Pinkie tried to get to her feet, cautious of the man approaching her. He didn't seem like he wanted to hurt her, but, with the way her day had gone so far, she wasn't about to take any chances.
"Who are you? And what do you want with me?" she was trying to sound menacing, but that was rather difficult when your voice was as high-pitched as hers. She managed to stand, having to use the Switch Axe as a crutch, rendering it nigh useless as a weapon.
"Calm down, kid." the man said, holding his hands up to show that he had no intention of harming her. "I'm the village elder's kid. I'm out here working on the base camp so that the Guild can get you on your way to actually hunting." he motioned up the hill he had descended, and Pinkie could see what appeared to be a run down base camp. "Ever since my dad hung up the Great Sword, no one around here had been hunting. We didn't have the need. Nothing was dangerous enough." he paused, his tone becoming very serious. "All I can say is, whatever's causing these earthquakes needs to be stopped. They keep getting worse and, at this rate, our island is going to end up at the bottom of the ocean." Pinkie's eyes widened.
"Can that actually happen?" she asked. The tone in her voice was somewhere between fear and wonder. The elder's son just nodded his head, a grim look on his face. They stared at each other for a few moments before the silence was broken by something roaring in the distance.
"They're getting restless." The elder's son looked up at the sky, the sun starting to drop into the ocean. "You're not well equipped enough to deal with what comes out here at night." and with that, he ushered Pinkie back to the village. As they walked along the bridge connecting the village to the hunting grounds, Pinkie swore she saw the massive tail of some manner of monster break the water's surface before dropping out of sight again. She was tired, and sore, so she shook the thought from her head and resumed her walk, dragging her weapon behind her. "Now, I'd suggest going to sleep, but a little birdy told me you haven't visited the farm, yet."
"Well, I was going to!" Pinkie defended herself, fire returning to the tired girl's eyes. "But that meany-mean pants blacksmith practically chased me out of town!" this just made her companion chuckle.
"Yeah, he's not the easiest to get along with. Speaking of which..." as they neared the village end of the bridge, standing at the end, arms folded in front of his chest, and a stern look chiseled on his face, was Rarity's father.
"Well?!" he barked, glaring at Pinkie. "Since you don't have bite marks in you and all your limbs are attached, I'd say it served its purpose well!" Pinkie had recoiled again as he spoke. He was so loud and aggressive.
"It...It was fine." her voice started to shrink, as though these was actively brandishing a weapon at her. "It seemed to kill small things with ease."
"Hot damn!" he clapped a hand on his knee. "I told them tight asses it was a good idea!
"B-but I only ki-"
"But did they listen to me? No! They never do!"
"There was just a fe-"
"Did it transition to sword mode well? No hitches or snags? How did the exhaustion field work? Were you able to kill something bigger than a Jaggi?" Pinkie had honestly been trying to get a word in edgewise with the blacksmith, but he showed no sign of stopping his barrage of questions.
"Magnum!" the chief's son shouted, silencing the blacksmith. "If you don't let her answer, how will you know any of this?" Pinkie dropped her eyes, blushing. She was never this shy back home. Of course, she had also lived in that town her whole life and knew everyone. This was like starting a new job and having the management dislike you.
"Sir, Magnum, sir!" Pinkie forced herself to sound confident. She was going to have to learn to work with this man if she was going to succeed in this job. "The Axe performed wonderfully, sir! Though, I regret to inform you that after a near-fatal fall, I was only confronted with a pack of small...Jaggi, you called them. I dispatched three of them before the others scattered. The chief here showed up right before night fell. More extensive testing will be required before I can give you a reliable answer!" she saluted, hoping that that was up to his expectations. Magnum scratched his chin, thinking.
"That'll do, girl." he finally spoke. Pinkie felt a wave of relief come over her. She let out the breath she had been unwittingly holding. "But!" and she snapped back to attention. "You got a lot of work to do for me!" he made his way over behind the anvil he used for crafting. He dragged out a set of blueprints and showed them to her. "That is what we'll need to upgrade that hunk of bone you're lugging around. Get all those parts, and we'll see what we can do!" and then he did something Pinkie never expected. He smiled. And she smiled back. She'd finally broken through his shell, at least a little bit. "Now, be off with ya! I got work to do." Pinkie turned on her heel and made her way to the farm. The only place in town she hadn't visited.
