Guardians of Equestria's Light.

"Ok, not gonna lie, this forest is starting to creep me out...", Aries had sighed, passing another disfigured tree.

"Oh, calm down you big baby!" Kandyl dashed at him, "We've fought hive scarier than this. You think this forest is creeper than Crota?"

"A little bit. I don't have a sword to smash through these trees." He looked at another one and internally shuddered. "Just.... so eerie..." Aries took his gaze off of the trees. "We're here. Specter." Aries opened his palm. "Start placing the scanner."

"Affirmative."

-Princess Celestia: Five minutes earlier-

"You called for me, your highness?" Celestia turned away from the window facing the everfree forest.

"Yes, Corporal Steel Wing, I did. I assume you heard that loud boom a few minutes ago?"

"Of course. I think every one in Canterlot heard it. I also saw those flying thing." He paused, a slight realization coming to his mind. "Is that why you called me?"

Celestia softly laughed. "Sharp as ever. Yes, I want you to investigate where those things came the closes to land. Can you and you squad do that?"

He snapped a salute. "Anything for the princess."

"Hm. Go get your men, and leave as soon as possible."

"Yes, your highness."

Aries kept glancing at his motion radar, seeing if anything got too close. With the possibility of new life walking around within 25 meters of him, it took all of his willpower and judgement to not just charge the creatures and study them thoroughly. He broke eye contact with the upper left of his H.U.D to look at the progress Specter was making.

"How much longer?"

"A couple of minutes." The orb replied. "I want to make sure I don't misplace anything in trying to rearrange this thing out side your ship."

"Fair enough." Aries went back to looking at his surroundings. Their way point was in a clearing that the forest provided, giving them much needed light from the onslaught of darkness the tree's branches gave. The amount of leaves and twisted wood was a little staggering. The most recent memory of when he saw this much foliage was at the Widow's Court. He glanced at his fellow guardians and saw something a little unnerving.

Kandyl was moving her head to and fro. She would stop for a bit, look like she was listening to something, and look around again. Aries had seen this tick before, and was now a little concerned. "Kandyl, what's wrong?"

"Do you guys here that?" She gave her reply, not breaking eye contact with the forest line. Curious of her question, Aries stopped and tried to shut out all senses but his hearing.

After a few moments, he replied, "No, I don't hear anything." He glanced at the radar. "And nothing's on the radar either." Then Kandyl started the cryptic hunter talk when something is wrong in the wild.

"What's the first rule for a prey species in the wild?" Aries had never heard this question from her before. The only few times he saw her like this was when they were hunting the Silent Fang.

"I don't know." Now normally, a hunter would crack a joke about the how the warlock didn't know something, but this wasn't normal.

"The answer is, 'If a predator is near by, try to be small, and be quiet. One more question:" She turned around to look at her companions, "Why did this forest all of a sudden become quiet?" Aries took her rhetorical question to heart, as well as Zayin, as they both subconsciously switched off their safeties.

"Eyes up, Guardians." Aries went a little farther away from the scanner, to see if he could peer into the foliage better. After his third step away, he heard a rustling to his left. He turned that direction, gun raised, but only saw a fern shaking. As much as his mind disagreed, he moved towards it. Even thought his gun was raised, every muscle in his body was tense, ready to jump, glide, blink, magic, melee, throw, anything really. He was in front of the fern, as its rustling stopped. He moved the outstretched branches to the side, gun aimed right at its roots. What he saw was a small fur ball, a bunny to be more specific. He let out a sigh, along with some anxiety. Until he hear a screech, and was knocked on his back. He pushed his hands up, stopping the thrall that was trying to rip his face off. The thrashing, along with the stench of darkness oozing off of it, caused him to hold it with both hands, not risking a reach for his thorn to expose his chest. So after though, a loud shot rang out, and the Thrall lurched backwards, and turned into ash. He looked be hind him, and saw Kandyl standing with an arm stretched out, and a smoking barrel of the last word. Before any response of thank you could be said, the horde that was following the lone thrall, jumped out of the foliage, thankfully a ways away from him.

