I lie down on my bed, as the pain in my heart continues to beat into my ears. I just can’t believe it... she’s gone.

Why is she gone? Why did-

The door to my room begins to pound. Hard.

My ears shoot up, and I look towards the light from the other side of it. Shakily, I hop from the bed, and approach it.

As my little light blue (cyan) hoof lifts up to answer the door, however, it bursts open. I barely have time to scream before a shadowy figure grabs me by my minty blue mane, and drags me out of my room.

I finish wrapping another one of the boo-boos on my left foreleg in a torn sheet, then look up at the mirror of my closet door. My once long and curly mane has been cut short, and my bright yellow eyes are a little red around the edges, from all the crying I’ve been doing.

Mama said that it was okay to cry, after all. She also told me that if I cried, she would come running over to me.

To make me feel better.

The door pounds again, and I leap up in fear. The handle shakes around, but the door refuses to budge, because I was sure to lock it so that the shadowy monster on the other side doesn’t get to me.

Not again.

But the door slams open, and there it stands on the other side. Its blue eyes glare down at me, and for the briefest of moments, I see red around its blue tint.

Its teeth hold a large whip, and its right hoof holds an evil potion.

I can hear its growl, before it stomps over towards me.

I close my eyes, and accept my fate.

I am a good filly. I am! I really am!

Mama always told me that I was. And she hasn’t lied to me! Not... not once!

...

Although, she did tell me she would come back to me when I cry. I have been crying every day, and every night, hoping and praying that she can defeat the monster in the house!

That she would save me!

Like Sunny and her friends, from all of those old stories I’ve read.

Or Twilight, and her friends.

But then, the reality sinks in.

Those were just stories. Nopony is going to save me. And I’m not brave enough to have friends like they did.

I can’t even... I can’t even save myself.

And this fact is further proven when the door slides open, and the monster approaches me again.

Then, the pain returns.

I’m in my room a lot earlier, now. I move a chair that I borrowed from the dining room table in front of it, then move my bed over to add more strength to the barricade.

It’s not going to be enough. I’ve tried this before. The monster is strong, and smart. It will find a way to break in again, just like the last five times I’ve done this.

But the monster doesn’t arrive until the little leg on the clock is at twelve. I look up at my clock.

The little hand is on ten. I’m safe... for the next two hours.

After moving everything in place, I hurry to my closet, and open the door.

Why have I not tried to hide in the closet before?

Because I know what the monster did to my first door. I’m afraid the monster will do it again to this one.

Then nowhere will be safe.

I will sit in the closet and hide, and at least feel safe for the next few hours... then I’ll listen for the monster to bang on the door, and step out.

That way I have a safe spot when he breaks inside to hurt me even more.

It’s all I really ever wanted since I was moved here by the ponies in the blue uniforms.

Just to feel safe again.

Tears begin to fall from my eyes, and I start to cry again.

I wish Mama was here.

I wish she didn’t disappear.

I wish I can see her smile at me again.

I wish... I wish this monster didn’t hurt me, anymore!

Then I close my eyes, and try to take a nap.

But I open them up again out of fear.

No! I can’t sleep!

Not until the monster had its way!

If I sleep now, it will find me here, and take away my last safe place to hide!

I can’t sleep! I... I need to wake myself up!

Hurting helps keep me awake... what if I hurt myself before it hurts me? Just to wake me up some more!

I think for a moment, before my eyes set on the wall on the other side. Of course!

If I bump my head, I’ll be able to knock more energy into me! That’s how it works, right?

Not too hard, though. I don’t want to hurt any more than I need to, before the monster gets me again.

I slowly sit up and go to the wall on the other side of the closet door, just behind a bunch of long coats and jackets that were left over from the last person that lived here.

I reach for the wall, but... find my hoof hovering in open space.

Curious, I trot over towards the wall some more, only to find my entire leg vanishing inside it!

What... what is going on? What is this?

I step inside the wall... and find another door there!

I turn around, but find the wall again.

I try touching the wall, but my body would just go through it again.

I don’t step into it this time, though. I pull my hoof out of it... but find strange, wriggly wormies sticking out of it!

Curiously, I stare at my hoof and try bending it again.

The wormies wriggle again, and for once, I smile and giggle at the things!

I lift my other hoof up and wave at the wormies, only to find that my other hoof has them, too!

It’s weird, but not scary. I can easily name one thing much scarier than this!

