See the taker of Masks
Its Brow of Crimson Crowned
Out of the Maw he Walk
To Lengthen his gown
Hear the Sky Sphincter
Flying, Aged Youth Bowing
All to Its whim, I fear
That Many will be drowning
Sense the Walking Stone
Come, Dance with its Might
First Herald of the Throne
From a Darkness so Bright
Taste from the Abyss
Welcoming tales of Serenity
Its an Old Pony Bliss
Reveling in Shrouded Eternity

The village rose after a restless night. The strange chanting was apparently coming from Last Ember’s workshop, but it was not his voice they all could hear. It was a sinister, disembodied hymn that shook them all to their core. No work was done on that day, the survivors staying indoor, lost in apathy.

The next day, the settlement was back to its habitual energy. Ponies were coming and going, having apparently forgotten everything of the day prior. The scavenging group was down by many, though. Blueberry was tending her growing garden and Lavender was staying home to take care of Goldenrod. The three earth pony stallions were joined by the Pegasus. They walked down the river bank to collect water, dried grass, flowers and maybe some fruits if they were lucky.

Winter Light was busying herself in the tannery, completing, at last, the rawhide suit of armor with leg guards and pants. This time, it was Nova Star who was modeling for her and, when not needed, the yellow mare was making bandages and splints. That way, during their future hunts, the ponies could mend their wounds on the go.

“So, what do you think of my work so far?” Asked the white unicorn. “Do you feel like its efficient against the monsters? Is there any ways it could be improved?”

“I believed it saved our lives many times already, Winter. You are doing a good job, in that regards. But the beasts we are fighting are always stronger than the previous ones.” Lamented Nova Star. “We need tougher armor to enhance our chance at survivals.”

“I would need better materials for that, I believe.” Said Winter Light, measuring her models hind leg. “Do you have any idea on the matter?”

Nova Star’s thought went for the strange black rock she had found in the previous hunt. It seemed to be the raw material used to make the lanterns all ponies were carrying, but the process used to make the ore usable eluded her. She then looked at the strips of skin the white unicorn was using. Maybe they could be strengthened into a tougher material. She would have to experiment further.

“Maybe. I have tried soaking the skins in ammonia after cleaning it.” Said the yellow mare, which made Winter Light retch at the thought. “It loosened the hair enough to easily scrape it away with a sharp stone but I wouldn’t say it made it any tougher.”

“Maybe try to soak the skin in something… different.” Suggested the white unicorn. She wanted to say “less gross”, and she should have.

“Maybe dung, next time.” Wondered Nova Star, the other mare’s face turning green at the suggestion.

“Not that I want to change to subject,” lied Winter Light. “But, you’ve been alone with Comet Flash quite a lot recently. Is there something going on between the two of you?”

“Are you insinuating that me and Comet are a couple?” Said the yellow mare, turning a light shade crimson.

“I’m not insinuating anything, Nova. At this point, pretty much every pony knows what is going on behind closed doors. I just don’t want you to end up being hurt, or disappointed.”

“Now what does that even mean?”

“Well, while it was agreed that we are all ponies, there are still differences. We still don’t know if unicorns, pegasus, and ordinary…”

“Earth.” Promptly corrected the yellow mare.

“Earth ponies.” Conceded Winter Light. “We don’t know if crossbreeding is possible. As Onyx Blade would say, we might just be three different species that just look alike.”

“Did Onyx Blade also told you to tell me this?”

“I don’t take orders from that worm. I’m just trying to care for you.” Explained the white unicorn, her eyes frowning at the implication. “You’re the main reason we are all still alive. If not for your quick thinking, there would be no cooperation at all. You gave us words, a working routine, food and shelter. Maybe not all of it was directly from you, but you had a say in every achievement we’ve had until now. You are important for the other ponies and without you many will be lost. So please, don’t do anything stupid or futile.”

Nova Star wanted to say something, but what? She had no proof the different kind of ponies could reproduce with one another, not that she actually tried. It had never gone that far with her and Comet Flash. A speech about the value of love and partnership wouldn’t do much to sway the egocentric mare. There was, of course, a simple way to prove the white mare wrong but that would require time, and a visit to Lavender. She excused herself and left the workshop.

The walk to the earth ponies’ hut wasn’t long, the village was still quite small after all. She knocked before entering the hovel where the purple mare was looking over her sleeping baby. Nova opened her mouth to speak but Lavender gestured her to stay quiet, so as to not disturb Goldenrod. They went to the far corner of the hut and spoke in hush tones.

“Sorry… but it took me so long to… get her to sleep.” Explained the young mother. “What did you… wanted to speak… about?”

“Well, I wanted to know how that worked, the whole baby making thing, I mean.” Clumsily asked the yellow mare.

“You want to know the… mechanics of… sex?”

“No! Nonononono! I already know what goes in where. I just wanted to know how it happened. Not when you were doing the deed, but before that.”

“Oh. So it’s about you and… Comet Flash.” Smirked the purple mare. It made Nova’s face to flush red. Did every pony in the settlement already knew about that? “Well you know how… once every few months… it gets really hot back… there? The heat as Blueberry… called it...”

“Yeah, I know about that either, and what it does. What I want to know is how did you get pregnant outside of estrus.”

“Well… When I drank the fermented juice it was as if… I went into heat but… like… all at once. Like a whole week worth of… it.”

“Wow, that sound intense!” Exclaimed the yellow unicorn who was starting to feel quite flustered by the conversation.

