Hunter In Equestria: Chapter 14

A/N: Sorry for the wait, had a few issues crop up (Namely: Losing the entire chapter and having to retype it from my notes). Enjoy!

---

 

The next morning went as usual, you getting up and stretching, getting breakfast, same old song and dance you've been doing for years. That was one thing you liked about yourself: Didn't matter where you were, routine didn't change.

 

The rain had yet to stop, but it didn't concern you too much. There had been a few multi-day storms before, when the need was there. You finished breakfast and didn't give it another thought.

 

Twilight walked out of your room an hour later, mane an absolute mess.

 

"Mornin' sunshine!" You called. She gave you a tired glare before stepping into your bathroom and turning the shower on.

 

Chuckling, you went outside and towards your covered forge. You were gonna practice a bit more today, but you had to let it heat up first. The rain continued to batter the roof of the forge building, but never once leaked through. An hour later and the forge was ready for the next piece of steel.

 

As you watched the metal turn to a warm yellow, you pulled it out and began striking it with a hammer. The sound of metal on metal drowned out the storm above, and occupied you. Twilight had come out to watch, eagerly taking notes on what you were doing.

 

She flinched when sparks flew up on another hammer blow, said sparks striking you in the face. You jumped back by reflex, then flashed Twi a roguish grin and got back to it.

 

Roughly two hours later, you had a clean iron blade, ready for a hilt. Said hilt was waiting for the faux-leather that Rarity was making for you. After you got that, you could sharpen it on the grindstone you had sitting on the other side of the workshop.

 

You stood and stretched, working out a kink in your back from being bent over for so long. A tired grunt escaped you when your back popped.

 

"So..." Twilight started, breaking the silence. "Why are you doing that?"

 

"Doing what?" You asked in kind.

 

"Making weapons."

 

"Practice for tougher things."

 

"Like?"

 

"You know those wyverns that keep popping up? I can make weapons and armors out of their parts."

 

"Like the set of armor you use now?"

 

"Exactly." You grinned, glad she was getting it. "I might even try to make the Guard some sets."

 

"As of right now though," you continued, "I need to fix my own armor. The guards did an outright terrible job." You pointed out each poorly filled crack and seam that you were going to fix yourself...somehow. You'd figure it out, you were smart...or so you told yourself.

 

Several dozen scales and bits of shell from the Azure Rathalos you had downed a while back sat on a nearby table, and you had started the slow process of replacing the damaged blue scales on your chestplate. It was the only thing that truly needed serious repair, especially with the amount of punishment it took on an almost regular basis. You had let Twilight keep one scale for herself, and you saw it on her nightstand whenever you looked.

 

Twilight watched you for a bit longer, relaxing in the ambient heat of the area. The rain tapping on the roof was making her drowsy, but the repeated clanking of hammer meeting steel kept her firmly in the realm of the conscious.

 

You poured molten steel into a mold you had made, a new design you wanted to try. You had seen newer versions of Rathalos armor before, 'Gen Three' they called it, and you copied it to the best of your ability. Once the steel had cooled, you'd layer on the scale and shell. You left it to do just that, going to occupy yourself until that was ready.

 

Upon turning around, Twilight was nowhere to be seen. You shrugged, hammer work was probably giving her a headache. You stepped out into the rain to cool off a bit, the forge was making you sweat.

 

"Anon!" Rainbow called out from above. There was urgency in her voice.

 

"Hmm?" You turned your head skyward to see the pastel pegasus flying towards you, an uncharacteristic worried look covering her face. "What's wrong Dash?"

 

"There's a dragon trying to swat us out of the sky! It keeps attacking my weather crew, and won't listen to us when we try to reason with it!" She nearly shouted. "Can't you try to do something about it!? Fluttershy's too scared to come out in a thunderstorm, and you're the only other dragon expert around!"

 

"My armor isn't ready, Dash. I'd just get myself killed." You replied calmly.  "Once it's ready, I'll check it out."

