Hunter In Equestria: Chapter 9

You woke up what you assumed was a few minutes later, if only due to the fact you were still on the ground and Twilight was currently verbally tearing her brother a new one. You couldn't tell what was being said despite being less than ten feet away (due to what you assumed was shock), but you could see her expression, and hoo boy you hoped you were never on the receiving end of that.

 

Her hair was beginning to smoke, curiously enough. Eventually her shouting reached a peak and she just burst into flames. Her coat turned a blinding white and her tail and mane consisted of pure fire. The injury on her side was sealed up, you assumed a side effect of...whatever this was.

 

What.

 

Your tired mind was already having trouble processing exactly what just happened to you, and now it had to deal with what Twilight was doing. Eventually, your hearing returned, if barely. The shouting was threatening to cause your hearing to fail again, however.

 

"-nd what gave you ANY indication he was going to hurt me?!" Twilight screamed, breathing heavily. Even through your armor, you could feel the literal waves of heated fury coming off of her. "He SAVED Ponyville from that thing, and you go and ATTACK him?!"

 

"I thought he was a threat! Look at him, that armor looks evil! The spikes, the dark color, the red eyes in the helmet!" Shining shouted back, though with less intensity than the enraged mare across from him. You huffed silently. 'Evil' armor indeed, this was the armor of a hero...or so that wyverian blacksmith said. So far it had fit the bill, but really, evil?

 

Well, you supposed it was a bit spiky...and the red lenses in the helmet weren't helping your case...

 

Fuck, he had a point.

 

"Didn't mom tell you enough times when we were fillies? 'Never judge a book by it's cover'? Just because it LOOKS evil doesn't mean it always is!"

 

"So I was just supposed to sit back and potentially let my baby sister get taken away? Or worse? I wasn't taking that risk, Twily!"

 

"...alright, that's enough..." you croaked out. "A little...help please..." Your throat felt like you had swallowed sand, though you noticed that the injury had stopped bleeding so heavily. It was still bad, but you weren't at risk of dying right this second...you hoped.

 

"Anon!" Twilight cried, flames immediately extinguishing. The lavender coloring you knew returned, along with her mane and tail. The wound on her side didn't return, thankfully. You didn't need *her* passing out too.

 

You yourself floated on the edge of consciousness, and your hearing went out again. You saw Twilight's lips moving, but couldn't hear anything. She was tearing up, just happy you were still alive. Naturally, your body chose that moment to throw you back into unconsciousness.

---

 

You awoke again to a quiet, steady beeping sound. You had no idea what it was, but it was driving you nuts. Your eyes snapped open, and you saw your armor was off. You were in the hospital, with some strange device attached to you via cords. You noticed it beeped every time your heart beat, so you assumed that was exactly what it was for, monitoring your health that way.

 

You looked to your left, seeing the familiar purple unicorn sleeping in a chair. It didn't look comfortable at all, but at the same time, this bed wasn't either. You hated hospitals, to be honest. They were too...quiet. You didn't mind the sterile smell, you didn't mind the poking and prodding of needles, it was the silence that bothered you.

 

Twilight's breathing was slow and steady, giving you something to focus on. You stretched, before feeling a tug on your torso. You looked down, seeing stitches where Shining Armor had stabbed you. It was expertly stitched up, but would still leave a scar. Your burns were gone, which was a testament to how long you had actually been out. You looked back over to Twilight, and cringed. She had definitely been here a while.

 

Her mane was a wreck, unkempt and unclean. You could see heavy bags under her eyes despite the fact she was currently asleep, and her breathing was interrupted by a small hitch. She began crying in her sleep.

 

"No...don't go...please..." She whined. "NO!"

 

Her eyes bolted open, and she lifted her head to look around. Tears fell freely from her eyes, which visibly confused her. She didn't remember the nightmare at all. She used the back of her hoof to wipe her eyes, sniffling occasionally.

 

Her eyes then locked on to you. She blinked a few times, slowly processing the fact that you were awake. A real, genuine smile crossed her face, and she stood out of the chair.

 

"A-anon...? You're...you're awake! Oh Celestia, you're awake!" She practically launched herself at you, wrapping her hooves tightly around your neck. She began sobbing again. "Wh-when you went unconscious again I thought I lost you...I can't describe how happy I am you're awake...the doctors said it would be two more weeks at minimum!"

