Night of the Hunt

Willow awoke with a start. Groaning, she twisted her body and stretched her limbs one by one on the bed, her eyes still closed. She let out a sigh, snuggling deeper into the soft, silky sheets of the bed she laid on. Upon opening her eyes, they immediately widened to their full size. She bolted upright to a sitting position, aware of the fact that this place was not her home at all.

Oh, I guess everything that happened wasn’t a dream, she sighed and stared down at the covers. “What am I gonna do now?”

Before she could wallow in her self pity any longer, the door to the chamber was pushed open, and in walked none other than Noctus.

“Willow, are you awake?” he asked, walking towards the bed.

“Yeah, no shit,” she muttered in reply, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “What does it look like to you?”

“I mean are you fully awake?” he groaned, “Come, get up. Sanguinaire is ready to-” he stopped, examining her face. “Have you… been crying?”

Willow felt dry streaks on her muzzle as she rolled out of bed. Her cheeks felt puffy and they were more than likely red; her nose also felt like a dried up river.

“N-no!” she replied indignantly, “I… I haven’t been crying.”

“Yes, you have,” he sighed, “There’s a wash basin in the corner by the bed over there.” He pointed a hoof to the right of the bed, where there was indeed an iron wash basin sitting on top of a wooden pedestal. “Hurry along, now. Sanguinaire asked me to fetch you so she can examine your blood.”

“Fine, alright then,” she groaned as she rolled over to the opposite side of the bed, where the wash basin was.

Rising to her hooves, she stretched her limbs once more, wincing from the dull pain she felt from her left hind leg. She blearily walked over to the bowl and looked inside, as if to expect something other than water. Shrugging, Willow dipped her hooves into the bowl and wet her face. The water was surprisingly cold, but it felt heavenly against her coat.

The sensation suddenly reminded her that she needed a bath. Celestia knows how long it’s been since she’d had one.

“Hey, Nocty?” she asked, looking up from the bowl. Noctus was looking into the fireplace before the name registered in his brain. A loud, eerie creaking sound was heard as he slowly turned to face her, a terrifyingly bemused scowl on his face.

“Can you please stop calling me that?”

“Right well, do you think I can take a bath somewhere?” She asked, completely ignoring the look he was giving her. “I really do need one.”

He shook his head and sighed, realizing there was no hope left for him. “You can’t bathe yet, so I’m afraid whatever stench your body is emanating right now will have to be addressed later. Like I said, we need to get going. Sanguinaire is not one for waiting.”

“Okay, but, can I ask you something first?”

“What?”

“Why are you doing all this for me?”

Noctus stopped and thought for a second before answering. The last thing he wished for was another outburst of anger from Willow, so he would carefully choose his words.

“Because, somepony once told me that doing good can go a long way,” he began, “And that if you try hard enough, eventually other ponies will fall in with your stride, and begin to think the same way you do.”

“I know us Hunters may seem like machines to you,” he said, “But if you take away the weapons and the armor, underneath it all you find a normal being. Right now, the Hunter Order is broken. Lost. Corrupted. And I want to help build a better future. That’s something I hope you can be a part of as well, Willow.”

“I… I guess I could try to,” she tittered. “I mean, I don’t even know if the Council or whatever would even let me stay here! You saw how that old mare treated me.”

“Don’t take offense to that,” he shook his head, “She hates everypony equally. And, in all honesty, she is just doing her job. At least she’s one of the ponies on the Council I can trust.”

Willow arched an eyebrow at that. “Why couldn’t you trust the Council? Isn’t everypony here supposed to, like, respect them?”

“Yes, we are, but that doesn’t mean we have to trust them,” he continued, “Though she’s rough on the outside, I assure you, she only means the best for the Order. Although, I can’t say that for some of the others on the Council.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, don’t trust everypony you meet, Willow,” he warned, furrowing his brow at her, “It’s that sort of naivety that can get ponies killed.”

Willow gained a worried expression on her face. “So then, like, what happens now?”

“I told you already,” he began walking towards the door, “We have to leave. Come.” He nudged open the door and gestured for Willow to exit the room. She sighed, hanging her head as she walked through the door.

