Phoenix

Mother’s Day

A knock sounded on the door of Celestia’s quarters, the solar mare finishing up another paperwork headache created by their new… “friend.”.

Celestia laid the pen down and sighed. “Come in.” She called out tho whomever knocked on her door, silently praying it wasn’t the walking headache known as ‘Dante’. She rolled her eyes at the thought, realizing he’d have probably just kicked down the door before even bothering to knock. It took a few days for maintenance to manage to fix the last set of doors to her room he had kicked down, and few more days for Celestia to finish the protective enchantments against them that were supposed to stop any intrusions.

It’s not that she didn’t appreciate him saving three fillies, but he also killed a member of an endangered species, in a particularly gruesome fashion as well. Seemingly the only answer the biped ever had for any problem was extreme violence.

Her door quietly opened, as hooves clopped against the floor, answering her prayers that it wasn’t the biped.

“Good evening, Luna.” Celestia greeted her sister, a genuine smile forming on her face. The dark mare returned the smile.

“We’re surprised to see you up so late, Sister. It is out of the norm for you to...” Her voice trailed off as she noticed the stack of paperwork piled in front of her.

“Ah. We assume the General is the cause of Our dear sister staying up.” The Solar Diarch nodded, sighing.

“He blew up a cyclops to save the...” Celestia magicked a report over to her, scanning the paper, groaning as she read the name the three fillies had given the Ponyville guard lieutenant. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders.” Celestia carelessly tossed the paper aside as she rose from her seat and trotted over to her bed.

“I’ll finish the paperwork in the morning, during Court. Gods know the only thing the Nobles will be doing is complaining about how General Jaeger isn’t locked up.” As she laid down in her bed, she paused, raising her head from the pillow she had laid on it. A look of realization on her face.

“Except Blueblood… of all ponies I would have expected him to be the one pushing the most for his imprisonment.” Celestia allowed her head to hit the pillow once more

Luna chuckled at the mention of the cowardly prince’s name. “A friend in the Parliament informs Us that your nephew is utterly terrified of General Jaeger and refuses to attach his name to anything that he believes could anger Jaeger.”

Celestia raised her head. “Our nephew, Luna. Blueblood is our nephew.”

Luna smirked, a wide smile creeping onto her face. “That is what We said, Sister. Your nephew.”

Celestia groaned, allowing her head to fall back onto her pillow.

The Luna Diarch carefully climbed into bed with her sister, pushing her body against hers. “We hope you do not mind us sharing a bed, Sister. We had forgotten how nice it was until the other day.”

Celestia looked her sister in the eye, her eyes glinting.

“I am not complaining, but aren’t you supposed to be in the middle of Court?”

“Delegated.” Luna curtly replied.

“Well, I do not see any problem with it, though I’m surprised our sleep schedules are not all messed up.”

Luna rolled from her side onto her stomach. “We didn’t want to bring it up to you initially, sister, as it seems like all we ever talk about is Jaeger.”

Celestia groaned, also rolling onto her stomach and meeting her sister’s eyes, rolling her own “Oh, gods, what did he do this time? Did he scare a noble? Detonate some sort of alien weaponry? Invade a country? Figure out how to defy all known laws of reality? I would not put that last one past him.”

Luna shook her head. “No, no. He hasn’t done anything. Rather it was Us that did something. I spoke to Miss Dash in the hospital, and she informed me that the General seemed very angry upon confronting the cyclops. More so then even when he was confronting the Changelings during the Wedding. But once the cyclops had been felled, he immediately switched back to being non-threatening… well, as non-threatening as he can be.”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, so there’s certain things that seem to trigger his anger. Perhaps he just dislikes cyclops.”

Luna opened her mouth, but then closed it to gather her thoughts. After a few moments she spoke.

“The night following the wedding, the General slept. We intruded upon his dreamscape out of curiosity, We admit it had nothing to do with our duties. However, instead of being met with dreams, We were instead thrust into a memory. We presume the reason being is his mind differs radically from the creatures We normally walk, and as such I violated his memories instead of his dreams.”

