Arktophobia

by Aeluna

Trixie Part I

Only a few dregs of moonlight managed to reach the floor of the Everfree forest, the branches of long-dead trees forming a practically impenetrable roof. It was an almost complete shroud of darkness under the canopy; had she not had the light from her horn, Trixie knew for a fact that she would have lost all of her nerve by now.

There was a reason, it seemed, that ponies avoided this place if they could. Except, of course, Twilight and her clique.

Trixie snorted and walked a little quicker, head held high. Sure, they were amicable enough with her these days, but there was always that little tension between them. Everypony put on a smile for Starlight’s sake, but Trixie always found her blood simmering—not quite boiling, but the point still stood—when in their company. She had no doubt they felt the same towards her.

A smirk grew on Trixie’s muzzle. “Not so special, now, huh, girls?” Trixie said with a snort.

She kept her smirk as she continued forwards, ascending to a trot. She knew where she was headed; she’d already asked those arrogant colts where the ursa cave was. Plus, the Celestia-sized pawprints helped.

“Oh,” she breathed, pausing directly in the middle of one of the marks. After a moment, though, she scowled and plastered that smirk back on her face, snapping, “Don’t be a foal, Trixie!”

The forest creaked in reply. Trixie hissed but carried on.

All was fine for a few strides—until everything went still. The wind stopped. The corpses of long dead trees froze. A bird made a single squawk.

Then silence.

Complete, perfect silence. And that was somehow even more bone-chilling than before.

Trixie gulped and plodded onwards again, her fur now standing on end. The only sounds in the forest were those made by her own hooves across the floor. Twigs snapped as she stepped on them. To her, they sounded like tiny bones splintering under her weight.

The cave was close, now. It had to be. Snips and Snails had said to look out for a tree that looked ‘kinda like a pony rearing up but with, you know, a knife through its heart’. And that tree was—without a doubt—the one she was now approaching.

It really did look like a pony.

Trixie cringed.

“Time to fight,” she murmured, her voice shaky.

Her magic fizzled into life as she continued onwards. The cave slowly became more and more visible with every step that she took. Her heart pounded louder in her chest with each passing second. And then, when she came to a halt at the cave entrance, she noticed it.

The noxious smell of blood and rotting flesh hit her like a train. Trixie gagged, reeling backwards before she collapsed to her knees. She heaved, whimpering. Her vision darkened and she moaned again, falling to her stomach and thrashing in her discomfort.

A low grumble sounded from the cave. With a hiss, Trixie rolled over and climbed up to her hooves. Her horn sparked. Her legs trembled where she stood, but she tried not to let herself look as petrified as she was.

“Who dares to growl at the Even Greater and P-Powerfuller Trixie?” she yelled, stomping a hoof indignantly. The grumbles only sounded again, louder this time and accompanied by the thunderous padding of heavy paws against rock. She cringed, but didn’t shy away—yet. “Beast, you should know, if you leave this cave I will show you no mercy!”

A small breeze moved the tree branches just enough to let the moonlight shine right down to the forest floor. A massive pair of fangs emerged from the pitch black shadows of the cave at that moment, glinting. A bloodied, scarred muzzle followed suit quickly after, the dark pink nostrils flaring. Two tiny red eyes came next, blinking quickly in the bright moonlight. And then its gaze landed upon Trixie.

Its maw opened and it roared. The sheer power of the noise sent Trixie flying directly into the branches of the dead-pony tree. She screamed, scrambling to get down as the beast quietened and slashed out with its paw, missing her by hair lengths. It then lunged forwards, mouth open wide. Trixie froze in terror; each of those teeth was the size of her!

She leapt to the side at the last second. The ursa’s teeth clamped down around her tail, tearing out a massive chunk of hair. She screamed in pain, hopping on the spot as the beast spluttered, displeased with its catch. It then rose up onto its hind legs, its knees brushing the tips of the dead trees, and roared again.

Branches snapped instantly under the pressure of the beast’s breath. Whole trees toppled all around her, pummeling the ground. Trixie, for a moment, could not breathe—and then she ran.

Branches crashed down all around her, each one causing a small explosion of dirt and rock. A particularly heavy one swiped across the side of her rump; she cried out in pain again, falling to the floor instantly when her leg gave way. The beast fell back to all fours at that moment; the weight of it catapulted her roughly into the air.

Trixie landed heavily against cold, rough rock. She rolled a few metres, every inch of her body on fire. She tried to squint her eyes open, the pain of even that movement making her gasp and shudder. And there it was. The ursa.

The beast sniffed the ground frantically, its nostrils as big as she, and made cruelly laughable chuffing noises. With wide eyes Trixie scarpered to the wall of the cave, her breath held. But still the ursa crept ever closer until it was mere metres from her.

And then its yellow eyes shot open wide. The red pupils bored deep into her soul and she recoiled, suddenly unable to hold her breath. She screamed.

And then the beast struck, its massive tongue smothering her entire body and dragging her into its waiting maw.

Comments

[DarkDMan]

Well, that happen. Good luck, Trixie!