A Viper's Nest

Chapters

Into the Serpent's Lair
Careful Where You Step
A Cobra's Kiss
Unite or Die
Testing the Scales

Into the Serpent's Lair

The Straight Shot Saloon was always busy on Friday nights. Hunter relished the crowds; from his booth at the back of the main room he could scrutinize the crowd without them even realizing it. Hunter always scanned for faces he might recognize. His mentor had always stressed that the easiest bounty to collect was when the target ran right into you without even realizing it was being hunted. Hunter had never caught a bounty hanging out in the Straight Shot, since it was known as his favorite haunt, but skills not practiced were lost.

That had been the first lesson his mentor, Azure Heron, had taught him. Downing a shot of whiskey and giving the buxom blonde currently sitting on his lap a squeeze, Hunter smiled as he recalled some of the better times he and Azure had spent together. She had certainly been easy on the eyes, as Hunter recalled. It was a shame he hadn’t seen her in so long; perhaps he should put the word out that he wanted to talk to her. She was keeping a low profile these days, but Hunter figured she’d come out of hiding for him. After all, he was irresistible.

Hunter was snapped out of his happy reverie by loud bang from the direction of the doorway. The doors had slammed open, and in sauntered a pair of Royal Guardsman. The blonde gave a small shriek and the rest of the bar went quiet, turning to scrutinize the newcomer. The Straight Shot wasn’t averse to some partying from off-duty guardsmen, but these two clearly meant business. Their golden armor gleamed in the artificial light spilling from the dim lamp on the ceiling, and everyone in the bar wondered who had messed up enough to warrant a visit from the Guard.

The shortest of the pair, a nondescript brown haired man, cupped his hands and shout in an authoritative tone “We are looking for the bounty hunter who goes by the name of Hunter!” Hunter raised one eyebrow quizzically. He hadn’t done anything to put the Guard on his tail. At least, not recently.

Not a soul made a move until the taller, blond Guardsman shouted “A reward of 100 bits to anyone who helps us find him!” In unison, the other patrons of the Shot turned and pointed right at Hunter. Hunter simply sighed in disappointment; so much for keeping a low profile. Even worse, the blonde on his lap stood up and fled, knocking into the table as she ran and spilling his remaining shots of whiskey. That was some expensive whiskey, and hard to find even in Canterlot. Hunter frowned and stood up staggering over to the Guardsmen, making sure to knock over a waiter on the way before falling flat on his face in front of them.

“S’cuse me officers” Hunter slurred “but I ain’t done nothing wrong.” He tried to get to up but fell down again. The shortest Guardsman stooped to help him up, the disgust evident on his face. He could smell the whiskey on Hunter’s breath.

“We are not here to arrest you” the taller Guardsman spoke with a touch of disdain “but to hire you for a contract.” Hunter staggered over to rest on the wall. The shorter Guardsman stepped back to line up alongside his compatriot. Hunter knew that the Royal Guard didn’t have any need for him; the contract was coming from higher up. Hunter figured it was a noble, to be exact; probably asking for an assassination of a rival. Hunter would have to refuse carefully; he had standards after all, and wasn’t into the whole murdering thing. At the same time, offending someone powerful enough to command the Royal Guard wasn’t exactly wise.

“Well I’d love to go with you gentlemans, get me s’mo money, but I gotta take a piss first.” Hunter slurred as he stumbled over to the restroom door. The Guardsmen almost made to follow him, but decided that the restroom was a harmless enough adventure. After all, Hunter was clearly too intoxicated to be a threat to anyone.

The men’s bathroom in the Straight Shot was fairly unremarkable except for one little feature. At the far end from the door there was a vent shaft that was hidden from view by a trolley of cleaning supplies. Moving the trolley aside, Hunter grinned at the air duct. Rather than playing politics, Hunter had decided to escape and skip town. Removing the cover, he slipped into the duct and replaced the loose cover behind him. Just a few feet away he saw the exit to the alley behind the saloon. Hunter’s grin widened even more when he remembered the last time he had used this exit, almost a year ago. Some noble had sent an assassin after him for despoiling his pretty little daughter in his bed. Chuckling at the memory, Hunter silently moved out into the night. The full moon shined brightly over the alleyway as he took cover behind the dumpster. As he peeked around the corner, he found himself looking at the silhouette of another Guardsman, who had been posted in the alley. Cursing silently, Hunter realized that something must be serious if they were posting extra guards to keep him in place. Also, the guards inside weren’t as stupid as he thought.

Luckily for Hunter, the guard ahead of him had decided to face outwards rather than into the alley. Thinking quickly Hunter decided that he had to make the sentry sleep. As he crept forward, he suddenly realized that he had another option. Scurrying back behind the dumpster, he moved behind the adjacent building, a brothel. And if memory served him right, the upper story window had been broken when a noble had thrown a whore right through of it. Nasty business, Hunter thought, but it might just provide him with an out. The ladder they had propped up against the building was still there, leading to the newly repaired window. As he climbed up quietly, Hunter hoped that the window was unlocked.

