//------------------------------//
// The Pursuer REWRITE 
// Story: With The Best Intentions 
// by Dancewithknives 
//------------------------------//


(Now, Old version = Suckball. New version=  OMG HONEY BBQ. The purpose of this exercise is to test if I have actually increased my writing skills. So, with a resounding Meh. Meh.)
Best Intentions
By:
Dancewithknives
Written 10/18/2012
Rewritten 3/4/2013
Originally Edited by: InsertAuthorHere  

The crisp air of autumn was only mirrored by the distinct crunch of the colorful leaves that resided on the floor of the forest. The color of the sky, a beautiful reddish orange, was matched by the color of the land below it, not a dull brown hidden by the green leaves, but instead the blend of orange, red, yellow, and crimson of the leaves that decided to leave their trees as well as the ones who wished to decide to hang on for just a bit longer before the winter.
And through the silence of the forest, two proud animals broke the tranquility, kicking up leaves as they walked across the color spotted floor, earth ponies. The larger of the two a dark caramel color with a blonde mane, while the other, a juvenile, was smaller than it should have been by age. Following the larger female, the adolescent’s color was of red amber. 
Adorning both ponies across the back was a garment of fake leather, several hooks and straps on each side. The stretchs and scraped marks did not hide their age, or their use. On the mare, three buckets of a heavy weighed down substance jigged to her side; a seventh bucket hung from her mouth. The colt beside her likewise carried five buckets in a similar fashion.
Even though the handle of a bucket was gripped inside of their mouth, smiles somehow occupied their lips. The type of satisfaction that one felt from nearing the end of a long day’s work, and as they neared a fence, a pony made anomaly in the distinctly natural Everfree forest, the feeling of completion and respite from work increased with every kick of the leaves.
As their buckets full of heavy thick fluids neared the fence, the pace of leaves being kicked up by their hooves increased, and with every stride, the sound of wind chimes against the perimeter of the fence became closer and closer. But as the large mare sped up for the home stretch, her tunnel vision consumed her attention. The prospect of home blinded her from the fact that the sound of her hooves began to move alone.
At the large gated door, the mare set her bucket down and used her nose to poke under the  handkerchief that resided below her chin and bit onto the end of the key, a lanyard keeping it in place, and then poked said shaped metal object into the padlock of the door, turning it and unlocking the door.
She released the key, and it fell back to its hiding spot, right before her bosom, and reached for her bucket again.
But something wasn’t right.
The colt that had followed her was no longer at her side, instead, he resided a several yards away, lying in the leaves like a pile of them while his fifth bucket resided by his head. Ignoring her own extra container, she made her way over to the little pony lowered herself to the ground, reaching out her hoof and stroking it down his side as she felt the his heaving chest around the saddle.
The little colt took his time, lowering himself so far to the ground that the buckets that hung from his side supported themselves on the ground, thus relieving the weight of the saddle from his back.
Several moments of controlled breathing later, the colt struggled to his hooves, reaching his mouth to the handle of the final bucket, but the mare before him took it in his stead and finally continued the rest of the way, picking up the last bucket by the gate before entering the perimeter.
Inside of this fenced off area of the Everfree forest, the random assortment of organized chaos was gone, instead, the center of the perimeter held a cabin, beside it, two smaller shack, one of small size with a smokestack emerging from the top while the final structure had a moon on the door. A metal fire pit held ashes from previous usage, hinting at the lack of carpeting of leaves in the area, and a small distance away from that, a picnic table sat by itself.
As the two entered the fence, the colt collapsed again, this time, harsh and full bodied coughing shaking through his body as he was reduced to all fours, causing disturbances in his buckets of thick, slow moving, liquid.
Using a hoof to cover his mouth, the colt struggled to his hooves, every cough shaking his body to the point that readjusting his balance was needed. But, as he rose higher and higher to a standing position, the load on his back somehow became lighter, until it was no longer there. He turned, and in the mouth of the older mare, was his saddle and the four buckets of what they had collected in the day.
She set the saddle down, safely not spilling the buckets and said, “Leaf, why don’t you go in and get take some of your medicine?”
The colt, nodding his head, answered, “Okay mom.” And bowed his head before heading in to the cabin.
The mare watched as the colt made his way towards the cabin and did not continue with her work until he had closed the door behind him. Leaving her seventh bucket behind, the earth pony used her mouth and hoisted the saddle up, carefully moving with ten buckets on her form, and headed towards the small house with a chimney out the top. She used her forehead to push the wooden door open and set the saddle in her mouth down, somehow not spilling a drop of their contents. She stepped further in and hoisted her own saddle on a table that took up most of the open space in the smokehouse.
Leaving the shack, she headed towards the last two buckets that she had abandoned earlier in the yard, hoping that in the few seconds that she had left them that they had not been contaminated by something that may have dropped from the surrounding trees, and luckily, they buckets of thick substance were still safe.
But, before picked the two metal containers up with her mouth, she realized something.
She left the gate open. 
The thing that separated the safety of her home from the dangers of the forest was wide open, allowing leaves and everything else to enter into the perimeter.
Quickly, she trotted to the side, and swung the well-oiled and thick door closed, placing the deadbolt and letting the board that barricaded the door fall into place, hitting flush and securely. A few tests of the portal solidified the fact that it was not going to move; which was fine by her.
Now, returning to the two remaining buckets, the dark caramel colored mare picked up both of the  buckets and returned to the second building.
Letting the door swing open, the sunlight lit the small structure, revealing the ten other buckets in two different locations, a large wood burning stove, several different frying pans, and an open cabinet full of glass jars.
Setting the two stragglers down,  she went over to the stove and pulled out a match, lit it, and threw it down into the dried out wood, kindling, and sticks that resided in the crucible, then opened the air vents to allow air to enter the insides of the device freely. Next, she used her mouth and gripped the handle of one of her frying pans and set it on the hot plate, the stove had not achieved it desired temperature, so it would take a few minutes before the black metal turned red. Finally, she reared, and opened the cover above the stove and pulled out a massive jar full of sparkly white sugar.
She waited, and when the bottom of the pan turned red, she tightened the choke and reduced the air to a certain level and brought over her first bucket.
Slowly, using her mouth and hooves at the same time, she poured the incredibly sticky and thick liquid, an avalanche of its dense substance, and let it spread out onto her pan. Next, she dipped in a measuring cup into the sugar, checked the levels, and let it join the previous stuff in the hot pan.
