//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 - The Thing from the Whitetail Woods 
// Story: The Thing from Whitetail Woods 
// by Revenant Wings 
//------------------------------//

	Revenant Wings found himself tearing down the path through the Everfree Forest towards Zecora without really thinking.  He didn’t exactly have to do it, he knew that, and the Captain might be a little angry with him if he arrived late, but he hoped he would excuse him if he knew what happened when he returned.
He arrived at Zecora’s quicker than he had before – and profusely thanked his times coming there before – and knocked on the door rather rapidly.  Zecora came out and smiled at Revenant, and was about to open her mouth into a rhyme before Revenant interrupted her.
“We found Caramel.”
Zecora’s smile turned into surprise, and she opened her mouth to say something else, but Revenant interrupted her again.
“He’s weakened.  I think we need that juice.  He’s weak like you said you were.”
“I have a vial for Caramel to heal,” Zecora said.  “But I need to collect more soon, I feel.”
“I don’t want to drain your stores,” Revenant said.  “It can wait, but I would like to help him out.”
“Do not fear about draining my store,” Zecora said kindly.  “I can always easily make more.”
Zecora brought out to him one more vial of the blue liquid, and Revenant Wings took in his mouth and gently tucked it in an open spot in his armor.  He said a polite but rushed “Thank you” and took off again, using his wings for extra speed.
He made it back to the hospital almost quicker than he made it to Zecora’s.  He burst into the hospital, asked Nurse Redheart at the front desk where Caramel’s room was again, and dashed off down the halls as soon as she gave him an answer.
Caramel was back in his bed.  Doctor Stable was looking over his medical charts with a look of disbelief on his face, pacing back and forth across one side of the room.  Neither one seemed to notice Revenant standing in the room.
“I-I don’t understand,” he stuttered.  “You’re supposed to be all healed.  Everything checked out.  What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” Caramel replied.  “But ever since I came back I just feel tired.  Maybe my legs fell asleep.  Maybe I’ve been sleeping on them for a while.”
Doctor Stable looked befuddled.
“But that doesn’t just happen.  And neither does a faded cutie mark!  I ought to perform some magical tests on you, but unfortunately I don’t have clearance yet.”
“Excuse me,” Revenant Wings said.
Doctor Stable turned swiftly around.  “Oh, it’s you.  I don’t understand.  You dashed out so quickly I wanted to ask if you knew anything about this.”
“Very little,” Revenant said.  “But it may have something to do with whoever kidnapped him.”
“But... my magic?” Caramel said.  “Who would want to capture me and drain his magic?   The only one I knew who could do that was Tirek.  I should hate to think what happened if that monster came back again...”
“Princess Twilight defeated Tirek, along with the other Elements of Harmony,” Revenant Wings said.  “His cutie mark isn’t completely gone and Tirek is locked away in Tartarus.  It’s not Tirek.”
“Then who?” Doctor Stable asked.
“Well, we found a hair sample on Caramel when we picked him up.  We’re going to see if we can get some DNA samples off it and send it up to the main facility in Canterlot so we can see if it matches anyone’s DNA.”
Doctor Stable heaved a sigh that, to Revenant, sounded like one of relief.
“Admittedly, when this whole thing first started, I was afraid nothing was going to get done and you’d sit around for a week first,” he said.  “But to hear you’ve got things in progress even now!  Oh, I thought things were getting worse when I saw the cutie mark...”
“Well, no guarantees,” Revenant said.  “But we are hoping something comes up.  Anyways, I have something else for you.”  He pulled out the blue vial and gave it to Doctor Stable.  “You can have this on one condition: you get that clearance and see what is going on with that faded cutie mark.”
“Well, of course, but what exactly does the vial do?”
“It’s the juice of the berries that he’s been picking.  It ought to completely reverse the effects of the fading cutie mark.  But I want to see what the fading is caused by first, and I’m sure it would interest my superior to know, as well.”
“But of course,” Doctor Stable said.  “I ought to receive the clearance in a day or two and should have the results a day or two after that, but— Caramel, what are you mumbling about?”
Caramel had turned away from them and was facing a window though he seemed to be looking nowhere in particular.  But Doctor Stable was right; Caramel seemed to be muttering incessantly at the sound of having to take the vial.  He didn’t even seem to notice Doctor Stable calling out to him.
“Hang on,” Revenant Wings said.  “Let’s get closer and see what he’s saying.”