He was in luck; the window was easy to open. Rolling into the room, Hunter popped up with a wide smile in the center of the room. His smile quickly vanished when he found himself face to face with a large group of Guardsmen, who had evidently been waiting for him.

“Going somewhere bounty hunter?” the leader smirked. Hunter glared daggers at the Guardsman. He had underestimated them, and now had no choice but to play it off as the rambling of a drunkard.

Adopting a calmer stance and letting his speech slur, Hunter declared “Aw shucks, ah just wanted to grab some to-go.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, looking around for any avenue of escape. Finding none, he resigned himself to his fate.

The Guardsmen were clearly not buying the drunken act; after all, he had just rolled into the room after climbing up a ladder while avoiding the attention of another sentry. Hunter figured they had had just about enough, so he simply followed meekly as he was escorted downstairs. The captain flipped a twenty bit piece to the madam as they passed her and the girls, who were giggling at Hunter’s predicament. As they stepped out into the night, Hunter was shown to an elaborate cart, gilded with gold. A rich noble was after him it seemed, not one of those title-only aristocrats.

Sitting quietly, Hunter drifted off to sleep. If the Guard had wanted him dead, they would have done so already, so he figured he was in no immediate danger. Besides, he needed to be ready for whatever conversations lay in his future.

Hunter woke up a few hours later to a sore back and a horrible crick in his neck. Despite the lushness of the chariot, it really wasn’t a great place to sleep. Evidently they had landed some time ago, but no one had woken him up. He was surprised to find himself in Canterlot’s palatial gardens, not expecting to have been brought here of all places. Stretching, he stepped off the chariot and wandered toward the interior of the garden. He couldn’t see anyone else in the area, but the rising sun’s light was beginning to poke through the sky and illuminate the world.

Hunter was glad to see that no one had disturbed his clothing or weapons; his customary duster and jeans were still in place, albeit wrinkly, and Sin, his longsword, was still by his side. He found that somewhat odd, seeing as how nobles were notorious for paranoia. As he continued to wander, he saw a tall figure gazing toward the sun. He approached cautiously, but was stopped several feet away by a raised hand. He gasped audibly as he realized who he was staring at.

Turning around, Princess Celestia smiled at Hunter and greeted him. “Welcome to the Canterlot Gardens, Brass Masque. Or do you prefer Hunter?” Normally Hunter would have taken that as a mocking comment, but Celestia’s seemed genuinely curious. Swallowing quietly, Hunter bowed slightly.

“I do generally go by Hunter when on the job, Your Highness.” He replied to her query. Celestia continued to smile and approached. Hunter remained still, sure that guards nearby would attack him if he dared to move.

Sensing his unease, Celestia stopped just in front of him. Hunter was tall, nearly six foot two inches, but the Princess was a few inches taller than him. “We are alone here; you need not fear. And please, there is no need for formalities. Celestia will suffice.” She answered his unspoken question. Hunter relaxed a little. It wasn’t as if Celestia had anything to fear from him, since she could send him flying into the sun with just a thought. He was surprised that she gave him permission to use her name only; it was rare, and they had only just met.

“I take it you are the one intending to hire me?” Hunter asked, raising his head to look Celestia in the eyes. Celestia didn’t answer, but turned back to face the rising sun.

“Do you like to watch the sunrise?” Celestia asked, changing the subject in a way that startled Hunter. What was the point of this? “I watch it every day.”

Hunter chuckled. Of course she did; she raised it every day. “I must say it’s quite a beautiful sight.” Perhaps she was just trying to make him relax. If so, then she had somewhat succeeded, as Hunter relaxed his tense muscles.

“I am glad to hear that. I want my subjects to be happy.” Celestia replied wistfully. She motioned for Hunter to come stand next to her. He obliged cautiously, unsure of her intentions.

“About that contract…” Hunter raised the question a second time. Celestia sighed and faced him.

“All business, are we?” She smiled. Hunter nodded slightly as Celestia sighed again. “I suppose we should begin talks. Follow me.” Celestia spoke as she walked toward the palace. Hunter followed at a distance.

Careful Where You Step

“Let me get this straight” Hunter spoke languidly “you think someone’s dumb enough to put the Duchess on their hit list?” Celestia sighed, seating herself across the table from Hunter. They were in her private office, with a pair of Guardsmen just outside the door. Several bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling on either side of the room, while a large stain glass window let in colored light from behind the solar diarch. She had a small cup of tea on the table, and she took a small sip from it before responding.

