Hunters In Equestria

by DarthRevan

Discovery

A.K. Yearling was waiting in Canterlot Palace. Luna and Twilight were getting the chariot ready for travel.

"Aliens? Zebrania? This is getting to be a weird ass book." She muttered.

"I agree, Avian Kingsly Yearling." A spanish voice called out. Recognizing it, Yearling turned around. Standing there was a brown coated stallion with a black mane. His 5`o clock shadow well trimmed.

"Caballeron." She replied. "What do I owe the pleasure?" She asked, innocently. Caballeron chuckled.

"The meteorites, my sweet." He answered. "Even if they are not special, a huge chunk of metal will fetch a pretty price." He added. Yearling sighed.

"Don't call me `sweet`. Please." She said. "Your greed ended that." She pointed out. Caballeron grimaced.

"I am not here to rekindle old arguments. I am here with a warning." He said. Yearling scoffed.

"'Don't get in my way.' Yada yada yada. I know that we're rivals, Cabby." She said. Caballeron shook his head.

"Oh no. I'm not your biggest threat. Some thing has killed my men in Zebrania. The corpses were found this morning. Many of them were beheaded. All of them skinned. My best soldiers, all killed like cannon fodder. Be warned, Avian. There's a hunter in Zebrania." With a respectful bow, Caballeron turned ans left. Yearling was left alone. After a few moments she laughed this off. His soldiers? Killed that easily and that gruesome?! It was a lie meant to scare. It had to be.
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Yearling and Twilight were seated in a bat-like chariot. Princess Luna herself was attached to the reins.

"You sure about this, Luna? I can get us there." Yearling said. Luna shook her head.

"No, I will pull us. I am stronger than you and faster than you. We will be there before long." Luna explained.
"Twilight, do you have our gear?" She asked.

"Of course! Enough water to last the three of us a month, a couple dozen feet of rope, several maps and compasses, a pair of binoculars, and three offensive magic spell books." Twilight said as she did inventory.

"Good. You ready for lift off, Luna?" Yearling asked. Luna nodded. With a few beats of powerful wings, the trio was heading through the sky.

"What's the plan once we get there?" Twilight asked.

"We investigate Caballerons 'warning'. If his men were really skinned and beheaded then we need to know." Luna answered. "Did he tell us where the bodies were?" She asked. Yearling shook her head.

"Afraid not. Best guess is near the meteorites. You do know where they crashed, right?" Yearling asked.

"Of course. One of them hit a river, though. We won't be finding that one. The other one crashed in the heart of the jungle. That's where we're going." Luna answered. Twilight shivered, but it wasn't because of the wind.

"If he wasn't lying. What kind of creature could do those things?!" She asked. Luna sighed.

"I do not know. The way the bodies were found indicates they were victims of some sort of ritual or a trophy making process. Either way, this creature would be sentient and highly violent. If you see a creature you do not recognize, do not approach it. Come and find me." Luna explained. "I will deal with it."

"We can hold our own." Yearling said. Luna seemed thoughtful.

"We shall see."
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The chariot touched down in an area of the jungle nearly devoid of trees. An impact zone had stretched nearly a mile. The sun was beginning to fall.

"There. The meteorite." Yearling said, pointing her hoof at a extremely circular piece of metal. Approaching it, Luna gasped. Inside were various computers and a leather seat. Twilight stared, mouth agape. Yearling whistled.

"Aliens it is then." She said. She looked at the pod more closely. "Built for a biped. Whoever made it likes the color red. Hinges on the entrance suggest a door once stood here. Occupants long gone." Yearling explained. After looking around, she noticed something on the ground. "Red blood." She noted. Twilight and Luna followed the trail.

"They lead to the jungle." Twilight noted. Soon, the trail ended. "Do you think this was the aliens blood?" Twilight asked. She felt a drip fall on to her head. The canopies were constantly wet. She turned to her allies. "Hello?" She asked. Yearling was looking up in horror. Luna gulped and looked down at Twilight.

"Do not panic, Twilight." She said slowly. Another drip landed on her head. She looked up. And she screamed. Lifted above her was the skinned corpse of an equine.

"W-What the hell?!" She screamed.

"Apparently, Caballeron was telling the truth." Yearling noted. All around this section of the jungle were similar displays. They seemed to be pointing south. "Want to find the killer, you follow the bodies." She said. She began to follow the bloody trail.

"What about the bodies?" Twilight asked. Luna sighed.

"Once this is all over, we shall inform the Zebranian Pharaoh of their locations." She said. "For now, we find whoever is responsible for this." She added.
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The trio followed the trail of bodies to a clearing. A temple, surrounded by a high wall, was inside it. Yearling looked on with awe.

"Neighdorado. The lost city of hunters." She said, recognizing the architecture from historical records. "If there's a hunter in the area, even an alien one, it'd head here." She pointed out. Luna looked at the temple more closely than before.

"Bodies. Skinned, beheaded, and missing limbs. An assorted combination of equine, griffon, and minotaur bodies." She noted. "The creature has been here." She added. Twilight looked sick.

"We need to stop this monster." She said. Yearling and Luna gave a silent agreement. "No matter the cost." Twilight added. Yearling flew over the wall while Luna carried Twilight. The three looked around the outside of the temple. Zebras in ceremonial armor littered the walls. They looked with disgust at the multitude of bodies. Yearling walked up to the huge doors. She tried pushing them. Not an inch.

"Dammit! Let me in!" She began pushing harder. "Open damn you!" Luna looked on with amusement. However, a strange red triangle appeared on the door. Along with a low humming sound that was getting louder.

"YEARLING!" Luna yelled as she tackled the archeologist. A blue ball of energy slammed into the door and exploded. The ancient doors crumbled. Twilight looked in the direction of the blast and gasped. Standing on top of the wall was an insanely tall being. It even made Luna look small. Its armor was dirtied and it was frantically pressing buttons on its wrist. Twilight paled when she noticed the wrist blades. What scared her the most was the helmet. It was absolutely covered in occult runes.

Author's Note:

Four chapters down! A currently undetermined amount to go! Please note I do have a beginning, middle, and end to this story. I do know what's going to happen and how.