My Little Claymare

by Waltzwriter

Prologue: An Evening in the Woods

It was a rather picturesque scene: a quiet night in the woods, with a wide yet fairly shallow river flowing through. No birds were chirping and all animals had run away. This was a time for certain, that if a tree fell in the forest, somepony would be sure to hear it.

A unicorn was around to hear a tree fall, should it happen. Morning Glory was a traveling merchant from Ponyville on her way to the neighboring town of Fillydelphia. She was alone, but wasn't scared. She, being a unicorn, had a degree of magical ability and enough knowledge of defensive spells to keep herself safe should danger arise. She had been warned by her lover, Arbor, back in Ponyville that a Changeling could still be lurking around. The last Changeling attack had been over a month ago, so it must have been long gone. She brushed it off, gave him a kiss, and headed on her way.

Glory had just crossed the river and was magicking the water from her legs when she heard a crack. She looked over in the direction of the sound. Nothing was there. Shrugging, she went back to her task.

crack

Her head snapped up and ears perked at the sound again, this time closer and louder. The sun yellow aura around her horn took on a slightly more goldenrod color as she readied a stun spell. Her eyes were wide and searching as she backed up to the edge of the river slowly, where her bags were resting. She had only taken a few steps when her backward progress was stopped by a wall.

Screaming, she jumped forward and spun around, wildly firing off her spell. It missed the obstruction and hit the water, causing steam to rise from where it struck and fizzling out.

Breathing heavily, she focused on what had stopped her. The sun was setting and was shining directly into her eyes, so that light obscured the pony before her. It was certainly the largest pony she'd ever come across. "Oh dear me!" she exclaimed, heart still pounding. "Sweet Faust, did you give me a fright! Ha ha! Whew," she laughed, rubbing a hand across her forehead. The pony didn't move or respond.

"I'm Morning Glory, from Ponyville. Nice to meet you," she introduced herself, extending a hand. Still, the pony didn't move. Glory's smile faded a bit as she slowly pulled her hand back, feeling a little awkward. She got her smile back up again as she continued talking. "That's okay. My cousin in Manehatten in the same way. Bit of a germ-a-phobe. So, what's your name?"

The strange pony didn't speak. It only took a step closer towards Morning Glory.

At that moment, a cloud passed in front of the setting sun. And Morning Glory screamed.

Comments

[Lithl]

"I'm Morning Glory, from Ponyville. Nice to meet you," she introduced herself, extending a hand.

A unicorn with hands, huh?