> Tales of a Lycan-Scale
>  by mattchilly
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: The Lycan-Scale Appears
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Urgh my head. What hit me?) I thought as I opened my eye, looking around I saw nothing but trees with sunlight shining through the leaves and a small river flowing through the clearing I now found myself in. (A forest? Did someone spike the punch at the party last night and drag my drunk body here as a joke? ... Wait there wasn’t any party last night…) As I brought a hand up to try and rub some of the weariness out of my eyes I froze when I saw a claw. Quickly moving over to the river I was horrified by what I saw. Looking back at me is a dark brown furred werewolf that looked more built for agility then strength.  I have two short black horns and bright silver draconic eyes. I saw something glint though my new fur and here I thought that today couldn’t get any weirder because I found that my fur was somehow growing THROUGH purple scales. After a few moments I said what any reasonable person would say in this position. “WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?!”

After that I started to walk through the forest thinking about what had happened only to stumble upon a lion with bat like wings and a large red scorpion tail standing over a man with light green skin, and sandy blond hair, was wearing leather armor and lying  face down in a pool of blood. A large pack that I assumed belonged to the man was resting against a nearby tree. Upon seeing this I growled and much to my surprise roared at the beast. “Damn manticore. I’ll make sure you’ll never harm another soul!” The manticore responded with its own roar and lunging at me while trying to sting me with its tail but I dodged to the side and slashed at the tail with my claw leaving four deep claw marks as the manticore roar in pain. The beast struck me in the side with its own claw but luckily the gashes it left were shallow… even if they stung like a bitch.

The fight continued on for several minutes until I tripped over the corpse and fell onto my ass, as the manticore reared back on its hind legs I thrust a claw straight into its chest. We stayed like that for a few moments before I pulled my arm back and the manticore fell back dead. Breathing heavily I grimaced and grasped my side. (Why on earth did I do that? I’ve never been one to pick a fight and yet I fought that manticore as if it was the most natural thing in the world.) I slowly got to my feet and looked at the dead adventurer. “I don’t know who you were but I doubt you deserved to die like this.” I walked over and put on his pack before slinging his corps over my shoulder. Taking a moment to look at the manticore I thought. (Might as well take that too. I’ll have to learn how to clean and cook these new beasts sooner or later so I’ll just start with him.)

A few minutes after killing the manticore I found the ruins of an old castle and made myself a little den in one of the bedrooms on the ground floor. After taking his off armor and placing it in my room I buried the adventurer in a shallow grave near the ruin’s front door, I even dragged a stone over to it to finish the make shift gravestone. The room’s alright. It has a bed in the corner, a chair and a large desk with a few shelves. How the furniture hasn’t deteriorated over the years or been infested with mold I have no idea. As for the manticore I found a dagger in the adventurers pack and used that to try and skin the beast... needless to say the only thing the pelt was good for after that failure was a makeshift belt/kilt but it was better than nothing.

I’m not sure how to feel about how quickly I adapted to living in this forest or why I’m not more upset about being stolen from everything I’ve known and loved, but if I’m honest with myself I didn’t really have much left to attach me to Earth anyways so maybe that’s why. About a week after arriving in the forest I stumbled upon the forests edge and saw that there was a town not even five minutes away but because I was worried about how the reaction to me would be I turned and walked back into the forest. After that I started patrolling the edge of the forest to make sure none of the monsters in the forest attack the town.

It’s been two months since then and not only have I fought lots of other beasts that wanted to leave the forest but I also became more in tune with my new body and I’m still trying to figure how I came to this world. I’ve made plenty of makeshift weapons to go with the normal dagger I took from the Adventurer’s pack. Mostly daggers and spears but I do have a couple of axes. Each weapon is hanging off a long vine rope I made and hung on the wall in its ‘sheath’ with the ‘vest’ I’d made out of vines to help me carry them.

 As for what monsters I’ve fought there have been a lot more manticores, a few chimeras, and a couple of some kind of stone crocodile… or was it an alligator? Weird little part chicken part reptile things that turned a manticore to stone, ever since I saw that I’ve started ambushing them in their sleep as if they were Medusa but I’ve had to fight a few of them with my eyes closed on a few occasions and last but not least a centaur like monster with the upper body of a praying mantis and the legs/body of a giant spider. That last one took almost all day to kill, but with each successful hunt I gain new trophies.

From the manticores and chimeras I gain pelts, claws, teeth, stingers, and snake scales. Skinning the stone gators was much more difficult but after almost breaking my dagger, I found that making a dagger from their teeth makes the job much easier. From the mantistaur as I’ve been calling it I got two short-sword size serrated blades, the mandibles and I estimate about thirty feet worth of spider silk which I harvested from the webs the beast shot at me, but while I now have lots of useful materials I don’t really have way to work with them.

One day I while I was relaxing and using some clean water I was storing on one of the MANY large basins in the castle and a rag I found in the adventurers pack to clean my latest injuries in my room, I heard voices on the other side of the door. “You see? There are clear signs that someone’s been here but I don’t know who it could be, but I do know from the claw marks is that it’s not a Pony.”

“Come on Twilight, who in their right mind would want to live out here? It’s probably just a Timber Wolf or something.”

“A’h don’t know Dash. There was that grave outside.”

“There’s no way that can be a grave Applejack. I’m telling ya, part of the castle broke off and that’s how it landed.”

“I’m afraid I have to agree with Twilight and Applejack darling. It’s highly unlikely that a large stone just HAPPENED to fall in just the right position look like a gravestone. What do you think Pinkie?”

“I’m not sure Rarity. While I’m hoping it’s not a grave, I’ve got the strangest feeling that it is.”

“Um… shouldn’t we knock? I mean what if someone’s in there?”

“Oh come on Fluttershy! Who on Equess would be living here?”

As this conversation was going on I walked over and slowly opened the door saying. “Can you please keep it down? I think your augment is going to raise the dead soon.”

Only to have five women scream in fear while the sixth yelled. “What on Equess are you wearing?!” When I saw the six women I was thankful for both my fur and scales since they hid the blush which flared to life.  The woman who was more worried about my outfit wore a beautifully made silver blouse and royal purple dress that matched well with her ivory skin and purple hair that fit well on her model like figure and deep blue eyes. On her left is a woman with soft yellow skin, pink hair, sea green eyes, and is wearing a heavy dark green sweater that did little to hid her generous… assets and light blue pants. Next to her is a slightly pudgy woman who also had sea blue eyes who has bright pink skin and bubble gum pink hair that looked like cotton candy. She’s wearing a powder blue short sleeved shirt and camo patterned khaki jeans.

One of the women had windswept rainbow hair, sky blue skin, a pair of deep violet eyes and is dressed in a white tank top over a dark blue sports bra and black yoga pants that fit perfectly on her lean athletic body. Next to her is a woman with orange skin, straw yellow hair, a cowboy hat, emerald green eyes, a red button down shirt, blue jeans, muscular arms and her bust while big was nowhere as large as her friend in the sweater. The last woman has dark purple hair with a dark pink stripe, a moderate sized bust and is wearing a light blue T-shirt and black sweat pants.

I blinked confused as to why what I was wearing was more important to my appearance to the woman in the blouse as I covered my ears and yelled. “Before we talk can you please do something about your friends? They’re giving me a headache.” Once the screaming had stopped and the women had calmed down I coughed into my arm a few times as I tried to focus my thoughts then pointed to the woman in the silver blouse and said. “First, thank you for not screaming in fear about how I look and second, I don’t really have many options for cloths since I’ve been living in this forest for the last two months.”

“Why would you want to live in this forest?” The woman with the cotton candy hair asked after she quickly regained her composure.

I responded with a blank look and said. “Considering how most of you reacted should be reason enough.” (Keep you’ll cool man. This is the first chance to talk to anyone in two months, just ignore the fact that they’ll all attractive and you’ll be fine.)

The five women blushed in embarrassment before the woman in the T-shirt asked. “So what have you been doing while you’ve lived here?”

“Patrolling the forest’s border and killing monsters that have gotten too close to it for my liking, but may I know your names?” I replied doing my best to keep my voice steady.

 “My name is Rarity darling.” The woman in silver blouse said.

Right Rarity introduced herself my vision was obscured by the color pink and two large blue eyes. “HI-I’M-PINKIE-PIE!-DO-YOU-LIKE-PARTIES?-WHAT-KIND-OF-PARTIES?-HOW-DID-YOU-GET-HERE?-WHAT’S-WITH-THE-HORNS?-CAN-YOU-mmppphhhh.” Thankfully the woman with the cowboy hat pulled Miss Sugar Rush away.  But how did she say all that in one breath, and for that matter what the heck did she even say?!

“Can I get a translation? I couldn’t understand her with how fast she said that.” I asked feeling way out of my depths.

“Sorry about her. Pinkie Pie here can get a bit excited when she meets new people. I’m Applejack by the way.” Seriously? These names are getting ridicules.

“How do we know we can trust you? Fall all we know you could waiting for the right moment to attack us.” *Sigh* I should have expected this.

“Don’t be rude Rainbow. He has been very polite so far.” Rarity scolded.

“Fiiiine. I’m Rainbow Dash. Fastest flyer in Equestria!” Rainbow Dash huh? Probably shouldn’t make a joke about her hair then, but how on earth does she fly? Is she a pilot or something?

Looking at the woman in the sweater as she did was squeak and hid behind her friends. “Please don’t be mad at Fluttershy, it’s not easy for her to meet new Ponies.” The woman in the T-shirt said before extending a hand, but why did she say ‘Ponies’ instead of ‘People’? “I’m Twilight Sparkle, but I’m curious about something. I’ve never seen or heard of someone like you so… ummm. Can we ask you a few questions?” My god, what’s with these people and having puns for names? What’s next? A city name with the word ‘canter’ in it?

“Don’t worry about it. Come on in. we might as well be comfortable while we talk and I’d shake your hand but...” I said as I held up one of my claws.

“Aren’t you going to tell us your name?” Applejack asked.

“Names mean nothing to one who is alone.” I replied. When everyone was in the room I heard a gasp from Twilight as she examined the piles of hides I collected.

“Manticores, Chimeras…are those two Cragadile hides? How did you kill them? I thought it was impossible without magic because of how its hide made it to resilient to normal weapons.”

“Took some nearby vines, used them as a rope and choked em. As for how I skinned the first one, I took one of its teeth and turn it into a dagger, and let me tell you. That beast put up one hell of a fight, but it sucked that I had to fight both of them the same day. Luckily I had the dagger so the second one went was a much easier fight.” I replied pointing at the Cragadile Daggle thinking back to when I fought the beasts.

Everyone stared at the hide in awe as Twilight said. “I can’t believe no one’s thought of doing that. It’s so simple, and to figure out how to remove the hide as well….”

“What are those from?” Rainbow asked as she pointed at the mantistaur’s blades and mandibles.

