My Little Hunters

Spike and Jake looked around the cavern for any signs of the Kraken while keeping to the shadows. Even with the glowing moss an shrooms decorating the cavern their field of vision was limited and to make matters worse they had lost their weapons during the chase.

"Stay low, keep out of sight." Jake whispered before crouching down as they began to sneak around the cavern for a way out yet all they seem to find were small pools and more caverns; It was like a maze.

"Hang on." Spike whispered as he tried to catch his breath, leaning against a stalagmite while Jake still kept watch for the Kraken. Both were exhausted from traversing the cavern and it seemed like they were getting nowhere until Jake noticed a faint smile form on Spikes face.

"What're you so happy about?"

"Just felt a nice breeze blow through here."

"Breeze?" Jake then took a small handful to find the source of the breeze Spike mentioned and from there he knew exactly where they should go.

"We need to move. Now!"

Meanwhile

Fluttershy had been comforting Daisy as the thunder roared above them. The frightened Trap Jaw cringed under Fluttershy's arm while the pegasus did her best to make her feel safe.

"There there Daisy, it's okay." Fluttershy said in a gentle voice as she stroked Daisy's back when she noticed Twilight and the others rushing out of the jungle and all covered in twigs and mud.

"Girls! what happened?"

"That giant squid ambushed us! that's what!" Rainbow answered in anger as she pulled a leaf out of her hair before taking a seat on an empty crate.

"We tried to follow them but the brush was too thick."

"And thanks to this rain we'll never find them now!" Applejack dusted her hat off as she sat behind Rainbow when Fluttershy noticed Twilight was holding a gauntlet.

"Twilight. Isn't that Spikes?"

"Yeah. It slipped off when I tried to grab him....I hope he and Jake are okay." The princess looked to the horizon, wondering where they could be. Curious about the object, Daisy began sniffing at the gauntlet Twilight held and that's when an idea struck her.

"That's it!!"

"What's it Twi?" Applejack asked as Daisy began sniffing the gauntlet some more.

"We can use Daisy to track them down! Fluttershy you think you can keep her calm?"

"Of course."

"Then what're we waiting for? Get sniffing!" Rainbow Dash ordered but like a Canterlot noble she stuck her nose up and turned the other way in defiance.

"Hey what gives?!?"

"You need to be less assertive." Fluttershy demonstrated as she took the glove from Twilight.

"Daisy. Smell."

The trap jaw did as ordered in a snap and took a quick whiff of the gauntlet before sniffing the air around them. Inch by inch, Daisy drew closer to the thickness of the trees when she finally let out a loud howl and darted straight ahead. Luckily Fluttershy had a spare transmitter for Daisy's collar.

Back at the Cave. Spike and Jake kept following the flow of air coming into the cavern while sticking to the shadows fearing the Kraken might still be around.

"Up ahead!" Spike whispered as he pointed to a bright light up ahead.

"I know they say NOT to go towards the light but in this case I'll make an acception." Jake cracked a small joke as the headed towards the exit when out of the wall came a strange worm like creature that nearly clamped his face off.

"BACK!!" He shouted, pushing Spike back.

"What gives?!? we're almost there!"

"Manglers."

"Manglers?" Spike asked as Jake gestured him to keep his voice down before pointing to what looked like a large worm with four rows of jagged teeth sticking out of a hole.

"Keep your voice down and walk slow."

From those orders, Spike figured out that the creatures hunted by sound and being near a cave entrance that was the perfect place to ambush prey. Step by step they snuck past the creatures while trying to make as little noise as possible with the noisy gravel and bones beneath their feet, even the slightest sound made the jaws of the creatures twitch and it was starting to make Spike a little jumpy.

"I swear: I will NEVER eat worms again for as long as I live!"

"You ate worms?"

"There was this disaster at the bakery back home. Best cupcakes I ever ate."

"You dragons have a weird appetite."

WROAAARGG!!

"Oh frag..." Jake said aloud as the Manglers retreated into their burrows. A large familiar shadow appeared at the entrance; The Kraken had returned with its latest kill and began feasting on it as it entered the cave. Spike and Jake were just a few feet away but thankfully the breeze blowing into the cave covered their scent.

"Now what?!?" Spike whispered to Jake as he tried to peek around the boulder they hid behind.

Meanwhile

Daisy had been charging straight through the foliage like a greyhound on a race track with the others following behind her. Rainbow and Twilight kept watch from above with Applejack and Rarity following Fluttershy and Pinkie.

