Hunter sat in one of the cushioned chairs, situated along the walls of the mostly empty halls of the Hollow Shades Funeral Home. As far as Funeral Homes went, it was ok. A large, vast room meant to hold dozens of mourning people with pleasant paintings on the walls. Well, mostly pleasant paintings. One or two were of historical figures from Hollow Shades, wearing powdered wings and looking intimidating with their slit yellow eyes and holding bloody weapons. And there was another of a fierce storm at sea, tossing an old fashioned boat around while tendrils from a kraken reached out from under the water to pull the ship down to its watery grave. Just…why?

Then, at the front of the room, was an urn holding the ashes of Star Chaser with a few of the teen’s most recent pictures. Every time Hunter looked at the urn, he felt his mouth grow dry as he was unable to forget everything that had happened. How his aunt had received a phone call early in the morning, informing her that Chaser had been killed. How they had no idea who had done it since the security cameras were down, testing them to try and figure out why they had malfunctioned during his last escape. The two of them were asked…to help identify the remains. Oh god, how could he ever forget the last sight of his brother in that twisted state that only the most grotesque horror would even consider showing. Just thinking about it now made Hunter want to hurl. That sight was the reason his aunt had decided that the body should be incinerated, there was no way the body could be made presentable for an open casket wake. It would be kinder just to burn it. Also there was the very real possibility that someone would have come just to open up the coffin and spit on the body.

For most of the day, Hunter and Star Chart had remained within the mostly empty room with their heads down barely saying a thing to anyone. Even though they were back in their hometown, very few people who knew Chaser had bothered to show up. Not the woman who had always given him free ice cream, any of Chaser coaches who had heaped unending praise on him, the mayor who had been planning on having a museum dedicated to Chaser (which, Hunter heard, had been scrapped the moment they heard about his cheating), or any of the other adult who had never had a single negative thing to say to the boy. Not even Chaser’s friends from school showed up. None of the girls he had ‘dated’ or even his best friend Leech.

A few people did show up, but they were few and far between. One teen, named Succubus (Chaser just calling her Slut), had showed up just to say hi to Hunter before offering some kind, yet empty words to him. Said that Chaser was probably in a better place right now. Then there were Nighttime Sonata and Sugar Dream, a pair of lesbians who Hunter also knew from Jr High. Like with Succubus, they offered a few kind words before leaving. That Chaser was at peace or something like that. A couple others showed up, but it was just a rinse and repeat of what had come before with all of their token words seeming empty.

As the day had moved slowly, Hunter had thought about the wakes for his grandparents and how different that had been. How people from all over had gathered to grieve and laugh, with vases of flowers on every table. He easily recalled how, when his grandfather had died, the mayor had shown up to give a small speech. It had been then that Hunter had found out that his Grandpappy (as he called him) had been important to the town, being the town watch maker for over sixty years and always giving a new pocket watch to the new mayor even after he had officially retired. Or when his granny had died, everyone was talking about how she had loved those old Japanese monster movies and had even brought a variety of her favorites to be viewed. Yet, this was all Chaser was getting. Briefly, Hunter wondered what Chaser would say if he could see this and if he would have changed his ways if he knew. But those thoughts were quickly swatted as Hunter felt his brother would have been complaining or swaying he didn’t want trash at a funeral for someone as great as he was. Yeah, that sounded about right.

Other times, Hunter’s mind came back to what had happened this morning. The warden of the jail where Chaser had been imprisoned had shown up along with a lawyer. They had sat down at their table, talked about a settlement and quickly handed over a large check. Aunt Star Chart had seemed to accept everything they said, signing the document without a word and accepting the check. According to her, this money would be used to help Hunter get into college so that something good could come from this. But, to Hunter, that idea made him feel numb. Money from his brother’s death would go to help him with his future? Why did that sound so dark to him? Was he still in shock from everything? Did he just need a little time to get his head straight?

