Hunter In Equestria: Chapter 8

The following week was an absolute nightmare. Twilight pretty much forced you out of her place, which spurred you to finish your own. You had noticed that the stallions were slowly disappearing over time, but paid it no mind. A warning flag should have been thrown up when Big Mac disappeared, but you were blissfully unaware.

You poor, poor fool.

A visit to Ponyville's mart one day had all eyes on you. Soon enough, a mob was chasing you through the town. No pitchforks or torches though, just...crazed looks. You pounded on the door to the Treebary, only for the door to be reinforced with magic. You might have been immune to the stuff, but that didn't mean you could just negate it whenever you wanted.

"Twilight! Let me in!" You had shouted, helping the mob find you that much easier.

"NO! If I see you, something really, REALLY bad will happen! Trust me on that!" She had shouted back. The sounds of something heavy hitting the other side of the door made you realize she had just barricaded herself in. You didn't bother replying...you just ran. The mob followed.

The mares of Ponyville practically laid siege to your home for a week. The door needed replacing, several windows were boarded up, and the walls had several cracks in them from Applejack kicking the everloving hell out of them.

You have no idea what was going on, but eventually it just...stopped. As suddenly as it started, it just as suddenly ended. There were a few sheepish apologies here and there, though most acted as though nothing strange had happened at all.

It irked you a bit, to be honest. That was at least two dozen bits in damage inflicted to your home, not to mention the fact you had pretty much fasted that entire week. You were looking...somewhat slimmer than you had been. You'd recover with time, provided that shit didn't happen again anytime soon.

Hell, your armor was heavier than you remembered. Again, to be fair, you had pretty much starved yourself for a week. It wasn't a crushing weight, but it was heavy enough to be uncomfortable. Still, that's how you trained up to wear it before...and that's how you'd do it now.

Push-ups, Sit-ups, crunches, sprinting, the whole deal. You'd do this until you were comfortable in your armor again, and back to your usual weight sans armor.

Another week passed like this, and you were back to near-peak performance. You had to deal with a few more Velociprey for Fluttershy over your training sessions, as they had been encroaching too closely to her home for her to be comfortable. Laughing to yourself over the parallels to your world, you went into the forest to...'remove and relocate' them. You made sure this time to not let a single one get away, and you simply told the yellow pegasus they wouldn't bother her anymore.

You noted that an Equestrian dragon had moved into the Everfree Forest. It paid you little mind, but you made a mental note to keep tabs on it. It was half the size of a Lao Shan Lung...one hell of a fight, but doable.

Another thing you saw in the forest was an increased amount of creatures from your world. Two days ago you spotted a Yian Kut-Ku looking through the forest...before the dragon promptly killed it.

Perhaps Princess Celestia would know more...when you eventually talked again. You had a feeling it would be soon, and your hunches were rarely wrong. They were on occasion, several scars attested to that, but this hunch was one of the more painless ones. Didn't truly matter if it was correct or not.
---

You sat back on your porch, relaxing after a day of working out. Your muscles were stiff and achy, but that's how you liked to end your days. You stood and stretched, letting the cool breeze wash over you. The leaves were turning beautiful shades of orange, red, and purple, signalling autumn's arrival. You gave a relaxed sigh, then walked the road to Ponyville. It was lengthy, sure, but also great cardio.
---

You entered the town at what would roughly be sunset where you came from. Shops were closing up or changing stock again, and Applejack was closing up her stand. She saw you and tossed an apple your way, which you caught easily.

"Last batch of the year, Anon!" She said, packing up the stand and getting it mobile. "Ah'd say we did pretty darn well for ourselves, wouldn't you?" AJ's grin was infectious, and you grinned too.

"Yeah, I'd say that and more." You walked over and picked up the handles to the cart, as was usual for you. AJ still hadn't fully recovered from that injury, and you felt a bit guilty every time you saw the injury. It would still be a few months before it vanished entirely, and didn't seem to be causing her any discomfort...but you knew AJ. She was stubborn as hell, and wouldn't admit it even if it WAS hurting.

"Oh really? What else wouldja say then?"

"You haven't just done well, you've done fantastically. All those bits you made? It's a wonder your family doesn't OWN this town." You chuckled.

She grinned again. "We do, inna way. We founded the place, after all."

You gave her a surprised look. "Really now? I'd like to hear about this."

