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// Contact! 
// Story: Fallen to Grace 
// by Little Wood 
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     Eli clenched every muscle in his body, waiting for the impact, but instead, it suddenly grew brighter all around him. He opened his eyes to see it was suddenly daytime, and the ground was still farther below. He made out a forest, but was spinning to fast to really discern how big it was. He looked once more outside the falling helo and saw what he thought to be buildings. The forest surrounded him and all he could see were branches and leaves.
With a sudden jerk, the Black Hawk stopped moving. Eli flew from his seat right into his sister, who had also been flung from her seat onto the ground below. He took a quick look around. He and his sister were lying on the ground under the Black Hawk, which was only few yards off the ground, wedged in between two of the biggest trees Eli had ever seen. He hopped up and reached for his gun, but didn't find it. He still did a quick sweep of the area, but he spotted no immediate threats.
Ashly, stood up. “Watch where you fall next time, got it?”
He ignored the tease and searched for his sniper rifle. He found it stuck in a tree several yards of the ground.
The rest of the team hopped out of the broken bird, each one seeming to be okay, save the two pilots, and Eli saw why. The cockpit had hit the trees head first, smashing it in and crushing those inside.
He looked once more to his gun in the tree. As he was contemplating how to get it out, Major Chris Little shot the branch holding the gun with his sniper rifle. He was, by far, the best shot here. The gun fell to the ground with a dull thud as it hit the dirt. Eli picked it up and dusted it off. “Thanks.” He mumbled.
Dreg began to issue orders. “Alright ladies, no lollygaggin'.” He pointed at Mark, Uriya, and Jone. “Gather what you can from the Black Hawk, take a full inventory.” As they left to do their work, he turned and pointed at Eli and Chris. “You two, scout around. Establish some sort of perimeter.” Eli nodded and followed Chris as they took to the right of the crash and began to form a circle.
They saw nothing to important for a while. But this forest gave Eli a weird feeling. Like something was watching them. There was also an overpowering smell. The feeling got higher and soon, Eli couldn't ignore it. “Chris?”
He nodded. “I feel it too.”
Chris brought his sniper up and did a full sweep of the area. Eli peered into the bushes ahead of him, thinking he saw something. There was a big mass somewhere deep in foliage. He brought his scope up and looked closer. There was definitely something there. Then to glowing eyes opened up to reveal they were staring directly at Eli.
He tapped Chris' shoulder. “Run... now...”
Together they bolted back toward the crash sight. It didn't seem like the thing was following them. “What did you see?” Chris asked as they darted through the brush.
“Don't know. Big. Glowing eyes.”
Chris stopped. “That's it? You made us run for something you barely saw?”
Eli got defensive. “Yeah, my gut told me to run, and I always go with my gut.”
“Well, where is it?” Chris asked. “I don't see it chasing us.”
As he said those words, something massive crashed through the trees above, landing right next to Eli. He turned and fired his rifle right into the beast. Then he saw his enemy. A massive wolf figure, glowing eyes and razor teeth. But the most disturbing thing was it seemed to be made of wood, thick, dense blocks of wood. He could tell it was the source of the smell.
He jumped back as the beast shrugged off his shot and swung a claw at him. Chris fired a 50. cal round into the beast's head, but that only succeeded in leaving a hole in it's head. Chris grabbed Eli and jumped down a small rise. “Let's go!”
Eli ran with Chris, this time for his life. He tried to glance back, but couldn't see anything. He could hear it, that was for sure, and smell it.
Him and Chris slid behind a log and peaked back over. The beast crashed through the trees, knocking them over as it searched for its prey. It sniffed the air a bit and turned to face their direction. It crouched low, like it was ready to pounce.
Before it could do anything, something crashed through the trees and slammed into it, full force. Eli was startled and relieved at the same time. What were these now? He tried to get a good look at the things in front of him. It had wings, that was for sure, but it also had a body like a... a... lion? It's face was that of an eagle or something. Griffons?
Suddenly, it began to click in Eli's head. He knew what those wolf things were, and he knew that the other figure was a griffon. Were they... no... they couldn't be... could they?