 

"Fine, fine. I'm calling my team off, we've already lost one to it." Rainbow sighed, then sniffled. "It's...not going to be fun letting her parents know."

 

With that, the pegasus turned and left, leaving you to get back to your forge.

---

 

Roughly three hours had passed, with Twilight checking on you once or twice. She brought a glass of water each time, which you gladly downed.

 

"Anon, did Rainbow Dash talk to you about a certain...problem?" She asked on her second visit. "About a dragon?"

 

"She did." You replied, taking yet another break. Those wyverian smiths made it look easy, this was backbreaking work. "I told her I'd get to it when I finished my armor redesign." You arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

 

"The rain's gotten heavier. If it continues like it is, Ponyville might flood. The Equestrian Guard has already started evacuating high-risk areas, with the rest of Ponyville to follow if this doesn't let up." The unicorn sighed, then looked back at the steel grey sky.

 

The rain had indeed gotten noticeably heavier over the past hour, which spurred you to work faster than you really should be...hence your exhausted state at the moment. Your armor was coming together, you really only needed to layer on the scale and shell, then fasten it to the steel.

 

Equestrian steel was lighter than steel from your world, now that you thought about it. That worried you a bit. You weren't sure if it was going to hold up against an attack, but some testing from Golden Falchion had shown it was at least as strong as steel from your world...that is to say, your weapon met only minimal resistance before cleaving clean on through.

 

You had promptly melted it down and reforged it.

 

"Anon, I'm going to try and gather my friends. We're going to need help." Twilight said, and you arched an eyebrow in response.

 

"We?"

 

"I'm not letting you fight that thing alone, and just the two of us would have serious problems. I'm going to see if I can find anypony willing to come with us if the others won't."

 

"If you want to, Twi. Hurry back." You replied.

 

"I will."

 

A purple flash, and she was gone, leaving you alone with your crackling forge.

---

 

An hour passed, and you were simply...sitting in a chair, waiting. You were growing bored, using the tip of your boot to draw lines in the grass. You had a rough Rathian sketch going, which amused you. You were a better artist with your boot than your hands, it seemed.

 

An amethyst light, and Twilight stood in front of you, panting and sweating heavily. You arched an eyebrow.

 

"You alright?"

 

"Y-yeah, just...tired." She flashed you a small smile. "Nopony wanted to come with us, they all were either taking care of their siblings or busy."  

 

"And Fluttershy?"

 

"...hiding under her bed. She shrieked when the lightning flashed, that's how I found her."

 

"Figures. You gonna be okay?" You asked. "We can wait a bit if you need to recover."

 

"I could use a minute, yeah." The mare replied, thankful for the break. You waited until her breathing returned to normal, and she stopped sweating like she was in a sauna. She nodded at you. "Ready."

 

---

 

The walk to the mountain was roughly two hours, the rain and muddy conditions not helping at all. At least once Twilight had to teleport herself out of a sinkhole, and the mare was currently covered in mud from her shoulders on down.

 

"Looks good on ya Twi!" You called out over the howling wind. She glared at you, lighting her horn up and removing the dirt from her coat.

 

You were a mess too, mud covering your armor from the knees and down. You had stepped into the hole too, but had an easier time getting out than the soaked mare currently giving you a death stare. Water was running off of your weather-resistant armor in streams, but said water was only making you more chilly.

 

Even as insulated as you had made your plate mail, the chill of the rain cut through easily. You had to find cover, you two would likely freeze out here at this rate. Well, you would. Twilight, with her natural insulation and ability to just say "fuck this, I'm out", would probably leave if she got too cold.

 

The two of you made it to the base of the mountain, and a convenient path lead around it and to the peak. Halfway through was a rocky outcropping that provided shelter from the downpour, and that spurred you both on.

 

Out of the rain, you looked to set up a campfire. You were cold as hell, and you bet the unicorn was as well.

 

Spotting some plants that looked flammable, you gathered them into a small pile and ignited them with your sword. You slowly fed more in, and the campfire grew to comfortable proportions. You took your armor off and let it dry, basking in the heat the flames were putting off. Twilight was away from the fire, drying herself off with magic. After a few minutes, she came over and settled next to you.

