Chapter Eighteen Truth or ****

Chapter Eighteen truth or ****

Sombra

I had just gotten back from retrieving the firewood, the girls hid their conversation from earlier well. All of them had gotten themselves something stiff to drink making me worry about tonight's events. They had already crossed several lines and this could only get worse. I went and grabbed my own drink before sitting down and for the first time question'd how much alcohol we had brought. Part of the wagon was supplied by the guild and for some reason it included not only one but two barrels of ale and two small barrels of whiskey. They must think that all hunting had to be accompanied by drinking, it did taste great with a plate of meat after all. Sitting down I looked over to notice that Diamond had not switched spots, probably to either avoid being in my line of site or so she wouldn't lose her spot to another. Poor girl was probably embarrassed to death. She noticed me and looked away, her skin was very soft but the muscle that had built up underneath had began to become taught. Looking back at the rest of the group I noticed just how much attention I was getting. Best to move this along. "Alight who's turn is it?"

Applebloom raised her hand and smiled. Pretending to fain ignorance I raised a brow, "What about Sweetie?" My question got an instant reaction and before Bloom got outed Silver Spoon Jumped to the rescue.

"S-she went while you were gone" The silver haired girl spat out quite uncomfortably. I let it go not wanting to actually let them know I had heard them.

"Right so um Twilight truth or dare?" Bloom asked. Our leaders face did not portray a single tell of worry.

"Let's see we had one dare and then a truth so how about I go dare to!" Twilight seemed rather confident. I wondered if the ale was helping or she just naturally was this brave.. "Keep things interesting ya know?"

"'Right! um... let's see" Bloom put on a face of concentration that was quite cute. Her nose scrunched a bit and her eyes crossed slightly. "How 'bout this? I dare you to show us some'thin with them swords of yer's." A rather tame dare after all that had happened but I was quite curious to see what she could do myself. We had been downed when she fought the Altreon and she had done her training in private after she woke. The only one here who knew of her skill was Sunset and she had not said much when I asked her. After we arrived at the town and made sure Twilight was okay I wanted to know how she would be able to do something like take down an elder. She was distraught and worried at the time but a smile grew on her face and she simply said 'Twilights a badass, back home I'd have never believed what I've seen her do in this world.'

"Alright one one woman show coming right up." Twilight went to her equipment and picked up her duel blades, almost immediately her appearance changed. She was in a simple tank top and pajama shorts but it didn't matter. Those swords made her aura feel demonic. I seemed to be the only one who felt it when she wore the gear from that beast. Perhaps a part of its soul still lingered.

We all turned to the main part of the cave, the fire was illuminating around Twilight who stood stalk still in the center. Her eyes were shut and her breath still. Almost like a switch was flipped that put her into combat mode. Raising her right arm level she brought the blade downward again following with the other blade making a circle with them before bringing them together in front. Twirling her hands until the hilts touched. She swept her left legs out and on the ball of her heel lunged forwards lowering her center of gravity and swinging her right leg in front of it coming to a crouch facing us. Her blades spun in a figure eight and moved so quickly that during the moment her body switched positions they hummed in the air. For a moment we felt a gust of air push out from her. Then without warning she began to glow a heat rising from her body as if she had just gotten out of the shower. Her eyes opened for the first time since she started and with it came a demonic glow of power. For that brief moment she was a monster in her own right. I could only imagine the fear that her friends back home might feel to see her now, but as for me I would compare her to a goddess.

The energy faded and her smile grew as she relaxed. Everyone applauded and Sunset ran to hug her. "You mastered it Twi I'm so proud!" She exclaimed and she wrapped the performer in a tight embrace.

"Yeah heh I't took a lot of work and I still can only hold it for so long but I can activate it at will now." Twilight was blushing slightly, if it was from the praise or from the close contact I could not tell, but it did bring a smile to my face.

"So what even does it mean when you get like that Twi?" Scoots asked a look of confusion plastered on her face.

Sunset backed away from Twi, the girl in question turned to Scoots. She gave a huff and the aura returned only to vanish a second later.

"It's a part of my soul, almost like the energy from inside me is leaking out as it courses through my body. All of the weapon type users can actually aquire this power in different ways but its easiest for the duel swords. The techniques that I have practiced are similar to martial arts and strengthen all parts of my body, this allows me to bring out my power that I have inside. There aren't many accounts of other weapon users that aren't G rank or higher using this power or something similar." Twilight finished her statement and walked over to put her swords away.

"What's G rank?" Sweetie asked.

"Theres a ranking system for hunters." I said knowing this myself. "The ranks go from low to high then G. After that is Myth then Kai. After that is Unknown, and then King. The last four are not common knowledge to most because there aren't many of them. Twilight having beaten an Altreon would be ranked G or just beneath it for her efforts by the hunters guild. The Rest of us are unranked as we have not hunted anything with the exception of Sunset if I am correct you're low rank right?"

She nodded "Yeah we only hunted small fries on the way and when I reported to the guild when we got back that was where I was placed into." The fiery haired girl confirmed going back to her seat, Twilight returned to hers as well.

"What could possibly place you any higher then G rank?" Diamond asked as she held her knees to her chest trying to cover herself. She wasn't as nervous as before, the drinks probably having worked their course.

"We'll G rank is for those who hunt very difficult monsters either Elders or smaller classed creatures that have become to strong to deal with and Myth is awarded to those who are intuitive enough and skilled enough to hunt outside the map. Similar to Equestria this worlds map apparently is incomplete but there's a big difference. Part of the unknown part of this world is actually map'd and then part of it isn't. The part that is mapped and how to make it to those places as well as other secret locations is knowledge that is awarded and given with the title, hence the name Myth.

