Luna's Vengeful Protege

by Dr Bob

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

Hey everypony, welcome to my first fic. Please leave a review or at least rate it. If this chapter goes over well, I’ll continue writing. Otherwise I’ll just drop it. So, yeah, thanks again!

Chapter 1:

Hunter could hear the commotion outside. Ponies darted every which-way in a fear-driven flurry of hooves. The young pony hoisted his small frame onto the window sill above his bed. Never in his short life had he seen so much blood. It coated the cobblestone streets, flowing like crimson creeks from the corpses that littered the pathways. As the bodies piled up, Hunter wondered how much longer his father would be gone. He’d gone to look for the young colt’s mother, who’d been on her weekly shopping trip when the assault began.

Hunter climbed down from the window and tried to piece together what exactly was happening. The black colt recalled his father telling him something about the alicorn sisters starting a war against each other, but his young mind couldn’t remember why.

His pondering was cut short when a magical blast of energy leveled the front of his house. The noise was much louder now. Explosions, pain ridden shrieks, galloping hooves and the clang of cold, hard steel could be heard much more clearly now. At this point, the young earth pony decided it best to leave and find better shelter elsewhere.

He galloped across the street, his hooves throwing up a trail of crimson liquid as he dodged between the many pairs of legs occupying the street, and dove under an abandoned flower cart. He watched helplessly as a soldier hit the ground in front of him, splashing blood everywhere. The soldier’s lustrous white armor with a stunning gold trim seemed to lose much of its sheen as he lay in a puddle of the crimson.

Hunter cringed at the sight before him and ran again, albeit faster this time. He slid beneath a table outside what was left of his favorite café and watched as two groups of soldiers clashed. One group was wearing the same armor as the as the only other soldier Hunter had yet seen, white and gold. The other group was adorned in dark blue steel armor, trimmed by an even darker purple. Stars lined the shoulder and waist areas of the dark armor. The battle was fierce, but the ponies in white were out numbered and were slowly being cut down by swords, spears and magical attacks.

Hunter’s gaze turned skyward as he struggled to remove the blood and gore from his sight, but what he saw was much too similar. Pegasi impaled each other on sharpened steel weapons, the limp bodies of the fallen hitting the ground with solid thuds that seemed to reverberate into Hunter’s very soul. He couldn’t stand it anymore, he wanted out of this Celestia-forsaken place!

He rushed out of his hiding place and headed for the nearest way out of town. As he ran he came upon the town center. It was a large, rectangular section of cobbling, at least a hundred feet or so wide and a quarter mile long, or so he estimated. Best of all, it seemed to have escaped the devastation. There was no blood, no bodies piled up on the stone. He was planning on resting there for a few seconds, but that plan quickly changed when he saw his father appear on the other side of the open area with the limp body of the young one’s mother dangled over his shoulder.

Hunter’s mind went blank as he galloped as fast as he could towards the other side. As he neared the halfway point, a long, white leg blocked his path, forcing him to try to stop himself. As his momentum finally dissipated, he glanced up to see none other than Princess Celestia herself! “We’re all saved!” he thought to himself. His trance was only broken when a pale-blue bolt streaked past the Princess’ head. Hunter looked towards the other end of the area to see the other alicorn, Nightmare Moon, firing a flurry of magical bolts towards Celestia. And him.

As more bolts flew towards her, Celetstia began using her own magic to deflect them away. They flew in all directions, hitting buildings, trees and “DAAAAAAAD!” Hunter’s scream rang out as a deflected bolt hit his father square in the face and sent him flying. The dead bodies of both of the colt’s parents were now resting about 50 feet from where they had been.

Hunter tore off almost immediately; he had to see if they were okay. He was sent flying as another stray bolt slammed into the stone street mere inches from his left flank. His light body tumbled through the air helplessly, his ruby mane flapping lightly as he fell back to solid ground. The return hurt more than the launch though, as he felt the bones in his front legs shatter from the forceful impact. He cried out in pain and began to panic. He could see Celestia still standing a few feet from him, locked in a duel with her sister. He lightly called “Help me. Please.” His plea was only answered with a glance from the Princess of the sun, whose horn began to glow.

