Time to go
Chapter 10
New horizon
They had arrived.
Luna's chamber was just as it had been, except that now, the ponies from earlier had left, and Luna was just walking from the door.
“Ah you're back, we are pleased that there were no complications.” Luna said, walking up to the group.
“Thanks Princess” Twilight said “The human world was very interesting, Hunter taught me a lot before we left.”
“That is good to hear, his name is Hunter is it?” Luna asked.
“Yes.” Twilight said looking at where Hunter was standing before they had left.
Where he stood, there was now only Hunter's things, and a pony. A Grey one, with a bright yellow mane, that had white streaks through it that seemed to shine in the moonlight. His cutie mark had three trees, instead of pine trees like he wanted, he had oak trees instead. Maybe because they seemed more friendly?
The most prominent features were his wings, and horn.
“Well that's certainly a rare occurrence.” Luna said.
“An alicorn? Does that make Hunter a prince or something?” Twilight asked.
“No.” Luna said, “Royalty is earned, or born into, he was just fortunate enough to become an alicorn when he arrived.”
"So why isn't he tall like you and Celestia?" Twilight asked, "Will he be an immortal like you and your sister?"
"He's just a normal pony like you," Luna said, "We have had alicorns appear in the past, but they lived normal life spans, and they were always normal sized. Some did have extraordinary features later on however."
At that moment Trixie appeared with Michael and his things in tow.
“Ah Trixie, thank you for retrieving the other human for us.” Luna said.
“It was no problem, I learned a few things while I was there. Very interesting.” Trixie said, as if she really couldn't care less. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Well here he is.” Trixie said, looking where Michael had stood.
Luna's eyes widened a little and Trixie seemed to gasp. Michael wasn't like all the other humans they had transported to Equestria. He was a dragon, about the same age as spike, and he had close to the same build. His skin was black and his scales red, as he breathed, the scales themselves seemed to glow slightly as he took in breath.
The two friends laid on the ground, unconscious.
“What should we do with them?” Twilight asked Luna.
“Nothing, they shall wake soon enough, in the meantime we should let them rest and you can tell us what you learned on your trip.” Luna said. Her magic glow appearing behind her as two pillows flew up and placed themselves underneath Michael's body, and right under Hunter's head.
“Well, I learned that humans eat meat, pancakes with peanut butter, hot chocolate is absolutely delicious, typing is easy, and that Hunter has quite the control of his emotions.” Twilight said as if giving a report.
“I learned that the human world is smelly, the people there are droll, Michael is quite the game player, and that video games are...” Trixie thought a moment, "Awesome."
“Very good, anything else we should know?” Luna said.
“That my human is better than Twilight's human.” Trixie said bluntly.
“He is not!” Twilight argued, “Hunter is a good person, and I'm sure that Michael is a good person too.”
“Enough.” Luna said, giggling “Is there anything serious you wish us to know?”
“Yes,” Twilight said, “What is it about human history that Hunter would seem so upset about talking about it to me?”
“That is a long tale, but we shall be here for a while longer, so we shall tell you.” Luna said, sitting.
Luna told Twilight and Trixie of the history of the human race, how war and violence had been the ruler for many generations. The names, the times, and the technologies seemed to change, but the scenarios were always the same. Someone was always power hungry, or had power over others. Eventually humans stopped all the wars, but this did not stop the killing. Within countries, people were killing their fellow countrymen, they were hurtful, and malicious. Once again, a select few found ways to gain power over others, and so the cycle of violence continued.
“I can see why someone would want to leave such a place,” Twilight said, turning back to look at Hunter. Once again he looked peaceful, as if when he slept the burdens he carried on his shoulders slept with him.
Then he stirred.
“I think Hunter's waking up.” Twilight said, trotting over to where he was laying.
Hunter moved his face into his pillow, breathed deeply a few times, then bent his back and propped himself up with his front hooves.
“Why does my pillow suddenly smell like dust... and moonlight?” Hunter asked, with a confused look on his face.
Luna blushed slightly as she remembered these pillows were from her guest room that she herself used from time to time.
“Hey Hunter,” Twilight said, “How are you feeling?”
“I feel alright I guess,” Hunter said, moving so that he was sitting down with his legs crossed. “No different than usual I su...” Hunter looked down at his hooves.
“Well that's new.” Hunter said, checking himself all over. “No fingers, but hooves, no feet but more hooves, no hair but a mane, and not to mention my tail. Hey look I have a cutie mark... I was hoping more for pine trees, but I guess you can't have everything.” He stopped to pick up his tail and looked at it for a moment. “It's brilliant, all of it is just brilliant.” Hunter got onto his front hooves, and then his back hooves, and then stood up.
Standing on his hind legs was surprisingly easy.
He took a step and then realizing how sure footed he was he took a small walk around in circles.
“Don't you think you should walk on all fours?” Twilight asked.
“I guess I can try.” Hunter said falling onto his front hooves.
He took a step forward with his back leg, and then his front legs, and then his back legs, and then his back went faster than his front and he flipped on his head.
“Ow.” Hunter said, as he got back onto his feet.