 

You stroked her mane, and she gave a happy sigh almost by reflex. You practically had her trained to do that at this point, you realized. It wasn't a bad thing, exactly. She relaxed with you, both of you warming up and drying off by the fire.

 

"You know we can't stay here forever, right?" You asked, noticing the purple pony drifting off to sleep. She shook herself awake, and sighed.

 

"Yeah, I know."

 

"C'mon, we've got a dragon to remove."

 

Twilight stood and stretched, then started walking away. You let the fire burn itself out, dirt and stone being all that was around. Nothing flammable in reach, and you might be back soon enough to use it again.

 

You donned your armor again, before walking away from the dying campfire.

---

 

You both stepped back into the rain, to find a glittering white, serpentine dragon simply...floating above the ground. Amatsumagatsuchi.

 

It was currently asleep, the light snoozing sound the dragon was making being proof of that. You held up your hand and signaled for Twilight to hold back. She stayed under cover from the rain, watching you intently.

 

A light green pegasus lay dead near the elder beast, a chunk torn out of her neck. Either she had attacked it and been killed, or it decided to prey on the ponies here. That thought chilled your blood more than the rain possibly could.

 

You drew your sword and heard it hiss as the rain hit it and evaporated instantly. Slowly drawing closer to the slumbering beast, you drew the weapon back...and were immediately struck with a tail as the dragon lashed out, fully awake. You tumbled as you hit the ground, managing to roll onto your feet and charge back in. The dragon huffed at you, more annoyed than angry.

 

Your golden blade led the way, the heated edge causing the air to ripple as you slashed at Amatsu. It rose above you, evading your strike, before hitting you in the back and sending you sprawling to the ground. You growled in frustration, picking yourself out of the mud.

 

"Anon, move left!" Twilight shouted, and you immediately dove in that direction. A jet of water hit where you were a fraction of a second ago, gouging a hole in the ground and showering you with chunks of dirt and stone.

 

Twilight shouting out caused the beast to look around for her, but it couldn't find the pony without descending...which would put it in range of your sword. Instead, it fired yet another beam of water at you, which you avoided easily.

 

"Get down here!" You roared. Amatsu roared back at you, not lowering even an inch. It tried pelting you with water bolts, which were even more easily avoided than the beams. Glaring at the dragon, you picked up a rock shard and threw it. The wind sent it wildly off course and off the side of the mountain, to your great annoyance. "Twi, can you get this bastard down here?"

 

"I'll try!" She called back, before lighting her horn up. A few boulders wrenched themselves free from the ground, and Twilight hurled them at the beast, forcing it to evade. One managed to make a glancing blow to the dragon's neck, causing it to yelp in pain and lower a bit. It still wasn't anywhere close to melee range...until Twilight began forcing it down with the boulders. She slowly made swiping motions with the stones, forcing the dragon down further to the ground.

 

The lavender pony eventually tired out, but her job was done. You leaped at Amatsu, grabbing onto a whisker and swinging onto its back. Your rain-slick gauntlets failed to find purchase on the slippery scales, so you were satisfied with stabbing the dragon with Golden Falchion. The sound of sizzling flesh met your ears, followed instantly by a roar of pain. Amatsu bucked its back, launching you off of it and into the mud below.

 

You stood once again, taking a glance at Twilight. She was tired, sweat was pouring off of her face like a river. She had fallen over, resting her head on the cooler stone to cool down. You returned your attention to the Elder Dragon in front of you, who no longer considered you a pest, and now considered you a legitimate threat.

 

It struck out with a fin, which was intercepted by your shield. You slid as the strike forced you back, a sound like thunder echoing throughout the mountaintop. The storm god lashed out with its tail, bringing it in an upward motion and launching you skyward. You shouted in terror as your momentum eventually reversed itself and you came hurtling down towards the surface.

 

You blacked out on impact.