“Everyone!” she called out to her soldiers. “Pull back; we’re fighting a losing battle here!”

The crippled colt watched helplessly as White clad ponies of all types raced out of the town. He felt tears roll down his muzzle as Celestia glanced at him once more before taking to the sky herself. “She’s left me.” He thought. “The one pony that is supposed to care about everypony left me here to die…” The colt’s eyes began to close as the adrenaline that’d been keeping his battered body conscious wore off…

Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Hunter awoke mid-morning, the soothing ballads of the local birds serenading him as he climbed out of his bed and did a few quick stretches. The few possessions he had adorned the 2 shelves on the far side of the room, except for his cloak, which was draped over the footboard of his bed. His knife lay in its sheath on one shelf, the other held his saddlebags and coin pouch. He strutted over to the first and secured the sheath around his waist, the 8 inches of sharpened steel hadn’t felt blood on it in the 4 years it’d been since he’d last served on the front lines. Apparently, Princess Luna saw something special in him and took him under her wing. As he finished jostling the sheath into the most comfortable place, he recalled the dream from last night.

It’d been the same dream as usual, the dream he’d had every night for the 15 years since the events had unfolded. He looked out his window at saw the small handful of soldiers that remained in Luna’s army. The past few months had been especially brutal, thinning their numbers to no more than a hundred troops. He started to reminisce about the few months he’d spent working as a soldier. He didn’t like the killing at first, but it wasn’t like he had a choice. He owed his life to the alicorn of the night, since she dragged him to safety after watching her sister leave him for the buzzards.

He quickly returned to reality as a knock at the door rang through his small room. He waltzed over and opened the door, surprised to see Javelin there. The striking green stallion had been the princess’s chief guard for years, even before the war began. “The Princess wishes to speak with you.” He announced in his gruff voice.

Hunter nodded in acknowledgement, grabbed his cloak and stepped out of his room, closing the mahogany door behind him. He followed Javelin to Nightmare Moon’s private study. The two stallions entered and felt an air of unease. A stern voice from atop the staircase requested that Javelin leave the two for a moment. As soon as Javelin had left and closed the large double doors, the alicorn of the night appeared on the second floor. As she began striding down the stairs, Hunter queried “What could possibly be so important that you would tell me and not your most loyal guard?”

She merely replied “He is of no concern anymore. You’re the one that I need to speak to.” Hunter just gazed at her, a puzzled look plastered on his face, as she continued down the stairs. “We’re in trouble here.” She said grimly.

“What do you mean?”

“Celestia’s found us. She’s on her way here right now.”

“Oh c’mon, I’ve trained for this moment for years. I’m more than a match for her, add your power in and it’s just unfair.” He drew his knife and gave a quick stabbing motion “Just let me at her.”

“Not yet, you aren’t ready. You’ve learned much, but not enough.” Her soft voice echoed through the room.

“I’ve waited for this moment for 15 years!” He shouted. “I’m ready to drive my blade through her heart!”

“No you aren’t! She’s much too powerful! She’s coming here right now to banish me to the moon and we aren’t strong enough to stop her!” The room went silent for a few seconds as they both realized the predicament they were in. “But I’ve got a plan.” She said. “A new spell I’ve invented.” A mischievous smirk crossed her muzzle.

“And what could you possibly do to make us more powerful?” Hunter asked.

“Time. We need more time. The spell I’ve created puts the target in a state of suspended animation. I’ll return once I’ve served my sentence, and you’ll be in suspended animation waiting for me.”

“Sorry, but I’m not exactly keen on the idea of being frozen in place for a thousand years.”

“You want revenge don’t you?”

Hunter nodded.

“Then you need more training, and the only way to get that training in is to give us more time.”

“I guess I don’t have much of a choice then.”

As the last word passed Hunter’s lips, a large bell began bellowing out in its low tones. Shouts echoed through the halls, as well as from the outside. “She found us!” one particularly frightened guard shouted.

“We need to begin the spell now if we’re to have enough time!” The voice of the night boomed through the library.

