Hunter stepped through the town eyeing every sentient he walked past. Everyone was afraid of him. This would normally be fine if this were any other situation. But this isn't alright. He had to earn their trust. He couldn't just be the guard and soldier. He had to be a diplomat as well. He stopped and looked at three ponies standing near a fountain. He looked towards them and saw the fear in their eyes. He nervously raised his hand. This worked with that Ditsy Do character, so… Hunter confidently waved his hand toward the three. They in return jumped into the fountain to hide. Hunter sighed and lowered his hand. Nevermind… I'll work on it. Hunter, despite his failure, finished his march to the library. It was a large tree. A tree is a house. Hunter shrugged. Why not? Hunter stepped inside to find Twilight and Spike waiting.
"Welcome to Ponyville Library!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Also," Spike added, "Royal House of Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Spike pulled out a party horn and blew it. Hunter simply stood there.
"Terrific." Hunter walked over to Twilight and stood at attention. "Ma'am. The Republic has given me the honor of protecting you until the Republic arrives. I've also been tasked with protecting the Equestrian Civilization as a whole, however I can." Hunter then kneeled. "CT-6547. Nickname: Hunter. Ready to protect you." Twilight winced. She hated ceremony. She hated it before she became a Princess. She practiced it for Princess Celestia, but she didn't want anything to do with it. Her friends at least put in an effort to treat Twilight like an equal. For situations like this take her out of the fantasy of life before. She sighed and pointed a hoof at Hunter.
"You may rise, Hunter." Hunter got up. "BUT! You don't need to keep up royal decorum around me? Okay? I'm no different than you." Hunter stared blankly at her.
"You're a quadrupedal creature with mystic powers, the ability to fly, and a royal Princess to throne. I am a soldier grown for war and will die because of war. How are we not so different ma'am?" Twilight struggled for an answer. Hunter answering her like this kind of threw her off.
"You both can talk and walk!" Spike suggested. Hunter and Twilight looked at one another and then back at Spike. Hunter shrugged while Twilight smiled at Spike.
"I apologize, Princes-" Hunter was stopped by Twilight who gave a most frustrated groan.
"I apologize, Twilight" he rectified. "I'm new to this. I know the simple version of it. Speak in hollow terms and fill them with proper action." He kneeled down, but not in the royal sense. He held out his hand. "I'll protect you and do everything I can to help. I promise." Twilight smiled and smacked Hunter's hand. Hunter looked at his hand. "Or, just reject my peace offering. Good start." Twilight's eyes widened as she gasped.
"No! That's how we agree to things!" Hunter shook his head.
"Oh! That's what that was? I'm used to hand shakes." Twilight and Hunter looked at their limbs. Completely different.
"We'll work on it." Twilight chuckled as Hunter got up. "So how will this work?"
"Tomorrow, I'll go to my ship and set up a security system for the library. Therefore you won't need me beside you at all times." Spike crossed his arms.
"I thought you'd protect her?"
"I will" Hunter replied. "But I can't invade anyone's privacy. I'm sure me standing beside Twilight at all times would cause a lot of pressure for her and others." Twilight nodded in agreement. "For tonight, I'll stand guard by your door."
"Don't you need sleep too?" Twilight asked. Hunter shook his head.
"Only when it's necessary. I can go for a while without needing sleep." Hunter tapped his chest. "It's how I was built." Spike chuckled a bit.
"It sounds like you're a toaster or something." Twilight quickly shushed Spike, Hunter only shrugged.
"I was grown in a lab. I guess I am no different from a kitchen appliance." Hunter looked around the library. "It's quite a collection you have around here, Twilight. What information do you have in this library." Twilight smiled.
"We have non-fiction, fiction, historical text, romance, manuals, and pretty much everything you could ever want or need to know in Equestria." Hunter nodded. He looked down at Spike who was having trouble keeping his eyes open.
"You may want some sleep, friend." Spike shook his head to stay awake.
"But I'm not tired! I can stay awake." Twilight chuckled, lifted Spike up with her magic and yawned.