But as I stare at my hooves some more, I hear the door creak open, and immediately, my fear returns.

I turn around and stare shakily, as a new creature looms over me. This one is a lot taller than the one outside my bedroom!

But... instead of glaring down at me, its eyes open widely, and it hunches down to my level.

I flinch, and cover my head, as the wormies on its own hooves begin to grip onto my mane...

...

... but it doesn’t grip hard.

I slowly open my eyes, as I feel its hoof brush against my mane... slowly... gently... just like Mama-

“Jeez, kid... are you alright?” I hear him ask. I slowly open my eyes, and look up at him.

He looks down at my weak form... but he doesn’t show any signs of anger. No signs of hate.

He looks at me with worry in his eyes.

I slowly open my mouth, but no words come out. Instead, more tears start to fall.

“What happened to you? Why... how’d you get here?” he continues.

I close my eyes, and back away from him. He blinks confusedly, and then... he loses my line of sight, as I back into the door on the other side of my closet again.

I quickly lift my hoof up, and immediately I find that my hooves no longer have the wormies on them!

Also that my fur has returned to its original blue color again. When in the other side of the closet, though, I barely got a chance to see it, but my fur felt a lot softer, and was a more brownish color.

The creature on the other side had a similar fur texture, but his body was a brighter color... it almost looked like a peach, but slightly more yellow.

I try to open my closet, but freeze in place when I hear the other creature’s voice speak behind me.

“What in the heck is going on?” he asks, sounding confused.

I slowly turn around, and my blood runs cold.

He’s no longer shaped like he was.

Now his face looks more like a wolf... and his green eyes are now glowing in the dark.

But his hooves are the same, except now his body is colored in black fur with a light gray spot in the middle.

He stares at his hooves, and the wormies that are still on them, before turning back around towards me.

His confused look returns, before he sits down, and crosses his lower hooves... which seem to have much smaller and wider wormies on them, as well as three black claws.

I pay no attention to those, and ball up in fear.

Then I feel him gently patting me again.

“There there. It’s okay, kid. I’m not going to hurt you.” he coos.

My body tenses up before he removes his hoof from my head.

“Are you hurt? Is there anything I can do to help you?” he asks.

Finally, I open my mouth... and manage to speak.

“A-are... are you gonna eat me, M-Mister Wolf? B-because I taste a-awful!”

He blinks at me... then smiles, shaking his head.

“Of course not, kiddo! Here, tell you what.”

He places a hoof on his chest and says, “My name is Brad. What’s your name?”

I meekly reply, “M-Misty.”

He then gently pats me again. “Wow! That’s a very pretty name, Misty!”

This... makes me smile a little. “Th-thank you. M-Mama came up with the name.”

He replies, “Well your Mama must be a very smart little... pony?” he says, almost sounding like he’s not sure about something.

But I pout, and look away, gently brushing my hoof up against the floor. “M-Mama... d-disappeared.”

He leans a bit closer. “She... disappeared?” he parrots.

I nod. “Y-yes sir. The ponies in the blue c-clothes told me that she’s... n-not coming back. So they took me here... t-told me I will be safe here.”

“Ponies in blue...” he begins, before his eyes widen. Then he pouts at me, and gently brushes my mane with his hoof again.

“Oh, uh... I’m so sorry to hear that! That’s... that’s horrible!” he says.

I nod my head, letting my tears pour down even more. “I-I know! I just... I just want Mama to come back. To... t-to pick me up! To save me from the monster!”

He tilts his head. “Monster?”

I slowly nod my head. “Y-yes, sir, Mr. Wolf.”

He looks like he’s about to say something, but he chooses to sigh, instead. “But... I’m not a monster, silly girl! I’m what you call a human!”

I blink at him. “H-hyuu-minn?” I try to pronounce.

He giggles at me, and shakes his head. “A little less emphasis on the ‘u’ and a bit more on the ‘a’.”

I clear my throat. “H... Human?” I repeat.

He smiles widely and nods his head. “Perfect!”

“B-but... but you look like a Wolf, though! I’ve never even heard of a human, before!”

He shrugs his shoulders. “Well... if I had a say in it, I’m guessing we’re from two different worlds. And your world seems to turn me into a Wolf, while mine turns you into a human! But if it helps, I’m still me, and you’re still you, right?”

I giggle, nodding my head. “Y-yes sir! Umm... th-then would it be alright if we called you a ‘Wolf’ while you’re in my world?”

