Of Monsters And The Men Who Hunt Themby OmegathelegndChaptersThe First ContractA Professional At WorkA View To A KillThe First ContractAuthor's Note If you guys like this idea then I’ll write some more chapters, I know this isn’t as good quality as it could be but I needed the idea out of my head and if I do write more chapter I’ll look into getting an editor. The First Contract The pile of recently forged bullet casings stood meticulously organized across the dark oak table. They shone dully in the dim flickering light of the forge that was used to create them. Along the side of said dark oak table rested a long line of recently pressed rounds. This line led all the way to a well used bullet press that itself was hinged to the edge of the table. A piercing shriek loosed itself from the aging machine as the silhouetted figure seated before the machination operated it. The press stopped with a click, pulling the lever back and reaching out the man grabbed hold of the newly pressed bullet. Holding it up he studied the deadly little piece of metal he had just created, satisfied with what he saw he gave a nod and carefully placed the bullet in line with the others he’d finished. Letting out a sigh he placed his hands on the arms of his chair and stood up, cracking his neck the man stretched backwards till his spine popped. Grunting with satisfaction he turned towards the crackling forge, walking forward he stopped in front of the fire. The intense heat hit him in waves, his exposed forearms taking the worst of it. Smiling slightly he squated down and looked into the fire, his lengthy sweat soaked red hair fell down over his deep blue eyes. “Just a little longer.” His smile grew. Coming back up he walked over to the other side of the room and started up the sink, placing his hands under the water he began scrubbing at the black grime that clung to every square inch of his skin. A sudden frenzied banging erupted from the flimsy wooden door that barred the dark room from the outside world. Turning towards the door with a raised eyebrow the man stopped his scrubbing, placing his hand on the sink’s nozzle he shut off the flow of water. The banging on the door exploded once again, with more intensity this time,”Open up! We’re here on business from the princesses!” His brow raised as he dried his hands on his pant legs, raking a hand through his hair he stepped towards the door. The rough bottom of the door scraped loudly along the floor as he opened it, flinching as sunlight poured into the room he shook his head and narrowed his eyes so as to see. Just outside the doorway stood two ponies, the first a white pegasus mare in full Solar guard armor, the second a dark blue bat pony mare in full Lunar guard armor. He noted this as he had never seen a bat pony before, heard of them yes but he had never actually seen one up close before. Both guardsponies looked like they had a long day, each was breathing heavily and their fur looked like it had been through a washing machine filled with sweat. “Can I... help you?” “Yes, um are y-“ The Lunar guard leaned forward on her spear shoving her face into his and cutting off her Solar counterpart. “Mind if we come in? It’s hotter’n Luna’s tits out here.” It struck him that her accent was reminiscent of a northern Londoner but with a bit more articulation. Her Solar guard counterpart half heartedly hit her in the shoulder,”Celestia damn it Screech you know we can’t impose ourselves on the citizenry.” Her accent was a common upper crust Canterlotian one, not surprising as a lot of guards sounded like that. “But it’s fookin’ killing me out here, look!” Holding up her hand Screech showed off the sweat literally dripping from her scruffy fur. “Well it’s not like I’m in much better shape either, Tartarus I’m sweating in places no pony should ever sweat!” The Solar guard gave a frown,”So the least you could do is act with some common decency like me, last thing ponies want is to be annoyed in this heat.” Screech went to respond but the man spoke up,”I don’t mind letting you two in, but it might not be much cooler in here.” He stood aside and pulled the door all the way open. Screech walked on in and sighed as she entered the dark room,”Can’t thank ya enough for this.” The Solar guard stopped just inside the doorway,”Yes thank you for your kindness, by the way I’m Silver Wing.” She held out her hand. Accepting her handshake he replied,”I’m Samuel.” “I’m Screech.” The bat pony said nonchalantly as she sat herself down in Samuel’s chair. “So I heard.” He sighed as he made his way towards the table. “Screech you didn’t even ask for a seat, have you no manners?” Silver wing scowled at her parteners behavior. “No it’s alright, here, I’ve got another chair you can use.” He came out of the darkness his arm linked through the back of another wooden chair. Silver Wing gave a thankful nod as he placed it down next to her, sitting down she looked up to find him leaned up against the wall,”Can I get you guys anything? All I really have to tap water but it’s better than nothing.” Both looked at each other before shaking their heads no,”Alright then. So what is it you’re here for then?” Clearing her throat Silver looked to Screech, getting the message she began,“Are you Samuel Jones, first and only human in Equestria?” Screech’s tone became professional and her accented words seemed to disappear. Raising his eyebrow Samuel nodded and answered,”Yes that would be me, why?” Silver wing spoke up completely ignoring his question,”Are you or are you not a professional hunter?” “Well I don’t know about professional but I am a hunter...” Silver crossed her legs over one another,“Please don’t dance around the matter Samuel, we want an anwser.” Screech nodded in affirmation of her partners comment then leaned forward in her chair, ears swiveling towards Samuel,“Were you or were you not the hunter that stopped the timber wolf infestation that plagued the Apple family farm last year?” Samuel nodded,”Yeah, that was me... Mac himself asked me to help out, I couldn’t turn the guy down, especially since he helped me out so much when I first got here...” Silver, again interrupted him in a condescending tone,“No need for the whole story, though I’m certain it’s interesting it is not what we are here for.” Samuel frowned, this mare comes in preaching manners and now she’s a total bitch? His patience was beginning to run thin,“Well then why the hell are you here and why shouldn’t I just kick you out?” Silver raised her brow,”I think it’s time to explain ourselves don’t you Screech?” “I do,”Screech clapped her hands and rubbed them together,”Celestia herself has asked us to contact you, says she wants your help in a matter of utmost importance.” “Yes,” Silver chipped in,”She wishes to purchase your services.” Sam crossed his arms and looked at the mares with a lowered brow,”Huh?” Silver spoke up,”Celestia wishes to hire you, there is pressing matter that needs to be attended within the Everfree forest.” Samuel narrowed his eyes and held up his hands,”Now hold on, let’s slow down here, what the fuck are you two on about and how does it involve me? Please explain this.” Screech chuckled,”You might want to sit down then.” Samuel nodded, pulling up another chair he set himself down across the table. Silver placed her arms on the table and interlocked her fingers,”So where would you like us to begin?” “From the beginning if you’ll please.” Silver started with a sigh,”About two months ago the town guard received reports of what looked like raids on local merchant caravans in the western fringes of the Everfree. Naturally the guard assumed it was the work of bandits and so without any preliminary investigations they sent out a trained force disguised as a caravan to try baiting the bandits out.” “Real fookin’ mistake that was,” Screech’s accent fell back into its original state,”They had no idea what they was gettin’ into and it cost em’.” “Yes it cost them dearly, the force was found torn to shreds.” Silver looked Samuel dead in the eyes,”Literally ripped apart and seemingly feasted upon, we have no idea what did it but it certainly wasn’t the work of bandits.” She let out a breath,” it was not a pretty sight... After that we were sent for by the princesses.” Samuel nodded,”Okay, now who are you two, exactly.” “Investigators for the crown.” Answered Screech,”Can’t say much more’n that.” “As I was saying,” Silver continued obviously annoyed that her partner answered for her,”We came out here to investigate these fatal occurrences and found that it must of course be some kind of beast. S-.” “We got our findin’s all the way up to the princess herself,”Screech cut in,”Even asked er’ for support, an’ you know what she told us Sammy colt?” He sighed,”No Screech, I really don’t know what the princess told you.” “She sai-“ “She said that we were to hire a professional hunter,” Screech gave Silver a dirty look to which Silver returned with a smile,”She said support wasn’t available because Luna’s armies needed all the support Equestria could