Prologue

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It was late in the afternoon in Ponyville. Everything seemed like a normal day for everypony, except for a certain yellow pegasus that was patrolling the outskirts of the town. Fluttershy had been spending most of the afternoon searching for one of her animal friends, Harry the bear. Usually, the large, gentle bear would only disappear for a couple of days at most if he decided to stroll around the forest, but no one had seen him in days.

“Oh, where could he be?” she muttered in worry, brushing her pink mane away from her face as she looked around the area. Then, a loud series of squeaks caught her attention. She turned to find her white bunny, Angel, rushing towards her. “Oh, Angel, did you find Harry?” Flutttershy asked hopefully.

Angel looked like he wanted to squeak something to her, only to soon look down glumly. “Oh, no. Did something bad happen to him?” Fluttershy asked.

Angel was hesitant to show Fluttershy what he found, but knew that she needed to know. So, he motioned her with a paw to follow him before running off along the tree line. Fluttershy followed him until he stopped and sadly pointed off to the distance. She looked over to where he was pointing, and it suddenly felt like the world stopped. There was no mistaking the lump of brown fur as her friend, Harry.

“No. No. No,” she whimpered to herself as she slowly approached her friend, hoping and praying that the worst hadn’t occurred. But the closer she got to him, the more visible the burn marks on his fur became. She also began to notice the puddle of blood that formed around him. By the time she reached him, she had already come to the conclusion that he was dead.

She fell to her haunches and cried loudly into her forehooves. As she mourned her friend, Angel hopped up to her and began to pet her comfortingly. When she began to calm down, she looked over the body and said aloud, “What did this to you?” She saw that, along with the burn marks, there were large bite marks on him body and that Harry’s head was completely crushed. “Did…did a dragon do this?” she shakingly pondered.

The sudden sound of a few twigs breaking in the forest caught Angel’s attention. He turned toward the source, lifting his ears up to try to hear anything else. Right as he was about to brush it off, he heard a deep, heavy breathing. To him, it sounded like it was coming form a creature that was excited about something, and that terrified him.

He rapidly tapped Fluttershy’s back to get her attention. She turned to him, wiping the tears from her eyes. “W-what is it, Angel?” She was met with a series of squeaks that she understood clearly.

“We need to leave! Now!”

“But…but what about Harry?”

“Leave him! We gotta save ourselves! I think there’s something out ther-”

A loud growl became audible to the two of them, interrupting Angel. They both looked toward the forest and saw a large shape behind the foliage. The only feature they could see clearly was a pair of piercing yellow eyes.

Fluttershy rose to her hooves very slowly to get ready to run. Unfortunately for her, the creature knew that it had been found out and charged out of the forest with a roar. Fluttershy let out a screech, the only thing she saw was a jaw filled with large, sharp teeth. She lept out of the way, managing to avoid the creature’s massive bite.

The creature, however, was not deterred by the miss and swung its head toward the pegasus, hitting her and sending her flying. She curled up in pain when she skidded to a stop, wrapping her forehooves around her stomach. While Angel ran up to her to try to help her up, she opened her eyes and finally got a good look at the creature. It was like nothing she had ever seen before.

The creature was about two stories tall, most of its height coming from its two powerful legs. Its large body was pink with a pelt of dark purple feathers starting from the base of its neck to the tip of its long tail. Its tail counterbalanced the creature’s large jaw, its lower fangs giving it the appearance of an underbite. The only feature that wasn’t threatening looking was its pair of tiny arms. Fluttershy froze in fear as she stared at the creature, because it was staring at her hungrily.

“Please…no,” she desperately pleaded. Angel stood defensively between them in a vain attempt to protect Fluttershy. The creature took slow, purposeful steps as it studied its prey. Angel turned away, but Fluttershy continued to watch it and waited for the final bite.

Right as she thought that it was going to make one final lunge, she heard the sound of a taunt rope being released, almost like a slingshot firing a rock. At first, she thought she was hearing things. Then, a bright light went off in front of the creature’s face, blinding both it and Fluttershy.

During that period of blindness, Fluttershy started to hear the sound of a blade cutting into flesh and the creature roaring in pain. Sight came to her soon after, as she looked over to where the creature was standing, but found something else as well. Another, much smaller, creature was squaring off with the creature that attacked her.

This new, bipedal creature looked more like a warrior as it stood in a crouched position. Its body was covered in black and orange scales with various spikes jutting out. Most notable were the two large spikes that were jutting out of the sides of its head. But the more Fluttershy observed it, the odder its body seemed to her. The way that the scaled plates were attached to its body, along with some visible pieces of metal, led Fluttershy to believe it was wearing armor. That’s when she noticed an odd-looking crossbow on its right arm.

That is armor! She thought in astonishment. But the scales on its armor looks so…real. She then took notice of the weapons it was holding in its hands. Its left hand was holding a short, curved sword while a small shield was in its right. Both of which looked like they were made of bone, decorated by light blue fur.

Before she could inspect the warrior any further, the larger creature let out a rage filled roar. She watched as it recovered from its own blindness and stare directly at the newcomer. It figured out fairly quickly that it was responsible for the bright light. It charged at its new rival with an angry roar, attempting to bite it.

The warrior rolled out of the way. It sliced at the creature’s jaw twice, specks of lightning coming from the blade with each strike. The creature, seemingly unaffected by the attack, tried to take another bite at it, but the warrior blocked it with its shield. It then bashed its jaw with the shield before taking a large leap back.

Fluttershy was amazed. This new creature was only double her size and was still much smaller than the monster. Yet, not only did it bravely challenge it by itself, but so far it was winning against its more powerful foe.

The large monster glared angrily as it took a cautious step back. It then hunched itself closer to the ground before it let out an angry roar. A pair of dorsal sails flared out by its legs and a nasal crest unfolded from the top of its jaw. Its throat turned red as specks of fire came out of its mouth. The warrior crouched down lower in anticipation.

The monster then swung its head back before throwing it forward, a stream of fire escaping from its jaw. Its target, however, expertly avoided the flame and quickly charged at the monster, striking its head with his shield.

After a few blows, the monster suddenly started the careen backwards. It squawked in pain until it fell to the ground and began to flail around. The warrior used this opportunity to rapidly slash at the monster, then struck it twice with its shield before leaping back again. This time, however, it crouched close to the ground as a red aura surrounded its blade. It then leapt forward to slash it with its sword, slashed it again when it jumped in the air, and punched it with its shield as it landed on the ground.

The monster then got up before letting out a loud roar. The roar was deafening enough to stun the warrior for a period of time, giving the monster the opportunity to quickly escape into the woods. When the warrior recovered, it let out an annoyed growl before he started to chase after it.

Fluttershy, who had also recovered from the roar, tried to get up to run home, but fell back down to the ground. The pain in her ribs was excruciating, causing her to whimper in pain. The warrior heard her whimpers and stopped to turn to her. “Please…help,” she begged.

The warrior flinched back when she spoke and stared at her for a moment. She was unable to see its expression, since its helmet obscured its face, not making her feel any safer. It then let out a deep breath before placing the sword on the back of its waist and ran over to her. It stopped when it loomed over her and pulled a dagger-like object from its waist.

“N-no…” she trailed out fearfully as she watched it raise it up in the air. She closed her eyes as she waited for him to strike her with it. She heard it strike, but she didn’t feel anything. She opened her eyes to see the object planted right in front of her as a green cloud escaped from it. As time went on, the pain began to dissipate until it was gone altogether.

“Are you alright?” a masculine voice came from behind its helmet as it crouched in front of her.

“Mhmm,” she nodded fearfully, crawling back some.

The creature stared at her for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. His hands came up to his helmet, lifting it to reveal a peach colored face with a black patch of hair on top. “There, is that better?” he asked.

Fluttershy’s fear turned into curiosity as she stared into his brown eyes. “Um…yes.”

“Good, cause I need you to tell me something. Where am I and what is that Anjanath doing here?”

Chapter 1

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Monster Hunter: Equestria-Chapter 1

No matter what anybody tried to tell him, there was no way Artemis could ever like the Elder’s Recess. How could he, when about half of the area was inside the heart of a volcano and it happened to be the stomping grounds of some of his least favorite monsters, some of which were elder dragons?. The only small comfort he had going there right now was that the monster he was hunting didn’t typically hang around the volcanic areas of the recess. A Nergigante.

Decked out in a full set of Nergigante alpha armor and a level three attack charm, he walked over to the canteen area of the northwest camp. His handler, who had been watching the oven, saw him approach before giving him a wave. “Hey, Arti, how’s it going?”

Artemis rolled his eyes. “I told you never to call me that,” he growled.

“Yeah, but that didn’t stop me,” she said as she pulled the food she had been cooking out of the oven and placed it on a platter. “Anyway, I made your usual. Enjoy!”

Artemis took off his helmet as his handler placed his meal on a table. “Thanks,” he simply replied, taking a seat to eat his meal.

His handler watched him eat for a while before suddenly saying, “So…taking on a Nergigante?”

“Yep,” he replied in between bites. “I need a tail to make the Nergal Crusher hammer.”

“Just so you can continue using the Diablos Shatterer whenever you want to use a hammer?”

“I like to collect weapons,” he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “Is there anything wrong with that?”

“Not really,” she answered, crossing her arms as she watched him eat. After a few minutes of silence, she asked, “So, why didn’t you ask anyone to come with you?”

He paused immediately. The only movement he made was to slowly chew the food in his mouth. Eventually, he swallowed before replying, “You know damn well why.”

“Yeah, I remember your story, but that was years ago. Ever since the day we landed with the rest of the fifth fleet, the only time I’ve seen you work with other hunters were the two times the commission took on Zorah Magdaros. You’re gonna need someone to watch your back. Don’t you think it’s time to move on?”

Artemis slowed his chewing for a few seconds before taking a drink of ale. “Look, I know you’re worried about me, but…” he paused, his hand mindlessly messaging the center of his chest. “I don’t think I can go through with something like that again.” He gave her a small smile and said, “Don’t worry, it’s only a Nergigante. I’ll be fine.”

His handler let out a sigh before replying, “Yeah, I guess. This isn’t your first Nergi. Just…promise you’ll come back in one piece.”

“I’ll do my best,” he said after swallowing his last bite. Once his helmet was back on, his Kirin sword and shield were securely fastened, and his bag was stocked with potions, herbs, and flash pods, he turned to his handler and said, “I’ll see you when I get back. Make sure there’s a cold drink for me.” She gave him a wave as he left the camp.

He crawled through the exit that led to the crystal cave that Nergigante liked to rest in. It was the main reason he chose to land in the northwest camp. However, as he looked around the cave, he saw no sign of the spike-covered dragon anywhere.

“Huh, wonder where it is?” he asked aloud as he walked to the center of the cave and inspected the ground. Between the footprints and the random spikes lying around, there was enough evidence to show that Nergigante was active. After studying the prints for a few seconds, his scoutflies flew out of their container and began to follow the footprints leading out of the cave. “Those prints must be the freshest…must’ve gone out to hunt.”

He followed his scout flies out of the cave and into the open rock covered area next to it. He only stopped when he found a footprint that was different from the Nergigante prints he was following. “A Teostra?!” he observed, smirking under his helmet. “Well, this just got a lot more interesting.”

As he observed the area more closely, he noticed that the two different footprints converged in one spot. “Looks like the two of them fought here. And, if past experiences are anything to go by, Nergigante threw Teostra over there and…and…” he trailed off as he pointed at the direction he thought the Teostra was thrown.

There were skid marks that came from a large monster sliding a short distance on the ground. But, other than that, there was nothing. No signs of it getting up. No signs of it trying to get away or finish the fight. Nothing. It was like it just disappeared altogether.

“What the hell?!” he cursed above a whisper as he inspected the area further. “Where the hell did he go?! Monsters don’t just disappear!”

It was at that moment that the area around him started to get dark and his scout flies turned from blue to red. It didn’t take him long to figure out what was going on and who was responsible for it. “Shit!” he cursed as he tried to roll out of the dive bombing Nergigante’s way. He managed to avoid it, but he was hit in the stomach by one of the many spikes that exploded off of it. “Gah, fuck!” he screamed as he skidded to a stop.

He began to sit up as he watched the mostly black dragon turn until the two horns on its head were pointed straight at him. It then stretched its purple and yellow wings out as it let out a deep challenging roar. Artemis, meanwhile, took the time to load one of his three flash pods into his slinger and fired it at the dragon.

It flinched back as the flash pod erupted in a bright light, blinding it. As it began to swipe at the air randomly, Artemis got up and drank one of his potions. With some of his damage now recovered, he charged at the Nergigante and struck it several times with his sword.

Nergigante, after recovering from its moment of blindness, hopped away from him and let out an angry snarl. It then got up on its hind legs and loomed over him. Crap, I don’t have time to get out of its way. Artemis thought as he hid behind his shield right as it slammed its wing against the ground. Though, at the same time, he could have sworn that he heard a loud bang behind him as well. He watched as Nergigante dragged its wing toward him until it collided with his shield. He crossed his left forearm across his other arm to try to brace himself, taking several steps back to keep it from bulldozing him. Eventually, it threw its wing out, knocking him to the ground. He let out a grunt as he pressed his hands on the grass to get back up.

Wait…grass?! He looked down at the ground to find grass where he was expecting rock. Then, he looked around to find trees, bushes, and other foliage as well. A forest! That’s impossible! What the hell’s going on here?!

A series of grunts caught his attention. He turned to find Nergigante turning it head in different directions to sniff at the air. Looks like it’s just as confused as I am. He observed as Nergigante pawed at the ground. It let out one last roar before spreading its wings out to lift itself in the air.

After getting back up on his feet, Artemis could only watch as Nergigante flew off into the horizon. Guess this hunt’s a bust, but that’s the least of my worries right now, he thought as he sheathed his sword. I have to figure out where I am and how to get back to the Research Commission.

A sudden, yet familiar, roar caught his attention. An Anjanath! He thought hopefully. Then I’m still in the New World! A feminine scream that came soon after immediately stopped his train of thought. He figured out what was going on almost immediately.

Oh no. No one’s dying on me. Not while there’s something I can do about it. He loaded another flash pod and then ran charging towards the roars and screams.

“And I’m sure you’ve already been filled in on the rest,” a helmetless Artemis concluded to the collection of ponies in the throne room.

