*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

The alien fired five shots from his large weapon and into the top of the canyon wall, shooting at something the ponies couldn't see. The ponies were all clutching their ears in pain as the sharp explosions from the alien's weapon threatened to rip them apart. All the while, the guards took a look at what the alien was firing at, trying to figure out what happened. However, none of them saw anything.

Soon, the alien stopped firing, leaving them in silence for a few mere moments.

"What the BUCK is- HEY!!!" Daring started to complain before was suddenly pulled to her hooves by her tail.

Daring took notice that it was Spike pulling her off the ground, the timber wolf was quick to go around do the same with others. It became immediately apparent that staying low was not their best course of action. Especially with what the alien said next.

"ALL OF YOU, GET THE FUCK UP!!! GET AWAY FROM THE GODDAMN WALL!!!" The alien shouted at the top of his lungs.

The ponies were quick to follow the orders of the alien. They still had no clue what had just happened, but judging by the alien's tone, they could tell it was something bad.

The alien took off towards the tents at breakneck speeds, the group of ponies were quick to follow suit. However, they found it very difficult to keep up with the alien. While the ponies did their best to stumble over the snow while keeping pace, the alien gracefully ran through it with minimal effort. For a bipedal creature, he certainly was fast.

Strangely enough, Spike took off in a different direction, ignoring the group entirely as he ran along side the canyon wall and disappeared from view.

"Where's Spike going!?" Fluttershy yell, worrying for the dog.

"HE'LL BE FINE!!! KEEP MOVING!!! DON'T STOP!!!" The alien replied.

They were about half way there before the alien suddenly stopped, spun around, and took aim behind the group. The alien seemed to be looking for something following them, then he apparently spotted it.

"EVERYONE STOP!!!" The alien ordered again.

The team stopped just at his side, all questioning why they did. Least that was until they turned around to see what the alien was aiming at...

Standing about forty-five or so meters away, there was a huge monster. It was a house cat looking creature, only MUCH bigger; even bigger than the manticore they all knew very well. The monster was extremely disfigured, and not so innocent looking. Its white coat near perfectly mimic its background, the only reason they could see it at the moment was because of its glowing blood red eye. Its claws and teeth appeared to be razor sharp. The most notable features was its blown out eye coated with frozen blood, it's lack of a left ear, and the bolt with roped attached that stuck out of its left paw.

"So, that's where I hit you..." The alien muttered under his breath.

Fluttershy near fainted at the sight of it. Twilight was frozen in fear. Lyra was rendered speechless. Daring was attempting to not shudder under its gaze. Shinning was trying his best not to control a shiver going up his spine. Sky Chaser, Sparks, and Iron Hoof fought the urge to take off and get their weapons from the tent.

The alien, on the other hand, remained perfectly still; almost supernaturally so still given the situation. He showed no sign of of fear or weakness as he stood there, aiming his rifle at the beast.

"No one fucking move. If you try to run, you're good as dead. This bitch is faster than it looks." The alien informed the group, keeping the monster in his sight.

The ponies heeded the alien's warning, taking great care to not move a single muscle. Though Shinning and the guards were tempted to go for their weapons in the tent, they ultimately decided that it was not worth risking the alien's warning ringing true. The team of ponies began frantically thinking about what to do.

The monster began with ripping the bolt out of its left paw, letting it letting fall to the the ground at its feet. Then it began circling the group, though strangely doing so without exposing its sides. It's focus was dead set on the group, unblinking as it glared at its prey. All the while, the alien kept its weapon trained on it. He seemed to be getting a bit frustrated as he swore under his breath every so often. The ponies were starting to find it strange that the alien had not simply shot down the beast yet. Iron hoof decided to speak up.

"Will you just shoot the damned thing already!" Iron Hoof exclaimed in a hushed whisper.

"Motherfucker, I can't! My rounds won't penetrate the skull or chest plate. Shooting it now will just piss it off! Last thing I want it to do is to charge or disappear!" The alien snapped at the response.

"So, what are we going to do!?" Sky Chaser asked.

The alien gave a Dark, non humorous chuckle at this. A feeling of dread passed over the team as this happened. It became obvious that he had nothing good to say about this situation. Still one particular pony wanted to know none the less.

"What the buck are you laughing about, throw us a bone here will you? What do we need to do to get out of this!?" Daring demanded.

The alien simply sighed, looking like he was preparing to tell them some really bad news. The ponies mentally braced themselves.

"You really want to know, huh? Well, In regards for getting everyone out of here alive, we are essentially fucked. The Stalker is one of the most dangerous animals out here. Even with a squad, there is a big chance that none of us get out of this alive. Having no casualties is extremely optimistic, even in the best of situations." The alien informed.

The pony's let that statement sink in. Really sink in. There was a big chance that one of them, maybe even more, were going to die or get seriously hurt in this situation; least according to the alien. They couldn't imagine that, they didn't want to. Shinning would never forgive himself if Twilight got hurt, and the same was true when it came to Twilight with Fluttershy and Shinning. The guards also knew each other well, friends since they joined the guard. They did want anypony to get hurt, or even killed. The same applied with Lyra and Daring, even if they didn't know the rest of the team as friends or family.

