The Chronicle of The Hunter

Chapter 8: The Monsters in our Minds

"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth."

- Oscar Wilde

She steps forward, out of the darkness and into the light of the campfire. A weak smile crosses my face, only to be quickly replaced with a frown. This was not my sister. This was the mare I fought, the one who took my sister's mind. This is Nightmare Moon. Her eyes are a deep turquoise, mane and tail illuminated with the colors of the night sky. A bright blue they are, with twinkling stars here and there. Her body is black, almost as black as my. Whereas my seemed to absorb the very color from around it, hers is simply and beautifully black. Blue armor covers her body and horn, and she seems taller, leaner, more powerful. Refusing to look up, Nightmare Moon snaps at me "Why did you bring me here?"

Not budging, I throw a blast of red magic at her. She jumps back. "Celestia, I swear to you...Striker?"

Nodding, I reply, although shakily, "I just want my sister back. The one who galloped through the fields with me when we were foals. The one who stood by my side as we fought Discord. The one, who through the Great War, although fought me, always loved me. I want that sister back. Not Nightmare Moon. She's the one who caused the War, the one who nearly killed Equestria before it was even made. And I have to use all of my magic to get Nightmare Moon out of my sister's head, I will. I would die for you, little sister. I don't want to have to hurt you." The last sentence was almost a whisper. Shame racks my mind and soul. I truly would never purposely hurt myself or my youngest sibling, but if need be to remove the sickness, I will.

She turns and faces away from me. "I am your sister. Nightmare Moon has full control." But that is clearly not so. She's shaking all over, slowly falling to her knees. "No. Nightmare Moon doesn't have full control," I'm ever persistent. I will get her back. "Nightmare Moon doesn't even have the slightest control. Not after what I do to you, you won't." Bright red magic surges out of my horn, like a tsunami about to crash onto the innocent city. Striking Nightmare Moon, her eyes bulge, and she shrieks. Never again will anypony feel the need to destroy Equestria. And those who do will be struck down. However, my ideas are ever growing, and they modify quickly for what happens next.

A powerful buck slams into my midsection, forcing me back. It will not be like this. More magic pours out as I concentrate all of my energy on the evil mare. Slowly, but steadily, it crushes the wicked creature until....my sister reappears as herself. Transformation complete, I allow myself a moments rest before reaching out with one tentative hoof to my sobbing sibling. "Lulu?"

"Don't call me that! You aren't my brother! *I HATE YOU!***" I'm shocked. Hurt, my ego more than anything else. I'd always considered myself the hero figure to my siblings, but now I know the truth. She changes even further, truly becoming my baby sister. She's a filly now, looking up at me with a deep hatred in her knowledgeable eyes. "You aren't my brother. Where's Stwika?" My heart shatters in two. My magic. What have I done?

She jumps onto my back. "We will go on an adwenture! To find my big bwotha!" Suddenly, another transformation. A teenage Luna, just after the passing of my parents. She does a double take, looks at me, and snaps, "Who are you? Where is my brother and sister? Why do you look like some sort of evil creature? You were the one who killed my parents weren't you?" More transforming. After many minutes of transformations and different Lunas of different times demanding that the real Sunstriker show himself, I give a shout and throw myself to the ground. My mind was not prepared for this, and as this verbal barrage takes effect, I snap. Looking down at my hooves, I start questioning my sanity. And my very person. Closing my eyes, I wonder: Who is the real Sunstriker? Am I just some beast covering for him while he's gone? Was I not doing a fair enough job? Who am I? Why am I so alone?

