Chp. 0 - Consequence

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"Hello, my name is Akira, you'd probably recognize me from my trilling battle with a Jade Barroth. Well, uh, here's how that went..."

"Are you kidding me!? A Brute Wyvern and subspecies no less!" To say Akira felt the fear of God that day would be an understatement. A very, very big understatement. "Do you have even the slightest thought as to how we felt, well!?"

"I-I did..." Akira murmured, shrinking down into her chair, fiddling with her right-wing between her hooves. "I made sure I was extra prepared, and-and I informed the villagers, n-not to mention my bones are kinda the equivalent of steel so-" A single, lilac eye fused her lips shut.

"I wasn't asking about your preparations, I'm asking you why you thought going off on a quest that you have neither the qualification nor our knowledge was a good idea?" Yui growled between her teeth, pointing her only wing at her daughter. "I've seen and felt what a normal Barroth can do you a person, even without steel-like bones, you could've died! You nearly did!"

By now, Akira's emotions were starting to overwrite her commonsense, her ears flat against her head. "...you guys never needed permission..." Her words hidden by her breath had Yui stop pacing to stare at Akira with a calm look over her once furious glare.

"What?" Yui asked before Akira's muzzle twisted back into a frown.

"You fought a freakin' Elder Dragon - hell, Four of them around my age! I don't remember you ever saying anything about 'permission' this and 'qualification' that! So what makes me different!?" Akira yelled back, jumping off the chair to turn and stomp through the house toward the stairs. "I know I'm not exactly normal, but I'm not made of glass!"

"That's not what I-" Yui was cut short again.

"I'm sorry, alright! But I'm not going to sit around as some... assholes brush off a poor village's plea for aid! If anything, they don't deserve to be Hunters at all!" The young bat pony screamed.

"Akira-"

"I'll be in my room, since I can't leave my own house, right!?" Akira grunted, face boiling red as a few seconds passed and a door slammed shut.

When the house became deathly quiet, Yui rubbed her forehead with her wing, falling back onto the sofa with a heavy breath. "I really suck at this,"

"Yeah... I can't lie to you, that went about as I expected... well, less property damage," Zen, who had been standing off to the side in the corner didn't sugarcoat the issue, hearing his partner groan into her hooves. "Plus, she has a point, no one took up that request but her, even if against the rules."

"So, you think it was fine for her to go in alone too?" Yui glowered before her face fell into a worried state, Zen hopping over the sofa to sit next to her.

"No, not really, actually, that's pretty dumb," Zen replied simply.

Yui leaned back into his side, staring up at the ceiling with one eye visible, her aura was bouncing around with various emotions, none of which could stabilize as Zen put his arm around her back, hand to her stomach. "Did I ever mention how great you are at giving supportive advice?" Sarcasm was definitely among the pool.

The Lucario gave a breathy laugh, "Oh, definitely; you both are right and wrong, and it would take me forever to explain why so I'll keep it brief," He rested his head atop hers, enjoying the warmth of her body. "She's still learning, like us, but our situation was different back then. I had to learn as fast as I could against odds that nearly killed me time and again, but I had people to rely on when I stumbled, Akira doesn't have that... yet,"

"We can teach her but what's right and wrong can only come naturally with experience, she'll make mistakes, she'll fail, and she needs to understand that," Zen explained calmly to the bat pony in his arms. "That's why I followed her so that her mistakes don't result in being her last, so now, we teach her, and when she charges headfirst into hell..."

"She'll be okay," Yui finished with a tiny smile, nuzzling his chin. "She probably won't look at me for days now..."

"Let her mull it over," He replied, kissing the top of her head. "She won't end up like you were, I promise." In saying that, Yui's breath came out shakily, sinking further into his embrace to quell her worries.

Unbeknownst to them, Akira had carefully shut her window, now sitting against her bedroom door with her wings around her body, wiping the tears from her eyes. Her turmoil left her feeling ill, sad, guilty, and many other things she couldn't exactly process. Picking herself up, she just dragged her still sore body toward her bed, throwing the covers over her body, staring off at the darkness surrounding her. Slowly, her eyes grew heavy, but a faint smile had pulled back her frown.

She'd apologize tomorrow.

To Be Continued...

Chp. 1 - Culture of Danger

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A very, very, veeeery long time ago, when Equestria's unity was a rare sight to behold existed a kingdom expunged from this division.

The towers pierced the clouds, its streets ran like veins across the land, a wall built with the strongest of brick, marred by battle but unshakable. And the colours, emerald green and snow-white were flown with pride far and wide.

Its people thrived from various cultures, not a weapon was drawn on neighbours, as infighting would surely lead to the pearl-white kingdom's downfall as with so many left in ruins. Their king, like others before him, saw the good in everypony, but mistaking his kindness for ignorance was only a fool's mistake.

One day, a great beast battered this kingdom's walls, it spat winter and fought with the grace of a swordspony, its very scales hardened like magma, glistening with rime. Every breath bringing the strength of a snowstorm with it.

However, a creature unlike any in history had followed this beast, driving it back for another day. This saviour too was weak from battle yet ultimately saved the kingdom from a most terrifying winter.

From that day, the one they called 'Hunter' slew many great monsters that invaded their lands, teaching the kingdom and its people how to combat such foes not with fear but with courage, a thrill toward the danger brought by these monsters. Soon, the residents looked at these horrors not with anxiety but with cheers, a drive to learn and to stand against adversity.

But... there are some forces courage alone cannot simply smother. Some monsters... are more than their name.

One day, the sun did not rise. Black clouds consumed the big blue sky in a suffocating ceiling of ash. The walls left toppled, towers severed at the spine by a black blade that swept rock and debris across the kingdom like meteors. Powerful winds were swept by gigantic wings that thundered with every thrash. Deep within a furnace, great tsunamis of flames buried the streets in molten flames, reducing all to blackened rock and soot. When this calamity landed it shook the earth apart, towering above any and all that were unfortunate enough to meet eyes that held no shred of empathy; chronic spite that ran deep.

This Great Calamity.

A Black Dragon.

Fatalis.

When the sun rose, the kingdom was no more.

"Is that it?" Under the covers of a black blanket dotted with purple stars, two large, amethyst eyes watched the storyteller, one fluffy, pointy ear folded down in confusion. "But, if the kingdom was wiped out then... why is there a story?"

Zen smiled, rolling his eyes to the side. "Well... often times there's always someone to pass down a story, then that becomes a myth, then a legend, and in worse cases a faded memory," He tapped the cover with a claw. "Your Mom had spent months trying to decipher anything that correlated with this story but nothing ever came up, I thought the world of Monsters only ever arrived with me but I've learned my judgment sucks."

The little filly giggled at his faux deadpan as his paw ruffled her mane. "Did you ever fight the Black Dragon?"

The Lucario's paw paused, reflecting on his memories of Equestria or further, then shrugged, rubbing his nose. "Huh, I guess I haven't! I kinda... missed out on facing one, whoops." He stuck his tongue out.

The filly sat up taller, displaying a wide smile with two little fangs poking out. "Then I'll find one and kick its butt! I'll beat one before you!"

He laughed a little, stroking her unruly mane while picking up the fallen stuffed animal of his most hated enemy, a Ratholos, and placed it in her hooves before leaning closer so that their muzzles nearly touched. Zen then gave the filly a serious look that surprised her. "Black Dragons are more than just another monster; Fatalis is nothing to joke about," Slowly, his smile returned, booping the filly's nose. "But that won't stop us, will it?"

"Never!" She squealed before yawning, slumping back onto the bed. "I'll find the kingdom *yawn*... and kick its butt..." She murmured, eyes growing heavy.

"Not alone you won't; you just gotta find who to trust," As her eyes closed with a soft snore, Zen leaned down and kissed her forehead. "You seriously scare me with those thoughts of yours... sleep well, sweetie."

"...night..." Her voice whispered, snuggling closer to the stuffed animal.

<><><>--[Monster Hunter Dragonhearted]--<><><>

Several Years Later...

"One, two - hyah!" I felt my hooves jitter a little under the strain.

My home was the humble beginnings of many colourful ponies from across Equestria, Ponyville, though that's a given since it was the origin of the creator of the Guild that now operates around the continent. This Hunter had braved the darkest and most dangerous monsters known to the Guild, and their reputation soared into legend and continues to this day without rest. Anyone who came or grew up in Ponyville dreamt of becoming a Hunter, and some were dedicated enough to achieve that dream.

My hooves came down heavy with an axe, dividing my twentieth log in two without much effort, but my body was strained yet my muscles refused to give in to the burning sensation, perks of my... odd biology I suppose, I had come to feel accustomed to the heat like I was a Ratholos, fueled by the fire in my bones. The sun was bright and cast an emerald sheen down through the trees, and the hustle and bustle of the town down the hill only enraptured me further in the ambience.

Oh, and one more thing, this was still part of my 'punishment' after I technically snuck out for a few days to... slay a Brute Wyvern.

The large crown ejected a puff of steam before barreling down toward me, without conscious thought I screamed out the only word I could, "Yeet!" I threw myself into the snow, the boulder smashed to pieces in an instant while I scrambled to my hooves, wings flapping once to throw me back onto all fours. "Okay-okay, happy thoughts, Akira, you have - Ahh!"

Spinning into the air I gasped as the tail sailed around, cracking me across the hip, cutting off my flight in seconds.

I sweatdropped, "Not my finest moment..." Sighing while pushing my bangs back I flicked the last split logs onto a pile. "There, all done - which means..." Drumroll as I felt my face lift a little. "I'm free~!"

Each day was the same, I'd wake up, eat, limber up then immediately stuck my nose into yardwork, either chopping logs, cleaning or collecting materials and plants others requested, it paid at times and added to my wealth of knowledge, I was sort of like a researcher though I know their level of intelligence far eclipses my own. Ever had an argument over logistics concerning a hunting party with them? Believe me, it isn't worth it.

Through blood, sweat, tears, and possible loss of feeling in my legs, I'd become an amazing Hunter just like my parents, then maybe I could fight beside them too... instead of just being some errand pony. Strolling over the pail of water. Diving headfirst into the refreshing spring water, I pulled my head back and dried my charcoal mane, staring at my lilac stripe and bemused amethyst eyes. "You sure look like you're excited that your imprisonment is over, Akira."

Trotting over to my backpack I flicked it between my wings with ease, adjusting its weight before tucking my dark brown hood over my shoulders, the hem highlighted lime green with an inverted arrow stitched into the hood down the back were it ended in a point. Lastly, I fastened the star-shaped forest green coral necklace around my neck. Checking I had everything, I knew what I had to do today, no matter what. Nodding to myself, I took off with gusto down the road.

I passed by a few homes, waving to some of my neighbours as I offered one middle-aged mare, Leafy, a pouch from my bag filled with a sweet-smelling plant from the edge of the Everfree, ensuring I only gathered the freshest bunch to last longer. The forest greenette bowed graciously. "Thank you, deary, I can always count on you like your father."

I hummed a chuckle bashful. "Don't let him hear that when he's in town, he'll get all pouty again - it's actually really cute." My Dad had a peculiar personality, to say the least, and that's coming from me. She and I chuckled at that, herself waving back to me as I continued on my merry way

Not long after making a few stops to deliver more assorted herbs I gathered, I arrived near the centre of the Ponyville, stretching my wings as I entered a merchant shop. Stepping through a thick cover, I came to be greeted by a bazaar of items, provisional tools, and even a few hunting knives and tinderboxes. It was dimly lit due to the only window stretching the morning light through the pane.

"Ah, there ye' are lass! Be'n expectin' ya." The thick accent of the rounded earth pony came before the counter belonging to Broker. His bushy black beard with a curly mane matched his onyx eyes with quite the intimidating presence at first, plus he does have the tendency to lose his inside voice. Despite his towering figure he was a kind-hearted merchant, and with quite the stories under his hooves.

"Got your order, took the better part of a day but it's the best quality I could find." I broke into the agreement we had. Taking in my appearance with a nod I sat my bag onto the counter, using my wings to pull a heavy bound collection of silver bark. He took one in his hoof to inspect its quality first-hoof. "Ran into a few Jaggis too, lizards nearly nicked my axe!" I hadn't an issue with small monsters, in fact, it's how I trained some days when Mom and Dad weren't around.

"Aye lass, some fine skill ye' hav', always is," Broker chuckle boisterously, pulling out with a gloved hoof a large sack of Bits. "Be 'bout 150 Bits?"

I held an inquisitive brow, "That was more than the contract..." "You sure?" He raised his hoof to me, shaking his head sternly while passing over the large sack that clanked similarly to metal.

"Take it, lass, you've more t'an earned 'em - need all the coin for tha' hunter job, eh?" Patting my back heartily he made his way around the back and started to sort his new stock with a smile.

Deciding best not to argue, my wings tossed my bag over one another, smiling happily as I made my way out and across the square. Like every day, locale hunters gathered by the Guild Postmaster, taking on quests at a notice board outside the Postmaster, the same place I needed to go if I wanted to sign up for the initiation in a week. Outside, some of the hunters appeared to be new, judging by the bronze crest on their breastplates.

As I approached the thick oak doors, they burst open with a roar of laughter from the hunting party that stepped between me, spinning me around slightly from the sudden shock as I stumbled in backwards, shaking my head until my eyes stopped spinning. "Everything is wobbly, hehe-"

*Bam*

"Ah!" Like an idiot, I bumped right into someone else, my track record is as stellar as always. "Oh, you..." Oh, just got worse.

Swivelling around, my nervous smile met an equally bemused glare of blue eyes. The unicorn's coat was a pale white with an amethyst cutie mark to boot; her mane was dark brown and chin-length with a ponytail - pun - pulling the front bangs out of her face. Of all ponies in Equestria, the universe had me confront one of the handfuls that hated me. "Universe, why do you forsake me?" Waving a wing I slurred my words. "Heeey, Myst... lovely day to sign up for the hunter's trial, huh? Hehehe..."

Her frown never once shifted, tucking away a book into her saddlebags. "It's just paperwork, don't get your wings in a twist," She didn't hesitate to push past me, tail flicking sharply in distaste.

I tapped her lower back to stop her, rubbing my nape awkwardly. "Look, I, um, about the whole 'training incident', a-and the 'paint incident' before that, I-" Her magic lit dark purple, clenching my lips shut with a fire in her eyes while lowering her voice to a hiss so no one heard us.

"That. Never. Happened," She released her magic, "All you ever do is cause trouble, and so far, I'm on the receiving end, so for everyponies' sake, don't bother showing up," Like all days we met eye to eye, her words stung like a needle to my chest. I really didn't mean to always cause chaos around her, heck, I think I'm cursed around everyone that hates me to do something stupid. But that... that hurt.

"I..." Before I could get a word in, she had already left me high and dry, my hoof falling to the floorboards. Sighing slowly, I shook off that aura of woe and turned to continue with why I was here. A few hurtful words won't stop me.

At the counter decorated with colourful banners marking the various sectors of the Guild, mainly blue and silver, red and gold, green and gold, lastly yellow and silver. A Guild Mare sat there with a pleasant smile on her muzzle, eyes behind glasses scanning her tome as I tapped the desk lightly to draw her eyes up. She brushed her bangs back, setting the book down. "Oh, hello, may I help - ah," Her smile widened gleefully. "Finally set free, are we, miss Amadeus?"

I waved my hoof anxiously, "A-Akira's fine, Miss Lily, ahem, but yeah, home free... or just free I guess," Clearing my throat, I quickly pulled out both a small fee of 100 Bits and a scroll with my personal details. "I'm ready to sign up for the trial," In my head, I was practically praying this would work, the minimum age was sixteen, surprise, I only turned that age just recently after my expedition against the Jade Barroth, so I was skating on thin ice.

She studied the scroll and sack of Bits before dragging them closer, and her friendly expression became a little more serious, "Okay... fee is paid, personal information..." She tapped the desk, brow raised. "And signatures from your parents' due to-"

"-my age, yep, written here," I plopped another folded page onto the desk with my wing, rolling my eyes. "Imprisonment in one's house can offer many opportunities for persuasive conversations,"

"I see," She tried to hide her mirth, taking the items to the left side of her desk behind the post for later. "Now, read this furrowly before signing," She shuffled a clipboard and quill toward me.

It was filled with your standard protocol, safety warnings, etc. etc. Dad said it usually wouldn't be this tedious but when you have someone like Princess Twilight funding a significant portion of the Guild it meant a few alterations were needed to paperwork. "Done," I just skimmed it, pushing the signed document back with glee. "Soooo?"

Lily smiled, nodding, "You have a week to prepare, in a few days somepony will send you a letter with all the conditions required to attend the trial, okay?" Then she leaned forward to whisper. "Go show those snobby brats how it's done," Her encouraging wink made me blush a little, saluting in turn.

"Will do, thanks so much!" I spun around, leaving with haste with a hoof thrown to the sky as I glided forward. "Hahaha, I'm gonna be a Hunter, and ain't nothing gonna stop me! Woohoo~!" The stares I received were brushed aside, my body was all abuzz. I spent years dreaming of this and now I had my real chance to make it official. I got a date, and his/her name is 'Monster Hunter'! Pretty weird name but then there's mine.

*Bam!*

"Ngh," I don't what or where, only that something struck my nape alongside a laugh in the background. Shrugging I continued on my stroll, I had a good idea but best not to dig into that wasp nest.

This happened regularly back in school, when the topic of our future lifestyles, mine had never once faltered, primarily because no one ever cared, with my background... things weren't easy. So I was left behind by those seeking the dream of a Hunter, and when I ever brought it up it was met with a harsh backlash that left me well isolated from others, mockery and tricks were all pinned to me, and I just grit and bared it.

Two, in particular, came to the forefront of those times. "Hey there, Aki, how's it been?"

I hate that nickname; I didn't speak, keeping a poker face and my head forward. "Maybe if I ignore him, he'll magically disappear? Nah, not even a Kushla Daora can carry his ego."

My body swung round to face the two, very green, wannabe hunters, around the age of eighteen. The large ego front and centre belonged to Silver Ash. He was like his father, only that man was quite the comedian for a hunter, so Silver followed down that same path, though the jokes... aren't hereditary. Silver was also pretty handsome, I can't recount the number of whispers I hear from girls in our old class, into our teens the whispers were... less than desirable to hear. If he wasn't such an ass...

His coat was an aforementioned silver colour with jet black hair spiked backwards to reveal a red streak down the middle, same for his tail. A cutie mark depicting a flame atop a pile of ash. Those sardonic red eyes were leeching at my body like always, ugh. Being an earth pony he was bigger than me too, about a three-inch height difference. If there was an Elder Dragon that used ego as a weapon, Silver would trample it.

Behind him with a mocking sneer was his... friend? Puppet? Lackey... I'm gonna say lackey, Blue Moon. Unlike Silver, Blue was a little less muscular but not fat, surprisingly. Sporting a long, aquamarine mane with silver eyes, Blue's greatest weapon by far was his thick head, I mean seriously you could weld that forehead of his with a stick and claim it was a hammer. A unicorn with blue fur and a cutie mark of a pale moon crescent.

With a casual smile and wave, Silver waited for my response, but I could tell immediately he wasn't here to chat, not even his aura could hide from my dull gaze. "What do you want now, Silver?" Keep it casual Akira, you can do it, you feel great, You. Can. Do. This!

Silver shrugged as he paced slowly in circles around me. "Heard you're trying for the examination in a week, I hear right?" Oh no, I can't do this.

I replied, "Sure, I am, nothing's really changed in terms of my goals."

That brought a laugh out of him, with Blue joining in the condescending mockery after a sharp look from his boss. Pinching my nose for a second, just as he came to stop before me I had to ask. "Alright, what's the joke here?"

"Nothing! Nothing, jeez you're tense about the subject," He huffed, looking directly at me. "Considering Ponyville has a lot of promising candidates lately I was certain you'd have just set aside this goal, or at the very least, they'd decline your request." He frowned a little. "I'd be disheartened if a newbie were to choke and die to something as simple as a Great Jaggi."

His mocked grin tore across his face again. "I'd feel worse if I had to be the one to tell, Miss Yui about losing her daughter due to another one of her 'accidents'."

Inhale... Exhale. My wings quivered against my sides. I had to resist showing any sign of weakness for Silver to exploit. Think of Mom and Dad, how they persevered through stuff like this, you can do the same, just bury it and move on.

Breathing heavily out my nose I kept my grin. "Well, if that's all you have to say then I suppose I'll be off then, got requests to fulfil and all that, something you'd surely understand the importance of, right, Master Hunter?" I gave a wink and took my leave.

Regrettably, I heard Silver laugh. "Oh hoho! Didcha hear that, Blue, the widdle vampire that froze up in front of a wyvern is trying to be big and strong!" My hooves froze, everything came to a sudden halt. "Face it, don't bother showing your face at that examination, you're better off jumping off a cliff, At least then you'll be useful to the world as compost!" That sneer of his, how those contracted pupils held no shred of dignity at all...!

"Where does he get off saying things like that? What right mind would tell someone to... off themselves?" My heart raced, boiling my blood with a fury I had built out of all the years of ridicule I had to grit and bear as to not stress Mom and Dad, this wasn't their problem to worry over.

I buried it with a trembling hitch in my throat, "I don't care what you think of me or my goals," I glanced back for an instance to send a deathly glare at the pair. "But don't ever insult my Mom again," Snapping my head forward, I left with increasing haste, unfurling my wings.

"Here it comes-" In that instance, everything went fuzzy and spun without a moment to think or breathe. I heard laughter explode from above as I coughed, shaking my head as I noted my body was on the ground from how Silver threw me. Right now, I didn't so much as wince at the fall. A tiny grin split my lips, I've taken worse before, courtesy of training and a scary wyvern tossing ice at me.

"Check it out, Silver, I think you struck a nerve!" Blue bellowed.

The pretty stallion sneered at me, beckoning me to try again. I did, keeping low this time as I curved my right hoof for that chiselled jawline, a dark purple aura swirling around my fur. "Night Sla-"

No... this wasn't the right time to settle this.

"You've always been pathetic, this is just sad." He stepped away from my hoof, kicking up with his back legs as it connected with my forelegs, the metal boots dug into my legs, knocking me onto my side. "You still think you're better than me?"

I winced, feeling weight press my lower body as a solid punch slapped across my face, followed by another fist to my left cheek, the feeling of blood dripping from my mouth made my nose twitch. "Don't ever forget what you are, runt!" His hoof slammed into my chest, pulling me to my hooves to throw me up against the wall of a house, my cough caught in my throat. "You're a weakling!"

Another sharp kick to my chest and I was left hunched against the wall, spitting up blood that I accurately spat against his plated boot. With a weak smile, I closed one eye and locked the other. "S-Says... th-the horse wearing a-a skirt." His armour was so tacky for plate mail.

*ROOOOAR!*

He was reeling back for another punch to the head until something pierced our eardrums.

"Uh, Silver, what was that?" Blue blinked, rubbing his ears as I felt Silver's leg loosen for me to used Quick Attack and zip straight out of that confrontation, spreading my wings to fly over the rooftops, sliding onto the thatch with a heavy pant.

"A Monster?" I wheezed, cleaning the blood off my cheek to focus on the source of the roar and the distant commotion. My bruises could wait. Closing my eyes, I felt the world blacken with strange, firey silhouettes of life permeating the dark obstructions surrounding my aura. "There," Opening my eyes toward the east, I felt the largest concentration of aura pooling around there. Stretching my wings, I sniffed once. "Gotta admit, acting is a lot harder under pressure," Not that Silver would know. With that, I took flight.

When I finally found the sight of the commotion, following the dust kicked up in the panic, a sudden wave of sickness washed over my chest, a fit of indirect anger spilling from an open wound. Flying down to the edge of the rooftops facing the dust cloud, I saw something long and scaly sweep the dust, tossing everything from carts to vases through the street in its rage. I didn't have my weapons but I could improvise until a local Hunter got here. But what was causing this havoc?

A high-pitched cry and a sweep of the tail dispelled the plume for me to see the bipedal creature hunch over in a threatening stance. Its distinctive feature is its frill and the lavender scales with the crimson and tangerine overrides on the frills and the abdomen part, but also the furs that grow on its neck and along the back down to the middle tip of the tail. The muzzle, in particular, was tin and wrinkled, the tail sporting barbs on the sides. A Great Jaggi.

"How did it get this far into town?" I murmured.

Suddenly, I yelped as my wings flung me toward the ground as I hovered, the shattered vase clattering off the roof as the bird wyvern met my eyes, snarling as it smacked the ground with its tail. I felt my muscles tense briefly, this feeling of dread in my chest, and that shiver, a part of me felt like I was back in the snow, facing the impending, rime-coated skull seconds from crushing my body. I shook my head, that was behind me, I had to focus on what was in front of... where did he go?

"Yah!" Diving again, the Jaggi's claws scratched the dirt until my back right hoof smacked it across the snout only for the tail to wrap around in an attempt to swat me so I did a backflip, tapping my back legs off the ground with a large span of my wings to lift me backwards. "Wanna play rough? Fine by me - Dark Pulse!" Condensing my anger from those jerks into my attack, a purple cloud smothered the wyvern's head, inflicting a sharp knockback as it clawed at the ground to steady itself for my hooves to smash a vase off its face, the Jaggi growling as I flew by.

It shook its head, and if not for aura I'd have nearly been gutted for all of Ponyville to see, not a great way to go. Gliding back, the Great Jaggi stalked me constantly down the street, attempting to dive and tackle me from the sky as I kept on the defensive. I can do this! "Focus..." Closing my eyes I flew over its jaws, pressing my hooves against the scalp and over the tail, drawing my right hoof back as warmth flooded the limb. "Night Slash!" The magenta blade stuck out of my hoof as I spun down for a vertical thrust.

*Ching!*

My eyes widened when it... blocked it with a claw!? The large wyvern growled before it spun around, smacking me across the side and into a nearby wall, my body slumping to the dirt with a whine. Again, my backpack took the hit for me but that still stung. Rubbing my flank, I gasped as the talons sunk into the wall, effectively pinning me in place. Not to be outdone, I tried to do what my Dad would, focusing my aura around my hooves. I had an aura, I can do this! Just one spark!

The Great Jaggi brought its jaws low, stretching them until something metallic caught in its teeth, making it flinch. "Alright, I think you've toyed with her long enough, whaddya say?" I couldn't believe it! Staring up at the arm caught in its maw, it simply dragged and yanked the Jaggi's face away from me, greeting with by a solid left cross to the cheek that split a fang from its gums, knocking the beast down. "Tch-Tch-Tch, you're just as reckless as Wolfboy."

Still processing all of this. A beautiful woman, what's called a 'human' stood between me and the Great Jaggi. Her armour was midnight black, crafted with care and consideration with Nargacuga materials say for the whitish-pink bow tied around her waist, the same fabric wrapped around the gauntlets. The light breeze drawing back her snow-white hair with two ponytails under a raven helmet, but her scarlet eyes burned with jubilation and focus. "Godmother Ren?" Processing...

The woman smiled back at me, drawing out her matching longsword to her side. "Long time no see, kid, you've gotten half an inch taller!" Wow, she is really sharp. Then the monster howled at us, forcing Ren to raise a finger. "Erm, pin to that - by the by, good work on keeping it busy, I'll take care of the rest." Giving a little salute, she widened her stance, keeping her large weapon close to her right hip.

Just by her aura, the serious tranquillity billowing around Ren was unlike the previous chaos roaming the streets, her very attitude changed in the blink of an eye. Her legs bent forward the second the Great Jaggi rushed her, claws flailing. In a silver crescent, the blade carved through the side of the wyvern, dropping it onto its knees while it scrambled to turn and rush the hunter. "Sorry," Ren smiled, twisting to hold her weapon in its sheave, moving it down toward her hip. "You're too slow."

Her longsword released a flash of cherry light, leaving a red afterimage of the blade's path through the air, piercing the Jaggi while her heels caught the dirt beside my slack-jawed expression. When the red glint faded, the recoil struck the wyvern, forcing out a final cry as it shivered and collapsed into a curled state. Still as a mouse. "In only two hits!?" How... can anyone be this freakin' cool!?

The commotion was silenced as Ren sheaved her sword, adjusting the scabbard over her right shoulder again while turning to greet my face with a cheeky grin, the ponies already cheering for the hunter. I just smiled dumbly back, feeling my back slump against the wall. That was the true face of a hunter, calm and collected, but smiling through the danger.

I closed my eyes, paling a little. "Though I could do without the cheesy one-liners."

"Ow,"

"Oh, it's not that bad you big baby," Ren dabbed more rubbing alcohol onto the corner of my lip, cleaning the small wound courtesy of Silver. "How did he even break the skin, you're body's as durable as Wolfboy's?"

After moving my jaw around to stem the stinging I replied. "Hey, I had to make it seem like I was hurt, I struck my own face, wasn't pleasant either but - 'she's the dangerous one that attacked me', so I played dumb," My impression made her laugh loudly on the bench, slapping her knee, that brought back my smile.

"Don't ever change, Kira," Ren ruffled my mane, staring around at the hunters clearing the corpse of the Great Jaggi onto a cart. "Signed up for the trial next week?" There it is...

"Yeah," I kept it short, staring ahead.

Ren's presence was swaying like the tide so it made it hard to pinpoint how she was feeling beneath the surface. "And you risked it all by going after a Brute Wyvern faaar from home, why?" She trailed, seeing me slump.

"...I wanted to prove I could do this," My voice was much lower, staring at my hooves. "Not just to Mom and Dad, but to myself - I had to know I could face something so much stronger than me and come out on top, control my fear when it mattered; I get it, I worried them, and no one will know what I did aside from a few but I'm okay with that, I-I just..." It was really hard to put into words how I felt. Maybe because of my bullies? The ridicule? Selfishness? I'm not sure. "But most of all?" Her head turned to me, my hoof rubbing the coral necklace. "I wanted to help people who can't do what I can."

Ren stared at me for the longest time, never losing her earnest gaze as a small smile returned, resting her hand on my shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up about it; yeah, you messed up but what did you learn?"

Considering my answer, I spoke up, "...that I've got a lot more to learn, and... that it's okay to be afraid because it keeps you alive,"

She nodded, "Good, you've learned the basics of not dying, congrats," She giggled at my pout. Ren then proceeded to point at the hunter ponies discussing what to do with the wyvern body. "See those ponies, you know what they have that you don't?"

"Awesome armour and weapons?" Her fingers flicked my forehead sharply. "Ow..."

"Aside from that - I'm much sexier - what is it about them that stands out," Inspecting them as my Godmother instructed. Nothing stood out, they had excellent equipment, a few scars were visible, they seemed to be excited, chatting and laughing with one another. The energy circulating them was a mixture of excitement and tension.

"They're happy?" My head tilted, tapping off Ren's arm.

"Bingo," She agreed, "They can smile because they have each other, those that share a common dream, be it money, glory, or simply the thrill of the hunt; they work together to accomplish things a pony or creature alone can't."

"Ooooh!" Looking back at the Postmaster, a lot of the hunters there were in groups of two to four; from ponies to griffons, animal companions, even a small drake. It was a common interest that made them a team. My ears flattened with a disheartened breath. "Too bad I don't really have any friends in Ponyville then,"

Her finger flicked me again, scarlet eyes cast to the sky. "You'll find your place, believe me, this world and the Old World are teeming with unexpected discoveries."

