Hunter/Prey

by UnluckyReaver

Chapter 19

Hunter aimed, closed his eyes, squeezed the trigger before he was knocked to the ground as something collided with him. Caught off guard, Hunter found himself pinned underneath another one of the shriekers. The monster let out an ear piercing howl, and began to snap at the human’s face; meanwhile, using his free hand, Hunter desperately tried to hold the monster back. Managing to bring a foot up to the shrieker’s torso, Hunter pushed with all of his strength, forcing the creature off of him. Both beast and man scrambled to get back to their feet. The shrieker was quicker, and lunged towards the human only to collapse as a loud bang echoed through the cavern.

Hunter slowly stood and made his way over to the fallen monster. Looking it over for a moment, Hunter brought the gun up and fired a second round into the shrieker. Just to make sure. Hunter told himself. I wonder how many ponies Bloodblood’s old man...Blueblood!

Quickly turning his attention back to the ailing unicorn, Hunter found the pony lying in a pool of his own blood. “Blueblood? You alive?” Hunter called out as he approached the unicorn. Hearing the human’s voice, Blueblood opened his eyes and looked up. As human and pony locked eyes, Hunter stopped in his tracks and brought the pistol up.

“Wait...” Blueblood managed to croak. “I’m not... I think... I didn’t change.”

“Not from where I’m standing.” Hunter countered.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t change. I’m not like them!”

“Yes you are, your eyes, your teeth; exactly the same as theirs. The only difference is that you still have a horn. Well, most of your horn.”

“Of course I have a horn! I’m a unicorn, fool! Why wouldn’t I have a... what do you mean by ‘most of my horn’?” Bloodblood asked as he reached up to feel his horn, only to have his eyes go wide in shock when he found that half of it was missing. “What did you do?” Blueblood yelled. “You kill over a dozen unicorns with that thing and you only hit the end of my horn! Then what use are you?”

Hunter’s eyes narrowed. “They were unicorns? Are you sure? None of them had horns.”

“What are you talking about? Just about everpony that was here was a unicorn.”

“Look again.” Hunter said, gesturing to one of the corpses.

Blueblood turned his head just enough to look at one of the corpses without losing sight of the human. He recognised the mare, or what was once a mare, as one of his second cousins; the once pompous pony now lay dead on the ground with a pair of holes in her chest. If Blueblood hadn’t known that this particular creature was once a unicorn, he wouldn’t have guessed it now. It wasn’t the claws or jagged maw that caught the Prince’s attention; it was the clear lack of a horn. The horn wasn’t broken or cut off, but appeared to have never been there to begin with. “I... I don’t understand...” Blueblood stammered. “They... they should have... why don’t they have horns?!”

Pushing himself up onto his hooves, Blueblood wandered from body to body. “How is this possible, a unicorn can’t live without their horn, so how can they... how am I still alive?”

Slowly lowering the pistol, Hunter gave Blueblood a confused look. “I’m not really sure what you’re getting at here Bluey.”

“Of course you wouldn’t understand.” Blueblood snapped as he turned to face the human. “You never had a horn, you couldn’t comprehend how bad losing it is.”

“Then inform me.”

“In... inform you? You know what, I will; just so you can see how ignorant you truly are. A unicorn’s horn is more than a bone that sticks out of our heads. It’s an organ, like our brain or heart, but probably more important than both. Without it we cannot control the magic that flows through our bodies, it would build up within us and eventually we would be destroyed by massive build up within our own bodies.”

“So it’s like the opposite of what happened to me.”

“Now it’s my turn to say I don’t understand.” Blueblood said, blinking in confusion.

“It turns out that humans can’t internalize magic energy the way you ponies can.” Hunter said dismissively as he started looking around the cave, taking his eyes off Blueblood for the first time since the conversation started. “The Princess said that it builds up on the outside of our bodies until it... crushes... I think that’s the word she used, us.”

“Then why hasn’t that happened yet?” Blueblood asked. “Or does it just take an extended amount of time?”

“Hmmm? Oh, the Princess did something or other to stop it from happening.” Hunter explained, as he made his way over to the broken statue.

“‘The Princess did something or other’ to you? You don’t even know what she did?”

“Of course I do. She... how did she describe it... oh, yeah; she took a tiny amount of her own magic power and placed it in me.” Hunter explained, as he idly shifted through Chernabog’s former prison.

“And that worked?”

“I think so; I’m still alive, right?” Hunter chuckled. “It’s strange to think that magic can be so dangerous without anyone using it. Let it build up on the outside and you get crushed. Let it build up on the inside and you get exploded.”