Eventually, the white flashes of magic stop. I open my eyes, and a current version of Luna is standing here. She stares at me in shock and awe. All of me is gray. My mane, wings, tail. Something doesn't feel right. I don't want to live. I don't want to breathe. I'm alone. As usual. And it's all my fault. I never wanted anypony to get hurt. I never wanted anypony to get hurt....

~~~~~

My head is ringing extremely. I know I'm in a dream, but whose? And why was I a filly? All these questions and more are running through my head as I turn around, assessing my surroundings. Stopping, I see a stallion with a completely gray body at my feet, quaking and shivering to the point of exhaustion. He keeps muttering over and over "I never wanted anypony to get hurt."

"Hey, hey, it's ok. Everything is going to be ok." I'm concerned. Never have I seen anything like this. One pony having a mental breakdown. He needs calm, and fast. Perhaps I could recognize him by his cutie mark? Looking to his flank, I see...nothing. A blank flank? At this stage in life? Not possible. Unless....looking closer, I see the last bit of red disappear from the pony's irises. I gasp. "Brother!" His dream sequence was slowly turning into a nightmare, and if I didn't do something, he might start harming himself in the real world.

Now groaning, Sunstriker changes his words to "I'm all alone....always alone....never to return to my people again..." To finish the effect of a mental case having a breakdown, he starts rolling from side to side, curling his legs into a ball and covering his eyes with his hooves. Something was terribly wrong with my brother, and I have to figure out what before he turns into a complete psycho pony. Reaching a hoof over, I pat his back. "You aren't alone. I'm here, right?"

"My sisters...hate me...alone...NO!" He shrieks and throws himself against a tree. This was what I was afraid of. If I am correct, his real world person is doing the same exact thing, and if he tries something radical like killing himself, he will end up doing the same thing in the real world. I didn't leave only for him to nearly die again. "I don't hate you," I say soothingly, "Celestia doesn't hate you. We forgive you."

"Liar," he spits out, "you just want me to come back so I can humiliate myself. Well I'm not coming back. Not now, not ever!" He throws himself against the tree again, hard enough to break bones on a normal pony. It becomes repetitive, and soon blood is trickling from his dry mouth. Paranoia and fear have completely taken over his mind, and looking at him, I realize that this is what his truly is. After being banished, my mind was faulty, still trying to comprehend all the events of the past. It must have been the same for him, however, his transformation was the complete opposite. Where as I started as Nightmare Moon and was much more powerful, his other form, Hunter, was weaker and couldn't stand the mental pressure. He snapped somewhere over those thousand years. If I can just isolate where. Throwing caution to the wind, I throw myself at my brother, restraining him with my hooves. "NO! YOU CAN'T TAKE ME ALIVE!" He's definitely insane. Lowering my head so that our horns touch, a wave of dark blue magic rolled from my horn onto his. I see his thoughts now...

~~~~~

Cloud Mane. My friends. My parents.

Cloud Mane, lying in the wake of the fire, poison spreading through her veins. Blood running from her eyes, organs becoming visible as flesh melts. Soon, even the organs are gone, and only a skeleton remains.

My parents. Crushed under a giant piece of timber, bodies bent awkwardly, bones sticking through skin. I can see half of my father. He jumped in front of the wood to save my mother, but to no avail. He was cut in half, a clean kill. More blood, shaped like a misshapen skull. The contents of his stomach are clearly visible. Bile seeps from his liver. I want to vomit, but can't. His ribs, destroyed to tiny bits. He couldn't be saved, was long gone. And my mother...

My mother. Simply being crushed by the timber wasn't enough for Discord. No, there was more. Her ribs sliced through her skin, turned red from blood. One eye was torn out, the other stabbed by a chunk of wood. Her hind legs, left one completely gone, the right crushed. Forelegs. Elbow bone jutted out of them, and torn muscle was visible. Even more blood pooled from her mouth and nose. She, too, was not savable.

