Amulet

Unsure of where to begin his search, Shadow looked around for any signs of where Flippsy may have gone. He looked down to examine the confetti at his door. Though the memory escaped him earlier, he was able to recall seeing similar confetti. He picked some up and placed it in his satchel. Having now found a lead, Shadow decided he would go to investigate the area where the other confetti was located. He looked up once again and stared into the pitch black forest. With the mystery unfolding, the atmosphere of the forest became cold and foreboding. The once peaceful silence now brought with it an unnerving sensation.

Flippsy could just be out for a walk or could be out flying, but this was unlikely. If Shadow was scared of going into the forest, Flippsy wouldn’t even consider it. As for flying, it was just too unlikely that Flippsy would leave without letting Shadow know. Shadow knew that more time he spent reasoning with himself would be more time wasted. He gathered the little courage he had left in him and went into the dark forest.

Shadow began his venture walking but with the occasional shuffling among the leaves he sped up to a brisk trot and continued to increase his speed until he reached a gallop. Retracing his steps, Shadow made his way through the forest hoping that the wind hadn’t blown the paper bits away.

His focus was set on the ground as he made his way through. This oversight led him into a clearing within the forest. He looked up. The moonlight illuminated him along with his immediate surroundings but in turn made it hard to see what was within the forest. Shadow knew where he was however. Slowly, he began to step back but from behind him came a loud howl. He stood still and seconds later 2 more howls could be heard not too far away. The timber wolves had found him.

“Now you’ve done it” he muttered to himself.

Knowing he wouldn’t be able to re-enter the forest shadow moved himself to the center of the area. Without many options, he positioned himself to be able to run as soon as the timberwolves made themselves visible. Each second that passed by he became more tense, unsure if he would be able to outrun them.

After what seemed like forever, they walked out from the Shadows. To his dismay, it was just as he predicted. Three full grown timberwolves had surrounded him making it essentially impossible to escape. They circled him slowly, growing closer with each rotation. Accepting defeat, Shadow closed his eyes in fear. He heard one of the timberwolves snarl and presumably lunge at him, but immediately after the jump came a loud crash.

Shadow opened his eyes only to find that one of the wolves had been shattered. In the middle of the pile of wood stood a mace. Busy looking around, Shadow failed to notice the other wolf run up behind him, but before it could do any harm, Shadow was tackled. He rolled across the ground, but avoided being attacked by the wolf. After looking around, Shadow found that the one who had tackled him was another pony, but not just any pony. In the light, Shadow was able to see that it was the bat pony from before.

The bat pony took flight towards one of the timber wolves and hit it in the face in order to agitate it. The wolf began to chase and swipe at the bat pony who was doing the same to the other wolf. Now, with both wolves chasing after him, the pony moved to the center of the area. Once again, the wolves began to circle him but he just stood there. When within striking range, both wolves pounced at him but the bat pony took flight, only narrowly avoiding the attack. The two wolves knocked into each other. With both of them stunned in the center, the bat pony took the opportunity to fly higher and let himself go into free fall. The force and speed allowed for him to crash into their heads and blow them to pieces.

Shadow was still laying on the floor in awe of what he had just witnessed. The bat pony stood up and began to walk towards the mace. He hooked it onto his armor and turned to Shadow with a stern expression. Shadow stood up knowing he would get some sort of lecture about how he was told to stay out of the forest. The grey pony didn’t stop however and just walked past him saying

“Let’s go.”

In no position to dispute, Shadow followed. They continued into the forest for a while. Growing anxious about where his brother could be, Shadow decided to break the silence.

“I really appreciate what you did back there. I’m honestly not sure I would have made it out on my own.”

The bat pony didn’t acknowledge his words. They continued walking.

“I understand that you told me not to come back into the woods, bu-”

“But you were looking for your brother.” The bat pony interrupted.

Bewildered, Shadow stopped and stared at the bat pony. How could he have known? Shadow now grew cautious of the pony.

“I followed you back to make sure you would stay home. Now keep walking.” The bat pony said.

“First of all, weird. Second of all, if you followed me back why didn’t you tell me to stay home when I was first about to leave?” Shadow said, still not moving.

