Old stories, New beginnings
The tale of the Bloody Countess is one mired in mystery and confusing contradictions; the people of Whitetail Woods say that she was a powerful mage who sold her soul to Tartarus in exchange for her vile might, while at the same time the residents of Ponyville say she was a royal from before the unification of Equestria, known for being quite cruel to her subjects. It seems that each village has a differing rendition of the tale, though all have one thing in common. They all speak of a dark castle buried deep in the thick woods of the Everfree Forest. A castle guarded by evil beasts and ancient magic emanating from its unhallowed halls.
Of course this is all pure speculation, since no one is even sure if she was a real person or if it’s just a ghost story told to young children to make them behave. Most scholars beli--
Twilight’s attention was pulled from the pages of Legends and Myths of Equestria as the carriage she was riding in rocked sharply when the back wheel dipped into a pothole in the road. Sighing, she slid the lavender ribbon back into place between the pages, bookmarking her position, before looking out the window. They were nearing Ponyville at last, Twilight's new home for the foreseeable future while she worked on her research. The scholarly woman smiled and adjusted her glasses, she was excited to finally get to work on uncovering the mystery of the Bloody Countess. She still couldn’t believe she was setting off on her first solo research project as Celestia's pupil. It still didn’t feel entirely real, only a week ago she had been studying in her room at Canterlot Castle, trying to figure what she was going to do for her first project away from the guild
Finding that old copy of Legends and Myths had seemed like providence at the time. She quickly ran off towards the throne room, excited to tell her mentor what she had decided on.
As she reached the large double doors of the throne room, Twilight slowed to a walk, the guards on either side of the door giving her a warm smile. She waved to both of them in return before making her way in to speak with Celestia, who was sitting regal as ever on her towering golden throne.
The princess gave the young girl a loving smile and motioned her to come forward. Twilight did as instructed, her shoes clicking loudly across the polished stone floors. As she approached, she spotted Luna sitting tiredly on her smaller silver throne to the left of Celestia. She flashed a tired half smile at the younger girl.
“Hello Twilight, how are you fairing, my dear student?” Celestia asked in that motherly tone she used with Twilight whenever her student was excited to speak with the princess. Twilight bowed politely before looking back up at the princess.
“I’m doing great, Princess, I’ve chosen the subject for my solo research project!” Celestia nodded, prompting Twilight to continue. Clutching the book she had brought close to her chest, she cleared her throat and looked up at the princesses confidently. “I want to find the Castle of the Bloody Countess; hopefully it is a real site and not pure fiction, if so then just imagine all we could learn from such a find!” she exclaimed, her excitement clear in her eyes.
Celestia’s smile faltered at the mention of that title, she shared a look with her sister, who had a similar expression on her face. Frowning, she looked at her student with concern.
“Are you sure you want to research that, Twilight? The Everfree Forest is not to be taken lightly. There is a reason the locals don’t go through those woods.” Twilight had expected this and gave a firm nod in response.
“I am positive, Princess, I believe the reward of such an endeavor greatly outweighs the risks. I am also capable of dealing with a few beasts if it comes down to that. “ Celestia sighed, but wore a proud smile on her face.
“Very well, Twilight, I will have accommodations prepared for you in Ponyville. A carriage will take you there at the end of week, I suggest you prepare for quite an extended stay.” Twilight beamed excitedly and bowed once more, giddily running back towards the door.
“I will, Princess! Thank you so much for this!” she called to the monarch as she sprinted down the hall to go collect her things for the trip.
Suddenly the carriage lurched to a stop. Shaking her head, Twilight looked out the window and was greeted with the sight of a tall building with a hanging sign in the shape of a giant oak. Golden Oak Library was a stone building, one of the oldest in Ponyville if Twilight remembered correctly, and her new home. Taking a deep breath, she swung the door to the carriage open and grabbed the satchel holding all of her important materials. Waving goodbye to the carriage driver, she walked into the library, shelves filled with books lining the walls. She had to thank Celestia again for securing the library as her new home. Part of the deal of Twilight living here was to work as librarian part time. A win-win in Twilight's book. Setting down the satchel, she walked around the first floor, admiring the old architecture of the building.
“It’s pretty impressive, isn’t it?” the mayor, a short woman with white hair and half-rimmed glasses, asked as she walked over to Twilight. Twilight shook the mayor’s hand and smiled.
“It’s wonderful, Mayor Mare. I cannot thank you enough for agreeing to let me stay here while I look into the Everfree.” The woman gave a tight smile.
“Think nothing of it, dear, I hope you will be able to find all you are looking for in our little town.”
“I am sure I will, that reminds me, I actually had some questions for you regarding the local versions of the Bloody Countess legend if you had the time to answer them?” Twilight asked politely, hoping to get a headstart on her studies. Frowning, the mayor was about to respond when a cheerful voice cut her off.
“Oooooh, that’s that spooky story about the old royal mage, right? I love that one! My parents used to read it to me when I was a kid.” The two women looked to the doorway where a chipper young woman with bright pink curls for hair stood, a large cake in her hands. The mayor sighed and looked back to Twilight.
“Twilight, this is Pinkie Pie, she works at the bakery in town.” Pinkie Pie skipped over and handed the cake to Twilight, who almost dropped it due to the sheer heft of the baked good. Pinkie Pie smiled at the duo excitedly.
“It’s great to meet you, Twilight! I heard we were getting a new librarian and wanted to be one of the first people to say welcome to Ponyville,” she said with a blinding grin that Twilight couldn’t help but return with her own. Mayor Mare pulled out a pocket watch and frowned.