The facility. Burned bodies, littered everywhere. Looking around, most ponies had half of their faces melted off. Their manes and tails were gone, so bad that they looked like donkeys. Some gas canisters for the containment of the amulet were broken, some mysterious chemical leaking everywhere. One more turn around, and stuff goes from bad to worse. Ponies get up, moaning. Some were missing legs, others their very heads. Holes through all of them. What are they? They're still ponies, but they're changed. Extremely. Horn raised, I try to fight them off, but the horde becomes too much and I slip, falling back. Scrambling away, I fire one last explosive beam at them, hit the other chemical canisters. They explode, wrecking the rest of the facility and killing the things in the process. A mushroom cloud rises above the ruins. I trip over a root, turn, and gallop into the forest.

~~~~~

Oh. My. Buck. He was worse than Sister and I had predicted. His mental processes had snapped even before banishment. Seen so much. Seen the chaos and destruction of everything he knew and loved. But he still fought for the people. Why? Cowering back, he curls up into another ball, this time murmuring "So now you know. Welcome to my world." An evil grin spreads across his face.

Facing him, I begin talking. This time, I talk from the heart. My voice is quaking, and I myself am shivering, but I'm strong enough to say it. "From the time I was born, I looked up to you. You were the defender, the pretender, the joker, everything I loved. I never wanted to leave your side. That hasn't changed. I, and Celestia, love you more than anything. We had thought you were dead, and that has been our primary thought for these past few years. Sure, there was still hatred for what you had done, but deep down, we loved you."

He's healing now, I can see it. Head writhing in agony as his thought processes returned to normal. I continue. "I had no idea about Mom and Dad. You told us they died peacefully. I guess you didn't want us to get hurt. But now knowing the truth hurts more than anything. You lied to us, broke our trust, but in turn, we broke you. I'm so sorry. I never wanted anypony to get hurt. Jealousy took over my mind, as hatred took yours. I have no idea as to what you've been dealing with this past millennium, but my experiences can't compare to yours. I just wish-" A hoof covers my mouth. Looking down, I see him, a smile on his face.

Rising, he turns around and says, "Where are we? And how did you get me here?"

"Dream," I slowly say, as if that explains everything. Which it does. Although he has the age advantage, he was the last of the three of us to get his true form and cutie mark. Gaining it from Discord does do that to a pony.

"Ok, but what just happened? My memories feel invaded..." He's stumbling, and I catch him in my hooves before he hits the ground. "You had a mental breakdown. I needed to go through your memories to see what the problem was. You didn't tell us about Mom and Dad!" I accuse.

He winces slightly. "Sis, I didn't tell you to protect you. I'm not sure how well you would've dealt with it at seven. Not well. I'd rather have had it haunt just my memory than also torture my sisters. But now you know." Rubbing his head with one hoof, he demands "What else did you see?"

"The facility. And the pegasus."

Suddenly I'm slammed to the ground. He tackled me. "SHE WASN'T JUST A PEGASUS!" He yells at me. I smack him in the face, a solid right hook to the jaw, and he rolls off. "Pull yourself together! You just had a mental breakdown, and you're yelling at me over a pegasus!"

Embarrassment floods his face, and his cheeks turn red. "I, I, I'm sorry." Sunstriker hangs his head, now ashamed. "She was my marefriend at the Project site. I loved her a lot. I would've died for her." Taken aback, I exclaim, "You did what!" Alicorns are not supposed to date regular ponies, for fear of exactly what just happened.

"Yes. I know it was wrong, but I had to. I loved her."

"Then it should be I who is apologizing. I underestimated you, brother. Never thought you'd have the guts to actually try and get a marefriend." Teasing now, I have the widest grin on my face possible. If only I could see that in him...

~~~~~

Luna looks at me. "Then it should be I who is apologizing. I underestimated you, brother. Never thought you'd have the guts to actually try and get a marefriend." A wide grin is stretched across her face. Why is she so happy? I just went completely insane and she is laughing? "You are THE Luna, correct?" I ask, suspicious. I don't want another 'Where's my brother?' Luna. Just my baby sister.

"Yes, it is indeed me."

"Prove it." Although I sense belief, just checking never hurt a pony. She glares at me, annoyed by my sense of paranoia. "Just minutes ago, you were on a mental rampage. I checked your memories, and saw imagery of my parents dead, your marefriend dead, and your Project's facility in shatters. Plus, I know the true reason behind the project. Don't think for a second we don't know where the Alicorn Amulet came from."

Scoffing, I exclaim, "You thought that was us?! No way! I'd bet my left hoof it wasn't us!" But deep down, I'm panicking. My last, and most deadly, secret had been revealed. Luna points down with her right hoof. I look down to discover that my left hoof was already gone. She smirked. "You lost the bet. Now, why did you make it?"

