Hunter's Flower
Meetings and Travel Plans
Load Full StoryNext ChapterThere are those that say the city of Fillydelphia was almost indistinguishable from Manehatten. In some ways they are right. Just walking down its crowded streets with its massive buildings on either side would give a pony the same feeling of insignificance. Around every corner would be some pony out to scam an unsuspecting passersby with a fake designer saddle bag, watches, and party cannons. There was also no shortage of mares and stallions alike, dressed in various ways to entice those on the streets for some ‘paid companionship’. In truth, those who fell for this were really walking into a trap laid by the police. Something that was especially silly for those living in Fillydelphia considering that Hollow Shades was just a short train ride away where prostitution was legal.
While both cities shared these points, Star Hunter found he much preferred Fillydelphia for what made it different. While both cities did have their tall skyscrapers made of steel and glass, Fillydelphia still had many sections where it was like trotting into the past. With many of its old brick building that had been standing for fifty or more years gave the city a nice touch of personality. Many artists across the country would come here to sketch several of its more historically famous buildings. The city was also home to Dragon Town, a section of the city where a small population of dragons lived within Equestria. While there was always a bit of tension with these two cultures living so very close to one and other, the ponies there did their best to make an effort.
Then, of course, what was most important to Hunter was his relationship with the Fillydelphia police. While this was nothing new for writers in his genre to look up case files for inspiration, it was no less appreciated on both ends. Hunter used these case files for his inspiration, making sure that the main characters always hailed from the city, worked with the police there, and made sure not to show the police as a bunch of blithering idiots like some other novels did.
“Seriously, you never thought that a unicorn started those fires?!” yelled Lightning Dust as she slammed a hoof onto the counter. Hunter barely lifted his eyes from the file that had been given to him by one of Fillydelphia’s finest, Detective Hard Case, to look at one of the two mare’s sitting with them. Several of the other patrons of the coffee house they were seated in turned to look the turquoise coated pegasus while Moondancer gave her fellow sub a disapproving look. This however, only allowed Lightning to get closer to Moondancer in order to tap the unicorn’s horn with her hoof. “I mean, hello, magic anypony?”
Hard Case let out a sigh before finishing his fourth cup of sugarless coffee and then setting the mug next to his fedora. “One or more young dragons testing out their flames was the first theory we had,” he said as his eye twitched. “It made sense seeing as how all of the buildings that burned down were abandoned. We tried to question the residents of Dragon Town, but they refused to speak so-”
“Of course they refused to speak since you were accusing them without any real proof!” snapped Lightning. She then quickly rearranged her face to look as goofy as possible. “Oh a building burned down, it must have been a dragon.”
Hard Case let out a grunt. “Again, abandoned buildings with nopony to insure it. Meaning there was no motive for profit or anyone to murder. There was also the scorch trail that was left behind at each of the crime scenes. The signs pointed to a dragon.”
“Again,” said Lightning loudly as she moved her face closer to Hard Case’s. “It could have been a unicorn using their magic to create those flames. Instead of wasting time accusing the dragons, you should have been checking for unicorns who have some special talent with fire or something.”
“That might have wasted more time,” said Moondancer as she picked up her doughnut with her magic. “The Equestrian government doesn’t keep a list of everypony’s cutie mark on hoof. Only those with a criminal record have their cutie marks recorded by the local authorities. If you are suggesting that the police check everypony’s cutie mark in the city it would take them over a week to do so. That also doesn’t account for the ponies who have been reading up on fire magic. There are over three dozen libraries in Fillydelphia that they would need to check and it might not even do them any good. Many spell books contain various levels and types of spells so they would have to literally read thousands of books to figure out which spell was being used before checking to see if those books had actually been checked out. Then again, just because they weren’t checked out doesn’t mean somepony didn’t look through them and write down the spell. Basically, if they had tried to look for a unicorn who could have done this it would have been looking for a needle in a haystack of millions.”
Lightning and Hunter stared at Moondancer for a moment while she calmly nibbled on her pastry. Lightning recovered quickly, however, shaking her head in order to clear it of this massive dump of information. “Ok four eyes. Are you telling me it’s ok to accuse any entire race just to save some time?”
