> Monster Hunter Pie
>  by BronyArmitage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue - Pinkie's on a Boat!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boat rides. Pinkie loved boat rides. Always. However, every other boat ride she'd been on usually involved other people. She'd never taken one with her only other companion being a cat that could only speak broken Common. She heaved a sigh as she leaned over the edge of the boat, staring at her broken reflection in the gentle waves. The sun beat down on her from the apex of its course through the sky. She grumpily wondered why in the wide world that she had agreed to take the afternoon ship to this island. Sailing overnight would have been much less...Sunburn-y. She could feel the small of her back slowly cooking to resemble the color of her vibrant pink hair, which she'd pulled back into poogie-tails for the occassion.

Pinkie's eyes drifted over to her trunk. She stood and made her way over to it, the Felyn making an odd sound somewhere between a purr and a chirp. She flipped open the latch and opened it, digging through for whatever armor the Guild had set her up with to go over her clothing. She had a vague idea of what she was getting into when she decided to become a Monster Hunter, but the island she was being shipped to was an area just recently put under the Guild's jurisdiction and no one knew much about it. They informed her that a liaison had been dispatched earlier in the week to start gathering information on the village and the surrounding hunting grounds so that Pinkie wouldn't be flying completely blind. They had told her the liaison's name, but she couldn't bring it off the tip of her tongue.

To her surprise, the contents of the trunk were different than what she thought. She found a set of leather armor, but in addition to that, she discovered a vast array of weapons that she had learned about back on the mainland when she was still in the Monster Hunter academy. She was digging through all of them until she discovered one that she was unfamiliar with. It had a large warning label attached to it, and was folded up into an odd shape. She could tell that it was compacted, as many of the Heavy Bowguns she saw at the academy used the same technology. Attached to the warning label was a note. She opened it and started reading, her eyes lighting up with each word:

"Miss Pie,

The contents of this trunk all belong to you in accordance with Code 19 of the Guild handbook, which states that any Hunter legally performing duties under the order of the Guildmaster, or a similar liaison, will not go unprepared into a potentially dangerous area.

Also, within this trunk is a prototype of a new weapon the Guild needs thoroughly tested. It was submitted to us by the Wyverian Artisans Guild, and before we can start marketing it to other Hunters, we need to make sure the new technology is not dangerous to the user or to others.

That being said, we would like to inform you that you are not required to use this weapon, and may deal with the threats around Moga Village as you were taught at the academy.

In closing, should you decide to use the prototype Switch Axe contained within, we would like you to report its effectiveness on the field of battle and how it handles against the undiscovered monsters around Moga Village.

Good Hunting,
Assistant Guildmaster Luna"

"Wooooooow..." Pinkie lowered the letter into the trunk and reached in, delicately pulling the Switch Axe out into the sunlight. She marveled at it. She'd never seen something so fantastic in all her days at the academy. In the back of her mind, she knew that all the new Hunters had received one of these prototypes, but she selfishly wanted to believe that she was being entrusted with a sacred mission. To use and master this weapon. To be renowned as the Hunter who unlocked the secrets of this incredible piece of Wyverian technology. She was snapped out of her reverie by the Felyn boatmaster.

"Moga Village, ho, madam!" he shouted, his accent very thick with the Felyn tongue. Pinkie bounded to the edge of the small ship, grinning broadly. This was it. Her adventure was about to begin. And she couldn't have been more excited.
> Chapter 1 - Mistakes Were Made
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Pinkie disembarked, lugging her trunk behind her. Despite the weight of the thing, she seemed to move it with ease. Rumors were abound that Hunters were not like normal people, but Pinkie never felt anything but normal. All eyes in the village were upon her, but she had an idea of who she was looking for. Her clear, blue eyes wandered over the denizens of Moga Village(Mogans, Mogaians? She'd worry about that later), until they settled on an older gentleman sitting on a barrel, and chatting up a cute girl with mint colored hair, and a dress to match. Pinkie had a feeling that the girl was who she was looking for, since she bore no resemblance to any of the other residents. Where they wore earth tones, she was bright and stuck out. She was Pinkie's kinda' person! So, the fledgling huntress made her way over to the girl and the elderly man.

"Well, well. Seems to be my lucky week." the man spoke. His words were bright, but his face and his eyes gave him the look of a man who had really seen the world, and that the world he had seen was not always sunshine and rainbooms. Pinkie already knew that she was going to learn a lot here. She dropped her trunk with a loud thud and smiled brightly at the two of them.

"Hello! My name's Pinkamena Dianne Pie! But you can call me Pinkie! All my friends do!" she extended a hand towards the girl with the mint colored hair. As the girl turned to face her, she noticed that the mint had a streak of white running from the to of her head to just over her left eye. Pinkie noted it as an odd design choice and wondered if it was natural. "Oh! I almost forgot! I'm the new Hunter that was assigned to this village! I just realized I may have given the impression that I was some super creepy lady with a penchant for introducing herself to strangers." the girl with the mint hair had to suppress a giggle.

"I knew who you were, Pinkie." the girl extended her hand and shook vigorously, smiling. "The Guild informed me you were en route. I'm Lyra. Lyra Heartstrings." Pinkie returned her smile, pleased that she hadn't seemed like some weirdo. "I will be your Guild liaison and overall informant on all things to do with Hunting here in this uncharted territory. Thank you so much for volunteering to come out here. After my last fiasco in Pokke Village, I wasn't sure they would let me resume my work." her eyes look downcast. She, however, brightened quickly as she introduced the man she had been speaking with. "This is the village elder, Mr. Lane!" the older man smiled at Pinkie as well, shaking hands with her. 

"People just call me 'Thunder', or old man around here. Either of those work for me. Glad to have you here, Pinkie." she retuned the smile as Lyra spoke up again.

"Alright! Thunder can answer any questions that you may have about the village or its residents. It may be a better idea for you to go talk to everyone yourself, Pinkie. First, however, let's get you settled into where you'll be staying while you work here." with a smile and a wave to Thunder, they walked towards the vacant house near the town center, Pinkie, trunk in tow, trying to keep up with Lyra. "Have you gone through the manual and all that boring stuff, yet?" Lyra asked her as she pushed open the door to Pinkie's new home. The pink haired girl dragged the trunk through the door and into the corner of the room, next to her bed. She let it drop with another heavy thud, then turned to Lyra.

"You kidding me? I could have wrote a manual on that boat ride. It felt like it took forever." Pinkie sounded as if she was recalling a horrific torture upon her being. Lyra chuckled.

"It was only a five hour ride." she said, waving a hand to dismiss Pinkie's negativity. "Now," she clapped her hands together. "The Guild has not sent me any formal jobs, yet. I believe it's because this island lacks the proper facilities. However, between you and the rest of the villagers, we're going to make this place into a honest to goodness Hunter's paradise!" she grinned broadly and Pinkie could feel her enthusiasm. She couldn't help but return it. "Now, equip yourself with whatever you see fit from the box, then go meet the villagers. After that, we'll see if we can't get you on the road to being a top-class Hunter!" with that, Lyra took her leave, giving Pinkie the privacy to get changed into her gear. She adorned the full set of leather armor, which was still a little stiff. It was brand new, so that wasn't much of a surprise. She'd have to break it in before trying to fight while wearing it. She adjusted the goggles on top of her head, her bright poogie-tails blowing in the gentle breeze that came through her window. The place just felt very homey to her, despite the noticeable lack of confectionary smells that she had grown up with back home. At long last, she drew the Switch Axe from the bottom of the trunk and grinned, holding it above her head. It was heavy, but not unwieldy. She swung it with unfettered grace behind her, and clipped it onto her back. It took her a second to get used to walking around with this thing attached to her. After a few laps around the room, she felt marginally more comfortable. She patted down her pockets and checked to make sure she had all her other stuff ready. She clasped the handle of a small knife and had to draw it from the small scabbard on her back. It was shaped like a kris dagger, and she took a moment to remember what it was for.

"Oh!" she piped up, realization dawning on her. "My...Carving knife..." she paused and stared at it. She looked a bit green. She had remembered this part of the academy. She also remembered barely getting a passing grade. Cutting things up was not her best talent. How she wished that her Cutie Mark would have been something having to do with chopping up other creatures. No. She was the person people came to when they wanted a party planned. Oft times she wondered how she ever ended up becoming a Hunter. She shook the doubts from her head. She could worry about that later. For now, she had a village to meet.

She stepped out into the sunlight, basking in its warmth for a moment before starting her rounds. Walking to the left of her home, she noticed what appeared to be a bar. A small barrel was set up on the side closest to her and was clearly made for sitting, but the other side was vacant. She examined the other side of the counter. She observed a large grill and various and sundry cooking utensils. Seasoning jars were scattered about the floor, as if the place had been abandoned in a hurry.

"Huh..." she spoke plainly, slightly surprised at the scene before her. She noticed Lyra, working at a counter not far from where she was standing. "Hey! Lyra!" Pinkie waved, getting the liaison's attention. "What's the deal over here?"

"Well, there used to be a chef who worked there, but after this last earthquake, most of them seemed to have abandoned ship." Lyra looked slightly annoyed. "I'm hoping they come back soon. I'm not much of a cook."

"Oh..." Pinkie had started to notice how empty the village was. She's made her rounds, meeting with the fishmonger. A nice enough lady with a bold attitude. She had pulled Pinkie into a tight hug upon hearing why the young girl had to come to their village. The strength behind the woman's hug made the Huntress wonder why she wasn't out there dealing with the monster problem. This woman was built like a brick shit-house. Pinkie smiled and waved to fish lady as she made her way over. She noticed that the Felyn that brought her here was not returning to the mainland. "Hey!"

"Hello, Miss Pie!" there was that thick accent again. "I was instructed to stay here and transport you around as needed. Once you've made some progress as a Hunter, I'll be able to take you to Tanzia Port where you can really...Uh...How do you say; get your hands dirty?" he gave a sheepish grin, not sure that he had used the right term. Pinkie smiled and nodded, which made him feel more comfortable. "Oh! Madam! I forget to mention. My name, it would be 'Neko'." the Felyn took a bow as he spoke. Pinkie gasped.

"We spent five hours on a boat together and I didn't even catch your name?!" Neko noticed the look in the girl's eyes was akin to someone being stabbed in the kidney. He waved his paws in front of himself rapidly, trying to dispel her look.

"Nonononooooo! No worries, madam!" he spoke quickly, almost sure he saw tears forming in the Huntress's eyes. "Pay it no mind. Minor detail that Neko forget to mention. Madam looked busy reading. Neko did not want to disturb her." Pinkie nodded, wiping her eyes. "There. No tears." he wondered how often that was going to happen. She waved and parted ways with the Felyn.

She made her way up a set of stairs and looked to her left. She could see what appeared to be a shop and a smithy right next to each other.

"Ooooooohhhhh!" her eyes sparkled as she made her way over. From time to time, the little things would remind her about why she decided to do this for a living. The intricately crafted armor and weapons was one of those reasons.

"Good afternoon, darling!" the girl behind the shop counter spoke as she dressed up a mannequin in her latest shipment. The chain mail gleamed in the afternoon sun, and Pinkie was taken in by the way it sparkled. "Welcome to Rarity's Rarities. Lovely name, wouldn't you say?" her eyes fluttered and Pinkie noticed that this girl was much better groomed than anyone else in Moga, including herself. Her violet hair curled delicately at the ends and her clothing was nothing short of incredible. Seemed like an odd person to be running a shop that sold things to aid in the slaughter of horrible monsters, but who was she to judge? "My name is Rarity." the girl continued, completely unhindered by the look on Pinkie's face. "Owner and operator of this fine establishment. What can I do for you today, darling?"

"Oh! Um..." Pinkie had to take a moment to remember what exactly she was doing. "I'm the Hunter who was assigned to this village. My liaison, Lyra, told me to go around and get to know everyone." she smiled, scratching the back of her head nervously.

"Well, then!" Rarity clapped her hands together. "Allow me to formally welcome you to our little piece of paradise!" the girl seemed genuine, but Pinkie almost felt like she was being put on. A sophisticated lady like Rarity would never find a place like this remotely close to "Paradise". Pinkie, however, returned the girl's genuine smile and Rarity spoke up again. "I'm the vendor of all things a hunter needs to survive out in that big, terrifying world. However, since we were just recently added to the Guild's jurisdiction, the shipments have been rather...Ugh...Pathetic." she looked downcast by sharing this bit of information with someone, as though she was blaming herself for this. Pinkie was about to attempt to comfort her when she seemed to cheer up again. "However! Not all hope is lost!" she gave a wide smile. "If you can make a name for yourself, I'm sure the Guild will increase their shipments to us! And, should you manage to retrieve the parts you need, my father's shop next door is in charge of the crafting. He is a prestigious member of the Wyverian Guild." she spoke proudly, and Pinkie was all the more excited to meet this person. She gave Rarity a smile and wave and made her way next door. A short, stocky man with a large hammer was tending to a fire. His brown hair had started to gray in some areas, and his face was lined much in the same way that Thunder's was. A man tempered by this harsh world. Pinkie could scarcely believe that this was Rarity's father, but she introduced herself all the same. The response was not quite what she had expected.

"You the new Hunter?" his voice was harsh, and he didn't bother to introduce himself. Pinkie nodded, letting the hand she had extended in a friendly gesture drop to her side. "Then why are you just standing here?!" his eyes narrowed as he watched the Huntress recoil slightly. "What? Expected everyone to be thrilled to se-" he stopped his harsh words quickly, noticing the weapon she carried. "My girl...Would that be a Switch Axe?" his voice had gotten much gentler, but Pinkie only nodded, afraid her words might bring forth another torrent of rage. Instead, he let out a guffaw. "So, those high and mighty Guildies finally pulled their heads out of their asses, huh?" he asked jovially. "I'd been trying to push that thing on them since we discovered the ancient text back in Pokke Village!" Pinkie was dumbfounded by this change in attitude. "My dear girl, I cannot overstate my joy to see you carrying that thing. Years...Years I spent perfecting that design! Just to have it thrown back in my face because it was 'too dangerous'." he made air quotes. "Seems like now that Luna is back to help with the Guild, they're getting their edge back. Now, you get out there and kill something and you report immediately to me!" he shouted, pointing to the bridge leading out of town. Pinkie jumped in surprise, then saluted, taking off top speed across the bridge. She was not ashamed to admit that the artisan had frightened her. Everyone else had been so nice!

"What have you gotten yourself into, Pinkie?" she asked herself, suddenly realizing she had run onto a different part of the island. She turned around, seeing the village was quite a ways away. "Wow." she turned back and walked to the edge of the nearby cliff. "Oh, my..." she stared in awe at the landscape before her. She could see a herd of Aptonoth below her, drinking from a stream the flowed from a waterfall. She was sure she heard the call of some kind of bird wyvern, but couldn't place the species. Maybe it was something that only lived on this island. She listened to the sounds of the ocean with a slightly disgruntled look. She'd heard enough of those sounds in the past day to last a lifetime. It was something she would have to get used to. even though she, in no way, found it soothing. Just then, she felt the ground start to shake. She looked around quickly before a sudden, vicious earthquake threw her off balance and she lost her footing, taking her first dive down the cliff. "Shiiiiiiiiiiii-Oof!" she bounced off a branch protruding from the rock. She reached her hands out to try and slow her descent, digging her fingers into the cliff wall, but only succeeding in tearing up her new gloves. "Well..." her voice was far too collected for someone about to reach terminal velocity. "This was a short-lived adventure." in the next instant, she found herself hitting the water, she was too busy trying to stop herself, she hadn't noticed the small body of water beneath her. She quickly swam for the surface and exploded up onto a small patch of dirt next to the pond. Gasping for air and hacking the water from her lungs all at the same time. "That was sufficiently horrible." she spoke to herself. She heard an odd chirping and raised her head, water dripping down her face. Her eyes widened as she came face-to-face with a creature that was clearly of the bird wyvern family. It's pink scales matched her hair, and she marveled at it for a moment. She noticed gentle footsteps coming from her right and she looked over, seeing another approach. This one had shrunk down into a striking position. "Clever girl..." a smirk spread across Pinkie's face as she got rapidly to her feet and spun around, grabbing the hilt of the Switch Axe with her right hand and swinging it in a massive arc, the weapon unfolding as she clicked the button at the base of the hand guard. She noted that a hand guard was an odd feature for an axe to have, but wrote it off as a design flaw. The movement had surprised the two monsters and they took a few steps back. Pinkie's left hand grabbed the hilt, bringing the weapon to bear. She was surprised at how light it felt when it wasn't compact.

One of the monsters stood up a bit taller, letting out a loud cry. A few others had appeared from various crevices and caves in the surrounding area, and Pinkie soon found herself in the middle of a pack of these things. Something was different about her, though. She had a glint in her eye and a smirk on her face. Completely opposite of the girl that had run from Rarity's father out of the fear of inducing another outburst from the old man. This was Pinkie in her element. The Huntress. This was what she had trained for tirelessly. It was time to put it all into practice. She clutched the Bone Axe tightly as the first creature leapt at her.

Her movements were smooth, practiced. Like watching a musician play their instrument, she wielded the axe as though she had been born with it. She made a low rotation and clipped the airborne monster's legs, sending it spiraling past her as she finished the strike by embedding the unfurled blade into another one's skull. As she removed the blade forcibly, she accidentally rotated the hilt of the weapon. All at once, she felt the thing in her hands start to change. The axe blade slid down, folding over to make a sword tip, followed by an additional blade emerging from what had once been the shaft of the weapon. The hand guard made sense, now. This thing had some kind of innovative "sword mode". She was taken aback by how this completely changed the function of the weapon, and she noticed an odd glow. Noting it for later, she remembered that she was in the middle of a group of hungry carnivores. And Pinkie was the only thing on the menu. As she swung the axe-turned-broadsword to the side, she easily removed the legs of one of the others pack members. At this impressive display of violence, the rest of the pack scattered, having noticed that their fallen brethren had failed to harm the girl. She panted lightly, a few beads of sweat dripping off her forehead before she collapsed to her knees.

"That's right!" she yelled defiantly. "Run! Maybe next time you'll think before you mess with the Pink...Ie Pie!" she wiped her forehead, still clasping the hilt of the Switch Axe in her right hand. She realized how sore she was from that last fall. The three monsters lay in dead heaps around her. That's when she heard someone clapping to her right.

"Good show, girly. You must be the new Hunter!"
> Chapter 2 - Of Farms and Birds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie tried to get to her feet, cautious of the man approaching her. He didn't seem like he wanted to hurt her, but, with the way her day had gone so far, she wasn't about to take any chances.

"Who are you? And what do you want with me?" she was trying to sound menacing, but that was rather difficult when your voice was as high-pitched as hers. She managed to stand, having to use the Switch Axe as a crutch, rendering it nigh useless as a weapon.

"Calm down, kid." the man said, holding his hands up to show that he had no intention of harming her. "I'm the village elder's kid. I'm out here working on the base camp so that the Guild can get you on your way to actually hunting." he motioned up the hill he had descended, and Pinkie could see what appeared to be a run down base camp. "Ever since my dad hung up the Great Sword, no one around here had been hunting. We didn't have the need. Nothing was dangerous enough." he paused, his tone becoming very serious. "All I can say is, whatever's causing these earthquakes needs to be stopped. They keep getting worse and, at this rate, our island is going to end up at the bottom of the ocean." Pinkie's eyes widened.

"Can that actually happen?" she asked. The tone in her voice was somewhere between fear and wonder. The elder's son just nodded his head, a grim look on his face. They stared at each other for a few moments before the silence was broken by something roaring in the distance.

"They're getting restless." The elder's son looked up at the sky, the sun starting to drop into the ocean. "You're not well equipped enough to deal with what comes out here at night." and with that, he ushered Pinkie back to the village. As they walked along the bridge connecting the village to the hunting grounds, Pinkie swore she saw the massive tail of some manner of monster break the water's surface before dropping out of sight again. She was tired, and sore, so she shook the thought from her head and resumed her walk, dragging her weapon behind her. "Now, I'd suggest going to sleep, but a little birdy told me you haven't visited the farm, yet."

"Well, I was going to!" Pinkie defended herself, fire returning to the tired girl's eyes. "But that meany-mean pants blacksmith practically chased me out of town!" this just made her companion chuckle.

"Yeah, he's not the easiest to get along with. Speaking of which..." as they neared the village end of the bridge, standing at the end, arms folded in front of his chest, and a stern look chiseled on his face, was Rarity's father.

"Well?!" he barked, glaring at Pinkie. "Since you don't have bite marks in you and all your limbs are attached, I'd say it served its purpose well!" Pinkie had recoiled again as he spoke. He was so loud and aggressive.

"It...It was fine." her voice started to shrink, as though these was actively brandishing a weapon at her. "It seemed to kill small things with ease."

"Hot damn!" he clapped a hand on his knee. "I told them tight asses it was a good idea!

"B-but I only ki-"

"But did they listen to me? No! They never do!"

"There was just a fe-"

"Did it transition to sword mode well? No hitches or snags? How did the exhaustion field work? Were you able to kill something bigger than a Jaggi?" Pinkie had honestly been trying to get a word in edgewise with the blacksmith, but he showed no sign of stopping his barrage of questions.

"Magnum!" the chief's son shouted, silencing the blacksmith. "If you don't let her answer, how will you know any of this?" Pinkie dropped her eyes, blushing. She was never this shy back home. Of course, she had also lived in that town her whole life and knew everyone. This was like starting a new job and having the management dislike you.

"Sir, Magnum, sir!" Pinkie forced herself to sound confident. She was going to have to learn to work with this man if she was going to succeed in this job. "The Axe performed wonderfully, sir! Though, I regret to inform you that after a near-fatal fall, I was only confronted with a pack of small...Jaggi, you called them. I dispatched three of them before the others scattered. The chief here showed up right before night fell. More extensive testing will be required before I can give you a reliable answer!" she saluted, hoping that that was up to his expectations. Magnum scratched his chin, thinking.

"That'll do, girl." he finally spoke. Pinkie felt a wave of relief come over her. She let out the breath she had been unwittingly holding. "But!" and she snapped back to attention. "You got a lot of work to do for me!" he made his way over behind the anvil he used for crafting. He dragged out a set of blueprints and showed them to her. "That is what we'll need to upgrade that hunk of bone you're lugging around. Get all those parts, and we'll see what we can do!" and then he did something Pinkie never expected. He smiled. And she smiled back. She'd finally broken through his shell, at least a little bit. "Now, be off with ya! I got work to do." Pinkie turned on her heel and made her way to the farm. The only place in town she hadn't visited.

She stepped across the bridge, finding the farm mostly empty. There was a waterfall in the back of the farm, and it looked like there was a cave behind there. She couldn't really tell in the fading light. An old woman was using a cane to make her way around. She was muttering under her breath as she lit a torch near what looked like a log used for growing mushrooms.

"Ma'am?" Pinkie's voice made the old woman jump.

"Who's there?!" she looked around, cane raised as though she were preparing to strike down a foe. "I killed three Rathians at once with nothing more than two sticks and a rock!" she waved her cane. "So don't even thi-Oh..." her eyes fell upon Pinkie Pie, who's expression was somewhere between disbelieving and impressed. "Hello dearie." she spoke softly, lowering the end of the cane into the dirt to stabilize herself again. "What brings you out here?"

"I, uhh..." Pinkie started. "Really? Two sticks and a rock?" she raised an eyebrow. The old lady smiled.

"A story for another time, child." she waved a hand, casually. "Now, I imagine yer here for a reason, and if it's cultivatin' you want done, I'll have you know that these old bones can't do more than grow a few plants. My help ran off when the last earthquake hit." she shook her head, slightly disgusted. "Young'uns ain't never gonna' earn their Cutie Marks with that attitude." she looked Pinkie in the eyes again. "Ooohhh...You're our new resident Hunter. I've seen that spark in my own eyes when I was your age. Th'name's Granny Smith, child. And if you ever need something planted, you come to me, alright? I'll make sure it all gets taken care of." she smiled warmly at Pinkie, who walked up and shook hands with the elderly lady, grinning broadly. "Who knows. If you can manage to stop whatever's causin' this dern earthquakes, the girls may just come back. Then, we can really start helping you out!"

"Thanks, Granny!" Pinkie was thrilled that everyone in the village, Magnum aside, was so friendly. She left the farm, waving jovially before making her way back to her house. A few torches and the moonlight being her guide. She stepped into her home and threw her ruined gloves on top of her trunk, resting her weapon up against the wall. She sat on the edge of her bed, staring out over the ocean, and she was sure she saw it again. That massive tail, cresting the surface before dropping back into the abyss. She blinked slowly, and she started to feel her consciousness fade. Sleep soon overtook her and she began snoring gently.


/) (\


Pinkie rose early the next morning, finally feeling refreshed. She dug through her trunk and found the extra set of gloves the Guild had provided her. She slipped them on and latched her axe onto her back, making her way out into the bright, morning sun. She stretched, letting the sun warm her, and a smile spread across her face. Today was going to be a good day. She noticed, however, that no one else seemed to be awake. She looked around, only seeing Lyra pouring over some books behind her counter.

"What's the word, Lyra?" Pinkie approached, smiling. Lyra looked up, a scowl on her face.

"'Bullshit' seems oddly fitting." the mint hair girl said darkly. "How do they expect any of this to get done by just one Hunter?!" she threw her hands up in mock surrender. "All these requirements they want you to fulfill before they'll even start sending you real requests in inhumane!"

"Well..." Pinkie began, thoughtfully. She felt bad for the liaison and really wanted to help. "What about Tanzia?" she asked.

"What about it?" Lyra's voice softened, but she raised an eyebrow. "Pinkie, the monsters over there will chew you up and spit you out...You just became a Hunter. And you've only managed to kill three Jaggi..." Lyra was trying her best not to be a downer, but it was her job to make sure this girl didn't get herself killed.

"Isn't Tanzia a hub, though?" Pinkie asked. "Maybe I can join someone else's hunt?" she sounded hopeful. Lyra's face scrunched in thought. Every fibre of the liaison's being screaming that this was a bad idea. "Isn't it at least worth a shot?"

"Ugh...No, it isn't. You're not going to let that stop you, though. Are you?" Lyra added hopeful inflection to the last two words before realizing that Pinkie was waving to her as the boat for Tanzia departed, with the new Hunter on board. "W-wait! Pinkie! Dammit!"

"Be back soon, Lyraaaaaa!" Pinkie waved jovially, smiling at her own genius. This was the best plan ever.

Pinkie disembarked at Tanzia Port, noting how much more of a thriving hub it was than Moga. There were several tradesmen, and all the same facilities that Moga had, but everything here seemed so much nicer. More modern. They seemed to have working machines. The Wyverian who ran the blacksmith here had almost an assembly line set up. Pumping out new weapons for the vendor to sell. She took a left, marveling at the structures around her as she walked towards the tavern and her first real hunt. Stepping through the archway, she immediately noticed a change in atmosphere. The girl running the shop to Pinkie's right tipped up her cowboy hat to look at the girl.

"Haven't seen you around here before, pardner. Name's Applejack!" she reached across the counter, shaking Pinkie's hand. "I run the Guild shop here." Pinkie noticed how much more well outfitted Applejack's shop was in comparison to Rarity's.

"Nice to meet you!" Pinkie said. "I'm Pinkamena Dianne Pie! But just call me Pinkie!" a look of surprise came over AJ's face.

"Waitaminute..." she took a long look at Pinkie. "Aren't you that Hunter that's fresh off the boat over at Moga?" Pinkie nodddd, smiling. People already knew who she was. How cool was that? "Girl, what do ya think yer doin' here?" she leaned closer, lowering her voice. "This place is for Hunter's with experience. Not someone who barely got their feet wet. You tryin' ta get yerself killed?" Pinkie's smile faded.

"Why does everyone think I'm going to get killed out here?" Pinkie asked, looking slightly defeated.

"Because ya will, sugarcube. The monsters that these guys fight mean business." she motioned around, and Pinkie noticed just how incredibly well armed some of them looked. "Look, darlin', just take yerself home and get some experience under yer belt. This isn't a game. You won't magically come back ta life if somethin' out there decides to make a meal outta' ya." it wasn't resignation that appeared on Pinkie's face. It was sheer and utter defiance.

"Really? Is that what you think?!" Pinkie barked, drawing a bit of attention to herself. "I'll have you know that I graduated top of my class," a blatant lie. "and that they were begging, begging me to come take care of Moga. I told them I'd have to free up time in my excessively full schedule to save some tiny village." another lie. She was tired of people telling her she couldn't do this. She knew she could. She just had to! Applejack raised her hands, taken aback.

"Simmer down, Sally." she waved her hands, trying to calm the Hunter down. "Ah just don't want ya ta go get killed, is all."

"And I won't, thank you kindly." Pinkie turned and strode off, noticing a bulletin board with quests posted. She flipped through them. How could Applejack treat her like that? She didn't know her. Pinkie was still in a huff as she looked through the list of quests. "Dire Moralis, Agnaktor, Gigginox...Geez. These all sound super-duper tough." she spoke, mostly to herself. At last, she came across a quest that had a picture of what appeared to be an oversized chicken. She giggled slightly, and a voice from her left made her jump.

"No one else seems to want to help me." a young man's voice spoke to her. "You, however, look interested. You also appear to be just about as green as I am." she turned to face him and had to force herself not to laugh. He wore the same type of leather armor she did, a Heavy Bowgun compacted on his back, but his hair. His hair was a bright pink pompadour. It looked numbingly hysterical on someone as serious as him. She held it in as long as she could, but her laughter exploded out of her, she even snorted a few times, wiping tears away after a few minutes and finally making eye contact with him. He had a stern look, one that showed he was used to this reaction. "You done?" venom laced sarcasm drifted into that last question, and Pinkie nodded, a quivering smile still spread across her face. He extended his hand in a friendly gesture. "Let's start over. I need help on this quest, you look willing and able. My name's Wookie Love." another wave of giggles that she suppressed much quicker this time, shaking his hand.

"Pinkamena Pie." she said, words almost choked by laughter.

"Shall we, Pinkamena?" he nodded towards the boat that was preparing to depart to their destination.

"We shall." and they boarded, setting sail. It was a short ride, much shorter than the last she had been on. She soon recognized the place where they had been dropped off. "Hey...This is the hunting grounds outside the Moga Village..." she looked up. "Yeah. There's that cliff I fell off of."

"Remind me to stay away from you if we're ever near the edge of anything." Wookie said, digging through the blue supply trunk at the base camp. "Here." he tossed her the other half of the supplies. This included a few whetstones, potions, and some rations to tide over hunger. Pinkie started eating her rations right away, much to the disapproving look on Wookie's face.

"What?!" she said through a mouthful of whatever the rations were made of. "I skipped breakfast!" he just shook his head, descending the hill from the camp and into the open area at the base of the cliff Pinkie took the fall from. She was close behind, finishing the last of her food. The hunting grounds really were almost serene. It was kind of hard to believe that things out here wanted to kill them. "Soooo..." Pinkie began, wanting to make small talk. If things went well here, they may end up being hunting partners. She didn't want to screw this up. "What made you decide to become a Hunter?" he didn't answer her right away, his sharp eyes moving left and right, surveying the area around them. He'd never done battle with a Qurupeco, and wasn't sure what to expect. "Hey!" he jumped.

"Shut the hell up!" he barked. Pinkie took a quick step back. "Sorry. Look, this shit's dangerous. We're gonna' get fuckin' merked if we're not careful. Stow the small talk until we're not within earshot of something that's three times our size and violent." then he heard it. Flapping wings. Large ones, too, by the sound of things. Pinkie looked up, seeing a large creature pass over the cliff, descending into the wetland area just north of them. "Let's move!" Wookie's command snapped her out of her reverie, and she sprinted behind him, her right hand never drifting far from the hilt of her weapon.

They passed through a small valley, and her companion stopped short, pressing his back up against the natural stone wall. He peeked around, watching the large bird wyvern walk slowly through the shallow water. It occasionally stopped and raised its head, staying alert of its surroundings. He looked back to Pinkie, who was panting slightly. Then back towards the monster.

"Okay." he began, his voice quiet as he drew slow, even breaths. He was nervous. He was as new to this as Pinkie was, and he felt like he probably shouldn't be here. Against his better judgement, and the advice of his former teacher, he came here anyway. He raised his left hand and pointed at her, then pointed to a rock that was about thirty feet away. "If we want to have a chance, we're going to have to flank this thing. Get over there as fast as you can...On my mark...Get set..." he watched the Qurupeco's movements, and as soon as it seemed sufficiently distracted, he thrust his hand down. Pinkie took off immediately, making a b-line for the rock. She was about ten feet away when her foot caught a rock and she tripped. She let out a small cry that was silenced as she started eating the dirt, but that was enough.

The Qurupeco raised its head and turned towards the sound it heard. Tilting its head sideways, it got a look at the girl on the ground, a chirruping noise formed in its throat as it started its approach.

"Owies...That hurt." she pushed herself onto her feet, looking over to her right and watching in horror as the monster approached her. The picture had made it look comical. In reality, this thing was downright frightening. It had a bright red chest, which expanded in a frog-like manner as it breathed. It had what appeared to large chunks of flint at the fold of its wings. It clicked them together menacingly as it approached her, its long legs moving fluidly as sparks flew in front of it.

"Fuuuuuuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck..." Wookie had pulled the Bowgun off his back as soon as she tripped. He hadn't quite got the hang of loading the thing, yet, and was having a few complications. He wrestled with it for a moment before he heard the satisfying click that indicated his success. He brought it to bear and took aim. Pinkie was staying surprisingly still, praying that this creature was a sight hunter. "Hey, asshole!" Wookie shouted, and the wyvern turned its gaze on him, just at the right time to receive a shot to the head. It let out a screech, which made Pinkie jump due to her proximity, before it collapsed to the ground, flailing its legs. "Now, Pinkamena!" he yelled, seeing that she was forgetting that this thing was going to try and kill her. "Attack its head!" he answered the look she gave him before she could ask the question.

"Right!" her confidence came back in a flash, adrenaline pumping. She ran forward and drew her weapon, bringing it down with all her strength, putting as much of her weight into the blow as she could. The axe head clicked into position and struck true. Making a small crack on the beak of the creature. It let out another screech, then flung its wing out to strike Pinkie, knocking her off her feet again. She recovered as fast as she could, but the bird was already moving to attack her companion. Apparently it found being blindsided more offensive than being struck with an axe. "Oh, no you don't!" Pinkie gave chase and swung at the creature's legs. She whiffed and almost lost her footing as the creature made a leap towards Wookie, bringing the stones on its wings together hard as it closed the gap between them. It looked like a small explosion, and Wookie barely rolled out of the way, avoiding the worst of it. He got a small burn on his arm, but it could have been worse. He fired another slug into the beast a bit prematurely. He hadn't stopped moving, and the recoil made him stumble.

Pinkie moved in to cover her ally, taking a few long strides before thrusting the axe forward and stabbing the back of the monster's leg. She used the momentum she'd built to rotate the hilt, putting the weapon into sword mode before making a large upward swing. She was about to bring the weapon down with full force when the Qurupeco spun around, it's paddle shaped tail knocking her a good ten feet into the air and sending her skidding into the shallow water.

"God dammit!" Wookie had managed to set up, but with Pinkie being knocked away, he had no one to cover him. He aimed at the Qurupeco's knee and took a shot. The slug veered off to the right and took a chunk out of the rock before ricochetting harmlessly away. He started to take aim again as the Qurupeco's chest puffed, but his Bowgun clicked helplessly. "Empty?! Already?!" he yelled and reached into his pouch, pulling another clip out, throwing them empty one to the side. "Nap time is over, Pinkamena!" he glared over at her, the girl getting shakily to her feet with the help of her axe. The Qurupeco didn't attack, however. It had puffed out its chest, building up air and making a clicking sound, then fell silent for a moment before letting out a roar that did not sound as if it would naturally come from that creature. Wookie stared at it, thinking it was just trying to intimidate them. He looked at Pinkie again and noticed the sheer horror on her face. "It's just a little noise! Be a Hunter!"

"A little noise?!" she yelled. "How do you not recognize that sound?!" she flailed the arm that wasn't clutching the Bone Axe.

"The fuck are you talking about?" he wasn't yelling anymore. It wasn't even directed at her. But then, he heard it. A roar in the distance and the flapping of wings. "Wait...Tell me it called another!" Pinkie shook her head, vigorously. The Qurupeco finished its call and started to move towards Pinkie. There was a loud screech as a massive green wyvern performed a nose dive towards Wookie. "Fuck me..." were all the words her could utter as the Rathian performed a graceful midair flip out of the dive, smashing her poison coated tail hard into the Hunter's torso and knocking him into the wall of the valley, causing his body to crumple to the ground. He was unconscious within seconds of impact.

"Snake?! SNAAAAAA-I mean, WOOOOOOOOOKIEEEEEEE!" Pinkie made an attempt to run to his aid, but the Qurupeco caught her with another slap of his tail, knocking her into the path of a fireball from the Rathian. Searing, horrendous pain filled her body, her mind screaming that she was surely going to die here, and then blackness.


/) (\


Pinkie sat bolt upright. She was in her room in Moga Village. For a moment, she thought she'd just had a horrible nightmare, but the bandages and pain proved otherwise. Her left arm was in a sling, but it didn't feel broken. She checked her range of motion, cringing in pain, but finding nothing broken. Someone had stripped her armor off her and dressed the myriad of wounds she'd been covered in.

"You're welcome, you colossal idiot." Lyra's voice rang out from her doorway. "How about actually listening to me the next time I tell you something is dangerous..." Pinkie's eyes fell.

"Yes, ma'am..." then, she let out a gasp. "What about the other Hunter?! Is Wookie dead?!"

"No. He's recovering. Geez. I figured you, of all people, would realize just how much it takes to actually kill you guys." Lyra shook her head. "His pride was a bit damaged. Those things bodied you guys pretty hard. He'll be fine though." when Lyra looked at Pinkie, she didn't see shame or defeat in the Hunter's eyes. She saw pure, righteous determination. She had to smile.

"Never again, Lyra. As soon as I'm healed enough to get back out there I'm going to gather the resources and materials and I'm going to do this right!" she clenched her fists. "And when I'm damn good and ready, I'm going to find that Qurupeco. And when I do, I'll make it rue the day it crossed Pinkamena Dianne Pie!" she stood up on her bed, striking a dynamic pose before crumpling back into a heap.

"Just stay down, Pinkie. You're gonna' be off your feet for a while." Lyra shook her head and turned, heading outside. "Get some rest. We'll start physical therapy as soon as your burns heal." Pinkie nodded and whimpered, getting back under the covers and drifting off to sleep.
> Chapter 3 - From the Ground Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been upwards of two weeks since the miserable failure that was her last hunt. Pinkie had decided that it would be best not to push herself to a speedy recovery, but she was starting to get stir-crazy. She found herself pacing the village more often than not, and even that was starting to become boring. Without her doing any work, she found that the villagers had less and less to do. There was no steady flow of resources, as everyone was too scared to leave the village. She shook her head, feeling guiltier and guiltier as time went on. Finally, she lost her ability to be patient, which was, admittedly, not her best personality trait.

"Lyraaaaaa!" she draped herself over the counter, giving the liaison the 'wide-eye' treatment. "I can't sit around like this!" Lyra lowered the book she was reading, eyebrows raised.

"Hmmm...Let's try and think about why you can't do anything right now...Oh, that's right! Because you didn't listen to me!" she said through clenched teeth. She looked furious, but her expression softened when she saw tears in the Hunter's eyes. "Ugh...Alright, look. We have yet to build the minimum required facilities to allow the Guild to assign us missions. You seem to be moving around just fine, why not go gather materials?"

"But that's so booooring!" Pinkie thudded her forehead against the counter. Lyra's anger returned.

"Fine! Sit there! Be miserable! Just remember, I tried to help! Twice!" she raised her book up and went back to reading, ignoring the Hunter, now. Pinkie looked defeated. She really couldn't do much else, and she was getting a little atrophied with all this not being able to hunt business. She turned and skulked away, going over to Rarity's shop.

"Wonderful to see you on your feet, darling. You had me dreadfully worried there for a bit." Rarity said, smiling sadly at the Hunter. "Oh my. What seems to be the problem?" Pinkie drew in a deep breath and launched into a rant.

"I tried to go get some real work done. That almost got me killed. I've been holed up in this village for almost two weeks! I can't even go hunt any small things because I'm still at high risk of re-injuring myself. And, worst of all, Lyra's mad at me!" Pinkie had almost started crying at the end of it all. Rarity rested a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"There, there darling. It will get better." she pulled Pinkie into a gentle embrace, careful to keep the Hunter's potentially bloody side away from her clothes. "I am sure that Lyra is just frustrated that you ignored her. I have a splendid idea. Listen to the liaison and go do some gathering. As boring as it is, it is still a very important part of your job here in Moga." Pinkie wiped her eyes, thought for a moment, then nodded. She knew the shopkeeper was right, and she knew Lyra had been right, too. "That's the spirit!" Rarity smiled, and she loaned Pinkie some gathering equipment("My treat, dear!"), and sent the Hunter on her way.

