Hunter of the Passionby RevenantHunterChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1Author's Note: Hey, Black Tribal here! All I can say is...wow. I never thought I would be writing a story for My Little Pony. I hate to admit this, but I was once an MLP hater. That is, until I actually started READING the fanfiction and WATCHING the show. Now, I am a proud Brony. I would like to thank SoulHook for giving me loads of help for this story. I always give credit where it's due, and I'm giving him the amount he deserves. ON WITH THE STORY! (The Past) A lone colt jumped over a small stump and gracefully landed on all four hooves before galloping at full speed again through the forest. This colt was pretty young, but not considered a foal anymore at his age. His solid black coat was glistening with sweat and had caked dirt in it from an earlier tumble. His slightly long silver mane with an almost blood red stripe in it and the short and equally silver and red tipped tail waved behind him as the wind whipped through them. What's most distinguishing about this particular colt, is the mismatched eyes he has. The left one was a beautiful, shining silver while the right one was a deep, almost burning copper color. Realizing that a steep drop in the path was coming up, the black colt extended his slightly larger than normal wings and jumped, allowing his wings to carry him a good distance past the drop before landing on the level ground and continuing his gallop. “STOP! YOU GET BACK HERE!” The colt turned his head and looked behind him. The group chasing him was coming up fast, their solid white coats and gleaming golden armor making them easily visible in the forest green. There was no way the colt was gonna stop for these particular royal guard ponies, but apparently, karma has a bad habit of slapping you in the face when you least want it to. The colt's front right hoof struck a rock and he fell forward and somersaulted into a tree, hitting his back on it. A faint aura covered him as the guards finally caught up and now stood over him. The unicorn and two earth guard ponies did NOT look happy. The unicorn picked the black colt up and tossed him over onto his stomach behind them before walking over and getting close to the colt's face, venom staining his eyes and voice. “I want you to listen to me right now, you lousy troublemaker. We've had ENOUGH of chasing you into the forest every time you decide to run away! You either stay at the castle like a good colt, or we will chain you to the wall so you can't escape. Which will it be?” The colt didn't reply. He didn't even look afraid of the hateful gazes the guards were giving him. The colt simply stood up on slightly shaky legs before turning around with an indifferent and mellow expression and started walking in the direction that he had come from. “LISTEN TO ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!” The colt yelped in pain as he felt a powerful kick connect with his side and send him forward a couple of feet. Tears and whimpers escaped the colt as the burning pain seared through his body. A powerful white hoof suddenly began to push onto the colt's injured side, resulting in the colt letting out a loud and pain filled yell. “ENOUGH!” All eyes turned towards the elegant and solid white alicorn that now stood before them. Her body was more slender, taller, and she had a natural elegant look to her. Her mane and tail of cyan, turquoise, azure, and purple waved and moved as if there was a gentle breeze in the air. The golden tiara, neckpiece, and shoes went well with her coat while clashed with the brown soil. Her orange and yellow sun cutie mark could almost burn your eyes by looking at it as it graced her flank. And finally, her deep, magenta eyes scanned over the scene in front of her, disgust and disappointment prominent in her unwavering gaze. The guards immediately took a couple of steps back until the only thing between the three guards and the angry alicorn goddess was a few yards and the injured colt. “P-Princess Celestia!” The unicorn gasped. “What are you doing here?” Celestia's eyes narrowed slightly. “I should be asking you the same thing, Lieutenant. I thought I told you to keep an eye on Rev and to bring him back if he runs away, not to hurt him if he does!” The Lieutenant winced at Celestia's seething with rage tone. “B-But-” “But nothing! You have disobeyed a direct order from you Princess.” Her gaze sent cold shivers down the guard ponies' spines. “I want you all to return to the castle and wait until I get back so we can discuss your punishments.” They tried to argue, but Celestia's gaze made them think otherwise. The Lieutenant gave the black colt one last glare before turning around and walking back to the castle, his partners mirroring his motions. Princess Celestia sighed in irritation. “Why do the guards have such a vendetta against Rev? He never did anything to deserve it.” She looked down at the unconscious colt. “Sure, he constantly tries to run away, but that would only cause them a headache. Especially since they can outrun Rev.” The Sun goddess began flapping her wings until she was in a small hover. Reaching forward with her forelegs, she wrapped Rev into an embrace before giving her wings a mighty flap, now soaring into the air towards Canterlot Castle. It was only a few minutes before Celestia felt movement from the limp colt. He squirmed slightly before opening his eyes. His eyes widened as he saw how high he was and how fast the ground beneath him moving. He began to struggle to break free from whatever was grasping him. “Rev, stop struggling! You wouldn't want to drop you, would you?” Rev looked up at the smiling alicorn. His expression went back to indifferent. “I guess not.” He began looking around, as if an answer to his question would appear out of thin air. “Where are those guards?” “They have been...dismissed.” Everything went silent between the two, the only audible sound being the wind passing through their manes and ears. “Why do you run, Revenant Hunter?” The colt faced the alicorn that was looking at him with inquisitive eyes. He shrugged. “I guess I just don't like it at Canterlot.” The Princess's eyes widened slightly. This was a first for her. Everypony she knew always said that they would do anything just to live in Canterlot, but Revenant Hunter lives in Canterlot Castle. After what she's heard about Canterlot Castle, ponies would practically think it's a crime to not like to live there. “What do you mean?” The Princess leaned her head down slightly. Fury began to burn in Revenant Hunter's mismatched eyes. “Okay, I'll tell you why I don't like it there. I'm tired of ponies watching me wherever I go, I'm tired of having ponies cower just because I'm royalty, which is a title I don't even want, I'm sick and tired of all of the snobbish and dominant-challenged ponies who think that just because they have more money than other ponies, they think they're better,” he took a breath, “I'm tired of being waited on hoof and mane when I can clearly do it myself, I can't play with my friends without some sort of jerk thinking it's a scandal,” another breath, “and speaking of scandals, I'm tired of the Royal Guard Captain thinking it's okay to have a guard following me and sending somepony to spy on my friends because he thinks that they're trying to use me to get their parents closer to you! It took me a week to get Star Searcher's trust back because she thought I sent the spy!” A final breath, “And the thing I'M REALLY sick of my family! They're always making me attend conferences and meetings and making me wear ugly and uncomfortable regal clothes so that it 'boosts my image'! They are always saying how important it is to keep up the family's image, ever since we found out that we were descendants of a lost royal family and that I'm technically the other pony that's supposed to be ruling Equestria along side you!” Celestia watched the panting colt rant about every reason he's was always like he usually is. She winced every time he ticked a reason off of the imaginary complaints list. What bothered her was that it was all true. Ever since she became ruler of Equestria with her sister Luna, she had witnessed everything he spoke of. She was even the one settle down Star Searcher's family when the little filly saw a Royal Guard pegasus laying in the bushes outside of an open window outside their home. It certainly raised a ruckus in the community, especially when the Princess found out the guard had abused his abilities and turned into a peeping tom. Celestia had to fire him and send him away from Canterlot for good. Celestia decided to voice a question that was now bugging her. A question she was afraid to ask because of fear for the answer she would receive. With a tear threatening to fall, the goddess leaned her head down farther. “Are also saying that you don't like to rule beside me?” The question was like a stake to the heart, because she remembered asking Luna the same thing before her banishment. Revenant Hunter's expression softened and he shook his head. “Of course not Celestia. You and my friends were the first ponies to accept me for who I am. Although I hate the 'ruling part' , I still like being by your side. You're the only pony I can discuss personal problems with.” Tears began to form in his silver and copper eyes, “You and m-my friends are t-the only ones I can trust.” Celestia nuzzled him for comfort while she began to land in front of Canterlot Castle. “I'm sorry that I can't change any of those things, but try to accept it for now. All good things come to those that wait.” She let Revenant out of her grasp. She then took on a more business like pose and a mock serious face. “Now, Sir Revenant Hunter, are you going to try to escape again?” Rev only shrugged, “Most likely, but not anymore today, it's getting late and I'm tired.” Celestia dropped her pose. “Alright. That's good, because Lancer is gone on a mission to the Everfree Forest, and he's the only guard that's right for you.” Revenant snickered. “Are you sure you should be telling me this? I could use it to my advantage if you're not careful.” Celestia smiled even more than he was. “Because I know you always keep your word and always speak the truth.” Revenant yawned and then giggled. “Yep. You know me better than the back of your gold shoes.” Celestia groaned in an un-princess like manner. “You're not going to start making jokes about my golden shoes again, are you?” Revenant gave a small laugh before walking into the Castle's entrance, The Princess following beside him. “What?! Humble ol' me?! Making fun of your shoes?!” He sighed in disappointment. “Celestia, you know that I know better than to make fun of ,” he then pointed dramatically at her hooves, “the