The Creature Shrouded in Black
Winter was now over. Spring had come as it always did. This winters Winter Wrap-up was another success and had gone off without a hitch.
And Pipsqueak was in pain. A lot of pain. He didn’t know how he got into this situation. One minute he was playing with the Cutie Mark Crusaders at the edge of the Everfree Forest and the next moment he found himself chained to the ground with a collar around his neck and a broken right front leg. Two diamond dogs had captured him and inflicted the injuries he currently had. He moaned in pain and was promptly and painfully kicked in his already bruised ribs in order to sound louder which he did. The dogs had captured him with a dark plan in mind and he was the bait.
“Louder pony!” one dog said. “LOUDER!” and kicked Pipsqueaks leg again. “You make noise and the princesses come. We capture them and then they work for us to dig. Yes. Dig for gems.”
Pipsqueak was in so much pain he was about ready to pass out from it. He tried to do his best to be brave and strong but it wasn’t easy. Not in the slightest. He screamed in pain once more descending to sobbing. “I just wanna go home.” He sobbed.
Suddenly there was hoof steps coming through the bushes as the CMCs and three adult ponies appeared. The diamond dogs stood their ground with their spears at the ready. “Release him!” An orange mare ordered taking a threatening step forward.
“Come take him pony.” One dog growled showing his sharp teeth.
“I said release him!” Applejack growled. Taking another step forward. The other mares, Lyra Heartstrings and Berry Punch matching her steps.
Suddenly a net dropped down on the three adult ponies and the CMCs! “Gotcha!” as another diamond dog dropped out of the trees.
“Good job!” Digger commented. “It not princesses but we have seven ponies to make dig!”
“HEY!” Applejack shouted as the net fell about her and her friends as they immediately started to try to fight their way out. The diamond dogs pinning the ends of the net to the ground with their spears.
As the struggling continued, there was a sudden rustling in the bushes opposite from them all. The dogs turned around pulling their spears from the net that had moments before had the ponies pinned underneath it.
“COME OUT!” Digger yelled, weapons at the ready.
As if on cue and answering their summons, a tall figure in a black hood and cloak strode confidently into the forest clearing. To Applejack it seemed to just glide across the ground. No hoof or fur could be seen as it moved towards them. It was as if the very fabric itself was alive. Without slowing a bit, the figure produced a long staff and walked right up to the closest diamond dog. CRACK! The canine didn’t even get a chance to react as it brought the staff down on the dogs head knocking it out completely as he fell to the ground. The remaining dogs looked at each other and then attacked weapons drawn. CRACK! THWACK! YIPE! Both dogs met the same fate in a matter of seconds.
The figure then relaxed its stance and seemed to take a deep relaxing breath. It then took what looked like a slow and steady scan of its surroundings. Once seemingly satisfied of its safety, it walked over to Pipsqueak in full view of the netted ponies.
To Applejack, Berry, and Lyra, the tall figure bent down to Pipsqueak and to their horror, it seem to just absorb him. They heard a small yelp from the injured colt and as it rose to its full stature once again, Pipsqueak was gone! All that remained was the chain he had had shackled around his neck and spiked to the ground. The shrouded creature then looked back at the remaining netted ponies, At least its actions seemed to represent that and then it glided back into the dark of the forest.
“PIPSQUEAK!” All the ponies yelled in horror but to no avail.
Lyra lit up her horn and the net magically levitated off of its prisoners and was cast aside.
“C’mon! We have to go after that thing!” Berry said. Lyra chimed in her agreement as well. But cooler heads prevailed. Applejack decided against chasing after them. Looking up at the sky she said it was a bad idea. The sun was beginning to set and it would be dark soon. She’d been in the Everfree Forest before at night and remembered how dangerous it was.
“Its getting’ late. We don’t wanna be in that now. We need to get help and form a search party. A’ll go tell Twilight what happened and we’ll get a search party t’gether and leave at first light tomorrow mornin’.“
All ponies present then departed off to Twilights with haste.
Twilight was just settling down with a cup of tea and a book in her castles library for the evening when Applejack and the others came bursting in the front door of the castle. Each of them breathless from their sprint.
“TWILIGHT!” Applejack yelled upon entering “TWILIGHT! WHERE ARE YOU!” There was the telltale flash of magic teleportation and she appeared.
“WHAT!” Whats wrong?”
“Pipsqueak got eaten by a creature in the Everfree Forest. It was tall and shrouded and cloaked all in black and it just ate him!” Berry Punch cried. “It just swallowed him!”
“Calm down. Calm down everypony. SPIKE? SPIIIIIKE!” She called out. Her voice echoing off the walls of the great hall.
“Right here!” He cried as he came running into the room. “What is it? Whats wrong? Is it zombie ponies?” He had a habit of thinking every emergency involved zombie ponies lately.
“No spike. How many times do I have to tell you there is no such thing as zombies?” She answered in frustration as she blew a strand of her mane out of her eyes. “Please could you go and get some cold water for our friends here?” She asked.