“Apparently so.” Celestia replied, running a hand through her prismatic hair. The Duchy of Canterlot was essentially an honorary title, given the presence of Celestia herself in the city, but did command a certain degree of respect. It also happened to belong to one of the most politically savvy people in Equestria in the form of the mage Starlight Dancer, who had seen plenty of political warfare in her forty years as the Duchess. She had inherited from her mother after her death by poison, and had resolved to hunt down the faction responsible until they were utterly exterminated. She had succeeded quite spectacularly, bringing down several noble houses in the most upheaval Equestria had seen in centuries.

“Who was the sucker that decided they were tired of living?” Hunter chuckled. He had plenty of respect for the Duchess, having crossed paths with her before when he was still in training. He had seen what she was capable of when he watched her torture her cousin for information on a rival’s whereabouts, and had tried to forget that scene unsuccessfully ever since.

“The Earl of Cloudsdale, Charming Thunder.” Celestia scowled. Hunter sat up abruptly; this was worse than he thought. Thunder was well respected in his own right; the Valkyrie regarded him as a heroic figure for his military and political victories. He now understood why Celestia couldn’t act; accusing someone like Thunder would have heavy political ramifications, and threaten the peace between the Valkyrie, mages, and Terran tribes. They had united into Equestria long ago, but simmering racial tensions remained. The Valkyrie were easily the most warlike of the group, and what they lacked in magical ability they made up for in flight and fight. Their cloud cities were notoriously difficult to besiege, since they could just float away at any sign of danger. Only strong mages could stop them.

Still, why would she need him for this job? She had her own shadowy agents, Hunter figured. He decided that she was withholding something important, but elected not to pursue it too hard. He did have a reputation for being a good bodyguard, but something suspicious was going on. He’d have to grill someone other than the Princess about it, though.

Turing back to the matter at hand, Hunter pondered Thunder’s motivation. For all his bellicose blustering, (something that was fairly common among Valkyries) Thunder was normally a moderating influence. What had changed? “Why?” Hunter asked Celestia.

Celestia sighed once more. “I wish I knew. All I know is that he’s planning it.” She stood up and walked over to the window to look out.

“Are you sure?” Hunter queried cautiously. He didn’t want to insult the Princesses’ sources, but lacking a motive he wasn’t sure how she could know.

“Quite sure” A third voice chimed in from behind Hunter. He was startled momentarily, almost reaching for his sword, before a female Valkyrie walked into view. She had managed to sneak in without him even noticing; few people could boast of that. “Did I scare you?” the Valkyrie asked with a wry smile.

“I would have thought a beautiful woman such as you would stand out more.” Hunter replied with a wry smile of his own. He took a long, admiring glance at her athletic body, her tight clothing serving to show off her slim figure. Her pristine white wings looked quite stunning as well, complemented by her yellow eyes and golden blonde hair. Hunter thought he had died and gone to Heaven for a moment, before snapping out in time to avoid drooling.

The Valkyrie rolled her eyes and replied with a curt “nice” before she walked over to stand by Celestia, who had turned around to face the new arrival. The Valkyrie was a good bit shorter than Celestia, Hunter saw, but not too much shorter than him. The trio stood silently for several seconds while Hunter waited for an introduction. When one was not forthcoming, Hunter cleared his throat.

“Pardon me, I was caught in a bit of a reverie” Celestia smiled, her simple white clothing looking rather drab next to the brighter blue of the Valkyrie’s athletic suit. “This is Blitz.” She gestured to the Valkyrie, who was looking at Hunter with a rather skeptical expression.

“This is the impressive Hunter?” she chuckled, turning to Celestia. “He’s your secret weapon?”

“Indeed.” Celestia replied. Blitz snorted. Apparently she wasn’t impressed by Hunter; to be fair, he hadn’t shaved or gotten his light brown hair cut in a while, and his clothes were awful wrinkly from sleeping in a chariot. He narrowed his piercing green eyes at Blitz as she sat in Celestia’s seat across from him, her own gaze falling on him.

“You look like a common drunk.” Blitz spat. Hunter raised his eyebrows in response.

“I’m not common” He retaliated “but I won’t argue with that second part.” Blitz didn’t deign to reply.

“If we can return to the matter at hand” Celestia chided. Blitz bowed slightly and stood up to stand by her again. “Please, fill him in.”

“Right” Blitz spoke condescendingly “The Earl’s after the Duchess for whatever reason.”

“I already know that. But what are your sources?” Hunter responded.

“You don’t need to know the details” Blitz answered snootily “but rest assured, they are credible.” Celestia sat back in her chair and elected not to comment on the matter.

“So what am I supposed to be doing?” Hunter gave up trying to get more information. He looked at Celestia and ignored Blitz.

“Running protection.” Celestia replied calmly. Hunter snorted gently.

“I’m not a bodyguard anymore” he rebutted “heck, I’m retired period. Why should I do anything?”

“Don’t you want the job?” Celestia asked.

“I made out like a bandit when I foiled that assassination attempt on Emperor Aeolus IX, over in Griffonia” Hunter answered aggressively “and I’d rather be drinking myself to death and drowning in women than dealing with nobles.”

