Imperial Hunter

“This has got to be the Naga…” Dragon thought to himself, examining the large snake trail going through the bushes. From the dried mud and rotten leaves, the naga had to have passed several days ago. It was too long ago for him to track the beast, but at least he knew exactly what to look for now. Surprisingly, it hadn’t taken him long to locate the old trail, maybe four hours. Considering the size of the woods, he considered that rather lucky. It wouldn’t take him as long to get home, though, since he wasn’t going to move slowly and wouldn’t need to search for anything.

Standing up straight, he turned and started to walk back towards his camp. Wondering the time, he quickly glanced toward the sky only to frown. Just like in the Shaded Forest, the canopy was too thick to see through in most spots. In fact, the Everfree reminded him a lot of home except...better. The Forest was wild, untainted by the Equestrian Weatherponies. It felt, well, alive. Maybe it was. Dragon knew that those rosebushes weren’t there when he passed by half an hour ago.

Maybe...once I go home, I’ll ask the Chief if he’ll allow me to move here, even if just for a little while. I’d love to learn more about this forest. I doubt he’ll let me, though. I’m one of the villages only predator Hunters.

His ears perked and twitched as he picked up the sound of slithering from his right. He quickly dismissed it as a cockatrice when he heard the cluck soon after. Continuing on, he knew better than to look in that direction. While cockatrices weren’t a common sight in the Shaded Forest, the Hunter had found- and eaten- a number of them. The meat was stringy and bland but it was something he could put in his stomach while tracking down bigger game for the village.

While he walked, he kept his head in motion, checking for any side trails, pathways, or Forest denizens. A couple times, he spotted the tracks of a manticore, which he was happy about. If he did end up staying in the Everfree, the hybrids would provide plenty of meat for him; Spirits know that he can’t buy any in town with the Equestrian ponies being herbivores. Twice he passed by a rotten log that gave off a similiar aura to his runestones, but he assumed they were part of the infamous Timberwolves that he had heard were native to the Everfree only. Only more evidence to the Everfree being alive in a way other forests weren’t.

When he was only a few minutes walk from his home, he turned off the path and walked to where he had set one of his closer animal traps. Quickly seeing it, he saw that the snare trap was still empty, something he expected. He doubted that he would have caught something in just a few hours. He still could have gotten lucky, though. Turning around, he went back to the small trail and continued toward his camp. In the distance ahead of him, he slowly became aware of several voices discussing something. From the sounds of it, they were discussing how to track the Naga, though they were still calling it the ‘monster.’ The speakers seemed to be several mares, one of them sounding unnaturally excited.

Approaching the small clearing that made up his campsite near the edge of the Forest, he saw that it was rather crowded. Princess Celestia and, to his surprise, Princess Luna were sitting on the ground near his lean-to, several Guards having taken up positions around the edge of the clearing. Six mares were situated around his firepit, which now had a fire going in it, and two more Guards were sitting with them, one of which he thought was the Thestral that had lead him to the Guard camp. Part of him was rather annoyed with the company. The rest of him knew that the mares were probably the Elements of Harmony and as such were going to be working with him.

Quickly circling the camp to the Princesses’ side, he walked in after giving a nod to the Guard that had stepped aside once she recognized him. The Hunter walked into his camp and up to the two Alicorns and crossed his hoof over his chest with a small nod. Princess Celestia, not knowing the correct response, only nodded her head in return and he spoke. “Princess Luna, its good to see that you have recovered enough to move, but I do not believe that it is safe for you to be in this Forest as you are know.”

The Night Maiden smiled lightly at his concern- likely not realizing or caring that it was purely professional- and spoke. “While I appreciate your worry, I am an Alicorn. Once you nullified the poison and my sister healed me of the necrosis, I recovered quickly. While I admit I am not at full health, I am more than well enough to come here with my sister, the Elements, and our Guards to discuss the situation with you, Sir Hunter.”

“Just Hunter, if you must use titles, Dragon Arrow otherwise.” Dragon replied, his ears twitching as he heard the mares behind him come closer and listen in. “If you believe you are well enough, then I’ll defer to your knowledge; after all, you understand Alicorn physiology far better than I ever will.”

Princess Luna nodded politely before Princess Celestia spoke. “If you don’t mind me asking, where were you? We arrived some time earlier only to find your bow and hoofblades here and you missing. I will not deny that my mind first jumped to an unsettling conclusion.”

“I was simply scouting nearby my home, only an hour or so in each direction, to learn more about the surroundings. I was granted much knowledge to the local flora and fauna, even if some I do not recognize, and it will help be better prepare for the true Hunt. I have also found tracks of the Naga, though they were several days old and only served to show me what I must look for later.” Dragon explained.