Upon entering the familiar hallway, she saw that the two Ravens guarding her were gone. Not wanting to ask where they had gone, she allowed Noctus to walk up beside her before continuing down the hall.

They exited the dormitory section of the castle and into the bustling main hallway. There were other Hunters walking about, chatting idly. Some were dressed in their full gear, masks pulled down below their chins, and weapons strapped to their backs. This time, however, she saw several different Hunters as well.

A burly orange earth pony stallion carried what looked like a huge hammer-like object on his back. A silver unicorn mare walking next to him carried a weapon that looked similar to the one Noctus had, though its blade was longer and looked significantly more difficult to handle. What unsettled her about them was that they were covered head to hoof in blood, yet they acted as if nothing was wrong. Neutral expressions adorned their faces as they walked silently passed Willow.

However, their outfits were slightly different from other ponies’. The garbs they wore were ash gray, as if someone had dumped a sack of ash all over them. Their hunting caps bore tufts at the edges, almost as if they were an extension of their ears.

“Noctus?”

“Yes?” Noctus turned his head towards her.

“Those ponies, they were covered in… in…”

“Blood, yes I’m aware of that,” he replied, “Nopony said hunting beasts was a clean occupation. Everypony gets their hooves dirty at some point. Even Bones killed his fair share, before he became a Healer.”

“And why were their coats all grey?” she asked, “They don’t look like other ponies here. In fact, they look tougher.”

“Grey coats you say?” he arched a brow at her, “Hmm, then those must’ve been a couple of Wolves. Probably returned from a mission.”

“What do you mean by Wolves?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“You never tell me anything!” she whined.

“That’s because you ask too many questions.”

Not much else was said between them as they walked down the main hallway towards Sanguinaire’s lab. Instead of turning into the Dining Hall like they did last time, they kept going straight. And now, Willow got to see more of what the Sanctuary had in store. They passed by several rooms which were reminiscent of lounges, since there would be groups of Hunter sitting around a table chatting idly and drinking from mugs and tankards. Snippets conversations could be heard from all around, and despite the atmosphere of the place, there were even spouts of laughter that broke out. Noctus turned to his right down another corridor; however this one was more barren, and the walls held little in the way of decoration besides the torches that kept the area alit.

There was nothing but a dead end in front, and a door that stood on the right side of the corridor. Two torches hung beside it.

“Here we are,” Noctus said as he pushed open the door.

Immediately upon entering, Willow’s nose scrunching from the pungent odor of cleaning materials and… she left the rest to imagination.

On a stool sat Sanguinaire, an open book in front of her.

“Sanguinaire,” Noctus walked up to her, “I’ve brought her, are we ready to begin?”

She sighed and closed the book. “Yes, let’s begin immediately.” Next to her was a medical tray filled with several instruments. What stood out to Willow was that there was a very big needle sitting there.

And she had the feeling her name was written on it.

Her skin crawled as she stared at it. Sanguinaire used her magic to lift the needle and examined it, making sure it was okay for use. When that was finished, she pulled out a roll of bandages and a gauze pad to cover up the punctured area. “Can you come here so we can begin, please?”

Reluctantly, Willow nodded and stepped towards the table where Sanguinaire waited with the super needle. Almost instantaneously, she could see the horrible childhood flashbacks to when she had to receive her first booster shots as a little filly.

She stopped a few feet in front of Sanguinaire. “Uh, isn’t there some other way we can do this? I mean, do we really have to use that, umm… thing?”

“Yes, we do,” she replied, clearly unamused with the current situation, “Now, if you could please step forward so that I may take a blood sample?”

“A sample?” she asked, her eyes widening. “That thing is huge, ya know! How much do you even need?”

“Enough to determine whether you’ll be allowed to stay here, now if you please,” she said forcefully, “I do not have the time nor the patience to deal with this sort of tomfoolery. Now step forward so that I do not make a mistake.”

Willow felt Noctus nudge her towards Sanguinaire and her giant needle of doom. “Look, can’t we talk about this first?”