“I am simply saying that they were doing the best with the information they were given,” replied Moondancer as she set down her doughnut. “It’s like any scientific discovery: you make a hypothesis and then begin to test out your theory by gathering more information. The police had a theory that was, admittedly, sound and logical. When going to gather more information the dragon remained silent. Each night that passed, another building burnt down so time was a factor in all of this. While I believe that they should have continued to check out more leads, they were looking into the option that they hoped would have best produced results.” Moondancer then turned her head to look at Hard Case. “It probably didn’t help that the press was all over this.”
“Got that right,” replied Hard Case as a waitress gave him another refill. “Ponies were scared out of their mind, wondering if their building was going to set aflame in the night. We were working days without much sleep. Had to show we were making some progress. Having the dragons refusing to cooperate, slamming the doors in our faces every time we went to question them, really didn’t help their case.” He then took a large gulp of his coffee while looking over at Lightning. “In the end, turned out to be a blasted fire snail. Thankfully, nopony was hurt by the time it was all over.”
Lightning Dust leaned back into her seat while crossing her forelegs. “Still say you should have tried harder.”
“Oh for the love of,” began Hard Case as he slammed his mug onto the table. His eyes narrowed at Lightning, but paused. If Hunter had to guess, it was because ponies were once again looking in their direction. The thestral writer could hear them whispering to each other as well as the sound of chairs being moved in order to get a better look. The detective probably could see this from where he was seated so instead he took another large gulp of coffee before turning his attention to Hunter. “Are you seriously in a relationship with this stubborn mare?”
“Yes, we’re all in this together,” replied Hunter calmly as he closed the case file.
Hard Case looked at him for a moment before shrugging. “Well, whatever. Always took you for the type to go after librarians over jocks. So, back to the reason I’m here, do you like this one or not?”
Hunter nodded. “It’s got potential and has already given me an idea.” Hunter then turned to look at Moondancer. “Remember how we were talking about Autovampirism not too long ago?”
He could see the unicorn’s eyes widen briefly as she no doubt remembered their very, very, VERY brief time within the Clocktower’s Castle of Blood. Back when it was just the two of them, occasionally trying new kinks just to see if they would enjoy them, blood drinking was at the bottom of Hunter’s list. His tribe had been afflicted with the ‘vampony’ label for as long as they had been in Equestria due to their bat-like appearance and fangs. Most thestrals Hunter knew, himself included, were insulted whenever they went to a restaurant and were either told they didn’t serve blood or were simply give a bucket of the stuff shortly after they were seated. Where they got a bucket of blood, and so quickly, was a mystery…for the police to solve because anytime that happened the thestral would go galloping to the police while not looking back. Seriously! If it hadn’t been for Moondancer’s curiosity then Hunter would never have approached this area of the Society.
“Besides,” Moondancer had told him as they had walked towards the castle. “Autovampirism is an actual condition where a pony feels compelled to drink their own blood. There are even cases where a pony will drink the blood of another pony that have been recorded outside of the Society. Sure, a few of them were actually thestrals but there have been a surprising amount of earth ponies and unicorns who enjoy drinking blood as well. Not to mention the occasional pegasus. Besides, the Society is a place where we can safely explore the various kinks there are. It would be wrong to pass up a chance to broaden our understanding and miss a chance to see something like this in action.”
So, for the sake of Moondancer, Star Hunter walked into the building with her…only for the two of them to run out mere moments later.
“Y-Yeah,” said Moondancer in the present while looking a bit embarrassed by the memory.
“Well, I think I can use this case to tell a murder story involving Autovampirism,” explained Hunter as he took a bite of his strawberry and kiwi doughnut. “Several ponies are found dead, drained of all their blood with two puncture wounds on their necks. The story hits the newsstands and the ponies of Fillydelphia are scared to death of a ‘vampony’ murder. Superstition and rumors fly as the thestrals of the city are being blamed while a single lone detective works on the case.” Hunter leaned forwards a bit towards Hard Case. “So, what do you think?”
Hard Case said nothing, only lifting his mug to down the rest of his coffee. When he finished, he let out a sigh before holding it away from the table. “I think I need more coffee,” he deadpanned as a waitress gave him another refill. “Personally, I don’t really care all that much about your books. I see enough of it in real life. I’ll run your idea in front of the chief and send you a letter with what she thinks.”
