Prologue (rewrittened)

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The word of a mysterious hero being mistaken for a minotaur saving ponies around Equestria's civilizations, each one had either a dead criminal or an injured one. This hero has been a thorn in the rulers side, ever since the first murder and rescue six months ago that gave the title to the hero. The name Hunter was given for a reason. In the first month after the first murder, a group of outlaws busted out of Dodge Junction, for unknown reasons on why the Hunter was there is still a mystery to everypony up to this day. He hunted escaped convicts down one by one until he left one nearly alive.

The pony that saw the hero said it can shape shift from a minotaur to any type of creature, but the most it uses was a timberwolf with fur and pelt. News of this hero spread from Yonder Hill to Canterlot, the news even had some ponies create fan clubs of his justice of defending the innocent from the guilty. All of this was barely even minded in thinking of why the hero kills or why he stays hidden from everypony.

The princesses don't agree with his action of killing, especially Luna. Celestia sees the actions of the hero being both good and bad, the act of killing to protect an innocent wasn't right since it was still murder. Luna doesn't agree with the motives of murdering since each time the Hunter had killed either a robber, psychopath, and even more involving criminals, she does not see justice of what the Hunter had done in the past six months. They both had trouble in the court from their generals, half of them demanded to find this false hero while the others disagree on that thought saying that he could be a powerful ally against the winter wolves. This dispute had been going on for hours on end until that all ends with the choice of Celestia and Luna.

“Please settle down my generals,” Celestia said in a calming voice despite an argument among the generals and mayors.” This argument of the Hunter is getting us nowhere on knowing if he is friendly or hostile against us, making false decisions of him being an enemy to us.” The entire war room was silent after what Celestia had said.

“We agree with our sister,” Luna agreed. ”But thy Hunter is a dangerous being of shape shifting from a minotaur to a timberwolf from the Everfree. He had attack our subjects sister and even hunts down those who escapes from a prison.”

Mumbles of agreement filled the war room of what Luna had pointed out of what the hero had done. Celestia wasn't happy of her sister, if the Hunter was hostile towards their subjects then she has no choice other than to kill the Hunter even if it means having Discord’s help.

“Luna it may be true that he had hunted down the guilty even those that had done the most harmless crime like robbing, but he had protected the innocent from those who had committed crime.” With Celestia’s truth of what the Hunter had done the past six months, the councilors began to whisper among each other of the truth that Celestia had said.

“We all have come to an agreement Celestia,” A mare councilor said, speaking for the other members of their agreement.” If this Hunter doesn't seem hostile towards the citizens of Equestria he may become a valuable ally to help defend the Crystal Empire.”

“Then this is settled, I will have Twilight Sparkles and her friends to help bring the Hunter to our side without any problem and even befriend him.” Celestia declared making the choice for Twilight and friends to befriend the Hunter to have as an ally. With the choice made everypony exited out of the war room leaving only the two princesses of Equestria.

“Sister is it wise to have Twilight and her friends meet this false hero, you must know that it only lives to kills?” Luna questioned her sister's own decision.
“Yes Luna, I have faith that Twilight and her friends will succeeded in this.” Celestia responded with confident that her student would succeed.

POV Twilight

I sat reading a book about a thrilling and mystery solving story of a detective pony finding the killer of multiple ponies. Reading was most recent things I have been doing ever since the return of the Crystal Empire, there really hasn't been much to do after that. The rest of my friends were minding their own business around Ponyville.

Spike was downstairs cleaning the bookshelves for future schedule for reshelving, the amount of time for him to clean all the bookshelves would take twenty one minutes before we start reshelving all the bookshelves. I wish the girls would have time to spare if it weren't for their chores and jobs they have. Everypony in Ponyville was busy today since traveling merchants of trade are arriving here in a few hours near two in the afternoon.

Reading can be addicting sometimes even when there's somepony to snap you out of it, but even reading can get a bit quiet without Spike’s footsteps. I stopped reading the book for a chance to turn on the, magic energy, radio for a chance to hear what's going on around Equestria. There were radio stations in Equestria's cities for any activities that's in one of the cities, but there are some stations like Las Pegasus jazz music. While I continued to find a station sounds of foot steps from the stairs pulled my attention to the doorway with Spike holding a letter from Princess Celestia.

“Twilight, princess Celestia sent you a letter.” Spike said as I used my magic to levitate the letter toward me. I opened the scroll to read what Celestia had written down on the scroll.

Dear Twilight,

I have written this letter for you to find Equestria's hero to see if you and your friends could befriend him. Beware the Hunter has never been found even with the aid of a tracking spell, unicorns had problems finding any trace of magic. Pegasi can't see him from the sky even when the Hunter is in a clear field.
I am aware of his actions of protecting ponies from any that tries to harm another, even Luna is aware. He had even outsmarted my generals and guards each time he had killed a pony that harms the innocent. I do not approve his actions, but with him being a unknown type of shape shifting creature. We will lend you four guards to protect you, Luna’s Lunar guards and my Royal guards will be by your side after you befriended the Hunter.

After reading the letter my ears perked up from the sound of static from the radio. I had completely forgot about the radio. The static was hurting my ears causing me to turn off the radio, ponies’ ears are very sensitive from touch and high pitch sounds.

“Spike, we're going to need a chalkboard, white chalk, scrolls, and quill and ink.” I requested all these items. I also needed a drawing board to list who goes with who. Reading the book would be an excellent time waste, but Spike changed that.
“Um Twilight, there's a group of ponies outside with Mayor Mayor, talking to some Royal guards and Luna’s.” Spike informed. I trotted over to the window to see Spike was right there were guards outside. Celestia and Luna must have sent their guards here at Ponyville before I even received the letter. Everypony in Ponyville surrounded the group of guards, probably asking questions, the girls were down there watching the guards away from the group while they walked over to my home.

“Spike get all the things I need while I talk with the girls.” I told him as I galloped downstairs to the living room then out the front door. The girls might be excited to meet a new being from a different land and get to see and befriend Equestria’s hero!

While I was galloping towards the girls I saw their maws move, they were probably speaking to one another about the guards. Applejack turned towards my direction seeing me galloping towards them.

“Twilight do ya know why Celestia’s and Luna’s guards are here?” Applejack asked wanting to know why they are here.

“Yeah Twilight, why are they here?” Rainbow Dash asked demanding an answer of the same question as Applejack's. When I told them that we're going to search for the Hunter and befriend him, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash would be screaming like fan mares, but I'm not sure of Fluttershy and Rarity would want to search for him. Fluttershy would be terrified of him and try to run away from him, Rarity would disagree to go since she might get some dirt on her.

“Well Celestia sent me a letter wanting us to find the Hunter and befriend him.” I let out an excited squeal of joy, but the girls looked at me confuse before their mind translated what I said. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie let out a small squeal of excitement finally seeing Equestria's hero, but I think Pinkie Pie only reason why she squeal was probably that she can throw a party for him and befriending him. The ponies in Ponyville didn't bother to listen to us since their focus was on the guards, they're probably too focused that even if Pinkie Pie could shout it out.

“Sweet we get to meet the hero that saves ponies from the bad ones.” Rainbow Dash was a fan mare because she read some books and saw arts of what they thought the Hunter looks like and that he saved ponies from harm.

“Well, call me a pony who can't buck, ah still have to thank him for hunting down those no good outlaws.” Applejack's was a fan because the Hunter had murdered some outlaws that threaten to overrun Appaloosa, he save her cousin Braeburn from being murdered. Ever since that she became a small fan of him.
“Oh my gosh I get to befriend him and throw a surprise, welcome to Ponyville, becoming friends, and Equestria’s best hero party!” Pinkie Pie yelled out in excitement, but I wish Pinkie Pie didn't shout it out for everypony to hear. This is a blunder since everypony now knows thanks to Pinkie Pie saying the last part of Equestria’s hero.

Everypony was baffled about us going to befriend Equestria's hero, but soon the silence was interrupted by a mare screaming.

“The Hunter is here!” Everypony attention was directed towards the source of the scream, it came from the east side of Ponyville where shops sells their products. The girls and I galloped through the crowd of ponies towards that side of town, but we weren't the only ones heading there. The guards that Celestia and Luna sent galloped towards the scream.

When we arrived at the east part of Ponyville we saw a furred covered timberwolf holding a bone in its mouth. My mind register of what it looked like. The furred timberwolf’s fur was black and white, but the white looked like an drawn skeletal remains of a dog. If my theory is current of the Hunter shape shifting abilities then this furred timberwolf is the Hunter himself. Ponies that didn't go investigate were staring in fear at the Hunter, who was in his defensive stance, gnawing on his bone.

“Citizens get away from the Hunter!” One of the two Royal guards instructed everypony. I'm not sure it was the right thing to do or wrong thing. When a stallion tried to take a hoof back, the Hunter growled and stared straight at him. Everypony didn't move an inch after hearing the growl.

“Stand down you beast!” One of the Lunar guards commanded only to get a bad response from the Hunter. He growled at the guards before running away from them. The guards gave chase after him and with us a bit far behind them.
The Hunter ran out of Ponyville to the Everfree with us chasing him down, but we hesitated to enter the forest. The guards didn't hesitate to enter in the forest since Celestia and Luna might have ordered them to protect us and to capture him.

“Oh come on,” Rainbow Dash yelled.” When does the Hunter use the Everfree to run away, it never does in stories I've read!” I wasn't sure if the book Rainbow Dash has been reading had any pin point on the action, emotion, and even the mind of the Hunter.

“Darling, what book did you read that would have made you think a murder would never hide in the Everfree forest?” Rarity quiz Rainbow Dash to see if what ever book she had read was just a made up of false beliefs.

“Girls, we don't have time for this the guards are chasing the Hunter,” I said catching everypony attention.” Fluttershy can you ask your birds to help us track the guards and him?” I asked Fluttershy, she nodded and began to speak with any nearby birds while I talk with the other girls.” When Fluttershy’s bird finds the guards, we gallop to them. Okey girls?” Everypony nodded.

“Twilight, the birds found the guards, but-” Before Fluttershy could finish her sentence a scream of agony cuts her off along with other screams. We all ran in the forest towards the source of the scream. Trees, branches, bushes, and logs made our run to the source difficult, we even had to run around to take easier paths towards the source.

When we reached the source of the scream, we watched a site to see something that must have never witnessed by pony eyes. All the guards were brutally beaten up with no armor on them and their hind legs tied up hanging down from tree branches. If this is what the Hunter can do, then I fear for those who want to harm a pony.

Chapter 1-false news

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“W-what happened to the guards!?” Rainbow Dash demanded, I would ask the same thing to the guards if they weren't badly beaten and unconscious. I have no idea if this was the cause of the Hunter or that there’s somepony else in this forest other than Zecora and the Hunter.

“Ah don't know RD, but if the fella did this then we shouldn't chase that fella anymore,” Applejack assumed as she took a quick glance around the area.” And there ain't no way to tell if the Hunter had laid down any more traps.”

I had to agree with Applejack since there was no way that the Hunter had just tied them all up so quick and then beaten them up. Rainbow Dash threw caution to the wind and flew up to one of the branches with a rope tied around it, but when she flew close enough to the branch a stick snapped by us.

We all looked back to see the Hunter still in his furred timberwolf form staring at us. My body froze in fear as I stared into the eyes of the Hunter’s, which were filled with rage. I couldn't tell if the girls were also frozen in fear from what my eyes they had witnessed. The Hunter turned his back to us and walked through a bush, he had no interest in us not even a single one.

“Why did he run away?!” Rainbow Dash asked demanding an answer, but neither of us knows the answers to her question.

“I don't know Rainbow Dash, but I'm glad he's gone,” Rarity said as she let out a breath, that she might have been holding, and looked at everypony including me.” I thought the Hunter wasn't harming ponies, but that all must be false from hurting the guards.”

“I thought he was Equestria’s hero, but after what he had done to these guards I no longer believe he is.” I walked over to one of the guards and cut the ropes off their hind legs with a simple conjured scissor and stopped their fall with a levitation spell. The guards don't need to be harmed from the from their fall, but their beaten body needs to be handle by a doctor.

Focusing on a teleportation spell, I imagined myself and everypony inside the hospital near Ponyville at the main hall near the receptionist desk. With the destination of the location to teleport I channeled my magic around everypony and released the spell.

In a flash of light I teleported everypony including the injured guards inside the hospital main hall near the entrance doors. The light died down enough for everypony to see. I ran towards the front desk and began to speak fast as possible.

“We need four doctors for four injured guards now, they’re in critical condition!” The nurse didn't waste a second and dashed down one of the hallways for a doctor or a room that some are in.

I needed to tell Celestia about this as soon as possible even if it means not to inform my friends. Galloping out of the hospital doors to my home, while I ran everypony around town looked at me with confused looks. I wish the Hunter had never arrive in Ponyville or this wouldn't have happen to those guards.

When I arrived at my home I used my magic to slam the front door open for it to not be in my way. Entering in my home I conjured up a scroll and quill and began to write a letter to Celestia of today's…failure.

Dear Princess Celestia

I have terrible news to say that the Hunter had arrived in Ponyville. He did not cause any harm to anypony in town when he was in the market. A mare had screamed his name that caused everypony to investigate to see if he really was there, but he was in his furred timberwolf form not in his minotaur one. He had a bone in his jaws when I first saw him. The guards had tried to command him to stand down only to receive a growl from him.

Everypony was terrified from seeing him even I didn't want to get near him. All this would have gone well if the guards didn't chase him away from Ponyville to the Everfree forest. The girls and I followed them to the Everfree to a small clearing, but when we arrived there the guards were…

I stopped writing to not remember the horrible memory of the guards being near death, but all information I know must go to Celestia. A strands of tears began to go flow down my cheeks as I began writing where I lift off.

The guards were near death from the Hunter’s ruthless beating. I teleported the guards and my friends to Ponyville Hospital, their in the hospital being examined by doctors as I am writing this letter to you.
From your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle

After I had written the letter, I rolled it up into a scroll and called out for Spike.

“Spike!”

POV???

The thrill of the hunter is the challenge to prove yourself in Yandra, but being away from home just makes you realize it's pointless to hunt down the most dangerous creatures. Being killed with a bunch of rocks is a pain including when you and your best friend was the only casualties of a cave in and been resurrected from an unknown entity.

Living in a land full of various herbivore animals is not really that pleasant to hunt around non meat eating creatures, it gives no challenge and wrong to hunt innocent being...well ones that are innocent. When I first arrived in Equestria, I wasn't really expecting magic to exist and ruled by two ponies being false gods of controlling the sun and moon. Magic is a bit of a nickname for arcane symbols of a mutation circle, we don't really use the word magic since the one who made the name for arcane circles was the mage himself the first ever to teach and to have a school for ones who seek to learn.

Deep in thought, remembering the code for us hunters, I didn't hear my best friend sneak up on me. How I know this is because Wyndbain pushed me into the pond, I was near. Soak and wet from the water of the pond I rose up to the water surface and inhaled a sharp breath.

“Wyndbain, why you cabron!” I hollered at my friend as I swam towards the shore, I'm not really mad at Wyndbain since he knows when it is the best time to mess around. At the shore I crawled to a patch of grass and laid down on my back. Our reason for being in the Everfree forest was that of a wanted griffon for five thousand bits, how he got that bounty on his head was because of murder, rape, thievery, and cannibalism. I can say the bits are worthless to me, but seeing that they’re not makes them a bit valuable.

The sound of pitter patter of paws from my friend told me he was only a few inches from my right. I rolled to my left side and rested my chin on my left hand. Wyndbain was just standing there, a few inches away, staring at me with those silver eyes of ours. He really is just an omega with a soul bound soul with a hunter of Yandra.

“So, any smell or sight of that griff graff?” I asked my wolf companion. Yes, I do speak with him just because he can actually listen to me like another intelligent person. Not a single bark or a howl Wyndbain walked over to me and rested his forehead on mine.

Wyndbain’s memory

Sniffing around Wyndbain found a scent of the griffon’s last prey and followed the scent to a small town settlement to the southwest of the forest. He trended toward the small settlement staying on edge in case anything tries to attack him. Things hadn't been pleasant since their presents causes any creature around to scurry away.

After a minute of being careful of journeying to the settlement, Wyndbain started to sneak through the alleyways towards the scent. Each step he took the scent was getting stronger, strong enough for a blue mist path to be formed and be seen for him. Animals can see the same thing Wyndbain can for scent of one another being, but Wyndbain is special since his nose can track down a wendigo through a harsh blizzard.

The smell of pony bone told Wyndbain that the griffon had once been through here some time ago. He turned to a corner to a dead end alleyway with a barrel by the wall and two planks of wood, a strange place for these objects to be, but thinking of objects that are useless that held no interest to Wyndbain.

The scent grew stronger than before as the blue mist was flowing from behind the barrel. With the scent found Wyndbain picked up his pace to a jog towards the barrel until he found the source of the scent. A bone, Wyndbain found a bone of a pony that died from the griffon.

Finding the source of the scent he picked the bone up with his jaws and began to make his way back to Cazador. Wyndbain walked out of the alleyway with the bone in his mouth. When Wyndbain exited out the alley a collie ran past Wyndbain and snatched the bone out of his jaws.

Stop of memory

“Wow, Wyndbain you manage to be robbed by a small collie.” I said in amusement of his error, this was the first time another dog snatch something from him. A growl from Wyndbain told me to never say anything about. A smile spread across my lips before our foreheads touched each other.

After being robbed and chased

After being chased in the wood by four ponies of two different colors and armor, Wyndbain set down the bone in his mouth and laid down in a small clearing. The ponies would see this bone and probably steal from him, but the sound of multiple of rope snapping and guards shouting told him that the griffon had caught them all.

Wyndbain crawled towards a nearby bush and took a look through the small opening of leaves and branches. The four guards that were chasing him from the small settlement. They all were tied up from there hind legs to a tree branch, they struggled with the rope around their legs. The sound of flapping wings caught the trapped ponies attention to look up at the sky to see a griffon flying down towards one of the guards.

The griffon landed near a pony guard with iron club on his back, the griffon wore dark brown leather armor covering his top half of his griffon body, some patch of leather were strapped around his hind lion legs. The color of his feather was a dark gray color, his beak was yellow, lion parts was black fur. This griffon was the one Cazador and Wyndbain was hunting for a bounty of theirs.

Stop of memory

I pulled my head back to avoid a dark memory of Wyndbain, the griffon must have beaten them with his iron club then striped them from their armor to deal more damage. Having my hypothesis of the griffon beating them with a club to near death or knocked them out, I got to my feet and walked over to my beauties.

“Wyndbain, when we have enough bits to create more ammo we’ll be traveling to the east to catch a airship before one of them leaves,” I reminded my friend before I picked up my bolt action rifle and rest the strap on the rifle around my left shoulder. We plan on leaving Equestria to travel an unexplored land for me to live and make a safe area for an outpost. Picking up my 44 assault rifle I unloaded the rifle and checked to see how many bullets I have in it before storing it away.

‘You only have twenty-one bullets left.’ A wolfish voice notified me of bullets in my clip, I already knew who spoke in my head. I turned my attention to Wyndbain and gestured him to lead me to our quarry, he probably hidden the bone nearby so I don't get to see it until we go.

While we walk to our quarry I started to travel in memory lane on how I ended up in this land of ponies.

[/hr]

Seven months ago

Standing by the fire I watched the flame flicker as each time they devour a piece of wood then turn it into ash or coal while it fights against the wind, threatening to blow out the fire. The hunt with the men was a bit satisfying since you get to hunt down those who stray from the path of light or tries to corrupt the light itself. Hunters were one of the line of defense against the dark plague since the knights, mages, and even hero's must keep the darkness from corrupting cities and towns. Hunters were created to track down any corrupted being that dares to bring harm to innocents and the light, but even a few hunters becomes the hunted from their own team.

My team’s mission is to hunt down a wendigo of a snowy forest to reopen a path for traders and caravans to use. I was second in charge if our leader turns out missing or killed in a hunt. The wendigo has been a problem to a nearby town for sixty years ever since the first disappearance.

I looked down at my 44 magnum, in my right hand, and slid a silver bullet in one of the empty slots of the revolver before placing in another one in another opened slot. My armor was a black hunter set since I don't really care for fashion only how well they protect me and how much damage they can deal before ripping apart. Wyndbain was laying by me enjoying the warmth of the fire, but we weren't the only ones enjoying the fire.

“How long until the beast crawls out of its home?” Zike asked getting impatient of waiting for the wendigo to leave its home, Zike was the third member of this hunting party, he wore chitin chest plate of a desert scorpion along with spider exoskeleton armor pants, boots, and gloves. He’s an bug freak hunter, how he ended up like this was when he traveled through a tunnel made from desert scorpions, why he went down in a tunnel full of those bugs is a question to me. Three full days he spent down there killing any scorpion that dares to kill, but when Gehrman the first hunter to be honored with the title The First Hunter. Rest is unknown only Gehrman and Zike knows. The weapons he prefers was a stinger tip spear with a repeat pistol, the bullets are silver since the metal itself is created from the light.

“Just wait you idiot Gehrman said that it’s going to leave its den.” Melody scolded him of being too impatient. She was the last member of our hunting party. She wore a red leather coat with black boots, leather pants, and white ballistic shirt underneath, her weapon of choice is two chikage (long one bladed katakana) one conjured up in arcane form as the other is a blade made from the bones of a sea kraken. Her story takes place in a village near the ocean of sea monsters, but all that change when the village was destroyed by a sea kraken. Melody got her revenge of slayer the beast and used its remains to forge her weapon, how she joined us was by accident when she tried to hunt a werewolf. If it weren't for me she would be dead.

“Get up you lazy youngsters the beast has left its cave and now it's time lay traps and give the beast a warm welcome,” An old male voice said causing everyone around the fire to look at the old hunter with joy of hunting another dark entity monster. ”But Cazador and Wyndbain will be covering our backs.”

After Gehrman said that I loaded in a third silver bullet in another empty slot before I holster the revolver away. I got up and slightly nudged Wyndbain with the of edge of my foot. He woke up from his snap and stretched his wolf body of any cramps.

‘Is it time for the hunt?’ Wyndbain asked as the others were walking to the home of the wendigo. I let out a small chuckle before patting his head with my right hand.

“Yes, it's time for the hunt.” A devilish grin crept its way onto my lips as we exited out of the cave to the wendigo’s.

[/hr]

Two hours passed after the wendigo left its home leaving it expose for us hunters to set razor saw edge bear traps around its home. We have everything planned out well even Gehrman was proud of us.

‘The monster is here!” Wyndbain screamed causing me to gain a small headache and to ready my bolt action rifle. The others were hidden behind rocks near the traps, ready to attack the wendigo.

I looked through my scope and aimed it around the bear traps, this beast will be in pain once it touches a bear trap. The cave was dark, but not too dark, for me to see what the top of the beast looks like, but a white hind leg of the beast came into my view. It didn't even take another step forward only it stayed there, confused I pulled my head back from the scope and looked towards the traps to see nothing there.

“Wha-”

‘Cazador behind us!’ I turned around to fire a shot at whatever was behind me only to be met with a gray paw with black razor claws slammed into me sending me flying to a wall, my body slammed against the wall then fell to the floor along with my rifle. Pain is what tells you that everything is real and that you're still alive.

“Cazador!” I heard Melody yelled out, my vision was blurry from the pain, but I ignore the pain and pulled out my revolver. If Wyndbain and I die in this cave then we’ll give it hell. A blur of gray snatched my weak body causing me to clench my gun tight like my life depended on it until I was brought face to face to the beast, its head was like a wolf with four deer antlers two on each side its eyes were blindfolded by a dirty white cloth. It brought its face up to mine and pushed my head to the left and sunk its claw in my neck, I let out agonizing scream as it sunk its claw in my neck. I raised my only weapon and fired a single bullet through its chest causing it to toss me over the bear traps.

“Cazador!” I felt a pair of arms wrapped around my waist stopping my fall.” Don't you dare die on me!” I felt the world around me beginning to fade, but what's causing me to stay awake was my will to live.

‘Cazador!’

“Zike give me your hail mary and tell the others to leave.” I commanded as I slowing reached in my pocket and pulled out a lighter, Zike may deny my orders of my sacrifice, but when a hunter is infected with the plague of darkness then there is no hope for me to live even Wyndbain is marked. Zike pulled out his most explosive dynamite and placed it in my empty hand.

“May death grant you peace.” I felt Zike’s grip loosen allowing me to laid down on the small clearing near the traps.”Gehrman, Melody, we have to run!”

[/hr]

Present

The rest can be figured out easily since I sacrificed myself and Wyndbain by blowing up the cave killing the beast. I don't want to go into details of how I die so this will only be said once, the cave in killed us… Death no longer has a hold on me anymore.

Time passed as Wyndbain led me to our bounty, he had the bone in his mouth since the griffon scent was on it, the dumb bird forgot to discard his evidence better than leaving it in alleyway of a small settlement. The day turns to late noon with the sun setting over the horizon as the moon was slowly taking its place.

‘How much do you bet that I'm going to trigger a trap?’ I asked Wyndbain in my thoughts as we traveled up a small hill.

‘Three sweet and delicious beef jerky.’ Wyndbain replied happily as we made it to the top of the hill. The view of a piece of this forest gave us a hint because of smoke from north of us, our target was making camp before it even became night. There are things I hate with creatures being confidante of losing their predator, but this predator had found his prey. We both walked downhill towards where the smoke was coming from, today the bird shall be a dead one.

The remaining day had gone to night as we venture forth to the camp of our target, the creatures in this forest stayed away from us as went through the forest. I had my revolver out loaded with six golden bullets, dipped in poison, one shot is what it takes to kill a regular creature and if I only graze the griffon the poison would paralyze him then slowly start to shut down his organs until his heart stops beating. The poison may be unnecessary to have, but who says what is necessary to have or to do everyone has their own reason to have it.

With the darkness of the night it made it easier to pinpoint where the fire is through this darkness and with the same vision of Wyndbain made it easier to see through the darkness. I am always glad to have my soul bound with Wyndbain's, but with great things comes with horrible ones ours is if one of us dies so does the other.

Not paying any attention to the ground I failed to notice rope on the ground and stepped in the middle of the circle. The rope whipped me off my feet from the ground and left me hanging above it. I can say my companion won his beef jerky. It didn't take long for Wyndbain to jump in nearby bush to hide himself so that the griffon would only believe that I was the only one here.

The sound of wings flapping in the air told me that the griffon was here. I hid my left hand behind my back so that the griffon doesn't see the revolver. The griffon that was flying above me soon landed in front of me with a crooked smile on his beak, he probably think he got me by surprise. Jokes on him that the table would soon be turned around.

“Oh, seems like-”

*Bang*

Chapter 2- Preparation

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POV Celestia

Four hours before gunshot

After Lulu and I sent our guards to Ponyville we split our paths for our own royal duties for today. I reopened the Day court for anypony that has any question or wants to announce something of theirs, but my mind was not in the right condition of making decisions for my subjects questions and announcement. Sometimes my imaginations would start to trick me to believe that the Hunter had harmed Twilight and the other. Now I hope in my mother's name that I had made the right choice for Twilight and her friends to befriend him.

The nobles living in Canterlot had came walking in demanding useless request for having the tax raise for ponies who aren't nobles and lowered for those who are nobles. Such an ignorant request for a greedy nobles will not be accepted. I denied that request for it is not acceptable for those who are not nobles. The noble that requested the change of tax was not pleased of being denied, this noble didn't show her anger she just leave without saying anything disrespectful.

The day court went by slowly as each noble that entered in asked a question, demand, or try to have my approval of their herd, such things from nobles are some of the dumbest things I had heard from many centuries ago. When a mare was about to ask something green flames appeared out of thin air then formed into a scroll. Seeing the scroll I quickly snatch the scroll in my magic and unrolled it to read.

Dear Princess Celestia
I have terrible news to say that the Hunter had arrived in Ponyville, he did not cause any harm to anypony in town when he was in the market. A mare had screamed his name that caused everypony to investigate to see if he really was there, but he was in his furred timberwolf form not in his minotaur one. He had a bone in his jaws when I first saw him. The guards had tried to command him to stand down only to receive a growl from him.
Everypony was terrified from seeing him even I didn't want to get near him. All this would have gone well if the guards didn't chase him away from Ponyville to the Everfree forest. The girls and I followed them to the Everfree to a small clearing, but when we arrived there the guards were…The guards were near death from the Hunter’s ruthless beating. I teleported the guards and my friends to Ponyville Hospital, their in the hospital being examined by doctors as I am writing this letter to you.
From your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle

After reading Twilight's letter I gotten off my throne in a blink of an eye and galloped to my sister's chamber, for this horrible event. I thought Twilight and her friends would be able to befriend the Hunter, but I was wrong, wrong that they could befriend him, wrong that he wouldn't harm an innocent pony.

Galloping through the castle I arrived at my sister’s door and slammed it wide open, startling Luna. She was probably waking up from her short nap, but right now is not the time for naps and sleep.

“Luna, our guards has been beaten to near death by the Hunter, we must act quickly before he harms another!” I informed her as I galloped to the court knowing that my generals would demand to track down the Hunter and execute him for harming the Royal and Lunar guards. News about the four hospitalized guards would soon reach Canterlot with gossip about the Hunter.

Soon I made it to the courtroom and waited for the arrival of the generals and Luna, I fear that there is no convincing way to not execute the Hunter. Luna would be the first to ask my permission to hunt down the Hunter with her guards, but even my sister won't be able to track him down.

In the matter of seconds the courtroom door slammed opened with Luna galloping in with the generals stunned of her action. When Luna got close enough to me she began to asked for permission of her own mission.

“Sister, we ask permission to hunt down the Hunter for his crime of assaulting and injuring the guards we have sent to aid Twilight and her friends for-”

“I know Luna and you are allowed to hunt down Equestria’s false hero. You can take your guards to help aid you on tracking down the Hunter.” I said giving Luna permission to track down the Hunter for his crimes. Luna was taken back by surprise of the sudden permission, but shook it off her as she thanked me before readying her guards to Ponyville. I just hope that our generals would not start an argument about the injured guards at Ponyville Hospital.

She left the courtroom leaving me with the generals for a talk about the action and the punishment for the crime the Hunter had done. When the door closed my generals took their seats before speaking to the matter at hoof of this news.

POV Luna

Twenty one minutes before gunshot

We didn't expect our sister to give us permission to bring justice to the murder, he will be brought to court for his crimes. For too long the Hunter had been murdering the guilty with no mercy, for too long he had been outsmarting us for every time we came close to finding him, but today that all stops when we capture him.

Our guards had made camp by the Everfree forest for every morning they will rest as every night they will search for the false hero. We never thought of the murderer actually showing his true colors, he may had saved our subjects from harm, but he does not have the rights to take a life.

“Princess Luna, the troop are ready and is waiting for you to lead.” My Lunar lieutenant notified me of the guards, ready to be lead out in a patrol into the Everfree forest. The guards and our objective is to capture the Hunter to put an end of him being Equestria's false hero.

“Thank you, lieutenant, you can tell the guards to be ready for a patrol once we find the Hunter’s dream.” We ordered him, he saluted me before returning to his duty of preparing the troops. Finding the Hunter would be impossible for us and our guards, but every being needs sleep and when a creature sleep we can enter their dream to banish the nightmares or find where they are.

We began to walk towards our tent in a calm pace, there is no need for rush from what my sister has always says to me. Before we lifted up the cloth of the tent a loud roar sound like thunder rang causing me to look towards the Everfree forest, something had made that roar and that something may be the Hunter.

POV Cazador

Present

What is the light when there is only darkness, what is darkness when there is only light? I have asked myself this each week after I have claim a bounty, the Hunters were meant to hunt down those who harms the light...though what would have happen if the light wasn't what we think it is. This world may not be tainted by darkness, but what if that darkness was me being the only one to kill without hesitation, one that can use arcane spells, one that is a monster whenever it's a full moon?

I've been questioning myself as my meal was cooking above the campfire of the griffon, he will no longer be using the fire for his own use so his belongings now are mine. Twirling a griffon steak, with a stick stabbed through it, in my right hand for the meat to cook to a medium rare or rare steak. I'm not much of a cook since eating meat with no flavor, except for the juice inside the meat, is not a big problem to me. Wyndbain was enjoying his food of the griffon lion leg, tearing off any chunk of meat off the bone.

“Just a few more seconds before we take the griffon’s head to Griff Glade boy, just got to refuel our stomachs.” I said as the steak on the stick in my hand began to turn brown slightly meaning that the meat on the stick was close to cook. Twirling the stick again I looked back to see the severed head of the griffon was done dripping blood, the poison didn't travel through the body since I shot a bullet in his head and then severed the head to prevent the poison to spread throughout the body.

Wyndbain didn't respond to me because of his food, but soon he will be finished with his bone. As the steak began to darken a bit more I pulled the stick back and chowed down the steak to satisfy my hunger. Tomorrow at noon in the east an airship would be leaving Equestria to Griff Glade, where the man who placed the bounty of the griffon I killed.

