Imperial Hunter

Dragon opened his eyes and sat up, then looked around. From the darkness of the clearing, he assumed it was close to an hour before the sun set and the Hunt began. Knowing that tonight could spell the end of his life if he isn’t prepared, he knew that he needed to be ready for any of the denizens of the Forest, not just the Naga. To do that, he would need to prepare several of his runestones.

Opening his pouch, he pulled all the runestones out one by one, examing each one for any chips in the carefully shaped rock. Seeing none, he separated them by type. The process of making runestones was tedious when it came to detail, but it was well worth it. The stone itself was a special kind that the Imperials refered to as shatter rock, though the Equestrians referred to it as a type of basalt. The rock had to be cut into a perfectly circular shape five centimeters- two inches in Equestria- in diameter. Other shapes and sizes, including a rough chunk of stone, would work but the old rune mages had long since discovered that a perfect circle was the most effective at channeling and dispersing the stored magic.

The second step, which Dragon always enjoyed, was painting the appropriate rune the appropriate color. The paint, while it could be from any source, worked best when made directly from plants rather than the enchanted pigments Equestria used, though those still worked. That did open up the difficulty of fading runes, which forced Dragon to discard one of his Shock runes. The cyan had began to fade on it, which was risky when it came to charging a rune. After shaping the stone and painting the rune, the final step- and the last- was charging it with latent energy. Rune mages did it by holding the runestone close to the most magically-attuned parts of them. For Pegasi, Earthen, and Unicorns, it was their wings, hooves, and horns respectively. Then, they focused and diverted their own natural magic out of them and into the runestone.

Grabbing one of his Fear runes, he examined the scarlet lines. Seeing that it wasn’t faded, he held it in his wing and began the rather quick process of charging it. If the rock was damaged or the rune faded or disrupted, this step was dangerous. The runestone could literally explode in his grip, sending rock shards everywhere. If the rock was just uncut, then the process was significantly slower with no chance of it detonating. Around a minute later, the rune began to glow slightly and he stopped, placing it into a separate pouch he had been provided by the Elder. This special pouch, made and enchanted specifically to hold runestones, would massively reduce the force of whatever was inside while also preventing anything from falling out. Once charged, runestones became much more brittle than usual. The rune itself was also permanently attached to the rock, unable to be damaged or removed in any way. When the user was ready for the magic to be released, the shatter rock, now even more brittle, had to be damaged in some way. Even the slightest chip would release the magic.

As the magic forced its way out from within the stone, the shatter rock begins to incinerate. The rune activates, weaving the ambient magic into a specific spell that affects the world around it. Once the spell effect died down, the only thing that would be left of the runestone would be a half-molten chunk of rock that was entirely unusuable for another runestone. Fortunately, shatter rock wasn’t native to one specific location. It could be found in massive veins all over the world, which Dragon was thankful for. If he planned to stay in the Everfree, the ability to make runestones was a necessity, both for defense, offense, and utility.

Picking up a special rune, he looked it over. Painted on one side was the golden rune for Light, while the other side was the blue rune for Time, which was all together referred to as a Candle rune. Painting a stone with two runes was surprisingly no harder than with one rune. In fact, the only difference was that both runes had to be charged at the same time, otherwise one would override the other and result in the runestone not working the way it was intended to. This specific runestone was essentially a torch without heat; the Light rune causes the stone to glow just as brightly as a fire while the Time rune kept it going much longer than the usual half-second that most runes activated in. Charging it as well, he placed it into his pouch.

By the time he heard hoofsteps approaching him, he had successfully charged three Fear, two Candle, two Shock, one Burn, one Cold, and one Flame rune. All together, he had ten activate runes capable of being used effectively. He was pretty happy for that, though it bothered him that he had found four more ineffective runes. That was generally expected with how long he had kept them without using them, unfortunately. Looking out of his lean-to, he was surprised to see Princess Celestia waiting patiently. Even more surprising was what she was wearing. It seemed to be a type of plate mail, though not one he was familiar with. Golden plates interlocked over her entire body, even her joints and wings, while still being plenty flexible enough for her to move. Intricate red and white inlays were inscribed all over her sleek armor, giving it an elegant yet deadly look. The lines seemed to join together, forming the symbol of her cutie mark on her chest. The only parts of her body exposed to air was her muzzle, her eyes, and the tip of her horn for her to cast spells. Dragon wasn’t quite sure if she could still fly in that armor.

