Demon of the Everfree

The shimmering glow of the full moon cascaded over the Everfree Forest, bathing the extensive woodland in a faint silvery light. The timberland was quiet and still; nary a sound to be heard throughout the woods save for the gentle rustling of the trees in the wind.

Suddenly, a resounding crack pierced the silence, a branch on the forest floor snapping underfoot as a pale, slender beast tore through the undergrowth. The beast’s mind was currently ensnared in a state of great irritation, for it had not fed in days. True, the smaller creatures in the forest provided nourishment enough, but the beast longed for something more satisfactory that would sate its now steadily growing appetite. For a moment it halted, somehow sniffing the air despite lacking the appendage required to do so, and detected a scent that caused its mouth to split into a wide, malicious grin. It bolted through the trees until it reached the edge of the forest, and its gaze fell upon a small orchard beyond which it would find exactly what it hungered for.

Flesh.

Just as a peaceful silence had encompassed all of the Everfree, so too was Ponyville basked in a similar state of tranquility as the moon’s soft glow washed over the town. From Carousel Boutique to Sugarcube Corner, not a single soul stirred in their slumber; leaving the town in a state of quiet hitherto unforeseen as everypony in town slept peacefully. Well, almost everypony.

Down at Sweet Apple Acres, Applebloom was quietly making her way back down the hallway to her room, having ignored her elder siblings’ warnings earlier about consuming too much apple juice during supper and regretfully paying the price as a result. She crept through the corridor quietly, as tomorrow would be a busy harvest day and if even one member of her family was awoken due to her late-night excursion, she would face a wrath equivalent to that beyond the gates of Tartarus itself.

As she snuck back into her room, she closed the door quietly, the door emitting a faint creak as it clicked shut. Closing her eyes, Applebloom began to breathe a sigh of relief; until she opened them and noticed a large, shadowy shape crouched in the corner of her room. Grimacing, she realised her folly all too clearly; she hadn’t been quiet enough, and now her elder sister was sat in the corner of the room, ready and waiting to give her the scolding of a lifetime.

“S-sorry, sis!” the young filly stammered under her breath, “A-ah didn’t mean to wake you up! Look, ah’m gettin’ back inta bed r-right now, see?”

With that, she quickly scurried over to the bed and leapt under the covers, making a few false snoring noises in an attempt to placate her sister. After a few moments she ceased, waiting to gauge her sibling’s response; the filly’s actions were met by naught but silence, punctuated by a faint scrabbling against wood. Uncertainly, Applebloom slowly lifted her head above the covers, taking a cursory glance around the room. The shape she had presumed to be her sister was now perched upon the edge of her bed, glaring at her with an intensity greater than even that found in The Stare. Applebloom’s entire body began to quiver, for she soon realised that not only was the intruder not whom she had assumed it to be…but that the creature in question wasn’t even equine in nature. The beast’s mouth then opened wide, revealing a grin filled with rows upon rows of dull, sharp teeth.

Applebloom screamed.

The light of the early morning sun now shone over Sweet Apple Acres, illuminating the entirety of the estate in a soft, warm glow. Twilight Sparkle galloped along the dirt road leading towards the farmhouse, having been informed of her desired presence at Sweet Apple Acres not long ago. As she approached the farmhouse, she saw Applejack sat on the front porch, gazing sorrowfully into the distance with a blank stare. Upon hearing the clop of approaching hooves, Applejack turned to face Twilight’s direction, a weak smile and a faint look of relief washing over her face as she climbed up the front steps.

“Twilight…ah’m so glad ya could make it.” Applejack said, her voice sounding somewhat weak and strained due to stress.

“Of course! I came right over as soon as Spike passed your message onto me! What’s wrong, Applejack? Your message sounded urgent.” Twilight said, a slight edge of worry in her voice.

“Ah’m not sure if you heard about this yet, but las’ night, somethin’ came onto the farm an’ somehow got inta the farmhouse; it even managed to make its way into Applebloom’s bedroom, an’ it tried to attack her.”