royal, golden, and so expensive-that-it's-ridiculous shoes!” “Haha, very funny.” Celestia deadpanned as she and Revenant Hunter walked through the Castle doors. (The Present) A familiar lavender unicorn with a mane that was dark indigo with a pink and purple stripe through it, with a dark pink star surrounded by smaller, white stars as her cutie mark, was currently walking towards a cottage that was near the Everfree Forest. The mare's name was Twilight Sparkle, current caretaker of the Ponyville Library and personal student of Princess Celestia, not that she's bragging. A saddlebag filled with books sat on her back as she knocked on the cottage door. “Fluttershy. Fluttershy, are you there?” “...Just a minute.” a small voice replied. A light yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane and strong cyan eyes and a butterfly cutie mark answered the door. A small smile appeared on her face. “Hey Twilight. Come in, I'll make you some tea.” Twilight smiled and followed her shy friend into the cottage. “So Fluttershy, have you heard the news?” The pegasus nodded as she put the teapot on the stove. “Yes. The animals have been telling me about it. They're saying that there was some sort of fight in the...” she shivered in fear, “Everfree Forest.” Twilight sat on Fluttershy's green couch. “Yeah, every unicorn in Ponyville sensed a strong release of magic in the forest. Celestia sent me a letter to check it out for any problems. I was gonna ask the girls for some help, but Rarity is busy with an order, Spike stayed behind to help her, I couldn't find Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie, and Applejack is busy with her apple bucking. You're the only one who seems free to help.” Fluttershy began to shake where she was standing. “O-Oh...I would l-like to help...but...” Twilight shook her head at Fluttershy's nervousness. Sometimes, the pegasus needs to be more assertive. An idea hatched in her head. It would be kinda cruel, but she wasn't going to do this on her own. “But Fluttershy, what if somepony is hurt? Wouldn't you want to help them?” Fluttershy lifted up her head. Twilight saw a streak of confidence in them. “Y-You're right. It goes against my nature not to help somepony if they're hurt.” She looked out the window into the dark forest. She shivered again. “But still, it's-” Twilight didn't leave room for argument. “Thanks for the assistance Fluttershy!” She began dragging the pegasus outside of the cottage and into the forest's entrance with Fluttershy covered in Twilight's unicorn magic. Fluttershy began to panic and her legs locked up in fear, causing her to be literally dragged behind Twilight. They both journeyed deeper into the forest, Twilight using her horn as locator for the magical disturbance. While getting closer to the disturbance's source, Twilight and a recovered and now walking Fluttershy began to notice that something was wrong with the scenery. The trees were covered in ash and burn markings, the soil was also covered in ash and burnt plants, and there was craters in the ground. Fluttershy and Twilight had to swallow down the bile and avoid running away when they saw a charred body laying slumped against a tree, the carcass no longer recognizable. Flutter shy squeaked in fear, but Twilight managed to calm her down enough to keep moving. Twilight's horn suddenly began to pulse and she felt the signal getting much stronger. “We're getting close.” Fluttershy nodded in response. Pushing away some burnt brush, Twilight and Fluttershy saw a sight that almost made them pass out in fear. There were bodies of multiple ponies spread out everywhere. Some were burnt beyond recognition, some were missing limbs, and others didn't even have heads. In the middle of the carnage, Twilight spotted a black figure lying on the ground, it's chest rising a falling faintly. The wings on the pony's back were terribly burnt and all of the feathers were gone. He was caked with dirt and blood, and his silver mane and tail were stained in blood, almost making the red stripe in them invisible. He also had an old black fedora that had a flat, almost 12 inch brim that was laying crooked on his head. Fluttershy, biting back her fear a little, quickly ran up to the pony and began to examine it. It was a stallion that looked terribly injured. The burnt wings could no longer give him flight, he had a gash on his right foreleg and hind leg, and it looked like one of his wings was dislocated. Twilight ran up to her and began rummaging through her saddlebags, pulling out a medical kit that Fluttershy immediately began to use. “Fluttershy? Are you sure you should be helping this strange pony? What if he's the one who caused all of this?!” Fluttershy, a state of rare confidence, didn't even turn her head to answer Twilight. “I don't think he could cause all of this death. He's a pegasus. And pegasi can't utilize magic. I don't think a he could of done any of this. He could be a victim of whoever did this.” She cut off the excess gauze and closed the medical kit with a sigh. She managed to stop the bleeding and wrap the gashes, but his wing was still dislocated and un-bandaged. “I think only Nurse Redheart and Tenderheart can fix the rest.” Twilight nodded. “Now, how are we gonna carry him back?” They both turned towards each other with looks of confusion and then realization. Twilight face-hoofed. “Aw hay. I guess I didn't figure that one out.” To be continued Chapter 2(The Past) A familiar black colt laid on his stomach on a cliff near Canterlot Castle. The grass was cool and it relaxed Revenant Hunter as he gazed out into the opened valley where he could see a small town in the distance. He remembered Celestia say something about the town being called 'Ponyville'. Although he never shared this with anypony, that little settlement was supposed to be his first stop when he actually somehow successfully got away from Canterlot. It seemed like a nice place to lie low for awhile until the heat went down. Revenant was interrupted from his thoughts when he felt a pair of small forelegs rest on top of his withers and a chin lay on top of his head between his ears. He didn't even have to look to see who it was. He kept his expression indifferent as he addressed the filly. “Greetings, Fleur de Lis.” The slender, blank flanked, white coated, pink maned filly with eyes of deep pinkish gray giggled at Rev's response, her head not even moving from her spot. “No need to be so stoic Rev. We're not in the streets right now, are we?” Revenant Hunter only sighed. “I guess we aren't, Fleur.” Fleur de Lis finally lifted her head up and got off of Revenant. She stood up briefly before deciding to lay in the grass next to Revenant with her leaning against him. Rev again sighed, but this time in irritation. “I'm not in the mood for your flirting right now, Fleur.” The filly pouted at his response, but then she gave a realization look. She smiled in sympathy. “Get caught again?” She didn't see his expression change, but she sudden;y felt more warmth radiating off of him. She knew he was blushing in embarrassment right now. Rev didn't like the thought of losing something, though he was always more humble about it. But it still bothered him. “Do you know where Star Searcher and Sky Runner are right now?” Fleur de Lis knew he was purposely changing the topic, but she went with it. “Nope. ...Come to think of it, I haven't seen Maverick, Eclipse, or Rain Dance anywhere either.” Revenant brought his hoof up in contemplation. “I wonder where they are?” Fleur stood up and stretched herself out before looking around with a suspicious gaze. “They better not be spying on us again.” Fleur and Rev were still upset with their friends when the two had caught them sitting in a tree while Revenant and Fleur de Lis were enjoying the moonlight. All it took was Rain Dance's clumsiness and a weak tree limb to send the entire group crashing down on them. Even though the spying ponies were embarrassed about being caught, they still had more than enough teasing material for Rev and Fleur. Revenant Hunter looked up at Fleur de Lis. “Wanna go look for them?” Fleur shrugged. “I guess. I got nothing better to do.” Revenant stood up and the black colt and the white filly soon began walking into Canterlot in order to locate their missing friends. Back at the area Revenant Hunter and Fleur de Lis had previously occupied, the leaves of a lone tree suddenly began shaking in the strong wind that was picking up. There was a loud snap, followed by a yelp. A small group of colts and fillies suddenly came crashing down into a tangled mess of limbs. A few groans collected before a dark blue, almost black as night, unicorn filly stood up, her dark blue with white spots mane and tail frazzled from rolling into the dirt. She shook her head back and forth to get the stray strands of her mane out of her deep blue eyes. “That could've gone better.” she mumbled as she stretched out. A sky blue pegasus colt with a bright red mane and tail that was cut short stood up and flapped his wings. “What do ya mean, Star Searcher? If you ask me, I think it actually went better than before.” The unicorn filly looked Sky Runner straight into his vermillion colored eyes. “Oh, shut up Sky Runner.” An Earth pony colt with an olive green coat and a messy brown mane and tail stood up from the pile and walked towards the pegasus and unicorn, scanning them both with his brown eyes. “I'm starting to question why we even spy on them. We're invading their private moments by doing this.” “But don't you want to know if they're in love or not, Maverick?” The colt turned towards a filly unicorn that had a dark blue coat with a short and messy gray mane that was walking towards him. She straightened out her dark gray vest before smiling a big smile. Maverick only shook his head. “I just don't feel right about doing this, Rain Dance. If you ask me, I think they're just staying friends.” A red filly pegasus with a gold mane and gold tail lightly patted Maverick on the back. “I wouldn't worry Mav. All we gotta do is see Rev and Fleur kiss and then we'll KNOW that we were right all along. We'll just keep following them until they do.” The olive green colt gave her a deadpan look. “I can't even count how many holes there are in your plan, Eclipse.” Eclipse put a hoof to her chin in thought before she suddenly shot her head up in realization. “You're right Mav.” Maverick smirked. It seems that Eclipse was finally starting to understand. “We can't just see them simply kiss. They have to add a little tongue to it to REALLY show that they are in true love.” Maverick's smug smile fell and he gave an irritated sigh. He didn't bother to continue arguing with Eclipse, there was no reasoning with her. It was like telling a dragon to stop eating gems. “HEY