Prologue: In the Moon Light
Darkness fell over the Everfree forest. Luna had blessed the ponies with a beautiful clear night. The autumn wind was crisp and chilling, and the only other ponies for miles were those asleep in Canterlot, that is, except for the small hunting party marching down the small dirt path.
There were about twenty of them, many of them with in a young age. Anypony would think it was suicide to go after their monster, but not these brave stallions. They knew this thing must be slain immediately before anypony else was harmed.
The stallion leading the party was a grey earth pony with a black mane and a bow and arrow for a cutie mark. His name was Quick Shot, and was the oldest and most determined pony in the group. He had his bow kept in its sling, while the others around him were equipped with torches and pitchforks, prepared to follow any command.
Most ponies were like stones, unphased by passing noises or the smell of danger. However, one or two of them didn’t have it in them to march out there in the darkness. One pony in particular was a black unicorn with a blond mane, who trailed behind the others. This pony was very young, only barely a stallion, and his held torch was his only comfort. He was only a farmer, and was not equip with a soldier’s heart or strength. He only came to prove to his family back home that he was capable of being brave. He regrets that decision now…
Suddenly, he heard a bush move behind him, and he jumped with a start. He turned to the location of the sound and examined the scene, but later concluded that there was no life beyond that bush, and he scolded himself for imagining silly things like that.
“David!” He jerked his head toward the pony calling him. A green and white earth pony called again. “David! Where are you?” “I’m over here!” David responded. “I’m coming!”
He took a few steps forward, but suddenly froze. He could almost barely hear hoofsteps coming from the trees next to the path. He held his breath, and listened closely. The wind was quiet, and the woodland animals were fast asleep in their homes. Even the hunters were now far enough to be inaudible. If it weren’t for the complete silence, would have missed the faint crunch of the autumn leaves beneath the hooves of a pony-being within the deep forest. He knew he wasn’t imagining that.
“W-who’s there?” he called out into the darkness, his shaky voice making him sound like a frightened foal. He waved his torch to chase away the darkness. The crunching stopped, and a deafening silence filled David with unease.
The group was now completely out of sight. He couldn’t take the creepiness anymore. He ran toward the group as fast as he could, wanting desperately to escape the darkness. To his horror, the hoofsteps started again, louder and faster than before. His predator was swift, which David to push his running into overdrive. His heart beat was loud enough to hear, and his lungs were close to exploding. The sheer terror was the only thing keeping him from passing out.
Over the horizon, he thought he could see the dim lights of the torches ahead. He was almost there! Alas, his victory was short lived. His eyes were so focused on his friends ahead that he didn’t notice the large rock jutted upwards in the middle of the road, and tripped over it.
The trip had startled him enough for him to lose his magical grip on the torch, and he scrambled to get up and grab his only light source. Luckily, the torch was still lit, so he could still see around him. As he gathered himself, he realized that he was alone again. He looked about, but all was calm, as if he hadn’t just spent the past few minutes galloping for his dear life. He sighed a breath of relief and continued.
Despite the darkness and the narrow escape from death he had witnessed, David felt alive. In fact, the terror in his body had been overcome with pure adrenaline. He felt invincible! He had always hid and shied away from danger and fear, but now, he could not believe how fun it was!
“Is that all you’ve got!?!” He called into the oblivious night. He began to laugh as he walked back toward the group. His eyes showed valiance and victory, and he couldn’t wait to tell the other ponies how he had escaped death.
His laughter became very loud, probably loud enough for an animal to hear from quite a ways away. The hunting party down the road could hear it as well, and followed the sound to its origin.
In fact, the laughter was so loud, it masked the sound of heavy breathing coming from behind him.
David walked down the path, his torch lighting up the area before him, and his head held high. He was done taunting, so the beast took that opportunity to pounce.
David let out a surprised cry as a body pushed him down to the ground. In his surprise, he dropped the torch, which landed next to them before going out. It was absolutely dark, but David managed to make out his opponent's snow-white coat, dusky grey mane, and blood-red eyes. He recognized these characteristics immediately, for this was the beast they had been hunting down. How unfortunately the tables have turned…
This beast looked like a normal pony, for the most part. The biggest difference was the sharp fangs that protruded from the roof his blood-thirsty mouth. He turned from a valiant hero to a terrified foal the moment he felt the blood beast's breath against his face. He let out a scream, but it was cut short by a sharp pain in his neck. The pain only lasted a moment, for he could feel blood leaving his body and being replaced by a soothing liquid.
His terror ceased, for the soothing liquids caused his mind to become calm and at peace. He felt as if his body was falling asleep, and could not move anything, nor use his magic. He felt his hooves grow cold, but he didn't care. He was going to sleep now, and he hoped that he might have a lovely dream. He managed to form a smile before closing his eyes for the last time.