“Those came from what I call a ‘Mantistaur’ since it has the upper body of a praying mantis but its lower body was that of a giant spider. I even managed to get some spider silk from it.” I said as I sat on the ground.

“How?” Rarity asked.

“Whenever I got behind it, the beast shot webs at me. It took almost the entire day to take that beast down and collect all the parts.” I replied.

“What else do you have?” Applejack asked.

Pointing at the urns on the desks shelves I said. “Those contain the teeth and claws of the manticores and chimeras, and yes I did sort before putting them in the urns.” Then I pointed to a couple urns on the floor next to the desk. “Those contain the scales from the tails of the chimeras and some from these weird little reptiles with the heads of chickens.”

“You’ve fought cockatrices and lived?! HOW! Even the Royal Monster Hunters tend to lose members when fighting those things!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Ah so they’re called cockatrices, anyways the first time I saw one was when it turned a manticore to stone. After that I fallowed it back to its nest, waited till it was asleep and killed it and its two nest mates. Since then I’ve had to fight them with my eyes closed while they’re awake. Luckily I’ve only had to do that twice. But enough about my trophies didn’t you have other questions for me? I believe the first one you wanted to ask was what I am.” I asked.

“Correct.” Twilight replied.

“Well, I don’t know the ‘official’ name for my species so I’ve been calling what I am a Lycan-Scale.” I replied.

“What’s that?” Pinkie asked.

“Who here knows of lycanthropy? You know werewolves?” I asked.

“Who doesn’t know of werewolves? They ARE one of the most famous monsters after all but do they have to do with this?” Pinkie replied while Rainbow's scowl deepened.

“I’ve got the body of a werewolf but I also have some draconic features. My horns and eyes for example.” As I spoke I held out my uninjured arm. “And if you look past the fur you’ll see I also have scales.”

Twilight immediately got up from where she was sitting on the bed and began to examine my arm. “Incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it. Are there more of your kind and why don’t you know the ‘official’ name?”

“… As far as I know I’m one of a kind and just as I haven’t always lived in this forest and I haven’t always looked like this.” I said in an emotionless voice as I pulled my arm back.

“Oh…” Twilight said as she returned to her seat. The look on everyone’s face told me that they weren’t sure how to respond to that.

“Do you eat gems?” Rarity finally asked.

“Why would I eat gems? For that matter why are you even asking that?” I asked surprised at the question.

“Well most dragons eat gems and you said you have some draconic features. Plus I was curious just how similar you are to a dragon.” Rarity replied.

“Dragons eat gems here? Weird but not the strangest thing I’ve encountered within the past two months, to answer your question I haven’t really had to chance to own any gems considering I live in a forest. So I’ve never been tempted to try.” I answer then much to my surprise Fluttershy spoke up.

“Ummm. Where did you get that pack?” Fluttershy asked.

“When I arrived in this forest I stumbled across a manticore standing over a dead adventure. That manticore turned into my first kill and my first trophy. After the fight I put on the pack, slung the adventure over my shoulder and dragged the manticores corpse until I found this castle. After that I removed the adventures armor and buried him. So to answer the question from the conversation I overheard, that is a grave outside.”

“Did you take anything from it?” Rarity asked.

“Only the food, a dagger and a few rags. The dagger I’ve been using to skin most of the beasts I killed and the rags have been used to clean any injury I get. Speaking of which I should probably finish cleaning my latest wounds.” I said as I got to my feet, grabbed the rags and the basin of clean water before returning to my spot on the floor.

 “What did the adventurer look like?” Fluttershy asked.

“He had light green skin and sandy blond hair. I can’t tell you any more then that because the manticore really messed up his face.” I replied.

“Did you see how his hair was styled?” Fluttershy asked.

“Why does that matter?” I inquired.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Just tell her already!”

“After I took off his helmet I saw it was blond and tied in a bun with long strands poking out of it. Why do you ask?”

Fluttershy didn’t answer and rushed to the pack. After a few moments of searching she pulled out a silver broach with a pink butterfly on it and broke into tears. Confused I looked at the others. “Did she know him?”

“He was her brother Zypher Breeze.” Rainbow said as she tried to comfort Fluttershy.

Surprised, I looked at Fluttershy. “I know it might not mean much but I’m sorry for your lost. I doubt he was the kind of guy who should have died like that.” After that everyone was quiet as we let Fluttershy cry.

After Fluttershy calmed down Twilight asked. “So what do you plan to do now?”

“Same as before, kill monsters that get to close to the forests edge. Why?”

“Well when we get to Ponyville I was going to send my mentor Princess Celestia a letter telling her about you.” Twilight replied.

“Now hold on Sugarcube. Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean I know Celestia and Luna will take the time to get to know him before rushing to avoid jumping to any conclusions, but what about your brother or the other guards? Heck some of the more… enthusiastic Monster Hunters might try hunting him down.” Applejack said.

“That is true…” Twilight sighed before turning to me. “I know I’m changing topics but what did you mean by you didn’t always look like this?”

Sighing I put down the rag. “Two months ago I was Human. Just another face in the crowd with a seven-to-seven job. One day I went to bed like any other day, and when I wake up I’m like this and I’ve been living in this forest ever since.” As I spoke Rainbow continued to glare at me. I wonder if she’s just in a bad mood or something. Doing my best to ignore Rainbow’s glare I got to my feet. “Well as nice as this chats been, it’s time for me to go back to my patrol.”

“Shouldn’t you let your wounds heal a little more?” Fluttershy asked.

“I would, but I can’t.” I replied as I made my way to the door while the others also got to their feet. “In all the time I’ve been here I haven’t seen anyone else fighting the monsters of this forest so I feel like it’s my responsibility to protect your home. Besides somethings changed in the two months. The beasts are getting more active and more aggressive as they move towards the forest edge.”

“Really now? How can you tell?” Rainbow asked with a raised eyebrow and a disbelieving tone in her voice.

I looked closed my eyes and took a deep breath as memories of my childhood filled my head. “My Father and Grandmother used to take me hunting when I was a kid, he taught me almost everything they knew before they passed on. How else do you think I knew how to survive in this forest for all this time?”

“Dumb luck?” Rainbow guessed

“That too.” I agreed before turning to Twilight. “Go ahead and send that letter but let your Princesses know that if any of her guards attack for no reason I am going to defend myself.”
> Chapter 2: Moving into Ponyville
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I sighed as I looked from my spot in the brush at the forest as the weapons I brought with me when I went to patrol shifted slightly with every small movement. As I looked at a very beautiful tall woman in a white dress with gold patterns with a simple gold tiara and hair that reminded me of an aurora borealis and blew in a non-existent wind while she was surrounded by sixteen solders wearing the same gold and purple armor and one who’s armor reminded me of a roman gladiator or Spartan. Most of the solders had halberds but a couple had maces and the Spartan had a Claymore strapped to his back with a short sword in one hand and a large shield in his hands. “I thought this was supposed to be a peaceful talk so what’s with all the solders?” I called and the solders tensed at the sound of my voice as if they expected me to attack.

“My apologies but when Twilight sent word that the beasts were getting more aggressive Captain Shining Armor insisted that he comes with the solders for my protection.” Celestia explained gesturing to the Spartan.

“Did she also tell you about me?” I asked.

“Yes and I must say I’m impressed. Not many can live in the Everfree for two months and survive.” Celestia replied.

“Ma’am I must ask. Why doesn’t he show himself?” Captain Armor asked.

“I believe it’s because with all the solders here he’s uncomfortable. Remember Captain Armor he has been living alone in the forest for two months and the first time he’s had social activity since he arrived was two days ago.” Celestia explained.

“He should still come out of the forest and treat you with the respect you deserve.” Captain Armor said.

“Respect is earned not given.” I said which made some of the solders growl in anger. “But I will come out and speak to her face to face.” I reached out and grabbed a tree with my claw and when I did all the solders pointed their weapons at me. Slowly I moved into the light my eyes darting from side to side my ‘Flight or Fight’ instances on high alert as all eyes were on me.

Once I was out of the forest Celestia nodded. “You are exactly as Twilight described you.”

“You mean my sister is the one who told you about him?” Captain Armor asked.

“Yes and from what she told me he has beaten some beasts that give even your men a hard time.” Celestia said.

“Can we not focus on the beasts I’ve killed please?” I said. “Isn’t this meeting to get to know each other or something?”

“I don’t see why we can’t do both.” Celestia said with a small smile. “Twilight did say you had a rather impressive trophy collection.”

“More like a collection of items I want forged into equipment.” I replied. “I have more than enough teeth and claws to make a large supply of arrows, and hides that can be made into leather armor.”

“I highly doubt he’s that good.” One of the solders called. “What’s the strongest beast you’ve killed?”

Bringing a hand up and pondered the question for a few moments. “That’s a tough one but I’d say its either a Cragadile due to its hide or that Mantistaur I fought but then again I did make a dagger out of a Cragadile tooth that cut’s through their hides as if they were made of silk.”

“Impossible.” Captain Armor muttered.

“Now if we can please move on to the real topic. Do you have any other questions for me?” I asked looking at the Princess.

“I have two questions. First how would you like to become an official Monster Hunter and guard Ponyville from the beasts of the Everfree?” Celestia asked with a small smile and now I noticed that behind her and the solders watching the entire thing were not only Twilight and her friends but also many other people who I assumed were residents of Ponyville.

“You can’t be serious your majesty!” One of the solders cried with several nodding in agreement. “We don’t need someone like HIM in the Monster Hunter’s Guild!”

“With racism like that I dread to think what would happen if an Elf or a Dwarf walked into town.” I spat.

“What are you talking about?” The solder who insulted me asked.

“From what I learned before… coming to Equestria, Elves are an old race, one blessed with longevity. They are more in tune with nature then almost all others races. Most live in ancient forests and from what I know of them tend to prefer the bow or wield strong magic to defend their homes. Dwarves on the other hand live in mountainous regions and prefer to carve their homes out of the mountains themselves. They are also master craftsmen and few can match their skill at the forge and as a quick warning for if you meet one. NEVER insult a Dwarf or an Elf for they NEVER forget. If you become an enemy of an Elf or Dwarven clan then it’s almost impossible to get them to forgive you. This is just a quick summery of them of course for there are slight differences depending on where you find them.” I explained.

“But back to your question Princess that depends. What would happen if I did become an official Monster Hunter?”

“Well first you’ll be made a legal citizen. Second due to you protecting Ponyville for the last two months I’ll arrange a place of residence for you, next you’ll get payment at the end of each month but depending on how well you've done your job and depending on what kind of monster you kill you could get a small bonus. You’ll also have to report any kill you make to the local Guild Hall.” Celestia said. “As for my second question have you decided on a name?”

“Call me Ajax.” I said.

“I can’t believe she’s doing this.” The solder muttered.

Pointing directly at the guy I said. “Do you have a problem with the only known Lycan-Scale helping defend you the people of this land?”

