//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: Hollow Shades 
// by Dilos1 
//------------------------------//

	Horizon raised her hoof tentatively, hesitant to go through with with what she was about to do as anxiety kept her from knocking on the polished wood of the grand oaken door. Multiple times she came close to closing the gap, but each time her fear of what would happen should the news she had was not satisfactory kept her from knocking.

Finally, after taking one more deep breath to steady her nerves, she knocked on the door three times, wincing with every hollow thud it produced. Horizon waited for what seemed like an eternity, wondering if it was not too late to simply leave and come back later. Her hope for that was dashed however when a voice echoed from the other side of the door, slightly muffled behind the wood.

"Enter."

When she heard it, Horizon almost jumped as her heart rate increased slightly. Swallowing a large lump that had accumulated in her throat, the mare took another deep breath, she twisted the ornate knob with her magic before pushing the heavy door open, mindful of the deep groan the hinges produced. Nervously, like a foal about to receive punishment, she stepped inside. The door seemed to close behind her of its own accord with a dull boom that startled her more than she would care to admit.

The interior was dim, although there was just enough ambient light from the fixtures hanging above her head that she was able to make out the various objects that were neatly arranged about the long hallway she found herself in. Oil paintings spaced evenly apart hung from the walls, depicted various ponies, mares and stallions alike, that had been rendered to be so lifelike Horizon would have thought they were real as they stared at her judgmentally while she slowly trotted past them. Eventually the paintings were replaced by shelves ingrained into the walls on either side, although their contents hardly made her feel any more at ease. 

Placed on them were glass jars of various sizes, most of them filled with some sort of yellowish liquid, and each one sporting a label. And inside of them Horizon could see, even though she tried very hard not to, things that had once been living, now no more than decorations to regale the odd visitor with. It took all of her willpower not stare at them. Just looking at them made Horizon feel nauseous.

Eventually Horizon found herself entering a large round study, lined with shelves that were filled to the brim with books. The faint scent of leather hung in the air, adding to her unease. Glancing around the study, she soon caught sight of a solitary figure sitting on a high backed chair, appearing to be engrossed in a book. But when she tried to get a closer look at him, her eyes seemed to glaze over him, unable to focus on him enough to say what he really was. When her eyes actually focused on him she could see what color coat his fur was as well what race of pony he happened to be, but whenever she looked away the image slipped out of her head, and she was unable to remember so much as a single detail about him. Deciding to chalk it up to a mere trick of her own eyes, Horizon timidly approached, coming to a stop a short distance away from him, and waited.

For a long while she stood there, unwilling to move so much as an inch without permission as the thing that she assumed was a pony continued to read, as though her presence was not worth the effort of noticing. 

Finally he spoke, breaking the heavy and tense silence. "Report," he said. 

Feeling her spine quiver at the sound of his voice, Horizon cleared her throat before she answered. "I have finished my mission in Hollow Shades sir, just as you requested of me."

". . . And?"

"A-and I have something to report, regarding our. . . asset."

She heard the book close with a hard thump, making her heart leap into her throat at the sound, and she felt a hard and unwavering gaze rest upon her. 

"My asset, you mean."

Shivering violently, Horizon quickly nodded as she struggled to correct her error. "Y-yes sir. M-my apologies, I meant nothing by it." 

"Good. Now please, continue. Tell me what has transpired in Hollow Shades. I wish to know the condition of my bug bear."

Knowing that there was no other way to say it, and that it would simply be better to get it over with as soon as possible, Horizon proceeded to say, "A-actually sir, there is a slight. . . issue regarding the bug bear. You see, as it so happens, the bug bear is. . . dead. You see, when I-"

"You let them kill it," he said cutting Horizon off mid sentence, his voice adopting an almost unearthly quality. As he spoke Horizon could not help but feel as though something was looming over her just behind her back, poised and ready to strike, but still she could not see what it even was. "You were to keep the Royal Guard from killing my asset." 

Fighting through her terror Horizon hurried to say, "It wasn't the Royal Guard that did it I swear! It was something else, a-another creature! I saw it!"

". . . Go on." 

Relieved at the prospect of saving herself from punishment, Horizon quickly obeyed. "Your spies were misinformed sir. The Royal Guard was not being sent to take out the bug bear, but something else entirely. Some sort of monster, unlike anything we've ever seen before, and most certainly not in the record books. Nopony knows what it is, or where it came, but it was strong enough to fight off one of the Princesses and an entire division of Royal Guard before it escaped. From what I've seen sir, it's possible that it could still be alive."

A pause followed, during which Horizon felt a nervous sweat run down her brow as she waited for his eventual response. She knew that he was pleased with her report when the suffocating presence that permeated the room like a vengeful miasma seemed to disperse.

"I do believe that we can salvage this."