“You have no… idea. All in… all… I think the love juice is just a… stimulant. It helps but it’s not… necessary to achieve a pregnancy. It sure… lowers the inhibition… a lot.” Explained Lavender, a small hint of red forming at her cheeks as she was reminiscing that first time. “You should still… wait for next heat, though.”

“Alright. Then do you have any advice to give about the whole expectancy and delivery?”

“Eat lots… don’t exert yourself, and conserve your… energy.” Explained the purple mare. “Blueberry would be better… to explain the whole… delivery part. She did an… awesome job helping me… out.”

“I’ll make sure to talk with her too. Thank you, it was very informative. I should go now.” Said Nova Star, turning back towards the door.

“It was my… pleasure. I wish you… good luck.” Said Lavender, with a knowing smile. It was then that she felt something was amiss. “Where’s Goldenrod?”

Nova Star stopped in her track. Looking at the empty pile of pillows, both mares felt their heartbeat soar. Rushing outside, the yellow unicorn looked around. She saw in the distance an animal, half the size of a pony, dragging something away. It was a quadruped with short light brown fur and a long tail. It had triangular ears raised at attention and a pointed snout. Its jaw was holding the little foal by the neck.

Screaming in horror, the young mother rushed at the predator who tried to run away. Fortunately for the ponies, the scavenging group was coming back at the same time. Seeing his child in danger, Golden Sea moved to block the animal’s path. It spun ninety degrees to its right to evade the incoming pony but did not account for an aerial threat as Comet Flash tackled it from above. The purple mare snatched her baby from the beast. The predator hadn’t broken her neck but the little filly was bleeding from the puncture wounds its fangs left behind. Nova Star rushed to bring bandages before it was too late.

The animal didn’t ran away, instead lunging at the large beige stallion with a bite to his leg. He dodged and with a heavy hoof, stomped on its exposed neck until it snapped. He then ran back to his mate to look at their injured daughter. She was breathing strenuously but the bleeding had stopped.

From the shadows emerged the off-white silhouette of Onyx Blade, clapping with his hooves. He was closely followed by the charcoal coated Last Ember. Both stallions where grinning from ear to ear.

“Congratulation on that timely rescue, my little ponies!” Clapped the white stallion. “You even managed to eliminate the perpetrator. Good job!”

“Onyx, did you have anything to do with all of this?” Accused Comet Flash.

“Why would I do such a thing? The darkness is already dangerous enough as it is without any of my intervention. I’m actually quite surprised such a thing did not occur earlier.” Said the offended pony. He turned towards the parents cradling their injured child, a malicious frown on his face. “The question now would be what should we do to avoid another incident like this one.”

“We’ll just have to be more careful in the future.” Explained the beige stallion. “Keep a constant watch over Goldenrod.”

“Do you honestly believe that this is possible?” Asked the charcoal unicorn, stepping forward. “After all, it only took a second of inattention from Lavender here for all this to happens. Lucky for you, it was just a mere critter. Imagine what would’ve happened if a monster was to attack the village directly.”

“We could build a defensive wall around the settlement.” Suggested Stone Hoof, walking up beside the couple. “That’ll keep the beasts out.”

“What if the monster flew? What if it broke the wall? We don’t know anything of what lurks in the darkness; how can we defend our children against the unknown nature of the abyss?” Asked Last Ember, coming in with another assault that shook the ponies present. They were indeed quite ignorant of their surroundings.

“Up until now, no beast had dared approach the Lantern Hoard. It’s as if the monsters are afraid of the bright light.” Said Nova Star. “As far as we’re concerned, we could just brush it off as a freak occurrence and move on.”

“But something must have... brought this animal… here. Maybe it was… ill. Or desperate.” Theorized the young mother. “The risk that another creature would… do the same is… too much for me.”

“Indeed.” Approved the white stallion. “And even building a wall wouldn’t do. After all, we’d need to leave an entrance for us to leave and enter. Anything could then sneak in, or out. What do you think, Comet Flash? Shouldn’t we prepare our children for what’s to come instead of spoiling them into carelessness?”

“Yes, the world is too dangerous for a defenseless child. I hate to admit but you’re right on that regard.” Agreed the blue stallion. “But I consider a better understanding of our world is more important than strong muscle, no offense Stone Hoof.”

“None taken.” Reassured the large stallion. “I know where you are going with that train of thought.”

“The problem is that ponies, no matter how much we train, we’ll never be as strong as the monsters.” Continued Comet Flash. “But we can be smarter, and trickier. You were there, Onyx, during our hunts. When we fought two great lions and won. You know first hoof that those fight were won through wits rather than brawn. Right?”

“You’re not entirely wrong, Comet Flash, but knowledge without the necessary physical aptitudes is useless.” Argued the off-white unicorn. “We saw the fate that awaits those who are unprepared, last time. Surely, you must remember the mangled remains of that hunter.”

“Indeed, I do. We shouldn’t forget about the physical aspect of a hunt.” Conceded the blue stallion. He knew is point was getting through all ponies listening, if the murmurs of approbation were to be believed. He only needed a decisive finishing blow. “You’re saying that our children should be given early our accumulated knowledge and trained to put those theories into practice, correct? Then, since we seem to be in agreement on how to raise the future generations, how about we shake our hoof on it?”

The off-white unicorn hesitated to take the offered hoof. He was getting what he wanted, but somehow the blue Pegasus had spun Onyx’s words so it would include his personal views on the matter. It infuriated the unicorn to no ends. From their reactions, the others were agreeing to the idea. There was nothing more the unicorn could think of to sway their opinions any further to his side. Any more objections would paint him as an antagonist, well, more than he already was in the eyes of the other ponies. He bumped Comet’s hoof with his own and they shook it.

