A Decrepit Visage and a Diamond Soul
As the sun began it's slow descent from it's mid-day point, a chiming bell was heard throughout a section of the humble village of Ponyville. The laughter of children could be heard as they left the rosy red school building, off to their homes to work on either homework and chores or drop things off to hang out with their friends. The latter being the primary goal of three young fillies as they sped off to their respective homes. The young Scootaloo buzzing off on her scooter, her small yet powerful wings speeding her along the town's streets until she stopped at her home. The energetic filly ran inside, seeing her parents in the kitchen. "Hey mom, dad, I'm just dropping my stuff off then me and the girls are gonna go crusading for our cutie marks!" She spouted off excitedly before rushing off to her room to drop her saddlebags off. Rainy Meadows giggled softly, shaking her head and seeming to tousle her own fuschia mane, before turning to her husband. "Oh to be young, excitable, and on the hunt for our cutie marks again eh Gale Blitz?" She smiled, the magenta pegasus said before turning to her spouse, a burly pegasus with an emerald coat and deep blue short cut mane. He chuckled and nodded. "True, but then we wouldn't be able to....." he then whispered into his wife's ear, eliciting a blush and slap on his side from one of her wings. "Oh you cheeky." she said, laughing as they watched their daughter speed out the door.
Next among the three to make it home was little Sweetie Belle, cantering into her house, waving at her parents Pearl and Magnum before dropping her bags off, throwing on her cutie mark crusader cape and rushing out the door. But not before striking a quick pose in front of the mirror by her door. After all, her sister always said a lady had to be fashionable no matter what. She smiled before darting out of the house, heading towards the clubhouse to meet with her friends.
The final filly of the trio ran along a well trodden dirt path towards a bright red farmhouse. The young cream colored pony nearly made it inside before the door opened, causing her to run into the large red stallion exiting the building. Big Macintosh looked down at his youngest sister. "Ya alright there sis?" He said, crouching down as the filly cleared the floating apples around her head, her crimson mane shaking back and forth. "Ahm alright big brother. Me and the others are goin crusadin so I gotta hurry and drop mah school bags off." She smiled, dashing past her older brother up to her room, depositing her bags on her bed before running back out the door at speeds that would have made a certain prismatic pegasus blink and double take. Mac couldn't help but chuckle at his sister's energy before heading out to the western fields.
The three fillies soon reunited at a small wooden tree fort near the edge of one of the large orchards
"Alright girls, so our idea today is stilt walking right?" Scootaloo said excitedly. Sweetie and applebloom nodded. "Only problem is, we used all our spare wood when we made our demolition carts last week." Applebloom pointed out. "Ain't enough left to make even a single pole." She said. The three thought for several moments before sweetie belle spoke up. "What about your family's farm? Surely you guys have a lot of spare wood or fallen branches?" applebloom shook her head. "Mac and Applejack are using all the woodetails to repair the barn and fences, and there's no trees needin prunin yet so no branches
" The three then resumed thinking. "Hey what about in the forest? I'm sure Zecora would have some spare poles or sticks. She's always got that weird walking stick with her." Scoot aloof pointed out. For a moment the three fillies brightened before sweetie belle gained a look of thought. "But that's in the Everfree forest. Our families don't exactly like it when we go out there on our own." She said hesitantly. Applebloom shook her head "Ah visit Zecora all the time." She smiled. The three then jumped up into the air shouting "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER STILT WALKERS YEAH!!" before running out of the club house towards the dark forest.
After several minutes of walking through the foliage, being careful to avoid a large patch of poison joke on the way, the fillies came to a large, torn up section of pathway. "What in tarnation happened here?" Applebloom said in shock, the destroyed path being the one commonly used to go to the zebra's hut. The two other crusaders looked at the pathway in shock and awe. "Musta been something huge to do that." Scootaloo said before turning. "Well come on, we can just take a detour." She said, leading the girls towards the side of the path. "I don't know scoots, rarity and fluttershy always said to stay on the path since dangerous creatures live in the shadows." Scootaloo scoffed. "Yeah bit whatever did this probably scared em away already." She said, the two hesitantly following their pegasus friend.
After several more minutes of walking through the underbrush the girls stopped in a small clearing. Looking around the three blinked, looking back to see the path they had made had already grown back to normal. Sweetie belle gave a sigh. "Yep. We're lost." Applebloom and Scootaloo looked at her with deadpan expressions before turning and nodding to each other. "Yep." They both said before they all began to look around for some form of path to take. The search however was interrupted as a low growling filled the clearing. One by one, pairs of glowing yellow eyes filled the underbrush, large wooden wolves slowly stalking out of the shadows towards the three fillies. The timberwolves slowly circled the three fillies, licking their splintery chops as they prepared to pounce on their next meal. With a flash the wolves pounced, the young fillies closing their eyes as they huddled together, waiting for their maker to come.
.....After several moments of silence and lack of wolves tearing into them, the three fillies hesitantly opened their eyes. However, upon doing so they almost wished they hadn't. For standing above the three fillies was what could simply be called a monstrosity. Eyes as black as coal pits, skin that looked like it had bubbled and hardened, and long, razor like claws at the end of lanky arms. The three felt shock and pure terror, but also confusion as they watched the large monster seem to crouch and screech at the timberwolves, slashing at them. Even the wolves themselves seemed terrified at the simple appearance of this creature, yelping as they ran off back into the trees. The creature raised itself back onto it's hindlegs, slowly turning to look back at the three fillies. It cocked it's head, opening it's mouth, it's teeth looking like razor sharp spikes, a forked tongue licking over them before it spoke. "Xiet sachkra?"("Ponies okay?") It said, the words sounding like simple screeches and gurgle sounds to the ponies who once again cowered in fear. It walked over to the trio, reaching out a long razor shaped claw. "Nicht Kask Xiet Tslerota"(Wolves not hurt ponies?) At this the fillies gave out a loud cry of terror,the sheer fear of the creature sending the trio into unconsciousness.
"ak......eari.....atch....old...." A voice slowly rang through the foggyness of the three girls' consciousness. After several moments, they soon awoke in what looked to be a cave, but was decorated like a well furnished house. A bed on the far corner and a fire pit in the center. Immediately the fillies looked about, soon spotting an older mare across the cave. The mare was a bright almost neon blue unicorn with an untidy black mane. Her cutie mark depicted what looked like the shadow of a roaring creature's head, but inside in a lighter grey was the head of a unicorn pony. She looked over and gave a smile. "Oh good, you three are awake." She smiled, walking over, gently helping them up. "I was a bit worried when you three were found outside my home all passed out." She smiled, going over to add another log to the fire. "Three young fillies shouldn't be out in the everfree on their own you know." She said, hearing a screech off in the distance. The screech caused the fillies to jump in alarm