Beside the mare, lining the wall of the small shelter, were a hundred mason jars, every one of them been specially made for her. Designed on the face, a maple leaf, around said design the glass read, “Maple Syrup’s Everfree Delight: Voted best in Ponyville”



After a day of collecting sap from their tapped trees, deep within the forest and then smoking it from its sap into the most delectable syrup in the region, Maple Syrup and Maple Leaf found themselves lying on their couch inside of their home.  Between the two was a large plate of what remained of their dinner, Pizza; made from a frozen premade crust and a canned tomato sauce, mushrooms from town had been added to the sprinkle cheese topping before it sat in the oven until it was warmed to a crisp.
The couch that they had been resting on was old,  older than Leaf, but living so far out in seclusion meant that replacing big things like furniture was much easier said than done. But they did not mind, it did not take a brand now sofa to enjoy a pizza next to a warm fire after a long day’s work.
Leaf took the piece that he had been working on and consumed the last part of cheese, tomatos, and mushroom, leaving only the bready crust left. He set it down and slid it over to his mother, who took up his offer and bit the half consumed bread in half with one bite. “Leaf, you should eat as much as you can. How else are you going to grow up big and strong?”
The colt took a deep breath and yawned, leaning over on the couch and against his mother’s form. “But you know I don’t like crusts.”
Syrup rubbed her ten-year-old’s mane, her hoof feeling around his frail frame. “I know. How are you feeling?”
Leaf sat up and stretched, locking all four of his hooves straight out before he answered, “Good. When are we going to town again?”
“At the end of the week. Why?”
“I used the last of my medicine today.” 
Maple Syrup looked over at her son and pondered what to do. Going to town took a whole day. It didn’t cost her anything, but it did help to be able to go there and get her errands done as well as possibly sell some of her products-Which, since she went to the market so sparsely, would be sold out in only a few hours, being that everypony wanted to buy some more of her syrup or to sell back their empty jars to her- and grab more provisions. She still had some more chores to do, like set her buckets back in their positions, and even though she had worked all day in the smokehouse, she still had more sap to turn to syrup. She could go to town with what she had already, but it would only be a breakeven scenario… but Leaf was much more important.
“Okay, we’ll go in the morning… are you sure you don’t just want to see that filly?” she teased.
Maple Leaf shot back awake, the electricity shooting though his body and warming his cheeks to the same color as one of his mother’s frying pans when she cooking up syrup. “NO!” he stammered.
Maple Syrup took off her handkerchief and threw it on her son’s eyes. She then sang out, “I think you are-re!”
“No I’m not! Apple Bloom’s a year older than me, too!”
Maple Syrup gasped, “You even know her name! How romantic!”
“MOM!”
Maple Syrup laughed and then wrapped her hooves around Maple Leaf’s head, forcing him into her chest as she rubbed the back of his head. “I’m just teasing , Leaf.”
Maple Leaf used his hooves to push away from his mother, frowning as he looked up at her and said, “Teasing doesn’t make friends.”
“You’re right.” She said, forcing him close again and kissing the top of her forehead, “Good thing I’m your mother.” She whispered. Maple Leaf finally freed himself from his mother’s embrace. He crossed his hooves across his chest and looked away. Maple Syrup leaned over and touched him, “Leaf, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
Maple Leaf took in a deep breath and uncrossed his chest. He looked down and said, “It’s alright…” But, unbeknownst to her, he had a plan that was brewing behind his depressed features. Maple Leaf turned and looked at his mother, and then, with fright, yelped, “Mom, SPIDER!”
In the span of a millisecond, faster than any living organism could move, Maple Syrup’s green eyes shrunk to the size of peas. She, being an earth pony, achieved the impossible and attained flight for a few moments, kicking her legs into a dead sprint until she fell to the floor. Upon landing, she slammed her back and rolled on around shouting, “Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!” 
After trying to crush every portion of her anatomy with enough force to kill one of the creepy crawlies, she finally registered the sound of her son’s laughter. She sat up, and had a great frown across her face. “That’s not funny!”
Kicking his legs into the air and gripping his stomach as he failed to stop laughing, Maple Leaf retorted, “Yes it is!”
The two ponies returned to their couch and waited for the embers of their fire to die, and then they finished their ritual for ending the day. Check the wind chimes, lock the gate, close the windows, latch the shutters, latch the door, and last but not least, don’t go out after dark. As the fire gave off a faint glow to the main room of the cabin, the two ponies did just that, closing all the doors, and latching all the locks. Leaf performed the last task by climbing up the latter by the door and sealed the tiny spyhole that resided above and off to the side of the door on the A-Frame before he head off to bed.
Syrup remained in the main room, checking to make sure the fire was truly done for the night, that her oven was off, that every opening was secure, and most importantly that the door was secured. After watching the fire, feeling the oven, and giving the door and shutters a shove, she was satisfied over the cabin’s safety. Now, feeling that she could retire for the night, she followed in her son’s steps to the back of the cabin, turning right and opening the door to a small room with a large bed. Currently in said bed and warming it, was Maple Leaf, facing away from a small oil lamp that was put on its lowest setting.
Maple Syrup walked beside the lamp and sat down at a dresser. Atop of the wooden armoire was a cloth table runner of red and blue stripes. Atop that were various trinkets. Maple Syrup reached her hooves up and behind her neck, feeling the ears of her handkerchief, but as she was about to pull, she changed her mind and decided to keep the cloth necklace around her neck. The days were getting cold, and the tiny red folded square did a good job at keeping her neck warm as well as hide the key to her cabin.
Now, returning her focus to the dresser, she reached out and pulled out a simple brush, made especially for earth ponies, and used her left hoof to put the Velcro strap around her right. She then looked into a small mirror that hung from a hook before her and proceeded to straighten her mane out, cleaning a few stray hairs, organizing it, and making it all better.
Why she never did this in the morning was debatable. But, ever since a long time ago, she was alone in the woods, she had nopony in particular to impress, so it was alright if she rolled out of bed in the morning and went to work. But at the same time, it didn’t mean she didn’t like looking pretty, and for the few hours she wasn’t at a stove, in the trees, or hauling buckets of sap, she could take a minute to pretty her mane up.
