The return of feeling into his body was a welcome sensation. The dose of antibiotics refreshing him like the sweet kiss of the goddess of life itself was even more so. What was much less so were the chains and cuffs that were coldly and firmly wrapped around his hooves.

“Don’t bother trying to break free of them.” Ma’alefa’ak taunted. “They were forged by the finest Lunar blacksmith right before he succumbed to my virus. At least he was good for something.” Jean would have liked to break in the Green Lunar’s muzzle, but in his current situation, this was an impossible feat. “Now move it! I’m going to show you my favorite place on this entire rock before you die!”

Jean was reluctant to obey the command, but a hard shove to the back of his head from Ma’alefa’ak left him little room for argument. The two have been traversing the barren empty surface of the moon for quite some time, but Jean didn’t see anything remarkable. As far as he could tell, there was nothing around them but the seemingly endless lunar surface and an endless number of stars shimmering in the void of space.

Eventually, they reached the edge of a deep crater, but when Jean looked down into it, he couldn’t see anything special either. His theory was that this huge crater was a mass grave where Ma’alefa’ak buried the unfortunate White Lunars after the genocide. That would explain why this was his favorite place on the Moon.

It filled him with immense sadness and anger to think that this is how his end would come about. To be unceremoniously killed by the monster that wiped out his entire species and for his body to be left to rot here until his bones were reduced to dust. The only positive part of the matter was that he would reunite with his kind. But if he managed to figure Ma'alefa'ak out by now, he wouldn't grant him even that minor boon.

"You're catching on quickly." The Green Lunar smirked behind Jean's back, having read his thoughts. "And no, this is not a mass grave for the White Lunars. Although, it is close enough." He kept escorting Jean through the crater until they reached what at first looked like the entrance of a cave. But as they got closer, Jean could make out two ruined columns, a paved road leading to the entrance and a pattern of tiles around the gate.

"Welcome to the Chamber of the Ancients!" Ma'alefa'ak announced. "In ancient times, this used to be a place for the strongest and bravest Lunars who wanted to join the ranks of their champions. The biggest Lunar warriors. Not all of them made it. Some of their bodies are still inside, rotting after all these centuries. And now you're about to join them." Jean couldn't possibly know what was in there, but the place had a very ominous feeling about it.

"What is down there?" He asked, allowing the fear in his voice to show, much to Ma'alefa'ak's sadistic delight.

"Oh, I won't spoil the surprise." He grinned. "Well, so long, J’inn. It's highly unlikely that we'll ever meet again. Though I'll be following your progress down there. I'll be interested to see how long you'll last." He then grabbed Jean by his throat and lifted him up into the air while standing up on his hind legs before throwing the White Lunar down the stairway on the other side of the gate.

"And so, the race of the White Lunars finally end." Ma'alefa'ak snarled from the top of the staircase before sealing the gate. It took Jean almost a minute to completely recover and get back on his hooves. As if that wasn't inconvenient enough, the room he was thrown into was pitch black. Though that usually wasn't a problem with the sharp eyesight of the Lunars, but for some reason, his eyes didn't seem to be working as well in here as they normally would have.

He raised a hoof in front of himself and reached out. When he didn't feel anything, he took a few steps forward until he finally touched something in front of him. He could not tell what it was but he could sense that it was made of stone. He just kept touching it in an attempt to find anything useful about it and his hoof fell upon something round on the top of it. As his hoof went up and down the item, he eventually reached its top and pressed something.

He jumped back in surprise as the object lit up with bright red light, illuminating the stone altar it was placed upon. He quickly got over his shock and picked it up. No doubt it had been placed there to serve as an alternative to their sharp vision in the dark. Jean studied the object and his eyes snapped open as he finally realised why he had such a bad feeling about this place. The Lunars knew this place somehow neutralises their abilities. The rites of passage were about overcoming the obstacles of this place without them, using their wits and cunning. So that was exactly what he had to do.

