"Just be back before dark!"
Buttons rolled her eyes at the worried tone in her mother's voice, but replied, "Sure thing, mom!", before trotting out the front door. She was a big filly now, practically a full-grown mare already - even if she was the tiniest pony in Mister Weathervane's class. What was there to possibly worry about?
Her bright red, super duper, brand-new scooter was leaning against the side of the porch, padlocked to it by her father to keep it from rolling out into the street. With a little burst of magic from her horn, Buttons unlocked it and hopped on. It was the just released Red Ryder Special Edition Scooter Deluxe, and she couldn't wait to show it off to Tornado, a pegasus colt that lived on the other side of town.
Rolling down the streets of Ponyville, Buttons saw the sun slowly make its descent through the sky. Oh no! She wouldn't have enough time to make it to her friend's house if she took the usual way. No way, no how! She tried to roll faster, but the way to Tornado's house was uphill and her little legs weren't strong enough to go any faster than she already had been. The strain eventually got to her, and she pulled over to the side of the road.
"There's got to be a way to get to Tornado's house before sundown!"
The little filly sat on the curb and thought hard about it, mumbling to herself as she did so.
"Tornado's house is on the other side of town!" she said, "If only this stupid road didn't have to go around stupid Everfree Forest!"
After a few minutes of pondering, an idea - a clever one, too - occurred to her.
"Everfree Forest!" She whinnied in excitement at her own cleverness, "That's it! I'll just cut through Everfree Forest!"
Buttons practically hugged herself in sheer joy. If she went through Everfree Forest, she'd be able to get to Tornado's and back in record time! Plus, he'd be so impressed that she went through the woods all by herself. She wouldn't be a "little foal" to him anymore. No siree! With a sense of self satisfaction blooming in her heart and a renewed strength in her legs, she rolled off of the road and into the forest.
The air in Everfree Forest seemed fresher, more alive than that of Ponyville and the late afternoon sun shone warmly through the canopy. Her mother would be thanking Celestia for such a wonderful day if she were around, but Buttons knew better than to actually believe that their princess actually raised the sun - she'd never seen her do it, for one, and the idea that she was able to control both the sun and the moon for a thousand years was just an old mare's tale to her. Not even Old Lady Heart Throb down at the old ponies' home wasn't that old, and she was the oldest pony that Buttons knew! Believing in that kind of magic was for little, whiny foals anyways.
Everything was going fine, but it wasn't long before she hit the first little road bump in her genius plan: the path through the forest was too rocky for her to ride her scooter on! With a huff, Buttons hopped off and used her magic to roll it alongside her. The problem was solved, for the moment at least.
The scent of wildflowers was almost overwhelming as she progressed through the forest, and it was starting to get on the little filly's nerves. The whole "nature experience" was starting to, in fact. The chattering of birds overhead, the sound of the wind rustling through the trees, even the stupid rocky path she was on was getting annoying. Maybe if she took another shortcut off of the path...
This thought distracted her enough for her not to notice as the perfume of the flowers grew stronger and stronger as she moved onward. Buttons only noticed when the stench became too much to bear. Her eyes began to water.
"What kind of flowers are those?" She said aloud, flaring her nostrils and wrinkling her face in disgust, "Smells like when Granny Gem-Gem comes over to visit."
The sound of her voice must have stirred something as the scent of flowers suddenly decreased to a more tolerable level. No, not decreased. Vanished. Perhaps her nose was just getting used to it? She gave it no more thought as she continued down the path, her trusty new scooter at her side.
All she cared about was doing a figure eight or a doughnut or a trick jump in front of Tornado. That would show him, the stupid little dodo that he was. Then he'd have to share his copy of the newest edition of Daring Do's Most Daring Deeds, and he'd have to stop calling her "silly filly" and stop pulling her tail and-
Snap!
Buttons fell onto her haunches and gave a screech of surprise. Her concentration broke and her scooter went flying off the path and into the woods, far out of sight. She was suddenly glad that she had used the bathroom before leaving home.
Then she looked down.
A stick had cracked under her hoof.
Something bubbled up inside of her and it wasn't until it exploded out of her that she knew what it was - rage.