 

"Twi, how long have I been out...?"

 

"Two weeks."

 

Your heart nearly stopped, which the machine caught and sent out a blaring warning call. It stopped a moment later when your heart picked back up. You looked yourself over, you definitely didn't *look* like it had been two weeks...

 

"I made sure you were fed, Anon. I did it myself." She blushed. "It was actually kinda...fun..." She smiled sheepishly at you.

 

"Twilight, have you been to your home since I was put here? Be honest."

 

The unicorn paused for a moment, avoiding your gaze. "Twilight."

 

"Well..."

 

"Well...what?"

 

"No, but I wanted to make sure you were okay! You're my best friend, I don't want to lose you..."

 

You felt a case of the d'awwws come on, but you suppressed the urge. There's a time and place Anon, and this wasn't it. At least, not while she's pouring her heart out. Instead, you pulled Twilight a little closer.

 

"Twi, you look like hell. You need to sleep."

 

"But..."

 

"I'm okay now, I can feed myself, thanks." You grinned at her, and she smiled back. "Sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

 

"Promise...?"

 

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." You recited with a small smile. Not exactly necessary to make a Pinkie Promise to Twilight, but it made her relax. "Besides, I'm not going anywhere until a doctor releases me."

 

She nodded, then closed her eyes. Her breathing quickly became calm and even, and you watched her for a bit. A nurse finally came to check on you due to the machine's alarm, a nurse you recognized.

 

"Ah, Nurse Redheart, how are you?" You greeted quietly and with a smile. She smiled back, obviously happy to see her comatose patient awake.

 

"I'm great now that you're awake. You gave us all a scare, but Ms. Sparkle here was extremely worried. She wouldn't leave the room for more than ten minutes at a time." Redheart shook her head. "I was worried more for her health than yours for the past day or so."

 

"Heh, thank you. I'll keep an eye on her now." You replied. It had been roughly twenty minutes, and no sign of a nightmare from the mare. Redheart closed the door as she walked away, giving the two of you privacy.

 

Twilight whimpered once, but as you wrapped an arm around her midsection, she immediately stopped. Replacing the whimper was a relaxed sigh, and she pulled herself closer, wrapping her forehooves around your arm.

 

You resisted the urge to "d'awwwww" again.

--

 

You had managed to convince Twilight to go home and clean herself up. She had put up a fight initially, but eventually quaked and obeyed.

 

Several other ponies came to visit you as well, now that they knew you were awake. Fluttershy was the first, and she fussed over your condition like a worried mother.

 

"Oh, are your bandages too tight? What about food, are you eating right? Are you eating *enough*?"

 

You rolled your eyes, then chuckled to yourself.

 

"I'm fine Flutters. No, the bandages aren't too tight, and yes, it's hospital food. It's nothing BUT healthy."

 

She then spent the next hour idly chatting with you...and fluffing your pillow, and straightening out your sheets, and making sure you were comfortable...

 

You suppose her losing her wing had made her a bit more bold, for whatever reason. Usually amputees were more reserved, but at the same time, Fluttershy couldn't really *get* more reserved. Perhaps it simply had the opposite effect on her.

 

Granted she still had both her wings thanks to the quick actions of Twilight and Dash, but that was beside the point.

 

Eventually she left with a "I hope you feel better, Anon!" You smiled and waved her off, just as Rainbow Dash and Applejack burst through the door.

 

"Anon!" They both shouted at the same time.

 

"Dude, you're such a badflank!" Rainbow shouted, grinning ear to ear. "You GOTTA teach me how to do that!"

 

"Do...what?" You replied, confused.

 

"Take down a bucking DRAGON, that's what!"

 

You blinked. "Sorry Dash, that's not something I can teach in a day."

 

"Fine, I'll watch you a few times until I learn how!"

 

"You gotta forgive her Anon, Rainbow's been a little...excited lately." AJ explained. "She's been goin' on an on about "how awesome" you were. Seems like you've got a fan, sugarcube."

 

"Fantastic." You turned to the cyan pegasus. "Hey, Dash?"

 

"Yeah, best buddy?" The incessant grin grew wider. It was like she was just asked to join the Wonderbolts.

 

"What happened to my armor?"