He made his way forward, the orb illuminating his way until he reached a huge stone gate with ancient Lunar symbols engraved into it. Since Jean never got a chance to study his kind's language, they meant little to him, but he was certain they contained the information he needed to open the gate. He moved the orb closer to see the symbols better and to his surprise, one of them lit up when the light fell upon it.

Jean took a closer look at the symbol. It looked remarkably similar to an arrow pointing in a direction. On a whim, his eyes followed the direction and the light traveled along with his gaze as he moved the orb, until it reached a dead end. Frustrated, Jean took a closer look at the symbol blocking the light's way. It looked like a planet rotating around its own axis, but he failed to see how that could be a clue. Unless...

Jean looked down at the orb in his hooves and noticed the markings on it were exactly the same as the symbol he depicted as a planet. He rotated it in the same direction as the symbol showed and his eyea widened in awe when he saw the symbols changing to make way for the light.

"Amazing!" He marveled at the sight. It was evident by that point that this was supposed to be a puzzle of some sort. He kept moving the orb until the light finally reached the center of the gate where there was a large round hole, not unlike the orb. The hole began to fill with light until it filled completely and the gate began to ascend into the ceiling in front of Jean.

"In the risk of sounding cliché, let there be light!" Jean mused as he walked through the gate, not wanting to miss a perfect opportunity to use that line, predictable as it might have been. His satisfaction was short lived however. He raised up the orb to get a good look at his surroundings, but when he turned right, the first image that met his eyes was a hideously disfigured, rotten equine face directly in front of his and looking directly into his eyes.

Jean jumped back in fright as he recognised the rotting corpse as a White Lunar. But an even more horrifying revelation was that it wasn't alone. There were two others behind him, slowly stumbling towards Jean like zombies. Jean looked in their eyes and couldn't see the slightest semblance of consciousness in them. He wouldn't be able to reason with them if he tried.

He turned around to run away, only to find himself facing even more of the revenant Lunars approaching him. This was not the reunion he expected with his kind. He would have preferred to avoid a confrontation with them, even if they were only twisted shells of their former selves, but he was beginning to realise that he didn't have a choice.

One of the revenants threw itself at Jean, wrapping its front legs around his neck. He tried to wrestle them off but unfortunately death did little to diminish their physical strength. The revenant trying to strangle Jean with every bit as powerful as him and Jean realised that if the others would get their hooves on him too, he’d be finished.

Jean headbutted the revenant in the muzzle, managing to disorient it a little. Taking advantage of its momentary stun, he managed to kick the undead Lunar off of himself, right into another one. The third one next to them was obviously surprised and that cost it dearly as Jean was able to tackle it and throw it aside, smashing it against the wall and clearing the way for Jean to escape.

With the orb now lighting his way, he was able to find his way through the maze of stone walls as well as spot any potential threats around him. There were several more corpses lying around the tunnels. He thought he could see some of them but he didn't stick around long enough to find out which ones would get up. He ran deeper into the maze until he was certain he found a spot where he was safe and he could catch his breath.

'Enjoying the reunion, J'inn?' Jean jumped as he heard Ma'alefa'ak's voice in his head. 'It's okay. I opened a mental communication channel between our minds. I didn't want to miss out on your dying thoughts and your psyche slowly fading out.' Jean narrowed his eyes.

'I will find you, Ma'alefa'ak!' He growled in his head. 'And when I do, you will pay for everything!' The Green Lunar laughed darkly.

'You are welcome to try. I will certainly enjoy the show. The entire chamber is under my control and trust me, there are much worse things down there than the undead remains of your fellow White Lunars.'

'No doubt.' Jean thought. 'So what exactly was the purpose of the rite down here? Obviously you would enjoy it more if I tried accomplishing it and fail rather than just running around aimlessly until I die.' Though he couldn't see it, Jean could sense the dark grin that grew out on Ma'alefa'ak's face.

'It's almost a shame you're going to die down there. I like the way you think.' He mused. 'Well, in case you managed to survive long enough to do it, which I highly doubt by the way, you will have to make your way the the center of the chamber. No powers allowed, of course. Once - or should I say if - you made it there, I'll give you further instructions. Oh, and you might wanna keep running.' And with that, the link between them was severed.