provide, this war with the yaks isn’t exactly going as well as it could be after all.” “So then you came to me?” Sam guessed. Screech gave a full smile showing off her fangs,”Correct monkey boy.” Silver shook her head and looked at Sam,”I’m sorry for being so short with you earlier Samuel but I am eager to end this beasts butchery of our people, will you take this job or not? You will be paid well and you will be doing a great service for Equestria.” Samuel looked down at the table, his eyes tracing the many bullets he was making,”Are there no other hunters you could get for this? I mean hell, I’ve never hunted the kind of monster your describing right now.” “Nope, we ponies are good at many a thing but killin’ animals ain’t one of em’, Tartarus you should see the one pink haired pegasus just outside of town sh-“ “Look Samuel the fact is we don’t have a military force big enough to deal with this and the idea of hunting whether for survival or sport is horrifying to even the most violent Equestrian, so will you or will you not accept this... contract?” He looked up and into Silver’s eyes with his own,”...I’ve done a lot of research on Equestrian wildlife since I’ve been here, the many different kinds of animals.” He looked over towards the forge,”The common animals and the rare ones, big ones and small ones, docile ones and dangerous ones... shit I’ve spent a lot of time flipping through boring ass books just to memorize what to look out for when hunting.” “And?” “I’ll do it to the best of my abilities, but I’m going to need you to show me to the last place this “beast” attacked.” He stood up. Silver stood up with him,”You want to investigate the scene?” “Yep, maybe get an inkling of what it is I’m agreeing to kill... or be killed by.” He turned around and faced the wall then grabbed hold of a long wooden object. Silver sniffed and looked down at the table,“When would you like to go then?” “Right now. When the hell else would I go?” He gave her an odd look as he turned around. Screech smirked as she pulled herself up out of her chair,”A stallion of action? I like it.” Silver sighed and looked up, noticing what Samuel was carrying she cocked her head,”What is that?” “A rifle.” She gave him an empty look, sighing Sam explained,”It’s what I use when I hunt.” Stepping by Silver he grabbed a handful of bullets,”It’ll take me a second to get ready, gotta grab some gear, if you don’t mind waiting outside it’ll only take me a couple minutes to gather all my stuff and then we can set off.” A Professional At WorkThe attack site was deep within the Everfree forest and had taken about three hours to reach, in this area the sun’s rays had trouble reaching through the thick canopy that the dark brooding trees created but just enough light made it through to see clearly. The nearby sound of running water could be heard from this position indicating a creek or possibly a small river was nearby. Samuel had noticed it quickly after all one of the first things a hunter learns is that animals generally gather around running water... Dried blood caked the wide dirt path in front of the three would be monster hunters. Samuel had already counted out the twelve deifferent bodies that lay in various twisted positions across the road. Each one was quite obviously mangled and mutilated. Knowing he was going to need to study his sickening surroundings Samuel stepped forward, huffed and crossed his arms. Scrunching his mouth to the side he narrowed his eyes and overlooked the whole scene. To his left a common caravaneer’s cart stood up on its side against an old thick oak tree. From where he was standing Samuel could see the wooden rails that held its cargo in place were ripped through in certain places, as though something with immense strength had grabbed hold and crushed them. Samuel decided he would get himself a closer look at the damage and began making his way towards the wreckage. Silver went to follow but Screech placed a hand on her shoulder. ”Best not to break his focus eh?” She whispered, Silver sighed and nodded in agreement. The wheels of the cart were more or less gone, only a little remained of the destroyed wheels and that was to say nothing of the badly damaged axle that was supposed to hold them below. Looking down Samuel saw the ground near the cart had long deep gouges in the earth, deciding to follow the gouges he discovered that these marks ran on for nearly fifty feet. As he went he noticed all along these gouges were broken off wheel spokes and marks where the wheel bands themselves had snapped. From what Samuel could tell this cart had been grabbed and pulled on by something strong, but not quite strong enough to pick it up all the way. So it was then visciously dragged across the ground and thrown up against the tree. ”One hell of a creature...” The cargo the cart had been carrying was scattered across a waterlogged ditch that ran along on the side of the road. Smashed boxes with food thrown from them rotted in the mosquito infested water, Samuel walked along the ditch examining all the cargo he could find. ”Nothing was looted, guess that rules out bandits for good... Perhaps this thing was attracted to the smell of the food? Implying it can smell pre packaged food...” A weak breeze started to pick up and the forest began to hum with the rustling of leaves, Samuel’s hair waved lightly in the low wind and he decided now was the time to get on with the most gruesome task and look at the bodies. Seeing him walk towards a body that lay further down the road Screech and Silver discreetly began making their way over as well. They kept themselves quiet and observant as Samuel reached the unfortunate victim and began his examination. Squatting down Samuel studied the corpse of the poor fellow in front of him. He lay face down in the blood covered dirt, his clothing was torn to shreds which was fortunate, Samuel would have had to rip it off to examine the body anyway so it helped. He had been a tall well built stallion that much was certain. Samuel couldn’t tell what color his fur or mane was because of all the blood, though it looked like he might have been yellow with a blue mane. Two long claw marks were present on the back of the stallions head, they dug so deep Samuel could see the mushed up brain of the deceased. Further down the body became more and more unrecognizable as a pony, the stallions back was torn out nearly completely. His spine was gone, well a small part of it still hung out where his neck connected to his back but other than that it was gone. His ribs were all snapped off and the ends nowhere to be found, he noted that all the angles at which they were snapped were exactly the same. Probably the most horrifying part was that all his internal organs were either missing or... ripped into. Moving on Samuel looked at the victims legs, both of which were crushed entirely, claw marks were present on the side of one leg but nowhere else in that area. “Looks like... like this thing pounced on his back as he was running away, placed a leg on his head, dug in with it’s claws, then placed another leg on his legs to steady itself and finally took two huge bites out of him.” Samuel grunted as he stood up, crossing his arms again he began to grind his teeth as he became lost in thought. Seeing him drift off Silver turned her attention to the poor wretch Samuel had just examined, her features softened and she sighed. Moving her attention back to Samuel she cleared her throat to bring him back to the real world,”Do you have any idea what we are dealing with yet? I’m growing tired of this... dark place, it makes me anxious.” Screech looked to Silver, her expression one of annoyance,“Give im’ some damn time Silver, we hired im’ to do this right so let im’ do it right!” Silver tried to respond but Samuel let out a breath and turned around,”I think I do have an idea, give me one more second I want to see if I can find any undisturbed tracks the creature might have left.” The two guards shut up immediately and nodded in agreement with his plan of action. Walking even further down the road he came to a spot between two corpses where the blood hadn’t seeped into everything. There he found the tracks he was looking for. Standing directly over the “prints” Samuel immediately noticed their size and the depth of which they dug into the solid ground. Furthermore he noticed the fanatic pattern in which they appeared. They were here and there as though the thing that made them were jumping around or... flying. “That’s... not a good sign.” Studying the prints further he saw that each had three distinctive claw marks that came down in front of a thin reptilian like footprint,”If this... shit.” Samuel’s head twisted and he narrowed his eyes,”I think I know what did this, though I can’t be certain.” Screech placed the butt of her spear on the ground,“And what might the thing doin’ this to us be?” He turned to face her,“A wyvern.” “Wyvern?” Silver questioned,”What’s a wyvern?” Screech snorted,”You never heard of a wyvern?” Silver sighed,”No