My Little Hunters

The attack from last night left the outpost in ruins, many of the soldiers had been inured but others weren't so lucky. Twilight watched in terror as families began to search for their loved ones among the dead, many were husbands and fathers, daughters and mothers, all who were now ripped away from their loved ones.

"This is horrible..." Fluttershy whispered with tears in her eyes while Applejack and Rarity comforted each other. Rainbow Dash on the other hand was furious.

"THAT'S IT!!" She shouted, heading for the exit.

"Dashie! where ya goin?"

"Jake's a hunter! He'll know where that thing is going!"

"And what will you do once he tells or even if he'll tell you?"

"Oh he'll tell me! Or I'll rip the answers right out of him!!" Without a second though, Rainbow Dash took off leaving the others worried.

"I...think I better follow." Pinkie suggested as she followed the rainbow trail that dash left.

Jake sat at his desk, polishing his guns. The events of last nights attack were still fresh in his mind and all he could see and hear was the sounds of his men screaming as the beast tore them apart but thankfully Daisy was there to snap him out of it as she slightly tugged on his pants, worried for her master.

"Sorry girl." He apologized, giving her a gentle stroke when the door slammed wide open with an angry Rainbow Dash standing at the entrance.

"Ever heard of knocking?"

"Don't get smart with me pal! You're gonna tell me everything you know about that monster from last night and you're gonna tell me NOW!!" Rainbow grabbed him by the shirt as she pinned him to the wall. Daisy didn't appreciate that.

RRRR....

"Easy girl. Now look here hot head this can go two ways. One: You can interrogate me and give my pet a reason to rip you to shreds or Two: You calm down and THEN I'll tell you everything. Your choice."

Rainbow looked into his eyes and instead of fear she saw anger, an anger that seemed to shake her to her very core. She was actually scared of him.

"Well?"

She released her grip when Pinkie Pie showed up. The pink mare was about to greet Jake when she saw the look on his face, a look that only a cold hearted killer could have.

"So you guys came here to know about the monster right?"

"yeah..." Rainbow was still a bit hesitant, even as he calmly took a seat at his desk.

"We'll wait till Twilight and the others get here."

Later

"They first appeared a couple years ago." Jake began his tale, looking to a map of Shear.

"They?" Twilight asked as Jake pulled out a photo of Goliath and two other creatures marked "Kraken" and "Wraith".

"Nopony knows where they came from. All we knew is that they were a threat and that they had to be stopped. At first we tried military but they proved too strong, in a matter of days half of the planets life had been wiped out. Desperate to save the remaining populace, the government hired the deadliest mercenaries in the whole galaxy. My mom was one of them and in no time at all we began to win, we began to take back the planet bit by bit but as the battle went on the beasts became stronger; They evolved."

"Evolve?"

"When we began to study them we discovered that the more these creatures ate the more their bodies changed, making them become stronger, faster and more deadlier than ever and to top it all off we found out the can reproduce asexually."

"A-section what now?"

"It means they can produce offspring without a mate."

"Well that's no fun." Rainbow Dash said in disapproval as Twilight gently facepalmed herself.

"They seemed endless, for each one that was killed another took its place and another and another....we soon realized it was a losing battle and evacuated the planet but at a heavy cost." Jake brought out an old picture. In it were the mercenaries he mentioned, one in particular that caught his attention; A zebra with a trapjaw by her side, it was Daisy.

"Your mom?" Fluttershy asked as he nodded yes.

"I was only six when they boarded me on the ship....that was the last time I ever saw her again. Her name was 'Maggie'." A single tear fell onto the picture when Daisy came over to comfort him. She missed Maggie too.

"But why is Shear repopulated again if these things are still around."

"Because once the colonists left the beasts turned on each other, their hunger became their undoing and over time the planet was repopulated and the remaining monsters went into hiding...until today that is." Jake then returned the photos back to the drawer before grabbing his weapons. Twilight could tell he was up to something.

"You're going after that thing aren't you?"

"That bastard took my mom from me. No way am I letting him escape!" Just when he was heading out the door, Rainbow Dash zipped in front of him as she pushed him back a ways.

"Wait! Let us help you, we saw what that thing did to those soldiers."

"You wouldn't last five seconds out there."

"Hey! My friends and I have faced: An ancient, evil king, a master of chaos, a magic addicted centaur and an army of changelings! I think we can handle one more monster." The others backed her up, giving Jake a determined look (Pinkie just smiled and waved).

"Guess I got no choice....follow me." The mares smiled at one another, following Jake to the armory where they saw a variety of weapons and armor.

"Whoowee! these are some fancy getups you got here partner." Applejack whistled, impressed by the armor. Rarity-being a fashionista-had a different opinion.

"I don't know. These suits could use a bit more flare." A flood of ideas began filling Rarity's head.

"Sorry Rarity but when it comes to armor. Function is more important than fashion." The next thing Jake heard was the mare swooning and a loud thud, when he turned around he saw Applejack fanning her with her hat.

"Did I...say something wrong?"

"She's just REALLY passionate about fashion." Twilight said, giving a nervous chuckle. Jake grabbed a few extra ammo clips and grenades before briefing his team on their mission.

"Alright here's how it's gonna go: Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Spike. You got the muscle so you'll be on the assault team, head to the red section over there." He pointed out a color coded rack just behind them.

