> The Hunter
>  by HunterBraxton
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Hunter
Chapter 1


A million miles away in the sun Hydrogen atoms react with each other and create light. One ray of their light traveled towards earth, through the atmosphere, past the clouds, past a flying bird, and through a small gap between some blinds just to land on Hunter's eyelid. 'Who is Hunter?' you may ask. Why he is the main character of our little tale. His full name is Hunter Braxton, nineteen years old, college freshman, he has short brown hair with sideburns that run down his face and meet on his chin to form a beard. He isn't very big, only about 180 pounds. He's an avid fan of the outdoors. The walls of his bedroom are adorned with past trophies ranging from Large Mouth Bass to a pair of White Tail bucks, and a couple of fish identification charts. It also has a gun rack on one wall next to the door. On the top was his prized Winchester Model 94, a lever action 30-30. It was given to him by his late grandfather when he turned fourteen, and his grandfather was too old to handle its recoil. The rifle had served his grandfather and himself very well. Beneath it was his Mosin Nagant, which he bought to refurbish, and his Winchester 1200, 16 gauge pump; which was always loaded with buckshot, just in case of unwelcome visitors. In a corner of his room he had a desk which held his TV and his Xbox One, which he worked very hard to save up for. Between the desk and the wall was an open space where he kept his fishing rods. In the other corner he kept his golf clubs, every now and then he fancied a round at the local course. As the sunlight mingled on his still closed eyes he began to stir a little. 
"For fuck's sake."
He hated mornings, unless he was going fishing or hunting, and today was not one of those mornings. He sat up in his bed, and began digging under his pillow for his cell phone. He found it and pressed the home button, 9:27, about right for a Saturday. Except for today was Wednesday, he was done with college for the summer, and he currently didn't have a job. He had no messages or emails, which was slightly disappointing. He put his phone down and threw the covers off of himself, exposing that he was only wearing his boxers. He got up from his incredibly comfy bed and stretched a little, then with a quick scratch to his crotch he walked across the room to his dresser and gathered a fresh set of clothes for the day. He then took a quick shower, walking out of the bathroom smelling of Old Spice and wearing simple blue jeans and a light blue Columbia shirt with a skull on the front and the words "Natural Born Angler" written above it. As he stepped out of the bathroom he couldn't help but feel like something was a little bit... off. Was there something he was supposed to do today? Is it someone's birthday? Did he have a date that night? LOL no, he couldn't get a date to save his life. He walked through the house to the kitchen, thinking over what was wrong. He opened up a cupboard so he could get a glass. Reaching for one he noticed the smaller glasses on the second shelf and briefly considered a glass of good old Jack Daniels. 'It's ten in the morning, I should wait until at least six tonight.' He thought. With that he got a regular glass and poured some of the sweet tea that his sister, Haley, had made the night before. He took a sip and recoiled in disgust. 'Ugh, too sweet.' Then it hit him, it was quiet, too quiet. He left the kitchen and walked down the hallway back to where he and his sister's rooms were. He opened his sister's door and what he found surprised and confused him; Haley was not in there. 'Eh, her boyfriend must have already come and got her.' Hunter hated her boyfriends, they were all the same; redneck hicks that dropped out early in high school and were incredibly stupid, drove shitty trucks, dipped and smoked, lived in a shitty trailer, and if they had a job it was shitty, and none of them had any desire to better themselves. One even turned down a very nice job, where they would pay for him to get a GED and go to college, and instead went to work with his mother's boy-toy doing yard work; they went out of business a month later. He shut her door and went back into his room. He grabbed his laptop and turned it on. He did his usual, look at Facebook, read the news, and then spent the next two hours listening to music on YouTube. At about noon Hunter decided that he was hungry, he put his computer to the side and went back to the kitchen, he opened up the food cupboard and found nothing that would take less than thirty minutes for it to be edible, there was also no pizzas in the freezer, or leftovers in the fridge. 
"Well, looks like today is a Ruby Tuesday kind of day." He said to no one.
Hunter loved Ruby Tuesday, the food was good and the salad bar was very diverse. He but on his black and grey Nikes and grabbed his keys and wallet. Walking through the house once again he thought to himself, 'Do I want to take the truck, or do I want to drive the Thing? Hmm... I'll drive the Thing. He left through the front door and locked it behind him. He turned around and dropped his keys when he saw what was before him. His neighbor's houses were gone. The road was gone. The power lines were gone. Everything beyond his property was gone. He couldn't even hear the traffic from the nearby highway. Looking at the driveway both his big Ram truck and his bright yellow 1974 VW Thing were still there. At the end of the yard, there was a wall of trees. He walked across the grass towards them. When he got there he stuck his arm past the tree line. 'Yep, that's real.' He thought. He took a few steps into the forest that was now surrounding him and his home, as far as he could tell it kept going. But he didn't recognize these trees, they looked like something out of a cartoon with the way they were shaped. He could have sworn they had faces on them. Hunter had absolutely no idea where he was. He started to walk farther into the woods, but then he stopped himself. 'I can't just walk in here like this. I need gear.' He turned around and went back to the house, unlocking the door and going to his bedroom. He emptied his pockets and took off the clothes he had on. going to his dresser he put on a pair of camo cargo pants and a simple black t-shirt. He put his tennis shoes back on. He then went to his closet and pulled out a lightweight camo vest and a camo boonie hat. This doesn't seem like the typical attire of a hunter, and that's because it's not. His outfit of choice is meant for easy movement. Most people just sit there and wait when they hunt, Hunter can't do that, it's too boring. He prefers a special method called stalking. He actively chases his targets. He then grabbed a special belt that was hanging from the door and put it on. Then he walked over to his bedside table and opened the top drawer, inside was his grandfather's Colt Peacemaker, he took the old gun and put it in the holster that was built on to his belt on his right hip. All the way around the belt was extra .45 Colt rounds. Next he took out his SOG Tigershark Elite and attached it to his left hip. He then went over to his desk and got a box of 30-30 rounds out. He opened the box as he walked back across the room to his gun rack and took his favorite rifle. He slid seven bullets into the tube, loaded one in the chamber, and added another to the tube, then put the rest in either little slots or pockets on his vest. Next he pushed down on the hammer with his thumb and pulled the trigger, letting the hammer gently return to its neutral position.
"Alright, now it's go time."
He left his house, locking the doors even though for all he knew there wasn't another person for fifty miles.  He marched into the woods, rifle at the ready. 'This is bullshit.'

One hour later...

Hunter was crouched down beside a small creek. He was watching the water, looking for any good fish he could come back and catch later. There were plenty of bream swimming about, he could also a couple bass down there too. He stood up and walked upstream for a ways. He soon found a tree that fallen across the water making a perfect bridge. Hunter climbed onto the log and crouch-walked to the middle. He focused on the water, it was deeper here than it was before. Right in the middle of the creek, on the very bottom, he could see the unmistakable silhouette of a rather large catfish. 'I'll be back for you later.' Hunter continued across the log to the other side. He knelled down beside the water and cupped some in his hands and brought it up to his mouth. The water tasted wonderful, it was although it was coming straight from a spring, which there may be one. He decided to continue upstream until he found the source. He made it four steps before he stopped in his tracks and crouched low to the ground.
"Thank you, Zecora. Come on girls." A female voice said. They were close and he was looking right in the direction the voice came from. He quickly and quietly moved closer. Then he could see them. He saw what looked like a witch's hut carved into a tree. He couldn't believe what the inhabitants of the forest looked like. They looked like a cross between humans and horses, and they all sorts of colors. And they had different physical characteristics too. there was seven of them. Two of them had horns, one was purple and the other was white. Then there were two with wings on their backs, one was yellow and the other was blue, and the blue one had the most ridiculous looking rainbow hair. There were three that had neither wings nor horns, a blonde colored one, a pink one, and one that had black and white stripes like a zebra. The purple one hugged the zebra and turned to leave.
"Come again, come again, but please come by season's end." Zecora said to the group of... whatever-the-hell-they-ares.  The group started down the path, giving Zecora a parting wave. The zebra returned to her hut, and Hunter began to follow the group at a distance. He couldn't quite hear what they were saying, although every now and then they giggled like schoolgirls. He did however catch a few snippets that sounded like names. Twi, AJ, Rainbow, Rares. They must have been nicknames. He could tell that the purple one was Twi, and the blonde one, who looked like a cowgirl, was AJ; and obviously Rainbow was the one with the ridiculous hair. Hunter continued to follow them, darting from trees and bushes. Then he made a mistake. While crouching behind a thick bush he stepped on a stick, and it snapped with an extremely loud *snap*. Immediately the yellow one turned her head.
"Girls, I think I just heard something over there." She said, pointing just to the right of Hunter's hiding spot.
"Eh, You're just hearing things Fluttershy, it was probably just a squirrel." Rainbow spoke up.
"Yeah, 'sides, y'all know that we ain't gon' let nothin' get 'cha" AJ said with a deeper twang than most people from Hunter's home. The group continued on their way. Hunter didn't move, allowing them to have some more space. He needed to study them more before he revealed himself. Soon he could make out where the forest ended. As the girls left he stayed behind, going prone and crawling to the edge, hiding in a patch of tall grass. In front of him was fields for miles and about three-quarters of a mile away was a village with a giant tree and one tall building poking out from the rooftops. He took his rifle and looked through the scope, observing the village. It was inhabited by the same human horse hybrids he had been stalking. The group he had been following had split. The cowgirl and Miss Superhearing had gone down a different road heading away from the town. The purple, pink, and white one were heading towards it. And the rainbow one was gone. 'She must have flown off.' Hunter thought. He continued to lay there, watching.

Twilight walked with two of her best friends, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. They had been at Zecora's house for tea. She gave the Everfree Forest a quick glance. She stopped walking as she saw something, it wasn't much, just a reflection of sunlight off of something, but what could be over there that would do that? 
"Twilight, deary, is something wrong?" Rarity asked.
"No, I just thought I saw a flash of light, might just be a piece of glass reflecting sunlight." Twilight said. 
"Probably, deary. Now, When do you want to go for that spa day?" Rarity asked. Twilight continued to walk and talk with Rarity about a day at the spa. Soon she was back at her tree home/library. Before she walked through the door she looked back to that spot on the edge of the forest. She saw a creature with a huge stick rise up from the grass into a low crouch and move backwards into the trees. Soon it rose all the way up and ran off deeper into the woods. She gasped and ran into her home.
"SPIKE! Where's the book on creatures of the Everfree?"
Hunter ran back into the forest, he slowed to a jog and continued on like that for a mile. Then he slowed back to a walk. Within an hour he was back at his house, it was exactly the way he left it. He entered and set his rifle down. Then he went to the kitchen and poured a glass of Jack Daniels on the rocks. He went out his back door and to his back porch. He flipped on the fans and had a seat on one of the wicker chairs, he stared off at the woods and sipped his drink. "For fuck's sake." He sat there for a few minutes, contemplating life. Then he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and looked at the screen, his best friend Cody had texted him. He unlocked it and read the message.
"Dude, you're on TV!" The message said.
"God fucking damn it." He said out loud.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Hunter
Chapter 2


Somewhere in some dark room, somewhere.

"Did he survive the transporting?" a female voice asked
"Yes, his entire house too. My stallions have told me that he has already discovered Ponyville." Another female voice replied.
"Why did you transport him to the Everfree anyway?"
"A test. If he is to be our assassin he will have to be very skillful."
"Aren't you afraid he'll harm the ponies in Ponyville?"
"Mmm, yes and no. If he harms an innocent, he will fail, and he will be dealt with. If he harms somepony who intends to do harm, he will be one step closer to passing. I fully expect him to steal from the ponies. Theft will also be essential to us."
"I do hope you know what you're doing, sister."
"Do not worry, he is a direct descendant of The Traveler."

Hunter's House, Everfree.