“Oh, my goodness! Is she alright?”

“Well, as ya’ll know, ‘bloom’s a spry lil’ filly, so when this thing attacked she quickly managed to leap outta the way when it swung for her, an’ it only managed to graze the tip of her skin when it attacked. Her screamin’ woke all of us up, an’ luckily Big Mac managed to charge in there and scare it away before it could do any more damage,” Applejack paused for a moment and pulled her Stetson down over her eyes, sighing before continuing, “unfortunately, she’s pretty shook up over the incident…we all are…so it may be a little while before she’s able to leave the farmhouse.”

Twilight sighed sadly and looked and her friend sympathetically. “I’m sorry to hear about that, Applejack. But if you don’t mind me asking, why did you call me over here? What do you need me for?”

“Well, towards the edge of the orchard we found a few prints that we think belong to whatever it is that attacked Applebloom. Big Mac didn’t get much of a look at it last night on account of how worried he were fer’ Applebloom, but we think that maybe these prints could help us figure out what it was that attacked Applebloom, so’s we can be prepared in case it comes back.”

“That makes sense. Well, if you take me to the prints, I’m sure I can try my best to determine what made them.” Twilight agreed, giving Applejack a comforting smile.

Applejack smiled in return. “Thanks, Twi. C’mon, the prints are over this way.”

Just as they began to make their way towards the prints, however, Twilight exclaimed “Wait!”

Applejack turned to look at her friend confusedly before Twilight continued “Um, before we check out the prints, do you mind if I see Applebloom? I’d just like to make sure she’s okay.”

Applejack nodded calmly. “Sure, Twi. I understand. She’s in the living room with Big Mac. I gotta warn ya, though, she’s been pretty…what’s the word…‘apprehensive’ since the incident. Even for a tough lil’ filly like Applebloom, whatever that thing was, it’s scared all the wits out of her, so I’d tread mighty carefully if I was you.”

“Sure thing, AJ.”

Twilight headed into the farmhouse, making her way to the living room in short order. As she entered, she saw Applebloom cuddling Big Macintosh, the former shuddering uncontrollably as the latter had his foreleg wrapped gently around her. Upon noticing Twilight, Applebloom looked up and smiled weakly at her.

“O-oh, hey T-twilight. What’s up?” Applebloom asked.

“Applejack called me over here to help out with some things, and I just wanted to see how you were doing after…last night.” Twilight responded, hesitating slightly as she spoke the last two words of the sentence.

Applebloom gave a faint grin and quietly remarked, “Oh, that old monster? Y-yeah, it was kinda scary, but ah could’ve handled it n-no problem. Why, if Big Macintosh hadn’t shown up, ah’d have f-finished that thing all by m-myself!” failing horribly in her attempts to mask her fear with false bravado.

After a moment’s pause, she turned away and hugged her elder brother even tighter than before. Big Macintosh responded in same, before glancing back at Twilight and gesturing towards the doorway with a nod. Twilight nodded back understandingly, before heading back outside and towards Applejack. Without another word spoken between the two of them, they quickly made their way over to the edge of the orchard.

The library door swung open as Twilight trotted briskly towards her writing desk, magically levitating several photos in mid-air. Placing them down onto her desk, she examined them thoroughly for a moment before calling out “Spike! Spike, where are you?”

Spike groggily stepped out of the bedroom into the main library, rubbing his eyes and stifling a yawn all the while. “I’m right here, Twilight. What’s with all the ruckus?”

Glancing towards the baby dragon, Twilight answered, “Spike, I need you to find a book for me on rare creatures called-”

“Curious Cryptids and Enigmatic Entities, right?” he finished, running down the steps and grabbing the ladder.

“That’s the one,” she agreed, pausing before adding, “By the way, why are you napping in the middle of the day?”

