March 2023
Pale white eyes glared up toward the tree canopy as if that was where the bodiless voice had come from. The large stallion greatly detested being ignored and pushed toward playing this so-called 'game'. He snorted as he shifted his gaze to look at the surrounding trees and foliage. It had been a long time since he'd been out alone. Currently, he was not alone either but did not want to expose the shrunken flutter hidden in his braid. Genevre had no idea how the entity would react to her being with him.
Despite her green mane and tail, the small flutter blended well into his hair. She was also very fortunate that the white unicorn was so much larger than herself for she would not have been able to fit in his braid. Their herd always had members go out in at least a pair which is why the two were together now. While the voice frightened her, part of her was eager for the adventure. Eilidh had met the six oversized unicorn brothers thanks to being on one. She shifted down against his neck and gently tapped him. This was a sign that she was good for him to move.
The male sighed when he felt the 'ok to move' sign from his companion. Over time they learned a system to make their journeys easier. These signals were one of them. Truthfully they only developed the system after he kept catching her out independently. She had a horrible penchant for going off on her own. Had he not accepted her as a sister, likely, he would not have kept her to the herd rules so hard. His eyes closed briefly as he cleared himself of distracting thoughts. When Gene opened them again he focused on finding his baring. It would not do for them to head deeper into these woods. After a moment, he stamped the ground before moving toward what he was sure was east.
Now that he was fully moving, Eilidh carefully peeked out. Her black eyes scanned the area. The trees were much taller than those of the forests she knew and it seemed eerily quiet. Excitement thrilled through her causing her wings to start fluttering. The brushing sensation against his neck and Gene snorting at her to stay still. A tiny eep left her as she stilled again. She looked up at him to see him frowning. He was focused on not only their path but listening for threats too. It was something she could not grasp about him, why he was always leery of his surroundings. Although, she did know that type of attitude was helpful for adventuring. Eilidh's eyes had drifted back down just in time to see something taller than the trees not far from them. Her brow furrowed when the unicorn finally stopped in front of what was a wall of thorns stretching as far as she could see left, right, and up.
Gene too felt his brows crease at the giant wall of thorns. Then an exasperated sigh bubbled from him. Undoubtedly this was something designed to keep them from leaving the forest. Part of him was glad since that meant he likely had been heading in the correct direction. The other part was irritated again at the entity that chose to play a game with pony's lives. He moved closer to the wall to better examine it. Each thorny vine twisted and turned making various knots. It was not fully closed though. Now and then there was enough spacing that he could see through to the other side. He carefully prodded one of the larger holes with his horn to try and break a piece off. The vine he pulled on moved a little but held firm. In his examination, Eilidh had worked her way out of his mane to flit about a few of the others.
She carefully stepped onto the entrance to one of the gaps. Looking up close she felt she might be able to fit through to see what was on the other side. "Gene?" She called out gently.
He stepped back slightly. "What?" His gruff voice was low as his eyes scanned for her. There was a little part of him that wished to get on to her for exposing herself.
"I think I can fit through this one!" She quietly exclaimed. The mare had hoped the strange voice had yet to notice her.
He had spotted her just before she spoke and was already directly in front of her. As tall as he was, he had to bend his neck down to better see through the hole she found. It did like just big enough for her, but the thorns and her being alone on the other side worried him. Sighing, "Be careful."
Her wings buzzed happily before she stilled them against her back to make it to the other side. Eilidh almost made it the whole way without injury. Two of the thorns at the end gave her trouble and nicked her shoulder. She bit back a hiss at the pain before breathing out in relief when she was free of the gap. The flutter landed on a tree branch across from the wall. Black eyes took in the different sight in front of her. It still looked just as imposing. She tried to fly higher only for the wind to strengthen. The forceful gust threw her roughly onto the ground and seemed to press her there. With a gasp of pain, she grew to her full size. Hoping that being larger would give her resistance to the breeze. Almost instantly, the wind came to a stop. The mare shakily stood while breathing hard. After a moment's rest she tried to shrink again only for the wind to howl. Angrily she stayed full-sized with a huff.
