Author's Note

Right so if you guys haven't already please go find the blog I posted and leave your chosen number in the comments of said blog, At the minute 13 is winning.

In this chapter, we have a lot of dialog, something I'm not very good at writing, but I am going to have to get used to. Shadepaw plots to stay in town a bit longer, Luna gets some answers from an old adversary, and Harbinger wakes up a bit confused.

I know that Harbinger is normally written in 1st person and relatively gender-neutral but i had written most of it before realizing I was still in the third person and using female pronouns and decided to roll with it as an experiment. I want your guys' opinion on the 3rd vs 1st person writing. Personally, I feel that I write third person better but it's good to know what you think.

Befuddlement

Shadepaw was filled with slight dread at the situation before her, a somewhat understandable feeling given the implications. She had been woken in the night, a few days after the hunting party had entered the forest. The nurse that had woken her hadn't said much about what the problem was, only that her presence as a member of the hunters' guild was needed, she knew that meant only one of three things of course. One was that a monster had entered the town, but given the lack of panic and urgency the nurse had woken her with, she doubted that was the issue. The second was that a representative from the guild had come to town and wanted to speak to her, this too was unlikely to be the case given the time and location she had been asked to go. The third and most likely was that the hunting group had returned.

She had been led to a decent-sized cabin on the borders of town, it sat so close to the edge of the forest she had at first wondered what pony had been stupid, or crazy enough to live there. Then, as if being slapped, she faltered, as she remembered that this must be Fluttershy's house. The butterscotch mare had been the only regular visitor to her room in the hospital and while the mare's tendency to bring her fish and surprising knowledge of the forest itself was fascinating, she wasn't quite sure how to handle the skittish mare. Especially given that the skittish and scared nature of the Pegasus was likely the only reason the mare was alive, given her random trips into the forest that killed veteran monster hunters.

She walked to the door and entered the home without bothering to knock, and stopped in her tracks at the sight before her, Fluttershy was sitting in the center of the main room, a rag in one hoof as she gently washed blood from the only member of the hunting party that seemed to have returned. Blood was splashed across the Othrus like a painter's canvas, and a tentative sniff told her all she needed to know about who it belonged to. "well shit".

The sudden expletive caused all but Fluttershy to jump, the mare was too focused on her task to notice that Shadepaw had entered her abode. The rainbow-haired Pegasus and the orange earth pony both scowled at her, though whether it was because she had cursed or because she had scared them, Shadepaw did not care. She shot Twilight a look, "Is the hound the only part of the hunting party to return, ms. Sparkle."

"What? Oh, yes the othrus was the only thing found, It was barking like mad, acting crazed while sat at the entrance to the forest trail, the guards were scared it might have gone rabid or something and sent for Fluttershy and me." The unicorn frowned in thought for a minute before continuing. "Fluttershy said it was---"; the unicorn was interrupted when the butterscotch mare spoke up for the first time since Shadepaw had been present.

"It was scared," the simple answer sent a spike of cold running up Shadepaws spine. Fluttershy looked up from where she was working on the arcane hound and stared Shadepaw dead in her lupine eyes, "none of this blood belongs to him, he has no wounds besides strained muscle."

The other ponies in the room blanched at the thought of that much blood being on something unwounded, but Shadepaw was focused on the other part of the mare's statement. The hound had been so scared that they had thought it rabid, if the mare hadn't said it with such certainty she would have thought her mistaken. But she had spent the better part of the last three days talking with the mare, Fluttershy knew almost as much about monsters and animals as Shadepaw did, so the mare had to know what she had just suggested.

Othrus didn't get scared, or at least it took something of significant power or aura to make one scared, the dogs were bred and magically enchanted to be resistant to spell fire and blade in equal measure and were quite literally capable of fighting things three times their size. From the slight terror in the eyes of the butterscotch mare, Shadepaw realized that Fluttershy understood the implications. She let out a nervous huff before sighing, she had been pessimistic when she had thought the others would die. It had been a thought meant to soothe her fraying temper, Stonehoof was an asshole, but that didn't mean he deserved to die in that cursed forest.

"Suppose that's that then, the rest of the hunting parties dead, and it'll be a while before the guild will be willing to send in another hunting group." The rest of the mares startled, looking up at her in shock and horror. Shadepaw chose to ignore how the pink one mane seemed to quite literally deflate, she eyed the mares for a second. Why were they staring at her like she had just suggested eating a foal? Surely they couldn't be that naive, they lived next to the fucking Everfree for Luna's sake.