Celestia nodded once more. “Something you absolutely do not do under normal circumstances.”

The Lunar Diarch nodded, frowning. “Yes, a grave ethical violation on Our part. If We wish to visit his dreamscape in the future, We will have to research and obtain his permission before doing so, he has indicated “dreamwalkers”, as he called me, were not well liked where he’s from. But before he pulled me out of his memori-”

“He pulled you out?” Celestia asked, perplexed. As far as she was aware, not even she was capable of pushing Luna out once she had entered a dreamscape.

Luna nodded. “We were shocked as well, but he forced Our physical body from the dreamscape. However, that’s not what We came to speak to you about. Our talk with Miss Dash made us decide it was better for you to also know about this. Before he pulled Us out of his memory, we saw one more. For a split second in the real world, but we experienced hours inside. May We?” Luna laid down on her side, facing her sister, her horn lit up.

Celestia sighed and then copied the maneuver. “If you believe it is necessary for me to know.” Luna nodded.

“We believe it will help give you a glimpse into his mindset.” She gently touched her lit horn to Celestia’s horn, as the Solar Diarch experienced a shock, her eyes rolling into the back of her head.

The young man woke up in a field, using his arms to lift himself up.

He paused to listen to the birds, examining the blue sky. He scanned the environment surrounding him, noting the hilly landscape.

“Hunter!” A voice called from behind him, causing the young man to turn his head. Another man, white skinned with long shaggy black hair, his body covered in the tanned skins of animals and various tools supported by a crude belt hanging at his waist, approached him. He appeared to be a little older then the young man.

“What are you doing, Hunter?” The man came close, drawing the young man, Hunter in for a hug.

Hunter returned the hug. “Getting some rest.” He gestured to a forested area. “Before we go out for food.”

“Come, follow.” Hunter stood up and dusted his front off, as he trod on after the older man.

They walked for a short while in silence, following a beaten path into the ground.

“Winter’s not far out.” The older man finally broke the silence, scanning the sky, Hunter merely grunting in response.

“Your mother sent me after you, you know, she became worried about you.”

“I figured that. Otherwise you wouldn’t have come.” Hunter stated as he observed the surrounding trees, the line occasionally breaking to reveal more fields.

“She worries about you, you know.” The man called behind his back.

Hunter rolled his eyes, as he continued to follow behind the man. “Yeah, I know.”

The conversation ended as they continued to walk. After a few more minutes, they reached the outskirts of a village situated along a river. Children chased after each other as women sorted between vegetables and fruits. The river rushed as various eating instruments were washed by children who weren’t participating in the playing. Smoke from fires wafted through the air.

“Smith!” A man called as he ran up to the two, out of breath.

“Bruster, what’s going on?”

The man, Bruster, stopped to catch his breath, as Hunter and Smith looked at each other nervously.

Bruster looked around, making sure no one was near, then lowered his voice and spoke. “The scouts we sent, to find new trails. They came back with news. Big tribe moving through valley, some men in the tribe are dressed oddly, very out of place.”

Smith scoffed, slapping his hand onto Hunter’s shoulder. “We will be fine, we have Hunter. The gods have given him their blessings.” Hunter chuckled at the praise.

“That’s the issue. One of the men killed an auroch.”

“And Hunter has killed plenty of aurochs.”

“With thunder.” With these words, Hunter and Smith also looked around, and then closed the gap between them and Bruster.

“Who knows about this, Bruster?” Hunter questioned, as he grabbed the skins covering Bruster’s chest and pulling him closer.

“J-just me, the scouts who saw and you all.”

“And how many?” Smith asked.

“Well over and ten and ten for the tribe. Scouts said they saw ten and two of the oddly dressed men.”

