Luna had lead Twilight through the forest on their way back to Hollow Shades, the hometown of Luna that was virtually cut off from the rest of the world. All the while, the lavender Unicorn couldn't contain her excitement for being with a princess, even a former one. Naturally, she had many, many, many questions for the blue mare, who revealed herself to be an Alicorn when she took off some of her armour to stretch a bit.

"I still can't believe you're a princess!" Twilight excitedly exclaimed as she hopped gleefully around a focused Luna "I have so much to ask you! Are you really Celestia's sister? Why do you live in the woods? Does the Zinogre attack regularly? What is that weapon you always carry around with you? I've never seen anything like it! Oh, where did you-"

"ENOUGH!!" Luna suddenly stopped and shouted in a royal but extremely loud voice, shrinking Twilight down into a low and slow crouch "WHY DOTH THOU PERSIST IN ASKING SO MANY QUESTIONS?!"

"Well, because I want to try and get to know you a lot better..." the lavender Unicorn spoke a little quieter after Luna's outburst "It's not every day you get to converse with the sister of Princess Celestia."

"I... You..." was all Luna could say before she sighed and continued walking toward their destination "You speak too much. However, I will answer any and all questions you may have for me when we get to Hollow Shades."

"O-Okay..." Twilight got up from her previous positioned and began to follow the long-lost sister of her mentor once again, albeit slightly more terrified of her "But can you at least tell me about the Zinogre?"

"...I suppose after being attack by it, you have the right to know" Luna gave a long sigh as she continued to walk and explain the story "Long ago, when Hollow Shades was still being built and when I had recently moved there, for reasons I'd rather not talk about, the village was attacked by a fanged wyvern that existed atop the mountain overlooking the forest. I had managed to drive it off, but for some reason, it comes back every year to try and destroy the village. Every time however, I was able to protect Hollow Shades from it's destructive power."

"What do you think is causing it to attack you?" the lavender Unicorn who trotted alongside the veteran hunter asked.

"I honestly have no idea" Luna sighed once more "Zinogres are only hostile when they're provoked or when something dangerous enters their territory. There is no way a Zinogre would make territory all the way down here in the forest! But, I noticed something else about this Zinogre in particular that we've been fending off..."

The last sentence the blue Alicorn had said had perked Twilight's interest to great heights. Curious about what her to-be-mentor was about to say, she listened in closely.

"The beast in question seems to take a liking for the forest area, which is why it's spotted here so many times by travelers and hunters" Luna continued "However, I've also noted that it's eyes are a different colour than most other Zinogres. There is the possibility it could be natural genetics, but whenever I look at the beast, it always looks like it's being inflicted by something sinister. Almost like it's a puppet..."

"Fascinating" was all Twilight could say after the blue Alicorn's speech and theory "For there to be a 'Rogue Zinogre' out there gives me the perfect time to study it and learn how it acts!"

"Nice try, young one," Luna shook her head "but I'm afraid you won't be able to get close to that thing even if I let you."

"Why's that?" I asked in a curious tone.

"The beast is by far the most powerful creature in both the forest AND Foal Mountain combined" Luna explained to her to-be-pupil "It's also extremely territorial and aggressive, so it will know when you've entered it's territory."

"But you can teach me, right?" Twilight asked "You can teach me how to defeat it and save Hollow Shades, right?"

"I will teach you all that I know" the blue maned mare answered "But I cannot promise that you will know everything by the the time we're done with you're training. Sometimes you have to learn it by yourself."

"Duly noted" the lavender librarian nodded before noticing a few flickering lights off in the distance of the forest "Hey, that must be Hollow Shades! We're nearly there!"

XXXXXX

When we reached the village itself, Twilight noted that it was very beautiful... in it's own way. The houses were made out of dead and sometimes even rotting tree trunks, and the villager's choices of clothing were nothing to gawk over, but these flaws were hidden quite well with the shining light of the fireflies from ponies' homes and around the village itself, the flowers that decorated the porches and walkways, and the cheerful and friendly disposition of the townsfolk themselves.

"This place looks so pretty" Twilight spoke up after marveling at the beauty of the village "You picked a nice place to protect."

"Thank you" Luna smiled at her pupil's comment "That was one of the reasons why I had decided to live here, as a matter of fact. The townsfolk are also very nice to everypony they come across, always singing songs around a campfire and just being generally likeable ponies."

"So, where's your home?" the lavender mare asked.