Jean knew what the last comment meant, that more revenants or perhaps something even worse was heading his way. He kept looking around with his torch but couldn't see anything that he perceived as a threat. That was until he felt a chill colder than he ever felt in his entire life pass through his body. He had to wrap his front legs and his cape around his body to warm himself up.

When he looked up again, he saw the translucent figure in front of him, staring down at him angrily. Apparently, some of the Lunars who lost their lives in the Chamber were taking too long to come back to life. So long that when the time it happened, they had no bodies left that could be reanimated and they were forced to linger here as ghosts. Ghosts who were rather unhappy with their current situation.

The ghost attempted to pass through Jean's body again to completely rob him of his warmth. Not knowing what else to do, he held up the orb in front of himself, hoping the light emanating from it might keep it away. His theory was correct as the spectral figure not only backed away, but its translucent body completely dissipated when the light made contact with it.

Jean would have relished in his victory but he learned by now that he cannot allow himself to drop his guard even after a triumph. He turned around and as he expected, he saw several more of the specters emerging from the darkness that quickly backed away once they noticed the glowing object in the living Lunar’s hooves. To escape its warmth, they floated through the walls, leaving Jean by himself once more. But before he could figure out what to do next, he heard a voice calling out to him.

“J’inn…” The Lunar Hunter jumped in fright before turning around but he couldn’t see a single soul behind him. Not even with the help of the glowing orb in his hooves. He kept circling around in an attempt to locate the speaker, but no matter which way he turned, there was nocreature around.

“Don’t be alarmed, my boy.” The voice spoke again, this time more clearly. It was so clear in fact that Jean could almost recognise its owner. He was certain he heard that voice before. ‘It is us.’

And that was the moment Jean realised who was speaking to him. And if the realisation wasn’t startling enough, the one who spoke suddenly materialized in front of him, along with two other figures. Jean’s surprise nearly caused him to drop the torch. The three ghosts standing in front of him were none other than his family. They all smiled at him warmly and with love so true that Jean had no doubt that this wasn’t just another mind game by Ma’alefa’ak. They were indeed his family’s restless spirits.

“We are here, son.” His mother spoke on the brink of tears upon seeing his son again. “We are here to guide you.”

“And to help you kick the flank of that big green meanie!” His little sister cheered with equal part anger and eagerness. The two adults rolled their eyes.

“Despite your sister’s lack of sophistication, we share her sentiments.” The mother agreed. “Your defeat of Ma’alefa’ak is of key importance to our salvation.” It took Jean over ten seconds to finally get over his shock enough that he was able to speak.

“How did you end up down here?” He finally managed to ask. “I doubt that you also passed away during the rite of passage.”

“When Ma’alefa’ak told you that this place is close enough for a mass graveyard for the White Lunars, he was not far off the mark.” His father answered. “We are not the only specters of our kind bound to this unholy place. The chamber runs deeper than you can imagine and an untold number of us were condemned here.”

“No doubt that ghastly Green Lunar’s doing.” The mother snarled. She saw Jean’s face dropping upon sensing the disdain in her voice and quickly realised her error. The revelation Ma’alefa’ak shared with him must have shaken his beliefs about their entire kind. “I’m sorry, Jean. You must understand that not all of us hated our green counterparts, but sadly, most of our leaders and upper class did and there was little that us, ordinary folks could do about it.”

“But that is not important right now.” The father continued. “What IS important is that we can guide you to your salvation and you, in turn, can guide us to ours.”

“How so?” Jean wondered.

“Our spirits have been trapped here for an untold amount of time, son.” He explained. "We know all of its twists and turns. And the way to its centre where you need to go."

"With our help, you can escape and save our kind from the damnation that is this place." The mother continued. "Deliver us, son. Or if you prefer, avenge us. Either way, Ma'alefa'ak has to pay!" On that, they all agreed.

