The scarred rogue

The Everfree Forest was intimidating on the outside for most, but on the inside,it was terrifying . Darkness shrouded the inside of the forest; the branches and leaves were intertwined due to the trees growing so close together, leaving no room for sunlight to come in. Along the forest floor, a heavy, impermeable brush grew together, forming one large thicket that stretched in all directions Wild, chaotic magics ran through the forest, giving it a life of its own, as the seemingly sentient forest refused to be tamed, despite the pegasi’s most tenacious efforts to bend it to their will. Deep in its shadowy depths though, there were few who managed to thrive, supposedly having gained the forest’s favor and lived in eternal twilight between the dense canopy. The few ponies that were said to live amongst the wild animals of the far recesses of the forest reportedly had cannibalistic tendencies and would feast upon the unlucky few that were captured, having wandered too close to their homes.

One such pony, a rogue, who had been banished from his clan, was fleeing through the forest for his life. They would spring out from the shadows and just as suddenly melt back into them, moving silently through the dense bushes to plan their next assault. but he didn't know what they were; he'd never seen anything like them before in all his life. All that he knew was that they were merely waiting for the right time to strike.His heart raced as he galloped through the forest. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he looked around wildly, searching desperately; his breaths coming in short, ragged gasps as panic set in. He had tried to fight them  but shortly realized he was outmatched They were smarter, stronger, and had the advantage of thumbs, along with claws.

His face throbbed, warm blood trickled down his neck as it flowed steadily from slash marks of one of the creature's claws, He knew he couldn’t keep galloping like this for much longer. His strength and energy were waning away. He hadn’t eaten in so long his ribs were showing. His face slammed into the ground as he stumbled; his right rear hoof caught up in some creeping vines that had grown along the ground. He  jerked his leg violently, freeing it from the snare and scrambled to take off running once again His hooves flailed across the ground as he couldn’t find enough purchase amongst the detritus of the forest floor. Out of the shadows, a giant paw came flying out slamming into his side, and sent him sailing into a tree with a definitive crack. He choked and gasped for air; his ribs on fire. He groaned as he slowly pushed himself to his hooves and spit out a glob of blood. Everything hurt now and his wound from earlier now bleeding more severely. He felt three soft thumps on the ground beside him. Instinctively, he looked up, and his pupils shrank. Three large felines stood before him on their hind legs. One of them lit a lantern, it’s sudden brightness blinding him briefly. As his eyes adjusted, the lantern’s light revealed their faces, One began to step forward,with a predatory grin.

“End of the line, pony.”

The stallion growled as his fur bristled aggressively at them,Despite that he remained submissive  slowly backing away from them. The large cat continued to simply grin at him, its eyes flashing with unspoken hunger and danger. The stallion looked behind him to see that he’d backed up to a cliff face, a river was at the very bottom of the gorge they were at.

The feline took a step closer confidently. “Go ahead, pony, jump, make things a little more interesting for us.”

The stallion looked back and forth from the cats to the river far below them, trying to decide whether jumping was a good idea or not. All the while, the cat was getting closer slowly but surely. Finally, the stallion took a deep breath and sighed before leaping off the ledge to the river below him.

Pain rushed to every part of his body from the impact of the water. “Who knew water could hurt so badly?”

 This thought was quickly swept away with the river. Luckily, he managed to fight the current and make it to shore. He pulled himself out of the river, limping from the impact. He looked up to the cliff side to see the cat trio's eyes seemed to glow as they stared at him intently. He snorted as he limped off, feeling that he was safe now. Hopefully, the cats would give up and leave him be. He needed time for his wounds to heal if he wanted to survive.

********************************

A calico she-cat stared at the pony with distaste. “Shouldn't we go and finish the job, Brodrick?”

The reddish brown tom smiled at her, amused. “Lighten up, Braith, we'll get him, but let’s have some fun for a little while. It's no fun simply killing him just like that.” He snapped his fingers for emphasis. “We'll give him a few days to recover before we chase him again.”

She rolled her eyes. “This is a bad idea.”

The larger cat, a huge black tom with a square jaw, his right eye completely pale where a large scar went across, smiled. “Yeah, I want to drink his blood.”

Brodrick sighed. “Aeron, shut up, you’re an idiot” --he received a glare from the hulking tomcat, which he ignored-- “Braith, I see what you mean, but he's just a stupid pony, and Aeron proved he is pretty much harmless, so why not have a little fun?”

Braith rolled her eyes. “Well, that stupid pony just made it out of the river and walked away. If he gets to that little town, we'll be hard-pressed to kill him quietly. Do you really think Celestia and Luna are as weak and stupid as their little puppets?”

“Of course not, but they won't find out because he won't go into Celestia's land. And even if he does, he isn't one of theirs, so they won't care.”

Braith laughed. “You're an idiot if you really believe that. You know those princesses will protect their own kind from us! They hate our kind.”

Brodrick shrugged, “trust me, everything is going to work out just fine.”

Braith muttered, “It's going to get us all killed is what it's going to do.”

Brodrick ignored this. “Come on, we are going to leave him be for a while.”