If you got out into the woods today...
...You're sure to get a big surprise!
Fluttershy trotted through the forest, whimpering and muttering to herself as she did. She was desperately searching for a mother fox’s lost kit, the small fox pup having wandered far from the family. Unfortunately for the mother, she couldn’t have ventured too far into the forest lest she leave her young vulnerable.
The timid mare gingerly walked along the moss covered floor, flinching at the more ominous sounds that permeated the air. Twigs snapping, trees creaking, bushes rustling, each and every sound sending shivers up and down the poor pegasus’ spine. Although she desperately wanted to leave and call it quits, she stayed strong for the hapless kit that had strayed so far from its mother.
Her hooves gave soft thuds across the mud and dirt surrounding her. She only stopped on occasion when she was certain something was near, quickly moving ahead or backtracking to avoid any negative confrontation. Soon enough, she came upon one of the many oddities that gained refuge from the outside word. This being one of the stranger places.
Instead of immense bulky trees that towered above her, large pillars of stone brick and mortar gave shade to the world. The thick vines and moss hung from their granite exterior, providing the same unnerving canopy as the trees that surrounded it. With curiosity slowly overcoming her current fear, she took tentative steps towards the structures. Upon walking past the pillars, she found an entire courtyard covered with shrubs, weeds, and other invasive foliage. Massive walls surrounded and protected the untouched foliage and remaining structures within, barely standing after the years of disrepair.
Beyond the overtaken stone walls she saw the crumbled remains of what she could only assume was a long forgotten castle. The windows had shattered, walls were fallen, and she could clearly see within the building despite the low light. Opting to turn and continue her search, she was stopped by a plethora of demonic growls. Turning on her hooves, she began backing away from the piercing yellow eyes that seemingly glowed from the shadowed trees and bushes. A timber wolf leapt out, the first of many, slowly making its way towards the terrified pegasus.
Soon enough they began to endlessly pour from the woods, snarling and roaring at her while she retreated. Letting her instincts take over, she snapped her wings open and fled for the nearest escape, hoping to safely find herself as far away from the monster. Finding herself restricted by the canopy, she desperately began to search for an exit. All her eyes found were the walls that stood tall above her and the broken down castle.
Finding no other option, she quickly flew into the opening of the derelict castle, eyes scanning for an escape or, at the very least, a place to hide. The crumbled walls and broken rooms laid a winding path before her, sending her deeper and deeper into the ruins of the castle. As she fled, the close walls and low ceiling began to restrict her more and more until she was forced to the floor, galloping as fast as she could away from the monsters.
The snarls of annoyance and anger echoed throughout the halls, making her hooves move faster. The halls began to grow dark, the low light that permeated the more exposed parts of the castle fading as she ran. However, fortune smiled upon her as she saw a single beam of sunlight piercing the darkness. Pushing herself a bit harder, she beelined straight for the light, hoping to find a sizable hole in the ceiling to escape through.
The wolves were close behind her, their numbers filling the halls with obscene snarls and throaty growls. Passing out of the hallways, she found herself within an immense room, a extremely high ceiling, large pillars following up into the shadows. As she soon as she run in, she tripped upon some of the debris along the floor, sending her tumbling across the ground.
A loud clatter of things falling over and clacking against the floor filled the air as she rolled. She whimpered loudly and quickly pushed herself up, eyes briefly looking down to the floor to see what she tripped over. Her eyes met with the lifeless, petrified gaze of a withered skull.
She let out shrieks of horror and scrambled to her hooves, only to find bones littered the world around her. Her breathing picked up dramatically, her eyes dilated, and her hooves began to shake. Barely registering anything else, she snapped her wings open and began to fly up towards the source of the light.
But before she could fly high enough, a timber wolf had leapt from the floor, one of the many to have entered the large room. Its wooden paws raked her across the back, forcing wails of pain from her and sending her plummeting to the floor. She landed near the back of the room, hitting the ground hard and rolling until she hit a heavy object.
