Above the skies of Equestria was a Cessna 208 transporting a few people from the Equestria-Las Pegasus International Airport to a landing strip near Canterlot. The newly discovered island was opened for outsiders in 2013, newly discovered meaning that it was hidden from the public eye by the United Nations for decades and was covered up as "newly discovered" when it was deemed safe for people to visit. The country itself was run entirely by talking ponies, as crazy as that would sound to the average human being but the country had a much higher GDP than any other country in the world and had no debt since it was a self-sustaining country.
Jake Freeman, an active US Marines helicopter pilot along with his brother and a few friends were on board the airplane were anxious to see what adventures this newly found land would bring. Their brochures mentioned many things that any other tropical destination would offer; jet skis, boats, para-sailing, zip-lining; but also traditional events within the country such as the raising of the sun, raising of the moon, and even the Grand Galloping Gala which was a huge event in Canterlot which was open for all human visitors to attend. Shortly after the aircraft leveled off at the cruising altitude the engine shut down and began descending quickly. The pilots issued a mayday call over the radio and briefed their passengers on standard emergency landing procedures. Roughly five minutes after the engine failed the plane made an emergency landing in the Ghastly Gorge ravine which turned into a devastating crash.
"Jake," Jake heard someone call "Jake!"
Jake's eyes slowly opened to meet his friend Kayla standing above him. Around him was a few hundred pounds of twisted metal and a trail of fire leading from the plane's point of impact all the way up to the wreckage which was planted firmly into the side of the ravine. Kayla and Jake's brother, Vincent, helped him sit up straight and eventually stand on his feet. A few bodies were lying on the ground while the survivors of the crash tried to orient themselves.
"Is everyone alright?" Vincent asked, recalling his US Marines experience as a recon sniper to help.
One by one their friends began to sound off except for their friends Nick and Ken, Nick being US Army rifleman Vincent knew from high school and Ken who went to college with Jake but dropped out after his first semester. Vincent's girlfriend Jessica spotted the two near the wreckage of the plane only to find that Nick was killed in the crash and Ken was desperately trying to save him by performing CPR.
"Kenny, Kenny," Vincent yelled as he pulled the panicked kid off their deceased friend "He's gone Kenny, there's nothing we can do."
Kenny's eyes were filled with tears and then he collapsed onto the ground. Vincent crouched next to him to try and comfort him while the rest of their group tried to figure out what they were going to do to get out of their current situation.
"All aircraft carry equipment that sends a signal after a crash. By now there's already a rescue party coming for us." Jake said.
"We're not in America Jake, not every country has that kind of stuff." Kayla snapped.
"Even the broke tribesman in Nigeria had it on their poor excuses for airplanes," Jake said "I'm pretty certain that this plane has one, being that it was built in America."
A few snaps sounded in the distance which sounded to Jake and Vincent like gunshots. The survivors remained still until they saw two jeeps appear at the top of the ravine. Inside of the jeeps were creatures that no one recognized; jet black, four legged insect looking creatures which were all looking down at them with solid blue eyes. None of them called out nor did they seem like they were going to help them at all. Vincent walked closer to the side of the ravine towards one of the trucks which prompted one of the creatures to speak.
"Nobody move!"
Jake stood up and waited cautiously for Vincent to make his move. Jake had survived a helicopter crash like this in Afghanistan when he was shot down by a Taliban anti-aircraft artillery gun during a special operations mission. Upon being shot down a group of Taliban forces surrounded the crash site in similar fashion to the creatures and opened fire soon after one of the soldiers being transported tried to make contact with them. The attack ended after an escort helicopter wiped out the Taliban forces but no helicopters would come to their rescue today; they were on their own. Vincent, being unarmed, probably wasn't going to make a move until the creatures moved into the ravine and attempted to capture him; if they intended on capturing them anyway.
"Stay calm." Vincent said to the survivors sitting next to him.
Two machine gun turrets mounted on the trucks opened fire on the ravine narrowly avoiding Vincent's exposed body. Jake took the survivors by him behind a rock for cover and waited out the gunfire. At some point the creatures were going to have to come down into the ravine if they wanted to kill anyone that was there, and as per his prediction, the two trucks drove further down the road to a small access road leading down into the ravine while still firing on the survivors.
