//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: Hunter/Prey // by UnluckyReaver //------------------------------// As the griffon concluded her story Luna hung her head. “I had no idea.” the alicorn lamented. “I had heard that there were diamond dogs in the area but I had no idea it was so bad. If we had known...” “It’s alright, Princess.” the griffon said. “We’re out now and that’s all that really matters.” “I still feel that if we had known sooner than this would never have happened. All those fillies and colts put through this...” “Look at it this way; their leadership is dead, the pack is scattered, their den is destroyed and not one pony was killed.” “But we did lose some...one. We lost Hunter.” “If it wasn’t for him I doubt that any of us would have gotten out unscathed.” “And we should remember him for that. Although there is still something I don’t understand; what caused the explosions?” The griffon paused thinking the question over. “I’m not sure.” she confessed. “I thought it was something you did, but if it wasn’t you then who was it?” The pegasus filly gestured and pointed at the worry doll that she was holding. Luna studied the filly’s actions as she performed them again. “Are you saying that Hunter caused the explosions?” Luna asked. The pegasus nodded adamantly, pointing at the doll again. “But how?” Luna enquired. The filly merely shrugged. “Princess Luna!” Shrouded Armour called out, preventing the alicorn from pressing the issue. “Everypony has been loaded into the chariots and we are ready to return to Canterlot.” “Very well, we shall depart at one.” Luna informed the group then turned to the griffon. “You may return to Canterlot with us. Once there I’m certain that Ambassador Kruger will arrange transport back to the Griffon Kingdom.” “Thank you, Princess.” The griffon said with a polite bow. The sound of shifting rocks accompanied by a faint groan drew Luna’s attention back towards the cave entrance. From inside a bipedal figure slowly limped its way out from the darkness and into the light. “Hunter!” Luna exclaimed seeing the human. “I thought that the fall...” “Don’t worry about it; it takes more than a little fall like that to kill me.” Hunter said smiling as he made his way over to the princess. “I’m just glad that I managed to climb back out before you all took off. I’m unbelievably happy to see you, Luna.” Hunter moved forwards and wrapped his arms around her in a gentle embrace. Luna found herself wanting to return the hug in the moment before she realized who it was that had their arms around her. Light flared from Luna’s horn as Hunter was covered in a translucent blue aura. The human was violently launched backwards. Several branches snapped under the impact as Hunter flew through the underbrush. “Protect the Princess!” Shrouded yelled, placing himself between Luna and Hunter. The remainder of the Lunar Guard quickly took up a defensive stance around Luna. Pushing several branches aside Hunter stepped out of the trees. “Luna, what are you doing?” the human asked. “It’s me.” “No, you are not.” Luna’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know who or what you are but you are not Hunter.” “Are you sure that he’s not the human?” the griffon asked. “It does look like him.” “I’m telling you the truth; I am Hunter. You have to believe me.” the human pleaded as he held his arms out to the side. Shrouded studied Hunter’s movements very carefully; he had seen Hunter take this stance before. Hmm... definitely a non-aggressive stance. Shrouded said to himself. Arms apart exposing torso, fingers open with palms facing... away? Shrouded looked over the human a second time; the palms on his hands were not facing forwards. “Just come with us peacefully and we can get this all worked out.” Shrouded attempted to reason with the human. Hunter slowly moved forwards. “See, no reason we can’t be reasonable here.” he said, brining his hands back down to his sides. Taking a few more cautious steps towards Luna he moved one of his hands behind his back. In a blur of motion Hunter raced forwards drawing a cruel looking knife as he sidestepped Shrouded Armour and closed on Luna. A dark beam struck Hunter as he thrust the blade forwards intent on impaling the princess. Hunter quickly recovered from the blow, but it had done its work; his attack was pushed far enough to the side to miss connecting with Luna. A blue aura wrapped around Hunter’s hands binding them together. “Seize him!” Luna yelled. Two more auras appeared further restricting the human’s movements, one around his legs and the other around his upper body and arms. Letting out a low growl Hunter struggled against the spells that were binding him. Twisting his body in an attempt to free himself Hunter fell to the ground. His low growl grew louder and more pronounced as he rolled around on the ground. The sound of something heavy striking flesh filled the air and the human went limp. “Quit struggling and take a nap.” Shrouded said, standing over the now unconscious human. “You three; tie him up and put him in the back of the...” Shrouded trailed off as Hunter’s face began to twist and warp, changing into something else. His hair shortened and his skin grew black and orange striped fur, his teeth grew and his face became distinctively feline. “What is it?” one of the guards asked. “A rather substantial problem.” Luna answered. “Bind it securely; we are taking it back to Canterlot with us.” “Take the prisoner to the dungeons and lock it into one of the cells.” Luna instructed as she stepped off the carriage after it touched down in front of the castle. “Captain, please inform my sister on what has occurred.” The Lunar Guard saluted and carried the captive away. Shrouded Armour meanwhile gave Luna a confused look. “Are you sure, Princess?” he asked. “Wouldn’t you rather do that yourself?” “No, it is quite alright Captain; I am certain that you shall do an adequate job of it.” Luna explained. “Also, please ensure that the ponies that we rescued are well taken care of and returned to their