Final Notes/Day 21:
Windigo. Why did I ever run from you? Peers killed the others with your help. Thank you, Windigo. I will follow.
This is the last thing ever written in the journal of Cath Amber. It is a complete and total contradiction of almost every other journal entry. It seems that Cath has decided to accept the Windigo, and that he is grateful of what it has done. In Day 20, Cath stated that Peers was innocent, yet here it seems that he was guilty after all of the deaths of three ponies. It has been officially recorded that Peers Abslove murdered, mutilated, and (at least partially) ate: Cross Dreedle, Wymble Skyre, and the unknown Host. Cath Amber lasted 21 days: three weeks.
The search for the ponies ended with the discovery of the bodies of Cross and Wymble, which almost confirmed the fates of the others, save for the fact that this journal was found. The journal, in question, was found far away from any of the ponies, in the cabin that they originally were trapped in by the storm. It lay in the center of the room, amidst a large scorch mark on the floor, placed very deliberately. The dust around the journal was undisturbed, with no tracks of any kind.
After the journal was finished being analyzed and copied, Princess Celestia granted the pony in charge of this case to make one final search, following the path that Cath had taken. We had crossed over into the Outer Centre in the initial stages of the search, but were too far south from where Cath journeyed to find anything. During this last search the following were found:
Host’s Cabin
Host’s Mutilated Body
The Crevasse
The Massive Cliff (North of Host’s cabin)
The Lost City
The “Three Miles to the Edge of the Forest” signs. (There were two, and the actual edge of the forest was another three miles past the second sign)
The Graveyard in The Lost City
Gravestone Bearing Cath’s name
Peers Abslove
The following were not found and remain unknown:
Eastern Field
Eastern Field’s Mysterious Tree
Cath Amber
The Windigo
The grave bearing Cath’s name was filled in. We dug it up to find the twisted remains of Peers Abslove. The body was identifiable, regardless of the fact that there were several features that were different from Peers. Namely, the coat had become darker, the teeth had become separated and jagged, and the legs were significantly stretched. The cutie mark on the body was an identical match to Peer’s, and his was truly unique. (A rope tied into an Alpine Butterfly knot.)
The whereabouts of Cath Amber, as we stated, remain unknown. Another thorough investigation took place simultaneously with the final search into the Everfree/Briar Sanctum/Outer Centre. This search was through several large tomes of history and facts about Equestria, only found within the Canterlot Archive. There were only two references to anything by the name of “Windigo”. One had to deal with the creation of Equestria, and did not fit the description, the other was written by a pony no one working in this had ever heard of. The passage in the tome described the Windigo as being a “collector”, that is to say that the Windigo picks out the member of a group that it finds best. The passage goes on to say that the Windigo is an ancient creature, but very rare, and eventually saying that it eats anything it can. The Windigo cannot, however, eat in its own form, thus it must use another creature from a group to eat for it. The Windigo will use said being to devour the others, changing the being all the while. First come mental changes, and then the physical form actually alters. Physical alterations vary by the type of being taken by the Windigo. The changes always make the creature more apt to its surroundings and its prey. The Windigo does want the best, however, so it is liable to change its mind should it find that a different member of the group is superior to the current prize. The final point of the passage from which this information comes claims that the Windigo can both access and use the memories of the creature it has taken. This raises questions about who exactly knew any of this and had the opportunity to write it down.
Overall the above information cannot be verified, and the validity of the information is still in question. No records of the author have been found.
It has been decided that Cath’s good name should be preserved, and that he is overall innocent in this. Peers’s name has become somewhat taboo, and has turned into a ghost story over Equestria, to tell to young foals, and in the dark with nervous company.
Cath’s original journal has been given to the pony in Ponyville he requested should have it, and she has asked for her name to not be revealed at this time.
Questions that remain unknown are as follows:
Where is Cath Amber?
What happened to him?
What was Host’s real name?
What is “The Master of Ceremonies”?
What were the foreign shadows?
Who lived in The Lost City?
Why did the Windigo not kill Cath in the beginning?
What is the Eastern Field?
There is much speculation as to the answer to the second question, and the most widely accepted answer is that Cath is still alive somewhere in the Briar Sanctum, but is “not himself”.
There are still many loose ends to be tied up, but the case has been closed for now. This has been given to the public so they may know of what has happened, and (if they choose) answer unanswered questions themselves.
Princess Celestia has, in Cath’s honor, made three laws concerning the Everfree Forest, known as the Cath Amber laws.
Any section of the forest is the Everfree Forest, yet the separate sections of the forest will keep their name to identify them simply as a part of the Everfree, and all records and maps must correspond.The Briar Sanctum is unfit for ponies to enter for any given amount of time, and thus has been made illegal to venture into for any reason.There is a creature that has been marked as an enemy of ponies, that lives in the Briar Sanctum, who shall be known as The Windigo.