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The Strange Book1,527 words
A Brand new World2,619 words
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Rumble in the Waterlogged Jungle3,391 words

Rumble in the Waterlogged Jungle

"So what's happening today Raiden? Another Qurupeco? A Great Jaggi? More Arzuros?" Asked Rainbow excitedly as she and Raiden donned their armour for another day of hunting. It had been a week since they had taken the Qurupeco mission, and Rainbow had learned a lot about hunting since then. The biggest thing she had been taught was about the monsters themselves. They were not dumb animals driven by base instinct as she had first thought. They were intelligent, they could plan and adapt, and that was why they were hunted. Monster hunters hunted the monsters who had proved themselves extremely dangerous to settlements and populations, or an extreme disturbance to the land they resided in. Qurupecos for example, could very well disturb the ecosystem of a region simply by imitating the call of a super predator, and attracting one into the region. Thus they had to be removed as soon as possible before such an event could occur. Monsters also were hunted to keep their numbers in check. If populations got out of control it could mean very bad things for regions and their villages.

During the course of the week, Raiden had taught Rainbow as much as he could that was necessary to know. He taught her how to track quarries down, how to properly fight them, and what parts of them were vulnerable and could be broken off for materials. He taught her how to capture, how to set up traps and lure the monsters into them, how to tell if a monster had been weakened enough for capture. He drilled into her his personal hunting rules, and made sure she always followed them. Now the week had passed, and left it's changes behind. Rainbow Dash no longer wore her chainmail armour, but had had a new set of armour made for herself. The armour was comprised mostly of bone and Jaggi hide, and only really covered her barrel. A pauldron of bone sat on her left shoulder, and her lower legs were also shielded by bone, save her left foreleg, which was fitted with a gauntlet of hide. Upon her head was a horned animal skull, which served as a helmet, and upon her flanks was another skull, it's horns wrapping around her waist alongside a leather utility belt (Bone gunner armour set). Her bow had also been upgraded, though there was no drastic change in appearance (Hunter's Bow 2). Raiden likewise, had also gotten new arms and armour. Hard blue plate carapace trimmed with white fur comprised most of the armour, with durable bone shells comprising the greaves and left vambrace. The helmet was a bone forehead plate with an open carapace face guard (Arzuros armour set). Upon his back rested two spike pole axes (Dual Hatchets).

"Easy Rainbow, we need to see what's available first." Answered Raiden, running a hand through his reddish orange hair. The two then left the house and into the busy center market of Moga. The villagers all greeted the two hunters as they passed, while Black and Redspear would once again demand some kind of competition between them and Raiden to prove the fishing fleet superior to the hunter, this time it being an arm wrestle. Raiden refused, saying he was on business. soon the two met up with Cha-Cha, and the trio made it to the quest counter. It was a big shock to both Raiden and Rainbow Dash, when they saw that the fishing fleet had put up a quest for them to slay a Royal Ludroth. Apparently they needed the materials from it to rebuild Redspear's boat.

"Wow, those guys must be desperate if they're coming to you for help." Remarked the pegasus.

"Tell me about it. We really can't refuse it either; Moga needs it's fleet restored as fast as possible. With only the Captain able to fish, it's cutting at the village's food supply. Getting Redspear out there with him will help the village immensely." With that, Raiden filled out the paperwork and paid the fee, and the liaison stamped the quest form, making it official. "All right Rainbow, we're off to Flooded Forest."

"Oh come on, I hate it there. It never stops raining, and my wings get totally waterlogged. Plus this armour isn't exactly made to keep the rain out."

"Well get used to it. Part of being a hunter is to hunt in areas you don't enjoy, and at least the base camp's dry. Besides, don't you find it unsettling that you're wearing animal bones?" Rainbow shrugged in response.

"So? It's not like they've been pulled right out of the carcass or anything. Plus, this set looks totally awesome." Raiden could only sigh at that.

"What is it with you and awesomeness?" Then another thought occurred to him. "Furthermore, why did you insist on the male version of the set?"

"Because the girl's set is degrading. Honestly, what kind of self respecting mare of your kind would wear something like that?" Was her answer.