She stepped across the bridge, finding the farm mostly empty. There was a waterfall in the back of the farm, and it looked like there was a cave behind there. She couldn't really tell in the fading light. An old woman was using a cane to make her way around. She was muttering under her breath as she lit a torch near what looked like a log used for growing mushrooms.
"Ma'am?" Pinkie's voice made the old woman jump.
"Who's there?!" she looked around, cane raised as though she were preparing to strike down a foe. "I killed three Rathians at once with nothing more than two sticks and a rock!" she waved her cane. "So don't even thi-Oh..." her eyes fell upon Pinkie Pie, who's expression was somewhere between disbelieving and impressed. "Hello dearie." she spoke softly, lowering the end of the cane into the dirt to stabilize herself again. "What brings you out here?"
"I, uhh..." Pinkie started. "Really? Two sticks and a rock?" she raised an eyebrow. The old lady smiled.
"A story for another time, child." she waved a hand, casually. "Now, I imagine yer here for a reason, and if it's cultivatin' you want done, I'll have you know that these old bones can't do more than grow a few plants. My help ran off when the last earthquake hit." she shook her head, slightly disgusted. "Young'uns ain't never gonna' earn their Cutie Marks with that attitude." she looked Pinkie in the eyes again. "Ooohhh...You're our new resident Hunter. I've seen that spark in my own eyes when I was your age. Th'name's Granny Smith, child. And if you ever need something planted, you come to me, alright? I'll make sure it all gets taken care of." she smiled warmly at Pinkie, who walked up and shook hands with the elderly lady, grinning broadly. "Who knows. If you can manage to stop whatever's causin' this dern earthquakes, the girls may just come back. Then, we can really start helping you out!"
"Thanks, Granny!" Pinkie was thrilled that everyone in the village, Magnum aside, was so friendly. She left the farm, waving jovially before making her way back to her house. A few torches and the moonlight being her guide. She stepped into her home and threw her ruined gloves on top of her trunk, resting her weapon up against the wall. She sat on the edge of her bed, staring out over the ocean, and she was sure she saw it again. That massive tail, cresting the surface before dropping back into the abyss. She blinked slowly, and she started to feel her consciousness fade. Sleep soon overtook her and she began snoring gently.
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Pinkie rose early the next morning, finally feeling refreshed. She dug through her trunk and found the extra set of gloves the Guild had provided her. She slipped them on and latched her axe onto her back, making her way out into the bright, morning sun. She stretched, letting the sun warm her, and a smile spread across her face. Today was going to be a good day. She noticed, however, that no one else seemed to be awake. She looked around, only seeing Lyra pouring over some books behind her counter.
"What's the word, Lyra?" Pinkie approached, smiling. Lyra looked up, a scowl on her face.
"'Bullshit' seems oddly fitting." the mint hair girl said darkly. "How do they expect any of this to get done by just one Hunter?!" she threw her hands up in mock surrender. "All these requirements they want you to fulfill before they'll even start sending you real requests in inhumane!"
"Well..." Pinkie began, thoughtfully. She felt bad for the liaison and really wanted to help. "What about Tanzia?" she asked.
"What about it?" Lyra's voice softened, but she raised an eyebrow. "Pinkie, the monsters over there will chew you up and spit you out...You just became a Hunter. And you've only managed to kill three Jaggi..." Lyra was trying her best not to be a downer, but it was her job to make sure this girl didn't get herself killed.
"Isn't Tanzia a hub, though?" Pinkie asked. "Maybe I can join someone else's hunt?" she sounded hopeful. Lyra's face scrunched in thought. Every fibre of the liaison's being screaming that this was a bad idea. "Isn't it at least worth a shot?"
"Ugh...No, it isn't. You're not going to let that stop you, though. Are you?" Lyra added hopeful inflection to the last two words before realizing that Pinkie was waving to her as the boat for Tanzia departed, with the new Hunter on board. "W-wait! Pinkie! Dammit!"
"Be back soon, Lyraaaaaa!" Pinkie waved jovially, smiling at her own genius. This was the best plan ever.
