The Legend of the God-Hunter

by BobThePlaneswalker

A New Arrival

A mischievous beam of light antagonized Twilight as she tried to sleep. She rolled to the other side of the bed and snuggled her head under the covers. It's a good thing Spike is out. If he saw this he'd be calling me various forms of sleepy-head from now until the end of time. She chuckled.

In his adolescence Spike had become consumed with independence. After a grueling debate with Twilight he had managed to persuade her to let him journey on his own. He claimed that his travels would only take him to the border of the Everfree forest, no further than Zecora's, but she had a terrible suspicion that he had lied. She feared that his true intentions were to meet with his less intelligent reptilian brethren.

She poked her head out from under the covers and looked to the library's conglomeration of spell books. After eying up the section on transformation spells, she retreated back under the covers. No, I Pinkie promised.

Images of a terrified Spike surrounded by bloodthirsty dragons clouded her mind. How could she have allowed herself to make such a promise? Dealing with pubescent fledgelings was even more confusing than the nightmarish stories had let on. She threw the covers down. This is hopeless. I need to do SOMETHING to keep myself occupied.

She hopped out of bed and trotted to the base level of the library to scan the books. There had to be something that would entice her brain enough to pull it away from Spike.

There was the Intermediate Guide to Cooking Spells. She could cook Spike a nice warm meal. Then, when he came back, if he came back...

She let out a huff. Cooking spells weren't going to cut it. She looked to the next book of interest, the newest edition of Mythical Beasts and Critters of Equestria. That might work. She brought it to her desk and set it down with a heavy thud. She opened it up and scanned the table of contents.

The first creature she stopped at was the basilisk. She shuddered at the thought of those massive fangs and slitted eyes. No thank you!

She continued down the list, stopping at the Cockatrice. She found herself flooded with memories of that slithering snake-like tail and those glowing eyes. She felt as though her body was stiffening up, everything closing in around her. She violently shook her head to bring herself back to reality. Let's skip that one too.

She continued down the page until she came across the dragon. She began flipping to the labeled section but stopped herself half way through. What am I doing, this is only going to make things worse. She retreated to the table of contents and anxiously ran her eyes down the page managing only to process about every third or fourth word. She read half way down the next page before her willpower broke and she hastily flipped to the first page on young dragons.

“Dragons are often known for being mighty, fearless, and terrifying,” the passage began. “Contrary to popular belief, however, they do not earn these labels purely by nature. They earn them during their arduous childhoods.”

Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat and pressed on. “Young dragons are notoriously hard on each other. They often engage in very brutal fights. While this can be very destructive to a young dragon's health it is also thought to be the reason that they are often so strong once they reach adulthood.”

Twilight started closing the book, but she couldn't follow through with it. She threw it back open and continued reading. “Groups of young dragons have a distinct tendency to coax one another into up-taking extremely dangerous tasks. While a few of the tasks they tend to pressure one another into are chosen for practical purposes such as retrieving food or trinkets, most of them are chosen simply because they involve some form of risk, often the risk of death.”

Twilight slammed the book shut and dashed over to the section on transformation spells. She checked the room to see if anypony was watching before she lowered one of the books from its shelf. I'm so sorry Pinkie, that's my little Spike out there!

As soon as her mental voice had spoken the words the door flew open sending her screaming into the air. She turned to see Pinkie Pie standing a mere hoof length in front of her, teetering from pure momentum.

“Twilight! Twilight! Twilight!” Pinkie barraged, “I need your help! Please, please, pretty please will you he-” She abandoned her beseeching. Her smile disappeared and her eyes narrowed. She flopped her ears and sniffed the air. “Say, something doesn't seem right here. You weren't thinking of breaking a Pinkie Promise were you Twilight?”

Twilight's heart stopped. “What, BREAK a Pinkie Promise? No of course not!” She nervously chuckled as she slid the book behind her.

Pinkie glared at her. The clock ticked as her normally joyous and lovable eyes burned into Twilight's. Twilight put all her energy into holding her terrified tics at bay.

Pinkie moved closer, eyes narrowing.

She took one good sniff, thought for a second, then put her signature smile back on. “Okey dokey lokey!”

