"I don't get it. I just don't get it. The bug bear is, all things considered, nothing less than a monster. Hay, it was supposedly a prisoner of Tartarus at one point, and its taken the life of at least one pony already. And every time we've tried to capture or kill it, it's managed to give us the slip or fight us off. So what in the wide world of Equestria could have done this?"
Roughshod's question went unanswered as he stared at the decaying carcass of the bug bear, such as it was, while swarms of flies buzzed all around the body. The smell it radiated was so pungent and offensive that everypony present was forced to stand a good distance away from it. Harp had thrown up again of course when they had discovered it, and was currently standing as far away from it as he could while still keeping reasonably close to the rest of the group. At least he was wise enough to stay within sight.
It was almost unbelievable that the beast that had been a thorn in the side of Hollow Shades for weeks had been reduced to little more than food for maggots, and of that there was very little to be said about. It was as though the bug bear had been ripped apart and picked clean until there was naught but a bloody skeleton. The only reason Roughshod even recognized the pile of bones as belonging to the bug bear was the extra limbs and the wasp like abdomen, which apparently had been deemed to be inedible to whatever brought it down.
It was almost disappointing in a way.
Finally the silence was broken when Harp decided to speak up then.
"Well, I don't really see what the problem is," he said as he gestured at the corpse with a hoof. "I mean, this is a good thing right? The bug bear is dead now. We can finally rest easy now that it's gone, can't we?"
Harp let the question hang in the air, but all he got in reply were a few deadpan looks from the other ponies. "What?"
Star Mix sighed and brought a hoof to her forehead, massaging the around her horn in attempt to ward off a building headache. "You just don't get it, do you?" she questioned, to which Harp gave the unicorn a confused glare.
"Get what?" he demanded. "What is there to get about this situation? The monster's dead. End of story. What's to stop us from going home now?"
Roughshod began to question why he brought the young stallion along in the first place, and he was the next to speak up as he addressed him.
"Harp, just stop and think about this for one moment. The bug bear is, by all rights, an apex predator in many places of the world, from Equestria to Griffonia. There is almost nothing alive that would even consider attacking it, especially not for food. And here it is now, torn limb from limb like a rag doll. What does that tell you?"
Harp paused to consider the question, until his eyes widened as dawning realization struck him regarding the implications of the scene.
"Ohhh. . ."
"That's right," said Roughshod with a slow nod. "It means that there's something even worse out there right now. And we don't even know what it even is."
For few moments a tense silence reigned over the group as the thought sunk in, and the group as whole suddenly found themselves to be gazing at the trees around them with a more wary eye. It now seemed to them that anything could hide and remain unseen rather easily among the trees. It was an off putting realization.
"So. . . what do we do then?" asked Nightshade as she glanced behind herself to make sure nothing was sneaking up on her. "Because I actually agree with Harp on one thing." Off to the side the mentioned pony wore an appreciative smile with a hint of smug pride. The smile vanished when Nightshade added, "I mean, there's nothing wrong in taking the cowards way out when we don't know what we're dealing with to at least reevaluate our situation."
Harp rolled his eyes at Nightshades statement, which the pegasus ignored in favor of waiting for somepony to agree with her.
"I think so too," added Star. "I mean let's face the facts, we've come to a dead end as far as the bug bear is concerned."
Roughshod however shook his head. "Not yet," he said. "Not while there is still something to be found here. What we need to do first is look for clues about whatever this thing might be. Footprints, blood, anything." Roughshod received a few reluctant nods of agreement, to which he said, "Good then. Split off, start looking around but, and I swear to Celestia, stay in sight. For all we know this thing might still be in the area."
The ponies all nodded in affirmation, some more hesitantly than others, and began to fan out while staying in the vicinity. Mortar and Roughshod looked around the trees ringing the clearing while Nightshade inspected the ground around the corpse of the bug bear. Harp however was having trouble deciding what he could do to help as he glanced around uncertainly. Star noticed this, and drew his attention with a sharp whistle. She motioned with her head to follow her and the stallion obeyed, casting nervous glances at the surrounding forest as he trotted over to the unicorn mare.