Hunter cursed as he looked to Smith. “Get those scouts and make sure they understand not to tell anyone. I’ll check it out and make sure they’re not a threat. I don’t want to cause a panic, this spot is too good for us to give it up. Besides, too many women are bearing children, they wouldn’t survive the trek, assuming we even find a good place to set back up before winter sets in.” Smith nodded as the young man released Bruster.

“And the same goes for you, Bruster. Not a single word. We don’t want to cause a panic, there is absolutely no reason to evacuate this area.”

The man nodded as Hunter moved off. “I’m going to check on mother before I head out.” Hunter moved off as he made his way to his home, making his way through the maze of grass huts, until finally reaching the one he was looking for. Waiting for him outside was a small woman, clad in animal skins as well.

Hunter towered over the woman, who saw him and rushed to him, bringing him into a hug. “Hunter! Will you stop disappearing like that? I was worried, I had to send Smith to find you!”

Hunter returned the hug. “Sorry, mother, I just wanted to be away from the tribe for a little.” He gestured to the huts.

The woman lightly smacked his arm. “And you choose a night you and the rest of the men are supposed to hunt.”

She rolled her eyes and moved back to the hut, her son following her as she continued sorting various fruits, preparing for the incoming winter.

“I was surprised you weren’t off frolicking with that girl, Baum. She and you would make strong children, you know.”

Hunter groaned, rubbing his eyes. “She’s too pushy, and dumb.”

The woman clicked her tongue. “She’s not dumb, Hunter, she just… suffered a few blows to the head.”

“And how exactly do gatherers manage to hit their heads enough they can’t tell the difference between a wolf and an auroch? Do you know how many times I’ve had to save her because she thought she could pet a wolf?”

The woman turned to her son, smirking. “So what you’re telling me is the dumb woman can track down wolves better then you can.”
The young man rolled his eyes, refusing to play into his mother’s game with a response.

“But I’m being serious, Hunter.” She moved closer to the young man.

“You’re a man now, you hunt with the men and you eat with the men. But you’re the only man in the village who has not yet chosen a mate. It’s your ten and seventh winter. I really do think you and she would make wondrous children, she may be dumb but her body is strong and well developed for bearing children. It’s her ten and fourth winter and she’s been a woman for a winter and summer now, so she’s not too old nor is she too young.”

Hunter rolled his eyes. “I’ve no desire to even think about becoming a father.”

“Is that what you’re scared of, Hunter. That you won’t be a good father?”

“Why would I be? When my own father isn’t even here, he abandoned you!” Hunter protested, not liking the line this was going down. The discussion of who his father was never ended up well.

“There is not a single shred of proof that you took any of those traits from him.”

Hunter raised his hands. “Yet I received his eternity and strength? Mother, how many of us can survive being gored by an auroch and then proceed to kill it? You know it just as well as I do, I’m going to end up being just as bad a father as he did, if anything else I inherited is evidence.”

The woman raised her hands into the air, exasperated. “Yet you’ve protected Baum every time she’s been threatened, and you don’t even see her as a mate. Now think about that, you protect your tribe members with ferocity, yet you still believe you would just walk out and abandon your children. You have not shown and wanderlust like your father has.”

“But what if it just hasn’t shown yet, and what if my eternity is more then just… injury related? What happens if I outlive my children? My mate? I just go and pick another one? Make more children?”

“So what!” The woman shouted. “Your plan is to just sit here and continue on with your life? What happens when I die? You’re the only one of my blood left and you just plan to make that your legacy? The unkillable man who has no children, no blood to show it for?”

“I don’t know!” Hunter roared at his mother as he threw his hands into the air, the woman shrinking back. “I don’t know.” The words came out quieter this time. “I don’t know. I feel like I barely belong here. You don’t know who my father is, a wanderer! My father’s a wanderer!” Hunter raised his arms to sky and shouted “An eternal wanderer my father is!” He allowed his hands to drop as he paced around a small area. “Then I’m the only child who survives a sickness that tears through the tribe, I’m gored by an auroch, have an axe slammed into my throat, my gut slashed open, trapped under ice in a flowing river and I punch my way out, I’ve fallen off too many cliffs for me to count. And still I breath!”