Twilight relaxed. As nonchalantly as she could, she placed the book back onto the shelf. Without even knowing it Pinkie had made the case that betraying her beloved little assistant was not the right thing to do. As much as she wanted to chase him down, preventing him from doing anything on his own had left Twilight with a severely depressed dragon. He needed this. She slid the book back into its spot and sighed. “So you were saying you needed something Pinkie.”

Pinkie's eyes doubled in size. “Oh yeah! Twilight it's big.”

Twilight cocked a brow. “It's big?”

Pinkie bounded into the air. “It's huge!”

“How huge?”

Pinkie grabbed Twilight's head and pulled it in until her snout smacked into Twilight's. “Ginormous!”

“Well, what is it?!” Twilight asked.

“There's somepony NEW in Ponyville!”

Twilight gasped. Pinkie really knew how to get a pony energized! “Oh that's wonderful! We should go introduce ourselves!”

A sinister grin slid across Pinkie's bubbly features and she rubbed her hooves together in goofy yet somehow maniacal fashion. “Yes Twilight, introducing yourself is EXACTLY what you're going to do!”

Twilight stared at her. “Uhh... not sure I follow you Pinkie.”

Pinkie grabbed her shoulders. “You know how long its been since I threw a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party?”

Twilight thought back. It had been quite a long time. The last time Pinkie had thrown a party was... “Was I the last one you threw one for?”

Pinkie's head bounded up and down. “You know how long ago that was?!”

“Umm-”

“TOO LONG!” Pinkie shouted.

Twilight giggled. “I guess it has been a while. Alright then, what can I do to help?”

“Wellllll —” Pinkie took in a deep breath “— I want to throw the party at the Cakes, the Cakes sell awesome things like cookies and strudels and milkshakes and CAKES and that's super dee duper cool except the new pony might go looking for one of those delicious delights and if he does the whole surprise will be blown!”

Twilight's giggle came as a chortle this time. “So, you want me to keep him busy huh?”

Pinkie clasped her hooves together and domed the most irresistible expression in her arsenal. “Pleeaaassseee?”

“Of course Pinkie! I'm happy to do everything I can to help make the next 'Welcome to Ponyville Extravaganza' a success!”

Pinkie assaulted Twilight with a flying hug, ejecting the air from her lungs. “Yes yes yes! Thank you so much Twilight! You're amazing!”

“Thanks Pinkie,” Twilight wheezed, “You mind?”

“Oh sorry!” Pinkie hopped off.

Twilight returned to her feet and gasped for air.

“You okay Twilight?” Pinkie asked.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, I'm okay.”

Pinkie smiled. “Good! I really need you for this Twilight. You're the perfect mare for the job! When I saw him, he was reading a book. I knew right then that you two would be bestest friends!”

Twilight's expression went flat. “Pinkie just because we both read doe-”

Pinkie pushed her out the door. “No time to lose Sister! You've got a job to do!”

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“You see him Twilight?” Pinkie asked.

Twilight tried to look through the bale of hay Pinkie had camouflaged her in but a straw poked her in the eye. She let out an aggravated yelp. “Pinkie I don't think I can even open my eyes in this thing let alone see this pony.”

The hay-bale with a pink fluffy tail permeating its backside hopped over to its companion. “Just stick your face against the front and open your eyes.”

“Pinkie I'm not doing that.”

“Oh fine, I guess you can come out. Just make sure he doesn't see you.”

Relieved, Twilight pushed her way out and got flush with the side of the closest building. She looked around the corner to the cafe. There, just like Pinkie had said, sat a cerulean colt with his face buried in what looked to be the most massive book in all of Equestria. She could see a horn poking out from behind the tome. His cutie mark looked to be a depiction of a meteor shower. “I see him.”

“Well, what do you think? Can you keep him distracted?”

“I think so.”

Pinkie erupted from the hay-bale. “Oh thanks sooo much Twilight!”

“He may not find me very interesting though, we might need...” There was a silence that was very uncharacteristic of Pinkie's presence. The two lifeless hay-bales sitting beside Twilight confirmed her suspicion. “Okay then, guess it's just you Twilight. Piece of cake. Just gotta go up, say hi, and find something you two have in common...” She took a deep breath. “Here we go.”