Hunter looked at the message on his phone. 'I'm on TV? How the hell is that even possible?' 
"What do you mean?" He typed back, thoroughly confused.
"You've gone missing, along with your whole house." Cody replied.
"Send me a pic." He took a sip from his glass. A few minutes later his phone buzzed again. Cody had sent him a picture of his TV, on it the local news had an aerial picture of where his house should be. His yard looked as though his house and driveway had simply been picked right up, leaving the dirt underneath. In the corner there was a picture of him holding up a fish. A caption read "Young man and house mysteriously disappear."
"Well ain't that some shit." Hunter thought to himself. "Wait, why the hell haven't my parents tried to reach me?" He closed his inbox and pulled up his contacts, scrolling down until he found the one, Mama. He pressed her name and held his phone up to his ear. It rang for a few seconds before he could hear his mother's voice.
"Hunter, baby, are you alright? We're so worried, where are you?" she said through her sobs.
"You know, that's real frickin' nice, not even gonna call me when me and the house have both disappeared, that's some A1 concern right there. I just feel so loved. Jesus Christ, wom-"
"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" His mother yelled through the phone.
"Damn, me and the house are alright, but-"
"You and the house?" His mother interrupted, astonished that he was with the house.
"Yes, me and the house. Hell, I'm sitting on the back porch enjoying a nice whiskey-"
"Where are you?"
"Okay, first off, you're being extremely rude right now. I've only gotten a good four sentences in without-"
"Just tell me where you're at!" 
"I don't frickin' know, Candyland probably."
"Candyland? What the hell do you mean Candyland?"
" By Candyland I mean I have absolutely no idea where the hell I am and I'm about ninety-five percent I'm in a completely different universe." He said, moving his phone away from his ear in anticipation of what was to come.
"ANOTHER UNIVERSE? What makes you think you're in another universe?"
"Weeellll..." He then explained to her the events of the day, finding water, the hut, the girls, and the town. "And now I'm sitting here drinking a nice cold whiskey and telling you all of this." He finished, taking another sip of his drink.
"Are you sure you're not on drugs?" She asked.
"If all this was just me on drugs then explain the house."
"Good point." His mother said. He moved the phone away from his face and looked at the time, it was almost four O'clock. 
"Listen, I don't know how I got here. I don't know where here is exactly. And I don't even know how or when I'm going to get home. The good news is I'm safely hidden deep in the woods, my natural domicile. I've got to get this place locked down, and quite frankly I'm sweaty, hungry, and exhausted from today's adventure. I'll talk to you later. Alright?"
"Alright, please be careful. I love you."
"I love you too." He said as he ended the call. He sat his phone down on the table beside him and sat back, taking a deep breath. He put his glass to his lips and took a long sip, relishing the burn as it went down his throat. After a few more minutes he knocked back the last of it and went inside, locking the door behind him. He sat his glass down on the kitchen counter and paced about his living room, considering his next move. Houses and people don't just get deposited in different worlds for no reason. He was playing a game of chess against an unknown opponent, and each move had to be considered carefully. "I think I should pay those things a little visit." He thought, but he couldn't just pop up out of nowhere. "I'll wait till dark and then do some recon, but first, I do believe an early supper is in order." Hunter walked back into the kitchen and washed his hands. He opened the fridge and looked inside. On the middle shelf there was a pack of ground beef. He took it out and set it next to the stove. He then looked above the stove to the rack hanging from the ceiling which had the pots and pans dangling from it. He grabbed a skillet and set it on the stove. Then he ripped open the pack of meat and took a good handful of it, kneading it into a ball and then mushing it into a flat patty. He tossed it onto the skillet and turned the burner on high. The rings in the stove lit up a bright red as he opened a drawer and pulled out a spatula. Soon the meat was sizzling and after a few minutes he flipped it over, the meat now slightly browned. He did this a few more times before he took the hamburger and put it on a plate. He got out the buns and some mustard and ketchup. He opened his fridge again and got out a Sprite. He took his food outside and ate looking out as his new home. He sat there for a while, waiting on the sun to start setting. When he decided it was time for him to get a move on he put his plate in the sink and tossed the empty can in the trash. "What am I going to do when the trash can fills up?" He pondered on that for a minute before he decided that he'd cross that bridge when he got to it. He once again gathered his rifle and set out for the woods. 
Once again he was laying prone at the edge. It was just past seven. It took him an hour to get here, by his calculations that meant the house was three miles in the woods. The zebra-witches hut was approximately one mile deep. He looked out over the town, watching the inhabitants make their ways home. The sun was just now setting. As soon as it was pitch black he would enter the town. After another hour he could barely see his hand in front of his face. He got up and slung his rifle over his shoulder. "This ought to be interesting"

Twilight's home, Ponyville
It was getting dark outside, Twilight was sitting at a desk in her library, flipping through the tenth book on Everfree creatures she had; which just so happened to be the last.
"No, no, no, no, no, no. Augh!" She exclaimed. "Spike, I've searched through every single Everfree book we have and I can't find that creature anywhere." 
"Here Twilight, try this book." The young dragon said as he gave her another. She took it from his hands and read the cover.
"Rare Creatures of Equestria, Spike, it came from the Everfree, I need a book on things from the Everfree."
"Maybe it isn't native to it."
"Maybe," the young librarian thought. She began flipping through the pages. As she got the H's she stopped dead in her tracks. "Spike! I think I found it!"
"Really? What is it?"
"A 'human'. This book says that hundreds of years ago a creature only known as 'The Traveler' was said to wander across Equestria. He described himself as a 'human.' This illustration looks just like him!
"So what now?" Spike asked/
"What now? What now? Oh, Spike! We've got to get the girls together, just think of what we could learn from this traveler. Quick, take a letter!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Twilight, it's past nine. Don't you think we should wait till tomorrow before we go searching?"
"I'm sorry, you're right, Spike. I just got a little bit excited." She said looking out one of her windows, she could just make out the outline of the forest against the night sky, but what she couldn't make out was the human making its way into town.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Hunter
Chapter 3


Hunter made his way through the grass to the town. He looked up at the sky and marveled at the amount of stars that were visible. There were just so many. Nowhere on earth had he seen as  many stars in the sky as he could see right then. "These creatures don't appear to have technology like humans," he thought, "It would make sense that they don't have light pollution like we do." The moon was just a small sliver among the billions of stars. The stars alone were enough to give him enough light to just see what was in front of him, the lights from the town guiding him in the right direction. As he walked along he felt a change in the terrain.  Looking down he saw that he was now standing on a well traveled dirt road. He dug the heel of his shoe in the dirt and drug it straight back. As long as he looked carefully he would have a marker to show where to get off the road.  He adjusted the sling of his rifle and continued on. The air was filled with the sound of crickets chirping, the wind blowing through the tall grass, and the occasional hoot of an owl. Hunter took a deep breath through his nose. The air here was much fresher than most places back home. The only place he had been where the air was this nice was the middle of nowhere in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. He kept walking along, enjoying the peacefulness of the night. Soon, he could see the outline of a small bridge, and on it the silhouette of two locals. "Shit," he thought. "I can't go around, gonna have to hope they don't have good night vision". He took a deep breath and relaxed, changing the way he was walking from  stiff and alert, to a much more relaxed, normal walk. Giving off a calmer demeanor. "Remember, act like you belong here and they will believe it." He adjusted his rifle once again and stepped on the bridge. The surface beneath his feet was slightly uneven, it must have been cobblestone. He could see the two slightly clearer now, he couldn't make out a horn on either of them; but he couldn't tell if they had wings or not. They were facing away from him, with their arms wrapped around each other.  He wordlessly walked right by them. Just as he was about to step off the bridge a male voice interrupted the calm of the night. 
"Hey," the voice called to him, "It's a bit late for a walk don't you think?"
He stopped in his tracks, not turning to face them. "Quite possibly. I've been traveling all day. I knew I was close to town when the sun started to go down, so I decided to keep going instead of setting up camp," He lied through his teeth. "Please don't ask where I came from,"  he thought. 
"Oh. You got more balls than me, buddy, passing that close to the Everfree at night."
"Yeah, I probably do," he thought. "Do you happen to know of a good inn, and hopefully a place where I can get a good drink?" He asked, trying to make the lie more believable. 
"You could try the Mare in the Moon Inn, they have a bar too." The female spoke up.
"Yeah, Ms. Comfy Quilt will take care of you. Just don't go to this pub called the Rusty Horseshoe, place is kinda shady." The male said.
"Thanks, I think I might just stay there. Well, have a good night." Hunter said, and continued on.
"Night," they said in unison. 
Hunter made his way to the town. As soon as he got to the first house, which had all its lights off he turned and went around it to avoid the light from the street lamps. He made his way through several backyards, stepping with his toes first and carefully lowering his heel. Soon he was out of the residential area and into a more business friendly area, walking in a dark alley between to shops. he went close to the edge of the two buildings. The street in front of him was paved with cobblestone, across the street a streetlamp was blazing. The only thing was, it didn't appear to have a regular flame. He squinted his eyes and moved forward a few more feet. Then he saw it, and when he did, it amazed him. It wasn't a fire he was looking at. It was a crystal, a crystal which behaved like a fire. He quickly slunk back in the alley to avoid being seen. Then he went around the back and moved behind the buildings for a little bit before he went down another alley. There was a streetlamp on the left side of the alley. Hunter slid along the side of the left hand building, in the shadows.  He almost couldn't believe what he saw across the street, it was a giant fucking gingerbread house. He studied it for a minute. He could smell the sweets they had been baking in there. It smelled absolutely delicious and made his mouth water. He turned to look down the street from the gingerbread house, and he was surprised at what he saw. Two doors down there was a gas station. He went back behind the buildings again and popped out a few buildings down. He was right. There was a gas station straight across from him. "Looks like I can still use my rides." He thought with a smirk on his face. Sure, he'd have to lug a five gallon gas can all the way here and back, but at least his babies were still usable. While he was busy thinking about a practical way to transport the gas, he just happened to notice the building next to him. It was two stories and a few of the lights were still on on the other side. He looked at the sign hanging above the door in the middle of the building. The Mare in the Moon Inn. "So this is the place those two said I should stay at, not too shabby." He looked back down the alley, at the far end, the other side of the block, there were quite a few lights on at the building behind the inn. Looking at the wall across, he could see the shadows of the locals dancing around and partying inside. Curious, he quietly sneaked towards it. As he neared the first window he cautiously looked inside. It was a pub, locals of all shapes and colors were inside having a grand old time. Deciding that it was too risky to be this close to this many of them he decided it was best to move along. He turned his back on the bar. As he was nearing the edge of the building he heard a voice and quickly scurried around the corner. 
"P-Please don't hurt m-me," a female voice pleaded, shaky and on the verge of sobbing.
"Oh, I won't do anything to hurt you," A drunken male said, "As long as you stay quiet and do everything I say you'll be alright."
"Please don't" The girl said again.
"Shut Up," he said as he grabbed her hair causing her to squeal, he then started dragging her down the alley, towards Hunter. By now she was full on crying. "I said shut up you little whore, before I slash that throat of yours wide open." 
"Oh my god, he's going to rape her." Hunter thought. "Fuck, should I get involved or not?" They were mere feet away now. He threw her down to ground.
"Now, why don't we start by you takin' them clothes off real nice and slow."
"Oh hell no." Hunter stepped from around the corner and pulled out his Peacemaker. He raised it and pulled back the hammer. click click click click. 
"What the buck was that"

Twilight walked out of her bathroom, freshly washed and her teeth clean. She entered her bedroom and opened the door to her balcony. She walked out and put her hands on the banister and looked up at the night sky. Luna had done a wonderful job tonight. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the nights air. When she opened her eyes she looked down the street in front of her, specifically focusing on the glow coming from the Rusty Horseshoe. She would never understand why that horrid place even existed. She'd never been in it, nor did she care to. However, one time she walked by it late one night after a movie night at Rarity's. She didn't want to do it again. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light from the back of the bar and a loud bang resonated throughout the town. Twilight covered her mouth and gasped, then quickly retreated inside, locking the door behind her.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Hunter
Chapter 4


Click click click click

"The buck was that?" the soon-to-be dead guy said.

Hunter aimed his Peacemaker at the man's (stallion's?) head, he could see him fairly clearly. To begin with he was incredibly scrawny, almost anorexic.  He had a brown coat with a short cropped blonde mane. He was wearing a stained wife beater and baggy blue jean shorts that went down to the middle of his shins. An outfit hunter would describe as the white trash uniform. He couldn't tell what color his eyes were, but he could tell that he lacked a horn and wings.  He glanced at the mare on the ground, she was slightly harder to see because two garbage cans were blocking the light. She had a pink coat, blue mane, and had a horn on her head. She was wearing a sky blue blouse with a flower patterned, white, knee length skirt. She was covering her face with her arms, making it impossible to see her eyes. 

Hunter returned his focus to the... Stallion? Yeah, that's what we're calling them. He focused on the stallion again.  He aimed right between the eyes that were now looking right in his direction.

"Hey, buddy, I don't know who the buck you are, but stay the buck out of this." The stallion slurred.

"Bitch." Hunter said. Then pulled the trigger.

BOOM

The  revolver kicked back, making his hand jolt backwards. He saw the bullet impact with his skull. His head snapped back. The air around him was filled with his blood flying out. It covered the wall opposite the bar, it covered one of the windows of the bar. And that poor girl, oh that poor girl. The blood was in her hair, it was on her shirt, and it most certainly, was on her face. The stallion fell to the ground, dead as can be. 

For a second, there was nothing. The bar had gone silent. The girl, no, mare, the mare's sobs had stopped. There wasn't a sound to be heard except the echo of Hunter's gunshot. The mare looked at the body, staring at it, whimpering ever so slightly. 

And then the bitch screamed.

"AHHHHH" The mare let out the most high pitched scream imaginable. It hurt Hunter's ears far more than the shot he just fired. Then all hell broke loose inside the bar. 

So Hunter ran. He turned on his heel and took off the way he came, pistol still in hand.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK." He repeated in his head as he ran.

Soon he came to the edge of the business district. The only thing between him and the residential area he came through was a street. As he ran down the alley the street at the other end was suddenly lit up in blue light, then he heard the siren. It was a familiar yet unfamiliar sound. He recognized it as pre-WWII police siren. Hunter pressed himself flat against the nearest wall. The police car raced by, he didn't have very long to look, but it confirmed what he was already suspecting. Their automotive technology was only equivalent to the 1920s in his world. He ran to the end of the alleyway, stopping to check that the street was clear. As soon as he was sure, he sprinted across. His target was a fence into someone's backyard. He ran up, put his left hand on a post, and vaulted over it.

