Chapter One
Suvi walked through the dark forest, seeing heavy clouds brew overhead. It had been a day since he woke up in this god forsaken place, alone. It had also been a day since one of the locals found him lurking through the forest and ran off, terrified. Ever since that faithful moment he had been followed by pastel colored ponies that wore golden-clad armor all over their bodies. No, not being followed, but hunted. He could tell by the way they were looking for him, the way they looked for his footprints, any plants that were out of place, any odd smell, but he could always stay one step ahead of them. They were easier to fool than Russian's. Although, it was getting dark, and Suvi needed to find a place to rest for the night. He had been walking non-stop for the past seven hours evading the ponies, and he seemed to have lost them, for the time being. He looked around for a comfortable area. The forest seemed to be as lively and vibrant as much as it was eerie and decrepit, just like home.
Seeing an area that seemed clear on the ground but covered by a tree canopy on top looked like it would offer him at least some protection from the coming storm. He walked up to the area and sat down in a bush, partially concealing him. He sighed to himself, he ached from walking and was generally exhausted. He opened up his greatcoat and covered up his rifle so it stayed clean and dry, it was his closest companion and his deadliest tool. Closing his eyes, he propped his head up against the tree. Luckily it hadn't started raining yet, and he slowly slipped into a deep, silent sleep.
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Five Hours Later
Suvi suddenly awoke in the pitch black night, and pouring rain. He was as angry as he was confused as to why he was awoken but he came to his sense when he heard a continuous noise in the background, standing out against the ambient rain. He quietly took his rifle out of the protective shade of his now drenched greatcoat, and crouched, looking around for any signs of movement. He was shaking from the cold, and tried adjusting his sight to the darkness. After a few seconds he couldn't hear anything, and was about to go back to sleeping and shrug it off as some wild animal, but before he did so there was a flash of lightning. The split second flash instantly illuminated the whole area, and he saw what he was first expecting, two white ponies in golden armor. He raised his SVT slowly up to his shoulder and pointed the muzzle in the direction where he last saw his two pursuers.
"I see you..." He very quietly said to himself while looking down his scope. The two ponies seemed to be arguing about something, but what it was they were yapping about would be forever unknown. The rain muffled their voices to where not a single noise was heard. Suvi waited, and waited for the thunder to make another round, and luckily the ponies kept on arguing in the same area. He was growing impatient, and his arm growing tired, but luckily there was a bright flash. At the moment of this flash, Suvi pressed down on the cold metal trigger which sent the rifle into a kick, firing in sync with the lightning and thunder. He was never disappointed by the recoil of his lovely rifle. He started to move around silently in the bushes to get closer to the last pony, not wanting to waste the few cartridges he had left.
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Steel had been arguing with his partner for the past five minutes about going into the Everfree at night to hunt down the beast that was stalking around Ponyville. He was frustrated, tired and exhausted. Walking through the forest for hours straight tracking down a creature that they couldn't even catch up to took its toll, and the moment Steel suggested they rest his partner seemed to just snap on him and went off about how "great" his idea was and how they'll be respected once they find the creature. He sighed to himself and stopped trying to argue with his partner and decided to observe his surroundings, waiting for his peer to blow of steam.
"Of bloody course you would suggest we go out into the Everfree in this weather you fucking unicorn panzy! Why would you even be so egotistical as to catch this creature! It didn't even hurt anypony!"
Steel kept looking around, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. It felt so bad that his gut was screaming at him to leave, now.
"You just wanted to do it so you can look all big and mighty for that mare, didn't you? Huh? Are you even listening to me you-"
Steel put a hoof in his mouth, "We have to leave, now".
"Why? What's your-" There was a bright flash of lightning and thunder rang out with it. It was so bright, in fact, that it had temporarily blinded Steel. He covered his eyes and brought his forearm down, readjusting his sight to the darkness.