Onyx Blade and Last Ember promptly left the scene. The rest of the crowd rapidly dissolved soon afterwards. Only Comet Flash and Nova Star were left. When every pony was finally out of sight, he let out a long sigh of relief.

“You did well, considering the circumstances.” Reassured the yellow mare.

“That may be so, but personally, I think I gave too much ground.” He said, lowering his head. He released a few muscles he wasn’t aware that were clenched tight. “I bet they had something to do with it. An animal suddenly decided to come here, even though we never saw such a thing since we’re here. It knew where Goldenrod was, despite her being in an enclosed space and the numerous smells around the village. It attacked just as every pony was either gone or distracted, yet right on time for us to come back during its escape. There’s too much coincidence at play here.”

“And then they leap out of cover just so they could use the incident to preach their views.” Added Nova. “It is indeed quite convenient. But what worries me the most is that they are teaming in the first place. Onyx is just a bigot with a large ego. Last Ember, a lunatic with no ambitions to speak of. They somehow have found something in each other and now, they are unleashing their combined madness at us. I don’t like where this is going. There’s bound to be other terrible plots coming our way next.”

“Don’t worry, Nova, I don’t intent to let it happen without a fight. Our plan is still under way. The next hunt will change everything.”

“I hope you’re right, Comet.” Said the yellow unicorn before giving him a peck on the cheek. “I’m heading back to Winter’s workshop. We’re almost finished with that suit of armor. See you later.”

They hugged and she waved goodbye before going in the small hut, leaving only the blue Pegasus at the scene. He examined the creature that attacked Goldenrod. Its breath smelled like those berries that were left too long outside. It had made Rapid Meadows somehow giddier than normal. Maybe that’s why the animal was bold enough to strike in the middle of the day?

Still, he thought those kind of creature didn’t eat fruits or grass. His mind immediately made the connection. Onyx Blade. He probably made the animal drunk and let it lose in the village. Comet Flash swore he would work harder to make sure the unicorn could not hurt any pony else in the future.

Grassy Knoll was working on a new pet project. The green maned stallion had discovered that by grinding various flowers and rock, he could produce colorful dust. Diluted with water then bound with tree resin and egg yolk pilfered from an abandoned nest, the substance could then stick to surfaces. Smearing the colors with his hoof, the artist made shapes and forms.

Painting on a large flat stone he managed to drag to the village, he made the finishing touches to the colorful landscape. Taking a few steps back, Grassy Knoll carefully examined his work. He did some minor adjustment. A quick brush of red here. A smear of yellow there. Until he was finally satisfied.

The light brown stallion then went in search of Blueberry. He found the blue mare tending to her berry bush. He coughed in his hoof to grab her attention. The shy mare squeaked in surprise.

“Grassy, I didn’t hear you coming,” Said the surprised mare. “Although it’s a good thing you’re here. Look, the flowers are finally blooming.”

The blue mare pointed at the white flowers covering her bush. Many insects were already buzzing around the petals. The ponies could smell a sweet scent in the air.

“Wow! They’re almost as pretty as you, Blueberry!” Complimented the stallion, making the blue mare shyly shrink away. “I also got something I wanted to show you.”

“Oh? What is it?” Asked the blue mare.

“You’ll see. It’s something I’ve been working on for some time now.”

Grassy Knoll led the blue mare to his work. No words exchanged during the travel, only some awkward glances all around. When they got to the large flat stone though, she was gobsmacked by what she saw.

“I decided to chronicle the story of our village in illustration.” Explained green maned stallion.

Before them both, etched on the stone, was a series of different colorful scenes. The first one showed four ponies fighting a lion while a bunch of ponies were fleeing. It represented their awakening and the juvenile lion attacking them in the darkness.

The second scene showed the four previous ponies arriving at the Lantern Hoard, surrounded by ponies. Over their heads were drawn little symbols: trees, birds, rocks. It depicted the arrival at the village and the foundation of language.

The third scene showed four ponies traveling in the dark landscape where a great lion awaited. This was the village’s first hunt. The four ponies later came back with the lion carcass and many other ponies were cheering, showing their success.

The last scene depicted two larger ponies, one yellow and the other purple, hugging a smaller green pony, in a hut surrounded by celebrating ponies. It represented Goldenrod’s birth and the village’s hope for the future.

Blueberry was greatly impressed by the use of various colors, despite the rough appearance of the many shapes and forms. Her eyes were lingering the most on the largest, brown coated pony in every scene he was in. Meanwhile, Grassy Knoll was explaining the process to create the paint he used, though most of it was lost on the inattentive blue mare. She simply turned to him with stars in her eyes.

“Do you think you could paint the interior walls of our hut? It’ll liven the place.” She asked.

“For you, anything.” The green maned stallion replied. It made her awkwardly smile.

It was time, once again, to set out for a new hunt. The hunter selection had caused much surprise among the villagers. It was due to the fact that none of the selected ponies had any experience hunting. Golden Sea, Grass Knoll, Thunder Storm and Last Ember would be the chosen ones this time.

When Onyx Blade came arguing about it, Comet Flash explained that, since their next quarry was the screaming antelope, a monster the village barely knew about, it would be preferable to build a new team specialized in hunting it. That excuse was somewhat flimsy, all things considered, but enough to assuage most ponies. Onyx grumbled a few choice words and gave his axe to Last Ember, stating that he would need it.

Grassy Knoll was fitted with the skull helm and a bone sword. Thunder Storm received the completed rawhide set, the darts and a satchel of bandages and healing balms. Last Ember placed a strange circlet over his head. At its center was the lion’s eye, still twitching and blinking. Lavender helped her mate don the white fur armor. She then hoofed him a bone dagger and a lock of lavender and golden hair.