Before I could comment, my Godmother stood up, dusting off her thighs with a knuckle against her hip. "I gotta see to this monster's tracks, ensure none of the smaller Jaggi follow, but lemme leave you with a question next time we meet, 'kay?"

Nodding eagerly, Ren again giggled and petted my head, it was really, distractingly soothing. "Hit me - not literally." I flinched as she jokingly held up a fist.

"Right, my question; What is the essence of a Hunter?" The way she phrased it made it sound as though it were a common thing she'd ask but her finger pressed to my lips. "Ah-ah, next time, kid, byyyye." With a short wave, Ren departed for the cart, effortlessly towing the monster away with one hand, slack-jawing half the hunters present at her blasé action.

Shaking my head with a giggle, I rubbed my chin, "'What is the essence of a Hunter'?" My eyes deadpanned. "Why is it always riddles?"

Looking up at the midday sun, I had seven days to prepare; both my answer and my equipment for the next hurdle. Well, no one ever said becoming a true hunter would be easy, right?

[No POV]

Shrouded by a dark grove, the floor of the thick jungle was swamped by a blackening mist, a large shadow shuffling through the shadows as its jaw jittered, releasing more pitch-black vapour onto the ground as it stalked the woods, growling an inhuman tone that shook the trees.

I had no idea what would be waiting for me in those seven days...

To Be Continued...

Chp. 2 - The Hunter's Trial

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My home was dead quiet, every floorboard creaking as I pushed the door open. I had my iron sword and buckler strapped to my sides with my wings folded over them, the rucksack too filled with an assortment of tools I was allowed to bring with me aside from other necessities for the trip. Following the requirements, I wore a freshly bought set of hard-boiled leather armour, primarily to cover my legs, torso, and head though my hood covered it while I took a final look at the silent house with a sad smile.

This may be the last time for a while I'll be here, "Okay, you're the man of the house, Rath, counting on you - and no late-night parties," My determined eyes met the little plush of Ratholos I kept since I was a filly, the inanimate object sat with the photos of my family. Giving him a wave, I closed the door behind me. When the locks clicked my breath exhaled shakily, and my right-wing wrapped around my necklace. "When you guys get back, I can't wait to tell you about my trial, it'll be awesome."

My lucky charm was secure, I stepped forth on my journey alone.

The train to the golden kingdom of Canterlot took an hour but was certainly... uneventful, aside from the commotion from the numerous ponies who joined me on the same quest toward the Guild Trial held today. Absolutely nothing detailing 'what' we were to do was listed in the letter, only that we were to bring only the basics. Weaponry, armour, carving knife, whetstones, and other provisions. I spent most of my time digging into my hunter's notes.

Canterlot wasn't known for dangerous monsters outside its walls aside from those that resided within the many forests or atop the mountainous highlands. It wasn't packed with notes yet, but I was more than ready with tips and tricks to help in the field. Most of my fieldwork came from that Jade Barroth so I had a good general notion of what to expect depending on the contents of the Trial. The question was, would it be enough to pass?

The train whistled to a stop, allowing us to exit and proceed to the meet-up point outside the southern side of Canterlot, near the great forest known as the Forgotten Oak, a roofed forest crawling with an abundance of life and mysteries. Once off, I did my best to avoid running into ponies that didn't think kindly of me by flying ahead to a small park fountain just outside the station where a familiar aura tickled my own. My smile grew as I landed with haste.

"Argo!" I cooed, wrapping my hooves around the frowning unicorn stallion with a peachy coat and silver-white mane and tail sticking out at odd angles, revealing a set of smooth, reddish-orange eyes, his cutie mark obscured by his own leather barding akin to mine say for the pair of greenish-blue bracers attached to his forelegs, forged from a wyvern's thick scales in a jagged formation. "It's been forever!"

"We met like a month ago when you asked me to cover for your 'quest'," He flipped his hooves for air quotes as I recoiled with a bashful grin, copying him with my wings.

"My 'quest' worked out in the end, water under the bridge!" I shifted quickly to his side, following him. "I'm glad you're here." My sincere response made his held breath release, his frown lighter, he was happy he just doesn't show it.

"Ditto, though you know fine rightly it's because your sense of direction is terrible without that 'trick' of yours," He watched me trip and stumble while we walked, turning to face the road. "It amazes me you're still alive."

"Hey, I am too good at directions, thank you!" Huffing, I wanted to cross my hooves but didn't, brushing my bangs back. "Soooo... any clues-"

"Nothing," He revealed, waving a hoof toward the opposite end of the street where a certain silver-haired nuisance had a crowd of hungry mares stalking him. "My mom wouldn't be so careless to let me obtain an advantage, she's sharp,"

"And your head?" My tone shifted a little, seeing a strange haze of colours swirling around Argo, though his pleasant eyes reassured me he was okay, I still wanted to hear him say it.

"I have had fewer issues, thank you," His monotone response would make anyone worry but if he said so then it wasn't an issue. "I will be your collaborator as usual?"

My hoof bumped his shoulder. "Put the two of us together and we're unstoppable, count on me we'll pass this test."

"In that, I have no doubts." He mirrored my gesture.

Outside Canterlot's exterior walls we entered a large meadow that stretched in every direction that didn't lead toward a cliff. Down a particular dirt road, our hooves stepped under a redwood archway with a small picket fence bordering the encampment. Tents were erected and labelled with various unlit lanterns spaced apart by a cobblestone pathway splintering toward the tents and erected watchtowers facing a most ominous entrance to a dark forest. The second archway leading deep into the woodland forest ahead, the morning sunlight unable to break the treeline with various brambles and thorns snaking out from the darkness.

I and Argo glanced at one another for an answer until we noticed most non-hunters were converging nearest the forest entrance. "I guess follow the crowd?" I shrugged.

"You following the crowd? This world may end," That earned him a light jab as we stayed near the back, the various species, though the majority were ponies, stood in groups formed on the spot or awaited instructions alone.

"Attention Everypony!" Standing atop a small wooden stage to address us was an official of the Guild.

His body was concealed in a thick suit of armour. Sharp quills sprouting from his shoulders, gauntlets, thighs and combat waistcoat. A long yellow and red fabric from his groin, under his belt and up toward his collar bone. His helmet was a black dome with a sharp, teeth lining, those same quills protruding from the ponytail. While on his back was a massive green scabbard with the same quills, the surface looked like scales.

"You have all come here to test your worth, and to become official members of the Hunter's Guild, an expanding profession that puts you on the frontlines against dangerous monsters and the research and preservation of various ecologies they reside in," He slammed his hoof once. "We are not exterminators, we exist to keep a steady balance between our races and the world of monsters, refrain from confusing the two!"

After a steady pause for most to nod in agreement and murmur, his hoof rose to gesture toward the Forgotten Oak. "Your trial will start now, and last until the sunrise tomorrow, you are not permitted to leave the forest until that time unless your life is in jeopardy," The Veteran Hunter paced slowly. "You will be given four medicinal potions and four rations but that is it, for the remainder of your time you must use your skills, cooperation, and wit in order to survive in these woods teeming with monsters,"

I blinked, so this was our test, a matter of survival in the wild with only the bare essentials on us. The Hunter continued. "You have several objects to fulfil, completion of such activities will better your final score; Camp set-up, crafting, research on wildlife and plant life, and of course, the slaying or capture of wyverns if you can." His tone shifted as though to challenge the crowd.

Stepping toward the edge of the stage, he eyed the crowd, myself included from behind his helmet, the waves of energy I received gave off similar impressions of my Godmother, a wave of confidence and tranquillity yet a sharp understanding of his surroundings. Raising a hoof to the sky, he cleared his voice. "If any feel they may not be suited for the task at hoof, may you walk away now and let none judge you, this is not for the foolish or naive,"

Silence met the pony's question, he lowered his hoof, waving it toward the entrance. "Very well, go, take your first steps toward your legacy - and may the Sapphire Star light your way!"

"Ready?" I whispered in excitement to Argo, the studious unicorn adjusting his saddlebag holding his journal.

"Like you had to ask." He countered.

Within seconds, the floodgates were opened, literally. The various trial runners threw themselves toward the archway, barreling for various entrances into the Forgotten Oak like savages. Some, like us, waited until the way forward wasn't so hectic before chasing after the vanguard. Leading the charge, I dove headfirst through the bushes, clearing the path with my wings twirling me, creating a whirlwind with Quick Attack that shredded the path forward for Argo to pursue my warpath. Together, we'd become hunters by the next sunrise!

"For the Guild!" I hollered, sliding down a long, thick root, diving deeper into the dark forest with a silver glow atop Argo's horn following closely.

"Quick Attack!" I flung myself down from the winding branches above, slicing in a vertical corkscrew between two Jaggi, carving through their flesh with enough speed to ripple a burst of leaves and twigs from the earth, the resulting cuts dropping the weaker monsters like sacks of bricks. When the wind settled around me, I grinned while sheathing my blade at Argo's approach. "Route's clear!"

"Noted," He said while his magic jotted down the notes of our monster encounters. While he handled that I worked on carving a few noteworthy pieces from the corpses. It was a messy job but I'm more than used to it by now.

"Once we're official hunters we can make some equipment out of this stuff, Godmother Ren let me keep some of the Great Jaggi materials she carved from the one that ran rampant into Ponyville last week."

"She mentioned that, lucky you," Argo said in his monotone voice as he held up a small lantern filled with emerald green fireflies, collecting them from the area. "No sign of a monster or tracks yet, they must have retreated deeper when a whole flock of glory-seeking ponies ran headfirst into their territory."

"I would too, what a headache," I quipped, rolling my eyes as I stuffed the materials into my bag. "Where to, Handler?"

With his hoof pointing left, and muzzle buried in his book, I turned toward a natural pathway through the thicket. "There's a place I feel may provide us with a perfect campsite - also, green herb to your right."

"Eh?" Blinking, I turned my head to spot the blooming leaves caught in the few rays of sunlight that broke the ceiling above. Picking them carefully, I let Argo sort them away into my bag while I hovered in the air, squinting my eyes. "Doesn't seem to be anything important to collect, any mushrooms nearby?"

When I turned, I flinched as I found his head stuck into a tree trunk, teeth pulling out a large blue mushroom next to what appeared to be an antidote plant. "What was that?"

I sweatdropped with a sweet smile. "Nevermind, soul brother, carry on," Waving him away on his work, I again took the vanguard as he shadowed my hoof steps.

The forest was deep and layered with various hillsides warped by the trees whose roots twisted with vines to form archways and platforms amongst the trees. The various levels would catch anyone off guard had they not brought a map. Unfortunately, we were forced to document our own until that time. The chatter of wildlife felt as though eyes were everywhere, unfortunately, my aura can't sense as accurately as I'd have liked. So if its really small I'm out of luck.

"Speaking of which..." Murmuring, I paused to study a large footprint in the muddy trail, my fireflies, or 'scoutflies' as they're called, gathered around the circumference to highlight the size of the impression. "Argo, we should get off the trail soon, something's come through here recently."

"What monster?" He inquired, stuffing more materials into his saddlebags for later.

"Maybe a Brute Wyvern?" "I really hope not," My brief, nervous grin faded as I edged around the print, following the scoutflies that lulled us toward points of interest.

We continued to traverse the dark forest, passing over a dried-up river over a log toward our desired destination for the majority of our afternoon. Camp was our next priority, or it was, had something not slammed into my aura like a freight train. "Get down!" Grabbing Argo by the scruff of his neck, the unicorn blinked as I tossed him into the river bed, myself diving in after him seconds before a large foot slammed into the wooden archway.

Resembling something called a 'T-Rex' from Dad's world; it had a black and grey fur on its back which coupled with its flesh-toned scales. Its hide is primarily pink in colour, while a dark pelt covers its back which ends in a ruff at the neck, leaving the head bald. Large fangs protrude from the monster's lower jaw, giving it the appearance of an under-bite. It had a bulky tail, the underside of which is lined with quills with powerful hind legs, unlike its tiny forearms. The Fierce Jaw Wyvern, Anjanath!

"Woah...!" My eyes sparkled with stars as it stomped across the natural bridge, craning its neck back to roar tremendously at its attackers, forcing me to cover my ears with my wings. Before Argo could yank me down, its eyes locked to us briefly, releasing a sharp snort before a claw attached to a wire snagged against its jaw. "A clutch claw?" We never got those before the trial? My brow creased with a twitch.

"Hyah!" Of all ponies... Through the thicket came the greatsword-wielding Silver, his claw decoupling as he brought his greatsword high, slamming the massive object into Anjanath's cheek, dragging the slab of metal through the scales, forcing the brute backward to retaliate with a tail swing, continuing with its retreat. "After it!"

Behind him, Blue, and two other ponies gave chase, completely ignoring us as they tracked the large wyvern through the woods. When we pulled ourselves out of the river bed, I blew the bangs from my face, in short, I was fuming. "That cheating... graaah!!" I punched the trunk of a tree so hard it swayed back from the force. "He smuggled in a clutch claw, are you kidding me!? Of all the stupid, self-centered things he's done!! And just for some good marks!?!"

"Akira," Argo attempted to defuse me but I was too far gone into my rant to listen, stomping off in a random direction to find something to stem my anger. I hated him so much, it was one thing to mess with me constantly, but mocking my parents, cheating on the most important test in our careers - everything about him made my stomach turn! "Akira, the path - too late." His face deadpanned.

"What?" My hooves jerked down slightly. "Eh?" Blinking a few times, I found that the ground was gone, replaced with a mere bramble of twigs. "Oh... yah!"

Without the aid of solid ground, gravity sent me flying down a steep slope, tumbling constantly until the ground could level out. It did but I struck something that made a sharp gasp, the pellets of mud striking my face as I unfurled my wings, thankfully not breaking them in the fall. "Great, what now?" Today was already a wash, this was just the rock bottom. Shaking my head, I had landed inches from a shallow ditch of mud. How did I know it was shallow? Because of who I shoved into it. "Oh no... M-Myst!"

Said pony picked herself up out of the mud, shaking it off her barding sharply while attempting to discard the rest that clung to her mane and fur. The look on her face screamed 'you're dead once I'm out'. Looking around hastily I tried to help her out. "I'm so-so-so sorry, I-i-"

"Really!?" Myst was scarlet in the face and hatred brewed in her eyes.

"I didn't-" She swat my hoof away, kicking off the mud on her boots with a hesitant glare.

Unfortunately, snickering could be heard across the mud and up a sharp ledge. To my sinking horror, Silver and Blue were present, did they just ditch the Anjanath to gloat? "You know, Blue? You're right, this was much funnier than just waiting for that wyvern to return to its nest; seems you didn't listen to my warning, Vampire!"

"I know right?" The two hoof-bumped. "You're lookin' a little upset, Myst!"

Their snickering drew Myst's gaze for a moment, the realization striking the mare much more than embarrassment. "You two are the worst... And you..." She lost that anger for disappointment or confusion, I tried but I really couldn't place it. "I've been trying to figure out what your deal is; are you a poser? A nerd for monsters?" Myst shrugged, blue eyes downcast. "But I get it now, you're just a bully, Akira." Again, something sharp struck my chest.

"Hey, up for a pretty rewarding hunt?" Silver suggested with a sickening smirk.

"No thanks, I've got my own to fulfill," Her voice was empty, taking off as quickly as I had crashed into her.

"Myst!" She ran through the forest before I could catch her, the two above continued to laugh.

"Should've listened, Blood-sucker," His energy flickered harshly. "Leave, and quit wasting everypony's time."

I was embarrassed, upset, and importantly, fuming, "Says you! That clutch claw, you're cheating!"

Silver flexed his hoof, pushing his lips at the device before a malice glare was shot back down the ridge. "Oh? And what are you going to do about it, Vamps?" I opened my mouth but choked on my own breath. Hunters can't attack Hunters in the field unless it was self-defense. "That's right, nothing. Because that's all you are, Mutt."

Of all the insults and namecalling, that one stung the most to hear. I'm not a normal bat pony, I've never been, and Silver knew that. So when he called me 'Mutt', he was implying the fact my Mom had... Just the implication made my stomach nearly empty itself as I felt my heart explode with rage.

"Seeya, Batty!" Blue waved, following Silver back into the forest.

By the time Argo had scaled down to meet me, I was alone, facing the mud with an ashamed expression. "Akira?" His voice didn't change much but I knew he was concerned, I'm the best psychologist in Equestria, yet I suck at trying to make amends with one pony. His hoof nudged mine. "I... found a route to the campsite, we should recover before continuing our expedition."

"..." I just nodded, following him for a change with a dejected sigh. But my hoof made contact with a nearby tree, bringing it down by the roots with a single punch.

Poking my head through the vines, I gasped. "You weren't kidding! How'd you find this place!?"

Climbing a wall of vines along a natural pathway led us into a wide tree where the branches intersected with several others, forming a thick, stable base in the trees, surrounded by thick vines and walls of green with a few gaps in the forest to allow sunlight through to bathe a few colorful flowers that decorated the base. Argo popped through after me, scribbling something down in his notes.

"I had memorized the local map used by the Guild, they have several camps placed throughout the Forgotten Oak; that was when I noticed a large gap between two camps, and here we are," Argo rubbed his chin. "It provides us both with a secure campsite, both from other ponies, and a future locale to execute any quests within the Oak."

I waved my hooves wide. "You're the best Handler ever!" He nodded shyly, dropping his bags. "Right, compliments later, the camp now."

"Right," He concurred after a lengthy pause.

The 'setting up' portion took another hour off our afternoon but I was happy with the results. Two tents were pitched up, while bumpy without extra padding once we notified the Guild they'll return to properly construct a campsite in this location. A campfire was fitted in the center atop slabs of stone we gathered below the trees, sticks, and flint set aside for the cooler night ahead. Last, my personal touch, I hung a few crystals on the vines to catch the light, decorating the hidden camp in a few strokes of color, a banner of the guild hanging above the vine entrance, and a thick branch that worked as a slide exit.

"Not bad, the crystals are a fitting touch," Argo nodded, my hoof around his neck.

"We're awesome at architecture," His hoof met mine before we sat down to spend our afternoon crafting with the supplies gathered in the field. Many monsters roamed nearby so it was best to wait until the commotion settled. "Once night comes, we can't leave."

"Why's that?" Argo inquired, mixing herbs into a grindstone pot to make potions, a few honeycombs placed by his flank.

I worked on using some round blueberries with dark spots, Nulberries, to craft us some antidotes and soon herbal antidotes with the blue mushrooms, using the same make of pot as my hooves ground the plants into a paste, my brow furrowed. "Dad always said that ecosystems changed depending on the time of day and weather, and the Forgotten Oak's nightlife tends to bring out the tougher monsters to hunt; I'm pretty confident in our abilities but I'd rather not tempt fate, I've already done enough bad for one day..."

My deflated tone didn't slip by Argo this time, eyes cast to me. "You never did say how you and... Myst was it?" I nodded, "Right, you never told me how she came to hate you."

I blew a raspberry, tilting my head back up at the sky. "That's a story... I call it the 'Paint Incident' but honestly? I just wish I could forget I did that,"

It was two months ago before I came to ask about the Jade Barroth. I was helping to clean up the training grounds at Ponyville.

The arena constructed on the outskirts of Ponyville wasn't grand in design, a simple, football field-sized area with a white wall encircling the pitch. Stands placed behind the tall wall with the entrance shadowed by an overhang of wood for observation and weapon maintenance. The colors of the Guild hanging from the rafters of the overhang. Ponies and other races were inside the arena, practicing on dummies or with partners with their weaponry of choice, wooden of course.

I was flying above the entrance with a paintbrush and bucket. I said I'd help out in adding a new coat of paint since I had my own special training, primarily to spend the least amount of days near Silver and his 'friends', this was the only exception, plus it paid. I didn't mind the labor work, it builds character as Mom would say, though she admitted watching paint dry was not as exciting as it sounds.

*Tap*

"Hm?" I paused, looking to my left at the wall I continued to paint as it arched above the entrance to the arena. Nothing. "Must've been below." I continued with the next line, adjusting the abrading paint can on my hoof.

*Tap*

"Ah," Again, only now that sound made contact with the back of my head. I turned around but everyone was training, even the instructor was silent, back turned to me and near the far end of the arena. What could've - It was hard to make out from the sound of grunts and wood snapping against one another, but two ponies were snickering. I narrowed my eyes but slowly craned my neck, I see what's going on. "Do it again, I dare ya."

I continued my work slowly, listening to the two mares that were stifling their laughter, unaware I was preparing my hoof to send the pebble flying back with the force of an iron bat. I heard the pop of magic enhancing something before I caught the sight of the rock hurtling toward me. Turning sharply, my hoof did indeed catch the rock, frightening the mares I knew as it embedded itself in the dirt by their hooves. One fatal flaw in my plan, I struck with the hoof holding the paint can.

I winced as the can clattered to the ground, unfortunately, somepony was standing under it without my knowledge, judging by the smirks on the girls' faces, they had intended on this. The white paint had quickly smothered one of the top students when it came to... well everything; Myst in a new matching coat as her fur, the unicorn's shocked expression twitching bitterly when I landed in a panic.

"I'm sorry, I, wow, that's a lot of paint... I-I was trying to hit them, but I forgot about the can, I am so-so sorry!" Her eyes could set the world on fire, my throat felt really dry.

Her magic lit up the area in a purple tint, grabbing a towel to wipe her muzzle clean of paint though it did stick regardless. The two mares certainly had a field day, same with some others that tried their best to appear aloof. "Oh, wow, can you believe that? She waited for you this whole time just to give you a new paint job, really brings out the anger in your eyes," The one on the left snickered.

"That wasn't what happened!" I seethed. "I didn't even see anyone underneath the archway, who the heck stands underneath a place someone's painting!?" I realized it the moment I said it. "I, uh, w-what I mean is... I really should stop talking."

Myst narrowed her eyes, "Apricot; tell the instructor I'll be late, I have to clean up," She growled that last part in my direction, taking off with hoofsteps of white.

"Myst, wait-!" Her magic held a wooden longsword dangerously close to my eye.

"I better not see you here when I'm back," Note to self, finish the job, and run.

"But I-" She prodded closer than I thought was possible.

That last look shut me up, and Myst walked away while half the ponies present laughed, either at Myst's or my expense, I honestly think my face couldn't burn any hotter than this. "Mom's right, this isn't exciting at all..."

I finished grinding the plants into a thick, blue liquid, carefully pouring it into potion flasks for later use with a strained smile. "That's how it is; I've tried and failed to apologize to her; the second time I nearly impaled her with the training equipment because someone intended to get me in trouble for 'breaking' something but it almost hurt her, again, she hated me," I gulped at the memory. "Guess where my knowledge of monsters and wyverns scales my social skills do not, hehe."

"I see now," He looked around the camp. "And why do you persist? It would make sense if you just avoided her instead."

"Well, I-"

*ROOOAAR!!*

What was that? Something completely exotic just screamed across the forest, for an instant I felt a chill pierce my chest. We looked to one another before Argo shook his head. "You're going out there, aren't, yoooou..." By the time he followed my form, I was standing by the exit, waving my hoof.

"Get your flank in gear, we've gotta find out what made that noise!" Unfortunately, I didn't wait before sliding down the trunk toward the ground, hearing him close behind me. Looking left and right, the coast was clear. "I've never heard a monster roar like that."

"Nothing in my notes," He used his magic to shut the book. "We should take this cautiously,"

"Right, let's move!" Sprinting in the direction of the roar, we needed to get there before someone else found it, or the monster escaped. But worst of all? Something really worried me about that roar, like an impending threat or warning struck my chest. I didn't bring my scoutflies but thankfully, I saw Argo's emerald motes rushing past my cheeks. "They're gathering to the right!"

"Akira," His sharp tone brought me to a halt, turning to see... they were blue? "Look," His hoof prodded toward the side of a cliff, the rock was shredded and webbed with what appeared to be scales and a talon blade. But the fireflies had circled the ravaged mural in a bright shade of blue. "I've... never seen them turn blue before."

"Me neither," My voice whispered, reaching my hoof to prod the rock. "This is a sign of a turf war, and it's close judging by that roar."

"And you want to go after it," He nodded his head sarcastically, passing a flat glare in my grinning direction. "You seriously have issues."

"Says you," I rolled my eyes.

"Hm, touche," With a wave of his hoof, I took to the air to fly on ahead. "Go, I'll catch up, but do not engage, we can handle one monster but two is a step higher."

"Yes-yes, be stealthy, gotcha." I took off, diving under vines and between branches to make up for lost time. Still, those markings, and that roar, something in my gut screamed at me to turn away. And the scoutflies... why did they turn blue?

To Be Continued...

Chp. 3 - Darkness Rising

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Two Years Ago...

It was one of those special occasions that Mom and Dad brought me along with them on one of their expeditions, be it to hunt a monster or investigate lost ruins. No matter the situation I was always happy to come along I could hardly sleep. One early morning, Dad woke me up to see something, carrying me on his back as I was still half asleep, yawning constantly.

"Where are we going...?" I whined, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"You sure you don't want me to use ice to wake you up?" He mused, a red eye meeting my tired pout.

"I'll hurt you,"

"Fair enough, but we're here, just keep your head down and try not to gasp," He tapped his lips, then pointed over the ridge facing a grassland beyond the cliff. With us hidden by the bushes I peered over to what caused such a ruckus this early in the morning, and what I saw woke me up and drained all the fatigue in an instant.

Lowering its ragged body close to the ground, a dull, muted green and its lower mandible feature a long, protruding chin spike. The upper back and wingtips are covered in a moss-like fur, with a club-like tail covered in sharp needles. A Rathian. And facing it from the woodland, sharpening its tail between its bluish-red jaws was a jagged form of a Glavenus, the flames residing in his maw superheating the blade to a molten orange glow.

"Woah...!" I breathed, pushing my forehooves atop Dad's head as he chuckled, pointing toward the Rathian building up for a fireball.

"Watch closely, this here's one turf war you don't want to miss," He sounded as giddy as I did.

Rathian spewed a blazing sphere at the Glavenus, consuming it in a hot flame only for that blazing blade to strafe through the embers, striking the wyvern that took flight across the face, caving a deep gash through the cheekbone. Rathian swayed in the air, catching herself to dive into a backswing, slamming its spined tail against the Brute's lower jaw, knocking it back though it quickly adjusted its posture as though it were a swordsman.

Rathian landed, and the two monsters squared off in silence, taking careful strides with their eyes locked. With what little understanding of aura sense I had I felt only a rage between them, crashing like furious waves against the other. It was breathtaking, then, Glavenus's wave rose and towered. It brought its bladed tail low, swinging sharply in a horizontal stroke, missing the Rathian that took flight again. Rathian tried to sweep with her tail again but Glavenus kept his evasion steady, swiping the air to nick at the underbelly of the green wyvern until it finally swooped high, avoiding the firey tail in exchange for retreating for the skies.

The Glavenus was triumphant, roaring proudly as the flames extinguished across its tail, using a nearby rock to sharpen its edge before it slowly returned to the forest.

That was the first turf war I had ever seen. It wasn't just some battle between animals. It felt like a crossing of two warriors.

Landing before a fallen tree I had to push my way through a thicket of vines and leaves to reach my destination. Shoving through, the ground widened with the forest overgrown around the edge of the large basin, the floor of the clearing covered in leaves, patches of grass and vines with the occasional root wrapping itself through the environment. Many vines and branches hooked themselves into what appeared to be a cluster of loose rocks wedged into the west side of the basin wall toward an elevated portion of the forest.

There was a strange sensation in the air, and my chest felt really funny just from standing here. Upon my approach I followed a large root, brushing my wing across the scarred wood toward where the rays of sunlight left a large hole in the ceiling of green. Without much tree growth in the basin, it was the first I've seen the orange sky since we entered. "Where's that monster?"

Something caught my eye, a reflection of light from... a longsword? Approaching with a tilt of my head, I gasped, spotting the foul-smelling body of a monster. Mostly blue, with black foreclaws, back-stripe, and head-frills, and with cream-coloured underbellies. And a head fixed with a single, sharp horn. A Great Baggi. However, most of its scales were smothered by a strange, purplish-black substance, as if it were infecting it.

Side-stepping the strange corpse, I found the pony that had caused the commotion, and I almost yelled but bit my tongue, "Myst, Myst!" I whispered, trotting over to nudge her fallen form. Judging by her forehead she was bleeding a little, and her barding was almost shredded but thankfully kept her body safe.

Taking out a small bundle of green, fuzzy leaves that worked as a good bandage, Woolly Lambs Ear. Once applied to her gash I bit my lip, carefully setting her head down as I ran and gathered her sword to place back in its scabbard before a rustling in the woods behind me forced my sword to draw to my hoof.

"It's me," The blunt stare of Argo eased my nerves as he too took note of the dead Baggi and unconscious mare in my hooves. "She sustained a blow to the head, perhaps hunting this wyvern."

I wanted to say 'yes' but something about this situation felt wrong, squinting down at the still breathing unicorn I shook my head. "I dunno, right now, we need to get her back to our camp," Helping her onto Argo's back, I picked up the longsword though his magic took it quickly. "Are you sure it won't strain you?"

He shook his head slowly. "You worry about safeguarding our return, you can't fight with two weapons, and I can't put up much of a struggle myself," That was fair.

Again though, the area looked really torn up but just against someone as amazing as Myst? How did that make sense? "Myst's too good of a fighter to be knocked out by a large Baggi, and this substance..." I used my hunting knife to carve out a few remaining claws and scales from the monster, tucking them away. "Something about all this doesn't make sense, even that roar from earlier isn't normal."

"Perhaps it's best we contemplate this away from the turf war," Argo was right, and that led to another question that I vocalized.

"But, if this is a turf war... where's the other monst-"

*Thud... Thud... Thud*

Behind us, the trees to the north toppled over as something shoved them down into the basin, breaking their trunks at the base as a steady stream of that thick, black mist poured down the lip. Through the darkness something shifted with the shadows, lifting itself off the earth to shroud the sky in a faint, dark shroud. Seconds later, a roar bellowed through the skies, the very same that now trembled in my soul. Feeling a chill rush through my coat I sprang with my wings, tackling Myst and Argo back in time to avoid the several spheres of inky darkness that stained the forest floor.

"Are you okay?" I asked, picking them up, luckily, Myst was fine and steadily adjusted on Argo's back. "Go, now!"

His expression told me how dumb that was. "You know you can't-"

"This isn't the time, Argo! Move your flank or I will!" And I gave him a hard glare that he read rather quickly, shaking his head.

"...you better be back before nightfall," Argo quipped dryly, trotting away toward the forest as I flew back to cover his escape, the dark mist blown by my hooves when the massive monster landed, crushing the Great Baggi beneath its claws. A great shroud curled to conceal its form, and a neck craned to face me with pure malice behind its movements, the sheer strength in those muscles was enough to put me on edge.

"Calm down, calm down and focus," Drawing my sword, I kept my wings wide in need of a hasty escape, whatever this was, I needed to stall for as long as I can. "This isn't native to the Forgotten Oak, and I can't identify any of its characteristics with all this black smog. Heck, it was hard to breathe in this stuff." It was as if I stared back into an abyss that could move.