"Twilight. You got the smarts and the magic so you'll be with Buckets on support. Yellow section is just over there." Twilight headed straight for the room to grab her gear.

"Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity you're on the med team so I hope you got strong stomachs."

"Yes sir! Mister Trapper Sir!" Pinkie saluted as if she were an actual soldier.

"Wait a minuet! why do I have to be on the med team?" Rarity asked in protest.

"Cause you're good with a needle and thread."

"Yes but I don't see what that has to-!! oh..." Rarity suddenly became squeamish at the thought of using her sewing techniques on an injured pony.

"Blue section is just behind you. GRAB YOUR GEAR AND MOVE OUT!!"

Three hours later

The space cruiser that brought the girls to the planet was now being used as a hunting vessel to track down the beast. Bucket and Twilight were at the controls while the others sat in the cargo hold all armored up.

"Something about me with a shotgun feels oh so right!" Applejack grinned as she cocked her weapon while Rainbow carried a standard assault rifle.

"Rainbow Dash. Come here I got something for ya." Jake called her over to a weapons crate, in it was a strange looking gun that seemed to catch her eye.

"Whoa..."

"Meet 'Zeus'." With one flick of the switch the gun began surging with electricity at the tip. Rainbow was startled at the first spark before the safety was turned on.

"This bad boy fires over thirty gigavolts of electricity and can melt even the toughest metal. Perfect for a badass such as yourself." The last remark gave Rainbow a sense of pride as she gave him a flirtatious look.

"Careful big boy. Talk like that might get you in trouble." His response to her was a wink and two clicks of the tongue. The others noticed this and gave her smug looks as their conversation continued.

"Hey uh Jake? I'm sorry about...you know; Earlier." She rubbed the back of her head, feeling a bit ashamed of how she treated him back at the outpost.

"it's fine Dash." The sound of him calling her dash made her blush which was something that didn't usually happen. Jake went to check up on Twilight and the others while Rainbow noticed the smirks Spike and Applejack were giving her.

"I saw that." Spike said still holding his smirk.

"Saw what?"

"Don't play dumb sugarcube. We saw how you were flirtin with him!"

"I-I WASN'T FLIRTING!!" She shouted as her cheeks turned a bright pink. Her friends were not convinced.

"I don't know. Spike? You think she was flirting?"

"Oh she was DEFINITELY flirting ZAP! OW!!" Spikes tail had been slightly singed when Rainbow pretended to gasp in surprise.

"Oop! guess I forgot to make sure the safety was on." She said with sarcasm as she played innocent. Twilights voice came over the loud speaker as the ship began to slow down.

"Listen up team. The creature was last seen heading west; here. The area we're exploring is thick jungle so be sure to watch each others backs and stay in communication range and if you see Goliath DO NOT engage, wait for backup." Once the briefing had been done Jake came marching into the cargo hold with Daisy as the door slowly opened.

"Daisy will take point! The moment she's got a scent, we follow her!" He shouted over the howling wind. Once they got the signal, the team jumped down into the foliage below.

Daisy was the first to land and began sniffing around while Jake gestured for the others to form a circle.

"So now what?" Pinkie Pie shouted, making the rest of the team flinch.

"SHH!! You want every predator to know we're here?!?" Jake scolded Pinkie as he whispered. She quickly gave a thumbs up and pretended to zip her mouth closed while the rest of the team looked around for any signs of Goliath.

"Buckets can you hear me?"

"Affirmative sir. According to our scans the creatures trail ended here. The radar signal was having some interference."

"Deploy sound spikes around the area. That'll let us know where he is and where he's going."

"Very good sir. Good hunting." Buckets wished them luck as the ship took off towards another part of the jungle.

AROOO!!! Daisy let out a howl before darting off into the brush. Luckily Jake had a tracking collar placed on her in case something like this ever happened.

"Daisy is on the move!!" Jake shouted as he lead the charge through the brush. Rainbow still had the use of her wings and zipped through the branches, keeping her in sight when they came to stop an a small creek where a carcass had been laying.

"Ohh! NASTY!!" The pegasus backed away in disgust from the smell as did the others. Jake however didn't seem phased by it and stuck his hand into the rotting flesh, feeling the temperature of the blood. Spike and Rainbow gagged from this while Applejack just shook her head in disappointment.

"I've seen worse on the farm."

"This kill's only a couple hours old. He must still be around here trying to recover." The hunter looked around for any other traces of the beast and spotted a large footprint on the other side of the river.

"There! Rainbow Dash, Spike. Scout ahead while I lay some traps."

"You think he'll come back for seconds?" Applejack asked as she kept a look out for any signs of movement.

"I'm thinking he'll want US for seconds."

"Well that's just peachy aint it?"

Jake began setting harpoon traps around the area along with a few mines when he received an incoming message from the ship.

"Sir?!? Sir do you read me?!?" Buckets voice came over the com link. He sounded distressed.

"I'm here Buckets. Go ahead."

"Sir we just received the readings from the sound spikes! The creature is on top of you!! GET OUT NOW!!"

"That crafty son of a bitch...." Jake said in disbelief when he felt two rocks hit his shoulder. Goliath was crouched on a nearby ledge, fully healed and preparing to pounce!

"INCOMIIING!!!" Jake open fired as the group retreated to safety but it was too late. Goliath had them where he wanted them.

ROOAAAARRRGGHHHH!!!!

End.