A forest flooded with water was how the Flooded Forest was first described, and while accurate, it was a colossal understatement. Flooded Forest wasn't so much a forest flooded by water as it was a forest growing atop the water. The forest was located in a massive waterfall basin, the cascading water feeding the forest rivers to overflowing. The cliffs surrounding he forest were also so massive, that they constantly trapped rainclouds overtop the already waterlogged forest, putting the region under a near constant deluge of rain. No matter where you went in this forest, it was guaranteed to be wet, muddy, and overall unpleasant. The base camp was located in a rocky outcrop beneath a natural overhang that kept out the waterfall and rainwater. Amazingly enough, the night was actually clear this time, so Rainbow didn't have to worry about rain. The last time she was here, she had tried removing the clouds from the area, without success. Apparently her pegasi magic couldn't affect the clouds of this world, which was also putting a kill on her napping. All those fluffy clouds, and she'd just fall right through them.

"So Rainbow, any idea where this bad boy might be?" Raiden asked his apprentice after they finished packing their supplied materials.

"Hmm, I think sector four would be our best bet. Ludroth always stick around the shore." Nodding, the three headed for sector four. Getting there was rather simple, with only the ludroth in sector one being any sort of dangerous. Moving through sector two, the three reached their destination.

"Well, this looks like the right spot. There's a pack of females there." Said Raiden as the party kept out of sight. Just then, a massive ludroth with a yellow sponge-like mane erupted out of the water and slid onto shore. "And there's our quarry. So how do you want to do this?" With a smirk, Rainbow knocked an arrow into her bow and shot the Ludroth right in his mane. Letting out a screeching roar, the monster set his sights on the group's hiding spot. Rainbow immediately flew out, grabbing the ludroth's attention, and peppered the beast with harrying fire. While Rainbow kept the royal ludroth busy, Raiden and Cha-Cha came charging out. Nailing the monster with a paintball, Raiden then sprang into action, hacking and slashing his axes into the beast's spongy hide. The ludroth retaliated by suddenly rolling into Raiden, sending the hunter back, and then followed up with a barrage of water shots, sending Cha-Cha flying. Raiden hauled himself to his feet, and once again went on the offensive, or at least tried to. He was barreled over by the royal ludroth once again as it rushed forward, firing water shots up at Rainbow Dash. Said pegasus avoided them all, but the ludroth turned back and began firing again, the speed of it catching her by surprise. Thus, one of the shots found it's mark, drenching Rainbow and sending her crashing to the ground, coughing up water. No matter how much she tried to expel it, it was like her lungs were constantly filling with water, threatening to drown her. Raiden was by her side in an instant.

"Rainbow, eat this." He told her, offering her a large blue fruit. taking it, she managed to get it down despite her coughing, and immediately her lungs stopped filling with water, allowing her to expel it all from her lungs.

"Where's the ludroth?" Asked Rainbow, still coughing somewhat.

"It ran to sector two after it shot you down." Answered the hunter.

"What was all that just now?'

"That, was a nulberry. It's used to cure blight conditions. What was happening to you was what's called Waterblight. It causes your lungs to start filling with water, causing you to have trouble breathing and be constantly coughing water out, thus impairing your constitution. While I'm on the topic I might as well explain blights. There are five in total; fire, water, ice, thunder, and dragon. Fireblight ignites you in powerful flames, Iceblight freezes you to your bones and rapidly depletes your energy, Thunderblight makes you far more easy to be dazed and stunned by powerful attacks, and Dragonblight causes you to be weakened severely. You've already experienced Waterblight." Nodding, Rainbow Dash rose to her hooves.

"All right, I'm good now. Let's get that Ludroth." Nodding, Raiden sharpened his blades and the trio headed after their quarry.

It had been a hard fight, but the group soon had their quarry on the ropes. There was just one problem.

"Buck! It just had to go underwater didn't it?" Rainbow was not liking this situation at all. Pegasi wings were only water repellant when it came to rain. Fully submerging them would make them waterlogged and completely unusable until dry. Furthermore, Rainbow was not a trained hunter, and couldn't hold her breath anywhere near as long as Raiden could. Thus she was confined to stay near air vents if she wanted to spend any major length of time underwater.

