Late April 1975
A call comes into a rural Equestrian emergency services dispatch office, from a mare reporting that "something odd" is trespassing in her cornfield.
A few seconds after the initial report, the line mysteriously goes dead...
Local police are dispatched to the farmhouse and discover the mare dead, apparently from fright... with mysterious scratches on her body.
And no signs of an intruder.
There are creatures science refuses to recognize.
But new technology makes us question what is real.
If our eyes see it, and our cameras capture it... does it exist?
Enter a realm where fact meets fiction...
Science meets legend...
Where nightmares come to life...
Do you believe?
LOST TAPES - NIGHTSTALKER
Brief flashes of static can be seen as a security camera powers on and begins to record, revealing in its view two large cyan eyes and a shock of pink hair. A hoof comes into view briefly and taps on the camera, causing it to vibrate. The screen shakes with each tap.
"Is this thing on?" A voice is heard in the camera's microphone. "OK, I see a little light. That must mean it's working. I mean, I hope so." The face pulls back to reveal a hovering yellow pegasus mare with bright pink hair and a soft expression. The camera begins to pan back and forth, revealing it's been placed over a chicken yard. Several hens can be seen pecking away at feed scattered on the ground. The pegasus follows the camera for a bit before smiling and flying back down to the ground. The view flashes and changes to one from a handheld camcorder pointed at the pegasus' face.
"OK, um, day one." The pegasus says into the camera. "My new security cameras arrived yesterday, and I finally managed to get them set up. Took me a while, I never was very good with technology." She frowns. "Hopefully, they'll help me figure out what's been going on here at night. My poor animals can't take much more."
In late October of 2007, Fluttershy, a local animal caretaker in the town of Ponyville, began to notice unusual activity around her cottage on the outskirts of town. Her animals were being disturbed at night by an unknown entity, and she began to discover animalistic scratch marks around her property. Fearful that her animals may be being stalked by a predator from the nearby forest, she purchased several security cameras and camcorder to investigate the situation and record her discoveries.
What would be recorded on her cameras was unlike anything she had ever encountered before.
These are her tapes...
"So, about three days ago, give or take, I began to notice some strange things." Fluttershy's voice can be heard in the camcorder's microphone. The camera is focused on a nearby wall where a rabbit hutch can be seen. Several rabbits look back out through the hutch, as though wondering what the strange device now attached to their caretaker's face is. The camera zooms in to focus on some odd marks on the rabbit hutch. They look almost look like claw marks.
"So, um, these marks have been showing up around my home. I don't know what could be causing them, but from a cursory look, they might be from a small predatory cat. We have more than few around where I live, and I've seen them around more often lately." The camera zooms in briefly on the marks before the scene switches to Fluttershy walking along the edge of the woods. The camera shakes a bit as Fluttershy gives a shudder.
"I never was comfortable walking by the Everfree Forest." She can be heard to say. "Just knowing that there are so many dangerous creatures in there. It'll surprise ponies to hear that from the local animal caretaker, but the truth is even I'm pretty scared of what's lurking in there, if only because I know what they can do."
The Everfree forest is considered one of the most dangerous places in all of Equestria.
The area is wild and untamed, with unpredictable weather patterns. Freak, uncontrolled storms are common.
The entire forest teems with poisonous plants, some of which are known to cause fatal sickness.
The forest is also home to some of the most dangerous predators in the country.
Manticores...
Cockatrices...
Venomous reptiles and spiders...
And perhaps, something else...
The camera is now focused on a small garden nearby. An old scarecrow can be seen hanging from a post in the middle of the field, it's arms held out by a wooden dowel and it's head hanging limply.
"I really need to restuff you." Fluttershy's voice can be heard before she suddenly yelps. "Ouch!" The camera focuses down on something glinting in the dirt near the field.
"What in Equestria?" Fluttershy asks. She gently nudges the object. "Wait, this is one of my grandmother's silver rings." An emerald can be seen glinting as she picks it up. "How did it get out here? Looks like I've got more than one mystery..."
