A bright pink unicorn mare with a two-toned yellow mane sniffled to herself from inside the dimly lit room. It was as dark as she felt. The curtains were purposely closed off and, although electricity was a luxury to have in a town like this, every light in the cottage was switched off. The only light in the house came from the quickly shrinking candle, and that was so pale and faint that it barely reflected off of the mirror in front of the pony.
An overflowing wastebasket neighbored the desk that the mare was currently leaning on, and even more crumpled papers littered the floor. Within the golden aura produced by her horn was a worn peacock quill, and in front of her a fresh sheet of paper. The mare took a shaky breath and put the quill to paper once more.
Dear Moonlight Raven,
The mare stopped. Given the situation, the greeting didn't feel sincere enough. She sighed in frustration and dipped the quill tip into the bottle of ink.
Dear Moonlight Raven sister,
By now I'm sure you've gotten my previous letters, and know about what happened. I want you to know that I'm still safe, and slowly doing better. It hasn't been easy, but somepony needs to be the strong one and I'm the only one here. Since the incident it's actually been fairly quiet. It's odd really. You think the ponies here would be more concerned, but it's like they don't even notice. Perhaps she just didn't have a lot of friends, but so far nopony has come to check in with me. If something like this were to happen back home, nopony would even go outside. But here everypony is still out and about, continuing with their lives like nothing ever happened. I wonder, if they're acting like this when one of their own fellow townsponies has vanished, would they even care if somepony like me suddenly disappeared?
With a growl of frustration, the mare scribbled over that last line. It would be no use to concern her sister. If Moonlight Raven made the trip down to comfort her that was only one more worry on the mare's shoulders. The unicorn rubbed her temples and tried again.
I'm probably over exaggerating. The ponies here aren't that bad. And although I haven't really left the house since the incident I've still managed to make at least one new friend. We actually met because I finally decided to try one of those omnivore restaurants that have been popping up! Her name is Giselle, and she's a gryphon. She recently moved from Griffonstone to be closer to her training grounds. She practices racing through canyons infested with quarray eels! Can you believe that? Anyways, I'm not going to come home until she's found. But please don't worry! I'm sure that it won't be much longer until she's home safe and sound. I mean, this is Equestria. It's the safest country there is! If there is even the slightest bit of news, I'll be sure to write you. I promise that I'll be home before you know it! Love,
Sunshine Smiles
Sunshine Smiles's hard face softened. Being able to write out her feelings and thoughts always helped. She reread the letter thrice over before sealing it into a vanilla envelope. It wasn't very descriptive, but it was still the best letter that the mare had been able to churn out.
The unicorn blew out the candle and trotted out the door. If she hurried she might just make it to the post office before the mail designated to Canterlot was taken to the train. And if she were really lucky, she might just get through the line in time to catch Giselle before she left for her training.
***
Scarlet Thorn's ears twitched.
"Did you hear that Sound-Off?" The mare whispered, coming to a halt.
"Well of course I did!" Sound-Off grumpily replied. "You stepped on a twig. Don't scare yourself for no reason."
The dragoness waited for the mare to argue against her; something among the lines of an 'I'm-not-scared' speech. But when it didn't come the reptile actually began to feel a little nervous.
Finally Scarlet decided to speak, and the reptile did not like what she heard in the slightest. "Sound-Off, we're on a cleared path. It couldn't have been me."
Three things happened at once. First there was the sudden snapping of dead leaves and branches. Second was the immediate rush of adrenaline triggered by the two travelers' flight or fight reaction. And finally the dragoness caught the scent of blood.
What burst out of the forest was some freakish hybrid between a timber wolf and a pony. A disproportionate mess of flesh and wood. The monster jumped fully free of the foliage with an unholy screech, leaping clear over the two on unnaturally strung out legs and skidding a few feet away in front of them.
It was like an alicorn never meant to be; tall, slender, and elongated. A skeleton with a tight fitting suit of stolen skin. Its hind legs were longer than its fore-legs and bent backwards, like a grasshopper's. From the patches of marred yellow coat sprang spires of ebony black wood, an armor sprouting from all over its body. It poked out from pieces of bloody flesh, squiggling out like worms. A stiff protrusion of wood clad bone shot up from its back in a fashion similar to wings, and the scabrous bark mutilated a majority of what appeared to be its face. Tatters of purple lace were caught on the sharp jagged spires. Three bone like protrusions sprung from atop its skull, two like antlers and one a horn not dissimilar to Celestia's. It slowly rose to its full height, mad gaze locked onto Scarlet Thorn and Sound-Off.