I may not know much of lands far from Equestria, but Griff Glade would most likely to have griffons there. The airships was invented by griffons for long journey travel to another land like Equestria, even lacking with a few technology they managed invent some old day inventions. The thought of leaving Equestria for good is a plan I should have made up six months ago, if we weren't busy hunting down the guilty.

After finishing my steak with bites like a hungry wolf (no puns intended) I tossed the stick in the fire before standing up. Our time here was already a waste since we had trouble finding the griffon without any of the ponies seeing me, despite Wyndbain being seen, was time consuming.

“Okey Wyndbain, we're leaving you carry the head while I carry the camping stuff,” I began to take down the tent before packing every camping equipment to sell for some gold. Tonight is our ally for every creature that's not nocturnal would be asleep, as for the ones that are nocturnal would be a problem if they try to attack us.” East is our destination to the Shoe Horse port, at noon a airship would leave to Griffon Glade. Remember the train to Shoe Horse port is leaving around ten, if we miss this then the airship would leave without us.”

‘Don't worry Cazador, we will make it.’ Hearing that from my loyal friend I started to feel confident of our plan. After packing all the camping equipment I double check my ammunition. I pulled a case full of gold 44 bullets made by me while a small pouch inside it contains only a dozen of silver bullets. I put away the box full of 44 bullets in one of my coat inner pockets. I pulled out a pouch full of .308 bullets, I don't have that much for my bolt action rifle, but with the gold to replace the silver would help make it easier to make more. Putting away the pouch in my inner coat pocket I pulled out my last ammunition of my firearms. Ten clips of 44 assault rifle, they were the only ammo I have since creating more clips requires me to have a workbench and some tools.

‘I hope so Wyndbain, if we don't then how could we ever live in peace? With that single thought I looked up at the starry night of this world before smiling to myself. The thought of living in peace with no darkness harming the innocent and with a land of ponies full of harmony why should I try to protect the land? Picking up a bag packed with the camping equipment, I slung the bag over my right shoulder before I tied a rope around Wyndbain's waist with the head in the bag. I put out the fire by kicking some dirt at it. The fire would soon die down to burning coal before the heat dies.

“Well let this be the same day that we travel to a new land.”

Chapter 3- The truth

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POV Cazador

“Are you going to talk you animal!?” I felt my interrogator slam his hoof after he asked such a stupid question, my jerked to the right from the force put into the punch, or was it a swing? This was not in my plan at all to be captured by an army of small ponies and one horse. I hung my head down to keep my eyes on their hooves as one of my interrogators walks around me.

“Even with a hit like that you're still not talking,” A feminine voice said sounding surprised of my endurance to pain. The clopping of hooves on the stone ground stopped by my right.” But can you be affected by a truth spell?” The feminine voice asked herself out loud, she may have meant to say that allowed for me to hear.

Their spell won't have any effect on me because of my black blood, a curse from being marked by a wendigo. The pony that was on my right walked away from me, her hooves came into my field of vision as she walked towards the other pair of hooves. The hooves stopped in front of the other before it left my field of vision. The other pair hooves, that didn't move throughout my interrogation, moved towards me with a male voice speaking.

“Even an animal like you are not resistant to magic, magic is in every life on Equis.” The pair of hooves stopped in front me with a sound of grunting, my blood began to harden and slowly moves in my body as the pony in front of my fell down in exhaustion.” Wha- what in Celestia’s name, how are yo-”

In his state of confusion, I took the chance to break the ropes around my right leg, that was tight to my chair, and kicked on the sight of his pony head. A loud thud to my left told me that the guard hit the wall then fell to the floor. Hearing can be better than seeing, but even hearing can be tricked like an illusion. I lifted my head up and looked to the right to see my interrogator was knocked out cold from my kick and the force of impact.

‘Wyndbain, meet me by the train tracks to the east of Ponyville we're leaving.’ I communicated with Wyndbain in my thoughts before I ripped my left hand from the rope and untied the others. Freed from my bind from the chair I exited out the building I was in. There were no guards around the entrance, the ponies were too over confident of capturing me. I began to walk to the train station for the tracks.

The night was silent as everyone in this village was asleep, except for the guards that were patrolling the town. It didn't take me long to sneak past any patrolling guards around Ponyville, they only scan their areas whenever they came to a clearing in this small town. Once I arrived at the station I followed the tracks to the east to meet up with Wyndbain.

‘Cazador!’ Not even four yards away from the train station Wyndbain has already found me. I turned around to see a familiar wolf with my rifles on his back, the head tied around his waist, and my revolver around his neck.’ What did they do to you?’ A smile creep its way to my lips from hearing Wyndbain caring about me.

“They beaten me up, but their small beaten only felt like a child’s.” I let out a small laugh before continuing my walk to the east. It's seems we won't be leaving Equestria. Before my journey began my armor and body reverted back into their original self.

One hour twenty minutes ago

Walking toward the train station of the small settlement Wyndbain and I have been on our top guard, we had heard wings beating in the sky along with ponies shouting out of finding me. The settlement might have found the guards in the woods and send a message to their leaders. With all these guards around we have to be on our guards in case we were attacked by any guards.

We soon reached the edge of the forest, the clear fields of grass would be the one that those guards will see me. Not taking a chance to be seen in the clearing we tread along the forest edge, the forest does get close to the town only a half mile, but it's the same situation as the first except it's closer. The chances of being seen is high and with guards flying in the sky there is no chance for me to not be seen.

‘I guess I have no choice.’ I looked down at my left hand before I looked at Wyndbain. With my weapons on my they’ll slow me down, but with no on me I can be quick as a panther. Wyndbain noticed my gaze on him and asked.

‘Why are you looking at me like that for?’ I thankful that half of my face was covered by my mask, it hidden my grin as I began to take off my rifles and strapped them on Wyndbain's back. Wyndbain watched as I loosed my belt before removing my holster with my revolver. After I removed my holster I took off Wyndbain leather collar and added the holster then put the collar back on Wyndbain.

‘Stay near the forest until their attention is drawn to something else.’ I ordered him before running off to the small settlement. My plan on catching everyone's is to create a distraction for Wyndbain and me, but it requires fire, an important building or monument, and the use of an arcane spell.

POV Luna

Our search for the Hunter’s dream was not successful as we hope would be, it has seem that the Hunter does not sleep like our subjects do. This is troublesome, if the Hunter does not sleep then we can not find him. Awaking from our slumber, we uncurled ours legs and stretched out our body. Even if the Hunter does not rest the night is our greatest ally.

We exited out of our tent to hear any reports of the patrol around the Everfree forest. When we lifted the cloth up our lieutenant galloped to us breathing heavily, we may not know what is troubling him for this is unusual for our lieutenant to act like an untrained soldier.

“Princess, a patrol caught sight of the Hunter heading towards Ponyville.” He reported as the other patrols arrived back. The Hunter was spotted by one of the patrols? This is a surprise not once has the Hunter been spotted. But from what our lieutenant said of the Hunter going to Ponyville may mean he is out to harm more of our subjects.

“Tell the patrol to engage the Hunter, he will try to harm the citizens in Ponyville!” We shouted my command, the sight of seeing the Hunter harm the Elements has came into our mind. The lieutenant saluted before taking off in the sky. We turned our attention to the rest of our troops and gave them an order.” We must prevent the Hunter to harm the citizens of Ponyville, to arms!”

Our guards prepared for battle as we took to the sky towards Ponyville, we fear that he may cause destruction. In the sky we spotted the center of Ponyville burning in a blaze of fire as the patrol that was sent were flying back to camp.

“Princess, Town hall is burning down there's a pony inside.”

“What of the Hunter?”

“Still inside!”

POV Cazador

“Well, this is unexpected.” I said to myself as three ponies, in armor, were outside preventing me from exiting out of the burning building. The black symbols around my left arm glowed with ember as the flames spread quickens from one wood pillar to the roof. My illusion pony was above me banging its hoof against a glass window, this was never suppose to happen it was a quick and simple plan of mine.

‘If I don't do something I’ll be burnt alive.’ With the fire spreading I looked up to see if I can find another way out that doesn't involve getting spotted. With a quick glance around I saw a window on the second floor, but the fire had already spreaded up to the second floor.

I raised my left hand in front of me, the symbols around my arm changed from ember to cold blue along with the cold air coming from them. An ice body and clothes can last against the fire than werewolf leather armor. With a single wave of my hand my body temperature began to drop from its regular temperature, the armor I have changed from black leather to frost coated feathers. I let out a breath seeing it fog up as it leaves from my mouth.

“This s-should do.” I stuttered as the cold started to works its way on freezing my inner body heat. Taking a step forward I dashed off to one of the pillars, engulfed in flames, I leaped up the pillar and landed my right foot the charred wood before kicking up to the second floor. My single kick didn't help me reach the second floor so kicked off the wood, this time with my left foot. The force from my kick helped my reach the second floor with ease, but the heat from the fire began to take affect on me.

Dashing off again I ran towards the window of my escape. A chuck of wood fell off from the ceiling and crashed in front of me, I slammed my hands on the burning wood and flung my legs over and continued to the window. I have to say even with my hands cold as ice I can still feel the flames burn them. When I reached the window I jumped out of it, my body force breaking the glass to shards, some cut the back of my body while the others fell along with me.

My fall to the ground wasn't pleasant, I landed on my right side of my body before rolling to the front of my body. The shards of glass broke on impact of the ground to tiny pieces. The pain from the fall numbed allowing me to get back up onto my feet and make a run for it. Not even a foot away a powerful force hit me on the back and sent me tumbling down.

POV Luna

We arrived at town hall to seize control of the fire before it consumed the building any further. The Lunar unicorns levitated buckets of water to the burning building. The burning building had awoken many ponies from their slumber, some of the residents of Ponyville have exited out of their homes to watch the Lunar guards extinguish the flames escaping the building. The Hunter must have been the cause of these flames as they began to consume the town hall.

Before we started to speak with our subjects we spotted one of them trapped inside on the second floor. We turned our attention to the building and galloped towards the building to aid the trapped subject, but with the sound of glass breaking from the other side caught our attention. The guards and citizens heard the glass and turned their attention to the source, we returned our gaze to the trapped subject, but the pony wasn't there.

We knew a subject was trapped inside, but we could not see the pony anymore. The Hunter must have done something our subject. The hatred inside me burned as the thought of the innocent pony that was inside might have been murdered by him. An white figure in the corner of our eyes caught.

‘Murder!’ We charged up our magic and fired a beam towards at the white figure, the figure was hit by the beam and sent flying a feet away. The other guards surround the figure to prevent him from escaping us anymore.

“By the princesses it's the Hunter!” A Lunar guard shouted out baffled, the guard must not have expected himself to the Hunter in pony. We walked passed our guards to see the Hunter for ourselves. When we finally saw the Hunter, we weren't expecting him to be wearing white, we expected to see him in dark colors.

“Guards restrain the Hunter before he wakes up from his slumber.” We ordered before leaving back to camp, our sister will need a report of our success.

POV Nurse Redheart

Present

The news of the Hunter being captured from last night has already spread among Ponyville, the guards that had suffered the beaten from the Hunter would be glad to hear when they wake up from their coma's. Having the night shift has it's good and bad sides to it, I get to have time on relaxing and check on the patients without any problem while I write down their conditions. My shift was almost done and the last patient I had to check was mister Clever Wing.

I strolled through the hallway to the patient’s room. When I arrived at the door and I opened it before entering in. To my surprise the patient was awake staring out through the window, the sound of the door opening caught his attention to me.

“Mister Clever Wing, I had no idea you were awake.” I whispered as to not wake up any other patients.” Why are you awake?”

“I just had a bad feeling so I woke up and looked at the window, but that's not the reason,” Clever Wing explained before he looked at me with seriousness in his eyes.” I need you to write down a letter that the Hunter is not evil, a griffon had me and my squad in a trap. He beaten us up and stripped us of our armor, if weren't so careless we could have avoided this. Write a letter to the princess please the attack on us was not by him.”

I nodded, Clever Wings smiled before he rested his head on the pillow. I walked over to his clipboard before writing his current condition on it. After writing his condition I walked out of the room to my desk at the entrance to write what mister Clever Wing had said.

Chapter 4- Savior

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POV to Luna

We stared into the empty room of the Hunter that was once in under interrogation of our guards. Only thing that was in the room was a chair, cut rope, and outdrawn pony where one of the interrogators were knocked out. The news of the Hunter escape had already spread from one of our subjects, their curiosity had already gotten the better of them and made them seek out their curious thoughts. We only been notified by one of the interrogators when she went back to check on her fellow interrogator, but when she saw him on the floor unconscious she galloped out of their and told the nearby guards of what she saw then we were notified.

The Hunter had already ran away from Ponyville to another settlement, but now we don't even know where he went. A creature that burnt down the town hall, beaten up four guards near death, and now knocked out an interrogator. Our sister will not like to hear of our failure in this mission, we should have paid more attention to the Hunter than speaking with the mayor of rebuilding the town hall.

“Princess Luna, we could not find any trace of the Hunter, but a royal guard in the hospital wishes to speak with you.” A guard notified us then saluted before returning to his ranks. We trotted to the hospital to hear what one of the survivors from the Hunter attack has to report to us, whoever the guard is they may know what happened to them.

We arrived at the entrance hospital, less than a minute, and entered inside to a stallion at the front desk. He was started at first of our appearance, but soon relaxed of knowing that it was us that trotted up to his desk.

“We wish to speak to one of the guards that regain consciousness.” We said, the stallion nodded and picked up a clipboard, with papers, in his teeth and dropped it in front of us. Our magic soon engulfed the clipboard as we read through it.

The guard that woken up was on the second floor room thirty to the far left hall. We trotted off to the room upstairs of a word for the guards.

POV to Cazador

The hot heat from a volcano made me sweat as we continued traveling away from Ponyville to Shoe Horse port. It was necessary to travel through the forest to this volcano, no creature would really go near a volcano or live by one, meaning no intelligent life around. Wyndbain and I had been traveling around for hours from midnight to noon, ours bodies haven't have any rest from yesterday morning soon we would fall asleep without ourselves knowing.

“We must find a cave Wyndbain,” I said before I fell to my knees.” Sleeping outside with smoke will not be a wise choice. My body was slowly going numb from the lack of sleep.

‘Cazador, do you think a cave would be on the side of the volcano or would it be closer to the ground?’ Wyndbain asked, he made my mind run for a bit before it found a solution. I forced myself up to my feet and took a quick search for a cave entrance.

My eyes scan the only clear view I have of the volcano base, a small black hole in the side of the volcano was either a cave entrance or a giant mole hole. Faith always works in strange ways and even in those ways can be a living hell. I snapped my fingers to catch Wyndbain's attention before walking to the base of the volcano.

Soon after Wyndbain followed me to the base of the volcano. Our stumbling soon changed to dragging as we finally made it to the hole, turns out it was a cave. I was glad that we finally have a place to rest a bit before we start travel again to the east. When we entered in the cave there were no animals in it, but what should we expect from the animals they can sense danger before a human could know.

Sleep soon took a hold of me and before I knew it my eyes were already closed.

[/hr]

“Stop it!” A feminine voice shouted, it woke me up from my slumber. I heard people laughing outside of the cave, my mind began to wake up from my sleep.

“Come on, it’s mating season I thought you dragoness were in heat.” A male said with venom in the end. I pushed myself up to my knees and stretched out my arms, after that I got to my feet. My body wasn't fully awake for any quick movement, but it was no longer numb.

“Yeah, it's that time of the season again when every dragoness are in heat.” Another male voice said, except his voice was pitched. My mind was now fully awake, giving me back the ability to think, I walked out the cave and took a look around the area. Four colored dragons were in a clearing by a tree, the three were males from the color green, yellow, and cyan, the other one was a female with black scales. I couldn't see the details thanks to my blurred vision, but seeing the figures is better than not seeing them.

‘Great dragon territory. ’ I shook my head and walked over to the four dragons, I wasn't a fan of dragons since they're not very common in my world. Caution can only be taken when I speak to one of them. Before one of them even had the chance to speak to one another, I placed a hand on the green one and spun him around to face me.

“The lady said to stop and you should listen before you end up dead.” I threatened the dragon by pulling out my revolver and aiming it at him, my elbow rested by my hip as the gun was stilled pointed at it or him. The green one laughed his own ass off as the others laugh with him, except the black one.

“With that little thi-” I aimed lower and pulled the trigger, the sounded off with a bang and a cry of pain from the dragon. The green blur fell to his left holding his right leg as he cried in pain. I aimed my revolver over at the cyan one and spoke in a cold tone.

“Pick him up,” The cyan one nodded and picked up his green friend by the arm, the yellow one, to my right, helped him and flew off in haste. I didn't shoot them down, no I let them live to see another day. The black deaconess, in what dragon calls female, was in front of me, her back against the tree as she looked at me.” Go home.”

I turned around and walked back to the cave, those dragons would bring more to stop me. My body was fully awake, but aching from the weights of the guns on my back. There’s no telling of what the dragoness would do so leaving as soon as possible before more comes.

Sound of footsteps in the direction of the dragoness caused me to spin around and aimed my gun at her. The dragoness was no longer at the tree, but in front of the barrel of my gun. I have to emit the dragoness has some courage to sneak up behind, she probably thinks of me as a savior or a demon.

“Go home.”

“No.” I was surprised to hear her say that in front of a hunter pointing a loaded revolver between her eyes, most people would just obey and leave for their life, but she’s different and doesn't know what a gun is. My blurred vision didn't allow me to see the eyes of this dragoness, I still can't tell what she looks.

“Go home or you’ll be shot.” I threaten her against and aimed at where her heart might be at. Again she didn't obey me, she stood her ground and placed her hand or claw on the barrel before talking again.

“You would have done it.” The dragoness wasn't lying I would have pulled the trigger and killed her right where she stood, if I was fully corrupted I would have not care to kill an innocent. I lowered my revolver and let out a sigh of defeat before walking back inside the cave.

Not even a minute the dragoness began to following me to the cave. I started to not care anymore if she follows or leaves, Wyndbain and I have a place go and that is Shoe Horse port. When I entered the cave Wyndbain was already awake, he sat near the spot I once laid down. Soon Wyndbain gaze was on me then on the dragoness.

‘Why is there a dragon behind you?’ Wyndbain asked as he stared down the dragoness behind me.

‘She won't leave,’ I answered before speaking again.’ But that's not the problem we have, dragons coming here.’ Wyndbain nodded and walked over to my side, I checked the bag on his side and looked at the dragoness.

“Hey dragoness, if you're planning on following us then remember this I will not help.” I said in a cold tone before tightening the straps of the bag.

“Hey my name is Cynder not Dragoness! And I don't really expect you to help me.” Cynder said, she made it clear that she knew I won't help. After I tighten the straps, I stood up and walked out the cave with Wyndbain and Cynder. I may need to sleep more to regain my eyesight.

POV to Luna

We paced around thinking of what the guard has told us and what he sent to our sister, we still couldn't believe that a wanted griffon had been around our subjects for how many days. Sister may speak with the king in Griffon Stone of the wanted griffon. Our pacing was stopped by Tia opening the door.

“Luna,” Tia started, we went silent to hear our sister.” You tried your best to capture the Hunter in Ponyville sister, and even we all didn't wait for one of the guards awakes. I may have to send Twilight a letter of the misunderstanding of what she and her friends has seen.” Soon our sister walked past me to her chambers, we were surprised to see that our sister isn't mad at us.

We stared at the direction where Tia went and thought back when we heard the report from the guard.

two hours before

“But princess Luna, what I am saying is that the Hunter is not enemy of ours that we thought he was,” The guard said while he laid in the medical bed, while the nurse was checking him of any signs of memory lost. Sadly he didn't have any memory lost or mixed ones.” A griffon had laid down traps and we fell in them. I know what the griffon looked like before he beaten me up with his club.”

The guard looked at the nightstand by his bed and picked it up then shown us. To our surprise the guard description on the picture of the griffon that beaten them. We took the paper in our magic and teleported to our sister of this news.

When we teleported in the throne room Tia was sitting in her throne reading a scroll, not even a second later Tia looked over the scroll in her magic. We galloped to her and shown her the picture of the griffon, the guard told us about.

“Sister, thi-”

“I know Luna,” We were baffled, our sister already knew of what we were about to say.” Luna, I want you to take charge for a view days until the Griffon king and I talk about the wanted griffon.”

We nodded and exited out of the throne and paced around near the door, we needed to think of this entire event from last night and this morning.

Chapter 5- Batponies

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The sound of popping embers, the feeling of warm flames burning wood, and the smell of cooked potatoes and well-done rabbit legs made the night felt more relaxing from the long walk. By my side was Wyndbain chewing on a piece of bone from our hunt for tonight's dinner with a black dragoness sitting on the opposite side of the fire, across from us, staring at us with those golden eyes of hers. Cynder, that was the dragoness’ name. Her underbelly scales were a dark violet color that resembles the color of wine, small glyphs (what I believe) marked both her rears they share the same makes having a shaded eye in the middle with violet glowing symbols around the eye. I had asked about the glyphs on her rear but all she said it was nothing but a birthmark that dragons used to pick on her about resembling the cutie marks that ponies had, can’t help to feel sorry for her about that.

I never knew much about dragons other that knights had fought with them before, they breathe fire, greedy, bigger than a two-story house, and having hard scales and hide that not even steel can slice through. It was tempting to not pull out a steel hunter’s knife and test out that last part of steel not being able to harm a dragon’s hide, but the code what kept me in place. All races that are not corrupted or tainted in darkness are not to be harm, those who harm the innocent will be found guilty for the crimes they had committed and will be executed without a single word unless evidence is shown to prove they did not murder an innocent.

“Cazador,” I heard Cynder called out catching my attention from the burning wood to the dragoness. “When will food be ready.” The dragoness sounded like a child wanting something very badly and too impatient to wait. It’s only been a full three minutes and the meat inside the hare’s leg hasn’t even cooked yet.

“Be patient the meat needs to cook more for it to be juicy.” I turned both sticks giving the other side of the hare’s legs to cook. Wynbain had no objection to this as he was too busy chewing the bone in his jaws. The dragoness whined and pout for not getting what she wanted. Do dragons have educations like the ponies and griffons do, my world had education too but it would cost more than five bars of gold for a year of education.

Leaning back against the log a pop sounded out the source was from my back; however, the sound caused the dragoness to look unpleased with the sound and have a worried expression on her face. There’s nothing wrong with popping one's back as it helps relieve the buildup of stress in the bone. I let out a satisfied sigh and stared down at the dragoness waiting for her to either whine or be disgusted. Neither was heard from her as we waited for dinner to be cooked.

‘You know the dragoness been staying up ever since you saved her,’ Wynbain pointed out dropping the bone and scratching his neck with his hind paw. I noticed that this dragoness had small red veins in the white parts of her eyes.

‘Yeah, but I’m not carrying her,’ I told him. Reaching out to the canteen by me, I took a sip of water from it before offering Cynder a drink from it. She held out her hand and I tossed it to her. Without much of a surprise, she caught it and took a sip of it.

After a few minutes had past dinner was ready and Cynder had a water mouth when I told her that. Never have I ever seen a dragon so hungry that they would jump in a fire and take one of the cooked hare’s legs for herself to eat. I managed to snatch mine before any embers and dirt could ruin the meal. Something tells me that I won’t be able to shake off this dragoness and to just deal with it.

I took a bite out of the cooked leg and gazed up at the stars. After dinner, we’ll be heading to Shoe Horse Port where Wynbain and I would be leaving Equestria’s land to the griffon land where that bounty of mine would be enough to buy a place to live and settle down. I know that Gehrman was old and had possibly thought of a retirement after being a hunter for all the years he had spent, but I’m cutting mine short. All the hunts I had were criminals and a rare few exotic creatures that do not earn the rank of being worth hunted by me or those above my rank as a hunter.

Mental note to all who wanted to carry a dragon that’s a few inches shorter than you or taller depending on your size imagine carrying bricks in it to weigh around a hundred ten pounds in your arms. Her scales were smooth as obsidian stone making it comfortable to carry this dragoness...just wish she lost some weight. Reasons for this mental note for carrying a dragon was because how Cynder fell asleep halfway to Horse Shoe Port, I guess she’s not the nocturnal type that sleeps in the day and wakes in the evening.

From Ponyville to Shoe Horse Port would have taken three whole days when taking the path they made, but if you take mine you would get there in two days straight at the cost of danger. Ponies are so complicated when it comes to making a road that takes less time, better soldiers, and lack of environmental control.

‘The scent of ponies are nearby.’ Wynbain’s nose pointed towards the sky as if his nose was like a weapon. We stopped under a tree, I placed Cynder on her side and took off my coat to use as a pillow for her. I rose to my feet and looked down at my weapons. Lifting the straps off and setting both rifles down I glanced at my black vest on the side of my hip was my revolver where I always had it. That gun I did not unarm myself of, I kept it holstered.

‘Let’s see what the little ones got in store for us.’

POV ???

Staring down at the tall figure we waited for him to walk between the four trees where it had happened where he had woken up when he first arrived in Equestria where we had found them. We watched every movement he made looking around up at the trees, searching in the bushes around, staring at the ground, and listening. For what he listens for was us.

We had known all the tricks and his skills. Nopony but us knows how to fight Hunter and Wynbain, they cannot catch us by scent because we covered ourselves in mud, hear us because we were quiet, see us because how we hid in the dark. This human will not know what hit him and that wolf by him won’t be able to warn him of our-

“Silver Glow, Night Light, I know you’re here.” WHAT! “ Venga aquí ahora señoritas.” How did he know we were here? Maybe it’s just a rouse trying to get us out of our hiding spot. “Girls, I know you’re here Wynbain can smell you.”

“Really?” I faced hoof at how my sister had easily been fooled into believing that Wynbain had picked up our scent even though we had covered ourselves with mud. On the opposite branch across from my Night Light flew out and landed beside Cazador, who caught her before she could touch the ground giving my sister a belly rub like he used to do.

I can hear my sister scream and laugh as I watched her squirm in Cazador’s arms as he tickled her until she began to beg. Those hands of his were something to fear of when he has it in the “claw mode” to tickle us, we always run away from him whenever we play Hunter and Prey; a game where there are one or two hunters, depending on how many players, they tag the players or in Cazador’s case tickle them and the rest are prey having to run and return back to the safe area. Hearing my sister scream and laugh gave me the advantage to pounce on the man below me.

“AHHH!” Yelling out my battle scream as I fell on the man below before pounding my hooves on the man’s back. I know it didn’t do much to hurt the man but it did gain his attention and cause him to stop tickling my sister.

“I thought you would do that.” I felt his hand on my back before he pulled me off his back. “Glow, Light, I thought your mother said not to wander out again when I’m not around.”

“But you are around,” I replied back smiling showing him my fangs. He shook his head and set me on his shoulders giving me a better view of my sister cradled in his arms. All of this may look weird to a pony but to us, including mother and father, it’s normal before Cazador had left on multiple bounties for the family. Just wish he won’t leave today, his letter had told us that he would be leaving to the Griffon’s land and be living there. I would miss him if he decides to live on their land.

“Just because I’m around to protect you girls doesn’t mean danger would fear me.” I heard Wynbain behind us bark before he sat at Cazador’s feet. My sister rolled over to her side causing the man to hold her with both his arms as I wrap my forehooves on the side of his head getting a better grip on him.

“Hehe, but you are always fighting against the bad ponies,” Light said staring up at us. I felt Cazador’s shoulder lowered slightly as his hand brushed through my sister’s silver mane. She leaned into his hand causing me to get a bit jealous of her being pet than me.

I snatched Cazador’s hat to get some attention on me and put it on, but with the hat not having any ear holes in it I had to fold my ears down against the sides of my head. The man lifted his head up his silver eyes staring at my crimson ones. A smile formed showing me his white teeth and small fa- canines.

“Enjoying wearing my hat little one?” I nodded my head. Without a warning, I felt his hand lift me up before setting both my sister and me on his shoulders.

“YAY!” Both Light and I cheer having a ride on Cazador’s shoulders. I felt his muscles under my rump move as he turned around and walked towards a tree that had something sleeping under it. Is that a dragon?

On Cazador’s shoulders gave Light and I a better view of things we couldn’t look over like the bushes Miss Clay owns were the pots and other clay arts she made through the windows. Being a filly sucks as you’re small you can’t see over the counter or reach up for something that’s out of hooves reach, but being a batpony I don’t have to worry about this if I use my wings to fly. What is life when you have no wings?

Cazador carried us and a dragon in his arms, who was wearing his coat as it sleeps in his arms, to the house where mother was holding the broomstick in her mouth as she swept dust out the front door. When mother saw us her jaw dropped causing the broom in her mouth to drop. She scolded Light and I about how going out in the dark without father or her being by our side was dangerous and that we should never do that again, but we’ll do it again when Cazador is around.

Inside the House, mom made tea for everypony. Everypony but father, he wasn’t her in Shoe Horse Port because how he’s a member of the Lunar guards keeping those under Luna’s rule safe. Most days after Cazador I had wished for father to visit whenever he can, but he was somewhere in the Crystal Empire where he and those he’s with protecting Equestria.

“Thank you for the tea Mrs.Blade, your tea will always keep me calm and relax.” Cazador’s words caused my mother to smile probably glad to know that he still loves her tea. Mother had always made tea and owns a small Cafe in the town where she serves drinks and breakfast for the other batponies living in this small village.

“You are welcome Cazador,” Mother said sipping on her own tea before speaking again. “I’m glad that my tea would always help.”

“What about the dragon Cazador? You carried her up to the guest room where you slept before you became a bounty hunter,” Light pointed out sipping her tea. I noticed Cazador’s expression changed from calm to i-i-insecure.

“I met her a few hours ago before coming back to Show Horse Port, she was in some trouble with other dragons saying that it’s mating season and if it weren’t for me being woken up by the dragons voices something worse could have happened to her. I’m just glad that dragons don’t know when to use their inside voice when Wynbain and I are around, but that’s how dragons are being a big mouth and coc-overconfident that it makes it easier to intimidate when you show them that their scales can’t protect them from a simple golden bullet.” My eyes were glued to Cazador’s hand, he held his “revolver” up high giving up a view of it before putting it away. Mother nodded but she also glared at the man. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the man as he took another sip.

Most of the time was just questions from my sister and me about his bounties and the places in Equestria he traveled. Mother had taken in the clay cups back to the kitchen and rinsed them out leaving us with both the man and wolf in the living room at the table. Cazador had told us his of his travels how he hunted those who harmed ponies, the monsters her had caught, moments when he was fishing and how a giant fish nearly swallowing him whole, the ponies he saved being a hero to everypony in Equestria, and how he managed to escape the Princess of the Night. We listened closely to every detail was telling, the whole night last all the way to morning.

“Okay, girls it’s time for bed, say good morning to Cazador then go brush your fangs before going to bed.” Mother had to ruin the best part of Cazador’s story when he was telling how he managed to scare off the dragons to save Cynder.

“Do we have to?” I whined not wanting to leave on the best part. Mother gave me the look before sitting across Cazador. Light and I said good morning to Cazador then went upstairs to the bathroom and turned on the faucet.

POV Cazador

After the young fillies went upstairs to the bathroom I closed my eyes and let out a shallow breath then opened my eyes to see Night Shade staring at me with a smile. I couldn’t help but to smile too seeing the mare happy always made me feel glad that what I had been doing was helping the ones that saved us from death was seeing my side of good. Wynbian by my side was napping with his ears resting on his side was Shade and I enjoyed this moment before she spoke.

“How have things been after becoming the “Hunter?” Do ponies sees you have a monster or a hero from all the crimes being prevented, criminals hunted down with no mercy, bounties being taken by a figure, and the news of the Princesses knowing your actions?” Shade asked lying on her side as her magenta eyes staring straight into my silver ones. Chuckling I arching my head back letting it rest on the couch.

“Having my name being translated into English is funny because how my name, Cazador, means hunter in Spanish from the desert dwellers. Some ponies and other species see me as a hero but most of them see me as a monster that only wants to hunt, crime been somewhat low ever since the bandits in Appleloosa were killed, and the princesses…” I frowned knowing that the princess of the night was going to hold a grudge against me and how she could have placed a bounty on my head. “...Let’s just say that the moon should have cut down on eating and become a smooth crescent than a full-fat moon.”

“Cazador!” I felt a pillow hit me square in the chest causing me to look down at the batpony who was smiling as well holding another pillow in her right hoof.

“What, she got a fat ass,” I replied back. Shade threw the pillow at me but I managed to catch it before it could hit me. I retaliated by throwing the pillow back which caught the mare by surprise. She yelped as the pillow collided with her head.