"Hive! Kill them!" He said, the obvious being thrown out there. Aries scrambled to his feet, and started shooting along with his team mates. It had been a while since Aries last heard live fire. He forgot about the symphony their combined shots made.  The high pitch, rapid shots of Kandyl's Mythoclass, along with his bad juju, combined with Zayin's slow, but deep shots from his suros regime. (zoomed in of course.) Not long after they slaughtered the Thrall, surprise was really the only advantage they could have, the acolytes, along with the knights, showed up and started shooting. The fire-team split, each member scrambling for cover so to avoid a new hole in their body. Little were they aware of their spectators.

"Steel wing, sir. We need to report this to the Princess right now! Those.... Things might catch us!"

"What are they fighting? It looks like changelings, but I'm not sure..."

"Forget what their fighting, how are they killing them? Are they holding weapons.?"

"Maybe we should turn back.... This place is turning into a war zone...."

Corporal Steel wing was about to pop a blood vain. As much as he wanted to voice his opinion about these new creatures, he actually had the thought of not to say them so THE CREATURES OF DEATH WOULD NOT HEAR THEM! He turned away from the unknown aliens and softly scolded his squad, any louder and they might be found.

"Would you all shut up." They stopped talking and stared at him. "If you keep talking, and these things find us..... I will drag you out of Tartus my self and send you right back!" They all leaned back, wide eyed at the threat. When no comment was made, he let out a sigh. "Thank you. We are going to study these things a little more. We just found two new species on this planet, and we don't know if their connected to those flying things or not. So shut it, and pay attention to detail." He looked back at the fighting species. His comrades followed suit.

"There's no end to these things!" Aries shouted as he duck back behind a tree, avoiding multiple hive shredder shots. The acolytes just kept coming! Yes, he had to bring out his found verdict to handle the brave knight once in a while, but it had been two minutes of nothing but hive! "Specter, how's the scanner coming along?!" He inquired his ghost.

"Almost..... Got it! It's done!"

"Fire it!" On his word, Aries saw the green line explode from the device, and watched it leave. When it was out of sight, he turned back to the fight........ only for all the hive to be gone. "What the...?" He cautiously came around the corner, gun still raised. He made way to the scanner, his eyes darting to his motion tracker, and then back forward.  "Spec, what just happened?"

"I.... don't know...." Hmmmm. Even the ghost was stumped a what just transpired.

"Any one else want to take a guess?" He inquired to his teammates.

"Well, I did just kill a witch. That might have been their leader..." Zayin commented, subconsciously rubbing the bottom of his helmet.

"There's still something here..." Kandyl cryptically said.

"What is it?"

"I don't know yet..., the mission's done, so lets look around." Specter disappeared, going back into his guardian's system. Aries then started to look around again.

Steel wing looked away from the aliens in panic. They had to get out of there, or they might be found! "Men, we've got to move!" He said quietly. "Go, back to the castle." The four took off, Steel wing in hot pursuit. Until, he stopped cold, right after a loud bang. Like the ones that had just stopped. He let out a yell of anguish, and fell to the ground clutching his leg. He looked down, and saw his white coat turning red by his leg. But pass the red waterfall, he saw something even more panic educing. His blood veins were turning a dark black. He let out another yell, now unaware of his listeners.

Aries stood stone still. He had just shot a Thorn bullet in the direction on his radar that showed movement. He also heard the scream after his shot. Nothing was said, not even his fireteam moved. "That wasn't hive..." Aries then took off in a mad dash towards the sound, panic rushing threw his mind. What did he just shoot? Was it an alien? A species that wasn't part of the darkness? He had to find out, and he let off a quick burst hover. He landed, inches away from the body. A bi-pedal, white body, with wings. And it was bleeding from its leg, with Thorn poison coursing through it's body. And It wore armor. It's species was organized, sentient. He had just shot the first alien that was not part of the darkness.

"Shit."