"LOOK OUT!" The pegasus shouted, tackling the reptile to the ground just as the thing pounced where they had been standing.
Training reflexes took over after that, and the dragoness sprang into action. She rolled under a powerful swipe from the thing's gnarled claws, countering it with a blast of magical purple flame. The thing squealed and bucked as the fire consumed its face, melting chunks of skin to reveal hollow bone underneath.
"What is that?!" Sound-Off screamed, instinctively backing away.
"A Vanished!" The pony answered after rejoining the dragoness's side, quickly pulling her scythe off of her back.
The Vanished shook the flame off and roared. Grisly crimson spittle flew out of its maw, and its jaw unhitched to reveal a ropy tongue and row upon row of needle teeth. With a snarl and a swing of its head, the thing charged at them.
"Move!" Scarlet ordered, leaping aside.
With carefully practiced skill the pegasus swung her scythe out at its flank, dragging the blade through flesh. The thing shrieked, and swiftly swiveled its heavy body around. Scarlet was just able to block the blow, but the force from the impact pushed her back a few feet. Heart beating rapidly in her chest, the pony slipped under the monster's claw which left a crater in the ground where her head had been.
"Scarlet! Behind you!" Sound-Off yelled, gliding over to the mare before seizing the mare by her waist and flying her out of harm's reach.
A second claw slammed into the forest floor. The Vanished turned its head to the flying pair, a deep growl in its throat. It burst into a rapid gallop after them, snapping at the air only inches behind them.
Sound-Off flapped her wings furiously, but with the added weight she couldn't lift them any higher into the air and her wings were already burning from strain. The dragoness was starting to slow down.
Scarlet took notice of this. "Sound-Off, drop me and get to safety! Don't come back no matter what you hear!"
"What?!" The reptile demanded. "Are you bucking insane?!"
"Just do it!" The mare ordered. "I'll find you!"
"No!" Sound-Off refused, dodging a tree as they entered the treeline. "I can't! I'm not going to leave you!"
"Agent Capricorn, that's an order!" Scarlet angrily urged.
Sound-Off shook her head. "I can carry you! You have to stay alive, you're my superior!"
"Agent Capricorn," The pegasus warned. The Vanished chomped at her tail, ripping out a lock. "as your superior I order you to let me go!"
"NO!" Sound-Off screamed, bursting into tears. "You're more than my superior! You're my friend Scarlet! You've always been my friend since the day I was hatched! I don't want you to die! And you're more than that to others, you're a mother too!"
Scarlet Thorn looked straight into the dragoness eyes. "And that's why I don't plan on dying!"
Sound-Off glanced down at her, lips trembling. "Okay. I trust you."
The dragoness let go of the mare. Scarlet Thorn spun around with the swing of her scythe, carving into the monster's chest. The Vanished yowled, rearing up in pain as it involuntarily stumbled backwards.
"You want some? Come and get some." Scarlet growled, making a motion with her fore-hoof that resembled a crescent moon. "Luna, ut omnium misereatur vestri meam. For our holy goddess Luna."
The Vanished roared. It lowered its head and rushed to greet her. Steel clashed against bone and wood. The pegasus mare leapt back, spinning her scythe around so that the blade faced her foe. The mare would make good on her promise to Sound-Off.
The pegasus suddenly stormed the Vanished, slashing her scythe wildly. The blade rapidly tore at the monster, breaking hunks of wood into the air. Her strikes, while fast paced, were improbably precise. While the Vanished was forced to turn its entire body in order to meet her because of its bulk and unnatural elongated body, the mare easily darted to and fro successfully surrounding the monster. With each slice more and more of the thing's body was hacked off, soaking the steel with blood. Finally the Vanished had enough and managed to smack into the pony with a swipe from its claws. The mare was thrown against a large tree, and her weapon was knocked away from her.
Seizing its chance, the Vanished leapt forward with its claws outstretched. Scarlet managed to catch her breath with a couple of sputtering crimson coughs just in time, and rolled toward her scythe. The monster crashed against the tree, uprooting it from the soil. While it was dazed, the mare began to gallop over to her blade. As soon as her front right hoof touched the dirt, a lightning bolt of pain caused the pegasus to stumble and trip.