Pinkie could not wear the gloves of her armor set. It would have scraped against her burns and opened them. She made her way across the bridge, thinking about how little she had explored of the hunting grounds. She's only been to two of the areas that made it up. Instead of going down the right slope, she took a left and descended down into an area that had a few bee hives and a couple of areas where she noticed a plentiful collection of bugs. A pair of Aptonoth were munching lazily on a mushroom-bearing stump. Tearing the tips of the mushrooms off before raising their head as they chewed, staying alert to their surroundings. The large, gray herbivores spotted Pinkie, but clearly did not see her as a threat, resuming their eating. Pinkie kept an eye on them as she made her way over to one of the hives. She knelt down and dug around the base, finding honey and insect husks on the ground. She heard faint buzzing above her, but she assumed it was just the bees. As she stood up, her face came level with the massive stinger of an airborne insect. She ducked immediately as the stinger pierced the air where her head has been not moments ago. She cursed herself for not bringing some manner of weapon to defend herself with.

"This has not been my best week." she patted herself down, pulling her carving knife out. Not ideal, but it would have to suffice. She took the basic 'Sword and Shield' stance as the oversized bug made large arcing dives, attempting to close in with a sting. Pinkie back stepped as it thrust the stinger towards her again and stabbed it in the exposed abdomen. The buzzing grew louder, then ceased as it dropped to the ground like a stone. She stared at it for a moment, noticing a fluid leaking from the hole she'd made. She pulled an empty bottle from her pouch and filled it, putting the cork in. She examined it, noticing how blue it was. It almost seemed to glow. She stowed the bottle away and made her way deeper into the area.

After scrounging through bushes for some bugs, finding a few really rare ones, she made her way to the mouth of a cave. She leaned a bit closer, tilting her head left and right, trying to get a glimpse of anything that could be in there. No such luck, it was too dark to see more than ten feet in. She grabbed what looked like a egg from inside her pouch, digging through her bug collection and pulling out a vibrant yellow insect with a abdomen that resembled a lightbulb. She opened the egg shaped container and put the bug inside, shaking it a few times before belting it into the cave. Upon impact with whatever was at the end of its trajectory, it burst, sending a bright flash that seemed to illuminate the cave for quite some time. Pinkie wasn't able to see anything more than twenty feet in. There appeared to be no manner of creature in the cave.

"Luck's finally on your side, Pinkie Pie." she smiled and walked into the cave. Once her eyes adjusted to the dark, the few beams of natural light made it possible to navigate. What it didn't help her with was the sharp drop off that threw her about fifteen feet onto cold, hard stone. A pained squeak escaped her as she felt some of her wounds tear open. It was too late to whine and go home now, though. Her resource gathering had been quite successful so far. She wasn't going to let this little snag stop her. She pushed herself onto her feet and hopped off the second ledge. It was a considerably shorter fall. Maybe three feet, and she hugged the wall, feeling along to find her way.

Pinkie pushed down into the deepest part of the cave and, oddly enough, found lit torches. She wondered who could have possibly been there aside from her. Then, she remembered, the elder's son came out here. Maybe he was gathering some materials while she was out of commission. The torchlight shone off the damp rock walls, and it cast a warm glow throughout this area of the cave. Something caught her eye, though. Something shiny. She moved in closer and saw a fault in the wall with what appeared to be chunks of ore jutting from it.

"Oooooohhhh..." the sparkle reflected in her eyes as she drew a small pick axe from inside her pouch. She leaned in closer and took a swing, chunking off a piece of ore. She continued to gather, smiling. Then she heard something. A loud 'splat'. She stopped mining and looked around. Not finding the source of the noise, she assumed she was just hearing things. She turned back to mining before hearing another noise a few moments later. Now, it sounded like something dragging itself through the thin puddle of water that sat on the cave floor.

"Hello?" she was trying not to sound scared. When she spoke, the noise stopped. Then she heard a small screech and looked down just in time to see a small, white, leech-like creature throwing itself at her. She let out a scream of terror and took off for the cave mouth, the thing latching onto her arm. She swatted at it, but it wouldn't give up. Breaking out into the sunlight, she threw herself on the ground and started rolling as if she was on fire. "Getitoffgetitoffgetitofffff!!!!" she could feel the creature draining her blood, and it was doing a fantastic job, because she was already feeling light headed. In an act of sheer desperation, she grabbed her carving knife and rammed it into the leech's torso. It screeched again, as its blood and her own splashed over her arm. It slumped to the ground, twitching helplessly before death claimed it. She was panting, still recovering from her panic attack. Almost unconsciously, she carved a layer of the creatures velvety underbelly off. She went to put it into her pouch, then noticed that there was no room. Grabbing a few of the insect husks and chucking them to the side, she made room for the hide.

Pinkie was exhausted after that last outburst, and she began to make her way back home. She passed the bee hive, and descended into the area at the base of the cliff she'd tumbled from. She was going to start up towards the top of the cliff until she saw something large crest over the top of it. It was bipedal, and looked much like a Jaggi, but it was much, much larger.

"Geez! For realsies?!" she pressed her back against the cliff wall, trying to make herself as small as possible. She heard its heavy footsteps as it passed above her and reached the bottom of the hill. It stood up to its full height and looked left and right. It was looking for the pack's next meal. Pinkie, back still pressed right along the cliff, moved slowly away from the beast. A trickle of sweat ran down her face as she moved. She was done for if this thing found her. What she failed to notice, her eyes having been focused solely on the massive Jaggi, was that one of the females of the pack had been watching her. It let out a hissing noise as she got within ten feet if it, and the larger one heard it. It turned its gaze onto the female, and then Pinkie, who had frozen in terror. The Great Jaggi puffed its chest and let out a call, summoning the rest of the pack and Pinkie took off at a flat-out sprint. Her feet, still sore from her earlier fall, beat hard against the ground. She was kicking up small clouds of dust as she ran, and she could feel them starting to close in on her.

The next few seconds felt like they lasted a lifetime. She could feel the Great Jaggi's breath on her neck, diving out of the way as it took a snap at her, its fangs gnashing through the air. As she pushed herself up, her stomach now scraped from diving through rocks, she heard a very familiar roar. The new addition to the battle took the Jaggi pack's attention off the Hunter completely, as well as drawing her attention to the sky. She watched as a wyvern flew over the top of the cliff and made a nosedive for the pack that was about to make a meal of the mostly defenseless girl. A hailstorm of fireballs showered the pack, killing a few on impact and sending the rest running in terror. The one that hit the ground close to Pinkie actually hurled her through the air after impacting with the ground. The heat wave singeing some of her hair off. She was thrown into the nearby waterfall, and effectively tossed into a cave obscured by it. This took care of the burning, but didn't alleviate the situation.

The Great Jaggi squared itself, ready to face the considerably larger predator. Pinkie had assumed that it was a Rathian's roar, but was proven incorrect as she observed the red scaled wyvern through a veil of water. A Rathalos. King of the skies. The two monsters circled each other, sizing one another up. As soon as they moved in to strike, Pinkie dashed out. Skirting wide of the distracted monsters and sprinting hard for the hill leading up the cliff side. She had made it to the top when she decided it would be safe to slow down. She glanced over the edge and watched as the Rathalos bit down on the Great Jaggi's torso and flung I through the air. The Jaggi let out a pained shriek as it collided with the ground, laying broken but breathing. The Rathalos moved slowly towards its fallen prey, and Pinkie decided to stop watching. If she was going to get away with her life, she had to leave while the larger wyvern was eating. As she made her way across the bridge, she heard the monster let out a triumphant roar. One that shook the heavens.


/) (\


Pinkie was talking with the elder's son, turning in her hunting report and the materials she'd gathered.

"A Bhahabara and a Giggi? That's it?" the elder's son asked, staring at the girl in surprise.

"I'm lucky I was able to do that. I don't have enough of my strength back to swing that axe around." she jerked her thumb towards her house. "Do you know how many times I almost died today?!" her eyes were wide and she was flailing her arms. She stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around, seeing Lyra standing there. The liaison had tears in her eyes, and she threw her arms around the Hunter. "Ack!"

"Oh, Pinkie! I'm so proud of you!" Lyra said, hugging her. "You did it! You really did it!"

"Did what?" Pinkie inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"I just took catalog of what you brought and told the Guild. They said we'll have a set of official quests within a week!" both girls grinned and clapped, Pinkie stopping first.

"Wait! I just got back. How were you able to communicate so quickly?" she raised an eyebrow. Lyra smirked and gave her a wink.

"A liaison never reveals her secrets."
> Chapter 4 - Upgrades and Arzuros
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie was really starting to feel the time drag. Her excitement at the prospect of doing real work mixed with the fact that she could only occupy the daylight hours with menial tasks made for very long days. Two days into the official waiting period, after Pinkie had decided it would be a good idea to continue to gather resources during the downtime, she'd managed to gather enough monster parts and ore to feel she could be near Magnum without him yelling at her. She'd wrote down what she would need to upgrade her Bone Axe, but was pleasantly surprised when she met up with Magnum after another day spent gathering.

"Y'know, Pinkie?" Magnum spoke as he hammered away at the Bone Axe, using the parts she'd brought to help reinforce it further. "When you first showed up, I thought you were gonna' be a flake." Pinkie wanted to interject with a witty comment, but her vivid memory of Magnum's temper kept her quiet. "You've really pulled it together these last couple days. Maybe having that Qurupeco knock your skull in was just what you needed."

"Heh. Maybe..." Pinkie responded, a little unsure how to take this comment. She resigned to the fact that it was probably as close to a compliment as she was going to get from the blacksmith and smiled to herself. He turned around and handed her the weapon back.

"There ya go, kid. One Bone Axe Plus!" he presented it with pride. After she took it from him, he looked back over the list she had brought him that contained the entirety of her inventory. "Well, I know you're going to start needing new armor soon. That leather that the Guild sent with you is really bare minimum." he scratched his chin, furrowing his brow as he read. "You got a lot of Jaggi parts, but you'd need to take out a Great Jaggi or two before I could make you a full set of armor. However, you seem to have collected quite a bit of ore." Magnum's eyes had wandered down to the mineral section of the list. "Which we can use for one of two things. Alloy armor, or I can make you a completely new Switch Axe." Pinkie stared, wide-eyed.

"This...Is the hardest decision I've ever had to make." she deadpanned. She rolled the pros and cons around in her head, looking down at the armor she was wearing now. The leather was finally broken in and much easier to manuever in. New armor would be in order, but that left the issue of how quickly her current axe would be underpowered. The same went for the armor. How long would basic metal armor last before something melted it into her flesh? Magnum smirked.

"The best defense is a great offense." his words rang true in Pinkie's head. That was all she needed to hear. She went to her house and grabbed up the materials, running them back and handing them to the blacksmith. He went through them, then started to melt the ore down. "I'll have it ready by tomorrow, kid. Come back in the morning and we'll see if this puppy is to your liking." Pinkie grinned and nodded, almost skipping away as the sun sank the rest of the way under the horizon. According to what Lyra had said earlier, the business from the Guild would be in. She threw herself into her bed and stared at the ceiling. She started counting Antekas, and was asleep before she reached ten.


/) (\


Pinkie was torn from her slumber by a loud clap of thunder. She sat upright so fast that she nearly threw herself out of her bed. She placed a hand on her chest, feeling her heart hammering against its cage. She took a few deep breaths before stepping outside. Sure enough, the sky was getting darker and darker. She set her jaw, thinking. Lightning arced across the sky, illuminating the village as it started to drizzle. Pinkie made her way over to Lyra's counter. The liaison sat, ever vigilant through the storm, and greeted the Hunter as she drew closer.

"Ready for your big day?" Lyra smiled, handing Pinkie a piece of paper with an illustration of a monster that she'd never seen. The Hunter took the paper and read it over.

"Slay an Arzuros?" she read it aloud, a question lingering in her tone. "I've been running around this island for a week now, and I've seen everything this place has to offer as far as monsters go. Nothing out there looks like this." she patted the back of her hand against the page. Lyra had an oddly malicious smile on her face, and Pinkie would have been lying if she said it didn't make her uneasy.

"You think you've seen all this island has to offer? I bet you haven't seen the half of it." Lyra folded her hands in front of her face, staring over them at Pinkie, who got the sensation of ice running down her spine. "This is your first official job that is within your area of ability. Do try not to get murdered out there. Oh! And give me the 500 Zenny fee."

"Fee?!" Pinkie recoiled. "I have to pay you to go risk my life?!"

"No. You're paying the Guild to go risk your life. It's a motion that was set in order to prevent them from running out of money on scrub Hunters. Collateral, if you will." Lyra shrugged. "If I told you how many Hunters succeeded compared to how many we're slaughtered, you'd probably wet yourself. I saw at least three dozen take turns trying to kill a Tigrex that was terrorizing Pokke Village. One finally succeeded, but not before my career suffered." Pinkie felt another chill down her spine. She remembered reading about the Tigrex back at the academy. It was one of the more fearsome creatures in the Hunter's Compendium. She'd never seen one, but the horror stories were enough. "Don't worry, though. In addition to the reward for success, I'll pay you twice the additional fee. Unless you fail. In which case, I'll have to report to the Guild and they'll take it out of my pay. Remember, you're not just hunting for yourself. You're hunting for the whole village. Don't let us down!" Lyra's cheerful attitude had returned. Pinkie nodded and smiled. Those words helped her motivation. Lyra was right. This was for the good of everyone.

Pinkie ascended the stairs up towards Magnum's shop, the rain starting to come down a little harder. She pushed the door open and found the blacksmith hammering the finishing touches on a vicious looking Switch Axe. The head looked like a dragon skull, the blade being comprised of the fangs. She stared in awe at it, drawn in by its beauty and ferocity.

"Good timing." Magnum grunted, running a whetstone along the blade, a gleam showing as it was sharpened all the way. He slid his thumb against the blade, pulling it away and examining the layer of skin it had shaved off. Satisfied with his work, he twisted the handle, the blade returning to axe mode, then clicked the button on the hand guard, compacting it to be travel ready. "She's all set." he handed her the weapon, a sad look in his eye, akin to that of a parent watching their child leave for college. "I call her the Rough Edge. She's got a Dragon phial installed to make the sword mode more powerful." Pinkie looked confused. He'd asked about the exhaustion field that the Bone Axe had, but had never explained what he meant. "Ah, just go use it. It'll be easier for you to see it than for me to break it down to the nitty-gritty for you." he shook his head. "Now get goin' before this storm gets worse. Go on!" at that, he shooed her out the door.

Lightning tore through the sky, waves splashing against the docked boats, making them lurch uneasily in the darkened water. This was not going to be an easy task. Pinkie contemplated the complications this weather would have on her ability to hunt this creature. She purchased a few necessities from Rarity and was on her way. She crossed the bridge and came to the hunting grounds. Her first stop was the base camp, picking up whatever the Guild decided would be a necessity for this hunt. She pulled out a map and examined it. She pursed her lips, thinking hard, the large rock the base camp had been built under forming a natural umbrella. She turned the map all kinds of directions, trying to see if that would help her figure out where the Arzuros would be located. She bit her bottom lip as she pulled a phial from her pouch. A sickly yellow-orange liquid swam around in there. She stared at it, her brow furrowing.

"First time for everything, Pinkie." she psyched herself up before opening the phial and taking a swig, careful not to inhale as to avoid tasting the brunt of the serum. Despite her best efforts, it still tasted rancid. She looked ill, and almost vomited, but she held it down. After the initial wave had passed, she felt like all her senses had been sharpened. The colors of the world seemed brighter, and she could smell something. Even with all the conflicting smells from the ocean and the rest of the hunting grounds, something stood out. Her nose twitched as she threw the empty phial into the Guild trunk as she looked around. Once she pinpointed the direction of the smell, she started walking towards the source. "Time to follow my nose." she giggled at herself, starting to skip along.

After walking for about five minutes, she'd come back to the area where she'd first seen the Rathalos. She stopped and took another deep whiff. The pounding rain made hearing a no-go, but she could smell whatever it was, and it was close. She passed through the natural valley and came to the area with the not-so-shallow-anymore wetlands and her eyes fell upon a creature. A large, blue, lumbering monster. It moved down on all fours, and she noticed its destination. It was approaching a nearby beehive. She ducked behind a rock. Peeking over the top, she watched as the Arzuros sat down.

"Hey!" a voice rang out in Pinkie's head, making her jump. She looked around and saw no one. She was careful not to make any loud noises, since she didn't want to draw the monster's attention. "Can you hear me?" the voice sounded again.

"Y-yes." Pinkie answered quietly. Even though it sounded like it was inside her head, she couldn't tell who it belonged to.

"Good. I was worried I hadn't understood how this part of being a liaison worked." Pinkie finally recognized it as Lyra's voice.

"How are you doing this?" Pinkie asked, returning her eyes to watch the Arzuros, who was digging at the ground beneath the hive.

"What did I tell you about liaisons and secrets?" she asked, and Pinkie could hear the smile in Lyra's voice. "I can see that you've spotted your target. Best advice I can give you is watch out once it's enraged. Arzuros are very much like large, spiked bears. Wounding them only makes them fiercer." Pinkie nodded and began her approach.

The Arzuros had found the source of its desires, golden honey dripping from its claws. It began licking them clean and Pinkie found it hard to view this thing as fierce when it was doing something so adorable. It stopped being adorable when the monster caught her scent. The rain had done a good job of masking it, but when she got within ten feet of it, the wind blew a gust that put the Arzuros downwind of the Hunter and it rounded on her. It dropped onto all fours, snarling and bearing fangs almost as large as Pinkie's carving knife. She took a few steps back and drew the axe. She had to give herself room to manuever with this monster. It let out a roar that paled in comparison to the one the Rathalos had exhuded and began barreling towards her.

Pinkie put both hands on the hilt of her weapon, drawing a slow, steadying breath. This was it. This was her shot at redemption. If this thing beat her, she'd have to turn in her license out of shame. She set her jaw and made a smooth sidestep out of the monster's trajectory. She used the momentum to rotate around and put her axe into the back of the Arzuros's leg. The bear let out a roar of pain, rising onto its hind legs and taking a powerful swipe with its front legs at the Hunter. She backed up in time to avoid the full force of the blow, taking three slashes across her face. She narrowed her eyes took two steps forward as the Arzuros was standing up to full height again. She thrust the axe forward, ramming the tip into the monster's soft underbelly. She was unable to wrench the blade away as the creature took a massive swipe at her. Striking her with enough force to knock her through the air, a spurt of blood splashed into the water beneath the Arzuros as its swipe had torn the axe from its body. Pinkie hit the ground hard, her axe skidding past her into the deeper water.

The Hunter pushed herself up, coughing and emptying her lungs of the offending fluid. She felt like she may have cracked a rib, but that was a minor detail. She pulled a potion from her pouch and popped the lid off as she ran toward her weapon, the Arzuros close behind. She downed the contents of the bottle and threw it into the distance. Performing an impressive dive out of the way as the monster lunged at her, she wrapped her hand around the axe hilt and rolled into a crouching position. Standing up and facing the monster, a bright flash of lightning and a crash of thunder filled the air. The adversaries faced one another, sizing each other up. Both having inflicted a fair amount of pain on the other. Pinkie plunged the axe head into the ground and pulled one glove off, and then the other, her eyes never diverting from the Arzuros's. The bear stood up to its full height again, reaching upwards of fifteen feet and it let out another bellowing roar.

The Arzuros barreled at her again as Pinkie grabbed her weapon. The creature lunged through the air, crashing into the Hunter and slamming her into the ground. What it hadn't counted on was her snapping the weapon into sword mode and driving it into the monster's own stomach. She fell beneath the creature as it howled in pain. She was pinned under it, but noticed something on the Rough Edge that she hadn't noticed on the Bone Axe. She reached up with her right hand and pulled up on a slot in the back of the axe-turned-sword. It almost looked like some manner of exhaust for an engine. She didn't have any time to think about it and rotated the hilt of the blade. She heard it start to rev and felt it vibrate in her hands. Her eyes widened as the Arzuros let out another wail of pain and tore itself away from her and the object that had forcefully invaded its organs. An odd smelling smoke was spit from the exhaust port she'd opened, and she got to her feet.

"That must be the Dragon phial that Magnum was talking about." she said to herself. She hadn't noticed that the Arzuros was limping away. It was severely injurred, and she couldn't have lost track of it, since all she would have to do is follow the trail of blood. "This is it, Pinkie. Time to make this a success." she chased after the monster. "Where do you think your going?!" she saw the creature look over its shoulder and glower at her, pain in its eyes, before it started to move a little quicker. The rain was hindering the Hunter. The deep puddles and slick ground making it hard to run full speed. She chased the bear deep into a cave. It was pitch black until they reached a clearing. To her right was the open ocean, waves rolling in and lapping against the cliff that formed the edge of the cave. Enough light came from the opening that lead out to sea that Pinkie could see clearly. The Arzuros was nursing its wounds, licking at the gash in its stomach. "Hey!" it turned on her, and the look in its eyes made her blood run cold. Pinkie could swear that the monster's eyes were glowing yellow. She swallowed hard, it was too late for doubts.

The Arzuros lowered itself to the ground on all fours before making a violent charge at her. Pinkie wasn't sure what emotion, or sixth sense, or whatever dictated her next move, but she crouched slightly. She moved her weapon down and to her right until she felt the tip press against the damp rock. She took one step forward and then pushed off her right foot into a roll. She used the built up inertia from the roll, as well as the Arzuros's own recklessness and dragged the sword in a wide arc along the ground into a high-speed upward swing, sending sparks flying in the blade's wake. She heard the undeniable 'pop' of a true, puncturing strike, and she knew she'd hit home. In a swift motion she ripped open the exhaust port and rotated the hilt hard. The blade vibrated fiercely, revving as black lightning shot up from the hilt and into the monster. It let out pained wails, it's insides being turned to liquid. Giving one more hard twist, she managed to overcharge it, and a blast of the black lightning shot up through the Arzuros's back. It carried enough force behind it that it knocked Pinkie backwards, a massive plume of smoke firing from the exhaust as the weapon reverted forcefully to axe mode.

"Okie dokie loki..." she said slowly, eyeing her weapon. It was definitely far different from anything she'd ever used. In both function and form. The Arzuros collapsed to the ground, a few helpless twitches escaping as it died, eyes lolling into the back of its head. Pinkie was still not fond of carving, but she swallowed her fear and went to work, carving as many salvageable parts off the monster as she could. Another bright flash of lightning and rolling thunder came, almost feeling as though they were congratulating her. She stood up, covered in both her blood and her prey's, storing her spoils in her bag. She heaved out a sigh of relief. She wasn't a failure. She could do this. Now, all she had to do was make it home.


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Pinkie walked back up to Lyra, the rain was starting to slow, but it had done a fine job of washing all the blood from her skin and clothing before she got back.

"Well, well! Congratulations are in order, Pinkie my dear!" Lyra said, clapping her hands together after pushing Pinkie's payment across the counter towards her. "You know what this calls for?"

"A party!" Pinkie shouted, grinning broadly.
> Chapter 5 - Underneath the Surface
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling. She had awoken next to her bed, rather than in it. A party hat askew atop her bright pink hair. She blinked slowly, the world steadily coming into focus. She sat upright, confetti showered about the room. A few balloons, now low on helium, hovered lazily close to the ground. She stood up, collecting herself and brushing the confetti that clung to her onto the floor. Her room was a mess. It appeared as if a tornado had passed through, thrown a party, and then left the owner of the home with a mess. A smile crossed her face, and she remembered a few of the parties she'd thrown back at the academy. Most of the mornings after them ended up much like this. A destroyed room, and very little recollection of what had happened. She made her way out the front door, promising to clean up later in the back of her mind. She brushed some confetti out of her hair and the wind took it out to sea.

"Time to see what Lyra has lined up for me today." she had started to approach the liaison's counter when she felt the ground start to rumble. She took hold of the nearest structure as the earthquake's intensity increased. She shut her eyes tight and waited out the quake. A few moments passed and the shaking stopped. She opened her eyes slowly, expecting to see the village in shambles, or a tsunami coming to wash them away, but that wasn't the case. Watching her fellow villagers returning to their routines made her feel slightly ashamed of how tight she'd gripped the support beam outside her home. She shook her head rapidly, dispelling the negativity before moving on to speak with Lyra. "Hey, boss!" she raised a hand, grinning. Lyra was slumped over on her counter, her breathing slow and even.

Pinkie moved until she was parallel of the liaison. "Lyra?" her voice was gentle. She wanted her to wake up, but she didn't want to be rude, either. "Lyyyyraaaaa?" still speaking softly. She started to get impatient and pulled another egg-shaped bomb casing from the pouch at her side, bringing out a Jaggi's windpipe soon afterwards. She stuck the windpipe into the shell and threw it up into the air, before taking off in the other direction. She ducked behind a large barrel and stuffed her fingers in her ears. Even muffled, the newly crafted Sonic Bomb made her grit her teeth at the shrill noise it emitted. She heard Lyra let out a shriek and then a dull 'thud' followed as she fell off her chair.

"Pinkie?! Dammit, girl!" the liaison dug her pinky in her ear, as if that would banish the high-pitched whine. She shook her head a few times to try and dispel it before it finally faded, letting the rest of the world's sounds return. "What was that for?!" she looked furious, and Pinkie was trying to suppress laughter.

"Y-you...Pfft...Ahem. Sorry. You wouldn't wake up." the Hunter spoke, managing to compose herself. "I need to know what I'm supposed to do today."

"And a tap on the shoulder didn't occur to you?!" Lyra shoved a piece of paper across the desk at her. It had a picture of a monster that Pinkie had become familiar with while gathering: an Epioth. They were gentle herbivores that spent the majority of the time underwater. "You went right to the Sonic Bomb!" Pinkie had stopped paying attention, reading the requirements. "My ears are going to be ringing for days after this!" she slammed her hand on the counter, making Pinkie jump. "Pay up." Pinkie gave her the quest fee, a measly 200 Zenny, and made for the hunting grounds.


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Pinkie ambled along, enjoying the beautiful weather. It was a bit humid, but not unbearable, and there was enough of a breeze to make it quite enjoyable outside. Not too cold for a swim, though, which Pinkie was excited about. She had to carve three sets of Epioth guts, which she was not excited about. She'd gotten better about how queasy carving made her, but it was still not one of her favorite things to do, and she wasn't sure that anything would change that.

The Hunter reached the shore after walking for about ten minutes. What made her uneasy was the fact that nothing had been there to hinder her. In fact, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of any living thing since she'd gotten to the hunting grounds. Not even the Aptinoth or Kelbi that were usually abound, foraging for their breakfast. There had been no Jaggi to challenge her upon her invasion of their territory, and not a single Ludroth had reared its serpent-like body from the shallow water to take a snap at her. Nothing. She looked out over the water, the sun glimmering off the surface, and she saw an Epioth raise its long neck out of the water, its smooth, wet scales shining in the light.

Pinkie took two steps back and a deep breath before bounding out into the water, diving under and swimming closer and closer to the Epioth. This area was normally full of them, but now, she only saw one. Which, while better than not finding any, did nothing to put her mind at ease. Where had everything gone? Why was there such a lack of monsters in her normally infested hunting grounds? The Epioth noticed her rapid approach and turned to try and swim away. As soon as its back was turned, Pinkie accelerated up, pushing herself up with enough force that her entire body breached the water and she was able to draw her weapon and put the head of the axe into the top of the Epioth's skull, killing it immediately. She left the axe there for a moment as she swam around to the creature's belly. She carved it open, reaching inside with a pained look on her face. She pulled out some entrails and put them into her bag. She felt something brush up against her leg and spun around. She saw a pack of Sharqs swimming circles around her, drawn out of hiding by the scent of blood in the water.

Pinkie moved slowly to her weapon, pulling it out of the Epioth's head. She knew Sharqs were scent hunters, and would probably leave her alone if they could eat the Epioth without conflict. She started to swim backwards, noticing the blood trailing from her pouch and mentally kicking herself for not realizing that the entrails made her smell like a smorgasbord to the Sharqs. She looked for a possible escape, but two Sharqs were approaching her. She could feel their bloodlust, but knew they weren't nearly as durable as an Arzuros. A few dodges and swings later, she left the two dead Sharqs in her wake as she swam towards a cave. There was no longer blood trailing from her bag. The entrails were finally cleaned out.

Pinkie passed through an underwater archway made from stone. She swam closer to the bottom, finding an oxygen giving stone and managing to fill her lungs with fresh air before spotting another pair of Epioth. She smiled, swimming for them. This was going to be an easy way to make money if every quest was like this. She thought she heard something buzzing faintly to her left, but she just blamed the fact that she'd been underwater for a fair amount of time. She was close to the next Epioth as the buzzing got louder and louder. She turned to her left to see an absolutely massive monster rushing for the pair of herbivores. Its body was thinly veiled by lightning as it let out a piercing cry before smashing into the docile creatures, killing them on impact.

Pinkie's eyes widened in panic. This thing was huge. Twice as big as the Rathalos she'd seen last week. It had piercing yellow eyes and swam with surprising grace, despite its size. Its front and back legs were a bit short, and it was clear that this thing was supposed to stay underwater. Pinkie swam up to the surface quickly, looking for the nearest escape route. She broke the surface of the water and saw a ivy covered cliff. She swam over quickly and started to climb up. She had no idea what this thing was, but she was sure she couldn't fight it.

"Pinkie? Hey, Pinkie?!" Lyra's voice rang out in the panicking Hunter's head.

"Little busy right now, Lyra!" she had started to climb, trying not to look back out of fear of what she may see.

"The Guild just informed me that a Lagiacrus has been spotted in the area. They think it's been the source of all these earthquakes. Are you okay?!" Lyra sounded scared, which didn't help Pinkie out at all.

"Is that what that thing is?!" she yelled, and she heard the buzzing again.

"It's a leviathan class monster with a mastery of electricity. It uses the spikes on its back to build up and store the lightning in its body." Lyra recited, as if reading from a textbook. "You need to get out of there, Pinkie! That thing is g-" whatever Lyra said next was drown out by the cliff above Pinkie being struck by a ball of concentrated electrical energy. It detonated the stone above her and the force of the blast actually blew her off the ivy. She felt herself falling through the air, helpless, and then she hit the water, dropping fifteen feet below the surface after impact.

Pinkie was a bit dazed, and she shook her head slowly, getting her bearings. She saw the Lagiacrus turning to face her, its golden eyes boreing into her soul. She turned and immediately started swimming. Not towards an escape, though. She swam for the corpses of the Epioths. The Hunter felt a low rumble reach her through the water as the Lagiacrus growled, moving smoothly towards her. It used its webbed tail to push itself through the water, its body coiling with each push. Pulling her carving knife out rapidly, she gashed opened one Epioth, tearing out its innards and shoving them haphazardly into her pouch. She could feel the leviathan getting closer, its deep breathing and the crackling of the spikes on its back making her level of panic rise. She had sliced open the last Epioth when all the noises stopped, she could no longer hear the Lagiacrus, and she wanted to believe it had left.

Reaching into the insides of the third Epioth, Pinkie slowly turned her head to the left. Nothing. Then around to the right, looking to see if it had circled around behind her. Nothing. Empty water for as far as she could see. She pulled the insides out of the Epioth, adding them to her collection. That was it. She was done. She turned to face the Lagiacrus's victim and came face-to-face with the beast itself. It was truly mammoth in size. Its head was as large as her entire body. It opened its mouth wide, rearing back before lunging at the Hunter. Pinkie made herself as small as possible and drew her weapon. Having decreased her surface area, the axe was taller than her and she held it vertical in front of her. She felt the titanic jaws of the Lagiacrus bite down, hard, on the weapon. It recoiled immediately, blood flowing from its mouth, mingling with the water. It swiped at its face with its claws, as if it could chase off the pain.

Pinkie took immediate advantage of the situation and turned, swimming away as fast as she could. The Lagiacrus let out a roar that was powerful enough to send small waves after the Hunter. Swimming back under the archway, she moved past the Sharqs, paying them no mind as she heard the Lagiacrus giving chase. She pumped her arms and legs, forcing her body as quickly as she could towards the shore. All she needed to do was get up on land. She took a chance, looking back over her shoulder, and saw a very unwelcoming sight. The leviathan was charging at her, full speed. She changed her trajectory and barely dodged the monster's tackle. The undertow it formed with its rapid movements, however, dragged her faster than she could ever swim. To her great fortune, it was dragging her closer to the shore. Once she gained control of herself, she was able to swim up to the surface, scrambling onto the shore a moment later. She had made it, she was safe.

Pinkie looked out to the water, the Lagiacrus raising its head up out of the water. It bared its fangs, and she could see little bolts of lightning forming in its mouth. It reared its head back, lunging forward and hurling the ball of lightning at her. She scampered away from it, barely dodging in time. She stood up straight, triumphantly.

"What now, you big, dumb beast?!" she threw her hands in the air, taunting it as it sunk back below the surface. "Yeah, you better run!" her false bravado was shattered as the Lagiacrus burst forth, jumping high out of the water and up onto the shore. It landed with enough force to shake the ground and knock Pinkie off her feet. "Woahwoahwooooah! Oof!" she landed hard on her rear, feeling something pop. "Oh no." she looked up as the leviathan turned to face her. It looked big underwater. It looked monumental on land. She didn't even stop to think. She took off the way she had come, back through the wetlands, the Lagicrus giving chase. Her muscles screamed and her lungs burned as she ran with every ounce of strength she had. The monster wasn't nearly as fast on land as it was in the sea, but it wasn't slow by any means. She took a hard right as she reached the area where she had encountered the Arzuros. She ran into the cave and, mid-run, started pulling things out of her bag. The first was what appeared to be a box with a pressure plate on the top. She could no longer hear the Lagiacrus and stopped running. The other item she'd pulled out was a large net.

Pinkie dropped into a crouching position and opened the box, careful not to disturb the pressure plate. The inside of it was lined with explosives and she lined the box with the net gingerly, making sure it fit just so around the inside of it. She closed the lid of the box, satisfied with her results. There was only one way into this cave, and only one way out. As she drew closer to the entrance, she could hear the Lagiacrus eating. As it came into view, she saw the Aptonoth that had fallen prey to the mighty leviathan. She moved as close as she could without drawing the monster's attention and started digging through the wet mud. She burried the airtight Pitfall Trap and stood up. She heard it click and whir, indicating that it was ready.

"Hey! Meanie!" the Lagiacrus turned away from its meal to face her. "Come and get me!" she turned and took off, the leviathan immediately pursuing. Then, she heard it. The satisfying 'thud' of the explosives going off, and the wail of the Lagiacrus as more than half of its body was swallowed by the muck. Its back legs were tangled up in the net, and its forelegs flailed, trying to drag itself out of the hole. Pinkie wanted to turn around and enjoy her success, but it wouldn't hold the beast for long. She had never run so fast in her entire life.


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As Pinkie entered the town, she could hear a faint chatter from the square. She'd turned the entrails into the, what she assumed was magical, Guild delivery trunk at the base camp. There were a few worried voices, which she recognized as Lyra and Rarity, mingled with voices of disappointment coming from Magnum and Thunder. As she descended the stairs towards them, everyone fell silent.

"What?" she looked at all of them. Sweat was still pouring down her face and she knew she reeked. Having handled entrails for the better part of an afternoon mixed with the smell of her sweat, she knew she didn't smell pleasant. "Is there something in my teeth?" Lyra broke through the crowd and ran up, hugging her. "Oof! Easy, Lyra! That monster did a number on me, and I didn't even fight it."

"You made it." Lyra said, backing up. There were tears in her eyes. "I thought you were dead. I lost my connection with you right after I warned you about the Lagiacrus." she wiped her eyes. "I was sure it had killed you."

"How did you lose your connection to me?" Pinkie asked, cocking her head to the side. Lyra just shook her head.

"Electricity has a way of interfering with it. That's why I couldn't talk much during the Arzuros hunt. The storm made it difficult." she took a deep, calming breath. She was just glad to have her friend home in one piece. The other villagers had dispersed, leaving only Lyra, Magnum and Pinkie standing in the center of town. "Anyway, I'm going to have to go report your success. Glad you're back!" Lyra returned to her counter. Pinkie and Magnum stood in silence, staring at one another.

"You know this isn't over, right?" Magnum broke the silence. Even without him explaining himself, Pinkie nodded. She knew what he meant. "That thing needs to die, and you're the only one that can make that happen anymore." he crossed his arms sternly in front of his chest. "I'll be with you every step of the way. You proved yourself out there today. You managed to not only escape with your life and minimal injuries, but you still completed the mission. I'd be lyin' if I said I wasn't impressed." he patted her arm. "Keep up the good work." at that, he made his way back to the smithy.

Pinkie watched the sun as it started to sink into the ocean. Despite all of what had just happened, the only thing she could think about was how different the Lagiacrus's tail had looked from the one she'd seen breaching the water on her first day at Moga Village.
> Chapter 6 - Everytime I Hear Urgent
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie returned from a new job, one in which she had been charged to kill a Great Jaggi. It had gone quite well, the alpha raptor having succumbed to the Rough Edge rather quickly. It hadn't taken her more than fifteen minutes to hunt the monster, an she paraded herself back, feeling excessively good. She kept her head high all the way to Lyra's counter. The liaison shoved Pinkie's payment across it lazily. The Hunter took her money and started to turn to leave before she noticed the alarmed look on Lyra's face.

"What?" Pinkie said, when she got no response, she started to panic. "What is it?!" she leaned in, eyes wide. Lyra waved a hand to indicate she needed to be quiet. Pinkie quieted down, the worried expression never leaving her face. Lyra looked as if she was listening to something. She would nod periodically, the Hunter enraptured by her every move.

"Yeah?" she finally spoke, Pinkie leaned in close. "She just got back. Now?" and closer. "Like, right now, right now?" and closer. "I suppose she might be okay. I'll talk to her. Just leave everything to me, ma'am. I'll get it taken care of." Pinkie's face was pressed against Lyra's. "Will you back up?!" she pushed her away, but not too hard. "Geez. Anyway, the Guildmaster has called in your first 'Urgent' quest." Lyra performed air quotes, and the look on her face suggested she didn't find it nearly as urgent as everyone else did. "If you can prove yourself and accomplish this, the Guild will start to assign you more difficult tasks."

"Really?! Wooooohooooooo!!!" the Hunter jumped around ecstatic. Then she paused, and her mind drifted to a certain leviathan. "W-what do they want me to do?" she asked, any sense of bravado drained from her voice. Lyra pulled a paper, seemingly from thin air, and started to read it.

"You need to slay a..." Lyra paused, mostly for dramatic effect, and Pinkie feared the worst. "Royal Ludroth." Pinkie exhaled the breath she'd been holding. "Why the sigh of relief? These things are supposed to be terribly dangerous."

"Maybe." Pinkie slid the fee across to her. "But it's no Lagiacrus." and she made her way to the hunting grounds, a bounce in her step and a smile on her face.


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Pinkie sat at the base camp, a bar-b-que spit set up in front of her. She was rotating it, slowly. A watchful eye kept on the piece of Aptonoth she was cooking. She had been quite the baker back in her home town, but cooking anything but confectionaries had eluded her. She prodded at the meat, trying to tell if it was done. She pursed her lips and then pulled the meat off the spit. The Hunter took a small bite, and it didn't taste like it should still be munching on grass. She chalked it down as a victory and consumed the rest of it.

Since she hadn't gotten a break between the Great Jaggi hunt and this one, she decided it was best to waste some time resting and filling her belly. She'd dealt with plenty of Ludroth, so a bigger one couldn't be much worse. She stood up and stretched before opening the Guild supply trunk. Humming happily to herself, she placed all of the free supplies into her pouch. She checked to make sure she had room before moving away from the base camp.

Pinkie had become so accustomed to these hunting grounds that she didn't even bother with a map anymore. She skipped along, passing up Aptonoth and Jaggi alike. The predators kept their distance, they were all lazing around the carrion of some manner of herbivore, basking in the sun. Full bellies made Jaggis far less hostile. She skipped into the wetlands, and a few Ludroth raised their heads, watching her approach. They made noises that alternated between clicks and hisses. Their bodies were very serpent-like. They looked like smaller, less threatening Lagiacrus, minus the back spikes.

The Hunter stopped skipping as soon as she noticed the Ludroths approaching her. She grabbed her axe and swung it around to the stance she'd found that allowed her the most freedom of movement. When they noticed her making threatening moves, they charged in, mouths wide open, saliva dripping from their fangs as they hissed threateningly. Pinkie was relatively nonplussed. She raised the axe above her head and brought it crashing down on the closer of the pair, burying it deep into the monster's skull. It slammed into the ground under the force, falling victim quite easily. This display of force did not deter the second monster, which lunged at her. She actually let go of her weapon, hopping back a few steps. She had sunk the axe head so deep into the other creature's skull that she was having difficulty removing it. Teeth gnashing at the air, the second Ludroth had a surprised look in its eyes. It had expected to tear into flesh, not air. Pinkie hauled off and kicked the monster in the side of the head. The Ludroth reeled back, giving her time to collect her weapon from the one she'd left dead.