When he had rescued Fluttershy from the Anjanath, he had learned a sad truth. He was no longer in the New World, but in a land called Equestria. A land primarily filled with talking ponies, some of which were pegasi and unicorns. To say that he was distraught would be an understatement. Soon after meeting Fluttershy, she insisted that he should meet her friends, particularly, a purple pony Princess named Twilight Sparkle. She in turn said that he should see Princesses Celestia and Luna, the rulers of the land. Which was where he found himself now, talking to the two princesses while Twilight and her friends stood behind him.

“So, if I understand you correctly, Artemis,” the alabaster alicorn, Celestia, began with an authoritative tone. “You’re a hunter from a continent called the New World. And these monsters, Anjanath and Nergigante, are native to your world?”

“Yes, your highness,” he replied with a nod. “I take it they’re not native to yours.”

Celestia shook her head. “Far from it, I’m afraid in over the one thousand years I’ve been alive, I’ve never heard of such creatures. Something that’s becoming a common occurrence as of late.”

Twilight flinched at Celestia’s words. “Um, Princess Celestia, forgive me for asking, but what do you mean by ‘a common occurrence?’”

Celestia and Luna shared a knowing look before nodding at each other. “You see, Twilight, the attack on Fluttershy is only the most recent occurrence of a previously unidentified monster."

“Indeed,” Luna chimed in, “We’ve received numerous reports of unknown monsters showing up within the last week alone. This is just the first time we had a name associated with any of them.”

There was a collective gasp among the six ponies, while Artemis’s eyes just widened in shock. “Now, hang on a sec,” an orange pony named Applejack piped up. “Y’all ain’t suggestin’ that all these monsters came from his world, are ya?” she asked, pointing a hoof at Artemis.

“It’s a possibility,” Celestia answered. “Tell me, Artemis, does a fish covered in lava mean anything to you?”

He gave her a nod. “Lavasioth. It mostly limits its territory to volcanos, but it’s aggressively territorial.”

“A winged creature with horns that digs?”

“Diablos. It’s a herbivore that mostly eats cacti, but it’s aggressively territorial.”

“A giant spider that appears to be wearing the hide of another animal.”

“Nerscylla. An ambush predator that’s known to make its nests near farmland…and it’s aggressively territorial.”

“Wow, that’s some consistent characterization!” the pink pony, Pinkie Pie, exclaimed.

“And consistent with how the vast majority of these monsters have been described in the reports,” the blue alicorn informed.

“Well, what are we waiting for?!” Rainbow Dash, a blue pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane and tail, brashly said. “Let’s go show these monsters what for!”

“It hasn’t been that easy,” Celestia replied. “We’ve already sent guards to areas where these monsters have been the most troublesome, but they’ve been having trouble just trying to hold them at bay.”

“But, isn’t there anything you can do about it?” Twilight asked.

“We’ve done all we can for now,” Celestia answered sadly. “We’d like to do more, but our hooves are tied. Even without taking into consideration how widespread the problem is, we still have duties that we must perform here in Canterlot.”

There was a small silence in the room before it was broken by Artemis making an exaggerated deep breath. “Well, sounds like I have a lot of work on my hands.”

Everyone stared wide eyed at the hunter. “I’m sorry, dear, what did you say?” Rarity, the white unicorn, asked.

“I’ve got a lot of hunting to do. Starting with that Anjanath.”

“What?! But, dearie, you can’t just go out and hunt that…that…thing!”

“Why not? It’s how I did things in the Research Commission,” Artemis replied nonchalantly.

“I’m afraid Rarity is right, Artemis,” Celestia began to explain. “That might have been how it worked for you in your world. But here…we can’t have you run around as you will on your own to deal with these monsters. Luna and I can’t even imagine the backlash the nobility would give you if you did.”

Artemis just stared silently at the princess, his expression showing clear frustration. Then, he spoke, “Well then, I’m sorry to say this princess, but I’m afraid that both your nobility and you don’t understand the real problem here. Let’s look specifically at Anjanath. Not only is it an invasive species to that forest, but it’s a relentless predator that treats its territory like its own small kingdom. The only reason it left Fluttershy alone was because I was there to make preying on her more trouble than what is was worth. I know that thing well enough to know that it’ll keep its territory near the border to that forest and extend into the town once it realizes that the ponies there will make a consistent food supply for it. So, I’m going to keep that from happening, whether you and your nobility approve of it or not.”

The only ones who weren’t staring at him in shock were Celestia and Luna. They just frowned at the hunter, but not because they disagreed with him. They wanted nothing more than to let him solve the problem his own way, but knew that there would be hoops for them to jump through to do so. So, to try to better understand the situation, they turned to the only pony in the room that ran into Anjanath. “Fluttershy,” Celestia began, getting her attention. “You’re an expert on animals. Tell me, what did you think of Anjanath?”

Fluttershy, who had been mostly silent until now, tilted her head down and said, “It was just as Artemis said…it was a predator that saw me as prey…and it acted like nothing could challenge it for it.”

Celestia gave Fluttershy a sympathetic look before turning to her sister. They gave each other a nod before standing up. Flaring her wings out, Celestia said, “My sister and I will have to take some time to discuss our next course of action. Please excuse us. We will return as soon as we can.” With that, Celestia and Luna walked into the room behind their thrones.

Artemis let out a frustrated groan as he crossed his arms, “Great, so I’ve got to wait around for them to tell me what I already know needs to be done.” He let out a dry chuckle. “Oh, the commander would’ve had a field day here.”

“I know you’re frustrated Artemis,” Twilight tried to console him. “But you have to understand the situation from her perspective. I mean…how would the Research Commission have responded to a creature from another world wreaking havoc?”

“We just let someone go out and deal with it…twice. The first time we had four hunters deal with it themselves. The second time, we let an expert deal with it after he let us know that we were in way over our heads, but the commission still helped him in anyway that they could. So, yeah, we know a thing or two about that.”

Twilight was flabbergasted at first, but soon began to understand where he was coming from. She’d be frustrated too if she was in his position. Right as she was about to respond, he suddenly said, “Though, now that I’m thinking about it, the you guys might be dealing with something worse than what we had to deal with.”

“W-we are?!”

“Yeah. Sure, we had to deal with unnaturally powerful creatures, but we only had to deal with one monster at a time. You have to deal with multiple monsters at once. That alone makes them more troublesome…even before you consider their individual threat levels.”

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t worry too much,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she flew over to him. “I’m sure the princesses are doing everything they can to make sure that you can go get to work.”

“Yes,” Rarity chimed in, “And quite possibly get rid of that garish armor. I mean… it looks like its make of real scales.”

“That’s because it is,” he answered nonchalantly.

“What?!” they all exclaimed in unison.

“My armor’s made from the scales, bones, and spikes from a Nergigante.”

“S-so, you’ve actually killed some of the monsters in your world?” Fluttershy asked softly.

“Yeah…it kinda goes along with the occupation…is that a problem?”

Fluttershy began to slink away, avoiding eye contact with Artemis. Twilight, understanding her discomfort, decided to step up. “You’ll have to understand, Artemis, but Fluttershy has a very special connection with animals. It’s exemplified in her cutie mark.”

“Cutie mark?” he asked, giving her a confused frown.

“Yes, these,” she said, pointing a hoof on the star shaped mark on her flanks. “They’re marks that represent a pony’s special talent. My cutie mark represents my ability in magic and Fluttershy’s represents her ability to understand and take care of animals.”

“…I see,” he muttered as he looked down at Fluttershy. I guess that would explain why she’s slightly nervous around me. I’m sure most of them aren’t comfortable with the idea of killing animals on a regular basis. But with her…it’d be like kicking someone’s kid right in front of them. With a better understanding of the situation at hand, he bent down to one knee and looked directly at Fluttershy. He then softly asked, “Fluttershy, are you scared of me?”

She nodded slowly.

He breathed out a sigh. “Fluttershy, I need you to understand something. While my job is to hunt monsters, it’s not to bring them to extinction.” She began to perk up a little. “Our ultimate goal is population control. Making sure that there aren’t any monsters threatening towns and villages, while also making sure that the ecosystem as a whole isn’t disrupted. And while that does include killing them, we’re sometimes able to complete our task by either capturing them or chasing them off.”

“You…you can capture them?” Fluttershy asked hopefully.

“Yes…but only if I have traps and tranquilizer bombs. Neither of which I brought with me.”

“…Oh,” Fluttershy let out sadly, her head tilting back down.

“I know that this’ll sound harsh, but I’ll have to kill that Anjanath. Its an invasive species that’s actively competing with other animals. If I chase it off, it’ll just be a problem somewhere else. And it’s probably not the only one out there.”

“I…I know,” Fluttershy shakingly replied. “That…Anjanath killed a dear friend of mine. I know you have to do what must be done, but…do you really have to kill all of them?”

Artemis only stared down at Fluttershy silently. She began to think that he would have to do exactly just that. Then, he suddenly said, “Not necessarily.” She began to perk up a bit. “I only go after monsters that are threats. If I run into one that isn’t a threat, then I’ll leave it be.”

“You promise?”

“You have my word,” he replied with a nod.

At that moment, both Celestia and Luna walked back into the throne room. Everyone stood at attention as the two princesses took a seat on their respective throne. “After much consideration,” Celestia began to announce, “Luna and I have decided to allow you to hunt the Anjanath and other monsters…provided you’re accompanied by a guard-”

“No deal,” he interrupted. “I prefer to work alone.”

“Be that as it may, it’s not about whether you want assistance or not. The problem is convincing ponies that you can be trusted to operate in Equestria. Since word from the two of us can only do so much, an official report from a guard should make it appear that you’re working under our rules…even if you’re operating by yours. All the while, the guard can learn from you on how to combat these monsters. Like it or not, these monsters are our problem and we need to be able to fight them.”

Artemis stood frowning at the princess. He was frustrated by the whole explanation, but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking. And the more he thought, the more he realized she had a point. He needed to work freely in Equestria, but that would be difficult if he had a bunch of nobles trying to stop him from doing so. And if he needed someone to follow him around to keep them from breathing down his neck, then so be it.

“Alright, I’ll do it…one condition.”

“And that is?”

“That they follow every order I give them. Even if that means running away from the hunt.”

“Of course, it can be done,” Celestia affirmed with a not. “We’ll let the guard know when they come in. We’ve already sent an order for one of our best guards to go with you.”

“Are those two out of their minds!” Captain Iron Sights exclaimed as he slammed a gray hoof on the written order, startling his secretary. “They really want me to assign an elite guard to babysit some freak during this… mess.”

“But, sir, isn’t it natural for the princesses to ask for a high-ranking guard for this type of assignment,” the secretary asked.

The unicorn captain let out a sigh before replying, “Under normal circumstances, it would be a minor annoyance at worst. Right now, it’s almost impossible. Most of our best guards are scattered across the country because of these new monsters and some of the guards here are still trying to investigate the disappearance of a pair of researchers. Now they want me hoof pick a guard to babysit some…freak on the off chance he’s able to deal with them by himself.” He took off his helmet to run a hoof through his black mane. “I still don’t understand how Shining Armor was able to deal with this job.”

“But…sir, what about the princesses? You can’t just ignore an order.”

Iron Sights mulled over her words. He knew he couldn’t disregard an order like that, but he also didn’t feel like he had the means to follow through with it. At least, not in the way the princesses intended him to. Looks like I’ll have to take some liberties with this one. He thought before looking at his secretary. “Give me the files of reserved members of the guard staying in the barracks. Make sure I have their full reports and test results.”

“But, sir, they said they wanted one of their best guards!”

“Then we’ll give them our best reserved guard. Now go!”

With that, she scurried out of his office to get the documents he requested. She returned some time later with various files in hoof, all of which she placed on his desk for him to view. Overall, he was unimpressed by what he saw. Most of the reserved guards were either cadets with lackluster scores or had several personality quirks that kept them from being in the royal guard. Nothing really stood out to him, until he stopped at and read a certain file. The file in question belonged to a pegasus mare named Zarola Recurve.

“Can you bring Private Zarola Recurve to my office at once.” He ordered his secretary.

“Of course,” she replied with a nod before leaving the office.

As he waited, Iron Sights decided to reread the file. Most of her test results were about the same as the other reserved members, but a few scores stood out. The most prominent of which were her archery scores. They were almost perfect. High enough to put some of the more veteran guards to shame. However, they did nothing to cover her close combat and sparring scores. They were some of the most abysmal he’s ever seen. It was pretty much what kept her from being in the royal guard. Although, one look at her profile showed why she had such awful scores.

Her picture showed a frowning purple mare with a short black hair. Her right eye was a dark brown. Her left eye was completely covered by a plain black eye patch. And since this picture was taken when she joined the academy, then he could only assume that the injury occurred before that.

“That’d explain her hoof combat scores,” he muttered to himself. “She’s relied so much on that one eye and has an obvious blind spot that she never learned to compensate for. But, at the same time, it might explain why her archery scores are as high as they are.”

He then heard a knock on the door. “Come in,” he curtly ordered.

The door opened and Zarola Recurve walked in. She had the same standard gold armor the rest of the guard wore, hiding her mane. “Private Recurve, reporting for duty, sir!” she announced with a salute.

“At ease, private.” Zarola shifted to a more relaxed stance. “Tell me, private, have you heard of an alien that’s here in the castle?”

Zarola flinched a little. “An…an alien, sir? No, I’ve never heard so much as a rumor about that. I’ve only heard stuff about those new monsters that have suddenly popped up.”

“And apparently, this alien is related to them. Claims to be a hunter that specializes in them.”

“Um, excuse the interruption, sir, but what does this have to do with me?”

Iron Sights took a deep breath before responding, “The answer’s simple, private. I’m giving you a special assignment. You’re going to be shadowing this hunter.”

Zarola’s ears folded back as she took a couple of steps back in shock. “M-me…a special assignment. I don’t understand. Shouldn’t a more experienced guard be given this assignment.”

“Normally, yes, but I can’t afford to do that right now. Not with everything that’s been going on right now. From what I understand, your main objective will be to monitor him and help keep the public relaxed around him. Even for a reserved guard, you should be more than qualified for this assignment.”

Zarola paused for a moment, not really sure what to think, but she eventually gave her captain a nod. “Understood, sir. What do I need to do specifically?”

“Whatever the princesses tell you to do…plus an additional order from me.”

“And what would that be?”

“I want you to give me a report on everything this hunter does. Don’t spare any details.”

“Is…is that so we can learn how to fight these monsters?”