I paused taking a swig from my flask before continuing. "Kai from what I was told means power, and it's relevant to what Twilight was talking about. You see the ability to use ones own power is not easy. We all have energy inside of us that comes from our soul. In Equestria we use the energy from around us to cast magic but we can also use this inner power just like here. That power is much stronger and that strength along with our soul can grow. One must become physically and mentally strong to wield it, this rank represents those that have gone beyond even what Twilight can do and those above it most likely are even greater. I can only imagine how strong those hunters must be.

"Wait before you tell us the last two I want to know something." Silver asked, I nodded for her to continue. "How did you find all this out I mean some of this stuff sounds pretty secret and I can't believe you just found it in a book somewhere. "

"You're right, the truth is I met with an old lady back in town. She was kind enough to teach me about some of the finer points about hunters, I can't say for sure but something tells me she isn't someone to pick a fight with." I chuckled and with this she seemed satisfied so I returned to my explanation.

"Unknown is similar to Myth, these hunters are allowed to hunt monsters that have no description in even further reach's of the unknown world. Other then that there is nothing special that I know of them. The King rank on the other hand is very special. It's not a rank given by the guild but one that's taken from it. Any hunter can claim that rank for themselves but the way to do so is not told. The rank itself almost means nothing because you don't know if they got it for doing something note worthy."

"That's interesting, I guess maybe we'll find out what it is on our mission." Sweetie said.

"There's one other thing the old woman did mention that's got me curious. She said there's technically one more rank, although it's only ever been awarded to one person."

"What's it called?" Twilight asked leaning forward, her thirst for knowledge always there.

"I don't know, she said that she wasn't told what it was or who it was given to. I can't even begin to guess what kind of person would hold such esteem from the guild." I took a swig from my flask again and took out a small pouch of rhenoplos jerky. Always did like snacking while I drank.

The girls decided to make popcorn going about setting up a pan and some variety of kernels we had. After they finished setting out some bowls of the fluffy snack we returned to our game.

Next up was Diamond barely covering herself at this point, I couldn't help but enjoy the view although I tried to keep my mind off of her. Most likely she would be quite embarrassed in the morning.

"Alright m-my turn!" Said Diamond happily tipsy. "Sombra! T-twuth or dare!"

I was wondering when my turn would come and based on the conversation earlier I think I knew what to go with to be safe. "I'll go with dare." I braced myself for whatever she might throw my way.

"Hmmmmmm I dare you to...

And that's when the rumble started. It shook the entire cave and didn't stop, it went on no sign of stopping and if anything it was getting louder. No one said a word as the deafening sound of rocks shaking took over. It had caught all of us by surprise and before anyone could react the cave entrance crumbled trapping us. Twilight was the first to break into action.

"Everyone get your armor and equipment and get to the cart quick! We can't assume this is just an ordinary earthquake!" She was already at her stuff throwing all of it on in a blink of and eye. Each one of us did the same running to our different sections of the cave. I had managed to grab my bag and hammer before all hell broke loose. The entire cave shook one more time as the very beast that we had been seeking emerged from a portal in the ground. For a moment I thought all was lost but then as quickly as it had come it opened up another and flew through the ceiling and vanished. The sound of rumbling finished and all went quiet.

The beast was hard to make out, it's body was so dark that the very outline of it was blurred. I couldn't say for certain what I had seen but it sent shivers down my spine. For a moment everything was okay and then without warning the entire room was covered in portals. They looked different then the ones from before and what else was they were moving. Twilight was at the cart with Silver and Sweetie who had made it back first. The rest of the girls were caught off at the far side by a wave of portals and as for me I was backed into a corner with no where to go.

Twilight had a look of panicked thought on her face but it quickly turned to one of determination. "Everyone listen closely!" She called out everyone giving her their undivided attention. The portals were getting closer and there wasn't a moment to waste. Twilight took a rock off the ground near her and tossed it into a nearby portal. The rock vanished without a trace. "Alright from what I know the portals that have been hurting people have been impossible to enter. These must lead somewhere, get as close as you can to each other and leap as far towards the cart as you can! I don't know what will happen or if we'll end up anywhere near each other but it's are only hope! No matter what if we don't find each other and were all still on this world meet back at Titan Lake! Understood?!" Everyone gave an affirmative.

Sunset, Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Diamond all jumped together holding onto one anther as they did so, just as Twilight's group had a portal sweep underneath them. Running as fast as I could and as far as I could in my tight corner I lept towards the others aiming for a portal in between both groups. "See you all on the other side!" Was all I could get out before I was engulfed.

A rough journey

Though years of practice I have attained my strength. It wasn't always easy and to be honest is still never is or will ever be. The world out their is so big and we know almost nothing about it. The monsters that exist here are able to get so big without ever being seen. What exactly does that mean? It means the world is big enough to hide them, and when I say big I don't just mean it's bigger then we think. A part of me thinks that you could spend half your life and not make it around the whole thing. That would make sense at least to me, and if I'm right I couldn't be happier. A world that big means endless adventure. We find new species every day and have no idea where they come from. I've personally explored four different continents and almost have never seen another human or one of the ancient people. The few occasions that I have would be stories all their own. I've barely scratched the surface of this world. Funny way of putting that too, considering there might even be more to explore below. I plan on seeing it all to, and if I don't that just means I was right.
~The Drunken Hunter, To seek the unknown.

Author's Note

Now you're thinking with portals.