The Mare in the Woods

Trebass wandered in the dark woods for the longest time. He felt like he had been walking in circles for hours, but his M.a.s.t. showed him that it had only been five (5) minutes.

"How large are these woods? I can barely see anything even with my M.a.s.t. Light..." Trebass complained to himself.

His hoof steps on the soil were the only noise he could hear. But that changed when he heard the chirping of a bird coming from the distance.

"At least I'm not the only thing in this place." Trebass whispered to himself.

He decided that he would follow the sound of the bird. Perhaps it would lead him somewhere lighter, or maybe he had a small case of insanity; not even Trebass himself knew.

He tried to keep up with his winged companion, the chirping was the only sign of life anywhere around him. Finally, he saw something in the distance. It was light.

"Thank Celestia for birds, it's about time!" Trebass galloped as hard as he could towards the ray of light.

He slowed down as he came near. He quickly hid behind a nearby tree as he saw something move in the light. It was bigger than a bird, but smaller than the Tuxedo Pony. Trebass was sure it was a pony though.

The white unicorn peeked out from behind the tree. A white unicorn mare with a dark brown mane sat on a tree stump with a harp between her legs. The sunlight surrounded her.

She began to play her instrument. The beautiful melody filled the air and soothed Trebass' aching ears. Trebass had finally relieved himself of the shouting and arguments he had been hearing for the past few days.

Trebass gasped. As the mare plucked the final string, he felt a sharp pain in one of his back legs. Then, it disappeared as quickly as it came. He looked back at his leg, the bandage around his wound was gone!

He remembered the day before, he had been hit by a piece of shrapnel and it hadn't completely healed until that moment.

"W-what the..." Trebass covered his mouth, as he noticed the mare staring at him.

They both froze in place, until the mare giggled.

Trebass chuckled quietly along with her.

"Hee Hee... Your a strange one aren't you?" The mare asked.

"Well, being strange is in my nature I guess." Trebass replied.

"Tell me, who are you? I thought only me and my brother lived in these woods. But... I haven't seen my brother in a long time..." The mare looked at the ground with a saddened look on her face.

Trebass tried to cheer her up, "Hey, don't look so down. How about we go looking for your brother?"

"You don't understand... But all will be explained when the time is right. Would you like to hear another song?" The mare asked.

Trebass nodded, as he sat down next to her on the stump.

She began to pluck strings of her harp as she sang lyrics that Trebass couldn't understand. He didn't need to understand them, he was too distracted by the golden harp that the mare was playing.

Birds, bunnies, and other woodland creatures began to gather around the two ponies. Which was surprising, because Trebass had hardy seen any living creatures since he split up from his group.

"Would you like to try?" The mare handed the harp to Trebass.

"Oh, um.. I can't play the harp." Trebass fumbled with his words.

"Oh it's easy. It's just like playing a guitar." The mare smiled.

Trebass looked at the woodland animals sitting around him. It looked as if they were cheering for him to play.

"Okay, here goes nothing." Trebass began to pluck the strings.

He felt like his arms were moving on their own, they way he played felt like it was natural for him. How was he playing so well? He never seen a harp up close let alone played one before.

His music came to a halt, as an eery voice came from the dark woods around them.

"I thought we were going to play hide and seek? Looks like you don't want to play... So I guess I'll come out now!" A grey colt emerged from the dark woods.

The wood land creatures fled from the scene at the sight of the evil looking colt.

"You!" Trebass placed the golden harp on the ground.

"I thought we were all going to play hide and seek? What's the matter? Gave up on finding your friends?" The grey pony creepily approached them.

It was clear that he was referring to Royal and the others. Trebass has completely forgot about his companions and the missing ponies.

"Do you know where they are?" Trebass asked.

The grey pony replied, "Nope! Daddy doesn't tell us where his stuff is. But I'll let you ask him."

Trebass exclaimed "Great! If you'll just-"

The grey colt cut him off, "But! You gotta play hide and seek with me first! If you can find the pegasi you came here with, then maybe I'll let you talk to daddy!"

"Fine, I'll play your little game. Is there anything else?" Trebass asked.

"One more thing, daddy will be playing too! Have fun! Oh, and you have until nightfall to find them all." The colt disappeared into the thick darkness.

The mare sat beside Trebass and waited until the evil looking pony left, "I'm so sorry about my brother, he can be... A little strange at times."

"Your brother?! You two are related?" Trebass asked, shockingly.

"Yes. When father and mother split up, my brother went with father and I with my mother. But.... Mother passed away, and father has had to take care of both of us ever since." The mare explained.

"I see... I'm sorry. By the way, I never caught your name. Or your brother's for that matter." Trebass changed the subject quickly.

"I'm Notelie, and my brother's name is Richord. Shall we get going? I know my way around these woods, I can help you find your friends!" She introduced herself, then giggled.

Trebass nodded, then the two set out into the woods. Little did they know, that they would face more trials than they expected.