Hunter In Equestria: Chapter 6

You woke (what you assumed to be) early the next morning, as is usual for you. Twilight was still deeply sleeping, snoring lightly. Her mane was an absolute wreck, and a bit of drool was on her pillow. You chuckled, preserving this memory in a special place in your mind. You liked to call it the 'blackmail zone', but you never actually had to use it.

 

You carefully slid out of bed, your left arm numb where the pony had it pinned. A few quick shakes and the feeling came back to it, so you weren't too concerned. Twilight stirred a bit when you left, but stayed asleep. Spike was gone, you assumed at Rarity's to help her with some task or another. Dragon would take any chance he got to fawn over her, you would never understand why. To each their own, you suppose.

 

Walking into the kitchen, you pulled out a pan or two and some batter. Pancakes, why not?

--

 

You remembered why you didn't cook so much. It wasn't that you were *bad* at it, you just weren't *great* at it. You had slightly burned a few of them, and then had difficulty prying them off the pan. Naturally, you had forgotten to coat the pan in oil. One had managed to get flung onto the ceiling, where it still was, even after fifteen minutes.

 

You heard Twilight yawn and get out of bed when the smell of food finally hit her, and her hoofbeats told you just how close she was.

 

"Uh, Anon...?"

 

Uh oh.

 

"Why is there a pancake on the ceiling...?"

 

"Well, you see...physics happened." You said with a small, nervous laugh.

 

"Uh huh." Twilight's horn lit up, and she pried the errant flapjack off. It then was thrown outside like a disc, where several birds promptly and quickly tore it apart. It was actually kinda brutal now that you thought about it.

 

A few minutes later, the last pancake was done. The last few had been just right, so those naturally went to Twilight. You decided to take the brunt of your cooking skills at their worst. Piling the four singed pancakes onto a plate, you took them over to the table where Twilight was already eating. She was making content noises as she dug in, a smile on her face. She thought for a moment, then floated syrup over to the table from one of the cabinets. No matter how long you had lived there, you still never remembered exactly what was in each cabinet.

 

Twilight put a small amount on hers. Yours, however, needed to be drowned in the stuff for the burnt taste to be suppressed. The lavender pony suppressed a laugh when your flapjacks ended up floating in a sea of syrup. You gave her a small glare (which only made her laugh harder), before digging in yourself.

 

Despite being burnt...not bad Anon. You really outdid yourself on the torched batter, bravo.

 

Breakfast was finished shortly afterwards, you and Twilight piling the dishes into the sink. She left a note for Spike, then turned to you.

 

"So, any plans today?" She asked, still smiling. You thought for a moment.

 

"Well, I still have to start picking out my furniture. Rarity told me she wouldn't do anything interior-wise until I had something to match it with, so I figured I better start getting stuff." You replied, then thought again.

 

"Hmm. Might make another trip into Everfree, see what I can scrounge up for sale. Pinkie asked me to pull some Poison Joke for some reason, so I'll definitely be wearing gloves for that. Then burning said gloves after...and avoiding her for a few weeks."

 

Going completely off track, you asked a different question. "The fillies have school today, right?" The lack of a calender was really killing you, that was another thing you'd have to pick up. Twilight nodded.

 

"Yes, why?"

 

"It hasn't started yet, so I figured I'd pick the fillies up today. Wanna join me?" You grinned at Twilight, and she adopted a nervous smile. She didn't quite adore them, what with all the trouble they caused on occasion. Most recently, they had burned a tree down...along with part of your incomplete house.

 

Cutie Mark Crusader Fire Fighters indeed. More like arsonists... Both you and Twilight had to work double to make sure said fire didn't burn the entire forest down. Rainbow Dash had to bring in an emergency rain cloud or three to finally put it out. Fluttershy had been keeping the fillies away from the fire they started, trying to calm them down.

 

You were all a little...ticked, to put it lightly. Aside from Fluttershy, naturally. You had never seen that pegasus even slightly angry. She must have been one of those "quiet ones" your mom told you to never piss off.

 

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle got hell from their sisters (and brother in Applebloom's case), and Scootaloo got it from Rainbow. You hadn't seen them for a week after that little incident, and any time they saw you or Twilight after that, they nervously went the other way. Guess they were afraid the two of you were gonna chew them out too.