"I, I, I..." stuttering off, I facehoof. May as well give it up, it's too late for them to do anything anyways. "The laser part I mentioned at Canterlot was true, I will not deny that. I created it for my own personal gain, hoping to defeat you and Tia so I could become the ultimate alicorn. Just being in its presence did horrible things to me. I was changed, it made ponies act so evily to each other. Thank the stars I had the power to control the science ponies who were working on it, or else there would have been a mini revolution within my own facility."

"But, you were powerful already. Why else?"

This is it. "I wished to harness the power of the sun, the moon, and the stars. Then I would remember dragonfire every time I left that area, and wished to destroy the amulet. Instead, after the base got wrecked by Celestia's firebombs, I went back to try and save it...my biggest mistake yet."

Looking back, I can see those final moments before the base collapsed in my mind.

"The explosive power of the canisters was ridiculous," Thought Sunstriker as he climbed past the mountain of bodies. "Next time, when designing the most powerful weapon in all of Equestria, don't use explosive chemicals to power and contain it."

Refocusing his attention on the job at hoof, the stallion continues galloping past the facilities remains until he reaches the other end of the plains, next to a massive boulder, split in half from the chaos. Pressing one hoof against the side, he slowly shoves the secret entrance into the underground facilities open, and stepped inside. Almost immediately, he begins gagging and coughing. A foul smell echoed from the interior. Rotting flesh, the stench of death. As he exited the main entranceway, Sunstriker gasped. It was a mess. Somepony had gotten here before him. Science ponies lay dead on the floor, poison flowing through their blood. One pony had a gash against his head, and as the alicorn leaned closer, he noticed something wrong. The scientist's blood was not the usual red, but rather a deep green, like the color of the forest.

"Is there something wrong? Your little experiment not go as planned?" A voice chuckled, coming from an unknown location. As Sunstriker spun around to confront the pony in question, there was nothing around him. Just blank space. "Who are you?" He demands.

"Confused? Let's keep it simple," the voice continues, "I'm here to keep your project from succeeding. I'm taking the amulet and putting it somewhere safe, where nopony will ever be able to use it again. Oh, and if you want to see me, look up." And as Prince Sunstiker did so, a black shadow leapt from the ceiling, bashing his forehooves against Sunstriker's head, nearly knocking him unconscious, and leaped off his head. Racing away, the shadow tosses a small black device behind him. An explosive.

"Time to go!" Sunstriker grunts, and hurls himself out of the base as the bomb detonates, leaving the only piece left of the original project wrecked and in shatters...

Turning to my sister, I ask "Do you know who that pony was?"

She shakes her head. "No, I don't. And I know for a fact that Tia never sent any rogue ponies after you. Just the firebombs and the initial pegasus wave. Perhaps he was a true rogue, and wanted to end the madness."

That could just be it. But then I remember everything else from the last few minutes. "Lulu, how much longer do I have before I wake up?"

Panic envelops my sister's face. "Not much longer. Which means what I have to tell I have to say quickly. I'm still in the Trecks, but more specifically, Mount Revolution. Don't forget that!" And as she fades away, I hear one last "I hope to see you soon," and I awaken, with a confused Rainbow Dash looking over me.

"You ok, Striker?" Genuine concern is on her face. "You're bleeding."

I put a hoof to my forehead, feeling a damp patch. I tried pressing down, but tears sprung up as extreme pain rushed through the side of my head. I begin to stand, but stagger and fall over again, Rainbow Dash catching me. "Twi, I need help over here!" She calls out. The temporary alicorn steps out of the woods, sees me, and rushes over.

"Holy buck, he needs medical attention!" Twilight exclaims. "That gash looks really bad. I just wish I had spent more time learning medical magic for wilderness conditions! We need to get a book-"

I interject. "Girls. This looks bad, but the fact that there's a lot of blood is a good thing." Confused looks stare at me through blank eyes as I struggle to explain. "Being out in wilderness for hundreds of years made me a self-taught expert on medical practices. Oftentimes I desperately needed them to keep myself from bleeding out."

