//------------------------------// // Chapter 20 // Story: Hunter/Prey // by UnluckyReaver //------------------------------// Hunter made his way across the cavern floor until he stood over the unconscious Blueblood. “Hey Blue, wake up.” the human said as he gently nudged the pony with his foot. Getting only a mumbled response out of the unicorn, Hunter gave Blueblood a second nudge.  “Come on, get up.” he demanded, only to have Blueblood mutter incoherently and roll over. Hunter let out a faint groan and rolled his eyes before giving the unicorn a hard shove paired with a loud shout; “Wake up!” “The artichokes are attacking!” Blueblood blurted out as he bolted upright. “That’s...nice.” Hunter said, unsure if he really wanted to know what the prince was dreaming about. “Back to the real world, you know the way out of these caves, right?” “The way out?” “Yes, the way out. You know the opposite of the way in.” “I know what the way out is!” Blueblood snapped. “Sorry, I’m just... it’s just been a long day.” “No worries. I get it, feels like I’ve been walking for days.” “That’s probably because you have been walking for days.” “What.” “It’s been nearly a week since Princess Luna saw you fall down the chasm.” “No... that can’t be right.” “It is. It took the guards four days to fly from the diamond dog caves back to Canterlot. At which point you were declared missing and presumed dead. That night is when I had the idea of using your blood sample to open the vault. Then a day to get ready and one to travel, and here we are.” “Still, a week; I should be dead.” Hunter muttered under his breath. “Did you say something?” Blueblood asked. “It’s nothing; just get us out of here.” “Worry not, even in my weakened state I can get us back to the castle.” Blueblood said with false bravado. “Even with only half of a horn any member of the Bloodline family could teleport themselves back home.” “Teleport?” “Yes, teleport; how else do you think we managed to travel nearly the full breadth of Equestria in a single day.” “You sure you can do this?” Hunter asked. “I mean, I did just shoot your horn and before that you were being mutated by some evil curse.” “If there is one thing that Prince Blueblood is good at, it is running home to his aunties.” “I’m not sure that’s something to be-” Hunter managed to get out before a blinding light filled his eyes. “-bragging about.” He finished as the light slowly faded way. Looking around, Hunter instantly saw that he was no longer in the caves, but he was not in Canterlot Castle either. “Blueblood, where are we?” “I.. I don’t know.” the unicorn replied. “We should have reappeared in the main hall of Canterlot Castle, but this... is not.” Although Hunter and Blueblood found themselves standing in a castle’s grand hall, it was not the one that Blueblood had interned to take them to. All around them was ruins, an ancient castle that had succumbed to the passage of time. Large piece of the walls and roof were damaged, collapsed or otherwise missing. The cool forest breeze blew through the opening, causing Hunter pause momentarily as he took in the feel of the wind on his skin and the smell of the air. Noticing that his new traveling companion had zoned out, Blueblood reached out and gently prodded the human with his clawed hoof. “Are you alright?” Blueblood asked, his voice filled with concern. “Yeah, I just never thought I’d miss the wind.” Hunter replied. “So, you can still cast magic with most of your horn gone, kind of... where are we?” “When a teleportation spell goes wrong, often the pony ends up in a similar place to where they intended to go; but I have no idea what this place is.” Blueblood shrugged. “It seems similar to the old castle of the two sisters, but there are several things that don’t add up.” Scanning the room, Hunter and Blueblood hoped to find some clue to where they were. The large doors that led into the hall were barely attached to the frame. The hall itself was filled with old statues and tapestries, mostly in ruins. At the far end of the hall sat a trio of thrones, each backed by a relatively intact banner. The center tapestry was woven from gold thread and depicted a large sun, although the other were both made of a dark blue material the one on the left had an image of a gibbous moon and the right was of a crescent moon. “We’re in the original palace of the royal sisters.” Hunter said quietly. “Are you certain?” Blueblood asked. “There are three thrones after all.” “Have you ever wondered why the moon has phases?” Hunter asked cryptically. “Come on; let’s see what we can find.” Hunter smiled as he headed deeper into the old castle. “Phases? Wait what are you hoping to find?” “Something to kill a demon.” Blueblood chased after the human, not wanting to be left behind. The long hallway that greeted them was lined with torch sconces that resembled pony legs. Hunter paid them no mind, but Blueblood felt compelled to give on a closer look. Reaching out, Blueblood gave one a gentle push; finding that it moved the unicorn gave it a hard push. A click followed