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Prologue6,273 words
Chapter One: Family Reunion19,234 words
Chapter Two: I Don't Think We're in Iran Anymore11,903 words
Chapter Three: This Camping Trip Sucks15,551 words
Chapter Four : Bears, Cockatrices, and Chickens13,131 words

Chapter Four : Bears, Cockatrices, and Chickens

Bosco grunted from his exertion as he dumped the last load of dirt onto the mound in front of him. The brown patch in front of him that stood out from the rest of the surrounding forest marked the grave of the wolf that had come to them in the night. It felt wrong to just leave her to rot, so Bosco felt like burying it would be the decent thing to do. He had to do it alone however, as Daniel had received a minor concussion from the battle the night before. Evan had the gash on his arm and would need time for that to heal as well. Jayson's wounds we the least severe with his bite wound on his calf. He couldn't put all his weight on the leg, but it would take less time to heal. Bosco's own shoulder, now covered in a white dressing, would take at least three weeks to heal on it's own. Luckily he still able to use his arms, just at the price of feeling a small fire in his shoulder every time.

He looked down folding the E-tool and hooking it to his belt and observed his handiwork as sweat trickled down his neck mixing with the blood from the previous nights battle. He had been at this by himself well into the afternoon, starting when the sunlight finally started coming through the tree canopy. He needed the time alone, as he was having trouble at getting bested by this forest yet again. First the Manticore nearly made a meal of him, and now this Timber wolf attacks them and nearly kills them all. If not for his brother's acts, they would have probably all died the night previous.'If I don't step up my game, this forest is going to kill me.'

Bosco heard a whine from next to him and he remembered he didn't come out here totally by himself. The black wolf pup had followed him, refusing to leave its dead mother. As pawed at the dirt of the mound that had its mother beneath it, Bosco thought about how it had come to them. It had stayed alive on willpower alone to bring its beloved offspring to safety. Bosco didn't know if he could keep his own brothers alive, let alone this tiny new charge. The pup continued its attempts to bring back it's mother.

Bosco sighed and sat down. "She's gone little guy." He said in a somber tone. "You can't bring her back." He then reached out to try and put a comforting hand on it's head. The pup let out a growl as the hand drew close and bit it. Its teeth dug into Bosco's hand but not hard enough to break the skin. "Hey, quit that shit!" He said raising his voice in annoyance. The pup growled again but backed off of his hand.

"Look your mum brought you to us so you could live." He pointed at the grave mound, and the pup followed his finger. "She can't take care of you anymore."

The pup stood staring at the mound before seeming to realize what Bosco was trying to communicate to it. It barked twice at Bosco and looked up at him quizzically. Bosco tilted his head at him. 'Does he...understand what I'm saying? Well even if he does I don't speak dog so how am I going to know.

"There are worse things than me out here that will eat you right up." This elicited another whine from the pup as it stuck it's tail between its legs. "I'll do my best to make sure you stay alive," Bosco said more softly as he leaned in closer to it. "Just trust me."

As the pup seemed to ponder its options, Bosco stood up again and began walking away towards the cave camp.

"Arf!" Bosco looked back to see the pup running to catch up with him. As it caught up it growled at him again, as if to say 'I still don't like you.' Bosco decided to pretend that he could understand the unfortunate wolf puppy.

"Yeah, well its not like I asked to have to drag you along anyway, pipsqueak." This caused the pup to nip at Bosco's heels. "You keep this up I'm really going to think you understand me."

The continued for another couple of minutes before Bosco broke the Silence again. "So, what am I going to call you?" He asked it.

"Arf aroo rif." The pup responded.

Bosco chuckled. "I don't think I can pronounce that." Bosco brought a hand to his chin in thought. "How about I call you 'Conan'?"

"Arrr rahrr grrrr!" The pup responded sounding not so excited about the new name.

"You know what, I don't care, that's what I'm calling you. Get used to it." Bosco stuck his tongue out at the pup.

"...hrruf."

Bosco then took out his phone and dialed Jayson's number. He marveled at how the devices still worked as the call went through. Jayson picked up after a few rings.

"Hey where are you?" He asked.

"I'm on my way back. I took the body about a mile out, so I should be about 10 minutes or so."

"OK, good. We need to figure out what we're doing next. See you when you get back here."

"Yup, see you. Out." Bosco then ended the call and the phoned booped in response. He placed the device back in his pocket and looked back down at Conan. "Hey, for what its worth...I'm sorry about your mum."

At first Conan did not respond, but he eventually let out short whine. After that they continued back to the cave in silence.

***

At the Cave Encampment

Daniel was laying in the back of the cave on top of the only blanket, chatting with Evan who was sitting next to him, his arm in an impromptu sling. Jayson stood at the cave mouth with Bosco who had just returned with the wolf pup, who found a corner of the cave to curl up in away from the rest of them. Jayson looked back to Bosco worried.

"Is this OK?" he asked, concern evident in his features.

"Don't worry about Conan. He'll be OK. Just give him time." Bosco responded.

"I meant taking him with us! We haven't even figured out if we can take care of ourselves yet." Jayson clarified.

"You don't have to worry about taking care of him, I will. And as for taking care of ourselves, that's the next thing on the schedule today. Lets go check those traps we set yesterday. You can walk that far right?" Bosco said indicating the offending calf.

Jayson nodded. "Yeah I can walk. I just can't move quick right now. It'll be better in a couple of days."

"Alright well lets go." Bosco started walking out of the cave and yelled back at the two that remained. "If anything happens call me!" He yelled at them.

"OKAAAAY!" Evan yelled back.

As they made their trek to the first trap site, Jayson brought his brother up to speed on how the other two's wounds were.

"OK here's the deal. With Daniel having a minor concussion I don't feel it would be safe for him to be moving about for a few days."

"I kind of figured as much. So we'll be staying in the cave for a bit." Bosco replied.

Jayson nodded "Evan's wounds need some time teal heal as well so that his arm doesn't reopen. Gah!" He stumbled and nearly fell onto the forest floor before Bosco caught him, his arm burning under the strain. "Grr, then there's my calf, but i should be good in the same amount of time. Thanks."

Bosco brought Jayson back to his feet, trying to ignore the complaints from his shoulder. "Don't mention it." The continued on there way. "So we'll need to better defend our position. I know how to make a few spike traps so I'll get to work on that when we get back."

"We should be good on water for now. There is a little hole in the cave that the rain from last night drained into. It may be dirty though."

"If we think its dirty we can use my canteen cups and boiled it over a fire, that should make it safe to drink." Bosco didn't mention his water purification pills. They would work as well, but they made the water taste funny, and they were for really dire situations. "So that just leaves the food situation."

They had checked the area for edible plants and berries when they planted the traps. They found none. If these traps didn't have anything on them, they would be forced to use the MRE's again. They had already finished off the one they started before for breakfast, leaving them with four left. They had enough calories for one person for a day, but they were sharing between four people. They going to quickly start becoming malnourished if the kept on like this.

They came up on the first trap site. They found it empty. The were disheartened at the lack of success and started moving to the next trap site. Bosco realized he still didn't know how Jayson ended up in Iran.