Its body is covered in dark exoskeleton plates, with a lack of visible eyes and fanged jaws. The other unique part were its wings, covered in jet-black fur that resemble a tattered and ragged cape. It seemed to be blind but it could tell where I was, maybe using an acute sense of smell? Then it roared ferociously, sounding eerily like the howl of a group of ponies. Then it lunged with one claw, slamming it down where I once stood as my silvery form struck across its left-wing with a twirling blade. It didn't even break the skin.

When I landed it whipped itself around, lunging for a side bite that I skipped away from, diving under the claw that swept its body around, the tail threshed through the earth as I plunged my sword high, slicing across the chin as my wings flicked me under its throat to avoid a large blast of darkness. "Sword Dance!" When it dived back the red blades extinguished themselves while I bit down on a Might Seed, ignoring the spicy nick to my tongue for the increasing heat to my blood. "Quick Attack!"

I rushed the monster as it spat another breath attack in my general direction, forcing me to dive up and over to deliver my various strikes and slashes to the back, unfortunately, I only managed to leave a few tiny wounds in its frame as the wings jittered, and a loud, ear-raking roar pierced the air. That's when my heart plummeted to my stomach as it growled up at me. The second its wings rose I saw it... "S-S-Six limbs...!"

It was an Elder Dragon.

Two appendages were attached to the wings, though it refused to use them, releasing another payload that I narrowly avoided as it performed a handstand, the tail catching my shield as I cried out, my back slammed into the side of the basin with a tremendous amount of force despite my own increased strength. I grit my teeth a tugged a potion from my belt, sipping it as I flew away from another row of claws tearing up the earth behind me.

I rolled to my left, avoiding the tackle as it tore across the ground, reeling its neck back to fire a burst of purplish-black energy, that same substance beginning to envelop the Elder Dragon in a thick shade as it pawed at the ground. My breathing was laboured now, just one strike and I was nearly knocked out, and this mist, whatever it was made it difficult to see its aura, or maybe that was just it, anger, indirect anger that flooded my senses. I'm beyond terrified that I'm shaking...! Grinding my teeth, I flared my wings wide, a dark purple mantle coating my sword. "I can't let this thing leave, if I can knock it down maybe I can make my escape!"

The Dragon howled, barreling toward me with its right leg folded, preparing to shred me into pieces. I did much the same, flying as tight as I could, sword drawn close to my cheek to knock it down by striking the head. Even if it can't see, the nose must be very sensitive, I mess this up and I'm dead on the spot! I need to make my escape. "Night Slash!" I screamed, praying that this stupid gamble could work. Keeping my eyes on the monster, I met its overbearing presence head-on.

When I blinked, I swore an eternity passed, everything just rushed by my eyes in a flurry of colours that I hadn't registered moving at all until I was staring at the mud by my hooves, blood blinding my left eye from a warmth spreading from my forehead. By my forehooves, the hilt was all that remained of my sword, the faint wisps of my ability fizzling away in the dark. I managed to sit upright, spotting the Elder Dragon's massive form lying on its side, shaking its head from a large shard of my blade embedded above where its eyes should be had a horn not blocked the edge from piercing further.

"Run... you need to run, Akira!" Forcing my body up through the lightheadedness, I gathered a large, black scale and stumbled for a moment. The dragon was rising too, his growl muffled in my ears. "It's going to kill you if you don't run, you idiot!"

My vision split for a few seconds, and... who was that? Someone was standing in front of the Elder Dragon, facing me. It looked like my Dad, standing on two legs, and it definitely wasn't a Diamond Dog. "A human? Godmother Ren...?" I couldn't speak, coughing as my chest stung. It looked like Ren; long, ginger hair tied back into a ponytail, the bangs curled and revealing forest green eyes. Then the woman raised her hand to the right of me, finger prodding up above the ridge of the basin.

That was it! The woman was gone when my vision focused. But I had to thank her for pointing out the missing link to my escape.

Expanding my wings, I threw myself toward a dip in the basin, my hoof sweeping the roots in the ground to find a solid chunk of rock. Reeling back with a hazy glare, I tossed the rock with all my might past the black dragon's head, itself ignoring the rock entirely for my battered form. For once, I found my smile amidst the chaos. "Heads up, dumbass." I coughed, throwing myself back into the foliage and away from its claws.

*Rumble-Crunch!*

The ground trembled a bit, my rock had nestled itself against the boulders suspended by the vines, that single tap was enough to dislodge the rock cage, releasing a rockslide upon the Elder Dragon that barely had the time to shield itself with its wings, taking the brunt of the avalanche with its body, wailing in protest as I tumbled through the branches and leaves onto solid ground again a few feet down. I wanted to lay there and sigh but if I did I could pass out any second.

Against my body's protests, I scrambled to my hooves and stumbled toward the general direction of our camp, using my notebook to guide me slowly but surely toward a safe haven. Fortunately, not once did that terrifying sensation return, yet somehow that scared me just as much. "Score one... to me." I chuckled a little until I was forced to cradle my chest. Okay, it hurts to laugh.

[No POV]

Today, as of now, was the worst day of Myst's life thus far. "I've been trying to figure out what your deal is; are you a poser? A nerd for monsters?" Myst shrugged, blue eyes downcast. "But I get it now, you're just a bully, Akira." A painful look struck the bat pony's face, her mouth opened to say something but found nothing.

"Hey, up for a pretty rewarding hunt?" Silver suggested with a smirk.

"No thanks, I've got my own to fulfil," Myst declined, disappearing into the woods again, still flicking mud off her head.

Myst Cut was the best of the best in training, her aptitude for magic was above average, almost a prodigy, and while she's learned to utilize every weapon at a hunter's disposal she preferred the longsword for its simplicity. Unfortunately, socially she stuck around those with less than acceptable attitudes toward those that were seen as 'weak links'. That's how it's always been.

She brushed through the forest, taking a second to gather a few herbs nearby. In her bag, she had already acquired and produced several mega potions for her objective but the more the merrier. Once settled on a direction of running water she sped up her pace, longsword bobbing a little on her back while her magic hovered her hunting knife ahead of her face to cut away at any branches or vines that impeded her. Every action was thought of ahead of her, using the environment to speed along her progress, following the scoutflies that weaved ahead of her but she took a detour just for a moment to recover.

She slid down a small bank toward the river, scanning the area before ultimately sighing as she hopped into the shallow, cold water. It didn't take her long to wash off what mud remained, her scowl present constantly. "Why is it I'm always having to clean up whenever that good for nothing pony is around?" Ever since they met it had been one incident after the other, and Akira looked so content with herself like nothing was ever a concern.

"Oh no... M-Myst!"

"I'm so-so-so sorry, I-i-"

"A complete joke," Her hoof kicked the water as something heavy broke several branches underfoot. Myst froze, turning her gaze toward the noise as she held back the urge to yelp. Fortunately, what approached the river were three large cow-like herbivores. They had leathery grey skin with black stripes along their backs and a head reminiscent of a Hadrosaur. They had a large, two-pronged crest protruding from their heads and a flat, spiked tail. "Aptonoth..."

Slowly exiting the water, the trio bowed their heads to drink quietly, not paying any ear to the mare present. Myst lowered her guard, she had never seen monsters like them up close, normally she'd run right by and focus on the task at hoof; so to see them so content was... nice. A tiny smile graced her but it didn't last, she had tracks to follow, and her scoutflies had stopped tracking since she detoured.

"Okay, large monster, alpha of the Baggi species..." She murmured, finding the old tracks belonging to the large, blue reptile. Once the scoutflies had a reading they lit the way as Myst ran through what she knew. "The larger ones use a stronger form of sleep gas and tend to use their large bodies and tail to knock hunters down and rarely use their claws."

It didn't take her long to find the warmer tracks, all converging on a large basin below. Spotting a wall coated in vines she hooked her hooves around one and shimmied down the ledge, landing with a huff as her purple magic unsheathed her iron longsword. The scoutflies flashed red and regrouped into her lantern, the Great Baggi was very close. Hugging an overhanging root toward the open space she heard what sounded like growls and panting.

Peeking the corner, she found it, the abnormal Baggi. It appeared like any other in the forest only its eyes were glazed red and its maw dripped with a purplish-black mist, the same that coated much of its body. What was also to noticeable were the various large scars across its back, and the bite marks down the nape and the lack of a horn. Whatever or whoever attacked it left it basically fighting on its last legs.

Myst took a deep breath, biting down on a red seed that tasted like a hot pepper nipping at her tongue but bolstered her strength. "Focus, it's just a monster," She rushed in, swivelling her blade close to her flank.

It had its back to her until it cried out, feeling the weight of the sword sliding across its belly, splitting the scales while Myst dived, avoiding its jaws as she spun her blade horizontally, striking in a criss-cross twice to keep it back. The Baggi roared at her, diving back to vomit up a plume of sleep mist. The mare evaded it, continuing her slashes and performing a spinning dive over the sweeping tail, flinching the beast with a rising slash to the jaw, tossing it against one of the trees.

The Baggi gripped it with its claws, lunging back as it brought its body weight down on where Myst last stood, rolling with her blade forward she dived closer to the monster's belly, "When enough kinetic energy is stimulated within your weapon, release and enhance its damage output, so long as the last stroke hits the amplification with apply," She always wondered what this phenomenon was but didn't question its effectiveness.

Striking left then right she held the weapon above her horn, spinning to deliver a wide-ranged spin that sliced through the monster as it charged, making it tumble slightly, when she looked, her weapon retained a silvery sheen. "There," Keeping on the offensive she dipped left, avoiding another pool of sleep gas, then another by heading right, sliding under the jaws while her sword slammed its mouth, Myst swivelling to slicing at various angles across the tail while sliding across the ground, scrambling to her hooves to escape the range of its tail.

While the Baggi spun around to face her it was blinded by the edge of her blade cycling through its knees, knocking the beast down, wailing. When Myst faced her downed opponent, her longsword flashed gold. "It's vulnerable, even if somepony else is hunting this, I'm the one-" She unbuckled her scabbard, holding both in her magic. "-who will slay it!"

Not wanting to be slain, the Great Baggi hopped to its feet, stumbling slightly as it spat a large wave of sleep gas in her direction. Myst's eyes widened, her perception of time stalling, if she fell asleep now she'd certainly be eaten by this infected monster. "'When your 'Spirit Gauge' is full, depending on its level, you can unleash one of two hidden arts, releasing all the collected energy', just as we were taught,"

Her eyes never faltered, thrusting her blade through the cloud as it connected with a solid mass. Holding her breath, she hooked her hooves around her longsword, vaulting through the cloud to breathe safely. Her weapon turned cherry red in that instance, craning the large sword up and over herself and the unsuspecting Baggi, Colliding with the ground beside the Great Baggi's open maw, a streak of crimson rippled and tore through its purplish-blue hide, riddling it with tremendous amounts of kinetic force.

Taking a long breath, Myst still had one level remaining. Skipping back she spun her scabbard to her left flank, sheathing her sword until that energy pulsed within her scabbard. In one fell streak of crimson, another devastating barrage of slashes shredded the wyvern, blood pooling out from its massive wounds as it released a strained cry before collapsing to the forest floor.

The red embers dazzled the sky briefly as Myst sheathed her blade, clipping it in place once more with a stratified expression. "Now to reap the reward-"

*Snap-Snap-Snap-Grooooan*

A great breath of wind struck her tail, nearly knocking Myst on her muzzle. When she spun to greet her opponent she saw only a black shadow sweep over her head and through the gap in the forest ceiling. That too quickly became obscured by the collapsing tree that overtook her vision, resulting in a flood of pain to her forehead, her hooves laying out toward the corpse of the Baggi ahead of her.

The dots filled her vision, and her consciousness quickly faded away.

[Akira's POV]

"Ugh," Parting her dry lips, my ears perked up when I found Myst stirred from slumber beside me. Setting my notebook down I turned on my spot to face her. Her eyes were half-lidded, rubbing a hoof over her properly bandaged forehead, a simple mega potion alleviating her cuts and bruises. "What - ah, the wyvern, I-"

"Hey, hey, it's dead, and you're safe," I reassured, helping her sit upright, only for her body to jerk away from me in surprise.

"Akira?" She coughed as I held out a small mug of water. Myst quickly drank it without complaint, using her hooves.

"One and only, we're at a camp me and Argo set-up, no monsters can find us up here, so relax," Motioning to the tent she was in I pointed a wing at her equipment. "I patched up your equipment with what I could find but you'll probably need new armour after this, that monster tore it to pieces."

"Monster... right, I... I was tracking that weird Great Baggi and..." Her aura suddenly overflowed with terror, judging by her expression it was all a blur when it occurred. My smile fell a little. "I took it down but then something big knocked me out when it toppled a tree, I think? I still can't think straight," She tried to move but I stopped her with my hooves. "I need proof I took down that monster, otherwise I'll fail-"

"You fail? Pfft, as if," I snorted, flicking my rucksack open to reveal the acquired materials from the Baggi. "I carved up some pieces for you, the non-sticky, sickly, purply parts that is," I handed them over to her kindly. "Your kill so the parts are all yours, I got my own from that big monster, well, a scale anyway." And various injuries that I rather not bring attention to.

Myst, however, noticed the bandages, her ears flopping with her head lowered. "Why... why did you help me?"

Is that a trick question? Rubbing my nape I looked around, "'Cause... you looked like you needed help? No trial is worth completing if I just left someone to die, that's not right." Her brow creased.

"Why do you keep saying those words?" Her tone was irritable but that could be because she was tired.

"What words?" My head tilted then she prodded a hoof at me.

"'Somebody', 'Someone', 'People', 'Person', all those words," Myst really looked miffed by that, guess it's natural since Mom and Dad use them often.

"Oh, it's just the variation of words my Mom and Dad use makes referring to ponies, griffons, dragons, and the like with a bit more inclusive, better than 'somecreature' or 'everypony', doncha think?" Before she could reply I hopped to my hooves with a grin. "Well, dinner won't be long; Argo's pretty good at turning random plants into a pretty tasty-looking meal, I'll bring you some soon so just sit and recover, we'll pass once daybreak arrives, count on it!"

I pushed the tarp back to spot the campfire and small pot over the flames with Argo stirring methodically. Then Myst cleared her throat, looking down at the floor with a shameful blue hue over her shoulders. "How are you so certain?"

I smiled a little more that my fangs showed, "Well that's easy - 'cause so long as we survive until morning, we pass," Her eyes shot up at me, perplexed as I rolled mine. "I mean, they said nothing about us needing to fight monsters, gather resources and stuff, that was just optional, all it tells them is how capable we are to take on higher ranking quests from the get-go, but with a little work we'd climb those ranks in no time, that's why."

"I, you, uh..." I think I broke her, man, she really does need rest.

"Don't worry about it, 'kay?" I winked, pushing the tarp down with a heavy sigh.

"That sounded like it went well?" Argo mused from his spot, not facing me as I let the heat die from my cheeks, that was really hard not to make awkward.

"You kidding me? After what I've done I'm surprised she even spoke to me, but hey, head trauma can throw anyone off their game," I shrugged, sitting down on my back with a heavy sigh. "That monster was scary~!" My eyes spun in spirals.

"And you're sure it was a..." He didn't say it as to not freak Myst out.

"No doubt, but I've never seen a monster like that one before," My hoof rubbed my coral necklace nervously as I stared up at the stars. "It's aura... it was pitch black."

"I suppose... we've had our fill of hunting for one day,"

"Ditto."

With my right hoof I raised the single, black scale I peeled off that Elder Dragon. It wasn't like Fatalis, I doubt I'd have lived to tell about it, but something that powerful is out there in Equestria now, it did something to that Great Baggi. Whatever else it can do, I have a bad feeling this won't be the last I've seen of it.

To Be Continued...

Chp. 4 - Unraveling Eclipse

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By the time the sun had started to rise over the Forgotten Oak again, those present at the beginning of the trial awaited the return of those willing to put their lives on the vanguard against monsters and safeguarding of the ecosystem at large. The veteran hunter stood by the gate in silence, behind him on a barrel was his superior, Ren, the woman yawning at the early wake-up. Though her patience was not tested for long, as from the forest clearing, either in groups or by themselves, the many ponies and races in between, returned from the grove.

"Welcome back, young ones, and well done," The older hunter bowed his helmed head toward them. The first to lead the group back was non-other than Silver; Blue following him closely. Attached to Silver's armour were various materials gathered from an Anjanath, purposefully on display, that, and he lacked the very clutch claw he smuggled in. "Impressive, you took down an Anjanath?"

"It put up a good fight, but ain't nothing special when you're as good as us," Silver spoke in a lofty tone, missing Ren's eye roll as she stood up as well.

With time, the two dozen or so trial runners returned from the forest, some bearing their rewards on display, others appeared exhausted or injured from their experiences, others looked the same as when they entered. Various events and memories were made individually among them, and that will be the deciding factor on how they would place at the beginning of their time at the Hunter's Guild.

Ren, however, held her arms tight across her chest, eyes slit. "Hold on..." She counted the heads, frowning deeply. "We appear to be missing... three others."

"Perhaps they're running late; this forest is vast," The old hunter commented as a few murmured.

"Myst?" "Wait, she's missing?" "I thought she was as good as Silver?" "You don't think something bad's happened to her?"

Just then, one of the hunters hidden in the camp noticed something through the dark thicket that the others could not. They smiled.

[Akira's POV]

"I see the exit," That immediately sparked a second wind from me as I flew ahead of Argo with a big grin, himself sharing a tiny smile. "It appears we have succeeded,"

"We did it... did ya hear that Myst, we actually did it!" I couldn't believe it, this... this was really happening, just a few meters more!

"..." She merely nodded, but she seemed happy... I think? Her aura's hard to get a read on. Shaking my head, I landed as the two trotted out of the darkness with me. When we exit... we'll become real hunters. Just like Mom and Dad.

Time for our big entrance. Vaulting myself forward with a strong flap I landed outside the forest, dirty, and covered in lighter injuries that had yet to heal. "We made it back aliiiive~!"

Upon my announcement, many seemed surprised or genuinely glad to see our return aside from that sickening glare on Silver's face, and Blue... his was priceless, slack-jaw and all. Argo didn't say anything, much like Myst as we stepped through the archway before the hunter that did our announcement yesterday. "Well, you certainly have the moxie of a hunter, hah, welcome back you three, and it seems you ran into a fair bit of trouble too."

"Oh, you know, nothing like a little chaos to get the blood flowing, right?" And a scary Elder Dragon but that's for later me to worry about.

The hunter chuckled, patting my chest in good taste. "Could not agree more," He stomped his hoof. "With that and the rising dawn, you all have passed the trial. Whether or not you performed duties outside of survival does not matter-!" I saw Myst glance over at me for an instant, and I winked back. Told her. "-you may only have scratched the surface of what the role of a hunter is, but make no mistake, you have proven to us you are worthy of such a name, so hold your heads high!" That lifted a few spirits of those who seemed worse off than us, even those that did only wait it out.

The crowd then erupted into a chorus of cheers, myself laughing as I wrapped a hoof around Argo's neck. "We did it, we really did it, Argo!!"

"Yes, that we did..." He too seemed speechless, reciprocating the shoulder hug. Off to my left, I saw Myst stand there, looking bashful herself at succeeding despite her hoof grazing her wrapped forehead gingerly. "Do not look so grim," She eyed Argo curiously. "You've earned this as much as us."

"I... right," Aw, this is nice-

"!!!" My breath hitched. What... what was that!? I lowered my hoof as I turned toward the forest again. The cheering and chatter were muffled as I focused my aura sense through the wall of trees again. Something foul was nearby, it smelt like... bloodlust. Squinting, I pushed all my focus into sight alone, the feelings of whatever it was weren't my concern, I just needed to see it.

"Oh no...!" The fur across my body stood on end as I shoved Argo behind me, someone else was closer to the forest than him! "Myst!!"

Time resumed as I reached my hoof out to drag her close to me, drawing the only weapon I had left, my shield. In a heartbeat, had I been slower, she might've been a red stain on its surface. A large, tremendously powerful forearm slammed into my buckler, splitting it into two as I cried out from the force that threw me and Myst backwards. By now, everyone either yelled in shock or steadied themselves for what threw itself from the forest.

The monster rose to hind legs. covered in turquoise coloured fur with an ursine body structure. It has a ridge of erect hair aligned with its nose. Its back made of a tough hide, somewhat characteristic of a carapace. Hair runs from its cheeks, connecting to its back, where it forms a trim along the sides of the back. The claws were elongated, red nails. Each claw had a tough brace encasing and protecting the wrist and forearm. The bear had large, bulky legs connected to much smaller feet and a short, wide tail. Worst of all, it was infected with the same substance that Elder Dragon used against me! An Arzuros!

Waving its forearms with a deafening growl, it reeled back to bring its claws down on us, the other hunters moving in to intercept as I used my wings and hooves to shield Myst who instinctively did the same for me, I couldn't fly away with her in time so I'll take the brunt of this if I had to!

*Tiiiing!*

This feeling in my chest was familiar. When I stared up at the lack of an approaching claw, my gaze broadened to the size of plates, seeing a red scarf dance in the breeze.

"The Frenzy Virus... what an ugly mess," They said with such confidence.

Lowering my wings for Myst to see again, me and Myst split ourselves apart before a wide, transparent barrier between us and the infected monster as it stumbled back from the abrasive force. Holding it back was someone that erased all my worries as I smiled blissfully. He stood as a bipedal wolf with blue and black fur. He possessed a short, round spike on the back of each forepaw, in addition to a third on his chest, a long snout, and ears. His torso was cream-coloured with blue fur on its thighs that resembles shorts. Two piercing scarlet eyes burrowed into the Arzuros that landed on all fours to run him down.

"Force Palm," With one word his right palm was surrounded by a thin blue outline, bringing it forward against the Arzuros's forehead with enough force to send fissures through the ground as a literal clap of thunder resounded in the air between them, the force paralyzing the monster with yellow bolts of lightning as it swayed in a daze. "Retaliate," It happened before I could blink as several rapid strikes to the beast's body sent it tumbling back through the archway, its claws dragging it to stand again but the wolf clicked his fingers. "The floor's yours, Yui." Wait, seriously!?

From the shadows several dark hands snaked and caught the monster in a vice-like grip, muzzling it as it attempted to thrash its way out of the arms to no avail while the wolf's aura erupted from its body like a tidal wave, gathering heat around his right leg. He kept smiling. "Blaze-" He sprinted toward the captured Arzuros at breakneck speeds, leaving a small trail of fire behind as the superheated air erupted into flames by his foot. "-Kick!"

A single ring of fire expanded between them, leaving a burn across the beast's left side as it was sent flying through the trees, slamming into a solid trunk as it slumped to the ground. Behind us, many gaped at the astonishing sight. "It.. it killed the monster in seconds!" "What is it!?" "Is it a hunter too?" "Amazing...!" "Wait, isn't he the Guild Leader!?" "No way, that's really him!?"

He turned back to the crowd, grinning proudly with a click of his claws. "Nailed it." Smoke rose from his foot as he sniffed, noting that his foot was still on fire. "Yaaaah, hot-hot-hot-hot-hot - ah hah!" He summoned a rush of frost to his hand, clasping his raised foot in his paw as it hissed in satisfaction. "Ahh... that's better - totally planned!"

"Yo, Wolf boy, can't speak Pokemon, remember!" Godmother Ren waved as the hunters ran forward to inspect the dead monster while safeguarding the entrance again. Ren then put her thumb out. "Good to see you actually come out when there's an audience?"

The sensory beads on the back of his head rose a little as he projected something to Ren, the woman nodding along. "I see... well then," She clapped her hands. "Show's over, people, let's get you all back to the Guild to recover and celebrate!"

If there's one thing I'll never get used to in this job, it's how nonchalant the threat of death was. That's right! "Are you okay, Myst? Sorry, I had to think on my toes there, erm, right, hooves I mean, another odd word, hehe."

"N-no, it's fine, Akira," She waved her hoof as I hid my injured leg behind my wing. "...but thank you," She managed under a low breath.

"Anytime, remember?" I'm just glad she's okay. Turning around though I saw them standing by the Forgotten Oak. I wanted to go say something but I fought against it, they were busy so I'll mention it at the Guild. "Though I reeeeeally want to say something, but there are too many people around, ugh, stupid crowds, always when you don't want them..." Pouting, I turned and hobbled over the Argo for him to berate me, at least that could distract me.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, creatures of all ages, welcome to your new home away from home," Ren declared as we stepped down the road leading through a hillside meadow nearest the Forgotten Oak. The air around me practically buzzed with excitement that even Argo had to place a hoof on me to keep my wings from flying. "Kalao."

To the southeast of Canterlot, outside the walls, a strange phenomenon after the Rift Crisis left behind a large, red temple that sat between the golden kingdom and the Forgotten Oak. Since its discovery and connection to the Old World where the Monsters originated from, it has since become the landmark of the Hunter's Guild.

Built-in part with the red temple, various levels of housing were bracing the sloped temple similarly to a stacked housing estate. In front of the temple was the guild itself, passing hunter large archways made from literal colossal bones embroiled by colourful banners and streamers, most dangling lanterns down onto the road that webbed toward various smaller buildings, one of which appeared to be fashioned from an old ship with pipes and the smoke exiting the chimneys.

To the left of the guildhall was an open cafe with large seating arrangments under triangular tarps. A massive stone stove was visible in the shape of a cat's head where large quantities of food were sizzling for both ponies and those that ate meat with a few dining together already, behind the wide, stone counter were... tiny cats standing on their hind legs? Aw, they look so cute in their little chef hats.

But the landmark aside from the old temple turned residential was the guild itself. Oval in shape constructed out of mahogany and blackstone tiles forming angular overhangs. It stood three stories tall with a balcony on both upper floors, that was where our group was led by Ren and the veteran hunter. Once indoors again through thick mahogany doors, the interior was as immaculate as the building.

A great spiral staircase sat in the middle of the room with crescent tables surrounding it, various ponies serving drinks and food from the kitchen in the ceiling above. The space was opened up with the second and third-floor rooms on the outer walls, leaving bannisters overlooking the common room where various officials and hunters mingled. At the back of the hall in the middle was a large reception desk with two Guild Mares offering advice and jobs out to hunters that took requests from boards either side of them. A large banner of the guild, a red tapestry with a gold symbol of four 'swords' stitched in the middle.

To our left was a large stage for performances or announcements with red curtains tied to the sides of the columns. A back entrance opens out into a large, lush garden through colourful beaded covers. And our right was where the grand staircase led to the upper floors with a split down the middle to enter what appeared to be an entry into the temple, lanterns lighting the way to what the sign displayed as an 'arena'. The various levels and support beams hung chandeliers and tapestries for decoration with a few small dragons, pegasi, and/or griffons hanging out on them. The ambience was addicting.

"Please make your way to the stage, we'll get started, chop-chop," Ren clapped her hands as us green hunters made haste, something she smiled at, clearly enjoying the power over others, she even murmured, 'love my job' under her breath.

Once we gathered, a few Guild Mares made their way into the group, offering us a small card roughly half the size of our forehoof. It was made of redwood with a card detailing our Name, Guild Title, our Hunts/Captures and even a profile picture, when did that get taken? Well, they got my good side. I cocked my head a little, "Huh, there's a blank space between my name and guild title?" Argo shared the same curious expression as mine as Godmother Ren stood atop the stage with a stern expression to quieten the crowd. "Oh, right, she'll probably tell us that."

"Everyone set? Good; you're now licenced hunters, below your profile you'll see a small code," She was right, a line of seven numbers and letters. "That'll be what helps you use the communication crystals dotted across Equestria to keep tabs on hunts, reports, and the busywork, so don't lose it - oh, and its completely customizable so have fun with that," Even I could see a few looked pleased with that, its the little things. "Now, you probably saw the blank space under your name, well, that's what we'll be solving right now; that's your cue, Dew - hey, a rhyme." She clicked her tongue.

One of the Guild Mares, a pegasus with baby-blue fur, various shades of blue for her long, silky mane and navy eyes brought her hoof up to expose us to a strange talisman shaped like the Guild symbol. With a flash of red, I saw the spot shimmer and warp right before my eyes. "What you see is your grade, yeah we work fast, gotta love it, with this you'll be able to take on quests of that rank or lower, completing them quests will eventually boost your rank, if that's the case, the gold stars will flash red, indicating you'll need to come back here and have an official change your rank after a practical test, simple!"

Then she raised a finger, "Oh, and as for those with more than one star? Well, ya still need to perform at least two quests from prior tiers just so we don't throw you to the wolves on the basis of 'luck'," A few groaned at that but the silverette stuck her tongue out professionally. "Too bad, suck it up, princesses, this is a tough job for a reason!"

I think my brain broke. While others rejoiced at their stars, ranging from three stars, two stars, and of course, Silver and his group were ranked four stars. Where did I and Argo land? Right at the bottom of the list, a single, golden star on our cards. I expected as much, we only fought a few lesser monsters. However, my frown remained with a hint of bewilderment. "But that Elder Dragon, I know what I saw... I even gave them the scale as proof!" I didn't let my frustration show, no, this was fine, no one got anywhere for free... this sucks though. "Argo?"

"Yes?" He glanced over to me, seeing my strong smile.

"Looks like we officially did it," He looked somewhat surprised by my comment, but nodded. "Thank you."

"I did the research, I've achieved my goal, but you, your stars are-" I put my wing out, tucking the card into my bag with an eased expression.

"It's just a star," Turning back to the stage, I saw Ren kneel down to the four that had risen to Four Stars within one trial, I had to resist a snort at their blunt disregard for the rules, without that clutch claw I had no evidence so I shut my mouth against my better judgment. "So, you guys took down an Anjanath and Great Groggi? Well, colour me impressed." What was that? Something about Godmother Ren's smile looked wrong, it was subtle but she didn't entirely mean what she said.

"Just a big sinus infection really, sure, when both showed up we had a struggle, I'll admit that," Silver retold in his faux modesty that had half the young mares enraptured, I had to roll my eyes with Argo muttering, 'oh please'. Silver patted his chest, "But we kept our cool, used the Groggi's poison and the Anjanath's fire against one another, after that, we hunted the weakest and the toughest, Anjanath, then tracked the Groggi down last."

"Well, I'm sure you'll do well in the future, but, take my advice," Ren leaned closer, her eyes slit. "Don't bite off more than you can swallow, trust me," For a moment, her right hand shook. "Some monster's don't leave scars," That silenced them all as she clapped her hands. "Well? Look alive, you guys are Hunters now, celebrate!"

Ren had... a way with words.

"I'm soooo proud of you~!" I sat by one of the small booths against the entrance walls with a cheesy smile as Argo's blank expression was smooshed by Ren's cheek creased against his, the human woman hugging him tightly, even without aura, the little tint of red on his face told me he was happy if not a little flustered.

"Mom... can't... breathe..." She was still wearing her armour and had a vice-like grip comparable to a wyvern, and Argo didn't share my steel-like bones. "Thank... you..." He wheezed.

Ren let go, ruffling his mane with a giggle. "You're too much like Topaz it scares me," Ren jabbed with her arms crossed, standing up. "You two really can't stay out of trouble, can you?"

"Huh?" Her eyes met mine as I raised my hooves. "I take no responsibility... for what exactly?" My brow curved.

"This," She tossed the black scale I handed to the veteran huntsman after the trial, its surface still making my skin crawl. "You, Argo, and that chick... uhh..." Ren cocked her head, spinning slowly on her heel to scan the hall. "Uhh... that one, with the permanent scowl and bandaged forehead-"

"Myst-" I and Argo answered.