"Right here" the blue Alicorn stopped right in front of a rather pretty-looking and slightly larger-than-average-in-the-village house. It had only one floor, but the wood was well polished and clean, and it showed little signs of decaying anytime soon. Luna had let her guest in and brought her to the living room before going off to make some tea. In the living room, Twilight saw countless scales of different monsters Luna had either killed or drove away, from which belonged to such monsters as a Rathalos, a Lagiacrus, a Plesioth and, of course, a Zinogre. She also had pictures of her and Celestia as young fillies, which surprised Twilight for some reason. Luna must've still loved her sister, so then why did she choose to live here?

"The tea is ready" Luna smiled as she brought it in form the kitchen and into the living room with her magic, placing it on the round table in the centre of the room and taking a cup with her to sip from it right before she sat down on one of the four couches circling the table "So, let us begin at the beginning again. Hello, my name is Luna. What is your name?"

"Twilight" the lavender mare said "Twilight Sparkle. I come here seeking training to become a Monster Hunter."

"So you wish to be a Monster Hunter?" Luna asked her guest.

"No, actually" Twilight answered honestly, surprising the blue Alicorn "Since I'm the only uninjured survivor of the attack on Ponyville, and since I'm the only uninjured pony to come face-to-face with the Gore Magala, Princess Celestia had entrusted me with finding and defeating the monster to stop it's rampaging from hitting other cities. I honestly have literally no knowledge of hunting monsters."

"I see..." Luna said as she put her tea back down onto the tray "In that case, I suppose we'd best get started, shouldn't we?"

"Well, the sooner the better, my mother always told me!" Twilight grinned.

"Very well..." Luna got up from her seat on the couch and jerked her head to tell her lavender guest to follow her. She took Twilight into the large and circular back room where there lay many different types of weapons, some of which the purple maned Unicorn had never even seen before. The centre of the room was a large fighting stand where Twilight could only imagine that was where she would be trying these weapons out.

"This is my armament room" the lunar princess explained to Twilight "Here I have all the beginning weapons of every class just in case the townsfolk needed any to hunt down small monsters for food. They have all been fully sharpened, so don't worry if one feels sharper than another. Now, let's discover which one most suits your style..."

XXXXXX

The lavender Unicorn held huge iron sword with her magic. The sword was a long triangle shape upwards with a small hilt at the bottom in case an Earth Pony or Pegasus wanted to use it.

"This is a great sword" Luna explained "It is a powerful weapon with excellent range and power. But be warned, as it is-"

Before Luna could finish her sentence, Twilight felt her legs begin to wobble. Finally, she couldn't hold the sword up any longer and she fell down, crashing the sword into the floor leaving an ugly crack.

"...extremely heavy..." the blue mare finished, looking down at Twilight and shaking her head, to which the lavender Unicorn smiled sheepishly.

XXXXXX

Twilight was now magically holding a rather funny-looking weapon shaped weapon with a long pole, a brown bag at the end of it and four protruding pipes all connected by a red and yellow rope

"This is the hunting horn" the Princess of the Night explained "With it, you can play music to give you and your friends a few buffs to help the entire team kill a monster faster. All you have to do is swing it around a bit and notes will automatically be stored into the horn, allowing you to play them afterwards."

The lavender Unicorn nodded before she went around and began swinging the hunting horn wildly. She appeared to get the hang of it until she accidentally swung it too hard and sent it flying towards Luna, who thankfully was able to dodge it in time. The horn then hit the wall and played this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJxCdh1Ps48

"Um... Perhaps we should try a different weapon instead..." Luna said as she tried her best not to laugh at what Twilight had unintentionally played on the hunting horn.

XXXXXX

The purple maned Unicorn was now holding with her magic a very long, katana-like weapon. It wasn't too heavy or light, and she felt as if she could actually wield it for once.

"This is the longsword" Twilight's mentor explained "It is a long-range sword capable of hitting even the farthest of enemies in battle. If you want a weapon that hits like a a sword but you don't wish to get too close to a monster, then this is the weapon for you. Please, try it out!"

With a nod, Twilight began waving the surprisingly easy-to-use sword around without too much trouble. She then began to laugh with glee on how simply and fun it was to swing around. But then she tried to perform a spinning attack. She spun around with her sword like a spinning top and accidentally sliced off a tuff of Luna's mane from her left side. Realizing this, Twilight stopped immediately.

