//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Entangled // by Jorofrarie //------------------------------// The forest slept as the corruption spread, a cancerous lump lodged in the center of the forest, poised and ready to spring. It had existed for longer than most ponies had ever known or speculated, and almost none knew of it. It had been forced to retreat, but they would never expect for it to return now. And so, under the cover of darkness, it crept silently, a thief in the night. The dirt shifted imperceptibly as something snuck past, bubbling up from the deepest reaches of the planet. And as the scourge of all life flowed up from the subterranean reaches of existence, rifling around beneath the surface, the rest of life lay still, completely unaware of the danger that was approaching. And all it would take was a foothold… Entangled Chapter 1 The slightest of breezes sighed through the grass, slightly bending each blade, water droplets sliding off the ends. The morning dew still hung heavy in the air, a hot curtain of mist so heavy that it clogged the lungs and clung to the fur. The humidity of the air was easily apparent, and every single animal could feel the moisture that drifted in lazy spirals around the tree trunks and through the vines. The quiet gurgling of a nearby brook could be heard from behind the trees, playing a beautiful accompaniment to the calls of the birds of paradise, their colourful feathers flared out, even in the early hours of the new day. Their territorial calls were the most amazing music, an a-capella of the sweetest voices in nature. Even the trees could be heard, swaying in the morning gusts sending shafts of light shooting through the canopy to disperse on the mist. Some of them were pondering, some were talking softly, all were nearly inaudible. The forest was completely at peace, not the slightest disturbance. Everything had its place, and everything knew its place. There was no outside influence to care for anything, but inside the ecosystem was a tightly knit community of flora and fauna, all woven together in the most delicate of dances, to the point where the slightest of touches could disturb everything and bring it all crashing down. I sat. There was no reason to do anything else at that time in the morning, in the hours before the day started, while everything held its breath, awaiting the forecast. The wet grass cooled my down, a delightful contrast to the hot, sticky air that clung to my coat. I let out a slight giggle that rocked my body as the green blades tickled me slowly. The mist was only just starting to disperse, being burned away as the sun began to pierce the roof of leaves above my head. I could already tell that it was going to be a hot day, even in the initial moments. It’s just one of those things that you learn to judge after a while. I let out a sigh of contentment, happily listening to my friends as they went about their daily routines, helping each other in their times of need. It was a carefree lifestyle, and it was the only one that I’d ever known. But I’d heard tales and rumors of the creatures that lay in other places. Stories of carnivores and omnivores and every other manner of being that would happily snap up an innocent forest dweller in the blink of an eye. And so I stayed here, in my own little paradise, at peace with the inhabitants. Not surprising considering that I was one. The sun glided a little higher in the sky, and a single beam of light glared blindingly into my eyes, even when I closed them. I let out a groan, knowing that my time of rest had come to an end. The grass shuffled and swished as I rolled over and lifted myself up gently, but not enough to completely emerge from the grass, still trying to get as much relaxation as possible before I started my day. A few of the smaller animals were already up, busy going about their daily routines, not that there was much to do, but it was still something. I giggled as one of the tiny squirrels tripped on his bushy tail, and the rest of his friends quickly scampered over to jostle around. We had our own makeshift community here, and I was just glad to be a part of it. Even the trees joined in on occasion, but that was very rare, they liked to keep to themselves most of the time, and when they did talk it would usually only be me they communicated with. The sun kept rising, and the rays kept shifting. I knew it was only a matter of time until one of them shone in my eye again, so I unsteadily rose to my hooves and lurched out of the taller grass. A low grumbling reminded me that I hadn’t eaten since the day before, so, groaning slightly and disorientated beyond belief, I staggered off in search of something to eat. This had been my habit for the last twenty years or so, my whole life, and I was used to it. A quiet morning, meet up with some of the forest critters, and generally relax in the sunlight and relish in the atmosphere. It had been unchanged the whole time, except for one occasion, many years ago. A strange looking animal had stumbled through here with a bandage on its wing. It had looked a lot like me, but I didn’t have wings, so it was obviously a different species. Everything else was the same though, and I almost approached it, but I was young and nervous. I’d only seen it for a day, and then it was gone, vanishing into the night. I’d stayed hidden the whole time, so I was safe at least. And then I was back to my normal life. I was interrupted from my thoughts as I almost stumbled into the stream, something that I’d done more than once in the past. The mist was only just starting to evaporate fully into the air, leaving nothing behind but a beautiful day. Something caught my attention, a small CAW! as something approached. A second later I was on my back as a large phoenix slammed into my side, completely tipping me over. And another second later I was in the water. Sopping wet and dripping, I clambered over the bank and pulled myself up, clinging to the roots of a few trees in an attempt to pull myself. Once I had emerged, I merely glared at the offending bird. He blushed, if that is possible when you’re always as red as that. “That was a little mean you know,” I grumbled under my breath, crossing my hooves. He cast his head down, "Awww, you know it was an accident, didn’t mean it... And not even you can stay angry forever." The Phoenix’s ‘voice’ was a light baritone, a constant joking tone present. He brushed his head against my muzzle and almost purred. He was right though. I’d found Axin when I was just a young pony, and he’d been left behind after breaking a wing. All I’d had to do was help out and we became fast friends. And I could never stay annoyed at him. “You never know, this might be the time,” I said mock-seriously, trying to put a glare into the statement, but I was a bit unprepared for my stomach to start rumbling again. We both burst out into laughter and Axin slapped me on the back with a wing, "Come one, let’s find you something to eat". It’s hard to say