GUYS!” Everypony looked up at Sky Runner. “They're getting too far from us. We gotta catch up to them!” He then starting flying in the direction that Revenant Hunter and Fleur de Lis had headed with Eclipse following after him in the air. Rain Dance and Star Searcher ran after the retreating pegasi, leaving Maverick behind. The Earth pony sighed. “This isn't going to end well.” (The Present) Twilight Sparkle sat on her haunches, continuing to watch over the strange black pegasus stallion that she and Fluttershy had found. Twilight had earlier told Fluttershy to go and look for the rest of their friends so that they could move the stallion. There was no way that Twilight alone could lift him with her magic. The lavender unicorn couldn't keep her eyes from looking all around her. She was still struggling to keep her composure as the charred bodies around her laid there. It was very unnerving for the bookworm. About a few minutes later, Twilight heard the sound of wooden wheels running across the dirt and chatter from a group of mares. The wheels slowed and all went silent as she saw her friends walk through the brush. Applejack had a harness around her and she was pulling an empty cart. Rarity was on Applejack's right with a look of fear, while Rainbow Dash hovered above them. The rainbow maned pegasus was trying to keep her cool, but the dead ponies were a sight that she would never forget. Pinkie brought up the rear with Fluttershy next to her. For once, the pink party pony wasn't bouncing around or even smiling. Applejack was the first to voice what everypony was thinking. “What the hay happened here?!” Twilight immediately stood up and got near the stallion. “We'll figure that out later, Applejack. Right now, we need to get this stallion out of here.” Rarity walked forward and looked over the unconscious pegasus. “Twilight, darling, do you think that's a good idea?” The lavender unicorn looked up at the white mare. “Like what Fluttershy told me, I don't think a pegasus is capable of doing all of this damage.” She and Rarity began focusing their levitation spells on the stallion. “Besides, Princess Celestia told me to report and possibly bring back whatever is causing the magical disturbance in the Everfree Forest. And the fluctuations seem to be radiating from this stallion.” Rainbow Dash began pushing the levitating stallion into the empty cart. “Well, if the Princess wants us to do this, then I guess we have no choice.” The levitation spells disappeared and the black pegasus fell gently into the cart, his head facing the back side of the cart. Applejack then began pulling the cart. She was struggling a bit to get it going. “Whoo Nelly, this stallion sure weighs more than he looks.” When Rainbow Dash starting giving the cart a small push, it began to move more easily. “Thanks sugercube. I mighty appreciate the help.” Rainbow only smirked. “No prob, AJ.” Once they left the clearing full of dead ponies, Pinkie Pie soon became her happy self again. “Oh, oh, oh, he's a new pony which means I don't know him and I know every pony in Ponyville which means I can throw him a party!” A loud pop sounded and confetti somehow flew through the air as Pinkie threw her hooves out in excitement. Twilight looked at the random pink Earth pony. “Uh, Pinkie, I think we should figure out who he is and find out what he was doing out in the Everfree Forest before you start planning a party for him.” Pinkie looked crestfallen before perking up again. “Okay, I can wait to plan his 'Welcome to Ponyville' party.” All of the other ponies let out a mental sigh. They were afraid their friend was going to be upset about it. Ever since the incident that happened when they were planning that surprise party for Pinkie Pie for her birthday, they made sure their party pony would never think they had abandoned her again. Rarity soon began looking the stallion over again before sighing. “Oh dear, how can such a ...good looking stallion get covered in so much dirt. It's as if he rolled in it for days!” Her gaze settled on the black pegasus's hat. “And how can he get so much filth on such a delightful hat. A black 'Monster Hunter'-style fedora with an extra long, flat brim and a black band with silver inlays. My, this stallion sure has a nice taste in headwear.” She hopped onto the cart and brushed a hoof across the hat. “And it compliments his coat color so well. It's screams 'vengeful spirit'.” “Rarity, ya mind gettin' off of the cart. You're just addin' weight and makin' it harder ta pull.” Applejack said with a strained voice. Rarity just 'hmphed' and hopped off the cart, but not before readjusting the stallions hat so that it sat perfectly straight on his head. Fluttershy, meanwhile, was trying to find a way to identify the stallion. He wasn't wearing any form of identification, and the area where his cutie mark was supposed to be was covered in so much dried mud that it looked like the mud was his natural coat color. A loud groan startled all of the mares as the stallion began roll around in the cart. His eyes were tensed and he was mumbling incoherently. He began to kick the sides of the cart as if he was trying to fight something. “Consarnit, he's gonna break mah cart if he keeps doin' that.” Applejack voiced in annoyance. “An' we can't afford ta replace any carts right now.” The stallion pegasus soon stopped moving, but now he was starting to mumble a bit louder in his sleep. Rarity and Rainbow Dash, their curiosity piqued, placed their ears close to the stallion's muzzle. “Pa...ssion. ...Must find...Passion...” Rarity pulled her head back and 'tsked' sadly. “The poor dear. He must feel so unloved if he went into the forest to find love from somepony.” Dash shushed her with her hoof. “Quiet, he's still talking.” “Passion... ...They took Passion.” He began to flail violently now, almost hitting Rainbow Dash. “They took her! I must find my Passion Spirit!” A strong kick made a crack in the wood on the cart's side. “My Spirit is gone!” Tears began to form in his closed eyes and began to flow freely down his face. “My Soul is gone and now they took my Spirit!” The cart stopped as everypony turned their heads to look at the still unconscious but now crying stallion. Applejack glanced nervously at Twilight Sparkle. “Wha did he mean by 'Ma Soul is gone an' now they took ma Spirit.', Twi?” The unicorn only shook her head at the orange earth pony. “I don't know, AJ.” She then looked back at the still crying pegasus. Fluttershy was fluttering in the air and gently rubbing his back in a soothing manner, trying to calm him down. “Once we get him to Nurse Redheart, maybe then we'll get some answers.” Rainbow Dash flew ahead slightly before flying back. “At least we don't have much farther to go. We're only a few yards from the edge of the forest.” Applejack began pulling the cart again. “Well then, let's get to it.” As the group exited the forest and, Twilight kept glancing at the stallion. She didn't want to scare anypony, but the magic she was sensing off of him was...different. It wasn't evil, but it was just different. As she looked the pegasus over again, something clicked. She felt like she had seen him before. The black coat, the silver mane with the red stripe, and the short silver tail with the tip highlighted red. It was a strong feeling of deja-vu that was too insistent to ignore. When they get to Nurse Redheart, hopefully all of their questions would be answered. Twilight only hoped it wasn't a mistake to save his life. to be continued Chapter 3(The Present) The journey from the Everfree Forest took quite a bit of time since they had to slow down and walk beside Applejack. After all, she was the one pulling the cart with an unconscious stallion in the back. The mood was a little somber and tense, the sight of the dead and charred ponies was still fresh in the group of pony's mind. Every once and awhile, some of them would cast a glance at the black stallion. Rarity, who was walking behind the cart, just stared at the pony. Every time she studied the pegasus, she got an overwhelming sense of deja-vu, like she has seen the pony before. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but something about his dark colors of black, silver and red just seemed to stir up an old memory that was just out of her reach. This feeling was shared along with the other mares. “Uuugghhh, why can't I shake this feeling?! Why does he look familiar?!” All eyes turned to Rainbow Dash, who was currently hovering over the black, fedora wearing stallion with her hooves pressed against her head and an annoyed look on her face. Apparently, she had decided to voice what everypony else was thinking. “I'm not the only pony who thinks this pegasus looks familiar, right?” “I know what you mean Dash. It feels like I've met him before.” Twilight spoke. “But I just can't remember where.” “Oh my, have we all met him before?” Fluttershy spoke in her quiet voice. Applejack glanced back at the yellow pegasus. “Ah think we have, but Ah just can't remember where.” Twilight then shook her head. “It doesn't matter right now if we've met him before or not, let's just get him to the hospital before.” “Right!” The rest of the group spoke. XXXX The rest of the journey to Ponyville was rather uneventful, except for the occasional groan or mumble from the unconscious black coated pegasus. As they walked through the town square to get to the hospital, they began to catch the attention of a few ponies who were there, since most stands were in the square. Some merely looked at the group and then continued on with their business, others actually tried to get close to the cart to get a good look at the stallion before Rarity and Pinkie Pie shooed them away. As they were approaching the Ponyville Hospital, a white Earth pony mare with a pink mane rolled into a bun with a matching tail and blue eyes that was wearing a nurse's hat stood at the opened entrance. Her cutie mark was a red cross that had a pink heart in each angle and the mark was also on her hat. The nurse pony immediately went over to the group of ponies and began to question them while examining the stallion. “How long has he been out?” Twilight shook her head. “I don't know, he was out cold when we found him.” Nurse Redheart began to unwrap the now slightly red stained gauze around the stallion's wings. “Oh dear.” The charred skin on the wings was beginning to flake off and the nurse swore that she could see some shattered bone fragments sticking out. How this pony was so calm in his sleep was lost on her. “I'm going to need some help moving him.” She called over a stallion and a mare that were standing at the hospital's entrance. The stallion was a unicorn who was a faint tan color with a brown and light brown colored mane. He had on a stethoscope