“Heh, well I can’t disagree on that Cazador.” Shade giggled holding a hoof up to her muzzle trying to muffle her giggles but fails to do so. Soon I joined her chuckling as the sounds of hooves upstairs caught our attention causing us to stop our small laugh and look up at the stairs to see two pairs of glowing eyes staring down at us from the railings in the dark, crimson and plum purples. When the girls noticed us staring at them they bolted up their hooves clopping against the wood was clear as day to hear the sound of a door opening upstairs then a thump.

We waited for the girls to return back to their spot but they didn’t give Shade and me some privacy. I took my eyes off the staircase and glanced over at Wynbain, he was fast asleep since his ears didn’t lift up at the sound of the girls. I looked up at Shade to see her staring at me. Shade hopped off the couch and trotted over to a shelf where she pulled out a book with a cover of a silhouetted forest with a wolf in the middle howling up to the moon in the background.

“Is that the book you’re working on releasing?” I asked watching the mare trotting back to the couch. She couldn’t reply back because of the book in her mouth but after she hopped back on the couch she set the book down.

“Yes, the book about all the things you wrote back in the letter of every detail of your hunts and your life back on your world including your time here in Equestria in a distant land,” Shade answered holding out the book in her hooves. I picked up the book and looked at the cover to see the title more clearly.

“Nightmare’s Hunter,” I read out staring at the cover before looking at the side to see a decent size of stack pages that could take a few hours to fully read. Didn’t really think all that talk with her and letters I had sent would give the mare a creative mind and courage on writing down everything I had told her in speech or on a piece of paper. “You planning on publishing this Shade, seeing how some are looking up to me like I’m some hero.”

“Well yes and no,” She said rubbing her hoof on her foreleg. “I was planning on showing it to a famous author but I don’t know where she is and getting an editor is going to be a pain because how most ponies are day lovers and it’s difficult for somepony like I to achieve such a thing. And having a story written about you would bring suspicion to me and my family.”

Seeing Shade breath in and out having a small panic attack was making me worry that she might jump at me and squeeze me to relieve her stress, and let me tell you this mare is not to be judged by her appearance because she has a strong grip and her hugs could be compared to an Ursa Minor. I acted quickly and scooped up the silver charm coated mare in my arms and began to scratch a spot between her ears. The mare in my arms started to calm down breathing easily.

“What am I going to do with you.”

Chapter 6- Departure

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“NOOooo!”

“Light, Glow get off I have to leave! Shade, your daughters are staying up late!” I shouted out at the batpony in the house as I tried to pry off one of the little batponies from my legs. Both Wynbain and Cynder just observed what was happening in front of them watching me as I struggle with the little batponies. Turns out the young batponies stayed up late to eight in the morning listening to Shade and my conversation about the book she had written of my past life how the legend of the “Hunter” came to be. Never have I ever thought that these two little mares would try something like this clinging to my legs and begging me to stay with them for one more day and not leave again, but I couldn’t do that because the head was decaying in a fast pace and having a rotting head is not good to have around the foals especially when the mother knows about the head and wishes that her daughters don’t see it, one that I kinda do not want to enrage or see her fury.

Shade came downstairs having messy bed hair and small bags under her eyes. I know the reasons why she has messy hair was my fault for keeping her awake from sleeping at seven in the morning. Batponies if I recall correctly had two separate types of race, one being vampire or in the ponies’ case vamponies, like actual vampires they don’t eat any food or drink anything except blood from other creatures, the other race, Shade’s race, can be easily compare to the fruit bats having only to feast on fruits and drink water. I was glad that she wasn’t a vampire but I can’t say for sure about Glow as she takes her father side having longer fangs than her sister. The mare looked up at me with tired eyes, her gaze could have been misleading as uncaring but behind that was a glare that says ‘I’m gonna hurt you.’ Rule number one don’t mess with a mother’s child or else you’ll have hell to pay.

“Girls,” Shade’s stern tone caused the little foals and I to freeze. Here comes the mother part. “I’m giving you a count of five seconds to go back to bed if you don’t both you girls will be grounded from flying out at night.”

Quick as a mouse the fillies around my legs bolted up the stairs leaving a trail of themselves around my leg and dust leading up the stairs. Yup don’t anger a mother with kids. My gaze fell upon Shade seeing her tired self, eyeing at me, women don’t wake them from their “beauty sleep” or else you have hell to pay. Her frown slowly turned to a toothy smile as she sat on her rump and turned her head to the left, tilting it slightly.

“You’re not gonna leave a mare with an annoying itch are you?” Shade requested an itch with a question like some she does when this mare finds the chance to puzzle the person’s mind she’ll take it. I rolled my eyes at the mare’s request and scratched her behind the ears where most animals enjoy being petted at. After giving the mare what she wanted I patted her head and turned around to leave.

Not many ponies would be awake at eight in the morning only the early birds would be up before the minute hand reached the sixty-minute mark for the hour, but it’s best to start going at this time around and the airship I’m taking was leaving sooner than expected around nine instead of noon. I managed to know the schedule change because of someone or in this case some griffon if it were not for him notifying me of the change I would have missed it. A man such as I still need allies being alone in a world different than yours and not having allies would be a great disadvantage.

POV Cynder

‘WHY!’ I silently cried inside wanting to demand Cazador why we’re going on this airship early in the morning that not even the ponies around this town are awake. Sleep was all I wanted now, being woken up this time in the morning was not my thing it’s more like a pony thing or something that wakes up early before the sun even reaches the mountains’ peak. I’m just glad that the griffons on this airship didn’t dare to stare me down or else they’ll be nothing more than charred bodies. At least I don’t have to worry about flying over a sea to a new home.

There was something I noticed how the griffons looked at Cazador when he stepped foot, they all gave him smile when he walked by as if they felt comfortable or were glad to see him like they all had met before. Cazador just told me that he and the griffon's on this airship share some quote and quote “History” that he respects them and they respect him. I just wish he would tell him of his past instead of knowing that he’s a strange creature with a fur timberwolf, friends with a batpony family, gains respect with the second greediest creature I know of, and always wearing that mask of his. Today wasn’t the best day to ask about his past since we did meet a day ago with me still owing a debt to Cazador, I guess my dragon code is changed from being a dragoness wanting nothing more than a relaxing life to one who serves under a creature I don’t know of.

“Captain says we’ll be at Auria’s Gale by past noon meaning we have time to rest,” Cazador said setting the things on his back next to the wall before lying down against it. He could have used the other bed across from me and move Wynbain, but I guess there are reasons to why he never did that. My eyes were glued to him, his hat was covering his eyes completely as he just lies there. “Cynder, I can feel your eyes on me.”

I flinched as a pair of silver glowing eyes stared back at me when Cazador lifted his hat a bit. What was this feeling? Am I afraid of him? No, it’s those eyes that are startling behind them felt like a ravenous beast ready to burst through steel chains for its meal. Why did I think of that seeing those eyes as a monster like his pet, both which shares the same eyes?

“Cazador do you always sleep on the floor?” What kind of question was that!? Sure I was scared and needed something to cover it up, but that! That was just a dumb question.

“It’s a bad habit of mine, but yes I do sleep on the floor,” He answered lowering his head down before tilting his hat down. A moment of silence was between us as time began to pass, for once I didn’t want to go back to sleep when it’s this early in the morning what kept me from taking a nap was Cazador. A bad habit of his he says, I’m now curious about his past and the weapons he used to deal with Zook. What was he before he saved them?

My eyes fell upon a book sticking out one of the bag’s pockets, among the whole camping equipment that was the only thing that stood out. I scooted out of my bed and carefully set a paw down. Carefully walking over to the bag by Cazador’s side I reached out a claw and pinched it between my thumb and index finger then pulled it out. My eyes were glued to the sleeping Cazador before I managed to have the book my grasp.

‘Why does this stand out?’ I turned my claw back and saw the title. ‘Nightmare’s Hunter, Is this a story he enjoys reading? Cazador wouldn’t mind if I read this?’

Without wasting any more time I tip claw back to my bed and opened the book to the first chapter.

POV Celestia

“Sister, art thou sure that we couldn’t assist thee in speaking with the Griffon King? Our niece, Cadence, would be able to take care of our royal duties.” Luna tried to persuade me into letting her join me on this meeting with the Griffon King but I could not allow her to come with, the griffon still sees her as Nightmare Moon being responsible for killing a whole town near the sea when she rose the moon to block out the sun causing a tsunami. I do not want them to have the wrong idea if I do bring Luna with me.

“Luna, I know you wish to speak with the Griffon King about the Hunter when the guards discovered the remains of the wanted griffon in the Everfree, but I do not believe the Hunter is under the Griffon King’s command. All of his ‘hunts’ has been going on for six months Luna, and even if he is under the Griffon’s command I highly doubt that during those six months he had harmed any innocent,” I said wanting my sister to remember the past when the Hunter had first revealed themselves in Appleloosa, all those reports from the guards describing that the bandits had been torn apart as if a Forest Sentinel had been there. Luna seemed to be thinking this carefully as we strolled through the halls to the Castle’s entrance where a carriage would be waiting for me.

I can’t really hope that the Hunter would indeed be at the Griffon Kingdom for that bounty but if he does happen to be there during my visit then it would give me the chance on convincing him to help us against the fight at the Crystal Empire where many of Royal and Lunar guards are at defending the Empire. I’m not sure if making a deal would consider him to help us or giving him something that he sees fit for an agreement on helping us. He is a strange creature that my sister and I do not agree with his actions but few of our subjects feel safe around him.

‘May our mother’s blessing give me hope on gaining the Hunter’s trust,’ I silently prayed believing that when the time does come I would be able to convince the Hunter to help us instead of avoiding us. Luna finally collected her thoughts and began to speak again.

“We understand sister…” She turned her head a bit having both her eyes staring directly into my left. “But when thee do indeed come across the Hunter’s path if he happens to be at the Griffon Kingdom can thee send our apologies for Thursday’s incidents? We fear that he holds a grudge against us and would never forget the injury we had caused to him.”

“I will Luna.” I rested a hoof on her shoulder before we arrived at the castle’s front entrance. The guards stationed at the entrance opened the doors allowing me to exit without having to use my magic to open the golden doors. My carriage was ready with two Royal Elites strapped to the carriage and six Dawnbreakers ready to follow and protect their princess. I remember the day in the past centuries when one of the Royal Guards wanted a new rank for when a war comes they would have more skilled and experienced soldiers ready to give their lives to protect the citizens of Equestria and me. Another century after that the Royal Elites wanted another rank being the Dawnbreakers, their devotion to protecting me and forget about love, family, and their entire future for their just for my safety.

One of six opened the chariot door allowing me to climb into the carriage. The guard closed the door and took his place beside the carriage. Soon the two Elites strapped to the carriage began to go into a light trot before flapping their wings. I felt the carriage begin to lift off as the scenery outside the window started to become distant.

‘I hope the elements of harmony don’t get involved in this situation.’

POV Twilight

“Made out of gold, damaged, containing traces of charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate. No traces of magic could be found on this inanimate object meaning it was not used by a unicorn but does not help what the purpose of the object. Found by bones of a griffon, Fluttershy’s animals had described the event before they found the strange gold structure that a creature like minotaur along with a fur timberwolf was there before an explosion sound scared them meaning that it may not or may have been the Hunter,” I read out the small description on my notes as the rest were still being written out on a scroll. This was interesting and astonishing to know that the Hunter had used this small chunk of gold, did not use it for currency, but for some type of projectile like a bolt in a crossbow more about what had sent the gold flying at the speed to cause the metal to bend on the impact of a rock. I had run three test turning bits into the shape of the object that the gold was sharpened into each having interesting results with the speed when using telekinetic force the velocity has to be 450 m/s; meters per seconds. If the Hunter had managed to launch a small chunk of gold without using magic then that means he has something that’s better than a crossbow!

My excitement began to worry the Spike as he was bringing in new quills and scrolls. I know that when my attention is on something that I mostly ignore everything around me and never hear them, but the sight of new scrolls what pulled me away and noticed his expression. I read books on how to tell one’s expression and Spike’s held worry making me stop before I get too carried away with something fascinating.

‘Maybe I’m getting too excited over a small chunk of gold that the Hunter used,’ I thought to myself as I levitated the scrolls and quills to a nearby desk Spike’s worried expression soon began to vanish.

“Twilight do you believe what the Royal Guard had said that the Hunter wasn’t responsible for harming them even though they chased after him in the Everfree forest, what if he was placed under a spell?” That’s the Spike I know of worrying about the impossible from how the ponies around believed that the Hunter placed a spell on the guard telling Princess Luna that it wasn’t him, but a magic detection spell showed that the guard was not under some spell meaning that all that he had told were true how the Hunter was not the one responsible for their conditions in the hospital. That doesn’t explain the escape from last night after the town hall had burned down when in the guards’ station under interrogation being found unconscious with a broken armrest from a wooden chair by the guard’s unconscious body. I know that the Hunter doesn’t want anypony to see him but during that night when the town hall was burning down, almost everypony saw him sadly I didn’t because how nopony would come to me first before the interrogation it would be the perfect moment to ask him questions of what he is.

“Spike,” I called his name placing a hoof on his shoulder making him calm down. “I believe that Luna had already cast a detection spell to see if there was indeed a spell caused on him meaning that every word he said was true and that the Hunter may be innocent that he didn’t attack them, but his actions of saving pony lives don’t make him fully innocent. I can say that Rainbow and Applejack are glad to know that he’s not a villain.”

The last part I whispered to myself but kept it loud enough for him to hear me. Spike nodded finally believing that there was no memory change spell on the guard, if the Hunter did use magic then I would be intrigued on finding out how he can use magic without a horn, enchanted crystal, elemental crystal, or an object with trap magic inside it. The Hunter is the one pon- er I mean creature that I could to study about his species, diet, height, age, culture, magic, and much more that would be a dream for me to know.

A knock on the door downstairs interrupted me from daydreaming.

Chapter 7- Hunter in the Empire part 1

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Griffins, you can’t trust them with your money even if it’s a kid you can’t trust any of them unless you know them truly. After we arrived at Auria’s Gale we were given a “special” escort further down the sea banks to Griff Glade where it’s mostly populated by griffons, ponies, and other species were there like the minotaurs, sheeps, deer, and hippogriffs.(Not the ones from the movie.) It was a good place to trade in nearly anything that can be shipped across the sea or hunted on this land. The mayor here gave us the proper greeting that Griffons do when they see potential, a bottle of ale in hands/claws along with a decent size table full of food. It may be true that the griffins are greedy at times, but it’s the older folks you gotta look for as they had years of experience in their lives to know that being a greedy bird would be a ticket for bounty hunters to hunt them down.

Cynder was confused by the hospitality that the mayor was giving us, she knew that the griffins were a greedy bunch of featherbrains thinking nothing but gold although that’s not fully true. I was expecting the dragoness to act greedy with the food and the gold around giving me the reason to deal with her, but she didn’t act the way I expected her to act. The griffins around living in Griff Glade were surprised to see a dragon with us, some even went so far to slap her on the ass which they receive a backhand with claw marks on their cheeks. I can’t be angry at her for hurting someone as they did assault her with a slap on the ass, so I just ignored it and called it self-defense...despite the claw marks on the griffins’ cheeks.

Wyndbain gained some attention from the young ones running around when we arrived, he didn’t care that the children were running around him as long as they don’t violate him then everything would be fine. My old friend had no purpose of having kids since he wishes for a hunter’s death, one that will not give our curse to his bloodline as an endless cycle, I too have that wish.

He may be the oldest canine that ever lives but this curse of two souls bonded together and the black blood that turns us into monsters every full moon. We did not like the fact that nearly every night it’s a full moon, the blood in our veins moves like Blood Worms moving around inside your body slowly killing you from the inside. What prevented the transformation? That’s easy, a silver medallion blessed by the goddess of light keeping the curse from taking over and containing the corruption from taking over, but doesn’t get rid of the black blood.

This medallion is kept close never leaving from my side actually it can’t be taken from me unless you ripped out of my chest. Most hunters must go through a trial before becoming one, you must endure the pain of having the medallion surgery place inside you as well show them that the pain just gives you the will to live through it and continue the hunt no matter how much pain you had suffered. A confusing method they had thought up and it’s so complex that not even those who join up to do the surgery barely understands it. Each time I touch it the cold metal would remind me that I'm still human because of this.

“It is surprising to see you again Hunter,” Old Crow began to speak as he pours another bottle of ale into his chalice. Crow the mayor of this town was a raven hybrid panther that favors a sword and a blunderbuss as his weapons when he was once a young hunter taking care of this town when the forest had once surrounded the griffins’ civilization. That old crow yaps about his youth how he dealt with a pack of wolves, these shares the similarity of the diamond dogs, that had kidnapped villagers for their own guilty pleasure. I can go on and on from all the stories he had told me but now wasn’t the time. “Usually you stay in the borders of Equestria hunting down the guilty making sure that the innocent are safe, I rarely find you here in the borders of the Griffin Empire.”

“That bounty, the one Miss Quilt posted up, I came here to turn in that said bounty. And I was hoping for a place to settle away from civilization somewhere on the outskirt of your town where none of the ponies would know where their so-called ‘hero’ is at.” The table didn’t go silent, hell Cynder didn’t give me a look about settling down in the Griffon Empire. I felt something poke the side of my leg before sharp talons dug into my skin as that something climbed up my legs. Leaning back in my seat slightly moving my chair back a bit to see a pair of silver eyes staring up at me.

“Ruby.” The little griffon climbed up my leg using her claws to grip onto my pants and her hind legs to kick herself up, she had trouble climbing up my legs but she managed to pull herself up to my lap where she curled up like a cat. Wyndbain noticed Ruby’s black granite dark red tip lion tail hanging off the side of my chair, he looked up at me then at the tail and back up at me.

‘Seems like she missed her idol,” Wyndbain jokes as he tried to stay silent. I rolled my eyes and looked up at the end of the table where Crow seemed to be thinking. My gaze fell back to Ruby, who was snuggled up against my chest now.

“I believe there’s a house available near the outskirts of Griff Glade’s forest, but you know how the wildlife is Hunter being dangerous that the caravans that pass through for trade need to be escorted by hunters. That house is free ever since the last landlord died there a decade ago making it free for whoever wishes to live there.” The old crow took a swig of ale from his chalice and refilled it again; bird rarely gets drunk whenever he drinks which was kinda good for being an uncle. I took a sip out of my chalice then set it down.

“Bandits?”

“None, nothing would go near that house, not even the wildlife.” Runes might be protecting the house, keeping those who dare tries to enter outside unless they know how to disarm the runes or knows the right phrase to enter; a password to be exact. I ran my hand through Ruby’s smooth fur getting a purr from the little griffon as I taken another bite of what’s on my plate.

‘Has to be a barrier type rune to keep everything out from entering. How else would nothing go near the house, not even a bandit,’ Wyndbain said believing that three or more barrier runes have been keeping the place abandon for a decade or else the place wouldn’t have been suggested by Crow. A house that has been abandoned for a decade makes it sound like people avoided the building, but this one had runes to keep everything out. I know several types of runes from my past experience on using them as an arena, there was the regular barrier keeping everything in and out, the second was the same as the first except if your blood was used in the runes then you can go in and out whenever you want, and the third is what most mages in my world would use as a prison the invisible walls would shock or burn you depending on what type of element you engraved in it.

Nodding my head slightly as I brought up another spoonful of mashed potatoes up to my lips. It felt weird eating well-made food from experienced cooks, I don’t mind eating tasty food that’s better than mine it’s just I’m not used to eating food that has been cooked by someone else.

In the corner of my eyes, I saw Cynder staring at me with a bottle of ale in her hand. When she noticed my gaze on her she snapped her head away from me, if I could fire a beam of magic through my eyes then Cynder would have two holes in the back of her head. I need to ask Cynder the reason why she follows me, the dragoness had multiple chances of leaving us but she chooses to stay with us.

After having “lunch” with the mayor of Griff Glade the three of us left the town to the forest nearby. Crow gave me a map of the forest circling the spot in ink where the house was located. It was good to see that again even if it was just an hour or two of seeing each other.

The forest around Griff Glade was a dangerous one but not as dangerous as the Everfree forest, both which has exotic creatures that the other didn’t have. Wolves were not like Wyndbain because how parts of their body had bones sticking out like armor and had the ability to walk on their hind legs like a werewolf but easy to kill; no silver bullets were required to hunt the animals in the forest making it a safe hunting round, well safe-ish. My first time coming here in the Griffon lands was when Wyndbain and I were on a bounty going after a rogue assassin that attempted to kill Luna because how many of the ponies still believe her to be a demon than their princess that’s when we met Crow training her nieces, the second one was a dragon half breed having parts of a griffon and dragon. He and I didn’t get along when we first met has always trying to get one another with a bullet to the head or a blade in the guts. Good times, good times.

Griffins have only advanced to single shot guns the old school ones; single-use shot for one barrel unless there are two. Their path that they have chosen to follow in evolution was following up the paths of modern weapons, but they weren’t the only ones. In Equestria I noticed that there have been a rare few ranged weapons similar design to the flintlock rifle and pistol except the hammer doesn’t have the flint and the gun doesn’t use gunpowder but a blue crystal that’s the size of my thumb embedded behind the barrel where the powder goes and the hammer was flat. Around a ten or twelve of these Equestrian versions of the flintlock, I encounter the projectile they fire was an orb of magic the same size of the original ammunition for a flintlock. After being used there’s some type of cool down the gun goes through leaving them open for any attacks. Time is changing indeed.

The house Crow spoke of was indeed near the outskirt of the forest and was in great conditions as there was no sign of decay, but there was indeed a barrier around it. Whoever had own this place must have wanted it to be kept from the hands of those wanting to buy it. The runes that were set up for this barrier was easy to find as they were carved in stones angled to make a triangle hidden underneath bushes near the house, but the cost of disabling the runes was destroying them.

“Cynder, there’s nothing to be afraid of it’s just an old house and the place where Wyndbain and I live now. You have nothing to fear.” The dragoness that apparently still with us clung to me like her life depended on it. She would not budge an inch closer to the house and wouldn’t let me go to investigate the house, there wasn’t anything around that could have scared her like this other than the house in front of us. Dragons have fears; I know that because everything else that lives has fears even if you’re all high and mighty you will always have fears.

A dragon’s grip was one thing I never wanted to undergo again being squeezed almost to death like a teddy bear wasn’t on my to die by wish. No matter how much strength I had and how many times I tried to pry Cynder off she wouldn’t budge. She mumbled something under her breath something about someone in one of the windows. When I looked up at the many windows facing us there wasn’t anything else but curtains and darkness behind the glass.

“Cynder there’s nothing up there,” I told her but she kept on mumbling to herself. There was no way out of the killer grip of the dragon other than one thing, and so I did what most men would be proud of doing. Raising my hand high up above my head I gave Cynder a warning with a slight tap on the back with my other hand, but that she didn’t even move her arms to feel her back. With nothing to regret on the aftermath. With one great swing down my leather gloved hand smacked Cynder’s butt cheek causing the dragoness to shove me down as she yelps and flies up into the air.

In my head, I heard Wyndbain laughing out of control as he rolled onto his back kicking his legs. Slapping a woman’s ass was one of the many things I didn’t do on my list but now I can mark that off my list. Sadly, even if I do fall for the dragoness I cannot impregnate her or else the black blood would carry on through my sons and daughters; my curse is like a plague if I ever have impregnated a woman then my offsprings would turn into monsters.

I got back up to my feet and looked at the house, this is where I’ll be living for the rest of my life. My ears picked up the sound of flapping wings, but before I know it Cynder was giving out her battle cry.

Chapter 8- Hunter in the Empire part 2

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“Princess, as I said before, the Griffin Empire has many bounty boards scattered around the land; I cannot control my griffins’ life and choices for what they want to become it’s their choice, not mine. A king cannot control his subjects as he represents his kind’s leader to make safe choices for them to live under, even if those choices cost the lives of others. My crown has no meaning; it’s only gold that was crafted to wear on one’s head. The meaning of being a king is to have his kin know that he is one to lead his kind through many tragic events, bring hope into their lives, protect them from danger, and many so on choices and believes that he must go through to please his kin. If my kin becomes murders then let them become murders that would soon be killed by the guards, or hunted down by bounty hunters that have their own reasons whether it be honor, fame, greed, or revenge. Your Equestria’s “Hunter” took it upon himself to go and claim the bounty himself; now, do not think that the Hunter came to my land and begged to take this bounty. No, it is his choice to do so! I cannot command a foreigner to take a quest that no griffin in the right mind would take, but I can offer them the choice of taking the quest for their own reasons. You’re Hunter has not set paw, hoof, or foot in Griffonstone, nor has he ever demanded an audience with me. He is a being of his own, yet some would say that he’s a creature that kills for the thrill of the hunt! Every being has their own opinion on what they see the Hunter as, and there other types of predators or prey sees him as a monster; however, there are some that see him as a hero in your lands!” King Roarik slams his talons on the stone round table causing the chalices on the table to tremble from the amount of force he had put into his talons. I couldn’t really believe that a simple greetings with the Griffon King, Roarik; Elk Prince, Willow; Queen of the hounds, Lenora; and two directors from the Yuri Yin Tin Lands; this day was a meeting of agreement between the Griffon King and the Elk Prince, but that little meeting of agreements soon turned into conference of supply trades. Coming here on the day like this was not the best to say as now I am apart of this conference; however, instead of the supply trades we now speak of the Hunter.

“Hero? Oh please, that beast, that suddenly began to hunt down lawbreakers, is no more than a regular bounty hunter that just does it for fame and money. IT is no more than another killer that hunts down killers, rapist, thieves, bandits, and much more that dares to break the law we have under our own borders. I would prefer that we change the subject of ‘IT’ to something else that is in the matter of our hooves,” Prince Willow said. I dislike how he put his hate into the word “It” whenever we speak about the Hunter. Reasons why he hates the Hunter so much is something I do not know about, or ever want to know.

What has the Hunter done to deserve so much hate from the Elk Prince; the beings that are guardians of woodlands and kind-hearted to all living beings on this planet. I wish to know what the Hunter must have done that the Elk Prince himself would despise of the Hunter's existence and speaks about him as an unintelligent beast than a being that thinks of the choices he makes.

“Do not speak of our kin, the Hunter has done well in what he believes! We know that Hunter does not kill for the thrill of a good hunt. A monster the Hunter is not! A merciful kind he is that acts like an Akita, protecting those he believes are good, and thinks before acting and knows what is right from wrong. We believe that Hunter deserves respect from those that look down upon him like another killer!” Lenora growl at the Elk Prince’s action being disrespectful of speaking about the Hunter.

Why does the Queen of the hounds protect Hunter’s name from Willow? Is there something that I do not know what he did before he began to hunt down those who had harmed the innocent? Do they know one another, or does his name give him respect from other predators? Now I want to know the Hunter than what Luna and I had thought of him.

The two directors had not spoken since the beginning of the conference about the supply trades that they had planned on making a deal for the Griffon King. Both of them were wearing cloth that covers their entire body, but they showed their faces to us. They are another dog pack from the desert in the far east. Pharaoh hounds if I remember that’s what they called themselves.

“Only you predators would look up its actions; however, the herbivores do not enjoy killing and watching another life being taken from another being. No, that thing is another killer that just takes any type of jobs that would satisfy its bloodlust!” Willow pointed a hoof at Lenora. If this continues then a war would start and the years of peace we had forged from the past eight hundred years. A war between Canines and Elks would soon spread in my lands and my ponies would be forced to either join the fight or run away.

Lenora growled again, but this time she looked like she was about to pounce on the elk if it weren’t for one of her personal guards to stop her. This was bad, and it obvious that the situation now could go out of hoof if one of the leaders actually attacked one another. I looked over at Roarik’s direction to see how he’s handling this situation. He appeared to be calm acting like a king would when it comes to being a leader, but in his eyes, I could tell that he did not enjoy Lenora's action.

I took my eyes off the king and set my gaze on the two directors. Both hounds were whispering to each other discussing something that I can’t hear because how the Elk Prince continues to be disrespectful of the Hunter. Whatever they were whispering among themselves they seemed to agree on something.

“May we move on to another subject? One that might help our kingdoms instead of risking war over a single being, one that I may add that isn’t a threat to us, or should we continue speaking about our opinions about the Hunter?” The table was silent after the Pharaoh hound had spoken up. Every being in this room was now discussing the supply trade than the Hunter.

I don’t have any role to speak about the supply trade as I have had this conference years ago before any of them were born. I remember those days after Luna’s banishment how I was overworking on my royals duties trying to keep the peace among the other kingdoms and to go through countless conferences about agreements of what should ban or allowed to trade among each kingdom. Such stressful day those have been, barely having time to sleep. Luna could have helped so much if the Nightmare Forces didn’t corrupt her with her own jealousy of not gaining any attention from our subjects.

Hours upon hours of listening to the six beings discussing the supply trade of what should be banned and what should be allowed to be sold in their borders. I have not spoken a single word ever since they began to speak of their supply trades. I didn’t want to interfere with their duties of being leaders to their kingdoms, and if I did speak about my opinions about the agreements they have, then the conference would have lasted longer than now.

The talk of the Hunter was forgotten after all the leaders made common agreements on the supplies their willing to trade they planned on having another talk in this room tomorrow on continuing to find a common agreement, but I noticed how King Roarik have been looking over at my direction a few times during the conference. The quick glances were a dead give away that he wishes to have a word with me.

After the end of the conference, the five other leaders went back to their own rooms that the King has provided them, but Roarik and I stayed in the room. Having time to talk with him alone was what I wanted and now I have it; however, the other leaders would be suspicious and think that the King and I would be planning something against them, and I do not want our trust and peace to be thought as a lie to plan against them.

“Celestia, I know my actions on keeping you here in the room would bring suspension to us, but they should not worry as I only wish to discuss more on how I do not control my kin’s decision of what to become and how I do not control the Hunter.” The King of the Griffins took a sip out of his chalice. He may claim that the other leaders should not worry about this talk, but that won’t stop them from believing something wrong.

I took hold of my chalice with my magic and took a sip from it, the sweet taste tickled my taste buds as the liquid flows down my throat. Griffin’s wine has been one of the top delicacies that I keep in the castle’s cellars, letting it age on until the wine itself tastes better than what most tastes today. Setting my chalice down I looked up at the King to see that he has been waiting for me to speak.

“I know King Roarik,” I let out a sigh and looked down at my chalice to see my red self, in the wine’s reflection, staring back at me. “But after the griffon was slain by the Hunter, I had thought he was returning here in Griffonstone to claim the bounty on the wanted griffon like how most bounty hunters would. I had to come here to speak with you about the griffon and the Hunter himself.”

“You have already received news about the griffon that the Hunter had killed, yet you wish to speak with the Hunter, and you thought that he would travel to Griffonstone to turn in his bounty?” Sadly that what I had thought. I nodded my head feeling a bit defeated that the Hunter has not set foot in the Griffin Empire capital to turn in the bounty. King Roarik sighed knowing what I had planned when I cross path with the Hunter. “I am sorry Celestia. You have probably wanted to meet your Kingdom’s hero, yet he prefers to keep himself unknown to those he protects and wants to keep the innocent safe from the guilty; however, ever since your sister’s action against the Hunter in Ponyville he must have decided to leave and abandon the role of being your ponies’ hero.”

I frowned at the mention of what my sister had done to the Hunter, but she did it because he burnt down Ponyville’s town hall and trapped a pony inside unless...unless he was trying to save that pony! Did Luna stop him from saving that pony? No, from what I read on the guard’s reports that there wasn't a body found in the remains of the building meaning that there was no pony inside the town hall after all, so that means that the Hunter must have the ability to cast illusion to trick everypony there to think they saw a trapped pony inside! Maybe that’s how he was able to avoid patrols around cities he can use magic to hide!

‘But how did King Roarik knows what Luna had done to the Hunter?’ I asked myself, I looked up at the King to see one of his guards whispering something to him. ‘When did the guard enter the room?’ After the guard was done whispering into the king’s ear, Raorik, looked up at me with a broad smile on his beak.

“If you weren’t a goddess Celestia, I would say that the god of fortune is on your side. Word has it that the Hunter appears to be living in Griff Glade’s forest. If you’re luck still holds then he would still be around the forest before he leaves the area.” With that Roaric winked at me, telling to go and take my chance to speak with the Hunter. Not wasting another second I jumped out of my seat and galloped through the castle to the gates.

POV Twilight Sparkle

‘What happened? Why did everything go black? I can’t feel my hooves, nor can I feel any parts of my body.’ Panic began to take its course as my breathing quicken and my body begins to shake. I couldn’t see anything -everything was black- and my eyes had already adjusted to the dark. What happened? I remember going to the door and opening it to see Rainbow Dash being excited that she had a paper in her hoof. She was waving it in front of me saying that one of the ponies that was at the event of last night had managed to see the Hunter and correctly drew what he truly looked like; however, I can’t seem to remember what happened after that.

