In the woods, he follows.
In the woods, he follows.
I remember me as curious stallion. Prepared for every journey to the unknown. I thought i was the bravest, i thought i was the smartest. But that never will be true. For anyone. There are creatures in this universe that can put you at the size of an ant, at the size of the poor less and useless beings. The Follower, was one of that creatures. An unknown creature, a creature , for my point of view, of pure fear.
The road to the deep and dark forest is and was not friendly once you compare it to the other roads of Equestria. In that time, i was a messenger. They had entrusted me a package of some kind of medicine for an elder who was living to the other side of the lugubrious place. I had to make my work. Commonly i ignored the eerie legends of the forest, but that not means i had a bit fear to enter there. My brave side told me immediately: "Common! Enter there, you little girl!". I walked slowly, entering the woods. I could see the separation of the atmosphere, the brighter had green fields, but when you entered the forest, the green color died, replacing it with dark trees.There were brown and black leaves and branches around the place. I did n´t looked behind, to the light, to the grass.
I walked like fifteen minutes if i remember well my calculations. The place was becoming more dark and the trees more numerous. The sunlight was very poor in the forest, the trees were keeping it away. Only some light rays which crossed by the large branches illuminated the place. I was a bit thirsty, but that tiny natural feeling did n´t distracted me from my duty. Suddenly, with a cold and mysterious wind, a grey gloom invaded the place, very fast. I had a horrible sensation in my face. The air around me became thick. My head began to rumble. I looked my package in the brown bag that i was charging, my vision turned blurry. I thought i was falling sleep but my bizarre dream wishes were interrupted by a big piece of dead tree. I stumbled, and fell hill down.
I woke up, i think a few minutes after the fall, next to my destroyed bag. I jumped by the disaster. Luckily, the bag was carrying another bag inside it with the medicines, but a plastic one, the quality was worst but that did n´t matter and i was ready to continue my walk, until i felt a small pain at my leg. It was wound at the back part.
But that realization stopped when i heard it. It appeared from nothing, from the infinite silence. A sound. A dark one. Like struggling in all the forest, arriving to me. It sounded like a breath. A deep and dead breath that filled my body of horror. I was frozen by panic. "What was that?" I thought in my scared mind. After the horrible moment, the sound of the wind muted, like all the other sounds. I only listened my heart, fluttering with an incredible speed. I wanted to look back, or just move my head, but it was impossible. I was like an alone statue, an horrified statue ready for something to come from the shadows.
Then i heard wood of a tree, wood being removed wildly and accompanied with the long and morbid breath like before. Someone, or worst, something was coming closer, destroying the dead trees and coming to where i was. I screamed angry and with fear: "Go away!" but the sound was still coming faster. My lungs were with no air, just with the cold and damned terror, but i took all the bravest feelings from my heart, even that the sound was coming faster, and i began to run by the road. My eyes were put in front. Passing by branches, rocks and broken wood, fastest as i could. My follower was chasing me, i heard him running, but i did n´t looked back, i was so nervous, charging the bag that was rumbling to my chest in the course.
My mind was blank, no thinking at all, just fear, deep fear. My stupidity, my distraction created by the horror, played against me. I stumbled again, but with a big rock. I fell to a group of leaves. The bag flew by the airs and fell on a broken tree just in front of me, getting inside his wooden hole, made i think, a long time ago by a woodpecker. I knew that the one that was behind me, would arrive in a few seconds, i heard him. Running to me, like a lion to his prey. I was in the ground with an wound leg, defenseless...
But it stopped, my follower stopped the running, and began to walk. I heard the branches being crushed by his legs. The obtuse trees behind me began to rumble. I was in panic, but in a silent one. Thinking what was him or that. My follower was just here, and showed himself, in a horrible and theatrical presentation. I just could n't believe it, My body paled of horror at looking at It him. A white creature, that silently and slowly appeared in front of me. It vaguely remembered me an spider. A big, white, four legged. spider that was right ahead my eyes. His two eyes were black like the night, putted right in me.
His mouth was a bit large, with many long and white teeth like an assassin's bag, making combination with his big and dark jaw.
Brave, i retired my eyes from the beast a second, just to watch the bag in the tree. How i was going to catch it, and worse, how i was going to escape from the follower? The creature made a little movement, with his head, like hearing something. Indeed, it was my accelerated and scared respiration. But suddenly I realized that the monster in fact, was blind.
