Living in Equestria

by Blazewing

Into the Forest

The Everfree Forest…

Even though I had only been given the general gist of the place by Pinkie and Fluttershy, I could, at this point, summarize for myself that it was the one location in or near Ponyville that nopony dared to explore, due to monsters and phenomena beyond their understanding. Nonetheless, Pinkie, Twilight, and the others had had to venture into it from time to time, most notably in their quest to find the Elements of Harmony and stop Nightmare Moon. Even after that, ponies still stayed away from it, as nothing good ever seemed to come out of it (going into it, that is, not anything leaving its boundaries, heaven forbid). With that in mind, I had to wonder what on Earth possessed little Scootaloo to go into such a place, and the thought of a filly her age wandering around in it was all the more unsettling.

A nagging, disquieting feeling in the back of my mind told me that, somehow, I had been the cause of it. Scootaloo had been missing since yesterday, the day after I’d met her and accidentally tread upon the subject of her home. Perhaps it was just my paranoia speaking, but it was hard for me to discount it as mere chance when it happened after the last time I’d seen her. Was she bitter about me butting into her personal affairs, prompting her to want to get away from such prying questions? Had she decided enough was enough? Was she…?

“Dave? Are you all right?”

I blinked, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. Apple Bloom was tugging at my pant leg, Cheerilee was comforting a fretful Sweetie Belle, and Fluttershy was standing on all fours, catching her breath.

“You kinda spaced out.”

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine," I said. "I’m just trying to wrap my head around why Scootaloo would be in that forest. Granted, I know so little about it.”

“Believe me, Dave,” said Fluttershy, emphatically, “the less you know about it, the better. It’s a dreadful place.”

“Well, sure, the thought of manticores and cockatrices isn’t exactly inviting," I said, "but we can't just leave her to fend for herself in there!”

“N-No, of course not!" said Fluttershy, sounding horrified. "I never meant-!”

“I know you didn’t," I said, gently, putting a hand to her shoulder. "That’s why there’s only one option left.”

“Which is?”

“…I’m going in there to find her.”

If the news of Scootaloo’s disappearance had rattled the four ponies, this bold, not to mention ludicrous, proposition gave them fresh alarm. Cheerilee seemed to be on the verge of protesting, but I held up my hand to cut her off.

“Don't try to talk me out of it. I can't just sit here and do nothing while she's alone in that forest. I can’t help feeling responsible, anyway.”

“Responsible? How on Earth can you think such a thing?” asked Cheerilee.

“The last time I saw her...I kinda struck a nerve with her. I didn't mean any harm by it. I only offered to walk her home. I had no idea she had no home to walk home to. I can’t help but feel like there’s a connection. Maybe she went into the forest to get away from those prying questions.”

The others simply stared at me. Fluttershy, however, looked stern.

“Honestly, Dave, you’re being ridiculous,” she said, in a scolding tone that actually startled me.

She leaned in close to my face, putting her hooves on my shoulders, her gaze steady.

“Scootaloo disappeared after you’d seen her last. Because of that, you’re blaming yourself for it. It's just a coincidence. She might have had some other reason for going in, like trying a new way to get her cutie mark.”

“But without her friends?” I countered, gesturing to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. “Why would she, if they’re a team?”

“I don’t know,” she said, “but that's no reason to blame yourself for something you might not even have caused. It wasn't your fault, Dave, I know it, so don't think like that.”

At first, I didn’t know what to say. All I could do was gaze into those sea-green eyes. That’s when it came to me. According to another of Twilight’s stories, those very same eyes had stared down a full-grown dragon when it had refused to leave, and had even gone so far as to attack her friends. She’d been extremely hesitant the entire time, due to a fear of the beast (and frankly, I wouldn’t have blamed her). Upon seeing the harm it was causing, however, she had put aside her fears for the moment and actually scolded it, as if she had been its own mother, reducing it to tears, no less! In those eyes, I saw who Fluttershy truly was: a protector, a mother-figure, defender of her loved ones, possessing the kindest, most tender heart of anypony.

With a sigh, I gripped her hoof gratefully in my hand.

“Thanks, Fluttershy. That’s not stopping me from going in to find her, though.”

“Of course it isn’t," said Fluttershy, "and I’m going with you.”

Cheerilee and the fillies started at this. Fluttershy had said this so frankly, and even with a bit of a smile on her face, that it almost made me smile myself at how bold she was being.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Very sure. For Scootaloo.”

“For Scootaloo,” I echoed, with a nod.

“We’ll go with ya, too!” said Apple Bloom.

“Absolutely not,” said Cheerilee, firmly. “The last thing we need is you two getting lost as well.”

“But Miss Cheerilee!” Sweetie Belle protested, “Scootaloo’s our friend! We can’t just abandon her!”

“Yeah!" said Apple Bloom. "What if it were one of us in there? She’d never stay back!”

“Girls,” said Fluttershy, gently, “please try to understand. I know it’s hard to have to sit back while a friend is in trouble, but that doesn’t mean you’ve deserted them. As long as they’re still in your thoughts and in your heart, you’ll never have fully abandoned them.”