“No, we cannot,” she replied, pulling out a large rubber band and used her magic to tighten it beneath Willow’s left foreleg. “I’m only going to draw as much blood as I need.”

“B-But, I don’t think you need a needle that big, do you?”

“Yes, in fact I do,” she replied as she grabbed a cotton ball doused with alcohol, cleaning a spot on Willow’s shoulder. “Now, do hold still. I must hit my mark.”

Sanguinaire used her magic to pick up the needle, pressing the plunger all the way in as she did so.

“W-Wait! I can’t do this!” she yelled, “I absolutely hate needles, ya know!”

Sanguinaire stopped and turned her stone cold gaze over at Noctus, her eyes showing how unamused she was at this.

“And this mare is supposed to be a Hunter?” she shook her head and placed a hoof against her forehead. “Oh by the Huntress…”

Noctus quickly sprung into action. “Willow, do you mind telling me about yourself?” he asked.

“W-What?” she stared at him incredulously. “Why do you need to know about me now?”

“Just give me details about your life,” he gestured her to continue, “I’d like to know more about you.”

“Oh, well, I guess,” she placed a hoof to her mouth, “Well, I was born in a small village outside of Equestria, and when I was about five years old, my parents thought it was a good idea to move to Ponyville since there were more job opportunities, and I- YEEEOWCH!” Willow flinched violently as a burning pain erupted from her shoulder.

“Hold her!” Sanguinaire shouted as she tried to find a major vein. Before Willow could move any further, he placed one hoof on her withers and wrapped the other around her neck.

“Do not move, please,” he muttered into her ear. Willow whimpered in pain as she felt the needle moving around underneath her skin. It was a burning pain, but not as bad as what she experienced in the forest. Her head was beneath Noctus’ chin as he held her in place.

Though she hated the feeling of being poked by a needle, there was something strange about being held like this (even if it was a headlock). She didn’t know what it was, but Noctus holding her like this was… soothing. A blush crept onto her cheeks as Noctus held her in place.

The strong urge to snuggle into the headlock nearly overtook; she did not want to know how Noctus would react trying to cuddle with him.

Willow also resisted the temptation to look at the enormous needle that was currently digging around in her skin, nor did she want to see her blood seeping into the glass tube. A few moments went by, and she felt Sanguinaire remove the needle, placing a piece of gauze over the injection site.

“Noctus, hold that down, please,” she said as she placed the tube down onto a tin tray on the table. Noctus released her from the headlock, shifting his hooves to the gauze while Sanguinaire injected the contents of the tube into an IV connected to a glass vial. After that, she discarded the syringe into a nearby metal bin marked with a piece of masking tape with the word “To Clean” on it.

“There, I have the sample,” she sighed.

“Yes, after the epic struggle,” Noctus grumbled, “How long will it take to get the results?”

“It should not take very long,” she replied as she held the vial in her magical grasp. “All I will have to do is filter the blood through a strainer, cleaning it of any impurities and then I can evaluate the density of the blood.”

“What do you mean by that?” Willow asked.

Sanguinaire cocked an eyebrow at her as she began dressing Willow’s bandage. “It appears I will have to simplify my explanation,” she muttered, finishing up her shoulder, “Hunter blood is far more dense and thick than a mundane’s blood. If the cells within your blood represent that of a Hunter’s, then a Hunter you are, though I fail to see it externally.”

This mare just insulted me, didn’t she? she scowled and then glanced at Noctus, who kept his expression neutral. “So, what happens now? Am I gonna have to play prisoner in Noctus’ bedroom again?”

“I suppose so, but the activities that take place in his bedchambers are entirely up to the both of you,” Sanguinaire said with a sign of snarkiness in her voice, and the tip of her mouth lifting in a way that, if one were feeling generous, might be described as a grin. The quip went completely over Willow’s head, but struck Noctus headon.

“Y-Yes, well I think now is a good time to leave,” Noctus said he began marching Willow over to the door, “I’ll come back soon to ask about the results, Sanguinaire.”

“Very well, Noctus,” she nodded, “I’ll see you soon.”