The two sat in silence for a minute or two as the night goddess gathered almost every bit of magic she could. All the while the clashing and screaming drew nearer. “That should be enough.” The alicorn finally said.

“Goodbye for now.” Was all Nightmare Moon could think to say before blasting her pupil with the energy she had stock-piled. Hunter had begun to wave goodbye before being frozen in place, leaving him in a very awkward position. As Luna heard the enemy forces dispatch of the guards posted outside her door, she used what magic she had left to teleport Hunter to the only place she knew of that would remain safe for the duration of her banishment.

As Hunter vanished, the double doors burst forth. The queen of the night turned to face the glittering alicorn that stood before her. Then, the sun goddess spoke the last words her sister would hear for a very long time.

“Hello again, dear sister…”

Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Hunter collapsed as he began breathing once more, 1,000 years of absolutely nothing takes a toll on one’s body. The weird part was, he remembered it all. 1,000 years, like a fleeting dream on the edge of his consciousness, so far away that he wondered if his mind was simply filling the gap with guesses. Either way it was pretty uneventful, only so much happens in the basement of a castle in the darkest area of Everfree forest.

As he looked at his dank surroundings, mainly boxes of the alicorns’ old possessions, he sighted the sleek figure of the night-alicorn in front of him. She looked completely different though, smaller for one. Her coat had become lighter, if only slightly. Her once black coat, blacker than the infinite space she’d filled with stars long ago, had been replaced with a more calming, deep shade of blue. Her mane had “solidified,” or something like that, Hunter didn’t know of any one word to accurately describe it. Instead of being an ethereal mist, it was normal hair. It’s color also seemed to have lost some wickedness, a pale blue in place of a darker shade.

Hunter stood himself up and composed himself, having long since grown accustomed to the imposing presence of the princess. He felt every muscle in his body tense up as he used them for the first time in a millennium. His senses suffered the same deterioration, but he was back to normal after a few seconds.

“Well, I guess our last minute change of plans turned out alright.” The soft but strong voice of the Princess broke the deathly silence.

Hunter simply nodded his head in response.

“Now, we’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Celestia’s had a thousand years to gain power, while we were both stuck in time. Luckily, she didn’t train much.”

Hunter said nothing, but his gaze showed his understanding.

“We’ll start up your training again tomorrow. Considering how far out of the way this place is, I think you’d be fine staying here.”

Hunter used the pause in the Goddess’ speech to really start taking in his surroundings. First off, it was dark. Cobwebs hung in the corners of the basement, as well as between the many boxes and shelves that seemed to be strewn every which-way. The air was hung heavy with the moisture of the soil that was behind a few inch thick concrete wall, making breathing slightly harder than usual.

The stallion snapped back to attention at the sound of his Queen’s voice.

“So, why don’t I show you to your room, I’m sure you could use some extra sleep for tomorrow.”

“DODGE!”

The Princess’ shout rang through one of Hunter’s ears, the other was ringing from the blow her front left hoof had delivered to it. His head hurt a lot more than he thought it should have, he realized why when he noticed the magical mist surrounding her hoof dissipate, just as she teleported again.

Before her disappearance even registered in Hunter’s brain, she came at him from the right side. The blow struck him just below his ribcage, accompanied by Luna’s word of the day, “dodge.”

The hit sent Hunter tumbling, he redistributed his weight to catch himself mid-roll and remain standing. He watched the alicorn disappear again, and waited for the next attack…

After a few seconds, nothing had happened. Hunter knew it had to be some kind of mind trick, everything the Princess did had a purpose. He liked to call it the “method behind the madness.” He chuckled to himself a bit, but stopped as he sensed a presence behind him. Well, more like the immanence of a presence, like something would be there any moment. He then heard the booming voice of the Queen of Night, amplified to terrifying levels by her magic, “WHY. WON’T. YOU. DODGE?!”

