The Mare that eats The Monsters

by Skijarama

Chapter 4 - An ancient storybook

Deep in an old, beautiful forest, the small, happy village of Hollow Shades was soon to begin its annual midnight celebration, a tradition held close by the bat-like ponies called thestrals that live there. It was to be a happy time, three days dedicated to offering thanks to Princess Luna for the night in which they could so wondrously thrive.

Visiting Hollow Shades at this time were a scholarly mare and stallion, happily married. They had been curious of the festival, and thus had come to observe and take part. The unusual and sometimes frightening appearance of the thestrals never changed the happy mood of the town for the couple. They enjoyed their time very much.

During one of the days before the festival, a small group of bat ponies had left Hollow Shades to gather food and supplies from the forest around them. The visiting mare, named Dancing Leaf, accompanied them out of curiosity.

When a strange cry caught her attention, Dancing Leaf was unsure what to make of it. She followed the noise, becoming separated from the rest of the group. She soon found an infant thestral filly, hiding under an old, dying tree, with no blankets or clothes to keep her warm. She was afraid and cold.

“Oh, you poor thing…” Leaf had whispered to her, gently picking up the lonely filly. “Who would ever leave you alone like this?” The filly seemed to calm down and find comfort in Leaf’s embrace, snuggling into the warmth she provided. The sight was enough to melt Leaf’s heart, for she had been wanting a baby for some time.

She took the baby back to Hollow Shades to see if anypony there knew her or her parents. Nopony did. Leaf was confused and disappointed that none of the bat ponies knew who the filly was. Leaf brought her husband the filly. Together, they agreed to raise her and look after her themselves.

The night of the festival came. As the moon began to raise into the air, a gentle breeze sent some of the fallen leaves of autumn drifting and dancing across the ground, the little filly finding adorable joy in the way the leaves moved.

For this reason, as well as how she was left alone, was the filly named Moonrise Drifter by her new, adoptive parents.

They returned to Canterlot, and years began to slowly tick by. Moonrise Drifter was an oddity, even among thestrals. Everypony in Canterlot knew that bat ponies could eat meat as well as fruits and vegetables, but little Drifter seemed to only like meat. She couldn’t stomach fruits or vegetables.

Despite the unease her parents felt over this, they were happy to arrange imports of meat from Griffonstone for their filly. They were happy for many years.

On Drifter’s tenth birthday, her parents decided to once again attend the midnight festival in Hollow Shades, to show Drifter where they had found her. They had never lied to her about her adoption; they loved her as any parent should.

Moonrise Drifter was so excited. She wanted to see where she had come from so badly. When they finally arrived, she spent almost the entire first day just talking to the locals and learning everything she could. She was happy to learn that the ponies of Hollow Shades remembered her, having all been there when her parents had found her and taken her in. She learned so much, and was so thrilled by how wonderful it all was. It was like a dream, she had thought.

On the first night of the festival itself, however, her wonderful dream would turn into a frightening nightmare. She was abducted while she slept by something scary. It moved with unnatural speed and pulled her, screaming and crying deep into the cold, dark forest.

“Who are you?” She had cried to her foalnapper

“Your family.” was all her foalnapper bothered to say.

They stopped in a secluded clearing, lit faintly by moonlight. “My family is back in Hollow Shades! Take me back!” Drifter had defiantly demanded of the pony before her.

“They saved you, and for that will earn a quick death. But you are naive if you think of them as family.” The foalnapper snarled, showing rows of sharp teeth. “Your real daddy has been waiting for you for a long time.”

Drifter found her heart falling into the bottom of her chest as the pony told her that neither of them were ponies in anything but appearance. They were Fiends. Ponies that had been created in a time before harmony.

“We eat ponies, little one,” the Fiend had said. “I am here to make sure you do as your blood demands.”

Drifter began to cry as she was told to return to Hollow Shades and eat her parents. “No! I won’t eat mommy and daddy! I could never do that!”

“You have no choice. I’ll be watching from afar, little one. If you don’t eat them, I will.” as he said that, the fiend vanished into the darkness, leaving Drifter to cry and argue with herself about what she should do.

“I can’t eat mommy and daddy…” she cried as she slowly began to return to Hollow Shades. When at last she made it it was to the concerned and relieved sighs and words of her parents. They had been looking for her all night.

She tried to tell them what was happening, but she couldn’t get her thoughts into words.

“If you won’t I will.” The fiend said as he emerged from the darkness.

“Don’t you dare eat my mom and dad! I won’t let you!” little Drifter defended, showing her own teeth to the approaching fiend.

“You don’t have a choice.” The fiend attacked. Drifter found she was no match for the fiend. He was faster, stronger. She was down before she could react. Her parents began to cry and scream as the fiend prepared to eat them, licking his teeth and laughing.

So absorbed was he in his advances that he momentarily forgot Drifter. In a terrified rage, claws grew from her hooves. She brought them upon the fiend, surprising him and making him fall as she stabbed him. “If you eat my mommy and daddy, I’ll eat you!” Drifter had said to the fiend.

