Blazing Hearts

"Keep running! We'll only find you later on!" Those words haunted him. It hunted him. Like an eagle soaring high above, stalking its prey. Wherever he went they were there also, they were almost always a step ahead. And he always escaped them. It was an endless game of cat and mouse. Though this one was a lot more bloody.

         Thunder Blaze limped through the forest, his left hind leg bleeding from an arrow wound. His only thoughts were to survive and escape. His mind degrading to that of a cornered rat's.

          "Water..." He whispered.

          He kept on mumbling. His vision was blurred. His steps shaky and uncoordinated.

          Then out of nowhere, hope appeared.

          He saw a village, a thriving community of ponies. He saw foals running and playing, stallions and mares going about on their businesses and the occasional coulple embracing.

           The only problem: he was still in the forest and there was no knowing whether he would make it or not. In his crippled state, the more he walked the faster his wound bled, the more blood poured out.

           Hopelessness. Tiredness. Fear. Frustration. Pain.

           These were the very things that pulled him down, both spiritually and physically.

           He knew he was already dead. He would not make it. He never will.

           As if on cue, he tripped. His jaw hit the ground, followed by the rest of his tired body.

           The last thing he saw was the worried face of a pink-maned yellow pegasus.