Noctus then opened the door and Willow passed through him. He gave Sanguinaire one last look before exiting the room.

“Can I ask you something?” Willow queried as they proceeded down the hall towards the dormitory section.

“You just did,” Noctus groaned, rolling his eyes. “But yes, ask away.”

“How come you never said anything about my cutie mark?” she arched a brow at him. “I mean, you never noticed that my butt now looks like a fucking foal’s art project?”

Noctus looked sharply uncomfortable, clearing his throat before replying. “I thought it was rude for a stallion to eye a mare’s flanks.”

“Oh, cut it with that gentlecolt bullshit,” she nudged him violently as they walked, “I know you’re not as stoney as you seem. I’m not that stupid.”

“I never accused you of such,” he retorted, “Listen, even if I did notice that your cutie mark was blemished, I wouldn’t have wanted to alarm you.”

Willow frowned at him. “You should have just told me, ya know.”

“Have you ever had to deal with yourself when you have one of your outbursts?” he asked, returning the look she gave him. Her ears fell and she looked away in shame, avoiding his gaze. A few moments of awkward silence passed between them. Noctus shifted nervously in his hooves, obviously he had crossed some sort of line as Willow looked visibly discouraged. “Forgive me for my sudden remark, Willow. Now, I must ask, are you hungry by any chance? I can imagine it’s been awhile since you’ve had a meal. And you must replace the blood that Sanguinaire extracted from you.”

Now that she thought about it, Willow realized her stomach felt emptier than normal. She’d been so distracted with everything, she hadn’t noticed her stomach voicing its disapproval from time to time.

“Y-yeah,” she nodded, “Some food would be good. It’s been too long since I’ve eaten anything.”

Noctus led her down the Main Hallway back towards where the Dining Hall was located. Upon entering the room, she could see that several other Hunters were seated in the lengthy table. In front of them were plates of what looked like… meat?

Why in the seven rings of Tartarus are they eating meat?!

“Uh, Nocty?” she nudged him with her elbow, “Can you tell me why these ponies are eating meat of all things?”

“Perhaps I should have mentioned that us Hunters consume meat,” he closed his eyes, pressing a hoof against his face, “The answer as to why is simple: proteins. We Hunters need a much higher amount of protein in our diet as compared to a mundane. It fuels our powers in combat. Raw vegetables simply do not have enough of that supplement, and instead of wasting time to come up with an elaborate solution, we thought of a simpler one.”

Willow gulped as she watched the Hunters carve up the slabs of meat in front of them.

“They do have veggies here, right?” she asked, turning slightly green as she watched a particularly vicious Hunter tear into a chunk of cooked flesh. “Please tell me I don’t have to eat this stuff.”

Noctus shook his head. “No, at least not now. For now, I’ll ask them to fix up a salad for you. Please, take a seat, I will return shortly with your food.”

“Well, where do I even sit?” she asked, flicking her head towards the table. “Am I like, even allowed to sit here?”

“Don’t bother them,” he muttered in reply as he began walking towards the kitchen. “And they won’t bother you.”

Willow bit her lip nervously. The other Hunters sitting at the table seemed to be ignoring her; that was good for the time being. She slowly walked up to one of the wooden chairs and used her magic to pull it back.

Carefully, she sat her rump down onto the cushioned chair, her tail poking out from the back. Willow fidgeted in her seat, twiddling her hooves together as she tried her best to avoid the gaze of the other Hunters. A pair of them sat down a few seats away, having an idle conversation about one thing or another. They were both Earth ponies, both of them stallions. One was teal with a green mane and the other was pure white, though there were several visible scars that spotted his neck and face.

Reluctantly, she perked up her ears to try and hear what they were saying.

“Yeah, things are getting rough around here and the Council is too blind and stupid to see it.”

“I’m thinkin’ the Order won’t last much longer with Keg at the ‘elm. Ever since the last Hunt, things have been getting worse and worse. That night lasted a good few months before we were able to get the damn moon to set.”