"Fluttershy, darling!" A voice calls out, making Fluttershy squeak in fright and nearly drop both the ring and the camera, before focusing on an alabaster unicorn mare with a purple, elegantly curled mane and tail. Her sapphire eyes are looking at Fluttershy with a mixture of concern and confusion. "Oh, I'm sorry to startle you darling, but I tried calling you earlier. It's our spa day, remember?" Fluttershy's sheepish laugh can be heard in the camera's microphone.
"It was? Oh, I'm sorry, I lost track of time. I'm not late am I?" She asks.
"Oh not at all! Though, if I may ask, what are you doing with a camera? I didn't take you for the filmmaking type." Rarity asks.
"Oh no, I'm just inspecting my property. Remember when I told you about my animals getting scared at night?" Rarity can be seen to nod. "Well, I recently got some security cameras and I'm hoping I can find out what it is and stop it... if I can."
"I'm sure you can, nopony knows animals like you do." Rarity says.
"If it is an animal." Fluttershy can be heard saying.
"Oh, I'm sure it is. You do live a stone's throw from the forest." Rarity shudders after speaking. "But we must leave now if we want to make our appointment."
"Oh dear, I'm coming!" Fluttershy squeaks. She flutters over to a nearby hay bale and sets the camera down on it, forgetting to turn it off. Both friends wander off back into town, their voices happily chatting until they can no longer be heard by the camera's microphone. By chance, the camera is focused on the scarecrow. For a tense few moments, nothing can be seen.
Until two red pinpricks of light can be seen emerging from the scarecrow's black painted eyes, growing brighter until they shine like two flames. A low, animalistic growl is heard in the camera's microphone.
Fluttershy's journal for that day noted the recent scratch marks found near her rabbit hutch, as well as odd noises coming from the nearby forest, but otherwise was unremarkable.
Her animals reported that they had been hearing something moving in her small field, which she wrote off as wild animals from Everfree raiding her vegetables, though security cameras did catch something odd moving in a patch of corn.
Later that night, the cameras have taken on a green tint as they scan the darkness. The camera on the field pans back and forth across the little cornfield. Another watches the chicken coop, while a third scans over the remaining animal habitats. A quick pan to the left and then to the right shows that the cornfield is undisturbed, the stalks occasionally swaying in the wind, and the scarecrow sitting on its post. The camera's vision suddenly flickers as it pans back, showing that the scarecrow is no longer on the post.
The scene flashes to another camera. Just off the screen, something is skulking past the rabbit hutch but gives it a wide berth when it spots something on the ground. But the scratching sound it makes on the rabbit hutch is enough to wake a sleeping bunny near the entrance, which turns to face the thing and lets out a loud scream of terror.
The thing bolts, while a window near the hutch glows with a light and then shoots open, the butter yellow pegasus flying out the window to comfort the frightened bunny in full view of the camera.
The idea of monsters stalking the vulnerable at night is a tale almost as old as time itself.
Children were seen as especially vulnerable and in many stories more likely to see such creatures due to a special connection to the paranormal realm.
The most terrifying of these stories told of shapeshifting creatures, made seemingly of black mist and hatred, that especially enjoyed stalking and tormenting ponies in the dark of night.
Kimono (Folklore Historian): Nightstalker creatures appear in the tales of just about every single culture on Equus. The most common ones told here in Equestria talk about this black, mist-like being with glowing red eyes and an almost sadistic nature that haunts and torments those who live near old forests. These beings were said to be able to either shapeshift or take control of mundane objects and turn them against their owners in order to cause them harm. But the most striking feature told about them is their near-pathological desire to cause some sort of a pain to their victim, either psychologically tormenting them or even physical attacks like scratching or biting at night.
A burst of static appears before Fluttershy's face comes into view on a webcam. Her eyes are drooping and baggy and her hair is unkempt. It's quite clear that she did not get enough sleep the previous night after the disturbance caused by the frightened bunny.
"Day two. So, I was woken up at about four o'clock in the morning when I heard Mrs. Cottontail screaming. It took me almost an hour to get her calmed down. She kept crying that there was something trying to get her babies. She just had a new litter and was deathly afraid for them." She begins, heaving a great sigh. "I finally had to let her and her family move into the house for the night. She tells me that it looked like my scarecrow in the cornfield and that its eyes were like fire. The description alone frightens me, but I'm beginning to think that it's perhaps a local hooligan trying to scare my poor animals. It is getting close to Nightmare Night." She is seen to shudder heavily. "I haven't checked my cameras yet, but I'll do that as soon as I get cleaned up and inspect the property again."
