A Strange Encounter
Rain pummelled the ground, turning the usually dry forest floor into a muddy nightmare. A lone pony slowly made his way through the mess as the rain continued to fall.
Of all days the Pegasi had to schedule a downpour, why did it have to be today? he thought. The pony wore a hooded cloak to protect him from the elements, but unfortunately it wasn't able to prevent his hooves from getting dirty. He didn't mind though for he had lived in the White Tail Woods his whole life. Getting dirty was almost considered as a rite of passage for a pony in his village while growing up. Almost.
The pony continued onwards until he suddenly stopped and knelt, having spotted something in the mud that he had been looking for. If it had been any other pony out here they surely would have missed it.
Aha... I knew I would be able to find you monsters sooner or later... justice will be done this day. He rose from the ground and whistled, hoping that his companion would be able to hear him through this weather. What he had found imprinted in the muddy ground was a set of Timberwolf tracks. It was the reason why he was out in this miserable weather in the first place.
He heard a familiar screech in the distance and he smiled. It wasn't long until a hawk suddenly appeared from the depths of the trees and landed on his outstretched leg.
"It's good to see you again girl," he said and the hawk nudged him affectionately. She was truly a magnificent bird to look at, especially since she was a red-tailed hawk. Most of her back feathers were dark brown while her chest feathers were a creamy white. Her tail feathers were a beautiful shade of red, hence the name of her species.
A few years ago while he was out exploring the woods, he had come across her as a young hawk, cowering underneath a bush and crying in pain due to a broken wing. He had immediately recognized her as a red-tailed hawk, a rare bird that was slowly becoming extinct in Equestria due to the demand of their valuable feathers in the fashion industry. He had searched the area for any sign of her parents but was unsuccessful. Not wanting to leave the young hawk to fend for herself, he brought her home and took care of her, which led to the lasting bond they shared today.
"I've found what we were looking for Swiftwing. Here, see if you can pick up a scent," he said and lowered her towards the Timberwolf tracks. The neatest and also strangest thing he learned about her during their time together was her unique ability to track down animals, which was a skill similar to that of a Timberwolf's. He learned of her ability when she disappeared one day and he ended up finding her underneath his home's front porch, tearing away at a small field mouse.
Swiftwing hopped off of his leg and began to pace around the tracks, moving her head close to them here and there. After about a minute had passed she let out an excited screech and flew up into the air. "Did you get a scent?" he asked and Swiftwing flew in a circle once, which indicated a yes. During the early years of their relationship, they had to quickly devise a system in which they could understand each other.
Fortunately, Swiftwing was smart enough to be able to understand pony speech, but in order for him to understand her he had to spend time teaching her actions which meant specific things. "Lead the way then girl. Those Timberwolves are going to pay for the damage they did to our village!" He patted his saddlebag which was hidden from view by the cloak, checking to make sure that everything he had brought with him was still there for the eventual encounter.
Swiftwing began to fly through the woods, following the scent of the Timberwolves while he followed closely behind her. Thunder boomed overhead as they made their way through the woods, swerving around trees and dodging low-lying branches that were in their path.
The Pegasi are really letting the weather go wild today... what ever happened to a quick downpour like they promised us? he thought. Soon enough the trees began to thin out until he and Swiftwing found themselves in a small circular clearing. The area was very well hidden and could have been easily missed, even if the weather was perfect. The only thing of interest was a cave that sat just ahead of them.
"So this is where their lair is... come back down Swiftwing, I want you to stay as close to me as possible." The hawk came down from above him and carefully landed on his back, gently clamping her claws just enough so that she could stay on without hurting him. He slowly approached the entrance of the cave with extreme caution, not wanting to possibly alert something to their presence. Taking a deep breath, he then entered the cave, determined to teach those Timberwolves a lesson.
The inside of the cave was very dark but also very warm at the same, unlike the cold rain that continued to pummel the ground just a few hoofsteps away. Before he continued any further however, he reached into his saddlebag and brought out a lantern along with a pack of matches.
"Hey Swiftwing, could you handle this part for me?" he asked and held up the pack of matches. Swiftwing took the pack with her right claw and brought out a matchstick with her mouth. "Alright Swiftwing, remember how we did this. You want to strike the red part against the rough part on the-"
He stopped when he suddenly noticed a small light appear above him and he quickly held up the lantern which Swiftwing lit, causing the cave to light up before them. The match fell past his face and he stamped on it, putting it out. Swiftwing dropped the pack of matches into the saddlebag, saving him from the trouble of having to do it.
"Excellent work girl! Where would I be without you at my side? Now that we have light, let's see how far this place goes..."
The sound of the storm outside slowly became nothing but a dull rumble as they made their way further into the cave. Every step he took echoed off of the cave's walls and multiple twigs littered the floor, confirming that they were indeed in the right place. Eventually they came across a sickly stench, making him sick to the stomach.
