Alright Twilight, you can do this.
Twilight Sparkle fidgeted nervously in her seat. The white suit of armor she was wearing felt stuffier than usual, and her anxiety wasn’t helping at all. Twilight loosened the straps on her neck guard, releasing some of the hot air that was trapped beneath her armor. She tried to relax, but the tense atmosphere of the room was slowly getting under her skin. She groaned in frustration, and as she expected, none of the ponies in the room paid any attention to her.
Out of curiosity, Twilight looked around the room, her eyes drifting over each pony. Several of them were fidgeting in their seats, muttering reassurances quietly to themselves. Some were in a deep meditative state, as still as a statue, off in their own little world. Twilight didn’t even bother looking at the group of loud and obnoxious ponies who situated themselves in a far offcorner of the room. From the shakiness of their voices, Twilight could tell that they were as nervous as she was.
Great, I’m going to die of anxiety now, Twilight sighed. I can’t help but wonder what Mom, Dad, Spike and the Princess are doing right now. Mom and Dad are probably making a long list of what could go wrong today, the Princess is probably laughing at the list, and Spike is just rolling his eyes at the whole scene.
She smiled at the thought, amused that it was highly like that such a thing was happening right now in the Arena stands above her. Then again, Mom and Dad do have a good reason to be worried... This Graduation match will practically determine my future in Equestria...
“Can I have your attention please?”
An elderly mare stood at the door, tapping her hoof impatiently on the floor. A clipboard hung on a string around her neck, and a pencil was tucked snugly behind her ear. The tense atmosphere of the room increased exponentially when everypony realized that the red uniform that covered the elderly pegasus’ light blue coat and faded pink hair belonged to a Guild Official.
“I’m terribly sorry about the delay,” the elderly mare Pegasus apologized as she trotted into the room. “But we had to postpone the events due to an unfortunate...incident involving the Dragonator and a pony unfortunate to be caught in its line of fire....”
The room started buzzing with excitement, and the mare blew a whistle loudly, silencing the crowd. “Settle down, rookies. Fortunately for all of you, none of you are going to be involved in matches involving Dragonators,” she smirked, to the general disappointment of the ponies.
Twilight, on the other hoof, mentally sighed with relief. Recalling what she read in a history text book, Dragonators were giant drill-like weapons mostly used for defence purposes. From the inscriptions found in ancient fortresses, the name Dragonator came about from being allegedly used to repel the mythical dragons. Due to their absurd size, the weapons were usually found installed into city walls, fortresses that were used to protect the borders of Equestria, and, occasionally, the inner walls of some large arenas.
As the words of the official grew fainter to her ears, she began to figure out why a Dragonator would be used in the Arena in the first place. The only monster that could warrant the use of a Dragonator was an Ursa Major. The only problem was that they were endangered to the point that it was illegal to fight one, let alone use a Dragonator on it. As her mind continued wandering away from the others in the room, the theories Twilight thought of started to become more absurd and unbelievable.
Maybe they were using the Dragonators to pierce the heavens, figuratively speaking that is. I wonder if it’s even possible to -
“Miss Sparkle, if I may have your undying attention,” the mare coughed into her hoof. “While I’m fairly certain that you would love to discuss the inner workings of a Dragonator, I’m sure some of your peers would undoubtedly love to continue with my little update on our current situation...”
To her embarrassment, Twilight felt her ears turn a lovely shade of light pink. “Sorry ma’am, it won’t happen again. I promise.”
“Speaking of which, my name is Wind Whistler, and I would prefer it if you refer to me as such,” the Pegasus glared at Twilight quickly before she diverted her attention back to the crowd. “Do I make myself clear?”
Twilight nodded quickly, albeit reluctantly. Even if this Guild official rubbed her the wrong way, she knew getting on Wind Whistler’s bad side was going to be just as perilous as stomping her hooves on a wyvern’s nest and wearing the broken egg shells as a hat.