As he climbed up and pulled out the book, Spike yawned again and replied “Because Applejack came waking us up at the crack of dawn, I still felt a little tired, so I decided to take a quick little nap. A dragon’s gotta get his beauty sleep, y’know.”

Twilight smiled and turned back to face the photos, rolling her eyes at the last remark. As Spike ran over and handed her the book, he glanced at the photos splayed across the desk. Each one displayed a bizarrely shaped print of some kind, stretched out in an elongated shape with five rounded digits attached to the end of it.

“Whoa…where’d you get the photos from? And what are they of, anyways?” Spike asked, arching an eyebrow.

“I borrowed a camera from Rarity to take pictures of the print for reference, then got them developed over at Quick Snap’s Photo Emporium. Do you know why Applejack wanted to see me so urgently this morning?”, she asked, flicking through the pages with her magic and continuing before Spike could answer. “Well, apparently a strange creature managed to break into the farmhouse at Sweet Apple Acres last night and attacked Applebloom-”

“Whoa! Is she alright?” Spike interrupted.

“She’s not too badly hurt; she only picked up a small graze from…whatever it was that attacked her. It mostly scared the daylights out of her more than anything else. However, Applejack still asked me to figure out whatever it was, just in case it tries to come back.” After a few moments of silence following this statement, Twilight growled and threw the book onto the floor. “Augh! None of the prints in the book seem to match up to the ones in my photos! And this book is the only one in the library detailing all of the rarer and scarcely-seen creatures from throughout Equestria…now what am I going to do?” she cried, slumping to the floor and glaring at the book accusatorily.

Spike took another good look at the photos, humming quietly before replying “Hey, you never answered my question; where did you get these from, anyway?”

Twilight turned to face him, a look of slight confusion crossing her face. “The part of the Sweet Apple Acres orchard near the edge of the Everfree Forest. Why?”

“Well, if you found the prints near the edge of the forest, why don’t you go ask Zecora about them? Maybe she’ll know something about the creature that made them.”

Twilight perked up at the sound of this. “Hey, you’re right! Why didn’t I think of that? Thanks, Spike!”

Twilight levitated her saddlebags from the coat hook onto her back, before slipping the photos inside. As she made her way out of the door, she remarked “While I’m out, don’t forget to put that book back where you found it! Books aren’t just meant to be chucked on the floor, you know!”

As the door clicked shut, Spike glanced dumbfoundedly between the book and the library entrance, beginning to comment “B-but you’re the one who…” before sighing in exasperation and shrugging his shoulders.

As Twilight cantered through the thick undergrowth of the Everfree Forest, she couldn’t help but feel a slight shiver make its way down her spine. Even though she’d taken this route to Zecora’s many times in the past, something just felt a little bit…off about it today. Almost as if something was purposefully keeping a watchful eye on her as she made her way through the forest.

It wasn’t long, however, before she found herself standing outside the sizable tree that Zecora called home, and the feeling subsided somewhat. Trotting up to the entrance, Twilight tapped lightly on the front door a few times; after a few moments the door swung open, revealing Zecora standing in the doorway.

“Hello, Twilight, my dear. What errand brings you here?” she asked, smiling.

“Hi, Zecora. A strange creature attacked Sweet Apple Acres the other day, and left some prints around the part of the orchard near the Everfree Forest. I was wondering if you could take a look at some photos of the prints, as I think the creature might have come from somewhere in the forest.”

Zecora nodded and replied, “Ah, I see. Very well, then; follow me.”

As Zecora led Twilight into her hut, Twilight couldn’t help but notice the various masks and decorations adorning the walls, and found herself wondering where they had all originated from. She’d heard one or two short tales of Zecora’s homeland in the past, but never in very much detail. She’d have to ask about it some more another time.

The two of them sat down on a pair of cushions on the far side of the room, and Twilight was snapped out of her reverie by the sound of Zecora’s voice. “Now then,” Zecora began, “where are these pictures you wish for me to see, of this creature you believe is from the Everfree?”

