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Twilight Sparkle had spent the entire night with her friends and with the people of Ponyville, speaking of one thing and one thing alone: how to deal with the Cosmo Sapien that had landed in Equestria. How to contend with this hunter from beyond the stars. How to defeat the Huntsman that had fought Celestia and Luna to a standstill.

Could they, possibly, wear him out like Celestia and Luna had, given enough time? Perhaps...but doubtful. After all, the two had fought against him for days and they'd been in their prime whilst he was young and inexperienced. Now HE was in their prime. Could they ask the two matriarchs to do this on their own once more?

POSSIBLE...with age came wisdom. They'd gained considerable experience and powers, perhaps they could last longer, wear him down...make him bleed. Yes, yes, they could possibly do it...

But then again, if they failed, all of Equestria would lose their beloved monarchs. Could the Elements of Harmony really forgive themselves if they'd told Celestia and Luna to go through with a plan that only succeeded in getting them killed?

Then again, that was just one possibility. They had friends in so many places...Discord, Force of Chaos and Disharmony. Surely he could do something...couldn't he? Then again, this was a living galaxy they were fighting....whatever Discord planned to do might be moot. Could Zecora's special Zebra magics have some kind of solution? Or perhaps a trip to the Griffon Empire to the far North would yield a solution, for the Griffon race had tactics and skills quite different from ponies, even, it was rumored, a different brand of magic, just like how the minotaur race had fascinating types of alternate magic. Could an appeal to the Griffon's new empress be the solution?

Or, perhaps, as Spike had suggested...the dragons. SOME of them weren't completely unreasonable...and others, if they heard about an alien hunter from beyond the stars would JUMP at the chance to fight this fascinating new foe. Machismo pumped through dragon blood like liquid fire...

But before they tried that, Fluttershy wanted to try something. Something Twilight was fairly bucking sure would not work, but...oh well. She knocked on the door of the diner the next day, slowly opening up the door. Sure enough, the Huntsman was nonchalantly pouring himself what was unmistakably a cup of hot coffee, whistling cheerily as his horned head bounced back and forth, tapping a foot as he turned to look upon the soft face of Fluttershy.

"Miss Fluttershy. What a pleasant surprise." His ethereal, slightly echoing voice remarked as he bowed his head a bit, sipping from the mug of hot chocolate he had as he walked out from behind the diner's kitchen counter, resting his arms upon the cash register and cheerily smiling at the pink-haired pony. "However can I help you?"

Fluttershy's soft, lilting voice slowly rose out from her mouth as she cleared her throat, looking nervously at his stomach. Thankfully, there wasn't any...bulge...left over from when he'd-she shuddered, thinking about Blueblood's shocked face as he'd been snatched up so easily. "I, um, that is, I, uh..."

"Spit it out." The Huntsman remarked. "Which reminds me..."

He held up a hand, hacking slightly, a bit of yellow flair flopping out onto the floor as he cringed. "Sorry. Hairball."

"Please just leave!" She finally managed to get out. "PLEASE. Don't hurt anyone else. Please just go away, far away, and don't ever come back. I KNOW you need to eat...to eat people. Not just animals, but people, Big Mac, Applebloom, they told us about it, that you need that energy people give off to survive. I...I get you need to gobble up...gobble up people. But..." She quivered slightly, her body shivering as he stood up, putting the mug of hot chocolate down on the pale, faded top of the cash register. "Can't you...I don't know, I mean...can't you at the very least try NOT eating people? Or...only go after really bad, BAD people?"

"Do you know how long I can last without eating someone? A month at the most." The Huntsman admitted as he put a clawed hand on his chest, sighing slightly, pale blue eyes closing. "Because if I don't eat anyone after that...living, sentient beings with tantric energy...I get more and more feral. Desperate. And then I start to starve and die and my body begins to go. If I was just an ordinary being, I'd gladly let myself perish if it meant keeping innocents safe." He told her mournfully. "But I'm a Cosmo Sapien. I am a living galaxy. I have...billions of others within me to think about. Why should they all die just because I start feeling guilty?" He asked of Fluttershy. "They shouldn't have to be sacrificed."

"But it's not right to sacrifice others either..." Fluttershy mumbled, hanging her head, looking as though she wished to cry. "It's so...mean."

"Fluttershy..." The Huntsman said, his tone becoming more gentle and soft as he carefully walked around the cashier stand to her, kneeling by her, tenderly lifting up her head to make her look into his eyes, cyan into icy blue. "How many terrible people do you think are in your world? Maybe...one out of every hundred? One out of a thousand?" He asked her. "Terrible people are the exception, not the rule, to life. I've learned that very quickly. It isn't like there's a planet full entirely of murderers and bunny rapists." He added, glancing over her shoulder, Fluttershy's pet rabbit Angel holding up a small sign that read "I Will Bury You" in hastily scratched letters, one fist shaking furiously as he sat outside the diner on a flower box. "If I COULD just eat awful people, monstrous people who just like hurting others, I WOULD. It's just...it's not easy as you might think to find prey such as that. And more often than not, they're really all cowards...not even remotely a challenge. My species LIVES for that...the challenge, the thrill, the hunt. It's practically in our blood."

