The Mare Of Entropy

Octavia’s little hooves clip clopped happily as she walked to the backstage where she knew her teacher, Harmony Note, was. The cello mock concert had ended a little while ago but the gray filly was so happy, first she had worked together with one of the best cello players in Equestria, second she managed to pull such a tight piece and not get stage fright at the same time. She did it, she performed the cello, she even got her cutie mark in the process.

The gray filly beamed happily at her flank where the violet treble clef rested, even though the event had happened mere moments ago, the excitement of finally getting her cutie mark still lingered in her veins to the point she was partially jumping on the spot. Oh Octavia couldn’t wait to get backstage, explain to her teacher and parents the good news then they can all go out, maybe have a cake at the Cakes’ bakery or something else, she wasn’t sure but the possibilities were endless. So the gray filly bounced on her hooves to where Harmony and her parents were waiting for her to take her out to celebrate.

However when the little gray filly entered the backstage area, she didn’t see any trace of her teacher anywhere. Confused at her teacher’s absence, Octavia blinked and slowly but carefully walked further into the unknown darkness that awaited her. Her head turned this way and that, trying to find Harmony but there was no trace of her. Octavia raised an eyebrow at this, confused at the lack of response her teacher gave her. “Harmony?” No answer came. This confused the gray filly even more and she continued on into the darkening backstage, her hoofsteps barely making an echo in the rather large room.

Sure, it was normal for Harmony to not always be waiting for her student after a practice as there were times the older unicorn had to take care of some private business of hers while Octavia did some solo practices on stage with no help just so she could get the hang of handling a cello. But it was unlike her to just ignore Octavia like that, usually when the filly called out for her teacher for help or something else, she would be there in a heartbeat. Something was off, even at her young age, Octavia was able to pinpoint the possibility of something going wrong racing through her brain.

And if Octavia turned around to look behind her, she would’ve been proved correct for the curtains swished softly as a sickly yellow magical aura that was almost barely visible in the darkness shined briefly before they moved on the user’s command, covering the last rays of light from behind Octavia leaving the poor filly in total darkness. On instinct, the filly squeaked and whipped her head around to face where she had last seen the light from the stage. She bit her lower lip as she took a few steps forward, trying to find a new source of light.

But there was nothing but darkness all around her and the backstage supplies that she couldn’t see, she yelped when she walked into a large box filled with costumes. It swayed a bit before stopping completely, thankfully not hitting the filly. Octavia backed up, her little hooves clicking the wooden floor as she walked. Her ears pulled themselves back and her heart started to race faster than what she expected, she bit her lower lip harder as her worried gaze turned around and around in the void she was within. What was going on? Why were things happening? Where was her teacher and parents?

“Harmony? Mom? Dad? HARMONY?! MOM? DAD? WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU?” As if on cue, a magical aura flickered into being causing Octavia to nearly jump out of her skin, the earth filly squeaked in terror as she whipped her head around to face the source of the light. The filly’s purple eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she saw who or what was in front of her, it was her teacher but not the mare Octavia had known her whole life.

There was instead a monstrous wooden mare built by rusted nails and rotting dark brown wood, a worn, patchy weathered leather mask encased her face, hiding her facial features. On the top of her head, a rotted light yellow bony horn that didn’t belong to the wooden mare was stitched to the spot where a unicorn usually had a horn. Covering the body of the monster was a worn, ripped and weathered cloak nearly covering her body and reaching her hind hooves, pitch black in color with several rips along its surface. Hanging around the monster’s neck down to her stomach were several strings like that of a cello.

At the sight of this monster, Octavia screamed with nothing but pure terror and wasted no more time in running as fast as possible. Behind her, the mare made of wood smiled widely at the fleeing filly, the stitches on its mask pulling apart to reveal a mix of rotten pony and wooden teeth as its wooden hooves went down to her stomach, detaching the strings there. The strings moved off and on its mistress’ command with a forehoof raised, shot toward the scared filly as she moved like the wind to get away from whatever had come into her sights, getting closer and closer with each step.

Despite the speed Octavia was traveling, the strings wrapped around her legs with a tight grip, tripped her then wrapped around her body, dragging her backwards toward the open maw of the monster. As the wooden mare faced the terrified filly, she gave a soft smile as she brought a wooden hoof up and delicately stroked one side of her face, examining the filly closely. This move, though soft and gentle in its nature, paralyzed Octavia into icy cold fear. Though her heart pounded heavily within her chest, the adrenaline rushing through her veins and fear hitting every nerve in her body, Octavia couldn’t move.

And even if she could, it wouldn’t matter for this mare was stronger than her even with her rotting wooden limbs. She was done for, dead meat, doomed to whatever fate this wooden mare had plotted for the poor filly. Something that this monster was well aware of as she grinned, her cloak opening up and encasing the filly before disappearing into the darkness, the magical aura vanishing as well.