Strangely, Hunter’s thoughts also went back to the last time he ever saw his brother. He could still see him, clear as day, being taken to the police car while foaming in rage. Hunter hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye or anything. And knowing that, if stung at him in a way he never thought it would. That there was no real parting between them, no goodbye nor closure for either of them. Stupid thing really as Hunter knew that Chaser would probably never change, that he would always be that angry kid deep down. Heck, if Chaser had died of old age and Hunter had gone to see him, Chaser’s last words would have been insulting and mean spirited. So why did Hunter feel bothered by the fact that there was no real goodbye between them? Was it because he never got the attempt?

Now there was less than an hour left before they would leave for the cemetery, a place reserved for Chaser’s ashes having been secured and ready. Time seemed to tick by as Hunter wondered if his parents would actually show up. If Hunter was being honest, he had fully expected them to be the first ones to show up. To watch them as they raced to the urn, tears running down their faces as they cried that their pride and joy was dead. If anything would bring them running back here, it should have been this. But, as Hunter had been here everyday when the place opened till it closed, he had not seen hide nor hair from either of them. Not a text, a call, over even an email asking what had happened. So he had to wonder: had they even heard that Chaser was dead? Would they risk coming here to grieve or had they done that wherever the hell they were? Or…did they even care anymore?

Then, Hunter heard a noise coming towards them. He looked up and was surprised to see that it was the entire Canterlot Dueling Team, including Coach Luna! All of them, even Lightning Dust, were dressed in black for the occasion. Behind them were their families, standing a few feet back. He could see both of Moondancer’s parents and her sister, giving him sad smiles. Lightning’s parents were there, looking around in a nervous fashion. Pharynx had just brought his brother, who looked ready to lunge forward and hug Hunter only to be held back by a man who looked a lot like Autumn Blaze. Wallflower’s parents were there, looking stern along with her sister. Principal Celestia was a little off to the side, looking somewhat out of place in her black outfit.

More surprising was that Applejack was there as well, along with all her friends! Rainbow was someone he thought would have flipped him off if he even suggested that she come to pay her respects. And considering how Chaser had been the one to poison her, he would have deserved it. Fluttershy looked like she was about to cry as well while Pinkie Pie had her hair down. Sunset looked like she was chewing her lip while Flash wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“W-What are all you doing here?” asked Hunter, unable to help himself. He shot a brief glance at the urn, biting his lower lip before turning back to look at them. “I mean…”

“It was taking a while to get the school board to give us the ok to use one of the school’s buses,” said Coach Luna. “I was barely even able to get the ok just to pull these students from class. Thankfully, the Apple Family was able to loan their bus for the occasion.”

“We wanted to pay our…condolences,” said Principal Celestia with a tiny smile on her face. But her tone made it clear that she was forcing herself to say that. Or at least that last part.

“Right,” said Hunter as his shoulders hunched a little.

“Hunter,” said Moondancer as she stepped forward, taking his hand with her own. “Chaser was a complete bastard who is probably burning in hell right now.” At that, Hunter’s head shot up so fast he was surprised he didn’t get whiplash. While his eyes were focused on Moondancer’s serious expression he did catch a few reactions in the background. Most of the adults looked shocked by this, but a few students like Rainbow and Applejack were nodding as if unable to stop themselves from doing so. Heck, the funniest he saw there was from Lightning who seemed to be having trouble deciding if she was angry that Moondancer had said that instead of her or giving a thumbs up.

“Miss Moondancer, that-” began the Principal, only to stop when Moondancer continued to talk.

“I’m not going to lie: I doubt anyone here is sad that he’s dead. He tried to kill several people in this room. Me, Rainbow, Lightning, Wallflower just to name a few! The way he treated people was just…the way he treated you…” Hunter found himself speechless as Moondancer closed the distance between them, still holding his hand as she pressed her forehead to his. Now all he could see was his beautiful girlfriend’s face, her eyes staring into his own. “But…he was still your brother. So, we’re not here for him. I’m not going to lie and say something nice about him that I don’t really mean. We’re just here for you.”

Gratefully, Hunter closed his eyes as he relaxed. “Thank you,” he whispered, his hands moving to her sides as he felt a weight roll off of him while feeling less alone. “Lets just remember him for who he was.”

