Hard Truths

  The trip to the Pie family farm was short and very quiet. Except for the shadow specter, who started thrashing about again when they were halfway there, nopony made any sound.

  Once they reached the outskirts of the farm, Cloudy Quartz stopped. "I'll deal with this thing real quick, then join you. Go ahead and start before I catch up, we don't have time to wait around. She needs to know, and she needs to know immediately."

  Igneous Rock nodded as he continued forward, after a moment's hesitation, Nightmare followed. Nothing was said for a while longer. Then Igneous stopped. The farmhouse was now just in front of them, and to the side, a barn Nightmare was pretty sure the family put their mined rocks until they went into town.

  Igneous turned to her, his eyes revealing no emotion as he said, "First thing before setting hoof in my home. Ghosts and many other legendary creatures are real, and there are those who hunt them. Hunters take pride in their work, and they tend to keep trophies of caught prizes they find significant. So, that being said, do not freak when you see what's inside."

  Nightmare raised an eyebrow at him. "You are aware I grew up in Dark Canterlot, right? I have lived through quite some shit. 'Sides, I been dealing with these baddies for the last two days. Kinda reached the point where I've gripped the supernatural."

  The rock farmer examined her for a few seconds, then shrugged. "Alright," he replied, reaching up and opening the door.

  Even though she had braced herself, Nightmare was still caught off guard by what she saw. Body parts of various creatures the unicorn mare had only heard whispers about, as well as strange, cylindrical containers that one could see though, and inside said containers were strange glowing things.

  The thing most prominent, though, was the giant beast that hung above the family's fire place. It vaguely reminded Nightmare of something, it wasn't until it's face came into view she realized what it was.

  "A draconequus?"

  The relative of Discord had been gutted then stuffed. Its face was twisted in eternal horror, having been screaming in pain when it was struck down. A few red spots were mixed in with its dark brown fur.

  Igneous nodded, his gaze also drawn to the famous animal. "Yes. The draconequus race was far too powerful and mischievous to keep alive. The only untouchable one is Discord, and that is under the princess' orders. Other than that, the troublemakers were free game. The truth has, of course, been hidden from Discord. He must never know the things his race did, nor about the silent war with had with them. We have to protect Equestria after all."

  Nightmare shrugged, although she didn't know the full story, she could guess. It probably was a good idea to keep something like this from a devious creature like the Spirit of Disharmony. "Ah, I see. Well, I suppose the non-dead monsters would be easiest to start off with, at least in my opinion, since we're already discussing one."

  The brown earth pony shook his head. "Do not be fooled by their appearance. Draconequus are actually spirits. That 'Spirit of Disharmony' thing is more literal than anypony besides Hunters and the princesses will ever know. Not even Discord himself is aware he's not an actual living thing. All part of the top secret information."

  Nightmare hmmed and continued to stare at the spirit over the fireplace. "But wait. How were you able to stuff it then?" she questioned.

  Igneous seemed to contemplate the answer for a second. "You see, though draconequui are not technically living, they can create bodies for themselves. Very few did it, for the bodies were, unfortunately, not exactly pretty. They only went into them when they got really bored. We just caught this one by chance, and my family is lucky to have too. Only those with connection to all three tribes can really defeat one in spirit form. Unfortunately, the number of ponies who can have been either killed or cursed by one of the extremely powerful beings they've fought. See, there was only one family left who we knew had a fighting chance against the times coming, but sadly, so did the mastermind who thought it all up."

  Nightmare did not need to be a mind reader to know who that family was. "The Stalkers. I'm the only hope left to face things like draconequus, aren't I? But how? When you say three tribes, I assume you mean the pony tribes, earth, pegasus, and unicorn. How could that be though? Only alicorns have those things, and I can assure you, I am no alicorn."

  Igneous was thinking about how to answer again, obvious from the hoof he raised to his muzzle. "Well, not technically, but you do have the potential to be one, if you really wanted to, you could turn yourself. It would cost you a lot, though. Then again, you could just trade in your sister's soul, which is sorta what you took in the womb. You would be twice as powerful as one princess alone when it comes to magic, for your sister had the same connections to the tribes as you. Twice the power, especially when it comes to unicorns. Pegasus and Earth, however, get more out of flight and strength. It's all rather complicated, and there are things even the most close of friends to these families cannot know."

  Nightmare took in what he was saying, slightly shocked. Not only was it difficult to imagine having the ability to become twice as powerful as a princess, but the thought she had her sister's soul...she knew she had her sibling's power, but the idea of her holding back one of her family from reaching the afterlife...it was all too crazy, even for her.

