Northern Winds
I awoke lonely, the filly was missing from where she had formerly been nuzzled up against my bark, keeping her seldom slumber tranced away from the world around her. I swung my head around the mound to make sure that she hadn’t just squirmed away silently in her sleep, she had not. My pitiful home was cold, moistened by the night’s freezing rain along with the northern winds moving in for the winter’s arrival. The roots on my leg had passively dug themselves into the ground as they always had, sprouting leaves above the hardened ground, bringing them back above would just loosen a few twigs if I tried fast. I would wait for the sun’s warmth to heat the dirt into a fragile, dust-like form.
I scanned the land for any sight of this uncommon organism, wanting to know what had happened, whether it be she just wandered off or faltered out of existence. She had fallen away from the spects around me, fading from the screen like a bird that can’t fly out of it’s nest. I cared little for finding the filly, as she was not something I had or would attach myself to in just a day. After peering around the clearing before my mound for what seemed like ages, I lowered my head into my paws, comforting my head within my prickly twigs and branches. I downed my flames, ready to sleep once more out of the day to speed up the process, or at least speed it up to me, of getting my roots freed from the hardened ground. My hearth dimed into the darkness.
Crying. I woke to weeps and teardrops. They were faint sounds, not next to or near me, possibly below my mound or perhaps far away from the forest, but they were still depressing sounds at that.
The sun had risen to an angle, signifying that it was almost noon. The ground beneath me had softened from it’s warmth, allowing me to finally raise from this den without breaking my body. I got up, silently and carefully against the weight of the dirt piled up on my legs.
The weeping continued even as I got up to look around. I saw nothing, nothing but trees, leaves, grass, and wolves. The pitch was high, that of the very same filly that had disappeared from my care the night before. Her sobs echoed, slamming against the trees on all sides, yet hiding from my sight still.
I walked off my pit, looking around once more for the filly, wondering if she was just a figment of my imagination. Still not a shred of her for me to peek. I continued downward towards the dry pond. I made it halfway down my polluted hill before I noticed something dug into the side, something cold and fidgety.
There was a hole set in the side of this hill, holding a place for the depressed creature to hide. Her tears moistened the ground greatly, pain enveloped within her eyes demanding to be set free. She cowered away at first, frightened by the ferocious look that was innate in my kind. I decided to sit down, as if she had anywhere she could go but towards me from then on. I pierced her eyes as hers pierced my own, the gleam in her eyes made them sparkle brightly like the sun on a clear day.
Startled and unsure what to do, the filly approached me finally after what seemed to be ten minutes, thinking I must’ve been friendly. Her mouth dropped a little, as if she thought I could talk. “H-hello there,” the filly said, slowly coming towards the mouth of the gap.
I thought about saying hello back, but I was sure that she wouldn’t believe it was me if I did. I just stayed still, embracing the words being directed towards me finally after the centuries of life I had practically alone with myself.
“Are you going to hurt me?” she asked in a silly fashion, beasts do not speak, or at least in her mind they should not. I stayed silent, waiting for her next words. She came closer once more, putting out her hoof towards my head, stroking my bark. “You’re a creepy thing, ya know that?” her hoof gained traction on a loosened twig, snapping it as she pet me.
I let out a small grunt, sniffling as I watched the twig dangle from a small piece that flexed with the bend. I let out a small whisper of advice, “careful now.” She stepped back, pulling her hoof away from my head, shocked and unsure if I spoke at all.
“Did you just...?” she shook her head in confusion, shoving the top of her mane into the dirt roof of her miniature cave. I lowered my head again, making her feel as if it was her mind playing tricks on her as she put her hoof back onto my head, petting it softly again. “Can you...?” she asked once more, only for my silence to become her only answer.
She pouted for a second, sending her body straight down into the dirt and settled with the worms.
Dots began to fall, small white dots composed of water. The clouds above were darker than usual, as the ponies must’ve began the winter season for our forests as they usually do. The snow fell down as planned, slowly piling up on the surface of our territory. Soon we would have to slumber, forced hibernate unless we could find more blight water to fuel ourselves against the Windigo spirits.
Some of the wolves began to gather for another feast, one that I felt I needed to participate in today. The storing of energy was essential if we wanted to wake at the end of our hibernation. In a week we would begin the great slumber, and during this slumber some of us would wither away and some would be created to fill the spots of the former ones. I stepped away from the child, not caring what she would do about my leave. I made my way down the hill as I had for ages, losing parts of my body each time that I did.
They had already poured the ambrosic liquid into the black pit, filling it quickly. They dug their faces in, splashing it all around the polluted ground. I was lucky enough to burrow my face through the thick wall of wolves gathered up next to the feasting area. I licked up what I could, drinking all that I could possibly get to conserve the winter’s cold.
She came towards the pond once more, the orange filly, thirsting for anything. Instead of attempting to drink from this death pond of ours she just sat there, quietly and faintly like a ghost. I had finished my take and walked over to her, placing my hind quarters down next to her.