Instead of attacking her immediately upon recovery, the Ludroth let out a panicked cry before its life was ended by a clean swipe through its neck. The monsters head hit the ground a few yards away, blood seeping into the shallow water that covered the entirety of the area. Pinkie turned her axe to sword mode and burried the tip into the ground. It stood perfectly straight as she started carving away at her fresh kills. Pulling hides off, she swore she heard movement from her right. She stood up straight and looked around. Nothing but empty wetlands as far as she could see. She shrugged and started carving the other Ludroth. She heard it again. It sounded like something breaking the water's surface, but this place was too shallow for any monster to hide in, much less a larger Ludroth.

Pinkie put her spoils into her bag and picked up the Rough Edge. Not a moment later, a vicious roar came from behind her and she heard the sound of something large breaching the water's surface. She reeled around, surprise written on her face as a massive Ludroth burst from an underwater cave that she hadn't even noticed. The crest around its head looked to be made of a spongy material. From head to tail, Pinkie noticed that it was easily as long as three of her, right before diving out of the way of the creature which was on a crash-course for her.

The Hunter recovered from the initial shock as the Royal Ludroth crashed clumsily into the ground. Its spongy crest cushioning the blow. It lumbered up to its feet, and it stood a bit taller than Pinkie had expected. It was considerably longer than the Arzuros and almost as tall. She folded her weapon back into axe mode with a quick twist of the handle. She immediately started moving to her right, trying to circle around behind the monster. In a swooping motion, it rotated its head towards its tail, snapping its teeth through the air. Pinkie could tell the monster had poor directional hearing, since it took a bite at nothing. Then, as it was coiled up, it lashed its tail out and caught Pinkie in the back of the leg. She took a spill and the Ludroth lunged at her. She rolled to the right, escaping the beast's fangs by a hair. She pushed herself up quickly, careful to regain her balance before starting to run circles around the monster again.

Pinkie was kiting it. She was giving it a wider berth, now, but she kept close enough that it was throwing itself at her constantly. It wasn't long before she started to notice its movements slowing down. She moved in to attack. She ran by and took a swing at its left foreleg, tripping it up and causing it to faceplant. Rather than take a swing at the head, she ran to the end of its body and swung the axe down at its tail. It cleaved into it, but not through it, and the Royal Ludroth let out a pained cry, flailing. The motion caused Pinkie to lose her grip on her axe, then the tail swung back at her, axe in tow and struck her solidly in the chest. It didn't knock her through the air, but she felt a crack as she staggered backwards, dazed from being hit with her own weapon.

Now, Pinkie had two problems. This thing was mad, and she didn't have a weapon. She started to try and run to the monster's left, but it turned its head and spit a large ball of water at her. She stopped just short of its trajectory, flailing her arms to catch her balance. She thrust her left hand into her pouch, her eyes never leaving the Ludroth. She pulled out five throwing knives, which had been coated in a poison that was hand made by the Guild. She stared at them, bewildered.

"Welp...Beggars can't be choosers." she threw the first one, and it hit the ground with an unimpressive splash. "Fudge this." she ran at the Ludroth and ducked under another water ball, ramming one knife into its chest, another into its left foreleg, the third in between its ribs, and the final one into its back left leg. In an impressive display of agility, she dove through the air and wrapped both hands around her weapon's hilt. She clung on for dear life as the Ludroth whipped her around like a toy. It slammed her into the ground a few times, winding her, but the poison knives, which were still stuck in the monster's body, were doing their job. The Royal Ludroth was running out of energy.

Pinkie felt her feet hit solid ground, then her right foot found the monster's tail and she tugged, freeing the weapon from its prison. She backed away quickly, noticing that the Ludroth was heavy lidded and drooling. It was tired. She cranked the Rough Edge into sword mode and made for the tail. She felt her weapon strike true, black lightning appearing at the point of impact, and half of the creature's tail went spiraling through the air, its previous owner stumbling forward in pain and rage. It didn't attack her, though. It let out a roar, then booked it out of the area, tailless body swaying as it ran. Pinkie put the axe away and carved at the tail, getting what appeared to be a few valuable scales off of it. She immediately made a break for the area the Royal Ludroth had escaped to.

Upon passing under the stone archway that lead to an area resembling a beach, she could hear the snores of her target. The poison had exhausted it to the point where it had to sleep. She closed in on it quietly, drawing her weapon and turning it to sword mode. In a swift manuever, she took a step back, then lunged forward, ripping open the exhaust port on the back of the sword and driving it deep into the Ludroth's spongy crest. The initial impact woke the monster, at it rolled into an upright position, dragging Pinkie through the air until she was standing on top of the monster. It flailed around she she revved the weapon, pumping it full of black lightning the same way she'd done the Arzuros. The Ludroth made a mighty swing of its body right as Pinkie managed to overcharge the weapon, which set off the final blast, throwing her mercilessly into the nearby body of water.

The Rough Edge returned smoothly to axe mode, Pinkie recovering under the water. She clambered back up onto the shore, the Ludroth's spongy crest looking much closer to Swiss cheese than it had before. The monster was weak, Pinkie could tell it was at the end of its rope. She'd cut off its tail and severely damaged the rest of it, in addition to the fact that he knives were still embedded into the monster.

"Alright. Let's do this!" she swung her weapon over her head and took an intimidating battle stance. Truth was, Pinkie was in an incredible amount of pain. This monster had spent the last half hour slamming her around like a rag doll. "Death or glory, mister!" she charged at the Ludroth, and it advanced toward her with newfound vigor. When the gap was almost closed, she sidestepped the Ludroth's last, valiant attempt to finish her, whirled around, switching the axe to sword mode again and cleaving into the monster's neck. It hit the ground hard, still alive. As it started to recover, she brought the sword down again, mercilessly. She continued her vicious assault, striking the monster four or five more times after it had succumbed to death. She burried the sword into the Ludroth's head and climbed up on top of what was left of the spongy crest. She pumped both firsts into the air. "Yeeeeeeesssssss!" she let out a few gasping breaths before finally calming down and beginning her slow, methodical carving process.


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Pinkie, feeling incredibly proud of herself for the second time that day, which was twice as proud of herself as she'd ever been, made her way over to Lyra, dropping to her knees in front of the liaison's counter.

"I..." she was panting. She'd never hunted so much in one day. "I did it." Lyra smiled, she could only see Pinkie's right hand, which was giving her a thumbs up. She heard a gentle 'thud' from the other side of her counter, and she leaned over to look at the Hunter. Pinkie's cheek was pressed up against the outside of Lyra's work space, and both her arms had fallen limp to her sides. She was snoring gently, having worked herself to pure exhaustion. The liaison grinned and shook her head. Lyra motioned for the elder's son to come give her a hand, and together they carried Pinkie to her home, intent on letting her sleep for as long as she wanted to.

From here on out, things were going to be much more difficult.
> Chapter 7 - The Queen of the Land
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie's day began much as she had expected it to. She was roused from sleep by the bustle coming from outside her home. Children playing in the village center and the adults going about their daily routines. She sat up, tossing her legs over the side of the bed before getting to her feet. Once she stood up, she immediately had to lay back down, ungracefully, in the middle of th floor. It took her a few minutes of crushing pain to remember where this had come from. She was sore and broken from yesterday's hunts. She placed her hands flat on the floor and pushed herself upright, falling into a sitting position, her back leaning against her bed.

"Maybe...Maybe I should take a day off." she stared at the ceiling, beads of sweat formin on her forehead. Her breathing had become very labored, and she was fairly certain that she had some broken bones. She performed a self-diagnosis. Her extremities were all in order. No pulled muscles, though her shoulders were quite sore from the Ludroth throwing her around. Her head was fine, which is to say nothing of its contents. It was physically in working order. Her hand found the offending ribs though, and she drew in a sharp breath when she touched her left side. There was one, maybe two that felt broken. She got shakily to her feet, bracing herself on the bed.

Pinkie walked slowly from her house to Lyra's counter("Office!" Lyra had insisted.). She almost collapsed when she reached her and the girl with the mint hair panicked.

"Pinkie?! Are you okay?" Lyra rushed around the counter, crouching down next to the Hunter, who had dropped to her knees. "Do you need medical attention?" Pinkie could see the worry in her eyes.

"That's...An option?" Pinkie spoke between heaving breaths.

"Of course! Give me a moment." Lyra fell silent as she returned to the other side of the counter. She started writing something down, then Pinkie could hear her begin speaking, seemingly to no one. "This is Lyra Heartstrings. I'm the Guild liaison for Moga Village. I have a Hunter in need of immediate medical attention. Name? Pinkamena Dianne Pie. Rank?" Pinkie heard the shuffling of papers. "She isssss...Guild Rank one. Mmhm. Wonderful. And how soon will they be here? Three minutes? Damn, you guys work fast. See you then."

"Are you ever going to tell me how that works?" Pinkie asked as Lyra came around the corner to check on her.

"I dunno'. Are you ever going to explain to me how you manage to swing around a weapon that's almost as tall as you and probably just as heavy?" Lyra crouched, cocking her head to the left inquisitively.

"I can't explain that." Pinkie said. It was completely true. She'd never had what she considered monstrous strength, but she managed to swing the Switch Axe around with a relative amount of ease. Not that it was weightless, by any means, but it was clear that Lyra felt she would be incapable of performing the same task.

"Then I fear we are at an impasse, dear Hunter." she patted Pinkie on the top of her head, smiling. The Hunter started to make puppy dog eyes, but approaching footsteps drew her attention away. She saw a tall man in a trenchcoat approaching the pair of them.

"Who are you?" Pinkie asked, she would have stood up and tried to look threatening, but that was beyond her at this point.

"The Doctor." his response came calmly, as he crouched down next to her, touching her ribs. He poked and prodded at her, despite her whimpers and the pained look in her eyes.

"Doctor who?"

"Exactly." and he poked at her a few more times. Pinkie noticed that it got less and less painful as he examined her, then he stood up straight. "All done. Lovely to see you as always, Lyra." he smiled and took a bow, a blush warming the liaison's cheeks.

"Same to you, Doctor." she said in a shy voice, her shoes becoming very interesting. Pinkie had looked up at Lyra, and when they both looked back, the Doctor was nowhere in sight.

"Are all you Guild people, like, super magical or something?" Pinkie asked before sneezing, loosing some confetti from her nose. She noticed, once she recovered from the surprise of the sneeze, that her ribs didn't hurt. In fact, nothing did. She stood up and felt good as new. It was like the events of yesterday hasn't even transpired. She looked at Lyra with wide eyes, the liaison just giving her a knowing smile.

"Well then." Lyra clapped her hands together as she went back into her 'office'. After a few moments of digging, she pulled a piece of paper out, reading it. "Oh my...Pinkie, maybe you should take a day off." Lyra said, looking at the Hunter with an apologetic expression.

"Huh? Why?" Pinkie grabbed the paper from her and started reading it. After she'd scanned it, she looked at Lyra over the top of the paper. "Just yesterday, I was hunting Jaggi and Ludroth. Today, they want me to hunt a damn Rathian?!" she slammed the paper down on the counter. The depiction of the Rathian staring up between her fingers. "Difficulty curve got pretty steep, don'tcha think?"

"I don't decide what you do." Lyra raised her hands defensively. "It's just my job to send you out there." Pinkie sighed. She was right. It wasn't her fault and there was no reason to yell at the liaison. The Hunter chewed on her bottom lip before turning over the money to cover the fee. Lyra looked at it, then up at her.

"Are you sure?" Lyra's eyes were laced with concern. Pinkie nodded. She would never get anywhere as a Hunter if she shied away from something like this. Lyra took the fee, placing the money into the drawer under the desk. "Alright. Just...Just be careful." Pinkie nodded and started heading for the hunting grounds.

"Darling!" Pinkie heard Rarity calling for her and stopped. All of a sudden, she felt kind of guilty. She realized she hadn't talked to the shopkeeper much recently. She approached Rarity, trying not to look too ashamed.

"H-hey, Rarity." Pinkie gave a weak smile. "How have you been?"

"Lonely." Rarity's tone had an underlying iciness, which Pinkie picked up on and shrunk away a little bit. "But, do not worry about that. Water under the bridge, if you will." the shopkeeper smiled warmly. "I overheard that a Rathian may be in your near future. Those monsters are dreadful. Simply dreadful. Why, I remember a time when-"

"Um, Rarity? I hate to stop you, but I really need to get going. The Guild is worried that the Rathian may try and attack Moga." Pinkie said.

"Oh my. Right, down to business, then. To put it bluntly, that armor is just not going to cut it against this beast. It is time..." she added a little flourish with her hands, pulling a cloth off the mannequin closest to her. "For an upgrade!" Pinkie stared at the armor. It sparkled beautifully in the sunlight. "It's the newest armor sent directly from the Guild. They say it can sharpen your senses so you'll always know where your target is." Pinkie didn't need to hear anymore. Anything that was going to get her out of drinking Psychoserum was a selling point. She immediately paid Rarity and went to put on the new gear.

Admittedly, she was a little sad to see the leather armor be put in the trunk. It had served her well. Rarity was right, though. She was getting to the point where monsters were going to kill her if she didn't start buying better armor. Having powerful weapons would only get you so far. If you couldn't take a hit when you screwed up, which was an inevitability, then you were as good as dead. She pulled the gloves on, having already adorned the rest of the armor. She flattened her hair down and put on the hat, which was set so it would shade her eyes from the sun. She smiled, looking at herself in the mirror. The metal on the armor shimmered, looking brand new. There were no cuts and blemishes, but that was going to change. She latched the Rough Edge to her back. It was time to begin the hunt.


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Pinkie lifted her head into the air upon leaving the base camp. She took a deep breath through her nose, picking up what she was sure to be the Rathian's scent. It smelled like she was getting closer to the Hunter. Pinkie had moved into the wetlands, seeing the Rathian fly over the top of the mountain into view. The green wyvern started to descend and her feet planted heavily on the ground. The Rathian made the Arzuros look like a puppy. Her green scales glistened in the sunlight. Her tail waved back and forth slowly as she started walking. She turned around and faced Pinkie. Her eyes were golden and fierce. She started making a clicking noise as she approached Pinkie. The Hunter was standing very still as the Rathian drew closer. Rathians and Rathalos were both sight hunters. The problem was that Pinkie had not placed herself strategically. She had been so mezmerized by the majestic wyvern that she had stood out in the open.

In one smooth motion, Pinkie pulled a Flash Bomb from her pouch and threw it hard at the ground. It popped open and a blinding flash filled the area. Pinkie took off to her right as soon as the device had left her fingertips. The Rathian stumbled back a few steps, dazed by the flash. She let out an earsplitting roar that left the Hunter holding her hands over her ears, immobilized. The Rathian scratched at the ground with her right leg, snapping its jaws blindly, and Pinkie could tell her target was still blinded. This was going to be her best opportunity to hurt the monster. Pinkie drew her axe and ran forward. She took a massive swipe at the Rathian's left leg and the wyvern immediately turned her long neck and snapped at the pain. The wyvern had missed, the spike that protruded from her bottom jaw scraping against Pinkie's armor. The Hunter didn't stop her assault, diving in and out of the Rathian's legs as it stomped around, trying to ward off whatever was causing such severe amounts of pain.

The Flash Bomb's effects wore off after a few moments and, as soon as she could see, the Rathian stepped back away from Pinkie, who had struck a bunch of solid blows on the wyvern's legs. After taking three large steps back, the Rathian lowered its body to the ground, opening its wings wide before performing a backflip. Her tail lashed out and caught Pinkie by the legs, and then the chest as the Hunter lost balance. Pinkie was sent so far up in the air that, as she was spiraling helplessly, she actually caught a glimpse of Moga. Her ascent stopped, and her descent began. She could see the Rathian below her, staring up, wings flapping. Pinkie knew she only had one chance of not breaking every bone in her body. Building up speed as she fell, she turned the weapon to sword mode. As soon as she was within range, she took a mighty swing, changing her trajectory mid-air, and catching the Rathian's wing with the slash. The wyvern, who'd only been hovering about ten feet off the ground, let out a shrill cry as she lost her flight balance and collapsed to the ground below, bringing the Hunter down with her, but at a much slower speed than she had been going.

Pinkie hit the ground hard, and was thrown about fifteen feet away from the Rathian, who was flailing on the ground, trying to regain its balance. The Hunter dragged herself upright. In comparison to how that Ludroth had thrown her around yesterday, this wasn't so bad. Out of nowhere, a wave of nausea hit her, and she gripped the hilt of her weapon tightly, using it to support her weight as she vomited up everything she'd eaten in the last two days. Drawing deep, gasping breaths, she could hear the Rathian getting to its feet. Pinkie started to move into a combat stance, but was immediately taken by another wave of nausea, and she began to dry heave.

"What the. Hell. Is going on?" she asked herself, gasping in between every word, beginning to heave again.

"You're poisoned." Lyra's voice rang, matter-of-factly, in her head. "The Rathian's tail secretes a powerful poison. She tagged you pretty good with it." Pinkie reached into her pouch, pulling out an Antidote and downing the very blue contents of the mason jar. She put the empty jar away, and immediately felt better, just in time to get trampled by the Rathian. How could she have been so stupid? She hadn't even been watching the wyvern, and now it had her trapped under its claws. The way it was standing, however, kept it from crushing her. The Rathian glared down at her and reared its head back, before lunging down at her. Pinkie brought the axe head up and the Rathian bit down on it, cracking a few teeth and cutting deep into its tongue. The wyvern recoiled up into the air, flapping its wings and shaking its head. Large droplets of blood scattered about. The Hunter recovered to her feet, having avoided a grisly death. She noticed that the Rathian was staring to ascend, intent on fleeing.

"Hey! Get back down here..." Pinkie took a hop forward. "This..." she placed both hands on the hilt of the Rough Edge. "Instant!" she arced her body and threw the axe. The Rathian turned in time to catch the blade right to the side of her face, and she came crashing down to the ground for the second time. She'd gotten about twenty feet into the air, and after being hit with the weapon, the fall became that much more devastating to the wyvern.

As the Rathian flailed on the ground again, Pinkie ran under her flapping wing, her hands finding the hilt of the axe that had been embedded into the Rathian's face. She loosed it and brought it back down immediately, cutting the spike from the wyvern's chin. The Rathian's wing caught Pinkie in the side of the head as it got to its feet, sending the Hunter staggering away. The monster started to limp away, and some instinct inside Pinkie told her to run through the caves. She picked up the spike she'd removed from the Rathian's face and immediately started sprinting through the caves. Whatever was possessing her to do this obviously knew something she didn't, because she started to hear the faint flapping of massive wings echoing through the cave. A shadow passed over the holes in the top of the cave which let sunlight leak through. Pinkie picked up speed, burning all her stamina as she weaved through the natural catacombs. She hurdled a few rocks, and climbed up two ledges that lead to a smooth, curved path that broke out at a point in the mountain about fifty feet below the summit.

Pinkie stepped out onto the natural cliff and was amazed at what she saw. Besides a sleeping Rathian, there were three nests, each with three to four eggs in it. Wyvern eggs. The Hunter crept up on the sleeping monster, drawing a round, flat object from inside her pouch. She got as close as she could without disturbing the sleeping beast and crouched down, placing the disc on the ground. She pressed two buttons on the side, and the pressure plate popped up, the sound of crackling electricity emitting from it. Pinkie stepped around the Shock Trap and kicked the Rathian in the back. It woke with a start and rolled onto its feet. The wyvern turned, letting out another heinous roar that shook the heavens before charging at Pinkie, who had run far enough away that the Rathian had been forced to step on the Shock Trap, far out of reach of the Hunter. A loud crack was heard and the electricity spread visibly over the monster's body. Pinkie sauntered up to it, a smile on her face.

"Nighty-night." she had a Tranq Bomb in each hand, and she slapped the Rathian on each cheek with one. The puffs of smoke filled the monster's nostrils, and Pinkie watched as the wyvern's eyes got heavy, and it slumped to the ground. It was snoring deeply, its growls echoing off the mountain with each exhale. "Lyra? Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Pinkie. Need something?" the liaison asked kindly.

"Uhm...I kinda'...Tranq Bombed the Rathian. It's passed out." Pinkie kicked it a few times.When the creature didn't stir, she spoke again. "Yeah, she's punched out for the day. What's protocol, here?"

"Impressive. Come back to town. I'll inform the Guild and someone will be out there to take the Rathian to base where they can study it more." Lyra had an audible smile, it was one of the things Pinkie enjoyed most about her.

"Alrighty, boss lady. Be back soon." and Pinkie skipped back into the cave, making for the Village.


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Pinkie was greeted at the gate, not by villagers gripped in fear, but by cheers and clapping. A few even whistled loudly. She put a hand on the back of her head, her face flushing with embarrassment. Lyra pushed through the crowd, bringing her the money for the successful hunt.

"You never cease to amaze me, Pinkie!" Lyra had to yell to be heard over the crowd. They finally quieted down after the liaison gave them a death glare that would have made fighting that Rathian a breeze. She turned back to Pinkie. "Since that stumble in Tanzia, you've grown. Now, every time I think you're in over your head, you rise above it and prove me wrong." Lyra put her hands on Pinkie's shoulders. "I don't think there's any other Hunter I'd rather work with."

"Thanks Lyra!" Pinkie's eyes were misty, swimming with tears of joy. "I can't imagine working for anyone but you." a broad grin spread across her face, a few happy tears running down her cheeks. "Now, though, I think we all know what needs to happen."

"A party!" came the unanimous response from everyone in the village.
> Chapter 8 - Get Back
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the weeks following her first victory over the Rathian, Pinkie learned something very important about herself: she was the bane of these wyverns. She'd received several more assignments from Lyra to hunt Rathians, sometimes having to hunt two or three in succession, and she'd gotten rather adept at it. She noticed every subtle nuance of how they moved, and could tell when they were tired or hungry. She knew what areas of the hunting grounds they were most comfortable in, and had figured out the best areas to fight them. That's not to say, though, that she hadn't encountered any snags. The Hunter had run into her fair share of problems. Persistence, however, is a virtue. After many hunts, she had gathered a copious amount of materials from this species of wyvern. Pinkie dragged a massive bag up to Magnum's store and shoved the door open. Rarity looked over at the Hunter, her eyes drifting to the bag, then back to Pinkie with a smile.

"Good morning, darling!" she stepped around her father, who was hammering away at something that Rarity had brought him the plans for. "I would ask you what brings you here, but I can already guess. You appear to be having great success with your hunts!" Pinkie grinned and bounced up and down slightly. The smithy did not occupy a tall building, and the Hunter had to take care as to not hit her head.

"I hunted a lot of Rathians!" Pinkie dragged the bag forward with a grunt and set it down next to Magnum. The blacksmith looked up from his forge for the first time since Pinkie had entered and was taken aback by the sheer amount of Rathian parts she had gathered. He set his hammer down and stared. He pulled each piece out individually, examining it with great care.

"I have no idea how you managed to pull this off, but all of these are quality parts. I never imagined you would have been able to accomplish something like this..." Magnum spoke evenly, trying to keep the emotion from his voice. "Leave this stuff with me tonight. Get some rest and come back tomorrow. I should have a nice little surprise for you."

"Ooohhh!!! I love surprises!" Pinkie bounced higher, clapping her hands and managing to hit her head on the ceiling. Magnum and Rarity shared a look of amusement, the Hunter massaging the top of her skull and glaring at the offending ceiling. "I guess I'll let you get to work, then." Pinkie turned and left the smithy, the door swinging gently shut behind her. She was finally going to get new armor. Real armor. Armor she worked hard for. Her only two weapons had come pretty easily. The Rough Edge took a minimal amount of work, and she was wearing armor that she had purchased. Tomorrow, though, would bring with it new equipment, and the chance to accomplish greater tasks.


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The Hunter made her way back to Magnum's shop the next day. She hadn't gotten much in the way of sleep, as her excitement over what this day would bring kept her tossing and turning most of the night. She eeked in a few hours, though, and after constructing an Energy Drink out of some honey and a Nitroshroom, she was ready to start her day. She was still drinking the bittersweet liquid, a small cringe on her face with every sip, as she passed through the door to Magnum's shop. Her eyes fell upon something that almost made her drop her drink.

There was a Pinkie-sized mannequin next to the blacksmith, and it was adorned in the most beautiful green armor she'd ever seen. The scales that formerly belonged to a Rathian fit beautifully over a piece of chainmail that made up the torso armor. Spikes protruded from the backs of the elbows, and the gloves were made of tempered Earth Crystals. Melted down and formed with joints to perfectly fit Pinkie's hands. The waist armor looked like something that Magnum would never have made, in fact, Pinkie was fairly certain that Rarity had a hand in the construction of this armor set. The waist was made of a skirt that went down below her knees, but still held its form. It was constructed of the heavy metals that were made from Machalite Ore. There was a pointed tip to the edge of each fold in the skirt as it rose and fell at the hem, making a jagged pattern. The greaves were constructed in a similar fashion to the gloves, long and pointed at the knees, constructed of bone, scale, and Lightcrystals.

"Not bad, huh?" Magnum's voice made Pinkie jump a bit, sloshing her drink onto the floor. Thankfully, the blacksmith hadn't noticed. He stepped out from the door that presumably lead to his room, and smiled at the Hunter. "Took me all night to complete, but it turned out perfect. I don't even mind the froo-frooey part. Seems very appropriate for armor made from the Queen." he folded his arms in front of his chest. "I do, however, have one more surprise for you. Since you're such a good client, I'd like to present you with..." Pinkie was giddy with anticipation, bouncing on her feet again. Magnum had stepped out of sight, then returned to the room holding a brand new, compacted Switch Axe. "This!" he clicked the button and it opened. The scaled axe head, which had been filed down to a point so sharp in left a slice in the air in its wake, rose up to the top of the weapon. Clicking heavily into place, she noticed four spikes protruding from the back of it. Her eyes grew wide as he rotated the weapon into sword mode. The axe head slid back down and formed a hand guard akin to an estoc, covering the hands of the wielder, and the blade was thinner than the Rough Edge or the Bone Axe. The weapon was as streamlined as a Rathian in flight, and just as beautiful. "I call it the Dragonmaiden Axe. A fitting title and a fitting weapon for a princess of the battlefield." he grinned and returned the axe to its compacted shape, handing it to the Hunter. Pinkie was on the verge of tears, but she held back, wiping her eyes and smiling at the blacksmith.

"Thank you, Magnum. Thank you so much." the Hunter gave him a quick hug before gathering her new stuff and taking it home. She changed upon returning to the house and was surprised at how the armor didn't make her feel cumbersome, despite how much heavier it was in comparison to her last armor set. She tightened it down to fit her form and smiled at the results. Tossing the hat from her old armor away and putting the Rathian Cap on, she grinned. It rested well on top of her bright pink hair, though the colors clashed a bit. She shrugged. She highly doubted that any monsters were going to care. Nothing was going to bring her down today. Nothing.


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"The Lagiacrus?! As in, that thing that almost made a meal out of me?!" Pinkie was in a panic as she spoke with Lyra later that morning. She'd gone for a walk to get used to how moving around in the Rathian armor was going to feel. So far, it seemed to be going well. She didn't trip over herself, or knock anything over despite the size of the skirt. After becoming comfortable in her new armor, she had decided it was time to take it for a spin. What she hadn't counted on was Lyra sending her to her inevitable doom.

"You have to repel it, Pinkie. That thing's going to tear the village apart if you don't!" the liaison looked terrified. "Please, I know it seems a little extreme, but the Guild now recognizes the Lagiacrus as the threat that it actually is. We both know what will happen if that thing goes unchecked." Pinkie finally nodded, resigning to her fate. The liaison told her nothing that was untrue. That monster would tear Moga apart, were it given the chance. The earthquakes were enough proof of that. The Hunter dug into her pockets and pulled out the fee. She paid Lyra and turned, the liaison waving and wishing her good luck.

Pinkie practically trudged towards the hunting grounds, terrified and upset at what was about to transpire. She was sure death waited on the other side of that bridge. When she reached the top of the stairs, though, she saw most of the village's denizens waiting for her. They heard what she was going to do, and many of them offered words of comfort. She smiled, reinvigorated by everyone's faith in her. As she crossed the bridge, on her way to face the Lagiacrus, she could faintly hear the village chanting her name. How could she fail after that?


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Pinkie passed through the wetlands, her feet sinking deeper into the mud than usual, her weight having increased with the larger armor. She had her right elbow in her left hand, and her other hand was on her chin. She was lost in thought, watching her reflection break in the shallow water. She passed under the stone archway that lead to the area where she'd first tangled with the Royal Ludroth. She could hear the faint sound of waves lapping against the shore, but the next sound that caught her attention was snoring. Deep, guttural snores that could only come from a massive leviathan. She'd been hunting so many Rathians, she forgot how big the Lagiacrus was, not to mention the intimidation factor. She swallowed her fear, then noticed that a small pack of Jaggi were nipping at the creature, leaving small cracks and blemishes on scales that were almost as large as Pinkie.

The snoring stopped, and in a single, surprisingly swift motion, the Lagiacrus unfolded itself. It's tail catching a Jaggi and crushing the tiny monster against a nearby wall. The broken creature dropped to the ground, not even twitching. On the other end, the Lagiacrus had bit down on the second Jaggi. Pinkie heard bones crushing in the powerful monster's jaws. The Jaggi let out a small cry and then another loud crunch was heard before the Lagiacrus swallowed a mostly whole monster. The third Jaggi turned tail and fled, terrified. It passed the Hunter without even a second glance as the Lagiacrus rounded on her. Some blood ran down its fangs and off its bottom jaw. Clutching the Dragonmaiden Axe tightly, Pinkie bit back her fear and started to close the distance between them. The Lagiacrus lumbering forward, intent on killing her.

Pinkie was being unnaturally careful. She danced around the Lagiacrus, watching its every move. She'd seen it underwater, but her experience with fighting it on land was limited. Her armor clanked with every step, and the Lagiacrus constantly had an eye turned towards her. A few times, the leviathan would lash out with lightning, sending blue bolts through the air at her. Pinkie had been ready, though. She managed to avoid most of them. The last one had caught her off guard and she'd dove out of the way, landing helplessly on the ground. No electrical damage, but she could hear the leviathan rushing her down. She got quickly to her feet and rolled towards the Lagiacrus. It had slammed its open jaws against the ground where she had stood moments before. In the monster's temporary shock, Pinkie took a heavy upward swing, striking the monster in the throat. It let out a pained wail and backed away.

Lunging through the air, teeth gnashing, the pained Lagiacrus lashed out. Pinkie felt the monster's teeth close down on her arm and let out a cry. The armor soaked up most of the damage, but there was a sharp pain on her upper arm that suggested that the Lagiacrus had hit home with one of the bites. She raised her axe up with the arm that was not inside the monster's mouth. She rotated it into sword mode as the leviathan raised its head, still holding her arm in its jaws. She could feel her shoulder starting to tear, and screaming pain coursed through her whole body. She bit her tongue, holding back another scream as she drove the tip of the sword into the Lagiacrus's left eye. She felt an increase in pressure on her left arm, the monster had bit down harder in reaction to the pain. Pinkie revved the blade and they both let out howls of agony. Even though her arm had been relinquished, it had been rendered almost useless. It felt as though it may have been broken, but she wasn't sure. She continued her assault with unrestrained ferocity. The Lagiacrus threw its head around, the Hunter still attached. It was trying to shake her off to rid itself of this horrid pain. Pinkie would not give up. She drove the axe as deep into its head as she could before the discharge blast sent her rocketing through the air. She hit the ground, blood raining down on her from where she'd stabbed the monster. Were the Lagiacrus a lesser monster, it would have most likely been without a head. Being a giant leviathan, however, meant that it was built more sturdily. Though blind in its left eye, it let out a roar that shook the ground. It charged in on Pinkie again, who was standing with her left arm hanging uselessly at her side, her right hand clutching her weapon tightly.

This was going to be the moment that meant success or failure in this mission. A single, bright red eye glowed as the Lagiacrus barreled towards her. Pinkie narrowed her eyes, waiting. She would know the moment when it came. Then, it happened. The Lagiacrus snapped its massive fangs a her, the first time going way wide, the loss of depth perception making it difficult. The second bite, though, Pinkie managed to sidestep. She rotated with a gentle grace and brought the axe in a wide arc, sinking it into the leviathan's right eye. She tore the weapon down, back towards her. It let out another cry of pain, now almost completely blind, and turned its back on her. It started to run away before stumbling into the large rock formations. It crashed through rocks larger than Pinkie in its panicked escape. The monster had elected to live to fight another day, a decision that Pinkie was not upset about. She dropped to her knees, as a massive splash came from the ocean. The Lagiacrus having either fallen into the ocean or jumped in. The minute details didn't matter much. She was in an intense amount of pain, and it wasn't going to get better if she just sat here. She put the axe away and nursed her left arm all the way back to the village.


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Pinkie had stripped out of her armor, down to her normal clothing and she'd had Lyra assist her in making a sling for her arm. She couldn't lift it very high, so she was pretty sure it was broken. The Hunter sighed. She wondered how long this injury was going to leave her out of commission. Staring out to sea as Lyra patched her up as best she could, she watched the sun start to sink into the ocean.

"What am I going to do?" Pinkie's voice sounded weak. Defeated, even. "I can't keep screwing up like this and getting injurred. This is how Hunters get killed."

"So it is." Lyra said, matter-of-factly. "You just need to stop being so reckless. You're so driven to kill these things that you stop caring about yourself. You need to worry more about not letting them hit you. The armor is your last line of defense." she tapped Pinkie on the temple lightly. "This should be your first. You have a world of tools at your disposal. It's time for you to start learning how to use them." the liaison grinned. "Which brings me to how you'll be spending your recovery period." she held up a massive book that Pinkie just stared at. The Hunter rolled her eyes as Lyra started to read the Hunter's Compendium out loud to her.

"Probably should have let the Lagiacrus eat me..." she muttered, settling in for what she knew was going to be a long recovery.
> Chapter 9 - Two Heads: Are They Actually Better Than One?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three weeks. Three. Whole. Weeks. Pinkie had sat through three weeks of Lyra giving her lessons from the Hunter's Compendium. The Hunter had tried to seem interested, she really had, but she always had difficulty sitting still for more than an hour, let alone three weeks. At one point, about a week in, she confronted Lyra about the Doctor.

"He was able to fix me last time. Can't he just come do it again?" Pinkie asked, wide-eyed. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. The reviewing, and the quizzing, and the studying. It was like being back at the academy without the option to ditch out. Lyra had stopped reading when Pinkie spoke, looking over to her and sighing.

"The Doctor is the only one in the Guild who can perform any sort of healing. No one else, save for the Guildmasters, can do this. I assure you, Pinkie, that they don't have time to hover around you every time you screw up and break something. Moving on..." Pinkie slumped back, defeated. Lyra was right, she almost always was. Pinkie conceded and decided it was best to just listen to her friend read. Best case scenario, she'd learn something new. Worst case, she'd die of boredom.


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The Hunter had eluded the boredom reaper, at least for now. Her arm had mended quite nicely, and while it was a little sore, she'd gone out on a gathering quest to test the waters. She had returned, mission accomplished, and with no cuts or bruises. It felt good to finally get out of the village again. She walked up to Lyra's office and leaned on the counter.

"What's on the roster for today, boss?" she smiled at the liaison, who dug a piece of paper out from inside her desk. Lyra's eyes scanned over it before handing it to Pinkie.

"Time for you to actually get away from the island." Lyra said as Pinkie read the bulletin. "The Guild is shipping you off to the Tundra to fight a Gigginox." she hoisted the Compendium up and flipped through it, reaching the page with the Gigginox on it. Her eyes scanned the paragraphs, picking out keywords. "Venomous...Cold weather...Skin turns black...Two heads...Wait, two heads?!" she did a double-take, making sure she'd read that right. She had. "'The Gigginox possesses a head at the front and back of its body'...Just like my mother-in-law." Lyra muttered before closing the book again. "Think you can handle it, Pinkie?"

"Duh! I'm good as new, Lyra. Better now than before. Let's do this!" Pinkie paid the fee and was about to make for the transport when Lyra stopped her.

"Do you have everything you need?" the liaison had grabbed the back of Pinkie's skirt. She had brought the Hunter to a halt a lot easier than Pinkie thought she'd be able to. "You'll need Potions, Antidotes, and something to help keep you warm. The cold in the Tundra is life-draining. Last thing you need is to be tired when you fight this thing." Pinkie sighed and turned, making her way to Rarity's shop. After purchasing the necessities, she walked back to the boat.

"Let's try this again." Pinkie spoke as she climbed into the boat. The Felyn hoisted the sails and the boat departed from the dock. Pinkie watched Moga fade into the distance, wondering how long this boat ride would take.


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Pinkie was staring up at the sky. She guessed that about two hours had passed since she boarded the boat. It was then that she noticed her breath starting to form clouds in the air. She stood up and turned, seeing her destination before her. Her eyes grew wide as the towering mountain came into view. The sky got steadily more overcast as snow started to fall, gently at first, then whipping icy daggers against her exposed skin moments later. The closer they got to the dock, the colder it felt. She disembarked at base camp, helping the Felyn tie the boat to the pier. She made her way up to the supply trunk, opening one of the jars that contained a steaming liquid. She took a huge draught from it, feeling its warmth course through her body immediately. She placed the empty jar in the trunk and pulled out a map.

Pinkie chewed on her cheek as she walked through the snow-covered areas. She would, occasionally, get a reprieve from the biting wind, but they were brief. This environment was vicious, and she didn't know how long she'd be able to stay out here. As she was walking for a new area, she noticed a lumbering group of furry herbivores. She recognized them as Popos. She'd seen a few in books, but they were considerably bigger than the Aptonoths she'd seen back at Moga. Their large, curved tusks brushing against the ground as they walked to the next place where they could eat. Pinkie turned her gaze away and stepped into a large, natural valley. The mountains rose up on either side of the open field, and while there was snow, the wind was unable to reach her down here. To her left, her eyes fell upon a cave entrance. Across the field, she could see two more. The area seemed to be shaped like a diamond, and she glanced around for any sharp drop offs. Noting that there were none around, she started to make her way across the field to the cave furthest from her.

The Hunter had managed to get about halfway across before she heard wings beating against the air. She turned to face the noise, watching the white skinned monster descend from the sky, slowly. Sure enough, at the end of its tail, or neck, maybe, was another head. She couldn't really tell if the monster could see her, but it turned so its top head was facing her, eyes glowing purple. It had a circular mouth that was lined with hundreds of teeth, built for shredding up its food. The Gigginox raised the head closest to Pinkie and let out a horrendous shriek. Where the Rathian and Lagiacrus roared, this monster sounded like a person being tortured. In addition to almost deafening her, it made Pinkie uneasy. She reached back and drew out the axe, bringing it to bear and preparing to strike. She took note of how it moved very much like a Tigrex, using the fingers on the folds of its wings like hands. Its mouth stretched open as it made a charge for Pinkie. Just the sight of this thing made the Hunter shiver. She rolled out of the way and took a swing at the back head.

Pinkie's weapon bounced. It hit the Gigginox right in the top of the back head and bounced. She almost lost her grip on the weapon, but was able to regain some control.

"What manner of sorcery is this?" Pinkie asked herself as the rear head lunged at her. She made a small squeak as it tagged her in the side, knocking her off balance. She dropped heavily to the ground as the Gigginox planted its head perpendicular to the ground. She heard something she never hoped to hear again. There was a disgusting sound coming from the Gigginox's rear head. She looked over in horror as it regurgitated a giant pile of purple goo onto the ground about five feet from the Hunter. Pinkie watched as it jiggled for a second before exploding into a toxic cloud. She coughed, throwing her hand up over her mouth to try and avoid inhaling anymore. She looked ill as she made a break for it, putting as much distance between her and the monster as possible. How was she supposed to fight this thing? She ran over possible strategies in her mind as she popped the lid off an Antidote and downed it. Tossing the empty jar aside, she drew her weapon again, the Gigginox already charging her down. She dove under its wing, rolling to her feet and taking a swing at the monster's leg. This time, she didn't bounce off.

"So that's it, then..." Pinkie spoke to herself once more, then started evading the Gigginox's attempts at fending her off. She kept striking the legs, until finally, with one well-aimed strike, she knocked the monster over. The Gigginox fell onto its side, rolling onto its back and flailing as Pinkie climbed up onto the monster's stomach. She raised the axe above her head and started bringing it down with as much strength as she could muster. Each swing burying the axe head deep into the soft underbelly of her foe. She had gotten five or six clean strikes before the beast threw her off. It rolled up onto its feet and its skin turned jet black. It let out another bellow, the screech forcing Pinkie to cover her ears. She set her jaw, watching the monster rushing her down. It stopped short and leapt into the air, performing a graceful mid-air flip and regurgitating poison onto the Hunter. Pinkie was stunned into non-action, the purple goo running down her armor and sliding onto the ground. She'd never felt more disgusting in her life. She downed another Antidote, feeling the monster's eyes still on her. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like it was laughing at her.