She rolled the word around in her mouth, "-Uh-huh, right, yeah, her, all three of you are needed upstairs, top floor, don't keep them waiting..." She waved goodbye, returning to continue her work though she stopped to give Argo a sweet smile. "We're really proud of you,"

Argo sat up straighter for a moment. "...t-thank you," I had to keep from cooing at the sight, although my mind travelled to what I was to expect next, packing up the black scale for later.

It didn't take long for my impatience to show, with my hooves clipping against the second floor as I waited for Argo and Myst, the latter keeping her silence as I practically vibrated on the spot. I haven't seen them since two weeks ago, this timing was too perfect to miss! Then Argo waved his hoof at me. "You have wings, by all means, go on ahead,"

"You're saying that because the sound of my hooves tapping is making your ears twitch," I smirked as they did indeed twitch, his borderline glare remaining.

"No comment," He turned his head away as I stuck my tongue out and took flight between the rafters.

Flying in a sharp curve to dive up to one of the secondary flights of stairs to land on the third floor. I knew the layout well enough, the whole third floor served as a meeting room with a large table in the middle. To either side was a doorway to two balconies, and at the back, a single door where I easily sensed two presences on the opposite side. I quickly brought my hoof up to knock but froze, two weeks ago, I was still working out the last of my 'punishment' for the whole Brute Wyvern thing, and now I had the potential to fight one again.

My smile fell as I stepped back an inch. I knew how much I worried them so how would they react to this? Even the conversation with Mom about my sign-up for the trial felt tense, what if this goes sour? I... "Deep breath, Akira," Doing so, I raised my hoof and knocked. "I'm coming in," I steadied my voice and pushed the door open.

The office that was more of a study was circular like the top of the building with a series of windows between the top of the walls to the ceiling. The space I stood in was large enough for several people with various bookshelves containing... well books, pictures, and an assortment of relics and photos. Two displayed items were of a single, leathery pale scale with a blue tint to it, practically radiating with life energy that I thought it was another person. The second item in a glass box shared the same strange energy, only a hardened, red scale with a tint of white along the ridges.

A decorative lampshade hung from the ceiling with a yellow-tinted fabric depicting dragons on it. In front of me was the Guild Leader's desk littered with notes, stacked papers, books, everything a busy person would have cluttering their desk. A teapot included.

"Boo,"

"Yah!" I leapt forward in fright, almost drawing on nothing since I didn't have my smashed weapons with me. My pout only made the snicker behind a paw intensify. "Seriously, again!?"

"What? You're too easy to scare, sue me!" My Dad, that strange bipedal wolf from before, flashed a fanged smile at me, adjusting his red scarf with a modest expression. "Or do you wish to speak with me in a professional, dignified manner, Miss Amadeus?"

"Ugh, I'd much rather be poisoned in my sleep, thanks," That weird accent again... My wing flicked in his direction. "You totally stole my thunder too! I was gonna use Night Slash on that monster, and you know it!"

He rolled his eyes at me, "Is that before or after you embraced your friend to protect them from a deranged monster?" I went to reply but found no words coming out of my mouth. "Hmm, thought so - but no-no, my apologizes for saving your life, again!" He drawled sarcastically, crossing his arms. "Parental morales say I had to intervene."

"You mean, Mom?"

"You want her to bury me six feet under?"

"I could've handled it," I threw my hoof up, exasperated.

For once, his eyes looked at me sharply. "Not that Arzuros, trust me," That shut my argument down as he knelt down to rub my cheek. "You seriously need to stop copying me."

"Old habits, right..." I sighed, then peered around the room. "Wait? There were two auras I-"

*Thump*

My eyes blinked against the blue fabric that clashed with the lime-green accents of my hood as two hooves curled around my nape gently. Looking up I found the second aura soothing over my own. One lilac eye stared back at me with the other hidden by matching bangs, a scar across her right cheek toward her eye. "Hi... Mom,"

"Are you okay?" She asked softly as I put my hooves around her.

"Yeah, your training paid off big time," I'd be an Elder Dragon's dinner otherwise. "I missed you guys..." My voice was much softer.

She nuzzled my cheek, "I know, I'm sorry we weren't able to talk before," We let go so the three of us could face each other, then Mom looked at Dad. "And what's that about 'Parental morales say I had to intervene'?" She air-quoted with her hooves in a dumb, horrible masculine voice as Dad froze up with a smile.

"Nothing! You know I say weird things!" Her eye narrowed. "Honestly, I was gonna do something, and we did, problem solved!"

"You're unbelievable..." Her one wing pressed against his cheek. "If you say 'Lucario' I will punch you in that stupid smile of yours."

"Never crossed my mind," He dismissed with a wave. Immediately, I suffered from whiplash, spinning around in my Dad's arms. "Okay, Yui had her moment now I want to hug you!"

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." I'm seeing double now... Mom just laughed at Dad's obvious coddling of me, despite his cool appearance and status he was a big girl which was funny.

"Are we... interrupting?" Argo stood at the door, looking between us with Myst trying to process the information before her. Dad dropped me like a sack of bricks had I not flown next to him, both of us clearing our throats with pink cheeks, Mom below rolling her eyes up at us.

"You two are fine, come on in," Mom welcomed as Dad sat against his desk with his arms crossed.

"'Right, guess I need to explain a few things,'" He rubbed his neck, trying to find the words as I took my place beside Argo and Myst. Using telepathy, his sensor beads on the back of his head vibrated slightly, Myst a little taken back by the intrusion into her mind, "'In the forest, you encountered a monster that used a blackish-purple substance, and that happened to appear on two monsters, correct?'"

"Yeah, it was massive, and... it had six limbs," I explained, rubbing my jaw at the memory. "It hit like a steamroller too."

"Why are six limbs important?" Myst inquired, raising her hoof.

"It's the most common trait of an Elder Dragon," Mom replied calmly, and Myst's face couldn't look paler, Argo's lips parted in awe as well. "The classification of 'Elder Dragon' can vary from uncategorized species to ecosystem changing monsters."

"'Hey, you read the book!'" My Dad's tail swayed happily as Mom playfully rolled her eyes. "'Ahem, but yes, what you saw was a powerful monster, The Black Eclipse, Gore Magala.'"

Gore Magala... that's what I encountered, what nearly killed Myst had we not shown up, and the scale I tucked away into my bag. "But... what was it doing here? I've never seen it in your books?"

"'Because I never encountered it, and I wish I never had to,'" Dad waved a paw. "'He's not an Elder Dragon, not yet anyway, he goes through a metamorphosis into one eventually, Shagaru Magala, if that happens he'd have mastery over the Frenzy Virus.'" That sounded bad.

"Is that what the strange substance was?" Argo inquired, jotting all this down with his magic.

"'Exactly, when monsters become infected they're highly aggressive, strong, and will never stop fighting until the virus kills them, and even a scratch can infect other monsters,'" He held out a claw to emphasize, shaking his head with a troubled look. "'I don't know the effects on Equestrians but hopefully it shouldn't cause any harm to you, well, I'd like to avoid that issue when we come to it; this is also why I never increased your rankings from one-star.'"

I and Argo shared a look, "But why? I barely survived fighting that thing, let alone escaping!" I exclaimed but Mom put her wing out to stop me.

"We know, but the rule was proof of capture or kill was needed, once the trial was over several hunters and handlers investigated where every claim a trial runner made about a kill or incapacitation and once confirmed, they pass along that information," Mom explained.

"'Since we didn't find its ugly mug anywhere, it never counted,'" Dad put his paw on my shoulder, my frown fixed to my face. "'I know it's not fair but you not only held your own against a powerful monster that would've given me trouble but saved someone's life, so while it isn't much, I'm just glad you're okay, and that you did what you did,'" His words lifted my head a little, dawning a tiny smile. His hand patted my shoulder. "'Now then, don't look all doom and gloom, you're hunters now, relish it! And get ready to do your jobs, well done, all of you,'"

With a bow of our heads, we turned to leave but I felt Mom's wing tug my tail back. "Yeah?" I was a little dejected. I'm happy Myst was okay, but I feel so robbed when someone like Silver cheated and was praised for his efforts.

"Shoot," Mom used the same word Dad would as I gave Myst and Argo a small wave of my hoof to wait for a second, closing the heavy door with a long sigh.

"That arrogant asshole cheated!" I exploded, pacing in front of them. "I-I-I mean honestly, he used a clutch claw when we're not supposed to! And he passed with FOUR STARS, are you kidding me!?" I punched the wall. "It's so frustrating! Why, why him of all creatures in Equestria - and then me and Argo get shelved with a single star!? How am I supposed to find Gore Magala if I can't even go after anything more basic than a Great Jaggi!?"

Mom looked ready to speak up but Dad did first with that knowing smile of his. "Get it all out?"

Taking a long inhale, pausing, then releasing it, I sighed. "Yeah, pretty much," My head hung until his fingers pushed my chin up to see my distraught face, a swarm of mixed feelings and thoughts rampaged in my head and squeezed my chest. "I... I just don't get it?"

Dad's scarlet eyes drifted to the side. "I have no doubt he cheated, honestly, I expected someone would, so I humoured him," My jaw hung but he pushed it up. "Ah-p-p-p, but I know the good hunters and the best, his half-measures scored him the highest but that doesn't breed effort and valour; determination, courage, fear, passion," His fingers tapped my chest just below my coral necklace. "Things I know you'd aspire to learn, and I don't want my daughter to be held down by expectations, make your own,"

I never took my eyes off Dad's, his image blurry as I felt something warm sting my ears, forcing my wing to rub my eyes as he put his arms around me again. "Come on now, you're more stubborn than this one-star? Well, I wonder, will the Guild find Gore Magala first? Or will this nerd for monsters catch up and do it herself?" Dad let go, drying my tears with a warm pulse of blue on his hand. "I dunno about you, but I like to place my bet on the bat pony."

"Hehehe... okay," Sniffing, I showed them my smile. "I'll show you what I can do! I blow through the ranks before next year!"

"Never a doubt, flower," He booped my snout, propping the door open for me. "Good luck, hunter," He winked.

"I will!" I waved, meeting with Myst and Argo by the staircase with a smile.

"Are you... okay?" He pointed to my cheek. "Were you crying?"

"Huh? Nah, just dry eyes," I grinned, "Dad's right, let's finally celebrate."

"Hey, can I say something? Alone?" Myst glanced at Argo, the unicorn shrugging.

"All yours, I'll go see what's on the menu," He bumped my hoof with his, departing down the right-hand side, leaving me and Myst at the intersection with her playing with her mane awkwardly.

"Is your head feeling better?" I quickly spoke up, seeing her blink widely. "You're still wearing your bandages."

"Oh, I'm fine, my head is still fuzzy though," Myst coughed. "Look, I... I wanted to say I..." She fumbled with her words again so I raised my wing.

"It's okay, if... you're trying to apologize I," Now it was my turn to be awkward. "I've done a lot of dumb things, and it hurt you, and I always mess up because I never learn to stop talking and-" Her magic caught my lips, sighing a... laugh? It was only one but it was definitely a laugh.

"I get it, Akira, I... maybe you aren't a bully, I haven't exactly been the friendliest pony either," She admitted, turning around with a solemn frown looking back at me. "I'll think about that," She paused again, giving a short wave of her hoof as I returned it, my smile softened.

"Guess I can make things right,"

As it stands, I was at the bottom of the chain, many monsters stood between me and Gore Magala, and ultimately, Fatalis, if the legend was true. I think Dad's testing me, to see how capable I was after that incident, he didn't want me to have any advantages but my own. Well fine, he was right, I can do things my own way, with help from Argo, of course. Adjusting the necklace I wore, I brought it up to peck its surface for good luck. "Time to start from zero."

[No POV]

"She's out of range, you're free to proceed, love," Zen motioned as Yui began to pace much like her daughter, looking frantically worried for what transpired.

"She was nearly killed by an Elder Dragon, or at least a monster comparable to one! I... I don't want to mother her into restricting her, I never would but I-I just...." Yui panted until Zen used a soothing pink light over her temples to quell her worry. "I'm scared she'll..."

"What? Die?" Zen admitted, though he too felt his body shiver, sitting down on the floor to hug Yui behind her back, feeling her chin rest on his forearms. "Akira's got your sharp eye, cunning, not to mention stubbornness,"

"And your recklessness... and strength," Yui leaned against his chest, avoiding the spike as she closed her eyes. "I just don't want her to be alone like I was."

"Funny how the roles reversed, huh?" Zen nudged, earning a chuckle from his wife, the word never ceased to take his breath away. Placing his head on her shoulder he smiled. "I'll find Gore Magala before her,"

She had to ask, staring down at his paws anxiously. "And if you don't?"

"Then we'll beat it together, I think facing Equestria-destroying monsters is a family thing at this point given our track record," Zen mused as Yui craned her neck up to kiss his lips sweetly.

"Love you,"

"To the ends of the earth," He winked as a coy smile split Yui's lips.

"You were totally freaking out when you heard the news, weren't you?"

"Gore Magala, hahaha... the one monster I never fought... hehehehe!" He paled, eyes dilated. "Watashi wa okashiku natto te iru!" His ears fell in horror.

Yui just burst out laughing in his arms, feeling a weight off her shoulders.

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Lots have happened, Akira is now an official Hunter, the return of Zen and Yui, Akira and Myst putting their past behind them, and the developments toward the elusive Gore Magala. With so much laid out how will Akira and her new Handler Argo fare in the pursuit of the Black Eclipse Dragon?

Also, I seriously hate describing clothing and locations, like, a lot, so I hope my own rendition of the main base camp was good enough, sorta incorporating various ideas as though Zen would do that given his experience with the games. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Hunters!

Chp. 5 - Trinity of Blades
After much debating, Argo agrees to allow Akira the first pick for their quests. And what better quest than to hunt a pack of Izuchis? Not a problem for the rising Monster Hunter... right?

Chp. 5 - Trinity of Blades

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"Resources,"

"Hunting,"

His snout creased against mine, expression never changing. "Resources,"

I pushed back just as much until our foreheads connected over the table. "Hunting,"

Our staredown lastest a hot minute until we separated. It was the first day of our Hunter lives, ponies, and creatures alike took off in doves to perform quests, leaving us as one of the few new groups to be left debating over it at the canteen outside, out breakfast ate. Running a hoof through my mane I breathed into my connected hooves. "Okay, this is getting nowhere, compromise?"

"Shoot," He waved a hoof.

"We do a hunt quest, ah-p-p-p," He held his tongue as I sat back with my hooves out wide. "And afterwards we'll stick in a gathering quest, both in one day."

Argo hummed, using his amber magic to scourer his notebook carefully, "I suppose... that will suffice, however-" He snapped the book shut, levitating it back onto his belt, pointing his jagged gauntlet at me. "-tomorrow I choose, deal?"

"Deal, soul brother," We shook hooves as I left for the Guild Hall to pick a quest, though our ranking left us limited I was certain we'd find something that could offer a sweet reward of resources along the way.

"Uuuuuuuuuh..." My voice drawled on as I scanned the Quest Board; did you know you can get Quests from the Quest Board? I know, shocking! That is what I rolled my eyes at when I passed a group on my way here, I think my brain cells started committing suicide one by one after that. "Okay, hunting Jaggi," My tiny smile fell. "Baggi..." Then my gaze deadpanned. "Groggi..." Followed by my posture slumping. "Seriously? All these quests a blind pony could do backwards..."

"Why not this one?" I saw a hoof tap a pinned scroll to the bottom left. Turning, I was met by that same pegasus from yesterday that enchanted our guild cards, the Guild Mare of many blues, Dew. Like the day before, she wore a red sash around her flank with the guild symbol, another as a bandana against her forehead. She passed me a soft smile, one eye squinting back at me. "I've seen many hunters express their dislike of the lower rank quests, but work is work, we can't pick or choose."

"Except when you're trying to climb the ranks..." I sighed, rubbing my nape with a wing. "L-look, I get it, I have to start somewhere, I just wish... it didn't take so long to prove I can do this."

Dew smiled, then shot the board a look for me to follow and pluck off the requests. "Wait... is this...?" I had to squint and reread a few times to make sure my eyes weren't being funny.

Assignment
Trinity of Blades⭐
Main Objective
*Slay 6 Izuchi

-Note; Sightings of a Great Izuchi in the area

Forgotten Oak | Reward 240 Bits | Fee 50 Bits

"It's on the tougher side of the One-Star quests but ponies already took the other big monster quests except for this one," Dew explained. "If you're willing to do it-"

"-Yes-Yes-Yes! One hundred percent!" I practically glowed, drawing a few eyes again. Dew simply blinked with a giggle.

"-Please offer me or another Guild Mare the fee and consider it done," She gave a little bow of her head. "I'll see you shortly, hunter."

I may have to work my way up from nothing but if I can work in a few large monster kills alongside the basic quests then that'll surely get me up to the assessment test for Two-Star in no time at all. Rolling the scroll up, I happily ran out to tell Argo the good news. Or until Dew yanked her tail back. "Huh, what's up?" I cocked my head.

"Before you run off, head over to the blacksmith; Anvil should not only have your new iron weaponry but your clutch claws up to scratch," Then she flapped a wing to hide her knowing grin. "Between you and me, adjust the trigger bolts twice if you want to avoid becoming a pony-sized slingshot, he's not usually the one who adjusts the grapple claws," As she said this, a pony flew between us as his claw sank into a beam above, slamming his muzzle into the first wooden beam.

"I'm okay...!" He groaned, collapsing to the floor between us, wheezing.

"I'll... keep that in mind," Dad's right, these things are tricky without a controller... whatever that was.

Returning the to scene of the crime, I gave my clutch claw the tuning it needed in the air, patting the device as I landed before Argo who was reading through his notes, eyes forever glaring. "So you took this quest in an effort to slay a Great Izuchi? I see several holes in this basket."

"Oh, don't be such a worry-wart, It'll be fine!" I waved with a laugh, clipping my hooves. "I've got bones of literal steel, what can an overgrown raptor do to me?"

"Alot of things, actually, maiming, gutting, shredding, maul-" I plugged his muzzle with my hoof, giving him a flat look as I removed it. "...you know this is dumb."

"So was fighting that Not an Elder Dragon, Gore Magala, and yet here we are," My hooves flung themselves to the air as I left the edge of the southern camp, giving him a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine, I promise, if I slay the Izuchis without running into their pack leader, I'll call it a day,"

"And if you do?" He lowered his book again before the fire.

"Then you'll need to prep the cart to take it back to Kalao - byeeee~!" I sang with a wave of my hoof, diving through the nearest hole in the treeline as his worrying aura left my senses shortly after. I get he's worried, mainly because he isn't a fighter, and I am very reckless, but this wasn't something I couldn't handle, I know I can handle this!

My journey alone wouldn't always be the same, but Argo had to do his own prep work for the future quests so that meant I had no real second opinion, just my own. Tracking was a little tricky since the scoutflies only react to larger threats so I used the map of the Forgotten Oak to pinpoint the sector they'd nest in most frequently. That being section eight east of me.

Prowling the forest, I gathered the materials needed to grind up some health potions, with some pre-made mega potions in my backpack. A few rations to keep up my energy with a pouch filled with stones to use in my clutch claw. Not long later, I found my first three targets. Stalking them from the treetops, I let them pass under the arching branches that made up a natural intersection in the forest, leading east, south, and northwest toward the rising forest.

The bird wyverns had short orange fur throughout the body with some patches of white fur on the head, the base of the neck, back, and tail. Most notable were their unique, scythe-shaped tails. The trio prowled through the forest, colourful fruits stuck on two of their tails from gathering. Drawing my sword and shield, I let my senses flow to a heightened point, arching my body with my wings stretched.

"Quick Attack!" Declaring it startled the Izuchi as I spun down like a silver whirlwind with my blade, slicing the left and right wyverns with the force of an iron bat to their napes, effectively killing them in a single blow. The third avoided me, cawing in terror as the bushes behind it rustled, revealing two more without fruit impeding their tails. My shield met my muzzle with a groan. "Why do I keep saying my moves out loud? It totally ruins the surprise..." But it sounds so cool when I do!

The new two lowered their bodies, whipping their tails close to spin and slash at the open-air while I dove over them, bringing my shield down to crush the third under the weight of the buckler, using my freedom of flight to twirl and toss it into the forth while parrying the fifth's tail, slicing in a criss-cross before tackling it into a tree seconds before my move cancelled out. It growled but flopped against the forest floor.

Using the tree behind me, I pivoted and spun into a helix, blocking the tails with my blade and buckler, landing in a skid down the sloped eastern pathway. The Izuchi gave chase as I slid down on my wobbly hooves, using my clutch claw to fire a hook into a large overhanging bridge made of the trees and vines. Swinging with the added velocity of my wings I flew into a dark canopy aglow with bioluminescent fauna. Behind me, the Izuchi were quick to use their tails as hooks, flinging themselves onto the uneven ground before the steep slope knocked them down.

"Wow, you guys are good at this," I praised though the tail nicking my cheek said otherwise. Doubling back, I bucked the sneaky Izuchi with my hooves, dazing it as another dove over my roll, the face of my shield smashed into the jaw of the new Izuchi. So far, there were three of them, technically four but I silenced the one I battered with my shield quickly. "Nighty-night."

Focusing my feelings into my sword, two more charged me, screeching as a new illumination basked the undergrowth of the trees in a violet pigment. "Night Slash!" The streak of amethyst tore through the leaves and flowers, and the two descending Izuchi collapsed behind me, a hiss ringing off my sword as I turned to meet the remaining two wyverns, themselves stepping backwards timidly. I tisked despite my victory close at hand. "Man... I really wanted to fight a bigger one, but beggars and choosers and all that..." Can't whine, I made a promise. "Let's wrap this up," My fur shimmered silver.

My exasperation stalled as well as my move. Something was behind me, moving fast. Using my wings I flapped sharply to just barely avoid spit-covered rocks striking the ground. I crinkled my nose at the stench, swivelling in the air to find... nothing? The ambience of the forest tickled my ears, and those rocks made my nose useless, a good thing I had perfect eyesight. Unfortunately, whatever was masked by the bushes along the rim of this canopy was smart, avoiding my gaze.

Closing them, I let aura sense expand to my surroundings, the two Izuchi behind me were hissing at my flight advantage, and the larger body of light became visible, as in, it had leapt to attack me kinda visible. My eyes shot wide and I dove back painfully, my face reflected on its scythe as I spun in the air a little from the whiplash, meeting the monster's gaze upsidedown, the two smaller Izuchi flanking it with their tails risen at the ready.

Unlike the smaller Izuchi, this monster was three times as big. Under the matching fur, its cream-coloured scales become dark indigo toward the arms and legs. It has a long and slender snout, with cobra-like fangs on the top and bottom jaw, and orange eyes with very narrow pupils. Its underbelly is clad in large grey plating with smaller plating lining the back. The arms have three digits with the middle finger elongated, becoming hook-like. The most distinctive feature is its tail, which ends in a bony, scythe-like blade, much bigger than its counterparts. The Great Izuchi.

It roared, bringing its body up and around to swipe at my body again, the two smaller Izuchi copying the alpha, diving in an attempt to bring me down. I flew back and landed, releasing my energy into another Quick Attack as I slashed the left one with a horizontal slant, drawing my shield sideways to daze the right while bringing my body backwards to drop-kick the Great Izuchi that recoiled from the strike, slashing at my breastplate with its hooked tail, spinning me around.

"Yah!" I felt a smaller, sharp object slice across my clutch claw that blocked the direct hit to my leg. the weight tugging my left hoof down. Rolling away from the Great Izuchi's tail that swept through the ground I rolled back and swatted one of the Izuchi aside, blocking another with my buckler. These two were just as good as their leader, I think that's why they didn't attack me, they can fight smarter. "Tch, Dark Pulse!" I evened the playing field, releasing a dark wave of my frustration on the two Izuchi, the blast sending them flying back, killing one while paralyzing the other.

"Rawr!" The leader released its howl, spinning toward me as I blocked the second spin, the third slashing close to my flank had I not dived forward, a few hairs shaved from my tail. The Izuchi growled, leaping toward me to hook its claws into my shield, plucking it down against my own strength. Grinding my teeth together while my hooves sunk down into the mud from the force, small sparks scratching at my shield.

"Tch!" I twisted my right hoof down, slicing across its cheek before thrusting the buckler against its face with a mighty 'clang', then a second time with the edge of the shield, and a third that I used to hoist myself over its body with a rising slash, flapping my wings to afford me a little more time to twirl and bring my shield down on its skull, knocking the wyvern down with a wail. With the Great Izuchi immobilized, I hacked and slashed its underbelly, splintering a few of its claws while it attempted to stand.

*Bam!*

I was so fixed on the larger Izuchi that the underling that survived kicked me away, using its tail to pin my shield against my chest. "Get off!" I grunted, the wyvern distracting me long enough for its alpha to stand, a wave of anger and spite bubbling from its chest, it was enraged now. Using the force of my back hooves, I struck the smaller Izuchi in the stomach, flinging it up and over my head while flying haphazardly to avoid the slam of the massive tail, tumbling as I did.

The bleeding Great Izuchi chased after me, using that spiralling attack to sweep the area, forcing me to ascend into its jaws so I swatted it with my buckler, only for the tail to tear from the ground, backhanding me across the cheek. I rolled slightly, coughing up fur before raising my shield, seeing the large sickle-blade pierce my shield, nicking my hoof and stopping an inch before my forehead, sweat snaking down my face.

My face was beginning to turn red, trying to keep the pressure from gouging out my shoulder as I struggled to push the tail back this time. That's when my hood's collar fluttered aside, giving me a perfect view of both my coral necklace and one I wore beside it. "M-my moon opal..." I ground my teeth, pressing my shield against my shoulder, keeping the tail from pricking my fur as I pressed the opal against my chest to crush it. "Come on! B-Breaaak!!" I screamed, feeling it split and fold against my barding, the pale blue dust trickling out from under my hood. "M-Meditor - aH!" I felt blood draw from my shoulder.

The cloud of dust expanded to cover us both, my clutch claw sinking into a low-hanging root that flung me from the expanding cloud in time, a long but not deep cut across my shoulder from moving so abruptly. Swaying in the air, the Great Izuchi stumbled out of the cloud, colliding with an old, hollowed trunk of a tree, bringing dry, deadwood and fauna atop its body. Gulping down my mega potion, I swung my body and fired my clutch claw again, the hooks biting into its nape as I descended upon it.

Rotating like a buzzsaw, I tore across its nape, spraying blood from the gash that didn't quite dig deep enough. The orange eye rolled up to my glare, the pupil slit as it recovered, shaking off the bark as it lunged into another spin. Flailing my wings wide I did the same, spinning with my blade wide, clashing with its scythe-like tail once more, deflecting it while bringing my shield down, my foreleg bathed in dark purple. Night Slash scarred the air, shattering hardlight splitting scales and shredding fur with enough force to break a portion of its weapon as I flew overhead.

"Is that all you got!?" I cried to its roar, diving down vertically, slicing down the length of its face and neck, avoiding the tail that swept the sky again, only with a sluggish weight behind it. "It's succumbing to its wounds?" That flash of hope burnt up any anxiety in my chest, my hooves leaving a small impact in the dirt as I spun on my hind legs to meet the monster's wide jaws, jamming them with my buckler, the Great Izuchi recoiling in protest, attempting to pluck the obstruction from its jaws.

Unbuckling my leg, I flicked my right hoof forward, seeing the grapple hook cling to the bloodied scales, throwing me against its face as it thrashed and flailed its tail. Slashing twice, I dug my blade deeper, locking my clutch claw to its face with every stone I had collected in the slinger. With one angled twist of my hoof, the mechanism fired, releasing buckshot of stones into its face, sending the Great Izuchi flying into the nearby wall, breaking a few fangs.

"Now's my chance!" Pressing the final attack, I dove backwards from its tail's final attempt to gut me, flying high enough that my hooves touched the tallest branches, seeing the sunlight above before I propelled toward the surface with a dance of several swords around my body, sharpening my blade with its scarlet light.

There was a flash of light, a crimson halo expelled between us as my blade's glow fizzled away against the sunken chest of the Great Izuchi, the eyes glazed over with its tail flopping behind me, again, so very close to taking my life. For a moment, in my reflection against my shield still trapped in its jaws, I thought my eyes were red, huh, weird. Letting out a dry laugh, I fell onto my back, panting heavily after I exhausted my strength.

"My second monster slain, how was that, Mom, Dad?" I coughed, expecting no answer from the chirping forest as I rested my sore, and injured body. Groaning, I pushed myself to sit upright. "No rest for the wicked," Putting my sword away, I exchanged it for my carving knife, if I was to make it anywhere in hunting bigger monsters, I needed better equipment. Even Great Izuchis were tough, so I needed to be tougher. "Sorry, big, bad, and bloody, I'll be taking your armour; thank you for the donation, hehe," Spinning the knife, I sunk it deep into its scales.

<><><>Quest Complete!<><><>

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Out of all starting large monsters in Rise, Great Izuchi is by far my favourite to fight, just something about it I love to combat with my own trio team. Akira's determined more than ever to climb the ranks, so long as Argo gets to along with her.

I'd also like to take this time to explain that the monsters our characters face will not be prolonged fights unless it's story-driven, as I can't find myself writing every encounter with monsters as the same, hit and run we've come to expect from Monster Hunter, just adds more inventive flair when I can.

I hope you enjoyed, appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Hunters!

Chp. 6 - Bitter Sweet
Honoring her word, Akira takes Argo out on a lovely date through the woods for a gathering quest. But they're not the only ones out gathering...

Chp. 6 - Bitter Sweet

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Assignment
Bitter Sweet ⭐
Main Objective
*Gather 10 Honey

Forgotten Oak | Reward 285 Bits | Fee 50 Bits

"Level with me, why's it a gathering quest gives more Bits than a hunt?" I listed off while staring up at the emerald green ceiling above me.

"Cost-efficient," Argo replied softly.

"So less blood money, you mean?" I cocked my head to him as his amber magic field pushed it back, not saying a word but he didn't deny it. Rubbing my chin with my left-wing, I gasped. "There, finally!" I wasn't impatient, but when you've walked past the same tree with a face that's laughing at you three times, it tends to drive a bat pony mad.

Hanging from a small grey tree was our prize, a glistening honeycomb dripping with the golden liquid, and a few bees buzzing around but a few stings is a quick antidote away from disappearing. Argo approached it to begin carving out the comb we needed for collection as I stood guard in my new, and much softer gear.

I now had an orange headband cap with Izuchi fur hanging like hair to the right side, cobalt scales lined a breastplate and gauntlets with thick orange outer scales, and three clean white claws lining the bracers. Attached to my left foreleg were my orange buckler, a grave shield with two large Great Izuchi fangs welded to the bottom, and my sword decorated with the alpha's colorful fur and feathers across the guard. Great Izuchi armor, best upgrade that... I had no real test for yet -- me and my big mouth but an Amadeus keeps their word.

The area was nearest the center of the Forgotten Oak, a large open space where the largest trees created a natural wall and roof over the area with rays of light piercing spots where smaller trees grew around the darker portion of the forest. A few animals grazed nearby, primarily a herd of Kelbi. A dear-like creature that poses very little threat. They are usually green for the males and blue for the females. Males have large, prominent horns, making it a herd of six with three each. They were very durable creatures too... those horns are used for a type of potion too...