I remembered, the studies of some classes of biology, specifically wild life. This eerie creature developed his other senses. He could n´t see anything, but he was hearing and smelling everything, he smelled me at arriving to the woods, he followed me, and he found me. In this same moment, the silently possible, i began to approach my hoof to the tree, to catch the package. My follower also, began to walk to where i was, moving his big and slender legs, and his head side to side trying to finding me. At my case, the injury in my leg was causing me pain as i was stretching to get to the bag.
The tension, the horror, the pain were eating my soul as the omnipotent creature was approaching, smelling my fear, hearing my heart accelerating. But by a giant miracle, i stumbled with another branch getting my leg faster to the tree's hole and catching the plastic bag with the medicines inside. But the white one, turned his creepy face and his dark eyes to me, at hearing the noise that i was caused, and at the same time, opened his big and black mouth full of pointy teeth, to produce the horrible breathing, but more intense. It was cold and strong, accompanied with an infernal roar that rumbled all the forest, including me. I thought that my death was closer, my hour was near, but i got up with my back leg bleeding, like raising from the deepest abyss of fear; and with my last strength, I jumped the fallen tree and began to trot, as fast i could.
I thought that the monster with his blindness would n´t find me after my escape, but the pale demon behind me roared again as i was leaving it behind, but this time I heard not only a deep breath, i heard a cry, an angry and hungry cry ready for getting me. My follower will not gave up and also began to run even faster than me. I trotted frenetically, my breathing was getting colder and my tongue was drought. I heard my follower's legs treading the ground, making it rumble, as he was running. Producing all over again his roar. By the tip of the eye i could see his big and pale legs coming closer. My bag was practically asphyxiating me by velocity of the persecution. Suddenly, something beautiful, something celestial happened. I could watch the exit, an space in the woods, signalized by a precious sunlight. The beast had me practically in his jaws, crying harder, running to catch me, a wound weak stallion. I began to scream and cry,watching the escaping closer, the sun and the green and fresh grass. The roar of my follower hit his peak and the monster jumped to me but I jumped at the same time to the sunshine. All funded to black...
I opened my eyes, slowly. The light invaded my face. I felt the wet and green grass in my back. The sun was in the sky, as always. The glorious and gigantic ball of fire. I got up, a bit confused. I looked around me. The white plastic bag was in the ground, one medicine was also in the ground, but it was in good conditions. The dark woods were there, in front of me, but I was outside, safe from the horror, the danger, safe from the follower. My was a bit blurry as i moved the head. In my head ache i could see a wooden and old house just at ten meters of where i was. The front door opened. A old grey Pegasi walked outside. The elder saw me and outlined a little smile. "Oh, you must be the one who must gave me my medicines, if i am wrong?" he said with a joke tone. I agreed with the head and I gave him the bag. "Well, well, you have troubles with that leg do n't you? Come on, get inside and i will take care of that poor hoof!" he exclaimed going inside. I kept my eyes to the forest. "Do you want that leg fixed or not boy?" asked smiling the old one by the door.
He recovered the injury and i stay the afternoon there, drinking some hot chocolate. I was in the sofa, and the Pegasi went down stairs to where i was a bit scared, but inside there, I felt safer and the home loving house removed the trauma,
The old Pegasi sat at side me. "That demon never gives up, since i was very small." the elder said in a nostalgic tone. I looked him, interested. He realized what happened to me in the forest. "You came from the forest kid, jumping with panic, pulling in the grass. You are lucky o have been escaped from him. My friend John had n´t so much luck."
The elder looked by the window, the dark trees, remembering. "We were 10 when it happened. That white monster kidnapped him when we went into the dark woods to play. I escaped like a coward, to survive." The elder got up ant want to the kitchen to bring me more chocolate, and continued his explanation. "That creature is older as the forest. The villagers in this zone say that he grown up from the same earth that the trees of the dark woods, and contaminated the nature with his presence, it's an old living legend"
I felt better then, but it was by night, i never would cross the forest again.and even not at night. "Hey bud, don´t worry about the journey home, my grandsons will arrive in a minute to take you home, they can fly and charge to the other side." That old Pegasi read my mind again. Of course later the two Pegasus arrived later, ready to take me home.
Today i remembered the horror and the fight for living. I tell this for those who wanna know the secrets of the dark and the things who we do n´t expect or we ignore everyday. The surprises of life. And even today, at my age i think, the follower can still there, in the darkness, thinking, dreaming and waiting. Waiting in the silence of the woods. Waiting in the dark abyss. Waiting there in the shadows, for some pony like me. Just, waiting.