Looking around, I see a pink maned pegasus slowly descend from the air. "Rainbow, I didn't see anything ahead, but- oh, you're awake. But where'd you get that gash? Oh, I know what to do. Be right back."

"Fluttershy," I calmly say. She turns around, and I can tell that she's afraid of me. Afraid of what I could do to her. "Come here. I want to see something." Stepping forward, she quakes in terror and throws her hooves over her head as I descend my head.

"Oh, please don't hurt me, I didn't mean any, I mean, eep!" and with that she dives back into her sleeping bag. "Perhaps you could go on without me?"

I grab the end of her sleeping bag with my teeth, tug, and she pops out. "This is what I thought. You're afraid of me, aren't you? After what happened with the dragini?"

"Well...I...." she hangs her head in shame, nodding slightly. "Yes. I thought you were going to explode after I yelled at you all last night. But you were so caring, I felt like I was being deceived. I don't know what to think of you."

Considerable thought goes into what she just said. I've saved these ponies lives. Can I consider them my friends? But when they pass on...no, wait. If we can find the amulet, I might be able to use it's power to preserve them indefinitely. I mean, It's the power of the sun, moon, and stars, right? Plus dragonfire would just add to the mix. But would it make it lethal or even more powerful? I'm afraid to experiment, but that's what science ponies do, right? Well, I have to make a decision. Taking a risk (and a deep breath,) I proclaim, "Consider me a friend. I've saved your lives, raced Rainbow Dash, turned Twilight into an alicorn, and taken your anger with considerable calm for a member of royalty." They turn to each other, concern crossing through their faces. "Excuse us a moment," Twilight mutters, and they turn to form a circle. They discuss for a little bit, then Rainbow flies off, seemingly furious. When they break up, I see Twilight and Fluttershy, seriously concerned. "Well, there's a problem with that. And that problem is-"

I hear a high pitched whistling coming from the sky. Spinning on my back hooves, I see Rainbow Dash speeding down from the sky, mach cone already gone as the rainbow ascends higher and higher behind her. Her entire body slams into me and we roll onto the ground. She leaps off, lands daintily next to Twilight and Fluttershy. I'm covered head to hoof in dirt and gunk. They look me over once and start laughing, Rainbow Dash the most. She exclaims, "That was the funniest thing I've ever seen! You looked so sad, and then I, I tackled you, and hahahahahaha"

Looking at these ponies, I can see it was a big joke. They'd been willing to consider me that since the beginning. It was such a stupid question, and I begin to blush. I then give them a surprise grin, leap up into the air, and spin, covering them in muck and leaving myself perfectly clean. Three sets of eyes look at me through three layers of dirt. Now I'm the one who's roaring with laughter. "Revenge is a dish best served hot-or cold!" I manage to choke out.

"Oh, it's on!" Twilight flaps her wings, manages to get about fifty feet up, looks down, squeaks, and crashes back into the ground. We're all back to laughing.

"Glad to...hahaha...see that....we're all in good humor." I conclude. "But I think it's time we get moving. I got a dream sequence from Luna. I'll tell you about it on the way."

Rainbow Dash stands. "Oh, but that would've been the perfect time for Pinkie to break out into song. Damn, I wish she was here. We could use her instruments and-" A rainbow guitar, hued red, lands on her back.

I grin. "Late is better than never."

"Yes! Everything just got forty percent cooler!" She leaps into the air, sun at her back, and breaks into an extreme riff, almost reminding me of...no way. Rainbow Dash likes Revolution Ponysquad? Incredulous, I shake my head and facehoof. The fact that the band's music has survived almost a century didn't shock me. There aren't many rock and roll ponies out there, but where there are, they are completely hardcore about it. Ponyforce, the band's name, was no exception.

She suddenly bursts into lyrics, which then furthered my point. She actually does! Amazing!