"So Jayson, how did you end up in that facility anyway?" Bosco asked, still moving at a steady pace through the trees and foliage so Jayson could keep up.

Jayson didn't start immediately. When he did, he sounded empty. "It was about two months after I had arrived in Syria. I was with the Red Cross to try and help refugees and people who had been hurt by the civil war." He paused as he remembered his time there. "The things I saw there. People who had their entire lives brought down when their house or business was destroyed. The fear and desperation of people who lost everything, people who wanted nothing to do with that war..." Bosco let him gather his thoughts as they came up on the second trap. "At first it wasn't so bad, just giving out medical aid and food to people who had been simply displaced by the war."

The second trap was empty as well, so started they moved on to the next one.

"You were in a green zone at first right?" Bosco asked.

"Yes, but I got transferred into a higher contested area. We were trying to help victims of gas attacks." They ducked under a low hanging branch and he continued. "It was unlike anything I had ever seen up until that point. People puking out their own lungs, bleeding through their eyes mouth and ears. It was something out of a horror film, only worse, because I couldn't turn this off. That's when we were targeted by some extremist Shiite group. They attacked us, taking everyone I was with as well as others who were able bodied. They executed everyone else. The last thing I saw before they put a bag over my head and threw me in the back of a trunk was them leaving their bodies out in the open to rot."

They continued in silence until they got to the next trap, which was empty as well. Bosco was starting to lose hope that they would have anything to bring back. "What happened after that?" He asked.

"I don't really know," Jayson said. "They kept that bag on my head for a while. But I guess at some point they sold us to that facility as cheap labor. I don't know when that would have happened, the bag didn't come off my head until I was in the facility."

"I'm sorry Jayson."

"What are you sorry for? You couldn't have done anything." Jayson chuckled.

"I'm sorry for what you saw." Bosco clarified. "Its not easy seeing things like that."

"...yeah." he said it so quietly Bosco almost didn't hear him.

They came up on the next trap in silence. This time as they came up, they heard scuffling. Excited, they ran up to the trap and found that it had ensnared a rabbit. They both cheered at their change of fortune and Bosco took out his K Bar kneeling next to their capture.

They rabbit looked up at them, and they could swear that it was pleading with the. Its lower jaw quivered in an unmistakable show of fear. This gave Bosco pause. He almost considered letting the critter go for a moment. Then he remembered what letting it go meant. 'No, we need this. OK, just do it quick. Don't look it in the eyes.' He brought the knife up, and the rabbit made a tiny screech as it was brought down. The blade pierced through its head. Bosco looked up with a grin. That grin immediately disappeared when he saw the look of terror frozen on the rabbits face, knife through the side of its head, blood oozing onto the ground.

Bosco looked up at Jayson who was staring at him like he had just murdered a puppy. "Well, we got some food now."

"Then why don't I feel better." Jayson said in a monotone.

Bosco had to admit, he didn't feel to good about it either.

***

After checking their other traps they had gained another rabbit, a squirrel, and raccoon. They killed them all in a similar fashion to the first rabbit. It didn't get any easier as they all made the, almost human like, attempts to plea for release before Bosco fell his blade on them. Afterwards, he strung them together by the tails with some cord and brought them back to the camp.

Daniel was still where they had left him, staring at the cave ceiling. Evan was trying his best to get some fire wood with his good arm for the night which was fast approaching. Conan had not moved from where he lay in his corner of the cave, eyeing the brothers as the came in his sight.

"Evan quit it, you need to rest." Jayson said as he saw his brother moving a log with one arm.

"I'm trying to help! It was boring here without you." He looked over at the pup in the corner who stared back. "Also I tried to say hello to him, but he just growls at me when I get to close." As if to prove his point, Conan let a little growl at him.

"Just leave him be, he's just being a bitch." Bosco said dropping the animal carcasses on the cave floor next to the fire pit. Upon hearing this Conan picked his head up glared at Bosco.

"Arf arf rawr raf!"

"Really? Could have fooled me." He then directed his attention back to Evan as Conan put his head back down ruffing in annoyance, "But yeah he did just lose his mother last night. Give him space. Jayson, can you skin these while I get some more fire wood?"

Jayson nodded, "Yeah, I can do that."

"What about me?" Evan asked as Bosco took off to get fire fuel.

"What about you? Rest yourself so you can heal and we can move on in a few days."

"I'm doing OK, if anybody cares." Daniel said from the back of the cave.

Bosco went about his task while the two youngest brothers bickered at each other as the eldest went ignored. He used his E-tool to hack down low hanging branches like before, also taking care to set aside the sturdier sticks and branches to make his spike traps later. If they were staying here for the next couple of nights, they needed to be better defended. He didn't expect the the Timber wolf to come back, so he hoped if anything else decided to attack them it would be made of flesh rather than wood.He made several trips so that they would have enough for their fire for the night, as well as his traps. He soon had a three foot high stack of logs and sticks.

Jayson didn't take long in skinning the animals and was done at the same time that Bosco completed his log pile. Bosco decided to help him with the gutting of the animals. Jayson welcomed the help as they went through the animal intestine taking out the inedible bit and keeping the rest. Once that was completed Jayson set about building a fire and Bosco took his K Bar back and started carving spikes out of the decent sticks he had collected.

The fire started crackling to life as Daniel groaned in frustration and got up from the back of the cave and walked over to they rest of them. "OK I'm bored. I'm cooking and you can't stop me!"

"Ugh, OK. I never said you had to stay laying down they whole time anyway. Just you had to take it easy." Jayson informed Daniel.

"Oh...well." Daniel then put on his french accent. "Who wood like some gormeh rodeent?"

Bosco gave Daniel some decent stick to spear the animals with. He then went outside the cave and started digging several small holes around the cave entrance. After the holes were deep enough he put several sharpened sticks inside ensuring that they were secure enough to do the job of goring anything that would fall within. After that he put a small layer of leaves over the hole to cover it up and moved on to make another trap. His arm burned as he worked, but he pushed through. Eventually he had about five traps made. He stopped when he heard Daniel call out.

"Oi! Dinners done. Come eat."

Bosco complied and came to sit next to his brothers around the fire. Conan had not moved from his spot in the corner. Daniel took Bosco's K Bar from him and took one of the fire grilled rodents off the fire and craved it into smaller bit sized peices. After he was done he gave half of the meat to Jayson and the other half to Evan.

"Bon apateet. I ope it teez tu your liking."

Evan and Jayson chowed down on their meal. On their first bite they made a funny face. Not a face that said 'Ugh this is nasty' but rather 'This is weird'. Other than that they ate without complaint while Daniel carved up the next animal for himself and Bosco.

"I'm still hungry." Evan said as he completed his portion.

"Well that's too bad. The rest of it is going to be dried so that we can eat it later. We don't know if the traps will have anything next time and we gotta make this last as long as possible." Bosco said taking his portion and chowed away.

"Awwwwe."

"Can it Evan. He's right." Jayson said. "It'll be enough to hold you over till morning."