The next fence, however, created a little problem. It wasn't a easily jump-able one, it was a six foot tall privacy fence. He ran up and grabbed the top with both hands, still holding his revolver. Then he planted his left foot in the ground, and his right as high as he could on the fence. With a little jump and pull he climbed over the fence. Then, as he was jumping down, his foot got caught on it. He fell foward, the ground rushing towards him. 

"Oomph." He hit the ground hard, his revolver flying from his grasp. "Aw, shit." He started feeling at the grass, searching desperately for his trusted sidearm. "Come on, where the hell are you?" Then he put his hand down on something metal, he grabbed it up, feeling it all over. "Oh thank goodness." He said, returning the gun to it's holster.  He got back on his feet and continued on hopping the other side with much more success. 

One hour later.

Hunter opened the door to his house, trudging inside he closed it back behind him. 	He closed his eyes and sighed, his back pressed against the cold metal of the door. He reached up and flicked the deadbolt locked with a single finger. Hunter was tired, and on top of being tired, he was just done. 

Absolutely done.

Yesterday he was living a normal life. He was going to a great college, with a bright future ahead of him designing the next greatest cars to run the roads. Hell, as soon as he left his town, he might have even been able to get a good girlfriend. Now he's stuck in a different world filled with mutant horses. He wasn't going to finish college. He wasn't going to design cars. He wasn't going to get a girlfriend.

...

He wasn't going to see his friends and family again.

Hunter stood there for a minute, letting it sink in. He had already accepted the girlfriend thing, he had accepted that a while ago. Ever since a little 'incident' when he was sixteen most people, girls especially, didn't like to be around him. He didn't want to think about it. Pushing himself back up he walked into the kitchen. His glass from earlier was still sitting on the counter. He grabbed it and poured himself another glass of whiskey.  He raised his glass, toasting to whatever the fuck, then knocked it back in one go. 

Setting his glass in the sink he retired to his bedroom. He hung his rifle in its usual place, and took off his holster and placed it across the back of his chair. Stripping down to his underwear he laid down on his bed. He laid there for a while, staring up at the ceiling in complete blackness and thinking about life. Well, thinking might be an overstatement. With two glasses of Jack down the hatch he wasn't really capable of much thought. Soon the alcohol started taking affect, as his eyes grew heavier, he only had but one last word running through his head.

'Why?'


Twilight


Twilight couldn't stand the thought of getting out of bed.  She could barely sleep last night after whatever happened at the Rusty Horseshoe. She had never even heard a gunshot before last night. Sure, the guards carried them everywhere, but they never have to use them. What the hay could have gone down that a guard had to use his firearm? She got out of bed and put on a fresh set of clothes for the day, a simple pair of blue jeans and a purple t-shirt. Then she headed into her bathroom to do something about her bedmane.

As she stood in front of her mirror brushing her purple mane she thought about all the possibilities. Then the one possibility that very nearly made her shit herself crossed her mind. Terrorists. In recent months a terrorist cell had risen up in Equestria. They go by the name Solis Mortem, or Sun's Death. Their goal is to overthrow the princesses and to install a government run solely by their leader, whoever that may be. Whenever they issued threats it was always from 'Our Glorious Leader.' Then she had a brilliant idea.

"Rarity!" She said. "If anyone is going to know anything it's going to be her!" 

She quickly finished getting herself together and headed downstairs. Her loyal dragon assistant, Spike, was already downstairs putting away all the books from her human research last night. Spike was like a little brother to Twilight, hell, years ago she was the one to hatch his egg with her magic. Spike was 15 years old, he stood around 5'10", pretty average for a drake of his age. He was wearing khaki pants and a purple, short-sleeve button-up shirt with a black tie. 

"Spike, I'm going to Rarity's, I'll be back in a few," she said to the young dragon.

"Alright," was his only reply.

Twilight walked briskly down the street to the Carousel Boutique, Rarity's home and business. As she made her way she couldn't help but notice that ponies weren't bustling about like normal. The few that were out an about were walking quickly, not talking to anyone. They weren't their normal happy selves, they were scared. And they had all the right to be. Stuff like what happened last night just doesn't happen in Ponyville. Soon she was at Rarity's door, she reached up and gave it three good knocks.

"Coming!" A posh voice called from inside. Twilight could hear hoofsteps on the other side, and the unlocking of Rarity's door. "Welcome to Caro- Twilight! Deary! Please, come inside, it isn't safe to be on the streets." Rarity said, she was dressed in her usual way, more fancy than neccessary. Her mane was all done up and curled to perfection, and she was wearing an elegant white gown that went down almost to her hooves. 

"I'm sure the guards have it handled, Rarity," Twilight said, walking inside.

"I'm sure you're right, deary, but still, they don't know who did it."

"Did what,exactly?" Twilight asked.

"You haven't Heard?"

"No, that's what I came here to ask you about actually."

"Wow, I found out the details within minutes this morning. Come, let me make us some tea and I'll tell you everything." Rarity lead her to her kitchen where she sat her down at her table while she brewed some tea for the two of them. A few minutes later she was back with two cups in her hands. "Okay, here's what happened, last night at about ten, Royal Ribbon got dragged out of the Rusty Horseshoe by some drunkard named Dusty Wagon. He took her in the alleyway behind the place and held her at knife point and told her to start taking her clothes off..."

"He was going to rape her?" Twilight interrupted, absolutely shocked.

"Yes," Rarity said, "then there was some clicking noise that distracted Dusty. Twilight, there was another stallion in the alley and he pulled out a gun."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, then Dusty told him to move along, but that other colt, he called him a 'bitch' and then he shot him right in the head."

"A 'bitch'? He called him a female dog?"

"I guess, so. Not really much of an insult, but poor Royal, the poor dear had blood all over her."

"Sweet Celestia."

"I know, that poor darling's clothes must be ruined."

"Rarity, is the state of her clothes really important?"

"Why yes, darling, it is."

"... Rarity, no."

"Rarity, YES!"

"Oh my Celestia, Rarity. Okay, well, thanks for the tea and story, but I've got to go now. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, deary, take care. Oh, Fluttershy and I are going to the spa tomorrow, care to join us? My treat."

"Umm, sure. What time?"

"twelve sharp, darling."

"Alright, see you then."

"Ta ta, darling."

Twilight left Rarity's shop, as soon as she gets on a tangent about clothes there's no stopping her. Twilight walked down the street aimlessly, thinking about what Rarity had told her. She was tremendously thankful that it wasn't Solis Mortem that was behind it. She was about to go home, but she still had so many questions. As she came to an intersection she looked down the other street, a few blocks down she could see the Rusty Horseshoe, surrounded by guards. She stopped walking, and watched for a minute. She couldn't go over there, even though she was the Element of Magic, and Princess Celestia's personal student, there were still some boundaries she couldn't cross. Guard business was most definitely not her business. Plus, she really didn't want to be involved in anything that involves a body. Like, she really did not want to be involved.

Soon Twilight found herself back at the tree library that she called a home. Before she entered she checked her mailbox, opening it there was a small stack of envelopes inside. She grabbed them and went inside, as she entered she started sorting through the mail. 

"Bill, bill, bill, junk, bill, junk, junk, junk," she listed off, tossing the envelopes on her desk. "Letter, ooo, a letter. Wait, this is Spike's," she said, "SPIKE! You have a letter." She tossed the letter on the desk with the rest of them. Sitting down in her desk chair, she thought about what to do next. She needed to find out more about that human. Getting up from her chair she made her way to the nonfiction stacks, the T section. "Traveler, traveler, traveler," she said, looking for any book that may have some information on him. Finding the area with books on traveling she scavenged through them, looking for anything about the Traveler, not on actual traveling. After several minutes, her search was fruitless. "UGH," she groaned. "SPIKE! Can you write a letter to the princess for me?"

"About what?" He asked from upstairs.

"Can you ask her if she has any books on a human called the Traveler?"

"Are you still obsessed with that?"

"I'M NOT OBSESSED!"

"Whatever. By the way, can you go in the kitchen and see if we have any Cheerilee-O's?"

"Sure." She went to the kitchen and started looking around for any of his cereal. After several cabinets she couldn't find any.

"Did you find any?" Spike asked, now standing right beside her. His shirt was now untucked and he wasn't wearing a tie anymore. He was holding a piece of parchment and a quill.

"No, sorry, Spike. We'll get some more later."

"Its alright," he said, moving to her left side so that she wouldn't be looking into the main part of the library to look at him. "So, tell me all about what Rarity said."

"Oh my Celestia, Spike, you are not gonna believe this." She went on to tell him everything that Rarity had told her, failing to notice the white filly with pink and purple hair putting her shirt back on as she walked to the door. Before she left she blew a kiss at Spike and gave him a little wave. "And what happened to your shirt, Spike."

"I just wasn't feelin' it," he said without missing a beat. "Now, what did you want me to say to Celestia?"


Hunter


Beep, beep, beep, beep

At exactly eight o'clock Hunter's alarm went off. Silencing it, the young man groggily sat up in bed and cradled his head in his hands.

"Goddamn, how much did I have to drink last night?" He said. Glad that his alcohol, and possibly LSD, fueled nightmare was over. Forests, horse people, a gunshot, and running. That was one hell of a trip. He got out of bed and put on some clothes. Walking into his living room he stole a glance at the front door, he thought about looking outside. 'It was just a dream, dude,' he thought. 'But maybe it wouldn't hurt to look anyway.' He went to the door, as he wrapped his fingers around the knob he paused for a second. There was two possibilities, he was gonna open this door and there was either gonna be his neighborhood, or that god forsaken forest. He undid the deadbolt and turned the knob, closing his eyes as he did so. With the door fully opened he still held his eyes shut, preparing for what he was about to see. Hearing the chirping of birds, he opened his eyes.

"No..."

In front of him there was nothing but trees. He wasn't dreaming. He was in the goddamned forest with the fucking town filled with the fucking horse people. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" he exclaimed. Everything from yesterday was real. Hunter slammed the door shut and started pacing around the room quickly. "FUCK!" He yelled. Closing his eyes again, he stopped walking and took several deep breaths. Opening them, he made his way to the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of Cheerios and a glass of orange juice. Returning to the living room he sat down on the couch with his food, turning the TV on to Fox Sports South. Coming from the TV was the opening tune of one of his favorite fishing shows.

"Now the sun is just starting to climb up over the treetops," The singer sang, "And its gonna be a beautiful day that's plain to see."

Yes, he was watching Bill Dance. He liked his show, Bill had been doing it for over thirty years, and even though Hunter had been fishing for as long as he could remember, it was still good to listen to the professionals. As he was happily watching his show and eating, trying to forget about all the bullshit for a few brief minutes, his phone started ringing. Picking it up the caller ID had the word Dumbass across the screen. 'Great, dear old dad,' Hunter thought before pressing the talk button.

"Hello."

"Son!"

"Hi, dad."

"How's it going?"

"About as good as it can go, considering I'm in a different universe."

"When do you think you're coming back?"

"I really don't know. I just woke up in this crazy place yesterday, I was hoping I'd just wake up back in our world this morning."

"Oh, well, that's a shame."

"Yep, sooner or later I'm gonna run out of whiskey."

"Now, son, you know that stuff can't solve your problems."

"It can for a couple hours. Did mom tell you about the horse people?"

"I heard about that. Did you talk to any of them?"

"Not the ones I told her about. I did sneak into their little village last night, almost got caught by this couple making out on a bridge."

"Nuh uh. What else happened?"

"Weeeeell," Hunter began, telling his father about his night, including the last bit.

"YOU DID WHAT?"

"Well what else was I supposed to do? This girl was crying her eyes out about to be raped by some deadbeat!"

"You don't just pull your guns out and start shooting, you call the police!"

"At the time I didn't even know they had police! Plus this dude was drunk and waving a knife around. Old boy wouldn't have listened to a damn thing I said. Plus I couldn't get that involved. How would you feel if one of them just showed up in Thomasville with weapons, huh?"

"I think he'd need to be arrested and studied to make sure he wasn't a threat."

"Exactly, I was already taking a big enough risk doing that, I couldn't get involved with the cops."

"Why not? You're not a threat are you? If you don't want to hurt them then why would they have anything to worry about?"

"Because I can't guarantee that I wouldn't be seen as a threat."

"I still think you didn't have to go and kill the man. Just like what happened last time, look what happened."

"Shut the fuck up! You know, throughout my entire life you've always had something negative to say about my choices. The classes I'm taking, my choice of automobile, my choice of fishing lure, including on days when I caught twice as many fish as you, and let's not forget about the day of the 'incident' when mom almost got me KILLED! I've had it with you and your shit. I don't think I'm gonna try to come home. I'm gonna sit my ass in this fucked up backwards world just because you aren't here. Now fuck off, you fat cunt." Pressing the end button Hunter tossed his phone to the other end of the couch.

He fucking hated that narcissistic bastard. On top of him always having something negative to say, every little thing had to be about him. But Hunter wasn't going to think about that right now. Instead, his thoughts drifted back to the incident. 


Hunter, three years ago.