by the sound of grinding stone echoed down the hallway. Taking a quick look around, Blueblood attempted to find the source of the noise only to fail. He then looked up at Hunter, hoping that the human would have some explanation; Hunter merely shrugged then continued down the hall. Taking his hoof off the sconce the sound on stone grinding against stone once again filled Blueblood’s ears. A sudden shout from Hunter drew Blueblood’s attention, as the stallion watched as the man got caught by a large section of the wall that was now rotating. Frozen in place, Blueblood watched in panic as the human disappeared. Recovering a several long seconds later, the unicorn pressed the sconce repeatedly, which only turned the rotating wall into an impromptu carrousel. Realizing what he had done, Blueblood released the sconce and watched as Hunter clung to the spinning wall. As the wall slowed to a stop, Hunter staggered away from the wall and over to Blueblood. “Ok, new rule:” the human said, while trying to regain his sense of balance. “Don’t touch anything.” Blueblood nodded and followed the human as he started down the hall once more. As he moved into step with the human, a shiver went down Blueblood’s spine. The pony stopped and did a quick scan of the area without finding anything amiss, he continued down the hall. A moment later, the shadows began to flicker and dance across the walls; Blueblood’s eyes darted back and forth as all his muscles tensed. “Relax Blue.” Hunter said, sensing the pony’s anxiety. “Your little carrousel trick earlier must have frightened some of the locals.” The human pointed up at an opening in the roof, where a large flock of birds were flying over. The pony prince let out a nervous laugh as they continued down the hall, still taking the occasional glance around. More concerned about watching his surroundings then what Hunter was doing, Blueblood almost collided with the human when he suddenly stopped. Looking past Hunter’s legs, Blueblood could see an old stairwell; the stairs running up had long since collapsed but the stairs leading down still existed. Hunter leaned over the rail, gazing down into the darkness below. He remained motionless for a long moment before he reached into a pocket and removed a small glowing gem. Hunter looked around, finding no other way to go he let the gem slip from his fingers and fall into the depth below. Both the human and pony watched as the small glowing gem tumbled to the bottom of the stairwell. “Not that deep.” Hunter muttered as the gem came to a stop on the floor below them. There was a faint click as Hunter turned on the flashlight that was affixed to his firearm and started down the stairwell. The decent downwards went smoothly until Hunter’s foot touched the fifth stair. A faint click followed by sound of grinding gears filled the air, as the stairs pitched downwards effectively turning the stairwell into a massive slide; sending both human and pony tumbling towards the bottom. Hunter let out a faint groan as he came to a stop at the bottom of the impromptu slide, which was followed by a significantly louder one as Blueblood landed on top of him. “Well, that could have been worse.” the pony said he slowly rose to his hooves. “Hunter?” he called out, looking around for the human. “Hunter, where did you go?” “Blueblood.” Hunter’s voice called out from beneath the pony, causing the prince to look down and realise that he was standing on the human. “What are you doing down there?” Blueblood asked. “Enjoying the view.” Hunter replied sarcastically. “Really? I would have thought-” “Get off of me!” “Sorry!” Blueblood blurted out as he quickly scrambled off the human. Hunter sighed and pushed himself to his feet. “Yeah, this world hates me.” he muttered, brushing himself off. Taking a look around, Hunter tried to decide on which of the three corridors he should head down next. “You have no idea which way to go, do you?” Blueblood commented. “No, not really.” Hunter admitted. “Then why are we wandering around this ruin?” “I don’t know why you’re here, but like I said before; I’m looking for something that I can use against a demon.” “How do you even know that something like that his here?” Blueblood asked. “I don’t.” Hunter answered. “Call it a guess, or a hunch or gut instinct or blind shot in the dark, but I think that there is something here worthwhile.”  “Why would you think that?” “Look around Blue, this place may be starting to crumble but the thrones, the statues, the tapestries, they are all still here.” “So?” “So it means that whoever lived here before didn’t move away, they abandoned this place.” “You’re right,” Blueblood said brining a hoof to his chin as he thought about it, “but then, who did live here?” “Do you remember what I asked you before; about why the moon has phases?” “Yes, but what does that have to do...” Blueblood trailed off, his eyes going wide in revelation. “The tapestries, there were two that depicted the moon; one crescent, one gibbous.” “What if once upon a time there were three princesses, one for the sun and two for the moon. Then, since there were two moon princesses, they shared moon duties; rotating the moon as they raised and lowered over weeks, giving this world its lunar phases.  