The Chronicle of The Hunter

Chapter 2: Arrival Pt. 1

"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes they win."

- Steven King

Finally. Many, many hours with THAT pony has driven me to half madness, only holding on to sanity through the belief that her friends can't ALL be like this. Surely there must be some difference between it all.

Thank my lucky stars I was right.

When we arrived in Ponyville, I was immediately escorted to the Ponyville Library by Pinkie to make formal introductions with (whom I assume to be) the leader of these ponies, named Twilight Sparkle.

Analysis: Twilight Sparkle.

Appearance: Light purple coat, mane and tail three different shades of coat color. Cutie mark a star with smaller stars surrounding.

Personality: N/A

Relation: Neutral

"Well it's nice to meet you, Mister Blade."

"Likewise, Twilight Sparkle. You know, from what Pinkie Pie told me, you are an extremely powerful pony. Is magic a forte of yours?" Calling the bluff. If she nor Pinkie takes the bait, then I know that all I heard about her is a lie.

"Well, I don't mean to exaggerate, but-" She's cut off suddenly by Pinkie, who's somehow still bouncing, but now my comment has almost gotten her to start battering the walls, the way she's moving and talking.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? TWILIGHT IS THE BEST MAGICIAN AROUND OH MY GOSH DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HOW SHE BEAT THAT URSA MINOR COOLEST THING EVER AND SHE BEAT NIGHTMARE MOON AND DISCORD and yeah she's AWESOME!!! Even PRINCESS CELESTIA accepted her as her STAR PUPIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Well then. I was right, she is very powerful indeed. And to be the best pupil of my sister is a challenging feat. But there was some other details in what Pinkie said that's bothering me...

"Twilight, you defeated my sis-I mean, Nightmare Moon? AND Discord? Please explain, I'm very interested." Thank goodness I caught myself. Twilight gives me a surreptitious glance before answering me,

"Well, Mr. Blade, (Me: "Please, call me Midnight") Midnight, as you may have seen and heard, both Nightmare Moon and Discord returned, both at different periods of time though (and thank goodness for that, otherwise Equestria would've been history.) But, we, and by we I mean myself, Pinkie, and the friends you have yet to meet, are the current wielders of the Elements of Harmony, and used them in both occasions to defeat the villains before their plans got out-of-hoof."

My jaw dropped. To the floor, almost. I was standing next to the wielders of the only things powerful enough to actually keep me out of Equestria, besides my siblings, and they weren't being used for their original purposes to actually keep me out. It completely baffled me how well Celestia actually covered up my presence in this country.

After thinking about this for a long time, I realized I was still staring at Twilight, and had been completely silent for a solid minute. I quickly focused my gaze elsewhere and politely coughed, turning a brilliant shade of red. What is it about this pony that confuses me so much? She clearly has knowledge, and lots of it. She is the bearer of the Element of Magic, right?

"Excuse me Twilight, but if you don't mind my asking, which Element is it that you possess?"

"Oh, it's quite alright. I actually possess the Element of Magic." Knew it. But if she holds that element, then I have even more reason to fear her, because it means that she herself can contain me. Suddenly feeling nauseous, I take a step back, a bit dizzy.

"Midnight? You feeling alright?" That was from Pinkie Pie.

"Huh? What? Oh yeah, I'm fine. I'm just so honored to meet the bearer of what I believe is the most powerful Element." Twilight gave me another look. I think I'm revealing too much. Oh duh, pegasi don't generally think well of unicorns. Horsefeathers.

"Well, keep in mind that without my friends, Pinkie included, the Elements wouldn't work in my favor."

Quite quickly afterward I looked around for Pinkie Pie, who's returned to lounging on the couch, then back at Twilight. "And I assume that Pinkie Pie is the Element of-"

Pinkie Pie suddenly jumped out of one of the bookshelves. When did she...never mind. "LAUGHTER!!!! hehehe, that's me! It's my job to make people smile." She looked closer at me. "I just realized, OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!! I HAVEN'T MADE YOU LAUGH YET?!?!?!"