The two crept closer and leaned in as much as they could, hoping Caramel didn’t notice them.  Revenant couldn’t make out very much, but he did manage to catch the stray word or phrase.
“...can’t... take me away... feed... return... master...”
“...‘master’...?”
At the sound of Doctor Stable repeating what he’d heard, Caramel blinked and looked up as though he didn’t know where he was for a moment.  He looked at Revenant and Doctor Stable for a moment in confusion, then smiled weakly and scratched the back of his head.
“Eh he he... I must have dozed off for a minute.”
Doctor Stable looked like he wanted to ask Revenant something, but he merely said: “You probably should get back to the Guard offices.  I’m afraid we’ve kept you too long.”
Revenant Wings nodded.  “Call the offices if you need anything more.  And remember the magic medical report.”
“Of course.”
It was quite a pain to explain everything to Iron Shield when Revenant returned.  He often had to repeat things because Iron Shield seemed to not believe him at every other sentence.  Of particular interest to him were Caramel’s collapse, the faded cutie mark, and his ramblings.
“I should like to have a more formal interview with Caramel himself,” Iron Shield said when Revenant Wings was done.  “But if he’s in that condition, I’d like to wait until we get the reports.  I don’t know what else to do from here, though.  I think we just have to wait until we get the DNA results back.”
“And when will that be?”
“Well, I’d expect late tomorrow and a return via priority express mail.”  Iron Shield rubbed his forehead with a hoof.  “Ugh... this case is just getting worse as it goes.”
“What should I do in the meantime?”
“Finish that report to Princess Celestia.  And add in a note about this case and Caramel’s faded cutie mark.  She might not get to it soon, but I’m at a loss of what to do.”





The evidence with the hairs was for naught.  They came back from the main database in Canterlot with the following message:
DNA is clearly pony.  However, our database has no record that matches with the DNA in the hairs.  There is the suggestion it may be from an earth pony with relatively high magic reserves, but again nothing matches.
Iron Shield visibly bashed his head on the desk upon reading the note.
“He’s taking it a bit harsh, isn’t he?” Garnet Heart muttered as they finished up the report.
Doctor Stable’s report of Caramel’s magic levels, which came in the day afterwards, was enlightening but otherwise didn’t really lead them anywhere.
Caramel’s magic was revealed to have been reduced to twenty-five percent of normal levels.  Amount is relatively small, considering he’s an earth pony, but even so it prevented him from working at all.  Administration of the vial of juice from the berries – found out to be Vaccinium sammohana,  the Nagani berry – restored Caramel to full health within a few hours including bringing his cutie mark back.  Would request seeing Zecora to see if more vials can’t be made for emergency purposes if someone else falls to the same ailment.  However, no clue on how or why magic levels decreased; coma did not cause it as no other patient has had such a thing happen.
“Vaccinium sammohana, eh?” Iron Shield said.  “Well, that berry might be worth looking into.”
“But why was he bit?” Revenant Wings asked.
“Bite?” Garnet Heart replied.  “Looked to me more like he’d been injected.  He didn’t have a chunk torn out of him.”
“Well, it could be something similar to a rattlesnake,” Iron Shield said.  “But there wasn’t even a sign of being poisoned.”
But no one could suggest another option.





Two days after Doctor Stable’s report, another message came in from Princess Celestia.
Ponyville Guard Offices:
I have read over the report and have read over the additional notes considering the case of Caramel.  I am afraid to say it, but it is entirely likely that something has entered the Whitetail Woods and is currently living there.  Whatever it has probably has dark magic at its command, so it would be advised to stay as far away from it as possible.
I have too many things preoccupying my time at the current moment to come down there and handle things personally; taking care of diplomatic relationships, tracking down other wider-spread criminals, reigning in Discord, and rehabilitating damaged ponies from these incidents along with the minutiae of ruling Equestria has me going constantly.  I am, however, able to send a small contingent of guards to help patrol and Luna has promised some of the night guards to help keep an eye on things at night.  They will be coming in tomorrow and setting up camp just outside of Ponyville, as this should only be a temporary issue.
I also suggest that you maintain close contact with Zecora and Fluttershy.  Zecora knows the Everfree Forest better than anyone else, and Fluttershy may be able to confront the creature – if that indeed is what is causing the disturbances – and communicate with it in a way that no one else can.  Keep these two informed of your own actions and provide them with a small stipend for helping us out; I shall cover the expenses, whatever you name them, though I trust they shall be within reason.
