Project Rift

Before and After

One Hour before Spitfire's awakening...

"Time to get up!

Voices were shouting to wake up the sleeping soldiers on the ground. Ray flashed opened his eyes at the loud voices, he got himself up and looked around him; the sun still hasn't risen to start the day, but the moon was shining brightly. The groans of soldiers getting up was heard all over area, some of them put their helmets and others didn't. Velazquez yawned out loudly and stretched is arms in the air. "Man, how long we're we asleep?" he asked, tired.

"I don't know, but it was worth it," replied Alveraz

"Better eat now, than starve later," said a squad leader

The soldiers got their MRE's out and began to eat their preserved food. Ray got his out and looked at it to see what type of meal he had: Beef Ravioli. "It'll do...". He opened up its contents and began to prepare the main course, he then took the first bite out of the meal. Ray then took out the cracker snacks that came in the meal, and also bit into them.

  "Kind of wanted something better, but beats being famished," said Velazquez. "But what did you guys get?"

"I got a Sloppy Joe," replied Derrick

"Beef Ravioli," added Ray

  "Nice..."

All four were in the middle of their eating, when the portal suddenly appeared before all soldiers and vehicles. "Oh shit, I wonder what they're going to send," a soldier said. All eyes were on the giant spiral vortex, silence only filled them. Its brightness reflecting off the surfaces of anything nearby. Seconds went by, and nothing happened, then a moment passed by; still nothing had happened.

"Uhh, is something suppost to happen, or are they pulling some foolish joke," a soldier said. Murmurs began to grow from amongst the crowd of soldiers. Suddenly, figures appeared from the portal. Ray squinted his eyes to get a better glimpse of the figures from the portal's brightness. The portal disappeared, revealing four ghilie snipers.

  "Welcome to the party, amigos!" Velazquez happily announced at the snipers

"So that's all they sent? I though it was going to be a tank or something," said a soldier in disappointment

All personnel went back to eating their meals. The squad leaders approached to confront the four snipers. "Welcome to the planet where all your dreams come true," Boxer sarcastically joked

The sniper infront of him smirked under his balaclava mask, "Isn't that exciting," he said. "Well I'm Master Sergeant Nathan Biller, USMC, We'll be your eyes and ears out there."

"Good to have you here, we already have two of your friends wandering somewhere on this planet." Boxer said, with a smirk.

"Do you know them?"

"Sorry, don't know them, but do you know where they went?" Biller asked, wanting to know their positions on this uncharted planet.

"Oh, one of them went up that mountain over there," Boxer said, pointing at the large mountains far from their position. "The other one went somewhere up there too, but I think he's probably farther away than any of us by now.

"Well lets hope they don't get their cover blown," Biller regarded.

"I have confidence in them that they won't get caught..."

Everyone was now finishing their meals and readying themselves for what was to come. Ray stashed his trash into the MRE bag, and placed in his backpack. Derrick was making sure that his weapon was prepared, and Alveraz and Velazquez checking through their equipment.

"Alright! I got some news for all of you!" the Stryker Company Commander said, out loud. "We just got orders that the Strykers are going to guard the drop zone. So, that means you're all going on foot. Echo and Foxtrot are staying here with us. Everyone else is going to move out in ten."

"So, is there anything that's going on back on Earth?" Boxer asked Biller.

"Not really, but the promised helicopter support will arrive in a few hours," Biller replied. "But by the way, what are you guys going to do while your away?"

"Just scout the planet out and report anything that we see, or encounter out there," answered the Alpha squad leader

"Well, I guess I'll grab my partner, and send the two others on their way as well..."

The moon was now lower in the sky, turning into a transparent circle as it descended. The night sky was starting to turn to a indigo as it withdrew, while dawn was nearing.

"Let's go!" Boxer commanded loudly

Ray strapped on his backpack and grabbed his rifle, the three others formed up with the squad.

"We're going to head up the mountain with Alpha, and we're going to check out what the hell is on the otherside that we didn't cover. Charlie and Delta are also going to do the same thing, but once we get up there the squads are going to split up in different directions. So, we can cover more ground that way. We possibly might also encounter some of our "hidden" friends along the way," Boxer explained. "Any questions?"

"Yeah, I got one, when is the helicopter going to arrive?" Alveraz asked

"In a few hours or midday," answered Boxer. "Anymore questions?"

Silence only remained in the squad. "Alrights let's go."

The four squads embarked on their journey up the mountain. They walked their way up, passing by multiple trees, bushes, and more vegetation. The terrain started to rise the more they approached the mountains. The path was still darkened by the slowly dissapearing night sky, the cold air covering the darkened lands. Ray looked to his right, and saw Alpha squad traveling along with them, just a meters away, he then looked up at the ominous mountains ahead of them. Something tells me that we're going to discover something very odd...

