It's been around 6 months since Twilight has written Celestia about the anomalies in the Everfree Forest. Obviously, everypony who was sent to the Ponyville stayed here since the start. Locals got so used to the scientists team, that they started living with the residents. Elements Bearers meanwhile, had a lot going on as well. Chrysalis, Sombra and many more weird events started to surround them.

Despite this, Twilight was still regularly checking on the research progress. Luckily, those anomalies that were making animals aggressive seemed to dissapear, which allowed scientists to expand their search further. They were able to find even more metal things laying around in the forest, as well as some extinguished fires.

..But nopony had any idea just HOW important that was up untill today.

Twilight and several scientists gathered in the Golden Oak's basement. They'd do it every time they found something curious in the forest (For example one of those metal cylinders) and since this place had all the equipment required for testing, everypony simply decided to run the experiments here, like melting the cylinders for example. Today though, was different.

Because today, they were able to collect blood samples from the new creatures in the forest.

Now, there is a good question that might rise up. How were they able to find out that there were any new creatures in the Everfree?

...

Well, if the fact that these cylinders started to appear in the forest right after the anomaly occured is not enough, then there is also the fact that this blood was quite different. Excluding Timberwolves, all of the creatures in the Everfree had some quirky things about their blood. For example, the cockatrices had a dark shade to it, the hydras' had it green etc.

However, the blood they were able to collect in the forest today looked very, VERY similar to that of a pony, with the only difference being the density. It also looked like it was spilled not so long ago, meaning that these creatures are still around. Everypony was so excited, that they didn't even bother to think how did it appear on the ground in the first place.

Anyway, back to the ponies...

Twilight carefully readjusted the vial with blood on the metal holder "And... Done!" she looked towards the other ponies in the basement "Is everypony ready?"

The pony near to a heavy looking device looked up from whatever they were doing and nodded "The Reader is calibrated and ready for use!" that thing wasn't really big, around 50 centimeter in length and 30 in height. There was something resembling a keyboard on one side of it along with a hole that looked like it was made for paper. On top if it, was a tiny spot, just enough to fit in a vile with something in it.

Another pony, who was standing near to the table filled with stationary answered "The quills, ink and paper are prepared as well"

Twilight clapped her hooves with excitement written on her face "Great!" she then looked towards the last pony in the basement.

The photographer cleaned the lenses of his camera and smirked "Alright, that seems just about right" he then looked towards Twilight "Just give me the command and I will take the picture"

Finally, after making sure that everething was in it's place, Twilight put on the protection glasses, slowly exhaled and looked towards the vial with blood "Very well. Let us begin!"

The scientist behind the 'keyboard' nodded and leaned forward so that he would be able to start tapping right away. The pony at the table prepared to take the notes.

Twilight's horn lit up, and the magical aura appeared around the metal holder that was keeping the vial in place. Carefully, she moved her head around and started to move towards the device, with the priced thing following her behind. As Twilight approached the surface of the Reader™ , she removed the vial from the holder.

"Careful now..."

Without any issues, she was able to insert the vial into the hole. As the device made a beeping noice, the pony behind it instantly began to tap on the keyboard with his hooves. The machine started to vibrate, initiating the reading process.

Meanwhile, Twilight glanced towards the photographer and nodded slightly. The pony understood the gesture, and quickly snapped a picture. Twilight went back to staring at the vial. Her tail was wagging side to side, and her thoughts were a bit away from here.

'Oh what could it be... Maybe the new animal species that appeared in the Everfree? Or maybe that is not blood at all? Oh sweet Celestia, I can't wait!'

Finally, after a few minutes of tapping and vibrating, the Reader™ settled down. In a second, it started to make buzzing noices, and piece of paper started to move out of the hole in front of the keyboard. Twilight was nearly jumping in place, as the results were slowly revealing themselves from the hole.

The second machine stopped making weird noices, Twilight snatched the paper out with her magic and started to quickly read the results to herself. The unicorn was about to explode, while holding this sacred (to her) piece of paper.

"Oh gosh finally! Let's see... Glucose, Water..."

Her expression started to feature surprise and amazement, as she was reading further into the results. It appeared that her theory was correct after all. Even though all the components in the blood were the same to those in the body of a pony, they seemed to be present in different proportions due to the density of the blood. And like was mentioned before, that was the exact reason why this fluid couldn't belong to the pony, nor any other sentient being. At least if we are talking about those that are known to ponykind.