"Nah, not my place. That's Granny Smith's job. 'Sides," She looked up ahead, you were already approaching the farm. "Ah think she'd be one to tell ya 'erself!"

"Is that an invitation to dinner?" You shot her an amused glance, taking the cart to the barn.

"Sure is!" She unlocked it and you placed the cart inside. You took a look around, seeing a deflated balloon in the rafters. That was from your party months ago.

"Well, count me in. I could use something to eat right about now!"
--

Dinner with the Apple Family was always a blast, with various stories from all over. Granny Smith told you all about the discovery of Zap-Apples and Ponyville's founding...or she *tried* to, at least. She fell asleep partway through, and Big Mac carried her to her room after a moment.

After Mac came back, the stories kept going. You were genuinely having a good time, just listening to AJ's stories of when she was a filly.

"So Anon, what's it like back where you're from?" The orange pony asked you. "You've been here fer almost four months now, and Ah don't know much about ya at all!"

"Well, it's not nearly as peaceful as Equestria, that's for sure. It has it's moments though." You chuckled. "Some of the creatures are amazing when they aren't busy trying to kill you."

"Like what?" Apple Bloom asked, eyes full of wonder.

"There's a sea dragon named Ceadeus. Very big, very powerful. Has two big horns, and eventually they grow large enough to cover its eyes. Along its chest, it has a blue bio-luminescent glow. In the dark waters of the deep ocean, they're mesmerizing." You close your eyes, remembering that awesome and spectacular sight. You left out the part where you were sent to kill said dragon. "It was as if it was dancing in the water, the blue lights luring me closer. It went on for an hour, and I had to resurface at least twice during it."

They gave you a wide-eyed stare. "Ah'm sorry sugarcube, you said an hour?"

"Yep."

"And you only came back up twice?"

"Mmhm."

Applejack gave you a scrutinizing look, but couldn't find any tell that you were lying. You weren't, of course. Hunters like you have a huge lung capacity.

"Ah don't believe it."

"I can prove it, if you want." You had a smug smile, one Applejack returned.

"Alright, if you're as tough as ya say ya are, the Running of the Leaves is soon." Upon seeing your questioning look, she continued. "Ponies run this race to knock the leaves off the trees, Anon. SO!" Her grin widened. "Yer participatin', right?"

"Why not? Might be fun, and its a chance to see if I'm actually back in top form from...two weeks ago." You shot Applejack a small glare, and she smiled sheepishly. "Anyo-pony else running?"

"Dash will be, Twilight might as well. Rarity's too hoity-toity to run with us, Fluttershy's...Fluttershy, and Pinkie commentates on the race. She don't run 'cause she said it would be 'unfair'." AJ listed off. "Most of Ponyville gets in on this, so there'll be quite a few ponies runnin'."

You nodded. "When is it?"

"Three days from now."

"That's enough time to train a bit more. Do I need to sign up before han-hoof, or what?"

"Naw, just show up and they'll give ya a number." Another nod from you, and you stood to leave.

"Alright AJ, thanks for dinner. I suppose I'll see you at the race then!" She smiled and waved you off, taking a sleeping Apple Bloom to bed. You let yourself out.
--

The next two days were spent on endurance training. Not enough to make much difference, if any at all, but you felt better. You only really went into town to get cooking supplies, you got your food from Everfree or the Apple's farm. You had to admit, you had it pretty good here.

On the third day, you decided to push yourself. A solid sprint to and from Ponyville, just to see how far you could make it. It was roughly five miles each way, so if you could even make it halfway *to* Ponyville, you'd be satisfied.

You stretched some, noticing a cloud hovering suspiciously still above your home. Rolling your eyes, you continued stretching.

"Ninja you are not, Dash."

A snore was the response. Sleeping, eh? Fair enough. Little bit creepy she was over your house, but whatever.

You finished stretching, then took up a pre-sprint position. You imagined a bowgun shot, and took off running down the road. Your legs were pumping hard, carrying you at a respectable clip. Ponyville slowly drew closer, and you were quickly growing tired. Your breathing became labored, but you had reached your goal quickly enough.

You slowed to a walk, before stopping entirely. Sweat dripped down your face despite the cooler air, and you panted heavily.

"Wow, is that it?" Rainbow taunted. You looked up, seeing her peer down from her cloud. She was laughing at you, and you glared back. "You look a little hot, here, let me 'help'!" She stood and started jumping on the cloud, which immediately opened up and dropped a torrent of water on you.