What if one day there was suddenly only two princesses, one of the sun and one of the moon, maybe they would keep the phases as a tribute to their lost sister?” “So what happened to the third princess? Are you suggesting that she just disappeared?” “Maybe; or maybe she was a casualty in the war against Discord. There are several large gaps in pony history, and this might just be one of them.” “I suppose that does make sense.” Blueblood nodded. “If it’s true, I can’t imagine what Princess Celestia or Luna must think. For them to have lost a sister and nopony even knows about it.” “Maybe they don’t think about it. If it did happen, it happened well over a millennia ago. Remember, we’re just speculating here.” “Another hunch?” Blueblood asked with a small smirk on his face. “Pretty much.” “I thought so; and I think we should go that way.” Blueblood added while pointing down the hall to the left. “Oh?” “Call it a hunch.” “Fair enough.” Hunter laughed as he reached down to retrieve the small glowing gem. “Wait.” Blueblood blurted out as he took hold of Hunter’s hand before the human could return the gem to his pocket. “Something wrong, Blue?” “Are you really putting that away?” “Yeah, I do have a flashlight at the end of the carbine, and I don’t have enough hands to use both.” “Maybe... Maybe I should carry it then?” Blueblood asked nervously. “You know, just in case something happens; it is dark down here. What if your flashlight stops working, then what will you do?” “Alright, Blue, you can carry it.” Hunter said as he placed the gem into Blueblood hoof.  “Just be careful with it, I’ll want it back once we’re done here.” Blueblood nodded and started down the hallway, only to immediately regret the decision to go first. As the pony passed through the archway from the stairwell to the hallway a large stone slab dropped down, sealing the hallway and cutting Blueblood off from Hunter and the stairway. “Hunter!” Blueblood shouted as he pounded his hoof on the stone wall. “Hunter! Are you there? Can you hear me?” “Blue! Listen!” Hunter called back, his voice barely penetrating the wall. “That hall has got to lead to somewhere. Keep going down it. I’ll try to find another way in.” “You want me to what?” Blueblood yelled, but only received silence in response. “Hunter? Hunter!” He yelled again, but was only met with more silence. The unicorn turned away from the wall and focused his attention on the now menacing hallway.  “Hunter will be at the other end.” Blueblood said to himself over and over as he held the glowing gem in one hoof and headed down the dark corridor. Still holding the gem in his hoof, Blueblood’s uneasy three legged stride and general uneasiness were causing the hoof he was holding the gem with to slightly tremor. The light swayed, causing the shadows to bend and shift, his atypical hoofsteps echoed down the hallway, the returning sounds were reminiscent of some horrible lurching beast. “Hunter will be at the other end.” Blueblood told himself once more as scenes from the ancient vault stated to race through his mind. He focused on moving forwards when a distant came echoing down the hall, causing Blueblood to instantly freeze in place. “It’s nothing.” Blueblood said aloud, trying to reassure himself. “It’s probably just Hunter figuring out how to get into this hallway. He said that we would meet up, and that is what is going to happen.” Trying his best to ignore the noises and moving shadows, Blueblood walked further and further down the corridor. As time slowly passed Blueblood began to question the length of the hallway. Turning to look back over his shoulder, the unicorn realized that he had only taken twenty steps into the hallway. “I can do this.” Blueblood said as he started down the hall yet again. “I am a prince of the Equestrian Court. I am a member of the Bloodline family; a pony who traces his lineage back to Celestia herself. It’s just like before, only tricks of the light. Hunter will be at the end, and everything will be fine. I can do this.” Keeping focused on moving forwards, Blueblood could feel his confidence grow with each step; they were no longer just words of encouragement, they were the truth, they were absolute facts. Blueblood knew to the very core of his being that he was going to be fine, he was going to make it out of this hallway and that the ghost that was staring at him from the end of the hallway was going to eat him alive. Blueblood looked around himself in terror, desperate to figure a way out. With the door behind him still walled off, and no windows or other opening in the walls the only way to go was forwards. The specter stared at the unicorn, unmoving, unblinking, it did nothing but stare down the hallway. Trying his best not to look directly at the apparition, Blueblood soon came to the conclusion that he had only two options; one was to try to hide, maybe