"Sleep isn't a bad idea, Hunter. Let's go Spike." Twilight made her way up the stairs, followed by Hunter who had pulled his blaster out. Twilight was about to enter her room, when she stopped. "Oh!" She exclaimed. "Let me show you your room." She used her magic to lay Spike down into his bed and wrapped him in his covers. He yawned and decided to argue later. Sleep was at hand. She made her way down the stairs, followed by Hunter and then down towards the basement.
She opened the door to reveal a room with more books, but also a simple bed with a wooden frame, headboard, a desk, and a nightstand. Hunter looked it over.
"Well?" Twilight asked. "Give it a try." She smiled. Hunter looked at the bed and sat down at the foot of it. He remained silent for a while. Twilight looked worried. "Is it alright?" Hunter's head shot up.
"No, no!" He waved his hands back and forth. "It's just- I've never had a bed like this before." Hunter patted the covers. If he hadn't had his gloves on, he could feel the softness in his hands. Clones had cots. They were fine for the soldier that was always on duty, but they wouldn't even hold a candle to a bed like this. He got up and walked over to Twilight. "Thank you, Twilight." Twilight smiled and led Hunter back up the stairs to her room.
"So, are you going to stay up guarding me the entire night?" Hunter looked back out at the town. It was silent for now, but he didn't know if another attack would come. Things can change at a moments notice. He looked back at Twilight.
"That's the idea, Twilight. Don't worry, you'll be safe." Twilight smiled, and went off to sleep. Hunter went down to the first floor of the library and readied his gun. His armor had been chafed, scratched, and scarred from all the action today. He would have to get the armor repaired. Hunter looked around the library at the different books. Different colors, different shapes, and different sizes with different content inside. Nothing like being a Clone. He looked at his gun, and holstered it. If any danger were to come, he'd be ready. He decided to do something productive, and learn.
How am I going to read? This is a whole new language. Hunter then looked at the titles. He understood them. Quite easily actually. That blast from Twilight's horn! Hunter nodded and went to the historical section of the library. He picked up several books and sat himself down to learn. The first one he picked up was the basic history of Equestria. Three tribes, Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies, joined together to form Equestria. They quickly fell under attack from all sorts of menaces, until they were saved by two powerful ponies. Celestia and Luna. He read about all their exploits, not being sure if any of them were embellished or not. With the recent sights he has seen, it's a wonder he's still sane. He then read the legend of the, "Mare in the Moon." This was after Celestia and Luna took over. Celestia ruled the day, while Luna ruled the night. Luna, jealous of all the attention her sister got, staged a coup d'etat against Celestia. One thing was striking him as peculiar through all this. The dates suggested this happened a long time ago. It was then, he saw the actual dates. All of this took place well over a thousand years ago. That can't be right. They look so young. He continued reading. Celestia banished Luna to the planet's moon. She must have stayed there for a long time. Hunter continued reading on the history of the land and towns, until he felt his eyes go heavy. That's funny… I don't usually get this tired…. Before Hunter even realized it, he fell asleep in his chair. Not realizing something mystical was afoot.
!
"CT-6547! We need more support fire!" Hunter shook his head. It felt like he just woke up. And yet- "6547! Get your butt moving!" Hunter stared with wide eyes at the sight before him. It was a simulation during his days in basic. He was with his squad, simulating a street battle. There were four other Clones besides him, all of them wearing training armor. One was packing a training mini gun, his name was "Stomper." Another was packing a sniper rifle and keeping his distance. His name was "Feral." The one leading the group was wielding a plain old blaster. His name is "Nos." Short for "Nostromo", naming himself after a famous ship. The final Clone was using dual pistols, acting like a hotshot. His name was, "Springs." Hunter was crouching in a makeshift foxhole, with the objective of support. "6547!" Nos screamed. Hunter shook his head.
"YES SIR!" Hunter aimed his gun at his targets. Battle droids. He suppressed his targets, making sure they didn't make a move on his fellow troopers. Feral then picked off the droids that couldn't move, while Stomper came around and mopped up the rest. A loud dong rang throughout the course when the last droid was eliminated. The four Clones got together and congratulated one another. Hunter was still making his way over to them, when they decided to leave the course. He remembered this day. It was the final test before he became a full fledged trooper. He raised a hand and was ready to call out to them.
"So." Hunter stopped and looked behind him. It was Princess Luna. "This is where you grew up?" Hunter looked back towards his comrades. They had left already. He turned around.
