Arrival, A Hunter's Thoughts
In the land of Equestria, legend tells of the Hunting Star. It has no fixed position in the sky and it comes only once in a lifetime. Twice if you should happen to live so long.
It comes only in the seasons of record heat. In its wake comes the stories of the Forest Demons, they who hunt only the most worthy of prey. The Zebra Tribes have a name that roughly translates as The Demon Who Makes Trophies of Ponies.
Now the time for its return draws near.
And this year, it grows hot.
***
For most ponies, they had never experienced such heat before. From Appleloosa to Vanhoover, everypony sweated far more than seemed ordinary for the summer.
Protests to Cloudsdale were met by confusion as well. The Pegasi didn't understand it any more than anypony else.
"Hey, don't take it out on us. The Weather Factory can't keep up. Every town and city in Equestria is asking for more," is how Rainbow Dash had explained it to an annoyed Ponyville.
Luckily it had not yet reached the point where everypony stayed indoors all day, but most outside activities had been cut in half for all ages.
Granny Smith though had begun to act oddly, even for her, constantly watching the skies. Applejack, Big Mac and Applebloom didn't understand it either. All they could get out of her was.
"You're too young to know. They come in the heat. I was your age the last time they came. We lost too many good ponies before they left. Ya better just hope they don't come here."
***
And on a night like any other, they came, though only a few saw their arrival.
***
At the summit of Canterlot Castle, Princess Luna had just risen the moon for the night when she first saw the falling star.
Even though the sun had set for the day, the temperature had only cooled a little. Canterlot's high altitude only helped so much. But she was awake and alert enough to spot the falling object.
"Odd. There was no meteor shower scheduled for this evening or any time soon," she thought aloud as she watched the object fall. And she should know.
Despite what many uneducated ponies thought, Luna did not control the whole of the night sky, only the moon. If it entered the orbit of Equus though? Well, that was a different story.
Reaching out with her magic, her brows came together in consternation when nothing happened, not even after repeated attempts. Which could mean only one thing. Something she had never thought possible.
This wasn't a natural object, but something that had been crafted. Luna felt enough to know the object had a high concentration of metal. More than any space rock should.
What that could mean she didn't know, but she knew that her sister must hear of this as well. Turning from her balcony, Luna went to wake Celestia, casting one more look at the object as it fell towards the Everfree Forest.
***
In Ponyville, Princess Twilight Sparkle sat out on the balcony of the Friendship Castle engaged in one of her favorite pastimes: Astronomy.
While the castle was cool inside, Twilight was not about to let a little heat stop her. As she finished setting up her telescope for the night, she too saw the falling star.
She knew that one wasn't scheduled, so her excitement rose. "Oo, possibly a new meteor swarm?!" She squeed, bouncing in place. "The Royal Astronomy Department will love this."
Soon her notes began to fill up with possible origin, duration, and strength. Her observations lasted until it passed out of sight. Unless her math was wrong though, it would survive entry and impact somewhere deep in the Everfree Forest.
Twilight made a mental note to try and go find the impact crater tomorrow. Maybe she could even get Starlight to help too. She liked this kind of thing as well.
***
In Princess Celestia's room meanwhile, she and Luna watched as the object made an impact near the Ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters.
Luna had explained what she knew so far. She still bore a look of confusion while Celestia's expression was a mix of worry and not a little bit of fear.
Luna, of course, noticed this. "Sister. Do you know what that was?"
Celestia nodded as she turned to her writing desk and began to pen a letter. "I do. But this is a story Princess Twilight and her friends must hear as well."
***
This world, Gai'kull thought, would be more interesting than he had first thought if these early signs were any indication. And a bountiful hunting ground.
A perfect place to test the Young Blood. No race on this backwater world had advanced enough to even leave their homeworld yet. Yet they had also displayed powers that had never been seen on any other planet before. Control over the weather and what some would call magic.
Gai'koll was interested in seeing if these were true. His clan now had exclusive hunting rights to Game Preserve world 2387, after the previous clan had been declared Bad Blood.
There was also talk of marking this world for future use as a Xenomorph hunting world. The Council of Ancients had tasked him with assessing that possibility. So far he had not seen anything that would convince him that it would be a suitable world. But there was still much time left yet.
Early scans had shown a settlement of some size nearby and a much larger one some distance away. A good place to start and asses the native's worth.
Those under his immediate command were all too ready to begin the Hunt. None had ever been to this world before, and that meant new trophies for all. Many had not yet completed their own Blooding and were eager to prove themselves. If they survived, Gai'koll was more than ready to lead them on their Ritual Hunt.
Gai'koll's own trophy cabinet had become somewhat dull recently. Hunting Soft Meat was only fun up to a certain point with him. He still enjoyed the challenge they could provide, but no longer as much as he once had.
Hard Meat though? Now there was a challenge he really enjoyed. He missed those days, though now he was the only surviving one who had taken part in that Blooding.