RIIIIIIING

It was May 5, 2011 at 2:55 PM. Hunter picked up his book bag and headed for the door of the classroom. Finally it was Friday, and he couldn't get to the parking lot fast enough. Hunter was sixteen years old, in his sophomore year of high school, and had the beginning stubble of his trademark beard. Leaving the school building he made his way to the sophomore parking row, right there near the front was his bright yellow 1974 Volkswagen Thing. He fucking loved his thing, as weird as it was. The easiest way to describe it would be Volkswagen's take on making their own version of a Jeep. He had bought it for $1500 from a guy who was using it as a hunting vehicle. It needed a complete restoration, and Hunter gave it one. He had it running, and dropping panties just in time for summer. 





Crowded around his chariot was his friends and girlfriend. Walking up he spread his arms and greeted them.

"What's up, bitches?" He said to them, heading straight for his girlfriend, Katelynn, and wrapped his arms around her. Hunter was so lucky to have her. She was one of those punk girls, but that didn't matter to him. She was a head shorter than him, had long, natural black hair, the brightest green eyes, and holy shit did she have a body. She had a fairly slim build, by no means super skinny, she was just right. Her breasts weren't very big, but they were certainly handfuls. And her ass, oooh, it was an ass to die for. 

"Bout time you got out here." Hunter's friend, Cody, said. Cody had been Hunter's best friend for as long as he could remember. He was the same height as Hunter. His hair was short and blonde, his eyes were blue. Cody was damn near a walking skeleton, mostly because he had an extremely high metabolism. Seriously, this dude ate like a cow. "So, you still coming to my place tonight?"

"Hell yeah," Hunter said. "Boys! Tonight, ain't a single one of us gonna be able to remember our names," he said, causing a round of cheers from his gang. "Alright, everybody load up, we got shit to do." Everyone went to their respective vehicles, except Katelynn. "You're still coming, right?" He asked her, taking hold of her hands.

"Yeah, but I have to go to work for a few hours first though," she said.

"Alright, I'll see you later then." They leaned in and gave each other a quick kiss before they too left to tend to business.

Getting in his car he pushed down the clutch and turned the ignition, immediately the engine roared to life. Shoving it into first he pulled out the lot and onto the street, shifting through the gears he drove home. In about fifteen minutes he was pulling into his drive. Shutting off the Thing and putting on the parking brake, he got out and walked to the door. Unlocking it, he went straight to his bedroom and tossed his book bag on his bed. Reaching underneath the bed, he pulled out what he was bringing to the party that night. Two whole bottles of Jacky D. It wasn't easy getting these. He had to pull some serious strings and pay some extra dough. 

"Hell Yeah."

On his bed, was a stack of clothes that his mother had left for him to put away. He grabbed a shirt off the top and hung it up in his closet, repeating the process for the rest of the clothes, putting them into their places. As he was doing this his front door opened, and two sets of footsteps entered. Hunter was frozen. No one was supposed to be here this early.

"Hello? Anybody home?" The voice of an unknown man said. "Check the place."

Thinking quickly, Hunter dropped the shirt he was about to hang up, and reached into his closet to pull out his trusty 30-30. Then he pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened up the messages between him and his mother.

"call the cops. send them to out house. dont call me." He quickly typed out and sent to his mother, completely ignoring all the lessons on proper grammar he had received. He opened a drawer on his desk and got out his box of bullets. Crouching down on the far side of his bed from the door, he quietly slid the bullets into his rifle. Once he was fully loaded with 7 bullets, as quietly as he could, which wasn't very quiet, he worked the lever on his rifle, chambering the first round. Pausing, he listened carefully to make sure that he wasn't heard. Not hearing either of them start his direction, he calmed down just slightly. 

'It's gonna hurt like a bitch if I have to use this thing.' Hunter thought. Looking back over his shoulder, he spotted his bag of ear plugs sitting on his dresser. He carefully set his gun down on his bed and grabbed the bag. Taking two of them he individually rolled them around in his fingers and them inserted them in his ears.

"Shoot to thrill. Play to Kill. Too many women on too many pills. Yeah. Shoot to thrill..."

It was at that exact moment that Hunter realized he was fucked.

Hunter couldn't fucking believe it. His phone was ringing. At all the possible times someone could have called it had to have been right then, didn't it? And of all the times he didn't have his phone on silent, right then just absolutely had to be one of those moments. Pulling it out of his pocket to shut up the infernal device he saw who was calling him. 'Mom.'

And it was at that exact moment Hunter realized his mother was a dumbass.

"What the fuck is that?" 

'FUCK.' Hunter thought. He double pressed the lock button to end the call, and tossed it on his bed. He grabbed his rifle and leveled it at the door, aiming for a spot about five feet from the floor, right where someone's head would be. He heard footsteps heading his way, each step a resounding bang against the wood floors. The intruder stopped right in front of his door. Hunter's eyes grew wide, his heart was beating hard enough to drive nails. His breaths were slow and controlled, barely. He was fucking terrified. A hand closed around his doorknob and it started to turn. 

The door opened and Hunter could see the intruders face. His face was incredibly scrawny, his skin was taut against his skull. His blue eyes were lifeless and sunken in. Then Hunter realized he knew this face. The young man standing in front of him was a senior at his high school. His name was Jacob Gardner. He was very popular with the redneck/white trash crowd at school. Mostly because he was a known dealer of spice and crystal meth. Hunter also realized that he was holding a Glock in his right hand. Jacob turned his head slightly and noticed Hunter. 

Time slowed almost to a stop. Seconds turned into minutes as neither of them moved. The little bead on the front sight of Hunter's rifle was sitting right in the middle of Jacob's face. Hunter's opponent's face started to twist as he realized that Hunter was right there, and his arm slowly started to rise. Hunter didn't move, but he could feel the muscles in his trigger finger tensing up. He could feel his finger move slowly, millimeter by millimeter as he pulled the trigger till he felt a satisfying click, then his finger stopped; unable to pull anymore.

He watched as the hammer gracefully fell through the air, quickly closing the gap between it and the firing pin. It connected with a sharp pop as a little vibration traveled throughout the gun. Then he felt a small rumble as his rifle shuddered in his hands. A quiet roar could be heard as the bullet ran down the barrel. 

BOOM

The .30 caliber slug flew through the air towards its target. Hunter could just barely see the little gray dot as it flew at supersonic speeds and collided with Jacob's forehead. A small, red hole appeared as he head jerked back, his eyes going wide and then almost completely popping out. He started to fall backwards as the back of his head exploded, coating the wall behind him with the crimson shade of blood. Jacob impacted the wall with a thud, then crumbled up on the floor. He was dead long before he hit the floor, really he was probably dead before he hit the wall.

"JACOB!" 

'Oh shit, there was another guy.' Hunter thought. He got up and walked over to his door, cycling the lever on his rifle again, this time not even bothering to be quiet for obvious reasons. Peeking around the corner he saw the other intruder. This guy was a senior at Hunter's high school too. He didn't know what his name was and at this point he really didn't give a shit. He did however know that he was Jacob's ass kisser. And much like Jacob, he was also holding a Glock. As soon as he saw Hunter poking around the corner he raised his pistol. Hunter had just enough time to jump back as he fired three rounds in his direction. 

"FUCK YOU, HUNTER!" He yelled.

Hunter popped around the corner again firing his rifle in the asshole's direction, then quickly retreating. Holding his rifle against his shoulder he pushed down on the lever, the mechanisms pulling the casing out and spitting it up into the air. The used brass spun in the air as Hunter pulled back, chambering a fresh bullet. 

"Fuckin' missed, bitch." He yelled at Hunter before double tapping at him. Hunter peeked around the corner only to pull back as splinters flew from a .40 Cal bullet impacting with his door frame. He stuck is rifle around the corner and blind fired a round at him. He was met with the sound of what was the TV in the kitchen being destroyed by a bullet and then smashing onto the tile floor, meaning that he had missed by several feet.

Hunter cycled another round. His breathing was out of control and he was shaking from the fear and adrenaline. There was another gunshot and the sound of a bullet impacting a wall, then a door. Then Hunter felt the most intense pain he had ever felt in his life. Falling to the floor he clutched his shoulder. "AHH, fuck," Hunter shouted. Pulling his hand away it was covered in red. That son of a bitch had shot through the wall.

"Got ya', bitch." The fucking bastard in Hunter's living room yelled at him. Hunter was on his knees on the floor, his left hand holding his rifle and his right holding his wound. The pain was horrendous, but thankfully the pain was slightly dulled by the adrenaline. Hunter could hear footsteps, that fucker was coming for him. But Hunter wasn't down for the count. No. Hunter was pissed.

Hunter let go of his shoulder and wrapped his hand around the grip of his rifle. Twisting himself around he dived into the hallway, ignoring the shearing pain in his arm as he landed on Jacob's body. He was already aiming down the sights of his rifle. Jacob's boy toy was five feet in front of him, his pistol was aimed upwards, where he thought Hunter was going to be. He realized a little too late that he was actually beneath him. Hunter's sights were trained on his chest. Without a bit of hesitation he pulled the trigger.

BOOM

The rifle slammed into Hunter's shoulder, causing an immense amount of pain in the other. The bitch in front of him dropped his pistol as his hands shot for his throat. Hunter's bullet had hit him in the neck and ripped it to pieces. He dropped to his knees, looking Hunter right in the eyes, his life visibly slipping away. He gurgled as he drowned on his own blood. Then he finally crumpled into a ball, his last bit of life quickly slipping away. Hunter sat up, looking at him.

"Who's the bitch now, huh?" Hunter asked him. With one last little gurgle he stopped moving, his blood pooling on the floor. Hunter sat there for a second, letting himself catch up.

"I got my gun at the ready gonna fire at will. Cause I shoot to thrill and I'm ready to kill." His fucking phone was ringing again. He got up and painfully walked over towards it. Laying down his rifle on the bed he looked at the caller ID, it was his mother. AGAIN. He tapped the answer button and put it to his ear.

"Hello."

"Hunter, what's going on?"

"Did you call the cops?"

"No. I'm not gonna call them tell I know what's happening."

"Well, two dudes with guns just waltzed right into our house. So now there's two dead bodies on the floor and I have a bullet hole in my shoulder."

"Oh my god, Hunter. Are you alright?"

"What the fuck type of question is that? I just killed two dudes and got shot! No I'm not alright! Why the hell didn't you call the cops? If I say to call them and not to call me then that means shit just got real."

"Hunter, I'm so sorry." She was bawling at this point.

"Whatever, I'm gonna hang up now and call them myself."

"Hunter, no! Wait!" That was all she got out before he ended the call, then immediately dialed 911.

"Hello, 911, what's your emergency?"

"I need police and an ambulance to seven hundred Remington Street. I've been shot."


Hunter, Present time


Hunter was still sitting on the couch. He hadn't touched his cereal for several minutes. He looked down at it and continued eating. When he was done he washed out his bowl and put it away. Returning to his bedroom he grabbed a fresh set of clothes and headed to the bathroom. Once inside he pulled his shirt up over his head and tossed it in the hamper. He hesitated before removing his pants. Instead, he looked at himself in the mirror. His brown hair was still short, his beard needed a little bit of trimming, but he wasn't worried about that right now. He looked at his bare left shoulder. It still had a red circle on it where the bullet had exited three years ago. He reached up and ran his fingers over it, the pain had long since faded away and he felt nothing. Sighing, he stopped thinking about it and continued on with his shower. 

'This is gonna be one hell of a ride.' He thought.
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Hunter
Chapter5


Hunter stood in the shower letting the hot water run over him. He leaned his head against the wall, reaching up, he adjusted the water flow so it would continue to cover him.  He had a lot of questions, but no answers. Why was he here? Should he try to be friendly with the locals? How was the electricity still on? How the actual fuck was he getting phone calls across dimensions?  How was he getting hot water right now?

This actually began to bother Hunter. Should he hurry up before all the hot water was gone? No, if the electricity is on then he should still have hot water, and the water pressure doesn't come from the water heater. It comes from the water main. But if he was in a different dimension then how is he still connected to the main? He pushed these thoughts from his head, it was working now and as far as he could tell it would continue to work, and that was all that mattered. 

He tried to think about something better, like his vehicles. At least he has a source of fuel for them. Or does he have infinite gas like his water and electricity? He'd have to find out. Where would he even drive to? There didn't appear to be any paths or roads through the forest, but then again he hadn't really looked. On his excursions he had used his natural sense of direction to guide him home. Then another thought hit him. If they were still in the twenties, then shouldn't they still be using leaded gasoline? 

"Fuck," He said.

Well this sucks. If the gas was leaded he could still drive the VW at least. Unleaded didn't become standard until 1974, the year it was built. But the engine in it had been pretty much the same for many years beforehand, it was built for leaded. Hunter would just have to be more careful handling it, a small amount on your hand is enough to cause health problems. 

"Why do I have to get dumped in a universe with no technology, if I wanted that I would've gone to Alabama."

He began to think about the ponies some. He could use their lack of technology to his advantage. They were probably still using flat-heads and he doubted they had even considered an eight cylinder engine. He could make millions, no, no, BILLIONS off his human knowledge.

Maybe getting stuck here wasn't so bad after all. I mean, the locals couldn't be all bad, could they? He could date one, given enough time. He'd have to get used to the idea first, after all, they are different species. At least he wouldn't be lonely. He might have to wait till he makes his fortune before that happens, even though he may eventually accept them on that level, there's no guarantee they will reciprocate it. If their women are anything like human women they usually become a dime a dozen if you have enough money. 