He rubs his snout for a bit, before nodding his head. “Well sure! Don’t want to complicate things, anyways.”

“C-complicrate? What is that?”

He then gently pats my mane again. He seems to like doing that, but... I don’t mind. His hooves are a lot softer, and gentler, than the monster’s. And he doesn’t want to hurt me, at least.

“Complicate. Basically it means to make something harder to understand, or do, than it needs to be.” he explains.

I nod my head. “Oh. I get it now!”

He then asks, “Out of curiosity. How old are you, Misty?”

I reply, “Eight.”

He smiles a little more. “That so? I have a son who’s ten. Maybe I can introduce you to him someday!”

“Y-you have a family?” I ask him.

He nods again. “I do, in fact! I have a loving wife, and a cheerful son! I bet they’d both like to meet you someday!”

I then ask, “But... where are they?”

He points towards the wall. “They’re out on a Family Reunion, from his Mom’s side. They might not be back for a few days, so I was kinda just cleaning up the house for their return. Then, well, I heard something in the closet, and bam! There you were!”

He makes the wormies on his hooves do a snapping sound, and it makes me blink at it in surprise.

“How did you do that?” I ask.

Mr. Wolf raises a curious eyebrow. “Do what?”

“Th-the snappy sound with your hoof wormies!” I reply.

He blinks again, before looking at the wormies on his hooves. Then he laughs a little.

Not like a mean laugh, though. He isn’t looking at me, after all.

But when he does look at me, he holds his hoof wormies out for me to see, and uses one of them to tap on the wormies on his other hoof.

“Ah... well, first off, these aren’t hooves. They’re actually called ‘Hands’. And the little wormies you see are called ‘Fingers’! See?”

I scrunch my face at the strange new words. After a few tries, though, he explains it to me, and I... at least understand it better, now.

“So,” he begins, “what was it you said about a monster?” he asks, before his eyes trail down to my body... and then, he pouts. “And... what’s with all the scratches and bruises?”

And like that, my happy feeling is gone. I start to shake a little, and look at the door beside me.

“W-well... th-the monster shows up every n-night. When the little leg on the clock points at twelve. Then it bangs on my door, and eventually breaks in to hurt me.”

His pout only gets worse. “Did... did it do all that to you when it hurts you?!”

I sniffle, and nod my head. “Y-yes sir. It... it hits me with its whip, and yells at me. It... tells me that I’m not wanted here. That I shouldn’t have been born. It... even says weird things I don’t understand. Like... calling me an accident.”

His nostrils flare up at that.

“I... don’t know what that means, Mr. Wolf.” I tell him.

He then looks... a bit more scary, now. My heart starts to race, as his eyes make an angry look. “Misty... where is this monster now?”

I hunch down a bit lower, and reply, “I-I don’t know... I’m u-usually just-”

And then I hear it.

The loud banging on my door.

My ears shoot up, and my eyes widen. I let out a sharp gasp.

“H-he’s here!” I say.

I then turn to Mr. Wolf, who’s now looking at my closet door, and pat on his leg. He looks down at me.

“Y-you have to hide, Mr. Wolf! D-don’t... don’t worry!” I smile at him. “I-I’m used to this, already. Please... you don’t have to worry about me.”

I then quickly hurry out of the closet and close the door.

Right as I close the door, however, the door to my bedroom crashes open, sending the chair to the side of the bed, so that the monster can look down at me.

It growls, as the whip rests in its mouth again. And like usual, the evil potion is in its right hoof, almost entirely empty.

“Well, well... tryin’ to barricade yourself in again, ya little shit?” it growls at me, in its scratchy low voice.

I lower myself in fear, as it steps closer, wobbling with each step.

“I-I’m sorry! I... I was j-just trying to cle-” I begin, only for the whip to slide across my face. I close my eyes, and rub my left cheek, trying to get rid of the sting.

“Shut the hell up! Damn, you’re such a pathetic piece of trash! Just like that whore mother of yours!” he says.

I can barely see him, now, though, because of the tears filling my eyes.

“I-I’m sor-” I try to apologize.

His response is to hit me in the foreleg with his evil potion’s bottle.

The bottle doesn’t break, but it does hit my leg hard enough to leave another bruise.

I fall onto the ground, and slowly look up at him, as he stands over me, looking angrily at me with his hateful blue and red eyes.

“I said shut the hell up! Don’t make me repeat myself again, you worthless little accident!”