We watched as the others got their fill, it teased the child, whose stomach began to rumble in the want for nourishment. I looked down, she was a mess: dirt, maggots, twigs, and lice frollocked in her fur.
I got up, walking towards the forest to find the filly some sort of food to satisfy her for the moment. I figured some of the indigenous fruits and berries would be great for her body. We didn’t have many tree-grown foods, sometimes an acorn, but most of the forest food was berries. The berries were of all colors, some black, some red, some pink, and some blue. I had never tried them myself, wasn’t sure if they would be harmful to the filly or not, but the critters seemed to be fine with them. I found a nearby bush, one filled with mostly blue berries, and gathered a bunch of berries into my mouth, making sure not to drop many on the way back.
I made my way back, as it was not very far away, dropping the berries down in front of the filly. She dove into them, devouring each piece as if it would be her last meal for a while. The juices flied everywhere, splatting and spraying on her and the ground beneath her, dripping down like it was blood from a fresh cut. In seconds she was done, satisfied for the time being.
Wolves still drank their much needed fill from the pond as Alpha came for his turn. He stepped up from his den, shaking the ground beneath him, birds flew away from the nearby trees as he started, wolves scattered as he came for his feast. He took a huge gulp, lowering the level quickly.
Finishing his preparations, he turned back towards me and the filly, raising his front left paw. He swung down towards the filly, causing me to jump away for my own safety. The filly screamed out of fear and confusion of what Alpha was doing. His paw landed flat against her side, sending her sideways onto the ground, she stayed down, hurt and tired. Alpha lowered his head, opening his jaw and bite down on the filly’s wing. She screamed in pain once more, bleeding what she could through the puncture. He carried her off towards his den, doing what he wanted with nothing to stop him.
In the years before that he had taken pets, winter was an odd time, he had always placed them into some sort of slumber so that he would still have his play toy by the time he woke up, not so lucky for this little pony. I was never sure how he did it, never got close enough to find out. I always thought he had some sort of plant or something to cause comatose on his victims. It never bothered me before, feral, mindless creatures were something that I didn’t care for his taking, but now another with a mind and I could not stand it. My embers burned bright, my branches ached, my soul went heavy. There was little I could do now, I would have to let it happen, or die in a fight. I knew what I had to do.
The night was sour, filled with snow and cold winds smashing against the clearing. Some of the younger wolves had receded into their dormancy already as the pack dimmed down. I had waited, waited and watched, as my pack ceased to exist for a time. Among this pack, I was probably the weakest, but I was the only one with willpower.
I headed down towards Alpha’s den, not knowing if the filly had been put to sleep yet, or if Alpha had even entered his slumber yet. It was quiet, just as I expected. His den was dark, darker than void. The girl laid there next to his enormous body, sleeping, splattered with all the filth that she had encountered today. I snuck towards her, noticing the vapid scab that had grown on her wing as I entered the fray. Quietly, I continued towards her, wanting to grab her and sneak her away from this place, I hadn’t thought very far ahead at this point, I should have though.
She awoke, or rather she was already awake, raised her head to look at me. She came closer, allowing me to grab her with my mouth. The filly wasn’t skittish now, able to recognize me as different from the rest, the friendly one. Maybe she was just tired, it didn’t matter, she needed to go. I stepped closer, snagging her with my mouth again to get a better grip on her skin, picking her up. I retreated from his den, slowly, carefully.
Snap.
A twig had fallen off of my body, my foot had landed on top of it, breaking it. I was stone, unable to move, unable to think, I just stood there. Nothing. Alpha did not wake, his eyes did not glow, his fire did not burst. Lifeless. I continued to back away silently.
I dropped her down, nudged her towards the forest wall. It was pitch black, I doubted that she could see. She tried to resist, probably wishing this was all a dream still. She didn’t know where she would go, neither did I, but she needed to leave this place. Slowly she raised her hoof as if going to start walking into the deep woods. She started off, quietly the filly entered the darkness, leaving my sight. Or so I thought.
Awoken, the great wolf hidden from my sight, pretending and watching as I freed his pet. He darted, smacking me down onto the forest floor. I was stunned, unable to catch my grip on reality for a bit. As soon as I came to I was being hovered over by the largest of the pack. He growled at me, unamused with my free will choice. He howled and soon bite down at my neck, cracking my structure into thousands of pieces. The ground was filled with wood shavings as he ruined my formation.
I saw the filly turn around, she looked at me being killed by this lupa, watched as I started to fade from existence. She ran towards us, only for Alpha to swing his paw at her, sending her back near his den. He walked over to her, thinking I was out of it. The filly laid their, barely conscious, unable to move from fear as Alpha approached her, ready to feast on flesh. I got up with haste, darting towards the “leader,” pushing him away from the filly, dazing him too. I grabbed her and ran, ran from the clearing and didn’t look back. I could hear wolves running after me, not sure if it was more than one, or just Alpha in a rage. They followed for the entire way, even against my maneuvers in the forest they still seemed to be behind me according to my ears.
