//------------------------------// // Lost In The Woods // Story: Celestial Gift // by Wolfsalvo //------------------------------// (Princess Celestia's P.O.V.) Tonight was the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, and I was already ready and in my formal attire, having long ago preferred to be ready should ponies decide to arrive early. It would have been a good night had it not been for the most recent letter I received... Looking over the front grounds of the castle as the royal guard assembled, I felt fear coiling within my gut, and worry was all I felt. There was no need for any of these feelings however, Steel might be lost to the Everfree forest, with its dangerous inhabitants, lethal environments, and ever changing seasonal attributes; but he could handle himself. ...Couldn't he? Feeling the immense pressure of disappointment welling up within me, it did little to alleviate my fears knowing that I had given him his weapons. Yes, Twilight and her friends have been faced with the perils of the Everfree forest without weapons to aid them, but they had their experiences to keep them safe; along with the knowledge of what awaits ponies inside that forest. Steel had none of these however, and that meant he was all the more in trouble. Stomping my hoof out of the sheer frustration I was feeling, I turned, and stormed out of my room... ... (Twilight's P.O.V.) Pacing nervously as I, Applejack, and the now assembled Elements of Harmony stood anxiously inside the library, I looked back towards the letter I still had yet to finish. It was something I felt obligated to read, but with what the other letter I recently read said, I didn't want to read anything else for a good while. All I could see was the Princesses disappointed and angry face glaring down at me from what it felt like was in her letters. Fluttershy was still shaking near a corner of the room, but was now bandaged and drinking a cup of tea that had medicines mixed in to allow her to heal faster without the aid of magic. Rarity, and Spike, was near Fluttershy, and while they were having an on and off conversation that was almost too quiet to hear, I knew she was most likely trying to comfort our hurt friend. Rainbow Dash was for once silent and without a smile as she remained across the bottom floor of the library, as she had surprisingly taken the news of Steel saving Fluttershy with great surprise for some reason. Applejack and I however were lost deep in thought, being the ones thinking over what we had witnessed not that long ago. Pinkie Pie however... was being Pinkie Pie... Dropping my head as I felt a headache starting to slowly pound its way into my head, I felt like tears were threatening to pour out of my eyes. Oh... I have messed up so badly so many times already... and it hasn't even been a full twenty four hours yet... "Now now Sugercube... don't fret your pretty little mane... once the princess and the guards get here, we will find that human fella likity split!" Applejack said, and I felt her hoof lightly pat my shoulder briefly. Even though Applejack represented the Element of Honesty, I still didn't feel any bit more reassured than when Princess Celestia stated that she herself, along with four platoon's worth of Royal Guards would be arriving shortly. Looking up at Applejack, I swallow loudly as I said in a pained voice, "How can I not worry!? The princess is missing the Grand Galloping Gala because of my mistake! She must be so upset..." The surprised, and then regretful expression that I soon received as the expected reply from Applejack only aided me in feeling worse than before. Letting my head drop, and then covering it with my hooves, I didn't know what I should do in the situation I was in. The only thing I could do that seemed like the most sensible choice; was to wait for the arrival of the princess... ... -:Sorrounding area:- It wasn't until thirty minutes had passed did Princess Celestia, and over one hundred Royal Guards landed around Pony Ville. To say it was intimidating for those that lived in the town was an understatement, as this many guards were only seen around Canterlot, or at important events that the Princesses attended. Everyone knew of the important event that was occurring this very night, so those witnessing the Princess walk up to the library door knew something was amiss, and whatever it was, it was most likely not good. (Steel's P.O.V.) Smacking the last Timber Wolf viscously with the back of my gauntlet as it had once again attempted to bring me down, it yelped briefly, before it rejoined its pack mates and stalked off to the side while eyeing me with contempt. The majority of the wolves had ceased trying to make a meal out of me an hour or so ago, but not before dragging me deep within the forest, that is. Then there was this smaller wolf, the one I had just back handed with my suits glove, which kept trying to take bites out of my armor. It was a valiant but worthless gesture that it was attempting. The five other wolves knew that they couldn't harm me by now, yet this one seemed to not get the message. I had my own pack of pet wolves... They may be stalking me just out of leaping range, but they had been following me for almost ten minutes now, with what seemed curiosity. I would be curious to if something I was trying to eat for over an hour didn't get the picture and just die... My knife was long lost to the forest, having fallen from my hands when I was being dragged through the forest, which left me to my pistol; and its last two mags. I was regretting now more than ever not having brought a bigger and sufficient weapon with me. This isn't the first time that I neglected bringing a main weapon with me and having suffered for the unfortunate consequences of my decision. As I continued to walk, I felt brief lapses in my memory start to come to me from old missions where I had been in similar situations... just with more magnum ammunition... Approximately Two Hours Later By now, all the Timber Wolves have ceased to follow me, but I wasn't sure if I wished for their company, or if I was glad they were gone. Yeah, sure, they had wanted to kill me, and they tried, but there was something eerie about walking through the water of the bog I was in alone, without even a trace of another living being; intelligent or not. Dead tree's littered the small places where land was visible, and I felt the soggy branches beneath my boots as I continued to slosh through the tan and horrible looking liquid. I wasn't even sure if it was safe to call it water with how filthy it was. Looking all around me, I saw tree's standing up through the liquid, but they were far in between, with only the fog that surrounded this area keeping my view of what was in the distance concealed. The silence was as deafening as being right beside a crashing Pelican, even if that pelican was in a distance. It meant that something