Proof of a hero

Chapters

1 - We start at the end
2 - It came from the sky
3 - Of monsters, weapons and food
4 - Crafting from nature

1 - We start at the end

A new day is dawning over Canterlot. The Sun slowly rises above the land while the Moon descends and waits for night to come once again. Shops, restaurants and cafes are opening their doors for any creature to visit and enjoy all Canterlot has to offer. Every creature was up and about, enjoying the fresh summer air to it's fullest.

Canterlot castle was coming to life as well. Maids and guards were hurrying to their posts to make sure when their Princess awoke everything would be in place. Only the finest ingredients, much to Twilight's continuous protests, were selected for the meals at the castle. Featherdusters were already in full swing, even though you could practically eat off of any surface in the castle. Some say the rooms and halls were cleaner than ahospital. Well, most of them were...

And so we make our way up, towards the personal chambers of Princess Twilight Sparkle. The sole ruler of Equestria occupated the room of her former mentor, Celestia. A grand space with an enormous bed, high ceilings with priceless artworks hanging on the walls and irreplacable statues in it's corners. A large bookshelf filled to the brim with Twilight's personal collection and a walk-in wardrobe that was the size of somepony's house. Truly, a room fit for a princess.

And it was a horryfing mess.

Clothes were scattered about the floor, furniture and even the chandelier. A strong smell of adult activities hung in the air that would take some time to air out. Only one pillow of the dozen that were usually neatly placed on the bed remained where it was supposed to be. Sheets of the finest silk were crumpled to an unrecognizable ball and pushed to the foot, or rather, hoof, of the bed. The maids will be having a field day with this. Just like any other day for the past month.

Speaking of the princess, Twilight was lying on her right side, appearing to sleep peacefully. Her left hand clutching the one her husband lovingly placed on her growing belly. Yes, Princess Twilight Sparkle was four months pregnant and pregnancy sex drive was no joke.

Speaking of her husband, the human was playing the bigger spoon, their naked bodies tightly together. His straw blonde hair tied back into a pony-tail so it doesn't tickle his nose while he sleeps. It's been a couple of days since his last shave but Twilight said she liked it. Must have something to do with the fact ponies have fur all over their bodies so it didn't bother her at all. It also gave him that rugged look she fell for. He was taller than her, by about half a head, and his physique told the story of a warrior. Muscle that showed his immense physical capability and the scars to prove he has seen his share of combat.

"You're poking me." Twilight murmured with her eyes still closed.

"You're not moving." he replied in a deep baritone, snuggling closer to his wife.

"What time is it?"

"Too early for a pregnant princess to care." Twilight snorted. "Besides, the Sun and Moon raise themselves now, thanks to your ARSE."

"Don't call it that." Twilight groaned and slowly rotated herself to face her husband, who now opened his blue eyes.

"What? It was you who named it the Automatically Regenerating Sun-raising Enchantment." the human chuckled. "Besides, it was Flynn who thought of it."

"Max." Twilight scolded her husband, using his nickname rather than his full name, but we'll get to that later. "All of Equestria calls it ARSE. It's kinda' embarassing."

"There's nothing embarrasing about this arse." he squezzed her rump, getting a squeal and giggle in return.

"You're incorrigible."

"I can't even pronounce that." Max smiled back and got a kiss on the nose in return.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Their tender moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. Or rather somepony slamming their fist on it. The doors were so large and thick that normal knocking would do nothing.

"I'm giving you one minute to get decent. If I see more than I should, you'll be looking for a new assistant Twilight!" the voice of Starlight Glimmer reached from the other side of the door.

"In a minute!" Twilight groaned.

"Make it 5!" Max added and got a playful smack from Twilight.

"You're not that good!" Starlight shot back. "Fifty seconds left!" sharing one more quick kiss, the couple got up and began looking for their clothes.

"Have you seen my panties?" Twilight asked looking around the bed.

"You threw out on the balcony." Max replied while pulling up his own underwear and blue jeans.

"Oh. Right." Twilight giggled and summoned the garment with her magic. "That's a no." she threw the black panties into the wash pile and rushed to her closet to find new ones.

"Forty seconds!"

"Alright, alright, jeez!" the purple alicorn quickly pulled out a pair of fresh scarlet panties and almost jumped into them. Time to set a personal best for dressing.

"Where's my shirt?"

"It may or may not have been incinerated." Twilight called back while putting on a scarlet dress with golden accents. The dress hugged her curves almost like a second skin and showed a generous amount of cleavage. In her younger days Twilight never could have imagined she would dress so provocatively like Celestia and Luna did. But hey, if you've got it, flaunt it.

"TWENTY SECONDS!" Starlight yelled once more and Twilight walked out of the closet while putting on a choker that matched her dress. She looked at Max who was digging through his own, albeit small wardrobe, to find a clean shirt.

"Mama likes." Twilight playfully slapped Max's ass just as the human triumphantly pulled out a white shirt and red sleeveless jacket.

"I can't wait for your lunch break." Max pulled on the shirt and snatched up Twilight in a deep kiss.

"THREE! TWO! ONE!" on cue the doors opened to reveal Starlight Glimmer in a secretary-like outfit. "By Celestia's beard it stinks in here!" she covered her nose in disgust. "At least open up a window you animals!" with a wave of her hand, all windows in the room opened to let some much needed fresh air inside. "And you didn't even shower." Starlight rubbed her temples to prevent a potential migraine popping up. "It's 10am! Go!"

"A shower, you say?" Max wiggled his brows to Twilight making the alicorn blush.

"Nuh-uh!" Starlight stomped towards them and pushed them towards the bathroom. "I want you to take a nice clean shower! No hanky-panky!" she practically tossed them inside before closing the door. "You have 5 minutes! And no, I won't make it 10!" putting her ear on the doors, Starlight made sure there as no funny business going on before she called in the maids to clean up the mess.

Five minutes later on the dot, Twilight and Max emerged from the bathroom smelling clean and fresh.

"Thank the stars your ARSE is taking care of the Sun and Moon. Otherwise Equestria's day would start very late." Starlight shook her head in amusement.

"That only happened one time!" Twilight protested with a slight blush. It was true, only one time had she failed to raise the Sun and lower the Moon on time. Equestria was very confused why that day began at 11am. "And stop calling it ARSE!"

"Nope." Starlight replied and spun on her hoof towrds the door. "Now let's hurry. Your duties were trimmed down since you're pregnant but there's still lots to do." the unicorn lead the pair out of the room, both Twilight and Max quietly apologizing to the maids that had to clean up their mess. But the maids didn't mind. Their princess was happy and there was a baby on the way. As far as they were concerned, it was the best days of Equestria.

Breakfast went by pretty uneventful with Twilight and Max stealing glances at each other while Starlight read the morning newspapers. Even Spike dropped by for a quick bite to eat before rushing off in a hurry. Something about a blue monster in the Everfree river that the resident sea serpent, Steven Magnet, demanded be dealt with.

Once breakfast was done it was time for Twilight to teach, something she absolutely adored. Like Celestia before her, Twilight took on students and taught them in the ways of friendship. However, instead of the classroom being inside the castle like before, Twilight held her classes in the centre of Canterlot due to some... Renovations the original space has undergone. It also gave Twilight the opportunity to interact with her subjects on a more personal level since she had to walk to get there.

"Twilight, your mane." Starlight pointed out and the princess's mane suddenly became ethereal.

"I still don't understand why this is a thing." Twilight said and ran her fingers through the almost untouchable mane. "It was just a prank a thousand years ago."

"Which everypony decided was a good look for a princess." Starlight added. "Just be glad the beard didn't catch on." both mares chuckled as even today some ponies said By Celestia's beard!.

"Speaking of beards." Max spoke and stroked his chin. "Should I grow it out again?"

"Hmm..." Twilight stopped and ran her hand across his chin and jaw. "You know, I like it like this." and with a quick kiss she resumed her morning walk, greeting ponies left and right. They soon reached the new classroom, with all manner of young creatures waiting for their teacher. Yes, everything was fine on this glorious summer-

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" all heads snapped to the right as a green unicorn ran past them in horror. Before the trio even processed what happened a thunderous roar shook Canterlot. Starlight looked at Max who seemed more annoyed than concerned.