and a doctor's coat, which nearly covered his cutie mark, which was a picture of an syringe that had a red cross on it. Next to him was a Earth pony mare that had a powder blue coat and a mint green mane that was also rolled into a bun underneath a nurse's hat. The hat carried her cutie mark, which was a simple red cross. “Dr. Booster Shot and Nurse Tenderheart, I need your help moving this pegasus.” They both nodded. Dr. Booster Shot's horn began to glow and a stretcher came through the doorway. Nurse Redheart and Tenderheart, with help from Rainbow Dash and Twilight, managed to get the stallion off of the cart and onto the stretcher, where he was properly strapped onto and was quickly carried into the hospital and towards the Emergency Room. XXXX They sat in the lobby waiting for the news on the mysterious stallion's condition. Each one tried to find a way to pass the time. Twilight was busy writing a letter to Princess Celestia about finding the black pegasus, Rainbow Dash, being the active mare she was, was flying circles around the lobby's ceiling with Pinkie Pie watching her, Rarity was reading a fashion magazine and discussing the fashion tips it possessed with Fluttershy, and Applejack had her stetson pulled over her eyes and was lightly dozing. When Nurse Redheart came with a clipboard in her mouth, they all stopped what they were doing and gave her their attention, waiting for her to tell them the stallions current state. Twilight spoke first. “How is he Nurse Redheart?” She was hesitant in answering. “Um, well Ms. Sparkle, his wings have suffered terrible burns and his right wing has three fractures in it, his torso only has minor cuts and bruises, his left shoulder was dislocated, and his front right foreleg and right hindleg only have a bad gash on them. He shouldn't have any permanent after effects when he fully recovers, but it will take him some to heal. But even with these injuries, I can say that he will make a full recovery, though his wings might gain some scarring.” Twilight and her friends were about to sigh in relief when Nurse Redheart spoke up again. “But Ms. Twilight, I need your assistance with something.” Twilight looked confusingly at the still uneasy looking nurse. “What's wrong, isn't he going to be alright?” “Oh don't worry Ms. Sparkle, it's nothing serious....At least I hope not.” The nurse mumbled the last part. “Then what is it?” Nurse Redheart waved all of them to follow her. After the short walk to a room located near the ER, the nurse led the group of Element bearers to what could only be described as being a head tilter. On a medical table, Dr. Booster Shot was holding the still unconscious black pegasus down with all of his weight while Nurse Tenderheart had her hindlegs on the tables edge with the pegasus's head between her rear hooves while the her fore hooves gripped onto the stallion's black fedora. She was yanking on the hat, which for some very strange reason, wasn't coming off of the stallion's head. “Nurse Tenderheart! Please stop doing that!” She stopped pulling on the hat. “But Nurse Redheart, it won't come off. And I can't think of any other way to get it off.” Nurse Redheart sighed. “Just refrain from trying to forcefully remove it from his head. You're going to add a hurt neck to his injury list.” She then turned her gaze towards the unicorn stallion that stood silently by the table's side. “Dr. Shot, why didn't you simply use your magic to get the hat off.” The stallion shrugged. “I can't.” “You mean magic can't get it off?” Dr. Booster Shot shook his head. “No. I mean that I can't even get magic near it without getting repelled.” Twilight and the others, meanwhile, were busy studying the black pegasus until what Dr. Shot said caught their attention. Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?” Dr. Shot looked at the unicorn. “Whenever I try to levitate the hat or try to scan, it feels as though there is some sort of wall blocking it.” Rarity's eyes suddenly widened as a realization came to her. “Wait, let's see if I got this right. The hat won't come off by any physical force, correct?” Dr. Shot nodded. “And it feels as though there is some sort of barrier around it?” Again, Dr, Shot nodded. Rarity's eyes began to sparkle with giddiness. “Then I know exactly why his fedora won't come off.” She then cantered quickly trotted over to the black stallion's form and placed a hoof on his fedora. “Although the practice is not very well known and not used very often, it has been a fashion trend for unicorns to put an enchantment on their clothes, specifically headwear, in order to keep them from falling off. It also allows you to add a colored glow and change the clothing's color.” She then gave a small confused look at the fedora. “But it shouldn't be hard to remove the enchantment if you're a unicorn. Especially since this stallion is a pegasus. Let me see...” Rarity's horn began to glow as a tendril of energy began to form and cover the fedora. Only after a few seconds, the horn stopped glowing and Rarity's confused look increased. “That's strange, the enchantment is a lot stronger than a normal one, and there are a lot of other spells woven into the hat. I can't seem to identify them.” “She was taken from me...” Rarity jumped back in surprise as the stallion began to talk in his sleep again. Everypony's eyes were now trained on him. “I will get her back...Charon...if its the last thing I do...” Rarity tsked. “Poor dear. I hope he'll be alright.” The black pegasus then rolled over in his sleep until his hooves were now pointed towards the main group. The movement gave them all a good view of his cutie mark, which was no longer covered in mud. It made a few of them look on with their heads tilted. His cutie mark was a pendant of silver with a ruby in the middle. There were small holes around the ruby in a circle. Applejack gave a low whistle. "Never seen a cutie mark like that before. Ah wonder wha' his special talent is.” Twilight stepped forward towards the stallion. “We can figure that out later Applejack. Right now, we need to figure who he is first.” “You might just get your chance.” Twilight faced Nurse Redheart, who was just entering the room. She didn't even notice that the nurse had left. “I just got a letter from Cloudsdale. It seems that an accident at the weather factory has seriously injured a lot of pegasi. Apparently the supports for a few of the vats containing some highly concentrated rainbow failed and caused the vats to tip over, spilling the rainbow on some workers and pedestrians, giving them severe burns. Cloudsdale Hospital is nearly full after that near-tornado incident, so they will be sending them here by emergency ambulance carriages. I'm afraid that do to the...limited space, we might have to discharge this pegasus you brought in.” Fluttershy, usually timid and quiet, spoke up with urgency in her voice. Whenever it was a pony's health involved, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. “But i-is that wise?” Nurse Redheart gave Fluttershy a reassuring smile. “Don't worry Ms. Fluttershy. I can guarantee that he doesn't have any serious injuries right now. In fact, I'm sure that once the anesthesia wears off, he'll be right as rain. He just needs to keep off of his legs for a few weeks.” Rainbow Dash then flew up and looked at the white coated nurse. “But he'll out for a while, and who'll take care of him till then?” “I will.” Everypony turned to Twilight. “There's more than enough room at the library, and I need to keep an eye on him till Princess Celestia gets here, since she told us to find and present anything we think might of caused that magical surge in the Everfree Forest.” “Ah agree with Twilight. 'Sides, Ah can't have Applebloom and her friends pokin' him with a stick every time Ah leave the room.” Every one of the Element Bearers nodded in agreement. (The Past) A scowling Revenant Hunter with an equally scowling Fleur de Lis stood in front of a line of very sheepish looking colts and fillies. The black colt closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and quietly counted to ten before reopening his eyes. “Okay, now I want you to tell me why you guys disappeared for the entire day, before finally reappearing , only to spy on me and Fleur again while we were enjoying a nice dinner.” Eclipse suddenly stood up. “We just wanted to see if you two actually had feelings for each other. That's all~.” Fleur de Lis gave a large sigh before addressing the red and gold colored filly. “Eclipse, how many times are Rev and I going to tell you silly ponies that we are not in love with each other?” Sky Runner smirked, his vermillion eyes now filled with mirth. “Why don't you two prove that you are not in love?” Rev faced the colt. “And how do you expect us to prove that?” Sky Runner's eyes were now twinkling. “Why don't you two just kiss each other.” Fleur blushed slightly, her attention now on the pegasus. “...What?” “If you don't have feelings for each other, then this shouldn't be a problem.” “But it's just so...improper-” “Proper-shmoper, just do it.” Fleur looked at Rev. Even though it couldn't be seen, he was blushing as badly as she was. They both knew that if they didn't do it, their friends wouldn't be satisfied, but if they did, it would their first kiss for both of them. Rev, quickly discovering a loophole in Sky's demand, decided to make the first move, leaned forward and kissed Fleur on her soft cheek. Fleur, with wide open eyes, became rigid for a second, before repeating Rev's action, though her movements were more stiff and hesitant. They gazed into each others eyes before Rev finally shook his head and looked back at the somewhat awestruck group in front of them. “Satisfied?” They nodded in unison. “Then scatter.” Maverick, Rain Dance, and Star Searcher immediately left. Eclipse flashed an apologetic smile before also getting up and leaving. Sky Runner gave them both a suspicious look, then nodded and left. Rev and Fleur watched as their friends left, their stances radiating endless confidence and a little bit of indifference. But once Sky disappeared around the corner and was out of sight, they both gave huge sighs of relief and sat down, large blushes on their faces. Fleur looked at Rev. “I hope we never have to do that again.” Rev gave her an unreadable look with a brow raised. Fleur de Lis, realizing her mistake, began to stutter an apology as she waved her hooves. “I-I mean, I hope we don't kiss again, I mean, not that there is anything wrong with kissing, but I-” Revenant dropped the look and gave a small laugh. “No worries, Fleur, I know what you meant.” Fleur de Lis sighed in relief. “Though I gotta say, you're cute when you become a stuttering mess.” Fleur, with a burning blush on her face, lightly smacked Rev on the shoulder. “Quiet you.” to be continued