  She was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of hoofsteps coming down a set of stairs. Igneous and Nightmare looked over to see two adult earth ponies heading towards them.

  One was smoke grey with a mane and tail that were a much darker grey, and she sported purple eyes. Her cutie mark was some type of shimmering purple rock carved into the shape of a book with an inkwell and quill next to it. The pony next to her was a muted purple, and she had a soft grey mane and tail, with yellow eyes. The mark on her flank consisted of a boulder with a chisel and hammer crossed like an x in front of it.

  The grey one gasped. "Dad, you didn't say we had a guest! What are we going to do now that she's seen everything?" Igneous smiled slightly at his two daughters. "Don't worry girls, she's another Hunter. At least, she will be. Limestone, Marble, this is Nightmare Stalker. Nightmare, these are my daughters, Limestone and Marble. I have two more, but one is out in the field right now, and the other is an Element, and resides in Ponyville."

  Ever since Disco had uttered the name Pie, something had been bugging Nightmare. She knew she had heard the name before, but couldn't place it. Now, she realized why.

  "Of course! Pinkie Pie! The Element of Laughter! No wonder she's able to laugh at everything, no matter how frightening. She used to be a Hunter, I'm guessing. It would make sense, considering the stories about her weird antics and attitude."

  Igneous's smile widened a bit, and his eyes glazed over as he was transported to the past. "Ah, yes. My youngest. She always did have that spark her great-grandma Tiger Eye had. Things always used to be more serious around here, until she finally brought a little happiness to this gloomy place. Even with our line of work, she never lost her joyful disposition."

  He was drawn from his memories at the sound of a throat clearing. Everypony looked over to see Quartz in the doorway, a cylinder much like the ones on the wall in her mouth. Setting it down carefully, she said, "We had better get her training going immediately. This Shadow Speaker was definitely up the ranks, which means he'll be sending more powerful ones our way. Ones only she could probably deal with. Maybe even his parents."

  Nightmare was getting a smidge tired of hearing such references to her apparent opponent. "Alright, who the hell are you all talking about? Everypony keeps calling the guy who killed my family he or him. In case you missed it, I know very little about what I'll have to face, unless I have a choice in the matter..."

  Simultaneous shaking heads confirmed her fears. There was no escaping whoever was after her. Well, this is just pinky keen, she thought, sighing.

  The Pie family began exchanging looks, and Nightmare got the feeling they were deciding who would train her first. After all, they must each have a certain area they're better at each, and they needed to teach her all of them to the best of their abilities.

  Then a thought occurred. "Wait...if I have a connection with all three tribes, does that mean I can use all their abilities to an extent?" This shook the family out of their silent communication.

  Quartz moved inside and closed the door behind her before turning back to Nightmare. "Yes, it does. After your earth pony training here, you will seek out Stormy Winds, a pegasus who chases freak storms and disasters that pop up sometimes due to Weather Throwers. Then, you'll go to Flash Specter, a unicorn who can help with your magical problems. Hopefully in time for the Summer Sun Celebration. That's when our enemy is planning his attack. Now, I believe it right Marble begin your training. She can show you all the things you might face, as well how to possibly deal with them. Next, Limestone can teach you how to find your perfect weapon and wield it. Then, Maud will help you get in some practice. Afterward, Igneous and I will take you out into the field and see how you do. If we feel you're ready, we'll approve you to go learn the pegasus way to catch ghosts and other things."

  Everypony seemed ok with the arrangement, although Nightmare was still troubled by all this sudden change. Events had spiraled so out of control in just under forty-eight hours, and she had so much more to do, and so little time.

  Before she could think about it any more, Marble whisked Nightmare toward the stairs.

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  Nightmare flipped to the next page, entranced by what she was reading. On this one was a hairy creature that stood above even Celestia, with a snarling mouth and sharp fangs.

Name: Werewolf

Lifespan: 30-40 years.

Bio:

Werewolves started out in Germaney, when a magical accident fused together a wolf and a tall, bipedal creature whose name was lost in history. The beast then went crazy, attacking everything in sight, leaving nopony alive in its path of destruction. We found no way to counter this animal till it reached Pisa, located just at the border between Equestria and the Griffin Empire. Here, the griffins, who are far more advanced in war compared to most of us ponies, easily killed the beast with a sword made of a special silver mined only inside the Talosian Range. When it was found that there were more, we Hunters were quick to catch one and experiment on it to find out if all silver worked on it. Brutal, but necessary.

