//------------------------------//
// Nightmare 
// Story: The Forsaken 
// by AmberSun 
//------------------------------//

The swirling and flashing lights finally disappeared and left behind a feeling of sickness as the thing was left sprawled on the ground. It lay there prostrate, before finally rising on its four legs - though it noticed something seemed off. It normally never felt the wind - not as deeply as this, and the once hard surface of its body felt...soft?

The creature growled in irritation. Looking down, the glowing gaze fell on its forelegs and paws. Where there was once wood, fur now stretched over. Its body was not unlike that of the pony prey it would hunt when they came too close into its territory, though far bigger, darker - less colorful - and much more wild. Hmph. Fitting for a beast of its stature, if unfamiliar. Flexing its new body experimentally, the creature began to stalk forward.

So focused on itself, the creature only now noticed the strangeness of its new surroundings. Gone was the darkness of the forest it would hide in to follow its prey. The night was dark, but the pony like settlement stretched before it, providing little cover. The beast used its nose - always a trusted companion - to chart its course. There was a dense area that smelled vaguely of the home it hailed from further in the distance. That meant shelter, protection...food.

Its old body required little sustenance. A purely magical being meant that it did not abide by the laws most Equestrian creatures followed. But it seemed that this was not the case in this new place it now found itself in, and its stomach voiced its complaint with a keening groan, painful and echoing. 

Intent on quieting the hunger, the creature broke in a sprint, tracking the first smell of prey in the distance. It smelled warm...alive, and currently wandering in the direction it had originally been heading. Time seemed to blend in the quickness of its travel, and before long the beast found its prey not more than thirty tail lengths before it. A strange thing that it had never seen before in its old territory, but identifiable as female, with bright two toned fur on the top of her head, and not that scrawny. It would be enough to quell the hunger before it retreated into the wooded area beyond.

Its prey was unaware, simply walking about its way as it crept closer. An old structure was in the distance and it was sure that was where she was headed. It needed to act now before it lost the first sighting of food since arriving in this place. 

But in its eagerness, a crack sounded from beneath its heavy paw - a broken branch -  causing the prey to look at the creature’s hiding spot. It must have seen the glow of the creature's eyes, because with a fearful shout, it turned and sprinted away quickly. Quick for prey, but an easy chase. It leapt from the bushes with a guttural sound and gained in a few strides before leaping. The strange creature seemed to sense the act, and rolled out of the way, avoiding a killing bite, but not a graze from the teeth down the length of its forearm. A cry of agony sounded from its lips blood leaking from the wound and only further enticing the beast. The taste of blood was not something it had been able to come by recently and it lost itself in the euphoria of the taste, however slight.

That mistake cost. Breaking from the temporary haze, the beast did not notice its prey - still very much alive - desperately fleeing into the dilapidated structure. The doors were of metal, and it did not see an easy way for its large body to break through. Prowling for a time, it did not appear as though it would get another chance to gain a kill tonight; the sun was not far off. Irritated at its missteps, the beast released another growl, teeth gnashing, before finally retreating to the wooded place not far beyond it.

The girl, safe from her pursuer, finally addressed the leaking wound that ran down her arm - outer bicep to wrist. It seemed to burn with unholy fire. Fetching her meager first aid kit, she tended to it as well as she could, hissing all the while. Once finished, she made the trek to her bed, dropping like lead onto the surface. She suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion take over. Not to deny what her body needed, especially after what had just happened, she closed her eyes and succumbed to the darkness.