Oh boy. Lets see how I get out of this one. "Well, um, that's because there hasn't been anything funny yet to laugh at."

Mistake. Mine. The mare's eyes practically popped out her head "Well sure there has! You can laugh at anything! Watch!" She rather quickly jumps into her own version of the Pony Pokey. It's very challenging not to suppress a grin, but I fight it off anyway.

"As Canterlot roya-I mean, as a very respectable pony, I don't think I should be laughing at this, but I still find it funny either way."

Twilight gives me a third quizzical look. I'm getting into the danger zone now. She then asks, "Pinkie, can I have some alone time with Midnight, please?"

"Sure Twilight! Just don't do anything funny to him! Not without me, anyway!" She bounces out of the room, and I turn to watch her exit. Finally, some peace and quiet with-

As I turn around, I see Twilight, horn practically about to explode with purple magic.

Oh wait. Crap.

I get blasted across the room and crash into a bookshelf, landing in a heap of books. I slowly stand up, but a look from the mare sits me back down again.

"I'll say this once, Midnight." Her voice was cracked and broken. I could see she was confused and angry. "WHO ARE YOU?" I should've thought ahead.

"I don't want any smart-alec answers either, because I have a sneaking suspicion as to who you are, whether it is you or not, and if it turns out I'm right, I will hit you with my most powerful magic. So powerful, in fact, that you will most likely be missing your wings. And your horn. (WAIT HOW'D SHE-) A true-seeing spell given to me by my mentor, Princess Celestia."

I shudder at my sister's name being invoked in the conversation, and clearly that was the reaction the purple mare was hoping for. Time for another coverup.

"I, I, ok, fine!" I exclaim, flopping onto the couch beside me. "My real name is Midnight Blade. But I, uh, uh, um..."

I couldn't think of my usual coverup, and too many um's. Without another word, she fired a very singular, very powerful bolt of bright purple magic. Quickly, I dived out of the way, unfolding my bat-like wings and pushing off another bookcase, rolling with the punches.

The mare's eyes widen. At this point there was little room for negotiation. I pulled out Basilisk and prepared for a fight of a lifetime. But then something surprised me. Her anger practically evaporated, and slowly I realized what she was staring at. My wings. My bat-like, totally un-pegasus like wings. She and I both paled. I tried to cover my wings and perform a erase-thoughts spell, but in my panic I totally forgot that in my Blade state I can't use magic. Twilight lowered her head and whispered, "So the stories are true."

I blacked out from the panic that rushed into my mind.

Dreams. Twisted, demented. Horrible faces loom out of the darkness, scaring the eight year old Sunstriker. After a couple minutes of screaming, his entire family entered the room.

"Daddy, will Big Brother be okay?" Asked a crying Celestia.

"I don't know, dearest. I just don't know." A stoic stallion sat in the corner, waiting for the convulsions to cease.

Cut to years later. Celestia, Luna, and Sunstriker are playing in the fields. All of a sudden, something snaps in the teenaged Sunstriker. He cries a bloodcurdling shriek and lands onto the ground, convulsing madly. Luna and Celestia looked once, screamed, and ran away.

About half an hour goes by, and the convulsions cease. Dusting himself off and repreparing for takeoff, Suntriker notices something before launching. A little bottle, with the words For when you need it the most. He looks at the bottle, picks it up and stores it in his saddlebags, and takes off.

I'm awake. Finally. I'd forgotten about the nightmares my damn sister Luna sent me. I do a quick mental check, running through times, historical knowledge, mathematical facts, everything. I check my wings and the rest of my stallion body for cuts and bruises, of which there were minimal. I can worry about them later. I should be worried about-

Twilight entered from what seemed to be her kitchen, looked up from the book she was reading, and froze. There I was, awake again. I tried to sit up, but something was holding me back. I look at my hooves. Shackled to the very table using a spell I had never seen, much less heard of. I'm going to look that up later, if I get the chance. Big IF.