"I know it's inconvenient Rainbow, but we got to go after it. If you really want to, I can take things from here." Assured Raiden.

"Whoa whoa, back up there buddy. Rainbow Dash doesn't run from anything, especially a little water. I'm just mad that I'll have to dry my wings, again."

"Well then, after you." Sticking out her tongue like a child at Raiden, she dove into the frigid river, the water beginning to soak into her feathers. Raiden dove in right behind her, and they caught up to the royal ludroth. Rainbow had always found fighting underwater to be a lot more difficult than on the surface. The most obvious reason being, most of the time she could stay in the air while her target was helpless from below. No such advantage in the water. Furthermore, her shots were less powerful underwater, and didn't have the same range.Finally, after getting into position, she was about to fire a spread of arrows, when suddenly the ludroth was taking off again. Chasing after it, the two were unable to pursue when it squeezed through a side tunnel. Raiden pointed towards the surface, and the two soon brought their heads out of the water.

"I know where it's going." Said Raiden. "If we hurry we can catch it on land again." Nodding, Rainbow signaled Cha-Cha and the three swam through the river and back into sector one. Following Raiden, the three soon came to a ledge with a lone Bnahabra resting on it, which Rainbow promptly killed; she hated those things with a passion. Raiden hopped up and grasped onto the ledge, then heaved himself up.

"Uh Raiden, little help." Rainbow unfortunately, could not do the same as he had done, and was unable to fly up like she usually did. Getting on his stomach, Raiden reached down and held out a hand, grasping the offered hoof when it came up. He then pulled Rainbow up onto the ledge with him, and Cha-Cha simply sprang from the ground behind them. The group then headed down the path and came into a cave. They were on the top of a cliff overlooking the cavernous alcove, and below them they could hear the the steady breathing of a sleeping monster. Leaping down, the two saw their quarry curled up, asleep. Creeping over to it, Raiden brought out his blades and brought them down hard on the sleeping ludroth's tail, severing the tip right off of it and sending the Ludroth tumbling back, completely awake. Firing a spread of power coated arrows, Rainbow shattered the ludroth's horns and tore his mane apart. Another combo from Raiden finally ended the fight, and the Ludroth collapsed onto the ground, dead.

"Yes, we took it down!" Cheered Rainbow, causing Cha-Cha to leap about gleefully, and Raiden to chuckle in amusement. Taking out his whistle, he gave it a blow, summoning the felyne team, who proceeded to collect the carcass. After receiving their reward, the two headed for home, the satisfaction of another successful hunt following them.

Two days had passed since Raiden and Rainbow took down the royal ludroth, and Redspear was currently admiring his fully rebuilt boat. As soon as he noticed the two hunters walking by, he called them over, showing off his fully repaired boat. As thanks, he promised to help the two by helping gather resources from the depths for them, be they fish or treasure. after that the fleet captain called them over.

"Avast! You did it hunters, you really did it! The Redspear is repaired thanks to you both." He said joyously.

"I know, I know, I'm awesome." Said Rainbow, soaking up the praise. Raiden just rolled his eyes at his apprentice's ego. After the praising had died down, the captain turned to look out to sea.

"For the time being, we'll be fishing with my boat and the Redspear, but two boats does not a fleet make. Thinkin' about the Blackspear left in our wake, all alone... makes me weepy." He then turned back to look at the two hunters. "Now I know the hunting fleet's been trying to one-up you hunters for years, but will you help the Blackspear?"

"Of course. Rainbow Dash doesn't leave anyone hanging." Said the Pegasus, and Raiden concurred. Soon the two fishermen were off to sea for fish and plunder, leaving Rainbow and Raiden to themselves. just then they were approached by Junior.

:"Hey Junior, how's it going?" Asked Raiden with a smirk. Junior, predictably, blew his top.

"Don't call me Junior!" He hollered, getting a belly laugh out of Raiden, and a giggle out of Rainbow. Eye still twitching, he continued. "Anyway, I came to you two to tell you something important. While I was patrolling Moga woods yesterday afternoon, I saw a royal ludroth."

"What?" Raiden said in surprise. "They never come this far out to sea." Junior shrugged and shook his head.

