Hunter In Equestria Chapter 1: New Places

You slammed into the wall, hearing your Azure Rathalos platemail crack the ancient bricks of the kilometer tall tower. Recovering slowly from the heavy blow, you stood just in time to see the last person on your hunting team, a woman in Orange Espinas gear, be vaporized by a blood-red lightning strike. The glittering white dragon in front of you growled, having single-handedly eviscerated the larger than usual team.

 

Standard hunting teams are four people. For this one, the Hunter's Guild sent twenty.

 

All of them, save you, were dead or bleeding out.

 

You knew you had a rib or three cracked, but sheer adrenaline was pushing that pain to the wayside. Stooping down for just a moment to retrieve your glittering gold sword, Golden Eclipse, you charged forward.

 

If you were going down, this bastard was gonna feel it.

 

The White Fatalis growled in confusion, possibly assuming you had been killed too. It lashed out with electrically-infused claws, which you rolled under. Coming out of the roll, you turned your wrist and pulled the edge up, dragging the razor-sharp edge across the dragon's stomach. A blast of flame was the response from the weapon itself. It incinerated white scale and shell, allowing the weapon to bite in deeper.

 

The Fatalis reeled in pain, screeching and taking flight. You were knocked over by the wind pressure from the heavy beast, quickly standing back up and brandishing your shield.

 

"Get back down here, you son of a bitch!" You roared.

 

The dragon decided to ignore you, instead hovering high above to rain electric death down on your head. You sidestepped the first bolt of lightning out of pure luck, dove away from the second, and were nailed by the third. Thankfully, your armor was naturally insulated against electric attacks.

 

Still hurt like sin, though.

 

Slowly standing once more, muscles convulsing slightly from the errant electricity running through you, you took in your options.

 

One was to stand here like a chucklehead and get killed.

 

Another was to retreat and call this entire thing off, praying the dragon didn't hold grudges and hunt YOU down.

 

A third...

 

A man in heavy, grey Basarios plating was dead, leaning against a large crossbow-like weapon. A Heavy Bowgun, loaded with an explosive shot.

 

The third option was to end this here, now.

 

Saying a short prayer for the man, you grabbed his gun and took aim.

 

"Eat this, you bastard!"

 

A mighty *BOOM* echoed for miles as the Agnaktor gun launched its explosive payload, striking the dragon in the neck and detonating mightily a moment later. The Fatalis screeched and fell out of the air, landing on its neck with a thud.

 

It lie still, the wind blowing the ashes and dust away. You put the gun down, its ammunition spent already. You weren't sure if the man had more on him, and it was disrespectful to the dead to go through his pockets. You were a Hunter, not a Melynx.

 

Keeping your weapon drawn, you crept closer. You came less than half a meter of its chest, giving it an experimental kick. The White Fatalis didn't respond.

 

"I got you...hahaha..."

 

A tired, spent chuckle.

 

One more mark to add to your Hunter Journal...

 

You looked back at the ruined Towertop.

 

...Nineteen more names to add to The Fallen page.

 

A small shift, and your heart skipped a beat. You should have paid more attention. You turned in time for a claw to rake across your left shoulder, slashing apart the protective steel and scale...and rending your arm open.

 

Turning the pained scream into a pain-fueled roar, you spun on your heel to bring your blazing blade to bear on the Fatalis' head. The blade cleaved into the soft flesh of the dragon's face, and the blast of heated fury cooked its left eye and part of its tongue. It brought its claws to bear again, and you intercepted them with your shield, pushing them to the side and taking another slash at the beast's arms.

 

Golden scale and plate from your shield simply melted, leaving huge ugly gashes in the metal/scale hybrid protection. Tendons and ligaments simply ceased to be as your blade burned through them in turn, Fatalis' right arm hanging down uselessly. The tail lashed into your side, pitching you back into the wall. Your back once more hit the stone, and this time the pain was blinding.

 

You feebly reached into your pouch, fumbling for the restorative green fluids held in the ten bottles in the bag. Painkiller and healing accelerator all in one, the common term was simply: "Potion." Popping the lid on one, you downed it and immediately started feeling the effects.