Screech I haven’t, could Samuel please enlighten me as to what it is?” Getting the message Samuel shook his head,”It’s similar to a dragon, except not sentient,” Sliding his hands in his pockets he continued,”They have two legs and can fly, I can, with certainty, tell from the pattern in which these tracks move and the way the poor fellow back there was killed that whatever did this walks on two legs and can fly.” “Yeah but what about the barbed tail they’re suppose to ave’, isn’t that a big part of hunting for em’?” Screech asked. “Well look at the state of some of the other bodies here, they seem to have been slashed with multiple razor sharp objects that just happened to go the same exact direction at the same time.” He looked at Screech and shrugged,”I don’t see there a better explanation for what happened to them other than being hit with that tail.” She shook her head and let out a laugh,“Aye you have a good point, spose’ I shouldn’t question ya to much.” “Well maybe you won’t but I will,” Silver snapped,”How can you be sure that this wyvern is truly the culprit? You yourself only claim that this all only “seems” to fit together, you sound so sure of it and you’ve only been here what twenty minutes?” Her voice got louder,”Now you’re going to ask us to help you kill something that may or may not even be here and make us waste our time! Celestia forbid it really is here because then we’ll all be dead, Tartarus you said it yourself you’ve never hunted anything like this before!” Samuel confused at her sudden outburst huffed and scowled,”I cant just look at something like this all by itself and be completely sure of what’s going on, all I can do is give you my best educated guess. Isn’t that what you wanted?!” Screech cut into their argument,“Ay Silver lay off im’ won’t ya, he’s just doing what we asked him to, I know ya don’t like this place and you’re tired of seeing so many dead ponies but this has gotta be dealt with.” Silver looked at Screech with a frown, growling to herself Silver turned and began walking off in anger. Screech sighed and turned to Samuel with a small smile,”I’m sorry about er’ Sammy colt, she doesn’t mean it, honest.” He raised an eyebrow,”Really? Then why did she hire me to do this only to freak the fuck out and get angry at me for doing my job?” Screech sighed and her smile fell,“She... she’s been gettin’ lots of bad news recently, her two younger brothers died up north defendin’ castle Frostmouth from a Yak siege last month.” Samuel’s scowl slowly deteriorated,”Then she’s been workin’ these brutal investigations with me and it’s startin’ to take a toll on her.” Samuel gulped as he processed all the information he’d just been given,“I uh, shit I didn’t know all that, I’m sorry.” Screech placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder,”No need to apologize colt, it’s not your fault.” She smiled at him,”Now let’s get back to the business at hand, what help will you need in killin’ this beastie eh?” Looking to his side Samuel raised his brow,“Well...” A View To A KillAuthor's Note Sorry for the wait guys, I know this is a story most of you wanted to see more from but I’ve been busy. Hope you all understand but what’s more is I hope you enjoy this chapter. A View To A Kill The rifle clicked as Sam pushed a bullet down into the magazine slot, pulling his hand back he grabbed the bolt handle then shoved it forward and down into position. Laying the weapon across his lap he narrowed his eyes, the barrel had been cleaned, screws were tightened and scope zeroed. Satisfied the rifle was ready for use he leaned back against a tree, let out a shaky sigh and closed his eyes. Sam had been preparing for this day all week. He used a special soap to rid his clothes of their smell and then showered, his scent was all but masked. Hopefully. Three days had gone into choosing the spot he wanted to use to try ambushing the Wyvern and he believed he had chosen well. He had set up on the edge of a ridge deep within the Everfree forest, his placement on the ridge was well covered by a thick layer of foliage and a number of mossy trees. The individual tree he sat against was perfect, it provided good cover as it’s branches dipped low covering him from any animal’s view while providing a perfect line of sight down the steep drop of the ridge into the clearing. It was a somewhat large circular patch of land that the forest, for one reason or another, had not claimed. A rocky creek ran through the middle of it and various grasses and berry bushes surrounded said creek. It was a peaceful little spot that Sam, unfortunately, was going to use for violent purposes. Sighing the man looked down and took in the view, he could see for miles, the Evergreen was huge that was an unmistakable fact. Samuel’s plan was fairly simple, with Screech and Silver’s help he had gotten ahold of a sheep from some poor farmer and then some pony blood from Ponyville general hospital. This morning he had led the sheep out into the clearing, slathered its fur with the blood and set it free to graze in the little enclave. The sheeps activity in tandem with the pungent smell of blood would certainly attract the wyvern and when it landed to feast he’d ambush it from the ridge. He hoped a clean killshot would be all that was needed to do the trick, god knows what he would do if it didn’t. When asked if there could be issues with this plan Sam had explained to his contractors that as far as he knew there weren’t any other predators in this stretch of land. Plus if a wyvern had claimed it then there definitely wasn’t going to be any competition, the wyvern would never allow another predator to disturb its hunting ground. So he wasn’t going to fret about other predators possibly coming in and taking the bait, the one thing that did worry him though was the possibility of the sheep going out of sight. It was unlikely as the grass in the clearing was plentiful, but nevertheless still a possibility. Confident that his scent was missing, camouflage was good and plan of attack sound Samuel settled in and began the long waiting game that only those who have true patience can play. ~ A swath of deep red sky appeared as the last of the sun dipped below the horizon, brilliant deep purples and dark blues colored the evening skyscape above Samuel. The few clouds that floated about reflected the sun’s light and made soft oranges and pinks, overall it looked like a Bob Ross painting to him. Samuel wasn’t one for romanticism, but he had to admit even he was taking notice of this wonderful view. Though that seemed to be the only beautiful thing about this moment, mosquitoes incessantly buzzed about him in the excessively humid air and the sheep down below had begun calling and hadn’t stopped. It was getting irritating. So far there had been no sign of the wyvern all day, in fact he was beginning to think he might have been wrong In his guess all along. Still though from all he read they were smart creatures and might find a free meal like this suspicious, eventually though if it did exist it would most likely give in to temptation and show itself. Until then Samuel could do naught but sit here and suffer the summer heat. ~ Samuel’s eyes shot open. The sound of flapping wings had caught his attention, it had come from overhead. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness as they roamed the starry night sky, turning about he looked over the clearing. Clenching his teeth he let out a breath through his nose. He stifled a surprised gasp as a large dark figure passed overhead with a swish, it’s form blotted out a wide patch of stars as it passed by the ridge. Picking up his rifle he tightly griped it’s wooden body with calm hands. Samuel took care to avoid making any noise as he pulled himself up into a kneeling position, a single crunch from a leaf and he could give up his position... and possibly his life. Turning his attention down to the clearing he brought up his rifle and looked through it’s scope. He caught sight of the sheep, it stood in the clearing happily eating away at the grass. Sam swallowed thickly, he watched intensely, cracks of doubt started to pop up on his head. He was a hunter sure, but who the hell had ever hunted a Wyvern before? The craziness of the situation was finally realized in his mind and for a second he felt panic as his base instincts emerged. Sam closed his eyes, shakily let out another breath and slowly calmed himself, his hands grew steady, his teeth unclenched and his heart rate slowed. If he could just calm down and do what he had to he might just pull this whole damn thing off and be done with this crazy shit. ”Well, come on then.” He thought to himself, the sheep down below stopped grazing and looked up. The dark form in the sky made another pass over head, it’s force rustling the trees and bushes around the animal. Sam watched the sheep react naturally to its predicament by beginning to call out and move around. As the small farm animal began to run across the clearing for the cover of the trees