Out of the Sand

by Forward Unto Dawn

Objective Unknown

There is a planet. And on this planet, is a nation called Equestria. And in this nation, there is a town called Ponyville. And next to Ponyville, is a forest. A forest known as the Everfree. And inside of this forest, are two very confused MAR SOC marines. And that is where the adventure begins...

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A light breeze was what caused the Lieutenant to awaken. Lieutenant Miles 'Wolf' Worth yawned as he blinked open his eyes. He climbed to his feet and stretched, enjoying the popping sound of his back. He brushed off the dust that was lying on his MAR PAT Woodland camouflage, and took a minute to view his surroundings. The forest was quiet, as if it were frozen. His concentration was broken when he heard a rustle from a bush right behind him.

Wolf, startled, quickly stooped down and scooped up his M16a4, bringing it to his shoulder. He aimed at the bush, prepared for whatever was about to walk out of it. The rustling ceased, and a familiar voice quietly spoke to him.

"Sir?" Whispered First Sergeant Evan 'Rhino' Redding, who had awoken at the same time. He was just as confused as the other marine. He slowly walked out of the bush with his hands up, before snapping a crisp salute at the LT.

Wolf returned the salute, before saying "At ease." Rhino dropped the salute and relaxed a little. In what they now dubbed 'The Void', the two were allowed to reacquaint with each other, so that they didn't get interrupted. It was good to be with Redding again.

Wolf nodded to the First Sergeant. "Rhino."

"Wolf," Rhino answered back, returning the nod.

"Do you have any idea as to where we are currently?"

Rhino answered with a blank look. "No sir, though I would guess that the path we are currently standing on leads somewhere," he reported while looking at muddy path that the two were standing on. "Maybe a town or something."

Wolf nodded in agreement. They only needed to check their gear and they could be on their way.

"What gear do you have on you," asked Wolf, making sure that everything was accounted for. He had all of his rations, water, communication equipment, as well as his M9 sidearm and his M16a4, with it's ACOG and laser pointer. These two firearms, paired with 3 magazines for the former and 8 magazines for the latter, finished off his load. A MICH helmet sat on both his and Rhino's head, allowing their headphones to be worn. Rhino had a similar load, only with a M4a1 instead.

After making a second check, they both set off down the path, just as the sun started coming up over the horizon.
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Wolf walked at Rhino's side, taking in all of the surroundings. The scenery hadn't changed at all, yet the forest was noisier than it had been when they had woken up. The lieutenant checked his watch to see if it had an accurate time. Unfortunately, that was not the case. It showed that it was 19:34, when, according to the position of the sun, and the obvious fact that it was daytime, it clearly wasn't.

Wolf looked over at Rhino, who was currently trying to gain some kind of contact with friendly units. The only line working was with Wolf however, so that meant that they probably weren't going to see friendlies anytime soon.

Rhino stopped and pointed ahead. "I think that's our exit."

Wolf was about to speak when he heard shrieks nearby. He dropped onto one knee and put a fist up. Rhino stopped and crouched next to him, scanning for any possible hostiles throughout the dense and wet trees. Wolf listened some more, and finally pinpointed the direction that the shrieking was coming from.

He tapped Rhino's shoulder and nodded to his left, and Rhino pushed off into the ferns, keeping low to stay undetected. Wolf did the same, following him at about 8 feet back, just to make sure that if anything attacked Rhino, he would be there to help. Wet, leafy stocks slapped his face as the pair increased their pace, just to push off into a small clearing.

Rhino hit the dirt, and took in the situation. Wolf crawled up next to him, keeping still under the bush he was using to conceal himself.

"Fire on the second wooden wolf after I hit the alpha." The first sergeant nodded, taking aim at the second wolf. Wolf resumed aiming down his Acog, and decided that taking shots at the center mass would be fine. He flipped the safety off, switched it to semi-automatic, and sent a round down the field, his M16a4 making a crack sound.

The single 5.56 round punched into the neck of the alpha wolf, and actually managed to splinter its neck, making the head fall to the muddy ground. Another wolf fell after a few more cracks, this time splintering its head. The third wolf jolted back at the cracks, and managed to see its two pack members fall dead, before meeting a similar demise. The little horses shrieked at the sounds, screaming at the top of their lungs... Wait.

"Rhino...?" He asked, confused yet again.

"They screamed like humans, didn't they?"

