March 17
This is Dr. Fictus of Royal Guard Unit 227. Our team has successfully made it to Mt. Speculo, the furthest anypony has ever gotten into the Undiscovered West. We've successfully set up camp on a rocky clearing. It's a tad windy here, but the view is incredible. The horizon looks so far away. Nothing but miles and miles of forests and mountains, all unseen by ponykind. I know we only embarked on our expedition into the West a couple of days ago, but I can't help how confident I feel.
Our team has gone on several successful expeditions before this. We've explored much of the Frozen North, not to mention our seafaring journey into the Celestial Sea. I, personally, have discovered over three dozen new species of mammals. I do not mean to gloat in this report, simply to state that this team is, indeed, capable, and we've been waiting for an opportunity to explore the Undiscovered West for years. It took many letters and even more meetings to convince Princess Celestia to make our group an official unit in the Royal Guard and allow us to conduct our research in a more formal manner, but we got it done! And in doing so, we acquired a fine budget, too! Of course, this also comes with the expectation of results, but if there is one thing our team is incredible at obtaining, it's results.
There are four of us. I, Dr. Fictus, focus on the biology of local fauna. My assistant, Second Glance, is studying under me to become a researcher in his own right. The boy has such a bright mind, but he's too skittish for his own good. He'll hide from anything that goes bump in the night, from the biggest bugbear to the tiniest blade of grass floating in the wind. After him, we have Gentle Breeze. She's the second leading researcher, focusing on flora rather than fauna. While I cannot possibly understand preferring the company of plants over our fellow animals, I can respect a mare with a diligent mind and curious nature like her. Plus, she is my childhood friend, so we've worked together many times. Finally, there's Ironhide. In truth, she's more of a hired hoof than anything. She's no researcher at least, that's for sure. An absolute beast of a mare, she's practically twice my height and easily double my width. She's covered in old scars and that well-polished spear of hers never leaves her side. She's here to protect us in case the "undiscovered" part of the Undiscovered West would rather, well, remain undiscovered. I will admit that I don't trust her all that much, but considering the hefty sum of bits required for her services, she had better do her job incredibly well.
Celestia's sun is beginning to set as I write this. Although we will be setting hoof in unknown territory for the first time in many moons, I plan to write my reports sparingly. Much of the job is simple cartography, of which there is little to report on beyond the end results. Plus, I only have so much parchment. Apparently, it's protocol for official Royal Guard research units to use enchanted parchment that automatically gets sent back to Canterlot Castle about a year after it leaves the castle's premises. It's a safeguard I can respect, as accidents do happen in the field, but it does lead to a bit of trepidation on my part. After all, I tend to be quite wordy! Thankfully, I have plenty of my own paper to work with. I will report only on the most pressing of matters in these reports going forward.
Oh heavens, Ironhide's snores are quite loud. I suppose I should be getting to bed as well. Ah, and just in time, Second Glance has finished setting up the stallions' tent. It will be difficult to sleep tonight, though. I haven't been this excited since I was a colt on Hearth's Warming Eve! Look out, Undiscovered West! Unit 227 is coming for you!
April 11
It's been nearly a month since we entered the Undiscovered West. Much has happened in that span of time, and I must say, it has been quite an experience!
To begin, the weather has grown a fair deal warmer in our time here. Obviously, with this region technically being beyond Equestria's borders, there is no weather team to regulate the climate around here. Much like the Everfree Forest, the West takes matters into its own hooves, as it were. However, while the Everfree has been extensively studied, the West has not had such luck! It's quite a sight, watching the gradual change in the weather around you. No Winter Wrap Up needed here!
And that is to say nothing of our actual discoveries here! Second Glance and I have already documented many species of creatures we didn't believe existed! We saw what must be an offshoot of a deer, one with four eyes and as many antlers! We've stopped by streams where the fish swim in pairs, seen birds with two heads! It's as if everything comes in twos here. If that doesn't warrant further study (and, might I add, funding) from Canterlot's Board of Research, I don't know what does!
Ms. Breeze is having the time of her life, as well. I cannot truly speak on the matter of plants - I will let her research notes do the talking for me - but even I can see that the dual-trunked trees and twice-blooming flowers make for a beautifully strange biome. Her excitement is almost capable of rivaling my own! Well, almost.
The less I say about Ironhide the better. She cares not for our research, despite the major breakthroughs we are making with each passing day. She'd sooner drown herself in what remains of our cider stash than help Ms. Breeze or myself set up any fragile (and expensive) equipment. She gets on each and every one of my nerves. And yet, she has proven her worth. The timberwolves here are much larger than those in the Everfree, and her experience in fighting off dangerous creatures has saved our tails more than once. For that, at least, I am grateful.