“They’re right here.” Twilight opened up her saddlebags, levitating the photos onto the floor in front of Zecora for her to see. Zecora observed the photos calmly for a few moments, before her eyes widened in shock. She quickly turned her head to face Twilight, asking in a somewhat shaken tone, “Say again…these prints, where did you find? Please repeat, if you do not mind.”

Twilight was taken aback by this somewhat, and looked at Zecora worriedly. “Why do you ask? Do you know what creature made these prints?”

Zecora nodded, taking a deep breath before replying “Yes, I know this creature of which you seek. But its name is something which I cannot speak.”

Twilight tilted her head at this, even more confused than she was previously. “Huh? Why not?”

“Whomever speaks the name of this beast…on their flesh it will come to feast.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at this. “It instinctively knows to attack those who speak its name? How is that possible?”

Zecora shook her head sadly. “The reason for this, I wish I knew. But I can testify that this fact is true. There is but one thing the beast desires, for which it will stop at nothing to acquire.”

Twilight gave her an apprehensive look, reluctantly asking “…and that is?”

Zecora grimaced as she spoke these next words. “The beast hungers for meat raw and fresh, but has a particular preference for equine flesh.”

Twilight’s mouth hung agape as she heard this. After a few moments of horrified silence, she weakly asked “I-isn’t there anything we can do to stop it?”

“I do not know if this beast can be slain…but you can be certain it will strike again.”

Twilight looked at Zecora even more anxiously than before. “When? Where?!”

“The beast harbours a strong disdain for wandering too far from its own domain. If the beast is to strike once more, then a residence near the forest it will surely adore.”

Looking down at the floor thoughtfully, Twilight repeated “residence near the forest” quietly to herself, before her eyes widened and she murmured “No…”, her voice laden with terror.

Suddenly, Twilight hastily stuffed the photos back into her saddlebag with her magic and began to gallop for the doorway, only to be interrupted by Zecora’s voice. “Wait! Twilight, my friend! Further advice I feel I must lend.”

Twilight halted for a moment, quickly giving a worried glance back towards Zecora as she continued, “It may be a monster, but this creature is wise. Ensure that you are wary of its watchful eyes.”

Nodding quietly, Twilight turned back towards the doorway, and began to gallop as fast as she could towards Ponyville.

The beast watched the lavender unicorn as she galloped through the forest, keeping its eyes on her at all times. Having failed in catching that small yellow filly last night, the beast was even more famished than it had been previously, which did little for its already poor temper. Seeing the unicorn gallop past, it was so tempting to go after her…but despite the beast’s raging appetite, it managed to restrain itself. After all, if it were to attack now, the unicorn’s screams would likely end up drawing the attention of the herbalist, and if that were to happen…the beast shook its head. No, that simply would not do.

It turned to glance in the opposite direction, and a thin, sinister smile began to cross its lips. It had found the perfect meal to satiate its hunger tonight, and in a location secluded enough that the beast would be able to return to the safety of the forest before the denizens of the nearby town would have noticed that anything was amiss. Better still; the location in question came packed with enough appetisers to satisfy the beast’s appetite for another week or two, at least. Yes, tonight’s repast would certainly be quite the experience.

After all, the beast had never dined on pegasus before.

Twilight raced through the forest, beads of sweat trickling across her head and dampening her fur. She darted through the trees, opting to take the quickest route she could to reach her destination; she had been attempting to avoid this route ever since the incident with the Cockatrice, but given the situation at hoof it seemed that using it right now was unavoidable.

She soon broke out from the foliage, pausing to catch her breath as she glanced around fervently. A few feet away, she spied a small garden with a chicken coop nestled towards the corner nearest her; and beyond that, Fluttershy’s cottage. Upon seeing the cottage, she pressed her hooves against the ground and darted forward, quickly looping around the side of the house and up the path to the front door. After giving herself another moment to catch her breath, she began to bang her hoof against the front door, struggling to conceal the faint tremor in her voice as she called out her friend’s name.

