“Mom! Dad!” a small creature ran through the woods. “Mom! Dad! Where are you?” she called out as she continued searching for her parents. There was excitement pasted on the young beastie’s face, “Mom! Dad!”
As the young creature bobbed and weaved through the forest that she called home, she finally made it to a clearing. “Mom? Dad?” Slashes of light, like a spotlight, shined down onto the young beast as she looked around frantically. “Where are you?” she called out to its parents.
“Hello little one.” A low haunting voice came from behind the young creature.
The small creature whipped her head over her shoulder and started to tilt her head upward to the source of that voice. High above the young creature, so high she couldn’t dream to reach, in the darkness of the treetops were a pair of golden eyes staring down at her – eyes like a predator staring down at its prey. The small beastie’s mouth twisted into a huge grin. “Mom!” she turned her body to look at the massive over-looming beast.
“Hello Sweetie,” a large white smile broke through the darkness, showing off its tack-like teeth to its child.
The smaller creature then turned its head to the left, and then to right and then she looked back behind her. Then she turned to look back up to the thing that overshadowed her, seemingly disappointed. “Where’s dad?” she asked.
“He is hunting, dear.” The larger beast answered. The smaller creature smiled; she knew that meant as she would have one of her favorite snacks. “Now, what seems to be the issue?”
A spark went off in the young beast’s eye as she remembered why she came looking for her parents. “That’s right!” she twisted her head and reached for something behind her back. She turned back around and placed something down on the ground. “I found this caught in the vines outside of the forest.”
Like a snake slithering across the forest floor, a large slithery tentacle-like substance moved through the grass and towards the young creature. The small beastie watched as the mother’s tentacle wrapped around the piece of paper in front of her, careful not to hurt what it’s child brought her, and watched as it started lifting into the air. The little beast looked on in amazement as the tentacle and the paper went into the air for what seemed like miles – she couldn’t wait until she got as big as her parents.
After what seemed like a whole journey’s travel to some, the mother beast brought the scrap piece of paper to its piercing predatorial eyes. “And where did you say you found this?” she said studying the item in her tentacle.
The small beastie turned its head into the direction that it came from. “Just outside of the forest.” She remarked. “It was attached to a paper lantern” she looked back at her mother. “What does it say?” The young creature recognized the symbols on the paper as some form of writing, but it wasn’t anything the small beast knew – but she was certain her parents would know what it said. She sat down waiting for her mother.
“…hmmmm…” the predatory eyes in the blanketed darkness focused on the piece of paper. “It seems to be some kind of invite.”
“Invite?” the small creature’s ears perked up, “An invite to what?”
“It’s an invite to a place called ‘Maretime Bay’” the mother answered. “Seems like the thing that wrote the letter is searching for some friends.”
“Friends?” the small creature stood up at the sound of that word. “Can I go, mom? Can I? Can I?”
The large shadow looked down at its excitable daughter, and back at the piece of paper. The large eyes turned into disappointment as she turned back to look at her daughter. “I’m sorry dear. The letter isn’t addressed to us. It seems that it’s only meant for Pegasi and Unicorns.”
The small creature tilted it’s head in confusion. “What’s a Pegasi and Unicorn?”
The pair of eyes looked in the upper corner of the darkness as if it were trying it’s best to figure out a way to describe what those creatures are. “They are like us…in a way.” The mother answered. “They have four legs like us and a long time ago the Pegasus could fly, and Unicorns could use magic like us. In fact, if I had to guess, this letter seems to be written by an Earth Pony.”
The young beastie’s ears lowered, “oh,” she said in disappointment. “Then I guess they don’t want to be my friend.”
The mother looked down at the small child, she didn’t need to use her ability to read minds to know what went on in the child’s head. “Did you want to go? Did you want to meet those creatures? Did you want to go to ‘Maretime Bay?’”
“…” the young child didn’t speak, she simply nodded.
The shadowy creature looked at its offspring, she could see just how much it hurt her child. “Well…” the young child’s ears perked at the sound of its mother’s voice, “It isn’t like you couldn’t go.” The mother continued as she brought up the mood.