“That’s one way to put it,” Iron Sights muttered as he pushed out of his desk. “Now, come on, I assume the princesses want you to meet this hunter.”

“That’s probably for the best, sir.”

“Alright, then follow me,” Iron Sights said as he left his office, with Zarola close behind.

Along the way, Zarola couldn’t stop herself from asking, “So, do you know anything about this alien…other than him being a hunter.”

“All I know is his name. The princesses didn’t go into much detail about him in their order.”

“Oh…okay,” Zarola replied with a raised eyebrow. She couldn’t help but wonder why her captain didn’t use his name when he knew what it was.

Soon after, they reached the throne room. Upon entry, they caught the attention of everyone that was in the throne room. While Iron Sights was mostly focused on the princesses, Zarola’s attention was solely on Artemis, who was staring back at her. So, that’s the alien hunter the captain was talking about. He’s bigger than I thought. I probably stand up to his stomach. She noted. That’s some interesting armor he’s got and…is that a crossbow attached to him? … I want one.

“Ah, Captain Iron Sights, so glad you were able to find a guard so soon,” Celestia greeted.

“I decided to make it my highest priority, your majesty,” Iron Sights responded, giving her a salute.

Zarola stepped up before giving a salute of her own. “Private Zarola Recurve, reporting for duty, ma’am!”

“At ease, private.” Zarola complied. “Tell me, did Captain Iron Sights tell you about your assignment?”

“Yes, ma’am. I was told I’d be following the hunter.”

“We’ll see about that,” Artemis suddenly spoke as he stepped up in front of her, much to Iron Sights' annoyance.

“Now look here you-”

“Hold, captain!” Celestia ordered sharply.

“B-but princess, he-”

“Has every right to accept or deny any guard from going with him. He’s the one that knows about these creatures, so he’ll be the one that determines if the guard is suitable or not,” Celestia reprimanded.

Meanwhile, Artemis was inspecting Zarola, who just silently watched him. “So, Zarola Recurve, is it?”

“Yes, sir,” she curtly replied.

“Artemis is fine.”

So, that’s his name. “Yes, sir, Artemis, sir!”

“…Right,” he muttered as he looked over Zarola and realized something. “I don’t see a weapon on you.”

“I use a crossbow, sir. I didn’t feel like it was appropriate for a meeting with my captain.”

“A long-range expert then?” Artemis asked with a raised brow.

“Yes, sir!”

“Mhmm,” Artemis murmured. He didn’t really know how to gauge this pony, then he remembered the conversation he had with Twilight. “Your cutie mark, what is it?”

Zarola was still at first, until she turned and lifted the back of her armor enough so that her cutie mark was visible. It was a wooden wolf’s head with two arrows crossed like an ‘X’ behind it. “I got it chasing away a timberwolf that was harassing my family’s farm,” she informed.

“A timberwolf…are they a monster here?”

“Yes, a fairly common one.”

Artemis nodded before turning to Celestia. “She’ll do.”

“Very well,” Celestia replied. She turned to Zarola before saying, “Private Recurve, you’re to go with Artemis as he hunts a monster, named Anjanath, and operate under his orders.”

“That’s right,” Artemis spoke up as he peered down at Zarola. “That means doing as I say. That means running when I tell you to. Understood?”

“Sir, yes, sir!” Zarola replied.

“…Starting with this order. Call me Artemis, not sir.”

“Yes, Artemis…sir,” she added with a smirk.

Artemis sighed silently. I guess it could be worse. At least we’re only dealing with an Anjanath right now.

In the deep parts of the Everfree Forest, Anjanath was casually strolling through its turf after finishing its meal. A small deer wasn’t as filling as its usual prey, but it needed something to eat after failing to eat Fluttershy. Now, it just wanted something to drink, but paused when it heard a series of growls.

It turned to find that the growls all came from one creature. It had four heads attached to long necks. All four of them glared at the Anjanath before letting out a loud roar.

Anjanath glared back at its challenger before flaring its dorsal fins and roaring at it. But right as it was about to charge at it, the both of them heard a screech-like roar. Anjanath instinctively looked up, as the roar was one that it was all too familiar with.

Before it had a chance to do anything, Anjanath felt two sets of large talons dig into its back. It screamed in pain as it was lifted up in the air and thrown haphazardly. As it tried to get back up, one of the multi-headed monster’s heads clamped down on Anjanath’s neck.

As it struggled against the monster, its fire sacs began to heat up as its nostrils flared out. It turned towards the creature and let out a stream of fire at it. It howled, letting go of Anjanath.

Anjanath backed away, sizing up its first challenger. Its eyes occasionally glancing up at the familiar silhouette of the wyvern flying above. It growled before jumping at the multi-headed monster. It knew that this wasn’t a turf war anymore. This was a battle for survival.

Chapter 2

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Monster Hunter: Equestria-Chapter 2

“So, Twilight, can you go into more details on the monsters in the Everfree Forest? Cause, to be honest, a bunch of pegasi controlling the weather is more of an anomaly to me than the weather doing its own thing,” Artemis asked the mare sitting in the train seat in front of him. Zarola was sitting on his right, looking over her crossbow, while the rest of Twilight’s friends were sitting in the seats across the aisle as they listened in.

Twilight gave him annoyed snort before replying, “Well, most of the monsters in the Everfree Forest are predators that are known to attack ponies any chance they can get. While most of them are larger than ponies, they aren’t nearly as large as what you described Anjanath to be. Well, except maybe the hydras.”

“Hydras?” Artemis asked, leaning closer to her. “What are those?”

“They’re overgrown, multi-headed lizards,” Zarola piped up. She continued to casually look over her crossbow as she said, “The damn things are infamous for growing two heads every time they lose one.”

“…Eh, Bazelgeuse are more annoying in my opinion,” he replied with a shrug.

Zarola scoffed at him, “Please, how can it be more annoying than an oversized lizard that you shouldn’t decapitate.”

“Try a flying wyvern who likes to drop exploding scales all over the place just so it can feed on anything that managed to get caught in the explosions,” he answered with a smirk.

Zarola froze almost immediately. “Y-you’re kidding…right?”

“Afraid not. Damn thing also has a way of knowing that a fight started nearby before diving itself into it. Literally.”

“How do you even fight something like that?” She asked with a frown.

“I just hit it until it dies. Thankfully, Bazelgeuse spends most of its fights on the ground, so that makes things a lot easier. It would be a nightmare if it spent most of the time in the air.”

Zarola was too stunned to respond immediately. She didn’t have too much trouble with Artemis’s description on fighting something like Bazelgeuse, but more by how casual he was talking about it. Just how many monsters has he fought? She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Yeah, well, I bet you that I could take it on with this baby,” she said, proudly holding her crossbow out.

Artemis looked at the crossbow in her hooves, frowning at it slightly. “Mind if I take a closer look at it?” he asked.

“Eh, I don’t see why not,” she shrugged, passing it to him. “One of the best crossbows on the market. The crown commissions them for us.”

“What does it shoot,” he asked as he began to look it over.

“Just these,” she answered, pulling out one of the many bolts she carried in her quiver.

Artemis just glanced at the bolt before turning his attention to the crossbow. It looks like it functions the same way my slinger does. If I were a betting man, I’d say that all of her ammunition are just normal bolts with no special properties. If this is one of the best crossbows they have, then it’s no wonder that they’re having trouble dealing with these monsters. “This wouldn’t have the power to put down a Great Jaggi,” he said as he passed the crossbow back to Zarola.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Considering that it’s among one of the weakest of the large monsters, it’s a very bad thing. About the only thing you’re going to take out with this is a monster’s eye. The bolts are more likely to just bounce right off of their scales otherwise.”

Zarola sat flabbergasted as she looked between the crossbow and Artemis. She then looked at the sword that was strapped by his back and said, “Yeah, well, how do you take out anything with a sword that small.”

Artemis smirked at her again before pulling the sword out. “Simple, we make most of our weapons with parts from the monsters we kill and capture. This sword was made using the thunder-based parts of monsters so that it can use I can use the thunder element as well. So, while this sword doesn’t do much raw damage, it does a lot of elemental damage to monsters vulnerable to the element.”

Zarola looked down at the crossbow in her hooves when Artemis finished talking. It was one of the many items she had that made her proud that she was a guard, partly because of how much of a weapons enthusiast she was. Now, she didn’t know how to feel. Knowing it was next to useless in any confrontation against any of the invasive monsters, she lost some of the wind in her sails. At the very least, now she was more than happy that her assignment was just to observe Artemis.

“Wow!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she suddenly appeared from the seat behind them. “So you use a monster’s weapon against them. Me likey.”

“Okay, seriously, is there anything you have that isn’t made out of some monster?” Rainbow Dash asked, with a raised brow.

“Oh, yeah, plenty of things,” he replied as he sheathed his sword. He then rummaged through his pouch before pulling out a metal poncho. “This Rocksteady Mantle is made almost entirely out of metal. It helps reduce damage while also helping muffle the loud roars that monsters make.” He put it back in his pouch before pulling out a green plant and a jar filled with green liquid. “And this is a potion I use to heal from any damage I take.”

“Hold on,” Twilight interrupted. “Those potions actually heal you. As in, can actually help you mend a broken bone?”

“Yep, provided I’m still conscious enough to drink it. I primarily make ‘em out of these herbs. They’re unique in that they have healing properties on their own.”

“Fascinating,” Twilight commented breathlessly. “Were those plants hard to come by?”

“Oh, these herbs were very easy to come by. Grew damn near everywhere too. Forests, deserts, and, hell, even volcanoes for crying out loud,” Artemis answered as he looked down at the herb. He stared blankly at it as he said aloud, “Guess I’ll have to use these sparingly from now on.”

“What makes ya say that, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“Since you all didn’t know anything about this plant, then I take it that this plant doesn’t exist in this world. Which means I can’t be as reckless about these potions as I usually am,” he explained, looking solemnly down at the potion.

There was a small silence in the train before Applejack suddenly exclaimed, “Well, shoot partner, if that’s what you’re worried about, then give me some of those plants. I can try growing them on my farm.”

“Wait, you have a farm? Why didn’t you say so sooner!” he happily exclaimed, putting his potion back into his pouch before pulling out three more herbs. “Here, take some. These things will grow faster than weeds, so you’ll have a large supply of them in no time,” he explained as he passed them to her.

“Thanks, sugarcube. I’ll plant ‘em when I get back home,” Applejack replied, accepting the plants.

“Wow, thanks Artemis,” Twilight said, “this could help Equestria a lot. I’m sure Zecora would like to learn how to make those potions too.”

Artemis raised an eyebrow at Twilight as he asked, “Who’s Zecora?”

“Oh, she’s a zebra shaman that lives in the Everfree Forest. She makes various potions with the materials she collects in the forest.”

“Wait, so she lives in the Everfree Forest?” he asked.

“Yeah, that’s not weird to you, is it?”

“No, actually this could really benefit us.”

Everyonw frowned at him in confusion. After a few seconds of silence, Zarola asked, “Um, what makes you say that, sir?”

“It’s simple, she can help us find Anjanath.”

“And how’s that? It’s not like she went out looking for it too.”

“Yeah, but she’s bound to have heard something if Anjanath went hunting yesterday. They’re pretty noisy when they attack anything, let alone their prey. So, if she managed to overhear it, then she can help us narrow down where it’s laying low.”

“Assuming it went hunting last night,” Zarola pointed out dryly.

“It missed out on a meal yesterday because of me. I know for a fact that it went hunting for something else afterwards,” he replied confidently, smirking wryly.

“If you say so,” she muttered.

“Then it’s decided. We’ll visit this Zecora and see if she’s noticed anything about Anjanath,” he declared. “And probably give her a herb or two while we’re there. Speaking of which,” he pulled out a mega potion before passing it to Zarola. “Here take this mega potion with you. Just in case.”

Her eye glanced between Artemis and the potion, a frown furrowing at the two. “Um, sir, I appreciate the gesture, but I won’t need it. My orders are to observe you hunt the Anjanath.”

“Yeah, and it may or may not take notice of the potential meal standing nearby.”

Zarola’s frown immediately disappeared as dread and fear took a hold of her. “Would it… really go after me like that?”

“In peak physical condition, it’ll most likely ignore you while it’s fighting me. But when it gets tired and hungry, it’ll try to do whatever it can to get back to full strength again. Take this just in case something happens,” he said, doing his best to ignore the pain that was starting to itch at his chest.

Zarola stared at the potion for a few more seconds before taking it and attaching it to her belt.. “Thanks,”

“Sure thing,” he said, a genuine smile formed as the pain started to fade.

At that moment, the conductor came through the train car. “We’ll be arriving at Ponyville Station in ten minutes. Passengers planning to get off, please be prepared to disembark,” he announced before leaving the car.

“Right, that’s us,” Artemis said, putting his helmet on. “So, how do we get to Zecora’s hut?”

“There’s a path behind Fluttershy’s cottage that’ll lead directly to it. Most of the creatures don’t hang around that area,” Twilight informed.

“You hear that, Zarola?” he asked.

“Affirmative,” she answered, making sure her crossbow was securely holstered.

“Good, cause that’s exactly where we’re going when we get off this train.”

Soon after, the train stopped at Ponyville Station. As they left the train, Twilight turned to Artemis and Zarola as she said, “The six of us will go to the mayor and let her know what’s going on.”

“Okay, and make sure no one goes near that forest,” Artemis replied.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure we’ve already got that covered, buddy,” Rainbow Dash quipped with a smirk.

“We’ll do everything we can,” Twilight said with a nod before walking away with her friends in tow.

“So, where’s the forest?” Artemis asked Zarola.

“Well, if I remember what a friend from the academy told me, the forest is southeast from the town. Apparently there’s a trail that leads that direction from town hall, which is on the other side of town from here. If we follow that trail, we should be able to find Fluttershy’s cottage and the path Princess Twilight talked about must be around there.”

“Sounds simple enough,” he said with a shrug. “C’mon, let’s go. We need to get this done as soon as possible.”

He began to walk with Zarola next to him. It was a relatively normal state of affair for him, until he reached the town center. He couldn’t help himself, but to tense up as he became more conscious about the situation he was in. He had been used to the hustle and bustle of Astera’s market center, but that was because he was a part of it. In Ponyville, however, it was a completely different story.

Everypony he ran into immediately cleared out of his way, starring at him. Most out of curiosity, some out of concern, and the rest just frowned. Regardless, he knew what they were all thinking. They were wondering if he was a threat or not.