 

---

A roar woke you up.

 

"Five more minutes..." You groaned, head feeling like someone set a bomb off next to it. You stood up and staggered, your vision blurry and unclear. You felt nauseous...and your stomach agreed. You ripped your helmet off to vomit on the spot, noting the blood in the bile. Not a good sign...not that your addled mind was in any condition to recognize bodily damage right now.

 

Another roar...you looked around, swaying like a drunkard. Amatsu floated a fair distance away, waiting for you to make another threatening move. The glare it was shooting you was more than enough to convey the rage it was feeling, though why it was actually letting you stand up was beyond you. An honor code, maybe? Were Elder Dragons smart enough to recognize honor?

 

Or were you simply more delirious than you thought?

 

"Anonymous!" Twilight cried from her cover, not wanting to risk running across Amatsu's line of sight. The dragon ignored her shout, its eyes locked firmly to yours. "Thank Celestia you're awake!"

 

Your head was ringing, and Twilight's voice wasn't helping things. You spat the remainder of your stomach acid out of your mouth, before replacing your helmet and turning towards the dragon.

 

"I'm fine." You ground out, voice rough and gravelly. "Stay there."

 

You drew your sword and charged, causing the dragon to explode into motion. It flew towards you, then rose, skimming your helmet before you could react. You spun on your heel and slid in the mud, staggering due to your minor head injury. It fired a water beam at you as you recovered, and the attack hit home, forcing you back onto the ground and sliding you near the edge of the mountaintop.

 

There was a small nick in your chestplate from the sheer force of the attack, you were definitely gonna feel that in the morning. You stood and moved away from the edge, your luck saving you from yet another lethal fall. The dragon slashed a water beam across the ground, which you rolled away from. Seconds later, the ground exploded, showering you with sharp stones and mud.

 

"The cavalry has arrived!" A skyward voice called out. Both you and the serpentine Elder looked up, as a familiar cyan pegasus soared overhead and dropped an orange earth pony down. Twilight also rushed out from her cover, horn aglow and having fully recovered her stamina. Amatsu renewed his assault, firing watery projectiles at the agile pegasus. Rainbow deftly evaded every shot, before disappearing above the cloud layer.

 

"Howdy pard!" Applejack shouted, a wide, cocky grin on her face. "Ready t' give this dragon a whuppin'?"

 

You smiled broadly under your helmet.

 

"Glad you could finally make it!"

 

"Well shucks, me 'n Rainbow weren't about t' let ya fight this thing yerselves!" She crouched low, getting ready to charge. "Enough talkin', we got a fight!"

 

The orange mare rushed forward, as a raspberry glow enveloped her hooves. AJ quickly approached the inattentive dragon, before belting her magically charged hooves right into its back. The dragon roared in surprise and pain, whirling around and lashing out with a fin. Applejack ducked it and struck again, cracking scale and bruising the soft flesh beneath.

 

You approached as well, and brought your weapon down on one of the dragon's fins. The flaming blade split scale like silk, the burst of superheated air incinerating scale and flesh alike. Amatsu howled in pain, before quickly backing away from his assailants. The clouds suddenly changed hue, turning a sinister blood red. The rain and wind picked up in strength, and Amatsumagatsuchi howled in fury.

 

The dragon coiled himself...and the wind grew more intense. You were slowly being pulled towards it, which in turn caused you to try and run in the opposite direction. AJ and Twilight were pulled in almost instantly, their much lighter weights being their downfall. They, however, had an advantage you didn't.

 

Amatsu unleashed the twister it had been building up, soaring far above the battlefield. The two ponies were launched into the air, coated in Twilight's aura. There was a *snap*, and they were both on the ground, mostly unharmed. AJ's hat was gone, and she glared at the Storm God.

 

"That was mah hat! Yer gonna pay fer that!"

 

"IIIIINCOMINNNNNNG!" Rainbow shouted as a massive, prismatic shockwave split the sky. She slammed into the Elder Dragon at several times the speed of sound, bringing both of them hurtling towards the ground. She pulled up at the very last second...Amatsu did not.

