The Hunter and the Hunted

by Marezinger Z

Chapter 3

The Hunter and the Hunted

Chapter 3:

Twilight texted Sunset the next morning asking her to show up to school early to meet with her and Fluttershy. Sunset obliged and set out an hour early, heading to the bleachers overlooking the soccer field as Twilight instructed.

“Hey.” Sunset sat down beside them. “Sorry for hitting you up out of the blue yesterday.”

“It’s okay.” Twilight said as she pulled her phone out, calling up the photo. “So where did you take this?”

“At that magic store that was broken into.” Sunset explained. “Trixie knows the owner and is helping raise money for him, I went with her yesterday to see him. What do you two make of it?”

“Well.” Fluttershy rubbed her chin. “It’s definitely an animal, but not one that I know. I can’t think of anything that size that would be wandering around downtown.”

“Based on the size of the marks and the distance between them, the closet approximation I could figure is a bear.” Twilight relayed her analysis.

“But there are only three marks, even if it was a bear, there aren’t any species with only three claws.” Fluttershy added. “The only animal with that kind of claw is a sloth. There are also certain types of wild cats that have that claw, but there’s no way a feline could do that to solid concrete.”

“Agreed.” Twilight nodded. “I checked into recent history of animal sightings that have taken place in the city. Nothing recorded even comes close.”

“I knew it, there’s something fishy going on.” Sunset thought she would feel relief at her hunch being verified, but the avenues that opened up as a result were nothing to be excited about. “I can’t be sure… but…” She paused, not knowing if she should finish her thought.

“What?” Twilight urged her on.

“I think I saw Hunter down by the magic shop.”

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked.

“I don’t know… I’m pretty sure it was him.” Sunset shook her head. “It’s just too much of a coincidence.” She continued. “Looking back, he showed up not long after the first incident was reported. He told me himself that he moves constantly and... I just feel that something is off with him.”

“We don’t even know what this thing is.” Twilight pointed out. “And we certainly don’t have any evidence to support what you’re claiming.”

“I know.” Sunset nodded. “But we’ve dealt with enough at this point for me to trust my instincts.”

“I trust them too” Fluttershy laid her hand on her knee, seeing how anxious about all this she was. “What do you want us to do?”

Sunset looked down at her hand. “I know what I’d like to do…. but I won’t.” She sighed. “If I’m wrong I’d be completely violating his privacy. We’re just going to have to keep an eye on him, that’s all we can do for now.”

“Alright.” Twilight nodded. “In the meantime, I’ll look into those other break-ins and see if I can find some connective tissue between them.”

“Good idea.” Sunset agreed. A slow murmur began to arise from the grounds as students began to show up. Seeing that school would start soon, the trio began heading for the main building.

The day droned on as usual until lunch. Hunter braved a return to the cafeteria, sitting as far removed as possible from the crowd. His eyes were affixed to this phone while he picked at his food; glancing up he noticed Sandalwood and Micro Chips coming over. He laughed to himself and set his phone down.

“Dreads, Microcosm… as I live and breathe.”

“Chips.” Micro Chips said flatly as they sat across from him.

“Right.” Hunter said with a deep nod. “So, to what do I owe the irritation?”

“Well my dude, to be honest we came to give you a friendly warning.” Sandalwood informed. “I’m always understanding when someone isn’t feeling the world around them, but there’s a lot of unhappy buzz around the school about you and it’s starting to make its way to the faculty.”

“Do tell.” Hunter set his elbows on the table.

“Some guys on the soccer team went to Principal Celestia about you, they aren’t the only ones either.” Sandalwood further explained.

“Man, who knew this school was so sensitive.” Hunter scoffed.

“Well, you have been leaving fires in your footsteps ever since you got here.” Micro Chips added.

“Hey man.” Sandalwood looked at him with a genuine concern. “I know you want to walk alone, but we’re just trying to help here. We’d hate to see…”

His words were interrupted by a quick blur that ran up to their table and snatched Hunter’s backpack. Hunter whipped around to see a pair of boys hoisting his pack up and laughing. He immediately stood and his typically flippant face grew hard and his eyes narrowed fiercely. “You’ve got about ten seconds to give that back before the fast food place down the street loses its future manager.”

“Scary.” The larger boy holding the pack dangled it in front of him. “What’s the matter, you seem to love dishing it out smart guy, but you can’t take it?”