Daniel was about to carve up the rest of what was left into strips to be dried so that they would keep until morning. Before he could grab the squirrel Bosco snatched it and walked over to Conan. "Don't forget our other mouth to feed." Bosco said as he walked away. Daniel shook his head.

"Should have just left him out in the woods." Daniel started working on the raccoon.

As Bosco approached Conan pretended he didn't see him and kept his focus on the ground in front of him. Bosco knelt down in front of him and placed the squirrel in front of him.

"Here, eat up."

"Grawr raw arrf." Conan responded.

"Bullshit, I know you're hungry." Conan just continued looking at the ground in front of him. "I know you don't like having to accept my help, but I'm going to anyway, weather you like it or not." He pushed the meat in his snout. "Besides, I know you want some."

"Ruff ar wuff?"

"Because I can see you drooling." Bosco said as a small pool of drool started forming on the floor by Conan's mouth. Conan growled again but took the meat in his maw and started stripping away the meat from the stick. Satisfied that his charge was eating properly Bosco stood up. "As soon as I know you're able to take care of yourself you can, but until then you're stuck with me." He then started walking back to the fire.

"Graw arr rawr." Conan growled at Bosco as he walked away.

Bosco turned back and smiled at him. "You're welcome."

"How can you understand him?" Evan asked as Bosco came back to the fire.

"Yeah that kinda weird." Jayson input.

"I actually don't really think I understand him. I kinda just get the meaning of what he's trying to get across. For all I know he probably meant to tell me to go fuck myself."

"Arf arf ruff ruf!"

'Little cock sucker!'

"Never mind, I understand him perfectly." Bosco growled.

Jayson looked from the wolf in the corner then back to Bosco. "Well what did he just say then?"

"He told me," Bosco growled, "that he DID tell me to go fuck myself." The rest of the brothers just started laughing.

***

The night came quickly after they finished their meal, the light breaking through the tree canopy disappearing giving way to they familiar blackness of the forest night. Daniel finished drying the meat that was left and Bosco stored it in one of his water proofing bags. Not its intended purpose, but it would do. Afterwards they had a small argument of who would take watch. Bosco said he would as neither Daniel nor Evan were in any condition for it, and Jayson was about to pass out in his seat from taking it the previous night.

After agreeing that this made the most sense, Daniel shared the blanket with Evan, and Jayson took his turn using the impromptu clothing bed. It didn't take them very long to fall into the cusp of sleep, and Bosco took his position by the slowly dwindling fire near the mouth of the cave. Rather than having his rifle on his shoulder, he kept it leaned on his side so not to agitate his wound.

The night went on with the fire slowly dying behind him. He fed it some more logs to keep it going longer as it was his only source of light. He kept alert to all the sounds coming from the forest. The wind gusting through the trees rustling the leaves shaking some loose and causing them to fall the forest floor. An occasional twig would snap but the perpetrator did not show itself. He listened to the howls piercing through the night air, echoing through the night and within the cave...no coming from the cave, and whimpering as well.

Bosco looked behind him and saw Conan, still in his corner. He was whimpering and whining in his sleep. His lugs pumped as he lay on his side, as he tried running from whatever night terror chased him. He was also shivering, as his small body was not enough to generate the heat he needed in order to keep himself warm. Bosco sighed and walked over to the wolf pup.

When he reached him he bent over next to him and lightly put his arms under him while he let out more arfs of fright. 'Cold and scared huh.' He lifted Conan up softly so as not to wake him and brought him back to the fireside. He then sat down and placed Conan in his lap. The little pup stopped shivering moments later, and his night terrors slowly calmed down as well as the comfort and warm from the fire reached him.

Bosco sighed, and returned his gaze to the forest. 'Not letting you get sick on my watch.' This wolf pup may not want his help, but he needed it. Bosco didn't notice that Conan had opened one eye and saw that he was now cradled in Bosco's lap. Rather than make a fuss as he wanted to, he let himself take this creatures help. Besides he was kind of a nice pillow. Bosco brought down a hand and scratched Conan behind the ears, and he started kicking his leg out of reflex. He didn't know what he was doing, but boy did it feel good!

***

Five Days After Timber Wolf Attack

Luna trotted out of the forest foliage and found a small cave. Immediately she could tell she was on the right trail as there was the telltale signs of activity all over the area. The grass was depressed from being well traveled around the cave mouth as well as several patches of dirt that surrounded it. As she moved up to the cave she saw several holes that had the leaves blown off of them, revealing several deadly point sticks inside. Luna opened her wings and gave a quick flap, deciding to glide the rest of the way to the cave.

Inside she found a ring of rocks, filled with blackened branches, sticks and ash. Aside from that the cave was empty. That didn't matter though as she now knew she was on the right track. Luna grinned, eyes brimming with confidence as she re-exited the cave. 'Curious place to make camp. I wonder if they knew of the timber wolf population in this area. Then again, if they aren't from here there's no way they could have. I wonder if they gave them any trouble.'

She had already seen what happened to the first creature that had attempted to make them a meal. She had come across the Manticore two days ago after attempting to find her quarries trail. She could not find the exact location the creatures entered the forest, so she had to begin searching by just diving into the forest and seeing what she could find. She was rewarded when she came across the Manticores decomposing corpse. Its fur had fallen out in patches revealing sickly gray skin beneath. Maggots infested it within and without, crawling all over its body and wounds on its face and the top of its head where Luna could see the exposed brain of the beast which looked more like a reddish grey gruel now. She had to use a spell to shield her nose from the stench. It was the most gruesome site she had seen in a long time, but she didn't lose her stomach as she had seen far worse in her lifetime.

When she studied the creature with her magic she discovered that it had been poisoned with venom from its own tail. This peeked her interest, as Manticores never pierced themselves with their own stingers. This one had somehow hit itself full on in the head. Further observation of the area around it revealed a small metal cylinder. She levitated it closer, to look at it closer. It was made of smooth brass, blackened and empty on the inside. The back of it had a small circle in the center that had a small depressed dot in the middle. It had lettering she could not read, but she was able to make out the number .45, though she didn't know what that meant.

Though she could not conclude the purpose of the tiny object, Luna concluded that it had once been in the creatures possession and that they had somehow been able to kill the Manticore in that unorthodox manner of having it stab itself in the head. She marveled in their accomplishment for a time, somewhat impressed that they could manage such a thing.

Afterward she attempted to find a trail that would have been made by the bipeds. It took her some time, but she finally managed to find a trail that led away from the site. She followed the trail until she had found the cave. She could have gone faster, but she feared losing the only lead she currently had on finding the creatures.

Now that she had found there camp however, she simply had to wait for them to return. When they did, she would then escort them back to Canterlot, and tell her sister how simple it had been and...she did not see any fresh tracks. Luna observed the area around the camp again and found that the freshest trail was about a day and a half old. Luna groaned in frustration and slapped her hooves to her muzzle. 'These creatures broke camp last morning. Confound it!' Luna followed to freshest trail to see which direction it lead, finding it going off to the north which lead to...well she wasn't quite sure. 'Now that I think about it, Luna thought looking about the abandoned campsite I have no idea where I am. Luna unfurled her wings and with started to propel herself up towards the canopy of leaves above. 'Well nothing like a little orientation.'