The scene changes to show the view from the camcorder, this time taking a look near the cornfield. The scarecrow hangs limply from the post, it's dark eyes seemingly staring at Fluttershy as she inspects the little rows.
"OK, let's see... well nothing looks disturbed so far." She says. The camera pans around the rows as she scans for clues. Off to one corner, something glints in the morning sunlight. "What the..." She reaches over to find a pair of silver earrings, studded with emeralds and with a tuft of white fur sticking out of a latch. "Is that... bunny fur? Angel, are you stealing my jewelry?" She says, suddenly cross. Just then, a noise is heard to her left. The camera jolts to the left and catches some stalks gently waving.
"Hello?" She asks. But there is no answer.
Another scene shift and Fluttershy is walking around the chicken coop. Her chickens are eating their breakfast while clucking as though in hushed tones, like they didn't want to be heard.
"Penny and her friends are quiet today. They must have heard about... what's this?" She picks up another bit of silver jewelry, a plain ring, next to another set of jeweled silver earrings. "All silver, placed near the entrances to my rabbit hutch, and my chicken coop and near the scarecrow. What is going on here?"
Due to its rarity and brilliance, silver has been highly valued by many cultures on Equus and beyond.
Besides using it as currency and in jewelry, many cultures attached near supernatural properties to the precious metal.
The bat pony tribes of the eastern woodlands named silver "tears of the moon" and ascribed healing abilities to it.
Ancient Unicorns believed silver to have magical properties, and would often fashion charms of silver to ward off curses and other maledictions.
Another common belief that is much more sinister is that only weapons crafted from silver can destroy certain monstrous threats.
Sunburst (Magic Researcher, Historian, Folklorist): The classical archetype is, of course, the silver bullet. Just about any legend surrounding supernatural creatures; werewolves, vampires, even nightstalkers say that if you want to put one out of action permanently, you need either a silver bullet, and silver arrow, or a dagger with a silver blade.
Having deduced that her pet bunny Angel was for some reason taking her grandmother's silver jewelry and scattering it about the property, Fluttershy was curious as to why. That night, she set up a camera in her bedroom to catch the young rabbit in the act so that she could confront him.
A camera with night vision enabled watches a sleeping Fluttershy in her room, slumbering peacefully. The camera's view is at a slight angle so that it can also watch her nearby dresser and jewelry box. The scene continues for a brief period before a dark form can be seen pattering into her room and over to her dresser, gingerly climbing up the drawers and opening the jewelry box, taking a handful of silver items and gently making its way out of the room via an open window. Fluttershy then opens one eye and immediately flies over to grab the camera, having only been pretending to be asleep and in fact hearing everything.
"OK, Angel, let's see what you're up to." She says, fluttering out the window after him. The camera stays trained on him as he visits the animal habitats, gently depositing the silver trinkets at each one. "What on Equus?" Angel, his task finished, turns back around to see Fluttershy standing there with the camera trained on him. He gives off a squeak of fright and nearly faints when he sees her. He starts to squeak out some kind of explanation before Fluttershy stops him.
"What's that? The jewelry keeps it away? It keeps what away?" She gently asks. He squeaks something else out, shivering like a leaf in the wind. "The monster? What do you mean? I didn't see anything on my cameras..." Angel stops her, feverishly pointing in the direction of the rabbit hutch. Fluttershy looks and sees the hutch camera scanning the area. "Oh! I forgot to check that one! I'll have to do it in the morning, right now it's very late. Angel, I know you're scared of whatever is out there, but you need to put these back. They're very important and I can't lose them." He starts to squeak in protest, grabbing her foreleg and practically begging her to reconsider. She simply scoops him up.
"If you're really worried, I'll let the other animals come in the house tonight, but I'm willing to be that it's not a monster." Holding the camera away, she gives him a kiss on the forehead and directs him to start gathering the animals before walking back inside, pausing to take a look at the hutch camera. "Hmm." She thinks. "Do you hold the secret?" She wonders.
