The clash of warring voices washed over her as the filly tumbled out through the small, rickety front door. She grumbled, untangled a few locks of blonde hair from her pearly horn, and picked herself up out of the uneven grass, which was in dire need of a trimming—it, and the noisy house it belonged to, stood out like an oozing blister amidst the tidier, neater homes that made up the rest of Ponyville. The paint, once blue but now bleached gray from the baking sun, had long since started to peel, giving the building a sort-of rash where it was worst, and the roof hadn’t been serviced in years; the next time it rained, she knew, she would be running around trying to catch leaks in buckets and bowls as another argument broke out.
Not that they needed a reason to fight.
Almost as though on cue, the voices swelled to a discordant crescendo, one a deep, dull roar and the other a shriek at times barely understandable. She didn’t even know what had set them against each other this time—maybe a cup of cold coffee, maybe a lost set of keys, maybe a broken trinket—but in the end, it didn’t matter. It had happened yesterday, it had happened today, and it would happen again tomorrow. With a sigh, she turned and galloped down the street.
Her house sat on the outskirts of town where not much happened, but as she emerged from an alley onto Mane Street, it was clear that life in Ponyville went on as usual. She ambled down the road as ponies travelled in pairs or all alone, stood in clusters chatting with each other, all wearing bright, shining smiles from how perfectly everyday life treated them. Another sigh breezed past her lips, and she took a seat in the shade. Under a cafe’s canopy, a unicorn kissed her lover and giggled when his coat tickled her nose. A trio of foals took turns kicking a ball between themselves, chattering incessantly. Shoppers kept up a smart pace on their way to and from the market, saddlebags slung over their backs. Almost without noticing what she was doing, she stood and paced away.
None of them looked at her as she passed through the throng. None of them knew about her, and none of them would have cared if they did. Her path took her her straight through Ponyville and out the other side, and all the way she simply saw more of the same. The shop owners, the school fillies, the weather pegasi, the socialites—all of them screamed of normalcy, shrieked of the status quo, even as back at her home two grown ponies squabbled over issues like who had forgotten to pick up the milk or why one had stayed out so late the night before. That was normal—that was her life, and it would always be that way—unless she did something drastic.
And that was why she found herself on a small dirt path staring into the gaping maw of the Everfree Forest.
The infamous, alien Everfree—a scab that just wouldn’t heal, marring Equestria’s otherwise idyllic landscape. Amidst a world of order and carefully maintained harmony, it defied all reason and all attempts to tame it. Every time some enterprising young pegasus got it into her head to impose control on the forest’s weather, fearsome storms would thunder in and ravage the surrounding land. Every time an earth pony tried to clear the trees away to expand his farmland, by the next day, he would find not only the cleared area once more thickly wooded, but his farm too, as well as every scrap of bare ground within a two or three mile radius. Every time a royal expedition swept through the forest to clear it of any and all creatures that posed a threat to ponies, the monsters would return within hours, springing seemingly from thin air.
And now she stood before this very same forest that all ponies were told at a young age to avoid at any and all costs.
Although the sun’s light enveloped and caressed Ponyville and the surrounding rolling hills, barely a mote managed to pierce the Everfree’s thick, velvet canopy. She stood right on the brink between sunlit paradise and murky depths straight from a foal’s worst nightmares, the point few dared approach and even fewer dared pass. A warm breeze lifted her blonde mane as she glanced back towards the town, which lay spread out below. Her home had long since disappeared behind the other buildings, but its presence still reached her, the discordant battling still echoed in her thoughts. If she went back, what would she find? Nothing but the usual. Normalcy.
On shaking legs, she trotted over the precipice, swallowed by the shadowy veil.
Darkness almost immediately draped itself over her like a blanket, so oppressively thick and silent save for the constant drone of insects that her knees almost buckled under the weight. Her horn sparked and crackled until a point of light appeared at its tip, weak and pallid by anyone’s standards, but still bright enough to cast a small globe of light around her, pushing away the inky shadows and allowing her to pick out the path as it wove between the thick trunks. Her steps grew more steady, more sure as her head twisted back and forth.
Twisted, misshapen branches intruded into her sanctuary from above, thin twigs reaching out and brushing her crown unless she ducked her head. The narrow path grew narrower and narrower still until it vanished altogether, but her pace did not slow; she continued on through the undergrowth. Even though the uneven ground made walking more difficult, her eyes focused elsewhere. Every now and then movements could be seen at the very edge of her light, creatures disturbed by this intruder but unwilling to venture out of their inky sanctuary and confront her. Behind her, the light from the outside world finally disappeared behind the trees, but she didn’t even look back. Her heart had hammered in her chest when she had entered, but now it had calmed as she gazed about with eyes wide enough to drink in every little detail.
Suddenly, she tripped over a rock and fell forward into a thorn bush; her sudden cry echoed in the still forest. After a few moments of careful, tearful effort, she managed to free herself and look over the damage. Scratches covered her legs and chest, a few even bleeding, and some thorns had come free from the plant and stuck out of her. Her heavy breathing sounded exceedingly loud in her head, but after a long minute of standing still, she gasped.
