Monster of the Everfree

by badassgrunt

Rating: mature
Tags: Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Mystery, Dark, Thriller, Horror, Crossover, Human, Main 6
Length: 2522

Zecora is found dead near her hut. Her wounds are...strange. This wasn't a normal monster. A "Relic" crossover.

Zecora is found dead one day by Applejack and her sister. No Everfree creature could get the jump on Zecora like that and leave such odd wounds. They barely escaped the forest alive when they encountered the creature. Despite that, life returned to be relatively normal again. Entrance to the forest was banned for the foreseeable future, the Royal Guard hoping there would be no more deaths. They were wrong. Now Twilight and the girls have to find out what this creature is before anypony else gets hurt. And a journal found in Zecora's hut may provide the answers.

A crossover with "The Relic", which is a really good book. I'm putting the human tag on because the Mbwun is technically part human. Also expect ponies to die horribly. Even the well known background ones.

Published 2016-12-01 17:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-12-02 17:39:47 UTC

Discovery

"Ah can go on mah own, Applejack. Ah know th' trail real well," said Applebloom.

"It don't matter if ya know th' trail. It's Timberwolf season. Ah ain't lettin' ya go in th' forest alone," replied Applejack. Her face showed there were no negotiating.

Applebloom sighed, "Fine..."

While most ponies would take some sort of weapon into the forest, Applejack had two built in into her: Bucky McGillycuddy and Kicks McGee. It was noon when they left. Applejack glanced at her sister while they walked, "Whatcha need from Zecora anyways?"

"Potion supplies," Applebloom said simply.

Applejack's eyes narrowed, "Ya ain't makin' 'nother love potion again, are ya?"

"N-no...It's fer congestion."

"Ya have a sinus infection?"

"...it's...not for my nose..."

Applejack blinked, not understanding for a moment. Then it hit her like a sack of bricks, "O-oh...well....good luck wit' that..."

"C-can we not talk 'bout it?"

"Agreed," Applejack said quickly.

They entered the forest and Applejack immediately sensed something was wrong. She looked at her sister, "AB, do as Ah say in here, alright?"

Applebloom too noticed something was wrong, "O-okay..."

Applejack gulped but pressed on. The forest was abnormally quiet. Applejack looked around as they walked, head on a swivel. She expected to see the glowing eyes of Timberwolves. She saw none. She chewed her lip. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Still, Applejack wanted to help her little sister's...problem. And to do that, she needed to go to Zecora's. No matter how unnerving it is. They made good time, wanting to get this over with and get out of the forest.

Applebloom stopped, "Is that Zecora? Why's she lying down?"

Applejack looked and sure enough, there was Zecora lying on the ground in front of her hut. She squinted. There was red stuff around the zebra. Was that...?

"'Bloom, close your eyes, now."

"Wh-what? Why?"

"Do as yer told!" Applebloom reluctantly nodded and did so. Applejack gulped and walked to the fallen zebra. Her breath hitched in her throat. Zecora was dead. Definitely dead. Nopony could survive having her side split open. Amazingly, no scavengers had picked at her body, despite her liver being out of her and entrails showing. She didn't look like she had been dead for a while.

Sweet Celestia, have mercy. Zecora had her back to Applejack. Applejack stopped, putting a hoof to her mouth. The back of Zecora's head was gone. Applejack could clearly see the brain. Or what was left of it. It looked like something took a bite out of it. That did it. Applejack bent down and voided the contents of her stomach.

Applejack swayed on her hooves. She needed to tell somepony. She needed to tell the Royal Guard. That's when she smelled something. Something awful. A sickeningly sweet smell. And it wasn't Zecora. That unease that bothered her while they walked through the forest increased tenfold. Applejack gulped, looking around.

Something moved in the corner of her eye and she looked. There were two orange dots in the thick bushes. Applejack squinted. They looked like...eyes.

"Applebloom! Run! Now!" Applejack twirled around and dashed back away from the zebra's corpse. Applebloom moved to run. Applejack heard something move behind her and she looked back. What she saw would haunt her dreams for the next few years.

It stood on all fours, like a pony. But it wasn't a pony. It wasn't a Timberwolf, Manticore, or Cockatrice either. Applejack didn't know what it was. Whatever it was, it stood as tall as Princess Celestia. She could see muscles under its scales and fur. And it looked right at her. And then it ran at the two ponies.

It was fast. Dear Celestia, was it fast. Faster than Rainbow Dash on the ground. Within seconds it reached Applejack. It's claws sank into one of her flanks. Applejack gave a cry of pain as she was brought down by the beast. Her fight and flight instincts kicked in. Fueled by adrenaline, she bucked as hard as she could at the monster. The claws were torn out of her as the beast was sent flying backwards.