A sharp bonk echoed throughout my skull, "Ow!"

"Don't," Argo's magic levitated the butt of his hunting knife away from my pout as I huffed and sat on a fallen log to wait. This is just so booooring...!

Deciding to do something with my life, I whipped out from my saddlebag a silver tool with a matching net, a bug net, and crept toward a nearby hollow tree were a few blue bugs bathed in the sunlight. Quickly, my hooves swung down, snatching two of them at once, Bitterbugs were a must for crafting. Next, I swept the bushes nearby, procuring myself a few other bugs of various uses. Ever since the ecosystems of Equestria and the Old World became a mesh after the Rift Crisis a few years back these kinds of animals became wildly sought after by researchers to further understand the rapid change in the world.

"Wonder if Dad's world got affected too?" I've never been to the world he came from, I wonder what it's like? I have an aunt there, and grandparents too...

My curiosity had to stop at the station as the tracks switched to the hunter's train service. Spinning around, I threw my bug net away and ran for Argo who just finished his next collection of honey into a saddlebag when he blinked slowly, tackled behind the same tree by yours truly. He didn't complain, the second our eyes met, the seriousness I probably beamed into his eyes forced his muzzle shut, and a slow stomp toward us put the fur on the backs of our necks on end.

The heavy thuds froze, then we jumped as the tree bent against Argo's back, forcing me to push my hooves against the bark to hold it steady. Peeking out, we got a good look at our trespasser stealing our hard-earned honey from the bees. An ursine body covered in turquoise-colored fur. Its back is made of a tough hide like a carapace. The claws were a pair of elongated red nails, each claw had a tough brace encasing and protecting the wrist and forearm. Large, bulky legs connected to much smaller feet and a short, wide tail. It was our old friend from the trial only less disgusting, Arzuros.

The fanged beast licked and munched on the sweet-smelling honey as it tore a chunk off to eat between its claws. I gave Argo a slow nod, and reluctantly, he mirrored the action, translation, 'fine, only because we need that honey too'. With a smirk, I drew my sword and prepared for battle, focusing my dark aura around the blade, lacing its edge in a magenta pigment. "Night Slash - Square!" My own new alternate move. Taking the brute by surprise, I tore through the air, carving a deep gash through its right forearm, then across the jaw, down the left arm, and between them both, disarming the honey from its claws.

Landing as the contrail square vanished, the bear tumbled backward, rolling onto all fours to roar, charging toward me angrily. It wasn't nearly as strong as the Frenzy-infested one, and my new sword was sharper thanks to the Great Izuchi. The sun caught the face of my blade as I drew it backward, flying straight at the Arzuros. It rose up, slashing in two wide streaks that I effortlessly evaded, slicing across its hardened back with some considerable resistance. It sat back, banging against my shield before throwing itself around to swipe its claws down at me.

I leapt into a backflip, balancing on my back hooves before lunging again with a blackish-purple haze overtaking my shield in waves. "Dark Pulse - Bash!" I struck its forehead with my shield in a swipe, then in a forward slam that flowed into an uppercut as I flew toward the treetops, my shield sparkling with my ferocious descent, colliding with the top of Arzuros' scalp with a halo of dark energy, knocking the beast through a nearby tree and into the dirt with a grunt and howl. "Combo breaker!"

"Akira!" Argo yelled over from a distance but I just flashed a fanged grin and pursued the downed bear.

Closing my eyes as I dove backward into a wide arc, I pushed all my energy toward the tips of my hooves, a heat rising within my chest that exploded into a twirling stance of four swords, further increasing my strength as my eyes opened wide with a scarlet glint. Arzuros stood tall, howling loudly as it too obtained a red contrail around its irises, it was enraged.

"Okay, those claws need to go, already broke the carapace on its back," Nodding to myself, I felt my vision blur as my body took off like a rocket, zipping around the forest as the Arzuros swung frantically in an effort to catch my blurring form. When it swung, I slashed down across the arm left waiting to strike, then doubled back, creating a silver cyclone of slants across the bulky forearms until cracks began to form across them and the claws. Spinning around to land with a bow, I tipped my cap to the beast with my back to a boulder. "Toro, Toro!" I teased, seeing it paw at the dirt before charging toward me.

As it picked up speed, I fired out my right arm's clutch claw, sinking the teeth around Arzuros' right shoulder before retracting, dragging me up and over its wide grab, hearing its head slam into the boulder, splitting it in two. Dazed, I grappled onto its back, forcing the monster to thrash and roar in an attempt to throw me off, diving and slashing the air as I maintained my balance with my wings extended. Gotta love being a bat pony in these situations.

"Sorry - yah - but you're - ngh - going down!" Reeling back, the wire dug around Arzuros' throat, tugging it toward the centermost tree in the forest before I released the clutch claw, sending it flying into the tree with a resounding crash. Several scales shattered before it fell over, the claws reduced to fractured stubs. My legs buckled but my wings were strong, pulling me off the ground to charge another dark edge around my sword as I fired my clutch claw to the low-hanging branches of the tree, sliding on my flank until I was underneath the drooling maw of the beast.

With a powerful yell, I carved through the mud and across the bark of the tree, doubling back with a twirl, decoupling my claw in time to widen my swing, tearing a deep gash through the side of Arzuros' nape, bringing the wailing beast down with a heavy thud, amethyst particles dissipating around me. Its aura slowly trickled and faded away into embers.

When the dust and rumble through the ground settled, I gave a silly salute to Argo's cautious approach, eyes forever stuck in that bored stare but his expression was a contrast to such. "You know..." He glanced at the dead fanged beast, then to me. "...you could've lured it away."

"Yeeeeah, but then I'd pass on some handy materials," I half admitted, I may or may not have heard one was wandering around the area, hence my observations while Argo gathered the materials for our assignment. "All's well that ends well!"

He sighed slowly, brow flat. "We haven't obtained the correct amount of - huh?" His face perked up as I set a few honeycombs before him. Five to be precise, bringing our combined total to fourteen. "When did you...?"

"Oh, the honey?" I was already back by the Arzuros, picking away at the good stuff first after setting a flare down to alert the local Palicoes that I had a monster to cart off, they were really sweet things. "Eh, this guy had been stripping a few bare beehives before we got here, I just grabbed the scraps he left, and low and behold, he eventually came right to us," I smiled sweetly, licking some honey off my lips. "Well? Is that all you needed?"

"Uh, yes... this will do," He seemed surprised, guess he's never actually seen me working before we joined the Guild. Sure, we hung out when I was in Canterlot or he was in Ponyville, but that was just us being kids dreaming of the future, but I... never took this half-heartedly. "Thank you... for helping I mean." He was bashful as I giggled behind my wing.

"I love ya, brothers in arms and all that," His scarlet-orange orbs crossed with my amethyst stare. "Even if it's small, I'll stick my neck out for you -- even for a really, really annoying quest," I shivered, throwing my head back. "Three Hours we've been at this! Three!!"

In a rare moment of blissful thinking, Argo snorted softly, cracking a tiny smile. "I'll be sure to pay for dinner then,"

"Thank you, I treasure our friendship!" I yelled back.

<><><>Quest Complete!<><><>

To Be Continued...

Chp. 7 - Dazed and Confused

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Nightfall descended upon the Forgotten Oak, basking the tranquil forest in a deep shade of blue and white, the wildlife was tame, and distant growls of nocturnal monsters spanned the trees and darkest overpasses. I wish I could take it all in, I really did...

"Aw crap, I'm so lost..." My ears flattened against my head as I spun around slowly in the air, my journal out to detail my map in the moonlight, a few fireflies dancing with my stray scoutflies that, like me, didn't know where the camp was. Scratching my head, I turned to an opening that led to higher ground, leading out of an old wide river that had become a lush flatland with terraces of rock scaling the walls of the forest. "Was the camp to the south or east?"

Flying above the forest wouldn't help, the camps that dotted the forest were meant to be hidden to avoid flying wyverns swooping in, but maybe... Taking flight, I shot through the trees to the sea of green stretched far and wide, if I squinted, the tip of the red temple of Kalao was visible along the horizon's mountain range. Then I spotted it, a faint smoke trail leaving the trees, it was northeast of me, perfect. Landing on the forest floor, I brushed off my wings and trotted in that direction, using the natural pathways the forest provided.

Who needs a map anyway when you have night vision? My smug train of thought stopped at the station abruptly when I slid down a bundle of roots into the next open pocket within the forest, the shadow of the massive tree above obscuring the light. Vibrant plants and fauna came to life, returning the forest to an ambient glow of cyan, magenta, and white. Pretty as it was, it wasn't what stopped me dead in my tracks.

A few wayward Jaggi were stumbling about like drunks from the cafeteria, yellow sparks buzzed around their heads as they tried to walk in a straight line. Suddenly, the lowest branches of the large tree above me tore wide open, and a pair of talons swept down to maim the beasts. The lizards had no self-awareness and were sent flying into the ground or smaller trees, one unfortunately crushed beneath the weight of the assassin.

A giant owl with a body covered in blue plumage with a grayish belly, a yellow collar, and a white face with a small beak and red eyes. On its head are long tufts that point back and are tipped with yellow. There are hints of yellow on its legs that end in scaly feet that have two talons and one small vestigial toe. Its wings have bright blue membranes. Along its wings are long blade-like claws. Its flattened tail ends in a three-pointed shape. The Nocturnal Bird, Malfestio - conclusion? I should've taken a day job.

"I cannot fight this thing!" I like to think I'm pretty good at my job despite being a low-rank, but while my abilities could take this thing, my gear and lovely grey coat? Well, ever seen what a hungry dragon does to a slab of meat? Yeah, ugly picture. With a nervous smile, I slooooowly turned around, carefully spreading my wings to run with my tail between my legs, I can just take the long way back.

*Snap*

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me?" I stepped on a rouge twig. My shoulders slumped and immediately snapped forward with my wings as something slammed to the ground behind me. Turning, I found myself being charged down by the mad owl as it pecked toward me, swiping at my tail with its talons. "Okay, Hedwig, let's see you keep up with this speed!" Tucking my wings closer I shot through the oval-shaped clearing like a bullet, doubling back to bring my shield to bear, colliding with the Malfestio's left wing with enough force to break a few scales as it tumbled from the sky, rising to face me with a cry.

It threshed its wings, scattering those yellow scales as I gasped and dove away when it slammed the ground with a quick stomp, the pollen creating a dome around its body. Then, to my surprise, it just blew the whole field of powder toward me! Twisting my hips, I spiraled upward, narrowly evading the confusion bubble in time to dive down and slash across its head as it followed me without moving its body. The monster spun around, clawing at the air, pushing me back for another shedding of pollen that I dropped from the air to evade.

"Ngh!" My bones groaned to hold my shield upright, tanking the sweep of a sharp wing before a gust of wind threw me back. I swung my blade wide, striking with a combined ferocity of Night Slash as the whole sword vibrated off the shielding wing, sending an awful sensation through my leg to my ribs that left me shivering. Malfestio dove back, scattering the pollen-infused scales around me. "I can't fight it with what I have now!" Tapping out of this battle, I spread my wings and took flight when Malfestio slammed down, obscuring itself in a golden shroud of dust.

That's when it hit me, a warm wind brushed through my mane and armor, and a stinging scent overpowered my nostrils, causing my flight pattern to completely invert like my motor functions were all the opposite. The pollen was swept up and caught me, I stumbled into the tree only to feel pain erupt from my left flank, a sharp line of dark blue feathers splitting my barding like a hot knife. Collapsing against the fallen tree, I wheezed, trying to shake off the confusion with my wing fiddling with my bag.

Malfestio wasn't through, however, performing an odd dance with both wings spread upright to reveal the circular patterns on the neon blue underside of its wings. There was a shimmer and distortion before a wave of sonic vibrations rattled my skull with unpleasant but oddly alluring signals. Then it happened, my body was starting to feel very sluggish and heavy, like an anvil was placed on my back. I was... starting to... fall... asleep...

...

"Dark Pulse!" My hooves swung upward in time to usher a volley of negative light into the descending talons of the enlarged owl. It howled in pain, flinched from the negative force while flying haphazardly in the air above me. I licked my lips, tasting the sweet nectar of my energy drink I snuck down my throat before the effects of the soundwave could knock me out. Swishing my sword back to my hoof, I shot straight between the monster's wings, diving out of the forest before I arched slowly in the moonlight, casting a crimson glow over my fur during my nose-dive. "My turn... Night Slash - Arc!"

Branches and leaves fell around us, and by the time Malfestio recovered from my own disorienting attack, its eyes dialed at its own reflection against my shield. Bringing my sword down in two vertical arcs, the crescent force brought the beast down hard onto a bundle of vines and roots that gave out from underneath Malfestio, ensnaring its wings in a natural vine trap, the very one it set off when it slammed me into the tree. I broke a few scales and a talon, so in a small whip, I gathered the rare parts and quickly took off far away from the bird wyvern.

When the warmth of a crackling campfire rushed over my aching body, I just finished clotting my wounded flank with a mega potion, tossing the empty jar aside. Argo was fast asleep so I won't bother him with the details. Instead, I threw my weapons aside, and promptly faceplanted my pillow, not bothering with the blanket as I quickly wished to fall asleep. Instead, I stared at my pillow, whimpering in defeat. The energy drink is still pumping through my veins, and I swear I could hear that stupid owl laughing at my misfortune.

To Be Continued...

Chp. 8 - Rage

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Another day in Kalao was going by swimmingly. Sure, still stuck at one star, but it wouldn't be long before me and Argo were soaring into the second rank, really, the quest board for us had been nearly completed, and with a few bonus points fighting large monsters that got in our way. This was annoying but I was really starting to get into the groove. I hummed happily as I returned to Argo standing by the board again, a few other hunters coming and going as I slid up to his side.

"So, what's on the docket this afternoon?" I asked chipperly when he made a short noise.

"...the Frost Peaks," His magic tugged off a new gathering quest. "We've gotten used to quests within the Forgotten Oak, and one down at the Roaring Marsh, I feel a change of location is paramount."

"Hm, good call," I nodded, taking the quest. "Ahem, 'Hunt and gather Six Popo tounges', okay, gross, how is this a delicacy again?" It was for the head chef Palico, he was a strange, if not very eccentric, person who could turn even the most unappealing items into an edible dish. My eyes flattened with an unnerved smile, "Y'know, doesn't mean he should use ingredients like this..."

"I shall wait then," With a wave, I left Argo for the front desk to sign off the quest.

I didn't wait long before I was seen by one of the Guild Mares, placing the notice before her with the 150 Bits fee, a bit pricey for a gathering quest but my wallet wasn't drying up anytime soon. The mare nodded to me with a smile, "Okay, let me just get this approved, please wait a moment," She left her desk to do whatever it is they did in terms of paperwork, I don't have the IQ for their job anyhow.

"Well-well, here I thought you'd have run off by now, Aki-" I think the universe hates me specifically. Unavoidable, I stomached a sigh and met with both Silver and Blue, oh great, snake eyes for this mare. "-color me impressed," That spiteful look fit the odd emotion I saw swimming around in that aura of his, is he... ugh, oh Gods just no!

"What is it now, Silver?" I didn't even try to hide my scorn for the guy. Since day one, which was roughly two weeks ago, he's been constantly biting at me, commenting about my equipment, which was a reinforced Izuchi armor still, my looks, and just about the way I breathed in his general direction. It's funny really, if he actually managed to put two and two together that my dad was the Guild Leader, he'd practically die of a heart attack the second I looked at him funny. But, against my wishes, I bit my tongue, my dad's position wouldn't solve my problems.

"Hey, Silver, check it-" Blue prodded a hoof behind me at the desk, his eyes had caught my quest notice. "-she's still a one star!" The large stallion's stone-like armor, Barroth armor to be accurate, shook with his throaty laugh.

"And here I heard you fought an Elder Dragon-" My eyes flinched when Silver's condescending tone appeared, then he laughed in my face, ruffling my mane uncomfortably. "-no, wait, sorry! Somepony else took care of that for you, and get this, wasn't even an Elder Dragon! Hah, how pathetic is that!?" His two other companions stood nearby, one of them laughed too, the other just looked the other way, clearly unimpressed herself.

My cheeks burned from the constant insults, and I swear, one punch would knock his jaw off and I could leave. I just... shaking a breath from my lips, I turned to the counter after hearing the Guild Mare return. "Thanks," I offered, taking the quest form and leaving with my head down. Then I yelped as a sharp lash struck my flank, and another roar of laughter escaped Silver and Blue when the latter's magic dissipated. "..." I stomached my lunch, face completely scarlet as I stomped past their companions, not sparing them a second to check their auras, it was all the same rotten texture.

I just wanted to do my job.

What else was I supposed to do?

Assignment
No Go on the Popo ⭐
Main Objective
*Hunt and gather 6 Popo Tongues

Frost Peaks| Reward 350 Bits | Fee 150 Bits

The Frost Peaks were a sudden shift from the norm for me, what with snow two inches thick for the most part along the various trails between the mountains, and the abundance of new plants and animals to see it was a relaxing change of pace. Well, if I wasn't so heated I could melt the snow with just my hooves, my eyes felt itchy so I did my best to shovel my feelings down to avoid any issues. Behind me, wrapped up in a white winter coat, was Argo, the studious unicorn following me into the mountains on a search for Popo.

So far, we had one Popo tongue, the rest of the herd had run off as I collected the piece I needed, and some extra materials for another winter venture, my hooves are freezing right now. My scoutflies tracked them deeper into the mountains, the peaks further up through a thick layer of dark clouds, the howling wind arching through the valleys as we wandered through an icy cavern toward the next plateau that overlooked the world far below.

Through the echoes of water dripping from stalactites, Argo cleared his throat. "Akira, are you... okay?" His concerned tone forced my hooves to slow their ascent. "It's just... you've been quiet, and much more aggressive on this quest," He pressed further, looking around the cave systems over the lip to our left. "Even while gathering resources, I... you're okay, right?"

Turning to him, I brought a smile to my muzzle. "Never better!" Then I brushed it off with a wing. "That clown's been on my case for years, at this point it's all reused insults and tricks, nothing a body of steel bones can't handle, hehe!" Folding my wing, I offered him a gentler look. "Thanks for worrying, but I just want to get out of this place, I can't feel my hooves.

Argo nodded, "Very well," He bought it, for now. Turning back to the mouth of the cave, we came out to the sunlight, what little could break the ceiling of grey, and there were several other paths to take, one leading toward the peak to the far side of the plateau. And two valleys leading down the mountain again with a wide cliff facing the world afar. If only it was sunny, this would make for an amazing sight in the afternoon. "There they are." His observations were correct.

Popo have especially thick hair covering their eyes. Large hooved feet, large curved tusks though the females are smaller. In the herd, only four remained, and I only needed two to complete our request. Drawing my sword, I took to the sky, masking my glide with the wind so as to not alert them. Steadily, my dark energy was applied to the blade's edge, shrouding it in dark purple light. Diving down, my body spun into an arc, sweeping the thick napes of two Popo with one fell swoop, frightening the others away as I smirked, sheathing my blade to carve what we needed.

"Mission accomplished," I chimed at Argo's approach, himself documenting a few notes on Popo as I chopped out the slimy tongues, swallowed my lunch again, and packed them away. It was awfully easy compared to a hunt against carnivorous monsters, plus the Popo are really nice creatures so I always ensure to go after the elder ones, which is probably why my hooves might fall off soon. Curse my kindness for adorable creatures. Teeth chattering, I turned to my friend. "Let's go home, I need a hot bath."

"You and me both," He concurred, then paused, causing me to stumble into his backside. "Where did the Popo go?"

"Huh?" Shaking my head, I scanned the area for their auras but... there was nothing. Furrowing my brow, I tried to expand my aura sense further. "Maybe down the mountain? They do know when to make an exit..."

"Perhaps, but before, they ran only because you pursued them, typically, they'd have stopped running before vacating the area by now," Argo had analyzed their behavior furrowly, and that worried me. Not about his extensive research, but what that meant for us right now. "Unless something was chasing them too."

"But... what was chasing them?" My words fell on death's ears when my scoutflies flashed cherry red, retreating into the lamp on my belt, a few remained, flying away from above us on the mountain walls surrounding most sides of the plateau. Fear rolled up my back like winter's glare, and my body's core temperature fell into the minuses. Argo was the same, stumbling back behind me with frightened eyes as his breath hitched at what we followed up to the top of the ridge.

Two large claws dug against the ice and snow, balancing the large body over the edge to stalk us. A large, quadrupedal wyvern with a massive head and jaws, powerful limbs, and striking yellow/blue striped coloration stood out in the white and grey haze. The top of its head was tipped with a pair of horn-like ears, and its segmented tail ends with a spiny protrusion. Toxic, potent bloodlust dripped from its dark aura, flooding my aura sense with enough negativity to overpower my own. I recoiled, this monster...

It leapt down onto the snow, a small plume shrouding its towering figure and bulging muscles. With a deep growl, it raised its head, the membrane attached to the front legs expanding as a deep, thunderous roar threatened to burst our eardrums, dispelling the cloud of snow. The Roaring Wyvern, Tigrex.

"Run..." My voice croaked, and eventually, seeing the large forearms sink through the snow, I found my ability to scream. "RUN NOW!"

Argo, thankfully, heard me this time as I dove into a roll underneath the Tigrex as it tore across the snow, biting down on air before turning to face me with a snarl. I shifted through the snow, diving at its large head to snag its horn with my clutch claw, pulled away from its claw swipe in time to dig my blade through the outer scales, slicing downward to weaken its body, but my blade barely made a dent as pain erupted in my right side, the other forearm shoving me backward through the snow in a heap.

Tigrex slammed its heel into the snow, dislodging a mixture of rock and ice that tumbled toward me. Flying over the mounds, I almost froze up again, drawing forth Swords Dance to give me as much power as possible. Sweeping sideways to evade another rock barrage, I dipped over the snapping jaws, bringing my blade across its back in a sweeping pattern, bashing the tail with my shield though my muscles nearly tore themselves apart when the tail swung around in a spin, swatting my through the snow again.

The brute charged toward me, jaws wide to bite me in half. Thinking on my toes, I hopped to the side, evading the chop to slam my shield against the underside of its teeth, then again to see its eyes flinch. Running up its face, I leapt and spun around to descend with my shield, cracking the surface off its scalp with a piercing ring. Then Tigrex roared in my face, and I physically felt my smaller cuts widen from the sheer force, not to mention my sensitive hearing left me deaf momentarily.

I stumbled off its head, my clutch claw's wire snapped as it brought its head around to slam against my chest, and I swore something cracked as my wail was cut dry, burying me deep into the snowbank against the mountain. This was just like with Gore Magala, I couldn't even make a dent in this thing. My purple gaze focused again on the beast barreling toward me, and all I could sense was anger. Okay then... anger it is... sorry Mom, Dad.

Digging up my own wounds brought forth a considerable amount of hatred within me. It did bother me, every hurtful word, against me, my parents. The harassment borderline assault made my skin crawl and my heart rate nearly explode. All of it made my blood boil and my head filled with nothing but spite. I glared back at Tigrex, and my eyes were blood red.

Shifting through the snow, I adjusted my posture and flew like an arrow, spearing the side of its head with enough force behind my shield to bend the metal plating, but it worked, Tigrex toppled over like a sack of bricks. It immediately clawed its way back on all fours, shoveling another barrage of snow my way that my blade tore through with ease, twirling into a corkscrew with my wings, drilling the tip of my blade against its right arm, slamming the blade down with my back hooves like a cleaver, leaving a gash in its scales. Flicking myself and my sword over its side bite, I swung around, a dark arc of purple light staining the sky and across its cheekbone, followed by a jump slant through the head again while I flew past the tail, slashing at its stomach and armpit.

Heaving a sigh, I watched as Tigrex fell over, growling in pain. Blood dripped down my chin and my armor was falling apart, even my clutch claw was useless say for the slinger. I felt the heat from my eyes fade and pain return to my bones while I desperately drank down a mega potion to relieve the stress on my body but I couldn't win, my sword was nicked all over, and my shield was about to split in half. I'm totally screwed.

"Coming through... coming through...!" Someone was heading toward me? No, toward Tigrex? It didn't even notice, neither did I until now. Caught up in my own emotions, someone kicked up a wall of snow behind them, heading in a straight line for the brute wyvern without remorse. Were they insane? I... really shouldn't be thinking that. "Coming... Through!!"

Before Tigrex would deafen me once more, something small and face collided with its head, breaking the left horn like a twig with two, silver scaled swords in each scaly hand. The shockwave flung Tigrex across the plateau away from me, burying it in snow. The new hunter landed with pride, the sunlight catching their body as my eyes widened considerably at both the heroics and sheer stupidity.

The person was a wingless drake of average height to my Dad with an extremely toned and muscular build, possessing large, defined muscles most notably over his stomach and arms. His scales were dark grey-blue with a peachy stomach and under his arms. What was most defining of all was his equipment. No chestplate, only a pair of bracers made with whitish-blue fur and matching scales, a belt too with white animal fur wrapped around his waist. Scale leg wraps with furry hide which exposes his heels and toes, which also appear to be what fastens the sandal bases he wears on his feet.

Lastly, a beautiful helmet of a hollowed-out dragon's head made of golden scales, the eyes clear white with two short crystal-white horns jutting from the scalp. I've never seen a monster with a head like that but it looked vaguely similar to an Elder Dragon I read about. The dragon wearing a dragon's head swung his right rectangular sword forward, the matching machetes to his armor crackling with yellow sparks. "My name is Garu Daora, son of the greatest Elder Dragon in history, Garuba Daora! Die for me, become my springboard toward the strongest Elder Dragons of all!!"

"What the heck's a 'Garuba Daora'? A subspecies?" I've read up on almost every type of monster my Dad's ever known but that was definitely not one of them.

Whatever the case may be, a cloud of snow rose above the mountain wall, and through the haze, Tigrex lunged into a frenzied charge, eyes glowing red. I wanted to yell for the guy to dodge but he just bent both arms back, muscles clenched in preparation. And the air... it was starting to circulate around him? What is he? "First Form-" Garu swung both arms into a cross chop, sliding underneath Tigrex's bite to slash two wide arcs through its chin, releasing a harsh wind that knocked the brute backward. "-Air Cutter!"

Garu leapt to block one of Tigrex's forearms with his sword, sparks crackling as he threw the leg back to striking in a series of slashes that Tigrex had trouble evading. It spun around, swiping at the ground with its tail only to miss the drake now landing on its back. Garu brought both swords to his upper right. "Second Form - Saw!" With a whirlwind of frigid wind, he shredded through Tigrex's back, splitting the membrane on the left arm into tattered rags with a flurry of cuts.

Landing before me, Garu marveled at his strength, he radiated with overconfidence but an instinct, unlike any other hunter I've seen. "What the hell are you doing?" I flinched when those blank white eyes on the golden helmet burrowed into my sockets. "I thought you were strong, hmph, instead you're just sitting there waiting for it to kill you!"

"Huh, I'm not..." Looking down at my sword, it really was about to break, so what could I -- no! Shaking my head, I cast my weapon aside, flying next to Garu. "Screw it... can you beat it?"

"Hahahaha, easily!" He brandished his cleavers, well, good enough I suppose.

"Right, I'll give you an opening, 'kay!?" Flying above the battle, Garu waved one blade up angrily.

"I didn't ask for your help! I can beat this thing with my eyes closed!" He yelled a lot, but that's what I'm hoping for.

"Well, suck it up, princess!" That made him freeze, then narrowly avoid a boulder sent flying over the cliff. "Just wait, you'll see the opening!"

Not wanting to stick around for him to yell at me again, I had to take this opportunity while I could. Naturally, it made sense to just pack things in and leave, I have the Popo tongues so why stay when this guy's out for Tigrex blood? I honestly don't know what's compelling me forward, why I'm bothering to fight an unwinnable battle in my case. Maybe I really just wanted to prove a point, yeah, I guess that would be selfish of me. Enhancing my body with Swords Dance, I flew wide and fast, furthering my agility with Quick Attack with Tigrex switching its focus onto me, slamming the ground for a series of ice boulders.

"Night Slash - Pentagram!" Overwhelming my forelegs with darkness, I brought the astral blades through the chunks of ice, clearing my path forward with five streaks of dark light when the snapping jaws of the brute were within inches from my muzzle. I braced, throwing my hooves wide to grab the insides of the Tigrex's jaws. Like a vice, I held them apart as the beast uncomfortably thrashed, my bones feeling like they could bend and break at any moment. "Come on, just a little more..." A hot breath seethed between my teeth. I didn't just put all this effort to die on some random mountain top!

I wanted to be stronger.

I want to be proud of myself.

I... I will find the Black Dragon!

"No matter what it takes, so will you SHUT UP ALREADY!?!" My scream tore at my throat, and a streak of silver tore through Tigrex's mouth, leaving it gagging and wailing with blood dripping down onto the pristine snow. Protruding from my forehooves I brandished a pair of long silver claws. "Metal Claw...!" Fueled by hatred, I skewered the weakened scales atop its head, throwing myself over its bloodied jaws to hack and slash down the nape, flinging scale fragments through the air. "Now!"

Diving away, a shadow passed over me, using my chest like a stepping stone to launch himself over the spinning Tigrex. I landed in the snow again, facing the snarling beast as its claws pinned against my claws while drool pooled from its teeth with a mixture of crimson. But from above, the sunlight bathing his glimmering headpiece, Garu spun down with that move of his, dragging wind and thunder alongside his arms. "Second Form - Saw!" A silver whiplash cleaved through Tigrex's nape, spraying blood with a strained roar that shook my skull.

Tigrex stumbled off my body, trying to stand up straight had blood now guzzled from its nape like a fountain, eventually dropping the beast of raw muscle and strength in a heap on the snow, the chest growing still within seconds. Doesn't matter how strong the monster may be, if you damage a vital point enough it'll topple, guess the same went for a Tigrex. A pair of grey-blue legs kicked the snow next to me, and when I stared up at the drake with blood-soaked swords I swore I was next, paling considerably.

"You..." He growled.

"M-me?" I squeaked.

"That was so freakin' cool!!" He pumped his fists with a twinkle around his head. "Those claws of yours... are you a chimera! I wanna fight you next! Come on!"

"Eh? Wait what? Now?" I looked around. My armor, weapons, and body were all totaled for today, I needed a two-day nap after this. "Dude, I nearly died out there!"

"Your welcome," He huffed with a sense of pride, hands on his hips. "It's thanks to me you got to see the glorious Garu Daora in action! But you... you dived right into the jaws of that beast like it was nothing! It was so cool!" Then the blank eyes of his mask narrowed, red ticks appearing as he stomped. "And for some reason, that pisses me off!" He threw a finger down to boop my nose. "So I want to fight you and claim that I am the strongest between us!"

"Can I get a second opinion? I wanna sleep," I raised a wing but he clenched his fist down at me.

"No, we fight right now, Bat Lady!" He refused, and now I was glaring irritably up at him.

"I have a name, it's Akira Amadeus," I recited.

"Okay then-" He pointed at me. "-prepare yourself, Kiki Madra, I'm taking you down today!"

"Who... who the hell are you talking about!?" This guy... is a complete moron!

"You, obviously!"