"Is that a-"

"Yes." Twilight responded instead of her husband.

"How did it get past the gate?" Max wondered.

"We're about to find out." Twilight said as she spotted a familiar pegaus running towards them. "Captain Flash Sentry. Status report." the pegasus skidded to a halt, completely out of breath and barely able to speak.

"It's a-huff huff- It's a-"

"Relax captain." Twilight smiled and her former crush nodded furiously. He was not paid enough to work for his former girlfriend and deal with these monsters. "We know what it is. We were just wondering how it got past the gates."

"W-well, you see, ahh... The thing is..." all three looked at the captain expectantly. Flash took a deep breath. "To be honest, we weren't paying attention." Twilight, Max and Starligh blinked in disbelief. "Please don't fire me." Twilight then laughed.

"I won't fire you, captain. If I wanted to fire you I would have done it years ago when you stood me up on Hearts and Hooves day." there was the slightest hint of anger in her voice.

"I got cold hooves, okay?" Flash raised his hands in defense. "It's not like you can just go out with a princess like with a normal pony."

"I did it." Max joined in and Flash scoffed. "And you should treat every date like a princess. Or prince, I'm not judging."

"Easy for you to say when you battle the likes of-" he immediately shut his mouth after Twilight glared at him.

"So you're saying it's easier to fight a monster than go on a date with me?" oh yeah, pregnancy hormones were the shit.

"That is not what I meant." Flash took a step back as Twilight took one forward. "What I meant was-"

"That you would rather jump into the jaws of an Anj-"

"Whoaaa, easy." Max stood between Twilight and Flash. "You can resolve your lovers quarrel later." a quick smack on the shoulder from Twilight and a huff later, Max looked at Flash.

"I don't get it. Wasn't Flynn supposed to be on duty with you today?"

"He said, and I quote-" Flash then did his best Trotland accent. "I've got better shite ta' do than babysit ye' sorry lot."

"Fair enough." Max nodded making Flash frown. "And where is Fenris?"

"Out and about." Max face-palmed.

"Useless dog."

"We have some troops holding it back but they won't last." Flash stood up straight. "We need a hunter." Max sighed and turned to a still salty Twilight.

"Honey." he cupped her chin and smiled. "Duty calls." Twilight sighed and smiled back.

"I know." the two shared a quick kiss. Before he left, Twilight whispered in his ear. "Don't be late for lunch." Max smirked back and made a run towards the direction of the monster with Flash in tow. "Well, shall we?" Twilight smiled at her assistant who just shrugged. And the two entered the small house that served as a classroom.

"I suppose." Starlight responded and, like nothing happened, the two continued their walk towards the classroom. "I remember a time where you would be worried sick everytime he went out on a hunt."

"Well, times change." Twilight smiled fondly at the memory. Of course she worried, he was her husband, but these days she didn't walk a ditch into the ground from all the nervous pacing.

"Did you seriously stand up my wife on Hearts and Hooves days?" Max asked over his shoulder.

"Can we not talk about this right now?" the two were sprinting towards a group of guards. "Prince Max has arrived! Make way!"

"'Scuse me, coming through!" Max weaved his way between the guards who were keeping the invading beast at bay. "I'll take that." he snatched a slinger from an unsuspecting guard. "And that." followed by a sword and shield combo from another. Picking up some red fruit on the ground and placing it in the slinger, Max finally confronted the monster that terrorized Canterlot. "Hey there little buddy." as soon as it saw him, the beast stopped his rampage and took a step back. It knew very well who it was about to face.

"Yeah! Go Prince Max!" the ponies cheered, not noticing Max cringe at being called a prince.

"A little far from home aren't you?" he asked and approached the giant red dinosaur monster with careful steps. "How about you go back to your little nest, I go back to my wife and we pretend like this never happened?" the beast eyed eyed him carefully, almost like it was considering his generous proposition.

Before it roared directly into Max's face, covering him in spit and drool.

"Figures." suddenly Max's look got deadly serious as he aimed the slinger towards the monster's head. The clutch claw fired and attached to it's head, pulling Max towards it. As soon as he was attached, Max fired the stored fruit straight into it's head and sent it crashing into a wall, the monster collapsing on the ground. The ponies swore they saw a burly human with the red fruit for a head appearing out of the slinger and uppercutting the monster.

The best was squirming on the ground trying to get it's bearings. Max's subsequent shield blow to the head didn't help matters.

"There's too many of you." Max turned towards the guards who looked in awe. "Hunters operate in teams of four, otherwise it get's too crowded. And your slinger to grapple on to monsters and then create a weak point with the claw." he noticed ponies staring at him. "What?" many fingers pointed behind him. Max turned and saw the monster was back on it's legs and was taking a deep breath.

"FIREBREATH!" the guards dived to the side.

"No, it's gonna-" before he could finish, Max was covered in mucus and bile." Sneeze." he shook off some of the mucus from his arms. "I would have preffered a fireball."

Twilight began her lesson like nothing was happening outside. She was explaining all the factors that went into a good friendship and writing down an equation on the chalkboard. Once she was done, Twilight clapped her hands a few times to clear them of chalk and turned to her class.

"So, who can tell me the amount of trust needed to-" she noticed nocreature was listening to her and stared out the window, flinching with each roar the beast made. Smiling gently, Twilight pulled up a chair in front of her desk. "Gather around, my dear students." in the blink of an eye all of them were sitting in front of her on the fluffly carpet. "What is wrong?"

"W-what is that thing?" a changeling mare asked and pointed outside.

"That, my dear Echo, is a brute wyvern called an Anjanath." Twilight replied and the whole class nodded.

"Why is it here?" a griffon boy asked.

"Well, Steel Wing, Anjanath are very territorial and aggressive. It was probably looking to expand it's territory." the princess explained and saw a raised hand from the back. "Yes, Luster Dawn?"

"I've read that it was weak to water. Can't you just magic up a ball of water and dump it on him? Also, the answer to your equation is 42." the pink unicorn blushed a little for talking so fast.

"Very good Luster Dawn." Twilight praised the filly. "And to answer your question, yes and no. You see our magic has little to no effect on monsters. That is why-" Twilight was then rudely interrupted by Max who crashed through a window, scaring the life out of the young ones. "Hello." Twilight giggled.

"Hi." Max groaned and got back up. The Anjanath was rushing towards the school. "Be with you in a moment." rushing to the windown and jumping out, Max was just in time to bash his shield into Anjanath's maw and send it tumbling in another direction. The children looked in awe at their prince, the best hunter in Equestria.

"Uhm, honey?" Max looked back at Twilight who was trying not to laugh. "You got a little something... Here." she pointed to her cheek and Max wiped his own with his shield hand.

"Did I get it?" Max asked looking at the children, covered in Anjanath mucus head to toe. He got blehs and ewws in response. "I gotta' go. Be nice to Miss Sparkle!"

"We will!" the children replied in unison.

"Bye honey!" Max sent a kiss to Twilight, making the alicorn blush and wave back timidly. "I still got it." Max smirked triumphantly and rushed back at the Anjanath.

"Miss Twilight?" the alicorn quickly regained her composure and looked at the earth pony calling her name.

"Yes, Snow Storm?"

"How did you and Prince Max meet?" the entire class oooh'd and stared at their teacher with an expecting gaze.

"Well... That's... " Twilight shuffled in her seat, a small blush on her cheeks.

"Pweaseeeee!" the amount of cute right now was through the roof.

"All right." Twilight smiled warmly at her students cheers. "It all began two years ago when a Rathalos crahed landed into the throne room..."

Author's Note

You can thank my crippling Monster Hunter addiction for this one.
I'm playing 5 at the same time. Freedom Unite, Portable 3rd, Generations Ultimate, World/Iceborne and Rise.

As always, a janky job for cover art. I'll try to comission Crystal-for-ever or Longinius for proper cover art if they have time.

I'll just leave this here, see how it goes.

2 - It came from the sky

Ten years have passed since Twilight Sparkle took the throne of Equestria. To ascend the throne at such a young age was unheard of as even Celestia and Luna were much older at the beginning of their rule. Twilight was barely an adult at age 18 when Celestia and Luna basically dumped Equestria in her lap and went on a long overdue vacation. But Twilight was not alone by any means as her friends stood by her until she got a handle on things.