“I think Michael is waking up.” Trixie said a short distance away, standing next to the dragon.
Michael rolled over onto his back. Something he instantly regretted. “Ow!” Michael yelped getting onto his feet instantly, the floor had bent his spikes out of place and it hurt. He wiped his eyes, and looked around. “Hey Trixie,” Michael said “Why are you suddenly so much taller than me?”
“Well you see, when you got here, we found you were a dragon.” Trixie explained.
“A dragon!? Awesome! I always wanted to be a dragon. Now I can fly around, and breathe fire!” Michael exclaimed happily, beaming.
“Except you can't because you're only a young dragon.” Twilight said.
Michael's smile disappeared. “Like Spike?”
“Like Spike” Twilight answered flatly.
Michael sat down, his new tail suddenly a seat. “Ow!” Michael exclaimed again. “These scales are going to take some getting used to. This tail too.” He said, grabbing at his tail with his claws.
Hunter had stood back up, and tried walking towards Michael to welcome him, but he fell on his face.
“Keep trying Hunter, you'll get the hang of it.” Twilight said grinning.
“Yeah,” Hunter mumbled from the floor, “Right.”
“Hunter is that you?” Michael asked, getting onto his feet.
“Hey Michael,” Hunter said getting back onto his feet “I was wondering if we would arrive at the same time.” Hunter looked at Twilight. “Perhaps you should give me some kind of order I should move my feet in?”
“Of course,” Twilight said, walking over to him “Front right foot with back left foot, and front left foot with back right foot.”
Hunter repeated the steps in his head as he stepped in the order she described, and eventually he was walking slowly, and then at a normal pace.
“Wonderful,” Twilight said, “You catch on quickly.”
“What's up bro?” Michael said chuckling
“Not much,” Hunter smiled, “Just relearning how to walk is all. You're lucky you got to stay on 2 legs.”
“I guess so, but you actually get to be a pony, not to mention being an alicorn.” Michael scoffed.
“Wait, what?” Hunter asked confused. He looked at his back. There were wings. “Awesome,” He felt his forehead, and there was a horn. “Doubly awesome.” Hunter worked as he found the right muscles to control his wings. Eventually his wings were spread, and he flapped them slowly getting a feel for them. Then he jumped off his front legs, followed by his hind legs, and flapped hard.
Hunter was off. He flew straight up, almost touching the ceiling before moving his hoofs up above him. Hunter ran along the ceiling flapping his wings to stay airborne before jumping off and spiraling downward, flapping as he turned. He turned back towards Michael and grabbed him with his hoofs, finding it surprisingly easy to grasp him by placing his hoofs against his sides.
“Hey man, put me down!” Michael yelled, flailing his dragon arms.
“No way dude, this is too awesome, you have to fly too.” Hunter said.
Hunter threw Michael straight up into the air and flew ahead, before quickly turning around and flying underneath him and letting him land on his back.
Michael grabbed his mane. “Let's ride.”
Hunter reared up in the air, and took off for the balcony that was off to the side of the room.
“Wait!” Twilight yelled, “You might crash!”
Luna stopped Twilight before she could run after them. “Hunter is a quick learner, we are sure that he'll be fine. That doesn't mean we shouldn't watch however.”
The three walked over to the balcony and watched as Hunter dashed through the sky. He twisted this way and that. Eventually he flew into the moonlight and Twilight could see him clearly.
He was dancing?
Hunter was flapping his wings furiously, moving around the air gracefully twisting, jumping off an invisible floor, spinning and landing again on air to an unheard melody. Michael held on to his mane with all the strength he could, and felt the exhilaration as Hunter soared through the sky.
Hunter stopped dancing like leaves in a breeze, and took off into the sky with amazing speed.
“Impressive” Trixie said. “but only slightly.” Not wanting Twilight to think, that she had thought Hunter a better human than Michael.
They could see Hunter do a flip or two in the peak of his flight as he turned towards the ground. Then he flew straight at it.
“What are you doing!?” Michael screamed above the wind.
“I have to try something! Hang on!” Hunter yelled back as he continued on his course straight for the courtyard outside the castle.
As he sped towards the ground he flapped his new wings with as much strength as he could. The new burning sensation he felt on his back was usually attributed to his legs when he ran a mile or two. The feeling in his chest as he breathed hard was the same.
Twilight watched in slight horror as Hunter plummeted towards the ground at full speed, then she realized that he wasn't plummeting, he was still in control, and he was flying straight at the ground. Was he crazy!?
“If your human kills himself, he better not take my human with him.” Trixie said angrily.
Hunter was now only a mile above the ground. A cone of white air surrounded him as he gained speed. He pushed and pushed and pushed his wings, harder and harder. Michael had begun to dig his claws into his neck in an attempt to hold on. He focused on the pain, keeping it in his mind to distract him from the complaints of his wings.
Eventually the cone was pointed and he could feel it pushing him. He pushed back, and it broke.
A circular wave of green exploded into the night, flying out from the point where Hunter had broken the sound barrier. Twilight and Trixie sat down as they protected themselves from the force of the wave.