“Is something troubling you, sir,” Zarola asked, noticing his discomfort.

“I’m fine. I’m just sticking out like a sore thumb here is all,” he droned out.

“Heh, yeah to kinda do. Wonder if all your monsters feel the same way.”

“Doubt it,” he simply answered.

Zarola raised an eyebrow at him. “What makes you say that?”

“Because I know how most of my monsters are,” he answered. “They were all probably confused at first, but they probably got over that quickly. Depending on where they landed, they either made do with where they landed or went off somewhere else. Regardless, they’ll do whatever they can to blend in with the environment, even if the rest of us think otherwise.”

Zarola was so stunned by his answer, she almost lost her step. When she first saw him, she thought he was just a simple-minded warrior with impressive gear. But, with the short amount of time she’s spent with him, she realized that she greatly underestimated him. He was still a warrior, without a doubt, but he was very well versed and educated on the monsters he’s fought. It only made her ask one question. “How long have you been doing this?”

“Long enough,” he replied. After a few seconds, he suddenly asked, “Is this the forest?”

She looked forward to notice that they had reached the edge of the Everfree, with the path inside right in front of them. “Affirmative, this is the Everfree Forest. And I assume that’s also the path we need to use.”

“If that’s the case, then let’s get a move on!” he exclaimed before running towards the path.

“Wait, hold up!” Zarola cried out as she ran after him.

“Sorry, but my hunt’s starting now!” he yelled back, picking his pace up a little. “If you’re going to shadow me, then you must work at my pace.”

…Good thing jogging was a part of training. She thought in annoyance as she filed in behind him. While the two of them ran through the forest, Zarola’s attention was focused primarily on Artemis and he was focused on everything around him. I’m not going to let anything get the jump on us… especially not something I’m not prepared for. Then after a few minutes of running, he suddenly heard some heavy footsteps ahead of them.

“Get back,” he ordered softly, running behind the nearest tree.

Zarola did as she was ordered. “What is it?”

“Don’t know. It sounds too small to be Anjanath or any of the other large monsters from my world. My best guess is that it’s probably one of the monsters native to this forest,” he explained, loading his flash pod into his slinger.

He can tell how large it is…just by sound. Damn, that must’ve taken him years to master. She thought, staring at him in astonishment. Slowly, she unholstered her crossbow before asking, “So, what’s your plan, Artemis?”

Artemis flinched at the question. A familiar pain began to course through his chest. “What did you say?”

“Uh, I asked-”

“-what’s our plan, meowster?”

The pain in his chest tightened. Get a hold of yourself. He chastised himself. You know that it’s too small to be Anjanath. So, you know that there’s no way in hell that it’s Hellbl-. He stopped his thoughts. He didn’t want to think of the name. So, he ignored the pain as best as he could as he placed his hand on the handle of his sword. “Stay here, I’ll go on ahead. Let me get a good look at what it is.” With that, he slowly left his hiding place and proceeded forward, crouching close to the ground.

Zarola shifted around to get a peak from around the tree but couldn’t find Artemis anywhere. He’s using the foliage as cover. Smart. She noted, loading a bolt into her crossbow. She held it up, getting ready to assist him at a moment’s notice. Then, she heard something that she didn’t expect to hear. Is he…laughing?

“Zarola, everything’s fine! Get over here?” he yelled in between laughs.

“Wh…what?” Zarola muttered under her breath s she unloaded the bolt and put her crossbow away. She followed his laughter until she caught sight of three things. One was Artemis, the second was a hut carved into tree with a mask over the door, and the third was…something she’s never seen before.

It was a large quadruped with dark gray scales with black stripes on its neck, back, and tail. It had a crest on the top of its head with two horns protruding from it. It also had three pairs of horns on its tail as well. “What is that?” she asked, watching it as it munched on some plants.

“It’s an Aptonoth,” he answered. “Don’t worry it’s harmless.” He chuckled before commenting, “The girls weren’t kidding about how freaky this forest can be. I must be losing it if I was scared of an Aptonoth.”

“Harmless? But it’s as big as a manticore!”

“Is that a carnivorous monster here?” he asked. She nodded. “I should have guessed. Don’t worry, Aptonoth are very docile herbivores. They’re more likely to run from a threat than actually fight.”

“It appears you know about this creature.

And that you have knowledge of its nature,” they heard someone say.

They both turned to find a zebra mare walking out of the hut. Her mane was in a mohawk and she had golden bands around her neck and right foreleg along with gold earrings. “So, I take it you’re Zecora?” Artemis asked.

“It appears that my friends in town told you about me.

Though, I don’t seem to know anything about thee.”

“Well, there’s probably a good reason for that,” he said jovially as he took his helmet off. He reached a hand to the zebra. “I’m Artemis, a monster hunter. The guard with the crossbow is Zarola.”

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” she began, shaking his hand.

“Though I wonder the reason for your attendance.

Are you here to see my other strange guest?

Or do you seek me as part of your quest?”

“Well, you hit the head on the nail with the second question,” he replied with a smirk. “The two of us are assigned to hunt an Anjanath. It’s a very large monster that walks on two legs and covered in dark feathers, except for its head. Have you seen anything like that recently?”

Zecora stood in thought for a few seconds before replying,

“I was unable to see anything.

But I do know there was terrible anguishing.

An excited roar was loudly sported.

Along with screams of a life forfeited.”

She pointed at the forest behind her hut.

“Well, it’s definitely a start. Zarola, we’re heading out that way!”

“Understood, sir,” Zarola replied.

Artemis nodded before turning to Zecora. “Thanks for the info.” He started to leave before stopping. “Oh, two things before we go,” he said digging into his pouch. He pulled out a herb as he said, “Here take this. It’s a herb from my world that’s used to make potions. I can teach you how to make them when I’m done with my hunt.”

“To learn another potion is a welcoming gift,” she replied, accepting the herb.

“What else must you tell me before go adrift?”

“Be mindful around that Aptonoth,” he answered immediately, pointing at it. Zecora and Zarola were equally stunned by his answer. “It might be harmless itself, but it’s a favorite meal among the monsters from my world. The fact that it’s not with the rest of its herd will probably make it even more appealing.”

“A zebra by herself looks appealing too,

but I’ve done much to get them to misconstrue.

Don’t worry, I won’t let your words go errant.

I wish you farewell and good luck on your hunt.”

He gave her a nod. “See you later, Zecora. Stay safe out here.” He put his helmet back on as he exclaimed. “Zarola, let’s move!”

“Yes sir!” The two of them ran through the forest in the direction Zecora pointed them. They continued at the same pace as before, until green sparks began to fly out of Artem’s belt. “W-what are those things?”

“Scoutflies. They help me track down the monsters I’m after. Looks like we’re heading in the right direction, c’mon,”

Zarola did as she was told, but as she followed him, something in the air felt off to her. She caught on to an odd stench. One that was unfamiliar, but still unpleasant to her. She glanced over at Artemis to see if he caught the scent too, but he appeared unfazed by what she was smelling. She decided to chalk it up to her own imagination, but the scent got stronger the further they walked. Right as she was about to ask about it, they reached a clearing and the first thing they saw made her sick to her stomach.

Laying on the ground in front of them was the corpse of a manticore, which was being swarmed by Artemis’s scout flies. The only parts that were identifiable were its scorpion tail and bat-like wings. The rest of it was almost chewed beyond recognition. “Oh yeah, this was Anjanath’s work alright,” Artemis said as he casually approached the corpse.

“How can you…tell?” Zarola managed to let out before her cheeks started to fill up.

“Cause I can still see the bite marks through all this mess and they’re identical to Anjanath’s,” he explained, kneeling down next to the corpse to search around the ground. “The footprints around the body also match and they’re fairly fresh too. This means that it’s gotta be close by,” he smirked as he got up. He turned to Zarola before saying, “Come on, we need to-” He immediately stopped when he saw her hunched over, practically vomiting her guts out.

What the hell is with her, he thought. She’s acting like she’s never seen a dead body before. She’s like- He paused as an image flashed in his head. The image of a young boy sickened by his teacher showing him how to carve into a monster. She’s like me…when I saw a corpse for the first time. His brow furrowed into a frown as he walked up to her. “Zarola, I need you to answer something?”

“Wh…what?” she said when she was able to catch her breath.

“Have you seen a corpse before?”

“Of course I haven’t!” she yelled. “I haven’t even been in combat outside of training!”

“So, what you’re saying is that this is your first quest?” She nodded. “Then I take it you’re not an elite member of the guard”

“No, I’m not,” she admitted. “I’m just on the reserves. My low combat scores kept me from getting into the royal guard proper.”

She couldn’t see his expression through his helmet, but she could tell that he was frowning at her. And the longer he did, the more uncomfortable and guilty she felt. Eventually, he turned toward the prints that his scoutflies were marking. “Come on, let’s get moving. We need to get this over with.”

“Look, Artemis, I know how this might look,” she began to plead as she followed. “But please don’t be mad at me or the princesses. They weren’t trying to trick you.”

“I know, which is why I’m planning to have some words with your captain the next time I see him.”

Her eyes widened at him. “What-”

“Before you ask, it doesn’t take a scholar to realize that he doesn’t trust or like me very much. Probably didn’t want to assign a higher ranked guard to babysit somebody when he feels like they’re needed somewhere else. And because of that, he sent you to a monster that no beginner is ready to deal with.”

“Artemis, I understand you’re upset, but I still have my orders to observe you,” Zarola pleaded. “You’re a soldier too. So you should-”

“Stop!” Artemis yelled, startling Zarola. “Let me make one thing clear. I am not a soldier. I might serve a commission and take orders from a commander on occasion, but I am free to do my job however I see fit. I can take any assignment that I’m able to, research what I want, when I want, and use whatever equipment I feel like, so long as I follow the rules. The biggest rule is that we aren’t allowed access to quests that are more difficult than my hunter rank says I can handle. An Anjanath quest exceeds any rank a newbie has.”

Zarola was at a loss for words. Not out of guilt, but out of surprise. He’s not saying it, but I think he more concerned about me than he is mad at Captain Iron Sights, she silently observed. In any case, he definitely keeps surprising me. He doesn’t just have experience and knowledge, but he’s also perceptive and cautious. I wonder…is all of that together what makes him a hunter?

After some time passed, the scoutflies began to fly around in random directions. “Um, Artemis, is that normal?”

“It is, but only something’s happened to the monster they’re tracking,” he replied. He felt uneasy the longer he watched. “And usually it means…we got to move!” He said as he began sprinting.

“What is it?! What’s going on?!” Zarola yelled as she chased him. “Artemis, come on! Tell me what’s going on?!” He didn’t seem to listen as he continued to run. Then, right as he entered another clearing, he stopped. “Finally!” she exclaimed stopping right next to him to catch her breathe. “What’s going-” she stopped when she saw what he was looking at. She began to feel sick to her stomach again.

There were two very large monsters lying dead right in front of them. One, Zarola recognized as a hydra. The other was one she didn’t recognize. “Is…is that Anjanath?”

“…Yeah, it is,” he softly confirmed.

Zarola let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, good, so that means our mission’s accomplished, right?”

“It is…but we’re not done here.”

“What?! But our mission was to kill Anjanath! How can it not be over when it’s already dead?!”

“Because we don’t know what killed it,” he answered as he walked up to the hydra, the closest of the two corpses.

“Isn’t it possible for the hydra and the Anjanath to just kill each other?” She asked, taking a few steps out of the tree line.

“It’s possible, but unlikely. Anjanath aren’t particularly smart, but it’s more likely to run from a fight if it feels like it’s going to lose. Just stay right there while I go check it out.”

“Yeah, you don’t have to tell me twice,” she muttered as she waited by the trees.

When he reached the hydra’s heads, he leaned down and yelled, “Hey, Zarola, what can you tell me about this thing?”

“Just that it has the ability to grow two heads back every time it loses one,” she yelled back.

“Well, that sounds annoying,” he muttered as he inspected the far-left head. It had large teeth marks on its neck and a large scorch mark along its face. This definitely looks like Anjanath’s work, but I don’t see how any of these injuries would have killed it.

He moved to the middle head. It had the same bite marks and a single, circular scorch mark on the back of his neck. Wait a minute. He focused his attention on the scorch mark. This mark’s different from the first. That one looked like it was caused by Anjanath’s usual stream of fire. This one couldn’t possibly have been made by the same attack. It looks like it was caused by a single…ball… His thoughts trailed as the word came into mind. No, don’t tell me. He looked over at the hydra’s torso and tensed up at what he saw. Two sets of three large holes littered all over the monster’s scaly body.

…Oh no. He ran over to the Anjanath’s body and quickly inspected it. It had the same type of injuries. Including the set of large holes on its hips. Damnit, it’s exactly what I thought it was. He chastised, looking down at his still loaded slinger. If I was able to restock, then this wouldn’t be a problem. But I don’t exactly have that luxury.

“Hey…Artemis?” Zarola piped up, sounding slightly unsure.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know why, but I think I hear flapping,” she replied.

“Flapping? I don’t hear any-” Then he heard it. The unmistakable sound of two heavy wings flapping. “Oh no. Zarola get out of here!”

“What?!” What do you mean? What’s going on?!” A shadow formed around her. She looked up and froze. A large dragon-like monster was flying right at her. The only features she could see were a pair of large, black talons and a pair of hungry eyes. What is that thing?! It’s…it’s coming right at me. I need to run. I need to run now! Her mind was working into overtime, but her legs refused to move. Come on, run! I need to run. I’m…I’m…I’m going to die.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in between her and the monster. A screech-like roar burst through the air as the monster plummeted to the ground. “Zarola, get out of here, now!” Artemis yelled. He ran at the monster before drawing his sword.

Zarola was still frozen, though it was no longer because of fear. She was stunned as she watched Artemis slash at the monster furiously. What just happened? She asked herself. She then noticed that his slinger was empty. That flash thingy. He must’ve fired it to ground that thing. She then focused on the thrashing monster.

Now that it was on the ground, she was able to get a better look at it. Its body was covered with spikey red scales with black markings along with a tan under belly. In place of its front forelimbs were a pair of wings. A spikey club was at the end of a long, thick tail. Oh, Celestia, that thing’s almost as big as those other two. It could have torn me to shreds with ease. I’m glad Artemis was able to save me, but can he actually fight this thing on his own? When she saw that that the monster was starting to get up, she hid behind a nearby tree to keep it from noticing her.

