The Mare in the Woods

Trebass and Notelie rushed through the dark forest in search of the unicorn's friends.

"This way, I know these woods well. I think I may be able to find out where they're hiding your friends!" Notelie lead Trebass into even darker parts of the woods.

Trebass didn't know where he was going, or if he could trust his new companion. Perhaps he was just going along because of her looks, or maybe it was because he had no other option. After all, it took him long enough to find one spot of sunlight in the entire forest since the leaves and branches blotted out any sort of light source from above. The only thing that gave off any kind of life was Trebass' M.a.s.t.

"Tell me, what are... friends like?" Notelie asked.

"What do you mean? Don't you have friends of your own?" Trebass' raised an eyebrow at her.

"O-Oh! I... Of course I have friends. I meant what are... 'your' friends like?" Notelie corrected herself quickly.

"Well, there's Alex. He's been my best friend for a while. He's a scientist pegasus, and in the Canterlot Orchestra." Trebass explained.

"C-Canterlot? What's that?" It was clear that Notelie wasn't from where Trebass was from.

"Ah, it's... A place far away from here. It's quite a regal and fancy city." The white unicorn kept walking ahead.

Trebass continued, "Anyways, there's also Shock Bolt. But... We're not exactly friends, more like acquaintances."

"Tell me, why do you hate this 'Shock Bolt' so much?" Notelie asked.

"W-well, I wouldn't say I 'hate' him persé..." Trebass glanced away from her.

"Don't try to hide it, you're really bad at lying." She said, catching up to him.

Trebass gave in, "I guess it's that obvious huh? Well, you see... He--"

"Sorry to interrupt! But I forgot to mention one more rule!" The grey pony, Richord, burst from behind the darkness.

Trebass jumped, while Notelie stayed completely calm.

Richord continued, "My daddy is playing as you know. But he plays real rough! So watch out!"

Finally, the annoying grey pony vanished quickly into the shadows.

"Ugh, he is such a nuisance. Now we better hurry up, this way!" Notelie dragged Trebass by the hoof.

They quickly tromped through the forest.

They walked for a short time, until they saw a dim glow in the distance. They approached the strange orange light, and they realized it was the window of a small shack. The shack resembled the shed that the Eyeglass was currently sitting in the dark. Notelie came to the door, and opened it slowly. Trebass followed behind her, as he looked around the eery dimly lit room.

Trebass thought it was strange to see another run-down shack in the middle of this thick dark forest. Since the only form of civilization was the previous shack that the Eyeglass was, at the time, sitting, unguarded, while he was looking for his friends.

It looked like a lab that Trebass would see back at his old high school. Tables spread across the room, some were on their side, and some were right side up. The floor was covered in bloody scalpels and other surgical tools, which almost made Trebass throw up. But what made him lose his lunch were the soggy red organs piled up in the corner of the room, the stench and flies caused Trebass to run behind on of the fallen counters and vomit.

Notelie covered his nose and mouth with her hoof to block the foul aroma from entering her senses. She approached the back of the room where a large foggy vat sat, ominously looming over the mare.

"What is this?" Notelie asked herself.

Trebass wiped his mouth and turned to his companion, "You mean you don't know? I thought you knew these woods like the back of your hoof?"

"I do! But this shack isn't the woods... Maybe daddy knows something about this?"  Notelie replied.

Trebass kept thinking about Notelie and Richord's father, so he asked, "I meant to ask this earlier... But what's so special about your dad?"

She began to reply, "Well he--"

*THUD*

"Eek!" Notelie shrieked in terror.

"What happened?" Trebass rushed to her side.

"Something's in there!" She pointed to the foggy vat.

Trebass slowly approached the vat. The inside walls of the vat were covered in grime and condensation which made it hard to see the contents. He crept up to it and wiped away the grime on the outside, and what he couldn't believe what was inside.