The possibility was unreal to them, and admittedly, they were scared. However, they refused to believe there wasn't a way out of this without someone getting hurt. Perhaps the alien was exaggerating the situation, or something. There had to be a plan, there had to be a way...

"Surely it won't attack, there's nine of us and only one of it. We should be safe in our numbers. It might just be be trying to scare us into running." Shinning said.

The alien shook his head at this.

"Technically, you're right, it is trying to scare us into scattering, It would have an easier time that way. However, don't think for a second that it won't attack. It's a miracle it hasn't already. It must be really convinced that we'll break. It won't last long though. Soon, it'll understand that we're sticking together and charge. It will wound and kill as many of us as it can before it takes off and disappears... rinse and repeat. I'd like to think I could kill it during the charge, but you've already seen first hand how that plan ended for me the first time." The alien replied.

This sent a chill down the team's spine. If sticking together won't work, what would?

"So sticking together and waiting it out won't work, what else can we do? It's as you said, you can't shoot it from here, you can't shoot it while it charges, and separating is a death sentence. Is there really no way out of this!?" Daring asked.

"Well, not without risk and high probability of death. One of you can run, and get that stalkers attention. Once he turns to chase, it'll give me a clear shot. It's the best plan there is when it comes to hunting stalkers, but I don't see anyone of you cowards volunteering for that." The alien hissed under his breath.

None of the ponies liked that answer, and not just because he called them cowards. Since they didn't know what they were dealing with, the alien claiming that there was no way out of this without risk of casualties was quite worrying.

Daring, on the other hoof, wasn't particularly liking the alien's defeatist attitude, his suggestion to use one of the ponies as bait, or his name calling. It made her blood boil to have this alien talk down to them and act like their lives didn't matter. She decided to emphasize this with a single statement.

"Yeah, buck you too, tail hole. Why don't you go out and get its attention yourself. Unless you're also a coward." Daring muttered back.

The alien didn't seem entirely offended by this, least not in the way Daring had expected; considering his next statement...

"First off, the term is 'Fuck you' and 'asshole.' If you are going to curse me out, do it right. Second off, I would gladly do so if I could rely on any of you to actually kill the damned thing when it went after me. However, you obviously can't do shit without weapons. So yeah, we are kind of low on options here, you fucking bitch." The alien retorted.

This made the Daring's hatred of the human boil over. Though the curse words of these two worlds were not universal, the term 'bitch' was...

"What the Buck did you just call me you pile of manure!!!???" Daring flared up.

"I think you heard me, Daring Bitch. Take your bias of me elsewhere, we don't have time for this bullshit. Right now, you all need to shut up and listen if any of you want to get out of this." The alien Snapped.

Daring looked like she wanted to say a lot more to the alien, however, she kept her mouth shut. The alien was right, there was a time and place for this, this time and place was not ideal. However, they were going to exchange words after this...

"Alright, now that you are all done bitching, let's talk about who is running." The alien said, getting straight to business.

"Running? You mean we are going with bait right off the bat!? Can't we-" Twilight began.

"No, we are not talking about this anymore. The time for making plans is gone. It's time to use a strategy that I know works. Now, who is running? Make up your mind, quickly. We've wasted enough time. The stalker is looking antsy." The alien stated sternly.

The stalker did, in fact, looked like it was going to charge soon. The minds of the eight ponies work frantically to figure out what to do. If one of them ran, there was a chance that they may not make it, especially given the odds told the the alien himself. They would be risking life and limb to distract the monster for a mere moment so the alien could kill it, but if he missed...

That was not a chance the ponies were willing to take. They were going to get everyone out of this, no matter how.

That was when it occurred to Twilight, there was in fact a way to commit a distraction without putting anypony at risk. At least a lot less risk than what the alien had suggested. There was a way to get everyone out of this.

It occurred to Twilight that they, in fact, had three pegasi on their team.

It honestly wasn't the best idea, there was a reason she hadn't thought of it before now. The freezing temperatures and wild, powerful winds was going to make flying extremely difficult, not to mention dangerous. One wrong move and a pegasus could be grounded by the wind alone, and the freezing temperatures will keep the pegasi from staying in the sky for very long; even with the magical protection provided by the suits. However, keeping out of reach within the skies was a much safer plan than trying to outrun a fast predator by foot. Plus, Daring and Sky were strong, experienced fliers; she was sure they'd be alright.

"Daring, Sky, you two will run the distraction. Fly and stay out of reach, but try to get its attention." Twilight ordered, catching the team off guard. The alien apparently included as he almost looked over in surprise.

"Wait, Twilight, didn't you tell us during the briefing that-" Sky began to question

"Yes, I know what I said, the same thing still applies. But we have little choice right now. It's the safest option, try to fly safe and get this done as quickly as possibly." Twilight interrupted.

"Wait... fly? You can fly?" The alien suddenly questioned, as if clarifying he heard Twilight correctly.

