Winter's Dusk

Chapters

Saint Theodore's horses
Mother Forest
Martolea
Samca
Daughter Forest
Evil Hour
Borza

Saint Theodore's horses

Dusk Shine sighed. He raised his head from the book he was reading and took a look outside the window. The cold winter had installed itself mercilessly, rendering the fields beyond Ponyville white as clean sheets. For how long had he been reading? An hour? Two? Ten? He had just began studying a book regarding pony mythos and folklore in the morning, and now the grey cloudy sky still found a way to betray the fact that Prince Solaris was beginning to lower the sun.

The stallion admired the sight of the slumbering nature outside, his magenta eyes sinking their sight into that white, taking his mind elsewhere. But for a moment he felt that something was wrong. Taking a better look, he saw a small black figure appear in the horizon, slowly approaching his city. While he would normally shrug it off, thinking it was just another farm pony bringing wood for their chimney fires, this time his feeling of unease told him otherwise.

Dusk blinked. The figure was no longer in the horizon. Was it all a daydream? Yes, it had to be. Shaking his head, the purple stallion resumed his reading session.

“The horses of Saint Theodore – they appear in pony folklore as young and proud stallions with large hooves and long tails. They arrive in the first week of winter in villages and cities to kill with their hooves the mares that do not celebrate the start of winter and are working or having fun.”

Dusk chuckled. It was all so obvious to him. Those beings were nothing more than boogie ponies cooked up to scare ponies into following interdictions, just like most religions that had infested Equestria for the past millennia.

“Why did Solaris even tolerate all these nonsense beliefs to spread like wildfire?” Dusk wondered to himself. “Oh well, this is part of our culture supposedly, I might as well keep reading. Who knows what other spooky superstitions might be in here.”

A few knocks on the window made the bookish pony jump out of his bed, awakened back to reality. He turned around to see Rainbow Blitz flapping his wings outside, waiting for him with hooves crossed.

“What’s he doing here?” Dusk wondered, trying to hide his blushing as he went to open the window.

“Dude, I’ve been waiting for you to notice me like forever!” Blitz complained as the window opened.

“For Solaris’ sake, haven’t you heard of privacy? I put the ‘closed’ sign on the library for a reason, you know.” the purple unicorn criticized.

“I guess you should have a few minutes for your awesome friend, right?” the blue pegasus replied with a grin and he landed inside the book filled room. “Man, the hell is with all this smell? Haven’t you heard of showers, Dusk?”

“It’s been a busy day.” Dusk admitted while closing the window, after which he thought. “Though I’m glad you’re here.”

“Alright, here’s the shpeel…” Blitz said as he comfortably sat on his friend’s bed without asking permission. “My weather colleagues said there’s a strange snowstorm coming towards Ponyville and there’s nothing we or any pegasi could do to stop it.”

“Why so?” the bookish stallion raised his eyebrow.

“Beats me, dude, I just came here because I thought you might have some weather spell to…”

“Let me stop you right there!” Dusk interrupted him. “You know very well I can’t do weather manipulation. If anything, we might have to address this problem to the Princes. I’ll go write a letter and send it to Prince Solaris when Barb comes back from Elusive’s.”

“Awesome! Thanks Dusk, I knew I could count on you, bud!” Blitz said and he patted the unicorn’s back.

As much as Dusk Shine did not want to admit it, he enjoyed the company of his choleric pegasus friend quite a lot. He did not know why, but something about his energetic way of being had always attracted him and made him tolerate his sometimes obnoxious attitude. Or maybe there was a little more to the Element of Loyalty than he thought? Who knew? For the time being, he chose to cherish those few moments they spent together.

“Say, would you like some hot chocolate?” Dusk suggested and opened his room’s door.

“Sure do!” Blitz ecstatically replied, following his friend downstairs.

Dusk did not lie when he said it had been a busy day. After breakfast all he did was stay locked in his room, reading that long book and staying in the same position which began to be a burden for his back. To finally have somepony to talk to felt like a small reward for his efforts, and yet he couldn’t help but keep his eyes on Blitz’s wings which seemed to have been recently brushed. His friend spoke but he did not hear words for he was too busy noticing his lips. But a familiar blue hoof waved in front of his eyes and woke him from his daydream.

“Dusk? Dusk? Earth to Duskie!” Blitz said.

“Oh sorry, what were you saying?” Dusk asked, embarrassed of his constant fading in to his thoughts.

“So I just got two tickets for the show on Hearth’s Warming Eve, I was wondering if you’d like to…”

“You know I’d love to, Blitz, but I am stuck with research at the library.” the purple stallion apologized, mentally criticizing himself for once more picking work over fun with his friends, especially his special friend.

“Berry was right, you do need to chill out some more. In any case, if you’re still up for it, I…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the lights inside the library began to flicker.

“Eh?” Blitz got up from his seat. “What’s going on?”

That feeling returned once more to Dusk, this time making shivers go down his spine. Remembering what he had seen back in his room, the unicorn rushed upstairs, a confused Blitz following him quickly. Dusk Shine ran to the window and to his shock he saw a horde of black stallions galloping from the horizon straight to Ponyville, leaving behind their tracks a thick black smoke. He noticed that the hoofmarks they left in the snow were particularly deep and their tails were almost as long as a normal pony’s body length.

“Oh no…” Dusk gasped.

“Dude, what’s going on?” Blitz asked, but Dusk ignored him and rushed to his bed to keep reading the book.

“Saint Theodore is an agrarian divinity, his celebration taking place in the first week of winter to commemorate the death of nature. The legend says that the alicorn Saint Theodore is the guardian of the sun and it evokes a mythical chase in which the sun tried to rebel and run away from Solaris to hide at the West, only for Saint Theodore to catch it and bring it back at the East. Saint Theodore symbolizes a border between the seasons in which the sun disappears in the West and he begins to chase it for the sake of ponykind. The horses of Saint Theodore are his servants and the ones who ensure that their master’s celebration is being held. In this period of the year, a series of interdictions are being imposed upon mares and stallions.”

“What a load of bullshit!” Blitz spat.

“If you’re so quick to dismiss it as bullshit, then tell me, Blitz, what in the name of Solaris’ green earth are those?!” Dusk pointed outside at the marching horses which were quickly approaching Ponyville.

“Momma mia…” the blue stallion’s jaw dropped.

“The horses are actually good spirits who are meant to bring back order, but in order to avoid their destructive power you must stand out of their way. Those who go out partying or working are either beaten to death if they are stallions or are decapitated if they are mares, since the horse is a symbol of death, being the one who guides souls to the afterlife. To appease them, funerary offerings were made inside houses. But the horse is also an erotic symbol…” Dusk paused for a moment, thinking of some of the times when his blue friend accidentally crashed in his library, always giving him a good view of that glorious plot. “Thus to benefit from their powers, mares would usually wash their mane in sanctified water on the dawn of Saint Theodore’s day, mixing the water with different herbs, for it was believed that the horses would make their manes grow as long as their tails.”

“Dusk, that’s all nice, but is there any way we can bucking stop them?!” Blitz bluntly interrupted his friend’s read.

“Wait a minute…” Dusk Shine browsed the pages quickly. “Aha, it says that if one is to encounter the horses, the only way they could spare their life is by repeating the following stanza three times: Theodore/Saint Theodore/Call off your horses/Change their courses.”

“And you actually think that’ll work?”

“I’m also skeptical, Blitz, but it’s the best we got.”

Outside, ponies were running into their houses, sheltering themselves from the imminent danger. The few who were still on the streets either since they couldn’t run or they had nowhere to hide were being helped to Rainbow Blitz.

“Good luck, Dusk.” the rainbow stallion thought as he took a quick glance at his purple friend.

Dusk Shine stood at Ponyville’s entrance and stared at the army of black horses who were just a few feet away from entering the city. They had all fixated their blood red eyes on their first victim who seemed to be greeting them with sharp stares from his eyes. Looking at the sky, Dusk Shine fell on his back legs and cried the stanza three times to the sky:

“Theodore/Saint Theodore/Call off your horses/Change their courses!”

The eyes of the fiendish horses widened as they heard the chant their master had cooked to stop them from harming innocents on their path of justice. Just as they were a second from entering Ponyville, they all vanished, nothing remaining of them but a fog which began to dissipate. Dusk Shine sighed. He did it, he had saved his new home from yet another danger. But the feeling of dread returned yet again as he raised his head and he saw the small black figure in the horizon once more. Whatever that thing was, it had returned.

Author's Note

Good evening, fellow readers, this is my first pony fic I ever wrote! I hope you enjoy it, I pretty much wanted to mix what I liked most into it, that being old folk legends, horror and some yaoi. ;) I'll see if I'll add some clop scenes in the future, but until then, I hope you enjoy my modest piece of work. ^_^

Mother Forest

Rainbow Blitz flew to Dusk Shine and patted his friend on the back, excitedly complimenting him:

“Dude, what you just did was so… freaking… awesome!”

“Not now…” Dusk Shine couldn’t take his eyes off the strange figure lying far away from them in the snowy fields.

“What’s wrong?” Blitz turned his sight to where Dusk was looking.

“Can’t you see it, Blitz?”

“See what?”

“Look more carefully.”

The pegasus forced his eyes to have a more detailed look and then he also spotted the black figure in the horizon just seconds before it disappeared into thin air.

“What was that?” the surprised blue stallion asked.

“I don’t know, but I fear we’ll find out soon enough.” Dusk replied.

A few hours passed and night installed itself upon Ponyville. Dusk Shine was relaxing in his bed, his eyes’ gaze glued at the ceiling. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t get that day’s happenings out of his head. He considered himself to be a rational pony and as such he did not give in to superstitious beliefs, and yet one of said superstitions had been proven real to him. Or was it an illusion all along? It had to be.

He reached his hoof and grabbed the mythology book he held on his porch and then he stared at its cover which depicted two ponies wearing wool jackets and wolf masks, one of them wielding a wooden staff. Turning it around, he began to read the message on the back cover:

“Some would say that our kind is marked by ‘fatality’. Is it so? The idea of ‘superstition’ is old, through superstitio ancient ponies understanding during their time a useless religious activity, something not called for by rituals. What is certain is that in all cultures superstition is expressed under the guise of beliefs and practices, and these beliefs could be collective or individual, personal. Psychologists say that superstition is an irrational belief in the fact that the future is influenced by behavior. On another hand, sociologists believe that the presence of myth and magic in the life of the contemporary pony comes from the need of connecting both ideologically and practically the imaginary world with reality. The need for the irrational is a compromise that the pony spirit does with its own fantasies, own disorder, own contradictions… This book gathers over 5000 samples of such beliefs from pony folklore. Beyond the priceless information regarding our village culture, we find here a strange world, rich in meaning and filled with poetry: birds, butterflies, coal, snakes, fleas, devils, angels, water, treasures, body parts, wind, sky, earrings…”

Dusk Shine giggled. The idea that irrational belief was just another spiritual need of ponies seemed ridiculous. But in the same time, having in mind what had happened, a few questions did arise in the back of his head: What were those beings he had faced? Why did the stanza he chanted three times work? Could any part of said irrational beliefs actually be true? Everything seemed so confusing.

“Dusk!” Barb busted in his room, her mouth burping with green fire.

“What is it, Barb?” the unicorn got up from his bed.

“A letter from the Prince!” the small female dragon said and then she burped out a piece of paper which the stallion caught.

My faithful student Dusk Shine,

It has come to my attention that a snowstorm of strange origins is approaching Ponyville. I have my fears that it might be caused by certain forces that are far beyond pony understanding. Unfortunately, Prince Artemis and I are stuck in Canterlot with royal duties and thus cannot assist you in this matter. However, there is a source which can provide you with the information needed to face these uprising forces, and that source is the elders. Be sure to visit them and bring with you that book regarding pony mythology and folklore which I had gifted you, for it will definitely come in handy.

Your teacher and friend,

Prince Solaris

P.S: Have an open mind; things might not always be the way they seem to be.

An hour later, Dusk Shine found himself heading towards Sweet Apple Acres with a small bag filled with books on his back and his shining horn to light the path. The cold air made him tremble a bit. The thick snow rendered his path a little difficult and made him wish he had been born with pegasus wings. But the worst thing was the fact that he was all alone outside during a winter night. Only a mad pony would have been stupid enough to be in that situation.

The walk seemed to last an eternity and for some reason he could not find the farm house, being stuck in the orchards. The sound of tree branches moving startled him. But he kept on going, saying to himself:

“Stay calm, Dusk, it’s just the wind.”

All of a sudden, he stepped into something gooey. Lowering his sight, he was shocked to see that it was a red puddle in the snow. The unicorn backed down, but then he hit something or somepony. Turning his trembling head, he saw that one of the apple trees had eyes and a sharp toothed mouth carved in its trunk. Dusk Shine yelled and ran off, not caring anymore for reaching the farm; all he wanted was to get away from the orchard as quick as possible. After a few minutes of endless galloping, he tripped over a rock and fell, his body rolling down the snowy ground until it stopped against a tree. He stood there, staring at the night’s cloudy sky, hoping it was all a terrible nightmare from which he would soon wake up. Alas, his wish did not come true.

The sounds of hoof steps in the snow echoed and very soon he saw two grey furry legs stop next to him. Looking up, he had the horror of witnessing a being which resembled an old woman; her upper body covered in green moss, her long black hair falling upon her breasts, her face so ugly that it would have brought fear even in the bravest of hearts. She fixated her blank white eyes on him and grinned, revealing her fanged mouth which had bloodstains. Dusk Shine tried getting up, but it was no use. Every bone of his was paralyzed with fear. The being leaned to grab him with its bird like claws, when all of a sudden a familiar voice yelled from the distance:

“Ye Mother Forest,/Ye fanged one,/Ye ugly one,/Ye twisted one,/Run away, go away!”

The creature began to slowly back away, baring her fangs and growling at the one chanting, who persisted:

“In forests, in depths, in swamps,/Where the bell doesn’t toll,/Where the rooster doesn’t sing,/Where the dogs don’t bark!”

A loud hiss was heard from the monster, but that was all she could do. Dusk Shine finally found the power to get on his hooves and he saw an old stallion of olive green color with a white moustache and beard walk towards him, glaring angrily at the one which tried to harm him.

“You go away,/At your fanged ones,/Sadden them,/Sadden yourself!”

“Grampy Smith!” Dusk Shine spoke with relief and ran to the one who saved him.

The female creature did not give up yet and tried lashing at the two ponies one last time, but the old stallion also refused to back down and he finished the incantation:

“If I’ll find out your name/Like the axe I’ll cut you,/Like the fire I’ll burn you,/Like the incense I’ll incense you!”

Giving out a painful screech, the monster finally disappeared from sight. A small smile appeared on the old stallion’s mouth, making it seem as if he had done such a thing before.

“Well, that takes care of that ugly hag.” Grampy Smith said.

“Thank you for coming to my aid, sir!” Dusk Shine bowed to show his gratitude.

“No problem, partner. What’s a fine colt like ya doin’ outside at such a time?”

“I know this might sound strange, but I came for you.”

“For me? What can Ah help ya with?”

“How about we go inside? We’ve got a lot to discuss, sir.”

Few lights were still shining inside the farm house. Applejack, Macareina and Applebuck were asleep upstairs and it was only Dusk Shine and Grampy Smith savoring an apple pie and some cider in the kitchen. The unicorn managed to explain to the farm pony the happenings of that day, as well as the letter from Prince Solaris.

“And then I ran into that… thing. If you didn’t come to my rescue, I probably would’ve been no more.” Dusk Shine concluded his narration.

“Ah see.” Grampy Smith rubbed his beard, reflecting upon certain things. “It seems that the time’s come.”

“What time?”

“There’s an old tale passed from generation to generation between us farm ponies. It says that many years ago, in order to defeat Solaris, Darkhorse Knight awakened many ancient creatures which inhabited our forests. But since they were made of darkness, their weakness was the sun. To make sure they could operate even if daytime would arise once more, Darkhorse Knight used his magic to tie all his new minions to the season of winter, when nature is dead and the sun is mostly hidden away by clouds. Before his defeat and banishing to the moon, he managed to seal the creatures away, hoping that one day they would come back to finish what he had started.”

“So these monsters from our folk tales…”

“Yup, we believe they were tied to him.”

“But that just raises more questions!” Dusk Shine put his empty cup of cider on the table and began walking in circles. “How did the elders come up with all these chants against them? Why didn’t Prince Artemis remember about them and their possible threat? Why did they awaken this winter out of them all?”

“Ah’m afraid Ah don’t have the answers, sugarcube.” Grampy Smith apologized.

“This is all one huge headache. And if what you said is true, then the snowstorm coming here most likely is tied with these creatures. Oh boy, we’ve got one long winter ahead.”

“If there’s anythin’ we can do to help ya, ya can count on the Apple family!”

“Thank you, your support is appreciated. I wonder… what was that being we encountered back then?”

“That was Mother Forest. She’s said to be the strongest of all them critters and possibly their leader.”

“I think I might have seen that name…”

Dusk Shine pulled out his book and began browsing it until he reached the mentioned name, after which he began reading out loud:

“Mother Forest – she is an ugly evil hag who lives in the forest’s depths and is usually the enemy of heroes in various pony myths, along with the Giant and the Dragon. Sometimes she captures those who are brave enough to wander by her home, other times she wanders by the houses of ponies to cause them different harms, such as taking their voice away.”

“Yup, that’s her alright.” Grampy Smith nodded.

“The chant you used against her, it’s present here as well.” Dusk Shine continued.

“So what are ya gonna do now?”

“I guess I will go home and continue my research. There has to be a way we can seal back these spirits. But for the time being… would you mind if I spent the night here?”

“Not at all, partner! Ah’ll go prepare the guest room.”

As the old stallion rushed out of the kitchen, Dusk Shine stared outside the window at the darkened snowy night outside. He knew there were more of those creatures out there, roaming the woods and possibly the streets too. All he could do was hope that everypony would be safe until he found a way to stop them.

Author's Note

Woo, another chapter for y'all to enjoy! /)^3^(\ Continuing with the fiends from my country's folklore, here is one of the biggest villains, sometimes her power being as great as that of Satan himself. I hope you enjoy the read and as always, take care!

Martolea

Dusk Shine left Sweet Apple Acres the following morning, Applejack joining him back to Ponyville. At the breakfast meal, Grampy Smith put the rest of his family up to date with what was going on. As such, Dusk was caught in a conversation with his friend regarding the happenings of the previous night.

“And then Mother Forest vanished.” the purple stallion finished his tale.

“Jeez, Dusk, it seems like Ah’ve had all the reasons to fear them stories mah grampy used to tell me when Ah was little.” Applejack said and then he gave his friend a heavy slap on the back. “But ya were brave comin’ all the way down to Sweet Apple Acres at night, Ah appreciate that!”

Dusk Shine forcibly laughed, though his spine would have appreciated less slaps from his physically stronger friend.

“It seems that for once I will have to let superstition guide me instead of science, as crazy as it sounds.” Dusk admitted with a slight hint of shame in his voice.

“Hey, don’t work yerself up over nothin’, partner. There’ll always be things ponies won’t understand. We can’t know everythin’, not even the Princes can.” the orange stallion said with a conformed smile.

“And you are happy like this, Applejack? Doesn’t it bother you not knowing the mysteries of the world around us?”

“Ah dunno, Dusk. As long as mah family and friends are safe and we’re all livin’ happily, Ah can be satisfied not knowin’ it all. Besides, sometimes mysteries should stay mysteries.”

“Forgive me for being so blunt, but if ponies stayed with your mentality, we wouldn’t have had this progress now.”

With that being said, Dusk Shine left his friend and went inside his library. Applejack stood outside and smiled at him, knowing full well that was his friend’s nature.

“Heh, maybe one of us is right, but Ah’m happy yer the way y’are, Dusk.” the farm pony spoke to himself and then he went about his business.

Dusk Shine spent the entire day once again locked up in his room and reading more into the dark beings which their kind’s folklore hid in its long forgotten stories. He consulted many books regarding ethnology, as well as read more stories from the book he got from his teacher. But it seemed that all that mental effort was finally getting to him, for he let go of all the books he was reading and fell on his bed, stretching his tired limbs.

He looked outside. The cloudy sky was darkening yet again. Night was returning, and with it the dreaded fiends. The question was: What monster would be next and where would it strike?

“I don’t think you should bother him too much. He’s been busy the whole day.” Barb said as she opened the door, leading Rainbow Blitz in.

“I’ll take my chances.” the blue pegasus waved his hoof dismissively, the small purple dragon shrugging her shoulders and leaving.

“Blitz, I didn’t expect you to visit me at this hour.” Dusk Shine confessed while getting up from his bed, trying to hide his embarrassment that once more his friend came when his room was a mess.

“I just got off work now and thought I’d stop by.” the rainbow stallion replied and then he decided to once more rest on his friend’s bed, this time also opening some of the books lying there. “What’re you reading now? Still the whole folksy tale mumbo jumbo?”

“As much as I don’t like admitting to it, said ‘mumbo jumbo’ saved our lives back then.” the purple unicorn replied and he joined his friend in the bed, opening some books and showing him some of the texts he was studying. “I’m trying to find out more about these creatures and memorize the chants used against them. Until we find a way to stop them all from invading Ponyville, we have to tackle them one by one.”

“Need any help? You know you can count on me.”

“Yes, yes I do.”

“Awesome! What do you want me to do?”

“For now – nothing, we are in a stalemate. Basically we must wait for the next creature to strike.”

“What?! Egghead, that makes Ponyville a sitting duck!”

“I know, Rainbow, but there’s nothing else we can do!”

“Damn it!” Blitz punched the mattress instinctively. “I hate this sort of situations.”

“Trust me, Blitz, I do too.” Dusk sighed and placed his head in his pillow.

Rainbow Blitz stared at his tired friend and could not help but feel sorry for him. As always, he was doing all the brainwork to save everypony. It was a thankless job, the only thing bringing him satisfaction being the fact that he got to live another day with his five best friends. While such a behavior was admirable, it was also to be pitied. A life under the guidance of Prince Solaris had made that shy bookworm into an almost selfless workaholic, no matter how much he tried denying it. And it was a shame, since Blitz and the others knew that beyond all that mental effort laid a lonely pony who could only find joy in the few friends he did have.

Once more led by his instincts, Rainbow Blitz put his forelegs’ hooves on his purple friend’s back and he began massaging him slowly and comfortably, two attributes you would never have associated with the pegasus known as the fastest flyer in all of Equestria. Dusk Shine was taken by surprise, but he chose to simply go with the flow. It was an intimate moment that he thought he would experience only in his most hidden dreams.

The gentle pressing of those hooves against his ribs and spine made him feel such pleasant sensations. He felt the pain in his tired bones finally wither away. Dusk was not the pony to believe in spiritual experiences, but in those moments he could find no other term to describe the state of euphoria he was going through. Just him and his “special” friend in that cozy and warm room on a discrete winter night… For once in his life, time had lost its significance.

“Ah, Blitz, right there…” Dusk moaned as Rainbow placed his hooves on the middle of his spine, the place where he mostly felt pain due to his reading position. “It feels so good…”

Rainbow Blitz blushed at the hearing of such sounds coming from Dusk Shine. He of course meant nothing of that nature, and yet he couldn’t help but find a sort of guilty pleasure from making his friend feel good.

“Dude…” the pegasus leaned down and whispered to the unicorn.

“Yeah?” Dusk lazily opened his right eye and looked at him.

“Don’t mention this to anyone, ever.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Cool.”

Unfortunately for them, a scream coming from outside interrupted their intimacy. The two ponies jumped out of bed and they rushed to the window, only to see a pony wearing a black robe with a hood walk out of a house. Not wasting a single second, the duo rushed out of the library and went to the place in question. What greeted them was a disgusting sight.

A young mare was lying on the ground, her belly ripped open. Her guts were either nailed to the wall or placed on the table around the dishes. Rainbow Blitz tried to hide his urge of throwing up. On the other hand, Dusk Shine tried recalling that sort of punishment which he found extremely familiar, being more than sure that he had read about it earlier in the afternoon.

“Call the police; I’ll try to figure out which creature it was.” Dusk advised and Blitz gladly flew away.

The unicorn wandered around the house, his eyes inspecting each and every detail. He found that the mare in question was both doing the laundry and sowing. Then he looked in the calendar and noticed it was Tuesday night. Punching his hoof, he exclaimed:

“Martolea!”

Now knowing what he had to do, Dusk Shine rushed back home.

In the book it said that Martolea was an evil being which descended in Tuesday towards Wednesday nights from the depths of the forest to punish the mares caught working. Four types of mare chores were forbidden: spinning of the wool, sowing, doing laundry and baking bread. The type of punishment they had just witnessed was typical for unmarried mares. For married mares Martolea would either kidnap their child if left alone, or kill it. In other cases, the being would attack the mare’s husband.

Martolea was an androgynous demon, sometimes appearing as an old haggy mare, a beautiful young mare or a beautiful soldier stallion. To married mares it would appear as a hag, to married stallions as a young mare and to unmarried mares as a stallion. The origin of the name Martolea seemed to come from the name Mars.

“What are you doing, Dusk?” asked Barb, who was confused to see the purple unicorn rush around and decorate the library with flowers, as well as fill the tables with food.

“We’re celebrating Tuesday night.” he shortly replied and resumed his activity.

“Since when was that a celebration?” the dragon scratched her head.

In a matter of minutes, Dusk Shine was done. He looked out the window and he saw Rainbow Blitz leading the police inside the place of the murder. But then he also saw the same hooded pony head to another house where an unsuspecting mare was baking bread. It was then that the unicorn opened the windows and shouted:

“Martolea!”

The pony stopped and turned around, its red eyes shining in the night’s darkness.

“Come to us, Martolea!” Dusk motioned with his hoof.

“Are you crazy?!” Barb asked as she saw the demonic being heading their way.

“Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” the stallion replied with confidence.

Soon they heard knocks on their door. Dusk Shine went to open the door while Barb hid under the stairs. For a few seconds he saw an old haggy mare with a long silvery many covering her dry face, but that quickly changed into a beautiful mare with youthful skin, blue eyes and a blonde mane. Unfazed by the creature, he greeted it inside like he would have done with any guest. Martolea stepped in and when its eyes were laid upon the beautifully decorated library, a pleased smile appeared on its face. Seeing that its celebration was held, the creature vanished into thin air, leaving as reward a basket filled with eggs in the place where it once stood.

“It’s over.” Dusk sighed with relief.

“That was it?” Barb asked as she slowly crept out of her hideout.

“Yes, thankfully.” the stallion nodded.

“Hey egghead!” a familiar voice shouted from outside.

“Blitz!” the unicorn turned to face his pegasus friend. “We did it! We stopped the creature from killing all those mares!”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing we acted quickly. Good job!” Blitz said and the two stallions brohoof’d.

“Let’s not rest on our laurels too soon, though. There are more creatures out there.”

“You’re right about that.”

“I was wondering, Blitz.”

“Hm?”

“Would you like to spend the night here? I could use your help in case another one comes.”

“No problem, you can count on me!”

And so the two stallions joined the dragon inside the warm library as the police began investigating the place of the crime, unaware of what truly happened there. Meanwhile at the city’s entrance, a black figure stepped forth and set its eyes upon the peaceful houses filled with unsuspecting ponies. The stranger let out a small giggle and disappeared… for the time being.

Author's Note

And yet another new chapter with another iconic evil creature from dark folk tales. :3 Starting from this chapter, the story has earned its right to wear the 'gore' tag. 3:) Oh well, as always, enjoy the read and have a nice day!

Samca

“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.

Author's Note

A somewhat shorter chapter since I did not have many ideas for the horror parts and instead opted to work a little more on the yaoi subplot. Who are those mysterious ponies? o_o That is yet to be revealed. :3

Daughter Forest

Rainbow Blitz awoke around an hour before dawn. The blue pony yawned and headed to the bathroom. After taking care of his needs, he lazily headed back to his mattress, catching a few glimpses of Dusk sleeping peacefully in his sheets.

It was then that he heard something, a noise coming from outside. The pegasus went to the window and saw that it was snowing abundantly and strong blizzards were blowing. He chuckled inwardly. The strange snowstorm had at last arrived.

But there was something else that caught his attention. Out there, in the middle of that unpleasant weather, a single mare was standing, facing the library. Then a beautiful song suddenly echoed in his ears, its melodies so mesmerizing that they fully caught his attention immediately. The stallion’s eyes got smaller and his mind fell in a trance.

“Rainbow Blitz, come to me…” the singing voice demanded.

Gulping, the blue pony could do nothing but comply. He opened the window and dashed immediately outside. Little did he know that the blizzards’ noises and the sudden cold air penetrating the room’s atmosphere served to wake up Dusk Shine. The unicorn rubbed his eyes and looked around to see what was going on.

“Oh for goodness’ sake, Blitz, close the window!” he yelled as he pulled the covers all over his trembling body. “Blitz, did you hear me?” he repeated, but once more got no answer. “Blitz? Are you in the bathroom?”

He got up from the bed with the sheets covering his body and headed to the bathroom only to find it empty. That meant one thing, his friend had left. But where could he have gone before dawn? And why did he not have the common sense to close the window behind him?

Tired of the low temperature, he went to shut the gates of glass which allowed the unwelcomed winter to disturb the peace of his comfy warm room. Before closing them, he took one last look outside and to his shock he saw Rainbow Blitz following a strange white pony to the Everfree Forest.

“Oh no, Blitz!” Dusk Shine jumped in shock.

He quickly rushed to his wardrobe and put on one of the winter jackets Elusive had gifted him with last year. Then he grabbed the mythology book and galloped downstairs as quickly as his hooves allowed him.

But it was no use, as soon as he opened the door; there was no sight of the two. Instead, the powerful winter winds pushed him back, as if nature did not want him to jump to his friend’s rescue. Dusk Shine fell on his back and dropped the book which landed opened at a page depicting a beautiful mare in a wedding dress.

The stubborn unicorn got up and was about to try once more to leave the library when his attention got caught by the book’s contents. He grabbed it and began reading:

“Daughter Forest – She is an evil genius of the forest, a terrifying entity from pony mythology. Sometimes she appears as a young mare, other times as a really old mare with a long mane reaching the ground, endlessly sobbing in the forests; she can auto metamorphose upon her own will. Whenever she wanders she awakens the forest’s winds, and she mostly laughs in sinister guffaws or she cries guffawing, other times she just yells or croaks. She wanders at the edge of the forests, luring lost travelers.”

Dusk Shine tried recalling that faint image he saw from his room. The one which Blitz was following seemed to resemble the one drawn in the book. Hoping that was the creature, he kept on reading:

“Daughter Forest appears as an aggressor of stallions, especially shepherds. Metamorphosed as the marefriend who remained home, she comes to the young stallion that is alone far away from the village and she attacks him, she rapes him. When he opposes or discovers her to be an impostor, the young stallion is punished: the demon lifts him and throws him over the stones or in pits, she makes him ill, or she kills him. She also makes those walking down apparently known paths get lost, luring them with an incredibly touching song, she kidnaps or switches newborn fillies under their mothers’ eyes or she turns animals ill.”

The purple stallion paused for a moment, horrified by the danger his friend was in. If it were any other Element of Harmony, he would have most likely been worried for them. But this was Rainbow Blitz, that clumsy showoff who rarely knew what manners were, but who was also patient enough to get into books. He was also the only one of his five friends who stood by his side even when they didn’t have their usual meetings. The pegasus always tried to find some time to hang out with him and thus he got to understand the introverted unicorn’s way of being better than anypony else. And he was so handsome, no matter how much the bookish pony tried telling himself otherwise. Blitz had gotten his way into Dusk’s fantasies for quite some time, much to his dismay.

Dusk Shine didn’t bother that much with matters concerning sexuality, especially his own. The only thing he did know was that his parents expected him to be a perfect son, one that would study very hard and become a respected pillar of their society with a stable job, his own house and a wife with some kids. Yes, those were the goals set for him by those who raised him and he never thought deeply about them. Did he actually want all that? If yes, then why was a stallion the subject to his rather inappropriate fantasies?

The wind’s noise from outside awoke him from his thoughts. The purple pony mentally criticized himself for wasting time and resumed reading the book. The research data had finished and what was left was an origin story for the creature.

“Once upon a time there was a beautiful mare that got lost in the forest and night caught her.

Now, she did not go to sleep, she kept wandering to find the path that would take her back to the village. After some time, a stallion dressed in black came to her and told her to follow him because he would show her the path.

But he took her in a stone house. There he spoke something that could not be understood which took away her mind and changed her face.

Then he took away her clothes and let her out in the forest, but she could no longer return to the village and she remained to wander only in the forests and whoever she meets, she only causes harm upon and takes away their health.

She sucks their soul, she changes their face or she kills them.

This is how Daughter Forest was born.”

Dusk stopped and looked outside with a melancholic stare. He never would have expected to actually feel sorry for one of those creatures. It seemed that the evil chain of curses kept on through time, creating monsters out of even the most innocent. If only there were a way he could liberate that tortured soul. He continued reading, the next fragment being a rumor spread throughout villages in the northern parts of Equestria:

“Once upon a time there was a stallion that had a wife from a neighboring village. She was highly proud, like morning dew. The poor stallion was living with his sheep far up in the hill. But his darling always visited him every night. And they spent time together night by night. He was very happy and why would he not be? What the poor stallion didn’t know was that the one coming to him night by night was not his darling. And, as he was making love to her, one time he put his hoof on her back. And he felt it was like a pan. Then he got afraid and he ran away from there with his sheep, because that was Daughter Forest.”

Unfortunately for him, that was the last thing on Daughter Forest, the next page tackling another monster. That was it, no chant to stop her, nothing. His hopes began to lower, making way for the burning stings of utter despair. Dusk Shine angrily tossed the book on his sofa, an atypical behavior for someone like him, and he simply rushed headfirst into the windy weather outside, cursing himself for wasting time.

Using his horn, he created a protective aura that did not allow his body to feel the extremely low temperatures. But he knew that was temporary and he had to act quickly. Making his way to the Everfree Forest, he was surprised to see hoofmarks in the snow, though the rampant snowfall was slowly making them disappear. He began to follow their path which led to the forest as he expected.

Somewhere else, in a glade deep in the woods untouched by the snowstorm, Rainbow Blitz sat on a log. The white mare ceased her singing and she hugged him from behind, her hooves playing through his blue fur, making their way from his neck to the lower regions of his body. The pegasus began to sweat and his wings gradually grew into a boner. He had longed for those tender touches that were the prelude to the actual pleasure. And yet, after being with a few mares, it was the first time he was the passive one.

He shook his head, trying not to think much of that. What truly mattered at that point was the pleasure, or at least that was what he thought. The white mare pushed him on his back and leaned on him, her mouth bestowing kisses upon his body, gently lowering just like her hooves. Blitz closed his eyes and gave in to the boiling sensations of his body. It all felt so good.

“Blitz!” a familiar voice shouted.

The pegasus slightly awoke from his trance and turned to the source of the voice only to see a worried Dusk Shine who had just arrived there, his protective aura now gone. It was then that it flashed back in the athletic pony’s mind: the warm room, the massage, the helpless Dusk, that peaceful face. For some strange reason, he grabbed the mare and pushed her off him. Little did he know that that would turn out to be a huge mistake…

The mare’s facial expression changed from seductive to angry, her white fur and skin shifting to grey, her face beginning to reveal scars, her teeth morphing into fangs. That was the true face of Daughter Forest. She immediately grabbed the pegasus and threw him against a tree. Then she tried lashing at him to cause him more harm, but a blast from Dusk Shine’s horn threw her back.

“Leave him alone!” the unicorn growled with a threatening voice as he positioned himself to both face the creature and shelter his friend.

The monstrous mare got on her hooves and prepared for another attack, but she was taken by surprise when the menacing look in her opponent’s eyes changed into one of compassion.

“Daughter Forest, please, it doesn’t have to be like this.” Dusk spoke with a caring voice, causing the mare to lower her guard out of curiosity. “I know what happened to you, I know how you got cursed, but there is a way to break it.”

“There is none!” she spoke normally for the first time in thousands of years, shaking her head.

“At first I also thought that, but then I realized something, something that popular culture could not grasp. The reason you’re causing this harm to all other ponies is because you want to take away something from them just like you also lost something. You attack stallions mostly because it was a stallion who took away your freedom. Am I correct?”

Daughter Forest closed her eyes and shortly nodded.

“And yet the reason I wear this bride dress given to me by Mother Forest is because I wait for the one stallion who will survive my seduction and join me.” she confessed.

“You hate stallions and yet you still want one by your side. Such conflicting emotions…” Dusk Shine replied, mentally recalling the passive aggressive replies he would usually give to Blitz back home whenever he bothered him.

“I have been alone for such a long time. I just want to find my home.” Daughter Forest said with a small tear falling from her eye.

“Everything will be alright.” the librarian made his horn’s shining cease. “I promise I’ll help you if you can trust me.”

“I’m sorry…” the mare looked at him with a sorrow filled expression. “But the curse will last for as long as I live. I, I can’t control it anymore.”

More streams of tears began swelling down her cheeks as she let out a demonic growl and jumped at Dusk, pinning him to the ground. The terrified stallion looked into her eyes and saw the struggle she was facing, a losing battle. He tried to get up but he couldn’t, her strength was too great for his fragile body. Fearing that after she was done with him, Blitz would be next on her list, Dusk sighed and resorted to his horn’s magic. A blast threw Daughter Forest off him.

The mare floated in the air for a few moments, but when she saw the unconscious Rainbow Blitz she used her powers to switch the inertia and fly towards him. As she was just a few feet away from her victim, a large purple ray pierced the left side of her body. Physical pain, she felt it again after so long. Her skin began to burn and slowly detach off her body which was at long last giving in to time’s cruel passing. Putting on a smile, she closed her eyes, at last being freed from the prison she was condemned to live in for eternity.

“Thank you.” she whispered.

In a matter of seconds she was no more. Dusk Shine stopped his attack and breathed heavily. Then he walked to his unconscious friend and collapsed next to him, his hooves holding him close by his side. Rainbow Blitz suddenly opened his eyes and saw that he was being held in a tight embrace by none other than his bookish friend.

“D-Dusk?!” he burst.

“Just shut up.” he shortly replied.

“What happened?” Blitz ignored his demand.

“I almost lost you, that’s what.” Dusk tightened his hug, his eyes getting slightly wet.

“Gee, thanks for coming after me, I suppose.”

“No need to thank me, I’d have done it no matter what, anything for a friend.”

“I guess Friendship really is Magic, eh?”

But it was not just Friendship that made Dusk Shine go that extra mile. It was something else, something that had been building inside him for so long, something that was begging to be let out.

“Not just Friendship, Blitz.” Dusk shook his head, loosening his grip a bit.

“Then what?” the pegasus asked.

“This.”

In the next moment Dusk’s lips united with those of Blitz. The blue stallion’s eyes widened, he obviously being taken by surprise. But the purple unicorn didn’t care anymore. After everything that happened and seeing how their lives were under constant threat, he might as well have opened up about his emotions then and there before it was too late.

Dusk Shine finally broke the kiss. Now that his desire had been satisfied, he waited for the disgusted reaction of his friend or to be judged for what he had done. Instead, Rainbow Blitz just grabbed his face with one hoof and said:

“Gee, I never thought you’d feel the same.”

“Eh?!” Dusk interjected.

“Yeah, I kinda found myself being attracted to you the more I got to know you better.” Blitz admitted, his cheeks slightly reddening. “I just never knew if you were, you know…”

“Even I am not sure what I am. All that I know is that I cannot imagine a life without you.”

“You know what’s strange? Me neither.”

Now it was Rainbow Blitz’s turn to pull Dusk in a hug.

“My egghead…” he whispered happily, stroking the unicorn’s mane.

Meanwhile at the opened library, a dark purple hoof picked up the mythology book, a hissed voice resounding in the living room:

“Everything is going according to plan, kehehehe!”

Author's Note

Here's a longer chapter this time for you folks. I hope I am handling the Duskblitz part well, I fear it might be a bit rushed. :s As always, I hope you enjoyed the read and take care!

Evil Hour

Rainbow Blitz’s body sank into the bathtub filled with warm water. The pegasus closed his eyes and leaned his head back, his rainbow mane getting soaked.

“Feeling better?” Dusk Shine asked as he stepped in the bathroom, his horn making a scrub float in the air.

“Yeah, I just got a few scratches.” Blitz waved his hoof dismissively.

“Still, you might need help with those cuts on your back.”

“Dude, it’s nothing, I can’t take care of it by mys…”

But Dusk did not let him finish his protest and he began scrubbing his back. While Rainbow Blitz did not like having others look after him, he recalled everything that the unicorn had done for him and wondered how many would have done the same. Thus he decided he would just relax and let Dusk have his way.

“About back then...” Blitz tried to strike conversation.

“Yes?” Dusk shortly asked, being more concentrated on cleaning his friend’s wings.

“How did you find us? And how did you know what that thing was?”

“It was pure luck, in both cases.”

“Huh?”

“Yes, I was lucky to find your hoofsteps quickly and followed their trail before they were no more. As for the creature, the book opened right at her page. I know, strange as it seems, coincidence has saved you.”

“You found out that quick how to beat her up?”

“Actually…” Dusk Shine spoke with a grim voice. “…there was no chant for her.”

“No? Then how’d you…?”

No answer came from the unicorn. It took a few moments for Blitz to realize what that meant.

“You actually killed her?”

“There was no other way. It was either her life or ours. I tried to find a way to free her from the curse, but I didn’t have the time and…”

“Dusk, it’s alright.” the athletic stallion grabbed the bookish one’s hoof.

“No it’s not. She wasn’t like the others, she was a victim, and I couldn’t save her.” Dusk replied with remorse, tears forming in his eyes.

“If she was cursed as you said, you probably did her a favor.”

“Still…”

“No ‘still’! Because of what you did I’m now here with you. That should mean something.”

“Yes, yes it does.”

The scrub was put away and then Blitz felt the hooves of Dusk grasp him in a warm embrace from behind, the unicorn’s head resting on his shoulder. The pegasus could not help himself but blush. Years ago when he first met Dusk he would never have expected that they would go that far with their friendship. But why lie? It wasn’t friendship anymore, was it?

“So dude, does this mean that you actually… you know, like me?” Blitz asked straightly, earning a small nod from the purple stallion’s resting head. “Awesome! Wait, since I feel the same, does that mean we’re… coltfriends?”

Dusk Shine raised his head and turned Rainbow Blitz to him so that they were face to face and the blue stallion could see the tender expression of his face.

“I have nothing against it.” the librarian confessed, receiving a happy grin from the racing pony.

“Dusk Shine, my coltfriend… that sounds too cool to be true.” the pegasus said, his wings suddenly boasting up.

“And arousing, I might add.” Dusk noticed with satisfaction.

“Let’s just keep this a secret, if that’s ok with you.” Blitz suggested.

“I know what you mean, we have public images to sustain and the ponies here still aren’t that accepting of other forms of sexuality.”

“If that’s how you call homophobes, I’m ok with it.”

“Hey, I try to be nice.”

“By the way, Dusk, is this your first relationship with a stallion?”

“More like my first relationship ever. I’ve never been that concerned with such matters.” the unicorn admitted with a small hint of shame in his voice. “What about you?”

“I’ve been with several mares before, but never with stallions because it’s not really coltish for someone like me, if you catch my drift.” the pegasus alluded. “Funny thing, the first time I got a boner, it was from a stallion. Didn’t take me long to find out I liked both sexes.”

“Sometimes I envy you, Blitz.” Dusk said and he resumed the scrubbing, this time with his hooves.

“Heh, what’s not to envy about me?” Blitz replied with his usual confidence.

“No, I do mean it. You were free enough to explore yourself and find out who you truly are, even if you had to hide it. I? Haha, the only times I could ever do that were on rare weekend nights when I barely finished my work and got my hooves on some cheap romance novel bordering clop fiction.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

“But now… I feel somewhat relieved with you here. If I’m not asking a lot, please don’t leave me.”

“Element of Loyalty here, you know I never will.”

“Good.”

Once more Dusk put the scrub away, and this time he surprised Blitz by joining him in the bathtub. Before the pegasus could realize what was going on, he got pulled into a passionate kiss. For the first time Rainbow felt he could delve fully into his hidden desires of exploring the same sex. Not wasting any time, he pushed Dusk on his back, his hooves beginning to explore the librarian’s body, rubbing the wet purple fur of his chest and lowering to his belly button and ultimately his crotch. The unicorn closed his eyes and moaned, giving in to the pleasure.

And so another day passed, the inhabitants of Ponyville all staying locked in their homes due to the terrible snowstorm from outside. Yet by sunset a strange figure emerged from the Everfree Forest. A grin appeared beneath its masking black aura, revealing sharp fangs. The being pulled out the book it stole from the library and opened it, speaking with a hissed voice:

“The time has come to restore our pride and avenge our terrible past!”

And so it began reading an incantation, the protective aura slowly fading and revealing the body of a unicorn stallion.

“Evil hour with stench,/Evil hour with arrow shot,/Evil hour with fear,/Evil hour in the evening,/Evil hour in the midnight,/Evil hour in the day!” the pony chanted.

The snowstorm suddenly grew wilder and the sky went darker than normal. The absurdly loud howling winds began to worry the sheltered citizens of Ponyville. The pony’s aura faded some more, showing his dark purple fur, black tail and a cutie mark resembling a black and white mask with four black horns.

“Come from the mountains,/Under the mountains,/For here are your yards!/For here are arranged tables!/Live here!” he continued the chant, this time raising his free foreleg’s hoof in the air.

The amount of falling snow became absurdly high, its levels growing quickly to the levels of roofs. Pairs of red eyes began appearing in the dark depths of the Everfree Forest. Finally, the last bits of the black aura disappeared from the unicorn, revealing his head which was covered by a long black mane, his horn long and sharp, and his black and red demonic eyes leaking tears of blood.

“And filled glasses/And arranged chairs,/For you made!/Last here!” he concluded the ritual and closed the book.

The storm finally stopped and the clouds went away, revealing Artemis’ star filled sky which cast small lights upon a Ponyville that now resembled a polar desert. The snow was so big that only a few roofs could still be seen. And yet the beings from the forest began digging their way through it, knowing full well that beyond it lied their precious victims. The devilish unicorn watched all the creatures starting their hunt and he spoke:

“Go, my brothers and sisters, bring about the age of everlasting darkness!”

Then he turned around and headed back in the forest, making his way through the creatures and then walking down a path until he reached a small house which was covered with snow. Usually travelers avoided it, but he did not fall into that category. He marched right in and witnessed a bipedal female being with grey furry legs, bird like arms, her upper body covered in moss, her breasts covered by long black hair, her old ugly face being decorated with lifeless white eyes, a big nose and a fanged mouth. The creature was spinning a large spoon in a magic cauldron, a small fire burning beneath it. She turned to her visitor and asked:

“Oh Dark Strike, how did the ritual go?”

“The Evil Hour has begun, Mother Forest.” the unicorn replied and he took a seat in one of her chairs made of dried tree branches.

“Good, my minions are now free to wander through ponykind once more.” she maliciously stated and then she turned her head back to the cauldron.

“Yes, vengeance is within our grasp.” Dark Strike affirmed. “However, you must tell every monster out there not to harm the pony called Dusk Shine.”

“You mean the one I met in that orchard? The things I could have done to him…” Mother Forest recalled, giggling sadistically. “Why do you care about his safety, though?”

“I have something personal to pick up with him.”

“He is the student of Solaris, isn’t he?”

“Yes he is.”

“I understand. Your request will be fulfilled in this case. But in exchange for it, I demand that once you are done with him our victory will be forever sealed!”

“Kehehe, there’s no need to demand that.”

“How so?”

“That was my intention from the very beginning!”

The two of them began laughing together, the hissed noises made by their voices echoing throughout the woods.

Author's Note

To change the pace, this time we don't really have a new monster, but an event from my country's folklore, though sometimes the Evil Hour is being equated with the Devil. Anyway, the fanfic earns the OC character tag now that Dark Strike has been revealed. ^_^

Borza

Deathlike silence had fallen upon what used to be Ponyville. The stars were shining mournfully upon the thick snow and the few roofs that were spared its cold treatment. And yet, behind that apparent peace, beneath the layers of winter’s white coat lay many deserted houses in which the poor trapped ponies were brutally turned into monster food, the only remains of theirs being bloodstained walls and parts of entrails. Nopony could hear their cries, nopony could see their terrible fate, all were but forgotten in their icy grave.

Now that the first round had finished and their stomachs were satisfied, the monsters returned to the Everfree Forest. Dark Strike made his way through the dug paths in the snow. He passed by a few houses and the hospital and he chuckled to himself as he felt the smell of fresh blood. Truly his friends had been hungry that night. Finally, he stopped in front of a block of snow which stood proud. His horn shone and he could see that the library was a few blocks away, meaning he had to do some digging himself.

“At least she kept her promise.” Dark said and then he began to fire beams that would melt the snow and make way for him.

A few hours before the curse was cast upon Ponyville, Dusk Shine and Rainbow Blitz had shared their very first carnal experience in the privacy and warmth of the unicorn’s bedroom, both discovering new sensations which they found surprisingly enjoyable. After the climax had passed, the two of them lay in the bed, wrapped in each other’s hooves, and they fell asleep, thus not catching the Evil Hour.

Barb was caught in Elusive’s boutique and she was currently struggling to melt the snow with her dragon breath, the stylish unicorn trying to help with his magic. Little did they know that they would soon get extra help from an unexpected visitor.

Meanwhile, Dark Strike had reached the library and he discretely snuck inside, trying his best not to cause noises. He took a look around, so many books on so many topics. And yet many of them were seemingly untouched, or if they were, they most likely had just one pony’s hoofmarks. The dark purple unicorn walked to the magic section and he pulled out a book called Genesis of Day and Night: The first days of ponykind, written by Prince Solaris and Prince Artemis.

“So much time has passed…” he sighed, recalling the moment when that book was first launched in Canterlot.

But he snapped back to reality immediately. He had a mission and there was no time to waste. If anything, he would have returned to that library later, when the job was done, and he would have once more delved into the pleasant activity of reading something that was not occult related.

The unicorn climbed upstairs and slowly opened the door to Dusk Shine’s room only to find him sharing his bed with his pegasus friend. Dark Strike grinned, another weakness he would likely exploit in the future. But until then, he opened the mythology book and he began reading from it in whispers as to not wake up his unsuspecting victims:

“Boogied Borza,/Cursed Borza,/With grinned teeth,/With widened eyes,/With flapped ears,/With wide mouth,/With cracked hands,/With hairy hands…”

A black smoke cloud began coming out of the pages and it took the shape of a demonic alicorn. Dark Strike looked at it with satisfaction and whispered with a more hissed tone:

“Where are you headed,/With grinned teeth,/With widened eyes?”

“To scare you,/To boil you,/To chill you,/To terrify you,/To shatter you,/To crush you!” the being replied with a deep voice which would have brought chills even to the bravest of ponies.

Dark Strike pointed to the two sleeping ponies and the alicorn turned its attention to them, speaking with a more growled voice:

“To drink your blood,/To take your life,/To eat your meat,/To end your life!”

Thus the being jumped upon them and it turned into smoke, entering their heads. Dark giggled and spoke:

“Kehehe, let the nightmares begin!”

The two ponies began moving in their sleep, sweat falling down their fur and expressions of unease decorating their once peaceful faces.

Rainbow Blitz landed in a deserted Ponyville on a bright summer day.

“Huh? That’s strange, where is everypony?” he asked and scratched his mane, beginning to look around.

But he found nothing anywhere. There was nopony at Sweet Apple Acres, Sugarcube Corner, Carousel Boutique or even Dusk’s library. A strange breeze blew against him, and that coupled with the uneasy silence began to worry him greatly. Something was definitely wrong.

Blitz flew in the sky to have a better look at the seemingly deserted city. Suddenly, he saw something and dashed to it. To his shock, it was a dead Scooteroll, his orange body being mutilated from inside out. Blitz put his hoof on the body and shook it, but with no result. He looked around and saw more dead bodies lying on the ground, all of them being his closest friends, including the few he had back in Cloudsdale.

“No…” he whispered, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

It was then that the true horror hit him. He saw Dusk Shine in a pool of blood, struggling between life and death. The pegasus rushed to help him, but something quicker than him appeared out of nowhere and tore the poor stallion apart. Then it turned to him, its sheer ugliness freezing every bone of the blue pony that lost even his strength to yell.

Dusk Shine struggled in vain to escape the tight chains that bound him. He tried activating his magic, but his horn would not respond no matter what he did. Around him was nothing more than endless darkness. He tried shouting for help but his voice would not echo at all from his mouth. Just what was going on?

“Having fun? I hope so.” a hissed voice resounded from somewhere.

The tied unicorn began looking around; there was nothing but the blackness of which blind ponies were bound to see for their lives. But then two glowing red dots shone in front of him and he felt a pair of hooves grab his cheeks.

“How does it feel, oh student of Solaris, to be one with the shadows?” the same voice asked.

The eyes of the bookish one betrayed an obvious question.

“Who am I? I’m glad that you asked, for you’ll find out the answer really soon. Until then, I’ll have some fun with you.” Dark Strike said and he revealed his face to Dusk Shine, whose eyes widened at the grim sight. “What’s the matter, Duskie? Don’t you like the beauty of the beast?”

Dusk Shine’s expression remained constant – tensed fear of the sudden situation he was stuck in. Who was this strange pony and how did he get inside? More importantly, what was he going to do with him?

All of a sudden, Dark Strike disappeared and painful silence returned yet again. The librarian pony wondered if he would have preferred that over the scary stallion’s company. At least he got the confirmation that something was out there, hiding in the darkness. And there he lay, weak and unable to do anything to defend himself.

Alas, those moments of silence did not last long, for he heard faint whispers coming from the distance. Said whispers grew louder and he soon recognized them more as the growls which only beasts would make. He heard slow footsteps approaching him menacingly like those a predator would make. Dusk struggled once more in his chains, but to no avail. It seemed that his fate was sealed. Then out of the darkness emerged a pony that looked more horrifying than anything he had ever seen. The bookish stallion’s mind lost its control then and there, primal fear taking over.

“What good is Loyalty when you failed to protect those who you were loyal to? Also, what good is Magic when you are weak to use it and rely only on Friendship for it?” Dark asked as he watched the two stallions who were tortured in their nightmares. “Your exact opposites are your fears and this will be good fuel for my little friend Borza.”

“Ah wouldn’t be so sure ‘bout that!” an elder voice spoke behind him.

“Who the…”

Dark Strike turned around, only to be taken by surprise to see Grampy Smith holding a bunch of garlic in his direction. The devilish unicorn spat and backed down in fear.

“Leave this place now, ye lost soul!” the old stallion demanded as he walked forth, making the demonic one head to the opened window.

“That’s one battle, you geezer!” Dark Strike declared and then he showed the book. “The true war is in my hooves!”

“No…”

“Kehehehe, see you later!”

And with that said, he jumped out the window and disappeared in the snow. Elusive and Barb rushed in the room, only to be stopped by Grampy Smith, who said:

“Stand back, partners, this is something Ah have to deal with mahself!”

“But sir, what about Dusk and Rainbow?” the white unicorn asked with concern.

“Don’t ya worry, they’re in good hooves.” the olive green earth pony winked and then he turned to the bed where the two were suffering in their sleep.

Taking a more serious face, he began waving the garlic above them and chanting:

“Boogied Borza,/Ugly and staring,/Don’t look through the window,/Don’t curse their sleep’s pillow!”

The sleeping stallions suddenly relaxed, their tense expressions disappearing from their faces. A black smoke emerged from both their ears, taking the shape of an angry alicorn for seconds before it faded away. Grampy Smith smiled triumphantly, another monster was gone.

“Y’all can come in, it’s safe now!” he waved to the two who were watching fearfully from the opened door.

“Finally!” Elusive exclaimed and he gallantly walked in.

“Are they ok?” a concerned Barb asked as she followed the elegant stallion.

“They’re fine. Ah took care of that thing which was causin’ them nightmares.” Grampy Smith explained.

“Just who was that fiendish stallion?” Elusive asked.

“And what was he doing with Dusk’s book?” Barb added.

“Ah dunno yet, partner.” the farm pony admitted and then he took a look at the night outside. “But whatever it is, Ah’m sure as hay it’s not good news for us all.”

Author's Note

Wee, a new chapter for y'all! :rainbowkiss: I'm sorry I got no descriptions for Borza besides those in the chant, but this thing is supposed to be that scary that no amount of description can capture it properly. Besides, he sometimes is said to represent Fear itself, hence I was debating whether the title of this chapter should be 'Borza' or 'The Fear'. I guess the former works better than the latter. *shrug*