Looking around would be pointless because how everything was literally black, and I believed I’m repeating myself again on how I can’t see, way to go Twilight now you’re talking to yourself. I shook my head as I tried to collect myself and remember more after hearing what Rainbow had said, but nothing came to mind. My brain felt like it was about to explode from how much time I’ve been trying to remember, but I knew that there’s no way that somepony’s brain would explode from overthinking or putting too much stress into it; however, it would cause that pony a headache or something worse if they continue to strain their brain.

“BY CELESTIA’S SUN WHY CAN’T I REMEMBER!?” I screamed out to nopony as the feeling of loneliness began to sink in. I never thought I’d feel this way again after meeting the girls. How it feels to be lonely after being Celestia’s student for nearly the rest of my life, too focused on my studies to approved anypony’s existence outside my shell of study and research. Spike may have been there when I first became Celestia’s student, but it felt like I was talking to a servant working for Celestia than a baby dragon that I raise as my child. How dumb was I to ignore everypony for my studies to believe that the greater good was to become another Star Swirl the Bearded to keep the peace in Equestria going?

“Twi...ight.” My head shot up and my ears twitched in every direction trying to pinpoint the source of the pony who whispered my name. Somepony was here and I know it because I heard it.

“Tw...light...ke...p!” That was Pinkie Pie’s voice! I glanced at every direction all around me trying to find Pinkie Pie, but I couldn’t there was nopony around only the darkness.

“Twilight.” I snapped my head to the right to see the Hunter, his red eyes staring down at me, his smile showed his razor-sharp teeth. My eyes widen as I stared at him, his smile sent a cold shiver down my spine. I tried to run, but my legs were locked in place as if somepony had wrapped rocks around my legs to keep me from running for my life.

“Save him! Help him! Cure him! Free him!” Voices whispered in my ears demanding to help...him. I felt my body shake violently when the Hunter knelt down. I watched in horror from how his body started to change the clothes that he wore began to stretch, horns grew out from the top of his head, gray fur started to cover his body, some of it poked through the tears in his clothes, as the sickening sound of bone snapping and flesh ripping caused my face to go pale. The Hunter ripped his skin from his own face, his clothes finally ripped and fell to the floor with pieces of skin attached to them, his body was now covered in gray fur, his face was now the same as the furred timberwolf’s, his legs were different than before they bend back than being straight, and his teeth were no longer white instead they were red with blood dripping down his chin. The entire time he was smiling enjoying the pain that he had gone through to change into such a monstrous beast.

‘How can somepony go through that much pain?’ No wait, he didn’t scream in pain or flinched from how his own bones in his legs bend back and his skin falling off. He still had that terrifying smile on his lips. Maybe those who believed that the Hunter is a monster are right, maybe he’s nothing more than a bloodthirsty beast wanting nothing more than to hunt down anything to satisfy his bloodlust.

“Twilight, why are you afraid?” I flinched at how he knew my name and how he laughed like a mad pony. My body tensed up from his touch, his hands (minotaurs has hands so why ain’t Lyra interested with their hands?) weren’t the same before he changed into this monster, the fingers grew and so did his nails. His hands cupped my cheeks and pulled me closer to his face. I gagged at how awful his breath smelled as I was now faced to face with the Hunter.

“Want to see how I eat?” I quickly shook my head, but that didn’t stop him. In a blink of an eye, his hands gripped my sides digging his nails into my skin causing me to scream out in pain as he lifted me up in the air. I began to kick my legs struggling to get out of his grip and scream out to somepony or anything to help me, but my struggle didn’t seem to faze the monster holding me. He opened his maw showing me the rows of sharp teeth he has. Again I tried to struggle out of his grip no matter how painful it was to move because how his nails dug deeper into my skin. As he lowered me closer to his gaping mouth I let out a scream hoping that somepony would save me!

Real World

“GAAAAH!” I jolt up awake my hooves holding the blankets close to me as possible, my heart was beating like a drum anypony could probably hear it a good yard away from me. My eyes quickly scanned the room to see if this was all real, I pinched myself to make sure it was real and what a relief that it was all a nightmare.

“Twilight!?” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I jumped off the bed and crawled underneath it. Underneath the bed on the opposite side, I crawled under was a pair of pink hooves. I recognize those hooves and who it belonged to but my instinct told me to stay underneath the bed where nopony or creature would find me.

I can’t stop shaking from how that nightmare felt so real and how it was all suddenly happened so quick that I don’t even think Rainbow Dash wouldn’t look at the Hunter the same way. This is why prey felt so helpless to predators, they couldn’t do anything against a monster alone or else they get gobbled up. Prey, I felt like the Hunter’s prey because how my instinct told me that a monster was coming after me, and when he does I don’t think I’ll be able to fight him.

The multiple sounds of hooves against the wood told me that Pinkie wasn’t the only pony here in my house. Cyan, white, yellow, navy blue, orange, and brown hooves galloped around my bed surrounding me.

“Pinkie Pie what happened, we heard Twilight scream!” I heard Luna demanded, but I couldn’t see her face or body only her and the girls' hooves.

“I don’t know when Twilight woke up I yelled out her name in joy because she’s finally awake after hitting her head against the doorframe after Rainbow Dash told her the exciting news how somepony drew what the Hunter look like from memory.” I heard Pinkie say as her hooves disappeared and reappeared when she bounced. Did I really knock myself out by hitting my head on the doorframe? Embarrassed about how I knocked myself out I stayed under my bed watching the pairs of hooves.

“Pinkie,” I heard Rainbow Dash’ began to say. “Yelling out Twilight’s name after she woke up would obviously scare her.”

There was a moment of silence from the girls. I continued to stay underneath my bed until I saw Luna’s snout.

“Twilight, would you please come out?” Luna asked her voice almost sound motherly like Celestia. I slowly began to crawl out from under my bed kicking my hind hooves to push myself forward and pulling myself towards Luna with my forehooves.When my head poked out from under the bed I saw my friends, the princess, and a mare all looking at me. Fluttershy had gasped and laid down beside me, my body was now halfway.

“Twilight have you been crying?” Have I been crying? I wipe my eyes with a hoof and looked at it to see that I was crying, but was I crying because I escaped that horrid nightmare or was I crying because how real it felt. I slowly nodded my head.

In a blink of an eye, Fluttershy wrapped her forehooves around me, bringing me into a hug. My body reacted on its own as I found myself hugging back crying into Fluttershy’s should making her fur damp. Luna has to know what I’ve dreamed of or else I’ll probably have the same nightmare again.

Chapter 9- Calming moment

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Taking a deep breath and exhaling it out through my nose I tried to calm myself like how Fluttershy had told me to do so. I am thankful that the girls didn’t bother to ask questions after I stopped crying, they gave me some room as I tried to calm down from what I had gone through earlier. Luna already knew what I had experienced in my dreams, she used a spell that allowed her to see through my memories and what she saw made her worried. Fluttershy may not know what I had seen but it was best that she doesn’t know.

“Save him,” that what the voices had asked me to do, but how do I save somepony if I never saw them before. No, I did see him though he wasn’t that furred timberwolf instead a mutated gene minotaur. How can I save him, he never let anypony see him or let anypony talk with him.

‘Why would he need help? And what cure does he need?’ I could think of this all day, but the more I think about it the more I want to ask and the more I want to ask I won’t be able to get the correct answers. Helping somepony would be easier said than done when you know what’s troubling them; besides that, this wasn’t a pony but something else. I don’t know a single thing about him other than what everypony knows.

Luna won’t be able to help me with this. The girls might be able to help whatever it was that the voices what me to do. Saving the Hunter would be difficult if I don’t know where he is and what I need to do in order to help. The voices have given me clue: save him, help him, cure him, free him. I remember the order and how they go, but what could we do to save him?

Fluttershy managed to calm me down enough. I am still shaken up but not as worse than before. In my room, I stared at my own reflection to see my sacred self. My messy mane and tail are noticeable that I didn’t have a good sleep, my eyes were bloodshot, and the fur around my eyes was drenched from how much I had cried. My appearance could easily tell those that I’ve been through Tartarus.

I saw Luna’s and Fluttershy’s reflection in the mirror behind both placed their hooves on my shoulders comforting me. I looked to my right to see Fluttershy giving me the innocent smile that she always had. I looked to my left to see Luna, she was looking down at me with a concerned look.

“Twilight Sparkle, art thou comfortable to continue meeting this Sketch Note?” I nodded my head. It’s best to get this done with than doing it later, if Sketch knows what the Hunter looks like then it would make our search easier. Well, I know what he looks like, but the others don’t.

With that Luna and Fluttershy set their hooves down and went downstairs with me following behind them. I took a deep breath in and exhaled it out before we arrived at the living room.

Everypony was there sitting on the couch and chairs I had. The pony, Sketch Note, who drew what the Hunter looked like, was sitting on a chair across from it was the couch that had Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie on it. It would be best if I kept the fact that I saw the Hunter in my dream of what he looked like and what he can do, but I can tell the girls when he’s not around.

Stepping into the living room with Luna and Fluttershy now by my side everypony looked at me with concern. The first pony to speak was Applejack.

“Twilight, are ya feelin' any better now?” I nodded my head and muttered yes. Applejack stared at me for a few more seconds before she looked at the other girls.

“I’m glad your okay darling,” Rarity said she looked over at Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie wanted to throw her an ‘I hope you forget about a nightmare’ party, but right now she plans on doing it later because of us telling her to wait until you’re feeling better.”

I mumbled a thank you and looked up at Rainbow Dash, who was staring in a sketchbook. She noticed me looking up at her. Thankfully I didn’t have to keep staring up at her as Rainbow Dash glided down in front of me.

“A-are you ready to see what the Hunter look like?” Rainbow Dash asked making it obvious that she had a difficult time trying to say the right words. I nodded my head again I want to be done with this soon as possible.

Without saying another word Rainbow Dash showed me the drawing of the Hunter. Even though I had seen the Hunter in my dream it’s still surprising to see how he doesn’t look similar to a minotaur, no horns, no tail, not muscular, wearing clothes that make him look terrifying, and body anatomy looking completely different that shouldn’t be possible to stand on two legs without either a tail or correct bone structure. Thankfully I didn’t panic when she showed me it because how it’s just a drawing, not the actual Hunter. The drawing itself was surprising to say because how well detailed it was about what the Hunter wore and his small digits, but I also noticed that the Hunter had a masked than what I had seen in my dreams.

“H-how did he managed to get the detail of what the Hunter wore?” I asked eying the drawing as well taking in some of the detail that Sketch had done.

“W-well, I managed to get a good look at him and memorized everything that he wore,” Sketch said sounding a bit nervous, I could see him fidgeting with his hooves as he stares nervously at me. “I know that he wore white when Luna and the Lunar guards captured him, he was easy to see out in the night when the moon’s glow was on him. But I managed to get a piece of his clothing…” I tore my eyes off the drawing to see Sketch pull out a white cloth out of his saddlebag. “...as you can see it’s white; however, look closely and noticed that it's slowly starting to change into a dark red then changes to black.”

Surprised by what he said I trotted up to him and looked down at the piece of cloth. Sketch was right if you look closely you can see it start to change colors before the process of it changing colors is noticeable. Almost half of the cloth was a blood red color I could see a small amount of magic radiating off of it, I can barely see it flowing out of the cloth its appearance was similar to a faint red fog on the red half as the other off had a faint blue fog. So the Hunter can use spells maybe that’s how he managed to change into that furred timber wolf.

“A horrible piece of cloth material to changing colors into black, white, and red,” Rarity said. I can’t really say that the clothing the Hunter wears were bad as they must be made out of some type of cloth material to help protect him. “What tailor would ever make that, I highly doubt that the Hunter would always wear clothing like that everyday day.”

“Actually it’s made out of leather,” Sketched retorted sounding a bit mad. Everypony in the room gasp, Rarity fainted, Fluttershy eyes widen, Applejack nearly choked on her water, Rainbow Dash fell from the sky, Pinkie Pie’s mane deflated, and Luna didn’t seem fazed by this.

“Why in tarnation would the Hunter wear leather, he should know that to get that he would have to…” Applejack voice went silent as she stared at the ground. She knew that the name Hunter was for a reason because how he hunts like a griffin, he eats meat and that means he’ll hunt for food. Wearing a dead animal skin for protection is what some griffin hunters do.

I heard Luna’s behind me, her hoof made an audible clop with each step she made. I didn’t turn around because I didn’t want to know how she was handling this.

“How does thou knows what the piece of clothing is made of?” Luna asked or demanded. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Luna’s royal blue coat. I avoided eye contact with the Princess as she waited for Sketch to answer.

“My father is a hippogriff, he’s a hunter. He taught us how to track down a prey, make armor out of the hide, cook it, and hunt. He mainly did that to teach my sister but I wanted to be like him despite me being an earth pony,” Sketched answered. A son of a carnivore hybrid species, who is a hippogriff, is an artist that knows how to hunt, draw, and handle death.

I felt a bit sick of hearing how somepony that wasn’t a carnivore could be taught how to hunt and skin a creature. The image of me in the Hunter’s hand with a skinning knife, in his hand, squirming out of his grip desperately trying to get free. That image sent a cold shiver down my spine. I felt a few tears flow down my face as I imagined that.

“Save him. Help him. Cure him. Free him.” The same voices whispered in my ears. Why did I hear them, did I just imagined those voices whispering again? My breath began to go out of control as I was breathing too fast that I could have a panic attack.

“Twilight Sparkle!”

“Uh?” I shook my head to see that everypony, including Rarity, was staring at me. My eyes fell upon Luna, who was looking down at me with worry in her eyes.

“Art thou sure is thou is okay?” Luna asked, she leaned down and stared straight into the eyes. I felt my heart racing as well the feeling of butterflies in my stomach.

“Yes.”

Cazador POV

Cynder hissed from the unbearable pain she was experiencing after. It wasn’t my fault that she managed to dislodge her wing bone from its socket or else we wouldn’t be in this position with me on top of her holding her broken wing in my hands trying to pop it back in the socket. The dragoness should have known from the first day we met that she shouldn’t try to fight me, but no she tried to dive bomb and got what she deserves a dislodged wing. Luckily popping back a wing is like popping back your shoulder when you have someone around to help.

Pushing the wing back into its socket resulted in a pop which caused Cynder to let out a groan. I know how it feels to dislodge a limb, mostly the arms, and popping back in place it gives off the feeling of relief while also feeling a bit uncomfortable after a few minutes. Still, Cynder did deserve a dislodge wing than a shattered bone from how she flew into that tree.

“Next time don’t attack unless you have a plan or else you will have it worse than this,” I told her as I wrapped a clean bandage around the base of her wing. After making sure that I didn’t wrap it up too tight or too loose I got off of Cynder’s back and the bed she laid on.

“Maybe you don’t slap my ASS! What kind of male does that to a girl that just saw something that looks like a g-ghost!?” Cynder yelled sounding like she was about to explode with anger. Wasn’t my fault that she was afraid of the house. News of ghost and haunted buildings was just paranoia to people who can’t handle the guilt or afraid of something that their mind begins to play tricks with them. As a hunter, you must face you guilt knowing that you’ll be forever guilty no matter how much you believe your actions are right. Fear is something I rarely have now after waking up in this world.

“Sometimes I wish most women aren’t so easily scared,” I muttered before speaking up clearly. “Cynder, ghosts do not exist, I know from my years of experience of supposed haunting places are usually filled with corrupted creatures waiting for fresh meat to wander in. Whatever you saw was either that or just something you imagined. And don’t try to say that you did see a ghost. Paranormal is nothing but a hoax to scare children.”

Picking up a wet cloth from the bowl on the nightstand I began to wipe the dirt off her scales. Cynder grumbled something under her breath as I bathed her with a cloth. The way she landed gave her cuts and bruises, but that didn’t stop her from trying to take a swing at me until she felt her back in pain. Are dragons like this or do all females always want revenge?

‘Cynder seems to be bonding with us quite well,’ I heard Wyndbain say. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Cynder’s hand, or claw, petting Wyndbain. It’s rare to see an intelligent wolf get petted by a bipedal dragon, hell I bet my left that witnessed the sight that Cynder is gaining Wyndbain’s trust before mine.

‘At least I don’t need someone to scratch my itchy spot to earn my trust,’ I said. This earned a small chuckle from the wolf as he rolled onto his back letting Cynder rub his stomach. Ignoring my partner I continued cleaning Cynder’s body of all the dirt and dried blood on her scales and around her cuts.

After wiping away the last cut I bandaged it up with a simple white cloth before tossing away the dirty rag in the dirty water bowl. Cynder crawled to the edge of the bed and sat there staring down at the floor. I wiped my hands dry with another rag before tossing it in a laundry basket. We didn’t say a word to each other as silent took hold.

“Thanks,” Cynder said her eyes stared into mine as she softly smiled showing her white teeth. I nodded my head. She didn’t seem satisfied with that. “Can I ask you of your past, the book you had filled me in on what you are and what you did before you came to Equestria, you know being a Monster Hunter slaying creatures that are corrupted. However, I want to the man that saved me other than his name and what he can do. You never really opened up and I only been able to pick up the scraps during our short stay at the bat pony’s house and mayor’s house. From how they talk to you is that you’re just a friendly person when they do something in return. Crow mentioned at the table that you two used to go on a hunt.”

“We hunted each other down, he provided the feeling of hunting and being hunted.” I corrected her.

“Yeah, that one, but you never gave me a chance to get to know you. All this time you could have opened up a conversation when we were walking through the forest, but you never did you only kept to yourself.” There’s a reason why I don’t want to talk with Cynder was that I wanted her to leave me alone after we first met. She didn’t have to follow me to here in the Griffin Empire, but she’s just a stubborn dragoness. “To me, it feels rare just to have this conversation right now of your past. How do I earn your trust, to trust me as a friend than some dragoness following you owing her life to a male that saved her.”

‘It’s been only two days and a half since she began to follow me, and now she wants me to trusts her just like some child’s book? Trust is earned from knowing the person, respect is how they treat you, and friends are what you rely on for your problems. Cynder is not a friend, I don’t trust her with my life, and she is being treated nicely.’ I looked at Wyndbain to see that he was staring at the dragoness thinking to himself. This feel like some cheap romance story that’s terribly trying to get two characters to become a couple. Love is something I don’t want, even if I wasn’t cursed I wouldn’t want to have a relationship with someone that’s not the same race as I am. Giving Cynder one look I nodded my head. I saw the corners of her lips curled up beneath her cheekbones, she held out her claw.

“Then could we start a new beginning? Hi, my name is Cynder Enserius the daughter of an elder dragon Lord Axio Enserius. I’m twenty-four years old and the only dragonling in the family.” I eyed her hand, I was a bit uncertain of reintroducing again than sticking what we know before this. Without much of a thought or regret, I shook her hand introducing myself to her...for the first time.

“My name is Cazador, an apprentice Hunter under the training of Gehrman, the first Hunter. The wolf you petted is Wyndbain, my best friend, and most loyalist companion. I’m thirty-seven years old and Wyndbain is twenty-five years old.” Yes, the age for Wyndbain was actually his age, he doesn’t have dog years like all common dogs instead he has human years. Both of us live longer as if giving each other extra years to live. I glanced over Cynder’s shoulder to see him smiling.

‘You could also tell her that I’m intelligent,’ He commented.

‘I could have, but seeing as you’re just a pervy wolf that loves staring at women’s bodies why would I ruin that chance for you.’ I could hear him snicker trying to muffle his laugh because the whole this was true. Never think of as an ordinary dog because he got an eye full of nearly any women, or those that share the same anatomy.

‘I thank you for that Cazador, and I must say that I am getting an eye full of her.’ I could have rolled my eyes, but that would cause Cynder to question me. After we finished shaking each other hands I pointed at Cynder’s face keeping it between her eyes and causing her to go cross eye.

“A few rules I must say before I start,” I began before I lowered my hand. “If you want to become friends I want you to know how to handle yourself. You may be a dragon, but that doesn’t mean that every creature, both predator, and prey, would just cower away. I want you to meet up with my...skills. Meaning four things. “I held up four fingers before folding one down.” One, don’t disobey any orders I give unless I cannot give any. “The second finger went down. “Two, know your boundaries when I speak of my past, I do not want you to keep pushing on a subject that I don’t like. “The third went down.” Three, I want you in clothes instead of being naked twenty-four seven, I have enough of seeing ponies privates. “Finally the fourth finger went down.” And four, I will get to that after you prove yourself to be a friend.”

Cynder’s gaze fell on the floor, I could tell she was thinking of the rules I had. While the dragoness was busy thinking I learned a bit to the right to see Wyndbain wagging his tail out of excitement. After checking on Wyndbain I put my attention on Cynder, who was done thinking.

“I accept them all, but…” There’s the but I was waiting for not going to be surprised if it’s about the clothes. “Will the clothes be super tight? If so can they be a bit lose like yours?”

I nodded my head agreeing with that. To be honest, I was expecting a rhetorical question something like this, “Do I have to?” or “Can I just wear the pants?” But she didn’t ask those and I am thankful that she did. Don’t really want to know what she looks like if she did wear tight clothes.

With that Cynder smiled she turned around on her heels and jumped on the bed, nearly crushing Wyndbain if he didn’t jump off. The dragoness’ tail swayed side to side like a snake’s body as she let out probably, in my opinion, the most girlish squeal of excitement.

‘I guess being in the dragon territory she must act like a stubborn bitch, but now she’s acting like a child, no, a teenager to be exact.’ Shaking my head I walked out of Cynder’s room and went downstairs to find a ring of keys for every lock in the house. I didn’t have a chance to check every room in the house, so I took this chance to do it before something stops me from doing so.

Finding the ring of keys was a simple task to achieve, I didn’t have to risk my life to find it. The numbers count of keys connected to this ring was twenty-one, but the numbers of doors with locks were twenty-five. Four doors did not open meaning that four keys were either missing or broken, I didn’t let the three out of the four lock doors stop me from opening them, a few shoulder rams the doors didn’t last that long, but the fourth one was a challenge. I couldn’t get it open because of some enchantment that it had. How I know that the door was enchanted because how it wasn’t normal. When I looked at the door there were four black tendrils underneath the door itself keeping it in place.

I gave up on trying to open that one locked door on the second floor, if I can’t open it then possibly no one can unless they can dispell whatever enchantment was placed on the door. Magic is something I’m skeptical about seeing as there are a rare few things that art immune to them, or sucks the magic out of the caster. Finding cloth or some kind of animal immune to magic was like hunting an ancient Wendigo alone without any help or weapons, meaning there’s no chance I can find the materials to make a new set of clothes. Unicorns and other creatures that could use magic would have the advantage of picking me up in their magical grip. Luckily I don’t have to fight up close because of the weapons I use.

The house so far has everything that made it feel a bit homely. It’s been a while since I last called a place my home before I ended up in this world. Gehrman would probably be scolding me for calling it early to retire, but there’s nothing much that can catch my interest in hunting unless they truly prove themselves to be a challenge.

I walked to the library on the main floor. In Equestria, I rarely found time to read a book, but now I have all the time in the world I could probably read the entire library in a few months. Crime may have been low in Equestria how the princesses made peace with their neighboring countries, citizens not wanting bloodshed, and magic to help catch the criminals. Therefore, I could have just ignored the bandits up in Appleloosa, but the thrill of the hunt was what made me kill them. The feel of adrenaline pumping through your veins, images of your life flashes before your eyes when you come close to death, and the will of surviving.

Inside the library, I managed to find a book that I could read. Some of the other books I picked were written in different language, probably griffin, I didn’t understand what they’re writing was so I just ignored them and picked out another book. In my hands was the book, its covers were different that Equestria having multiple silhouettes of strange creatures. The title of this book says, “Dark Tales Vol I The Monsters in The Land of Griffins,” an intriguing title I have to say one that gave me hope.

‘Monsters of the Griffin Empire be prepared.’ I chuckled darkly as I took a seat near the fireplace in a comfortable chair. Before I had a chance of opening the book I heard the soft sounds of pitter patter on the wooden floor. I looked back over my chair to see Wyndbain holding a book in his mouth.

‘I hope I didn’t intrude on your thoughts Cazador?’ I shook my head then gestured to the floor by my seat. ‘Good, it’s been a while since I last had a chance to read a book.’

‘Same with me.’ Wyndbain softly chuckled as he walked by my seat. I took off my boots and set them to the side then took off my coat, hat, mask, ammo belt, weapons, holsters, socks, and gloves. Everything was set by the side of my chair.

It felt great to relax for once, even if this was going to be forever. I let out a satisfying sigh relieved of my clothes and the weight that I carried around for days. Lifting my feet up in the just high enough for my companion to crawl under them to enjoy the warmth they had.

‘You know it’s been a while since you gave me a good scratch, could you maybe scratch between my shoulders with your foot just like the good old days?’ I set my right foot on his shoulder and moved a bit in my chair before moving my foot back in forth letting my toes and nails to scratch him. ‘Oooh, that’s better. Cazador, do you think they miss us?’

‘Maybe. People die all the time there’s no way to prevent death from taking a life. They probably do miss us, but they have to move on what’s done is done there is nothing they could have done.’ I told him as I began to read my book turning a page to the first chapter. ‘And even if there was a way the black blood we have given us a death sentence. We would be in coffins in the dirt, but we’re not. We’re alive walking among the living doing our best to do what we were trained to do.’

‘But we still have the blood in us. I can still feel it moving along my skin every time I bleed out. We’re the true monsters that others see as the top alpha, but we didn’t have a choice to become who we are today. Those who think are monsters do not know the true meaning of them Cazador. They don’t know what it feels like to be treated as one, to think as one, and to have the same blood as the monster that cursed us.’

‘They may not know my friend, but they should never know. Night Shade and Stellar Dust knows what we did on our bounties, we ate whatever we could eat. I still can’t shake the feeling of eating another intelligent being but survival comes first. If their daughters know of what we did then they would never look at us again. It’s already bad enough that the princesses of Equestria want us behind bars, the ponies sees us more of a monster, and the elks hates us for what we did to the king.’

‘But what we did was fulfill the king’s last order to killing him in front of his kind, showing that the world is not always full of sunshine and rainbows. His son may hate us with all his souls, but we followed his orders just as we were always doing when he hired us. He was wise and he knew that his kind would hate us no matter what because we’re predators.’

I couldn’t help but agree with him. Even with Equestria’s peace prey will still hate predators no matter how much you try to change it there is always that feeling of being food to something. We were lucky that the family doesn’t care much about predators looks or personality unless they are a threat.

What does it take to feel like a monster? Is it just your looks and personality, or is it from your actions and perspective from what others sees you as? Our actions may be a monstrous act in their eyes, but to us, it’s what the world has always been. Death, rape, corruption, guilt, and sin. That’s what life always has been no matter where you are there’s always a place that has that.

‘You’re right. No matter what predators do there will always be hate between them.’

Chapter 10- The beginning of a new life.

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When I first heard of the Hunter I had thought that he was nothing more than a creature pretending to be a hero, killing the guilty without any justice. A monster that hides among the ponies that hunts down the guilty without any mercy, deceiving the innocent to believe that he’s a hero. I couldn’t stand hearing reports of the bodies of dead criminal, reading the letters from my ponies that pleads for his existence to be put behind bars, and imagining what motives that the Hunter had. A leader I am that the ponies sees our kind as. What would father think of us if he was ever here living among us, would he be disappointed?

I remember the day when father once ruled Equestria. father had always been an inspiration for me ever since I was brought into this world, but with the country, at peace with its neighboring kingdoms, I’m starting to say that father was no more than a monster, worse than what the Hunter had done. Thinking of father as a monster is heartbreaking to say because how he brought me into this world gave me lessons on ruling a kingdom with my sister, taught me how to fight, and fought for this land to protect our subjects and us. However, those wars centuries back were mostly father’s cause, he starts more than the other kingdoms had done wanting to show that ponies weren’t weak. father didn’t die in a battle, he didn’t return from the frozen north. The soldiers that were with him said that he just disappeared in front of their eyes as if he never existed.

History was changed, books were rewritten, tales of my father was forgotten, and the only beings that knew of his existence was Luna and me. I am not sure if the Hunter knows anything about father. He may be centuries old, or a few years, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting the Hunter to stop with these killings. Death is not the answer for everything, yet we are at war with an enemy that knows how to fight for centuries better than most of the soldiers that sworn to protect Equestria and its ponies.

“He’ll say no princess,” Crow repeated what he said, this was the fourth time I had to hear him say it. ‘You know that a man like that won’t join you because of gold, fame, honor, or for your ponies. He has a life as a free being, if you try to force him then you’ll be facing the griffins in Griff Glade. No, you will be facing the Griffin Empire for forcing one of the Empire’s citizens to fight for your battles.”

“Sir Crow, I wish not to force the Hunter to fight for my battles I want his help in this war Equestria has against the wolves near the Crystal Empire’s borders. Can you please tell me where he lives so I could speak with him. My subjects do not know of this war except for the Crystal Empire and those that I trust.” What I said made me regret telling the Mayor. His soft stare turned into a glare, he rose from his seat and set both his claws on his desk leaning forward a bit. One of the Dawnbreakers nearly retaliate with violence at the Mayor’s response, but thankfully he didn’t.

“Keeping a war a secret should never be hidden they should be known to the citizens so they could help any way they could, not hide it from them and take heavy casualties on the battlefield because they didn’t get enough supplies of food and weapons. Your citizens should know about this, but instead, you keep it behind their backs. What a childish mistake you made princess.” The mayor leaned back and stood on all fours, his eyes were still glaring daggers of disappointment. The same Daybreaker didn’t like the way the mayor spoke to me, he threatens the mayor that if he used that same tone that he would make him sorry. The mayor’s response was a chuckle and a shake of his head before he looked out his window.

I gave my guard a disappointed look causing the same Daybreaker ears to flatten on the side of his head. What the mayor had to say was true but letting my subjects know that there is a war between us and the wolves in the frozen north would cause a panic. Centuries of peace is what I wanted but the fate had another way of disrupting peace.

“Mayor, I know that you do not agree with my actions on asking the Hunter to help my ponies, and it’s wrong for me to hide keep the existence of war a secret to my ponies, but they would panic when they hear the news that we’re in a war. My subjects haven’t experienced war like how some others do, I never had any intention on causing hate and destruction I only wanted forever peace among my ponies so they don’t have to worry about hearing the news that something terrible happened to their love ones.” I walked around the mayor’s desk and stood by his side. We were both looking outside seeing his nieces, which I thought was his daughters, playing around in the backyard. “I wish for the Hunter’s help, his aid would save ponies lives. The creatures we fight tore through Luna’s and mine army as if they were nothing. Those creatures know their terrains and are suited for the cold winter they call home as for my ponies they’re not used to the cold they have to wear heavy winter coats just to stay warm. We’re struggling to keep them away from the Crystal Empire’s borders.”

I waited for the mayor’s response to hear what he now have to say after telling him. I know that asking the Hunter to help would cause a commotion among the guards and the soldiers fighting in the north, but it doesn’t matter that he murder guilty beings he is a valuable ally to have in this war. After what felt like five minutes the mayor looked up to me, his eyes still had that disappointed look on them.

“He lives in the forest, I’ll send word to have a hunter escort you to his house.” I didn’t let my excited look show, I kept my blank look, but this was good he finally told me where the Hunter was. “But I know he won’t help you, he’ll probably turn you down.”

‘I can convince him to help, no being can’t turn away from a ruler that request aid from them the feeling of guilt would convince them.’ I thanked the mayor and exited out the room, the Dawnguards followed close behind me doing what they have sworn to do. Mother’s may be answering my prayers giving me the chance to speak with him to finally see what he looks like.

Walking down the stairs I felt somepony, or a little griffin bumped into my leg. When I looked down I saw the same little griffins that I saw outside. The yellow one looked terrified that her little sister had accidentally run into me without looking. I heard on of my Dawnguards moved, but I stopped them with a raised hoof.

It’s been a while since I last had another species youngling run into me with guards being cautious. The feeling of being at ease was great to feel again, I can’t really remember when was the last time I felt this calm after the war had started. I patted the young griffin’s head, causing her to giggle, before walking past her.

Near the entrance doors stood a griffin armed with a long rifle and a flintlock pistol. He was eying one of my guards poking at them slightly trying to agitate one of them, but he didn’t have much success in doing so. When he heard me approached he turned his head in my direction. The griffin had no reaction to me, he just gave me a blank stare as if he was not really surprised to see me.

“Are you ready to go princess? I’m ready to go and get this job as a babysitting done,” He said sounding a bit annoyed. I nodded my head before standing beside the griffin. “Then let us not waste any more time.”

The walked through the forest was something I did not use to, it was nothing like the Everfree Forest in Equestria the creatures that lurked here kept themselves away from us, watching from where they hide. I can’t really shake off the feeling of being watched during the walk, it felt like something was close and it was breathing down my neck but every time I looked around nothing was there other than a few falling leaves. I wasn’t sure if the forest had the same magic that the Everfree did, but I can say that both have different creatures living within.