Buttons wanted to roar in frustration and hit something for being such a scaredy-cat, but that's what her father called a "tantrum" and tantrums were for little foals, not big and strong mares like her. That's what she told herself as she slammed her front hoof into a nearby tree, at least. She hit that tree over and over again, banging her front hooves against it in fury. It wasn't until she heard the tree beginning to creak that she stopped. Perhaps hurting an innocent tree wasn't the best way to get out of the forest. Especially when there were bigger things to worry about like...
Her scooter!
The little filly flew into a panic. What had happened to her brand new, bright red scooter?! She ran up and down the path frantically, scanning the treeline for any sign of it. But when she couldn't find it...
Burning tears ran down her face, and her cheeks grew red and puffy.
"Big fillies don't cry... Big fillies don't cry..."
This became her mantra as she sat in the dusty path, but it soon became broken up by choking sobs and gasps.
"Bi-Bi-Big fi-fillies dah-dah-don't cry! Bi-Bi-Big fah-fillies dah-don't cry!"
Eventually, Buttons just gave on on any sense of pride and began to bawl outright. She hoped that someone, anyone would be able to hear her. Maybe a kindly forest pony or Queen Rosedust from the old foal-tales that her mother used to read to her before bed or-or-or-
No.
Buttons physically jerked herself away - from what, she didn't know. Where had that come from?
No one will come to save you.
Yes, there it was again. It was so different from anything else that she'd ever heard. It was so much deeper than her father's voice, and it rumbled and echoed like it was coming from the bottom of a deep canyon.
You'll die here, little filly.
She trembled and shook. Should she run? Should she cry for help? What would get her away from that terrible voice?
Do you see them?
She looked into the forest, and then she saw them. The skulls, the femurs, the hooves. She looked down to the path, and she saw that the rocks were in fact little teeth and bits of bone, shards of horn and scraps of feathers. In the forest, the trees were strung with multi-colored hides. She could even make out the cutie marks on some of them, but most of them were bare and small. Just like her.
Then, she smelled wildflowers.
Then, Buttons ran.
It did not take long for the little unicorn to lose herself in the tangle of the Everfree Forest. She could not return to the path - the voice was there - but she could not continue to wander aimlessly through the woods.
Buttons wished she had brought a watch with her. It felt like she had been in the forest for hours but when she looked up, the sun was still in the same position it had been when she had left Ponyville. There was no sense in rationalizing it now, not after what she had seen, and the poor little filly was so tired that she couldn't have made any reasonable sense of it all anyways. What was there to think about? Just that there was a scary voice and a pony graveyard and-and-
She steeled herself the best she could. Her heart still ached for the loss of her scooter, but the only thing that mattered now was getting back home. That's what she told herself, at least.
The forest was a lot denser than she thought it would have been from the path, but all it took was a few slashes of magic to make her way through the fallen trees and creeping vines. It was slow going, but the little filly pressed on.
There was still hope, right? There was hope that a passing pegasus would fly over as part of a search party or that a friendly forest animal would lead her back to civilization or...something, anything, would come and save her.
The trees were spread farther apart the farther she traveled, and Buttons' heart filled with joy. That must mean that the edge of the forest was near! Tears streamed down her face as she bolted through the underbrush. She'd live to see Mama and Papa and Tornado and Mister Weathervane and-
Buttons skidded to a halt. She was back on the path, just where she had left it. She fell to the ground, floored by fatigue and confusion. Had she really just gone in one big circle? For a moment, she wanted to kick at the trees again - anything to use up the pent up frustration she felt. But it passed. She felt more sleepy than anything now. Maybe a nap wouldn't be so bad. After all, staying in the same place would help the other ponies find her.
If they find you.
There it was. That voice again. Buttons couldn't bring herself to care. She was so sleepy...so tired... A little bit of shuteye would be nice...
Just...
Her eyelids fluttered as they closed.
a...
There was a figure just off the side of the path.
little...
The figure moved closer every time she closed her eyes, seeming to jump from place to place.
nap...
Once her eyes closed, she could feel the figure's cool breath on her face and could smell wildflowers.
"Wake up, Buttons!"
Buttons jolted awake, her eyes blurry with sleep. It took a few seconds for her to adjust. She was still on the path. But then she saw him.
"Tornado!"
She practically squealed with glee. In her hurry to get off the ground, she tripped and tumbled forward at his feet.
