Poorly made plans

Umbra

Hearing the singular beep from Hamus' watch made me awake cautiously. I rose from my cover of leaves with my RFB up and ready for action. I looked around and saw the sun coming up to the East. I noticed Hamus doing the same as me, he had his M6a2 raised up and aimed over my shoulder. We peeked up over the berm and noticed a completely ridiculous sight. around 650 meters to our front was the same town from the night before but in a complete flurry of activity. Horses of all shapes, sizes, races and colors walked and flew around the town. I stood there breathlessly as I watched the sight. My brain shut down from the absurdity of the site. These horses were acting just like people! I could hear the rabble of conversations and the thumping of construction. I started to turn my head toward Hamus, but stopped when he spoke a terrifying phrase.

"We got contacts closing in..200 meters and counting." He said as he dropped back into the spot from last night, his form obscured by the dense thicket of brush around him. I dropped like a rock into the hole and grabbed the grip of my rifle. I took a second to grimace at the hardened mud covering the left side of the gun and scope. That would be a bitch to clean off. I Pushed it from my mind; I brought my head down to the scope and took aim at the horses that were approaching. I noticed they were the same ones from last night plus two. I kept my crosshair focused on the front one and tracked it.

They stopped around 10 meters away and stared at our position. I was getting really nervous, my heart rate increased and my breathing became labored. I sat there and wondered why their calculating gaze wouldn't leave. Staring dead in their eyes I could see something terrifying...Intelligence. It was around now that I realized something horrible, I never realized they moved to the East toward the trail...And the sun.

XxX

Twilight

I awoke with a yawn as the sun beamed in through my window and plastered my face. I slowly opened my eyes and winced from the brightness of the room. I climbed out of bed and did a few stretches to get rid of excess sleep. I worked my way to the stairs and was assaulted with the smell of hot tea and pancakes. I smiled at the smell and walked down the stairs; I saw all of my friends, including Pinkie and Rarity, were up and moving. I walked into the main room and waved at my friends.

"Twilight!" Pinkie screamed as she jumped at me. She somehow cleared the room in a single jump and plowed into me knocking us both to the floor. I wriggled out of her crushing embrace and stood up.

"Hi Pinkie, And hello Rarity. When did you two get here?" I asked as I shook away the soreness left by Pinkies hug.

"We got here about 15 minutes ago. I thought it would be ok for us to stop by and see what happened in Canterlot." Rarity said while sipping some of the tea and letting out a delightful hum at the taste.

"Well, we went to talk to Princess Celestia about the disturbance in the forest but when we got there I almost got trampled by a guard. It turns out the guard had the same idea as me and brought it to the princess first. Princess Celestia asked if we'd investigate and I said yes. That's basically it." I said in summation. I looked at my friends and they all seemed ready to go. I quickly grabbed some breakfast and decided to eat on the way there.

"If you girls are ready, we really should get to it." I said as I opened the door and ate my breakfast. They all agreed and lead the way through the door. I followed after and got to the lead of the herd. We decided to walk to the south-east and take the path into the Everfree from there. The walk was fairly uneventful and we quickly arrived at the path. I noticed something strange to my right, I looked over and I could see a bright light, almost like a reflection of the sun, coming from a bush. It slowly moved but was still fairly bright. I sat and wondered what it could be, but before I could figure it out it disappeared.

XxX

Umbra

"Doesn't look like she's moving; Her and her friends seem to be getting pretty curious. What should I do Hamus?" I asked in a panicked whisper. I looked over to see Hamus deep in thought. He can't possibly be thinking what I think he is...Can he? I brought my head back down to the scope and saw that her stare only increased. Not only that but all of her friends had joined in staring us down as well. After a few more moments I heard Hamus grunt out.

"We'd better slip off before they know we're here."

"Right. So where do we go?" I asked in confusion.

"Lets back up and watch them from a distance, who knows? Maybe they're friendly." He said with a small laugh. I nodded and backed up into the wood line. We turned and hopped out of the trench and creeped further into the woods. I heard the crunching of leaves under my boots and hoped they wouldn’t give us away. Once we'd moved far enough away we stopped, went prone, and waited.