“We could sing the asshole song!” said Autumn, looking extra gleeful at that. Her father looked at her with a frown, but she didn’t back down. “Ah, hello? Tried to kill me?”

“Ahh, I think that song’s too good for him,” said Rainbow as she folded her arms while the other students began to gather around Hunter. The adults looked a little…off at the moment. Especially Principal Celestia who had a hand to her forehead. Most of them looked like they wanted to agree with the kids…but respect for the situation held them at bay. Only Coach Luna seemed to at least be semi-ok with this.

“Just remember that you are all still representing Canterlot High,” she said, looking at Autumn with a slight smile. “As such the rules of a field trip apply here. So don’t cause any trouble or misbehave in any way.”

“Right,” said Applejack along with the rest before she glanced over at the urn. Her hand raised slightly while she almost seemed to take a step towards it, like she wanted to walk over there and give the urn the finger. However, she seemed to think that that might get her in some trouble. She did, thankfully, stop Rainbow from doing that.

“You know what’s sad,” said Lightning to the group. “I bet that guy still hasn’t learned a thing. Chaser probably thinks that he can take over hell since he’s all great and all.” As everyone let out a laugh at that, Hunter gazed over to the urn to say his silent goodbye. It was over.

It was time to move on.

At the same time, Chaser was proving Lightning wrong. The idea of taking over this place had never once entered his mind for the constant state of fear he was in prevented that utterly.

The body Chaser had been so proud of was gone, stripped of everything leaving him nothing more than a small blue orb. Just a blue, featureless orb without any limbs, ears, or mouth. Yet despite having no eyes, he could ‘see’ things around him. In a sense. Hell was like some vast desert, with cracks in the dried earth and mountains in the distance. The wind howled in his non-existent ears endlessly making it impossible to shut it out. Around him were thousands of other blue orbs which scurried around like mice upon a kitchen floor fleeing the giant humans who would step on them. But Chaser, he had not moved once since he had arrived. Stuck in the same place as his body still would not move. Whatever that Shadow Game had done to him, not even death proved to be an escape.

And that’s what made this all so terrifying for him. There was something else here. Chaser had seen it many times since he’d been here. All of the other damned souls ran whenever it approached, finding some hole to hide in or just running away into the distance until it picked up its latest prey. Those souls would trample all over Chaser, running over him somehow in their desperate ramble for safety. All of them lived in fear that sooner or later they would be caught. But all Chaser could ever do was just sit here, hoping to whoever out there would listen that it would not find him. It would pick someone else.

It was then that Chaser’s heart, if he still had one in this form, sank in an ocean of terror as the thing appeared next to one of the nearby mountains. This monster was a thing that not even Lovecraft could dream of! It was like a human, several bits, a dragon, and something else had all been thrown in a blender which it then merged with! As it walked, the mountain jumped out of its way, something it did often. When it didn’t, the mountain would just crumble away into dust. This thing, it was in the solid earth moving like it was walking through water. Its eyes were like searchlights, the beams scanning for its next prey.

Only to fall on Chaser.

The thing moved towards him and Chaser would have wept if he could. He had seen this before, souls of the damned once caught in its gaze could never escape. Sometimes the thing played with them, letting them scurry for a while and other times it never gave them the change. It was hopeless.

Soon, the giant thing held Chaser in the palm of its hand. Oh god! If Chaser could only scream for, for the first time since he had been here, he could feel pain. Pain that made his death seem like a tickle. Just being held by this thing felt like he was swimming in lava while bullets shot through his skull and knives jabbed at his feet. Each second seemed to stretch on for years and all Chaser wanted was to cease to exist!

“Ah, there you are,” the thing said in a smooth voice. It would have been a handsome one, if not for the fact that it felt like bees stinging his ears over and over again. Why? Why? “The little boy who thought himself a god, down here with me. Come, let us know each other better. From one false god to another.”

