//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 - Nowhere is Safe // Story: Monster Hunter Pie // by BronyArmitage //------------------------------// The pair of Hunters made their way through winding halls of the Academy. It was set up a bit like an awkward maze. Some form of subliminal training or other. Pinkie had fallen into silence, as had her partner. She'd gotten into the routine of not speaking very often since the attack on Tanzia. Subconsciously, she knew she wasn't to blame. The worst part about it was that she was having trouble making her conscious mind believe the same thing. Made especially difficult by the fact that everyone else in the Guild seemed to want to believe it as well. As they walked, Wookie noticed the silence coming from his right. She was completely juxtaposed to the way she had been only days ago. A Huntress with a gung-ho attitude and an almost constant smile reduced to a creature of silence and sadness. He silently noted that her hair looked a little flatter than normal, as if all this had actually drained the life out of her. "Pinkie?" he spoke calmly, and she looked up. She was looking at him, but she wasn't really seeing him. He had to wave a hand in front of her face to bring her eyes into focus. "Hey? You gonna' be alright?" he asked her, watching her eyes as they snapped back to reality. "I...Yes." the Huntress said, but she sounded defeated. She'd sounded that way for quite some time. The pink pompadoured Hunter knew why, but he couldn't help but feel a little spite towards her. He'd been at the wrong place at the wrong time and suffered just as gravely as she did. The difference being that the entirety of the Guild was not after him for anything. He wondered how long she was going to be able to hold herself together. They made the rest of the trip to the cafeteria in complete silence. The sounds of their footsteps echoing throughout the halls, but there was nothing else. Dead air between them. Wookie reached out his hand and pushed the cafeteria door open. What the pair of Hunters found before them may as well have been an angry mob. Every eye in the cafeteria turned on them. The silence crashed down on them, before it was broken by a few whispers. Standing at the far end of the cafeteria, on top of a table, was Twilight Sparkle. Her two-tone hair was wild, looking as though she had just been yelling. Her face was flushed, and there were a few beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Standing next to her, on the floor, was a very displeased looking Lyra. The mint haired liaison raised her head when she noticed the silence that fell, and her eyes followed the crowd's. Seeing Pinkie and Wookie standing in the open doors, she started to work her way through the throng of people. "Time to go...Now!" Lyra hissed as Wookie started to hesitate. She grabbed each of them by an arm and dragged them away from the cafeteria, the doors swinging shut loudly in their wake. They'd made it a fair distance down the hall when Wookie finally shook his arm loose, staring at Lyra. "Alright. What the fuck was that about?" his voice came out a little harsher than he had intended, he knew Lyra was on their side, but the entire situation made him uncomfortable. Lyra stopped walking when he shook free, and Pinkie, who had been moving on autopilot with a blank stare, almost fell. She caught herself, but the look in her eyes didn't change. There was nothing inside them. She looked soulless. "What do you think that was about? You guys practically walked in on a hate rally. I'm not quite sure why she's doing it, but Twilight wants to get rid of you two. Really badly. I think she's trying to gain favor with the Guildmasters. Either way, it doesn't matter. We need to keep Pinkie safe. They're going to be after her. All of them. I don't think there's a single person in there who she hadn't won over." Lyra shook her head, her mint hair moving from side to side gently. She closed her golden eyes to think, trying to formulate some kind of plan. "I just...One of us has to be with her at all times. I don't even want to think about what they may do to her if they catch her alone." "Maybe it would be for the best if they did." Lyra and Wookie both looked at Pinkie as she spoke. Her voice sounded as hollow as her eyes looked. There was no emotion anymore, there was no anything. She was completely broken, with no sign of fixing herself anytime soon. "I mean...It is all my fault." Lyra released Pinkie's arm and rested her hand gently on the Huntress's shoulder. She seemed past the point of comforting, now. Now, Lyra was more worried about Pinkie finishing herself off than the rest of the Hunters getting at her. "Maybe I should just quit." "Pinkie..." the liaison stared at her friend, who slowly walked away from her hand. Lyra let it hang in the air for a minute as she watched Pinkie go. "Should...Should we stop her?" the mint haired liaison looked back at Wookie, who had been standing very silently. He watched his hunting partner's back retreat around a