“Useless scum” Blitz harrumphed. Turning to Celestia, she stated plainly “I can handle it, Your Highness. We don’t need him.”

“I don’t doubt you Blitz” Celestia assured her “but I want him on this as well.” She turned to Hunter, who was lying back in his chair lazily. “What do I need to give you to get you to take the job?” she inquired with a note of annoyance in her voice. Evidently, Hunter thought, she wasn’t amused anymore.

Smiling devilishly, Hunter pretended to ponder the question. In reality, he was just trying to annoy Blitz; he had no intention of turning down the job. It would keep him from being bored, and he no longer cared about his own life anyway. He figured he might as well poke the snake to see if it would bite.

“I’m gonna need 500,000 bits for this job.” He eventually replied. He was expecting Celestia to negotiate down; that was a ridiculous sum. He didn’t need the money, but figured he could find some charity to donate it to if he didn’t spend it on booze first.

To his surprise, Celestia replied “Okay.” She leaned across the table and extended her arm towards Hunter for a handshake. Hunter responded slowly, but eventually grabbed her hand and shook it. She had a rather strong grip, he noted idly. Blitz, meanwhile was scowling in disgust. Hunter figured she agreed with him about the ridiculous nature of the sum, but was refraining from criticizing the Princess.

“I want a written contract, you know.” Hunter told Celestia uneasily. She had folded awful quickly, too quickly for Hunter’s liking. He now wanted to know what they weren’t telling him even more.

“Of course” Celestia smiled “I’ve already filed the paperwork with the Bounty Hunter’s Guild. I just need to confirm the amount of payment.”

“I have to give you credit: you work fast.” Hunter responded. He could check up on the Guild papers later, but he had no reason to doubt Celestia’s word.

“Blitz will fill you in on all the details” Celestia gestured toward Blitz, who stepped forward. “You are dismissed.” Hunter stood up and bowed slightly, holding the door open as Blitz sauntered out. Grinning, he followed her into the hallway. This was going to be fun, he thought.

A Cobra's Kiss

“The Earl” Blitz spoke as they walked down the hall toward the front of the palace “intends to have the Duchess killed at her own party, tonight.” Hunter narrowed his eyes in response to her statement.

“Not giving me a lot of time to settle in.” he snorted gently. Blitz suddenly turned on him, glaring into his eyes.

“I’d take this seriously if I were you” she replied aggressively “the Duchess won’t be at the party since she caught wind of the plot; she’ll be using a double, but we can’t let her get killed either.”

“I’m not an idiot.” Hunter snarled back. He knew he had been acting a little silly, but Blitz seemed to genuinely hate him. Hunter wasn’t sure why.

“You’ve done a fine job of playing one!” Blitz shouted back. The empty hallway reverberated with the force of her shout in a way that impressed Hunter. “You slept through the trip here!”

“Why does that matter?” Hunter queried.

“Because I was responsible for making sure your sorry ass got here in one piece!” Blitz responded “And I’ve been watching you do your best to throw away your life for the past three months!” Hunter raised his eyebrows in surprise; she had been watching him for three whole months? That would explain her contempt, since Hunter had spent the past year indulging in various forms of debauchery.

Truth be told, Hunter knew he was extremely depressed; life had lost its luster to him long ago. He simply didn’t care anymore what happened, so long as he could drink his way into senselessness. That was the secret behind his hedonistic lifestyle. It hadn’t helped that he’d watched the death of his apprentice, who hadn’t even earned a codename yet, at the hands of a conniving Griffonian noble. It was a brutal sight. Hunter shook his head a tried to banish the memories threatening to overtake him.

“Look, Blitz, I know I’m far from perfect” Hunter sighed “but I promise, I know what I’m doing. If you want, I’ll stop playing the fool now.” Blitz huffed and began to walk down the hallway again. Hunter followed her as she turned toward the yard where a chariot waited for them.

“Come on” Blitz spoke to Hunter without turning around “the plan is to blend in at the party, find the assassin, capture it and get out unnoticed.” She stepped onto the chariot, awaiting Hunter.

“I’m not exactly dressed for high society.” Hunter responded as he stepped onto the chariot. He saw Blitz grin devilishly.

“Don’t worry about that” she grinned “we’ve got a nice uniform waiting for you.”

A few hours later, Hunter found himself wearing a waiter’s outfit and welcoming the snooty party guests. He had shaved his ragged beard and his hair had been cut to an acceptable length. Blitz was around somewhere, wearing a beautiful sapphire dress that Hunter couldn’t help but admire. She dressed up nice, after all.