Chapter 1Author's Note: Hey, Black Tribal here! All I can say is...wow. I never thought I would be writing a story for My Little Pony. I hate to admit this, but I was once an MLP hater. That is, until I actually started READING the fanfiction and WATCHING the show. Now, I am a proud Brony. I would like to thank SoulHook for giving me loads of help for this story. I always give credit where it's due, and I'm giving him the amount he deserves. ON WITH THE STORY! (The Past) A lone colt jumped over a small stump and gracefully landed on all four hooves before galloping at full speed again through the forest. This colt was pretty young, but not considered a foal anymore at his age. His solid black coat was glistening with sweat and had caked dirt in it from an earlier tumble. His slightly long silver mane with an almost blood red stripe in it and the short and equally silver and red tipped tail waved behind him as the wind whipped through them. What's most distinguishing about this particular colt, is the mismatched eyes he has. The left one was a beautiful, shining silver while the right one was a deep, almost burning copper color. Realizing that a steep drop in the path was coming up, the black colt extended his slightly larger than normal wings and jumped, allowing his wings to carry him a good distance past the drop before landing on the level ground and continuing his gallop. “STOP! YOU GET BACK HERE!” The colt turned his head and looked behind him. The group chasing him was coming up fast, their solid white coats and gleaming golden armor making them easily visible in the forest green. There was no way the colt was gonna stop for these particular royal guard ponies, but apparently, karma has a bad habit of slapping you in the face when you least want it to. The colt's front right hoof struck a rock and he fell forward and somersaulted into a tree, hitting his back on it. A faint aura covered him as the guards finally caught up and now stood over him. The unicorn and two earth guard ponies did NOT look happy. The unicorn picked the black colt up and tossed him over onto his stomach behind them before walking over and getting close to the colt's face, venom staining his eyes and voice. “I want you to listen to me right now, you lousy troublemaker. We've had ENOUGH of chasing you into the forest every time you decide to run away! You either stay at the castle like a good colt, or we will chain you to the wall so you can't escape. Which will it be?” The colt didn't reply. He didn't even look afraid of the hateful gazes the guards were giving him. The colt simply stood up on slightly shaky legs before turning around with an indifferent and mellow expression and started walking in the direction that he had come from. “LISTEN TO ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!” The colt yelped in pain as he felt a powerful kick connect with his side and send him forward a couple of feet. Tears and whimpers escaped the colt as the burning pain seared through his body. A powerful white hoof suddenly began to push onto the colt's injured side, resulting in the colt letting out a loud and pain filled yell. “ENOUGH!” All eyes turned towards the elegant and solid white alicorn that now stood before them. Her body was more slender, taller, and she had a natural elegant look to her. Her mane and tail of cyan, turquoise, azure, and purple waved and moved as if there was a gentle breeze in the air. The golden tiara, neckpiece, and shoes went well with her coat while clashed with the brown soil. Her orange and yellow sun cutie mark could almost burn your eyes by looking at it as it graced her flank. And finally, her deep, magenta eyes scanned over the scene in front of her, disgust and disappointment prominent in her unwavering gaze. The guards immediately took a couple of steps back until the only thing between the three guards and the angry alicorn goddess was a few yards and the injured colt. “P-Princess Celestia!” The unicorn gasped. “What are you doing here?” Celestia's eyes narrowed slightly. “I should be asking you the same thing, Lieutenant. I thought I told you to keep an eye on Rev and to bring him back if he runs away, not to hurt him if he does!” The Lieutenant winced at Celestia's seething with rage tone. “B-But-” “But nothing! You have disobeyed a direct order from you Princess.” Her gaze sent cold shivers down the guard ponies' spines. “I want you all to return to the castle and wait until I get back so we can discuss your punishments.” They tried to argue, but Celestia's gaze made them think otherwise. The Lieutenant gave the black colt one last glare before turning around and walking back to the castle, his partners mirroring his motions. Princess Celestia sighed in irritation. “Why do the guards have such a vendetta against Rev? He never did anything to deserve it.” She looked down at the unconscious colt. “Sure, he constantly tries to run away, but that would only cause them a headache. Especially since they can outrun Rev.” The Sun goddess began flapping her wings until she was in a small hover. Reaching forward with her forelegs, she wrapped Rev into an embrace before giving her wings a mighty flap, now soaring into the air towards Canterlot Castle. It was only a few minutes before Celestia felt movement from the limp colt. He squirmed slightly before opening his eyes. His eyes widened as he saw how high he was and how fast the ground beneath him moving. He began to struggle to break free from whatever was grasping him. “Rev, stop struggling! You wouldn't want to drop you, would you?” Rev looked up at the smiling alicorn. His expression went back to indifferent. “I guess not.” He began looking around, as if an answer to his question would appear out of thin air. “Where are those guards?” “They have been...dismissed.” Everything went silent between the two, the only audible sound being the wind passing through their manes and ears. “Why do you run, Revenant Hunter?” The colt faced the alicorn that was looking at him with inquisitive eyes. He shrugged. “I guess I just don't like it at Canterlot.” The Princess's eyes widened slightly. This was a first for her. Everypony she knew always said that they would do anything just to live in Canterlot, but Revenant Hunter lives in Canterlot Castle. After what she's heard about Canterlot Castle, ponies would practically think it's a crime to not like to live there. “What do you mean?” The Princess leaned her head down slightly. Fury began to burn in Revenant Hunter's mismatched eyes. “Okay, I'll tell you why I don't like it there. I'm tired of ponies watching me wherever I go, I'm tired of having ponies cower just because I'm royalty, which is a title I don't even want, I'm sick and tired of all of the snobbish and dominant-challenged ponies who think that just because they have more money than other ponies, they think they're better,” he took a breath, “I'm tired of being waited on hoof and mane when I can clearly do it myself, I can't play with my friends without some sort of jerk thinking it's a scandal,” another breath, “and speaking of scandals, I'm tired of the Royal Guard Captain thinking it's okay to have a guard following me and sending somepony to spy on my friends because he thinks that they're trying to use me to get their parents closer to you! It took me a week to get Star Searcher's trust back because she thought I sent the spy!” A final breath, “And the thing I'M REALLY sick of my family! They're always making me attend conferences and meetings and making me wear ugly and uncomfortable regal clothes so that it 'boosts my image'! They are always saying how important it is to keep up the family's image, ever since we found out that we were descendants of a lost royal family and that I'm technically the other pony that's supposed to be ruling Equestria along side you!” Celestia watched the panting colt rant about every reason he's was always like he usually is. She winced every time he ticked a reason off of the imaginary complaints list. What bothered her was that it was all true. Ever since she became ruler of Equestria with her sister Luna, she had witnessed everything he spoke of. She was even the one settle down Star Searcher's family when the little filly saw a Royal Guard pegasus laying in the bushes outside of an open window outside their home. It certainly raised a ruckus in the community, especially when the Princess found out the guard had abused his abilities and turned into a peeping tom. Celestia had to fire him and send him away from Canterlot for good. Celestia decided to voice a question that was now bugging her. A question she was afraid to ask because of fear for the answer she would receive. With a tear threatening to fall, the goddess leaned her head down farther. “Are also saying that you don't like to rule beside me?” The question was like a stake to the heart, because she remembered asking Luna the same thing before her banishment. Revenant Hunter's expression softened and he shook his head. “Of course not Celestia. You and my friends were the first ponies to accept me for who I am. Although I hate the 'ruling part' , I still like being by your side. You're the only pony I can discuss personal problems with.” Tears began to form in his silver and copper eyes, “You and m-my friends are t-the only ones I can trust.” Celestia nuzzled him for comfort while she began to land in front of Canterlot Castle. “I'm sorry that I can't change any of those things, but try to accept it for now. All good things come to those that wait.” She let Revenant out of her grasp. She then took on a more business like pose and a mock serious face. “Now, Sir Revenant Hunter, are you going to try to escape again?” Rev only shrugged, “Most likely, but not anymore today, it's getting late and I'm tired.” Celestia dropped her pose. “Alright. That's good, because Lancer is gone on a mission to the Everfree Forest, and he's the only guard that's right for you.” Revenant snickered. “Are you sure you should be telling me this? I could use it to my advantage if you're not careful.” Celestia smiled even more than he was. “Because I know you always keep your word and always speak the truth.” Revenant yawned and then giggled. “Yep. You know me better than the back of your gold shoes.” Celestia groaned in an un-princess like manner. “You're not going to start making jokes about my golden shoes again, are you?” Revenant gave a small laugh before walking into the Castle's entrance, The Princess following beside him. “What?! Humble ol' me?! Making fun of your shoes?!” He sighed in disappointment. “Celestia, you know that I know better than to make fun of ,” he then pointed dramatically at her hooves, “the royal, golden, and so expensive-that-it's-ridiculous