The first two years were the hardest, trying to catch up on bureocracy, politics, economics, culture and everything else a princess is supposed to know. Then there was the matter of actually talking to ponies and deal with their problems and concerns. Awkward as she was, Twilight had trouble with big crowds and tripped over her own words a lot, sometimes leading to misunderstandings and court hearings. The worst were the greed driven nobles, something which Canterlot has no shortage of, as they tried to push their one-sided agendas by lies and deceit.

Yes, it took time, but Twilight finally managed to get into the swing of things and quickly became a wise, righteous and noble ruler that Celestia hoped she would be. The economy thrived under her new reforms, more creatures were moving to Equestria rather then out of it, education was at an all time high and the nation was more prosperous than ever. Even technology, something ponies cared little for, took a big step forward and brought imporvements to lives of ponies or any other creature in Equestria.

Today also marks ten years to the day of her rule over Equestria. Ten wonderful, though sometimes shaky, years in service to her little ponies. It also marked ten years since any major catastrophe happened. No villians as the likes of Tirek, Sombra or Chrysallis poked their ugly heads out to distrupt this peaceful and prosperous land. All of that meant only one thing.

A party.

Pinkie Pie made a Pinkie promise to make this anniversary the biggest even Equestria has ever seen. Until the time comes for the 20 year anniversary at least. The greatest performes from Equestria and beyond were called to attend and put on the biggest show the world has ever seen. No expense was spared on food and drink as the finest ingredients were prepared by the most famous chefs from all corners of the world. All of Canterlot was decorated with flowers, ribbons, flags, ballons and everything else Pinkie Pie could get her hands on. Hotels, motels, inns and even some rooms were booked months in adavance to accomodate all the guests that would attend which was basically everyone. Tents and campsites were scattered around Canterlot to make room for more, some even opting to sleep on the grass to save a bit or two.

"Isn't this a little too much?" Twilight asked as she observed the unfolding spectacle from her balcony. Now a fully adult mare, Twilight has grown in more ways than one. Her body matured, and with a little aid from her new alicorn genetics, Twilight became the most beautiful mare in Equestria. Some argued that her beauty exceeded that of Celestia and Luna, somethin that Twilight dismissed every time it was brought up.

"Really? I'd say I'm being pretty basic with this." Pinkie Pie replied from her spot on the couch. The pink party mare was truly giving it her all but still felt it wasn't enough.

"Pinkie." Twilight sighed and moved away from the balcony. "I appreciate it, really, I do. But it all seems so... Wasteful." Twilight sat next to Pinkie and the pink mare laughed.

"Still our humble Twilight." she then looked at her stomach. "You hear that Little Cheese? Auntie Twilight thinks this is too much for her." the lavander alicorn smiled warmly at her friends antics. "Next thing she'll tell us to take it slow since you'll be arriving any day now."

"You know me so well." Twilight nuzzled Pinkie who returned the gesture.

"Better than you." Pinkie replied and heaved herself up. "Now come on! We need to get to Rarity for a final test fit of your dress!" Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Didn't we do that yesterday?" she got up and followed after her waddling friend.

"Last week actually." Pinkie then eyed Twilight's figure. "Although you haven't changed much in the last few years."

"Perks of being an alicorn." Twilight shrugged in response and held out a hand to Pinkie since they were about to go down a rather long staircase.

"We'll see about those perks when you get a bun in the oven."

"Pinkie!" the lavander mare blushed.

"What? I've heard you and your new captain Flash Sentry are hitting it off." Pinkie laughed.

"No we are not! We're keeping it strictly-"

"Professional? Sure ya' are. I have at least ten witnesses that saw you making out around the castle."

"Seriously?" Twilight face-palmed and then dragged her hand down her face.

"Yessiree! They said it reminded them how Cadance and your brother used to sneak around all the time." they were nearing the final few steps and Rarity's room was the first one on the right.

"We're not sneaking around! We're just... Making sure that we do not distrub anyone with our activities." Twilight laughed nervously.

"Speaking of, did the two of you bump-"

"NO!" Twilight covered her mouth quickly and Pinkie almost fell over from laughing. "It's not funny! And not that it's any of your business, but we did not engage in coitus." they were right at Rarity's door.

"Wow. Only you can say sex in the most boring way ever." Pinkie was about to knock when the door suddenly opened.

"Did I hear you talking about sex?" Rarity beamed at Twilight. "Oh tell me everything, darling!" she pulled the furiously blushing Twilight inside.

"There's nothing to tell!" Twilight defended to no avail. "Flash and I are taking things slow."

"Snails pace, you mean." Rarity said with a raised brow.

"In fact, we have a date on Hearts and hooves day next week." Twilight proclaimed. "And if things go well, maybe I'll-"

"Let him into your enchanted chamber?" Pinkie said quickly and Rarity's cheeks puffed up trying to contain a burst of laughter.

"NO! I was going to say that I would consider a make out session on my bed!" Twilight groaned and began turning away from her giggling friends. "Geez, why do you two have to be so..." her eyes fell on the dress Rarity was making for her. "Whoa." the first time Twilight saw it was last week and she liked the simple design with light and dark blues but now her breath was taken away as thousnds of small diamonds were woven into the dark blue fabric to make it sparkle like the stars. "It's beautiful."

"I know." Rarity puffed out her chest proudly and inspected her nails. "I am not the best designer in Equestria for nothing." Rarity approached her friend and hugged her. "And don't you dare say it's too much. Do you know how many designs I went through before making this simple gown?"

"I'd imagine about a hundred." Twilight returned the hug. "Thank you." she looked at Pinkie Pie. "Both of you."

It was finally time for the great celebration. Music and cheering filled Canterlot as their princess ascended the stairs, along with Spike, towards a magnificent throne located on the main Canterlot square. Twilight looked absolutely stunning in the blue dress Rarity had made for her and when combined with the ethereal mane enchantment some said she could pass as Celestia's daughter.

Twilight finally reached the top of the stair case and sat on the golden throne. With a warm smile, Twilight watched her subjects who were cheering, singing and dancing and felt her heart swell with pride.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Spike, her ever loyal assistant, asked with his arms crossed over his broad chest. Yes, Spikey-wikey got chad and swole.

"Yeah, it is." Twilight nodded. "Sometimes I wish I could be down there with them, you know?" Spike nodded in understanding. "Just to relax, even a little, and remember what it was like before ruling Equestria."

"I hear you." Spike commented. "But look at it this way, if not for you, they wouldn't be so happy." Spike motioned towards the cheering crowd. "You made this possible Twilight. Take pride in that." the lavander alicorn smiled.

"You really are the world's best assistant." Twilight then coughed to clear her throat. Everycreature suddenly got quiet and the music died down as Twilight rose frok her seat. "Equestria and visitors from beyond our borders, I welcome you to Canterlot." cheers erupted from the crowd. "Please, this is not about me. All of this would not be possible without every single one of you. The love and dedication you show every dsy is what drives Equestria to be the great nation that it is." more cheering and clapping shook Canterlot. "I merely point you in the right direction, but at the end of the day, it is you who make Equestria great. So today is as much about you as it is about me. Please, enjoy this celebration to your hearts content. You have earned it!" Twilight then took the glass of wine that was on a tray by her throne and raised it high. "To Equestria!"

"TO EQUESTRIA!"

"And what the hay is that?" as she was holding her glass high, Twilight noticed something flying towards them in the distance. The crowd was bkisfully unaware of their incoming visitor.

"Looks like a..." Spike squinted his eyes. "Dragon? But I've never seen a dragon that looks like that." the dragon appeared to be red and had numerous spikes over his body, especially the tail.

"I agree." Twilight set the glass down. "You think it could be trouble?" it was getting closer, close enough for Twilight to recognize the details of it.

"Don't know but I'm about to find out." Slike stepped forward and shouted at the dragon. "A little late to the party-LOOK OUT!"
Spike dove at Twilight to shield her from a surprise fire ball. The flame burned his scales on impact, something he thought impossible and Spike cried out in agony before collapsing. The crowd erupted in panic as everyone tried to run and hide from the flying beast.

