Applejack
"Gosh darnit..."
"Dang roots...
"Mashed pataters..."
Mumbled curses made their way out of the orange earth pony's mouth as she leapt over overturned tree after overturned tree.
Something big had gone through here, and she was going to find out what it was.
"Manticores...Bumblin' Ursa's and what not..." Applejack continued.
She was in a foul mood after waking up in the middle of the forest with nopony to be seen for miles around.
Not to mention the fact that she could hardly make out the shapes of the overturned trees in front of her against the black night sky, which granted her plenty of bruises and few cuts here and there.
Letting out an irritated huff, Applejack launched herself upwards and clung to the side of an overturned tree, her hind hooves scrabbling against the bark as she tried to push herself up.
When she had managed to get a hoofhold on the tree and haul herself up, Applejack found herself staring up at the beautiful night sky rather than at the path before her.
I wonder what Big MacIntosh and Granny Smith are up to...No doubt lil' Applebloom's in bed by now, bless her heart.
Sighing to herself before squinting her eyes and looking ahead, Applejack carefully mapped out how to get to where she was going...
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"Hello? Anypony out there? Twilight? Rainbow Dash?" Applejack called out, hoping to be heard.
If anything did hear her, it did nothing to alert Applejack.
Sighing to herself, Applejack settled down on one of the logs to get some sleep; it'd be morning eventually and she'd have an easier time navigating and keeping an eye out for her friends.
Just before she managed to doze off, however, the sound of something fluttering in the wind caught her attention and forced her to open her eyes.
In an instant, a piece of paper smacked into Applejack's face harmlessly, sticking there even after the gentle breeze had stopped.
"What the hay...?" she whispered to herself after pulling the piece of paper off of her snout and taking in the image.
"Now what in tarnation...Rainbow Dash, git down 'ere!" Applejack shouted towards the sky, convinced this was a bad attempt at a prank by a certain rainbow colored mare.
But no matter how sharply her eyes searched the clouds or surrounding trees, Applejack saw neither head nor tail of her friend.
But she did see something a few yards behind her.
She squinted her eyes, trying to make out what she saw.
But she couldn't.
Heh, must be my eyes playing tricks on me again. she thought as she turned and settled back onto the log.
And the thing crept closer.
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Letting out a yawn, Applejack awoke.
The sun had still not risen, and she felt as if she had slept for at least five hours.
As she stretched, Applejack reached up to adjust her signature hat...
Only to find it missing.
Intense searches around the logs proved fruitless, and at the idea of loosing her hat forever she cried.
She sat down in the cold dirt and cried.
And cried.
And cried.
And cried.
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He felt pity, for once in his life.
He knew what it meant to her as he took it; read it through her memories as if it were a book.
A book that told the story of their passing, the tale of the hand-down, and the legend of the commitment.
And for once in his life, he had felt pity.
Pity for a creature whose race had shunned him for what he was, despite his differences going only as far as looks.
But he would get what he wanted through this, oh yes.
He would get them all the same in the end, and many more would come to him.
Foals. he mumbled to himself.
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"Can't be gone..." Applejack sobbed, hanging her head low as tears leaked from her eyes and blurred her vision.
She wiped away both eyes with a hoof but the blurriness remain; and Applejack paid no attention to it.
In fact, she paid little if any attention to anything until the blurriness took over her entire vision and a familiar feeling pressed itself against her head.
"M-Mah hat!" She said in amazement, getting to her hooves and spinning around; expecting to see one of her best friends.
Instead, she let her hoof drop from her head and glue itself to the ground as she froze.
And the creature slowly wrapped its tentacles around her hooves and body, pulling her closer and closer towards him...