“We don’t need someone with a curse to help.” He sneered. “If it wasn’t for the Princesses orders I’d kill you where you stand.”

“That’s enough of that!” Celestia said. “I’m disappointed in you Silver Sword. You should know that Lycanthropy only makes it self-known under the full moon and it’s the middle of the day.”

“Perhaps it’s a new strand of Lycanthropy.” Silver Sword said. “I still say we should…”

“The Princess has told you to stop Solder!” Captain Armor snapped making Silver Sword jump. “Any more out of you and I’ll have you up for insubordination! Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes Sir.” Silver Sword muttered.

“What was that?”

“Yes Sir!” Silver Sword said as he snapped to attention.

“He does have one point though.” I said making everyone look at me. “I would like to see if I do carry something like a poison or curse can that make people Lycan-Scales just in case.”

Captain Armor actually looked impressed and nodded. “My sister might be able to help you with that. She’s always had a love for learning new things and if not I can always ask a few Monster Researchers for assistance.”

“Thank you.” I said. “And it would be an honor to become a Monster Hunter.”

“Excellent!” Celestia said with a smile and clasping her hands together. “While I’m taking care of finding you a home do you need any help getting your things from my old castle?”

“It would be nice to have some help getting everything. All we’ll need are some bags.” I said deciding not make a comment on her age.

“Captain Armor I want you to take eight of your men and help his get what he needs. I should have everything ready when you return but if not come find me at the Town Hall.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Captain Armor said before picking the solders who’d join us and sending one to grab as many bag as they could carry. Once he finished deciding and the one he’d sent to grab the bags returned he and his men came up next to me he said. “All right Ajax please lead the way.”

Nodding I turned and walked back into the forest. During the trip Captain Armor said. “I feel the need to apologies for Silver Sword… and my early distrust. Not a lot of people are going to trust those with uh… your unique build.”

I merely nodded in response as I was keeping all my scenes on the woods around us. Just as we reached a large clearing I hissed. “Get down!” Looking through the brush I grimaced. In the center of the clearing is a Mantistaur eating a dead Chimera its mantis half a dark almost poisonous looking green and its serrated blades dripping with fresh blood, while the spider abdomen is a dark yellow and black with light brown and black legs.

“What the hell is that?” A solder gasped.

“Who cares let’s just kill and keep going.” A second said but before he could break cover I grabbed his arm.

“That’s a Mantistaur and I wouldn’t be in such a hurry if I were you. The first one I saw cut a Cragadile in half with a single strike. True that Cragadile was smaller than average so I assume it was young but my point still stand.” I said and saw the solder’s eyes go wide in shock and a hint a fear.

“What do you suggest then?” Captain Armor asked.

“Let me handle this for now.”

“I can’t let you do that Ajax.” Captain Armor said. “You’re not fighting that thing alone. It could tear you apart.”

“I know how to fight this thing and besides you all have friends and families to get back to, I don’t.”

“What about my sister and her friends? Aren’t they your friends?”

“One conversation doesn’t make us friends, it make us acquaintances.” I said. “Now the main things you need to remember are to avoid its blades and never attack from behind.”

“Why?” A solder asked.

“It has the ability to shoot webs. Not webbing, entire webs that unravel as they fly through the air that will trap anything they hit or if they don’t hit a creature by the time they’ll stick to several surfaces making a giant web that can trap you of your not careful.” I replied before slowly walking into the clearing on all fours. Hearing the movement the Mantistaur looked up and let loose a screeching roar.

Just as the Mantistaur roared I heard Captain Armor mutter something to the other solders. Bolting to the side I ran around the edge of the clearing I stopped on the far end of the clearing with the Mantistaur never taking its eyes off me. The Mantistaur gave another screech and the two of us charged at each other at the same time and as I closed in it raised one of its blades bashed me in the side knocking me into a tree. I quickly got back on my feet and charged at it again. This time it swung down at me as if to slice me in two which I countered by diving under it. As the Mantistaur rose up to crush me I quickly grabbed my spear and planted its butt firmly in the ground. When the beast slammed down it let out a screech that made my ears rings as the spear priced its skin, dark green blood dripping out of the wound and onto my head and arms. With a jerk the Mantistaur broke my spear but in doing so trapped the spear head inside it.

Taking the broken wood with me I leapt to the left and with my fangs grabbed one of its legs and ripped it right out of the socket. Tossing the leg to the side I tossed the remnants of my spear into the brush and turned to rip the rest of the legs out. Once it couldn’t move I leapt onto its spider half, dug my claws into its mantis half’s back and snapped my jaw closed around its neck. With a quick jerk and a loud *SNAP* the Mantistaur fell to the ground. As Captain Armor and his men walked into the clearing I was spitting the blood out of my mouth. “Urgh. Gonna have to rinse my mouth. I hate that taste.”

“That was amazing!” Captain Armor said as he drew closer. “I’ve never seen anyone fight like that before. Let alone take down such a beast so easily but are you ok? Slamming into the tree like that looked painful.”

“I’ve had worse and the reason it looked easy is because it took an entire day to fight the last one. During which I had to memorize just about EVERYTHING on how these things fight and move or else I'd have become the things next meal. I also decided to end this quickly so we don’t keep the Princess waiting otherwise I would have tried to get some more silk from it.” I said cricking my neck. “Now normally I’d carve out a trophy but in this case I wouldn’t mind giving it to you so you can get someone to study it.”

“Mancer, Mystic, I want you two to get this thing back to town and prep it for transport to Canterlot.” Captain Armor said and two of the solders saluted. Placing their weapons back into their sheaths they raised their hands which started glowing, one a pale green the other with a fiery yellow. Together they lift the Mantistaur into the air along with the legs I ripped out and slowly started walking back to town. Giving Captain Armor a confused look he said. “Spell Mancer and Arcane Mystic are two of my best Magi. They’ll have no problems getting back to town.”

 The rest of the trip was fairly peaceful and when we got to my room in the castle ruins I opened the door and Captain Armor whistled when he saw the piles of neatly folded hides. “Not bad. Not bad at all.”

Pointing at the pots I said. “If possible I’d like the contents of those urns placed into separate bags. I’m not sure I’d be able to sort them again if they’ll all mixed up.”

“What’s in them?”

“From left to right we have Manticore teeth, Manticore claws, Chimera teeth, and finally Chimera claws. The two on the floor have scales from Chimera’s and cockatrices.” I said as I grabbed the vines holding my weapons and tying them around my body.

“To fight a cockatrice alone and survive… Impossible.” A solder muttered as he pulled out a bag.

“Not if you learn to fight with your eyes closed or kill them when their asleep in their nests.” I said as I grabbed the blades of the Mantistaur I killed and secured them to my belt with an extra vine rope before securing the rest of my ropes to my belt.

“That’s a very difficult technique to learn.” Captain Armor said as he held a bag open while a solder poured the manticore claws into a bag. “But I bet making the ropes were easier at least.”

“It was learn or die.” I replied before glancing at him. “And I’d like to see you try tying a knot with claws. I’ve ruined more vines then I have pelts just trying to make the ropes you see here."

“You’re already talking like a Monster Hunter.” A solder noted. “But I don’t know how many of them have lived in one of the most dangerous places in Equestria for two straight months.”

“How much did you know about surviving in the wild before you moved into the Everfree Ajax?” Captain Armor asked.

“When I was young I used to go camping with my father and grandfather every other summer. I knew how to track, fish, find shelter, make a fire, skin and clean, but I had to learn how to skin and clean the beasts here through trial and error. Flat out ruined a few pelts to the point where they were unusable.” I explained as we finished putting everything in bags and tying them closed. “That’s the last of it.”

“Then let’s head back to town.”

When we got back to town we saw that Celestia and her guards waiting for us. “Princess.” Captain Armor saluted.

“I saw that Mantistaur that Mancer and Mystic brought back and sent a message to have a transport brought down as soon as possible. Now why don’t I show you your new living arrangements?” Celestia gestured for us to fallow. As we walked through I town my ears twitched as I heard people whispering. Some were simply curious while others were disgusted that the Princess was allowing a ‘monster’ to live among them. Soon we stopped in front of a simple two story house across from a tavern with a sign that had a Manticore that had a honey bee’s wings instead of bat wings and a large keg tied to it’s side called ‘The Buzzing Manticore’ and I could hear the sounds of metal striking metal coming from farther down the street.

“Here we are. Down the road is the heart of the Craft's District and the town’s smithy, and the Market District is only a few blocks away. The house already has some of the basic amenities but I’ve made arranged for some more furniture arrive in a few hours and a member of the Monster Hunter’s Guild to visit you tomorrow to tell you what being part of the Guild entails in more detail.”

“Thank you Princess but due to being in what appears to be a good location I must ask why it’s vacant.” I inquired.

“While the tavern it’s self isn’t a problem some of the regulars tend to get a bit rowdy and sounds from the blacksmith can get a bit grating to some not to mention the smells from the tanner on hot day. So despite the house being in such a prime location it was the only one available.” Celestia explained as we entered the house. Inside on the left is an empty living room with a fireplace and plane brown rug, a staircase next to a door and a hallway leading past the stairs.

“Trust me I’ve lived with worse sounds or smells.” I said thinking back to my old home.

Celestia nodded and passed me a key. “I’ve got a few other things I want to do around town today so feel free to come find me if you’ve got any more questions.”

“Thank you again Princess.” I said as Captain Armor and his solders put the bags down on the rug. Once all the bags were on the rug Captain Armor gave a nod and he and his solders filed out the door.

Before Celestia left she said. “I also left you something in the kitchen. It should help you a little bit.” And with that Celestia was gone. At this I just shrugged and went to the kitchen, inside I was shocked to see a stove/oven, a refrigerator and a microwave. The same kind I’d see at a Target.

“Talk about technological whip lash. The solders use medieval weaponry and armor but the appliances are modern.” Shaking my head I finally noticed a small round table with a bag and folded piece of paper sitting on it. Walking over I grabbed and unfolded the letter.

“Ajax here is your first two months of payment as a Monster Hunter. Twilight gave me a rough estimate of the amount of creatures you slew while in the Everfree so I’ve added the necessary amount as well as an additional bonus for discovering a new species. Enclosed is one thousand five hundred bits. Hope you enjoy your new home. Sincerely Princess Celestia, Monarch of the Day, and Co-Ruler of Equestria.”

(Fifteen hundred bits? I’m guessing that’s a lot if D&D is anything to go by, but if Celestia’s one of Equestria’s ruler’s then who’s the other? A brother or sister perhaps? Guess I’ll ask Twilight next time I see her, but for now I’ve got some shopping to take care of.) Grabbing the back I walked upstairs to look for the bed room. Once I found it I took of the ropes holding my extra weapons and placed the bundle in the corner and placed my vest next to it. Taking one of my ropes I carefully tied the coin purse to the front of my belt. Once I was back down stairs I grabbed the bag of Cragadile hides and Chimera pelts, slung them over my shoulder and walked out the door.