 

Unfortunately, it was far too late. A large white spot was under you, growing more intense as the seconds ticked by. This is how you would die, it seemed. You laughed at the dragon, and the beast was literally glowing with rage. Red markings on its chest and what was left of its horns were pulsing, and it was huffing white smoke. It was also bleeding intensely, you doubted it would last more than half an hour.

 

"See you in Hell."

 

The bolt struck, and everything went black.

===

Relaxing with a good book was how one Twilight Sparkle was spending her day today. No rampages, no insanity from friends, no eldritch horrors...

 

Just her, and some Twilight Time in bed.

 

...there may or may not have been a small catnap in there too.

 

Of course, the alone time came in part due to the thunderstorm rolling through. This one was...odd, in that any attempt to disperse this apparently rogue storm was met with no success. Several pegasus were hit with red bolts of lightning, causing them to be pulled away and inspected for injuries.

 

Aside from some minor contact burns, they were fine.

 

A knock on the door got a huff from the mare, obviously unhappy about being torn away from her book.

 

"Down in a second!" She called, marking her page and trotting downstairs.

 

Opening the door showed a distraught and semi-cooked Rainbow Dash, looking equal parts annoyed and panicked.

 

"Oh, good, you're home!" The pegasus said, relieved.

 

"What's...going on?" The mare asked, looking at the rain-soaked and smoking Dash.

 

"The storm is what's going on! It's not natural, isn't there something you can do about it?"

 

Putting a hoof to her chin, the unicorn thought for a moment.

 

"Let me look, see if there's any storm related spells I can find."

 

She trotted back inside, looking around. The mare skimmed through a few books.

 

"Weather enhancement, weather enchantment...weather eradication!"

 

Looking it over, it seemed a simple enough spell.

 

"Alright Dash, let me try this one."

 

The mare stepped back out into the gale-storm, horn aglow. A grunt of exertion, and a wide beam covered the entire cloud system.

 

She waited.

 

The next bolt of lightning to make itself known stayed in the clouds, a bright white instead of red. Cheering to herself, the mare turned and smiled at Rainbow.

 

"And there we have it. Have fun!"

 

Twilight then pushed Rainbow Dash out and went upstairs to her warm bed and her book. A thud then echoed throughout the treebrary, from *inside*. That...was not part of the storm.

 

Was it Dash trying to play a prank? Twilight had figured Rainbow would have learned her lesson about scaring the unicorn. Last time, the pegasus had ended up on the business end of a stun spell, paralyzed for several hours.

 

A groan. Masculine, deep. Not Rainbow Dash. Horn alight once more, stun spell at the ready, she took a few tentative steps downstairs. The groan sounded again, and something smelled...off. Like ozone, mixed with something else that the unicorn couldn't place.

 

Spike wasn't here, he was keeping Rarity company during the storm...

 

The sounds were coming from the kitchen. She finished the quick jaunt down the stairs, horn alight. Twilight also lit a light spell, turning the intensity to roughly what Celestia's own sun would be. Coming around the corner, she saw...it.

 

A being was against her oven, bleeding all over her floor. The mare turned wrinkled her nose at both the scent and the huge pain in the flank it was going to be to get that up.

 

It was covered in deep-blue scales almost all the way around, aside from its torso and inner thighs. On those areas was a black metal that looked both flexible and protective. Whatever this was made of, it was decades more advanced than anything Equestria had, even Royal Guard armor was several orders of magnitude behind this.

 

Which begged the question: What in Celestia's name was powerful enough to put these deep gouges and holes in it?

 

In its hand was a golden, triangular sword. It pulsed calmly, an odd effect for a weapon. Perhaps it was enchanted? The being groaned again, then...slowly gestured for her.

 

A closer inspection of that curious sword would have to wait.

===

Your head hurt like hell. Still, that meant you were alive. You ached all over, and simply couldn't find the strength to actually move. Instead, a pained groan escaped your lips as you gave yourself a short physical rundown.

 

Legs were barely moving, arms were deadweight, your chest and face were bleeding...

 

Yep, you were a mess. You could still feel all of it though, so no extensive nerve damage.

 

...you hoped.

 

You'd probably recover completely...provided you didn't bleed out right now. You groaned again. Hopefully, someone was around to hear it. Your close-in, claustrophobic surroundings were definitely different from the wide open Tower roof. In addition, you could have sworn you were leaning against an oven.