Princess Celestia
“So, keep doing what we’re already doing,” Watchful Eye said.  “Easy enough.  But we ought to keep a closer watch on if there is something in Whitetail.”
“But how do we do that besides sending a group of us into the woods on a daily basis?” Revenant Wings commented.  “Those woods are definitely wilder than everything but the Everfree Forest.  It won’t be easy.”
“We could always have small scouting patrols along the path to the berry patch,” Iron Shield mused.  “At least we know something lives in that general area if that’s where Caramel was captured.  Two of you plus one of the guards Princess Celestia’s sending us ought to be enough.  Take the hike, look for signs, and report what you find.”
“Great, more night shifts,” Garnet Heart said.
“Not necessarily,” Iron Shield said.  “With Luna’s guards available, we have enough to cover the night shift for the most part.  We’ll just need the usuals available in case someone needs to report anything.”
“Yeah, more night shifts,” Garnet insisted.





Garnet Heart was right.
Revenant Wings found himself alone one evening at home a few days later, eating dinner picked up from Sugarcube Corner and watching a comedy show on television.  Garnet Heart and Watchful Eye had been selected for one of the first shifts with Luna’s Night Guard, who had apparently come under the presumption of working with the Ponyville Guard.
Revenant guessed that was more an idea of Iron Shield than it was of Luna’s guard.
Either way, Revenant Wings was left alone at home for the first time in a while.  Garnet wasn’t taking a whole night shift, just a few hours overtime until ten that evening to give the night guard a tour around town.  He didn’t like the feel of it but figured four hours alone wouldn’t be too bad.
Night settled in.  Revenant was bored but otherwise the silence wasn’t too bad.  He liked the sound of voices, however, and kept the television on whenever he did anything.  This included going to the bathroom, getting anything from the bedroom, or getting something from the kitchen.
It was while going to the bathroom he heard the first twig snap.
He had just finished going to the bathroom.  There was a dramatic movie on the television now and it was in a quiet section.  Revenant Wings went to the sink and washed his hands for a moment.
The twig snap came outside the window from the bathroom.
Revenant froze and went absolutely still.
The television felt oddly quiet, like it was waiting for something.  There were the sound of crickets and then those suddenly stopped.  Revenant Wings looked outside the window; the light filtering outside barely illuminated the patch of grass outside the window, and the moon was small enough barely any light was outside.
Revenant screamed and quickly kicked backwards as something launched into the bathroom window.  Revenant couldn’t see what it was, only that a shape flung itself at him from the dark, and he wasn’t too keen on sticking around to see what it was.
Revenant Wings flung open the bathroom door and went for the front door to try and alert someone.  But he didn’t even touch the handle when he noticed a large shadow with the front half of a pony and an elongated torso outside his living room window.  Suddenly the shadow lowered its head and charged towards the house, banging against the door, causing Revenant to scream again.
Revenant darted for the bedroom – keeping the lights out – and opened the blinds, thinking he could open up the window and fly out.  He moved the blinds out of the way and opened up the window a crack.
The shadow appeared in front of him out from the darkness, the features obscured by the low light of the moon behind it.  Revenant almost thought it was looking at him for a long while before its eyes began to glow, two golden eyes with black slits like cat’s eyes staring at him from otherwise impenetrable shadow.
Revenant was frozen.  He couldn’t move.  He tried pulling his head away but couldn’t tear away from the shining gold eyes that glowed and pulsed and fluctuated.  He tried moving his hooves but felt as though he was rooted to the spot, as though he stepped in glue and was stuck to the floor.
Suddenly he saw slivers of blue, green, and white swirling and shifting around inside the eyes.  The eyes grew larger and larger as they came closer and closer.  Revenant felt like he was drowning in the shifting shapes.  He tried to scream but nothing came out other than a faint squeak.  His head jerked around and his hooves stuttered but nothing he did shook him free from the grasp of the thing.
The shadow moved closer until all he could make out was the shifting eyes amidst the darkness.  There seemed to be a sound coming from the shadows like soft breeze.  Revenant couldn’t hear anything specific, but it almost sounded like a soft whisper trying to incite him... to fascinate him.
Revenant’s wings finally worked.  But instead of fleeing, Revenant found himself shooting forwards, wings flapping as fast as they could go.