the dark form came shooting out of the sky, faster then he could perceive Samuel watched the Wyvern bear down the sheep. It’s form slammed down on top of the poor beast with a crack, killing it in an instant. The large reptilian creature, now silhouted by the moonlight in the clearing, drew in its wings. Samuel noticed how slender the thing looked, it was terrifying and could kill without a second thought yes, but it had a sort of grace to it’s movements that he’d seen only in cats and certain birds before. Stepping off of its prey the elegant monster craned it’s neck down and sniffed, nudging the body it drew back slightly. Stepping forward it placed a front leg on the sheep and dug it’s claws in, then moved it’s head forward and bit into the soft flesh of the belly. Sam could see it’s guard had lowered as it was beginning to feed. This was perfect, so far everything was going well and his plan was falling into place, now it was up to him to finish it all off... Gripping his rifle he moved its barrel upwards, pointing it at the Wyvern which was very noisily crunching the bones of the sheep, he pulled it up to look through the scope. Drawing a bead on the side of its head he began to feel his heart beat even quicker in his chest. If he missed, or hit a part of its head where the bone was to dense to penetrate, he was dead. Swallowing one more time he closed his eyes and cleared his mind, opening them back up again he steadied his scope and drew in a breath. His crosshair hovered behind the Wyverns shifting head right by its wide finned ear and end of it’s neck. A good shot to the neck and hopefully into the spine would quickly paralyze and bleed the thing dry. Or so he hoped, he knew well that plans didn’t always work out perfectly. Letting out his breath his heart beat subsided and for a second his body was perfectly still, he pulled the trigger. The loud familiar crack of a high powered rifle rang out, the Wyvern lurched back and reached out to catch itself as it fell. The beast hit the ground with a loud slam, it’s weight disturbing everything around it. Samuel lowered his weapon as he chambered another round with the bolt and looked on, the creature on the ground was still breathing... and moving. “Shit.” Shakily the monster got an arm underneath itself, using the leverage it got its other arm out and on the ground then raised it’s upper body all the way up. Slowly it moved its head and looked up towards the distressed hunter, it’s yellow reptilian eyes filled with hatred bore into Sam’s own deep blue eyes. He felt chills go down his spine. It bared it’s long fangs which glinted in the low light, he could see its neck where he had shot it, blood came running out of the wound but not quick enough for the hunter’s liking. The now angered Wyvern drew itself up fully and whipped around to face the ridge, its tail raked along the ground behind it sending dirt flying as the beast extended its wings and gave a screeching roar. Samuel, faster than he ever had before, jumped to his feet and ran. Running away from the clearing and his now compromised cover he heard the Wyvern take off with a flap of its wings, he could hear it in the sky behind him. It let out another howl of anger and snapped it’s jaws shut with such ferocity that the sound echoed. Tripping and stumbling as he ran, he didn’t even have time to notice the vines and rocks on the ground never mind avoid them. He felt that he was now going downhill, his momentum was building. The rifle swung wildly in front of him as he ran with it, his knuckles white around the barrel. Samuel felt the creature getting closer, it’s labored breath and the rapid beats of its wings grew louder with every second. His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest, this was life or death, he knew it might be like this beforehand but no amount of preparation can ever really get you ready to face death head on. ”Shit, shit, shit, what am I going-” His thoughts were cut short as his foot caught the underside of a tangle of vines, he fell face forward with a thud into the hard ground. His face ached and it felt like a rock had jabbed him in the side, the wind had been knocked out of him and he struggled to draw in a breath. A whoosh passed over him, summoning as much of his strength as he could muster Sam forced himself to roll over and with as much breath as he could he spit, flinging the dirt in his mouth upwards. He felt blood making its way down his forehead, he’d hit his head on a rock as well. The Wyvern passed overhead again, the blast of cool air felt oddly nice and Samuel couldn’t help but sigh at the feeling. An intense pain filled his side as he drew in a deep breath, forcing himself up he sat up. Frantically he reached out and felt along either side of himself, his grasping hands tearing at vines and raking the soil. A boom resounded not ten feet in front of him as his right hand fell onto the stock of his rifle. Sam gasped, his long hair thrown back, he looked up and his eyes widened. The beast’s own malicious eyes stared right back, he could feel it’s hot breath billow over him, he nearly gagged at the smell of rancid meat and it’s acidic tang. He could see the sheep’s flesh and presumably other creatures as well stuck in between the dense line of fangs the creature flashed at him. The two hunters stayed in position, neither moving or blinking. The Wyvern’s wings raised up in an intimidating manner, it’s slitted eyes measuring up the man who had hurt him so much. Sam for his part didn’t back down either, his hand tightened on the rifle and his eyes narrowed as he bore back into the beasts own eyes with a ferocity to match. The Wyvern felt his anger slip away for a second, a small twinge of fear replacing it at the look in this, things eyes. Any other creature would have tried running by now, this was willing to fight till it died... This whole ordeal must have only been a couple of seconds but it felt like a couple of minutes... to the both of them. Samuel broke the stillness, giving a deep breath he moved with lightning fast speed, the Wyvern barely had time to move itself before Samuel had his rifle up to his shoulder and his eyes down it’s sights. The beast felt it’s anger return immediately and like a train shot forward, it’s strong front legs propelling it’s powerful mass towards the small creature that sat before him. Another gunshot shook the air about the two as Samuel fired again, the Wyvern gave a crying shriek and thrust it’s wings down throwing itself into the ground with all its might. The beast gave another shriek, this one more like a whimper than the last. It pulled its wings in tightly and it’s breathing quickened, the Wyvern lay there on the ground, the moonlight breaking through the forest and providing a dramatic lighting that one might say was cliche for such a scene. Samuel sighed and lowered his gun, he worked the bolt back and forth again before placing a hand on the ground, the blood from before made its way down his face and tickled his nose as he stood himself up. Grunting as he got all the way up he looked back to the beast, it gave soft whimper like cries as it grasped at its face, he could see from here, his rifle had made its mark. The monster seeing the man back on his feet lurched back in fear, looking at the man with unmasked fear in it’s remaining eye. Samuel took short breaths and walked forward slowly, he made his way to the cowering creature. He stopped in front of the Wyvern and looked down at it, a drop of blood fell off his nose. Slowly he pulled his rifle back up, the monster’s blown out eye was gushing blood, strands of what was once there now hung out the side of the monsters face. He stood there a second watching the Wyvern cower before him, it crossed his mind how pitiful the giant predator looked, Samuel even considered simply letting it go. “No, you’d go right back to hunting ponies down the second you felt better wouldn’t you.” Samuel finally decided to finish it off and put the creature down. Sighing he once again pulled his rifle up against his shoulder, he aimed right for the middle of its forehead, at point blank the bullet would get definitely through its skull. It gave one last whimper before Sam pulled the trigger. This shot seemed to echo louder than all the others he had fired that night. The Wyvern unceremoniously went limp and completely collapsed, Samuel lowered his gun and then sling it over his shoulder. Reaching around to his side, he took his time to unlatch the sheath keeping his knife in place, pulling it out he walked forward. Without wasting time he grabbed hold of the dead monsters upper jaw, jabbing the knife in he wrenched one of the smaller fangs loose. Reaching down he gave one last yank and pulled the tooth all the way out, quickly pocketing the trophy he stepped back. He gave one more good look over the beast he had fought so hard with,”Heh, wonder what people back home would think of all this.” He jerked slightly as he his side hurt once again, sighing he made peace with the fact that the trek back to Ponyville was gonna be a painful one.