“Keep walking.” The bat pony replied.

“You sure are bossy Mr...uhh... what’s your name anyways?” Shadow asked

Annoyed now at the nuisance Shadow was being, he turned around and stomped his hoof.

“If you don’t keep walking I’ll leave you in worse condition than the timber wolves!”

Shadow quickly trotted over to the pony. They continued into the forest and after a while. Shadow began to recognize where they were going.

“Are you arresting me?” Shadow asked, concerned that he would lose more time.

“As much as I wish I could, no. You’re a key witness.” The bat pony explained.

“Witness?”

“Over the past weeks, there have been an increasing amount of disappearances within the forest. Specifically, pegasi residing or walking through the forest have been going missing. We’ve had no luck with our search. That is, until I met you.”

“Missing pegasi? That means-” shadow said before being interrupted

“Your brother is a victim. Not only that, but seeing how you reacted to the confetti at your door I assume you may have a hint as to who or where the culprit might be.” The bat pony said.

Shadow stayed silent for a while. On one hoof, he knew that whatever it was that was taking the ponies, it would be far too strong for him to confront on his own, especially because there had been multiple victims. On the other hoof, telling a guard might make his search messy or lead to an unneeded use of force. Shadow decided to keep to himself.

“I was actually just going to walk the perimeter of our house. I guess I just got carried away.”

The bat pony looked at Shadow with a dissatisfied expression.

“No pony with a functioning brain is careless enough to walk straight into timber wolf territory.” The bat pony refuted.

That was exactly what had happened. Shadow decided not to say anything though, both for the sake of his pride and in order to prevent an argument.

They continued in silence nearing an end to the forest. They stepped out from the dense forest into the moonlight. In front of them was Luna’s castle, formally known as the castle of the two sisters. Shadow stood in awe of the sight. He had last visited the castle when it was under construction. It was no longer in ruins as it once was. The bat pony once again signaled Shadow to keep walking. Before he continued, Shadow heard a noise coming from the forest. He turned back and saw the silhouette of a pony. Not enough was visible to him other than what seemed to be two wings coming out from the pony’s head. Because his sight had failed him earlier though, he thought nothing of it.

They walked towards the castle's back entrance where the barracks were located. The bat pony was allowed entry with no hesitation but Shadow received various scowls. The grey bat pony led Shadow to a smaller building away from the rest. They stepped inside and Shadow quickly realized that it was the bat pony’s private quarters. There were two cots in the corner and a large table scattered with papers in the middle. The only light in the room came from two candles on the table and a lantern hanging from the roof.

Shadow’s curiosity got the best of him and he decided to skim the papers for any information regarding the situation or the bat pony.

“Blood Moon?” Shadow chuckled. “That’s kind of edgy.”

“How about you stop talking and listen, Dark Shadow” The pony said.

Shadow sat and shrugged.

“Under permission of Princess Luna, I’ve been working on this case for a few days now and have gotten no leads. If I can’t find any information regarding the whereabouts of the missing ponies I’ll have no choice but to let the investigation go public. I’m trying to avoid creating a scandal of this so if you have any information, it is in your best interest to share it with me.” Blood Moon explained.

“Permission? You mean you went out of your way to take this on by yourself? Why?” Shadow asked.

These words seemed to have wounded Blood Moon, but after slight hesitation he responded.

“This incident began with the disappearance of my younger sister, Moon Rise. I was hoping I could find her on my own, but as time passed more and more ponies disappeared. Not only that, but as you can imagine, hope becomes slimmer with the passing of each day.”

Shadow felt uneasy, he had withheld information for no justifiable reason. Knowing now that it was a single pony effort and that Moon was in a similar situation as him, Shadow decided to speak.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He began.”And I’m sorry, but I lied. The confetti” Shadow said hesitantly, not knowing how the bat pony would react. “Earlier today, I went to town and on my way out, I noticed a slight trail of confetti going east into the forest. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now that you-”

“That’s all I needed. Now go home.” Blood Moon interjected.

“What? I can’t go home, not when my brother is out-”

“Just go home!” Blood Moon yelled.