The girls that he had seen yesterday were kinda cute. Especially the purple one. He wasn't sure why she in particular caught his interest. Maybe it was because she looked nerdy to him, he always had a thing for nerdy chicks. He had noticed that she wore classes, not geek glasses, just regular glasses. They made her look intelligent and distinguished. 

"I wonder, if I got through to their world, have any of them gotten through to mine?" Hunter wondered aloud.

Now, although Hunter didn't have a regular day job, he did have an employer who would call upon him when needed. A very secretive employer who paid Hunter to do what he did best, and paid rather handsomely at that. His employer was the type that dealt with things that the public would not accept, the types of things that go bump in the night. 

Or the type of things that rip you to pieces just for looking at its face, and don't die, ever, no matter how many times you shoot the bastard.

Both are accurate. Granted, the mobile team that dealt with the second one used regular bullets instead of holy bullets. Hunter remembered the day he began working for them well. 





Thomasville, GA. March 9, 2012.

The sky was clear as Hunter and Cody walked through the student parking lot of Thomas County Central High School, or Central for short. It had been almost a year since Hunter had been shot. Through several months of surgery and physical therapy he was back to his old self. He could see his and Cody's car's up ahead. Unlike before, there was no gang of friends gathered around. No, since it had become cool to hate Hunter most of his friends had ditched him. They couldn't risk their social lives being ruined hanging around him. Correction, they couldn't risk their lives being around him as most people would say. His girlfriend was long gone too. She came to see him in the hospital a couple of times, but as the story spread like wildfire she talked to him less and less until she told him he had issues she wasn't going to stick around to deal with.

Ouch.

However, There was one man in a black suit standing next to Hunter's Volks. He was also wearing a pair of dark aviator sunglasses, his black hair was short and his face was clear of any stubble.

"Uh oh, Hunter, looks like someone wants to see you," Cody said.

"Great, looks like a lawyer," he replied. "He probably thinks he's gonna make a buck off of me."

As the two got closer the man turned to face them. He had a small grin on his face, trying to appear welcoming.

Tigers look cute and cuddly too until they try to kill you.

"Mr. Braxton, I presume?" The man asked. His voice sounded warm and friendly, however in the past months Hunter had quickly learned how to see through it. He had been approached by several attorneys whom tried to convince him to sue the family's of Jacob and the other boy; who he found out was named Derek. Hunter had turned down each opportunity. What did he have to gain from them? Both families were struggling before he killed their sons. He had no right to take anymore from them. 

"Yes, I am. If you're here to offer to sue for me, I'm not interested. Or are you here to serve me papers?" Hunter asked.

"Nothing of the sort, I'm no lawyer, I'm here to offer you an employment opportunity ."

Hunter raised an eyebrow at this. Looking the man up and down he said, "Employment where? The men in black?" Eliciting a chuckle from the man before him. 

"No, we will have to discuss the work you will be doing in a more private setting," he said, taking a business card out of his jacket,"come by my office in an hour." He then turned and climbed into a black Mercedes with tinted window and drove away.

"So, are you actually going to go talk to him?" Cody asked. 

"Sure, I could use money." He looked at the card. At the top was the name John Lynch, underneath was the Letters SCP and an address; 116 Broad Street. 

One hour later

Hunter Stood in front of the old brick building which was situated in the downtown area. People were walking along the sidewalk visiting stores. Cars rolled along on the brick paved street behind him. The front of the building before him was all windows with a pair of doors in the middle. Above giant white letters spelled out Grassroots Coffee Company. Through the windows he could see people sitting at tables enjoying their drinks, many of these people were what could be considered hipsters. Hunter was tempted to turn around and leave. He hated coffee, it never sat right with him. And the hated the type of people who spend $7 on a shitty coffee. Hell, he just hated coffee culture in general. But Mr. Lynch wouldn't have gone so far out of his way to offer him a job as a Barista. He pushed open the door and walked in. Most people paid him no mind, a few from the high school looked at him with disgust. He walked towards the counter, hoping someone could point him in the right direction. Making his way through the shop he noticed a familiar figure sitting in the back corner.

Lynch was sitting in the back at a table for two, he had his legs crossed with his hands folded together on top. He still had the same grin as he did earlier. Hunter took the seat across from him.

"Mr. Braxton, I'm glad you decided to come me. Do you like coffee?" he said.

"No, sir, I do not."

"Then why did you come in?"

"You didn't go out of your way to meet me just to make me a barista, come on now."

He chuckled, "Right you are, how about we move on to my office?"

"Lead the way," Hunter said, standing from his chair. Lynch followed suit and lead him to the back. The duo walked down a hallway which had a few doors for the store rooms and management on the sides, and one door at the far end. As they approached the far door Hunter noticed an odd keypad next to it. Instead of the usual buttons, it was more like a tablet mounted to the wall. Lynch put his hand flat against it, a red line scanned his hand from top to bottom. He removed his hand and the screen lit up with a green check mark. Then there was a soft click as the door unlocked. Lynch opened it and Hunter was greeted by the sight of two armed guards standing on either side of an elevator. Engraved into the doors of the elevator was a circle with three arrows pointing into the center of it, underneath it was the letters SCP, underneath that Site 17 was written.

"Right this way, Mr. Braxton," he said. One of the guards pushed the button for the elevator, making the doors open. The two stepped inside, there was only two buttons on the inside. One with an arrow pointed up, and one with an arrow pointed down, Lynch pushed the latter. The doors closed and Hunter could feel himself being lowered into the earth. Soon it reached its destination with a ding and both men stepped off. It had dropped them into a modern looking lobby. There were a few guards about and a reception desk at the far end. Above the desk was the same logo and lettering as before.

"Mr. Lynch?" Hunter asked.

"Yes?"

"I wasn't wrong about men in black was I?"

"That's an easy was to put it." 

The two continued to walk, taking a right at the reception desk. Lynch led him to an office only a few doors down. He entered a code on a keypad above the handle and turned it. His office was styled the same way as the lobby before. It had a desk with a PC to the side in the middle of the room. In front were two chairs, and the wall behind was built in cabinets in the center with bookcases on each side. In the bottom row of cabinets was what appeared to be a mini fridge.

"Please, take a seat," he said, and so Hunter did. "Can I offer you a drink? Coke, Sprite, water?"

"Bourbon  whiskey," Hunter replied. Lynch looked and him and smiled, a genuine smile for once. He opened one of the cabinets and inside was a collection of glasses and decanters. He took two glasses and put a few ice cubes from the fridge in each. Then he grabbed one of the decanters and poured some of the golden liquid in each. He handed one to Hunter and he took a sip. The alcohol burned slightly as it hit the back of his throat, but it went down rather smoothly; and Hunter enjoyed it. 

"So, I suppose you are wondering exactly where you are?"

"I'm a bit curious," Hunter said, taking another sip.

"We are the SCP Foundation. Secure, contain, protect. Our job is to keep the supernatural forces of the world contained so as not to interfere with the common populace. We span the globe with agents in every major military, police force, and hospital. Whenever something odd pops up we know, and we handle it. As per procedure the anomaly is transported to one of our secure facilities. This being one of them, Minimum security Site 17 to be precise."

"Exactly, what type of ... anomalies do you keep here? Being minimum security and all," Hunter asked.

"Site 17 is for the research and containment of safe class humanoid anomalies. Many of which you will get to meet during your time here. Now, as I understand, you are a very skilled hunter. Correct?"

"Best damn one in Thomasville."

"Good, good. You see, the responsibilities of this site aren't limited to just research and containment. We are the major response center for this area of the country. Sometimes the situations we are called to are not people with strange abilities or household objects that cause destruction, but they are actively dangerous anomalies. We either call them euclids or keters, based on the threat level. And of course, those threats need to be taken care of. For the most part they are recurring threats, such as hell hounds or wendigoes,  things that just keep popping up, and the easiest way to contain them is to simply eliminate them."

"I won't have to kill people will I?"

"For the most part no." This answer is not what Hunter wanted to hear.

"I don't want to kill people." He didn't like killing the last two, and he hoped he wouldn't have to do it again.

"Well, they won't be innocent people. We would never order you to hunt and kill someone who can be contained. But every now and then there will be someone who poses a direct threat to humanity. Like terrorists, or vampires. You wouldn't mind killing a rogue vampire would you? They go about killing innocents all the time."

"I suppose in those cases I would be fine. Wait... vampires are real?"

"Yes, and sadly there is no cure, for the most part they are picked up at hospitals and brought in for research, not at this site though."

"Wow. Now for the sixty thousand dollar question. How much are you willing to pay me?" He said, sipping on his whiskey.

"We are willing to pay you three hundred dollars a day to be on standby in case we need your expertise. When you are called in for a mission you can expect many thousands of dollars upon completion."

"You had my attention, now you have my interest. Where do I sign?" He said. Lynch gave a hearty laugh.

"I have the paperwork right here. There is a nondisclosure agreement you will have to sign, along with the standard paperwork involving your direct deposit paychecks and the taxes that go along with them." 

He spread the paperwork in front of Hunter, who quickly filled it out and handed it back.

"Very well, welcome to the SCP, Mr. Braxton." He stood and extended his arm to Hunter. He stood up and grasped his new bossman's hand in a firm grip.

"Good to be here, sir."





"Good times, good times." Hunter said to himself. He quickly finished up his shower, got dressed, and went back into his bedroom. He noticed his revolver still hanging on the back of his lazy chair, it had a bit of dirt on it from the night before. He grabbed a carton of Rem oil wipes and his belt holster. Hunter took a seat at the bar in his kitchen and took his pistol out of its holster. Cocking the hammer back two clicks he slid the unloading rod back and ejected the first cartridge. An empty brass casing fell out and landed on the counter with a ping. He turned the cylinder and popped out the rest one at a time. Once they were all out he pulled the cylinder out completely. A bit of movement in the tree line out the kitchen window across from him suddenly took his attention. He stared at the trees and saw nothing, shrugging, he chocked it up to being a squirrel. 

He took one of his wipes and wiped down the pistol very well. He couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship that was put into this weapon. It was all black with black grips. The frame and barrel were engraved with american vine scroll impressions. On the right side of the barrel the name Calypso was engraved. He quickly turned his attention back to the window, he had seen a dark silhouette just at the edge, this was no squirrel. Hunter quickly reassembled his pistol and slid the cartridges back in, taking one fresh one from his belt. He put his belt around his waste and re-holstered his firearm. He got up and left his house via the back door. Keeping his right hand resting on his piece he walked around the side of the house. He got all the way around to the front and hadn't seen anything. Hunter was now standing on his driveway behind his truck. He stopped moving, he could feel something in the air. Looking at the back window of his truck he saw what was causing that feeling. Behind him was a black stallion with a jet black mane. Hunter couldn't believe what he was seeing. How the hell did this motherfucker find him?

Hunter tightened his grip around the revolver, still keeping his eye on the reflection on the window. Suddenly the stallion raised a machete above his head. Thinking quickly Hunter turned and drew his pistol, side stepping the swinging machete. He raised his Peacemaker and pointed it at the stallion's head. Hunter pulled back the hammer and fired, but the stallion flicked his head to the side and he missed. The stallion then swung his machete again, Hunter jumped back dodging it, the blade missing his stomach by fractions of an inch. The stallion swung again and again, each time Hunter stepped to the side, causing him to miss. The stallion swung one more time, this time Hunter catching him by the wrist. Hunter swung his pistol above him to bring it down on his head, but he jerked back once again making him miss. The stallion then shot his free fist forward, catching Hunter straight on the right cheek. This made Hunter loose his grip and stumble back.

Before Hunter could get reoriented and fire again the stallion thrust his leg at Hunter, hitting him in the stomach causing him to fall to the ground. The stallion loomed above him, Hunter raised his pistol again, then the stallion kicked it out of his hand. Hunter looked at the Stallion, he had his machete raised above his head, poised to thrust it into his chest. He started to make his move and Hunter made his by rolling to the side, the blade narrowly missing him. Hunter quickly shot his leg up at the stallion, impacting just at the bottom of his rib cage. The stallion stumbled back and braced himself against the truck. Taking his chance Hunter jumped up and swung his right fist at the stallion, putting his whole upper body into the punch. He caught him right on his muzzle, Hunter immediately went for a left hook and got the stallion on his other cheek. He threw his right fist again, his knuckles coming into contact with his nose, which crumpled from the impact. The stallion dropped his machete and grabbed his face, turning his back on Hunter. Hunter quickly brought his elbow down on the back of the stallion's head, causing him to fall to the ground. With his opponent temporarily incapacitated Hunter turned around and quickly looked for his pistol. Spotting it a few feet away he quickly grabbed it and pointed it at the stallion who was now trying to stand up again. 

"I gotta say, man, you put up a pretty good fight." Hunter said.

"That isn't how this was supposed to go down."

"Yeah, I bet you weren't expecting a fight."

"No, you're supposed to just scream and let me kill you, and you're not supposed to have that," the stallion said, pointing at Hunter's gun and breathing heavy.

"What? This?" Hunter said, gesturing to his pistol. "Are they illegal or something?"

"Yes that, and no, they're not illegal. It's just that victims aren't supposed to fight back or have weapons."