corner, and he shook his head. "She hasn't had a moment alone to think since everything happened in Tanzia. It may be wise to let her sort through this a bit on her own. She has to come to terms with all this, and with everyone around worrying over her, or attacking her, it's going to be too difficult. Just...Let her go, for now." Wookie spoke quietly, but Lyra noticed a slightly worried look in his eyes. The pink haired Huntress had made her way onto the Academy grounds. The U-shaped building towered over her, and she stood in the large clearing between them. She hadn't noticed quite how long they'd been at the Academy already, and looked up at the moon, which hung a little lower in the sky than normal. It was a gentle shade of orange. She stared at it for a long time, sitting with her knees hugged against her chest. Her back against a stone wall that lined the area between the buildings. She heard footsteps on the cobblestone path to her right, but she paid them no mind. The Huntress heard them draw closer to her and stop, her eyes never left the moon. "Seems a little dangerous for you to be here on your own, doesn't it?" Twilight's voice was laced with venom. It still held the cold, calculating tone she had always addressed Pinkie with, but there was malice behind it, now. Her eyes reflected that feeling well, as Pinkie looked up at the liaison. Twilight's hair was still out of control, but she was also alone. She hadn't brought a hoard with torches and pitchforks. It was just her. "Maybe." Pinkie's hollow response came. "Couldn't I say the same thing to you? I was expecting an angry mob, or something. You know, like in the old monster movies? I'll be honest, I'm a bit disappointed." the Huntress looked around, wondering if the others were just hiding behind things. "You're unarmed." Twilight spoke, oozing hatred. She held her book tightly against her chest, hugging it as though it were trying to escape. "And? I didn't realize you had an arsenal, Twilight. Tell me, have you hidden it up your ass?" Twilight flinched. She had never heard contempt in Pinkie's voice before, and it was a bit terrifying. Pinkie stood up, and the liaison retreated a few steps. "What's the matter? I'm unarmed." it wasn't Pinkie's state of weaponry that scared Twilight, it was her eyes. They were glowering into the liaison's soul, and she felt her breath quicken. Pinkie turned to face her, and the two stood, facing one another in what appeared to be an old west stand-off. There was a howl in the distance, followed by the faint roll of thunder. Twilight had regained her composure and stood up straighter, trying to make herself look bigger. Pinkie just glared at her. There was another howl, and the roll of thunder sounded much closer. "Go ahead. Make my day." Pinkie hissed. Lighting crashed down from the sky, obliterating the ground between them and throwing them away from one another. Twilight hit the stone wall, blacking out on impact. Pinkie rolled along the ground and quickly gathered herself, jumping to her feet. She looked around, trying to spot the source of the attack, assuming that the Alatreon was behind it. She, however, found nothing. There was nothing in sight, but she heard the thundering sound of something galloping closer. She ducked as something bounded over the stone wall. There was a crackle of lightning, and Pinkie felt whatever it was pass over her. The static electricity the thing emitted made the Huntress's hair stand up on end. She looked up as she heard it land heavily on the ground, her hair falling flat again. Standing in the middle of the courtyard was a creature that Pinkie had never laid eyes on before. Its body was covered in blue scales, and it had a very canine face. Two off white horns jutted out from atop its head, and there was a wide line of fur running from the back of its neck, all the way down to the base of its tail. The scales on its tail matched the off white color of its horns, and it widened at the end, ending in two spikes that acted as conduits for the electricity in its body. It rounded on the Huntress, and she, all at once, realized how helpless she was as its eyes bore down on her. "Pinkie!" she heard her name being shouted, and she looked past the monster to see Wookie running towards her. On his back hung the Warhammer from earlier, he was also carrying the Iron Katana that she had been using. He took one hopping step forward and belted the Longsword through the air. She hurried backwards and jumped, catching the weapon in her hands. She drew the katana and threw the scabbard to the ground, letting it clatter away from her. All at once, the Huntress felt whole again. All thoughts of quitting the Guild, of leaving this lifestyle, vanished as soon as she held a weapon. A characteristic smile spread across her face, and the monster charged her. She dove out of the way, and ran to Wookie's side quickly. Making a mental note of her surroundings. The courtyard of the Academy was far more cluttered than any other place she'd fought before. Trees and large rocks