 

Golden Falchion was still tight in your grip, dully pulsing in time with your heartbeats. The Gold Rathian materials were supposedly linked with the heart, and that showed strong whenever you wielded this particular weapon. The pulses were slow and steady, which was good.

 

Light was cast across your face, suddenly dilating your pupils and blinding you. You grunted, unable to shield your eyes. What stood there was...a miniature, purple Kirin.

 

Its horn was glowing light pink, and it looked confused...then saw you and backed up with a gasp. The light also died out in that moment. You started willing something, ANYTHING to move. Your left arm started first.

 

Moving your fingers, you beckoned the creature closer. It carefully crept up to you, nose wrinkling at the scent of your blood. You pointed at your pouch, and it seemed to understand, tilting its head to the side.

 

"Green...fluid..." You croaked out, and it narrowed its eyes...before understanding?

 

The pink glow started again, encasing your pouch and pulling the latch open with ease. What in the hell...?

 

The nine remaining bottles of restorative juice floated up, the mini-Kirin inspecting them. You held your left arm up and palm up as well. The thing was smarter than it looked, because it expertly and carefully dropped one single bottle into your grip. You popped the cork with your thumb, lifted the faceplate, and then downed the nasty yet soothing concoction.

 

A sigh left your lips, and the mini-Kirin sighed too. It sat down near you...then began to talk.

 

"Can you tell me who or what you are?" It asked in a calm, feminine voice.

 

You could still see the fear in her eyes, very carefully reigned in. Exhaustion from your wounds was taking over, leaving you unable to respond. Regardless of the fact you were still physically incapable of much more than grunting for the moment. Slowly, painfully, you shook your head no.

 

"I think I need to go get Fluttershy, she's better with animals..."

 

You glared at her at the word 'animal', but the Kirin ignored it. It looked you in the eyes, an impressive feat of bravery for something that had been utterly terrified moments ago.

 

"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and...how did you get in my kitchen? All of my doors are shut, and the windows aren't open either..."

 

You chose to simply tilt your helmeted head at "Twilight Sparkle", not able to answer her yourself. Sleep was looking so, so good right now. You couldn't sleep though. You had to get up, figure out where you were.

 

The mini-Kirin appeared to be debating something.

 

"You look...so terrible. I'm not sure if I *should* leave, you might die on me."

 

Not if you had any say. Thanks to that potion you just downed, you were starting to feel better. Several of your wounds had stopped bleeding almost immediately, though a few of the more shallow ones were still oozing crimson onto the floorboards. Your shoulder was messed up too, but it was still functional at least.

 

You were afraid for a moment that you had lost all motion in it. Seems that you lucked out again.

 

"I'm going to go get Fluttershy. Is that okay? She can help you."

 

You weren't sure who 'Fluttershy' was. Still, you weren't exactly going anywhere at the moment, what with your legs as busted up as they were. Against your better judgement, you nodded.

 

"Great! Sit right here, I'll be right back!"

 

A bright pink flash, and she was...gone. First Contact with a sentient species, and you met the one that cracked jokes at wounded people. Less than ten minutes here, and you were already so done with it all.

 

You needed to get your ass up, hobble out of here, and find the nearest Hunter's Guild outpost. Put in as quest completed, because there was no way that Fatalis was surviving its wounds. Then go on vacation.

 

A lengthy, well deserved vacation.

 

A few minutes passed in silence, the painkillers finally numbing you. You slowly stood, using the oven for balance and bumping your head on the low ceiling. Taking a few careful steps forward to test your balance, you strode towards the door.

 

You paused for a moment to admire the building you were in. It was a library, and huge too. There had to be at least a thousand books on these shelves, maybe more. You honestly wished you had time to stop and just read a few.

 

"Maybe next time." You said wistfully, heading towards the door.

 

It too was three-quarters the size you'd expect it to be, causing you to have to duck your head to leave. You stepped right into a rainstorm, complete with lightning and thunder. The lightning cracked, and you involuntarily jumped.

 

"Wait a damn minute..." You said to yourself.

 

You were a Hunter, since when did a little inclement weather stop you?

---

Not a soul was outside, which you presumed was due to the storm. That was fine, you didn't much feel like talking. You could have sworn you saw something in the clouds, but eventually determined it was your eyes playing tricks on you. Or an especially agile Remobra subspecies. One of the two.

