//------------------------------// // Shadowhoof 01 // Story: Secret OC Origins Compilation // by Jeweled Pen //------------------------------// A thin fog rolled into the village of Trotsylvania, gently brushing against the homes that made up the smale locale. From his front room window in a comfy two story home, the earth pony mayor watched the courtyard with apprehension. All of his lights were off, in fact all the lights in the village seemed to be out, the only light coming from Luna's moon that dangled low in the sky. The fountain in the square had been turned off near the start of winter, leaving it slightly chilled by the frosty winter night, though the water was only just starting to freeze. A single cart rested besides the fountain, stacked high with apples and a few other assorted food stuffs they had an excess of. From his window he could see the occasional flash of light or staring eyes through the other windows of the village. They, like he, were waiting and watching. The winter was nearly here and the first snow fall would occur tomorrow. The pegasi had already brought the clouds over and were just waiting to allow the temperature to drop a little more before the snow would fall. No pony wanted another wet slushy incident like they had a few years back. The colts and fillys were most excited, tomorrow's classes had even been cancelled to celebrate the arrival of winter and end of fall. The next day would be filled with children running around, throwing snow balls and making a wild, happy mess of things. But that was tomorrow. Tonight, dread covered the village like a blanket. The moment the sun had dipped behind the mountains every child had been shuffled into their homes, doors had been barred and many had even taken to moving into their basements for the night. But still some, like him, had to watch in the darkness. Had to be sure the creature came and left, without any problems. Their village was one of the few that bordered the Everfree Forest, though that hadn't been much of a problem until recently. Most of the creatures in the forest tended to leave ponies alone, so long as ponies left them alone. The forest itself could be quite useful for commerce as well, soil near it tended to be great for plant life, you only had to go in a short distance to find all manner of berries and plants you couldn't find elsewhere. It had been wonderous and profitable, so long as the ponies were careful. Until now. The mayor yelped and dove down onto the ground as a frantic tapping was heard on his door. He recoiled and stared at it, eyes wide and horrified. Nothing had left the forest, he would have seen it. How had it snuck up on him? He looked around before gripping his fireplace poker in his mouth and slowly advancing towards the door. “Who is it?” he called out, his body shaking as he stared at the pounding door. “It's me, Dew!” a filly's voice called. The stallion blinked a few times before tossing the poker out of his mouth and moving to the door. He opened it, revealing a young blue coated filly, covered in dirt. He motioned her inside, slamming the door behind her when she was in. “What were you doing out there? Your parents must be worried sick! What if... the thing came while you were out?” The filly looked down, timidly poking her hooves together. “I... I was playing in the stone fields and I didn't realize how late it was...” She lowered her head as her eyes got big and sad. “Mommy and daddy are going to be really mad if I come home now, but if I said I was here...” He rolled his eyes and sighed. Only a child would be more frightened of a scolding from their parents than a creature like that. He slowly walked towards the window and peered out again. There was no sign of the monster yet. “Come along, we'll run you back to your parents.” A strangled whine came from her. “We can tell them you were helping me with some winter cleaning and we lost track of time.” The filly cheered up considerably at that. He sighed and gave another glance out the window. Still nothing. He then looked at his old grandfather clock standing in the corner of the room. The sun had only gone down a short bit ago. If they hurried, they'd likely make it out before the creature even knew they were there. He grabbed the poker in his mouth just to be sure, before swinging the door open. He motioned her to follow. The two slowly made their way through the village courtyard, the fog swirling around their hooves with each step. The click clack of their hooves against the cobblestones seemed to echo through the night, the only noise in the empty square. There wasn't even the sound of dogs barking, nore the sound of timber wolves out in the forests. On nights like tonight, they'd usually be close enough to be heard, howling at the moon. But tomorrow was the first snow fall. There was almost an electricity in the air. Even the animals felt it and they refused to make a sound. Tonight the creature would come. The monster had appeared a few years back, bringing demons and monsters with it. It had started small. First they'd heard the monsters in the forest, awful creatures. A few even swore they saw things. At first it was just minor worries, over active imaginations. Perhaps a timber wolf or ursa major. Nothing that ever left the forest or came near settlements. But then, in the middle of winter, the creature had come. Leading a horde of monsters, demons and ghosts, the evil creature had walked into their village in the night. It had taken food and supplies before disappearing into the forest. He shivered at the thought. Ghosts running through the streets, terrifying everypony that dared to be out. It had come again soon, taking more and more. Not very much, fortunately, but it kept coming. The villagers