The ancient trees of Whitetail Woods had bloomed successfully, ever since the summer months began to work their magic on nature. As the early morning sun rose in the eastern sky, beams of light had managed to break through gaps between the leaves and shine down on the forest floor. An early morning mist flowed gently above the ground, the wisps of cloud made transparent by the beams of light. The animals that called the woods their home were already up and about, gathering food for their families or perhaps trying to find a suitable mate. A variety of birds were flying in and above the forest canopy, singing sweet melodies of nature. The ground critters had started their day by making their way to the river, which was their main water supply year round. The forest was only just awakening, a peaceful paradise for those that took the time to wander in this early.
And just like every Sunday morning, the same filly with the pink bow-tie on her head would sneak out of the house early to gaze upon the beauty this forest held. Applebloom took a deep breath as she walked, enjoying the scents the woods had to offer. A nearby natural garden provided the filly with the smells of the Whitetail flowers, which only bloomed during the mornings. Applebloom loved having this scenery all to herself, a sanctuary where she could forget about all the problems she'd have back in Ponyville.
If the filly ever got into a fight with her friends or family, she would hike through the forest to calm down and find peace. If Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon were getting on her nerves, the forest was always there to welcome her back and make her feel better. Another bonus was that she was always safe, considering the predators made their homes in the Everfree Forest. The only other life to travel through the woods would be some holiday campers and the competitors in the annual Running of the Leaves. Since that event wasn't for a couple months, Applebloom could continue to enjoy her forest.
"Ah... Sure is nice to get off the farm once in a while..." Applebloom said out loud, looking upon the seemingly endless amount of plant life that bordered around the hiking trails.
All good things had to come to an end though. It wouldn't be long before Applejack would notice she was gone, and even on Sundays there was work to be done on the farm. Applebloom sighed knowing that her nature experience was almost over. Because of school during weekdays and crusading during her free time, fully exploring the woods by herself was never an option to her. She would wake up hours in advance to buy more time, but time seemed to pass her by fairly quickly during her visits. Applebloom was silently begging to have more time in the woods, and decided that maybe she could squeeze in an extra half hour or so. Maybe Applejack wouldn't check up on her right away.
"I guess I still have time," she spoke out loud again. "It's never as special seeing everything over and over again anyways."
Happy she was able to convince herself, Applebloom continued down a lesser-known trail she had never explored before. She felt better knowing that she was going to see more of the forest she had never seen before, taking her time to stare at the beautiful scenery around her.
They say that if you don't pay attention to your surroundings, you'll miss everything around you. While true it was that Applebloom was paying attention to the surroundings above her, she hadn't noticed the upcoming ledge she was walking towards. The filly yelped in shock as she tumbled down a hillside, her body brushing through various shrubs and bushes. The fall didn't last too long, and Applebloom landed with a thud at the bottom of the ledge.
"Ow... that hurt..."
Wincing in pain, Applebloom forced herself back on her legs. She checked herself for damage, only noticing a few small cuts. Any bruising would be hidden under her coat, so she probably wouldn't get in trouble. Applebloom rubbed the dirt off her, taking the time to study where she was in relation to where she used to be. Looking up at the ledge behind her, it was obviously too steep to climb back up. The only way to go was the break in plant life in front of Applebloom, and the filly hoped it would lead out of the woods. Her sense of peace was quickly vanished and replaced with worry, fearing she could get lost and not make it back home on time.
Applebloom carried forward, using her forelegs to push branches and bushes out of her path. It only took a couple of minutes for her to notice a break in the trees ahead, making her rush through the bush. As the filly emerged from the trail, she took notice of an abandoned house standing in front of her.
"Strange, what's an old two-story house like that doing all the way out here?" Applebloom asked herself.
The former home had been worn down with age, it's wooden beams rotting and gutters hanging off the roof. The wooden rails of the front porch were crooked and broken off, and the windows were either covered in a light blanket of moss or smashed. Applebloom approached the building with curiosity, wondering what kind of pony would live so far away from civilization. She guessed a pony could survive on the natural plants that grew in the forest, but who would want to be secluded in the woods?
Applebloom's sense of discovery was bursting inside her. An abandoned house that nopony knew the existence of? The house was just begging to be explored, and the filly was willing to bet she could find some cool stuff inside. Maybe her friends could do some work on it and make a new clubhouse! An entire two-story house all to themselves! She wanted to wait and come back with Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo, but the temptation to explore was too powerful.
"I just gotta check this out!"
Applebloom's hooves walked up the front steps, each one creaking slowly as she shifted her weight onto them. She saw the door was slightly ajar, the lock mechanism apparently too worn to work anymore. Using her foreleg, Applebloom pushed the door open slowly, allowing the outside light to reveal the inside of the home. In front of her was a staircase, leading to the second floor no doubt. There were two other doorways on her left and right, with one way leading into a dining room and the other what appeared to be a living room. Figuring the living room would probably be the best place to start, Applebloom went left and began to observe her surroundings.