"Come on buddy lets go." Steel said. He turned around to walk the trail back to Ponyville, but he had just realized that his peer didn't respond to him. "Didn't you hear-" His partner lay in the mud infront of him, lifeless. "S-spectre... are you okay?" He walked up to the un-moving body, touching it with his hoof. Spectre's body lay there with a barely visible wound to the forehead. "No no no no what the hell just happened!?" He used a light spell to get a better view of the wound, having hope that he could save his ally, but it was to no avail. The wound was deep, and it was seeping blood, fast. Steel started to panic and looked around frantically, looking for the source of his ally's death.
"Fuck this, I'm getting out of here!" He turned around and was about to run off, but before he did he heard something running up behind him through the muddy soil. Before he could turn around he felt something hit him in the stomach and it knocked the wind out of him, and once he hit the ground his helmet flew off, covering his now unprotected face in mud. He gripped his stomach for what seemed like half a second, until something grabbed his hair and pulled him up. He was facing away from the creature, so he did not know what it was, but something told him that it was the new and unknown creature. "P-please don't hurt me!" Right after those indecisive and last words, the creature spoke.
"Et koskaan minua kiinni."
The words filled Steel with dread and fear, although he could not understand what they meant at all. He didn't know what to do at this point, and a piece of cold, sharp metal was brought up to his neck. He knew what it was, and he knew what was about to happen, but it felt so surreal. He felt the blade instantly cut into his jugular and the pain mixed with fear made him pass out, but he was not going to wake up.
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The next morning, in the Ponyville Militia Barracks
Sgt. Tempest sat at the front desk. It was just another uneventful morning like all others. He woke up from his uncomfortable bunk, made coffee and ate a muffin, and sat at the front desk of the barracks. His job was to greet anypony who came into the barracks and to answer any questions they would need. He rested his head on his hoof, waiting for something interesting to happen. While doing so, he recalled the events of yesterday. A tan mare with short red hair came bursting into the barracks, frantically explaining about some creature at the edge of ponyville and was scoping it out. She seemed very scared to him, and he wasn't really sure what to honestly do. Although one of his guards named Steel volunteered, and somehow convinced Spectre to go with him, to go into the everfree to find the creature, with any means necessary. He seemed to be checking out the mare that came in too... huh. He was completely lost in thought, so he decided to go into the barracks and check on the two hunters, based of his assumption they'd be back before sunrise. He walked down the hall into the second bunkroom.
"Steel, Spectre, front and center." He said with an authoritative tone. But he realized there was only one pony in the room, and he was neither Steel nor Spectre. "Where's the two "hunters"?" He asked the lone guard. The guard was laying in his bunk with his armor off reading a book.
"I don't know." He blindly replied. "I haven't seen those two since they left yesterday afternoon."
Tempest looked at the guard dumbstruck. Why weren't they back? What reason in the whole world of Equis would they vanish? It was the Everfree, yes, but they did not go far. Ah, yes, the creature! The mare that came in yesterday explained that the creature seemed to be hairless, and stood on two legs. It was also wearing some sort of dark colored clothing. He had a realization. If the creature wore clothing then it had to be intelligent, but how intelligent? Was it a primitive, newly evolved species that has been unheard of? Or was it smart enough to evade Steel and Spectre, perhaps even kill them? He was not sure, but he could not take any chances.
"Cpl. Haste," The Sargent said to the lone pony in the bunkroom. "Gather up five guards and look for the two missing soldiers in the everfree, but do not proceed more than eight miles into the forest.
"Sir, yes sir!" the pony replied, quickly putting his armor on and securing his helmet, walking out into the courtyard to gather a search and rescue party. Tempest walked back to his desk and levitated a piece of parchment, a quill and inkwell infront of him, and started to write.
Dear Princess Celestia,
It has come to my knowledge that there is a new, unknown creature within the borders of Ponyville. There has only been one confirmed sighting, although two guards were sent to track it down to determine if it was a threat. These two guards have no returned from the forest as of seventeen hours. Usually it would be assumed that they have been deceased by a more natural assumptions such as timber wolves or manticores, though they did not travel nearly that distance into the forest. I fear for the worst, as this new creature is assumed to be very deadly. I request immediate support from the Royal Guard to track it down as my militia is low on manpower and experiences.
