two sisters shared a laugh at her joke, although Purple Haze wasn't sure if her sister was really joking or not.


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Princess Celestia breathed in the fresh morning air as she walked through the halls of the castle. She enjoyed these moments of peace before her official duties started. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the morning. Birds singing outside, the trees swaying softly in the wind, screaming ponies... Celestia's eyes snapped open just in time to see several recruits of the night guard come running down the hallway screaming bloody murder. There was a familiar black figure hard on their trail.

The ponies rushed past her in a mad frenzy. One though, either out of a feeling of misguided duty or simply by habit stopped a moment to salute the princess. "My princess. Such a nice morning to see you and may I add I..." Celestia blinked her eyes in surprise as the guard tried to speak out a greeting between quick breaths.

"TAG!" the gnoll thundered in full run as he pulled his hammer back and brought it forward in a huge arc. The rock moved through the air with enough speed to give it sound. There was a satisfying clonk as the head connected with the pony and catapulted it off the ground and through the air. A moment later there was a loud puff and the pony was gone. The gnoll shook his head with a laugh, "Scar never gets tired of that sound. Silly pony, stops to say hello when it should run instead."

He turned to Celestia, there was a blank expression on her face. "Celestia alright? Scar has a moment time before it must continue hunt. Is good game, Celestia should play too."

Celestia shook her head in disbelief at what she had just seen, "Scar, what just happened to that pony?"

The gnoll shrugged, "Was too slow so Scar goes tag." he held up his hammer for her to see.

"And why if I may ask?"

"Shield pony asks it to?" he looked in the direction the other ponies had run.

"Captain Flying Shield told you to hunt them with your maul?"

The gnoll nodded as he held up his hammer again, "Is Tag."

"Would you please take me to captain Flying Shield? I believe I'd like to have a word with her."

"Mmmm... Scar does not have much time, needs to keep ponies running..." he thought for a second before realizing the obvious solution. He reached out with his hammer and carefully nudged Celestia with it, "Tag."

"What?" Celestia asked in surprise before there was a loud puff and she was gone.

"Scar is glad to help." he said happily as he returned to his hunt. As he shot down the hallways he couldn't help but wonder what Celestia wanted to talk to Flying Shield about. Maybe she wanted to join the game too? That would be fun.