After locking the door I heard someone say. “So you’re the new neighbor?” Turning around I saw a tall woman with a decent sized bust with messy dark purple hair, wearing a marron shirt, dark green pants under a stained brown apron. “I’m Berry Punch but feel free call me Berry. I run and own The Buzzing Manticore nice ta meet ya.”

“Ajax, new member of the Monster Hunter’s Guild and Ponyville’s newly designated ‘Guardian’.” I said holding out a fist. “I’d shake your hand but I don’t want to risk scratching you, but I’m a little surprised you’re so calm about someone like me living across the street.”

“About time the town got its own Hunter to keep the Everfree’s beasts away. You’d think we’d have one by now but no one’s wanted to take the job.” Berry grinned as she fist bumped me. “And I get ya, better safe than sorry, so what’s in the bags?”

“Materials I harvested form beasts I killed. I was about to head over to the see the blacksmith and see if he can use them to make some equipment.” I explained.

“Interesting, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone doing that.” Berry said. “Well I wish you luck and you’d better stop by my tavern at some point. I want to hear a few of your stories!”

“Will do Berry.” I chuckled.

“Well I’d better get back to the tavern, see ya later Ajax.” Berry said and went back into her tavern. As I walked down the street most of the people ignored me as they went about their business but a few threw insults at me. They stung but I shrugged them off I continued until I found a building made of cobblestone bricks that was part of a house similar to my own and had smoke billowing out of a stone smoke stack.

Walking through the open door I saw an older heavily muscled man wish braided bronze hair, a white shirt, brown leather pants, and a thick leather apron that’s covered in burn marks. The sounds I’d been hearing was him working on a horse shoe and upon my approach he glanced up and gave me a quick signal to wait till he’s done. A few minutes later he used tongs to place the shoe in a bucket of water and pulled some plugs out of his ears. “Well I wasn’t expecting to see you until tomorrow. When the member of the Monster’s Hunter Guild who’s supposed to show you around turned up ta introduce ya. I’m Strong Steel and you’re… Ajax if I’m remembering correctly.”

Nodding I said. “You are. Nice to meet you.” Once again I held out a fist.

Strong Steel smirked and fist bumped me. “That’s a good way of making sure you don’t accidently cut someone with those claws. So how can I help ya?”

Placing the bags down and untying the Mantistaur blades from my belt I said. “I’ve got some Cragadile hides and Chimera pelts here that I’d like to be turned into armor and these Mantistaur blades forged into swords. Since I’m now going to be a Monster Hunter I need real weapons, not stone spears, daggers and occasional blunt axe.”

Opening the bags Strong Steel brought out a Cragadile hide and examined it before looking over the Mantistaur blades with an slightly exited expression. “Making equipment form these would be not only an interesting challenge but it’d also be a first. No Hunter that’s ever passed through town has ever wanted items made out of their kills. Heck all they want are simple trophies or they just kill their target and leave. Tell ya what, it’ll take some time to turn the pelts and hides into proper leather but I can have the swords done some time tomorrow. So for the whole job it’ll cost ya about… five hundred bits and if I can’t make the gear you’ll get a full refund. Deal?”

“Deal.” I said and pulled the necessary amount of bits. “But considering what I am I’m betting you’ll need the right measurements. Know anywhere in town where I can buy some custom clothes?”

“Aye, I’d say the best place would be the Carousel Boutique that’s owned by a Rarity Bell.” Strong Steel said.

“At least I’ve met her before so I doubt they’ll be any problems. How do I get there?” Once I got the directions and description of the Carousel Boutique I thanked Strong Steel I headed out.
> Chapter 3: A Walk Around Town
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fallowing the directions Strong Steel gave me I walked through town headed towards the Carousel Boutique with the empty bags tied to my belt. During the walk several people stared or whispered to each other. This went on until a tall flat chested woman with long purple hair, a blue-green shirt, solid gold necklace, and a wavy dress the same purple color as her hair marched up to me and snarled. “What do you think you’re doing here you flee infested Monster? Don’t you know that your kind aren’t welcome here or are you too stupid to understand me you mangy mutt?”

(Oh boy, I doubt this is going to end well.) I thought before saying. “All I’m doing is getting to know my new home. As long as I’m not bothering anyone I don’t see a problem, Miss…?”

Holding her surprisingly pointy nose in the air she scoffed. “Spoiled Rich, although I guess I shouldn’t expect a dumb brute like you to know Nobility when they see it. But getting to know your new home? Please as soon as the Princesses or the Guild know you’re here you’ll be put down like the beast you are.”

“Actually Miss. Rich.” I said doing my best to be polite. “Princess Celestia already knows I’m here. In fact she let me join the Monster Hunter Guild if that’s the one you’re talking about, and I’m supposed to meet a representative later today.”

“SHE WHAT?!” Spoiled Rich shrieked drawing everyone’s attention. “Has she lost her mind? Why would she allow someone like you to join the Guild, let alone live!” At this whispers spread throughout the crowd like a wild fire in a forest that hadn’t had any rain in a year. “I mean what new kind of werewolf are you considering those horns?”

“I can’t claim to know her thoughts but perhaps it’s because I’ve been living in the Everfree for two months and I spent that time killing beasts that were trying to leave the forest and attack the town? And I’m not a werewolf. I’m a Lycan-Scale, perhaps the only Lycan-Scale in existence.” I said trying to calm the raging storm my emotions were quickly becoming as a new wave of whispers started. (Mother Nature if you’re listening, I beg you. Give me the patience to deal with this.)

“Who cares what you are you mixed breed monstrosity!” Spoiled Rich yelled as I took a step back surprised by the hatred and venom in her voice and the crowd gasped making me wonder if they also heard it. “How do we you’re not lying or hiding something? You’ve probably killed several people before moving into the forest, the Hunters sho…”

As Spoiled Rich spoke a loud commanding voice echoed throughout the area cutting her off mid word. “ENOUGH!” Everyone turned to see a giant of a man. Standing almost eight and a half feet tall. Wearing a gleaming suite of gold and silver plate mail with spiked shoulders, his short obsidian black hair cut a militaristic style and a giant axe strapped to his back. I was shocked to see he was a foot taller than Princess Celestia who was already about a head taller than me. “I will not have you harassing our newest member Ms. Rich. Please desist before you’re placed under arrest for disrupting the peace.”

“ME? What about him?!” Spoiled Rich asked indigent. “Surly you don’t believe his lies.”

“Do you think that either of the Princesses would willingly put their subjects in danger or choose someone who wasn’t suitable to defend this town?” The man asked walking up to stand beside me.

“What? No of course not. It’s just…”

“Just nothing.” He said with a frown. “From what I witnessed he’s done a remarkable job controlling his temper despite your best attempts and he’s even been polite to you regardless of how you’ve been treating him. Now I’ll ask you again to leave him alone.”

Spoiled Rich looked between me and the giant for a moment before muttering “This isn’t over.” And walked away.

Shaking his head he looked down at me. “Well lad I’m impressed and not just from what the Princess and Captain Armor told me about you. Not many can talk to her and stay courteous the way you did.”

“It wasn’t easy.” I said unclenching my hands when I noticed that my claws were staring to dig into my palms. “She’s worse than any banshee I’ve ever heard of.”

“On that we agree.” He said before holding out his hand. “I’m Mighty Swing the Monster Breaker. I’m in charge of Ponyville’s branch of the Monster Hunter Guild.”

Taking hold of his armored hand I gave a toothy grin. “Ajax but you already knew that.”

“Well Ajax I assume you’re doing a few errands before our meeting in a few hours. So I’ll be off and you can get back to what you were doing. Just remember to be back at your new abode around five.” Mighty Swing said before walking off.

Taking a calming breath I looked around and saw a town clock saying it was 1:45.  Continuing on my way I soon came across the Carousel Boutique. Walking in I heard a few bells ring deeper inside the store. “I’ll be with you in just a moment.” Letting Rarity do her thing I walked around the room looking at the different outfits. When Rarity came out she cried. “Ajax, I wasn’t expecting to see you. What can I do for you darling?”

“I need some cloths and Strong Steel told me that you’d be the best choice.” I explained.

“Say no more. Fallow me and I’ll take your measurements. Now how many sets were you looking for?” Leading me to her work room she quickly grabbed measuring tape and got to work. “I also heard that the Princess gave you the house across from the tavern.”

“That’s correct. It’s a little bigger then I’m used to but it’s not that bad.” I said. “And I’d like three sets for now.”

“Just three? Alright.” Rarity said. “And at least the house is comfortable. I don’t even remember how long it’s been since anyone’s lived there. By the way I heard someone yelling a few minutes ago, do you know what happened?”

“I on the way here I met a woman named Spoiled Rich and…”

“Urgh, her. She’s one of the most obnoxious people I’ve ever met. I do hope it wasn’t too bad for you dear.” Rarity said grimacing.

“She screamed like a banshee and insulted me.” I explained. “Obnoxious isn’t the word I’d use. She’s by far the most vile and hateful creature I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting. Seriously I’ve fought Chimera’s who had more nobility in their manes then she has in her entire body! She could probably turn a cockatrices to stone.”

“She probably could.” Rarity agreed with a chuckle. “So what kinds of outfit were you thinking of?”

“Well a normal shirt is out thanks to my claws so some vests and some pants for when I need something a little more formal but I’ll probably just use the armor Strong Steel makes for me more often.” I said looking down as Rarity jotted a few things down in a notebook as she hummed to herself. “By the way what time is it? Mighty Swing’s going to arrive at my home around five to tell me more about being a Monster Hunter and I want to pick up some soap and shampoo before then.”

“It’s three fifteen.” Rarity said glancing at a clock. “Sorry this took so long but don’t worry I’m almost done with the measurements. Then you can be on your way. Also if you’re going to get some health care products I’d suggest you stay away from the local superstore ‘Rich’s Barnyard Bargains’. Spoiled’s husband Filthy Rich owns it and chances are she’s on her way to talk it him if she hasn’t already. Instead I suggest you drop by the Ponyville Day Spa, they should be able to help you get everything you need, and I don’t want to be rude by saying this but they also started carrying shampoos for pets a year ago. So if the normal kind doesn’t work with your fur and scales you still have options.”

“Thanks for letting me know about that. Ca you tell me how do I get there?”

Just after Rarity finished giving me directions we heard a door slam open and the bells jangled. “RARITY I’M HOME!”

“I’m working with a customer Sweetie.”  Rarity called back.

“Who’s that?”

“That’s my sister Sweetie Bell.” Rarity explained as a shriek filled the air.

“R…R…Rarity why is a monster in the house?” Standing in the doorway, trembling in fear is a young prepubescent teenaged girl wearing a peal white dress, a soft pink backpack had been dropped at her feet.