Pinkie disembarked at Tanzia Port, noting how much more of a thriving hub it was than Moga. There were several tradesmen, and all the same facilities that Moga had, but everything here seemed so much nicer. More modern. They seemed to have working machines. The Wyverian who ran the blacksmith here had almost an assembly line set up. Pumping out new weapons for the vendor to sell. She took a left, marveling at the structures around her as she walked towards the tavern and her first real hunt. Stepping through the archway, she immediately noticed a change in atmosphere. The girl running the shop to Pinkie's right tipped up her cowboy hat to look at the girl.
"Haven't seen you around here before, pardner. Name's Applejack!" she reached across the counter, shaking Pinkie's hand. "I run the Guild shop here." Pinkie noticed how much more well outfitted Applejack's shop was in comparison to Rarity's.
"Nice to meet you!" Pinkie said. "I'm Pinkamena Dianne Pie! But just call me Pinkie!" a look of surprise came over AJ's face.
"Waitaminute..." she took a long look at Pinkie. "Aren't you that Hunter that's fresh off the boat over at Moga?" Pinkie nodddd, smiling. People already knew who she was. How cool was that? "Girl, what do ya think yer doin' here?" she leaned closer, lowering her voice. "This place is for Hunter's with experience. Not someone who barely got their feet wet. You tryin' ta get yerself killed?" Pinkie's smile faded.
"Why does everyone think I'm going to get killed out here?" Pinkie asked, looking slightly defeated.
"Because ya will, sugarcube. The monsters that these guys fight mean business." she motioned around, and Pinkie noticed just how incredibly well armed some of them looked. "Look, darlin', just take yerself home and get some experience under yer belt. This isn't a game. You won't magically come back ta life if somethin' out there decides to make a meal outta' ya." it wasn't resignation that appeared on Pinkie's face. It was sheer and utter defiance.
"Really? Is that what you think?!" Pinkie barked, drawing a bit of attention to herself. "I'll have you know that I graduated top of my class," a blatant lie. "and that they were begging, begging me to come take care of Moga. I told them I'd have to free up time in my excessively full schedule to save some tiny village." another lie. She was tired of people telling her she couldn't do this. She knew she could. She just had to! Applejack raised her hands, taken aback.
"Simmer down, Sally." she waved her hands, trying to calm the Hunter down. "Ah just don't want ya ta go get killed, is all."
"And I won't, thank you kindly." Pinkie turned and strode off, noticing a bulletin board with quests posted. She flipped through them. How could Applejack treat her like that? She didn't know her. Pinkie was still in a huff as she looked through the list of quests. "Dire Moralis, Agnaktor, Gigginox...Geez. These all sound super-duper tough." she spoke, mostly to herself. At last, she came across a quest that had a picture of what appeared to be an oversized chicken. She giggled slightly, and a voice from her left made her jump.
"No one else seems to want to help me." a young man's voice spoke to her. "You, however, look interested. You also appear to be just about as green as I am." she turned to face him and had to force herself not to laugh. He wore the same type of leather armor she did, a Heavy Bowgun compacted on his back, but his hair. His hair was a bright pink pompadour. It looked numbingly hysterical on someone as serious as him. She held it in as long as she could, but her laughter exploded out of her, she even snorted a few times, wiping tears away after a few minutes and finally making eye contact with him. He had a stern look, one that showed he was used to this reaction. "You done?" venom laced sarcasm drifted into that last question, and Pinkie nodded, a quivering smile still spread across her face. He extended his hand in a friendly gesture. "Let's start over. I need help on this quest, you look willing and able. My name's Wookie Love." another wave of giggles that she suppressed much quicker this time, shaking his hand.
"Pinkamena Pie." she said, words almost choked by laughter.
"Shall we, Pinkamena?" he nodded towards the boat that was preparing to depart to their destination.
"We shall." and they boarded, setting sail. It was a short ride, much shorter than the last she had been on. She soon recognized the place where they had been dropped off. "Hey...This is the hunting grounds outside the Moga Village..." she looked up. "Yeah. There's that cliff I fell off of."
"Remind me to stay away from you if we're ever near the edge of anything." Wookie said, digging through the blue supply trunk at the base camp. "Here." he tossed her the other half of the supplies. This included a few whetstones, potions, and some rations to tide over hunger. Pinkie started eating her rations right away, much to the disapproving look on Wookie's face.