 

It had been three weeks since then, and while you weren't quite ready to let it go entirely, you *had* forgiven them. You knew what it was like to be over-eager, it was why you were a Hunter in the first place. Still didn't excuse them burning your kitchen down, but eh. Shit happens, especially around them.

 

A thud sounded out front, followed by an "Ow..."

 

Mail's here.

 

You opened the door to find the grey coated, wall-eyed pegasus picking up her mail, as was customary. You helped her with some of it, placing it in her bag.

 

"Thanks Muffin!" She said with a grin and a happy flap of her wings, before taking off and repeating the process at the next house. You shook your head, and Twilight followed you out. She locked the Library behind you (technically still before opening time), and the two of you started on towards Sweet Apple Acres.

--

 

On the way, the two of you had seen Scootaloo walking along the street. She tried to avoid the two of you, until she realized she was caught when you waved her over. Head down and ears flat, she slowly walked over to you.

 

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" The orange pegasus asked glumly. "I'm sorry Mr. Anonymous, I didn't mean to burn your home down..." Your eye twitched a bit at the mention, but Scootaloo hadn't seen it. She was too busy studying a rock on the ground that was suddenly very interesting. You sighed.

 

"I'm not upset about that anymore. C'mon, Twilight and I are going to pick up Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, then we're taking you to school."

 

The filly perked up a bit at that. "Really? You're not mad about it?"

 

"I'll admit I was livid at the time, but I've let it go."

 

"Livid?" She asked, confused.

 

"Really, REALLY angry." Twilight answered for you.

 

"Oh..." Scootaloo squeaked out. She squeaked again when you picked her up and put her on your shoulder, then you and Twilight continued on.

--

 

Sweet Apple Acres came into view, along with Apple Bloom waiting at the gate. She too looked a little bashful when she saw you, but ran up all the same.

 

"Wow Anon, how'd ya get Twilight out of bed so early?" She asked, amazed. Twilight frowned.

 

"Hey, I don't sleep THAT late..." The purple unicorn whined, stamping a foot ineffectively.

 

"Practice. Lots of practice." You answered with a cheeky grin at Twilight. She in turn glared at you, but you ignored it. "C'mon, get up here."

 

You stooped down and Apple Bloom practically ran up your arm to sit on the shoulder opposite Scootaloo. "Next stop, Sweetie Belle's!" You announced, and they cheered. Twilight couldn't help but grin as well, and off you went.

--

 

Twenty minutes and another filly later, you began the walk to school. The three were excitedly talking about some project or another, something about a school paper. They shot both you and Twilight a look, but before you could ask, they went back to talking amongst themselves. It was amazing that, despite two of them literally being next to your ear, you couldn't understand a damn word. It didn't help that they were all talking over the others, so that just added to the confusion.

 

"Alright girls, last stop! All passengers, please disembark!" You made an announcement like the airship conductors back home. You crouched down and they hopped off of you, galloping off to the school building with a "Thank you!" Cheerilee was standing at the door, beckoning the fillies and colts inside.

 

"Come little ones, time for class!"

 

You waved the three off, then turned to leave. You felt something push against your leg. Probably would have been a forceful shove if you were as small as your attacker, but you barely moved. You looked down and leveled a glare at a pink filly, who scoffed at you.

 

"Someone needs to put the animal back in its cage!" She said, *just* loud enough for you to hear. Your glare intensified...before fading entirely as you grinned.

 

"Yeah, I know. I don't think there's a cage small enough for you though." You replied, walking away. Twilight gave you a disapproving look, but you didn't care. You laughed to yourself, the look of sheer anger on the little filly's face being reward enough.

--

 

Next stop was a furniture store, to place an order for a few items using Rarity's measurements. You had them written down on a slip of paper and handed them to the stallion behind the counter. Custom bed, custom sofa, custom this, custom that...

 

You sighed, knowing this was gonna clean you out. You lifted your bag of bits when the axe fell.

 

"500 bits, buddy."

 

You blinked.

 

"You sure? I mean, a lot of that is custom length stuff." Was he giving you some sort of deal?

 

"Eh, custom orders are common enough. No extra charge for them at all."

