Keep Out of the Everfree Forest

As Sapphire and Twilight walked into the kitchen, Emerald began her search. She looked through over a dozen books, ranging from ’Local Legends’ to ‘Scary True Stories’. Eventually, she found a small, tattered book titled, ‘The Everfree Slasher’.
She sat down at a table with the book and began to read it. Long story short, the book talked about a pony known as the Everfree Slasher. This pony roamed the forest, killing anypony who ventured too far inside. The book showed a photograph of the pony as well as a report describing the three known murders committed by the killer.
The young colt had a bright orange coat and wore a long, dark, hooded cloak.
The first murder was apparently a young colt from Canterlot who lived with his mother. His father had recently committed suicide while in jail for robbery. The colt had run away from home, towards Ponyville. A few days later, while searching the forest, police discovered his mane and tail sitting in a pool of blood. The key clue: a note found at the scene, which read, ‘Keep out of the forest or you’ll end up like him.”
The second and third murders were a young married couple also from Canterlot. They were headed to the Everfree Forest for a camping trip with the stallion’s brother. Their infant daughter had been left to stay with her aunt.
During the trip, their campsite was raided by the mysterious killer. The married couple was brutally murdered, while the brother escaped. The uncle took as many photos of the killer as he could before galloping out of the forest, one of which was used in the description at the beginning of the book.
After Emerald had finished reading the book, she showed it to Sapphire, who was feeling a bit better after her knock.
As Sapphire read the book, her face grew paler and paler. After she had finished, she walked out onto the balcony of the library.
“What’s wrong?” asked Emerald.
“Reading that helped me remember a lot of things,” answered Sapphire.
“What do you mean?” quizzed Emerald.
“Sit down and I’ll explain it to you,” Sapphire said. “Don’t ask any questions until I’m finished.”
Sapphire sat down next to her friend and took a deep breath.
“Remember how, on the way to Ponyville, I told you how I got my cutie mark? And how I said I “inexplicably” became depressed? Well, the reason I got so sad is because my parents went on a camping trip with my uncle and they never came back. My uncle told me that they drowned in a river. I had to live with him and my aunt for the rest of my childhood. I had that screaming episode I told you about when I was told that they were gone.”
Emerald nodded and reached for a nearby box of tissues.
“I remember a colt who lived next door to me for a while, before all that happened. I remember that his dad disappeared one day. I was later told that my father, who was a police officer, had arrested him and he’d gone to jail. I never saw him get released. A few weeks later, the colt disappeared too. Don’t quote me on this, but I think that this killer murdered my parents and that colt.”
Emerald was speechless. Sapphire looked at her. “Well, what do you think?”
Emerald pulled herself together. “I know that these two stories sound very similar, but it could be purely coincidental. Canterlot’s a big place! I need more proof before we go chasing legends.”
Sapphire picked up the book and turned to the picture of the Slasher. She pointed to a corner of the photo.
“See that black circle?”
Emerald groaned. “What does this have to do with-“
Sapphire interrupted her. “I put a sticker of a flower on the lens of my uncle’s camera when I was really little. He never took it off. That black circle is in every single childhood photo of me. In the exact same place. The photos in this book were taken by my uncle with my uncle’s camera.”
Emerald thought for a moment.
“Not to mention he hates the Everfree Forest with a vengeance,” said Sapphire. “He wouldn’t set hoof in that place to save his life.”
Emerald sighed. “Well, you’re my friend and I trust your judgment. I guess we should try and find that killer. Even if he didn’t kill Mr. Cake, we should do this for you. For your parents. We might find more evidence in the forest while we’re there.”
Sapphire nodded silently.
Emerald walked into the kitchen.
“Twilight, can I borrow this book?”