Author's Note

After a long hiatus, I finally return with a new fic. New chapters will be coming out at a regular pace, so stay tuned for more.

Enjoy reading

Prologue

A chilling wind breezed through the forest, softly shaking the leaves on the trees and wisping through the grass. An owl’s hoots echoed throughout the ominous terrain as the bird flew overhead. Soft, ominous whispers resonated throughout the chilling area. Mysterious, dark creatures prowled in the forest like predators hunting their prey. Their steps were slow and calculated as their pointed, jagged ears perked for any sounds like a radar. Their black noses sniffed the air, only the faint scent of a dead deer hunted down just hours ago.

“Clear,” the creature spoke, its voice deep and menacing before prowling forward until it slithered through the shrubs like a snake.

Behind the predator was their leader. Another one just like them, but their heads were held high in a cocky manner, clearly as a sign of them relying on their companions for navigation. Their claws were sharper and longer than the others, clearly signifying their threatening stature as a fighter. Their cold, icy eyes glanced to the side every now and then. Sometimes, they would catch some forest animals staring at them with wide, fearful eyes. They were quickly dispatched as usual. No wild animal lived to tell the tale of their eyewitness encounter with their group.

“Mortimus, how far?” The leader asked, his steely gaze staring straight ahead.

“Not far, General Shard,” Mortimus responded. Mortimus was slightly bigger than the General, but his skills as a fighter were not close to being on par with the General. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t receive a few lasting scars every now and then. In fact, every single one of their group was a talented fighter in their own right. Weaklings never survived long.

General Shard’s other companions scanned the area, acting as his security guards. Anyone who was smart enough wouldn’t even think about getting close to the General. In fact, they didn’t let anyone near their territory. It was nice not having any foreigners on their land. They would provide a great food source, but the group preferred to be alone. Only the darkness of the night was their ally.

Mortimus finally stopped his sniffing, ending his trek when he reached the river, marking the end of their huge territory. General Shard’s sharp eyes pierced ahead, and to the sides, making sure no one was watching them from the other side of the river. The other side may not be their territory, but when it came to food, all bets were off.

“No sign of anything or anyone so far,” Mortimus reported. They slowly turned to General Shard, still scanning the area with an intense expression.

“With all due respect, sir,” Mortimus cleared his throat to get his attention, “why did you want us to scout out the land? You know as well as I do that no one comes deep into this part of the forest at night.”

“You’re right, they don’t,” General Shard agreed. Then his voice hardened to a low growl. “But something tells me otherwise.”

Mortimus’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by that?”

General Shard glared up at the sky, then back at Mortimus. “I had a strange dream,” The General began to explain. “I had a dream about six ponies coming to our land. Our land. Alongside them were four shadows engulfing us whole.”

Mortimus blinked, then he let out a scoff. “But ponies mean nothing to us,” he sneered with a wave of his paw. “We could rip them apart in a heartbeat, and they know it too. Why else have they never embarked in our territory?”

“I know, but something about that dream made me consider,” General Shard added. “By the end of the dream, the shadows left us. We were nothing but bones and decay after they left.”

Mortimus rolled his eyes. “I suggest you relax. Dreams mean nothing, and no one would have enough courage to come face to face with us.”

General Shard glared at Mortimus before growling in resignation. “Okay, let’s go back. We’ve wasted enough time.”

The predators turned around and walked back to the deeper part of their territory. However, Mortimus soon detected a foreign scent, and it wasn’t long before General Shard and his guards did as well.

“Intruders!” Mortimus yowled angrily.

“I told you they would come!” General Shard snarled in frustration. Mortimus casted his commander a skeptical look, but said nothing as they raced to track the scent.

The two howled and growled as they raced to find the source of the scent. They ran with their jaws agape, exposing their sharp, lethal fangs. They crashed through the trees and arrived at a stream, where they found the intruders. Two ponies with camping gear, and looking very, very frightful.

“Ponies!” General Shard growled, his claws unsheathed and his lips curled into a snarl. “How dare you…” He looked at the two ponies in the eyes.

The two ponies’ legs were shaking and their eyes were wide with pure unbridled fear.

“W-Who are you?!” A male pony shouted, his voice shaking.

“Who are we?” Mortimus barked. “Who are we?” Mortimus looked at the ponies up and down. “No wonder you’ve stupidly wandered to our terrain.” He growled. “You’ve clearly never heard of The Umbra.”

“The Umbra?” The other pony, a female, echoed. Her ears flattened. “We’ve never heard of The Umbra. Are they you?”

“That’s where you made your fatal mistake.” Mortimus rumbled as he prepared to leap and sink his claws into their throats. But General Shard immediately got in front of Mortimus.

“Stand down!” General Shard ordered fiercely.

Mortimus shot General Shard a look of disbelief. “What are you talking about you—“ his scathing retort was cut off when General Shard silently stared into his eyes. After a bit of a staredown, Mortimus grumbled. “You’re the leader here.”

General Shard did a quick nod of approval before turning to the two ponies with a look of disdain. “You two should consider yourself lucky you’re not being ripped apart right now.”

The two ponies wrapped their hooves around each other in fright.

“No, it would be rather stupid to tear apart such… assets.” General Shard muttered ominously.

He turned and nodded to Mortimus. “Bring them back to the bivouac.” He commanded.

“What are you planning on doing to us?” The male pony demanded, his hooves quivering.

General Shard stopped in his tracks, and slowly turned his head over his shoulder. “That’s for me to know, and you to find out. But, let’s just say you won’t be the only ones to die.”

The Umbra jerked their heads back and let out deep howls before they surrounded the ponies and pushed them to General Shard and Mortimus’ direction. The shove was rather forceful, but they tried to remain calm despite their fears.

“Do you think we’ll be okay?” The female pony whispered.

“Don’t worry,” The male pony reassured her. As the darkness overtook the forest, he quickly wrapped one hoof around their scared companion. “Twilight will come for us.”

“Oh, you think this Twilight will save you?” Mortimus sneered. He turned to look at the ponies with a cruel gaze. “Then you’re a fool if you think your kind will stand a chance against us Umbras.”

“She won’t last ten seconds.”