"So good you're awake." Those were words I never wished to hear from her mouth again, at least not in that tone. It was dull and unpleasant. "I have alerted Princess Celestia to your presence in Ponyville. She will arriving shortly to take care of you."

Five other mares step out from behind Twilight. One orange Earth Pony, two Pegasi (one blue and the other yellow,) a dazzling white unicorn, and...PINKIE PIE?!?!?!

To top it all off, they were all wearing the Elements of Harmony. Oh, just what I wanted to see on this wonderful day.

"Um, do I get introductions to these other ponies, or am I just gonna lay here wondering WHAT THE HAY IS GOING ON!" I practically yelled it to the stars, gesturing from Twilight to the others.

"Oh, shut up, you dimwit." This from the blue pegasus. I've at least heard of this one. What was it again? Raindance Flash? No. Flash Raindance? No. Buck it all! Oh wait. Rainbow Dash! Duh. I cringed at my own foolishness, but Rainbow Dash took it to be cowardice and stepped right up to me.

"You have every right to be scared." The mare hissed at me. We were breathing down each others throats at this point.

I feign being cowardly, albeit very poorly. "Oh no, what ever shall I do? The mighty Rainbow Dash has me shackled against a table, and I have no escape." I practically whinnied with laughter. The stupidity of these creatures was ridiculous.

"Rainbow, back it off." The orange Earth Pony has finally spoken up. Do I sense a Southern lilt in her voice? "Don't want'cha to be scaring nopony, now you hear?"

"Yep, hear you loud and clear, AJ." Rainbow Dash backs up slowly, while the other, AJ, trotted straight up to me and poked me in the nose.

"How dare you run rampant in our town!"

"Excuse me?"

She falters. "You know, barging inta town and attacking Twi! Or at least, that's what she says. But anywho, I'm Applejack. And you are?"

I didn't even bother with the false names. "Hunter. Or my true name, Midnight Blade."

"Sure ya are, sugarcube. Just as soon as my name is Spitifre." Applejack sneered at me with that last sentence, and steps back, allowing the white unicorn to step forward. Judging from the Element around her neck, I'm going to guess Generosity. Focus. I need focus. I focused on my left foreleg. And waited. And waited. Until....

The white unicorn slapped me in the face. Ow. That wasn't generous at all! "How dare you be SO disrespectful to my friends. Whatever in Chrysalis's name is wrong with you?"

Twilight took this opportunity to jump in. "That's just it, Rarity. He's a Changeling." They all quickly get into a defensive position. "There's no way his magic would have been that powerful without him, or actually her, being Queen Chrysalis!"

Wow. I thought I was going to get some intelligence from the smart pony, but nope. She has officially gone off the deep end.

I quickly gave them what I hoped to be a pleasant smile. In turn I received a light zap on the shoulders from Twilight.

"Hey! Watch where you blast that! It could be lethal!" I am still focusing of my left foreleg, when suddenly...

POPPOPPOPPOP The shackles fell off. All the ponies jump back, the yellow pegasus actually giving out a little screech.

"Stop right there!" Twilight was faltering, and I needed to come off as friendly, did I not?

"Ok Twilight. Sure. I don't mean anypony any harm. And nor am I Queen Chrysalis, I wish to have no affiliation with that beast of a queen!" I slowly back off, loosening my shoulders and my wings while I stepped. It would be bad for me to cause them to hurt me. Elsewise they themselves would be getting hurt. Very, very painfully. Think spikes.

All six ponies were immediately confused. "Wait, so you don't want to kill us very slowly with your weapons of mass destru-eep!" This was from the final mare whose name I still didn't know. A pegasus. All of them would be valuable allies. Just give them, give me, time to convert to new society.

"Of course not." I assured her. "I only hurt things when they actually deserve. And looking at all of you, I'd say nopony deserves to be hurt."

All faces then turn to Twilight, who is silently laughing.

"Hunter, did you really think we were that foolish? Your stuff is gone. When I realized who you were and you passed out, I took the opportunity to make sure you had nothing dangerous on you."