"It's funny now, mister..." Pinkie cranked the weapon to sword mode. "It's not about to be." she charged forward, blind rage consuming her. The Gigginox attempted another jump, but Pinkie went airborne and slashed into the monster's head, leaving a deep cut and throwing it off trajectory. It spun through the air, slamming into the ground and wailing in pain as Pinkie charged at it again. She slashed at its wings, breaking the fingers on them, climbing up onto its stomach again and stabbing the blade into it, making gashed where she hadn't last time. In a panic, the Gigginox threw her off, getting to its feet and taking to the skies. Pinkie recovered in time to watch it fly to the cave farthest from her. She trudged through the snow, large drifts making a map of their battle.

The Hunter ducked into the cave, her weapon still drawn. There was no sign of the monster, and the cave was well lit enough that she had no trouble seeing anything. She walked in, slowly, checking every direction. She stopped when she'd reached the center of the cave. There was nothing else in the cave with her. She decided it might not be a bad idea to catch her breath. She pulled another Hot Drink from her pouch and opened it. As soon as the lid was off, she heard the sound of something dropping into water. She looked at her drink and saw saliva in it. Her face scrunched up in disgust before realization dawned on her. She snapped her head up just in time to see the Gigginox's open mouth descending upon her. In an instant, her entire body was inside the Gigginox. She could hear its rattling breaths and started to feel the hundreds of tiny razors closing in on her. She'd already had the weapon in sword mode, and she slowly started to move her body so that the blade was pointing straight up.

"Do or die, Pinkie Pie." she spoke to herself in a sing-song voice and thrust the blade up into the monster's throat. She felt the teeth compact around her, slicing away at anything exposed. She could feel the monster's teeth slicing into her face as she started to rev the weapon. The vibrations sent waves of pain through the Gigginox, and it was attempting to kill her before she could kill it. With each surge of energy from the Switch Axe, Pinkie felt the teeth cutting deeper and deeper into her. Her world was fading to black and sounds were becoming distorted. It wasn't until the last burst if energy blew the back half of the Gigginox towards the cave's entrance did she finally get relief from the monster. She had to saw her way out of it, cutting down through its soft insides until she freed herself, dropping to her knees and gasping for air. Her blood ran in thick streams down her face and arms, and she was drenched in Gigginox saliva.

"Never...Again..." she panted heavily after each word before collapsing, her world fading to blackness.


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Pinkie was awoken by water splashing on her face. She sat bolt upright, looking around frantically. She saw the Felyn driving the boat, and she had to try and remember what she was doing here. The Gigginox! That's what she had done. She remembered blacking out, but she had also remembered blowing that monster to pieces. She wiped her face with her hand, drawing in a sharp breath. She was still covered in cuts. She blinked, staring at the open ocean. She saw Moga coming into view and wondered how, exactly, she'd ended up back on the boat.

"Well...You should never look a gift horse in the mouth." she leaned back, staring at the sky, waiting to dock at Moga.
> Chapter 10 - Pinkie Barrage X
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

If anyone had told Pinkie that she didn't look like she'd been through the most horrifying experience of her life, she would have assumed they were lying. Her armor, though relatively undamaged, reeked of the Gigginox's poison. It had taken her three hours of bathing just to get the smell off herself, and she had been scrubbing at her Rathian armor all morning. When she finally finished, she stepped back to admire her handiwork. It looked good, or rather, it looked normal, and it didn't stink, which was the most important part. She ran her fingers through her hair, which bounced into a noncommittal shape. She almost always had it covered, so it was forced to lay flat. Now, it just did whatever it wanted. She took a deep breath, heaving a contented sigh. She had decided that she was going to take the day off, at least from anything serious. She had intended to go gather resources in the afternoon, but she didn't feel like hunting after dealing with yesterday's fiasco.

Lyra threw the door to Pinkie's house open not ten seconds before the entire village shook so hard that Pinkie was surprised when they didn't just drop into the ocean. She fell backwards onto her rear and Lyra faceplanted with a tiny "Oof!". The quake lasted a long time. Considerably longer than any of the others. Pinkie grabbed Lyra, holding onto her, wide-eyed terror painted plainly on both of their faces. Surely, this was the end of Moga, and maybe the island. Then, it all stopped. It was if Pinkie had gone deaf, there was no sound, no motion. The world had come to a screeching halt. Pinkie and Lyra stared at each other for a few moments, before separating, deciding that they weren't going to sink into the ocean.

"H-here..." Lyra handed her the paper with her request on it. Pinkie was hesitant, fearing that she already knew what was on there. Sure enough, her fears came to pass. She stared down at the image of the Lagiacrus, and it stared back. She sat in silence for a long time, how long, she wasn't sure. She felt a lifetime wile away before Lyra got her attention, bringing her back to reality. "P-Pinkie? You okay?" Pinkie shook her head rapidly, chasing off the offending thoughts that had creeped into her mind.

"Yeah...Yeah!" the second one came with more bravado. She was scared, sure. Who wouldn't be? However, she was past the point in time where she was allowed to be scared. It was time for action. "I'll be fine, Lyra." she said, grinning. She oozed confidence as she stood up and started putting her armor on. The Dragonmaiden Axe was leaned against her bed, glistening in the sunlight. She checked all the clips of her armor in the mirror, making sure it was all secured before she placed the hat on top of her head. "It's time to end this, Pinkie Pie style!" and she tossed Lyra a bag of Zenny for the fee before she took off into the hunting grounds.


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Pinkie held up a hand, shading her eyes from the sun. There hadn't been another quake for the rest of the day. Pinkie had assumed that the Lagiacrus had worn itself out causing the last one. She folded her hands behind her head as she started walking towards the shore. She hadn't seen the Lagiacrus in the wetlands, and her last guess was the ocean. She stepped up to the edge of the water, staring into it. The waves lapped at her armored feet as she watched her reflection waver. This was not the best time to daydream, but Pinkie was ensnared by how peaceful the area was.

"Y'know..." she crouched, talking to her reflection. "I could sure use a double-me right now. Or a double-double-me." she ran her fingers through the water, and it soaked through the mesh on her palms. The Hunter stood and took a deep breath before diving in. She broke the water's surface and started swimming. She passed a few Epioth, which paid her no mind as she made no motion toward them, and swam for the archway that lead into the Lagiacrus's lair. The water was very still as she swam deeper and deeper. She felt the vibrations through the water long before she saw the monster. She caught sight of it, mezmerized by the sheer size of it, even after tangling with it twice. She was ready, this time. It ended today. The monster turned towards her, and she immediately saw glowing red orbs under the scars she'd left on its eyes. The thing had regenerated its eyes. Pinkie didn't know how, or why, but the Lagiacrus had grown its eyes back, and from the look it was giving her, it clearly remembered who took them in the first place.

The Lagiacrus spiraled through the water, mouth agape, at the Hunter. With a strong kick, Pinkie dodged the attack, though the current from the monster dragged her around. She caught herself and started swimming towards the leviathan. She drew her weapon and took a heavy swing, catching the monster's foreleg. It swiped her away as if she were an insect. The Lagiacrus leaned back and whipped its tail up at Pinkie. She felt it connect, and not long after she felt warm air and sunlight. The monster had knocked her clear out of the water. She landed on top of a nearby rock, coughing up a bit of water. Pinkie clambered to her feet and shook her head, getting her bearings before taking off for the edge of the rock. She leapt off, Switch Axe raised high above her head, and descended towards the water. She found exactly what she had expected. The Lagiacrus was waiting, mouth open, for her to fall.

"Not today, mister!" Pinkie gave a battle cry and swung the axe as she drew closer. The inertia of the swing dragged her out of the way of the monster's mouth, and the axe connected with one of the horns, shattering it to tiny pieces as she slammed it into the creatures scales. She'd sunk it about two inches into the monster's head, the weapon unable to pierce any further despite the speed and power of her strike. Pinkie found that she was standing on the Lagiacrus's snout. She changed the position of her hands on the weapon's hilt and lifted herself up, performing a front flip over her weapon, digging it in a bit further before her feet planted on the middle of the creatures back, the forward momentum causing her to rip the axe out with excessive force. To her great surprise, the Lagiacrus didn't move much. She looked down at her feet before realizing she'd been lead into a trap.

The Lagiacrus's spikes started to glow, faint at first, then lighting up to a blinding electric blue. Pinkie didn't have time to run as the Lagiacrus curled into a ball, the lightning discharging into the Hunter through her feet. She let out a scream as blinding pain coursed through her entire body. The scream lasted until the Lagiacrus ran out of energy, and the electricity ceased its rampage through her insides. Her world started to grow dark and she fell into the water, losing her grip on her axe. She was sinking, weighed down by her armor. She had faced death on several occasions since coming to Moga, but her last thought before the world blacked out was that, this time, she wasn't going to be able to cheat the reaper.


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"Nya!" Pinkie felt paws slapping against her face. "Wake up, right nyao!" another slap and her eyes fluttered open.

"What the-?" Pinkie grumbled as she sat upright, a Felyn hopping off her chest and onto the ground next to her. She got her bearings and looked around, she was at the base camp. More importantly, she wasn't dead. "How-? Who-? How am I alive." the Felyn saluted before answering her question.

"Madam Lyra heard of your plight, nyah. She told us to be ready if anything should happen. You blacked out, we came to save you. It's too dangerous for us to keep pulling you out of the fire like that, though." Pinkie noticed how this Felyn spoke perfect Common. "So, we can maybe pull you out one more time. You mess up again, it's on you. Good luck, nyah!" the Felyn waved, and Pinkie waved back, watching it and a group of others take off, stretcher in tow. Pinkie got to her feet. She couldn't afford another fatal error like that. She grabbed her axe, which had been propped up against the trunk at the camp. Slinging it onto her back, she stomped off, fury in her eyes and revenge on her mind.


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When Pinkie caught up with the Lagiacrus again, she could swear the monster was wearing a satisfied smile. It swam lazily towards her. The thing practically oozed confidence, as if there was no doubt it would be making a meal out of the Hunter by the end of the day. Pinkie narrowed her eyes, watching every movement the monster made. As soon as it got close to her, it backed up, swiping its tail up at her again. It was trying the same thing. Pinkie drifted to the right and swung the axe down, the head sliding down into a hand guard and the sword cleaving the end of the monster's tail clean off. It howled in pain, spiraling back through the water. Pinkie's blue eyes coursed with fury as she gave chase. She slashed at the monster's chest, leaving a clean gash through the white scales. Blood seeping from its fresh wounds. She accelerated upwards, taking the other horn off. For a minute, she wondered why the leviathan wasn't retaliating, then she saw it. The purple liquid lining each cut she'd made. She poisoned the beast. As soon as it gained its bearings, it hit her full force, knocking her away in an attempt to flee. Pinkie recovered from the spin-out, swimming up to the surface and taking a gill of fresh air, she swam to where the monster had made its escape to.

Pinkie moved towards the shore silently, seeing the monster on land, looking worse for wear. She moved out of the water smoothly, weapon drawn. She could hear the creature's stomach growling as she drew closer. She was almost within striking distance when it heard her. The Lagiacrus turned to face her, the glow in its eyes a little dimmer. She noticed that there was no more poison on its wounds. It had worn off. No matter, the monster was getting weaker. The Lagiacrus backed up, gnashing its teeth in a threatening gesture. Pinkie put her free hand into her pouch, pulling out a Flash Bomb.

"Present for ya!" she shouted, belting it at the monster's head. It hit the Lagiacrus on the nose and she shielded her eyes, the telltale screech letting her know that she'd blinded the monster. A grin spread across her face as she moved in. She immediately took wide slashes at the legs. The Lagiacrus would turn on her, biting, but it would never make contact, the effects of the flash leaving it helpless. She sidestepped, then stabbed the axe into the monster's side, raising it up and tearing deeper into it. More howls of pain as she started to take furious swings back and forth, the sheer length of the axe allowing it to hit a foreleg, then the back one for each swing. A particularly powerful blow sent the monster tumbling, and Pinkie used the axe to vault herself over to the creature's back. As it was attempting to recover, she used the weapon's sword mode to cleave off the spikes on its back. Small electrical discharges sparked with each one she chopped off.

The Lagiacrus, growing quite tired of this assault and having recovered from blindness while it had been vulnerable, rose up to its full height. The creature curled up and bit down on the Hunter. Holding Pinkie in its jaws, it whipped its head through the air and sent her flying into the nearby cliff. The Hunter was dazed as she hit the wall, her axe spiraling out of her hand on impact. The Lagiacrus, however, started limping away. Pinkie slid off the cliff wall, slamming hard into the ground. She curled up in pain, hearing the monster retreating. She couldn't let it get away. She got to her feet, scrambling for her axe, and gave chase without hesitation. She drank a Potion along the way, feeling immediately better about whatever level of blunt-force trauma she had just endured. She dove into the water swimming with all her might, watching what was left of its tail go out of view, a mix of blood and poison leaving a trail for her to follow.

When Pinkie reached the are where the Lagiacrus usually lurked, she saw neither hide nor scale of the monster. Looking around, she saw a few Sharqs taking bites out of the tail she had severed. She spied the blood trail again and followed it. She swam down into a brightly lit area, the blood trail leading her towards a cave that had sunlight bleeding through. She swam in and noticed the sandy ground rising up in front of her. She broke the water's surface, and she saw it. The Lagiacrus was curled up like a Felyn on a rug. She could hear its heavy snoring. Blood was pooled around the monster and she started to appreciate how much damage she'd done to it.

"How sweet." Pinkie's voice was laced with an uncharacteristic venom. Her eyes were wider than normal and her pupils were dilated to pinpricks. "Well, Mr. Sleepyhead. Time to wake..." she drew her weapon and took a baseball swing. "Up!" the weapon sunk in deep, as she hit the wound she'd opened earlier. The Lagiacrus dragged her up into the air as it snapped to its feet. She dug her feet in under its broken horns, securing herself. She tore the axe out and started taking vicious swings again, each one more powerful than the last. The Lagiacrus staggering a bit with each strike. It gave a few futile attempts to throw her, but the relentless Hunter would not give up. She gouged out the left eye, then the right, burying the axe and tearing it out, slinging blood all over the cave. "Now stay..." she raised the axe up and brought it down with every ounce of strength in her body. "Down!" she felt the monster crumple under the last blow, its body collapsing to the ground. The motion dislodged her, and she fell down in front of her kill. She rolled over onto her back, breathing heavily as the Lagiacrus let out its death throes, twitching a few times before lying still.

Pinkie shut her eyes. She'd done it. The Lagiacrus was dead. She'd saved Moga Village. Hell, she'd saved the whole island from a watery grave. She smiled, the sunlight warm against her skin. The Dragonmaiden Axe lay on the ground next to her, bloodless and glistening. She raised her right arm up into the air, opening her hand and spreading her fingers apart. She opened her eyes and stared at the beams of sunlight that shone between them. She clenched a fist and let her arm drop to her side.

Pinkie heard something. Faint at first, but building in volume as the ground beneath her began to tremble.
> Chapter 11 - Evacuation and Revenge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Pinkie?" Lyra's voice resonated in Pinkie's head. "Pinkie, what the hell is going on?!" there was a strong note of fear in Lyra's voice. The Hunter had gotten to her feet, looking around frantically. The Lagiacrus was definitely very dead. Her eyes were practically glued to its corpse as the ground beneath her feet threatened to leave her. Pinkie was too stunned to even answer at this point. "Pinkie!!!"

"Ack! Don't scream! I have no idea what's going on! The Lagiacrus is dead. I'm staring at it right now!" Pinkie kicked the motionless monster. She kicked it a few more times out of frustration. "I thought the Lagiacrus was the cause of all the quakes. Why is this still happening?" All her hard work. All those weeks spent training to kill this thing, and it wasn't even the source of the earthquakes.

"Just...Just get back to the village. The Guild is ordering a complete evacuation of Moga." Lyra sounded nervous. Pinkie could tell that the Guild hadn't told her anything besides that they were to evacuate. She knew the liaison hated being left in the dark, especially when it could mean trouble to those around her. "I'm making sure that everyone gets on the boats. Get back here in one piece and we'll decide what to do from there."

"I'm on my way." with that, Pinkie started moving towards the village as fast as she could. A piece of her praying that she would not run into whatever was behind this quake.


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"Over here, Pinkie!" Lyra waved frantically, drawing her attention. The Hunter could hear some of the wood cracking in the village, structures starting to splinter as the quake worsened. "Most of the villagers are on a boat headed for the mainland. The Guild is offering them safe haven until we figure out what's causing all this."

"Are you going to the mainland too, Lyra?" Pinkie was bracing herself against Lyra's counter. The liaison nodded.

"I have to. I haven't been assigned to another area. I need to wait for a new assignment or until Moga is safe enough to return to." the liaison wore a sad look as she spoke, and the earthquake finally started to recede. The shaking stopped, and the village was, for the most part, unscathed. A few of the smaller structures had collapsed, but when the shaking stopped, silence fell. Pinkie realized just how alone they were. She raised her head, removing her hands from Lyra's counter. There was no one in Moga except for the two of them. "What about you?" Lyra cocked her head, watching the Hunter. "You're coming back to the mainland too, right?" Pinkie shook her head. "What do you mean, no?!"

"I'm going to Tanzia. Whatever is down there is large and unhappy. The only surefire way to get rid of it is to get strong enough to kill it." Pinkie crossed her arms, a smile spreading across her face. "I only know of one way to do that." Lyra gave her a pleading look. "I need to get better at my job. If I was, this problem would already be solved. As it stands, people are going to lose their homes due to my incompetence. I...I can't let that happen. I can't let my friends down." Pinkie smiled at Lyra, who shook her head, then gave her friend a hug.

"They'll thank you, Pinkie. Provided this way of thinking doesn't get you killed. Good luck. Hopefully, we'll see you again soon." Lyra let her go, making her way for the last boat to the mainland. "Be careful, Pinkie Pie!" Lyra waved and Pinkie returned the gesture. She stood solemnly in the middle of the empty Moga Village, scratching the back of her head. She'd put on a brave face for Lyra, but she wasn't any more confident in herself since last time, and that had almost gotten her killed. She climbed aboard Neko's boat, and the Felyn looked at her.

"To Tanzia, madam?" Neko asked her as she took a seat. The Hunter just nodded and leaned back, staring at the sky as the Felyn pushed the boat away from the dock. It rocked gently in the waves, the wind catching the sails and carrying them towards Tanzia Port.


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The boat drifted gently into the port, and the Hunter disembarked. Her armor clanked with every step, and she entered the tavern for the second time. A few of the other Hunters looked at her, a few mumbling to one another. She chose to ignore them, assuming they were bringing up her last miserable failure. She walked silently up to the bulletin board, acknowledging no one. She saw the quest she wanted, the same one as before. The Qurupeco staring at her from the page. She turned around and came face-to-face with a man with a familiar pink pompadour. She had to fight back laughter.

"About as mature as I remember, Pinkamena. That armor, however, indicates that you know what you're doing, now." Wookie pointed out, crossing his arms. He wore armor that Pinkie recognized as being constructed from Bhahabara parts. The insects made good Gunner armor, and that's exactly what he was adorned in, though it looked much more like an outfit that one would wear to a formal event rather than a hunt, but Pinkie wasn't about to judge anyone. Then, she noticed the monocle, and a for of renewed giggles took her. Wookie sighed, rolling his eyes and waiting for her to regain her composure. This all felt very familiar. "I assume you're with me on this hunt?" he asked, pointing at the piece of paper in her hands. Pinkie had regained control of herself, and nodded.

"Yes. It's time to show that damn thing what for." Pinkie punched her right fist into her left hand. Wookie smirked. Something told him that this wasn't going to go at all like last time. "Let's do this!" Pinkie threw her hands in the air and made her way for the boat, optimistic about this hunt, despite the events that transpired at Moga. Wookie followed behind her, his newly crafted Arca Raptora compacted on his back. It was a beautiful Bow, constructed mostly of refined ore. It was a deep blue, with yellow lines arcing up from the center. When drawn, top to bottom it was almost as tall as the Hunter who wields it. Most bows followed this rule, and were all rather large. Pinkie's hand was gripping the hilt of her axe as she grew impatient. Everything that took more than five minutes frustrated her. Her thoughts with Lyra and the denizens of Moga. Of how they may never see their home again.


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"Maybe it's hiding?" Pinkie suggested, shading her eyes from the sunlight as she looked around for their target. "Like, maybe it remembers last time and it knows we're back for sweet revenge." she clenched a fist grinning.

"Somehow, I doubt that." Wookie Love spoke, climbing onto a rock to get the high ground. They had been searching for an easy ten minutes, with no sight of the Qurupeco. It wasn't until he was higher up that he saw the bright plumage of the monster. It was at the top of a cliff, asleep. There was a small stream running next to the monster descending down into a waterfall that spilled into a creek that ran calmly through the area. Adjusting his monocle slightly, he drew the Arca Raptora, the weapon unfurling to its full size. Pulling an arrow from the quiver on his back, he cocked it into the drawstring. "Pinkamena..." Pinkie looked over at him in response to hearing her name, a bug net in her left hand, and several bugs in the other. "I see it." the Huntress jammed the bugs into her bag and grabbed the hilt of her Switch Axe, looking around rapidly.

"Where?" she asked, tilting her head. Wookie jerked his head up, and Pinkie looked at the cliff, her eyes tracing up the waterfall until they reached the top of the cliff. "How the hell do we get up there?"

"We don't." Wookie said, calmly. He drew the arrow back as far as he could before releasing it. It whistled through the air, arcing gently before they heard a tell-tale 'pop' that came with a puncturing wound. The screech that followed alerted them both to the success of the attack. "Here it comes." as soon as the words left his mouth, the oversized bird leapt from the top of the cliff, nosediving towards Wookie. His position atop the rock made him a more prominent target.

The monster paid no mind to the Huntress in Rathian Armor, which ended up being a grave error. As the Qurupeco reached the bottom of its flight arc, Pinkie thrust her weapon into the air, tearing its wing open and sending the monster careening off course. The bird wyvern hit the ground hard, rolling helplessly as it tried to gain control of its body. Wookie was loosing arrow after arrow at the beast as Pinkie made her way closer while staying out of the way of her partner's projectiles. The monster stood up and puffed out its chest, preparing to call for help.

"Not this time!" Pinkie leapt in and sunk her axe into the red, fleshy skin. It didn't split it as well as she'd hoped, but it winded the beast, sending it stumbling back. The monster shook its head, making threatening noises before taking a large arrow to the face. It let out a screech and turned tail, scrambling away. It looked like an awkward chicken as it ran, a few more of Wookie's arrows catching it in the back during its retreat. The monster went out of view as Pinkie out her weapon away. Wookie hopped down from his perch, running up next to the Huntress.

"This is going much better than last time." he said, a smirk spreading across his face. Pinkie nodded and they started to pursue their fleeing prey. They ascended the hill that lead into the area that networked the caves together. While this area itself was outside, there were entrances to both tunnels here. Pinkie was on point, Wookie about fifteen feet behind her. He had drawn his Bow again, head on a swivel. They heard wings beating the air. "Is it running?" Wookie asked, looking towards the sky.

"I don't think so." Pinkie said, diving out of the way as a Rathian crashed down between them. "So, we meet again?" Pinkie's Dragonmaiden Axe clicked menacingly into axe mode.

"Don't worry about her!" Wookie yelled. "We just have to kill the bird!"

"So go after the bird!" Pinkie took a swing at the wyvern, hitting it hard in the face, making the monster stumble. "I'll keep this one busy!" Wookie just shook his head and ran past the Rathian, which took a lunging bite at Pinkie. The Qurupeco came into view and he started loosing arrows at it immediately. Three sunk into its feathery hide before it turned to face him. He heard the Rathian let out a ferocious roar, but his eyes never left the Qurupeco. "Wookie! Duck!" he didn't think twice, immediately diving to the ground. Wookie felt a fierce heat pass over him, and he raised his head in time to see the Rathian's fireball send the Qurupeco to the ground. He recovered and pointed his Bow straight up. He started firing volleys upwards, and they rained down on the struggling bird wyvern.

Pinkie was holding onto the Rathian's tail with her legs, hanging upside down from the wyvern that had gone airborne. As she started to fly towards the nest, Pinkie noticed a bright flash below her. Not a second later, she saw arrow sized holes appearing in the webbing of the Rathian's wings. She grinned as the wyvern tumbled from the sky. Pinkie dug her axe into the Rathian's tail and swung herself away from the monster as it crash landed into the Qurupeco. The two were tangled up in one another, Wookie hammering them with a storm of arrows and Pinkie throwing a fury of blows at them. She noticed when the wounds she was causing had a purple tinge.

"They're poisoned!" she yelled before running away as both monsters managed to recover to their feet. The Rathian had small plumes of fire crawling from her mouth, rage prominent in her glare. The Qurupeco looked as though it had been through the wringer. It started to limp away as the Rathian charged the Hunters down. They dove out of her way, Pinkie to the left and Wookie to the right. The wyvern barreled past them, the Qurupeco taking off high into the air. Wookie loosed an arrow at the fleeing beast, but it arced lamely, far below the monster.

"Dammit!" he cursed, standing upright and taking a fireball in the back. The force of the blast throwing him a clean twenty feet before he hit the ground. He rolled about ten more feet before finally coming to a halt, armor smoking slightly. He had rolled into a nearby creek, which had extinguished the flames that had engulfed him. He sat upright, shaking his head. He looked up and saw Pinkie standing above him, her Switch Axe, now in sword mode, impaled up through the Rathian's mouth. The monster's eyes were rolled into the back of its head, its blood running down Pinkie's weapon and dripping loudly onto the ground. Pinkie tore open the exhaust port and started revving the weapon. She could hear the Rathian's brain being reduced to goo as the sword started to shread the monster's skull apart. The blast at the end removed the greater portion of the Rathian's head, and the body of the beast slumped to the ground. The exhaust port hissed and closed, the head of the axe sliding back into position.

Pinkie turned to face Wookie, and the look in her eyes sent shivers down her partner's spine. Her eyes had the look of a Hunter possessed, a frenzied beast lingered beneath the surface of this girl who had a problem controlling her laughter. She put her weapon away, and her eyes softened. She helped her partner to his feet.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side..." Wookie spoke, his gaze falling upon the mostly-headless Rathian. Pinkie let out a small laugh and started skipping off after the Qurupeco. Wookie was pretty sure he heard a "La la-la" as she went. They made it into the cave, and they found their target curled up into a ball. Its snores echoed off the cave walls, drowning out the other sounds. "You want first attack?" Wookie asked her, watching as she drew her weapon. He couldn't help but notice how clean it was, despite where it had been planted not more than a few minutes ago.

"Don't I usually?" Pinkie responded, closing the gap on the creature. She raised her axe high above her head and smashed it down into the flint that tipped the folds of its wings. They sparked brilliantly as they shattered. The Qurupeco getting quickly to its feet, just in time to take an arrow to the side of the head. It stumbled toward Pinkie, who took a baseball swing at its beak, cracking it open and shattering the ends off. The monster stumbled back towards Wookie and a violent game of ping pong began. Between the poison and the brutal assault of the two Hunters, the Qurupeco soon collapsed, the last of its life leaving it in a violent fit of twitching, death wails escaping before the creature fell still and silent. The Hunters stood over their fallen foe, both breathing heavily.

"Yeah! Teamwork!" they said in unison before giving each other a high-five.


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The Hunters returned to the tavern at Tanzia in much better spirits than the last time they had gone toe-to-toe with the Qurupeco. They collected their payment from the liaison behind the counter. A polite girl with a two-tone purple hairstyle. Pinkie made a mental note to familiarize herself with the new liaison soon.

"So...Now what?" Wookie spoke, causing Pinkie to look over her shoulder at him. "That went really well, and I would like to continue to hunt with you, Pinkamena." he extended his hand, and she shook it, grinning.

"Just call me Pinkie." her smile was wide. If Moga was the darkness, then Tanzia was the dawn. She would get experience here, gather materials, and work her butt off. When all that was accomplished, she would return to Moga and send whatever it was to the great hunting grounds in the sky.
> Chapter 12 - Brute Bashing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie and Wookie were sitting at the cantina, the Felyn chef opposite them hard at work on a meal. The grill hissed as a few steaks were dropped onto it. Tanzia had several accommodations that Moga had lacked. One of them being someone who could actually cook. Pinkie had to stifle a yawn. Yesterday had been extremely stressful and was starting to take its toll on the Huntress. Her eyes wandered around the tavern, listening to the conversations of the nearby Hunters. A few were deep into the stages of planning how to fight some of the more dangerous monsters, while others were taking inventory on what they needed to forge new armor or weapons. Pinkie kept to herself though, turning around and looking at her new hunting partner. Wookie had sat motionless, in complete silence, watching the Felyn cooking on the grill.

"What made you decide to become a Hunter?" Pinkie's question drew Wookie Love back into the real world, and he paused before answering her.

"My cousin, Gene, was one of the Hunters who was wrapped up in the incident at Pokke Village. After he and his partner had hunted down the Tigrex and ended the creature's reign of terror, something happened." Wookie's expression grew grim, and he looked down at the plate of food that had been placed in front of him. He picked up his utensils and cut into the perfectly cooked steak. "Communication with him grew more and more scarce as he started doing more work for the Guild." he put the piece of steak into his mouth, chewing quietly. His eyes seemed to glaze over as he finished chewing.

"I became a Hunter because something told me there was more at work here than what the surface of all the Guild's messages suggested. Why would someone who was able to best a Tigrex suddenly drop off the face of the earth? Make that two people. No one saw hide nor hair of his partner long after that. We only knew that she was a Longsword user." Wookie finished his story, Pinkie had been so enthralled by it that she hadn't started eating. "Your food's gonna' get cold." he said flatly, resuming the consumption of his own meal. They ate in relative silence. The only sounds coming from other Hunters and clinking utensils. Wookie finished first and pushed his plate away. The Felyn gathered the dirty dishes. "What about you? What's your story?" Pinkie looked at him, a questioning look in her wide eyes, then she remembered what they'd been talking about.

"Oh! Well, when I was younger, I worked on a rock farm. Not the most exciting lifest-"

"Rock farm?" Wookie deadpanned.

"Yeah." Pinkie waved an armored hand dismissively. "That's all in the past, now. After that period of my life, I became somewhat of a party planner, if you will. I ran about throwing parties for people of all ages."

"You're really not selling me on this origin story, Pinkie."

"That's because you aren't letting me finish!" Pinkie snapped, exasperated. "Seriously. Aaaaaanyway. I ended up planning a party for a big wedding. Famous rich people and all that. Not my usual scene. I was used to planning parties for a younger audience. Games, piñatas, dancing and so on." disbelief was still plastered across Wookie's face. "Don't give me that look." she pointed at him, continuing. "Despite the more upscale crowd, everyone seemed to be enjoying the party. That all changed when the Fire Na-I mean, something attacked the wedding. It was...Huge. Or, maybe it wasn't. I don't remember getting a very good look at it. All I know is that it brought a storm with it. The sky had blackened and lightning and fire rained down on the gathering." the disbelief had left Wookie's face, replaced with genuine interest. He'd never heard of such a Monster from Gene. "I barely got away with my life, I never turned back to try and see what it was. I just ran. It wasn't long before monsters started to become a big problem around my hometown. Though, to be fair, there was a large group of talented Hunters that lived near me. I decided to become a Hunter to try and track down the thing that ruined my career."

"See, after whatever it was attacked, I had a stigma attached to me. Seeing as how no one had seen anything like that before, they assumed that I was cursed. That some, reaper from the sky, was following me around, waiting for its next victims. No one would even consider hiring me to plan parties anymore. Hell, it was a good week before anyone even dared to speak to me." Pinkie shook her head, sighing. "I haven't seen or heard from that thing since that night. I mean, even getting into the Academy was difficult, because they knew who I was through the grapevine."

"Wow. That's...I don't know what that is. It's almos hard to believe." Wookie spoke, folding his hands in front of his face. "Not that I'm doubting the legitimacy of your story, but I've never even heard of a monster that could do what you described." he reached up and adjusted his pompadour, making sure it sat neatly in place. "It was good to hear your story, though. You've got good motivation, and so do I." he stood up, stretching. "So, let's see what's on today's agenda."

The pair made their way over to the girl with the two-toned purple hair. Her nose was burried in a book, and her uniform matched Lyra's, but it was a light purple in color, as opposed to the shocking mint of Pinkie's first liaison. The Huntress realized that Wookie had always talked to her before, so Pinkie held out her arm to stop him as he approached. She stepped forward and cleared her throat. The girl lifted her head from her book, her violet eyes focusing Pinkie with a determined stare.

"Can I help you?" the liaison's voice was genuine. Pinkie was ready to be bombarded with sarcasm, but to her great surprise, the liaison had started to smile. "Where are my manners? I haven't even met you before. Are you new here? My name," she placed her hand on her chest. "Is Twilight Sparkle. I am a student under the tutelage of the current Guildmaster, Lady Celestia." Pinkie felt like she may have detected an air of arrogance, she glanced at Wookie, who rolled his eyes slightly. "I've met your friend." Twilight spoke up again, motioning towards Wookie. "You, though, are new here."

"Yep! My name is Pinkamena Dianne Pie. You can just call me Pinkie. It's great to meet you, Twilight." Pinkie had extended her hand across the counter and found that Twilight was not returning the gesture. Pinkie's smile dropped, and she lowered her hand, a confused look on her face. Twilight looked like she had seen a ghost.

"You are the girl with the black beast?" Twilight's voice shook, and Pinkie suddenly found the floor very interesting. "Celestia permitted you to be a Hunter?" Pinkie nodded. At that, Twilight shook her head, clearing the offending thoughts from her mind. "Well, my mentor hasn't steered me wrong, yet." Twilight reached into her desk and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it across the countertop. Pinkie took it and paid the liaison, mumbling a hurried "Thank you." before she made her way to the boats.

"Holy shit." Wookie spoke once they were out of earshot of Twilight. "I thought you were exaggerating. She was terrified. Did your other liaison act like that?" Pinkie shook her head, then perked up, a confused look on her face.

"No...She sure didn't. I wonder why..."


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As the boat neared its destination, the two of them could feel the temperature around them rising. Pinkie had removed her hat and was fanning herself with it, sweat streaming down her face.

"You were in a hurry, so I'm going to take a wild guess and say you didn't read what this quest entailed. Am I right?" the only response Wookie got was a wadded up ball of paper to the face. "That's what I thought." he picked up the paper and unfurled it. It was crinkled, but he could still read most of it. "Hunt a Barroth. Daytime - Desert." he read outloud, then looked over at Pinkie. "You ever fought a Barroth?" the Huntress shook her head, and the boat came to rest at the dock. They disembarked and gathered the supplies from the trunk. They split them evenly, each of them immediately drinking a Cool Drink, finally getting relief from the blistering heat.

They were looking over a map as they left the base camp. This area was unfamiliar to both of them. The sun hammered down on them, and while they no longer felt like it was going to melt them on the spot, it was still causing them a relative level of discomfort. They walked into an area that actually gave them a good vantage point. They were able to see the great expanse of the desert below them. Large rock formations jutted up from the sand in no particular pattern, and the heat distortion made it look like they were dancing. Pinkie shook her head and turned her gaze away from the sands below. She started following a trail that dipped down into a cooler area. There were a few plants scattered about, but this area was mostly shaded by a large rock that formed a natural shield against the sun. The Hunters both turned and gazed at a mud hole. They approached it, watching the gray mud shift and bubble slightly. Pinkie's eyes fell upon an odd rock, or formation of rocks, rather. They were shaped like an arch, and were cratered at the tops.

"Check those out." Pinkie motioned for Wookie to look at the rocks that were out in the middle of the mud hole. He narrowed his eyes, gazing at them. There were a dark amber color, in stark contrast to their surroundings.

"Something's odd..." Wookie spoke. No sooner had the words left his mouth than the rocks turned. They appeared to be pointing at the pair, and they started to drift closer. Pinkie had chalked this down to hallucination. Wookie was skeptical and started backing up.

"Wait...You can see them moving, too?" Pinkie asked her partner, noticing him move with increased urgency. She looked down as the front rock bumped against her foot, and the world came to a halt. There was nothing except Pinkie and the rocks for a brief second. The ground trembled and an entire monster, taller than a Rathian and almost as long as a Royal Ludroth burst upwards, throwing Pinkie high into the air. She landed a few yards away from Wookie with a heavy thud.

"I'm not even going to ask why you didn't move." he spoke, drawing the Arca Raptora from his back. The Barroth stood tall for a second. Its back, head, and extremities caked with mud. The brute wyvern in front of them was huge. It appeared to be made of solid stone, and the cratered rocks that formed the ridge of its scalp appeared to be letting off steam.

"It's fine..." Pinkie grunted, getting to her feet. "My neck broke my fall." she drew her axe as the Barroth let out a roar, now fully aware of the pair's intrusion into its territory. Wookie fired an arrow that bounced pointlessly off the the monster's head and Pinkie took off towards the brute. As she closed in, the monster raised its head. Wookie took this time to put a shot into its neck. The Barroth went off balance, slightly. This creature was far more durable than the last one they had faced. Pinkie rallied her strength and struck out at the Barroth's thigh. She cracked the mud that had encased its leg, and she reeled back, taking another swing. The mud shattered, exposing the leg. Pinkie had no time to rejoice, and hit the ground quickly as the Barroth's tail swept over her.

Wookie's attention was drawn to the exposed leg, and he started to solely target that limb, careful to steer his arrows away from Pinkie, who was doing her best to keep the Barroth's attention away from her lightly armored partner. She took heavy swings at the leg that was still encased in mud. She had broken the shell just as the Barroth stopped trying to stomp her. Confusion crossed the Huntress's face and she saw the monster hunker down, then start to shimmy. It was flinging large globs of mud everywhere, and one landed on Pinkie. In addition to making her feel disgusting, the mud hardened immediately, locking up her arms. She rolled away frantically, putting distance between her and the brute. Try as she might, the mud would not come off. She struggled for a few seconds before she felt a heavy blow on her left side. She looked at the ground, an arrow laying at her feet, and the mud cracked slightly. She was able to move enough that the rest of it crumbled away.

"Let's try not to make this a regular occurrence, yeah?" Wookie yelled. Pinkie nodded, turning her attention back to the Barroth, which was now rolling around in the mud. They both just stared at it, until it had rolled back into its feet. It was caked in a fresh coat of muddy armor, and it turned on them again. Wookie's next arrow was perfect. It sunk into the Barroth's right eye, sending the monster careening away from them. Pinkie ran in immediately, attacking the monster's ankles and sending it crashing to the ground. Pinkie moved to the back of it, snapping the Dragonmaiden Axe to sword more and cleaving at the tail. She could faintly hear the hollow thuds of arrows hitting the Barroth. The monster was flailing, its tiny forelimbs scraping at the ground as its legs kicked, trying to get the leverage to return to its feet. It had just gotten upright as Pinkie's last swing cleaved the end of the monster's tail off. The brute stumbled forward, turning as it did so to stare at the end of its own tail, which lay, useless, in the mud.

A maniacal grin had spread across Pinkie's face and she charged in. The Barroth was expelling large amounts of steam from the rocks atop its head. It was enraged, and it let out a ferocious roar. The air around the Barroth quivered and the beast charged the Hunters. Its head was bowed low to the ground and it caught Pinkie full-on. She was lifted off her feet, but slammed the axe head into the Barroth's back before it could throw her into the air. She held on for dear life as the monster attempted to throw her from its back. Pinkie could hear the distinct sound of arrows streaking through the air, and knew Wookie was having a hard time drawing a bead on the monster. She set her jaw and threw out her left hand, managing to catch an arrow mid-flight. She whirled the projectile in her hand and rammed it into the back of the Barroth's head, at the base of its neck. The monster ceased moving immediately, dropping onto the ground. Pinkie still stood atop it, eyes wide. She heard arrows hitting it again.

"Don't stop! It's just stunned!" Wookie yelled from across the area. Pinkie pulled her axe free and started slamming it into the top of the creatures head. She'd shattered the mud armor and broken off the tip of its scalp, a cluster of the cratered rocks flying away from the monster's head. Pinkie had drawn back to strike again when the brute heaved her off of its back, throwing her to the ground. She rolled along the ground, her axe clattering down next to her. She stood up just in time to see the monster digging into the ground. It burrowed out of sight and was gone. She felt the ground tremor lightly as it made its escape. Pinkie picked up her axe and looked over at Wookie, who was downing a Psychoserum. The look on his face gave Pinkie a case of sympathy nausea, but she shook it off. "It retreated into this cave." Wookie motioned, a look of disgust still plastered on his face. They descended deep into a cave. They could hear a group of Wroggi calling to one another. The Wroggi were the poison-inducing cousin of the Jaggi. Red creatures with raptor-like bodies and purple pouches behind their cheekbones. They could spit poison for a fair distance, but that wasn't the pair's main concern. The Barroth snacking on a pile of ore was a much more pressing matter.