Hunter rolled to his left as the princess crashed down where he’d been, leaving a small crater in the ground. She teleported once again as soon as the dust began to settle. She wasn’t gone long though, appearing just beside where Hunter had stopped. She greeted him with a magically-enhanced right hook, which he blocked by thrusting his left forearm under. He took his other arm, and placed his hoof atop hers. The leverage created by his position allowed him to easily flip her over himself, tossing her to the ground and throwing up more dust.

The princess seemed stunned for a moment, Hunter leaned down to lift her up but stopped when her eyes began to glow. Not good. He thought as she vanished again.

She reappeared across the clearing, perched on a large branch. Her horn glowed as brightly as her eyes as she launched a flurry of magic bolts towards her pupil. The stallion did everything he could to dodge them, jumping, sliding, spinning, diving, but one found its mark. The blast hit his left flank, he winced as…nothing happened. It was a blank.

Hunter turned to the tree and watched his queen laugh her flanks off, telling him how she wished he could’ve seen the look on his face.

“Oh wait,” She spoke between guffaws. “You can!”

Her horn glowed, conjuring an image of them as they were at the moment. Looking into the image of himself looking into the image of himself looking into the image… Well that’ll keep me confused for awhile. He thought as the image began to rewind through their “battle.” Luna stopped it perfectly, right at the beginning. She burst out in laughter again, her chortles even louder this time, as she saw the face again. Hunter quickly waved his front hooves through the image, causing it to disperse.

“Don’t you think we should get back to training?” He asked, trying to hide his embarrassment.

“No, I think that’ll do it for today. That was quite the display of agility.”

“Alright then.”

“Sorry about that laughter.” The princess said solemnly. “I just haven’t had fun in so long…”

“I know, neither of us have. But that’ll change once we take care of this.”

Luna nodded, her head hung low.

Hunter turned and headed back to the castle and his room. As he left the clearing he suddenly felt tired, realizing just how much energy he’d used up. He contemplated his dinner choices as he heard it again.

“DODGE!”

He rolled to the side, bounded upright, turned and assumed a fighting stance. His only response was more laughter from the princess, still laying on her branch. As he turned back towards the castle, he knew that word would haunt him for the rest of his days.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Months passed and Hunter’s training grew more rigorous, as well as hazardous. He’d often return to his room in the castle battered and bruised from the events of that day. It was working though, he could feel it. He could feel his muscles beginning to press themselves against the confines of his skin, his subconscious growing more dominant during combat and above all else, his self-doubt slipping away.

Everyday, he’d return from training more tired than the last. The only thing keeping him going was the body’s one true fuel, revenge. He was being driven by nothing but his own lust for vengeance, and would continue to be until the cold embrace of death took either him or Celestia…

The young stallion was finally pulled from his slumber by dawn’s dim light, signaling the start of another day of training. He sat up in his bed and began to actually wake up. A few moments passed before he slid off of his mattress and grabbed his knife before heading to the “kitchen.” He used the word loosely, as the entire castle was rather dilapidated. It was difficult to distinguish one room from another most of the time. Irregardless, he grabbed a quick breakfast of bread the princess had brought earlier hat week before finally leaving his abode.

He walked the short distance to the clearing that had seen more action in the past few months than most places would see in eons. As he strode in, he noticed the fact that his teacher wasn’t there. She’d usually be there long before him, planning some new way to try to kill him.

Hunter decided to take advantage of his free time, and think. He climbed one of the many large trees that encircled the clearing, using his knife to assist him. When he reached a large branch near the top, he stopped climbing and moved outwards. When he’d walked far enough out, he just sat down. Sat and stared at sky, lost in thought. He began to lose track of his surroundings, choosing to focus on his thoughts instead.

How long he stayed in that state, he didn’t know. He only knew that it ended when a certain blue alicorn landed on the branch just behind him, her saddlebag gently falling against her side.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said, her fatigue showing in her voice, “I was needed for some diplomatic affairs. At any rate, training is cancelled for now.”

“What?! Why?” A bit of anger could be heard in the question.

“Well, not so much cancelled as finished.” She spoke softly.

“Wait, you mean?”

“Yes, it’s time. Well almost.” The last sentence wasn’t what Hunter had expected to hear.

“Almost?”

