"Today's the daaaay~!" I sang along to my own tune as I fished around my room for my gear. Mega Potions? Check. Flash Pods? Check. Shock Trap? You bet. And a few other necessities, when it came to the importance of today I spent no expense on items needed for the task. Next was my new armor, courtesy of the newest member of my team, Gura Daora.
The drake with a drake helm decided to stick around since he, and I quote, 'wants to prove he is the strongest', that was yesterday, but today he was out hunting again but he gifted me the parts of the Tigrex we slew, saying he didn't need them. Little did he know I can read emotions, so I knew his heart was in the right place. Now, I stood before a full-length mirror, posing in my new Tigrex armor.
The orange and blue pattern wasn't a stretch from my battered Izuchi armor. My charcoal mane was tucked into a thick scale brace with small teeth, the band fitted around my jaw to my chin. Gauntlets forged with Tigrex scales and claws against the elbows, my chestplate covered my entire torso in lightweight but sturdy scales of various shades of orange and blue with a few teeth lining my chest. My belt also sported two metal plates decorated in scales to save my best asset from permanent damage. Lastly, sat by the doorway was my new Tigrex sword and shield, the guard of the sword a V-Shape and two large claws running against the curved blade, and the shield was made of its scalp, jagged thorns lining the edge. Even my clutch claw had the brute's aesthetic.
Saddlebag packed, and belt with scoutflies attached, I swung the door wide on a sunny day, feeling a warm breeze brush through my tail. "Time to roll the dice." Plucking my brown cloak with its lime green hem and arrow pattern I soared.
"All set?" Beside the exit to the Guild Hall, I happily skipped my way to Argo's side. He didn't change from his starting equipment, say for the new threads from the Dragonlands. They called the Kamura set, it consisted of a navy crop jacket with twin tails with a silver seal of the Guild at the end of each. a breastplate embroiled with red threads and a yellow hem. A pair of reinforced black steel gauntlets with some brass joints, though his forehooves retained the jagged emerald green gauntlets. Baggy red and blue pants tucked into black shin guards and shoes. The belt buckle was fitted with a black sash and two leather thigh guards linked with a red belt.
"Yep! And look at you, sharp as ever," I complimented, nudging him with my wing slyly as he walked. "Someone's lookin' to catch a lucky mare's eye."
"Shut up." He didn't even blink, talk about hard to get. His eye glanced at me. "So, the Special Assignment?" Back to business.
"Well, can't say my Dad and your Mom don't make it easy," I held out the notice for him to catch in his amber field. The more he read the intel, the larger his eyes expanded with skepticism. "You're... serious about this?"
"If it was a Tigrex, then I'd be back in bed," My ears were still ringing from yesterday, but no time like the present. "Two weeks, this is the best I could hope for,"
"You know, your quest would be easier if my own rank wasn't also to be equated," Argo stared at the road as we walked, uncertainty filling his heart. "Your standing would've gone up a week ago but you've been holding yourself back on my accou--" My wing pressed to his lips, and I turned to look him dead in the eyes.
"Argo, who am I?" I asked, jostling his shoulders.
"Um... Akira? I don't follow," He murmured when I smirked.
"Correct, but more importantly, I'm your honorary big sister-" I giggled, hoof to my coral necklace buried under my breastplate. "-and we're partners, so if I'm ranking up so are you; sure, you aren't a hunter like me but you are just as significant," Flicking his nose, I trotted along. "Now, come on, we have a rank-up quest to fulfill - yah!"
My motivational speech was cut thin when I stumbled back after crashing into someone. "Watch where you're going!" They snapped.
"Eh? Sorry," I winced, rubbing my nape when I saw. I blinked. "Myst?"
The white mare adjusted her glare apologetically, "Oh, sorry, Akira, Argo," She levitated her supplies back into her bag, looking me up and down with genuine surprise. "You look... good?"
"Thanks!" I puffed my chest out. "Though, I'm gonna have nightmares about Popo for a while," The chef gave me a Limited Voucher for our troubles. "My PTSD aside, you look great, new armor too."
"Oh, this?" Myst stepped back, the unicorn gesturing to her Anjanath armor, the telling was the pinkish-red scales and raven fur. She was more or less the same as me, focused on mobility over defense for her longsword. So gauntlet, chestplate, even a small sash of black fur too, and a few blades of hair attached to a headband with a firecrest on the forehead plate. She looked really cool in it. "It's just temporary, I ended up capturing an Anjanath for my... um, own rank trial..." She trailed off. So that meant she was already two stars.