“He’s not a monster Sweetie, despite what his looks tell you. This is Ajax he’s a new member of the Guild.” Rarity explained. “Aaand done. I’ll need to do a few sketches first but I should have something for you tomorrow afternoon and I’ll get the measurements over to Steel before I start anything.”

“Thanks, Rarity. How much do I owe you?” I asked reaching for my bag.

“Think nothing of it Ajax. Anything for a friend.” Rarity said waving her hand as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Rarity we’ve only talked twice. We barely know each other. As I told Captain Armor were not friends, we’re acquaintances. Now how much do I owe you?” I said my hand hovering over the bag just waiting to pull out the money.

Rarity looked at me for a moment as if she was trying to read something in my expression. Finally she nodded. “If you feel that strongly about it. For the three sets you ordered it will be fifty-five bits.”

“Here you go.” I said handing over the money. “One more thing, Princess Celestia left a letter at my house signed it as ‘Monarch of the Day, and Co-Ruler of Equestria’. Does that first title mean anything who who’s the other Ruler?”

“Celestia uses her magic to rise and set the sun each day and she rules Equestria along with her sister Princess Luna who raises the moon. I’d go into it a little more but I don’t want to take up to much of your time right now.” Rarity explained as I headed towards the door where her sister was still trembling.

“Thank you Rarity.” I said before looking at Sweetie. “Can you please move? I’ve got an important meeting soon.” Sweetie quickly grabbed her backpack and scooted out of the way. “Thank you.”  As I headed out of the Boutique I heard Sweetie rush into the room and started bombarding Rarity with questions.

On my walk to the spa a girl who I guessed was around Sweetie’s age with wind swept purple hair a black jacket, forest camo pants and a rainbow band on her left wrist. “So you’re the guy I heard is the newest member of the Guild and the one assigned to protect Ponyville.”

“That’s me.” I said. “I’m…”

“I don’t care who you are. Just know that I don’t trust you or your kind and I’ll be keeping my eyes on you.”  And with that she walked off.

Sighing I shook my head and continued on my way wondering why what this young girl said hurt just as much as what Spoiled Rich had yelled at me. When I found the spa I saw a large sign hanging above the door. ‘Ponyville Day Spa, Where We Work To Ease Your Body And Mind.’ Walking in I found a soft blue room with a few shelves with various plastic tubs on the left wall. After looking through the shampoos for a few minutes I found a few I liked. Taking them up to the counter the yellow haired woman wearing an ivory white outfit looked up from her computer. “Ah you must be Ajax. Miss Rarity called ahead and let us know you we coming. Did you find everything you were looking for?”

Nodding I placed the bottles on the desk. After checking the four bottles them she said. “That will be fifty bits. Thank you and we hope you see you again.” After making my purchase I stopped at a fast food restaurant called ‘Hay Burger’ to grab a bite to eat and luckily I got it without any problems. When I got home I saw that the furniture the Princess ordered had arrived and put in place so now I had a couch and a few chairs along with a table with a bronze candelabra on it. Heading up stairs I put the shampoo and soap away before checking on the rest of the bags full of monster parts and was pleased to see they hadn’t been touched and that the old bed had been replaced with one large enough for me to sleep in along with a bedside table and electric clock that said it was exactly four o'clock.

“Gonna need to buy groceries tomorrow… and a few more clocks.” I muttered as I walked back down stairs just as someone knocked on the door. “Be right there!” Opening the door I saw a smiling Twilight with a teenage boy with short spiky forest green hair a fire patterned hoodie and blue jeans but I noticed that his eyes were similar to mine only instead of silver his eyes are light green.  “Hello Twilight. Who’s this?”

“Hello Ajax, this is Spike. My LBBFF and my number one assistant.” Twilight said as Spike waved.

“Nice to meet ya. Sis told me a lot about ya, and just so ya know LBBFF means ‘Little Brother Best Friends Forever’. Trust me she can come up with some dumb nicknames.” Spike said only to get a quick glare from Twilight.

Chuckling I stood back to let them in saying. “Family, can’t live with em. Don’t know what you’d do without em… something I learned the hard way long ago.” Twilight and Spike went to sit on the cough while I leaned against the wall.

 “Soooo… how was your first day in Ponyville?” Spike asked.

I shrugged. “Some good, some bad. I took the Chimera pelts and Cragadile hides to Strong Steel to get some armor made along with the Mantistaur blades so I can have some proper weapons. On the way to Rarity’s to order some cloths I met a nasty piece of work named Spoiled Rich.”

“The biggest bitch in Ponyville.” Spike muttered.

“Spike don’t call her that!” Twilight scolded.

“It’s true though!” Spike countered. “Don’t you remember how she treated Zecora when she moved into the old watermill?”

“To fair a lot of people were…cautions of her for quite a while.” Twilight said.

“But who was the one who got the mob together that the Guild had to stop?” Spike deadpanned.

“…point taken.” Twilight sighed.

“Anyways Mighty Swing appeared and chased her off then when I got to Rarity’s she told me about Princess Luna and introduced me to her sister before directing me to the spa to get shampoo considering Spoiled Rich’s husband owns the superstore. After getting the shampoo I went to grab a quick bite to eat and a girl around Spike’s age came up, told me she didn’t trust me and walked off, and if I’m being completely honest what this girl said hurt just as much as what Spoiled Rich said.”

“What did she look like?” Spike asked. After I described her Spike’s face fell.

“Someone you know?” I inquired.

“Her name’s Scootaloo. She’s friends with Sweetie Bell and Applejack’s sister Applebloom.” Spike explained. “I never thought she’d ever say anything like that, but how did Sweetie Bell react when she saw you?”

“She dropped her backpack, screamed and didn’t move from the door way until I asked but as I was leaving she started to ask Rarity questions.” I explained.

“That’s good… I guess.” Twilight said.

“How much did it cost you to get the monster parts turned into weapons?” Spike asked.

“Five hundred bits but if he can’t do it I get a full refund.”

“Only five hundred? Wow Strong Steel gave you a huge discount.” Twilight gasped. “I mean no one’s ever thought to do that before so he doesn’t even know if it’ll work.”

“He did say it would be an interesting challenge, so perhaps part of the reason is he wanted to make sure he’s the one who got the job being the first smith to work with monster parts.” I said shrugged. “But who’s this Zecora?”

“She’s a shaman from Zebrica who moved to Ponyville to be close to the herbs that only grow in the Everfree.” Twilight explained.

“So she’s a potion maker?” I asked.

“Among other things ya.” Spike nodded.

(And now I know where I can find healing potions.) I thought. “Interesting, I’ll have to go meet her soon. So is there anything else about the town or this world that I should know?”

“Well almost everyone falls into one of three categories. Magi like Rarity and I have the ability to use magic, Wind Walkers like Rainbow and Fluttershy have the ability to sprout wings and take to the air and control the weather and Earth Talkers like Applejack and Pinkie can commune with the planet to help plants grow or in some cases know how to grow crystals and gems like fruit.” Twilight explained. “The Princesses are unique in that they have aspects of all three categories.”

“Interesting. Wonder how they managed that.” I mused.

“No one knows.” Spike said. “I mean they’ve been running Equestria for over fifteen hundred years.”

(Is it immortality or longevity?) I wondered. “So what about the town?”

“Well Mighty Swing is in charge of the Guild which a few blocks away and is the largest building in town and you’ve met the town’s smith Strong Steel. You’ve also been Carousel Boutique and is working to get a shop in Equestria’s capital Canterlot. Applejack’s runs the town’s apple orchard Sweet Apple Acers when has been in her family since the towns founding. Pinkie works at Ponyville’s bakery ‘The Sugarcube Corner’. Fluttershy runs an animal sanctuary just out of town, and Rainbow’s the town’s Weather Manager.”

Hearing what Rainbow did I frowned. “So it sounds like Equestria basically enslaved the weather to do exactly what they want.”

Twilight’s and Spike’s eyes went wide. “What? No! It’s not like that!” Twilight protested.

“You said that Wind Walkers control the weather and Rainbow’s the Weather Manager, so what does that say?”

“There were those in the past who tried to make the weather fully bow to their will.” Spike started. “But no matter what they did they couldn’t fully control all aspects of the weather, so those in the weather business are more like… shepherds I guess? They do their best to make it so the weather is just what the towns and city’s need but sometimes a storm brews that they can’t stop so when that happens we just wait it out.”

“That makes me feel a little better.” I said. “But how come the only places apart from the Guild that you told me about are those where your friends live or places I already knew about?”

“Well I thought since they’re your friends too you should know.” Twilight said with a small grin.

“As I told Captain Armor and Rarity we’re not friends yet. We’re acquaintances.” I said shaking my head.

“That’s what I said!” Spike exclaimed as there was a knock on the door. Opening the door I saw Mighty Swing and a woman just a little shorter then Celestia in a midnight blue dress with a silver tiara and necklace, both of which had blue stones embedded in them and like Celestia’s her hair blew in an ethereal wind but unlike Celestia’s her hair looked more like the night sky.

“Hello Ajax. I am Princess Luna. Can we come in?”
> Chapter 4: Dawn of the First Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Princess Luna and Mighty Swing had found seats I returned to leaning against the wall. “Why aren’t you sitting Ajax? Please join us.” Princess Luna said gesturing to the last chair.

“I haven’t had a real bath in two months, so I don’t know if there’s anything crawling on me. Don’t want to get my chairs infested with lice after all.” I explained.

“That’s your biggest concern right now?” Mighty Swing laughed.

“How many of us here has been living in a forest for the past two months and only had a river to keep themselves clean?” I asked.

“That is a good point.” Spike said.

“Very well then let’s move on to the main reason Princess Luna and I are here.” Mighty Swing said with a nod. “You need to know all the rules about being a member of the Guild.

“I was wondering. Does the Guild have a name? All everyone seems to called it is ‘the Guild’ or ‘the Monster Hunter Guild’.” I asked.

Luna and Mighty Swing blinked surprised as Twilight said. “Yes it’s called ‘Blade an Chosanta’ it means ‘Blade of the Defense’ or ‘Blade of the Protector’, but I’m surprised no one’s told you yet.”

“‘Blade an Chosanta’? Fitting.” I said. (I can’t help but feel like I heard that language back on Earth, but I can’t place it.) “So what do I need to know?”

Mighty Swing pulled a scroll out of a pouch. “First the Princesses or I may at any point contract you for a job which you must report to me as soon as possible. Second, you must protect this town, and its inhabitants to the best of your abilities. Third, you must report any and all kills to the Guild. Forth, you must report any odd or suspicious activity you notice on your patrols. Fifth, if you decide to follow up on rumors you need to let as least one of your Guild-mates know on the off chance something happens to you. Next, if you have an area that is under your jurisdiction then you must work with any and all forms of authority on any case they are working on.”