"Hey kid," she said with a raised eyebrow. "You doing alright? You seem kinda nervous."
Yeah," Harp replied. "I just really don't like being out here is all. . . . You know that pony that went missing? Silver Gala?"
Star nodded as she began scanning the forest floor. "Yeah," she said. "What about her?"
Harp sighed as he proceeded to explain. "I was actually one of the first ponies to be there when they found her. Or at least what the bug bear left for us to find. And I remember feeling so afraid, that there was actually something like that so close to town. " Harp paused briefly. "It's just that I don't get how all of you can be so calm about this. I mean, we were out here looking for the bug bear, and we find out that there's something bigger that we don't know about. And all of you are acting like you're not even afraid. It's like your not scared at all, and here I am acting like a coward like Nightshade said. . . I just wish that I could be brave like all of you are."
Star took a moment to pause in her inspection and think about the young stallions words. Then she answered in a sympathetic tone, "Well Harp, that's just it. We are scared. Scared out of our minds. Maybe we don't necessarily act like it, but the truth is everypony here is afraid, not just you. Me. Mortar. Even Roughshod, and believe me when I say that he probably has the most reason out of all of us to be afraid."
"What do you mean?" Harp asked.
Star checked over a fallen log before proceeding to explain. "Well, if you take the fact that his home might be in danger from an unknown super-predator, he already has enough to be worried about. But he also has my cousin to think about, not to mention he's going to be having a foal with her soon. Sure Roughshod may be scared of the monster in the woods, we all are. But I've known him long enough to know that the thought of Rose or his kid being hurt absolutely terrifies him more than anything. That's why he's out here Harp. That's why we are out here. To make sure that nothing can hurt the ones we love, now or ever."
Star stayed silent for a few terse moments before she spoke up again. "You see Harp, this is something we have to do, no matter how much we might be afraid. And I know that I for one am not going to just sit around on my flank without at least finding out what did this. You see what I'm saying?"
Harp gave a slow nod to Star, his face a mix of different emotions that the mare could not quite place. "Yeah," he then said. "I see what you're saying."
Star Mix smiled lightly at him, glad that he understood, and returned her attention to the task at hoof. A few minutes later Harp saw fit to ask a question.
"So, how long have you known Roughshod?" he asked.
Star's ears twitched at the question, and she absentmindedly wondered why he would want to know that. "Mmh. . . about six years now. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason, just curious," he replied, after which he then asked, "So how did you meet him?"
"It was actually my cousin Rose Flare that introduced us. And I gotta admit, I immediately disliked him the moment I saw him. In fact, when Rose told me that she and him were an item I actually tried to skewer him with my horn." Star began to chuckle slightly as she recalled that particular memory, during which Harp started to eye the emerald unicorn with a certain amount of wariness. Star noticed this and quickly added, "Oh don't worry, he only came off with minor injuries. And of course since then I've come to know him as a decent guy. He takes good care of Rose at least."
Star trailed off as she recalled the day when she thought her younger cousin was being taken advantage of. She only saw after a brief moment of silence that Harp was now standing a noticeable distance away from her. "Oh come on," she exclaimed. "I was still young and overprotective back then. I'm much calmer nowadays."
"I think I'd rather not take my chances. Eh, no offense."
Star rolled her eyes and went back to scanning the environment for any clues when her eyes caught sight of something white laying on the ground a short distance away. Curious, she trotted over to inspect it with Harp following behind.
"Well, what have we here?" Star questioned out loud as she picked up the object in her magical grasp. Harp craned his head to see what she was looking at.
"What did you find?" he asked.
"Some sort of mask." Star answered as she floated it over for him to see. It was stark white in coloration, although it had become somewhat dirtied from however long it spent lying on the ground. Both ponies felt that it vaguely resembled a skull of some sort. "It hasn't been here long though I don't think," Star added as she turned it over. "It doesn't look like it would fit a pony either, since the muzzles too short. But the real question is what's it doing out here?"