filled the area. She wondered how this would affect the outcome of the battle. "Nice of you to show up. I kind of assumed this was the end." the Huntress drew the Longsword to her standard stance, watching the monster turn to face them, it's amber eyes shimmering in the darkness. "So, what the hell is this thing?" she asked, watching it. "Lyra said it's a Zinogre." the Hunter spoke, he stumbled a bit over the pronunciation of the monster's name. "The Guild doesn't know much about them. They've only been recently spotted. But, one thing's for sure. This one should not be here. The Guild has a barricade up to keep monsters out of the Academy. This thing should never have made it past the wall..." Wookie sounded a bit grave, and the Zinogre began another charge. The pair split, running opposite directions to give themselves room to maneuver. As it got between them, the wolf-esque monster swung its tail in a wide, spinning arc, barely missing the Hunters. Electricity crackled as the monster's inertia lifted it high into the air. It came crashing down, letting out a roar as it landed on its feet. Its movements were lightning quick and erratic. Pinkie had never seen a monster move this way before. She tightened her grip on the hilt of her Longsword and sprinted towards the beast. From the corner of her eye, she saw Wookie closing the gap, too. They came from opposite angles, and the Huntress swung her weapon in a wide, overhead arc, cleaving it deep into the creatures scales. The monster let out a roar before it was silence by Wookie's Warhammer smashing into its mouth. The loud crack of breaking bones echoed off the surrounding buildings, and there were already lights coming on in the overhead dorm rooms. The fight was waking the Hunters-in-training. "We need to end this, quick!" Pinkie yelled as the monster threw itself away from them. It skidded to a halt, and started to howl. The pair of Hunters watched as small, blue orbs of energy started to bound up from the ground. They were completely entranced by the spectacle until, with one final, window shattering howl, a burst of electricity surrounded the Zinogre. The line of fur on its back stood straight up, lightning sparking off its back. It snarled, and the blue glow of electricity swam inside its eyes. Pinkie set her jaw, and the Zinogre let out another howl, lighting splitting the sky and almost striking the Huntress. It hadn't noticed Wookie, who had been working his way around behind it, trying to get the jump on it. It started to rear back to lunge at Pinkie, who had a singe on her arm where the lightning had grazed her. It stood up on it hind legs before taking a heavy blow to the ribs from the Hunter's Hammer. It collapsed heavily to the ground, winded. It flailed a bit before rolling away. Its breathing was labored, and glared at the two of them. "Give me a boost." Pinkie spoke in a hushed tone as she stepped up next to her partner, as though she thought the monster may be able to understand her. "What?" Wookie's reaction was about what Pinkie had expected. He looked at her, eyebrows raised. "A boost?" "Yeah. I have a plan. This thing uses electricity. Just trust me." she didn't elaborate much, and lifted the Longsword into a defensive stance. "Now hit the blade as hard as you can. Make sure to get under me. I need to get some air." he looked at her skeptically before shrugging and stepping backwards. The Zinogre was taking this chance to gather itself, its tongue lolling out of its mouth as it gasped for air. Wookie had broken at least two of its ribs. The Hammer wielding Hunter put his left side towards Pinkie, and she nodded at him. He shook his head slightly and ran forward, rearing back and slamming the head of his Warhammer into the Longsword. Pinkie immediately felt herself go skyward, and she shut her eyes tight. She was going to have a nasty bruise on the leg that took the brunt of that hit. She opened her eyes and looked down. She had almost reached the top of the school at the peak of her trajectory. She took a deep breath as she started to descend. "This...Looks bad." Wookie muttered, and he started running at the Zinogre, who was watching Pinkie with hunger in its eyes. Pinkie's descent increased dramatically in speed, and the electricity crackled through the air. The Zinogre let out a howl, and the Huntress immediately thrust the blade to the sky. The metal drew the bolt of lightning to it, and it accelerated her descent. She hit terminal velocity as Wookie smashed his Hammer into the shin of the Zinogre, staggering it. It was starting to recover, but Pinkie made a full three-sixty spin in the air, and brought the Longsword into the back of the beast's neck. It acted like a super-heated knife through warm butter. She cut the creature's head off and cauterized it, all in one fell swoop. The head arced through the air, landing with a heavy thud on the ground, and Pinkie stood up straight. She had sweat pouring down her face. "Good plan? Great plan." she said with a grin, letting the Longsword drop to the ground.