The Ultimate Lifeform In Equestria

Shadow had been walking for several minutes before reaching the entrance to the Everfree forest. Nearby was a cottage, he could see several animals there asleep, deciding not to bother with it he continued onward. Once in the forest he could literally feel the change in the air from breathing it. It seemed less pleasant that was for sure, but if it held his way home then he wasn't going to let that stop him. Ducking beneath the overgrowth and stepping over undergrowth he trudged onward, going deeper into the forest. It began to get very dark as he continued, the canopy doing a good job of blocking the moonlight above.

He reached behind him, as if a secret compartment was there and was soon holding a green gem that glowed with a brilliant shine. Focusing on it he could see its light grow to help him see where he was going in the dark forest. Unbeknownst to him, several sets of eyes caught that light and began to gather to it, seeing what looked like a potential meal to be the source of the light.

After a few minutes of walking Shadow became aware that he was being followed by something, or a group of something to be exact. His ears twitching as he heard the sounds of what sounded like a whole pack circling him. Oddly enough he could also hear wood as if it was clacking against other pieces of wood. Growling was heard as the creatures came out, having him completely surrounded. Shadow noticed they were like wolves, if they were made by a puppeteer. They were comprised of logs, twigs, and sticks. Glowing yellow eyes constantly watching him as they just observed him, poised to strike.

"Oh please..." He thought before tossing the emerald high into the air. One timber wolf leapt for him only to meet a powerful roundhouse to its jaw, sending it to the ground with a thud. Two more ran in, claws and fangs ready to tear at the potential meal. Shadow jumped up into the air, watching as they ran past where he was standing before rolling into a ball and crashing into both of them, causing them to break apart into many pieces. He did a flip just before landing on his feet and catching the emerald as it came back down.

"Next." Shadow taunted the wolves before they all rushed him at once only to crash into each other as the creature disappeared in a flash. The wolves looked at one another as if asking if any of them saw him. "Up here" Shadow said from a tree branch he was standing on. His right hand glowing and crackling with energy. "Chaos Spear!" he swung his arm and fired his trademark Chaos Spear at the ground by the wolves, kicking up a dust cloud before jumping down and rushing them. Punching and kicking the wooden wolves left and right. The wolves yelped and growled as they were knocked around by him, angry that he was capable of outsmarting them like this.

This anger soon made all their bodies glow as they gathered and formed a gigantic wolf. Shadow was surprised by this, having not expected it. The wolf moved in, its jaw open to swallow him whole. Shadow saw it coming, but wasn't quick enough and was soon in the belly of the beast. The wolf smiled, having triumphed its foe. How dare that creature think it could best one of the apex predators of the forest. It would think with pride, until it felt a burning in its belly, looking down it saw it was glowing red.

"Chaos..." It heard muffled in its belly before something it never expected happened. "Blast!" The red colored intense energy shot out in all directions, blowing the wolf apart and freeing Shadow. The pieces landed all around him, the magic that held them together smoldering off the wood. Shadow began to move forward before a roar rang out and he was blindsided by something. His body struck a tree hard enough to knock a few leaves down. Opening his eyes he saw a lion with a scorpion tail and bat wings. It obviously was there due to hearing the struggle and was going for what it assumed to be weakened prey.

The tail of the creature returned to its side, having used it to hit Shadow. Opening his eyes, he could see just what had hit him. "That wasn't very..." he trailed off before disappearing in a flash, appearing above the Manticore. "Nice!" he finished his earlier statement as he stomped onto its head. The manticore yelped as it fell forward and hit the ground hard. Shadow landed and created distance between them before the beast rose up and aimed its tail at him. Shadow dodged the strike, the tail digging into the ground and getting stuck. He ran up the tail and jumped, delivering a spin kick to its face. He wasn't done, landing in front of the manticore and punching it hard in the stomach. The beast roared in pain before swatting him aside with its paw. Shadow slammed into another tree, closer to its side and rolling off with momentum. Landing with a thud beside the tree.

"Okay...you wanna play rough?" he asked as the manticore began to go toward him, raising its stinger and aiming it for shadow before striking. Shadow shot his arm forward, unleashing a chaos spear that split the creatures tail. The half that held the stinger falling to the ground harmlessly as it howled in pain over the missing tail. "We'll play rough." Shadow said, standing in front of it and punching it in the stomach again before jumping and curling into a ball. The beast felt its teeth snap together as the ball struck its chin, several teeth cracking and breaking from the force of the hit.

The manticore was whimpering and injured, now beginning to regret trying to prey on Shadow. However, it was too late for it to apologize or even run away with what was left of its tail between its legs. Shadow appeared in front of it, placing his hands over its eyes. "Chaos Spear!" he fired two Chaos Spears, both of which exited out of the back of the manticore's skull. The beast made no sound as it collapsed onto the ground, dead. Shadow panted a bit as he looked upon the corpse of the creature. He turned his head and looked at all the wood from the timber wolf. His stomach growled and he smirked. "Looks like I'm camping."

Shadow spent the next few minutes digging a small depression in the ground to make his fire pit. Using the wood of the timber wolves as firewood and using his chaos spear to ignite them. Once that was done he went over to the corpse and focused the energy of the emerald onto his hand to make a blade that extended past his fingers, using said blade to cut off its meaty arm before skinning it and using some of the other pieces of wood to make a spit. Once he skewered the arm with the makeshift spit he then placed it over the fire, cooking the arm.

"I hope all those survivalists weren't joking when they said it tastes like chicken." he said as he patiently waited for his meal to finish cooking. In all honesty, when he took his first bite he could admit that while they were a little off on the flavor it wasn't particularly horrible. Once he finished his meal he picked a spot by the fire and closed his eyes, slowly falling asleep to the ambience of the forest.