We waited for a few minutes until I saw the group of six mares walking up the path. I decided to take a closer look at them and placed my DSR in a stable position. I adjusted the sights until I saw them clearly. Thankfully the sun was blocked by the trees so there wasn't a chance for another scope glint. I stared through the scope and watched the purple Unicorn in the lead. I sat and let my mind reel on the fact that I was actually staring at a Unicorn.

I looked over the figure and saw that she was actually only a bit shorter than myself, She had very large eyes, ears, and of course, she had a horn. I moved the scope further back and noticed just how short her length is.

how does that body hold organs?

Shaking the thought from my head I took notice of a strange marking on her flank. It sorta looked like a star burst. I casted a glance at the horse behind her and immediately noticed she had a VERY colorful mane. Her mane was literally every color of the rainbow. I looked on to see that she was a Pegasus. She also had a weird marking on her flank. This one being a multicolored thunderbolt underneath a cloud. Before I could move to the next one Hamus tapped my foot with his boot. I glanced over to him and saw him staring intently at a spot in the forest on the other side of the path.

"What'd you see?" I asked as I moved my scope to around the same spot. I didn't even need an answer to know what it was. Yellow eyes stared down at the path with a cold, hungry stare. I looked at Hamus and saw him giving me a cautious glance. I knew what I should do, he knew what I was going to end up doing, but I didn't know what was best. I went against my better judgement and turned my head to Hamus.

"I want an over-watch position set up. If anything bad goes down I want you to help me stop it. I'll stay set up here while you move down a ways and get closer. Watch your fire and stay down, we don't know what that thing is." I said as I readjusted my position to a better shooting platform. I checked to make sure a round was still in the chamber and the safety was off. I glanced at Hamus but saw he'd already moved up 5 meters to get within perfect sight range for his rifle. I shouldered my rifle and looked down the scope, the dizzying parallax of the zoom making my eyes quickly adjust.

We sat for a few more minutes until we heard a wolf howl, and another, and another. I steeled myself and keyed up Hamus on my throat mic.

"Looks like it's show time. Hope you're ready." I said as I watched on and saw the yellow, hateful eyes turn into a complete abomination. Five large wolves jumped into the center of the trail. Not just any wolves though, large WOODEN wolves. I stared into one of their now baleful green eyes, its large wooden spiky teeth bared for all to see. The horses down below clenched together in terror and screamed bloody murder. I lined up my scope to it's head and focused my breathing to be calm and regulated. I breathed in through the mouth, out through the nose, nice and slow. I get a good weld on the stock and wait until the low of my breath. Once my breath is almost fully expelled I feel my heart beat slow for only a second. That second was all I needed. The thunderous report of my rifle echoed deafeningly through the trees, the sound reverberated and lingered for a few seconds. I saw the wolfs head jerk backwards before it collapsed. I looked around and saw the other wolves flinching from the loud report of my rifle. I keyed Hamus on my mic.

“They can’t fight through the noise! Cans off!” I shouted as I let loose another deafening roar from my rifle. I saw another wolf drop dead from a severe case of missing brain. I heard several loud bangs from farther down the trail. Hamus must have heard me and joined the fight. After only 5 seconds, all five wolves were dead; I key up the mic.

"All cle-Ahh!" I was interrupted by a sixth wolf tearing open my back. My combat vest and backpack doing nothing against it's jaws. Pain exploded through my midsection as it's large wooden teeth speared through me. I started to black out from both pain and blood loss. The last thing I heard was Hamus shouting my name and the pressure on my ears from the shots of his rifle.

XxX

Hamus

"Umbra!" I shouted as I saw my friend get ripped apart by one of these freaks. I raised my rifle and shot three rounds at the wooden wolf before it fell dead. I sprinted up the hill, slipping on leaves and rocks the whole way. I made it to Umbra and felt my stomach drop at the site. He was passed out and covered in blood, his combat vest was torn to shreds from the wolf bite. I noticed his backpack had a few large holes in it but was still usable. I dropped down to a knee and tried to slap him awake before I heard the steady thumping of hooves on dirt. I looked up and raised my Kahr TP9 from my leg holster. The sleek two-tone handgun, ready to shoot out 9mm rounds into anything I deemed fit. I saw the group of horses approaching and immediately got into a combat stance. They stopped and stared at me curiously before the yellow one gasped. She tried to run up to Umbra but I yelled at her to stay and racked a round into the chamber.