“That was risky.” She said with slight worry. “You could have been bitten and we likely wouldn’t have known for days. If the ‘Naga’ venom is this effective against an Alicorn, I’m hard pressed to imagine you would make it back to camp. I would like for a trio of Guards to accompany you on further searches, and for us all to join in the actual hunt for the creature.”

Instantly, Dragon shook his head and was treated to a sharp gasp from one of the mares behind him. “While I’m thankful for your concern, I hunt alone. Only the most dire of threats will cause a Hunter to work with another, and even then only with other Hunters. As for your assumption that I would not survive a bit, please remember that I have more doses of the antidote, which I would be able to quickly drink before the venom took full effect.”

“You can’t tell your Princess no!” Dragon heard somepony call out from behind him. Turning around, his sight was greeted by an irate purple Unicorn wearing a golden tiara with an inset gem. “Her word is law!”

“I believe the law is the law, miss.” Dragon retorted. “And while I mean no disrespect to Princesses Celestia or Luna, they are not my Princesses. I am here by the will of Emperor Shade after he was asked to help with the tracking and slaying of this beast. While I do respect your Princesses and will defer to their authority in most situations, when it comes to hunting, an Imperial will know far more about it than an Equestrian, particularly an Imperial Hunter.”

The Unicorn, her face flushed red from anger, opened her mouth to retort only to be interrupted by Princess Celestia. “He’s right, Twilight. He serves Emperor Shade, not me or my sister. I am thankful that he is here and that he is willing to listen to me on most decisions, but he is right. He’s an Imperial, and that alone makes him better suited for leading this hunt than I am. The fact that he is a Hunter means that not only is he able to lead it, but that he will take part of it.”

“Princess, I do believe that it would be better if I were to hunt this beast alone with you and your Guards forming a line several meters back from the treeline to prevent the Naga from escaping and assaulting the nearby town. This beast has already proven itself wily and willing to kill and I do not wish to put any civilians in harm’s way, including the Elements of Harmony.” Dragon said after a moment of silence fell, the Unicorn in disbelief that Celestia was willing to let whatever insult she perceived go.

“And how do you suggest we slay this beast if it does attack the town? I struck this ‘Naga’ with one of my most powerful spells and it shrugged it off entirely.” Princess Luna said suddenly. The gathered ponies, including her sister, stared in shock when she said that.

“That’s because the beast is immortal, Princess, just as you yourself are.” Dragon said, picking up one of his discarded pouches and pulling out an empty, unlabeled vial as well as a wrapped one from a vial on his chest. “Do you trust these ponies here?”

“We woudn’t have brought them if we didn’t.” Luna replied.

Dragon nodded and unwrapped the vial. Both Alicorns gasped and jerked back at the sight of the pulsing Tartarus Blood. It seemed to be glowing, reacting to the presence of those it was designed to kill. Dragon noted that reaction, deciding it may be useful in finding the Naga. Celestia exclaimed at the sight of the vial. “That’s Tartarus Blood! One of the few poisons capable of slaying an immortal!”

Immediately, the Guards tensed and stared at him, daring him to make a move. Twilight’s horn alighted with magic as she and the other Elements tensed. Dragon ignored them all and poured a small bit of the Blood into an empty vial, then corked them both. He rewrapped his vial and returned it to its pouch and pulled out a small strip of cloth, wrapping the new vial as well. He hoofed the new vial with a single dose over to the Princess, who took it carefully and with a conficted look on her face. “It’s also one of the few things capable of killing the bone Naga. That’s why I have some, three doses to be exact. If you don’t use it, I’d like it back for my Elder.”

“It’s illegal to make that!” Twilight yelled out at him. Without glancing at her, he retorted.

“In Equestria. In the Rhetoram Empire, it’s just another poison some Elders can make.”

“Well then why do you have exactly three doses? So you can kill the Naga, then both the Princesses?” Twilight asked suspiciously, taking a step forward until she was directly in front of him, quickly realizing that he was taller than he as she looked up toward him.

“So that, if I miss with my arrow, I have another chance. Because if I brought only one dose, shot my bow, and missed the shot, I would have to return to my village, ask my Elder for more Tartarus Blood, wait for him to gather the proper ingredients, make the potion, and fly my way back here. All in all, about a month before I’ll be back. How many ponies do you think will die in that month, miss?” Dragon replied with a bored gaze leveled on her.

“If you don’t mind, Princess, I would like to get some rest before tonight, when the Hunt will begin in earnest.” Dragon said, dismissing Twilight and turning back to the Princess. She had a strange mix of a smile and frown on her muzzle, but she nodded.

“Come along, let’s give Dragon his time to rest. I will consider your advice, but I hope you won’t be upset if I don’t follow it.” Celestia said politely.

