Ortan's Journal

Entry 2

I made some good progress today, I think. I'm currently in the top of a dead tree because I don't want to be on the ground at night. Who knows what hunts nocturnally here? Better not to take a chance. I decided to take this time to write another entry, so I'll just pick up where I left off with the last one.

I walked outside into the sheets of rain and took one last look at my home. I might never see it again. I might never see Ponyville again. Ah, but best not think that way. I gazed at the town I was about to leave behind in search of the citizens that, only a day before, had occupied it. With that last look, I set off. The closer I got to the forest, the bigger and darker it seemed. When I reached the edge of the trees, it was radiating a wall of bad feelings so thick I felt as though I had to put all my weight into my next step to get in. I broke through, only to be immediately surrounded by the dark mood. I badly wanted to turn back, but I couldn't. I had to trudge forward. I had to do it for them. However, on my thirteenth step I broke a branch in three pieces, a bad omen. As I looked up from the unnerving sign, my surroundings began to sink in.

The forest was a demented place. Eerie calls echoed through the trees. Sticks snapped and leaves rustled everywhere. Nearly every tree there was dead, and those that were still alive seemed likely to fall at any moment. The air was dank and heavy, and smelled of sorrow and shattered hope. It seemed to suffocate me with every breath I drew. Clouds of gnats flew through the branches and over stagnant ponds reeking of dead fish. The light wind carried the sound of ancient whispers, hoarse and heartless. Crows called to each other and frogs croaked louder than I thought possible. Death, it seemed, hung in the air. I nearly lost my balance several times to the uneven ground, covered in unrecognizable bones. The canopy of the trees was thick enough to blot out the sky despite lacking their leaves. Only a sparse amount of light seeped through, barely enough to illuminate the ground. Fog came and went with the hours, and got thicker each time. Eventually it was too thick to see three hooves in front of me, so I kept my eyes on the ground. Luckily, I hadn't strayed from the path of hoofprints.

One thing I hadn't noticed earlier, however, was the presence of other tracks beside them. These tracks were like nothing I'd seen before, with seven claws on each... well... these weren't hooves. These were... just claws. It seemed whatever these beasts were, they walked on claws. How strange. I almost crashed into a tree while I was staring at the odd tracks, so I looked up, and luckily the fog was gone. However, the sun had set while the fog had blinded me. The moon peeked through the small holes in the canopy, and I began hearing larger animals stirring in the brush. Howls filled the night, and snakes slithered across the ground. An owl flew silently above my head into a hollow tree.

Suddenly, my hair stood on end. Something was watching me. I tried not to let it shake me too much, but I was feeling more and more vulnerable on the ground, so I tread forth in search of a tree. I eventually found one that extended above the canopy, and set out to climb it. It proved to be a challenge, but I made it.

Once I broke through the top, the immense view stunned me for a moment. The full moon was now engulfed in clouds, and eerily shone through the mist. The forest seemed to extend forever, an unending mass of dead wood. But as the moon gave a brighter light through a hole in the clouds, I noticed a small plume of smoke about seven miles away. That of a campfire, it seemed. I was getting closer. So now I have caught up to the present, I'm still in the top of this tree staring into the night. It's about time for me to get some sleep though, I'll need my energy tomorrow. I have a lot of ground to cover, but I might be able to catch a glimpse of the others by the next sunset. Not that you can see the sunset underneath this canopy. Anyways, I need to put this up, so I'll write another entry tomorrow.