"...In the deepest and darkest parts of the everfree forest, lies a monster like no other..." Ace read,"No pony has ever gone face to face with the being and came out alive. Out of all the creatures that lurk in the forest, it is the most deadly... Beware the beast with no mouth ...If, by any chance you meet it, run as fast as you can..." Marble Ace shut the book on Mythical Monsters and turned to his friend, Clear River." Are you buying any of this?"

" Seriously? Of course not... That book is just a way of keeping ponies out of the forest. Besides, a mare made of candy? They have to be making up half of the things in this book," River responded, "Well, isn't that why it's called Mythical Monsters?"

"Exactly, the guy who wrote the book could've at least made it about something more believable, like an Ursa Major."

"But still, some of the stuff in the book seemed pretty... Concerning..."

"Why? Are you scared?" River said, with a wide grin on his face.

"What? No! Of course not! Why would I have any reason to be afraid?"

"Hey, you said it, not me,"

"Whatever... Anyway I need to go home. I'll see you tomorrow, I guess,"

"Yeah, see ya tomorrow. Don't let the monsters eat you!" He shouted as Ace trotted away.

"Just shut up..."

10 Years Later

Marble Ace had just gotten of the the train and had arrived in ponyville.

He spent a few years in Canterlot, so he could study and improve his education further.
And during his time there, he felt homesick, but he couldn't lose a day of school, even if it was for family.
So, after he (barley) graduated from his university, he decided to go back to and visit in ponyville once more.

The moment he stepped off the train, he was greeted by a familiar face.
"Ace! Over here!" his mother was waving frantically trying to get his attention.

"Hey mom. How are--" before he could even finish his sentence, Ace was tackle and squeezed by his mothers embrace.

"I cannot even BEGIN to say how much I missed you!"

"Mom... Need... Air..." Ace wheezed.

Quickly, she released him, but kept her cheerful smile.
"Sorry about that! But anyway, tell me, how was university?"

"Yeah, it was great, mom. Difficult, but OK."

"That's good to hear. Now let's go home, I can make you some tea while you tell me about your experiences."

"Don't forget to put two sugars, all right?"

"Don't worry, I know..."

The two kept talking, and talking, and talking.

Completely unaware of the figure in the forest...

A few hours later

Ace and his mother were at sugarcube corner, enjoying some cupcakes.

"I can't believe it... Marble Ace, my own son, finally graduated. I'm so proud of you! Still... I'm sorry I couldn't make it to Canterlot to see it happen."

"It's alright, mom. I understand that Ponyville is far away from Canterlot."

"You really are the best son a mare could ask for, ya know!"

"Stop it, you're making me blush!"

"Good! Because I mean every single word."

She stood up from the table.

"Well, we'd better get going..."

"Actually, can I stay here for a bit longer?"

"I'm not sure about that. The sun is starting to set, it'll be dark soon."

"Just a little bit longer, please. I just want to walk around town for a bit longer, I haven't seen this place in years."

She thought about it for a while, then shrugged.

"Oh, OK then. But promise me you won't be late!"

"I promise..."

"Well, I'll see you at home, bye!"
She said walking off.

For a while, Ace took a tour of ponyville. Memories of his childhood came back to him, whether it would be the fountain or a particular tree.

During his trip down memory lane, he couldn't help but feel like he wasn't alone.
He was on the outskirts of town when he realised the sun had almost set.

He turned in the direction of ponyville, when he heard a loud snap behind him.

He turned around to find nopony.

All he could see was the Everfree forest.
'I must be going crazy...' he thought to himself.
He was going to turn around again, until something caught his eye.
A shadowy figure...

"Ummm... Hello?" He didn't know what else to say or do.

The figure remained started to back away, at a moderate pace.

"Hey, wait! It's dangerous in there!"

He began to run towards the pony, but stopped himself.

"No... I promised i would be home...
But I can just let that pony wander in the forest! Still, I could get lost in there..."

The figure was almost out sight.

"Ugh... No, I'm not going."

'Why? Are you scared?'
A familiar voice chimed.

He gave the forest one last gaze.
Finally, he gave in and rushed into the forest, cursing his old friend as he did.

...

"Hello? Helloooo! Where are you?!"

Ace was starting to get extremely anxious, he was sweating bullets at this point.

But after searching for a while, he decided to give up and call it a day.
Besides, the moon was out.

There was just one problem, though.

He was lost.

In the Everfree forest.

This was the moment he really started to panic. He was spinning in circles wondering what way he had came, or how he was going to get back home.

Alive.

Then, out of nowhere the figure appeared.

Ace breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank Celestia I found you! What are you even doing in this forest anyway?"

The pony didn't respond, but it did walk towards Ace.
Upon closer inspection, he could see it was mare with a pink coat and a black and crimson mane. But, their was something... Off about her.
Her mouth wasn't visible.

But that's when the realisation hit him...

'Beware the beast with no mouth...'

He ran...

Ace ran like never before. He didn't know where he even running to, but as long as it was away from the mare, he was OK with it.

Ace managed to reach a clearing in the forest, but he hadn't escaped yet.

The mare walked into the clearing with him, her eyes remained blank.

Ace tried to run again, but ended up bumping into what seemed to be a large, sleeping animal.

But to his horror, he discovered that he had ran into a manticore, and he had woken it up.

The manticore stood up and looked down upon him.
Ace backed away and turned around only to find the mare was in a defensive stance.

Then, out of nowhere, she started growing in size, until she about the same size as Princess Celestia herself. On top of that, he features became a lot more fierce. Her mouth was visible now, her teeth were razor sharp and her eyes had gained red rings around her iris.

Lastly, four tentacle like arms sprouted from her back.

Then, she galloped at full speed towards Ace.

At nearly the same time, the manticore leaped into the air, then dived towards him, claws first.

Ace just closed his eyes...
He wanted this to be over...

But, something amazing happened.

Right when the manticore was going to slash away, the mare jumped over Ace and rammed into the manticore, knocking it out of the air and onto the ground.

While the beast was still dizzy, the mare swiftly turned around and and pointed her hoof in a certain direction.
"Run!" she yelled, her voice was distorted, but Ace knew was she was saying.

And so, he began running where she told him to go.

Author's Note

Hey! It's me, The Silver Dodge.

Just so you know, this is my very first fanfic!

There will be more to come, soon.

But anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this fimfic!

Till next time... Cya!