This is bad. I’m not equipped to deal with a Rathalos easily. He managed to avoid a bite from it before slashing his sword against its jaw. Come on! I need to get to its wings before-

A deafening roar from Rathalos immediately stopped Artemis in his tracks. He stumbled around to try to recollect himself until he saw what Rathalos was up to. His eyes widened in fear as he watched it throw its head back and spread its mighty wings out as wide as it could. No, please don’t. His silent plea was ignored as Rathalos pushed itself into the air, shooting a burst of fire at the ground, hitting Artemis in the process.

“Gah, damnit!” he exclaimed as he was knocked back, parts of his armor lit ablaze. He recovered just in time to notice Rathalos attempting to swoop at him and attack with its venomous talons. He rolled out of the way, extinguishing some of the flames. He rolled again before facing Rathalos, preparing for its next attack.

It began to rear its head back a bit. Alright, he’s about to shoot another fireball. So, I’ll roll to the right to avoid it. Then, I’ll be done with these flames. Once Rathalos launched its first fireball, Artemis dodged it the way he planned, getting rid of the last of the flames on his armor. When he finished his roll, he turned towards it. Good, now that that’s dealt with, I’ll be able to find another opening to fight it. Especially while it’s firing another fireball away from… His thoughts trailed off as his eyes met Rathalos’s.

It didn’t turn away from Artemis. It was looking right at him with its mouth agape. Damnit, I was wrong! It’s going to launch it right at me! I need to get out of the way! Now! But it was too late, Rathalos’s second fireball made a direct hit at Artemis’s chest, sending him flying.

He grunted in pain as he hit the ground. Rathalos didn’t give him a second to recover, swooping in to pick him up with one of his talons. He felt one of them cut across his stomach. Then, with a flip, Rathalos threw him against a tree.

“Gah,” he yelled out before he slid down the tree. Damnit, I don’t have much left in me. He saw a purple liquid oozing out of some of his wounds, a burning sensation coursed through his body. Great, poisoned. I need to at least heal myself, but I don’t think he’ll let me. He looked up at Rathalos, who was proudly staring him down, flames sparking out of its mouth. Artemis stared up defiantly at him with a small smirk forming under his helmet. Watch out, you little furball. I might be joining you real soon.

Zarola, meanwhile, had been watching in utter shock. He’s getting thrashed by that thing. He’s not even fighting back anymore. I…I…I need to do something! He might die if I don’t do something!

She began analyzing Rathalos. Her eye never leaving it as she expertly loaded her crossbow with a bolt. Alright, I don’t need Artemis to tell me that those scales are obviously too thick for me to do anything to them. There’s nothing covering its stomach or neck, but I doubt I’ll hit anything meaningful. Then, something that Artemis had told her on the train caused her to focus on its eyes. Well, shooting it there probably won’t hurt it much, but it should give him the breathing room he needs. She aimed the crossbow at Rathalos’s eye, being mindful of how it was flying. Right as it began to make its final lunge at Artemis, she found her shot and took it.

Rathalos screeched in pain as the bolt pierced its eye, causing it to stagger in mid-flight. Artemis was stunned at first, but he was able to figure out what happened soon after. So much for only observing, but being ungrateful doesn’t keep me alive. before quickly drinking a mega-potion.

Rathalos took a few seconds to recover from the shot to steady its flight again, the pain gradually turning to an irritable itch. Artemis had finished drinking his potion by then and started to run up the tree he had previously been leaning against. When he reached the highest point he could, he leapt up at Rathalos with his sword in hand.

He struck its face, grabbing a hold of the screeching wyvern. He climbed onto the monster’s neck, sheathing his sword before pulling his knife out to stab at the wyvern. Rathalos began to trash around in the air wildly as Artemis continued stabbing it, only stopping to brace himself whenever Rathalos slammed itself against the ground. Within seconds, Rathalos tired itself out and hovered in one spot to try to recover. Artemis took the opportunity to proceed bashing its head with his shield. “Eat!This!You!Ugly! Bastard!” He finished up with a powerful strike from his sword.

It plummeted to the ground once more with Artemis jumping off of it to prepare for his next attack. Now’s my chance! I need to get it while it’s down! He focused his attention on its right wing, which was lying flat on the ground as it thrashed around. He slashed it furiously, hoping to make it useless. He managed to create a few tears into the wing before it got back up, but he knew that it would still be able fly effectively.

It turned to swipe Artemis with its tail. He blocked it, knocking him back and forcing him to crouch lower to the ground to keep his balance. He peered over his shield to prepare for its next move, but flinched when he saw what it was doing. It was limping to the center of the cleaning.

What the hell? It’s almost dead already. How? There’s no way I did enough damage to it, unless… he let his thoughts trail as he looked over at the two corpses nearby. He smirked. Guess the two of you gave ‘em hell last night, he complimented as he watched Rathalos fly off.

“Artemis!” Zarola yelled as she ran out of her hiding spot. “What was that thing and what is it doing?!”

“That was a Rathalos, the King of the Skies,” he explained as he pulled out another mega-potion. “And, right now, it’s going off to whatever nest it made for itself to recover from its last couple of fights.

“It is? And what do you mean by ‘last couple of fights?’”

“Simple, he was the third monster those two were fighting last night,” he said pointing at the corpses. “I can guarantee that the wounds on their backs are from Rathalos’s venomous talons.”

“Venomous…talon,” she noted before her eyes went wide and she noted some of the poison dripping from his wounds. “Wait, you were hit by those talons. We-we-we gotta get you to the hospital and get you-”

“It’s alright,” he interrupted. He took a long swing of his potion. “I’m not gonna let it kill me. It’ll wear off on its own sooner or later.”

“If you say so,” she said, feeling unsure. “So, should we head back now and report what we saw here,” she asked as she put her crossbow away.

“You can go do that,” Artemis simply replied as he started to check the ground where Rathalos stood.

“Wait, what are you-” she began to ask as she turned to him. She stopped when she saw the scout flies flew out of his belt and toward Rathalos’s general direction. “Hold on, you’re not thinking of going after it, are you?”

“Of course I am. I need to finish it off while it’s still weak.”

“But it almost killed you a few minutes ago!”

“It caught me off guard and I wasn’t prepared to fight it.”

“But why go after it now? You need to get some rest.”

“Cause if we go after it tomorrow, it’ll be back at full strength, provided we can find it.”

“Can’t you find it with those scout flies of yours?”

“Only if it’s in the nearby areas…and that might not be possible with Rathalos.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that its territory is too large!” he yelled.

Zarola flinched back at his response. “W-what?” she barely managed to let out.

Artemis let out a deep breath before explaining, “Anjanath was manageable for me, because its territory was relatively small and would have been near Ponyville, since that’s where it knew there was food. Rathalos, however, can turn this entire forest into its own personal playground.”

“But that would mean that… that Ponyville won’t be the only town at risk,” Zarola finished breathlessly. Her eye shrunk as she realized just how much of a threat Rathalos was.

Artemis nodded before adding, “And we can both confirm that it’ll view ponies as a potential meal. So, you can go report to the princesses if you want. I’m going to finish this job.” He then followed the scout flies to Rathalos’s nest.

Zarola stood there motionless. A small part of her wanted to fly as fast as she could to the princesses and update them on what was going on. It was one of the things she was trained to do. But then she would think back Rathalos and its battle with Artemis, how it would have killed him had she not interfered. All of those thoughts led to a very large part of her to do something she was never trained to do; disregard her orders.

“Artemis, wait up!” She yelled as she flew over to him.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m gonna back you up,” she said confidently.

He paused, turning to her and asking, “No, you said you were going to report to the princesses. So, you better get going.”

“All due respect, sir, but I think you’re going to need some help taking that thing down. You did say earlier that you weren’t prepared to fight it.”

“Yeah, but I know what it’s fully capable of. You don’t. Not to mention that your crossbow it almost useless. You could get killed.”

“You honestly think I don’t know that!?” she yelled. “What, do you think I wear this armor imagining that I’ll get through life easy?! No, I joined the guard to try to be the first line of defense for the ponies that couldn’t. And if that meant dying in the process, then so be it,”

Artemis could only stare at Zarola. Yet, the longer he stared at her, the less he saw her and more of a familiar felyne he knew. They’re so much alike, it’s scary. he felt for his scar as a familiar pain in his chest started to crawl back. If she’s anything like he was, then I know there’s not a whole lot I can do to stop her…as much as I don’t like it. “If you’re that dead set on coming along, then fine,” he relented as he began to follow the scoutflies with Zarola alongside him. “But if you’re going to help me, then we’re going to need a plan. Any ideas?”

“Well, I think about the only thing I can do to it is taking out its other eye. I can try shooting it out while you take it down.”

“That could work, but it could also make it more dangerous too.”

“How would it be more dangerous? Wouldn’t it be unable to see you?”

“Exactly, which means it’ll be more wild with its attacks. The fact that it can still fly makes it even worse.”

“So, should we take the wings out first.”

“That’s usually the strategy when dealing Rathalos, but it’s going to be difficult bring it down within my reach without any flash pods.”

“Then how do we deal with the wing?”

Artemis frowned in thought she looked over Zarola. First, he focused on her crossbow. It might be able to pierce its wings, but she probably doesn’t have enough bolts to break the wing. His eyes then drifted around Zarola until they landed on her wings. His hand subconsciously traveled to the knife that was holstered behind his sword, a smirk formed as an idea formed. “What if we used its own strategy against it?”

“Its own…strategy?” she asked, feeling slightly concerned.

“Rathalos is a predator that uses its flight as a means to outmaneuver its large sized prey and rivals. It’s not used to dealing with something much smaller that can outmaneuver it.”

Zarola was silent at first. But as she thought about what he said, she slowly began to understand what he was implying. “Wait…you want me to remove its wings…by hoof!”

“You’ll just need to take out one of the wings. I made some tears into the wing earlier, so all you have to do is make them bigger. Here,” he said as he took out his knife and passed it to her. “use this. It’s made to carve into monsters.”

Zarola just stared at the knife in Artemis’s hand. “Are you sure there’s no other way? I mean…I’m not good at CQC,” she said with a slight quiver in her voice.

“You don’t have to be a good fighter to do this. You just need to avoid it as best as you can and stab into its wing. Think you can do that?”

The question felt heavy to Zarola. She still wasn’t comfortable with the idea. She only considered her flying skills to be about average, something that didn’t provide her much comfort. But at the same time, time was short, and she was the only pony that knew about the Rathalos. Besides, she wouldn’t be the one doing the fighting. Reluctantly, she took the knife and said, “I don’t know if I can, but I know that failure isn’t an option.”

“Not much to go off of, but we’ll have to make do. C’mon, let’s hurry,” he said as he led her to Rathalos. Just don’t die on me, Zarola, he thought as he tried to ignore the creeping pain in his chest.

Eventually, they reached the ruins of an old castle. The scoutflies, however, were leading them to a small canyon that was near the castle. The both of them peered down to find Rathalos sleeping by a cave. “Well, he definitely found an interesting spot,” Artemis noted. He looked up at the ruins and asked, “So, what is this place?”

“That is the Castle of the Two Sisters. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna used to here,” Zarola answered. “Which means that Rathalos is sleeping right in front of the Tree of Harmony.”

“The Tree of Harmony?”

“It’s an ancient tree that holds the greatest power we have to defend Equestria. Do you think Rathalos could try to destroy it?”

“I doubt it. About the only thing it’ll try to do is scratch it to mark its territory.” He took a deep breath before looking over to Zarola and saying, “Wait for me to wake it up. Go for the wing as soon as you get an opening.”

“Understood,” Zarola responded with an uneasy nod.

“You ready?”

Zarola took a deep breath of her own, tightening her grip on Artemis’s knife. “Not really,” she admitted.

“Well…at least you’re honest.” He stood up as he said, “Sit tight, I’ll go wake it up.”

He steadily went down the stone stairs that were nearby, being careful not to accidentally wake up the wyvern as he laid out his plan. When he eventually reached Rathalos’s head, he quickly drew his sword, hopping back for some extra power before lunging forward to land a massive hit.

Rathalos let out a surprised chirp as it woke up to deal with the threat. By then, Artemis had jumped up in the air and slammed the top of its head with his shield. Rathalos reeled back with a series of yelps. It looked back at him, snarling, before it charged forward to bite him, its wings flaring out a little as it did so. The attack missed him entirely, as Artemis was able to roll out of the way.

It flares its wings out when it attempts a charge like that, Zarola noted as she watched. She tightened her hold on the knife. That’ll probably be my best chance at it. She flew up and continued to watch the fight below. She inched closer to it as she watched Artemis alternate between striking Rathalos and avoiding its attacks.

Then, it reeled back the same way it did before. Wait for it. Wait for it, she chanted to herself, until Rathalos charged forward. Now! She dove at the monster, aiming the knife right at its injured wing and controlling her speed so she could hit it at the best possible moment.

Rathalos paused its series of attacks when it felt a sharp pain in its wing. It turned its head and glared angirly at Zarola. She was sawing away furiously into the wing.

Damn, this wing’s tougher than I thought it was, she complained as she began to tire out from her sawing. She felt a sudden jerk when Rathalos began to furiously flap its wing to get her off. Zarola immediately stopped what she was doing to hold on to both the knife and the wing for dear life. Artemis started slashing at Rathalos again to try to gain its attention, but it seemed dead set on trying to throw Zarola off. Then, it suddenly stopped. Zarola thought she had a short reprieve before Rathalos stretched both its wings out. As Rathalos lifted its head up, Zarola held on tighter to the knife and closed her eye, knowing what was about to happen.

With a leap and a powerful push from its wings, Rathalos lifted itself into the air, shooting fire at the ground to keep Artemis at bay. Zarola was being thrashed around like a ragdoll as she held on for dear life. All Artemis could do was pick up some rocks and launch them out of its slinger.

This is nuts! She screamed internally as she felt her hooves slipping from the knife. I need to let go of this damn thing, otherwise I’ll- Her thoughts stopped as she opened her eye and saw that the tear she was trying to make was getting bigger and at a faster rate than before. Her fear shifted to determination as she held on even tighter and flared her wings out. No, I can use this!

She began to flap her wings back to pull the knife in the direction she wanted it to go. It was still a challenge to cut the webbing, but it was much easier than before with Rathalos doing most of the work for her. She continued like this for what felt like hours, only making adjustments in her flying to respond to Rathalos’s thrashing, till all the resistance from the wing suddenly vanished.