"Where are those four snipers that came through the portal?" Victor asked

"They got a head start and are probably minutes ahead of us," Boxer replied

  "Were they assigned a special task or something?" asked Alveraz

"Nope, they're just like us, trying to discover what this planet holds."

The squad started to enter the forest that was at the base of the mountains, the path becoming darker, as the light barely lit the way for them. The trees were but tall shadows; standing menacingly in the path. The sounds of the unknown forest critters rang throughout the dense forest, their noises echoing off the surfaces.

"Does anyone have a bad feeling about this?" Victor asked, suspiciously

"Yeah...this place doesn't look "too" friendly. But I wonder what animals are making those sounds?" Alveraz asked.

"I don't, but let's hope that-" Victor was cutoff when shuffling in the bushes right next to him was heard. The squad aimed their weapons at the bush, Victor slowly took steps backwards away from it. The shuffling got louder; the fingers on the triggers getting itchy. The shuffling stopped and a small rabbit appeared from the bush. The squad lowered their weapons down at the non-threatening animal.

"Jesus! I thought it was going to be some savage animal that was going to jump out!" Victor yelped, at the small rabbit.

"Whoa, I was about to blow its head off," Boxer said, pointing his M1014 shotgun away from the rabbit.

"Phew! I guess we got lucky on that," a squad member added.

"Yeah, but...doesn't it look a bit wierd," Boxer said, pointing a finger at the "strange" rabbit. The squad looked at it with beady eyes, determining if it was strange or not.

  "It does kind of look wierd," Velazquez said. "But, we're scaring the shit out of it, just by us staring at it." The rabbit was trembling in fear at the tall unknown creatures it considered. The rabbit lifted its right leg slightly above the ground, and dissapeared instantly out of sight back into the bush. The squad was surprised to see how quickly the small animal escaped from them.

"Whoa, Did you see that little bastard run!?" Victor said, amazed at the rabbits speed.

"Damn, the little guy looked like he was going to have a heart attack," Alveraz said.

"That's cute, but we need to move on! We got no time to waste!" Boxer added, making the squad get back on track. They continued up the path tot he mountains; listening to more of the sounds of the creatures within the forest. Alveraz looked tot he left of him, observing how the terrain went downwards to the side looking really muddy, then raising upwards again with dirt at the top. Some light fog started to roll in the area where the squad was; obscuring the path slightly ahead.

"Uh oh, that shit doesn't look friendly at all..." a squad member cautiously warned.

"Afraid of a little fog," Victor taunted.

"No, but some alien creature could be in there..."

Victor facepalmed at the statement of the squad mamber. "We are all alien creatures here. If there is one that wants to kill us so bad, then we'll gladly put rounds in it. Does that sound good enough?" Victor asked, sarcastically.

"Good enough for me..."

The squad entered the fog-covered path. They had their weapons aimed up, as they continued deeper into the obscuring wall of low clouds. "Man, what would I do to have some thermals sights right now," Velazquez said, as it was difficult to see throughout the fog.

"Wimp..." Victor randomly said.

  "Who you calling a wimp!" Velazquez said, childishly.

"Both of you shut up! We're almost out of this crap," Boxer retorted.

The fog slowly started to fade away as the exit approached more closer. The exit revealed the same dirt-covered path that continued upwards up the mountain. "Oh, finally!" Alveraz said, in glee that they came out of the fog. The early morning sunlight begun to penetrate the thick tree canopies from above,striking its warm, orange light on the tree stems, and its rays of light hovered in the air. The forest appeared very mystical and tranquil, as morning already begun to arrive. .

"Now, this place looks way more friendlier," the same squad member added.

"Here we go again..." Victor snorted

Ray looked ahead of the squad and saw two of the four snipers that came from the portal earlier. Ray observed them curiously at these elite marksmen. But they slightly dissapeared from his eyesight, as they easily blended in to the environment. The two snipers suddenly stopped, and they crouched down aiming their weapons upwards. Ray's realized what this meant and immediately alerted the squad. "Everyone get down!"

The squad dropped into the vegetation to the sides of the path and check their surroundings. "Seargant, what wrong?" Boxer asked, still looking around for any likely threats.

"Look at the two snipers ahead of us," Ray replied.

Boxer glanced at the two sniper infront of them and saw they were crouched and aiming their weapons. "Oh shit....that's not good," he said, under his breath.

Ray looked up in the direction where the snipers were aiming at, he didn't see anything, but then it came to sight: a pegasus. It wasn't clear enough to see all details it had, since it was a silhouette by the sunlight shining from behind it. The pegasus then flew above the airspace between the squad and the two snipers.