The mare looked down at her leg only to find that her ankle was twisted almost completely the wrong way. It was definitely broken, and she was suffering from at least one fracture and a possible sprain.
"Damn it." She hissed through grit teeth. The pony knew that without both front hooves that she would be reduced to defensive techniques with the handle in her mouth. It wasn't the most savory option, but it was the one that would allow her return home to her little colt and special somepony at the end of the day.
The mare quickly yet carefully picked herself up, but her fall came at a price. The Vanished was back up on its feet, and angrier than ever.
Scarlet speedily limped over to where her scythe had fallen and grabbed the handle in between her teeth. Making sure to keep off of her injured leg, she broke into the fastest gallop she could.
There was a hideous squelching and cracking sound, and the pegasus made the mistake of looking back. The bone 'wings' of the monster had suddenly shifted from an upwards position to sticking out at its sides with the spraying of blood and tearing of flesh, the shredded meat now loosely hanging from its body.
The Vanished then surged after her, tearing through anything that was in its path with the bones turned blades. The pegasus mare was forced to dodge the falling trees that crashed around her, jumping over one only to find another toppling to her right. The fiend was unnaturally fast and light-footed for having such thin limbs, weaving effortlessly between the destruction it caused and simply stepping over others. For each step Scarlet took to get away, the Vanished took three more closer.
Within seconds the monster was running next to her, herding her with its sharp bones. The mare lashed out at the Vanished with the barb of her scythe, embedding the hooks deep into the flesh just underneath of the bones. Using the handle as a balance beam- but securing her good fore-hoof around the handle- she threw herself into the air and flipped over the monster, the tips of her wings grazing its razor sharp back and shredding the tips of her feathers. She landed on the other side of the thing, blade now facing the Vanished.
The chase continued, both opponents exchanging blows and blocking attacks. Scarlet could feel the wear from running with only three of her hooves, she could feel her stamina starting to slip. Chest and muscles burning, she brought herself to a stop and slid under the monster's bone blades. The wood-scabbed edges scraped her ears and caused them to bleed, but the cuts were still shallow.
While Scarlet paused to catch her breath,the Vanished skidded around a full three-hundred-sixty degrees on rigid legs. Head lowered and serrated horns pointed forward, it charged ahead towards her fully intent on impaling the pony with its horns. The pegasus firmly stood her ground, readying her blade. Only when the monster's horns were less than a foot from her throat did the pegasus move.
She slid directly between the legs of the Vanished, and as soon as she was underneath of the thing's barrel the mare spun herself around and jammed her scythe upwards into its flesh, leaving a yawning rupture from the tip of its barrel to the end of its waning belly. The pegasus slid out from beneath the squealing monster, panting heavily. To her great pleasure the intestines of the Vanished spilled out from the wound with a downpour of black blood.
"Ha!" Scarlet Thorn laughed. "Take that you motherbucker!"
To her surprise, the Vanished slowly but resolutely turned around. Her breath hitched in her raw throat. Even as its innards continued to slowly slide onto the forest floor the monster showed no reaction. It began to walk slowly towards the pony, growing faster with each step. Leaving behind a quickly terminating bloody flesh trail, the Vanished ran at her with a hollow roar. The mare shook herself into action.
With a snort of air the pegasus stormed forward to greet the monster. But what she wasn't expecting was for the Vanished to suddenly stop and rear onto its forelegs. It twisted around so quickly that the still galloping mare had only enough time to try and change direction. With an immensely powerful buck to her barrel that ripped the ground out from underneath her hooves, no doubt shattering that side of her rib cage, the Vanished thrust its head into the air and with the clashing of its jaws snapped up Scarlet's leg.
Scarlet Thorn screamed in agony as the fangs sunk in just above her left back hoof and tore at a chunk of her flesh which she could feel was hanging freely.
The Vanished then slammed her into the ground, blurring her vision. The torment she felt was excruciating. Her whole body was engulfed in an inferno more blazing than Celestia's sun. And she was losing blood at an alarming rate. The monster must've cleaved an artery with its bite. Quickly losing consciousness in a growing pool of her own life, Scarlet Thorn felt herself being dragged backwards.