“Too right, mate. We lost some good boys last year, and this year is no better. Things aren’t looking good out there, mate. From what I’ve heard, we’ve already lost a few Hunters. Some have even gone rogue.”

“Have they now? Damn, and if that ain’t bad enough, we got one of our own bringin’ in an outsider. Now the Order is definitely fallin’ apart. I dunno about you, mate, but I think the Order is gonna collapse soon. And when that ‘appens, the world is right fucked. Without the Order, that moon is gonna stay up there forever.”

Willow continued to listen as they spoke, trying her best to not make it blatant that she was eavesdropping. The last thing she wanted was trouble.

“Hey,” Willow jumped out of her skin as she felt someone touch her shoulder.

“Eep!” she squeaked.

“Relax, it is just me,” she turned around and saw Noctus staring back at her, with two plates of food on his back. One was an elegantly-made salad with chopped tomatoes, onions, and olives. Her stomach growled with anticipation as Noctus slid the plate in front of her.

Then as soon as she saw the cooked and seasoned piece of beef that lay on Noctus’ plate, her stomach pulled a sharp Immelman.

“Are you really gonna eat that in front of me?” she asked as Noctus grabbed a fork and knife in the fetlocks of his fore legs.

He shot her a glare. “I’m certainly not eating on the floor, if that’s what you’re implying.” he muttered as he began cutting into his steak.

“I wasn’t implying that, ya know,” she muttered, picking up a fork with her magic, “Well, for the most part, this actually looks pretty good.”

Noctus laughed. “You think that looks good?” he snorted, “That is just some scrounged together vegetables they found. You should have seen the looks on their faces when I asked them to make a salad. I believe their words were ‘We hope that pansy out there enjoys their salad’. To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if they spat in it for a laugh.”

Willow eyes widened and a look of horrified shock swept across her features as she stopped chewing on the piece of lettuce and tomato in her mouth. She looked down at the salad and back at Noctus before scrambling with her hooves to find a napkin. Noctus handed her a handkerchief from a pocket on his vest, and Willow spit out a wad of half chewed salad into it.

“Blaaagghh!” Willow gagged as she used a hoof to brush off her tongue. “That’s gross, ya know! Why would they do that?”

“I said they might have,” Noctus said as he forked a piece of meat into his mouth. “It’s your fault for taking it so literally.”

Willow’s skin crawled as she felt ponies staring at her. Turning around, she saw some Hunters that were sitting at the table giving her surreptitious stares.

Laughing weakly, she gave them a sheepish smile, but they simply shook their heads and resumed eating their own food.

A few minutes went by as they ate in silence. Willow would glance back at him as she ate, giving him questioning looks, but he would shake his head and continue eating. Without warning, a loud, brash voice shouted from behind him.

“Noctus!” Willow turned around and saw what she recognized as a griffon. She’d only seen one in Ponyville once or twice, but she immediately recognized the half bird, half lion look. And from what she could tell from this griffon’s voice, it was either a male, or a female that just came from a patch of poison joke. “Noctus! How are you, my friend?”

The griffon’s coat was a light shade of maroon with dark black streaks in his feathers, while his face and underside were an alabaster white. He wore a brown leather vest and strapped to his arms were what looked like manchettes of the same material. On his waist was a belt with several pouches of Celestia-knows-what. His face bore several small scars around his beak, including a large one ran down the right side of his face. The griffon’s physique was nothing to laugh at; there was very clear muscle tone in his legs, chest, and everywhere else on his body.

He definitely looked like a killing machine.

“Erron,” Noctus turned and arose from his seat, shaking the taloned hand of the hulking griffon. “How are you? Your last hunt go well?”

“Aye, it did!” he guffawed, slapping him on the shoulder. “Me and the boys got some fine kills out there tonight. We’re going back out after we’ve rested up. Will you be joining us?”

Noctus opened his mouth to answer, but glanced back at Willow, who looked at him hopefully.

“For now, I won’t be able to,” he sighed, “I have other matters to attend to here in the Sanctuary. Rest assured, I’ll be back out there before you know it.”