The First ContractAuthor's Note If you guys like this idea then I’ll write some more chapters, I know this isn’t as good quality as it could be but I needed the idea out of my head and if I do write more chapter I’ll look into getting an editor. The First Contract The pile of recently forged bullet casings stood meticulously organized across the dark oak table. They shone dully in the dim flickering light of the forge that was used to create them. Along the side of said dark oak table rested a long line of recently pressed rounds. This line led all the way to a well used bullet press that itself was hinged to the edge of the table. A piercing shriek loosed itself from the aging machine as the silhouetted figure seated before the machination operated it. The press stopped with a click, pulling the lever back and reaching out the man grabbed hold of the newly pressed bullet. Holding it up he studied the deadly little piece of metal he had just created, satisfied with what he saw he gave a nod and carefully placed the bullet in line with the others he’d finished. Letting out a sigh he placed his hands on the arms of his chair and stood up, cracking his neck the man stretched backwards till his spine popped. Grunting with satisfaction he turned towards the crackling forge, walking forward he stopped in front of the fire. The intense heat hit him in waves, his exposed forearms taking the worst of it. Smiling slightly he squated down and looked into the fire, his lengthy sweat soaked red hair fell down over his deep blue eyes. “Just a little longer.” His smile grew. Coming back up he walked over to the other side of the room and started up the sink, placing his hands under the water he began scrubbing at the black grime that clung to every square inch of his skin. A sudden frenzied banging erupted from the flimsy wooden door that barred the dark room from the outside world. Turning towards the door with a raised eyebrow the man stopped his scrubbing, placing his hand on the sink’s nozzle he shut off the flow of water. The banging on the door exploded once again, with more intensity this time,”Open up! We’re here on business from the princesses!” His brow raised as he dried his hands on his pant legs, raking a hand through his hair he stepped towards the door. The rough bottom of the door scraped loudly along the floor as he opened it, flinching as sunlight poured into the room he shook his head and narrowed his eyes so as to see. Just outside the doorway stood two ponies, the first a white pegasus mare in full Solar guard armor, the second a dark blue bat pony mare in full Lunar guard armor. He noted this as he had never seen a bat pony before, heard of them yes but he had never actually seen one up close before. Both guardsponies looked like they had a long day, each was breathing heavily and their fur looked like it had been through a washing machine filled with sweat. “Can I... help you?” “Yes, um are y-“ The Lunar guard leaned forward on her spear shoving her face into his and cutting off her Solar counterpart. “Mind if we come in? It’s hotter’n Luna’s tits out here.” It struck him that her accent was reminiscent of a northern Londoner but with a bit more articulation. Her Solar guard counterpart half heartedly hit her in the shoulder,”Celestia damn it Screech you know we can’t impose ourselves on the citizenry.” Her accent was a common upper crust Canterlotian one, not surprising as a lot of guards sounded like that. “But it’s fookin’ killing me out here, look!” Holding up her hand Screech showed off the sweat literally dripping from her scruffy fur. “Well it’s not like I’m in much better shape either, Tartarus I’m sweating in places no pony should ever sweat!” The Solar guard gave a frown,”So the least you could do is act with some common decency like me, last thing ponies want is to be annoyed in this heat.” Screech went to respond but the man spoke up,”I don’t mind letting you two in, but it might not be much cooler in here.” He stood aside and pulled the door all the way open. Screech walked on in and sighed as she entered the dark room,”Can’t thank ya enough for this.” The Solar guard stopped just inside the doorway,”Yes thank you for your kindness, by the way I’m Silver Wing.” She held out her hand. Accepting her handshake he replied,”I’m Samuel.” “I’m Screech.” The bat pony said nonchalantly as she sat herself down in Samuel’s chair. “So I heard.” He sighed as he made his way towards the table. “Screech you didn’t even ask for a seat, have you no manners?” Silver wing scowled at her parteners behavior. “No it’s alright, here, I’ve got another chair you can use.” He came out of the darkness his arm linked through the back of another wooden chair. Silver Wing gave a thankful nod as he placed it down next to her, sitting down she looked up to find him leaned up against the wall,”Can I get you guys anything? All I really have to tap water but it’s better than nothing.” Both looked at each other before shaking their heads no,”Alright then. So what is it you’re here for then?” Clearing her throat Silver looked to Screech, getting the message she began,“Are you Samuel Jones, first and only human in Equestria?” Screech’s tone became professional and her accented words seemed to disappear. Raising his eyebrow Samuel nodded and answered,”Yes that would be me, why?” Silver wing spoke up completely ignoring his question,”Are you or are you not a professional hunter?” “Well I don’t know about professional but I am a hunter...” Silver crossed her legs over one another,“Please don’t dance around the matter Samuel, we want an anwser.” Screech nodded in affirmation of her partners comment then leaned forward in her chair, ears swiveling towards Samuel,“Were you or were you not the hunter that stopped the timber wolf infestation that plagued the Apple family farm last year?” Samuel nodded,”Yeah, that was me... Mac himself asked me to help out, I couldn’t turn the guy down, especially since he helped me out so much when I first got here...” Silver, again interrupted him in a condescending tone,“No need for the whole story, though I’m certain it’s interesting it is not what we are here for.” Samuel frowned, this mare comes in preaching manners and now she’s a total bitch? His patience was beginning to run thin,“Well then why the hell are you here and why shouldn’t I just kick you out?” Silver raised her brow,”I think it’s time to explain ourselves don’t you Screech?” “I do,”Screech clapped her hands and rubbed them together,”Celestia herself has asked us to contact you, says she wants your help in a matter of utmost importance.” “Yes,” Silver chipped in,”She wishes to purchase your services.” Sam crossed his arms and looked at the mares with a lowered brow,”Huh?” Silver spoke up,”Celestia wishes to hire you, there is pressing matter that needs to be attended within the Everfree forest.” Samuel narrowed his eyes and held up his hands,”Now hold on, let’s slow down here, what the fuck are you two on about and how does it involve me? Please explain this.” Screech chuckled,”You might want to sit down then.” Samuel nodded, pulling up another chair he set himself down across the table. Silver placed her arms on the table and interlocked her fingers,”So where would you like us to begin?” “From the beginning if you’ll please.” Silver started with a sigh,”About two months ago the town guard received reports of what looked like raids on local merchant caravans in the western fringes of the Everfree. Naturally the guard assumed it was the work of bandits and so without any preliminary investigations they sent out a trained force disguised as a caravan to try baiting the bandits out.” “Real fookin’ mistake that was,” Screech’s accent fell back into its original state,”They had no idea what they was gettin’ into and it cost em’.” “Yes it cost them dearly, the force was found torn to shreds.” Silver looked Samuel dead in the eyes,”Literally ripped apart and seemingly feasted upon, we have no idea what did it but it certainly wasn’t the work of bandits.” She let out a breath,” it was not a pretty sight... After that we were sent for by the princesses.” Samuel nodded,”Okay, now who are you two, exactly.” “Investigators for the crown.” Answered Screech,”Can’t say much more’n that.” “As I was saying,” Silver continued obviously annoyed that her partner answered for her,”We came out here to investigate these fatal occurrences and found that it must of course be some kind of beast. S-.” “We got our findin’s all the way up to the princess herself,”Screech cut in,”Even asked er’ for support, an’ you know what she told us Sammy colt?” He sighed,”No Screech, I really don’t know what the princess told you.” “She sai-“ “She said that we were to hire a professional hunter,” Screech gave Silver a dirty look to which Silver returned with a smile,”She said support wasn’t available because Luna’s armies needed all the support Equestria could provide, this war with the yaks isn’t exactly going as well