It floated there turning its head in different directions, then descending to the ground. It planted it hoofs on the dirt path and was now clearly visible for full detail. It was a mare, it had a blue seafoam green mane and tail. The coat color was a light yellow, and the eye-colour also matched its mane and tail.

The two snipers dropped instantly to the ground and gazed at the prime threat to all. The pegasus had a smile as it observed the natural surroundings of the dense forest. It then took steps forwards, heading for the direction of the squad that was hidden with the enviroment.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Boxer hissed, as the pegasus approached them. "Go away you dumb horse...go away!"

The pegasus stopped just meters away from them. But it miracously didn't notice them. It turned around and went the opposite direction, heading towards the two camouflaged snipers. Although they were completely covered, they were still on a dirt path with some slight vegetation; meaning they were still slightly exposed to the naked eye. "Oh shit, it's heading for both of them!" Velazquez whispered out loud.

The pegasus was nearing the two snipers down the path, it was now just a meter away from them. The pegasus took another step, and was now in between the two camouflaged marksmen. It took a single step forward but felt that it stepped on something organic. "Huh?"

The pegasus looked down at where it stepped on, and realized that it was actually something alive, "What the!" The pegasus jumped back from it and the sniper to the right immediately rose up from the ground.

"What are you!?" she cried out. "Some sort of plant monster thing!"

The "plant monster" slowly approached her as she backed away and trembled in fear. The leaves it stepped on crunched loudly as it took single steps. The pegasus looked at whatever it had at the end of its arms; claws or anything else; it had a object that was covered in what appeared to be grass or vegetation on it with a tube in the front. The pegasus lowered herself as the distance between her and the monster diminished. "What are you going to do!?" she yelped.

She then felt that she bumped into tree bark, meaning that now she was cornered against a tree with the plant monster. It approached and stopped a few steps away infront of her. The monster gave her a cold stare under its plant-covered eyes. It pointed the object it had in its grasp at her. The pegasus' heart was rapidly pounding against her chest as the monster pointed the object at her. But it then the monster lifted it up in the air, rotating it sideways, then pointing the end of it at her.

WHUMP!

The plant monster struck her down violently unconscious to the head. "Shit happens...." it menacingly said.

"Holy crap!" Boxer yelled, while getting back up from the ground

  "Hahaha! You totally scared the shit out of it!" exclaimed Victor

The squad got back up and approached the sniper with its unconscious pegasus "companion". They circled around the scene, and looked downwards at the pegasus. All of them were shocked at this unexpected encounter. Victor nodded his head at the unconscious pegasus with a menacing smile. "We showed it..."

"Yeah, but...what's it doing all the way out there? I thought there was nothing out here but us," Alveraz said, wandering why this certain pegasus was out here on its own.

"Good question, but who knows why. Now all we gotta do is put it somewhere away before wakes up," Boxer said

"You guys should take it and find a place to leave it," the sniper added.

"I guess we're going with that then. Lancewood, your going to carry it!" Boxer commanded

Derrick grabbed the pegasus and firefighter carried it. The other sniper up the path got up in disbelief at what his partner did, "Man, are you crazy!" he yelled. The sniper with the squad shrugged back at the other sniper. They began their journey upwards tot eh mountain again without delay. While they were traveling up the mountain, Velazuqez curiously observed the markińgs it had on its flank. "Why does it have drops of water on its flank?"

"What do you mean?" Alveraz was confused. "Are you sure that some animal attacked it and left some bites."

  "No, I mean, first there's a photo of a horse that has apple markings on it. Now, there's a pegasus that has drops of water as an emblem, or whatever it is," Velazquez said

"I get the feeling it's going to get more weird while we're scouting..."

The morning light begun to emerge more brighter as the sun rose into the sky. Its light bringing life and warmth to the cold, darkened forest. The birds sung, the sounds of wind traveling through the forest, the sky was no longer a silhoutte; it was now a dark blue clear sky. The hills and trees brought much natural diversity to the land. The squad was brought to a halt by a river that divided the land into two. It flowed downwards into a cave. It didn't appear deep but it was best to make sure it was safe to cross.

"Hold up, I'll go check it out," said Boxer.

Boxer went ahead of the squad and observed his surroundings, seeing if there was a large stick or object to make sure the river was deep or shallow. He was able to spot a large stick by a small boulder by the bank of the river. "That'll do."