Slung on her back was a large halberd, both the axe head and spear point gleaming with an unnatural sharpness that made him slightly uneasy. The handle was some type of white wood, though he doubted it was actually wood. Strapped to her sides was a dozen simple knives, no handle to speak of which revealed them as throwing knives. All together, the armed and armored Princess made him think not of a mare who ruled a country, but of Yavala, the Spirit of War. That didn’t stop him coming out of his lean-to, which was not big enough for both of them, and he grabbed his bow, arrows, and donned his hoof blades as he talked. “What brings you by, Princess? From your armor, I assume you will be joining me?”

Princess Celestia nodded. “I am. My sister has formed a line between here and Ponyville with her and the Guards, with most of the stretch illuminated by spells and fires. I decided to join you to bring this beast to an end.”

“And not because you want revenge against what happened to your sister?” Dragon asked.

She smirked. “That too.”

Dragon nodded and removed the Tartarus Blood. Taking out a second vial, he filled it with a dose of the Tartarus Blood, which he gave to her. He started to dip several arrows in it, seeing that the poison dried on the arrowhead quickly. “Whatever the case, do not fight this Naga alone. If you find it, lead it to me. If I find it, I’ll lead it to you and we’ll handle it together. While we are both confident in our abilities to take it out alone, we have a greater chance of survival. Do not misunderstand; if you have a clear shot with the poison, take it.”

Celestia nodded and accepted the vial of Blood and the vial of antidote he gave her. “If you get bitten, drink the antidote immediately. Do not wait until you are safe. If Princess Luna hadn’t been an Alicorn, she wouldn’t have made it back to the camp. Thirty seconds is all it takes to kill a mortal and we don’t know how much the Naga can inject into you.”

“Naga venom isn’t as effective against an Alicorn, Mr. Arrow.” Celestia replied.

“First, if you’re hunting with me, Dragon is fine. Second, let’s assume that what happened to your sister is one dose of Naga venom. If the Naga can inject six doses into you in one bite, it could happen six times faster.” Dragon said. “With enough doses, eighteen hours can turn into thirty seconds. If it can inject more, this Naga downright cruel.”

“How so?”

“If it can inject more venom in one bite, why didn’t it inject enough to kill your sister in just a few minutes? Because it didn’t know she was an Alicorn? No, Nagas are smart so it knew that the bite wouldn’t kill her quickly. It also likely knew that Equestria didn’t have any antidote to its venom. It wanted Luna to make it back to the camp so she could die in front of you. Unfortunately for it, all that did was piss us off.” Dragon explained.

The Hunter could see the fire burning in her eyes as she listened to his explanation. There’s not much worse than knowing something wanted her family to die in her hooves. If his family had been killed instead of passing from sickness, he knew that he would murder whoever killed them, consequences be damned. He could only imagine how powerful that feeling was for the Princess who just got her sister back after a thousand years.

“Exactly how much Tartarus Blood will it take to kill the Naga? It’s a single dose, right?” Celestia asked, her voice cold even with a fire metaphorically burning in her eyes.

“I’m not quite sure.” Dragon replied. “I was told I had three doses, but Imperials measure a dose by not how much you need to use but by how much the brewer makes it one day. Since it’s three doses, I’d assume my Elder took three days to make it. Just in case, only tip your blades in it.”

He paused for a moment, then continued. “I doubt I need to say this but do not get any on or in you. I don’t even want to imagine what would happen if you died from an accidental nick.”

Examining the vial she had been given, Celestia replied. “You have no need to worry, Dragon. This amount isn’t enough to kill me. Put me in a hospital for a month with horrific pains and significantly reduced mental capability before I recover, though.”

“Some good news, at least.” Dragon grunted. Looking up through the thinned canopy of the clearing, he saw that the sky was dark, likely meaning that the sun was set. “You know the time?”

“A little after nine.” Celestia replied.

“Let’s go. Remember, if you find it and its awake, regroup. Otherwise, take the shot. Conserve your Blood, in both accounts, and make sure you make it home to your sister.” It hit him that, even though Princess Celestia had thousands of years of experience on him, she was allowing him to boss her around like she was a Hunter Apprentice. Then he dismissed the thought; she likely didn’t mind the reminders and the concern he was showing, even if he did it in a blunt way. “Meet back here at dawn if you don’t find it. If I’m not back by dawn, I found it and got bit. Follow my tracks and learn what you can from my corpse before tracking it down.”

“That’s morbid.” Princess Celestia said, a mildly disturbed look on her muzzle.

“But no less true.” Dragon replied, then nodded. “Good luck, Princess. May your travels be swift.”

“Good luck, Dragon. May your prey be strong.” Celestia replied with a smile, then started off into the Forest. Dragon watched her go, a shocked look on his face. He nodded, newfound respect in her. If she knows the the traditonal farewell, maybe she does know how to hunt.