"I mean, hey, we'll be catching up very soon," I challenged. It was strange talking to Myst so... casually now, before, she'd look at me as if I was gum at the bottom of her hoof, a pain in the neck. Now? She actually shot back my look with her own fiery smirk.
"Hm, then good luck to you," Myst's smile fell back to a frown. Following her gaze, I wasn't impressed to see that Blue was waving her over to their group by the cafeteria. She sighed. "I'm taking a quest now, so I have to go... um, sorry."
"For what?" I cocked my head and then motioned to Silver's crew. "Dumb and Dumber? Just because you're partnering up with them doesn't make you the same, you're a lot nicer - I-I mean, you are nice - not that you w-weren't I just always bothered you s-so I never--" She... laughed, it was quiet and honestly kinda cute, but she laughed.
"I think I get it, but really, good luck, both of you," She passed between us, and for the briefest moment our shoulders touched, and I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. What was that?
"Akira?" Argo stood before me when I shook my head clear. I'll save that for later, we have a monster to hunt.
"Let's move, we're wasting daylight!"
Special Assignment
Emerald of the Forest ⭐⭐
Main Objective
*Hunt a Rathian
Forgotten Oak | Reward 1000 Bits | Fee 250 Bits
I wasted little time getting my boots dirty, flying through the forest at lightning speeds, my scoutflies leading the way to another set of footprints and broken branches, picking up the tracks and lingering aura, I chased after the emerald green trail, passing by Jaggi, Groggi, and other lesser monsters. My wings beat fast through the foliage, my clutch claw whipping me around tight turned, my speed decreasing very little in my hunt for the great terror of the forests of Equestria. With a branch above, I swung my hook, flinging me high into the open air where I made it to my destination, the center of the Forgotten Oak.
In this place, massive roots forced away the smaller trees, creating archways and ridges around the dead tree. The largest tree could be found, hollow and long since dead was used as a primary nesting ground for many monsters, with two entrances through the thick bark overgrowing with plant life, and a view of the sky from above. If I was here a thousand years ago, this tree would've been bigger than Canterlot Castle. Setting down on a bridge of roots over a lakebed below, my scoutflies returned, and I carefully crept toward the mouth of the hollow tree.
Inside was what I'd expect, many dead branches and scorch marks covered the area. If I read the report, the Rathian had migrated here to nest so it scared off all locale wildlife from the hollow tree, basically a house crasher with mood swings. Fortunate for me, no Rathian, but I didn't want to test my misfortune and find I would be faced with the girl's boyfriend. That's not a fate I can tackle alone. Instead, I approached the empty nest, still warm too. Three eggs sat perfectly center, forgot how fast these guys can reproduce.
"Alright, no mama drake yet, so I guess I'll just wait for her to come back," Sitting down next to the eggs, I let my curiosity take hold, prodding one with my wing. "So, you three will one day be fire-spitting nightmares, huh?" Like the Guild rules state, no hunting for sport, so maybe someday I'll fight these guys, or perhaps someone will make an omelet out of them, who knows?
*Fwoosh!*
"Eh?" I lifted my head toward the sun now directly above the hollow tree, what I saw was not one, but three suns. Three rapidly approaching suns. My eyes widened, and I quickly scampered out of the way with a totally not girly wail. The meteors collided with the earth, setting the driest branches ablaze when something large and heavy banished the flames and heat. I mentally slapped myself. "Are you freakin' kidding me, that sixth sense Dad rambled about is real!?" Note to self, no touchin' da child next time.
The flames and black smoke dissipated, and I soon came face to face with my target. She was a medium-sized true-flying wyvern similar in looks to her male counterpart. Her hide is a dull, muted green and her lower mandible features a long, protruding chin spike. Her upper back and wingtips are covered in a moss-like fur, and a clubbed tail protruding sharp and highly poisonous needles. Those predator's eyes glowered down at me, spreading her wings, she unleashed a powerful roar. The Queen of the Land, Rathian had arrived.
Despite the odds stacked against me, I withdrew my new sword with a fanged smile and devilish eyes, four swords swung above my head, infusing me with their scarlet might. I've already fought quite the roster of monsters, and Gura was already a two-star, so I couldn't disappoint him by wasting his generous donation now! "Ante Up." Flames danced in my vision as I said this.
Flames exploded behind me, my sword tearing across Rathian's flank in a series of wide slants before it tried to swipe me with its tail, turning twice before charging to bite at my shield. Rathian backed away from my attacks, diving into a backspin, the spines of the tail narrowly missing my chest as I copied her, flying forward past another fire blast, carving across the cheek toward the left eye before bringing my shield down on her head with a slap. Rathian roared, spinning once more with her spined tail ringing off my shield.