 

"Oh, uh...I think the Royal Guard took it to fix it up. The least they could do after their captain put you in the hospital by mistake." She frowned at this, as though she had been personally wronged. You nodded.

 

"Okay, and my weapon?"

 

"Also with the Guard. They're tryin' to copy it."

 

Well, that could be bad if they got it wrong. You had always heard stories of novice blacksmiths being killed when a fire element weapon was made incorrectly. They tended to...explode. Violently.

 

Trying to copy a high end weapon like that would only end badly, you were sure of it.

 

"I need to get out of here." You muttered. Applejack chuckled.

 

"Yeah sugarcube, Ah know. Ah felt the same way when Ah was here. You shouldn' be here much longer, you're a tough stallion."

 

You chuckled, then leaned back into the bed. You sighed.

 

"Alright you two, it's been great having you over, but I'm gonna take a nap." They both nodded. "Make sure Twilight's taking care of herself, okay?"

 

"Will do, Anon!" Rainbow gave you a salute, and AJ nodded.

 

"We'll sort 'er out. Get well soon, Anon!"

 

With that, the two left.

--

 

You were in the hospital for another week before they let you leave. You would have been out sooner if healing magic worked on you, but there was nothing they could do about it. That immunity was both a blessing and a curse.

 

You shrugged, stepping out of the doors and into the fresh outside air. Stale hospital air for three weeks was driving you nuts.

 

Deciding to surprise your favorite unicorn, you made your way to Ponyville with a slight spring in your step. You were just happy to be mobile again, being practically bedridden was a nightmare.

 

You stepped into town, and saw Twilight shopping for food. She gave an orange a look-over, before putting it back and repeating the process with another. You didn't want to sneak up on her just yet.

 

Instead, your devious mind told you to head for the library.

 

--

 

The door was locked, and you didn't have the key. It was at your house last you recalled.

 

Damn.

 

You didn't have time to go and get it either, so you took a chance and knocked.

 

"One second!" Spike called from inside. "Yeah, what d-Anon! Hey man, glad to see you up!"

 

"Yeah, good to see you too. May I come in?"

 

"Uh, yeah?" Like you even had to ask.

 

You stepped through...and then immediately hid behind a bookshelf. "Uh, Anon, what are you doing?"

 

"Surprising Twi, what else?" There was a devious undertone to your sentence, and Spike grinned. "Just act natural Spike, I need her to think nothing is going on."

 

"Ha, natural is what I do!"

 

He went back to dusting the shelves and sweeping the floor. It went on for about an hour before the front door opened.

 

"Uh, Spike?" Twilight asked. "Why is the door unlocked?"

 

Fuck.

 

"Oh, that? I went outside for a bit, just to take a breath of fresh air. Dust gets to me sometimes, I just forgot to lock the door."

 

"Oh, okay."

 

You heard Twilight walking across the wooden floor, slowly getting closer. She walked past the bookshelf you were hiding behind, not even glancing in your direction. You slowly crept up on her, and grabbed her by her midsection.

 

She screamed, letting loose a magic bolt at her 'attacker', which naturally had no effect. She then realized she was several feet off the ground, and opened her eyes.

 

"A-Anon? You JERK!" She kicked you in the thigh, which made you drop her. She may not have been Applejack, but hooves were still hooves. You rubbed your tender thigh, still grinning like an idiot.

 

"Hi Twily!" You said, waving at her with your free hand. Her expression cycled from outrage to relief, then to agitation.

 

"That wasn't nice!" If looks could kill, the look Twilight was sending you would put you twenty feet under.

 

"No, but it was hilarious!" Your grin was infectious, and slowly the unicorn smiled as well. She walked closer and then stomped on your foot. You cringed, though she didn't have enough force behind it to actually harm you.

 

"Well, Mr. Clown, Celestia wants to see you as soon as you were able. She told me to come too, and sent me two train tickets." With that, she walked away and towards the balcony, deliberately slapping you in the face with her tail. You chuckled at her halfhearted retaliation, following her.

 

"We'll leave tomorrow, but for now..."

 

"Hmm?" You questioned.

 

Twilight spun on the spot and then tackled you, wrapping her hooves around you. "Don't you EVER do something like that again!"