When done, she set the brush down and detached it from her hoof. She set it where it belonged, beside a silver picture frame. Inside the frame, an old photograph resided, a stallion was beside his mare, who held her brand new foal. Maple Syrup felt the boundaries of the frame, a beautiful metalwork of silver maple leaves stemming out from the picture. She turned to the lantern and turned the choke at the base, strangling the flame, and then finally joined her son in bed. Maple Syrup pushed his head and back against his mother while she wrapped her legs around his midsection sheltered his body. Using her free hoof she grabbed the quilts that they used as sheets and pulled them tight around his exposed side. 
“Good night, Leaf.”
“Good night, Mom.”




Several hours later, Maple Syrup woke up. The two had not moved from when they shut their eyes earlier in the night, for surrounding them from all sides by about an inch were the cold heartless sheets of the mattress. As long as they remained together, they could warm each other up. But, such a relationship was not meant to be, for a natural urge had awoken Maple Syrup from sleep.
Once the cabin went into shutdown, it stayed that way. Unless there was a dire emergency, the doors and windows stayed locked. But what would happen if one needed to use the facility in the middle of the night? Well, as Maple Syrup slipped out of bed, trying to not wake Leaf, she silently exited the bedroom and walked straight ahead into the only other room of the cabin beside the main living room. She couldn’t go outside to use the outhouse, it was too unsafe, so instead, she pulled the sheet aside in the room and used the makeshift lavatory, a pot, for those who could not hold their urges until morning. It was no big deal, cleaning the pot out in the morning took no more than a few minutes, and was a good alternative to having an accident in bed.
She moved out of the spare room and back to the bedroom, slipping back into bed, but found Maple Leaf was awake beside her.  Frowning, she retook her position around his body and whispered, “Did I wake you?”
“yeah.” He yawned.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” And then slipped in closer than before. The two little ponies laid closer together, sharing precious body heat underneath the quilts in their quaint wooden cabin. It was a still night, the days were getting shorter, the temperature was constantly falling. As Maple Syrup cradled Maple Leaf’s head, the older of the two did something that she learned helped make the long nights pass, count the sounds that the wind chimes made.
The cold autumn air brushed past the things that scared predators away at night at all times, it helped fill stillness around them. And judging by the tiny stirring and the breaths being taken from the colt beside her, it was safe to assume that Maple Leaf was doing the same.
Somewhere around 45th count, the wind began to increase. It intensified and made the chimes gradually ring faster. The wind itself changed from a long breath being blown by the wooden structure to a low roar, coming closer until it was right on top of them, almost as if it was a tornado. 
So powerful was this airflow that the cabin began to shake. Inclement weather was nothing to these earth ponies, being that the ponyville weather patrol did no extend into the Everfree in the area around their cabin. They had survived blizzards, monsoons, lightning storms, and droughts, but they had not experienced anything like this. 
The angry rumble of the outside world shook the insides of their cabin, the windows made sounds as they vibrated against the shutters, a few wall hangings that hung on nails in the wooden walls vibrated until they fell off. Maple Syrup sat up and checked to make sure that she was not imagining that the bed was vibrating. Maple Leaf soon joined her as they two watched the proceedings from the center of their bed.
At the apex of it all, when the rumbling was so bad that Syrup was ready to jump on Maple Leaf to use her body as a shield in case the roof caved in, a loud *thud* was heard on the ground, crushing anything that was unfortunate enough to be in the space it now occupied.
And just as it came, it left, the roaring disappeared in a pyramid fashion similar to how it came, except the two ponies possessions were now littering the carpeting floor of their cabin. Maple Syrup slid her bottom across the cold sheets that covered the mattress and fell to the floor. “Stay here, Leaf.” She said as she walked out of the bedroom.
The living room was equally dark, her cooking utensils had fallen from their respective spots on the wall and in shelves and now were either on the floor or the counter. Other trinkets were discarded from their respected positions and now occupied the floor. Luckily though, there seemed to be no damage to the structure walls or roof of the cabin. She gently walked towards to door of her home and checked the deadbolt and other safety measures that she took to secure the opening were locked. They were. She then walked beside the door and climbed up the ladder beside the door, to the small spy hole in the crook of the roof. She unlatched the opening and looked out.
The fence was still up and the night was dark. A special magic torch that resided by the door to the cabin was lit, as it was designed to do every night, and only illuminated a tiny amount of the seeable area of the mare. 
Must be a tree…
She sealed the hole and climbed down the ladder and then walked back to the bed. When she returned to the room, Maple Leaf looked at his mother and asked, “What was that?”
“I don’t know, We’ll see what happened in the morning. I think a tree may have fallen over because of that strange wind.” Maple Syrup climbed back into bed and once again put her chest into her son’s back, making sure that he was exactly where she wanted him, and then waited. After an ordeal like that, it wasn’t hard to understand why the two little ponies had a hard time trying to fall asleep again, but there was something wrong with the forest around them.
It was too quiet.
The critters in the trees did not call out for each other, the whispering wind ceased, the chimes were not audible, and the leaves that still remained in the trees no longer rustled. But as the mare in the cabin listened, she did manage to hear something.
Hoofsteps, strong hoofsteps, were being made outside the cabin, kicking up a few leaves that had been blown down and into the property perimeter because of the wind.
It wasn’t the first time an animal had found its way inside of the fence, in the past, Maple Syrup had to chase raccoons out of the smokehouse after they spent all night eating her sap. They had bigger animals too, but they usually left by morning. The only thing that the small family could do right now was wait in their cabin, like they had done several times before. There was no way it could get in, so they should be safe.
But that did not ease the mind of Maple Syrup.  She had lived in the Everfree for long enough to know important information about a creature because of its tracks alone. Little creatures darted around on the ground, constantly running so that a bigger animal could not get the drop on them. 
The predators took small, delicate steps, not wanting to have something as petty as a crunching leaf give away their position when they were on the prowl. Every now an then, they would hear a battle cry as a hunter stunned its quarry so it could make a kill.
Big game animals slumped haphazardly through the woods, destroying anything in their path with their size and clumsiness.
But the big predators, the animals at the top of the food chain, they walked around wanting to be notorious. They had no respect for anything. They were the true alphas of the forest. They were looking for a fight.
The mother and child held each other beneath the quilts, praying for it to go away. They held their breath in an attempt to disappear.