No, Chaser begged over and over again as the thing lumbered away. But it was no use. His time in hell, his eternal torment had begun. And from that moment on until the end of time, Chaser learned what true pain was. The things done to him were horrifying, never ending as he was stripped of everything. The thing allowed him to see the souls still living, those he knew who were still alive. He watched as they made their marks, small ones to be sure compared to the vastness of eternity, but still led full lives before their end. A life he could have had and a fate he himself had shunned in his own delusions. Then, once they had all passed, the thing really got to work on him. Chaser’s memories were stripped away, painfully, until he had forgotten nearly everything that had come before. His earliest memory being the time when that thing held him in his hand…a time when he felt the least amount of pain.

Many Years Later

Star Hunter, a man now in his late 20’s, sighed as he opened the car and stepped onto the concrete of the parking lot. After closing the door to the rental car, Hunter stretched his legs, having been on the road for hours nearly non-stop on this important trip. The last hour or so having him drive through seemingly endless forest and farm lands until he ended up in this small little town. As he twisted, hearing several pops as he did, Hunter looked around at the nearby school and the mostly empty fields around. The light posts were slowly flickering to life as darkness crept over the land, showing the playground equipment alone like silent monuments. Silence was king here, broken only by the popping of Hunter’s joints as well as the light coughs by the figure not too far from his car.

Once finished, Hunter walked over to the other figure. The chilly fall wind blew against him, hitting the tanned trench coat he wore for protection from the elements. His yellow eyes caught the faint signs of snowflakes falling slightly, barely surprising him given that he was near the Great Lakes. It would make sense that with the temp this low snow would be forming early. As for the other man, the local sheriff, he wrapped his arms around his chest as if to keep the warmth inside his body.

The two talked for a few minutes, the sheriff apologizing to the younger man before pointing over to the playground. Hunter looked in that direction, spotting a young girl he had not seen before. She was off in the distance, kicking soccer balls into a goal. Quickly muttering a few words of thanks, Hunter braced himself as he began walking towards the girl as a certain uneasiness took hold of his heart. His mouth felt drier with each step he took, his legs feeling like they were made of jelly.

As he drew closer, Hunter could make out more of the girl’s appearance. She was young, maybe around six or seven, with long dark brown hair that went past her hips. Her clothing looked second or third hand, signs of wear evident even in this darkness. Perhaps something from a Goodwill or something like that. Despite the cold, she was wearing shorts that were two sizes too big for her and held up by an old belt with a deck box attached to it. Her top was an old Rainboom’s T-shirt, a red that he had not seen since he was in High School. It too looked like it had seen better days, with the words faded and the collar frayed like crazy.

Her ears twitched as he got closer. “They’re not coming back, are they?” she asked without turning around. Hunter felt something in his throat as he heard her voice, trying to hide the pain she was feeling.

“No,” he said, wishing he could tell the girl in front of him some sort of fairy tale. That they would come back sooner or later or something. Even more so when he watched the girl’s shoulders drop, her body shaking a little. As he took a deep breath, the girl kicked one of the soccer balls as hard as she could, missing the goal post entirely.

“Yeah…Yeah, I thought so,” she said, her voice breaking with every word. The girl sniffed loudly, an arm going to wipe away the tears and snot that were no doubt running down her face.

Still Hunter stood there, wondering what he should say. What he could say. Should he compliment her kick? Tell her that he could introduce her to a pro like Rainbow Dash or Lightning Dust? Both of them had competed in the Olympics so…Wait, would she even believe he knew them? Would she even know who they were?

“I…I don’t think they ever wanted me,” she said, voice still shaky as she kicked another ball. “They were always c-comparing me to someone I never met. Guess it makes sense that they would leave without me.”

“If it makes you feel any better, they did the same thing to me,” said Hunter. The girl stiffened for a moment before turning around, her yellow slitted eyes flying upwards to look at his matching ones. Her lips quivered for a moment as she stood there frozen, the puzzle pieces falling easily into place within her head.

“I thought…they said they were calling a social…so I thought you were,” the girl stammered.

“No,” said Hunter as he bent down so that they were eye level. “I’m your brother, Star Hunter. Mind telling me yours?”

“S-Starry Fields,” she whispered, the weight of everything falling down on her. “They…They’ve really d-done this b-b-before?”