He stood up and turned away from her, covering his face with one hand, sighing. "If I'd been here just a few months ago, I would have gladly dealt with your "Tirek" problem for you, and I'd probably have been quite well fed for at least a month, but...the people in your jails are just overwhelmingly the occasional thief or violent drunk...not a challenge, not a threat, not a meal. Not even much of a snack."

"Just because something is convenient, doesn't mean it's right." Fluttershy muttered as she headed for the kitchen, deciding to pour HERSELF some hot cocoa as she lifted the pot up, pouring some contents into another mug, casting a glare over at the Huntsman's direction. "You could try looking harder...and that way you wouldn't have to hurt innocent people."

"So you want me to delay my feeding for a potential meal later...rather than a certain one I could get right now?" He asked of her, raising a nonexistent eyebrow up. "I'm sorry. Honestly. But I can't wait that long." He admitted. "I'm willing to give all of you a few more days thanks to the meal I just enjoyed. But in three days, I'll choose whom I'm hunting...and if you don't succeed in harming me, making me bleed, truly HURTING me, then..." He trailed off.

Fluttershy sipped her hot cocoa, taking in a deep breath for a moment before the Huntsman headed over to a nearby table and absentmindedly twirled a single claw on the top, biting into his lip as Fluttershy got an idea. "Could you...tell me about your people? You said to us you were looking for your sister, you'd told the Princesses you were the only one left. Why is that? That is...if you don't mind me asking?" She wanted to know with a nervous gulp as the Huntsman smiled wistfully, his eyes filling with faint memory as he glanced up and out the window, speaking softly...thoughtfully...

Slowly he made his way across barren desert, wrapping his arms around his chest and shuddering as he struggled to keep his sobs contained.

"It had been fifteen weeks. Fifteen weeks without food. Fifteen weeks since...since everything had gone straight down the tubes and my race had gone extinct."

The chill of the wind cut into him, digging its claws in deep into his skull as he moaned in a mixture of pain and despair, his parent's final insistences ringing in his head, bouncing back and forth. He couldn't take much more of this...

"I was so hungry...but there were no animals around to hunt. And...no people. It was a rather foolish way of living. My people were hunters through and through, Fluttershy. We'd go from planet to planet and look for challenges and food. As you know, if any of the natives managed to actually really hurt us, we'd teach them all we knew and we'd leave.

"But that couldn't have made you that popular. I doubt you lost that often, Mr. Huntsman."

"No, we didn't. And eventually a great and powerful racehad enough. The Seraphi came. They sealed us away on our own planet. Destroyed any ability we had to get off unless somebody on the OUTSIDE took pity on us and came, but...we'd made so many enemies that..."

"So what happened?"

It had all gone downhill so fast. Food became scarce, and then nonexistent. Mothers fought with their children. Fathers squabbled with their sons. Families were torn apart over what little scraps of meat remained and...and then came the implosion of law and order on the planet. The tribal governments collapsed. His people were skilled and intelligent only in SOME areas. When it came to growing food...cultivating it...they were sadly lacking.

There had always been rumors of secret bunkers loaded up with caches of "well-won mementos"...of earned rewards after successful hunts on other planets, but...there weren't any bunkers. People had searched and searched and his mother and father had said nobody had ever found a scrap of meat. So they hunted down what few animals remained on the planet...

And...and then when no animals remained...

"Some people like to make jokes on how they live off their parents. When...when I say that I'm NOT joking."

"I'm so sorry..."

"It's not your fault. My parents had to teach me how to cut and carve through bone and flesh. Through...through THEIR flesh. All to keep me alive. The last of the hunters...I HAD to live. I couldn't let their deaths be in vain!"

"How did you survive for so long?"

"Well...it was a stroke of luck, really..."

He couldn't believe it when he finally reached the mountains...in an annoyed, angry moment he had slammed his fist in frustration against a mountainside...and it had collapsed outward, giving way to a now partially-hidden bunker. Pale blue eyes bugging out, he'd dug and dug his way through the rocky remains about him, his claws tearing the door off it's hinges, eyes alit with joy as he looked upon the large boxes of cans inside of the room.

Food. FOOD! Canned food, of course...canned food from another world, by the looks of it. He could barely read the language on the big metal boxes inside of the bunker, but he knew the images on the sides of the can were food. He licked his lips, his tongue tapping his fangs and grinned as he ripped the top of the nearest can open, glancing down at the contents. Fruit. Fruit! He popped the greenish/pink slices into his mouth.