“Seventh, if you have a problem with a Guild-mate you may challenge them to a dual if at least three Guild-mates agree that it’s required and the rules of said dual must be agreed upon by both parties. Otherwise please sort it out with them in privet. Finally at the end of every year we will review all you have done while part of the Guild and if we find in unsatisfactory there is a chance you will be removed from the Guild. All other questions may be brought to one of our residential Lore Masters.”

“So keep the peace, be ready for action, let you know what of monsters I’ve killed so you can keep a record of their numbers, make sure the Guild knows if I fallow up on any potential threats or go on patrol and don’t tarnish the Guilds rep. Is that a good summery?” I inquired.

“Sounds about right to me.” Princess Luna nodded.

“Do I have to let anyone know when I’m going on patrol in an area that’s not under my jurisdiction? Like the Everfree for example.” I asked.

“It’s appreciated but not necessary.” Mighty Swing replied.

“Thank you, now is there a training field at the Blade an Chosanta hall?”

“Of course!” Mighty Swing nodded. “Along with serval Trainers who can teach you how to use just about any kind of weapon under the sun.”

I gave a toothy grin as I raised an eyebrow. “What about the kusari gama?”

Twilight and Spike looked confused, Princess Luna looked thoughtful and Mighty Swing chuckled. “The what?” Twilight asked.

I glanced towards Twilight asking a silent question. “We know Ajax.” Luna said. “Twilight told Celestia everything about your first encounter with Twilight and her friends and she told me and Mighty Swing.”

Nodding I continued. “In my world there is a country called Japan. A few hundred years ago a new kind of warrior appeared. They were the Ninja or Shinobi to use the proper term. The Shinobi used stealth to achieve their goals and only fought as a last resort, due to them preferring espionage. The kusari gama means ‘chain sickle’ and is a sickle with a chain that can be as long as eight feet connected to a heavy weight. By swinging the weight around the Shinobi can keep their foe at a distance and easily defend against attacks from the foe’s weapon or tie up and disarm their foe.”

“Interesting.” Luna said.

“Ajax.” Mighty Swing said drawing everyone’s attention. “In a week or two the son of a good friend of mine is coming to Ponyville to train and learn to fight beasts. I’d like you to spar with him and teach him what you know about the beasts of the Everfree. I’m asking you because you lived there and fought the beasts there for two months which makes you one of the only real experts on the Everfree as far as I’m concerned.”

“What are their names?” Twilight asked.

“My friends name is Adamantine Hammer and his son is Obsidian Horn. Adamantine is in charge of the Manehattan branch.” Might Swing explained. “Adamantine Hammer is a master of a few unique Earth Talker techniques that Obsidian Horn’s struggling with. One reason why Obsidian Horn is coming here but there’s also the fact that the only kinds of beasts that appear there are aquatic and amphibious so Adamantine Hammer is sending his son here not just to fight new kinds of beasts but to hopefully learn to these techniques.”

“As long as he knows I’m working as a Hunter I’ve got no problems teaching him.” I said.

“Thank you.” Mighty Swing said with a nod. “Now I heard you brought a few items to Strong Steel to be turned into equipment. I must admit I’m curious how they’ll turn out.”

“You’re not the only one.” Twilight said. “This is the first that that any Hunter has turned his prey’s strengths into equipment.”

“That’s not quite true.” Princess Luna said. “We’ve been making potions out of monster parts for hundreds of years.”

“I meant armor or weapons.” Twilight said.

“So which parts did you choose to start with?” Spike asked.

“The Chimera pelts, Cragadile hides and Mantistaur blades. I’ll need some real armor and weapons if I’m going to take on stronger monsters in the future.” I said.

“Well you’ve been doing a fine job so far.” Spike said.

“That’s been mostly luck, listing to my instincts and spending time to understand how each beast moves and reacts.” I explained. “Here’s a small secret. When I saw the Manticore standing over Zephyr Breeze’s I kinda lost control and challenged the Manticore, and starting fights isn’t something I’ve ever been one to do.”

“It must have been difficult.” Twilight said sadly.

“It was for the first few weeks but I got used to it.” I said with a small shrug.

“I think that’s everything we wanted to discuss with you so we shall bid you good night Ajax.” Princess Luna said as she got to her feet gesturing for Twilight and Spike to do the same. “My Sister and I are looking forward to seeing what you’ll accomplish as part of the Guild.”

Once everyone left I headed to the bathroom showered, washed my kilt and went to bed. The next morning I woke at dawn which the clock said was at six thirty. It was an odd sensation knowing I wasn’t living in the Everfree anymore and I didn’t have to go on patrol immediately and having gotten a full nights rest. After doing a few stretches and placing the Manticore pet’s in the closet I put on my kilt grabbed my money, the empty sacks and headed out to the market to get some food. Once I got there I saw people setting up stalls and booths. After stocking up on meat, fruit, vegetables, salt and other cooking spices I saw Applejack standing behind a stall covered in various kinds of apples, talking to a man in a red shirt, blue jeans a morning star tied to his belt and a spiked buckler shield on his back.

Walking up Applejack was the first to notice me. “Morning Ajax. Gotta admit I’m surprised to see you up so early.”

“Old habit from when I lived in the forest. Heck most nights I was lucky to get five hours of sleep.” I said with a shrug as the man in the red shirt looked at me with an unreadable expression.

“Mac this is Ajax, Ajax this is my brother Big McIntosh but most call him Big Mac.” Applejack said.

“Nice to meet you.” I said holding out my fist. Applejack and Big Mac looked at it then at me. “Can’t shake your hand with my claws now can I?” (I feel like I’m going to be saying that a lot for a while)

Big Mac didn’t say or do anything apart from nodding at me and walking away. “Don’t mind Big Mac, Ajax. He’s always been quite and slow to warm up to others.” Applejack said as we watched him walk off. “So what are you up to?”

“Just out getting food to stock the fridge and pantry before going to buy the rest of what I need for the kitchen. Know anyplace around here that I can buy cooking supplies and the like that’s not Rich’s Barnyard Bargains?” I asked.

“Well there’s ‘Pots, Pans and More’ that’s run by the Skillet siblings and ‘Cutt’s for Days’ that’s owned by Mr. Cuttler.” Applejack said rubbing her chin.

“The first name I get but the second?” I said looking at her. “It’s… a little odd to say the least.”

Applejack shrugged. “That’s the best way to describe Mr. Cuttler. So you how you turned left on the street that connects the Craft's District with Market District?” Seeing my nod she continued. “Just take a right instead can’t miss em.”

“Thanks Applejack. So how much for… twenty apples?” I asked.

“That’ll be forty bits, and do you have a preference for what kind of apples?” Applejack replied as I put down the bags on the ground, and placed the correct amount of bits on the counter.

“Here’s your money and as for the apples… surprise me.”

Applejack turned to look at the apples in thought for a few moments before nodding to herself. “Here you go, ten large Red Delicious, three Fuji, two Gala, and five Golden Delicious.”

“Thanks Applejack.” I said as I slung the bags back over my shoulder before walking back home. Once I got home I put an apple to the side before putting the groceries away before putting the bag the held the meat to the side I grabbed the other bags and headed out again. I first made my way to Pots, Pans and More which much to my surprise was right across the street from Cutt’s for Days.

Opening the door I saw that the entire store was made out of a dark brown wood each full to the brim with different cooking utensils. At the register is a woman a little taller than Applejack with a similar figure to Twilight wearing a black button-down shirt. Hearing the door open she looked my way and said. “Welcome to Pots, Pans and More, how can I help…you…”

Just before she could scream I raised a hand and said. “My name is Ajax I’m a new member of the Guild, and all I came to do is shop.”

The woman smiled. “I already knew that. Names Chestnut Skillet, my brother’s Iron Skillet. Our Dad Quick Quill is Mighty Swing’s assistant. I just wasn’t expecting you to come here. Most people go to Rich’s Barnyard Bargains for stuff.”

“I… met Spoiled Rich yesterday so I’m going to avoid going to her husband’s store for as long as I can.” I explained.

Chestnut looked to the side and spat on the ground. “She give’s many of us hard working women a bad name. All she does is complain, boast, and cause trouble for everyone. What Filthy Rich sees in her I’ll never know. Come on I’ll give ya a hand finding everything you need. Lord’s know this place could do with some organization and while I do that how about you tell me about the encounter.” When I got to the part about Princess Celestia giving me the house across from the tavern and making me part of the Guild Chestnut looked at me and gave a somewhat sinister grin. “Oh I wish I could have seen that.”

In the end I had three different frying pans, four pots, two pans that were for the oven, a wok along with a skimmer and turner, a normal spatula and one that was more like a spoon, two whisks, tongs, a cheese grater, and a mess kit for when I’m traveling. “Let’s see, in total that’ll be…two hundred bits, please come again.”

“Will do.” I said with a toothy grin before walking across the street.

This store had the same layout as Pots, Pans and More but the wooden shelves were made of a much lighter wood all neatly lined with boxes. Behind the register was an older man with black hair that went up an inch or two before being cut perfectly flat, an angular face and a perfectly trimmed pointy goatee. “Welcome to Cutt’s for Days! Where we got any kind of knife, fork, or spoon you could possibly want! How can I help ya…. Wait yer that ‘Ajoks’ fellow I heard about aren’t ya?”

“My name is Ajax yes.”

In a flash he was in front of me and examining my claws muttering to himself. “Little too long, but they have a healthy gleam. Slightly dull but could still tear through foliage easily enough. All in all not a bad set of claws on you my boy! I’m Patient Cuttler how can I help you? Oh who am I kidding you just moved in so you’re here for some cutlery. No worries I can help you. How many sets do you want?”

“I guess four sets to start with and nothing to fancy please.” I said not quite sure what else I could say in this situation.

“Four basic sets it is. Those are directly on your left as you enter the first row.” Cuttler said. Once I grabbed four boxes I walked up to the register. “That’ll be twenty bits for em. Thank you and please come again whenever you need more cutlery you got that?”

“Sure.” I said nodding leaving the store and once again heading home. (That guy was just a LITTLE too interested in my claws.) About half way home I saw Rainbow Dash sitting on a cloud out of the corner of my eye. Turning my head to look at her she scoffed and flew off. Shaking my head I continued on my way. After getting home a putting everything away I grabbed the bloody sac, went to the bathroom and washed it. Once that was done I hung it to dry, grabbed my vest, a spear, two hand axes, my Cragadile tooth dagger and my normal dagger and tied two of the smaller sacks and a large sack to my kilt. Glancing at the clock I saw it was two fifteen. (I’ll need to find a way to get a message to the guild when I go on patrol without walking there. Perhaps I’ll visit the Guild tomorrow and see if they have anything.)

When I opened the door I saw a girl that looked to be Sweetie Bell’s and Scootaloo’s age. She has long red hair with a pink bow keeping it neat, and is wearing a green shirt, worn blue jeans. She also has an old necklace with a few teeth tied onto it. As she looked at me I asked. “Can I help you?”