Back in Ponyville, where everything was light, birdsong lilted through the air, and all manner of docile, harmless creatures clambered around and through the meticulously kept plants and trees, nowhere would one find a thorned plant so carelessly placed where anyone could trip over it, nor would any of the animals shy from the light, especially one as dim as hers. Even the air had a life of its own, gently blowing and ghosting and lending a sense of motion, of movement to the world.
She had only spent a short time cantering wide-eyed through the forest, but already it was apparent that the Everfree was just as alive as the outside world—maybe even more so. All around, insects chirped and chattered without pause, providing a heavier, more rhythmic cacophony than the graceful birdsong that she was used to. No wind blew amidst the moss-covered trunks and leafy boughs; instead, the air hung stagnant, heavy, wet, almost as though it meant to choke the life out of her when she least expected it. Leaves crunched underfoot and rustled overhead, disturbed by the larger creatures that only moved to keep out of her meagre, flickering light.
The longer she listened, the more obvious the forest’s rhythm became. The insects’ chirping and chittering swelled and retreated, swelled and retreated, over and over again in mesmerizing waves of percussive harmony. The sound became a pulse that ran up the tree trunks and along the branches, shook the ground and travelled up her legs to vibrate in her head so that if she closed her eyes she could pretend that it was the beating of the Everfree’s heart.
And then everything stopped like someone had thrown a giant switch and cut the power.
She staggered slightly but managed to catch herself before she lost her balance completely. The pitch-black void outside of her light pressed inward as silence crashed down all around, making the already smothering darkness even more suffocating than before. Her world shrank, and she spun in place, frantically glancing around. It was nearly impossible to tell which direction she had come from, and frayed nerves did little to help. Her hoof slipped on a loose rock and she crashed down heavily with a disturbingly loud grunt that quickly echoed eerily.
The Everfree saw its chance.
As she scrambled to her hooves, something large dropped from a tree to land in a bush just on the outskirts of her light, close enough for her to see its sharp, bristly fur quiver. It slowly straightened on two long, lean legs, gangly arms dangling almost to its knees. She cowered underneath the beast’s towering height and its bloodshot gaze, the only part of its face that she could see clearly. It made no sound other than a ragged breathing as it stood there.
She slowly took a step backwards, but the creature took a step as well. For a moment its foot hung in the light; long, wickedly curved claws poked out from underneath matted brown fur to dig into the soil. It followed her for another step, then another, until she spun and galloped away in what she hoped was the direction she came from. Behind her, a shriek pierced the darkness, nearly pinning her to the ground with its intensity, then thundering footsteps came forth as the monster took up the chase. She darted between trees and leaped fallen logs as they became visible in her weakening, flickering light spell, hoping that maybe her pursuer would have difficulty keeping up, but a quick glance back proved otherwise. The beast easily loped along with knuckles nearly dragging on the ground; it stayed just far enough away to keep its features shrouded, but every now and then the light would reflect off of wet teeth, some connected by thick ropes of saliva, each long and sharp enough enough to easily spear any unlucky filly that fell into its grasp. With a gulp, she turned her attention back to the path in front of her.
Low branches and bushes leaped seemingly out of nowhere, but she couldn’t afford to go around them, instead charging right through. Before long, shallow cuts and scratches ran up and down her entire body, and broken twigs and leaves tangled in her mane.
As the minutes carried on and the frantic chase continued, her strength flagged. Each pounding step came slightly slower than the one before, and her heavy breathing rattled in her lungs. However, when the monster shrieked again, sounding close enough to touch her flank, she put on a burst of speed and pressed forward. Tears, sweat, and snot all mingled on her face, but she couldn’t spare a moment to wipe it away or even worry about it, as its ground-shaking footsteps and heavy breathing reminded her. Her horn sputtered and sparked before its light went out completely, leaving her to run in total darkness.
Then, far in the distance, a speck of light appeared; the outside world—safety—beckoned, if only she could keep up the pace for a bit longer. Hope flared in her breast as she put her head down for the final stretch. Her chest threatened to explode at any moment and leave her at the monster’s mercy, but she had no choice but to continue.
The light grew and grew until she realized that she was going to make it. She was going to escape and live. As though it, too, realized this, the beast’s thundering footsteps came to an abrupt halt and it screamed one final time. The cry, now more like a wail, crashed down on her as she slowed to a jog, then to a walk. She had been told to leave; the forest now waited for her answer.
Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she plodded along, head still ringing from the desperate run. Her mane hung limply and the countless cuts and thorns embedded in her skin all stung at her, painful reminders that she yet lived.
And how alive she felt! Going back to Ponyville, to the life she knew seemed so easy, so simple after a scant half hour spent in the nerve-wracking forest. She would find a way to live a happy life, to cope with her difficulties. Everything would be alright; the approaching light that marked her freedom promised all that and more. A broad smile cracked her face, wider than she could remember ever having smiled before, and she even dared to laugh.
To the side, leaves rustled softly despite a lack of breeze, but her gaze remained fixed on the exit. She still bore a macabre grin, even after a blurry form—pure black against the void save for a pair of blazing green eyes—ghosted onto her back and snapped her neck in a single bite of its powerful jaws.