 

You had made your way into a darkened forest, which admittedly was not a bright idea. The road had lead through here, and if there was a road, there was a Guild outpost to be found.

 

...Eventually.

 

Wild animals and birds made various noises until you passed by, which they then went quiet. When you left, they resumed their noises. Shaking your head, you noticed the road stopped in roughly fifteen meters, ripped up by foliage and trees.

 

Off to your left was a patch of bright blue flowers. Something in the back of your mind told you to avoid them at all cost. The only reason something would be that colorful and bright in a place like this?

 

It was toxic. Probably lethally so.

 

With your luck, the toxin would eat through your armor and then you.

 

You gave the flowers a wide berth, instead heading to the right. Approaching a clearing, you then noticed something.

 

It was silent.

 

You drew your weapon, the heated blade causing the air to ripple.

 

"Come out and I won't hurt you." You said firmly, knowing somehow that whatever was here wasn't smart enough to reply back.

 

A roar was the answer, and a strange beast leapt out of the treeline. It was a strange combination of a Teostra and Akura, with the main body and wings of the dragon and stinger of the scorpion. The stinger occasionally dripped with venom, and it looked angry.

 

It slowly prowled around you, and you were careful to keep it directly ahead of you. Looking it over, it wasn't an especially big creature. You had fought Arzuros that were bigger. It faked a lunge, and your response was to hold your almost-ruined shield up for a brief moment.

 

The beast did it again, and got the same response. Now you were baiting it. Make it think your response was the same each time, it would make a mistake sooner or later. Once more, and it finally lunged for real.

 

Ducking under the beast's body, you intercepted the stinger with your shield, then neatly cut its tail off with your flaming weapon. The wound was instantly cauterized in the blast of fire that followed, and it yelped as it inspected the damage. Deciding it wanted no more of you, it retreated back into the undergrowth.

 

"Pfft. Is that it?" You taunted as it ran away, sheathing your blade. You decided to collect a bit of its venom for research purposes once you got back to Guild territory. A quick squeeze of the stinger, and a good three milliliters of venom fell into a vial.

 

You put a cork on it and returned it to your bag. A bush rustled, and you drew your weapon again. Taking the offensive, you charged through the bush and rolled.

 

Coming to a stop, your weapon was mere inches from...decapitating Twilight Sparkle.

 

Whoops.

 

You huffed and sheathed the blade once more, turning away.

 

"I *thought* I saw you walk into here! Why aren't you back at the Library waiting for help?" She asked as soon as her heart wasn't in her throat.

 

"I feel better." You called over your shoulder, and she did a double take.

 

"You TALK!?"

 

"The feeling's mutual!" You said, still walking away.

 

A small flash of magenta in front of you, and the Kirin was in your face. You had heard of Kirin doing that as of late.

 

Annoying.

 

"Listen buster, you're going to go back to the library. Fluttershy's there waiting to patch you up."

 

"And if I don't?"

 

"I'm going to force you to."

 

"I'd love to see that happen." You said, crossing your arms.

 

Her horn lit up, and she threw...something at you. An orb of some kind, magenta in coloration. You ducked it, and she threw another. As you rolled away from this one, she sent a third your way.

 

No possible way to avoid it, you had to hope your armor was up to tanking Kirin-level power.

 

The magenta bolt hit...and did absolutely nothing. Didn't even leave a scorch mark on the Azure plating.

 

"H-hey, what!?" She cried in confusion, sending another your way. Now you were curious. You stood absolutely still, letting this one hit you dead on.

 

Nothing. The ball of energy washed over you like a wave of air, and that was that. Shrugging, you kept walking past her.

 

"There's nothing that way but a gorge and the ruined Everfree castle!" Twilight called, sounding frustrated beyond belief.

 

Huh?

 

"Everfree?"

 

"Yes, Everfree! We're in the middle of the Everfree forest, how did you NOT know that!?" The Kirin said with a stamp of her left hoof. "I'd like to leave before some predators get ideas about a nice, delectable unicorn in the middle of a dense, dark forest!"

 

"Predators? Like what?"

 

"Manticores, Timberwolves, various mobile carnivorous plants! The list goes on!" She said with a fair bit of panic.