Glass broke and shattered as he braced for impact.  Something scratched him along the sides and on his shoulder and burned like fire despite the cool night air.  Revenant hit something that felt simultaneously warm and soft like a blanket but cool and smooth like a stone.  There was a writhing mass all around him for a while and Revenant flailed around, trying to free himself from the knot he was finding himself being pulled into.
After a while Revenant’s wings flapped once and he took off from the ground, rocketing into the air.  He gasped for air as though he hadn’t breathed for a while and took a look around, realizing he was in the sky over his house.  He looked at himself and noticed his shoulder was bleeding, a small trickle of blood coming from a bright red gash.
When Revenant Wings looked down to see what hit him, he found a large shape receding into the Whitetail Woods.
Revenant Wings flapped softly downwards and surveyed the damage.  The bathroom window was surprisingly intact, but the lock was busted on the front door and the bedroom window was completely shattered.  Glass littered the ground outside the window and seemed to fall in little dents around the place.
Revenant Wings crawled back inside the bedroom window and went for the bathroom again, wetting a washcloth and placing it on his shoulder.  It burned like Tartarus but the cool water was a relief and almost immediately the blue cloth became stained with red.
Revenant limped towards the main kitchen and sat to wait.
Sure enough, a group had heard his cries.  Garnet Heart arrived with two of Luna’s night guards.  Revenant opened the door with ease and showed them the busted lock and the broken window, in addition to the spot in the bathroom where he’d first seen the shadowy figure.
“You’re bleeding,” Garnet Heart said tenderly, coming up with a new wet washcloth and a bottle of alcohol.
A doctor was sent for.  They came and looked over Revenant’s blood-stained shoulder.  Garnet Heart cleaned the wound relatively well but Revenant was finally coming off his adrenaline rush and simply moving the affected leg made him wince and gasp sharply through his teeth.  It was recommended he go in for emergency surgery for sutures and a high-dose pain medication with no strenuous activity for a few days.
Revenant Wings allowed himself to be bandaged and placed on a stretcher, keeping the affected leg even height so the pain was reduced.  He was taken to Ponyville Hospital and let the anesthesia gently lead him down to oblivion.
When he woke the next morning, the shoulder wasn’t bleeding anymore and a cast was put over it.  He tapped a button and a nurse came in to check on him and helped him sit up and eat breakfast, since he was down a front hoof.  He ached all over and when the nurse left he removed his bedsheets to look at the rest of him.
There were bruises all over his body and he was surprised that nothing was broken.  The bruises went from his neck, across his stomach and chest, and even down to his legs, ugly purple blotches that ached when he touched them and caused small shocks to go through his body when he tried to move them.
Iron Shield and Garnet Heart arrived around noon.  Iron Shield didn’t say anything for a long while, merely staring at the beaten body in terrified awe.  Garnet came over and held Revenant’s hoof.
“I’m sorry,” he said.  Revenant Wings could tell he was trying to hold back tears.  “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.  We didn’t know what happened; we just heard your scream twice and realized something was wrong.”
“It’s okay,” Revenant Wings replied.  “It wasn’t your fault.  You were on duty and I was not.  And, all things considered, it took me by surprise.  I couldn’t have told you something like that was going on.”
“Well, there are some problems with it,” Iron Shield said.
Revenant Wings looked up at him, almost offended.
“Not with you,” Iron Shield said.  “But a few things have happened even in the last eighteen hours that have been rather strange.”
“...like what?” Revenant Wings asked hesitantly.
“First, there are others besides Zecora and Caramel who have the bite marks on their bodies.  Second, you’ve been attacked by something that retreated into the Whitetail Woods.  Thirdly, Watchful Eye is now missing, and this is the last photo he took before his camera was found outside your bedroom window.”
Iron Shield brought out a picture from inside his armor and gave it to Revenant Wings.  It was the outside of his house, an aerial view looking down almost from the rooftops.  He could see the shards of broken glass, and now understood why they were all in dents in the ground.
The depressions gathered and seemed to be concentrated around Revenant Wings’ bedroom window, but a little further away there was a giant S-shape leading away towards the Whitetail Woods.  Inside one of the depressions was a ruler, one that showed the width of the depression was ten inches wide.
“What do you have to say about that?” Iron Shield said.
Revenant Wings looked at the picture, then looked solemnly up at Iron Shield.
“I guess... we have no choice.”  He looked out the window towards the Whitetail Woods.  “We have to wait seventy-two hours.”