It was a cool October night in Ponyville. Everything was quiet accept for the occasional rustle of leaves from the wind. Very few ponies were out even though it was still early in the night when usually everypony would be out having dinner at the local restaurant, shopping, or coming home from work. What few ponies that were out were hurrying to get to where they were going. Why were they hurrying? They were afraid. But afraid of what?
They were afraid because lately ponies had been disappearing like nopony's business. Why were these townsfolk disappearing like this? Where were they going to? There were so many questions that went un-answered. But this wasn't the only thing that had been happening.
A few days after the ponies disappeared, they would come back to town. This may seem good, but it was not. In fact, some of the townsfolk say that it would have been better if they would have stayed gone. Why would they wish such a terrible thing on these ponies? The reason why is because they would come back different than they usually were.
The first pony this happened to was a pony by the name of Shimmer Mist. She was normally a quite happy and chipper pony, acting much the same way Pinkie Pie does. In fact, her and Pinkie were good friends. But that all changed one day.
It was a Monday afternoon. Shimmer had gone out to do her weekly shopping at the market plaza in downtown Ponyville. She had stopped at all the stands she normally did, in the specific order she had. She started her shopping out at Sugarcube Corner like she normally did. She walked inside the door to the fragrant smell of freshly baked goods. She walked up to the display case and browsed the large selection of baked goods ranging from cupcakes to danishes to freshly baked bread.
"Whatcha' looking at Shimmer," said a high pitched voice. It was Pinkie Pie. Pinkie trotted over to Shimmer to see what she was doing. "Oh, just seeing what kind of wonderful things you have in your case today. I was hoping to find some fresh hay rye bread, but i can't seem to find it" said Shimmer as she looked up at Pinkie. Pinkie looked through the glass for a minute before realizing that they had run out. "Oh my! I'll get some baking for you right now" replied Pinkie. "Already on it" came Mr. Cake's voice from behind the counter.
"So you want to hear about what I saw the other day, Shimmer" Pinkie questioned. "Well maybe another ti..." Shimmer was cut short by Pinkie, who was going to tell her anyway. "So when I was going to Sweet Apple Acres the other day, I saw something. This wasn't any ordinary something like a chicken, or a flower, or a flying pig, but a not ordinary something!" Pinkie grabbed Shimmer's head and pulled Shimmer close to her. "It was a weird something, Shimmer! Weird!" "What was it, Pinkie" questioned Shimmer. "It looked like a pony, but it wasn't a pony. It was like a ghost, or a zombie, or a crawly clown! Normal clowns are okay, but not those crawly clowns! They're just weird. But anyway, I saw it going toward the Everfree forest. I haven't seen it since, and I don't know if I want to" Pinkie told.
"Your bread is ready, Shimmer" said Mr. Cake as he brought out a fresh baked loaf of hay rye bread and gave it to her. Shimmer smiled and nodded, handing Mr. Cake the bits for the bread. Shimmer looked back toward Pinkie and said, "Well, that was a very ravishing story, Pinkie. Maybe you can tell me more about it later!" "Okey Dokey Lokey" Pinkie excitedly said as Shimmer walked out the door.
Shimmer made her rounds to all the other stores and stands she usually went to, and ended at her last stop, Applejack's apple cart. As she walked up to the cart, she got the sweet, fragrant smell of apples and apple goods. It was one of her favorite smells.
She approached the cart to be bombarded by Applebloom trying to sell apples to her. "Would ya like tah buy some apples? Of course ya do! Who doesn't like apples? Nopony! Ah sure love em" Applebloom rambled. "Ah'm mighty sorry 'bout that, Shimmer. Applebloom just gets a little too excited sometimes" Applejack apologized. Shimmer smiled at AJ and said "Not a problem! Besides, she's just trying to be like her sister. Anyway, I'm just here to get an apple pie and a couple fritters." Applejack walked back over to the cart and got them for her. "How much do I owe you AJ?" "Ah, don't worry 'bout it, sugarcube. We're friends, and Ah feel like being nice today" Applejack laughed. "Be careful on your way home! There's a weird thing tha'ts been roaming around lately" said AJ. Puzzled, Shimmer turned back to Applejack and asked "What kind of thing?" AJ replied with a statement that shocked Shimmer. AJ said that it looked like a pony, but wasn't a pony. Maybe like a ghost pony. Pinkie had said the same thing earlier. Now Shimmer was a little scared.
Shimmer made her way home, being careful to look out for this so-called "ghost pony". She lived down a long back road that was right on the edge of the Everfree forest. As she reached her road, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She looked to where she had seen whatever it was, but there was nothing there. 'Must be my mind trying to scare me' she thought. She began to walk down the road again, only to see that thing again. 'Ok, brain, you can stop now. You've scared me enough now' she thought. She began down the road again, but faster this time. Then she heard something behind her. It sounded like a hissing, growling sound. She stopped dead in her tracks. She was terrified. Did she dare turn around?
When she turned around, she saw the ghost pony. Everything in her body told her to run, but she felt like she was glued in place. The ghost pony appeared as a black cloud of mist, but solid. It stood at least a head taller than Shimmer. Shimmer finally began to run as fast as she could, not looking back.
After what felt like an eternity, she could see her house in the distance. She could no longer hear the ghost pony, so she stopped to breathe, thinking it was safe. Every breath she took burned her lungs because she was so exhausted. She stood there for a minute to gather her bearings, and then began to walk to her house, which was now very close. But something wasn't right. She stopped and turned around. There, just inches behind her was the ghost pony. It grew tentacles out of the side of its torso and grabbed Shimmer. Shimmer let out a bloodcurdling scream as it dragged her into the woods.
For a few days, there was no sign of Shimmer. She hadn't come by any of the shops and she hadn't been seen around town like normal. But out of nowhere one day, Shimmer came back. But she was different. Her coat was a dull, blue color (whereas it was normally a sky blue color), her mane was matted and tangled like she hadn't taken a bath in a few days, and her eyes were a faded, almost white, grey color. When she spoke, she spoke in a very monotone voice things that sounded like they had been scripted for a play. She wasn't normal.
After a while, this started happening to more and more ponies. They would mysteriously disappear, and a few days later, they would return like Shimmer did, dull coats, messy manes, and grey eyes. And every time it happened, it happened at the edge of the Everfree forest.
Word had gotten to Canterlot about this, so Princess Celesstia put out a decree that read: "Due to the strange disappearances and reappearances happening here, the Everfree has been declared off-limits to all ponies unless on official business appointed by the Royal Equestrian Council."
The main message, Don't go into the woods!