“I won’t because I know that you intend to protect that town no matter how you go about it.” Dragon replied, nodding to the two Princesses as they all left. Once they were out of sight and sound, he went into his lean-to. Immediately, he noticed that his bow had been tampered with and his arrows moved around. From the looks of him, somepony had tried on his hoofblades as well. From the grass stains, he assumed they had used them, too. Knowing the Princesses wouldn’t touch his weapons and the Guards were to disciplined to do it, he figured it was one of the mares. He wasn’t sure which one though as only Twilight had spoken.

Standing his bow back up by driving it into the ground again, he layed out the arrows next to it again. Quickly cleaning his hoofblades, he set them side by side again and lied down on the ground in the back of the lean-to, his eyes facing out and staring into the woods. After a time, he closed his eyes. He wasn’t going to sleep, but he was definitely going to rest for a time. Then he frowned. “Damn mares.”

***

“He was so rude!” Twilight ranted to her friends, ignoring the looks that she was receiving from them, and the glances they were shooting behind her. “I mean, he did nothing but insult me and the Princesses! I don’t know what the Princess was thinking, asking for him!”

“Perhaps I could tell you.” She heard a very familiar voice say from right behind her. Spinning around, she saw both Princesses behind her, neither of them looking happy. “But I would like to hear your complaints personally.”

Seeing the blanked-out look on Twilight’s face, Celestia turned to the rest of the Elements. “I think I can handle this. You five may head home if you would like to.”

They all nodded and started to leave, but Pinkie hesitated for a moment before looking to her. “Princess, I don’t know if Mr. Arrow upset you like Twilight thinks he did, but he’s not a bad pony. I think he just doesn’t know how to talk to others easily and he’s more worried about making sure nopony gets hurt.”

Celestia nodded with a smile. “Once we solve this problem, I wouldn’t mind attending a party.”

Pinkie broke into a wide grin. “I’ll be sure to have a ‘the nasty monster is gone’ party ready! Do you think you can get Mr. Arrow to attend?”

“I’ll be sure to try.” Celestia said, smiling.

The Element of Laughter nodded rapidly before leaving, happy humming coming from her direction as she left the barren tent. Celestia turned back to Twilight just in time to see her snap out of her daze, quickly blurting out an apology. “P-Princess, I’m so sorry!”

“Twilight, do you want to know why we asked for a Hunter from the Rhetoram Empire?” Celestia asked seriously.

After a moment, Twilight shakily nodded and Princess Celestia continued. “We asked for a Hunter because we knew that whoever they sent would be able to track this beast down. We also knew that they might know what it was because they hunt beasts like this constantly. We wanted to keep the number of ponies that this thing killed as small as possible and to remove the threat.”

“But he insulted you!”

“No, he didn’t.” Princess Luna said, finally speaking. “He was completely correct. We aren’t his Princess and while he’s here, he has the equivalent of an ambassador’s diplomatic immunity. He was nothing but polite to foreign rulers that he owes no allegience to.”

“And the Tartarus Blood?” Twilight asked, her voice dropping lower as more and more things came together.

“If the Naga is immortal, the Blood may be the only thing capable of killing it. It’s purely coincidence that it can also hurt my sister and I.”

Celestia nodded with finality. “Next chance you get, I want you to apologize to him.”

“Okay…” Twilight said sadly.

Celestia, seeing this, leaned down and wrapped her neck around her student’s and calming her down. “I’m not really mad at you, Twilight, but you need to learn to respect other pony’s cultures. Especially if he plans to stay in the Everfree.”

“What?” Twilight asked, looking up.

Princess Luna smiled. “I’ve met a Hunter before, in Canterlot. She was unhappy, concerned, and restless. They don’t like urban areas, but that’s just how they were trained. I saw, in Dragon’s eyes, that he loved the Everfree. It won’t surprise me if he asks us if he can move to the Everfree. If he does, it’s up to you and your friends to make him feel welcome in Ponyville, and as such, in Equestria.”

“But, he eats...meat.” Twilight replied.

“Equestrian ponies often eat fish for the extra protein.” Celestia reminded. “And the Imperials never eat anything that’s intelligent. He’s aware of Equestria’s thoughts of meat-eaters and will keep his hunting in the Everfree, if indeed he does want to stay once this mess is over with. Can I count on you?”

While Twilight still looked sick over the thought of eating meat, she nodded. “Yes, you can. I’ll be sure to apologize to him, Princess.”

“Thank you.” Celestia said, giving her student a soft nuzzle. Twilight happily returned it, then gave a light hug to Princess Luna, which was happily returned.

The two Princesses straightened and moved to leave, then Celestia paused. “Oh, and Twilight?”

“Yes, Princess?” Twilight asked curiously.

“I ask that you ask Rainbow not to mess with his weapons again. She didn’t know if any of those arrows were poison tipped and it was risky to fiddle with them.” Celestia said with a smile.

Twilight’s cheeks burned as she blushed lightly, but then she nodded. “I’ll be sure to tell her.”

“Have a good night, Twilight.”

“You too, Princess.”