Patchwork

by ObabScribbler

1. If You Go Down to the Woods Today ...

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1. If You Go Down to the Woods Today …

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Twinkle flipped back the covers and eased out of bed. Hooves and bare floorboards weren’t a good mix if you were sneaking around, so she had to go slowly and remember where the creaky bits were. She passed by her signed poster of Rainbow Dash, pushed open her door and snuck down to the kitchen.

“Sadie?”

Her whisper received no answering whine. Shafts of moonlight just missed the basket in the corner, so she had to get close to confirm her suspicions: it was still empty.

“Sadie.” Her head drooped. She had been hoping the dog would come home when it got dark.

It wasn’t fair! Mom and Dad had insisted she go to bed instead of sit by the window keeping watch, which was really mean of them. When she had said so, however, Mom had got that stern look she always did right before she got mad. Mom got mad a lot, usually when she had one of her headaches, but it was a quiet sort of mad. She never raised her voice or stomped around the cottage, but Twinkle could tell when she had done something wrong and scurried off to her room until Dad could calm everything down. She assumed Mom was mad this time because she had lost Sadie, so she had gone to bed, but stretched out restlessly beneath the covers.

Eventually Mom and Dad went to bed, but they didn’t come in to tell her Sadie was home and safe and everything was okay now. So, of course, when the clock struck three Twinkle had to go see for herself if the bowl of food had tempted her home.

It hadn’t. Tears welled in Twinkle’s eyes. Sadie had been with her for as long as she could remember. Life without her seemed impossible. Who would greet her with a big licky tongue when she got home from school? Who would chase the sticks she threw? Who would play hide and seek with her around Dad’s drum-kit? What would be the point in going for walks without a dog?

Mom and Dad didn’t seem to care. Twinkle screwed up her face, resentment rising inside her. When Mom got mad at her and she hid in her room off, Sadie was the only one who knew to check under the bed and would wiggle in beside her. When Twinkle pretended to be Rainbow Dash and jumped off the bed flapping her forelegs, Sadie always yipped encouragement and then bounced around until she picked herself up again. If Mom and Dad had their way, Sadie would stay lost forever and it would be Twinkle’s own stupid fault for not taking better care of her pet.

“No!” Twinkle whispered fiercely.

Opening the back door of the cottage without making a noise was harder than getting her bedroom door open. It creaked once you opened it past a certain point, so she had to squeeze through the gap. She nearly knocked over a trombone Dad had left in pieces on the floor, but stopped it with one hoof before it could crash into the tuba next to it. In the morning Mom would probably yell at him for making a mess and not clearing it up before bed. Twinkle left the door ajar so she could get back inside without waking anyone and get yelled at too.

Outside was sharp and cool for a midsummer night. She shivered, but didn’t falter as she set off into the woods where she had seen Sadie last.

She quickly found that searching by night was not as simple as she thought. All the determination in the world couldn’t make the path before her brighter. She wished she had a horn like a unicorn, so she could light her way. Familiar pathways became alien in the dark and everything around her took on a threatening appearance. Just like everypony else, she had heard about the adventures of the Elements of Harmony and how, when they were off defeating Nightmare Moon, the Element of Laughter had banished the shadows frightening her friends. Pinkie Pie had even come into school to talk to them about it. She was just an earth pony too. Twinkle wished she could be more like her or Rainbow Dash and less like a scaredy baby. Hearing about it and doing it herself, however, were two very different things.

She cleared her throat. “S … Sadie?” Her voice sounded tiny. She imagined Sadie, lost and alone, and called louder. “Sadie? Come here, girl. Sadie! Sadiiiie!”

Something flew up out of the branches overhead. Twinkle cowered, realising seconds later it was a flock of pigeons she had disturbed. Breathing a sigh of relief, she picked herself up and carried on. She was pretty sure this was the path she had taken with the dog. It was full of rabbits and things, which Sadie had bounded off to chase. She often went off on her own, but before now she had always came back before it was time to go home.

What if something awful had happened to her? What if she had got her leg caught in a rabbit hole, or fallen in a gully, or eaten something she shouldn’t? Terrible images flooded Twinkle’s mind, spurring her to shout louder and louder. The sound of her voice echoed off the trees, bringing life to the night quiet.

Something shot across the path in front of her. It was the right size and had a fluffy tail. Twinkle ran after it.

“Sadie, come back! Sadie! Please! It’s me, don’t be afraid. It’s only – whoa!” She skidded to a halt when the creature turned in a patch of moonlight, revealing a triangular face wreathed in fur the colour of rust. The fox eyed her balefully before skittering away into the dark.

Twinkle nearly sat down and cried right there. She had been so hopeful. She swivelled to return to the path, only to realise she had turned herself completely around. The way behind her was choked with undergrowth. Had she run through that? It didn’t look like it had been disturbed. Which way led back to the path, then? She turned several times, looking for something she recognised to guide her. Cold fear washed through her as she comprehended what she had done: she was lost. Great gulping sobs caught in her throat. Mom was going to be so mad; and worst of all, she still hadn’t found Sadie. She would have to wait until the sun came up to find her way home, or wait for somepony to come find her. Then she would be in trouble and probably be grounded, so she wouldn’t get to look for Sadie then either, and if Sadie didn’t come home tonight or tomorrow she would be hungry or maybe it meant something had happened –

Twigs snapped behind her. She whirled, but there was nothing there. “Hello? Is … is somepony there? Hello?”

“Hello,” mimicked a voice. “Hello! Hello! Hello!”

“Who is that?”

“Who is that?” it called back.

“I’m Twinkle.”

“I’m Twinkle,” it said in perfect imitation of her voice.

Twinkle paused. Parrots could do that, but they lived in jungles, not woods like these, right? “My name is Twinkle. I was looking for my dog and I got lost. Can you help me?”

“Lost!” it cried. “Lost! Lost! Lostlostlostlost!”

Something about the voice creeped her out. She started to back away but stopped when she got one hind hoof caught in brambles. She shook her leg, but they clung and their tiny thorns dug in painfully.

“Lostlostlostlostlostlostlostlost!” the voice continued to caterwaul. “Lostlostlostlostlostlostlostlost!”

“Stop it!” Twinkle cried. “That’s not funny.” She kicked and finally bucked until the brambles came loose. She stumbled forward, thrown off balance. Something wet and slimy plipped onto her back. She turned her face up and her mouth opened wide with horror.

“All lost,” said the creature crouched in the branches above her. It dropped like a cat on an unsuspecting mouse.

There was no scream. She didn’t have time. Seconds later all that was left of Twinkle or the creature was a swaying bramble vine stained with fresh blood.

Comments

[The One and only One]

yeah, great story

[Daydream Sky]

No words...just...just...just...

Such amazing writing! That is all that I can hope to spit out!