Author's Note
Attempt 3 at writing a story for this contest. Yay.
Out in The Dark
The Everfree Forest. Not the first place you'd think of when deciding on a possible camping location. Especially not its innermost parts. And truly, it had been a rather hard time convincing him to go there. He really didn't trust the anti-manticore spray would be any good, but even then there was a lot more out there that he was worried about.
The locals had at least been rather nice. Ponyville was by far not the biggest city in Equestria, and not particularly notable for anything beyond some food exports, but it was better than you'd imagine just by hearing about it. A small little town, the only really peculiar feature being that it was at the edge of the forest.
But, yes, the citizens were nice indeed. Very friendly foreigners, which wasn't immediately obvious in a rural place like that. The Apple family in particular had turned out to be extremely welcoming, even too much so. But no one would turn down free samples, and they'd even gone as far as to help them find a guide.
No one actually lived in the Everfree. No one was that crazy. Someone had apparently used to, at some point, an odd mare that no one really remembered. There were some mentions of her in a book or two, but he'd forgotten her name. Just like he couldn't remember where the castle's ruins supposedly were, which was a pity. He'd have liked to see those.
Alas, his wife had other plans. So-called extreme camping, the wonderful thrill of watching the dangers of nature from the safe confines of your tent, pretending you're at risk. He did worry she was going too far with it at times, especially after that shark cage incident, but the ponies he'd talked to had reassured him that the Everfree wasn't actually that dangerous if you knew what you were doing. It was hard to live in, but most creatures had better things to do than try to kill you just because you were there for a night. And timberwolves could be dealt with efficiently enough.
The Everfree was really only inhospitable if you tried to live in it. It took a lot of experience discerning what you couldn't and couldn't eat, a lot of skill actually gathering enough food. And if you were to stick around for long, then animals would definitely take notice of your presence. But campers were apparently not too rare, and the townsfolk had been very helpful in providing them with tips and tools and food.
And so it came that on that night they were camping, surrounded by the thick canopy of curved trees, the light of their bonefire barely reaching past their tents before the darkness swallowed it. That it was a moonless night didn't help, but at the least there were no storms in sight. The Everfree did have a tendency for odd weather, one that was probably more dangerous than any creature inside it.
After finishing up his dinner, which thanks to the Apple family had been comprised of actual food rather than canned goods for once in his camping life, he headed for his tent and sat down on his pillows. Truth be told, he'd never been the biggest fan of camping, nowhere near as much as his wife at least. Still, he enjoyed going with her. But he was rather tired, that particular night. Maybe it was the food?
"Honey?"
A rustling sound had woken him. The lights had gone out outside, and the forest was as dark as ever.
"Honey?" he called again, poking his head out of the tent. "Is everything alright there?"
When no one answered, he pushed himself out, slightly worried. Had she fallen asleep outside? That wouldn't be good, she'd catch a cold. Again. Stumbling a bit on his oddly numb legs, he moved forward, trying to get a feel for where the lighter was on the ground. Magic would have certainly helped there.
And then he felt something. Wet, cold, not quite like water. And something else besides it. Soft, but with a harder section, like a spike in the middle. But he couldn't quite tell, his hooves were numb for some reason. There was a hint of a smell too, but it seemed distant. Then, finally, his other hoof found the lighter, abandoned beside the stones of the campfire just where he'd left it earlier that night.
Shaking, struggling for air against his suddenly uncooperative lungs, he moved towards the remaining embers and half-burnt chunks of wood and reignited them with a spark from the lighter. And once he turned, he wished he hadn't.
There was flesh there, torn open, bones sticking out of it as it lay in a pool of blood that stained the skin and hair covering it but not enough for him not to see the colour beneath the red.
And something else further along, just at the edge of the tiny circle of light the fire gave off. The glint of a curved blade soaked in blood, two eyes glowing in the light, and the flash of a smile below them.
Running. The wind whistling in his ears as black trees streamed by past the corners of his eyes. Panting for air as his vision began to blur, as breathing got harder and harder. His legs feeling number every second, almost all sensation gone from his hooves as he hit rocks and protruding roots but still forced himself to keep running, not to fall.
The sound of hoofsteps behind him, drumming on the ground, closer than they could possibly be but he couldn't turn, he couldn't risk checking. It was getting harder to run, his senses were going fuzzy, his head swimming. The darkness and the tears didn't help, neither did the unbearable weight of emotion threatening to crush him, only held back by the rush of instincts and adrenaline.
Running. Until his legs grew numb, until his heart felt about to rip apart, until his body was moving on momentum alone. Running, until the sounds behind him finally stopped. And then, he stopped too, collapsing behind a tree. Ready to cry, ready to let himself go, with no idea of what would even be left of him once he was done.
And then movement, right on the edge of his skin, a feather light pressure on his back. Cold, hard metal on his throat, and warm breath tickling his ears.
And a whisper, low even though no one else was there to hear it. "I wonder if you'll taste as good as she did."