The guide that leads us through the forest wasn’t much of a talker. He stayed silent for the entire walk in the forest not minding the bushes near us moving or the branches above us shaking, he doesn’t seem to care about having a word with me or the Dawnguards around. The griffin must know something about the Hunter or the forest we were walking through.

I tried to have a simple conversation with the griffin asking him about the forest before the Hunter, but he didn’t respond. Gaining knowledge of what the Forest it was a lost, and what the Hunter is was also another. I had nothing to go with about the Hunter other than what my sister had described him of his appearance.

The Dawnguard thought I wasn’t listening to them during our walk through the forest. I managed to hear what they were saying but it was mostly of the Hunter and the griffins how they all act the same, I would have stopped the Dawnguards from saying anymore but if I were to do that then they would never whispering to each other around me. I pray that my time here wouldn’t be a waste.

When we arrived at the Hunter’s house I was expecting it to be a cabin but instead, it was a small mansion. How could the Hunter be able to afford a mansion, and all else why would it be in a forest? I can’t sense any magic around her as if something was blocking it out, was there some type of magic jammer?

“Here is where the Hunter lives,” The griffin said as he turned back. “Now you know where he lives I highly don’t you need me.”

With that, the griffin left us. I know that griffins don’t respect us, except for the King, because we’re not their rulers nor are we a griffin but this is just rude to leave a ruler from another kingdom like that. Griffins have changed so much after they lost their kingdom idol, the golden statue was the only thing that made them nice to outsiders but after it being stolen it made them a bit anti-social with other species. I never that had happened to them or else I would have sent help to assist in the search.

“Is this really the place he lives? I expected it to be more of a woods pony only living in a cabin,” One of the Dawnguards said sounding surprised. To be honest I never thought the Hunter would live in a house like this but I guess you can’t judge them by their names.

“A creature like him should be living in a cave than a mansion,” Another one said sounding displease on that fact that the Hunter lives in a cozy home that many would be jealous of. The others around agreed with him.

Silently I sighed to myself knowing that I had the same thought as them, but after the meeting with the griffin king, I can say that I can’t hate the Hunter for who he is. I knocked on the door and stepped back. Nothing had happened after waiting for a few minutes, there was no sound on the other side of the door, none of the windows’ curtains moved, and the door was locked. The whole place gives off a strange feeling that nothing was supposed to be here but the Hunter lives here, right?

I shook off the strange feeling and started looking around. There had to be something around that I haven’t noticed, something that can help me know if the Hunter is here.

Cazador POV

Black blood runs through my veins like poison. No matter how many times I try to ignore the fact that I’m cursed it would always remind me of my mistake of being so careless thinking that the Wendigo wouldn’t be faster than an infected cheetah. Usually, they’re not that fast but I can’t say anything about it. I must focus on the present and find a good tailor that’ll make Cynder a good pair of clothes than forcing her to wear a blanket as a dress. Women I still can’t understand them nor do I ever want to.

Those times I spent with my fellow hunters enjoying each others company as we relax by the fire and tell false stories of what we made up. I missed those days where I don’t have to worry about the black blood, but I can’t go back not because they’ll kill me because now I’m stuck here. What would they think of me now knowing that I’m a cursed one and the medallion is what kept Wyndbain and me normal? Knowing Gehrman I would probably be dead right now lying in my own cursed blood seeing him looking down at me with pity.

“Cazador!? Hello!?” I blinked a bit as Cynder waved her claw in front of my face. She doesn’t seem so happy now that we’re back in the town looking for a tailor to make some clothes for her.

“Yes?” I bluntly said not caring if Cynder gives me the death stare.

“How long will we take to find a tailor?” She whined sounding like a child being bored with the same toys she plays with. I sighed and shook my head. Looking at Cynder I can tell that she’s quickly growing bored of wandering the streets.

“I don’t know probably longer if you don’t stop whining like a spoiled child.” Cynder’s cheeks puffed up a bit as she looked away pouting from how I called her a spoiled child. She muttered something under her breath that I couldn’t understand or couldn’t hear clearly.

We walked through the town’s street market hoping to find a tailor out here that would do a custom order that’s within my price range. The griffins and other creatures around weren’t afraid of a dragon, a cursed hunter, and a cursed wolf walking their town’s street, it made it a lot easier than taking alternative paths that don’t involve being seen by the ponies. I don’t have to worry about guards wanting me behind bars, ponies wanting to see me, and an awkward conversation with the ones I saved. Everyone here didn’t care who I was or what I am which I am glad to know that no one in the Griffon Empire doesn’t see me as a hero to its citizens, they just see me as another creature living among them.

I kept myself close to Wyndbain, so that I don’t lose him in the crowd of griffins and animals. Exotic creatures are actually captured by trappers and hunters, but I wasn’t sure if Wyndbain’s kin live in this world as an animal, not as an intelligent creature like the cows and diamond hounds. There was never a time when we ever encountered another hunter in Equestria; however, this place is one of the eight places I know on the map of the Empire that has hunters and trappers within its walls. I always kept myself armed no matter what the condition it is I would always have one firearm with me at all times.

Turning around the corner Cynder bumped into me when someone pushed. I didn’t get the chance to see who did it but I did manage to catch Cynder without touching her injured wing. Cynder, who was in my arms, looked up at me her scaly cheeks turned a bright shade of pink before she began to panic flaring her arms like a child.

“Put me down! Put me down!” She yelled, well demanded actually, as she tried to use her feet, or is it paws, to pull herself out of my grasp. I shook my head thinking about how I’m supposed to train her if she keeps on acting like a child.

I slightly pushed Cynder up to her feet and looked down at Wyndbain to see him staring up at me with a raised eyebrow. He looked at over at Cynder then up at me.

‘Making a move on the dragoness already Cazador, what would she think if she knew that you were hitting on her? Would she be one of those types of girls to instantly fall in love with you?’ I slightly swiped my foot under Wyndbain’s forelegs causing the wolf to fall face first in the dirt. The griffins that we walking by paid little attention to us as they walked by, but the little ones giggled as they followed their family.

Ignoring Wyndbain’s threats of payback I looked over at Cynder’s direction. The dragoness was already gone and I didn’t even hear her because of the noisy crowd around us. Where could a dragoness like her have gone I know nothing about her only the fact that she acts like a child and is a dragon? I looked around the sea of griffins searching for a five-foot dragon that stands out of the crowd easily as I do.

FInding the dragoness was easier than finding a mimic hiding among a group of people. The second I looked back I spotted Cynder staring at a platter full of breadsticks. She didn’t take her eyes off the plate when I called out her name or when I stood by her. The bread gave off a sweet aroma, I could say that they’re some type of sweet bread made by a skilled baker.

The dragoness seemed to be in a trance of some sort, but was it caused by the bread? Sure the bread smell sweet and the prices on the breadsticks were four for two breadsticks. Prices in the Griffin Empire were doubled than the regular prices in Equestria. The reason why the prices were double was that of their mines running low or something like that.

“Hungry Cynder?” I asked, but this time I shook her shoulder to gain her attention since yelling out her name before didn’t break her out of the trance she was in.

“Hmmm? What?” Cynder said confused about what I said or didn’t hear what I said, it was one or the other. I repeated what I said causing the dragoness’ eyes to sparkle and look down at the breadsticks, I could see a bit of drool flowing out of the corner of her mouth. Seeing how she’s so interested in these treats I bought a bag of twelve and kept them close.

We continued on with the search for a tailor, but with Cynder pestering me about the breadsticks. I knew she would be wanting to ask for them during the entire search, however, I didn’t buy these just to give them to her for doing nothing no I was planning on using these as a way to motivate her. It’s like when a child asks for a cookie but they never touched their vegetables, so in order to get the child to eat the vegetables would be holding the cookie as a reward for eating his vegetables. This whole idea of reward may seem like I was treating her as a dog, but don’t get the wrong idea I wanted her to remember that what she does good she will be rewarded.

I don’t know how long time has passed during our search for a simple tailor, the streets markets were becoming less populated and the merchants around were closing shop for today. Cynder had stopped asking for me about the breadsticks a while back, and for that, I rewarded her with a breadstick. I never thought I get the chance to see a dragon or dragoness to happily nibble on her breadstick as if it were a piece of jerky. Still, don’t know the reason why she follows me, but I don’t really care as she made it clear that she wants to become a hunter and I was her trainer.

“What do you mean that you can’t sew up a pair of pants out of cloth? I came here to get four simple requests that wouldn’t take much time out of your claws and you’re telling me that you can’t make a pair of pants just because of the material is cloth? What can of excuse is that?” One that pretty much wanted to get you away from the shop so they could continue with their business. The griffin kept her straight face not showing a single sign of discomfort.

“Sir, like I said I can’t sew you a pair of ‘pants’ because cloth isn’t the best materials to use. It’s easy to rip and to have a dragon wear one would be treating her as a slave. I’m sorry, but I can’t take that order.” How could someone think that a dragon wearing regular clothes made out of cloth to be seen as a slave, why would anyone think of that? We spent nearly the whole afternoon on finding a tailor only to be turned down just by the request itself for wanting cloth clothes, but no the tailor won’t take in a custom order because of species thing something like that.

I can’t say that I haven’t anything stupider than that, but I witness stupid and this doesn’t even deserve to be written on a list of stupidity I’ve seen. Why can’t I at least have someone that’s wearing clothes that covers more than the top half of their body?

“What if I gather some materials for you,” I said catching the griffin’s interest, “something like a wolf pelt or a dire ursa’s grey fur. Then would you be able to take my request then?”

The griffin rubbed her beak, under it like rubbing your chin, and looked over at Cynder, who was petting Wyndbain. She then looked up at me with a smirk on her lips.

“If you can hunt me six wolves or four dire ursas then I’ll be able to make more than one single pair of clothing.under the right price of course.” I nodded my head now knowing that number of pelts I needed to get the custom order. Hunting the wolves up here would be like hunting an omega werewolf and the dire ursas would be like tiny versions of the ursa major, which silver and physical objects barely scratch its hide only magic or enchanted weapons can pierce through its hide. I never got a chance to hunt one down because how using arcane, or magic, feels like it’s taking the fun out of hunting; the point of hunting is to work for it and learn from your prey, not the opposite!

Turning around I patted my side for Cynder and Wyndbain to follow then exited out the store. This entire afternoon has been one wasteful time of searching for a tailor in the street market than looking for an actual store, I wanted to find a tailor faster with no excuse but didn’t get that wish. Now I had to go back to the forest and hunt, but I can see the good side on this because how I could help train Cynder at the same time gather to collect the pelts.

Back on walking through the streets, Cynder kept on asking me of what the purpose of training her as a hunter. She may only think that hunters in this world are just what you expect hunting safe-ish games, but for my world’s hunter we hunted down a monster and corrupted souls of that were unfortunate to be tainted with the black blood. I gave her a safe answer of what hunters do, the “child” version. That barely did anything to tell the difference between this world hunter and mine, Cynder was still confused on what was different again. This time I gave her the most common way of saying it in my world that we kill everything that’s curse even intelligent beings that have lost control of their bodies. That done the trick on telling the difference, but also scared Cynder a bit about the monsters we face. Thinking about it now just makes me wish I was still back on my world without worry of the black blood within me.

Cynder POV

We’re back in the forest after the whole hour of walking through the town to here in the forest that surrounds the town. I thought I wouldn’t have to do so much walking after we found a tailor to take a custom order but no the griffin had to deny Cazador to make me a pair of cloth clothing. We searched for one only to be turned down at first, but then Cazador managed to make a deal with the griffin by gathering some pelts from wolves or hides from a dire ursa. All this walking was starting to hurt my paws.

I thought at first during our walk that I should know what the hunters were and why do I have to be trained by him to become a hunter. From what I’ve heard from Cazador, his type of hunters were monster slayers that kill anything that is cursed by black blood, now I don’t know what is the curse of this black blood but from the name of it, I can imagine the blood to actually look black. I can’t really imagine killing a family just because they are cursed with the black blood. Will I be able to really kill someone that hadn’t done anything just because they have black blood?

There was a question I wanted to ask Cazador about, but I was afraid that he would mad if I ever asked him about who was the first hunter and why was he known to be the true hunter. I could have asked him if I could read the book he had in his bag during our time on the airship so that ask him that. I should have asked instead of reading the book without his permission.

“Hey, Cazador, how did you get Wyndbain, and what is he?” I may not be able to ask him about the first hunter, but I was able to ask him about Wyndbain.

“Wyndbain is a wolf that Gehrman gave me when I finally learned how the animals out in the wild acts like. The old wolf wasn’t this big when I got him, hell he was smaller than what he looks now than before. He was a little brat back then, I had to make sure that he didn’t piss in the house while I slept and keep him near me whenever I tried to show him how to hunt.” I was beginning to be interested in Wyndbain since now I know that the first hunter gave Cazador the puppy wolf. Sure Wyndbain may be an unintelligent animal that I mostly see around the volcano, but he acts like one from how well he listens and how he doesn’t usually bark to get Cazador’s attention as if Cazador already knew what he was thinking.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Wyndbain glaring up at Cazador as if it was personal to him and embarrassing to have it mention to someone. Does Wyndbain actually have a mind of his own knowing what Cazador was saying the entire time? And if so then does that mean Wyndbain could take care of himself and think like us?

“Oh, is this how you showed him how to hunt?” I bluntly asked not thinking an actual question to ask him of.

“Yeah, well yours is going to be different because how you are already standing on two legs, have hands, and could learn how to shoot a gun than wielding a sword. However since your wing is still healing and the predators we’re hunter are different than Equestria’s, Wyndbain and I are gonna be the ones hunting them down. As for you…” Cazador suddenly stopped, nearly causing me to bump into him, and looked up at the sky. “You’re just gonna be hiding for most of the time. Predator would go for easy kills than doing hard work to waste more of their energy.”

“So you’re gonna do all the work while I hide like a pony, no I want to be a part of this Cazador.” I know talking back to someone who’s going to train you was a worse thing to do, but I want to prove that I am no coward and even with an injured wing I can still fight. “If I can’t prove to you that even when I’m in the weak state that I can’t fight. I don’t want to be those little bitch ponies that just hides from danger and use their princess to fight for them. My race is the dragon race and we don’t back down until we draw out last breath.”

I waited for Cazador to say something, but nothing came out of his only a sigh and a shake of his head. He mumbled something that I couldn’t understand. Wyndbain just looked up at Cazador before looking at me.

“Here..” Cazador tossed something me, which surprised me at first. The thing he tossed me was the same thing I saw him used against the other dragons. I barely managed to catch the thing before it could bounce out of my hand. “You need to learn how to shoot a gun than trusting your claws. A hunter must know how to use a ranged weapon, a close-range weapon won’t do any good if their prey is far from them. That will be your first training.”

To be honest, I was afraid of using the gun I didn’t know how to fire this or how to handle it correctly, but thankfully Cazador showed me how to hold the gun properly. Even though I couldn’t feel Cazador’s hands without the gloves I enjoyed the time how he taught me how to fire the gun, hold it correctly, and the warning of the kick it has. If dragons were to create such devastating weapons that Cazador has then no one would be safe from the dragon race.

We started out small by tracking down the wolves, the pawprint they made were similar to an alpha diamond dog, however, they were bigger. The trail we followed led to an abandon trail weapon that seen better days before it fell apart, on the wood, there were claw marks bigger than my claws. Cazador talked me through on what to expect when seeing claw marks around certain areas it either meant that the creature marked their territory or it’s a warning for other kin to be wary of the area for other predators. I can’t truly understand how Cazador could easily know which tracks to belongs to which animals, he makes it all seem so.

My wing was killing me from the lack of movement in it, the damn thing was starting to stiffen up as if my wing was replaced with a metal bar. I wasn’t sure how long it will take for my wing to heal. Walking around was becoming a bothersome to my paws as some of the times I would step on a sharp stick or a thorn.

I don’t know what my family would think of me now since I’ve left home without them knowing. My father would be furious if he were to learn of the reason why I left them, he would kill Cazador. Mother would be curious like the fucking dragoness she was, I wouldn’t hear the end of it from her if she ever finds me. I don’t know what my sisters would think, I never cared for them when they left the family.

Being a hunter I thought was going to be easy but from what I was witnessing Cazador doing I thought wrong. The way that Cazador tracks down the wolves without a problem made me felt like I wasn’t going to be able to become a hunter, to know Cazador more than just the book then that’s about him. That feeling of regret was something I didn’t expect myself to feel like that when training with Cazador.

‘What were you thinking Cynder!? Did you honestly think that it would be that simple to just become a hunter and be trained by Cazador that wanted you to leave!? Why? Why must I be so blunt and not care about the consequences!?’ I knew whining in my head won’t give me any answers and doubting myself was making it worse.

“Cynder.” I shook my head of the bad thoughts and looked down at Cazador. He had his arms crossed with his rifle between his chest and his arms.

“Yes?” Cazador shook his head before pointing his finger to my left. When I turned my head in that direction my eyes widen from seeing a bigger diamond dog that had dark gray fur covering its entire body with markings on its arms. I’ve never seen anything that looked so terrifying, like a monster in a dragonling fairy tales.

“It’s time for you to take a shot.” My blood froze as I heard him say that. I looked at him with wide eyes not believing that I would have to shoot the gun now than shooting it later where I could learn more how to aim, but Cazador made me take aim. My claws were shaking a bit, it’s not because of the weight it has no it was because how I am afraid how the gun would recoil back and smack me in the muzzle.

Thankfully Cazador wasn’t a heartless being. He set down his rifle up against a tree and walked around me. I can’t really believe it at first when I felt his body pressed up against mine, his chest rubbing my scaley back as his hands hold onto my arms. This was the first time I’ve ever had someone that’s a male press up so close to my back that I had to move my tail just so he could stand close behind me. My face felt like I had hot burning coal pressed up against my cheeks, I thought to fire the gun was what was causing me to continue to shake now, but no it was Cazador.

“Cynder, I want you to follow my instructions…” How could I follow his instruction if I am shaking like a pony, I couldn’t really get a grip on myself. “Take a deep breath in, and relax your mind. Focus on the predator and see it as your prey…” I followed both of his instruction. When I breathed in through my maw I felt like a weight of something was lifted off my shoulder, and when I focused on the predator and thought of it as nothing more as a prey I felt my body stop shaking. “The hunt is all that matters, distractions must be ignored. A hunter must be the apex predator that all creatures should fear.”

I never thought of myself as an apex predator being feared by everything. The dragon race may seem to most fear, but they’re not the dragons are afraid of another species that can take down a guardian. To think of myself in the top food chain would be like a child’s dream.

With my mind set on the prey, I squeeze the trigger. The event was fast, the wolf that was standing around went down as if it just died by poison. My ears ring from how loud the gun was like last time when Cazador fire this into a dragon’s leg.

I felt Cazador’s hands lift off of my arms letting them down to my sides. I couldn’t say a word on how it felt to fire a gun, how it was to kill something that was new to you. If I had a book filled with a different definition of amazing then I would say every word in that book.

Looking down at the gun I lift my claw up and squeeze the handle. Now I felt like I could actually be a hunter to know more about Cazador and to be his friend than just be a dragoness that owes a creature a debt for saying her. I ran my other claw over the barrel feeling the cool metal against my scales.

Doubts are just something I have to ignore. If I continue to do this ignore my doubts and be the hunter that Cazador want then I can do it. I can be that hunter!

Chapter 11- The start of lies.

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“Hunter please put down your weapon,” The princess of Equestria kindly said but I didn’t lower down my rifle. Why was she here, I remember from what the ponies have always been whispering that she stays in Canterlot sorting out bills, making rules, and keeping the peace between her kingdom and other kingdoms, but she’s here at the front step of my home being held gunpoint by me. Cynder was both confused and surprised, she didn’t expect me to point a weapon at royalty. She doesn’t know me. Wyndbain was concern about the fact that we have one of the princesses come here to the Griffon Empire with guards by her, he didn’t like the fact that they were on our property.

We came back home after delivering the wolf pelts and Minor ursa hides to the griffin. Cynder learned how to shoot my revolver which was a good thing, I actually planned on buying a flintlock pistol before asking a favor from a dog. She proved that even when she’s hurt that she can still fight, but there are some flaws that could have gotten her killed if I wasn’t there by her side watching her back and bandaging her up. Still, I can say that the dragoness needs to learn how to be an actual hunter than a dragon that she is. However, the princess of Equestria was here.

First, it was the princess of the moon capturing me and having me interrogated by her batponies, but now it was the princess of the sun who has decided to take care of me rather than let her sister finish what she started. I thought she wouldn’t waste her time trying to find me, however, I was wrong here she was standing right in front of me with her guards all glaring at me for aiming my rifle at her head a simple pull of the trigger and she would be dead. Though, I can’t do that.

“Not until you step away from the door,” I said keeping the center of the crosshairs, in the scope, dead center on her head. Normally I would just walk away from this not caring about royalty or any type of ruler, but this was our home, not hers and she doesn’t belong here in the Griffon Empire.

The princess of the sun lowered her head and sighed, shaking her head a bit before looking up at me. Instead of making one of her guards do something she stepped to the side and held out her hoof to the other guards. They all looked at her as if she wasn’t in the right state of mind but they didn’t disobey whatever the princess had told them to do, they stepped aside away from the door making a clear path to the door for us.

Being respectful, but also cautious, I lowered my rifle. From the corner of my right eye I saw Wyndbain look up at me, he wasn’t sure if this was a way to make us lower our guard or they were actually serious. Out of the corner of my other eye, Cynder was staring at the ponies, her eyes were narrowed and her teeth were showing. Cynder didn’t do that when she woke up with bat foals looking at her, but I can easily guess that it wasn’t for the guards it was for the princess. There was something that Cynder mustn’t like about the princess something that would need to be forgotten and let go rather than still holding on.

With a cautious step, I walked towards my door. The guards around glared at me as I walked past them to the front door, they were the same as the other ponies in Equestria hating me thinking me as if I was a monster that just enjoys killing. The princess watches me as I pulled out the key to the house from one of my inner pockets before unlocking the door. Cynder stood by my side and tapped my shoulder.

“Cazador, why is the princess of the sun here?” Her voice had venom in it, I could already tell that she doesn’t like the princess of the sun more than I do. Before I even have a chance to answer the dragoness’ question the princess spoke.

“Cazador, so that’s your name. I always knew that Hunter was what my subjects named you.” I heard Cynder growl at the princess. She didn’t do anything else but growl because of the guards around and that the princess was royalty, but it was good to know that Cynder stayed at my side right now.

“Cazador is Hunter in another language, but I don’t you are interested with my name other than seeing me dead in your prison.” I looked over my shoulder to see the princess looking down, I was still a monster in her eyes that deserves to die. “However you can’t, can you? Without causing an argument between the Griffin King and yourself. Just because I hunted criminals in your land, criminals that don’t deserve a second chance after what they committed. So princess of the sun, why are you here?”

The princess opened her mouth about to say something, but she didn’t say anything. Could she be having problems trying to find something to say or does she have a dry mouth that prevents her from speaking? Hearing the princess speak again would just cause an argument between her and Cynder, it was best if she never spoke again.

Turning my attention back to the door I pushed it open and stepped inside. Cynder and Wyndbain rushed themselves through the door, but when Cynder was the last one to rush in she quickly closed the door behind her and locked it. I can’t understand why Cynder hates the princess, why she doesn’t like her. However, I didn’t much care as the princess isn’t worth the time to speak with because how her sister made it obvious that they would capture me themselves than rather send their ponies to do it.

This day has been a surprise of disappointment for me. First Cynder was dumb enough to try and fight me, the second was how the tailor couldn’t make a simple cloth clothing instead needing animal hides to make the clothes out of, and third was the princess of the sun herself with her golden guards by her side. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wyndbain’s royalty crush dog would dig up a tunnel from the Undergrounds to here in our house.

Before anyone could settle in the fact that we now have a princess on the property the sound of someone knocking on the door echo out through the house like a cave. I already knew who was the creature that was knocking on the front door. I turned around and unlocked the door and opened it to a small crack that I was able to see the princess of the sun staring back at me.

“Cazador, may I have a word with you?” I shook my head and shut the door. I didn’t want to talk with the princess whatever she wanted to talk about she can just leave and never return.

‘Cazador is that the smartest thing to do to someone that is royalty and a being that can use magic?’ Wyndbain asked unsure that my action of shutting the door in front of the princess as my answer to her question. I shrug in response not sure for myself, but I can say that it didn’t turn bad because how the princess didn’t use her magic to send the door flying. My friend just sighs and shakes his head as he looks up at Cynder. I looked at her as well but only to see that her markings on her body were a red than what the color they used to be.

Now I’m not sure of what the signs are to tell how a dragon is feeling, but the sign of red is something that should always be known as either hate or bloodlust. With a sigh I walked over to Cynder, who seemed to not notice me at the time, I looked over at the markings on her body. Each marking was red instead of white like they used to be.

“Cynder,” I snapped my fingers as I called out her name. At first, she didn’t seem to acknowledge me, but after the first few snaps, she finally looked at me which caused her red markings to lose their color and return back to white. For a few seconds, she seemed fine other than looking tired and having a bandaged wing, but fine nonetheless.

When she tried to speak all that came out was a cough and chuckle before she collapsed. Before she even hit the ground I managed to catch her. The dragoness’ body felt like fire itself as if she managed to catch a fever but I don’t know how she could have when she seemed fine and well when she was learning how to hunt from me. Looking over her back I couldn’t see what was wrong with her other than feeling that she’s burning up. Do dragons get the fever? I couldn’t be fully sure because how we’re different species with a different kind of illness and anatomy, but this was clearly a fever no doubt if Cynder was human, however, she was not.

Lifting her over my shoulder I made my way upstairs, but as I made it halfway up a knock came from the door. Silently I groaned out of annoyance and processed to carry up the stairs while Wyndbain pokes his through the curtains to tell me what the princess was doing. As I reached the top Wyndbain told me that the princess was talking to her guards while she stares down at him. Not much interesting other than that unless you count the way he describes how much he hates being looked like that by the princess.

I walked down the halls to Cynder’s room, opening the door wasn’t difficult as I only needed one hand to twist the knob while using the rest of my body to carry the dragoness, again do not attempt to carry a dragon because they weigh more than they look. I carried Cynder in her room to her bed. I was glad that I’ve made it here sooner than later or else Cynder would have baked me alive with her body temperature.

As I lay her down I saw how heavy she was breathing. Quickly I searched over her body to see if she was cut by something during the hunt that caused her to be having these problems. Sadly I couldn’t see anything that looks like a cut or felt anything out of place meaning it was just a common sickness that she just caught.

‘Is she going to be alright?’ I heard Wyndbain ask. I answered him with a simple yes and made my way downstairs. The only creature that knows what’s wrong with Cynder was the princess herself, she knows more about dragons than I do and she might know what’s wrong with her. Thinking about asking that horse is something that I don’t want to do but for the sake of Cynder’s life, I have no choice but to do so before her fever worsens.

‘Wyndbain, stay by my side.’

Celestia POV

“Princess why can we not barge through the door and charge in, the Hunter is here and we have a chance to bring him into justice,” I listened as my guards try to talk reason to me, but I don’t want to bring him to Caterlot’s dungeon and lock him there. No, I needed his help. Equestria needs his help or else we’ll be nothing more than prey to the Frost Wolves.

Shaking my head I looked at the window where I can see the dog or rather the fur timberwolf that most ponies would call it. It stares back at me watching me. Cazador must not have been a shapeshifter, meaning that the sightings of him in whatever form he was minutes ago and the dog looking at me. They were just making my Subjects, my sister, and I think that Cazador was a shapeshifter that could take many forms, but he’s just another being that can’t do that. I was wrong to believe that Cazador would just listen to me as my subjects do, he doesn’t even like royalty or won’t even listen to a pony.

The dragoness he has doesn’t like me, but I don’t know why she doesn’t I can only make a guess why. It makes me wonder now how he managed to befriend a dragon is something I want to ask him about as well. Rarely dragons would become friends with any creature unless they’re a relative of their kin. Was Cazador a relative of the dragoness? No, he wasn’t because how he lacks the appearance of a dragon and the attitude they have.

‘I failed sister, I failed to have Cazador help us. Our soldiers will not have the help from him, they would suffer more casualties than they should. The wolves in the north will push through our ponies and reach the Crystal guards. Equestria’s soldiers and guards would be seen as some laughing joke.’ I hung my head down knowing that my subjects will love more of their loved ones in the war than they should. As I turned around I suddenly heard the door unlocked. Stopping right there I looked back and saw the door open showing Cazador and the dog staring at me.

The guards around were all glaring at him, expecting something to happen that they would have a reason to fight him, but he did something that I didn't believe he would do.

“Princess of the sun, I would like your assistance to help my friend.” I smiled, not because of helping Cazador’s friend, but because now I can finally have a chance to speak with him and a way to convince him to help us. As I started to turn around he pointed at the guards around me. “But they need to stay out.”

“We will not stay out because you say so, we are the Dawnbreakers that would die for the Princess an-”

“I can agree with that Cazador,” I said without hesitation. The Dawnbreaker that was speaking looked up at me in shocked, the others were surprised as well but didn’t have the same expression as this one. He was having trouble to think of something to say, but I didn’t give him a chance.

Entering the building Cazador shut the door behind us and led me upstairs. I was surprised at how well the house looked on the inside than on the outside, everything was brush cleaned, no sign of wood decay, and everything well kept. How could Cazador clean an old house in the forest surrounding the town all by himself in a short amount of time? He may not be what my subjects and I imagine to be, however, he must have some ability that he must have than what we thought.

A being like Cazador himself is a mysterious one as I’ve never seen his kind before I just believed he must be a relative to the minotaur race, but looking at him closely I can say he lacks more of the appearance of a minotaur. The clothing he wears entirely covers his entire body except for his eyes, has he ever taken off all his clothing like how most beings that wear clothes do or does he wear them for life?

Cazador led me to one door that was slightly cracked open. This must be where Cazador left his friend at, but for what reason would he need my assistance to help his friend. Whatever his friend need I could help, but this was the perfect chance to have a word with Cazador and see if he’s able to help us with this war against the wolves in the frozen north. Helping his friend would give me a chance to have Cazador’s favor which I could use.

I watched as Cazador opens the door to reveal the dragoness in bed curled into a ball. There was obviously something was wrong with her, but I couldn’t tell what was the reason why she’s curled up. Entering the room I walked over to the dragoness to see what was wrong with her.

“Cazador could you tell me what do you need my assistance for?” I asked him wanting to know now why he wants my help than just doing it himself.

“I don’t know anything about dragons, I only know the stories about them nothing more. When we went inside she instantly had a fever which is something I don’t know if it’s common to her race.” That’s why he wanted my help, he doesn’t have a clue about what kind of illness that a dragon could have. He was clueless about what to do.

Looking over the dragoness’ body I couldn’t see anything that could make her sick or a cut on her. I used a simple medical spell to see what was wrong with her to see what I was dealing with. When the spell was cast I noticed something that made me concerned about Cazador’s safety now, something that he should not know at the moment but should know not to be around the dragoness. I looked to my left to see him staring at me, his cold gaze that would send a shiver down a demon’s spine. I know telling him of the situation would make him ask more questions than bargain for, however, the war in the north is something I need Cazador’s help.

“She’s having a fever that’s dangerous for other beings to be around, the dragon race and a few others would lock those that have this fever in a room and only give her the proper treatments to help her with this fever. Fortune must have been watching over you Cazador as she only showing the first stage of the fever, and that I was here to help her.” I looked down at the dragoness to see her slightly shivering from whatever cold breeze that blew through the house. Cazador doesn’t know what is truly wrong with her which I will use as an advantage to gain his help.

“How do I treat her fever, do I treat it as an ordinary fever?” Hearing Cazador ask me that just helped me found a way to make him help us.

“No, her fever is something that would require magic and medical care. It’s highly contagious and could have a chance of spreading from one creature to another if not careful.” I quickly pushed Cazador to the door with me, his four-legged companion walked alongside us as we exited out of the room. This was the chance that I had to take, a chance that Cazador could help us finally than talking and negotiating over. This was the chance to finally have the Hunter help us.

“Then what do I have to do? If what you say is true, then how do I help Cynder?” This was it the chance to have Cazador’s help.

“I have one pony in Equestria that knows about dragons, she even has one as her little brother. She has a way to help Cynder, but her cost of hiring her help would cost more than what you have now, and being in the Griffon Empire would double the cost meaning before you even have a chance at getting the money Cynder would already be on the final stage of her fever.” I saw Cazador’s fist shook, something that I wanted to see. I know this wasn’t the way I wanted to ask him, but it has a better chance than what I’ve planned on earlier. “But I can help only if you do me a favor.”

His eyes stared directly at mine, they held something that I can’t understand for some reason. He looked at the door to our right before looking down at his companion. The dog itself looked up at Cazador as well, both were just staring at each other having a silent conversation among themselves. Both Cazador and the dog were done looking at each other, they both looked at me, but Cazador was the only one to talk.