The view changes back to the green-tinted camcorder. Fluttershy decided to leave it running in case any of the animals were disturbed at night, hopeful to perhaps catch the culprit scaring them. Fluttershy wishes her animals one last good night before hunkering down and drifting off to sleep. For a short while, nothing happens. But soon, the window curtains begin to flutter as an unseen breeze hits them, causing them to part. A sound of sliding wood is heard, and something can be seen moving through the now open window. Slowly, a black tendril creeps it's way up Fluttershy's shoulder, resting there for a few moments before Fluttershy suddenly yelps in pain as the tendril draws back and shoots back out the window.
Fluttershy, now wide awake, races to her bathroom with the camera in tow, taking it off night mode and flicking on the lights. She now gets a real look at her shoulder, and visibly shudders when she sees three wicked-looking claw marks etched into them.
Kimono: Every single legend about these monsters is unanimous on one thing; they are utterly relentless. Once they have decided on their target, they will stop at nothing to attack it. They'll smash through barriers, walk through fire, anything to get to you, and only a silver knife can stop them.
Fluttershy's journal for this day makes note of the scratch marks she found. Her initial suspicion was that it was one of her animals having come into bed with her and being startled away after accidentally scratching her and waking her up. A talk with them revealed, however, that they had slept peacefully the entire night, and had not come into her room.
Fluttershy is once again in front of her webcam, late the next night. Her face bears an expression of pure terror, and she's shivering so much her teeth are threatening to start chattering. She takes a few deep breaths, but it doesn't make much difference.
"Day three," She begins. "I've just reviewed the camera footage from the night before, and... I now know something horrible is stalking my animals and is now turning its attention to me." Her voice is cracking horribly and her eyes are threatening to tear up as she speaks. "I... saw it stalking the rabbit hutch... my scarecrow... come to life. I couldn't believe my eyes. And then that... something coming into my room... I'm afraid to even close my eyes." She starts to cry. "I don't know what to do... I don't know how to protect my animals, or myself. How can I stop something like this?"
Suddenly the screen goes black, and the scene switches to Fluttershy looking through her camcorder. The cries of suddenly frightened animals start sounding through the house. Fluttershy rushes through rooms trying to calm the frightened sheltering animals.
"It's OK! It's just a power outage. I'll go look." She gulps audibly as she slowly makes her way through to the back door, a flashlight her only guide. She pans up to see that the back door camera near the rabbit hutch is down. Another gulp sounds as she makes her way cautiously toward where her power lines are. Her breathing is growing with each passing moment, and her heartbeat is now just audible through the camera's microphone. Soon, she finds her power lines... and discovers that they have been cut. She starts to whimper with fear.
"Could it be..." She whimpers, before suddenly hearing something behind her, whirling around in time to catch a mass of something rushing past her and into the small cornfield. The camera is now shaking despite the fact that image stabilization is on. Fluttershy swallows loudly and makes her way over to the cornfield, the rows looking sinister in the dim light of her flashlight. She stops when she catches sight of the scarecrow. Her breathing is now deep and ragged.
"I-is there anyone in h-here?" She weakly calls out. "Hello?" For a few moments, nothing happens, the only view being a profile shot of the scarecrow. But then suddenly, the head swings over to look at Fluttershy with bright red glowing eyes. Fluttershy screams in horror as the scarecrow suddenly grows a mouth and shrieks at her, a terrifying and animalistic sound, before leaping down off the post and slashing at her with what can only be described as claws sprouting from its hands.
"No!" Fluttershy cries, immediately taking to wing to escape whatever this monster is. The creature howls at her, trying to grab her from the air as she begins to fly away. "Go away! Leave my animals alone!" She shouts at it as it chases her, but she manages to gain ground on it and fly past her cottage over the apple orchard and landing in the middle of Ponyville Town Square. The camera turns toward her as she scans the area around her, her eyes wide with terror and tears streaking down her face.
"What was that thing!?" The cries, before realizing how far she's flown in a blind panic. "Oh no... the animals... what have I done?" Her thoughts are interrupted when she hears a growl and turns the camera to see a mass of shadow sitting on a building, with the same red eyes as the scarecrow monster. "No!" She screams as it floats down after her, reaching a long tendril for her as she gallops away, still holding the camera and crying in horror and panic. She keeps running until she sees the familiar outline of Carousel Boutique, all its windows darkened. Throwing all caution to the wind, Fluttershy runs up and starts pounding on the door.