 

"Fine, fine, little...pony." You said, not sure why the Kirin was calling itself a pony. "Lead on."

 

"Oh, NOW you listen. Fine, this way."

---

The trip back took about half the time as it did forwards. Apparently Twilight knew a few shortcuts you didn't. Go figure.

 

A butter yellow...winged horse was sitting in the library, going over a manual. A medical bag was on her side, obviously noted for the big medical cross on the side. She gasped when you walked in, wings flaring and a bright smile on her face.

 

"Oh my, you're a tall one!" She said in a soft yet excited tone. "Please, sit so we can tend to you!"

 

You strode over to a chair, sitting down. Slightly surprised it held your weight, you began to remove your armor. Straps were undone as you began removing the heavy thigh plating. You noted with some annoyance that the leather straps needed replacing. Two straps were burned away completely, others were damaged slightly.

 

The thigh plates hit the floor with a thud, and you started the process anew with the gauntlets and arm plating. Those too hit the floor, and you sighed as your skin could finally breathe.

 

"Now now, there's no need to be afraid of us." She said softly, creeping closer to you. You didn't give her a second look as you pulled your helmet off, setting it on the nearby table. Final step was your chestplate.

 

A little fiddling with the straps, and it neatly fell off and onto the floor. You sighed happily, glad the heavy armor was off.

 

"Feels good, doesn't it?" The yellow pony(?) said, landing with a serene smile. You nodded mutely.

 

Now that you were actually not at risk of dying, you could take mental notes on appearance.

 

Mini-Kirin: Purple coat, purple eyes, roughly one meter tall...

 

Strange tattoo-type star marking on her flank. Tri-colored mane, purple-light purple-pink, then back to purple.

 

Other horse: Yellow coat, bright blue eyes. Same height as the kirin, but with wings obviously designed for flight. Triple-butterfly tattoo on her flank, same color as her bright-pink mane.

 

"Yeah, I feel better now..." You said tentatively, not relaxing quite yet.

 

For all you knew, they were getting ready to rob you blind. Then again, they hadn't done anything threatening yet.

>Still...get you to lower your guard...? Nine Hells you were paranoid.

 

"Only thing I want right now...is some water." You said carefully.

 

Nothing wrong with water, right?

 

"Oh, of course! You sit right there mister, and don't make a move! Mama Fluttershy will be right back!" The yellow horse trotted over to the kitchen, out of sight for now.

 

You put a hand to your forehead, massaging your temples. Reaching down into your pack, you pulled out a small notebook. It was bound completely in Rathalos leather, giving the cover a dark-red hue. You noted you were on your last couple pages, which was unfortunate.

 

It was hellishly expensive to replace.

 

You fumbled through your bag for a quill and inkwell, groaning in displeasure when your quills were broken and the ink had been flash-dried inside the bottles from the lightning strikes.

 

"Gah."

 

"Do you need these?" Twilight asked. You looked over, and a quill with ink well was hovering over to you, coated in a magenta aura. Twilight Sparkle's horn was lit up in the same light, and she was slowly turning her head towards you.

 

"What are...how...?"

 

"Simple levitation spell." The Kirin replied, giving you an amused look. "Doesn't your species have something like this?"

 

"Spell...? Like, actual magic?" You asked incredulously, taking the quill and ink well.

 

"Yes, actual magic." She replied with a laugh.

 

You wrote your notes before you forgot, remembered the bolts she had slung at you. Was that magic too?

 

"Magic usage, danger potential predicted to be low."

 

You then took your time writing down the nineteen names from the botched Tower hunt, taking your time to get them right. Twilight watched you the entire time.

 

"'The Fallen'?" She asked, looking over your shoulder.

 

"People I've lost during hunts. This last one was the most costly." You replied simply.

 

She went slightly pale as you wrote name after name after name...

 

The flying one, Fluttershy, came back with the glass of water...somehow holding it in one hoof-type limb. You took it gratefully, downing the tall glass in a few short seconds. Setting the glass down, you wiped your mouth with the back of your arm.

 

"Ah, thank you. I needed that, really."

 

You gave them both a smile.

 

"Alright, I think we should introduce each other."

 

They both nodded eagerly, Twilight grabbing a quill and notepad in the same magenta aura.