“Whoo, hold on a second here,” said Lightning as she glared at Hard Case. “If you don’t care then why are you even here? Couldn’t somepony else have given us these files like a rookie?”
“Yeah, that could have happened,” admitted Hard Case before taking another gulp. “But doing this beats helping organizing safety for the Hearts and Hooves day celebration we got coming up next week. Or dealing with the Sol whatever’s who are doing some public rally.”
“The Sol Invictus…is here?” asked Moondancer as she, Hunter, and Lightning exchanged quick looks. The Sol Invictus Church was as far away from the Clocktower Society as one could get. They were a group of overly pure ponies who had made it their mission to make Equestria in their image. Thankfully the lacked any real power to do so. Most of the time they worked through public shaming and boycotting ponies who had ‘unnatural desires’ as they would put it. One of Hunter’s greatest fears was that they would find out about his fetishes and causing them to end his career as an author.
“Those annoying horseflies are everywhere,” muttered Hard Case as he gulped down more of his coffee. “Guess you didn’t hear about this, but a couple of months ago they had this rally where they were trying to convince ponies to spy on their neighbors and report any unnatural behavior. Bet they think there is some sort of ‘Den of Wickedness’ or something out there.” Hard Case then let out a sigh. “Tried to make the ponies and dragons around here scared, that these dirty individuals will corrupt young minds. That they have the best intentions for all of Equestria and, if they cared, they should be helping the Sol too. What a load if I ever heard it.”
“So what are they doing this time?” asked Lightning quickly. “Any clue?”
“Think something about a recruitment drive,” said Hard Case absentmindedly as he put on his hat. He then looked at Hunter with an envious look. “Not like that’ll matter to you all. Those idiots stay away from Hollow Shades. So you’ll get to enjoy a nice thestral Hearts and Hooves Day celebration.” As he said this, Hard Case’s face morphed into a dreamy expression unlike anything anypony at the table had seen on him since he arrived. It was like he was lost in his own little world of pleasure, his tongue almost slipping out from his mouth while his cheeks flushed. “Really wish I could get the time off and visit again. Only Celestia knows how long its been since my last vacation.”
Then, without another word, Hard Case walked off leaving them with the bill. As Hunter rolled his eyes and signaled the waitress to bring them the check, Lightning spoke up.
“So, ah, what’s so different about a thestral Hearts and Hooves Day?”
Between the Crystal Empire and Canterlot, there was a small town known as Mareville. Nestled within the countryside and tall pine trees as far as the eye could see, this tiny little community sat mostly ignored by the rest of Equestria. Very few ponies knew about its annual jam festival, flower petal dance, its refusal to serve any strong cider, and other wholesome family friendly features. In fact, if it wasn’t for the train that stopped there on its way to the frozen north from the capital, the existence of this small settlement would be completely unknown.
That was just fine for the good ponies who lived there. It meant that large stores like Backyard Bargains wouldn’t set a hoof in their small town and run all of the older stores out of business. That the neat and orderly blocks that held their cobblestone dwellings, would never be challenged by modern trends. It meant that they could live their lives without all the chaos that occurred across Equestria on a seemingly weekly basis. They could preserve the ideals that they had held onto since Mareville’s founding many, many years ago without worrying about what the rest of the world thought.
After all, why should anything change in this nice little town? Everypony here had a job, had a purpose. The last crime that had occurred in Mareville had been about forty odd years ago done by some young colt who wanted an extra piece of candy at the store. The strong sense of community was something that they all held with pride. Sure they didn’t follow the trends and fashions of the rest of Equestria. Maybe their tiny hospital, more of a clinic really, didn’t have the latest gizmos. So what if their library was behind on times with all their books being hoof written? Everything here was pleasant as could be. To the ponies living here, the rest of Equestria should strive to be more like them! Then maybe there would be fewer gods of chaos, bug queens, and so on running across Equestria.
So it was little surprise to find that nearly all the ponies here were members of the Sol Invictus Church.
Today, all of its members were gathering into the town hall. The banners in front of the building proudly displayed their symbol for all to see while two mares stood in front of the doorway passing out pamphlets for tonight’s meeting. Sadly, as ponies both young and old trotted on in, one of the two mares had hardly given any out. It was as if she were part of the background, something ponies looked at but never registered for some reason. Nopony took notice of her dark green and unkempt mane nor did they see the freckles on her lighter green face. The fact that her cutie mark was a wilting lily did not trouble them in the slightest or even cause them to reach out with sympathy when she first got it. It was only when she spoke up; waving one of the pamphlets wildly in front of her like a mad beast did they take a startled notice.