Daring would have found this amusing if their situation wasn't so dire. However, she had no problem rubbing it in the alien's face. After all, it wasn't like the pegasi of the team were hiding their wings the entire time.

"Well, YEAH. Why do you think we have wings, feather brain!" Daring replied, fanning out her wings in emphasis.

The Alien looked like he wanted to question that fact, but seemed to decide this was not the time.

"Well, What the fuck are you waiting for! Get that thing turned in a direction where I can put it down! I'm not sure how long this bitch will keep its distance!" The alien shouted, perhaps a bit louder than what was necessary.

"Alright! Alright! Yeash... We're on it." Sky Chaser replied as she took off.

Daring didn't reply, simply giving an annoyed huff as she took off into the air.

Both Sky Chaser and Daring took off into the gloomy sky, the wind seemed to disrupt their fight a little, but they far from being forced back to the ground. With that, the two pegasi began to get into their position behind the stalker.

Back on the ground, Fluttershy noticed a small, almost subtle change that the stalker's facial expression. It only lasted a second, but she recognized the expression. She had seen it in her most animals. It was an expression of thought. This 'stalker' was... thinking. Almost complexly... Much like her bunny Angel back home, one of the most intelligent animals she takes care of.

If this was true, then this stalker was a thinking, intelligent being; maybe even sentient. This was no dumb animal. It's actions have already proven as much. And if it was this smart, there was no way that it would fall for this trap.

... and it might just think of a way to trick the two pegasi instead.

Fluttershy felt a small grip of worry for the two pegasi. Fluttershy wanted to warn them of the potential threat, but they were already getting too far away for them to hear her over the winds. She opted to fly after them.

As Fluttershy lifted off the ground, Twilight immediately took concern; wondering what the yellow pegasus was up to.

"Fluttershy! What are you doing!? You can't act as bait! You are not that strong of a flyer!" Twilight spoke up.

"I have to warn them." Fluttershy simply said as she took off into the sky after Daring and Sky Chaser. Leaving a rather concerned Twilight behind.

"Warn them? Warn them of what?! Fluttershy! Get back here right now! The wind is going to tear you down! Fluttershy!" Twilight shouted after Fluttershy. However, she was already out of range, and either couldn't hear her question or didn't care to come back and answer it.

Unbeknownst to the team, the alien had turned oddly silent, only keeping his focus on the Monster ahead of him; just waiting for the opportunity to fire.

Daring and Sky were making their approach. The stalker stopped tracking them with its one remaining eye after both were behind them, and set its focus back on the main concentration of the team.

Both pegasi opted to be cautious for their first approach, keeping in mind the warning set by the alien of its speed. Hovering a safe distance away, they began to think of a plan.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Daring asked.

"I have no clue. We shouldn't risk any more than we have to... I suppose we can try yelling at it, perhaps it will be dumb enough to turn its head for a second. Hopefully that will be enough time for our two legged friend to do what he does."

"Yeah, It's worth a shot I guess." Daring replied

With that Daring took a breath and yelled with max volume.

"HEY!!! FEATHERBRAIN!!! IS IT ME, OR AM I SEEING WHAT IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST PANSY ONE CAN SEE FROM UP HERE!!!???"

The stalker flicked it's ears back for a moment, but then they refocused on its prey ahead. Daring's insult had minimal effect.

Sky gave Daring a confused, unimpressed look.

"Is that the best you got?" Sky asked seriously.

"Well, Let's see you do better." Daring Challenged.

"Alright, Watch the master work..." Sky Replied with a smile.

With a breath, Sky let out her own insult.

"YO! KITTY CAT!!! YO MOMMA WAS A WHORE AND YOUR DADDA WAS A MAGICIAN!!! MAKING YOU ONE MOMENT, GONE THE NEXT!!! BOOM, MOTHERBUCKER!!! CAN'T SAY I BLAME HIM THO!!! CAUSE DAMN YOU UGLY!!!" Sky finished.

Daring gave Sky a shocked look, she had never figured any mare was capable of such a foul insult. She wasn't sure whether or not to be impressed or horrified.

"That's... Cold." Daring replied uneasily.

Sky simply returned a smile, happy to see her work had somewhat of an effect. Even if it wasn't on the cat itself... it had no effect on the monster what-so-ever. It only had the same physical reply.

"Well, there goes that idea. If that didn't get it's attention, I'm not sure what else will... Aside of getting closer that is." Sky said.

It was at this point that Daring got her own idea, one that was just stupid enough to work. She had heard the deafening sound of the alien's weapon going off, and she realized that it was almost comparable to the sound of her own whip. So much so that she believes she could fool the cat into believing that it was being fired upon from the other direction; thus turning it around. The only problem was volume, over the wind it would likely go unnoticed at her current distance. For the sound to be loud enough, she was going to have to get closer.

A lot closer.

It was risky, but it might just work. Plus, it was either this or risk getting even closer. That wasn't an option for either pegasi.

With that, Daring retrieved her whip from her bag. Preparing to put her plan into action. Sky took noticed.

