The sound of hoofsteps was an unnatural sound. The surrounding wood greeted the unexpected visitor with its usual response, gathering the local residents for its signature song. Crickets chirped, their legs moving like bows on a violin, sad and high. As the wind whistled, dodging through the tree's, as it rushed to join the choir of the woods.
Owls hooted from the distance, adding their part to the song, even though to shy to show their faces. Higher up, leaves rustled as the wind blew past them, and the tree's branches shook, adding low creaking sounds to the chorus.
The source of the disturbance, glanced around nervously, as she headed deeper into the dark forest. Although she knew that it was all in her head, the young mare couldn't help but feel like she was being watched. The gaze of another felt like it was barrowing into her like a worm into the ground.
She took a few deep breaths, trying to sooth her troubled nerves. She sighed, and began to observe her surroundings.
Much of this place was familiar to her. She had played in the forest often as a child, and certain spots she remembered more than others.
A small glade with a large rock sitting in the center brought up an old memory as she passed.
She was climbing the rock, pretending to be a mountain goat.
Another memory flashed, this was also the place, where she had met her best friend...she had never seen the other filly in town before, and although she had wondered why, she had never broached the subject with her friend.
Regardless, the two quickly became the best of friends, and her friend had served as a source or wonder and entertainment. As a source of comfort, as a second home.
At home, things were never as joyful. Her mother drank a lot, and her father was almost never home. If her friend wasn't there to comfort her in times of stress or when her mother took her anger out on her, she wasn't sure how she would have dealt with all those harsh years of her life.
The memory faded, and the mare sighed, before turning, and trudging on.
The cold winds of the Everfree sent a shiver down her spine, and she wrapped her wings around herself to try and contain the warmth in her body. Pegasi had little control over anything here, and she had forgotten her jacket, so she had to work with what she had.
Another area caught her eye, and she approached it; her mouth curling into a small smile. The large tree before her had more memories surrounding it.
She had loved running in circles around the base, and climbing and flying around its sturdy branches. Her and her friend had played here often, enjoying a game of Hide-and-Seek, or playing around in the high branches of the tree.
One memory, in particular, stood out. The mare could recall it with surprising accuracy.
Her friend had found an injured bird. It had hurt it's wing somehow, and her friend had decided to help it. She handed the bird to the Pegasus filly, and climbed the tree.
A few minutes later, she came back down, carrying a nest with several baby birds inside. The babies were going insane, cheeping and thrashing around; a sign they were probably hungry. Her friend said maybe seeing her kids would somehow heal the mother, and took them behind some bushes for some privacy.
The sounds of cheeping stopped a few seconds later.
Before the filly could head behind the bushes to investigate, her friend came back, a big smile on her face. It had been a miracle, she had said. The mother had suddenly gotten better, perhaps with the magic of love, and lifted off, carrying the nest full of children off to another tree.
While her friend spoke, the filly had noticed a few drops of what looked like blood on her friends face. She asked if she was okay, and her friend wiped her face with a hoof, explaining that a few branches had scratched her while she was climbing the tree.
The memory ended there.
Although she hadn't found it odd back then, now that she thought about it, something didn't seem right about that explanation. Her friend wasn't a unicorn, she didn't posses healing magic.
A branch snapped from somewhere nearby, snapping the mare to attention. That feeling of being watched arose in her again. She stared off into the darkness, trying to spot whatever she thought could be out there. All she could see however, was tree's.
Lots of trees.
She shook her head, she had a reason to be here, and she wasn't going to be scared off by some sounds in the dark.
Thinking about why she was here made her remember her final memory of this place.
Her family was moving, and she had been happy to leave. She had stared out at the forest, as it slowly began to shrink as they sped off into the distance. She had never said goodbye to her friend. In fact, it almost seemed like she had forgotten about her entirely, seeing as she had no complaints about leaving.
She had come back, for closure. She lived far away, but long forgotten memories of her time with her old friend had resurfaced for the first time in many years.
Now she was here, to say goodbye properly to the pony who made her foalhood bearable. Even though chances of her old friend still being here were slim, at least she would show some respect.
She was almost to her destination, a place she considered to be the heart of the Everfree, even though it was far from the center. It was also the place where her last interaction with her friend had been.
Pushing through some dense foliage, the young mare found herself in a large glade, surrounded by a ring of trees.
Something about this place filled the Pegasus with...unease. Her eyes scanned the area around her, and her wings twitched in agitation. Something caught her eye.
A large dent that had been made in a tree.
The dent hadn't been made by any animals who lived there, it looked more like somepony had bucked the tree in a fit of rage. Regardless, something about the dent in the tree triggered another memory, a memory the mare hadn't even known existed.
She was screaming and sobbing, as she crawled away from the filly she thought to be her best friend. Her friend was cackling, slowly moving towards the crying filly, every step leaving behind a bloody hoof print. Her hooves were stained with the blood of another pony, who lay several feet away, partially devoured, and unmoving.
Her friend stomped down on one of her legs, causing the filly to cry out in pain. The blow was followed up by a kick which sent the injured filly rolling into the base of a tree. She whimpered, tears streaming from her eyes, as she gazed up at the pony she had called: Friend.
There was no escape...her friend was going to kill her, and then eat her, just like that other pony, just like those birds...the crazed filly brought a hoof up to strike, and without a hint of remorse, brought it down.
The young mare let out a gasp, as she flailed for a second, before tripping as she tried to step back from the horrifying images in her brain.
She hit the ground hard, and she groaned in pain. The memory...it had been so real...and she now remembered how it had ended.
The hoof had smashed into the tree behind her, just barely missing her head, while also taking a huge chunk out of the tree. Something black had begun leaking out of her attackers hoof, and almost as if she had burst a blood vessel, her eyes started leaking a similar black fluid.
Taking several steps back, leaving a trail of the ooze, the crazed filly let out an almost primeval scream, before turning and fleeing the scene.
The young mare never told anypony about what had transpired here, she knew they would not believe her, and when she finally got home, she lied about the wounds she had received.
When she had been informed by her parents that they were moving, she had been overjoyed to know they would be leaving the Everfree forest behind, and overtime, as the traumatic experience faded into the past, her mind locked the memories away, with good reason.
The mare shakily stood up, her gaze falling on the tree again. Something about that crater still being there told her something was wrong, and she should leave now.
The sense of something watching her seemed to intensify as she quickly made her way out of the forest, and the presence followed her all the way home.
Author's Note
This was a short story I wrote down on paper first during a few days of brainstorming ideas. Plus, walking through the woods that one has been to many years ago brings up memories.
If you didn't like something about this story, let me know in the comments so I can improve in my next story.
See you in the next fic.