Hunter locked eyes with his mother, his blue and green eyes piercing hers. “I. Am. Not. Normal. I’m not living the normal life of a man because I am not a man.”

“Then what are you!”

“I don’t know!” Hunter rubbed his eyes, sighing.

“The.. the hunt isn’t occurring tonight.”

The woman said nothing, as she had gone back to sorting vegetables, her back turned to Hunter, who sighed.

“Mother… just,” He looked to her back, wondering how he should word it. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to you later.”

Hunter quietly crawled his way over to the side of a cliff overlooking the valley the group had been reported in. And indeed, right in the valley lay small group of what appeared to be hastily constructed huts, along side with a very odd looking one. It was shaped like a cube instead of the more circular huts. ‘

Hunter wasn’t very far, a single drop down the side of the cliff would put him less then a few hundred feet from it.

There were only a few men in the camp, five it looked like, but something told Hunter he could find what he was looking for in the odd looking hut, namely what they were doing so close to his village.

In any case, even if he didn’t find what he was looking for, their sacked village and dead men who had been left to guard it should be enough to scare them off. Although he had no idea what they had left it for, maybe hunting for food.

His mind made up, he peered over the edge of the cliff and then slid his legs over the edge, sitting on it.

He took a deep breath, and then dropped.

The fall itself only took a few seconds, but the primal part of Hunter’s brain, the part that told him height was something that needed to be feared made it feel far longer then it was.

Hunter landed with a thud, bringing some earth up with him.

One of the men who had been left with the village saw the man drop from the cliff and cried in shock, alerting his fellows.

Hunter covered the last few hundred feet in seconds, digging his axe into the man’s throat, his dying breaths gurgling through blood. However, the other men of the village had made it there.

Hunter let go of his axe as the man died, pushing his body away from him and caught the arm of hammer wielding man as he attempted to strike Hunter with it, Hunter drove his fist into the man’s chest, the sound of ribs breaking cut through the air, causing him to double over. Hunter drove his knee into the man’s head, caving his skull.

He threw the corpse into a charging man, cutting off the attack. Hunter drew his knife and blocked a strike from another man who had come running to the scene. The young man headbutted the man, as he stumbled back, the young man charged forward, driving his knife into the man’s throat.

Hunter recovered his axe from the body of the first man he had killed and walked over to the man who was pinned under the corpse of the man whose skull he had caved in, who was preventing the other man from fighting him, having landed on him awkwardly, pinning both arms under a couple of hundred pounds.

Hunter finished the man off with several strikes to the head with his recovered axe. One man stood his ground, axe in his hand, seemingly frozen by the slaughter that had occurred in front of him.

Hunter raised his axe, pointing at the man. “Run or fight.” He stated.

The man locked eyes with Hunter, as silence reigned.

Then charged, roaring, his axe raised, prepared to strike Hunter.

Hunter caught the strike with his own axe, locking the man’s arm into the air, then struck him in the face with his left hand.

The man fell, his skull caved by the force of Hunter’s strike, his hand soaked in blood.

Hunter scanned the rushed village, examining it. He made his way to the main row of the village and then picked up his pace to the reach the odd hut.

He slipped through the cloth door, his axe raised and prepared for the odd men who could utilize thunder to kill.

However, the hut was empty. It was large enough for Hunter to stand up in it and comfortably move around in it. And almost everything in it made no sense to the young man.

However, in the corner of his right eye, he noticed something. He walked over to a table and looked at what was occupying it.

He could understand the plate, though what material it was made of he had no idea. But the meat on it…

Hunter hesitantly picked it up and examined it, then slowly took a bite of it and chewed. It was meat. He dropped both the plate and meat, not worried about any mess he made. He moved to a box sitting in the corner and opened the lid.