 

Huh.

 

You gave him the requested amount, and an additional twenty for a tip.

 

"Well, I appreciate it nonetheless."

 

"Not a problem, not a problem. You can expect the first few things by next week."

 

You nodded, and walked out. Twilight was at your side, flashing a smile.

 

"So, you had something to do with that?" You asked.

 

"Nope!" She chirped. "Just happy you got your things! Still, it'll be a little while before you get anything, so I guess you're staying with me a bit more?"

 

You grinned back, sighing playfully. "Yeah, I suppose I'm stuck with you for a little while longer."

 

The two of you walked back, where you parted ways. She went back to the library, and you went towards your in-progress home.

--

 

You suited up in your Azure Rathalos armor, but left the gauntlets off. In their place were thick, heavy gloves. You pulled up a pouch that Pinkie had given you. Naturally, bright pink with her cutie mark emblazoned on the side. You cringed a bit, the color hurting your eyes slightly. Might as well get this done with.

 

You stepped into the forest, and began heading in a direction at random. You knew you'd see the plant sooner or later, it grew pretty much everywhere.

 

It wasn't too long before you found the bright blue flower, and you carefully began picking it. Roughly a dozen fit in the pouch, and you figured that was enough. It was then that you saw it. A flash of blue in the corner of your eye, striped with black. You froze, then began looking around.

 

There was another flash of blue, behind a tree. You drew your weapon, the golden blade awaiting a fight. A cry that was all too familiar sounded, and something hit you from behind, tackling you to the ground and trying to bite your neck. Fortunately, it was as armor as the rest of your vital areas. You reached behind you and gripped the raptor's neck, tossing it off of you and getting up.

 

Velociprey...but how?

 

You didn't care at the moment, focusing on the raptor in front of you. A much, much larger one stepped out from behind the tree, bright orange crest easily visible. Velocidrome as well. Not good.

 

Your weapon flashed, and you stepped to the side, avoiding yet another blue raptor. Naturally, a pack predator would have packmates, no matter how absurd it was that they were here. Then again, you weren't exactly a native either.

 

The Velocidrome pounced on you, and you held your sword out in front of you. It hit you and your blade sunk deep into its abdomen, the flame almost instantaneously killing the alpha 'prey. You tossed it off of you and got up, with the surviving Velociprey scattering into the forest.

 

This was bad. Very, very bad. You stripped your gloves, picked up Pinkie's bag and sprinted out of the forest, cursing at the top of your lungs.

 

--

 

You sprinted into Ponyville, ramming the door to the library.

 

"TWILIGHT!" You shouted. "SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT!"

 

She sprinted out of the kitchen, worry on her face. "What happened?! Why are you shouting!?" She then saw you decked out in your armor and covered in blood. "Merciful Celestia, why are you covered in blood?!"

 

"Twi, something's not right. Something *followed me* from where I come from." Your voice was grave and heavy. "A Velociprey."

 

"A what?"

 

"It's a blue raptor, about as tall as I am. Very, VERY dangerous. Predatory. Works in a pack." You were speaking quickly, out of breath from your flat out sprint. "I'm not sure how or why they're here, but they are."

 

"Wait wait wait, hold on. You aren't making any sense."

 

At that point, you dropped the bag onto the ground and picked Twilight up, sprinting back to the forest.

 

"Hey, where are you two off to?" Rainbow called from the cloud above, before flying down and keeping pace.

 

"Everfree Forest, something happened." You replied.

 

"Oh cool, I'm comin' with. Might need some awesome to back you up!" You'd have grinned if this wasn't so serious.

 

"Anon, put me down!" Twilight shouted. "I can teleport us to your house, it's faster!"

 

You stopped, then set her on the ground. "Rainbow, meet us at my place. You know where it is. Twi, do it."

 

She closed her eyes, and a flash of light happened...and you stayed where you were. Twilight was gone.

 

"SON OF A BITCH!" You yelled, cursing your immunity to magic for once. You started sprinting again, quickly growing tired.

--

 

You staggered to your door, completely out of breath and feeling slightly sick. You tore your helmet off and tossed it to the floor so you could breathe more easily, when Twilight quickly brought you a glass of water, which in turn was downed in an instant. A cool breeze came from above, where Dash was beating her wings.