"Yeah, see, that's the thing right there. I'm not a victim."

"But you're alone in a house in the middle of the forest."

"Yeah, and?"

"And I'm a serial killer. Haven't you ever seen a horror movie?"

"Yes, several, most of them were shit. But, uh, this isn't a fucking movie, dumbass."

"Well, that's how all the rest of my murders played out."

"Well, that's not how this one is gonna play out."

"Damn, well this was a total failure. Hey, I got a question, what are you?"

"I'm a human. What are you?"

"A pony, an earth pony actually."

"What's up with all the wings and horns on some of the others?"

"Well horns are for unicorns, who are gifted with magic. And wings are for pegasai who are gifted with flight."

"And you would be a stallion, correct?" The stallion nodded. "And females are mares, right?" he nodded again.

"Welp, since this was a total flop I'm going home."

Hunter inhaled sharply, "Ooo. Yeah, about that, see, I can't just let a serial killer just walk away to continue killing, and also, I can't have the rest of you finding out I'm here."

The stallion narrowed his eyes at Hunter. "What are saying?"

"I'm saying I can't let you leave."

"Oh, you have to kill me." Hunter nodded. "Well, buck, should've seen this coming." 

"If you worship any gods, I can give you a minute to pray."

"No, we don't really worship anyone, just get it over with."

"I'm sorry," Hunter said. He cocked back the hammer with a soft clickclickclickclick

"One more thing, what's your name?"

"My name is Hunter." The stallion closed his eyes and nodded, opening them again he looked Hunter dead in the eye.

Hunter pulled the trigger.

BOOM

He dropped to the ground, a bullet in his head. Hunter re-holstered his gun, looking around he thought about what he should do next. 

"Well, I guess he deserves a proper burial." He said. Hunter gathered up a shovel and a wheelbarrow. He loaded the stallion onto the wheelbarrow and took him into the forest. He came upon a nice clearing with a big oak tree in the middle. Hunter took the shovel and began digging at the base of the tree. Two hours later he had a decent hole dug. He took the stallion and laid him in the hole with his legs and back straight and his arms across his chest. Satisfied that he was in a respectful position Hunter covered the grave. 

Hunter wanted to feel bad for what he had done, but he just couldn't. The stallion wasn't human. He wasn't a person. He was pretty much just an animal to Hunter. And on top of that he was a serial killer. Once Hunter had returned home he put his tools away and considered what he was gonna do next.

"You know, I think I want to go fishing."
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Hunter
Chapter 6


Hunter receded back into his home. He quickly went into his bedroom and grabbed his tacklebox and a fishing rod. He gripped his favorite one, a sleek black, seven foot Abu Garcia. Walking back to his front door he set down his box and leaned the rod against the door frame so he could grab a water bottle from the kitchen. Snatching one out of the fridge he gathered up his gear and walked out the front door. Just as he was locking the door his phone started to ring. He pulls it out to see the name Cain across the screen. Cain was one of his best friends at Site 17. He could remember the day he met him like it was yesterday.





Immediately after Hunter joined the SCP Foundation

"So, is this the part where you give me the grand tour?" hunter says

"Yes, however there's someone I want you to meet, I'll let him do the honors," Lynch said, picking up his office phone and dialing a number. "Cain, good news, Mr. Braxton decided to join us, now would you be so kind to show him his new workplace?" The man on the other end gave a short reply that Hunter couldn't quite understand. "Thank you, We're waiting in my office."

"Cain?" 

"Yes, he's quite the character. I think you two will get along nicely. Just, don't say anything about his forehead."

A minute later an Arabian looking man walks through the door he has black hair and blue eyes. He's wearing khaki pants and a black polo shirt. Hunter then notices that coming from his sleeves were two metal, robot-like arms. Looking at his face he then realizes he has a strange symbol on his forehead.

"Ah, there he is," Lynch said, "Hunter, I would like to introduce you to SCP-073, or Cain as he prefers to be called."

"Um, Hi."

"Greetings," the humanoid said, "So, have you briefed him on his first assignment yet, sir?"

"No, that was going to come later."

"You got him to sign the paperwork before you even told him about the clown thing?"

"Excuse me," Hunter said.

"He doesn't need to know about that just yet, Cain."

"He does now."

"I was going to wait a couple days before I give him his assignment. He needs to go through training first."

"Excuse me, but can we talk about this clown thing?" Hunter asked, fairly concerned.

"No," Lynch said without skipping a beat. "We've got to give you some training, then you can know. Alright, now, Cain, please show Hunter here around."

"Yes, sir. Would you please follow me?" Cain asked Hunter. He rose from his seat and started to follow the man out.

"See ya later, Mr. Lynch," Hunter said, walking out and closing the door behind him.





Present time

Hunter tapped the answer button on his phone. "Yo," he said, taking a seat on a chair near the door.

"Are you having fun Mr. Braxton?" Cain asked.

"Eh, a little."

"Have you killed anyone yet?" Hunter wasn't sure if he should lie or tell the truth.

"..."

"Hunter."

"Maybe."

"For fucks sake hunter its been a day," says a second voice in the background, one that was quite unmistakable.

Hunter gasped. "Is that Gramps?" he asked.

"Yep," Gramps says from the background. Most people called him Gramps. Although, his official name is SCP-343.

"Yes, lemme talk to him."

"Ugh, fine. He wants to talk to you" Cain says, handing the phone over to the older of the two SCP's.

"Yello," Gramps says.

"Gramps, do you love me?" Hunter asked.

"Of course I do, Hunter"

"Then get me out of this shitty place, please"

"Nah."

"What?"

"Nah."

"Oh come on, Gramps, please?"

"Nah, I'm just going to let you stay there."

"Bullshit, you're messing with me." Hunter said, a smile on his face.

He lets out a sigh, "Hunter, we have a serious problem."

"Yeah?"

"As much as I well and truly want to bring you home, I can't. You're no longer in my domain, and I have no idea where you are."

"Oh"

"Now, should I find who's domain you are in, and believe me i'm trying, I'll gladly pull you home."

"Oh, alright. Well, I guess let me talk to Cain again."

"Alright, here he is, please be careful, Hunter."

"Always am Gramps."

"Bullshit." He then hands the phone to Cain

"So, Hunter, how many have you killed already?" Cain asked.

"Two."

"Just two?"

"Yep."

"Now, what exactly was the reason for that?"

"Well, the first one was a rapist and the second was a serial killer."

He sighed. "The first was a rapist and the second was a serial killer," he says pinching the bridge of his nose. "How in the hell did you come across those two?"

"Well, I was just doing a little  reconnaissance."

"Reconnaissance," Cain interrupts.

"Yes. Now, If I could just continue on. So, I was having a little look around the local town and I stumbled upon this bar, okay?"

"yeah."

"And there was this dude with this chick, okay?"

"Yes."

"And he drug her into this alley beside the bar, he had a knife, I had a gun; and I'm sure you know exactly where I'm going with this."

"Okay, when did this happen?"

"Last night, after dark."

"Last night? when did the second one happen?"

"Oh, you know... about an hour ago."

"Oh my god."

"Yes," Gramps chimes in.

"Not you," Cain said.

"If not me then who?"

"What?"

"Yeah, Cain, who?" Hunter asked.

"That's not what I meant."

"Gramps, I think he's cheating on you." Hunter said, snickering, trying his best not to laugh too hard.

"Cain, after everything I've done for you." Gramps said, hardly able to contain his laughter.

"Will you two knock it off! Hunter, can you please describe the inhabitants?" Cain asked, clearly done with his friend's bullshit.

"Well, their technology is a lot like the 20's, their architecture is like the 1600's, and their fashion is surprisingly modern."

"The 1600's? What does that mean?"

"Their roofs are straw."

"Their roofs are straw," he repeats.

"Yes you twat, oh, and they look like horses."

"What?"

"They. Look. Like. Horses. Do I need to spell it out?"

"I heard what you said," Cain said while Gramps was laughing in the background, "What the actual fuck do you mean they look like horses?"

"Well, their body shape is basically the same as us."

"Yeah."

"Their arms are the same."

"Yeah."

"Their legs are the same, but with hooves."

"What the hell?"

"And their heads are like horses" Gramps busted out laughing even harder.

"Good luck getting a girlfriend Hunter!" Gramps said

"Like, how similar to a horses?" Cain asked.

"Ok, first off, Gramps, don't rub salt in the wound. Besides, maybe the ladies will have a thing for exotic gentlemen."

"You're not a gentleman, Hunter," Cain said.

"Hey, shut up, okay? I had a short conversation with the serial killer, they call themselves ponies, alright? They have ears on top of their heads. They have gigantic fucking eyes, but they don't really have a muzzle like an actual horse. Their muzzles are shorter, even more so on the females. You know what? I'll just send you a picture."

"How many pictures do you have?"

"... None."

"So, how are you going to get one?"

"Well, obviously I'm going to waltz back into their town and take a few candid pics."

"Fucking creep," Gramps said 

"Yeah fucking creep," Cain said

"Y'all ain't starting this shit. So, how's my family doing?"

"They're doing okay, staying with your dad's family. Your sister is pissed. Your mom is grieving. Your dad is being your dad." Hunter wasn't too upset about his sister, she was always pissed at him. However, his mother was a different story.

"He's enjoying his fifteen minutes of fame isn't he?"

"Very much so."

"Do you think you guys could put an end to that?"

"Most definitely."

"Please do, I can't stand the thought of that arrogant bast..."

"Hey, Cain," a new, female, voice said. Hunter rolled his eyes.

"Oh, for Christ's sake," Hunter said under his breath.

"Hello, Iris," Cain said.

"Are you busy?" she asked.

"Are you just going to ignore me?" Gramps asked.

"No," Iris said, giving him a hug, then she turned to Cain. "Well?"

"Yes," he said, "We're talking to Hunter right now."

"Hmm, that's cool." She said in a less than impressed voice.

"Okay, well I got shit to do," Hunter said.

"Like what?" Cain asked.

"Things."

"What kind of things?" 

"Stuff and things, now shut the fuck up."

"You're going fishing aren't you?"

"Yes I am."

"Didn't you just kill a man?"

"Leave it to Hunter to kill someone that quickly," Iris said. Hunter simply ignored her.

"Well, I did the same thing after the 096 incident, the 939 incident, and don't forget the Hell Hounds of White's Bridge. And this was a walk in the park, at least he died."

"Speaking of which, how easy are they to kill?"

"A head shot and a chest shot are still fatal, so I got that going for me, which is nice."

"Alright then Hunter, have fun goofing off."

"I very much shall you raging cunt. Bye, love you boo boo" Hunter said. Making some kissing noises at the end to give it that finishing touch. He lowered his phone and ended the call before Cain could say anything. Hunter and Cain were most certainly not a thing. Hunter just liked to mess around, and he knew that it annoyed Cain every time he did it. It got him in trouble with HR once but what are they going to do to him now?

Getting up from his comfy seat he returned his phone to his pocket. Then he gathered up his gear and trekked through the forest to his new fishing spot. The walk wasn't so bad, the weather was actually pretty nice. Hunter estimated it was about seventy five degrees. Which was pleasantly cool compared to the south Georgia heat he was used to. The forest itself was something he wasn't quite used to. This forest was pretty much all oak. The woods he was used to back home was a good mix of pine and oak. Out of habit he scanned the forest floor as he walked along, looking for any tracks. He could tell that deer and hogs come through the area frequently. Their also appeared to be some canine tracks, they were quite large, possibly those of a wolf. He was glad he had his trusty peacemaker with him, rubbing against his thigh every time he took a step.

Soon he was back at the same tree which he had been using to keep crossing the creek. He set his box down on the bank and pulled out a dark colored, shallow swimming lure to use. He ran the line through the eyes on his rod and tied on his lure just as he had a million times before. Climbing up onto his makeshift bridge he scanned the waters for a target. It didn't take him long to find the silhouette of a bass sitting approximately ten yards away. He pressed down on the reel's release lever and gave the rod a flick, allowing the lure to fly well past the fish. It splashed down in the water and he began to reel it back in. Hunter adjusted his position on the log so that his lure would swim by a couple of feet in front of the fish. 

As he reeled in he noticed more shadows start to move around. He could see the tiny dot that was his lure swimming side to side as it passed by his intended target. Hunter's eyes lit up as the big bass started to move towards it, he slowed down his reeling just a hair. Suddenly the fish darted forward and sucked Hunter's lure into his mouth. He instinctively yanked back with his rod causing the hook to sink into the fish's lip. 'This never gets old,' Hunter thought. And it was true. No matter how many fish you may catch, the feeling of a big one on the other end never gets old. 

The bass tried to take off to the right, so Hunter pulled to the left. Then it tried going back to the left, Hunter reeled like hell and as the fish swam past his position on the log he began to pull back to the right. Hunter shuffled across the log to the side he climbed up on. Jumping back down onto the bank he pulled his catch in. As soon as it was close enough he reached down and grabbed in by the lip. He set his rod down on the ground so he could hold up his prize. It felt like it weighed about four and a half pounds, and had a big, full belly. Its scales were a lighter green with a black stripe running along the length of it. Hunter grabbed the lure's hook and pulled it out of the fish. Then he lowered it back into the water, gently moving it from side to side to get the water moving across its gills. within a few seconds the fish jerked free from his grasp and swam back off. Hunter climbed back onto the log and continued to fish. He liked this place. It reminded him of a creek from back home that he would fish every now and then.