“What the...” It was more meat, all of it looking like it had just been cut directly from the prey. But it couldn’t have been, it was freezing cold, as though it had been thrown into the snow.

And there was a lot of it, more then enough to feed his village many times over, so why would they have been out hunting?

He moved away from the box, and continued investigating the tent. He examined various clear containers, but nothing provided him many answers. Until he reached the back, which contained another table which held thin, crinkly rectangles.

Hunter picked up a handful of these rectangles and examined them, trying to reason out what he was seeing.

It was his village, like a painting… but it was as though he was looking at his actual village, odd characters were written around the edge.

He allowed the rectangle to fall to the floor, his head cocked to the side as he saw the next rectangle. It was Smith. Once more, it was as though he were standing right to the side of him.

Another one, Baum.

Another, the village elder.

He dropped the rectangle as he viewed his village from the sky, as though he were a bird. He dropped that one, his eyes widening as he saw the next one…

It was his mother. Almost face on, at a slight angle. Hunter looked around, then tucked this rectangle into a pouch on his belt as he went back to look at the final rectangle. His heart dropping.

It was him. He was looking at himself. He had a red circle drawn around his head.

Hunter glanced around at the rest of the rectangles as the truth struck him like a thousand arrows at once.

“War party...” He breathed, as it finally made sense. The scouts never mentioned any women or children. Just men.

And why there were only five men at the village. They were a war party. And they were going…

After his tribe.

Hunter dropped the rectangle as he launched out of the hut, tearing through the village and back to the cliff he had dropped from. If he tried to make his way out of the valley by paths, it would take him hours.

So he charged towards the cliff and hoped this would work, he had only done it once before, but the cliff was jagged. This one was smooth, extremely.

Hunter jumped, as he launched dozens of feet into the air and slammed into the side of the cliff, as he attempted to find a foothold or a grip so he could launch himself once more up.

But he could find no grip, as he slid down the side.

Hunter slammed his fists into the side of the cliff, cursing.

He ran back to the very edge of the village and then tried again, once more failing and sliding down the side of the cliff.

He cursed once more, as he tried once more, running to the edge of the village and then running up and trying to reach the top of the cliff.

He failed.

Hunter slammed his fists into the ground, cursing whatever gods had turned a blind eye to him.

He glanced at the top of the cliff. If only he could get up there, he could stop them, he could stop the war band. But even if he were to run, by the time he got out of the valley using the paths, his village would surely be nothing more then ashes.

Hunter focused on the edge of the cliff where he had been sitting just a few minutes before. If he could just get up there.

He could feel the anger welling up in his soul, his eyes screwed shut as thoughts of his brothers and sisters being slaughtered by the war party… or worse.

He opened his eyes, surprised at the sight that stood before him, no longer a cliff. He glanced behind him, seeing the valley he had been in the last time time he had looked.

He didn’t dwell on these thoughts, though, as he launched himself from the ground and ran, hoping to reach his village before they did.

Hunter slowed as he reached the outskirts of the forest that separated his village from the rest of the area, his heart stopping. Bodies littered the ground, as fires roared. Various men who did not belong to his tribe were visible stalking through the village, as bangs sounded in the distance.

He picked up his speed, letting off almost no noise as he covered the last bit of distance between him and his village, slamming into one of the men. He wasted no time in the bringing his hand down on the man’s head, destroying his skull. An axe dug itself into Hunter’s left shoulder, causing him to howl in pain as he used his right arm to shove the man who had stabbed him away and into a hut.

As the man stumbled, he ripped the axe from his shoulder and threw it at the man, catching him in the head and burying the axe into his skull.

Hunter caught the arm of a man who attempted to strike him with a knife, striking him with his fist, killing him.

The young man took an arrow to the chest as he stumbled back from the sudden pain. He looked up, watching a man wielding a bow loading another arrow.