 

"Whoa now, calm down. It's not so serious that it's worth killing yourself over." The blue pegasus chided. You shot her a withering glare, and her eyes avoided contact with yours.

 

"It *is* that serious. This shouldn't be happening."

 

You straightened up after a moment, then put your helmet back on. "Twilight, if you know any defensive spells, now's the time to use them."

 

She nodded, and after a quick burst of arcane energy, both she and Rainbow were coated in a thin white layer of light.

 

You stepped back into the forest, and they followed. Retracing your steps, you came across the corpse of the Velocidrome, exactly where it had died. You pointed at it.

 

"See! This came from my world, it should not be here." You were panicking. If Velociprey managed to get here, who knew what else could have followed? Kut-Ku, Rathalos...Fatalis...? You involuntarily shuddered, which was noticed by the two mares behind you.

 

"Anon, calm down, please. Panicking will only make it worse." Twilight said quietly, inspecting the corpse with her nose wrinkled. Burnt flesh was not high on her list of favorite smells. She tested a few spells on it, though you weren't sure what effect they were supposed to have. "Interesting...they seem to share your immunity to magic..."

 

Perfect.

 

"Oh, hello. What are you...?" A quiet voice sounded from behind, but not directed at you. A Velociprey cry echoed through the trees.

 

"Oh no, Fluttershy!" You hissed, turning and sprinting in her direction. Rainbow and Twilight galloped after you, and you all came to a stop behind the yellow pegasus. She was currently trying to coax it to take some fish she had laid in front of her, and it was slowly creeping forward. It froze when the three of you charged into the clearing, but the lure of food was too much. "Fluttershy, get away from it!" You said sternly, drawing your weapon.

 

This was the first time you had done so in their presence, so they were startled by the sheer heat emanating from the blade. It was also stained with blood, which wasn't helping matters. Rainbow was giving you a suspicious once-over.

 

"Oh, hello Anon." The pink-maned pegasus said, calm as could be. "He's not going to hurt anything, is he?" Fluttershy cooed to the predator, and it gave her a curious look.

 

What happened next happened in slow motion as your adrenaline took over. The Velociprey opened its mouth and clamped down on Fluttershy's left wing, messily amputating it from its socket. She screamed and almost instantly passed out from shock, as you leaped forward and gutted the blue raptor. You pried its mouth open and retrieved her wing.

 

Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash both watched in shock as their friend was lying in a rapidly expanding pool of her own blood. You tore open your pack and pulled out a large amount of gauze and pads, putting them on the open wound and keeping pressure on it.

 

"TWILIGHT, RAINBOW!" You shouted. "FOCUS! Twilight, I need ice! Rainbow, hold on. Once I get ice, you'll have a very important job!"

 

Twilight sprinted over to a nearby pond and froze the water, breaking a large chunk of it off. While keeping pressure on Fluttershy's horrific injury, you laid her wing on the block of ice. You strapped the wing down and gave it to Rainbow.

 

"Rainbow, take this to the hospital as fast as you can. They can probably re-attach it, but they need it NOW. Twilight, I need you to take Fluttershy and teleport to the hospital. Whatever you do, DO NOT let up on the pressure on her bandages unless a doctor tells you to! I'll meet you both there!"

 

Twilight's aura settled over the gauze and she made physical contact with the severely wounded pegasus. A flash, and they were both gone, the only evidence they had been there at all being the pool of blood slowly seeping into the ground.

 

You looked over and saw Rainbow Dash still sitting there. You clapped your hands and she looked at you, tears streaming down her face. "If you want to help her, GET. MOVING." You pointed at the block of ice, and with a fire you hadn't seen before, she lifted it and launched herself towards Ponyville, rainbow streak trailing her.

 

You in turn sprinted back to Ponyville for the second time that day.

--

 

A thousand questions were whirling in your mind. Why would Fluttershy do something so stupid? Didn't she know it was a predator? She should have seen the teeth, she's with carnivores all the time! She should have known!

 

Why didn't you act sooner? If you had, she'd still have her wing and not be bleeding to death. Sure, she'd be angry at you, but better angry and alive than happy and dead.