curl up into a small ball, and wait for somepony to rescue him, the other was to move forwards and face the ghost head on. Summoning all the courage he had, Blueblood closed his eyes, screamed and charged the ghost. A moment later, the sound of hooves striking the stone floor was replaced by a loud thud as the unicorn collided with the wall. Blueblood slowly opened his eyes, fearful that the ghost was now standing over him with its maw open, ready to swallow him whole, only to find that the hallway was now empty. Blueblood looked down the hall that he had just come from, and the up at the wall he had just run into. From his position on the floor the prince could see the sharp turn that the hallway made, one that he would have seen coming had he not closed his eyes. “I must have just imagined it.” Blueblood reassured himself with a nervous laugh. “Yes, that’s it; I’ve just been through a rather traumatic experience in one dark place and now I’m in another. My mind is just playing tricks on me. Yes, just tricks of the mind, nothing more.” Quickly getting to his hooves, Blueblood followed the hallway as it turned only to see another specter form. The ghost stared at the prince as it pointed an accusing hoof at him; the words ‘your fault’ appeared in a red liquid that seeped through the wall.  Blueblood stared at the apparition before him for several moments trying to figure out what this ghost was accusing him of when he realized that he recognized the ghost pony’s face; it was one of the workers that his father had hired to excavate the ancient vault. “N-No!” Blueblood stammered out. “That wasn’t my fault! I didn’t know!” A second ghost joined the first and began to mouth the words ‘your fault’ over and over. Like the first, Blueblood instantly remembered seeing this pony at the vault as well. A moment later, a third then a fourth then dozens of ghost filled the hallway, each of their voices adding to the others until a deafening chant of ‘your fault’ echoed through the ruin. “You were always a terrible son.” A voice that Blueblood instantly recognized rose above the hate filled chant. Looking up, the unicorn could see a new ghost, one that looked like his father, hovering in the air above him. “If you were a good son you would have saved me.” the ghost of Royal Blood continued. “A good son would have pushed his father out of the way and allow himself to be stuck instead. You should be ashamed. Your cowardice had brought disgrace to the entire Bloodline heritage.” “I didn’t want this to happen! I never intended for this to happen! I just wanted you to be proud of me, proud of your son!” “Proud? How can I be proud of you? Everything you do ends in disaster. Even now you do nothing; letting some stranger to both our family and our world take the vengeance that you should be seeking!” “Revenge? Why should I go about seeking revenge for? You just got through saying that this was my fault.” “It may have been your fault, but it was the demon that struck the blow. You must fix your mistake and strike down the demon for what you allowed it to do.” “What I allowed the demon to do?! This whole thing was your plan! I was merely going along with it!” “And now you must take on the responsibility for it. You must seek vengeance against those that have hurt your family.” “How? I can’t do anything against something like that!” “And yet some magicless alien thinks it can.” “I’ve seen him fight. I’ve seen his weapons. I’m nothing like him; I’m just a unicorn with half of a horn. What can I do?” “Embrace it.” The ghost of Royal Blood said cryptically, which was then followed by the remaining ghost chanting “Embrace it.” “Embrace what?” Blueblood asked, his eyes darting around nervously. “The power inside you; can’t you feel it?” the ghost asked pointing a hoof at Blueblood’s broken horn. “The human may have interrupted the transformation but he didn’t remove the power behind it. It’s still there, waiting to be tapped, to be unleashed. Its power can be yours; all you have to do is embrace it.” “Embrace it.” The ghost chorus chanted. “Take the power that lays dormant within you. Take the power and seize vengeance on those that wronged you. Take the power and strike down all those that would stand in your way. Take the power and claim all that which others would have denied you. Take the power and embrace it.” “Embrace it.” “No! I’ve seen what that power does to ponies! I will have nothing to do with it!” “Oh? Are you sure that you have nothing to do with it? You remember what the human said when he first saw you, don’t you? The look on his face? The terror in his eyes when he saw what you had turned into?” “I... I remember.” Blueblood said, thinking back to when Hunter had first mention the physical changes he had undergone. The human’s eyes were filled dread as he peered over his weapon. Blueblood recalled the way Hunter had dispatched the other ponies that had fallen to the curse. The prince looked down at his hooves turned claws, he ran his tongue over new pointed teeth. Images of Hunter struggling with