“And what favor is that princess?”

“I need your help to fight a threat in the cold north, a threat that is slowly pushing its way through the Equestria’s soldiers. If they manage to take over the Crystal Empire all is lost for my subjects.” This favor one that no one would ever take unless they want money for, but Cazador doesn’t have a choice or else he would think Cynder will die if he declines the favor.

“I’ll do it…” I smiled knowing that he’ll do it, but soon my smile fell as he continues to speak. “But not until you agree on five conditions.”

Chapter 12 - Before the meeting

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We stared at the family of batponies in front of us, one mother and two daughters. Sister had given us a letter of great news she has, but also an agreement she made with the Hunter so that he can help us with the war. Five conditions that Celestia has agreed on with the Hunter, she agreed with it without me being by her side to know about these conditions. She wrote down all five that she agreed on, however, we don’t agree with the two conditions she agreed upon to do for the Hunter. One of them is being with the batponies, bringing these innocent ponies that don’t know where they are going other than knowing that the Hunter had given them a letter in Celestia’s scroll. The mother had read this before we departed to Auria’s Gale, we never had the chance to read that letter to see what the Hunter had to say to this particular batpony when I told her that there was a letter for her. She never told me what it said other than have a smile on her lips, but in a short amount of time, her smile soon turned to a frown as she folded the letter and tucked it away underneath her wing.

Twilight, the other element of Harmony, and Sketch Note were aboard the Royal Shining Star. We planned on traveling to the Griffon Empire’s capital, but after receiving Celestia scroll our course has changed. Twilight hadn’t been herself after the nightmare she had. No pony knows what happened in her dreams, even I do not know what her nightmare was. Whatever force was behind the cause of the nightmare we can say that it has the ability to keep us out of her dreams. She only told us that we must see the Hunter after her small panic attack. We do not know the reason why she wanted everypony in the tree house to go, but she is a smart pony and our sister’s student. Nopony questioned her neither did we.

In around four hours we would reach our destination and from there in Auria’s Gale we would take a wagon to Griff Glade, we couldn’t understand the reasons why the Hunter decided to live near Griff Glade as it’s mostly surrounded by a forest that has dangerous creatures living in them. A creature like him can never be understood by anypony. He’s a hero to some of our subjects, but he’s also a killer. We don’t know what they see in him and how his action is justice, he’s just another type of bounty hunter that hunts down his bounties and returns them for money he’s not a hero at all just a creature for hire.

I looked down at the scroll again my magic. Reading the scroll again silently to myself I started to wonder why he wanted these conditions.

Dear sister,

I have wonderful news that would change the war in the north in our favor, the Hunter has agreed to help with us after I had a word with him. However, he’ll only help under five conditions that sounds doesn’t sound much of a demand from him. There is something I need to tell you, Lulu, the Hunter isn’t alone with him is a dragoness and a canine companion. The dragoness does not like ponies from how she stares at the Dawnguards and me, her attitude towards us is disrespectful. The canine doesn’t care about anything other than the Hunter, it doesn’t speak like a diamond dog does or communicate in any way, however, I’ve have seen it staring up at the Hunter waiting for a command from him. You must be careful sister when meeting this dragoness though. The only possible way that the Hunter agreed to assist us in this war is to take care of the dragoness while he is gone. Be warned sister the dragoness is in heat I don’t know when her heat started but what I do know is that the Hunter doesn’t know she’s in heat and believes she’s terribly ill with a deadly fever. I know Lulu that it may be questionable to ask me how I managed to convince the Hunter even though the dragoness is only in heat, but I managed to do so and fortune has favored us.

The Hunter lives in Griff Glade in the forest. Go to Auria’s Gale and take a chariot to Griff Glade, ask the mayor of Griff Glade to have one of his hunters to guide you through the forest. It is better to ask his help than go in the forest without a guide. And please do not make any of the griffons feel uncomfortable with your presences, meaning no large group of Lunar guards by your side. I need you to bring a maid from the castle as well, the dragoness would most likely not care for dirty dishes or cleaning up her room after her heat.

I know you’ve been wondering what are the five conditions are. The conditions he has are simple to achieve and not as much risk as I thought they were when he had told me he had five conditions. Sister please help me with these conditions, if he comes back to see all five are not done then we would have a problem with the Hunter himself.

One, I request for you to leave me alone after I help you with your war, I do not want any of your ponies searching for me even if I have a price on my head.

Two, there’s a batpony family living in Shoe Horse Port. I want that finally to have a private escort to here where I live, I know that Cynder trusts them more than your ponies.

Three, if I bring something back that is worth valuable or seems dangerous do not try to take it away from me, what I bring back is something that belongs to me not you.

Four, I want your sister to avoid Cynder’s, Wyndbain’s, and my dreams. If I see her then expect to see your sister emotionally scared for the rest of her life.

Five, I want a crate full of silver bricks. Don’t ask questions why.

We are still questioning why sister has written us a scroll that doesn’t describe much of the dragoness and the canine companion, she normally tells more about the creatures she met and describes more of their appearance. Seeing how she hadn’t written much more down than a few paragraphs we were starting to think that she didn’t know much of what the Hunter looked like. She didn’t write down more on what the dragoness looks like or why she dislikes our subjects, and why the Hunter thinks that a family of batpony wouldn’t bother the dragoness? How do we know if they would be safe with her?

Looking over the safe railings I watched as we fly over the sea, the reflection of our moon showed us the mare on the moon that marking when we were banished to the moon when we lost control of our body. We cannot do anything to remove that mark on the moon it is a reminder of what we have done in the past that we wish we could change.

As we stared at the reflection we suddenly hear movement behind us, causing us to turn around to see who was there. At first, we didn’t see nopony but when we looked down we saw a little bat filly leaning to the right. We don’t know why she was leaning to the right. After a few seconds, the filly looked up at us and surprised us with a question.

“Princess Luna is your rump really that big?” Why would a filly young as her ask that? Trying to find the right words to answer that we looked around to see if the filly’s mother was around, but sadly she wasn’t. We looked down at the filly and tried to ask her a question to push aside hers.

“Why would you ask such a question like that?” We managed to ask her the question without stuttering or sounding embarrassed. The filly tilted her head as she stared up at me.

“Well Mama and Cazador were talking about you yesterday and he mentioned that you had a big rump, and having a big rump wouldn’t let you be able to squeeze through places where other ponies with small rumps can squeeze through.” Cazador? Was that the name of a pony or another creature because how the Hunter never been seen by anypony else except for the ones that were in Ponyville to see the Town Hall burned down. Whoever this creature was he must not like a big plot, but having a bigger plot than our sister’s is something we want to brag about!

“Little one maybe it’s best not to ever have a question about rumps until your old enough to understand.” Who would have ever thought that the first conversation we have with one of the foals was about my plot being big, and the worst part was that she had heard her mother and this Cazador talking about my rump? The filly nods her head as she walks away from us, giving us some time to ourselves.

When the filly went down the stairs I turned around and began to think of what made our sister lie to the Hunter. He may be the chance to help turn the tides of this war in the north, but the question I have is how does he not know that the dragoness was in heat? Didn’t he see the signs that show she’s in heat? It doesn’t matter now other than the fact that sister had lied to the Hunter and made him go to war to help fight in the north. Lies can hurt a pony or could even manipulate them into doing the wrong thing, we know for sure that lying will lead to disaster. If the Hunter learns soon that the dragoness was only in heat then he would abandon the war and return back to where he lives.

We sighed at the thought of hundreds of soldiers in the north dying just by a single lie that sister made. Then a thought came to mind something I should have thought before how did sister know where he lived, she was going to the Griffin Empire’s capital then she sends a letter that the Hunter lives in the forest of Griff Glade. Did the King tell her where he was at, it had only been two days after we had captured the Hunter and lost him and sister departed a day ago. How did sister find the Hunter?

Deep in thought, we didn’t hear anypony walk up behind us. When we felt somepony tapped our leg bringing us out of our thought.

“Princess Luna?” We looked to our side to see the mother of the foal that asked me that...questions she didn’t know of.

“Yes, miss Shade?”

“Shade is fine my Princess.” Shade lowers her head bowing down showing her respect to me before lifting her head up. “May I ask you of my husband, he joined the Lunar Guards years ago before both of our foals were born. However, he told me that he would be gone for a while he doesn’t know how long only told me he would be fighting, but I haven’t heard from him since the day after the Hunter made his name clear to Equestria.”

“Oh, what is his name, Shade?”

“Stellar Dust” Our eyes went wide as we remember seeing that name in a scroll of soldiers that went to the north. We weren’t sure if Shade’s husband alright had we haven’t heard much of a report from the north other than one outpost has fallen from a messenger. It has been weeks since we had heard any more after that report. We can’t say for sure if Shade’s husband is still alive, but what we can say is that there’s a chance that he was still alive. Looking down at the mare we began to think up of what to say, something that wouldn’t hurt her.

“Shade,” We said starting out with her name, “you’re husband is fine from the last report we have gotten, he is still alive and you do not have to worry.”

No, she does have to worry. She has to worry about her loved one safety and hope that he may still be alive. We were lying to her, but we were not lying just to make her believe it. We lied to her so that she can hope he’s still lives.

We turned away from the mare and headed to our quarters where we would spend most of the night in until we reach our destination. Sister what have you made us do to lie to a mare that was concern about her husband’s life, are we really following your hoof steps?

Cynder POV

Waking up with the burning body is something I always hated when that time of year comes around. I forgot to tell Cazador that I was going in heat soon and I’ll be having certain mood swings and feel like I’m burning up from the inside, but when he carried me up the stairs and to my room I couldn’t speak because how I suddenly felt like cuddling with him and not saying a word. However, I didn’t have the chance to do that when I fell asleep on him.

I can’t really say I had the best sleep on this bed, but I can’t say I had the worst either. The bed itself was comfortable to sleep on it’s just that my bandaged wing makes it hard to sleep on it without crushing it and popping the bones out of place. It’s not every day I get the chance to sleep on a comfy been instead of it being a flat rock.

Sitting up straight I stretched my arms out and let out a yawn, my tail swayed behind me as I tried to stretch it out much as possible. I can’t remember well when I started doing this, but I can say it feels good for stretching my body. Laying down on my stomach I tried to lean my body back to get my backbones to pop. After I was done leaning back I moved my knees under me and stretched my arms out again trying to mimic what cats do when they stretch.

…

‘Actually do I lift my ass when I do that?’ I know that was a sudden and dumb question to ask myself that, but do I really lift my rear up and shake it whenever I stretch like this? Luckily Cazador wasn’t around me to see me like this or else this would be embarrassing...Cazador that mysterious creature who save me from those dragons and brought me here in a mansion while training me to become a hunter like him.

My thoughts began to drift from the training to something more interesting. I have never seen him take off his clothes or saw what his body really look like other than a small portion of his face. My imagination had gone from guessing what his face looks like to what his entire body does I felt my face burn as I imagine him being naked in front of me seeing what his body looks like and what was between his legs. Shaking my head those thoughts disappeared as I tried to refocus on reality than daydreaming...wait is it night time?

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed how dark it was outside, it was indeed night time, but how long did I sleep for? I got out of bed and walked to the window. When I was close enough I pulled back the curtains to see nothing but the dark outlines of the treetops with the moon high in the sky. If I remember correctly Cazador doesn’t sleep in the night, so that means he’s up now either hunting or preparing me for another hunt since we arrived in the Griffin Empire around evening and we spend some hours here in this village. We actually spent a whole day here.

With a thought of training in mind I made my way over to the door, but as soon I started moving I felt my legs gave out causing me to fall snout first in the floor. The fact that the dragon’s snouts are sensitive is one of the things I dislike being a dragon. Rolling to my side I held my snout with both of my claws, rubbing it a bit.

‘Maybe next time I should stay close to the wall, my heat is making me feel weak and vulnerable like a newborn dragon.’ After the pain in my nose numbed I managed to crawl over to a desk and climb up it, using what little strength I have to stand up with something by me to support myself. I should have known my heat would soon start making me feel weak, but I wasn’t expecting it to suddenly feel it now than tomorrow. That princess of the ponies was one I didn’t trust, she was here for a reason and that reason was to talk with Cazador. Thankfully he didn’t speak that much with her and turned her down with whatever offers she had for him.

Walking to the door again, I took my time getting there instead of pushing myself to the door. When I reached the door I opened it, had some trouble turning the damn knob on the door, and walked out of the room. The hallway was lit up by lamps on the wall, giving me that creepy feeling. I stayed close to the wall using it to support myself as I walked down this hallway. That creepy feeling was still lingering in the back of my mind, having that feeling of being watch and uncomfortable at the same time.

When I reached the stairs I noticed how less lively this place looks now than before. I don’t like the fact that how all these lambs on the walls only illuminates a small area around them it gives a chance for someone to hide in the dark, but I highly doubt that anyone would be stupid enough to try and fight a dragon or try to fight Cazador and Wyndbain seeing how they aren’t females and they don’t go in heat whenever it’s that time of the year. Males are so lucky that they don’t go in heat in a certain season and they don’t have to worry about the pheromones we females have whenever we’re in heat.

I managed to walk down the stairs, without falling over. The silent atmosphere in the house made me felt like I was the only one living in this house. Well, I can’t really say that I was the only one in the house. Cazador does own this place from what I remembered correctly and he is my trainer to teach me how to be the hunter he is. The difference between a regular hunter and Cazador’s still confuses me as they both hunt down something, but Cazador hunts down creatures that have black blood; the ones that can put a curse on someone when bitten or scratched by them, but if it was a scratch mark then the wound would need to be treated as if it’s a life or death situation.

Feeling this weak right now is a big chance for someone to just attack I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it other than try to defend myself, I may not be able to do that so well, but who says that blowing out black fire wouldn’t scare anyone from thinking that the dragoness is corrupted by darkness? Well, I can’t really breath out “black fire” but I can make it look like black fire since it’s nearly black, however, it’s a dark gray that nearly looks black. Don’t know why dragon’s fire breath can’t be the regular color I normally see from campfires. Well, beggars can’t be choosers even if the thing want will never happen.

As my paws touched the floor I heard talking. I didn’t know who was talking as it was muffled. I went around under the stairs to the double doors where the sound of talking came from. As soon as I made it to the doors everything went silent.

Chapter 13 - Boo! Didn't see that did ya!?

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Opening the door I peeked my head through the crack, there was no one on the other side of the door and the lambs on the walls and ceiling were lit. The whole room was big with walls lined with bookshelves full of books. I pulled the door back a bit before squeezing through the gap, I had to be extra careful because how my legs felt weak and my wing was still healing after crashing.

“I swore I heard voices in here,” I muttered to myself confused, did I actually hear voices in her because there wasn’t much place to hide other than the chairs and tables, but I didn’t smell anyone in here and if they did put something on themselves to mask their smell then it would be a different scent. If the ponies did have those then I would have smelled them either way because how the some dragon’s sense of smell can detect different smells that’s strange.

I used the walls to help make my way around the room, keeping an eye out for anything that looks out of the ordinary. The ponies that were here earlier may still be here hiding somewhere in the dark, they probably were told to spy on me from the royal ass burner herself.

As I slowly made my way around the room I suddenly felt cold as if the temperature in this room has suddenly dropped, but how could that be? A minute ago the temperature was fine and warm then suddenly it’s all cold. Looking around I saw that the fire was still burning. How could it be so cold if the fire was still burning?

“Maybe because how you are in a room with a ghost who is right behind you.” My whole body suddenly froze from hearing that voice, they sounded like they were everywhere but at the same time not. Slowly turning around I looked behind me to see, nothing? “Look down you idiot.”

Looking down behind me I felt my heart suddenly froze and my entire body locked up as if some pony had hit me with some type of spell preventing me from moving. Behind me was something I always thought was fake and stories just to scare young dragons, but behind me was a white transparent rat wearing a...top hat and a pair of glasses with a nose and mustache attached to it?

“Hello there and welcome to hell.” I suddenly laugh nervously. This isn't real, there was no way that there is a small rat right in front of me wearing a small hat and glasses with a fake nose and mustache that is transparent enough to see what’s under it and through it, there’s no way that this can be a ghost, right? Staring down at the rat my body was shaking like a leaf I have never been frightened by a little rat before, but this was different this rat was a ghost!

What would Cazador do? Would he just stand his ground not showing any fear to the ghost and stare it down until the ghost is afraid of him or would he just start a conversation with the ghost? How could one talk to a ghost right in front of them!?

“Hello? Anybody in that scaly lizard skull? Lizard with wings ya hear me?” It asked floating up to my face. Out of instinct, I tried jumping back away from it, but being weak and not having the strength in my body to do that instead I fell backward. Luckily there was a chair behind me...wait no there wasn’t a chair behind me before.

“What?” I looked at my sides to see the armrest of a chair I look over my shoulder to see the chair’s cushioning my back. When did this move or was it there before? No, it wasn’t I clearly remember not being near any of the chairs and I had mentioned before there wasn’t one behind me earlier. D-did this ghost move this chair from one place to another in a blink of an eye!?

“Easy there lizard head, if I hadn’t move that chair you would have done more damage than shoving your own tail up your arse,” I heard the rat said. Looking back at the rat he was closer than before, his fake nose was touching mine. Being this close to the ghost rat I noticed its eyes were black with white dots. “Other than being frozen in place dragon lady, what are you doing out of bed in the middle of the night? If I recall last night you and that corrupted hunter and his dog moved here, he removed the barrier that Grandmaster Zor Az had put up to keep in the spirits of this mansion and to keep out intruders. If he was able to break it without much need of alchemy. An interesting creature his is but goes for you too lizard head.”

You know if anybody were to actually call me that alive then they wouldn’t be alive anymore, but the rat was a ghost and I can’t do anything a ghost because they’re not alive. Can someone really punch a ghost? Is that even possible to punch a ghost? Actually, now that I’m thinking straight the rat doesn’t exactly look like a rat but more of a...I don’t know, it has a fur tail, slender body, small limbs, three different colors on it transparent fur.

When the ghost flew back, giving me some space to breathe. Was he the one I saw through the window outside after arriving here? No, the ghost was small and didn’t have a long body like the one I saw.

“W-who are you?” I managed to ask despite how much I didn’t want to speak. The ghost looked at me, his brow raised, as he started mumbling to himself. I could barely hear what he was saying, but even if I could hear him clearly I wouldn’t understand what language he spoke as it wasn’t english.

“They call me Lenny el Casiticano,” The ghost said. Although I may already know the ghost’s name and know that he was safe, not entirely sure though, I still can’t stop myself from having that feeling of being afraid. Lenny may look strange, the hat and glasses don’t count and act stranger than what I expect when seeing a ghost for the first time. However, despite the ghost being strange he seems alright, well for now at least.

When I tried to introduce myself to Lenny, he already said my name not asking any question to see if that was my name. I was gonna ask him how he knew my name was, but I remembered that he was a ghost and a ghost could just disappear right in front of your eyes and stay hidden forever unless they decide to show themselves. Deciding to ask the ghost something else I, try, to calm my nerves and steel myself before asking.

“W-what are you, and I know you’re a ghost so don’t say that.” The smile that Lenny has sent a shiver up my spine as he flew up and took off his hat and glasses. With those off of him I could finally see what his face looked like, however, I still don’t know what he is.

“I’m glad you asked Lizard head.” I really want to punch him for calling me that. “My species were known as Ferrets, but you can forget about that as all of us died years ago after the griffons started hunting us for sport when they moved here in Vel La Za. Such a tragic tale of my kind, but we all were going to die sooner or later. Hey, at least now I can do this!” Lenny dived through the floor. At first, it did scare me, causing me to yelp too, but seeing how he didn’t dive towards me made me feel less scared knowing he won’t try and possess me.

For some time he didn’t show up again, which has me worried now. Where was he? Was he going to bring another ghost here? Why am I still on this chair and haven’t run away from him? Why do I think up all these dumb questions?

After what felt like minutes of waiting for Lenny to return I started to doubt that he’ll ever return. When I tried to get out of the chair, I felt it suddenly move and jump underneath me. My reaction to the chair below me moving was a scream, my claws dug into the armrest and my paws were lifted up on the edge of the chair, and my tail curled up between my legs. Was this what Lenny was talking about how he can do...I don’t know he never told me what he can do other than diving down through the floor.

“Hey, hey, easy lizard head. Don’t scratch the chair like a pussycat.” I heard Lenny’s voice, but instead of sounding like he’s next to my ear he sounded like he was below me.

“L-Lenny are y-you moving this c-c-chair?” I asked my voice had a hint of fear in it as the chair suddenly came to a halt next to another chair. My question was suddenly answered when Lenny flew through me, sending a cold shiver up my spine and a cold feeling in my chest, legs, and tail. “N-never do that again.”

The ferret just shrugs as he landed next to me. He pulled out a book from the cushion of the chair he sat on. The book I instantly recognized, it was Cazador’s book.

Lenny notice me staring at the book, he even moved it around a bit watching me as my eyes followed the book. He then tossed the book at me. I managed to catch it before it could hit my snout. I’m not gonna ask myself a question how he was able to hold a book in his small paws.

I set the book down by my side, between the chair’s cushion, and then lowered my legs and tail. I have to say riding a chair that moves is something I have never thought I would do, but I can say the same thing about Cazador, seeing how he’s my trainer and I’m his student learning to become a huntress. It’s dumb to think that a dragoness would be saved by another creature then be trained by that creature to become what he is, a hunter. I just hope the tailor doesn’t make my clothes look like it was made by ponies and look all pretty and pink.

Cazador, where has he gone? I haven’t seen him around the building nor heard anything that sounded like him, even the dog that follows him I haven’t seen too. Where could they be, outside maybe? Until I find Cazador, I have to let him know that I’m in heat and should be locked in my bedroom.

“Lenny, do you know where Cazador has gone?” I somehow asked without stuttering. The ferret tapped his chin as he hummed softly to himself. Does he knows where Cazador went, he’s been here longer than I have and doesn’t need to eat or sleep like the living does.

“If I remember correctly,” Lenny said sounding a bit unsure for the moment, “after you had passed out he brought in the white horse and had a few words with her, he thought you were sick and the white horse lied to him saying that you had some sort of fever virus, something like that, that could kill a creature that goes onto a final stage. She lied to him saying that you were in the first stage of this fever and told the shady hunter that she can do something about it, so he struck up a deal with her.” I didn’t like where this was going, Cazador making a deal with the ponies’ leader was bad news as she could be using him for her dirty deeds that she’s doesn’t want to bother herself with. “Surprising he wouldn’t do anything for her unless she does five things he wants her to do, ‘conditions’ to use the word correctly. She was dumb enough to agree with that since she held the cards there; however, he was holding the cards. By the three he was even showing the cards he has right in front of her and she didn’t even think of lowering these conditions.”

Lenny stopped talking for a moment, he was letting me think for a moment, which I am thankful that he did. Cazador could have easy wanted more than five conditions, he could even force the horse to do what she wants, but that’s the problem. Why does she want Cazador? From the few days I spent with him, he has always sounded serious, been serious, and didn’t act childish. Does the princess of the ponies fear him?

“After that they both talked here in the library about a war in the Crystal Empire, or near if to be exact.” A war, why would they talk about a war!? No, no, no, no! That pony false goddess bitch lied to him and tricked him into fighting a war that she cannot fight in! But why, why does she needs Cazador to fight in a war if her ponies already possess magic?

“I have to leave and stop Cazador from being a pawn for that bitch!” I yelled out loud and tried to stand up, but my body didn’t have the strength to hold me. As soon as my legs gave out on me, Lenny managed to use the chair to catch me before I fell over again.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on it lizard head, you can’t be going already. Not with that broken wing of yours and being in season to mate with any male. You’ll put yourself in danger than he has.” Lenny was really asking for a fist in the snout, but he was right. Since I’m in heat and I have a broken wing, I can’t do anything other than let my wing heal and wait for until my heat goes away. I can’t believe I’m just gonna do nothing about this.

As soon Lenny realized I calmed down he floated up to my face and place his hands on my forehead. He sighed and flew behind me. Suddenly the chair began to move again, but this time I wasn’t afraid of it as my emotions were getting to me and my thoughts were pushing away my fear of ghosts.

Lenny carried me out of the library, the doors opened easily for him because how he can float and flick his hand to open the door as if he had strings attached to his hands. We were now in the entrance hall, everything was a bit different than I remember it to be. How different? The lambs weren’t burning as the orange yellowish color of the flame instead they burn a soft blue, making everything look like I was in a dream. A dream with a ghost possessing a chair with me riding him of course.

For a ghost possessing a chair, Lenny sure knows how to climb up the stairs without having any trouble at all, even with me on it. When we reached the top of the stairs, Lenny carried me to my room, again easily opening the door. I wasn’t sure how I was not scared of him anymore, he was a ghost and I have a fear of spiritual like creatures who can’t be killed by physical things. I feel as if parts of my mind was just pushing that fear away, I know it can do that because how thoughts of something can cloud up that fear.

After Lenny carried me further in my room he soon stops beside my bed. The ghost ferret floats up in front of me with a smug look on his face. I guess carrying a dragoness up to her bedroom would actually have one small creature with that smug look the ferret has.

Without saying anything I crawled onto my bed and slipped my legs under the covers before the rest of my body. I needed to rest for tonight, or was it early in the morning? That just reminds me, Cazador has been nocturnal traveling in the night and sleeping in the day, both of them have risks like there’s a chance he would be attacked while he’s asleep in the day and the creatures that hunt in the night are dangerous. Yet, I’ve only been with him for maybe three or four days, and two of them mostly involves me being asleep. I haven’t really spend much time with him to ask him questions and get to know him better. Should I try and be nocturnal?

“Well, of course, you should if you wanted to be his Huntress,” I heard Lenny say as he floats down on the chair.

‘Can he hear my thoughts!?’

“Yup.”

“...” I didn’t say anything instead I turned my back to Lenny and laid on my right side. I was mad at on fact that Lenny could hear my thoughts the entire, he didn’t respect the privacy of the mind.

“Welp, I’m gonna go and float around endlessly while you rest.” After he said that everything became quiet. Maybe I do need some sleep, after all, I woke up either early in the morning or late at night. Closing my eyes and thinking of nothing, I slowly dozed off, but before sleep took me one thought suddenly popped up.

'Cazador.'

Chapter 14 - Arrival at the Griffon Empire part 1

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When the sun rises over the mountains of the Griffin Empire, off in the distance was a Royal ship containing one royal sister on it along with the Elements of Harmony. The crew aboard that ship quickly scattered around the deck, preparing to dock at Auria’s Gale. On the deck was the Princess of the night herself, she watched as they approached one of the town’s airship docks. Next to the Princess was the Elements of Harmony, all but one out of the six were awake.

Twilight wishes she could just ask Princess Luna if she could go to the local library, but she decided against that as they were here because of important matter that she has to do with her friends. She didn’t get much sleep last night because of another nightmare, involving the same dream with the Hunter. Before element of magic had fallen asleep last night Princess Luna used a spell on the mare, but that didn’t do much good to prevent the horrid nightmare of the young mare from being eaten again and feeling the Hunter’s teeth puncturing her skin. Why the dream felt so real was a question that Twilight had actually asked Luna, she had hoped that the Princess of the night and guardian of dreams would know something about this.

Sadly the Princess doesn’t know how to stop a nightmare that can break through her spells. A nightmare that can break through a dream should only be dealt with by the one who dreams it, meaning Twilight has to confront the Hunter just so she can stop having these nightmares. Though it may sound easy to do, however, it’s not as the one who dreams of this nightmares must do something that they fear; they have to face whatever they fear. Twilight was sure that what she fears was the Hunter himself as he was a creature that can shapeshift and use magic, but was that really what she fears of the Hunter.

“Princess, ah know this is out awf thuh blue, but what do ya know awf thuh Hunter other than what 'e done?” Applejack asked she wanted to know a little bit more about the Hunter as she just only heard a few of Rainbow Dash’s loud reading whenever the blue pegasus settles down on one of Applejack’s trees and reads. She was only curious thanks to Rainbow Dash reading out loud.

“We don’t know much about the Hunter, Applejack. We barely know anything about him other than what you all know.” Applejack sighed she thought the princess would know more than she does, but she should have guessed that not even their ruler would know anything about the Hunter.

Luna wishes that she knows more of the Hunter than what she and her sister had heard from their subjects. Knowing more about the Hunter would help her a lot, even if the information is just a little it would still be a lot. Sadly Luna doesn’t know that there was a certain batpony mare with two foals that knows more about the Hunter than just his name, she knows him as if she just written a book about him...which she actually did. That mare may be right on the ship with them all, but she and her foals were asleep due to being taken in the early evening before they left Equestria. All that information about the Hunter was right there below deck in the ship sleeping.

After the ship docked, the crew went to work preparing to tie the ship down on the metal beam. Every creature around the airship harbor all looked up at the Equestrian ship, seeing a royal ship means one of the princesses were here. Not everyone likes seeing one of the Equestrian royal sister’s, they may have a good reputation in their kingdom but in this kingdom, many do not like them.

Luna and everypony else, except the batpony family sleeping in the lower deck, got off the ship onto the port. Everypony that got off the ship looked around, the height of the tower they were on gave them a view of the entire town. The crew stayed on and near the ship in case anyone was stupid enough to try and steal the royal ship.

After the group left the airship dock tower to explore the town, a group of five griffons arrived at the ship. They didn’t look similar to the other griffons in the town due to their armor being different than the guards around the town. All of them were armed with different ranged weapons; a flintlock pistol, musket, blunderbuss, and long neck huntsgriffon musket.

These lion/feline birds walked up the ship as if they had owned it. The crew aboard had stopped them telling the group that this was the Equestrian royal ship, but the griffons didn’t care of what the ponies had said about the ship belonging to royalty, they just stayed there on the deck. One of the ponies on the ship picked up a baton with his magic, he was about to charge at them until a certain batpony mother walks up the stairs to the ship’s deck. She stopped the stallion from causing them any trouble with those griffons, it was a good thing too that she stopped them or else the unicorn would have been the cause of everyone’s death on the ship.

The crew was bewildered to know that the one they brought with them has just stopped the unicorn from attacking. They watched the mother walk to the group and had a few words with them. What wasn’t sketchy before when the mare stopped the unicorn then it would be sketchy now to see her talking to the group in a low whisper.

A few silent agreements later the mother turned back and told everypony on deck that they were sent here to escort her and her daughters to the mayor of this town. The crew was a bit unsure about that since the guards around didn’t do anything to show them any kind of respect for those who are higher up than them, but they couldn’t do anything other than question if the group were indeed here to escort Shade and her daughters to the mayor. Well, one of them did do something and jumped off the ship not afraid of falling because how she was a pegasus. That mare fly over the town to find the Princess before the griffons could leave without them, she had to tell Luna about this or else they may find out later than sooner.

Sadly her search would be pointless as the group wasn’t in the open, they were inside a building talking with the mayor himself about an escort to Griff Glade. However, she didn’t give up on. The mare was determined to find her Princess and tell her the news what had happened on the airship.

Back at the ship, the crew watched as the group of griffons and a mother batpony carrying her two daughters on her back. The two foals were covered in Orkris’ pelt -a creature that has the body structure of a rockgator and fur similar to a bear, however, it wears a bone skull on its head with no eye sockets or patterns- to keep them covered from the sun’s rays and cool. The ponies didn’t know what to do since the griffons didn’t demand the mother to come with them or threaten everyone on board to bring her to them. Shade just went with them as if this was all planned out. As the crew watched the griffons and the mother with her foals walked away from the ship, they all went back to work surely that the Princess has planned this out before they arrived here.

After the mother and group of griffons walked out of earshot, one of the griffons gave the mother a scroll. Without much of questioning of what the scroll was, she took it with her hoof and tucked it away under her left wing. This was all planned from the very beginning of this trip to Griff Glade when Luna had shown her the message from Cazador, he had planned this after making a deal with Celestia. The cursed Hunter wanted to make sure that it’s his own friend that made it there before Celestia’s sister. Shade was the only one that he trusts to be there first with Cynder, both of them are females and maybe the mare knows what’s wrong with the dragoness than trusting somepony to have a look at her and do something stupid that’ll cost the house and the lives of the pony.

“Miss Shade, under the direct orders from Crow, we are going to escort you to Cazador’s mansion. We will make sure that you and your foals are safe during this voyage, it will not take long until the Dark Mare noticed that you are gone.” The head leader of this group of griffons leads the mare to the other side of the tower where a carriage was stationed at. Two other griffons armed with blunderbuss guarding it.

One of the guards opened the door allowing the mother to climb aboard, with some help of course. Setting her foals on the cushion seats, Shade’s back felt a bit better no longer carrying her foal on her back. She took a seat across from them, close to the window. The griffons outside were all talking, wanting to know if everyone was ready before they depart to Cazador’s house. Every one of them was ready, four of the griffons were already hooked up to the carriage ready to fly, the other three that weren’t strapped to the wooden carriage took positions on the sides.

