//------------------------------// // A Stranger from the Everfree // Story: Ever changing heart // by HarmoniaTheConfuzzled //------------------------------// Sally walked for miles, tears rolling down her face as she was forced to relive her sorrowful experience again, and again, and again... She had stumbled upon what looked to be a worn path, even though it was barely visible due to the vegetation growing over it. She put a hoof to her midsection as her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in... However long she had been in the Everfree. The path wound it's way through the Forest, Sally didn't really care which direction she was even going in anymore. Sally stumbled into a clearing, the dark, twisted trees parted to either side of her. as if they dared not to grow past an invisible line in the grass. She looked up from the grass to have her mouth fall open. Then stared forward at a giant castle, the ruins looming on the other side of an unsafe looking rope bridge. She slowly worked herself across the bridge, almost falling three or four times when her hoof slipped or a loose board snapped. She made her way through the bashed-in front gates, vaguely wondering how they had gotten that way before pushing the thought to the back of her mind as she traveled deeper through the ruins. Then she stopped, two voices from up ahead spoke out against the silence. Sally ran towards the voices, the conscious part of her mind screaming her to stop, to find out who they were first. Of course, she ignored them. Sally broke into the courtyard and hurled herself at the nearest pony, a mint green unicorn. Sobbing, she held on tight to the pony, "Thank Celestia! Another pony!" Sally sobbed into the coat of the mare as another walked up behind her, "Uhhhh, Your... Welcome?", answered the unicorn as Sally let go and backed away, calming down a bit, "I've been wandering the forest for so long, sniff* I haven't seen another pony in moons". The two just stared at her, the other, a pale vanilla pony with a curly blue and pink mane, stepped forward and offered her hoof as Sally continued, spilling out her whole story from the death of her parents to the current moment, tear rolling down her face and falling to the mossy-covered stone floor. Their hooves wrapped around her as the ponies gave her a comforting hug to calm her down a bit. "It's ok, shhh, it's ok", Sally calmed down and her sobbing died down to a soft sniffling. "We should take her back to Ponyville, she needs help", the two ponies talked as they comforted Sally, shivering in their hooves like a terrified filly. "Yeah, maybe we should get Fluttershy or somepony to look after her". They both silently agreed and let go of Sally, the cream mare focusing her sea green gaze on her, "Come with us, we'll get you to someone who can help you". They helped Sally to her hooves and led her from the castle. Sally lingered at the edge of the forest, she just got out, and she didn't want to go back in. The vanilla pony, Bon Bon as she was later introduced, reassured her and they continued on there journey to Ponyville. The forest didn't like Sally. The shadowy canopy loomed darkly over them, even though it was midday. Every once in a while a snap would cause the three of them to turn around and stare sfter the noise. It had become obvious that something was following them, even though they couldn't see it didn't mean that they couldn't hear it. What ever it was had no sense of stealth at all. It rustled the branches and snapped twigs carelessly in it's pursuit, but never once was it seen. They heard a thump and a grunt up ahead. "OOOOOOWW! Sweet Celestia that HURTS!", A definite male voice called out. Lyra glanced at Bon Bon before taking off in the direction, giving the others no choice but to follow. They galloped into a small clearing to find a dark grey, almost black pegasus sitting on his rump, rubbing his head with a hoof. Sally padded close to him, "Are you ok?". The pegasus held up a hoof as if to say just gimme a sec and a few minutes later he looked up, flinching as he moved his head. "I've run into much harder stuff than that" ,he said before quickly adding, "No not really. Geez that stings..." He ruffled a light green, almost white, mohawk as his head throbbed. He got up, stumbled, sat back down, and looked up at the three mares in front of him, "So I'm in pain, what's your name." He frowned as he saw three things, confusion, annoyance, and irritation, "sigh*, My name is Thunderlane...". Lyra stepped forward, "I'm Lyra, this is Bon Bon and Sally." The dark grey pegasus finally found the strength to stand and nodded to all three of them, "Nice to meet you all." "So how did you run into the tree?" Sally inquired as they continued on their way to Ponyville. The colt looked over at her with his pale, golden eyes, "Looking for a story are you?" Sally nodded and let the pegasus continue. "Well, I was doing some cloud chasing for Rainbow Dash and-". He stopped as he saw Sally frown in confusion, "You don't know who Rainbow Dash is?" Sally shook her head slightly. "Well I chased it over to the Everfree and it started doing loopy- loops and flying all over the place. I chased it until I accidentally clipped a tree branch with my wing and now I think I might have a concussion." Sally smiled at the tale of his misfortunes. A snap and a thud made them all turn around, a beat-up, grey, earth pony had just stumbled out of the woods and fell to the ground, he was thin, you could see all of his ribs and part of his hip-bone. Sally sat in stunned silence with Thunderlane while Bon Bon walked over to help up the stranger to his hooves. He almost frantically raised his forelimb in the universal sign of stop. He struggled to stand by himself and opened his eyes to reveal them to be a light turquoise. Then, he stumbled into a tree he looked up at them, a broken look in his eyes, "Please help me". His body was momentarily wrapped in green flame. His hooves became ridden with holes, his mouth grew a single fang on one side of his mouth, the other was broken, and his body transformed into a cracked and worn exoskeleton. He gave one last look at his watchers before falling to the ground. his mouth slack and his eyes dull. "How many other darn ponies are in these woods!!"