"SPIKE!" Twilight tried to erect a barrier around them but the dragon released an ear-splitting roar that broke her concentration. The dragon flew over them and the wind-pressure threw both Twilight and Spike off the tall platform. With quick thinking, Twilight unfurled her wings and caught Spike before gently landing.

"Twilight! What's happening?" Rarity was there in moments and used healing magic to help Spike with the pain.

"I don't know! And where are the Wonderbolts? Dash said they would keep the skies clear!" Twilight looked up and saw the dragon making a return sweep. "You need to run!" Rarity wasted no time helping Spike up and running away to find cover. Twilight turned to face the incoming beast and stretched out her right arm, her horn glowing with intense light. "Sleep!" a burst of magic shot out from her arm and hit the dragon head on, stopping it mid-flight. But that's all it did. Instead of putting in a coma-like sleep, the dragon looked like it was about to sneeze. "Uh-oh." and it did sneeze out a belch of intense flames towards the stunned alicorn princess.

"Watch out!" an unfamiliar voice yelled out.

"Eeep!" and then tackled her to the side, the two rolling away into safety as the dragon took flight once more. Once the rolling stopped, Twilight found herself on top of her mysterious savior. By the voice, Twilight assumed it was a stallion but that was all she knew. His armor was strange to say the least as the design was unknown to her.

"Hi." the stallion said with amusement. "What a way to crash a party, huh?"

"Right." Twilight scoffed.

"You might wanna' tell your guards to back off." he pointed towards Flash Sentry and his fellow guards attacking the beast with swords, arrows and magic, none of which even grazed the beasts thick hide. "Thoes fliers from earlier stood no chance either-" Twilight's eyes went wide and she grabbed his shoulders firmly.

"The Wonderbolts! Are they alright?"

"They'll be fine. Flynn is taking care of them." Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "Now could you get off? As nice as this is, people are staring." ignoring his strange choice of words, Twilight looked around and sure enough ponies were murmuring and looking at them.

"Of course." Twilight quickly got up, her face a little red, and offered a hand to the mysterious warrior who gladly accepted it. Now as he stood in front of her, Twilight realised he was taller than her by a few inches and quickly deduced that he was not a pony. His legs weren't like a ponies at all.

"Scuse me." he pushed Twilight aside with one hand and walked past.

"Hey! Rude!" she called after him but quickly changed her tone once she saw her guards were being tossed around like rag-dolls. Their spears, swords, arrows and even magic was bouncing off the beast. Twilight was ready to jump in and help but suddenly felt frozen in place. She watched the unknown warrior draw the long sword from the sheath on his back. The sheath didn't look any special at first, just a dark grayish color with the handle of the sword sticking out looking like a scrapped piece of metal. As soon as the warrior touched the sword, Twilight saw the sheath glow in a searing white and red and once the sword was completely drawn it did very much the same. It felt like the sword had the power to destroy the world and Twilight could feel it's power, a power that did not exist in Equestria.

"Hey! Rathalos!" the warrior called as he slowly approached. "Why don't you leave the poor ponies alone and come play with me instead?" the beast roared and charged at him. The warrior did a simple upward swipe before resting it on his hip, ready to strike. Twilight watched as the rathalos got closer and closer, the warrior not moving from his spot. Once rathalos was inches away, the warrior appeared to phase through the beast as it continued towards Twilight.

"HOW COULD YOU MISS THAT?" Twilight yelled at the warrior who remained calm.

"I didn't." as soon as he said it, red slashes appeared over rathalos and every one was followed by an explosion. Rathalos got tossed side to side by each one bofore finally toppling down, it's head landing inches from Twilight. The warrior walked back to the rathalos and readied himself for the final strike.

"No!" Twilight jumped between rathalos and the warrior. "Don't kill it!"

"It's too dangerous to be left alive. I avoid killing monsters as much as I can but as a hunter I-"

"Oy! What in the bloody diablos are ye' doin'?" Twilight looked for the source of the voice and when she looked down she saw a three feet tall gray cat with armor that matched the hunter's. "Get out the way lassie!"

"My name is-" Twilight began matter of factly but the cat didn't care.

"And you!" the cat turned to the hunter. "That was the sloppiest hunt I've ever seen!"

"Here we go." Twilight could practically feel the eye roll beneath the hunter's helmet.

"Ye' let it escape from a trap, go out of the woods, almost eat an entire squad of those flying buggers and crash this, this-" the cat looked around, motioning with his paws to Canterlot. "Fuck, even a namielle ain't that colorful."

"Namielle?" Twilight looked to the hunter.

"Elder dragon, very colorful." he explained quickly.

"Ah." Twilight had no idea what he was talking about.

"And why isn't that thing dead already?" the cat pointed to the rathalos.

"There will be no killing!" Twilight stepped forward.

"That's why." the hunter pointed to the princess. "Guess she's the ruler of this place."

"Lassie." the cat looked at Twilight who did not enjoy being called lassie. "That is a tempered rathalos. Do you know what that means?" Twilight was about to respond but the cat continued. "No, ye' don't. Tempered monsters are the strongest there are and only master rank hunters like Maximi-"

"Gaaah!" the hunter yelled. "I keep telling you Flynn, it's Max!"

"You're Flynn?" Twilight asked the cat.

"Aye. And yer' squad of blissbill are fine." Twilight sighed in relief and was about to ask something but Flynn waved her off and turned to Max. "I don't give a shite what ye' call yerself! I promised your da' to look after ye' and I can't do that if ye' act like a low rank scrub not fit to hunt a jaggi!"

"And I keep telling you, furball, I can take care of myself!"

"Oh excuse me, meowster-" Flynn said sarcastically. "-I didn't know getting yer' arse handed to ye' was part of the plan!" the hunter suddenly took off his helmet, strands of blonde hair falling around his face, a non-pony face as Twilight noted.

"You know what Flynn? I'm getting real tired of your crap!" Max got down to eye level. "I told my dad I can do this alone so I'm ordering you as your-" Max sudenly stopped and growled.

"It's been five years laddie! Little to late to play the pr-"

"ENOUGH!" Twilight's royal voice pierced the bickering duo's eardrums. "I've had enough of your bickering! You two will calm down, make up and tell me what the buck is going on!" the duo looked at each other and quickly concluded it was in their best interest to do as the angry princess said.

"And that is how Max and I first met." Twilight finished telling the story of that fateful day to her students.

"Awww..." the students moaned in unison.

"What?" Twilight tilted her head in confusion.

"That's it?" Snow Storm asked. "We want details! Everypony knows how Prince Max and Sir Flynn crashed your party but we want to know what happened later!" then Luster Dawn picked up the conversation.

"How did you end up together? Was it after Flash Sentry stood you up?" Twilight's eye twitched. "Did you go on dates? When was your first kiss?" slowly others joined in and Twilight was like a fish out of water which made Starlight snicker in the corner.

"W-well... I, I mean we... Umm..." Twilight stuttered, trying to find a way out but more and more questions kept coming.

"Need some help?" all heads turned to the door where Max stood, leaning on the frame and trying to look cool while covered in anjanath mucus. "By the way, the anjanath is asleep and the Wonderbolts are preparing him for transport to Fluttershy's reserve."

"Excellent. Also..." Twilight waved her hand and Max was clean as a whistle.

"Hang on!" Luster Dawn stood up. "You said magic was useless against monsters! Mucus is technically part of the monster!"

"Right you are." Twilight smiled at her observant student. "It's true that most spells are ineffective but there are a few convenient exceptions."

"You can also freeze the ground beneath a monster to make it slip but that's about it." Max joined in and grabbed a stool to sit beside Twilight. "So, what are we learning today?"

"How you and princess Twilight met!" Echo the changeling answered.

"Really? What did she say?"

"She said you crashed into her, saved her life and then argued with Sir Flynn." Echo replied.

"Really? Did she tell you how she geeked out over my notes?" the entire class knew Twilight loved books or any other written form of information.

"Max!" Twilight elbowed him playfully. "I did not geek out."

"No? Did you or did you not squeal so loud a wine glass shattered to pieces when I told you to keep it?" the students chuckled at their teacher's blushing cheeks. "Wanna' hear that one kids?" the class nodded furiously. "Alright! So, right after Twilight yelled at me for the first time, she yelled some more..."

Author's Note

Another phone-written chapter, yaaay!

