Dragon exited the edge of the Everfree Forest and gazed upon the village of Ponyville in the distance. It was so different from his home in the Empire that he wanted to turn around and return to his camp. In the Leaping Wolf village, every house was identical. Sure, the families could decorate it differently so sometimes he’d see something hanging on one wall that wasn’t on the next, but they were the same in structure. Ponyville was the complete opposite. It was an amalgamation of styles and time periods, with one house having a thatched roof and the next having shingles. Houses near trees had gutters while those farther away didn’t. Some were one story and others were three. Each house was painted a different shade with no care about blending well with its neighbors. Windows were differently shaped and some houses were made of wood while others were made of brick. All together, it was a level of chaos Dragon thought even Discord could appreciate.

Sighing, the Pegasus adjusted his armor to sit more comfortably and started walking forward. He had left his hoofblades behind since he hated the damn things but his wingblades were safely wrapped and attached to his barrel by strings while his bow was slung over his back and his arrows were on the right side of his body, held in place by a ring that would allow it to rotate depending on how it was standing. He knew that walking through town armed would gather him no love from the locals but he had to walk through the Everfree to and from his home so they could deal with it. He wasn’t going to risk dying because Equestrians were skittish.

As he walked toward town, he could see a group of Equestrians seemingly having a picnic far to his left. A quick cursory glance made him think they were the Elements of Harmony but Dragon felt no urge to alter his path and greet them. He sighed again. The Hunter hoped Equestrians weren’t as nosy as he had heard they were. Imperials liked their privacy and it was doubly true for a Hunter. Dragon was here to buy supplies, not socialize. Fortunately for him, the mares didn’t go out of their way to greet him either so he just kept walking, soon making way into town.

Up close, the town was even more painful to his eyes. The colors were awfully bright and the clash between houses was even more defined once he was actually in the town. The color of the ponies often clashed just as strangely, which was fitting in its own way because it matched the houses. Speaking of ponies, quite a few of them stopped to gawk at the armed and armored pony while others just kept walking. Personally, he much preferred the second over the first. He didn’t want special treatment, positive or negative, just because he was different than the Equestrians.

He guessed it wasn’t meant to be. Ahead of him, he could see three Royal Guards beelining straight for him. Each one had a white coat with the top of a blue mane sticking through their helmets, the golden armor flashing in the sunlight. He couldn’t mistake that they were heading straight for him over anypony else. The few ponies who were near the edge of town had given him a wide berth and the Guards were walking for him. At first, he wondered if Celestia had left him a message but once the lead Guard neared with a sharp frown on his muzzle, he knew it was something else. Taking quick note, he saw that there were two Earthen and a Unicorn which made him realize he could likely escape by air if he needed to. Dragon wasn’t quite in the mood to spill equine blood, so he considered escape his primary option.

The Pegasus stopped and waited for the three Guards, already aware of the few ponies gathering around to watch while keeping their distance in case something sparked a fight. He ignored the curious glances and muttered whispers, some of which he could hear, and he ignored the small crowd of ponies following the Guards. All Dragon could do was wait. A minute or so later, the three Guards stopped a few meters in front of him and the Unicorn spoke. “You there! Why have you come here armed and armored?”

Dragon already hated the stallion. His voice was condescending and grated on his nerves. From the greeting alone, he recognized the stallion as the wealthy son of some big name who had gotten his position via his connections. He didn’t have an opinion on the two Earthen but suspected them to be a little more humble, even if the thought was a stereotype. “I’m currently camping in the Everfree Forest which is not safe. I wear armor and carry weapons so that I can ensure my safety.”

A small part of Dragon was surprised that the Guards didn’t recognize him since it had only been four days since the Naga’s death. Another part of him was pleased he wasn’t recognized, allowing him to keep his privacy and that he didn’t get extra attention beyond what he would get for being an Imperial. Still, he figured the Guards would know about him at least. The Unicorn’s next smug statement proved his thought wrong. “It is illegal for a civilian to carry guard-grade weaponry. Hoof them over.”

Dragon just smiled lightly. “It’s good that I’m not a civilian, then. I-”

His grin dropped when the Unicorn interrupted him quickly. “You’re a Guard?”

“If you hadn’t interrupted me, I would have already answered your question. I’m not a Guard.” Quickly glaring and baring his teeth when the Guard moved to speak, he continued calmly after the Unicorn flinched back. “I’m an Imperial Hunter from the Rhetoram Empire.”