After doing this several times, Wallflower Blush let out a sigh as she watched her sister give out pamphlet after pamphlet. If Wallflower didn’t know any better, she would have blamed Pearly White for her lot in life. Pearly just stood out with her brilliant white coat, shining golden mane, lovely voice, and well just about everything else. Whenever she walked into the room, everypony noticed her as if there was a magical spotlight that drew everypony’s attention towards her. Their parents would often forget to bring Wallflower along whenever they went out to eat or on family outings, too busy beaming with pride at Pearly’s mere existence. There wasn’t even a single picture of Wallflower in her parent’s home. Yet, Wallflower knew that Pearly wasn’t to blame. Even when Pearly wasn’t in the room or even in town, Wallflower was just invisible to the rest of the town. Teacher’s had often done a double take whenever they saw her in class, wondering out loud if she was a new student. Wallflower had to go to the post office each and every day in order to see if she got any mail since the mail pony would skip her house. She had no friends nor pets, just potted plants which she had grown herself and organized around her home. They seemed to be the only things in this town that would notice if she ever vanished from this world.
Within the next several minutes, the ponies gathered and were seated minus Wallflower because for some odd reason they were one chair short. So standing in the back against the wall, the green earth pony wanted as a unicorn mare walked up to the podium on the opposite side of the room. The mare cleared her throat, signaling for everypony there to stop their quiet whispers and to give their undivided attention to her.
“Fillies and gentlecolts,” said the mare. “It does this pure heart of mine proud to see so many faces gathered here on this day. Just as much as it pleases me to announce that six fiends were discovered in Equestria this month. Plans are already being made to reduce their influence and drive them from proper society.” She paused there, to allow those gathered to look at each other and feel warmth of the community. In that moment, her horn lit up a bright red before materializing a stone basin with a fire burning inside. Now silenced, the crowd watched as more items were teleported. A ball gag. Bondage magazines. Dirty books. A crop. Leather hoof cuffs. With each item that was brought in, the ponies gasped in horror and shock. A few even fainted at the sight of these tools of the unclean.
The unicorn mare nodded in approval of these responses. “Yes, I know it is hard to look at these vile things,” she said before tossing the books and magazine into the blaze. “Every day, more and more trash like this appears on bookshelves and into the hooves of those who may be swayed from what is pure. To trick them into believing that hurting the one you care about is love. Deceiving them into things like sexual slavery, raping each other, whoring themselves, degraded into being used as a sexual device, and well need I go on?” Wallflower along with the other ponies shouted ‘NO!’ in unison causing a pleased smile to appear on the mare’s face as she tossed the rest of the items into the fire.
“In today’s sad world, we will need to be ever more vigilant,” continued the mare. “We need to safeguard the innocent who are not yet fully pledged members of the Sol Invictus. We need to root out those who dare to practice such vile acts so that Equestria may be purged. The wicked will have their influence removed so that we can live in true harmony! But to do this, we will need to expand our numbers so that it will be harder for the vile ones to hide. As such, many of you who volunteered at our last meeting will go out and join others dedicated to our cause all over Equestria.”
As the unicorn produced a magically scroll, Wallflower felt her heart rate quicken. She had been one of the ponies in Mareville to write down her name. All she did here was run the town’s bulletin board, making sure that announcements for yard sales and fundraisers were on display as well as the results. But this right here was a chance to go out into the world and do something that mattered. Perhaps she could write something up to be put on the bulletin board as well as pictures of what happened. Maybe even be remembered for doing something…anything. Perhaps she would be sent to Canterlot where she could enlist ponies like Fleur de Lis and Fancy Pants into the Sol. Maybe even Prince Blueblood! Or she could be sent to Ponyville, meet up with Princess Twilight as well as the rest of the Elements of Harmony and getting them to join! She could almost see her homecoming with ponies all around congratulating her, their eyes on her for a change.