shoes!” “Haha, very funny.” Celestia deadpanned as she and Revenant Hunter walked through the Castle doors. (The Present) A familiar lavender unicorn with a mane that was dark indigo with a pink and purple stripe through it, with a dark pink star surrounded by smaller, white stars as her cutie mark, was currently walking towards a cottage that was near the Everfree Forest. The mare's name was Twilight Sparkle, current caretaker of the Ponyville Library and personal student of Princess Celestia, not that she's bragging. A saddlebag filled with books sat on her back as she knocked on the cottage door. “Fluttershy. Fluttershy, are you there?” “...Just a minute.” a small voice replied. A light yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane and strong cyan eyes and a butterfly cutie mark answered the door. A small smile appeared on her face. “Hey Twilight. Come in, I'll make you some tea.” Twilight smiled and followed her shy friend into the cottage. “So Fluttershy, have you heard the news?” The pegasus nodded as she put the teapot on the stove. “Yes. The animals have been telling me about it. They're saying that there was some sort of fight in the...” she shivered in fear, “Everfree Forest.” Twilight sat on Fluttershy's green couch. “Yeah, every unicorn in Ponyville sensed a strong release of magic in the forest. Celestia sent me a letter to check it out for any problems. I was gonna ask the girls for some help, but Rarity is busy with an order, Spike stayed behind to help her, I couldn't find Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie, and Applejack is busy with her apple bucking. You're the only one who seems free to help.” Fluttershy began to shake where she was standing. “O-Oh...I would l-like to help...but...” Twilight shook her head at Fluttershy's nervousness. Sometimes, the pegasus needs to be more assertive. An idea hatched in her head. It would be kinda cruel, but she wasn't going to do this on her own. “But Fluttershy, what if somepony is hurt? Wouldn't you want to help them?” Fluttershy lifted up her head. Twilight saw a streak of confidence in them. “Y-You're right. It goes against my nature not to help somepony if they're hurt.” She looked out the window into the dark forest. She shivered again. “But still, it's-” Twilight didn't leave room for argument. “Thanks for the assistance Fluttershy!” She began dragging the pegasus outside of the cottage and into the forest's entrance with Fluttershy covered in Twilight's unicorn magic. Fluttershy began to panic and her legs locked up in fear, causing her to be literally dragged behind Twilight. They both journeyed deeper into the forest, Twilight using her horn as locator for the magical disturbance. While getting closer to the disturbance's source, Twilight and a recovered and now walking Fluttershy began to notice that something was wrong with the scenery. The trees were covered in ash and burn markings, the soil was also covered in ash and burnt plants, and there was craters in the ground. Fluttershy and Twilight had to swallow down the bile and avoid running away when they saw a charred body laying slumped against a tree, the carcass no longer recognizable. Flutter shy squeaked in fear, but Twilight managed to calm her down enough to keep moving. Twilight's horn suddenly began to pulse and she felt the signal getting much stronger. “We're getting close.” Fluttershy nodded in response. Pushing away some burnt brush, Twilight and Fluttershy saw a sight that almost made them pass out in fear. There were bodies of multiple ponies spread out everywhere. Some were burnt beyond recognition, some were missing limbs, and others didn't even have heads. In the middle of the carnage, Twilight spotted a black figure lying on the ground, it's chest rising a falling faintly. The wings on the pony's back were terribly burnt and all of the feathers were gone. He was caked with dirt and blood, and his silver mane and tail were stained in blood, almost making the red stripe in them invisible. He also had an old black fedora that had a flat, almost 12 inch brim that was laying crooked on his head. Fluttershy, biting back her fear a little, quickly ran up to the pony and began to examine it. It was a stallion that looked terribly injured. The burnt wings could no longer give him flight, he had a gash on his right foreleg and hind leg, and it looked like one of his wings was dislocated. Twilight ran up to her and began rummaging through her saddlebags, pulling out a medical kit that Fluttershy immediately began to use. “Fluttershy? Are you sure you should be helping this strange pony? What if he's the one who caused all of this?!” Fluttershy, a state of rare confidence, didn't even turn her head to answer Twilight. “I don't think he could cause all of this death. He's a pegasus. And pegasi can't utilize magic. I don't think a he could of done any of this. He could be a victim of whoever did this.” She cut off the excess gauze and closed the medical kit with a sigh. She managed to stop the bleeding and wrap the gashes, but his wing was still dislocated and un-bandaged. “I think only Nurse Redheart and Tenderheart can fix the rest.” Twilight nodded. “Now, how are we gonna carry him back?” They both turned towards each other with looks of confusion and then realization. Twilight face-hoofed. “Aw hay. I guess I didn't figure that one out.” To be continued
Chapter 2(The Past) A familiar black colt laid on his stomach on a cliff near Canterlot Castle. The grass was cool and it relaxed Revenant Hunter as he gazed out into the opened valley where he could see a small town in the distance. He remembered Celestia say something about the town being called 'Ponyville'. Although he never shared this with anypony, that little settlement was supposed to be his first stop when he actually somehow successfully got away from Canterlot. It seemed like a nice place to lie low for awhile until the heat went down. Revenant was interrupted from his thoughts when he felt a pair of small forelegs rest on top of his withers and a chin lay on top of his head between his ears. He didn't even have to look to see who it was. He kept his expression indifferent as he addressed the filly. “Greetings, Fleur de Lis.” The slender, blank flanked, white coated, pink maned filly with eyes of deep pinkish gray giggled at Rev's response, her head not even moving from her spot. “No need to be so stoic Rev. We're not in the streets right now, are we?” Revenant Hunter only sighed. “I guess we aren't, Fleur.” Fleur de Lis finally lifted her head up and got off of Revenant. She stood up briefly before deciding to lay in the grass next to Revenant with her leaning against him. Rev again sighed, but this time in irritation. “I'm not in the mood for your flirting right now, Fleur.” The filly pouted at his response, but then she gave a realization look. She smiled in sympathy. “Get caught again?” She didn't see his expression change, but she sudden;y felt more warmth radiating off of him. She knew he was blushing in embarrassment right now. Rev didn't like the thought of losing something, though he was always more humble about it. But it still bothered him. “Do you know where Star Searcher and Sky Runner are right now?” Fleur de Lis knew he was purposely changing the topic, but she went with it. “Nope. ...Come to think of it, I haven't seen Maverick, Eclipse, or Rain Dance anywhere either.” Revenant brought his hoof up in contemplation. “I wonder where they are?” Fleur stood up and stretched herself out before looking around with a suspicious gaze. “They better not be spying on us again.” Fleur and Rev were still upset with their friends when the two had caught them sitting in a tree while Revenant and Fleur de Lis were enjoying the moonlight. All it took was Rain Dance's clumsiness and a weak tree limb to send the entire group crashing down on them. Even though the spying ponies were embarrassed about being caught, they still had more than enough teasing material for Rev and Fleur. Revenant Hunter looked up at Fleur de Lis. “Wanna go look for them?” Fleur shrugged. “I guess. I got nothing better to do.” Revenant stood up and the black colt and the white filly soon began walking into Canterlot in order to locate their missing friends. Back at the area Revenant Hunter and Fleur de Lis had previously occupied, the leaves of a lone tree suddenly began shaking in the strong wind that was picking up. There was a loud snap, followed by a yelp. A small group of colts and fillies suddenly came crashing down into a tangled mess of limbs. A few groans collected before a dark blue, almost black as night, unicorn filly stood up, her dark blue with white spots mane and tail frazzled from rolling into the dirt. She shook her head back and forth to get the stray strands of her mane out of her deep blue eyes. “That could've gone better.” she mumbled as she stretched out. A sky blue pegasus colt with a bright red mane and tail that was cut short stood up and flapped his wings. “What do ya mean, Star Searcher? If you ask me, I think it actually went better than before.” The unicorn filly looked Sky Runner straight into his vermillion colored eyes. “Oh, shut up Sky Runner.” An Earth pony colt with an olive green coat and a messy brown mane and tail stood up from the pile and walked towards the pegasus and unicorn, scanning them both with his brown eyes. “I'm starting to question why we even spy on them. We're invading their private moments by doing this.” “But don't you want to know if they're in love or not, Maverick?” The colt turned towards a filly unicorn that had a dark blue coat with a short and messy gray mane that was walking towards him. She straightened out her dark gray vest before smiling a big smile. Maverick only shook his head. “I just don't feel right about doing this, Rain Dance. If you ask me, I think they're just staying friends.” A red filly pegasus with a gold mane and gold tail lightly patted Maverick on the back. “I wouldn't worry Mav. All we gotta do is see Rev and Fleur kiss and then we'll KNOW that we were right all along. We'll just keep following them until they do.” The olive green colt gave her a deadpan look. “I can't even count how many holes there are in your plan, Eclipse.” Eclipse put a hoof to her chin in thought before she suddenly shot her head up in realization. “You're right Mav.” Maverick smirked. It seems that Eclipse was finally starting to understand. “We can't just see them simply kiss. They have to add a little tongue to it to REALLY show that they are in true love.” Maverick's smug smile fell and he gave an irritated sigh. He didn't bother to continue arguing with Eclipse, there was no reasoning with her. It was like telling a dragon to stop eating gems. “HEY GUYS!” Everypony looked up at Sky