Still as frozen corpses, holding their breath like they were underwater, and being so quiet that church mice would be jealous, the two ponies listened to the animal outside of their cabin, taking great steps that sunk into the grass around their cabin. As they hid, a blue light shined in the windows and penetrated the tiny pin sized cracks and holes in the sealant between the logs.
Maple Syrup looked at the wall, blocking out the majority of the light as it slipped in, and illuminated whatever it touched. This had never happened before, it was almost as if whatever was outside was smart enough the grab the blue torch and try to use it to peek into the windows. What in the world was outside of their cabin?
The two’s ears perked up and listened as whatever it was outside walked the perimeter, fading away and having the light scan the outsides.
Enough was enough, call it a mother’s intuition, but Maple Syrup’s nerves were making her sick. When the light was not trying to illuminate their sealed room, the mare tapped the colt and pulled him underneath the mattress, abandoning their quilts above. Once underneath, the colt gave in and began to shake as his mother held him close.
The distant sound of steps stopped, and a second later the deadbolt on the door clicked as it hit the guard as the door was given a push. Soon after, three loud knocks shook the wooden barrier, like something was trying to get in. after having no success, a hard strike was given against the door, shaking it, but not breaking its resolve.
From underneath the bed, Maple Syrup’s mind jumped, wild animals don’t knock on doors. Who was outside and what did they want at this hour. Ignoring good housekeeping, the mare kept hiding.
Once again, the forest around the cabin became incredibly quiet. Like air in a vacuum, the sound had been sucked away, leaving only the deepest and darkest silence. After a second that lasted a year, Maple Leaf moved his head and whispered, “maybe he went away….”
*CRASH!*
Before he could scream, Maple Syrup shoved her hoof into her son’s mouth to silence him. The reinforced boards that made their door skipped and clacked as they were ripped free from each other like they had been bucked in.
From the space underneath their bedroom door, the light from outside was present again as it shined in from the newly opened front door.
“WhatDoIDoWhatDoIDoWhatDoIDoWhatDoIDo?” Syrup thought, her eyes darting her mouse’s perspective under the bed as she looked for an idea beneath the mattress. But then, she noticed her dresser. Quietly, Syrup slipped from the bottom of the bed and went to the far side of her dresser, the same one she combed her mane every night, and put her head against the side. Slowly, she dug her hooves into the carpet and pushed, barricading the door to the bedroom with the large rectangular furniture. Once against the door, she hid again with Maple Leaf.
As they returned to trying to hide, they listened to the intruder, as he made heavy steps as he entered the home, with every stride, the foundation shook. The two little ponies shook like the leaves on the trees in the surrounding forests. 
But then, both of their ears perked up as they heard something, like a static scratching sound from an old record player with a worn disc was being played.
Now, from beneath the bed, their minds were made up from what was now in their cabin. It wasn’t a monster, but a pony. Maple Leaf’s mind ventured to robbers. Maple Syrup’s mind thought of something much more sinister. She was a mare, alone in the woods with her son, and chances were a stallion had just broken into their home. She didn’t want to think of the things he was going to do to her…
Or if he was going to make Leaf watch.
THUD
THUD
THUD
THUD
The pony outside slammed his hooves down with every step, like he wanted the cabin’s occupants to know that he was out there, looking for them, as the two earth ponies guessed he walked across the living room. Maple Syrup stuffed her hoof into her son’s mouth to silence him in case he made a sound.
Barely peeking her head out from her hiding place, Maple Syrup saw the strange blue light was shining through the top crack of the doorway, prompting her to hide again. The old hinges on the door creaked as they opened, but stopped as the door met the dresser.
Not waiting like he did for the front door, a strike was brought against the thinner door, breaking through the thin wood and freeing it from its nails. Several blows broke the door down and shattered the dresser until the only thing left was their clothes and what could only be used as firewood.
The two trembled, Maple Leaf bit into his mother’s limb in fear. Maple Syrup didn’t feel it for she was just as scared. But further confusing her as what had just broke into their room, another mystery was put towards the intruder.
As it moved, it made a strange sound, like a teapot releasing steam, a quick “Tsssss”.
It took a step in, revealing a large metal boot horseshoe as it stepped on some of the remains of the wood, cracking and snapping it after his full weight was applied. The strange blue light lit up the room like a siren as it shifted left to right, and then downward.
Frozen solid with fear, Maple Leaf and Maple Syrup watched as two claw like hands reached down and gripped the mattress and frame that they were hiding under, and then threw it up. 
The blue light blinded them like two deer in a headlight, but after a whole second of shock, Maple Syrup blinked, and looked away from the blinding blues. 
Before them was not a stallion. Instead, a large seven foot tall bipedal monster, clad head to toe in metal like a guard of Canterlot Castle, and held their mattress up and inspected them with its light that was coming from its head. They could not see it, but a grid was flashed over them, and then, after blinking a few times, two straight lines of light pointed to the center of their masses.
“RUN!”
The thing lunged, reaching out for Maple Leaf, but the little pony darted between his legs and out the door. Maple Syrup stood turned, and with all her might, bucked against its leg. Her back hooves made contact with the metal monster, but instead of knocking it down, she took the entire impact, vibrating like a tuning fork before the thing recovered from its missed grab and tried for her.
Not waiting for her senses to return completely, Maple Syrup shook through the thing’s legs and darted out the door. It tried to follow, but only hit its head and back against the walls and ceiling.
Darting out of the house, through the open door, Maple Syrup saw Leaf, lifting the wooden board that barred their gate, and helped him, sending it to the ground and slamming her full weight down on the lever to open it. The mother and son team shot out from what they thought was a safe haven and into the Everfree forest, Maple Leaf shouted, “What is that!”
“I don’t know. Just run!”
Maple Syrup turned her head just in time to see the outside wall break down, and the strange metal thing on the other side, rearing back from the kick that had just leveled hundreds of pounds of sealant and logs. The roof caved in, but its left claw/hand/ thing reached up and supported it for just enough time to not become trapped.
Maple Syrup looked forward just in time to dodge a tree that she was to collide with. When she turned her head to look back, the thing reached down and removed a package from its leg, and pointed it at her as she ran. The same strange blue lights extended out and right towards her.
She turned and ran forward, dodging moss covered trees , trying to get something between her and the thing as she caught up with Maple Leaf. As she dodged the great wild trees, several pops, like a pneumatic device or one of Maple Leaf’s pop gun toys, occurred. Seconds later, needles, like the type that inoculation were given with, flew through the air, hitting the unfortunate trees that happen to be in the way. Upon impact, bark flew off on impact and the needle hung in the trunk, an automatic presser pushed a small amount of blue fluid into the trees.