“I have one last thing you need to do: Relax. I need you to walk to Canterlot, and use the time to relax and ready yourself mentally. This is the real deal, not some training dummy.” The night alicorn explained, her voice taking on a stern but soothing tone.

“Got it, relax and focus.”

“There’s one more thing.” The princess said as she began to open her saddle bag. She pulled out a knife very similar to Hunter’s, the sheathe was a deep blue bordered by pure silver. She handed it to Hunter, who immediately unsheathed it. He was stunned at how the polished blade reflected the morning light, almost making it look like it wasn’t reflecting it, but radiating it. He turned it over a few times, getting a feel for it. It was almost identical to the blade he’d had for most of his life, just much more brilliant.

“It’s made of an incredibly rare metal, the same that the royal guards’ armor is made of. It’s completely immune to magic of every type, even teleportation magic, hence why I flew today.” Her words broke Hunter out of his trance of awe.

“No armor to go with it?” He replied jokingly.

“When I said rare, I meant it. There’s only one mine for it in all of Equestria, and the armor is made only once it’s ordered to avoid wasting it.”

Hunter just nodded as he switched the new blade with the one he was already wearing.

“So, meet me at the castle gates tomorrow at about an hour after sunrise, I’ll have the guards let you through then.”

“Understood, see you then.” Hunter turned and jumped to the ground below, cushioning his landing perfectly. He strode off into the woods and watched his teacher teleport away, presumably to his destination…

Hunter walked out of the forest, greeted by sunlight and a slight breeze. Ahead of him stood a small town, beyond that was a mountain, with Canterlot atop it. He began walking towards the town, hoping to pass through unnoticed.

As he entered what he now knew was called “Ponyville,” Hunter’s memories came flooding back. The town was almost exactly like his foalhood home. He let his emotions escape him as a few tears rolled down his face, trying to clear his mind and above all, relax. He continued strolling through the town, eventually reaching the other side. What caught his attention there was the wide, slow-moving river that flowed down from the mountain.

He suddenly had an idea. Once the deed was done, he’d hide here. He could jump in the river and drift all the way down. The best part was how close it was, nopony would search for an assassin so close to their crime scene.

His mind made up, he continued on his way. The winding mountain road was the last obstacle in his journey, his target lay at the end.

Hunter made it to the end of the road just about sundown. He quickly found a meal, followed by an inn He paid for his one night stay and headed to his room. He knew he’d need to be well rested for the next day, or he’d end up resting for eternity. As he crawled into bed, images of the small town flashed through his mind. He hoped that by the same time tomorrow, he’d be in a place he could really, truly relax…

Hunter awoke like he would on any other day, dawn’s light spread throughout his rented room. He bolted upright as he remembered exactly what day it was. He climbed out of bed and limbered up, going through every stretch he knew. Once finished, he grabbed his cloak, knife and coin pouch before heading out to the streets. He bought a bagel from a cart near the inn, wolfing it down quickly. As soon as he was finished, he began the walk to the castle.

The ornate gate was being watched by two large, white Pegasus stallions clad in gold armor. Hunter walked forward, but was blocked as they unfolded their wings.

“State your business.” One spoke in a gruff voice.

Before Hunter could respond, another voice was heard from the other side. “Oh you’re here! I wasn’t expecting you so early.” Luna spoke from the other side of the gate.

“You know him?” The other guard asked.

“Of course, he’s here to help me with some political stuff.”

“Okay then…” The guard’s uncertainty was obvious, but they parted their wings and opened the gate all the same. As Hunter strode by, the guard couldn’t help but notice the bizarre image that adorned his flanks: the moon completely covering the sun in a spectacular solar eclipse…

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Well, there's part 4. Hope you enjoyed it. I plan on having the next chapter be the last, so stay tuned.

Also, any criticism is much appreciated. Thanks again for reading!

Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

A foreboding silence hung in the air as Luna and her protégé walked towards the castle interior. Once they entered through the large double doors of mahogany, they made a turn around a corner and made sure there was nopony around.

“Ready?” the princess queried.

Hunter nodded in response.

