A Beating Heart In The Shadows
May Shadows Find A Heart Still Beating
It flowed silently through the dark trees, avoiding the silver light of the full moon. It did not consider where it had come from, or why it felt drawn to this particular town.
All it knew was that it was hungry. So incredibly hungry.
A tantalizing sound made itself known. A lovely beating sound, which the creature followed with an almost gleeful enthusiasm.
Food.
It was dark inside the small house, but that did not concern the creature. Through the gloom, it could hear the sound of a heart, thumping away inside its owner, asleep in her bed.
Yes, this one will do nicely.
It gently rested on top of the chest of the pony in the bed, scarcely heavy enough to alter her breathing.
A long black claw lovingly traced the pony’s chest, right above where it felt her heart dutifully beating away.
It was tempting how close it was, but the creature was patient. It wanted to savor its meal.
The claw, blacker than a moonless night, migrated up to the pony’s forehead. There, it pressed gently on the soft fur.
Yessss.
The creature felt the heart jump. The pony’s eyebrows knit together, but the creature did not recoil.
So close.
Heart beating faster and faster, the pony began to groan in her sleep.
Almost.
Finally, the pony bolted upright in bed, screaming from the nightmare. Her eyes fell on the creature and shrank into pinpricks as she screamed louder. She would have run, but she seemed petrified in terror, wings uselessly plastered to her sides.
Pity. It liked when they ran.
A wide grin split the gloom, revealing long, sharp fangs. It lunged forward, claws easily shredding the fur, skin, and bone of her chest. Crimson blood spurted out onto the otherwise-pristine bedsheets as she gasped in pain and horror.
Skillfully, the creature plucked out its prize from her chest cavity, still vainly trying to pump blood. It twitched a moment more until it finally fell still.
The pony stared at her own heart skewered in front of her eyes, a distant look of confusion overshadowing her fear. She only lasted for a few more non-existent heartbeats until, falling down upon her bed, she too moved no more.
The creature finally dug in, relishing the tang that the pony’s terror gave to the heart. Now that it was finally tasting it, it could tell that this pony had known fear intimately. It could only hope, as it swallowed the last remnants of the organ, that the other ponies in this town had as much fear as this one.
The intoxicating aroma of fear and blood still mingled in the house, but the creature, done with its meal, departed.
There were still other ponies to hunt.
Further in the town, it stalked the dark corners and alleys until another heart called out to it. This one came from a tall building, standing out starkly in the shadows.
The creature soundlessly flew up to one of the windows on the second story and pushed inside the bedroom, easily flowing through the cracks in the window frame.
This pony was breathing deeply as well, although she had donned a colorful sleeping mask. The gentle snores that echoed around the room made the creature grin.
It took its place, perched over the slumbering pony, running claws lightly across her still form.
She shifted, unconsciously moving away from the source of her mild discomfort, but did not wake.
The creature pressed a claw to the pony's forehead, just under the base of her horn, while still raking its claws across her fur. It pushed a nightmare into her head, obscuring the pleasant dream about silk she had been experiencing previously. Now, instead of surrounded by soft fabric, the pony found herself surrounded by hundreds of crawling insects. She felt their legs and teeth against her, the creature's claws adding to the illusion of the dream.
She woke with a high-pitched yelp, and the stench of fear began to waft through the room. She seemed to relax for a moment, finding relief that her nightmare was not in the real world, when her brain registered sharp prickles creeping up her body.
Horn glowing, the pony pulled off her sleep mask, only to come face-to-face with the creature. She froze, uncontrollable terror crashing over her.
However, before the creature could pounce, the pony scrambled to her hooves and darted for the door. Tears flowed freely as she fled a creature made of pure darkness, something she thought was only an old mare's tale.
The creature slammed into her side, knocking her into the wall. While she was disoriented, it approached, towering above her.
Her whole body shook as she scrabbled against the smooth wood of the floor.
Too little, too late.
The creature ravaged her chest, this time opting to use its jagged fangs to flay the skin and crunch the bones until it reached its goal.
As it held the heart aloft, it noted with disdain that the pony had already died. Shame, it thought. They're always more scared after they see it.
As it feasted, it failed to notice the door opening. The small filly in the doorway shrieked when she saw the creature standing over the mauled flesh that was once her sister.
The creature acted instinctively, dropping its half-eaten meal and leaping for the filly. Her fear was potent, almost as strong as his first kill.
It stood above her, pinning her down and ignoring the screams that echoed the night air. It reared back, teeth glinting before tearing voraciously at the pony's chest.
As her screams began to wane, it pulled out her little heart, not nearly as big as its usual marks, but just as tasty nonetheless.
The filly began to thrash around in the throes of death, eyes dimming and breath catching as her life ebbed away. The last thing she saw before she experienced oblivion was the shadow creature, looming over her with a blood-soaked grin.
