• Published 11th Jun 2019
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A Walk In The Woods - Violet Mist



Twins Kevin and Azura go to stay at their grandparents’ house for the summer. The problem is, this likely won’t be a normal summer.

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Chapter 2 - Observing

“For Celestia’s sake, Azura, how did you get so good at this game?”

The twins, Kevin and Azura, sat on the tan carpet of their room as the morning light streamed inside from the windows. Fortunately for them, the sun wasn’t out and there was a threat of rain, so they didn’t have to go outside and tend to their grandparents’ garden; they had everything they wanted right here as they played their games.

It was a week since they had arrived at the house, and not much happened since then. They hadn’t ventured into the woods yet, and there wasn’t a nice enough day to go to a nearby civilization for a park.

So as of now, Kevin and Azura were stranded in a woodland wasteland.

“Well, I was sick of you beating me, so whenever I had time, I practiced. I watched your moves, and I learned to exploit your weaknesses,” Azura explained, purposely flipping her hair so it flicked her brother on the side of the head. “What was I supposed to do? Lay down and let you destroy me over and over again?”

“Ye—eh, actually, never mind. That’s pretty smart.” Kevin answered, turning off the console and putting his controller down. He sighed and fell back onto the carpet. “Ugh. Now I’m definitely regretting we didn’t bring ONLY one game. I’m soooo bored…”

Just then, the door to their room opened, and their grandfather stood with his usual smile on his face.

“Did somepony say ‘bored?’” He asked, leaning against the doorframe. Kevin groaned and Azura facehoofed, the twins feeling even more miserable. Their grandfather gave them a confused look as Kevin got himself up.

“Look, Francis. It’s waaaaay too—“

Francis cut off his statement with a kind laugh, shaking his head. “Silly boy! Why would I leave you outside in the mud to tend to the garden? I was thinking more of going outside and doing something in general. You two have spent so much time indoors playing on your video games, that you haven’t had the opportunity to actually enjoy the nice air outside,” he explained, pulling down the shades in the room, creating a gloomy blue effect that permeated throughout the entire room. “I suggest walking through the forest. Your grandma and I love doing that.”

The forest.

A strange flash suddenly sounded in Kevin’s head, and he quickly nodded to his grandfather’s suggestion. It was immediate and strange, something he couldn’t control. But he felt like he was already being pulled into the forest; he was unsure of how Azura felt, though. His grandfather nodded as well and left the room, leaving Kevin and his sister in the middle of it.

“Did you feel that?” He asked, levitating his jacket towards him. Azura tilted her head, confused.

“What?”

“Never mind,” Kevin replied, shaking his head and putting on his jacket. His sister did the same, and soon, they were already heading down the stairs and out the door. There was no need to tell their grandparents where they were going; their grandmother was sitting at the kitchen table, which gave a clear view of the front door. And, there was nowhere else to go around here.

Kevin and Azura walked beside each other, circling around to the back of the house and fixing themselves on the trail that led into the forest. It was awfully silent for the first few moments, where only the birds chirping and wind brushing through the trees could be heard. So, Azura tried to break up that silence by kicking off a conversation.

“So… how far did they say the nearest town is?” She asked, kicking a rock as they entered the slightly darker forest. Kevin stared straight ahead, not really focusing on anything in particular, just gazing into the seemingly endless forest.

“I don’t think they even told us that,” he responded, and after a few seconds, he spoke again. “I don’t recall Zach telling us, either.”

“I wish there was a way we could tell Zach to bring us a new game or two, but this place is in the middle of absolute NOWHERE.”

Kevin agreed with his sister’s observation in his head, but realized the truth. “You know he wouldn’t do that, Azura.” He said. Azura nodded and sighed, kicking another rock and stick out of the way in a sad attempt at entertainment.

Several more minutes went by without a word. The trail was generally straight, with few curves or redirections, but at one point the pair came across a small stream (which is common in a woodland environment) and were forced to walk along it. Except, they weren’t walking ON the shore. There was an incline that was about 10 feet tall and not all that steep on both sides of the stream, so that created a little “valley” for it. Still, the stream measured no more than 25 feet across.

Kevin had to admit that it was quite peaceful. It was beginning to get a little bit brighter, and more birds seemed to be coming out. He as wasn’t bothered by the high trees as he thought he would be, and the stream made a nice rippling sound every now and then.

“We should come out in here every day,” He suggested, glancing around the forest as they walked. “I guess this would be a nice substitute for our game.”