He tore the arrow from his chest and charged at the bowman, slamming into him and dragging him to the ground. Before the bowman could do anything to fight back, Hunter stabbed the arrow in the man’s right eye, multiple times as blood splattered onto the young man, who roared in anger as he continued to stab the dead man.

He stabbed the man once more, leaving the arrow in place as he breathed heavily.

He had one thought on his mind.

Finding his mother.

He stumbled into the burning main village, to make his way to his hut. To his mother’s hut.

The smoke from the fires burned his eyes, but he pressed on as he defended himself from various attacks by the men attacking his village.

He reached his hut, only for his hope to drop.

It was nothing but flames and ash. The young man took a deep breath.

“Hunter!” His eyes widened as he recognized the voice.

He turned to see his mother through the smoke, waving her hands towards herself. “Come on, we need to go!”

Hunter started to jog to his mother, however, he was stopped when a bang sounded, causing him to jump and cover his ears in pain.

He looked up as ringing sounded in his ears, his mother was holding her chest, her hand clamped over something,

His heart stopped as he saw red trickle down her chest. His mother removed her hand from the spot on her chest, revealing a gaping hole. She collapsed.

“No!” Hunter bellowed as he ran to his mother, sliding to a stop near her. Sitting on his legs, he quickly pulled her into his lap, as blood soaked through animal hides covering her torso.

She coughed, blood coming out of her mouth.

“Oh, no, no, no, no.” Hunter panicked as he held her close, glancing around to see the source of the bang. Right behind where his mother had been standing, a few dozen feet, stood twelve oddly clothed men, one of them holding an odd looking cylinder with another cylinder sticking out from the bottom of it, they spoke among themselves.

“H-hunter.” The woman choked out, as more blood came from her mouth.

“Mom, mom. Everything’s going to be fine. Listen to me, everything’s going to be fine.” Hunter spoke, as he cradled her head in his lap, stroking her hair, the tears in his eyes no longer coming from the fire.

“It’s been so long since you called me that.” She spoke weakly, her eyes closed.

“I’m sorry mom, this is my fault. I knew about them, I thought I could deal with them. I should have moved us when I had the chance.”

“This isn’t your fault.” She spoke, her breath labored.

She raised her hand and cradled Hunter’s cheek. “Hunter, can you promise me something?”

Hunter pulled his mother closer, no care given to the blood soaking his legs. “Anything, mom. Anything.”

She took a deep breath, the pain overtaking her body. She opened her eyes and locked eyes with her son. “Find you father, he can help you. Those people, they’re eternal wanderers, just like he is.”

Her hand continued to lay on Hunter’s cheek for a few moments, as the woman gasped, Hunter watching as his mother took her final breath. Her hand went limp, falling from Hunter’s face and leaving blood behind.

Hunter lowered his head, his forehead meeting his mother’s.

“I promise, mom… I love you.” His words were silent to all but himself and his late mother.

He raised his head, his eyes filled with rage, hatred and death. He saw the man.

The man who had killed his mother.

Hunter gently removed his mother’s corpse from his lap and stood up to his full height.

An inhuman bellow roared from Hunter’s throat as he charged at the man, the cylinder firing once, putting a hole in his chest.

Still that would not stop him. He slammed into the man, dragging him to the ground. As Hunter straddled him, he saw his face.

His face scarred by decades of war, his eyes, green, the eyes of a murderer. His blonde hair short cut. It was a face burned into the mind of Hunter.

Hunter brought his fist down upon the man’s head, but it was caught by the man, who used his other hand to push Hunter off him.

Hunter rolled to recover from the launch, and then charged at the man once more, his eleven disciples stood by the side, making no move to aid him.

Hunter’s arm cocked back, the strike would have turned even a blue whale into a pasty mess.

The man caught it with his own and flipped the young man.

Hunter landed hard on his back and before he could recover, a boot was on his throat, keeping him down.

Still, Hunter was defiant as he wrapped his hands around the leg keeping him down and attempted to pull it off him.

