A Change in Strategy

Fluttershy moved softly around her little kitchen, the tinkling of plates and dishes being washed overlapped with the sound of a record playing in the other room. She hummed along to the song, and several birds landed on the windowsill above her sink to listen. Beyond the window, it was a snow-coated wonderland. Thick drifts of the fluffy powder had swamped the landscape around her secluded cottage, and the peace that snow always brought was one of her favorite things about the season.

She had just finished a cup of tea and was trotting happily over to her reading chair when the front door slammed open. She squeaked and dropped her cup, though luckily it was caught by a local badger that had wandered in.

"Oh, goodness!" she said, feeling her pulse pound against her skin. That had scared the heck out of her.

She looked up to see the diminutive form of Angel at the door. She did what she always did when she was alone, and gave the animal she was talking to a silly voice.

"Mother!" she said in her best deep and gruff impression, "something is wrong!"

The bunny, long since used to this, nodded rapidly.

"What's wrong, Angel?" she asked in her normal voice, perhaps a bit more lilting than usual with her favorite bunny rabbit.

He pointed behind him towards the forest.

"There is something in the woods!"

"Oh no, something awful!"

"Yes! Very bad! Rawr!"

Angel gave her a flat stare and she chuckled gently, "Sorry, Angel, I'll stop. But is it really serious? Not just something stealing your spinach treats again?"

The white rabbit folded his arms and scowled.

She laughed again, "Alright, let's take a look at what's going on."

She thanked the badger for the save and placed her tea on a small end table next to her cloth-bound reading chair. Wrapping herself up with a wool cap and scarf, both bright green, she followed Angel out into the wintry air.

Immediately the biting wind caused her to shiver. She always missed the warm bulk of her bear friends in this season, but she wasn't about to disturb their hibernation just for a windbreak. She hurried along behind Angel down the path that ran through her garden, and out the front gate.

The Everfree loomed before her. Even on the outskirts, the trees were tall, and the boundary between the domain of the forest and the rest of the world was clearly defined. Not a single root or twig from the forest ever took root outside of it, and no other tree that Fluttershy had seen would grow within.

Angel waited just on the other side of the boundary, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Okay, I'm coming!" Fluttershy said, and she stepped very warily into the edge of the dark wood.

She silently sent a prayer of thanks to Celestia when they reached their destination rather quickly. Angel stopped on a small rise and stared down at the other side, then he turned and looked at her. The look in her rabbit's eyes worried her greatly. He was afraid.

The only thing she knew for sure he was afraid of was her getting angry, so for something to worry him this much...

She crested the rise and looked down into the small depression at the base of a tree growing there. She gasped in horror, and stumbled back a pace. at the bottom of the hill, several creatures had been... the only word she could think of was drained. Like the stories of the vamponies, but worse.

The various carcasses were grey and ashen. As in, literally made of ash. As if everything that had bound them together had been sucked out. Fluttershy, experienced with all sorts of animal nonsense living here, recovered quickly, and steeled herself.

She walked down into the grove very cautiously, trusting her and Angel's senses to keep them alive.

She checked the trees around her constantly. She didn't know whether to be comforted or worried that the Everfree seemed almost... quiet. Not silent, but muted.

As her yellow hoof touched one of the bodies, it crumbled to dust, and she jerked back as if bit.

She hadn't even felt it crumbled. It hadn't made a sound.

"This is bad," she muttered, "this is... wrong..."

Turning, she made for Ponyville as fast as she could.

Some hours after she had gone, the forest began to stir back to life. Small animals wandered into the grove to look at what had happened. By then the ashen corpses had all but disintegrated, leaving no trace.

A bird hopped up, landing where the previous few corpses had been.

There was a flurry of movement, some squawking, and a horrible crunching, sucking sound.

The bird's carcass dropped to the floor, ashen and drained.

The other animals fled the scene, not wishing to be caught. The forest was silent once more, save for the sound of an unseen hunter licking its chops.