“Remember, I won’t be there to help you, I’ve got to make sure I’m not around or there’s bound to be suspicion.”

“I know, I’ll be fine.”

“One more thing, this may be the last time we meet. I can’t exactly be seen with my sister’s assassin.”

Hunter nodded again; the princess could’ve sworn she saw a glimmer of a tear in his eye. The two stood in silence for a few moments before Hunter spoke up.

“It’s time, I’m ready.”

Luna smiled at him and said “I know you are, now go do what you were destined to do.”

Hunter turned and galloped off in the direction of the throne room…

Celestia sat on her throne, her multi-colored mane flowing in the non-existent wind. The window behind her took up the entire wall; it was a painted-glass mural of her raising the sun. The river ran lazily beneath her perch, delivering water to her followers.

She had an early start, an early, boring start. The rest of the day was set to follow suit, but she had some time to herself before her next engagement. She suddenly heard what sounded like a scuffle outside the throne room doors, but it was quiet. Almost unnoticeable. It quickly ended, but just as she was about to return to her thoughts, the doors opened slowly.

Standing in the doorway was a young, black, earth pony stallion with a crimson mane. He stepped forward, allowing the alicorn a brief glimpse at her unconscious guards, but they were quickly obscured as their assailant closed the doors.

The princess stood up nonchalantly and spoke, “What brings you here my faithful subject?”

“Faithful? Not me. I know how you really are; I was there during the war. The way you ruthlessly slaughtered your own people in pursuit of your sister was immoral. Then, I find out that in the absence of your sibling, you rewrite the stories to paint her as the villain.” The look on Hunter’s face was of sheer rage. “You were supposed to care about everypony, but instead you’d leave them for dead. Well, this is one pony that you should have finished off.”

As the last sentence passed his lips, Hunter drew his blade. “You I won’t be so kind as to give you another chance.”

“You really expect me to remember you? All of my subjects mean nothing to me! I would kill them all, one-by-one, without a second thought if it would bring me more power.” The princess’ mouth drew out into an evil smirk as her horn began to glow, “Why not start with you?”

They both charged at each other, aiming for the throat. Just as they were about to meet, Celestia teleported behind him and unleashed a blast of energy. Hunter turned himself sideways, causing him to skid to a stop. He deftly raised his blade into the path of the attack, which deflected off the metal and into the ceiling. Hunter quickly dove towards his opponent, rolling in midair to land on his back. His momentum carried him under the princess, still stunned that her attack was deflected, where he used his hind legs to send her skyward.

The princess quickly snapped back to reality though, slowing her fall with her wings. As she landed, her eyes and horn began to glow a brilliant white. The energy was unleashed in a blinding flash of light that enveloped the room; Hunter tried to shield his eyes but was too late. He couldn’t see anything, just as the alicorn had planned. She teleported again, avoiding the sound caused by hoof and wing beats.

Hunter had only experienced the feeling once before, but he remembered it. It was the feeling of energy gathering. This time, it was behind him. He jumped to his left just as the princess reappeared, lunging towards him horn-first. He kicked at where he’d been a split-second before, striking his foe just behind her shoulder. The blow did nothing but anger the goddess.

She turned towards him and threw a left hook, just what he’d expected. The stallion ducked and countered with a right-hoofed uppercut to the jaw. The princess was stunned, giving Hunter’s vision enough time to recover.

By this time, the two had made quite a ruckus. They could both hear guards coming from both sides of the castle. Celestia quickly launched a spell at the doors. “Don’t want any interruptions, do we now?” She said, the same evil smirk retaking its position on her face.

She threw another punch with her left fore-hoof, Hunter ducked again, but this time brought his blade up. The metal sliced through the flesh of Celestia’s leg, leaving a red, liquid trail. The sun princess reeled back in pain, giving a slight shriek. Her expression quickly returned to its eerie calm though, as her horn glowed. The same glow wrapped around her new wound, causing it to fade away.

