Monsters ravage Equus.

Beasts among Beasts destroy cities.

Purest of Monsters destroy, pillage, deceive, and kill by the score.

And Misunderstood flood the outer wilds, trying to survive.

A Cursebringer, marked by a pure white Skull, stands strong in the white.

Curses are brought to all.

The Pillars had been traveling in the cold snow for hours. Their hoof prints lay behind them, a testament to how far they'd come, but they were quickly being covered once more by the falling flakes of snow. The snow was coming down harder. Visibility was getting worse. Mistmane and Starswirl had been forced to light their horns just to see a bit more in the cold.

"Any sign of the creature yet?!" came the call of Rockhoof from behind them, yelling over the din of the howling wind. He had taken up their rear in case of being flanked.

"No! Nothing!" Mistmane called back. Star Swirl's eyes narrowed as they pushed on. He had taken point.

'We must continue. The fate of Equestria hangs in the balance. That fiend is hiding out here, somewhere, plotting, and I will not rest until he is dealt with,' he thought, his aged cyan eyes scanning the snowy tundra for any signs or traces of the elusive 'Skull'.

Unbeknownst to them, the silver-furred wolf was watching from atop a snowy hill, golden eyes aglow with curiosity. Still, the ponies trudged through the snow, oblivious.

The snowfall was growing even more harsh, the cold, piercing winds biting at their fur and making them all shiver. Snow was starting to build on their backs and heads.

"Star Swirl! We must find shelter!" Flash told the mage. Star Swirl grit his teeth, but nodded.

"Very well! Mistmane, can you-?!" the mage's voice was cut off by the sound of multiple beastly howls. "Was that... Apes?" he wondered aloud, looking around. The other Pillars did much the same, looking about for the source. And then, multiple spears of ice erupted around them, nearly impaling them had they had not moved out of the way.

Those with weapons drew them, while the others simply got into battle stances. "Now we're talkin'! I've been needin' a good fight!" Rockhoof cried with a grin.

Out of the snow came three ape-like creatures with bright red faces, and on the back of one of them was a strange, bipedal creature with deep blue skin, light blue claws on it's hands, a dark blue helmet with fin-like protrusions, white hair, and boots and a... kilt? It had a massive grin splitting its face, and it pointed to the ponies, and let out a battle cry.

The ponies tensed as the two extra apes charged them. One went for Star Swirl, but he defended himself with a quick magical shield.

Rockhoof was fighting off the other one, trying to keep it from wrenching his prized shovel away. He slammed his head into it's face, but to his surprise, it didn't even flinch, instead tossing him up into the air with a snarl. He flailed as he began to fall, but Flash Magnus caught him and quickly put him back down safely.

"Thank you, Flash," the massive Earth Pony said gratefully, before readying his shovel once more. Somnambula pawed the ground, then charged the beast, but it simply flicked her in the face with it's tail, sending her careening into Meadowbrook.

Meanwhile, Starswirl was struggling against the other beast, the thing pounding on his shield without mercy, creating crack after crack. Mistmane came forth, adding her power to his, strengthening their bulwark, but the beast was undeterred. It continued to bash the shield, creating cracks just as easily despite the added magic.

The being on the other creature chuckled darkly, before raising his hand, frost starting to form in his palm. And then, in a blur of silver, the creature's hand was missing, and he looked in shock to see a Silver Wolf with his hand, claw and all, in it's maw. He roared in pain and anger, clutching his arm, before letting loose another battle cry. His steed slammed it's fist down in challenge, then charged forth, aiming to pummel the wolf.

Only for the wolf to drop the hand, and launch itself at it's neck, biting viciously. It roared in pain, trying to knock the wolf off of it's treasured windpipe, smashing it's snout as hard as it could, struggling to pry it off, but the wolf's maw stayed firmly latched on. The ape thrashed about wildly, and the rider tried and failed to help it's steed, clawing as best it could at the wolf's hide, but it could not pierce it.

The wolf growled around the throat in it's maw, then, in a herculean feat of strength, flicked it's neck and tossed the ape into the air with it's master, simultaneously tearing out it's throat. The ape fell to the ground in a heap, whimpering in pain and reaching for it's master who had landed not far away, but it soon fell still in the cold. The wolf turned to the other apes, and howled.

The apes stopped what they were doing, looked to the wolf, and charged it with howls of their own. Their master stood himself up and made to launch an attack on the wolf himself, only to find a shovel at his throat. He growled as he looked into the steel-blue eyes of Rockhoof, and was about to summon more frost to his other hand, only for the other Pillars to surround him, glaring harshly.

"Stand down, creature," Star Swirl commanded. He only snarled louder, before lunging. Rockhoof caved his head in before he could reach Star Swirl, the Pillars staring down at it's bleeding form in morbid acceptance, before looking to the wolf to find it standing triumphantly over the two other apes, now dead.

It slammed a paw down on one's chest, then let out a piercing howl of victory. The Pillars watched with tense stares and narrowed eyes, ready for it to lunge and end them too, only for it to stare right back.

After a short few minutes of staring, it snorted, lowered it's maw to an ape, and starting to drag it by the neck with it's maw to what was likely it's den. The Pillars watched it go for a while, before letting out collective sighs of relief.

"Well, thank Faust that's over..." Meadowbrook said, hoof over her heart.

"Those beasts... They were unlike any we've encountered before," Star Swirl noted, looking to the body of an ape.

"Aye, tough ones too. Nothin' we did fazed 'em," Rockhoof agreed, nodding, placing his shovel back on his back.

"And this thing," Flash kicked the bipedal creature. "Pretty sure it casted magic. Without a horn."

Mistmane walked towards it, looking it over. "But... How?" she wondered.

"We might find answers if we follow that wolf," Somnambula suggested, gesturing to where the wolf had gone. The wind nearly bowled them over as she said that, the freezing cold starting to sink into them. They all shivered.

"We can't, not in this storm," Star Swirl replied. "We need to find shelter! Quick!"

The others looked to where the wolf had gone, then Star Swirl, before nodding. Thus, they began to trek in a different direction, searching for shelter, any shelter, that could shield them from the gnawing chill.

Star Swirl spared a glance back, and his brows furrowed, swearing he saw a glint in the snow. After searching for a moment, he found nothing. With a sigh, he turned back and continued on his way.

In the distance, on a hill, a lone man watched from afar, seeing the ponies walking away. His pale, three-horned skull was all that could be seen before he turned around and marched off into the snow, ape in his grasp.

Author's Note

EDIT: Opening theme is here!

Welp, here's chapter two.