“Checkmate!” Dusk Shine exclaimed as he used his horn to magically move his black Queen to the corner of the board where the white King helplessly stood, blocking any way of escape.
Rainbow Blitz groaned. It was the third game at which he lost that night, not having any luck at Monopoly or Scrabble either.
“Are you sure you’re not cheating? Your winning streak’s surprisingly high!” the pegasus accused.
“We both know the rules of the games and you’ve seen that I obeyed them strictly like I always do with rules in general.” the unicorn defended himself.
“Oh yeah? Let’s see if you’ll have better luck at Poker!” Blitz challenged him.
“That’s fine and dandy, Blitz, but…” Dusk suddenly yawned. “I think it’s my bedtime.”
“But it’s not even midnight yet.”
“Be as it may, when my body knows it has to sleep, I obey it.”
“Cheh, then you owe me three rematches!”
“Tomorrow, Blitz, tomorrow.”
With that said, Dusk Shine’s horn shone yet again and it moved all the board and card games into a box which was then teleported safely to his closet. The unicorn then got up and walked to his bed, collapsing on the soft sheets.
“And where am I supposed to sleep?” the blue stallion crossed his hooves.
“There’s a mattress and blanket on the floor. Nighty night!” the purple stallion lazily replied and began snoring.
Rainbow Blitz was slightly hurt by his friend’s dismissive attitude, especially having in mind what had happened between them a few hours ago. Then again, the past two days had been tiresome for the poor unicorn, so he understood his position. However, the pegasus was far from sleepy. Not having anything else to do, he picked the book on pony mythos and folklore and randomly opened it at a page. Then he landed on his belly on the mattress and began reading silently as to not wake up his friend.
“Samca, as the legends say, is an evil spirit, very ugly and terrifying: a naked female with long hair reaching her toes, with long breasts reaching the ground, with small and shining star like eyes, with iron hands, with long and sharp nails resembling scythes and with a fire tongue. This demon, with a very big and ugly mouth which spits fire, always comes out at full moon and appears usually to little fillies, scaring them until they become ill. This demon also appears to mares on the verge of giving birth and scares them until they either die or end up paralyzed.”
Rainbow Blitz paused and chuckled a bit. While the idea of such a creature seemed ridiculous to him, he recalled the killed mare he had seen just a few hours ago. He realized that nopony could be so sick and twisted to do such a thing. It was then that he took into consideration the possibility that there might be some truth to what he was reading.
“Samca may take different forms: a big terrifying pig, a dog with a grinned mouth, a hairless cat with wide fiery eyes, a big crow with blood red eyes or a big black spider. The illness which Samca gives to fillies is usually known as ‘fillies’ evil’. Samca has 19 names: Vestitia, Navadaraia, Valnomia, Sina, Nicosda, Avezuha, Scorcoila, Tiha, Miha, Grompa, Slalo, Necauza, Hatavu, Hulila, Huva, Ghiana, Gluviana, Prava and Samca. In order to defend themselves, ponies must write the 19 names on somepony else’s house wall or to convince somepony else to write them down on a paper and wear it with them. This will not stop Samca, but it will pass on her curse to another pony. However, if that pony is old and he or she had gone through life, Samca will only make their teeth crack in their sleep.”
Blitz paused for a moment. He couldn’t believe it, there were some beings which could not be stopped in any way, shape or form. That meant only one thing, sooner or later Dusk would have to find a way to stop all those fiends before it would be too late. Shaking his head, he resumed reading:
“The very first mention of Samca dates from an old poem which is rumored to be a message from the afterlife…”
Meanwhile in the Everfree Forest, a tall male unicorn wandered all alone on the path, trying to find logs he could use as fuel for his fireplace. Even though he picked a not very suited time for that activity, he was confident that everything would work out just fine. After all, he had his horn to light his path and an axe to both help him do his job and keep him safe. But little did he know of what unexpected turn of events fate had to offer him.
All of a sudden, he heard a faint noise coming from behind. He turned around. Nothing. The stallion sighed; his imagination was playing tricks on him. But before he could resume his path, he heard that noise once more, this time louder than before. It sounded like a pig’s growl, only much more menacing. Fearing that some kind of wild critter was following him, he turned around with his axe ready in his mouth. It was then that he saw a strange shape slowly emerge from the shadows.
The unicorn sighed yet again; it was nothing more than a big pig. If anything, he could have still used the axe to hunt it down and enjoy a lovely dinner with his buddies. Alas, that did not come to be, for as the pig was only a few feet away from him, it suddenly morphed in a four legged female with long hair and breasts and sharp nails. His eyes widened as she jumped, knocking the axe away and immobilizing him.
Before he could do anything, her sharp teeth sunk into his forehead and bit his horn off. Then she grabbed his hooves and used them to twist his body, making his chest pump forth. Her claws pierced it, tearing open a hole and letting his blood fall. The last thing the poor stallion saw were those scythe like nails before they stabbed his eyes and mixed them to look like strange spider webs in his orbits. Afterwards she began devouring his body, the pony’s screams for help ending up unheard in the depth of the forest.
“I proceeded on my way, on the path,
Fat and beautiful,
When I was at the path’s half…
I met Samca,
With four legs
With bear skin dressed!
My body she twisted,
My chest she broke,
My eyes she webbed,
My blood she drank,
My meat she ate,
My power she took…
And no one heard me…”
Rainbow Blitz closed the book and put it back on Dusk Shine’s porch. Then he turned to his sleeping friend and admired his facial expression, one of the few times when he saw him in peace. He was so beautiful, so innocent, so helpless, and to think he was the same pony who bravely fought against Darkhorse Knight and Eris. The blue stallion leaned and rubbed his friend’s dark purple mane, his own face beginning to blush.
Suddenly he stopped and pulled his hoof away. What was he doing? Was he actually invading his own friend’s personal space? He would never have done that with any of the other Elements. But then again, none of the other Elements showed him their own personal struggles, more or less willingly. And something about Dusk always fascinated him, no matter how much he tried to deny it. Sure, he seemed to be a boring egghead at first sight, but once you got to know him better, you were rewarded with one of the most brilliant minds and greatest friends you could meet, at least in his opinion.
Blitz shook his head and turned off Dusk’s lamp. Then he sat down on the mattress and pulled the blanket over his body. With a smile of satisfaction, he whispered:
“Good night, Duskie.”
And so he also delved into the world of dreams, probably the only place where they were truly safe.
Outside in the city, a black figure emerged from the shadows of an alleyway, taking the shape of an average sized unicorn with a long mane. Its black and red eyes opened and stared straight at the tree library like a predator did with its unsuspecting prey.
“Hehehe, soon, Element of Magic.” the stranger giggled with a hissed voice.
It then turned to gaze at the Everfree Forest and saw a young earth pony mare with pale skin and white fur, wearing a long bride dress, her long black mane falling on her forelegs walk out. Grinning, the unicorn spoke to her:
“Take care of them for now.”
A chilling blizzard blew and the two ghoulish ponies disappeared. From the horizon, a thicker storm cloud was approaching, one that was bringing abundant snowfalls.