The doors closed as the final guest arrived; now the trick was to figure out who the assassin was. Hunter hadn’t spied anything suspicious about the guests he’d greeted, so either they had entered from another place or were playing waiter like Hunter was. He moved into the kitchen to grab a tray of champagne flutes, scrutinizing the staff. None seemed to be anything more than waiters; even the chef looked clean to Hunter, who had years of experience outing wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Moving back into the main room, he spied the “Duchess” standing atop a balcony that overlooked the whole affair. The white marble floor practically sparkled in the light, with the rich tapestries hanging on the walls serving to highlight the wealth of the host. The guests wandered here and there, some sitting and some standing or even dancing. Blitz was standing near the “Duchess”, doing her best to look like a piece of eye candy. Hunter watched with a tinge of jealousy as various men tried to pick her up.

As Hunter sauntered around the room, distributing flutes, his blood ran cold when he finally saw the assassin, a blue haired Valkyrie wearing a white gown. He would never have suspected that the Earl would have been able to hire her. He discreetly ditched the silver tray into a potted plant and worked his way over to the assassin. She saw him coming and cracked a wry smile; she had recognized him, it seemed. Her smile soon gave way to consternation, however, as she realized why he must have been here.

Taking her hand, Hunter escorted her over to the dance floor, where a slow song had just started. The pair began to dance, leaning in closely to speak.

“Azzie, what the hell are you doing here?” Hunter whispered. Azure Heron, his former mentor was not usually an assassin, and she had retired. Why would she have taken this contract?

“You already know.” She answered back, sighing deeply. Hunter cringed slightly as he twirled his partner around. Azzie was a good forty something years old, while Hunter was only in his late twenties. If it came to it, he figured he could take her if he had to. Hopefully, that could be prevented.

“Why would you do this?” Hunter asked quietly. Azure sighed again.

“For my family.” She answered simply. Hunter’s eyes widened as he realized what she meant. He was one of very few people to know that she had a daughter. Her daughter, Hunter remembered, lived in Cloudsdale. This happened to be where the Earl was currently. Hunter snarled involuntarily; he’d skin the Earl alive if he was threatening her daughter.

“It doesn’t have to be this way” Hunter pleaded “I can help you. Just tell me the truth.” He saw a pair of tears form in Azure’s eyes.

“Sorry” she replied, kissing Hunter on the cheek “but I have to do this.” She tried to escape his grasp, but Hunter held on tightly.

“I can’t let you.” He told her. Azure smiled sadly.

“You don’t have a choice.” She answered. Hunter was suddenly struck by a bout of paralysis, and forced to relinquish his hold. He had been a fool; Azzie had put some poison (that she was resistant to) on her lips, and evidently it could be absorbed through skin. Her peck on the cheek wouldn’t kill him, but it would leave him incapable for a few minutes. As Azure gently seated him out of the way, he tried to look around a find Blitz. He had to warn her.

Azure walked off while Hunter was looking for Blitz, and he couldn’t find her again amidst the crowd. Unbeknownst to him, she applied another coating of her special lipstick and was climbing the stairs toward where the fake Duchess sat with Blitz and several other minor nobles. The guards, with no reason to suspect the illustrious Lady Brightstar, allowed her to seat herself right next to the supposed Duchess, just to the left. Blitz sat at the Duchess’ right, and scrutinized the newcomer.

As Azure turned to speak to the Duchess, she was suddenly struck by a bout of sickness. She excused herself and hurried toward the bathroom; what had happened, she wondered.

Just before she could reach the bathroom, she ran into Hunter lounging just outside. He smiled bitterly at her as she looked at him in disbelief; the poison should have kept him out of commission for at least a few more minutes.

“Going somewhere Azzie?” he taunted. Azure growled in response.

“How?” she asked angrily. Her whole plan was unraveling before her eyes.

“You always were a fan of poisons, so I made sure to build a resistance to most of them” Hunter replied “Especially snake venom based poisons. This one was elapid, I believe.”

“Cobra. You didn’t trust me?” she inquired, grabbing her stomach in pain. Hunter shook his head.

“I didn’t want to accidently ingest anything that would kill me” he rebutted “I never expected you to use one on me.”

Azure sighed. “What about my sudden sickness?” she spat out, doubling over in pain as she had a spasm of pain in her stomach. Hunter shrugged; he hadn’t done that. He had run after her, only to see her take off toward the restrooms. A short teleport brought him there before her.

“That would be me.” Blitz spoke as she came up behind Azure. Azure whirled around in disbelief before she began laughing.

“Since when do you have a partner?” Azure asked Hunter. Hunter shrugged again.

“Why don’t we take this conversation elsewhere?” Blitz suggested. Hunter nodded and escorted Azzie over to a dark corner. The three of them stood there in silence for a while, before Azure mustered up the strength to speak.

“You… want a confession?” she whispered weakly. Whatever Blitz had done to her, it was taking quite the toll on her body. Hunter struggled to control his emotions; Azure had been almost a mother to him for several years, and he was pained to watch her in this state.

“Why don’t we start with your name and employer?” Blitz suggested to Azure. Azure smiled weakly.

