//------------------------------// // 6: I Don't Want To Die // Story: Letters // by joe mother //------------------------------// LETTERS - CHAPTER SIX: I DON'T WANT TO DIE The forest hummed around her with a hidden energy. She stumbled blindly over the roots in the dark, not even trying to feel her way around. The blackness was all-encompassing, and dampened all of her senses. The air was pierced with a howl as a timberwolf began a hunt. ‘Are they hunting me?’ she thought, pausing in fear. In the distance, rustling bushes signaled that the animal was hunting elsewhere. Sighing in relief, she kept going, trying to ignore the chills running down her spine. She wanted nothing more than to find the exit, to find another pony who did not want her to hurt. ‘But what if the demon takes them over too?’ she thought as a branch scratched her muzzle, and she felt blood run down her face. ‘But what would it have to gain?’ She tripped over a root, and she rolled down a hill, landing at the bottom, scratches pulsing slightly in her skin. Her fur was matted red as she got up again, wincing at the pain in her foreleg. There was silence. She exhaled, breaking the nothingness. The temperature was dropping swiftly as the night fell, and soon she had to run to keep the cold from overwhelming her. The night was filled with the sound of her teeth chattering, echoing in the wooden alcoves and shadowed clearings. ‘Is there a way out?’ There was another timberwolf howl, closer than before. Branches snapped and creaked as the beast moved in the dark. She stopped and heard the footsteps of the creature, snapping its way towards her. ‘I don’t want to die.’ A growl pierced her thoughts as the animal pounced. She couldn’t see it, but she jumped to her left, hoping to escape the claws. A sharp blade cut into her side and across her face. Blood splattered into her eye and out onto the ground. She let out a cry of pain and fell down. The animal turned and stalked forward. It sniffed along the blood slowly, in a sadistic way, drawing out the moment. ‘I don’t want to die.’ And the timberwolf bit down on her hindleg, crunching through the bone and ripping flesh. Blood flowed in a river from the wound, and it flowed faster as the beast pulled on it, dragging her across the ground. Suddenly, it let go and she heard a sizzling as the timberwolf howled. There was a crash as something heavy fell onto the forest floor and bounced once before rolling slightly. She heard a creaking noise and a bubbling reminiscent of acid. She couldn’t think through the haze of pain, and passed out to the noise, hearing the shaking of leaves falling lightly on the forest floor. - - - - - - Pinkie opened her eyes to see the tent, a magic fire burning in the middle, giving heat to the space. Her friends were sitting around it, all staring into its depths, eyes full of despair. The grass underneath her pricked her skin, and she rose to alleviate the itch. They turned and looked at her with concern. She looked down and examined her side. It was the same normal color, unharmed, no wounds across her. The silence was a blanket over the space, no sounds aside from the breathing of the six. Pinkie got up and walked into the circle. She looked into the fire and felt her friends eyes turn to her. “What happened to you?” Twilight asked. Pinkie continued to look into the fire, “There’s a lot to say.” “Does it have to do with your home?” “Yes.” There was more silence, this time accompanied by the rustling of branches as a breeze blew through the trees. It stayed this way for a moment as the five tried to think of a question to ask. “How are ya healed?” Applejack asked, looking down at the ground. “I’m not really sure,” Pinkie replied, glancing at her face. “It’s happened before. I healed then too.” “A timberwolf attack?” Rarity asked, even more concern growing on her face. “Yes, before I got to Ponyville.” “Why didn’t you tell us?” Fluttershy muttered. “That’s something important.” “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel,” Pinkie replied, looking up to stare at their faces. “I don’t like talking about it either.” “If Pinkie doesn’t like talking about it, then it’s gotta be bad,” Rainbow Dash said, standing up. “Look, we should get going. I really want to get this done, and trying to explore every scientific whatever about it will slow us down.” She looked at Twilight as she said it. “Dash, I wasn’t planning on it,” Twilight said, sighing. “Pinkie’s got a lot of things I can’t measure or understand, and I doubt any research in the middle of the Everfree will help. You’re right about getting moving. It hardly matters now that Pinkie is immortal; we should get going before any more things attack us.” Pinkie left the tent and stared out into the trees. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck as she tried to focus her mind. The air was blowing gently, and she could feel every individual hair on her wave. I’m so scared, she thought, taking a deep breath. Shudders ran down her spine in tremors. We’re so close... so close. Thunder clapped overhead as rain began to pour. She was soaked within a few seconds, and she just let it fall. “Pinkie, we’re going,” Rarity said, tapping her shoulder. Looking around, Pinkie saw a flash of red, a rush of gold, and everything went dark. - - - - - - ‘I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.’ Her eyes opened in the dark, small colored lights in the night. She was in a clearing, gazing straight into the sky sprinkled with stars. The world was a sphere. She could sense it through her back; the miniscule curve, the impossibly small curve that she felt as if it were a wedge being driven into her spine. The moon illuminated her vision and the clearing around her, but she felt no urge to explore. She was content watching the world age, to watch it grow old. Maybe she would decay with it. ‘I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.’ She stood. The eyes were watching her. The countless eyes, calculating, peering into her soul, scanning her mind and preparing to destroy it. She sprinted through the woods, her fur getting caught in burs and sticks, her skin cut and stabbed by branches and rocks. They were getting closer, coming to take her back. She stumbled onto a path–a pony made path–and huffed a sound of grateful relief. She heard them retreat, going back to where they hid in the night. She slowed her pace to a walk as her heart steadied itself. The exit was there, right in front of her. Her eyes let up in joy as she picked up her speed, going out of the dark and into the light.