//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: Lost and Found 
// Story: The Darkest Day In Changeling History: The Beast Of Salem 
// by Harbinger Of Mist 
//------------------------------//


1100 years ago


A lone family of three earth ponies are trekking through a jungle with a large carriage; the mother most of all wishes it wasn't so. "Trotman, Are you sure you're reading the map correctly?" She asks with an increasing level of disdain.

"Amelia, honey, I've said this 5 times in the past hour, 'the Cavern of Endless Echoes is 30 miles east' and we should be there in less than 20 minutes now." Trotman, the father responds with a level head for the sake of not sparking an argument.

"I'm only saying that my friends back home have seen the cavern before, and they have NEVER needed to go through a jungle for so long. Or at ALL for that matter." Amelia shifts her position in the back of the carriage closer to their son, pulling along-side his father. "And Samuyl, please. I insist you give me a turn pulling the cart, you must be aching for walking for so long!" Samuyl replies with a simple sigh and shake of his head. His mother doesn't approve. "Oh now don't you be using that attitude with me! Just say something, sweetheart. I hate silence when I expect sound."

On cue, rustling was heard from all three amongst the canopy of their environment. "Personally, I hate it when it's the other way around, mom." Samuyl said with a surprising amount of disinterest in his voice as he searches for the source of the sound.

"You are quite content with what we just heard." His father spoke up. "Sure, I would try to stay optimistic, but you can't be too careful. Hopefully it was just a bird."

"That matters not to me, Trotman! If you see any end to this trail, then by all means make a mad dash for it; the both of you!" The mother is getting progressively frightened. "I am convinced that this jungle was not on the agenda."

A branch falls in front of the two stallions pulling the carriage, causing them to jerk it back and their hearts to skip a beat. "Okay, NOW I care!" Samuyl picks up his tone. "I say we make a mad dash now and hope for the best!"

"That could have just been a docile animal, there are plenty in these places." The father assures, albeit with a slight tremble in his voice. "Even if there ARE predators looking for us, all the noise from our cart would surely make us more attractive."

"'That COULD have been'! Trotman, you're the one who said you can't be too careful. Don't try to calm us with that 'maybe it's docile' crap! We don't know what's in this place!" The mother positions herself near the back, repeatedly scanning the space they have passed through. "I'll keep my eyes and ears on full alert. I don't see any sudden movements right now. But when I give the signal, I say we follow Sam's advice."

"Good! 'Cause I do not want to live for nearly 21 years without a cutie mark, only to be mauled be some chimera or something. What a lousy life and way to go, I say."

"Don't say that, boy! Mark or no mark, you had a wonderful childhood." His father perks him up. "I made sure that we gave you all the happiness and discipline we needed to give you. Be proud of yourself Samuyl, cutie marks aren't everything. There's plenty more in life to--"

He is cut off by a hard gasp from his wife. "B-back there! I saw something!" She notices more movement from around the same area, and it was starting to close in. "It's chasing us! GO!!" She points her hoof out far to the front of the carriage. Her boys react instantly, sprinting off in the same direction towards what seemed to be an exit from the jungle.

The rustling drew louder and closer, faster than the break of light at the end of the jungle could. Nonetheless, Samuyl and his father kept pace with each other, neither of them even showing a sign of fatigue. The sense of urgency made them focus on one thing: escaping.

"Hurry! It's nearly right on top of us!" The mother nearly shrieks as she clings on to the wobbling speeding carriage.

"Just a few more yards!" The father exclaims. The dirt path led to a flat, wide open field. Trotman and his son were relieved to have finally made it out of the forest. They both figured it'd be best to sprint a little while longer to get further away from the forest just to be safe.

With the cart finally at a complete stop, both stallions catch their breath as Amelia keeps her eyes glued to the opening of the jungle. "That was close. I think we should be safe now; doesn't look like it's following us anymore." She leans back toward her husband. "Still think you're following the map correctly?"

"Okay. Maybe we took a detour." The father confesses. "I'm just glad we made it out. My mistake almost got us in grave danger, I don't expect either of you to forgive me for a while."

His son consoles. "We'll forgive you when we reach the cavern in one piece. Hopefully no matter what your map says, we shouldn't be too far now."

Amelia spots a panicked pegasus rush out of the same part of the jungle. "Oh! There's another pony coming out! Ah, she looks terrified! I'm gonna go check on her. Don't move this cart until I come back!" She hops off the cart and rushes to the pegasus' aid.

"Ask her if she's heading to the cavern!" The father shouts back. He turns his attention to Sam and climbs into the back of the carriage. "You know what? I need to double-check this map."

"Convinced yourself that there was a different path just a mile away that would've had us avoid the danger?" Samuyl asks.

"Yep. I'm not about to argue with your mother after something like that." He examines the map thoroughly, looking for a reason why he might've led his family through a potentially hostile area. He growls at himself and sinks his forehead into his hoof. "The safe path was going around a small mountain. Curse me and my desire to take the short way!"

"Let's just make sure we follow the map intently on the return trip." Samuyl suggests.

"Indeed." His father responds with a slight unease in his voice. He was still shaken up by their narrow escape. "I'm going to keep the map right here in my shirt pocket from now on. I don't want to go through anything like that again. I need to be able to check the map as often as possible. Like I said: You can never be too careful."

"Then why did you have us stray from the path to begin with?" Sam quipped.

"Okay okay, I adopted that a little late into our trip. Now le--" he is cut off by the pegasus hopping into the carriage beside him. "Oh, uh... Did Amelia invite you?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna check on mom." Samuyl loosens his harness and follows suit. He notices that she is just laying on the ground motionless. "Uh, mom?! Are you okay?!" He hears a sudden grunt from his father. He turns to see him fall from the cart holding his neck with the pegasus leaning away from him with a smirk on her face. "Dad!" Sam rushes back to him, but he's caught off-guard when the pegasus briefly glows with green fire and morphs into "a Changeling!?!" It lunges towards Sam baring its fangs. He tries to defend himself but he soon feels a sharp pain in his neck and his sight to fade black. He falls to the ground with his head making hard impact with the ground.