had finally set out a wagon of food and, unsurprisingly, the creature had taken it. With so much it hadn't returned for months and they had believed they were saved. Then it had returned near the beginning of the next season. So it had continued, with every season it came into their village and stole their food, before disappearing back into the woods to perform whatever unholy rituals it created. In fact, while he didn't know anypony personally, his cousin knew a mare whos sister's husband's gardener had her cousin captured and brutalized by whatever monster ruled their forest now, before turning the pony into one of its undead minions. Whatever monster lived there, it was beyond the control of mortal ponies. But so long as they gave it tribute, it never bothered them in the slightest. He glanced back to Dew. “Hurry up,” he said before stopping in mid stride as they passed the fountain. The mist seemed to be getting thicker. In fact, he was having trouble seeing through it now, to the buildings beyond. A chill went down his spine as a ghostly wail filled the air. “No no no.” He said softly as he backed up. The wail came again and he shook his head even faster. “D-dew, stay behind me.” He backed away, moving behind the fountain as he turned towards the forest. The creatures that warned of the monster's arrival seemed to be born of the mist itself. The first ones were just the heads. Blank, empty heads of ponies, ghosts of those who had fallen or been possessed by the creature. Then the larger ones, the ones that walked on all fours. Wolves, raccoons, bunnies, ponies. The necromancer had no qualms about what it controlled, the mist like creatures moving through the streets ahead of it. His heart turned to ice at the sight of the monster. It was... almost like a pony. Almost. Smaller than most even. It wore a cloak and hood. However, from within the cloak glowed two purple, slitted eyes. It didn't walk, either, so much as hovered. It wasn't a windy night, but the cloak still billowed under the creature, revealing a complete lack of hooves under it. Only darkness. Not a sound could be heard as it walked through the village, aside from the rapid beating of his heart. He looked down at the poker in his mouth, before turning to the creature and its minions. He let out a soft whimper and dropped down to his stomach, put the poker on the ground and pulled Dew close as he struggled to hide behind the fountain. “Don't scream. Don't say a word. Maybe it won't see us...” he whispered. Dew shook in his grasp, staring up with wide eyed fright. The spirits flew over them, galloping through the air as if their were invisible streets for them to travel on. A few of the creatures flew right over their heads, eliciting a squeak from the filly. He quickly covered her mouth. “Don't. Don't scream. They... they won't hurt us unless their master sees us.” He had no idea if it was true, but he tried to believe it. He struggled to keep the fear from his voice as the creature came ever closer. At least, he assumed it was. He wished he could hear the clop of hooves, or tapping of claws or even the shattering of stone. But there was nothing to signify the creature getting any closer or further away. The anticipation finally became too much for him and he lifted his head, peering over the side of the fountain. The creature stared right back at him, from the other side of the fountain. Its eyes glowed with a purple, evil light as it just stared. The mayor froze, his hooves tightening around the filly, watching and waiting for it to strike. He couldn't even breath, his fear so palpable it locked every muscle of his body up. Then the creature took a step forward and his body finally went back into motion. He shoved Dew away. “Go! Run! Get to one of the homes! Any of them!” He yelled, before swooping up the fire poker and interposing himself between the creature and the filly. He could hear her frightened hooves behind him, but he didn't dare take his eyes off the creature as cold sweat drenched his body. He was going to die. He was going to become another ghost, haunting the town. All he had was a sharp piece of metal. Heck, it wasn't even that sharp, it just just for poking hot things around. It couldn't kill a demon. The creature merely watched him. Its eyes then shifted past him, towards Dew. “L-leave her alone!” the mayor yelled. “If... if you're going to take anypony, take me!” He then glanced to the wagon. “Or... or just take that! Just take your tribute! Please, just... just go.” He tried to keep the frightened begging out of his voice, but he was too afraid. It took all his will not to fall on his knees and beg. The cloaked figure watched him for a few more moments. He became distressingly aware that the ghosts that had once flown aimlessly around the village now seemed to be congregating around him. Not coming within striking distance, but close enough he could almost feel their cold, undead breaths. Did ghosts even breath? He hoped he never had to find out. Then the spell was broken as the creature turned to the cart and trotted to it. It ducked under the chest bar, got into position and started walking away with the food. The mayor watched it go, his entire body shaking. Soon the ghosts followed suit, some fading away into the mists, others moving to follow their master. The poker fell from his mouth and clattered on the ground as he fell on his flank. He was alive. Alive alive. Not ghost alive, but pony alive. After a few minutes the mist began to clear to its original thin levels and lights around the village began coming on. Ponies galloped from their homes. “Mayor, that was amazing!” “I can't believe you scared it off!” “You've certainly got my vote next election!” He merely chuckled and nodded, wiping