She stopped but gave me a terrified look, something about it makes me think she wanted to help. I looked over the rest of them and saw they all have the same look.

"Are any of you doctors?" I asked in a commanding tone. I heard some gasps from some of them but other than that they stayed silent. I glanced at the yellow one before she said in a quiet voice...

"I'm really good with animals, I might be able to do something." She said before trying to hide behind her mane. If I hadn't already seen unbelievable things today and saw my best friend get torn apart by wooden wolves, then I might have been surprised when the yellow Pegasus spoke perfect and fluent English. I guessed I was just too overloaded to care right now. I thought it over for a second before waving her over and dropping to my friend. She jumped from where she was and landed right beside Umbra not even a second later. She looked over him, intently muttering to herself. She gasped and started trying to take his vest and shirt off. She couldn’t seem to get it so I grabbed my knife and sawed away at the double stitched kevlar plate carrier. Seeing him laying there without a shirt really showed the extent of the damage. He had eight, 13 Centimeter gashes down both sides of his back and splinters all over his sides. I thought the bastard lost a tooth in him because I saw a larger piece of wood still in him. I shot a concerned look to the yellow horse and saw her freaking out about it.

"Ok this is NOT good...I have a cottage a quarter mile from here. He should be able to make it alive if you let me and my friends take him there." She said to me, effectively giving me an ultimatum. I glanced down at my dying friend and knew exactly what to do.

"Go, take him and fix him up. I'll be right behind you." I said with a fake smile. She didn't wait a moment before yelling to her friends for help. I saw Umbra float within a purple haze as he flew through the air along with the ponies. I shook my head and beat down the thought of what just happened with a sledgehammer. I sat down and placed my pistol back in my holster. grabbing my rifle, I switched the current mag for a fresh one. standing up, I looked over the battlefield and saw exactly what I was hoping for.

A trail.

XxX

Umbra

"Nng...Ah...Ow." I strained out as I sat up causing a lance of pain to shoot through my entire midsection. I opened my eyes and immediately regretted it. The room started spinning and went white as my brain got overloaded by both sight and pain. I took a deep breath and struggled to stay upright. I eventually calmed myself down enough to take a look around. I looked around the small, smelly room and found nothing of interest. Only a few small crevices for animals and the like...Wait. Room? I swiveled my head around at lightning speeds as my brain finally got to full capacity. Looking all around I found no one in the room but I heard movement from downstairs. I looked down at myself to find that my armor and shirt had been removed and replaced with one inch thick bandages. I took a closer look at my body and found several bloody spots going down my sides.

"What the hell happened? Last thing I remember we saved those horses and...Then what?" I muttered to myself as I placed my face in my hands and let out an aggravated sigh. I picked up my head when I heard movement getting closer to the doorway of the room. I scanned around the room for my carbine and found it and my DSR sitting across the room from me.

"Dammit..." I sighed as I looked to my right, finding my Tac Vest on the night stand. I immediately grabbed it and checked the sleeve finding my sheath and...My knife is gone. I swore to myself and threw it to the floor. I looked up to the door and saw the yellow Pegasus from earlier staring at me with concern. I stared back at her with tense breath, those eyes looked familiar. I sat and looked over her, the way she shook slightly, the way her eyes were constantly moving, her quick, shallow breathing. Those were eyes of pure fear; I've seen those eyes all my life, in the eyes of everyone I'd met.

"Um...What..What're you doing up? You should be unconscious for another hour.." She said timidly.

I guess that confirms that.. I thought to myself in a lackluster tone.

"What...Happened?" I asked her, trying to keep my anger under control. "Where is Hamus?"

"W-well...Y-you were attacked by a Timberwolf after saving us. Your friend ran up to help you but...after some convincing, let us take you here where we could do more. Your friend...is...uh...Well, he kinda...disappeared." She spoke in a ghosts whisper as she shrank back with every word, as if expecting me to hit her. She didn’t know how smart that was; It took all I could muster to not jump across the room and kill the Pegasus, but I eventually calmed down enough to think.

The room grew deathly quiet as I sat there and thought upon what she just said to me. My mind was racing at the speed of light and was in danger of exploding from all the craziness I've seen.

How could he leave me?... Was the first thought in my mind, shortly followed by many more.