Slowly the names were read off, with each pony being given a round of applauses. Las Pegasus, Manehatten, Horseshoe Bay, Canterlot, Appleloosa. With each name and city, Wallflower’s options grew smaller and smaller. But that was ok with her; there were still some options left. Pearly White naturally got the loudest send off, with ponies shouting how she was sure to recruit the most while she was in the Crystal Empire. And then…it was over? Wallflower blinked as the mare rolled up the scroll and continued with the meeting without mentioning Wallflower’s name.
Wallflower felt her body sink lower towards the floor while the mare began to talk about some of the things those who were being sent out were going to do. She, however, wasn’t really listening. All Wallflower could think about was how unfair it was to be passed over. Every other pony here who had signed up had been chosen to go out to help their cause. She alone had been overlooked like she didn’t exist like all the other times. This had happened to her far too often for her to be naïve in believing that it was a mistake or an oversight. No, she had been forgotten yet again.
For a moment, Wallflower did her best to look on the bright side. If she left, she’d have to find somepony who would take care of her plants while she was away. At least now she didn’t have to deal with that hassle nor would she spend her trip worrying if they forgot. That was something…right?
Looking up, Wallflower saw her sister whispering to another pony in the room. She was all smiles like she was on top of the world. Several other ponies around her were staring at Pearly with admiration as clear as day. She could tell that they expected great things for her during this endeavor. And as she continued to watch Pearly, Wallflower straightened herself up as her eyes narrowed in determination. There was no way she was going to just let an opportunity pass her by without a fight. She had signed up for this and by Celestia she was going to do it to. She didn’t care if she was sent out to Appleloosa to try and convert the buffalo. She was going to do this.
So, when the meeting finally finished twenty minutes later, Wallflower marched up to the front of the room to where the unicorn mare was collecting her things. “Excuse me,” she said causing the mare to jump a bit.
“My dear filly, you startled me,” said the mare as she placed a hoof on her heart. After taking a few deep breaths she composed herself before flashing a smile at the green mare. “Now, how may I help you dear? Did you just come in to see what the Sol Invictus is all about?”
“Ah no, I’ve been a member all my life,” said Wallflower. “I was standing in the back this entire time.”
“You…You were?” asked the mare as she blinked.
Wallflower nodded. “Yes and I signed up at the last meeting to help recruit new members,” she continued quickly. “My name is Wallflower Blush.”
The unicorn hummed as she used her magic to bring back her scroll. She gave it a once and then a twice over before her eyes widened. As she rolled it up, a blush appeared on her face. “Ah, so you did. I honestly don’t know how I could have missed it. However, I’m sorry to say that I don’t have anywhere to send you.”
Wallflower felt her ears flatten against her skull as she heard this. “W-What? Are you sure?”
The unicorn mare sighed. “I’m afraid so my dear. I already sent out the notices to each town and city that has our presence in informing them of who is coming. Maybe next time-”
“There has to be something I can do to help,” interrupted Wallflower as she went over the map of Equestria in her head. “Maybe Prance or Stallionguard or Hollow Shades.”
The unicorn mare regarded her for a moment before smiling warmly. Gently the mare placed a hoof on Wallflower’s shoulder. “I can see how much you want to help. Bless you young filly and your desire to spread the word of the Sol Invictus. However, we have enough ponies in both Prance and Stallionguard so you are not needed there. As for Hollow Shades, you should know that our order has no presence in that wicked town. Those…creatures that live there are truly most foul. Lunatics the lot of them, a lost cause if ever there was one. There is no point in having you go there.”
“But maybe we should be going there,” said Wallflower as she brushed off the mare’s hoof. “I could go there and perhaps see if there are any ponies who would be willing to listen. Perhaps there might be a few who would like to join and are just waiting for an extending hoof. Even if I can only get a few to join the Sol Invictus, we could show them how much better our way of life is. Then we could slowly convert them a little at a time.”
“Unlikely,” replied the unicorn mare. “But, I will admit that your idea has merit and there is a passion in you that might sway them. If you feel so strongly about this, then go and spread the word as best you can.” The mare then moved closer to Wallflower. “Just, don’t be too disappointed if you fail. Nopony here will think any less of you.” With that, without another word, the mare walked away leaving Wallflower by herself.
“Think less of me?” repeated Wallflower to herself. “That would actually be an improvement.”
Author's Note
edited by Javarod
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