//------------------------------// // The Woods // Story: To the End of the Moon // by dashie76 //------------------------------// Wind glanced around into the depths of the forest nervously. Kiesh confidently strode forwards as Wind followed his hoofsteps with slight hesitation. As they continued on their way, the cobblestone road slowly broke down until it was nothing more than a small gap in the underbrush. Wind noticed that most of said underbrush was comprised of thick tendrils of black thorns. They were unnaturally long and sharp, some stretching across the path and forcing Wind to stumble over them. The trees were all a muddy black color, with branches that curled around like jagged claws overhead. Wind felt that the forest was leeching out the last of his confidence - which he didn't have much of to begin with. Wind gulped, trotting slightly faster in order to catch up to Kiesh. He prodded the traveler's cloak in a place that he hoped was the shoulder. Upon receiving no reply, and feeling his heart beat yet faster in his throat, he made a motion to tap again but instead lost his balance when Kiesh whipped around suddenly to face him. "Ah!" Wind cried, falling onto the ground. "Don't do that!" "Why did you hit me?" Wind blinked. "Why did I - I was tapping your shoulder." Kiesh's frown, the only visible part of his face, somehow deepened. "No. You hit me." "I was trying to get your attention, I wasn't hitting you," Wind said as he got to his hooves. "And it doesn't matter anyways. It couldn't have possible hurt you." "It's a matter of principle," Kiesh replied, scoffing. He turned and continued down the path. "Don't touch me like that again." Wind hurried forwards to catch up once again until the two ponies were walking side by side. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry." He trotted in silence for a few moments. "Um...do you know when we'll get there?" "Neither of us have any way of knowing where 'there' is. We know only that the mask resides within this forest - and even that is an assumption. We can only continue on until we find a unique area in which to search." Wind sighed. I hope we get there soon, buddy. I'll be glad to get out of this weird place. Why? Are you scared of it? Wind's gaze searched the area once more, picking up little in the thick darkness. He could hear the faint sounds of large creatures lumbering amidst the trees. Something roared in the distance. It's just...unsettling, is all. Eh, I don't mind it. You aren't fazed by much, are you? Nope. I've learned that laughing in the face of fear is the quickest way to overcome it. Huh. That's not a bad philosophy to live by. The three ponies walked along in silence for a few more minutes. The sounds of the forest continued on around them as the already dim sunlight steadily waned in its brightness. Despite this, Wind thoughtfully began to hum a tune to himself. In a few moments, he had even gained a slight bounce in his step. He smiled, silently thanking the voice in his head for its advice. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Kiesh staring at him. "Hm? What is it?" "What are you doing?" "Just trying to stay cheerful." Uh...Wind? Kiesh turned to face back ahead into the forest. "Our situation is anything but cheerful." "Heh...just trying to keep up my confidence..." Hello? What is it? I...I know this place... ...huh? What do you mean? I-I can't explain it...but...Wind, turn left. What are talking abo - Wind, turn left now! Suddenly, Wind couldn't feel his hooves anymore. Trying to regain his balance, he felt his body beginning to fall forwards and reflexively closed his eyes.. His body was pulled to the left and dragged along by an unseen force. Opening his eyes and expecting the worst, he was surprised to see no monsters, beasts, or creatures pulling him along. Blinking, he looked down to see that he was simply...running. W-what? Hero, are you doing this?! Wind felt himself panting erratically as his body tore its way through the forest's underbrush. "Doing what?" Wind felt a deep sense of dread rising within him. H-hero? Are you there? "Yes, I'm here! What's going on? Why does my body feel so - " Wind's body's eyes widened. Its throat gulped. "Why is my voice so d-deep?" The pair took a few moments of silence to contemplate their situation before they made sense of it. That situation quickly worsened with the realization. How did you do that?! "I-I don't know! I just wanted us to g-go left and...w-we went left!" But, why?! It's my body! I decide what to do with it! "I don't know, okay?! Do I look like I'm a scientist?!" SCIENCE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS! Wind felt a jerk in his gut as his body jumped over a fallen log. Upon landing the jump with a soft thud, the pair was assaulted by a sudden, bright light. Disoriented for a moment, the Hero shielded her face with a hoof, stumbling across the grass. Quickly seeing this as a chance, Wind mustered up all of his willpower and shouted at the top of his lungs: Stop moving! Wind's hooves abruptly stopped, swinging his face directly into the ground. He remained there for a few moments, exhausted and breathing heavily. He heard a thump beside him and jumped, rolling onto his back. Kiesh stood over him, frowning. "Well?" "Well...what...?" Wind panted. Kiesh pulled Wind to his hooves, replying, "Why did you break off, screaming in agony?" "I...It wasn't agony, it was..." Wind paused, gasping for air. "It d-doesn't matter. I'm fine now, but...just give me a minute." Kiesh nodded. "Try not to break down like that again. It is detrimental to our goal." Wind nodded, sitting down. His gaze wandered about the clearing, noticing its apparent lack of life. The forested area, however unsettling, was undoubtably filled with plants and animals, but this clearing was like a wasteland. The ground was hard, packed dirt with no grass or greenery in sight. The land was level, offering nothing interesting or indigenous to witness. Despite this, Wind felt a certain kind of significance to the area. Thinking little on this, he confronted the Hero. You. Uh...me? Yes, you. What in Equestria did you just do? I told you, I don't know. I just wanted you to come to this place and it all just sort of...happened. Well, the fact that it happened bothers me. I thought that you