I awake in the forest. Immediately, I know I must continue my journey. I stand and stretch, preparing my legs for the journey ahead. Glancing around, I notice the trees have a purple hue to them. This is not the forest I am accustomed to, nor is it any I recognize. I do not remember how I got here, but I know I need to get out. As I follow the beaten path, I begin to see luminous eyes peering from the depths of the forest. I quicken my pace. The eyes are increasing in magnitude, and the forest has no end in sight. The path, however, does not share this trait. I reach a dead end, massive trees engulfing me from all sides, their purple aura now thickening to a fog that laps over my hooves. But even through this mist, I see them. I can feel their unwavering stares boring into my soul. What was once silence was now a chorus of echoes, each with the same haunting message.
“Join us.”
“NETTLE!”
I bolted up from my blanket. Sunrise Aurora was mere inches from my face, a smug grin on hers. Leaping backwards in surprise, I tripped upon our saddlebags, stumbling further into a patch of snow. I wanted to say something, but decided against it. Instead I shook my head, letting the bits of snow fly from my mane. I turned my attention to Aster, who was examining our map so intently he didn’t seem to have even noticed my awakening. Throwing my saddlebag on, I trotted over to Aster.
“We are only a week from Yakyakistan, half that if we quicken our pace. There should be a facility there,” said Aster calmly. We had never seen a facility. Sunrise was still skeptical of their existence, but we had heard so much about them on our journey that I couldn’t dismiss the idea so easily. In all fairness, our sources of information were not always reliable; the angry shouts of a mutant recounting their apparent banishment from a facility, the fourth-hoof accounts of seeing one of the structures in the distance. Aster, of course, had always remained hopeful, if not always confident, that we would someday happen upon a facility. He continued speaking to me, his short violet mane billowing in the harsh, frosty wind, the streaks of gold more apparent in the light of dawn.
“Nettle, you have got to be the shyest damn mutant I’ve ever met. Why do you let her treat you like that?”
“I dunno,” I said nervously, glancing behind me to make certain Sunrise was out of earshot. She was packing her meager belongings several yards away. Turning back to Aster, I continued. “I mean, it’s how she is, isn’t it? I can’t stop her, so ignoring her seems like the next best thing.” A look of concern spread across Aster’s face.
“I’m just worried that you’re… internalizing things. And sooner or later, it’s all going to build up and be too much for even you to handle.”
I nodded to indicate my understanding. But the truth is, I didn’t understand. I wasn’t keeping things pent-up, was I? I didn’t have long to ponder this, because we were soon on our way once again. As Sunrise and I walked, with Aster flying overhead, my thoughts became hazy. I couldn’t focus on anything. Soon, the snow became thinner, and trees began to spring from the ground. The eyes were back, and this time I could see the silhouettes of bodies behind them. As the drew ever nearer, piercing through the magenta vapor, I felt fear welling up from the depths of my being. I looked to Aster for support, but he was nowhere to be found. Finally, the pony heading the mob, a unicorn, stopped. He was so close I could touch him. I began to examine him, backing away, when I froze. The unicorn was a silver-gray, a shaggy brown mane adorning his head. He looked exactly like me, except there was blood dripping from his lips, and a bone was protruding from his hind-right leg. His lips moved, revealing a mouth full of broken yellow teeth.
“Join us.”
But this time, I wasn’t jolted awake. I felt my body move forward, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I joined my other self, and the whole forest went black.
“Aster, come quick!” It was Sunrise. Blinking my eyelids, I noted genuine happiness in her eyes, possibly for the first time. Her voice was not as rough as I remembered. I saw Aster rushing towards me, a similar look of excitement on his face.
“Just in time!” he exclaimed. Seeing the look of confusion on my face, he started to explain. “You went into a coma. We’ve been carrying you this whole way. It took longer than I planned for, but we made it. Look.”
I sat up. We were on a mountain peak. At first, I couldn’t find what Aster was talking about, and then I saw it. A massive, metallic complex was sprawling below us. Sunrise began to comment,
“It was really Aster’s idea to take you with us. I was fine with leaving you there, but Aster just loves you mutant scum, doesn’t treat you like the worthless piece of sh-”
Sunrise was gasping for air. My horn had ignited, and my magic was engulfing her throat, raising her into the air. Before Aster could react, I threw her off of the peak, watching her limp body tumble down the craggy below. Thought I was worthless, did she? Who’s worthless now? Aster was backing away now, fear in his eyes.
“Don - don’t do this. Please.” Now I could see all of our conversations in a different light. He was never really worried for me. He was just afraid of what I might do if I could think clearly. And now I did. In fact, I had never experienced clarity like this before. I knew now what I should do. Make him pay. He was now airborne. Flight couldn’t help him now. I ignited my horn once again, when I saw him reach into his bag.
Thud
I looked down at my chest, and the arrow piercing it. Oddly, I did not feel pain from this. In fact, I didn’t feel anything at all. Blackness was shrouding the outside of my field of vision, but I could still see the tears streaming from his face as he flew away. The last thought that entered my mind as I lost consciousness was that he could not escape. I would find him, even in death, and I would end him.