one of the changed ponies flooded his mind; the sight of them wrestling on the ground, the pony snapping at Hunter’s face and neck with its sharp teeth, and the sudden bang that ended the fight. “I remember that he didn’t attack me when he could have.” Blueblood stated. “I remember how those that had this power thrust on them attacked Hunter with a feral madness; and I remember how easily Hunter struck down those very same ponies.” “They were mindless, consumed by their ravenous hunger. If you were to embrace it-” “Embrace it.” The ghost chorus chanted once more. “...you would be greater than they were.” Royal Blood concluded. “All of their physical power, paired with your magical abilities; you would be unstoppable.” “I don’t understand! Why do I need to be unstoppable? Why do I need all this power? What do you want from me?” Blueblood demanded. “Pay more attention, fool!” Royal Blood shouted. “I want you to take this power, seize this opportunity and rise up, and bring glory to our name!” “Make up your mind!” Blueblood yelled back. “You keep saying different things; revenge, power, glory, just make up your mind!” “Of course a pony like you would fail to understand. They are all the same thing. Take your revenge against the demon, gain glory by doing so, then use that fame to seize power. Do this, and you will finally make your father proud of you!” “But what about Hunter?” Blueblood asked. “He said he’d make things right. He promised that he would fix this.” “You will not let some outsider take what should be yours. Take the power, get your revenge, make your father proud!” “You keep saying that, saying that if I do this you’ll be proud of me. You have said it before, why should I believe you this time?” “Why? Why you ask? Because this time you will actually be doing something worthy of praise. You will be behaving like a proper unicorn, a proper noble and a proper son!” Royal Blood moved next to Blueblood, wrapping a limb around the younger unicorn as he continued to speak. “That is what you want, right? You always wanted me to be proud of you? This is your big chance; all you need to do is take a little bit of revenge, then usurp a tiny little bit of power. That’s all.  Nothing too big or too hard.” “Is that really all it will take?” Blueblood asked hopefully. “Yes, that really is all it will take.” Royal Blood answered with a smile. “If that is really all I...n-no, I won’t do it.” Blueblood replied, shoving Royal Blood away. “It really won’t be all there is. It never ends with you; take a bit of revenge here, usurp some power there and then I’ll be doing it over and over, never stopping. All I wanted was to make you proud of me, but now I realize that was my mistake from the beginning.” “What are you taking about boy?” Royal Blood demanded, anger filling his voice and eyes. “I didn’t want you to be proud of me, I wanted you to be happy for me!” “Happy? How can I be happy for a failure like you?” “By not being so controlling. Let me live my life, not by treating me like some kind of pawn in whatever scheme you come up with. Why couldn’t you just let me be me? Isn’t that the point? Isn’t that enough?” “It is enough.” a new voice echoed through the hallway. The ghosts of Royal Blood and all the other ponies vanished in an instant, leaving Blueblood alone in the dark. “Who’s there?” the unicorn called out. “Who are you?” “I am who I have always been.” the voice called back. Blueblood turned to confront the voice, only to find himself standing in a hospital room looking at a unicorn mare with white fur and red mane laying in a bed. “Has it been so long that you don’t even recognise me?” the mare asked him. “M-Mother...” Blueblood stammered out. “Yes my son, my sweet prince. Come close and tell me all that has happened.” “I tried, mother, I really tried.” Blueblood whimpered as he approached the bed. “I tried to make father proud, I tried to live up to your expectations.” “And what has that gotten you so far, my son? Pain, sorrow and grief.” the mare reached out and placed a gentle hoof on Blueblood’s shoulder. “This was never the path I wanted for you.” “I don’t understand.” “Do you remember the day you got your cutie mark? You were so happy, so full of pride.” “I... I remember. I had just stood up to those bullies and had just finished convincing them to stop.” “And you did it without resorting to violence.” “Yes... I remember thinking that if I could set an example for them, I could do it for everypony. I could be beacon for those that were lost, like a shining star in the night.” “You ran home and told us what happened right away.” “I remember my teachers being upset that I didn’t go to my afternoon lessons.” “Yes, they were still happy that you got your cutie mark.” “And then... then you got sick.” “I told you to be good, listen to your father and follow your heart.” The mare’s head dropped slightly. “Somewhere along the line, you lost your way. You stopped making your own path, and blindly followed the one your father was making for you.” “What am I to do?” Blueblood asked, only to have the scene fad away. “Wait! Come back! I don’t know what to do!” he called out to the darkness. “Please! I need your help!” His mother reappeared, this time not in a bed but standing in front of him amongst the darkness. “You never needed my help.” she calmly explained. “You just needed to realize what your destiny was, what you were meant to do in this world, and pursue that dream with your whole being.” “I don’t understand.” “You are lost in the darkness. All you need to do is open your eyes to the possibility.  