Hunter/Killer

The world looked familiar.

The oceans could easily be seen from the vacuum of space. The being could easily imagine the ocean waves, roaring upwards with raw power and crashing downwards across the soft sand of the shore. He could imagine the rolling plains of grass, and possibly the towering structures and buildings that marked the unstoppable force that was civilization.

The world looked familiar indeed, but there were questions to be answered.

Was there any life on this planet? The being could not see signs of heavy metropolitan areas; had the planet remained untouched from the imprint of sentient creatures? Or were the creatures on this planet not yet advanced?

What was this planet called?

These questions had always interested the being. Knowing that he would find these answers in due time was exciting as well, and the fact that he was sure none of his kin had yet discovered this planet made it all the better; he would come back with knowledge unknown to anyone, as well as some physical evidence as well.

The being studied the hologram in front of him mindlessly, watching the planet rotate. The being did not fancy himself a scientist, but there was one thing in particular that interested him about this world; the Moon seemed to move around constantly, and the planet's sun...well, that was a whole other matter in itself. The being knew that things became stranger and stranger the further out in space one went, but never before had he seen a star of any kind...move? This was yet another question the being sought to answer.

The being shut off the computer that had been projecting the hologram. Silently, he walked the corridors of his ship, a fairly large vessel which was commonly referred to as a "scout ship". Scout ships were usually connected to a mother ship, where his kin would live, searching for planets across the galaxy. The being had gone from his mother ship years ago, although he knew one day he would return, and deliver the knowledge he had acquired on his travels to any of his race that were interested.

The being turned a corner at one of the many hallways of his ship to find what he had been seeking; his trophies.

The skulls of all he had killed rested upon the wall. The race known as Humans proved to be his favorite so far, and he had collected thirteen of their skulls; their almost perfectly spherical head had always intrigued the being; his race had always known Humans as "the perfect prey" so it was only fitting that their skulls were so well sculpted. Humans weren't his only accomplishments, however; the planet of LV-426 proved to be quite the challenge, as it was filled with savage creatures the humans called "xenomorphs". He found them to be fun, but they didn't give the same rush that a human gave the being.

The wall was filled with various other things, too. A skull from a planet he had long forgotten, inhabited by a race with swords of pure energy and a camouflage that worked similar to his own; that was a fun time. There was another planet that housed a race that had somehow completely encased themselves in some sort of robotic shell, and had removed their own emotions. Hopefully there would be a surprise like that on this new planet, should anything be there at all. The planet looked like the home planet of the Humans, which excited the being. Could it be filled with a race that was similar?

The being couldn't tell, for he was not a scientist. He was a hunter, a killer, a predator, but most importantly, he was an Yautja. A piece of that planet would come back with him.

He reached out his arm and began to wipe the dust off the numerous skulls. They had been sitting there for quite a long time, without a new edition in a whole year.

That was about to change.

* * * * * *

"Are you sure we should be doing this? I mean, think about all the creatures!" stated Blossomforth, the Pegasus of her group of three friends. Her two other friends, Berry Punch and Lyra, began to laugh.

"Oh, don't be such a wuss, Blossom! We just wanna go inside and see a little bit of it before we head out. You volunteered to go, too, so I don't know why you're complaining," said Lyra.

Lyra and Berry Punch had wanted to see the Everfree Forest for a long time. Many ponies in Ponyville feared the place, particularly due to it's self-controlling nature, but the two ponies had always wanted to explore the area and find out what was really in there; they had heard the tales of the Timberwolves and Manticores, but of course, who was to really know?

"Scientists, that's who," said Blossomforth when the idea was pitched to her. The three ponies had been great friends since kindergarten, and Berry only thought it fair (and a little safer) that they bring her along for the trip as well. She had outright refused, of course, but once Berry and Lyra told her about the reported fantastical creatures of the forest, and explained that three ponies would be enough to ward off any attack, she grudgingly agreed.

The group was silent as they drew near the entrance to the forest. Berry decided to lighten up the mood and calm the nerves of Blossomforth, whom she saw was shaking just a little bit.

"Doesn't that one Zebra live here? If her hut is in this place, and she's lived in it all this time, why hasn't she been killed? We'll be fine, Blossom. What's her name...Zathura? Zeranda?" said Berry Punch. Blossomforth shot Berry a sour look, and Lyra gave a smirk in amusement.

"It's Zecora, first of all," began Blossomforth. "And you know that's different. She's been in there for years on end, and she's seen and knows everything about this area, while we'll be going in blind. I'm just nervous that we're doing something not only we've never done, but something many ponies haven't done. Excuse me for freaking out a little," she said defensively. Knowing there was no hope, Berry Punch merely shrugged.

As the trio walked through the entrance, they could easily notice the change. Darkness enveloped them like a blanket, and the flora instantly shifted. It seemed as if everything was larger; the grass almost went up to their knees, the flowers up to their shoulders, and Blossomforth couldn't help but marvel at the size of the trees. Her mouth was agape as she turned to look at the unique scenery.

