Twilight swallowed hard as she reached out a hand. While the creatures were terrifying, they didn’t seem to mean her any harm, and they were her only lead at the moment. Her fingers clasped around the handle of the cane and the pistol, the smooth wood feeling odd in her grip.

And then, her horn burst to life.

Twilight levitated off of the ground for a few moments, her eyes glowing bright white as visions filled her mind. She saw another human, dressed like her on the hill. He was inspecting the cane, and then lashed out in a diagonal strike, causing the flowers before him to bend.

The background changed as he rolled away. A large, fiery maw came within inches of his body, flames licking at the now black garb he wore. He shot forward, jumping onto the creature’s head and plunging the staff deep into the hell hound’s eye. Magma gushed out of the molten rock skin of the beast as small embers in the air collected around the creature. Twilight landed back on her feet as the dog erupted, launching the other hunter.

She swayed as he got up, gripping the staff with both hands now. The man whipped around, smashing the handle into a bat creature’s face. The thing backed away, it’s gray body held up by it’s wings. Another of the things came at the man, but he switched back to one handed and thrust back, impaling the monster’s face with the pointed end.

He then looked up, pulling out the pistol as the background changed again. Now he was in what looked like an abandoned cathedral with large columns in the background keeping up the vaulted ceiling. Twilight’s eyes burned as she saw what he looked at. It was a large, almost skeletal creature, that stood almost twice as tall as the man. It had a blood soaked rag on it’s head, and it’s whole body was a deep, dark red. It raised one claw, staring at the man with small, red eyes. A loud bang echoed in the room, and the gun fired a single round into the things chest, just before Twilight’s vision went out.

More lessons tried to fill Twilight’s head as searing pain ran through it. She could see nothing as she stumbled down the hill, words like threaded cane and hunter’s pistol filling her mind. She fell backwards and felt her back slam into something hard and straight. The back of her skull made a loud crack as it made contact with the stone slab, and she slumped forward, her mind finally at rest, just before her body faded away.

======+++++======

Twilight fell from the medical table this time, awakening with a start. She kept low as her horn glowed unconsciously and she drew her cane, watching the corners of the room, her heart hammering in her ears. No noise came though, not from the sickroom that she had first awoken in.

She took another moment to make absolute certain it was indeed the place that she had known before and shook. She knew this couldn’t be the same place, because that had been just a dream. A dream where she had… Twilight violently shook her head before stumbling forward, slowly making her way to the stairs. In the middle of them though, were five gouges, and a large bloodstain.

Her knees buckled, and she simply stared at it. She tried remember making it. Tried remembering the beast’s final attack, but couldn’t. All she knew was that she had indeed died. Twilight stretched out one hand and touched the patch. Pulling her hand away, the blood came with it.

Her eyes flashed red for a moment as her horn let out another magical burst, and she saw the eyes of the wolf as it bore down on her. How she had been paralyzed. How she had died.

A chill ran through her, just before a warmth appeared in her pocket. Twilight numbly reached back and pulled out a smooth, amber stone. It had one line going straight down the middle, and two branching, straight lines that went from the middle, to the edges, of the circle. It’s warmth was quickly fading, and she turned it over to examine the other side. Simply inscribed were the words, The mark of a hunter. Meant to make sure that you never have to fail in your hunt.

Staring at the mark caused her to pause. She didn’t know when she had obtained it, or why it had even appeared. She was no hunter. She was a princess, and a scholar. She had fought things in the past, but only in defense of her country and her friends. Not as a job. She glanced at the cane that was still held firm in her hand, and shook her head. She was here in defense of her country and friends, so fighting was what she had to do.

Her horn stopped glowing as she stood up. Glancing at the light beyond, she could hear her prey. A low growl, a small snarl, and deep breathing. It waited for her. She tried to summon a barrier to prepare herself with, but none came. Her magic was still gone from her, at least, from what she could tell.

She swung the cane once in front of her, feeling the balance of the stiff staff, and nodded to herself. It would have to do.

The beast turned to her as she entered the room. More medical tables awaited her, along with a large bloodstain that covered the floor. For a moment, they stared at each other before her eyes flashed purple, and it lunged.

Twilight rolled away from it, putting a table between her and the beast before letting out a weak stab that barely cut the beast, It snarled and swung a claw, sending the table across the room. This time, Twilight attempted to mimic the visions, and swung the cane. The wood struck hard against the lycan’s face, and it stepped back. Twilight struck it with a horizontal slash this time, and a large gout of blood came over her and the beast as the sharpened edge made its way through the creature’s nose.

Twilight could hear her heart hammering in her ears as she raised the cane one more time, hoping the next cut would end it. The wolf growled and surged forward, shoving its skull against Twilight’s ribcage and sending her back. She could feel the pain of the blow and grit her teeth, tears coming to the edges of her eyes. The stamping of the beast came ever closer, and she simply thrust forward. Blood coated her prone body, but the claws never came. In fact, as the blood made its way onto her, she even felt a bit better.

Opening her eyes though, that feeling quickly left. Her hand was in the beast’s mouth, its large teeth only centimeters from her arm. Blood was dripping onto her from the top of the creature’s head though, where she could see gray matter painting her weapon. She forced her gag reflex back as she pulled her weapon free and the weight of the monstrosity fell upon her. After another minute of pushing, she was free, and panting on the floor.

Her limbs burned as the adrenaline left her and she could feel the stress behind her eyes. She simply wanted to lay there, recover, and try to figure out what in Equestria was going on. “No. You're not going to figure this out with simple thinking, Twilight. You need… you need answers. And that means finding people.”

Slowly, Twilight made her way to the door the lycan had been guarding, and turned the handle. She found herself in a town cemetery, with headstones all about herself, and gravel causing each of her footsteps to sink a bit. She felt a chill run through her, but shook it off. Something like this wasn’t about to stop her after what had just happened.

She came up to one of the two metal gates that were a part of the surrounding fence and gave it a push. A screeching filled the quiet air, and her she could feel her bones as her body shook from the resonance. The moment it was wide enough for her to slip through, she did, and her ears thanked her for it.

Stepping out, Twilight found herself on a cobblestone street, just above a large town below her. It stretched outwards, and she spent a moment at the railing of the street, admiring the setting sun. A tear came to her eyes as she stared, imagining Celestia as she lifted the globe of fire. She knew better than that, and soon turned away from the painful sight.

Walking down the narrow street though, she quickly found another gate. Trying this one, it refused to budge, no matter how hard she pulled. She spotted a lever on the other side and tried to focus her magic It only brought a sharp pain crashing through her skull. She shut her eyes, and didn’t open them until she was turned to the right, where she saw a man next to a carraige. “E-excuse me, sir?”

The man looked up, a cleaver in one hand and a torch in the other. His old cloak was in tatters, as well were his loose pants, but what gave Twilight a real reason to pause was the face. It had sunken eyes, and pale skin, with dirt, blood, and grime smothering the head. It opened its mouth and let out a loud yell.

“What happened to yo-” She stopped as the cleaver came up in a diagonal slash. It tore through her front, and this time, her blood covered her enemy as she stepped back. Her eyes went wide as the pain quickly became unbearable. She clutched at her now exposed chest as warm liquid ran down her front and took another step back, just before the cleaver came down once more.

Author's Note

So, there is a lot to cover with Twi in the beginning, so it may be a bit before we can do a lot more clear cut comment stuff, but the first one, and decided at ten votes, is
A)Trust
B)Mistrust