"Next weapon..." Luna spoke flatly.

"But I-"

"Next weapon..." Luna repeated, interrupting her pupil.

XXXXXX

A long day had passed of Twilight trying out different weapons, all to which Luna didn't approve of or the lavender Unicorn has screwed up somehow. As of now, the two were sitting on the edge of the platform, sighing at their zero progress this day.

"We've tried literally every, single weapon in this entire room..." sighed Twilight "Heck, we even tried that new one you used to defeat the Zinogre! At this rate, I may never find a weapon I like..."

"Well, there is still one left..." Luna spoke, getting her pupil's attention and curiosity.

"You mean there was another one this whole time?!" the lavender mare's voice rose.

"CALM THYSELF, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!" the blue Alicorn shouted before resorting back to her normal again "I had placed it away for it was a weapon of my own creation I had made not a week ago, therefore I did not want for you to use it."

"Oh..." Twilight understood her reasoning "Well, can I use it now?"

"Well..." the Alicorn hunter veteran sighed "...very well. I suppose it IS the only other weapon available..."

"Yay!" Twilight squee'd with glee "This will be so much fun!"

XXXXXX

In Twilight's magical grasp was a long, beige staff of sorts with a blade on one end and a counterweight on the other. However, the thing that was grabbing Twilight's attention the most was the large violet bug floating around her head. It continued to do so before latching itself onto Twilight's back, earning a wince of pain from her.

"YEAA!" she cried out from the sudden latching onto her skin "Is it supposed to do that?"

"Normally you're supposed to wear armour when controlling the insect, so yes. Yes it is" Luna affirmed Twilight's speculations "Now, what you're holding is known as an insect glaive. As you are aware, it is a weapon of my own creation that I had formed not last week. Fear not, I have already tested it. Now, to use such a weapon, you must-"

"Luna! Luna!" shouted a light green male villager who had entered Luna's home and the room Twilight and the owner of the house were currently in, in order to try and get her attention "A horde of monsters have returned to out village! They're stealing all of our well-earned food!"

"Are you serious?" Luna asked with concern before turning her attention to Twilight "Congratulations, Twilight; looks like today you will be receiving a live lesson on how to use the insect glaive."

"I have to go and fight my first monster now?!" Twilight was shocked by this sudden news to her "But, I'm not even fully prepared to do anything!"

"Fear not, Twilight" Luna smiled "This monster in particular is perfect for beginners like yourself to begin in the art of monster hunting. Think of it as a final exam as your first lesson."

"I... um... okay then" nodded Twilight "In that case, let's fight this thing."

XXXXXX

Luna and Twilight had run outside to where the commotion was. That's when they saw exactly what was attacking the villagers; a horde of small, raptor-like creatures called Jaggies. They were doing everything from attacking villagers to raiding homes and stealing food. In the centre of the commotion was a much, much larger Jaggi known as a Great Jaggi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXj_LCChlbE

The great Jaggi looked like any other Jaggi, only it was gigantic compared to the other ones. It had a raptor-shaped body (tail, head, teeth, etc.) that was light purple with red highlights. It had two arms and two legs with middle claw on each limb being larger than the others, and a fin starting from the middle of it's back all the way to the end of it's tail. It's most defining feature however was it's two fins on either side of it's head which were also light purple with red highlights. Before it could continue attacking someone it had marked as it's prey, it turned it's head toward the two mares that recently stepped out of their homes. It roared at them before tilting it's head up into the air and calling for more Jaggies to help it.

"My god..." Twilight spoke "It's calling for help..."

"Then we'll just have to take care of them" Luna said "Or rather, you should take care of them."

"WHAT?!" the lavender Unicorn shouted in shock.

"No time to talk here, I'll guide you through it!" Luna pushed her pupil into the battle with her insect glaive in Twilight's magical grasp "Good luck!"

Terrified, Twilight approached the Great Jaggi and started to swing wildly at the beast, not exactly hitting. A faint chuckle could be heard from the dinosaur's vocal cords before it spun around and whacked Twilight in the face with it's tail, sending her flying back.

"Twilight, stay focused!" Luna took out her weapon, which she called a charge blade, out and began fighting off some of the smaller Jaggies to help Twilight without directly aiding her, while at the same time protecting the village "If you swing wildly at a creature, you're less likely to get a direct hit on it!"

"O-Okay..." Twilight, who was still slightly dazed from the tail whip, spoke as she shook her head around to rid herself of fatigue "I'll try!"