“I don’t know what’s worse; your imagery or your use of language.”

“Lose the ability to regulate the magic in your body and die.” Hunter muttered, ignoring Blueblood. “But Blue over there lost his horn and didn’t die. Those things lost their horns and didn’t die. Wait... Blue only lost part of his horn so he lived, that means...”

Hunter exited the ancient vault and walked over to one of the dead shriekers. Kneeling down, the human pulled out his knife and began to cut into the creature’s flesh. Blood dripped from the incision, and then increased in volume as Hunter peeled the flesh back from the former pony’s skull.

“W-what are you doing?” Blueblood stammered, quickly turning away from the scene.

“I’m skinning this thing, what does it look like I’m doing?” Hunter replied. “I have an idea on why they turned and why you didn’t, but I need to see its skull to be certain.”

Still turned away from the human and his grim task, Blueblood focused on controlling his growing nausea. A grunt from Hunter and the sound of tearing flesh drew Blueblood’s attention. Don’t look. The prince told himself, refusing to turn and closing his eyes for good measure. If you see it then it’s happening. If it’s happening, then all this is real. And you want none of this to be real. It’s just some horrid dream. Any moment now I’ll wake up in my luxurious bed and everything will be fine.

“Hey Blue, I need you to come look at something.” Hunter called out, breaking Blueblood’s line of thought.

“What is it you wanted...” Blueblood trailed off when he saw what was now in front of him. The skin and muscle from the creature’s skull had been peeled away to the point where one of its eyes had fallen out of its socket. Although Hunter’s hands were stained in the creature’s blood, to Blueblood the human seemed completely unfazed by the idea that he had just mutilated something that used to be a pony. In that moment all of his fatigue, pain, fear and disgust came crashing down on Blueblood at once. The unicorn prince let out a single “Nope.” before collapsing to the ground.

---

“Yes Princes, I’m ready to use my magic for good instead of evil.” Discord said, taking a sweeping bow. “Most of the time.” he added under his breath.

“Congratulations on your success, ponies.” Celestia addressed the elements of harmony with a warm smile. “I definitely feel a big change in Discord.”

The solar princes then leaned down so she could whisper in her student’s ear. “I’ll leave the Elements of Harmony with you, Twilight, just in case.”

Twilight nodded in agreement, before moving to stand next to her friend. “You were right when you said that Fluttershy would be the one to find a way to reform Discord. By treating Discord as a friend she got him to realize that friendship was actually important to him; and something that once he had, he didn’t want to lose.”

“Go on, say it.” Fluttershy said while giving Discord a small poke.

The draconicus let out a small groan before relenting. “A-alright; friendship is magic.” he quickly blurted out.
The yellow pegasus reached up and took hold of Discord’s paw with her hoof. “See; he can be a real sweetheart once you get to know him.”

The others quickly averted their eyes, looking in every direction except at Fluttershy.

“As wonderful as this is,” Celestia began in an attempt to move past the rather awkward situation, “we must return to Canterlot.”

As if on cue, a chariot pulled by two guards landed. Saying their farewells, and exchanging promises to visit, Celestia quickly ushered Discord up onto the chariot. A moment later, the chariot was airborne and on its way.
It was ten minutes into the flight when Discord finally turned to speak with Celestia. “So, what’s the real reason you released me?”

“I felt that you had been imprisoned long enough,” Celestia answered, “and I knew that Twilight, and more importantly, Fluttershy could show you the importance of friendship.”

“Oh, come now, Celestia.” Discord retorted. “I know that you know that I know you better than that. Why now? Why not last year or next year or next century?”

“Very well, I shall tell you, but I urge you to be patient. This will be a rather long story and I rather that you didn’t interrupt me. It all started when...”

---

Shrouded Armour peered through the steel bars that separated him from the changeling prisoner. The changeling returned the favor by sitting in the center of the cell and peered back out. The two continued to stare at each other for several long minutes, neither guard nor prisoner willing to speak first. In the end, the silence proved to be too much for Shrouded Armour. “What were you after? Why did you come here? What do you want?” Shrouded snapped.

The changeling remained silent; instead it simply continued to stare at Shrouded.

“Well... Say something!” Shrouded shouted, only to be met with the same silent response.

“Say anything! One word, a chirp, something!” Shrouded demanded. “Anything to show that you understand what I’m saying!”

The captive changeling once again gave no response except the continual blank stare.

I am really bad at this. Shrouded Armour said to himself, hanging his head for a moment before the turned and exited the dungeon.

