//------------------------------//
// Map to the Scars 
// Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot 
// by Equimorto 
//------------------------------//

Luna's axe came down, and the silver snake splintered in a shower of bright orange sparks and white-hot dust. It was the third one that night, the eighth one that week, the twenty-seventh that month. She was getting a bit tired of them, to be perfectly honest. There was nothing particularly engaging about hunting them. They were more of a nuisance than anything.
A sound to her right drew her attention. Somewhere behind the cover of leaves and twisted branches, something was moving. She turned, and readied her weapon, narrowing her eyes. Not another silver snake, it seemed. Too small to be one of those. Maybe even smaller than her, judging by how subtle the movements appeared to be.
The alicorn waited, patiently still, ready to strike at the first sign of aggression. But nothing came. The movement seemed to halt completely, not even the faintest trace of it left. Everything was quiet again, as if nothing had happened. Curious, cautious, she took a step forward. It could very well be a trap. But it was just as likely that whatever had been there simply wasn't anymore.
She got right in front of the bush, and still no signs of anything. Very slowly, very carefully, she brought the tip of her axe towards the leaves and branches. And then, just as slowly, she pushed them aside, to reveal the space behind. Nothing there. With a barely audible sigh, she pulled back her weapon, as the tension in her muscles eased just a bit.
She turned away, and gave a look around. There didn't seem to be anything nor any other creature there for the moment. Just trees, and thankfully only the neutral kind. Not that she would have had anything against the friendlier ones, but the hostile ones were far more common around the area, so getting trees that didn't attack was already a plus.
Shrugging, she took off. The beats of her wide wings pushed her upwards as she began to soar above the forest, looking below her to spot any other signs of movement or commotion. There didn't seem to be any, not as far as she could see, certainly nothing major. She'd already dealt with a few, true enough. But she doubted it would be all for the night.
Her gaze turned upwards, above her, where the rest of the forest lay. Her wings pushed harder, and in a few moments there she was, soaring over the trees with her back towards the ground and her belly towards the sky. Thankfully, she'd been there enough times to learn how to gracefully roll around in mid air without interrupting her flight.
Her gaze was once more cast downwards at the ground. Once more searching for signs of strife. It didn't take long, this time, before her eyes spotted something. Trees bending as the creature erratically crashed into them, the heavy thuds of its steps echoing in the air. Axe at her side, Luna swooped down, ready to take out the beast.