"Wow," whispered Blossomforth. She turned to her friends, who both were grinning at her.

"See?" began Lyra. "This place is even more beautiful than I thought. Check this out!" Lyra grabbed a plant stem to her right and brought it against her mint green coat. It was a little hard to see in the darkness, but Blossomforth could tell that the plant's color matched her fur exactly.

"We match!" said Lyra in a satisfied tone. What Lyra didn't notice, however, was a Spider the size of a small plate slowly climbing up her arm. The whole group saw it at the same time, and Lyra, her eyes wide in shock, flung it away as hard as she possibly could while stumbling backwards.

"DEAR CELESTIA!" shouted Lyra, who fell to the ground. The whole group stayed silent for a moment, but quickly began to laugh as Lyra brought herself to her four hooves.

"See?" said Blossomforth between laughs, mimicking Lyra's voice from earlier. The unicorn responded by rolling her eyes and attempting to stifle her chuckling, but it was simply no use; the group continued to howl with laughter. After a solid five minutes, the group came to their senses, and Berry Punch was the first to speak.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I want to go in further," she stated. Blossomforth, who had just moments ago detested to entering the strange forest, nodded eagerly, waiting to see more. Lyra agreed, and the group steadily began to press further into the forest full of life.

They were not alone.

* * * * * *

From a tree towering above forest soil, the Predator watched.

When he had first arrived in the forest, the Predator was, to say the least, disappointed. The only thing he had seen were small creatures similar to those found on Earth; animals defenseless to the hunt he sought to engage. He had been searching around the forest for two whole hours, looking for an sign of a truly intelligent organism, and he was about to leave the area; that is, until he heard the loud noise.

DEAR CELESTIA!

Language. The communication from one to another. The capability to understand and comprehend vocal noises, and interpret them; true life! The Predator didn't know what it meant to them, but he knew what it meant to him: Life worthy of the hunt! Eagerly, the Predator hopped the branches of the massive trees. The flora and fauna of the planet was remarkably similar to that Earth, as it seemed so far; could the inhabitants of this planet be human like as well?

What the Predator got was far more intriguing.

They were quadrupedal, and looked quite like the animals humans had used to transport themselves in a time long ago; the Predator had still seen them occasionally on Earth, often used for riding, but the humans now preferred their bulky metal boxes to move themselves around. They were smaller, though, and two of them had an interesting deformity; one had what appeared to be wings, and the other had a horn of some sort. This confused the Predator; he could not think of a way that creature could possibly get off the ground with those wings, as it appeared far too heavy. Perhaps an evolutionary trait that was now useless?

The Predator brought his wrist to chest level and tapped a button on his gauntlet, which switched his vision through his helmet from filtered thermal to normal vision, and what he saw through this was also confusing. The creatures were vibrant colors, on both their body and their hair; one of them had multiple streaks in atop her head. Also notable was some sort of symbol that rested on both sides of their legs; the Predator came to the conclusion that it was some sort of tribal tattoo. The Predator promptly switched back to the thermal vision he was so used to.

The group had been laughing about something, and once they were done, the one with no horn or wings spoke to the other two creatures. The Predator had no idea what they said; he had a translator in his helmet, but since he had never encountered the language before, it wasn't locked into the database. That didn't matter, however, as the Predator saw all he needed to; the group was heading further into the forest.

The Predator hopped across the branches of the Everfree Forest, keeping an eye on the group while also observing the scenery below him; it was hunting time.

* * * * * *

"Oh, come on, you KNOW I didn't want to do it to her," said Blossomforth, smiling. Lyra and Berry Punch collectively rolled their eyes.

"Yea, but you did it anyways. Twilight never even saw it coming, either, it was FANTASTIC!" said Lyra. The group laughed once more, though as they kept walking, Berry Punch brought the group back to their senses.

"How far out are we? Have we even been keeping track?" asked Berry Punch. At that sentence, the group stopped dead, and Blossomforth began to manically look around. Even Lyra, who had been considered the "brave one" for the trip to the forest, seemed a little uneasy.

"I...don't know. Uh, why don't we all split up and look for an exit? We'll shout "HERE!" if we find anything. Sound good?" asked Lyra. The other two ponies looked at her in shock.

"Uh, no, it doesn't sound good! Do you know how many flora and fauna in this place could kill us without even trying? I saw we look for an exit together, and just go back the way we came; if we do that, the path to an exit is a straight shoot, right-" said Blossomforth, looking around. It was at that moment she saw that the path had split multiple times, and that the group had absentmindedly taken one of the many forks in the path.