It was cool and refreshing, yeah, but...now your clothes were soaked. You grimaced at her.

"Gee, thanks." You deadpanned, before walking away.

"Oh come on, don't be like that. It was a joke!"

You stopped, and she drew closer. "I didn't mean to upse-hey!" When she got closer still, you acted. You reached out and grabbed her, then used the pegasus like a towel. She squirmed in your grip as you dabbed the water off of yourself. After a minute, you let the cursing pony go. She glared daggers at you, completely drenched. Her mane was an absolute wreck as well, sticking up in various places.

You laughed at her, wiping a tear from your eye. "You know Dash, if you hadn't have done that, you wouldn't be soaked right now! Oh man, you look like you went swimming! Ahahahaha!"

The cyan pony growled at you, gritting her teeth. "That wasn't funny! My wings are wet now, I can't fly!" You shrugged.

"You started it, so...not my problem." You walked away from the dripping pegasus, who followed you regardless. Dash scowled at you whenever you looked back, and you chuckled to yourself.
--

Roughly half an hour later, you both were in Ponyville. Rainbow wandered off, attracting looks due to being soaked head to hoof.

You were going to your favorite place, the library.

You opened the door, seeing Spike putting some books away. He waved to you.

"Twilight's upstairs, prepping for the race tomorrow. Are you joining in?"

"Sure am." You replied. "Thanks Spike."

Walking up the stairs, there indeed was the purple mare...doing some ridiculous stretch more likely to hurt her than actually help. She had her nose in a book titled "Stretching, Joints, and You!"  In very tiny text she likely missed, the sub-title read: "What not to do edition!"

Why a book like that existed in the first place was beyond you.

"Twilight, you're going to pull something." You commented dryly. She eased out of the...self-inflicted torture to walk over to you, smiling. That was something you had noticed since you had gotten here: You had been in a legitimate good mood more often than not. It helped that most of the peop-ponies you knew were actually interested in you as a person, not for your money or status...which was both non-existent here. At least initially, anyway.

You leaned down and gave the unicorn a friendly hug, which she returned.

"Hey Anon, haven't seen you in a few days! I take it you've been busy preparing for the race?" She gestured to your soaked clothing. "Maybe I shouldn't have hugged you if you were that sweaty..."

"Nah, not sweat. One of Dash's pranks. She stomped on a rain cloud and doused me, so I used her as my personal towel." Twi giggled, hoof to her mouth to stifle the noise. "But yeah, I've been prepping. I think I'm ready, what about you?"

"Other than this kink in my neck, I'm ready!" She chirped. "I placed 5th last time, I'm aiming for 3rd or better tomorrow! My big brother is coming to watch this time, so I have to do better!" She looked up at you, then flinched. "Ow..."

"Where's the kink?" You asked. You waved your fingers. "I might be able to help."

She used her magic to highlight a spot on her neck, which you set to massaging. She groaned happily, tension visibly leaving her.

"Geez Twi, I've felt steel less tense. Something bothering you?"

"Mmmm...that's good..."

"Are you listening?"

"I meant the massage, Anon...the spa ponies are about as good, and they took classes..." The unicorn was practically melting under you. You chuckled.

"I think you're enjoying this a bit too much."

"I can't help it! Sweet Celestia, why can't ponies have fingers...?"

Twilight let out another relaxed groan, and her eyes shut. Once you felt the knot in her neck loosen up, you stopped...much to her disappointment.

"Aww, Anon...why'd you stop...?"

"Because you aren't tense anymore?" You replied, a bemused expression lighting your face.

"B-but I am! Right here!" She highlighted a spot on her spine. You rolled your eyes, knowing for a fact she was lying. Obliging regardless, your hands worked their metaphorical magic.

If Twilight was melting before, she was liquified now. "Oooooo...right there..."

Her breathing was deep and relaxing, and she was almost laying on the floor. You chuckled again.

"Yeah, you're definitely enjoying this way too much."

"No, you're too good at this!" Twilight shot back halfheartedly. "Did you go to a school for masseuses or something...?"

"Nope. Read a book on pressure points once, so I know roughly where they are on a human. On a pony...I'm really just guessing." You admitted.

"You're a good guesser then..." The purple mare muttered, eyes closed. Her calm breathing showed she was totally relaxed, and likely in another world right now. You pushed a little harder, and she grunted before returning to her deep breathing.