Flying into darkened skies the battle will call

Distant angels crying in the eye of the storm

And the world falls under the starlight

Shining from heavens below

I create another guitar, this one a dark red with sunbursts and moons etched into the design, and become the lead guitarist, shredding like never before. It's ridiculous, the amount of magic going into this one song. But it's so much FUN. Joining Rainbow Dash, we sing, back-to-back:

Ride the wings of pain and sorrow searching for more

Gliding on the tracks of pain, just like never before

And the stars fall on the horizon

Onwards and up through the pain

Ride the wind and fight the demo, steel shining bright

Standing together forever onwards, flames burning strong

I live in the hell of pain and sorrow now and never onwards

We stare into the dawn of a new world

Now practically hissing, we both screech, causing Twilight to cover her ears with both hooves and sit on her haunches.

Cry out for the fallen heroes lost some time ago

In our minds they still live on when the sands of time are gone.

Looking down, I see a yellow pegasus suddenly snap. Her mane and tail were in disarray, her eyes dark, she gives both Rainbow Dash and I a wicked smile, along with a sudden hoofclap. We look at each other, barely holding the song together through various riffs, shrug, and a microphone descends from the heavens. She snags it in one hoof, and continues us into the chorus.

Rise over the shadow mountains blazing with power!

Crossing valleys, endless tears, in unity we stand

Far and wide across the land, the victory is ours

On towards the gates of reason

Fight for the truth and the freedom, Gloria!

Searching through the memories to open the door

Living on the edge of life like never before

When the crowd chants under the moonlight

Facing their fears all the same

Hell is spilling open wide enough for the core

All this time we're allied to the angels before

And the world cries out from the silence

Lost in the voices unknown

I deny the force of evil, cries into the night

Living before in the seas of darkness, now they're all gone

Out from the shadows storming on the wings of revelations

Your soul will feel no mercy behind the door

Hold on for the morning after never to let go

When the fire's burning strong

And the time to try and hold on

Rise over the shadow mountains blazing with power!

Crossing valleys, endless tears, in unity we stand

Far and wide across the land, the victory is ours

On towards the gates of reason

Fight for the truth and the freedom, Gloria!

Cry out for the fallen heroes lost some time ago

In our minds they still live on when the sands of time are gone

Rainbow Dash, face red with focus, blares into another solo, this one expected. Fluttershy and I wait patiently until she's done, then I toss up my guitar and do another. After about four minutes, we're both done, and Fluttershy jumps in with the final chorus:

Rise over the shadow mountains blazing with power!

Crossing valleys, endless tears, in unity we stand

Far and wide across the land, the victory is ours

On towards the gates of reason

Fight for the truth and the freedom, Gloria! Gloria! Gloria!

As we finish, all three of us flop onto our bellies. Playing as fast as we needed is ridiculous and tiring, and that is a seven minute song. So worth every second, though. Looking to each other, we realize how ridiculous we are. Rainbow Dash isn't wearing her guitar anymore, but her wings are tuned to the shape and are still twitching. Fluttershy is still wielding the evil smirk, and she quickly wipes it off of her face, replacing it with your average run-of-the-farm slight grin. And as for myself? I was fine, no change. "With practice comes perfection." I quote. We burst out into laughter while Twilight looks on dissaprovingly.

Twilight scoffs. "Ponyforce? Really? Have some decency, Rainbow Dash!"

"You're the one who likes Green Hay!" I remind her. She blushes thoroughly as Rainbow Dash stretches her wings, rubbing them with one hoof to make sure atrophy didn't set in.

Twilight. I look at the purple unicorn, and she looks at herself. I'm not sure if she's comfortable with her new look. Because my spell was temporary, it was a permanent drain effect, marring my total possible amount of usable magic. Turning deadly serious, I blurt out. "Twilight, I need you to say something for me. It will provide an energy transfer just enough for me to do a lot more to help, and barely effect you."

She nods vigorously, and I continue, more calmly. "Again, we're speaking in dragon here. Say it with me. De industria translatio me ad vos" adding a hurried 'satis' after to prevent any actual transfers.

She stands up straight and looks to the sun, horn glowing purple, and calls out in a commanding tone, "De industria translatio me ad vos!"