“Fluttershy! Fluttershy, are you okay?”

Her question was initially answered with only silence, causing her to grit her teeth in concern; after a few moments, however, the door slowly swung open, showing a slightly baffled Fluttershy standing in the doorway. Twilight felt her entire body relax upon seeing the yellow pegasus.

“Hello, Twilight. I’m fine. Why do you ask-”

“Fluttershy! Thank goodness you’re okay!” Twilight interrupted, embracing her friend in a tight hug.

“Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I be?” Fluttershy said, now slightly startled and even more confused than she was a moment ago.

Twilight let go of her friend and looked at her with a steely gaze. “Fluttershy, have you heard about the incident over at Sweet Apple Acres yet?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Oh, yes! I just found out about it a few minutes ago from Angel. I felt so sorry for poor Applebloom, so I thought that I would head over there and pay her a visit; I was just getting my things ready when you showed up, Twilight.”

“Fluttershy, I just spoke with Zecora. Apparently, not only does whatever attacked Applebloom live in the Everfree Forest, but it has a tendency to scope out whatever food it’s looking for in places near the edge of the forest.”

Fluttershy looked a little perturbed by this, but then began to suggest, “Well, maybe it was just confused and ended up in Applebloom’s bedroom by accident. It could have just been looking to take some food from their pantry and gotten lost, or-”

“Fluttershy…its main diet is meat. And…and it has an affinity f-for…” Twilight paused and took a deep breath, “…pony meat.” She looked somewhat nauseous as she finished her sentence.

Fluttershy’s pupils dilated as she heard this remark, and she took a few slow steps backwards before crumpling into a terrified, shuddering mass on the floor as the full scope of what this meant dawned upon her.

“It’s g-going to come after me…it’s going to k-kill me….” She whimpered, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Twilight quickly cantered over to her friend and put a comforting hoof on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, Fluttershy, don’t worry. I have a plan.”

Fluttershy stopped shaking and looked up at Twilight hopefully. “Really?”

“Well…no.” Twilight admitted hesitantly. “However, it shouldn’t be too hard to come up with something. I mean, all we have to do is get you out of the house, trick this thing into thinking you’re still here, and then trap it while it’s off-guard.”

Standing back up, Fluttershy sniffed and nodded. “I guess you’re right. Though I’m not so sure how I feel about trapping it, if it’ll help keep everyone in Ponyville safe, then I guess I can understand.” Fluttershy frowned for a moment, before asking “But Twilight, what about my animal friends? Even if I’m out of the house, they’ll still be here and at the mercy of…” she gulped, “…that thing.”

“I’m not sure. But you said you were going to visit Applebloom, right? Maybe we can talk to Applejack about this and discuss the plan with her. She might have some ideas.”

Fluttershy looked a little unsure about this, but made no movement to disagree. “Alright, Twilight. Let me just get my things, and we can head over there.”

Night had now long since fallen over Fluttershy’s cottage, the overcast sky enshrouding it in nigh-complete darkness. The air was completely still, and an emphatic silence permeated the atmosphere around the cottage grounds.

The grass began to rustle in the yard as the beast skulked along, eyeing the cottage all the while. As it passed by the chicken coop, the beast glanced towards it for a moment and licked its lips contemplatively…but alas, the chickens would have to wait. If it were to try taking the chickens now, the resulting commotion would awake the pegasus, prompting her to escape before it could reach her; no, it couldn’t risk losing its main course.

Shaking its head, the beast continued towards the cottage until it found itself a few feet below what it most likely presumed was the window of the main bedroom. After a few moments of contemplation, it plunged its claws into the side of the building and began to slowly scale the wall, taking careful notice not to cause any undue disquiet that would alert anything nearby to its presence. The window was reached soon enough, and by great fortune it had been left open; peering inside, the beast saw a shadowy mass of quilt rising and falling in a soft rhythm, and quickly deduced that underneath lay the sleeping pegasus.

