Void walked down the worn and damp path, eyes darting back and forth. They swept the path, looking for anything that could harm her. She had only had to do this in the Everfree back hom-, back in Equestria. But, now it almost felt like second nature. Man, I really am different. I mean, this is what I....
Her thoughts were cut short by soft, hissing laughter. Void got into a defensive posture, ready to jump onto and grapple whatever came her way. While she had no weapon, she was still a decent fighter, easily beating up Applejack on many occasions. Whether these were playful wrestling matches, or like the last fight, angry grappling, it didn't matter. All that mattered was her skill.
Staying crouched, she tilted her head to see what it was. When she was nothing in front of her, she swiveled around to look behind her. Again, nothing. She was now beginning to lower her guard. She was being paranoid. It was likely just a rabbit, or a squirrel. Her jumping at every little sound would get her no where. After a few more long, tense seconds, she got up from her position and began to move along again.
A short while later, another hiss came her way, this time accompanied by a scraping noise. Ok, now she was sure she wasn't just hearing things. Now, she actively paid attention to the area around the road, keeping an eye out for anything and everything out of the ordinary. Then, she felt something tap her on the shoulder.
Despite the fact she was on guard, she jumped three feet in the air. She then turned around to see what it was, ready for anything.
It was a broken branch.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, or at least to her, she couldn't help but laugh. Not a loud, raucous laugh like she used to, but a soft, hoarse chuckle. She slowly removed her tension. Gods, she really was paranoid! She was scared out of her wits, by a f****** branch. Her! Man, she was loosing it. She needed some good old fashio....why does she feel so groggy?
That was her last thought before she felt woozy, and fell into unconscious.
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When she awoke, she was hanging upside down. Thick rope was tied around her hind legs, which was connected to something unknown. In addition, a burlap tag restrained her mouth, preventing her from talking or even grunting. The she twisted around best as she could, seeing what was going on. She was in a tree, or at least hung from one. The rope slowly turned her around, and She saw she was in a clearing. A large hole was near her, and She had a very bad feeling about that hole.
She found out why when a large form seemed to crawl out of it. At first, it looked like a pony; An earth pony stallion with dark lavender fur and a mane a still darker shade. That illusion was destroyed when she saw his eyes. They were slits, like Princess Lunas night guards. However, instead of the golden eyes of the Thestrals, these were a dark, almost blood red.
When he saw her eyes widen, narrowed. He slid further out, revealing the source of his eyes. At his waist, where his flank and hind legs would be, was a tail. A long, scaly, snake tail. The scales on top were the same color as his coat, his underscales those of his mane. He slid up to her, the end of his tail still in his hole. He was standing next to her, and hissed at her.
"Ssssso. That wassssssn't the lasssst of the banditsssss. One of you hung back in your cave. Well, I'm going to kill you, and I will enjoy it. Any lassssst wordssss?" He said, his smile revealing long, needle-like fangs. After he said this, he brought his mouth up to her ear. At first, Void thought that he would just bite her or something. Snakes did that, right? Instead, he hit off the gag with surprising ease.
Void sucked up a stiff breath then looked at the stallion. "Hey, man. I don't know what your talking about! I'm not a bandit! I don't even know what you are!"
"Liar! I ssssaw you come out of that cave. Why ssssshould I trusssst you? " he hissed in reply.
Void tried to think of a way she could convince him. Her first instinct would be to try and fight. But she had a feeling that wouldn't work out all that well. She was tied up, had no weapon, and the stallion was much bigger then her. So, she began to think. How could she prove she wasn't a bandit. The thing had apparently just snatched her off the side of the road, and hadn't seen her enter the cave. She wore nothing that could disprove his claim; in fact, she had on nothing. Her scars likely didn't help. She was armed, so she couldn't play the 'unarmed' card. The stallion hissed, "Give me ssssomething. Or I'll jussst kill you, for what you did!" Wait, what she did? Ok, this could help. The bandits did something to him, and so he likely killed them. And since he saw her leave the cave, he guessed he worked with them. But she needed more to get free of this situation. By now, she was getting desperate. Then, he hissed, "Timessss up."
He sprang up at her, his body coming fully out of the hole. He used his teeth to cut the rope, and Void fell to the ground. As shee tried to stand up, the stallion wrapped his tail around her, his torso resting on the tree,as he began to squeeze. Air was shot out of her lungs, and She was unable to get more. She choked, the air she had left in her unable to be recycled. Her vision began to flicker, passing between her normal view and cold blackness. Her thoughts turned from ways to resolve this, and then to ways to escape. She had little energy to spend, and only felt she had one option left. Her teeth.
She began to scan to length of the tail, looking for the thinnest part. Finding it, she bit down with all the strength she had left, which wasn't actually that much. Still, it had the desired effect; the stallion yelped in pain, and laxed his grip.
She used this opportunity to try and get free of him. She pulled herself from his coils, and tried to run. However, she forgot about the rope tied around her hind legs, and ended up falling flat on her face. Not deterred, she tried to crawl away, but the Snakepony had recovered, and slithered after her. Giving up on escape, she looked for a weapon. No knife, no log, not even a rock.
As he got closer, Void knew she had to delay him. So, she grabbed a hooful of dirt, and threw it at him. He hissed, trying to wipe the dust and soil from his eyes. She used this time to pry off the rope, and proceeded to make a run for it. The Stallion hissed, wiped the last of the dust from his eyes, and gave chase.