//------------------------------//
// 3. Encounters 
// Story: Guardians of the Elements of Harmony 
// by mcb893 
//------------------------------//

Moore dived to the side to avoid the charging creature. On the ground, he watched as it began roared into the air and turned. "What is that thing?" He shouted out loud as he struggled to get up. He tried to aim his rifle, but the creature charged again. Moore once again was able to dodge the strike, but was off balance and tripped. The strange creature ran into a tree, giving the Staff Sergeant enough time to get up.

Shouting in rage, he fired his weapon at the creature, emptying his entire clip into it's legs. But the beast would not falter. Once again it roared into the air and began it's charge. "Oh you have got to be kidding me..." Moore thought to himself as he tried to reload. The creature rammed him against a tree and the Staff Sergeant gave a quick shout of pain.

The creature took his paw, and let loose his claws. Panicking, Moore took his knife and prepared himself. The beast swung his claws at the man, but he was able to stab it with his knife. It let out a roar of anger and dropped him. Moore hit the ground with a thud, and quickly felt the wind knocked out of him. Regaining his breath, he loaded a fresh magazine into his rifle and took off into the trees.

He panted and struggled to avoid the branches as the beast let loose his vocal terror and charged after him. Moore stopped briefly and fired five rounds to the creature's skull. It crashed into a tree, blinded by the metal. "No time to lose." Moore thought to himself. With haste, he once again took off deeper into the woods, curving and changing his path several times to make sure the beast could not track him. He kept running for what felt like a good five minutes, and finally stopped from dehydration. Moore came to a halt at a large tree and bent over, gasping for air.

He quickly took his water, breathing heavily as sweat poured out of his glands. Bringing the bottle to his lips, he turned it and felt the refreshing liquid flow down his throat. Still breathing heavily, he closed the bottle and placed it back. He coughed a few times and turned looked behind him. The creature was smashing down trees in pursuit. Moore took his rifle and aimed.

The beast charged closer, and closer, letting out a deafening cry. Moore closed one eye and aimed for it's head. Just as the monster knocked down the final tree, Moore fired every last round in to the skull of the creature. It went to it's hind legs and let out a whimper of pain. It fell onto it's back and gave a heartbreaking noise from it's throat. Moore's breathing steadied as he took his knife and plunged it into the beast's heart. With one final cry of pain, the beast ceased to breathe.

Moore took his knife and just stood there for a moment. Taking in the scene that lie before him. He looked at the knife in his hand, still freshly coated in the demon's blood. He had just killed an unknown creature, never discovered by anyone on Earth. Where was he? What kind of messed up country was he trapped in. Easing his breathing, he cleaned his knife and placed it back by his side. "I need to figure out what's going on..." Moore thought to himself.

He checked his watch, which was just blinking random numbers. He gave an annoyed growl and looked around. He tried to think of a solution as to why he ended up here. "Think Moore, what happened?" That's when it hit him. The EMP, it must have interfered with the transportation process. Instead of the alien detention facility, he was stuck in some unknown location. He sat down on next to a tree and took off his helmet, running his hand through his hair. He held his helmet and wondered what to do. He looked back down to his radio, he never had finished using it. There had to be some sort of human compound nearby, there was no way there couldn't.

Unclipping the possible lifeline, he pressed the transmit button and once again tried to communicate with anyone out there. "My name is John Moore, I am US Army Ranger, can anyone hear me?" He asked with desperation. Silence was his the only reply. Outraged, he shouted into the speaker. "Hey! Don't just ignore me! Someone had better reply!" Nothing. Sighing, he placed the radio back onto his side and put his helmet back on. He was alone, whether he like it or not.

Several Hours Later...

"Twilight, we've gone this way five times before." Applejack said with fatigue in her voice. Twilight looked back to her friend and frowned. She hung her head and came to realization. They were lost. She had convinced her friend to go with her and discover the cause and source of the mysterious light, but she had failed, and now they were stuck in this forest.

Disappointed with herself, Twilight sat down and looked at the depressing forest. It was getting close to night time, and everypony knew it wasn't safe to be in the Everfree Forest when dark had fallen. "I'm sorry AJ, I'm so horrible. You finally get to see your family, and I just rip you away from them... only to get you lost..." She said with regret. Applejack smiled and walked over to her friend. "Aw it's alright sugarcube. You didn't mean it. Ah'm sure we'll be fine."

