Roy blinked slowly, waking up with his back against the ancient bricks of the kilometer tall tower. His vision was swimming, and his hearing was muffled. Shellshock, the Hunter dimly realized. Recovering from his blackout after several long moments, he stood just in time to see a woman in Orange Espinas gear be vaporized by a blood-red lightning strike.
 
The last hunter on his team, himself excluded.
 
The glittering white dragon in front of the man growled, having singlehandedly eviscerated his team.
 
Standard hunting teams were four people. For this one, the Hunter's Guild had almost sent an army. All of them, save Roy, were dead or bleeding out. It had seemingly reinforced the fact that large hunting groups were bad luck.
 
The dragon stood at fifteen feet tall, with a wingspan measuring at least three times that. Razor sharp claws, drenched in blood, were at the ends of its almost human fingers. Its draconic head was topped with two horns that swept backwards over each eye, each of which branched off into two separate tips. One of the horns had been nicked, electricity occasionally arcing across the damaged area.
 
To Roy's credit, the dragon was feeling the wounds. Scale was missing from its chest and various other places, and its right foot was slashed open, bleeding quite freely. Several arrows and bowgun bolts were sticking out of various places at almost random angles, and the white mane running along the Fatalis' spine was scorched away almost entirely.
 
Unfortunately, it just...hadn't been enough.
 
The White Fatalis, Master of Electricity, shrieked in victory, tossing its head in an arc as it bellowed. The beast's blood red tongue lolled out of its mouth as it did so, dragon saliva spotting the ground.
 
Roy experimentally felt around on his body, hissing quietly when he felt the ribs underneath his Azure Rathalos chestplate. A rib or three were cracked, but the human knew that he had two choices at this point: Get up, or die.
 
Stooping down for just a moment to retrieve his gleaming Gold Rathian sword, Golden Eclipse, he charged forward. If he were going down, this bastard was coming with him.
 
The Fatalis growled in confusion, having assumed the Hunter had been killed too. To its credit, the dragon was quick to react, lashing out with electrically-infused claws as Roy closed in, which he in turn rolled under. Coming out of the roll, he turned his wrist and pulled his weapon up, dragging the razor-sharp edge across the dragon's stomach. A blast of flame was the response from the weapon itself, incinerating more white scale and shell and allowing the weapon to bite in deeper.
 
The Fatalis reeled in pain, screeching and taking flight. Roy was knocked over by the wind pressure from the heavy beast, quickly standing back up and brandishing his shield.
 
"Get back down here, you son of a bitch!" The furious man roared, shaking his fist at the airbourne dragon.
 
The Fatalis ignored his shouting, instead hovering high above to rain electric death down on the man's head. Defensive rolling allowed the Hunter to avoid the first two or three, but he had been struck *at least* twice. Roy suddenly couldn't remember, his abused body and nervous system finally losing count.
 
Thankfully, his armor was naturally insulated against electric attacks. Still hurt like sin, but at least he was alive.
 
The final blast tossed the man's sorry ass halfway across the half-mile tall tower top, momentum causing him to come to a rolling stop on his back. Slowly rising once more, muscles convulsing slightly from the errant electricity running through him, Roy took in his options.
 
One was to continue standing here like a chump and get killed. That option the White Fatalis much preferred, he could tell. Another was to retreat and call this entire thing off, while simultaneously praying the dragon didn't hold grudges and hunt HIM down instead.
 
A third...
 
A man not far across the roof was in heavy, grey Gravios plating, dead and leaning against a large crossbow-like weapon. A strikingly red Heavy Bowgun, loaded with an explosive shot.
 
The third option was to try and end this. Right here, right now.
 
Muttering a short prayer for the man, Roy grabbed his gun and took aim at the still airborne monster.
 
"Eat this, you bastard!" Roy roared, pulling the trigger and bracing himself.
 
A mighty *BOOM* echoed for miles as the red 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 wet thud.
 
It lie still, the wind blowing the ashes and dust away. Roy put the gun down, its ammunition spent already. He weren't sure if the fallen man had more on him, and it was disrespectful to the dead to go through his pockets.
 
Roy were a Hunter, not a Melynx.
 
Keeping his weapon drawn, Roy crept closer. The Hunter came less than a quarter meter of its chest, giving it an experimental kick before flinching backwards into a defensive posture.
 
The White Fatalis didn't respond.
 
A wave of relief washed over him, his battered body relaxing somewhat.
 
"I got you...hahaha..."
 
A tired, spent chuckle.
 
One more mark to add to his Hunter Journal...
 
He looked back at the ruined tower top.
 