Applejack pushed through the red fog and got back up. She looked up to see Applebloom staring back at her with wide eyes behind her. Applejack's ears folded back as she looked behind her. The beast was back on its feet. It was looking at Applebloom now. It stalked at the two ponies. Applejack gritted her teeth.

She stood between between the approaching beast and her little sister. Applejack was shaking. She was scared. Utterly terrified. She knew she was about to die. But she would die before it got to her sister, "R-run, Applebloom. Now!"

"B-but-"

"NOW!" Applejack heard Applebloom gallop away. Now she was alone. Now it was just her and this monster. She doubted she would survive. Suddenly, fast as lightning, it charged. Before Applejack could react, she felt its claws sink into her chest. She was toppled backwards on her back. She looked up at the beast with wide, terrified eyes. The monster bared its teeth. Applejack coughed. At least Applebloom was safe. She could see its face now. It was odd. It had a large forehead and a muzzle with a prominent nose. And its eyes...All she saw was hunger in those eyes.

The beast suddenly froze. It sniffed the air. It looked to the side, growling. Applejack heard thumps, unsure if it was her heart or something else. The beast withdrew its clawed hand from her and got off of her. It stared at the side of the trail before dashing away, leaving Applejack gravely wounded but alive. For now.

Applejack struggled to her hooves. Her chest and flank was on fire and it hurt to breathe. She staggered back towards the direction she came from. She developed tunnel-vision. Just...gotta make it out of the forest.

She pressed on, despite her weakening state. For what seemed like hours she struggled to walk. Eventually she made it out of the forest. As soon as she passed through the tree-line she collapsed. The last thing she saw before loosing consciousness was something blue moving to her...

Hospital

Applejack hurt. That was the first thing she was aware of when she came to, pain. The next thing was beeping and how she was on her back. Her eyes fluttered open. She immediately recognized the hospital. She looked down. Her barrel was covered in bandages.

"Applejack?" Applejack blinked and saw her sister staring at her with wide eyes, "Hey ya'll, she's awake!"

Applejack then noticed who else was in the room. Her friends and family was staring at her in concern. Applejack tried to sit up more, but hissed in pain. A purple hoof was gently placed on her chest, "Easy, Applejack. You're okay. You're alive," said Twilight.

"And you're very lucky to be that way," said a doctor, who just entered the room at the right time, "Deep lacerations on your flank. A scratched leg bone. Broken ribs. Punctured lung. Two pints worth of blood loss. You're very lucky, Applejack. A half an hour later and you would've died."

Applejack swallowed with a dry throat, "How long was Ah out?"

"Over a day," said Twilight. She looked apologetic. Applejack wondered why when Twilight continued, "A...Royal Guard wants to talk to you, Applejack. He wanted to ask about what you saw. We can postpone it-"

Applejack shook her head, "Ah...wanna get this over with. Ah...don't want ta think 'bout th' monster Ah saw."

"We can stay here with you, if you want," said Fluttershy.

"That'll be much appreciated," said Applejack.

"I'll go tell him she's awake," the doctor said before leaving.

Moments later, the Royal Guard entered. He nodded at Applejack, "My name's Iron Hoof. If you can, I would like you to tell me what you saw for my report."

Hungry eyes. Bared teeth. Sharp claws. Applejack shivered as she remembered her near fatal encounter, "Me an' my sis went ta Zecora's fer potion supplies. Th' forest was creepy, more than usual. We...we found her laying on th' ground..." Tears came to Applejack's eyes. While she didn't know Zecora as well as the rest of her friends, she was still a friend nonetheless, "She...she was dead."

All the ponies except Applebloom and the Guard gasped. The Guard sighed. He hated to do this, but he needed all the information he could get before having Guards venture into the Everfree forest to reclaim Zecora, "Can you remember her wounds. It doesn't have to be specific."

"H-her side was split open...H-her head...Oh Celestia, Ah need a bucket," A bucket was levitated to her by Twilight. Applejack grabbed it and dry heaved a few times before hacking up bile. She let out a shuddering breath, "P-part o' her head was gone..."

"Did you see what had killed Zecora?" Applejack and Applebloom grew pale before the big sister nodded, "Can you describe it?"

"I-it was big. It was on all fours. Th' head looked like one of them big monkeys. Ah ferget th' name."

"Gorilla?" suggested Twilight.

Applejack nodded, "Yep, like one o' those. 'cept it had scales 'stead o' fur. Had tail too. Like a lizard. Even then, Ah could see th' muscles it had. Kinda reminded meh o' Bulk Bicep. It had claws like a lizard too," Applejack shuddered as she rubbed her bandaged chest, "Real sharp. It was brown. 'cept fer its eyes. Th-they were orange. Like fire. A-an' they were hungry. B-but they were smart lookin' too. L-like a pony."

"...what happened?" asked the Guard.