The fiend had only laughed sickeningly as the two struggled. Giving in to her anger and fear, Drifter sank her long, sharp teeth into the monster beneath her, ending it’s life. She fell into a trance as she began to eat, almost oblivious to the world around her until her parents called out to her.

“I’m so sorry.. I didn’t know… do you hate me?” Drifter asked, beginning to cry.

“Of course not, sweetie. We love you. You are our daughter and you just proved it by saving us.” Leaf had whispered as she hugged and cradled her daughter, her husband joining her.

Drifter was happy to hear that. From that day forth, she dedicated herself to protecting her parents from the fiends that began to pursue them. She did a good job, able to keep her family safe, happy and alive until old age claimed them.

When her parents were gone, Drifter had grown into a fine mare. She knew the fiends would still come after her, and so she dedicated the rest of her life to hunting them down in order to protect Equestria, the place she had come to love and call home.

Even to this day, so much later, little Drifter continues to fight the fiends. She fights them and defends us from them so we can live happily and safely.

Twilight closed the seven hundred year old story book with a thoughtful expression on her face as Drifter finished applying the healing salve to her wounded hind leg, wrapping a bandage over it after she had done so. The cave was filled with a soft flickering light, cast by the fireplace in the center.

“That was the first ever publication of the story on it’s own.” Drifter explained as she moved to look at the book, a fond, reminiscing smile on her face. “Out of all the versions that have come to be over the years, that one is the closest to the truth.”

Twilight nodded solemnly. “I can tell that it’s definitely different from the current telling of the tale. Most of them say you wound up eating your parents and loved the taste so much you began to eat ponies and fiends indiscriminately. It’s a story used to scare fillies and colts into behaving themselves.” she recalled with a frown on her face.

“Well, that’s what happens when a story is passed down over a thousand years. Details are forgotten or changed to convey different messages to go with the time it’s told in.” Drifter said dejectedly before tending to her own wounds. She dipped her claws into the jar and scooped up a large dollop of the pale green goop before retracting her claws so it would rest on her hoof.

“So… how much of this version of the story is true?” Twilight asked hesitantly, looking at Drifter carefully. She paused for a second, going stiff with her hoof only an inch from her wounded shoulder.

“...Most of it. I grew up with my adoptive parents and I loved them more than anything. I could only eat meat, and they saw to it I had a steady supply of it.” she closed her eyes. “But I wasn’t as happy as the story says. They tried to put me in public school, but I wound up dropping out after only my first year.”

“Why?”

“Imagine sharing a classroom with a carnivorous bat pony who was a lot stronger and faster than almost everypony else in her age group.” Drifter said, a hint of bitterness and resentment creeping into her voice. “I got bullied a lot. The foals that didn’t bully me were too afraid of me to try and be my friend. I was alone the entire time. I saw so many other fillies and colts making friends and laughing and playing… and I always just sat on the sidelines and watched. On my own.”

“Oh… I’m so sorry.” Twilight said softly, looking sympathetically at Drifter.

“It was a thousand years ago. Don’t worry. I made peace with it a long time ago.” Drifter casually brushed off the sentiment. “I was home schooled in the end, and I think that did me a lot of good. I didn’t have to worry about the pressure of my peers and was able to learn my lessons directly from mom.”

“Alright. I can see how that would be nice. Still, though… ponies these days are a lot more accepting of the strange or unusual. I can think of at least thirty different ponies over in Ponyville that would love to be friends with you, and that’s just off the top of my head. The whole town would probably be fine with you as you are, and the same is true for a massive majority of Equestria’s population.” Twilight said reassuringly, smiling at Drifter.

“That is true. I’ve made a fair number of friends in the last hundred or so years.” Drifter smiled warmly as she thought on them. “Such amazing ponies…”

“Do you think I could meet them sometime?” Twilight asked hopefully. Her ears slowly fell as Drifter sadly shook her head. “Why not?”

“I’m over a thousand years old, Twilight… most ponies don’t get that sort of life-span. They’re all dead.” Drifter said softly, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

Twilight shrunk away and mentally scolded herself for being so careless in her thoughts. “I… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

“It’s fine, Princess. I’ve had a lot of practice grieving over my long life. I’m used to it.” Drifter smiled at Twilight. “Still, I try to avoid making friends if possible. Even if I’m used to it, it’s still not pleasant and I’d rather avoid the feeling if possible.”

Twilight nodded silently, letting herself relax by the warmth of the fire. Drifter sighed softly before looking towards the Princess of friendship with a more serious frown on her face.

“Twilight, as nice as all of this reminiscing and chit-chat is, I did call for aid because there’s a situation here. A big one.”

Twilight looked at Drifter uneasily.

“The number of fiends is growing at an alarming rate. That can only mean one thing…” Drifter let a scowl cross her face. “Horizon has planted another garden.”

Comments

[tom117z]

So absorbed was he in his advances that he momentarily forgot Drifter. In a terrified rage, claws grew from her hooves. She brought them upon the fiend, surprising him and making him fall as she stabbed him.

(I love the similarities and you can't stop me!)