"That's not even close to my name, you Scale Brain!" I swung my totally fractured right hoof wide, barking up at him. "Can you even spell it!?"

"Huh!?" He retracted hesitantly. "I... I don't know how to read and write!"

Are you kidding me? "How did you even survive this long!? You need a written form to apply for weapon and armor upkeep!" This guy is impossible. Forget it, he's not a hero, he's just a nutjob.

"Why does that matter!?"

"In your case? It does!"

For the next hour, I got to know Garu before I passed out from fatigue alongside him.

"You're okay, that's-" Argo didn't even get to finish his sentence as I plugged my ears with my wings.

"Alright, fine, I get it, you can stick around, Gods above!!" I screamed, huffing and puffing my way to the tent to sleep and forget about my pounding head.

"Hahaha, just you wait, I'll blow through every monster that comes our way, then we'll see who's on top!" Garu declared, then shot his head back and forth as I glowered from behind the tarp, throwing it shut with a huff. Well, I have a new friend now... lovely...

"I... wouldn't recommend going in there," I heard Argo speak up, forcing the shadow away from the edge of the tent. "Not unless you wish to find a fate worse than death behind that tarp."

"I can still hear you!!" I hissed, then whined. "Ugh... my head hurts...~"

This quest stinks worse than Popo Tounges.

<><><>Quest Complete!<><><>

To Be Continued...

Chp. 9 - Emerald of the Forest

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"Today's the daaaay~!" I sang along to my own tune as I fished around my room for my gear. Mega Potions? Check. Flash Pods? Check. Shock Trap? You bet. And a few other necessities, when it came to the importance of today I spent no expense on items needed for the task. Next was my new armor, courtesy of the newest member of my team, Gura Daora.

The drake with a drake helm decided to stick around since he, and I quote, 'wants to prove he is the strongest', that was yesterday, but today he was out hunting again but he gifted me the parts of the Tigrex we slew, saying he didn't need them. Little did he know I can read emotions, so I knew his heart was in the right place. Now, I stood before a full-length mirror, posing in my new Tigrex armor.

The orange and blue pattern wasn't a stretch from my battered Izuchi armor. My charcoal mane was tucked into a thick scale brace with small teeth, the band fitted around my jaw to my chin. Gauntlets forged with Tigrex scales and claws against the elbows, my chestplate covered my entire torso in lightweight but sturdy scales of various shades of orange and blue with a few teeth lining my chest. My belt also sported two metal plates decorated in scales to save my best asset from permanent damage. Lastly, sat by the doorway was my new Tigrex sword and shield, the guard of the sword a V-Shape and two large claws running against the curved blade, and the shield was made of its scalp, jagged thorns lining the edge. Even my clutch claw had the brute's aesthetic.

Saddlebag packed, and belt with scoutflies attached, I swung the door wide on a sunny day, feeling a warm breeze brush through my tail. "Time to roll the dice." Plucking my brown cloak with its lime green hem and arrow pattern I soared.

"All set?" Beside the exit to the Guild Hall, I happily skipped my way to Argo's side. He didn't change from his starting equipment, say for the new threads from the Dragonlands. They called the Kamura set, it consisted of a navy crop jacket with twin tails with a silver seal of the Guild at the end of each. a breastplate embroiled with red threads and a yellow hem. A pair of reinforced black steel gauntlets with some brass joints, though his forehooves retained the jagged emerald green gauntlets. Baggy red and blue pants tucked into black shin guards and shoes. The belt buckle was fitted with a black sash and two leather thigh guards linked with a red belt.

"Yep! And look at you, sharp as ever," I complimented, nudging him with my wing slyly as he walked. "Someone's lookin' to catch a lucky mare's eye."

"Shut up." He didn't even blink, talk about hard to get. His eye glanced at me. "So, the Special Assignment?" Back to business.

"Well, can't say my Dad and your Mom don't make it easy," I held out the notice for him to catch in his amber field. The more he read the intel, the larger his eyes expanded with skepticism. "You're... serious about this?"

"If it was a Tigrex, then I'd be back in bed," My ears were still ringing from yesterday, but no time like the present. "Two weeks, this is the best I could hope for,"

"You know, your quest would be easier if my own rank wasn't also to be equated," Argo stared at the road as we walked, uncertainty filling his heart. "Your standing would've gone up a week ago but you've been holding yourself back on my accou--" My wing pressed to his lips, and I turned to look him dead in the eyes.

"Argo, who am I?" I asked, jostling his shoulders.

"Um... Akira? I don't follow," He murmured when I smirked.

"Correct, but more importantly, I'm your honorary big sister-" I giggled, hoof to my coral necklace buried under my breastplate. "-and we're partners, so if I'm ranking up so are you; sure, you aren't a hunter like me but you are just as significant," Flicking his nose, I trotted along. "Now, come on, we have a rank-up quest to fulfill - yah!"

My motivational speech was cut thin when I stumbled back after crashing into someone. "Watch where you're going!" They snapped.

"Eh? Sorry," I winced, rubbing my nape when I saw. I blinked. "Myst?"

The white mare adjusted her glare apologetically, "Oh, sorry, Akira, Argo," She levitated her supplies back into her bag, looking me up and down with genuine surprise. "You look... good?"

"Thanks!" I puffed my chest out. "Though, I'm gonna have nightmares about Popo for a while," The chef gave me a Limited Voucher for our troubles. "My PTSD aside, you look great, new armor too."

"Oh, this?" Myst stepped back, the unicorn gesturing to her Anjanath armor, the telling was the pinkish-red scales and raven fur. She was more or less the same as me, focused on mobility over defense for her longsword. So gauntlet, chestplate, even a small sash of black fur too, and a few blades of hair attached to a headband with a firecrest on the forehead plate. She looked really cool in it. "It's just temporary, I ended up capturing an Anjanath for my... um, own rank trial..." She trailed off. So that meant she was already two stars.

"I mean, hey, we'll be catching up very soon," I challenged. It was strange talking to Myst so... casually now, before, she'd look at me as if I was gum at the bottom of her hoof, a pain in the neck. Now? She actually shot back my look with her own fiery smirk.

"Hm, then good luck to you," Myst's smile fell back to a frown. Following her gaze, I wasn't impressed to see that Blue was waving her over to their group by the cafeteria. She sighed. "I'm taking a quest now, so I have to go... um, sorry."

"For what?" I cocked my head and then motioned to Silver's crew. "Dumb and Dumber? Just because you're partnering up with them doesn't make you the same, you're a lot nicer - I-I mean, you are nice - not that you w-weren't I just always bothered you s-so I never--" She... laughed, it was quiet and honestly kinda cute, but she laughed.

"I think I get it, but really, good luck, both of you," She passed between us, and for the briefest moment our shoulders touched, and I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. What was that?

"Akira?" Argo stood before me when I shook my head clear. I'll save that for later, we have a monster to hunt.

"Let's move, we're wasting daylight!"

Special Assignment
Emerald of the Forest ⭐⭐
Main Objective
*Hunt a Rathian

Forgotten Oak | Reward 1000 Bits | Fee 250 Bits

I wasted little time getting my boots dirty, flying through the forest at lightning speeds, my scoutflies leading the way to another set of footprints and broken branches, picking up the tracks and lingering aura, I chased after the emerald green trail, passing by Jaggi, Groggi, and other lesser monsters. My wings beat fast through the foliage, my clutch claw whipping me around tight turned, my speed decreasing very little in my hunt for the great terror of the forests of Equestria. With a branch above, I swung my hook, flinging me high into the open air where I made it to my destination, the center of the Forgotten Oak.

In this place, massive roots forced away the smaller trees, creating archways and ridges around the dead tree. The largest tree could be found, hollow and long since dead was used as a primary nesting ground for many monsters, with two entrances through the thick bark overgrowing with plant life, and a view of the sky from above. If I was here a thousand years ago, this tree would've been bigger than Canterlot Castle. Setting down on a bridge of roots over a lakebed below, my scoutflies returned, and I carefully crept toward the mouth of the hollow tree.

Inside was what I'd expect, many dead branches and scorch marks covered the area. If I read the report, the Rathian had migrated here to nest so it scared off all locale wildlife from the hollow tree, basically a house crasher with mood swings. Fortunate for me, no Rathian, but I didn't want to test my misfortune and find I would be faced with the girl's boyfriend. That's not a fate I can tackle alone. Instead, I approached the empty nest, still warm too. Three eggs sat perfectly center, forgot how fast these guys can reproduce.

"Alright, no mama drake yet, so I guess I'll just wait for her to come back," Sitting down next to the eggs, I let my curiosity take hold, prodding one with my wing. "So, you three will one day be fire-spitting nightmares, huh?" Like the Guild rules state, no hunting for sport, so maybe someday I'll fight these guys, or perhaps someone will make an omelet out of them, who knows?

*Fwoosh!*

"Eh?" I lifted my head toward the sun now directly above the hollow tree, what I saw was not one, but three suns. Three rapidly approaching suns. My eyes widened, and I quickly scampered out of the way with a totally not girly wail. The meteors collided with the earth, setting the driest branches ablaze when something large and heavy banished the flames and heat. I mentally slapped myself. "Are you freakin' kidding me, that sixth sense Dad rambled about is real!?" Note to self, no touchin' da child next time.

The flames and black smoke dissipated, and I soon came face to face with my target. She was a medium-sized true-flying wyvern similar in looks to her male counterpart. Her hide is a dull, muted green and her lower mandible features a long, protruding chin spike. Her upper back and wingtips are covered in a moss-like fur, and a clubbed tail protruding sharp and highly poisonous needles. Those predator's eyes glowered down at me, spreading her wings, she unleashed a powerful roar. The Queen of the Land, Rathian had arrived.

Despite the odds stacked against me, I withdrew my new sword with a fanged smile and devilish eyes, four swords swung above my head, infusing me with their scarlet might. I've already fought quite the roster of monsters, and Gura was already a two-star, so I couldn't disappoint him by wasting his generous donation now! "Ante Up." Flames danced in my vision as I said this.

Flames exploded behind me, my sword tearing across Rathian's flank in a series of wide slants before it tried to swipe me with its tail, turning twice before charging to bite at my shield. Rathian backed away from my attacks, diving into a backspin, the spines of the tail narrowly missing my chest as I copied her, flying forward past another fire blast, carving across the cheek toward the left eye before bringing my shield down on her head with a slap. Rathian roared, spinning once more with her spined tail ringing off my shield.

Landing with her, Rathian charged, knocking me away from her backside again, then she doubled back, repeating the action, giving me little to no time to counterattack. Eventually, she stopped her stupid pacing to reel back her neck, spitting three fire blasts throughout the area. I blocked the first down the middle with my shield, closing the gap with a magenta blade. "Night Slash - Arc!" I zipped from the collarbone to the base of her tail, then across the length of the limb, leaving a purple contrail in my wake when she fell over. Perfect. Sheathing my blade, I drew my forehooves high, catching the sunlight. "Metal Claw!"

With a flurry of cross cuts, white fissures across her scales began to form; performing a back kick when she stood to swing her tail, I doubled back, blocking her bulky tail when the queen took flight again, swooping low to knock me down to earth for her to nearly land on me, clamping her jaws around my shield, attempting to wrestle it from my leg. Flapping my wings in longer, powerful strokes, I pulled back then slammed forward, seeing a few teeth chip, slipping my shield free to smack her across the cheekbone, then across the chin spike followed by a grapple with my clutch claw.

"Here comes the wind-up!" Twisting, I lodged the slinger against her temple, firing the collection of stones against her scales before sending her flying into the wall of the hollow tree, bringing the beast down as a few large scales fell from her crown. Defenseless, I bolstered my agility with Quick Attack, slicing in a series of slashes to whittle down her emerald hide.

Rathian roared, swinging her tail as it cut across my cheek, and the effects of her poison forced my body to double over while she spread her wings to escape. Chugging an antidote with a relieved sigh, I saw her fly west of me. Spreading my wings, I decided to take an alternate route myself. Seconds passed and now I could see the whole forest from atop the hollowed tree. Squinting, I spotted the flying wyvern landing in a clearing not far from the tree. Bending my knees, I jumped and glided toward her location, the scoutflies twirling around me in agreement.

"Heads uuuuup!" Dive bombing on the Rathian attempting to recover its stamina by eating a few helpless Aptonoth, my sword tore a large silver chunk across her wings, disrupting her attempt at a meal. Hopping on my back hooves, I closed the distance to bring forth my Dark Pulse in a tidal wave through my shield, breaking her right-wing and knocking the drake from the skies before she could harness that tail again. Returning to my original plan, I threw something down from my bag and quickly twirled through the trees, tearing away at her tail while she was slowly standing up.

Rathian's eyes took on a red glare, enraged, she spun twice to sweep me and some overconfident Jaggi flying, then she unleashed a faster barrage of fire, smoking out the competition. Flying through the leaves and fire, Rathian brought her neck around to slam against me, but I was ready for it, clashing with my shield until she grounded me, perfect. Flapping harder, I yelled out loud and dragged the face of my shield across the underside of her neck, throwing myself between her legs, narrowly missing her stomps to roll to safety.

Smirking, I taunted her with a wing, her body shivered with rage, taking the bait straight into my trap, literally. Yellow bolts of lightning coursed over her scales, locking down her muscles as I brought my sword's face parallel with my cheek. "I'll be taking my prize now! Night Slash-!" Striking with black lightning, I stripped off more of her armor, and spun on my back hooves to flourish my blade toward the treetops, carving an 'A' through her now severed tail, disarming her of her most lethal weapon. "-Fulcrum!"

The shock trap lost power, and Rathian tumbled onto her stomach, her tail rolling off to the side for later. If this was a normal hunt, I'd be led on a wild goose chase just to chip away at her body, but thanks to Garu, and my abilities, I could win this, no sweat! Quickly sharpening my sword with a whetstone, I dove in for another flurry of attacks to the head and left wing blinding her with a Flash Pod before a single ember could leave her throat, though she did use what remained of her tail to keep me skipping around her legs, aiming for the weak spots between the scales.

Exhausted, the wyvern threw me back by her wings, flying up into the air before diving down in an attempt to grapple me, avoiding it, I realized she used it as a feint, trying to flee through the gap in the trees. Not to be outplayed, I swung my clutch claw, firing the hook around her ankle as the wire and speed at which she left the forest floor pulled me through the trees, carrying a number of branches and leaves with me. Decoupling from her, I narrowly dove away from her mid-air fire blast, wrapping my hoof around her head to bring my slinger close enough to blind her with another flash pod, dropping her like a sack of bricks from up high.

Hearing the painful crash and the various flocks of birds leaving the crash site, I descended to find Rathian groaning in the mud, her other wing's membrane was torn as well. Taking the time to carve out what I wanted from her tail, I saw her stand with a wheeze, drooling with fatigue before taking flight a lot less quickly. She's going to search for another food source and then return home, can't let that happen, this ends now.

Following the scoutflies to where Rathian retreated wasn't as easy as last time, she kept low, flying back into the forest given the condition of her wings. When I landed I was in a very familiar place. A large, root-filled basin, fallen trees, and bushes surround almost all sides. And a mossy overhang that led back into the forest via dirt and tree-covered bank. This was where I fought Gore Magala. I got an unpleasant shiver when I landed, the trees were all still laying in the mud, exposing the roofed area to sunlight as Rathian hobbled toward the river nearby to drink, but she paused, gums pulled back into a snarl when she faced me.

"Nowhere left to run," She seemed to think the same thing, talons digging at the ground, flexing her wing muscles. I did the same, drawing my sword forward with a slow breath. Popping the lid off my red drink, I felt a demonic strength rush through my bones, the second the jar clattered to the ground, Rathian swung her head back, expelling flames across the gap. Taking flight, I weaved between the scorching flames, slashing across her face before diving underneath her bite, swiping at the weakened wings when she decided to pivot sharply, her tail smacked against my shield before diving into a backspin midair, swatting me toward the sky.

Shaking off the blunt force trauma, I spun back around into a crescent slash with Night Slash, tearing through the vertebrae, taking the wind from her sails as the queen crumbled to the ground again, paralyzed by a secondary trap I had crafted on the way here with a trap kit and a Thunderbug. It wouldn't hold her for long this time so I swan dived, driving the jagged edge of my shield against her neck, bringing the beast down with a thunderous slam. Wind erupted around us, and the trap was about to fail but Rathian struggled to her feet again, pushing against her wing talons. Her aura was fading, I guess I could use the two tranq bombs I had to capture her and us the trouble of throwing each other around the forest some more.

Plucking out two pink balls with my right wing, I juggled them in the air with a firm stare. With two tosses, the cloud of pink smoke engulfed Rathian, and she stumbled within the trap, eventually falling fast asleep at my hooves. My heart was racing so much that I almost felt like it was just a trick, but no, the longer I stood there, the harder the realization hit me. "I... I did it," My smile twitched to life, and my ears perked up. "Hahaha, I actually did it!"

With some swagger, I stuck the flare into my slinger and fired it once, alerting any nearby Palicoes to my capture as I dusted off my hooves against my breastplate, bowing to Rathian. "And that is checkmate," Well, she's no King but my point stands.

Taking a look around, it didn't appear to be a locale for any nearby monsters, so I guess I could sit around for the Palicoes to arrive, maybe I can pet one this time? So fluffy! But my moment of cheerfulness felt very stagnant, rather, my stomach started to twist into knots. "Did I botch the Demondrug?" That would be an ugly mess later. No, this was something else, my aura was going on the fritz again like something else was trying to plunge itself into my own?

The sky. The sun.

It was darker, the light was shrouded with a dark pigment.

My gasp hitched as I spun around to the lip of the basin back into the forest, stalking along the edge was a sight that made my blood run cold, and my hooves turn to jelly. Large, black claws dug into the soil, and a rounded head craned itself in my direction, then it snarled as it saw me, spilling blackish-purple vapor into the area before leaping high into the air, slamming down beside me with a carnivorous roar that shook the earth under me. I slipped, the slope leading down to the river dragging me with it as I yelped.

Tumbling out into a clearing in the trees, the light couldn't reach me as I stood up to assess my surroundings again, three balls of shadow struck the earth around me, leaving black pools in their wake, purple light emanating from the mist. From above, a black shadow landed across the river in the eclipse. It braced the earth with its additional claws, the flexible membrane shimmering in the darkness with cracks of violet that spread to its face and elongated the demonic horns.

Gore Magala was here, he found me! My hooves trembled as I stared him down again, the same creature I barely escaped last time. "Can I even beat him now?" Of course, I was doubtful, not even my Dad fought one, and he was wary of its Frenzy Virus. This monster was a calamity all its own, and I had no one else to back me up. Argo, Garu, even Myst were far away.

Even so, I clenched my teeth, adjusting my sword grip with a quick spin, catching the red glint on my blade. "It's not a matter if I can do it, I will fight! I'm not running away this time!" Elder Dragon or not, I'm clipping its wings!

The non-Elder Dragon roared powerfully, far greater than Rathian. Then, with its body swept high into the air, the Black Eclipse descended upon a stupidly brave little filly.

"Hyrrrraaaah!!/Rrrrrraaaaaaaa!!"

To Be Continued...

Chp. 10 - Amethyst of the Forest

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"What an... 'El...der Dra...gon'?" I stretched the word out as best I could. My Dad's personal notes were all written in a completely different language called 'Japanese'. It was really tricky to learn but some words were easier to translate when I saw them frequently.

My Dad stopped mulling over his notes with a fond smile, his soul was bubbling with nostalgia. "Elder Dragons are powerful monsters, they can either change an ecosystem with their power or be a species no one's ever seen before," I nodded eagerly to his every word, even if I didn't get all of it now, it was still really cool to listen to. "The Emperor of Flames, Teostra. The Steel Dragon, Kushla Daora. The Phantom Beast, Kirin, just to name a few."

"Are they really that strong?" I asked, feeling his paw ruffle my mane.

"You bet, although not as tough as me," He grinned sharply. "And someday, you'll be just as strong too."

"Really?" My body didn't always work right so being told I could fight an Elder Dragon made my body buzz with excitement.

"Would I lie to my adorable little girl?" He sat back in surprise.

"Nope!"

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

Overwhelming darkness swept over my mane, colliding with the ground with a sweeping wing-talon, leaving a streak of frenzy behind. Magala spun around on its attacking arm, facing me to fire three payloads of frenzy in a similar fashion to Rathian, so evasion was easy as I drew near, pumping my aura through my Tigrex scimitar. In two arcs, my edge tore between the horns, evading another direct wall of frenzy by the tip of my tail. The dragon growled, and I saw it with a bewildered stare.

"My blade... it's not broken? And I..." Snapping my head back, I saw it, two scars ran across the crown. I did it, I can deal damage now! This resurgence of confidence brought me back around only to cry in fright, twirling between a sweeping wind attack as Magala landed behind me, releasing a heavy stream of frenzy that slammed into my wings, throwing me through the river and across the grassy flatland.

A strange sensation riddled my body, leaving a pungent purplish-black mist over my coat as I hacked up some of the vapor, this was bad, I've been infected! Blinking away tears from the foul stench, I flew backward from Magala's tail swipe, leading into both wing talons slamming the ground, uprooting dirt and stone with resounding force. Inspecting myself in a panic, I felt pins and needles all across my body, but I wasn't overcome with anger or a bloodcurdling need to attack. But I did feel strange. Did it not affect Equestrians after all?

I'm not a biologist, even my own body was a mystery to me for years, I'm not sure what part of me was warding off the worse of the virus but it kept me alive so I wasn't going to start complaining. Releasing Swords Dance, I swept low, evading three more frenzy blasts as the enraged dragon barrelled in my direction.

Knowing I'm somehow immune, I found myself charging straight back myself. I won't run away this time, I can fight, I can survive, I can win this! "Metal..." Once Magala's right wing-arm came digging through the earth, I dove into a spiral, silver light manifesting around my back hooves. "...Claw!" I swept underneath the left wing, carving my claws across the amethyst-tinted membrane, leaping over its head as it bent around and fired a large blast of Frenzy in my face, I embraced the blast with my shield, bringing it down as I collided with Magala's forehead. "Night Slash - Square!"

My body pivoted with a sharp flap, swiping across the Elder Dragon's jaw with a contrail expanding between us as Magala reeled back and fired three blasts to kite me. I gasped, seeing it dive onto its right wing-arm, sweeping the ground with that large tail as I braced with my shield, seeing sparks fly while I skidded backward. My body still burned with Swords Dance, so I lunged forward, slashing at his side before diving up and bringing the full weight of my shield down on its side, knocking Magala into the treeline.

Unfortunately, I didn't see the right leg sweep from behind its wings, slamming into my right side as I gasped, my vision sent flying as I winced, feeling my Tigrex armour hold up but that was definitely going to bruise. Spitting blood off to the side, I turned to meet the beast's glowing form as it snarled, watching me hesitate as I downed a small jar of thick, red liquid that tasted like hot peppers. But the second I did so, the drug overtook my muscles, causing them to burn with raw power.

With a tremble in its wings, Magala unearthed a mighty roar once more, clearly ramping up himself, fine by me. "Swords Dance!" I ushered more of my stamina as I bit down on a rations bar to keep myself from passing out, I had to end this now! "Come on, show me what you got!!" He seemed to understand, launching himself into the sky before sweeping down toward me with its claws brandished. I felt my heart in my ears as I burst into Quick Attack, leaping to meet him head-on once more.

Claws struck my shield and sword as I swept underneath Magala and struck at his chest down toward his stomach and groin. I flew sharply beside the tail as it swept wide to crash into my torso. I felt my steel bones creak as I sputtered a cough but roared back, slashing wildly at the tail with Night Slash in two vertical incisions. "Raaaaah!!!" I zipped forward, sweeping the wings, bashing the face of my shield against the horns as they nearly impaled me in the process.

Magala flew backward, firing several orbs of raw Frenzy that I slashed my way through, causing large vapour spheres of the virus to blot out what little sunlight was breaking through the darkened skies. Wisps of Frenzy were coating my fur and armour as I struck back relentlessly, weaving between his sharper strikes mid-air while prodding away at the Dragon's scales. One backswing with my shield made him cry in pain, falling from the sky into the basin below.

This was my chance! I aimed for the softer underbelly now exposed, if I could clip its wing that'll make this fight much easier. With a wide loop I dove into a swan dive, sword poised downward as dark purple energy swept over its edge, but then I realized that my body no longer felt compressed and tingly from the Frenzy Virus. "Did it dissipate? How?" My internal question seemed to reach Magala as I felt overwhelming anger shoot through my aura. I gasped but with how quickly I was diving I couldn't adjust my posture in time.

Magala roared, and all I could see was both wing-arms closing in either side of me, was he going to try and crush me? I couldn't move away, and at this velocity that sharp loss of momentum could be too jarring to recover from. Now I started to panic, I can't evade this...

...

"Hyrah!!!" Something much more jarring struck my side, and both of Magala's limbs simply clapped the air as I and someone else tumbled away from the Elder Dragon, followed by two large explosions that knocked the monster backward.

In my haste, I ignored the throbbing in my head to peer to my side to find my saviour. I almost burst out laughing if shock wasn't overwhelming me. A iron-grip held my shoulder from moving as two unblinking white eyes burrowed into mine. "You're not covered in that virus anymore, so don't go falling for its trickery, you want to die like a damn fool!?"

"Garu...? How...?" I think my brain's gone and left the station without me this time.

"Hah, I was coming back from my quest when the sky turned all dark suddenly, and then that roar, hehehe," He shivered with delight. "It sounded powerful, and whadda know, I was right!" He pointed one of his thunder cleavers at Magala recovering from the blast that came from nowhere. Maybe now we did have a certain shot to win...

"Thanks, Garu, I owe you," And I meant that as he helped me up with a prideful sparkle around his head. Collecting my weapons I glared back at Magala now reeling his head back to attack. "Let's combine my unique moves with your wind attacks, and send him flying!"

He nodded with a grunt as three orbs of Frenzy raced toward us, followed by Magala flying up only to lunge down in an attempt to crush us. The two of us dived back from the three blasts, using the trees to vault over Magala as he tore down the treeline with one claw swipe. Landing behind it, we readied our bodies, then with a nod, we charged forward as Magala dove off one leg, slamming the ground with his right wing-arm, splitting the ground and tossing boulders in our direction.

I took the lead, flying with my wings tucked tightly. "Night Slash - Pentagram!" I struck the rocks and debris with sharp, wide arcs of violet light, pulverizing the stone as the dust was brushed aside by Magala's tail sweeping the ground under me. Garu hopped onto the tail, running up Magala's back while slashing madly from side to side.

A frigid wind curled around his forearms again, bending to his blade's sparking edges. "First Form - Air Cutter!" With a cross-slash to the nape, the air force slammed Magala's chin off the ground where I spun around and struck his left cheekbone with Metal Claw etched over my hooves. The Elder Dragon stumbled and wrapped around into a winding slash of the ground, overturning dirt and rock in our general direction before Frenzy vapour built between his jaws. "Tch, Third Form-"

Garu stepped ahead of me, then, with both swords risen over his head, I heard the wind pinch and whistle. "-Roar!!" Bringing both down onto the ground, I had to brace with my shield as a great blast of wind dispelled the debris. Sweeping low, I grabbed his tail and threw him over Magala's Frenzy blast, tossing him down at the monster as I too followed from above.

"With one blow, all the strength I have left!" I sucked in a long breath, then, exhaling my own sinister breath, I wrapped my sword in Dark Pulse, seeing the blade vibrate from the strange fumes, then, that faint dark aura expanded and burst into a purple blaze, a strange reaction I had never seen before. But I held my sword tightly, eyes locked to the monster that was preparing to blast us away with a massive circulation of Frenzy around his body.

"Night-!/Second Form-!"

Garu jumped forward, twisting his scaly form sharply as the darkness reflected off his golden helmet. With a striking combination between us, my blade swung with so much tension that I felt my bones vibrate in agony from the blow while a massive whirlwind of ice-cold wind shot through me, and I swore I saw blades of ice crystalize in the air as they dug into Magala's roaring head.

"-Slash!!/Saw!!"

There was a crackling shockwave of lightning upon contact, and suddenly, Magala's sinister aura completely died out into shock as its whole body was jerked sideways, crashing into the ground behind us as something that glowed faintly punctured the ground at my hooves. I didn't spare it a glance as we spun around to face the would-be Elder Dragon only to pause as I gasped slightly.

The monster ceased its glow, that intense state of enrage fading away as the sky slowly returned to its original pigment, but most strikingly of all, only one horn covered his eyes, the right-hand side that is, a clean cut across where the left horn used to be. With a roar that forced us to cover our ears, I watched bitterly as Magala spread his wings and quickly took off with a single breath, leaving us with only a broken horn and several discarded scales as proof he was ever here. And the possible trauma but that's a personal thing.

"I think we scared him..." I muttered, falling onto my haunches as the last of my strength disappeared. Garu just fell onto his back, kicking his legs up in dramatic fashion.

"Not so tough, I bet he'll think twice about coming to fight us again!" I had to agree, but, we may have dealt a good blow to Gore Magala today, but there was always next time.

"He came straight for me when there are other hunters in the Forgotten Oak too..." That made a pit in my stomach widen. Magala would be back, and next time, I'll be sure to finish what I started. "Good work, Garu."

"Hehehe, my pleasure!" He bumped my curled wing, and the two of us just sat back down to gather our lost strength.

<><><>Quest Complete!<><><>

When we returned to Kalao, when it came time to report that my test was complete but that I also had a second run-in with the infamous Gore Magala, I had been dragged away from Garu and Argo to speak with Godmother Ren and my Dad. I couldn't really make out how my Dad felt, he just stared blankly like he was looking for something while Ren practically smothered me in her arms.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She knew the dangers, of course, but that didn't stop her for worrying about family, it was nice. She let me go and then scoffed. "Right, sorry, dumb question."

"It's alright, I can take a punch... from a fleshy freight train," I sighed anxiously, then blinked up at my Dad. "Dad?"

"Huh?" He seemed to snap out of his trance then transmitted his thoughts between us. "Sorry, just idle thoughts," He replied then pressed his paws to my chest, then a baby blue effect like water droplets trickled across my fur, and gradually, the aches and pains a Mega Potion can't soothe became much more manageable that I sighed at the refreshing sensation. "I'd say your Mother would have your head for this but considering Magala didn't give you much leeway I think it'll slide... for now,"

"Gee, way to make a girl feel safe at home," I deadpanned as he chuckled, then wrapped an arm around me as I leaned against his side. We were out of sight of the Hunters so I got the privilege to be treated like his daughter and not some other Hunter. "Honestly? Garu saved my ass, and we only managed to break a horn to give that Frenzy-spitting nutcase the message I wasn't interested,"

Ren chuckled at that, "Always a way with words,"

"Runs in the family," I winked then paused to look at my hooves. "Dad, did you ever fight Gore Magala? Like, in those vi-de-o games you liked?"

Big shock to the legacy of the Guild of Equestria, my Dad is not actually a Hunter, I know, heart attack of the century. He is now, and that won't change, but when he was Human his life was about as average as you can get, the monster that have changed the face of our world are in his world a game people play on these technological marvels called 'console devices', that's how my Dad knows what he knows.

That still didn't change anything about him to me. Sure, he may not have been the real deal like Ren was but he used that knowledge and his Lucario body to not only fight the very monsters he had only seen behind a game, but saved Equestria alongside Mom and their friends. He was my hero for a reason, they both were because... it proved anyone could become someone even in the most disadvantageous situations.

