A small figure passed through the Grey Woods, aptly named due to being corrupted by magic from a nearby prison, a place where the worst of the worst were imprisoned. Steady rain from above struck the colorless branches of the trees before they dripped to the deep mist covering the floor of the forest.
Dark clouds covered the sky, preventing even the smallest ray of sunlight from passing through and revealing the woods from passing eyes. A sinister aura surrounded the eerie place, manipulating the minds of all those who entered the dark forest, messing up their sense of direction, trapping them forever and leaving them for dead.
A skull-headed serpent hissed, hidden beneath the mist as it flicked its tongue in the air as it watched the small, four-legged creature gallop through. Dried twigs snapped at each contact the creature made with the ground as it tried to find its way out of the maze.
The pink unicorn filly ghosted past the trees, running towards wherever her hooves took her. Her village, burnt down to ashes by a surprise invasion by those black, gnarly things. The screaming, the panicking of her family and friends still echoed inside her mind. Despite her attempts to keep the thoughts at bay, the memories kept on resonating like a song that's stuck to one's head only this one kept reminding her that she was truly all alone in this world.
She looked back at the cloudy abyss behind her which seemingly followed her every second. Everytime she turned away, she saw the silhouette of the leader of the invasion. Her chilling laughter seemed to fill every nook and cranny of the Grey Woods. The gleaming, devilish eyes were the last thing she saw before she made a run for it.
There was fire everywhere around her. The smell of black smoke surrounded as the crackling of burning furniture filled the living room, barely muffling the screams of pain and fear from outside the town hall.
Luckily for her, the bright orange flames died down before they were able to singe her coat, leaving her more or less unscathed. She felt a brief moment of relief before she was snapped back to reality by a blood-curdling scream coming from the main hall.
"Mom! Dad!" she yelled out of instinct as she darted towards the room her parents were in.
Her anxiety rose as she saw those dreaded black beings flying out of the Town Hall. She feared for the worst as an almost maniacal laughter bellowed through the charred hallways. She quickened her pace as her heartbeat increased. She had to make sure her parents were safe and sound.
In a few seconds, she reached the entrance to the main hall: a slightly burnt wooden door. She held the knob with her shaking hoof and turned it sideways. With one final gulp, she pushed the door forward. The sight she saw instantly froze her in place.
On the stage was a bigger black monster, a sinister smile on her face. On one hoof, she held a bloodied dagger and on the other was the lifeless body of her father with a clean cut across his neck. In front of them was her mother laying in the puddle of her.
Sheer stark horror held her in place as she was forced to watch the monster simply discard her father's body like an unwanted toy. The next second, the monster looked right at her, smiling devilishly.
The second her limbs were free from their temporary state of immobility, she made a break for it, blasting a hole in the wall opposite to the stage before she galloped away from the burning town.
Seeing her own parents murdered right before her eyes and witnessing her home burn to the ground shocked her to her core. In her efforts to escape the devastation, she had unknowingly stumbled into the Grey Woods.
She kept on galloping, fully intent on escaping the annihilation she might face at the hooves of the little black devils. She was lost but she didn't know it.
Her path was suddenly blocked by a large black object. Due to focusing all her attention on running far away from her home, she didn't notice the object and as a result, she bumped right into it.
"Oww...." she rubbed her head as the reacting force flung her to the misty ground, "Stupid tree" she mumbled without taking a clear look.
Her tears from before returned again. This time however, it wasn't because of her fear of the black things but more so due to the knowledge that she was never gonna see her family or friends ever again.
Her proud father, her loving mother and her little, innocent foal brother. Gone forever.
"It's not fair..." she cried as she laid on the barren ground. She didn't feel like going on anymore. All she wanted was to close her eyes and let Death do its job and reunite her with her family.
Suddenly, the object she bumped into turned sideways much to her surprise. Three heads appeared out of nowhere as they stared at her.
She slowly backed away out of instinct as all six eyes on the beast's heads locked their sights on her. The canine features on the heads made it even more fearsome and intimidating. Just as she was about to accept her fate, she heard a voice, a calm yet raspy one.
"Little one, why do you weep?" the voice, which seemed to come from the three-headed beast asked.
She blinked as she tried to figure out how the hay the beast managed to speak with her, let alone in a calm and weirdly comforting tone.
"W-what are you, creature?" she asked the tri-headed beast.
No answer came from any one of the heads as the beast merely stared at her with its blank yet intimidating glare.
"Answer me" she asked again.
"Why are you talking to Cerberus?" the voice asked back.
She raised her eyebrow in puzzlement at the reply. In a few seconds, a comparatively smaller figure hobbled from the growing fog. It was at this moment that the filly realized the absence of trees. She had somehow made it out of The Grey Woods.
"What's a lone filly like you doing at a place like this? Is there something wrong?" the figure asked as it stood near Cerberus. He wore a cloak which hid his face but also showed wrinkled hooves, indicating that he was an old being.
"W-why should I tell you?" she asked, skeptical about the way the stranger approached her.
"I'm your friend. You don't need to be afraid" he replied, "I know that you must have some problems to come to this place. No sane pony would ever dare to step hoof in this place".
"Where am I?" the filly asked, barely able to make out a rugged stone roof above the mysterious being and Cerberus.
"Where you are isn't important, little one. I'd rather hear the reason why you're here" the creature, which vaguely resembled a small and feeble centaur said.
The filly hesitated for a few seconds, deciding whether or not she should trust the stranger. On one hoof, she was afraid that he might be trying to manipulate her but on the other hoof, he appeared to be genuinely interested in helping her out and help was the one thing she needed right then.
"Fine, I'll tell you" she reluctantly made her decision, "You see, my home and my neighbors' homes were attacked by these black demon-like insects".
"Changelings" the stranger corrected her.
"Right...and they burned our houses and there..." she began to choke up from the memories of the gruesome scene, "There were so many dead....so much blood...my mom..my...dad...little brother..." she broke down in tears again.
Every single pony she had ever known were gone forever. She felt it was so unfair that the changelings, as the centaur said had attacked them at the time of happiness. On the day she got her cutie mark: a star with two glimmering streams.
The centaur and the three-headed canine watched on as the filly's tears hit the ground. Cold rain drops hit her fur and to her, it felt like little daggers plunging deep into her skin over and over again but it wasn't nearly as painful as the knowledge of being alone for the rest of her life.
The centaur sighed while Cerberus headed back inside the cave. The fog lifted again to reveal a cave from which he was watching the pony suffer internally. He had only seen quite a few beings as devastated as her in his lifetime but he felt compassion and sympathy for the youngster. Slowly, he hobbled to the open environment where she was laying.
In an uncharacteristic move, he placed his cloak over the wet pony to shield her from the drizzle. The filly looked at him in surprise and saw his frail physique but he didn't mind. Instead he greeted the surprised look with a smile before he gingerly helped her inside the cave.
"W-Why are you doing this?" she asked, wiping her tears.
"Believe me, I haven't got the faintest idea" the centaur chuckled, "What was your name again, my dear?"
"Starlight Glimmer" the filly replied, smiling through her tears as they went deeper into the cave, into the home of the centaur, "What's your name?" she suddenly asked.
"Tirek" the centaur simply replied.