Landing with her, Rathian charged, knocking me away from her backside again, then she doubled back, repeating the action, giving me little to no time to counterattack. Eventually, she stopped her stupid pacing to reel back her neck, spitting three fire blasts throughout the area. I blocked the first down the middle with my shield, closing the gap with a magenta blade. "Night Slash - Arc!" I zipped from the collarbone to the base of her tail, then across the length of the limb, leaving a purple contrail in my wake when she fell over. Perfect. Sheathing my blade, I drew my forehooves high, catching the sunlight. "Metal Claw!"
With a flurry of cross cuts, white fissures across her scales began to form; performing a back kick when she stood to swing her tail, I doubled back, blocking her bulky tail when the queen took flight again, swooping low to knock me down to earth for her to nearly land on me, clamping her jaws around my shield, attempting to wrestle it from my leg. Flapping my wings in longer, powerful strokes, I pulled back then slammed forward, seeing a few teeth chip, slipping my shield free to smack her across the cheekbone, then across the chin spike followed by a grapple with my clutch claw.
"Here comes the wind-up!" Twisting, I lodged the slinger against her temple, firing the collection of stones against her scales before sending her flying into the wall of the hollow tree, bringing the beast down as a few large scales fell from her crown. Defenseless, I bolstered my agility with Quick Attack, slicing in a series of slashes to whittle down her emerald hide.
Rathian roared, swinging her tail as it cut across my cheek, and the effects of her poison forced my body to double over while she spread her wings to escape. Chugging an antidote with a relieved sigh, I saw her fly west of me. Spreading my wings, I decided to take an alternate route myself. Seconds passed and now I could see the whole forest from atop the hollowed tree. Squinting, I spotted the flying wyvern landing in a clearing not far from the tree. Bending my knees, I jumped and glided toward her location, the scoutflies twirling around me in agreement.
"Heads uuuuup!" Dive bombing on the Rathian attempting to recover its stamina by eating a few helpless Aptonoth, my sword tore a large silver chunk across her wings, disrupting her attempt at a meal. Hopping on my back hooves, I closed the distance to bring forth my Dark Pulse in a tidal wave through my shield, breaking her right-wing and knocking the drake from the skies before she could harness that tail again. Returning to my original plan, I threw something down from my bag and quickly twirled through the trees, tearing away at her tail while she was slowly standing up.
Rathian's eyes took on a red glare, enraged, she spun twice to sweep me and some overconfident Jaggi flying, then she unleashed a faster barrage of fire, smoking out the competition. Flying through the leaves and fire, Rathian brought her neck around to slam against me, but I was ready for it, clashing with my shield until she grounded me, perfect. Flapping harder, I yelled out loud and dragged the face of my shield across the underside of her neck, throwing myself between her legs, narrowly missing her stomps to roll to safety.
Smirking, I taunted her with a wing, her body shivered with rage, taking the bait straight into my trap, literally. Yellow bolts of lightning coursed over her scales, locking down her muscles as I brought my sword's face parallel with my cheek. "I'll be taking my prize now! Night Slash-!" Striking with black lightning, I stripped off more of her armor, and spun on my back hooves to flourish my blade toward the treetops, carving an 'A' through her now severed tail, disarming her of her most lethal weapon. "-Fulcrum!"
The shock trap lost power, and Rathian tumbled onto her stomach, her tail rolling off to the side for later. If this was a normal hunt, I'd be led on a wild goose chase just to chip away at her body, but thanks to Garu, and my abilities, I could win this, no sweat! Quickly sharpening my sword with a whetstone, I dove in for another flurry of attacks to the head and left wing blinding her with a Flash Pod before a single ember could leave her throat, though she did use what remained of her tail to keep me skipping around her legs, aiming for the weak spots between the scales.
Exhausted, the wyvern threw me back by her wings, flying up into the air before diving down in an attempt to grapple me, avoiding it, I realized she used it as a feint, trying to flee through the gap in the trees. Not to be outplayed, I swung my clutch claw, firing the hook around her ankle as the wire and speed at which she left the forest floor pulled me through the trees, carrying a number of branches and leaves with me. Decoupling from her, I narrowly dove away from her mid-air fire blast, wrapping my hoof around her head to bring my slinger close enough to blind her with another flash pod, dropping her like a sack of bricks from up high.
Hearing the painful crash and the various flocks of birds leaving the crash site, I descended to find Rathian groaning in the mud, her other wing's membrane was torn as well. Taking the time to carve out what I wanted from her tail, I saw her stand with a wheeze, drooling with fatigue before taking flight a lot less quickly. She's going to search for another food source and then return home, can't let that happen, this ends now.