Pure magic flows out of her horn and onto mine. Pure magic is different than most. It is a completely chromish color and cannot be used. The last time somepony tried to wield pure magic, it blew them up. Literally. They exploded into little tiny ponybits, shreds of flesh and bone disintegratimg before they even hit the ground. Spontaneous combustion is fun for nopony. The chrome light traveled through my entire body, settling in my magic core. Warmth spreads through my body and I shiver. After another minute of transfer, she calls out again "Satis!" The magic subsides.

She grins. "You're right, that didn't affect me at all. I even feel a bit refreshed!" She jumps up into the air and does a flip. Landing, she's still smiling. Another warm feeling spreads through my body, but this time it isn't from magic. I enjoy watching her be happy. And I never want it to be otherwise. Suddenly I realize I've been staring at her. A slow blush crawls across my face. "Sorry," I manage, "I was, uh, lost in thought."

Rainbow Dash smirks, "About what? Celestia only knows how stallions think!"

I turn even redder. Now all three mares are smirking. "No-nothing like that! Of, of course not!" I'm stammering now, nervous. "I was thinking about my past." Recovering through a deadpan manner seems to have worked. They calm up and shut up. "But anyways, we need to go. We're wasting daylight again!"

"Or what little daylight there actually is," Rainbow Dash observed. Resolution 1: Start calling Rainbow Dash just Rainbow. Makes things easier.

"Oh, that's right!" Twilight exclaimed. Pointing her horn at the sky, she murmurs "Et sic patet caelum..." and the area above us clears almost instantly.

I put in a reminder. "Just remember that your magic won't be as powerful as before, what with the spell being a damper on it and all. That means no stupid stuff, like trying to defeat Discord on your own." Big mistake. She recoils as if slapped by my words. Rainbow instantly turns on me.

"Hey! Don't make jokes like that. She had to go through a lot when Discord came back! That's not funny!"

Shame trickles through the holes in my mind. "Of course. I forgot. Sorry, Twilight." Stupid, stupid, STUPID. Rage screams through my entire body. Why did I ever say that?

She perks up again. "It's alright. I never really did tell you what he did..."

"You don't have to if you don't want to" I offer.

"It's ok." Deep breathes. Then she continues, "Discord had turned everything, and every pony, upside down. Fluttershy was mean, Rainbow Dash was willing to ditch her friends and home for her wings and the place she grew up, Rarity fell in love with a boulder (don't ask,) Applejack was lying all the time, and Pinkie Pie was angry. But me? I got to watch my world get shred to pieces. No changes to me. Just destroyed friendships. The only thing I had that I could truly treasure besides my family had been crushed. Just. Like. That." With each word she stamps a hoof.

The mare had truly been through a lot. But I think we need a bit more story time. "Twilight-" I begin, but am cut off by Rainbow.

"Don't give us excuses. Just answers. Why did you say that?"

"I didn't, I never, I, I, GAH!" Throwing myself to the ground, I begin sobbing uncontrollably. My parents. My friends. Cloud Mane. Gone. My sisters. Killed two of the previous four. Discord killed the other two.

The three mares share confused looks. "Was it something I said?" Rainbow offered.

I need to pull myself together. Now. I shakily stand, and wipe the tears from my face. "No, but you did trigger certain memories. Ones that I'd rather never have to see again."

Twilight shakes her head. "Sunstriker, the only way you'll be able to be fully rid of the memories is by sharing them. Please, tell us your troubles."

"Fine. But we must keep moving at the same time."

They agree, and as we begin walking, I tell them. I tell them about the death of my parents, sparing no detail. Their bitter end, Discord's laughing face, chaos reigning true. I tell them about the facility. The zomponies. My friends, lying on the cold hard ground, blood seeping from all parts of the body. Cloud Mane, a shattered skeleton after the poison took effect. Heavens above, I told them everything. From my birth as a foal to today. My gaining of a cutie mark, and what horrible events transpired there for my reception of. My true form also goes along with that story, and the slaying of Discord. My sister's trap in the fields, my banishment to the outskirts of my own nation. My transformation into Hunter. My gaining of my sword, armor, and crossbow. The various monsters I fought, the friends I tried to make, only to see them wither away and die as I lived on forever. My near-suicidal attempts during bits of insanity, jumping off of cliffs, smashing into jagged rocks, slicing my legs wide open to let myself bleed out and die. By the end of my tale, all three had shocked expressions on their faces.