“Really?” the young beastie’s white teeth shined brightly against her contrasting shadowy figure.
“It would take some time and practice. But you could go as a unicorn.” she said thinking about their abilities. “If you could take the time and effort to learn your shapeshifting, I couldn’t see why you couldn’t go.”
The young beastie’s eyes literally glowed with excitement. “Yes! Yes!” she almost started to prance around. “I’ll learn! I promise I’ll really learn! I really want to go to ‘Maretime bay!”
The mother looked at its child’s excited expression. “Okay…” she said almost hesitantly, “Now while these ponies may be… a little dumb, you at least need to learn a little about them.”
The little beastie nodded in excitement, “okay. I’m ready.”
“…” the mother in the shadows paused for a moment, “alright, then follow me.” And with that the predatory eyes turn away from the young creature and into the blanket of darkness. There was an eerie silence as there was no sound of footsteps that a large monster should have made, but only the sound of cracking logs and falling trees in its path. The small creature smiled as it followed it’s mother.
The two creatures made their ways through the dark forest, careful as not to attract unwanted attention. The larger creature was taking it’s child deeper and deeper into the wood than the small beastie had ever been. The young creature had never been allowed to go this far as her parents didn’t think that she was ready for what was inside.
“Stop” a tentacle from the darkness whipped out towards the small beastie as she listened to her mother. “Stay quiet and out of sight. We’re here.” The large beast pulled it’s leg back and motioned in front of her.
Listening to her mother, careful not to move out of the shadows, the young beast turned its head to look around the tree she was behind. What she saw caused her eyes to light up. “W-what is this place? Where are we? What are those things walking around?” she asked as curiosity took over and excitement caused her to go almost in a daze.
“This place is called ‘Bridlewood.’ A place I am certain is very much like Maretime Bay. And those things? Those things are Unicorns, they live here.”
“…” the small beastie watched in excitement. As her mother had said, the small town was a place that seemed that these “Unicorns” seemed to live in. she watched with curiosity as each little four-legged creature slowly trotted from place to place. “Woah!” the small creature was instantly starstruck. “Mom?” she asked looking up at the over-looming shadow. “What are those things on top of their head?”
The large beast looked at the unicorns in question and looked back at its daughter. “Those are their horns; they are kind of like ours. That’s how they used to use their magic.
The small creature turned to look back at Bridlewood and then looked at the appendage on the top of her head. Her mother was right, they did look remarkably similar. But the young beastie could tell that theirs was much sharper than the unicorns.’
“Do you want to see something funny?” the mother’s eyes in the darkness turned to look down at its child.
The little beast looked at its mother and smiled. “Yes.”
“Okay, watch this.” The larger beast turned its gaze back on the small town and her daughter followed her line of sight. The large creature cleared it’s throat and spoke in a voice that was disconnected from its lips. “Mayonnaise” her voice echoed like a ventriloquism on the wind.
“Bing!” “Bong!” “Bing-Bong!” “Bing-Bong!” “Bing-Bong!” “Bing-Bong!”
A harrowing cackle started to echo through the forest, and the young beastie started to laugh along with her mother. These little ponies are funny was what the young creature was thinking. The mother and daughter duo continued to laugh so hard that the small creature didn’t even realize that another tentacle started to wrap around her waist.
“And what do we have here?” Another spooky voice came from the forest behind them. The young creature turned to look behind her as a slithery whip started to move through her mane.
A huge grin plastered across the young beastie’s face as she felt the slimy tentacle run down her face. “Dad!” she called out looking up at the second towering shadow.
“Hello Honey!” Another pair of predatorial eyes came from the darkness.
“Hello dear.” The first creature greeted it’s equal. “How was the hunt?”
The newcomer turned its attention to the other large beast, “It was fine. We will have plenty to eat for the night.” He answered, and then he turned to look down at his daughter. “And what are you two doing out here?” the haunting voice asked.
“Dad,” excitement filled the young creature’s voice, “Mom said I can go Maretime Bay to meet some new friends.”
“Did she now?” the eyes in the blackness looked at the other pair of eyes. “Maretime Bay, huh?”
