Everfree

Perspective: Nathan
The forest was so dangerous, yet so beautiful. It had bugs of various makes and creatures found only in mythology. If god is real then this place is heaven, or hell. Beetles, spiders and hornets, oh my. This place is just like home, dangerous and well round with peace and order teaming with chaos and balance with no one species able to completely destroy another. Trees housing ants, hornets and spiders, burrows with more ancient arachnids that rely on ambush tactics and tree branches housing colonies of bug. The mammals were no different living within the trees, beneath the soil or hidden by rock as they ate their respective prey. Here, the air, while foul with death, was also fresh and clean as some insects never crossed paths as well as mammals and avians, reptiles and amphibians. During these moments, the air was still and relaxing. My point was made as a snapping turtle passed me by without any aggression since I wasn't disturbing it. I did think of the shell on its back and figured I needed the armor so I weighed my options on what animal to use. Insects have durable carapace while a tortuous has the best shell and crabs with the best chitin. It comes down to the need vs the demand in the end as nothing is going to outright kill me but it's better to have a weapon until I need a shield.

Looking around for a suitable weapon, I found the perfect bug for just that: The Moss Mantis. It's shell has a construction that diffuses the silhouette and makes it look like moss. The only reason I saw it was because of it's prey. Once it was done, I grabbed it, processing the creature as my arms gained the spiny sickles and my head was adorned with three extra eyes at the crown and two more in the form of horns. This formation was astounding as I could see 360 degrees around me with no issues with a few blind spots. This would be more than enough for now but I would need a reason to stay since it is a dangerous place on its own and no offence is just as bad as a poor defense. Finding any semblance of a crab here will be a bad search though as crabs require water and I'd need a pond or something, of which there may not be in the forest. It would be advantageous though as crabs have sharp tips for feet and huge claws that act like scissors and an impressive regeneration ability that lets them regrow entire limbs. That will have to wait for now.

As I explore the forest, I head deeper in and find a castle that appeared to have suffered fairly recent damages and the bridge was out so I jumped the gorge and headed inside. The interior was just as damaged as the exterior from a fight and time since no one was here to take care of it. Carpets were tattered, drapes were coming undone, left over armor was rusty and many of the hallways looked too unstable to consider passage. All in all, this place was a war zone at one point and it shows from the wear. This place has so much scarring and fracture that I don't think it can be fixed. So this can't be used as any base of operations and may hold something that I should not mess with. So after leaving the structure, I needed to find a cave, without a tenet, and make that my home until something comes along, in which case I will then act like a predator.

Perspective: Celestia
The Everfree has been quiet in recent days. For years after I had banished my sister, our magic had mixed with the forest, causing it to come to life, with some of the animals wandering close to the edge, only to be kept at bay. Now there are almost no reports of any of the Everfree's creatures encroaching on the border, almost as if magic were at play. I would say it is the human, since my guard had not found him yet but even I know it can not move that quickly, so it might be one of the creatures. I instructed a guard to investigate the matter and he hasn't come back since. I grow worried that my little pony might have encountered a dangerous situation and is in peril. The creatures in the forest are no natural anymore and may possess any number of odd traits from abnormal size to mutations that are not normal by any means like wings on a spider or bulky armor on a fly. Anything is possible with residual magic, but the other possibility is that the forest was given its own life force from the fight and has started to take its affect on the animals.

I did, recently, find a spider with claws and armor and legs that looked crooked along with a 'tail' coming out of its abdomen. I was so shocked by this that I ran immediately with a terrified look. A normal spider is creepy enough and that thing was a nightmare. It looked so wrong that I did not want to set foot in that forest again. It scares me sometimes, with the only safe place there being the old castle. It reminds me of my past though and so I want no part of it. Before I could ponder any further, the guard I had sent out barged in, armor ripped or missing, claw marks on the body with minor scratches on the face. His face was fine but his eyes were blank as he spoke. "Beware. Beware the Everfree Thing. Beware the Everfree Thing." The other guards escorted him to the medical wing as the one who came in repeated the phrase as a warning or a chant. Whatever happened to him was no accident. This 'Everfree Thing' just attacked one of my guard though without knowing what it was, or who, taking action now would be a mistake. For now I will have to wait, but one thing is for certain, this 'thing' is dangerous to my little ponies.

