//------------------------------// // 1 // Story: The Windigo // by -Hidden Identity- //------------------------------// The following are typed transcripts of entries taken from a journal belonging to a pony by the name of Cath Amber; referred to almost specifically as just Cath. He had been a part of a group of ponies who had decided to take a walk deep within the Everfree forest and ended up lost after a large snowstorm hit. According to the captain of Celestia’s royal guards, the search for the party took almost two months to complete; which ended up being far too late. An investigation of the events that took place around the lost group is currently in effect, but is dwindling due to lack of firm evidence and useful leads. Cath decided to keep a record of the events from the start of their journey, and continued to document the experience to his unfortunate end. I have been given permission to disclose the journal to the general public, as the case is beginning to go cold, and hope of revealing what inspired Cath to write as he did is fleeting. Read it as you will. One last note, some of the entries were missing from the journal or unintelligible. Day 1: Hello! I thought it would be a good idea to write down our little adventure here so we can look back on it later and remember all the things we had forgotten. It’s always like that isn’t it? You have a great time and all, but when it comes to remembering what you actually did, you haven’t a clue. But this time I’m going to actually do what I’ve been saying we need to do all along and actually write what happens down. So, my name is Cath Amber, and I’m here with Wymble Skyre (coolest name I’ve ever heard), Cross Dreedle, and Peers Abslove. (Strangest name I’ve ever heard). We are just about to get started on our two-day hike into the Everfree Forest. I am in hope that we are out around the end of the week as long as the weather remains fair. Looks like we are starting out, I’ll make another entry when I have the chance. I wonder if I should just start on a new page? This is my next entry, and it has been about three hours since we started. We’ve stopped for a moment to eat and take a breath. It is absolutely beautiful here; I don’t know what all those other ponies were talking about when they said that the Everfree was a creepy place. We’re all having a great time. We saw a very large snake and some odd looking birds, and Cross nearly fainted when a large spider fell onto his back. Took us at least ten minutes to get him to his feet. Judging by how long we’ve been walking, I would say that it is nearing two o’clock, and it has gotten a lot denser in the number of trees around the path. Good thing there is a path, or it would have taken us twice this long to get this far. Moving again, I’ll write when we next stop. It has been another couple of hours since we last stopped, and I’ll just start a new line, Wymble thought he saw something, and we went over to look so I lost my train of thought. Why didn’t I bring a pencil? I thought that it would be better to bring several pens, but not a pencil? About a quarter of a mile back (according to Peers the outdoorspony) we passed a really old road sign, I don’t know why but I thought it was really neat to see history like that. Maybe that’s just me. I asked, it is just me. Anyway, the sign read: “Now entering the Briar Sanctum”. That may just been Wymble’s name for best name I have ever heard. Yeah, that title was for all names in existence, no big deal. Anyway, on the back of the sign, as Peers pointed out to all of us, it read: “Now entering the Everfree forest.” I didn’t know that the forest was divided up into a bunch of different forests. I thought it was all Everfree. Also, on the back of the sign, somepony had carved “It is better here in the Everfree Forest. –BZ” It is unfortunately impossible for me to tell if the carving was new or old. I’m hoping that it was old though. Yeah I’m a history geek, I admit it. All right, so it has been another three hours since I last wrote and it is getting dark really quickly. To make thing worse, it looks like a storm is moving in. I must apologize to whoever reads this (most likely myself) that I have been lacking on more details about what is going on in the woods around us, and I have forgotten most of the smaller details. Nothing really important happened I guess. So I’m going to make a bunch of notes right now. The trees are really gnarled and extraordinarily dense. Every bush contains more spines than the last one and are impossible to eat. Peers confirmed this when we asked him. From the few gaps in the trees, I can see the storm clouds coming on. They aren’t moving incredibly fast though, so we should be able to find suitable shelter before it hits. We didn’t expect foul weather, so we didn’t pack tents or anything like that. Peers keeps pestering us about that, saying how right he was. Pestering Peers, I like that. Most likely I’m not going to be able to write again until morning, we really need to find some shelter, but in this dense wood it will be a tad difficult. We found a cabin. It’s a bit run down, but new enough to hold when the storm hits. It’s a bit small and only has two rooms but contains two beds thankfully enough. Peers has been complaining about it not being true camping, and therefore refuses to sleep on anything but the floor. Cold night for him, but he likes it that way. Plus it means that I don’t have to share a one-pony bed. Wymble and Cross are in the other room sharing a bed. I doubt either of them is going to get much sleep, I suppose if you were tired enough you could sleep anywhere. So, we found this cabin in the middle of a very convenient clearing deep within the Briar Sanctum. (Still awesome) The trees became so dense that the trail was completely gone by the time that we were halfway into the Sanctum; but Peers (outdoorspony in any circumstance) told us that he was taking note of various landmarks that he could use in case of the trail disappearing, so we’ll be all right. We found the cabin in the dead of night, so we can’t really tell which way we came from. Peers apparently went out and place a marker on one of the trees that borders the clearing, and he says as long as he knows the initial direction he can find the way out again. When we finally found the door to the cabin, Wymble told us Sorry again, I was distracted so I’m starting a new line. I was just looking up at the moon (a really nice full moon to top it off) when I saw this black cloud pass by, completely silhouetted in the glow of the moon. I have never seen a cloud move that fast before, usually the Pegasus ponies move clouds at only moderate speeds, and this is the first time I have been in an area of Equestria where the weather happens on its own. I guess that seeing a cloud move that fast was just a new experience for me. It also was very slick on the edges, with only one protrusion from the main body of the cloud. When I had seen clouds moved by wind created by the Pegasus ponies, it warped the shape of the cloud as it passed by. This one didn’t for some reason. Seems a bit eerie, but I’m guessing that’s just me again. Cath Amber: history geek and afraid of clouds. I guess its all part of being in a strange area of this world. I guess that the storm is going to be here much sooner if the clouds are moving that fast. Well, I’m going to try and sleep. I’ll write again sometime tomorrow.                                                              Cath After his entry, it seems that Cath attempted to sketch the shape of the cloud he had been distracted by. Or rather, that is the most probable assumption of the crude drawing above.