Masks' of the Hunters

by Kamer

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

A Visit From Royalty

Princess Celestia was back in Canterlot.

Marble knew this for a fact.

Why?

Because, Princess Celestia herself, in all her glory, was sitting on the couch in his messy living room.

Marble did not like this situation.

The day had started fairly normal. He woke up. He showered. He made breakfast for Pinkie and himself. They went to a park. They had lunch at Doughnut Joe’s. Then they returned home. Pinkie wrote a letter to her friends and went to the post office to send it.

Normal.

Minutes after Pinkie left to send a letter, the doorbell rang. Marble was expecting it to be Joe bringing back whatever he forgot at the diner this time. But no such luck. When he opened the door and saw the princess standing there, he just couldn’t find anything to say. So he stepped back to let her in. He went to the kitchen and grabbed the pot of tea he was brewing, the only thing that Marble thought went well about the predicament he was in.

Marble motioned for the princess to sit down on his couch, and she did, with a rather amused grin on her face. He set the tea down on the coffee table, along with two of the nicest cups he had for tea. When he turned back to the kitchen to get an extra chair for himself, the princess picked him up, and set him on the couch next to her.

This was the current place that Marble was now. Sitting next to the princess, drinking tea. Sitting next to the princess on a small love-seat couch. Sitting uncomfortably close to the princess on the small love-seat couch. It was at this point that Marble made a discovery. That Princess Celestia was radiating heat. In other words, she was very warm.

And the only thing Marble could think to say in this situation was,

“Your very warm.”

The princess laughed.

Marble’s face reddened, he sipped from his cup again.

This was the situation that Marble was in now, and he did not like it.

“How was your day, Marble?”

“Good.”

“And what constitutes ‘good’ in the world of Marble?”

“Trip to the park.”

“It was a good day for that today. Very sunny.”

“It was.”

“Was it warm enough at the park today? Too breezy? Too still?”

“It was good.”

“Good, hmm...”

The princess sipped her tea again, still looking forward. In truth, she did take a bit of fun playing with subjects. Though playing in reality was just trying to make small talk. And the enjoyment came from watching them become a nervous wreck. It was fun to be able to see an unguarded side of people. Luna said that she liked it because she herself wanted her own walls taken down. Celestia responded that it was a challenge that she set for all of her subjects.

“Um...”

“Why am I here?”

“Y-yea.”

Celestia paused.

“I wanted to check on you. Make sure you were doing well.”

“I am.”

“Doing well?”

“Y-yea...”

“That’s not what Luna is telling me.”

Marble didn’t respond. His face grew more contorted as he looked down.

“No, I guess I’m not...”

“Is Luna’s intervention helping at all?”

“Her intervention?”

“Yes, she said she had stopped multiple times in your dreams, you would always thank her and continue to dream pleasantly afterward.”

“I don’t remember that...”

Celestia looked surprised, but only for a very brief moment, “You don’t remember anything from your dreams?”

“No...”

Celestia was worried, she thought she knew what is happening to this poor pony, but she needed to make sure before she pushed any farther. If he had a case of PTSD, any pursuit of the topic could be disastrous but if it was UERS, a rarer, unicorn only form of PTSD, then she could safely push the boundaries a little.

“You remember nothing from your dreams?”

Celestia started up a lie detecting spell. While in truth not very good at detecting lies, it was a good, and subtle way of getting a more accurate read on how a pony felt about a question or answer they give. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t the emotions that Celestia was looking for. The spell worked by feeling the movement of magic in the target. She was looking for a specific pattern, one that she hoped would confirm her suspicions.

“I do remember some things.”

No spike in anxiety. Heart rate and muscle relaxation are normal.

“Can you tell me some of them? Or does that make you feel worried.”

“N-no,” Marble stuttered, “I just... You don’t need to worry about me.”

No changes in the spell yet.

“I’m always worried about my little ponies, But sometimes I feel like I cannot help them. I want to help you Marble. I see a lot of great things in your future. I want you to be there for what I see.”

“You think highly of me?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have recommended you to the Agriculture Board if I wasn’t.”

“You recommended me for the Ag Board? I-I thought you didn’t like my proposal.”

Excitement, Celestia didn’t need the spell to see that easily.

“While I thought that your presentation was spectacular, and you were right in everything you said, it is not what Equestria needs right now. You, however, have an amazing insight into the world of agriculture. I would be a poor ruler not to recognize that.”

“And you want me for the job?”

“Of course, I always keep my eye out for promising young ponies. Ponies whom I think will be major players in the future of Equestira.”

Marble’s face seemed to light up for a brief moment, something that Celestia was overjoyed to see. Her moment of joy faded when the smile fell from Marble’s face.

“I’m not sure I would be a good fit for a position like that though.”

Disappointment.

“A bright, energetic pony with a passion and drive that rivals many of the ponies already on the board. What you lack in experience is easily outshined by your intellect and breadth of knowledge.”

Marble smiled for a fraction of a second, “You think I could do it? You really think I would be able to help?”