"W-what? Why would this mean they're all dead, A-and what do you mean they won't send another hunting party?" twilight seemed stunned at the statement, her eyes looked frantic almost, like they were searching for signs that Shadepaw had been jesting somehow.

"Ms. Sparkle, othrus don't abandon their masters." The simple statement seemed to confuse the poor mare and out of the corner of her eye Shadepaw saw the orange earth pony; applejack she thought her name was, start to say something and so clarified a bit more. " othrus are trained to die for their masters, the only reason one would run, bloodied and scared as this one did, is if all the ponies in the hunting party were killed before it could engage. Also, I did not say they wouldn't send another group, I said it would be a while. The guild will need to analyze, prepare, and gear another experienced party, and that takes a while."

Shadepaw didn't mention that, quite frankly, this town wasn't that important on the grander scheme of equestrian settlements. The only reason Snowtalon had sent such a large group was because the princess had specifically sent the request. If the griffon guild master wanted to send another group of ponies that size with any actual experience he would have to request a recall from the other guild locations and pull hunters from locations that were already dealing with requests elsewhere. Something That was bound to piss off a large chunk of nobles and other ponies of high standing.

The mares looked understandably perturbed at the knowledge she had given them, they seemed to mull it over in thier heads for a second before Twilight spoke again. " But, what if the fox returns? I mean it's already come into the town twice It knows it can get away with it now." She opened her mouth to respond to the lilac unicorn's question but was interrupted by Applejack.

"So what y'all just going to leave us on our own then, that their critter already ate them others, What in tarnation do you think we're supposed to do against it in the meantime? The guard ain't prepared for it, the thing already knows it can win against them, in fact, I reckon you're the only other critter here it would hesitate to go against." Shadepaw stared at the mare for a second, she would have shot back a scathing remark at the farmer for calling her a critter of all things, except the mare's tone held no real insult and quite honestly she was right.

Though she doubted the fox was the one who had slaughtered the hunting party, it had come to the town twice now and while she knew it wasn't likely to snatch any of the ponies, she could use that fact to request an extended stay in the town. She didn't really give two shits about most of the townsfolk, and Snowtalon would likely know that, but the fox was interesting, and she wanted a rematch with the being that had managed to escape her. Shadepaw glanced over at Fluttershy for a second; spending some time with one of the few ponies she could call a friend would also be an added benefit.

"I'll see what I can do, I might be able to convince them to increase the number of guards around the town and see if I can get the guild leader to let me stay in town," she paused for a second to glance at the now mollified farm pony, "don't get your hopes up, snow talon is a hard ass." The mare frowned before giving a single nod of acknowledgment.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes as Fluttershy finished cleaning the two-headed hound before Shadepaw spoke again, shooting a concerned glance at the butterscotch Pegasus. " Are you going to be alright watching him Fluttershy, I know you're pretty good with most animals, but othrus are a bit different from your average dog." The mare looked up and raised a single eyebrow at the wold-pony.

"Right, never mind, you're you, That was a stupid question." A small blush of embarrassment rushed to Shadepaws cheeks, and she wondered where the concerned question had come from. Thankfully, the rainbow-haired Pegasus that had been sending her suspicious looks since she arrived finally spoke from where she had been hovering in the living room corner.

"Right, It's late, and I have to prepare for some light showers in the morning. I'm sure Fluttershy can deal with a big dog, and if the wolf can't deal with the fox, then we'll just drive it off like last time." With her piece said, the mare shot Shadepaw a single hard stare before flying out the open window. The others stared at each other uncomfortably for a second before all agreeing that they had things to do in the morning and making their way to the door.

Shadepaw had a feeling that the multicolored Pegasus didn't like her for some reason, she didn't think it was because of her wolven nature either. The Pegasus had shown a similar disdain for the other hunters as well and had only started glaring at her when she had been the only one in town. She shook her head, whatever the reason it wasn't anything new to her, and the mare would have to deal with the fact that she would likely be staying in town till the fox was either dead or captured. She shot another glance over to the pegasus that was now looking at her from behind a lock of her pink mane and with a slight smile wished the fox good luck.

Luna scowled as she read the words of the reports her nightguard had brought her, she knew that the predatory species had suffered under her sister's rule, but this? She glanced up at the threstral watching her with nervous eyes. She stared at him for a few seconds as she tried to remember his name, Nightcall she thought. She glanced down at the report once more before picking up a quill and parchment in her magic and writing a series of orders. When she was finished she brought her horn down to the parchment and focused. Magically sealing the letter so only the recipient could open it was old and complicated magic, and was likely unneeded but she wasn't taking any chances.

