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It was official, Ethera had wandered too far from home. Looking around, she couldn’t discern one bog from the next. None of the flora here were familiar. She continued on anyway. It wasn’t as if she had friends or family that would be searching for. Oh no, she was a lone monster to be kept hidden away in the depths of the swamps that only the bravest or foolish would dare enter. She sighed and dragged her heavy hooves over some fallen tree trunks, her gooey exterior slipping across the loose pebbles as if it was water.

A chunk of ooze dripped down her chin to fall into the puddle that connected to her feet, reabsorbing into her form. One of the benefits to being a gooey thing, she mostly remained intact, though she did leave a bit of a mess behind like a slug. She sighed again, glancing away from her slick barely-there-green trail. Ahead of her stood some crumbling ruins made of a dark stone that glimmered in the swamp’s low light.

Perhaps now was a good time to rest up and take shelter, she thought. As she trudged closer to the ancient stonework, she noticed most was covered with a very dark moss. It was unusual, the center was a dark near black that gradually brightened into an almost mint green color. She peered closer at the plant. She raised her tail up to the rocky wall as if it were a lantern. It cast the softest purple glow. The closer she moved it, the brighter it glowed. “How strange…” she muttered to herself.

There was still so much about herself that she didn’t know. But for now she left that last thought be. She hadn’t crossed paths with a single pony or critter for half a mile, she was well and truly alone. It was safe enough for her to try and rest. She moved into one of the last remaining corners of the ruins that was free of the unsettling moss and hunkered down for some rest.

Word total: 342

It wasn’t truly rest if your dreams haunted you. Images of heckling horses and jeering companions whirled within her sleeping mind. Around and around she watched them until she was dizzy. She tried to chase them away but new ones continually replaced them. All were different but one thing remained the same, ‘Monster’ they would yell and scream. Monster! Monster!

Ethera tried to run but they always found her, backing her into a dark corner… No! That was enough! She startled herself awake. Ethera whinnied in the waking world, snorting and coming to. She shook her head and some drips dropped back into her gelatinous belly. She blinked into the dark, still groggy and out of sorts from her vivid night terror. The mare wasn’t familiar enough with the area, and every shadow or hollow looked like it was a threat.

For a moment she just sat there and watched the dark. Nothing moved. Her ears swiveled to and fro in search of anything unusual, but all she could hear were the frogs in the distance and the wind rustling gently through the low hanging trees and the distant lap of the swampy waters. Perhaps it was just the dream but she still couldn’t shake the sensation that she was in danger. It wasn’t a bright move but she did it anyways, “Hello?” she called out softly into the night.

Word Total: 230

Her magenta eyes widened as a dark figure slipped out of the shadows. The mare was as dark as the night itself, it was no wonder that Ethera hadn’t seen her. Though her mane was a bright fiery orange in zillions of tight twists and knots - which should have been somewhat visible, she thought to herself. Perhaps her eyesight was failing her, or this one was able to hide in the shadows? These thoughts and more swirled around in her disoriented mind. She was brought back to reality when the stranger began to muse about her skin and body!

Ethera felt her body stiffen, which was not an easy feat when you’re made of goop. She audibly gulped at ‘tasty’. Every alarm bell in her mind and body was going off but she couldn’t bring herself to move. At least not until something large tumbled out of the mysterious mare’s bag. A quick glance was all she needed, it was a skull! An awkward moment of silence passed between them until the dangerous stranger snarled.

“No!” Ethera yelped as she leapt to her feet and hurried over the backside of the wall. She wanted to put as much space between her and the danger. Her heart pounded in her chest as she dashed across the swamp floor, dodging roots and fallen trees. She raised her tail to try and give her some sort of light in the deathly dark morass but the glow wasn’t enough. She tripped and stumbled on nearly every bit of the landscape. Her breath was ragged by the time she slowed to gather her sense of direction. She peeked at the ground to see her tell-tale slug trail, and it appeared she had been going in circles for some time. Her eyes searched the distance, she didn’t know where to go next but at least she couldn’t see the ruins.

Word Total: 314 words

“Thought you could just slither away?” That voice cut through the night like a knife. Ethera stopped cold in her tracks. It took all of her strength not to wobble as she turned to face the evil mare. The dangerous stranger pressed on, moving closer with each word, she tried to match each step and slowly back away but couldn’t when she bumped into a large stone. She was stuck.

“Do you even have any bones?” She paused as well, dwelling on the odd question. Ethera didn’t know. She felt solid, well mostly solid…but in truth she didn’t know. Before she could answer her, as if an answer would dissuade this murderous mare, she produced a dagger.

As if things couldn’t get anymore dangerous. Ethera watched the sliver of moonlight glint off the blade. There was no escape behind her. Her mind was a flurry of calculations as she tried to come up with a plan but every thought became intermingled with a flashback of previous chases, at least in those the horses had let her flee into the woods or fen. She closed her eyes and yelled out in frustration. “Enough! No more!”, then she lowered her head and lunged at the knife-wielding mare. She bum-rushed her, her shoulder colliding into the twisted horse’s own and the dagger’s blade sliced into her cheek before she was able to break away. Ethera nearly lost her balance but she pushed forward and past her with a speed she hadn’t known she had. She winced as the cut goop dropped onto a frond on the ground, but adrenaline fueled her escape and she never once looked back. She wouldn’t stop running until the sun rose and she was free of the bogs.

Word Total: 290 words
Total Count: 1176