"You're not actually considering getting closer, are you? Especially not close enough to use that thing!" Sky inquired.

"I'm getting closer, but not within striking distance. I just plan to use it as a noise maker, try to mimic a shot from the alien's weapon." Daring replied.

"You sure that will work? I mean, the whip is loud, but not loud enough to mimic that thing, especially over the wind." Sky replied, remembering first hoof the weapon that had almost made her deaf.

"Yeah, but it only needs to be loud enough. That's why we need to get closer." Daring explained.

"I don't think we should get any closer, the alien warned us-"

The mention of the alien, not so oddly enough, triggered anger in Daring. She had heard the warning already, and as far as she was concerned, it was over exaggerated. Yes, cats were fast, that much she already knew, but a cat this big being so fast to cover a ton of distance and catch you off guard was a ridiculous notion. Daring was sure she could pull this off, she didn't need to be told how to do it.

"Enough! We've wasted enough time debating this! We need to act soon before that thing decides to charge! What the alien said be damned!" Daring interrupted as she already started flying ahead towards the Stalker.

"Daring! Come on! There has to be a- Oh buck it, she's already going." Sky muttered to herself, flying forward to catch up with Daring.

On her way to catch up with Daring, Sky noticed that she wasn't alone. Fluttershy was frantically trying to fly her way up to her, only barely managing to keep in the air; the wind was tossing her around like a rag doll.

"What the buck is she doing up here?" Sky thought to herself.

Sky immediately redirected her efforts to help Fluttershy before she was blown to the ground. Approaching her position, Fluttershy looked like she was trying to say something, but the wind kept her voice scattered. It wasn't long before Sky made it to Fluttershy and stabilized her flight.

"Fluttershy, you need to go back to the others! No offense, but you're going-"

"Wait! You need to know! Before you try anything! The stalker is intelligent! It might be trying to lure you in!" Fluttershy frantically interrupted.

"What!? What do you mean it's-"

Sky stop herself this time as she let Fluttershy's words sink in. Sky had no clue how Fluttershy came to this conclusion, but given the fact that she was the animal expert of the team, Sky took this new information very seriously. If what Fluttershy said was true, that means the cat definitely acknowledges that they were back here trying something. That also meant Daring's plan was even worse an idea than before.

A plan that Daring was currently putting into action at this very moment...

Looking back at her partner, Sky sees that Daring was very close to the Stalker now, a mere 20 meters away, whip in mouth.

She was too close.

Without thinking, Sky stopped supporting Fluttershy and shot straight towards Daring's position, hoping to warn and get her out of the way before something happened. Sky tried yelling, but it seemed as if Daring couldn't hear her. Just as Sky was half way there, Daring swung her whip and a loud *CRACK* filled the air.

The stalker did react, just as planned. However, the speed in which it did was completely unexpected. By the time the whip finished its lash through the air, the stalker was already turned around, it's eye fixed upon Daring, and ready to pounce. Hardly moments later, it did exactly that. It sore towards Daring, threatening to snatch her from the sky.

Daring tried her best to get out of the way, however, she had never expected the cat to react this quickly. It was as if it knew she was there all this time, and was waiting for this moment to strike. There was no way to get out of the way in time, she was doomed.

The stalker opened up its jaws of death, moments before it was going to snap Daring in two with one bite...

Thankfully, Sky managed to tackle Daring out of the way before that happen.

With the drastic last second maneuver, Sky lost control and both she and Daring soared towards the ground. The two crashed rolling and flopping over one another until they stopped, faces filled with snow.

Daring was the first one up, shaking off the snow and trying to figured out what just happened. Looking around her, the first thing she noticed was Sky, lying face down in the snow, apparently still recovering from the midair blunder. Looking around her more, she found one thing immediately unsettling...

The Stalker was gone, she couldn't see it anywhere around her.

Unwilling to stay a sitting duck much longer, she took off to the air and rose a safe distance from the ground. From there, she surveyed the ground some more, looking for any sign of the stalker.

She couldn't find it, the thing was blending in somewhere, biding it's time. It looked like even the alien lost track of it, given that both he and the rest of the team were carefully looking around. However, the Stalker's unknown location was the least of her issues at this moment.

Out in the snow alone, she spotted a grounded Fluttershy. She was shaking like a leaf, seemingly too afraid to move. When and how Fluttershy had managed to get separated from the group Daring had no idea, but now Fluttershy was a vulnerable target. On top of that, she had noticed that Sky has still yet to move from her crash site... She should have gotten up by now.

Deciding to see what was up with Sky, Daring flew down from safety and landed next to Sky.

"Sky! Sky! Come on, you got to get up! We can't stay here!" Daring yelled, nudging the guard Pegasus.

Despite the constant nudging, Sky wouldn't stir. Daring resorted to rolling her over instead. There was still no response, and it quickly became clear as to why. From under Sky's hood, there was a trickle of blood.

"Oh... No, don't do this to me!" Daring said as she put an ear next to the mare's mouth, hoping to hear her breathing.

