Part 1, Chapter 5: Forest Delve
"Prod the abyss, and the abyss prods back."
-Blacksteed IV, Duke of Easthoof
-Twilight-
A warm mug of hot chocolate and a thick book laid in front of Twilight Sparkle, who always appreciated a cup of cozy autumn warmth when reading in chilly weather. The mug gave off wafts of sweet, milky steam as it sat on her crystal desk alongside Studies in Gemology for the Advanced Mage, which was opened to page 182 out of the 634 total in the book. She lifted the mug and took a sip from it as she flipped the page, revealing a chart detailing the various geometric shapes necessary for properly imbuing precious stones with potential magical power. Crystalcarving was never one of Twilight's strengths, but ever since the appearance of her crystal tree-castle she had decided to focus on that particular area of her studies. After all, if she was going to be living in a giant gemstone it would be a good idea to know more about gemology.
Twilight knew that her new home was supposed to be an improvement from her now burnt-down library tree, but the enormous crystalline castle that she was the inhabitant of had its drawbacks. The large rooms and crystal walls made for a rather drafty castle, which was why the fireplace in her study was filled with a huge pile of burning firewood that roared and crackled as it released a soft warmth into the air. Not only that, but the floor was far too cold and hard for her taste. Hundreds of square hooflengths of carpet and rugs were brought into the castle soon after Twilight had taken residence in it, and they helped a little with the cold and provided a fair amount of protection against falls.
The mug clunked against the crystal desktop as Twilight set it down, entranced in her reading. Far away, a peal of thunder rolled throughout the sky, even though the sky itself was cloudless. That was strange, since the rest of the week was scheduled to be perfectly clear and sunny. Maybe some pegasi were goofing around?
But the thunder sounded way too...off. It dissipated much too quickly, and soon after the first one several more came in rapid succession, each as loud as the last. They even sounded exactly the same, which was odd considering lightning was quite unpredictable and hard to accurately replicate. Plus, there were no clouds for miles and miles, and it was rather difficult for less than a hundred pegasi to make clouds large enough to give off lightning. Something was definitely wrong, and she got up from her desk just as the last crash of thunder died down.
Twilight trotted down the crystal hallways of her castle, the shining walls reflecting both her image and the clip-clop of her hooves through the corridors. The echoes became more pronounced as Twilight entered the front entrance and its high, spacious ceiling. Somebody was knocking on the front door, and she pulled it open with her unicorn magic. Rainbow Dash was standing outside, her chromatic mane boyishly swaying as the opening of the door let a draft into the castle.
"Hey, Rainbow-"
"Did you hear that, Twi? I thought thunderstorms weren't scheduled for the next two weeks..."
"That's not thunder, Dash. It's too consistent to be lightning. Whatever it is, we gotta go check it out. I'll call the girls, follow me."
The two ponies trotted through the main hallway all the way to the room at the far end and stepped through the sparkling doorway. Inside sat a table with a large map of Equestria surrounded by six large crystal thrones. Twilight took her seat at the largest throne and tapped her hoof on the trumpet button on her hoofrest. It was the emergency call button, magically linked to the Element bearers through their cutie marks. Twilight didn't like to use it much since it could catch one of her friends at an inconvenient time, but she thought it was necessary for an event like this.
Five minutes later, Applejack arrived at the table, clearly tired from both the apparent run to the castle and a day of hard work. Following Applejack was Pinkie Pie, who bounced and hopped into her designated seat with the constant energy she had about her. Fluttershy, though she lived near the Everfree, managed to trot inside before Rarity, who took thirty minutes to make herself "presentable, as any proper pony should." As Rarity elegantly took her seat, Twilight began talking.
"Alright, girls, I'm pretty sure you all know why we're here. Those booms you just heard sounded a bit strange, didn't they? I think we can assume that it's not thunder, since the sky is obviously clear. I'm sure you all know that we'll have to investigate whatever it is. Do you guys know anything about it?"
"Ah'm pretty sure it came from the Everfree," Applejack replied. "Ah was working at Sweet Apple Acres when I heard those noises. They sure were as loud as tarnation! But I reckon they came from far away, so it's probably deep in the forest."
"Oh, goodness gracious!" Rarity gasped. "In such a ghastly and uncivilized place? I'm not quite sure that we should be searching in such a...a...brutish location!"
"Come on, Rarity! Don't be such a fancypants," Rainbow Dash responded. "I bet that we could totally handle whatever we find in there. And if it's being a jerk, then I'll. give it a good ol'-!"
"Dash, I'm sure that it won't come to that. Now, anyone else have any contributions?"