She burst through the top of the trees, getting around 300 meters in the air before she leveled off and took stock of the terrain around her. The sun was hidden behind dark grey clouds that glided unchecked and untameable as they always did above the Everfree. The tops of the trees could be seen for miles in almost every direction. The only distinct features she could see was small mountain off in the distance that was considerable darker than the rest of the forest, and covered in a misty haze. Upon looking closer Luna realized that the mountain was actually a castle. The Old Castle of The Royal Pony Sisters.

As she looked at it, old memories resurfaced, and she felt shame and guilt as she remembered her fall. How her jealousy of her Sister that had ponies appreciate her and her day, yet ignored her night, had consumed her making her into Nightmare Moon. She shook away the memories, she did not have time to reflect on her mistakes. She had other more important matters.

Luna remembered which direction the tracks were headed, and looked to the north. She was elated to see that the town of Ponyville could be seen on the horizon. 'Excellent! If they are headed in that direction I can possibly get Twilight's help in finding these creatures. She pumped her wings and she started zooming towards the town causing the tress to sway and waver from the gale she created in her passing, disturbing the birds that lived there causing them to take to the skies. 'It would be a pleasure to see Applejack's brother again as well.' She completed he thought with a mischievous grin.

***

Six Days After Timber Wolf Attack

"When I come home... Yea I know I'm going to be I'm going to be that man who comes back home to you." Bosco sang along to the lyrics as his phone as he and his brothers continued their march through the forest. "And if I go... Yea I know I'm going to be I'm going to be that man who going over you." Jayson walked next to him and took the next part.

"But I would walk 500 miles, And I would walk 500 more, Just to be that man to walks a thousand miles to fall down at your door." And they all, aside from Daniel started singing the next part.

"Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Undela Undela Undela la la la, Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Undela Undela Undela la la la"

"Grawr aroo ra." Conan put in as he strode next to Bosco. He swore that the pup had already grown and inch.

"Oh don't be such a downer. I'm just trying to keep the old spirits up." Bosco said as the song went on without them.

"Well now that I think of about it, our situation is kinda of shitty right now." Jayson said.

"Yeah I mean with running out of food, dangerously low on water, and still no end in sight to our journey, I gotta agree." Daniel pointed out in a rather resentful tone. It was true, they had terrible fortune with the traps the past two days. They had only caught two squirrels. They only had one MRE left and they were probably going to have to use that tonight if they were unable to catch anything later.

"I'm telling ya, you should have killed that bear you found in that cave yesterday. Would have had enough to feed us for AT LEAST a week." Daniel said as they trekked along.

"You weren't there Daniel, you didn't see that bear." Jayson said.

"Well how big could it possibly have been?"

Flashback to Previous Night

Jayson and Bosco decided to do some hunting the old fashioned way, seeing as they had such terrible luck with the traps they had set up. Bosco followed behind Jayson who was searching for tracks of any kind. Conan had tagged along as well, although Bosco assumed it was just because he couldn't stand Evan. Whenever Evan came into too close a proximity to Conan, the pup would put Bosco in between the both of them, growling all the way. They were hoping for some bigger game, but they had yet to see any sign of a deer of bear.

When they were around a mile and a half from their camp sight, the stumbled upon another cave. Unlike their previous camp sight though this one went into the ground. The entrance was also enormous. You could easily fit a battleship into it. The ground slanted in a degree that descending into it would not be an issue. Bosco looked at his brother as Conan sniffed the air.

"What do you think?" Bosco asked.

"I think it's too big to NOT have anything living down there, and I'm hungry enough to check and see." As he made to step into the dark and pulled out his phone for the flashlight app, Conan growled at them.

"Grrrr raw ruff grrrr!"

Bosco just waved him off and prepped to go down. "Fine you can stay up here then."

"Arf arf rawr."

"OK, so if there IS something down there then?"

"Arf."

"Good! Lets go kill it and eat it." Bosco said and started descending. Conan growled and barked at them, staying where he was.

"What was he saying?" Jayson asked as he turned on the flashlight app for his phone. The light illuminated the area in front of them just enough for them to see in front of them for a few yards. There was a warm breeze that blew in as they entered, and it was oddly humid.

"He said that he smelt something down here, I stopped listening after that." Bosco said, trying to focus on what was in the darkness. He got in front of his brother, figuring that it would be better for him to take the lead at this point.

Jayson was focusing on another edge of the cave. He shook his head as they continued forward. "Only you would find an animal that only you could communicate with and then opt to ignor- uff!" He had failed to notice that his brother had stopped moving, staring ahead of him. Jayson glared at his brother in annoyance, "Why did you stop?"

Jayson then noticed the area around them was littered with bones. He shined his light on them and found most of them were snapped, crushed and unrecognizable. The sizes of these creature must have been gigantic though, as some of them were the size of the two of them put together. Jayson started to lose his cool. Whatever could have devoured what these bones used to belonged to no doubt could swallow them whole.

"Jayson, don't freak out, but do you see what I see?" Bosco said, his voice trembling slightly. This only furthered Jayson's sense of dread. His brother didn't spook easily. With frightful eyes he shown the light to where his brother was looking.

What he found was a fluffy white rabbit that waved at them with a bit of what they could swear was a smile on its face, its back to a light blue cave wall that had several white stalagmites aligned on it. Jayson's face scrunched up in confusion. He looked at his brothers face, and still held the tell tale signs of fear. He looked back at the rabbit, still smiling at them cheerily. Jayson needed some clarification at that point.

"Uhhhh, where am i looking?" He asked.

"There!" Bosco whispered in a hushed tone, pointing in the rabbits direction.

Jayson looked at the rabbit, them back to Bosco even more confused. "Where behind the rabbit?"

Bosco looked at his brother frustrated. "Yes behind the rabbit! Did you think I would get spooked by some little rodent?!" The rabbit now frowned and crossed its arms at them. "Here let me show you." Bosco then grabbed his brothers head in both hands and twisted his head to where he was looking and up. Jayson flashed his light at the wall again, but still didn't see anything differently.

That was until another breeze came through the cave. The breeze slowly turned into a gale and the blue wall started to open as. More air started rushing towards the opening. The cave rumbled and with it came the sound of what Bosco could only compare to as a giant snoring. The gale picked up enough the the rabbit before them was sucked into the opening and it went inside, squeaking in shock. After it flew inside, they heard coughing and a gigantic blue eye opened up. Jayson finally understood what he was looking at.

The stalagmites were actually this creatures teeth, and the breezes that they felt were it breathing. And they had just been staring at they things mouth this whole time. It was a Ursa.

The Ursa started choking on the rabbit that it had unwittingly breathed in, the whole cave shaking in its bout of temporary suffocation. It brought a paw to its throat and tapped it after its cough fit had finished. After wards it saw the two intruders in its home, and raised an eyebrow.

Bosco and Jayson both smiled nervously at it started back stepping the way that they came. Once they were couple of yards from the exit the Ursa let out a roar that sent out a powerful gale nearly knocking the two and there backs. They needed no further prompting to leave its home.