She flapped her wings furiously to keep herself from hitting the ground and kept her eye on Rathalos. It wasn’t faring as well as part of the webbing in its right wing was flapping around uselessly. Since it was no longer able to maintain its lift, all Rathalos could do was slowly and sloppily descend down to the ground, right to Artemis.

“Good job, Zarola. I’ll take it from here!” he yelled, slashing at its talons when they were in reach. Zarola nodded before flying back up to the ledge to continue watching the fight.

Rathalos tried to bite Artemis again when it reached the ground. Artemis rolled out of the way to avoid its jaws and stepped forward to slash at its head. Rathalos yelped in surprise then turned to attack with its tail.

Artemis saw its exaggerated movements and blocked it expertly with his shield before attacking it again. It’s getting sloppy. It’s just about over. Rathalos turned again to try to sweep Artemis with its tail again.

Artemis leapt back, avoiding the attack, and prepared a massive attack.. He lunged forward, striking Rathalos with massive attack, then jumped up in the air. Rathalos reeled back in pain, leaving its neck wide open. With a mighty roar of his own, Artemis cut into the neck on his way back to the ground.

Blood gushed from the wound as Rathalos struggled to remain standing. But it soon stopped struggling as the world grew dark and its body went limp. All it could do was release one last painful roar before falling to the floor for the last time.

Artemis sheathed his sword before sitting down. He let out an exhausted sigh as he looked over Rathalos’s dead body. “Good, it’s finally over,” he muttered.

Zarola flew down when she saw that the battle was over. “Artemis, is it really…” she trailed off.

Artemis nodded. “Yeah, it’s dead.”

She looked over at the Rathalos before sitting next to Artemis. “This is the first time I’ve seen any creature die.” She let out a chuckle before continuing, “It’s weird, I feel sorry for it, but right now, I kinda feel like celebrating.”

“That’s only natural,” Artemis replied. “It might have been a threat to the ponies of Equestria, but only because it’s a predator doing what predators normally do. It’s harsh, but sometimes it’s something that has to be done.”

“Yeah,” she quietly replied. She looked over at Rathalos, glad that nopony would become its prey. It filled her with pride as a guard protecting Equestria. Then it got her thinking about something. “Hey, Artemis?” she asked.

“Yeah?”

“Why’d you do this? Why did you become a hunter?”

Artemis was a little perplexed by her question at first. Then, he let out a chuckle as he took off his helmet. He lifted two of his fingers as he said, “I did it for two reasons. One, because I was interested in the monsters that inhabited my world. Second…was because the job pays well and I really needed the money.”

“That’s as…good of a reason as any,” Zarola replied, feeling slightly disappointed but not surprised by the answer. She looked over at Rathalos again as she asked, “So, think that there’s another Rathalos out there?”

“Maybe there is. Maybe there isn’t. I don’t know for sure.”

“Are there any monsters much stronger than Rathalos?”

“…Yes, there are monsters much stronger than Rathalos.”

Zarola felt like she was just punched in the gut. This monster could have torn them apart with ease, and now she knew that there are monsters that could overpower it. And not even Celestia knew how many of them were actually out there. She looked down at Artemis’s knife, which was still in her hoof. She wanted to help fight the monsters, but she knew that probably wasn’t going to be possible. Not after today. She passed the knife back to him as she said, “I hope it goes well for you then.”

“You make it sound like you’re not going to be there with me,” he said, taking his knife back and placing back in its sheath.

“Probably not. I did disobey my orders to strictly observe. The captain will probably take me off for that.”

Artemis chuckled dryly. “That dick can shove it for all I care.” He stood up before saying, “C’mon, might as well start heading back.”

“Okay,” Zarola simply replied before following him. “You coming back to Canterlot?”

“Not right now. Not when I still feel like wringing your captain’s neck out,” he replied. “Besides, still gotta teach Zecora how to make my potions.”

“Alright, I guess that’ll leave me to report to the princess.” After a few seconds, she suddenly spoke up, “Hey, Artemis?”

“Yeah?”

“Between you and me…I’m glad I disobeyed my orders today.”

Artemis looked down at her to finally see the pleased smile on Zarola’s face. He smirked at her before he turned forward. Heh, to be honest… I’m glad that the captain screwed up by sending you with me. Let’s just hope I don’t need your help for the next monster.

Manehattan Park. Late at night, it was largely deserted by those who lived in Manehattan. But for Juniper Leaf and Copper Cut, a young couple on vacation visiting the city, the emptiness made the park more inviting for certain escapades. “Oh my Celestia, Copper, we’re going to get in so much trouble if we get caught,” the green mare giggled as she followed her husband through the poorly lit section of the park.

“Don’t worry about it, babe,” the blue stallion replied confidently. “Nopony’s going to be out here, so we’re going to have some more privacy out here than at the hotel.”
“But nopony can watch us at the hotel.”
“Yeah, but we could still have a creep listen in on us.” They continued to sneak through the park until they reached a lake. The only objects in sight were the dark silhouettes of what they could guess were rocks. With sultry smiles, they both faced each other and reared up on their hind legs to wrap their forehooves around their shoulders. “You ready?” Copper asked.
“Always,” Juniper replied before locking lips with Copper. Juniper then leaned forward to knock him down on his back, bringing her down with her as they continued to make out. A few seconds into their session, Juniper looked up and paused as she saw something. A bubble. Followed by two. Then six more. She giggled as leaned up enough to face Copper. “You goofy dork,” she lightly teased.

“W-what?” he chuckled.

“Did you really set up a bubble blower before you brought me here?”

Copper’s smile faltered into a frown as he stared up at her in confusion. “Bubble blower? What are you talking about? I didn’t set up a bubble blower.”

“Oh, really?” She pointed at a bubble that was approaching them. “Then how do you explain this?” She teased before popping the bubble with her hoof.

A low growl echoed around the area, immediately catching their attention. They quickly scrambled up to their hooves as they looked around the area for the source. “W-what is that?” Juniper asked as she shifted closer to Copper. “Is that a...monster?”

“That’s impossible,” Copper nervously replied. “There aren’t any monsters in Mane-” he stopped as his eyes landed on a rock a few yards away. Only, it was moving.

They watched fearfully as the once round object uncoiled into a serpent like creature. It swiftly slid behind them, cutting off their escape, before it began to circle around them menacingly. All the couple could do was huddle closer together and prepare for its next move. The details they could see of the creature were the patches of fur that could be found on its scaly body, fins that were on its back and head, and its long snout. Then, around the fifth pass, it used its clawed limbs to stop itself so that it was between them and the lake. It leaned up, snarling, before shooting its head forward to let out a high pitched roar.

“Aahh, a monster!” Juniper screeched as she turned around and ran as fast as she could.

“Somepony help us!” Copper yelled as he ran after her.

The both of them ran through the park, thinking that their lives were at stake, completely unaware that the creature wasn’t giving chase. Instead, it watched them before letting out a yawn. It then laid down on the ground and went back to sleep, content that the couple were no longer in its newfound territory.

Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

“Let me see if I understand what you’re saying,” Iron Sights growled, pacing in front of Zarola as she stood at attention. “The two of you went into the forest and found that your target was already dead, found another monster in the process, let him fight this new target without anypony’s approval, and then came back…without him!”

“Y-yes sir,” Zarola squeaked out. It took every ounce of willpower to keep herself from trembling. She felt like she was in a large interrogation room instead of the barracks.

Iron Sights stopped to face her before saying, “Private Recurve, are you a soldier or a mercenary.”

“A soldier, sir.”

“Oh, really?! Because your actions seem to say otherwise. You acted in ways that are unbecoming of a guard, disregarded everything you’ve ever been taught, and that Artemis-”

“Is not one of your soldiers,” the calm, but stern voice of Princess Celestia echoed out. Both guards turned to watch her walk into the room.

“Princess Celestia!” Iron Sights exclaimed before bowing along with Zarola.

“At ease,” Celestia ordered. She turned towards Iron Sights. “Now, what seems to be the problem, Captain?”

“What’s the problem!? Princess, didn’t you read the report Private Recurve made?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Then you should know what’s wrong!” Iron Sights exclaimed. “That hunter is too wild. He just did what he wanted and when he wanted. How can we rely on a soldier like that!?”

Celestia stared unamused at her Captain as she replied, “Like I said, Captain, he is not a soldier. He is a hunter. And our agreement was to have him work the way he normally works, so long as Zarola’s there to observe him. Not turn him into a soldier for us to control.”

“Princess, with all due respect, how can you trust somepony we can’t control?!” Iron Sights yelled.

“I trust ponies like that every day. I trust you to do your job without my constant supervision, do I not?” she replied.

Iron Sights opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. He was stunned by how easily Celestia was able to read him like a book. After a few moments of silence, he finally said, “He’s a maverick. An army can’t rely on somepony like that. Especially against the threat we’re currently facing.”

Celestia gave him a small nod before replying, “While I understand your reasoning, I also acknowledge that Artemis was able to succeed where we continued to fail. And where you see a soldier gone rouge, I see a fighter who recognized a bigger threat and took the initiative to deal with it before it did any real damage.”

“Yeah, and he almost died because of it.”

“And yet, he survived because somepony decided to follow his example,” she retorted, slightly turning towards Zarola. She couldn’t help but blush at Celestia’s comment.

Right as Iron Sights was about to argue, a guard came running in, yelling, “Princess Celestia! Captain Iron Sights!”

Everyone turned to the panting guard. “Yes, what is it?” Iron Sights asked, stepping towards him.

“We just received word the Manehattan police! There’s been a monster sighted in Central Park! They’ve made a request for reinforcements!”

Iron Sights’s heart felt like it skipped when he heard what the guard say. “What do they know about this monster?! Don’t spare any details!” he ordered immediately.

“There’s not much they do know, sir. All they know is that it’s some sort of leviathan-like creature that uses bubble as a weapon of sorts.”

“…Bubbles?!” Iron Sights asked, feeling slightly bemused.

“Yes, sir! It’s been giving the city’s guard a hard time.”

Iron Sights let out a small huff before exclaiming, “Organize Gold Company. Tell them to head to Manehattan immediately.” He then turned to Celestia before adding, “Unless you think somepony else is more suited for the job.”

Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Very well. If you believe that Gold Company is all you need, then I won’t stop you.”

“Thank you, Princess,” Iron Sights bowed before turning back to the guard. “Well, what are you waiting for! Move! Move! Move!”

Once the two of them had left, Celestia turned to Zarola and said, “Speaking of which, what is Artemis doing right now?”

“If I remember correctly, your highness, he’s probably teaching some ponies how to make his potions,” Zarola replied.

“Ah, then I would imagine that Twilight’s among one of them one of them. That’ll make sending some reports to him a little easier to do. Though I would imagine that he’ll be busy answering Twilight’s own game of twenty questions.”

“And just like that,” Artemis, who was only wearing the body suit he wore under his armor, proudly said as he slammed the completed potion on Twilight’s Map Table. “You’ve got a potion that’s ready to be used out in the field. Any questions?” He asked, leaning back in the throne he occupied.

Twilight, Applejack, and Zecora sat across from him, each with a potion in front of them. Zecora looked down at hers with pride. Applejack looked at hers with a bit of surprise. Twilight frowned at hers before looking back at the scroll she used to write down his instructions, which only took up a small portion of the scroll. “That’s it?! She yelled, slamming the scroll down on the table.

“That’s it,” he answered with a smirk. “Mix it with some honey and you make it more powerful.”

“Are you kidding me?! That was the easiest potion I’ve ever learned. I was expecting a healing potion to be a little more complex than this!” she exclaimed, pouting slightly.

“When fighting such monstrous foes

Complexity would make for great woes,” Zecora chimed in as she began to make another potion.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Artemis said with a smirk. “I’ve long since lost track of the number of times I’ve had to make these in the middle of a fight. We were all ecstatic when someone found a way to make these damn things without a blue mushroom. Made for one less thing for me to worry about.”

“Well…when you put it that way,” Twilight begrudgingly relented as she looked back at the potion.

“By the way, Applejack,” he began to say, turning to the country mare. “Thanks again for growing some of these herbs for me. It’s really going to help a lot.”

“Ain’t no problem, pardner. You weren’t kiddin’ about these herbs. They came out of the ground faster than a worm after a rainy day,” she replied.

“I warned you. I get free reign at them, right?”

“So long as you don’t take all of ‘em. Might need one of these potions the next time Big Mac hurts himself durin’ harvest.”

“Eh, fair enough,” he replied with a shrug.

The double doors to the room suddenly opened as a small purple dragon came flying in, scrolls in his claws. “Twilight, Celestia just sent these a few minutes ago!” he exclaimed. His cheeks then puffed up before a stream of fire burped out of his mouth. The flame soon rolled up as a scroll appeared in its place. “And it looks like she has more on the way,” he added with a sense of dread.

“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said as she took everything he was carrying with her magic and opened one of the scrolls.

“No problem, Twilight,” Spike replied. He started to fly out of the room but stopped when he saw Artemis staring at him curiously. “Uh, can I help you with something?”

Artemis flinched a little once he was addressed. “Sorry, I’ve just never seen an elder dragon burp out a scroll before…or talk for that matter.”

Spike raised an eyebrow at that. “Elder? Dude, have you ever seen a baby dragon before?”

“Can’t say that I have, but I wasn’t exactly referring to your age.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, looking up from one of the scrolls.

“Well, simply put, elder dragons are a category of monster from my world. All of the monsters are separated into different categories based on traits they share. Primarily, their body structure and how they fight.”

“Fascinating,” Twilight exclaimed her eyes sparkling as she grabbed her quill and a blank parchment. “So, what’s Anjanath classified as?” she asked enthusiastically much to the amusement of her friends.

“It’s classified as a brute wyvern,” he answered, figuring it would be easier to indulge the mare. “Large, bulky theropods that like to throw their weight around in a fight but are piss poor at managing their stamina.”

“I see,” Twilight muttered as she wrote down Artemis’s description. “What about that Rathalos you fought?”

“He’s a flying wyvern. In case the name doesn’t give it away, they’re large monsters that fly with a set of wings they have in place of their front limbs. Most of them are very powerful and very efficient fighters.”

“That ain’t a pleasant thought,” Applejack commented.

“And those elder dragons?” Twilight asked, looking up from the parchment with an excited smile. “What do they share with each other?”

“Nothing,” he answered.