"Private Nightcall, thou are to take this parchment to Captain Cobalt and ensure that he reads it, inform him that he is to destroy it after he is done, and that the orders are to be conducted at his utmost discretion." The guard seemed to almost fall over at the sudden address but to his credit quickly snatched the parchment from her magical grip and hurried for the door.

Luna waited for the guardsman to make his way through the door and for the wooden barrier to close before picking up the nearest goblet and hurling it at the door, wine and all. How? how had her Celestia possibly let it get this bad? The policies set by the nobles was one thing, but this, lynchings in the middle of the night, witch hunts against non-unicorn magic users, and de-clawing. What by the all-mother's name had her sister done with thier kingdom? She pushed herself up and off of her throne and headed for the door. To hell with the rest of the night court, no one came to talk with her anyway.

It was a short walk to one of the private gardens of the castle, They were lauded as some of the most beautiful in Equestria perfectly tailored to please the eye and senses. It was precisely why She disliked the things. They were too controlled, there was little of the natural growth that had been common in the gardens before her banishment. The fact that most of the gardens and parks outside of the castle were only slightly better did not help the mood she was slowly settling into. She stared up at the moon's pale stone shining against the backdrop of the night she had so carefully constructed.

She had been so excited to find out what had changed, to find out how many things had been improved from her time. Yet here she was and the only thing that seemed to have advanced was the technology. The ponies were more skittish and yet somehow more dangerous, The cities were bigger, yet still had slums, and the poor, even magic had not escaped unscathed. It was far more common with schools dedicated to teaching it and yet she had not seen a single person use it that wasn't a unicorn, a fact that when brought up had gotten her several odd looks. It was almost like the common pony thought only unicorns could use magic.

She put the thoughts from her head for now, she would have to be quick with what she was about to do, no doubt her sister would disapprove if she found out. With a heavy flap, the alicorn launched herself into the air and with a twist, vanished into the shadows. Luna breathed out a shuddered sigh as she left the confines of the material plane, the ever-twisting planes of the aether spread before her with its flowing webs of magic and haze-shrouded landscape. She took a minute to hover and take in the sight before letting her wings fold and diving into one of the spectral prismatic rivers that most knew as leylines. She let its currents pull her to her destination, relishing in the feeling of raw pure magic flowing over her fur like water.

It was an intoxicating sensation and a deep aching part of her wanted nothing more than to stay submerged in the very veins of the world, a sigh left her and she ripped herself from the magic and readied her wings as she reemerged into the material plane with the sound of tearing fabric, almost three thousand miles from where she had entered. With narrowed eyes, she wove magic around her horn and hit the wards she had placed so long ago like a dart piercing through them at speeds that would leave a normal pegasus dead. With a thundering crack, she spread her wings to catch herself just before she slammed into the mountain that was not there mere seconds ago.

quietly she landed and made her way up ancient granite steps, they ended at a pair of large stone doors barred with adamantine and glowing with runes that could withstand even herself at full power. It was with a somber face that Luna opened those doors and stepped into the large chamber beyond. She paused for a second as she stared at the pair of beings trapped there. "hello again, Omen, Ember"

The phoenix lord did not stir but Luna was not stupid enough to believe he wasn't awake and listening to every word. It didn't matter she told herself, the other was the one she wanted to talk to. Omen wasn't massive for a dragon, he was only thirty feet from snout to tail, and yet Luna knew that outside of those chains he was likely one of the strongest beings to walk the planet, The luck dragon's comforting smile and friendly posture did not change that.

"Little moon, it has been so long since you last visited. Your sister never did care, too, not even to maintain the wards. Come then, ask your questions, lady of dreams." The dragon stretched as much as the chains would let him, fixing Luna with a knowing smirk.

Luna paled slightly before taking a calming breath. "The pulses, what are they? I know that they signal the birth of an immortal somehow, but there has to be more to it than that, so what is so special about the ones that come with the pulses?" She tried not to let her nervousness at being so close to the dragon show. Honestly, she wasn't even sure if Omen would be willing to entertain her curiosity like he had in the past.

Omen smiled, "pulses as you put it happen when a specific type of person is made yes, They are the waves cast out by aspects when they are recognized as such." The dragon frowned as he saw the confused look on the alicorn's face before clarifying. " You are right in the assumption that Aspects are almost always immortal, but that is not what makes them different. They are beings that represent fundamental concepts of our world. Myself, for example, You and your sister encountered so much trouble attempting to capture me, almost like every plan you came up with failed to bad luck."

Luna's eyes widened as she finally began to understand. "You're talking about gods, like discord being chaos, your luck, and your mate being life and-;" the dragon snorted before continuing for her.