Hunter continued to sit there and fish for the next couple of hours. Eventually he sat on the far end of the log with his feet in the water. He had caught quite a few more fish since the first one, although he had now switched over to a plastic worm just to see how it would do. It was, just as he had expected it to be, working just fine. He cast out once more, jigging the worm back to him. He lifted the worm up out of the water, then grabbed it and hooked it onto his rod. He stood up and went back to his tacklebox on his side of the river. Once he had his shoes back on he grabbed his belongings and took off for home. Walking back home he was once again looking for animal tracks. So far he hadn't seen any that looked to be any fresher, or any that where on top of his own. At least for the moment he hadn't. For when he was relatively close to his house he noticed a paw print sitting atop his own footprint, and what he saw disturbed him. He crouched down to look at it better. Now this didn't make a damn bit of sense. Granted neither had anything else he had seen. On the ground in front of him was what appeared to be a lions print. Except bigger, like, way fucking bigger. Spreading out his fingers it was still bigger than his hand. And the worst part was it was still somewhere nearby. All he had with him was his peacemaker and a pocket knife. Hunter decided that it was time to get back home, quickly. Soon he was once again standing on his porch unlocking the door. He put his rod away and thought about what he should do for the rest of the day.

"I guess I'll get Cain his pictures tonight," Hunter said.

Although he did want to go back to that town tonight, he damn sure didn't want to walk all the way back there. He considered how to go about doing this. He got down on his knees and reached under his bed. His hand met a cold piece of  metal. He felt around on it till he found the handle, grasping it he gave a mighty pull. Wheels rolled against wood flooring as the safe under his bed rolled out. Now you may be wondering 'why the fuck does Hunter have a fucking safe that rolls out from his bed?'

Well the answer is quite simple dear children. Not only is Hunter's father a complete asshole, he's a fucking little bitch. And because he is such a little bitch when Hunter had said the wanted to buy an AR-15 he had a little bitch fit and completely forbid it. Hell, anything that was even remotely tactical looking was forbidden from his house. Now, Hunter being Hunter, he didn't really give a shit about what his dad thought. Except for when he wanted a motorcycle, he couldn't hide that very well. His little ban on assault style weapons could cause Hunter some problems. Being in the SCP anything could happen at any time. This being the fact of the matter, when shit hits the fan he might not have time to go to the armory at Site 17. So he went and bought an AR any way. Later of course he commissioned this safe to keep anymore he might want in. 

Hunter entered his code and lifted the heavy steel lid, which was assisted by gas pistons. Inside was enough firepower to overthrow a small third world country. He reached in and withdrew his latest addition to his collection. A Daniel Defense AR-10 chambered in .308, it had a matte black finish and a eighteen inch barrel. On top sat a black ACOG scope. Then he grabbed an already loaded magazine from the safe and slapped it into the gun. Then he closed the lid and pushed it back underneath. He slipped the rifle's camouflage sling over his shoulders and allowed the gun to hang in front of him.

Hunter walked out onto his front porch and scanned the forest. Surely there was some way for him to get a vehicle out. In front of his house there was no such a place. He already knew to his right there was the trail he could walk down, and behind him there were no trails. But what about to his left? He looked over and there it was. It was on the far side of his house from his driveway but he didn't mind. He walked over towards it, the trail was definitely wide enough to get both his truck and thing through. 'Time to go for a ride,' he thought. He locked his house and climbed into his Volkswagen, he would have loved to take his truck down the trail, however, it was loud. Very loud, and he didn't want anyone who might happen to be within half a mile know he was coming. He pushed in the clutch and turned the key, and was met with the distinct sound of the air-cooled flat 4 in the back. He put it into reverse and backed away from his house, then shoved it into first and turned towards the woods. He bounced along the trail happy as could be, it had been a while since he had gotten to take his Thing offroading.

He had done some work on it since then too. He had welded steel square tubing onto the frame and gave it a two inch lift. He had also replaced the stock sized tires with some bigger offroad tires. And of course he had done a few engine upgrades to give the admittedly weak engine enough power to turn the larger wheels, such as installing dual carburetors and a larger ignition coil. Soon, however Hunter came to his first obstacle. Of course, sooner or later he would come across the same creek he had just been fishing at. Thankfully though, he could look and tell the water was at most a foot deep here. His thing could handle it. He let off the clutch and descended into the water, then pressed the gas just a bit to make it through. It jarred from side to side as the car drove over the rocky bottom of the creek. The water didn't even get inside, even though he didn't have the doors on. Hunter and his Thing rose from the water on the other side. He smiled at the thought that this forty year old car still had it.

It didn't take long for him to see the edge of the forest. He drove a little bit farther before coming to a stop and shutting off the engine. He got out and walked the last twenty yards or so to the tree line, when he got there his new three mile long driveway abruptly ended. In front of him was hundreds of acres of green grass with one dirt road running through it from the town to his right to a farm covered in apple trees to his left. He stood there taking it in, his rifle was still resting across his chest and stomach. 

"Ya know, this place is pretty cool." he said. 

Deciding that he had been there long enough he got back in the car and turned around to go home. As soon as the trees where thick enough that his headlights shouldn't shine through he shifted out of gear and put on the parking brake. Hunter got out and looked around for two large sticks, after finding some he laid them across each other on the trail to make an X so that he would know when to stop. He could have laid them so that they looked a bit more natural, however, his tire tracks were definitely not natural. He should be fine though. Anyone that comes may not want to walk through the water, and the entrance in the forest is far back enough from the road that no one should be able to tell its there unless they are really looking for it. 

Someone may very well know that it's there, but Hunter doubted anyone from the town did. It was too purposefully placed. He took back off towards home, and was there in minutes. It was only two in the afternoon now, he needed to find something to do with his time. He entered his bedroom and got out his laptop. He entered his password and tried to pull up Chrome, however he was met with a 'no internet connection message.' He got up and reset the WiFi router, this however did not fix his problem. He shut off his laptop and put it off to the side. 'Apparently I'm just not going to have internet anymore,' he thought. Oh well, could be worse. He opened up one of the many drawers on his desk and pulled out a tactical flashlight he hadn't put on a gun yet. He pressed on the pressure switch and his bedroom was immediately bathed in bright white light. He turned it back off, satisfied that the battery was still good. He took the light and mounted it as far forward as he could, then ran the pressure switch back to where he could activate it with his thumb.

Several hours later

It was now eight o'clock and the sun had gone down completely, Hunter was walking along the road to the town. He had left his rifle against a tree just at the entrance, he shouldn't need it tonight. His car was parked back at the spot he had marked earlier. No one came knocking on his door, and there were no hoof prints in the dirt. He hadn't been compromised thankfully. Pretty soon he was ducking into back alleyways and jumping fences, trying to find someone he could get a picture of. However, in any of the houses he was passing he could not find a single inhabitant. Either the lights were out or the curtains were closed, which meant he would have to make his way deeper into the town, where all the bars and restaurants were located. He looked over the short fence of the backyard he was currently crouching behind, on the other side was a street, and on the other side of that was a giant tree. Now this was not just any old giant tree, this giant tree had windows with lights on, and a front door. And as an added bonus, the windows wereopen. 

However there was a damn streetlight right in front of it.

Hunter started to lose interest in it. He wanted to get in and get out, but then he saw a shadow move from the windows. 'Looks like someone is home,' he thought. But how would he get over there? He looked around, trying to find an opening, then the streetlight started to flicker. He kept his eyes on it, hoping it would happen again, and it did. His eyes widened in surprise. It was about to go out! Then it flickered again and died. He immediately vaulted over the fence and dashed across the street. He made it to the other side and jumped behind a conveniently placed bush. Within a second the light was back on. He slowly made his way over to the closest window, careful not to make a noise. He stood up just to the side of it and looked in. He was nearly frozen by what he was looking at, the same purple haired girl he had seen yesterday was in there. She was sitting at a desk leaning over a book. Speaking of books, there were tons of them, this must have be the town library. Hunter looked towards the door and noticed a sign hanging above it with a book on it. Well no shit, Sherlock,' he thought.

He quickly took out his phone and pulled up the camera, ensuring that the flash was turned off he held it up to the window and took a quick picture of the equine. Then he slid it back into his pocket and crouched back behind his bush, hoping that maybe the light would go out again. So he waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and damn it, it's been fifteen minutes. He decided that it was time to go. Up the street there was a patch of darkness he could make it across at. He jumped over a few neighbor's fences and crossed the street. He couldn't make it back to the one he originally crossed at so he jumped the one right in front of him. As soon as he landed he looked up and saw a pink mare with a raspberry colored mane sitting at a patio table. She hadn't noticed him yet as she was chugging from what appeared to be a wine bottle. When she was done she dropped the bottle to the ground and looked up. Her already humongous eyes grew even wider and her jaw dropped.

"Shit," Hunter said.

"A stallion!" she exclaimed, her speech incredibly slurred. She then stood up and threw her arms wide and started to stumble towards him. "All my *hic* mare friends told me no *hic* stallion would just jump into my yard, but guess who was *hic* wrong." she said. Hunter was backing away getting ready to run, but then she threw her arms around him.

"Shhhh. You need to be quiet," he said, as the heavily intoxicated mare tried to kiss him.

"Oh, I see how it is. You want to skip the talk and get straight to business," she said, then attempted to make some sort of purring sound. "I like that idea, big boy."

"Please don't call me that."

"So, do you *hic* want to go inside, or do it right here?"

"Listen, you're cute and all, but I really need to go..." he started to say.

"Oh buck, hold on," she said, letting him go and putting her hands on her knees. "Something doesn't feel... BLEGH." Much to no one's surprise she started to throw up. Hunter had never felt this uncomfortable in his life. Hell, he liked getting shot better than this. He reached over and patted her back.

"There, there," he said. After a minute she finally stopped and stood back up. "Better?" he asked. She nodded slowly in response. Hunter took her by the shoulder's and started to lead her inside the house. "Come on, time for bed." The mare wordlessly staggered back into the house. He lead her to the bedroom, which was thankfully in plain sight from the back door. Once in there he pulled back the covers and urged her to lie down, which she did. He threw the covers over her and went into the kitchen, then he came back with a glass of water and put it on her beside table. The mare reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Aren't you going to join me?" she asked, barely holding on to consciousness.

"Noooo," Hunter said, in a quiet voice.

"Why not?" 

"Because you're drunk, like, really, really, drunk."

"We don't have to..." Hunter put his hand on top of her head.

"Shh, only dreams now."

"B-but.."

"Shh," he said as she finally fell asleep. "You are going to hate yourself in the morning." On her nightstand he saw a few coins, he picked one up and examined it. On one side it had the number five with the word bits underneath it, and on the other side was some sort of crest with the sun and moon on it. He stuck the coin in his pocket, he may need it later. He went back into her kitchen, in it was a stove and a refrigerator. Sitting on the counter was a ceramic jug with a cork in the spout, on the front of it was a sticker with X X X on it. He picked up the jug and removed the cork, then he took a sniff of the contents. He reared his head back as the smell of apples, cinnamon, and alcohol hit his nostrils. "Is this what I think this is?" he asked no one in particular. Then he tilted the jug back and took a swig. His taste buds were overwhelmed with the taste of the apples and cinnamon, then the alcohol kicked in as it slid down his throat, and when I say kicked, I mean kicked. "Holy shit," he said putting the cork back in. It was definitely apple pie moonshine. "Fuck it. This is mine now."

He left the mares house, locking the door behind him. Soon he was back outside the town, and within an hour he was walking back into his house. He set his rifle down next to the couch and went to put his jug on the counter. Before he did though he took another swig. Then he pulled out his phone and sent the picture of that purple chick (Twi, was it?) to Cain. Then he took a picture of the coin and sent that as well. He went into his bedroom and removed his clothes, and put his phone on the charger. He stared up at the ceiling for a bit, thinking about everything. Soon his eyes grew heavy and he started to fall asleep.

'God, I hope that mare won't remember anything tomorrow.'
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Hunter
Chapter 7


Hunter woke up early the next morning, very early. The sun still hadn't risen when he was awake. He started the day by pouring a bowl of his favorite cereal, the last bowls worth of the box. 

'Well this sucks,' he thought.

Throwing the box away. He was also running low on milk, he decided he'd deal with that later. Hunter ate his breakfast in peace then took a quick shower. However, instead of using his regular soap and shampoo he used a scent eliminating soap which is meant to be used before a hunt. Once he was done and dried off he returned to his room and pulled out a pair of camo pants and a camo shirt. Before he put them on he sprayed them with a scent eliminator. And just for good measure he grabbed a camo face mask too. In a minute he was dressed and almost ready to go.

Today he was going hunting. Big game hunting. Whatever that creature was that made those tracks was a predator. A predator that was far too close to his house than he was comfortable with. Once he was dressed he put on a camo cap and reached into his closet and pulled out a grey gun case. He laid the case down on the bed and unzipped it. Inside was an all black Winchester Model 70 chambered in .270 with a three to twelve power Nikon scope on top. He pushed the large bullets in one at a time, once all five were in he quickly closed the bolt and laid it down on his bed. Next he grabbed a belt then he once again pulled out his safe and got out a pair of revolver holsters. He attached them to the belt along with his SOG knife and put it on. Hunter grabbed his pair of .454 Casull Tauruses and tucked one into the holster on each of his hips. Then he packed an extra quick loader for each. Now, you're probably wondering how a nineteen year old has handguns, well, because of his line of work he gets special privileges. With everything in order he slung his rifle over his shoulder and left his room.