"What?!" she said through a mouthful of whatever the rations were made of. "I skipped breakfast!" he just shook his head, descending the hill from the camp and into the open area at the base of the cliff Pinkie took the fall from. She was close behind, finishing the last of her food. The hunting grounds really were almost serene. It was kind of hard to believe that things out here wanted to kill them. "Soooo..." Pinkie began, wanting to make small talk. If things went well here, they may end up being hunting partners. She didn't want to screw this up. "What made you decide to become a Hunter?" he didn't answer her right away, his sharp eyes moving left and right, surveying the area around them. He'd never done battle with a Qurupeco, and wasn't sure what to expect. "Hey!" he jumped.
"Shut the hell up!" he barked. Pinkie took a quick step back. "Sorry. Look, this shit's dangerous. We're gonna' get fuckin' merked if we're not careful. Stow the small talk until we're not within earshot of something that's three times our size and violent." then he heard it. Flapping wings. Large ones, too, by the sound of things. Pinkie looked up, seeing a large creature pass over the cliff, descending into the wetland area just north of them. "Let's move!" Wookie's command snapped her out of her reverie, and she sprinted behind him, her right hand never drifting far from the hilt of her weapon.
They passed through a small valley, and her companion stopped short, pressing his back up against the natural stone wall. He peeked around, watching the large bird wyvern walk slowly through the shallow water. It occasionally stopped and raised its head, staying alert of its surroundings. He looked back to Pinkie, who was panting slightly. Then back towards the monster.
"Okay." he began, his voice quiet as he drew slow, even breaths. He was nervous. He was as new to this as Pinkie was, and he felt like he probably shouldn't be here. Against his better judgement, and the advice of his former teacher, he came here anyway. He raised his left hand and pointed at her, then pointed to a rock that was about thirty feet away. "If we want to have a chance, we're going to have to flank this thing. Get over there as fast as you can...On my mark...Get set..." he watched the Qurupeco's movements, and as soon as it seemed sufficiently distracted, he thrust his hand down. Pinkie took off immediately, making a b-line for the rock. She was about ten feet away when her foot caught a rock and she tripped. She let out a small cry that was silenced as she started eating the dirt, but that was enough.
The Qurupeco raised its head and turned towards the sound it heard. Tilting its head sideways, it got a look at the girl on the ground, a chirruping noise formed in its throat as it started its approach.
"Owies...That hurt." she pushed herself onto her feet, looking over to her right and watching in horror as the monster approached her. The picture had made it look comical. In reality, this thing was downright frightening. It had a bright red chest, which expanded in a frog-like manner as it breathed. It had what appeared to large chunks of flint at the fold of its wings. It clicked them together menacingly as it approached her, its long legs moving fluidly as sparks flew in front of it.
"Fuuuuuuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck..." Wookie had pulled the Bowgun off his back as soon as she tripped. He hadn't quite got the hang of loading the thing, yet, and was having a few complications. He wrestled with it for a moment before he heard the satisfying click that indicated his success. He brought it to bear and took aim. Pinkie was staying surprisingly still, praying that this creature was a sight hunter. "Hey, asshole!" Wookie shouted, and the wyvern turned its gaze on him, just at the right time to receive a shot to the head. It let out a screech, which made Pinkie jump due to her proximity, before it collapsed to the ground, flailing its legs. "Now, Pinkamena!" he yelled, seeing that she was forgetting that this thing was going to try and kill her. "Attack its head!" he answered the look she gave him before she could ask the question.
"Right!" her confidence came back in a flash, adrenaline pumping. She ran forward and drew her weapon, bringing it down with all her strength, putting as much of her weight into the blow as she could. The axe head clicked into position and struck true. Making a small crack on the beak of the creature. It let out another screech, then flung its wing out to strike Pinkie, knocking her off her feet again. She recovered as fast as she could, but the bird was already moving to attack her companion. Apparently it found being blindsided more offensive than being struck with an axe. "Oh, no you don't!" Pinkie gave chase and swung at the creature's legs. She whiffed and almost lost her footing as the creature made a leap towards Wookie, bringing the stones on its wings together hard as it closed the gap between them. It looked like a small explosion, and Wookie barely rolled out of the way, avoiding the worst of it. He got a small burn on his arm, but it could have been worse. He fired another slug into the beast a bit prematurely. He hadn't stopped moving, and the recoil made him stumble.