"...Yea, I'm down with Lyra's plan now. Besides, we can't be that deep in, so there won't be too much that'll hurt us on the way back. I'll take the left, Blossom will take the middle, and you, dearest Lyra, will take the right path. Are we good?" asked Berry Punch. Hesitantly, Blossomforth nodded, and Lyra seemed proud that a plan of her design was being taken into action.

"Alright, but...I still don't like this. If you really can't find anything, make sure you remember where you came from so you can come right back here. And don't go too far out, okay?" said Blossomforth. Lyra and Berry Punch gave her an eye roll she had now been conditioned to expect.

"Yes, mom," said Lyra. "Now come on, guys; we'll find the exit faster than a sonic rainboom!" Lyra said.

"I think I can hear Rainbow Dash cringing," remarked Berry Punch. With a collective laugh, the group began to disperse themselves amongst the many pathways of the Everfree Forest.

* * * * * *

Lyra Heartstrings did not have many regrets in her life. There was that time she drank eight large espresso's at her friend Sweetie Drops' birthday party. There was that time she didn't change the strings on her Lyre right before she was set to play a solo at a concert event, because she had thought, in her own words, it would "work just fine".

Lyra Heartstrings was beginning to regret this.

It seemed that not only was the forest alive, but it was playing some kind of trick on her. Everything looked exactly the same; she would look at a plant and try to use it as a landmark, only to wonder if was the one she had used when she came across it. It was still the middle of the day, however, and light wouldn't be dying down for quite some time; and she would surely be out of the forest by then. Whatever happened, she would not be returning.

There was something else, however, that worried Lyra Heartstrings. She knew there were many exotic creatures in the forest, but she also knew that they would only be found deeper into the area; so why did she feel like something was watching her? Had she gone deeper into the forest without knowing? Had one of the many predators of the Everfree come close upon hearing them? It all made Lyra uneasy, but she had to convince herself everything was okay and she knew what she was doing; she had done it her whole life to others, so why couldn't she do it to herself?

Lyra only knew one offense spell, which she learned at a magic self-defense class that Sweetie Drops had dragged her along to a while back. It wasn't very powerful (Lyra was no Twilight Sparkle, and she knew it), but it would do a little bit of damage, and certainly allow her enough time to get away. Lyra had been going through the motions of the spell in the event she needed it when she heard the call.

"HERE!"

Immediately, Lyra began to sprint towards the direction of the sound. She sighed in relief, knowing that she would, indeed, make it out of this place alive, though there was one thought running through her mind that she just couldn't shake off.

"That didn't sound like Blossom or Berry. In fact...that kinda sounded like me," she thought aloud. Immediately after saying it, she laughed, shaking off her observation as a sign of fatigue.

"HERE!"

Lyra stopped dead in her tracks. She looked around for a second, seeing if perhaps her friends were in her field of vision; they were not. She was alone, and her previous suspicion she shook off as paranoia suddenly didn't seem so silly.

"That was my voice," whispered Lyra. Lyra didn't think she was the smartest pony on the planet--far from it, in fact--but she definitely knew something was wrong. Slowly, she began walking towards the area she heard the noise, and began to really take in her surroundings. Lyra thought she began to see a light enter the top of her vision, and she realized that she had subconsciously prepared her self defense spell she had been going over previously.

Lyra began to chuckle, and though it didn't do much to calm her nerves, it was able to bring her back to her senses. Now aware she was charging her spell, she began to look for potential signs of a threat as she advanced closer the origin of her voice.

A loud crackling noise sprung from Lyra's left side; she screamed, and the spell she had been charging up promptly fired from her horn. It exploded upon contact with the ground, and a quick flash of light flooded her vision, causing her to temporarily shield her eyes. Once the explosion passed, Lyra put her hoof down from her eyes to see a squirrel quickly scampering up the tree near where she had fired her spell.

The unicorn was dead silent for a moment, but began a fit of nervous laughter. It continued for what seemed like hours to Lyra, but once she had deemed herself calm again, she pressed towards the area of the sound again.

You need to chill out, Heartstrings. It's probably just some weird magical creature that Princess Twilight Sparkle dreams about studying every night, she thought. She pressed forward, and heard the voice once more; now that she was extremely close, Lyra could easily tell that the voice she was hearing was her own.

Lyra paced onward. She tried to regulate the noise of her hooves on the fall leaves of the Everfree, but it was no use; every step she took brought a slight crackle into the air. She tried to her best to relax her muscles and use her ears, and it after what seemed like hours later, she finally made it to the source of the sound she had been hunting for so long.

Or so she thought.

She knew it. But there was nothing here, just a small clearing, with the thousand shades of green the Everfree boasted hanging all around her. It just didn't make any sense; where was her voice coming from? Did the creature who had been doing it just disappear?

Lyra, deep in thought, felt a little light enter her vision. She squinted in response, before realizing that it was some sort of red beam; it continued to travel up her face before finally resting on the top of her forehead right between her eyes.

"Wha..." she spoke aloud. She didn't finish the thought.