“We’ll arrive at Griff Glade around noon and after than an hour past noon when we reach Cazador’s home,” The group’s leader said. Shade remembered that everypony left Equestria in the morning around six and arrived here at ten, Griff Glade was two hours away when flying light and not taking the usual safe path to the town.

How the batpony knew about the time it would take to arrive at Griff Glade was thanks to her cursed friend, his experience of taking an airship from her town to Auria’s Gale and then traveling on foot or in the air. She already knew why she had all of this planned up for her and her daughters, he trusts her more than the Celestia’s picked helper. He wasn’t sure if she would keep her word, so he wrote two scrolls before he departed to the Crystal Empire. One was given to Celestia having details of the agreement, how she and her daughters were going to the Griffon Empire to live with Cynder, and to be going with Luna. However, the second she received from the griffons explains more of what he has planned than what was written in the first letter.

Soon the carriage was pulled by the four griffons and was flying in the sky, the other three followed behind. Shade didn’t mind having a free time to herself without being asked questions by the Princess and the element of Loyalty. She could enjoy her time there in the carriage watching the land below her slowly move beneath her, but the bat mare had something else to do before she starts looking out her window. Pulling out the scroll from her wing, Shade broke the seal on it and used her wings to unscroll it.

Dear Shade,

After you meet Crow’s loyal hunters, they should lead you to my home in Griff’s Glade’s forest. I know that the Princess of the night would start panicking if she isn’t then she might be threatening the locals to know where you are at buying you some more time to make it to Griff’s Glade. She may not know where you will be at first, but I would believe that someone will tell her where you went, probably one of her loyal ponies. Meaning you will only have maybe an hour or two before she finds you, but if she finds you sooner than expected then I have underestimated the Princess’s slow mind of thinking and actions.

When almost thirty minutes have passed, the hunters will fly high in the sky and use the clouds as cover to avoid being spotted. I have no doubt that they will be able to avoid the Princess herself, however, I am not sure if any clouds are out this morning. If there are any then this would be easy on you and your family to make it to Cynder.

Before you go to my home, Crow would like to have a word with you and has something for you to use too. The item he has should be my revolver along with a foot tall and six inches wide metal box, I decided to hand it over to Cynder so that she can continue knowing how to shoot and will be able to defend the girls. I know that Cynder wouldn’t be able to practice it and protecting you so soon, but I have my doubts on Celestia’s words. However, I can’t turn down the offer in case the Princess of the day did something to her, she was probably the reason why Cynder suddenly fell ill. There’s no proof I can show the world that Celestia had done this to her, magic is difficult to know who’s the one that cast it and with her being royalty would be like fighting against a horde of infected villagers in a middle of the night alone to prove that she was the cause of my apprentice’s illness.

However, you might be able to tell if it is a spell that caused her to suddenly collapse or something else. Then is rude to say that your both females and have animal instincts, but you may know what type of instinct is causing her to have a fever. This is just a guess I’m taking, I am not sure if you truly do know what is happening to her.

Sadly I do not have much time to write down more on this scroll, but hopefully, you know what to do. Remember you will have exactly one hour as Crow agreed to keep the Princess of the night occupied. It may or may not give you enough time to know what is wrong with her.

After reading the message Cazador had for her, she wondered if the Princess of the Sun could have placed a curse on Cynder, however, the chances of that would be impossible to prove that. Shade had to think for a moment about the fever part the man had mentioned in his message, she has many guesses what could have caused that fever or what could be similar to having the same warmth as a fever. Though the mare doesn’t fully know of the dragoness’ condition in person, she had to make guesses and believe what the dragoness has.

Shade rolled up the scroll back up and tucked it under her wing, she no longer needs the letter but she couldn’t let her Princess find them out of luck and see what Cazador had written her. Having one of her rulers read this would mean that the other would find out. A mother that worries too much would see this situation a dangerous one and would never agree to come along, but not her. Shade knows and trusts Cazador with her life and her children, he was the godfather of them when they found them weak and close to death’s doorstep. If it weren’t for her daughters then the man and dog she got to know and trust with her family’s life would be dead.

The mare couldn’t help but smile at the memories of meeting Cazador and Wyndbain covered up in bandages and barely able to move at all. She was clueless as to how two creatures from different worlds were sent to Equestria after death, but she doesn’t care about how he arrived here and what purpose do the gods have for him here. Both of them were like family to her daughters, they never did anything to hurt them even when his mind was clouded in confusion. A creature that hunts others should have done something dangerous when they are backed up to the corner by beings they never saw, but Cazador had done nothing to show any hostility towards her family.

The story he told her about his world and what his world was like made her wonder if there was a place in this world that was as dark as his world if there was then what would the princesses do? Black blood that has no cure and is considered to be a curse from the gods of darkness and death. Would there even be a cure if someone has black blood? Cazador said that if someone has black blood they must put down. Shade hopes that he doesn’t try killing himself for having the blood run in his veins, a cursed hunter and wolf that could turn at any time if the blessed medallion in Cazador’s chest were removed then he wouldn’t hesitate on killing himself.

"I pray those that are listening you will never decide to kill yourself Cazador."

Chapter 15: Arrival at the Griffon Empire part 2

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Luna felt every eye of every griffon in the Townhall staring at her and the ponies with her. She may not like other beings ignoring her and be afraid of her, but this was different most of the stares she got on the way here, and currently now in the town hall, being stared by a dozen pair of eyes that sees her as a monster and hates her. The other ponies that were with Luna didn’t get the same treatment of hate from the griffons, only her because of who she was and still is. Being hated hurts Luna more than having her subject be afraid of her, however, she has to deal with it.

The mare of the moon and the Mayor of the town were faces to face, his appearance old and hard-minded deceived those that look at him. This griffon was smart and he already had things set up to speak with the Princess if she ever did visit him. He was thankful that the princess did come here to speak with him, he would have to put his time and effort into making everything presentable and well organized to waste if she didn’t.

When both Mayor and Princess began to have a talk about a transportation to Griff Glade, the other ponies that were with the princess, the Elements of Harmony and the artist, looked around the room. Multiples griffons may be watching now, mostly the employees, and listening to the conversation in case something was up and if it concerns their town. However, their worries were soon put out after the Princess told the Mayor their reasons for being here was because her sister had asked for her to bring Twilight and her friends to the Hunter’s home in Griff Glade. The old griffon was unsure if that would be a good idea for them to go and see a creature that wants nothing more than peace and quiet, but if that’s what the Princess wanted to do then it wouldn’t be his problem.

While the Princess arranged their way of travel unknown to her Shade was on her way to Griff Glade. Twilight had problems trying to stand up and stay awake, her legs shaking as if her body weights a ton. It would have been wise for the mare to go back to the ship and rest, but her stubbornness of finding the Hunter to end her nightmare before more comes to her and makes her start losing her sanity. Twilight’s friends were concerned for her because how she’s barely able to stand up. When one of them did talk to her about this all what Twilight says was, “I’m fine girls, I’m just a bit tired is all”, though she wasn’t fine. She doesn’t know that she’s just slowly making herself weaker as she is now because of her single-minded conscious of focusing on one thing that does not involve her own health.

Sketch Note was worried about the mare, he stayed by her side in case the mare suddenly falls asleep and falls on her side. The stallion may not seem much other than looking like an actual pony, but the griffons around can tell he has a scent of both ponies and griffons. Many that he walked past just believed he was engaged with a griffon and she, or he, rubbed their scent on him, however, a few believe he was a hybrid that has the blood of a griffon and the looks of a pony. It’s hard to tell if it’s the second one as it was impossible for the feline birds to figure out since they don’t know Sketch.

“First I drew what the Hunter looks like suddenly I get dragged in to find him, next I’m in the Griffon Empire after flying over the sea, and now I’m here in this room looking after Twilight to make sure she’s not gonna fall over and pass out from the lack of sleep. My sister and mother would wonder where I have been at, both females will make my ears bleed from their questions.” The sudden thought of two adults griffons yapping their beaks gave Sketch a sudden shiver. He may not mind talking to his mother and sister, but he doesn’t like how they want to know almost everything personal that happened to him.

The stallion looks over at the lavender mare beside him to see that she was starting to fall asleep again. He let out a sigh and sat on his hunches. Tapping into his inner stallion, Sketch poke Twilight’s side with his hoof.

The tired and paranoid mare jumped a bit and looked at Sketch, seeing the stallion there reminded her that she was still surrounded by those she can trust, well she doesn’t exactly fully trust Sketch but a small trust was put on him. Clueless Twilight looked at the stallion, she doesn’t know what reason he had for wanting her attention. He patted his side with his lift hoof. Still clueless the mare looked at the stallion with a raised brow. The stallion silently sighed he looked at Twilight speak to her in a low whisper.

“Twilight, you need to rest a bit. Lean on me and sleep until Princess Luna is done talking with the mayor.” Twilight’s brain suddenly popped a fuse, her mind couldn’t haven’t the fact that a stallion was giving her permission to sleep on top of him. For a few seconds, the lavender mare was frozen, her eyes wide. Sketch Note was beginning to think that telling her that just broke the mare’s brain, however, Twilight leans on him. It surprised him that she suddenly did that without asking any questions, but he shouldn’t question the mare’s action as of now her sleeping will help her.

Twilight’s friend saw her resting on the stallion, who seemed like it doesn’t bother him but inside he was glad that the mare was getting some rest. Though now he would have to keep it to himself that a mare was sleeping on him or else his mother and sister would tease him about it. And the other mares that were watching were happy to know that the lavender mare was finally sleeping, it seems like she wasn’t having any nightmares at the moment from the few seconds of their staring.

Luna hasn’t thought that she would have to spend an hour to talk with a mayor in an event like this needing to travel to the Hunter’s home in Griff Glade’s forest, but she had to tell the mayor of this town the reason why she’s traveling by. If she didn’t tell the mayor of this town then the griffons around here would start rumors, rumors that will be false and be spread by those that have a grudge on the Princesses of Equestria. She doesn’t want her subjects to be thrown into the rumors too, so that’s one of the reasons why she had a talk with the mayor of this town.

With everything done for travel to Griff Glade, the group head back to the ship. Twilight was woken up from her nap and was told by her friends that Luna had finished talking with the mayor and now needed to return to the ship. From there they would grab a carriage and fly over to the town where the Hunter resides. Though none of them, except Luna and the family of batponies, knows that the Hunter no longer lives in the outskirt of Griff Glade.

As the group began to leave the mayor’s building, a pegasus flew down from the sky nearly crashing into Rainbow Dash and landed in front of the group. Luna recognized the pegasus mare in front of them. Shimmering Glimmer, one of the few in Luna’s guards that stayed as a pony and refused to be a batpony, there were many reasons why but the most common the Princess knows was that they want to be able to serve their Princess of the Night in the day and protect while she slumbers. The mare was breathing heavily, having to spend nearly two hours in the sky flapping her wings and flying around with speed. Though after finding her Princess here at the Mayor’s building Glimmer was glad that she found her, she could tell her the news of what had happened on the ship.

“Princess Luna, I have news for you,” Glimmer said before gasping as she takes another breath of air, “a group of griffon came to the ship, Mrs.Shade went with them and carried her daughters too. There was no violence or an aggression, the mother and her foals just went with them. I don’t know where they went but I thi--”

Before the mare could have the chance to finish her last sentence, a sudden flash of cobalt blue blinded everyone around. When everypony regained their sights, Princess Luna ran over to the captain's quarters. She used her magic to slam the door open, causing the stallion behind a desk filled with paperwork to look up at the enraged Princess of the night. Seeing his princess in a foul mood, the stallion didn’t ask why she was here. Just asking dumb questions he knows the answer would make the princess even madder, hell it would give her the same rage as an Ursa Major when some creature messes with her cub.

“Captain Fleet Feathers, what was the reason to let the mother and her children be taken by a group of griffons that had no rights of setting hoof on this ship!?” Luna demanded, she wanted to know what reason and purpose were there to let Shade and her daughters leave this ship with a group of griffons that she does not know of.

The stallion sighed and looked up his princess before speaking in a stern sturdy voice. “My princess, you did not give us the order to keep the family on board. And when the griffons came aboard my ship, my crew were already telling them to leave before Shade herself stop everypony from getting into a fight against the group, she and the griffons were talking and they agreed on something. When we saw the mother leave with her daughters, Miss Shade told us that they were here to escort them. To where? I don’t know.”

It took nearly all the years of patience in her life to stay patient, Luna wanted to slam the chair that the captain was sitting on against his head, but she knew to do that wouldn’t make things better. With a sigh of defeat on the thought of arguing and knowing that she didn’t really do give the captain orders to keep the family on the ship, so the fault was hers on that. Though now that she knows that Shade went with the griffon which made her think deeply. Griffons had shown up, they didn’t threaten anypony on the ship, Shade stopped the ponies from getting into a fight with the griffons, then she talked with them agreeing on something before leaving.

Luna suddenly realized that this was all planned out. The letter that Cazador wanted her to have must have told Shade what to do and what to expect. He planned this ever since Celestia had him agreed to help in the war, he doesn’t want Luna and the others to know where he was at or any other ponies too, the batpony family was the only ones he wanted to know where he lives and she played her part of what he expected her to do. Bring Shade and her daughters with her to Auria’s Gale, she was playing her part that she never knew.

‘Why that no good pony murderer of a monster he is, I swear I hope he dies in battle against the wolves in the borders of the Crystal Empire.’ Luna wished deeply that would happen to the Hunter, dying in battle. Though now she regretted wishing that. Her anger soon turned into sadness, she had let her anger take over he once from being jealous of her sister, she will not let it take over again.

‘I shouldn’t say that he has his reasons for not trusting me and my sister. He decided to join and help our subject. I should be happy for that, but I cannot forgive him for murdering countless ponies that were considered criminals. Murder wasn’t right, but why should I say that since we’re bringing him into a war that’s not his. Sister, I hope in our mother’s name that we do not regret this.’ The Princess of the Night calmed herself down and walked out of the captain’s quarters, not saying a word to the captain, fearing that she may yell at him by accident.

When Luna was back outside, she saw that everypony on deck were talking to each other. The Elements of Harmony were talking to each other in a low whisper, wondering why Shade and her daughters went with the griffons. Of course, Rainbow Dash had come up with the thought that those griffons blackmailed Shade and forced her to bring her family, but the pegasus’ belief was thrown overboard by a certain orange cowpony mare who argued that they couldn’t have blackmailed the family because this could have been their first time here. The two could have argued more about what could have caused Shade to leave without a fight if it weren’t for a certain white unicorn, who was drinking wine out of a fancy glass.

“Rainbow Dash, Applejack, darlings you both need to calm down. Miss Shade could have known those griffons, from what one of the gentlecolts have told me that they were talking to each other in a low whisper. They could have known each other through mail, so we shouldn’t think those griffons have done illegal way to take Miss Shade and her daughters.” Rainbow Dash and Applejack pondered a bit on what Rarity said. The white unicorn mare was right, if they were in any illegal way then one of the crew would have done something.

Luna walked past the three mares, she looked to her left to see Fluttershy, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie, whose mane and tail still poofy. All three of them were staring at the town and beyond its walls. These mares were talking to each other about the Hunter, how he was a mysterious creature that each would want to know, well mainly Pinkie and Fluttershy. Both mares would want to see the cursed man for their own reasons. Pinkie’s was obvious as she wants to make the dangerous creature a friend, so she should have a chance to play fetch with the shapeshifting human. Fluttershy’s was a bit complicated, her reasons for wanting to see the curse man is surprising. She wanted to hug him tightly, why she wanted to do that, because how much pain he had to go through. Hunting down criminals only to be hated by everypony, he saved an entire town from bandits, but everypony hates him for killing. She wanted to cry for him and tell him to keep on going, even if it was wrong he was still protecting innocent lives. She wanted to do so much that she wants the curse man to know that he’s not hated by everypony in Equestria.

“Do you think the Hunter ever had a party before? Wait no, he must have because how he could have been in a hunting party! Do you think he ever had a party with cake? Wait, do you think he ever had a party with that dragon and ghost he has at his place? Oooh, I hope I would be the first to throw him a “Hello Hunter and his friends welcome to your first party with ponies and the Princess of the Moon”! Oh, I would like to see his reaction!” Pinkie rambled to herself, asking questions then changing those questions with another set of questions. Twilight and Fluttershy didn’t pay any attention to the pink party mare, who can break logic and everyone’s mind that thinks too hard on how she does.

With Pinkie Pie talking to herself Fluttershy asked Twilight a question. “Twilight, what happened in your dream that made us have to find him?”

The question made the lavender mare’s blood freeze from the memory of being eaten by the Hunter. Could she tell Fluttershy the reason why she wanted to find the Hunter so badly? Would tell her about the horrid nightmare caused the shy pegasus to have one too? Twilight thought carefully on how to answer the question before she telling her friend.

“The dream I had was a warning and a sign of the Hunter needing help, he wasn’t what we all know and believe him to be as in the dream. He has changed, turning into a monster. It feels like I could stop him from turning into one, keeping him as he is right now than what I’ve seen in my dream.” Twilight could have gone off and told more to her friend, but she kept herself from rambling off in fear of what she had witnessed in that dream.

Fluttershy’s ears flatten on the side of her head and looked down over the deck. She couldn’t imagine witnessing the Hunter actually killing innocent ponies, being a monster that she believed would be the opposite of what she knows and heard from her little friends. A creature that protected those who cannot defend themselves against the guilty and hunts down those who dares to harm the innocent.

The Princess was saddened knowing the truth that she still couldn’t do anything against those dreams, she had visited Twilight’s dream before to stop the nightmares, but she didn’t find any nightmares that haunt Twilight. All she found was a void of darkness and no mare. Luna knows what the void meant; a nightmare that can never be ridden off unless the creature having them brings themselves in peace in both mind and soul.

She walked to the bow of the ship and looked over it, seeing the town of Auria’s Gale beneath her. The looks of this town reminded her of one of the port towns in Equestria filled with batponies and unicorns that enjoys the beauty of her night. She remembered visiting this town once, seeing all the ponies there loving her night and art in the sky made her heart feel warm with joy, knowing that her subjects enjoy her night sky. Just seeing Auria’s Gale reminds her of that small port town.

Luna found herself smiling softly, thinking of that town she calls as her favorite. Despite hearing about the bad news she was told by Shimmering Glimmer, Luna was somehow felt happy just by looking at the town below. Just by small memories the Princess somehow a way for herself to be happy.

‘Sister, was this how you stay happy in bad events? Remembering the happy memories whenever things go bad, I can’t really imagine that actually helping, but I am wrong on that. The memories of the town’s ponies made me happy despite how terrible today is, the family taken by the griffons, and the Hunter using me to provide the family a way to cross the sea.’ The Princess sighed and turned around, facing the direction what she believes was Griff Glade. Luna had a determined look on her face. ‘I won’t be outplayed by him!’

Chapter 16: The way to the Frozen North Part 1

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War is nothing more than anger and hate, a great battle between two or more kingdoms or countries, wanting to claim land or defend their own. I can say that my world had these wars, but after the black blood had spread those wars has stopped and the whole world had set aside their differences and grudge on each other. An interesting way of having world peace, all of that was just caused by a curse. If this world had that same situation then possibly this world would no longer have wars, but they would have monsters killing their kin and being forced to kill theirs after being cursed with the blood. Many would die, but the death rate would be less than what it was in wars.

“Werewovles could easily be mistaken for these Frost Wolves, they both may share the similar appearance and size differences, but they are more like lycans than werewolves. They are not men cursed with the mark of the hunt, being forced to kill everything in sight for some god that wants those that they mark to hunt for him. If I am correct from what I remember you studying on the Lycan and Werewolves, Lycans are naturally born and do not have a human form to turn into, but Werewolves are humans that are cursed and being forced to change every night whenever the moon appears. However, we can only call these Lycans.” Wyndbain said, he was thinking a bit too much on these Frost Wolves that the Equestrian army is facing, but I couldn’t help but also join in the deep thinking too. Normally in our world Lycans only hunt and return with their kills to their pack. Having to learn a lot of monster and cursed ones from my hunts and books I’ve read, Gehrman made me read and study the monsters that I have hunted.

“If I remember correctly from what Lenora has told us about the Canine race across this land, in the north there would be about six clans that could handle the freezing wind. However, she said that they rarely go to war with each other meaning that this could be an accident of some pony or a patrol of guards getting mixed up in the clan wars. I can say that this all may be a mix up by getting involved in a battle.” I silently groan to myself and tilt my hat down, covering my eyes enough for me to see the floor and block out the sun from the window.

The trip to the Crystal Empire would take three days, without stopping at any stations it would shorten to a day and a half, but we had to stop by checkpoints stationed by the train rails. Celestia wanted us to take an airship to the north, but that would take too long. A train was faster than an airship, an airship is faster than walking on foot or climbing a mountain. I don’t know what’s going on through the white mare’s head, she may not have been thinking straight.

Hunting something that is more challenging would give me the same old thrill that I had before we arrived in Equestria, but didn’t. Going into war could never bring that feeling, I didn’t want to join in a war that does not involve me in it. However, I am forced to help the princess, she may be holding Cynder hostage just so she could have me fight for her. Magic, I despise it. I could not do against to go against magic other than make myself immune to it for a few minutes with arcane runes and potions.

If the letter made it to Shade then she would know some way of helping Cynder. It may seem pointless to put my faith on a mother batpony who barely knows much of magic and has no way of using it, however, she might figure it out what’s happening to Cynder. I never thought that I would have a dragoness as my pupil, be a godfather to two daughters, and have my faith in someone else than my partners is rare.

The sound of hooves clopping against the wooden floor caught my attention to the door. A light knock came from the over side along with a women’s, or mare’s, voice.

“Mister Hunter, we’re reaching the first checkpoint. Would you want any refreshments, like a glass of water and a bowl?”

“Yes, a glass of water and a bowl half full. Thank you miss.” I couldn’t tell if the mare had nodded her head, but I couldn’t care. My throat was starting to feel dry like sand, and I could say that Wyndbain was having that same in his throat.

When the mare closed the door and left, I was back on thinking. Thinking about Cynder and what could Shade do to figure out what is wrong with her, just having a sudden fever still makes me wonder that Princess Celestia has cast a spell on her. It’s weird to think about someone else that is not human, I hadn’t thought about Shade and her daughters because I knew that nothing bad would happen, they had nothing to worry about other than their father’s safety. I should not worry about Cynder as she would be in safe hooves with Shade, yet why do I worry about her and think of her so much?

Before I had left my home, I had actually looked back at the house. I was, and still am, worried about Cynder, she didn’t deserve to have this fever Celestia had talked about. The dragoness was just another innocent, a curious and dumb one, wanting to just become a hunter like me and learn how to fire my weapons if this “fever” had never shown up then Cynder’s training would have continued. She would be the first in my history to become a hunter, not being human.

‘A dragoness huntress, Gehrman would question why I would teach someone to become a hunter that’s not even human. He would be unsure of what my actions would be and keep me in his line of sight, watching me and Cynder. I am thankful he is not here.’ With a relieved sigh, I close my eyes and wait for the mare to return with our water.

The point of being a hunter is to track down and destroy any living creature that has been cursed with the black blood. People see as a bringer of hope or a bringer of death upon them, I can not be certain which one the people feel about us, I’ve only seen them be happy or afraid of us. Being feared by them was not much of a problem I had worried about, I did not care what they think of us. The Hunters were created for a reason and that reason being was to hunt down any cursed entity that happens to touch the black blood, whether they be an elder or a child, old hound or a pup. All that has the blood will die, Hunters have a chance to have the blood be purged from their body by a ritual that involves being dunked in blessed water and have one of the veins having black blood running through would be carefully cut. This ritual of cleansing the blood is a dangerous thing to do, but it saved many hunters, however, a few had died from this.

Every hunters’ training starts out with them being alone in an unnatural environment surrounded by low-class cursed monsters. This basic training is to tell the hunters/huntresses that being a Hunter was not all fun and games as your own life would be put on the line. A full week was how long you would have to survive alone in the wilderness, you have to prove you could hunt, create traps, plan, and know what you would be hunting. Those who dare to flee or going to a town will fail the training.

My training wasn’t simple and easy to do since I had to take care of Wyndbain when I was young, he was only a pup that could easily be prey for everything due to his size, being a small pup that could fit in my hands whenever I’m holding him. Surviving and taking care of a pup was difficult, I had to use traps and focus on taking care of him, sometimes I would go hunting at the night whenever he was asleep so I could feed myself and have food for him in the morning. A rough cycle to go through being forced to be an adult and a father, Wyndbain knew that I wasn’t his real father, pretty obvious to know that because of I’m completely different than him, but that never stopped him from being my close friend.

“When we hunt...” I began to say to myself, letting Wyndbain know that I’m talking.

“Those that are our prey must fear us...”

“Because we’re not weak and normal, we’re...”

“Monsters that defends the weak and free those from the curse,” He said and stood up as the train suddenly came to a full stop on our second checkpoint.

Celestia had given us a set of rules. These rules go against what we had done in the past months of protecting the innocents, so we couldn’t save a victim from murder and help keep the peace. However, the Princess cannot stop us from saving a life, she does not control us and we control our own action. If we wanted to hunt down a criminal then we would not hesitate, for the lives of others to be safe we must kill those that are guilty.

I got up from my seat and stood up, stretching my legs out. Being seated for nearly a few hours made my legs stiff as if the bones in my legs were replaced with thick branches. After I stretched my legs, I pulled the door to the side. Wyndbain was the first to exit out of the cabin, for a wolf who sometimes enjoys relaxing I could tell he hated being trapped in there on a moving train.

Closing the door behind us, I walked down the narrow hallway with Wyndbain following behind me. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see many colorful creatures all of the different species from different towns, cities, or countries. All of them were living their peaceful lives as they walk around or talk with each other. None of them seem to notice me inside this train, the window was clear and easy to see through, though I don’t think they really know what I look like as I have kept myself in the dark and hunt during the witching hours when everyone is asleep.

Soon we reached one of the doors on this car to the outside, but before we had the chance to open it, one of the guards stopped me and told me that I was not allowed to go outside. Normally if it was a town’s guard from my world I would ask them why. However, this was not my world and I do not follow the rules that the Princess set up for me to follow. Hell, rules are meant to be broken, even the ones that would make everyone see you as something evil.

I opened the door causing the guard to charge up his spell, but before he even had the chance Wyndbain pounced at him, biting the horn with his sharp teeth. The guard scream in pain. I may not know how unicorn’s horns work in anatomy, though I do know if you hit them where they would be screaming in pain.

My gaze on the guard shifted to the doorway, on the other side were the citizens of this town staring at me. The silence was the response I was expecting from the crowd outside. With a single step, I exited out of the car onto the train station platform. Almost every pony on the platform stumbled back, some of the other species that feared me did the same. Those that didn’t back away just nod their heads, knowing that I am the bad hero they heard of, the killer of the Elk Kingdom former King, savior of the Diamond Dog’s Princess, and one of the two cursed beings on in this world cursed with the black blood. A title to have if I ever wanted to kill the innocents. I didn’t want to have these titles...like how I never asked to be cursed. For those who had never backed away and acknowledged my presence knew that I only protect the innocents.

As I took another step on the platform someone among the crowd of animals jumped in front of me, landing face first on the wooden pallet. To be honest, this was the first time that someone did that, never have I seen someone just jump in front of me and mess up the landing to hit face first on a wooden platform. The sight would be funny for those sees someone hurting themselves in a weird and child humor way.

Ignoring the animal that failed their landing, I walked down the train platforms to one of the shopping carts parked nearby. I learned a while ago as a child there some merchants would set up a small shop near the train to have travelers and strangers buy their wears. The ones that were afraid of me stepped away and avoided my gaze, but as for the others that were not afraid continued with the daily routine they had, let me walk among them in the moving crowd, like normal citizens.

“I can’t believe I’m seeing the Hunter in real life,” I heard one of the many around us whispered.

“Yeah, I actually expected him to be, you know taller?”

“Same here, and is that a feral wolf? I thought they live far in the west?”

I could see out of the corner of my eye how uncomfortable Wyndbain is in his movement, the whispering and the staring from our “fans”. Though I am too feeling uncomfortable from this attention, even if it’s around a dozen creatures that see us as heroes in their own way. A man wearing black clothes and armed with weapons, not from this world and a wolf with his fur so dark that the shadows can hide him and the white on him making it look like someone painted what his bones looked like. We were obviously the odd ones out in the crowd from our appearance and how some give us some space to walk through.

“Their gaze and whispers of us make me weary, and I do not enjoy the looks of lust in some that stare at us. Traveling in the night was better than this.” I heard Wyndbain said as he stayed close to me. He was right about some that were around us, some actually have the looks of lust on their facial expressions, but I did not let that bother me. If they tried anything then they would know the consequences of attacking me.

“I know my friend, but always know that they would have to deal with us when they try anything stupid. We may not be able to resist magic, but that does not stop me from pulling the trigger or using arcane spells.” I reassure him before we made it off the train platform. A sudden smell of freshly cooked meat brought my attention to a small stand next to the platform. The one who owns the stand looked like an elk but with wings and two talons from a griffon. I know every breed of every creature in this world is possible, well from what I know of.

Finding an elk here was a rare sight to see as well being born as an Elfon, I know that they prefer to stay in the woods or forest of any kind, even if that forest has dangerous and deadly animals living in it. However, I can’t always believe that every elk, even the hybrid, loves to live in forests like these. My memories with the old King Elk weren’t pleasant, killing him was against the Hunter’s code, but it was his order and mission I had no choice. His son hates me and wishes nothing more than seeing mine and Wyndbain’s corpses hanging from a rope on a tree.

I stopped in front of the meat stand and looked at what was being cooked. Some of the meats I could recognize from their looks, even when cooked, I could tell which creatures each piece of raw flesh was cut from. The smell from each cooked meat of various spices made my stomach slightly grumbled from the lack of food, telling me that I was hungry. The elfon heard my stomach and chuckled to himself as he pulled out two sticks with meat on them from a small bowl filled with glowing embers.

Pulling out a few gold Equestrian coins from my pocket, the elfon shook his head and held the two sticks to me. Confused I pocketed the coins and took the two sticks. Whoever this elfon was known me, but I do not remember if I know him. I held Wyndbain’s meal in my left hand and kept it down for the wolf to eat a bit of the cooked meat on it.

“It’s for free, you don’t have to pay for it as you already done my father a favor.” His soft-sounding voice made me realized who this elfon was. I looked back at him and noticed a similar look to King Sethian, a silver coat and wings, ebony horns, white fur going down from his chin to his chest and possibly the rest of the way to his tail meaning his entire underside is white and the tip of his wings were white too, black talons and hooves, and golden eyes that seemed to shine whenever I glance at them. A mere reflection of the Elk King stood side by side of the eflon. Surprised I open my mouth to speak, but the second son of the king stopped me with a raised claw.

“Please, not here Cazador. You cannot say my royal name,” he said in a whisper, lowering his talon, “How is the mighty Hunter and his Wolven Guard doing?”

“We are doing well,” I responded not mentioning the name of Wytherhold King’s son. He smiled and nodded his head at the Equestrian Army train.

“Assisting the ponies?”

I shook my head and told him the purpose, my answer seemed to trouble him and made him think a bit to himself. The second prince of the King I killed here in this town set up a carnivore food stand next to the train station, a little brother that is not normal like his brother and shunned. Never thought I would see the young prince again, including here at this place. He was the smartest out of the two, his older brother is not that smart and didn’t have a strong bond with their father as the young prince does.

“This is troubling, Celestia must have put a spell on your dragoness apprentice and is forcing you to fight a war that does not involve you. This war with the north concerns me though, the Frost Wolves only attack when a stranger invades their lands and does not have the chieftain ’s permission, meaning the attack on her subjects or on the soldiers passing through. Father told me that many other canines have expanded throughout the world having different shapes, personalities, rules, and many others that you could name. The Frost Wolves are probably the innocent ones in this war, but there are outcasts meaning we can’t be sure that...” The young prince began to start mumble to himself quietly, made it difficult for me to hear him anymore from that point.

My history with the prince was something that not many would have expected, I was hired to kill their father in front of thousands of elks and creatures that were watching. The old elk was a fool to do that, however, it was his wish to die by a creature who was tainted in comforting darkness. How he found my curse to be comfortable and killed by me is questioning, but I cannot ask him that question now as he was buried in the catacombs with those before he ruled the kingdom. Though I know that his second son was supposed to do something than lead the kingdom, the will he wrote gave me full guardianship over the elfon. Why I never had him with me after leaving the kingdom was because I couldn’t meet him in the kingdom without getting caught, though I shouldn’t have him with me. News of the prince traveling with “Equestrian’s Hero” hunting down every criminal, the princesses would question the older brother about this.