“Indeed you will and- I say, my friend, who is that?” He pointed a talon over at Willow who hid behind her chair. “I can’t say I’ve ever seen her before.”

“That there is Willow,” he replied, gesturing over at her, “Come now, Willow, don’t be rude. Come say hello to my friend.” Hesitantly, Willow got up from her comfortable seat and walked over to the scary-looking griffon who, upon closer inspection, stood about a few inches taller than her.

“Willow, this is Erron Grimtalon,” he nodded towards his friend, “He is a friend of mine, and one of the best Hunters you’ll ever meet here in the Sanctuary.”

“Uh, hi there,” she sheepishly waved a hoof at him.

“How do you do?” his beak wrinkled into a smile as he reached out with a talon. Willow held out her hoof and gasped slightly as she felt his sharp claws wrap around her hoof. Not only that, but he had a stone hard grip. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Willow.”

“Um, likewise,”she giggled nervously. A few moments of uncomfortable silence passed by as Willow floundered for something else to say, anything else. She was far too frightened to speak up.

“Not a mare of many words is she?” Erron laughed.

“You should see her when she’s mad,” Noctus joked, “The easy part is setting her off, the hard part is calming her down.” Willow nudged him with her elbow. He gave her a look before glancing back towards his friend.

“Are you here for a meal?” he asked, “The chefs are serving your favorite I believe.”

“Oh ho!” the large griffon guffawed, “Serving tenderloins tonight are they? I think I’ll go order up some then! Noctus, I will be seeing you!”

He looked down at Willow. “As for you, Miss Willow, I bid you farewell,” he bowed his head respectfully before walking off towards the kitchen.

“Well he seems nice,” Willow laughed nervously as they returned to their seats at the table. “A lot nicer than some ponies here, that’s for sure.”

“Yes, although he is a bit of an oddity,” he chuckled, chewing on a piece of steak, “He’s one of the few flyers in the Order that aren’t part of the Ravens, though they’ve approached him many times before. Not to mention, he’s also one of the last griffons serving.”

“Why is he one of the last?” Willow asked, nibbling on a piece of lettuce.

“After so many years, the known griffons who’ve served either die of old age, or fall in combat,” he explained, “Though, there have been griffons who became blood drunk. Which is why some Hunters in the Order have a hard time trusting Erron.”

“Why is that?” Willow asked.

“Because of what happened during the First Era,” he sighed, taking a sip of from a tankard next to him, “During that time, there were five griffon clans who made the Sanctuary their home. Erron’s clan was one of them. There were the Redbeaks, the Silverquills, the Duskwings, and the Mistfeathers. The Grimtalons were one of the strongest, next to the Redbeaks.”

“However, one year, during a Hunt, the lead harpy of the Redbeaks, Asteria Redbeak, became blood drunk and fell to the Lust,” Willow listened intently, “After that, she convinced her kin to rebel against the Order and ‘spread the gospel’ to their griffon brethren.”

“Not long after, most of the griffons serving the Order became infected by the Lust, and soon became bloodthirsty killers. The Duskwings and the Silverquills were easily coerced by Asteria and her minions, but the Grimtalons and the Mistfeathers still stood strong.”

“Soon after, a war broke out between the clans, and the Master of the Order warned other Hunters to stay out of it, though there were some who wanted to help their feathered friends. By the end of the war, the entire Mistfeather clan and most of the Grimtalons were slaughtered by Asteria, who became known as the Asteria, the Vileblood. I think if it weren’t for the help of the Ravens who helped hunt her down, the Order wouldn’t have survived that war.”

“After that, all of the Redbeaks were slowly hunted down by the Ravens. Today, nopony has seen any sign of the Redbeaks. In all honesty, it’s better that way.”

Willow sat there in silence, though somewhat riveted by Noctus’ story.

“Even today, ponies still don’t trust him,” he sighed, “They feel like he might snap anyday.”

“It must awful for him then, huh?”

“Indeed, the day he ever went rogue on us, it would be a sad day for the Order,” Noctus finished up the remaining scraps of his food. “Are you finished? We need to go ask Sanguinaire about the results.”