Twilight’s smile turned to a frown. Everyone was a bit stunned by the answer. “Nothing?!” Twilight asked in a raised voice.

“Nothing,” he confirmed.

“But wait, they’re called Elder Dragons,” Spike pointed out. “Shouldn’t they all look like, you know, dragons?”

“And many of them do, but many of them don’t,” Artemis replied, sitting up a little as he thought about his answer. “The best way to describe the Elder Dragon category is that it’s one big melding pot of monsters that don’t belong in any other category.”

Zecora sat with her hoof lightly tapping against her chin, thinking about what he said before saying,

“I think I know what you’re trying to say.

That there’s no place for a ‘dragon’ to stay.

With so many traits unique to it,

They built it a place where it best fit.”

“Hence why we called them Elder Dragons,” Artemis added with a hint of sarcasm.

“Okay, so they’re a bunch of monsters with unique traits, but there’s gotta be something they share with each other,” Twilight exclaimed with a bit of annoyance.

Just as Artemis was about to rebuke her, he paused as he remembered something. “Actually, there are some things they share. They all scare away most other monsters that aren’t Elder Dragons just by walking into the area, they’re immune to traps, and they’re all very powerful. Y’know, all the important stuff,” he sarcastically finished.

“Yeah, that’s reassuring,” Twilight replied somewhat regretting asking for more information as she wrote down what he said. Then she paused and looked over what she had written down. Bit and pieces of her conversations with Artemis started flashing as she noticed one item in the notes. “Hey, Artemis, you said you didn’t bring any traps with you, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“And you said you were fighting a Nergigante when you arrived?”

“I was.”

Twilight’s eyes widened immediately as she put two and two together. “Are you saying that Nergigante is an Elder Dragon?!”

“…Yeah, a physically strong one to boot,” he answered almost somberly.

Everyone stared wide eyed at Artemis. The possible implications of the destruction one monster could bring was staggering to them. Especially if it was stronger than any of the other monsters that’ve been active so far. “How likely is it to attack a town?!” Twilight asked, feeling slightly panicked.

“Don’t know,” he answered. “Most sightings of it either find it roaming on its own or attacking another Elder Dragon.”

“Why would it go and do that?” Applejack asked.

“Best we could observe is that Nergigante preys almost exclusively on them.”

“It eats Elder Dragons?!” everyone in the room yelled.

“So, could it go after dragons like Spike?!” Twilight loudly exclaimed.

“It’s very possible, yes,

If that is anyone’s guess,” Zecora answered.

“Spike,” Twilight began as she turned toward the dragon. “Send a letter to Dragon Lord Ember. Tell her to look for…” she trailed off as she turned to Artemis.

“A black dragon covered in spikes,” he answered her silent question.

“A dragon covered in spikes that could attack the Dragon Lands.”

“Right away, Twilight,” Spike exclaimed, rushing out of the room.

“Well, Ah need ta head back home. Still got chores that need ta get done,” Applejack said, grabbing her potion.

“I need to start heading home too.

There’s still much for me to do,” Zecora said as she got up as well.

“Alright, stay safe you two,” Twilight said as she watched them leave. She then started to read some of the parchments Spike brought her. “Huh, hey Artemis, I think these were for you.”

“What makes you say that?”

“All of these are reports about unknown monster sightings. Maybe there’s something about Nergigante in here,” she said hopefully as she started to dig through the reports.

“Maybe. It all depends on how elusive it wants to be.”

“There’s only one way to find out then,” Twilight said as she began to organize the reports. She stopped when she found a letter that was different from the others. “Huh, this one’s a direct letter from Princess Celestia,” she commented before opening it to quickly read it. “Apparently, Captain Iron Sights is moving troops to Manehattan to deal with a monster that showed up there. Do you think she wants you to head over there?”

“Does the letter tell me to head over there?”

She read through the letter a second time. “No,” she answered.

“Then I don’t have to go back them up right now. I think she’s just keeping me in the loop for now. Besides, I don’t think that captain wants me there anyway.”

“But what if it’s one of your monsters?”

“Then we hope for the best.”

“That Iron Sights defeats the monster?”

“That it only humiliates him,” he replied with a small smirk.

Iron Sights watched the chaos in front of him with a blank stare. He had never felt so humiliated in his entire career. The only thing he could be thankful for was that the monster hadn’t killed anypony yet.

The monster had a fox-like head on a long, slender body. There were also small fins decorated on its head and back. And, despite the slightly dull colors, Iron Sights could tell that its scales and fins were a mix of pink and yellow and that the fur on its belly, tail, and legs were purple. Had Iron Sights been in any other position, he almost would have called it beautiful.

Instead, he could only curse its existence as it danced around the guards, shooting bubbles out of its mouth and scales. The guards trying to fight it were so busy trying to avoid its bubbles that they couldn’t get a good hit in. Those that were hit by them found themselves covered in a liquid that caused them to slide around like a bar of soap, making them vulnerable to its attacks.

“The damn thing’s toying with us,” Iron Sights sneered through gritted teeth.

“Sir, what if we tried a massive air stike on it,” one of his officers suggested. “The pegasi won’t have to worry about sliding on the ground like the earth ponies and unicorns are.”

“That might work once or twice, but I doubt it’ll allow that to happen more than that.”

“What do you mean, sir?”

“Just look at it,” he replied, keeping an observant eye on the monster. “Its movements are graceful, but there’s something else to it. It’s moving around to try to outmaneuver our troops and it primarily focuses its attacks on ponies that’ve been caught by its bubbles. If the pegasi start to attack it, it’ll probably just try to find a way to use its bubbles to knock them out of the sky.”

“Do you think it could do that, sir?”

“Why wouldn’t it? If the fluid from the scales is what’s making those bubbles, then it could possibly shoot them anywhere,” Iron Sights pointed out, feeling slightly annoyed.

“Sir,” a gruff voice said from behind him.

Iron Sights turned around to face the large, muscular earth pony behind him. “What is it, Wrecker?”

“Let me get a crack at ‘em,” he exclaimed jovially, adjusting the war hammer he had resting on his armored shoulders. “I can smash its head in within seconds.”

Iron Sights regarded the brown stallion in front of him. He considered Wrecker as one of his best fighters, but he was also reckless and boisterous. I doubt he’ll turn the tide of this battle, but what choice do I have, he sighed in defeat. “Get in there, Wrecker! And be careful!”

“Got it!” he exclaimed, walking confidently towards the monster, keeping a watchful eye for bubbles. “Alright monster!” he yelled, catching the monster’s attention. “Today, you’ll meet the same fate as every other monster that have dared face me! For as long as I have my hammer, no monster will make me fal-”

He was immediately silenced as a pressurized jet of water from the monster’s mouth slammed into him, instantly pushing him into a nearby tree. He slumped down to the ground when the stream stopped. Iron Sights stared slack jawed at Wrecker before turning back at the monster. If he didn’t know any better, he could have sworn that it was smirking as it inspected its work.

“Sir, what do we do now?” the officer asked.

Iron Sights let out a small growl as he glared at the monster, which had gone back to dealing with the other guards. “Send an emergency message to Canterlot. Give the Princess every detail we now know about this monster and request for reinforcements.”

“Sir, how many troops should I request?”

“However many it takes to defeat this monster!”

Zarola was seated on her bed, inspecting her crossbow for probably the twentieth time that day. She had stopped counting after the seventh inspection. The only reason she started doing it was to give her something to do while she waited for her next set of orders. Assuming, of course, that she was going to receive new orders. One more inspection shouldn’t hurt, he told herself again as she started the process over again.

The barrack door suddenly opened, causing her to yelp as she jumped off the bed. “Oh, I’m sorry, Private Recurve,” Princess Celestia said as she walked in. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Oh, Princess Celestia!” Zarola exclaimed, giving her a quick bow. “No need for apologies I guess I was just stuck in my own world is all.”

“I see. Now Private Recurve…actually, may I call you Zarola?”

“Of course you may, Princess!”

“Very well, Zarola,” she said, levitating a scroll to her. “Would you please read this?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she replied before opening the scroll to read it. Her eyes slowly widened with each line she read. “Th-this is an emergency request for reinforcements in Manehattan.”

“Indeed it is. It looks like Captain Iron Sights is having problems with that monster and wants more troops to beat it in a war of attrition,” Celestia explained with a hint of unease.

“I…I take it I’m going to Manehattan then?”

“Yes, you are.”

“Understood, ma’am,” she replied, grabbing her crossbow and quiver. “Where am I meeting the rest of the reinforcements?”

“Oh, you and I are meeting him in Ponyville,” she replied with a cheeky smile.

“Ponyville?!” She was slightly confused at first, until she realized what Celestia was telling her. “Wait, you mean…”

“Oh, of course,” Celestia replied, walking up to Zarola with her horn lit. “Afterall, I think it’s a much better idea than what Captain Iron Sights has in mind.” With that, a loud pop echoed around them, accompanied by a bright flash.

Zarola was disoriented at first, but soon recovered enough to find herself in a larger, crystalized room. She looked around until she saw a round table where Twilight and Artemis were at. Twilight was sitting at her throne, quite surprised by their sudden appearance. Artemis, meanwhile, was standing with his hands on another throne, looking like he was going to use it like a club.

“Fatalis, where the hell did you two come from?!” he exclaimed.

“Oh, sorry for startling you, but we needed to get to you as fast as possible,” Celestia replied. She looked over all the parchments on the Cutie Map. “Ah, I see that you did get all the reports.”

“Yes we did, Princess,” Twilight replied happily. “We’ve been trying to figure out if there have been any sightings of Elder Dragons for the past few hours.”

“Elder Dragons?” Zarola asked, feeling slightly concerned.

“In short, some of the most powerful monsters The Commission knows,” Artemis answered.

“I see,” Celestia commented. She then levitated the message over to him. “In that case, is this one of your Elder Dragons?”

Artemis took the message and read it quickly. He soon let out a sigh of frustration. “I take it this is related to the letter you sent earlier?”

“About the monster in Manehattan, yes.”

“In that case, no it’s not an Elder Dragon. It’s a leviathan. One of the least aggressive ones actually.”

“I see. Believe me when I say that I would have preferred having you investigate it, but Captain Iron Sights was adamant that he could take care of it,” Celestia explained, rolling her eyes.

“And since he apparently can’t, you want me to go and prove a point,” he finished for her.

Celestia gave him a smirk, “Zarola’s report was right about you. So, will you go to Manehattan?”

He looked down at the letter again before saying, “Yeah, might as well. Seeing as your captain decided to make a mountain out of a molehill.”

Zarola furrowed her brows at him. “What do you mean by that?”

“I’ll explain when we get there,” he answered. He then turned to Twilight and said, “You mind organizing those by yourself?”

“Are you kidding?! Of course I will!” she exclaimed happily. “Want me to let you know if I find anything on Nergigante?”

“Sure, but don’t be surprised if you don’t find anything. Damn thing only shows up when it wants to. Just make sure that the more urgent reports are separated from the others and I’ll look at them when I get back.”

“Okay, I understand. Good luck, Artemis,” Twilight said before going back to work.

He turned to Celestia and Zarola before saying, “Let me get my weapon and armor. How long is the train ride over there?”

“Who said we’re taking a train?” Celestia said, almost teasingly.

“…Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” he muttered.

Iron Sights had finally managed to create some order for his troops. However, this did nothing to turn the tide of battle. All the guards could do was make a perimeter around the monster. None of them were able to make any advances on it.

The monster had gotten more aggressive throughout the course of the fight. Saliva was pouring out of its jaw like waterfalls as it started to bite at the guards more often, specifically targeting those that got isolated from the others. Any time that it wasn’t was spent glaring at the circle of guards around it, waiting for one of them to make a move. This put Iron Sights into a tough position as well, since the best strategy he could come up with was to wait for it to make a move of its own.

A sudden pop from behind him caught his attention. He turned around to find Princess Celestia and Zarola standing alongside a fully armored, yet disoriented Artemis. “There we are, Artemis. Was that so bad?” Celestia asked cheerfully.

Artemis shook his head as he stumbled around a little before answering. “If it’s all the same to you, I’m taking the train back.” Once he got his footing, he faced Iron Sights and said, “Alright, where is it?”

Iron Sights ignored his question and went straight to Celestia. “Princess Celestia, what are you doing?! Where are my reinforcements?!”

“Why, I brought them personally. I thought that much would have been obvious,” she replied.

“This is not what I had in mind and you know it!” he argued.

“I know, but I figured that sending in a specialist would allow us to deal with it more effectively. If you have a problem with that, then we can discuss when we get back to Canterlot. Until then, I’d suggest letting him work,” she scolded.

Iron Sights let out a low growl before turning to face Artemis, only he wasn’t next to Celestia like he was originally. He looked around until he spotted him standing next to a couple of guards stationed at the perimeter. “Hey, what’re you doing over there?!” he bellowed, running toward him with Celestia and Zarola in tow.

Iron Sights glared intently at Artemis. He was about to respond, but stopped himself when Celestia walked forward and said, “So, Artemis, is it what you thought it was?”

“Yeah, it’s a Mizutsune. And a female at that,” he replied.

“How dangerous are they?” Zarola asked.

“Generally, not very,” Artemis ordered. “Mizutsune generally only become a problem if you get too close to it or if it’s a male in mating season. They also don’t continuously chase you down if you run away from it. In short,” he said, turning to point a finger at Iron Sights, “you managed to make this into a bigger deal than it should’ve been.”

“I turned this into a big deal?!” Iron Sights shouted. “You honestly think that this beast just sitting here isn’t a big deal?! Look around you!” he yelled, waving a hoof at the city around them. “Do you have any idea how many ponies live in this city!?”

“No, I don’t”

“Hundreds of thousands of ponies live here! And I don’t need a degree in zoology to tell me that thing is a carnivore! And I sure as hell wasn’t going to let that thing just snack on ponies whenever it damn well wanted!”

Artemis regarded what he said for a few seconds before responding, “Regardless, we wouldn’t be in this situation if you didn’t run in to fight it all day. Cause now we have a predator that’s just as hungry as it is pissed.”

“Wait, it’s hungry?” Zarola piped up. “How can you tell?”

Artemis pointed at the monster’s snout. “See all that saliva pouring out of its mouth? It’s low on stamina because of how long it’s been fighting. Right now, it’s trying to find something to eat to build it back up.”