"Well, it can't be any creature," Fluttershy softly spoke. "Those booms are definitely not natural. They're too similar. And if it is a creature, then I don't think I would know much about it. After all, something that can be that loud...!"
She slid under the table, teeth chattering as the terrifying thought of the monsters that lived in the Everfree filled her mind with fear. Fluttershy was very good at handling and taking care of animals, but her timid nature and fearful personality often got the best of her.
"Come on, Fluttershy! Don't be afraid! I'm sure if we come across a grumpy old meanie, we can just give it a party!"
"Is that your answer to every problem, Pinkie Pie?"
"Well, it's not a bad one, is it, Applejack?"
"Ah don't even wanna bother answerin'."
"So," Twilight interjected, we know that it was from the Everfree, and that it probably wasn't a creature. Anything else?"
The table was silent.
"Really, nothing?"
The table continued to be silent.
"Okay then. I guess we'll have to go and see what it is. I think that me, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash should go and check it out."
"Why not us?" Pinkie pie asked.
"Well, uh, I don't think that, uh... you guys are... quite..."
"Rarity's too fancy to get her hooves dirty, Fluttershy'd probably faint in under a minute, and Pinkie... you're just weird."
"Wow, Applejack, way to be super rude!"
"Hey, they don't call me the Element o' Honesty for nuffin."
"She's right," Twilight added. "Rainbow Dash and Applejack can handle themselves in a fight, and I know some basic combat magic. You guys would become a liability if you didn't know how to defend yourselves, especially in a place like the Everfree..."
"She has a point," Rarity commented.
"And I couldn't bear hurting another creature," Fluttershy added.
"Then it's decided. The three of us are going to go ahead and look for the cause of those noises tomorrow morning. We'll gather some supplies for our trip today. It's getting dark soon, so we'll have to get them quick. Tomorrow, we meet at the crack of dawn at Fluttershy's cottage."
"Does it have to be that early?"
"We want to have as much daylight as possible, Dash. Go to bed early if you have to. After all, we'll have a long day ahead of us."
Rainbow dash groaned at the idea of having to miss out on sleep. Still, she was excited to explore the Everfree and find out what was making all the noise. It would be just like one of her Daring Do books, like Daring Do and the Adventures of Naz'roh, where Daring do had to search for the Ruby of Despair in the dangerous jungles of...
"Sounds good," Applejack said, interrupting Rainbow Dash's train of thought. "I can get us some outdoors equipment. Sleepin' bags, ropes, maybe a tent..."
"I can get you some food!" Pinkie said.
"And I have some maps of the Everfree," Twilight added. "Alright girls, let's gather up what we need and get ready for tomorrow!"
-Luna-
Like the past tens of thousands of times, Luna's mind easily passed from her spacious office to the even vaster expanses of Equestria's magic field, and it was even easier to slip into the infinite void that was the dreamscape. However, once she was in the dreamscape she immediately searched for what she was looking for: the three alien minds that she was so very fascinated by. Consciousnesses without magic that had such advanced knowledge stored within their memories, yet just out of grasp... Luna didn't want to gain the attention of those minds, and she was rather uncertain as to how they would respond. It was as likely as not that such wondrous minds could be immensely powerful, and she didn't want to awaken an unknown threat upon Equestria.
Luna had decided to look into another mind that evening. As she approached the three points of light, she noticed that they gave off a slight twinge of fear that radiated a feeling of unease into the surrounding space. Curious, she decided to enter the red orb instead of the blue one she had looked at a few days ago. Like previously, Luna eased herself into the dream slowly before being rewarded by the same blank void of the other mind. However, instead of a bookshelf there was a metal rack with wire mesh covering the walls of it. She walked up to the rather utilitarian shelf and ran her hoof along the cold, smooth metal. Unlike the bookshelf, which was rather dusty, this rack was spotless. There was an assortment of objects on each shelf, but judging from the sword and shield on several of the items Luna could guess that the items were related to some sort of military or defense force.
This was certainly an interesting development for Luna. This meant that whatever those minds belonged to, they had to have some kind of army. What were they like? How many? How strong? Question after question filled her head, and she soon realized that those beings could have hostile intentions. If there was a military, then that meant defending...or attacking.
How big of a threat were they?
Luna knew from countless wars in her past that intelligence was the queen of the battlefield (who ruled next to the king of strategy), and she eagerly scanned the shelves for some sort of information. She eventually settled on picking up a thin booklet with a cover of thick, white paper and an illustration of a strange contraption in the shape of an L. She looked at the title of the book and was soon overwhelmed by the foreign words and phrases that were printed on the front cover.