Willow looked down and saw that she had barely touched her plate.

“Uh, just one minute,” she laughed before she began scarfing down what was left of her salad.

“Ah~,” Willow sighed as she walked down the hallway that led to Sanguinaire’s lab. “I’ll be honest, that salad was actually pretty filling.”

Noctus nickered softly. “Well, I’m glad you enjoyed your meal.”

They finally reached the lab and Noctus pushed through the door, only to see a frantic Sanguinaire standing in front of her table, flipping through books and staring through the eyepiece of a microscope. A disparity of lab equipment lay on the table, racks of test tubes and- thankfully empty- overturned beakers littering the wooden surface. Her mane looked certainly disheveled, and she mumbled under her breath nervously.

“This just doesn’t make sense!” she exclaimed, turning around to glare at Noctus and Willow, eyes wide and bloodshot. “You! How did you come across this blood?!”

“What are you talking about?” Willow’s body was then encased in a sheath of magic and was suddenly pulled forward, standing muzzle to muzzle with the other mare. “Gah! What do you want from me?!”

“The truth!” she shouted back, “Where in the blazes did you come in contact with blood like this?! Did you steal it?!”

“I have no fucking idea what you’re talking about!”

She pulled Willow closer to the point where their noses touched.

“Don’t. Lie. To me,” she growled, leaning closer with every syllable, causing Willow to shrink back.

“May I ask what is going on?” Noctus asked calmly.

Sanguinaire’s bloodshot eyes flicked over to Noctus. “This mare you’ve brought here, Noctus. Her blood… it’s… agh!” She let go of Willow and turned back towards her setup.

“This is absurd!” she shouted, slamming her hooves on the table, “I’ve never seen blood like this in years and the only pony who had blood like this was… there’s no possible way that she could be one! It’s impossible!”

“Sanguinaire!” Noctus shouted, “What are you talking about?”

“Her blood!” Sanguinaire fumed, “Her blood resembles that of a mundane’s! I wrote down the percentage of the mundanity and it reads at 72.9%. However, as I examined more of it, that percentage is slowly decreasing due to the other thirty percent of her blood, which has a density that resembles that of a Hunter’s! And that is not even the most troubling fact.”

“What else is wrong?” he asked.

“Her blood type!” Sanguinaire cried, “I searched through my records, and you will never believe who her blood is similar to! It’s an old blood sample, blood that has not been seen in these halls for decades! And it’s running through her veins, supplanting her mundane blood as we speak!”

Noctus glanced at Willow before turning back to the frantic unicorn. “Whose blood are you talking about?”

“There’s no time to explain!” she turned around and slammed all the books shut, using her magic to place them back on the bookshelves. In a particularly impressive show of telekinesis, she turned off all the equipment on her table and took off her lab coat, hanging on a rack next to the door. “Come! I must give the results to the Council immediately!”

Willow didn’t know what was going on at the moment. She and Noctus sat behind the defendant’s table, utterly baffled at the situation unfolding in front of them.

The Council had gone absolutely bonkers after hearing what Sanguinaire told them.

“That is absurd!”

“How can she be the one?!”

“There hasn’t been one of them in years!”

“She could help us! We need to give her a chance!”

“What can we do?! She’s not trained!”

“She’s too old!”

A cacophony of overlapping voices assaulted Willow’s ears. Noctus sat there with his eyes closed and forelegs crossed. To her, he seemed quite frustrated with this.

“The results do not lie! I am one-hundred percent certain that she is an-”

“ENOUGH!” a loud voice boomed in the large chamber, its echo bouncing off the walls. Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked towards Powder Keg, who was still smoking from his pipe. “Ahem! Oof, dear me, it’s been awhile since I’ve had to use my outside voice,” he chuckled, “Now, if everypony here is able to stop fooling around, I would like to proceed. Head Councilor Minela?”

“Yes, master,” Minela cleared her throat, “Well, Sanguinaire? Her blood results identify her as a Hunter?”

