//------------------------------//
// Ch.2: There be monsters... 
// Story: Return of the Ura 
// by Brotato 
//------------------------------//


Chapter two

There be monsters...


The forest surrounded half the cold camp, bringing a sense of discomfort to anyone who wasn't close to one of the meager campfires. The camp itself was sufficient to say the least, and with the winter season creeping in, blankets would soon not be enough to stop the stinging winds
However, the guards who set up the camp had a good idea to alleviate that problem.. Several tents were pitched in a the single campfire, creating a make-shift wall to take the brunt of the wind; effectively keeping the huddled ponies and single human comfortably warm.

Why couldn't the Bastion act like this during the warmer seasons?

Hammer grumbled in his mind while rubbing both hands in front of the campfire. Ever since winter started he had a small sense of jealousy for the natural thick coat ponies grew. And for a brief moment, he wished he was still a pony.
Right now they were playing a simple waiting game, which was the reason they were still in camp and not proceeding into the forest. A royal guard, whom had the fitting name Aegis Shimmer, told the group several others were still returning from patrols around the forest. Once everypony had all returned, they would go in as a single group. While Hammer tried to reassure him that they could take care of themselves, he was quite... insistent.

"How much longer?" Rainbow dash groaned in a lengthy manner.

Aegis gave her a dead stare. which Hammer swore his eyebrows were frozen shut. Or guard training in Canterlot involved a no-blinking policy.

"Patience, please."

The guard of many words has spoken.

Ignoring Rainbow Dash, who was now ranting on about showing him the meaning of patience, Hammer glanced towards Twilight. "Anything you know about this forest?"

Twilight used her magic to throw in another branch and kindle the fire before answering; stray hot ash flitting about from the already burnt wood being rustled.
"The forest isn't that much larger than the Everfree, though that's comparing it by square miles. While the Everfree's tree line is round in shape, Delamare takes on a sort of a crescent; circling around about a third of Trottingham."

"And this camp is the closest near the Bastion?" Hammer couldn't see the Bastion when they were descending, but Twilight had been asking questions and gathering information like a champ when they landed.

"From what the guards tell me we're about half a mile from the crash site. Also, this is the only camp that's brave enough to be placed near the forest anyway. So, yes. This is the closest camp near the Bastion."

Half a mile? Plenty of ground for something to go wrong. Hammer mused. The others in the party didn't seem too be worried about it though. Rarity was busy talking with Fluttershy over a scarf she had given to her after the shy pegasus had shivered. Applejack was busy pulling Rainbow Dash away from Aegis. And Pinkie Pie had pulled out a bag of marshmallows and was currently roasting them on a stick with twenty at a time.
He would like to believe he was being paranoid about this whole trek, but ponies haven't seen Caelondia's savage wilderness. It made the Everfree forest look like a children's playground. He will have to keep vigilant for his friends while in the forest, else something terrible may happen.

The sound of rustling brush brought the camp to full alert. The four guards and Aegis showed how prepared they were by bolting across the camp and putting themselves between the camp and whatever was coming. Hammer and everypony else joined soon after. The rustling got closer and soon the bush outside the camp moved, followed by a furry white monster of some sort. It skidded to a halt in front of the group of ponies, its eyes wide and whiskers wiggling menacingly.

"Bunny!" Fluttershy somehow found the strength to push aside a royal guard and pick up the bunny, which she soon discovered was frightened from the way it trembled in her embrace. "Shh, it's alright. You're safe now," she cooed to the small critter, which helped calm it down. "But what frightened you so?"
The bunny pointed a small paw towards the forest, which Fluttershy looked towards. There was nothing but the trees and bushes. However, it didn't take long until the sound of cracking wood filled the air. Followed by a tree falling over with a dull boom. It repeated itself, each time getting closer and closer until they saw a tree fall towards them, making a small opening through the treeline. What came out shocked everypony. Even the guards.

A large blue creature that was almost twice as tall as Hammer. It didn't have feet, or legs for that matter. His bottom simply tapered off, leaving him to float above the ground. Around its head was an orange scarf, which held two glowing blue eyes; staring down at the group before it.
The ponies only stared back as they could make heads or tails of how to act after seeing such a creature. It was obvious what action to take when the creature began winding up his arm to slice through the group like harvesting wheat.

"Scatter!" Aegis shouted. Everypony jumped away to evade the blow. However, Hammer stood there with a grim look on his face.

"Hammer, get away from that thing!" Rainbow shouted. She bolted forward to grab him, but it was too late. The creature swung its pickaxe with one swift motion; aiming for him. Rainbow covered her eyes with a grimace as she could only imagine what would happen soon. Instead, the sound of metal hitting metal and a grunt was heard. Rainbow lowered her hoof and spotted Hammer holding the bull-shaped shield that had been on his back. Furrows of dirt showed he had been pushed several feet to the side, but he held his ground.
The creature continued its attack by doing an overhead swing, but just when it was about to connect, Hammer deftly rolled to the side. The blow he so narrowly missed left a jagged scar in the ground. When the pickaxe was pulled out, loose dirt spilled everywhere.
When he was back on his feet, he hung his shield back in place and pulled out his Scrap musket. Using only a second to aim, he fired. The sound it made caused everypony to cringe as it sounded like an explosion with 'nails on a chalkboard' for background singers from the razor-sharp projectiles leaving the barrel.
The shot flew true and most of the scrap embedded itself in the creature. Soon afterwards, it simply disappeared in a puff of blue smoke. Even the cloth on its head was nowhere to be found. Hammer looked around the area for any more targets before holstering his weapon and brushing the dirt and grass off his clothes.

"What the hay was that all about?" Twilight yelled as she glared up at him. "You could've gotten yourself hurt! or worse!"

Kid shook his head. "Twilight, you of all ponies should know I've fought my share of them before. So I know what I was getting myself into. They're called Gasfellas, and have quite a temper towards pretty much anything. Even their own kind." He looked around the forest again just to make sure there weren't any others. Gasfellas were notorious for being in packs. Especially with their little brothers: Squirts. While not very threatening by themselves, squirts come in droves and attack in overwhelming numbers.

Rainbow Dash, who held a look of anger as well, quickly changed to excitement in seeing everypony was okay. "Still, that was so awesome! You totally kicked his flank!" She shadowboxed and kicked the air as she spoke.

Pinkie Pie appeared behind Hammer's back with his Scrap musket in her hooves. "Oooh! I could use one of these with my party cannon!" Before, Celestia forbid, Pinkie Pie pulled the trigger, Hammer peeled her off and took back his weapon. "Hey!"

Hammer kneeled down to look level with Pinkie. "This," pointing at his gun, "is not a toy." She put on a puppy-dog eyes look, but he would have none of it. "Sorry, Pinkie. It's for your safety." Standing back up, he turned towards the guards and rest of the party. "Your patrol should have returned by now and we've wasted enough time. I'm entering the forest weather you agree or not, and for those of you who still wish to go, now's the time." When he finished, he began walking towards the forest