He grabbed it and placed the end of it into the tranquil, flowing water current. The stick sank a foot down, Boxer withdrew the stick upwards and threw it somewhere randomly; making the sound of a water splash where it landed. He returned back to the squad to inform them of the river depth. "Its shallow enough to cross, lets go." The sqaud proceeded to the river and took their steps into the murky water. Their legs dragging the water everytime they took a step forwards, leaving a stream of water behind, just like a contrail of an airplane. A sudden moan came from the pegasus that Derrick carried was heard.

The squad immediately halted, and turned their heads at Derrick and the pegasus. Derrick too, also turned his eyes towards the very unusual package he carried. "Let's get a move on!" He nervously said, as the pegasus was near to waking up. The squad continued their way up the hill before the pegasus awakens from a painful sleep...

************

.

Fourty-Five minutes before the incident with the humans...

"Come on, Spike. I gave you an extra hour to sleep, we have to get moving if we want to get there on time."

Twilight was packing her saddlebag for the trip ahead of them, she packed food, water, and a very special item too: the skull. She observed this intimidating head piece of bone, every single detail was recorded down: eye-socket size; teeth; structure. The jaws was the attention grabber for Twilight. The carnivorous teeth it had in the front, yet, there was teeth that was suited for a herbivore creature. "This creature must eat both plants and..." Twilight winced at the word that she didn't want to hear. "...meat."

  "Okay, I'm ready," Spike added

Twilight looked took her eyes off the skull, and directed them at Spike. "Well, let's get going."

Twilight gently placed the skull inside the saddlebag and closed the pouch. Spike was surprised to see that Twilight was actually going to take the skull with her along the trip. "Are you sure thats a good idea to take that thing with us?" he regarded. "Because I think it will be nothing but trouble."

"I'm just going to bring it to study it along the way. It might also be our answer to what this thing might belong to," said Twilight

Spike shrugged and walked towards the door to start the trip, he turned back at Twilight who was at her podium, writing down on a small sticky note. "Alright, I'm ready, but what are you doing?"

"I'm just going to leave a note at the door saying that we're going to be away for awhile," Twilight replied, with a smile.

She finished the note by placing a firmly printed period at the end of the sentence. Twilight then strapped on her saddlebag, and trotted towards the door by the awating Spike. They both exited out the doorway, and Spike closed the door; Twilight placing the note on its wooden surface. "Alright, let's go."

Ponyville was barely awakening for the day. The night sky was above them and the moon glowed brightly. Few ponies were outside preparing their shops or stands; a faint orange light barely began to glow from the horizon. Morning was soon to come. Twilight and Spike greeted the early-morning ponies with a smile or a simple "Hello." The street lamp posts softly glowed and reflected its light off the surfaces of the houses, and lit the dirt floor around them. Twilight looked back at the pouch on the saddle where it contained the unpleasant item. I hope it will solve this mystery of aliens or creature it was...

The wide open exit to Ponyville was ahead of them. The mountains were stightly visible by the darkness they were conceived in. The size of the natural large bodies begun to intimidate Spike as they were traveling towards it. "What do you think we're going to find there?"

"I don't know, but I hope we find an answer to this 'thing'," Twilight said, looking backing at the pouch where the "thing" was. "But I forgot to tell you this."

  "And what would that be?" asked Spike

"The other night when the packages arrived, I stayed up for a while after you fell asleep. I tried to fall asleep but I couldn't. So, I went down to the balcony to see if it would help me. But it only made me witness a strange event," Twilight said, suspiciously.

  "What is a comet or a meteor shower?" Spike randomnely guessed

"No, I saw a light that glowed from behind those mountains. I thought it was something else but...from that far away, it had to be something large or great to produce such a light," Twilight explained

  "So, are you saying it was possibly the aliens that you believe are real or it's just a random event?" Spike asked

"I wish I had the answer but who knows who could have done that. But you could be right, it might possibly the aliens."

Spike gulped at that fact it was possible that extraterrestrial beings were responsible for the strange light. They were now out of Ponyville and were on the outskirts of the small town. The morning light was slowly rising from the dark horizon. They travelled the path that went up a hill, and the sight of Sweet Apple Acres was in full view. The apple trees were tall silhouettes and the fields were faintly brightened by the moonlight.

  "You think Applejack is awake?" asked Spike

"Maybe, but it doesn't look like it. There's no light coming from the farmhouse or anywhere, actually," Twilight replied

The two headed down the road to the apple farm, they approached the front gate to enter, but there something very peculiar they saw. The ground was marred by prints or tracks of something large. Multiple apples were scattered all over the ground, as if the Apple Family bucked the trees but didn't even bother to pick up the sweet fruit. "Strange, this is very unusual. But why are all the apples all over the place?" asked Twilight, suspiciously.