Pinkie ran up and rolled between the monster's legs, stabbing the tip of her weapon into the Barroth's soft underbelly. She tore it away as Wookie's storm of arrows began to strike the monster, and she moved quickly out of the way. She stopped in a crouched position, spinning up to her feet as one of her partner's arrows struck the monster perfectly and sent it tumbling to the ground. It landed with its back towards Pinkie, and she started to cleave at the helpless monster in front of her. She'd managed to shatter its back armor before it could stand, and the monster was falling into a state of deadly poison. It tried to limp away, but Wookie had run up and draw an arrow out of the quiver. He thrust it up through the Barroth's chin, puncturing into the monster's mouth. It turned away from the pain quickly, and was met with a furious blow from Pinkie's axe, sending the monster spiraling to the ground, helpless. The Barroth tried again to get to its feet, but the poison from Pinkie's weapon had rendered it helpless. A few shuddering breaths later, and one more mighty blow to the skull, and the Barroth fell victim to them.

Pinkie stood up pulling her axe from the monster's skull. The axe compacted and she slid it into place on her back, Wookie doing the same with his Bow. A few minutes of carving all the pieces of the monster, and they were heading back to Tanzia. Pinkie stared out to sea, a blank expression on her face. She swore she could see black storm clouds rolling over the horizon.
> Chapter 13 - Approaching Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The boat that the Guild provided as transport gently slid into port. Pinkie and Wookie stepped off the ship, the pink-haired Huntress had her eyes glued to the horizon, and she almost tripped over a passing Felyn. She stumbled forward, apologizing profusely, and the Felyn took its leave, mumbling about people needing to pay more attention. Wookie watched his hunting partner with a concerned look.

"You seem distracted. Something bothering you?" he asked her, adjusting his monocle. Pinkie didn't answer, and he reached his hand out, finger curled up, and flicked the side of her head. Pinkie recoiled at the strike and looked around as if she expected to be attacked, right hand on the hilt of her weapon, left hand at the ready. "Geez. Calm down. You've been on edge since half way through the ride home. The hunt is over, chill."

"I-I know! I just...Don't those clouds look weird?" Pinkie spoke in a tone that was meant to be taken as a defense of her actions, but just ended up sounding guilty. Wookie shook his head, turning to look out at the horizon. There was a large mass of dark clouds that appeared to be drawing closer to Tanzia, and he had to admit, they looked pretty menacing. He couldn't tell Pinkie that, he had to dispel the Huntress's fear, or he felt like she was going to fall apart.

"They look like normal storm clouds to me." Wookie said, shrugging. "You're just blowing it out of proportion." he turned, heading towards Twilight. The liaison, characteristically, had her nose buried in a book. Pinkie puffed her cheeks out at Wookie's dismissal of her fears, but she sighed, conceding. He was probably right, but something burned at the back of her mind. Something she had tried to ignore since the day of the attack. She shook her head rapidly, clearing her mind as she walked towards her partner. "How about a Barioth?" Wookie asked her, taking a request slip from Twilight.

"Didn't we just fight one of those?" Pinkie raised an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side. "I'm fine with fighting another, but some variety wouldn't hurt." she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Barioth is variety. We just fought a Barroth. Barioth is different...By one letter." Wookie said, slowly turning to look at Twilight. "Really? One letter difference? You guys couldn't come up with a better name?" Twilight raised a hand defensively. 

"I don't name them. I just tell you to kill them." the purple-haired liaison spoke. "Now, do you want to hunt it, or not?" she was getting impatient. They were interrupting her study time, which was all the time. Everyone was interrupting her. She hated the fact that Celestia had forced her to work as a liaison while she was studying to be a Guildmaster. Wookie looked over at Pinkie, who just nodded.

"May as well." he slid the fee across to Twilight, who scooped it up and deposited it into her desk, returning immediately to her book. The Hunter shook his head and smirked, walking back towards the boats. Pinkie was tailing behind him, and her eyes turned unwittingly to the horizon. There, she found nothing. The clouds had gone. She froze in place, coasting her eyes back and forth, searching for the storm clouds. A voice in the back of her head told her that she wasn't going to find what she was looking for. She had to shake her head to chase off the voice. It was starting to frustrate her and make her nervous. The Huntress took a few calming breaths as she stepped onto the boat, Wookie hadn't noticed her distraction. They took their seats and the boat drifted away from Tanzia.


/) (\


"What are you so afraid of?" Wookie asked his partner, drawing her attention away from the sky.

"I think...I think it's following me." Pinkie's voice sounded small, as though she was worried it may hear her.

"The thing from the party?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. The Huntress nodded, she appeared to shrinking further and further into her seat, silently hoping she may just disappear. "Why is this an issue all of a sudden? Back when we first met, you had never even mentioned the thing, and there didn't seem to be anything wrong with you. What's with this newfound dread?"

"I hadn't talked about it in a while." Pinkie said, taking deep breaths as she sat back up. The boat sailed gently towards the frozen tundra where they would be hunting a Barioth. "And Lyra never said anything about it. I guess seeing Twilight's reaction to me threw me for a loop. What would I do if it came back? I...I can't fight that thing. All I could do was run." she put her face in her hands. Wookie couldn't tell if she was crying, but he was surprised to see a moment of weakness from her. He'd seen a glimpse of the monster that lie beneath the surface of this girl during the Qurupeco hunt, and it frightened him a bit to think there was something out there that shook her up like this. Not to mention the theory that it may actually be following her. None of these were fears that he expressed, mostly due to the fact that, if she had a mental breakdown, it may cost them more than just a hunting fee.

"Pinkie Pie." he began slowly, and she lifted her head to look at him. Her eyes were wide, but she wasn't crying. "That was a freak accident. The fact that you survived is a miracle, sure. And people stuck you with that stigma because you were the only one who survived, but that doesn't mean that it happened for a reason, or that this thing is still even after you." he shrugged, glad that he had become a good liar throughout the course of his life. "So don't let it get to you." Wookie rose to his feet as their boat bumped against the pier at the tundra. The air was crisp, like before, but the sun was shining, which made the area a little more bearable. Pinkie stood up, too. She had to admit that his speech made her feel marginally better. "Now, let's go hunt us a Barioth." She nodded, smiling.

The wind had picked up a bit since their arrival, but the sunlight kept things above an unbearable temperature. They had walked through the first area together, deciding to split up and investigate the caves separately. Wookie went to the cave furthest to the southwest, and Pinkie headed north. There was the faint sounds of water dripping as she stepped into the cave. She searched the area quickly, her gaze falling onto a large hole in the cave wall. The Huntress could see light seeping down from a hole in the cave ceiling, but the ledge was too high for her to climb. She turned away, and started walking to the east. She found an opening into another area, but it was obscured by frozen stalactites. She crouched down and started to crawl, her bulky armor and oversized weapon making things unnecessarily difficult. When she had at last freed herself from the frozen cage, she found herself on the other edge of the island. There was a steep cliff that would throw those unlucky enough to fall off into the freezing ocean below.

Pinkie was so busy examining the area that she hadn't noticed the monster watching her. The Barioth was on the cliff above her, its claws dug into the ice, bracing it. It was a beast wyvern, having the mammalian features of a large cat. Its forelegs doubled as wings, but it was clearly a beast that preferred to stay grounded. The large, amber colored tusks that protruded from its mouth were sharpened, made for tearing open the Popos that it was used to feeding on. Its tail waved back and forth lazily, its red eyes following the Huntress's every move. The end of its tail was forked, spikes protruding from each side. The white monster hunkered down, preparing to launch itself at Pinkie. An arrow sunk into the ground a few feet away from the monster, and it backed off, snarling.

"You're going to get yourself killed if you keep sightseeing." Wookie said as he pulled another arrow from his quiver. Pinkie wheeled around and looked up at the Barioth. She noticed how much its movements resembled the Tigrex. She clutched her weapon as the Barioth threw itself at them. The beast came crashing down as the pair dove out of the way. It snarled, its body coiled into a striking position as it turned its back on Pinkie. The Huntress drew her weapon and took a swing, but the monster had moved its tail up out of her weapon's trajectory just in time. She set her jaw, calming herself. She hated missing her swings. Wookie was leading the Barioth around the area, running in a wide arc out of the monster's reach.

In a motion much faster than they had anticipated, the beast threw itself at the monocled Hunter, knocking him off his feet. The monster wheeled around and reared back, launching what looked like a giant snowball at Pinkie. While she smirked when it fell far short of her, she realized that was its intended course. As soon as the ice ball hit the ground, it cracked open and a whirlwind whipped up around it, separating her from her partner. She could barely make out the Barioth's movements through the whirling snow. Biting back fear, she charged through the icy gale, the shards of ice making small cuts on her exposed face. She broke through the other side as the Barioth was bearing down on Wookie and leapt through the air, embedding her axe deep into the monster's tail. She'd almost lopped it off, but it barely hung on. The creature responded in kind, crashing the undamaged part of its tail into the Huntress. Pinkie felt an intense cold fill her body, ice hammering through her veins. The distraction had given Wookie time to run, and he'd taken advantage of the opportunity. He applied a Paralysis Coating to his arrows and loosed on into the side of the Barioth. The monster was stunned for a moment, but quickly shook it off.

Pinkie, who had been thrown a fair distance away from the beast wyvern, could feel the cold sucking her energy away. She stood up, her entire body wracked with intense shivers, and brought her weapon to bear. She couldn't let a little chill stop her. Her legs pumped hard against the frozen ground as she ran at the monster, tufts of snow kicking up in her wake. The Barioth snarled almost as if it were challenging the Huntress, and they clashed. The claws of the monster met the head of her axe, and the superior smithing triumphed. Pinkie had shattered the claws off the Barioth's right paw. As the creature reeled in pain, Wookie sunk a few more arrows into it, the coating taking effect. The Barioth looked as if it were being electrocuted. It stood in place, body jerking but mostly unable to move. Pinkie grinned maliciously and sauntered over to the paralyzed beast.

"My, my...What a shame." her voice dripped with uncharacteristic venom as she turned the Switch Axe sideways. She saw fear in the Barioth's eyes, and for a moment, she could tell it knew what was about to happen. "Let's get rid of this little problem." she hoisted the weapon up over her right shoulder, standing like a player up to bat, and stepped in with her left foot, bringing the broad side of the axe crashing into the Barioth's teeth, shattering them. The beast would have let out a ferocious wail of pain, but the paralysis was still in effect. She picked up one of the broken tusks and tossed it into the air lazily, catching it in her right hand, the Dragonmaiden Axe held firmly in her left. She could see the pincushion that Wookie had tastefully made of the monster's back while it had been unable to retaliate. She hauled off and rammed the snowy wyvern's own tusk into its left eye, gouging it out just before its motor skills returned. She pocketed the bloody, amber tusk and took a swipe at the Barioth's head. It hopped back, avoiding her strike and immediately went airborne. It took off, a few of her partner's arrows failing in their chase of the beast.

"That...That was brutal." Wookie said as the Huntress approached him. She handed him the other tusk, a smile on her face as she started to head towards the center area.

"C'mon. I know where it flew off to." she said and they looped down around the area nearest the base camp before making their way towards the area that lead into the caves. Their previous assault had left the Barioth terribly injurred, and starving. They found the beast tearing large chunks out of a young Popo. Without its tusks, it was too difficult to eat a tougher adult. The Barioth looked up, its left eye gone, but it still saw the pair approaching it. It hopped back, putting distance between them before lunging at Pinkie, who was on point. The Huntress made no move to dodge. The creature's depth perception was shot and it landed heavily in front of her. She saw the surprise in the monster's eyes as she burried her axe into its chest. Wookie was making his way around as another crushing blow from his partner sent the creature to the ground. He started hammering arrows into the beast as Pinkie cleaved the tail the rest of the way off.

The Huntress turned the weapon to sword mode and ducked under a swing from the recovering monster's broken claws. Even with the sharp points removed, the monster was still strong enough to cause severe physical harm, and despite her desires, Pinkie backed off. A wounded monster was always more dangerous. As expected, the beast started attacking in a blind rage. Swinging what was left of its tail at Wookie, knocking him off his feet before it jumped into the air. It flapped its wings twice and threw itself through the sky at Pinkie. Instead of dodging, she angled the blade towards the monster and braced herself. She felt the weight of the Barioth come down on her, then its warm blood splash over her face. She had shut her eyes before impact, so she wasn't sure where she'd cut into. She opened her eyes slowly, turning her head towards the monster. She was at eye-level with the beast. It had been split down the nose, her blade the greater portion of the way through the Barioth's head. It had long since gone limp, but the dead weight made it hard for Pinkie to move.

"Wookie!" her hunting partner had recovered to his feet in time to see the Barioth crash into her. He assumed that it had almost crushed her, considering how hard it had thrown itself. Relief washed over him when he heard her voice, and he latched the Arca Raptora onto his back, heading over to help Pinkie. "Just..." she panted, trying to pull her weapon out if the monster's head. "Just help me get free." he smirked, then started pushing on the Barioth's corpse before it finally relinquished its hold on the Huntress's weapon. It slumped to the ground, the blood soaking into the snow. The pair carved what they could fit into their bags before starting the trip home.


/) (\


The boat ride back to Tanzia was filled with joyful conversation, as the pair celebrated another victory.

"We've recovered well after that first fiasco." Wookie said with a grin, Pinkie returning the smile and nodding. "I was ready to hang it up after that first Qurupeco fight. I assumed that that was how all of the hunts were going to go. Luckily, you got your shit together and stopped holding me back."

"Oh, yeah. Because I was the weak link in that fight, Mister 'How-Do-I-Load-This-Bowgun'." Pinkie teased back. 

"Don't act like you were an expert on your weapon either. I'm guessing you had used that thing, what? Maybe once before that fight?"

"Nuh-uh! More than once!" she retorted, Tanzia coming into view. Pinkie looked over the top of Wookie's head, her face dropping in disbelief.

"What?" the Hunter followed her eyes and his reaction mirrored hers. They both sat there, staring, as their boat rocked gently in the waves. The darkest cloud formation that Wookie had ever seen hung over Tanzia, and fire and lightning rained onto the port below.
> Chapter 14 - The Reaper and the Leaders
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"No." Pinkie's voice was strained as she scrambled out of the boat and onto the pier. "Nononononononooooo!" she started running through the smoke, flames licking at her armor. The lightning and fire descending from the sky never ceasing its assault on the various structures in the port. Wookie watched her draw her weapon as she disappeared into the smoke.

"Are you fucking insane?" his voice came quietly, and the question wasn't really directed towards anyone. He had no choice but the draw the Arca Raptora and follow his hunting partner. His eyes scanned over the destruction that had occurred in the mere hours since they'd left. The liaison's counter had been reduced to smoldering ashes, and he had to shake his head to chase off the thoughts that Twilight had suffered a fate similar to her workplace. "Pinkie?" Wookie shouted over the roaring fire. "Pinkie?!" he had broken through the smoke, and found his partner, weapon drawn, standing before the most terrifying creature he'd ever laid eyes on. Its wingspan was massive and seemed to be magnified by the shadows cast by the flames. The monsters scales were strikingly black, raised into points at certain intervals. The eyes of the monster bore down on those beneath it, burning away at the soul. Wookie had assumed it was a wyvern, until its front legs came down to lower itself from the top of the roof of what had once been Applejack's store. The creature was a full blooded dragon. Lightning seemed to crackle over over the top of its scales. It was approaching Pinkie slowly, its wings flapping gently as it moved, before it curled them in close to its body. Wookie snapped out of his stupor, and drew an arrow, loosing it at the dragon. A strong gust of wind tossed the arrow helplessly to the ground, and he had begun to draw another. A bolt of lightning streaked from the sky, striking Wookie's weapon. He let it go as the lightning obliterated the weapon, shattering it into tiny pieces. The blast knocked him off his feet, and he stared, bewildered, at the monster that had easily destroyed the weapon he'd used to slay so many monsters.

Pinkie stood, defiant, in front of the dragon. Her weapon was clutched tightly in her right hand as the monster bore down on her. She couldn't tell if she was shaking from fear, or the wind pressure that seemed to resonate from this approaching threat. Her left hand flew to the Switch Axe's hilt and she charged in, weapon raised. Pinkie felt the weapon knocked away from her hands. She watched it clatter across the ground helplessly. Her eyes turned on the dragon, glaring up at the beast.

"Why?" Pinkie's voice was cracked, her eyes filling with tears. "Why?! What do you want from me?! Was that first time not enough for you?!" she ran forward, clenching her fists and took a swing at the monster. Her fist thudded dully against the ebony scales of the dragon.

"Pinkamena..." she heard the voice in her head, but a quick look back at Wookie confirmed that she wasn't imagining it. She dropped her hand uselessly to her side, backing up slowly. "I'm disappointed that you seem to have forgotten our first meeting."

"Forgot? Forgot?!" Pinkie screamed, the tears finally running down her cheeks. "How could I forget that?! You ruined my career, destroyed my home, killed most of my friends and family, and now you've done it again!!!"

"I am here because our story is just beginning, Pinkamena." the dragon raised its head high, and Pinkie could feel the condescending glow in the creature's eyes. "We have been doing this dance for far too long. It is time for you t-"

"We have heard enough from you!" a woman's voice boomed over the area. All three present in the port faced the source. Wookie, who had been stuck in a stunned silence, jumped and turned around. He was the closest to the source of the voice, and the sight of the two women approaching three of them made him freeze in place. The one closest to them, clearly the one who had spoken, was donned in glistening navy blue armor. Her hair was the color of the midnight sky, and it almost seemed to sparkle. Her blue eyes were filled with fury. A black tiara sat atop her head, a blue gem inset in the center. She drew a Longsword from her back, sharp spikes extending up out of the hand guard. The air pressure from the motion of her drawing her weapon put out nearby flames. The Hidden Blade was crafted of some kind of onyx. "Thou shalt leave this place at once, or thou shalt feel the wrath of the night!"

"Volume, dear sister." the other woman spoke. In stark contrast with her sister, her armor appeared to be made of the finest ivory, though she wore a tiara as well. Hers was crafted from gold, with a purple gemstone inlaid. Her left arm was adorned with a sparkling shield shaped like the sun. A sword that matched the weapon was slung across her back. Her lavender eyes bore into the dragon before them, swimming with fury. "You have come to the wrong neighborhood, Alatreon. Tell me, why you have come here."

"Ladies. So nice of you to show up. Just like the last time I had a run in with this girl. No, wait. That's not how it happened." Alatreon's voice rang with a condescending tone. "Where were you that last time? Or even, the time before that?" Pinkie stared at the two women, and she realized who they were. Many Hunters referred to them as the 'Princesses', but Pinkie knew that they were co-Guildmasters, Celestia and Luna. Luna had more recently been reinstated into her position, after a disagreement over how the Guild should function. Seeing the two of them, surrounded by smoke and fire, did make them considerably more intimidating.

"Silence!" Luna's voice boomed once more as she charged in. Her speed was impressive, despite the her armor and weapon. Pinkie had to jump out of the woman's way to avoid colliding with her. Alatreon backed away as Luna's sword split the air, a vacuum forming in the blade's wake. The dragon let out a snarl, and then a wail of pain. Celestia had gotten around behind him and stabbed the monster in the side. Her weapon pierced the dragon's scales easily. The monster spun around, lightning and fire spiraling around him. He let out a roar and clouds of flame descended from the sky. The sisters took no notice. Luna's blade struck into Alatreon's front leg, causing the beast to stumble.

"Persistent little insects." he hissed, crushing the ground beneath his feet and taking to the sky. He flapped his wings twice, raising himself high above them. They all watched him ascend. "You are at my mercy this day. I will not let you live the next time we see each other."

"Return to the ground and face me, coward!" Luna pointed the Hidden Blade at the flying monster, and it glowered down at them for a moment before taking off, taking the clouds and the fury with it. The sun beamed down on the four people. It was warm and truly revealed the damage that had been done to the port. Not a single structure stood anymore. Luna slammed her sword into the ground, snarling. Her voice descended to normal volumes. "Why will he not leave us be, sister?" Celestia didn't answer. Her eyes had moved towards Pinkie and Wookie. The pair of novice Hunters shied away from her glare. She sheathed her sword as she approached them. Wookie got slowly to his feet, his weapon still lay in splinters around him. Luna pulled her weapon out of the ground, sliding it into its sheath and crossing her arms, stepping up behind Celestia.

"Where...Where is everyone?" Pinkie spoke first, terrified. The sisters seemed to be glaring at her. She could feel their gaze, and she broke into a cold sweat. However, she did not back down. Part of her wished she still had her axe. She didn't want to believe that they would attack her, but with the way her day had gone, she wouldn't have been surprised if they had.

"They were evacuated before Alatreon got here. Twilight Sparkle rallied them and got them safely to another place. You, though, are an enigma, Miss Pie." Celestia spoke. Her voice was cold and calculating. "We knew of your history with the dragon before you ever came into the Guild. He had taken an interest in you long ago. What I want to know, is why? And why he seems to destroy everything in his pathway to you."

"I don't know, ma'am." Pinkie became very interested in the ground. "I don't remember ever meeting him before he attacked my home." her voice was small, and Wookie just stared at the three of them, at a complete loss for words. He'd never heard a monster speak before, and now, whoever Alatreon was, he really had been stalking Pinkie. Luna scoffed.

"You expect us to believe that?" Luna's voice was as cold as her sister's. "We vouched for you so you could become a Hunter." she approached Pinkie. "And you have let us down. You have brought destruction to one of our hubs and put everyone in danger. Tell us why we should not strip you of your license immediately."

"Calm down, Luna." Celestia put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "She's not lying. But she is dangerous." Celestia narrowed her eyes, looking back and forth between Wookie and Pinkie slowly.

"What should we do, sister?" Luna asked, her gaze turning on her sister. Celestia remained silent for a long time before she opened her mouth to speak. Her voice was calm, but her words cut Pinkie and Wookie to the core.

"As of right now, you two will be under suspension. We will send you back to the Hunter's Academy during your suspension. You will be stripped of your weapons and armor, and you will not be permitted to hunt until my sister and I fully understand the scope of things involving Alatreon." the novice Hunters were frozen in place, unable to speak.
> Chapter 15 - Suspension Blues
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I can't fucking believe you got us fired..." there was no joy or humor in Wookie's voice. Pinkie couldn't tell just how angry he was, and that's what made her the most nervous. They had just disembarked from the ship that the Guildmasters had put them on after Alatreon's assault on Tanzia. There had been no sightings of the black dragon being passed through Guild channels, and no one had seen hide nor hair of him since the Guildmasters ran him off. Pinkie shifted nervously as she walked.

"N-now, I didn't exactly get us fired. Just...Suspended. For a little bit. As in, not forever." she was spending as much time convincing herself as she was convincing her hunting partner. She was still dwelling on what the dragon had spoken of. About having come in contact with her prior to the attack on her hometown. She dug through her memory and found nothing. No trace that she'd ever dealt with Alatreon before that day. She was brought back to reality when she realized Wookie had started speaking again.

"-Until the hadle breaks off! Hey! Are you listening?!" Pinkie smiled sheepishly at him. "You may as well have gotten us fired, Pinkie! Whether we can ever come back is probably up in the air, and who knows how long it's going to take until the Guildmasters get all this shit sorted out! We're out of work until then!"

"We could always work fast-food." she suggested, her voice getting smaller as she saw the expression on his face.

"No. Fuck that. Absolutely not. I went through all the bullshit to become a Hunter so I wouldn't have to do menial labor. And so did you." he took a calming breath. The pink-haired Huntress was shielding herself, eyes shut tight. She peeked out after a moment, seeing that he was trying to calm down. She lowered her hands slowly, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. Having had to turn in her license, armor, and weapons left her with just her normal clothes. A bright pink, long-sleeved shirt, a pair of pants that looked like they'd seen one too many "power slides", and black sneakers. Wookie's civies looked similar, but he wore a button down shirt over a t-shirt and beat-up jeans. "Look, let's just get back to the academy. Maybe we can just do some remedial shit and get our licenses back early." he jerked a thumb behind him, where the Hunter's Academy towered over the rest of the structures near it. The large colosseum that served as the training arena made the entire school take up a large chunk of the city. An unknown town until the Academy was built, Celestia and Luna were around for the construction of the school. No one was quite sure how old they were, or even how old the Academy was. Pinkie followed behind Wookie, staring at the structure that loomed ever closer. It was a place she had hoped to never return to.


/) (\


Their footsteps echoed down the hallway, class being in session the halls were empty as they traversed their old school. The walls were decorated with pictures of classes that had graduated. Pinkie had stopped, looking up at the picture at her own graduating class. A sad smile crossed her face. She hadn't crossed paths with any of the Hunters she'd graduated with, until she noticed a familiar pink pompadour in the picture.

"We were in the same class?!" her voice almost cracked a bit, echoing down the hall and making Wookie jump so high he almost hit his head on the ceiling. He whipped around, head on a swivel to make sure she hadn't drawn any attention.

"Try and be quieter." he hissed, walking over to where she was standing. "Were we? I find it hard to believe that I would forget attending classes with someone like you." his voice dripped with sarcasm, but sure enough, there they were. Same picture, same year. "Huh. Look at that. Guess you didn't make much of an impression." Pinkie puffed out her cheeks.

"You sure it wasn't you who didn't make an impression, jerk?" Wookie just chuckled, turning and walking away from her. It wasn't too long before he bumped into a very familiar person. She dropped her books as they collided, and Pinkie stifled her laughter. "Umph!" he backed up, noticing that he was holding onto the arm of the person he'd bumped into. "Twilight? Shit, I'm sorry." he bent down to pick up her books, Pinkie walking up next to the pair, as anothe familiar face joined them.

"Lyra?!" Pinkie squeaked and tackle-hugged her first liaison. The mint-haired girl almost losing her footing, but managing to stay upright. Both girls had grins plastered on their faces.

"You two gonna' kiss?" Wookie's voice came from behind Pinkie, and she released Lyra, tapping her fingers together nervously. "Here you go, Twilight." the Hunter handed the thus far silent liaison her books and smiled. "Who's this, Pinkie?"

"Oh! This was my liaison back at my first village!" Pinkie smiled again, holding a hand towards Lyra. "Her name is Lyra. Without her, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did."

"Don't give me too much credit, Pinkie." a small blush of pride had spread across Lyra's face. "You did all the hard work. How have things been going since you left the village, by the way?" the smile dropped off the Huntress's face, and Wookie crossed his arms over his chest.

"You...You haven't heard?" Pinkie's voice once again shrunk, her eyes downcast. Lyra tilted her head, then looked over at Twilight. "Wookie and I are on suspension." she motioned towards the other Hunter sheepishly. The minty liaison's jaw dropped and she stared at Pinkie.

"How did that happen?!" Lyra was in complete shock. Pinkie had been doing quite well in Moga. She found it hard to believe that Pinkie would do anything to cause herself to be put on suspension.

"It was the Reaper from the Sky." Twilight finally spoke up, and they all stared at her. "I know you've heard this story, Lyra. Everyone who walks through these halls knows about it."

"I can't say that I do, Twi." Lyra raised an eyebrow, watching as her fellow liaison spoke. Twilight cleared her throat before regaling Lyra with the same story that Pinkie had told to Wookie. When she was done speaking, Lyra looked more than a little surprised.

"O-okay. But that's not Pinkie's fault." Lyra spoke, clearly shaken. "I mean, just because it happened to attack her home, then the port when she was there doesn't mean it's chasing her." she was attempting to convince everyone of this, including herself. Twilight's features didn't budge.

"We don't know that for sure, though. Do we?" the purple-haired liaison gripped her books a little tighter, narrowing her eyes and glaring at Pinkie. "Why don't you fill in the blanks, Pinkamena?" she seethed, voice coated in venom. Pinkie looked like she was on the verge of tears. "You obviously know something we don't about this thing. Well?!"

"Back up, Twilight. She doesn't know any more than the rest if us." Wookie spoke up, moving in between the two. A few tears left trails down Pinkie's cheeks. "The story you told Lyra is, almost verbatim, what Pinkie told me. She doesn't know what Alatreon wants from her." Twilight turned away in a huff, walking away from the three of them.

"So...So that's why you guys are back here." Lyra looked terribly shaken, but she tried to smile. "Is Tanzia gone, then?" Wookie shook his head. "That's good."

"It's in a severely bad state of affairs, but nothing that can't be fixed." Wookie hadn't moved his eyes off of Twilight until she disappeared around a corner, heading for the library. Pinkie was trying her best to hold herself together. Having people upset with her was not something she dealt with very well. Wookie pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He was trying to maintain some level of control over everything, and trying to convince himself that it wasn't Pinkie's fault. He was having a much more difficult time with the latter.

"Well...Celestia and Luna haven't returned, yet." Lyra spoke. "Twilight is acting as the Guildmaster until they get back, and I doubt she's going to rush to help you guys get into remedial courses." the liaison rubbed the back of her head, thinking. "Let's go talk to Miss Dash and see if she can at least get you guys into some physical courses." Lyra motioned for them to follow. They did, Pinkie taking shuddering breaths, composing herself as they wound through the halls of the school. Their footsteps the only noises outside of Pinkie's attempts to calm herself. They drew up to the doors that lead into the arena, and Lyra had to put a little 'umph' into them to get them open.

"Geez! They need to make those things easier to open." she said, walking through an incredibly wide corridor until they stepped into the lobby. The colosseum also served as the auditorium for the school. All assemblies were held there, in addition to training and other major events. "Miss Dash should be putting this year's seniors through the Gauntlet." both the Hunters gave a little shudder. They remembered the Gauntlet all too well. They ascended up into the stands, and sure enough, there was a group of students sprinting through various obstacles, rolling under others, and sing through even more. Wookie and Pinkie had pained looks on their faces that had nothing to do with their suspension.

"You call that fast?!" they heard the brash voice of their former trainer. "I can call my grandmother over to show you how it's done if you want, people!" Lyra snickered, but the pair of Hunters almost felt the need to go out an do the course. They followed the liaison as she got close to the rainbow-haired trainer. The woman who stood before them in a cyan hoodie and black track pants had put two of the three of them through hell. The Hunters stayed a few yards behind the liaison, hoping maybe she would shield them from their trainer's raw energy. "Long time, no see, Lyra." Rainbow Dash spoke as the liaison came to stand next to her.

"It has been. How do this year's seniors look?" Lyra asked, folding her hands behind her back. Dash sighed, shoving her hands into the pocket of her hoodie, watching the future graduates with a certain level of scrutiny.

"It's been a while since I've seen a really good class of Hunters." the trainer spoke, chewing on her whistle. "I don't know. Last year's class was the best I'd seen in a long time. Lots of oddly colored hair in that group." she turned towards Lyra, then noticed Pinkie and Wookie. A smirk spread across her face. "Speak of the devil." the pair snapped to attention. "I didn't think you two would come back. How have you been?"

"Good, ma'am!" they responded in unison. Lyra was watching them with a bemused look, and Dash just chuckled.

"Good to hear. So, what can I do for you, Lyra?" she asked, a couple of the seniors drawing close to the end of the course. "Nobody said slow down!" she blew her whistle and it looked almost as if she'd struck them. They started moving faster, Pinkie and Wookie flinched.

"It's about these two, actually." Lyra motioned at the Hunters behind her, who were fighting the urge to run away with every fibre of their being. "See, they're on suspension." the whistle dropped lamely from Dash's mouth as her gaze turned towards the pink-haired duo. Pinkie was almost visibly shaking, and Wookie was fighting to keep his composure.

"What?" Dash's voice was quiet, deadly, and sent shivers down the spine of the liaison who'd never trained with her. "Suspended? What the hell did you two do?!" when they remained silent, she stomped her foot. "I asked you a question, Hunters!"

"It's a long story, Dash." Lyra said, trying to ease the tension, which was thick enough to cut with a Longsword. Rainbow Dash blew her whistle, and called in the seniors, her eyes never leaving the two shamed Hunters.

"Class dismissed." the students all looked at each other, a few of them with soaking wet clothes as they didn't move. "Did I stutter?!" they scattered like a herd of Kelbi. "Now, as for what to do about you two." she slammed her fist down on a large red button, and the ground opened beneath the Gauntlet, and it dropped down a floor. The chamber slid shut, leaving nothing but the empty floor in the middle of the arena. "You're going to do a little work while I talk with the lovely liaison here." she turned and walked back to a closet, coming back and throwing a large pile of weapons down in front of them. Nothing that either of them was accustomed to, either. Pinkie moved first, pulling an Iron Katana out of the pile, the blade gleaming in the sunlight. She slid the Longsword into its sheath, and held it in her left hand. Wookie grabbed a Warhammer, hoisting it up onto his shoulde with a grunt. They stood there, looking at one another, then back at Dash. "Waiting for an invitation? Get out there." she blew her whistle and they moved towards the stairs.

"Wait." Wookie stopped, part way down the stairs, Pinkie only a few steps in from of him. "You gave us weapons. What about armor?" a malicious smile spread across Dash's face as she pressed another button and the stairs flattened, sending the pair sliding into the arena below.

"Welcome to remedial courses, kids!" the trainer kicked a lever and a large gate on the far end of the arena opened. The Hunters got to their feet, watching as two monsters that they were unfamiliar with lumbered out of the open gate.

"I'm kicking your ass, next." Wookie said to Pinkie, swinging his Hammer around and taking the standard stance. "Let's get this taken care of." Pinkie nodded, following behind him, Longsword still sheathed. The two monsters looked oddly similar, yet there were glaring differences. One appeared to be an oversized armadillo with bright red armor. Its tongue lolled out of its mouth for a second as the sedatives started to wear off. The other looked similar to an Arzuros, but had the face of a rabbit. It looked to be in about the same shape as the red monster. It was in the process of waking up. They were both sizeable creatures, standing at least fifteen feet tall, head to toe.

"Volvidon and Lagombi?" Lyra asked, watching as the two Hunters closed in on the monsters. "That safe without armor?"

"Hunting without armor is never safe. This teaches Hunters not to get hit, though. These two have done it before, but never as a pair. So, what happened?" Lyra began to explain the situation to Rainbow as the battle below began.

The rabbit-esque creature, the Lagombi, recovered first, and stood up to full height. It shook its head and noticed the Hunters. It dove and slid rapidly away on its smooth belly, Wookie's weapon impacting where the monster had stood a second earlier. The Volvidon drew its tongue into its mouth and rolled sideways, dodging Pinkie's first swing. The sheath clattered to the ground, and she took the Longsword in both hands, taking a stance similar to the one she'd used when she fought with her Switch Axe. The Hunters looked at each other before backing up slowly until their backs touched. The monsters started to circle around them.

"Game plan?" Wookie asked, his eyes glued to the Lagombi, which looked like it was getting ready to pounce.

"Get applications to work at the market down the street?" Pinkie suggested, and she heard Wookie laugh, which did her mood a world of good. He hadn't laughed since they'd been suspended. The Volvidon stood up on its hind legs. "Watch my back."

"What?" Wookie looked over his shoulder and was blown away at how fast his partner was moving. Without armor and with the lighter weapon, she was much more agile. She had closed the gap on the Volvidon and left almost no window for it to react. It lashed its tongue out and she held up her left arm, the tongue wrapping around her sleeve. She took a smooth swing with the katana and severed the tongue in a single swipe. The monster recoiled, roaring in pain. Pinkie shook the tongue off her arm, though she had lost some feeling in her left arm. The Volvidon's saliva had paralyzingly properties. Wookie had just watched her in amazement, but was snapped into the real world as the Lagombi headbutted him in the stomach. With no armor to cushion the blow, he took a hard fall, winded. He managed to keep a hold on his Warhammer. "You son of a bitch." he muttered, spinning up into a standing position, swinging the Hammer in a lage arc and smashing it hard into the side of the Lagombi's head, sending it staggering to its left. Pinkie and Wookie worked their way back, until they were standing back-to-back again.

"That went well." Pinkie spoke, grinning, as the two monsters started to regain their composure. The monsters glowered at the Hunters, blood dripping from the Volvidon's mouth, and the Lagombi looking like it had a minor concussion. "Switch!" the Huntress yelled and they spun so they were facing the monste they hadn't attacked. They split and closed in on their targets. Smoke started to flow from the base of Wookie's hammer, and he performed a heavy, upward swing into the Volvidon's chin, and a sickening crack was heard just before her brought the weapon down with an incredible amount of force, causing the armored, red monster to hit the ground completely stunned, he started smashing open the monster's shell as Pinkie chased down the Lagombi.

The oversized rabbit had been sliding around on its belly, keeping away from Pinkie. It was running scared, but it was running out of gas. Pinkie had kept moving at an impressive pace. Almost able to run side-by-side with the Lagombi when it was sliding. A trajectory error caused the monster to lose control and careen into a wall. It lay in a daze before it felt the sharp pain of a Longsword cutting into its flesh. It got to its feet and was going to take a swing at Pinkie, but stopped short. It saw something in the Huntress's eyes that caused it to freeze in place before attempting to run again.

"Going somewhere?" Pinkie's voice sounded the same as when she'd crushed the Barioth's face. The difference was the aura around her body, something that Rainbow Dash took notice of immediately. The Huntress sliced the Lagombi's back left leg off, and it rolled away, wailing in pain. The bloody stump leaving a trail between itself and the Huntress.

The cyan-coated trainer watched the scene before her, a smirk playing at her lips. Wookie had beaten the Volvidon into complete submission. All of its extremities had been broken, and the giant armadillo laid helpless as the Hunter struck the final blow, crushing the monster's head with his hammer. Pinkie was the more interesting of the pair, the aura that surrounded her body was something that Rainbow knew that not every Hunter could tap into. There were fewer and fewer Longsword users these days because bloodlines that carried the ability to tap into the inner spirit, or 'Demonize' as it became more commonly know, were few and far between. The few the still could tended to be more partial to Dual Blades. Dash watched closely as the Huntress practically reduced the Lagombi to ribbons.

"It's probably a good thing that attacking other people is punishable by death. I think those two would give the Guildmasters a hell of a fight." Dash said, grinning. Lyra chuckled, watching the pair of Hunters high five.
> Chapter 16 - Nowhere is Safe
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pair of Hunters made their way through winding halls of the Academy. It was set up a bit like an awkward maze. Some form of subliminal training or other. Pinkie had fallen into silence, as had her partner. She'd gotten into the routine of not speaking very often since the attack on Tanzia. Subconsciously, she knew she wasn't to blame. The worst part about it was that she was having trouble making her conscious mind believe the same thing. Made especially difficult by the fact that everyone else in the Guild seemed to want to believe it as well. As they walked, Wookie noticed the silence coming from his right. She was completely juxtaposed to the way she had been only days ago. A Huntress with a gung-ho attitude and an almost constant smile reduced to a creature of silence and sadness. He silently noted that her hair looked a little flatter than normal, as if all this had actually drained the life out of her.

"Pinkie?" he spoke calmly, and she looked up. She was looking at him, but she wasn't really seeing him. He had to wave a hand in front of her face to bring her eyes into focus. "Hey? You gonna' be alright?" he asked her, watching her eyes as they snapped back to reality.

"I...Yes." the Huntress said, but she sounded defeated. She'd sounded that way for quite some time. The pink pompadoured Hunter knew why, but he couldn't help but feel a little spite towards her. He'd been at the wrong place at the wrong time and suffered just as gravely as she did. The difference being that the entirety of the Guild was not after him for anything. He wondered how long she was going to be able to hold herself together. They made the rest of the trip to the cafeteria in complete silence. The sounds of their footsteps echoing throughout the halls, but there was nothing else. Dead air between them.

Wookie reached out his hand and pushed the cafeteria door open. What the pair of Hunters found before them may as well have been an angry mob. Every eye in the cafeteria turned on them. The silence crashed down on them, before it was broken by a few whispers. Standing at the far end of the cafeteria, on top of a table, was Twilight Sparkle. Her two-tone hair was wild, looking as though she had just been yelling. Her face was flushed, and there were a few beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Standing next to her, on the floor, was a very displeased looking Lyra. The mint haired liaison raised her head when she noticed the silence that fell, and her eyes followed the crowd's. Seeing Pinkie and Wookie standing in the open doors, she started to work her way through the throng of people.

"Time to go...Now!" Lyra hissed as Wookie started to hesitate. She grabbed each of them by an arm and dragged them away from the cafeteria, the doors swinging shut loudly in their wake. They'd made it a fair distance down the hall when Wookie finally shook his arm loose, staring at Lyra.

"Alright. What the fuck was that about?" his voice came out a little harsher than he had intended, he knew Lyra was on their side, but the entire situation made him uncomfortable. Lyra stopped walking when he shook free, and Pinkie, who had been moving on autopilot with a blank stare, almost fell. She caught herself, but the look in her eyes didn't change. There was nothing inside them. She looked soulless.