Hunter was being trailed by a gold line as he flew at incredible speed. Then he saw a pony walking in the middle of the night, right in front of him. He realized quickly that he was still flying at the ground, and alarmingly fast.
He flapped his wings and changed course at the last second, brushing the pony on the ground with the tips of his wings as they maneuvered.
The light brown pony with a cutie mark resembling a green fireball with a black swirl, was knocked to the ground at the sudden appearance of something above his head moving alarmingly fast, and his magical symbols scattered. The pony stood back up, making sure that his black and white striped scarf was still in place, before checking to make sure that nothing was wrong with his metal leg and hoof.
Wherever he was, this place sure was crazy. He picked up his magic symbols, and looked up at the green wave that rippled and made it's way across the night sky, the light of the moon shining through the center. Then he traced the gold line that hung in the air, and watched as it flew off away from Canterlot before turning sharply towards the castle and going straight into the balcony.
“What was that thing anyways!? How was it moving so fast!?” The pony wondered, and then continued on his way.
Hunter had just barely cleared the buildings of Canterlot as he pulled away from the ground, he dashed off flying through the air as the landscape below him moved at crazy speeds. He flipped his hind legs up and kicked at the air, boosting off of it like the edge of a swimming pool, as he flapped his wings for a full turn around, and began to slow down as he sped towards the balcony of the castle.
Michael had released his neck, and now used his legs to hold onto Hunter's stomach, as he threw his hands up and yelled “Wooooohoooooo!”
Hunter's gold line continued to follow him until he reached the balcony where Twilight was staring at him with amazement, and then threw her hooves up to protect herself from the oncoming pony.
Hunter commanded his wings to flap one more time, with great strength they did, and he stopped in his tracks. The gold line ended and Hunter drifted to the floor, landing on his hooves, he folded his wings, and breathed heavily. Merely standing in front of Luna, Twilight, and Trixie, who all had wide eyed, quizzical expressions on their face.
“That.” Michael started, as he jumped off of Hunter's back “Was. AWESOME!” Once again throwing his hands into the air. “Holy crap Hunter, I didn't think you would be able to fly like that, and so quickly, but dang!” Michael sat on the ground and breathed, there were no words for how amazing his first ride through the air had been.
The green wave and the gold line, dissipated in the moonlight.
They were replaced by lights being turned on in the houses below. The sonic boom was loud, and the ponies of Canterlot were investigating.
“Very impressive” Trixie said, this time showing no signs of hiding how in awe she was.
“Quite,” Luna said “You have learned quickly Hunter, quicker than anyone I have brought before you.”
Twilight just stared. He had broken the sound barrier, he had performed a sonic rain-boom. No, this was his own, this was different. A sonic green-boom? That seemed to fit. She was dumbfounded, and at a loss for words. Only Rainbow Dash had been able to pull that off, and she was a pegasus for all her life! This was insane! How could a 'human made pony' do something like that in the first hour that he'd had wings?
“How did you do that?” She finally asked.
Hunter merely stood for a minute, breathing heavily. “I dunno,” Hunter said, taking a deep breath “When I flapped my wings, it was as if they knew what needed to be done. It was as if I told them what I wanted to do, and they did it.”
Hunter started walking towards his things. “So I guess we better get go...” Hunter said. Then he biffed it again.
Michael laughed at how his friend had looked so cool one moment and then ridiculous the next.
“Real smooth dude.” Michael chuckled.
Hunter stood back up. “Ow. Anyways, like I was saying, I would like to get to a home of some kind while moving all this stuff will go unnoticed.” Hunter said, finally reaching his stuff.
“Why would that matter?” Trixie asked
“You ever even heard of a computer or a T.V. Before you left to the human world?” Michael asked Trixie, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh.” Trixie said, “Well I guess we should go then.”
Luna stood up “Right then, we shall wake our sister. Twilight, take Hunter, Michael, and their things to the train station.” At this a unicorn with a large cart the size of a moving van walked into the room. “He will help carry most of the load, meet me there quickly. Once I wake my sister, there will only be a half an hour of night before the sun rises again.”
Hunter slowly tried to start up his magic. He had no idea how to even begin to work that. He left it alone for now as he got a head ache. “Sorry Twilight, my magic skills aren't going to burst out of nowhere like my flying skills did.”
“It's no problem,” Twilight said, carefully stacking Hunter's things into the crate. The unicorn who had brought it began doing the same, and eventually all of Hunter's things had been placed in the crate.
Michael grabbed his belongings, and jumped onto Hunter's back. Hunter immediately bucked with his hind legs and sent Michael into the crate. “Yeehaw!” Michael yelled, as he landed on Hunter's bags of clothes.
“How'd you know to do that?” Trixie asked.
“He took a class on reacting quickly under pressure” Twilight said, smiling.
"I hate it when you manipulate me like that Michael." Hunter said, glaring up at the crate.
A raspberry and then some chuckling was all that came as a response.
The unicorn guard used his magic to push the crate to the outside of the castle, and they started making their way to the train station. Just as ponies started making their way outside.
Hunter walked by the cart, his face growing serious as he once again began to ponder.
Life here was going to be great.
Then he fell on his face again.