 

"My name is Anonymous, I'm a human. I'm a Monster Hunter by trade, and one of the best ones in the Pokke and Loc Lac regions."

 

You gestured at Twilight.

 

"Your turn."

 

She sat the quill and pad down, before standing back up.

 

"I am Twilight Sparkle, a unicorn and personal protégé of Princess Celestia! I'm here on my own request to study friendship in all of its forms!"

 

'Studying friendship'? Really? You kept your face perfectly level, avoiding laughing in her face.

 

"Okay. Glad to meet you. Next?" You asked, looking at the yellow one.

 

"I'm Fluttershy. I'm a pegasus, and really, really love animals!" She said with a sunny smile. "When I heard you were hurt, I dropped everything so I could help a new animal...even though this storm is really scary..."

 

Thunder boomed, and the butter yellow pegasus vanished. Chattering of teeth came from under the table, and Fluttershy had herself curled up to comfort herself.

 

"Are...all pegasus like this?"

 

"No. Most of them are brash and arrogant." Twilight replied without any joking tone. She rolled her eyes. "You'll meet one later, when I introduce you to the rest of Ponyville."

 

"Introduce me?" You asked, incredulous. "I'm not staying here, girly. I have to leave, the Guild's waiting for a report on this hunt I was involved in!"

 

"Guild?"

 

"The Hunter's Guild. Rather large, tens of thousands of members. Only guild larger is the Merchant's Guild, and only just."

 

She looked at you blankly.

 

"We keep the skies, oceans, and land clear of wyverns and dragons?"

 

Still nothing, as the unicorn tilted her head.

 

"Ugh."

 

You pulled out your wallet with your ID, showing her the Guild's symbol.

 

"I've never seen anything even close to that." Twilight said with certainty. "In fact, what you're talking about...isn't in any Equestrian record."

 

"Equestrian? What?"

 

Looking around, you spotted a map.

 

"Can you pull that down so I can look?"

 

She obliged, curious. You looked the map over, arching an eyebrow.

 

"Yes, the map is slightly out of date. Cloudsdale has moved south a bit, thanks to wind currents."

 

"Wh..." was all you could say.

 

Nothing on the map was familiar. No town, no mountain range, no bodies of water...nothing. You began to hyperventilate and panic, exactly what you shouldn't do. You couldn't help it.

 

"I-I don't..."

 

"Don't what?"

 

"Nothing on this map is familiar!" You half-shouted, and Twilight reeled back in shock.

 

"W-what do you mean?"

 

"Where's Minegarde? Where's Pokke? Where's Loc Lac?!" You asked, voice getting louder on each question.

 

"I don't know!" Twilight cried, suddenly fearful for her life. She was looking for the nearest exit, while trying to keep an eye on you.

 

"I...I need to step out." You said a moment later, opening the door and standing just outside the library.

 

Rain pattered on your bare forehead, and your clothing was getting soaked. Your breathing went from fast and shallow to calm and deep over the next twenty minutes, as you found the center you were missing. You were somewhere you didn't belong, but it wasn't *inhospitable*.

 

The fact you weren't dead right now certainly said that much.

 

The hows and whys could be figured out later. For now, you needed to crash. Badly. Heaving a deep breath out, you stepped back inside.

 

"He's scared, Twilight. It's no mystery why he's acting this way!" Fluttershy said as you entered.

 

"Well...what do you suggest we do?"

 

"Find me a place to sleep?" You suggested, a yawn punctuating your need.

 

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. I'd offer a place at my home, but Angel doesn't like new visitors much." Fluttershy said with a small blush.

 

"Well, I could...clear space somewhere for him, I guess." Twilight said after a moment. "It's just awful short notice."

 

"Do you have a couch or something?"

 

"Right over there?" Twilight said, pointing a hoof at it. "I don't see..."

 

Small for a couch, but still large enough for you.

 

"I'll take it."

 

You plopped yourself onto it, and it was so soft and comfortable...

 

"I'm going to send a letter to Princess Celestia as soon as Spike gets back. I need...some advice, and possibly an ambassador."

 

Fluttershy found a blanket for you not long after you settled in, and you took it with a grateful 'thank you'.

 

A long, painful day deserves a long, peaceful rest. So that's exactly what you did.