Mmmmm. Juicy and sweet, he swished it about in his mouth, drinking in every drop of moisture and savoring the delightful feel of it as it went down his throat. He downed every single slice and licked the can's insides clean as he reached for another can, ripping IT'S top open with a single claw, licking his lips again. Vegetables, evidently. Slightly tart, but filling, with a faint crunch as he hungrily chewed into them, grabbing for another can...

"It wasn't like meat, but...still very enjoyable."

"Do you...have to swallow them whole? I know you did it to me, but...it would really hurt if you had digested me."

"Well, when we swallow prey whole, that's the proper feeding for my species. I remember the first time my father demonstrated it against...well, your kind would say it's similar to a rabbit. He had me place my head against his stomach so I could feel and hear what the "pooka" was experiencing. I was...worried for it. I didn't want such a cute little thing to suffer, but...it didn't struggle or cry out. it was too tired, too worn, and it didn't want to fight back. There was little point.

"That sounds cruel."

"My father talked about how his kind fed upon people as well in this manner, but...they didn't suffer when they were gently broken down within our bellies. The process is very pleasurable and comfortable. But he told me that when I had eaten my meals, when they laid within my belly's pit, I...I should speak to my prey. Comfort them."

"Why? If you're just going to eat them-"

"Because whilst it may have meant little to us, we knew it meant everything to our prey. It would have been cruel otherwise. And I had no idea how soon I'd end up meeting someone else...someone that wasn't one of my own kind...someone who forced me to do something I'd never wanted to do..."

"What happened?"

"I opened up a can, thinking it was more food, and..."

...

...

...

..."This is fucking SICK." The Huntsman muttered as he looked down at what had crawled out of the can he'd dropped to the ground, eyes bugged out wide, mouth hanging open, shuddering in disgust. "What...sick...depraved..."

"Hi! I'm Maddy. And you?" The tiny little humanoid WOMAN that had crawled out of the can he'd just opened remarked cheerily, smiling warmly at him with soft green eyes, some freckles on her face as she walked towards him, this...odd THING barely even half a foot tall, her black locks flicking back and forth over her shoulder as she walked towards his head and looked up at him.

"...er...I'm the Huntsman now. I had to leave my old name behind since my people are all gone. No point in my real name..."

"I can't just call ya HUNTSMAN, can I?"

"...My nickname was "Nebby"." He muttered, his horned head looking down at this face, this earnest, honest face. "This is...I need to just...just hold on." He said, slowly getting up and rubbing his eyes, shaking his horned head back and forth. "Let me see if I can understand this, you're...SENTIENT FOOD?! They...they stuck people in a can on your planet for others to eat?!"

"Yeah, that's how they did things." Maddy said with a shrug, looking up at this strange face, those pale blue eyes, a face of one with definite standards which could not be easily doubted. "We Women in a Can all share a collective consciousness. That way we know how to best appeal in taste and preparation for different classes, genders, species...everybody shares what they remember. None of us were ever eaten by one of YOU before. You're a very interesting looking alien!" She admitted, rubbing his black body, the tiny little dots in his form blinking a bit. "They look like...stars in the night sky."

"They ARE stars. My species are living galaxies." The Huntsman admitted with a nod as he carefully lowered his palm down and helped her up, looking her over. "You're so small..." He murmured softly. "You said your name was Maddy?"

"Yes. We're based off the personality of our originator. Being made into a template for food means you go into a lab every month and take tests, it's good money so a lot of people are fine with being templates for "Vore in a Can"." Maddy admitted with a shrug.

"But...you're people." The Huntsman murmured. "I can't eat a person. If you're capable of debating why you can't be eaten, you shouldn't be EATEN! That's...that's not right!"

"We've had other people tell us that too." Maddy admitted as she looked up at the Huntsman, seeing the concern on his almost ethereal face, a sad glint coming to her eyes before she sighed. "Well, uh...would you, perhaps, like to tell me a little about yourself and your kind?"

"My species are known as "The Hunting Party"." He said, sitting down on a full, box, glancing up and out of the exit. "We were sealed off from the rest of the galaxy by beings even more powerful than us. I'm sure they...they wanted to be KIND." He mumbled, hanging his head slightly, looking like he wanted to cry, his voice slightly breaking. "That-that they just wanted us to find a different way, to...to th-think about what we'd done all these years but...we ate up all the animals, then...then we turned on each other just to survive."

"I'm so sorry." Maddy admitted gently as he held her to his chest and she then comfortingly rubbed it, feeling his body. "Mmmmm. You feel soft and warm. Like...like satin that's been left out in the summer sun." She added with a small smile. "You're a nice person, "Nebby". I can tell."

