The Earth Beneath your Hooves
The soft light of the moon had never felt so alone.
The wind howled.
Crows scattered.
Somepony screamed.
A couple stood at the highest point in the field. The colt was tall, athletic, with light blue forelock that moved like waves in the wild wind. His name was Thunder Lane, and, despite his mask of confidence, he had never been on a real date before.
The mare had her front leg wrapped around his, her electrically yellow mane and tail whipping this way and that. She was wearing one of her old school uniforms, which she had cut the sleeves and collar off of, to make it more comfortable. Her name was Lightning Dust, and she could feel in the air that something was wrong.
Thunder Lane chuckled as another group of crows took wing. Lightning Dust pulled her feral hair away from her mouth and looked up at her 'sort-of-coltfriend.'
"Oh," Thunder Lane cleared his throat, "I was just thinking that it looks like this painting I saw when I was a foal. I can't remember it's name, though..."
The wind had torn away all of his words before they reached Lightning's ears, but she smiled and nodded politely anyway. The wind tore at everything here: words, ponies, plants, animals, and chilled you right down to the bone. But the one thing the wind didn't tear at was the sound the pair heard.
A scream. A piercing, slicing, horror-film shriek that came right through the wind from clear across the field.
And then the wind stopped. Just like that, gone. It didn't slow down, it didn't change direction, it just ended, as though something had been placed in it's way. No more crows flew. There was no sound at all.
The couple stood silently, unsure of what to do or how to react. There was no one around. No houses. No ponies. No clouds. No roads.
Lightning pulled at Thunder's leg, "We should go..." she whispered, "come on."
Thunder Lane stood perfectly still, then looked down at Lightning Dust, "Aren't you curious?" he asked, making it clear that he was, "There's no one around. We're the only ponies who heard that. What if somepony needs help?" he pried his leg away from my grasp and took three long strides down the steep hill, then turned to look at Lightning, "Coming?"
The mare shook her head vigorously, sitting down hard on the dirt with a small puff of dust , "mm-mm. I'll meet you back on the trail," She turned her head back to the forest behind her, thinking about whether she was really going to abandon her first-ever coltfriend.
Thunder shrugged, "Alright," he mumbled, and slid down to the bottom of the hill on his heels, tiny crumbles of earth following him.
Lightning made small, worried noises to herself as she watched Thunder Lane depart. She looked back and forth quickly, anxiously, appearing much like a worried wren who had just her the snap of a twig under a cat's paw.
"ohhh..." she groaned, "wait up! I'm coming, too!"
~~~~~
Lightning had to gallop to catch up, with some short bursts of aerial speed. When she skidded to a halt right behind him, she said, panting, "that scream came from the other side of the field! That's at least a mile, easily! If someone is in trouble, we'll get there to late!"
"I don't think it did."Thunder said simply
"You don't think what did what ?" Lightning asked, confused and frazzled, while still trying to catch her breath.
"I don't think the noise came from across the field. I think it echoed, and was actually a lot closer. I saw something moving here in the wheat," The colt explained.
"It was probably a bird or something," Lightning whined.
"No it was definitely bigger than a bird, and I saw a something purple-ish get pulled off the path. Doesn't that sound like another pony?" He asked almost accusingly.
"Fine," Lightning muttered, " Have a go at me just because I didn't see your imaginary mare."
Thunder stopped stock still in his tracks, "what did you say?"
"I think you're just trying to scare me or something," Lightning suggested.
"Oh, what?! You think I could fake that whole thing?" Thunder's voice rose louder than Lightning had ever her it. She flatened her ears against her head as a grimace appeared on her mint-green face.
As the teenage couple argued, a deep, guttural sound rumbled across the field toward them. The ground moved, but nothing like an earthquake. It looked more like something was moving under the dirt, something huge. It spread like a wave through the earth, and stopped right beneath the two pegasi.
They silenced their speech mid-sentence and looked down. They were standing on a mound of earth that measured about fifty feet wide. As they stood atop it, it shrunk, until there was only enough room for Thunder.
Then the ground twisted around his hooves. It pulled him in up to his knees and squeezed with all it's might.
Thunder cried out in pain and surprise, "Lightning! Help! Pull me out!"
The mare ran to him, but the earth twisted again, and he was in up to his waist. She grabbed his hooves and, with wildly flapping wings and a loud grunt of effort, pulled as hard as she could.
Thunder shrieked again as his left shoulder popped out of it's socket.
"Don't let go," Lightning murmured to him, "You'll be fine, just don't let go."
Thunder was in up to his chest.
"Don't let go. Don't let go! DON'T LET GO!"
The soft light of the moon had never felt so alone.
The wind howled.
Crows scattered.
Somepony screamed.