The Unicorn clearly didn’t believe him. “Be that as it may, you’re carrying guard-grade wea-”

This time, Dragon interrupted him. “Actually, they’re Hunter-grade weaponry. The Empire doesn’t have Guards.”

The lead Guard gritted his teeth, anger flashing in his eyes. “If you’re a Hunter, then why are you here?”

“I was recently contracted to help slay the Forest beast that had been terrorizing the town. Princess Celestia and I slayed the Naga after tracking it down overnight and she offered me a reward. I chose to ask if I can remain inside the Everfree and she agreed.” Dragon replied.

“You still can’t carr-”

“If Her Majesty didn’t like the fact that I owned weapons and armor that a civilian wouldn’t have access to, she would have taken them away from me. It’s not like I would have been able to stop her.” The Hunter said calmly.

“Give me your weapons.” The Unicorn said, abandoning all pretense. Dragon looked at him closely, wondering what could inspire the Guard to do something so foolish and illegal in public. After a moment, he caught the flicker of greed in his eyes and Dragon snorted, making the Unicorn frown more. He just wanted to collect the Hunter’s weapons, either to sell or to use.

“No.” Dragon replied, dropping his calm tone to one that was as sharp as dragonscale. The Unicorn paled and the two Earthen flinched, though he paid no mind to them. “As a foreign Hunter who commited no crimes, you have no possible reason to confiscate my weapons and armor. I have a strong inkling that if I were to report you to the Guard’s Barracks, you wouldn’t remain here past the week.”

Seeing the worry in his eyes, Dragon mentally grinned. The Unicorn grunted and turned around without saying a word, quickly leaving. One of the Earthen, a stallion, quickly followed his superior. To his surprise, the other Earthen hesitated and spoke quickly, her voice soft and apologetic. “I’m sorry for him. For the record, you’re in the right. Crush and I will defend you if we need to.”

“Thank you. Have a good day.” Dragon said.

“You too!” She said before quickly trotting away, catching up to her patrol in moments. As Dragon kept walking, he was surprised to see several bystanders giving him a nod before returning to their business. That alone made him think that the Unicorn was even less popular than he expected.

Before the Hunter could get too far, he heard a voice shout out from behind him. “Hunter, wait!”

Stopping and turning back, he saw a Pegasus mare running to catch up to him. Her coat was a soft white that reminded him of Celestia’s while her mane was a neon pink. His forest green eyes met her light green eyes and she stopped, breathing heavy from her short run. The mare was clearly out of shape. On second glance, he assumed she wasn’t used to running because she wasn’t even close to the large side. Once she recovered her breath, he spoke. “May I help you?”

“You’re new in town, right?” She asked, standing up straight once she was breathing normally.

“I am. I’m living inside the Everfree but I intend to come here often for supplies I can’t gather from the Forest.” Dragon replied, sparking a shocked look from the mare.

“I heard you tell Sharp Tongue that but I didn’t think you were serious! Why would you live in that cursed place?” She asked in honest confusion.

A glance at the sky showed that it was nearing ten in the morning. He frowned lightly and turned back to the white Pegasus. “I have business to do today. Do you have time to walk and talk?”

She nodded quickly and they both started walking, Dragon heading toward the town hall he could see rather easily. It wasn’t the biggest building in town, nor the most noticeable, but it was clearly official. As he walked, he spoke. “I live inside the Everfree because Hunters like myself enjoy living in woods more than we enjoy living in a town or city.”

“Isn’t it dangerous in there?” She asked, a worried frown on her muzzle.

“Verily.” Dragon nodded with a small smile. “But I’m armed, armored, and skilled. I can handle myself for the most part. There’s every chance I’ll meet something I can’t beat or get unlucky against something I can beat, but I don’t worry about that.”

“If you know you could d-die in there, why don’t you move to Ponyville?” She asked, her voice stuttering once, which he dismissed as the skittishness of Equestrians.

“Because I can’t stand living in a town or city. I didn’t even really live in my home village, just very close to it. My home was actually outside the walls of my home, so living in the wild is something I’m used to.” Dragon explained. “I’m a Hunter. Because of my training, I had a mindset instilled into me and it made me enjoy solitude more than your average pony.”