In the truest regards,
Sargent Tempest.
Author's Note
Hey everybody! This was just a story that I came up with while doing... stuff. I couldn't help to get it down on paper. I will definitely continue this story, but don't expect it to be updated more than once a week. Constructive criticism and opinions appreciated, thanks!
“As long as a person is involved with warfare, trying to defend or attack, then his action is not sacred; it is mundane and justified by duality, a battlefield situation.”
Day Two
The storm was starting to clear. Suvi was continuing his long tread east to regroup with his army regiment, but it was to no avail. He did not see any logic in the whole situation, but for the time being that was not important to him right now. At the moment his orders were much more important, keep heading east. Stop for rest, food and self defense, nothing more.
After stopping to rest after his miles of walking, he sat down, taking off his cap and hood which revealed his tired blue eyes while his blonde hair was no longer shining from the sun reflecting off of it. He drank the little water he had remaining in his water pouch that was tucked beneath his greatcoat. He looked up into the cloud ridden sky, seeing the sun barely, but surely starting to pierce the clouds. It reminded him of home.
Home.
A very vague, but real word. A word that described a place he loved but he was no longer at. A place that he wishes he was.
Suvi is only twenty years of age, and had many more years ahead of him to live. He did not understand what probability of fate brought him upon this new land, filled with friendly looking ponies that hunted him. Then again, he thought, maybe he had been killed in some odd way in Finland and woke up here? He didn't know, but he couldn't help but ponder about his lost home. He was born and raised in a small town that was not too far from the Finnish-Russo border. In fact, he was raised only a few kilometers from lake Ladoga. He remembered the Communists forcing his family out of his home, shooting them one by one and then burning the house down. It was mere coincidence that Suvi himself was out exploring the forest, evading escape from the reds. This memory, this event made him hate the oppressor. He never got to say goodbye to his mother, father or his younger sister, and he never found the body of his sister which implied the reds got their hands on her and tainted her body and innocence. This made Suvi angry.
Although, he broke himself out of his thought. He controlled his anger and repressed it, and cleared his mind by looking up at the sky again. This was something that his father taught him while hunting out in the tundra, to level out all your thoughts while aiming down the scope, focusing on the present, on the kill. Alongside the prospect that his anger and thoughts were stopping him from heading east.
He sat up and stretched, realizing he needed to re up on his water supply. Even though it was winter a few days ago in his home, it seemed to be fall in this land. Looking at where the sun had risen not even an hour ago, he found his direction, and headed east.
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Corporal Haste walked through the Everfree forest, accompanied by five militia of lower rank. His initial plan was to go into the forest, find the two Militia ponies, and get the hell out. Although this plan did not seem to be going accordingly.
His group was equipped with light armor, spears and the unicorns had crossbows. The spears were hooked onto the side of the armor, while the crossbows had three point slings attached to them which let them hang on the militia's backs without ever falling off.
Continuing their tread, they came to an open area of the forest which seemed very muddy. Haste was planning to continue, but one of his companions stopped him.
"Corporal!" One of the militia ponies stated.
"What is it?" He replied.
"There are hoof prints here and it also looks like... blood?"
Cpl. Haste wasted no time trotting over to investigate. To his own avail, there was indeed blood and hoof prints, and also the mud seemed to look as if something was dragged across it, into some thick shrubs not even forty feet away.
He feared for the worst, and started towards the foliage.
His fears were confirmed when he saw the leg of one of his comrades in the foliage. He was so shocked that he just stood there and stared.
"...are you okay sir?"
He kept staring, then shook his head to get his sanity back for a moment. "Militia!" He yelled, "The bodies of our missing friends have been found. I want their bodies lined up in a dry area so we can determine the cause of death, now!"
The militia yelled in unison, 'Yes, sir!" and moved towards the thick brush, clearing it and pulling out the bodies, first being shocked of the amount of blood and their dead friends. With the bodies spread out in perfect comparison, Corporal Haste started his inspection. He could determine that the demise of Private Steel was from a blade, that slit his throat. Haste wondered what kind of sadistic creature would do that, but thinking about that only brought back memories from the conflict with the Gryphon Empire years ago. Although his partner...