In the meantime, Second Glance is proving to be a bit of a mixed bag. He has been my assistant for some years now, though this is his first major expedition. I know I previously reported that he is quite the skittish stallion, but this trip has been setting him off more than I was expecting. Every plant, every creature, every little blade of grass that moves in the wind seems to make him want to panic. Celestia forbid he has to actually help me with my studies of the local animals. "They aren't natural," he tells me. "Birds aren't supposed to have two heads." Of course they are, foolish boy! We only believed the contrary because we hadn't explored the species that live here yet! Our understanding of the world around us is ever-changing, and we are the ones making the groundbreaking discoveries that lead to said change! In due time, Glance will come to realize this as well.
Besides, we still have a few more months of food left, and we haven't even made it all that far past Mt. Speculo. There is still so much more research to be done!
April 26
Nature is truly fascinating.
It has been about two weeks since my last report. Both our mapping efforts and our research have been going incredibly well. In fact, I've been so busy with them, I nearly forgot I was supposed to be writing these reports at all! And I would have, if not for Glance's suggestion that I speak of today's events.
A little over a week ago, Ms. Breeze and I began to speculate on the nature of the life in this region. The organisms seem to operate with double the features that they do in Equestria in some way or another. Whether it's a second set of ears, always traveling in pairs, having twice the branches or being twice as tall as they are meant to, the number two seems to come up quite frequently. We kept discussing the "why" of the matter. Why would a squirrel need a second tail? Why would this area of the forest grow trees twice at a time, with each tree looking identical to its partner? Why does this phenomenon seem unique to this area specifically? We were so preoccupied by the "why" that we never questioned the "how."
It was Second Glance that pointed it out to us. A young possum resting not too far from our campsite. A quick look at the possum revealed nothing strange, so it's a good thing that Second Glance made use of his namesake. There really was nothing strange about the possum, which is precisely why it was strange. It's the first creature we've seen since passing Mt. Speculo that has no strange features. No doubled body parts, no strange size, not even another possum to accompany it. It was just... a possum. Glance, naive boy that he is, asked if he could capture the creature for further study. I informed him that doing so defeats the purpose of studying animals in their natural habitats, yet he was still strangely insistent. I ultimately relented, against my better judgement.
Doing so proved to be a more fruitful endeavor than I thought, for when we awoke the next morning, the creature was no longer alone. In that small cage, there were two possums. Glance insists that he never opened the cage after putting the possum inside the prior evening. It's as if the possum duplicated itself. I insisted that Glance let the creatures go after that, of course, but it still raised even more interesting questions. Are these creatures born with these strange traits, or do they develop over time? Was that possum truly a "normal" possum, or is the ability to duplicate itself what sets it apart?
Ms. Breeze and I have much to discuss!
April 27
This is Second Glance. I know that it is not my place to be using this parchment or writing formal reports, but Dr. Fictus keeps brushing me off when I ask him, saying it "wasn't proper research." I can't just let this go.
The Doctor has already gone to sleep. I'm sitting by the fire outside of our tent. To whoever is reading this, if anyone, please know that I understand I have done a bad thing. I confess to having disobeyed the Doctor, and seeing as how we are an official Royal Guard unit now, that's a major problem. Right now, I don't care. I've had a bad feeling about this place ever since we crossed over Mt. Speculo, and I trust my gut. The truth is, I didn't really let that possum go. I only pretended to set it free before hiding it in my bag... BOTH of it.
I say "it" instead of "them" because of what I saw today. In truth, I didn't even bother to check on them in the morning. I was too afraid the Doctor or Ms. Breeze would notice. It was the middle of the afternoon when I finally had a chance to do so, and when I did, I nearly vomited. There weren't two possums in my bag. There was one possum, its bones nearly picked clean. I could barely even make it out, as it was lying in a puddle of black goop and covered in thousands of these tiny, squirmy, light-gray worms. I can do bugs. I can even do decomposing animals. But this? Something about this was... different. It set off every single alarm in my body.
Of course, I dropped the bag immediately and informed the others about it. Ironhide thought it was hilarious. Ms. Breeze was just grossed out. But the Doctor was furious with me for "not letting the creatures go." He says I only made things worse for the poor creature, and he made me clean out the bag with my bare hooves.
I can't properly describe the texture of that goop. I can't ever forget the feeling of those worms. Hell, my hoof still feels like they're squirming all over it, even though I let them go in the grass hours ago.