Gai'koll hoped this world provided as much of a challenge as that long-ago day had. But he had been wrong before about the very same thing.
Today being different would be a nice change of pace.
***
This world, Vi-Hathe thought with a smile, would be the world where he would finally prove himself of becoming Blooded like many others on this hunt.
As he readied his gear in the Young Blood's shared quarters, his excitement was up. A feeling shared by all on the ship. But it was especially high among the Young Blood.
A new world meant all would return to the Clan Mothership with new trophies. If he had heard right, none among the clan had ever been to this world before.
That only added to the sense of excitement felt by all those around him. Even the eldest and most experienced hunters among the party could not hide it. Their Hunt Captain, old Cold Strength himself, had already announced that the Hunt would begin soon. With that in mind, Vi-Hathe returned his attention to his gear.
Reports had shown that some of the native population liked to fight at long range or even from the air. That suited him fine. Among his kin, he was known as Impailing Cutter for his proficiency with the Combistick.
He used other weapons when required of course, but he had made this style of hunting his own. It required him to get up close and personal with his kill, something that he enjoyed. It also required superior agility, mental focus, and dedication to the craft of the close-range kill. Skills which ViHathe worked hard to always improve.
There was already talk of him becoming the clan's first Spear Master in many generations, a thought that pleased him but one that he never reacted to. He was still young and therefore keep his head down and did not aim above his station. Others had and had paid the price for their insolence.
But the thought thrilled him nonetheless as he strapped his Combistick to his back and took up his Bio-Mask. No one was taking a risk with the atmosphere of this planet seeing as none had ever been here before. Yautja could breathe in a wide range of different atmospheres, but for now, it was just a precaution.
Aside from the armor his joints he took little else. His Wrist Gauntlet was already in place of course. It was never removed as a matter of course.
To this, he added a Power Punch Glove and Energy Flechettes for if and when he needed them. Vi-Hathe doubted he would need them, but it never to hurt to be prepared just in case.
The last piece of his gear was a Medicomp he attached to his backpack. Since so little was known of this world and what its inhabitants could do, he felt it would be seeing use.
With that now locked in place, Vi-Hathe was as ready to begin the Hunt as he would ever be, and now only awaited the signal for the Hunt to begin.
Author's Note
If you haven't put it all together yet, this is a Predator crossover. It will be a straight crossover with Predator though. No Xenomorphs will appear here. Except as trophies in the Trophy Cabinet.
Fun fact about the title. It's taken in part from 1993's The Pride at Nghasa. And if you know Alien vs. Predator: Extinction, then you'll know about what Spear Master means. I think I explained it pretty well here though.
The next morning the Mane 7 and Spike were in Canterlot bright and early. Princess Celestia's letter the evening before had been short and to the point, only saying that Twilight and her friends come to the capitol as soon as they could.
While this was hardly the first time they had done this, Twilight had felt there was something more to this than normal. Call it a hunch, but she felt it might have something to do with the meteor the night before.
She and Starlight had been planning on trying to find the impact crater today. While she hadn't seen it like her mentor, the idea still had Starlight excited.
But now though, Starlight couldn't help but be nervous. This wasn't her first time in Equestria's capital, but it would be the first time she would meet either Princess Celestia or Princess Luna.
Anxious would be a good way to describe her feelings as she and her friends were lead to Canterlot Castle's Throne Room. On entering, they found both princesses with grave expressions on their faces.
This immediately set off alarm bells for Twilight. "We came as soon as we could princess. What's wrong?"
"Is it some new bad guy we need to beat up?" Rainbow Dash added.
Princess Celestia shook her head. "I wish it were that simple miss Dash, but it is not. Something I have feared for nine hundred years has returned. Something that first came to Equus during the Griffon Kingdom's attempted war on Equestria."
Twilight bit her lip. "The war? Didn't Shadow of Clan Kicker and Archmage Sunbeam end it before it could escalate into open war? Sunbeam was my ancestor, so it's part of my family's history."
Celestia smiled slightly. "That is the official story at least. Myself, Sunbeam, and Shadow all agreed to keep what really happened a secret and swore those that did know to the most stringent oaths to never speak of it."
Her smile grew. "As ruthless and uncomprimissing as she could be, I am glad Sunbeam kept it a secret to even her own family."
"Wait, so what really happened then? You mean it's not the truth?" Applejack asked, annoyed at the thought.
Celestia shook her head as her expression became grim. "No, it is not. What I am about to tell you never leaves this room, understood?" Everyone nodded as she ignited her horn and summed a screen and began her tale.
"Nine hundred years ago, Equestria was still recovering from adjusting to only one ruler. The Griffon Kingdom saw this as a weakness and threatned all-out war if we did not give in to their demands."
Celestia frowned. "It did not help that they had inside help from traitors inside Equestria's borders. Those who thought even one princess was one too many. From what we discovered later if the war had been declared, these traitors would have struck at the same time."