“I have many names; the one you probably will recognize is Azure Heron” she replied to Blitz, who reared back slightly in surprise “and you already know who is employing me.”

“I’m not working with her.” Hunter reassured Blitz, who had been eyeing him suspiciously. She knew that Azure had been his mentor, it seemed.

“He has my daughter.” Azure turned to and told Hunter, who nodded in response. Blitz cleared her throat.

“Who, exactly?” she interrogated.

“The Earl of…” Azure began before her eyes widened in shock. She suddenly slumped over, as Hunter scrambled over to her. As he held her, he watched as the light left her eyes.

She was dead.

Unite or Die

“What did you do?!” Hunter rounded on Blitz, who stepped back. He was shaking with anger, his face failing to hide the pain he felt. He thought that whatever Blitz had done had ended up killing Azure.

“The poison was hidden in the chair! But it was just to make her sick, not kill her!” Blitz protested. That chair had purposefully been left open; when the assassin sat in it, a small needle had discreetly injected a small dosage. There was no way it had killed Azure, though.

“So what” Hunter hissed “she just died for no reason? That’s bullshit!” He gently let Azure’s body fall to the ground and advanced menacingly toward Blitz, who was cornered.

“I don’t know!” Blitz answered. She pulled out a slender knife, intending to intimidate Hunter but only succeeding in forcing him to draw his own, larger knife. She suddenly realized that she could well die here.

“Enough!” a voice boomed from behind Hunter. As he whirled around, Blitz breathed a sigh of relief. Hunter now stood face to face with Princess Luna of Equestria. The party guests were being escorted out by the Night Guard behind her. At first he simply glared at her, but her stare was enough to convince him to back down. “She did not commit the deed.” Luna finished.

“Then who?” Hunter snarled.

“The assassin’s handler, a mage by the name of Hidden Flame. He works for the Earl on more… discreet matters.” Luna replied disdainfully.

“Her name was Gentle Lotus” Hunter fought back his emotions, composing his face into a mask. Not many knew her true name; Hunter had only heard her use it once. “And she was forced into it.”

“We know. And we will ensure that the appropriate measures are taken.” Luna responded. “In the meantime, you have received payment and completed your duties. My sister will see you in the morning.”

“As if! I want the handler in chains, now!” Hunter shot back. Luna simply looked at him as if he were crazy. Rather than reply, she turned to Blitz.

“Report, Special Agent Blitz.” Luna ordered. Blitz bowed slightly.

“Threat posed by assassin was neutralized and she proving cooperative under interrogation” Blitz answered “but expired of unknown causes.” Luna nodded sagely.

“Flame was watching her. When you took her aside, he crushed her heart with magic.” Luna replied gravely. Hunter’s anger welled up again.

“Where is he?” He hissed.

“He is in custody.” Luna replied curtly. She recognized the bloodlust in Hunter’s eyes, and was resolved to keep him from murdering Flame. They still needed him alive, after all. “And no, you cannot see him.”

“I don’t want to see him” Hunter responded viciously “I want to torture and kill that son of whore.”

“We need him alive, for now” Luna answered calmly “so I must decline.” Hunter shook his head.

“I can’t believe this. I’m out of here.” He gently picked up Azure’s body and teleported away, leaving the Princess and Blitz alone.

“I feel his pain” Luna sighed “so much anguish.”

“Did he… love her?” Blitz asked cautiously, not sure if she even wanted to know. She wasn’t a mage, but even she could feel the emotions that had emanated from the grieving bounty hunter.

“Yes, he did” Luna replied mournfully, bowing her head in sadness “as a mother figure. I don’t know if you were aware, but Hunter grew up as an orphan. He bounced around foster homes until he disappeared.”

“I… I didn’t know that.” Blitz replied softly.

“Few do” Luna responded “and only he knows the whole story.”

Hunter worked for several hours to dig a hole large and deep enough for Azure’s body. He had found a small oak tree, just outside the city in a wild area, which lay near a creek. He felt that she would appreciate the beauty here; she had always liked nature.

He betrayed no emotion as he laid her to rest in the shadow of the oak tree.

Hunter woke up to sunlight streaming onto his face. He had fallen asleep shortly after burying his fallen mentor. As he stood up, the previous night’s events came flowing back to him. He tried to muzzle his emotions, but rage still managed to sneak past. Hidden Flame was the target of his ire.

Walking sleepily, he headed back toward the palace. The Princesses had some explaining to do. The walk to the palace was a blur, as his anger grew. At first the guards attempted to stop him, but then they recognized him as Celestia’s agent. They allowed him into the palace grounds, where he stomped toward the gardens.

He saw Celestia standing alone in the same spot he had met her. As he moved toward her, she turned to face him with a look of sadness clear in her eyes.

“Hunter, I’m so sorry…” she began before Hunter abruptly cut her off.

“I don’t care. I want answers now.” He snarled, startling the Princess. Celestia sighed.