From memory We’ve spent two months in the Elk’s Kingdom waiting for their celebration of the founding of Wytherhold, Prince Elthis was a shy, anti-social, passive type of creature, small, and in training of being the next king after his brother dies. How we met was when I was bathing, he managed to sneak in the bathing room without me even noticing his scent and without Wyndbain growling at him or warning me. He managed to see me without my clothes on and the mask, seeing what my face actually looks like. Normally I would knock someone out who saw me without my mask, but I didn’t do it to Elthis. Instead, I let him bathe with me in the pool, for two whole months I didn’t care about the young prince knowing what I looked like. However, he was a bit persistent on wanting to be like me, a hunter that uses guns and rarely uses any arcane spells. The king told me that his son may have fit on being the prince in the bloodline, but the elfon’s wish to become a hunter made the king decide to let his son do it. Though I didn’t get around the time on training him, after I left the kingdom he probably went searching for me.

“I’m surprised the Elthis is not excited to see us again, normally whenever we were around him he would want you to tell him stories of the hunts you have been on from this world or ours.” Wyndbain chuckled and looked up at me. The memories of telling the elfon of the hunts I have been in and what the creatures I have seen, one of them must have sparked his interest in becoming a hunter. Imagining him in black leather armor or white pelt feather covered one is something I wonder if he would have a chance to become a hunter same as Cynder.

…

Cynder.

Chapter 17: Women talk

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There was once a dragoness who believe that they could be the next dragon Emporer leading the dragons and changing the rules of how they live, but since she wasn’t that strong or even be able to breathe fire. She could not take the role as a dragon Emporer, so she continued her life as normal and lived her life being unable to breathe fire and to catch any dragon’s attention of a strong dragoness. This lonesome dragoness has spent thirty years alone, she spent her thirty years watching other species that traveled by. If dragons would have seen her doing this then they would think that she was just being a stalker, but during the time of her years she developed certain skills that most dragons would mock her for.

Life wasn’t so kind to this dragoness because of the other dragons around that bullied her. However, the dragoness did not care if they mock her for developing skills and learning. What she lacked in being a dragon she had gain with different skills that could rival a dragon itself. Barely any dragon could draw like her, she knows how to use a longbow and make arrows for it, navigate by using the stars, bargain with traders, and fight like a noble warrior cat morph. She could have been a dragon Emporer now with these skills, but she knows that if she did become the Emporer it would just pull her down and keep her away from freedom.

Dragons would normally just stay in their territories and kill anyone that dares to disturb their slumber, but this dragoness wasn’t like the rest. Although she may have been alone for thirty years and other dragons who know her have only seen her as a breathless dragon, one teenage dragon actually seen this dragoness as someone special.

Shy as this dragon was he didn’t know how to approach her as he only seen her from afar, a love stalker if someone had seen him. He was like the rest, having a common color of blue, having fire breath, being able to become Emperor of the dragons if he ever wished to be, and was apart of the dragons able to get a mate with one of the other dragonesses, but the young dragon’s heart was captured by the breathless dragon. How she managed to capture this young dragon’s heart was a time at a nearby waterfall called Aldurian’s Tears, a carved dragon stone head that has water pouring out of the eyes. Their time was short as they were bathing they only had a couple of minutes getting to know each other, though to the young dragon it felt like hours. Their talk about each other and who they helped both dragons become friends. However, the small talk they had didn’t make the dragoness not want anymore, she loves the young dragon’s shyness and has seen him watching her every time she does something that an ordinary dragon wouldn’t do.

Whenever she bathes in the river, near Aldurian’s Tears, and senses the young dragon’s scent or feels his presence, she would purposely expose herself to him, letting the young dragon see what he likes. All of this may seem like a show for others when observing, but it was a weird way for the dragoness to show that she liked the young dragon despite being twenty-two years older than him. With big hints from the dragoness, many would know what they mean, though not the young dragon as he does not know of flirting.

This gone off for a year before one day at the same waterfall both dragons met, the male had a noticeable blush under his scales and holding a handful of flowers in his claws, the female was in shock. On that same day, the dragon had confessed his feelings for the dragoness, his heart was pounding, redness on the cheeks, and tail wagging side to side. If a common dragoness have seen how shy a dragon was and holding flowers in his claws than a handful of gold and gems then he would have been turned down, however, this dragoness wasn’t like the rest. When she first saw the shy dragon hold the flower in front of him, blushing mad and fidgeting, and confessing his love for her in words that made her feel warm inside.

After that confession, they shared a kiss and then became a couple, a weird relationship it had started out from. Although this would be a pony or a passive herbivore method of becoming a couple, the dragons didn’t care about how their relationship has started. Throughout the years of being together, the dragoness had an egg. The color of this egg was a dark blue spotted with black dots.

Sadly the mother couldn’t stay as the Dragon Emperor had found out of this relationship between a common blue dragon and a breathless black dragon, he had demanded that the mother would stay out of the dragon territory and never see her egg and mate again. With the Dragon Emperor’s order, she left the land and her family. The father had shut himself out of the world and kept himself and his mate’s egg safe from any dragon that dares to torment him or threaten the egg. If one did try to harm the egg then they would feel the wrath of a dragon father.

A few months later the egg hatched, a baby dragoness having dark blue scales, yellow eyes, and black horns. Everyone thought that this dragon would not have a fire breath like her mother, but they were proven wrong when the dragoness had her first burp. White flames came out of her mouth, an uncommon fire breath that is extremely rare to see and to have. Every dragon that was around when the father was helping her burp saw it, they were all suprised at this. Never have they thought would the baby dragoness have that fire breath, whispers had gone around about this dragoness on how unfair it was that a youngling like her could have a rare flame, how it’s interesting to see what she could do and talks on how much a freak she was.

“Death is always waiting for you no matter how much you try to prevail if there is no way to avoid death. So if you wish for death to take you, a young boy, then let its cold grasp take you to the afterlife, but if you wish to live then you must take cautious of your action. A hunter does not cast away his life to be bold, they never do it for fame, neither for money, they risk their lives to protect what they can and slay any cursed beast that dares to be tainted by the black blood. Remember this boy if you ever forget this then know that your life is always at risk, even at a safe place.” The words that I read aloud from the books made me shiver from the thought of a “death” that Cazador’s mentor had told him. I may be in heat and burning like the depths of hell; the last word I started to use since I heard it from Cazador.

Placing a bookmarker, it’s just a thin cloth I found in a random book and closing the book, I set it on a nearby table and looked at the fire in the fireplace. The fire has been burning for a long time Lenny had told me it had continued burning for while before he even found this place. The previous owner of this house was an alchemist and a griffon too, but he had sanity problems thanks to some ghosts that intruded his house and started to mess with his mind and physical logic. He didn’t explain anymore of the previous owner of this house and what happened to him, the ferret just went silent and stared at the fire with me.

My thoughts slowly began to drift off to Cazador. I never had the chance to know him personally he was still a stranger to me than I was to him, his actions is misleading because how his voice tone and his appearance would mistake him as for someone who doesn’t care much about others, but the small stories those fillies had told her of the man’s personality and what he’s like. If I was going to train under him then I would have to know some things about him from the man himself than just hear things about him and read a book about his past. And he has known about me and what I like and hate so when things come to around of something I am afraid of or disgusted then he would know. Just knowing so little about each other, I’m starting to think I should have asked some questions about him and tell him a bit of myself, but I didn’t as I was still a bit unsure about him as he has that weird feeling that I can’t really explain well.

When I first saw him, I wasn’t sure if he would help or dared to stop the dragons from forcing me to mate with them. Though I was wrong since he helped me and scared off the other dragons. Although he had threaten my life with that revolver, I still followed him without thinking if he would just cast some spell to knock me out and do something to me or kill me in the woods, however, I didn’t really think of that back then as I was wanting to repay him for what he did. Though I didn’t get the chance to repay him or actually thank him for helping me.

I guess I would have lined myself for the worse if Cazador wasn’t the type of man that he is today, or things would have become different than now. He may still be a stranger to me and we barely know anything about each other, I just have that strange feeling of comfort and want of proving him that I could become a Hunter and show him that I can survive. I can tell that my stupid dragon pride is dragging me down in this, but I don’t regret being dragged down to something new; even though I can’t train in my need of mating with a male.

“What was he like as a youngling?” I asked myself, my mind was now filled with the thought of Cazador. I can just imagine a young version of Cazador wearing different clothes, but I couldn’t really imagine what he actually looks like without his current clothes. My thoughts of what Cazador was like as a kid changed to what he looked like without his clothes. Soon my cheeks began to burn as I imagine Cazador’s silver eyes staring down at me like a...predator.

Soon after I shook my head of the image before more of it could develop into something that would worsen my need of being breed. Imaging what Cazador looks like without his armor was a bad idea, just his eyes were all it took to make my cheek burn. I could feel the spot between my thighs begin to burn and the waistcloth I began to wear had a small wet stain in it. What is wrong with me?

“Hey dragon girl,” My eyes snapped up above the fireplace, there Lenny was sitting on the edge staring down at me. “There seemed to a small family of ponies with bat wings and two feather heads at the front door, all of them have been knocking on the door for the past ten minutes. Gonna let them in or have them get the message that you don’t want them here?”

I immediately got up from my chair and stumbled my way to the front door. The knocking that Lenny had mention grew louder with every step I took to the doors, whoever was behind the door seemed to have grown a bit impatient of waking for me to open the door, though I can understand that as I did make them wait for ten minutes. When I made it to the front door, the being that was knocking on the door decided to stop.

“Are we sure that the dragoness is even awake, she could be asleep?” I heard a male voice asked on the other side of the door. Curious on who was the creature that knows about me being here I slowly stumbled my way over to the window, but while I was making my way there I heard another voice answer his question.

“Cazador told me that Cynder is here, but there is a chance that she is in bed asleep or too weak to walk here.” That voice I knew who it belongs to. When I made it to the window and looked out of it I couldn’t believe who I saw, Shade and her daughters were here along with a small group of griffons! Stumbling quick as possible to the door, nearly tripping out a few times, I unlocked it and opened for them.

“Seems like she’s awake,” Another male voice I don’t of said.

As soon the doors were wide opened, two certain bat fillies ran through the wide opening and latched onto my legs, nearly knocking me over. Both fillies were giggling and smiling as they looked up at me, their light blue eyes made my heart feel heavy with so much adorableness that it makes me question why do the ponies have this cuteness. Before the two little fillies had the chance to say something, Shade flew up to my face and rest the side of her foreleg on my head, mumbling to herself.

“Head is warm, the smell of a female’s pheromone is clear as day, cloth has a small noticeable stain around that “area”, and her chest is a bit perky,” Hearing most of what she said, my cheeks began to burn like fire and my sudden pride of a dragon not blushing in front of others was suddenly smashed into a million pieces as the girls and griffons -outside the house- could see my cheeks turning red. “But all in all, you aren’t sick or have a deadly fever flu, so you are healthy as a newborn baby foal!”

Shade chirped happily and landed on her hooves. She had the guts to say those in front of my face, but the mother knows I can’t do anything to her or deny the fact that I am in heat. This mare is a brave one I have to give her that.

“So Cazador would soon be in this Crystal Empire to help defend it against a pack of wolves that have similar body shapes, but different features, just so he could have some random pony that the Sun Horse to watch over me until the season of needing a mate is over?!” I’m at the point of blowing up from rage of knowing that I have been used, sure Lenny had told me about it in small details that the princess had lied to Cazador that I had some sort of deadly fever and made a false deal him, but knowing that I was used to creating this deal of my trainer going out into a war that has no involvement on us! If that horse of the sun was here I would strangle her in front of her “subjects”, hell I might even see if she could handle a ten-foot spear up her ass!

I will not have some random pony watch other me just because their princess had commanded them. I rather have Shade take care of me --an embarrassing thing to say-- than some pony I do not know. Although that was the reason why she was here, Shade had told me that Cazador wrote a scroll to her about moving here to take care of me while also being outside of the Equestrian borders, so the sun horse doesn’t have another way of manipulating him. Actually, I wonder if she even knows about Shade and her daughters since the bat-pony had met Cazador before and talked to him like they both knew each other for a while. If I were to pick who would take care of me, I would pick Shade and her daughters because how I can trust them than some random pony.

“Lucky Cazador had his suspicions on this has he couldn’t trust the Princesses and their word. He knew something wasn’t right and how you suddenly collapsing after the Princess arrive was not coincident. However, being a female and having a breeding season, I can say that it was just bad luck on your part. Although since you are on your feet and able to walk a few steps, I can say that it hasn’t hit you fully yet.” My body froze up as soon as those words left her mouth. I have experience being in heat once a year ago and it wasn’t bad other than me slightly burning up and difficult to walk, but if I was in some sort of the first stage of being in heat then I am nervous of what would the other stages be of being in heat.

“Do mares, or bat mare, get these kinds of seasons like dragons to do?” I asked a simple and dumb question, wanting to ease my worries. When Shade shook her head and pointed at her stomach she said.

“You do know that every female in this word have different signs of being in season, and there may be some that have similar stages of being in heat. I know that us mares all have the same seasons, some may start sooner or later than most mares, but I know that mares have their own attitude when being in season.” I averted my eyes away from Shade when she pointed between her legs, giving me the “message” of what she meant in her explanation. Of course, all females of different species have different ways of going or being into season, I should have known that but my brain couldn’t reason with itself on what question to ask Shade.

“R-right,” I cleared my throat and asked another question, “Has Cazador said anything else about me or-” My eyes landed on Lenny, who was behind Shade, wearing clothes and pointing at what he was wearing. Soon my eyes widen as I remember the order that Cazador made at the tailor.

I know thinking about clothes right now was not the topic that, and clothes aren’t important to this subject of talking about Cazador and they aren’t really neccassory for me to wear as they are just clothes and nothing else. Why am I thinking too much on this? By the current dragon lord’s name, I am making too much of a fuss about this.

“Cynder is there something wrong?” Shade’s voice brought me back from my small fuss about clothes to the reality of her staring at me with concern. I shook my head and cleared my throat before saying something.

“No, I just remember that Cazador ordered clothes that he wanted custom designs on it for me, but since he’s not here and I’m not able to walk well without stumbling I won’t be able to get those clothes. It’s not a big deal to be talking about this. This is just some dumb thing that I just remembered.” I smiled and nervously laugh, talking about this now just doesn’t feel like it’s necessary to talk about. Clothes are just clothes and they don’t belong in this type of conversation about Cazador or my season of being in heat.

“You mean those black clothes made from wolf pelts and ursa hides?” Shade’s question made me look at her with a raised scaly brow. How did she know that my clothes at the tailor’s place was made out of wolf pelts and ursa hides? I nodded my head, telling her that that’s what the material they are made out of.

“How did you-”

“When I arrived at Crow’s manor, a griffon wearing clothes gave me a paper bag and told me that hope your dragoness friend is alright. I was confused on why she gave me the paper bag full of clothes that don’t look like it would fit me, but I remembered what she said and assumed that the clothes are meant for you. Never thought you would want to wear clothes.” Shade crossed one of her back hoofs over the other and give me a smug look that I didn’t like to see.

“It was Cazador’s idea,” I mumbled to her. It was his idea since we made an agreement about being friends. The bat mare’s smug look soon dropped as she sighs and chuckles to herself.

“Of course, he always the one who would want someone to wear clothes. Though I think he had the right idea to say that because how you are basically naked and being in heat makes it worse.” Her giggles made my cheeks burn as well made me tail stiff. “I rarely saw him take his clothes off ever. And whenever he does, he always washes them to keep them clean, even his mask and hat too. The last time I saw him clothless was when he was in the bath, bathing himself.”

My cheeks felt like they were on fire now, thanks to Shade’s help of making me imagine what Cazador looks like without clothes. I slowly got up from my chair and slowly stumbled my way out of the library, but before I left I asked Shade something.

“Has he ever mentioned of having a mate before?”

Side Chapter: Tales of old legends Part 1

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Luna’s cold gaze could have broken a dragon’s will just by looking straight at the mare’s eyes, but the cold gaze did not work on a certain griffon who was the mayor of a town, and friend of the Hunter. She knew that the mayor of this town was in on this plan that Cazador had. However, she cannot prove it other than believe he was part of the plan.

Crow stared back at the princess, not afraid of her gaze and her presence as she was not much of a threat to him on these lands. Cazador had told him that the princess would not be happy or pleased knowing that she was just a ride for the batpony family, she would be enraged from discovering that. Although being in the presence of the being who could move the moon, Crow carelessly and spoke without fear or shudder in his voice.

“Princess Luna, what reason would you have to be here? I was not told of your arrival or else I would have this place more “royalty” for you.” He gestured the room around them is a bit of a mess thanks to his nieces playing in his office, but it didn’t matter to him if his office had some toys in a corner or around the room. “You wouldn’t have to worry about stepping on a toy that could cause you some harm.”

“The condition of this room does not matter to me nor does it bother me, you do not have to worry about cleaning this room for me or have it readied to be special. I did not come here for a meeting and long talk with you, Mayor. I came here to guide my subjects to see the Hunter.” Luna could tell that the old griffon did not care for her reasons as he knew the true reason why she was here. She knew that the Hunter was not here, but she did not tell Twilight and the others that. If the group learned about Cazador participating in a war between ponies and canines then Twilight would want to go there, she cannot let that happen.

“Hmm, so you are just a caretaker for the seven ponies outside this office. To place yourself in that role must show how much your subjects have started to be less dependant on themselves and more dependant on others. I guess the old days of when ponies were worried about attacks and had trained soldiers ready for a fight are gone since you and your sister are now baby sisters for millions of ponies in Equestria.” Saying this to royalty would have offended the people of that ruler and enraged them, but Crow knows that he can say that as he was not in Equestria, and he was trying to get under the princess’ skin like a tick.

Luna looked unpleased and sighed, he was right about them placing themselves in that role of being a babysitter for her subject who did not have to rely much on the sisters. The old days was something that she missed and wished that some of the traditions were still present on these days. Her subjects were barely much of what they were and now rely on something that would embarrass their great ancestors. If only she could bring a few of the old traditions back to the presents, but the nobles would shoot it down.

“I would like to request an escort through the forest to the Hunter’s home. My sister’s and mine subjects are here to help take care of the dragoness at his home, she has a terrible fever if I remember what my sister had written down on the scroll correctly.” She wanted to get this conversation done and over with so she would not have to deal with more of the griffon’s talk.

“Sadly I cannot give you a group of hunters to escort you and your subjects through the forest right now. My hunters are all busy with a contest of the biggest catch by a river nearby this town, and those who are not participating are either hunting, on patrol, or spending time with their family. I would prefer not to force anygriff away from their loved ones or their duty. You and the other would have to wait until tomorrow when some of my hunters get back from the contest, I hope you would understand about why I do not want to pull anyone from their own personal activities.” Crow rest his head on talon and gave Luna a “serious” look, but Luna knew that he was doing this on purpose and that he can have her, the main six, and Sketch Note escorted to Cazador’s home. She could not force the griffon to give them an escort or have a talk with the king as it would take more hours to do so. All she can really do was wait for a whole day then ask again.

In one of the mansion’s guest bedrooms, Pinkie Pie bounced happily around the room and onto beds (that were not occupied by somepony) as everypony in the room were minding their own business and talking among themselves. Luna had told them that they would have to wait for a day until a group of griffons is available to escort them, so they had a whole day to explore the town or rest. The mayor was kind enough to give them shelter and an unoccupied room for them all to stay in, so they did not have to worry about finding a motel to stay at.

While everypony was talking among themselves, Sketch Note walked out of the room to the mansion’s entrance room. He didn’t want to be in the room full of mares as it felt kind of awkward for the only male in there, so he thought having a walk around the town would help make the time go faster. A silly thought to have but exploring the town is better than being in that room, and he also wants to explore this town to see what kind of things he could see.

The young stallion walked through the streets of Griff Glade, seeing it a bit busy with griffons and rare few other species from other lands he felt like he could lose somebody in these crowds. Luckily he was alone so he did not have to worry about losing someone among these crowds. Walking among the crowd he spotted a store that sold various paintings, they caught the stallion’s attention and drawn him closer to them. Some of the paintings showed many types of prey being in battles with their predators, the others were various landscapes or unique environments that would look like they were real.

Before the Sketch Note could go in the shop, a tall figure wearing black stepped out of a building near the painting shop. He couldn’t believe what he has seen, his eyes must have been deceiving him but when he shook his head the tall clothed figure was there. The Hunter was next to him, standing at the doorway of a boutique wearing new clothes that were different from Sketch’s drawing. The young stallion’s heart was racing as this was the first ever chance he had to see a creature hated by many, but was a hero to some. Sketch took in every detail the Hunter was wearing before he noticed something different about him. He had wings and a tail, not feather wings but leather and scaly wings as well his tail! Shaking his head and blinking a few times too, Sketch’s eyes were not deceiving him again. How could the Hunter have wings and tail?

For a few seconds, Sketch walked to the “Hunter” and tapped the side of his leg, gaining his attention. However, when he turned around to face Sketch, the young stallion was surprised to see that who he had guessed was the Hunter was not actually him. In front of him was a dragoness staring down at him with a raised scaley eyebrow, confused as to why Sketch tapped her leg. Embarrassed and surprised, Sketch shyly smiles and rub the back of his head with a hoof.

“S-sorry, I thought you were someone that I know of. I didn’t mean to disturb you from what you were doing.” Walking away and entering the building, to avoid an awkward conversation from confusing her as the Hunter.

Sketch should have known that the Hunter didn’t have wings because he drew a drawing of what he looks like, meaning he has seen what Equestria’s hero completely looks like, yet he believed that the dragoness outside was him. A dumb mistake on appearance, and it was obvious too, he made. Luckily no one around him knew what he was thinking and believed what he thought was the Hunter wasn’t him. He didn’t have to worry about that embarrassing moment since no one can bring it up.

Sighing to himself in relief, Sketch went looking around the room. The paintings in this room were amazing as they had very fine details of the environment or creature drawn on the canvases. Whoever was the artist of these paintings did well in making sure that each painting was unique in their own ways that would draw in the attention of those who look at them. When Sketch’s eyes landed on a particular painting colored in black and white of two different creatures, his first guess at seeing a dragon and wolf chasing each other tails was that they were in a constant cycle of attacking each other. However, when he looked closely next to the tails there, he saw that by the wolf’s tail was the sun and by the dragon’s tail was the moon. The second guessed I had was that they were chasing the moon and sun working together because of their advantages on this chase. Seeing the dragon go after the sun made Sketch guess some more on useless information about what the painting means: its scales were resistant to the extreme heat, its body was able to handle the harsh environment like a desert and still live through it, its own breath could be any type of element, the wings it has could help with its chase after the sun.

Sketch looked at the moon and the wolf, the list of the wolf’s advantage and how it could get the moon. Its gift of being a carnivore and predator gave it the advantage of being a pack hunter, but this wolf seemed to be a pack with the dragon. The experience of past hunts gives it the chance to catch the moon, hunting in a pack or hunting alone for survival. Its eyes could have the chance of finding it in complete darkness or its nose could sniff it out. The fangs it has are sharp and dangerous, but the agile body it has could help it get the chance for biting the throat.

As the young stallion continued to stare at the painting with interest, he did not notice that the owner of the art shop was next to him staring as well. When the old griffon cleared his throat, Sketch jumped in surprised and looked at the griffon.

“O-oh, sorry sir if I was loitering here,” He said worrying that the griffon may have enough of him being in his shop. That was not the case though, the griffon shook his head and looked at the drawing.

“Kid, do you have any guesses what this painting represents, and why it was painted?” The griffon asked, not even sparing a glance at Sketch. He knew that the young stallion did not know what the painting meant, but he wanted to hear what guesses he had.

“Hmm, from the two guesses I had earlier before you arrived, one of them was about the wolf and dragon chasing after each other like they were on a constant hunt to take one another life as a cruel rivalry between siblings.” Sketch took in a breath and breathed out before continuing. “But when I saw the sun and moon I rethought about my first guess, they are both after the sun and moon behind each other. The wolf is hunting the moon that follows the dragon’s tail as the dragon is doing the same thing for the wolf, but it’s the sun than the moon. Both seemed to be after what they have an advantage against. As for example, the dragon’s scales and cold blood can help them survive harsh heat, better than the wolf’s fur, giving them the perfect chance to withstand the sun’s heat. Its body size is intimidating when you have seen an actual dragon and know what they look like, the size of their teeth, claws, and even their fire breath. All of these are what makes them intimidating. The wolf on the other claw is completely different with its own advantage against the moon. Its eyes can adjust to the dark, sense of smell is stronger than most of their descendants of canines, they are excellent hunters whether they are in a pack or alone, and they were once the main breed in the Diamond Dogs Ancestors. I don’t know much about wolves other than what I have guessed.”

The old griffon slightly smirked and pointed at the wolf. He told Sketch that he was correct on how they were chasing the sun and moon, but he also told him how their appearance and advantages they had over the two things they are chasing. However, it was interesting to hear that the dragon was chasing down a star and the wolf chasing the moon. He began to tell the young stallion a story, a story that was forgotten and replaced by the two princesses of Equestria.

The story involved two separate species that lived far apart from each other. In the far south on a frozen wasteland was a female wolf name Shatil, and in the scorching heat and land of fire far north and in the far east of Equestria was the land of dragons where Haith a male dragon who was in line to become the next Dragon Emperor. Both did not know one another existence, but it was a chance that brought both of them together.

Haith was an ordinary golden scaled dragon with a red crest and under scales, being a size of a two-story house when standing up on his hind paws. He was considered the fourth strongest dragon in their history that could face a dragon Emperor by himself. However, he was the son of the Dragon Emperor at the time and he held no interest in calling his father Emperor nor dad. Instead, he called his father by his name.

Around the time their neighbors of minotaurs, Lizardmen, and Cat people were growing restless of the dragon’s presence and wanted them gone. Of course, the dragons knew that they were not welcome to their neighboring lands of many different types of tribes who said that the dragon kind was nothing but savages and war hungry scaled fire breathing beasts. Many dragons wanted to show their strength and frighten their neighbors if they decided to attack them then they should know what they were dealing with.

For a few years, some dragons would fly off and raid towns and castles, but a rare number of those few were slain. Everyone in the old days knew that if you slay a dragon you are declaring yourself to be challenged by any type of dragon around your area. Only the mightest and bravest creatures dared to slay a dragon and call themselves a challenger to the huge beasts.

Haith did not like how some of those creatures mocked his kind of how easy they were to kill or how they were not smart. When he had heard that his friend was slain by another dragonslayer, he could not handle the death of another dragon anymore. He sought out this dragonslayer, who was responsible for killing his friend, to challenge them, but he did not expect to himself to be facing someone unknown from his land.

Haith had announced his challenge to avenge his friend’s death and face the slayer who stained their weapons with the blood of his friend, his announcement was in the swamps where the Lizardmen lives and where the slayer resided at. Everyone in that region had heard the dragon’s announcement, some had come to his call and called him out that they were the ones who killed his friend, but they could not fool him as he smelled no blood on their weapons or on their clothes. He refused their words of challenging him and waited for the one who stained their weapon in the blood of his friend. With confused and angered dragonslayers, Haith began to think that the one who killed his friend would not show up, but a slender and hooded figure walked towards Haith.

Everyone’s eyes were on this approaching, some of the slayers were whispering on who was the creature that approaches the dragon and was they the one who had slain his friend, but others did not care of this slayer as they believed that they were not the ones who killed this dragon’s friend. However, when the dragon took a sniff in the air, he could smell his friend’s blood on the creature approaching. The snarl he made caused every slayer around to jump and look at him before looking at the hooded creature. Who was this creature that accepted the dragon’s challenge, do they honor his challenge or do they plan on letting the other slayers help them take down this best? Soon the hooded creature stood in front of Haith.

“You arrived here and dared to accept my challenge slayer!?” He roared at the figure and glared down at them, the size difference could easily be seen as Haith was obviously taller than the creature who only reached up to his stomach. Without saying anything the creature reached in their cloaked and pulled out a sheathed blade, its bone-white colors made a rare few slayers around to be disturb from what the hooded being was holding.

“Yes, but I always arrived here to honor your friend’s wish, Haith.” She said her voice was soft and smooth as she pulled off her hood with one hand to reveal her face. She was a wolf bigger than an average male wolf height, her white fur showed no other color and her eyes were a soft blue. Everyone around was no surprise that a female had defeated a dragon, but some of them were sweating from an eerie aura radiating off of her that others could not see.

“Honor,” Haith said in a confused tone as he looked down at the weapon in the wolf’s hand to see a named carved into, the name of his friend. Haith clenched his fists and struck the ground between them, creating a small crater and cracks around it. “If you showed honor then you would fight me and not present me a gift of my friend’s remains!”

“I cannot fight you as you have done nothing wrong to give me a reason to fight against you. Your friend gave me a reason to find him and defeat him as he threatens a village that he would burn it down if they do not move to another part of the land. What gave him the reason to threaten a village whose generations of the family originated in that village? Do all dragons wish to be greedy and commit a sin that would consume their souls?” The wolf asked, there was a hint of anger and sadness in her voice as she stared down at Haith’s paws. The other slayers slightly mocked her and laughed, but a rare few stayed silent.

Haith stared down at the wolf with hate in his eyes, but he was not deaf to hear her voice. He began to think about what to do at this moment. Should he take this moment to avenge his fallen friend from this slayer and refuse her apology or should he accept her apology and take the weapon that was crafted out of his friend’s bones and scales? Before he had the chance to say anything of his decision, one of the slayers broke out from the small crowd and yelled at the wolf.

“Lady you are pretty dumb and pathetic to just arrive here and ask for forgiveness to a dragon who’s a friend you killed. If you think that thing would just accept your forgiveness then you are wrong. You won’t leave without having a scar to remind you of it.” Haith looked at the dragonslayer who dared speak out without any reason before looking back at the wolf. He could see it in her eyes that she was not pleased to hear the slayer say that, but he could also see something more than that.

With a sigh, Haith knelt down in front of the wolf and held out his claws. Avenging his fallen friend may be something that other dragons would want him to do, but if it was some other dragon in his place they would be consumed by rage. The wolf looked up at him and handed him the weaponed, however, before the sheath even touches his claws she spoke to him.

“I would like to be your servant, so I could forgive myself of slaying your friend.” Everyone around, including Haith, were all stumped to hear such a sudden request. The dragon himself could not find a way to answer that as his mind was suddenly all foggy with confusion and...fantasies?

“No, I must not think like that!” Shaking his head and looking down at the wolf, he took in her appearance to see that she was only equipped with a bow, quiver, few arrows, and a dagger. She was equipped with a weapon that could kill a dragon, but the dagger would not do much unless she aims for the eyes or softer parts of a dragon’s body. Her slim figure could be seen under a hooded cloak, hidden under her leather armor was a body that could make a male go crazy over as she was a perfect figure of a female, her armor showed how big her breasts were and wide her hips are, but her claws would scare away those if they saw her as their predator.

It was easy for the dragon to be distracted by the wolf’s body, but he managed to keep his mind focus on the matter. Why would a wolf like her ask for such a humiliating thing that only a maid would to someone who’s rich and able to take care of them? Yet this wolf just asked him to be his servant, so she could forgive herself of killing his friend. How would this wolf forgive herself if she knows that the dragon she killed could never come back alive, she could have just said nothing and let Haith take his friend’s remain and left but she asked to be his servant nonetheless?

“Very well,” Those words that left Haith’s mouth caused him to panic inside and question himself on why he did that! The wolf smiled at him and started to walk closer to him, but before she could be by his side one of the dragonslayers stepped out of the crowd. This creature that stepped out from the crowd was a cat-morpth equipped well equip with his kin’s weaponry and armor.

“A servant!? You wanted to be a servant for a race that is nothing but monsters that burned down towns and cities, slaughtered hundreds of innocents!? What kind of Dragonslayer are you!?” Every slayer around roared in agreement and demanded questions of what kind of slayer was the wolf. Haith did not like the sight of everyone demanding a single being of their reasons, even though she said already said her reason of why she wanted to be his servant. Before Haith could roar at the crowd, an arrow pierced the skull of the cat-morph and caused his lifeless corpse to fall on its back.

“I said my reasons loud and clear, for those who did not hear or bothered to ignore what I said I will repeat it again. I would like to be the dragon’s servant, so I could forgive myself for killing his friend! Get those words through all your thick skulls and let it sink in your memories!” The wolf roared at the crowd as she turned around. Haith was both amazed and surprised at the wolf’s voice and her courage to just kill the cat without any warnings.

When the wolf stood by Haith’s side, the dragon hesitated at first to try something, but he managed to build up his courage and pick up the wolf in his arm. He made sure that he was careful not to crush her ribs in his arm before taking flight.

“And then uhh...I forgot the rest.” The old griffon said as he looked at Sketch to see him staring at the painting.

“The story sounds like it was back before Equestria even was formed, when all three tribes of ponies still dislike each other. Before the alicorns helped unite all of them.” Sighing Sketch looked at the griffon and reached in his pouch, pulling out three bits. “Thank you for your time and your story sir.”