Just then, they heard a twig snap. Twilight turned her head and leaped to her hooves. "Applejack, did you..?" "Yeah, I heard it..." The friends stood side by side as they looked from one direction to another. Leaves rustled to the side, making the duo jump. "What was that?" Twilight asked, frightened. Applejack tried to be brave and said; "Ah... Ah'm sure it's nothin'. Probably just our minds playin' tricks on us." She said with a nervous smile. "At the same time?" Twilight asked. Her smile faded.

Twilight looked into the deep forestry and gulped. Sweat began to pour out from her forehead as she walked toward the massive foliage. AJ grabbed her. "What're you doin'?" She asked. "Either we figure out what this thing is, or it finds us and it'll be too late." Her friend replied. Applejack gulped and nodded as she followed her. Just then, a strange creature leapt out from the tree line and pointed some kind of contraption at them. The two ponies froze in fear.

The creature had two strangely shaped limbs carrying the odd device, and two others touching the ground, making it very tall. It had no fur, and wore a camo outfit, with several pouches along it's waist. It wore sunglasses as well. The creature lowered the device and stared at the friends in confusion. "What the heck? Ponies? And a unicorn? What is this place?" It said quietly. "It talks..." Twilight whispered. The creature jumped, shouting and pointing the object back at them. "SON OF A..!" It shouted. Twilight whimpered in fear, while AJ lowered her head and trembled.

Moore aimed the assault rifle at the unicorn and horse. They had just talked! He tried to ease his mind and stop trembling. The orange one lifted the hat it was wearing and looked with fear upon him. "W..W...What are you?" It asked with a shaky, trembling voice. Moore breathed quickly, and loudly as he replied. "I'm... a human... US Army Ranger..." He walked closer and tightened his grip on the weapon. "Who... and what... are you?" He demanded. The purple unicorn whimpered and spoke. "I... I'm Twilight Sparkle... S... Star pupil of Princess Cel... Celestia. I'm a... a... a Unicorn..." It said with a gentle, feminine voice. They were females, probably teen aged or young adults by the sound of it.

He eased the grip on his gun and turned back to the orange one. "You?" He said as he lowered the rifle. The orange horse gulped and lifted her hat. "Applejack... Ah... Ah'm an... Earth... Pony..." She said with fear in her voice. Moore eased his breathing. The two ponies continued to look upon him with fear. He sighed. "I'm sorry I frightened you. I thought you were something else. My name is John Moore." He said with a steady voice. The ponies relaxed and looked at him. This was so strange, what was happening? One minute he's in New York, the next he's in some forest with colored, talking "Earth Ponies" and Unicorns.

Swallowing, he slowly walks closer to the horses and kneels down. One backs behind the other, who raises a hoof and backs her head away. He rubbed the back of his head and tried to explain himself. "Look... my job is protecting people... and... I'm not going to hurt you." He said still staring at the ground.

Twilight cowered behind Applejack as this "human" explained himself. This was so strange, she had never seen a creature like this before. It appeared to be sorry for it's actions. "He." She reminded herself. He wasn't an it, he was a monster with a name. "Look... There was a uh... mishap... in my world, and well... I got sent here..." He said. Twilight walked forward and began to speak herself. "You're in the Everfree Forest, Equestria, to be more exact." The creature rose it's head and looked to the right.

Twilight backed away. Looking back toward her, the human looked into her eyes. "Well, uh.. Twilight Sparkle..." He said, rubbing the back of his head with a... hand. Now she knew what these limbs were. Arms and legs, minotaurs had them. "And... Applejack... it's getting dark out, and we need to get out of the open. "The friends nodded as the man stood up and turned on a device that gave off a beam of light, which was on the side of the first one. "I know you probably don't trust me, but... You'll last the night if you stick with me. I can protect you." He said.

"I don't know Twi, should we go with him?" AJ asked. Twilight looked at the man, and saw a serious, unforgiving face. He looked very dangerous, but for some reason, Twilight felt like she could trust him. "I think so. He may be our only hope of surviving the night. In the morning we'll take him back to Ponyville and see what the Princess has to say about this." She whispered. Applejack nodded and turned to face the man. "Lead the way. Stranger. We're trusting you." She said to the man.