The Path

by akajulester

First published January 1st, 1970 00:00

Little fillies, this seems to say
Never stop upon your way
Never trust a stranger friend
No one knows how it will end
As you're pretty, so be wise
Wolves may lurk in every guise
Handsome they may be, and kind,
Gay, or charming, never mind
Now, as then, 'tis simple truth
Sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth.

Everypony knows the fairy tale of Little Red Cape as a tale of caution, warning young fillies to mind their mothers, to be careful with wild animals, and to not speak to strangers. However, the six fillies that it is based on had much darker experiences than that of Little Red Cape…

The short poem above is Little Girls, the third track on the soundtrack for The Path, by Tale of Tales.

The Path is a beautifully written and designed game based on the original Little Red Riding Hood tales [like the one by Perrault where she and the grandma are both eaten (which is included on the soundtrack), and the one where the bzou (werewolf) tricks her into eating the flesh and drinking the blood of her dead grandma, but escapes, and the wolf drowns (this is also included - how lovely)]. I do not want to spoil any of it, as the game itself is just an experience that one should go through without prior knowledge of it. So, if you wish to avoid spoilers, please play the game, first (although it came out like five years or so ago, you can still buy it on the app store or at Tale of Tales' website for the game)!

To avoid breaking any of the guidelines/rules, I will change aspects of the game's story, while still trying to keep the basic storyline (i.e., the characters' names are different; SPOILER FOR THE GAME —>[spoiler]the fillies will die[/spoiler]; the wolves will be changed around; etc.

I also placed the 'Teen' and 'Sex' tags because while the game does not outright show any graphic material, it does imply them, and the game should definitely not be played by children.

Chapters

The Tale of Little Red Cape

The Tale of Little Red Cape
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The Path

The Tale of Little Red Cape

"Now, whomever wants me to read Little Red Cape, please raise your hooves."

High Soprano sighed as the majority of the class gathered around her raised their hooves. Grinning somewhat sadly, she shook her head in slight amusement, wondering why they always wanted that story...

"Alright, alright, I'll read it." Sopra's smile gained some mirth as the young fillies and colts cheered. She gestured for them to come closer, levitated the worn and slightly tattered book of fairy tales off of the shelf, and opened it to The Tale of Little Red Cape.

"Once upon a time," she began, "there was a little village filly, the prettiest that had ever been seen..."

"'...never leave the path and run off into the woods by myself if mother tells me not to.'"

Sopra could only look on in a bemused sort of way as they all clapped and cheered. Honestly, I worry for what kind of adults they'll make, if they find entertainment in a story that is pretty violent..

At the end of the day, as the young fillies and colts were picked up by their parents, Sopra noticed three certain older fillies hanging back. The first, Songbird, was a 15-year old unicorn with a robin-red coat and dark brown hair. Her cutie mark was one of a robin, its beak open with a music note coming out of it. The second, Spice, was a 16-year old pegasus with a ginger coat, and flaming red hair. Her cutie mark was a wing with flames bursting behind it. The third and final filly, Silky Soft, was 17-year old Earth Pony with a carmen coat, and black hair with purple highlights. Her cutie mark was two pink lipstick marks, one a bit darker than the other.

"Can I help you girls?" asked Sopra.

Songbird fidgeted slightly. "Well, we overheard you telling that fairy tale to the younger ones-"

"-and we're doing this project on the really old versions of fairy tales-" continued Spice.

"-and we were wondering if you knew the origins of that one?" finished Silky Soft.

Sopra's smile faded, and her face became a bit darker. "A-are you quite sure that you want to hear the original story? The one that ended up with this one?"

Songbird nodded, but looked confused. "Does it have more violence in it?" She brightened somewhat. "Oh, that's alright! We've already heard the one that the Perrault guy from Prance wrote back in, like, the 7th Century, or whatever."

"Yeah," said Silky, rolling her eyes, "I'm pretty sure we can handle it."

"So tell us!" exclaimed Spice. The three girls sat down, and looked at Sopra expectantly. Sopra, still hesitating, bit her lip. However, as she saw their eager faces, she let out a resigned sigh, and sat down as well. She levitated an older, dustier book off of the shelf. It was simply titled, Origins of Classic Fairy Tales. She flipped through the pages, before settling on the one for Little Red Cape. She looked up apprehensively at the girls once more, before clearing her throat, and begun to read.