  "Yeah, but you think some animal could have down this?" Spike asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to check on Applejack to see if everything is alright," Twilgiht said, still suspicious at the sight of scattered apples and strange markings on the ground. They approached the farmhouse where there was more markings on the ground. Twilight was growing concerned for what could have happened to her friend or her family. Twilight neared the door of the farmhouse and knocked on it. "Applejack? Applejack?"

Silence was the only response Twilight got back. Strange sounds were heard from the inside and Twilight put a ear against the door to hear what was the noise. The noise of shoving heavy objects and items was loudly heard on the otherside of the door. Twilight took three steps back away from the door. The door slowly opened with Applejack cautiously poking her head out; her mane was a mess and her eyes were tired.

"Twilight, come in quick!" Applejack whispered

Twilight hastily entered the farmhouse with Spike behind her. Twilight looked around the living room, noticing furniture and other objects were used to strangely block the doorway. "Applejack, why did you barricade the door?" she asked, suspiciously

  "Twilight, Ah don't know how to explain this..." said Applejack. "...these things came into Sweet Apple Acres and..."

"And what?" Twilight urged

"Ah don't know. They were walking around the place as if they lost somethin', but it got worse after that," Applejack said

"What do you mean 'worse'?" asked Spike

"There were so many of them. They all looked through the windows to see what was on the inside of the living room, but then they were somehow able to unlock the door."

Twilight and Spike were surprised that these things that visited Applejack's home managed to open a secured locked door. "What did you do next?" Spike asked, excited at the story.

Applejack sighed and continued on her story. "Ah went upstairs and got Big Macintosh to help me out with this problem, but they unlocked the door by that time, and we went upstairs and locked ourselves with Granny and Apple Bloom in my room. They tried to enter my room but they couldn't. Ah thought they were also going to unlock that one too, but Ah think they gave up on it," Applejack explained

Twilight and Spike were now really shocked at the surprising story they were just told, a souden was suddenly heard outside, but it sounded simliar to sounds those creatures made last night. "Uh oh...That's not good," whispered Applejack. The sound suddenly stopped and silence remained. "Why are you whispering?" asked Spike

"Stay quiet! It sounded like one of those things that came here last night," replied Applejack, whispering louder

The sound never returned but Applejack frantically peered through each window to make sure it wasn't one of those things. Twilight and Spike stared at her confused on why Applejack was desperately looking outiside through each window.

  "Uh...Applejack? Why are you looking through each window in a hurry?" asked Spike, scratching his head

"Because they could be out there!" Applejack lowly exclaimed

"Applejack, I know you're afraid but how did these things look like?" asked Twilight

Applejack calmed down and sighed to explain, she also rubbed her right foreleg as she tried her best to explain. "Ah don't know how to explain but they were tall and the body shape they had was very...different."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at how the body type Applejack explained. "What do you mean their "body shape" were different?"

"It was just you know, not pony or anything Ah've seen," said Applejack

"It must of have been some strange animal around here," said Twilight

"No, Twilight, they were really different; it didn't look like a animal but more like a creature not from here at all," Applejack lowly said

  "What do you mean "not from here"? Spike asked, suspiciously

Applejack sighed at the unexplainable questions she was being asked. "Ah'm sorry, Spike. Ah just don't know what they are or anything else about them, Ah wish I knew but Ah don't."

"That's okay but it's just weird how these thing look like when you told us," said Spike

Twilight turned her head away from the conversation and looked out one of the windows; the sun was starting to barely rise, and she knew they'd have to be on their way soon. She turned back at the conversation, but a sudden strange force came upon her, then went away. "Uh, did you guys just feel something right now?" she asked, confused

"No, why? Did you feel sick for the moment?" asked Applejack

"Must have been nothing," Twilight calmly replied

"Twilight, I want to ask you something," asked Applejack, in a suspicious tone. "What are ya doin' up this early? And why do you have a saddle with you too?"

Twilight happily smiled at the question her friend was asking. "Oh, me and Spike are going on a little trip. We're heading to some mountains just for fun."

"Well, that's sounds nice, I wish I could go. But I've got some work to do today."

"But, Applejack..."

"What is it?"

"Have you noticed those markings outside on the ground?"

"What do ya mean?" Applejack was confused at the question. "Did those things destroy the outside!?"

Applejack approached the door and opened it, but stopped frozen in her tracks at the sight of fog blanketing the farm. It prohibited any view of the apple trees, fields, or anything that was too distant. "What in the hay? When did this appear?"

  "Woah, it's like if it suddenly came out of nowhere," Spike said, surprised at the random fog cover.

"How was this able to get here real fast?" Twilight asked confused

Applejack took a step forward out of the farmhouse and checked her surroundings. The area seemingly was empty but Applejack felt there was something mysteriously wrong about this, she then took more steps forward, but she felt that she stepped on an uneven piece of dirt on the floor. "Huh?"