Before either pony could come up with any kind of theory they both heard the rough voice of Mister Mortar call out to them.
"Comrades! I believe I have found something!"
Storing the mask in her saddle bags for the time being Star Mix quickly began to make her way the rock farmer's location with Harp following behind. Shortly all five ponies were gathered at the base of a large tree, where Mortar was looking at something on the ground.
"What is it Mortar?" Roughshod asked, to which the larger stallion replied by pointing a thick foreleg at a layer of inky black material on the ground, a trace of revulsion evident on his muzzle. The stuff did not look too healthy to be around.
"What is this stuff?" Nightshade questioned out loud as she prodded the substance with a hoof. When she made contact it almost seemed to jiggle slightly in response, like it were an ichorous version of gelatin. "Ugh, it looks like something the Smooze would cough up," The mare said as pulled her hoof away in disgust.
"Does anypony have any idea what the hay it is?" Roughshod ventured,. Everypony present shook their heads in reply however, having never seen anything quite like it in their lives. Just then Harp noticed something sticking out from under the substance, and was quick to point it out. Since nopony else was willing to put their faces anywhere near the stuff to get it, they had to rely on Star to pull it out with her magic. It took some effort to extricate it from its prison, but when it was finally freed it was revealed to be a black cloth of some sort, but it was so torn and roughed up that its original purpose was unclear to anypony.
"Wonder what this was," Star mused. Then something seemed to dawn on Harp and he made a suggestion.
"Maybe it has something to do with that mask we found?"
"What is this mask?" Mortar asked. "Please show us." Star complied and retrieved the object from her saddle bags to show the others. When they all saw it they eyed it with a certain amount of suspicion.
"Well it's definitely not meant for a pony, that much I can tell," said Roughshod as he inspected it. "But if I had to guess I would say it might have belonged to a diamond dog."
"Diamond dogs?" Nightshade exclaimed. "But that doesn't make any sense. As far as I know the nearest gem deposit is somewhere near Ponyville, and that's all the way on the other side of Mount Canterhorn. Isn't that right Mortar?"
The stallion nodded in confirmation. "Is true," he said. "No jewels around these parts, and I would know."
Roughshod sighed as an aggravated look crossed his face. "This is making no sense at all. All we've got to go by is a carcass, some weird mask, and whatever this stuff is," he muttered. "Don't we have anything else? Anything?"
For a moment nopony answered, until Nightshade spied something out of the corner of her eye. "Well," she said, drawing out the word slightly, "there's that." The pegasus pointed with an outstretched wing at something a little above and behind Roughshod. The group as a whole turned to look, and saw a large chunk of bark had been removed from the side of a tree a number of yards away. It looked almost like something with massive talons had grabbed onto it. Behind that one more trees bore similar marks.
"Huh. . . well alright then."
Okay. It is official. I didn't want to believe it at first, but there's no use denying it. I am in pony land.
Angela thought this as she gazed at the grand marble white city hanging off of the side of a mountain like a decorative lamp, almost seeming to glow as the sun began to set. And for a long time all she could do was stare with her eyeless gaze at the capital of Equestria.
Well this doesn't complicate things at all now, does it? she mused sarcastically.
When Angela had first seen the little pony with the pink and indigo mane and tail racing away from her at top speed, the human-turned-wraith had initially been at a loss for words as a weird suspicion had begun to build up inside her. She didn't know what to say. she didn't know what to feel. She didn't even know what to think about the implications of being a multi-ton apex predator in a land populated primarily by sentient herbivores.
To tell the truth Angela did not even know that much about the rebooted cartoon show. That is not to say that she held anything against it. She actually rather enjoyed it whenever she was able to catch a rerun or two. She just didn't know that much about My Little Pony to be intimately familiar with it like some people she knew. The most she could remember now about it were the main characters, and even their names were hard for her to recall at the moment.
