Despite being an outdoorsy kind of pony, Braeburn never really spent all that much time admiring the night sky. Yeah, he’d spent more than his fair share of nights out on the range, camping under the stars, but he was pretty sure he could count on one hoof the number of times he’d just sat down, looked up, and taken it all in. Now, lying on his back atop a blanket in the middle of Appleoosa’s expansive apple orchard, staring up into the heavens as the stars twinkled like diamonds and Luna’s moon cast its soothing glow over the Mild West landscape, he couldn’t for the life of him understand why not. He’d never felt so content.
Of course, that last part might’ve had something to do with the cute teal mare currently snuggled up against his side.
A dopey smile blossomed on the stallion’s face as he stole a glance at the young earth pony he’d met earlier that evening at Salt Lick Saloon. Her long auburn-red mane splayed across his shoulder, and one of her slender forelegs was draped across his barrel as she too took in the sights. As if on cue, she inhaled deeply and let out a dreamy sigh.
“You don’t see a sky like this in Fillydelphia. It’s so beautiful.”
“It sure is,” Braeburn agreed, his eyes never leaving her once.
She craned her neck to look at him with a knowing smirk. “Are we still talking about the stars?”
“Well sure we are!” Braeburn grinned right back. “Assumin’ of course that’s what folks back home call those pretty blue eyes of yours.”
A dainty giggle bubbled forth from the mare.
“The ponies in town were right,” she said as pushed herself up with one hoof so that she was straddling him with her forelegs, her mane tumbling forward to cover one side of her face as her visible eye fixed him with a half-lidded stare. “You are a charmer.”
Just as she leaned in closer, a thunderous, shrill roar blasted through air, so overpowering and so close that both ponies could feel the vibration in their bones. The mare leaped up with wide eyes as Braeburn rolled over and scrambled to his hooves with a fair sight less grace.
“W-what in Celestia’s name is that?”
“Don’t know!” Braeburn had to shout to be heard over the continuous howl as he glanced around. “Where’s it even comin’ from?!”
An explosion of earth and the sound of splintering wood from somewhere deep in the orchard to their right grabbed their attention, holding it hostage as the howling screech was replaced by a deep, low rumble.
A rumble that seemed to be getting closer.
“Run.”
“B-Braeburn, what is-”
“I don’t know! Just run!”
The mare didn’t need to be told again, turning together with Braeburn and galloping away into the orchard as the sound grew louder still. They ran for what felt like minutes, their breath becoming short and their legs burning for rest, but the rumbling never ceased. Braeburn felt his heart pounding against his ribs, seemingly trying to force its way out from his barrel with every hoofstep.
Still the sounds pursued them, and indeed seemed like they were closing the gap, for Braeburn could feel the very ground vibrating beneath his hooves as he spurred himself to gallop even faster.
“Braeburn!” the mare gasped from a few steps behind him, “slow down, I-I can’t...!”
“We’re almost out!” Braeburn shouted back. “Don’t you worry nothin’! Appleoosa’s just a little-”
He was cut off by a cry of surprise capped with a pained grunt. He dug in his hooves, sliding to a stop and turning to see that the mare had tripped over a tree root in the darkness, and was now lying more or less prostrate on the dusty ground some ten paces behind him. He started back for her immediately, but froze in his tracks.
“Braeburn,” the mare groaned, attempting to rise on unsteady legs, “what are-”
“Ssh!” Braeburn silenced her.
The mare looked up at him, confusion and hurt mingling in her eyes. “W-what? What is it?”
“Listen!” he whispered urgently.
The mare’s ears perked up, and it was only a moment before they once again fell flat, her eyes going wide along with them.
The orchard was unnaturally quiet. The sounds were gone.
“Braeburn, what’s going on?” she asked, her voice hushed and unsteady as her eyes flitted about. “Did… did it go away?”
“I don’t know, just… just stay calm, okay? Stay right where ya are,” Braeburn tried to reassure her, hoping that the dim light was enough to conceal how badly he himself was shaking. He didn’t fully understand it, but the seeping cold sensation deep in his gut was telling him that they were still very much in danger.
“I’m… I’m scared!” the mare pleaded. “Please, let’s just go, okay?”
“Hold on, hold on now!” Braeburn cautioned, but even as he spoke the mare took a step forward.
The ground seemed to erupt all around the mare, spraying dirt and rock into the air alongside her terrified scream.
Braeburn fell back, eyes focused before him in horror as the ground itself seemed to swell up and swallow the mare whole, her scream silenced as the mass vanished back into the earth as swiftly as it appeared. The rumbling subsided, the vibrations fading as the dust settled, leaving behind only a roughly circular hole in the ground.
Braeburn stood frozen, mouth agape, his gaze still transfixed on the spot where the mare had disappeared. After a long moment, he inched his way forward one hoofstep at a time. He swallowed hard, stretching his neck out to peer over the lip and down into the gaping maw of earth, where he beheld nothing but darkness.
His head and ears snapped up as the shrill roar from earlier sounded again, echoing through the trees. It was far more distant than before, but that did nothing to lessen the panic and chilling fear rising in Braeburn’s chest.
He turned and ran for Appleoosa as fast as his hooves could carry him. He ran as if the fate of Equestria itself depended on it… because for all he knew and all he’d just seen, it did.