It wasn't often that he woke up in the middle of the night, but he had fallen asleep as the sun was at its highest, and the moon now passed the middle point of the skies, preparing its natural course of moving on.
The skies, aside from the giant, white globe attached to it, was clearer than ever before. There wasn't even a single star in it. It was just outright blue without a hint of change.
He laid on his back, gazing up into it. It was both rare, and beautiful. He had many a restless night, but never had he seen the skies so empty. Maybe it was because he wasn't in Ponyville any longer, or even anywhere near it?
Whatever the reason, it made him remember setting out, and how happy he was that he had. There were so many things he had seen, that most ponies could only dream of, and would never do or see.
That thought alone motivated him to keep going, but just as he was about to set off, he noticed Toby sleeping just a few inches away, and decided it best not to wake him.
He was a little surprised when he saw the little colt no longer shaking, despite the cold of the night. Be it the boots he wore, or that he had been deep down in the snow, one way or another, he didn't seem to freeze at all any more. This adventure was a maturing experience for both of them.
But he couldn't sit idly by as time passed. The nightsky was beautiful, but it wasn't exactty something to be spending the night on. So, in an attempt to make time pass, he decided to explore the surroundings. There were no sounds past the animals of the night. There was even a howl in the distance. The moon was full after all.
It was too distant to be of threat, and it just made the feeling of wildlife that much more surreal.
They weren't directly in any forest, but the trees were in every direction, spread up with nice spacing between them, and a clear path that let light shine through with ease.
The sound of water. Cold, refreshing and clean water. He followed the sound, and after a few minutes of fast trotting, he saw a small river run through the forest, carving a mid-section for the otherwise 'loose forest', as he liked to call it. At least it gave a faint image of how it appeared.
The river was below ground level, and he had to find a small carved, sandy 'beach' that allowed him to make it all the way down without risking to fall in, or having to fly while taking a sip.
The sand was cold, and as he stepped on it, it was mashed in every direction, leaving imprints of him being there. Not that he cared. He didn't see any issues with it, and he simply made his way across the small sandy platform, and over to the water.
The first few drops of water running from the river and into his mouth and down his rather dry throat, having nothing to drink since he woke up, tasted like they were made in paradise. He eagerly filled his body with needed water, and as cold as refreshing it was, he enjoyed himself to his heart's content.
Finishing it off with a silent burp, he had finished waking up, and all his energy was back in his body. Save for his stomach rumbling, of course. They had plenty more resources to go through. They had even gotten some from the frosters, so he wasn't worried that a midnight snack would send them off hungry at the rise of the sun.
He tried making his way back to Toby, but the forest, no matter how easy it was to navigate through, didn't seem to let him. No matter how far he walked, he always seemed to bypass the same tree.
Hoping to get a better view from above, he flew into the air, soaring across the area, in hopes of finding a type of green that differed from the rest of the grass and trees, but all in vain. It was night, and Toby, even if he had been seen, was camouflaged. The bag was below a tree too, trying to find it from above was more a guessing game than anything.
He couldn't simply get lost in such an open forest though.
"Tehehe..."
Something was giggling at him, but the sound came from so many directions that he simply stood there with a confused look on his face, staring off in every direction.
A dark figure, half-way hidden behind a tree. It was his only clue, and he wasn't going to let it slip away. But as he tried to approach, the figure walked behind the tree, and as he had assumed, it was gone as he finally made his way over to the massive pole of wood, branches and leaves.
Again, it giggled. The only thing he was certain of, was that it was a female. How fully grown was beyond him, but he guessed that it wasn't very old, but rather young, even compared to Toby, who was closing to maturity's height point.
"Tehehe..."
The laughter was dangerously close. He froze right there. The giggle came from directly behind himself. Turn around or run? Run or turn around? He kept weighing the two things, and his brain had frozen like his body had. That was when the thing popped up before him.
It was levitating above him, and with its body right over his, the face of it peeked in front of his. It was transparent, but made out a filly, not much older than any of the cutie mark crusaders. He wanted to scream at first, but he managed to choke it down on a D'awww.
She was genuinely adorable, aside from the fact that she was both gray and transparent. The only thing that bore a white trait in the entirety of the face, was what shaped the eyeballs.
"Boo!" She whispered as she put both her hooves in either directions, trying to make a scary face.
This time, he genuinely d'awwed. She was just a young filly, trying to scare him.
As he turned around, and wanted to hug the thing, a pair of huge eyes, and giant teeth floated behind him, as the other half of the ghost-like mixed creature.
The first half he had encountered was more than likely just a decoy, because it vanished into thin air as soon as he had seen those giant, yellow eyes with a large, wide-open mouth, teeth crimson red, and eyes fierce enough to pierce the very soul of even the bravest. No sooner had he seen the face of this hideous beast that consisted of just a small blobb of a frame as a body, the teeth, mouth and eyes, than had he dashed off, disappearing even faster than any ghost could.
He could feel his heart through his chest as he flew off, away from that thing. Even with all the books he had read, he didn't have any memories of reading about... A trickster.
'A trickster: It has various shapes, and usually fools its prey by putting off distractions that leaves the victim unaware until it is far too late. If encountered, at all cost, do not try to fight it. It does not have any physical shape, but has the ability to devour the living. Can not be harmed by anything but magic.
Rating: Very deadly'
Now would be a good time to have Toby here, but he had his doubts about whether the unicorn would even be brave enough to give it a shot at stopping this thing.
He halted. Without seeing any traces of the haunting eyes, or grinding teeth, he leaned towards a tree to catch his breath. As his eyelids shut and reopened, a natural blink, as they opened and he saw the forest once more, the thing was right before him.
His heart jumped again, and he tried flying off. The process only repeated itself. Every time he blinked, it was there. There was no running away from it. It could even fly. It was ghost-like after all. Even in the skies he wasn't safe.
The trickster was relentless, and the sound of teeth grinding only unnerved him more. He was even afraid to blink, as every time he did, he had to see those giant, yellow eyes once more.
Then, all of a sudden, it was gone. He blinked multiple times to check, but it didn't reappear. He could even hear the soft, silent snores of his partner just a few hoovesteps away, behind the tree he was leaning towards.
Somepony had saved him, and he knew exactly who. He scouted the area for every inch it had, but to no avail.
Disappointed, he landed, but then, just as he did, he heard a familiar tone. One he had hardly heard before, if at all. His memory had decided not to work at its best after that last event, his brain was still recovering from those eyes.
He turned around. There she stood.
"You were looking for me?"
She questioned without emotions.
"Y-Yes... I wanted to thank you for... Riding us of... Well... That thing"
"Don't worry about it."
She still had no emotions in her tone. She had also begun to walk away at this point, but he halted her one last time, with a final question.
"Wait! What's your name?"
She stopped in her tracks for a second, but continued forth without answering it.
He tried asking again, but to no avail. This time she didn't stop, and he didn't want to chase after her either. Being desperate wouldn't solve anything.
He could only hope to encounter her again, and get her name the next time, but it was only hope, nothing more. He returned to Toby, and forced himself to sleep.
Staying awake might mean meeting another 'Trickster', and he wasn't prepared to have even more nightmares, knowing one awaited him when he finally fell asleep.
He knew they could only be out at night, and could only harm those awake. Fear was their way of striking, and that was why they often appeared frightening. Those that didn't, dispersed shortly after appearing.
He shut his eyes, and refused to open them until he could feel sun strike his eyes. He once more felt sleep approach, and he was not going to fight it, even in the slightest, but welcome it instead. Rather nightmares than a reality of tricksters.