Warning: slight gore possible
"Hold on let me see if I understand what you want" I said to Fluttershy "You need me to accompany you into the Everfree Forest..."
"Yes" she confirmed
"So we can track down a creature that has been attacking your animals..."
"Yes" she said again
"And possibly kill it so it can never do this again, that right"
"Unfortunately yes" she said with a pang of guilt "If I can't reason with it, then I will need you to stop it...um, if that's ok with you of course"
"But why do I need such powerful weapons?" I said as I glanced at my XM500 sniper rifle
"Because this creature is very dangerous" Fluttershy said
"Got it" I confirmed "Let's get this over with"
Fluttershy and I exited her cottage and made our way to the entrance of the Everfree Forest. As we entered, I drew the P90 submachine-gun from the holder on my hip and prepared myself for anything. I kept scanning the area for anything hostile. But then I realized: I had no idea what I was looking for. I asked Fluttershy.
"Uh, Fluttershy" I said making her jump a little "What exactly does this creature look like?"
"Oh, I completely forgot about that" she said "I haven't seen it myself but my animals tell me it's really scary"
"I'm gonna need more than 'scary' if we're going to find this thing" I said
"Sorry" she said "Let's see..." Fluttershy then began recounting the descriptions her animals gave her of the creature that had attacked them. Apparently we were looking for a creature that was dog-like in appearance with a long snake tail, razor-sharp claws, and a vulture's head.
"So where do we start looking for this thing?" I asked still keeping an eye out
"Well, most of the animals it attacked had been in a meadow not far from here" Fluttershy said as I adjusted my hearing to her soft voice. Fluttershy was becoming more and more nervous as we traveled further into the forest.
"So Fluttershy" I said trying to calm the Pegasus "You can talk to animals?"
"Well, not like I talk you or another pony" she explained "But I can understand what they mean and they can understand me"
"That's an amazing ability Fluttershy" I said causing the Pegasus to hide behind her mane
"Oh, it's nothing really" she said "I'm sure it doesn't even compared to what you can do"
"Don't be so modest Fluttershy" I said "anyone can blow stuff up, but it takes a special kind of pers...uh...pony, to care for something, "
"Oh you're just saying that" she said blushing a bit
"I always mean what I say" I countered. We walked for a few more minute stopping when a leaf or twig startled Fluttershy, until we reached the meadow. It was filled with wild grasses and flowers and a purely positive energy.
"Ok Fluttershy" I said as I looked at a nearby tree "I'll set up here and watch over you while you talk to that thing"
"W-wait" she said as her eyes grew wide with fright "y-you're not coming with me?"
"Fluttershy" I said "if we want to keep that creature from freaking out we need to appear as nonthreatening as possible, and a 500-lb. heavily armed soldier is very threatening"
"B-b-but what if it attacks?" She asked in fear. I brought my sniper rifle out.
"That's why I brought this. With this rifle I can hit a target roughly the size of a pumpkin from almost a mile away" I paused and withdrew a bullet "and these bullets can punch a hole in a concrete wall" She still wasn't convinced.
"Fluttershy, you know you can trust me" I said "you'll be fine, I'll be watching everything from this tree"
"O-ok" she said still nervous. I began climbing the tree and took my position on a branch with my back to the tree trunk. I looked through my scope and found the target.
"OK Fluttershy, I can see the creature" I reported to the petrified Pegasus "go ahead and try to talk to it, I've got your back"
"I'm s-s-scared" she said as she cowered on a nearby branch
"Fluttershy, your animals need you" I said trying to encourage her "you're the only pony who has any chance of reasoning with that thing"
"You're right" she said with a hint of confidence "I have to do this"
"That's the spirit" I said "go do your thing Fluttershy"
She landed on the ground and made her way cautiously to the middle of the meadow where the creature was. I released the safety and cycled the action moving the first .50 Caliber BMG bullet into the chamber. I watched Fluttershy carefully as she made contact with the creature.
"Diplomacy: the art of saying 'nice doggy' until your sniper gets the range" I said to myself with a chuckle "My kind of diplomacy"
As Fluttershy conversed with the creature, I noticed movement in the tall grass making its way toward her. I used my X-ray vision filter to identify the anomaly as another one of the animals.