The Brothers turned around and sprinted out of the cave. The Ursa put on a smug smile as it put its head back down to rest, hearing one of the intruders screaming. "Run fat boy! Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuu-"

Back To The Present

Bosco brought himself back from the memory, and sighed in frustration. They had already tried explaining the size of the gigantic night bear to their brother but its seemed like it was to much for him to wrap his head around. "You know what, I've already tried explaining it to you, but that seems to be something you can't understand exists in this world."

"I don't care about this world." Daniel said. "I just care about living through this god damn forest and finding somebody who can help us return to OUR world."

"Yeah, that's what we're doing. Surviving the forest." Bosco said, continuing through a particular thick set of bushes that blocked his vision of what lay ahead.

"I don't see how we're going to survive if we starve to death. And bringing that mutt along isn't helping that issue." Daniel said pointing at Conan who just glared and growled back.

"We'll get through this Daniel." Evan said, placing a hand on his eldest brothers shoulder. "Our luck will turn around soon enough." Daniel just shrugged Evans hand off.

"Our luck has been nothing but rotten since we've run back into him." Daniel said nodding his head at Bosco.

Bosco stopped where he dead in his tracks. His grip tightened around the pistol grip of his rifle as he felt a flare of anger well up inside of him.

"What are you talking about Daniel?" Evan asked confusion riddling his expression.

"We got along fine without him in our lives for years. Then he somehow shows up again and we nearly get killed, get teleported to another dimension, and, oh yeah, nearly get killed again in some forest filled with mythological creatures. And when they don't kill us, we get to slowly starve to death." Daniel finished and Bosco turned around to face him, walking up to his face.

"Daniel, I know you're frustrated about the situation we're in. But I suggest you stop now before you say something you don't mean."

Daniel met Bosco's gaze as the two glared at each other with equal intensity. "Right now I mean every word."

Bosco grasped Daniel by the shirt with his free arm and lifted him up so that he was standing on his toes. Daniel didn't let up however and they kept up their staring contest. Jayson and Evan could only stare from the sidelines. They didn't know there was still this much pent up tension between the two, and they were too scared to intervene.

"Then how about you shut it before you say something you regret?" Bosco said, dropping his brother and shoving him back, and starting to continue along their path. Daniel stumbled and regained his footing. When he was finally upright he glared angrily at Bosco, his own tempers inflamed.

"You would know about having regrets wouldn't you."

Bosco froze. Outwardly he showed no change of his features, still wearing the scowl he faced Daniel with and his body tense. In his mind though, memories tried breaking down the doors of his consciousness. Memories that had been trying to keep buried for the past four years. His internal battle to keep these unwanted memories locked in there cells went on for half a minute, Bosco not moving from where he froze the whole time.

When Bosco finally did break out of it he just quietly said, "Yeah...I would." and continued to move forward.

Jayson and Evan relaxed as it seemed the situation was resolved for the moment, and followed along. Daniel continued glaring at the back of his brothers head as he followed along as well.

They didn't go very far before Conan started to sniff at the air. "Hrrr?"

"What's up pup?" Bosco asked, as he let himself cool off from his and Daniel's exchange.

"Grrrrr."

"OK, but what?"

"Aroo hrrr."

"Well that's helpful." Bosco said rolling his eyes.

"Ar ruff rawr."

"Well then point us at it. See if we can kill it." Bosco said. Conan then took the lead and lead them away from their current path.

"What is it now?" Jayson asked as they followed Conan's trail, the wolf pup sniffing the ground leading them along.

"He says he smells something, but he's not sure what it is." Bosco said leaping over the log that Conan had led them over. Jayson looked at him skeptically.

"You remember what we ran into last time he smelled something right?"

They came up to a small clearing where to sun actually shined a bit brighter than the rest of the forest. Several stones and rocks littered the area, vines crawling across some, appearing like weird green veins on the rocks.

"Yeah but I say if we wanna eat something other than the last bit of emergency rations we have, we can check it out." Bosco said as he came to the center of the clearing. Conan had stopped and was looking at a tree on the outskirts of the clearing that had a sizable hole at the bottom. Jayson and Evan were staring at some of the rocks in the clearing suspiciously. Something wasn't quite right about them.

Something stirred from the bottom of the tree, and Conan stared to growl and bare his teeth. Jayson had moved around the rock he was looking at to view it from a different angle. Bosco smirked and sighted at the tree hole.

"Well you were right pup, but what is it."

"Hrrrrr-" the pup had started to answer, but had stopped mid snarl.

"It's a what?" Bosco asked him.

"It's a Cockatrace." Jayson said from over from where he was. Bosco looked over at him, hoping he was joking. He saw the proof that Jayson was staring at himself. The rock he was looking at was actually in the form of a Pegasus pony, sitting back on its haunches in mid stream, a look of terror frozen onto its face. Bosco looked down to his side to see that Conan had been turned as well. His previously black coat now a grey to match the stone of the rest of the clearing. Now that Bosco took a closer look, all the stones in the clearing were some type of creature. Insects, chipmunks, and various other small animals were frozen in stone all around them. The creature under the tree jumped out of its lair to claim more victims.

"Close you're eyes!" Bosco yelled, squeezing his eyes shut and throwing and arm over them as well to make sure he didn't look into the creatures eyes.

"What is a Cockatrace?" Daniel asked shrugging his shoulders, ignoring his instructions.

"Its a creature that turns you to stone if it looks you in the eyes!" Jayson yelled from where he was. Evan was flat with his face against the ground on the other end of the clearing.

"What like Medusa? What a load of crap." Then heard footsteps as Daniel turned to face to creature.

"What are you doing?!" Jayson yelled out.

"Getting a better look at this thing." He replied.

"WHAT?!" All three of the other brothers yelled out. Before they could object he started speaking again. "So what its like some type of chicken lizard thing?"

They were perplexed that he gave an accurate description of the Cockatrace. "Daniel what are you doing?" Bosco asked.

"I'm looking at this Cockatrace thing," Daniel responded. "and its staring back at me...like hard. Kinda weird."

"You're not feeling any different at all?" Jayson asked skeptically.

"Should I be?" Daniel asked. "You know what, I don't care what this thing is anymore. Ima kill it, and we're gunna eat it." They then heard Daniel move forward, and a confused cluck came from they're foe. Bosco decided to finally look at what was happening.

He saw Daniel chasing the Cockatrace that was trying to flee back to it's tree hole. It wasn't quick enough however and Daniel leaped for it, catching it by its lizard legs. The Cockatace squawked in alarm and desperately flapped its wings in a desperate bid to escape. It proved useless as Daniel secured his grip on the chicken creature.

"Huh...so its stare doesn't work on us." Bosco said as Daniel dragged it over to the center of the clearing. Jayson and Evan uncovered their eyes and observed the evidence to support this statement as the Cockatrace frightfully looked at its captors, confused at how this being holding it wasn't becoming part of its statue collection.

"Well" Jayson said, "I nearly pissed myself for nothing."

"Yeah..." Bosco said.