 

"I'll be sure to avoid being ambushed then." You commented dryly, not in a rush to have a repeat stay at the hospital anyway.

 

You spent the rest of the day with Twilight, just relaxing at her insistence. She called you 'her hero' once or twice, but you weren't sure if it was mockingly or not. The tone said yes, the context said no. You mentally shrugged.

 

--

 

The following day, you and Twilight headed to the train station. The other five were there to see you off.

 

"Grab some souvenirs!" Pinkie shouted to you, over the noise of the crowd coming on and leaving the train. "It'll be lots of fun Anon, I'm sure of it!"

 

"Yes Darling, enjoy yourself. If anyone here needs a vacation, it's you!" Rarity said, not needing to shout due to being within two feet of you. "Of course, your Special Somepony has to tag along too, just to make sure you relax!" The snowy unicorn gestured to Twilight, while said lavender unicorn blushed furiously.

 

"H-he's not my spe-I mean, he's special to me, but he's not, you know..." Twilight looked at the ground and scuffed her hoof on the floor. You laughed at the flustered mare for a bit before calming down.

 

"ALL ABOARD!" The conductor called. You picked Twilight up, eliciting a Fluttershy-esque squeak from the purple mare.

 

"C'mon, the train's gonna leave without us!" You said. "We'll be back in a few days, everypony!"

 

The others waved, but the din of the train and crowd drowned out what was said. You and Twilight waved back, before heading in and finding a seat.

--

 

The train ride was roughly ten hours, which you mostly slept through. Twilight had a few books to read, and she was still doing so when the train came to a stop. She stood up and levitated the book, keeping her snout buried into it.

 

"New book I take it?"

 

"Mmhm," was her simple response.

 

"Wanna put it down and actually pay attention to where you're going?"

 

"Nuh-uh."

 

You reached over, bent down the top corner of the page she was on, and snapped it closed. She glared at you. "What did you do that for?"

 

"We're here to see Celestia, remember?"

 

"And...?" That book must be really good, she's rarely this impatient. ESPECIALLY with things involving her teacher.

 

"And I need you to be my guide...?" You gestured to the city. "First time here, remember?"

 

"Oh, right..."

 

"You can read your book when we're relaxing in a hotel room. For now, we need to get to the castle. C'mon Twi, you're usually more focused than this."

 

"Right, right, sorry." She looked up, then lead you down the main street. You looked around at the sights, while Twilight kept a glowing light above her at eye level so you could keep track of her.

 

Like you would ever lose her in a crowd anyway.

 

After roughly an hour of walking, the road to the castle itself became clear. The guards let you both in after Twilight simply told them who she was. It was either being the sister of the Captain of the Guard, or being Celestia's personal student that did it.

 

Probably both, now that you thought about it.

 

She guided you through the halls, taking you on a mini tour.

 

"That wing is the Castle Library, I've only ever been in there once. Most ponies aren't allowed in under normal circumstances. Down the other hallway is the Barracks. My brother stays there, along with most of the guard."

 

"UGH, what is that HIDEOUS creature?!" A snobbish voice shouted. You turned your head towards the voice, and saw a white unicorn stallion with a blonde mane at the top of a set of stairs. He was glaring down at you, as if toxic waste had just crossed his line of sight. You rolled your eyes.

 

"I don't know, but methinks you should stop looking in a mirror. You seem to be scaring yourself." You couldn't really help yourself with these childish retorts. Sure, they were stupid, but they made you feel better. That's what really mattered in the end, you figured.

 

"Blueblood, don't you have somewhere else to be...?" Twilight muttered to herself, annoyance clear in her voice.

 

"Oh, and it *talks* too?"

 

It was like your first week in Equestria all over again.

 

"Yeah, asshole, I do." You growled. "You might want to back off with the insults before I show you what ELSE I can do." The insult on Blueblood's face was delicious, you supposed being called an 'asshole' in a world with sentient mules carried a much bigger meaning than where you came from.

 

"Anon, he's not worth it." Twilight said, trying to stave off the beating she knew this prick had coming. You glared at him, then followed Twilight down the hallway, away from the rich snob.

 

"What was HIS deal?" You nearly shouted, gritting your teeth. "Doesn't everypony KNOW about me already?!"

 

"That was Prince Blueblood. He's an idiot and a blowhard. I wouldn't even worry about him."