“That’s five seconds.” Hunter said sternly.

“Whoa dudes.” Sandalwood jumped up and got between them. “No one wants a fight.”

“Speak for yourself, Green Peace.” Hunter retorted.

“Don’t defend him.” The second boy said. “This dick has been nothing but trouble since he showed up at this school and we’re sick of it.” He turned his eyes back to Hunter. “If you hate it here so much then feel free to leave.”

“Hey!” Applejack joined the mix with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. “If y'all think someone is being a jerk than acting like a bigger one isn’t going to help.”

“Yeah.” Pinkie chimed in. “You’re the ones starting problems here.”

“If he wants it back, all he has to do is take it.” The first boy said confidently.

“Oh, why didn’t you say so?” Hunter leapt forward with impressive speed and grabbed his wrist, wrenching it and forcing him to drop the pack. He kicked the boy’s knee in the wrong direction and sent his leg out from under him; as he toppled Hunter pulled his arm behind his back and up towards his shoulder in one smooth motion. The boy cried out in pain and all Hunter had to do was look at his friend to make him back off.

“That’s enough!” The room went silent at the sound of Principal Celestia’s voice. “Let him go this instant!” Hunter released his hold and stepped back, his hands in the air. “What in the world is going on here?” She demanded as she approached them.

“This kid is nuts!” The boy shouted, clutching his shoulder. “He almost broke my arm!”

“Don’t start a fight then complain about losing it.” Hunter said remorselessly.

“Principal Celestia.” Sandalwood went to her. “It really wasn’t Hunter’s fault.”

Celestia looked about at who was present. “Hunter, my office, now.” She pointed towards the door; Hunter took up his backpack and started off. “You go and see the nurse, I’ll talk to you later.” She promised as his victim stood, bitterly walking away. “You five come with me, I want to hear exactly what happened.”

“Yes Principal Celestia.” Applejack acknowledged.

Within the Principal’s office, Hunter sat before the desk and Celestia and Luna entered not long after. They sat across from him while Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Sandalwood and Micro Chips took positions around the room.

Celestia let out a deep breath and rubbed her forehead. “Alright, what happened?”

“He stole my backpack, I took it back.” Hunter said plainly.

“And you felt that was the best way to handle the situation?” Celestia asked.

“They tried the peaceful way first.” He gestured to the others. “Negotiations broke down though.”

“Is that true?” She looked over the group.

“Yeah.” Sandalwood nodded. “Hunter really didn’t do anything.”

“Surprising as that may be.” Micro Chips threw in.

“Hey.” Hunter looked over at him. “Whose side are you on Micropeen?”

“Chips!” Micro Chips shouted in exasperation, the exchange eliciting an inadvertent snort from Rainbow Dash. “Don’t encourage him!”

“Micro Chips, don’t yell.” Luna eyed him.

“I know Hunter here ain’t the sweetest rose in the garden.” Applejack said. “But those guys were picking a fight.”

“Which brings us to our next point.” Celestia sat back in her chair. “Hunter, you may not have started the altercation but you aren’t exactly free of blame. Luna and I have had numerous concerns and complaints come in about your behavior around campus.”

“Not to mention your penchant for name calling.” Luna added.

“They’re pet names.” Hunter defended. “They’re not mean.” He glanced over at Pinkie. “Back me up here, sugar rush?”

“He he, that’s actually kind of sweet.” Pinkie smiled.

“See.” Hunter said conclusively.

“I beg to differ.” Micro Chips said, not wholly happy with his end of the stick on this.

“In any case.” Celestia recalled their attention. “The fact that so many have felt the need to voice this in such a short time says something.” She sighed. “I know you’re new and everyone goes through an adjustment period. But you’re actively antagonizing the students here which is something I won’t stand for.”

“With all due respect.” Hunter folded his arms. “School isn’t about being popular or meeting people, it’s about academics; and mine speak for themselves.”

“I won’t argue that you’re excelling in your classes.” Celestia admitted. “But I hold my school to a higher standard than just passing grades. I need you to start turning things around immediately… or I’m going to have to take more drastic action.”

Hunter sighed. “Okay, okay.” He nodded. “I can’t afford to get kicked.”

“It’s easy.” Rainbow Dash leaned in with a grin. “All you have to do is stop being a professional jerk.”