Luna nodded. "A blow Equestria could not handle at the same time as open war. We do not know how, but they had gained access to some of the most forbidden magic in the Canterlot Archives. Magic I will not speak of here."
Twilight and Starlight shared a look. Their recent time travels had made the idea of forbidden magic quite common for them, even though neither tried to think of it.
"But there was no war in the end," Fluttershy said.
Celestia nodded. "Sunbeam agreed to meet with the Griffon High King to try and settle our differences without open war. Shadow went with her as an escort and if things went wrong."
She rolled her eyes. "Though to the day she died, Shadow refused to call herself an escort for anypony, let alone Sunbeam. It was one of the few things they agreed on."
That got a chuckle out of everyone. "So then, what happened?" Spike asked.
Celestia frowned. "The negotiations never happened. The two of them found the king's bodyguards some way from where the meeting was to take place."
"That doesn't sound so bad," Pinkie added.
"They had all been skinned alive and hung up like hunting trophies. From what they told me, they found hunting arrows all over the place, as if the bodyguards were firing in all directions. But they never hit anything," Celestia continued.
She paused as Rarity and Fluttershy both fainted from the very idea while everyone else looked very green in the face. "And, the king?" Twilight asked, fighting to keep her stomach where it belonged.
Celestia's expression turned grim. "They eventually found what was left of him." She paused before continuing. "His skull and spine had been ripped clean off his body all at once."
Celestia had the foresight to teleport buckets to each of the ponies and dragon before her as they proceeded to lose their lunch at what they had just seen. Neither she or Luna could blame them.
After a moment, Twilight was able to look up, though her face was still very green. "How? What could do that? Why would anyone ever do that to anyone?"
Celestia shook her head. "We wondered the same thing. Shadow could find no trace of what had killed the king and his bodyguards. All that was found was what looked like plasma scoring on the bodies. Sunbeam could only say that it had come from a powerful source."
Twilight rubbed her chin in thought. "But nothing in Equestria uses plasma as a base. Or at least at the time it didn't. Plasma based anything didn't come into being for several more centuries."
Luna nodded. "You see then the conundrum sister and her fellows faced at the time. At the time I could not help, for obvious reasons. But hearing this brought back something I had all but forgotten."
"What is it?" Starlight asked.
Luna gained a faraway look in her eyes. "About a few days before this happened, I witnessed what I thought was a shooting star fall over Equestria. I had no magic at the time, so I could do nothing. A century ago, I saw the same thing."
Celestia nodded. "Equestria had a spat of murders that were never solved at the time. Only later did I learn that they had been committed by the same beings who had prevented a war."
Her brows furrowed. "Last night, they returned to Equus. You only saw what looked like a shooting star. It was not."
"You're saying aliens did this?" Spike asked, both grossed out and excited at the same time.
Celestia nodded. "We know very little about them, or even what they look like. All we do know for sure is that they use highly advanced technology in all they do, far and avove anything Equestria or Equus as a whole has."
Luna nodded. "And that they are, for lack of a better term, sport hunters. Hunting the most dangerous creatures on Equus. We can only assume the same applies to the rest of the galaxy."
"But why hunt ponies?" Applejack asked.
Celestia shrugged. "Something about certain ones must appeal to whatever they use as a criteria for what they hunt. Griffons at the time were only second to Equestria in wealth and power. Their king was no slouch either when it came to a one on one fight from what I knew."
Luna nodded. "There is a reason the Long Patrol exists beyond the stated goals. It does indeed help keep the worst creatures from affecting Equestria or its ponies. But that is not the real reason."
Celestia sighed. "It was in fact created to try and make Equus so boring to these, hunters, that they would never come back and leave us in peace. Shadow was in fact the one to suggest we create it in the first place once we discovered what we were dealing with."
Luna looked out a nearby window. "Clan Kicker is one of the few outside this room that know as much as we do. They have trained in fact to fight them based on what we do know of these things."
Celestia followed her sister's gaze. "As to whether it would work against one, we do not know. None have ever fought one and lived to tell the tale as far as we know."
"The Long Patrol obviously didn't work out since they came back," Rarity added.
Celestia nodded. "Indeed. But I will not hold that against them. They have all admirably served and protected Equestria for nine hundred years. I will not do anything to besmirtch that."
Twilight stood straighter. "What are we meant to do then Princess Celestia?" Her friends all nodded.
Celestia and Luna shared a smile. "Watch out for anything odd or suspicious," Luna said as she looked at Fluttershy. "If your animal friends say anything about something odd in the Everfree Forest or beyond, let us know. We need all the information we can."
Fluttershy nodded, though she didn't look very thrilled at the idea. No one could blame her in the slightest.
Author's Note
Those who've read the Lunar Rebellion story series will recognize Sunbeam Sparkle and Shadow of Clan Kicker from it. I do have permission to use them.
Aside from them and a few other things though, this has no relation at all to that universe. Probably the biggest I'm taking from the series is the Long Patrol. It exists for a good reason here.