Before Angela could dwell on the matter any further her thoughts were interrupted by the creak and groan of branches supporting far too much weight that were about to give. The only thing the wraith could do upon realizing the danger was utter a surprised hiss before the limbs snapped and she fell down from the tree to the earth with a heavy thud onto her back. She was uninjured thanks to her resilient physiology, but the unscheduled landing hurt none-the-less.
I really need to figure out how this thing is supposed to float around, Angela thought sourly.
Groaning from the impact, Angela rolled herself onto her stomach and propped herself up with her extra set of mantis like limbs. She was gradually becoming more used to them, which was something of a highlight, but it did little to assuage her thoughts on the latest development to present itself. Shaking her head clear of the dizziness induced by her little tumble, Angela took a moment to gather herself and review what she did know about the show. She remembered clearly that aside from the main characters, who were national heroes of some kind, there was also a dragon and two princesses that controlled the sun and moon. Or were they queens?
It had been a while since Angela sort of drifted away from watching it, so other than that she could not remember much else. It was not because she disliked it, it was just that her priorities had. . . changed somewhat. She remembered that her life had been quite different before she had become a common thief.
Angela shook herself of the memories. That was all in the past, and the only thing that mattered to her now was what she was going to do after finding out she was in Equestria. The how and why of the matter were not as important to her; after all, she was already inhabiting the body of a monster from a video game, so the idea of being in a place populated by technicolored talking equines was not quite as far fetched.
The only answer she could come up with for her dilemma was to start learning the ins and outs of being a wraith as quickly as possible. There was still the matter of that one pony Angela had seen galloping away from her. It was very likely that it would tell the others of its kind about Angela, but unfortunately there was nothing that could be done about that now, and the former human would just have to cross that bridge when she came to it. In the mean time, Angela felt it was high time that she start learning.
Angela remembered from her brief exposure to her friends game that the wraith was somehow able to float around a few feet above the ground, appearing to actually "slither" through the air. The question was how? How could Angela learn to do that in just a few hours, before any ponies came by to investigate? Maybe it had something to do with how she moved? Maybe she was supposed to try mimicking the wraiths movements on the ground first before she could become airborne?
It's worth a shot, Angela grumbled as she laid down and started to "slither". However nothing seemed to be happening other than her stomach and ridged chest becoming dirty and sore, not to mention she was already feeling rather silly about the whole thing.
Okay, this isn't working! she mentally exclaimed, and she promptly ceased squirming on the ground and sat on her knees and dusted herself off. Alright, so that's not it. What now?
Angela thought some more, and was beginning to get frustrated with her efforts, until a new idea entered her thoughts. Maybe instead of just trying to move like a wraith, she had to also think like wraith. Perhaps it had as much to do with the state of her mind as much as it did with her technique.
Deciding that she didn't have any better ideas, Angela instead dulled her sense to everything around her, and focused solely on her desire to move, blotting out everything else. She also tried to make it so it did not feel like a conscious command, but more of a feeling, a want, a need to keep moving forward. For a time the only thing Angela was aware of was her repeated and unspoken order, until she risked opening her senses again, expecting to still be stuck on the ground. But strangely enough, she no longer felt the cool touch of the earth on her hands and knees. In fact, she did not feel the ground at all.
Angela slowly glanced down and, to her surprise and euphoria, found that she was no longer bound to the earth, but was instead hovering a number of feet above the ground with only the tips of her tails touching the soil.
Yes! Angela exclaimed joyfully, pumping her clawed fists in the air. However the moment she did that she began to wobble slightly, and she frantically refocused on just staying afloat. Despite the fact that she almost fell, Angela still felt a great sense of pride and accomplishment that she was able to figure at least something out.
Maybe this won't be so bad after all, she thought.
It was not even one minute after she thought this before Angela was interrupted by a light grumbling sound originating from where her stomach was supposedly at. She was still figuring out where all of her organs were located, and had even found a few new ones.
But the sound that now assaulted Angela's senses was one that all creatures, whether they be large or small, predators or prey, were intimately familiar with.
Angela was hungry.