as it could be after all.” “So then you came to me?” Sam guessed. Screech gave a full smile showing off her fangs,”Correct monkey boy.” Silver shook her head and looked at Sam,”I’m sorry for being so short with you earlier Samuel but I am eager to end this beasts butchery of our people, will you take this job or not? You will be paid well and you will be doing a great service for Equestria.” Samuel looked down at the table, his eyes tracing the many bullets he was making,”Are there no other hunters you could get for this? I mean hell, I’ve never hunted the kind of monster your describing right now.” “Nope, we ponies are good at many a thing but killin’ animals ain’t one of em’, Tartarus you should see the one pink haired pegasus just outside of town sh-“ “Look Samuel the fact is we don’t have a military force big enough to deal with this and the idea of hunting whether for survival or sport is horrifying to even the most violent Equestrian, so will you or will you not accept this... contract?” He looked up and into Silver’s eyes with his own,”...I’ve done a lot of research on Equestrian wildlife since I’ve been here, the many different kinds of animals.” He looked over towards the forge,”The common animals and the rare ones, big ones and small ones, docile ones and dangerous ones... shit I’ve spent a lot of time flipping through boring ass books just to memorize what to look out for when hunting.” “And?” “I’ll do it to the best of my abilities, but I’m going to need you to show me to the last place this “beast” attacked.” He stood up. Silver stood up with him,”You want to investigate the scene?” “Yep, maybe get an inkling of what it is I’m agreeing to kill... or be killed by.” He turned around and faced the wall then grabbed hold of a long wooden object. Silver sniffed and looked down at the table,“When would you like to go then?” “Right now. When the hell else would I go?” He gave her an odd look as he turned around. Screech smirked as she pulled herself up out of her chair,”A stallion of action? I like it.” Silver sighed and looked up, noticing what Samuel was carrying she cocked her head,”What is that?” “A rifle.” She gave him an empty look, sighing Sam explained,”It’s what I use when I hunt.” Stepping by Silver he grabbed a handful of bullets,”It’ll take me a second to get ready, gotta grab some gear, if you don’t mind waiting outside it’ll only take me a couple minutes to gather all my stuff and then we can set off.”
A Professional At WorkThe attack site was deep within the Everfree forest and had taken about three hours to reach, in this area the sun’s rays had trouble reaching through the thick canopy that the dark brooding trees created but just enough light made it through to see clearly. The nearby sound of running water could be heard from this position indicating a creek or possibly a small river was nearby. Samuel had noticed it quickly after all one of the first things a hunter learns is that animals generally gather around running water... Dried blood caked the wide dirt path in front of the three would be monster hunters. Samuel had already counted out the twelve deifferent bodies that lay in various twisted positions across the road. Each one was quite obviously mangled and mutilated. Knowing he was going to need to study his sickening surroundings Samuel stepped forward, huffed and crossed his arms. Scrunching his mouth to the side he narrowed his eyes and overlooked the whole scene. To his left a common caravaneer’s cart stood up on its side against an old thick oak tree. From where he was standing Samuel could see the wooden rails that held its cargo in place were ripped through in certain places, as though something with immense strength had grabbed hold and crushed them. Samuel decided he would get himself a closer look at the damage and began making his way towards the wreckage. Silver went to follow but Screech placed a hand on her shoulder. ”Best not to break his focus eh?” She whispered, Silver sighed and nodded in agreement. The wheels of the cart were more or less gone, only a little remained of the destroyed wheels and that was to say nothing of the badly damaged axle that was supposed to hold them below. Looking down Samuel saw the ground near the cart had long deep gouges in the earth, deciding to follow the gouges he discovered that these marks ran on for nearly fifty feet. As he went he noticed all along these gouges were broken off wheel spokes and marks where the wheel bands themselves had snapped. From what Samuel could tell this cart had been grabbed and pulled on by something strong, but not quite strong enough to pick it up all the way. So it was then visciously dragged across the ground and thrown up against the tree. ”One hell of a creature...” The cargo the cart had been carrying was scattered across a waterlogged ditch that ran along on the side of the road. Smashed boxes with food thrown from them rotted in the mosquito infested water, Samuel walked along the ditch examining all the cargo he could find. ”Nothing was looted, guess that rules out bandits for good... Perhaps this thing was attracted to the smell of the food? Implying it can smell pre packaged food...” A weak breeze started to pick up and the forest began to hum with the rustling of leaves, Samuel’s hair waved lightly in the low wind and he decided now was the time to get on with the most gruesome task and look at the bodies. Seeing him walk towards a body that lay further down the road Screech and Silver discreetly began making their way over as well. They kept themselves quiet and observant as Samuel reached the unfortunate victim and began his examination. Squatting down Samuel studied the corpse of the poor fellow in front of him. He lay face down in the blood covered dirt, his clothing was torn to shreds which was fortunate, Samuel would have had to rip it off to examine the body anyway so it helped. He had been a tall well built stallion that much was certain. Samuel couldn’t tell what color his fur or mane was because of all the blood, though it looked like he might have been yellow with a blue mane. Two long claw marks were present on the back of the stallions head, they dug so deep Samuel could see the mushed up brain of the deceased. Further down the body became more and more unrecognizable as a pony, the stallions back was torn out nearly completely. His spine was gone, well a small part of it still hung out where his neck connected to his back but other than that it was gone. His ribs were all snapped off and the ends nowhere to be found, he noted that all the angles at which they were snapped were exactly the same. Probably the most horrifying part was that all his internal organs were either missing or... ripped into. Moving on Samuel looked at the victims legs, both of which were crushed entirely, claw marks were present on the side of one leg but nowhere else in that area. “Looks like... like this thing pounced on his back as he was running away, placed a leg on his head, dug in with it’s claws, then placed another leg on his legs to steady itself and finally took two huge bites out of him.” Samuel grunted as he stood up, crossing his arms again he began to grind his teeth as he became lost in thought. Seeing him drift off Silver turned her attention to the poor wretch Samuel had just examined, her features softened and she sighed. Moving her attention back to Samuel she cleared her throat to bring him back to the real world,”Do you have any idea what we are dealing with yet? I’m growing tired of this... dark place, it makes me anxious.” Screech looked to Silver, her expression one of annoyance,“Give im’ some damn time Silver, we hired im’ to do this right so let im’ do it right!” Silver tried to respond but Samuel let out a breath and turned around,”I think I do have an idea, give me one more second I want to see if I can find any undisturbed tracks the creature might have left.” The two guards shut up immediately and nodded in agreement with his plan of action. Walking even further down the road he came to a spot between two corpses where the blood hadn’t seeped into everything. There he found the tracks he was looking for. Standing directly over the “prints” Samuel immediately noticed their size and the depth of which they dug into the solid ground. Furthermore he noticed the fanatic pattern in which they appeared. They were here and there as though the thing that made them were jumping around or... flying. “That’s... not a good sign.” Studying the prints further he saw that each had three distinctive claw marks that came down in front of a thin reptilian like footprint,”If this... shit.” Samuel’s head twisted and he narrowed his eyes,”I think I know what did this, though I can’t be certain.” Screech placed the butt of her spear on the ground,“And what might the thing doin’ this to us be?” He turned to face her,“A wyvern.” “Wyvern?” Silver questioned,”What’s a wyvern?” Screech snorted,”You never heard of a wyvern?” Silver sighed,”No Screech I haven’t, could Samuel please enlighten me