“I agree…” Azura replied, nodding. Seconds of silence between the two passed, and it looked like it was about to turn into even more minutes of quiet when the twin sister piped up again. “So, how far do you think it is?”

“What is?”

“The nearest town.”

“Ugh. There’s no way I would know this. I slept the entire way,” Kevin responded, a bit agitated. He ran a hoof through his poofy brown hair, thinking. “But I would say at least 20 miles. There could be a smaller town close, with a few houses and a gas station or even a grocery store, but I would have to say the nearest big town would be pretty far away.”

“Is it bad that I don’t even know what part of Equestria we’re in?” Azura cut in. Kevin shrugged and was about to answer her in agreement when he noticed something… strange, up ahead. He stopped dead in his tracks, forcing Azura to do the same. Then, in a swift motion, he dove behind a large bush on the side of the trail. Azura did the same, even though she clearly had no idea what Kevin was getting so worked up over and quite frankly was agitated. “Kev! What are you doing?!”

Kevin quickly shushed her, staring through the bush. “Do you not see it?...” he whispered, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and confusion. “Right up ahead.”

It took some time for Azura to see, but once she saw the figure, her eyes opened wide, too.

The creek was turning to the right, which meant the trail was turning to the right. However, before Kevin and Azura could continue their hike without disturbance, they saw her.

A pale white mare sat on a tire swing across the river. She wasn’t even swinging; just sitting there, motionless, gripping onto the ropes. Luckily, though, she wasn’t facing the twins, giving Kevin time to shove himself and his sister behind a bush in case the pony ever did decide to.

A minute passed. She didn’t.

“Who is that?...” Azura whispered, especially quiet this time. Kevin shook his head, unable to say anything. They had been told that the nearest pony lived miles away, and they certainly didn’t fit the description of this pale mare with a light gray mane to fit as well. Overall, the scene was very creepy and unsettling to the twins.

The sky seemed to get darker, and maybe it was because several large rain clouds were beginning to enter the area. Distant rumble shuddered the forest, and the wind was starting to pick up. However, even as Kevin and Azura’s manes went wild, the strange mare’s stayed perfectly still. In fact, the swing didn’t budge at all either. She just sat there with her seemingly frail frame, as if waiting for somepony to meet her.

Kevin looked away for a second, to talk to Azura face to face. She did too, her mouth agape. “I’m guessing going up to say ‘hi’ is out of the question?...” he whispered, chuckling nervously, trying to ease the mood, the tension. His sister did the same, but when she looked back at the mare, her face was once again full of horror.

“W-Well… it definitely is, now…” She stammered, covering her mouth with her hoof. Kevin slowly turned his head towards the mare, expecting the worst: was she looking straight at them now? Did she know they were there? Is she closer now? A million thoughts flew through his mind as his eyes finally laid upon the sickly frail mare.

Except…

There was no mare.

She was gone.

GONE.

“Oh, HELL no…”

On instinct, Kevin swiveled his head around, scanning all directions for the mare. Once he didn’t see anypony around behind them and on their flanks, he peeked over the bush to see where the strange pony was going.

Again, there was nopony to be found. He and his sister looked away for literally 5 seconds. Yet, it was like the mare disappeared into mid-air.

Without a trace.

Still, to be safe, Kevin instructed Azura to stay for a few minutes, just to be certain that the mare wasn’t around. The forest was eerily quiet, but nothing was happening. Several minutes passed, and after a rumble of thunder finally cleared the silence, Kevin assumed that it was the right time to head back. He helped his sister up and they righted themselves back on the trail, not talking the rest of the way. They also walked with a bit of a pep in their step, so they wouldn’t encounter anything on the way back and so they wouldn’t get caught in the incoming thunderstorm.

By the time they reached the mouth of the trail and grandparents’ property, Kevin’s heart was still beating in a consistently quick rhythm. The whole situation had given him a good scare.

“Can I… point something out really quick?” Azura asked quietly as the two shakily walked across the large backyard. Kevin nodded, staring straight ahead. Azura cleared her throat. “Well… I saw a shed deep in the woods before we left that area…”

“You’re lying,” Kevin replied quickly.

“I’m not! I’m dead serious!”

“If it’s so serious, then why didn’t you tell me while we were walking?”

“I thought you were too scared to hear anything else about that place.”

“Hardy har har. You’re SO funny. And annoying.” Kevin responded, rolling his eyes at his sister’s accusing albeit correct observation.

The whole thing left the two shaken up as they entered the house. But, the worst was still yet to come.

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