The Great Jaggi roared at the lavender mare when it realized she was back in the game. It charged right at her with a bloodthirsty look in it's eyes. However, this time the purple maned Unicorn ran at her opponent as well, and staying as focused as possible, she slashed her glaive sideways across the beast's hide, causing blood to spatter and the creature to go tumbling down.

"I got it!" Twilight gasped in happiness "I did it, Luna!"

"It's not finished yet!" Luna shouted back "Never let your guard down until the hunt is done!"

"Understood!" the lavender in-training nodded before turning her attention back to the now slightly injured Great Jaggi that was now getting back up and roaring at Twilight. It once again tried to call for help, but Twilight was slightly smarter now. She was able to run up to the creature and attack it before completing it's call. The Great Jaggi tumbled once more, but quickly regained it's posture before facing Twilight again. It charged once more at the Unicorn and naturally, she swung her glaive at it's head, making a direct hit and cutting off it's left head fin. The dinosaur roared in pain from it's recent removal of one of it's body parts.

"I broke off a piece of it's body!" Twilight said to herself "I must be getting be- No, can't think like that now. Luna told me to stay focused, so that's what I'll do."

"Twilight, there's something you should know about the glaive!" Luna suddenly shouted as she drove away multitudes of Jaggies from the village "The insect on your back can be used to attack your opponent and collect buffs!"

"How do I do that?" the curious mare shouted back.

"There's a button on the handle part of the glaive that allows you to control the insect and send it out to fight" explained Luna "Press it and order the bug to attack the Great Jaggi!"

Twilight nodded and did as she was told. She pressed the button and the large violet bug detached itself from Twilight's back, making her wince in pain and revealing six small, bleeding holes in which the insect had attached itself to. She then commanded to the bug to attack the dinosaur-like beast, to which it quickly did, latched itself onto the creature's head, bit it and brought back something to Twilight, latching itself back into her body. But instead of a feeling of pain when it came back onto Twilight's back, she felt power coursing through her.

"I feel so much more powerful!" Twilight informed her new mentor.

"That's good!" Luna shouted back after she had taken care of most of the Jaggies attacking the village "Now use that power to finish off the Great Jaggi before it wears off!"

Twilight nodded with a smile before once again engaging the beast by charging towards it. The Great Jaggi also did the same thing with a fearsome roar. The two got closer and closer together before they finally met. Twilight stabbed her glaive as far into the creature's chest as possible, blood leaking out quickly from the wound. The Great Jaggi roared one final time before slumping onto Twilight's glaive dead. The rest of the Jaggies, seeing their leader dead, ran away back into the woods.

(Music stop)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv8-Pz0p_K8

"I did it..." Twilight breathed heavily with a smile on her face, removing the glaive from the carcase of the dead animal "I can't believe... I killed... my first monster..."

The townsfolk cheered her on as they danced around her, singing a song of praise and taking what they could from the beast (scales, teeth, etc.). Luna came up to her and patted the lavender mare on the back, earning a wince of slight pain from the Unicorn.

"Oh, my apologies" lightly chuckled Luna "But congratulations! You've defeated your first monster. Do you feel different at all?"

"I feel... great, thanks..." Twilight smiled "But I think... I just found... my favourite weapon..."

"In that case, I do believe it's time for us to learn a bit more about hunting monsters" the blue Alicorn said "When you're ready, and when the townsfolk have finished praising you, drop my my place and we'll learn everything I know there is to monster hunting."

"Right..." Twilight said before the villagers took her and began bouncing her up and down in joy. This brought another smile to Luna's face.

"Maybe she's not so hopeless after all..." she thought to herself.

Author's Notes:

Special awesome thanks to "tealspeckles" for making me choose Twilight's weapon to be an insect glaive instead of a sword and shield. As a reward, an OC of yours will be featured in this story. Whether it be soon or later, for a while or for a brief cameo, he or she will show up somewhere. You also get your choice of what main monster Twilight gets to fight after the Zinogre. Only two rules are nothing from Frontier and no Elder Dragons.

Thank you all so much for supporting me thus far! You still have a chance to suggest a monster for Twilight to fight later in the story, so be sure to do that by leaving a comment down below.

Oh, and tell me if you spotted the Jurassic Park reference somewhere in the story!

Be sure to Like, Comment, Favourite and Follow me, and until then, happy hunting!