“Besides,” I said, “Miss Cheerilee’s right. We can’t risk losing you to the forest, either. You haven’t left Scootaloo, not by a long shot, so don’t fret about that. We’ll be back with her before you know it. All right?”

The two fillies looked reluctant, but they gazed up at me and nodded.

“Thank you, Dave, Fluttershy,” said Cheerilee. “Be safe.”

“We’ll do our best, ma’am,” I said, before turning to my pegasus companion. “Lead the way, Fluttershy.”

“All right.”

Taking off into a slight hover, she led me down the main street, towards the outskirts. I turned back, and saw Cheerilee, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle still watching after us. Then, slowly, they disappeared over the rearward horizon.

***

According to Fluttershy, there was only one entrance into the Everfree Forest, and the entrance was its only exit as well, as it was the only one with a visible path. Lose the path, and there was very little chance of finding your way back out. I was reminded irresistibly of one of my more favorite books, The Hobbit, specifically the chapter where the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, and his thirteen dwarf companions were forced to venture into an ill-omened forest that, if you lost the path, would prove to be little better than your final resting place…

At all events, Fluttershy stood beside me as we looked into the path between the looming, dark trees. It wasn’t helped by the fact that the sky was rapidly blackening. The doozy of a storm that Pinkie had warned me about would be happening any moment. Not only that, but the forest had its own erratic weather patterns, as I’d been told before. This would make our excursion much more miserable, but for Scootaloo’s sake, we just had to bear it.

“You ready?” I asked Fluttershy.

“Yes,” was all she said in reply.

She was shivering on the spot, but her expression was resolutely determined. It made me feel pretty guilty about dragging her into this, but she’d come of her own free will, in the end. On top of that, even if I hadn’t volunteered to go in to find Scootaloo, who’s to say she wouldn’t have ventured in herself anyways? So, side by side, we stepped onto the path and into the trees.

Almost immediately, we were immersed in near-total darkness. It was so dark, I could just barely see my hand in front of my face. Fluttershy leaned close to my side, as if to assure that we didn’t get separated. Aside from the odd rumble of thunder, there were unsettling, ‘forest-y’ noises: leaves rustling, something scurrying along the ground or the branches, twigs snapping beneath us. Other than that, nothing. It made me feel like Ichabod Crane riding home on Halloween night, spooked out of his wits by the tale of the Headless Horseman. The only difference here was that there was no chance of there being such a phantom as the Horseman in a land of sentient equines. Granted, that was very little comfort, considering what I’d heard about the forest's denizens already.

“Scootaloo!” I called, putting my hands to the sides of my mouth to amplify the distance.

My voice echoed through the eerie silence of the forest, bringing no change in the eerie atmosphere.

“SCOOTALOO!”

Still nothing. The only response was a chorus of “loo”s returning to me.

“SCOOTALOO, WHERE ARE YOU??” I tried again.

This time there was another response: a loud, booming crack of thunder that rattled the trees and shook the ground. I heard Fluttershy give a squeal of fright, and I felt my heart jump into my throat. That was way too close for comfort…Next, a very rapid pitter-patter of rain, with stray drops falling through the dense mass of trees. At least it provided some protection from the storm.

“Well, I’ll give this place one thing,” I said, after everything had quieted down. “It has amazing acoustics.”

I chuckled, but Fluttershy didn’t laugh. She probably didn’t get what I’d meant.

"Let's just keep moving," I said.

She nodded, and we pressed on.

***

It felt like we had been walking for hours, my feet and her hooves crunching over dead leaves and twigs, calling for Scootaloo. My throat was aching from yelling, and the rain pattering against the leaves only made me thirstier. Once in a while, a deep rumble of thunder broke over the trees, and Fluttershy would whimper and nestle up close to me. The poor thing...

“I just hope Scootaloo found some kind of shelter. Otherwise, I dunno how she’d make it through however long she was in here.”

There was an especially loud crash of thunder, and I was temporarily blinded by the streak of lightning that came with it. I felt my heart jump in my chest, and Fluttershy gave another terrified squeal. We were taking a lot of chances being out here in this kind of weather.

“Listen, Fluttershy," I said, "I know you must be scared out of your wits right now, and I don’t blame you. I’m a bundle of nerves myself, but we have to say strong for Scootaloo. She has to be around here somewhere, and she must be more scared than us. So let's keep going, all right?”

I turned to look at her…and all the blood drained from my limbs.

She was gone!

“Fluttershy?? Where’d you go?!” I called, frantically, scrabbling around in the hopes of unearthing her hiding behind a bush or something.

But no, there was no trace of yellow or pink among the grim green and gray. My heart began to hammer like a machine set on overdrive.

“Fluttershy?? Fluttershy! FLUTTERSHY!!”

Not one response.

Not one indication that she was near.

I was alone.

Alone in the Everfree Forest.

***

Panic.