was out here with me, something dangerous. And the other possibility was nothing was out here with me; nothing at all. I'm not sure what a more frightening thought was. Pulling my feet up and out of the muddy ground beneath the water's surface, it wasn't until I put it back down did I feel a bit more solid foundation. Shifting my gaze towards the distant area where it seemed land remained above the murky water surface awaited my presence, I was suddenly feeling if it would be best to go there so my trek towards an elevated position wasn't as hard. As soon as I was somewhere high, I would be able to find the correct direction of Pony Ville, and hopefully return to Canterlot where it was safer... -Groowwwl- Halting my forward motion as I heard a sound that would best be left unknown, I knew that whatever it was, it was directly behind me. A large shadow fell over my form, and I wasn't able to tell what it was... but if I could draw my pistol, I would be able to kill it before it got me... hopefully. As I slowly slid my hand down to my pistol, I made sure to keep a close eye on the shadow, but then there was a new sound... a hissing sound. Then there were two additional shadows on each side of it. So now, instead of only needing to take out a single target, I am going to need to take out three, and if all goes well, then I will probably only finish off one clip, and still have my last one available; at least, until I get back to my medical bag. As soon as my fingers began to wrap around the grip of my pistol, I was feeling tense, before I heard the sound of growling again. Jumping forward while simultaneously turning around, I level my pistol at something that should have been shorted than me... should have... Hol-y... fuck... Trailing my gaze up, I felt a large lump growing in my throat, as the beast I was looking at was definitely bigger than me. Its head... or I should say heads, were over fifty feet from the ground, and its body was merely twenty five feet from my location. Much too close for comfort given its tremendous size. Feeling the swallow get stuck mid-way in my throat, I weakly stumble backwards as I stair up at the massive behemoth, and I have no doubt this thing could eat a hunter if it wanted. As it took a mighty step forward, I felt the very ground beneath me shake, and that was enough incentive to slam my pistol back into its clip, turn around, and begin sloshing through the water as fast as I could. Now was probably the best time to use the armor ability I had, as I had finally managed to equip it to my armor without taking my suit off earlier. I always had the other piece of equipment that was equipped to my suit, but if I used it, it would take a full minute for it to recharge its supplies, and that wasn't something I wanted to risk with the ground shaking behind me. I could probably use it as an evasive maneuver when the time came, which was a choice I would rather have. Once I was on solid ground, I noticed the ground shake more behind me, and I stole a glance back, and saw one of the heads hit the ground where I had been a moment before. Feeling a nervous smile come to me as I now picked up the pace, I looked back forward, and felt my heart nearly stop... Whatever deity is watching over me, thank you so fucking much! Pushing my legs as fast as I could so that I could grab what would make a huge change in how I fought the beasts of this world; I knew I was going to need to act fast when I did get there. There was a loud roaring sound from behind me, and I took another quick glance behind me, and saw the three headed beast struggling to get out of the muddy lake like bog. "OOMPH!" FEK FEK FEK! Getting back to my feet as I tripped over the weapon rack I had been racing towards, I quickly grabbed as many mags that laid across the ground, not caring if the rounds had been cooked off or not during the hot drop they surely had undergone along with my pod. Taking a quick glance up, I confirmed the beast was still struggling, but now that I was at a distance, I suddenly recognized it as something I had heard about in mythology from AI's when they referred to covenant forces. The beast that was slowly getting its feet unstuck from the mud, was a hydra... Fek it! Magic exists, dragons exist... the flood exists! What is stopping a Hydra from existing!? After grabbing all of the magazines, I reached over and grabbed the MA5B, and when I picked it up, I looked over it quickly, and saw other than the carbonized metal, it looked relatively intact. Sliding the bolt back, I watched as a black looking bullet ejected, before a shiny copper one took its place. After slamming the bolt back forward, I looked up to see the hydra now racing towards me. Time for the moment of truth! Lifting up the barrel to my newly acquired weapon, I brought my finger to the trigger, before I stroked it softly... and then I squeezed it back... (Princess Celestia's P.O.V.) Snapping my head towards the sound of a roaring thunderous noise, it sounded like brief snapping noises in the distance at first, but there was not even a single cloud in the sky. This didn't go unnoticed by the dozen guards around me, and when the noise stopped briefly, I was hesitant to shrug it off as one of the abnormalities of this forest. That is, until the noise comes back, and there is a phenomenon that has never been recorded occurring deeper in the forest; and unsurprisingly, in the direction of the drag marks. Pointing my hoof in that direction, I shout out, "That way!" As I take flight, along with the rest of my guards, I'm racing in the direction where the white streaks are zipping across the sky... ... (Steel's P.O.V.) Closing the distance between me and the massive cap between this mountain and the cliff, I can't help but run like hell, waiting for the perfect opportunity to activate my jet pack. I had killed a single head... out of three. The hydra was beyond pissed, it was infuriated. Jumping over the gorge, I activated the boosters on my back... yet nothing happened. "Ah hell, the warm-up procedure!" After recently installing my armor ability onto my suits armor systems, there is a reboot sequence that troopers are required to go through in order for the abilities to function properly... a reboot sequence I hadn't bothered to take into consideration. SpppFFT... SPPPFFfftt... SPPFFTTT-WHOOOSH! Feeling myself suddenly being launched up with the propellant sent to full overload, I knew that my landing was going to be anything but soft, and the continued momentum from the fall meant it was going to be sooner than I wanted. Looking up, I groaned softly as I felt myself slacken slightly. Racing towards me, was the side of the mountain, far above the ledge I had originally intended to land on... This... is going to hurt... The miniature rocket on my back launched me the rest of the way, and it did its job of propelling me too well... then all was black...