Daring gave a sigh of relief as she hear the subtle sound and heat of breath beat against her ear. The mare was still alive, but was unconscious. She had must of hit her head on something hard during the crash.

Still, this left a much bigger issue. There was still a stalker out there somewhere, and now there was currently three grounded pegasi. One who was too scared to move, one that couldn't move, and one that wouldn't risk moving with somepony at risk. All of them were sitting ducks, just waiting for the stalker to attack.

Deciding that doing absolutely nothing wasn't an option here, Daring grabbed Sky and started dragging her back towards the main group. The mare, with all her equipment attached to her, was far too heavy to fly away in these conditions. She was sure the Stalker wouldn't let them get that far, but there was little choice in this matter. She was not about to abandon Sky, especially after she had saved Daring.

Fluttershy was unfortunately on her own here...

Fluttershy was looking frantically around her, looking for any sign of the missing stalker. Right after Sky took off to save Fluttershy wasn't able to hold her flight, and ended up falling to the snow below. Right after recovering from her fall, she found that the stalker had disappeared, both Sky and Daring were grounded, and everyone was in a panic trying to find the illusive beast.

With that, Fluttershy froze up, she wasn't sure if she should move or remain completely still. If she moved, the stalker might come for her. If she stayed still, it might leave her alone... or it could come regardless. Fluttershy had no clue what to do.

"FLUTTERSHY!!! GET YOUR ASS OFF THE GROUND NOW!!! I CAN'T COVER BOTH OF YOU GUYS AT ONCE!!! STOP BEING A SITTING TARGET!!!" Fluttershy heard the alien yell from the distance.

Turning her head, she could see the team gesturing for Fluttershy to return to the group. Meanwhile, the alien seemed to be rotating between keeping an eye her and Daring. It quickly became apparent why Fluttershy needed to get back.

"Fluttershy, please! You got to move! Make your way back to us! Quickly!" Twilight yelled, fear and worry lacing the poor mare's voice.

With this, Fluttershy got up shakily and tried to unclasp her wings. However, they refused. She was still far to shaken to fly. With that option taken away, she Instead opted to start trotting back towards the group. She hesitated as she saw the alien slap a hand on his forehead, mimicking a sort of face hoof, upon seeing what she was doing.

"Oh for fuck sake... FLUTTERSHY!!! FLY!!! I KNOW YOU CAN!!! I'VE SEEN YOU DO IT!!! YOU NEED TO GET UP IN THE AIR AND OUT OF DANGER!!!" The alien yelled.

"Don't yell at her! She's scared!" Twilight snapped at the alien in defense of Fluttershy.

"Yes, and she will be dead in a moment if she DOESN'T GET HER ASS IN THE AIR!" The alien snapped back.

The alien's warning frightened Fluttershy enough try to open her wings again, but they still refused to work; they only opened half way before they clamped shut one more. Fluttershy whimpered in defeat.

"I-I Can't! M-my wings won't work!" Fluttershy cried.

"Son of a bitch.... Alright, everyone move forward, we are making our way to her. Keep an eye out for anything that is not us."

With that, the group started making their way, slowly yet steadily towards Fluttershy. Fluttershy in turn continued moving towards the group, hoping to speed up the process. The stalker lingered in the back of her mind, but she knew that she couldn't afford to stop now; or even think about it. If it was going to get her, it was going to. All she can hope is that the alien will help her if it tries.

Then again, he wasn't able to help Daring or Sky when the Stalker tricked them. If Sky wasn't there to push her out of the way, Daring would definitely be dead. With that amount of speed, how could the alien save her from this stalker if it didn't even have time to react to the monster's speed? The thought of this made Fluttershy shake more at the knees.

That was when she heard it. A subtle step in the snow behind her. The main group froze in place, and the alien raised its weapon. With this, Fluttershy stopped in her tracks; knowing exactly what was going on.

"Fluttershy! Don't-" Twilight Squeaked in panic, her face twisted into one of despair.

... the Stalker was right behind her.

Fluttershy turned her head around, just in time for a white and red blur to fill her vision. She felt her body being flung through the air just before landing on her back, a massive weight pinned her down. Her vision swim until she was able to make out the stalker the loomed over her in all its glory, its left paw pinning her down. Its one eye was solely focused on her, it's teeth bared as it was about to end her life.

"OH SWEET CELESTIA, NO!! PLEASE DON'T! LET HER GO!!!" Twilight began to scream.

It took Shining and Iron Hoof to keep her from bolting to Fluttershy's rescue. There was nothing to be done, nothing that could be done. Without weapons, there was nothing they could do to prevent Fluttershy's demise by the stalker. Her life rested solely in the hands of the alien, but no pony could be sure he could even save her now.

She could die, at any moment, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Fluttershy wanted to scream along side Twilight. She wanted to cry, beg, pray, all of the above at once... However, something ignited inside her as her life was beginning to tick away. She knew that, after it killed her, it was going to kill the rest of her friends, and maybe even the alien and Spike. This monster was going to kill them all without so much as a thought. This angered her, this upset her, and this she was not about to stand for.

She was going to give this stalker a piece of her mind, if it was the last thing she did.

