"Mac, Arigos, wake up. We got trouble." Will instructed, his voice steady.
"...Wha?" Arigos asked, still half asleep.
Slowly six timberwolves circled around the group. Will could see the blood lust in their wooden eyeholes, they were ready for a hunt.
Before Will or anypony could react, the first wolf pounced...and exploded into flames.
Every living thing in the nearby area immediately looked in Will's direction, and discovered that his whole left arm was on fire, and pointing directly where the remains of the first timberwolf lay. Will looked sad but determined, and if you looked closely, you could see the inferno in his eyes. It was as if the sun itself had took up nesting ground in his soul.
The five other wooden monstrosities hesitated, unsure if the prize was worth the risk. This hesitation gave the unlikely earth pony, changeling, human trio a moment to prepare. Big Macintosh tensed up, Arigos's horn hummed to life as pure raw magic began to course through it, and fire slowly crept down Will's other arm.
Now the timberwolves were certainly spooked, it seemed that the fight wasn't worth it. Then, the largest timberwolf, who was obviously the pack leader, growled, and charged, and the other four remaining wolves followed suit.
Will shot two of them before anyone could blink, and Arigos sliced one into bits a few seconds later. The last two remaining timberwolves ganged up on Big Mac. Mac managed to buck one in the chin, but the pack leader tackled him to the ground moments later. The beast bit into the earth pony's front left hoof with its wooden teeth, and though the pain was unbearable, Big Mac remained silent. Will jumped closer to intervene, but Arigos was quicker and blasted the pack leader clean in two. The group watched as the last remaining wolf limped off into the woods. The trio had made there message clear, they were not to be trifled with.
Will decided that it was probably best if they kept moving rather than attempt to go back to sleep, so after packing up, and putting out the fire, they headed off. It was quite dark still, so Will lit a torch. After about an hour and a half Will checked the time on his gauntlet, It said five forty five AM.
Sun will be up in a few hours, I suppose then will be the best time to head into the forest, I would prefer that we stay out of it till we have enough light to see. I can't afford the group getting lost in the dark. Besides,Will mused,I know what goes bump in the night.
Soon, the edges of the sky turned from a dark purple to a light blue, and a bit after that orange streaks could be seen on the horizon. Eventually, the sun began its clime across the eastern sky, and the moon made its retreat. At last, the trio could see their surroundings with a little more clarity. Will could see Ponyville out in the distance, and shreds of sunlight leaking through the forest canopy to his left.
They pressed onward, not yet going into the forest itself, but instead completely tracing the border. It was there they found a cottage, covered in vines, it looked as if the forest itself was eating the building. Two ponies in gray hooded cloaks stood outside the sturdy oak door. They had yet to see Will or the others, and stayed at still as stone.
Will pointed to the guards, "See them? Their with Spectral. Arigos, can you disguise yourself and act like you are a lost traveler to distract them?" Will inquired.
"Can do." Arigos confirmed.
"Great, Big Mac and I will circle around back, and knock out the guards, and we'll bust in and find out what their planning." Will explained.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brute Force was minding his own business, guarding the door. It was a simple job really, stand there and look tough. It discouraged the curious, and allowed The Order of the Spectral Hoof to continue operating with little to no distractions.
So imagine his surprised when a blue pegasus with a green mane came walking up to him.
"Excuse me but I appear to be a bit lost, you see I'm from Fillydephia , and I'm visiting relatives in the area and I have not idea how to navigate the area. Not that I'm good with navigation to begin with, I mean really, do you see a compass cutiemark on my flank? No! I don't suppose you could direct me to the Ponyville train station?" He asked.
"Uhh." Brute said, unsure of how to respond to the verbal bombardment.
"Its just that If I can't meet up with my second cousins sister's nephew within half an hour, I'm going to be late. I need directions to get to the train station." The pegasus continued.
"Oh...well...See that barn over there? Well your gonna wanna take a left over there then go straight and-..." Brute force was cut off by a certain human slamming Brute's head into the wall behind him. Brute Forces fellow guard met a similar fate moments later at the hooves of Big Mac.
The blue pegasus disappeared, and was replaced by Arigos, who flashed Will a grin.
"Good work guys, alright, lets see what their up to." Will said.
Big Macintosh walked over to where the wooden door was, turned around and bucked it with all his might. Thanks to years of apple bucking, this kick broke the door in half. It fell to the ground with a snap, and Will glanced into the building. The interior was dark, and since nopony came to intercept them, it seemed as if the cottage was empty.
The group walked into the dark house hesitantly, unsure whether or not it was a good idea.
"What? No Spectra? Maybe no ones home?" Arigos wondered.
Suddenly all hell broke loose.
" No Spectra! You just had to open your big mouth!" Will shouted.