Broken Bindings

by anonpencil

Page 8

~*~

There was once a little filly named... well, her name isn't really that important. She had a mother, and a father, and a little brother who was less than a year old. And all of them lived very Happily together in the countryside, by the woods. They were a good family, a whole family, and they could have gone on in their lives that way until the ends of their days. But as it always is, things changed.

One night, the moon rose as usual, but it didn't go down again. It simply stayed there in the night sky, unmoving, like someone had reached in and stopped the hands of a watch with their fingers. When the dawn was supposed to come, it was still night, and as the hours ticked on, the moon stayed in the sky. The filly and her family began to get nervous about this, and they stayed inside the house, afraid. The only one who was not afraid was the little colt of the family, a skinny thing with a frizzy mane and a loud laugh. He hadn't yEt learned that the world could be cruel and thoughtless, that others can hurt you, and that in the end, things generally are not fair and orderly. Because of that, he was rarely afraid of anything.

After a second day came, without the rising of the sun, the little colt became tiRed of staying inside. He told his big sister that he wanted to go out into the night, to see what was there, to see if, even in the darkness, he could still have fun and play. The filly told her brother not to go out, that strange things could lurk in the shadows. He told her he would fight them off, that he was bigger and stronger now than he had been a year ago, that nothing would best him. He bragged that he would be the biggest and strongest stallion in Canterlot someday, and that he would make their family proud.

The little filly was not so sure.

She told him that someday, wheN he was big, that he may venture out into the night, that he may fight off all manner of creatures. But that no matter what he did, as long as he tried his best, the family would be proud. For now, however, he would have to stay inside.

The colt was Annoyed at this response, and he sulked all the rest of the dark day, until the family decided to go to bed, hoping that when they got up, the sun would again be in the sky.

Sometime hours later, the little filly was awakened by a soft click, as if a door somewhere was shutting. She got out of bed and lit a lamp in the bedrooM, and found, to her dismay, that he little brother was gone. Tired of being locked indoors and underestimated, hE had gone out into the night alone. She knew he would soon be in danger.

She cried out for her parents, who sprang to their hooves, and the three of them rushed out into the darkness, cryIng the young colt's name. They searched with lamps and torches, screaming out into the mess of trees that stood nearby, hoping that he had not ventured into the woods. Somehow, the little filly knew this was exactly what he had done. Still they searched, wracked by fear, the little filly sobbing as she ran through the grasS and fallen leaves, guided only by her desperation to find him and the light of the unmoving moon.

Just when she had given up, she heard a scream from the woods, high pitched and wild. It was the kind of scream a rabbit makes when it's grabbed by an owl as it swoops in silently for the kill. She knew it had to be coming froM her brother. She ran towards the woods, crying his name, but her parents held her back. They told her that the scream meant he was done for. That he could not be saved. And they would not risk losing her too.

They had to drag her back to the house, kicking and screaming.

Two days later, there was a blaze in the sky, as if a great battle was being waged against the horizon. Then, the sUn rose at last, and light again poured into the countryside where the family lived, now no longer whole. The little colt never emerged from the woods. It was as if, in a way, the night had taken him into its Shadows, and he was a part of it then.

And the little filly was afraid of the night after that. She felt it watch her, and she always watched back, scanning the line of the forEst, hoping to catch some glimpse of her lost brother, who had become a part of the darkness.

The End

Comments

[njits23]

Her name is muse... I wonder what it means.

[Alex_]

HER NAME IS MUSE Hmmm

[Cynewulf]

took me a second to realize that I had forgotten that S. Muse.

[Zaten the Changeling]

There was once a little filly named... well, her name isn't really that important. She had a mother, and a father, and a little brother who was less than a year old. And all of them lived very Happily together in the countryside, by the woods. They were a good family, a whole family, and they could have gone on in their lives that way until the ends of their days. But as it always is, things changed.

is the 'h' supposed to be capitalized in Happily? maybe it means something like the 1 and the 7?

And the little filly was afraid of the night after that. She felt it watch her, and she always watched back, scanning the line of the forEst, hoping to catch some glimpse of her lost brother, who had become a part of the darkness.

Definitely not a coincidence. Found that 'E' right as I was scrolling back up.
Better keep track of this stuff.

[Zaten the Changeling]

Ah. So THAT explains the other comments.
HER NAME IS MUSE.
I wonder the same thing as the other commenters.

[The Hermit]

Does the random capitalization have any sort of significance? Or are they just random?

[Moosetasm]

Her name is Muse... interesting indeed.

[Vayne Hellslinger]

I have never read a story that plays like a game. This is so fascinating.

[MLai]

Wait, book, why are you talking about hands and fingers? Are you not a pony? Waifu factor -10!

[sere]

HER NAME IS MUSE

I have... a hunch. Is this filly our book friend? A couple of the lines in this chapter sounded familiar, so I went back to read previous chapters, and...

One night, the moon rose as usual, but it didn't go down again. It simply stayed there in the night sky, unmoving, like someone had reached in and stopped the hands of a watch with their fingers. When the dawn was supposed to come, it was still night, and as the hours ticked on, the moon stayed in the sky.

Welcome to this book. I was put together by a pony named Celestia, back when she was first learning how to pull the moon across the sky, as she already did with the sun. I didn't start out as a book, thoug1h, I was a pony, like you might be.

And...

And the little filly was afraid of the night after that.

I used to be afraid at night when I was young, but then I'd just look up at the stars in the sky, and know that they were made for me.

And...

He hadn't yEt learned that the world could be cruel and thoughtless, that others can hurt you, and that in the end, things generally are not fair and orderly. Because of that, he was rarely afraid of anything.

You aren't hurting me. I thank you for that too, I remember what it's like to feel others hurt you.

I'm not sure if it's true or if I'm just reaching, since I tend to overthink things, but if it is true... yikes.

[twindrill]

H-E-R-N-A-M-E-I-S-M-U-S-E.

[Annemarie]

MUSE Is the little filly name is