In mere moments, the beast had darted from the window to the side of the bed, where its prey was in close reach. It wouldn’t make the same mistake as last time; there would be no chance for its prey to escape. It grinned a smile of raw malice mixed with sheer delight, and quickly raised its claws to strike.

“NOW!”

Suddenly the covers were awash in a shimmering purple glow, and the beast found the same lavender unicorn from earlier that day throwing them in its face before it even had a chance to react. It could hear the clop of hooves barrelling against the oak floor as several equines emerged from various locations of concealment from around the room, and became livid as it began to realise how it had been duped. Enraged, the beast quickly tore through the quilt and shredded it to pieces before its movement could be affected; it then unleashed an ear-splitting scream that barely remained in the confines of audible hearing, temporarily disabling all of the mares in the room as they dropped to the floor, clasping their hooves over their ears. Without a moment’s hesitation, the beast turned tail and leapt from the window, before bounding down the path that lead out of the garden and back into the forest.

Twilight shook her head and leapt from the bed, galloping downstairs and out of the front door. As she raced down the front path, she could faintly hear Applejack calling to her “Twilight! What in th’ blue blazes are ya doin’?!”

Looping back around the cottage and onto the path into the forest, she called back “I’m going to see if I can stop it before it gets too far away! Maybe I can corner it!”

As she plunged headfirst into the thicket, she swore she heard Applejack making a comment about how it was too dangerous to do this – but she had no choice. She had to stop this thing right now, before it could bring harm to any more innocent ponies.

In her haste to keep up with the beast, however, Twilight failed to pay attention to the trail she had undertaken; it wasn’t long before she lost both sight of the creature and her bearings. Slowing down, she paused to catch her breath, her eyes slowly widening as it dawned on her that she was in a part of the forest she’d never explored before. She looked around apprehensively, and felt her stomach churn when she saw that none of the paths around her looked familiar. Gritting her teeth, Twilight began to mentally berate herself for doing something so foolish, before dropping down onto her haunches in an attempt to think things through. In a moment of clarity, she quickly turned her gaze back towards the ground, beaming as she noticed a few faint prints the beast had left behind as she had given chase to it. If she were to follow those, then she would soon make her way back towards town.

She stood up and began to canter along the trail of prints, but halted abruptly as she sensed an unwelcoming presence behind her. Her head swung around to see the beast hunched over in the nearby underbrush, its head tilted to one side in a manner belying an innocent curiosity. Twilight yelped in shock and quickly tried to back away from it, but soon found herself backed against the trunk of a thick, gnarled tree. Before she even had time to comprehend its movements, the beast was already a few mere inches before her, staring at her with a gaze that bore into her very soul. Twilight’s entire body began to convulse in terror, and all she could think to do was weakly squeal “W-what…are you?”

The presence of the forest’s silence quickly inverted itself, shifting from inaudible to cacophonous almost immediately, and the beast’s deep, black eyes seemed to widen in what could have been either surprise, anger – or both. After what felt to Twilight like an age of silence from the beast, she felt a strange voice ring through her mind, bypassing her ears and leaping straight into her thoughts. The voice was disturbing and cacophonous; incomparable to anything she had ever heard. It was gruff and weak both at once, simultaneously leaden and airy. It spake thusly,

I am…The Rake.

As the voice entered her head, her whole body shuddered harder than before, and her eyes clenched shut as if in recoil. However, Twilight quickly realised the opportunity to resolve some of the questions she had been pondering since she first heard of the creature, and she was determined to have them answered. Taking a deep breath, Twilight pressed on with another question; “W-why do you hunt ponies? What reason do you have to stalk equines above all other creatures?”