---

“As you know, several of our seers have had visions of a great darkness approaching our great land.” Lady Prestidigitation began as she addressed the gathered members of House Lulamoon. “Whatever this vision means, whatever this darkness entails, we will be ready for it. Once long ago, we failed Equestria. We failed our princess. We will not do so again! All of you know what is expected of you, and what you are to do. Now go, fulfill your duty. Make your house proud. Make Equestria proud!”

The gathered ponies all rushed off in different directions, each with a clear goal in mind.

“A moving, if not short, speech my lady.” Foresight said as he approached the unicorn matriarch.

“Sometimes long speeches are unnecessary.” Prestidigitation replied. “All that truly matters is that you remind ponies what they must do, and the reason behind it.”

“I never would have thought of that, but then again I am not one for giving grand speeches.” Foresight smiled. “However, this new plan of yours; it contradicts every previous decision we made.”

“I know.”

“Then what made you change your mind?”

“The visions; I finally saw the pattern in them.”

“Pattern?”

“Every time we tried to move against the human the vision became worse. I realized that should he fall into darkness, it will be because we pushed him into it.”

“But he did fall; he died at the hands of the diamond dogs.”

“And now if this evil has been truly unleashed, I fear that we may have lost our greatest ally.” Prestidigitation paused for a moment in contemplation. “Find my daughter and bring her home. I think she is finally ready for my final lesson.”

---

“Are you all set then?” Kruger asked the female griffon.

“Yes Ambassador, I’m ready.” Olivia answered. “I’ve put off my return trip long enough. I really should be getting back to the Kingdom.”

“I understand.” Kruger sighed. “With you leaving and the human... well, I guess I just liked the idea of not being the only meat eater around here.”

“Maybe you could get some of the higher ups send you some fledglings, you know, some young griffons just out of school, fresh and eager to learn about the world. You can call them your assistants.” Olivia teased.

“I really don’t think that...”

“Oh, and then you can give them a numerical rank.”

“I don’t think that that would be appropriate.”

“Probably not, but it’s what I would do.”

“Yes, and that’s why I’m the highly respected ambassador to the Kingdom and you are not.”

“I guess that’s true. This... this might seem like an odd question; but do you really think the human is dead?” Olivia asked.

“Where did that come from?” Kruger replied. “Given the reports that both Princess Luna and yourself gave, it is very unlikely that he could have survived.”

“But he could have, right? I mean, no one actually saw his body.”

“What’s brought this on? Why are you asking this now?”

“I... I don’t know.” Olivia confessed. “It’s just I’ve been thinking about what happened in the caves. What I saw him endure. It just seems so strange that someone that could go through all that, someone with that much strength, that much will, could die so easily.”

“I know,” Kruger said as he placed a talon on Olivia’s shoulder, “but even the greatest of us can be brought down by something small. Hunter, he saved you and all the other captives from a place you had thought to be inescapable. He brought down both the alpha and the shaman by himself, and did so without any of you being killed; and then he died because he was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Something like that may seem impossible, but it did happen and we must learn to accept it.”

“I understand. I just can’t shake this strange feeling, like we’re all missing something.”

---

“Are you sure about this?” a cloaked figure asked in a whispered voice. “That place was locked away, hidden for a reason.”

“We don’t have a choice.” A second cloaked figure replied. “If what we suspect actually happened, then we need to know.”

“Then what if it is? If it has really escaped, what do you plan on doing?”

“He was sealed away before, he can be imprisoned again.”

“How do you plan on doing that?” the first one asked. “Sky and Land died fighting Cataclysm, not mention that they had both the humans and the Elements to help them. We have neither.”

“No, but the elements still exist, there are still alicorns and as for the humans... we may not need them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember, the story says that it was an army of humans that held the beast at bay until Sky and Land could use the Elements on it. Equestria has its own army, should the worst come to pass, they shall perform their duty.”

“And where does that leave us?”

“Nowhere, we shall simply set things in motion then fade away.”

“Give up everything we’ve worked for?”

“I never said that.”

---

“You know it’s not wise for anypony to sit around and do nothing all day,” Stargazer commented, “even if that pony is a princess.”

“I have not been sitting around idle as you have suggested.” Luna countered, then lifted the stack of papers off of her desk. “I have been attempting to finish this work.”

Stargazer moved closer to the desk and looked over the papers that Luna was working on. They were covered in scratchy writing and ink spots, work clearly done by someone unfamiliar with using a quill and ink fountain. “Princess are these...” the unicorn asked.