Runner. “They're getting too far from us. We gotta catch up to them!” He then starting flying in the direction that Revenant Hunter and Fleur de Lis had headed with Eclipse following after him in the air. Rain Dance and Star Searcher ran after the retreating pegasi, leaving Maverick behind. The Earth pony sighed. “This isn't going to end well.” (The Present) Twilight Sparkle sat on her haunches, continuing to watch over the strange black pegasus stallion that she and Fluttershy had found. Twilight had earlier told Fluttershy to go and look for the rest of their friends so that they could move the stallion. There was no way that Twilight alone could lift him with her magic. The lavender unicorn couldn't keep her eyes from looking all around her. She was still struggling to keep her composure as the charred bodies around her laid there. It was very unnerving for the bookworm. About a few minutes later, Twilight heard the sound of wooden wheels running across the dirt and chatter from a group of mares. The wheels slowed and all went silent as she saw her friends walk through the brush. Applejack had a harness around her and she was pulling an empty cart. Rarity was on Applejack's right with a look of fear, while Rainbow Dash hovered above them. The rainbow maned pegasus was trying to keep her cool, but the dead ponies were a sight that she would never forget. Pinkie brought up the rear with Fluttershy next to her. For once, the pink party pony wasn't bouncing around or even smiling. Applejack was the first to voice what everypony was thinking. “What the hay happened here?!” Twilight immediately stood up and got near the stallion. “We'll figure that out later, Applejack. Right now, we need to get this stallion out of here.” Rarity walked forward and looked over the unconscious pegasus. “Twilight, darling, do you think that's a good idea?” The lavender unicorn looked up at the white mare. “Like what Fluttershy told me, I don't think a pegasus is capable of doing all of this damage.” She and Rarity began focusing their levitation spells on the stallion. “Besides, Princess Celestia told me to report and possibly bring back whatever is causing the magical disturbance in the Everfree Forest. And the fluctuations seem to be radiating from this stallion.” Rainbow Dash began pushing the levitating stallion into the empty cart. “Well, if the Princess wants us to do this, then I guess we have no choice.” The levitation spells disappeared and the black pegasus fell gently into the cart, his head facing the back side of the cart. Applejack then began pulling the cart. She was struggling a bit to get it going. “Whoo Nelly, this stallion sure weighs more than he looks.” When Rainbow Dash starting giving the cart a small push, it began to move more easily. “Thanks sugercube. I mighty appreciate the help.” Rainbow only smirked. “No prob, AJ.” Once they left the clearing full of dead ponies, Pinkie Pie soon became her happy self again. “Oh, oh, oh, he's a new pony which means I don't know him and I know every pony in Ponyville which means I can throw him a party!” A loud pop sounded and confetti somehow flew through the air as Pinkie threw her hooves out in excitement. Twilight looked at the random pink Earth pony. “Uh, Pinkie, I think we should figure out who he is and find out what he was doing out in the Everfree Forest before you start planning a party for him.” Pinkie looked crestfallen before perking up again. “Okay, I can wait to plan his 'Welcome to Ponyville' party.” All of the other ponies let out a mental sigh. They were afraid their friend was going to be upset about it. Ever since the incident that happened when they were planning that surprise party for Pinkie Pie for her birthday, they made sure their party pony would never think they had abandoned her again. Rarity soon began looking the stallion over again before sighing. “Oh dear, how can such a ...good looking stallion get covered in so much dirt. It's as if he rolled in it for days!” Her gaze settled on the black pegasus's hat. “And how can he get so much filth on such a delightful hat. A black 'Monster Hunter'-style fedora with an extra long, flat brim and a black band with silver inlays. My, this stallion sure has a nice taste in headwear.” She hopped onto the cart and brushed a hoof across the hat. “And it compliments his coat color so well. It's screams 'vengeful spirit'.” “Rarity, ya mind gettin' off of the cart. You're just addin' weight and makin' it harder ta pull.” Applejack said with a strained voice. Rarity just 'hmphed' and hopped off the cart, but not before readjusting the stallions hat so that it sat perfectly straight on his head. Fluttershy, meanwhile, was trying to find a way to identify the stallion. He wasn't wearing any form of identification, and the area where his cutie mark was supposed to be was covered in so much dried mud that it looked like the mud was his natural coat color. A loud groan startled all of the mares as the stallion began roll around in the cart. His eyes were tensed and he was mumbling incoherently. He began to kick the sides of the cart as if he was trying to fight something. “Consarnit, he's gonna break mah cart if he keeps doin' that.” Applejack voiced in annoyance. “An' we can't afford ta replace any carts right now.” The stallion pegasus soon stopped moving, but now he was starting to mumble a bit louder in his sleep. Rarity and Rainbow Dash, their curiosity piqued, placed their ears close to the stallion's muzzle. “Pa...ssion. ...Must find...Passion...” Rarity pulled her head back and 'tsked' sadly. “The poor dear. He must feel so unloved if he went into the forest to find love from somepony.” Dash shushed her with her hoof. “Quiet, he's still talking.” “Passion... ...They took Passion.” He began to flail violently now, almost hitting Rainbow Dash. “They took her! I must find my Passion Spirit!” A strong kick made a crack in the wood on the cart's side. “My Spirit is gone!” Tears began to form in his closed eyes and began to flow freely down his face. “My Soul is gone and now they took my Spirit!” The cart stopped as everypony turned their heads to look at the still unconscious but now crying stallion. Applejack glanced nervously at Twilight Sparkle. “Wha did he mean by 'Ma Soul is gone an' now they took ma Spirit.', Twi?” The unicorn only shook her head at the orange earth pony. “I don't know, AJ.” She then looked back at the still crying pegasus. Fluttershy was fluttering in the air and gently rubbing his back in a soothing manner, trying to calm him down. “Once we get him to Nurse Redheart, maybe then we'll get some answers.” Rainbow Dash flew ahead slightly before flying back. “At least we don't have much farther to go. We're only a few yards from the edge of the forest.” Applejack began pulling the cart again. “Well then, let's get to it.” As the group exited the forest and, Twilight kept glancing at the stallion. She didn't want to scare anypony, but the magic she was sensing off of him was...different. It wasn't evil, but it was just different. As she looked the pegasus over again, something clicked. She felt like she had seen him before. The black coat, the silver mane with the red stripe, and the short silver tail with the tip highlighted red. It was a strong feeling of deja-vu that was too insistent to ignore. When they get to Nurse Redheart, hopefully all of their questions would be answered. Twilight only hoped it wasn't a mistake to save his life. to be continued
Chapter 3(The Present) The journey from the Everfree Forest took quite a bit of time since they had to slow down and walk beside Applejack. After all, she was the one pulling the cart with an unconscious stallion in the back. The mood was a little somber and tense, the sight of the dead and charred ponies was still fresh in the group of pony's mind. Every once and awhile, some of them would cast a glance at the black stallion. Rarity, who was walking behind the cart, just stared at the pony. Every time she studied the pegasus, she got an overwhelming sense of deja-vu, like she has seen the pony before. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but something about his dark colors of black, silver and red just seemed to stir up an old memory that was just out of her reach. This feeling was shared along with the other mares. “Uuugghhh, why can't I shake this feeling?! Why does he look familiar?!” All eyes turned to Rainbow Dash, who was currently hovering over the black, fedora wearing stallion with her hooves pressed against her head and an annoyed look on her face. Apparently, she had decided to voice what everypony else was thinking. “I'm not the only pony who thinks this pegasus looks familiar, right?” “I know what you mean Dash. It feels like I've met him before.” Twilight spoke. “But I just can't remember where.” “Oh my, have we all met him before?” Fluttershy spoke in her quiet voice. Applejack glanced back at the yellow pegasus. “Ah think we have, but Ah just can't remember where.” Twilight then shook her head. “It doesn't matter right now if we've met him before or not, let's just get him to the hospital before.” “Right!” The rest of the group spoke. XXXX The rest of the journey to Ponyville was rather uneventful, except for the occasional groan or mumble from the unconscious black coated pegasus. As they walked through the town square to get to the hospital, they began to catch the attention of a few ponies who were there, since most stands were in the square. Some merely looked at the group and then continued on with their business, others actually tried to get close to the cart to get a good look at the stallion before Rarity and Pinkie Pie shooed them away. As they were approaching the Ponyville Hospital, a white Earth pony mare with a pink mane rolled into a bun with a matching tail and blue eyes that was wearing a nurse's hat stood at the opened entrance. Her cutie mark was a red cross that had a pink heart in each angle and the mark was also on her hat. The nurse pony immediately went over to the group of ponies and began to question them while examining the stallion. “How long has he been out?” Twilight shook her head. “I don't know, he was out cold when we found him.” Nurse Redheart began to unwrap the now slightly red stained gauze around the stallion's wings. “Oh dear.” The charred skin on the wings was beginning to flake off and the nurse swore that she could see some shattered bone fragments sticking out. How this pony was so calm in his sleep was lost on her. “I'm going to need some help moving him.” She called over a stallion and a mare that were standing at the hospital's entrance. The stallion was a unicorn who was a faint tan color with a brown and light brown colored mane. He had on a stethoscope and a doctor's coat, which nearly covered