 

How did it even get here?! As far as you knew, you and that Fatalis were the only things at the top of the tower. There was no way a Velociprey could have even been there!

 

In your rush, you accidentally bowled over an orange coated mare. You issued an apology and continued your dead sprint, pushing yourself harder than you really should. You heard galloping behind you and looked. Said orange coated mare was Applejack, and she looked more confused than angry.

 

"Anon, what's goin' on? Why're you covered in blood, and why're you sprinting to the hospital? Are ya hurt?"

 

"No, but Fluttershy is. Twilight and Rainbow are there already, or at least Twilight is. If I beat Rainbow there, we have a serious problem." You slowed down, heart threatening to pound its way out of your chest. "Good to see you up and moving, AJ." You added, almost as an afterthought.

 

"Yeah, doc said to take it easy for a week. Now that Applebuckin' season's over, ah can do jus' that." She replied, but then returned to the current dilemma. "How did Fluttershy get hurt?"

 

"Something...followed me from my world. I don't know how, I don't know why...but it bit one of her wings off. She tried to...I dunno, tame it or something. It didn't work, but she thought it did...She turned her back on it, and it attacked her."

 

Applejack gasped in horror. "Bit 'er wing off?! That's not good, sugarcube. Pegusai are nothin' without their wings, even if they don't use 'em much."

 

"Which is why it's on ice. Hopefully the doctors can reattach it."

 

"Whaddya mean 'reattach it'? You can't do that with a body part...can you?"

 

"You can, but you need to be fast. Its less about the main body and more about the severed limb. Ice prolongs the amount of time you have, but its only measured in hours at the most. I can only hope they're working on her now."

 

You both entered the hospital, where Twilight and Rainbow were waiting in the lobby. They were sullen and quiet, and Twilight was covered in blood. She looked a mix of horrified and...defeated. The two looked up when you entered, and they both galloped over to you.

 

"I-I did what you said, and the doctors said they'd take care of it...they took her into surgery almost immediately, it's been an hour." Twilight started hyperventilating. "What if they can't help her though? What if she dies?!"

 

You stroked her mane softly, and she closed her eyes. A sniffle came, and tears leaked down her face. You pulled the sorrow stricken unicorn closer, and she openly cried on you. Her tears beaded up and ran down the surface of your armor, which you had failed to take off before entering.

 

Rainbow looked on the verge of tears too, and you simply motioned to her. She came over and did much the same as Twilight, her emotions finally getting the better of her.

 

"AJ, please go get Rarity and Pinkie. They'll want to know. Tell them that Fluttershy got hurt and is in surgery." The orange pony nodded silently, and left to do just that.

--

Several hours later

--

 

You had managed to get your chestplate off, and were currently being used as a pillow by two emotionally drained mares. They had both cried themselves to sleep, despite Rainbow's attempts to stop herself at least twice. You didn't blame them in the slightest for it. Today was a trying day, after all.

 

You shifted a bit, which caused Twilight to cling harder to you. If they didn't have nightmares tonight, it would be a miracle. Another shift, and this time Rainbow tightened her grip. Any other situation would have you loving this, but your main priority was their comfort right now. Secondary was yours, hence the shifting around.

 

The doors to the hospital opened once more. AJ, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie all came through, each handling the stress differently. AJ seemed to be toughing it out, or at least not letting it show. Rarity was depressed and her mane was a mess.

 

Pinke Pie seemed the most drastically changed of them all. Her usually poofy mane was flat and covering one of her eyes, and her color seemed diluted. Her eyes displayed a sadness you didn't know she was even capable of feeling...which instantly made you feel like an ass for thinking that.

 

You shook your head, the motion drawing the attention of the three. They quietly walked over to you, and you put a finger to your mouth in the universal sign for 'quiet'. Apparently that was a thing here, because they all nodded and didn't say a word. Instead, they took a seat around you and waited for news.

 

Before long, the other three had fallen asleep as well, with you being the only one still awake. Rainbow's breath would occasionally hitch in her throat, a small sob being suppressed even in her sleep. Twilight was much the same, the occasional tear finding its way to your skin. You pulled the two of them in a little closer, and fell asleep yourself.