as to what it is?” Getting the message Samuel shook his head,”It’s similar to a dragon, except not sentient,” Sliding his hands in his pockets he continued,”They have two legs and can fly, I can, with certainty, tell from the pattern in which these tracks move and the way the poor fellow back there was killed that whatever did this walks on two legs and can fly.” “Yeah but what about the barbed tail they’re suppose to ave’, isn’t that a big part of hunting for em’?” Screech asked. “Well look at the state of some of the other bodies here, they seem to have been slashed with multiple razor sharp objects that just happened to go the same exact direction at the same time.” He looked at Screech and shrugged,”I don’t see there a better explanation for what happened to them other than being hit with that tail.” She shook her head and let out a laugh,“Aye you have a good point, spose’ I shouldn’t question ya to much.” “Well maybe you won’t but I will,” Silver snapped,”How can you be sure that this wyvern is truly the culprit? You yourself only claim that this all only “seems” to fit together, you sound so sure of it and you’ve only been here what twenty minutes?” Her voice got louder,”Now you’re going to ask us to help you kill something that may or may not even be here and make us waste our time! Celestia forbid it really is here because then we’ll all be dead, Tartarus you said it yourself you’ve never hunted anything like this before!” Samuel confused at her sudden outburst huffed and scowled,”I cant just look at something like this all by itself and be completely sure of what’s going on, all I can do is give you my best educated guess. Isn’t that what you wanted?!” Screech cut into their argument,“Ay Silver lay off im’ won’t ya, he’s just doing what we asked him to, I know ya don’t like this place and you’re tired of seeing so many dead ponies but this has gotta be dealt with.” Silver looked at Screech with a frown, growling to herself Silver turned and began walking off in anger. Screech sighed and turned to Samuel with a small smile,”I’m sorry about er’ Sammy colt, she doesn’t mean it, honest.” He raised an eyebrow,”Really? Then why did she hire me to do this only to freak the fuck out and get angry at me for doing my job?” Screech sighed and her smile fell,“She... she’s been gettin’ lots of bad news recently, her two younger brothers died up north defendin’ castle Frostmouth from a Yak siege last month.” Samuel’s scowl slowly deteriorated,”Then she’s been workin’ these brutal investigations with me and it’s startin’ to take a toll on her.” Samuel gulped as he processed all the information he’d just been given,“I uh, shit I didn’t know all that, I’m sorry.” Screech placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder,”No need to apologize colt, it’s not your fault.” She smiled at him,”Now let’s get back to the business at hand, what help will you need in killin’ this beastie eh?” Looking to his side Samuel raised his brow,“Well...”
A View To A KillAuthor's Note Sorry for the wait guys, I know this is a story most of you wanted to see more from but I’ve been busy. Hope you all understand but what’s more is I hope you enjoy this chapter. A View To A Kill The rifle clicked as Sam pushed a bullet down into the magazine slot, pulling his hand back he grabbed the bolt handle then shoved it forward and down into position. Laying the weapon across his lap he narrowed his eyes, the barrel had been cleaned, screws were tightened and scope zeroed. Satisfied the rifle was ready for use he leaned back against a tree, let out a shaky sigh and closed his eyes. Sam had been preparing for this day all week. He used a special soap to rid his clothes of their smell and then showered, his scent was all but masked. Hopefully. Three days had gone into choosing the spot he wanted to use to try ambushing the Wyvern and he believed he had chosen well. He had set up on the edge of a ridge deep within the Everfree forest, his placement on the ridge was well covered by a thick layer of foliage and a number of mossy trees. The individual tree he sat against was perfect, it provided good cover as it’s branches dipped low covering him from any animal’s view while providing a perfect line of sight down the steep drop of the ridge into the clearing. It was a somewhat large circular patch of land that the forest, for one reason or another, had not claimed. A rocky creek ran through the middle of it and various grasses and berry bushes surrounded said creek. It was a peaceful little spot that Sam, unfortunately, was going to use for violent purposes. Sighing the man looked down and took in the view, he could see for miles, the Evergreen was huge that was an unmistakable fact. Samuel’s plan was fairly simple, with Screech and Silver’s help he had gotten ahold of a sheep from some poor farmer and then some pony blood from Ponyville general hospital. This morning he had led the sheep out into the clearing, slathered its fur with the blood and set it free to graze in the little enclave. The sheeps activity in tandem with the pungent smell of blood would certainly attract the wyvern and when it landed to feast he’d ambush it from the ridge. He hoped a clean killshot would be all that was needed to do the trick, god knows what he would do if it didn’t. When asked if there could be issues with this plan Sam had explained to his contractors that as far as he knew there weren’t any other predators in this stretch of land. Plus if a wyvern had claimed it then there definitely wasn’t going to be any competition, the wyvern would never allow another predator to disturb its hunting ground. So he wasn’t going to fret about other predators possibly coming in and taking the bait, the one thing that did worry him though was the possibility of the sheep going out of sight. It was unlikely as the grass in the clearing was plentiful, but nevertheless still a possibility. Confident that his scent was missing, camouflage was good and plan of attack sound Samuel settled in and began the long waiting game that only those who have true patience can play. ~ A swath of deep red sky appeared as the last of the sun dipped below the horizon, brilliant deep purples and dark blues colored the evening skyscape above Samuel. The few clouds that floated about reflected the sun’s light and made soft oranges and pinks, overall it looked like a Bob Ross painting to him. Samuel wasn’t one for romanticism, but he had to admit even he was taking notice of this wonderful view. Though that seemed to be the only beautiful thing about this moment, mosquitoes incessantly buzzed about him in the excessively humid air and the sheep down below had begun calling and hadn’t stopped. It was getting irritating. So far there had been no sign of the wyvern all day, in fact he was beginning to think he might have been wrong In his guess all along. Still though from all he read they were smart creatures and might find a free meal like this suspicious, eventually though if it did exist it would most likely give in to temptation and show itself. Until then Samuel could do naught but sit here and suffer the summer heat. ~ Samuel’s eyes shot open. The sound of flapping wings had caught his attention, it had come from overhead. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness as they roamed the starry night sky, turning about he looked over the clearing. Clenching his teeth he let out a breath through his nose. He stifled a surprised gasp as a large dark figure passed overhead with a swish, it’s form blotted out a wide patch of stars as it passed by the ridge. Picking up his rifle he tightly griped it’s wooden body with calm hands. Samuel took care to avoid making any noise as he pulled himself up into a kneeling position, a single crunch from a leaf and he could give up his position... and possibly his life. Turning his attention down to the clearing he brought up his rifle and looked through it’s scope. He caught sight of the sheep, it stood in the clearing happily eating away at the grass. Sam swallowed thickly, he watched intensely, cracks of doubt started to pop up on his head. He was a hunter sure, but who the hell had ever hunted a Wyvern before? The craziness of the situation was finally realized in his mind and for a second he felt panic as his base instincts emerged. Sam closed his eyes, shakily let out another breath and slowly calmed himself, his hands grew steady, his teeth unclenched and his heart rate slowed. If he could just calm down and do what he had to he might just pull this whole damn thing off and be done with this crazy shit. ”Well, come on then.” He thought to himself, the sheep down below stopped grazing and looked up. The dark form in the sky made another pass over head, it’s force rustling the trees and bushes around the animal. Sam watched the sheep react naturally to its predicament by beginning to call out and move around. As the small farm animal began to run across the clearing for the cover of the trees the dark form came shooting out of the sky, faster then he