As fascinating and terrifying as the occurrence was, Maple Syrup made more of an effort to jump behind trees and escape rather than examining whatever the thing was shooting after them.



After what felt like an hour of straight running, the *POPs* of darts coming after them ceased, and the two terrified ponies finally slowed down and caught their breath. After a few seconds of heavy breathing, Maple Leaf looked at his mother and asked, “do you think we lost it?”
Maple Syrup looked back through the thick trees and foliage that blocked her view past a few yards, “I… I don’t know. But we have to keep moving, the Everfree isn’t safe at this time of night.”  Maple Syrup began to canter into a trot. Above them, the only light that helped guide them through the dark forest was the full moon. They had to keep moving. They thought that their home was safe and secure, never once had it fail them, but whatever was after them; it had completely destroyed it like it was nothing.
“Mom, can you slow down?”
Maple Syrup stopped and turned around, almost forgetting the colt that she was with, as he began to walk, but still took deep breaths to recover from their sprint. She slowed down and stopped again. “Okay, we can rest here for a few more seconds, but we need to keep moving.”
“Where are we going?”
“We’ll be safer if we get out of the forest, but we need to get back to town. Maybe if we get more ponies we will be able to scare it away.”
“Scare it? Mom, it kicked down our house!”
Maple Syrup turned to her son and began to lecture him, “Leaf, don-”
At that very second, a chilling sound pierced the air. One that was both far away and nearby, the unmistakable sound of a timberwolf singing his prayers of an easy hunt to the moon. Without any thought, both of the ponies forgot their fatigue and began running as fast as they could through the woods. The call’s purpose was to spook the timberwolves’ quarry, and it worked.
The earth ponies ran, the larger of the two keeping pace with its offspring, as they galloped together, around trees and rocks, over stumps and logs, in their peripheral vision, they could see movement as things ran from tree to tree, almost like they were herding them into a certain spot.
Maple Syrup lost her sense of direction in her fit of panic, and before she knew it, her luck ran out.
Before them was a steep rock cliff, a nice little corner that they could not climb or try to escape from. The two ground to a stop, and gave the face of the cliff edge one look before turning around…
Only to look at the dark figures walking out from the shadows of the trees. A pack of hunters, timberwolves, moving and circling their trapped prey.
Maple Syrup back up, reaching her hoof out and herding Maple Leaf behind her. The wooden canines matched her steps as she neared the stone. She swallowed and closed her eyes for a second, “Leaf, find a place to hide.” She felt the colt that she was protecting back up, then simply prepared for the end. It was not going to be quick, it was not going to be clean, and it was not going to be painless, but hopefully, she could give her son a chance to survive.
Behind her, Maple Leaf turned and found a crevice in the cliff and squeezed his small frame inside of it, backing up as far as he could go.
The timberwolves approached the handkerchief wearing mare and licked their wooden tongues against their splintered wooden teeth. Maple Syrup began to tremble, as the half dozen predators approached her, contemplating which parts of her they were going to eviscerate first.
She looked right into the green fire like eyes of the nearest wolf, trying to show her bravery in the face of their presence, but was too focused on the eyes. If she were to take in more of the beast, she would have noticed the fact that a red beam of light was beginning to trail on the wooden animal’s body.
But, she did not miss the sharp crack that pierced the air like whip, or that the very timberwolf that she was watching was blown wide open for no explainable reason at that time.
Maple looked up and turned around with wide eyed surprise, the metal thing that kicked down their house was on top of the cliff, holding a large rod like object in both of it top limbs, and caused two more sources of light, cracks, and immediately afterwards, two more explosions of splintered wood shot through the air.
Syrup turned back around to face the pack, looking for an opening to escape, but the wolves were done with the games. They would not let this new player steal their meal. So one of the bigger members of the pack pounced, heading straight towards the little earth mare. 
But, in midflight, a large metal boot brought it back to the ground, crushing its midsection. Syrup bounced backwards as the metal pursuer landed on the timberwolf with its left leg. It put its long weapon on its back, which magically folded down and into a much smaller rectangle, and instead reached for an equally sized parcel on the opposite side of its back.
The wolf whined, and scratched the leg that was crushing it, but stopped as the right leg of the giant was raised in the air and stomped down on its head, crushing it into a pulp.
The new weapon, once again being held in both claws/hands of the thing, extended until it was at full form, to which the thing pumped a mechanism on the metal that brought a shaft down the length of the rod, making a  *Chu Chink* sound.
Maple Syrup was, regrettably, stuck in a fit of awe and fear as she found herself just watching for what the thing would do next.
With the force of thunder, an incredible *BOOM!* filled the air, causing Maple’s ear to start to ring, it effect though, completely ripped a timberwolf to shreds. It made another soft mechanical *Chu Chink* and caused another *BOOM* to rip another target to pieces.
As tt destroyed the pack of wolves, Maple Syrup turned around and found Leaf. She shouted for him to come, for in the fighting between the incredible forces, an avenue to escape had been opened. The little colt squeezed out of hiding, and the two began to run…
Only to turn into the big metal giant again. It had just put its weapon on its back, and it was almost done folding. It coiled its fingers, and readied to lunge at the two little ponies, who at the same time got ready to jump away.
Except for the sound of steam being released as it made tiny movements, the two parties stood completely still, waiting to see which one would make the first move. The ponies were quick, they would probably be able to dodge around the behemoth, but at the same time, the thing had kicked down their entire log cabin and destroyed a pack of timberwolves without even try-
In a flash, the largest timberwolf, the Alpha of the back, who must have been watching from the sidelines, pounced on the gigantic titan of metal. The two struggled until they collided with the ground. 
Maple Syrup and Maple Leaf took the distraction as a blessing and darted past the two combatants, running as fast as their hooves could carry them as they once again dove into the dark forest in a panic.
So, with their urgent and frantic escape, the two ponies didn’t have the opportunity to watch the gigantic wooden wolf maul and scratch its teeth against the thing’s head and neck, or as he pulled out a gigantic knife, bigger than Maple Syrup’s largest cooking utensil. Nor did they watch as it stabbed said shining knife into the top of the wolf’s head, penetrating all the way through and out the bottom of its jaw. Nor did they witness the metal monster reach his metal fingers into the opening; and with a mighty pull and a great amount of steam being released in the action, rip the Alpha male of the timberwolf pack in half, clean down the center.