...Nineteen more names to add to the last page.
 
A small shift, and Roy's heart skipped a beat. He should have paid more attention to the dragon, and less to his next move.
 
He turned in time for a claw to rake across his left shoulder, slashing apart the protective steel and scale...and rending his arm wide open.
 
Turning his tortured scream into a pain-fueled roar, the human spun on his heel to bring the 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 he intercepted them with his shield, pushing them to the side and taking another slash at the beast's arms.
 
Golden scale and plate from his shield simply melted, leaving huge ugly gashes in the metal/scale hybrid sheets.
 
Tendons and ligaments similarly simply ceased to be as his blade burned through them in turn, the gleaming Fatalis' right arm hanging down uselessly at an angle that was definitely not natural.  Its tail lashed into his side, pitching him back into the wall. Roy once more struck the stone, and this time the pain was blinding.
 
He feebly reached into his 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, the man downed it and immediately started feeling the effects.
 
Unfortunately, it was far too late. A large white spot was under him, growing more intense as the seconds ticked by. This is how he would die, it seemed. Roy laughed at the dragon, gloating as it 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, he doubted it would last more than half an hour.
 
"See you in Hell."
 
The bolt struck, and everything went black. Roy slammed into something hard immediately afterwards, and he lost consciousness.
===
 
Relaxing with a good book was how one Twilight Sparkle was spending her day today. No rampages from Ursa Minors, no insanity from friends, no eldritch horrors, no Discord...
 
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 rogue storm was met with no success. Several pegasus had been hit with strange, red bolts of lightning, causing them to be pulled away and inspected for injuries.
 
Aside from some minor contact burns, they were fine.
 
A rushed, urgent 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.
 
"Where else would I be?" The mare asked flatly, looking at the rain-soaked and smoking pegasus "What happened to you?"
 
"The storm is what happened to me! It's not natural, isn't there something you can do about it?" The cyan pegasus asked, seemingly out of options if she were asking for help.
 
Putting a hoof to her chin, the unicorn thought for a moment.
 
"Let me look, I'll see if there's any weather related spells I can find."
 
The lavender mare trotted back inside, looking around. The mare skimmed through a few books.
 
"Weather enchantment, weather enhancement...weather eradication!"
 
Looking it over, it seemed a simple enough spell. It also covered...practically all weather conditions, if she were reading it right.
 
"Alright Dash, let me try this one."
 
The mare stepped back out into the maelstrom, horn aglow. A grunt of exertion, and a wide magenta glow 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 with no further fanfare and went upstairs to her warm bed and her book. She couldn't wait to figure out how Daring Do was going to escape her confines over the sacrificial Pit of Kerberos. The unicorn hopped into bed, pulled her blanket across her flank, and cracked the book back open.
 
A thud 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 wounded groan. Masculine, deep.
 
Not Rainbow Dash.
 
Not Spike either, he was keeping Rarity company during the storm...
 
Horn lit 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.
 
The sounds were coming from the kitchen. She finished the quick jaunt down the stairs, horn still alight. Twilight also lit a light spell for visibility, 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 gasped, then turned her head and wrinkled her nose at both the scent and the huge pain in the flank it was going to be to get that up.
 
The figure was covered in deep-blue scales almost all the way around, aside from its torso and inner thighs. Twilight almost called it a dragon until she realized something; the being was wearing armor.
 
On its torso and thigh areas was a black metal that looked both flexible and protective, though she couldn't exactly tell what it was made of. Whatever this was made of, it seemed decades more advanced than anything Equestria had. The only thing that could possibly match it would be armor from the Griffon Empire, and maybe not even that.
 
Which begged the question: What in Celestia's name was powerful enough to put these deep gouges and holes in it?
 
Pushing that question to the side for now, the mare continued to take mental notes on appearance.
 
In its five-fingered hand was a golden, triangular sword. It pulsed calmly, an odd effect for a weapon. Perhaps it was enchanted? That would certainly account fo-
 
The being groaned again, then...slowly gestured for her.
 
A closer inspection of that curious sword would have to wait.
===
 
Roy's head hurt like hell.
 
Still, that meant he was alive. He ached all over, and simply couldn't find the strength to actually move. Instead, a pained groan escaped his lips as he gave himself a short physical rundown.
 
Legs were barely moving, arms were deadweight, his chest and face were bleeding...
 
Yep, he was a mess. Roy could still feel all of it though, so no extensive nerve damage.
 
...he hoped.
 
He'd probably recover completely, provided he didn't bleed out right now. The man groaned again. Hopefully, someone was around to hear it. His close-in, claustrophobic surroundings were definitely different from the wide open tower roof.
 