“I thought you’d like a… good luck charm.” Said the purple mare. “A reminder to… come back home.”

“I’ll do my best.” He swore, stashing the lucky charm in his armor. He pointed at the small bone dagger. “Where did you get that?”

“I made it from the animal that… attacked Goldenrod earlier.” Explained Lavender. “Think of it as… some kind of… revenge.”

With that, they were off. The group headed towards the river and followed its current to a large grass field where many animals grazed. Searching for signs of their quarry, it didn’t take long until they felt the earth rumbling underneath their hooves. In the distance, a herd of those large antelope, the same beast they were hunting, was quickly coming their way.

“S-s-s-s-stampede!” Screamed the dark grey Pegasus who flew up high to avoid the incoming onslaught.

“We must get out of the way!” Exclaimed Grassy Knoll to the grounded ponies.

“No!” Stopped Last Ember, pressing a hoof on the earth pony barrel. “If we do, we’ll lose sight of them. We must stand firm. That way we may be able to isolate one of them.”

Before the brown stallion could respond, both he and the unicorn got pushed into a ditch by Golden Sea. Overhead, they could see the hooves and underbelly of the running creatures. It might have a trick of the light, or they misinterpreted the beast’s fur pattern due to their speed, but the ponies could swear they had a large gaping maw underneath their barrels.

Finally, when the last one of creature had passed, the ponies could hear a thunderous roar and a quake of the earth. Looking in that direction, they all could see what had frightened the herd of monster. Their brains promptly locked away the memory of the monstrosity they saw, for fear of being driven insane by its mere appearance.

When the dust settled, the hunters came out of hiding and examined the tracks left on the field. Some of the antelopes had strayed away from the herd in their flight for their life. The ponies chose one line of hoof prints and followed it.

The group travelled further into the darkness. A few miles later, they stumbled upon a grisly scene. A dead pony, it’s corpse still warm, laid on the ground. His armor was torn into piece, his spear broken in half. One of his hoof was clutching something on his chest. The hunters could not tell if this was the work of their prey or another monster.

Grassy Knoll walked up to the dead hunter to examine his body. The brown stallion found nothing of value on him, but his hoof was clutching a deep piercing wound. Maybe it was caused by the antelope spiraling horn. The group left the body where they found him. There was nothing more they could have done for the dead pony.

The hunters camped under a large carved stone face. They were exhausted by their day, however short it seemed to be. For them all, this was the first time they ventured so far from the village. Even Last Ember, despite claiming he had seen many monsters in his vision, was visibly shaken. They had little sleep that night.

The next few days, they found no traces of the Antelope, only a field of uprooted grass. Their quarry had fled far into the darkness. Nevertheless, the hunters pressed on. Their travel was interrupted by a strong rumbling. Last Ember pressed his front hooves on his fellow grounded ponies.

“Don’t move” He warned them.

Before them, the earth opened outward and a gigantic wormlike creature burst from the ground. It’s black, chitin covered, twitching body bend forward and dived front first back into the ground with a thunderous crash. The ponies remained paralyzed until, at long last, the Harvester’s tail came into view and quickly disappeared back into the earth. The ground stopped shaking and the ponies breathed a sigh of relief.

“What was that?” Asked Grassy Knoll, but only got shrugs as answers. “If we had moved even a single step further, we’d be all dead. Thanks Last Ember.”

“Don’t thank me for it, I just didn’t want to die with the rest of you.” Rebuffed the charcoal unicorn.

“For a pony who goes on and on about how we are all going to die horribly, you do have quite a will to live.” Remarked Golden Sea.

“I’m not suicidal, I’m a realist.” Explained Last Ember. “We live in a world where whatever that was lurks beneath us. We’ve seen herds of monsters, and… other things… roaming the darkness. Ponies don’t have much of a chance overall against those creatures.”

“I-i-i-it doesn’t mean we sh-sh-should just lay d-d-down our lives just like that.” Stuttered Thunder Storm.

“That’s not what I’m saying either. As is right now, we are weak. We must grow strong to face the danger that lurks in the dark, but the way things are handled we’ll never be more than food for monsters when they finally come for our village. I don’t know much more than the rest of you, but I can tell there’s something big that’s coming. We must be ready for it.”

There was a long silence following Last Ember’s tirade. The ponies were getting used to ignore the charcoal unicorn’s defeatist statements but with the things they saw, and the long road ahead of them, the three stallions were beginning to give credence to his words. Finally, Golden Sea commanded the group to move forward towards their target.

The march was long and arduous. Scarce traces of the monster here and there told the ponies they were still going in the right direction. The trail led deeper and deeper into the abyss, into the pure darkness. There, the ponies’ lanterns could barely illuminate a foot around.

“Don’t stray from each others light.” Commanded Golden Sea, pressing himself closer to the other three ponies.

Grassy Knoll opened his mouth to reply but was cut short by an unseen force grasping him and Last Ember, dragging them away. The frantic movements made Golden Sea drop his lantern that went crashing on the ground. The beige stallion let out a last curse before being plunged into a complete void.

Grassy Knoll and Last Ember were fighting for their lives against an invisible opponent. Their lantern light merely revealing claws and fangs and the barest hint of a towering shape. The ponies blindly struggled as fiercely as they could. The charcoal unicorn felt claws digging into his left cheek, ripping down to his jaw. A bite on his side left a nasty, bleeding wound. Grassy Knoll wasn’t faring much better. Something sharp deeply cut him starting from his shoulder down all the way to his waist. He tried stomping what he thought was the monster’s snout with his right hoof but instead hit something hard that twisted his ankle.