Find your own path, be the pony that you wanted to be.” “My own path?” “You have a rare opportunity to, here and now, to become something greater than you had ever dreamed possible. Seize the opportunity when it calls, for the world does not give them often.” the mare said as she walked passed Blueblood. “Why now? Where have you been all this time?” Blueblood asked without turning around. “I have always been here.” the mare said. Blueblood turned to face her once more, his eyes going wide with shock. In place of his mother, was a luminous being, seemingly made up a dozen different creatures each distinct yet occupying the same space simultaneously. Blueblood could make out ponies from all three tribes, buffalo and cows, goats and donkeys. The form stood there, enormous over him, yet the unicorn knew that it met him no harm. “Go now, my child, and become the pony you were meant to be.” the figure said as she slowly faded away. Blueblood remained motionless as he watched the figure fade. Around him, the darkness began to relent as light filled the hallway. The sound of stone grinding against stone filled the air, drawing Blueblood’s attention to the end of the hall; standing there, in the middle of the doorway, silhouetted by the warm light that poured through the opening, was Hunter. “Hey Blue.” The human said with a smile. “I told you that I’d find a way in.” Blueblood said nothing, merely smile and moved to rejoin the human. Hunter pounded on the stone wall. “Blue! Listen!” he shouted. “That hall has got to lead to somewhere. Keep going down it. I’ll try to find another way in.” Hunter stepped back from the wall and raised the carbine, intent on shooting through the wall. “Wait…” he said aloud, stopping himself, “this is a terrible idea.” He looked back over his shoulder at the other two hallways and shrugged. “Maybe I should try one of those first.” With a quick glance between the two, Hunter picked one at random and started down the center hallway. The hall’s furnishings were nearly identical to those on the floor above, the walls lined with torch sconces resembling pony legs. Taking care not to touch any of them, Hunter made is way down the hall, mindful of where he placed his feet in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the stairway. Although his progress was slow, he was making progress, until the ceiling opened up and a pony fell from the room above. In the moment before it hit the ground, there was a flash of green light so bright it blinded Hunter for several seconds. As his eyes readjusted, Hunter found a unicorn mare laying in the rubble; her coat was white and she had a dark green mane and tail. “Hey, you ok?” the human asked as he crouched down beside her. The unicorn’s bright green eyes shot open as she let out a terrified scream. “Easy, easy. I’m not going to hurt you.” Hunter said as calmly as he could. The unicorn blinked a few times, then studied Hunter carefully. “Sorry, I just thought that you were some terrible monster about to eat me alive.” “W-why would you think that?” the human asked, completely perplexed at the mare’s statement. “Well, I did just fall through a trapdoor in an old abandoned castle; that’s usually where the monster are.” the mare answered sheepishly. “Wait… you’re that human. I thought you were dead.” “I’ve been getting that a lot recently; you fall down one stupid mountain and everyone suddenly thinks you’re dead. Don’t try to look for him or anything. He’s dead. Fell down a mountain? Dead. No chance anyone could possibly survive. Lets all just go home and forget about him. If we get around to it, we’ll give him a nice service; because he is most assuredly dead. Why you ask? Because he fell down a mountain.” At this point Hunter stopped his rant, realizing that the mare was staring at him. “Sorry.” Hunter apologised. “I didn’t really mean to go off like that, it… its been a long week.” “It’s alright. I understand.” “Thanks. Anyway, can you stand?” “I think so.” the mare answered, as she carefully pushed herself up onto her hooves. “Yes, I can.” “The stairs are back that way.” Hunter said, pointing in the way he had just come from. He stood and started down the hallway once more. “Wait!” the unicorn called out. Hunter turned and looked back at the pony. “Something wrong?” the human asked. “Its just… why are you going that way?” she asked. “You said the stairs are in the opposite direction.” “I did.” Hunter answered. “But I’m not trying to find my way out. I’m looking for someone.” “Oh? You lost a friend somewhere in