Her eyes filled with tears as the pain coursed through her. Lifting her head, she saw the ravenous canines making their way towards her, some branching out and flanking her, ensuring her demise. All she could do now was to wait and hope for a swift end. They slowly closed in on her, a few licking their chops as they encroached upon her. Weakly lifting a hoof, she covered her eyes and softly sobbed to herself.
She heard one of the wolves pick up speed and leap, snarling at its prize, only to be followed by a loud and painful crunch. But, it wasn’t the sound of jaws snapping upon supple flesh. There was no pain that followed the sound. Timidly and curiously, Fluttershy lifted a hoof from her eye, praying that she wasn’t being toyed with.
Before her, was the Timberwolf, flailing wildly in the air as something suspended it from the ground. A bland, grey-white object was clutched around its throat, leading into the dark behind Fluttershy. As her eyes followed the object, it moved forward, something heavy and metallic scraping along stone. Whipping her head behind her, her pupils shrunk at what she saw.
A towering skeleton, wrapped in chainmail and heavy steel plates, stepped over her, and lobbed the timberwolf across the room, sending it shattering against one of the many pillars surrounding them. The skeleton was bipedal and stood tall despite its decayed state, a golden crown was haphazardly laying atop its skull. The final piece that brought its appearance together was the long sword pierced through its chest, a silver handle with radiant rubies encrusted into it.
The wolves had stopped to watch this creature, as did Fluttershy, the undead being slowly turning its skull to gaze out over the growing crowd of monsters. A loud clicking was heard as its jaw slowly moved, an unearthly rasp filling the air. As the noise continued its hand went to its chest, taking hold of the sword embedded within its chest and slowly pulling the rusted and worn steel from its prison.
The screech of metal on metal was enough to force a few of the timberwolves into constant whimpers of pain. As the blade was drawn, the Skeletal creature raised the blade above its head and emitted a sound similar to shouting into a windy tunnel. Despite the odd, garbled tone, one could clearly make out the words “To arms!!” being shouted through the voice. The undead began to screech this as loud as it could, continuously pumping the sword up and down into the air.
As if a puppeteer had suddenly awoken, skeletons from the floors began to raise up, some piecing themselves back together while others merely stood. Each and every skeleton that rose from the ground was garbed in some form of armor, from hardened leather to thick plate-mail. Most were missing limbs, jaw bones, or even their entire heads. They gathered up what weapons they could, broken swords, barely manageable bows, shattered axes, and some even grabbing large rocks in place of a true weapon.
The wolves themselves had all gathered around one another, some having fled at the first sight of the rising dead. They all began whining or whimpering to one another, slowly pushing themselves back towards the exit. There was only a brief interval before the leader of the skeletons thrusted its sword in the wolves’ direction and shouted once more.
In a blur of limbs and steel, the army of risen dead charged forward, slaughtering whatever was within their sight. Sap, black blood, bones, and splintered bark was flung as the wolves and skeletons collided. Fluttershy looked up in horror and awe as the two groups savagely fought. The wolves would tear apart the skeletons, tearing away limbs and skulls, completely dismantling the undead before getting struck down. While the crowd decimated one another by the minute, she slowly limped off behind the throne, deeming it the safest place at the moment.
Soon enough the leader of the skeletons charged forward, its rusted armor clattering against itself as it moved, giving wide and powerful swings of the sword. Each impact wrought the hides of those it slayed, flinging blood, debris, and limbs into the air. The leader would leap about the stone floor, stabbing one wolf before slashing another, sending more and more of the wolves to their eternal slumber.
By the time the group had finished off the last wolf, the group was nothing more than the undead leader, two heavily armored skeletons, and a hoof-full of risen foot-soldiers. Fluttershy was struggling to stay awake by this time, her wounds having gotten worse while the fighting raged. A loud whine escaped her as she tried to stand, only finding her strength dwindling quickly. The noise, however, brought the attention of the undead. The leader having stomped over, crunching the fallen wolves beneath its boots, looking for the sound with an odd vigor.