And there it is again. The strange word to call somepony. I thought accidents were things you didn’t mean to do.

So why is he calling a person a thing he didn’t want to do?

I’m not able to ask him, though. I can barely even manage to breathe, when his hoof kicks me in the tummy.

I curl up and start to cry again, gripping onto my sore tummy with my hooves.

He growls, before setting the evil potion down, and taking the whip from his mouth, into his hoof.

“Stop being so gods-damned weak! Come on! Get up!” he yells.

I try to stand back up, but he whips me in the back again, causing me to fall onto my tummy.

“I-I can’t!” I whine.

He then smiles at me... but not the good kind of smile. The ugly, mean kind.

“Exactly. Worthless. Helpless. Pathetic! You ain’t my child! You’re nothin’ more than an accident! A broken rubber!”

“W-what?” I wheeze out.

He glares at me again, and lifts his whip up again.

“I said... SHUT UP!” he yells, swinging the whip at me again.

But this time, a dark, fuzzy hand grabs onto the whip from behind him... before it can even reach me.

The monster blinks, before turning around... only for another fuzzy hand to grab him by the neck, and lift him up.

And now the anger is gone, and the monster stares at the glowing green eyes from the dark. Then the monster’s back is slammed up against the wall, as Mr. Wolf moves in-between me and the monster.

“W-what the fu-” the monster begins, only for Mr. Wolf to grab him by the muzzle with his hand (after the monster dropped the whip, of course) and shushed him.

“You so much as touch that kid again, and I will make you disappear.” he threatens.

The monster’s legs shake, and he starts to breathe a lot quicker.

“You know... I can smell the booze on you. And I can tell you, first-hand, that it’ll do you more harm than good. Wouldn’t you agree? Nod if you understand.”

The monster quickly nods his head.

“Good... now, here’s how it’s going to be.”

He removes his hand from the monster’s muzzle, and raises one if his wor- f-fingers!

“One. You will no longer drink any booze, nor will you ever. EVER. Get drunk again. Understood?”

The monster shakily replies, “Y-yes sir! N-no more alcohol, I swear!”

Then Mr. Wolf holds another finger up. “Two. You will no longer yell at that filly. Or any other fillies, for that matter. You will speak to her like she’s your boss. And you will treat her like such.”

“B-but she-” he begins, only for Mr. Wolf to slap him on the face. I see a few red lines form on the monster’s face, where he was slapped. “GAH!”

“She’s your DAUGHTER, whether you like it or not. And you will treat her like Royalty, from now on! Understood?!”

“Y-yes sir!” the monster shakily replies.

Then Mr. Wolf raises a third finger up.

“Third. You will be sure to feed her THREE meals a day. I can already see that she’s pretty thin, compared to you.”

The monster says, “B-but money’s tight though! I c-can’t-”

Mr. Wolf growls at him, barring his sharp pointy teeth. This makes the monster stop talking, and even start crying.

“Yet clearly it’s not too tight for you to fill your fat gullet with booze?! Don’t mistake me for a fool, you coward! When you stop buying booze, you will no longer have those issues! And since you’re no longer going to be drinking it, there’s really no point in buying it, now is there?!”

The monster shakes his head. “N-no sir, you’re r-right! I’ll... I-I’ll feed her three meals a day!”

Then Mr. Wolf nods his head. “Good. And you’ll feed her until she’s full. She’ll have enough to eat every day, from now on!”

“B-but-” the monster begins, only to be hushed again.

“You can improvise. Sandwiches aren’t that expensive to make. But make sure she likes it, and that she’s had plenty!”

“Y-yes sir!”

Then Mr. Wolf raises his fourth finger. “Four. I will visit here every single day, and check up on her. If she has so much as one more scratch, or one more bruise, and she tells me it’s from you, then I’ll give you five scratches for each one. And believe me when I say this...” Mr. Wolf curls up his hand, just a few inches from the monster’s eye, showing him his super sharp claws... which have a tiny bit of red still on them.

“What you got there is just a slap. I’ll put these in you all the way, and drag it through your skin.”

The monster cries. “Th-that could kill me!”

This only makes Mr. Wolf smile. “Then I’d advise you to watch that attitude of yours.”

The monster quickly nods his head.

Finally, Mr. Wolf raises his fifth finger up. “And finally... you and her will remain in this home. If she ends up missing, because you decided to move out, then I’ll know. And I will hunt you down to the ends of the world, and bring her back. Then, I’ll drag you into my world, and make you disappear from this one forever.”