Gears in my head turned, and time slowed, almost as if I did that without thinking. Finally, during this slow-time movement within myself, I decided to get a good look at the mares around me, starting with Twilight.

Twilight Sparkle. The purple unicorn. Protege of Celestia. My goodness, this mare had a lot going for her. A shortly cut mane, one that was primarily dark purple with two streaks of lighter shades of purple going down the front. Same color scheme applied to the tail. Her cutie mark was a large purple star with several smaller white stars surrounding it, obviously representing magic. She was attractive, in her own way. Not likely that if they were to meet in normal life they would ever be more than friends. But she seemed caring, and from her magic I could tell that she was one pony I wasn't going to mess with.

Secondly, the blue pony, Rainbow Dash. Athletic. Powerful. Probably headstrong, too. But there were two things that kept sticking out in my mind about this pony. One, her mane and tail. Yes, true to her name, Rainbow Dash had a rainbow mane and tail. The one thing I noticed, though, was that at the base of her head, her mane changed color completely, going from primary to secondary colors. The tail was different, with all the colors on there at once. Secondly, her cutie mark. Yes, I know it's generally impolite to stare, but there was something about this one. It was a white cloud shooting a rainbow bolt of lightning. Where have I seen it before? I'll think more about it later.

"Gosh, everything sure is quiet!" Pinkie Pie. The most excitable pony I have ever met. It's almost like her poofy pink mane and tail are actually made of sugar and supply the rest of her with sugar and happiness. Walking back to the town with her was a chore, because although I didn't want to talk, she didn't want to STOP talking. Her cutie mark was three balloons, with which came the general assumption that she was the party pony of the bunch.

"Yes, well sugar, it's not like this 'ere stallion was just gonna gallop on in and be all 'Ah'm here! Time to party!'" This orange mare seems to be the levelheaded one, aside for Twilight. Applejack was clearly very strong. It wasn't very evident through the visual effects of her muscles, but the way she acted and the way everypony was very careful to stay away from her hind legs made me think of two options. Either she is a racer or...

Question answered. As you see the three apples on her hindquarters when she turns around I recognize her as a farmer. The hat should've given it away, but still, better safe than sorry.

That left two ponies. I probably should focus on the yellow pegasus, but the white unicorn named Rarity is throwing me for a loop. Her perfectly coiffed mane and tail. Her way of speaking, her way of walking. It was all very pompous and bothering. Yes, she was indeed pretty, but no need to show it off. Her cutie mark helped in no way. Three diamonds. Of course. I stifled another laugh as she dusted the area within 5 feet of her so as to make sure she didn't sit on anything dirty. Germophobes. They're always funny to prank.

Heartbeats. The only sound as the blood rushes through Sunstriker's ears. Currently, he's teetering over the edge of a cliff. Was it such a good idea to pull a prank on Luna like that?

Five minutes before. Luna enters her room, book in face, and then looks up and screams in panic. Dust. Dirt. Muck. Everywhere, in her precious bedroom! "STRIKER I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" She shrieked as Sunstriker blasted out of the house, laughing his flank off.

Never piss off a princess, thought Sunstriker as he slowly saw Luna walking up the path in front of him. But this time, it wasn't Luna. Or at least the Luna Sunstriker knew. She was wearing a mask. And a breastplate. And leggings. Even boots. It was kind of cute, seeing his little sister like that.

"Lulu?" It was a name he only used when he was trying to be sincere. Luna was past that.

"Sunstriker. A disgrace to the family." She spat in the dirt. "I was hoping for an older brother who actually might be interesting."

Striker dug in his heels, and charged at Luna. A blast of white light suddenly filled the air, and both Sunstriker and Luna dive for cover. Luna escapes unharmed, but Striker smashes his head against a rock and blacks out.

"Darling? Are you ok?" I jump what feels like 50 feet into the air before recognizing my surroundings."Um, yeah, I'm fine, Rarity." When was I ever fine? I think that's gotta be the biggest lie I've ever told.