Glock 17 Semi-Automatic Pistol, 9-Millimeter Caliber
Owner's Manual
U.S. Army
What did Glock mean, and what was a pistol? Semi-Automatic meant some level of automation, and apparently there were 16 other variations on this weapon. And what was "U.S.?" A country? The one thing that she could figure out was the "Caliber" part. From her knowledge of cannons, this weapon was apparently designed to fire a projectile about the size of a...marble? That was extremely odd, and she continued checking the shelves for items of interest. She soon found the weapon that was portrayed on the cover under an olive-green T-shirt and picked it up from the shelf, alongside two thin stick-like boxes that held some sort of brass pellets inside of it.
Judging from its relatively small size, this weapon was clearly a personal small arm. For a weapon, it was surprisingly light, only about one and a half pounds. Perhaps it was because of the strange material that the lower portion (or what she assumed, from the book, was the lower portion) was made of. It was light, yet durable, and was smooth yet had a sort of fine texture to it. Holding the weapon and the sticks, she looked further into the book, flipping to the first page.
CAUTION: Follow safe firearm handling procedures before handling Glock products:
• ALWAYS assume the weapon is loaded and ready to fire
• NEVER point the weapon at anything you do not wish to destroy
• ALWAYS keep fingers off the trigger unless ready to fire...
Fingers...like the ones Minotaurs had? She had met some of them in the past, and from what she had seen and heard they were quite nimble digits, capable of fine manipulation that rivaled unicorn telekinesis. If these creatures had fingers, they were probably great craftsponies and artisans, like the Minotaurs. As for the rest of the safety instructions, Luna found little of note there. Apparently Glock was a manufacturer of sorts? The first factory in Equestria had opened about fifty years ago, and Luna was proud of her country's modernization. The idea of multiple entities mass-producing weapons, though, was a disquieting thought. Equestria's weapons were forged only by order of the Princesses in the Royal Workshops and only for the use of the Royal Guard. What sort of creatures - no, country - would have such an openness towards and demand for weapons? Luna continued reading, slightly unsettled yet curious.
The Glock series of pistols is and has been an advanced and highly capable weapons system for decades, owing to its many features that give it the highest durability, best performance, and most ease of performance. This is due to its:
• Use of low-weight plastic polymers in the receiver
• A Safe-Action system that ensures safe and reliable weapon handling
• A high-capacity magazine size...
Before Luna could get any further, her curiosity got the best of her, and she put the manual back on the shelf. She inspected the weapon further, touching the "receiver" with her dark blue hoof. Luna noticed that the bottom of the weapon seemed to have a cavity in it, and she was rather curious as to its function. She poked one of the sticks into the bottom before accidentally sliding it in. Once it had went in all the way, she was rewarded with a click that accented the locking of the box inside the weapon. Luna didn't intend to do that, and she quickly searched for a way to release the box from the weapon. She pulled the metal top of the weapon back, hoping that it would release the stick. Nothing happened. Maybe she should pull on this lever...?
It was a good thing that Luna had been pointing the weapon away from her body, because the weapon suddenly gave out a sharp crack and emitted a fiery blast from its front end. She let out a small yelp as a brass cylinder flew out of the top as the metal rail quickly snapped back and forth. The cylinder smoked and gave out a smell of brimstone as it fell to the floor with a metallic clink. The weapon soon followed suit with a clack as Luna stopped holding it with her magic, leaving nothing in the air but silence and a sharp, metallic odor.
-Noah-
"I swear to god, Leah, don't you fucking dare take a bite out of that thing!"
"But-"
"LITERAL ACID BLOOD, LEAH!"
"But-"
"JUST NO!"
"Fine, Noah."
Noah sighed as he poked the giant corpse with a plank of wood, watching as the green blood ate away at the tip of it. Some of the semi-melted wood goop dripped onto the morning dew, tarnishing the fresh early-morning air with a foul, chemical smell. "Besides," he remarked, "that thing's been dead for a day. I don't want anyone getting sick because they decided to eat some hell beast's flesh. Things are getting dangerous around here, and I'd rather keep everyone fit and healthy just in case something happens."
"He's a big guy," Andrew remarked.
"For you, at least. This thing might not be the biggest one out there," Noah stated. "Who knows what other deadly crap we're going to find? Damn, we should have built our defenses up better."