families.” “Of course, Princess.” Shrouded saluted. “Good. Now, the events of this week have left me rather exhausted. For now I shall retire to my private quarters.” Luna said before she disappeared in a flash of silver light. Shrouded followed the Lunar Guard into the castle. He paused in the doorway as he searched for Celestia. “Captain Shrouded Armour.” a regal voice called out, drawing the unicorn’s attention. “You have returned. Tell me, how did you fair? Did you manage to rescue Hunter?” Celestia asked. “Unfortunately Princess, we were unable to get to him in time.” Shrouded explained. “It is a rather long tale; if you have the time I can explain what happened.” Celestia nodded and led Shrouded Armour into the castle as he started his story. Shrouded told her everything he knew; from finding the caves to the story the griffon had told them to Hunter’s ultimate fate when he fell into the chasm. “That is quite the tale, Captain.” Celestia commented as Shrouded concluded his story. “How has my sister handled this?” “Not well.” Shrouded answered. “At the time, Princess Luna managed to put on a strong front and lead us to safety; but now that we have returned to Canterlot I suspect that the loss of the human is hitting her quite hard.” “I see.” Celestia raised a hoof to her chin as she thought over the situation. “You attend to the ponies that were rescued, Captain. I shall speak with my sister and attempt to raise her spirit.” Shrouded Armour saluted Celestia and returned to the others who were busy trying to sort out the rescued ponies. Celestia lingered for a moment before she started her long journey up towards her sister’s chambers. Thoughts of her sister’s well-being filled Celestia’s mind causing her to slow down. Fear over what Luna might do in her grief plagued Celestia’s mind as she approached the large door that led into Luna’s room. Celestia hesitated one final time in front of the large door before she raised a hoof and knocked. “Luna, it’s me; can I come in?” Celestia called out. “Luna are you in there?” she called out again when there wasn’t an answer. Celestia pushed the large door open. “Luna I’m coming in.” she announced as she stepped through the door. Taking a quick look around the spacious room, Celestia could find no trace of her sister. Where could she be? Celestia asked herself, trying to figure out where to look next. “Of course!” she said aloud when the answer dawned on her. Celestia quickly exited the room and made her way through the castle until she reached a large terrace with a pool of water in its center. However, the terrace was void of any ponies. “She’s not here either?” Celestia thought aloud. “Where would she have gone?” Celestia thought over all the possible places that Luna could have gone, but ended up dismissing them one by one. If she really is as upset as Shrouded Armour implied, the alicon thought, she could have gone to his chambers instead. Luna flipped through the stack of papers as she laid on Hunter’s bed. As the blue alicorn thought it over, Luna realized that she was unsure what it was that brought her here. It wasn’t for the small collection of stories that she now flipped through; never having seen them before nor had Hunter talked about them in any way. For a brief moment she thought it was guilt; it was her fault that Hunter had been taken from his world and placed in hers, therefore by extension it was her fault that he had been captured by the diamond dogs and subsequently died in their cave. Luna dismissed this idea quickly, remembering that not only had Hunter forgiven her they had become friends despite the brief time they had known each other. Realizing this, Luna couldn’t decide whether she felt sorrow because of his death or anger because his life was cut short, having been violently taken away from him. Luna knew that Hunter was mortal, and like her other mortal friend he was going to die eventually but she had hoped it wouldn’t be for several decades to come. This line of thought caused a new series of questions to form in Luna's mind. Most notably how exactly she felt about Hunter. She knew that she viewed him as a friend but the possibility that she thought of the human differently than her other friends slowly crept into her mind. Looking back to when she had learned that Hunter enjoyed the night sky Luna realized just how overjoyed she was. She had always enjoyed his company and when she was with Hunter she wanted to be near him in some way; several times she tried to, or wanted to, hug the human. But, that’s just how friends act, isn’t it? she asked herself. Yes, friends help and comfort each other when they are hurt or sad and Hunter was hurting when I wanted to hug him, so therefore he is a friend and nothing more. Nodding to herself, Luna was content with the conclusion she had come to. Taking a long slow breath, Luna tried to calm herself using the same method as he sister and niece. He was correct after all; with the spell I had cast, plus the difference in our station, lifespan and species would have made it impossible for us to be anything more than friends. Luna said to herself thinking back on the surprise lunch that Cadence and Stargazer had tricked her and Hunter into. Wait... Hunter only asked about the spell and I was the one that said everything else. I was the one that said that beings from different species couldn’t be in a relationship. The alicorn’s eyes widened at this revelation. “The confusion has been doubled!” she yelled, throwing her forehooves into the air. “Luna, are you alright?” Celestia asked, hearing Luna’s shout as she entered the room. “Whatever has you so worked up, sister?” “It’s Hunter.” Luna confessed. “I cannot seem to decide what I feel... or rather, what I felt for him; and now that he is gone I am afraid that I will never get an answer.” Celestia walked over to the bed and sat down next to her sister. “It may be hard but it is not impossible for you to figure this out. Tell me what you think of Hunter.” “Well... he is kind, intelligent and understanding. He has