Fuck I thought This is bad
The creature moved in behind Fluttershy, who noticed it and moved so the two were in front of her. She looked over at me, revealing a look of fear and worry. Then things began to go downhill. Two more creature appeared, now surrounding the Pegasus.
"Ok, I've seen enough" I said to myself as one of the creatures moved to attack.
I fired, sending 700 grains of anti-anything power downrange. The round impacted the creature in the shoulder, blasting it off and throwing the animal a few yards back. All three remaining creatures looked around confused by the long-range intervention, which I answered by firing again, blasting another creature's head clean off.
Boom, headshot I thought triumphantly
"Fluttershy!" I yelled "Get over here!" I fired again but missing on purpose to scare the creatures as Fluttershy began running back toward my tree. More creatures showed up, but two of them managed to catch a bullet. I jumped down from the tree firing two more times and nailing one of the creatures. By this point, there were five of them. As Fluttershy reached my position, I fired my remaining three shots and killed two of them.
"Dammit" I said as I dropped the now empty rifle looking back to Fluttershy who was cowering behind me "Why didn't I bring more ammo?"
I drew my P90 and opened fire on the charging snake-dog-vultures, emptying twenty-five 5.7mm rounds into one of the creatures, killing it. I reoriented and emptied the remainder into another. The final creature slashed at me damaging my gun, gouging my arm, and knocking me back. The creature was then looming over Fluttershy who was pinned to the ground. My systems kicked into overdrive as I charged the attacker, hitting it broadside like a linebacker. I drew my axe and stood between the beast and the Pegasus. The creature recovered from my charge and entered an aggressive stance.
"Stay behind me" I said as I entered my own stance. The beast lunged and swiped at us, but only managed to cause a small cut on my leg. I struck at it with my axe slicing its serpentine tail off, and pissing it off. It returned and tackle me but I used its momentum to roll it over and throw the beast into a tree behind me, stunning it. I had had enough. I raised my axe and swung, embedding the titanium blade into its skull. The creature immediately fell down dead. I wrenched my axe from its head and turned to check on Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy, are you hurt?" I asked as I replaced my axe
Fluttershy's coat and mane were spattered with blood from the creatures I shot and she was paralyzed with fear.
"Fluttershy?" I said moving her mane out of her face "Fluttershy, it's ok, It's safe now"
"H-h-how could you" she stammered out
"How about we get out of here then you can ask me questions" I said. Fluttershy nodded in agreement and we left the meadow. Twenty minutes later we were back at Fluttershy's cottage. Once inside, Fluttershy set about cleaning herself of blood, and asking me questions.
"I don't understand Mr. Archangel, how can you be so ok with what happened?" she asked
"You mean what happened back there?" I said taking a seat on Fluttershy's couch "Ya get use to it"
"But, you killed those creatures" she said "How can you not feel anything?"
"Because they were attacking my friend" I answered "And when you attack my friends, you better be ready to catch a bullet"
"I really do appreciate that" she said "but I just can't believe that you have no problem killing them"
"Actually, now that I think about it, it may have something to do with the fact that humans are omnivorous" I said
"Y-y-you are?" she asked nervously
"Well, since I'm a cyborg, I don't need to eat anything" I said "but yes, most humans eat both plants and animals"
Fluttershy thought about this for a minute.
"I-I guess that makes sense" she said, but obviously didn't like it "I just hope that never has to happen again"
That's when I saw a small white rabbit begin tugging on Fluttershy's tail.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Angel" she said to the rabbit "Did I forget to make your salad?" the rabbit nodded yes and began tapping his foot impatiently.
"Captain, There is a situation in the town square" I heard Guardian say over my radio. I stood up from the couch.
"Sorry about this Fluttershy" I said causing the rabbit to hide behind his owner in fear "but I gotta go, Guardian needs me. Maybe we can talk more later"
"Ok Captain" she answered "and thank you for your help, I'll be sure to let all my little critters know it's safe now"
"Thanks" I replied as I opened the door "goodbye"
"Goodbye Captain"
And with that I left to fix whatever it was that Guardian had messed up.