Just like the last time they ran off into the woods in a hurry, the two ponies were lost again. This area of the forest had a strange damp feeling to it, the leaves were soggy instead of crisp, the bark of the trees looked moldy. The canopy of leaves above blocked the light of the moon, so the only way for the two to see was their limited natural night vision.
They had not seen or heard anything in the last moments, and so they took a bit of a break. Maple Leaf sitting on his bottom while Maple Syrup kept standing, constantly turning in circles, keeping her eyes out for seven feet of metal.
It had saved them, there was no doubt about that, but still, it was after them as well, it just didn’t want to have something else take it’s quarry. A long time ago, Maple remembered reading a book, The Most Dangerous Game, about a pony who lured others onto his island and hunted them. She could not shake the feeling that she and her son had been dropped into the midst of that very novel, but instead of a crazy stallion, they were being hunted by…she didn’t even know what it was to begin with!
But, if the night followed the proceedings of the book, then if the thing captured them, then he would…skin them…
Maple Syrup would not allow that, her son was not going to end up as a trophy for some sick creature to admire. She had to get out her son out of the Everfree as fast as she could, and maybe, if she rallied an entire town, they could fight it off… Or maybe just give him a few more trophies for his wall…
“Mom…..Where are we?” asked the winded colt.
Maple Syrup had to admit their predicament. “I don’t know, I don’t know. We need to get moving soon before that thing finds us again.”
“Do you think we are just running in circles?”
Maple Syrup sighed, “I hope not. We need to just keep moving, if we find some sort of landmark, we can try to get to safet-”
Blue light lit up the darkness in the background. Both of the ponies immediately hit the deck and looked around. At that particular moment, it looked as if it was still searching for them, that it may have known they were close, like it followed their tracks, but did not have an exact position.
The mare looked around from ground level, and had an idea. 
Nearby form their position in the wet leaves, a hollowed out log resided on the floor from where it had died. A tap on the hoof and a point to the dead tree motivated Maple Leaf to slowly and silently crawl towards it; His mother followed soon after.
Just like before the thing interrupted their peaceful world in the Everfree, the two ponies laid under the shelter of a dark overhang, Maple Syrup covering her son and holding him close. The dark shadows of the trees stretched across the forest floor, leaving a striped black and blue pattern that moved with the source of the light. As they once again hid without making a sound, they could hear the unstoppable giant’s steps as he neared, sinking into the dirt, and crushing anything that was in its path. They listened, to its steps, as it kicked up leaves, became louder, and clearer, until finally, they knew it was right on top of them, for their could hear the telltale exhaust of its joints as it moved.
Tssss
Tssss
Tssss
Maple Syrup stuck her hoof into her son’s mouth again. At that moment, when she moved her hoof and slightly brought into view, she realized that the pursuer was not the only horror in the night.
Tssss
Tssss
Tssss
Sitting right on her hoof, and wondering what had just intruded on its home, was a large spider. It wasn’t uncommon for spiders to nest in the undesirable places of the forest, like around rocks, between leaves, and, as they recently found, in hollowed out tree logs.
Tssss
Tssss
Tssss
Maple Syrup closed her eyes and bit down on her own tongue. She could feel hundreds of little tappings and wandering across her entire body, covering her from head to hoof.
Tssss
Tssss
Tssss
It was getting closer. Syrup gave off a tiny whine as she squeezed her son even tighter.
Tssss
Tssss
Shaking, she opened her eyes again. Right in front of her were the boots of the thing, looking for the prey that was quite literally right under its very nose. The two tiny equines shook inside of their rotten hiding place and prayed to the alicorns that they would be safe.
The thing visibly shifted its weight and walked away, walking in the direction of their sight. Even though they were covered in moss and creepy crawlies, the two sighed, watching its back and the strange weapons it carried as it walked away, lighting up the trees in front of it with its blue lights.
About twenty feet away, it stopped, and using its left arm, played with its right. After a cascade of clicks, it pointed its fist at a tree, and shot fire at it! It then pointed its weapon into the air and shot the flames straight up. The spiders that covered the two equines darted away and retreated away from the flames, Leaf tried to jump, but his mother held him down. The monster pointed at more trees and set them on fire with a burst of its arm fire shooter. 
From inside the musty old log, the two ponies smelled the smoke of the fire, and their instincts began to kick in, telling them that they needed to run, and fast. The thing pointed its arm in the direction of the two, and readied for another blast. From their perspective, they could see a tiny pilot light like it was one of those fancy new fireplaces that burned gas instead of logs. As the thing readied for another bought of its natural panic inducing flames, Maple Leaf shrieked, the thought of burning alive was too much, and he broke away from his mother, darting out of hiding and into the woods. Syrup, moving as fast as she could, pulled herself out and tried to stop him, but was too late.
The thing raised its other arm, more of the sounds of a scratched record were produces as it aimed. Syrup charged, and threw her entire body into the metal thing’s side, taking its aim off course. She screamed, “Leave us alone!” As she proceeded to hit its side.
But, for what Syrup tried to do, all it amounted to was a backhand across her head and a swelled lip, sending her away and allowing the thing to aim again, and fire, producing something that looked like a spider’s web at the fleeing pony.
Seconds after he fired, the sound of something falling occurred, and then the cries of, “Mom! HELP!” followed by coughing.
“LEAF!” she called back as she staggered herself to stand, but was kicked back to the ground, and the pressed on and immobilized by the metal giant. It reached down, and pulled out its first weapon, the thing that shot out blue needles, and aimed it at the mare.
But before he could squeeze the trigger, before he could *Pop* out a dart into the mare, he was evicted from on top of her when a massive blue paw smacked him, sending him into a sizeable tree and causing it to fall over.
Maple Syrup looked up, and stared into the eyes of an Ursa Minor. The large celestial bear looked down at the tiny pony and ignored it, instead moving to its new playmate. It roared as the metal giant got back to its feet and pulled out a black bar from its waist. It hit a switch, and the metal pole extended three times from its normal size, but what was most strange was the electricity that began to light up the rod.
The earth mare got up, and shook her head. While she did that, she caught herself watching as a massive blue paw and a black electrical stick collided, and the stick won.   The Ursa shot its paw away and nursed it from the nasty shock, and then roared again.