"What do you think that was about? You guys practically walked in on a hate rally. I'm not quite sure why she's doing it, but Twilight wants to get rid of you two. Really badly. I think she's trying to gain favor with the Guildmasters. Either way, it doesn't matter. We need to keep Pinkie safe. They're going to be after her. All of them. I don't think there's a single person in there who she hadn't won over." Lyra shook her head, her mint hair moving from side to side gently. She closed her golden eyes to think, trying to formulate some kind of plan. "I just...One of us has to be with her at all times. I don't even want to think about what they may do to her if they catch her alone."

"Maybe it would be for the best if they did." Lyra and Wookie both looked at Pinkie as she spoke. Her voice sounded as hollow as her eyes looked. There was no emotion anymore, there was no anything. She was completely broken, with no sign of fixing herself anytime soon. "I mean...It is all my fault." Lyra released Pinkie's arm and rested her hand gently on the Huntress's shoulder. She seemed past the point of comforting, now. Now, Lyra was more worried about Pinkie finishing herself off than the rest of the Hunters getting at her. "Maybe I should just quit."

"Pinkie..." the liaison stared at her friend, who slowly walked away from her hand. Lyra let it hang in the air for a minute as she watched Pinkie go. "Should...Should we stop her?" the mint haired liaison looked back at Wookie, who had been standing very silently. He watched his hunting partner's back retreat around a corner, and he shook his head.

"She hasn't had a moment alone to think since everything happened in Tanzia. It may be wise to let her sort through this a bit on her own. She has to come to terms with all this, and with everyone around worrying over her, or attacking her, it's going to be too difficult. Just...Let her go, for now." Wookie spoke quietly, but Lyra noticed a slightly worried look in his eyes.

The pink haired Huntress had made her way onto the Academy grounds. The U-shaped building towered over her, and she stood in the large clearing between them. She hadn't noticed quite how long they'd been at the Academy already, and looked up at the moon, which hung a little lower in the sky than normal. It was a gentle shade of orange. She stared at it for a long time, sitting with her knees hugged against her chest. Her back against a stone wall that lined the area between the buildings. She heard footsteps on the cobblestone path to her right, but she paid them no mind. The Huntress heard them draw closer to her and stop, her eyes never left the moon.

"Seems a little dangerous for you to be here on your own, doesn't it?" Twilight's voice was laced with venom. It still held the cold, calculating tone she had always addressed Pinkie with, but there was malice behind it, now. Her eyes reflected that feeling well, as Pinkie looked up at the liaison. Twilight's hair was still out of control, but she was also alone. She hadn't brought a hoard with torches and pitchforks. It was just her.

"Maybe." Pinkie's hollow response came. "Couldn't I say the same thing to you? I was expecting an angry mob, or something. You know, like in the old monster movies? I'll be honest, I'm a bit disappointed." the Huntress looked around, wondering if the others were just hiding behind things.

"You're unarmed." Twilight spoke, oozing hatred. She held her book tightly against her chest, hugging it as though it were trying to escape.

"And? I didn't realize you had an arsenal, Twilight. Tell me, have you hidden it up your ass?" Twilight flinched. She had never heard contempt in Pinkie's voice before, and it was a bit terrifying. Pinkie stood up, and the liaison retreated a few steps. "What's the matter? I'm unarmed." it wasn't Pinkie's state of weaponry that scared Twilight, it was her eyes. They were glowering into the liaison's soul, and she felt her breath quicken. Pinkie turned to face her, and the two stood, facing one another in what appeared to be an old west stand-off. There was a howl in the distance, followed by the faint roll of thunder. Twilight had regained her composure and stood up straighter, trying to make herself look bigger. Pinkie just glared at her. There was another howl, and the roll of thunder sounded much closer. "Go ahead. Make my day." Pinkie hissed.

Lighting crashed down from the sky, obliterating the ground between them and throwing them away from one another. Twilight hit the stone wall, blacking out on impact. Pinkie rolled along the ground and quickly gathered herself, jumping to her feet. She looked around, trying to spot the source of the attack, assuming that the Alatreon was behind it. She, however, found nothing. There was nothing in sight, but she heard the thundering sound of something galloping closer. She ducked as something bounded over the stone wall. There was a crackle of lightning, and Pinkie felt whatever it was pass over her. The static electricity the thing emitted made the Huntress's hair stand up on end. She looked up as she heard it land heavily on the ground, her hair falling flat again.

Standing in the middle of the courtyard was a creature that Pinkie had never laid eyes on before. Its body was covered in blue scales, and it had a very canine face. Two off white horns jutted out from atop its head, and there was a wide line of fur running from the back of its neck, all the way down to the base of its tail. The scales on its tail matched the off white color of its horns, and it widened at the end, ending in two spikes that acted as conduits for the electricity in its body. It rounded on the Huntress, and she, all at once, realized how helpless she was as its eyes bore down on her.

"Pinkie!" she heard her name being shouted, and she looked past the monster to see Wookie running towards her. On his back hung the Warhammer from earlier, he was also carrying the Iron Katana that she had been using. He took one hopping step forward and belted the Longsword through the air. She hurried backwards and jumped, catching the weapon in her hands. She drew the katana and threw the scabbard to the ground, letting it clatter away from her. All at once, the Huntress felt whole again. All thoughts of quitting the Guild, of leaving this lifestyle, vanished as soon as she held a weapon. A characteristic smile spread across her face, and the monster charged her. She dove out of the way, and ran to Wookie's side quickly. Making a mental note of her surroundings. The courtyard of the Academy was far more cluttered than any other place she'd fought before. Trees and large rocks filled the area. She wondered how this would affect the outcome of the battle.

"Nice of you to show up. I kind of assumed this was the end." the Huntress drew the Longsword to her standard stance, watching the monster turn to face them, it's amber eyes shimmering in the darkness. "So, what the hell is this thing?" she asked, watching it.

"Lyra said it's a Zinogre." the Hunter spoke, he stumbled a bit over the pronunciation of the monster's name. "The Guild doesn't know much about them. They've only been recently spotted. But, one thing's for sure. This one should not be here. The Guild has a barricade up to keep monsters out of the Academy. This thing should never have made it past the wall..." Wookie sounded a bit grave, and the Zinogre began another charge. The pair split, running opposite directions to give themselves room to maneuver. As it got between them, the wolf-esque monster swung its tail in a wide, spinning arc, barely missing the Hunters. Electricity crackled as the monster's inertia lifted it high into the air. It came crashing down, letting out a roar as it landed on its feet. Its movements were lightning quick and erratic. Pinkie had never seen a monster move this way before. She tightened her grip on the hilt of her Longsword and sprinted towards the beast. From the corner of her eye, she saw Wookie closing the gap, too. They came from opposite angles, and the Huntress swung her weapon in a wide, overhead arc, cleaving it deep into the creatures scales. The monster let out a roar before it was silence by Wookie's Warhammer smashing into its mouth. The loud crack of breaking bones echoed off the surrounding buildings, and there were already lights coming on in the overhead dorm rooms. The fight was waking the Hunters-in-training.

"We need to end this, quick!" Pinkie yelled as the monster threw itself away from them. It skidded to a halt, and started to howl. The pair of Hunters watched as small, blue orbs of energy started to bound up from the ground. They were completely entranced by the spectacle until, with one final, window shattering howl, a burst of electricity surrounded the Zinogre. The line of fur on its back stood straight up, lightning sparking off its back. It snarled, and the blue glow of electricity swam inside its eyes. Pinkie set her jaw, and the Zinogre let out another howl, lighting splitting the sky and almost striking the Huntress. It hadn't noticed Wookie, who had been working his way around behind it, trying to get the jump on it. It started to rear back to lunge at Pinkie, who had a singe on her arm where the lightning had grazed her. It stood up on it hind legs before taking a heavy blow to the ribs from the Hunter's Hammer. It collapsed heavily to the ground, winded. It flailed a bit before rolling away. Its breathing was labored, and glared at the two of them. "Give me a boost." Pinkie spoke in a hushed tone as she stepped up next to her partner, as though she thought the monster may be able to understand her.

"What?" Wookie's reaction was about what Pinkie had expected. He looked at her, eyebrows raised. "A boost?"

"Yeah. I have a plan. This thing uses electricity. Just trust me." she didn't elaborate much, and lifted the Longsword into a defensive stance. "Now hit the blade as hard as you can. Make sure to get under me. I need to get some air." he looked at her skeptically before shrugging and stepping backwards. The Zinogre was taking this chance to gather itself, its tongue lolling out of its mouth as it gasped for air. Wookie had broken at least two of its ribs. The Hammer wielding Hunter put his left side towards Pinkie, and she nodded at him. He shook his head slightly and ran forward, rearing back and slamming the head of his Warhammer into the Longsword. Pinkie immediately felt herself go skyward, and she shut her eyes tight. She was going to have a nasty bruise on the leg that took the brunt of that hit. She opened her eyes and looked down. She had almost reached the top of the school at the peak of her trajectory. She took a deep breath as she started to descend.

"This...Looks bad." Wookie muttered, and he started running at the Zinogre, who was watching Pinkie with hunger in its eyes. Pinkie's descent increased dramatically in speed, and the electricity crackled through the air. The Zinogre let out a howl, and the Huntress immediately thrust the blade to the sky. The metal drew the bolt of lightning to it, and it accelerated her descent. She hit terminal velocity as Wookie smashed his Hammer into the shin of the Zinogre, staggering it. It was starting to recover, but Pinkie made a full three-sixty spin in the air, and brought the Longsword into the back of the beast's neck. It acted like a super-heated knife through warm butter. She cut the creature's head off and cauterized it, all in one fell swoop. The head arced through the air, landing with a heavy thud on the ground, and Pinkie stood up straight. She had sweat pouring down her face.

"Good plan? Great plan." she said with a grin, letting the Longsword drop to the ground.
> Chapter 17 - Magic is Friendship
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie Pie and Wookie Love stood before the broken carcass of the Zinogre. The Huntress crouched down and picked up her Longsword, sliding it into its sheath. A small sigh escaped her lips, and her hair, though matted with blood, carried a certain buoyancy once more. She scratched the back of her head and looked around the courtyard, there were burnt patches of grass at random intervals where the Zinogre had called down lightning, or its electrical powers had leapt from its body and singed it. A tree was broken nearby, and there was a black, smoldering wood at the split. Wookie had made his way over to Twilight, who was starting to come to. The blow to the back of her head didn't do much for the liaison's health.

"Ugh..." Twilight muttered, her eyes fluttering open. Her pupils looked a bit dilated, she had hit the stone wall pretty hard. "What happened?" her question was broken by a shaking voice.

"Pinkie just saved your ass." Wookie helped her to her feet, holding her steady so that she wouldn't fall. "That's what happened." the liaison glanced over at the Huntress, her eyes holding a little less contempt than normal. "I think you may want to apologize to her."

"No need, Wook." Pinkie piped, approaching the two. "A 'thank you' from her would feel forced and insincere." there was a certain level of contempt in the pink-haired Huntress's voice. "Just let her keep her pride. I just hope you'll remember this the next time you start an Anti-Pinkie Pie rally." she pressed a finger against Twilight's nose, shoving her hands into her pockets as she walked away, humming, Longsword slung across her back.

"Damn her." the purple-haired liaison hissed. Wookie just shook his head and let her go. She stood fine on her own, and stomped off in the opposite direction of the Huntress. Wookie turned and followed his partner, Hammer clattering heavily on his back as he ran to catch up to her.

"I think you hurt her pride more with that than it would have hurt her to thank you." he spoke as he caught up with her.

"I know." came Pinkie's response, a grin plastered across her face.


/) (\


The sun peeked over the trees the next day, shining into the dorm that the pair of Hunters shared. Pinkie raised a hand to deter the offending rays of light from blinding her as she rose into a sitting position. She slid off the top bunk and landed with a soft thud on the carpeted floor. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and shorts to sleep in. She'd grown accustomed to sleeping in armor, so it was kind of comforting to sleep in normal clothing. She scratched the back of her head as she went about her morning routine. After attempting to brush her hair, which always ended in it bouncing into the same position, she would do her morning stretches, though they felt a little unnecessary, seeing as how she wasn't supposed to be hunting things, anyway. Wookie lay in his bed, dead to the world. There was a soft knock on their door, and Pinkie raised an eyebrow, staring at it. She debated on answering it until she heard a friendly voice.

"Pinkie, you up?" Lyra's voice rang in her head. Knocking seemed unnecessary if she could just do that, but maybe it was a common courtesy. The Huntress opened the door and stepped out into the hall. There she came face-to-face with both liaisons. One she loved, and one she couldn't stand. "Miss Sparkle here insisted that she needed to talk to you, so I brought her along. I figured I would come with just to make sure nothing happened." Lyra shot a look at the liaison with the two-toned purple hair, before smiling at her friend. "Well? Go ahead, Twilight."

"I'm..." Pinkie could tell Twilight was struggling with this, and it amused her. "I'm sorry." she finally broke, and Pinkie had to grin.

"That wasn't as insincere as I thought it would be! Good job, Twilight!" Pinkie's tone was jovial. Killing that Zinogre had done wonders for her mood. A small sneeze escaped the Huntress, and a few strands of confetti hit the floor. "Whoops! Anyway, is that all you guys needed? If so, I'm going to get some breakfast."

"There are a few more things to discuss, but that can be done over food. Will your partner be joining us?" Lyra asked, looking over Pinkie's shoulder at the sleeping Hunter. His pink hair still stuck in a pompadour shape.

"Only if you have a wheelchair. Neither of us have slept good, recently. The only reason I'm up is because the sun stabbed me in the eyelids first." the Huntress said. "I'm going to put my normal clothes on, then I'll be ready to go." she stepped into the bathroom as she spoke, and adorned her normal attire. It was her Academy uniform, which still fit, since she had only graduated recently. It was also the only real article of clothing she owned that wasn't her armor. She checked to make sure nothing was ripped, seeing as how she was not the most gentle person with clothing. Her inspection ending clean, she walked with the two liaisons down to the cafeteria.


 /) (\


"What did you girls need to speak to me about?" Pinkie asked, grabbing various and sundry foods off the breakfast buffet. There were not many Hunters-in-Training up and about this morning. The Zinogre attack had woken a lot of them, and they'd had trouble going back to sleep. It was no surprise, seeing as how a few of the windows closest to the battle had shattered when the lightning-coated monster let out a roar.

"The Guildmasters want you to come in for a hearing." Lyra said in a very matter-of-fact tone, even though Pinkie almost dropped the bottle of juice in her hand.

"A hearing? That seems a little extreme." the Huntress spoke, her eyes flicking back and forth between the two liaisons. Twilight looked uncomfortable, but Lyra seemed relatively nonplussed. "I mean, I thought they only did that for Hunters who broke rules or attacked other Hunters..."

"They're trying to treat the Alatreon as an extention of your body. They're basically trying to say that the dragon attacking Tanzia was the same as you doing it yourself." Pinkie could tell this bothered her mint-haired friend, as she'd never heard so much venom in Lyra's voice. "It should be an open and shut case, because while they're blinded to what's going on, the Council will not see it as they do. They know that no single Hunter could control such a beast." the last statement made Pinkie's stomach churn, and she wasn't sure why. She put back one of the items she had selected. Her appetite was waning.

"So...What do I have to do?" the Huntress asked, and she would have accepted an answer from Twilight at that point, but Lyra piped in first.

"State your case. Tell the truth. There is no concrete evidence pointing to the fact that you control Alatreon, or that its actions should be blamed on you. There is nothing they can do except set a date for your suspension to end." Lyra was trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince Pinkie, but the look on her face gave no indication of that. Truthfully, she was worried that they would succeed, and her friend would be executed for crimes against the Guild which caused the deaths of several Hunters.

"Right. Sounds like a plan." Pinkie said, trying hard to sound positive. She was scared out of her mind, but she couldn't let them see that.

"They also said that Mr. Love will be receiving his license back on the day of your hearing, regardless of how things go for you. They acknowledge that he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." it was Twilight who spoke this time. Pinkie had to give a small smile. At least, if things went bad for her, he would still be able to go on with his life.

"So, what day is my hearing?" Pinkie cocked her head, chewing on a piece of toast as she looked at Lyra.

"Three hours from now." Lyra's answer caused Pinkie to comically spit bits of toast onto her tray.


/) (\


Pinkamena Dianne Pie stood and stared at the double doors before her. They were tall and foreboding. The wood was beautifully polished, and the carving on the door showed a depiction of Celestia and Luna fighting what appeared to be an oversized Rathalos.

"You gonna' be okay?" Wookie asked, and she looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"One way or another, I suppose." her voice was shaking as she placed her hand on one of the brushed gold door handles and pushed, stepping into the room. There was a wave of mutters that passed through the room upon her entry. She glanced across the room, noticing all the eyes that fell upon her. It made her a little more than uncomfortable as she walked up the aisle, approaching the podium. She came to a stop at the base of the Guildmaster's podium, looking up at the two sisters, who sat in uncomfortable silence, glaring down at the Huntress standing below them.

"We assume thou knows why thou was summoned before us?" Luna's voice boomed across the room. A few Council members plugged their ears.

"Volume, sister." Celestia held up her hand, and Luna quieted herself. "Pinkamena Dianne Pie. You have been brought before us today to answer for crimes against the Guild, and the confirmed death of a least three Hunters. At least four other Hunters are missing. These are crimes that are unforgivable. How do you plea?"

"Not guilty. Duh!" Pinkie's fear was gone. Something had possessed her and she realized she was tired of being blamed for all of this. "You're blaming me for the acts of a monster? Who do you blame when a monster kills a Hunter in the field? You don't blame another Hunter. Why are you blaming me because the Alatreon attacked Tanzia?" silence filled the room after she finished speaking. There was a string of mutters from the Council's podium, which resembled a Jury's bench.

"On what grounds?!" Luna stood up, slamming her hands down on the podium in front of her. Her lips curled into a snarl. "We found you there! And that thing was not attacking you!" the navy-haired Guildmaster pointed an accusing finger at Pinkie.

"As soon as you have a point, let me know." the Huntress crossed her arms in front of her chest. "All I can see is that you found me in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"The Alatreon claimed that you and he were somehow connected." the calmer of the sisters spoke, Luna still glaring at Pinkie. Celestia's eyes had softened. "That seems incriminating enough. Still, though, I wish to make this trial fair. As a 'guilty' verdict will lead to permanent suspension and possibly execution." the last word made Pinkie flinch. She hadn't even considered the fact that being put to death was a possibility.

The trial proceeded, both sides presenting their cases. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a set of Dual Blades. Pinkie was fidgeting in her chair, her eyes flashing back and forth between the sisters and the Council. Lyra had spoken on the Huntress's behalf. The mint-haired liaison had made a strong case in her favor, as Pinkie was not allowed to defend herself after the initial plea. Forty-five minutes had passed. Forty-five high tension, stress inducing minutes passed before Celestia addressed the room as a whole.

"Will that be all, then?" the Guildmaster asked, scanning the room with her eyes.

"One more thing!" a voice echoed throughout the circular room. Twilight was walking towards the podium. Pinkie's eyes got wide as she watched the purple-haired liaison. She had to be here to finalize the decision against the Huntress. This was it. She was going to the gallows for sure. "Pinkamena Dianne Pie saved my life last night. When the Zinogre attacked the Academy, only her and her partner, Mr. Wookie Love, came out to defend the building. They showed more spine than any Hunters I've seen in quite some time. I would also like to point out that, upon review of the report on the attack on Tanzia, I found that Miss Pie stood her ground and attempted to strike down the Alatreon. To no great effect, but she did not stand idly by as it attacked. Also, she was not present when the dragon descended upon the port. I find it hard to think that she should be blamed for such a thing when she wasn't even present."

"That was a change of heart." Pinkie whispered to Lyra, who was sitting next to the Huntress.

"Saving someone's life will do that." the liaison replied in an equally hushed tone. Another wave of mutters came from the Council, and the Guildmasters looked as though they could spit fire. Though, Celestia was a bit more composed than her sister. "Let's just hope for the best." Celestia raised a gavel, and let it drop heavily, silencing the room.

"In light of the new evidence, I would like to allow the council to adjourn to make the final decision on the fate of Monster Hunter Pinkamena Dianne Pie." the calmer Guildmaster spoke, but there was a slight twinge of hatred in her voice. The Council rose and left the room, a cacophony of unintelligible muttering resounding from them. "We will take a recess until a decision is made." she slammed the gavel down again, and everyone rose to their feet, leaving the courtroom.


/) (\


They were all summoned in within the hour, and Lyra, Twilight, and Wookie stood outside the double doors. They were standing in silence, staring at their shoes. They weren't paying attention to how much time passed, but the doors flew open after an undetermined amount of time. Pinkie stood in the doorway, and her expression was grim.

"Oh no..." Lyra spoke, looking crestfallen. Even Twilight's speech couldn't save the Huntress. Pinkie reached into her chest pocket and pulled out a small plastic care. A grin crawled across her face. Her license, with a 'Reinstated' stamp, glimmered in the fluorescent lights.
> Chapter 18 - The Lava-Chicken
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie dug through her trunk, more than relieved to have her old gear back. As she sifted, she noticed that nothing was out of place. There was nothing missing. She adorned her Rathian armor once more and smiled at how right it felt. Though she'd only been out of it for a few days, it had felt considerably longer. Lyra and Wookie were standing with her on a boat bound for a destination that none of them had been informed about, the latter having already adorned his armor as well. He was wearing the standard leather armor set that all Hunter's started with.

"Why the change?" Pinkie asked, cocking her head, a smile permanently plastered on her face at the time.

"When I'm wearing the Bhahabara armor, I can't properly wield a close-range weapon. It's not thick enough. Too dangerous to get close to a monster. Gunner armor is considerably lighter than Blademaster armor." Wookie explained, when Pinkie gave him a blank look. Having been nothing but a Blademaster herself, she was unaware of the fact that the two armors varied in uses. She'd learned about it at the Academy, but the knowledge left her not long after she left the school. She wasn't much for retaining facts.

"Oooooohhhhh..." she uttered, finally understanding. "So, you're wanting to use something up close and personal?" Wookie nodded.

"I've taken quite a liking to this thing." he reached into his trunk and pulled the massive Warhammer from the depths. "I may see what else it has to offer."

"You do seem to do pretty well with it." Pinkie said, and she looked down at the Iron Katana that sat quietly in her trunk. She picked it up and drew it slowly from the sheath, the blade gleaming in the sunlight. The boat rocked gently, waves lapping against the sides of it. Sun beat down on the three companions as Pinkie looked at the Longsword in awe. Something about it spoke to her, and she wasn't quite sure what it was. She had loved her Switch Axe, and wouldn't have traded it in for the world, but it felt like a weapon, and nothing more. The Longsword she grasped in both hands, sheath resting against her trunk, almost felt as though it were personified. Like it was more than just a dangerously sharp piece of metal. "Maybe..." she spoke to no one in particular.

The Huntress caught something on the horizon out of the corner of her eye. She wheeled around, Longsword in hand, watching as a very familiar mountain crawled ever closer to the sky over the curve of the Earth.

"R-really?" Pinkie turned towards Lyra, who had a knowing smile on her face. Wookie looked confused. "We're going back? Is anyone else even there, right now?" the liaison shook her head.

"No, the village is still abandoned. But, as a form of redemption, the Guild wants you to continue your work there. Since Tanzia is still a wreck, there's really nowhere else for you two to go that fits your rank." Lyra explained, folding her hands behind her back as the boat drew ever closer to Moga Village.

Pinkie heard faint footsteps coming from below deck. She clutched tightly to the Longsword, watching the door that lead up from the storage area and up onto the deck. Her eyes never wavered, and Wookie's gaze followed hers, falling on the door. Footsteps ascended the stairs, and they both watched as the door was flung open. Standing in the open doorway was Magnum, Moga's former Wyverian Artisan. The Wyverian yawned and stretched, popping his back as his fingers gripped at the air.

"This damn thing just won't sail smoothly, will it? When are you Guildies gonna' get some better boat technology?" he asked in his casually short tone. His eyes fell upon the Huntress, who was staring at him in silent shock. "What? Did you honestly think they'd send you back without someone who can make equipment for you two? Heh. Not even those stuck-up Guildies are that stupid." Lyra pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger.

"Alright, Magnum. Enough belittling the Guild. Some of us do actually work hard, you know?" the mint-haired liaison spoke, her tone a bit more resentful than she had intended. Magnum, however, just smirked.

"Yeah, yeah. You're doing a bang-up job over there. How's Tanzia coming along?" he asked in mock concern, which caused all present, besides him, to downcast their eyes and mumble incoherent responses. "That's what I thought." the Artisan looked out towards Moga, a genuine smile finally appearing on his face. "No place like home." he said.

The four of them sat and talked for another forty minutes before the boat nestled up next to the dock. Some of the plant life from the farm had started to grow a bit out of control. Pinkie hadn't realized it, but it had been quite some time since she had been to the village. She tried to remember when, exactly, as she walked along the pier, towards the center of town. There was clearly no indication of anyone living there, so no one had squatted at the abandoned village in the last few months. Pinkie grunted as she began to drag her trunk towards the place she called home. She pushed the door aside, and heard the skittering of Bhahabara fleeing from the light, and a Vespoid buzzed past her, almost running into her. It wasn't as large as some of the ones out in the field, but none of them were small. She dragged her trunk into the house and flung it into the corner where she had kept it before. Wookie followed her, dragging his own trunk in there.
"This our storage area?" he asked, thudding his trunk down opposite hers. The Huntress was almost a little embarrassed, since the house was a mess and she suddenly had someone else in there.

"No, this is where I lived when I was working here." she scratched the back of her head nervously, her pink hair fluffing a bit as she did so. "I, obviously, have not been around to keep up with the mess." there was still some residual confetti from the last time she'd been here.

"Don't worry. The Guild is shipping you guys another bed." Lyra's voice came from the doorway, and Pinkie jumped a bit in surprise, though she wasn't sure why. She'd known Lyra was with them. "It'll be a few days, but it should be here. Now, let's get busy, shall we?" the liaison clapped her hands together and walked out of sight. She made her way over to her original post, hopping over the counter and sitting down on the horrendously uncomfortable barrel that served as her chair. While it did nothing for her comfort level, she felt a little better knowing that things were going to be back to normal before long. Or, at least, that's what she was hoping. She closed her eyes, sighing contentendly, before reaching into one of her drawers. The drawers a liaison used were a mystery, as they always seemed to be able to pull Hunting Contracts out of them, despite the distance from Guild Headquarters. She pulled up a piece of paper and looked it over, her eyes scanning it. What she found was something she hadn't expected. "Interesting. I'm going to take a wild guess and say neither of you has been to the volcanic region, yet?" they both shook their heads. "Perfect. While the Guild looks into whatever is attacking the island, you guys are going to hunt an Agnaktor." she passed the paper across the counter to them. Pinkie picked it up and stared at it. The creature depicted on the piece of paper appeared to be very serpent-like, and it looked like it had a beak. The Huntress turned to paper around a few times, trying to find a way to make this monster look threatening, but to no avail. It just looked like a stretched out bird, in her head, sans wings.

"This thing looks...Odd." Wookie spoke, watching his hunting partner examine the paper thoroughly. "What is it, exactly?" he looked at Lyra as Pinkie continued to rotate the paper over and over.

"It's a leviathan class monster, much like the Lagiacrus, but it lives in volcanic regions. It can dig around and coat itself in a kind of lava armor." the liaison elaborated, watching the pink-haired Huntress with a bemused smile on her face. "I don't think it's out of your ability range, though maybe your armor range." she looked Wookie up and down. "Leather and lava don't mix, honey." a smirk spread across Wookie's face, and he shook his head.

"I know, but it'll have to do until I can get something else." he spoke, and Pinkie, who had been completely oblivious to the entire conversation, threw the fee down in front of Lyra.

"Let's go. Time to kill us a Lava-Chicken!" the Huntress exclaimed, moving quickly to the boat. She had chosen to take the Longsword with her, having grown quite fond of it in the short time she'd used it. Wookie just looked at Lyra and the two shrugged to one another before the Hunter followed his partner to the boat.


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They got off the boat on the volcanic island. The sky was clouded by ash, and the volcano would let out a belch of fire at random intervals. Pinkie's eyes watched the sky in wonder, smoke and fire curling up into the air and leaving a smell in the air that was heavy with brimstone. Wookie stepped up next to her, sweat already beginning to form beads on his forehead.

"Fucking hot out here." he spoke, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Well, it is a volcano." the Huntress retorted, walking over to the trunk that was situated at the base camp. She tossed a few Cold Drinks and First-Aid Meds over to Wookie before shoveling some Rations into her mouth. She wasn't sure what the Rations were made of, but, whatever it was, it never seemed to taste bad.

"I feel like you're just wasting those." Wookie spoke, storing the supplies she'd tossed him into his item bag.

"I feel like you're not eating them enough." Pinkie said, turning on her heel and walking downhill into an area that had small patches of grass, burnt trees, and a body of water that could be mistaken for a puddle. How any water could be present in this section of hell was beyond Pinkie's understanding. She popped the top off one of her Cold Drinks and downed it as she walked, tossing the bottle aside when the contents were drained. There was a small ledge that took her entirely too much effort to climb over, and that Wookie vaulted easily. "Stupid, bulky armor!" she squeaked, pulling herself up onto the ledge.

The higher they climbed, the hotter it got. By the time they reached the shelf below the summit of the mountain, they were both pouring sweat and looking more miserable than not.

"Where the fuck is this thing?" Wookie asked, looking around for any sign of a leviathan coated in lava.

"No idea." came the Huntress's response, between gasping breaths. This had been harder on her, because her armor was far more cumbersome than the leather that her partner was wearing. No sooner had they spoken, though, than a roar filled the air. They both wheeled around, eyes scanning the area. Neither of them saw anything, but the ground beneath their feet started to shake. Pinkie looked down, noticing that her feet were starting to feel excessively hot. The ground had turned bright orange, and the monster burst forth from the ground. The Huntress was launched through the air like a toy. Wookie had managed to avoid the creatures first attack, but he was a bit stunned at how large the Agnaktor really was. The picture did it no justice. It was easily as large as the Lagiacrus, and it moved very similarly. The difference being the lack of electric spikes on the back of it, and its beak. The monster's golden eyes scanned the area, they fell upon Wookie first. The creature clicked its beak loudly, an act meant to ward of potential threats. The clicking sent sparks and lava airborn. The Hunter was looking around for his partner, but he saw no sign of her. He was about to call out to her, fearful that she'd fallen into the river of lava, when the Agnaktor lunged at him. He felt a massive level of heat radiating off the monster as he barely got out of the way of the attack. His right hand closed around the hilt of his Hammer, and he brought it around, striking the monster in the side of the head as hard as he could. He felt a crunch as the leviathan recoiled from the blow. He noticed a dazed look in its eyes, as though it were close to being stunned, but the monster shook it off and advanced on him again.

Pinkie, meanwhile, was still floating through the air. She had just reached the top of her arc, and was fairly certain she could see the mountain of Moga off in the distance before she began her descent. She looked down, noticing how Wookie looked oddly like an ant with a Warhammer before she drew her Longsword from its sheath. Holding the empty sheath in one hand and the hilt of the katana in the other, she gathered speed, approaching the Agnaktor from above. Wookie glanced up, seeing her approaching. He grinned, glad that she wasn't a deep fried Huntress. Whether the monster noticed, or whether it was just dumb luck, the Agnaktor actually started to burrow into the ground. The Hunter noticed, and ran forward, taking a swing to try and knock it out of the motion. It started to rotate, despite the attack, and was below ground before the Hunter could stop it. He cursed himself as he heard a small scream followed by a loud thud. He cringed, looking over at the crumpled form of his hunting partner. He put the Hammer away and rushed over to her.

"Pinkie? Pinkie?!" he bent down, quickly helping her to her feet. She looked as if she had a massive concussion, and, more than that, was lucky to be alive. Her head lolled back and forth for a few moments before she finally caught herself.

"Where did that jerk go?" she asked, putting the sheath on her back so she could have both hands on the hilt of her weapon. "That hurt like hell. If he hadn't run, I'd have had some cushion, at least." the ground began to shake again, and they split, running in opposite directons as the leviathan burst forth from the ground again. It only came up half way, its bottom half still submerged in solid rock and lava. It clicked its beak again, and the pair of Hunters glared at it. It glared back for a moment before opening its mouth, releasing a jet of magma straight from its mouth. It punched a hole clean through a large rock that was behind the Hunters, and the beam itself narrowly missed the pair. Their eyes were wide in shock as the creature slinked below the ground once more.

"I vaguely remember Lyra saying this thing was within our capabilities to fight. I don't remember any mention of fucking laser beams!" Wookie exclaimed as he stared at the hole that the Agnaktor had punched through the rock. He could clearly see the sky on the other side of the rock. It was a thick chunk of earth, too. Close to ten feet wide. The magma jet had punched a hole clean through it, as though it were constructed of butter rather than stone.

"I don't even remember the 'within our capabilities' part." Pinkie said, and dodged out of the way as the monster came up out of the ground again. It spiraled into the air until the tip of its tail came up from the rock, and then it crashed heavily to the ground, landing on its feet. It wheeled itself around, and was greeted by a Longsword to the beak. Pinkie had swung with enough force that she actually knocked the monster's head down into the ground, plunging its beak into the rock and causing it to become stuck. Wookie dashed forward, and his Hammer made a hissing sound, as though it were letting off steam. The Huntress backed off as her partner swung with every ounce of strength he had. He slammed the head of the Warhammer into the monster's eye, sending the creature sprawling along the ground. It let out a howl of pain as the pink-haired Huntress closed the gap quickly. She dragged the Longsword across the stone, sending sparks flying up from the ground as she made her approach. The Agnaktor lifted its head slightly, a pained look in its eye, before Pinkie drove the katana deep into its skull. Another howl of pain, and the monster rolled over, dragging Pinkie with it, until it rolled on top of her. Between the weight of the beast and the heat from the volcano, she was quickly becoming exhausted. Sweat was pouring down her face in a torrent, and she looked as if she was on the verge of collapse.

Wookie, having noticed his partner's distress, made his move. Sprinting forward, he took a golf swing at the Agnaktor's head. The force of the strike was so great, that it knocked Pinkie's Longsword out of the wound it had created, and sent it clattering across the searing stone. As soon as her weapon was free, he took another swing, this time with enough force to cause the creature to be knocked away from Pinkie. Clearly in a severe amount of pain, the Agnaktor rolled onto its feet and burrowed into the ground, disappearing from view in a whirl of lava and broken stone. The pompadoured Hunter knelt down, shaking his partner.

"Up and at 'em, Pink. No time for a nap." he continued to shake her until she gave a reluctant grunt. Like a petulant child being awoken from a nap, she laid there for a few more minutes, hoping he'd just let her die there, but he persisted. Mumbling, the Huntress got to her feet, her eyes scanning the area for her weapon. "I think it wound up in that direction." she followed his directions, and found it laying dangerously close to a ledge that lead down into a river of lava. She picked it up, staring into the molten abyss, wondering to herself how bad it would burn if she jumped in. She shook the offending thoughts from her mind quickly, and returned to her partner.

"Where did that thing go?" the Huntress asked. "It doesn't seem like it was in very good shape." Wookie was consulting a map in silence, trying to find the most secluded area. One where an injurred monster would be most likely to recover.

"Here." he pressed his finger to the map, indicating the area directly below their current location. "It's further down the volcano, so its likely to be not as blisteringly hot." he rolled the map up, returning it to his pouch. "Let's get this done." Pinkie nodded, and they began to descend.


/) (\


They entered an area that acted as a natural valley. Probably crafted by the planet itself from a former lava flow. Now, just an area where steam shot up from the ground with hissing fervor. The pair of Hunters scanned the area, finding their target coiled up. The lava that coated the leviathan's body had blackened, forming a natural armor. They both clutched their weapon's tightly, creeping ever closer to the sleeping monster.

"Plan of attack?" Pinkie asked, noticing the hissing sounds coming Wookie's Warhammer. "I figured I'd ask, since you seem like you already have something in mind."

"Yeah." he said, raising the Hammer high above his head. "Knock the fuck out of it." he brought it down with enough force to shatter the hardened lava on the Agnaktor's head. It flailed wildly, screeching as it got to its feet, only to be greeted by a powerful slash from Pinkie's weapon. Having already had an eye gouged out, the blow to the face was enough to send the monster reeling, another loud screech escaping it. It tried to recover, but Wookie smashed the Warhammer relentlessly into the leviathan's foreleg. It tumbled again, and Pinkie managed to goug out its remaining eye, completely blinding the creature. It didn't have many more opportunities to attack before the pair sent the monster to meet the reaper. Its death wail shook the air, and the two of them, soaked in their own sweat, stood over the beast as it gave its death throes. Pinkie took the sheath off her back, putting her katana away. Wookie swung his Hammer around, latching it onto his back. "I'm a little surprised at how smoothly that went." Wookie spoke as the pair began to carve away at the monster.

"I'm not. I mean, the laser beam was a bit surprising, but let's be honest. This thing was just a lava-chicken. I wasn't too worried." Pinkie spoke, hacking off a fin and putting it into her pouch. Wookie chuckled, shaking his head.
> Chapter 19 - Can't Spell "Chainslaughter" Without "Laughter"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a few weeks since the pair of Hunters had heard any major news from the Guild, and Lyra had only given them petty work. Qurupeco and Royal Ludroth Hunts were all that were coming their way at the moment. Neither of them complained, though. They were just glad to be able to keep hunting. In addition to that, it was doing wonders for their stock of resources. They spent most of the Hunts gathering plants and ore, since the monsters they were being tasked to hunt were child's play in comparison to some of the things they'd fought recently. The Zinogre and Agnaktor were as deadly as multiple Qurupecos. Pinkie had been talking with Magnum as of late, since the Artisan had been pretty much out of work without her around, and he had spent his free time working on a new kind of Longsword. The Huntress had been very interested in the weapon when he had presented her with the idea, and, having developed a fondness for Longswords, she agreed to gather the materials for it. Wookie had been diligently working with a Hammer, and he'd had Magnum forge the Numbingbird. A Hammer which had a head the resembled a purple lotus, with green tipped petals. Pinkie noticed that a few times when Wookie had been charging in to do an attack, that needles had stuck out from the tips of the petals. She hadn't paid them much mind, until she noticed that they seemed to have a paralyzing effect on some monsters.

Sweat poured down the Huntress's face as she stood in Magnum's workshop. It was still a bit dusty from sitting dormant, but the heat from the forge was just as intense. Pinkie wiped the sweat away from her brow with the back of her hand, listening to the Artisan hammer away at something. She'd turned in all the materials that he'd asked her to gather. It mostly consisted of ore, and a few Thunderbugs. The latter crackled and let out a squeal as the Wyverian crushed them into liquid. Magnum was humming happily as he worked, hammering away at the Longsword he was constructing.

"I think yer gonna' like this one, kid." he said with a chuckle. "Seems like it would really be your speed." Pinkie tried to get a look at what he was constructing, but it didn't look like what she had expected. It was rounded, and split in the center to make a compact shape, much like her Switch Axes. It was rounded at the tip, as well, wider than the base of the weapon. The hilt looked like it had some kind of lever on it. She narrowed her eyes, trying to wrap her mind around what she was seeing. She thought it was supposed to be a Longsword, but it looked more like an oddly shaped oar. "It'll be done tomorrow morning, so quit crowding me. Get outta' here. Don't you have other things to do?"

"But I wanna' know nooooooow!" Pinkie dropped to her knees and smacked the ground. "Can't I just stay here until you finish?"

"Not unless you want to have an unfortunate meeting with a hammer." he growled, giving her a glare that showed her he wasn't kidding.

"Right. I'll, um...I'll just go then!" the pink-haired Huntress grinned and made haste out of the smithy's workshop. She didn't realize how late it was until she stepped outside. The moon sat high in the sky, bathing Moga Village in a soft glow. She rubbed her eyes, yawning. She decided to wander the village for a bit, maybe see something she hadn't before. The Huntress made her way to the farm, which was still deserted. The farmer hadn't come back with them, and the weeds were starting to take over. What she did find at the farm surprised her far more than the weeds, though.

"How have you been, Huntress?" Luna's voice was kept at a lower level than normal. She wasn't using her Royal Guildmaster voice. She spoke like a normal person, though she still had a regal air about her. She was sitting atop a rock, though she was at face level with Pinkie. The Huntress was feeling oddly naked without a weapon even though she still wore her full set of armor.

"Pretty good?" the upward inflection in her voice reflected her nervousness. The last time Pinkie had seen Luna, they were not on such friendly terms. The Guildmaster stared at her, unblinking, but there was no contempt in her eyes, like there had been before. She sat in silence, a Thunderbug buzzing around her, making a sparking noise as it went. "Is...Is there something you need from me?" Pinkie finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Actually, yes. I have come to speak to you about the monster beneath the island." Luna stood up, her armor clinking gently. She approached the Huntress, who stood her ground, despite the overwhelming aura the Guildmaster exhuded. "I trust you have heard nothing more on the subject since you first departed from the Village?"