Your hands, meanwhile, began to ache. You had been essentially working her over for fifteen minutes now, non-stop. You immediately stopped the instant you heard a light snore, shaking your hands out. Shaking your head, you picked the sleepy mare up and put her to bed. You left a note about what she should probably eat before the race (essentially double what she usually does), then quietly left. You gave Spike a wave that he returned, before shutting the door behind you.
--

You returned home, feeling like you had accomplished...nothing. Granted, that's exactly what happened; nothing. You relaxed for a few hours, before the moon came up. A quick dinner consisting of some fish you had caught and some bread, and you were off to bed.

--

You woke early the next morning, early enough for the sun to not be up. According to the clock on the wall, roughly four thirty.

"Fuck..." you muttered to yourself. "Why now..."

You tossed and turned for a few more minutes, before deciding to hell with it. A bowl of oatmeal was your breakfast, with a glass of orange juice. Pinkie was sitting there too, eating some toas-Pinkie!?

You nearly spat out your orange juice in shock.

"What the fuck, how did you get in here?!"

Pinkie shrugged. "I wasn't sleepy, so I decided to see how my bestest human friend was doing!"

"...aren't I your ONLY human friend?" You asked, knowing the answer already.

"Yeah, which automatically makes you the best! Duh!" The pink Earth Pony giggled.

"Okay, still doesn't explain the breaking and entering." You shot her a look, one she blissfully ignored.

"Are you gonna race today?" Pinkie asked, avoiding answering you.

"Mmhm."

Pinkie's tail twitched. Then it twitched twice more. The bubblegum pony gave you a grim look.

"Uh oh, something bad's gonna be a-happening! Please be careful? I don't want my best human buddy hurt!"

You blinked. Did you miss something? Her tail twitched, so that means something bad? You shook your head, blowing her warning off.

"I'll be careful then. It's just a race anyway, what's the worst that can happen? I sprain my ankle?" You responded dryly.

Pinkie was gone.

You groaned, faceplanting the table.
--

A few minutes later, you left. You didn't bother locking the door, not many ponies made it out this way. The only ones that did you didn't particularly mind being in your home.

It took roughly an hour to make it to Ponyville, at which point you simply followed the signs that were plastered everywhere. Ponies of all kinds were there, warming up or otherwise idling about. You walked up to what you assumed was the sign up desk.

"Name?" A beige stallion asked.

"Anon."

"Thank ya, one second..."

He wrote it down, and handed you a number sticker. On it was a large, black 45. You *would* have assumed you naturally were the 45th racer...but the next sticker read 64, so you gave up. You attached it to your shirt and moved on, looking for your friends.

You saw AJ and Rainbow sitting off to the side, probably placing a bet. Twilight wasn't here yet, but it was still a few hours until the race, she had time. Hell, she might be hanging out with her brother, now that you thought about it. Shrugging, you walked over to Applejack and Dash.

"Hey girls, what's going on?"

"Ah'm makin' sure this pegasus don't CHEAT." The Earth Pony said bluntly, glaring at said cyan pegasus.

"Applejack, I'm hurt you would even IMPLY I would cheat!" Dash put on an obviously fake pout, which neither of you bought. "Alright, ALRIGHT, I won't fly!" Rainbow then walked off, grumbling to herself.

You rolled your eyes.

"Excited, AJ?"

"Ah sure am! Ah'm gonna wipe the floor with Rainbow, especially after she cheated last year!"

"Really? How bad?"

"She made us both finish dead last."

Ouch. You cringed in sympathy, then sat down against the tree nearby.

"Hey AJ? Wake me up when the race starts. I slept like crap last night."

"Ahlright sugarcube, Ah will. Enjoy yer nap!"

You nodded tiredly, yawning. Trying to get comfy against the bark was difficult, so you just laid in the grass, closed your eyes, and were in dreamland a few minutes later.

--

A hoof poked you in the side.

"-ube, hey, git up!"

Your eyes cracked open, then immediately snapped shut when sunlight assaulted them. You slowly sat up, stretching and yawning again. Felt like you had been out for five minutes, but the sun being up told you it was much, much later.

"What time AJ?"

"About 10, time for the race to start!" The orange mare was excited, probably eager to beat Dash in another competition. She sprinted off to the start line, while you walked over. You saw Twilight in the crowd, and made your way over to her.

"Hey Twi!" You called, raising your voice above the other chatting ponies. She turned and smiled when she saw you, then made her way through the crowd to you.