Anyway, Twilight was reading the last components on the list already, while the pony behind the table with papers was writing it all down. Why couldn't they take a typewriter? Who knows...

"..Salt, Umbra and finally, Protein!" she had finished reading and looked towards the writer with a huge smile on her face "Did you get everething that I've just mentioned?"

The writing pony nodded, as he raised the piece of paper before him "Of course I did, Miss Sparkle. Now, shall we-"

...

The sudden silence filled the room, as everypony looked towards the piece of paper that Twilight was holding in her magical grasp. Their expressions were slowly changing from confused, to terrified. They all froze in their current poses in realization.

However, a sudden flash from the camera brought the scientists back to Equestria.

As everypony looked towards the source of the light, the photographer seemed to be content with his work, as he smirked while holding the photo in his hoof.

"I will call this one... 'Scientific Shock'!"

"CHIORT VOZMI!"

"Roman, I cannot work when you are squirming and yelling"

Riskrunner hissed, as he opened one of his eyes to look at the Lazarus "Gaah. Well it ain't dat easy sir..." he avoided looking at his shoulder, where the doctor was sewing his arm back to his body. The smell though wasn't making it easier for him to focus either.

Currently, they were sitting in their medical bay. It was built around the huge tree, using the materials they gathered around the forest (Hint: It's wood). Funnily enough, they were able to design and construct it without that many issues in a matter of 3 days. Shelves attached to the wooden trunk with medicine standing in them (Riskrunner had no idea where Lazarus got those), several different towels and 3 improvised hospitap beds. Of course, this building was lacking in comfort, but Agents weren't picky, and Lazarus was glad to be working under the roof instead of the tent. It was basically the center of their camp, since their doctor was also their leader.

Lazarus nodded slightly and got back to work "Can't argue with that" he then asked, without looking away "By the way, now that you are awake, mind telling me how did it happen in the first place?"

Riskrunner seemed to drift off for a moment, before nearly jumping in his place (He memorized that his arm wasn't sewed to his body yet) and raised his functioning arm to his face "VOT BLIN YA SOVERSHENNO ZABIL!" he then looked directly at Lazarus's head "Sir, I've met a sentient creature!"

He kinda expected doctor to stop working and look up at best... Which didn't happen. Instead, they sat in silence for about 5 minutes, while Lazarus was finishing his job. Luckily for the Riskrunner, the rest of the 'operation' went without any significant pain. At some point, Lazarus cut the string and put one of his hands onto the man's shoulder.

Riskrunner's eyes became slightly bigger, as he felt a barely noticeable vibration going through his body. He'd experienced this before, but it always felt unnatural to him.

"Ah... Sorcery"

A few more moments of silence, and Lazarus removed his limbs away from his patient. The second his hands stopped contact with the Riskrunner's body, he could feel his hand again. He tried to move it, and was able to do so... Though it required some efforts.

Riskrunner smiled to himself "Well darn it! You never fail to-"

"So, about the creature"

Riskrunner looked up from his hand. Lazarus already moved away and got into his 'I'm listening' pose. It was clear that they were stuck here for quite a while, as Lazarus was always keen on knowing every single detail.

Riskrunner simply sighed, as he accepted his fate "Well, where do I even start eh?"

"-..so dats how mah family started th' buisness many years 'go!"

Riskrunner was walking through the area assigned for him to explore. Despite them settling down on the good place (as far as he could tell), their leader still wanted to explore further. Riskrunner and everyone else were already used to following his orders without any questions, so all they had to do was simply arrange the 'Exploration Teams'. And no, they weren't brainwashed or overly-obedient.

They had all their trust in Lazarus.

". . ."

Berserker was easily able to keep up with the RIskrunner. The only issue that he had, were the occasional branches that were getting in his face... Not really, since he didn't have a face, but still. Nevertheless, Berserker was actually listening to the man.

Riskrunner stopped and turned around to face his teammate "Darn, even yer silence has pressure! Ye re'lly need t' work on tha'!"

Berserker stopped as well, and slowly lowered his head "Why"

Riskrunner chuckled and shrugged "I mean, how yer gunna make friends with dat attitude?" he then approached Berserker and hit him with his elbow "Ya gettin' it eh?"