“The part of her blood that is of Hunterhood, matches up with her genetic makeup,” she began, “However, it also resembles that of an Unawakened Hunter, the main reason she has yet to obtain her abilities. However, her Hunter blood is slowly spreading, which causes her mundane blood to fade away. I believe that within time, she will Awaken.”

“We do not have the time,” Arion interrupted, “Everypony here works, which means we cannot simply allow her to stay here while we wait for her powers to develop.”

“He’s right,” Patience agreed, “I won’t be feedin’ somepony ‘ere who doesn’t pull their own weight.”

“Indeed,” Minela nodded, “What do you suggest we do then, Sanguinaire? Is there any way to speed up the process?”

“I think there may be,” she replied, “However, it’s a method that has not been used since the beginning of the First Era. Not only that, we’d have to give her blood that matches up with her own. And there’s only one sample here that does… I believe you all know what I’m talking about.”

They all shared a grim look. A moment of silence passed.

“Then what are we waitin’ fer?” Iron Side asked abruptly. “If she is what she seems to be, then I say we go through with it.”

“I second that,” Arion nodded.

“Same here,” Patience added.

“Alright then,” Minela silenced them. “Master Keg? What is your opinion on the matter?”

He cleared his throat and took the pipe out of his mouth. “There has not been an Heir to help lead the Order since the time I first became Master. Now that we have finally discovered another, I believe that this is a blessing in disguise. With her help, we can bring the Order back to its former glory.”

“What does this all mean?!” Willow shouted suddenly. “What do you mean I’m an Heir?! What am I?!”

“Willow…” Noctus warned.

“Look, I don’t know who you think I am,” Willow began, “But this is crazy! Up until this morning, I was just a regular mare with nothing to look forward to in life! And now you just expect me to do what you all do?! How did this even happen?!”

“That is something we should be asking you,” Minela glared at her, “However, time is of the essence, and we cannot waste a single second. And if you dare speak out of turn like that again, I will personally have you thrown out of this Sanctuary. Are we clear?”

“But I-”

“Are.We. Clear?!” Minela snarled.

Willow wanted to shout back, but Noctus placed a calming hoof on her withers. She looked back and saw Noctus shake his head, which was a clear sign that she should not argue any further.

“Yes, Head Councilmare,” Willow said through gritted teeth.

“Very well then,” Minela inhaled deeply, “Masters of the Council, as you have already seen, there is evidence that this mare bears blood of a Hunter. However, her blood must undergo further ministration in order to be fully Awakened. Sanguinaire has offered to go through with the procedure. All that remains, is compliance from the defendant.”

“Outsider,” she began, “If you wish to stay here in the Sanctuary, you must surrender yourself to receive blood treatment. At the end of it, your Hunter powers will fully Awaken. However, if you are not able to handle the blood flowing through your veins, you will either die, or fall to the Lust which means that we will have to put you down. If you do not comply with this, then we would have no choice but to cast you out into the night. So, what say you?”

Willow felt her blood run cold. It was here and now that she was at an impasse. She could either be a coward and try to find her way home back to her cottage, or do something else with her life for once. Working in a jewelry shop wasn’t the most exciting occupation, and Willow had always longed for there to be some sort of adventure in her life. Her body would probably be forever altered by whatever they planned on doing to her, but would that be a bad thing? Would it be so horrible to try something new, when her whole adult life has been so dull?

It took her a moment to realize that adventure was staring her in the face. Opportunity was at hand and all she had to do was reach out and take it. There was a strong chance that whatever she was going to face in the future would probably kill her. But if she was to go out, she would want to go out fighting.

Memories of what happened in the forest flashed in her mind. She remembered how it felt to be helpless in the face of danger, the sharp fangs of death and despair digging into her soft flesh. Willow didn’t want to feel that again. She didn’t want to feel helpless. If she was to stare death in the face, she wants to be prepared to fight.

“Well, lass?” Ironside's voice rang out. “Are ya in, or are ya in?”

Given those choices, Willow only had one answer to give.

“Okay,” she sighed as she closed her eyes, and hung her head. She paused for a moment before opening her eyes and staring back at the Council, a new light of determination burning within her.

“I’ll do it.”

End Chapter 3