Strengths: Extremely agile, strong, and has claws and teeth that are sharper than a manticore's

Weaknesses: Inability to use many brain functions, regular silver can cause severe damage, Talosian silver will kill

Sidenotes: Aggressive attitude makes it hard to predict. Steer clear of using close range weapons. Gun or bow more preferable.

  Nightmare glanced over at Marble, who had her own muzzle in a book. "So, these are some of things you've fought, eh?"

  Marble looked up and nodded before putting her attention back on the book. Shrugging, Nightmare followed suit.

Name: Shadow Speaker

Lifespan: Unknown

Bio:

Shadow Speakers have been around since the founding of the Eldenine Council. No one is quite sure where they came from, but Sombra's mother and father are suspected. When a being who is capable of truly utilizing dark magic, whether they know it or not, dies, their shadows rise from them and gather all other shadows around it. It takes the general shape of the one it came from, and is capable of killing rather quickly. Extremely hard to spot, Shadow Speakers have always been one of the most difficult for Hunters to catch. Each has its own power level, depending on what their original owners could do.

Strengths: Quick, agile, sneaky, swift, and smart on their hooves

Weaknesses: Limited power source, easy to spot in daylight, hate light

Sidenotes: Trying to sneak up or surprise them is futile. They can sense others shadows, and know if a pony is aware of their presence. Spectral Power Net or Screaming Light preferred tools.

  Nightmare's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "The Eldenine Council? King Sombra's parents?"

  Marble sighed as she set down her book. "Yes, the Sombra family ties into the spirits and monsters we fight quite a lot. Only the Council is privy to how, but I'm sure as the last known Tresibe, you will eventually learn about it."

  The unicorn glanced down at the picture of the specter before her. "Who is this Council? What's the purpose of one? To me, it seems silly to gather a bunch of ponies and make a group that holds back information that could help Hunters."

  Marble scanned the small library of books that were set up on the far wall of her room. "Several Hunters agree with you, but the Council was formed long before our birth. Nopony is quite sure exactly why or how. Hell, before the Age of Sombra, everything about the spirits and such is a black hole. A shitload of information was lost with the ages. Ah, here we are," she said, abruptly cutting off her speech. She hauled out a huge, old leather book and brought it over, laying it before Nightmare. The plain brown cover was blank and crinkled, showing that it was ancient.

  "This is all the information about the Council, as well as the Tresibe families. You should be careful, though. Some things are better left unread."

  Nightmare nodded thanks as Marble went back to her apparently riveting book. Grabbing hold of the crinkly cover, Nightmare opened the book to the table of contents.

  The information about the Council was on the very first page, and Nightmare prepared to flip to it, but then something caught her eye. It was the Tresibe family lines. Now, Nightmare was no fool. She knew that Tresibe meant Three Tribes, and that all these families were gone, killed supposedly by curses. But still, she couldn't resist spotting the one line that still might have a chance.

Skulker  378

Slaughter  387

Smashins  395

Spooks  407

Stalkers  416

Surgelings  424

Tacent  431

  Of course, it helped that it was the only one underlined and not crossed out.

  Not even trying to fight off her curiosity, Nightmare flipped to page 416 and began to read.

Ah, and here we reach the cunning Stalkers. This is a bloodline much more about brains than bronze. They helped make many a weapons to fight off the growing invasion threat. Why, if not for them, Hunters would technically be extinct. The other families are still confused as to why they help the lesser. Maybe for tactical advantage, or perhaps they aren't as heartless as they let on. Perhaps we weren't even meant to discover their tech.

In any case, the Stalkers are like a combination of the Skulkers and Tacents. Silent, swift, and deadly, they are the best of the best when it comes to unconventional captures. Shadow Commanders are one of their top prey, and that is quite amazing really. Then again, we are talking about a Tresibe family here. I am simply a humble traveling pegasus Hunter with not much time in the field. Unfortunately, all the catching talent went to my old brother....well, enough about me.

As I was saying, the Stalkers are indeed a high-ranking family. Some say that stupid Council has even offered them spots. Dumbass Eldenine, they should know better than to do something like that. It's upset the balance greatly, and now their precious Stalkers are going out to fight her. I have my doubts they'll come out scott free. This a whole new ballgame now.

¥¥¥

I was right. The Stalkers are gonna fall quickly, and it is the Council's fault. Now, that family has been cursed by-