"I-it attacked meh. It was fast. Real fast. Faster than RD if she ran on th' ground," Rainbow Dash almost looked insulted, "Ah kicked it off an' told 'Bloom ta run. It...got meh in th' chest. It was standin' over meh...b-but somethin' scared it off befer it could kill meh. Ah got out o' th' forest an' found mahself here."

The Guard finished writing down his notes, "You have any suggestions on how to combat this beast?"

"Ah...Ah don't know. Ah kicked it off, but Ah don't think it even hurt it. Jus' sent it flyin' away. Y-you best get Zecora and get out o' there fast," The Guard nodded and stood up to leave before Applejack called after him, "Wait! It smells real bad. That's when ya know its near."

The Guard nodded and left the room...

Author's Note

God I can't think up of unique pony names. Short chapter is short, but the title is 'Hospital' so I'm ending it here.

Expedition

Expedition

Iron Hoof strode out of the hospital. He sighed. He hated monsters. Which is why he wanted to get this over with quickly. First he needed to set out a order stating the Everfree Forest was forbidden for the future. Next he needed to gather his team. He went over to the Ponyville barracks. Since he was in command, the other Guards saluted him.

He went to his desk and filed a new law-order. They weren't really laws, just orders and notices. Iron Hoof didn't know why they were called 'law-orders'. He levitated a quill over and filled out the law-order. Entrance to the Everfree was temporarily banned. Next he needed to gather his team to venture into the forest. He already had three in mind.

Royal Guards didn't use their real names, instead they picked theirs out. This is why almost all of the Royal Guards had combat related names. Two stallions and a mare would accompany him. The two stallions were named Fire Wave and Rapid Strike. The mare was Obsidian Bolt.

He ordered them to meet in the armory. Obsidian, a mare with a black coat and pale yellow mane and tale, tilted her head, "You needed to see us, Sir?" Her blue eyes stared at him.

Iron Hoof nodded, "We're venturing into the Everfree Forest to reclaim a body."

The mood immediately dropped. Fire Wave, having a red mane and coat but bright green eyes, grimaced, "Do we know who is it?"

"Zecora," Iron Hoof said simply. Everypony in Ponyville knew about Zecora.

"Really?" said Rapid Strike. He had a brown coat and a blue mane. He had green eyes like Fire Wave, but not as bright, "That's surprising, considering she lives in the Everfree Forest."

"I guess she got unlucky," said Obsidian somberly.

More like she encountered something new. The creature Applejack described didn't match any known creatures that lived in the forest, "I want this quickly done. I don't want any more deaths. Gear up."

They did so, the enchanted armor changing their colors to a uniform one. They were all unicorns and equipped themselves with swords. Obsidian brought a body bag. They left the barracks and quickly made their way to the forest. Just like Applejack had felt, the forest made Iron Hoof more uneasy than usual. Regardless, they moved up the trail.

After a few minutes, they found the body. Fire Wave covered his nose at the smell, "Dear Celestia."

Iron Hoof grimaced, fighting to keep the bile down. Zecora's corpse was beginning to decompose. A damn shame.

"Do...do you guys notice something...off about this?" said Rapid Strike.

"You mean besides the fact that something managed to get the jump on her?" replied Obsidian Bolt.

"Look at the body. It doesn't look like anything tried to eat it since she was killed."

Rapid Strike was right. There wasn't any more wounds than the ones Applejack described.

"Hey guys, do you smell something else?" asked Fire Wave.

Iron Hoof sniffed. He smelled something foul that was different than the corpse. He couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from; seemed like it was all around them. It smells real bad. That's when ya know its near. "Weapons at the ready."

They drew their swords and looked around nervously. Nothing happened for a few moments. The forest was silent.

"S-Sir!" stammered Obsidian Bolt.

The others turned to where she was looking at to see orange eyes peeking out from a bush. The eyes flickered to each of the ponies. They lingered on the swords in their magical grasp. Slowly, they drew back, soon going out of sight.

"D-do you think we scared it off?" asked Rapid Strike.

'cept fer its eyes. Th-they were orange. Like fire. A-an' they were hungry. B-but they were smart lookin' too. L-like a pony. Iron Hoof shook his head, "I think it just didn't pick a battle it thought it wouldn't win. Let's get out of here before it changes its mind."

They quickly put the body of Zecora in the bag. They started to trot back. The rotten, musky smell didn't go away. It seemed to follow them. Iron Hoof looked back to see orange eyes peeking out from a bush again, "Double time it, ponies. It's getting braver."

They were almost galloping now. Fear was in the air, palpable. They eventually reached the tree line and quickly exited the forest. Iron Hoof looked back again. The creature was staring at them from behind a thick tree. Something told Iron Hoof this wasn't going to be the last they see of it.