Looking Directly into the Stalker's eye, she gave it the stare.

"How Dare You!" Fluttershy stated with fury.

The stalker's facial expression changed almost immediately as Fluttershy said this. It looked surprised, and a bit confused. One would assume that it wasn't expecting to have its next meal talk to it like this. This gave the entire team pause, even seem to give the alien slight pause.

Twilight on the other hoof, knew exactly what was going on. She remembered this, way back when, when she and her five friends were on a quest to save Equestria from being drowned in smoke. Fluttershy tamed a dragon merely by shaming it to into submission. Now, she was attempting to do the same with this stalker. Twilight couldn't believe it when Fluttershy pulled it off the first time, now she could only pray that she could do it again a second time. Fluttershy's life, and everyone else's depended on it.

"You heard me! HOW DARE YOU!!! You hurt my friends! Try to kill them! Try to kill me! For what exactly!? I can tell you're not starving! So it's not because your hungry! So why!? Why are you doing this to us? What did we ever do to you!?" Fluttershy scolded the confused stalker.

Much to everyone's surprise, the stalker broke eye contact with Fluttershy, glancing away for a mere moment with what seemed to be shame. However, it didn't last long as it glared at her again with malice intent. However, Fluttershy glared back harder.

It was working, Twilight felt her fear and worry for her friend's life slowly lift. At this point, she knew Fluttershy was going to be okay. She was going to talk this stalker down, she was going be okay...

However, Twilight noticed that something had escaped her attention. The alien was no longer with the team watching the spectacle...

"You SHOULD be ashamed of yourself you horrible cat! Hurting innocent ponies and creatures like us just because you can! What is wrong with you! Do you have no morals!" Fluttershy continued.

The stalker glanced away timidly once again, it looked like it was trying to figure out what to do; as it probably has never experienced anything like its food arguing with it before. It began to look very unsure of itself as it lifted it's left paw off Fluttershy.

Twilight looked around her, searching for the alien. She found him very quickly, moving carefully around the left side of Fluttershy and the stalker. Twilight questioned what exactly he was doing. However, it was quickly made clear when he raised his weapon and took aim at the stalker. Twilight's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to speak, but words failed to find her...

Fluttershy was quick upon her hooves and rushed up to meet the stalker face to face. It's head recoiled back as she forced her nose against its.

"Your a bad, BAD Kitty Cat! I think you should run off to think about what you have-"

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

Fluttershy Never got to finish her sentence as the three distinct gunshots rang though the air. Causing the stalker to go wide eyed and run. It didn't make it far, however, as it suddenly collapsed upon it's third stride. It hit the ground hard, leaving a blood trail until it slid to a stop.

Fluttershy look towards the origin of the sound, standing there standing there to her exact left was the alien, steam emitting from his weapon. Suddenly it became clear to Fluttershy what had happened.

Ignoring the shocked and horrified look that Fluttershy was giving him, the alien approached the wounded stalker and raised his weapon to fire again.

Recovering from her initial shock, Fluttershy was quick to rush in front of the stalker, stopping the alien from delivering the final blow.

"NOOOO!!!! STOP!!!" Fluttershy Screamed at the alien.

The alien took his finger away from the weapon's trigger and pulled his weapon away, muttering a swear under his breath. It looked as it he had only barely managed to stop himself from shooting Fluttershy. Through his mask, he seemed glared down upon the new obstacle in front of him.

"What in hell do you think you are doing, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY! NOW!!!" The alien sharply ordered.

"Fluttershy, don't! Just get out of the way!" Twilight yelled.

"Fluttershy! Move! What are you doing! Let him finish it!" Daring yelled from afar.

"Fluttershy, What are you doing!? Move!" Shining ordered.

"What the buck, Fluttershy!? Are you trying to get yourself killed!?" Iron Hoof yelled

"Fluttershy! It is imperative that we finish it! We need you to move aside!" Sparks added in.

"ARE YOU BUCKING NUTS!!!" Lyra practically screamed.

"*WOOF!!!* Spike happily added in behind Lyra.

"EEEEEEEEK!!! WHERE THE BUCK DID YOU EVEN COME FROM!!!" Lyra yelled at Spike.

Despite the yelling, Fluttershy's resolve held strong. She was not going to stand idly by and allow the alien to kill the creature she had just convinced to leave them alone. It just wasn't right. The stalker was backing down, it was going to leave them all alone. Then the alien outright stabbed it in the back while it was distracted! This was out right murder! She would not allow this.

"No! What do you think YOU'RE doing!? I was convincing it to leave us alone, and you go on and hurt the poor thing!"

The alien gave out a sharp, forced, hate filled laugh at this. Obviously, he wasn't very convinced. In fact, he wasn't convinced at all.

"Poor thing!? Convince it to leave!? Don't make me fucking laugh! That piece of shit was going to kill you and the rest of your team!!! Now you're defending it!? You are defending this MONSTER!!!???" The alien yelled back.