Maple Syrup shook herself free from the fight, and turned, looking for her colt, and began running. Lying in a bed of leaves was Maple Leaf, hyperventilating as what looked like a web made of string bound him in place. 
Syrup bit the rope, and then chewed until it ripped. She did so again and again until the opening was big enough to reach her head into the trap and grabbed her son’s neck, hoisting him up and onto her back before she took off, running as fast as she could and leaving the sounds of the battle far behind.



Syrup ran as fast as she could for as long as she could, escaping the boggy area from earlier and instead entering a place where the soil was wetter, and the trees began to become less and less common. She slowed down, and a calm Leaf descended back to the ground, saving his mother the extra burden of carrying him.
There was a mist to the area, the sun was beginning to light the dark night in a tiny amount. But there was something strange about this place, she recognized it. The wet soil, the mist, the wet air, the sound of running water-
Running water, that’s it!
Maple Syrup hurried, and charged ahead, her son following, and as she expected, a river was nearby. But this was not just any river, no. This river led towards the town, but besides that, this was also the home to Maple Syrup’s number one customer.
The mare went out on a limb, and began to call out into the area of the river, “”Mr. Magnet, Mr. Magnet! Are you there?”
The water level began to rise, bubbles and other water creatures began to move aside due to the fright, but as she expected, a long stretchy violet body rose from the water, atop his head a perfectly sculpted orange mane was covered by a wet sleeping cap. The recently awoken leviathan stretched his arms and cracked his back before he smiled and said, “Helloooooooooooooo, Darling. Is it time to by some more of your sssssssssssssscrumptious ssssssssssssssyrup already?”
“Were sorry to wake you,” she stated, “But you gotta help us!”
“Oh? How may I be of ssssservice to you?”
“This thing is after us! It blew down are house and has been chasing us all night! Can you help us get to town?”
As the leviathan answered, the two equines perked their ears up as they heard a stomping through the woods, crushing and kicking leaves out of the way as whatever was coming blew everything in its way aside.
“It’s coming!” shouted Maple Leaf.
“Ah! Jump on little Ponies!” answered Steven Magnet as he angled himself down to the shores for the two to board onto his back. “Hold on tight!” he warned before beginning to swim down the river. Prompting the mother and son to bite onto a few stray locks of his mane.
But as he escaped, they heard the stomping becoming squishy, like it was pounding through the mud of the shoreline. And after that, they heard a muffled rumble, what they deduced was one of its weapons.  Immediately as it started, the violet creature they rode of shrieked with pain. Maple Syrup looked back and saw that a few of his scaled were being ripped off after the sound of something hitting them filled the air.
Maple Syrup watched the shoreline as the swimming creature swam with as much vigor as possible, and sure enough she saw it. Or at least she thought she saw it. There was no seven foot tall thing of metal standing on the shore, but she did see an orange flash of light, and with it ,she could sort of see an outline of a see-through thing as the explosion of color appeared in front of it.  As they became further and further away, it moved, still see-through, but she could see it as the water and mud that it trudged through bounced and stuck to its invisible form.



Much further down the river, the water level became too shallow for him, so Steven Magnet stopped by the side, and positioned himself to allow his passengers to disembark. “This is as far as I go, little ponies. Good luck!”
The two exited, and stood in the shallow water, waving goodbye and giving thanks amongst the cattails and lily pads of the dirty water before they marched to the shore. Finally, the sun was up, they were in a safer region of the Everfree, and that meant that civilization was finally becoming near, and with it, the end of the nightmare. The two trudged through the final pickets of trees, the ground and leaves around this corner of the forest even felt friendlier than when they were lost and trying to escape from monsters.
Finally, with only a few trees left, they could see in the distance, open land, and nearby, a cottage, the home of their closest living pony neighbor, a yellow pegasus named Fluttershy.
For the first time since the night before, the two were happy. They began to laugh, happiness being their motivation as they took their last steps in the dark Everfree and into the light of salvation.
Maple Syrup sighed and proclaimed, “It’s finally over.”
*Pop*
Maple Syrup jumped into the air as she felt her flank being pinched, and then what felt like a fluid being pumped into her bloodstream. When she landed, she tripped on her back right hoof, which wouldn’t obey her orders to run. She turned, and as she thought, a needle full of blue fluid was sticking out of her side. As she attempted to run, her other leg experienced the same drowsing effects.
Maple Leaf shrieked, and Maple Syrup turned her head to see behind her, and sure enough seven feet of metal holding a small weapon in its right hand was charging towards the two ponies. “RUN!” she called out, and attempted to crawl on her front hooves, but was futile. Maple Leaf looked in horror as the thing approached from behind her, and then began to cough, becoming so excited that he could not get enough air to support his frightened body. He collapsed to the forest floor.
The enormous bipedal metal giant slowed down as it passed past her and kneeled at the colt who was now on his side an coughing uncontrollably. “Leave him alone!” she cried out, “Take me instead!”
The thing gave no head. It reached down onto its belt and pulled out a large syringe. And then, a voice that was laced with static said, “Administering Corticosteroids.” Before he injected the needle into the colt’s neck.  Slowly, the coughing ceased, and instead the breathing slowed down. The big monster picked up the limp colt and threw him over his shoulder like a trophy.
Maple Syrup shouted, “Leave him alone! Take Me!”
The monster turned and looked at the tiny immobilized mare, her midsection was now numb. It stepped next to her, and then pulled out what looked like a ball. Using one hand, it held the strange shaped ball and pulled out a charging handle, causing it to glow before dropping it on the ground and walking away.
“NO!” she screamed, as a glowing shield enveloped around the center of the ball, about one yard in radius, and encircling Maple Syrup.
Like the night before, the strange tornado sound return, but this time, a large black carriage without wheels floated through the sky. It had wings, like a bird, but they did not flap. An intense fire was being shot downwards and pushing the flying machine up. A hatch opened, and the seven foot tall monster entered, his prize in tow, before closing the door behind it.
As her vision became worse and worse, everything became heavy. Maple Syrup felt tired, but still, she cried, pleaded, and begged for the thing to grant her son mercy, and to be taken in his place. But, before she lost her consciousness, she proclaimed her love to her son, and apologized.