She approached the unsuspecting unicorn. As she walked her mind churned out an armada of possible outcomes, not one of which was very comforting. What if she walked up there and made a complete fool of herself? If she did, this pony may never respect her. She'd always be just some silly mare to him. She turned around and dashed back behind the wall, her breath suddenly labored.

“Wait what am I doing?” She peaked around the corner at the still oblivious unicorn. He was just another pony. She had introduced herself to ponies before. What made her so afraid of approaching this one? He should be easier to approach shouldn't he? He's a unicorn so he probably knows something about magic and nopony in their right mind would try tackling a book that big unless they REALLY loved reading.

She realized what was happening. This pony potentially had a lot in common with her and that alone was apparently enough pressure to stir up her fears of failure. She pulled her head back behind the wall. She was actually buying into Pinkie's blatant stereotyping.

She looked in the direction of the library, then back to the stallion. She grumbled. “Twilight, you're more mature than this.” She gathered her courage and trotted out to the cafe.

She sat in front of the stallion and cleared her throat. “Hello!”

He lowered his book and let out a gasp. “Miss, your eye!”

Twilight felt as though her stomach had just been warped out of her body. “M-My eye?”

“Here.” His horn lit up and his drink formed into a silvery reflective substance which he handed to her. “You better have look at it.”

“Thank you.” Twilight looked into the cup. The eye which had suffered the hay's wrath was now red, irritated, and admittedly not very attractive. She groaned. Of all the times for something like this to happen. She composed herself and smiled. “I'm really sorry about that, it got stabbed by a piece of hay.”

“Well that sounds awful! What were you doing with the hay that it would have access to your eye?”

Twilight stared at him. This was the first time she had really had a chance to look at him in detail. He was tall, just a bit shorter than Big Macintosh but far less bulky. Behind a pair of glasses were two silvery white eyes. Over his head laid a similarly silvery mane that fell about halfway down his neck.

“Miss?”

“Oh, sorry! What were we, oh right the hay. Trust me, you don't wanna know.” He arched a brow. “Anyway —” she pointed to the book “— I was just wondering what you're reading?”

“Oh, are you a reader yourself or were you just intrigued by the size of this monstrosity?”

She smiled. “Well its size IS very intriguing, but my love for reading is what made me ask.”

His eyes brightened. “Oh fantastic! It's good to see that there are still a few ponies interested in reading. Knowledge is a truly powerful thing and reading is one of the best ways to obtain it.”

Twilight beamed. “I couldn't agree with you more!”

He closed the tome and, with a noticeable amount of effort, slid it over to Twilight. “This is a rather rare one actually. I was fortunate enough to find it in the bowels of an old library a few towns back.”

She looked at the weathered cover. It read 'Master's Reference to Combat Spells and Enchantments'. She found herself feeling a little appalled at his selection. “Why would you ever want to read something like this?”

He chuckled. “I assume, by your reaction, that you're of the mindset that spells like these shouldn't exist?”

“That's an understatement.”

He nodded. “That is a mindset we share my friend. However being of such a mindset does not change the fact that these spells do exist. That being said, a strong understanding of them and the forces that drive them will allow a pony to identify when another intends on using them. Also, it puts him in a much better position to defend both himself and others against such an aggressor.”

“Hmm... An interesting outlook I guess.”

He extended his hoof to her. “Well if my reasoning for learning about such a brutish discipline has sufficiently quelled your disapproval of me, I would like to introduce myself.”

She nodded and took his hoof. “Yes I guess it will do. I'm Twilight.”

His face lit up. “Hello there Twilight, you can call me Rei.”

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The door to the library opened up granting access to Twilight and Rei. Twilight stepped off to the side and stretched out her foreleg. “This is it!”

Rei struggled to get his pack through the door. Twilight moved to assist but he solved the issue with a bit of magic before she was able to be of any help. He entered the library and inspected it. “Oh my, when you said you lived in a library I thought that you were simply emphasizing the size of your book collection. You literally live in a library!” He dropped his pack and walked around the shelves scanning over the selection. “How is it?”

“Well it's kind of like the best thing ever!” Twilight gleefully responded.

Rei chortled. “Well good for you. You seem like a pony who deserves a nice setup like this.”

“Oh thank you! That's very nice of you.” She watched him scan over the shelves. “See anything you would find interesting?”

