A Viper's Nest

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.