 

Amatsu hit the ground with enough force to shatter the solid stone beneath, causing a miniature earthquake. The clouds quickly dispersed, the sun shining through for the first time in days. The cratered dragon wasn't moving, hell, it wasn't even breathing.

 

Rainbow Dash landed triumphantly, a smug grin splitting her muzzle.

 

"BUCK YEAH, how's THAT for air support!" She cheered, shaking the rainwater out of her coat.

 

Dash then looked over at the crater, realization dawning. "W-wait, I just took down a dragon!?"

 

A loud cheer was all you heard before she broke the sound barrier again, turning into a small speck in the sky in mere seconds.

 

You, meanwhile, sat down in the mud. Your head was pounding, but at the same time, you were grinning like an idiot. Your helmet came off and found a place in your lap, and you waited for the headache to pass. They always did, eventually.

 

You closed your eyes for a brief moment, leaning your head back...when a water drop hit you square in the forehead, followed shortly by another, and then one more. Your eyes snapped open and you quickly stood, replacing your helmet.

 

A groan came from the crater, and the storm clouds reformed in record times, a maelstrom even more powerful than before. The wounded dragon rose from the ground, snarling at your little rag-tag group and preparing another attack.

 

Your team evaded the water beam that followed, and the winds started picking up. Rainbow Dash was blown away, her light frame simply unable to handle the sheer force. Applejack and Twilight were losing ground to, and you were the only one rooted in place, due to you simply being a quarter ton of scale, metal, and flesh.

 

You marched over to and grabbed both ponies before they could completely lose their footing, sprinting for the cave entrance. You avoided another fin slash through sheer luck more than deliberate skill, and rounded the bend, out of the wind. You sat them down and spun on your heel, shouting "Stay here!" over your shoulder.

 

Amatsu struck at you the instant you left the cave, catching you across the head and sending you sprawling to the ground. Adrenaline allowed you to ignore the hit, and you jumped up faster than you should have been able. You lashed out with Golden Falchion, the blade meeting only minimal resistance before cleaving the beast's right horn off at the base.

 

Following through, the blade bit into the dragon's face. A blossom of flame scorched Amatsu's left eye, blinding it permanently on that side. It yelped and flinched in pain, before rising into the air and retreating. The storm followed it closely behind.

 

The rain stopped again, clouds finally dispersing for good this time. The edge of the storm was still visible in the distance, but it was quickly fading out of sight. Twilight and Applejack didn't look happy you forcibly sidelined them as they approached, and you cringed.

 

"What in the hay did ya do that for! We could've helped!" The orange mare was glaring at you with the intensity of the sun itself. "What kind of friends would we be if we let our 'uman get hurt?"

 

"Anon, are you TRYING to get yourself killed? You shouldn't be fighting things like this ALONE!" Twilight shouted, taking her turn to berate you. She, however, looked more hurt than angry. "Do you think we can't handle ourselves?"

 

"Sorry." You replied meekly. "Call me chivalrous, bu-"

 

"Ya mean stupid!" Applejack cut across. "If ya pull somethin' like that again, Ah'm gonna let it eat ya!"

 

The angry ponies trotted off afterwards, not even sparing you a backwards glance as they left you alone in the mud at the top of the mountain.

 

"Fuck."

 

Your head started spinning again, so you laid back in the swampy earth and rested.

---

 

"Hey, Anon!"

 

Groaning, you cracked your eyes back open and looked at the cyan pegasus demanding your attention.

 

"Where'd the girls go?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow at you.

 

"They left, probably going to Ponyville." You responded.

 

"Without you? Oh man, what did you do?"

 

"I drove the dragon off without them."

 

"Ha, I always knew you were a glory hog! How'd you do it?" Dash sat on the ground, ignoring the mud due to her excitement.

 

"I used my sword to cut one of his horns off." You gestured in the direction of the horn, which was laying on the ground. "After that, I partially blinded it by burning one of its eyes out." The pegasus winced, but grinned all the same.