The Doctor got over it by the end of the day. He's not mad at me anymore, but he still refused to write a report, hence why I'm doing it instead. He can refuse all he wants, I KNOW something is wrong. He and Ms. Breeze can question why everything is doubled all day long. What I want to know is...
Where did the second possum go?
April 30
Well, today has proven to be... troubling.
While going through our standard mapping procedures, Second Glance noticed something peculiar. Of course, he is always claiming to have seen something peculiar, but he was actually right this time. It was another deer. This particular specimen's "oddity" was that it had two sets of hind legs. Because of this, it chose to walk exclusively on said hind legs, allowing the rest of its body to remain upright. The result was a somewhat morbid-looking creature that towered over even Ironhide. As an experienced biologist, I have grown quite numb to the oftentimes alien appearance of the unknown. However, this... unnerved me.
But what unnerved me more was the blasted deer's interest in us. I understand that mapping out an area is a slow process, but deer are typically quite timid. Even if we weren't moving all that much, a deer would ordinarily flee from us if at all possible. Sure, I've seen a curious deer or two before in my day, but nothing like this. It kept a safe distance, always seeming just out of sight, but undoubtedly there. And when you looked at it, it wasn't afraid to look right back.
Ms. Breeze and I tried to ignore it and continue our work. Predictably, Glance wanted to do something about it, and I told him off for suggesting such a thing. Ironhide, however, had no such reservations. She charged at the beast, even as Ms. Breeze and I (her SUPERIORS, I must add) screamed at her not to. She pierced the beast right in its neck with that spear of hers. At first, the result seemed to be exactly what you'd expect. Then...
Worms. Thousands of these strange-looking worms, accompanied by viscera unlike any blood I've ever seen. I have a very strong stomach, but that sight was enough to make my skin crawl.
Why worms, though? Clearly they are parasitic in some way, but how did there grow to be so many in that deer's body? What are they? How do they infect a host to begin with? Gross though they may be, I am still eager to learn more about them.
Though, truth be told, it isn't the first time I've seen them. Just the other day, Second Glance tried to bring one of those possums of his with us. Once I found out about it I told him off, but it was too late. The poor creature had been devoured by identical-looking worms. I had Glance dispose of both the possum's remains and the worms. After all, data collected by carting the local fauna around with you is hardly valid.
Ironhide is still trying to wash off the remains of her little scuffle. She's been in that creek for some time, though, and she hasn't seemed too fond of bathing thus far. Oh, well. She's hardly worth my attention right now. We've set up camp not far from where the deer perished. We shall see what has become of its remains in the morning. I expect little, but there's no use in letting these unfortunate circumstances go to waste.
April 31
Not even the bones remain. Just a pile of black... something, not to mention the worms. Just how many were inside that creature? Surely there were enough to eat it from the inside out before Ironhide put the darn thing out of its misery?
Nature truly is fascinating.
What is NOT fascinating is Ironhide's whining. She has been complaining of a "tingling" sensation ever since she killed the beast yesterday. For all of her faults, that mare hasn't complained once since our expedition began. A quick examination from Ms. Breeze confirmed that there is nothing wrong with her, so I apologize if this report seems a bit different in tone from what I usually write, but I am nearing the end of my patience.
For the record, I will begrudgingly state that Second Glance claims to have been feeling the same thing in his hooves for a few days, though he will believe that he has contracted even the most major of illnesses should he see a single other pony do so much as cough, so I shall be forgiven for not taking him at his word.
We will be wrapping up our expedition in a few more days before heading back to Canterlot. Let us hope that things go a bit more smoothly after the past couple of days.
April 31
There's something wrong with those worms. I can still feel them on my hooves. Every day, I have to hide the fact that I keep scratching them from Dr. Fictus, otherwise he'll scold me. Ms. Breeze says there's nothing wrong, but I can FEEL THEM, darn it! And to make matters worse, the sensation has been going up my legs this whole time! When we get back home, the first thing I'm doing is seeing a REAL doctor.
The fact that Ironhide is feeling the same thing is almost vindicating. I've never seen her act so... vulnerable, I guess. But she seems to have it a lot worse. Ever since she killed that deer, it's been affecting her entire body, not just her hooves. I feel bad for her, but when I tried to talk to her about it, she brushed me off.
I know one thing, at least. If Dr. Fictus ever wants to return here, he can do it without his assistant. I don't care what there is to learn about the Undiscovered West. I want no part of it.
May 2
Ironhide has gone missing.
