It was a cold night, the starts and the moon illuminating a large forest full of untamed wild.
At the entrance of this dangerous place were six pony mares of various colors.
They were friends on a mission, having come to the forest in search of the ruins a castle hiding an ancient magical artifact that could save their kingdom from ruin, but the road was treacherous and deadly, so they had to be careful if they wanted to reach their destiny in one piece.
A pony with purple coat carrying heavy saddlebags spearheaded the group, guiding them through the forest while keeping an eye for possible dangers, but there was one danger she couldn’t see coming.
While they were walking on a mountainside, a landslide fell upon them.
Most of the adventuring party managed to retreat out of the way, but the purple pony leader was directly at the center of the danger.
She tried to get away, but she wasn’t fast enough, and the landslide was about to send her down the mountain. At the last moment, she felt something push her form behind, getting her out of the way of the landslide, but before she could feel relief for her saved life, she heard a horrible scream, and saw as one of her friends, the one who had saved her, fall from the mountain to the rocks below, just to be then buried under the landslide.
Distraught by the loss of one of her friends, the purple pony screamed and cried, but her other friends were there to support her. They took a moment of silence for their fallen friend, wiping the tears from their eyes, and moved on, not wanting for her sacrifice to be in vain.
Their journey continued, leaving the mountain behind and moving deeply into the forest, their objective getting closer with every step, but the dangers also increased.
A violent roar filled their bodies with fear and dread, and they started to run in the opposite direction of the sound. From the tree line, a giant manticore sprung out and started to chase them, easily approaching them due to its longer steps and hungry determination.
Seeing that escaping would be impossible, one of the members of the group turned around and ran against the beast, screaming in a show of challenge.
The purple unicorn wanted to go back and help her, but the rest of the group told her that it would be in vain, to not look back and honor her sacrifice.
“Don’t look back,” The purple pony repeated to herself as she heard the horrible screams of the mare being attacked by the savage beast.
Down two members, the mares’ hopes were low, but still moved on. They had to retrieve the artifact. It was the only way to save their kingdom.
But the forest still had threats that they couldn’t anticipate.
As they reached a particular part of the forest, where the trees seemed dead and crooked, one of their members thought that she saw something between the tree line.
The group stood alert, anticipating the coming of another wild animal, but what came to them was a dense mist that seemed to come from the trees themselves.
The purple pony walked up to one of the trees to inspect it, wondering about the origin of the mist, but as she looked at the bark her blood ran cold as she noticed that there was a face, her face, marked into it, not by a knife but by the very growth of the tree.
She called out for the group to run away, and all but one obeyed.
The pony that had called out about the mist was now staring in shock at one of the trees, unaware that the mist circling at her legs was turning her coat into a dark bark.
They didn’t want to, but they had to leave her behind. Another member lost to the forest.
Morale was low, the pony’s will to continue was faltering, but they still moved on. They had to complete their mission, in the name of their fallen friends.
Their next obstacle, even if not unnatural, was equally dangerous.
A large turbulent river separated them from the castle, which they could already see in the distance. They were so close.
Working as a team, they brought down a nearby tree, making an improvised bridge that they could use to cross. One by one they jumped on the trunk and started to walk carefully, being continuously splashed by the waves of the turbulent waters.
The purple pony arrived at the end, helping her next friend to jump down from the tree, but the third pony, still crossing the river, heard something moving in the water.
The purple pony screamed for her to cross quickly, snapping her out of her trance, but her next step slipped in the wet wood and she had to take hold of the trunk to not fall in the river.
The purple pony tried to run to her help, but her friend stopped her from helping her, seeing that something in the river was moving. Not a second later, a large sea serpent sprung from the water and fell upon the tree, dragging the pony into the turbulent river.
Now there were only two.
The last obstacle was in front of the two remaining ponies. A simple rope bridge over a deep gorge, old but still standing.
The purple pony marched onwards, but her friend started to doubt. She knew there was some sort of danger behind this. The bridge would fall when they would be at the middle, or a beast would attack, or any other kind of calamity.
The purple pony told her that she could wait for her here, that she could take care of the rest of the mission by herself, and then she started to walk across the bridge.
Not wanting to be left alone, her friend joined her, looking around in panic, but when they both reached the middle of the bridge, a white mist raised up from the gorge, enveloping them both and making it impossible to see each other.
The purple pony guided herself by the bridge railing and continued walking towards the castle, but her friend was too scared to move.
She saw shadows hiding in the mist, whispering to her, telling her to run away and abandon her quest. The mare tried to run towards her friend, but in her confusion, she ran into the railing of the bridge, snapping the rope with her weight and plummeting, screaming, into the depts of the gorge.
The purple pony heard her friends screams getting farther and farther away, but when she turned around, she could only see a broken bridge. Tears fell from her eyes; her last remaining friend was now gone.
She wiped away her tears and continued walking. She had to do it, if not for her kingdom, for the memory of her friends.
She finally reached the castle, and when she crossed its doors, she felt something watching her.
“I have come for the element of magic!” she screamed into the empty halls as she made her way inside.
Answering her call, a blue mist started to sip from the castle walls, surrounding her while the castle changed, looking less like a ruin and more like the marvel that once was.
The purple pony stood firm as two teal eyes looked at her form the mist, and a dark voice spoke to her. “Tiny spark of life. You’ve survived my domains and passed every test. You surely are worthy of the treasure I guard.”
The purple pony took off her saddlebacks and presented five different gems to the demon in the mist, aware of the payment that had to be made.
She could see glimpses of a face as the eyes laughed from inside the mist. “Oh, but you have already paid the price little spark.”
The purple pony was confused. “But the legend says that five presents must be given for the element to appear.”
The purple pony could see a toothy smile coming from the mist. “They have fed you a misinterpreted fairytale little spark. Five sacrifices must be given, and you have gifted five lives to feed my forest.”
The purple pony’s eyes filled with horror as the mist closed on her, and two black wings sprung from the mist, moving over her head. She felt something being placed on her and saw a golden crown with the element of magic on it.
“Ask your wish little spark. You will have only one, unless you gift another five to my forest.”
The purple pony felt betrayed. All her friends and she herself had been tricked into a willing sacrifice. She shouldn’t have come here. She shouldn’t have brought them with her. If only she could…
When the realization hit her, she spoke aloud; “I wish for my friends lives to be returned.”
The mist started to spin in front of her, showing the full image of the demon of nightmares in front of her. “You would steal the gift you gave in exchange for your wish?” Realizing her mistake, the purple pony tried to say something, but the crown was lifted from her head. “Very well, they will live, and so will you. Live to face the tests of my forest over and over again, feeding it for all eternity!”
The element of magic shined with a white, blinding light, forcing the purple pony to close her eyes. And when she opened them again, she found herself back at the forest entrance, along all her friends, with no memory of ever entering it, or what expected her at the end.
Author's Note
This is a piece of a story I'm currently working on, but it seemed good enough to show it separately from it.
I hope you like it.
I will be watching you.