“Yes, I did.” The mother nodded as matter-of-factly, “She found an invite. I told her that she could go if she could master her shapeshifting ability.”
“Yeah,” the small creature nodded with glee as she turned to look at Bridlewood. “I decided. I want to go as a unicorn.” Her sharp teeth twisted into a grin as she looked down at the ponies below them.
“…” The father seemed to pause for a moment but nodded. “I don’t see why not. It would be great for you to go out into the world and meet new and exciting creatures and places.”
“Thanks, Dad!” the small creature fought the urge to jump for joy.
“But you know, it’s going to be tough.” The father continued. “And not only with just looking like a unicorn. You also got to be able to act like one as well.”
“I know, I know.” The small beastie nodded profusely, her excitement getting the best of her.
The father’s eyes turned to look at its mate and then back down at its offspring. “Actually…” the father went on, “It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea if you started to live like a unicorn as well…”
The small creature tilted it’s head in confusion. “What do you mean?” the mother’s voice asked.
“Well…After I finished our hunting, there is a small unicorn home that is now…available. “He continued. “If little bit here is serious about being a unicorn and all, it would probably be best if she lived like one. At least while she learns to be one. We would need to just clean up the place and she can live there.”
The small beastie’s eyes sparkled in the blackest night, “R-really?” the father nodded, then she turned to her mother. “C-can I mom? Huh, huh? Can I?” she asked frantically.
“…” the mother seemed to ponder this for a moment. “It wouldn’t hurt to try. It isn’t like she would get away from us. We would always be watching her.”
The little creature nearly leapt into the air with excitement. “Yes!” she said pumping her foreleg into the air in front of her. “Thank you, Momma! Thank you, Daddy! Thank you sooo~ MUCH!”
“Now, hold your horses.” The father spoke up. “Now this isn’t a guaranteed thing. You still must look and act like a unicorn before you can get out of the forest. If we don’t think you can do it, we won’t let you go.”
“I know, I know!” The little beastie nodded. Though trying to keep her cool, her little feet started to pitter-patter on the soft forest floor.
The father sighed as he shook his head with amusement. “Okay, Okay. Let’s go check out the tiny home.”
“Okay.” The young creature took a step towards the encroaching darkness. “Wait,” the young offspring stopped. “Hold on!” she turned her body back towards the small town of Bridlewood. Standing back over the small town, she took a deep breath. She screamed “MAYONNAISE!” she couldn’t throw her voice like her parents, but the wind did carry it far across the town.
“Bing-Bong!” “Bing-Bong!” “Bing-Bong!”
The young beastie snorted with laughter before turning back to her parents. “Okay, let’s go!”
The father turned it’s gaze to it’s mate before motioning towards it’s offspring. The mother motioned with it’s predatory yellow eyes as if to say “Well, after you.” The father rolled it’s eyes with amusement. “Okay, follow me then.” As he said that the two pairs of eyes disappeared into the darkness of the treetops, once again no foot fall could be heard making a sound. The little beastie followed it’s parents.
The travel to the new destination was an excitable for the young offspring. The three creatures made their way through the dark forest, blending in with the shadows. The young beastie had passed parts that she had been to before, but this area was still new. In the past, she wasn’t allowed to go where others that weren’t of their kind lived.
“We’re here.” The low hauntingly voice of the father echoed through the treetops. The young offspring turned the corner of a large tree and what she saw took her by surprise.
In the middle, circled by the encroaching darkness on all sides, was a large tree home. The tree home itself seemed to glow in neon light as slashes of light beamed down onto it. “Woah…” the little beastie found herself at a loss for words.
“Well,” the yellow eyes of the father looked down at its offspring. “What do you think?”
“I-it’s…” the small creature instinctively took a hoof forward. “It’s really pretty.” She took another foot forward as she cautiously made her way down the pathway. As she made her way down the path to her future home, she looked right and left of her as she took in her surroundings. While the bright sunny lights were amazing, the contrasting darkness of the trees that encompassed them made the little beastie feel right at home. She was so enthralled by everything around her, she didn’t even watch where she was walking.