She charged once again, letting fly a flurry of hooves. Hunter dodged every one, while attempting to land his own blows. Both of them dodged and struck for several seconds before the princess won out, landing a spin kick across the stallion’s face. His body flew and hit the ground hard, causing him to drop his weapon. He began to reach for it, only to find extreme pain. He looked up and saw the princess with a hoof on his wrist. She gave her wicked grin and pressed down with all her might, the resounding crunch sent shivers through even her spine.

Hunter clenched his teeth, refusing to scream even as every nerve in his wrist did. He knew he needed to think of something. Quickly. His knife was out of reach and he was down to one good fore-leg, not to mention the fact that he was still pinned.

“You know,” The princess’ voice broke Hunter’s concentration. “I haven’t had this much fun in centuries. The only way this could be more fun is if I killed you with your own weapon.” She picked up his blade in her mouth and grinned wider than ever before, she looked completely psychotic now. Her grin only widened as she leaned closer to Hunter, bringing the blade to his neck. “Any last words?” She asked, making sure to make it sound as cliché as possible.

Hunter gave his own smirk and said, “Never drop your guard.”

The princess’ eyes widened as her victim punched her in the inner elbow, causing her to pull away the knife. She tried to pull away her whole body, but a hoof wrapped around her neck. The knife went flying as she began panicking.

Hunter put everything he had into the head-butt, hitting at the base of the princess’ horn. The tremendous force not only knocked her back, but broke her horn off. Dazed, she fell onto her back. Hunter jumped up, ignoring the pain in his wrist, and dove for the horn. He grabbed it between his hoofs, stood up, and drove it into the alicorn’s chest. Her body gave a jolt as blood began seeping from the wound. Soon, the blood was also coming from her mouth. She was unable to speak, only mumbling and gurgling through the crimson puddle in her mouth.

“You’re right, it is fun.” Hunter’s words trailed off, echoing in her mind as her eyes glossed over and she entered eternal darkness that not even her sun could brighten.

As Hunter stood over his victim, he noticed that banging at the doors. He could hear several guards throwing themselves against them in an attempt to save their ruler. The victor didn’t know how much longer the spell would last and didn’t want to find out; he walked over to his knife and hurled it into the large window. The crash certainly got the guards’ attention, causing more crashing from the doorway. Little did they know, the assassin was already gone, drifting away from Canterlot at a steady rate.

Many years had passed since that day, and Hunter sat in his living room with his mare. He’d just told her everything, that it had been him that killed the beloved Sun Princess. He trusted this mare; she was the only pony he’d ever told. He wasn’t sure what to expect from her. He just knew that she deserved to know the truth.

She was flabbergasted; words failed her as she broke down. Tears stained her cheeks as she ran out the door. Hunter decided it was better not to follow her; she needed to come to grips with it in her own.

Hunter waited for hours, watching the moon of their princess rise and begin its fall before succumbing to sleep. When he awoke, he found a note on his bedside table.

I’m sorry, but I can’t live with somepony that’s lived a life like yours. I can’t begin to comprehend the maelstrom of emotions that are going through your head, and I don’t want to. It’s too much for me, but I hope that someday you’ll find a mare that can understand what you’ve been through.

“So that’s it.” Hunter said to himself. She had been the only good thing he’d ever had. He should’ve known that she couldn’t possibly understand. Nopony could. He was a murderer, it was his destiny. What did he have left? He’d completely the one job assigned to him, and had nothing to show for it but pain. His life was one of sadness and loneliness.

He crumpled up the letter and began to pace back and forth. Is this all I’m meant for? He wondered. Have I just been Fate’s pawn? I have, I’ve been nothing but a pawn my whole life. Luna used me, and I thought it was of my own accord. I never wanted to kill anypony, I just wanted to ease the pain.

He climbed the ornate railing that ran around the balcony outside his bedroom. My whole purpose was to be used by others, and now that I’ve served that purpose, I’ve got nothing. I’m alone forever in a sea of emotions that nopony can comprehend, not even me. I just want to know why it was me. Why was I chosen to do this? I could’ve lived a happy life, grown up normal. I would have never had to worry about death, let alone deal it out.

Nopony will ever understand. That thought ran through his mind, again and again, as he took a single step forward and claimed one final life...