Maple Syrup felt… good. She was warm, and lying on an incredibly soft blanket. There was still a chill in the air, she could feel it on her nose and legs, but it did not matter. She opened her eyes and smiled, she remembered this. She looked down, and sure enough, a warm, fuzzy, and also positively ugly plaid button shirt was on her frame, opened up around the bosom. But for the pony she was with, it didn’t matter how ugly the shirt was, for she was beautiful.
She stretched out, lying on a blanket atop of fallen leaves. Around them, trees with taps nailed into their frame dripped maple sap into the containers. It was a beautiful fall day, one that she had saved in her memory forever. Maybe for the fact that eleven months later, her son entered the world, or maybe it was because it was one of the last time she had spent with him.
Maple Syrup sat up, she heard the telltale sounds of something approaching, and to her amazement, past the wicker basket of food and wine, a stallion, with a strange coat, one that was shaggy, but strangely enough, had an arrangement of earthy colors, making him blend into the leaves that populated the fall air and ground.
“Ghillie?” she asked, “Ghillie Leaf?”
The leaf colored stallion did not answer, he kept running through the leaves until he was safely on the blanket. “It’s me, Syrup.” He said.
“Oh Celestia, Ghillie.” She breathed trying to sit up but could not get off her side. The two embraced, the combed and beautiful syrup cooking mare and ragged camouflage colored scout, and finally had a long kiss. “Oh, Ghillie Leaf, I’ve missed you.”
The stallion held his mare, but instead of confessing his love back, he looked her square in the eyes and asked, “Maple, Where’s our son?”
Her heart stopped beating beneath her ugly paid shirt, “It… It took him away from me.”
“He’s all alone now! You have to protect him!”
“It tried.” She whispered, closing her eyes and trying to hide her head. “I tried so hard. I did everything.”
“You’re strong, Syrup, stronger that you ever imagined. But Leaf’s all alone now.”
“I can’t.”
“yes you can. You just gotta get up!” Ghillie Leaf lifted Maple Syrup up and into his hooves, holding her as they had another kiss. 
Maple Syrup felt her hooves around her lover, and closed her eyes as she wept and breathed into his neck. When she opened them, she looked out into the surrounding forest. 
She could see it, moving between the trees! She shouted, “It’s coming!” She pushed away and repeated herself, but he did not respond. He lowered her back onto the blanket, even though she fought to get to her hooves. “I’ll always love you.” He whispered into her ear, “I’ll always love you.” 
The seven foot tall monstrosity walked from behind the nearest tree and straight towards the pair. It approached, breaking into their harmony as Syrup tried to get away, but couldn’t.  The thing reached down, towards them, and Ghillie Leaf died, turning into a pile of leaves that showered over Maple Syrup.
The scene faded, the blanket was gone, no basket of food and wine accompanied the mare, and none of the trees had taps that filled buckets of maple sap. But the thing was still there. It reached down, and pulled the needle out of Maple’s flank, causing a tremendous amount of pain. Now that it was gone, her vision became blurry, and her limbs woke up. She kicked, and knocked the leaves away from where they had landed from her. She saw the blurry dark figure walk away, into an even bigger dark thing, and then fly away. She kicked, got to her hooves even though she was not oriented yet.
But then, she heard something, something she feared she would never hear again. “MOM!” before an iron tight vise was brought around her neck. She held her balance against the thing that was attached to her, and finally let the warm blood wash the numb feeling away. When she was fully recuperated, she was looking into the big eyes of Maple Leaf.
“Oh thank Celestia, You’re safe!” she wrapped her hooves around him and never wanted to let him go. After an eternity, the two broke away from trying to choke each other and looked in each other’s eyes again. “What did it do to you?”
The colt looked around and tried to remember, but could not. “I…I don’t know, just remember passing out and then waking up when it let me go.”
Maple Syrup looked at her son’s face, and then looked down, his frame was now thicker, fuller, not as fragile looking like he used to be. “How do you feel?”
“I…I think there’s a thing on my neck that shoots stuff into it, because I can breathe easier now!”
The mare inspected her son’s neck, and jumped. A metal collar now was securely against it, tight against his skin. It had a tiny antenna and a blinking red light. Several other incredibly tiny monitors accompanied it.  Maple Syrup looked left and right, making sure they were alone, and then removed the handkerchief that she had around her neck, showing the key to her cabin that was now destroyed, and wrapped the red cloth around her son’s neck, hiding it from the world.
Maple Leaf felt the wrapping, and then asked, “What are we going to do now?”
Maple Syrup looked around, and then confessed, “Well, we can’t stay here. Let’s go find some place to sleep and then we’ll go to your grandmother’s house.” And so, the two walked out of the Everfree forest, and breathed in the dying daylight. It had been a nightmare to get out, but it was over now. The two made their way to the quaint little cottage, and the older mare knocked on the door.
A crashing sound was heard, and then a shuffling of a few objects, before the wooden door creaked open, allowing the owner to peek outside and greet her visitors. A bunny with its paws crossed across its chest rode on the top of her pink maned head. Maple Syrup took a breath, and then exhaled, “I don’t mean to intrude Fluttershy, but our cabin was attacked last…” she had to think for a moment, how long had she been knocked out? She rubbed the spot on her neck here her handkerchief usually was and then said, “night. And we’ve been running for hours trying to get to safety. Would you mind if we rest here the night?”
The timid yellow mare opened her door the whole way and answered, “Oh, no! Come  in, come in! you poor things.”
The mare and her son stepped inside of the small cottage, about the same size as their cabin. The host then said, “Please, make yourselves at home. I was just making soup; I’ll get some more bowls.”
Maple Syrup gave a great sigh of relief. For the first time in two days, she felt safe. And the fact that her son was beside her was even better. Speaking of which, the colt took up Fluttershy’s offer and made his way over to the couch beside a roaring fire and laid his head on the arm while lounging on the rest of it. 
Without saying any words, Maple Syrup approached him and took a little quilt that was bundled like a cylinder in a basket and unraveled it, using it as a sheet to tuck him into the couch. The colt took a long breath and relaxed, and then said, “I love you, mom.”
“I love you too, Dear.”
By the time the owner of the cottage returned with an extra two bowls of soup, Maple Leaf, and his now full body was fast asleep, Maple Syrup sitting right beside him. The pegasus bit her lower lip to keep back her emotions. She didn’t even care that she had been sitting on her couch before the two had knocked on her door.