“B-but I’m her last living relative! W-what will she-” the monster begins, only for Mr. Wolf to growl at him once more.

“Let me tell you something. I have a wife, a son, and a job. A good job that pays me more than enough to cover a whole family. If you were out of the picture, I’d gladly adopt her in a heartbeat. But frankly, you remind me too much of my own dad, so I’m gonna give you a second chance.”

Mr. Wolf then asks him, “Let me ask you... do you have a job?”

He shakes his head. “N-no sir. I get a w-welfare check from the filly, and-”

Mr. Wolf pulls the monster back, then slams him into the wall again, even more angrily.

“So let me get this straight... YOU BLEW YOUR CHILD’S WELFARE ON BOOZE?!” he roars out. The growling sound from his muzzle almost makes it sound like two people are yelling at once.

Though the monster finds it scary, I’m actually a little more impressed by that.

“You will NOT spend a single PIECE of that money on yourself, anymore! You will use it to buy food and supplies for HER, and HER, ONLY!”

“B-but what about me, t-”

Mr. Wolf silences him again by yelling in his face, “GET. A. JOB!”

“B-but I can’t just get a job! It’s h-hard enough to- ACK!” Mr. Wolf’s grip on the monster’s neck tightens. I can see the claws starting to poke into the side of his neck.

“Hard? Yes. Impossible? No. It’s only impossible when you stop looking. Now, tomorrow you will feed your child, then go out there and find a job! You will only come back home if you’ve either found one, or if it’s lunch time! You will fix her a good lunch, then get back to looking for a job! And when you find one, you will work your big, fat heart out until your boss tells you it’s okay to leave! Not by you asking, but by them allowing it! Is that understood?!”

He nods his head. “Y-yes sir!”

“Good... and now that we’ve got a plan figured out...” Mr. Wolf drops the monster.

The monster falls down on his tummy, and looks up at Mr. Wolf, who hunches down so that his nose is just a few inches away from his eyes.

“Get out of her room, and never return into it, unless she has invited you in. You got that?”

The monster shakily rises back up to his hooves and nods his head. “Y-yes sir! I-I pr-”

But Mr. Wolf stretches his arms out, and lets out a loud roar.

The monster screams in terror, before running out of the room.

Mr. Wolf takes a few deep breaths, before looking over at me, and smiling warmly again.

I, however, am focused more on the door the monster ran out of.

“I-I... I don’t b-believe it! He... h-he’s...”

Mr. Wolf gently picks me up, and brings me to my bed.

“He’s not gonna hurt you, anymore. And if he does, you come get me.”

And again, I feel tears falling from my eyes. Immediately, I throw my hooves around Mr. Wolf’s neck, wrapping him in a warm hug.

“T-thank you! Th-thank you, Mr. Wolf!” I tell him.

He smiles and wraps his own paws around me, returning the hug.

“It was no problem at all, kiddo.”

I yawn and have to break from the hug to rub my eyelids.

Mr. Wolf gently sets me into my bed, and tucks me in. I look over at the bedroom door again, though, and just stare at it, worried.

“W-what... what if he c-comes back in, Mr. Wolf?” I ask him.

Mr. Wolf gently pats me on the head.

“I’ll be right there in the closet, waiting for you.” he replies.

This makes me sigh in relief.

My eyes slowly start to close. “T-then... goodnight, Mr. Wolf. I’ll s-see you tomorrow...”

He gently brushes my mane a bit, before placing a kiss on my forehead. A quick, loving kiss.

Like the ones Mama used to give me.

It makes me smile. Finally... I feel safe once more.

Then I hear Mr. Wolf whisper back to me, “Goodnight, Misty. Rest well, and I’ll be back tomorrow to check on you.”

And just like that, I feel myself floating into the dream realm. All I hear behind me is the gentle closing of the closet door.

Thanks for reading this small side-project of mine! I’m trying to get back into the habit of writing.

My brother’s birthday is coming up soon-ish, though, so I’ve had to put off a bit of work for his sake.

Family, though, must come first. Sorry if that disappoints y’all, but I’m sure at least a vast majority will understand.

I may write a sequel to this one, eventually. It can be the start of a series of short stories, to help add more “Completed” stories into my otherwise long list of “Incomplete” and “On Hiatus” stories which, I’d like to also point out (again), are not dead, and just in a fairly slow process of being worked on.

Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope y’all enjoyed this short story!