"That's probably not the biggest problem, though. I'm pretty sure," Leah asserted, "that that's a hydra. As in a Greek mythological monster. As in the ones known for having several heads and being super venomous. Seriously, what the heck is something that matches ancient mythology so unbelievably well doing on an alien planet? This can't be a coincidence."
"I don't even want to know," Noah sighed. "You know how this place is with coincidences. For now, let's just figure out how to deal with this thing. I'm pretty sure it's going to stink up pretty soon, and the acid blood isn't going to make it easier to move this away."
"Hmmm...hang on, we should let the blood drain out before we even touch it. After all," Andrew stated, it wouldn't be good if acid were to get on us while we're moving it away."
"Didn't the bullets do a lot of the work?"
"Yeah, Leah, but there's still several tons of alien meat that I'd rather get out of sight. It's going to be a real challenge to shove something the size of a large truck even ten meters. Unless...Noah, don't we have a couple pounds of high explosive?"
"About twenty pounds of Composition C, and several deton- Are you sure that's going to be alright?"
"Yeah. I think about a half-pound should take a decent chunk out of it. After that, it should be light enough to shove away from here. If not, we can always use more."
"You sure about that, Mr. I-know-how-to-blow-up-mythical-beasts?"
"Hey, Noah, do you just want it to sit there, rotting up the place? Or maybe you have a better plan."
"..."
"Then it's settled. Believe it or not, I have experience with explosive demolition, and I know how to handle high-explosives safely. I'm going to shove some shaped charges into the body, preferably with some protective gloves, and detonate it from a safe distance and behind cover. It won't spray poison everywhere or throw huge globs of meat at us, but I can ensure that the remaining mess will be relatively easy to clean up. I want to get started right now, since we still have a lot of daylight. Hopefully the entire body will be gone by mid-afternoon."
With that, Andrew walked into the pallet-and-tent shelter, searching for breakfast and plastic explosives.
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Despite it not being a half ton of dynamite they're using, I can't help but think of this:
EDIT: Also, great story so far. It's got that "this is gonna be a good one" feeling about its mixture of style, tone, atmosphere, and pacing that's just so hard to pin down.
7858785
Gosh darn it you beat me to the punch. I was thinking the exact same thing about the ending.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/12/11/1041565__safe_fluttershy_rarity_sketch_species+swap_artist-colon-nobody_hissing_rat_ratity.png
)
(slight typo
This... feels a little out of character. Being untrained in combat has never stopped them heedlessly dragging everypony into danger before.
They certainly did better than the Royal Guard in... well, every showing of the Royal Guard. 
7858785 Oh god don't do it, guys!
7858934
To be fair, it does depend somewhat on the velocity of the explosive. As anyone who's watched Mythbusters will tell you, lower-velocity explosives like ANFO push more while higher-velocity explosives like C-4 rip and tear more.
7858785 I think as thinking the exact same thing, I wonder how some pony are going to react to a rain of meat?
7858934 Well it could easily be chalked up to experience, having dragged her less combat able friends into danger in the past, Twilight might not wish to keep making that mistake over and over. After all she's really smart, I an in the club that go with genius level, and she does learn from her mistakes . I wouldn't put it past her to now bring royal guards to situations she knows are dangerous.
Pretty good. Don't forget you need terminating quotes on speech. " Like this.". And make sure of your capitalization, Rainbow Dash etc. I'm at work so I can't get more detailed, sorry.
Edit: "And staring ones," Minalkra said, "to let us know when it picks back up."
7859499 But... Friendship is meat-shields!
7860291 But being meat shields is all the royal guard is able to do haven' t you noticed ?
First of all, using C4 to eliminate a giant body would not be the plan of anybody of military training. The blood of the beast alone would probably attract by the animals so smart thing to do would be to change location. Plus the loud noise of the explosions will also attract the possibility of encountering more creatures and it would be a waste of a possibly precious resource, i.e. the C4.
As for why the other members of the main six not going to scouted out the sound:
1 that is not how they do things.
2 Rarity Has already shown survival capabilities as well as combat abilities
3 Fluttershy Is an expert on all animals so she would be a essential to encountering a possibly new species and when it comes to animals with the exception of dragons she has sown very little hesitance when encountering them. The only exceptions are creatures of considerable size.
4 Pinkie's Pinkie sense and unpredictability have shown a multiplications to be an asset
I'm sorry but this just feels so out of character for the girls. Outside of episodes where the Map sends a couple of them out alone, they have never gone without each other. Why would you when it literally requires all 6 of them to fire the Friendship Harmony Cannon? It just feels too out of place and character for them to do that. Good story otherwise but here's hoping they don't pull anymore boneheaded moves like that again.