Wolf nodded his head, trying to make sense of it. The marine lay next to Rhino for a moment, before Rhino got his attention.

"Wolf? They seem to have one injured over there."

Wolf peeked out of the bush and saw it for himself. Two of the horses, the light yellow horse with a bow in its hair and the orange one with purple hair started pulling on a white one that was lying on the ground. He couldn't see in much detail from where he was.

"Rhino, do you have any serious medical training?"

"Yes sir. Are you thinking that we should go and help?"

"I don't think it'd be right if we didn't. Maybe we'll actually find civilization. Do you have black lenses on your goggles?"

"I do have two pairs in my bag, but it'll take some time to switch it out. Will sunglasses do, sir?"

"They'll work for now, but as soon as we get the chance, I want to pairs of goggles with new, sparkling black lenses on them. Get your mask out as well. I don't want them to recognize our faces."

"Yes sir." Wolf nodded to him and unzipped his pack, grabbing a pair of black Oakley sunglasses and putting them on. Rhino lay watching for any sort of danger, before switching positions with the lieutenant, putting on his own pair. He crouched next to Wolf, waiting for a signal.

Wolf whispered the order to "advance", and got up on his feet, cautiously jogging down the field, before stopping about ten yards away from the young horses, with Rhino bringing up his rear. Now he could really observe the situation. The one white horse lay on the ground, muddy and bloody. Hey, that rhymed... The other two were covered in mud as well, and wearily dragged their friend out of the clearing towards the path that the marines had been moving along only minutes before.

Wolf cleared his throat, and the two little horses froze, and one of them quickly glanced at the humans nervously.

Wolf cleared his throat again. "Does that one need medical aid?" He asked, gesturing towards the white horse.

"You know Equestrian?!" The orange one exclaimed.

"First off, it's English, and secondly, does your friend there need any sort of aid?" The question was pretty obvious.

The orange one looked suspicious now. "How do we know you won't do something bad?!" She accused, at least she sounded like a female.

Rhino pushed past Wolf and around her, and the yellow one, who looked similar to the orange horse, or filly, and unzipped the medical bag he was holding. He pulled out some ointment and was about to apply it to some cuts when the orange filly blocked him, getting up in his face aggressively. "Get away from our friend!"

Rhino looked into the filly's eyes with annoyance, and when he spoke, his voice was cold. "Alright, let your friend obtain some infections. Don't worry, I'll go away." He was about to stand up, when the yellow filly pushed the orange filly out of the way.

"Stop, Scootaloo! He might be honestly trying to help Sweetie Belle."

"And what if he hurts her, Applebloom?! How can we trust him?!"

Applebloom yelled back. "We won't let him!"

Wolf grunted, getting the fillies' attention. "Not to interrupt your argument or anything, but we were the ones who saved you a few minutes ago. Oh, and I be pointing out the obvious, but infected cuts aren't a fun experience, and I don't think your friend will thank you two when she wakes up! That is, if you don't let us provide medical aid!"

The fillies' stood off to the left, as Rhino started his task, cleaning out cuts and applying ointment to them. To finish it off, he put bandages on the wounds, to keep them safe. He stood up and smiled slightly at his handy work. "Done..."

Wolf looked over at Applebloom and Scootaloo, and asked,"Is there anywhere safe that we can move her?"

Applebloom nodded and took the lead towards the large opening in the trees, as Scootaloo, Rhino, and Wolf, with Sweetie Belle in his arms, followed. Applebloom stepped into the light, and the group soon joined her in a field overlooking a town. A group of six horses stood outside, with different expressions, some ranging from confusion, and others soon turning to aggression at the appearance of the humans.

Wolf and Rhino just stopped, and both connected on the same sentence. "Aw, fuck."

Author's Note:

Sorry for the wait! Got a little busy with finals coming up. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! (I'm trying to get better at expanding on chapters!)

Comments

[Forward Unto Dawn]

5949471 It was a piece of the puzzle. You'll see how it affects him later. For exactly why he's a human, he can do so much more as one. He has hands and fingers, and ponies don't if you catch my drift :p I also find it more comfortable to have human protagonists

[Forward Unto Dawn]

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I'm changing this story to the first person now. I've been busy over a long period of time and I can actually breath now. Also, I find first person easier to write for me. Thanks for understanding! I'll do my best to expand on the story's chapters!
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