A Viper's Nest

“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.