Once they had all gathered around the captive Cockatrace as it stared at each of them in turn, attempting to get its ability to work on at least one of it captors.

"Why can't it turn us into stone?" Evan asked as he poked it in the eye, eliciting a pained squawk from it.

"I guess it's magic doesn't affect us." Bosco said as he drew his K Bar. "I'm not going to question it further than that. Not like we're really going to understand anyway."

"Yeah I guess so." Jayson responded.

"Quit you're blabbing, get to stabbing! I'm hungry" Daniel said as he continued to hold onto the struggling creature. As if to punctuate his statement, all of their stomachs gave a rumble.

Bosco knelt down and grabbed the Cockatrace's neck, gripping it tight enough that hit couldn't let out a squawk, cluck, or a bawk. He then brought his blade and pressed it against its neck and sliced its throat open, cutting so deep that when the cut was complete the only thing keeping the head on was a small layer of skin. With so little holding its head on Bosco ripped the head off. The headless body of the Cocktrace then thrashed about in Daniels grasp, so much so the both he and Bosco let go letting the headless body flop to the ground. There it continued to spasm uncontrollably as what life remaining in it drained away. As blood poured from its neck the spasms grew weaker and less frequent, finally ceasing altogether.

The quartet knelt down to look at the corpse. "Huh. Kinda like slaughtering a chicken back home." Jayson said.

"When did you slaughter a chicken?" Bosco asked skeptically.

"I didn't, but I've seen videos on YouTube." He replied.

"-rrrrr ar?" They looked over to where Conan had been petrified earlier and found that he had since overcome his sudden case of being stoned. He looked around confused until his eyes found the rest of the group.

"Yeah we kinda took care of it." Bosco said tossing the head over to Conan. "You can munch on that until we get the rest of this thing ready to eat."

Conan sniffed at the head before taking it in his maw, and then spitting it out. "Grrr, arr arr arrf!"

"Fuck chill out! I didn't know they tasted that bad on the outside." Bosco replied to the agitated pup.

"Holy hay seeds!" This came from a young raspy female voice behind them. 'Oh, right. Forgot about that.' Bosco thought, groaning internally.

They all now faced the mare that had been previously encased in stone. She had a spiky Maroon mane and tail, and her coat was a light shade of orange. Her light purple eyes were fixated on the group, her mouth agape with disbelief, like she couldn't believe her eyes. She was smaller than the rest of the Ponies they had encountered in the city, so Bosco assumed that she was younger. She didn't move, and just remained planted where she was as both parties just stared at one another. She was the first to break it.

She raised a hoof and waved at them, putting on a smile that was unmistakably forced. "H-hello...big, monkey...things..." They could tell she was trying to act brave, but the wavering of her voice betrayed her fear. Bosco understood though, they must have been a strange, if not, imposing sight to say the least. Each of them was filthy from their week in the forest, their clothes ripped and torn. The dried blood that still clung to them from their encounters from the forest inhabitants. That didn't stop Bosco from getting a little offended from being called a monkey.

Bosco stood up and started walking towards the the filly. "Hey, I ain't no fucking monkey!" Bosco said this with a bit more bite than he intended, causing the filly to shrink back some, and let out a small 'eep'.

"Christopher you're scaring her!" Evan said as he ran up to his elder brother, pulling him top a stop.

Looking back at the shaking filly, and then back at himself, he realized that he was still holding the K Bar which still dripped with the Cockatrace's blood. 'Yeah maybe I'm not the best candidate for the face of the people business' Bosco nodded at his brother and stepped back letting Evan talk to the young pony.

"Still hate monkeys" He grumbled under his breath as he stood behind Evan, sheathing his knife after wiping the blood on it off on his already ruined trousers.

"Sorry about that," Evan said, kneeling down to get on her level. "My brother gets kinda of intense." The filly continued to shake with fright, staring at the new strange creature before her. "What's your name?" He asked, trying to sound calm and friendly.

"Um, Sc-Scootaloo."

"Nice to meet you Scootaloo, My names Evan." He indicated himself. "an these are my brothers, Christopher, Daniel, and Jayson." he indicated each respectively before continuing. "So what are you doing out here by yourself Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo didn't answer immediately, instead fidgeting around ruffling her wings nervously. "I was, uh, out with my friends." She bit her lip, as if she wasn't sure if she should go further. "We kinda overheard the Princesses talking about hunting down some monsters in the forest in the library yesterday. So we decided, since I still haven't gotten my cutie mark yet, we could go crusading to see if I could get it in monster hunting.

"But then you ran into a Cockatrace?" Evan asked. Scootaloo nodded. "What happened after that?"

"I was the first to notice the statues, and after that I told the others to run back to Ponyville. Then...Th-then everything felt cold. It was dark. I was scared." Tears started to form in her eyes. "You're not gunna eat me are you mister?"

Before Evan could answer they heard a noise from deeper in the forest. It sounded like a constant wail of some kind. Bosco looked in the direction it was coming from. "What the hell is that?" He said. It sounded as though it were approaching rapidly.

"Huh" Jayson mused as the sound closed in on them. "It almost sounds like someone...yelling a battle cry?"

Bosco thought about that for moment. "...OH SHI-"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" and then Bosco disappeared as a streak of rainbow light streaked through the froest, immpacting with him and disappearing yet again.

"...ohhhh that's not good." Jayson said with a groan.

"What the hell just happened?" Daniel asked, looking at where Bosco had just been and where the rainbow streak disappeared to.

"The Calvary has arrived...heh" As Jayson smirked from his own joke.

"You git away from Scootaloo ya varmint!" At that five new ponies came barreling through the brush. As Evan backed away from the now elated filly.

"Guys! You came back for me!"

"Of course we did." This came from the smaller white unicorn with a Light purple and pink mane that curled at then ends.

"Crusaders don't leave a pony behind!" This from the a smaller yellow earth pony with a light red mane that had a pink bow fixed to it. She and the white unicorn filly ran over to their friend, helping her up.

"OK, girls. Like we planned." This from the orange mare with a blonde tail and mane that was tied up in a ponytail. A stetson was also fixed atop of her head. She had a drawl that would make any Southerner proud.

"Right! I'm right behind you Applejack." This from the white unicorn with a curly purple mane and tail. It seemed to sparkle some as the light hit it. She frowned as a thought came to her. "Oh, but do try to keep from harming them too badly darling. The princesses do want to speak with them after all."

The one called Applejack nodded. "Don't mean we can't ruff um up nun for trying to take Scootaloo. Ready Pinkie?"

Next to Applejack, Pinkie was looking at her self, looking perplexed. "Oh, I know I know this one!" She had a frilly unkempt pink mane and tail that gave it a look resembling cotton candy, and her coat was a lighter shade of pink. "Dry eye's, itchy hooves..."

"Ahh Pinkie, what in tarnation are you on about?" Applejack asked.

"It's my Pinkie sense AJ." Pinkie said, starting to bounce in place. "It's trying to tell me something, but I can't place my itchy hoof on it."

"Is it trying to tell us we're in danger?" The White unicorn asked.