Also, armor is basically just fashion in this story so don't make a fuss about skills, builds and the likes.

The sword was the Raging Brachy Lightbreak Edge. Added the "power-up" effect for the coolness factor. I mean, raging brachy weapons are basically nuclear powered.

Some chapters will skip between past and present and be divided with double lines.

3 - Of monsters, weapons and food

A day of celebration was turned into a day of chaos when a rathalos crashed the festivities and tried to eat Twilight. Everycreature ran for their lives as the red wyvern belched fire across Canterlot. Many didn't even see the hunter who took down the beast with little effort. Max wanted to end the rathalos' life but Twilight was adamant he not behead the wyvern in the middle of town or at all for that matter. Having no time for the youngsters lollygagging Flynn deployed a shock trap and quickly put the beast to sleep with tranquilizers. Guards quickly surrounded them and pointed their spears at the sleeping rathalos and even on Max and Flynn.

"Captain, put down you spear." Twilight instructed Flash Sentry who raised his spear towards Max who looked at the pointy weapon with an amused look.

"Your Majesty, we don't know if they are cooperating with that beast!" Flash retorted which made Max roll his eyes.

"I said stand down." Twilight repeated herself with more authority, something she couldn't even imagine before becoming the ruler of Equestria.

"Cooperating!?" Flynn finally lost it. The old gray palico jumped at Flash Sentry and kicked the spear out from the captain's hand with little effort and Flash Sentry suddenly found himself face to face with a very angry kitty. "We just saved yer' ungrateful arses and ye' point these toothpicks at us!" Flynn gripped Flash's collar tighter and the pegasus gulped.

"Cool it Flynn." Max pulled the palico from the pegasus captain who quickly picked up the spear. "And you, put that thing away before you hurt yourself."

"Guards, stand down. Final warning." Twilight stepped forward and stood between Flash Sentry and Max who held Flynn away at arms length so the palico doesn't scratch his face off. The captain finally pulled back and lowered his spear.

"Stand down." all guards followed his order but some still jumped in fright when the rathalos snored a little too loud. "Umm, what should we do about this?" Flash pointed at the sleeping rathalos. Before Twilight could answer, Max spoke.

"You need to kill it." Max stated harshly. "You can't keep it asleep forever and you'd have to wake it up to feed it. It's too dangerous to be left alive."

"There has to be another way." Twilight shook her head. "We don't just kill all willy nilly here in Equestria."

"Yeah, I've noticed." Max finally let Flynn down and the palico crossed his arms and huffed. "Look, if it were a younger one you could even train it but this one is too far gone. There is no reasoning with tempered monsters." Max stepped forward and pulled out the hunting knife. "I suggest you close down the area so we can get this over with quickly."

"I will do no such thing!" Twilight stomped her hoof. "There is no way in Tartarus I will allow you to kill a creature in the middle of Canterlot!"

"Look 'ere lassie." Flynn stepped forward and spoke in a surprisingly calm tone. "It's just as Max said. We don' like kilin' any more than you. But sometimes ya' have ta' do what's neccesary."

"We can take it out of town and end it's life there. It will feel no pain." Max reassured calmly.

"That doesn't make it better." Twilight looked sadly at the sleeping creature but she knew the two were right. If they were to release it it would just wreak havoc someplace else. "Are there more of them?"

"So far we've encountered five different species. No tempered ones so we drove them away from towns and villages." Max replied and Twilight looked at him in confusion.

"How come I haven't heard about any attacks?"

"Because we're the best at what we do." Max said casually and lowered his fist so Flynn can bump it with his paw.

"Damn right." Flynn replied and then looked at Flash Sentry. "You! Gather your soldiers and let's get this sunovabitch out of town." Flash Sentry looked at Twilight for approval. "Oy! You answer to me now laddie!" Flynn stepped forward and pinted a sharp claw at Flash Sentry. Twilight almost laughed when Flash Sentry flinched away from the palico.

"I am a captain!" Flash shouted back.

"Do as he says, Captain." Twilight's response made Flash's jaw drop. "As much as I hate to admit it, they are right. We don't know anything about these creatures and if they insist on ending this creature's life is safer for Equestrian then I have no choice but to believe them." Twilight then crouched to be at eye level with Flynn. "Sir Flynn, promise me it will feel no pain."

"No worries lassie." Flynn nodded and then turned to the gathered guards. "What're ye' starin' at? Get yer' arses movin'! We have bloody rathalos to transport!" Twilight chukled at the way the guards suddenly sprung to action and ran around like a bunch of headless chickens. It would seem Flynn had that drill sergeant aura around him.

"I'll get the rope." Max said and was ready to leave when Flynn grabbed his leg.

"Oh no! I'll deal with the beast, you deal with the diplomacy!" Twilight stood up and looked at Max who looked horrified.

"What? No! I don't want diplomacy duty!"

"Like it or not numbskull, you're the only hunter here so that means you have to establish relations between The Guild and Equestria." Flynn pointed a finger at him before smirking. "I'm sure ye' will be fine, after all, you have experience-"

"Alright, alright!" Max goraned and shooed away the old palico who immediately started barking orders at the fumbling guards.

"How long have you two been married?" Twilight asked teasingly.

"About twenty years." Max replied without missing a beat. "He's like a father to me. Or a crazy uncle. Depends on who you ask." the hunter then turned to Twilight who looked at him in amusement. "So uh, you got an office or something? There's a lot to talk about."

"Indeed there is." Twilight nodded and motioned towards the castle. Max nodded and followed Twilight closely. "If you would follow me, please. We will talk in my office once I change into something more appropriate." they barely made a couple of steps when Flynn called.

"Heads up!" Max quickly turned around and caught a thick notebook that Flynn flung at him.

"What's this?" Twilight looked at the book curiously. The brown cover had a symbol engraved into and she could see the notebook was well worn and used.

"My notes. All the information you want to know about any monster is right here." Max wiggled the book in front of Twilight. The nerd inside her suddenly woke up and her right ear twitched.

"Everything?" Twilight asked and tried to not act all excited but the growing smile gave it away. She couldn't help it!

"Everything." Max handed the notebook to Twilight who snatched it away and flipped through the pages. It wasn't in aplhabetical order, the handwriting was messy and it was stained with stars knows what. Not a problem, she will fix that in the Equestrian edition.

"Hey." Twilight turned the open notebook to Max who flinched. "Why does it only say FUCK IT in red letters for Rajang?"

Max stood at the window inside Twilight's office. It was a spacious round room where bookshelves covered the walls completely, leaving only space for an antrance and one large window that had a small balcony outside. In the distance Max could see the Royal Guard and Flynn moving the rathalos towards the forest on a big cart. He just hoped Flynn would get everything useful from the monster before the ponies bury it.

"I apologize for the wait." the sound of doors opening and Twilight's voice made Max turn around. "Getting out of that dress was more difficult than I imagined." and now instead of a dress, Twilight wore a white button-up shirt and a black skirt that reached her knees.

"I didn't know you wear glasses." Max remarked and walked to the big table in the center of the room.

"They're only for reading." Twilight replied and sat down on the bigger chair that had her cutie mark carved into it. Max sat across from her and crossed his arms. "Now, I believe we have much to talk about." Twilight then put his notebook on the table. "I already copied the notebook so I can read it later."

"Magic?" Max asked and took the notebook and flipped through the pages rapidly.

"Yes." Twilight responded and summoned her copy. "Some parts are unclear to me but we can get to that later."

"Sure, sure." Max nodded and held the notebook in his hands. "So, ummm... What do you wanna know?" he asked sheepishly.

"Everything, of course!" Twilight's tone surprised Max. "How did you end up in Equestria? Are there more of you? How many monsters are there? Does this mean interdimensional travel exists? I mean, we have mirrors for that but this feels completely different!"

"Whoaaaa! Slow down!" Max raised his arms at the excited alicorn. "One thing at a time, okay?"

"Oh, my apologies." Twilight blushed slightly. "I just get excited when there's something new to learn."

"I can see that." Max nodded before continuing. "Well, how did we end up here? Uhmm... Tough question." Twilight tilted her head sideways. "I guess it had something to do with portals."

"Duh."