no to a bird that’s practically your height, so I trotting slowly after him as he flew along. The forest sounded oddly quiet, but I passed it off as just being a quiet morning, that kind of thing does happen sometimes. The other animals had emerged out of their hiding places, bleary eyed and bushy tailed and ready for another day. Axin and I tried to make small talk as we walked, or flew, and joked around. The sun was starting to break the tops of the trees and shine down into the clearing, finally starting the forest in motion. The two of us just kept going across the clearing, even after we’d picked some juicy fruit off some nearby trees. Enjoying each others’ company was a great pastime. It was unsuspecting, the initial event that is, absolutely nothing to say that it would cause that much disruption. Axin tried to tell a joke, failed miserably, and I laughed at it anyway. But as the laughter wore off I saw something. It was an apple tree, pure and simple. I'd seen many of these spread around in the forest, and I knew what they were like, and I knew that I like the fruit, so I walked over to it. The tree looked healthy, the leaves green, the bark brown. The only different thing was the roots. They were a dark black, but I didn’t pay any attention. And then I kicked it, which probably saved my life. I was expecting it to shake and wobble, and hopefully drop some of its precious payload. It didn’t do that. Instead the tree snapped like a twig, completely severing its connection to the rest of the roots. Jagged tears in the wood sent chips spraying everywhere as it collapsed with a crash that echoed throughout the area. I slowly walked over to the stump, shocked at the development. I’d never even been close to breaking a tree like that before. But what I saw terrified me. The inside of the stump was filled with a black ooze like substance that trickled out of the wound, spreading onto the ground around it. The wood that had touched it was blackening and rotting before my eyes. One of the apples that had dropped during the commotion had been crushed completely as it hit the ground, any strength vanishing as the inside molded and died in seconds. I started backing away from the stump, trying to get away from the black substance. The grass immediately surrounding the stump was dying instantly, withering into husks in an eyeblink. But that wasn’t where the real damage was happening. I could feel the roots beneath the surface crying out in pain as the black liquid slithered past, sucking them dry of their nutrients. The trees themselves were shouting in a cacophony of shrieks of pain and distress, pleading for help from something, anything! I almost reached out to wipe the ooze away from the stump in an attempt to clear it, but Axin slapped my hoof away with a wing and shook his head, "Watch..." And I did, but only because he was literally holding me back. Everything in me wanted to help in some way, to clean to trees and save them, but I stopped struggling when I realized what was happening. Anything that touched the liquid was dying, instantly and without warning. It wasn't a slow process, one moment the thing would be alive, the next it was dead. The grass around the stump had already crumbled to dust, and the area around it was soon to follow. It tore my heart out to admit it, but I knew that there was nothing that I could do, if I touched the stuff I'd die. To see something that simple, especially when it's that close to you, start killing everything... The forest screamed, and there was nothing anyone could do. I backed away from the source of the ooze, hoping that I could get away, all thoughts of making a stand fleeing in the face of the liquid death, Axin hovering beside me. I quickly made it back to the main clearing of my patch of the forest and froze, dumbstruck. Axin almost fell to the ground as he forgot to flap. To say that it had changed would be an understatement. The once happy families of woodland animals were in absolute disarray, spread about in panic. A small droplet of the ooze had been sprayed through the air in the initial explosion and hit a squirrel dead on, and it was the center of attention, the reason for the commotion. It now had a hole in its middle, a completely smooth hole, the edges sewn together, cut and cauterized in one smooth movement. The rest of the animals, only minutes earlier enjoying the serenity, were sprinting away, some darting out of the clearing and out into the forest proper, and some burrowing, or climbing, or flying in any direction. Even though they didn’t know what the stuff was, they sensed that something was dangerous, and that they stood no chance. Without thinking I ran further into the clearing to check on the rest of the animals, Axin flying alongside me again, his heavy wing beats interspersed by my ragged breathing. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath and took a glance around at my home. The black substance had spread quickly and evenly, flowing through the dips and curves of the clearing and the areas around. All of the trees that surrounded the source were dead or dying, slowly cracking until they fell completely into the ooze, never to be seen again. And everything was gone. All of the small animal life that had been so abundant only a few minutes ago was gone, scared away by the black death that trickled after them, unstoppable. The small nests and holes were almost torn apart, decimated in the rush to escape as quickly as possible, no holds barred. I could hear Axin take in a deep breath in shock as the reality hit him. A quick look confirmed my suspicion, his eyes were wide and his beak agape, while his wings were loose at his sides. He actually rubbed his eyes to check if it wasn’t his imagination. I almost did too. But I had to do something constructive, if I just stayed still then eventually the ooze would catch me and kill me, and that couldn’t happen. I hadn’t lived for that long just to die one day because some black liquid shot out of a tree stump and killed everything. But what could I do? I lowered my head as I realized what options I had, and none of them looked very good. There was no way to save this patch of the forest, the only patch I’d ever known. Already I could see the effects of the ooze, rotten corpses, both of flora and fauna. There was no way for me to stop the death. It would use anything; tree root, the lay of the land, anything as long as it would spread. So I did the only thing that I could think to do in the heat of the moment. I turned, grabbed Axin’s tail feather in my mouth, ignoring his squawks of protest, and I ran towards the edge of the clearing, past the trails that I'd trodden for years, and into the treeline. I ran away from my home, the only place that I’d ever known, the place where I’d met all of the family and friends that I had, the place that had kept me safe over all of those long years. And I abandoned it. As everything died, as it turned into a wasteland, as the liquid started its crusade, I ran.