"What's going on here, ma'am? Where are we?" Luna chuckled.
"Besides controlling the moon and other astral bodies, I also go into pony's dreams to help them." She looked at the course full of destroyed droids. "I see we are in your past." Hunter looked around the course, feeling the walls. It was nostalgic. But not in a good way. "Were you always this lonely?" Hunter sighed.
"Ma'am. You're violating my head and looking into Republic secrets. This could be viewed as aggression." Luna laughed.
"I know you're a soldier who trained to be a soldier. This will tip the balance in your conflict, I'm sure."
"Please, ma'am. If you put me here, let me out. I'm supposed to be guarding, Princess Twilight Sparkle." Luna placed a hoof on Hunter's shoulder.
"You will wake up soon. But first I'd like to get to know the one that would be guarding my friend." She removed her hoof and took Hunter's helmet off with her magic to inspect it. "So, where you always lonely?" Hunter frowned, knowing she wouldn't stop until she had an answer.
"I was misplaced." Hunter sat down on the ground, remembering everything he had went through. "Clones are grown in little tanks until they're grown up enough to walk. Somewhere along the way, the programming they gave me went wrong. So they had to keep me away from the others." Luna tilted her head. "They said I would give the others independant thought. So they took away mine. Trained me hard, just to get rid of it. Eventually, it stuck." Hunter stood up and looked at his hands. "They put me in late. I hardly ever socialized with anyone." Luna looked sad.
"You had no friends?" Hunter shook his head.
"I didn't need friends. I had a duty to perform. No time for that." Luna patted Hunter on the back.
"I'm sorry. That's terrible." Hunter sighed. "What, 'independant thoughts', did you have?" Hunter stared at the ground.
"The futility of life. I was born to fight in a war and die. That's all my life is." Hunter clenched his fists, feeling anger rise up.
"That's a horrible life to live. No one should go through it." Hunter shot up.
"And who else will?! Shall they make a child fight in a war? Should they make that, Dinky kid fight?!" Luna stepped forward.
"Calm down, Hunter. I am your friend." Her words, tied with a mystic element, seemed to calm down Hunter. He held his head with his hands.
"I'm sorry your highness. I- I didn't mean-" Luna held a hoof up.
"You never had a chance to vent. I get it. I didn't have that either when-" Luna stopped. She looked away dejectedly. Hunter looked up.
"When you did that coup?" Luna heard Hunter. He knew.
"When did you learn about that?"
"I was reading historical text. You fought against your sister?" Luna nodded. "Why?"
"To put it simply? I was… jealous." Hunter frowned.
"Jealous?" Luna sighed.
"When you rule over a kingdom that's fast asleep and they cannot appreciate anything you do, it caused a lot of problems for me. I sank into a bad darkness. I became, 'Nightmare Moon'." Hunter nodded.
"She banished you to your planet's moon. How long were you there?"
"A thousand years. The time passed for me rather slowly." Luna sat down. "I understand if you have misgivings. I committed treason. How could I ever be trusted again? How-"
"I don't care." Luna spun around.
"Pardon?" Hunter stood there, with a slight smile.
"You paid for your crime right? And you have done everything in your power to make your subjects' lives improve, correct?" Luna nodded.
"I have tried very hard to make up for my crimes. I've done everything I could-"
"Then there isn't a problem. The justice system has done its part." Hunter held out his hand. "It's always a gift, to have someone like you who cares, in the Republic." Luna smiled and held her hoof at. Hoof and hand touched.
"Thank you, Hunter." Luna brought her hoof back. "I better get you awake. Don't want to have Twilight see you sleeping on the job." Hunter chuckled.
"That would do a number on my reputation." He closed his eyes as the world around him dissolved. He felt much happier. More content. "Thank you, Princess Luna." Luna laughed.
"Please my friend, it's just Luna." The world around him disappeared in a flash of light.
!
"Luna…" Hunter opened his eyes slowly. Looking around the library, it was as he left it. He looked out the window, it was just before dawn. He took the books he had read and placed them back in their corresponding sections. He stood at attention, gun unholstered. "6547. Hunter. Ready to begin my duties for the day."