The ponies were wildly swinging their weapons at the unseen foe in a mad attempt to escape its grasp. The maroon maned unicorn was feeling faint, cold enveloping his body. The blood loss was getting at him. Grassy Knoll exhaustion was finally settling in. The earth pony could barely stand on his hooves. Everything seemed lost until something grabbed them both and pulled them away. Looking around, they could see that their unexpected savior was none other than Thunder Storm. The lemon maned stallion was flying away as fast and gracefully as one would expect a pegasus dragging two larger ponies behind him, but he nonetheless managed to pulled them all to safety.

“E-e-e-e-e-everyone alright?” Asked the concerned Pegasus, pulling out his healing balms.

“Bleeding, but I’ll manage.” Replied the charcoal unicorn, pointing at his opened flank. Thunder Storm immediately went to work mending the injury. “What was that? I couldn’t see anything in this darkness.”

“A t-t-t-tree, actually.” Explained Thunder Storm who was now looking over Grassy Knoll using the light of his lantern. “Y-y-y-y-you got caught into its r-r-r-roots and branches. Your w-w-wounds are all s-s-self-inflicted.”

Both injured ponies were feeling rightfully silly at the revelation. The darkness was so dense they managed to mistake a gnarled tree for a terrifying monster. They probably even hurt each other with their now bloodied weapons. Then, something dawned upon Grassy Knoll.

“Where’s Golden Sea?” He asked. The other two couldn’t find an answer. Every pony was too preoccupied with their own survival to actually pay any attention to the beige stallion.

“I don’t see his lantern light.” Remarked Last Ember. “Maybe it extinguished. With the darkness, there’s no way he could find his way around.”

“Golden Sea!” Screamed the light brown stallion. “We’re here, Golden Sea! Follow my voice!”

Left alone in the abyss, the large stallion was suddenly feeling rather small and fearful. For a while, he could hear the screams and sounds of a mighty struggle. He had tried to find the source of the noise but only managed to get lost. It took every fiber of the beige stallion’s being to not curl into a ball and wait for the end. He closed his eye and took deep breath to calm himself. Panicking was not an option and abandoning was out of the equation. Once he finally got his ragged breath under control, it was then that he heard it.

“Golden Sea, where are you!” Called a distant voice.

“I’m here!” Said the beige stallion but got no answer.

“Golden Sea! Follow my voice!” The voice called.

The pony closed his eyes and slowly turned around to pinpoint the voice’s direction. Gingerly, he began walking forward. The voice was now growing stronger and stronger and Golden Sea knew he was getting close.

Looking in the distance, he noticed a speck of moving light. Maybe it was a trap, a cunning lure laid out by one of the monsters living in the abyss, or maybe it was really his friend calling for him. Regardless, the earth pony took off into a gallop towards the light. It was growing bigger and bigger, until he could finally discern the shapes of his friends.

Surging from the darkness, a large beige form tightly grasped its legs around Grassy Knoll, almost suffocating the earth pony. When they recognized Golden Sea, the three ponies breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m so glad to see you guys again!” Exclaimed the ecstatic beige stallion. “I thought for a second I was a goner.”

“I was getting really worried there.” Admitted Grassy Knoll. “I don’t think I would’ve continued if we had lost you.”

“Not that I want to be killjoy,” interjected Last Ember, “but we might want to get moving. This is definitely not the place where we want to rest. It was a close call this time, but we might not be lucky for long.”

“Agreed.” Acquiesced Golden Sea. “But we should make sure we don’t get separated again.”

“I g-g-g-got this.” Said Thunder Storm. Opening his satchel, he unrolled a long bandage. “So long as we hold on to this, and never let go, we won’t get lost anymore.”

The other three ponies agreed and they all grabbed to fabric with their hoof. The rest of the way out of the overwhelming darkness went slowly, but uneventfully. Beyond, they finally got to a place where some light managed to pierce through the abyss. Still, there was in the air a deep feeling of danger. The ponies were now deep into monster territory.

Further into the unknown abyss, the ponies came across the rotten carcass of an antelope. The animal was too decomposed to be of any use, so the hunters did not harvest its remaining parts, although they did take some time to examine it. The beast appeared to have been half eaten. Judging by the crushed bones strewn around the scene, it was killed by something big, possibly a White Lion. The hunter pressed on. The carcass at least telling them their quarry was found in this region.

By this point, the ponies had no idea how long they were travelling. With no visual indication of the passing of time, it could have been weeks for all they knew. There was a high probability the village had already sent out a rescue team looking for them. The ponies hadn’t left behind any indication of the direction they took, not that it would be of any help when the rescue team would reach the overwhelming darkness. It meant that they would probably never be found before anything bad was to happen to them.

They were about to make camp when Last Ember saw a series of shapes strewn around on the cold stone floor. Investigating further, the hunters found the bodies of four ponies. They were all clutching sharp stones in their hoof and judging by the wounds left on them, they were obviously killed by a lion. They were traces of a struggle, blood splattered everywhere, and the scent of death was overwhelming.

“This is just like us when we woke up in the darkness,” Realized Golden Sea.

“Yes, but they have failed where we prevailed.” Remarked Last Ember. “They were too weak for this world.”

“If we look around, there might be some survivors.” Said Grassy Knoll. “A lot of us did survive the first lion’s attack and managed to flee for safety.”

“Just more useless weaklings. We are better off not taking them with us.”

“I don’t agree with you, Ember, but on the other hoof, we can’t spare the time to look for them. We already extended this hunt more than necessary. The others at home are awaiting our return, or maybe even looking for us.”