“Yeah,” said Hunter sadly with a nod, closing his eyes for a moment to look at Starry and knowing just how close he came to never having this meeting. Ever since the day that Hunter had stood in front of his former home, watching as people cleaned up to be sold, he had wrestled with his feelings towards his parents. For years, there was always a hope in the back of his mind whenever he saw a number on his phone he didn’t recognize. Hoping it was either his parents…or the police telling him they could be caught. Then maybe, just maybe, he could finally get some closure with them. Yet as time had marched on so too did Hunter and that hope was finally allowed to die.

So, when he received the phone call from the sheriff telling him that his parents were in his area, Hunter was ready to tell him that whatever they had done was not his problem. But something stopped him and he listened to the sheriff. It seemed that his parents had come into the area years ago, taking odd and low paying jobs that didn’t require any extensive background checks. It was only by chance that they had been found out and the two had fled from their trailer home leaving behind their daughter. Hunter nearly choked when he heard that, barely listening as the sheriff said that they had been trying to contact the girl’s next of kin hoping to find someone to take her in.

And now, seeing her face to face, Hunter let a few tears escape now glad that he had stayed on that phone. Glad to see his little sister. Slowly he reached out his hand to her expecting her to take it. Instead, she nearly jumped at him while wrapping her arms around his neck as she wept openly. No doubt happy that she wasn’t alone.

“Come on,” he said after a while, when her crying had lessened. “We got a long ride and a plane to catch. Moondancer will be meeting us at the airport.”

“W-Whose Moondancer?” asked Starry as Hunter stood up. Gently, he took her hand as the two began to make their way to the car. “Is…Is she my sister or something?”

“I guess you could say that,” replied Hunter, unable to stop himself from smiling. “She’s my wife.” Starry’s eyes grew wide as they walked, her stomach rumbling loudly. “I can tell you all about her over dinner. I saw a really nice looking steakhouse on the way here.”

Starry looked like she was going to start drooling at any moment, hunger becoming the dominant emotion at the moment. “I’ve never had steak before,” she said in a small whisper. “I heard it’s expensive.”

“Well not tonight,” said Hunter, the two of them now in front of his rental. “Tonight, you can order whatever you want until you’re full.” Starry hurried into the car, stomach rumbling even louder. As Hunter closed the door, he also made a mental note to stop at an all night store and pick her up something decent to wear.

After all, tomorrow she would be seeing what her big brother did for a living…besides writing books about detective maids.

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Canterlot Coliseum!” came the voice of the announcer, his voice barely heard over the excited crowd of the packed stadium. “It seems you’re all as excited as we are because tonight we have a roaster of some of the top duelists in the country. And our first duel is no exception as these two duelists have been itching for a rematch since long before they went pro! In the red corner, we have the master of maids, the dragon’s fury: STAR HUNTER!”

The crowd exploded into cheers as Hunter walked through the double doors and down to the dueling arena. As he walked, he saw people holding up signs with his name on it or pictures of his monsters in various degrees of quality. He also noted that there were plenty of cameras recording him, streaming this duel to everyone who paid for it. No doubt Lightning and Pharynx were watching as well. Of course, he also looked up at the private booths, easily finding the one used by his wife, Starry, Autumn, and Wallflower.

“And in the blue corner we have the man with the six bullets, the gun wielding duelist cowboy himself: BREABURN!” Country music blared as Breaburn came out his own double doors to an equal amount of fanfare. But unlike Hunter, his eyes were focused on one thing: Hunter. There was a smile on the cowboy’s face and his fingers looked like they were itching to reach for his duel box.

And Hunter felt the same way.

“Been waitin’ for this for some time,” said Breaburn as he took his spot.

“Same. Let’s just not have a repeat of last time,” said Hunter, smiling with good humor.

“Don’t intend to,” said Breaburn as he grinned back.

Then, at the same time, they both shouted: “LET’S DUEL!”

Author's Note

A special thanks to all the people behind the scenes who helped me write this as well as the people who gave this one a chance.

In the near future, I plan on continuing Hunter's life as a High School Duelist but as more of an anthology. And that will be a bit aways