The dirt was lowered down in certain sections or patterns by a large marking on the ground. It appeared as if a giant wheel had rolled over the area. Applejack was shocked by this large unusual marking on the ground. "Twilight...Ah think Ah found the markings on the ground that you mentioned."

Twilight trotted up to her and too, looked at the bizarre marking. "Applejack, did a large wagon suddenly showed up to your home while working yesterday?"

"No, Ah dont recall any large wagons or even carriages coming' here. But what did make this thing?"

"This doesn't make any sense. First there's your encounter with those things, then the markings here on the ground, then this fog mysteriously appears, but I think this is natural fog. But the main question is: what were those things that came here last night?" Twilght asked, growing very suspicious over the recent events

"Ah just hope that whatever it is it won't come back here any more," said Applejack

Twilight looked up to see where the sun was, but saw a hazy line of light in the thick fog. She decided it was best to leave to catch up on time for her expedition to the mountains. "Applejack, I have to get going now. I wish I could stay longer but I can't, I hope everything turns out alright for you and your family."

"Thanks, Twilight. Ah hope you have fun."

Twilight was about to depart, but didn't Spike wasn't anywhere in sight. "Where is Spike by the way?" Spike!"

"Ah think he stayed inside the farmhouse," Applejack said

Twilight and Applejack entered the farmhouse again but Spike wasn't in there either. Twilight was growing concerned on her assistant's location. "Where is he?"

Applejack went outside again to search for him but still he didn't appeared. Suddenly, sounds of footsteps running towards was heard within the fog. Applejack turned her head at the sound and observed closley for what was approaching. Spike appeared running from the fog and out of breath. "Take it easy their, partner! What in the hay are y'all running from?" Applejack asked, suspiciously

Twilight came out of the farmhouse and was relieved that Spike was alright. "Spike, where were you? I was getting worried!" She trotted right next to Applejack to confront him but also noticed that he was out of breath. "Were you running or something?"

Spike caught his breath again and explained. "You've got to believe me! When you two went to go see that marking, I saw something in the fog. So, I went to go see what it was, and it was a creature or a thing. I followed it but it was wierd how it looked like! It was tall and made out of plants or grass, or whatever it was. It turned around and saw me and it started started to approach me! So, I ran away from it. But you really got to believe me!" he cried out

"It was made out of plants?" Twilight was caught by surprise about a creature made out of plants. "Are you sure it wasn't one of the apple trees or your imagination that you mistook for a 'plant creature'?"

"I swear it wasn't a tree or imagination!" Spike yelped

Applejack was growing more frightened if that creature Spike saw was actually those things that invaded her house last night. "Twilght, if he's telling the truth, then Ah'm going back inside the house right now to block the door again. Ah am not taking any chances with those things crawling around here," she stated boldly

"That's okay, we'll also be on our way too," said Twilight, as she begun to depart from Applejack.

"Please be careful, Twilight," said Applejack from behind

"Always..." Twilight replied.

Twilight slowly dissapeard into the fog in Applejack's sight, but something in the corner of her eye caught a object run into the fog-covered apple trees. "What the?"

By the time she turned to see it, it was already out of sight. "Ah hope it was nothin'."

Twilight calmly made her way towards the exit of Sweet Apple Acres, but Spike was on edge as he frantically searched every apple tree for that plant monster. The front gate was emerging in sight and Twilight grinned at the exit. "Ow!" Spike randomly yelped. Twilight stopped and turned around to see what was wrong. "Are you okay?"

  "No! A rock just hit me in the back of my head!" exclaimed Spike, in a irritated tone.

"A rock couldn't have just been thrown at you or fallen. So, what did?" asked Twilight, confused

They both faced the path behind them, trying to find the responsible cause for the anonymous rock thrown at Spike. Nothing appeared in sight, but only the fog-covered dirt path and the apple trees to the sides. "Spike, it probably fell from a tree," Twilight suggested

  "It didn't feel like it fell from a tree! It felt like it was thrown at me! But why would a rock be on a tree?" he cried out

"Well thrown or not, we still have to get moving."

  "Fine..."

BONK!

"SERIOUSLY! WHO'S THROWING THEM AT ME!" Spike shouted, as he rubbed the back of his head where another rock collided. Twilight was shocked by the sudden loud, aggressive tone of Spike. "What's wrong!?"

  "Something just threw another rock at me!"