“B-b-b-besides, the road is long and d-d-d-dangerous. Bringing u-u-unprepared ponies with us is just c-c-careless.”

“Don’t worry, Grassy, if their like us, they’ll be fine. We did survive this long after all.” Reassured Golden Sea. “We should move on, though. This place is not safe.”

“I agree on the not safe part,” said the charcoal unicorn, pointing towards the horizon, “but we should not move on too quickly.”

In the distance, the ponies saw the large shape of an antelope. It had shaggy brown fur covering its entire body. Its long legs ended with heavy, sharp-looking hooves. The two spiralling horns jutting out of its skull were rather short, betraying the monster’s youth. Nevertheless, it towered over the ponies, being around eight feet tall at the shoulder. The beast was lazily grazing on the grass growing through the eyes of the carved stone faces.

The four ponies lowered themselves on the ground to avoid detection. From what they could observe of the monster’s behavior, they could conclude two things. Firstly, the lion certainly wasn’t around or else the antelope would have avoided the area altogether. Secondly, the beast didn’t care about dead bodies as it would have certainly smelled the blood in the air.

The ponies formulated their plan. Thunder Storm took the air and flew all the way around the monster to cut away it’s escape. Meanwhile, the other three ponies crept silently towards the antelope, weapons at the ready. They had gathered the sharp stones left behind by the deceased ponies, in case they could used in the battle.

They were hoping that, once it had found the ponies, the beast would flee towards the grey Pegasus. Instead, it turned around to face the hunters. Rearing its legs, the beast bared the large flat teeth of its underbelly mouth. Countless strange appendage grew around the large opening of its under maw. They had grasping hands with long fingers and opposable thumbs. The sight disturbed the observing ponies. Before they knew it, the antelope was readying itself for an attack.

There once was a fearsome monster that was trained by The Hoof to be a steed for the Goblin. However, upon smelling its new master, the monster’s mind shattered and it ran into the unknown, foaming at the mouth and biting the snouts off the stone faced floor.

The monster lowered its horns and charged at the three ponies who, in turn, fanned out to avoid the deadly assault. Seeing the plan derailing so quickly, Thunder Storm took the sky to regroup with his companions. They had believed the antelope would be skittish at their approach but it seemed unimpressed by the diminutive ponies. Instead of running, like it had for bigger predators, it stood its ground. Worse still, the ponies could see its mad eyes gleaming with hunger.

Circling around the monster, Last Ember rose his axe to chop at its heel but the beast threw its back legs at him. The charcoal unicorn barely ducked under the bucking legs. The antelope then turned 90 degrees to its right and barrelled toward Grassy Knoll. The light brown stallion could not dodge and got trampled by the beast. A small trickle blood rolled down his left brow.

Before the ponies could react, the antelope turned to Golden Sea and charged once more. The beige stallion moved out of the way but the spiraling horn caught his right foreleg and he tripped to the ground. Last Ember rushed at the beast and slashed its back with his axe. The wound only angered the monster who in turn rained a frenzy of hooves and horns at the nearby ponies. The hunters could only retreat, battered and bruised, to convened on a different approach.

“That beast’s movement are too erratic to follow.” Noted Golden Sea, sponging the blood coming out of his broken snout with his good leg. “How about we cripple its legs to keep it still?”

“I don’t think they’re as flimsy as they look.” Argued Last Ember who was nursing a bruised leg. “It might take a while to finally immobilise it. Plus, I’m worried of its underbelly mouth. It’s large enough to swallow a pony whole!”

“In that case, we should aim at its vital all at once. It won’t be fast enough to evade us all.” Suggested the beige stallion. “Now, go!”

The antelope lowered its head once more and charged at the ponies who, this time, were ready for it. Golden Sea sidestep the onslaught and manage to stab the beast’s muzzle. Last Ember hacked its neck from one side while from the other side Grassy Knoll stabbed at the gaping belly mouth. The bone sword clashed with a large flat tooth, dislodging it with a great gush of blood. The brown stallion heard a snap and when he looked at his sword, he saw it had snapped in half.

Screaming in pain, the beast barrelled toward the approaching Thunder Storm. When it came in range, the antelope rose on its back legs, its giant maw opening wide. The eye on Last Ember’s circlet blinked once and for a second its vision blurred. He saw a bright flash of red and splinters of black and white.

“Grassy Knoll, throw your stone at its head, now!” He ordered.

Without hesitation, the brown stallion threw one of the sharp stone previously collected towards the beast head. The projectile hit at the base of the right horn, both shattering upon contact. Blood poured from a deep wound on the antelope forehead. It fell back on the ground, stunned.

Seeing an opportunity, Golden Sea pounced underneath the monster and stabbed its under mouth with his dagger. The maw closed quickly and the beige stallion barely yanked his hoof away but his weapon was nowhere to be seen. He looked up at the monster’s barrel.

“That thing just ate my dagger!” He exclaimed.

“And it’s going to eat you next if don’t dodge now!” Warned Last Ember.

Just as he had said that, the underbelly mouth opened again and descended upon the beige stallion. Golden Sea moved too late and the teeth snapped around his barrel. He managed to wiggle out of the maw but blood gushed out of a deep wound on his chest. The earth pony scrambled backward away from the raging beast.

Last Ember concentrated his aura on his eye circlet, trying to force a premonition out of it. He knew somewhat the effect of the jewel, being its creator and having experienced it previously, but all his predictions were accidental spur of the moment kind of things. He could see his vision change but was unable to part the veil of darkness. Not until a voice distracted him from his task.

