//------------------------------//
// Chapter IV 
// Story: Krastos the Glue Maker 
// by Horse Voice 
//------------------------------//

It was noon before the town and nearby farms had been thoroughly searched, and past mid-afternoon before the search party had been reorganized into the long skirmish line that now stretched along the edge of the Everfree, awaiting the command to move in.
Twilight met Rainbow Dash in the centre of the line, just above the treetops. Rainbow had assumed a military manner, and Twilight suspected she refrained from saluting only out of respect for Twilight's unofficial mandate of informality.
"The right wing is ready," Rainbow said.
"So is the left. All right, here goes." Twilight pointed her horn straight upward and loosed a magenta bolt that turned to bright green as it burst some fifty yards overhead with a mighty bang. 
The ponies in the line were not soldiers and were only accustomed to working in small teams for harvests or season-changings. Thus, the line did not begin to move all at once: Those more eager started forward first, and their fellows, having been ordered to keep one another in sight at all times, had to hurry to catch up. From above, the line's shape seemed that of an extraordinarily long earthworm, flexing this way and that as it moved—though, as Twilight had planned, it moved sideways, combing through the forest.
"Good." Twilight let out a small breath. "If we can hold it together, we'll cover a lot of ground before nightfall."
Fifteen, thirty, sixty minutes passed with little progress. The ground-locked ponies' going was easy at first, but as they began running up against streams, cliffs, and swampy patches, the line slowed, bent, and broke into sections. Twilight and Rainbow flitted back and forth, shouting instructions downward and ordering squadrons of pegasi to lift ponies over the worst obstacles. By the time the two were able to meet above the middle again, Twilight had broken into an obvious sweat and Rainbow's tail was flicking with annoyance.
"Okay," Rainbow said without preamble, "this is officially taking too long. We're about to start losing daylight. And if the wildlife isn't driven off by our approach, we'll have to defend..." 
From below, there came a long, keening wail—a high note of primal fear from which the two mares at first shied instinctively. Recovering in an instant, they circled about in the air, looking for the source. A spray of blue sparks shot up from where the line of searchers met the rough path that led to the ancient castle. This was a prearranged signal, not of danger, but of a need for assistance.
In the next moment, Twilight and Rainbow had alighted upon the path, where Applejack was trying, without success, to calm a small piebald colt, who was now jabbering in clear terror and gesticulating at the path back to town. At the sight of Twilight, he bolted straight for her with a cry: "Help! It's after me! It's coming!"
All those present turned toward the path, and Rainbow kicked at the ground a little. But a few tense seconds passed with no sound but the colt's rapid breathing.
"What is coming?" Twilight said at last.
"We just got back from 'oliday," said the colt. "An' Dad sent me on an errand... but everypony was gone and... the monster chased me all the way 'ere!" His voice cracked.
The three mares turned back toward him, their faces variously questioning and sympathetic. Applejack made to lay a comforting hoof on his shoulder, but he shied away.
Twilight crouched down to address him with what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "Don't worry. You're safe now. We're good at making monsters go away. What did the monster look like?"
The colt kicked at the earth as though ready to bolt again, and his turgid eyes darted left and right. He swallowed, panted, swallowed again before speaking, all in a rush. "It... it was tall an' thin an' walked on two legs an' it tried to cut me with a sickle and... and..."
"Two legs?" Twilight said.
"Red eyes!" His voice cracked again, and he fell back upon his haunches, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks. "Red eyes! Red eyes..."
The three mares traded looks of concern and incredulousness. Twilight made to speak, but a new voice cut in as a cloaked figure emerged from the shadows that hid the path ahead.
"He speaks the awful truth, I fear. We must not linger long out here."
Zecora threw back her hood, and her deep frown told those present that she meant every word.
"Zecora!" Twilight said. "Did you find... I mean, what did you find?"
"I searched the forest all the day, and found a place I dared not stay." Zecora's intense gaze met that of each pony as she spoke. "Deep in a cave of loathsome smell, I glimpsed at horrors I'll not tell. Such visions made my blood to freeze, for zebra shamans know of these."
Rainbow made to speak, but seemed to think better of it as Zecora's manner assumed a little ferocity—a creasing of the brow and baring of the teeth.
"And so your nerves you must all steel." Zecora leaned forward a little, eyes narrowing and tone lowering to a harsh whisper. "Krastos the Glue Maker... is real!"
Looks of confusion all around. For a long moment, nopony moved.
"And... Fluttershy?" Twilight's question emerged meekly. She had already guessed.
Zecora closed her eyes, hung her head, and moved it just a little—right, and left, and right again.
Now it was as if some spell had fallen upon the small company. In their manner, confusion gave way to disbelief, shock, and grief all at once. They stood in a limbo between these passions, and the slightest nudge or breath upon one might send them all to pieces.
But a voice broke the spell before any of them could give in. It held steady—too steady to be mistaken for calm, but clearly built upon a foundation of fortifying breath. Its tone made clear that there would be time for grief later. The voice belonged to Twilight.
"We have to get everypony back to town."
"Yes, I think you're right." Rainbow's words emerged from between clenched teeth.
With a gasp, Applejack reared up and turned back toward the town. "Twilight, the young 'uns!"
"What?"
"In the schoolhouse!" She kicked at the ground, ready to break into a gallop. "We left 'em with Cheerilee!"
"Both of you, run back and check on the kids," Twilight said. "Spike should be at the castle; tell him to send a message to Celestia that we're under attack by an unknown, very dangerous force. I'll..."
Before another word could be spoken, Rainbow and Applejack took to the air and the path with all speed, and in seconds they vanished from sight.
"...All right." Twilight placed a hoof on the shoulder of the colt, who was now quietly sobbing, his face buried in his forelegs. She pointed her horn upward and loosed a bolt of energy, which burst a bright yellow in the sky—the signal to return to town. "We have to make sure everypony gets back safely." She turned to Zecora. "Then, I need you to tell me everything."