Turning, he walked off into the Forest. Celestia had gone southeast; he went southwest. He didn’t know about her, but he would zigzag through the Forest as he searched for any trails. It’s not the most effective tracking method, not by a mile, but it was the best way in such a large Forest with no recent trails by the Naga. Maybe they would find it tonight, maybe they wouldn’t. They would certainly try, though.

***

Dragon wasn’t ashamed that he lied to Celestia; in fact, he considered it for the best. When he had told her to find him if the Naga was awake, he had told her he would search her out, too. That was a lie. Dragon had no way to find Celestia in this massive Forest before the Naga lost interest or realized that something was planned. However, if the Princess tried to find him if the Naga was chasing her, there was a much higher chance that she would make it through the night unharmed. The Hunter knew she wouldn’t be happy and that she would confront him about it in the morning.

If they both made it out of the Forest tonight. The morbid thought struck him instantly, though it didn’t surprise him. There was massive risk in this Hunt, but no reward came without it. If he helped slay this creature, or even did it alone, he hoped that he would earn his place in the Everfree. He wasn’t sure he would, but he could at least try.

Moving through the Forest silently, his hooves deftly skittered past or around anything that could make noise; rocks, leaves, insect shells, sticks, or anything else that would crunch, snap, or thud when his hard hooves stepped on them. He was glad it was spring now. During fall, it became much harder to avoid stepping on leaves. That also counted for after a large storm. All in all, a pony moving silently wasn’t an easy task or a common sight. Hooves were not made for stealth.

A twitch of a smile flashed on his muzzle as he remembered his old mentor literally beating the lessons into him. Don’t be fooled; blunted arrows still hurt. Either way, it taught him to be silent quickly enough. Then his forced the thoughts away, not allowing himself to be distracted. Even a split second could change the course of a Hunt forever.

Dragon paused. A pack of far off wolves howled for a moment, their voices drowning out the minor noises of the Forest inhabitants, particularly the nocturnal ones. But behind that, he could swear he heard something moving in a few dozen meters away, obscured by the thick foliage. That alone wouldn’t bother him except that he could clearly hear it coming to him.

He dove to the side in time to dodge a wild swipe from a manticore. He landed on his side, allowing his momentum to carry him into a roll that ended with him on his hooves. Dragon then frowned, realizing just how much noise was being made not by him, but by the hybrid. Reaching into his enchanted pouch, he felt around it. His hoof came into contact with several runes, each one causing him to experience a different feeling. When he felt a jolt of foreign fear, he pulled it out and slammed it into a tree, then tossed it at the manticore. The rune immolated, reddish energy flowing into the manticore in spades as it reared back, tumbling away from him with pure fear on its face. Turning tail, it charged back the way it came, all the while roaring in fear.

Moving forward, he passed the runestone and saw that nothing was left except a quickly cooling pile of lava, exactly as he expected. Dragon grunted. Two Fear.

Grunting again at his disrupted Hunt, he continued on. As before, he moved around everything he came across. He knew that stealth alone wouldn’t stop predators that could see him or smell him but he wanted to continue his Hunt as quickly as he could; he didn’t like being interrupted in any way. It was one of his biggest bothers and it carried over to his hunting and he knew it was something he couldn’t control or influence. He just had to deal with it.

Moving ahead in his pattern while keeping his head on a swivel, he came across a rather interesting sight. Heading off to his left and right was an old Naga trail, one that was around a day old. The branches around him was torn up, the grass crushed, and there were hoof prints in the trail like something had followed it. There was a large irregular area, hoof prints and slither trails all around it. Walking around the area, he saw a small patch of fur covered in something silvery. Kneeling down, he saw that the fur was blue, with the silver liquid smelling of copper. He realized it was blood; Luna’s blood.

Dragon stood quickly and brought his bow to bare, knocking a Blood-tipped arrow. He looked around, his gaze ever shifting. He would look one way, turn away, then whip back around. He had long since learned that both ponies and prey moved once you looked away. If he turned back around fast enough, he could catch them while they were still moving. In truth, Arrow didn’t expect to find anything here. The site of this battle was well over a day old and already covered ground. No animal would return to a place they were almost caught in.

Then again, this wasn’t an animal. Dragon reminded himself, acutely aware that the Naga would be more than capable of trying to talk its way out of death.

Dragon’s ears perked up high. In the distance, he could have sworn he heard a feminine voice scream out in pain. A familiar voice.

Darting into the distance, he ran towards the source. He didn’t abandon stealth fully, he still did his best to avoid anything that would make undue noise, but it was no longer his primary concern. No, his concern was making sure Celestia made it home to her sister. A grim look came over his face. Even if I don’t make it home, I’ll make sure she does. The world needs her a lot more than it needs me.