Ugh... sweet Celestia... it smells like death in here... he thought. He raised the lantern higher, revealing both decaying and fresh bodies of the local forest critters that the Timberwolves had killed and stockpiled for later. Fortunately there weren't any ponies among the deceased, but it was still a sad sight nevertheless. May you rest in peace my forest friends, I'm sorry that each of you had to suffer this grisly fate. Up ahead he thought he saw a brief flash of purple light when a gust of wind suddenly came from the direction they were heading in. His hood blew off followed by Swiftwing tightening her claws, causing him to grunt in pain. The flames within the lantern also flickered dangerously but fortunately did not go out.
What in the hay was that? Unless there's an exit just up ahead, then something isn't right here... he thought and looked behind him at Swiftwing.
"You alright Swiftwing?" he asked. She nuzzled her head against the back of his in response. "I'll take that as a yes then." Since his hood was blown off by the gust of wind, the light revealed what he looked like. He was an average sized Earth pony with a dark brown coat just like his mother's. His eye colour was a bright forest green and his mane was the colour of coal. Both were characteristics that he had inherited from his deceased father who was reported to have been killed in action during the Canterlot Wedding fiasco two years ago.
The wind also briefly caused his cloak to lift up and show his cutie mark, which was only just a simple map. He obtained his mark at the age that most fillies and colts did when he discovered that he loved to explore and spot things. He was often called bullheaded at times though because he simply couldn't refuse the call to explore new areas.
"No sign of any Timberwolves yet... they must be here somewhere Swiftwing," he said, although the lack of wolves up to this point was beginning to disturb him.
There was a flash of purple light again and he immediately pressed himself against the wall, avoiding the gust of wind that came by shortly after. Once he was sure it had passed he slowly made his way towards the bend, determined to see where the flashes of light and wind was coming from. As soon as he turned the corner however, he was surprised at what he saw. The charred remains of the pack of Timberwolves he had been tracking were scattered all over the floor. There was absolutely no way they would have been able to reconstruct themselves.
Something else was in there as well though, something that caused a chill to run up his spine. The creature had its back turned to him and was staring at the wall, muttering words that he could not understand. It was floating in the air, carrying its staff in one hand and holding some sort of purple orb with the other.
That thing... it killed the Timberwolves? Is it the one causing the wind? he wondered.
"Ee ya zu no hol kre nesh volgnash... ee ya zu no hol kre nesh volgnash..." the creature whispered over and over again, tapping its staff against the wall of the cave while doing so.
I think I've seen enough. The Timberwolves have been taken care of already so I just need to get out of here, he thought. He slowly began to back away when the wall that the creature had been tapping glowed brightly, causing it to crack and crumble into a fine dust afterwards. He was just able to catch a glimpse of what was behind the wall. It was a pedestal, and on top of it was some sort of necklace that the creature reached out and grabbed before suddenly making it vanish into thin air.
"The artifact is mine once again..." the thing hissed. "Now to take this world for my own... after so many years of waiting..."
A sudden snapping sound was heard and the pony looked down to find that he had stepped on a twig, which caused the creature to spin around on the spot and stare directly at him.
Crap... he thought. The creature had on a black robe with a hood which prevented him from getting a good look at it. The only thing he was able to make out were two horns that protruded from the inside and curled up towards the ceiling. Several pieces of cloth were also wrapped around the things gnarled hands, the cloth having turned brown a long time ago. What disturbed him the most however was the thing's lack of legs.
"What... did you see...?" the thing whispered, its voice causing his body to shiver. Swiftwing could also feel the effects and began to screech in anger at the creature.
"I- I saw nothing, I was just about to leave," he replied and the creature chuckled at him, but it was not the fun kind of chuckle. It was cold... and rather frightening.
"Ponies... I remember your kind..." the creature whispered and it tossed the purple orb at him. He and Swiftwing watched the orb fly through the air and he did immediately the first thing that came to mind. Save Swiftwing. He threw Swiftwing off which surprised her, but she was quickly able to recover in time to watch her master be struck by the orb, causing a small explosion that rocked the cave and sent some rocks from the ceiling crashing to the ground.
"This world will fall... Volgnash will reign supreme..."
Just like that, the creature vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving Swiftwing and her master alone in the cave. Swiftwing flew down to his side and began to nudge him, but he was unconscious and couldn't respond. Swiftwing slowly backed away and rose into the air before flying away, determined to get help for him in time. The flame in the lantern flickered as the rest of the fuel was consumed and went out, plunging the cave back into darkness.
"Agh... my head..." he mumbled and slowly opened his eyes, only to be met with more darkness. He suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of his head which caused him to wince. His whole body was sore as he reached behind his head to find the source of the pain, only to discover that the back of his head was wet.