I then look at the yellow pegasus. "You were brave enough to ask me whether or not I was going to attack you. That takes nerve. I'd love to know who you are."

"I, um, am, um, um, eep!"

"Allow me, Shy." Rainbow Dash took the lead on this one. "This is Fluttershy. We went to flight academy together, although she's always been a bit more of a ground pony. She loves animals, which explains her cutie mark. She runs the animal hatcheries and homes for animals."

I take a closer look at this extremely shy pony. She eep'ed one more time before I smiled and said, "I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Oh, okay. I was scared there because you're really scary and-" One look from Twilight silences her.

Fluttershy was a very interesting pony, to say in the least. She's very thin, seemingly frail at that. Her coat is a bright yellow while her mane and tail is pink. Her cutie mark is butterflies. It seems almost as if I know the least about Fluttershy.

Hell, I'm going to need some allies when Tia shows up, and if she recognizes me there is no way it's gonna be a lovey-dovey reunion. I'm thinking more along the lines of get-out-of-my-kingdom-before-I-have-you-arrested-or-killed.

Twilight walked up to me. "Knowing the Princess, she's going to have questions upon questions for you, so I hope you're prepared."

Joy. Let's play catch up and kill. But one nagging detail caught up to me right before Twilight Sparkle turned around and went to go rejoin the other five, who were now circled up discussing privately.

"Twilight Sparkle?"

"Please, call me Twilight."

"Ok then, Twilight. How did you know I am who I am?"

She took a deep breath. I sensed that she had been mentally preparing for this question. Over the course of the next half an hour, she explained to me how she knew that I am The Hunter. Firstly, she owns a library, and is always capable of reading every book she has in inventory and memorizing it fully. Almost a week before today, she was reading a book entitled "Ye Elder Destroyers of Equestria" written by Cordis, which was a bad anagram for Discord, as (surprisingly) Rainbow Dash later figured out. So she had been reading a book written by Discord about those ponies whom were responsible for the Wars Before the Solar Empire. Surprisingly, everything he wrote matched up. Except for one slight detail. There was one page missing, and according to the Glossary, the one page was the one describing The Hunter. In place was a single riddle, which was relatively easy for Discords standards.

The location was easy enough. The next clue was, somehow, on the Ponyville town flag, which then led them to the schoolhouse, and from there to Sweet Apple Acres, which is apparently Applejack's farm. Discord was keeping this short and sweet, and the final location was actually in what appears to be the foundation of the Sugar Cube Corner place Pinkie Pie had been telling me about. Here was the entry about me, or The Hunter, in this case. Or at least the part Twlight showed me:

"The Hunter is the original anarchist of pre-Equestria. Although Nightmare Moon led the Lunar Rebellion, Hunter was the leader of Project Archon, a completely different rebel group focused more on survival as their primary goal rather than world domination. Or so it was thought. For as soon as Nightmare Moon had been banished by Celestia into the moon, Project Archon struck at a time when the Empire was weakest. War was always following this mysterious pony. Nopony knows where The Hunter got his name, what country he originates from, and whether or not he has relation to the royalty in Canterlot.

The Hunter is a alicorn, through and through. However, his magical ability is also unknown. He was a pony of war, and oftentimes did not use magic where he could use his weapons. His weapons were..." It goes on and on like that.

Well, Discord got it on the dot. Except for one part. I used magic all right. Key word used. I'm a pegasus still.

"Now than, Hunter, y'all gonna tell us ponies if that stuff's true?" Applejack slowly trotted up to me, and was giving me the staredown of a lifetime.

"Well," I say, pushing away Applejack a little bit, "Most of the excerpt I read is true."

Rarity steps up as well, goes around me once, taking in every detail, then mentions: "Well then, I guess the most precious question on our list, darling, is why are your wings so intricately detailed like that?"

Everypony stops in the room. Even Pinkie Pie shuts up and stops bouncing, but not before she shouts, "WHAT!" Twilight gives me a quizzical look, Rainbow Dash and Applejack just stare at me, jaws dropped, and Fluttershy kind of does a combination of diving under a chair while still trying to look at me. She just ended up slamming her head against the seat, and then dives into the kitchen, and just peeks around a corner, looking at me.