“I am actually running late for a meeting.” Tucking the watch back into her shirt pocket, she looked over at Pinkie. “Pinkie, would you be able to help Twilight and give her a quick tour of the town?” The cheerful woman beamed excitedly and gave a mock salute to the mayor.
“It would be my pleasure, Mayor! I’ll give her the best tour she’s ever been on!” the girl declared gleefully. Mayor Mare just pinched the bridge of her nose and walked out of the library, waving a quick goodbye to Twilight.Setting the cake down onto the table in the center of the room she looked over at the strange girl and gave a polite smile.
“So where should we start our tour?” Twilight asked, hoping to salvage at least some of her evening for looking into the myth. Pinkie gave her a toothy smile and grabbed her hand and all but dragged her into the streets.
“Okay! Well, first I want to show you around the town proper, help you get your bearings for when you need to find stuff.” Twilight nodded, a little impressed that this ‘tour’ was going to be useful. Pinkie pulled her along as she made her way into town, waving happily at random people who walked by. Their first stop was a squat building with a small sign hanging above the door in the shape of a quill.
“This is Inkblotter’s shop, if you need any sort of stationary, he can get it for you.” She then leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, “If he tries to sell you furniture, don’t accept, no one is sure where he gets any of it.” Twilight wasn’t sure if she was joking or not, and before she could ask, they were off to the next stop.
After stopping at a few of the more important locales of the town, Pinkie decided she would introduce Twilight to one of her good friends. As the two of them walked down the street, the sound of metal striking metal echoed through the air. Turning the corner, Twilight spotted a small smithy with smoke puffing laboriously out of its chimney. Pinkie gave her a giddy smile and ran over to the shop, making Twilight run after her.
“Hey Applejack! You still here?” Pinkie yelled loudly as she walked into the forge area, the sound of metal on metal died out as a tall, tan and very muscular woman walked over. Her straw blonde hair was pulled back into a loose braid that ended halfway down her back, her eyes were a sparkling green color and her face was dappled in a myriad of freckles.
“Pinkie, what are you doing here? I thought you were making a cake or something, not that I’m upset at seeing you or anything though,” Applejack asked, her accent coming through thick. Pinkie walked over and gave the tall woman a soft peck on her soot-covered cheek.
“I already made it, silly, that was a few hours ago, I wanted to show Twilight around the town since this is her first day here and all.” Applejack looked over Pinkie’s head to the awkward girl standing in the doorway. Walking over to her, Twilight swallowed heavily, she barely came up to this girl’s shoulders.
“So you’re the new librarian then.” Applejack grabbed her hand in a tight grip and shook it, it felt like she was going to take her arm off with how vigorously she was shaking it. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Twilight, as you probably heard Pinkie say, my name’s Applejack. My family has lived in Ponyville since before it was technically founded,” the blacksmith told her with an air of pride.
Twilight took her hand back and tried to hide the pain she was feeling. Her family had been here that long? This was perfect!
“That’s wonderful! I am actually here to research the legend of the Bloody Countess, would you be able to tell me a bit about i—” She was cut off quickly by Applejack’s sharp tone.
“No, sorry, Twilight, but I am not discussing that, you’d be better off just leaving well enough alone.” Her warm tone vanished as fast as it had appeared, the cold sharpness of her voice made Twilight back away. Turning back to Pinkie, who had a concerned look on her face, Applejack shook her head and walked back to the forge. Picking up the piece she was working on, she slid it back into the fire.
“It was nice to meet you, Twilight, but I have a lot of work to do.” Pinkie walked over to the blacksmith and the two of them whispered to each other for a moment before the shorter girl sighed and went back over to Twilight.
“I’ll take you back to the Golden Oak now, Twilight.” Her voice lacked its previous chipperness. Twilight simply nodded before taking one last glimpse at Applejack, who had begun hammering the piece into shape, a stony glare on her face as she did so.
Twilight chewed on the inside of her cheek as the two of them made their way back to the library.
“I’m sorry if I said something I shouldn’t have back there,” Twilight said quietly as she fiddled with a loose thread on the front of her robes.. Pinkie quickly shook her head.
“Oh no, Twilight! It wasn’t you, I promise, it’s just…” She waved her hand in a circular pattern, trying to come up with the best way to phrase her next words. “The people of Ponyville take that legend very seriously.” Twilight frowned and looked over at the girl.
“Why is that exactly? I have read several books about most of the other towns where this legend is talked about and all of them see it as just that, a legend.” Pinkie gave her a noncommittal shrug and motioned that they were there.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about it tonight, Twilight, try and get some sleep, okay? Tomorrow will be better,” she reassured before turning to go to her own home. Twilight sighed and walked into the library, having more questions than when she started this journey.
Pinkie quietly opened the door to her small house on the edge of town, slipping in, she smiled softly as she felt a presence. Turning around, she spotted a tall woman in a long white dress. It seemed to move ethereally on its own as the woman stood next to the opened bay window, the light from the waxing moon causing a halo of white to cascade around her. Pinkie shut the door, making sure no one else was around except for the two of them.
“Good evening, Mistress, I hope you slept well?” she said politely as she bowed to the lady in white, who in turn gave a small smile, her long canines flashing in the moonlight.
“Quite well, so tell me, how is the newest resident of our little town fairing?” Pinkie smiled knowingly as she stayed close to the woman.
“She is different than the others, I can feel it, she has the drive to keep going no matter what stands in her way.” The woman smiled and turned towards the window, basking in the moons’ rays as her crimson eyes seemed to glow.
“I believe this will be rather interesting.”