"Just, let me finish, okay?" Max rolled his eyes. "The New world, as we dubbed it, has incredible amounts of bioenergy. There were many cases when someone or something got transported into our world. I haven't heard of that happening anywhere else besides the New world."

"So this New world is special? How?"

"In a way. It's where elder dragons go to die." Max explained shortly.

"Oh! You mean liiiiike..." Twilight opened her copy of the notebook. "Like Lunastra?"

"Yes. Wait, did you already read the entire thing?" Max narrowed his eyes making Twilight blush again.

"Maybe." she could hear Max stiffle a laugh. "I like reading, okay?"

"Apparently." Max chuckled and opened his notebook. "What you saw today was a Rathalos, so-called king of the sky." Twilight quickly opened her own notebook to the rathalos chapter. "A flying wyvern, breathes fire and has a poisonous tail."

"Not to mention sharp teeth." Twilight commented as she remembered the razor sharp fangs that almost got her.

"That too. It's very territorial, like most monster actually, and since this is unclaimed territory it wanted to make it's nest here." Max explained and flipped to the next page. "This is a rathian, the female counterpart." Twilight turned the page and spoke.

"A rathalos and rathian always come in pair." she then looked to Max. "You think one will show up?"

"I know it will." Max nodded and closed the notebook. "We've been trailing one rathian for a couple of days and so far it hasn't got close to here. Wheter or not they're mates we can't tell for sure."

"I see." Twilight hummed in thought. She didn't like the idea of another one of those monsters attacking Canterlot but if the rathalos and rathian were truly mates, then it was unavoidable. She knew animals locate their mates by smell and marked territory and assumed these monsters did it the same way. "Were you and Flynn the only ones transported here from the Hunter's guild?" the first page of the notebook explaind what the guild was and how it operated. To Twilight it appeared it was like a forest ranger group but on a much grander scale.

"As far as we know, yes." Max answered and stood up before walking to a map of Equestria. "I think we landed somewhere around..." he searched for the location and quickly found it. "Here." Max's finger landed on a forest in the vicinity of Baltimare.

"Baltimare? That's a long way from Canterlot." Twilight hummed and then joined Max at the map. "Are you sure about this?"

"We saw a sign." Max nodded and followed the train tracks towards Canterlot. "There was a nargacuga preying in this area so we followed it and eventually met that tempered rathalos." Max then traced his finger back to the forest. "Problem is, our tent is still in the forest. There's some gear and supplies that we will need."

"I will send a message to Baltimare." Twilight said and a parchment and quill appeared beside her and the quill began writing a message. "Do you know how you got here?" Twilight asked and the quill continued to write on it's own.

"Not really." Max sighed and crossed his arms. "We were in the guiding lands following up on reports of a large number of elder dragon sightings." Twilight nodded in response and remembered that the strongest monsters resided there.

"Just the two of you?" she asked bewildered. "Aren't the guiding lands home to the strongest monsters in the world?"

"We are the best hunting team after all." Max said a bit smugly. "And yes, we were alone, but not because we're cocky. Reinforcements were held up by a rampaging banbaro in Seliana."

"I see." Twilight nodded and began pacing around her office. "It says in your notebook that elder dragons are the most powerful monsters in existance."

"Rajang would disagree but sure." Max shrugged.

"And you said many elder dragons suddenly appearead in the guiding lands." Twilight cupped her chin in though. "Is it possible that they fought each other and the energy released by them somehow created a portal to Equestria?" she suddenly stopped and turned to Max bewith a frightened look. "Are there elder dragons here?"

"Not that we know of." Max addmited. "Elder dragons are hard to track and they mostly just pop-out out of nowhere." Twilight crossed her arms under her chest, making Max notice how large her chest really was. To his credit, the hunter looked away instantly.

"I really don't like this." Twilight sighed. "Today was supposed to be a day of celebration, not of fear."

"Don't worry." Max replied, eyes still everted from the princess. "Flynn and I will clean up this mess and be out of your hair in no time."

"Hair?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah." Max finally looked at Twilight and pointed at her mane. "That."

"Oh, you mean mane." Twilight chuckled. "How silly of me. You are from another world, and another species at that. Yes, we call our hair, mane."

"I'll keep that in mind." Max nodded and extended his arm. "I never properly introduced myself. The name's Max, master rank hunter of the Guild." he offered a smile which Twilight returned together with a handshake.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, ruler of Equestria." she said and retracted her hand. "I look forward to working with you and I hope we can resolve this situation as quickly as possible."

"Likewise." Max then looked at her in amusement. "You seem pretty calm about all this. Monster from another world are invading and you're geeking out over a notebook."

"Please, I've dealt with worse catastrophese before I even sat on the throne." Twilight said with a sly smirk. "And I was not geeking out."

"Really?" Max chuckled. "You copied and read it in the time it took you to change clothes!" the hunter teased the princess.

"What can I say, I'm a fast learner." Twilight shrugged before a thought hit her and she decided to tease him a little. "Is your name really Max?" she smirked victoriously as the hunter flinched. "Beacause I could have sworn Flynn was about to call you something different." Twilight then leaned forward and Max had to once again divert his eyes. That button up shirt was a really tight fit. "Well?"

"Nope. Just Max." the hunter replied and hastily stepped away. "Soooo what was that party for? Is it your birthday or something?" Twilight chuckled and shook her head.

"No. It's actually my ten year anniversary of ruling Equestria." she explained as she walked to the window. "Too bad it ended the way it did and ruined my perfect score."

"Perfect score?" Max asked and joined her at the window. Down below in the city, ponies and all other creatures were still recovering from the attack. Medical teams were checking for injuries, of which there were very little and very minor, mostly caused by running in panic and spraining their ankles or getting bruised by falling down.

"I'm sorry, that came out wrong." Twilight rubbed her temples. "Ponies and many creatures were hurt yet here I am complaining about my score like I'm back in school." she shook her head in shame. "It's just that for ten years there hasn't been any catastrophe that would endager my little ponies."

"I think ten years is a pretty good run." Max admitted with a shrug. "Can't say my perfect score lasted more than two days." Twilight turned to him with an amused smile.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. I get my ass kicked by monsters every other day." Max said sheepishly. "Even more so when Flynn forces me to use different weapons on every other hunt." Twilight then looked at the blade Max had leaned on a bookshelf.

"You seemed to handle yourself well today." she then approached the sword and picked it up. It was a little heavier than expected but nothing she couldn't handle. "May I?"

"Sure." Max nodded. "Just be careful. That thing causes blast build-up when you strike a monster and is extremely sharp." Twilight nodded and proceeded with caution. She gripped the handle and slowly pulled out the sword from it's sheath, the blade's edge turning red like hot steel. "Flynn named it Lightbreak Edge. Made it from a raging brachydios."

"Flynn made this?" Twilight asked in surprise and Max nodded.

"He became a blacksmith once his old hunting party disbanded." Max approached Twilight who inspected the sword thoroughly. She could feel a strange energy emanate from it and once again got the feeling it could blow up the world.

"This feels... Dangerous." Twilight said in wonder and Max extended his arm. She understood his intention and handed Max the sword.

"It's only dangerous to monsters." Max almost gave Twilight a heart attack when he slammed the sword on the marble floor. "See? No worries about blowing stuff up on accident. You can cut yourself though." Max then showed Twilight his other palm which indeed had cuts on it, some even fresh ones from today's encounter. "Still can't get that iai stance right."

"May I?" Twilight then took his injured hand and put it between her own palms, making Max notice how soft a pony's fur really was. Then he felt a pleasant warmth wash over his hand. Once the feling was gone, Twilight removed her hands and Max stared at his hand in disbelief. "There. All better now!" Twilight said with a big smile.

"That's incredible." Max inspected his healed hand and found no traces of today's injury.

"Thank you." Twilight replied before tapping on one of the previous scars. "Unfortunately it can't heal wounds that already healed by themselves."

"That's okay." Max smiled briefly. "After all, a knight in shining armor has never seen bat-"

*GROOOOOWL*

"What in the name of the Sun was that?" Twilight jumped back in surprise and looked at Max in disbelief. "Was that-"

"Yep, sorry." Max said sheepishly and rubbed his stomach. "Haven't eaten in a while."