here?” “...Yes, yes I did.” “I’m going to help you!” “Wait, what?” “You know the way out, and it’s probably safer if we travel together. You never know when another part of the floor will open up beneath you.” “True… alright, lets go.” “Onwards!” the mare cheered. “Hey, what’s your name anyway?” Hunter asked. “Its…” “Its?” “Its Chrysa… I mean, its Crystal...line, Emeraldium Crystalline.” “Emeraldium Crystalline?” “Y-yes. That is my name.” “Right… I’m just going to call you Emmy.” Hunter said as he started down the hallway again, with Emeraldium Crystalline following into step with him quickly. “So, why did you come to this castle?” the human asked. “Why? I.. umm… was looking for… some… gem! Yes. I was looking for some gems, because that’s what I do. I look for gems.” “Right… gem hunting.” “What brings you here? I thought you would try to get back to Canterlot…” “I… I have stuff I have to do first.” Hunter said hesitantly, catching yet another odd infection in the mare’s voice when she said ‘Canterlot’. “Oh? What kind of stuff?” “Human stuff.” “Human stuff?” “You really don’t want to know.” Hunter said with an evil smile. “I think you’re right about that.” Emmy replied, not wanting to push her luck with the human. The two of them reached the end of the hall, finding a broken staircase and a large hole in the wall. “Should have seen that coming.” Hunter muttered as he looked up through the hole to the outside. He turned his attention to his left, where he found a hallway that had sealed off. “Really should have seen that coming.” “Something wrong?” “No… yes.” Hunter said, tapping the stone wall. “I was hoping that this wouldn’t be here.” “Oh.” Hunter studied the wall, hoping to find some sort of trick to opening it. As he ran his fingers across the stone work, a loud rumbling sound came from inside the wall, and it slowly swung open. Inside the hall, Hunter could see Blueblood standing there, waiting for him. “Hey Blue,” he said with smile, “I told you that I’d find a way in.” Celestia pushed open the door to her sister’s room. “Really Discord, I wish you wouldn’t... what’s going on here?” Celestia asked, seeing the glare that Luna was giving the draconequus. “Oh, Celestia! How wonderful!” Discord said cheerfully. “I was just about to tell Luna here what I told you during out nice chariot ride, but being reformed as I am, I felt it necessary to give her some good news first.” “And what news would that be?” “He claims that Hunter is still alive.” Luna informed her sister. “Yes it’s true.” Discord admitted. “Which part?” Celestia asked. “The one about you telling my sister, or the one about the human still being alive?” “Well, both, actually.” Discord smiled. “You see, when I first heard that a human had managed to return to this wonderful land of ours I have to admit, I was nervous. Humans and draconequuses..es...es are not known for our mutual beneficial and harmonious  relationships.” “You don’t say.” Luna said with a rather heavy amount of sarcasm. “Oh, but I DO say.” Discord replied. “The last time a human met with one of my family, he punched my grandfather so hard MY teeth came out crooked.” “I fail to see what that has to do with...” “This one right here.” Discord continued, opening his mouth wide enough to allow both princesses to sick their heads inside. “Discord, if you would please get to the point you are trying to make?” Celestia asked. “The point I was trying to make? What was that again?” Discord pondered as his legs paced back and forth without the rest of him. “Oh yes! I remember! Ever since the tooth punching incident, my father always told me to stay away from them. He even developed a way to keep track of them.” “And you used that to track down Hunter?” Luna asked. “Of course; that was before Celestia told me what happened to him. Turns out the two of you underestimated your human friend.” “How so?” “Humans are amazingly resilient creatures, dear princess. Stories of what they can endure can turn your stomach so violently that you may never be able to eat again. Actually, I think they can endure that too, so it’s not unimaginable that he could survive a little tumble down a mountain.” “What you said earlier, about reuniting us with the human, where you being sincere?” Luna asked. “Of course I was.” Discord replied. “As I said, I am a reformed draconequus. I would never think of doing anything wrong to anypony who is a good friend of my friend Fluttershy.” “Very well Discord,” Luna said, “I will trust my sister and the Element Bearers. If Hunter is indeed alive, and you know where he is, I ask that you send me to him.” “Sister wait!” Celestia called out, but was too late. Discord snapped his claw and Luna disappeared. “Discord! Why did you do that?” Celestia demanded. “For several reasons, dear princess.” Discord said, his voice talking an ominous tone. “The dark presence that you felt, what happened to the humans, and the place where Hunter is now.” “Discord,” Celestia said, her eyes narrowing, “explain.” “Let me ask you something first, princess, how many sisters do you have?”