She nodded, understanding the idea even if she couldn’t connect with it. Then her eyes went wide and she blushed lightly. “Oh my, I haven’t even told you my name.”

“To be fair, I haven’t told you mine either.” Dragon replied with a smirk. “I’m Dragon Arrow.”

“Snow Drift.” The Pegasus replied, holding her hoof out. He gripped it and shook her hoof, then started to walk again. “So where are you going?”

“I need to go trade my currency in for bits. Does Ponyville have a bank or should I go to the town hall?” Dragon asked.

“There’s a bank. I’ll lead you unless you know where it’s at?” She said, leaving it open as a question.

“This is my first time in town so I don’t know where anything’s at.” The Hunter said.

“Follow me then, it’s this way!” Snow said cheerfully, turning left at the next intersection. As they headed deeper into the town proper, there were more and more ponies walking about. However, unlike before, fewer ponies stopped and stared, or stared at all. The Hunter attributed it to Snow’s presence.

“So what do you do for a living, Ms. Drift?” Dragon asked politely.

The cheerful Pegasus giggled as she lead him. “Please, just call me Snow, everypony does. I’m a baker at Blossom Bloom’s, a bakery on Mane Street, where all the stores and businesses are located. What do you do? I know you said ‘Imperial Hunter’ but I don’t know what that is.”

“If I can call you Snow, call me Dragon. Do you know what a hunter in general is?” He asked in return.

“No, I don’t.” Snow answered with a shake of her head.

He pursed his lips, not quite sure how to answer her question. “A hunter is somepony who, well, hunts another creature.”

“What does ‘hunt’ mean?” Snow asked, then flashed him an apolgetic smile for interrupting.

“Damn Equestrians and their innocence.” Dragon mumbled to himself, then continued loud enough for her to hear. “‘To hunt’ means to track down an animal and kill it, usually for food. A hunter is somepony who hunts.”

“And an Imperial Hunter?” The Pegasus asked nervously.

“An Imperial pony needs meat in our diets because we’re omnivores. As an Imperial Hunter, I’m trained in tracking, hunting, medicine, rudimentery apothecary and forging, and general survival skills.” He explained honestly.

“So you…” Snow swallowed hard. “Eat meat?”

“I do.” Dragons said slowly. “But not ponies. Only animals.”

“So you won’t eat me?”

“I won’t.” Dragon confirmed with a sharp nod of his head. “I keep my hunting within the Everfree only.”

Snow seemed to relax and he realized why when she pointed at a building to his right and spoke. “There’s the bank. I have to get back to work now!”

“Have a good day.” Dragon replied politely, knowing he scared her off.

Snow didn’t say anything in reply as she quickly trotted away, her movements quick and jittery. Pushing the incident to the back of his mind, he quickly walked into the bank and walked up to the teller pony, safely protected behind a shimmering barrier of magic, and greeted him. “Good morning.”

“Good morning to you too, sir. What can I help you with?” He asked cheerfully.

“I’d like to convert my Imperial teeth into Equestrian bits.” Dragon replied.

“The standard rating is one tooth to one point five bits. Is that acceptable?” The teller asked.

Dragon nodded. The exchange rate hadn’t changed in well over a century. It was based on how much gold was in the two currencies and teeth were heavier than bits. The teller smiled at his answer. “Go ahead and push the bits through the barrier, sir.”

He untied his pouch from his armor and spilled the golden teeth onto the counter. Each one was made of solid gold and, as the name suggested, were shaped like sharpened teeth. With his on-hoof money on the counter, he pushed it through the barrier and watched as it phased through, though his hoof was stopped by the magic. The teller quickly counted each one, then spoke. “Sixty teeth transfers to ninety bits. Two twenty-pieces, two ten-pieces, four five-pieces, and ten one-pieces?”

“That sounds good.” Dragon said with a nod. The teller nodded and levitated the teeth up and into one of the containers that were undoubtedly below the counter. A moment later, the bits levitated onto the counter and pushed them through with his hoof as the field canceled magic as well. Dragon collected them and returned them to his coin pouch and nodded to the teller once again. “Have a good day, sir.”