"Oh pffft don't be silly Rarity! It doesn't sense danger. I'm not Spider Mare." Pinkie replied smirking at Rarity. She then sat down and put a hoof to her chin in thought. "Still though, I know this."

"Well shoot, guess we can't depend on Pinkie." Applejack then put on a devious smile. "That's all right though. Ah reckon I can take two of um myself anyway." Both she and Rarity began advancing on the brothers, Rarity charging her horn and Applejack retrieving a lasso and began twirling it with her tail.

The now trio of brothers looked at the mares bearing down on them, they didn't look intimidating to Daniel, but Jayson and Evan knew better.

"Bring it on you sad excuses for hor-" Jayson put a hand on Daniels mouth to keep him from finishing his sentence.

"OK look," Jayson said as the mares drew closer. "I think we have some kind of misunderstanding here."

Suddenly there was a pink blur and Pinkie appeared between both groups. "THAT'S IT!" She shouted. "Misunderstanding!"

Everyone present looked amazed at the pink mare who to them practically materialized between them. "Ah, whats this now pinkie?" Applejack asked.

"That's what my Pinkie Sense was trying to tell me!" Pinkie said as she start bouncing around excitedly. "That somepony was going to have a misunderstanding. Hmm. I wonder if it's with these guys?" This she pondered as she titled her head at the trio continued to bounce in place. They could all swear that they heard a 'springing' sound every time she lifted from the ground.

Applejack and Rarity looked at each other before sighing at their eccentric friends antics. "Well ah suppose it wouldn't hurt nun tah hear what they got ta say." Applejack looked sternly at the trio that was now stood side by side in defensive postures ready to defend themselves. None of them actually knew martial arts, but better to not let them know that. "All right yall, what exactly were ya doing to Scootaloo?"

Jayson decided to step forward as lead negotiator. "You want the long or the short version?"

Applejack tapped a hoof and snorted. "Well ah am feeling a mighty bit impatient right now."

"Fine then, we were rescuing her." Jayson said flatly. "She was attacked by a Cockatrace and turned to stone. We...dealt with the Cockatrace and she turned back." The ponies waited for further elaboration. "You wanted the short version and thats it."

Rarity turned to look at Scootaloo, grouped with the other Crusaders. "Is this true darling? Were you attacked by a Cockatace?"

Scootaloo looked to her friends. "The heck? You guys didn't even tell them what happened?"

The unicorn filly answered rubbing the back of her head and grimacing. "Yeah, about that. We just told them that a monster attacked us and that it got you."

"Yeah, and ta be fair, all you said was to run. We didn't know what from. We thought you would be right behind us the whole time." The yellow earth pony filly put in.

Applejack continued to stare at the trio. "So if yall had no intentions of harming Scootaloo, what were you doing to her before?"

This time Evan answered. "She was scared, I was trying to calm her down."

"I wasn't scared!" Scootaloo cried out defensively. "I was just surprised is all." She mumbled.

Applejack locked eyes with Jayson, and Jayson stared right back at her. The tension that emanated between them could almost be measured with a Geiger counter. Eventually Applejack let out a sight. "All right, ah believe ya." The trio sighed in relief. "But what happened to the Cockatace?"

"It's right overrrrrr...here..." Jayson indicated to the spot on the forest floor where they had cut the chicken lizards throat only to find a small pool of blood as the only trace of it. "What the hell?! Where did it go?"

"Where's Conan?" Evan asked.

Daniel growled angrily. "Greeeat. Just great! That treacherous little bastard stole our meal."

"Meal?" Applejack asked, before shaking her head and deciding what happened the Cockatrace wasn't important. "Well regardless, the Princesses wanted yall brought in anyway. Ahm gunna have ta ask yall to come with us." She twirled her lasso again, "or we can drag yall back. Your choice.

"Take it easy, we're looking to get out of this forest anyway." Jayson said raising his hand hoping to show he would cooperate. "We were hoping to talk to your princesses anyway."

"Guys I think we're forgetting something." Evan pointed out.

"Oh you mean Rainbow Dash and your other friend?" Pinkie Pie supplied, cheery smile still on her face.

"Yeah, that."

"Hoo boy, I hope your friend doesn't give Dash too much trouble or she'll whoop him good." Applejack said with a chuckle.

"He's my brother, and I wouldn't count on your friend rolling over him. In fact, we may wanna go stop them." Jayson said nervously. "It could get very, very ugly."

Applejack and Rarity both chuckled. "Clearly you don't know RD pardner?"

Daniels expression darkened. "You don't know our brother."

***

'Shit, what fuck, fuck is going on?!' Bosco was currently flying through the forest at a speed that made the g-forces feel as though his lungs were going to spill out of his throat. All he could see was the rainbow trail that had decided to pick him up and take him for a ride. He could feel compression on his stomach as he was propelled along the path that this attack had for him. 'I don't like this ride! Operator! Make it stop!'

The ride did indeed end, with Bosco being slammed into a tree trunk. Pain erupted from his back and he curled his back as he fell about 3 meters. He was still in shock from the initial blow so he fell hard on his stomach, knocking the wind from him. He wheezed as he tried to regain his breath.

Command center to brain. Status report!

'This is brain. Reporting temporary loss of airflow to lungs, and overflow of pain to neural receptors near the spinal column.

'ETA until body is functional?'

'Airflow is being restored now!'

Bosco took a gasp of air, filling his lungs with precious oxygen.

'Good work brain. Now prepare us for battle'

Combat actions are ill advised. Malnourished and sleep deprivation will reduce combat effectiveness by %30. Injury to right shoulder further decreases combat effectiveness by a further %10. Suggest falling back and regrouping with family unit.

Bosco began to stand, shaking his head to clear his blurred vision.

'That thing has to be faster than us, how is that the better option brain?'

'That is the best course of action that could be calculated based from the data from initial confrontation.'

'Well then I'm getting more data. Lets go do some research. FOR SCIENCE!'

Bosco finally looked up to see a cyan colored Pegasus mare with a spiky rainbow mane and tail hovering in front of him a few meters in front of him. Her magenta eyes held a ferocity in them, like she had something she was willing to lay everything down for. She also had a cocky grin on her face.

"I'm surprised you could get back up after that." She sad in a raspy voice. She then frowned and touched her two back hooves on the ground taking a stance that looked very similar to a martial arts stance. She had to use her wings to stay balanced on her hind legs. "Guess I'll just have to try harder."

Still panting from the introduction to Mr. Tree Trunk, Bosco started taking his own combat stance. 'She looks like she might actually know what she's doing. Well, guess I'm not going to feel good for another week.' He grunted as his shoulder reminded him of his timber wolf wound. This would not be a fight he would be able to win easily. Something also told him that he should be able to recognize this mare, but for the life of him he couldn't figure it out at the moment.

Something started vibrating in his pocket. 'Fucking serious?' Bosco dropped his stance and held up a hand. "Hang on I gotta take this."

The rainbow mare momentarily dropped her stance as Bosco retrieved his phone from his pocket. "What?" He looked at the screen. "What are you doing over there creep?" Bosco ignored her, paying attention to the message his phone played. It said 'Now playing'. 'Huh, must have accidentally hit the play button. He put the phone back in his pocket and turned to face his foe again.