There was another long drought of conversation between the two, and it seemed as though the beast was keeping her fixed in place with a calculating glare during the reticence. Eventually, it offered her the answer she sought, though the moment its voice began to enter her head Twilight found herself intensely wishing that she had never asked.

I find them to be…delectable. Flavoursome.

Again, the voice caused Twilight to recoil as if in agony, even resulting in a reflexive groan of pain. Opening her eyes, Twilight noticed the creature’s mouth was split into a wide, tooth-filled smile, and she could feel her stomach contorting in repulsion as it bore that hideous grin. Before Twilight could respond with any more questions of her own, however, it brought its face mere centimetres away from her own; she then heard the beast speak to her of its own accord, mentally uttering three words that sent a piercing, icy chill into her heart.

You look…delicious.

Twilight tried to scream as it began to press one of its sharp slaws against her ribcage, but no sound managed to escape her lips save for a weak, dry cough. She closed her eyes tightly, expecting the worst; when all of a sudden, she heard one of the most wonderful things she could have ever hoped to hear.

Her friends.

They tore through the underbrush in the far distance, creating a furious and raucous din as they did so, calling out her name all the while. The beast’s head snapped to attention and turned to their direction, and the smile it once bore was instantaneously replaced with a grimace full of hatred and disgust. It emitted a low, harsh growl as it stared in the direction of the clamour; then it hissed at Twilight and bolted as fast as it could, leaving one final echoing message in her mind as it left.

I’ll be back for you, my little pony…

Though relieved at her friends’ arrival, Twilight’s heart was still pounding from the stress of the encounter, and it wasn’t long before she found herself slipping out of consciousness, her vision filling with total darkness.

When next she awoke, Twilight found herself lying in bed, staring up at the olive-green ceiling of the Ponyville General Hospital. Groaning quietly, she shut her eyes and gently attempted to sit up, the movement causing her to wince in pain. She soon finished pushing herself up, however; resting her back against the headboard, she opened her eyes to see her friends surrounding the bed, all of them looking at her anxiously.

Applejack was the first to speak. “Are ya’ll okay, Twilight?”

Smiling, Twilight nodded and replied “I’m fine, Applejack. Though my ribs do hurt a little…” as she gently rubbed her side with her hoof. “How did I end up here, anyway?”

“We followed the prints that crazy monster left behind when you chased it, and they managed to help us find you,” Rainbow Dash explained, pausing before adding, “Though I’ve gotta say, what you did there was kinda nutty.” She earned a few annoyed glares from the others, prompting her to remark “What? It was!”

Closing her eyes and sighing, Applejack turned back to Twilight and said “As much as I hate to admit it, Rainbow’s right. Ya could have gotten yerself killed chargin’ off like that, Twilight! What were you thinkin’?”

Looking away with an expression of both shame and embarrassment, Twilight said “You’re completely right. What I did was stupid and foolish, and could have gotten me into a lot of trouble. Why, if you guys hadn’t come along when you did…” her eyes beginning to water slightly.

Applejack smiled softly and reassured her “Aw, don’t be too hard on yerself, Twilight. You’re safe now, an’ that’s the most important thing.”

“Yeah! And when you get out of the hospital, we can throw a super duper awesome Twilight Didn’t Get Killed By That Mean Old Monster And Is Feeling All Better And Is Out Of The Hospital party!” Pinkie chimed in energetically.

Twilight quickly turned back to face her friends, remarking “Speaking of which, you still haven’t answered my question. Why am I in the hospital?”

Applejack explained “When we carried ya back to town, we weren’t sure what that thing might’ve done to ya, so we brought ya here to the hospital just to be on the safe side.”

“The doctor said that while you sustained no injuries for the most part, he would still prefer to examine you just to be on the safe side.” Rarity interrupted. Twilight looked panicked at this, but then Rarity quickly continued, “He assured us it’s nothing to worry about, and that you’ll most likely be out of the hospital in a day or two.”