“Now, as I was saying before our untimely interruption, the Guild Board of Directors has decided to split you lot into groups of two. The standard Rule of Three is in place, so as soon as you are knocked out three times, you and your teammate are eliminated from this competition. There is also a 20 minute time limit in place, and any team that surpasses that time limit will also be eliminated.” Wind Whistler paused for a moment to let the information sink in. “With that out of the way, it’s time to pair you up into your groups. Any questions before I start?”
“Uh, what if we get paired up with another pony we don’t like?” Twilight asked sheepishly, ignoring the snickers. “Wouldn’t that ruin the point of the ‘teaming’ up aspect?”
Wind Whistler flashed a smile that sent a shiver down Twilight’s spine. “Well now Miss Sparkle, we all have to live with choices we don’t like, do we not?”
“I... I guess we do, Miss Whistler...”
“Then I hope our little talk answered your question,” Wind answered smugly. “If it brings you any comfort, the Guild board has paired each and everyone of you according to your abilities. So in theory you should do well.”
“Thank you for clearing up the issue, Miss Whistler,” Twilight muttered resentfully.
“Any more questions?” she asked one final time. “None? Good, we can finally begin.”
“First off is Hoofindale and Topwing,” she said pointing to a Earth and Pegasus pony. “You two will report to corridor 4 and will receive further instructions there.” The group watched as the two ponies reluctantly got up together, both of them eyeing each other with distrust.
“The rest of you ponies will have to wait...” Wind Whistler paused as she waited until the two ponies were out of ear shot, “But I have a strong feeling it won’t be for long.”
Twilight retreated back into her chair, clearly frustrated with the recent turn of events. She wasn’t expecting to be called up for a while, so she felt it was better to use her time to vent her anger on a bottle of cold spring water.
Team battles... I hate team battles. She quickly emptied the water bottle and casted the container aside. Even in the highly unlikely event that my partner is good, I’m still going to be at a disadvantage...
She looked at Wind Whistler and found it odd when she saw that the old mare was quietly mouthing words. Twilight was initially confused as to why Miss Whistler was doing this, but she was suddenly distracted by a loud commotion emanating from the hallway. She only caught a glimpse of two ponies being carried out on stretchers before a young Guild assistant blocked her view. The colt pulled out a small scroll of parchment from his saddle bags and handed it over to Wind Whistler.
“Only a minute and thirty seconds? That’s a new record...” Wind handed the scroll back to the assistant, patting him on the back. She pulled out her clipboard once again, and rifled quickly through the pages. “Okay, Typhoon and Tempest are up next!”
Twilight stood still as she watched the two pegasi walk nervously into the corridor. Wind Whistler flashed an encouraging smile at them, but it failed to calm their nerves. Her expression immediately turned sour once again when she noticed Twilight was looking at her.
“Do you have a problem Miss Sparkle?” Wind asked snidely. “Or are you just going to stand around there like a statue for the rest of the day?”
“N-no ma’am!” Twilight stuttered defensively. “But why are Typhoon and Tempest already going out to the arena? I thought Hoofindale and Topwing were out there!”
“Isn’t it obvious Miss Sparkle? Hoofindale and Topwing have failed their match.” The mare sighed with displeasure, and went back to looking at the papers on her clipboard. “You of all ponies should have realized that.”
“The clock barely passed the 5 minute mark when you sent Typhoon and Tempest out there!” Twilight yelled out loud, attracting the stares of her classmates. “That shouldn’t even be possible considering how good Hoofindale and Topwing are!”
“Well it seems that they weren’t as skillful as you thought Miss Sparkle. You really need to stop overestimating your little group...” Wind was suddenly interrupted by the same Guild assistant tapping her shoulder. The assistant handed over a similar piece of parchment, and he patiently waited as Wind quickly read its contents.
“A minute and thirty seconds again? That was fast...” Wind’s eyes suddenly lit up with anger as she reached the end of the note, her lips curling into a disapproving frown. She handed the parchment back to the assistant, who promptly handed it back to her. The assistant whispered into Wind Whistler’s ear, which prompted Wind to sigh with annoyance.
“Can I have everypony’s attention please?” Wind yelled. “I have a very important announcement to make.”
Once she was sure she held everypony’s attention, Wind began to read the document out loud. “Due to the recent circumstances, the Guild Board has decided to do something unprecedented, due to an ‘unforeseen’ consequence.”