Where could he have gone?

Why did she save me?

I should kill her for this...I should kill them all.

What am I going to do? I haven't been alone for so long

I started to quiver and hyperventilate at the thoughts but one of them struck me the hardest.

I've gotta find Hamus! My mind shouted. I felt the thought echo around the confines of my mind and I opened my eyes wide. I looked for the Pegasus but found that she was right next to me, waiting to move at any sense of wrongness. I glanced around for my equipment but only found my torn vest and rifles. Sighing at my bad luck, I stood...And promptly fell onto my face. Pain lanced through my body and I felt a watery sensation running down my face. Bringing a hand up I rubbed a finger under my nose and found it covered in a deep crimson liquid. Swearing under my breath I wiped my hand on my pant leg and grabbed my vest. I inspected the tear down the back and sighed at my horrid luck. The tear went from collar to skirt and was completely jagged, Like someone was in a hurry.

I looked up at the Pegasus who was intensely watching me and watched as she jumped back in shock. She tore out of the room like a hurricane and returned a second later with a first aid kit. She grabbed some cotton balls and attempted to get near me with them before I grabbed her snout and pushed her away. She gave me a stern glare that seemed to say, 'Let me do this or you'll regret it'. I merely gave her an angry glare back and watched as she shied away. Spitting out the cotton ball she looked at me with pleading eyes and said..

"Please let me help you. I know you want to find your friend but you can't do that if you can't walk more than two steps without hurting yourself." She said, picking up the cotton ball again. I stared at her with a flat stare and sighed. I leaned forward and let her patch me up. I felt the rough material of the cotton ball fill my nose, swooshing around the now hardening liquid inside. She pulled the ball free and let me see the extent of the damage. The ball was completely soaked dark red with blood and had clumps of gooey bits dangling from it. I feel my breath quicken from the sight. Sitting back, I saw her grab another cotton ball and cover it in some form of gooey paste before placing it in my nose. The paste was freezing as it entered and stung like crazy from the contact with the cuts in my nose. I felt myself start to tear up and the Pegasus let out a loud gasp.

She stared at me like I was diseased and her eyes never left mine. I stared back until I decide to wipe away the tears...Blood. I'm shedding tears of blood. I recoiled in shock and thought of what could cause this.

Okay, okay. What the FUCK!? What the hell could cause me to cry blood!? Could it have been the fall? I remember reading something about severe nose bleeds making you cry blood but that usually only happens with severely broken noses.. I quickly checked my nose and find that it is not broken but still hurts like a motherfucker. I looked at the Pegasus and watched as she quickly got to work fixing my fuck up. First she cleared my, now freshly bleeding, nostrils before putting more of that past inside them. She then grabbed an elongated cotton swab and looked at me...Oh fuck...

She pushed the cotton swab carefully up my nose and moved it around. I wanted to cry out from the pain but knew it would only end up worse than it is. I bit my lip to stave off screaming as I felt the swab hit something. I felt a sickening sensation as the swab was pulled free along with a giant red glob of goop. I stared at the swab as my nose bled yet again. The Pegasus grunted in frustration and cleaned my nose again. I sighed in relief as the blood stopped and I looked over to the Pegasus with a grateful smile.

"What's your name?" I asked with a clear difference in my voice. It was more shaky than it once was. I blamed the blood loss.

"Fluttershy. What's yours?" She asked a little timidly, but not anywhere near what it was earlier.

"Names classified. You can call me Umbra though." I said with a small smile and extended a hand. She stared at it for a second before extending her foreleg and shaking my hand.

"So why save me?" I asked out of curiosity. I watched as she packed away the medical supplies and pushed the box away.

"I couldn't just leave you there to die, I had to do something." She said as she glanced at me and then my vest. I watched as she went over and tried to pick it up, before grunting and straining to hold it an inch off the ground. I raised an eyebrow at her while she blushed and dropped my vest.

"I was going to take it to be repaired. My friend is a fashion designer and, in fact, she's downstairs right now." She said with a small smile. I looked over at my vest then back to her before sighing. I guess finding Hamus is going to have to wait.

"Well then, time to introduce myself."

Author's Note

Well there you have it. First interaction! I'm not entirely sure I went about this in a...Decent way. Let me know what y'all thought in the comments!