Having heard the sudden roaring of the wind, Gene was on high alert. "Are you alright?" He called loudly. Ideally, he would have stayed quieter but he was sure the wind was specifically targeting her.
"I'm fine!" She called back. If this being would not let her be small, she simply would not try to hide. "Whatever brought us here seems to not want me small anymore." She informed.
His eyes closed in frustration. "Then we'll have to find a way to reunite." Gene took a few steps back while glancing left and then right. "Let's try heading to your left." He did not wait for her confirmation before moving. Eventually, a larger gap appeared in the wall. Just big enough to see she was keeping pace with him. Satisfied he focused on finding some way over or through to her.
Eilidh heard a loud thundering noise and the ground beneath her shook. Then she heard a groan. Worry laced her tone, "Gene are you alright?" She tried to fly up only for the wind to become stronger. "Gene?"
Genevre groaned as he collected himself. A sinkhole had opened beneath him causing him to fall. Achingly he stood and looked to the opening. It was far enough above him that he could not just step out and there was not enough room for him to try and jump. "I'm alright," he told her, "Fell into a sinkhole."
She had started to pace while she waited for him to reply. Hearing him first relieved her then confused her. It sounded like he was closer despite being muffled by the ground. Her head lowered to where the wall met the ground before she spoke. "Do you see vines down there?"
He frowned at the dirt that was by the wall. Or actually under the wall he realized. "No, I don't." An idea struck him that maybe the wall didn't have roots so he should be able to dig up to her. "Step back," he warned. It took him longer than he wanted and his front hooves were very sore. Finally, he made it through the ground to see her also digging down. A little more work from them both had him fully topside with both collapsed from the effort.
"I'm glad you're okay." She beamed at him. He smiled lightly at her too before noticing the tried blood from earlier when she was cut by the thorn.
"You're hurt." It was a statement that had her shaking her head.
"I'll be fine!" She bounced up, wings aflutter. "We should continue." He nodded his agreement as he stretched to a standing position. On this side of the wall, he noticed why he had been beset by the sinkhole. The cursed wall seemed to be getting frail. A few more feet and he might have been able to break through. This assured him again that his initial direction had been correct. So, when he began moving again, they moved away from the wall. Slowly the trees thinned and a revine came into sight. The unicorn grumbled under his breath as, like the wall, it seemed endless on both sides.
"What should we do?" Eilidh asked him as she looked down into a void of darkness. "The entity doesn't want me to fly at all." She added.
His brow pinched as he examined the trees around them. Plenty were tall enough, if he could knock one down they might be able to cross it. "I'll try to knock a tree down, stay a ways back to not get more hurt." He gestured with his head for her to move. She nodded and watched as he tested tree after tree. Then he found one whose roots were not as deep and a handful of strong bucks had it crashing down. The small mare bounced with the force of the tree's landing. She sighed in remorse for the tree before lightly jumping onto it. It was more than sturdy enough for her and she crossed with ease. Apprehension filled her as she watched the large stallion mount it too. It creaked but held. Even he seemed relieved. Being that he was larger and stouter than she was, he took a little more care in crossing. All the worry was for naught as it did not even budge when he landed on the other side. They shared a look of relief before continuing.
Thankfully, there were no other issues until they saw what appeared to be the exit. The wind tried to push them back in. It might have succeeded in keeping her in had he not used his body to buffer her from it. That was still a trick though since she was still half his size at her full height. Both unicorn and flutter sprinted away from the forest aways before looking back at it. "Hopefully, we don't go there again," Eilidh whispered. Gene nodded his agreement before turning to heal his companion's injuries. "It was fun though!" She laughed before turning to start their path back to the herd.
Word Count: 1819/750