“W-w-w-watch out Ember!” Stuttered the grey Pegasus, shoving the unicorn away from the antelope back kick. For his trouble, Thunder Storm got hit instead on his left foreleg with a resounding crack. The bone didn’t seem broken but a large spot of skin had turned purple.

In that small instant, the third eye opened for a second and Last Ember finally understood. He wasn’t looking at the right place at all. The circlet did not reveal the future, has he previously thought, but opportunities. This was made from the eye of a powerful predator after all. Looking at the antelope, he suddenly knew where to strike.

“Thunder Storm, aim at the under mouth.” He ordered.

Without question, the grey Pegasus picked a sharp stone with his good hoof and threw it at the opened maw underneath the monster’s belly. The rock shattered violently at contact with the large tongue and a flood of blood rained on the ground. Screaming in agony, the antelope ran at Golden Sea, crashing with the pony who was tossed aside by the impact.

Seeing a new opening, Last Ember swung his axe at the beast flank, opening a large wound down on his belly. But the creature’s strange hands grasped the weapon and threw it out of reach of his aura. The charcoal unicorn looked at the squirming appendages in surprise, confounded by its strange dexterity.

The beast was still blindly rushing all around, trying to trample the ponies beneath its hooves. The weaponless earth ponies were playing decoys, attempting to lead it to the armed ponies, both receiving a few hits for their efforts. Thunder Storm threw a couple of darts but missed them all while Last Ember picked back up his axe within his aura.

Suddenly, the antelope broke away from the decoys and charged at the grey Pegasus. Its head lowered, pointing its horn at the pony’s chest. Uncharacteristically, Thunder Storm decided to hold his ground instead of flying away. He thought he would have a better chance at hitting the beast from up close. Gripping his dart with his one good hoof, he lowered himself in preparation.

The monster, mad with anger, passed by Last Ember who had just raised his axe. Seeing an opening, the charcoal unicorn swung upward at the frothing underbelly mouth. The sharp blade mangled the beast’s already bleeding tongue. The sudden attack made the antelope throw his head upward in pain, giving the grey Pegasus a perfect opportunity. Thunder Storm threw the dart with all his might and it lodged itself deep into the monster’s heart. But the forward momentum made the agonising antelope crash into the Pegasus at a high enough velocity to cut his breath short. They both scrambled onto the ground. The pony ended up pinned under the larger beast who died within seconds.

The earth ponies helped him out of his predicament. Looking at himself, Thunder Storm saw that he was mostly fine. No crushed bones, only a few bruises here and there. Sighing in relief, he laid on his back, his wing splayed on each side of his body.

The exhausted ponies rested some time until their heartbeat slowed back down to normal. That fight turned out quite different than what they figured. The hunters imagined a skittish prey, fleeing from its predator. Instead it was a mad beast, charging at every movement. Feeling a bit peckish after the fight, Golden Sea examined the grass the animal was grazing on before the confrontation.

“Is it edible?” Asked Grassy Knoll, approaching his compatriot.

“Actually, it looks medicinal.” Remarked the larger stallion.

“W-w-w-what make you say so?” Stuttered Thunder Storm, coming to Golden Sea’s side. He opted to fly rather than walk the short distance due to his hurting leg.

“Call that instinct,” replied the beige stallion while plucking a few leaves from the plant. “I just know what this plant can do. Here, if you rub it on your wounds they will heal much quicker.”

As a demonstration, he placed the leaves on the Pegasus leg, over the darkening bruise, and rubbed for a few minutes. Already, the pain was numbing and Thunder Storm could somewhat move his leg again.

“There are more of this plant over there.” Observed Grassy Knoll, pointing at a large patch of grass. “We should gather some to bring back home.”

“We should also butcher the antelope before a predator come sniffing around.” Said Last Ember. “I’m sure we could find that plant grow elsewhere, but we don’t come across a dead monster too often.”

The ponies then got to the gruesome job. It was the first time any pony from the village had ever butchered an antelope, so they were all unfamiliar with the process and probably ruined much of the carcass. Nevertheless, they manage to salvage most of the pelt, two shank bones, some ribs and meat, a couple of organs and even an undigested iron lantern from inside its second mouth. On the ground, Grassy Knoll picked up the large flat tooth he had dislodged from the beast’s underbelly mouth. They also harvested a small batch of the acanthus plant before departing.

After a full week without news of the expedition, the villagers were getting anxious and a rescue team was formed to search for their comrades. Rapid Meadows and Comet Flash would be the scouting party, while Stone Hoof, Nova Star and Onyx Blade would form the bulk of the group.

The team only journeyed for two days when they came across a large verdant tree. The large red fruits hanging from its branches looked irresistibly appetizing. The ponies approached with drool dripping down their chin. Comet Flash was reaching for an apple with an eager hoof when Nova Star suddenly pinched him with her aura.

“Wait!” She screamed at the other ponies who all snapped back to reality. “Look around you.”

With a hoof, she swept over the many bodies lying all around the tree’s expansive network of roots. They were of all sorts of species, but most were ponies. The corpses were in various state of decay. The oldest were reduced to bones, while the most recent looked almost alive and had still their snout covered in red juice. Those unfortunate souls seemed to have gorged themselves to death with the delicious fruits and their corpses now served as nutrient for the banquet tree.

The horrified ponies were about to leave when the blue stallion noticed something hanging from one of the deceased ponies. It was a large waterskin and it seemed to be at least half full. Opening the cap, he approached it to his snout and was immediately assaulted by a terrible, pungent smell.

“Augh! I know exactly what this is!” He grimaced, throwing the pouch over his shoulder. It got caught midair by a light yellow aura.