"Sorry bout that. Now where we-" The music started as blue hooves drove their way into Bosco's gut. He doubles over and another hoof finds its way to his side. The rainbow mare then follows up with a straight thrust to Bosco's face.

Bosco leaned his head to the side to dodge the blow. As the hoof was flying past his left side he brought up his right arm to defend his face and charged forward bringing his left up as he came. His fist connected to the mare's muzzle, causing her to grunt in pain. With a flap of her wings she gained some distance between the two of them.

Bosco took a proper stance again and prepared himself for another assault. The rainbow mare had an intense look in her eyes, like this were a challenge she wasn't going to back down from. 'That makes two of us.' Bosco decided to make the first move by taking her head on. He barely started moving before she took off in a rainbow trail that he could barely track. She zipped around behind him insanely fast, and he wasn't prepared for it.

She took advantage of getting around his guard and threw a hoof to the back of his head. If not for his Kevlar he would have been out like a light then and there. As he stumbled forwards she threw a leg underneath him, taking him off his feet. As he fell forward she once again with another hoof in his back driving him to the ground. Bosco was able to perform a correct break fall, regaining control of himself and immediate rolling away from the hoof that hit dirt where his head was less than a second before.

Bosco was able to throw a leg around and knock the rainbow mare off balance. She was unprepared for a follow up from her opponent, and Bosco was able to grab her other hoof as she fell. He used it as leverage to pull himself up and bring an elbow to her rib cage, which he retracted and followed up with a fist to the same area. After that she was able to break free from his grasp with a flap of her wings.

Bosco was back on his feet by the time the mare shrugged off his blows. He was feeling far more tired than he should have as he gasped for breath, his muscles burning from the strain. His right shoulder was feeling stiff as well. He knew that at this point he was running solely off of adrenaline and he would most likely pass out when the fight was over. 'I'm not going to let this gay pride parade pony beat me!'

Rainbow mare made to move against him again, but in the same manner as before. Bosco was better prepared this time and was able to blow the first strike that came at him from behind, turning to face the direction his foe was coming from and at the same time connecting his forearm with her forehoof, pushing the blow harmlessly aside. The second hoof came and he parried it in the same manner. She continued her assault in a flurry of hooves that he could barely track. Instinct took over as his arms guided themselves and his eyes focused on finding an opening.

She found one first, feinting left and hitting him in his right side. His defense was breached long enough for her to grab him and throw him into the air. As he rose into the air he saw her from below him. 'Oh dear.' She screamed as she brought both her hooves into his gut. He grunted and hacked up some extra saliva laced with blood as she once again sped around him and drove a leg into his back sending him back at the ground again.

Bosco tumbled across the ground until he hit his back against a tree. Pain permeated the area once again, but Bosco was able to recover and get to his feet. He was up in time to see a rainbow streak coming at him once again. He dodged to the left as she connected with the tree. At the same time he brought up a leg to block to follow up attack from her leg. The once again locked into a flurry of hooves and fists, occasionally throwing out a leg to try and off balance each other. Bosco was slowly starting to feel a pattern for her attacks, and he had a plan for when she made her next move.

They finally broke apart when rainbow mare flapped back to try to use her speed to get behind him again. Anticipating this, Bosco threw up his left arm and grasped her hoof as it came exactly where he predicted it would. He held his grip firm and brought his other arm up in time to grasp her other hoof. Now he had both her hooves in his grasp. 'Okay, now it comes down to who has the raw strength to outlast the other.

They stood there, rainbow mare glaring into her opponents eyes and Bosco glared into hers as the both tried to force each other into submission. They both sweat profusely, sweat dripping from their faces and moistening the dirt beneath them. Bosco arms cried to be done with the exertion. He could feel that even adrenaline wasn't going to keep him going much longer. His body was starting to quit on him as the energy he had left was quickly being burned up.

Finally, the rainbow mare started to give ground, being forced back. Bosco pressed his advantage forcing her hooves further apart so as to create and opening for his attack. The rainbow mare grunted and panic started to appear on her face as she realized she couldn't over power her opponent, and she couldn't break away.

After he had forced her almost all the way to her haunches, she was off balance enough for Bosco to attack. He let go of her left hoof and brought his right fist into her muzzle. While she was dazed he took his left arm and brought it to where he guessed her diaphragm was. She coughed as the wind was knock from her and Bosco took advantage, bringing a knee up to her jaw. She become airborne without her wings and Bosco finished, rounding a kick to her side. She saw it just in time and was able to soften the blow with by dropping a wing in the path of his leg.

The force of the blow still sent her tumbling off to the side, and when she landed she growled in pain. Bosco watched as she got up on all four hooves and looked to her wing. She held it aloft wincing if it touched her side. 'Well no more flight advantage for you.' "Graw shit!" The wound from his shoulder started to burn intensely. His own body was quitting on him. His vision was starting to blur, and he could barely stand or keep his arms up. He could also tell she was in about the same state he was in after his last attack. Whoever came on top after this next spar would be the only one left standing.

They both gazed at each other. Her eyes still held the intensity that they had at the start. Eyes that told him that she was not going to quit, no matter what. Though he felt hostility towards this rainbow mare for outright attacking him, he could respect that. He wasn't going to let that hold him back however.

They both charged each other in a last desperate attempt to best each other. They collided in a flurry of fists and hooves once again. Both were nearly spent however, and they made mistakes. Each was able to get in a hit, but unable to follow it up. They went back and forth, hitting each other tic for tac. Bosco made out every detail as they attacked each other. As his fist made contact with her muzzle, he saw the sweat dripping from his arms. When her hoof planted itself into his cheek, her could see every piece of her fur waving in the the breeze.

Both made a last ditch effort to finish the other, twirling around each others backs bringing there legs up for a kick each hoped to finish the other with. If anyone had been watching at the time, they would have thought it was a well choreographed dance routine. Both of them landed their kicks on the others faces, blood gushing from their respective noses. The rainbow mare had been fortunate enough to be knocked back into a tree. She was still knocked unconscious, but she was not sent over the cliff that was now behind them. Both had been so focused on their fight that they did not notice that they had traveled to perilously close to the cliff edge.

Bosco unfortunately had nothing to block him from being knocked over the edge. He began to lose consciousness as well as he fell towards the sound of rushing water.

'Vision...fading...muscles...non responsive...brain...status report?'

Click beeeeeeeep 'I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service. Have a nice day.'

'Well...Fuck'

Bosco heard the splash of him falling into the river, and felt the cold of the water seep into his torn, ragged, bloodstained clothes, and his vision faded to black.

Author's Note:

Alright, same deal as before. Let me know what you enjoyed, and tell me what you think is fucked up. Also it has been brought to my attention that I have a lot of grammatical errors, which I am aware of. However I don't know how to spot them out and fix them. So if anyone is willing, let me know if you are willing to be a proofreader. That way hopefully we can be less distracted by the grammar and more distracted by my dumb ass. If you are interested send me a PM.

Love,
Author person... :P

P.S. Monty Python :3

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