"No, ma'am." Pinkie shook her head in response to Luna's question. "Has something come up about it?"

"Yes. Or, rather, I should say that my sister and I have always known what was down there. It has lain dormant for many years, though, and we thought it had moved on." Luna's hair seemed a bit more luminescent in the moonlight, and she looked more serious than angry. "Recent events, however, have proved otherwise. You see, the monster beneath the island is actually an Elder Dragon. One of the few that we still know dwells on this planet. This one has taken refuge under this island because it isn't as predatory as some of the others. The Ceadeus is more docile than most of the others."

"What does this have to do with me?" Pinkie sounded nervous, again. She noticed this and was tired of hearing that tone in her own voice. "I assume you want me to kill it, but an Elder Dragon is not an easy mountain to topple."

"Which is exactly why we had not requested that you hunt this monster down before. This creature is too vicious to be killed alone. We had intended to send a full team of experienced Hunters back to this island, but none of them would sign on." the Guildmaster spoke, and a bit of malice crawled into her voice towards the end of her statement. "Apparently it was beneath them. Regardless, you and your hunting partner are here on this island, now, and my sister and I would like you to perform this task. Seeing how you handled the Zinogre and the Agnaktor, we think you two are more than capable of killing the Elder Dragon." Luna walked past Pinkie, heading towards the village. "You should know, however, that this is a very dangerous mission, and one that will require you to spend an extensive amount of time underwater. There is no guarantee that you will come back from this alive. Guild support will be minimal at best, and you will need some kind of breathing apparatus, or you'll drown." a small smirk spread across the Guildmaster's face. She derived some kind of sick pleasure from seeing the Huntress squirm, a quirk she'd shown more than once. "There is no need for you to answer immediately, however. The Ceadeus has been quiet again, as of late. Inform Lyra when you wish to accept this quest. Keep yourself alive until then, Pinkamena." and the Guildmaster walked out of sight, and disappeared into the night. Pinkie let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding onto. She had a lot to think about, now. The thing below the island was an Elder Dragon, which she was now aware of. It wasn't, however, as vicious as some of the others. She put her hand against her temple, shutting her eyes tight. This conversation had given her a headache. It was too much information to absorb at one time. She had no idea how she was going to handle this, or convince Wookie to accompany her into the depths of the sea.

"Ugh...I need to sleep." Pinkie made her way back to her house, her mind swimming with questions that didn't seem to have any answers.


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Pinkie woke up to the sound of a Rathian's roar. It wasn't near the village, but it was still loud enough to oust her from her dreams, which were filled with underwater monsters. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Wookie was nowhere to be found, and his bed was empty. He must have gone to sleep earlier than she had, so he was up earlier. She made her way outside, the sunlight temporarily blinding her. She shaded her eyes and made her way to Magnum's place. She found the Artisan sitting in a rocking chair outside his hut, his smithing hammer leaned up against the side of his house.

"Up bright and early, eh? Crack o' noon, like usual." Magnum's gruff voice woke her up a little more. "Yer partner already went off fer the day. I, however, finished yer weapon, and I'm sure yeh'll be rarin' to go once you get yer hands on it." he hopped off his chair and made his way inside. Pinkie didn't follow him, but heard what sounded like an engine backfiring. The loud crack echoed throughout the village, and Pinkie jumped. Magnum returned with the weapon from yesterday, which still looked like an oddly shaped oar. Wrapped along the edge of it, though, was a set of vicious looking chainsaw teeth. It looked far more technologically advanced than any weapon the Huntress had used previously. "It's called the Chainslaughter. It runs off electrical energy generated by the Thunderbug engine installed at the base of the blade. It rotates at a pretty good speed, and since the teeth are made of Machalite Ore and Lightcrystals, they aren't likely to break unless you grind them against a rock fer a few hours." the Artisan crossed his arms, looking pleased with himself. There was a sparkle in the Huntress's eyes as she held the weapon in front of her. "What're ya waiting fer? Take 'er fer a spin and tell me how it goes! Go on, now!" and Pinkie took off across the bridge, giggling like a madwoman, the Longsword held above her head.

As she entered the area, her eyes fell onto a pack of Jaggi, which were swarming around an Aptonoth. She decided that this would be the perfect way to test the Longsword. She lept from the top of the cliff, landing heavily on the ground, drawing the attention of the closest Jaggi. It turned around and chirped a few times, signaling to its packmates of the Huntress's arrival. The Aptonoth was able to escape as the Jaggi's focus quickly changed to the smaller target that was Pinkie. She swung her new weapon to bear, and held down the lever, the blade starting to rotate. The weapon purred, then it rose to a growl. Pinkie's grin grew as the weapon got louder. The first Jaggi lunged at her, and she was able to split its head open with a single swing, lightning jumping off the blade as the teeth rotated their way through the monster's skull. It fell in a heap, but the rest of the pack was not deterred by this, as they had once been. She could tell by their bodies that this particular group had not eaten recently, and hungry monsters were more likely to stick around and fight than one's that were well fed. The need for nourishment drove them. They hissed as they drew closer and closer to her. Her grin grew steadily more maniacal, and she started to cleave her way through the rest of the pack. Body parts littered the ground, as the Huntress tore her way through Jaggi after Jaggi. By the end of her killing spree, her weapon had started to rotate faster, tearing through scales even easier than before, and she felt an energy well up inside her that had never shown itself when she had used the Switch Axe. As she swung at the last Jaggi, she lost control of her weapon, and tore through a nearby boulder, sending sparks flying through the air as the stone split beneath the rotating teeth. Surrounded by dismembered Jaggi, Pinkie stared at the shattered stone with a mingled expression of surprise and joy. She let her hand off the lever, and the weapon slowed to a stop, folding itself down so that it was easier to carry. She slung it around, attaching it to her back. The Huntress wiped some of the blood off her face, still grinning.

"This thing...Is amazing!" Pinkie threw her fists into the air in happiness.
> Chapter 20 - Under the Cea
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie rolled herself out of bed the next morning, yawning. She still wasn't a morning person, but today was different. Once again, Wookie's bed was empty and he was nowhere in sight. Picking up her Chainslaughter, she made her way out the front door. Her eyes scanned the village as thunder rolled from the clouds overhead. The pink-haired Huntress looked up as lightning streaked across the sky. She stepped up to Lyra's counter, the ever vigilant liaison was sitting there, despite the coming storm.

"Good morning, Pinkie." Lyra said, her tone cheerful. "You here for the big one, too?"

"Too?" Pinkie tilted her head as she asked. "Did Wookie go after the Ceadeus?!" her eyes grew wide as realization dawned on her. "He didn't say anything to me! Why would he do this alone?! I'm never gonna' see him again!"

"Pinkie, relax! He left not too long ago. I'm sure he hasn't gotten there, yet. You'll have to go around the island to reach the access to the underwater ruins." the liaison explained. She handed Pinkie a piece of paper with the details of the Hunt. The Huntress handed over the fee and took off at a sprint. Her feet kicked up dust as she ran along the cliff on the outside edge of the island. Her armor made a racket as she sprinted. It didn't take her long to reach the drop off into the ocean. She took a moment to catch her breath, looking out over the stormy sea. Waves crashed against the island and she watched the Ceadeus breach the water. The white Elder Dragon rose almost completely out of the water, a portion of its tail remaining beneath the waves. It roared at the sky, its single horn curling toward the clouds before it fell sideways into the ocean, sending up a wave large enough to reach the Huntress up on the rock. It threw Pinkie off balance, and she lost her footing, falling headfirst into the ocean.

After a few minutes of struggling to right herself, she managed to regain some form of balance. She swam forward quickly, her eyes scanning left and right. She was surrounded by blackness, the occasional flash of lightning slightly illuminating her underwater surroundings, but not deep enough. She swam to the surface, gulping in air as he head broke through the waves. She had enough time to look around and get her bearings before she dove back down. The Huntress found her directionality and swam towards where she'd seen the Ceadeus breach the surface. As she got closer, a faint glow shone through the water. She started swimming faster towards it, noticing that it was moving. She was catching up to it, and something else came into view. It was Wookie, his Hammer was drawn and the glow was coming from the Ceadeus. There were orbs lining its underbelly that illuminated the area around the Elder Dragon. The Huntress's eyes narrowed and she started swimming as hard as she could. She caught up with her Hunting partner and glared at him. He caught her eye and had a slightly guilty look, but there wasn't really an easy way to communicate underwater. She shook her head and swam past him, catching up with the head of the Ceadeus. One of the monster's slit pupils turned on the Huntress. It shook its head to try and get Pinkie away, but she managed to avoid the attempt. Drawing her Longsword, she held down on he throttle and swung the rotating blade at the lone horn. Sparks flew as the teeth chewed into the horn and the monster let out a roar. It threw the Huntress off and opened its mouth. There was a vortex of energy gathering around its open mouth. Pinkie started to panic, trying to swim away from the monster, but she was too late. A jet of water hit her and sent her careening through the water. It smashed her into the wall and broke two of her ribs. She opened her mouth on impact, and the jet of water let up. She felt her lungs starting to fill, and she panicked more. Her eyes darted from side to side, and she saw a crack in the ground that had bubbles surging up through it. She made a b-line for it, the Chainslaughter still clutched tightly in her right hand.

Wookie swam up to cover his partner's escape. He swung the Hammer down, smashing it hard into the Elder Dragon's horn. The impact changed the monster's trajectory, and it swam down for a minute, roaring in pain. The Hunter didn't let up, and swam up on the Ceadeus before it could recover, smashing the Numbingbird onto the tip of the horn. Combined with the other hit and the groove that Pinkie had cut into it, the horn broke, the snap resonated through the underwater cavern and it caught Pinkie's attention. She looked up to see the Ceadeus flailing around, roaring at the loss of its horn. She breathed in some more of the bubbles, filling her lungs with oxygen before she took off upwards, swimming towards the monster. Pulling the throttle, she took a swing at the Ceadeus's chin. The Longsword shaved away at the hairs under its face. The Elder Dragon roared and coiled up. Pinkie's eyes widened and she swam down to the bottom of the cavern, Wookie following close behind. The Ceadeus lunged forward into the cavern, and it looked like it was trying to run. The Hunter's gritted their teeth and gave chase. When they caught up to the Elder Dragon, they watched it drawing in the vortex of energy before blasting a wall of the cavern to nothing. Once the broken rocks and dust settled, they saw the ruins that the Elder Dragon had called home for so long. It swam through the hole, the Hunters on its tail. Pinkie's eyes scanned the runs and she noticed a Dragonator built into the wall of the largest building. The structure was falling apart, but the machine itself looked to be in workable condition. The Huntress got her partner's attention and she motioned towards the Dragonator. Wookie looked up and nodded to her. He started to swim towards it, and Pinkie moved towards the Elder Dragon. She was going to get its attention and draw it towards the Dragonator. She got close to the Ceadeus and took a swing at the monster's tail, the rotating teeth of her Longsword digging through the soft flesh, blood filling the water around the wound. The monster retaliated and whipped the Huntress with its tail, sending her spiraling through the water. Pinkie flailed her arms and caught her balance again. She noticed that Wookie had reached the trigger for the Dragonator, and she swam towards it. The Ceadeus roared and fired another jet of water at her, barely missing the Huntress. The Elder Dragon gave chase, roaring as it drew closer to the pair. Pinkie signaled Wookie, holding up three fingers. She lowered them, one at a time, then pointed at her partner. Wookie drew his Hammer high over his head and slammed it onto the button. The machine roared to life, large harpoons crawling out of the three holes in the building below them. With one final roar, the massive harpoons fired out and rammed into the Ceadeus. The monster let out a roar, flailing as blood filled the water. One of the harpoons had caught its eye, blinding the creature and the Elder Dragon swam upwards, fleeing from the ruins. Pinkie started to chase after it, but Wookie grabbed onto her, shaking his head. They watched the Ceadeus swim away, roaring in pain.


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The pair of Hunters walked along the cliff, water dripping off their armor. The storm had subsided, and the skies were starting to clear. They returned to Lyra's counter, neither of them having spoken during the entire walk back.

"I thought you guys were done for." the mint-haired liaison smirked. "You were gone for a really long time. It was almost two hours. How'd you manage to stay down there that long."

"Guild provided Airweed." Wookie said, turning in the few pieces he hadn't used.

"What?!" Pinkie shouted.

"Yeah, it was in the Guild chest on the cliff where we jumped in the water."

"What?!"

"I'm guessing you didn't see it." Wookie raised an eyebrow.

"No! I didn't even know this was going to happen today! I just got up this morning and you were gone!" the Huntress flailed her arms. "Why didn't you wake me?! Or at least leave a note?! I thought you went to die in a watery grave! Guildmaster Luna said we should go together!"

"Did she? Guildmaster Celestia told me to go alone. She said that you were showing signs of backing out." Wookie explained, and Pinkie's expression turned downcast. "Sorry. When the word came down from on high, I figured it was the truth. I'm sorry I didn't ask you, Pinkie, but I didn't want to make you feel self-conscious if it was true..." he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry I doubted you." this did nothing to alleviate the Huntress's mood, however. Celestia didn't think she had what it took. Luna didn't seem to think that, so she wondered why the older of the two would assume it. Pinkie turned and walked away from the pair of them, making her way to the overgrown farm again.


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Pinkie had sat in defeated silence at the farm, staring at the small waterfall as insects chirped into the night. Her pity party was interrupted by the sound of clinking armor, and she turned to see Luna's midnight-blue hair shining in the moonlight as she approached.

"Thou hath done well, Pinkamena." Luna's voice carried across the farm, but she wasn't shouting. "The Elder Dragon has fled the ruins, and hath gone into hiding. Thou should be proud."

"Normally, I would be." Pinkie said, her gaze dropping to the ground at her feet. "But Wookie told me that Guildmaster Celestia thinks I'm a coward."

"Yes. Yes she does." Luna spoke, and Pinkie's head snapped up to look at her.

"You knew?!" the Huntress shouted, and Luna held up a hand to deter her from continuing.

"Of course We knew. T'was not a secret. But, where my sister is blind to your talent, We are not. That is why We came to you personally, to avoid any hearsay deterring you from attempting the Hunt. We had faith in you, Pinkamena, and We were right." a smile spread across Luna's face, and Pinkie couldn't help but smile, too. "Now, We trust that you will be wanting to get some rest, so We will leave you now. Farewell, Huntress." with that, the Guildmaster vanished in a flash of light. Pinkie looked up at the moon, which shone brightly in the sky, a smile still on her face. She had never let someone's negativity change her, and she wasn't going to start now. In time, she would prove Celestia and all the other naysayers wrong, but she would have to do it one step at a time.
> Chapter 21 - The Monster Within
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sweat ran down Pinkie's face as she swung a small single blade through the air. In her off hand, she clutched another blade, shorter and thinner than it's cousin. Both weapon's had a streak of glowing blue struck through their core and they pulsated in her hands. She felt an odd connection to the Mercury Slicers. One she had not felt with the Longsword. She closed her eyes and focused on her movements as she danced across the open field, blades cutting through the air, the sound of rushing water heard in their wake. As she moved, she thought about what Luna had said as she presented the Dual Blades to her.

"These blades, and others like it, hold a secret for you, Pinkamena. In time, you will learn what that is. Right now, all they hold is a promise unfulfilled." The Guildmaster's voice was gentle. Far more gentle than it had been in the past. "Thou have earned these blades, Huntress. May they serve you well." and she had, once again, vanished in a flash of light.

The Huntress's mind returned to the present as she whirled seamlessly around the field. One swing chaining into the next, a thrust following that, with a whirling dance that took her off the ground. A smile spread across her face as she came to a stop, the blades held tightly in her hands. She looked around, searching for something to test her new weapon on, but the field was surprisingly devoid of life. A small sigh escaped her lips, and she made her way back into the village, humming a tune as she went.


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Wookie turned towards the Huntress as she descended the stairs into the center of the village.

"Good morning!" she called, a beaming smile spread across her face.

"Good morning, Pinkie. What are those and where did you get them?" he pointed at the Dual Blades at her sides.

"Luna brought them to me not long after we ran off the Ceadeus. I guess someone at the Guild must have killed it." Pinkie shrugged. "Looks like you got a new weapon, too." she raised an eyebrow, looking at the oddly shaped weapon in his hand. The handle of the weapon appeared to be constructed of bone, two horns protruded from the end of the 'L'-shaped bone, and a draw string dangled between them.

"I got it from Celestia. It's a Kelbi Bow. But...It feels more like a slingshot. And it shoots pellet instead of arrows." Wookie tossed the weapon into the air and caught it again. "I like it, but she said something weird after she gave it to me."

"Something along the lines of 'It holds a hidden power for you'."

"Yeah. Let me guess, Luna said the same thing to you when she gave you those?" Pinkie nodded. "Have you had a chance to test them out?" she shook her head. "Then, let's go talk to Lyra." The pair walked over to the liaison, who was asleep at her counter.

"Wakey wakey!" Pinkie poked the top of Lyra's head. The liaison sat up quickly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"What time is it?" she asked, looking around. "Isn't it too early for you two to be killing something."

"It's five o'clock somewhere, Lyra. What have you got for us?" Wookie asked, crossing his arms. The liaison dug through the drawer under her counter. She pulled out a piece of paper and scanned over it. Her brow furrowed as she read.

"This one is open, but it doesn't look...I've never seen a monster like this." Lyra slid the order across to them. The Hunters leaned in to look at the Hunt order.

"A...Brachydios? Did I say that right?" Pinkie asked as she looked up at Lyra, who shrugged.

"Like I said, first time I've seen a Hunt order for this creature. The Guild has almost no information on it." The liaison ran her fingers through her hair. "You guys could just wait for a bit for something new to come in."

"We'll take it." Wookie said, and the girls turned simultaneously and stared at him. "You got a better idea?" Pinkie opened and closed her mouth a few times, searching for protest. "We ran off an Elder Dragon and you're afraid of this thing?" She stared at him for a second and then grinned.

"Good point! Let's go!" she slammed the fee on the table and they made their way onto the boat.


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The Hunters jumped off the boat, once again finding themselves in the Volcanic area of the island. A gust of hot wind blew over the camp, and Pinkie immediately felt beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

"Any clue where to start looking?" Wookie asked, slinging his Kelbi Bow onto his back. Pinkie pulled a Psychoserum out of her item pouch and opened it, cringing at the smell before drinking it down in a few swallows. The Huntress had a look of disgust on her face.

"Gods, this stuff is terrible." she threw the empty bottle into the Guild chest before closing her eyes. "I think I pinpointed it." she sniffed the air and the pair started walking as Pinkie followed her heightened senses towards the monster. They each opened the Cool Drinks they brought, drinking them as they walked. The drinks worked against the sweltering heat as they got closer to the river of lava. The Hunters crested a hill and the monster came into view. It stood almost twenty feet tall, and sixty feet from head to tail. Their jaws fell open as the beast turned on them. Its hide was navy blue, at the end of its arms were large, club-like appendages that were almost as large as the Hunters. The Brachydios's tongue lolled out of its mouth and it licked each hand, covering them with a viscous, green slime before it began charging towards them, roaring.

"Shit! Move!" Wookie dove out of the way, Pinkie going in the opposite direction. The Brachydios punched the ground where they stood not a moment before, a pile of slime settled below the impact. Wookie rotated in place, drawing the Kelbi Bow and hammering the monster with a group of pellets. The Bracydios turned on him, its eyes focusing on the Hunter. The monster reared back to attack Wookie. Pinkie ran up behind the beast and slammed one of the blades into the back of its knee, throwing it off balance. It howled in pain, and swung its mace-like tail, which connected heavily with the Huntress, sending her sprawling across the ground. Pinkie got up as fast as she could, turning to face down their target, who was throttling through the air at her. She covered her face as one of the massive fists collided into her, coating her in a coat of slime. She hit the ground hard, the wind getting knocked out of her. She coughed as she rose shakily to her feet. She looked down at her armor, seeing the slime beginning to change color.

"Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Getitoff! Getitoff! Getitoff!" Pinkie flailed her arms as she ran around the area. "It's stiiiiiiiickyyyyyyy!"

"Roll!" Wookie yelled, but the advice came a bit too late. The slime had turned red and then detonated, sending the Huntress spiraling through the air. "Pinkie!" he watched her hit the ground with a dull thud. He could see smoke rising from her limp body. "Dammit..." he drew his bow again and held it, eyes narrowed. "Just need a clean shot..." the Brachydios barreled towards him. It opened its mouth to roar and Wookie let the loose the pellets. They shot into the monster's mouth and it staggered backwards, reeling in pain. Wookie looked back towards Pinkie, who still hadn't moved. "Looks like I'm on my own."  He drew a breath and steadied himself. The brute wyvern turned and punched the ground with each step as it closed in on Wookie. The Hunter stood defiant, firing on the monster even as it rampaged toward him. The Brachydios slammed its fist into the ground one last time before dipping its head down then rearing it back, slamming the blunt horn on its head into Wookie's chest. He made a wide arc through the air, landing heavily on the ground. Fireworks exploded behind his eyes and he became disoriented. He looked over towards where Pinkie had been laying, but she was gone. "Ugh..." he held his head with his free hand as he stood up. The Brachydios let out an earth shattering roar, the normally blue shell of the monster became highlighted with yellow, its eyes glowed with an unbridled fury. "You're not so tough..." the monster charged towards him, and it reared back, preparing to strike the Hunter down. The brute wyvern was cut off as a sharp force struck the side of its head. The monster hit the ground hard as Pinkie landed on the ground in front of her partner. She looked different, though. Her hair was flat, her eyes glowed bright blue, and a purple aura crawled off her body.

"Nice to see you're in one piece." she had a second voice that overlayed her normal voice. She stalked towards their query, clutching a blade in each hand. The Brachydios recovered and raised an arm, swinging towards Pinkie. The ground exploded under the monster's fist, but the Huntress was gone. She rammed one of her blades into the soft skin at the back of  the neck, between her foe's armored shell. Wookie stared at her, wondering to himself how she had moved so fast. He shook his head, drawing the bow and firing on the distracted monster. Pinkie held fast to the blade that was lodged into the back of the Brute Wyvern's neck and she struck hard into the back of its head. The joint onslaught sent the monster to the ground. Pinkie jumped off as the beast collapsed. The aura coming off her had grown in size since she attacked. She attached the blades to her sides, walking towards the monster as it got to its feet. The Brachydios shook its head, the yellow highlights disappearing from its carapace. Drool ran from the creature's maw and the glow had faded from its eyes. The brute's movements had slowed and it turned tail, taking off in the opposite direction. "Where do you think you're going?!" Pinkie sprinted after it, with Wookie following close behind, though he couldn't quite catch up with her.

They crossed over the river of lava, finding the Brachydios over the corpse of a Rhenopolos. It had struck the thick-shelled creature down with a crushing blow and bit down, taking a chunk out of the smaller herbivore's soft underbelly. The monster chewed slowly, trying to sate its hunger. Pinkie ran up and grabbed onto its ankle.

"Surprise!" she shouted, pulling hard and sending the Brachydios tumbling to the ground. Wookie stared, wide-eyed, at his partner. Pinkie wasted no time, drawing the Mercury Edges and closing in on the vulnerable monster. She rammed one of the blades up through the monster's bottom jaw, cutting cleanly through its tongue. She pulled the blade out and threw it across the ground. It clattered to a stop behind her. She grabbed the monster's bottom jaw with her free hand, putting her heel into its top jaw. She let out a yell as she ripped the Brachydios's jaw clean off. Its tongue flopped uselessly to the ground and it made a gargling noise as it tried to pull itself away. Pinkie smashed the creature's own jaw over the top of its head. It collapsed heavily to the ground, blood flowed from its mouth. The Huntress walked up and kicked it in the head. "Had enough?!" one voice still overlapping the other.

"Pinkie?" Wookie approached her slowly, his Bow still drawn. He wasn't sure if he was going to have to attack his partner.

"I've never felt better..." her voice sent chills down his spine. The mood was accented by the fact that a monster at least five times her size lay dead before her. She picked up the other blade, putting it at her side. She drew her carving knife and began carving parts off the dead monster. Wookie joined her, though he kept a wary eye towards her. As they walked back, he noticed the aura start to shrink, and had completely dissipated by the time they reached the camp.

"Okay...I gotta' address the Popo in the room. What the hell was that?" he asked her. "I don't know what's going on, but that was...Cruel."

"I don't know." Pinkie scratched the back of her head. "I somehow felt different." she looked at her hands. "Maybe this is what Luna meant."

"Well, you still seem to be in control of yourself when you're like that." He climbed onto the boat behind her. "My weapon didn't do anything cool. Mine is just a slingshot. Yours turns you into a horrible monster. That's way more useful..." Pinkie smirked.

"It'll happen eventually." she said as she waved to the Felyn manning the boat, and they set off for the village again.


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Wookie jumped off the boat and Pinkie followed close behind. As they walked up the dock, they were greeted by a panicked Lyra.

"Guys! Guys! Problem! Biiiiig problem!" she shouted, running up to them. "Guild...Under attack." she breathed heavily. "You have to go there." the pair of Hunters stood in stunned silence. "Now!!!" they both jumped when she yelled, getting back into the boat, which launched towards the mainland.


/) (\


As they disembarked on the mainland, their eyes fell upon the Guild. The main building had collapsed, smoke rising from the wreckage. The pair ran through the debris, looking around frantically. They saw other Hunters being tended to by the liaisons, others just lay deathly still. Pinkie felt sick as they made their way to the epicenter of the attack. A crater had formed where the damage had really started.

"Ah. We appear to have company." a voice echoed over the chaos. It was a voice that sent the Huntress's stomach into a series of flips that would make an acrobat jealous. "How nice of you to join us. I thought you were going to miss the downfall of your..." Alatreon paused. "Guild." the dragon's voice dripped with venom. Pinkie and Wookie descended into the crater, they were unable to make out everything from outside it. When they reached the bottom, they found themselves standing before the black dragon. Luna, badly hurt and her armor damaged, was on her knees to their right. Wookie rushed over to her, kneeling down and helping to support her.

"Help her." Luna coughed, spitting up a bit of blood. "Help my sister." she grabbed the front of Wookie's armor with one hand, pointing at the dragon's feet, where Celestia lay, motionless. Wookie looked over to Pinkie.

"What do we do?" he asked. "We can't stop that thing. And there's no way Luna can fight."

"Get her out of here. I'll..." Pinkie looked up at the dragon. "Slow him down? Maybe?" Wookie shook his head and got Luna to her feet.

"Where are you taking me? Let us go! We are not leaving without Celestia!" Luna struggled against him, but she was too weak to actually stop him. He got her up out of the crater and out of sight. Pinkie took a deep breath and stared up at Alatreon.

"So selfless...And what do you plan to do, little Huntress? I crushed your Guildmasters. What makes you think you have a chance?" Alatreon stood to full height, towering over her.

"Honestly? Nothing. I don't expect to live through this encounter." Pinkie said as she drew her weapons. "But, if I don't try, then I'm not much of a Hunter, am I?" she dug her feet into the ground, bracing herself.

"You're not going to be much of anything very soon..." the dragon said and let out a roar. Black and red lightning coated its claws and it barreled towards her. Pinkie rolled under Alatreon as he swung a claw coated in lightning towards her. She spun up to her feet and jumped immediately, avoiding the tail swipe that followed. She found her opening as Alatreon came back to the ground after the tail swipe. She struck at his tail, leaving deep cuts in the wake of her blades. He turned on her, snarling. "Insect!" he swung again, this time catching her on her left side. It sent her sliding along the ground. She pushed up onto her feet and watched as he took to the skies. He let out a roar as clouds gathered, lightning crackling through them. He slammed hard into Pinkie, lightning jumping up from his claws and tearing the air. He chuckled and took a step back, looking down at the indention he'd left. There was no blood, and no Pinkie.

"Missed me." the Huntress's voice came from his left, and he began to turn before being met full-force with her right hand blade. She clutched it backwards as she punched Alatreon in the face. The dragon staggered a bit, then rounded on her. She landed heavily on the ground. The purple aura began to crawl off of her body into the air. Alatreon chuckled again.

"How nice. Killing you may actually take longer than I thought. You've already beaten Celestia's time." bolts of lightning struck the ground around him as he approached her.

"Actually," Pinkie spoke, her voice doubled again. "You may want to rethink your strategy." she pointed. Alatreon turned his head, seeing Wookie standing at the lip of the crater. The dragon scoffed and was going to say something before he noticed that Hunters had lined the crater, all aiming Bows or Bowguns at him. The dragon snarled and a black cloud rose up around him, concealing him and Pinkie. "Running away?!" Pinkie shouted. "Not as tough when there are more of us!"

"Call it a...Tactical retreat. Next time, Huntress, you won't be so lucky." and the cloud lifted, leaving Pinkie alone in the crater. The Huntress sheathed her weapons and walked over to Celestia. She gently rolled the Guildmaster onto her back, and Alatreon's statement was confirmed. She was no longer with them. The breastplate of her armor had been shattered, and the clothing beneath was soaked through with blood. Pinkie slowly closed her eyes, staying completely silent. Wookie came down into the crater next, and Luna slid down behind him.

"She didn't make it, did she?" he asked his partner. Pinkie shook her head and his eyes fell to the ground. Luna ran up and dropped to her knees next to her sister. Her arm was in a sling, and there was a bandage wrapped around her forehead and over her left eye.

"Celestia." Luna's voice quivered as she placed a hand on her sister's arm. She felt the last bit of heat drain from Celestia's body. She closed her eyes, fighting back tears as other Hunters gathered around, trying to get a look at what was happening. Taking a deep breath, Luna got quickly to her feet. "Twilight Sparkle!" her voice boomed over the cacophony. The purple-haired liaison stepped forward. "Clear the other Hunters out of here. Not you two." the Guildmaster pointed at Pinkie and Wookie, who had started to walk away. After Twilight had managed to get everyone headed back to the port, she returned.

"They're going home to their families, Guildmaster Luna." Twilight spoke, her voice sounding strained. "I'm...I'm so sorry."

"It is not your fault, Twilight. No one is to blame for this catastrophe." Luna spoke as evenly as she could. "We will take care of laying our sister to rest. Meanwhile, you three will return to Moga Village."

"What?! I am not going to leave the Gui-" Twilight's protest was cut short as Luna raised a hand to silence her.

"You will do as I say, Twilight. You and Lyra will be in charge of sending the Hunters out. If we let this stop us, then we're just as weak as that monster claimed." she spoke with finality. Twilight didn't attempt to argue further. "Pinkamena. Wookie Love." the pair of Hunters stood up straighter when she addressed them. "You will resume your Hunting as normal. When I receive word of Alatreon's whereabouts, I will have Lyra inform you." Luna placed her free hand on Pinkie's shoulder as they nodded. "This is far from over."

> Chapter 22 - 3's My Favorite 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

3 months after Celestia's funeral...

Pinkie Pie dropped her recently forged Demolition Blades to the ground, taking in deep gasps of the freezing tundra air. She dropped to her knees next to the Gigginox they had captured. The crackling of the Shock Trap fading in and out, occasionally being drowned out by the rubbery monster's snores.

"That should be the last one, right?" She looked over at Wookie, who was doubled over, hands on his knees, breathing just as heavily.

"Should be." He stood up straight, looking up towards the sky. "Then again, we should have been done killing these things a month ago. Mostly because someone can't control herself enough to not destroy the mouth on this thing." He shot her a look, but she just smirked. The pink-haired Huntress picked up her midnight blue Dual Blades, attaching one to each side of her waist. In the time since Alatreon's attack, they had done nothing but upgrade their arsenal. Pinkie was adorned in a full set of Barioth X armor. While the armor was usually white as snow, it was currently painted in purple and red, poison residue and blood stained her arms and the waist piece. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail, but there was still very little control over it. The spikes from her armor's host jutted out at every joint, and the layered waist armor appeared thick, but it felt very light to the Dual Blader.

Wookie had gotten new pieces of armor here and there, but he was really after the Gigginox X armor. As much as the pair hated hunting the beast, Luna had advised them that it was, at present, the only way that the Bowman would be able to use the full potential of the Kelbi Strongshot.

"We should probably go back to see what they could scavenge off this thing." Wookie said, watching as a hot air balloon came lower, picking up the slumbering wyvern. He turned on his heel and headed for the base camp. "Do you know how many of these things we killed?" Pinkie reached up under her ponytail and pulled out a notebook. Her partner stared at her, wanting to ask, but she spoke first.

"It's in case of notebook emergencies. And we've killed 43 Gigginox." The Huntress said, disdain thick in her voice. "Really? That's it? It felt like we killed more. A lot more."

"Let's just hope that it stops at 43..." They climbed onto the boat and exchanged very few words between the Tundra and the Port.


/)(\


Port Tanzia, still in the process of reconstruction, welcomed them silently. Hunters glared at them and shopkeepers refused their business. Pinkie sighed, shaking her head as they made their way towards one of the four people in the Port that still spoke to them. It had been hard on them since the death of the Guildmaster. They found themselves the target of a lot of blame, seeing as they had escaped with their lives, when a master Huntress had been killed. Suspicion followed them, and other Hunters shunned them.

"Welcome back, you two." Lyra smiled from behind the counter. Twilight was sitting at a desk behind the liaison, scribbling notes onto a piece of parchment. The two-toned, purple headed girl had been up to her ears in work since the incident, and it showed no sign of slowing down. The only day that no one worked was the day of Celestia's funeral. "Good news, Wookie, they were able to salvage a Nightmarish Maw from the Gigginox." Wookie dropped to his knees.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Pinkie thought she saw tears, but she stepped up to the counter to speak with Lyra.

"Will this ever blow over?" The Huntress asked quietly, looking around, but trying not to catch anyone's glare. She could feel their eyes on her. This didn't seem to bother her partner as much, but the feeling almost made her sick. She was so used to everyone liking her, that it became a shock to the system when the others turned hostile.

"Maybe when Alatreon is dead. Until then, keep your head high and do your job and no one will mess with you. They may not like you, Pinkie, but they don't have to." Lyra gave her a comforting smile as she passed the reward Zenny across the counter. "What are you guys going to do now?"

"I think he went to make that armor." Pinkie responded, looking to see if Wookie was still there, which he wasn't. "Yeah. That's where he went. Anyway, once that's ready, I guess we'll take whatever you have." Lyra shuffled through some papers, humming to herself. Pinkie was bouncing on her heels when someone tapped her shoulder, she turned around to a grinning girl, who's violet sunglasses blocked her eyes from view. Her two-tone electric blue hair was cut short, and a complete mess. It didn't look like she even attempted to control it after she got out of bed, not that Pinkie could point fingers.

"I see you two go out on a lot of Hunts, but I never seen anyone else go with you." The girl spoke, her voice was jovial, which was a stark contrast to how most other Hunters had treated them recently. The girl wore armor that Pinkie was unfamiliar with. It was brightly colored, but it looked like it had been a different color to begin with. On the other Huntress's back hung what appeared to be an oversized electric guitar. Pinkie recognized this one, it was the Despot's Thunderclap, the Hunting Horn constructed from Zinogre parts. "I wanted to see if you guys might let me tag along with you. My name is Scratch, by the way. Vinyl Scratch, really, but that's too long." Throughout the whole conversation, Scratch's grin had never faded, and this in itself made Pinkie feel better.

"I don't see why not!" The Dual Blader said happily. "We've never had another Hunter with us!"

"Check out this sweet hat!" Wookie yelled as he came back into the tavern area of the Port. The desperado hat sat atop his head, casting his face into shadow. There was an eyepatch over his left eye and a smirk on his face. "Badass, right?"

"It would be, if it wasn't a sickly purple color." Pinkie said, trying to hold in a laugh. "Why is Gigginox armor purple? That thing is white."

"Don't ruin this for me, Pinkie." He said, sighing, and he flipped up the eyepatch, looking over at Scratch. "Haven't seen you around before." He tilted his head slightly, examining her.

"Like what you see?" A bright blue eyebrow raised over her sunglasses and Wookie was taken aback. "Relax!" Scratch laughed. "I'm messing with you." She held out her hand and he shook it. "I'm Vinyl Scratch. I just asked your friend here if I could come with you guys on your next hunt. By the way," she turned towards Pinkie. "I never got your name."

"Oh! Pinkie! I'm Pinkie. Pinkamena Dianne Pie, but Pinkie is easier." The Huntress said, grinning.

"I'm Wookie Love." Her ever present partner introduced himself. "What are we going after now, Pinkie?"

"Uhhhh..." Pinkie turned around and Lyra handed her a Hunt Request. She squinted at the paper, reading it. "A...Steel Uragaan? What the hell is a Steel Uragaan?"

"You guys haven't fought one of those yet?" Scratch asked, looking as the pair shook their heads. "Aw, man. You're gonna' hate it." She chuckled and made her way towards the boat.

"Then shouldn't we hunt something else?" Wookie asked.

"Nah! It'll be a good learning experience!" The musician said, beckoning them to follow her. They boarded the boat and it took off towards the Volcano.


/)(\


"What is this thing like?" Wookie asked as they disembarked.

"It's awful. It rolls around and has a giant chin that it uses to smash rocks." Scratch explains. "Incredibly fire-resistant, but that's obvious, since we're in the Volcano."

"It has a giant chin?" Pinkie echoed, questioningly. Scratch nodded.

"Don't let it fool you. They're very powerful. And it can take a long time to bring one of these things down. They're one of the more resilient species out there." Their new partner spoke as they walked through the forest at the base of the volcano. They each had a Cool Drink in their hands, taking drinks between conversations. "Do you guys ever wonder why these things work?"

"Nope. Much like how I never question how or why Pinkie does things, I just accept them and move on. Some things are better left unknown. I mean, what if they're made from, like, starved Kelbi babies? Would you still want to drink them?" Wookie asked, then drank the remainder of his drink in a single swallow.

"When you put it that way, no." Scratch said, and she looked at her Cool Drink. Her sunglasses hid her eyes, but you could tell by her wrinkled nose that she was slightly mortified by the thought of Kelbi babies being part of a balanced breakfast. She swallowed hard, held her breath, and drank the last of it. Necessity wins overall. Pinkie was long since finished with hers, and they crested the hill leading into the actual volcano.

"Does this thing have a place that it likes to hide?" Pinkie asked, looking around. The serpentine Uroktors went about their business, hissing and clicking their beaks at each other. The smaller monsters took no notice of the Hunters. No sooner than Pinkie had asked the question, the lumbering giant came into view. The jagged stone that made up it's back looked like a miniature mountain range, and its chin was, indeed, massive. At least the size of a smaller monster's head. Wookie and Pinkie took a step back. It wasn't as big as the Ceadeus, but it was still intimidating. The bipedal monster had movements that resembled that of a tyrannosaurus, and its stubby forelimbs cemented the image. With every footfall of the beast, the ground beneath the Hunters shook.

"You guys ready?" Scratch asked, a smirk spreading across her face as she swung the guitar to a ready position.

"Do we have a choice?" Pinkie asked, drawing her blades. Wookie flicked his wrist and the Strongshot snapped open. He grabbed some pellets from his pouch, holding them in his left hand.

"Nope. Let's get this party started!" The musician hit three loud notes on her instrument, and the other Hunters felt an odd sensation, it was as if adrenaline was being pumped through their veins. They felt stronger. The two lighter Hunters took off towards the Uragaan and the brute turned to face them, drawn by the sound of the music. It bellowed loudly and lifted its chin high into the air. Wookie drew back hard, and waited until the monster's head swung towards the ground before loosing the pellets. They connected heavily, and green slime splattered out of them on contact. The Bowman was confused, he had seen this slime come off his partner's weapon, but never his own. He was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of Pinkie roaring.

The Huntress had gotten right under the creature's mighty chin and Demonized. When it came crashing towards her, she had sunk her blades into the lower jaw. The Uragaan let out a screech of pain, flinging its head around. Pinkie held on tight, slime sinking into the open wounds, some dripping down onto her face. As soon as she saw it start to turn red, she flipped her legs around, planting her feet firmly into the underside of the Brute Wyvern's jaw, and pushed off, dragging her weapons out with her.

"Impressive." Scratch said as she ran up next to Wookie. Pinkie landed heavily on the ground, the purple aura disappearing as she panted heavily. "So, you can only do that for a certain amount of time?"

"Seems that way." Wookie answered for his partner as the slime on the monster detonated. The force of the explosion cracked the beast's chin, and it let out another howl. It stumbled around, flailing its forelimbs towards its face as the Hunters closed it. Pellets from Wookie's Bow thudded heavily against their target's side, slime squelching loudly out of each one. Scratch hammered some more notes out as they approached, sending another wave of strength to her allies. The Uragaan lifted its head and Pinkie smirked, dashing forward again.

"No!" Scratch yelled, but it was too late. Instead of smashing down, the brute curled into an armadillo-like ball and barreled forward, smashing into Pinkie and throwing her body effortlessly to the side. "Dammit!" Scratch and Wookie had narrowly avoided the rolling monster, which continued to roll until it was in the safety of the river of lava. Pinkie got shakily to her feet, blood running slowly from under the headband of her armor. She shook her head rapidly, clearing the fog from her brain.