I don't smile. I don't frown. This is the story I didn't want to tell. It haunted me since day one, and I didn't appreciate having to go through the story again...

Project Archon Headquarters. In flames. Sunstriker watches as the main base for his rebellion burns down, then faces the 100 Canterlot Royal Guard who slowly circle him, spears in hand. Sunstriker's eyes, a blood red, rolling inside their sockets. Slowly turning in circles, and with a bloodcurdling battlecry, he charged at them, magic explosively destroying the surrounding terrain. He had lost everything. Scienceponies. Guards. Soldiers. Some were his very loyal friends. He had lost everything, and now was giving up his own life to a cause that almost seemed nonexistent.

Minutes later. Battle over. Sunstriker drops from the air, exhausted from fighting all the Guard, who have been torn to shreds, only to have Princess Celestia step right up to him, filled to the brim with energy.

"Brother, you have made a poor choice. Very poor." she begins, with an almost pleasant smile on her face.

He snarled, fury running white hot in his veins. "You wouldn't know anything about poor. You inherited a kingdom with Luna, but she abused her power. I tried to make something great of myself and keep out of your mane, but that was destroyed just now." He's screaming now, no control over himself. "AND NOW I TRY TO GET REVENGE AGAINST MY OWN SISTERS, AND I STILL LOSE! MONTHS OF PLANNING, GONE TO WASTE. MY FRIENDS, MY SCIENTISTS, MY WORK! ALL DEAD!"

Now Celestia is laughing, manically, disgustingly. "Brother, you expected to win? My royal guard have been training for battle since we defeated Discord! I have magic beyond possible belief! And now I have one more advantage over you. After all the years of pranks, jokes, and just plain old mean tricks against Luna and I, this is SO going to be worth it." With that, she points her horn at Sunstriker's flank, tip glowing. A beam of light echoes out of her horn and directly at Sunstriker's horn. After the beam disappears, so does his own horn. It's gone. And soon also transforms Sunstriker's mane, it turns a light blue, while his coat turns a deep red, and wings become dragon-like...

All six ponies have been sitting down since I started the story, making sure not to use my real name. When I finish, even Pinkie Pie looks like she wants to cry. She gives me a giant hug, practically crushing my ribs. Applejack is the complete opposite. Along with Rainbow Dash, they lock hooves and quickly discuss. They both turn around and Rainbow Dash says, "And just how do we know you aren't lying?"

"When a pony becomes an alicorn, Rainbow Dash, it becomes physically impossible for them to lie. They may be able to bend the truth, but whatever they say is always technically true. Oftentimes we alicorns will speak loosely, allowing for misinterpretation, but we never told any lies." I step forward to her, wings up.

"So what? You're still weird. And dangerous."

A new voice echoes through the house. I try to leap out the window when I recognize it, only to have it slam shut into my face with a blast of white magic.. "That is correct Rainbow Dash, but you forget that we can use magic to amplify our abilities."

All six mares get up, turn around, and bow to Princess Celestia as she enters the room. I simply try to hide my face. "And just which alicorn do you have in your house, Twilight Sparkle?"

The six get up, Twilight turns around. "Well Princess, we're not sure but we think we have The Hunt-"

Celestia moves like lighting to silence Twilight. "We do not mention his name here. However, I understand who you speak of, but how did you know of him."

Twilight tries to launch into a lengthy explanation, but a look from the other five stop her. I could sense they wanted me out as soon as possible. "A book written by Discord." She says sheepishly.

Princess Celestia turns around. "And you used a True Seeing spell. That always leaves the smell of mint in the air." I hadn't noticed the mint. Note to self: resharpen senses

Celestia continues, "Also, it is very lucky that I also decided to bring Princess Luna with me. She could be helpful in discovering who this stallion really is. Oh Luna! Please come up to the study!"

It's just been one of those weeks.