"It sounded like a rathalos!" Twilight covered her mouth to suppress an incoming laugh. Max on the other hand laughed nervously.

"You wouldn't happen to have anything to eat?" he asked sheepishly.

"I'm sure we can fix something up." Twilight then turned around and made her way to the door. "Is there anything specific you would like? I don't know what your species-"

"Human. I'm human." Max's words made Twilight stop and turn around.

"Human?" she thought she heard wrong. "Is that true?"

"Umm, yes?" Max looked at the princess with a confused look. "Why?"

"No, nothing..." Twilight shook her head. "Come on. Let's get you something to eat before my little ponies think another rathalos is coming." the princess said in a teasing voice and motioned Max to follow her.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Max rolled his eyes and followed Twilight into the hallway. It was empty which didn't come as a surprise as almost everypony was outside and helping to clean the mess rathalos made. After going down a spiral stair-case, Twilight opened the first door to her right and they found themselves in a large kitchen.

"Chef would like this." Max nodded to himself as he remebered the buff cat from Astera. Twilight went to the fridge and opened it to see what options they have.

"Okaaaaay..." she tapped her chin in thought. "We've got eggs, milk, some chocolate syrup." she then looked at a nearby shelf. "And flour. I can make you pancakes if you'd like some."

"What?" Max thought he heard wrong. "You're going to make me pancakes?"

"Do you see a chef around?" Twilight asked matter-of-factly and Max shook his head. "And since you're my guest now it is my responsibility to make sure your stay is a pleasant one." she smiled widely and levitated the ingredients with her magic. "Now be prepared for the best pancakes ever!"

Author's Note

Famous last words...

4 - Crafting from nature

Captain Flash Sentry was not having a good day.

The day even began on a good note. His guards were all dresed and ready for the celebration as soon as he entered the barracks, they even teased him about being late. After a uniform inspection it was off to the streets of Canterlot and helping out in preparations for the grand celebration.

Then all Tartarus broke loose. A red monster by the name of rathalos descended from the sky and turned everything upside down. Then this hunter and his crazy cat friend appeared out of nowhere and took down the rathalos with ease. It was a blow to the guard's ego since they could do nothing but poke the beast, their spears as effective as a toothpick, and their magic had no effect on it.

To add insult to injury, Twilight believed their little story about needing to kill it and then put the crazy cat in charge of this little escort mission. No, not an escort mission, an execution. Somehow Flash felt sorry for the rathalos. There must be a way to end this without killing it and he's going to find it. It took about thirty minutes to reach the forest outside Canterlot and for the cart to slowly dig itself deeper into the soft ground.

"Oy! Put some back into it!" Flynn yelld from the sleeping rathalos's back as the guards were pushing the heavy cart it was sleeping on.

"You could help us, you know?" a guardsmare shouted from the back as she strained against the weight like everypony else.

"I'm too old for that shite." Flynn said back and then slid down the back and tail of the rathalos until he was eye to eye with the mare. He stared at her with a nasty look and the mare gulped. "What's yer' name, lassie?"

"Sundancer." the mare replied and Flynn continued to stare for a few moments before he smiled a toothy grin.

"Yer' goin' to help me carve." and with that he ran back up to the Rathalos's back.

"Carve it?" Sundancer recoiled in shock and let go of the cart.

"Hold it!" Flash Sentry called to his guards and the cart stopped. "What do you mean, carve it?" Flynn gracefully jumped down from the rathalos and approached the captain.

"Aye, carve it for materials." Flynn crossed his little arms and glared at the captain. "Be that a problem?"

"I thought we were going to euthanize it-" Flash thought that was the least nauseating way of putting it. "-and then bury it!" all the guards supported their captain and nodded their heads.

"And I thought yer' boss put me in charge of this operation." Flynn growled and pulled out a purple colored ball. "And as long as I'm here-" the rathalos jolted and it's eyes slowly began to open "-I'm in charge! So ye' best back away before the beast wakes up." he tossed the tranquilizer ball into the air before catching it.

"How can you just carve it?" Sundancer joined in on the conversation. Flynn turned around and raised one finger.

"Respect for nature. Don't kill unless absolutely necessary." Flynn raised a second finger. "Life as a community. Co-exist with nature." followed by a third. "Prosperity from nature. Without nature, we are fucked." and finally a fourth. "Crafting from nature. Means' not to just kill and let it rot." Flynn then turned back to Flash. "I'm sure some scholar would explain it better but that's my way of puttin' it." the rathalos squirmed more on top of the cart. "This is neccesary. Like it or not, I don't give a fuck if you-MREEEEOW!!!" Flynn didn't get to finish as somepony snatched him up in a bag. Flynn yelled curse after curse and tried to claw his way out as he thrashed around in the bag.

"Are you sure about this, captain?" a unicorn guard asked and Flash Sentry nodded.

"There's some foul magic at work here." Flash answered and walked to the rathalos's head. "There's no way Twilight would just accept killing it as an option." his hand hovered above the head, fingers trembling. "We'll find another way." finally, his hand steadied and rested on the monster's head. As soon as that happened, it's eyes shot wide open and looked at Flash. "Stay calm. We're not going to-" now, as Flash Sentry would re-tell this story on numerous occasions, he would swear by Celestia's Sun and Luna's Moon that the beast grinned, as if it was waiting for this.

ROAAAAAR!!!

The tail thrashed violently and one of the spikes caught a guard in the stomach, leaving some sort of purple ooze on the wound. Flash recoiled immediately and luckily so as rathalos almost bit his head off. Sundancer just turned her back to run away but a wing talon slashed her across the back, the claw going through her armor like paper. Pain shot through her entire body as she collapesd to the ground. One guard had the bad luck of being struck by the rathalo's foot and sent flying into a tree, the pegasus's wings breaking in multiple places upon impact.

The stallion holding Flynn's bag dropped it and ran for his life, giving Flynn a chance to crawl out. Not wasting any time, Flynn sprinted on all fours and retrieved his katana that he co carelessly left on the back of the cart. Once he had his weapon back, Flynn jumped up on the tail and in one swift moce cut it cleanly off. The rathalos roared in pain and almost collapsed to the ground. Turning it's head back he saw the palico out of the bag and staring at him with a gaze of steel. Even though the hunter was not around, rathalos knew this palico was not to be trifeld with. Taking a step back, the beast roared once more before taking off into the sky.

Flash's ears were ringing from the constant roaring. He was panting, heart going a thousand miles a second as he watched his guards, his friends, scatter around like ragdolls. Flash looked to Flynn, the cat looking at the captain with a mix of rage and disappointment. Plunging his katana into the ground, Flynn dashed towards the pony who was poisoned.

"Move." he shoved the two ponies apart who were trying to help their poisoned friend but were too shell-shocked to do anything. The poisoned stallion was shivering as the poison spread through his body and foaming at the mouth. Flynn stuck his paw into a small pouch and pulled out a vial of purple liquid. Lifting the stallion's head from underneath, he poured the contents into his mouth and the effect was instantenious. The shivering stopped immediately and no more foam was collecting at the stallion's mouth. "Clean the wound." Flynn instructed the two ponies who immediately got to work with their field med-kit. Flash slowly stood up and observed his beaten and broken company.

"This... This is my fault." the captain stood there horrifed. Looking at Flynn, he saw the grumpy old cat was running from guard to guard and checking for injuries, givng them some green liquid which seemed to lift their spirits. Then Flynn's eyes fell on Flash and the cat stomped across the field towards the captain. Flash gulped and knelt down to at least be at eye level with him. "I-I-I'm sorry. I thought-" before he could finish, Flynn slashed him across the face, leaving three long claw marks. Flash recoiled and fell on his rump, hands clutching his wounded face. Flynn just glared at him, the message was clear.

Captain Flash Sentry was really not having a good day.

Flash dragged his hooves on the marble floor of the castle towards the kitchen where the staff informed him Twilight was at the moment. They say hindsight is 20-20 and this couldn't be more true in this case. He should have listened to the crazy old cat. It was a miracle nopony died, thanks in no small part to Flynn carrying antidote for the rathalos's poison.To be fair, they weren't trained for this, but that still didn't exuse them for what they did. Flash disobeyed a direct order from his princess. Worst of all, he disobeyed an order from his marefriend. Guess who's sleeping on the couch tonight...