"Nope. I've seen and watched how they fight but not once have I confronted one before coming here," He admitted. "Fortunately, it appears the Frenzy Virus doesn't affect you, but I'm not willing to risk putting other races in the firing line just to test a theory, even if it's in the nature of every Hunter this side of the Realms," Dad shook his head, then ran a hand down his face. "God... sometimes I really do wonder what Trinity was thinking sending me here..."

I felt a pang of guilt rise inside him so I scooted closer to hug him tightly. That atleast made him relax as a hand combed through my mane. "Well, may not be the situation we wanted, but you can't really say things haven't improved with you bein' here, Wolfie," Ren smirked, flicking his nose. "Afterall, you got yourself a pretty cool kid, what more could a guy want, right?"

"Once more your valuable pep-talk keeps my awful pessimism at bay," He smiled then kissed the top of my head before standing up. "We'll worry about Magala next time around, for now, you and Argo should relax, especially now that I can do this,"

Ren then pouted, "Aw, but I wanted to announce it~!" She whined.

"Hey, you got to handle the trials this year, it's MY turn to hand out rankings!" Dad jabbed a claw at her before Ren huffed and handed something to him as I giggled at their antics. "Why do you even have... nevermind, I'm not pulling the pin on that grenade,"

This was it. Sure, it hasn't been long but still, it felt rewarding to finally be moving out of a limbo.

I felt my whole body shiver with anticipation as I quickly held out my Guild Card as my Dad laughed at my eagerness, causing my face to redden slightly. Keep it cool, Akira. "With the success of your latest Urgent Assignment, I'm officially signing both yourself and Argo to be eligible for Two-Star quests, congratulations, Hunters," He recited while trying to hide his mirth as he handed my card back, and to my erupting positivity, I had two stars under my name. "You can geek out now,"

"Oh My God, Oh My God, Oh My God~!" I flew above their heads with a bump of my right hoof. "We did it, we did it, we - eh?" Blood crawled from my neck to the tips of my ears as I landed, coughing into my wing. "Th-thank y-you, Guild Master,"

Dad just had his eyes closed as he spoke to me alone in Poke-speak. "That's great, sweetie..." Then he put his hands together and bow his head.

"Uh, you okay, Dad?" I blinked, looking to Ren who patted my head with a 'well done' under her breath, leaving to probably smother her son next with praise.

"Oh, yep, definitely, just having a momentary realization of my abundance of appreciation for Bat Ponies as the greatest species in Equestria, that's all," With a heavy breath, he stood up straight and returned to... well, as 'normal' as my Dad can be.

"This is the dumbest thing you've agreed to," Argo's voice in my ear. Wasn't. Helping.

"I've... done... much worse," I groaned, feeling a bead of sweat roll down my cheek.

"Yes, that much we agree on, but I feel this ranks within the top ten," He was seriously doing this now?

"I... get it... trying... to win... here!" I heaved as my hoof buckled against the strong grip belonging to a grey-blue-scaled arm. Currently, in part with our celebration, myself, Garu, and Argo sat around the canteen as now we were all the same rank but soon, Garu would go for his own test to rank up and we'd be playing catch-up again. So, how are we testing our strength? Simple.

Arm Wrestling.

"I'm not... even tired...!" He clearly was but refused to budge himself. It was the might of an adolescent dragon and a bat pony with steel bones. Essentially, the world's longest stalemate. I felt my right hoof starting to push his down only to nearly trip when he exerted even greater force to push mine back into an equilibrium.

I could feel the tension in the air, it was hot and potent like sunlight, and if not for the light meal I had prior I might've run out of juice by now. Garu wasn't easily bent, that much I've known from the short time we've known each other. If anyone could best me, it was him or maybe someone really smart like Myst.

Neither of us showed any other sign of crumbling from the weight of our pride, so much so the barrel we used as an arm rest suddenly splintered in several directions, frightening some other customers while Argo barely blinked and held my Tigrex shield up to block the blast. Through the dust, I saw Garu's white eyes burrowing into mine as his fist remained clenched to my hoof even while on the ground.

"I'm not done yet!!" We barked at each other. "Jinx! Double Jinx!"

"Dear Twilight..." Argo ran a hoof down his muzzle at our awesome backbone.

When I thought this battle for the ages would last all night, I felt a familiar presence approach us, standing next to Argo. "Um... sorry, am I interrupting something?" I peeked to my right slightly and suddenly a big smile crossed my muzzle as my grip on Garu suddenly went through the roof and he soon found himself tumbling several feet in the other direction after I slammed his arm into the ground to stand and dust myself off.

"Ah, sorry-sorry! Ahem, did you need something, Myst?" I perked up as she gave me a sideways glance, peering to where Garu sat, his head spinning.

"Is he okay?" She whispered to Argo but he too cocked his head for a moment, then returned to his journal.

"He just met a power nopony can best," Why did that feel like a jab at me? Brushing it aside, I faced Myst directly.

"You were saying?" I asked as she nodded a thanks.

"Firstly, congratulations on ranking up," She offered, "One more rank and we'll be the same,"

"Yep, that's if scale-brain over here doesn't rub it in our faces first," I jabbed my wing back at Garu. "But thanks,"

"Hm," Now this was a face I haven't seen often on Myst, anxiousness. She ran a hoof from the base of her horn to her brown mane while avoiding eye-contact. "I know I shouldn't be asking you this, and you're fine to decline! But, I could use your... help with something, if that's alright?" She asked hopefully.

I glanced at Argo who shrugged, not taking his eyes off his notes, then to Garu who hadn't even realized Myst was here, so I guess he's neutral, great, my choice then. "What's the request? Actually, why are you asking us? I mean, aren't there like tons of hunters our age who'd help you?"

Myst looked to bite the inside of her cheek. "Yes, that is true... it's why I'm asking you first," That made me pause with genuine surprise. Myst, the top of our classes, aside from Silver and his lackeys, was asking a newly ranked Two-Star, the very girl that got her into trouble more times than I'd admit. "...I know we're only just on better terms recently, so I feel awful having to ask you to help me of all ponies, but-"

"Sure," I replied without even a second to consider it.

"I'm sorry, what?" Myst did a double take while I chuckled, rubbing my nape with my right wing.

"When you said you wanted our help I kinda already thought to say 'yes', I just wanted to hear you out first," I gave her an honest smile. Sure, we weren't best friends, not yet anyway, but Myst wasn't a bad pony, she just mingled with them and unfortunately had the bad timing to run into my antics.

"One thing to know about Akira," Argo finally spoke, not looking away but his book couldn't hide the tiny smile on his muzzle. "She will help anypony that asks,"

"I..." She took a second to compose herself and then bowed her head. "Thank you so much, Akira." That felt nice hearing her say my name instead of an insult or scornful look in silence.

"What are friends for, am I right?" I joked, waving toward an empty table. "We can talk over there, I just need to make sure Garu's pride isn't too shattered.

"Hah, you wish!" He yelled, tossing a small plank of wood from the destroyed barrel at me. "You got lucky with whatever strange power you have but I will win twice as many rounds next time!"

"Did you seriously hit your head that badly?" I frowned then shook my head. "Why in the Realms did I think fighting you would shrink your pride with all that ego to cushion the blow?"

If we survived the night, maybe Myst will get our help after all.

To Be Continued...

Chp. 11 - Silence and Screams

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Under the cover of an early night, myself, Garu, and Argo sat around a large round table off to the far side of the canteen, hunters came and went, completely ignoring us and our newest guest to our group of misfits. I stared at the white unicorn with light brown hair tied back into a small ponytail, leaving those deep blue eyes watching me in particular but she did pass them over the others. Myst Cut, a hunter that was considered a prodigy in her own right.

"As I said, I need your help," She repeated now that Garu was here scarfing down a new meal before him, his mask tilted up slightly to eat. "It's a simple objective, I require a certain resource to upgrade my equipment with materials from my last hunt, however, the location is a complete unknown to me."

"So you wish to cover more ground with a competent team, correct?" Argo cut straight to the point as Myst nodded. Closing his reddish-orange eyes, he made a low noise. "I see, well, we'll aid you, but what is it you're looking for?" He opened his eyes again.

"Dragonite Ore," Myst revealed, eyes glancing in the general direction of the dorms where her longsword was likely stored. "I intend to branch out my elemental capabilities but until that time I tend to use a simple metal-based longsword, however, in order to refine it I require this ore that's located in a place called the 'Dark Below,"

"Eh?" I made a small sound, causing them to look at me. "W-well, I've heard of it - m-more like I've seen maps of the place dozens of times - I can lead you there," I really need to learn to stop opening my mouth, especially now.

"That's great," Myst smiled a bit, and that sinking feeling only grew at the expectation.

"Given that, perhaps we can map out the area ourselves?" Argo glanced at Garu who licked his lips clean with a sharp smile before hiding it beneath that golden mask. "Up for an expedition while they handle their part?"

"Hahaha, I've always wanted to explore the Dark Below!" There was a pause as he looked between us. "What's that?"

"A network of caverns, tunnel, ravines, they all run beneath the mountains just east of the Forgotten Oak," Myst explained, shaking her head. "As I've said, none of my quests have led to that location before so I'm hoping to not walk in blindly."

"Oh." Garu nodded.

"T-then I guess we have a game plan," I coughed up.

"Yes... I... guess I'll meet you all in the morning?" Myst was unsure how to leave us, giving an awkward look at me for confirmation. We never really had a set system.

"S-sure, bright and early!" I grinned as Myst gave us one last bow of her head.

"Again, thank you for hearing me out, I'll repay you all as soon as possible," She thanked and slowly left our table as I chuckled.

"S-sure, seeya then, haha... ehehe..." Once she was gone, I felt my heart plummet into my stomach. "I'm so screwed..." Grabbing my temples, I whined and pressed my head to the table in defeat.

I'm having second thoughts. Was that a bad thing? Probably. But staring at the literal edge of life and death ought to do that to you. What was it that had me on... well, edge? Simple. I have an irrational fear of caves. Not like ones where you walk a feet meters and you can still see the outside world. But deep, dark, nearly endless, winding tunnel underground made my heart race uncontrollably, my fur all clammy, and my wings tight to my sides.

'But Akira', I can hear you asking, 'Bat Ponies live under a mountain in Blackrock Hollow'. And yes, you're correct. But I never grew up there, and it was the only place within a massive cavern that I could feel relatively calm in, but everything else? No. Also, bad to assume all Bat Ponies like caves and dark spaces, that's like thinking all Earth Ponies think with their hooves and not their heads.

The main camp was located at the entry point for the Dark Below. It was a literal gash in the mountain that had opened up into a large network of caves below, some were still unexplored. All you had to do was jump and there would be either landing pads or just use the rope net tossed over the lip I faced. The camp sat just outside the Forgotten Oak, a bonfire unlit as the sun crept over the horizon.

"I'm ready," Behind me, I heard Myst call out as she left the large yellow tent in place for the camp grounds. She wore platemetal over some form of black hide, the metal's texture was a blue pigment and covered her legs with a breastplate and a few segments woven into the sides of her tunic and back to added protection while maintaining as much flexibility as possible. Myst also wore a purple bandana with the seal of the Guild on the buckle over her forehead. "Where are the others?"

I sighed, "Garu took off the second we got here so Argo's keeping tabs on him while they map out locations for future reference, we may be part of the Guild but mapping is still a pain," We weren't given complete maps to help every hunter familiarize themselves with their hunting grounds. Fortunately, I had remembered this location well. "So... it's just us," I smiled slightly.

"Well, I suppose not much has changed," She approached the edge while I stood there and stared like she was crazy to look over into the only visible cavern.

"You need to tell her,"

"I will, I will, alright!?" I hissed back as I ran a wing through my mane. "It's not that easy to say out loud, okay!?"

Argo breathed through his nose, then nodded. "...I know this isn't easy for you, which is why I was apprehensive about helping her, now, I'm afraid that could make matters worse."

"Thank you for summing that up for me," I grumbled, rubbing my eyes. "Ugh, why did I have to open my mouth...?"

"Because, despite your fear you care," Argo admitted, rubbing my back to soothe my fright. "But if you wish to help her, you need to tell her the truth."

"I will..." I hope.

"-kira?" Myst had been calling me for sometime it seemed. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, totally, just... going down memory lane, haha, can't get lost if I take a wrong turn!" My sheepish reply didn't rouse any suspicion, for now. "Let's uh... go," I opened my wings to stare down into that pit. Just think bright thoughts, open sky, fresh air, anything but the tons of earth and rock that could collapse around me at any second to suffocate me to death... oh God I'm screwed...

Once we made it to the bottom, I had the unfortunate role of leading the charge. Probably the biggest mercy about the Dark Below was the abundance of glowing crystals. They didn't provide any use, they simply gathered light from the very few holes among the surface to sustain a light source of their own, then they spread that light to their cousins and so forth, now, we had a dimly lit path ahead of us... away from the sunlight.

Thankfully, I had Myst with me to break the silence. "I heard you took down a Tigrex - w-well, I mean, by the armour and weapons, I mean, I did see you before your rank up quest," She cleared her throat as I nervously watched the shadows as I let my memory guide us as my Scoutflies and hers highlighted objects and tracks of interest but I wasn't focused on them.

"Yeah... met Garu when he saved me, I got lucky, honestly, he just let me keep the parts," I always needed someone to bail me out of my mistakes, I still wasn't strong enough alone. "But I can't complain, with all this I'm able to move up a rank and soon, I'll be the same as you and Garu!" My smile was weak but it got the point across. So why was it that Myst's aura felt so damp and guilt-ridden?

"You're always so confident in yourself, I honestly expected you to have be a three-star given what you've done," Her compliment made me laugh, turning a corner to head down a steady slope that passed over a massive, black ravine that I promptly kept my eyes away from, walking a little faster.

"You'd be the first..." I murmured, then quickly shook a wing. "Well, aside from my parents, and Argo, and his Moms, I'm just..." Once we reached the otherside, I looked at the junction presented to us, tapping my chin, I turned to the right lane and motioned for her to follow. "I've had supportive people, it's not common knowledge but my Mom and Dad weren't always super famous themselves, circumstances led to all that we are now. 'Course, I don't like bragging, so almost no one knows the legendary Guild Master is actually my Dad,"

Myst nodded thoughtfully, "I can understand, and don't worry, I figured you didn't want that to be public knowledge," I thanked her with a smile, standing closer to her to keep the ambient dripping, groans, and other sounds from making me tremble. "My family is... alot, the Cut family is as you know, a noble branch, we've been benefactors for the Guild since it was established by my Grandfather in his last few years," She smiled again, they must've been close.

Then she lost her smile, looking down at the ground we travelled. "But my parents aren't what you could call 'supportive'. My eldest sister is a member of the science division in Canterlot, my eldest brother working toward taking Captain Topaz's place when she eventually retires, and me? I..." Myst didn't speak, looking away from me as we entered through a smaller tunnel toward a brighter light at the end of its curve.

I answered for her, "They want you to take my Dad's place, don't they?" I mean, I've never thought of it myself. If and when the day comes that he passes... would I be his successor? Or would that honour go to someone else? I never asked him, but it was an odd thought. Myst, however, held her head low. From her point of view, this made me her greatest rival, the daughter of the Guild Master.

"I hate it," She grunted, kicking a rock ahead of us as I jumped slightly but she didn't notice. "I don't want to compete with anypony, I don't want to be the next leader of the Guild," She stopped to look at me as pinks and purples illuminated us from above. I could see the anger and contempt in her eyes. "I chose to become a hunter because I wanted to dictate my own life, then, when I finally turn eighteen... I can forget all about them,"

"Myst..." I had no words to describe her now. She always stood confidently, her strength, character, everything about her was what I expected of a hunter, she was amazing. Now? It was all to escape a legacy she never asked for, she wanted to be free but her family - no, her parents were anchoring her to this stupid ideal image of her future. For a while, I completely forgot we were surrounded by my worst fear, maybe because unlike those awful scenarios in my head I wasn't alone.

Myst shook her head, continuing down the path toward the open chamber ahead, "Sorry, didn't mean to just dump that on you, I just... have a hard time adjusting," I knew that well too.

What came out of my lips next was completely subconscious, "Well, I'm glad you want that," She stopped to look back at me. "Because I like this 'you' alot more than 'Ms. Monotone'," Was that an insult? Please tell me it wasn't?

Thankfully, Myst brought that genuine smile back, shaking her head. "You're too nice to somepony like me, but thank you," Patting her cheeks quickly with two mana hands, she marched forward proudly. "Now then, let's find this Dragonite!"

"I'm with you!" So I can finally get out of this place.

Thankfully, the next cavern over was much larger, meaning I didn't feel as claustrophobic as before. There were several tunnels leading up and down, the whole right side wall was filled with stalactites and mites with a river flowing down from the right where a sloped path led elsewhere alongside it. The area was rounded slightly with a large pile of bones from monsters long forgotten, plants grew near the stream and crystals shimmered and made a twinkling sound near one another.

"Over here," I tapped her shoulder and pointed toward the bones. "Dragonite grows around accumulated monster bones,"

"On it," She ran to inspect the left and I took the right. Within seconds I spotted the murky green ore jutting out at the base of the bone piles, some interesting bones I grabbed for myself and stuffed them into my pouches. With a flick of my pickaxe, I chipped away good chunks for myself and for Myst. Judging by the nicked edges of my pick I had around one use left before it broke. "Hey, Akira?"

I ran around the side to spot Myst staring at another mineral pile with an odd face. She pointed down at it, and I saw why she stopped. It was like the others, ore that jutted from rocks and minerals gathered over time, but the texture was unlike the others that were either greenish or blue, some slate grey for iron. There was a single, pure white crystal sticking upright, the surface slightly reflective as it gave off a dull glow.

"That's... a Lightcrystal!" I awed, holding up my pickaxe. "They're rare this close to the surface, and naturally form under intense pressure and heat like a diamond would, so to find one here makes it a treasure even my Mom would gush over,"

My words gave Myst pause before she shuffled back a bit. "You have it then," Eh?

"Eh?" Echoing my thoughts, I looked at the gemstone, then my pick, then to the hunter next to me. "B-but you found it, so-" Her hoof then moved to press against my lips.

"Akira, let me be frank and say there is no reason a pony like you should've even considered helping me," She began, dropping her hoof as she looked at anything but me. "But here you are, clearly anxious since we got here, helping me with my problems, listening to my issues, and not once have you complained... so go on, take it, consider it part of the favour I owe you,"

She knew this whole time? Oh God, she thinks it's because of her! Now it was my turn to clamp up, I wanted to say it but my lips wouldn't function, I just couldn't admit it because... then that's another secret out there. I know Myst's not like Silver or Blue but a part of me just won't let it slip. I... really can't do it. With a shy nod, I raised my pick and chipped away at it while I felt her aura bubble with gratitude, well, atleast she's still happy.

So why did it feel so sinister?

I broke off the Lightcrystal, it felt warm to the touch as I pocketed it for later, and again, that negative wave rubbed against my soul as I turned to her with a forced smile. "Well, mission accomplish-" My heart leapt into my throat.

"I'd thank you but let's save it for the surface," Myst hadn't noticed the droplets of thick goo that puddled behind her tail as that awful wriggling sound filled my sensitive ears. My greatest fear had spawned something of equal magnitude that every muscle locked up and I felt my breath quicken.

A large, pale wyvern with flabby, rubbery hide. Many of their blood vessels and veins can be seen through its pale skin. The tail featured a specialized orifice that helped it cling onto the cave ceiling. It's mouth featured rows of sharp teeth similar to that of leeches. its feet lacked claws, and instead have suction pad-like toes. It extended its neck, stretching its blind face closer to Myst as terror wrapped around my body. The Blind Stare, Khezu.

Out of nowhere, without even thinking, my body moved on its own. "MYST!!" I screamed as my hooves wrapped around her body, my wings flaring from their tight hold on my sides to fly so hard we shot out of range of the head that snapped down seconds later. Khezu bent its head toward me, obviously smelling us as it spat a large lightning ball toward us. My right hoof swung back as all my fear, panic, and anger erupted in a dark aura. "Dark Pulse!" I didn't even think as the wave of negative energy struck the illuminating net of lightning, exploding on contact with one another.

I flew us into the mass of stalagmites to hide as I heard that ear-raking scream as the Khezu sniffed around and soon bashed its head against the rocks in an effort to snatch us up. We had fallen into a shallow pond in the process but we were alive and panting heavily from shock. "What is that...!?"

"Khezu, i-i-it prefers c-caves, a-ambushes f-from ceilings," I stutter, my paranoia fully taken over my thoughts as I pressed my back against the nearest stalagmite. "I hate this, I hate caves, I have caverns, and I especially Hate that monster!" I rubbed my hoof to my coral necklace, trying to coax my own thoughts to whispers but that occasional scream from the Khezu hunting us made it impossible.

I probably look like a complete joke now. I should've have come here...

"Hey," Two damp hooves tugged on my shoulders, and I shakily raised my purple gaze to Myst's blue as she stared at me without a mocking smirk or sardonic tone, she ignored the monster and simply stared at me. "Deep breath, and hold for five seconds," I did as I was told, and Myst did the same. I exhaled, and then we did it three more times, each progressively easing my nerves. "That's it, you're okay,"

"I'm sorry..." I shook my head, "I didn't tell you I-" Again, her hoof tapped my muzzle and she offered a tiny smile.

"You're a good pony, Akira, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't feel reserved about those that have hurt you, myself included," She saw through me again, everything secret I hid she could cut through. "Now, we'll wait until it eventually gives up, even I don't feel confident about fighting that thing just yet, so, what was that thing you did?" She raised her hoof to mimic my earlier action.

I guess it doesn't really matter now. "...I think it's obvious, I-I'm not a normal pony," I still felt shaken but I sat a little straighter to give her my full attention with a soft smile. "Biologically, I'm a chimera," The word rolled off my tongue and Myst's entire face lit up with several emotions that accumulated into shock with wide eyes. "Hehe, yep, everyone that knew the truth made that face, but it's true,"

"In order for that, there has to be several DNA introduced when you were conceived, but for a naturally born chimera among ponykind is - should be - impossible..." Then it clicked, and I nodded again.

"My Dad; He was a human from another Realm, different from Ren's, and when he was sent here, he became a Lucario, a creature known as a Pokemon, combine that with my Mom being a Bat Pony, well, you've probably pieced it together," I laughed hoarsely, staring up at the crystals. "I've had so many health problems as a kid, I needed more Iron because my bones are a form of organic steel, I've had sensory issues because of an energy called 'Aura', top of the list is that there shouldn't have been a way for me to be conceived as you said, not to mention Bat Pony, Human, and Pokemon are so far apart and yet... here I am," I shrugged, my truth revealed in full to the last person I'd ever expect to tell.

"Does Silver know?" Myst asked almost too quietly, her face unreadable.

"I trusted him... and look where that got me," My mood soured, flicking the water with my hoof. "Name calling, physical harassment, the things he's... called my Mom," I felt my anger starting to rise as I shakily let out a breath. "...sorry, that's another issue, my temper; I need to keep it under wraps or I can lose control of myself, like a primal animal,"

"That's amazing," Now it was my turn to look completely bewildered as Myst started to pace back and forth with a smile. "You're a real chimera, sure, with drawbacks but the abilities, the sheer possibilities you have available are astounding! Will you have the same powers as your father? What about the natural senses of a Bat Pony, have they been enhanced? And those odd words you use, that must be part of the human language!" Myst was muttering up a storm by this point. "Akira, you're amazing!"

I gave her a wide stare as heat trickled into my cheeks before a stupid smile washed over me. "Uh, t-thanks," Hearing her say that made my outlook on myself a little less objective. That small spark of confidence helped me to stand. "Okay... how do we beat that Khezu?" Now it was my turn to pace in the water. "It has wide thunder attacks, an extendable tail and head..."

"Look, there's no point in dilly-dallying," Myst objected, pointing to the tunnel we first came through. "We've gotten what we came for, so our best plan is to leave."

She was right once again. "Live to fight another day,"

"Exactly," Myst nodded to me.

"In that case, I have a plan," She smiled back at me.

"That's more like it," Was she happy I was back to my usual self? If so, that only made my assertiveness in this plan solidify.

"Are you sure you're okay? Aren't you afraid your wings might lock up?" Myst was now hugging my neck with her body atop my back as I adjusted my wings that trembled slightly.

It would be really awkward if I said I felt fine because she was hugging me. "If that happens, then use your magic to catch us, if one of us falls short the other covers for them, simple," I felt her nod as I watched the Khezu stalk past the line of stalagmites again. It was persistent but so were we. "Now, hold on tight."

This was a fight itself, we wouldn't be attacking a monster, but rather, I'm to overcome my greatest fear for a short period of time. I was fearful of the caves around me, but flying through them made my heart turn to ice. So, better heat it up, right? Taking in a long breath, I let my power overflow from my Aura. "Swords Dance!" The four blades cast themselves over us, fascinating Myst. "Here we go," "Quick Attack!!"

From between the rocky cove, Khezu screeched as my Tigrex shield collided with its blind face with resounding force. It stumbled, seeing us fly like an arrow as it took to the sky itself, spitting a roaring row of blue lightning toward us. I didn't relent, persisting with Quick Attack as I shot far from the attack, my hooves slammed into the side of the tunnel wall before I sprung forward like a springboard.

My wings felt heavy and my stomach nauseous but I shoved it all down. Myst was counting on me. She accepts my fears, my origins that made me more monster than pony, she... really saw me. Just that thought alone made my velocity skyrocket as I zipped through the winding caves, up the ridge next to the massive ravine, passing by caves in a blur of grey before light expanded and blinded me momentarily.

A cool, refreshing breeze pulled at my mane as I opened my eyes, the sun was nearing its peak, and the warmth from the sunlight made that cold tremor disappear. Unfortunately, my wings had finally stopped listening to me. We fell back toward the pit again but Myst reacted quickly, twisting herself to catch us in a field of purple magic briefly, tossing us into camp with her atop me as we coughed and grumbled from the fall.

I stared up at her as she stared back. Suddenly, rich laughter escaped us as Myst flopped onto the dirt next to me. "I-I'm so freakin' terrified right now!" I laughed, pins and needles in every inch of my body.

"I honestly thought we were going to fall at the ravine, it went down so far!" She giggled.

"Ugh, don't remind me!" I snorted, sitting upright. "You saved us,"

"Well-" She sat next to me, a big smile on her face that was only magnified by the sunlight. "-consider us even for saving me from that Khezu."

"Anytime," I winked before something drew my eyes to the Dark Below entrance. "Huh, so that's who we passed?"

We both watched as a scaly hand pulled itself from the pit, laughing hysterically as both I and Myst shared a wary look, then back to... "What in the Realms happened this time?" Was about all I could muster.

Garu was covered in soot, his white fur trims for his armour now pitch black. And Argo looked the same, coughing up ash and a few cinders as he used his magic to extinguish a small flame burning one of his locks. "Don't. Ask." Argo huffed, rubbing the ash from his muzzle. "If I see one more barrel bomb I think I'll have PTSD,"

"Hahaha! Our battle was triumphant! Those cave-dwelling monsters were no match for my superior strength and skills!" Garu held his fists to his hips, sparkling despite his tattered form.

"What monsters did you fight?" Myst inquired.

"Please don't encourage him," I begged but it was too late.

"A turf war between a Great Jaggi, Wroggi, and Baggi! All of them were laid to waste in the blink of an eye using the discarded gunpowder and barrels left by weaklings that fell to them!" Garu cackled. Well, atleast we know why they're covered in soot. "What happened to you two? You're all wet."

"Nothing, but we got the ore," I replied, shrugging.

For now, we were safe and while I still wasn't ready to jump back into a dark cavern anytime soon, I know it was a small step toward overcoming that fear.

To Be Continued...

Chp. 12 - Prepare For Trouble

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[Argo's POV]

I'm not one to talk about 'mental health problems', but for all tense and purposes, Garu Daora is by far the craziest dragon, or really anypony, I have met in my life, and mind you, one of my mothers is a human from a world of monsters. "Hahaha, this way, I can smell them...!" He must've grinned beneath that golden helmet of his, what a curious item too, made from the scales and horns of a supposedly Elder Dragon that sounded like a Kushla Daora but if Akira said it doesn't exist, then where did Garu obtain one?

We were neck-deep in the Dark Below, Akira was with Myst, but even before I left I knew Akira would clam up at the topic of her phobia of caves, hopefully, Myst would figure it out, or worse, abandon her. Not that I distrust Myst's intensions but she was an unknown factor. She has communed with the likes of Silver and Blue, but she did seem to be genuine in her apologies as of late. Who knows...

Back on topic, myself and Garu wandered across a ridge that overlooked a large cavern with a massive spire of rock in the center, it looked weak around the middle from erosion. And the derelict remains of mineshafts, rail lines, and carts were strewn about the walls. The Dark Below, when it first was discovered, was used as a mine for a short time before the monsters moved in, transforming the ecology in a matter of months.

"May I ask... what are you looking for?" I had to wonder as I jotted down the new routes in my page for a map of the location, my magic doing all the work.

He turned to me, walking backward with his fist clenched. "There are monsters down here, what else? I'm gonna kill them and bolster my ranking beyond yours and Rika's!"

"Akira," I corrected.

"Hmph, that's what I said, Darvo!" He nodded astutely.

"Argo - do you even listen to us half the time?" I sighed, running a hoof down my muzzle as something shifted the rocks below. "Hold on," I trotted over to the edge, peering down at the base of the cavern to find exactly what my scoutflies only now detected. "Did his sense of smell react faster than the scoutflies?" Well, he is a drake I suppose.

The distinctive lavender, crimson, and tangerine scales with a frill and a barbed tail - a Great Jaggi. It sniffed around what appeared to be a creature of the underground, an arachnid of somekind as it growled at the half-eaten body. I moved slightly but then Garu held my neck tightly, twisting it silently to the far right. Uh oh...

Two yellow eyes glowed in the dark cave entrance, and from it, a large creature with deep blue scales and a cream underbelly stepped into view, it's head mounted with a thick, navy horn with dark ridges lining the top of the muzzle. Black claws and talons and a few tuffs of black fur lining its back down to a thick navy tail. Small black spikes protruded beneath its jaw. A Great Baggi.

"Another?" I whispered as I suddenly realized Garu was over by an old mineshaft entrance, tossing junk everywhere as I slowly approached. "You're going to alert them, and... what are you-" He shoved a large barrel into my hooves, making me stumble.

"Turf war, this is the perfect chance to swoop in while they fight," His eyes sparkled with glee before holding up his own large barrel, filling it with something he found in the rubble. "Gimme that!" Then the barrel I held was swiped to be filled with black powder.

"What are you planning? You can't honest think to take two of them on at once - at least separate them first," This was beyond insane, even for him. Sure, the likes of a Tigrex makes these monster appear easy but they could still kill you if you weren't careful.

"Just watch, tell me if they try to leave then stop them!" Garu barked as he kept shoveling black powder into the two kegs. I shook my head, I wasn't a fighter, I didn't even have a weapon other than my clutch claw, but it was loaded with blast pellets. I sighed, moving back to the ridge to inspect the turf war - the more research the better.