In addition, Roy could swear he was leaning against an oven.
 
Golden Falchion was still tight in his grip, calmly pulsing in time with his 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. It would be several moments before your eyes adjusted, and in the meantime you heard something gasp lightly. Next was the sound of...what sounded like hooves on hard wood. The owner of them was inspecting you closely, if the various "hmm's" and "oh's" were to be believed. Finally, the gods found it kind to sate your curiosity, and your eyes focused.
 
What stood there was...a miniature, purple Kirin.
 
Its horn was glowing light pink, and it was indeed inspecting you closely. It didn't appear to wish you harm, or it would have done so already. The light also, thankfully, died out. You started willing something, ANYTHING to move. Your left arm started first.
 
Moving your fingers, you beckoned the creature closer. It focused its eyes on your hand, nose wrinkling at the scent of your blood. You painstakingly 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 nodding back?
 
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 raised and your palm up. 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.
 
For all you knew, you were having an intense hallucination. It would be better to just answer anyway.
 
"I think I need to go get Fluttershy, she's better with animals..."
 
You half-glared at her at the word 'animal', but the Kirin ignored it. She looked you in the eyes, seeming to decide on something.
 
"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 swallowed, 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. Possibly 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. Perfect.
 
Or, on the opposite end of the spectrum: You were vividly hallucinating, and were dying on top of that tower.
 
Less than ten minutes here, and you were already so done with it all...though you found yourself much preferring the former than the latter. New non-hostile species you could deal with. Dying, not so much.
 
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 limped 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.
 
Maybe it would be better off if you stayed inside...
 
"Wait a damn minute..." You said to yourself after a moment.
 
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 you admitted seconds later 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, at which point they 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. As you approached a clearing, you noticed something.
 
It was dead 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 from you. 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. "Pathetic."
 
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 dark-blue 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...a currently screaming Twilight Sparkle.
 
"WAIT, DON'T KILL ME!!!" She shrieked.
 
"Whoops." You replied, thankful you hadn't finished that stroke.
 
You huffed and sheathed the blade once more, turning away.
 
"I *thought* I saw you walk into here! Why aren't you back at my 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.
 
Annoying.
 
"Listen buster, you're going to go back to the library. Fluttershy's there waiting to patch you up."
 
You still weren't sure who or what 'Fluttershy' was.
 
"And if I don't?" You questioned rebelliously.
 
"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. A small orb of some kind, magenta in coloration and quickly accelerating at you. You ducked it, and she tossed another at you. As you rolled away from this one, your leg gave out. As you lie there on the floor, in pain, she sent a third your way.
 
With 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.
 
Using a nearby tree to help you up, you let this bolt hit you dead on.
 
Nothing. The ball of energy washed over you like a wave of hot air, and that was that. Shrugging, you limped past her.
 
"There's nothing that way but a gorge and the ruined Everfree castle!" Twilight called, sounding frustrated beyond belief.
 
That was different.
 
"Everfree?" You questioned, stopping once more.
 
"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 pony 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 and a fair bit of frustration.
 
"Fine, fine, little...pony." You said, not sure why the Kirin was calling itself a pony and not sure what ANY of those creatures she listed were. "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, obvious from the big white cross on the side. She gasped when you walked in, wings flaring and with 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 to various degrees.
 
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." The yellow pony 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 winged 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. You'd be able to offer little resistance at this point. Then again, they hadn't done anything threatening towards you.
 
Still...get you to lower your guard...?
 
Nine Hells, you were paranoid.
 
"Only thing I want right now...is some water." You said carefully after your short internal debate.
 
Nothing wrong with the 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 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 as it was hellishly expensive to replace. Still, that meant the booklet had served its purpose.
 
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 to see a quill with an ink well hovering over towards 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, as if she were...guiding it?
 
"What are...how...?"
 
"Simple levitation spell." The Kirin replied, giving you an amused look.
 
"Spell...? Like, actual magic?" You asked incredulously, taking the quill and ink well.
 
"Yes, actual magic." She replied with a laugh. "Doesn't your species have something like this?"
 
Shaking your head in response, you wrote down your notes before you forgot them. You suddenly remembered the bolts she had slung at you.
 
Was that magic too?
 
Next to her page, you added in "Magic usage, danger potential is low."
 
You heard the purple one snort in response, you had forgotten she was practically reading over your shoulder.
 
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...
 
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, hopefully one that was disarming in nature.
 
...not that the yellow one seemed to mind. Anything you did was a wonder to this little pony, it appeared.
 
"Alright, I think we should introduce one other."
 