"Hi Anon! Sorry I was late, I was talking with my brother!" She was grinning ear to ear, speaking quickly and excitedly. "He's gonna be watching from the stands, I have to do well for him!"

You patted the mare's mane, chuckling. "If you placed 5th before, you'll do at least that well this time. I wouldn't worry." Twilight nodded, then turned her head to the announcer stand. Pinkie and Spike were there, with Princess Celestia behind them, watching the racers mingle.

They also managed to somehow drag Luna out of bed for this, though she didn't look too pleased to be here. Her attention was elsewhere, and she only occasionally glanced down at the racers. Her gaze eventually found you, and she stared at you for a few moments, before looking away.

That sent a chill down your spine for reasons you weren't sure of.

"Hey Twi?"

"Mm?"

"Might wanna take some notes."

"Why?"

"'Cause you're gonna get schooled!" You teased. She gave you an unamused look, ears flat.

"Really? Taunting? That's how you want to do this?" Her voice held a tone of disbelief. "Alright, fine."

She turned away from you, staring straight ahead.

"Oh come on Twi, it was a joke."

Twilight was ignoring you, which irked you a bit. You were about to say something else, but were cut off.

"Welcome, welcome! Welcome mares and gentlecolts, to this year's Running of the Leaves!  Let's have a clean race this year, those-ponies-who-know-who-I'm-talking-to!" Pinkie's voice echoed around the forest, which you thought would disturb the dragon. You kept an ear out, but heard no roar of anger or irritation. You assumed it was just ignoring the noise...or was smarter than you gave it credit for.

"This year, we have Princess Luna starting us off!" Said princess stepped forward, then cleared her throat. Oh right, the Royal Canterlot Voice...

Even from over fifty feet away, her voice was deafening.

"PONIES, ART THOU READY?"

A cheer erupted from the crowd of racers, one you joined in on.

Luna's horn glowed briefly, and a sound like a gunshot filled the air. The ponies took off, leaving you behind very, very quickly.

"Son of a..." You half-cursed, before taking off running. You managed to pass half of the group easily enough, catching up to Twilight at least. She was at a brisk jog, obviously pacing herself. She took a glance at you and sped up, trying to keep her distance.

"Oh come on. Twilight, I said I was sorry." You groaned, your longer strides letting you catch up again easily enough.

"Apology not accepted."

"What?!"

"I won't accept your apology until I beat you!" Twilight nearly shouted.

"Whoa whoa whoa, Twi, this isn't THAT serious."

"Yes it is! I can't lose when my brother's watching!"

"Being the best all the time isn't everything, Twilight."

She didn't respond, simply speeding up again to pass a few more ponies. You let her go, figuring you'd catch up later.
---

You guessed you were roughly halfway through, you had been tuning Pinkie's inane chatter out. You were too busy running to listen anyway.

AJ and Dash had started fighting midway through, and it was getting nasty. Hipchecks, headbutts, tripping...they were almost getting downright violent with it. Of course, they had also fallen back to near-last place, too caught up in their bickering to actually, you know, run.

Twilight was still ahead of you, but not too far. Her distinctive mane still stuck out, despite you not really being able to see her body. You picked up the pace a bit, passing four more ponies. There weren't too many ahead of you, at most ten including Twilight.

Ahead, a white tape was stretched across a gap between two poles. The finish line. Once that was in sight, everypony began kicking it into high gear, so you did too.

You began sprinting like your life depended on it, passing five more ponies and drawing even with Twilight. The two of you were neck and neck, passing each other every other second. The two of you had passed the remaining ponies, so it was just you and Twilight competing for the first two slots. The tape was almost within reach...and then you dropped back, letting Twilight take it.

Her surprised look was the only reward you needed, as she cut the tape and took first. A second later, you took second.

Instead of cheering, she instantly whirled on you.

"You LET me win!?" She shouted, outraged. You quickly faked panting, and held up a finger.

"One...second..." You said, putting a heavy breath between each word. "I didn't...let you win...I just burnt myself out..."

You hoped to Celestia she was buying it. A quick look at her face told you no, she wasn't. Aw crap.

"Anon, that robs my win of any significance! I didn't actually beat you, you let me win. There's a difference!" She ranted.

"Twi."

"I mean, I would have been fine with second! It's better than fifth!"

"Twilight."

"But no, you had to be...NICE. Now I don't feel like I won anything at all!"

"TWILIGHT."

She shut up when you raised your voice.