The Jaggi hopped back with a growl as a small cloud of light blue mist separated the pair. The Great Jaggi and Baggi circled it, snarling at one another - they had no back up by the looks of things, this was a fight between them over this cavern. Baggi was the first to move, leaping forward as its sleep mist cleared as it sunk its talons across the Jaggi's flank as it spun backward, sweeping its tail across the Baggi's jaw, causing it to headbutt the large column, a few loose rocks falling from the spire as the dark blue monster roared and spat a new cloud of mist but Jaggi moved wide, charging forward while swiping its claws through the Baggi's tail, causing the pair to tumble as they slashed and bit at one another.

Jaggi snapped at the Baggi's throat, kicking it off its stomach and onto its side while the springy alpha recovered to turn and hip-check the downed Baggi. It snarled, rolling onto its feet again to smack Jaggi with its tail again, slamming it against that large column.

"Take these!" Before I knew it, two large barrels were pushed in my face, and they were heavy too. Garu then withdrew his thunder cleavers, sharpening them against one another. "Place them at the spire, then sit back and watch how a hunter works!" I very much doubt that.

"Wait, you're going down... there..." He had already jumped, leaving me with two heavy barrels to move with my horn, great, fantastic. I honestly wonder what Akira was thinking letting this guy join the group. If he died here I'm not being held accountable. Reluctantly, I strained and raised the barrels with my amber magic. "Sure, leave it to me, the non-fighter to do - tch - the heavy lifting..."

"Ahahaha!" Landing with a hard thud, I moved the barrels in a wide arc alongside me as Garu held both cleavers either side of him, brandishing their edges toward the pair of monsters as both slowly turned to the interruption. "That's right! The real foe is here, your worst nightmare raised by the legendary Garuba Daora!!"

The Great Jaggi lunged first into a sweeping charge with its claws, but all it did was headbutt the wall in front of it as Garu dove into a helix spin, swiping the monster with his tail, using that sharp shift in momentum to twirl down the full length of the wyvern like a sawblade, leaving several blue slashes across its back as it suddenly twitched and fell over with a wail. The Great Baggi had already reeled back to spew more sleep gas in Garu's direction, but to my complete bewilderment, he charged straight through.

"Like a little gas will pierce the crown upon my head!" He laughed mockingly, in reality, I saw him toss an empty vial that was more than likely filled with an energy drink substance. He then inverted his blades as a pulse of red light burned across his body like a flickering aura. "Demon Mode - Air Cutter!" With an explosive rush, Garu swung both blades upward into a cross, tearing a deep red incision through the Baggi's snout and forehead.

I didn't relent and bit down on the air as Garu spun himself to its side, striking in a frantic series of attacks, tearing scales from its hide as the Jaggi charged them. I didn't even see him glance before his feet were off the ground, landing with one foot on either monster as they crashed into one another, giving him ample time to leap and swing in another flurry of red flashes before the cold wind pulled at his blades. "Roar!!"

The impact split the ground beneath them, the shockwave tossing both wyverns aside as his 'Demon Mode' ended. While I had to admit, I was impressed by his awareness, while planting the bombs I realized another big problem had been stalking us from the upper levels of the cavern. "Garu!" I yelled, waving my hoof upward.

He slowly turned to see a shadow form over him. A mighty slam resounded, and I quickly took cover behind the column with the barrels as a pool of sickly purple liquid dripped down the stone from the dust cloud. There, Garu was pinned underfoot by probably the largest of the three monsters. It had slick, orange salamander-like skin with a yellow underbelly and spots across its back, leading to a long, sharp spine at the tip of the flabby tail. A Great Wroggi.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Now we had three problems, two of which had recovered and were looking between Garu, the Wroggi, and me. "Garu, what now?" I could use my clutch claw to escape but then I'd be leaving him to either die horribly or fight three monsters at once.

He didn't reply, only the sound of him taking a long breath as the weight of the Wroggi pressed down on his chest, snarling as poison dripped from its lips.

"Garu!" I had to do something, but what!? I had flash pods, if I use them it could free him from the pinned state but then we'd have three discombobulated wyverns throwing their weight around. Think, there's a way out of this! Maybe use a smoke bomb? Or perhaps a bomb pellet on the Wroggi? I... I didn't know which was correct, maybe just all of them?

Loading my slinger, a sudden, arctic wind tugged through my mane, causing me to shiver as my attention drew back to the downed drake. He was drawing in breath at an alarming rate, now, the white fur of his armour was starting to shimmer... with rime? He bent his head forward slightly, the grip around his cleavers shaking as he growled deeply. "Four Form..." I should... probably keep my head down. Doing so proved to be a bright idea as the Wroggi's head recoiled with a cry. "...Cloudburst!!"

That frigid wind was unleashed in a wide dome of vicious slashes, carving through all three monsters while the sheer pressure along threw the large Wroggi onto its backside as it rolled, shaking off the back blast as large lacerations lined its underbelly. Garu spun through the air upside down, arms extended to banish the wind dome surrounding him, crescents of white wind left in his wake with snowflakes. Just what was his power?

"Move, minion, use your claw!" He hollered at me, the three wyverns giving chase as I pointed my hoof up without question, seeing the claw and wire snag on the edge of the elevated levels of the cave, pulled to safety at the last second. Garu ran and sprinted up the column vertically, leading the trio of monsters into one another as they snapped and bit at one another. High above, Garu pointed his own smooth clutch claw downward, firing a single, sharp pellet from the slinger.

The black object punctured the three wyverns and through the first barrel with ease, and then I realized why he was so fixated on them to begin with. My face was struck with an intense wave of heat from the two large blasts that shook the whole cavern, a few loose rocks falling from above as the column destabilized entirely, but by now, it was far too late.

Hundreds of pounds worth of rock, soil, and other minerals collided with the fanged wyverns below, hearing them roar and cry in terror as they were buried beneath the rockslide, some sharper boulders making their mark as I held my ears, all while Garu cackled madly next to me at the rush of black soot that stained our bodies, his arms crossed. "My name is Garu Daora! The greatest monster hunter in the world! And my fearless underling, Ragna!" Eh... close enough.

Shaking my head as the large plume of dust and ash rose toward the ceiling, I couldn't help but sigh in relief. "Please, don't do that ever again..."

"Huh!? But we won!" He sparkled slightly.

"Yeah, with a few years off my life..." But my gloomy state wouldn't shift. Still, I managed a small smile. "Good work,"

"Like there was any doubt!" Garu probably grinned.

To Be Continued...

Chp. 13 - Beckoning Slumber

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[Myst's POV]

"Okay, weapon is sharp, extra whetstones, potions..." I kept muttering my shopping list like a mantra, pacing around my room with an anxious face. I really shouldn't be anxious, I've done this before but this wasn't some request, I was properly cooperating with another team entirely. One, might I add, I have a bad history with. I ran my hooves through my mane, staring at the reflection in the mirror to the left of my bed. "Get ahold of yourself, Myst; Akira pretty much accepted your apology - heck - she even shared some very personal issues, that means she trusts you,"

And that was what worried me. Could I really be worth trusting at all? I'm not letting her identity of a chimera slip by my lips, but I was curious, how did Silver know this? And better yet, he hates her from what I've seen so why doesn't he go public with Akira's biology? Would it not have the intended impact he would hope for? That also strung itself to multiple questions. If Silver knows all this, doesn't that mean he knows Mr Amadeus is the Guild Leader? I'd like to think I dodged an arrow considering how I treated his daughter.

I slapped my cheeks to supress my thoughts. "Now's not the time to over-analyse!" My eyes fell onto my longsword resting by the doorframe. With a heavy sigh, I levitated it over and stood up. "You've got to be a good hunter today!"

[Akira's POV]

A brand new day was upon us.

I was abuzz with energy as I scanned the many parchments nailed to the quest board. Now that we were Rank Two, myself and Argo could pick some juicy quests. The list was a little diverse but most of the good ones were taken or stamped for completion. "This needs to be a good one for Myst, one I can really show my stuff as a leader," I didn't actually care about leading others but I felt I had to take that role just for a while now that it was more than just myself and Garu fighting.

"This one," An unfamiliar voice behind me almost forced my wings out as I yelped. Beside me, with a tan hoof raised at a quest, I found my gaze fall to a pony that made my heart clench. A pegasus with a snow-white mane that bobbed just below her chin, her tail short too. Her eyes were a beautiful ice-blue. She wore a black bandana over her mouth and nose, obscuring her facial expression. The black breastplate she wore was made of a material I couldn't recognize, with a hood and fishnets reaching down half her forelegs. Tied just below the left leg's fishnet was a blue cloth.

Her back legs followed the same pattern, all tucked into sleek black gauntlets. The mare also wore a belt buckle wrapped by her forelegs near her hooves. Attached to her belt was a folded white bow with a snowflake pattern, the handle a shade of blue, same for a quiver. She was the female member of Silver's group.

"...right..." I felt my voice tighten as I plucked the quest down. I gave it a once over, and I tried to hide my excitement with a cough. "Uh, thanks...?"

"Mm," She nodded once, plucking a four-star quest herself, and again, trying not to look really jealous that she was going to fight a Nargacuga, oh come on! "Good day,"

I stood there for a couple of seconds as she left to register the quest as I held mine tightly. "What was that?"

"Okay, team, we've got a quest!" I beamed as I slapped down our latest hunt for all to see.

Assignment
Beckoning Slumber ⭐⭐
Main Objective
*Capture a Somnacanth

Roaring Marsh | Reward 2000 Bits | Fee 350 Bits

"I see..." Argo then stood up and proceeded to make his way toward the Smithy, patting my shoulder as his signal to start moving.

"Where is he going?" Garu grumbled.

"Gathering up what we need while I break down what we're up against," I don't like tutting my own horn but I am a nerd when it comes to monsters. "A Somnacanth is leviathan class monster that has an organ that produces a sleeping agent, not to mention it likes to pick up shells that feel like you got slapped with the sun or stepped on a landmine,"

"What's a 'landmine'?" Our newest, possible member? Myst, raised her hoof at my human term as I coughed into my wing.

"Ah, sorry, landmines are like explosive barrels only smaller and hidden under a thin layer of terrain that explode when pressure is applied to them," I quickly summed up. Myst had decided to partner up with us as a way to repay us for helping her two days ago, I was happy for sure but it felt a little wrong to be poaching an amazing hunter like her from other teams. "My strange references aside, Argo's prepping items to help us combat those ailments,"

"So, as long as we break it before it can use those attacks we're set!" Garu confidently punched the table while Myst gave him an irked look as she finished her drink.

"Rushing in is exactly what'll use to counterattack, we need to focus our efforts into weakening its ability to use sleeping gas," Myst argued but that only seemed to offend Garu.

"HaAH!? I knew that!" He huffed.

"I sincerely doubt it..." She deadpanned.

"Well, remember, it's a Capture quest, so we can't kill it, so please-please-please try to contain that need to destroy every living thing on the planet, Garu," I clopped my hooves together, pleading for him to restrain himself.

He reluctantly crossed his arms, then pointed at me with both hands. "Fine, but only because you asked. A good leader looks out for his underlings," Whatever makes him happy I suppose.

I don't know why but I have a bad feeling about this quest.

The train from Canterlot took us all the way down west of the mountains the radiant castle was situated on. Below were the massive, breathtaking waterfalls that fell into large blue lakes. From there, rivers and other smaller bodies of water dotted the land and through the marsh's small thickets of alder, willows, and birch trees. I even saw some white lilies growing in a small stream beside the camp. Though when we arrived, it was clear someone else was here also by the stamped out fire.

"You have fifty minutes before the monster leaves the area, good luck," Argo and I bumped hooves, and I quickly ran to the exit to the camp through a large tree where its roots formed a small archway for us to walk under.

"Everyone set?" I asked, since it wasn't just me and Garu now, I had to try and ensure all of us were ready, not that I distrust Myst's readiness but can't ever be too careful.

"Ready/You bet!" With those replies, we took off, allowing our Scoutflies to pick up on anything that caught their eyes.

The air was quite damp since we were in a marsh but atleast it wasn't the dampness of a cave. It wasn't long before the small webbed tracks appeared in the mud bank leading down toward ankle-deep water amongst the trees. Inspecting them caused the Scoutflies to buzz and dance in the direction of the Somnacanth, I took to the air, the others following me from below.

"Any pointers about Capture quests?" I spoke up while we navigated the marsh toward a clearing that was just a river, I saw them pushing through the stream with minimal effort.

"I've only done two so far but from my experience our best chance to capture the monster is when it starts to limp, its a common sign of fatigue and it'll usually attempt to retreat to sleep," Myst explained.

"Never done them," Garu replied simply, which made sense given his attitude.

When I looped around at the edge of the river, it opened up into a shallow lake with patches of grass at the banks say for another large river feeding in from the Roaring Marsh's lake while two woodland paths stretched to the left and right of me. I spun around to Myst and Garu, the former picking up a shiny, gold scale. "We must've just missed it."

I wish I shared that optimism. My brow rose as I watched the yellow body swim with its white belly upright through the same stream they just trudged through.

Its front feet have three digits, each one ending in a long, curved black claw. Its back feet have four digits that end in shorter claws. It has fins on each front leg. It has a short face with a disturbingly humanoid appearance. Above its eyes were a pair of large purple horns, with a pair of smaller knob-like protrusions in front of them. Adorning the side of its head are three pairs of small purple fins, with a massive crest-like fin on the top. These purple fins also appear along the top of its tail and form a crescent shape at the tip. It has a hard pad on its belly with a taiko drum-like pattern. It also features several bioluminescent patches on its body, which can be seen around its eyes, in the mouth, the seams on the throat, and the underside of the tail base. The Mermaid Wyvern, Somnacanth.

But it was strange, the scales across its right-side legs were chipped and broken in places, not to mention the tail looked banged up too. No one else should be hunting this thing, was it maybe a turf war? Well, that's not exactly why I looked worried.

"Uh, guys...?" I pointed with my sword as they stood there, then looked to each other.

"It's behind us, isn't it?" Myst sighed.

"Yes," Garu nodded curtly before a large body shoved right past them, twisting around in the water to raise its body from the water, suspended by its tail in a curled position to roar up at me. Without warning, the Somnacanth swung its purple crest sharply, causing several long spines to smack against my shield as I yelped in surprise. Right, projectiles too, forgot about that.

Diving low, I brought my blade through its stomach before wrapping around to smack it across the head with my shield twice then bringing it down, causing sparks to fly as Somnacanth recoiled with a growl. Behind it, a longsword swept in amethyst light swung in two twice stretched, twirling as Myst grabbed the blade with her teeth and swung in a sharp halo through Somnacanth's tail, forcing it down onto all fours to swipe at her but one shot of her clutch claw threw her away from the beast's path.

Garu took the lead, slashing its backside in a flurry but the tail swung around and knocked him through the water, seemingly unphased, Garu shot up and grabbed its face with his bare hand, using his right to shove what appeared to be a blast pod into its jaws, causing a small explosion that threw Somnacanth toward me and Myst. I held me shield up, blocking the monster's belly slam while Myst hopped back, blade inverted for a rising slash through the neck and toward the lower jaw.

Immediately, the leviathan hopped back onto its tail, sweeping at us with its headpiece but a magic barrier erected itself, punctured by a few dislodged spines. "Thanks," I replied with a quick nod from her. From there, I saw Somnacanth lean back, the gills along its neck beginning to glow with a pale blue mist. "Garu, wait for the-"

"First Form - Air Cutter!" He lunged in without a thought, the air pressure surrounding his blades as he swept up the water in his charge. But Somnacanth was faster, with a roar, it exhaled a stream of sleep-inducing mist, dragging the beam across the water and straight into Garu's face while I lifted Myst by her forelegs in time to hop over it. "Hah... ha... a little... mist is... no... thing..."

Garu stood before Somnacanth, and swung his left blade down only for it to lightly caress the underbelly before he fell face first into the lake, gargling at he did. Clearly, that offended the leviathan enough to roar as its body started to glow in certain spots, then, in sweeping itself around, it leapt over our heads and crashed atop Garu, tossing him into the muddy bank as he was abruptly woken from his nap. Somnacanth didn't relent, slithering toward him with its claws brandished.

"I'll use a flashpod, then you-" But I was talking to the air as Myst had already left my side. "Huh? Oh, you've got to be kidding me?" I slumped a bit and took to the air again.

Myst moved with the grace of the wind, striking with a plunge between the left forearm's fin and scales to flinch the beast, using that forward momentum to vault over Somnacanth's smaller body slam meant for the unicorn now diving through the air with her sword raised over her shoulder in magic. The edge flashed yellow, and struck down with tremendous force, a ring of water expanding around them as multiple invisible strikes punctured its body, giving Garu the chance to rise. Good, now maybe-

"Back up, I have a-"

"That attack was pretty good I guess," Garu admitted under his breath at Myst's smug smirk before shoving her aside, raising his swords above his head. "Now it's my turn!"

"No, anything but that in a mar-!" Was I talking to ghosts now!?

"Third Form - Roar!!" Bringing his cleavers down on the tail swimming away from them, the lake exploded upward, spraying them both in water and mud as Garu's attack missed and instead, both were struck with a single blast of sleep gas since Myst was shoved behind Garu. "Not... ag... ain..." He fell into the water belly first again, and Myst stumbled and landed atop him but managed to down the energy drink Argo had provided her, and her eyes shot wide in time to grab Garu and promptly kick him in the ribs, rolling to the left in time to avoid a heavy slam from Somnacanth as it turned its gaze to me. "Huh!?" Garu's head shot upright again.

"Sorry, we'll-"

"Just. Heal. Up." I was starting to lose my nerve here. Why were they so difficult to work with all of a sudden? With my sharp words given, I hardened my eyes to the leviathan as it swung its head so I met it in kind, deflecting the line of sharp scales with my sword before bringing the face of my shield across its jaw, sliding underneath a claw swipe to bash the hip twice, gliding back with a single flap, avoiding Somnacanth's head slam to dive and cleave my sword through its head, drawing upward as I slid down its back, striking it across the purple fins with a dark purple aura around my blade. "Night Slash - Horizontal!" The criss-cross tore out larger scales, and the beat reeled with a cry as it tumbled away. "Hah... there,"

"Wisteria, watch out!" I heard Garu called to me.

"I'm fine, and that's not my name!" I countered, watching Somnacanth struggle to rise, giving me ample time to channel Swords Dance while taking to the sky again, hanging low to the water.

"Er, grr... Melantha!?" He tried again.

"No," I growled, craning my sword over my shoulder.

"Akira, behind you!" The tug of levitation pulled at my tail, but it wasn't enough to stop my whole world from spinning as I met the cold hard bed of the lake, blood dripping down from my nose as I tried to lift myself upright only to collapse as stars filled the corners of my vision. I didn't even detect any bloodlust... what hit me? I felt someone at my side but my hearing was all funny but I finally realized why I had been flicked like some rubber band. I almost felt myself flinch out of shock.

Instead of jade scales they were a bronzy-dirt coloration. A large, bipedal monster with a large crown structure atop its skull had slammed itself into the Somnacanth' side as it jumped to body slam it back. It was covered in rigid plates, most of which were coated in thick layers of mud all the way down to its club-like tail. But I recognized those small red eyes and peg-shaped teeth anyway, simply replace the mud with snow and change the colours. The Landslide Wyvern, Barroth.

"A blwst frwm th pahst," I slurred, feeling my head throb as I was lifted onto Garu's back. "Weave me alne..."

"Let's head back while they're distracted," Myst offered to guide the way.

"Good," Garu didn't argue and started running as I heard the two monsters fighting over territory behind me, but my aura was so unfocused I couldn't make out specific emotions around me, it was all a blurry mesh. Soon, I just let sleep overtake me. I was angry that it took me being used like a pony-sized ragdoll for them to cooperate, but also at myself for failing to lead them correctly.

[Myst's POV]

I'm a failure, simply put. When we arrived at our campsite Argo didn't even say a word to us, he simply took Akira from Garu into the tent and tended to her injuries, despite mega potions healing even the most serious of wounds, physical trauma and fatigue couldn't be miraculously healed. So, during that time, I sat and stared at my longsword, now upgraded with a faint, green sheen in the daylight, all thanks to Akira. How do I thank her? By giving her a concussion. Well, not me directly but I knew why she ignored us at the end there.

"We did this," I muttered, brushing a hoof over my mane to flick some dirt out from it. "Neither of us have fought with others before,"

"You weren't on a team?" Garu, who had been sulking off to the side, perked up at her admittance, watching her play with her hooves.

"Everypony thinks I'm so busy working with others but... I've been on my own, because I can't work on a team, in my head I've had to do everything alone, and to be thrown into a position that I can do less feels completely alien to me," But then Akira came along and offered me the chance to work with her, Garu, and Argo. I was happy she was so accepting but now my own fears came back to bite me. I'm a horrible teammate. "And now she's out cold because I couldn't hack it as her partner,"

"I don't need anyone's help! I've always been strong because I was raised by Garuba Daora, the greatest Elder Dragon in the world!" Was he seriously bragging right now? Then, his head fell, tapping his golden forehead. "...but then she starts yelling back at me, and she is strong and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, and it irritates me..."

"I think I get where you're coming from," I smiled slightly, "I didn't exactly make a good first impression either,"

Suddenly, Garu stood up straight, grabbing the holsters for his duel cleavers. "This is pissing me off! Let's beat that freak black and blue and prove we're better than other teams, List!" I'm assuming he just misspoke my name but given our situation I was inclined to agree with him. Guess he can be compassionate when he wants to.

"First, we need a plan," My eyes wandered to Akira's supplies, both the tranq bombs and capture nets gathering dust, more specifically, the extra clutch claw hooks and wires. Slowly, a smile stretched over my muzzle. "And I think I found one,"

When I got round to telling Garu my plan, I swore I could hear his grin through the devilish laughter he released. We were gone before Argo had a chance to ask what had happened.

Finding the Somnacanth wasn't hard, just follow the destruction of a turf war. Thankfully, it appeared the battle we ran from had worn the leviathan out a fair bit so it made this part easier for me. Drawing my longsword, I stepped out of the marsh into a flatland facing a sectioned off bank of the largest lake, trees formed a half-circle area for me to run around in, but more importantly, it brought the monster's attention to me alone.

It let out a shriek and in using the mud, slithered toward me almost within seconds. I dispelled my magic as I dived forward over his right leg, catching my longsword in the process in amethyst light before sweeping down in a slant through its body. Somnacanth curled onto its tail again, craning left to spew a stream of sleep gas. Using my clutch claw I hooked its underbite and narrowly avoided the gas, sweeping my blade vertically before performing a roll mid-air to plunge the tip of my blade down its face, shaving through the tough scales.

The leviathan dove onto its stomach, knocking me aside before flipping onto its back in the mud, procuring a red clam hidden within. I gasped and quickly rolled out of range as searing heat struck my fur. Having missed blasting me away, Somnacanth snarled bitterly, eyes glowing red. Spinning in place, it used its tail like a springboard to dive and nearly crush me.

Moving back in one hop, I sheathed my blade before striking horizontally with Iai Slash, riddling the monster with several strikes, breaking the scales across both forelegs. Somnacanth turned sharply, roaring while threshing its crest to toss several spines in my general direction. Raising my longsword, I kept the majority from doing any serious damage, but in that short time frame it slithered in an attempt to run me down.

"COMIN' THROUGH!!!" From the edge of the forest, both I and the leviathan turned our heads to Garu's roar of triumph as the earth shook violently beneath me. I allowed myself a tiny smirk, sprinting into position - which meant as far from this fight as possible.

The trees were blown away or crushed as steam flew behind a large mass of brown and grey as the wide crest collided with Somnacanth's side like a ram. The monster reared its head, and roared as loud as the drake that rode it. Garu was standing atop the same Barroth we encountered, only now he held onto the monster with several wires and hooks. He was riding the wyvern like a weapon.

"Fall to my mighty minion! The strength of the earth and mud as I bury you for daring to hurt my follower!" Garu yelled down at the Somnacanth slowly rising from being taken off guard, hissing back at the Barroth as it took leered and roared, instigating another turf war. "To battle my new minion! Destroy this monster for your fearless leader!!"

Pulling on the wires, he forced Barroth back from Somnacanth sweep with its crest, following up with its own sideways sweep of its head, smacking the leviathan sharply before repeating the action from the left, completely discombobulating the monster before bringing its head down, spewing mud in Somnacanth's eyes and sending it tumbling across the marsh.

Garu led the Barroth wide as Somnacanth rolled and then slammed the ground with its belly, sweeping its tail against the brute's hip, causing it to stumble in the mud. One sharp tug from the drake kept Barroth steady, turning to the side to perform a hip-check to the yellow beast, cutting off its attempt to put both to sleep. It wailed as more scales were flung from its face.

Barroth turned, striking down with its tail across the stomach, breaking it too with a single turning sweep as Somnacanth howled in pain. "Hahaha!! Follow my lead!" Garu bellowed while pulling Barroth back into a jump to make some room, the leviathan struggling to stand again as that whistle of steam flew from Barroth's crown. It tucked in its body a bit, then burst forth with explosive speed. "Chaaaarge!!"

The sheer force of the blow sent the large leviathan up into the air as Barroth roared triumphantly, watching the monster crash into the dirt with a wet slap. The wires finally broke as Garu dismounted, allowing the Barroth one last roar before it ran back to the forest, not bothered by our presence. "I think I'll call this... Wyvern Riding," Wonder if Akira would approve of the name? I lost my smile soon after, glaring at the heavily injured Somnacanth slithering to its full height again as it rasped, staring back at me. "First... you."

It seemed to agree, giving one last scream before it charged frantically toward me. "Oi!!" I ignored Garu's warning and stayed were I was, my blade sheathed on my back, waiting. Somnacanth curled its back, leaping forward to crush me as I barely batted an eye, stepping back a few inches as it crashed down before me.

Letting out a wail of discomfort, bolts of yellow lightning wrapped around its wet, muddy frame, locking it in place for me to procure two pink balls in my magic, smacking them off the ground to release their potent scent that only monsters were affected by. In mere moment, the beast was ironically put to sleep, captured without issue.

"Capture Confirmed," I replied with a curt bow to Garu as I loaded a signal flare into my slinger. "Impressive work wrangling the Barroth."

"Hehe, barely broke a sweat!" He put his fists on his hips, sparkling at the praise I gave, then he shook his head in disbelief at me. "You stared down that monster at the last second, nice work!"

Huh, so he can be grateful? I shrugged, trying to appear aloof. "It was nothing, I had it planted the second I arrived, I only needed to hold out for you to land the finishing blows."

"We make a good team!" He beamed, chuckling at sleeping monster, raising a cleaver.

I slapped his arm with my hoof. "Don't."

"...fine." He huffed, putting it away.

[Akira's POV]

"I think my brain's in my stomach or something, and I don't think it's supposed to be there," I slurred a little, that blow to the head was more than my steel bones could withstand unprepared. Note to self, master Aura for awareness.

"Spectacular," Argo remarked, flicking through his journal as I sat next to him. "They shouldn't be long,"

"Yeah..." I sighed, it was hard not to think about how big of a failure I was at leading today. I should've realized Garu and Myst were like polar opposites, that's the textbook definition of argument. But they left while I was recovering with God knows how many of my spare wires and hooks. I ruffled my mane with my hooves, groaning in annoyance. "Grah, I'm such an idiot! Maybe we're not ready for our rank up soon?"

Argo didn't look away from his sketch of Somnacanth. but he snorted sharply. "You're too hard on yourself sometimes," Huh? I turned to look at him, confused. "No one is born a leader, nor are they expected to be perfect; you learn and experience things together, and from those moments, you show them the way,"

"I'm... not sure I get it... yet," I offered a small smile. "But thanks," I hugged his side, watching him nod as commotion could be heard beyond the camp. My aura immediately perked me up. "They're back!"

Keeping to a light jog to not scramble my brain further, I moved past the tent to a clearing where a dirt road led out of the Roaring Marsh. Is that... the Somnacanth? It was battered like a fish stick but was asleep and bound to a cart being pulled by several little cats, the Palicoes. With their little meows they left me to turn and spot two dirty hunters walking side by side. One of which looked elated to see me.

"Akira!" Myst ran up to me, looking at my head as it was still wrapped with bandages. "A-are you okay? How's your head?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine, really," I eased her back with my wing, a small headache reminding me that wasn't entirely true. "Though my back is killing me, hehe," Then I pointed a wing to the moving cart. "You... guys caught it?"

"Like there was any doubt!" Garu stated loftily. "I rode that large muddy wyvern too into battle!"

I stared at him for the longest time before looking to Myst. "No seriously, how?"

"HaAH!?" He shot me a look through that mask of his but I ignored it as Myst nodded simply.

"No, it's true, I suggested using the wires to effectively kite the Barroth into battling the Somnacanth," She explained to me with a sparkle in her eye at the idea. "I even thought to call it, 'Wyvern Riding',"

"Oooh, that is a good name," I murmured, rubbing my chin. Also, using wyverns as a weapon, bet my Dad's gonna love the sound of that.

"I know, right!?" She grinned happily, a little closer than usual, then coughed into her hoof. "But, um, I... we wanted to say... sorry for what happened,"

"Eh?" So that's why they did this? I remained silent for a moment.

"It's just that... I've... never been in a team, ever," Myst's admittance made me open my mouth but she held her hoof up. "I never worked with Silver, or anypony, not once,"

"...you've gotten to 3-Star all on your own?" I asked, still shocked that she was telling the truth, not a shred of deceit in her voice or aura.

Nodding bashfully, she continued, rubbing her nape with a sad smile. "It's why I only wanted to do that one job with you for my upgrades, because... I'm not reliable, but then you kept encouraging me to join you, and I felt really grateful, but then me and Garu don't particularly see eye to eye, maybe a little more now, but I know it won't be the last time we'll act that way, and because of that you were injured, so I'm sorry, both for today and not clarifying further,"

"Tch... grr, I'm sorry," Garu grumbled out, "As your leader I should have done better to... make sure you... weren't injured," He really had to force that out right, huh? Well, I knew he meant it. Then his finger jabbed at me. "So don't go getting yourself caught off guard again! That's an order!" And right back to square one.

"Twilight above... one apology, that's all you had to do," Myst rubbed her face, dragging her hoof down with a glare sent his way. "Idiot,"

"You wanna go? I'll take you down, Lisp!" Garu did an odd motion with his arms as if to size up his opponent.

"That's not even a name!" Myst growled, shaking her head. "Why the heck am I even trying to argue with you?"

"Pfft, hahaha!" I couldn't help but chuckle at their antics, strangely, when we're not pitted against a monster, seeing them bicker was funny. "Well, good work today, both of you," I praised before giving Myst a soft smile. "And don't worry about it, you managed to make it this far on your own, that's already pretty amazing,"

"W-well, it's not t-that big of a deal, a-anypony could do it - you have!" Myst stammered slightly as I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, but as I've said, I'm not a normal pony," I winked, clapping my hooves. "Now, let's pack up and head home, soon, me and Argo will be meeting you guys in the next rank, and this time, we won't be left behind!" My declaration to them was met with Garu's nod and Myst's small smile.

Yeah, maybe I'm not the best leader, and maybe these guys will argue alot, but so what? We're a team, and so long as that gets to stay that way, I'm happy.

<><><>Quest Complete!<><><>

To Be Continued...