“You too!” Came the cheerful reply as he exited the bank. With proper Equestrian currency in his pouch, he resolved to make his way to a blacksmith. Surprisingly enough, he couldn’t hear the sound of ringing metal from anywhere. After a moment, he shrugged and decided to look for a camping store. He walked up Mane Street, keeping his head in motion as he looked for a camping store. He ignored the ponies giving him a wide berth. He ignored the fearful glances his weapons were gathering. He ignored the scared whispering. It didn’t matter to him. Equestrians were skittish, subject to their prey instincts. Imperials were hardened, subject to their predatorial desires. That’s just how it went.

Before long, he found a camping store. It was a simple wooden building, a single story, with general things like tents, camping packs, and sleeping bags on display in the large square windows. The store was called ‘Woodens’ Wooded Survival Store,’ which he found amusing. Dragon walked inside, seeing several aisles in the building, each with shelves of equipment. To his right, he could see a variety of tools hanging from the wall. He looked around for anything to carry his things with and saw a small stack of baskets with soft cloth handles. Walking over, he picked one up with his mouth, grateful for the cloth handle, and went for the tools. When he neared the tools, he looked around. He spotted a blade sharpener that was newer and more effecient than a whetstone, so he grabbed it with a wing and added it to the basket. It was a long rod of metal, enchanted to sharpen blades that passed over it.

Moving to the hatchets, he picked up one that he liked the design of and examined it. The axe had a sleek feel and look to it and didn’t seem all that heavy in his hoof so he decided to buy it too because he needed a hatchet to help him manipulate the wood he would undoubtedly use in the coming days. Once he stored it in the basket, he moved on. Finding a firestarter, he examined it. The device was a rectangle, about a third of a meter long and half that wide. The tip came to a wide, rounded point that made it look like an unfinished blade. It seemed to be made out of iron and was clearly magic in nature, but he had never seen one before so he wasn’t quite sure how to use it. Looking around, he saw a pony at the counter in the front of the store and walked over, setting the basket down next to the counter. The elderly dull orange mare smiled at him kindly and spoke. “Are you ready to check out, mister?”

“No ma’am.” Dragon said with a shake of his head after placing the basket down. He set the firestarter on the counter with a few deft wing motions. “Can you show me how to use this? I’m used to flint and steel or friction, not Equestrian gadgets.”

“Of course I can.” She said, picking it up with her hooves. “If you know how to start a fire another way, why don’t you do that?”

“Because this is faster.” Dragon said simply. “I’m happy I know how to do it other ways but this will save me some time whenver I want to start a fire.”

She nodded in understanding, then pointed at a small switch on the bottom of the device. “Flick this switch into the ‘up’ position and tap the top onto whatever you want to light. If it’s flammable by fire, it’ll ignite the moment you tap it. This particular firestarter, Flame-Spark, lasts around a thousand uses before the enchantment runs dry.”

“Thank you, ma’am. Do you mind if I leave it here while I continue looking for supplies?”

“Not at all, young stallion. If you need anything else, don’t be afraid to ask.” She replied, making him give a nod in return.

The Imperial spent the next several moments looking through the store’s ware but nothing struck him as something he particularly needed. He passed rows of tents, machetes, saddlebags, and rolled strips of faux-leather, but nothing he really needed. He already had a shelter, his wingblades functioned as a machete, his pack and pouches were better than the bags, and he could make real leather. The Hunter didn’t need anything else from the store. Internally shrugging, he made his way back to the counter. “I believe this will be it.”

She removed the hatchet and whetstone from the basket and quickly jotted down what they were. “That’ll be sixteen bits.”

Dragon nodded, happy with the price. He had expected closer to thirty but he was not going to complain. He pulled out a twenty-piece and placed it on the counter, which she replaced with four bits. Dragon took back his equipment and nodded toward the mare, who was writing down the payment. “Thank you, ma’am. Have a good day.”

“You too!” She said cheerfully as he left. When Dragon stepped back out into the sunlight, he looked around.

“Doubt any Equestrian will be selling salt so I’ll likely have to import or find my own. They won’t have any equipment for preparing meat, hide, or bone so I won’t find anything like that.” Dragon whispered to himself, then sighed. “I’ll just have to make it myself. Hopefully those books the Elder is sending will help.”

Turning course, he faced the direction of the Everfree and began walking, intent on making it back to his home before nightfall.

Author's Note

As usual, don't hesitate to point out any errors you see. On the other side of the spectrum, don't hesitate to leave a comment sharing how you feel about the chapter or the story in general.