 

"Wow, that sucks for him! Guess he knows better than to mess with us now, huh?!"

 

"Yeah, he does." You replied with a bored tone. Her excitement was way too much to handle right now, especially with the minor concussion you were fighting off. "Dash, can I ask you to take that horn to my workshop? I've got an idea for later."

 

"Sure!"

 

The winged pony grabbed it in her mouth, gave you a cheeky salute, and blasted off, soaring in the wrong direction before abruptly changing course. You shook your head in amusement, glad it was finally quiet.

---

 

"Oh man, did you see when I floored that dragon!? I was all like "Incoming!" and he was all 'Oh no Rainbow Dash, don't hit me! You're too awesome for me to handle!'"

 

The pegasus was flitting around you as you walked to Ponyville, animatedly reenacting her part in the fight...For the fifth time in a span of twenty minutes. Each time it grew slightly more outlandish, and your lack of rebuttal only seemed to encourage her.

 

"Yeah." You replied. She ignored your tone, only hearing that you were still listening.

 

"Yeah, and then I said "You're goin' down man!" and BOOM, Sonic Rainboom in his face!"

 

"Mmhm." Was your deadpan response.

 

You arrived at Ponyville's borders a moment later, to a crowd of cheering ponies and Pinkie leading the pack, a banner reading "Congratulations!" stretched across two light poles. You arched an eyebrow at the pink pony.

 

"I didn't have a "Thank you for saving us from drowning at the hooves of a storm controlling dragon" banner on hand, hehe!"

 

The crowd swarmed you and lifted you up, carrying you into the town hall. There was no fighting it, so you simply let them.

 

The interior was lined with dark blue and silver streamers, and all sorts of food and drink were on a table stretching from one end of the building to the other. A massive balloon shaped like you was floating around, and you wondered just how and where Pinkie had found that...if she had found it at all. She might have even made it, for all you knew.

 

You had no idea how she managed to set this all up so fast. Then again, it was Pinkie. She had some form of magic that not a soul present could explain.

 

"Hay Anon?" Applejack started, approaching you from behind. "Ah'm sorry, Ah shouldn'tve blown up at ya. Ah just get frustrated when ponies don't take the help their friends offer." She wasn't looking directly at you, and she was avoiding eye contact.

 

"It's fine, AJ. I was being an idiot. You're right, I could have been killed." You replied, grinning sheepishly. "Let's not focus on that though, we've got a celebration to enjoy!" A laugh, then you looked around a bit, not seeing your favorite mare. "Hey, have you seen Twilight?"

 

"Last I saw was her holin' herself up in her Library."

 

"Thanks AJ. I'll be back in a bit." You smiled and walked out of your party, heading for the Treebrary. You ignored Pinkie's almost frustrated "Awwww..."

 

You reached the library shortly after leaving, and tried to enter. The door held fast, locked tight. You reached into your pocket for the key you had grabbed on the way back, inserting it to the lock and unlocking the deadbolt.

 

You pushed on the door...and the door refused to open.

 

"W-what?" You asked yourself, confused. "Twi? You there?"

 

A bright, amethyst flash came through the cracks in the door, followed by a loud gasp and a thud.

 

"Twi? Hey, are you alright?"

 

No response.

 

"Dammit Twilight, this isn't funny!" Silence was the answer. "I'm gonna break the door down if you don't answer!"

 

After another few seconds, you backed up and rammed the door. It flung open, no longer held shut by magic. Your momentum carried you into the center of the library, where you tripped over the couch and soared over it, ending up on your back and on the floor.

 

It was here you noticed two things.

 

One: There was no longer a pony here.

 

Two: Instead, a human woman with Twilight's hair and horn was laying unconscious only a few feet from you. She was breathing only slightly, and was completely naked. Your worry and flat out curiosity outweighed any devious thoughts you had, so you picked her up and laid her on the couch.

 

You shut the door and waited for the unico-no, human, to wake up. Twilight had a LOT of explaining to do.