could perceive Samuel watched the Wyvern bear down the sheep. It’s form slammed down on top of the poor beast with a crack, killing it in an instant. The large reptilian creature, now silhouted by the moonlight in the clearing, drew in its wings. Samuel noticed how slender the thing looked, it was terrifying and could kill without a second thought yes, but it had a sort of grace to it’s movements that he’d seen only in cats and certain birds before. Stepping off of its prey the elegant monster craned it’s neck down and sniffed, nudging the body it drew back slightly. Stepping forward it placed a front leg on the sheep and dug it’s claws in, then moved it’s head forward and bit into the soft flesh of the belly. Sam could see it’s guard had lowered as it was beginning to feed. This was perfect, so far everything was going well and his plan was falling into place, now it was up to him to finish it all off... Gripping his rifle he moved its barrel upwards, pointing it at the Wyvern which was very noisily crunching the bones of the sheep, he pulled it up to look through the scope. Drawing a bead on the side of its head he began to feel his heart beat even quicker in his chest. If he missed, or hit a part of its head where the bone was to dense to penetrate, he was dead. Swallowing one more time he closed his eyes and cleared his mind, opening them back up again he steadied his scope and drew in a breath. His crosshair hovered behind the Wyverns shifting head right by its wide finned ear and end of it’s neck. A good shot to the neck and hopefully into the spine would quickly paralyze and bleed the thing dry. Or so he hoped, he knew well that plans didn’t always work out perfectly. Letting out his breath his heart beat subsided and for a second his body was perfectly still, he pulled the trigger. The loud familiar crack of a high powered rifle rang out, the Wyvern lurched back and reached out to catch itself as it fell. The beast hit the ground with a loud slam, it’s weight disturbing everything around it. Samuel lowered his weapon as he chambered another round with the bolt and looked on, the creature on the ground was still breathing... and moving. “Shit.” Shakily the monster got an arm underneath itself, using the leverage it got its other arm out and on the ground then raised it’s upper body all the way up. Slowly it moved its head and looked up towards the distressed hunter, it’s yellow reptilian eyes filled with hatred bore into Sam’s own deep blue eyes. He felt chills go down his spine. It bared it’s long fangs which glinted in the low light, he could see its neck where he had shot it, blood came running out of the wound but not quick enough for the hunter’s liking. The now angered Wyvern drew itself up fully and whipped around to face the ridge, its tail raked along the ground behind it sending dirt flying as the beast extended its wings and gave a screeching roar. Samuel, faster than he ever had before, jumped to his feet and ran. Running away from the clearing and his now compromised cover he heard the Wyvern take off with a flap of its wings, he could hear it in the sky behind him. It let out another howl of anger and snapped it’s jaws shut with such ferocity that the sound echoed. Tripping and stumbling as he ran, he didn’t even have time to notice the vines and rocks on the ground never mind avoid them. He felt that he was now going downhill, his momentum was building. The rifle swung wildly in front of him as he ran with it, his knuckles white around the barrel. Samuel felt the creature getting closer, it’s labored breath and the rapid beats of its wings grew louder with every second. His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest, this was life or death, he knew it might be like this beforehand but no amount of preparation can ever really get you ready to face death head on. ”Shit, shit, shit, what am I going-” His thoughts were cut short as his foot caught the underside of a tangle of vines, he fell face forward with a thud into the hard ground. His face ached and it felt like a rock had jabbed him in the side, the wind had been knocked out of him and he struggled to draw in a breath. A whoosh passed over him, summoning as much of his strength as he could muster Sam forced himself to roll over and with as much breath as he could he spit, flinging the dirt in his mouth upwards. He felt blood making its way down his forehead, he’d hit his head on a rock as well. The Wyvern passed overhead again, the blast of cool air felt oddly nice and Samuel couldn’t help but sigh at the feeling. An intense pain filled his side as he drew in a deep breath, forcing himself up he sat up. Frantically he reached out and felt along either side of himself, his grasping hands tearing at vines and raking the soil. A boom resounded not ten feet in front of him as his right hand fell onto the stock of his rifle. Sam gasped, his long hair thrown back, he looked up and his eyes widened. The beast’s own malicious eyes stared right back, he could feel it’s hot breath billow over him, he nearly gagged at the smell of rancid meat and it’s acidic tang. He could see the sheep’s flesh and presumably other creatures as well stuck in between the dense line of fangs the creature flashed at him. The two hunters stayed in position, neither moving or blinking. The Wyvern’s wings raised up in an intimidating manner, it’s slitted eyes measuring up the man who had hurt him so much. Sam for his part didn’t back down either, his hand tightened on the rifle and his eyes narrowed as he bore back into the beasts own eyes with a ferocity to match. The Wyvern felt his anger slip away for a second, a small twinge of fear replacing it at the look in this, things eyes. Any other creature would have tried running by now, this was willing to fight till it died... This whole ordeal must have only been a couple of seconds but it felt like a couple of minutes... to the both of them. Samuel broke the stillness, giving a deep breath he moved with lightning fast speed, the Wyvern barely had time to move itself before Samuel had his rifle up to his shoulder and his eyes down it’s sights. The beast felt it’s anger return immediately and like a train shot forward, it’s strong front legs propelling it’s powerful mass towards the small creature that sat before him. Another gunshot shook the air about the two as Samuel fired again, the Wyvern gave a crying shriek and thrust it’s wings down throwing itself into the ground with all its might. The beast gave another shriek, this one more like a whimper than the last. It pulled its wings in tightly and it’s breathing quickened, the Wyvern lay there on the ground, the moonlight breaking through the forest and providing a dramatic lighting that one might say was cliche for such a scene. Samuel sighed and lowered his gun, he worked the bolt back and forth again before placing a hand on the ground, the blood from before made its way down his face and tickled his nose as he stood himself up. Grunting as he got all the way up he looked back to the beast, it gave soft whimper like cries as it grasped at its face, he could see from here, his rifle had made its mark. The monster seeing the man back on his feet lurched back in fear, looking at the man with unmasked fear in it’s remaining eye. Samuel took short breaths and walked forward slowly, he made his way to the cowering creature. He stopped in front of the Wyvern and looked down at it, a drop of blood fell off his nose. Slowly he pulled his rifle back up, the monster’s blown out eye was gushing blood, strands of what was once there now hung out the side of the monsters face. He stood there a second watching the Wyvern cower before him, it crossed his mind how pitiful the giant predator looked, Samuel even considered simply letting it go. “No, you’d go right back to hunting ponies down the second you felt better wouldn’t you.” Samuel finally decided to finish it off and put the creature down. Sighing he once again pulled his rifle up against his shoulder, he aimed right for the middle of its forehead, at point blank the bullet would get definitely through its skull. It gave one last whimper before Sam pulled the trigger. This shot seemed to echo louder than all the others he had fired that night. The Wyvern unceremoniously went limp and completely collapsed, Samuel lowered his gun and then sling it over his shoulder. Reaching around to his side, he took his time to unlatch the sheath keeping his knife in place, pulling it out he walked forward. Without wasting time he grabbed hold of the dead monsters upper jaw, jabbing the knife in he wrenched one of the smaller fangs loose. Reaching down he gave one last yank and pulled the tooth all the way out, quickly pocketing the trophy he stepped back. He gave one more good look over the beast he had fought so hard with,”Heh, wonder what people back home would think of all this.” He jerked slightly as he his side hurt once again, sighing he made peace with the fact that the trek back to Ponyville was gonna be a painful one.