"Everypony makes mistakes! It was learning from its, and then you go and stab it in the back! Is that the way to teach anypony to not be evil!?" Fluttershy tried again, hoping to make the alien back down.

More forced laughter was the only reaction from the alien, hatred oozed within every syllable. It physically made the team of ponies cringe, Fluttershy included. None of them could even begin to fathom how much hatred was coming from this one being. How could he have grow to hate something so much? It was becoming obvious that he cared very little for Fluttershy's words of defense; they only seemed to be egging the alien on to further rage.

"Learning from it's mistakes? To not be evil!? Holy shit, you're a fucking comedian! How long do you think it has been doing this? You think it just started? Before us, it has likely killed tens to hundreds of my kind! Given its appearance, maybe even two-hundred! Do you think it is really learning from its mistakes!? Do you really think it is losing any sleep over this!? If it survived today, it would still be doing the same thing tomorrow, regardless of that shit you just pulled! As a member of the human species, I will not allow that to happen! I will not allow it to hurt anyone else, ever again!!!" The alien stated.

Talking down the alien was hopeless at this point, the rest of the team knew this, especially given what he had just said. The alien was completely convinced that this stalker deserved to die, for crimes that he was certain it committed. Given the severity of those crime, most of the team, other than Fluttershy was convinced that the alien was in the right here.

Twilight was somewhat conflicted on the other hoof. One part of her believed that the stalker didn't deserve to die. There had been villains of her world who had committed far worse crimes, and yet they were able to turn themselves around and be forgiven. Another part of her though, wanted the stalker dead. It had threatened the lives of her friends, her family, and her team; that was unforgivable for her. Twilight was conflicted whether to stand for the values she and her friends had stood for since they became the Elements of Friendship, or give in to her anger and stand by as the monster was executed and justice was served.

No matter the choice, Twilight knew she wouldn't like the result. For the first time in a long time, she didn't know what to do...

"Please you to just need to-" Fluttershy begged, but the alien would not listen.

"No! I refuse to continue this bullshit! Move before I make you move!" The alien snapped

Fluttershy at this point, knew that this was a lost cause. She could see it in the alien, in his body language, even though his mask of apathy. He was filled with hatred towards the stalker. He was going to kill it regardless of what anypony else thought, and a small frail pegasus wasn't going to stand in his way.

Least that was what Fluttershy thought.

Suddenly, there was a blur at the top of Fluttershy's vision. Something sailed over her own head and straight towards the alien himself. The alien was so preoccupied with his focus on Fluttershy, he failed to notice the thing heading straight towards him before it impacted, sending him flying a few feet backwards and making him land on his ass.

Fluttershy took a look behind her to find the stalker was back on its feet, its tail looked like it had just finished a sweeping motion. Suddenly, it became clear to Fluttershy what had just happened.

The stalker gave Fluttershy one last glance before it took off down the snowy landscape, disappearing from view.

"NO!!! NOOO!!! YOU FUCKING BITCH!!! GET BACK YOU MOTHERFUCKING SACK OF SHIT!!! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU MAN MURDERING CHILDREN SLAUGHTERING WHORE!!!" The enraged alien shouted at the direction the stalker ran in.

The alien was quick to get back on it's feet running in the same direction the Stalker had ran, following the tracks and blood trail it left. Fluttershy had to scamper out of the way before he would have shove her aside. It wasn't long before he reach the canyon wall, the same canyon wall where the stalker made its appearance. It was also where the tracks came to an irrupt end. The alien started scanning the horizon, desperately looking for any sign of the stalker.

It wasn't long before the alien started pacing along side the wall, shouting again.

"COME ON!!! COME ON!!! COME BACK AND FIGHT ME YOU COWARD!!! COME AND MEET YOUR FUCKING MAKER!!! IT'S FUCKING JUDGEMENT DAY MOTHERFUCKER!!! DON'T YOU DARE THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE ME!!! I WILL FUCKING FIND YOU!!! AND I WILL FUCKING END YOUR LIFE!!!" The alien yelled some more.

The team of ponies watched from a distance at the alien continued to pace and yell curses up the canyon wall. Swearing everything that he was going to hunt the stalker down, and do some indescribable things to it. At some point, the ponies thought they heard that he planned to take it's head and mount it on a wall to use as target practice.

It was a sad sight to behold.

Soon, with no sign of the stalker coming back, the alien fell to it's knees; its weapon dropping limply to ground beside it. It's head wilted in defeat.

The team of ponies stood there stunned, unsure what to do or say. Lyra was one-hundred percent sure that the alien hated them now, and was preparing herself the nightmarish stand off to come. Shinning, Sparks, and Iron Hoof were already thinking of heading back to the tent to retrieve their weapons, certain that they were going to have to defend themselves. Daring couldn't care less about the situation, her only concern was reviving Sky. Fluttershy wondered if there was a better way to have resolved the previous situation. Twilight was otherwise distracted, contemplating what she had almost let happen.

Spike, on the other hoof, simply walked straight up to alien. Spike nudged him and broke him out of whatever trance he was in.