Another griffon joined the first in battle as they brought the beast down. Chris grabbed Eli and together they sneaked back to camp. It was hard to find their way back.  They got turned around a bit and the trees blocked out a lot of the light, so it wasn't easy to find the small clues that pointed the way back. Eli was now on high alert, looking every direction and not once taking his hand off of his gun. 
Dreg was the first to meet them. He had a look of concern on his face. “We heard gun shots. What's going on?”
Chris shook his head. “No idea. There are monsters here, ones I've never seen before.”
“Explain yourself.” Dreg barked.
“Wolves that looked to be made of wood, as well as...” he searched for the right words.
“Griffons.” Eli finished. “And those other beasts were timberwolves.”
Dreg narrowed his eyes. “How would you know?”
Before he could answer, Uriya ran up to them. “What happened?”
Dreg silenced Uriya with a wave of his hand. “How do you know?”
“We're in Equestria, sir.”





Rainbow Dash made to the forest without incident. Actually, that was the easy part. Making it through the forest would be the hard part. This place had been dangerous before the war, it was triple that now. After the griffons invaded for Celestia knows what reason, evil beasts had moved in, and those that had already been there got worse.
She drew her sword, as did Glaze. True Shot drew his bow, stringing an arrow, ready to fire at a moments notice. With Rainbow leading, the trio carefully made their way through the forest. The way was dark and gloomy. The trees had been green before, despite the evil that resided here. Now they were black, each one dead and cold.
She picked up a faint noise, something akin to howling, far enough way to not be a big concern, but still had her worried. If timberwolves got to what ever she was looking for, they might break it.
She picked up the pace. Glaze was able to keep up, but True Shot called out, “Hold up guys!”
Rainbow turned to see him staring into the brush. “What is it?” She flew over to him and looked the direction he was. Her mouth dropped open. What the hell?





“What the hell are you talking about, Lieutenant?”
“Sir, I know this place, and those monsters. We are in Equestria from MLP.”
“MLP?” The commander scrunched his face up.
Eli sighed. “My Little Pony.”
Dreg shook his head. “Oh, that shit.” He turned toward Uriya. “You have the list of inventory?”
Uriya nodded and handed him a piece of paper. He read the list out loud. “Let's see here. We got three ARs, five 1911s, two Barrett 50 cals., a crossbow, and three SPAS shotguns. Plus about ten combat knives. Ammo wise, we still got about three hundred rounds for the AR, fifty rounds for the Barretts, ten bolts for the crossbow, about a hundred shells for the shotguns... oh! And about two hundred rounds for the pistols.” He turned the page. “We have three med kits, about two rations per person, and six canteens of water.”
He crumpled up the paper. “Alright, Ashly!”
The Marine walked over to her commander. “Yes sir!”
He handed her the ball of paper. “Distribute as evenly as possible and ration the food.”
She took the paper, nodded her head, and took off to the crashed bird. Eli watched her for a second before Dreg slapped him.
“I don't know how you know what you do, but until you prove otherwise, you're in charge of most everything here unless I say otherwise, go it?”
Eli was taken aback. He gathered his senses and nodded his head. “Yes sir!”
Dreg walked away, leaving Chris and Eli alone. “Well,” Chris said. “Got any orders, sir?”
Eli tried to push Chris. “Cut it out.”
He decided to check in on the rest of the team. “Actually, Chris, finish the sweep, but stay closer to the crash site, got it?”
Chris laughed and jogged away. Eli walked up to the collected pile of various military equipment. He immediately picked up his crossbow and bolts. They were his, a special gift from his parents, and he didn't want anyone else to have them.
He saw Kelly slumped against a tree, holding a device that looked like a thick iPad in her hands. “Hey Kelly?”
She lifted her head. “Yeah?”
He sat down next to her. “You okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah... I guess. I don't have any air support here, wherever we are.”
Eli smiled. “Just find another way to make things explode. You'll be fine.”