“Ask away.” She told him.

“Why did the Earl do this?” Hunter pressed on “How did he get her, and where is Lily?”

“The Earl was found dead” Celestia replied “because he was a scapegoat. Someone else was pulling the strings, and they managed to fool my intelligence officers.”

“Who? Tell me!” Hunter snapped.

“I don’t know yet.” Celestia shrugged. Hunter snorted violently.

“So you haven’t got anything. You have no clue!” he shouted. Celestia sighed deeply and looked away.

“I assume by Lily, you mean her daughter” Celestia said softly as Hunter sat down on the ground.

“Yeah, she’s what, thirteen now?” Hunter quivered with anticipation. “Where is she?”

“I’m sorry, but she was killed by the same assassin who killed Thunder.” Celestia flinched as Hunter cried out in anguish.

“That’s just fantastic. Everyone is dead.” He cursed violently and slumped over. They had nothing left now; they were beaten at every turn.

“We still have Hidden Flame,” Celestia replied evenly “but he was being mind-controlled.”

“Mind control?” Hunter stood up quickly, ignoring the mental static that followed the rapid blood flow.

“Indeed” Celestia intoned gravely “it only works on more weak-minded individuals, which explains why Azure was not controlled, but blackmailed instead. Flame, on the other hand, was a weakling through and through.”

“So let me guess; he doesn’t know anything useful.” Hunter sighed, smacking his forehead with his palm. They had no leads now.

“Unfortunately, you are right.” Celestia nodded.

“But we have another lead.” Blitz interjected as she walked up behind Hunter. He looked at Blitz with hollow eyes.

“And what would that be?” he asked with no real conviction in his voice. It was almost painful for Blitz to hear how much emotion was roiling beneath the false front he put on.

“Not many mages can cast control spells of that magnitude” Blitz replied, trying to infuse her statements with an optimism she didn’t really feel “so we just need to find out which one did it.”

Celestia nodded. “Princess Twilight has already rounded up all of the main suspects here in Canterlot.”

“Four mages, to be exact, but none of them have any motive” Blitz elaborated “meaning that our information specialists will have their work cut out for them to figure out which one is guilty, and who they were working for.”

“Information specialists” Hunter sneered “Just call them torturers and get over it.”

“It doesn’t matter how we get the information” Blitz shot back “Just that we find out who ordered the contract.”

“Hunter,” Celestia locked eyes with him “Can I count on you to help with this?” She was expecting him to flash his devilish smile, or at least show some charisma. But Hunter simply nodded and walked away.

“He’s with us, for better or worse.” Blitz commented dryly. Celestia sighed and watch her walk after Hunter.

“Princess Celestia?” Twilight Sparkle’s voice interrupted her stream of thought. The young princess had come up beside her while she had been thinking.

“Yes Twilight?” Celestia smiled warmly at her student, who managed a weak smile in return.

“Are you sure about this?” Twilight asked pensively.

“I’m not” Celestia admitted “but I don’t see another way out.” Twilight nodded in agreement as the two Princesses left the gardens for the privacy of Celestia’s office.

Testing the Scales

As Hunter and Blitz walked down the hallway toward the chambers where Flame was held, Hunter abruptly stopped. Turning to the left, he walked out into the Royal Guard’s training ground. Blitz followed closely behind.

“I need to blow off some steam. Fight me.” Hunter told Blitz neutrally as he turned to face her. He loosened his longsword in the sheath on his left side. He was curious about the depth of Blitz’s skills, and figured a mock fight would show him her talent.

“Maybe we should talk about it instead?” Blitz offered sheepishly. Hunter made no response, but finished drawing his blade. With a sigh, Blitz drew her own pair of elegantly curved short swords.

“Impressive” Hunter smirked “Have they got names?”

“Who names their sword?” Blitz smirked back, knowing full well that Hunter had named his longsword Sin. She took a good long look at the straight blade; the metal was kept in near perfect condition, and the tempered steel glistened in the sunlight. The hilt was painted black, and the word “Sin” was engraved on the blade just above the hilt.

“Funny.” Hunter’s smirk vanished as he shrugged off the old brown duster he usually wore, revealing a simple black shirt beneath. He grasped Sin with his right hand only. Crouching slightly, he prepared to lunge.

Blitz licked her lips in anticipation. If there was one thing she was good at, it was dueling. She had graduated top of her class in dueling while at the Royal Guard Academy, and the Special Ops Section. She crouched into her own fighting stance as the two circled each other, the sun beating down on them from overhead.

Hunter stepped in first and delivered a strong blow that Blitz caught with both of her swords. With a pirouette, she managed to knock Sin away and slash savagely at Hunter’s midsection. She was almost worried that she had gone too quickly, but her slash found only air as Hunter managed a quick step back. Any trace of amusement had vanished from both combatants’ faces as they entered a zone of absolute concentration.