Pinkie moved in to cover her ally, taking a few long strides before thrusting the axe forward and stabbing the back of the monster's leg. She used the momentum she'd built to rotate the hilt, putting the weapon into sword mode before making a large upward swing. She was about to bring the weapon down with full force when the Qurupeco spun around, it's paddle shaped tail knocking her a good ten feet into the air and sending her skidding into the shallow water.
"God dammit!" Wookie had managed to set up, but with Pinkie being knocked away, he had no one to cover him. He aimed at the Qurupeco's knee and took a shot. The slug veered off to the right and took a chunk out of the rock before ricochetting harmlessly away. He started to take aim again as the Qurupeco's chest puffed, but his Bowgun clicked helplessly. "Empty?! Already?!" he yelled and reached into his pouch, pulling another clip out, throwing them empty one to the side. "Nap time is over, Pinkamena!" he glared over at her, the girl getting shakily to her feet with the help of her axe. The Qurupeco didn't attack, however. It had puffed out its chest, building up air and making a clicking sound, then fell silent for a moment before letting out a roar that did not sound as if it would naturally come from that creature. Wookie stared at it, thinking it was just trying to intimidate them. He looked at Pinkie again and noticed the sheer horror on her face. "It's just a little noise! Be a Hunter!"
"A little noise?!" she yelled. "How do you not recognize that sound?!" she flailed the arm that wasn't clutching the Bone Axe.
"The fuck are you talking about?" he wasn't yelling anymore. It wasn't even directed at her. But then, he heard it. A roar in the distance and the flapping of wings. "Wait...Tell me it called another!" Pinkie shook her head, vigorously. The Qurupeco finished its call and started to move towards Pinkie. There was a loud screech as a massive green wyvern performed a nose dive towards Wookie. "Fuck me..." were all the words her could utter as the Rathian performed a graceful midair flip out of the dive, smashing her poison coated tail hard into the Hunter's torso and knocking him into the wall of the valley, causing his body to crumple to the ground. He was unconscious within seconds of impact.
"Snake?! SNAAAAAA-I mean, WOOOOOOOOOKIEEEEEEE!" Pinkie made an attempt to run to his aid, but the Qurupeco caught her with another slap of his tail, knocking her into the path of a fireball from the Rathian. Searing, horrendous pain filled her body, her mind screaming that she was surely going to die here, and then blackness.
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Pinkie sat bolt upright. She was in her room in Moga Village. For a moment, she thought she'd just had a horrible nightmare, but the bandages and pain proved otherwise. Her left arm was in a sling, but it didn't feel broken. She checked her range of motion, cringing in pain, but finding nothing broken. Someone had stripped her armor off her and dressed the myriad of wounds she'd been covered in.
"You're welcome, you colossal idiot." Lyra's voice rang out from her doorway. "How about actually listening to me the next time I tell you something is dangerous..." Pinkie's eyes fell.
"Yes, ma'am..." then, she let out a gasp. "What about the other Hunter?! Is Wookie dead?!"
"No. He's recovering. Geez. I figured you, of all people, would realize just how much it takes to actually kill you guys." Lyra shook her head. "His pride was a bit damaged. Those things bodied you guys pretty hard. He'll be fine though." when Lyra looked at Pinkie, she didn't see shame or defeat in the Hunter's eyes. She saw pure, righteous determination. She had to smile.
"Never again, Lyra. As soon as I'm healed enough to get back out there I'm going to gather the resources and materials and I'm going to do this right!" she clenched her fists. "And when I'm damn good and ready, I'm going to find that Qurupeco. And when I do, I'll make it rue the day it crossed Pinkamena Dianne Pie!" she stood up on her bed, striking a dynamic pose before crumpling back into a heap.
"Just stay down, Pinkie. You're gonna' be off your feet for a while." Lyra shook her head and turned, heading outside. "Get some rest. We'll start physical therapy as soon as your burns heal." Pinkie nodded and whimpered, getting back under the covers and drifting off to sleep.