his cutie mark, which was a picture of an syringe that had a red cross on it. Next to him was a Earth pony mare that had a powder blue coat and a mint green mane that was also rolled into a bun underneath a nurse's hat. The hat carried her cutie mark, which was a simple red cross. “Dr. Booster Shot and Nurse Tenderheart, I need your help moving this pegasus.” They both nodded. Dr. Booster Shot's horn began to glow and a stretcher came through the doorway. Nurse Redheart and Tenderheart, with help from Rainbow Dash and Twilight, managed to get the stallion off of the cart and onto the stretcher, where he was properly strapped onto and was quickly carried into the hospital and towards the Emergency Room. XXXX They sat in the lobby waiting for the news on the mysterious stallion's condition. Each one tried to find a way to pass the time. Twilight was busy writing a letter to Princess Celestia about finding the black pegasus, Rainbow Dash, being the active mare she was, was flying circles around the lobby's ceiling with Pinkie Pie watching her, Rarity was reading a fashion magazine and discussing the fashion tips it possessed with Fluttershy, and Applejack had her stetson pulled over her eyes and was lightly dozing. When Nurse Redheart came with a clipboard in her mouth, they all stopped what they were doing and gave her their attention, waiting for her to tell them the stallions current state. Twilight spoke first. “How is he Nurse Redheart?” She was hesitant in answering. “Um, well Ms. Sparkle, his wings have suffered terrible burns and his right wing has three fractures in it, his torso only has minor cuts and bruises, his left shoulder was dislocated, and his front right foreleg and right hindleg only have a bad gash on them. He shouldn't have any permanent after effects when he fully recovers, but it will take him some to heal. But even with these injuries, I can say that he will make a full recovery, though his wings might gain some scarring.” Twilight and her friends were about to sigh in relief when Nurse Redheart spoke up again. “But Ms. Twilight, I need your assistance with something.” Twilight looked confusingly at the still uneasy looking nurse. “What's wrong, isn't he going to be alright?” “Oh don't worry Ms. Sparkle, it's nothing serious....At least I hope not.” The nurse mumbled the last part. “Then what is it?” Nurse Redheart waved all of them to follow her. After the short walk to a room located near the ER, the nurse led the group of Element bearers to what could only be described as being a head tilter. On a medical table, Dr. Booster Shot was holding the still unconscious black pegasus down with all of his weight while Nurse Tenderheart had her hindlegs on the tables edge with the pegasus's head between her rear hooves while the her fore hooves gripped onto the stallion's black fedora. She was yanking on the hat, which for some very strange reason, wasn't coming off of the stallion's head. “Nurse Tenderheart! Please stop doing that!” She stopped pulling on the hat. “But Nurse Redheart, it won't come off. And I can't think of any other way to get it off.” Nurse Redheart sighed. “Just refrain from trying to forcefully remove it from his head. You're going to add a hurt neck to his injury list.” She then turned her gaze towards the unicorn stallion that stood silently by the table's side. “Dr. Shot, why didn't you simply use your magic to get the hat off.” The stallion shrugged. “I can't.” “You mean magic can't get it off?” Dr. Booster Shot shook his head. “No. I mean that I can't even get magic near it without getting repelled.” Twilight and the others, meanwhile, were busy studying the black pegasus until what Dr. Shot said caught their attention. Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?” Dr. Shot looked at the unicorn. “Whenever I try to levitate the hat or try to scan, it feels as though there is some sort of wall blocking it.” Rarity's eyes suddenly widened as a realization came to her. “Wait, let's see if I got this right. The hat won't come off by any physical force, correct?” Dr. Shot nodded. “And it feels as though there is some sort of barrier around it?” Again, Dr, Shot nodded. Rarity's eyes began to sparkle with giddiness. “Then I know exactly why his fedora won't come off.” She then cantered quickly trotted over to the black stallion's form and placed a hoof on his fedora. “Although the practice is not very well known and not used very often, it has been a fashion trend for unicorns to put an enchantment on their clothes, specifically headwear, in order to keep them from falling off. It also allows you to add a colored glow and change the clothing's color.” She then gave a small confused look at the fedora. “But it shouldn't be hard to remove the enchantment if you're a unicorn. Especially since this stallion is a pegasus. Let me see...” Rarity's horn began to glow as a tendril of energy began to form and cover the fedora. Only after a few seconds, the horn stopped glowing and Rarity's confused look increased. “That's strange, the enchantment is a lot stronger than a normal one, and there are a lot of other spells woven into the hat. I can't seem to identify them.” “She was taken from me...” Rarity jumped back in surprise as the stallion began to talk in his sleep again. Everypony's eyes were now trained on him. “I will get her back...Charon...if its the last thing I do...” Rarity tsked. “Poor dear. I hope he'll be alright.” The black pegasus then rolled over in his sleep until his hooves were now pointed towards the main group. The movement gave them all a good view of his cutie mark, which was no longer covered in mud. It made a few of them look on with their heads tilted. His cutie mark was a pendant of silver with a ruby in the middle. There were small holes around the ruby in a circle. Applejack gave a low whistle. "Never seen a cutie mark like that before. Ah wonder wha' his special talent is.” Twilight stepped forward towards the stallion. “We can figure that out later Applejack. Right now, we need to figure who he is first.” “You might just get your chance.” Twilight faced Nurse Redheart, who was just entering the room. She didn't even notice that the nurse had left. “I just got a letter from Cloudsdale. It seems that an accident at the weather factory has seriously injured a lot of pegasi. Apparently the supports for a few of the vats containing some highly concentrated rainbow failed and caused the vats to tip over, spilling the rainbow on some workers and pedestrians, giving them severe burns. Cloudsdale Hospital is nearly full after that near-tornado incident, so they will be sending them here by emergency ambulance carriages. I'm afraid that do to the...limited space, we might have to discharge this pegasus you brought in.” Fluttershy, usually timid and quiet, spoke up with urgency in her voice. Whenever it was a pony's health involved, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. “But i-is that wise?” Nurse Redheart gave Fluttershy a reassuring smile. “Don't worry Ms. Fluttershy. I can guarantee that he doesn't have any serious injuries right now. In fact, I'm sure that once the anesthesia wears off, he'll be right as rain. He just needs to keep off of his legs for a few weeks.” Rainbow Dash then flew up and looked at the white coated nurse. “But he'll out for a while, and who'll take care of him till then?” “I will.” Everypony turned to Twilight. “There's more than enough room at the library, and I need to keep an eye on him till Princess Celestia gets here, since she told us to find and present anything we think might of caused that magical surge in the Everfree Forest.” “Ah agree with Twilight. 'Sides, Ah can't have Applebloom and her friends pokin' him with a stick every time Ah leave the room.” Every one of the Element Bearers nodded in agreement. (The Past) A scowling Revenant Hunter with an equally scowling Fleur de Lis stood in front of a line of very sheepish looking colts and fillies. The black colt closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and quietly counted to ten before reopening his eyes. “Okay, now I want you to tell me why you guys disappeared for the entire day, before finally reappearing , only to spy on me and Fleur again while we were enjoying a nice dinner.” Eclipse suddenly stood up. “We just wanted to see if you two actually had feelings for each other. That's all~.” Fleur de Lis gave a large sigh before addressing the red and gold colored filly. “Eclipse, how many times are Rev and I going to tell you silly ponies that we are not in love with each other?” Sky Runner smirked, his vermillion eyes now filled with mirth. “Why don't you two prove that you are not in love?” Rev faced the colt. “And how do you expect us to prove that?” Sky Runner's eyes were now twinkling. “Why don't you two just kiss each other.” Fleur blushed slightly, her attention now on the pegasus. “...What?” “If you don't have feelings for each other, then this shouldn't be a problem.” “But it's just so...improper-” “Proper-shmoper, just do it.” Fleur looked at Rev. Even though it couldn't be seen, he was blushing as badly as she was. They both knew that if they didn't do it, their friends wouldn't be satisfied, but if they did, it would their first kiss for both of them. Rev, quickly discovering a loophole in Sky's demand, decided to make the first move, leaned forward and kissed Fleur on her soft cheek. Fleur, with wide open eyes, became rigid for a second, before repeating Rev's action, though her movements were more stiff and hesitant. They gazed into each others eyes before Rev finally shook his head and looked back at the somewhat awestruck group in front of them. “Satisfied?” They nodded in unison. “Then scatter.” Maverick, Rain Dance, and Star Searcher immediately left. Eclipse flashed an apologetic smile before also getting up and leaving. Sky Runner gave them both a suspicious look, then nodded and left. Rev and Fleur watched as their friends left, their stances radiating endless confidence and a little bit of indifference. But once Sky disappeared around the corner and was out of sight, they both gave huge sighs of relief and sat down, large blushes on their faces. Fleur looked at Rev. “I hope we never have to do that again.” Rev gave her an unreadable look with a brow raised. Fleur de Lis, realizing her mistake, began to stutter an apology as she waved her hooves. “I-I mean, I hope we don't kiss again, I mean, not that there is anything wrong with kissing, but I-” Revenant dropped the look and gave a small laugh. “No worries, Fleur, I know what you meant.” Fleur de Lis sighed in relief. “Though I gotta say, you're cute when you become a stuttering mess.” Fleur, with a burning blush on her face, lightly smacked Rev on the shoulder. “Quiet you.” to be continued
