//------------------------------// // Prologue - The hunter (Edited) // Story: Tale of a monster hunter // by HiddenUnderACouch //------------------------------// The sky was covered in grey clouds and raindrops started to fall, slowly forming puddles on already messy ground. The cold bitter breath of the north was blowing. The winter was nigh. The road under your hooves was gritty, dirty, and the trees around you looked like something out of a scary children fairytale. Fluttershy grinned. The first thing she would add to the paycheck was a good bath for her hooves. The raindrops were falling right on her wide brimmed hat, breaking apart in thousands of little droplets. The hat was well made and didn't let the liquid through. But the rain escalated and Fluttershy decided to find a sufficient shelter before the water gets through her cape and ruins the equipment. Several minutes of running under trees, she finally reached an old rundown inn. The walls outside were almost black from age and the roof was covered in moss. But through the windows, Fluttershy saw the light – that means; somepony actually lives in this piece of rot. She approached the front doors and heard loud laughter and piano music from inside. Looks like some kind of a drunk party was going inside. Maybe the local sheriff decided to celebrate his anniversary, or some highway ponies are drinking away the stolen money. Or maybe just some moronic students who were wasting their rich parents' money on booze and cheap whores. Fluttershy sighed and entered this foul den. It was much worse than she thought. The inn was filled with Royal Guards, the worst kind of them – ex-criminals. Since the level of poverty boomed, the woods and streets of big cities were filled with thieves and racketeers. There were so many of them, the Royal Guard started enlisting those willing to 'repent', a.k.a get drunk and laid free of charge. The inn itself was quite suitable for these kinds of ponies – the old wallpapers were yellow from the smoke and in some corners you could see very dark stains – probably from those who drank too much and were not able to hold it in their stomachs. The smell of sweat and alcoholic fumes was so strong that Fluttershy felt nauseous, but she quickly defeated this horrible feeling. The drunken Royal Guards, who were just roaring and burping peacefully, turned their attention to her. One of them, the youngest one, rose up from his seat "Whoa ... hey, guys, look ... we've got a new girl to play with!" he said, reeling. "Can't see if she's pretty though, under that hat, heh..." Fluttershy didn't reply, she just continued her way to the bar. When she was passing beside this crowd, one of them jumped right in her way. He spread his wings, covering all the ways around him. "Hey, where do you think you're going? ... There is a price to pay for the passage ... A night with each of us, heh," the guard said in a very drunk voice, barely standing. Fluttershy wanted to find a way around him, but another guard, a unicorn, came up from behind. "Hey, miss, you've got some ... benefits,“ he said, staring right at her flanks. "Mind if I examine them closely?" He then proceeded to grab her tail. "Hmm, pink. I like this color, my favorite," he said, examining her tail. "And what's your favorite color, honey?" "Crimson red,“ Fluttershy replied as she kicked him right in the jaw. The unicorn flew back and fell down on the floor, spitting blood from all the broken teeth. Fluttershy then bit one of the wings of the guard right in front of her, and hit it with her hoof right where it was connecting to his body, breaking it. The poor Pegasus fell down screaming. Fluttershy turned to the rest of this drunken bunch and grinned evilly. "You boys want some fun? Come on then, I like it rough!" she said, as the leather wristband on her right hoof released a little blade. This wristband was one of the most precious things in her collection and made in a very interesting fashion. It allowed her to manipulate the blade inside, sheathing and releasing it with quick movements of the wrist. Quick, efficient, and deadly. The guards backed away, scared. One of them, the most drunken, rushed forward, planning to ram her down. Fluttershy dashed to the right side, and, just as this poor idiot was running past her, cut one of his legs. The guard unleashed a chilling scream and landed right on one of the tables, knocking it down. "Not bad, for a roadside slut," a big earth pony said as he walked out of the crowd. He was the leader, with special marks of honor on his chest. He was the biggest of them all and, surely, just stole them from less strong guards. "Can't say the same. I expected much more from you, boys," Fluttershy said mockingly. The big guard growled and grabbed a big knife from the table with his mouth. Then he started slowly approaching Fluttershy as his friends surrounded them, cutting off any means for retreat. She just smiled heartily as this big mass of muscles armed with a knife was coming closer and closer. She raised her blade and pointed it right at him. The deafening sound of exploding powder echoed through the little inn and the room was filled with smoke. The blade flew out of the wristband and hit the big knife, knocking it right out of the big guy's mouth. He looked at the knife, then at her, then at the knife again. After that he proceeded to run away, his friends quickly following him. Seconds after, the inn was clear of the guards. "Oh, stallions these days. Can't satisfy a girl at all," she said, picking up her blade and putting it back into the wristband. Then, she slowly approached the bar, where the innkeeper was standing with his mouth open wide. "Whiskey," Fluttershy said coldly, took a little bag of gold from under her cape and threw it on the bar. The innkeeper finally closed his mouth and put a bottle of some fancy whiskey in front of her. "Here you go; No charge for you," he said, giving back the gold. "Thanks," she replied and opened the bottle and drank some. “Ah, some good whiskey right there, unusual for such a rundown den,” she thought "Sorry, of course, but, may I know your name? Just asking," the innkeeper said, while cleaning the bar. She sneered. "The name's Fluttershy," she said. "Van Fluttershy, if you want to be fancy." "Oh, a monster hunter. What brought you here, and where are you heading?" "Job. Heading to Ponyville," Fluttershy replied and drank a little bit more. "Ponyville, eh? Then be wary, those idiots are stationed in Ponyville," the innkeeper warned her. "Don't worry. I can handle myself just fine," she said, taking the bottle, closing it, and put it in the special place under her cape. Then she proceeded to the exit. "Also, hire some guards. You don't want to rely on roaming strangers when it comes to dealing with Royal Guards," she said before shutting the door behind her. The rain was over, but now the road was even more messy that before. She swore to herself that, when she arrived in Ponyville, the first thing she would do is find a pond wash off this dirt. With those thoughts, she continued onward.