“What kind of unforeseen consequence are we talking about?” a burly Earth pony asked. “It can’t be that bad, right?”
Wind Whistler rubbed her eyes, clearly having trouble being able to put the news she received into words. “Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t tell you what you’re going up against, but since I’m being asked politely by the Princess herself to tell you...”
Every hunter in the room virtually froze. A major rule in The Sun Summer Celebration Graduation Matches was that the graduates were not told who they were being pitted against. That way, the Hunter’s Guild could calculate a pony’s adaptation abilities on top of the more conventional skills. If Princess Celestia was willing to temporarily change such a major rule, then the monster waiting for them must of been something they never saw before.
“The match that was initially planned for today involves Jinouga, a Rank 6 Fanged Wyvern.” She paused, scanning the confused expressions of the Hunters. “Judging from your faces, I can see most of you are still unaware of what a Fanged Wyvern is. No bother, you’ll all know soon enough at the end of the day.”
“So... what happens if these foals want to leave?” A blue unicorn mare arrogantly asked, to the annoyance of everypony. “Won’t doing so effect their Hunter Rank and graduation process?”
“Ah, you must be the infamous Trixie Stargazer,” Wind smiled. “Arrogant, cocky, extremely rude and most of all, the biggest loner second only to Twilight Sparkle over here. Your so-called exploits are almost legendary amongst my colleagues.”
“Wonderful to hear that Trixie is loved amongst the lowly official staff.” Trixie smiled proudly, seemingly unaware of the no pony was paying attention to her.
“To answer Trixie’s question, the princess is highly recommending that each and every one of you drop out.” Wind Whistler rolled out the scroll onto the ground, letting everypony read the document. “As you can see, doing so will not detract points from your Hunter Rank, and you will be rescheduled to another match later today involving a less exotic and possibly less dangerous monster.”
After a minute or so, she handed the scroll back to the Guild assistant who was still standing at the doorway. “Well there you have it rookies. There’s no shame in wanting to leave this match. Heck, it might be beneficial for you if you do leave the match!” She snickered as she watched the room burst into chaos, with friends discussing about whether they should quit or try their best at defeating this new monster.
Suddenly, a stocky, pastel unicorn colt quickly rose up from his seat. He quickly trotted to the door, shoving ponies unfortunate enough to be in his path onto the ground. “Screw this,” he said said to Wind Whistler, who was still smirking despite the unicorn’s seemingly imposing presence. “I’m not going to stay and fight a monster that could take a pony like Typhoon down in a few seconds. I’m out of here.”
Ponies mumbled in agreement, and one by one they followed the unicorn out of the room. Some hung their heads silently, avoiding eye contact with the Guild Official or the Assistant who stood besides her. Others looked her straight into the eye as they passed, before continuing on their way, muttering under their breath about the hopeless situation they were forced into.
As the room emptied, only two ponies remained in their seats, seemingly unaware that they were the only Hunters remaining in the room. They were too preoccupied sending death glares at each other, that they practically jumped out of their seats when they both felt a hoof tap on their shoulders.
“Well, if you two are still here, I guess that means you’re both gonna have to fight Jinouga now,” the Official beamed at both unicorns, who quickly redirected their death stares to the Official.
“Me? Team up with her?” Twilight brought a fore hoof close to her mouth and pretended to gag. “Please, I would prefer to have a pile of Aptonoth dung as my teammate. At least the dung is useful.“
“Really Twilight?” Trixie laughed, clearly amused at Twilight’s attempt at an insult. “I thought you of all ponies would rather have a large pile of books as your partner! Be glad your being offered a chance to witness The Great and Powerful Trixie’s power first hoof!”
“More like the Grating and Worthless Trixie!” Twilight mocked. “I think that suits you better, don’t you agree?”
“Egghead!”
“Showoff!”
“Dimlight Dorkle!”
“Triestohard Lamegazer!”
“Ladies, contain yourselves!” the Official yelled stomping a hoof onto the floor, trying to silence the bickering mares. “Look, I know you two just love each other-”
“That’s a lie!” both Trixie and Twilight exclaimed at the same time, each of pointing a hoof at the other. “Besides, she started it!”