the sweat from his brow. He could barely believe it. Next time he swore he'd just baricade his doors and wait for the night to be over before taking a pony home on a night like tonight. He'd rather deal with the angry, frightened parents. ------ The cloaked figure slowly walked through the forest, tugging the wagon along across a long, narrow path. It was slow, difficult work but the figure only occasionally paused. Despite the path being so narrow that the wagon could only barely fit, it was well worn and the figure only occasionally stumbled. Once it was far away enough that the village was nothing more than a speck, lost in the trees, it flipped its hood back. It revealed a black coated pony with a soft, curved face and purple, dragon-like eyes. His mane was a dark purple with the occasional dot of silver popping up. Shadowhoof. The spirits continued to float around him, gliding through trees and letting out soft, frightful wails as they went. He closed his eyes and scrunched up his face in concentration until, one by one, the spirits disappeared. The haunting shrieks and wails remained, making him sigh. He reached up and stroked his horn with a groan, scratching a small hairline fracture that ran up to the tip. The wails disappeared. After a few more moments he started walking again, grumbling softly with each step. Not actual words so much as minor sounds of annoyance as he pulled the cart through the wilderness. Occasionally his cart would get caught and he'd have to detach himself and run back to free it, but that was a rare, if tiring, occurance. The path soon opened up to a large, open clearing in front of a long abandoned castle. The grounds in front were barren, the rocky soil filled with little holes and long dead plants, small gardens that had never so much as given a proper leaf, let alone actual fruit. The stones rolled under his hooves, making him stumble as he went and making the cart rock with each movement. He pushed through, dragging it up into the castle and letting it rest by the door. He then pulled a small stone from his cloak and shattered it against the ground. Blinding green light flared to life, dazzling him for a few seconds before it finally dimmed and gave a gentle glow across the inner chamber of the castle. He picked up a few of the largest glowing bits and placed them on the cart, before hauling it deeper into the castle. The castle itself was in ruins on the inside as well. Most of the wood and cloth had long since decomposed, though the massive stones still stood strong, albeit many were covered in plant life. A few of the walls had collapsed, but most were still in place. He made his way to a long, winding staircase and stopped. “Okay...” he whispered to himself. He tossed a few pieces of the glowing stone down, before disodging himself from the cart and trotting down. Deeper underground was considerably warmer and cleaner. A very small dungeon, there were only three cells down here The windows were covered with wood and by the steps a small fire pit has been made. There was plenty of dirt, but it was all shoved to one corner. The walls were covered in thin layers of cloth, helping to keep the room warm. There were even small fragments of rugs and carpet places all round the floor, though the majority covered one of the cells. Unfortunately, the glowing stone revealed the other things the warmth attracted. In the darkness he could see a rather large spider, as big as his hoof, that had made its home up in the higher corners of the room. He made sure not to look directly at it, hoping it would stick to their deal of if it didn't bother him, he wouldn't bother it. One cell held a bunch of small blankets and a few glowing stones, one was filled with an assortment of little things, bowls, seeds, hoof made tools that even the cheapest gardener would have rolled their eyes at. The third, however, held baskets, bundles of grass, daffodils, little blue flowers and some daisies. He began gathering the baskets up on his back and made the slow walk back upstairs. Basket by basket he dumped the food into them, before hauling them back down into the dungeon. Even though it was warmer than outside, it was still far from warm and he knew the food would last quite a while once it got really cold. Once the cart was empty, he stared at it for a few moments before shaking his head. “I'll take it back tomorrow night. They'll have another panic if I return after... that,” he muttered to himself. He pushed the cart back to the front entrance and left it there. He then trotted back down to his cell, shivering as the cold brushed against his sweaty, tired form. He took off the cloak and let out another yelp, doing his best to wipe all the sweat off before tossing the cloak in the corner. He quickly slid under the covers, trembling as the cold air rubbed against him. It was going to be another cold winter, he could feel it in his bones. He laid down his head and started to relax. After a few minutes his horn began to glow and a dreadful wail filled the air, the glowing stones seeming to dim as the darkness seemed to close in on him. He let out a growl before rubbing his horn on the ground and shaking his head. “Knock it off...” he muttered. After a few moments the sound disappeared along with the spirits. He slowly began to drift off again, grumbling softly as the amplified sounds of skittering could be heard in the room. As if there were little things walking against the floor, giant spiders, rats, other horrible creatures. “Not real... not real... just go to bed...” he said to himself until the sounds died down. Soon he finally fell asleep and the phantoms returned, moving around his sleeping form and even making the spider in the corner of the room try to hide.