"yes just like the ever-free is the wild, untamed, and free, and how your sister is passion as much as you are inspiration. Too most aspects are gods yes." The dragon seemed to ponder something for a minute before looking down at the alicorn. "you have two more questions little moon, I wish to return to my sleep soon."

Luna took a minute to think about her next question, She wasn't going to ask about the new aspect's whereabouts as the dragon would likely give her a non-answer like south or west. The dragon wasn't omnipotent so asking about its appearance would also not work. "You said that every aspect has a concept that it represents, so what is this one's?"

The dragon shot her a wicked smirk and for a second Luna was terrified she had asked something stupid or that the dragon would find a way to twist her question, but the dragon simply chuckled to himself for a minute before answering. "it is an accumulation of all our aspects, weak for now, but perhaps the strongest of us in the end. A fundamental concept that Underlines all of us and brings forth our potential, or maybe it's better to say we bring it." The dragon seemed to grow serious for a second staring down at her with a solemn look. "Change, little Luna the new aspect is change."

Luna's next question did not take nearly as long for her to ask, the words dropping from her mouth like lead waits as dread filled the hollow of her chest. "Is this new aspect a threat to Equestria or its people?"

Omen laughed a sharp and bitter sound that broke away from his kind demeanor, all sense of humor left the dragon as he stared down at the moon goddess. The dragon almost spat out his next words "That little moon, is entirely dependent On your sister and her precious ponies."

Harbinger woke with a muffled whimper as the morning's bright sun found its way into her eyes as she woke. Why on earth had she thought going on a three-day-long bender would be a good idea? She paused for a second and then startled awake ignoring her throbbing head and dry mouth. Since when had the fox been a she? Baffled she tried to remember back but could only recall glimpses of digging, drinking, and cursing pretty much everything that came within her vision. She pondered for a minute before deciding she didn't really care. What did gender matter to her, she was both hermaphroditic and a kitsune, the only reason she hadn't been playing around with shapeshifting was because she didn't want to get stuck or accidentally neuter herself somehow.

She was not human anymore, why the hell should the social concepts of a species that she didn't even belong to determine how she saw herself, today she was female. maybe in a week, she would be male or a fucking attack helicopter. With a groan, she rolled over and promptly shrieked as she fell into the river with a loud splash. She sat there accepting her fate as the cold water washed over her and wondered If she could just stay there until turned into a prune. The answer was no she lasted all of eleven minutes before boredom and hunger forced her from the water.

With stumbled steps, she plodded to her things, shooting a small glare at the innocent porcelain bottle sitting on the stone ledge. She decided to ignore the massive hole that was dug a few feet away from the base of her willow and rummaged through her bag for something to eat. She eventually settled on several choice pieces of meat from a deer she had managed to run down the week before and a raw egg or three, she sat there and silently munched at the food as she stared at the hole. It was with a weary sigh that she got up to survey the results of her drunken work.

She figured it was probably the start of the den she had been thinking about making before her fateful encounter with the world's most hateful snake. The hole was almost seven and a half feet in diameter and as she walked down the sloping tunnel she realized her ocd must have kicked in hard as it had remained that way down the entire forty-meter tunnel as it wrapped around the central stone walls of the well. Her drunken digging had only stopped two meters into the mass of solid granite at the bottom. That explained why her paws hurt she supposed.

She made her way back up the tunnel before pausing, this one had a lot of digging she had done. Where had she put the dirt? She decided she would find it later and continued her way up the tunnel. The first thing she decided to do was find her magic books, she had a plan to deal with the stone but she needed to brush up on some spells first. She also needed to find a way to deal with ventilation for the den or she was likely to not wake up one day while sleeping in it. Her best bet would be enchanting, something that she had not tried to do yet.

Hopefully, she wasn't going to need any special materials for such a project an idea that Harbinger knew was likely a false hope, She would probably have to go back to the castle and see if she could find a treasury or hidden vault. At first glance, her hope held out as she read that runes could be inscribed into stone, but the more she read the more that hope began to fade and a scowl began crossing her features. An hour of reading later and she snapped the book closed with an irritated huff For a permanent rune like she needed, it had to be tied to a wardstone. With a snarl, she was about to begin a cursing streak again before she froze as a thought came to her suddenly.

With a silent click, she closed her mouth and turned to look at the massive willow that she called home, she had a wardstone, she had one for a while. A toothy grin split her vulpine features, she just needed to figure out how to connect and use the thing, idly she swung a tail out and grabbed her sake bottle and with a manic grin took a swig.