Twilight sighed in relief. Before she could say anything, however, Rainbow interrupted with “So, what the heck did was that thing, anyway? And why is it going after ponies?”

Twilight tensed up for a moment, going quiet before eventually answering with, “It’s called The R-”

She quickly slammed a hoof in her mouth, pausing momentarily before glancing around the room. Noticing a quill and notepad on the bedside table, she pulled her hoof out of her mouth and levitated the implements before her, scribing what she wanted to say onto the page before turning it to show her friends.

Rainbow chuckled slightly as she saw what was written on the notepad. “That’s its name? It sounds like a garden utensil! I can’t believe it’s actually called The Ra-”

“DON’T!” Twilight shouted louder than she intended, earning her a few confused stares from her friends. After a few moments of silence, Twilight inhaled deeply and continued, “From what Zecora tells me, the simple act of speaking its name will draw its presence to you. You all have to promise me you won’t say its name.”

The others gave Twilight a concerned nod of understanding. Satisfied, Twilight took another deep breath and began to explain both her encounter with the creature and everything she knew about it in full, not leaving out a single detail as she relayed the information to her friends. When she was done, silence dominated the room for several minutes, until finally Applejack cleared her throat and spoke.

“Golly…and you’re saying that thing’s still loose in the Everfree?”

Twilight nodded grimly.

“Well then, what are we waiting for? We should go after it before it can cause anymore damage!” Rainbow exclaimed, stomping her hoof to emphasise her point.

“No way, Rainbow! I tried that only a few hours ago, and look what happened! Or have you forgotten that already?” Twilight said sternly, causing Rainbow to look away ashamedly. Nodding, Twilight continued, “This creature isn’t something to be taken lightly. While it may look and act like a savage beast, it has an underlying sapience that’s on a par with our own. It’s going to take some careful and thought-out planning to take it down.”

“Yeah, but the longer we wait, the more likely it is that innocent ponies are going to get harmed!” Rainbow feebly protested.

“But didn’t Twilight say that it only stalks places near the edge of the forest? As long as we keep ponies away from the forest, they should be okay, right?” Pinkie pointed out.

Applejack rubbed her chin with her hoof thoughtfully. “Y’know, that would probably work. As long as we keep ponies away from the forest where The Ra…that thing can’t get to ‘em, they should be safe.”

Nodding in agreement, Twilight suggested “You guys go and let the Mayor know what’s going on, and I’ll stay here and rest up. I’d love to come and help out, but…”

“Don’t sweat it, Twi. You’ll be up and about again in no time, and once you are, we can go take that thing down!”

Twilight smiled in appreciation. “Thanks, everypony.”

Twilight waved her friends goodbye as they left; stifling a yawn, Twilight realised that she was still somewhat weary from the encounter last night. Lying back down, Twilight pulled the covers over her head, rapidly dropping off into a deep slumber.

Deep within the Everfree Forest, the creature was hunched over its latest meal. The prey it had caught was a puny thing indeed, little more than a tiny morsel that would barely satisfy it’s still fulminating appetite. Still, it would have to do for now; it was by a stroke of luck that that yellow pegasus had left earlier and left her chicken coop unguarded, providing the beast with a light snack that would hopefully delay it’s interminable hunger for just that little bit longer.

As it chewed vigorously on the flesh of the fowl before it, the beast noticed that its mind kept drifting back to thoughts of the lavender unicorn from just a few hours ago. Merely thinking of her set the creature’s teeth on edge; how it had not only been made a fool of by her friends, but how she had even managed to slip from its grasp by a simply infantile stroke of luck. As it continued to chew, however, a slow grin of both wretched malice and pure elation began to form on its mouth, the creature slowly remembering the journey the unicorn had made to the herbalist’s hut. Though it did indeed fear the herbalist by a small margin, it knew for certain that the herbalist feared it in same; it could use this to its advantage, and thus learn of the whereabouts of the unicorn’s domicile. And once it had?

That’s when the fun would really begin.

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