"Atta girl!" Applejack cheered Daisy on, feeling like they were getting closer until at last they came to stop at a giant cavern riddled with bones at the entrance.

Knowing it would be dangerous, Twilight suggested that Rainbow and Applejack go in while the rest stayed behind. Rarity however was opposed to the idea for obvious reasons and insisted on going. Remembering the advice she got from Jake, Rainbow made sure her lightning gun was deactivated and stuck with her auto rifle.

"Ugh! the smell of this place is revolting!" Rarity declared as she tried to wave the stench off.

"Just pray to Celestia that isn't Jake or Spike your smelling cause from what we saw back at the entrance I'd say this thing's got a big appetite."

Rainbow said sounding a bit worried before moving a bit further ahead when they all began to hear a faint crunching sound. Not wanting to give themselves away, the girls quickly activated the night vision goggles on their scopes and began to move slowly into the cavern as the sound got louder.

"Is it me or does that thing sound bigger?" Applejack asked as they drew closer.

"Must've had a growth spurt from its last meal." Rainbow tried to sound smart as she peeked around the corner to see the beast feeding and growing at the same time.

"Oh...my...gosh..." Rainbow just stood in shock at the size of the Kraken. It had grown twice as big and its wings were now giving off this black mist followed by the visible spinal cord on its back, It was like something out of a horror movie. Her first thoughts were "get the hell out of there!" when she spotted Jake behind a boulder with Spike, just a few feet away from the beast.

"What do we do now?" Rarity whispered, feeling worried as they tried to think of a plan.

Knowing they now had some backup, Jake signaled Rainbow as he picked up a large rock.

"Spike. Get ready to run." He said to the dragon before throwing the rock down the cavern. The noise got the beasts attention as it dropped its kill to investigate the noise before the others made a run for it. It seemed like Jakes plan had worked until one of the manglers sprang back out of its hole and grabbed Spike by the leg.

"AAHHH!!!"

"SPIKE!!" Jake quickly grabbed him by both arms as the worm tried to drag him into its hole. The Kraken heard the commotion and began to quickly march back to the entrance.

"GET IT OFF ME!! GET IT OFF ME!!" The dragon shouted in pain when Applejack fired off two rounds, splitting it in half. Spikes leg had been badly injured and was in extreme pain as the others dragged him out while Rainbow and Rarity provided cover fire.

"SPIKE!!" Twilight shouted in fear when she saw the injury. The worms teeth had sunk deep and the princess knew that if he didn't get treatment fast he would suffer from infection.

"Fluttershy! You and Pinkie help Twilight! The rest of us will keep him busy!" As always, Jake took charge of the situation and coordinated the group into an all out attack against the monster. Thankfully Rainbow found his guns while Daisy was tracking them and quickly handed them over.

"Boom time!" With a quick movement of the hands Jake loaded his gun and began a nonstop barrage that seemed to enrage the Kraken even more.

ROOAAAR!!!

The beast roared in anger as it fired three banshee bombs but this time the team was ready. Rarity shot each one out of midair with expert precision while Rainbow and Applejack got up close and began shooting off its armor piece by piece. Seeing this chance to finish it off, Jake pulled out a small orb from his vest and quickly shouted for the others to get clear.

"Gotcha now squid face!!" He shouted as he threw the orb to the beast before it was blinded by a strange light that seemed to slow it down.

"Stasis grenade. Never leave home without it!"

"Nice work partner!" Applejack said with a smack to his shoulder. The victory however was short lived when the Kraken sent out a jolt that short circuited the grenade and to make matters worse the team was almost out of ammo.

"Well this just went from bad to worse."

"Any suggestions?"

"I got one: DUCK!!" An unknown voice shouted from behind when another grenade set the beast ablaze. The Kraken began staggering around, covered in flames as another mare came swooping down and firing off another shot.

"POUR IT ON!!" Rainbow shouted as the others joined in, finally finishing off the beast. When the fighting stopped, Jake inspected the beast to make sure it was dead and given the numerous holes in its body along with the severe burns it was a pretty safe bet as he turned his attention to their savior.

"Nice work. Standard military grenade launcher?"

"Latest model actually."

"Well all the same, nice work. I'm Jake by the way." Jake greeted her with a friendly handshake.

"Nice to meet ya. I'm Ember."

End.