“So you’re the one my friends Sweetie and Scootaloo told me about. I’m Applebloom.” She held out a hand.

“Ajax.” I said holding out a fist. “And from your name I’m guessing you’re related to Applejack and Big McIntosh?”

Applebloom looked at my fist, smiled and bumped it with her own. “Yup. They’re my older siblings. So you’re part of the Guild huh? That must be neat.”

“Well today’s my first day as part of the Guild and yet, I’ve spent most of it getting this house stocked with food and cooking utensils.” I said. “Although I was about to head out to patrol the Forest.”

“I’ll be sure to let the Boss know.” Seeing my confused face Applebloom smirked. “I’ve got a part time job as a messenger for the Guild when it’s not time to harvest the apples at the farm. So if you ever need a message delivered let me knew alright?”

“Will do. Thanks Applebloom.” I said before making the trip to the Everfree. Right at the edge of town I was stopped by a tall man with well-groomed blond hair, brilliant orange eyes and wearing gleaming plate mail, and a large sword strapped to his back, both of which looked like it had never been used before stepped in front of me.

When he spoke it was in a deep drawling voice that spoke of a childhood without hardships. “And what do you think you’re doing?”

“To patrol the Everfree and keep the town safe from the monsters, in other words my job as a member of Blade an Chosanta.” I said with a small barely noticeable smirk when the man’s eyes went wide in shock as he took a step back in surprise.

“May I know who let a… being like yourself in the illustrious Blade an Chosanta?” He said which surprised me as he was actively trying not to be overly rude.

“Princess Celestia and Mighty Swing. My name is Ajax may I know your name?”

“I am Sir Flawless Assault a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He said extending an armored hand. “I take it that the untamable Everfree is now your territory?”

“I wouldn’t call it that but I do know a lot about the beasts of the Everfree.” I explained shaking his hand.

“That sounds like you have a few stories of the hunt. Perhaps we could met up at a tavern this evening and swap stories?” Flawless Assault asked as stepped aside.

“I live right across the street from The Buzzing Manticore. We can meet up there tomorrow night.” I offered.

“Why tomorrow night?” He asked.

“I’m very thorough in my patrols so I’ll probably be back after nightfall.” I explain.

“That’s the sign of a good Hunter.” He said with a large grin and a nod. “Never do the job half way. Very well tomorrow it is. Tell me do you have a Messaging Stone?”

I looked at him confused. “What’s a Messaging Stone?”

This time it was his turn to look confused. “I thought everyone in Equestria knew about them.”

“I’m not from Equestria. I only… moved here recently.” I said not wanting to tell him the whole story yet.

He nodded and gave a kind smile. “Makes sense, a Messaging Stone is a small crystal imbued with a unique spell that allows you to contact anyone who’s Messaging Stone that’s attuned to yours, but it is possible to contact ones that aren’t attuned but it’s possible to get someone completely random if you do that. Someone at the Guild might be able to help you acquire one.”

“Thank you Flawless. I’ll look into it tomorrow.” I said.

“Not a problem Ajax. Enjoy your hunt!” He said before walking off.

When I got to the forest I cricked my neck, fingers and gave a wolfish grin as my eyes gained a predatory gleam. “Before it was purely survival and what I thought was right, but this? This will be my first real hunt in years. Time to make father and grandpa proud.”
> Chapter 5: Visiting the Guild Hall and Learning about the Pantheon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was ten thirty when I walked out of the forest with my sacks full of trophies and fresh meat while the blood of the beasts dried on my weapons, claws and fur. I had killed a total of eight creatures which had me slightly concerned. Four was the average of beasts that I normally fought on my patrols and in one night it had doubled. When I got home I saw that the Buzzing Manticore was still opened. Placing my trophies and weapons in my room I washed the blood off my fur and claws and headed out. When I entered the tavern I was hit with the sounds of song, boisterous noises and general merriment. “Ajax! It’s good to see you. How can I help you?” Berry Punch said as I approached the bar.

Giving her a toothy grin I said. “I need something to help me unwind after my patrol. What do you recommend?” Then my grin turned into a frown as I sat on a stool.

Berry sees my frown passed me a tankard of brown liquid. “First one’s on me. So what’s got you down?”

“It’s mostly that Mantistaur from yesterday.” I said before downing the drink. As it went down it burned my throat but for some reason I didn’t mind. “I mean if a second one got that close to the forest’s edge in one day of me being gone then how many more are going to try?”

“That’s why we have the Guild Ajax. It’s part of your job to figure this kind of thing out.” Berry said before she smirked. “But never mind that for now. I’ve never seen anyone take a shot of my home made ale in one go like that on their first try. Most people have to take it slow due to its kick.”

“Guess having draconic traits has some unexpected benefits.” I shrugged. “But its good stuff. Say is there any way I can contact the Guild from here?”

“You bet!” Berry said before pointing to a corner where I could see a writing pad made of dark pink crystal’s with a stack of papers on it. “Write what you want on the Crystal Pad and it’ll be sent directly to the Guild’s Message Center. They have staff there all day so no matter when you send something in they’ll get it. Every Tavern has to have one of those. It’s how most Adventurers or a member of the Guild sends in information when they’re not using a Messaging Stone.”

“Thanks Berry.” I said “Know how I can get one for myself?”

“Just make an inquiry at the Guild, that’s the easiest way unless you know a Magi who’s willing to make you one.” Berry replied. “Now if you excuse me I’ve got other customers.”

Making my way over to the Crystal Pad I wrote down my report on what I killed and my current concerns. I know I might be over reacting but it’s better to be safe than sorry. When I finished the Crystal Pad glowed and the paper I was writing on disappeared leaving the rest of the stack. Once that was done I tuned only see three clearly drunk men surrounding a tall woman sitting at a table with a single tinkered on it .She has a large grey Mohawk and wearing a brown robe who looked more annoyed at the situation than anything else. The one directly in behind her said. “Come on babe. Let me and my friend’s show ya a good time.”

“Your true purpose you cannot hide. For I see not but lust within your eyes.” The woman said.

One of the men growled and grabbed her arm and jerked her to her feet. “Well yu’ll be commen with us now! So be a good…” *CRACK* “AHHHH!” As he spoke the woman easily slipped out of his hold and in the same motion broke one of his fingers. I meanwhile got behind his friends and tapped them on the shoulders.

When they glanced over their shoulders they went pale as I gave a large toothy grin. “I don’t think bothering her is the best idea don’t you? I mean considering how easily she broke your friends finger what do you think she could do to the rest of you? Then again you could always continue this fight and see who well you do against me.”

The two men grabbed their friend and rushed out of the tavern. “Thank you for helping me. I am Zecora it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance but I fear that those three got off to lightly.”

“Ajax.” I said with a nod. “Aren’t you the one who lives in the watermill that I heard Spike talking about?”

Zecora nodded. “I use the water in my potions after it’s be purified by the wheel, but most of the ingredients in the forest that I need are as hard to get as a slippery eel.”

“You know I often patrol in the forest so if I find anything you’re looking for I could bring it to you.” I offered.

Zecora looked at me for a few moments as if trying to find something. Then she said. “I suppose I can agree, but what you are looking for I cannot foresee.”

I chuckled. “When I heard you made potions I was hoping you knew out to make ones that can help heal injuries and if you did I wanted to buy some. So the way I see it if I can help you get ingredients I can buy some potions. Heck I have a lot of monster parts that might you might be able to use in potions.”

Zecora smiled. “So you’re looking for a partnership is a way. This to me is as plain as day.”

“Something like that.” I agreed.

“What kind of pieces do you have?” She asked.

“I’ve got a lot of Chimera and Manticore teeth and claws along with scales from a Cockatrice and Chimera tails.” When I said I’d killed Cockatrices everyone in the tavern went quiet as Zecora’s eyes went wide.

“To kill a Cockatrice is no easy feat. How did you fight it and live so we could meet?”

“Killed them when they were asleep in their nests and learned how to fight them with my eyes closed.” I said before raising my voice so everyone could hear. “But they are still very dangerous creatures and shouldn’t be taken lightly, even with these strategies in mind.”

Zecora nodded. “Cockatrice scales and eyes are very rare indeed. If you have them I could make some great potions for those in need.”

“How about I bring some of the scales over tomorrow?”

“That sounds agreeable.” Zecora said before giving me directions to her home.

“I’ll try to drop by around noon. See you tomorrow Zecora.” I said before heading to the door.

Berry was leaning against the wall right next to the door. “Good job sending those drunkards runnen Ajax. I’ve tried throwing them out for that kind of behavior and even banned them for a few months before, but they just won’t learn. Hopefully they get the message this time.”

“For some reason I doubt that.” I sighed. “See you later Berry.”

“Later Ajax.”


—Next Day—


After dropping off a half of my Cockatrice scales, one with a third of the Manticore fangs, and the last had a third of the Chimera claws at Zecora’s. I decided to go to the Guild Hall to see what was there. When I got there I couldn’t help but blink in surprise. When I heard that the Guild hall was the biggest in the town I wasn’t expecting it to take up an entire block by its self! It was made of red bricks and what I guess was the main part of the building looked like it could be a cathedral with large stain glass widows showing the symbol of long bow that looked ready to fire a sword instead of an arrow on one and the other had a golden lions head and mane.

Walking in I saw that there were nine large statues lining the walls between even more stain glass windows and what looked like priests and priestesses went about their business. "Guess this place does double as a cathedral." I thought before turning my attention to the many statues the lined the walls.

As I examined the closest one a priestess in soft white robe with platinum blond hair approached and soft green eyes. “You must be Ajax the newest member of Blade an Chosanta, welcome to the Guild Hall and the Cathedral of the Divine. How may I be of assistance?”

“Mostly just looking into what the guild offers a little.” I explained.

“I understand, many new members do that, but if I may ask a question?”

“Yes?”

“You seemed curious about the depictions of the Gods. Do you not know who they are?”

I looked away upset about the small reminder that despite how long I’d been here I still knew so little about this world. “Where I’m from we had…a different pantheon.”

The priestess realized that she’d made a mistake and bowed her head. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to bring up any painful memories.”

Shaking my head I said. “You don’t need to apologies, but can you tell me a little bit about them?”

“Of course.” She said as she turned to look at the statue I was looking had been examining. It was made of black marble and depicted a tall humanoid in a large hooded robe that covered their entire body with what looked like fins poking out of the robes and a golden medallion around his neck with the picture of a salmon on it. On the statue’s pedestal is a single piece of coral as black as marble of the statue. “This is Aquatica god of the Ocean Depths, Fish and Benevolent Darkness. He rules almost all life under the water and those who use Darkness to help people are his servants. Depending on where you are the symbol on his medallion changes but each simply shows a fish that is common in the area. The coral in front of him is his Holy Symbol.”

