A Viper's Nest

“What did you do?!” Hunter rounded on Blitz, who stepped back. He was shaking with anger, his face failing to hide the pain he felt. He thought that whatever Blitz had done had ended up killing Azure.

“The poison was hidden in the chair! But it was just to make her sick, not kill her!” Blitz protested. That chair had purposefully been left open; when the assassin sat in it, a small needle had discreetly injected a small dosage. There was no way it had killed Azure, though.

“So what” Hunter hissed “she just died for no reason? That’s bullshit!” He gently let Azure’s body fall to the ground and advanced menacingly toward Blitz, who was cornered.

“I don’t know!” Blitz answered. She pulled out a slender knife, intending to intimidate Hunter but only succeeding in forcing him to draw his own, larger knife. She suddenly realized that she could well die here.

“Enough!” a voice boomed from behind Hunter. As he whirled around, Blitz breathed a sigh of relief. Hunter now stood face to face with Princess Luna of Equestria. The party guests were being escorted out by the Night Guard behind her. At first he simply glared at her, but her stare was enough to convince him to back down. “She did not commit the deed.” Luna finished.

“Then who?” Hunter snarled.

“The assassin’s handler, a mage by the name of Hidden Flame. He works for the Earl on more… discreet matters.” Luna replied disdainfully.

“Her name was Gentle Lotus” Hunter fought back his emotions, composing his face into a mask. Not many knew her true name; Hunter had only heard her use it once. “And she was forced into it.”

“We know. And we will ensure that the appropriate measures are taken.” Luna responded. “In the meantime, you have received payment and completed your duties. My sister will see you in the morning.”

“As if! I want the handler in chains, now!” Hunter shot back. Luna simply looked at him as if he were crazy. Rather than reply, she turned to Blitz.

“Report, Special Agent Blitz.” Luna ordered. Blitz bowed slightly.

“Threat posed by assassin was neutralized and she proving cooperative under interrogation” Blitz answered “but expired of unknown causes.” Luna nodded sagely.

“Flame was watching her. When you took her aside, he crushed her heart with magic.” Luna replied gravely. Hunter’s anger welled up again.

“Where is he?” He hissed.

“He is in custody.” Luna replied curtly. She recognized the bloodlust in Hunter’s eyes, and was resolved to keep him from murdering Flame. They still needed him alive, after all. “And no, you cannot see him.”

“I don’t want to see him” Hunter responded viciously “I want to torture and kill that son of whore.”

“We need him alive, for now” Luna answered calmly “so I must decline.” Hunter shook his head.

“I can’t believe this. I’m out of here.” He gently picked up Azure’s body and teleported away, leaving the Princess and Blitz alone.

“I feel his pain” Luna sighed “so much anguish.”

“Did he… love her?” Blitz asked cautiously, not sure if she even wanted to know. She wasn’t a mage, but even she could feel the emotions that had emanated from the grieving bounty hunter.

“Yes, he did” Luna replied mournfully, bowing her head in sadness “as a mother figure.  I don’t know if you were aware, but Hunter grew up as an orphan. He bounced around foster homes until he disappeared.”

“I… I didn’t know that.” Blitz replied softly.

“Few do” Luna responded “and only he knows the whole story.”

Hunter worked for several hours to dig a hole large and deep enough for Azure’s body. He had found a small oak tree, just outside the city in a wild area, which lay near a creek. He felt that she would appreciate the beauty here; she had always liked nature.

He betrayed no emotion as he laid her to rest in the shadow of the oak tree.

Hunter woke up to sunlight streaming onto his face. He had fallen asleep shortly after burying his fallen mentor. As he stood up, the previous night’s events came flowing back to him. He tried to muzzle his emotions, but rage still managed to sneak past. Hidden Flame was the target of his ire.

Walking sleepily, he headed back toward the palace. The Princesses had some explaining to do. The walk to the palace was a blur, as his anger grew. At first the guards attempted to stop him, but then they recognized him as Celestia’s agent. They allowed him into the palace grounds, where he stomped toward the gardens.

He saw Celestia standing alone in the same spot he had met her. As he moved toward her, she turned to face him with a look of sadness clear in her eyes.

“Hunter, I’m so sorry…” she began before Hunter abruptly cut her off.

“I don’t care. I want answers now.” He snarled, startling the Princess. Celestia sighed.

“Ask away.” She told him.

“Why did the Earl do this?” Hunter pressed on “How did he get her, and where is Lily?”

“The Earl was found dead” Celestia replied “because he was a scapegoat. Someone else was pulling the strings, and they managed to fool my intelligence officers.”

“Who? Tell me!” Hunter snapped.

“I don’t know yet.” Celestia shrugged. Hunter snorted violently.

“So you haven’t got anything. You have no clue!” he shouted. Celestia sighed deeply and looked away.

“I assume by Lily, you mean her daughter” Celestia said softly as Hunter sat down on the ground.

“Yeah, she’s what, thirteen now?” Hunter quivered with anticipation. “Where is she?”

“I’m sorry, but she was killed by the same assassin who killed Thunder.” Celestia flinched as Hunter cried out in anguish.

“That’s just fantastic. Everyone is dead.” He cursed violently and slumped over. They had nothing left now; they were beaten at every turn.

“We still have Hidden Flame,” Celestia replied evenly “but he was being mind-controlled.”

“Mind control?” Hunter stood up quickly, ignoring the mental static that followed the rapid blood flow.

“Indeed” Celestia intoned gravely “it only works on more weak-minded individuals, which explains why Azure was not controlled, but blackmailed instead. Flame, on the other hand, was a weakling through and through.”

“So let me guess; he doesn’t know anything useful.” Hunter sighed, smacking his forehead with his palm. They had no leads now.

“Unfortunately, you are right.” Celestia nodded.

“But we have another lead.” Blitz interjected as she walked up behind Hunter. He looked at Blitz with hollow eyes.

“And what would that be?” he asked with no real conviction in his voice. It was almost painful for Blitz to hear how much emotion was roiling beneath the false front he put on.

“Not many mages can cast control spells of that magnitude” Blitz replied, trying to infuse her statements with an optimism she didn’t really feel “so we just need to find out which one did it.”

Celestia nodded. “Princess Twilight has already rounded up all of the main suspects here in Canterlot.”

“Four mages, to be exact, but none of them have any motive” Blitz elaborated “meaning that our information specialists will have their work cut out for them to figure out which one is guilty, and who they were working for.”

“Information specialists” Hunter sneered “Just call them torturers and get over it.”

“It doesn’t matter how we get the information” Blitz shot back “Just that we find out who ordered the contract.”

“Hunter,” Celestia locked eyes with him “Can I count on you to help with this?” She was expecting him to flash his devilish smile, or at least show some charisma. But Hunter simply nodded and walked away.

“He’s with us, for better or worse.” Blitz commented dryly. Celestia sighed and watch her walk after Hunter.

“Princess Celestia?” Twilight Sparkle’s voice interrupted her stream of thought. The young princess had come up beside her while she had been thinking.

“Yes Twilight?” Celestia smiled warmly at her student, who managed a weak smile in return.

“Are you sure about this?” Twilight asked pensively.

“I’m not” Celestia admitted “but I don’t see another way out.” Twilight nodded in agreement as the two Princesses left the gardens for the privacy of Celestia’s office.