Visiting the guard, he kept going on about the 'Everfree Thing' and it was apparent that he was scarred for life. The cuts looked vicious but the doctors said only a blade could do this, but there was some tearing as well, as if the blade were serrated, a practice I had banned among the blacksmiths of Equestria for its unethical savagery. They even claimed that rubbing fat on it and sparking the blade would be beneficial in sword play or as a gimmick but they were hiding darker intentions from me so the ones who didn't abandon the practice were cast out for their insubordination and lack of respect to the crown. I know they conspire against me but I will not buckle to their will. I have a kingdom to protect and they will not stop me from doing that.

My first priority is to find this 'Everfree Thing' and stop it from hurting anymore of my little ponies or there will be panic among the kingdom. Though sending more guards is a waste of time, I feel that sending one of the older and more trained Guards Mares would be better suiting since they have gone through more missions than the males. I really should bump up the training a bit. I called Honed Iron to the throne room and gave her the mission of searching out the 'Everfree Thing' and to document and report back or capture and kill. Her results would be the safety of Equestria and those orders were taken with a solute as she left the throne room. I can only hope that she makes it back. For now, I have to deal with court.

Perspective: Honed Iron
My princess is worried for nothing. Many of the creatures these ponies claim to see are big because we start so small as foals. I think it may be no bigger than a stallion and a twig compared to me. If any creature can best me, it'd be a hydra as they regrow two heads for every one that is lost. They are the most ferocious creature but not the brightest as the multiple heads have to share a body and that can breed some conflict if enough heads form. Then there's a manticore, which can be quite deadly with its stinger and wings granting it range and speed. *Howl* And then there were timber wolves. Nasty creatures. Most animals here stay away from them. They are connected to the forest and hunt down what they see without rest. The sound told me they weren't too close, but that could change quickly.

That reminds me, we never asked the guard what the 'Everfree thing' looks like. So I'm hunting... nothing?
...............
I'M A BUCKING IDIOT! I immediately turn around, stomping my way home with shame... and immediately regretted it. The nearby Timberwolves had heard my stomping around and came after me. I run and they pursue, I duck and weave, they maneuver and navigate. This was their turf and I was able to keep them away with my staff but one of them clipped my leg as I tripped, blood spilling from the open wound like warm water on a hot summer day. The pain was like alcohol on a paper cut without pain killers to null the pain from the intensity of the stinging burn I was feeling.

I look up and the wolves are closing in. I go for my staff to keep them away, batting one in the face and jabbing another one through. I kept them off successfully before one of them ran head first into the staff, using it's body weight to knock it out of my hands. They encroached on me, slowly stepping to me, teeth barred and and dripping with sap as their version of saliva. I started to back away, afraid of these things with reminded vigor as they continued to stalk me before a deep and savage howl echoed through the air and the wolves looked visibly terrified as they ran, with only one staying, possibly from false courage as it looked back at me before looking up briefly and running away. I look back to see six glowing eyes approach as I see a lupine shaped beast with a head supporting those six same eyes, closing off four of them so as to give the sense of peace. I walked up next to me and lowered down, gesturing to its back. What was this creature? Why did it save me? Is it of the Everfree? These questions got not answer as it hauled me onto its back and ran, fast, forcing me to grab onto something as it was running straight to Canterlot, following the trails loosely as it headed for the capital.

We made the trip in less time than it takes to travel by chariot before it stopped out side of town. Lowering me next to a tree, I breathed in a huge serving of air before a deep howl was sent to Canterlot's direction. It wasn't loud or gravelly but resonant as the howl didn't damage or harm my hearing, but it did mess with my sight a little, nothing too bad. It ran off, with even more speed than I knew it had, as guards came and saw my condition. "Ma'am! What happened?!" I looked down, pondering what that thing was before looking back up.

"I believe I have met the 'Everfree Thing'." Was all I said before giving my report to the princess.

Perspective: Everfree Thing
That will keep them off my back for sometime, just so long as I remember to use this form when interacting with them. I doubt they forgot about the night I was released, but I will make it the day I was reborn as well.