“Will you two just stop your bickering for five minutes so you can hear what I have to say?” the Official groaned. “The faster we deal with this, the faster you two can get out of my mane!”
“Having a hard time Wind Whistler?” a mare chuckled from behind Twilight. “I’ve seen you get upset over arguing with rookies, but I think this here takes the cake!”
Twilight Sparkle’s eyes lit up with joy as she instantly recognized the voice of the pony. She turned around to see a pink coated Pegasus pony standing at the doorway, a massive grin plastered onto her face. Her curled cerulean mane and tail was hidden poorly beneath her red uniform, but it was clear that the pony did not care in the slightest about her appearance.
“Oh my goodness, do my eyes deceive me?” Firefly giggled as she ruffled Twilight’s mane with a hoof. “Last time I saw you, you were nothing more than a hyperactive filly!”
“A-auntie Firefly! S-stop that!” Twilight laughed. “T-that tickles! B-besides you just saw me yesterday!”
“And Trixie!” Firefly exclaimed when she saw the blue unicorn laughing quietly at Twilight’s predicament,“I thought you would of high tailed it out of here, given the chance!”
“Trixie dislikes it when Auntie Firefly says Trixie is a dirty coward,” she pouted as Firefly began to ruffle Trixie’s mane with her other hoof. “Trixie is not a dirty coward who runs away at the first sign of trouble!”
“Just kidding, kiddo! ” Firefly grinned, patting Trixie’s head. “Besides if Orion or Sapphire heard me say that, they would of decked me instantly at the same time!”
“Instructor Firefly?” Wind Whistler coughed into her hoof, begging for the pink Pegasus’ attention. “While I am aware that Miss Sparkle and Miss Stargazer are your Goddaughters, you still have a job to do, am I correct?”
“Always in a hurry, aren’t ya Wind?” Firefly smirked as she patted the back of Wind, bringing forth an annoyed scowl from the elderly pegasus. “Just relax, I’ll get these two at the designated gate in no time, right girls?”
“Well, you should get a move on then Firefly,” Wind sternly stated as she fixed her messed up mane. “Because in five minutes, Twilight and Trixie will be disqualified, and I’m sure you three would hate to see that happen”
“Alright, alright! Once you put it that way, I guess we’ll have to crank it up a level!” Without warning, she suddenly jumped into the air, her head barely missing the lamps on the ceiling. She then began to flap her wings at a rapid pace, enabling herself to hover a few inches off the ground. “Girls, grab onto my tail! We’ll get there in no time!”
Twilight shook her head in shame and embarrassment, and quickly slapped her forehead with her hoof. “Auntie Firefly, you do realize that me and Trixie aren’t little fillies anymore, right? While I could theoretically hold onto your tail for a short period of time, I think you would have some trouble lifting me, Trixie, and her giant ego.”
“Trixie will have to politely refuse Auntie Firefly’s offer,” Trixie smiled apologetically. “Besides, Trixie does not want Auntie Firefly to hurt herself carrying around Trixie, Twilight and half of Twilight’s library around.”
“Five books do not constitute a Library!” Twilight stammered defensively as Trixie sneered at her. “Well... according to the Mareium-Websteed dictionary, a collection of books that deal with the same subject is considered a library. And since I’m carrying all 5 volumes of ‘Encyclopedia Amalgamation’, I guess you could say I am carrying a library around...”
“For the love that is all Trixie,” the blue unicorn groaned as Twilight continued arguing with herself. Trixie quickly flicked the tip of her tail at Twilight, hitting the mare’s face with an audible slap. Twilight flinched at the sharp pain, and she instinctively grabbed the front of her muzzle.
“Ow!” Twilight yelled as Trixie casually walked passed her. “What the hay was that for Trixie?”
“Trixie thinks she did that to tell a certain unicorn to shut her big mouth,” Trixie scorned at Twilight as she walked out the doorway. “Now if you shall excuse Trixie, she has an arena match to win, with or without Twilight Sparkle getting in her way.”