Following the scoutflies to where Rathian retreated wasn't as easy as last time, she kept low, flying back into the forest given the condition of her wings. When I landed I was in a very familiar place. A large, root-filled basin, fallen trees, and bushes surround almost all sides. And a mossy overhang that led back into the forest via dirt and tree-covered bank. This was where I fought Gore Magala. I got an unpleasant shiver when I landed, the trees were all still laying in the mud, exposing the roofed area to sunlight as Rathian hobbled toward the river nearby to drink, but she paused, gums pulled back into a snarl when she faced me.
"Nowhere left to run," She seemed to think the same thing, talons digging at the ground, flexing her wing muscles. I did the same, drawing my sword forward with a slow breath. Popping the lid off my red drink, I felt a demonic strength rush through my bones, the second the jar clattered to the ground, Rathian swung her head back, expelling flames across the gap. Taking flight, I weaved between the scorching flames, slashing across her face before diving underneath her bite, swiping at the weakened wings when she decided to pivot sharply, her tail smacked against my shield before diving into a backspin midair, swatting me toward the sky.
Shaking off the blunt force trauma, I spun back around into a crescent slash with Night Slash, tearing through the vertebrae, taking the wind from her sails as the queen crumbled to the ground again, paralyzed by a secondary trap I had crafted on the way here with a trap kit and a Thunderbug. It wouldn't hold her for long this time so I swan dived, driving the jagged edge of my shield against her neck, bringing the beast down with a thunderous slam. Wind erupted around us, and the trap was about to fail but Rathian struggled to her feet again, pushing against her wing talons. Her aura was fading, I guess I could use the two tranq bombs I had to capture her and us the trouble of throwing each other around the forest some more.
Plucking out two pink balls with my right wing, I juggled them in the air with a firm stare. With two tosses, the cloud of pink smoke engulfed Rathian, and she stumbled within the trap, eventually falling fast asleep at my hooves. My heart was racing so much that I almost felt like it was just a trick, but no, the longer I stood there, the harder the realization hit me. "I... I did it," My smile twitched to life, and my ears perked up. "Hahaha, I actually did it!"
With some swagger, I stuck the flare into my slinger and fired it once, alerting any nearby Palicoes to my capture as I dusted off my hooves against my breastplate, bowing to Rathian. "And that is checkmate," Well, she's no King but my point stands.
Taking a look around, it didn't appear to be a locale for any nearby monsters, so I guess I could sit around for the Palicoes to arrive, maybe I can pet one this time? So fluffy! But my moment of cheerfulness felt very stagnant, rather, my stomach started to twist into knots. "Did I botch the Demondrug?" That would be an ugly mess later. No, this was something else, my aura was going on the fritz again like something else was trying to plunge itself into my own?
The sky. The sun.
It was darker, the light was shrouded with a dark pigment.
My gasp hitched as I spun around to the lip of the basin back into the forest, stalking along the edge was a sight that made my blood run cold, and my hooves turn to jelly. Large, black claws dug into the soil, and a rounded head craned itself in my direction, then it snarled as it saw me, spilling blackish-purple vapor into the area before leaping high into the air, slamming down beside me with a carnivorous roar that shook the earth under me. I slipped, the slope leading down to the river dragging me with it as I yelped.
Tumbling out into a clearing in the trees, the light couldn't reach me as I stood up to assess my surroundings again, three balls of shadow struck the earth around me, leaving black pools in their wake, purple light emanating from the mist. From above, a black shadow landed across the river in the eclipse. It braced the earth with its additional claws, the flexible membrane shimmering in the darkness with cracks of violet that spread to its face and elongated the demonic horns.
Gore Magala was here, he found me! My hooves trembled as I stared him down again, the same creature I barely escaped last time. "Can I even beat him now?" Of course, I was doubtful, not even my Dad fought one, and he was wary of its Frenzy Virus. This monster was a calamity all its own, and I had no one else to back me up. Argo, Garu, even Myst were far away.
Even so, I clenched my teeth, adjusting my sword grip with a quick spin, catching the red glint on my blade. "It's not a matter if I can do it, I will fight! I'm not running away this time!" Elder Dragon or not, I'm clipping its wings!
The non-Elder Dragon roared powerfully, far greater than Rathian. Then, with its body swept high into the air, the Black Eclipse descended upon a stupidly brave little filly.
"Hyrrrraaaah!!/Rrrrrraaaaaaaa!!"
To Be Continued...