"Whoa! Watch it!"
Yes, he was definitely Tornado.
Buttons' eyes welled with tears as she stood all the way up on shaking legs.
"I-It's so-s-s-so nice to sah-see you!" The little filly wailed as she stepped forward to embrace the pegasus colt.
Tornado stepped backwards awkwardly, narrowly missing her attempt at a hug.
"What are you? A big sissy? You're gonna give me cooties!" He said, sticking his tongue out.
Buttons blinked her tears away and blushed. She hadn't meant to-
"What are you doing this far in Everfree Forest anyways?"
"Just...uhh..." Buttons mumbled, "Just going to your house."
The pegasus colt threw back his head and laughed before saying, "Why? You wanted to show me that ultra-lame scooter of yours?"
Her cheeks grew hot, "My scooter is not lame! It's the Red Ryder Special Edition Scooter Deluxe! What are you doing in the forest, huh?"
Tornado laughed again and said, "I was flying over the forest when I heard somepony screaming. I landed a little ways away and found your sleeping here."
Buttons cocked her head in confusion. Something about that just didn't add up...
"What?" The colt said, "You don't believe me? I guess I'll just leave you here."
As he walked nonchalantly down the path, Buttons panicked and broke out of her
"Wait! Don't leave me!"
She galloped after him, ultimately tripping over her own hooves again and face-planting into the rocky path. When she lifted her face off the ground, he was standing over her - looking as smug as ever.
"Thought so. C'mon! I know a shortcut!"
Tornado broke into a run and veered off of the path. Buttons began to follow him, but stopped just short of actually going back into the woods proper.
"C'mon! Are you scared or something?"
She could hear Tornado's voice. It was far off in the distance. How did he run so fast? She trembled and took a step towards the trees.
"Yeah! That's it!"
His voice was closer now, and Buttons stopped. How could he see her? She shook her head and moved back onto the path.
"Just follow me, Buttons!"
His voice was coming from all around her now and carried a dark edge to it. It sounded like the evil Count Ponicula from the movie that her parents wouldn't let her watch, but that she snuck into the movie theater to see anyways. She shrugged her shoulders and drew her neck into her body as much as she could.
"Wha-What are yah-you?"
Her voice came out a lot more squeaky and shaky than she wanted it to be.
"I'm Tornado! Your friend, duh! Are you stupid?"
"You're not Tornado," she shouted this with a little more confidence than before, "You're not Tornado at all! Tornado...Tornado can't fly!"
Then, there was silence.
Then, she noticed that familiar stench of wildflowers.
Then, the voice came back.
Do you think that you're clever, little filly?
Buttons was frozen in the middle of the path. Not in fear, but in rage.
Do you?!
It was silent for a moment, and she never felt so alone in her life.
You could've been happy. You could've been so happy. Then you had to ruin it.
She was sweating and trembling, but she couldn't move an inch. The voice would pay for what it had done to her.
Come find me, little filly. Come find me.
Buttons waited for what seemed like hours on that path and then galloped away.
She would find the voice.
And she would silence it.
The sun was moving across the sky now, and darkness was beginning to fall over the woods. Whatever spell the voice had cast had been broken. The birds were silent, the forest was silent, and that was just the way Buttons liked it.
It was obvious that she wasn't alone in these woods anymore. Buttons felt strong, though. There was something about this, something instinctive, that gave her this strength. Whatever was in these woods was old. Whatever was in these woods was dangerous. But whatever was in these woods was going to let her go.
The forest gave way to a beautiful clearing, full of flowers. In the middle stood Tornado, just as he had appeared before her on the path. He smiled at her, and she suddenly felt very cold.
You found me, little filly.
Tornado's mouth didn't move, but she knew that he was speaking to her.
"Let me go!" She answered, sounding a lot more brave than she felt, "Let me go and I-"
You won't have to hurt me?
Buttons nodded and began to paw at the ground with her front hoof.
There was a strange sound, like the scream of a murder of crows happening at the same time as a roaring train. The voice was laughing at her.
Many have tried. Perhaps you will be the first.
She gave a roar and ran towards the impostor pretending to be her friend, pointing her horn at him like a knight's lance.
All around her was the stench of death. All around her was the scent of wildflowers.