"Rarity! Rarity please let me in! Rarity!" She cries, turning the camera to see the monster slinking through the street toward. "Aaah! Rarity hurry!" She cries. The door suddenly flings open to reveal the alabaster unicorn.
"Fluttershy, what's wrong! You sound like..." She's interrupted as Fluttershy barges in and slams the door shut, crying and trying to hold it shut. "Fluttershy, please, what happened?" Rarity asks, concern evident in her voice.
"Help me hold the door!" Fluttershy cries, trying to hold the door and the camera at the same time. "We can't let it in! We can't let it in!"
"We can't let what in?" Rarity asks before some slams hard into the door and bursts it open slightly, revealing the monster's flaming red eyes with an animalist roar. "Aaaaaaahhhhh!" Rarity's scream echoes through the room as she rushes to help Fluttershy hold the door. The creature continues to claw and pound on the door before its roaring stops and the two ponies breath a sigh of relief at the seeming peace. Rarity turns to Fluttershy's camera as she locks the door.
"What in Ponyville was that?" She asks.
"I think it's what's been stalking my animals. It... came into my house last night and scratched me. I think it's..." Fluttershy is interrupted by the sound of glass breaking. "It's coming through the window!" She cries as the camera pans to see the creature crawling through a broken window pane.
"Quick, upstairs, my study doubles as a panic room!" Rarity cries, leading her friend up the stairs to her flat while the creature roars after them. She leads Fluttershy into her study and slams the door shut before double locking it. She looks into the camera. "I think we're safe now." Only for the door to suddenly fly off its hinges and the creature to rear up before them, its roars replaced with a noise like a wicked laugh. The creature then starts toward them, Fluttershy crying in terror and Rarity screaming. It raises two shadowy limbs lined with claws and Fluttershy prepares for it to strike a death blow, only for Rarity to grab a nearby letter opener with her magic and slash at it!
"Get away from my friend, you beast!" She roars at it, slashing again, causing the creature to slink back, screaming in pain. Rarity looks confused for a moment, looking back and forth between the apparently wounded shadow monster and the letter opener, before shouting in rage and charging at the beast, thrusting the letter opener into its shadowy body before finally plunging it between the flaming red eyes. The creature flails about, screaming in agony as its body begins to disintegrate before finally collapsing to the floor and disappearing from view in a wisp of black smoke, the letter opener clanging to the floor.
Fluttershy keeps the camera focused on the spot for a few moments, both mares breathing heavily. "Is it... d-dead?" She asks.
"I think so." Rarity's voice is heard. Fluttershy walks over and stares at the letter opener. "It's pure silver. It was a gift from a client." Rarity explains. Fluttershy turns back to look at the frazzled unicorn.
"Angel Bunny was taking my silver jewelry and hiding it around my house. He said it was to keep this thing away. Silver must hurt it." She surmises
"But what was it?" Rarity asks, sitting on her bed to try and catch her breath. Fluttershy turns back to the spot and looks at it. Nothing happens. The creature is apparently dead.
"I don't know...."
Fearful to return back to her property that night, Fluttershy spent the night at Rarity's. The next day, she returned to her cottage. Despite clearly being frightened, all of her animals were safe and unharmed.
Since that fateful night, neither she nor her animals have been bothered by any nocturnal visitors.
Although there have been no other sightings of strange monsters near Ponyville, strange sounds are still reported echoing from the depths of the Everfree Forest, leading us to wonder....
Do they live among us?
Author's Note
Welp, that took me long enough. I'm really hoping from this moment on I can write a chapter a day for the rest of October.
As you can guess, this story is based on the Lost Tapes series that aired on Animal Planet. I hope I was able to capture the feel of an episode of the show. As always, constructive criticism is welcome.
The name Kimono mentioned in this fic is actually a mythology gag. Can you guess where it comes from? 
The nightstalker creature is inspired by one I saw on an episode of a show called Monsters and Mysteries in America. If you're into spooky stories of cryptids and monsters, it's available for purchase through Google Play.
I hope you enjoy this and the other stories in this series. Thanks for reading! 