Iron Sights’ brow furrowed as he looked back at the monster. “That would explain why it tried to take more bites out of my soldiers,” he muttered.

“So, what’re you going to do? Zarola asked. “Are you going to kill it?”

Artemis took a moment to look around at the city before responding, “I don’t think that’ll be the best of ideas. The monsters from my world have a habit of retreating to another area when they start losing a fight. For all we know, it could retreat to somewhere else in the park, or-”

“To somewhere in the city,” Zarola finished for him.

“So what the hell are we going to do?! We can’t just let it stay here!” Iron Sights exclaimed.

“Couldn’t we try relocating it?” Zarola offered.

“I don’t have any traps or tranq bombs, remember?” Artemis replied. “We can’t move it if we can’t capture it and it’s not like we can reason with it.”

“No, I suppose we can’t,” Celestia echoed, a cheeky grin plastered on her face. “But perhaps there might be somepony who can.”

Artemis, Zarola, and Iron Sights just stared at her in confusion, trying to figure out what she was implying. Artemis’s eyes wondered as he thought, until his eyes landed on Celestia’s cutie mark. A conversation he had a day ago began to play back in his head. “Are you saying that Fluttershy can reason with it?”

“She could. I’m sure she’d be more than happy to try to find her a new home,” Celestia replied.

“Yeah, so long as it doesn’t turn it into its lunch,” Zarola muttered as she watched Mizutsune threaten to make a lunge at the guards.

“Then we’ll have to feed it so that it doesn’t,” Celestia countered. She then turned to Artemis and said, “We know it’s a carnivore, but what does it like to eat?”

“Fish mostly,” Artemis answered.

Zarola let out an annoyed huff. “Great, so where are we supposed to get-”

“You two!” Iron Sights suddenly exclaimed, pointing at a couple of pegasus guards hovering nearby. When they flew over, her ordered, “Fly to the Manehattan Park Zoo and get as much fish as you can carry. Tell them that the crown will reimburse them later. Now move!” The two guards saluted before flying off.

Iron Sights turned around until he was facing Artemis, who was staring at him. He could feel the questioning look from under Artemis’s helmet. “I’ve been going to this park for most of my life. The sea lions at the zoo were always my favorite,” he explained.

“Hmph, that explains that,” Artemis muttered with a smirk. He turned to Celestia before saying, “Princess, do you mind getting Fluttershy?”

“You didn’t have to ask,” she said before teleporting away.

Artemis let out a deep sigh before turning toward the Mizutsune. “Now, we just make sure she doesn’t do anything.”

“Agreed,” Iron Sights said as he stood next to Artemis. “So, what happens if this plan doesn’t work?”

“I’ll kill it. What other choice would I have?”

“And what should my soldiers do?”

“Just try to cut it off if it tries to leave the park. No offense, but your soldiers are kinda useless against this thing.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Iron Sights begrudgingly agreed. “…Hey, mind if I ask you something?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Why did you become a hunter?”

“Cause I really needed the money at the time. Why did you become a guard?”

Iron Sights let out a dry chuckle before answering, “Cause I needed the money and I couldn’t hold any other job to save my life.”

“Heh, fair enough,” Artemis chuckled.

Zarola, who had flown up in the air to watch Mizutsune, couldn’t help but listen in on the two of them. “He became a hunter…for money?” she muttered to herself. “That’s it? I thought there’d be a little bit more than that?” She paused when she noticed that Mizutsune stopped looking around at the guards and seemed to be staring at a particular pair of guards that had managed to move out of position. Her eyes widened as she yelled. “Artemis! Captain! I think she’s up to something!”

Artemis perked up and saw what Mizutsune was up to. “Shit, she’s found an opening! She’s going to make a break for it!” He immediately bolted towards her right as she started to charge. As he ran, he looked around to look for anything that could give him an advantage. He soon found a rock near her path that was large enough for him to leap off of. “That’ll work. Gotta time this right,” he muttered, turning toward the rock while keeping his eye on Mizutsune.

He was almost halfway up the rock by the time Mizutsune reached it. After a few powerful lunges, he leapt off the rock while drawing his sword to help get a hold of the monster. It yelped when the sword penetrated through her scales. Artemis wasted no time to sheath his sword in order to grab on to it with both hands, ready to brace himself by the time Mizutsune stopped her charge to try to throw him off.

“You two!” Iron Sights yelled at the shaking guards. “Get back in position. Don’t leave anymore openings for it!” The guards immediately went back to where they were supposed to be. Iron Sights’s frown furrowed as he watched Artemis ride Misutzune, who was shaking around violently to throw him off. “Private Recurve!” he called.

“Yes, sir!” Zarola answered, landing next to him.

“I’ll need you to escort Fluttershy when she gets here. Make sure nothing happens to her, understood?”

“Yes, sir!” Zarola replied, turning to watch Artemis. He had yet to pull out his knife. “Huh, that’s strange,” he commented, tilting her head slightly.

“What is it, private?”

“He did something like this when he fought Rathalos, but that time he stabbed it like there was no tomorrow.”

“Really…and he was trying to kill that one, right?”

“Well, yeah, and after a while it staggered long enough for him to strike it with his sword. I don’t know why he’s not trying to stab at this one.”

Iron Sights’s brow furrowed, watching them closely. He saw Mizutsune make several attempts to throw Artemis off. It shook either its head or body violently, depending on which one he clung on to, and occasionally slammed itself against a nearby tree. Not once did it attempt to leave the area with Artemis on his back.

“I think I get it,” Iron Sights muttered. “He’s not trying to beat it. He’s trying to buy us some time and lock her down here. Not bad.”

A loud pop from behind turned their attention away from the fight as Celestia teleported in with Fluttershy next to her. “Hello, captain. Did we miss anything?”

“Mizutsune tried to make an escape. Artemis is currently dealing with it,” Iron Sights reported. He turned to Fluttershy before saying, “You must be Fluttershy. How much did Princess Celestia tell you?”

“Oh, she told me you needed help getting a monster to leave the park,” she answered. She then looked over to see the thrashing monster with Artemis on its head. “Oh, goodness. Is she going to be okay?”

Iron Sights stared incredulously at her before answering. “It’ll be fine. We just need to wait for the fish from the zoo to get here.”

“Oh, okay,” Fluttershy replied as she watched. “Oh my, I hope I’ll be able to do this.”

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy,” Celestia reassured. “I know you're competent.” She then looked over at Artemis and frowned. “Though, I don’t know if Artemis will be able to hold on for much longer.”

Artemis gritted his teeth as he felt his grip loosen a bit. Damn, I’m reaching my limit here. I need to jump off before it throws me off. Besides, I have her attention now. He leapt off the monster’s head and landed safely on his feet. He immediately turned around, sword in hand, just in time to see Mizutsune slithering right at him.

It’s been a while since I fought one of these. Let’s hope I’m not rusty, he silently noted, raising his shield to block a swipe from her tail. He was knocked back a little, but he recovered fast enough to watch her slither back to launch a set of three bubbles at him. He quickly rolled between two of them as he approached her, swinging his sword at her. She retaliated by trying to take a bite out of him, but he managed to dodge her in time.

“Wow, he’s impressive,” Fluttershy commented softly.

“Hmm, he’s actually not as good as I thought he’d be,” Celestia commented.

“I agree,” Iron Sights added. “He’s more concerned with dealing as much damage with each swing instead of maintaining his defense during his attack. If he was fighting any of our better fighters, he’d have a very good chance of losing.”

“Then why is he doing so well against it?” Fluttershy asked.

“My best guess, loads of experience along with any amount of training he’s had. It might not be refined, but it’s obvious he’s been training. He might not be maintaining a traditional defense, but that monsters’ movements are exaggerated enough for him to react by either dodging or using that shield if he has to. Not to mention he’s probably fought so many of these that he’s probably predicting everything she’s about to do. In short, this is basically a fight between something that knows how to throw its weight around and a fighter who’s specifically trained to counter him.”

“So, what you’re saying is… he knows what he’s doing?” Celestia teased.

Iron Sights frowned slightly as he silently watched Artemis run to avoid a beam of water. At this point, he didn’t know what frustrated him more. That Artemis was doing leagues better than what any of his soldiers had managed to do, or that he could have saved himself a lot of trouble by sending Artemis out in the first place.

“Captain Iron Sights!” he heard a stallion yell out. He looked up to see a pair of pegasus guards carrying an ice chest between them. “We got the fish the zoo was able to give us.”

“Alright, stay at the ready!” Iron Sights yelled. “Artemis, the fish has arrived. Keep that monster busy for a little while longer!”

“What do you think I’ve been doing!?” Artemis replied as he avoided Mizutsune’s attack.

Irons Sights turned back towards the guards. “You two! Get those fish to the center of the perimeter! This is the best opportunity you’ll get!”

“Sir!” they yelled before flying towards the center to dump the fish.

With the fish in place, Mizutsune stopped her advance as she began to sniff the air. She turned slowly until her eyes met the pile of fish. In a blink of an eye, she pounced to gorge herself on a much-needed meal.

“Right, this is what we were waiting for,” Zarola said as she moved closer to Fluttershy. “Stay behind me. Don’t know if it’ll attack or not.”

“O-okay,” Fluttershy nervously replied, filing in behind her.

Zarola began to slowly escort Fluttershy toward the feasting monster. Artemis had noticed them when they were about halfway there and filed in beside Zarola. They continued like this until they were a few feet away from the feasting monster.

“Right, it’s now or never, Fluttershy. Just be careful,” Artemis whispered, moving out of her way.

Fluttershy gave him a small nod before taking a few timid steps toward Mizutsune. “Um, excuse me, miss Mizutsune.” Mizutsune turned an eye toward Fluttershy and let out a loud growl. It was a growl she understood all too clearly as her way of telling her to go away. “Oh, I’m really sorry for bothering you, but I really have to talk to you about something. Why are you attacking all these ponies?” she asked, gesturing a hoof towards the guards.

Mizutsune let out a low growl as it stared cautiously at the guards that were still around them. “Oh, I think I get it. You like it here, so you want to defend your new territory. But I’m afraid you can’t claim this as your home.”

A low roar from the monster’s mouth began to put Artemis and Zarola on edge. “I don’t like where this is going, Artemis.”

“Neither do I,” he replied, the grip on his sword tightening. “Just get ready to fight.”

The two remained tense as they watched Fluttershy talk to an advancing Mizutsune. Eventually, Mizutsune started to back off a little and its glare softened before going back to eating its fish. Fluttershy had a satisfied smile as she flew back to them.

“So, what’s going on?” Artemis asked.

“Well, I think the poor thing might have lost its home before it found itself here, which is why she was trying to defend this place so much. I’m pretty sure she was also agitated that she couldn’t really find any fish for awhile.”

“Yeah, that might do it. So what happened after that?”

“Well, once I told her it was possible for me to help her find a home for her to hunt in, she was willing to leave the park. She’ll just have to stay at Sweet Feather Sanctuary for awhile.”

“She won’t cause any problems there, right?”

“Well, she might have some problems with some of the other animals there, but she should be fine if they give her some space.”

“...Yeah, I guess that can work for now,” he said, putting his sword away.

“Excellent!” Fluttershy exclaimed with a smile. “I’ll lead you there as soon as you’re ready to go.” She then flew off to Princess Celestia to tell her the good news, which was soon relayed to everyone else.

As the guards cheered their victory, Artemis and Zarola had opted to just watch Mizutsune as it went back to eating its fish. “I’m glad we figured something out. She’s kinda beautiful when she isn’t trying to kill everypony.”

“Yeah, she is. This is actually my first time seeing a female outside of journals. I usually have to deal with the rampaging males.”

“Really? Huh, that interesting,” There was a small moment of silence between them before Zarola suddenly said. “Most of the monsters you’re going to fight aren’t like her, are they?”

“No, they’re not. Most of them are going to be like Anjanath and Rathalos,” he admitted.

A small cough from behind them caught their attention. They turned around to face Princess Celestia. “Well, I should head over to the train station. I need to tell them to expect a big, fish eating passenger today.” She turned to Artemis before giving him a small bow. “Thank you, Artemis. Your information was most valuable.”

“It was no problem, Princess. Just had to do what I needed to do,” Artemis bowed.

She turned to make her way towards the station. Along the way, she passed by Iron Sights, who was making his way toward Artemis.

“Artemis,” he said, pausing in front of the hunter. “Are you going to continue to stay at Twilight’s Castle?”

“When I’m not on a hunt, yes,” he answered.

“…In that case, I’ll make sure that any monster reports are sent there.” He turned to Zarola. “Private, continue to observe and assist him. Give me full reports on the monsters and Artemis’s tactics. The more information we have, the better our chances will be.” With that, he turned around to direct his troops.

“So, was that his way of saying that he trusts me now?” Artemis asked, taking his helmet off.

“I guess so,” Zarola answered, more questioning than confirming. “Still he has a point. We need information that we’re still lacking. She let out a smirk as she said, “Who knows, I might be able to fight one on my own someday.”

An itching pain in Artemis’s chest began to flare up. “Hey, Zarola,” he said, bringing his hand to his chest to try to relieve the pain. “Don’t be overconfident. It’s ended more careers than anyone would like to count.”

Zarola flinched from the seriousness in his tone. “Hey, I was just kidding around…but I’ll keep that in mind, if that makes you happy,” she said, before she began to walk away.

“You’d better,” he said before muttering. “If you want to stay alive.”

Nights in Equestria were relatively safe under the watchful guard of Princess Luna. Even more so in the smaller villages. One unicorn, however, was not experiencing such a night, as she was chased by an ape-like creature she had never seen before.

She had let the creature approach at first, thinking that it was just an oversized minotaur. But as it got closer and its strut turned into a charge, she realized that it was something more terrifying than any minotaur could ever hope to be. She ran faster than she had ever ran before, not knowing if the creature was gaining on her or not. Then, her house came into view.

She thought she was about to reach salvation, when a sudden ball bounced off the ground in front of her, throwing her back. She tried to get up but stopped as she saw that the ball was the very monster she had been running from. “No. No!” she pleaded as she tried to back away.

The creature stalked over to her until it loomed over her. It reached a big paw towards her, emitting a growl that almost sounded happy. Then, it stopped. It raised its head up towards the sky, taking a few sniffs. It raised itself up on its hind legs, letting out a roar while its fur threatened to turn gold as sparks of electricity came out, before running off into the distance. The frightened mare didn’t hesitate to get up to run home, not planning to leave her home any time soon.