 

"PRINCE?! Wh-how? How on earth is HE related to Celestia or Luna in any way?"

 

"It was a long time ago, and he's at least four dozen times removed from Celestia's bloodline. Still, he technically has royal blood, having the same ancestor and all." She shrugged. "In any case, we're here." She pointed at a huge set of ornate double doors, which the guards opened as you approached.

 

"Ah, my dearest student, I'm happy to see you! Anonymous...too..." The pause she made was noticeable, which made you think she really *wasn't* happy about seeing you. Which was strange, you hadn't done anything to insult her that you knew of. Twilight didn't seem to notice.

 

"You wanted to see me, specifically? Your Highness?" You asked.

 

"Yes, I did. Luna and I have been puzzled by the creatures that have been appearing from your world in ours." She stood and walked over to you, sizing you up. "We both detected a small... pulse when you entered our world. Somepony is using knowledge gained from your entry AND from you directly to bring creatures from your world here."

 

Uh oh.

 

"This, naturally, came to a head with the attack on Ponyville. I've come to a conclusion that is...likely to work, but neither of you will like."

 

"Wh-" You started, before being cut off by a golden aura. It restricted you, and you were confused until you remembered Celestia knew how to negate your magic immunity.

 

"In order for the being to stop sending these creatures in, it must stop being able to read your thoughts."

 

Oh fuck, she was going to lobotomize you.

 

Which is what you thought until a portal opened up underneath you.

 

"I'm sorry Anonymous. In order for that to happen, you must be contained."

 

"What? Princess, no!" Twilight shouted, her horn lighting up and trying to close the portal. It stubbornly remained open.

 

For her part, Celestia looked deeply upset. You would have responded had your mouth not been held shut by the aura. Instead, you shot the princess a look of sheer loathing. Anything bad that had happened as a result of you was not your fault, and instead of going after the cause...she would cut the source instead.

 

Like damming up a river to stop overfishing. Typical royalty after all.

 

"I'm sorry Twilight Sparkle...but loss is something you must experience firsthand. That is why I brought you here." Celestia appeared on the verge of tears herself, while Twilight was sobbing loudly.

 

"No, please! Don't take him! He didn't do anything wrong!" The unicorn was begging now, and it was breaking your heart. "Please stop Princess! This is something we can fix!"

 

"Anonymous has a trial ahead of him. If he can overcome it, then we may try your suggestion, my student."

 

Without another word, the golden aura around you vanished, and you fell through the hole. You fell for what felt like an hour, before striking solid rock and blacking out.

 

--

 

You slowly came to, and you realized it was suddenly very hot. Opening your eyes, pools of lava were all around, and a massive black gate was in front of you. It swung open slowly.

 

Looking around and realizing there was literally nowhere else to go but through, you did just that. The gate slammed shut behind you and locked. You reached to your back, where your knife was still located. At least you still had that if you needed it.

 

A man with red skin sat behind a desk. He had two horns, positioned like on a Diablos. He was large too, larger than that minotaur Iron Will.

 

"Name?" His booming voice asked, echoing throughout the cavern.

 

"Uh, Anonymous?" You replied, unsure. You didn't know if that would do, or if he wanted the name you no longer recalled.

 

He flipped through the massive black book on his desk, scanning through.

 

"...no, no...nope, no Anonymous. You sure you're supposed to be here? What's your crime?"

 

"Excuse me? Crime? What?" You were dumbfounded. Your only 'crime' was trusting that cunt of a horse Celestia.

 

"Well, you're kinda in Tartarus buddy. You must have done SOMETHING wrong and not atoned for it. Steal an apple? Grievously injure someone? Kick a puppy?" The man questioned. "Anything?"

 

"No! Celestia just...dropped me in here! I haven't done anything wrong!" You shouted, getting angry. The red skinned man seemed to mull this over, before sighing.

 

"Again...? This is like the fourth time in the past hundred years. Ugh." He sighed again, before flipping to the back of his book. "Alright, in fairness, I'll give you the same challenge I gave them. Seeing as you're here wrongly, we demons will give you a fair chance to escape this place."