Sheer, unhindered, unbridled panic overtook me. I was stranded, isolated, as good as buried alive, under a sea of dark trees and looming dangers. I was like a blind man whose lost the leading guidance of his dog, like a rowboat set adrift in a raging sea. I’d lost Scootaloo, Fluttershy…and myself.

I must have utterly lost my senses in my terror, as every little forest sound, every snapping twig, every rustling leaf seemed horribly magnified in my ears. I stumbled around, twisting my head this way and that, as if conscious of some murderous beast stalking me right at my back. Consequently, I didn’t see where I was going, and smacked, face-first, into a tree in my way. I stumbled backward, slumping against another tree. There was a sharp pain in my forehead, and when I touched it, my fingers came back soaked in blood.

I let out a groan of misery. I must have been the most pathetic sight in the world: lost, sweaty with fright, bleeding from the forehead. I’d come to the conclusion, one that I’d supposed earlier on, that not everything in this world of Equestria was as sugar-sweet and innocent as one would have liked or hoped to believe. Everything before me seemed hopeless. I had no idea where Fluttershy was, and nopony else would think to look for me, unless word had gone round of Scootaloo’s disappearance. I was as good as dead…

“Someone…anyone…please…help me…”

My voice was very choked, and I was sure it wouldn’t have carried very far in my state. I was done for: I’d never see Pinkie or Twilight or Rarity or any of them ever again…nor my family…I would die here, in a strange land, with no chance of atoning for my disappearance. That was the worst of all…

My gloom was checked, however, by a rustling of bushes. I looked up instantly. Was that Fluttershy? Had she found me after all? Was it Scootaloo?

What came out of the bushes, however, was not Fluttershy, nor Scootaloo. It was something that chilled my inside to the very marrow.

It was a wolf. Or was it? It certainly looked like a wolf, but it was made of pieces of what appeared to be tree bark, with burning yellow eyes. It was like some horrific wood-carving, made with astonishing detail, down to the very fangs, come to life. Then, to add even more to my horror, a second appeared at its side. Both were crouched low, growling with feral savagery. The breath coming from their wooden jaws was putrid.

“Nice doggies…” I said, in an attempt to placate them, but in all honesty, when had that ploy ever worked in these situations?

The wolves’ leaf-browed eyes narrowed, and they bared their fangs.

“Please, stay back…”

I might as well have said nothing, for the good it did. They crouched lower, growling even more, ready to spring. There was nowhere for me to run. They had me cornered. All I could do was clasp my hands together, squeeze my eyes shut, and pray one last prayer to Heaven for mercy’s sake.

At the conclusion, I saw the smiling face of Pinkie swim into my thoughts.

Oh, Pinkie, my first friend in this strange land. How much grief would you have to endure, knowing that I wasn’t coming back? How much would it pain you for me to depart without repaying my immense gratitude for your kindness and friendship?

(I’m so sorry, Pinkie. Please forgive me…)

The next instant, with savage growls, claws and fangs bared, the wolves lunged, prepared to send me to my Maker…

Comments

[Blazewing]

I hope no one's put off by the length of this chapter. It was hard to come up with content to put into it.

[Something Eight]

A CLIFFHANGER?!? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

[DarkHaze]

He better fight back even if he's doomed

[501st Party Brigade]

Love it!

[Zecoro]

I noticed when dave said hes still gonna go in the forest to find scootaloo despite not being responsible,
Cherilee said she'd join dave but it changed to fluttershy. Might want to fix the name ;)

[Blazewing]

2652314
Oh, no, that was a spacing error. I forgot to bring the text after Fluttershy's line down, so it looked like Cheerilee said it. Sorry.

[WorldWalker128]

Well, at least it's not these guys he ran into:
encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSBdqVWO-_umTomdPSjqVGXwfBtB1lxVflIbsOPtKvOVP7AppgdEw

[DUBMAR3000]

[secretfan]

"Scootaloo, where are you?" Whether it was unintended or not, I have to say this: Scooby Doo reference!! Ironically, the names are quite similar. Both begin with s-c-o-o, both end in a double o. Haha! Bet no one else saw that, huh?
Random moustache!

[dzv13]

3400340
I totally agree with you. I saw that the second it happened.

[Fluffy-Boi]

2742461 No kidding pal.. I wouldn't want to meet them.

[sorenxoras]

All of a sudden a lvl 20 Grandmaster runs in to cast Bolganone at the timberwolves. She has the Sol, Luna, Astra, Galeforce, and Armsthrift skills.

[Vutava]

“SCOOTALOO, WHERE ARE YOU??” I tried again.

[Texus]

Maybe Fluttershy came off a bit to strong.

I really hope Dave learns a bit selfdefense, I would hate it if he would always need to hide behind the main six.

[Thatguywiththeface]

Honestly I wouldn't go into the ever free without some sort of weapon.

[Rodney]

🎼SCOOTALOOTALOOOOO,
WHERE ARE YOUUUUUU??.......

[KvAT]

This guy moved on too quickly.
Nothing short of a year in there would make my last flashes of life be the images of my parents.