//------------------------------//
// Prologue 
// Story: Deflated 
// by ambaharmony 
//------------------------------//

A cotton candy pink pony strolled through the Everfree Forest. She was cautious, but mostly unafraid, for she was reasonably close to the edge of the woods. Then she heard a twig snap not from under her hoof, but elsewhere, somewhere deep in the thick trees. A momentary jolt of panic shot through her, though she continued at the same pace. The snapping happened again, and again, each time getting closer to her. The pony quickened herself, soon breaking into a full gallop as she picked up on a mysterious heavy breathing that had not been there before. Everything around her blurred into a sea of swampy green as she bolted through the foliage. Whatever was chasing the petrified pony was beginning to close in. She let out a high-pitched screech as she snagged her front hoof on a loose root and tumbled into the dirt. A blinding pain seared through the pony's body and she cried out. It felt like razor-sharp claws were dragging down her back.

Off in the distance, two ponies that were trotting through the same forest heard howls of pain coming from nearby. The voice sounded familiar. The sisters shared a momentary glance before they took off in the direction the horrible sounds had came from. Within a few minutes they found the pink pony, bloodied and plastered in dirt, with tears gushing from her half-closed eyes.

Before losing consciousness, she just barely made out the figures of her rescuers, an orange pony and a smaller yellow one, as they screamed and panicked while trying to decide on what to do. Later, she remembered the world around her being blindingly white, and heard unfamiliar voices discussing stitches, scarring, and blood loss. From what she could pick up they could not be certain what had caused her injuries, but they inferred it was a forest creature, perhaps a manticore. One day, she thought she could make out the sweet voices of her best friends. She tried to open her eyes and managed to look around for a moment or two, yet everything was hazy around her.

For a while, her world was incredibly dark.