Am I... bleeding? Now that's something that hasn't happened to me in a while. But that creature... what was it doing? What was the necklace it held? he thought.
He suddenly heard a loud screech and he smiled as he recognized who it was. "Sw- Swiftwing! You're okay!" Moments after he said that he felt her comforting touch against his face. She was happy to see that he was awake and most importantly, alive. "I think it would be best if we left, but I can't see a thing. Wait a minute... what's that!?"
An orange light had appeared and it was slowly becoming larger and brighter as whatever it was came closer. He didn't know what he was expecting, but when he saw Iron Shield come around the corner, he sighed in relief, happy to see a familiar face again. Iron Shield was the Captain of the White Tail Village Guard and because of that was respected by many. His coat was an ash grey colour and his eyes were a light brown. His mane was a shaggy, dark red mess, but Iron Shield cared more about performing his job than his appearance.
The last thing about him was his cutie mark which was an iron shield. It was rare for a pony to receive such a cutie mark that was exactly like his or her name. The mark represented Iron Shield's love for defending those that were unable to defend themselves from threats.
"I... Iron," he weakly said. "Over here." Iron swung his lantern towards the direction of his voice and his eyes widened when he saw him and Swiftwing together on the floor. He immediately galloped over to his side.
"Willow Seeker! You're alive!" Iron exclaimed. "What the hay happened to you?"
"Yes, I'm alive Iron," Willow replied. "Just managed to give myself a small head injury was all. How did you find this place?"
"Your hawk, Swiftwing. She returned to the village without you and I knew that something was wrong, so she led me back here."
"Heh, good girl," Willow said and patted the top of Swiftwing's head. "Could you help me up please Iron? This floor is becoming rather uncomfortable."
"Hm? Oh yes, of course! Sorry about that." Iron extended a hoof which Willow grabbed and held onto tightly. With a great pull, Iron was able to get his friend back up on all four hooves.
"Thanks Iron, I'm glad that somepony else is here with me, especially since you're my best friend," Willow said. "I saw the strangest thing before you arrived though, which was actually the reason why I was on the floor in the first place."
"Oh? And what could that happen to be?" Iron asked.
"It was weird. It was some sort of floating hooded thing with a staff. It threw an orb at me which knocked me out, but before it did that, I saw it find something that it was looking for. Before it left, I think I heard it say something... Volgnash I believe it was."
"Hooded creature!? Although I have never heard anything about a Volgnash before, but Willow, there have actually been many reports from the surrounding area that have sighted this creature," Iron replied. "I don't know what it wants, but I feel that whatever it is it's obviously no good. We need to return to town immediately and let the Council of Farseers know, as well as Mayor Oak that the creature is near. Hopefully it isn't anymore though."
Willow nodded in agreement. "Of course, is it still raining though Iron?" he asked and Iron shook his head.
"Rain? There hasn't been any rain for a couple of hours now. By the way, what ever happened to those Timberwolves you were hunting? Were you able to destroy them?" he asked out of curiosity.
"The Timberwolves were all charred twigs and sticks when I arrived, which has led me to believe that the hooded one most likely obliterated them when he arrived at the cave, but we're wasting time," Willow replied. "Come Iron and Swiftwing, it's time to go home."
Swiftwing hopped onto Willow's back as he and Iron made their way towards the entrance of the cave. Willow made sure to pick up his lantern that had fallen to the ground on their way out. None of them could stop thinking about the hooded one. They wondered why of all places it just had to come to White Tail Woods. With that thing still prowling out there somewhere, none of them were safe.
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What, like the game?
5024998
That's what I thought too!
5025022 You my friend have just made my plot a hundred times better! For that I thank you =)
5025079
Yup, nothing to do with me...
*awkward cough and exit*
5025408 Wait! Before you leave, I want to thank you as well good sir, for without your comment, I never would have seen the truth! May good fortune follow wherever your travels may take you
5025422
Yeah, being a nerd did something productive!
I was just joking, anyway, I plan on reading the whole story
5025408
All this undeserved credit tastes so good.
5025545
Like a human heart...
Em, not that I would know, I've just spent time with Cadence
5025545
Like a human heart...
Em, not that I would know, I've just spent time with Cadence
5025529 I'm glad that you want to read more because I'm super excited to write more! I just hope I don't mess it up
5026072
I'd be happy to proofread and give you advice; I'm better at that than actually writing, myself. I've even got a reference!
5026072
I'd be happy to proofread and give you advice; I'm better at that than actually writing, myself. I've even got a reference!
5026340 I would like that very much actually! I'm currently working on the next chapter now. If you want I can PM you some plot details/ideas that I have planned and see what you think, only if you want it though.
5026491
I'd love to see it, and if you have a gdoc I can comment on, that'd be awesomer