“Wait, that might be useful later.” Remarked Nova Star, slinging the waterskin around her shoulder.

“Maybe, but you keep it.” Conceded Comet Flash. The light yellow mare smiled internally.

It didn’t take too long afterward for the two groups to join up. Both sides were quite relieved to have found each other like so. The hunters told the tale of the excursion while the rescuers marvelled at the bloody bounty their brethren were carrying. When they camped that night, they all merrily feasted on the remaining supplies. All except for Onyx Blade and Last Ember who had distanced themselves from the group to discreetly plot their next move.

When they arrived back at the Sanctuary the next day, the remaining ponies rushed to welcome them. Lavender hugged her mate so hard, he thought for a second he would die of suffocation. Grassy Knoll went to Blueberry to tell her of his bold exploit in the deep darkness. The blue mare barely listened, eyeing towards the largest of the stallions but not daring to approach him.

Winter Light barely spoke to anyone, instead grabbing the rough pelt to judge of its quality. The other ponies also came looking at the resources the hunters brought back to determine what they could make out of it.

“Woah! Now that is impressive!” Exclaimed the ocean blue mare, holding before her silver eyes the monster’s large flat tooth.

“Oh indeed! Can you believe that this creature has a second mouth under its belly? Wait a minute! Who are you?” Exclaimed Grassy Knoll once he realized he didn’t know his interlocutor.

At the sudden outburst, the other ponies turned towards the mysterious mare, some of them adopting a defensive posture while the others backed away a few feet. Fear and distrust was observable on all of their faces.

“Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. Hi! I’m Vanishing Wind, and you must be Grassy Knoll, right? Nice to meet you!” Said the coal maned mare, offering a hoof to the light brown stallion. He gingerly bumped his own hoof with hers, still on his guard.

“How long have been here, Vanishing Wind?” Warily asked Nova Star. “And how did you find our village?”

“I was always here.” Replied the strange mare, eliciting a collective what from the other ponies.

“Explain yourself.” Ordered Comet Flash, coming forward a few steps toward her.

“You see, I was quite afraid when the lion attacked us right as we had woken up. So I flew here as fast as I could. But then all the others arrived and I wasn’t sure if they would be friendly or not, since I’m a bit different, so I hid myself until now.” She calmly explained.

“What do you mean by different?” Asked Stone Hoof.

“It would be easier if I just showed you.” Said Vanishing Wind, rising up and extending her wings.

They were leathery, in contrast to the pegasi feathered wings. Thin skin was stretching over long light bones. Looking closer, the other ponies remarked that the dark blue mare had small fangs in her mouth and her pupil were vertical slits, like that of a cat. She even had denser fur, mostly around her ears. All in all, the mysterious mare was indeed quite different.

“Can you prove you were here for this long?” Asked Nova Star who had slowly started to relax. “For example, do you know my name?”

“Your name is Nova Star. You’re the one who invented most of our language. You also built the first house and your coltfriend is Comet Flash, here.” Said Vanishing Wind, pointing at the blue stallion.

“He’s not my coltfriend!” Exclaimed the blushing yellow mare. “But otherwise, it’s all true.”

“It’s also information that no mere stranger would know.” Concurred Comet Flash. “But how come we never saw you before and for so long?”

“Well, I’m really good at hiding. Plus, I’m nocturnal. I just did most of my business when you were all asleep.” Explained the bat pony.

“Why did you choose to reveal yourself now, then?” Asked Stone Hoof.

“To be honest, I was getting lonely. And I felt like you were the kind of ponies that would accept me if I came clean. Would you?”

“Of course we would!” Exclaimed a cyan ball of energy, pouncing at the newcomer. “I’m so happy to have another friend to play with! We got to go flying around later on! Flying buddies for life!”

“Argh! Can you be less accepting please? I can’t breathe.” Pleaded the newcomer, eliciting the laughter of most of the other ponies.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delayed chapter, this Lantern Year revealed itself to be quite challenging to write. I came across more than a few hurdles I didn't expect so soon. Also, I fell sick in the middle of it.

We got our life principle. I had planned from the start to go with 'Survival of Fittest' because it gives my ponies the highest chance of (individual) survival. The other possibility makes reproduction far easier but the offspring aren't any stronger in return. Overall, they are quite equivalent in the long run, I just grew attached to my current set of survivors.

In a normal campaign, I would have kept going for lions until I crafted the full armor sets plus a bunch of other cool lion items but I thought it would make more sense narratively speaking to choose the screaming antelope for this year quarry. Bad move!

The antelope tend to move quite a lot during a hunt and I ended up crossing the 'Overwhelming Darkness' in Year 3, which is quite bad as you probably figured out reading this chapter. It also made the hunt part much longer than expected. I ended up using the Banquet Tree event on the return because I wasn't sure how to smoothly insert it into the hunt. Plus, it makes narrative sense to have events during the return from a hunt instead of just magically teleporting to the settlement.

As for the fight, let's just say that you got the abridged version. I cut many paragraphs worth of 'The Antelope ran that way, and then went the other way' while the ponies either missed or couldn't keep up. That monster is b**** and a half because of this and only get worse on stronger specimens (yay).

Introducing Vanishing Wind, the bat pony was quite refreshing for me. The 'Stranger in the Dark' has many possibilities, all related to a mysterious visitor, and the one I rolled was the poniest of them all. I made Vanishing a thestral to reflect her hiding nature. She came with a nice special ability that makes her harder to spot for the monster. It will be useful in the future.

The insanity is not over yet, guys! Tune in next time to see the ramification of this Year's events.