Speaking of his princess, slash marefriend, Flash's ear twitched upon hearing her laugh. He reached the kitchen doors and opened it to step inside.

"Princess Twilight, there is something I-" he stopped in his tracks when he saw the scene in front of him. The entire kitchen was a mess, flour and milk scattered everywhere. His eyes then fell on Twilight who was laughing so hard she had tears on her cheeks. The lavander alicorn was covered head to hoof in flour as well as the hunter Max.

"And so there I am, covered in barioth muscus-" he took another bite of his syrup covered pancakes. "-and Flynn says That's quite a load." Flash's emotions did a one-eighty upon seeing them. There he was, risking his life to clean up somepony's mess, and the two of them were having the time of their life.

"Oh my gosh!" Twilight laughed at the image of Max being covered with mucus, which was totally something else, and for some reason she also saw the barioth blow a kiss towards Max. "It think it liked you!" both Twilight and Max laughed.

"Ahem." Flash announced his presence and both Twilight and Max looked at him. Upon seeing the claw marks, Max knew Flash fucked up bad.

"Flash!" Twilight gasped in shock and ran to her coltfriend. "What happened?" she took his head with her hands and inspected his wounds.

"Nothing. Can I talk to you?" Flash sent a glare towards Max. "Privately."

"Nothing my flank! You're hurt!" Twilight took him by the hand. "C'mon! We'll get that treated right away-"

"What did you do?" Max glared back accusingly and walked up to the captain. The two stared at each other as Twilight frowned at Max.

"Why do you assume he did anything?" Twilight asked defensively.

"Because that-" Max pointed to Flash clawed face. "-is Flynn's doing. Must've been one hell of a fuck up you made." the hunter took a step closer. "Well?"

"Flash?" Twilight looked at the stallion who looked away in shame. "What happened?"

"It got away." Flash addmited and Twilight took a step back.

"Where's Flynn?" Max asked and retrieved his sword that was propped up on a counter. Before Flash could answer, Max walked past him and made sure to bump him with his shoulder. "Never mind. I know where he'll be." and the hunter walked out, leaving the two ponies alone. Neither spoke for a while and the atmosphere grew heavy. He is soooo sleeping on the couch...

"Captain!" Twilight raised her voice and Flash finally looked at her. Twilight was standing there with crossed arms and a slight frown. "What happened?" Flash sighed and prepared to face his maker.

"It got away. The rathalos."

"How?" Twilight's tone clearly showed how angry she was.

"It was wrong!" Flash's outburst caused Twilight to flinch. "That crazy cat wanted us to carve it for materials! Materials Twi! It's a living and breathing creature!"

"Crafting from nature." Twilight replied. "Take what you need and pay your respects to nature."

"How do you know that?" Flash's eyes narrowed.

"Max told me." Twilight put her hands on her hips.

"Oh he did?" Flash laughed. "Well, why the two of you were getting all chummy with eachother while I almost died!"

"We weren't getting chummy!" Twilight shot back in anger. "He said he was hungry and-"

"So you decided to make him pancakes!" Flash threw his arms up in annoyance. "You! Was there nopony else around?" Twilight frowned and stepped forward.

"By the stars! Are you jealous?" Twilight poked his chest and Flash stepped back.

"I am not jealous!" he defended. "All I'm saying is, the two of them should have taken the rathalos to the forest! This is not our problem!"

"Monsters are roaming Equestria and you say it's not our problem?" Twilight fired back in anger.

"They brought them here!" Flash retorted. "And then they put some kind of spell on you!" he poked her shoulder, eyes filled with anger. "Why else would you trust them so easily?"

"Excuse me?" Twilight thought she heard wrong. "Put a spell on me? Flash! They are the only ones who have dealt with monsters before and they're the only ones who can help us defend against them!"

"Maybe they're trying to conquer Equestria and-"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?" Twilight roared at her coltfriend who took a step back in shock. "DO YOU NOT SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING OUT THERE?"

"I KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT THERE! GOT THE SCARS TO PROVE IT!" Flash shouted back and pointed to his face.

"THEN STOP SCREAMING AND START LISTENING!" Twilight poked his chest hard and Flash could tell there will be bruising. Damn alicorn strength. "Max and Flynn are the good guys! They're here to help us and I will not have your little jealousy outbursts put our cooperation at risk!"

"I am not jealous!" Flash defended but Twilight wouldn't hear it.

"Go to the medical wing and get that scar looked at." Twilight then turned her back on him. "We'll talk later. Captain." the coldness in her tone with the last word made Flash growl in frustration and he stomped out without a word. Twilight slammed the door shut with her magic and sighed deeply. "Can this day get any worse?" she looked around the pigsty of a kitchen and groaned. "Chef's gonna' kill me."

Max ran through the castle and asked for directions to the highest point of Canterlot castle.

"That's... a lot... of staris..." he panted heavily. "Dammit Flash..." Max knew the ponies would be distrustful of them so they made sure to not make contact unless absolutely necessary. Clear out the monsters, find out the cause of the transfer and go home. Things just got more complicated.

Sfter about another five minutes of running, Max finally saw the end of his journey. He reached the highest point of the tower, a place where some of the castle chimney's were coming out and the platform used for cleaning them. Stepping outside, Max saw Flynn sitting on the railing and smoking a pipe, the old grump mumbling to himself. Max approached and leaned on the railing, his back facing the city below.

"Your claws need trimming." Max's jab was met with a short smirk. "Let me guess, they wanted to free him?"

"They succeded." Flynn replied with a low growl. "Fuckers almost died." he took a deep inhale from his pipe.

"Great." Max rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Now there's an angry tempered rathalos out there."

"Aye." Flynn said as he exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. "Get yer' gear ready. We have 'ta-" Flynn stopped mid-sentence when he saw Max covered head to toe with flour. "Why are ye' covered in barioth sperm? Again?" Max rolled his eyes.

"You'll never let me gonna' live that one down, are you?" Flynn grinned and shook his head. "Princess Twilight was making me pancakes since I was hungry."

"Really?" Flynn turned sideways on the railing and took another puff from his wooden pipe. "They any good?"

"Sneaked out a few." Max reached into a pouch and gave Flynn the neatly wrapped pancakes. "The kitchen's a mess though." Flynn snatched the package and sniffed curiously.

"Smells good." then he put them into a pouch of his own.

"Is everyone okay?" Max asked and Flynn nodded.

"Aye. One got poisoned but he'll be fine." Flynn then tapped his pipe on the railing and the cinders fell out. "Let's go. I wanna' hunt this thing before sundown." he stashed the pipe behind his back and jumped off the railing.

"Doesn't the hunter call the shots?" Max asked with a smirk which earned him a punch to the calf from Flynn.

"Ye' calling the shots was what got ye' covered in barioth gunk."

Twilight was back at her office. She was standing at the same window where she and Max were earlier. Ponies were still cleaning up the mess caused by the chaos the rathalos brought. She also spotted Max and Flynn in full gear heading towrds the city gates. They informed her they are going to hunt that rathalos and should be back by morning. The beast was angry and wounded which was not a good combination. Twilight hoped for their safe return and made sure that a room was prepared for them to rest.

Turning away from the window, Twilight made her way towards her large office desk and sat down. Taking a fresh scroll, Twiligh dipped her favorite quill into the ink and began writing.

"Dear Celestia." it still felt weird not adding the princess before Celestia's name. "How is your vacation? I hope you and Luna are having a wonderful time!" Twilight smiled and looked at the picture the sisters sent her. Both were on the beach and drinking cocktails and you could also spot some stallions staring at them in the background. "I know it's been some time since I wrote you but something big happened..." and so Twilight continued writing her letter, explaining the events that occured today, who their visitors were and what they were up against. "Your ever faithful student and friend, Twilight Sparkle." she put the final dot on the letter and smiled proudly. "There! Pretty short letter, but I'll give them the details once they arrive in Canterlot!"

The letter was 18 pages, front and back...

Author's Note

Soooooo, drama much?

I also noticed some of you said you don't know anything about Monster Hunter but that's okay. I'll try to answer your questions and if that's not enough, there's always wiki and youtube. :twilightsmile:

See ya'! :pinkiehappy: