If you ask the ponies of Hollow Shades what it was like to live in a town famous for its abundance of haunted locales, most would just smile and shake their heads. The little community, nestled in the midst of a large and densely packed forest, had been the site of many a mystery. In recent times it had gotten to the point where tourists from across the country would come just to catch a glimpse of "The Clock Tower Spirit" or "The Lady in the Trees." The residents who made their lives there on the other hand were about as believing of all these tales of ghosts and ghouls as they were of Santa Hooves or the Spring Fling Rabbit. Nopony believed in such nonsense. They couldn't deny, however, that it made for good business.
Hollow Shades had embraced the identity of "Ghost Capital of the World" with stores filled with all manner of creepy and occult paraphernalia. Masks depicting the ancient Windigos, potions to create an instant fog, and mountains of pumpkins carved up with depictions of un-pony-like faces. Libraries were shelved tightly with classic horror stories by the great writers of the genre: HP Heartstopper, Stately Raven, and Penny Wise, just to name a few. Foals would often be seen running through the streets in costumes months before Nightmare Night, chasing each other round the bustling roads and squares. Haunted houses were open year round, each trying to top the others in ways that even Nightmare Moon herself would question. Life here was a celebration of the weird and macabre, of the things that frighten, and of the grand stories that followed such elements around.
But such a place doesn't end up this way without reason. While "The Clock Tower Spirit" is nothing more than a few rusty gears creaking late at night, and the "Lady in the Trees" is just Miss Nectarine working in her orchard late at night, there is one tale that goes back to a time when the town was still new. The tale of a pond, deep in the woods, that was so pure and clean that you could see clear to the bottom. It was said to be watched over by some manner of creature, who would drag young fillies and colts down into its center. Such a pond was never found, and like every other tale told in this town, no one that lived there believed it. Not even the Hunter Colts, Ringabel and Willow.
"Come on Willow!" Ringabel yelled to his younger brother. "You wanted to go exploring didn't you?"
"Yeah!" Willow called back as he struggled to climb over a fallen tree. "But I didn't know that meant through the woods! Mom said not to go in here without a grown up!"
"I am a grown up!" Ringabel chuckled as he lept over a ditch.
"You're thirteen! And I'm eleven! That don't make either of us grown ups!"
"Quit your belly aching! We're just going for a walk! Now get the lead out!"
Willow walked up to the ditch his brother had skipped over, then nervously lowered himself into the center before climbing up the other side.
"Man you're such a wuss." Ringabel said, lending his brother a hoof and pulling him up.
"Am not!" Will shouted back. Ringabel rolled his eyes and turned around to keep walking, just before he heard the sound of his brother hitting the ground and calling for help. "Ringabel! SOMETH'NS GOT ME!"
Ringabel spun back around and saw, to his irritation, that Willow had his rear leg caught in a root sticking out of the ditch. Groaning, he walked over, using his magic to pull out his Dad's favourite wood carving knife and cutting Willow loose. "Like I said." Ringabel dead panned as he lifted up his brother. "Wuss."
"Shut up." Willow said, his face turning red as he stomped past Ringabel. Ringabel sheathed the knife and followed close behind, smirking at the idea of telling all their friends at school that Willow had got scarred by a root.
The two were an odd duo, even in a town where odd was the norm. For one, they were unicorns in a part of Equestria that was predominantly earth ponies. Two, they were on completely different sides of the personality spectrum. Ringabel was a trouble maker, plain and simple. He never missed a chance to throw a wrench into the works where ever he could; knocking a pumpkin out of the base of a pile and laughing at the ensuing avalanche being a prime example. Willow was a much quieter and well behaved colt, though some would probably say he was a little too quiet. He never voiced an opinion that wasn't someone elses, and he never dared question something an older pony told him, especially if that older pony happened to be family. Which was probably why he followed his brother wherever he went, despite Ringabel's less than good treatment of him.
And the third thing that made the boys stand out: their lack of enthusiasm when it came to the Nightmare Night season. Ringabel only saw the holiday as a good excuse to pull pranks on everyone, and Willow was more than likely to barricade himself under the bed till the sun rose the next day. Neither felt obligated to take part in the festivities, even as their mother and father made wood carvings of monsters to sell in the weeks leading up to the celebration.
With the leaves turning colours and the air getting a little chillier, the eve of festival was drawing ever closer. After Ringabel had ruined yet another display of masks and costumes, the two had been chased out of the center of town till preparations were done. Well, Ringabel had been chased out, Willow just ended up shadowing him as usual. They were a good quarter hour into the forest though when something caught the younger colt's eye, a glimmer of the sun reflecting off something hidden by the trees.
"Hey Ringabel?" Willow said. "What's that over there?"
Ringabel looked over to where Willow was pointing and saw the shimmering surface of a body of water or something. He immediately changed directions to go take a look, leaving Willow to scramble to keep up. They passed through the tree line into a clearing with a large pond at its center. Willow oohed at the sight, walking up to the water's edge before stopping and backing up quickly.
"The water is really clean." he said pointedly.
"Cool!" Ringabel exclaimed. "Just like that old story!"
"Y-yeah." Willow stuttered, backing up a little more.
"What? You afraid something's going to jump out and grab you?" Ringabel laughed. "Willow, I can see all the way to the bottom! There's nothing there!" Willow didn't look convinced. "Ughh, here, I'll show you." Ringabel grabbed a stick from near by and chucked it as hard as he could into the pond. It landed right in the middle, sending ripples out to the edges. "You see? Just water! Like a bath tub that the rain filled up!"
Willow just starred at where the stick landed, as if expecting a hoof, tentacle or claw to reach up and take it. Ringabel jerked head up into the air before dropping it to the ground and shaking it incredulously.
"Knew I should have told you to just go home." He complained. "But nooooo, I had to be the nice big brother. C'mon wuss, let's just go."
Foot steps and ruffling ruffling leaves caught the boys attention. Something large and heavy was plotting along the ground behind them. Willow looked up at Ringabel, eyes filled with terror, and the two colts slowly turned around to see the creature sneaking up behind them: An off white mare with a messy grey mane. Ringabel released a sigh and smiled, walking up to the new arrival as he did so.
"See! Now you got me jumping at ponies!" He said to Willow. "Stop being so scared already!"
"She snuck up on us!" Willow yelled, stomping his fore hooves. "That'd scare anyone!"
"Shut up and get over here." Ringabel said before turning back to the mare. "Hi! I'm Ringabel! This is my scaredy cat little brother, Willow. We're from Hollow Shades." The mare didn't say anything, but she did smile and nod. Ringabel waited to another few seconds before continuing to try to make conversation. "Uhh, are you from out of town? I don't think I've ever seen you." Another nod from the mare, but still no actual words. "What's your name?" Ringabel asked.
This time the mare pursed her lips and lifted her left leg to her neck, swiping it across her neck several times before opening and closing her mouth, then she swiped her hoof across her front again and put it down.
"Oh! You're mute!" Ringabel proclaimed.
"Ringabel!" Willow cried. "That's not a nice thing to say!"
"Willow, mute means she can't talk." Ringabel explained. "As in she physically can't talk." He added when Willow opened his mouth again.
"Oh."
The mare gave a big smile at this and waved her hoof around dismissively. She then took a few steps forward and Ringabel noticed that she was limping pretty badly. Looking around her side, he gasped as he saw a long, thick line of red down her left leg.
"Sweet Celestia!" Ringabel yelped. "You're hurt!"
The mare flinched at this and again waved a hoof to show she was unconcerned about it, then pointed at the pond before starting to walk again.
"But you need help! Here, Hollow Shades isn't even ten minutes away! My brother and I can get you there! Willow, get her other side!"
As Willow nodded and rushed over, the mare looked right at Ringabel. Her deep green eyes were filled with worry, not for herself, but for intruding upon these two kind colts.
"Don't worry." Ringabel said as he patted the mare's side. "Just lean on my brother and I and we'll get you to somepony who can fix up that leg! Ready Willow?"
"Yep!"
"Alright, then let's-"
Ringabel stopped. He had just tried to lift his hoof off the mare's side, but for some reason he couldn't. He looked to where the toe of his hoof connected to her coat and tried jerking it back, but it was no good. He started to struggle as, to his ever growing horror, his hoof started to sink into the mare's neck. The place where he was touching was now covered in a black, viscus, pond scum like substance that acted like glue, holding Ringabel's limb tightly.
"Ringabel!" Willow screamed. Ringabel looked over and almost screamed out himself at what he saw. Every part of Willow that was touching the mare was also sinking into her as more of that black stuff got all over him. It was like hundreds of slimy tendrils were draping over him, grabbing hold and slowly retracting back. The substance pulled at the younger colt, dragging him into the side of the mare and trapping him.
The mare than turned her head slowly around to look at the the elder brother. Ringabel looked into its eyes and saw those piercing green orbs stare at him, its black pupils shrinking down to little black rectangles. Ringabel started to scream as well as the pony began to change. Her white coat seemed to melt away into more black goo, revealing a grayish blue hide underneath. Her mane became almost sickly looking, growing long and freyed. Even her body shifted, becoming larger and lifting Willow up off the ground as she began to trot towards the pond, dragging the boys with her.
Ringabel's eyes widened and he started tugging at his foreleg with all his might as the realization of what was happening set in. This thing was going to drown them. He had to break free, but by now he had sunk fetlock deep into the creature, and there was no way it was going to let him go. Out of desperation, Ringabel grabbed his father's knife and stabbed at the monster, but it didn't even flinch and the wound simply dribbled more black foulness. The mare was now knee deep in the pond, and in moments Ringabel would be completely submerged. He looked at the knife, then to his hoof, and began to openly sob just before bringing the sharpened edge down on his leg. The pain seemed to block out everything else. The screaming of his brother, the sound of water splashing, everything. Long ago, Ringabel had accidentally cut himself in his father's workshop, and he remembered how much it had stung. This pain was nothing like that, it was like a thousand of those little cuts all happening in one single spot. Except even that might have been too little to describe the agony as cold, unfeeling metal ground against bone. Then Ringabel pulled back and blood began to poor freely from the wound. Again and again Ringabel chopped at his limb, repeating the same pain over and over. Even when the water was up to his neck and the creature was preparing to dive into the depths, he kept cutting. Then they were underwater, Ringabel couldn't breath, his lungs were filling with water he had let in while screaming. He didn't even have a chance to take in one last breath of air before he was dragged under. The world began to darken, and the repeated downward strikes of the knife got weaker and weaker. "I'm going to die." Ringabel thought, closing his eyes tightly. "Nopony will ever find me." He brought the knife down once more and severed the last bit of flesh holding him to that abomination. His eyes shot open, the water around him turned murky as his body bled out around him, and he watched as the creature disappeared into the depths, his brother still stuck to its side.
Ringabel broke the surface and hacked out as much water as he could before taking in one long, strangled breath of air. He dragged himself out of the pond, gasping and choking for all he was worth and clutching at his stump of a leg, his father's knife forgotten at his side. He turned around and looked at the pond, no longer clear and clean, but completely black and stained with dark red blotches of blood.
"Willow..." Ringabel whimpered as tears joined the pond water clinging to his damp face. "WILLLLOOOOOWWW!!!"
Half an hour later, Ringabel stumbled into town, barely alive. He passed out from blood loss as the screams of the towns ponies rang out. He woke up two days later in a cold and bare hospital room. He was dazed and confused as the doctors treated him, all the while he could only whisper his brother's name over and over again. When he finally came to his senses, he recounted the tale to whoever would listen. But the pond was never found, nor the monster Ringabel spoke of. With no sign to bring them to Ringabel's brother, Willow's grave would remain empty.
To this day, Ringabel searches for the pond, determined to put the knife he took from his father that day through the pale mare's piercing green eyes.
Author's Note
Happy Nightmare Night everybody!
