//------------------------------//
// The Woods at Night 
// Story: Memory of a Dream 
// by SulliedInk 
//------------------------------//

	It was cold. The wind sliced through my thick coat like butter knives. I was still covered in sour water, but it had already dried off. It felt weird having to run away like this. My hooves sunk into the mud. Never in my life had I felt anything like this before. I was used to the dry and arid lands on our farm. Finally, no more rocks digging into my hooves. That was already far behind. My parents were already far behind. 

It was dark. We had to feel our way through the forest. My younger sister couldn’t understand why we were running. I told her we were going to a better place; a place filled with sunshine and rainbows. There would be mountains of candy, and she could finally sample ice cream for the first time in her life. Not only that, but she could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and supper. My older sister smiled. She was amused at my actions. We both knew we weren’t going anywhere better. We were only sinking in deeper and deeper into the darkness, until no light remained. 

We wandered for hours to come. I didn’t know how my younger sister could still smile. I didn’t know how she could still possibly believe in the delusion of happiness. It is but a passing mirage, designed by nature to cover the torment and misery of life. We kept going further and further, but it was no use. She began asking me questions. She begged for answers. The veils of innocence slowly vanished in the passing breeze, and faded back into the nothingness from which it once came from. 

“This is fear,” I said to her. “This is what you feel when you’re all alone, in the darkness of night.” She didn’t understand; no, she didn’t want to understand. She was trying to deny the truth. I felt thorns slice through our legs. Little by little, they were chipping away at her innocence. Finally we stopped. She was crying. I didn’t know what to say. She was scared. She understood.

Finally, my older sister stepped in, and told her that to achieve happiness, one must first suffer. I looked ahead, rejecting such strange thoughts. There was no meaning behind these words. Why suffer to bathe in what is only an illusion, bound to fade away eventually? My older sister decided to carry her on her back. She told me I could be more supportive. Truth is, I was only listening to the sound of your voice, whispering in my ear. That was the first time you spoke to me. That was when you showed me there was no happiness. I am truly glad you did that.

We kept walking forwards in no specific direction. We realized we were running out of strength. Soon, we would lose this game. We were the losers of this arms race. I heard the forest laugh around me. The trees were taunting me, whispering discouraging phrases, telling me I couldn’t keep going anymore. They said we were useless. They said we were trash. They told us we didn’t belong. They said we would surely die.  I snapped.

All of a sudden, I ducked my head, and charged forwards. You said the mean trees were dead ahead. You told me that our combined strength could crush and kill anything. Kill... What a strange word... It rolls right off your tongue. It sounds right, doesn’t it? Kill... Yes, kill... But what could we kill? “Let’s kill the ones hurting you,” is what you told me. I did. I bashed the rotten trunk so hard, it fell over. The rest was like watching falling dominoes. I loved it. It was so enjoyable. To kill... It feels liberating, you whispered. I smiled. My eyes dilated. “It feels... Amazing...”

Finally, there was light. We saw our surroundings more clearly. Turns out, we were in a swamp. The filthy water around us had drunken our blood, and was now bathing in it. They were too scared to move, afraid of the monster they just saw. I said nothing. You didn’t say anything. You moved one leg. I moved the other ones. Soon, our hooves reached dry land. These strangers were crying, but I was laughing. Isn’t that what my sisters wanted? They wanted me to laugh! Yes; laugh! I chuckled, then exploded in a hysterical laughter. The cackling resonated through the night, and chased away the evils of darkness. I danced to celebrate my greatness. I had vanquished the darkness. All thanks to you!

I turned around, and ordered my sisters to come. They stood there. I came closer. They were snoring. The were drooling red. I guess they felt too sleepy. Huh? Sleepy? Something about sleep... Weren’t we not supposed to sleep? I couldn’t remember. You told me it wasn’t anything important. I listened.