CHOO CHOO

My whole body unconsciously shook me awake due to the loud whistling of the train. Opening my eyes, I took a few seconds to take in my environment. both familiar and unfamiliar faces greeted me left and right as they all readied themselves, taking their packed bags filled with standard issue meals, others chose to shoulder their weapons first before grabbing their bags. I too did the same, opening my bag I took stock on my supplies. Apparently, the people in the top told our platoon leader that this mission will take some time to finish so he told us to pack enough food to last for a month. With that being said, what I packed inside of my bag consisted of:

5 stripper clips
3 boxes, each containing 25 bullets
My knife
A water pouch
A dozen apples
20 strips of pony meat jerky

I closed by bag and hefted it over my shoulder, I then looked under my seat to grab my rifle. It wasn't like any other rifles that I saw in the train. This rifle was handed down to me by my father, he served during the war to save Equestria from its leaders but was decommissioned because a water tower landed on his platoon. In the middle of that chaos, he lost his arm rendering him unable to fight for the rest of the war. Being the eldest in a family of five, my father gave me the rifle and told me to continue where he had failed. I've never let him down since.

The rifle in question wasn't all that special when compared with the others, it had a wooden frame, inside had an pre-attached clip which can house five bullets, behind the stock was a small compartment which housed the servicing tools that can be used to clean the rifle so that it won't risk any problems of jamming, misfiring or anything that could bring detriment, it was bolt-action but the bolt itself was custom made so that it feels smoother and easier for me to pull it back and chamber the next round, finally it had a ring sight, a preferred sight for my father.

The train lurched forward making me bump my shoulder to the person on my right. He turned his head around to face me, he has dark brown hair accompanied by his jet black eyes, large pointed nose, he had a rough skin due to countless days of warfare and a long beard, mostly because he wanted to grow one.

"You ready, Zachiel?"

I shrugged, a grin forming on my face, "ready as I'll ever be... will I be finding you again in someone's bathroom?"

He gave me a mocked offended look, "Are you going to let that go?"

I gave a chuckle while shaking my head making him sigh in defeat. HIs name was Barden, my friend. Ever since I joined, he's been with me the entire time. We've been through thick and thin, we trust each other and we protect each other's backs and when the going get tough, we always find a way to punch through.

The conductor stood up from his seat and declared that we have arrived at our destination. All standing in line, we stepped out of the train and marched our way through the small hamlet. Passing by the main street, I could see some civilians waving and cheering for our arrival, beside some of them were ponies wearing saddlebags, scowls pasted on their faces, others fakes a smile and tried to cheer along but the smile they're forced upon is really strained.

Captain Rogers stood in front of his battalion, a proud smile graced his face as he is reminded of how they will be the one bringing the end to the ponies' rule and for good reason. His battalion has been in the forefront of most major battles, leading the charge and penetrating those damned pony defenses when the going gets tough. Scouts that lived in this hamlet started debriefing them about abnormity of the forest, he didn't care about the forest, he and his men are used to fighting into the unknown, a forest known to house 'deadly' monsters?

Just another Tuesday for them

Once the briefing was done, the battalion didn't waste any daylight. An hour long march towards the cottage and they now find themselves standing just within the edge of the Everfree forest. The battalion had mixed expressions but for the most part, all of them were positive, morale was high and all of them were confident that whatever wrench the ponies throw at them, their gears will continue to turn like a well oiled machine.

Being the person with the highest rank, Captain Rogers was the first person to step into the Everfree forest. Eventually, all trickled in, spreading out to cover more ground. Due to how thick dense the forest it, they knew that this mission will probably last at least for a month. They didn't make much progress during the first time, that's understandable since they reached the hamlet a few hours past the afternoon. So, they set up camp in the forest, happily telling stories.

Three days had passed and they have already made impressive progress. They did encounter some wildlife but none of them lived to tell the tale. They had reached the general area where the scouts had reported where the ponies are. When they reached the location, Captain Rogers had opted to split the group into four groups of twenty five. Afterwards he told them to split up to cover more ground. After assigning the group captains, they all split up.

Unknown to the battalion, someone has been watching them ever since they had entered the forest. With a cold and calculating gaze.

"Show time,"

0007 stood up from the branch that he perched on to watch the hunters. Once he was sure that they were spread far apart, he activated his Core.

A dangerous alien race that hunts the strong all for sport and honour. They stalk their prey using advance technologies like active camouflage and energy based weaponry but also use tribal-esque weaponries like spears and shurikens. These hunters kill and mutilate their prey in a ritualistic manner and as a prize, they keep their skulls.

[Core has allowed access to: Yautja abilities - Predator]

As soon as her was approved, his body started morphing. His normal face was reconstructed and what came out were the alien's distinguishable mandibles, his hair changed from its usual style into that of dreadlocks. His height increases reaching up to a whopping 7'3'', due to his increase in height, his skin tight shirt was ripped off, speaking of skin it had a more reptilian feel to it now. Once the transformation was finished, he then used his Core to create the Yautjas' weaponry and equipment.

His chosen equipments were:

Wrist blades
Shoulder cannon
Bladed discs
Whip
Active camouflage
Bio-Helmet

Fully decked out in his preferred weaponry, the blood of the Yautja began to flow through his veins. The game was on, a hundred prey to hunt.

Under the setting sun, 0007 reeled back and roared

Author's Note

The hunt is on! Tell me your thoughts! If there is something wrong with the Lore of the Predator then please, feel free to correct me!