"Thank you." He admitted with a nod. "Would you like something to eat?" He asked of her. "There's plenty of fruit cans here." The horned Huntsman inquired, pulling out a small can and cracking it open with a single claw. He carefully pulled out a slice of the sweet fruit he'd eaten before and gave it to her. She flopped down on his palm onto her back with a THWOOF before munching away on it, eagerly biting into it.

"Mmmmmmm. This is good." She admitted, happily enjoying the slice of fruit as he held her in his palms.

"I don't have anyone else here." He admitted. "Could you, perhaps...keep me company?" He asked of her.

"I don't have that long a shelf life." She nervously murmured out, glancing back up at him. "I...I won't last for more than a week." Maddy mumbled. "The people that made me didn't...didn't want their customers just buying one of us and...and getting close, never buying another. They made us to not last that long so people would keep buying. They weren't in the business of making PETS..." Maddy finished. "I'm really sorry."

The Huntsman looked like he wanted to cry, his eyes brimming up with the makings of tears. He couldn't believe it, not...just when he'd found someone...

"It's alright." Maddy whispered, resting her head against his chest. "You're a nice person. I won't mind."

"I can't hurt you. You're an innocent. I don't want to be like my parents. Even though they only fed when necessary, I...I don't want to take ANY lives. I don't care if I'll die." Nebby murmured to her. "I didn't ASK to be born like this..."

"It won't be so bad to be one with you." Maddy told him comfortingly.

"I admit, my kind doesn't just "digest" live meals. We like to...well, "absorb"." He admitted nervously. "What we do is we will take our prey and swallow them whole, that's what my father showed. And we'll carefully recycle normal prey's body to help fuel the many, many worlds within us. He said that their deaths ensured the continued survival of millions, but...it feels wrong to sacrifice innocent lives just to keep other lives alive. Why should WE get to pick and choose who lives and dies?" He asked. "That seems mean. How would some family felt if I had to tell them I needed to eat their son because I didn't wanna die of hunger?" The Huntsman mumbled.

"And "absorbing"? How does that work?" Maddy asked.

"Well...dad never really explained that. He said it was something I had to "feel", and practice. But...never really got the chance. Haven't found any other animals or...people. Not until you." He muttered, looking down at her. "...Maddy. I don't want to hurt you." He said, carefully lifting her up and licking her clean as carefully as he could, holding her to his chest in his palm.

"I know. I'm...I'm sorry. I really am." Maddy whispered back. "...let's get some sleep." She asked. "I'm...kind of tired."

"Alright." He told her, getting off the crate and heading to the back of the bunker, lying up against some pillows someone had brought in with a bunch of blankets, wrapping one over himself whilst she slept down on one nearby. "Sleep tight, Maddy." He murmured softly to her. "Sweet dreams."

...

...

...

... "Maddy was...my first friend." The Huntsman murmured softly, putting a hand on his chest as Fluttershy looked into his eyes, and...saw tears. True tears which he wiped away on his arm. "And my...my first m...my first meal. I didn't want to hurt her. To feel her shape lose form and...and to know that someone so nice and sweet had to die just so I and all within me could live. Good people like that don't deserve that, they..." He bit into his lip. "...but I realized I had no choice. Sometimes...you don't get to choose. Sometimes you're just dealt an awful hand, and you have to play it...and keep playing, hoping that eventually you'll catch a break and do some good."

Fluttershy then did something she didn't think she could have brought herself to do...inching over to him and gently reaching out, putting a hand on his arm as he turned to look at her, her eyes mournful as she shook her head.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered. "You seem nice. For all you've done and...and what you have to do, you really do seem nice. I wish I could help you. I WANT there to be something I can do...not something I HAVE to do."

He smiled appreciatively at her, giving her a nod as she left the diner, the door shutting behind her with a SWISH as Angel hopped down the road after her, Neh-Buh-Loh the Cosmo Sapien resting his hands in his lap, head bowed as he cringed, his voice quiet and contemplative.

"But what if there's nothing?..."

...

...

...

... "He can be reached?" Twilight Sparkle murmured softly, resting her head on her hooves, brow furrowed as she and the rest of her friends sat around the circular table in the castle, brow furrowed. "...he's clearly suffering from genuine survivor's guilt. Near-crippling guilt."

"So if we can't hit his head...we could hit his heart?" Spike asked, scratching his head as the others all looked around at each other, Fluttershy nodding slightly.

"Good on you for finding that out, Fluttershy! Really smart." Rainbow Dash said cheerily, patting Fluttershy on her back, cringing, her arm STILL not fully healed as Fluttershy nervously blushed.

"Thank you." She shyly murmured, biting her lip...

Not entirely willing to admit that...looking into his eyes, seeing his pain, seeing his suffering, seeing him bear his soul...she'd realized something.

She had truly felt for him. More than just pity. More than just sympathy. Looking into the eyes of the person who was willing and able to eat her and her friends alive, she had felt something spark inside her.

And it felt very much like love.