Hem awoke.
It was night.
The skies were still shrouded in darkness, stars shone between the gaps of the billowing clouds.
He still remembered Fluttershy's last words before she left him the previous day;
"If you ever need anywhere to rest, you're welcome at my cottage, but I'll be back tomorrow."
He wanted to go and be welcomed into a household for the first time in what seemed like forever, although he did not desire to seem hasty nor pushy, he was always taught to live and be content with what he had.
He drifted to sleep but no sooner had he shut his eyes then they were open again, he felt completely rested and as if it were morning, yet the moon was in the crest of the sky and the inky blackness beckoned him to his resting place.
He decided to go for a midnight stroll, clearing his mind, maybe pick a few of the wild berries for tomorrow's breakfast so he didn't have to get up too early. He picked up his pale and started to take a leisurely walk over the dusty roads to Everfree.
Coming to where the road was less worn, the bare patches merely sprinkled the ground as the foliage and grass took over, having a lush and inviting color of green, the forest seemed to peaceful.
A rain started to lightly drop, puddles were slowly formed on the roads, turning the dry dirt to soft mud that crept around Hem's hooves as he traversed the ever-decaying path.
He found the berry bushed he usually picked from, and he picked a few, he noticed that a few had begun to wither, which was odd, since it was so early in the year. A red glint caught his eye and he looked upwards to see a great patch of ripe berries further in the crook of the woods. He didn't remember seeing these before but he was glad to take some and put them in his pale.
But when He turned around, facing the direction he started, the thicket was gone, and so was the path.
gone.
Hem had a shudder creep down him spine, this didn't make any sort of sense, he turned in circles until he was dizzy, searching for a sight of the path. None revealed itself and it seemed as if the forest was rapidly changing its form what it was a few seconds before.
He started to trot in the direction he thought was correct, but he did not find any familiar trees or markings. In fact he saw the forest somehow get darker, even the roof of leaves and the black sky couldn't have made it get quite so black.
Gone was the boredom and restfulness, in came a small panic which if let festering could consume one's mind.
A crow dropped dead in front of Hem, stopping his short gallop, he looked up, and saw a hole in the leaves, only the crescent moon shining through, yet giving no light for being able to see.
The crow looked as if it had been bitten by a pony's teeth, the gnashing must have shredded the feathers and crushed the ribs, broken fragments of bone impaling the organs. It's beak was pried open in an expression of fear.
Hem of course did not notice most of these things, he was trying to see through the muddying atmosphere that had made smaug of a swap that was a choking fume.
He kept running, stopping, then turning around, but no matter where he went, he could not re-trace his steps or find a lighter way, it kept getting darker.
He could no longer see where he was placing his hooves, they landed in damp mud and moss, slipping on wetted rocks and thumping an occasional tree root. He sis no slow down or stop, neither did his breathing or his quick eye movements, frantically searching for another ray of light to find refuge in.
clattering collapsing blanket of sticks and splinters flying.
All topped and was quiet.
Hem was falling.
He hoped he would land in a pool of water or a blanket of grass in those brief moments of silence and dread that he had whilst plummeting.
His hope was vain, as he heard a sharp crack in his front leg. His head smashed into a sharp rock, not having the mercy of killing him or knocking him unconscious, but keeping him alive to suffer the agonizing pain and the aftermath.
The pain wasn't sudden, there was a moment of numbness before it shot through his nerves.
It was immeasurable.
He needed to scream but instead a soft whisper came forth, the shrieking in his mind was not tamed though.
break
Hem lay at the bottom of a cliff, small bugs had already begun to gnaw at his open wounds.
He finally saw the end of the forest.
With a shocking of all his skin and the stinging electricity coursing through his skull, Hem stood up. He had 3 working legs, enough to carry him. He could barely hold the weight of his head anymore.
And in an instant; a shock wave of harmonious elements was sent through the sky.
Day had come.