"Let us go then." The family of three nodded and motioned for Jean to follow them. As Jean walked forward, he noticed that his family formed a triangle around him with his father taking the lead and the two female family members standing at the back on each of his sides. Before he could ask about this, he understood the reason.

As they walked through the stone maze, he noticed more spectral figures peeking out from between the walls. A few of them tried to float closer to him and it was highly unlikely they had good intentions in mind. But as they got closer to him, Jean noticed a white energy glowing up around him, repelling the ghosts.

"Don't worry big brother!" The ghost of the little girl cheered. "We won't let them lay a hooftip on you!"

"How can this be?" Jean wondered. Not that he was complaining, of course.

"There was something Ma'alefa'ak couldn't have possibly accounted for." The mother answered. "And that is the love your family has for you. As long as this exists between us, we will protect you from the threats of the beyond."

"But do not get complacent, son!" His father warned. "Against the threats of the physical realm, we are powerless to protect you. Stay vigil!"

As if on cue, when the group turned around a corner, Jean saw the outlines of more revenants stumbling out of the darkness. He quickly began formulating a plan to dispose of them swiftly and efficiently. He saw five of them heading his way, but Jean noticed that their eyesight seemed to have been mostly fixated on the orb he was holding. This gave him an idea.

He tossed the orb away and it flew over the heads of the revenants. As he expected, their gazes followed the bright object and they lost any interest in the creature carrying it. They turned and started stumbling towards the orb glowing on the ground. With his family's spirits guiding him, he no longer needed that anyway.

"We may be able to guide your path, but that may have been a reckless move." His father chided him. Jean raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you say that?" He asked, but before the spirit could answer, the maze did it for him. Jean felt the floor sink beneath his hoof and heard a loud click coming from between the walls. The light illuminated by his family's spirits was suddenly blocked when the stone walls rearranged themselves around him. His father phased through the wall in front of him and from his expression, Jean could already tell what he was about to say.

"Not one word"

With the guidance of the spirits who could go around the maze, Jean was easily able to find his way through the walls. Avoiding the revenants and the specters was also easier than before since his family's protection kept the specters away and in the darkness, the living dead couldn't see him.

But despite his easy advances through the maze, he couldn't help but feel troubled. Ever since he reunited with his family's ghosts, things have been going far too easy. And when things were going too easy, a huge obstacle was usually just around the corner.

But before he could dwell on this any further, he found himself blinded by a bright light that suddenly illuminated the entire room. Once his eyes got adjusted, he saw that he was standing in a huge chamber carved of pure white marble. The walls were decorated with enormous busts in the shape of old Lunars and in the middle of the chamber, there was a large circular area with two giant Lunar statues standing on each of its sides.

"Welcome, son, to the Chamber of the Ancients." His father's spirit spoke as they walked further into the room. "For generations, the young Lunars seeking to join the ranks of their champions who made it through the rite entered here. The fact that they made it here proved their mental strength. What happened in here would prove their physical one. And if they succeeded, they would return as the greatest champions of our kind." Jean looked around but failed to see anything that would test his physical strength.

"How exactly..." He never got to finish as he was interrupted by a huge quake of the chamber that almost knocked him off his hooves. When it ceased, Jean looked up to see the two giant statues moving their heads as their eyes lit up with a red glow. "Oh, that is how." He sighed in resignation.

The two marble golems made their way towards Jean who already began to make plans in his head on how to depose of them. When facing multiple opponents, his favourite strategy was using them against each other. And he already had an idea on how to do it.

One of the golems unleashed a pair of heat rays from its eyes but Jean managed to jump out of the way. He then tightened his hind legs against the floor and rocketed himself away, straight at the golem's head. He pulled back one of his hooves to deliver an almighty punch to its head and knock it right into the other one behind it, but what he didn't take into account, was the golem being fast enough to catch him by his cape.

Before Jean had a chance to fully understand what happened, the golem threw him up into the air and lifted its hoof to punch him across the room. Jean failed to recover in time to avoid the hit, but he did manage to grab onto the stony appendage. Taking advantage of the golem's momentary shock, Jean began to crawl up the giant's hoof until he reached its head.