Rainbow Dash took my foreleg in hers, looked for scars. "They won't be on me. Just Hunter." I begin the fast process of switching between Sunstriker and Hunter. Soon, my black flank is replaced by a blue blank flank, marred and ruined with passing years. Rainbow Dash takes my foreleg again, sees the deep scars inset on it, turns, and vomits. Green bile is retched up as she coughs and spits and chokes. When through, she turns around. "Sorry," she mutters, "I haven't been feeling well since the dragini."

I stand up as Hunter, to reveal more scars. Scars every which way, up and down my sides and legs, even one deep slice through my left eye, glassed over and dead. I've been one eyed for almost five hundred years, and just a few months back with two has really redefined what depth perception is for me. I explain where each scar is from. Scars from fighting the hydra. The dragons. The manticores. The greatest beast of them all, the Eternity Snake, in the infamous Mount Revolution Luna mentioned, a fight which I, of all ponies, lost, retreating to safe distance to fly away and never return. The Eternity Cave held great riches, but none worth fighting that damned beast.

Fluttershy's face has turned paler and paler with each given sentence. Finally, she shrieks, "Stop! I can't take any more of this! It's so, so, sad and disappointing. I cannot imagine how you've endured without telling anypony." Rainbow and Twilight nod agreements.

She made a valid point. How have I survived this long? A certain toughness had overwhelmed my body and mind, but my spirit was the strongest, and that was what truly endured. I had occasional mental breakdowns, which caused physical trauma, but never anything major. "I really haven't endured," I begin slowly, not sure how to phrase it, "but more survived on a thread. Back in Canterlot, when it felt like everypony was against me, I was done. I didn't feel the need to be in this society, or any society anymore. Nopony needed me. I work better alone anyways." I turn away quickly enough to avoid them seeing a single, solitary tear run down my face.

Twilight stepped forward. "Everypony needs a leader. Yes, the Princess is a just, fair leader, but one who gets down in the dirt to defend their people. One who is willing to take risks, who shrugs off hits. You are that pony. Everypony needs you, whether they realize it or not. I-I mean we-need you. Or else your sister is going to be furious at us."

"True." It was beginning to become dark. The sun was slowly fading, being replaced with stars and soon to be the moon. "I think it's time to make camp."

"Agreed." Rainbow Dash said sullenly. I look over to her to see her ears laid back, wings folded tightly against her.

Twilight sees the same thing, and as the two of us exchange glances, she says softly, "RD, I think you need rest. Let's all go to bed, no watch this time. Satis" And as the magic faded away, the clouds reappeared, a consistent reminder of the journey ahead. Twilight pulls the sleeping bags out of her saddlebags and tosses them on the ground, purple magic imbued within them to straighten out and provide maximum comfort.

We all laid down, but nopony fell asleep faster than Rainbow. As soon as her head hit the sleeping bag, she was passed out, snoring away. Fluttershy went next, and it was down to Twilight and I. We look at each other, and I'm compelled to say something. "Twilight-" I begin, but am cut off by a hoof over my muzzle.

"There's no need for words. I've known. You're too obvious." And as she gets closer, I can feel her breath on the nape of my neck. She nuzzles me gently, and I turn red. "I like you too. And I'm not too sure your sisters will be happy about this, but nothing doing." I return the nuzzle, and embrace her. "But for now, we can talk about this in the morning." Another gentle nuzzle, and she returns to her sleeping bag.

Every nerve, every bone in my body is screaming for me to get up and just kiss her fully across the mouth, but I'm too tired. Just...so....tired...and as everything turns to black in the darkness of the night, I see a white moon give a glimmer of hope before blinking out behind the clouds of regret.