couldn't attain a physical form in our world. That's why you need me, right? I can't attain a physical form on my own. But we're sharing the same body, so I suppose it makes sense that we'd both be able to control it. I hadn't thought of that...even still, it's my body. You can't do that again unless I give you permission, got it? Alright, fair enough. That doesn't matter right now, anyways. We've made it to the castle. Wind frowned, scanning the clearing a second time. Uh...there's nothing here. Yeah, I know, but...it's here. I know it's here. Well, I can't see it anywh - AGH! Wind's statement was cut off as he felt himself being forcibly thrust onto the ground. He let out a muffled cough as an unseeable force shoved the dry, decayed dirt of the clearing over his face. He struggled to breathe for a few moments, pushing up against whatever creature stood above him. "Stop moving already. I'm letting you up, so don't say anything." Wind growled inwardly and felt Kiesh retract his hoof. Wind gulped in a large quantity of air immediately. However, upon attempting to forcibly spit out the dirt, he felt Kiesh force his head down again. "I said to stay silent. If you make any more noise, I'll keep you down indefinitely. Are we clear?" Wind managed to nod his head slightly, after which Kiesh allowed him to rise again. Wind warily used his hooves to rub the dirt off of his tongue, careful to stay silent. Once he had finished, he glanced up towards the center of the clearing...and froze. Squatting on the ground no less than fifty feet feet away from him was a monstrous spider - easily three times as tall as Wind himself. Its body consisted of a round ball of chitin and a single, yellow-red eye as big as a grown pony's head. That eye appeared to be slightly clouded by a thin veil, its colors dulled. Its legs, although spindly by comparison to the rest of its body, were all as thick as Wind's own legs. The spider seemed to be searching for something, and its eight legs made next to no noise as they swivled the body around in slow circles, its one eye darting about rapidly. Wind became intensely aware of the clearing's lack of underbrush. "To my knowledge, it hasn't detected us yet," Kiesh droned. "Our best course of action is to keep ourselves as undetectable as possible." Wind gulped and responded by pressing himself into the ground with all of his might. What the heck?! Hero? Y-you're seeing this, right? Oh, I'm seeing it, alright. It shouldn't be here. The creature abruptly stopped turning as it was facing away from Wind, who gritted his teeth. And why is that...? The spider's legs bent slightly and huddled together around the body, as though they were tensing up. Because I watched it die thousands of years ago. Thousands of years ago...and in my hooves. A period of silence stretched across the clearing for a few moments. The creature stood absolutely still as Wind looked on with bated breath. Kiesh frowned. "I think it's seen - " KREEEEEE!! The spider charged towards Wind and Kiesh, its legs carrying it in their direction before its head had fully turned around to glare at them. Its clouded, yellow-red eye was filled with a fiery hatred. Thinking quickly, Wind dived sideways as the oversized arachnid slammed its front legs into the dirt. Not stopping to contemplate the close call, Wind dashed away in a random direction. I don't get it! Why is it still alive? And after all this time, too! THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW!! KREEEEEE!! Wind risked a glance over his shoulder. Eyes widening, he slid to a halt. The creature had turned its attention away from him and onto Kiesh, who stood before it with a resolutely defiant posture. Not thinking, he dashed towards Kiesh's direction, knowing that he would be too late. "RUN! GET OUT OF THERE!" To Wind's horror, Kiesh made no movement to escape. The spider reared back, stretching its body to full height, before sending a powerful leg hurtling towards the cloaked traveler. Wind's breath caught in his throat before Kiesh sidestepped the blow, moving impossibly fast. The creature growled and sent several more swipes in his direction. Kiesh casually shuffled across the ground to avoid the blows, at one point even walking backwards in a complete circle to dodge them by mere inches. Kiesh nimbly leaped backwards to evade the creature's next attack, gaining a good amount of distance from it. Wind saw Kiesh raise up and flick his right foreleg. When his forelegs came down again to touch the ground, the sleeve of his cloak had been pushed up by a metal apparatuse, although Wind was still too far away to see it clearly. Kiesh made a dash towards the spider, which cocked back a right leg and thrust it in his direction. Jumping above the leg, Kiesh lightly dropped down upon it and rushed across it towards the creature's body. Another leg swung over the first one, trying to knock the pony off. Kiesh fell to the left, the second leg swinging overhead, and twisted his body in a quick, midair circle. Wind reached his side just as he landed on the ground with his right foreleg stuck out to the side, a blade covered in a sickly green substance protruding from his cloak, parallel to his foreleg. The leg that he had been running on a few seconds before crashed down behind him, cleanly sliced off of the spider's body. KREEEEEE!! The spider stumbled, and in the brief moment when it tried to regain its balance, Kiesh spun around to face it. After plunging his blade into the dirt to rid it of the creature's blood, the blade quietly slipped back into Kiesh's cloak. He raised his left leg, aiming it at the creature, and twitched it slightly. A wooden apparatus shot out from beneath his cloak that quickly expanded to form a crossbow. When the spider finally turned around to face the pair of ponies, Kiesh shot a powerfully fast arrow into the monster's eye. Wind gasped at the brutality of Kiesh's attack...and then gasped again when he saw the arrow rocket straight through the creature, ripping out of its back. The pair of ponies stayed absolutely still for several moments, staring up at the deformed beast. It shuddered once before finally crashing to the ground, its torn eye now devoid of all color. As the blood of the monster pooled around the ponies' hooves, silence once again fell over the clearing.