The golem tried in vain to shake Jean off, the Lunar managed to get a firm grip of the stony surface. From the top of its head, Jean could see the other golem lighting up its eyes to unleash another wave of heat rays at him. Hiding behind the head of the golem he was currently riding, Jean waited until the rays hit the rock. He felt the surface heating up and eventually he had to jump back to avoid the resulting explosion.

Jean looked down into the body of the now headless golem and saw it being operated by a complex set of machinery. Clearly his kind were highly advanced for their age. When he saw that the other one was about to unleash another heat vision attack, he jumped down into the headless body. The sight of the machinery gave him an idea.

Jean's intellect was far above the average pony's and that allowed him to figure out how the machine operates in seconds. He quickly took control of the stone golem and turned it into his giant personal battlesuit. He pulled and connected the right wires to the right gears before jumping back up to the hole at the neck.

"I always did prefer a fair fight anyway." He said before pulling on the wires he was holding, putting his newfound armor into a battle stance. "Let's go!"

Jean saw the golem lighting its eyes up again, but he wasn't going to give it time to fire. He ran up to it and used the giant hooves of his suit to interrupt its attack by punching it in the chin. The golem stumbled back and Jean ran up to it to finish it off, but the giant recovered in time to block the attack with its own hooves.

Jean stumbled back from the impact and that gave his opponent the advantage it needed. The golem reached for Jean to pick him out of his golem armor. It managed to grab him, but Jean's super strength was enough for him to hold on to the insides of the golem hard enough to avoid being pulled out.

He managed to lift the hooves of his front legs and forced his armor to punch the other golem away from him. He then raised his hooves to bring them down on top of the golem's head. He smashed the stony head of the giant into the floor and saw the visible cracks the impact created on it. Just one or two more punches would do the trick.

He raised his hooves again but before he could bring them down, his body erupted in a violent coughing fit again. 'No! Not now!' He cried in his head. Apparently the dose of antibiotics Ma'alefa'ak gave him was beginning to wear off. The infection returned and completely incapacitated him, causing him to collapse along with his battle armor.

The other golem slowly got back on its legs with janky movements. It was clear Jean had done a number on it, but it was still functioning enough to stand over Jean and raise one of its hooves to deliver the killing blow. Unable to stand up or even put an end to his coughs, Jean could only close his eyes and await the embrace of death.

But instead of feeling the crushing pressure of Golem's stone hoof, he heard a deafening explosion coming from above. He opened his eyes to see a pair of heat rays blasting through the golem's exploding head before the stone giant fell to the floor.

Jean turned to see an equine figure emerging from behind the flames and smoke pouring out of the destroyed machine and slowly began to approach him. As it got closer, he realised that it was another Green Lunar but it was much different than Ma'alefa'ak. The newcomer was much smaller and had more feminine features.

The glow in the figure's eyes slowly faded out as she looked down at Jean who was still struggling to catch his breath. The Green Lunar knelt down next to him and pulled out a vial from her cloak before injecting its content into the White Lunar's body.

"Shh..." The youngling hushed as she caressed Jean's cheek. "Just stay still. Everything will be fine." Jean had no choice but to trust the stranger's words and truly enough, he felt the infection tormenting his lungs slowly burning away. His coughing ceased and he felt his strength returning as the young mare pulled him out of the wreckage.

But as he slowly got back on his hooves, he couldn't help but wonder whether he made a new friend or a foe.

Author's Note

Welcome back, everypony! This chapter took far longer than it should have. Halfway through the chapter, I realised I made a very big mistake that required a lot of rewriting and I've been kinda struggling with getting into writing too. But if I'll manage to keep my daily writing schedule up from now on, The Lunar Hunter will be definitely wrapped up before the end of July and perhaps the first issue of the next Batmare Story will be done too.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. For now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Jean had a surprising encounter at the end but just who is the mysterious Green Lunar he met? And is she gonna be an ally or another enemy? Find out next time in...

Issue #9: Friend or Foe?