With a sigh the alien simply stood up, patted spike on the head, retrieved his weapon, and made his way back towards the group; Spike in tow. The group tensed up, preparing themselves for another fight. The alien had to be furious with them, especially Fluttershy. Obviously going to hurt someone, and they need to prepare to subdue him.

Soon , the alien was a mere ten meters away, and his focus was solely on Fluttershy. Said mare was shaking like a leaf, unsure of what the alien's intentions were. The rest of the team formed defensively around her, standing between her and the alien. Twilight, Shining, and Spark all prepared stun spells, ready to put the alien down if he tried anything.

The alien stopped a few meters away from the group, still looking down upon Fluttershy. The team glared at him, warning him that he was overstepping his bounds.

A tense moment later, the alien simply sighed. Holstering his rifle, he got down on a knee to the ponies' level. This made the team relax, but only slightly. They still had no clue what the alien was up to.

The alien look over Fluttershy for a brief moment seemingly looking for something. His actions confused the mare and the team momentarily, but soon became clear as he spoke up.

"You're hurt, Fluttershy. Right front leg, your suit is ruptured. Go back to the tent and patch yourself and the suit up. Soon or you will get frostbite. Use antibiotics if you have any left, stalkers tend to carry nasty diseases." The alien simply said, standing back up.

Looking down, Fluttershy realized that the alien was telling the truth. Her right leg sleeve of her suit was in fact torn open, underneath was a small, cut one which her blood was already freezing over. She didn't even feel it... It must have happened when the stalker pounced her. This also explained why she was shivering so much.

"Fluttershy! Can you walk?" A concern Twilight asked.

Y-yes I-I think I- YEEEEP!" Fluttershy started to stay, however was interrupted as she suddenly found herself upon the back of Spike. The timber wolf being very quick to sweep her up and start carrying the wounded pegasus back to the camp.

"WOOF!!" Spike barked as he carried off a very distressed Fluttershy

"I-I um.... okay..." Fluttershy submitted without much protest.

The alien then looked back towards Daring and Sky. The guards pony was still unconscious.

"Someone help Daring get Sky revived and make sure she isn't hurt, we've got to get the camp packed up and be out of here soon. We've bought ourselves some time, but the stalker will be back. They always come back." The alien said as he made his way back to the canyon wall.

"Wait a second! Are you saying that we're coming with you!?" Lyra question, a bit surprised that the alien suddenly had a change of heart about helping them.

"Yes, now that there is a live stalker on the loose, I have to have a team to watch my back in case it decides to hunt us. There is no way Spike and I will be able to take on that stalker by ourselves. So we need you to follow us for awhile, least until we get out of this stalker's territory. We'll figure out where we go from there." The alien answered.

This was great news for the team of ponies, this meant that the alien was now willing to be their guide for the time being. All they had to do was provide it company. However, this still left a single issue.

"But we can't take the entire camp with us! It's too much equipment to move, let alone up a hill! This was suppose to be our base of operations." Twilight informed.

"Well, I'm afraid your base has been compromised. If we stay here, we're good as dead. You only have yourselves to blame for that. Take what you can carry and leave the rest. Take only what's important, we will not be coming back here once we leave.

Something good always came with a price it seemed. Leaving most of their Equipment behind was most certainly a loss, but the sacrifice was going to be worth it. They were going to receive a private tour of the world lead by one of its inhabitants. There would be plenty for them to learn from this, and was another step towards establishing relations with this world. Despite the significant loss, it was still a win.

The team watched as alien made his way back to the wall, he picked up crossbow he discarded earlier and the roped bolt that was not much farther away. Upon reaching the wall, he loaded the crossbow, aimed for the sky and fired. The roped bolt shot out to the sky and arched down over the top the the canyon. As soon as the bolt hit its mark, the alien gave the rope a test pull. Much to his delight, it held. Even when he put his entire weight on it, it held firm. It was climbable.

"YEAH!!! FUCK YOU CANYON!!! YOU CAN'T HOLD ME!!! YOU WILL NOT BE MY GRAVE!!!" The alien shouted out victoriously, one valiant fist in the air.

The alien's behavior confused the team greatly. One moment, he's a raging psychopath out for blood. The next, he's concerned for the ponies' health, even though they were the same ponies who had just went against his interests. No pony knew exactly what to make of it. However, they knew one thing for sure. They needed to be cautious. Celestia knew what this alien was capable of.

The team made their way back to camp, getting ready to tear it down and take as much of it as they could carry. Soon, they going to leave this canyon, and out into the open world.

Author's Notes:

I hated writing this chapter, it was such a pain in my ass. It's longer than I would have liked it to be, took way too much time to edit, and overall I am not sure how I feel about it. I just hope it came out alright. Feel free to point out my bullshit, because this one just might need a rewrite...

Other than that the journey continues, and we are FINALLY OUT OF THE FUCKING CANYON!!!

Edit: Here's a small bonus for putting up with my bullshit.

It's a drawing I did in relation to this chapter, only difference is the lack of ponies. Should give you an idea of what the stalker looks like... That and how I can't draw backgrounds and weapons worth shit....