Never enter the woods alone, for there are monsters there. They can look like anything, even another pony. And if you waver in Gaea's love, you will become one.
A 2012 My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Fanfic by Filler.
In this peaceful forest village surrounded by walls, a little filly named Whisperleaf has never known anything but safety and the love of Gaea, the goddess who watches over them. But her friend Fairy Dust is starting to get curious about what's beyond the wall.
Can be read here
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Has nothing to do with the Game of Thrones episode "Beyond the Wall".
Beyond the Wall contains examples of:
- Affably Evil: The villagers are kind, friendly, peaceful ponies...as long as you're not from outside the wall, for which you will be executed without hesitation, because Gaea only loves those within her walls and life without her love is a torture that only death can free you from. And if you're a villager and try to go outside the wall, you will also be executed without hesitation to ensure that your body remains in the village forever and Gaea still loves you.
- Ambiguous Situation: Does Gaea actually exist, or was she just made up by the village to keep everypony scared of going outside the wall? We never get an answer.
- Black-and-White Insanity: To the villagers, everything inside Gaea's walls is good, while everything outside them is bad. To the point where they'll murder one of their own foals without hesitation for trying to leave the village, because being outside the walls and beyond the reach of Gaea's love is considered a Fate Worse than Death.
- Blind Obedience: Whisperleaf does what she's told because "she's a good pony," and tattles on her friend Fairy Dust for trying to leave the village, which gets her executed.
- Censored Child Death: Fairy Dust's execution is never explicitly shown, as the the story cuts from Whisperleaf about to tell on her for attempting to leave the village to Whisperleaf describing her fate.They buried Fairy Dust in the village so that Gaea could still love her. She’s a little mound of dirt with a twig sticking out of it now. They rescued her before she stopped loving Gaea, so she’s still a good pony. That’s what her mommy and daddy told me.
- Chocolate Baby: Fairy Dust was born a pegasus, even though her parents are earth ponies. In fact, she's the only pegasus in the entire village. She's never discriminated against for it...until Whisperleaf's mother starts worrying that she might use her wings to someday fly away from the village, and out of the reach of Gaea's love.
- Cover Innocent Eyes and Ears: Fairy Dust covers Whisperleaf's eyes so she doesn't have to see the villagers murdering Rainbow Dash.
- Downer Ending: Fairy Dust is executed by the villagers for trying to venture outside the wall, and Whisperleaf decides to carry on being a good little pony and not think about what's beyond the wall any longer.
- Exact Words: As long as you remain inside the village, Gaea will always love you. And to the villagers, being dead and buried in the village, loved by Gaea, is preferable to being outside the walls and alive, but not loved by Gaea.
- The Fundamentalist: Everypony in the village believes that Gaea only loves those inside her walls, and hates everything outside them.
- Hidden Elf Village: The village is located in the middle of a forest (implied to be the Everfree Forest), surrounded by a giant stone wall that keeps anypony from getting in or out.
- Kick the Dog: The villagers murder Rainbow Dash when she accidentally lands in the village, simply because she's an outsider and they believe everything outside the village is a forest monster.Mr. Amber: So you are from beyond the wall, and thus, you do not love Gaea, nor does Gaea love you. We release you from your tortured existence.
- The One Who Made It Out: Before Whisperleaf was born, her older sister Whispersilk successfully escaped the village and never came back. Their parents told Whisperleaf that her sister was eaten by forest monsters.
- Only Sane Man: Fairy Dust is just a filly, yet the only pony in the village to even consider the possibility that not everything beyond the wall is a forest monster.
- Outliving One's Offspring:
- Blackberry and Strongoak's older daughter Whispersilk was eaten by forest monsters. Actually, not really. She managed to escape the village and they never saw her again.
- Fairy Dust's parents are okay with her being killed so she can never leave the village, because as long as she stays in the village (even if it's her dead body), Gaea will love her forever.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: If even that. Whisperleaf decides to be a good pony and tells the elder that Fairy Dust is trying to leave the village, and as a result, Fairy Dust is killed. But, maybe, Whisperleaf might change her mind someday and want to escape the village like her sister did, to see what lies beyond the wall...but that's a pretty big "maybe".
- Religion of Evil: The villagers worship a goddess named Gaea and believe that she loves everypony inside her walls, and hates everypony outside them. They will execute any stranger who wanders into the village (because Gaea doesn't love them), and anypony who tries to leave the village (so they won't stop loving Gaea).
- Theme Naming: Because the village is located in the middle of a forest, all the villagers are named after something that occurs in nature — Whisperleaf, Fungal Bloom, Beetle Bark, Blackberry, Strongoak, etc.
- The Wall Around the World: A giant stone wall surrounds the village, keeping the villagers inside and forest monsters away. The punishment for trying to go beyond the wall is immediate execution.
- Town with a Dark Secret: The forest village is a lovely, friendly place where everypony has everything they need, and everypony is happy and cares for one another...but no one can come in, and no one can go out. Because Gaea doesn't love anything or anypony outside the wall, intruders are killed on sight, and any villager that tries to leave is killed and buried within the village grounds so Gaea will still love them.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: All the villagers are terrified of "forest monsters" that lurk outside the walls. In fact, they believe everything outside the village walls is a forest monster, no matter what it looks like.
- Would Hurt a Child: Fairy Dust finds out the hard way that the villagers' punishment of immediately being executed for trying to go beyond the wall also applies to foals.