Berserker seemed to think for a few moments "I do"

Riskrunner smiled widely and laughed "Glad t' hear dat mate!" he shook his head and sighed, while turning his head forward "Ye know, I'm actually startin' t' think that this darn forest is endless" he raised his hands in frustration "No seriously, how big is this p-"

Suddenly, Berserker lowered his body forward as if he was trying to see better. A red blinking dot appeared on his 'face-monitor' "Detecting an energy spike of unknown origin"

Riskrunner instantly turned around and quickly placed his arm on the huge cannon on his back. His voice changed from the carefree to a monotone one "Notify Lazarus about it. Ask whether we should investigate or come back"

Berserker got on his knee and nodded, while he raised his arm with a bracelet "On it" in a matter of seconds, the said message has been sent.

And so, they were now forced to stay in the same spot untill the order from their leader arrived. While Berserker was simply waiting for further commands and Riskrunner was slightly nervous. Usually, he is the one in the backlines, despite his physique. Now though, it is his turn to be a 'shield'... And luckily, Riskrunner still had plenty experience with it as well. However, he was also getting impatient, which lead to him getting gradually irritated.

'God, I SWEAR he is probably enjoying a drink right now! Is it so hard too freakin' check the darn messages?!'

Riskrunner huffed quietly and shook his head, clearing his head. He knew well enough that Lazarus would never be ignorant towards anything without a good reason. He once again looked forward and bit his cheek.

'Besides, it's not a fact that whatever is out there is dangerous. Maybe it's uh...'

While Riskrunner was thinking of anything that could generate energy in the wild, Berserker stood up "The orders are to come back immediately"

Riskrunner nodded and turned around "Aight, then let's move it!"

However, as they were about to 'move it', something caught Riskrunner's attention. He stopped in place to listen a bit more carefully, as it wasn't the usual sound of trees being destroyed by the wooden wolves, or a loud rustling coming from the animals that were trying to hide. Instead, Riskrunner was able to hear quiet buzzing noice, coming from the bushes, approximately 10 meters away from him.

'That's new...'

For a few moments, Ruskrunner was frozen in his place. Not because of being scared or attacked, but rather because of his curiosity. Something... Or someone was hiding in the bushes.

As he was about to investigate further, he felt a huge and heavy arm on his shoulder. After Riskrunner glanced back, he saw Berserker staring at him.

"Lets go"

Riskrunner rolled his eyes, as he placed an arm on his cannon "Look, let's just glance at the bushes over there" he pointed at the direction where the potential "Weird Stuff"™ could be happening. "Com' on mate, it will only take-"

"YOU WON'T CATCH ME EVEN IN YOUR DREAMS, BEASTS!"

As both of the Agents tturned to face the direction where the sound came from, they saw something both incredible and absurd. It was a weird black horse and bug hybrid... At least that's what Riskrunner thought. His eyes widened, as he realized that it was THIS creature that just talked.

"You are-"

He wasn't even able to finish, as a sudden flash, coming from the creature's head blinded Riskrunner, as he groaned and covered his face with his right hand. This flash had bright green color... Just like the eyes of that creature.

However, as fast as this creature appeared, it has managed to flee even quicker. As Riskrunner removed his hand from his view, he blinked for a few moments, before glancing at the Berserker.

"It... Talked"

Berserker didn't seem to get blinded by the flash. Rather, he let it go, as it wasn't his objective for now "Doesn't matter." he simply proceeded to walk away.

Riskrunner couldn't help but huff at that "Oh please mate! Don't act like dat ain't 'o big deal to us! Do ye underst-"

A sudden smell of blood has filled the air. Riskrunner, who was about to follow Berserker and judge him, stopped in his place. He blinked his eyes for a few seconds, before looking around.

"What in tarna-"

And then, he saw a bloody line on his jacket. It was getting bigger by seconds. Not just that, but he could also feel his hand going numb.

Instead of panicking however, Riskrunner groaned and looked at the Berserker's back with an annoyed face "Well, I'll be damned..."

And then, his arm fell off.

"So, yea. Dat's it!"