“I’m surprised that salmon are so common here if they’re his symbol here. Back where I’m from salmon live in the ocean and only move to freshwater to lay their young. Is it different here?”

“In most places that’s how salmon are but there is a lake nearby with a unique species of salmon called ‘The Crimson Gift’. It’s said that Aquatica placed The Crimson Gift in the lake hundreds of years ago when Ponyville was first founded during a drought. Those fish are the reason why there’s still a Ponyville and as such are only allowed to be hunted twice a year. Once for the festival of Ponyville’s founding and once for the celebration of when Equestria’s founding.”

I nodded as we moved to the one standing right next to Aquatica. This one was of a large four tailed fox made of a pure white marble. Carved into the pedestal is a sapphire in the shape of a crescent moon with an open book in the crescent. “This is Sellitetr, Goddess of the Moon and the Written Word. It is she who guides those who travel in the night and was the one who introduced the concept of writing to mortals. Many who received her blessing went on to write some of the most well-known stories in history. Next to her is her husband Kikokumaru. God of the Sun and Fire.” Moving on to the next statue is a large maned wolf with humming bird wings made of a light red stone. The symbol carved in his pedestal is a platinum yellow and bright blue sun. “He gave mortals fire to protect us from the dangers we faced and to bring light to his wife’s night, and his sun bring life and keeps many monsters at bay.”

The next statue was made of a smooth red stone that was a few shades lighter than Kikokumaru. His symbol is two large wings unfurling out of a cloud. “This is Ardeotis Sight. God of Birds and Flight. He gifts humans with the ability to reach deep inside them for the power to soar among his birds which is why we call those who accept the gift of flight Wind Walkers. Not all humans decide to fallow his teaching but those that do are often free spirited and can be as wild as the winds. Next to him is his brother Cabasious, God of Earth, Strength and Agriculture.” A large centaur with a gardening hoe in one hand and a war axe in the other loomed over us. The statue itself is made of a light brown stone and his symbol is his axe crossed over his hoe.

“He taught the first mortals how to grow crops and how to grow strong enough so we wouldn’t have to fear the monsters and beasts that threatened us. In Equestria those who work with the earth or gain physical strength are called Earth Talkers and they are more in tune with how plants grow or the best way to approached working with stone. Many who fallow him can seem as stubborn as stone but their care for those they call friends is truly a sight to behold. Over here is their sister.” Crossing the hall we walked over to the next statue I was slightly surprised to see a Sphinx made of a dark brown stone, the Sphinx. The kind that had both a torso of a human and body of a large cat, this one was obviously female with the cloth tied tightly around her chest. She wore a vale over her face, a witch’s hat and in her hands is a large open tome. The symbol carved into this pedestal is a large book with runes I’ve never seen before.

“This is Jeianogana. Goddess of the Arcane and Knowledge. She gave the gift of magic and wisdom to mortals and guides those who seek wisdom and the power of the Arcane. Those who fallow her teachings in the way of magic are called Magi.” The next pedestal had two figures on it, a man and a woman. The man wore leather armor with a hood over his head, a throwing spear on his back and a short sword on his belt. The woman had armor made of thick cloth, a bandana and what hair wasn’t in the bandana was tied in a ponytail. On her back is a large bow and a hand crossbow in one hand with another hand crossbow on her waist. Unlike all the other statues these two had bright yellow gems for eyes and their symbol is the long bow and sword that I’d seen on the stained glass windows.

“These are the Twin Deities of the Hunt and Nature. The brother is Elsilandra and the sister is Elsilamdra while Cabasious taught mortals how to grow stronger these two taught us how to hunt the hunters. Many hunters who figure out how a new way to kill beasts are said to have caught their eye.”

"I wonder if that’s how I figured out how to kill Cragadiles or Cockatrices," I thought. It was weird thinking that a God or Goddess might have help me considering my life back on Earth. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts I looked at the next statue. It was a giant lion made of light brown stone with a black mane, this one’s symbol is the head and mane of a lion made of pure gold. 

“This is Yher God of Courage. He brought bravery and courage to mortals and who’s teaching show us how to stand up for what we believe is right even if we’re scared.”

"That seems fairly tame compared to most of the other Deities." I thought.

The next statue was made of simple marble and depicted goddess that had a human torso, the head of a jackal and legs of a goat and like Jeianogana had a piece of cloth holding back her bust. Around her neck is a necklace with several pendants each with a different symbol on it and her necklace was also carved into the statues pedestal. I couldn’t make out the symbol on every pendant but I could make out a mortar and pestle on one and a needle and string on another. “This is Hacriftana Goddess of Crafts. She taught us how to sew, cook, smith and make potions and medicine. Each pendant around her neck shows a different Craft that she brought to us.”

The last Deity depicted didn’t have a statue or pedestal instead there was a tall willow tree with a wooden figure growing out of the trunk. The figure had several golden leaves acting as long flowing hair and wore a snow white gown. “This is the Goddess of Life and Healing, Hieallana. She taught us how to heal sickness and injuries and while Kikokumaru’s sun allows life to grow it is Hieallana that is the true source of all life. There are a few other Gods and Goddess that are commonly worshiped in Equestria but you’ll have to travel to other cities to learn about them. If you’re truly interested in learning I suggest the Grand Cathedral in Canterlot. You could learn about all the Gods there.”

“Thank you for telling me about the different Deities. It was very informative.” I said.

“You’re welcome.” The priestess said. “Now how about I show you around the rest of the Guild?”

“I think I can handle that.” Turning I saw Twilight standing behind me with a smile. “I’m glad you’re here Ajax.” As Twilight spoke the priestess bowed and walked away to help another visitor.

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“Remember when you told Princess Celestia that you wanted to test if you could turn others into Lycan-Scales?”

“I do. Did the necessary equipment for the test arrive?” I asked.

“Yup, it arrived this morning and I set up in the Guild's Hospital.” Twilight said gesturing for me to fallow. As we walked through the halls I saw see many people who looked more like scholars then warriors. As if sensing my confusion Twilight said. “Despite the Everfree being very dangerous Ponyville doesn’t have many resident Hunters. Most Hunters just visit for a week to take care of a couple Manticores or Chimeras before moving on.” I grunted at this annoyed that the Everfree was basically being ignored. Looking over her shoulder Twilight said. “Don’t worry. With your discovery of the Mantistaur the Princesses are talking with Mighty Swing about sending some Royal Guards to protect the town until we have more Hunters.”

“Good, I’ve lived in that forest long enough to know just how strong the beasts are.” I said. “So what does this test entail?”

“It’s rather simple actually.” Twilight said as we entered a large white room with serval beds, some table and on one of the tables was an odd machine with a few rubies and emeralds attached to it and a large slab of raw meat on a plate. Hanging on the walls there were a few paintings of Hieallana. Walking over to the table Twilight said. “All you have to do is bite the meat then I’ll use this device to scan the saliva to see if it carries something similar to the curse of Lycanthropy.”

“Alright, so let’s get this started.” I said as I grabbed the meat and took a large bite.

“Now place back on the plate and I’ll take over.” Twilight said before she got to work.

“How did Lycanthropy start here? Back home there were a lot of different stories about Werewolves and even a few depicting the first back during the… Grecian Empire I think? It’s been a while since I had a chance to review old legends.”

Twilight stopped for a moment then took a deep breath. “From what we can gather the power that turns peoples in to Werecreatures is a very old and powerful form of Dark Magic but we haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly where it comes from.”

“You ok Twilight?” I asked.

“Shining and I… we lost our parent’s to a Werecentipede. The person just walked into the market transformed and started killing people and escaped before the Guards could kill it. Shining was still a recruit and away on a training mission and Princess Celestia was teaching me about astronomy at the time.” Twilight said a few tears sliding down her face.

“Oh…sorry I brought it up.” I said rubbing my right arm.

“It’s not your fault. Not even my friends know about this.” Twilight replied wiping away the tears. “It’s just not an easy thing to remember.”

“Well thank you for sharing this with me.” I said as I moved to stand on the other side of the table and look directly into her purple eyes. “And I’m going to make you two promises Twilight. The first is I won’t tell anyone about what happened to your parents. That’s your secret to share not mine. The second is if I get the chance to kill that Werecentipede I’m going to. Not just because you lost your parent’s or how many people they’ve killed, but because I also know what it’s like to lose a family member to a murder and while I couldn’t get closure on that I can at least give it to you an all the others they’ve affected.”

“Thank…thank you Ajax.” Twilight said. “Now let’s finish this experiment!”
> Monsters of the World (Bonus Chapter)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Beasts of the Everfree


Manticore: Manticores are part Lion, Bat and Scorpion. With sharp claws, long fangs and a poisonous tail this is a fearsome beast indeed but despite the bat wings is unable to fly or glide. They don’t hunt like Lions due to actively searching for prey 
alone instead with a group. Keep your wits about you as they like to use their tails for sneak attacks while you’re distracted with avoiding their claws. Any type of weapon works on them.

Chimera: Chimeras are a fusion of large hunting cats, goats and snakes. They have the heads of a cat and goat and their tail is a snake so fighting a Chimera is almost identical to fighting a Manticore with the exception that they’re more likely to try to ram you with their goat head and their tail is just as smart as its other two heads so a sneak attack is more likely and harder to detect. It’s possible that other variations of Chimera live in other environments.

Cragadile: Cragadile’s hunting strategy is the same as their cousins from Earth. They like to hide in shallow water waiting for prey but due to having rock like protrusions sticking out of their backs and hides strong enough to deflect almost any kind of blade. When possible use maces to fight them or find a way to pin it to the ground and choke it with a rope. Note: weapons made from their teeth can easily pierce Cragadile’s hides.

Cockatrice: Small lizard like creatures with the heads of chickens or roosters with small flightless wings. They draw in prey by pretending to be chickens only to uses their innate ability to petrify others to catch their prey. If they plan to eat said prey then they uses a secondary power to shatter the statue which returns it to flesh and blood. If hunting them do so at night so you can catch them asleep in their nests or learn to fight without using your eyes. Note that no matter what you do they are exceedingly dangerous.

Mantistaur: Large Centaur or Drider like beings that have the torso of a prying mantis and the body of a giant spider . They have very sharp blades that can cut through a young Cragadile with a single slice and are much faster then they look. They can also shoot pre-made webs at a target that’s behind them which unfurl as they fly to be used as nets or if they are unfurled enough when they hit a tree they can create giant web traps. One strategy to fight them is to ambush them lest you walk into one of their traps baring that fight them in a cramped area where they can’t run after you or use their blades effectively but this comes with the risk of getting stuck in their webs much easier, but due to their compound eyes it is incredibly difficult to ambush them. The best strategy for fighting them is to attack from the sides or underneath but when a creature goes underneath them they immediately try to use their sizes to squash the creature. It’s possible that other variations of Mantistaur live in other environments.