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                    The Ape of Everfree                    
                   -by CuchulainSetanta-                   
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                   Visitor in the Night                    
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Visitor in the Night
The creature stirred from its slumber, hunger gnawing at its stomach. Its heavy eyelids opened, letting in the moonlight. The beast yawned, scratching its powerful, hairy legs. Rising, it shambled out of its den to search for something to quiet its grumbling stomach.
The bipedal beast glided through the thick forest like the wind, the dense vegetation doing nothing to slow its advance. Out of the corner of its eye, it noticed a bright light. Strange... it hadn't noticed that before. Sniffing the air, the beast did not detect any cause for concern. Curious as to the light's source, it headed in that direction.
The light was emanating from a small, oddly-shaped hill, surrounded by bizarre wooden stumps. To the right of the hill, a larger stump was surrounded by a metallic barrier that reached about to the beast's chest. Continuing to sniff for any sign of danger, the beast noticed an appetizing smell emanating from the large stump. Cautiously eying the light-emitting hill, the creature clambered over the barrier.
The smell was coming from a large lumpy object propped up against the side of the stump. With its strong, meaty hands, the creature tore into the object, and what looked and smelled like seeds came spilling out. Still hungry, the creature kneeled down, scooped the seeds from the ground, and sampled them. Finding them to its liking, the creature continued its feast until it had its fill.
Climbing back over the barrier, the beast started back towards the woods. A noise behind it made it turn its head. There was a soft, almost lyrical sound coming from inside the hill. Wary, the beast approached one of the openings in the hillside and peered in. The source of the noise was a small animal, a light yellow in color with pink fur crowning its head and tail. It was female, judging by the scent, standing over a rabbit and chanting in a soothing manner. The beast found itself comforted by the droning, almost coaxed into dozing off. Then the female creature stopped its chanting and turned, with the beast ducking out of sight in the nick of time. Risking a glance back inside, the beast saw the female retreating into the deeper reaches of her den, and the rabbit peacefully sleeping.
Turning, the beast returned to the woods.
The morning sun danced over Fluttershy's eyes. Rising from her bed, she headed outside to feed the chickens.
"Good morning, ladies!" she called as she opened the fence door. "I hope you slept well. Now, I've got your breakfast right-"
She froze in her tracks as she looked over the scene before her.
The bag of chicken feed had been torn open, with seed spilled across the ground.
"Oh, my!" she exclaimed. She rushed into the hen house, fearing the worst. Thankfully, all the chickens were present.
"Did you girls hear anything last night?" Fluttershy anxiously asked her pets. The birds shared a nervous glance between them before shaking their heads. Fluttershy returned to the scene of the crime, noticing something she hadn't before.
A small patch of mud had formed around the chicken's water dish by the edge of the fence. A large animal print had been pressed into the soft mud. Five large digits crowned the top. Curious, Fluttershy placed her hoof next to the print for scale.
It was nearly eight times the size of her hoof.