I didn’t keep track of where I was heading, nor the direction of which. I just ran and ran. The filly felt as if she were dead in my mouth, flopping around as my body bobbed around from the running. Light peered at the edge of the forest wall, a hardened barrier of vine structures blocked me from my destination: outside.
I heaved with my legs, elevating myself into the air in an attempt to get over the obstacle in front of me. The obstacle was ragged at the base, but soft and flimsy in the raised parts. I broke through, devastating a few of the vines; some crashing down from the force, some tangled on my body, and some left unharmed. The filly wasn’t disturbed by the jump, allowing a peaceful entry into this new biome.
We emerged into a prairie. Critters roamed around this grassland, mostly picking what they could for food before the north winds set in and froze it all for months. The breeze was strong here, most directions were flat, unable to break the wind down. The air was dry, cracking the skin of all the animals. It was frosty, ready to turn white.
I kept running, unsure if I was still being followed or not. The prairie was a few miles long, the run through it seemed eternal. It was long before I reached shelter: a little dugout in the prairie, just a small hole like my old den. I dropped the filly down, making sure to soften the place up a bit. It was a little muddy, but worth it. Anything to break off the dreadful wind was good enough for me right now, and probably for the filly too.
I nuzzled up next to her, just trying to warm her up, wondering if she would be worth all this trouble. My eyes were heavy, recommending sleep. I followed through, prepped for a good night’s rest.
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This story is amazing, stop putting yourself down.
2513977 Agreed, this is damned good.
I must say... Interesting premise. Mind you, the whole wolf thing is not new, but timber wolf is. I will see where this story leads us. On the whole, "this isn't by best chapter" deal, to you it may not seem the best, but to others it may seem great. I know I certainly have my bad days when it comes to chapters. I still want to go back and re-write the entire ending of my first story. Keep at it, and I know you'll do well! Wait... you're already doing well...
2516416
Ah yes, Alpha does appear to have some sort of intelligence, but it is an innate ability. He will always work as the rest of the wolves have for centuries with the pack, he will never think for himself nor try to evolve the pack. He is stuck with instinct and other innate abilities.
Beautiful, man
2516027
Wait wait wait...
Sorry for taking a bit to reply to this.
This isn't new? Damn... I thought this idea was original...
2533846
More like I am saying the whole wolf things isn't. Mind you, truly original stories are hard to come by, often some form of spin-off of an older story. However, yours takes a unique twist on things. That is what I like about it. By the way, I mean loosely. I mean, even my ideas are probably somepony else's ideas, just twisted a bit. I mean, how many have done my whole story idea of person trapped in forest? I would think Grey perhaps (the movie) but I take a different spin on it. That is the important thing.
I probably worded this wrong.
2534987
It's a little confusing, but the wording seems right. I understand that, but I'm not going to keep them trapped in the forest, as chapter 2 tells of their escape.
I sort of realized that this story idea will come to resemble IRobot so your thing makes sense.
2536005
I happen to love Irobot, so this just made this story more interesting. But, 'originality' doesn't matter so long as isn't a blatant rip off of something else. Your story is great, and the fact that you try to take an original spin on things warms my heart and keeps me viewing. I wouldn't say I am the most well read, only having read about 800 or so fics on the site (all of them were downloads of the files, and I am honestly saying that 800 isn't much on this site, compared to some), but you do seem to take that special spin that makes the average story great. (I tend to read longer fantasy books like the wheel of time series) With time, who knows where you will end up?
Mind you, it is outside my general word limit (usually more than 30k words is a requirement), but considering how short my stories are, I should give it a chance, even if it will always be infuriatingly short.
Perhaps I have this view because at my point, everything blends together...
Yet again, sorry for the length of the comment, but I am writing as I think. I am looking through my little library, and I can't seem to find a fic to compare yours with in order to compare the two. The story feels more sophisticated than Canizs Ezo Kage, purely in the sense that well, the story makes a bit more sense and feels more 'real' if that could apply to fanfiction and that the character is feeling (if by feeling is generally cold, but occasionally sympathetic). Frankly, I can't seem to find to find a fiction that quite compares, some seeming to pale in comparison. Probably because they are different genres, and this is a tale of it's own.
I must certainly say though and this is rare among quite a few HIE's that there isn't OP powers, nor the excessive use of deus ex machina. The story seems to make sense on every front, only calling in the dreaded "god from the machine" when necessary, and then it seems to be right, such as with the blight water.
In it's own category, this story shines as far as I can tell, but does pale in comparison to some of the bigger names, but that can't be helped. I can't wait for the rest of the story to come out.
Thank you for writing such a great story.
2536392
I probably used deus ex machina wrong, but I think I got my point across. Again, sorry for the long comment, but I thought I would give my honest (as far as I can tell) if not erratic opinion.
A great chapter to be sure! :) seeing as this updated i enjoyed this short chapter and cant wait for more :3