When it leaned over the edge and found Fluttershy, she cowered away, curling into a ball and hoping it didn’t see her. She thought her end was nigh as the screech of metal was heard again. Instead of a swift and painful slash, she felt the cold, yet gentle touch, of a being lifting up. Opening an eye, she saw the leader of the skeletons carrying her, its eyeless skull gazing down upon her. It’s attention was stolen by a intense shimmering, a ghastly green glow illuminating the throne room. Fluttershy followed the sound and stared wide-eyed as the remains of the timberwolves were swept up by an invisible wind, slowly beginning to piece themselves together into a titanous wolf, nearly filling up the throne room with its size.
Urgently, the leader passed her off to one of the more heavily armored minions. It gruffly spoke a few words before pointing down the halls. The skeleton nodded its helmed head and speedily began to make its way down the hall. Fluttershy could only whimper at the sudden movements as her injured wings and back got jostled. She began to slowly fade off, her wounds becoming too much for her addled mind to handle.
The last thing she had heard was the clashing of steel and the roars of anger.
Author's Note
Yeeeaaah, I don't have any explanation for this...
If you got out into the woods today...
Fluttershy groaned awake, a hoof going to her eyes as she slowly regained consciousness. The next thing she knew, a flurry of voices filled her ears and pair of hooves were wrapped around her body. Her eyes opened to see the dreadfully concerned faces of her friends. She took a moment to look around, her mind not fully comprehending her surroundings at the moment. White walls, sterile air, an uncomfortable bed. She was in a hospital. But how did she get here?
“Fluttershy, what were you thinking!?” Was the first thing her ears picked up, forcing them to splay against her head. She turned to her left and saw Twilight with a panicked expression, her mane all frizzed out and her eyes dilated. “When you said you were going into the forest this morning, we didn’t expect you to return covered in blood and unconscious!!”
“Now, now Twilight dear.” Rarity began, trying to defuse Twilight’s private bomb. “You cannot get angry at her for something that was probably out of her control.” The Alicorn nodded and sighed, looking to Fluttershy and shaking her head.
“Sorry, Fluttershy, it’s just... When Rainbow found you and brought you to the hospital, she told us and we all... Well, we all panicked.” Twilight explained, resting her head into her hooves and slowly trying to calm herself.
“We all thought we might of lost you!” Rainbow piped in, hovering in the air and crossing her hooves. A rush of anger filled her face as she looked out the window, glaring in the direction of the forest. “I swear if I ever find out what did this...”
“Rainbow, please. We don’t need any more excitement today.” Applejack spoke up before trotting over to Fluttershy and gestured to her wings. “And to be quite frank, I am just glad Fluttershy is here safe and sound.” The rest agreed with her, nodding and stating how happy they were she wasn’t more injured, or worse.
“Fluttershy, you doing alright?” Twilight asked the butter colored mare. The pegasus blinked and looked to Twilight. “I mean, you haven’t said a word. Are you sure you are okay?”
Fluttershy stared at her for a moment before looking out the same window Rainbow did, her eyes locking with the forest. A few minutes passed before she sighed. No pony would believe such a story. Turning back to Twilight, she smiled and nodded.
“Yes, I am fine. A bit sore, but I’ll be alright.” She said, gaining a look of relief from her friends. “I am a bit worried though.” She began, once more gaining the worried looks of her friends. “Did that mother fox ever find her kit?”
[*T*]
It had been two weeks since Fluttershy had ventured into the forest, and her wings were healing nicely. She was released from the hospital today, the doctor telling her to stay off her wings and not strain herself. With the help of her friends, she made her way home quickly and safely. After being tripled check by her friends to see if she was alright, she bid them a good day and entered her house. She found all of her little critters and animals skittering with glee to see their caretaker home and well, filling her with laughter and warmth. Even the lost kit had returned to its mother, only furthering her joy.
In the distance, hiding in the shadows of the forest’s tree line, stood a lone figure. It was tall, wrapped in the woven hide of a fallen Alpha Wolf, and carried a long silver blade. It watched Fluttershy return to her normal life, free of danger. Nodding approvingly to itself, it turned on its heels and walked into the forest, disappearing into the darkened enclosure that was its home.
