Bitter Taste

Rain, it was raining again.
A stallion stood in the rain.
Head held low.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trapped in a dark forest, a young filly galloped for her life screaming as loud as she could, praying that somepony would come to her rescue. She was running from something she could not see, or outrun, each breath began to burn. The beast however, loved the thrill of the chase, its snarled in delight as it chased the filly; it's body was twice the size of an adult pony, but jet black, in the shadows of the forest the beasts true form was hidden from the fleeing filly. All she could see were those snake eye slights glowing, growing larger and larger every time she looked back. She screamed, her body burning with agony from exertion, she felt her end coming, the tree root protruding out of the ground tripped her, but didn't shorten the chase much, she wouldn't have been able to run much longer. The hidden creature let out a horrifying hiss, it had it's prey, the shadows still hid the creature as it got closer and closer. Those terrible eyes peering through the darkness at her. The power of its foot steps shook the ground getting louder and closer as it approached the filly. She looked away toward the ground.

Thud... Thud... Thud... Thud...

The terrified filly struggled to catch her breath, and get to her hooves, if she had the air for it she would have screamed.

Thud.. Thud.. Thud.. Thud..

The creature was getting closer, and all she could do is lay there, she tried and failed running away. She wanted a way out of this, she wanted to live. She contemplated resisting, but the image of what the creature did to her father was still fresh in her mind, the idea that daddy wouldn't be saving her...ever again, even if she survived, filled her last moments with a utter sadness.

Thud Thud Thud BOOM THUD THUD. A pain-filled roar burned the air.

“Fuckin' Hiderunners”

The little filly, too young to have her cutie mark looked up at her hero. Time seemed to stand still as she looked up to him. A stallion. He was a pale blue, like the sky on day that wanted to rain, he was nearly a foggy grey. His mane was black with a dark blue streak. He wore a trench coat which hid the majority of his body and a black cowpony hat. Most notable were his sapphire eyes... they looked... off somehow. He held a old rifle in his hooves, and had a lantern on his hip illuminating himself and the small area around him. His hooves slid a lever on the old rifle, then the powerful BOOM of the gun shook her out of her stupor.

“Stay down, and don't look kid” his voice pulsed in her ears, cool and calm and yet commanding.

The blasts made her ears ring, but she could still hear the beasts horrible bloodcurdling roar of pain as his hooves slid back and forth as he unloaded the contents of his rifle on the beast. His lantern shook with each blast, if she turned slightly she could have seen the beast that plagued her and her now dead family. Just a simple turn of the head. But she didn't do it. She wanted to listen to him. She couldn't do it. She didn't want the nightmares. More rifle bursts filled the air.

“Fucker, GO DOWN!!! YOU'VE KILLED ENOUGH JUST DIE ALREADY” He yelled pumping the last of his gun's ammo in to the monster. The resulting thud filled the filly with an calmness she thought she'd never feel again. Yet she could feel herself crying, the fear, sorrow, and other emotions swelled in her, mixing into a horrid batch she couldn't handle. She felt hooves pull her into an embrace, and she cried softly it to the stallion's chest.

“Its alright now, just let it out” He stated holding her close. She cried an incoherent mess that slightly sounded like “mommy” or “daddy”
“You are safe now, I'm here now, and I wont let anything get you.”

The two stayed this way for quite sometime. Until she finally cried herself to sleep. Not dreaming, her mind simply shut down.

She awoke in a bed, soft and warm the sun peaked in through a window, a worried looking green mare with a pink mane looking at her.

“You're finally up!” the mare said a smile coming to her face.
“Where is he?!” the filly asked immediately.
Shocked the mare responded “The pale stallion who brought you here?” The smile instantly dying. The filly simply nodded her head.
“Umm well... I don't know” the mare stated looking to the ground.
“Huh? Bu-”
“He came here in the middle of the night... told me I had to take care of you, said that you didn't have anypony else, said he'd be back before dawn but he's still not here yet.” the mare interrupted.
“So he could be here any minute now!” A smile jumping to the filly's face.
“Well... no, honey... you've been asleep for three whole days, I'm sorry but, I don't think he's coming back.” The mare stated then quickly trotted to the the misty eyed filly to give her a hug.
“Bu...Bu...bu..” The little filly couldn't even get the words out. He was her savior, and she would never even get the chance to say thank you.
“That's not fair!” The filly cried, tears and snot began to flow out of her face.
“I know honey, I know” The mare stated doing her best to tend to the filly who was obviously hurt. She assumed that the stallion was her father, but thought he still looked rather young and was more likely her older brother. She had no idea that the two were completely unrelated. She just assumed.

He had planned for that. He stood just outside the window, stealthy listening in. A smirk on his face, his hat hiding his sapphire blue eyes. He knows how ponies think and he knows mares, he played this mare into taking care of the filly, he figured he could trust a single mare but watched over her and the filly for past three days anyway. If the mare had any alternative motives with keeping the filly, they would have presented themselves within those three days of the filly being unconscious. From how worried the mare had been over the filly, he knew the kid was safe, and in caring hooves.

“Sorry kid” he whispered to nopony “Better this way”

He had done this before, this was his life, no matter how much he wanted to be there for the filly, he knew impromptu father was not his place, he had a job to do, a family business to run. His responsibility was elsewhere. Staying there for so long was bad enough. That's what he kept telling himself, but for some reason he had to make sure that filly was going to be alright. It would have been unsettling to not know she was 100% safe. He kept telling himself “No emotional attachments”

And with that he silently trotted off, the morning sun as radiant as ever.

Author's Notes:

The ride begins.
It gets worse later on.
It was a lever action rifle.