Dash was flustered. None of the others would pay her any thought. They swore they were the butt end of an elaborate prank. Dash wasn't about the be the mare who called wolf, so she grabbed the one that happened to stand the closest (Applejack), and started to drag her.
"You're the one that supports honesty! Let my honest words enter through your ears and rattle around your skull! My eyes told the truth! Such a creature does roam those forests, and my eyes caught a glance! An awful beast! Shares the looks of a pony, except for the lack of flesh and fur, and the round second head sprouted from the back! Not to exclude the red flame where the eye should be! Yes, you heard correctly. Lone eye!" She closed one eye as an example. Then she opened that one and closed the other.
Applejack pushed the crazed pony off of her and brushed herself off. "Honesty has uses, but a theory can't be labeled as the truth. My memory shows not one pony who has never declared to see an object that was not really there." At the confused faces of the others, she added "You could just be crazy."
"Hey!"
"Hadn't meant for that to come out that way."
"Guys, calm down." the purple-maned spell-caster hushed. "A story such as the one Dash here told wasn't completely unreasonable. A creature who dons such grotesque features has a presence among the pages of several of my books. Such a creature can be called a Nuckelavee."
"Nuckle-what-ee?
"Nuckelavee. Such a creature has been rumored to destroy crops and cattle and such. My books gave the the overtone that every story was just that: a story. Though should Dash's story have any truth, they could be wrong. Tales are often more accurate then they let on."
"Okay, let's humor her and go hunt some monsters. When we don't see anypony, and we won't see anypony, my score goes up by ten."
"What?"
"Let's just go. Where was the creature anyway?"
"Everfree."
The group walked through the trees, watchful for any unwelcome guests to the party. Dash was unhappy, as the trek brought back many a bad memory of a fake chase, led not even by the moon. The search had yet to show any results, but Dash knew. They would come across the area soon.
"So how exactly was the creature seen by you anyway?"
"Well, the weather seemed good to fly-"
"One of the few events you seem to be capable of."
"What was that supposed to mean?!"
"Settle down, you two. Geez, Applejack, you seem unusually callous today."
"Anyway, my muscles ached, so a break was urgently needed, and maybe also a snack. Around here was my target to land when the beast came at me, faster than any earth pony known. Me, and my enormous smartness-"
'Smartness?"
"Shut up! Me and my extreme acumen settled on... um... a clever retreat! That sounds good! So then, my acute judgement told me to return to the town and educate my fellow townsfolk on such a probable threat." She beamed hopefully.
"So you ran away?"
"No! Ugh! At the moment-" She was halted by the sound of hoofsteps through the leaves. The rumble made sounded not of a regular pony.
"What was that?"
"Hopefully not-"
Dash was once more delayed as a ghastly face appeared through the trees. Then another. The lower one seemed have a mouth that screamed eternally. The upper one had an appearance that was onerous to express. There was no creature that looked comparable. As Dash had expressed, the beasts' eye seemed to glow, tantamount to a red blaze. Due to the lack of flesh, one could see the black blood as the stuff coursed through the yellow passageways. The scene was assuredly nasty.
The mares were not averse to bolt, and boy, how they bolted.
They were gone before a heart could beat. The only goal on any agenda was to get away. All of them could hear the creature- the Nuckelavee- on the hunt to the rear. The monster seemed to fell trees as the space between them was closed.
Dash refused to fly for several reasons. She wouldn't be a jerk and abandon her group. Also, she was so rattled she doubted she could even leave the ground. Though when somepony would ask, her settlement was made out of loyalty and bravery.
"What do we do?!"
"Uhhhh, let me ponder that."
They narrowly dodged the Nuckelavees' grasp as the creature lunged forward. They somehow managed to go even faster, numerous records probably shattered by the mad dash to anywhere but that very spot.
"Any day now!"
"Oh, the data just came back to me! The book told me Nuckelavees don't enjoy water that moves."
"To the stream then!"
They all panted and wheezed. They ducked as trees appeared to be pulled out of the ground and tossed at them.
"For real? Trees? Come on!"
Just a few more steps... Closer... Closer...
They all crossed the stream at once, then proceeded to flop over. They rolled and tumbled, and eventually settled, an event that caused a heap of pony after pony to form. After they found themselves untangled, they looked at each other. Then they looked down at themselves. Other than a rogue scratch or scrape, they were unharmed. A mutual exhale of new found safety was shared.
"Well," Dash began, "Looks to me that we got another reason to steer clear of the Everfree."
The rest nodded, then began to head back to town.