“I’m on it!” He said cheerfully as he ran off to the kitchen. “Be back in a sec.”
“Okay. Deep breath. Now tell me exactly what happened.”
The Cuitie Mark Crusaders began the tale first telling Twilight how there were playing with Pipsqueak and the sudden appearance of the two diamond dogs and how they had hurt the little colt, put a collar around his neck and had chained him to the ground, and had broken his leg. They then told of that how they had run off to get help and that’s where they found Applejack, Berry Punch, and Lyra.
Applejack picked up the story from there and told of how the diamond dogs had trapped them in a drop net by a third dog and that they were going to be hauled off as slaves to work in their tunnels, "and that’s when the creature appeared." Lyra and Berry nodded their heads in confirmation of Applejacks tale.
“…It was about as tall as Princess Luna! Maybe even Princess Celestia and covered in what looked like black material. It just came straight out o’ the bushes, walked up to the three dogs and knocked all three o’ them out with a long stick that he just made come outta nowheres. It seem to look around to make sure there was no danger, then it walked over to lil Pipsqueak, bent down, and when it stood back Pipsqueak was gone! It was jest like it swallered ‘im up! It then looked at us and its surroundings and then walked back into the forest like it wer’nt even there!”
“I have never heard of such a creature before. Do you think you could describe what it looked like?” Twilight asked summoning a quill and parchment.
“Twilight. Thar aint nothin’ to tell. It was tall and oddly shaped and covered in black cloth.”
“Wasn’t there any distinguishing features you recognized? Anything?”
“Not a one. We didn’t see any fur, eyes, muzzle, hooves, claws, nor scales. Nothing” Lyra said. “Just a tall, black, cloth,……..thing with its long stick! That’s it! And it just seemed to absorb that little colt.”
“But it left the diamond dogs alone as well as us.” Berry said.
“And us too.” The CMCs chimed in.
“Tomorrow morning we’ll get the Elements together and go search the woods for any sign of little Pipsqueak and this creature. Maybe we might be able to find a clue to his whereabouts and what this creature might be.” Twilight said. “I will also send a message to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna telling them about what has happened. Any other ponies that might want to help in the search will be welcome.”
“Spike? Take a letter.”
Pipsqueak yawned as he stretched out and slowly opened his eyes. He was reminded by the sudden pain he felt in his ribs and foreleg, that he was injured. After the pain subsided a little. Looking around he saw that he was in some sort of cave. He also noticed that he was alone. The big black thing was gone. He was resting on something soft, there was a warm blanket wrapped around himself. It turned out that he wasn’t alone for long. There was a rustling sound in the bushes just ahead of him and suddenly there was the tall black thing before him! Pipsqueak closed his eyes in terror as a primal fear took hold. He tried to make himself as small as possible. It was a basic instinct in all ponies. Try to look as small as possible and maybe he wouldn’t be seen.
As he braced himself for the monsters teeth and claws, he felt a soft touch on his head. Pip opened his eyes to see the creature reaching a black clothed appendage gently running over his head and back again and again. He couldn’t help it. It felt really nice. It then reached over and very carefully and picked him up and began to put some sort of thick liquid on his bruised ribs. It hurt for only a second and then it started feeling better as the pain went away. The creature then carefully wrapped some bandages around his barrel. It then took two small sticks and gently tied them to his broken leg making a splint.
After it was done attending to his injuries, it then gave him some food and a little clay bowel full of water. Laying it on the ground within easy reach. Pip was hungry and made short work of the food and water he was given.
“Thank you.” Pip said. The creature only nodded in approval.
The creature sat silently looking at Pipsqueak. It never spoke a word but just sat silently looking at him although Pip never did see its eyes. Its actions seem to indicate so.
It was starting to get late. Princess Celestia would be lowering the sun soon and his favorite princess, Princess Luna would begin to raise the moon.
The creature head suddenly looked up in alarm towards the entrance and got up. Had he heard something? Pip swiveled his ears this way and that trying to hear whatever had alarmed it. Looking around it found a cloth covering of some sort. It looked at pip (at least it seemed to do so by its actions) and put a cloth appendage to where he guessed its mouth would be and made a sign to be quiet and then a sign to stay still. It then put the cloth over him and suddenly and silently left the cave.
Pipsqueak was scared. Really scared! He was now all alone in a dark cave with no one knowing where he was! He lay as quiet as and as still as he could. His heart pounding loudly in his chest and trying to listen for any sound that might tell him what was going on. He prayed to Luna and Celestia that he might be safe.
His hearing met with only silence and the noises of the forest.
Suddenly there was some rustling at the cave entrance and the sounds of hoof falls. It came right up to where Pip was hiding and the cloth hiding him was taken off him. Pip “squeaked” in surprise but was relieved to see it was only the creature above him.
After looking Pip over carefully, it gently picked him up and lay down on the cave floor putting Pip beside him away from the cave entrance.
Soon both were fast asleep.