He finished investigating the row he was on before responding. “Unfortunately when you read as much as I do, you have to look for a very long time before you come across something you haven't read.”

“You think you've read all of these?”

Rei sighed. “Most likely. All the ones that interest me anyway.”

Twilight attempted to make a rough estimate of just how many books this pony had read. “That's unbelievable! I thought I was the only pony crazy enough to do something like that. How long do you think it took you?”

“Too long my young friend. Too long. Would you mind if I checked the second level?”

She shook her head. “No not at all!”

A silence came over the two as they ascended. Before Twilight could find the words to break it, Rei spoke up. “So tell me young Twilight, what genre of literature do you find to be the most fascinating?”

Twilight's response was instant and so fluent that it seemed rehearsed. “Magic, particularly those that hold spells that I can learn, or tips on sharpening my skills.”

Admiration made its way onto Rei's features. “Very respectable! Many ponies have to force themselves to muddle through the technical and sometimes tedious tomes on magic. It's not often you find one able to actually enjoy the experience.”

Twilight sighed. “Yeah, and for that exact reason I rarely have anypony to talk to about it.”

He stopped and raised a hoof to his chin. “Hmm...” He scanned the room until he saw Owlowiscious. “Tell me Twilight, that owl you have there, does he deliver mail?”

“Owlowiscious? I never really thought to ask that of him. He's smart though, I suppose that's something he could do pretty easily.”

Rei nodded. “Well how about this, I will give you my travel itinerary. If you feel the need to talk to somepony about magic, you can send me a letter via Owlowiscious. We can be magic pen pals!”

“That's brilliant! I would love that! Would that work for you Owlowiscious?”

“Hoo!”

She giggled. “I think that's a yes.”

“Alright, it's settled then. I'll leave a copy of my travel plans for you before I leave. Wouldn't want poor Owlowiscious to have to travel all of Equestria just to deliver a letter.”

She nodded. “Agreed.”

He walked to the nearest book shelf and scanned over it. “Tell me Twilight, Have you ever heard the Legend of the Immortals?”

She shook her head. “No I can't say that I have.”

“It's a tale that was never preserved on parchment and very few creatures know it well enough to tell it.”

Twilight smirked. “I'm going to make the wild assumption that you just happen to be one of those creatures.”

“Good guess!” Rei teased. “Would you like to hear it?”

“Absolutely!”

“Well then, let me take you back many, many years. I must apologize as I do not know the exact number. Suffice it to say that this was a long time ago.”

Twilight chuckled. “Well then I better get my time traveling cap on!” Twilight snuck in a face-hoof.

“Our world was almost devoid of life and quite a wretched place to live,” Rei continued. “It was chaotic and without order, the very physics and laws of nature were in constant turmoil.” He levitated a book down from one of the shelves and studied its cover.

“It is said that there were a few creatures with the will to bring the chaotic forces of reality into harmony with one another. Thus some higher power, maybe the fates, maybe an omnipotent entity, maybe just luck in its purest form, gifted these few creatures with such magnificent power that they became capable of harmonizing their world. They set forth rules for one another, and delegated the individual responsibilities of keeping the world in harmony to the ones most capable of upholding those specific responsibilities. Before long the world was coming into balance, and creatures of all kinds, life itself, was beginning to thrive.”

There was a low hum and a snap as Twilight warped herself to Rei's side. “Are they still alive today?”

Rei returned the book to its shelf. “It's tough to say. You see as time went on the blessed creatures, the Immortals we'll call them, grew in numbers. As it turned out they were able to pass on their gift to their children. The governing they had seen work so well in the past began failing them. Some began openly disrespecting the rules they had set for each other. Those responsible for keeping the others in order tried their best to return their dynamic to its former balance but it was a losing fight. The tension between them grew until one day, during a summit, it erupted. Very shortly after the summit the Immortals disappeared entirely from the lives of the mortals. Whether they are simply in hiding or they have vanished from existence entirely was at one time a hot topic for debate. The only thing that is certain now is that they are nothing but a dying story to the select few mortals who's families still pass on the tale.”

“Wait, is this fictional story?”

Rei shrugged. “That has also been debated. I would say no, but many others think me crazy for believing such a thing.”

Twilight sat, lost in thought. She looked to Rei and arched a brow. “How do YOU know this story?”