Hunter looked at her with hard eyes. “It’s not easy okay… I had it rough. My dad was… pretty abusive.” Rainbow Dash recoiled at the statement and the room shared grim looks.

“Dude… I’m sorry.” Sandalwood put his hand on his shoulder. “We had no idea.”

Hunter leaned closer to him. “Me either till about fifteen seconds ago.”

A collective groan filled the room. “Are you kidding me!?” Rainbow Dash glared at him, mad at herself for feeling regret at her words a moment ago.”

"You can't believe a thing he says." Micro Chips gestured to Hunter with frustration. "He's always lying."

"That's true." Hunter nodded as he leaned closer to Applejack. "But by saying that's true that means I'm not always lying." He clarified.

“Students, please.” Celestia raised her hands to silence the banter. “Hunter, even if you didn’t start the fight today it doesn’t change the fact that you physically assaulted another student. I have no choice but to issue you a suspension for the rest of the week. I want you to go home and think about what we’ve discussed and come back on Monday to start anew.”

Having no choice but to admit defeat, Hunter nodded and stood. “Yes Principal.” He grabbed his pack and left the room. With ten minutes till the next class, the hall was lined with students getting their things ready. As he neared the door he looked over and saw Derpy waving at him. The corner of his mouth rose in a light smile and as he passed her he pointed a finger gun at her. “Hey D. You know if keep not looking at me like that we’re going to have a problem.” She laughed as he continued on and left the building.

Across the hall, Sunset and Rarity saw the exchange and immediately went to her. “Darling.” Rarity looked at her with disappointment. “You shouldn’t let him talk to you that way.”

“Oh it’s okay.” Derpy said. “He’s really nice.”

“What?” Sunset asked incredulously.

“He is.” Derpy insisted, pulling out a pink box of muffins from her locker. “I sell these muffins I bake for extra money and since his first day he’s bought one every morning. And even though I only charge two dollars he always gives me five because he says they’re worth it.”

“He… does?” Sunset asked, having a hard time believing the story.

“We’re talking about Hunter, right dear?” Rarity shared Sunset’s confused look.

“Of course silly.” Derpy put the box back and zipped up her backpack. “He says a lot of crazy things, but I can tell he doesn’t really mean them.” With that she put on her backpack and waved as she headed off.

As Sunset and Rarity stood there considering what they just heard; Rainbow Dash and Pinkie came down the hall and joined them.

“Well, Hunter went and got himself suspended.” Rainbow Dash reported

“What?” Sunset reeled at the change in gears. “What happened?”

“A couple of guys took his backpack.” Pinkie began. “And then they were like… ‘You’re a big meanie and we don’t like you’. She said in a snooty voice. “And Hunter was all like... ‘Give me that or there’ll be trouble’. She said in a deadpan voice. “And then they were like… ‘Ooh, scary’. She said in a sarcastic voice. “And then Hunter was like… ‘Hi-Ya’. She grabbed Rainbow Dash’s arm and pulled it behind her. “And then they…”

“They get it!” Rainbow Dash pulled her arm back.

“Well.” Rarity said through a thoughtful breath. “I’m certainly getting mixed signals here.”

“What are you talking about?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“We’ll explain later, we need to get to class.” Sunset said as the bell rang.

That night, long after the final lingering students left for the day, the evening janitor stepped from one of the classrooms he had just finished tending. As he readied his cart to move to the next, he overheard the terrible sound of metal screaming in protest as it was shredded. A deep growl followed and the confused man froze in fright. He stared down the hallway, eyes unblinking and breath all but held. A large shadow casted by the moonlight stretched across the perpendicular hall. He tried to put his shaking hand in his pocket to pull out his phone and as he fumbled a massive frame stepped into his field of vision. The darkness of the hall shaded it from view but the moonlight at its back highlighted its powerful frame. A pair of orange eyes stared into his and he immediately turned and ran.

Comments

[Perfectly Insane]

The only thing I don’t like about this, is I feel like Pinkie would be more active in trying to be Hunter’s friend. It is just her character to try her hardest to be friends with everyone, even people who she’s not friends with.

[Marezinger Z]

9607704
The only reason I held back with Pinkie's involvement is because Sunset is the one acting as the bridge between Hunter and the others. I do understand your point though.

[ALittleUnwell]

...see if I can find some connective tissue between them.”

Conveniently used in a discussion about a possible wild animal.