All day yesterday, she complained about that blasted "tingling." Perhaps I should have listened to her, as one moment she was there, and the next, she was gone. It seems she has decided to return home early. I will, of course, be telling those in charge about her desertion. She will be reprimanded for this, mark my words.
And then, Second Glance just had to throw in his two bits, claiming that his stomach felt, get this: "tingly!" If you do not have the stomach for science, then you should not aim to be a SCIENTIST!
Regardless, we shall wrap things up early and begin heading home tomorrow. Thorn in my side though she might have been, Ironhide was our only source of protection.
With any luck, this shall be my last report. I will submit my research notes to the Board of Research immediately upon our return to Canterlot.
May 3
I write this report from inside the stallions' tent. It is the middle of the night. Second Glance and I were sleeping peacefully when we were awoken by Ms. Breeze opening our tent, happily informing us that Ironhide has returned to us and was apparently sitting by the fire. She asked if we wished to join them, but we declined. We will need our rest for the amount of hiking we have to do tomorrow.
A short report, I know, but I felt it prudent to mention for the record that Ironhide did end up returning to us.
She'd better have a good excuse ready in the morning.
May 4
Ms. Breeze is dead.
Her body was lying next to what remained of the campfire. She was... well, for the sake of documentation, I've included photographs in my research notes, but I'd rather not go into detail here. She was lying in a puddle of black viscera, much too thick and chunky to be normal blood. Not even my strong stomach could take the sight, and poor Glance won't stop shivering. For once, I don't blame him.
I buried her with my own hooves. Without Ironhide, we couldn't have possibly carried her body over Mt. Speculo. Speaking of, Ironhide has gone missing again. I suspected that she might have had something to do with this, but those wounds...
Regardless, I shall be reporting her to the authorities immediately upon our return. In the meantime, Glance and I covered more ground than usual today. I suppose we're now a bit desperate to get home.
If only my hooves weren't feeling so itchy after burying my old friend.
May 5
I'm having a nightmare.
I apologize if my hoofwriting isn't the greatest. We turned our lamp off. Glance is sitting next to me in our tent. From the light of the campfire outside, we can see the shadow of a mare against the tent. I know that shadow. I know the voice that's calling out to me. I know that the mare it belongs to is dead. I'm not sure what's worse: The fact that I'm hearing my oldest friend...
Or the fact that I want to listen to her?
May 6
I must have passed out at some point last night. When I woke up, Dr. Fictus wasn't there. I would love to go search for him, but I'm not that kind of stallion. Call me a coward. Call me a deserter. I don't care. I'm alive. Can Ms. Breeze say that?
There was nothing outside the tent. I spent almost all day running. Screw the equipment. Screw the research notes. Screw this unit. I'm getting home one way or another.
I'm set up in a small cave right now. Whatever it was that killed Ms. Breeze, and whatever it was that made Dr. Fictus disappear... I don't care. I'm a unicorn, and whatever lives out there isn't. I can move a boulder to block the entrance to this cave, and it can't. For once, I'm safe. At least for tonight.
Now if only I could sleep through this darn tingling.
May 7
I can't leave the cave. They found me.
It's not just Ms. Breeze anymore. I can hear Ironhide's voice out there. I don't care how sweet they sound. I don't care what it is they're promising. I don't care that they're saying things about me they shouldn't know! I'm not leaving! At some point, they'll give up! They have to!
May 8?
It's getting harder and harder to tell how long I've been in here. It's so dark. They haven't left. They won't leave. Why won't they leave? Why is Dr. Fictus with them now?
And the tingling. Please, just make this damned tingling STOP!
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Princess Celestia finishes reading the final report, a look of confusion and terror on her face. It's the middle of March, and some reports designed to automatically return to Canterlot Castle when a Royal Guard unit is gone for a year ended up on her desk. They belong to Unit 227, which was reported missing after the unit failed to return to Canterlot back in June as scheduled. Several search parties were sent, but they found nothing.
Celestia feels a chill run down her spine. She's unsure of what this all means. Unit 227 isn't the first group of ponies to wander into the Undiscovered West. Plenty of unaffiliated adventurers have done the same, but none reported seeing any of what these poor researchers saw. In truth, the only reason that the region remains "undiscovered" is because there's nothing of note there, hence her hesitation to devote resources to its exploration. To say that these reports unnerve her would be an understatement. Immediately, she rushes out of the office to consult the Board of Research.
Meanwhile, the guards stationed in front of Canterlot Castle report that Dr. Fictus and his team have just arrived in Canterlot.
Author's Note
As always, I appreciate any and all feedback!