“During my stay at a small residence in the land of the griffons I heard about a living elder who had achieved an age greater than any before him. Recognizing this individual as a spring of information I immediately sought him out.”

Twilight looked out her window at the evening sun. “Huh, I see. You know, I bet Princess Celestia has a great wealth of information to give too.”

Rei's ears perked up. “Funny you should mention her, she is actually the one I'm traveling to see. She's over one thousand years old I hear.”

Twilight nodded. “That's right. Both her and her sister are wonderful. You'll absolutely love them! I know it.” She looked to the stack of letters by her desk. “They're both very busy though. Getting a chance to talk to them may be difficult.”

“You talk as though you know them on a personal level young Twilight.”

Twilight averted her gaze and kicked her hoof across the ground. “Yeah well, uhh, Princess Celestia is kind of my mentor.”

His eyes betrayed awe. “That's impressive my young friend! You must be an extremely special mare!”

Twilight blushed. “Thank you. I try to be the best I can be for her.”

Rei walked over and laid a hoof on her shoulder. “I'm sure you won't disappoint her. Achieving tutelage under a mare as powerful as Celestia is a great achievement, it certainly earns you my respect. If you can impress her like that, you can achieve anything you put your mind to.”

Twilight smiled. “Thank you so much. That really means a lot.” There was a sharp knock at the door. Twilight chuckled. “Better go see who that is.”

“Yes of course, I'll be just a second up here if you don't mind.”

Twilight nodded. “Not a problem at all!” She made her way to the front door which was now being pummeled by the visitor. “Okay, okay, I'm coming!” she called. When she opened it she found Applejack glaring at her. “Applejack? Is something wrong?”

Applejack's brow furrowed. “Is somethin wro-Where in Equestria have you been Sugarcube?!”

“I've been showing my new friend Rei the library? Why was there someplace you were expecting me to...” It was as though Applejack had just smacked her upside the head. “The party!”

Applejack's pupils went microscopic. “Twi!”

Twilight looked behind her to find Rei making his way to the first floor, well within earshot. She covered her mouth with her hoof to prevent any more slips of the tongue. Both mares looked to him. He ruffled his mane with a hoof and tilted his head. “I'm sorry Twilight, is there somewhere you need to be?”

Twilight's mind worked double time trying to salvage the surprise. After a second or so of thinking she responded. “Yes actually, a friend of ours is having a party that I should really be attending.”

“Ah, I see. Please don't let me hold you up.” Rei raised his things and made his way to the door. “I'll just be off so you two can do what you need to do. It was wonderful meeting you! I left my travel plans on your desk.”

Applejack looked to Twilight, silently screaming at her to stop him.

There was a snap as Twilight warped in front of him. “Say Rei, if you're not doing anything, our friend would love to have you as a guest!” Her mouth contorted into a monstrously wide grin.

“Oh I don't know,” Rei replied. “I wouldn't want to impose on somepony I don't even know.”

“Oh don't you worry yourself any mister,” Applejack chimed in. “Ah can guarantee ya won't be imposin any! As a matter of fact when it comes to Pinkie Pie, you're imposin if you DON'T come!” She matched Twilight's grin.

Rei chuckled. “Oh is that so? Well that's very kind of you girls to extend an invitation to me but I really should be getting some sleep. I'll be making the trek to Canterlot tomorrow.”

Twilight frowned. “Please Rei! There will be all kinds of ponies there! You just may learn some really cool things about Ponyville!”

Applejack nodded. “Not to mention you'll get to try some of the best food in all of Equestria!”

Rei looked to their pleading faces. “Well from the looks of it, accompanying you two to this little party would really make your nights.”

Twilight's grin returned as she gave an exaggerated nod. “It most certainly would!”

Rei sighed and put his hoof to his chin. “Hmm... Oh I might as well.”

Both mares leapt for joy. Twilight captured him in a hug. “Thank you so much! Pinkie will be so delighted to meet you!”

He smiled. “Well I'm happy to brighten your nights.”

There was a short silence before Applejack spoke up. “Well ya'll, we best get goin. Don't want to miss anythin.” Both Twilight and Rei nodded in agreement and the three began their walk to the Cakes, all still very oblivious to what their night truly had in store for them.