never blamed me for the accident that brought him to Equestria and never once looked down on me for my actions that got me banished. He treated me with respect; not the kind of a subject would give a ruler but something different. He could make me smile and make me laugh. I felt relaxed... comfortable around him.” “It sounds like he was your friend, Luna.” Celestia said as she wrapped a wing around her sister. “And I know that he thought of you that way. Unless you’re trying to say you had... stronger feelings for the human.” “He once asked me whether or not it would be appropriate for us to have a romantic relationship.” “And what did you say?” Luna looked down at the floor, trying to hide her face from her sister. “I did something I regret; not only did I imply that it was inappropriate, I told him that it was impossible. I said that two beings as different as we were could not ever be involved in such a manner. I told him that he could never be with someone of a different species.” “How did he respond?” “At the time he agreed, but now I think he was hurt and possibly disappointed. It now seems that he was only agreeing with me to hide what he felt.” “Are you sure about what he could have felt?” “No, I guess I can’t. However it was after this that he dreamt of Nightmare Moon; a version of me that ignored what I said was impossible. She seemed to defy all the problems that I experienced with Hunter.” “We can idealize others in our dreams. It is possible that Hunter merely dreamed up a version of an alicorn that didn’t give him pain.” “That is the worst part, sister. It wasn’t some dream phantom, it was the real thing. It was the real Nightmare Moon. Remember how she gave me the location where the diamond dogs took Hunter?” Celestia nodded. “She did it after Hunter woke up.” “After he woke? Are you suggesting that the Nightmare Moon in his dream was the real one?” “I think so, even if I don’t want to believe it. I know she is evil and you were right to stop her, but she did help me find Hunter. Her concern for him seemed to be genuine.” “This... this raises even more questions. How could Nightmare Moon still exist after Twilight and the other used the Elements of Harmony on her? Where is she now? Why was she concerned for Hunter? What is she planning?” “I don’t know sister. With the creature that took on Hunter’s appearance and attacked me, this whole situation has gotten drastically out of hoof. I was only trying to figure out how I felt about Hunter and now I have to contend with shapeshifters, assassins and my evil half.” “It does seem unfair Luna. Things never seem to work out easy for you, and I wish I could change that." Celestia gave Luna a reassuring hug, furthering her attempt to comfort her sister. "I do, however, have a question for you that relates to our original topic; when you saw Hunter in the dreamscape with his arm around Nightmare Moon you burst into my room. At the time you were very upset, was it because you saw Nightmare Moon again or because you saw her with Hunter?” “I... I don’t know.” “Lady Prestidigitation, the human has fallen.” Foresight said as he bowed. “Then our assassin succeeded?” The unicorn noble asked. “No, my lady, he did not. The human fell to the diamond dogs in battle.” “Regardless of how, the deed is done and Equestria is safe once more.” “There is a problem, my lady. Equestria may not be as safe as we would have hoped. Apparently after the human fell, a shapeshifter took his form and tried to assassinate Princess Luna. If our prophesies refer to that creature and not the human we may have made a terrible mistake.” “We must tread very carefully until this is sorted out. Have our agents put all other activities on hold and focus on information gathering. We must know what is about to happen regarding the human and this shapeshifter.” “As you command, my lady.” “What do you mean they failed?!” Royal Blood yelled. “When our agents finally managed to locate the cave, the human had already fallen.” Blue Blood explained. “There was nothing they could do.” “Did any of them think to investigate the cave after the Princess left? No, they didn’t. They all just gave up and slunk back here.” “What do you want them to do, father? The cave collapsed; there was nothing they could do.” “Don’t give me that! Send them back out! Have them search for another cave. Have them search all the caves. Have them dig up the mountain! Just find the human and bring him back here!” “What if he’s really...” “I don’t care if he’s dead! Just do what I say!” Although the rescue attempt freed over a dozen ponies and one griffon, the main objective was a failure. Hunter, the human, was lost. Reportedly (by the griffon survivor) he fell into a chasm after defeating both the diamond dog alpha and shaman in battle. His sacrifice allowed the other to escape from the dogs prior to the cave network collapsing. It is my recommendation that patrols in the area are order to search for any diamond dogs that may have escape the cave in. Olivia, the griffon survivor, will be return to the capital with the messenger who is delivering this message. She will be available should you have and questions regarding the incident. Kruger, Ambassador to Equestria “The assassin failed, the moon is still alive.” a hooded figure said in a voice no louder than a whisper. “He was captured and brought back to the castle for questioning. Furthermore, the rescue attempt for the human failed. He is dead.” “Then we adjust our plan.” Another hooded figure spoke in a deep voice. “If the human is dead then the moon will be distracted, as will the sun. We will use this to our advantage. They will hold a ceremony for the human, and it will be a trap.” “So, we do nothing until then?” “No. We need everypony involved distracted and exhausted. They have already captured one shapeshifter assassin; we will make them look for others. Start spreading rumors and false evidence about a second changling invasion.” “What if they don’t believe the rumors?” “Then we will just have to find a changling to give them.”