-squish-
The young offspring stopped as her eyes lowered down towards the forest floor. The small creature had made contact with some oozy red puddle, something she easily discerned. She brought her foot up to her face, her shadowy hoof covered in the red substance. She opened her mouth, a slithery-like appendage sparked to life as her tongue snaked out and licked at the red substance. It was a salty and metallic flavor, something that she had come to know and love over her years of existence. It was proof that her father had really been here hunting early.
Along the side of the small puddle of blood were scratch marks on the forest floor, upon further detail it seemed like something was dragged across the ground.The young beastie’s eyes followed the trail of desperate resistance and was led to another figure. Lying on the floor of the small home was another figure, it seemed to be clinging onto a much smaller version of itself. The small creature tilted its head as if it were trying to get a better look at the two bodies.
From first glance the two figures were much like her and her parents appearance. In fact, on closer inspection, the two bodies seemed to be much closer to the unicorns from before. The only difference that the young creature could see was that those from Bridlewood were alive while these were dead. Losing interest very quickly, the young beast turned away from the two corpses. Those that were deemed to be her food did not excite the beastie as much as the living ones did.
“I love what you did with the place.” The Mother’s large predatory eyes looked around the area, seeing the several corpses strewn about and the blood splattered against the forest floor.
“I know, I prefer it this way.” The father’s voice echoed in pride. “But if little bit is serious about staying here, then we do need to clean this place up.” He was cautious as to avoid stepping on any bodies around his hoofs, he didn’t want to ruin their food for dinner.
The young beastie arrived at the door to the tree house, scars adorned the wooden frame from desperate resistance. Lifting her leg to push on the door, she was met with no resistance as the wooden frame swung open with an eerie creak.
Before today, the little tree house probably could have been called homely, but now it was different. There were signs of struggle all over the place as furniture was destroyed and the windows were broken, the interior walls were now coated in blood and entrails. Even in the middle of the floor was another of those small little bodies like the ones outside. The little beastie was awed by the little cottage.
“Well, what do you think?” Unknown how they were able to do it, the two rather impossibly large beasts managed to slither through the front door as they poured in like a sea of darkness.
The young offspring smiled, “I love it.”
“Now, are you sure you want to do this sweetie?” the mother nudged at the little corpse in the middle of the floor with its tentacle-like leg.
The small creature nodded with excitement. “Yes!” she exclaimed.
“Well, if you want to.” The father said looking over his handy work. “We will have to clean this place up and do some recycling.” His harrowing voice sounded almost sadden as if he was going to regret cleaning up his masterpiece. “Though I guess you could call this Unicycling.” The small beastie snorted with laughter at her father’s “dad joke.”
The mother rolled her eyes at her mate before turning back to its offspring. “But in all seriousness. Are you sure you want to do this sweetie? This isn’t going to be easy. It’s going to take some time.”
The young beastie nodded. “Yes, mom!”
The father turned away from his artwork and down at its daughter. “Alright. Then it’s time to get started.”
Time passed.
The Unicycling was the first to take place, trying to restore the small cottage to some sane semblance. Next came the education. The young beastie learned about the three tribes of ponies from its parents as she was presented with a projector and slide show. She was taught of the history of how at some point the Pegasi and Unicorns had lost their ability to fly and use magic. She was taught to learn how to use her magic so that she could look like a unicorn.
The first thing she was taught to transform was her face, as it was the one way most ponies would have identified her. Upon her first successful facial transformation she just had to just look at herself in the mirror.
The first thing her eyes were drawn to was where her horn-like appendage once was – now it was just a regular unicorn horn. While from first glace she could tell her new horn wasn’t going to be strong enough to even cut down a tree, she couldn’t help but be mesmerized by it’s shape and design. Later she would be enthralled by learning how to bounce stuff on her horn.
Next, she smiled. No longer did her tack-like teeth glow white against her coat, but now her teeth seemed to be much duller and rounded off. She didn’t know if she could handle her herbivore mouth, but she could live with it.
Looking over her face in the reflection, the little beastie licked her teeth. Her tongue no longer sparked like a taser like it used to, but now was just a regular tongue. It was an odd sensation in her mouth not to feel the slime that it was coated it.