He slapped her on the shoulder and walked back over to the equipment pile. Ashly was sorting it all out. When she saw him, she pointed to a pile to her right. “That's your stuff. Be careful with it.”
He examined the pile. A medkit, probably because he was the third most skilled medic on the team. There was a knife, but he forgo it since he still had his own. Two rations, a water canteen, and some ammo for his sniper rifle.
He pocketed his stash. Not much, but they'd have to do. He made mental note to try and find that town he thought he had seen. If they were actually in Equestria, this was probably the Everfree forest, and that would mean the town was Ponyville.
If they survived, they'd go there.





Rainbow Dash couldn't believe her eyes. Were those... were those... humans? But... those were just a myth! They shouldn't be real! She did a double take. Yep. They were dressed a little strangely, but they were there, and they were human. She recognized them from her ancient mythology class back in the third and forth grade.
She took a look around. They were about fifty meters away. She saw the object that fell out of the sky, or at least, one of them. It was wedged between two trees. The humans had a pile of stuff that one of them was going through. One of them had a stick in his mouth and there was smoke coming out of it. Two others appeared to be talking to each other. One was slumped against a tree. Another was standing just off from the group, apparently trying to keep watch. The last she saw kept raising and lowering a long... thing he held in his hand. It was black, and curved in a few places. What was it?
Suddenly, her ears perked up. She heard the faint rustle before the griffons exploded from the trees and dived toward the humans.
Rainbow Dash instantly reared up and charged into the clearing. But before she could make it, a griffon had already hit her from above, knocking the sword out of her hoof. She grappled with the beast, trying her best to keep the deadly claws from her face. Glaze and True Shot had been attacked as well, leaving her on her own. She punched the griffon's face, causing it to pull back slightly. That was all she needed as she bucked and kicked the attacker away.
She rolled to her feet and grabbed her sword, spinning around in time to ran her blade through the pouncing griffon's heart. The griffon screamed, then flailed about. Rainbow Dash pulled the blade out and gave it a quick slash, cutting the griffon's head clean off. The headless body flailed a bit, then fell to the ground, lifeless.
She turned to see Glaze had defeated her griffon and was helping True Shot. Rainbow dashed into the clearing this time, making a beeline for the closest griffon.





Fluttershy was tending the wounded in the infirmary when she got the message. Spitfire wanted to see her. She finished with the patient she was working with before she headed out to Cloudsdale. 
The trip was almost peaceful, a lie in the world they now lived in. While Fluttershy hadn't become a cruel mare, she was still a lot less shy than she was before the attacks. She didn't hesitate to kill if need be, but was always gentle with her friends and patients. She was with her animals, until... until the griffons had killed them all... even... even Angel Bunny. 
She sniffed back the tears. That was four years ago. This was now. She arrived at the Pegasi Training Center, or the Wonderbolts Academy, as it had been previously known, and easily found Spitfire. 
“Yes?” The timidness was all but gone from her voice. She wasn't harsh, but it didn't sound like she whispered any more.
“Ah, good. My top medic.” She waved away the group she had been training. “I need you to go to the front lines and assist the pegasi fighting there.”
Fluttershy nodded without hesitation. “No problem.”
“Also, keep an eye out for Rainbow Dash, would you? Apparently she tricked Twilight into letting her leave without permission.”
Fluttershy nodded her head. That sounded like RD. “Got it.”
She left for the barrier and didn't stop for anything. This was her second time on the front lines, and she was ready to fight and help her friends.
AJ was still there from when she last left. That poor mare would die of exhaustion if she kept this up: barely sleeping or eating, always on duty.
“Hello Applejack.” Fluttershy landed next to her friend.
“Oh. Hi Flutters.”
Fluttershy didn't really like that nickname, but she didn't care to much. “I'm here to help. You are still in charge, aren't you?”
AJ nodded. “Yeah, I am. Alright, you can go n' help them pegasi over there.” She pointed at a group just off to her right. They seemed to be struggling with a few tasks.
Fluttershy got to work, all while keeping an eye on the sky. She hoped Rainbow Dash hadn't gone into the Everfree forest. Few made it out of there alive.