Hunter lunged in again, as Blitz noted that he only held Sin with his right hand. Hunter was right-handed, she remembered idly as she easily countered a clumsy slash, but why wouldn’t he use both hands on his sword?

She received her answer a moment later as his left hand flashed from his side, hurling a throwing knife toward her. She was caught off guard for a second, and forced into a quick sidestep that brought her directly beneath Sin’s downward slash. She managed to deflect the blade with her left blade, but she knew that Hunter hadn’t gone as quickly as he could have. She cursed slightly under her breath as she broke the fight off by hopping backward.

“You cheated.” She grunted at Hunter. The thrown knife levitated back to Hunter’s grasp, and he strapped it back to his hip.

Hunter shrugged. “There aren’t any rules when it’s you and an outlaw going one on one.” He smirked slightly, infuriating Blitz. She hadn’t been trying her hardest, but now she resolved to win the battle by any means necessary.

Stepping forward quickly, the ambidextrous Blitz feinted with her right before lunging in with her left. Hunter flicked Sin lazily, deflecting her attack. Blitz rolled under and slashed violently toward where his Achilles tendon should be; however, she failed to find her mark as Hunter teleported a short distance away. Blitz cursed loudly this time, having not expected him to use magic. Unfurling her wings, she grinned widely. If Hunter was going to use magic, then she was going to fly.

Using her wings to propel herself forward, she spun quickly and brought both blades to bear. Hunter blocked both easily, but a sudden flap of her right wing brought her right blade across the left to stab down toward Hunter’s heart. Hunter prepared for a quick teleport but was halted by a swift kick from Blitz’s right leg. Grunting, he barely managed to spin out of the way of the descending blade. Blitz flapped mightily and backed off.

Hunter had to admit that Blitz had impressed him. Had this been a serious fight, Hunter wasn’t sure he would have won, unless he used some rather underhanded tactics such as a blinding flare spell. Hunter may not have been a trained magician, and indeed lacked raw magical power anyway, but he did have his fair share of sneaky tricks.

Sheathing Sin, Hunter smiled at Blitz. The Valkyrie sheathed her own swords and taunted Hunter “What, out of breath?”

“Hardly” Hunter returned “but we’d best be moving on.” Picking up his coat, he put it on with his back to Blitz. He was half expecting for her to move against her while his back was turned, but she simply walked back toward the palace. Hunter supposed she was the more honorable type of fighter.

As he began to follow Blitz, they both turned around when they heard a soft pair of footsteps behind them. Hunter’s eyes widened slightly in surprise as Princess Luna approached the pair.

“Well done!” the lunar Princess saluted Hunter and Blitz as both bowed slightly. She walked in between the pair and stood up straight. “T’was quite the show!”

“I… thank you Your Highness. I am honored.” Blitz responded, bowing deeply. Luna turned to face Hunter, who was looking at her with a bemused expression.

“I didn’t know you liked fighting.” Hunter winked at Luna, who regarded him with open platonic interest.

“Indeed!” Luna spoke proudly, choosing to ignore the flirtatious gesture. Blitz muttered something under her breath about Hunter’s lack of class. “We, er, I was quite the duelist in my time!”

“Perhaps we could have a private session sometime?” Hunter suggested suavely. He saw Blitz blush madly before she stormed off, while Luna simply chuckled.

“I would look forward to testing my steel against you” she answered Hunter “but I fear you have someone else to attend to currently.” She gestured toward the door that Blitz had gone through.

“She’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.” Hunter responded dismissively, waving his hand. He was suddenly yanked off his feet by magic and found himself floating over toward the door.

“Do not dare throw away friendship” Luna chided “besides which, she was your equal, was she not?” At Hunter’s nod, Luna continued “Then go find her now, and quit your silly games.” With that, Luna dropped him on his feet and flew off. Hunter was able to hear her mutter something about men under her breath, but dismissed it as unimportant.

Hunter found Blitz waiting for him outside the door to the area where Flame was being kept. She greeted him with a huff and started to unlock to door. Hunter caught her wrist and she spun around to face him with a grunt.

“Hey, I’m sorry.” He told Blitz, relinquishing his hold on her wrist.

“For what?” Blitz replied gruffly. She wasn’t going to admit anything, it seemed. Hunter didn’t actually know what he was apologizing for, but figured it sounded good.

“For what I did back there.” Hunter answered sheepishly, trying to look Blitz in the eye. She was avoiding eye contact with him.

“I don’t care.” She mumbled in return. Hunter sighed.

“I was just being silly, alright?” Hunter tried to force a smile, but only succeeded in looking like he was grimacing.

“Yeah whatever. Let’s just go.” Blitz turned away and opened the door. She suppressed the emotions and walked into the room ahead.

“Screwed up again, didn’t I.” Hunter growled quietly. He didn’t get what her problem was; was she jealous? But she said she hated him anyway! Hunter eventually decided that women were beyond understanding as he followed her into the room.