 

Upon seeing your questioning gaze, he continued. "We're evil, but we have standards. If you genuinely don't belong here, that mountain," he pointed behind you, and a huge black mountain reached to the ceiling of the cavern, "has a portal back. Don't think getting there will be a walk in the park though. Stronger looking folks than you have tried, and now they're slaving away beneath us."

 

You shuddered.

 

"Thanks, I think."

 

"Don't mention it. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon enough." He chuckled darkly, and suddenly vanished.

 

You started your trek towards the mountain, and knew it would be a long walk indeed.

--

 

You had no idea just how long you had been walking. The lack of any significant landmarks made it seem like you were making no progress, but you eventually came to the base of the mountain. A path coiled around it, and a bright blue light at the top was what you assumed to be the portal. The mountain itself was at least a mile tall.

 

"Might as well get walking..." You muttered.

 

Nothing of note happened for a good chunk of the way. You wondered why no one had actually made it to the top, this was kinda easy.

 

No, wait. Stop. That kind of thinking would get you killed. You were a Hunter dammit, act like one. Vigilance at ALL times.

 

Your renewed attention was rewarded when you heard a cracking sound. You jumped back and hid under an archway as an avalanche of stones tumbled down along the path you were just on two seconds ago. That would have swept you down the mountain and likely killed you from this height.

 

You sighed in relief, and continued on after you figured it was safe.

 

Another half hour of walking set you at your next trial: Geysers. A skeleton of what appeared to be a Griffon was laid out over two of the geysers, providing a little protection from them.

 

Said geysers were littered all over the path, and they went off at seemingly random intervals. You stopped and waited, looking for any indication one would erupt. It was roughly fifteen minutes before you caught it.

 

There. It was quick and subtle, but each geyser had a brief wave of foam before it went off. The pattern also wasn't as random as you first thought. It went in a clockwise pattern, meaning if one went off, it wouldn't go off again for a little while. You waited...and the geysers in front of you went off.

 

After they finished, you stepped on them. They made a sound, but did nothing more. The next ones in sequence went off, and you stepped on them as they finished. Just as you stepped off the previous ones, they went off again. You had less time than you thought, but that just meant you had to be a little faster.

 

You repeated this process until you were on the other side. Your left arm sported a heavy burn from the boiling water, you weren't quite quick enough on the third set. After a moment to recuperate, you moved on.

 

The path lead into a cave, and you reluctantly went in.

--

The cave was dark and unlit, not even any customary torches. You waited for your eyes to adjust, though even that didn't help too much. You wandered with your arms outstretched, guiding yourself with the wall.

 

A purple light suddenly lit up to your left, illuminating the area and giving you sight. The exit wasn't far off either.

 

"Anon!?"

 

The voice was distant, but definitely recognizable. You were immediately assaulted with a mixture of surprise, confusion, and happiness, but only one thing played on your mind.

 

How did she get here? Did she jump in after you? Can't have, you'd have seen her.

 

"T-Twilight!?"

 

You sprinted for the purple mare, and she sprinted for you. Something glittered on the ground, guiding your eyes downwards. You looked down...and quickly stopped yourself from falling into the darkness below. You nearly launched yourself over a cliff, and 'Twilight' vanished with a flash. A cackle echoed throughout the cave, and you glared at where the sound came from.

 

"Fuck this place..."

 

Curiously, the area was still lit with the false Twilight's glow, which led you to the exit just fine. You were quickly growing frustrated with this place.

 

--

You made it to the top without much more trouble. At the top sat a massive three headed dog, currently asleep. You assumed this was your final trial: Get to the portal without this thing ripping you apart. Said portal was behind the beast, taunting you.

 

As much as you wanted to just sprint for the portal, you held off. Loud sounds would likely wake it up, and you doubted your knife would do much aside from piss it off.

 

You slid around the side of the almost arena-like summit, creeping closer to the portal. You accidentally kicked a rock, which clacked against another. The beast's ears perked up, and you held perfectly still. You didn't even *breathe*. You were behind it at this point, so its gaze didn't pick you out. It gave the Cerberus equivalent of a shrug and went back to sleep.

 

You slowly and silently exhaled, creeping closer to the portal. It was so close...

 

You kicked another rock, and this time it struck the beast in the back. Your blood chilled, and you made a break for it. You dove at the portal, just as the dog's fangs flashed to end you.

 

Everything went black, and you weren't sure if you won or not.