“I think you are doing fine.” Her mother’s voice rang out from behind the young creature. The little beastie just smiled before reverting to her normal self.
As the young creature was learning to look like a unicorn she was also shown how to act like a unicorn. Her father, a hunter that had to learn to blend in, was the one that taught her everything that she knew how a unicorn acted. The little beastie learned to walk like a unicorn, talk like a unicorn, she learned how a unicorn played some hoops. She learned how to strut like a unicorn and even learned how to shake a unicorn butt in case that ponies broke out into song – which the little beastie learned was a thing that ponies did.
“What’s that?” the father’s piercing eyes looked over the shoulder of its offspring. The young creature had started to enjoy using her creativity. At this moment, she was playing and drawing with crayons.
“This!” the small beastie put the crayons down and showed the drawing to its parents. On the piece of paper was a drawing of many diverse types of ponies, reminiscent of the original invite that the little creature found.
“Oh, that’s nice.” The father said looking at the drawing. “And who, my dear, is that one in the middle.” His tentacle-like leg pointed to the oddly detailed purple and blue pony that seemed to be surrounded by other ponies – though he already knew the answer.
The little beastie laughed and smiled. “It’s me, dad. I want to look like that one.”
“That’s a nice choice.” He placed his slimy tentacle on to its daughter’s head and started to ruffle her mane. The young beastie giggled from being ticklish as a trail of goo dripped down the side of her face.
And so, time passed.
Years went by and the little beastie had learned everything she could. She learned how to assume the form of a unicorn with no mistakes and she was able to blend in with those in Bridlewood without sticking out. She learned how to act like a unicorn and now she was ready. It took some time now, but the young creature was ready to go meet new friends in Maretime Bay. And now, the parents were seeing her off at the edge of the forest as she was beginning to leave.
“Now, are you sure you have everything?” the mother asked as she looked over its offspring. The child that she was now looking at was no longer one she recognized. Its child had perfected it’s transformation magic and now looked like a unicorn 100%.
The young offspring nodded it’s head. “Uh huh.” The little beastie had taken the form of a purple unicorn with vibrant blue mane.
“Now remember,” the father’s voice spoke up. “Unicorns can’t use magic right now. And if they ever do?” The father tried to give its child some final reminders.
“Always try to use my horn for my magic.” The little beastie saluted her father in an “aye-aye captain” style. “I got it, dad.”
“Correct.” The father smiled, proud of its little creature. They didn’t really focus on horn based magic usage, but he didn’t think its daughter would need to worry.
“Now, what about a name?” the mother’s voice asked. “Have you decided on your name?”
“Izzy, mom.” The little beastie spoke up. “Izzy Moonbow.”
“Izzy, huh?” the mother thought about it for a moment. “That’s a beautiful name.”
“Now, are you sure you want to do this, Izzy?” the father asked, adjusting to its offspring’s new name.
Izzy rolled her eyes, “Dad~~” she smiled looking up at her parent. “I’ll be super fine. Plus, it isn’t like you two are far away.”
The father nodded, “Right.” He spoke, embarrassed but also proud of his little beastie.
Izzy said her final goodbyes to her parents as she finally made her way out of the forest. This was the first time she had ever stepped out of the woods; this was furthest that she had ever gone. And as she made her way down the dusty road she just continued to walk further and further. Izzy was excited to meet new friends and couldn’t wait to find new adventures.
Izzy’s parents watched from the encompassing darkness of the forest. “Izzy is growing up so fast.” The mother’s eyes looked over at its mate.
“She sure is.” The father watched as its offspring disappeared into the distance. “And like she said, it isn’t like she can get too far. We’ll always be watching her from the shadows.”
“Of course,” the mother nodded. “And if anything happens, we’ll welcome back Izzy with open hoofs.”
“Right,” the father agreed. “We’ll kill all those in Maretime Bay and have a welcome home dinner party on our sweet little girl’s return.”
“of course.” The mother agreed. The two parents quietly watched on as their daughter went to find her new friends.