"That could have gone better." She wiped her forehead with her sleeve. "It's coming back." She pointed as the other two came to her side. They turned in unison as their query charged them. It opened its mouth, letting out a roar as it approached. It turned from a roar to a howl of pain as the pink-haired Dual Blader sunk her weapon into beast's tail. Scratch turned around, and, sure enough, Pinkie was gone.

"How-"

"Don't ask." Wookie cut her off as he fired upon their foe. With one blade buried in the monster's tail, Pinkie hacked away at the softer skin beneath, a mix of blood a slime covering splattering onto her with each cut. Scratch grabbed her guitar by the neck and smashed it into the side of the Uragaan's head, lightning jumping off of it on impact. The brute was knocked onto its side, and Pinkie leapt up onto the side of its tail, which faced the sky. She slammed both of her blades deep into the monster, and sprinted up towards its head, dragging the Demolition Slicers through its skin, tearing two parallel lines from tail to head in the beast.

Wookie had placed his left foot on the cracked chin of the downed wyvern, forcing its mouth open as he fired slime-filled pellets into its gullet. He weakened his hold slightly to let the monster bite down, crushing the pellets so that the slime would fill its mouth. He smirked, noticing that the monster had swallowed a fair amount of the green liquid. Pinkie leapt over him and landed heavily on the ground. Vinyl Scratch had been smashing her weapon into the soft underbelly of the Uragaan. When the blue-haired Huntress saw that her allies had backed away, she did the same. The Steel Uragaan scrambled to its feet and turned tail. Scratch ran up next to the other Hunters.

"Why did we stop attacking?" She asked.

"Watch." Wookie said, smirking. Pinkie had put her weapons away, her eyes still glowing a brilliant blue, the purple aura crawling off her body. She held out her right hand towards the fleeing wyvern, her fingers folded down so that her hand was shaped like a gun. She raised her thumb slowly, until it was perpendicular to her fingers.

"Bang!" One voice overlapped the other, but both sounded excited as she dropped her thumb into her palm. Scratch felt the ground shake violently, and watched as the Uragaan's innards exploded out its stomach and onto the volcano floor. It collapsed heavily to the ground, unable to let out a single noise in its death throes. The brute convulsed a few times, then laid still. A few Uroktors scuttled over to feed on the slain monster.

"That was...Well, that seemed unnecessarily brutal." Scratch said, and she almost felt bad for the monster. Almost. "But, I'm impressed. If you'll have me, I'd like to join you guys for more hunts."

"That would be super!" Pinkie said, her voice having returned to normal. She leapt on Scratch, hugging her. The two had become three. They weren't alone, anymore. They had finally met someone who didn't look at them as though they had ruined everything. And they couldn't be happier.
> Chapter 23 - Wookie the Defiant(Give Them A Fight)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two weeks had gone by, and the body count had grown exponentially in the time since Vinyl Scratch had joined Pinkie and Wookie in their never-ending quest as Hunters. Despite his struggles to make the Gigginox X armor and completely upgrade his Kelbi Bow, Wookie had become very fond of the Sword and Shield. He preferred the mobility and defensive capability of the close quarters weapon. The Hunters had been capturing Brachydios quite often for the Guild. There had been a mutual goal in mind, and they had set out to do it.

"I think this is it." Pinkie spoke as she examined the slain Brachydios. The wyvern was splayed onto its side, its fists shattered and its horn cut down to its base. Wookie and Vinyl joined the Dual Blader as she carefully carved a piece of the monster's shell. There was an iridescent glow about it, and she moved with the steady hand of a surgeon. Quite the opposite of how she normally acted. When she had finished carving around it, she pulled it away from the muscles that it clung to. The tearing sound would have made just about anyone sick. "It is. It's a Pallium."

"Amazing." Vinyl's voice was an awe-inspired whisper. "This was what you guys needed?" Pinkie nodded.

"We didn't have to kill nearly as many of these as we did those fucking Gigginox, though." Wookie still sounded bitter about that. His new armor covered his face, leaving only his mouth and chin exposed. He was adorned in the Helios Z armor, with the Helios X waist. The ivory colored waist piece clashed with the ebony set, but the gold lines ran throughout, making it look almost intentional. The helmet gave him an Anubis-like appearance, the pointed ears and the triangular eyes cemented it. Pinkie had grown very attached to her Barrioth X armor, and had not upgraded recently.

"We need to go back to the smithy." Pinkie spoke again. "I'll finally have these things finished after we turn this in." The Huntress patted one of the Demolition Blades. "Then, we can start hunting whatever you need, Vinyl!"

"You sure about that? The parts I need will not be...easy to acquire." The musician said, cringing at the thought of what they would be going after.

"You have helped us bunches since we've teamed up. The least we could do is return the favor!" Pinkie bounced slightly as she spoke. Wookie nodded in agreement.

"Well, if you're sure, let's head back and get you set up, then we'll head out." Vinyl said with a huge grin. She wasn't sure why she had doubted her friends, but they had more than proven themselves against dozens of foes. This wouldn't be too hard. She'd heard stories, though. Terrible things. Of Hunters who had fought this monster never returning, or of coming home too broken to ever work again. This would be a truly fearsome enemy, one that would push their every ability to its limits. Vinyl believed in them, but her normally unfailing bravado was wearing a bit thin on this issue. The blue-haired musician's eyes fell on the horizon as the boat took off towards Tanzia.


/)(\


Pinkie was the first to come back from the blacksmith with her newly forged weapon. She twirled one of the Spectral Demolishers through the air, a red blur following in its wake. A smirk played across her lips as she sheathed the blade and sat next to Vinyl at the food bar.

"What, exactly, do we have to hunt that has you so worried, Scratchie?" She asked before ordering her meal. Vinyl reached into her item pouch and pulled out the Hunt Request, passing it to her partner. Pinkie's eyes scanned the page, reading over the information. "A Stygian Zinogre?" She cocked her head a bit, taking a bite of her sandwich. "Aren't Zinogres those big wolf-things?" Another nod. "Why are you so worried, then? They're not that bad."

"Not the regular ones, no. But thi-"

"Check it out, ladies!" Wookie yelled as he joined them, ramming the new Struxion Demolisher into the counter. "Pretty bitchin', right?" The sword looked like a double-edged version of one of Pinkie's Dual Blades. It even had the same red blur when it was swung. The navy-blue coloration was complimented by the bright red edges. The shield that came with it looked much the same, though the center was red rather than the outside. It was concave at four points, giving it a rounded square appearance.

"Ooooohhhh!" Pinkie was enamored by the shield as she took a long drink from her mug. Wookie sheathed his sword and ordered the same thing that Pinkie had gotten.

"Looked like you guys were having a serious conversation when I came in. What's goin' down?" Wookie asked, folding his hands in front of him and waiting for his food.

"We were talking about our next Hunt. We're going after a Stygian Zinogre." Vinyl said, and Wookie dropped his sandwich, which plopped heavily onto his plate before he could take a bite. He turned to face Vinyl slowly, fear in his eyes.

"No we're not." He said, flatly. She nodded "No, we're not." There was more force in his voice this time.

"You gonna' eat that?" Pinkie pointed at his sandwich. Wookie picked it up and took a bite, glaring across the counter at nothing. He swallowed before he spoke again.

"How do you feel about this, Pinkie?" The pink-haired Huntress shrugged, finishing her drink in a final large gulp.

"Why not?" Her voice reflected none of the fear that either of her partners were displaying.

"You know what a Stygian is, right?" Wookie asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Big wolf-thing? Pointy back? I cut one's head off back at the academy?" She counted on each finger as she went.

"That was a regular Zinogre. Stygians are...worse. Much worse. They call them the Infernal Overlords for a reason." He was trying with everything he could muster to press the severity of the situation on his partner. Vinyl sat between them, feeling like she was watching a tennis match. Wookie would spike the conversation to Pinkie, and she would just lob it back to him with delightful indifference. Vinyl could tell he was getting frustrated. When he had finished eating, he pushed his plate away and turned towards Pinkie. "I'm vetoing this. This is a bad idea, and I don't want to be puppy chow."

"Is that how it's going to be?" Pinkie cocked her head again, sometimes it was cute, but the unnatural severity in her voice made the gesture a little more towards frightening. "Are you going to 'veto' when Guildmaster Luna tells us where Alatreon is? Are you going to stay here and hide? You knew what you were getting into when you decided to become a Hunter, Wookie Love. You knew it would be dangerous. You knew there was a chance of death. Now, get off your feet and let's go. If we can't beat this thing, how can we ever hope to strike down Alatreon?"

"Pinkie! Wait!" Wookie stood up and grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her to face him. "Don't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. We're not the only ones who can hunt down Alatreon. There are hunters who are better equipped and better trained."

"So? What happens if they fail? Or the Hunters below them? Or even lower? What happens if this thing tears the Guild down to just us? Then what?" Pinkie asked, narrowing her eyes. "I'm not going to take that chance. And you shouldn't, either." She pulled away and made her way toward the boat. Vinyl got up and followed her.

"She makes a very strong argument." The musician said as she passed Wookie. He gritted his teeth and grabbed his helmet off the bar. He put it on and followed the other two.

"I'm really going to regret this." He said, mostly to himself. As their boat got further from Tanzia, Wookie had gazed back at the Port. He could swear that another boat had taken off and was following them.


/)(\


There was a two-week lapse where they had not entered the Tundra, and they remembered why as soon as they were off the boat. Pinkie's teeth started chattering and she crossed her arms over her chest, clouds of steam billowing out of her mouth with each breath. The other two Hunters weren't any better equipped for the cold. In fact, Pinkie had the warmest set of armor on, but that didn't help when the icy wind cut through you like a knife.

"This monster doesn't hide." Vinyl said, taking sips from her Hot Drink until she could feel her fingertips again. "It doesn't run. It doesn't flinch. This will be Tartarus on earth very soon." She finished her drink, as did her partners. "If you're having second thoughts..." Pinkie shook her head and slapped Wookie's hand down before he could interject. "Then let's go." They set off from the base camp, crunching through the snow. There was only a thin dusting before the snow became as solid as concrete, and the heavily armored trio didn't even crack the surface of it.

Wookie looked back as the camp dropped out of view. He had a nagging feeling that would not go away. He shook it off, and sprinted a bit to catch back up with the girls. They descended into the valley, and there stood the monster. It was at least twice the size of the Zinogre that had attacked the academy, but it was almost identical in every other way, save for the black fur and crimson claws. It swished its head around, sniffing the air, before it turned a blood-red eye onto the Hunters. They noticed that the beast appeared to be missing it's left eye. A low snarl echoed through the valley as it stalked forward. The hardened snow cracked easily under the weight of the massive creature. A few moments of silent looks between the Hunters, and they scattered in three different directions. Pinkie did the blind charge, weapons drawn. Wookie took off to the left, and Vinyl to the right. The latter strummed the chords out on her guitar as she ran. The Sword user was trying to flank the Fang Wyvern.

Pinkie had closed the gap quickly, but her victory was short lived as the Stygian reared up onto its hind legs briefly before diving forward. It dug its claws into the ground and smashed its head into the Dual Blader, sending her flying backwards. She hit the ground and rolled back onto her feet, immediately charging towards her target. The monster rose up again, but was greeted this time by two weapons, one bashing into each of its haunches, that sent it careening towards the ground. Pinkie ran up to the fallen beast and sunk one blade into the soft spot on its back. Her smirk turned to genuine terror as she noticed hundreds of black and red striped beetles crawling around under the Stygian's thick, black fur. She reeled backwards, leaving a thin coat of slime where her blade had punctured.

"What are these things?!" She yelled, stomping on a few of the bugs that had come off when she withdrew her weapon. An answer never came, because the monster recovered. It planted its left foreleg into the ground, and with amazing dexterity made a 360 degree rotation, slamming all three Hunters with the paddle on the end of its tail. They were sent sprawling in different directions, and Vinyl was the first to get back on her feet. The Stygian turned towards her and planted its front feet firmly into the ground. It tilted its head back and began to howl. She watched in terror as her partners got to their feet, only to be met with a bolt of red lightning crashing down on them. She dropped her weapon and fell to her knees as the beast began bearing down on her.

"No...Not again." Tears welled up in her eyes. "More people have died for me." She stared up into the Stygian's lone eye. She could see herself reflected behind the red glow. She remembered when her last hunting partner had sliced out the left eye. She saw it all happening again. The only difference is that this time, she wasn't going to run. She grabbed the neck of her guitar and wheeled it around, smashing it hard into the side of the monster's face. Blue lightning sprung into the air when she connected, sending the beast reeling away. It staggered a bit before it regained composure. This time, it bore down on the musician with blinding speed, mouth open. Its fangs almost seemed to glitter as Vinyl faced her death head on.

What happened in the time that it took for the Stygian to close in on Vinyl was about as likely as lightning striking the same place four times. Wookie closed in and crushed the shield into the right side of the Fang Wyvern's face, throwing its head, open mouthed, to the left. On that side, in the split second in which it faced her, Pinkie rammed a single Spectral Demolisher into the roof of the creature's mouth. As soon as she had sunk the blade, she drew her right leg back and kicked the monster's bottom jaw, slamming it shut and sending her blade rocketing through the air. Blood freed itself from the top of the Wyvern's mouth and showered the trio as it flung its head side to side. It backed up, roaring in pain. Pinkie held her right hand to the sky and caught the flying blade effortlessly.

They began to close in when a loud crack drew their attention. A heavy thud came from the Stygian, and they saw what appeared to be an oversized arrow lodged into its good eye. There was a moment where it howled in pain before the arrow exploded, silencing it with the removal of the monster's head. The body slumped to the ground, and the beetles scattered away from the corpse of their host.

"Grooooooossssssss!" Pinkie pointed, her face horror stricken.

"What? They're just Dracophage Bugs..." Wookie said, shaking his head and chuckling before he was cut off. Another arrow hit the ground and he drew his shield up over his face, but Vinyl reacted quickly, using her guitar like a golf club and smacking it away before it exploded.

"Not bad." They heard a voice from near the body of their query. "You guys are a bigger threat than we thought before." A Hunter approached them, his silver armor shining bright despite the cloud cover. It was armor crafted from a Silver Rathalos, the true king of the skies. The armor was reminiscent of a Japanese shogun, with only the eyes of the wearer visible. The skirt of his armor was split in the back, but it wrapped around to the front of his legs. The weapon on his back was clearly made from the same monster, as the silver plating indicated, and was almost the same size as he was. Three massive spikes protruded from the back of the weapon. The new Hunter folded his arms across his chest as his two partners joined him. The one to his right was the Heavy Gunner who had shot down the Stygian. She was adorned the armor of the Golden Rathian, which, while missing half the skirt and gold in coloration, was almost identical to Pinkie's old set of armor. The cap that sat atop the Gunner's head was quite different from the Blademaster helmet that Pinkie had worn. The goggles were pulled down over her eyes, and she carried her weapon at the ready. Her Heavy Bowgun, the Empress's Garden, had the look of a high-caliber sniper rifle, and was covered in the pink scales of its host, the Pink Rathian. To the leader's left stood the Hammer wielder. A mountain of a man who stood a clean foot taller than the leader of his group. He wore a full set of Steel Uragaan armor, which made him look like a human tank. He had to be solid muscle under the armor, because there was no way he'd be able to move otherwise. The blown-out shoulders of his armor made him appear to have no neck, and his helmet covered his face completely. Pinkie wondered to herself if he could see her. He held, with one hand, the Hammer known as Onslaught. There was a Guild symbol on each side of it, but it otherwise appeared to be an anvil on a stick.

"Who...Are you people?!" Wookie had lost his temper.  They had been robbed of their victory. A feeling in the back of his mind had been warning him of this, but he didn't want to believe it.

"We're Hunters. Just like you." The leader spoke with a smug undertone in his voice. "Though, we're much more than that, really. We are the late Guildmaster's hunting partners." Pinkie had been taking a swig from another Hot Drink, but spit it everywhere when he spoke.

"You're Celestia's team?!" She yelled, shocked. This was the equivalent of standing in front of a royal family's Honor Guard. In fact, they were probably better trained than that. "What are you doing out here?"

"Carrying out the last wishes of our leader." The silver-armored man drew his Great Sword and brought it to bear, clutching it in front of him in both hands. "You see, the Stygian Zinogre is about to claim three more victims. And we are going to return home with the sad news of your deaths, having barely escaped the monster ourselves."

"The Stygian is dead." Pinkie pointed at the corpse.

"He's talking about them, Pinkie." Wookie spoke as he unsheathed his sword. "They're going to kill us and tell everyone that the monster did it."

"Wait. What? Why?!" Pinkie's voice rose in volume, a steady crescendo with each word.

"Celestia's orders. She said that if she didn't survive Alatreon's attack that we were to hunt you down and bring you to justice." The Heavy Gunner spoke. Her voice was light, and she almost bounced with glee. She was enjoying this, perhaps a little too much.

"If you lay down your weapons, it'll make this a lot easier on everyone." The tank's voice came through the armor. He sounded almost robotic, as his helmet caused a reverberation in each word.

"Guys...I'm...I'm sorry." Vinyl spoke, her voice breaking and tears pouring out from under her sunglasses.

"Why are you sorry?" Pinkie asked, drawing her Dual Blades.

"Because, had we not come out here to hunt this thing, we wouldn't be in this situation." She hiccuped during her pauses, and she raised an arm up to wipe her face.

"They were going to follow us no matter where we went, Vinyl." Wookie's voice was calm, comforting as he spoke to her. Despite their situation, he had cooled down and was preparing for the worst. "They would have followed us to the ends of the earth. It wasn't a matter of 'Where', just a matter of 'When'." He clutched the hilt of his sword tightly.

"Yeah! On your feet, Scratchie! I'm not dying here, and neither are you!" Pinkie grinned, spinning her blades a few times. Vinyl looked up at them, mystified. They both stood, defiant, in the face of impossible odds. She choked back another sob and readied herself. This was probably going to be her last Hunt, if not her last minutes. She drew a deep, steadying breath, then strummed her guitar loudly.

Pinkie took off like a shot, her body weaving up and down as she Demon Dashed towards their foes. The leader stepped into her path and cleaved his blade horizontally through the air. The air was all he cut, though, as the Huntress jumped effortlessly over his weapon's arc. The shock was clear in his eyes, and a smirk flashed across the Dual Blader's face as blue energy burst from her eyes and the purple aura leapt from her body. She swung her right hand down towards his face, but he brought his weapon up to guard himself. He gritted his teeth and braced himself, but there was no impact. He lowered the weapon slightly and was greeted with Pinkie's fist crushing into his face. He felt hot blood spatter out of his nose and into his mouth. The silver-armored Hunter sputtered as he staggered backwards. Pinkie picked up her weapon and dashed forward again, but was cut off by the tank's Hammer smashing into the ice inches from her face.

When Pinkie was cut off, Wookie made his attack. He sprinted towards the Heavy Gunner, who had been trying to escape the fray so she could open fire. She turned quickly and blasted a shell at Wookie. He stopped and swung his sword straight down, cleaving the Crag shot in half and sending it in opposite directions in his wake. They popped helplessly and fell to the ground. Her second shot came and it stuck into his shield. He grinned and his eyes flashed.

"Here's a little trick my friend taught me!" He drew his shield arm across his torso, then threw the piece of equipment with every ounce of strength he had. It spun through the air, making a b-line for the Gunner. She ducked, and it sailed over her head, skimming the top of her cap. As she stood up, Wookie had already closed the gap. A small squeak of fear escaped her and she covered her face. Wookie, rather than slash at her, actually swept her legs with his own. When she was taken off her feet, he planted his sword hand firmly on the ground and roundhouse kicked her. Stars erupted behind her eyes, and the world was spiraling around her as he launched her into the air. His shield returned to him as he chased her skyward. He pressed his shield into her stomach as they were airborne and slammed her hard into the ground. The ferocity of his attack left her crumpled and bloody. The girl was alive, but she would not recover easily. Her fingers twitched a few times and she went still, blacking out. Wookie turned his back on her just in time for a projectile Pinkie to crash into him, sending them both rolling across the ground.

"Ugh...Sorry, Wook." The pink-haired Huntress said, her overlaying voices sounding sincere as she got uneasily to her feet. "The Gunner is already down?" She looked at the broken girl to her right. "You must have been pretty brutal. Incoming!" Pinkie pushed him out of the way before he could answer, catching Vinyl as gently as she could. The musicians sunglasses had been broken, and her magenta eyes reflected an expected amount of rage towards that situation. Pinkie set her friend on her feet, and they stared down their foes.

The leader, who had removed his helmet because his own blood was starting to fill it, stood with his Great Sword at the ready. Besides the bloody nose, it didn't look like another attack had landed on him.

"Neither of you could hit him again?" Wookie asked, a bit of fear breaking his voice.

"That guy with the Hammer is a dick." Vinyl's answer came, fury in her voice. Neither of the Huntress's had their weapons. They had lost them in the tussle. "Distract them. I have an idea."

"Ummm...Weaponless, over here!" Pinkie waved her hands. "And they're getting closer."

"Take this, then." Wookie tossed his sword to his partner, keeping his shield. "Should hold you over. It's pretty much the same as one of yours."

"Good point." The Huntress responded and ran at their attackers. Wookie was close behind her, unencumbered by the sword, he was actually keeping pace with the Demonized Huntress.

There was a split-second before the Hunters clashed with each other. Wookie folded his arms in and smashed through the silver-armored Hunter's attack. He had actually gotten in too quickly for the Great Sword user and had caught him before he could bring the blade crashing down. It sent him tumbling backwards onto the spikes sticking out of the back of his blade. They punctured his armor and deep into his back. He coughed, blood spraying from his mouth as he rolled onto his stomach. It was a matter of moments before he blacked out. Wookie pulled the Great Sword out of his foe's back and contemplated a swift decapitation, but decided against it as he threw the weapon to the side.

Pinkie was playing a run-around game with the tank. He swung the Onslaught wildly through the air, but couldn't seem to hit the nimble Huntress. She struck him when she could, but his armor was far too thick. Her weapon sparked as she hit him, but she was barely scratching the armor. She continued to dance around, but it wasn't pointless. She had recovered both of her own blades. The Dual Blader put Wookie's horizontally across the small of her back and drew her own weapons. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vinyl waving frantically. The other Huntress was crouched down, her other hand clutching the grip of the Heavy Bowgun. Pinkie nodded, but she never took her eyes off the Hammer wielder.

"Time to do a little dance, I think." Pinkie's voices came clear and there was a smile in them. She ran towards the tank, side-stepping his first swing and jumping up onto his shoulders. He didn't even budge under her weight. She put the Spectral Demolishers in their sheaths and grabbed his shoulders with her hands, doing a perfect handstand. He tilted his head back to look up at the grinning Huntress. "Time to go for a spin!" She twisted her legs, then let them unwind, causing her body to spin. The ice below him made it impossible for her momentum to not take control. She pushed herself up into the air as she heard the telltale crack of a Bowgun firing. A deep, echoing thud resounded from the tank and the Crag shot had buried itself in his chest plate. He grabbed onto it with his left hand and tried to tug it out, but it was no use. The shell exploded, blowing his hand off and shattering his armor. He collapsed backwards and Pinkie rammed both of her blades into the downed Hunter's exposed chest, drawing Wookie's sword and driving it between her own weapons.

The three Hunters gathered together in the middle of the valley, all around the body of the Hammer wielder. Vinyl had recovered her instrument, and held her broken sunglasses in her left hand. Wookie pulled his sword out of their enemy's chest, placing it in its sheath. Pinkie removed her weapons as well, returning them to their rightful place. There was a moment of silence where the wind didn't blow, no monsters in the distance made a sound, and the three were left in complete silence in the middle of the bloodbath. They shared a few silent looks before collectively looking down at the body of the tank.

"Guys..." Pinkie was the first to speak. "I think we may get in trouble for this..."

> Chapter 24 - Vinyl the Destitute(Let Me Scratch Your Brain)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vinyl clambered up into the ship, the cold tundra air whipping snow into her face. She took survey her surroundings, searching for something specific. She spotted what she was looking for. The musician walked over, placing both hands onto the latch that held the ramp up. Giving it a hard tug, her hands almost slipping on the thin layer of frost, she managed to loose it. The ramp dropped loudly to the pier, which was covered perilously with ice. Wookie and Pinkie stepped back as it slammed into the wooden structure beneath them. The swordsman ascended first, hauling the Heavy Bowgun over his shoulder and walking carefully onto the deck of the ship. Though not as icy as the pier, the incline of the boarding ramp called for caution. Pinkie was not far behind, carrying the motionless body of the Gunner. She was the only one who had survived from her group, albeit not in the best of shape. The Huntress set her down and pulled the ramp back up, slamming the latch into place. They all had a dusting of snow on their armor, and Wookie's eyebrows appeared to be completely frozen.

"Let's get below deck." Vinyl said. Her voice was hollow. The trio had taken time to carve up the Stygian, and Vinyl had gotten what she needed, but the fact that they had murdered two Hunters was wearing heavily on her. She closed her eyes, leading the way into the ship's cabin, and found a chair at the small table in the middle of the room. Her partners were close behind; Wookie propped the Bowgun up against the wall, and Pinkie laid its owner down carefully onto one of the hammocks. They joined her at the table. Despite the freezing outside air, the cabin was quite warm. The only sounds that interrupted the silence were water lapping against the ship, and the creaking of the wood as they rocked gently on the waves.

Not a word was exchanged between the Hunters for a long time. They were each lost in their own world. Vinyl was swimming in guilt, the face of the silver-armored Hunter swimming to the forefront of her thoughts. She buried the heels of her hands into her eyes, sighing. Wookie's thoughts were elsewhere. Mostly, they dwelled on the former Guildmaster who had placed faith in him. Seemed to trust him. Why would she want us dead? Or...maybe...maybe it had nothing to do with me. His eyes moved slowly towards Pinkie. The Dual Blader seemed completely nonplussed. She bobbed her head back and forth to a song only she could hear, her hair bouncing with her. She wondered what she would eat when they got back to Tanzia. She snapped into the real world to see her partners staring at her.

"What? Is there something on my face?" She poked a finger into her cheek, then glided her hand around, searching for an offending blemish that didn't exist.

"You're so...you right now!" Wookie exclaimed. "How are you completely unaffected by what just happened?"

"Sometimes you have to look at the bright side of things, Wook!" She pressed her index finger against the tip of his nose. "It could have, just as easily, been us dead in the snow back there." He opened his mouth to argue, but couldn't find the words. She was right.

"I guess it was us or them." He agreed, but his voice was crestfallen. His shoulders slumped.

"You do feel something, though, right?" Vinyl's voice came quietly. There was a hint of judgement behind her words, as though she already knew the answer.

"Look, Scratchie, I know you've lost a partner before." The musician was taken aback and Wookie snapped his head over to stare at her. She had never mentioned it, not once, since they'd known each other. "So, I understand why you want to feel bad about killing other Hunters. I don't relish in the fact that I had to do it. I'm not going to go home and throw a party. But I accept the fact that none of us would have walked away from that encounter, and I wasn't going to let that happen."

"I...well...but..." Vinyl searched for an argument. Any moral ground to stand on. Like Wookie, however, the musician found herself at the mercy of Pinkie's logic.

"Exactly!" Pinkie grinned, bouncing slightly in her chair. "Now, since I've cracked open the egg, why don't you spill the yolk, Scratchie! What happened to your partner?"

"The...the way you worded that severely diminishes the seriousness of this story..." Vinyl said, hiding her face in her hands after she spoke. She took a deep breath, her eyes moving back and forth between her friends, who watched her with rapt attention. "It happened about three years ago..."


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"Vinyl!" A voice rang through the musician's room. She opened her eyes, staring over at the clock on her nightstand. It was early, too early for the blue-haired Huntress to have the drive to hoist herself out of bed. "Vinyl!!" The voice was closer, smooth as silk but authoritative. Footsteps were cutting the silence. Making it difficult for her to fall back asleep. "Vinyl! Get up!" The voice's owner was in the room, now. Standing in the doorway and staring, disapprovingly, at the Huntress who didn't appear to have moved.

"Fi'mo'minutes..." Not a real word, but Vinyl uttered it all the same. She rolled over, wrapping herself deeper into the cocoon she'd made of her blankets.

"No, I have already given you much more time than usual." The invading Huntress, who's charcoal colored hair and lavender eyes seemed to mesh perfectly with her voice. "We are going out on our first Hunt today, and I will not be late."

"Ugh! Fine!" Vinyl threw the blanket off, sitting up in a flash. Her two-toned hair bounced up into its normal spikes. She rubbed the sleep from her magenta eyes, grumbling a few choice words about her views on getting out of bed before noon. "You're a bully in the morning, 'Tavi." The sleepy Huntress spoke as she stood up.

"I really wish you would just use my full name, Vinyl." The charcoal-haired Huntress spoke, shaking her head.

"Sorry Octavia." A nearly visible layer of sarcasm dripped from her voice. "It's just us in the room. Relax a bit." Despite being barely awake, she couldn't help but grin. Octavia Philharmonica was Vinyl Scratch's closest friend, and had been for as long as either of them could remember. They had grown up together, and had decided to become Monster Hunters together. There was rarely a time where you would see one without the other. Other people at the Academy swore they were attached at the hip. The only thing they didn't do together was choose what weapon they would specialize in. Vinyl had chosen the Hunting Horn. The heavy, musical weapon suited her. She loved the songs she could play, and was always happy to help the Hunters her and Octavia trained with with her melodies. Octavia, on the other hand, though quite fond of the Horn herself, decided to pick the Dual Blades. She had based her decision off what Vinyl had chosen. It seemed silly for there to be two Hunting Horn users in a group, so she took another road. It had taken her a long time to get used to the Dual Blades, but she had finally gotten the hang of it. Something about them felt wrong to her, at first. Alien, even. Through grit and determination, she had stuck it out with them, though, and had come to appreciate them as they were.

"Just get dressed, Vinyl." The other Huntress spoke, heading for the door. "I'll meet you down in the courtyard."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be down in a minute." Vinyl waved her hand, shooing her away as she put on the set of leather armor that all new Hunters wore.

Vinyl jogged into the courtyard, her newly forged Bone Horn latched to her back. Octavia was standing there, arms folded, with a look that on her face that made Vinyl question whether or not she should have come downstairs at all.

"Heh...heheheh." The blue-haired Huntress laughed uneasily. "Hey, y'know, if you glare at the monster like that, we may not even have to fight. It may just drop dead." She put on a sheepish grin, trying to lighten the mood.

"Everyone else has already left, Vinyl." Her voice was quiet, but severe. This wounded Vinyl more than if her partner had just yelled at her. This was a tone of disappointment. "I was left standing, looking a fool, waiting for you."

"I'm sorry, Octavia." The Huntress sounded sincere, and her partner took a deep breath, gathering herself.

"Don't worry about it, let's just go." They made their way toward the last boat. There was a brief silence before Vinyl spoke.

"What are we after, anyway?" She asked, looking over Octavia's shoulder as the other Huntress looked over the Hunt Request.

"Standard first hunt monsters. Have to kill 6 Jaggia." She said, folding up the piece of paper and placing it into her item pouch. "Should not be too difficult between us."

"Nope." Vinyl grinned, pushing her sunglasses up on her face. This was their first real Hunt, and she was practically skipping to the boat, despite the weight of the weapon on her back. They boarded the ship, and set off.

The boat came to rest at the base camp that rested at the foot of the Misty Peaks. They looked up at the mountain in awe. It towered up and out of sight through a cloud layer. They could hear the warbles of the native Gargwa coming from the area around the camp. They both gave themselves a once over, making sure they had all the necessities, and set off from the camp. They made their way through a thin forest at the base of the mountain, occupying the time with small talk, and future plans. After spending an hour navigating through the forest, they found themselves in a ruined settlement. The entirety of the field was occupied by ruined huts, overgrown and weathered by time. How long this place had been this way, neither of them were sure. What they were sure of, however, was that there was a pack of Jaggi nearby. The raptor-like wyverns had made nests in the area, and a few were occupied by a clutch of eggs.

"Tavi. I have an idea." Vinyl whispered, nudging her partner. "I'm gonna' go try and steal an egg."

"That is reckless, Vinyl." Octavia hissed. "They would not leave a nest unguarded. Jaggi are very territorial."

"Exactly. If I get close enough, they'll come running." The musician smirked and started creeping towards the nest. The closer she got, the more she felt like she was being watched. As she got to the edge of the nest, she couldn't help but notice that, despite this being a clutch of Jaggi eggs, there wasn't a single indication that one of the raptors was nearby. She stepped down into the nest and her eyes scoped the area. "Nothing. How strange." She thought out loud. Something caught the corner of her eye, though. There was something just inside the forest, watching them. She could feel it. She pushed her sunglasses up onto the top of her head to get a better view of whatever it was, but to no avail. All she saw was a pair of eyes watching her. She began to back slowly out of the nest when the eyes illuminated. Two glowing orbs started moving towards her very quickly, bobbing up and down with the gallop of their host. In her terror, Vinyl could faintly hear Octavia screaming for her to run, which was the only order she had followed without question. She sprinted up next to her partner, who was already breathing heavily as the Stygian Zinogre burst through the edge of the forest. Vinyl didn't dare look back, but she knew whatever was following them was massive and powerful. She could feel the ground shaking beneath her feet, and she glanced over at Octavia, who took a sharp turn to the right and jumped off the nearby cliff. Vinyl's jaw dropped, but she followed suit. She swore she could feel the monster nip at her heels as threw herself from the top of the cliff.

It was a long fall, or it felt long. Maybe because she was fairly certain that she wasn't going to survive. She landed heavily on the ground and fell onto her stomach. It took her a few moments to recover, coughing as she pushed herself to her feet. She looked around, seeing Octavia on her hands a knees, breathing heavily.

"What was that thing?!" Vinyl yelled, getting to her feet. She took a moment to survey the area. They were standing near a stream that ran from a nearby waterfall. She could faintly see a cave trough the cascading water. Her eyes traveled back up the cliff, but there was no sign of the monster that had chased them. "I've never seen anything like that before."

"Nor have I." Octavia replied, getting to her feet. She wavered a bit, but Vinyl helped steady her. "We should just be glad we were able to get away. Also, I believe that creature is the reason that there were no Jaggi in that area."

"Makes sense to me. I wouldn't stick around with that big bastard looming at my doorstep." Vinyl shook her head, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"And we should follow their example." Octavia said, pulling a map from inside her item pouch. She pressed her fingertip to it, muttering to herself as she moved it. "I do believe that we are...here." She jabbed a finger into the center of the map. Vinyl leaned over and looked at it.

"Not too far from camp. Just need to go through those caves and we're pretty close." Vinyl pointed to the waterfall as she spoke. They nodded to each other and set off. There was no small talk this time. The rushing water echoed through the cave, and neither of the Huntresses spoke. They kept their heads on a swivel and their ears open. Exiting the cave into the sunlight blinded Octavia for a moment. Vinyl's sunglasses protected her eyes. The blue-haired Huntress gasped and Octavia shielded her eyes from the sun in time to see what had surprised her partner.

Across the top of the small cliff they stood on was the Stygian, sitting back on its haunches as though it had been waiting for them. It rose to its full height, standing an easy fifteen feet tall, and glared at them. Vinyl looked around for an escape, but her partner drew her Dual Blades.

"Tavi?! You can't be serious!" She was, though, and she stood her ground as the Stygian charged them.  They rolled opposite directions as the monster swung its head, horns first, downwards. Catching nothing but air, it turned on Vinyl, roaring before taking hard, deliberate stomps towards her. She had to roll in between its legs to avoid getting crushed. A brief moment of silence was followed by an ear splitting roar. The musician put distance between herself and the Fang Wyvern before she turned around. There, hanging on for dear life, was Octavia. The Dual Blader had embedded one of her weapons into the left eye of the beast. It flung its head furiously, trying to shake off the Huntress. It finally decided to raise up a massive foreleg and smashed into Octavia with a paw that was almost as big as her. She held tight to her weapon, pulling it out as she was ejected off of the creature. It howled in pain as Vinyl helped her partner quickly to her feet.

"That was amazing, Tavi! But it's really time to go!" The musician almost dragged her partner to the rope bridge as they ran for the sanctuary on the other side. Vinyl began to laugh victoriously as they passed the halfway point of the bridge, but it began to sway violently. The Huntresses had to grab onto the rope along the side to keep from falling off. Their worst fears were being realized. The Stygian, whose left eye was now nothing more than a stream of blood, had given chase. Vinyl gritted her teeth, grabbed Octavia's hand, and sprinted. Mere feet from the end, Vinyl felt the bridge give out beneath her. With every ounce of strength she had, pulling Octavia with her, she leapt towards land. Her feet barely caught the edge of the cliff, but holding onto the other Huntress made it impossible for her to balance, and she slipped. She threw her free hand out and caught the edge of the cliff. She had a firm grip, and had enough time to draw a calming breath. She could pull them up. "We're going to be okay, Tavi..."

"Not this time, Vinyl." Octavia's voice reached her ears. She sounded weak, and the blue-haired musician looked down at her friend. The Stygian lay motionless on the ground below. Whether it was alive, Vinyl couldn't tell. Her eyes fell on Octavia and her heart nearly stopped. The charcoal-haired Huntress was holding onto Vinyl's hand with both of hers, tears streaming from her lavender eyes, and blood pouring from what remained of her left leg. Vinyl could see where the Fang Wyvern's teeth had sunk in, tearing through the leather armor like paper, and leaving nothing below her knee but a few hanging muscles. "Let go." Octavia whispered to her, but Vinyl redoubled her grip.

"No. Nononononono! You'll be okay, Octavia! We just have to get back to the boat!" Vinyl yelled, trying to pull them up onto the cliff. What she thought had been a good grip started to give way. Their combined weight was making the rock under Vinyl's fingertips start to break. "Shit!"

"If you do not let go, neither of us are going home." Octavia's voice was growing weaker.

"Shut up!" The musician yelled down at her. "Shutupshutupshutup! We'll be fi-" they slipped a little more, and Vinyl's eyes caught movement below: the Stygian was getting to its feet.

"It will be alright, Vinyl Scratch. Just let go..." Vinyl stared into her partners eyes. They had started to glaze over. She was losing too much blood. Vinyl wasn't even sure if she could make the trip back to the boat.

"I...Octavia. I can't. I can't do it. I'd rather die with you than continue living without you." Tears started streaming down the musician's face, and they dropped a little lower. She was barely hanging on.

"Do not be silly, Vinyl Scratch. There is no need for both of us to die here. You are going to do great things, some day. All you have to do is get over that infernal laziness of yours." Octavia smiled weakly up at her partner. "Goodbye, Vinyl." As soon as the words left her mouth, she drew her carving knife as slashed it against Vinyl's forearm. The sudden rush of pain loosened the musician's grip, and she let out a scream as Octavia dropped into the valley below. Vinyl shut her eyes tight, trying to stem the flow of tears, none of which were brought on by the freshly bleeding cut on her left arm. With some effort, she dragged herself onto the top of the cliff, but she didn't look down. She didn't want to see what had become of her partner. The part of her mind that wasn't screaming in mourning was trying to convince her that this was just a nightmare she would wake up from. She tried to stand, but grief and pain caused the world to go dark and she collapsed onto the ground.


/)(\


Tears ran down Pinkie's face as Vinyl's story came to a close. The Dual Blader wiped her eyes, sniffling heavily. Wookie just stared at their partner in stunned silence.

"And that was the same Stygian that we just fought?" He asked, being the first to speak after she had stopped her story.

"I think so, unless a lot of them get their left eye cut out." She said flatly. Her eyes turned towards Pinkie again, and she was finally able to ask a question that was nagging at the back of her mind. "So, now that you know how she died, and that she used Dual Blades, I can't help but feel that she would have survived if she could do what you do." She pointed across the table at the pink-haired Huntress. "How come other Dual Bladers can't do that?"

"I-I-I didn't kn-kn-know they couldn't." Pinkie stuttered through broken sobs. "I-I've always b-b-been able to d-do it." Vinyl crossed her arms.

"Is it just with Dual Blades?" She asked more harshly than she had intended, but her temper was starting to rise. "God dammit!" She slammed her hands onto the table, rising to her feet, causing both Pinkie and Wookie to recoil a bit. "She died because she couldn't do it so why can you?! It's...it's not fair." She collapsed back into her chair. "I'm sorry." She shook her head, wiping her eyes. "I hate talking about this, and seeing you able to practically teleport around and take a beating makes me wish every day that she had been able to do that, too."

"Luna told me that it had something to do with my family." Pinkie explained sheepishly, hoping that this answer would be satisfactory.

"It's a bloodline thing?" Vinyl asked, and the other Huntress just nodded. "That would explain it, then." She crossed her arms, looking up at the ceiling above them.

"We've got a bigger problem now, ladies." Wookie said. During their conversation he had gotten up and made his way over to the porthole. "We're about to reach Tanzia."