Twilight could only sigh apathetically as she watched Trixie disappear down the hallway, with the Guild Assistant following her. “I really hate that unicorn,” Twilight grumbled to no pony in particular. “Why do I even bother...”
“Twilight, believe me when I say I know annoying ponies,” Firefly consoled as she landed across from Twilight. “Under different circumstances I would have told you to ignore Trixie for the rest of your life and move on, but because she’s your God-sister and I’m her Godmother, I really can’t say that now can I?”
“Well... You kinda just did Auntie.”
“Well...uh....I guess I did say that, didn’t I?” Firefly laughed awkwardly when she realized her mistake. “Well either way my point still stands! If you want to succeed in Monster Hunting career, you can’t let ponies like Trixie get the best of you.”
“Thanks Auntie...” Twilight smiled weakly as she embraced Firefly in quick hug. “You always know what to say.”
‘It’s a gift, Spark.” Firefly smiled as she playfully punched Twilight on the shoulder as soon as she let. “In fact if I wasn’t born to be a kick-flank Monster Hunter, I probably would have been a kick-flank counselor!”
“A-hem?” Wind coughed into her hoof again, trying to grab the attention of Twilight and Firefly “I know you two are having a special moment together; But if Miss Sparkle here doesn’t get to the arena waiting area in time, I’m one hundred percent certain that our boss wouldn’t be pleased to hear that her personal student got delayed because her Godmother decided that she needed a pep talk.”
“Windy, you do realize how much of a killjoy you are, right?”
“If being a killjoy means keeping our jobs, then yes, I am a total killjoy,” Wind Whistler sighed. “Just hurry up and get Miss Sparkle to the arena entrance. You only have a minute before she’s disqualified-”
Wind Whistler barely finished her sentence when she was suddenly knocked over by a pair of ponies who galloped quickly passed her. Wind Whistler laid motionless on the floor, until the young Guild assistant who had left the room earlier stuck his head into the doorway. Wind weakly raised a hoof in the air, and waved it towards the assistant. The assistant quickly raced to her side, and after a quick diagnostic, he helped Wind Whistle onto her hooves.
“You alright ma’am?” the assistant asked as he brushed the dust off Wind Whistler's uniform. “I saw Miss Sparkle and Instructor Firefly racing down the hallway. When I saw that you didn’t wave your hoof angrily at them, I assumed something went wrong.”
“I’m alright, Guildie. It’s Miss Sparkle and Miss Stargazer you should be worried about.”
“It’s about the monster they are about to face, isn’t it ma’am?” the assistant asked. He handed Wind Whistler’s Official cap back to the elderly mare, who muttered thanks. “Jinouga... or something like that.”
“Yea, that’s the name the Guild gave it,” Wind Whistler nodded as she firmly placed the cap back on her head. “According to the report I received, the Guild Knights who chased after this thing saw it ripped a Manticore to shreds before frying it to a crisp with a lightning bolt.”
“Fried with a lightning bolt?” The Guild assistant gulped. “It’s a thunder aligned monster?”
“Well, you could always watch the show and find out for yourself,” Wind laughed. “It should start in a couple of minutes or so if Instructor Firefly can get Twilight Sparkle to arrived in time.”
“Sorry ma’am, but as much as I would love to watch, I’m still considered on duty,” the assistant sighed dutifully. “I’ll most likely read the events in the papers later, so it’s not like I’ll be missing anything-”
The assistant was quickly cutoff by a large and heavy clipboard hitting his chest. He quickly realized it was the clipboard that once hung around Wind Whistler’s neck. His jaw almost dropped in shock when he realized why she had given it to him, but he managed to keep a straight face.
“There, consider yourself my assistant for today,” Wind Whistler smiled as she patted him on the back. “Now you have no choice but to follow me.”
“I-I don’t understand...”
“Well for starters, I’m sure my wife would love to meet you, especially since my daughter speaks about you everyday at the dinner table,” Wind Whistler grinned as she saw the Guild assistant blush. “Now come on Guildie, we have a lot of work ahead of us, so it would be nice if you could step up the pace. Wouldn’t want to miss the show, do ya?”
* * *