Leaving his house he locked the door as usual, even though he doubted anyone would come around. However, it was better to be safe than sorry. If someone did find his little hidey hole he'd just roll with it, but at least they couldn't snoop around inside. Although he would strongly deny any knowledge of the town and stealing from that drunk chick. Once outside he took a deep breath and looked around. The sun was just now rising above the trees. The air was crisp and cool, and there was a light fog in the trees. Hunter recognized this weather, it signaled the beginning of his favorite season.

Deer season.

Which was weird because when he was still in his world it was the beginning of summer. However, it was now the beginning of fall. 'Well, damn, looks like I'm going to miss out on summer fishing this year,' he thought, but he couldn't complain, at least he got an early deer season. And considering the people who inhabited this place were ponies he might not be able to just walk into a store and buy a steak, so hunting may very well become his main source of food.

Which was perfectly fine by him.

Hunter adjusted his face mask and made sure his phone was on silent, even though he wasn't sure if it even worked beyond his house. He walked back down the same trail he had been on, it didn't take him long to find the same tracks from the day before. He took his rifle off his back and held it in his arms, he adjusted the scope so it was on its lowest magnification then followed the tracks.





Ponyville, Twilight's house

"SPIKE!" Twilight yelled upstairs, "Are you ready to go?" she asked as she was putting her backpack on her shoulders.

"Yes, Twilight," Spike replied walking down the stairs, "why are we even going? None of the others would go, maybe we shouldn't either."

"Spike, do you know how important this is? He was once considered a hero, and we could kinda use one of those right now."

"Aren't you and the other girls supposed to be heroes?"

"Yes, but we need more. Me and the others can't be everywhere at once, Spike, we need help."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Plus, no one has really studied him, this is such a great opportunity to!" she said, making Spike's shoulders drop. He looked at her with a deadpan expression. "What?" she asked.

"For a second there, I started to take you seriously," he said, "Whatever, let's just go."

The duo left the Golden Oak Library and walked down the street that would take them in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. The sun was just now above the tree line, it was a pretty cool morning, it was finally starting to feel a lot like autumn. Soon the leaves would start turning and the ponies would begin preparing for the Running of the Leaves. A few ponies where out and about or leaving their homes. A few of them waved and Twilight waved back. Derpy, the mail mare was doing her rounds, she could see Rainbow Dash flying around on the other side of town, getting today's weather ready. As the two crossed the bridge leaving town Spike suddenly stopped.

"Hey, Twilight, what could have made those?" Spike asked, pointing to a set of hoofprints on the ground. Twilight crouched down to look at them better, they were shaped like some kind of elongated bean, and had a weird pattern to them.

"I don't know, Spike," she replied. She looked at them for a second longer, then with a gasp she stood back up and slung her backpack around, she unzipped it and pulled out her book. It didn't take her long to find the picture of the Traveler. "Look Spike!" she said pointing to his feet, "He has longer feet, and it looks like he's wearing some type of shoe. These are his prints! We're on the right track, Spike. Come on!" she said taking off down the dirt road.

Spike stood there for a second, "Of course we are," he mumbled, then started to follow her.

Twilight had her eyes cemented to the ground following the tracks, suddenly they stopped and turned off into the tall grass, she stopped and looked at the field in front of her. This gave Spike enough time to catch up.

"Well, looks like we hit a dead end, time to go home," he said, turning and beginning to walk back to town. 

"Get back here, Spike," Twilight said. He did as he was told and stood next to her.

"What?" he said.

"Look at the grass."

"It's grass, what's special about it?"

"Look closely, you can see where he walked through." He did, and he could see exactly where she was talking about, there was a feint line where the grass had been disturbed.

"We're going in there aren't we?" he asked.

"Yes, Spike, now come on." She said, walking into the grass towards the forest. It wasn't hard for the two to find the wide trail that Hunter had used the previous day, soon his footprints turned into tire tracks. The two found the size of the tires odd, however the concept wasn't completely alien. A little while later the two were almost to the creek that he had driven through. 

"Twilight, how much longer are we going to go?"

"Until we find him."

"Oh, come on! We're already deeper in the forest than Zecora's place. Pretty soon we'll be at the old castle."

"Hmm, maybe that's where he's set up his camp," Twilight said. As the two rounded the corner before the creek both stopped in their tracks and stared ahead in horror. "Spike."

"I knew we should have stayed home," Spike whispered.





Hunter

Hunter was getting close, he could feel it. He had been following the same tracks for almost two hours now, he could feel that the creature was close. He always could, it was almost like an instinct to him. No matter what he was hunting, be it animals, monsters, or people, he could feel their proximity to him as long as he had a good idea of the target. All he needed was to either see it, have a picture of it, or find its tracks. From there he simply let the tug on his body guide him. He never told anyone about this ability, especially not anyone from the Foundation. If he had they would throw him in a cell and he would be their pet for the rest of his life. Although he had a feeling they were getting ready to try something. 

He was walking along the bank of the creek, the giant paw prints were much easier to follow in the soft dirt, and they were very fresh. Hunter guessed that they were maybe ten minutes old at most. He had found where the creature had spent the night a while beforehand, there was a mostly eaten deer and an area of flattened grass where it had slept. The area was quite large, about eight feet square. For a minute he was afraid that he hadn't brought a big enough gun, however if you put enough bullets in something it will die. Well, most of the time it will die. Hunter wasn't sure exactly where he was at, he knew that he hadn't made it to the shallow crossing, however by his estimations it should be close. About 50 meters ahead the creek curved to the left. His target was around the corner, he knew it, his instinct told him so. 

Getting close he made sure the safety was off on his rifle and held it to his shoulder. He moved from tree to tree, making sure that whatever it is wouldn't see him before he saw it. His instinct put its position in the water and moving, it must have been crossing where he had. Hunter quickened his pace and brought his rifle up. Soon he saw it, and he really wished he had brought a bigger gun. He wasn't entirely wrong about it being a lion, he had seen a lot of weird shit, but this was different. A hundred yards in front of him was a lion of massive proportions with wings on its back and a scorpion tail. 

'What the fuck?' he mouthed silently.

He turned the magnification up to five times and took aim at the creatures head, just behind the eyes. There was no way it would survive a .270 or two to the head. The creature was looking down at the water, probably hoping to find a fish, then it suddenly looked up and roared at something in front of it.

"RUN!" Someone screamed. Then the creature started to take off after them.

"Fuck!" Hunter said, then took aim again.





Twilight

Twilight and Spike turned and ran. It would be just their luck that a manticore would have been right in their path. Twilight turned around and looked at the creature, it was already almost out of the water, it would be upon them in a second. She was just about to give up all hope, but then the air was filled with the deafening sound of a gunshot. The manticore staggered to the side with a roar as the bullet slammed into its shoulder. It tried to place its leg back down but instead roared in pain and held it up, then it started limping after the mare and dragon.

"It's hurt, Spike, keep running!" Twilight called to him.

The two continued to run with the manticore on their heels. Twilight made the mistake of looking behind her and didn't see tree root that was sticking out of the ground just enough, and sure enough she fell face first into the dirt. She rolled over just in time to see the manticore about to pounce on her. Twilight rolled out of the way and it landed right where she just was, she scampered back as far as she could until she hit a tree. The manticore lowered its front and brought its tail to bare. The tail started to shoot straight for her chest but was interrupted by a blur of green and black. The manticore roared in pain as the tip of its tail landed at Twilight's feet. Twilight looked to where the blur had gone and gasped, there he was. The Traveler!

In his left hand he held a black rifle and in his right a large black blade. He threw the knife up in the air, as it twirled end over end he raised his gun and pointed it at the beast. With another deafening boom he shot the manticore in the head. The beast dropped to the ground, dead as can be. The human slung his rifle over his shoulder and then caught his knife. He spun it on his finger a few times before re-sheathing it. His head was covered by a mask, but Twilight could see his brown eyes looking at her. He pulled off the mask, revealing the young face underneath. 

'Oh my Celestia, he's cute,' she thought, 'why did I just think that?' He walked towards her and held out a hand, a hand that had barely any fur on it compared to a pony.

"Are you alright?" the traveler asked. She took his hand and allowed him to pull her up.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little dirty," she replied, "So, are you really him?"

"Really who?" Hunter asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The Traveler!" 

"Nope." Twilight went from excited to disappointed.

"Oh, then, who are you?"

"My name is Hunter, Hunter Braxton. Who are you? If I might ask."

"My name is Twilight Sparkle, personal student to Princess Celestia, and librarian of Ponyville." Then the purple dragon ran back up to them. He bent over with his hands on his knees, he was breathing heavily from the amount of running he had done. "And, this is Spike, my personal assistant."

"Dude... Thank you... so much," Spike said in between his breathes.

"No problem, I'd been hunting that thing all morning. By the way, what the hell is it?"

"A manticore, it's odd to see one on its own though, usually they travel in packs," Twilight answered.

"Packs?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah, you didn't find the others?"

"No, but I'm sure that I will," He said, sounding rather annoyed.

"Where are you camped out at?" the purple girl asked.

"My house."

"You built a house out here?"

"No, it just kinda came with me."

"Came with you?" she asked, confused.

"Yeah, I've only been here three days now."

"But where did you come from?"

"A different world, I think."

"How, how did you come from a different world?" she asked, absolutely bewildered.

"Don't know, went to sleep in my world, woke up in this one."

"So, can we see your house?" This request made Hunter uncomfortable, and it showed on his face.

"Ummm, I'd rather you not." 

"Why not?" she evidently wasn't too happy about that.

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Just because," he said, shrugging.

"Please, this is such a great opportunity to study you and your species." Spike facepalmed with an audible smack. Hunter didn't quite like the idea of being this chick's test subject.

He drew in a breathe sharply between his teeth. "Yeah, Naaaaah. That ain't happening. See ya," he said, and then he started to walk back home. 

"I just want to ask you some questions, I'm not going to cut you open or anything," she said walking beside him.

"Nah."

"Just twenty minutes, please."

"Nah."

"You know, you don't own this whole forest. So I could just follow you."

"I suppose so."

"So, are you going to stop me?"

"Nah."

"Why not?"

"I was just going to let the other manticores do it for me."

"Really? Come on, I just want to be your friend."

"That's not what you said a minute ago."

"Hunter, please," she sounded as though she was pleading with him, "I know you probably don't have any friends here, please just let us come for a little bit. I just want to get to know you. Can we just hang out for a while? I won't pester you with questions, I promise." Hunter stopped walking, he closed his eyes and took a deep breathe. She was being sincere, and honestly, she had a point.

"Okay, come on, let's go." She instantly perked up.

"Thank you!, oh, and thanks for saving me back there."

"Like I said, no problem."

"So, can we talk about what your life was like before you came here?" 

The three walked on through the forest, pretty soon they come back to the creek where the chase had begun. Hunter simply walked right into it, he was used to doing this, and his pants and shoes were already soaked from running through earlier. 

"Um, Hunter?" Twilight said, gaining his attention.

"Yeah," He turned around to see them both still on the bank.

"How are we supposed to cross?"

"Just walk through."

"But I don't want to get wet." Spike, who was wearing shorts and was barefoot just walked into the water.

"Oh. My. God." Hunter said, wading back over to her. "Come here." He bent down and put one arm behind her knees and one behind her back and picked her up bridal style. She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck for extra support. She couldn't help but notice just how strong he was, he wasn't ripped but his muscles were very well toned. When they got to the other side Spike was already waiting on them. He set her down and they continued on their merry way.

"What did you do for a living back home?" she asked him.

"I hunted monsters." He wasn't really supposed to tell anyone about that, however at this point he didn't really care anymore.

"Really? For who?"

"I worked for a group of people called the SCP Foundation, I was hired as part of a program called the Huntsman Initiative."

"Dude, that's badass," said Spike.

"Yeah, it was, I wasn't allowed to talk about it though."

"Then why are you talking about it now?" he asked.

"Because they can't touch me here, and honestly I'm not planning on going home, so it doesn't matter anymore."

"You don't want to go home?" A confused Twilight asked. "Why?"

"Well, you see, the purpose of the SCP Foundation was to protect the status quo by securing and containing any anomalies that may infringe upon said status quo. Now, a guy that crossed dimensions and has knowledge of a different world filled with new species would definitely count as an anomaly. I would be confined to one of their containment facilities for the rest of my life. I'd much rather just stay here."

"But what about your friends and family?"

"As per standard Foundation procedure there would have been a massive cover up, they play off any rumors of my disappearance as a hoax and say that I died. My friend and family would have been given amnesiacs and probably told that our house exploded with me in it."

"That's horrible!"

"Yep, they do similar stuff all the time, but it's all for the greater good." They continued to walk, Hunter talking about his life, and Twilight talking about Ponyville and her friends. It took a while for them to reach Hunter's house, but they didn't have any problems getting there. "Well, guys, here we are. Home sweet home."