They both nodded eagerly, Twilight grabbing a quill and notepad in the same magenta aura.
 
"My name is Anonymous, Anon for short. Monster Hunter of the Hunter's Guild, and one of the best ones in the Pokke and Loc Lac regions."
 
You gestured at Twilight.
 
"Your turn."
 
"No, hold on, wait." The purple pony said, quill coming to an abrupt stop.
 
You arched an eyebrow.
 
"Hunter's Guild?" She asked, obviously confused.
 
"The Hunter's Guild, where to begin...?" You asked rhetorically. "Rather large, tens of thousands of members. Only guild larger is the Merchant's Guild, and only just." You replied.
 
Twilight and Fluttershy both looked at you blankly, then at each other.
 
"We keep the skies, oceans, and land clear of intruding wyverns and dragons?" You supplied, hoping it would ring a bell.
 
Still nothing, as the Kirin tilted her head slightly.
 
"Ugh."
 
You pulled out your wallet with your ID (which you sourly noted had your picture burned clean off), 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, up on a wall. It appeared to be a map of not only the immediate area, but for hundreds of kilometers in any direction.
 
"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." Twilight said, in a tone that was meant to be helpful.
 
"Wh..." was all you could say.
 
Nothing on the map was familiar. No town, no mountain range, no body of water...nothing. A cold chill settled in, one you recognized: Fear. You began to hyperventilate and panic, you couldn't help it.
 
"I-I don't..."
 
"Don't what?"
 
"I don't recognize anything on this map! Is this it?!" You half-shouted in distress, and Twilight reeled back in shock.
 
"W-what do you mean? This is the entire region of Equestria!" She said, taking a close look at the map, then at your terrified visage. The mare couldn't place why you were having a meltdown.
 
"Where's Minegarde?" You started, poking the map where the large city should have been. "Where's Pokke? Where's Dondruma? Loc Lac? Yukumo?!" You asked, voice getting louder and more intense on each question.
 
"I-I don't know!" Twilight cried, suddenly afraid for her life. She was looking for the nearest exit, while simultaneously trying to keep an eye on you. Fluttershy was gone, suddenly and mysteriously.
 
There were no words exchanged for several tense moments, both ponies breathing heavily as they became acutely aware you could have killed them both by now if you wanted to. The fact that you hadn't yet, and appeared to have no drive to do so, settled them down quite a bit. You were still staring at the map, stunned.
 
"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, having gone over an argument with yourself at least twice now.
 
The place was completely alien, but...neither inhospitable nor unfriendly.
 
The fact you weren't dead right now certainly said that much.
 
The hows and whys of why you were here 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 quietly exclaimed as you entered.
 
"Well...what do you suggest we do?" The purple Kirin replied, seemingly at a loss as she noted your arrival.
 
"Find me a place to sleep?" You suggested, a yawn punctuating your need. Both ponies looked at one another before nodding in agreement.
 
"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?" You asked.
 
"Right over there?" Twilight said, pointing a hoof at it. It was a small, green colored couch, well worn from frequent use. "I don't see why you nee-"
 
"I'll take it."
 
You plopped yourself onto it, and it was so soft and warm...
 
Twilight shrugged, making a small sound of acceptance as she did so.
 
"I'm going to send a letter to Princess Celestia as soon as Spike gets back. I need...some advice, and possibly her presence." Twilight said, turning away.
 
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. Before a comfortable darkness took you, you figured you could have been worse off.
===
 
How the human went to sleep that easily was beyond the lavender unicorn. One moment, he appeared up and ready for action...the very next, quietly snoozing on the couch.
 
Shaking her head, she pulled her attention to his pouch. Various doodads of unknown function were scattered about inside, though a few she did recognize, such as his compass and telescope.
 
Just inside, on a small pouch designed for bottles, was a vial of blue...
 
No, it couldn't be...
 
Manticore venom?
 
"How did he get that?" The unicorn mumbled, Fluttershy looking over curiously.
 
The Ponyville and Canterlot hospitals had been searching for MONTHS for a sample of this! They were on the verge of a breakthrough for an anti-venom, but not a soul was brave enough to go find a Manticore for a sample. A two thousand bit bounty was placed on each single vial, though none had stepped up.
 
Even Rainbow Dash herself wasn't walking into what was surely a death sentence, brave as she may boast.
 
The human had been here for less than a day, and had unintentionally helped Equestria as a whole already. Twilight would let the Hunter know about the bounty when he woke up, but until then...
 
She still had a letter to write to Princess Celestia. Maybe Equestria could find use for a 'Monster Hunter'...
---