Twilight was now really suspicious over the rock throwing thing. "It can't be Applejack, she's too far to be throwing a rock at you, but she wouldn't do that and the fog wouldn't even allow to see where she was going to throw it; 'if' she did. But what's throwing them?" Twilight looked back at the trail behind them to see if another rock was thrown to point out its origin from where it was thrown from; but not a single rock or pebble was flung at them. "Spike, walk backwards towards exit," she cautiously advised

The two slowly began to walk backwards to the exit as the rocks were no longer being thrown for the moment. It took them some seconds to reach the front gate. They turned to the right and quickly made their way out of Sweet Apple Acres, Spike turned around to make sure it was clear. But his left eye twitched at the sight of the plant creature standing in the middle of the fog-covered road, waving its arm at Spike as he left the property. Spike didn't say any words but coldly stared at the tall plant creature as he travelled further and further away.

****************

Present time...

The squad had already traversed through many terrains as they continued up the mountain. They were still making their way up top but had delays whenever the unconscious pegaus made a twitch or any noise at all. "Hurry!" Alveraz said. The squad begun a fast pace to the top before they experienced a rude-awakening. The path dissaperead and now it was a steep grass covered way up. The squad rushed to the top but some of the members stumbling as they went up.

Ray was infront of the group and was near the top of the troublesome mountain. He took a step forward and planted his boot on the top of the mountain. The others shortly arrived, some of them slightly panting for air. Velazquez came right next to Ray to the left, punching him playfully in the arm. "Showoff..."

"Shut up," Ray replied, with a grin. "But check out the view."

All of them were amazed by such a magnificent sight; the land was so vast and had a color of green that they have never seen before. The sky was a much more colorful shade of blue and they were above the clouds on this mountain. Down below we're large hills that formed canyons that stretched more into this land. Ray looked back and saw a massive hill that obscured the view of the portal's drop zone, but by going to the side of these mountains would allow a great view of the zone, or simply just by going on top of the hill that was behind the mountain.

  "This is amazing," said Velazquez

"Isn't that so..." a voice came to his left

  "What the!"

A ghillie snipe rose from a bush and stepped out of it to confront the squad. They were surprised to see that one of their own was there the whole time without them noticing. "So that's where you went you bastard," Velazuez mischievously repiied.

"Yup, had a all-nighter up here," said the sniper

"I've bet that was fun...," Jerry surprisingly talked.

"When the hell did you start talking!?" exclaimed Victor, surprised

"Just about now," Jerry replied, under a different gas mask he wore with the lenses acting like a mirror, reflecting anything he stared at. "So, you've seen anything important while you were here?"

"Just some of those pegasus flying out there from far away, but damn how attempting it is to try and shoot one down," the sniper replied, making a fist.

  "Don't we all want to hunt some insane sport," Velazquez added

"Of course, But I see you have a certain traveller with you," said the sniper, noticing the pegasus that Derrick carried on his back. "Did you guys kill it or knock it out?"

"Some of your "plant monster" friends knocked it out," answered Alveraz

" 'Plant Monster'?" The sniper forming a smirk under mask. "Is that a nickname you gave us or is it something else?"

"That and it actually talks..." Boxer replied blankly

"Well I'll be damned..."

The squad observed the land from above and it's natural features, how mysterious it appeared. Alveraz was enjoying the view, but some large objects caught his attention. "Hey, I think see some structures down there!" All of them focused their attention at the objects to see if it was structures, and surprisingly it was.

"Well, looks like we found a actual town than instead some apple farm in the middle of somewhere. I guess it's time to go check it out," Boxer said

  "Yeah, but we have go in at night, remember?" Velazquez reminded

"Damn, you're right."

Boxer looked up at the position of the sun to tell what of day it was, unfortunately, it would be a long wait until nightfall.

"Randler, come in, over." a voice whispered over the radio

"What is it?" Randler the ghillie sniper replied, putting a hand in the radio he had

"I'm right on the outskirts of a small town and there's a lot of activity in the area"

"You didn't get your cover blown, didn't you? Because I don't know how we're going to rescue you, or you yourself escape the area."

"No, I haven't been seen or...you know what?"

"What?" asked Randler

"I did get a...uh...I think it was a small dragon mad"

The squad immediately looked at Randler when the sniper on the radio said "Dragon". Randler also was dumbstruck by his friend's spoken word. "Did you just say "Dragon"?'

"Yeah, I was in some farm and it was really foggy. And there was also a unicorn! But the little bastard dragon saw me and he followed me, then he took off running scared shitless when I looked at him! It was funny, but they didn't really believe him on what he said"

"Ramirez, are you crazy! You were at the border-line of getting caught!" Randler scolded at him. "It doesn't matter if there a lot of fog to cover you, but stay hidden at all times! But who is this 'they'?"