Lazarus stared at the Riskrunner for a few moments, while sipping the tea in the cup. After setting it on the table, he crossed arms on his chest and frowned weakly "First of all, I will be sure to punish you for not following orders"

Riskrunner was about to protest, as he raised his health arm "Bu-"

Lazarus merely raised his hand, which made Riskrunner shut his mouth, as he sweated a bit. After setting his arm down, he continued on "Second of all, thank you for proving my theory"

Riskrunner raised his eyebrow "Eh? The heck do ye mean doc?"

Lazarus stood up from his chair, as he also grabbed his cup "Ever since we got here, I've started to experience something similar to the Occult sorcery all around this place. I didn't give it much thought, since I thought hat this place is somewhat similar to the Eden..." He sipped a bit from his cup, as he sighed and continued on "That is, untill we met the Wolves. Clearly, they were powered by something different, something way more harmonic that Occult energy"

Riskrunner was just sitting there, clearly intrigued "So, sumthin' like magic?"

"Exactly. Now, you know that I'm not the one to jump right into the conclusion... Especially when it comes to the mystical powers" Lazarus set his cup on the table, after finishing it. He then pointed at the Riskrunner's recently sewed arm " But THIS, my rash friend, is the last piece of the evidence that I needed to prove my theory"

Riskrunner rubbed his backhead with his healthy hand and chuckled "Er... Well if ye call blastin' arms off an evidence, I might hav' sumthin' against it"

Lazarus rolled his eyes at that, as he smiled slightly "Well, in this case, your arm was just enough. Just by handling your limb, I was able to sense the energy emanating from it"

Riskrunner nodded at that, clueless "Oooh okay!.." he then stared at Lazarus for a few moments "I er... Does it me-"

"No."

"Oh..." Riskrunner slightly lowered his head "I uh, take it ye will be studyin' my body as the p'nshment?"

"Indeed"

Riskrunner sighed and stood up "Fine... Guess imma go 'n prepare for dat"

"You go and do just that"

With that, Riskrunner left the medical bay, clearly preparing to experience lots and lots of pain (They didn't manage to recreate painkillers here yet). After all, despite being their leader, Lazarus was still a curious being.

After the doctor was left alone in the room, Lazarus didn't let his slight smirk dissapear. He approached the makeshift kettle and poured some purified water into it. As he begun to make more tea for himself, Lazarus hummed, as if pondering about something. After seemingly coming to a conclusion, he looked up slightly.

"Catch it"

And suddenly the room became slightly lighter, as if something huge was standing there before. However, there were no sounds of footsteps outside.

Lazarus meanwhile, was pondering another dillema...

"Elderflower, or berry tea..."

2 minutes earlier...

After leaving the medical bay, Riskrunner groaned and looked up in the sky.

"Suka blyat vot zhe didko...nu vot tolko ne op-"

And then, he noticed a figure towering above the medical bay. Riskrunner just stared at it, as he tried not to burst out laughing. After sweating for a good minute, Riskrunner gulped and turned towards the Berserker, who was staring at the medical bay wall.

"So uh, ye enjoyin' the view eh?"

Berserker didn't answer however, as he just kept on staring. It was hard to tell whether he acknowledged Riskrunner or no, since his face was... Well, non existent apparently.

Riskrunner just decided to leave his comrade be, as he didn't know what was going through his head. After turning his back on Berserker and moving towards his tent, Riskrunner thought about that creature in the woods...

'So, there ARE some sentient things here. I really hope that we didn't leave a bad first impression... Wouldn't want to deal with that weird slicer-dicer magic again.'

A sudden gust of air from behind made Riskrunner turn around quickly.

Berserker wasn't there anymore.

Riskrunner stared at the medical bay, as he placed and arm on his forehead "Bisov sin..."

Author's Note

Honestly, Decaying Winter is fun as long as you don't play it way too much. At least this rule applies for sure when you are playing alone.

Anyway, if you are reading this, then I can say only one thing, thank you.

I dont like to be the one to complain, but due to some circumstances irl, I could write at all. Some good, some bad (mostly good tho). I can't promise much, as the situation there is still unresolved... But hey, I guess you can really on me posting twice a year, eh, EH?

Also, I think that I loved writing Riskrunner's accent too much... Well, I won't change it either way so prepare to decipher some of his gibberish.

Anyway, I hope that all of you are having a wonderful day
morning/day/evening/night.

Thanks, and till we meet again.