A loud siren was heard along with gunshots echoing all around. The entire city was in panic as thousands and thousands of people ran around screaming. There was suddenly a bright flash of light as the ground violently shook, then the air rushed around burning and...
"Wake up little one."
"I'll guide all three of you."
"Go forth, may the elements guide you."
"ZPCI! Drop your weapons!"
Mike woke up with a gasp. He sat up breathing heavily, startling Alexander. The older teenager had picked up his Ember Rifle and pointed it around cautiously before placing it back down.
"Mike! are you alright?" Alexander asked in concern, waiting for his friend to recover from whatever bad dream he had.
Still shaken from the nightmare, Mike closed his eyes and took a few calming deep breaths before finally opening them again to gaze at the older teenager. "Yeah, I'm fine Alex. It's just another nightmare."
Alexander nodded in understanding as he stroked the fire with more wood.
"So. What do we do now?" Mike asked as Alexander tossed the stick into the fire and dusted off his hands.
"Now? I don't know Mike. Those villagers down there seem a bit nervous, mostly because of us." Alexander replied and pointed to himself.
Mike rolled his eyes in amusement. "Oh please, are you trying to tell me that they're xenophobic or something?"
Alexander only chuckled and nervously scratched the back of his head. "They don't even like this forest at all." he replied.
"Good point." Mike agreed and sat close to the fire.
"Considering how Trump actually succeeded in building a wall and failed to watch his ass at the same time, I guess that shows how stupid people are." Alexander said with a smirk.
"Yeah, and look where we are now." Mike added.
Both teenagers laughed at the cruel joke.
"And soon, the poor will have nothing to eat but the rich." Mike whispered quietly to himself.
Both teenagers stayed uncomfortably silent while the sound of the fire crackling continued.
They suddenly heard loud zaps followed by animals yelping and scattering around. Turning around, they saw Mark approaching with his Storm Rifle slung over his shoulder while twelve large rocks made of diamonds were held in his telekinetic grip. His pet Cockatrice Steve sat on his shoulder, happily chirping a greeting.
"Hey guys, I'm back!" Mark announced with a grin and sat down with his companions.
"Well, it took you long enough." Alexander said.
"Well, I gotta find some ways to make money right?" Mark responded with a playful pout. He placed the stones on the ground and scooted close to Mike.
"So, you actually found more of these things?" Mike asked as he examined the shiny rocks Mark brought.
Mark only smiled and nodded while petting Steve on the head, earning a happy chirp from the Cockatrice. "So! what did I miss?" he asked his two companions.
The sounds of the three teenagers talking and laughing echoed throughout the night, not noticing the stars twinkling and the shadow of a mare silently escaping from the moon.
Only Mike noticed this and narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
Both Alexander and Mark had fallen asleep while Mike sat in front of the now dead fire, only a pile of ashes and burnt sticks remained. The fire had gone out and both of his companions had already fallen asleep, but he couldn't rest at all.
'But something doesn't feel right.' Mike thought to himself as he lazily examined his rifle. It was a Rebellion Striker, the bayonet was stained with blood from previous battles. He remembered how he fought valiantly as the enemy came, he remembered dying next to his two best friends as the nuclear bombs dropped.
A loud growl distracted Mike from his thoughts and he looked up to see a Timberwolf glaring hungrily at him and his two slumbering companions. With a shake of his head, Mike used his Vapour Cannon attack. The Timberwolf yelped in pain before retreating.
"Good doggie." Mike muttered, putting away his rifle and laid down to sleep.
Just as Mike was about to close his eyes, only to open them again when he heard six female voices in the distance. Now fully aware, he woke up his slumbering companions much to their annoyance and they too heard the voices and hastily prepared themselves.
Alexander led the way, his Marine training kicking into overdrive as Mike and Mark kept their eyes out for any sign of danger. They knew not to go near the blue flowers as their instincts had warned them, Steve chirped quietly as he sat on Mark's shoulder as the teen petted him.
"Over there." Alexander whispered, pointing at the six figures in the distance.
All three teens quietly caught up with the six mares and kept watching them as they went. They examined the six mares from their distance and were interested that some of them had wings or a horn.
"What are these six women doing in the forest?" Mike asked Alexander in curiosity.
Mark wanted to make a comment, but his playful attitude had become serious. Just what are these crazy women thinking, coming into a very dangerous place like this?
"I don't know, but I don't want them to get hurt or worse." Alexander replied, his grip tightened on his Ember Rifle.
The three teenagers followed the mares for a while, until they heard a loud scraping noise.
"That doesn't sound good." Mike told his companions.
The ground suddenly gave out and the teenagers watched in shock as the purple woman screamed and fell, but she managed to save herself by grabbing the ledge but only for a moment as the woman wearing a cowboy hat attempted to grab her and pull her back up.
"We must save her!" Mike panicked but was stopped by Alexander.
"Look." the older teen said and pointed to the pink haired woman as she hovered with the purple unicorn woman in her grip.
"Jesus, that was a close one." Mark whispered in relief.
Mike was very confused about why these six mares are still going into the forest. He and his friends followed them and watched in amazement as these mares passed the obstacles that stood before them.
They watched in amazement as the butter colored mare stopped the Manticore, they chuckled at the childish pink mare who sang a silly song and made all her friends laugh. Of course, that didn't stop the three teenagers from drawing mustaches on the trees. They even met up with their old friend Steven Magnet the river serpent, they chatted for a while before giving chase to the six mares.
"They're just like us when we first started, eh, Mikey?" Mark laughed, playfully bumping the younger teen with his hip.
Mike only shook his head with a blush and smiled. "Heh, yeah. Good times."
The teenagers continued to follow the six mares, curious about what is the reason for these mares to be in this dangerous forest.
"Oh. Now I see." Alexander muttered when he saw why the women entered the forest in the first place.
The teenagers kept a safe distance once the six mares stopped in front of an old bridge, leading to an old ruined castle. They watched as a rainbow maned woman zipped across the bridge and into the fog.
"I suddenly have a bad feeling about this." Mark said uncomfortably. He looked around as his psychic senses went haywire and he tried to look for the cause of it. Then he sensed it. The fog. It had dark energy within it.
Before Mark could say anything, the rainbow maned woman returned to her group and the six mares continued onward across the old bridge.
They remembered the Tree of Harmony's request to help the Equestrians. "When the time is right, you three will know what to do." the tree whispered. Now filled with determination, the three teenagers went after the mares ready to protect the innocent and to fight for what is right.
The three teenagers looked at each other and nodded.
This is their destiny.