"I'd have thought you'd be a little more grateful I made you look fantastic for your brother. Sure, I *could* have taken the gold, but that's not what I wanted. What I *wanted* was for you to make a great impression for him." You explained. She looked at the floor and kicked a pebble, mumbling something under her breath. "What was that?"

"Thank you..."

"It wasn't a problem Twilight. Like I said, this is your time to sh-"

A loud, pained roar cut you off.

"Oh no..." You groaned, hoping it wasn't what you thought it was.

A loud bellow that you were very, VERY familiar with followed, and you snapped your head in its direction. Above, behind the treeline...

The adult dragon you had been tracking flew overhead, injured and trailing blood. Behind it...was an Azure Rathalos, throwing fire left and right at the dragon. A fireball punched through the dragon's left wing, which slowed it down enough for the wyvern to close in.

A flash of toxin-loaded talons, and the injured wing was ripped from its joint. The red scaled dragon fell out of the sky, landing in the middle of Ponyville. The Rathalos followed, talons outstretched. You heard another pained roar, followed by absolute silence.

You made a mad sprint for the town.

Five...ten...fifteen seconds later, a triumphant roar from the wyvern signaled the dragon's death. It was then that all hell broke loose.

The wyvern realized it was in a populated area, full of things encroaching on *HIS* territory. An angered bellow followed, and it started attacking the town. The guardsponies fought back, spears making contact and drawing blood.

The Azure wyvern retaliated, lashing out with its tail and striking one in the head, instantly ending his life. He then launched a fireball, striking a guard in the side and fusing the pony's golden armor to his skin. He screamed in pain, falling over and writhing on the ground. Another fireball blew him apart, ending his suffering.

You sprinted through the town, heading to your home. You needed your armor and weapon, NOW. You left the borders of town, sprinting at full tilt down the dirt road.

---

You shoulder-checked the door, thankful you left it unlocked. You dashed into your room, opening your closet where your armor sat.

You donned it in record time, grabbing your pouch, knife, weapon, and shield. You then sprinted back out the door, towards Ponyville.

The Rathalos was outside of town, assaulting some strange bubble surrounding Ponyville. Every time it hit, it left a physical gash in the bubble that sealed itself a second or two later. Whatever it was, it was keeping the wyvern out.

You slowed your pace a bit, trying to regain your breath. You slowly walked the rest of the way.

---

You approached the bubble, and it was physically keeping YOU out too. Remembering what the Rathalos was doing, you slashed at the bubble. The fire burst opened a hole big enough for you to slip through, which you immediately did. It sealed a microsecond after you were through.

Ponies were cowering in buildings or in alleyways, while guards were busy formulating a plan. In the town center, however, was a pure white stallion with a long, blue mane. His cutie mark was a blue shield with what appeared to be Twilight's cutie mark emblazoned on it. His horn was lit up brightly, almost painful to look at. Sweat was pouring down his face, and a look of pure exhaustion was beginning to overtake him.

Another fireball hit the shield, which let the next one through. It hit a building, causing it to catch fire and begin burning. Three guards quickly went to put it out, rescuing the occupants in the process.

"So relentless..." You heard the unicorn mutter. "So bucking strong..."

"Captain!"

Several guards approached him and began talking, distracting the unicorn from his task. As a result, another fireball got through and struck a guard dead-on, immolating and killing him.

A third fireball hit, and the bubble shattered like glass. The stallion fainted at that moment, simply collapsing on the spot.

"Shining Armor, Sir!" One guard shouted, before another picked Shining up and carried him to what you assumed the command tent was.

Meanwhile, the Rathalos renewed its assault. It came down to ground level, facing away from you. Perfect.

You crept up to it...then drew your sword and lashed out. The blade bit into the Azure Rathalos's calf, though the flame effect was wasted on his fireproof scales. He countered with a tail swipe, which was redirected by your shield. Golden Eclipse waved through the air again, this time catching and tearing wing membrane. He yelped in pain, not expecting serious resistance at this point.

The Rathalos beat his mighty wings and put some distance between you and him. He sized you up, before issuing a challenging growl. You stood your ground, which prompted the wyvern to attack.

It launched a fireball, which was deflected by your shield. You closed in, deflecting another fireball on the way. You got in close and slashed at the wyvern's face, blade biting deep into the scale and flesh. In return the Rathalos head-butted you, making you reel in pain. You held the top of your head, where his had made contact. You were sure you were bleeding now, though you couldn't exactly take your helmet off to check.