Whatever paint was used for the walls was completely worn out, cracking at the slightest touch from her hoof. The bookshelf against the far end of the wall was useless, most of it's shelves already fallen to the floor. Some dusty books were scattered across the floor, their age making them illegible.
"Shame," said Applebloom. "I bet Twilight would of loved those books."
Coming across a coffee table, Applebloom noticed a small note, somehow still readable. She bent her head and blew the dust off, and started reading the note carefully.
Herb, I can't thank you enough for helping me finish this house! It'll be a nice place to escape to during the summer. I still can't believe nopony else has found this place yet! It's practically right in the middle of the woods! Hopefully you can come visit me and we can relax by the river just like when we were younger. Hope to see you soon!
- Misty
"That's odd, how can you deliver a letter when there's no mailbox outside?" Applebloom thought. "Maybe this Misty pony couldn't get it sent out."
Finished with the living room, she continued through another doorway that led into the kitchen. Applebloom was quickly greeted by the scent of rotted food, from Celestia knows how long ago. Doing her best to ignore the smell, she kept exploring the rooms hoping to find something interesting. After finding out the kitchen and the dining held nothing of importance, Applebloom decided to check upstairs. Slowly, she walked up each step, making sure they were sturdy enough to support her weight. She didn't want to get hurt and trap herself.
At the top of the stairs, Applebloom noticed some markings on the wall in front of her. It wasn't part of the design, the marking had obviously been drawn on the wall by somepony years ago. From what Applebloom could figure out, they were crude drawings of pine trees, along with arrows pointing towards the hallway. It was the only way to go, and the filly figured she didn't need crudely drawn arrows to tell her that. There were two doorways in the hallway, Applebloom deciding to explore the one closest to her first. When she pushed the door open, it fell off it's hinges and smashed onto the floor. A few wooden splinters splattered across the floor, and Applebloom froze for a second. From what she could see, the room didn't have anything in it except for a broken desk and a moldy old bed. Not wanting to risk getting splinters in her legs, she decided to check the next room.
As Applebloom began to trot down the hallway, she saw something get in her eyes. Clear, white lines and dots blurred her vision for a split second, before calmly fading away. Confused, Applebloom rubbed her eyes gently with her foreleg, blinking a couple of times to make sure there were no particles in her eyes.
"What the hay... that was wierd."
Ignoring the minor setback, Applebloom continued to the second door and was more careful opening it this time. This door was much harder to push open, but with enough force, the room was revealed to Applebloom. The filly stared in awe. This room was different from all the other rooms. Sheets of paper were scattered all over the walls, with the same crude drawings as the wall above the staircase. As Applebloom stepped inside, more old sheets of paper crumpled under her hooves. Shaking them off, Applebloom took this chance to study some of the drawings. Some of them were just pictures, while others had words on them.
IT CAME FROM THE FOREST
DON'T LOOK, OR IT TAKES YOU
CAN'T HIDE, NO ESCAPE
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Applebloom began to notice something similar about the drawings. Most of them depicted the same figure, a tall, bi-pedal creature with long arms. Another weird feature about it was that it had no face. Perhaps it was only the crudeness of the drawings, but it seemed strange to draw a creature with no face.
Applebloom was starting to get worried, considering the nature of the words on the paper. It was definitely freaking her out, and she was finally deciding to head back to the farm.
"Oh no! What time is it?" Applebloom freaked, quickly rushing towards the window to check the sky. Rubbing away the moss, attempting to look through the forest canopy. The sun was much higher than it was when she entered the woods.
"Great, Applejack is really going to let me have this tim-"
A splash of white particles suddenly invaded Applebloom's vision, along with a piercing screeching noise ringing inside her ears. Applebloom fell backwards from the window, frantically rubbing her eyes in fear.
"Augh, my eyes!" the filly screamed. "I.. I'm getting out of here!"
An unnatural wave of fear crawled up Applebloom's spine as she raced out of the room in a panic. Before she knew it, the filly was down the stairs and out the front door. Not caring where she went, Applebloom galloped towards another clearing in the woods, never looking back.
Trees and shrubs shot past Applebloom as her legs carried her through the forest. Her breathing increased as her lungs began to scream for oxygen. She only wanted to be out of the woods and back home, not caring about the scolding her older sister would give her. Small branches would hit her as she ran, but the clearing in front of her wasn't worth checking her surroundings for.
Applebloom literally jumped out of the bush, landing in a grassy field not far from Ponyville. She smiled knowing she had escaped from whatever that creature was, and decided that going back to the house was out of the question. She liked her current clubhouse anyways. It was closer to home and didn't have any weird monsters living near it.
"Whew... that was mighty scary..." Applebloom stated between breaths. "And what was it that was messing up my eyes?"
Applebloom looked up at the sky, using the sun's light to check her vision. It was then she realized the sun's position and began to panic.
"Oh no! I have to get home!"
Worried about how much trouble she was in, Applebloom broke out into a gallop towards Sweet Apple Acres, completely oblivious to the entity watching her from the forest.