"I dunno if it's on account of the earthquake or what, but the food chain of the entire forest is out of whack."

"So what does that mean for us?" Asked Rainbow.

"It means that you may start running into royal ludroth when you're out in Moga woods, so be careful out there."

"Thanks for the head's up Junior." Said Raiden, causing yet another tirade from the chief's son. After Junior left the two alone, Raiden looked over to Rainbow, who was hovering in the air at even level with him. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Terrorize the woods?" Rainbow asked with a grin, which was soon matched by Raiden's own.

"Um, Twilight, I hope I'm not intruding." Stammered Fluttershy as she crept through the door of the library.

"Not at all Fluttershy, what do you need?" Replied Twilight as she helped Spike re-shelve the last of a pile of books.

"Oh, um, have you seen Rainbow Dash anywhere? I haven't seen her all week." Asked the pegasus, causing Twilight to hum in thought. Truth be told, she hadn't seen mane or feather of Rainbow all week either, though she suspected she knew the reason why.

"Huh, I guess she's really having some fun with that book then?" She answered, causing Fluttershy to tilt her head in confusion.

"Book?"

"Oh. right, I should explain. Last week I managed to convince Rainbow to try other books besides the Daring Do series, and she found this interesting write your own adventure novel and decided to try it. I bet she's holed herself up in her house all week working on it. You know how she can be." Fluttershy nodded at the explanation as it made sense.

"I didn't know Rainbow liked that kind of thing." Remarked Fluttershy, having never seen Rainbow take any sort of interest to writing before.

"I think the world the book portrayed really appealed to her, so she might be getting more enjoyment out of it than a different novel." Responded the alicorn.

"Okay then Twilight, thank you for your help. I'll head over to Rainbow Dash's then."

"You're welcome Fluttershy. Have a good day." Nodding, Fluttershy left the library, and headed for Rainbow's cloud home. Upon reaching the cloud structure, she gulped in anxiety, having never liked heights despite being a pegasus. Steeling her nerves, she alighted into the air, and flew up to her friend's home. Knocking on the door garnered no response from within, so Fluttershy tentatively let herself inside.

"Hello, Rainbow, are you here?" Called Fluttershy, but received no response. Looking around she immediately noticed Tank, Rainbow's pet tortoise, flying about the house. As she headed for Rainbow's room, she noticed Tank's food bowl was completely empty, though he still had water. "Oh you poor thing," said Fluttershy in shock, "you must be hungry. Has Rainbow not been feeding you?" After rummaging around the house, Fluttershy found some pet food for Tank and filled the tortoise's bowl. She also filled up his water bowl as well. After Tank was looked after, Fluttershy trotted up the stairs to Rainbow's room. Pushing the door open, the butter yellow pegasus came face to face with... nothing. The room was completely empty of a certain cyan pegasus.

"That's odd." Fluttershy remarked to herself. Looking around, she saw a thick book on the table that was currently closed, an inkwell and quill beside it. "This must be the book Twilight was talking about." While she was worried over her friend's whereabouts, Fluttershy was also rather curious of Rainbow's progress within the book. Deciding to take a quick peek, she opened the book up, and leafed through it to find where Rainbow had started writing. Upon finding it, she began reading. Twenty minutes later, she finished.

"Wow, I had no idea that Rainbow could write so well. If she isn't here, then I suppose I must have missed her in Ponyville somewhere. When I find her I'll have to remind her not to neglect Tank for a book." With that, Fluttershy closed the book and left the house, completely missing the faint glow of the page she had left off on, and the words materializing upon it, continuing the story.

Author's Note:

And another chapter of this fic done and dealt with. Man, sorry to all you readers for having to wait for this fic, but a lot of things have taken my priority. Work has been a hassle, and this year's winter has been brutally cold and snowy, taking up a large portion of my time to deal with it. I live out in the country so I use a wood fired boiler to heat my home, and it's been eating through my wood supply like a hive of gluttonous termites. I've also been having a nasty case of writer's block that hasn't been helping things. Hopefully though, things will continue to slow down as spring approaches. So, as always, comment and favourite, and see you all next chapter.

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