Haste could not determine what had killed Steel's partner. There was simply a hole in his forehead, and it could not have been an arrow, due to the depth and magnitude of the wound, along with a hole being in helmet. "Militia, search this area until you find something!"
"Sir, yes sir!"
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News of the disappearance was starting to spread throughout Ponyville. First, Roseluck was telling everypony about the "demonic" creature that was lurking around her property, spying on her. Then, one of the militia ended up telling their family about his search and rescue mission and the news spread from there. There was very little information, and even less official information from the government, on what was happening. One of the first ponies to obtain this news was the local Alicorn librarian, Twilight Sparkle.
"...thank you, I will definitely look into it!" Twilight politely said to a local pony as she closed the door. "Sheesh, so much commotion over something so little." Twilight was a lot more logical than most ponies, and based on her information it was just another random event happening in Ponyville and hoped she wouldn't be sucked into it. She wanted to stay at her library and chart the stars. It was, in fact, almost the summer solstice.
Roseluck had come to her library a few hours ago, explaining how the creature looked and what it was wearing and how it seemed to be acting with the greatest detail she could, but Twilight saw the fear inside of her so she took it with a grain of salt. So she opened her book of creatures who dwelled in the Everfree forest, and started reading.
An hour or two into reading she hadn't found anything resembling a two legged creature besides a ghoul, and in itself didn't have light skin and have never been seen wearing clothes. She kept the hypothesis out there though, because she believed in infinite improbability. She kept reading on, eventually finding a new book called "Mythological creatures and other cryptids of Equestria" and dug into it.
She was starting to doze off while reading, a common side affect for doing so for hours straight. She was about halfway through the book, and turned the page, revealing a diagram of a bipedal, light skinned creature that matched the description of Roseluck. This shot her awake, and right before she started reading about it there was a knock at her door. She looked at the door, then back at the book, then to the door, then the book, then the visitor knocked again.
"One moment!" she yelled to the door, which promptly ended the knocking.
She trotted up to the door and let out a breath when she got to it, slowly opening it. "Hello! How may I help you?"
Corporal Haste and five other Militia ponies loitered outside, and Haste confronted Twilight. "Hello Ms. Sparkle, I apologize for coming at sundown, but I assume you have heard of the rumors of the new creature on the borders of Ponyville?" He said to her.
"Yes, I have heard of the rumors, why do you ask?" She replied, slightly worried at what the response would be.
"We found the two missing Militia, and needless to say they aren't with us anymore." He said blankly but professionally to Twilight.
Twilight's stomach dropped slightly, "What does this have to do with me Corporal?" She said sheepishly.
"Well, Ms. Sparkle, seeing as you're one of the smartest ponies that are the closest, I have come with a request."
"What would that be?"
"Well, one of the Militia were brought down with a blade, as we could tell through observation, but the other one was brought down by unknown means. To make it blank it was not done by magic nor by any physical weapon that we have seen before." He said, still with a blank face.
"Well, I don't see how I can help in this situation..." she said uneasy.
The corporal levitated an odd object up in between himself and Twilight. it seemed half the length of a quill and was made by some sort of metal, it looked like copper but she could not determine what, seeming to be a cartridge for something. "I am assuming that this is the fault for our fellow countrypony's death, and I request that you immediately look into it so we can determine what we're dealing with."
Twilight did not know what to say, so she took the odd looking and small cartridge and put it on a table next to her. "I will definitely look into it corporal."
"Thank you Ms. Sparkle, we will be taking our leave now." They both nodded to each other and Twilight shut the door, levitating the metal object and bringing it to the table where she was reading.
"Now lets see what we're dealing with here..." She said, determined, and started reading.
Author's Note
Honestly, I have no idea or excuse why I did not update this story. I apologize but it will continue, additionally, I'm very sorry if this is low quality. I typed this at 2 AM, but future updates will definitely be higher quality if you think this one is not to par. Constructive criticism appreciated, thanks for reading!
