Prologue//Behind the Woods
The moon bathed the forest in its, soft, blue light. A mare was trotting in the eerie-looking forest, dried leaves crunching under her hooves. There was an owl hooting in the distance. She gulped, keeping her head low.
"Damn that dare," she whispered, looking left and right. She was dared by one of her friends to walk through Everfree Forest at night. Her flashlight flickered, dimly shining the way. The shadows of the looming trees was enough to make her nervous. She could hear the bush rustling.
"Hello? Who's there?" She called out, her heart beating fast in her chest. She shone her flashlight towards the bush. "Hello?"
The bush rustled again. A breeze passed through, and a single leaf fell on her head. She let out an unearthly scream and dashed away. Once she felt she was safe, she came to a stop to catch her breath. She looked around. An uneasy feeling settled in her as she realized that she was lost. All alone, in the Everfree forest.
She sat down, tears running down her cheeks. Leaves crunched nearby, and she could hear the faint sound of a hoof. "Is somepony there?" She called out again, rubbing her tears away. Standing up, she decided SHE should go and find the pony. Or whatever was there. "Hello?" She called out again, this time louder. There was a shushing next to her, as if something was telling her to quiet down.
She stopped in the midst of her searching and found herself in an opening in the forest. She looked up to the moon. A mist was setting in.
"Hush, little one," She heard a singsong voice. It appeared that it was coming in all directions. Shivers ran down her spine.
"I see you," The voice continued, and there was giggling.
"Don't you see he's trying to sleep,
Don't be a bother you'll wake him up,
How about we play a game,
A hide-and-seek but this time with a bargain,
Whoever loses,".
The voice stopped. There was a figure of a mare next to a tree.
"Will be the unfortunate one."
The figure crept closer, its head tilting unnaturally to the left. "I don't want to play!" She cried out, backing away.
"Don't worry, little one," She could hear someone whispering to her. She jumped, screaming. She was running again. She could hear the lullaby, over and over again everywhere she goes. She stopped in front of a dirt wall, her hooves holding onto the wall for dear life.
"Don't hurt me, please, please," She begged. She slid down the wall onto the ground, her hooves covering her face. "Please, please."
"Don't you think I don't see you," She could feel somepony's cold breath on her neck. "Because you've been found, and now you need to pay the consequences,"
She peeked through her hooves and saw nothing- before she felt something strike her heart.