Hope.

“Yes, of course Marble.”

Happiness.

“I think it would be in poor judgment of mine to let you go back to the law firm. It would be such a waste of your potential.”

“I have potential?”

“Much. If you would be willing to come to the castle tonight or tomorrow night, I would be happy to help you make a decision.”

“I would love to!” Marble was much more energetic than before smiling gleefully, “Any time tonight?”

“Of course, I can tell the guards you will be arriving after dark if you wish.”

A small shift in Marble’s magic.

“What exactly does the job entail?”

“Mostly talking about legislation, coming up with new legislation, and arguing with other committees about yearly budgets.”

“I know I’m not selling this much, but your experience and knowledge in both agriculture and law will be exceptionally helpful to all those on the committee.”

Spike in magical energy. This is what Celestia was waiting for. It was both good and bad news for Marble. UERS, or Unicorn Event Recollection Syndrome, occurred when a unicorn went through a traumatic event. The syndrome would force the affected to relive moments of the event through forced magical recollection. It had far more intense effects than PTSD, did not have any know triggers and was much rarer as a condition. The only upside of it, is UERS is curable, unlike its counterpart. It was lucky that Celestia was here for one, this might be the first case in a few decades.

“I don’t know what to say, Princess” Marble said, “Thank you for starters!”

Celestia smiled for a moment before it dropped, “Marble?”

“Yes?” Marble replied, suddenly hesitant.

“I need you to listen to me right now.”

“O-OK...”

“You are about to have another attack. Your going to see them again soon.”

“W-what?”

“I know your condition, and I know what it looks like.”

“I don’t understand. Princess, what are you talking about?”

“Your condition forces you to recall a traumatic event through magical means. It is very a intense experience, but is curable.”

Marble just looked at the princess, unsure of what to say or do.

“Is that whats been happening?”

Celestia sighed and frowned, “I believe so... I am sorry that you have to go through this, Marble.”

“Will it be like what happened before?”

“They will grow in intensity, up to a point.”

“S-so this one will be worse?”

“In all likelihood. But there is one major difference this time.”

“Y-yes?”

Celestia opened her wings and pulled Marble into a tight hug.

“I will be with you the entire way, my little Marble.”

As Celestia made her way back to the castle she thought of what to do next.

As terrible as it was, Marble’s condition shed a lot of light on the behavior and probable actions of Lamb and Wolf. Celestia didn’t think they weren’t as careful and well-planned as she once thought. Drawing from reports of sightings and from her sister’s dream ventures, Lamb and Wolf weren’t going after specific ponies. Instead, Celestia thought, these are just random ponies caught in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

This disturbed Celestia in different ways. Had these been well planned murders, Celestia would have been disturbed by the accuracy, cunning and shear speed of these murders. Instead, she is disturbed by the skill employed by these two monsters, the ability to not only kill but be perfectly selective about who sees it is a skill that she has never seen, nor wished to comprehend.

Celestia shared Marble’s vision and experience with Lamb and Wolf. she was hoping, no matter how terrible it was to do so, that someone had this condition. Despite all of the negative drawbacks that it caused those that suffer from it, it is the best memory recollection technique, if it could be called that. The events that it recalled were more vivid that any unicorn, or even the princesses, could conjure up.

She was able to see that night through Marble’s eyes. They were just as terrifying as Luna and the other victims described, perhaps even more so than that. Those two creatures did not seem like normal living things, not from this world at least.

Celestia sighed, ‘I think I owe Luna another apology.’

She still needed a plan to follow. And, while violence was not usually what she preferred, it was wise to make the plans. For now, she would help Luna and her research group as much as she could. It would have to be subtle to the rest of the castle as a single princess going to the archives was normal behavior, even expected. But both princesses frequenting the archives on a daily basis along with a group of other civilian ponies? That was news worthy, and would doubtless be reported on. Then it would become a real problem.

This brought up another oddity in the mind of Celestia was the spread of information from the duo. It was a slow spread, but consistent. The recollections were all different, different times, places, ponies. There was no real consistency with the murders either. Some were quick by either Lamb or Wolf, a single arrow or single bite, others were long or drawn out, like they were savoring it.

This pattern was what intrigued Celestia. It seemed so familiar to her. The stories. The creatures. The Stakes. Something was picking at the back of her mind, but she couldn’t quite get a hold on it.

Another sigh from Celestia.

Maybe it was time to take a break. It was almost dinner, it had taken a little more time than Celestia had thought to calm down Marble, but with the physician and Pinkie Pie now helping him, there was little for her to worry about.

Yes, Celestia decided, it was time for a little dinner, hopefully with her sister.

Comments

[Kamer]

9251243
Thanks so much! Its comments like this that really make my day.

And sorry for the longer delay. Had a bought of no motivation. But I'm writing much better now!

[Alitaher003]

Yay! New Chapter.
I'm looking forwards to when Celestia and Luna meet Kindred. They are one of my favorite champions.

[Mel1131]

I really love this story, cant wait for the next chapter :)