As you reeled, Azure launched a fireball at point-blank range. It struck you in the chest and sent you flying back, the flames going through the cracks in your armor. You screamed in pain as you received instant and incredibly painful burns all along your chest.

You hit the ground hard, armor smouldering and smoking. Shakily, you stood. Your breathing was ragged and labored, and the pain was intense. You opened your bag...and pulled out your last potion. The vial was miraculously undamaged, so you popped it open and downed it. Relief spread through you, the pain subsiding at a very fast pace.

The Rathalos launched another fireball...which was intercepted by a purple shield. You looked behind you to see Twilight, horn aglow.

"I'm not letting you fight this thing ALONE." She shouted, and you smiled.

"Neither am I!"

"Ah'm not neither!"

Rainbow Dash and Applejack joined you as well, and your smile only widened. Rainbow took off, harassing the Rathalos and keeping him distracted. You and AJ closed in, your blade and her hooves doing an impressive amount of damage to the inattentive wyvern. Your sword bit into its chest, and her hooves cracked some of his ribs. This time, the Rathalos reeled in pain, taking a few steps back. Twilight kept up her role as support, projecting another shield of magic when the wyvern retaliated.

He charged at point blank range, slamming into you and AJ. The protective bubble shattered, and the force picked the two of you up and tossed you like ragdolls. You rolled to a stop and stood, but AJ didn't.

"DASH, AJ NEEDS HELP!" You shouted, and Rainbow was there in an instant, grabbing the wounded Earth Pony and getting her to safety. It was just you and Twilight now.

Twilight was visibly tired. Those bubbles must have taken a lot out of her, combined with the race...not looking good. You tried to keep the wyvern's focus on you, but the Rathalos had other ideas. It blew past you and attacked the lavender unicorn, taking flight at the last moment.

Twilight threw up another barrier, when the Rathalos came down in a mighty talon drop. It punched clean through her shield and the talon slammed into her side, cutting deep and offloading a dose of venom. She immediately fainted, the fiery pain too much to take.

You ripped your pack open, grabbing a vial of antidote. You forced Twilight's mouth open and poured it down her throat, satisfied she drank it when she didn't choke. She was still breathing, if barely. Seeing her in this state...made something snap.

You whirled around, seeing red. You picked up a small stone and threw it into the air, through some stroke of luck striking the Rathalos in the eye. He fell out of the sky, landing on a wing and snapping the bones, effectively grounding him.

He slowly stood and roared in anger, flames on his very breath. You roared right back.

"COME ON YOU BASTARD, SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT!"

You both charged each other, closing rapidly. He opened his mouth, intending to clamp down on you. Instead, you slid at the last moment, your sword ripping into the soft parts of the wyvern's mouth. He blew past you, ripping your weapon out of your hand before falling over, bleeding heavily. Even if he retreated now, the Rathalos would die of blood loss before he actually got anywhere.

Instead, the Rathalos stayed where it was, groaning in pain and defeat. You, however, weren't done.

You walked over, having retrieved your flaming weapon. You drove it several times into the beast, eliciting a groan of pain each time. You drew your knife, walking around to his head. Looking him dead in the eyes, you then pressed the knife into his throat, cutting an artery. You watched as the life quickly left his eyes, and he finally slumped over, dead.

You put your knife away, then walked over to Twilight. She was still breathing, and you acted quickly enough that the toxins didn't do any lasting harm. You reached down to check her pulse.

"GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER, DEMON!"

"Wha-"

You felt something slam into you, directly before something pierced through your armor...and you. You looked down and saw the tip of a horn sticking out right above and to the left of your stomach. Not a lethal hit...but fuck if it didn't hurt.

He viciously ripped his horn out of you, and you collapsed on the spot. The pain was too much to fight through this time, even with the adrenaline high you were on.

"Twily! C'mon, wake up!" The Stallion said, hovering over her. "C'mon...you're tougher than this..."

She grunted, before her eyes flitted open. "Shining...?"

"I'm here little sis, you'll be okay. I stopped the demon from taking you."

"D-demon...?" She looked over, and saw you lying on the ground, bleeding. You were keeping pressure on the wound, but there was only so much you could do with the hole being all the way through. "Oh no...Shining, that's Anon! What did you do?!"

That was the last you heard before your adrenaline ran out, and the sheer pain made you black out.