A kick made contact with his head, as pain shot through his head.

“Don’t kill the fucker yet, we need to make sure it’s him.”

They spoke his language.

“I’ll kill you all.” He choked out. The boot on his throat merely pressed down harder, causing Hunter to choke out in pain.

“I don’t know why the fuck she wants a specific Human killed, but you know how pissy she gets when we don’t follow her orders to a T. And she said this one specifically has to die. Scan his eyes.” The man holding Hunter down stated.

One of the other eleven men knelt beside his head and held an odd device over him, with shot light into his eyes.

Partially out of defiance and partially because it was painful, Hunter screwed his eyes shut and continued to struggle against the boot on his throat.

“Come on, kid, this is going to be less painful if you cooperate with us.” The voice of the man who held him down spoke, though he continued to defy them, keeping his eyes closed.

Another kick connected with his head, the sudden and unexpected shock forced his eyes open, where to hands held his eyelids open.

He continued to struggle, kicking up dirt as he attempted to kick anything, and he renewed his efforts to lift the leg off him.

“Gotta give it to the kid, he’s feisty. He’s got a hole in his chest and he’s still fighting. Come on, hurry up and scan his eyes so we can get the hell off this shit-hole and go home. I want to get off this rock before the Imperium figures out we’re here.”

The odd device was once more hold over his head, as a beam of light was shot into his eyes. It held for a few seconds, until he heard a beeping. The man holding the device looked at it before nodding.

“It’s him.” The hands were removed from his eyes, allowing Hunter to blink once more, which he did so gladly.

The boot on his throat released the pressure a small amount, as the man pointed the odd cylinder at him Hunter.

“Sorry about this, kid, it’s nothing personal but we got orders. If it’s any consolation, you’ll get to see your mom again pretty soon.”

Hunter locked eyes with the murderer of his mother, his eyes raging with anger and death, as he stared into those green orbs.

“Your face,” Hunter growled. “I’ll remember it.”

The man gave no reply as he pulled the trigger on the cylinder.

Hunter’s hands went limp, releasing the man’s leg as his world turned to black.

Celestia opened her eyes with a gasp, her purple eyes meeting Luna’s blue eyes.

“That was...” Celestia breathed, as Luna nodded.

“It was a very intimate memory, one We had not intended to see when We went into the General’s dreamscape.”

“So “Hunter” was...” Once more, Luna nodded.

“Due to how minds work, the dream was translated to a language we understand. ‘Hunter’ is the translation of whatever his language’s name was for him.”

Celestia closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. “Luna.” She finally spoke.

“Yes, sister.”

Celestia opened her eyes, fixing Luna with a hard stare. “No matter what happens, show no one else this memory and do not inform General Jaeger we know about it, much less have the ability to transfer it. This already has been enough a breach of trust as is.”

Luna nodded in agreement. “I had no plans to, sister.”

Celestia nodded. “How long did that take?”

“It’s been twenty minutes.”

The Solar diarch sighed.

“Well, I am going to go to bed, Sister.”

“As shall We.” Luna spoke, enjoyment lacing through her voice, as she cuddled closer to her elder sister.

“What about the Thro-” Celestia was cut off by Luna.

“Delegated.” Celestia had no response to that line of answering, so she instead merely closed her eyes to meet the realm of dreams.

Author's Notes:

"But KaBar, Mother's Day was ye-"

Shut the hell up, I don't care.

Yeah, so I got halfway through the day yesterday when it suddenly occurred to me, "Hey! This would make a good Mother's Day chapter!" So I had to write it.

So here we see the defining moment. The moment that made Dante, Dante.

Again, as always, if you liked and favorited this story, please tell me why. If you disliked this story, please tell me why you disliked it. Thank you very much. I also enjoy criticism as it helps me to improve. So if you do downvote, please leave a comment letting me know why. Be it grammar, spelling, pacing, or you just fucking hate the character!