“Yes.” Luna answered. “This is what Hunter was working on before he…” she trailed off momentarily as she fought back her sadness, “they appear to be a collection of fables, most likely ones that he was told as a child. I have been transcribing them, as well as correcting his spelling. My goal is to have them compiled in a book, a token to remember him by, to remember that he was here.”

“Are you sure that you should be doing this?” Stargazer asked. “I mean, I can see the loss is still quite heavy on your mind. Would it not be better to put this off until you have had time to grieve.”

“I cannot think of any other way to occupy my time.” Luna confessed. “If I focus on this task, I do not have the opportunity to think of how he died; or of how I failed him.”

“Princess, I knew Hunter. I knew that he thought of you as a friend; and I also know that he would not have blamed you for what happened.”

“Both you and my sister have told me this. While I recognise that at the time, catching him would have been impossible, it does not change how I feel.”

“I understand Princess. We feel how we feel despite any reason for it.”

The doors to the room flew open as Discord came floating in. “Ah, Luna, just the mare I was looking for.” Discord smiled. “You know I’ve been looking for your for quite some time. You’d think they give visitors a map.”

“Discord; what is the meaning of this intrusion?” Luna demanded.

“Oh, nothing much; I just happen to have a proposition for you. One I think you’ll want to hear.”

“Very well, speak; but make it quick.”

“So much for polite conversation.” Discord frowned. “This conversation is meant only for us, outsiders will have to leave.”

Luna looked over at Stargazer, who now had Discord’s disembodied hands attempting to shoo her off. “That will be all, Stargazer. Thank you for speaking with me. Should the opportunity arise, we shall continue our conversation.”

“If you are certain, Princess.” Stargazer said, shooting Luna a worried look before exiting the room.

“We are now alone, say what you came here to say.”

“Very well, if you’re going to be like that about it.” Discord relented. “I know all about your little human friend and I was thinking, what with me being newly reformed and all, I could use my powers to reunite the two of you, how does that sound?”

“It sounds preposterous.” Luna replied. “Even you cannot bring back the dead.”

“I never said anything about bringing the dead back to life, now did I?”

“Then it is your intention to lay me low, to end my life? You have grown even more foolish that I would have dared imagine.”

“I said nothing about killing you either, Princess.”

“Then what are you saying?” Luna asked, her eyes narrowing.

“I’m saying that your human friend is still alive.” Discord told her with a broad smile. “I can sense him; he’s got some strange chaotic energy in him, even by my standards. Its quite odd that you can’t sense him, or is it that you never bothered to look?”

“Hunter is alive?” Luna asked quietly, not sure if she really wanted an answer.

“Yes, he is alive, and if you want I can send you to him.”

“Hunter is alive.” Luna repeated, still unsure if she believed what Discord was telling here was the truth.

“So, Princess, do you want me to reunite the two of you?”

---

Sitting on the ground with his back against the cavern wall, Hunter overlooked his work. Before him was what was left of the creature he had been working on. The remains were spread out on the floor, in a puddle of blood and other fluids. Each piece having been looked over, poked, prodded, cut and whatever other forms of crud scrutiny that the human could come up with before he moved onto the next one. With every passing piece, Hunter felt his hope dwindle a little, whatever secret he had hoped to glean had slipped through his fingers.

“Maybe I should have paid more attention in Biology class...” Hunter muttered to himself. “Not that it would matter, ponies and magic and everything.”

He lifted the creatures’ skull off the ground and slowly turned it over in his hands, carefully scanned the surface. As he turned the skull towards its forehead, the human found what he was looking for. There was a small ridge with a series of shallow grooves running up it, giving the appearance that its horn had been pushed down so it laid flat against the creature’s skull. Hunter glanced over at the still unconscious Blueblood, then back down at the skull.”Why is it that Blue is still a pony, well mostly pony, and you turned into... this?” he asked the skull. “I was right that you still had your horn, so that’s probably got something to do with it.”

He sat there, idly turning the skull as his mind slowly cycled through every possible answer he could come up with. His frustration rose as he moved from one preposterous explanation to the next. Finally, his confusion and anger getting the better of him, Hunter threw the skull across the cave. “Why can’t I figure this out?” Hunter asked aloud. “It’s like I’m back wandering through... those... tunnels...” he trailed off as revelation slowly creeped over him.
Hunter started to laugh, imagining Selene scolding him. Foolish mortal, always looking at what you don’t know instead of what you do know.

“Maybe I don’t need to figure this out.” Hunter told himself. “I know the how, and for now that’s going to have to be enough.”

Comments

[ponyclaws]

Wonderful as all the others and also its good to see.your back

[Luna Ravenwolf]

yay your back