"It was that unicorn and some other horse, but it wasn't a unicorn. They actually talked! You've got to believe me! But they also discovered tire tracks around the farmhouse. They don't even have a clue it was the Strykers that rolled in. So, the unicorn left with the dragon and I decided to mess around with them!"

"...What did you do?" groaned Randler

"I threw two rocks at the dragon! Man, how pissed he got! But, however, the unicorn turned around and I decided to give up. So, now I'm near this town just watching anything that happens. Oh, and by the way, the unicorn and dragon are heading for the mountains you guys are-Oh shit! I've got to go, some unicorns are heading my way!"

The radio went silent, and everyone still had dumbstruck expressions. They all turned their eyes-sights at the objects that were placed on the land far away. All the information that they have been just infomed about didn't make any sense to them. Unicorns, dragons, that coudln't be true, besides the unconscious pegasus; this wasn't believable to them.

  "Dragon?" Velaquez asked, surprised by the peculiar word

"And unicorns!?" Victor was shocked by bizarre information. "That doesn't make any sense! They're not suppost to be real! But if it's a dragon that breathes fire and tries to kill us...I'm gonna blow its fuckin' head off!"

"Calm down, "killer".' said Ray. "They don't know we're here yet. So, let's not try to kill the entire population or alert them."

"But even if it is true," Boxer added. "They're heading our way right now. We can easily hide from them by the size of the large forest, but if another squad sees them...it could turn out very "unpleasant" for this whole mission."

"Not unless we warn everyone about this," suggested Alveraz

"True, but they'll probably won't believe us. But they all know they're not suppost to engage any of the locals; unless they have a proper reason to," Boxer reminded

A moan came from the pegasus and they instantly put all eyes on it. Derrick turned his head around at the Pegasus as one eye slowly started to crack open. "Oh shit!" he exclaimed, dropping the pegasus to the ground. It fell on its side and all the soldiers quickly separated to find somewhere to hide. Velazquez dived into a bush with Alveraz and Victor. Randler dropped back to the ground in the same spot where he was and Ray, Derrick, and Boxer hid behind a log, prone to the ground. Jerry and the three other squad members hid in some large, overgrown vegetation. The pegasus moaned again and slowly rose up from the ground, rubbing it's head where it felt the harsh pain. "What happened to me?"

The pegaus stumbled when it took a steps forward, but was able to get her strength to walk properly. She looked around confused where she was and how she got up there. The pegasus then turned around facing the massive hill, she called out with a squawk if anyone was nearby. "H-Hello?" No response came, but the sound of wind and the trees swaying as they were blown by it.

"Is anyone out there!...there...there..." her voice echoed throughout the land. Randler poked his head above the edge of the bush he was by and observed the pegasus as it appeared very gloomy. The pegasus begun to walk again, but turned to the left seeing strange figure on the other part of the mountain. What is that?...

The pegasus observed these things move about around the mountain, the things then dissapeared by going down the moutnain on the other side of the mountain. The pegasus ignored this and turned around and saw a single tree and a bush right next to each other. I've got to rest, this headache is getting more painful...

The pegasus approached the two natural objects to rest, but she didn't know the other occupant she will have to share it with. She came under the shade of the tree and laid down for comfort. The view was very relaxing and tranquil. Although it was nice, she went throught her memories to remember how she was aced on this mountain. The only image she saw was a figure that appeared to be made out of plants or grass, she couldn't understand why it was the only thing she remebered.

"Why can't I remember anything?"

Randler held his breathe as the pegasus was right next to him, he had his finger on the trigger on his silenced rifle. The only thing he thought about was not moving at all, but he was cursing in his mind as the pegasus did not move away. The pegasus then got up and took a step forward, but unfortunately, it stepped on his arm.

"Huh? GAH!" the pegasus yelped

Randler instantly got up and tackled the pegasus to the ground. The pegasus thrashed around to get the heavy body of Randler off of her. "Get off! Get off!" the pegasus cried out. Randler backed off of her and stood there staring at her with death in his eyes. The pegasus took steps away from creature that appeared in her memories, she realized it and was trembling in fear.

"What do you want from me!? And what are you!"

The creature only stood there staring at her, but then, multiple creatures rose up from behind the plant creature and approached her. They all formed a line by the plant creature but one that was darker in skin-color and had green-lensed sunglasses, approached her rapidly and had a snarl that was combined with a smile. But a strange force came upon her, the grass around the creature lowered down until it was flat. The pegasus felt like collapsing, she remained as strong as possible, but her body could no longer bear this sensation.

She collapsed to the ground and her vision was becoming hazy; the other creatures from behind begun to run towards her, a boot was placed right in front of face, she looked up at the creature and everything was getting bright. The creature became a silhouette and she fell unconscious again...