A Game of Shadows

by Nightlock

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Adventure
Length: 5048

A young Pegasus moves into Everfree forest with his friend. Little does he know what lies in wait...

When a young Pegasus decides to run away from his foster home in Cloudsdale, and live with his best friend in the Everfree forest, he unknowingly involves himself in something dark and bizarre…attracting the unwanted attention of something unknown and dangerous. These are his journal entries that tell of what transpired.
(Credit for the story cover image goes to Okiku, a page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpectralPony?fref=ts)

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-02-18 22:51:53 UTC

Entry #1

Nightlock's Journal, Entry #1

Date: September 21st (My birthday, the 13th one to be exact)

How convenient...there just so happened to be a fresh blank notebook, right here in the desk drawer. Looks like I won't need to buy one after all. Now, where to start...

Well, I finally did it. I ran away from that stupid foster home. I've wanted to get away for a while, but I've not been able to make a plan for what to do afterwards until recently. Lucky for me, Autumn doesn't mind me crashing with him at his place in the forest...although why exactly he chooses to live in the Everfree forest, I really have no idea. It's...kinda creepy, but hey, a home's a home. And at this point, to me, any home's better than that place up in Cloudsdale.

Hmm...maybe I should write out some more background here. My name's Nightlock, a blue pegasus colt, and I just turned 13 today. I've run away from Cloudsdale Foster Care to live with my bestie, a pegasus named Autumn Wind. The reason being, I've been sick of that place for quite a long time. Why that is, well...I never really got along with any of the other kids. At all. None of them really like me, and vice versa. Overall, I usually felt either ignored or disliked. But, back to the now. For some reason or another...I've decided I want to keep a journal for a while. Maybe it's because my life's changing, and I feel like I want the memories down on paper...I dunno. It'll give me something interesting to do, whatever the reason.

Now, as for how the day's gone...it's gone good. I didn't have much to unpack when I got here, so I got settled in quickly. Autumn's house here is...bigger than I expected. I've got a nice guest room to stay in, I suppose that's a plus. The bed's nice and comfy, perfect to comfortably lay on while writing. And with the house being in a more secluded area in the forest, there's finally nopony around to harass me or pick on me. Huuuuge plus right there. The only thing about this that I don't like, is that it's in the Everfree Forest. Not exactly the most secure-feeling place to walk around in...plus, when I got here, I had this weird feeling that there was something I couldn't see looking at me, but I guess that's just the normal effect the forest has on ponies. I'm sure I'll be fine anyways; Autumn says he'll teach me some fighting moves, and teach me about what to look out for in the forest, so that I'll be able to handle myself if I come across any trouble.

As for going to school...well, I passed my flying test years ago, so I can probably fly from here to school every day, no problem. School's really the only reason I'll be going back to Cloudsdale...I really don't want to miss out on school, and grow up stupid. As for finding a job or something, that'll have to wait until I'm old enough to legally work. Ponyville's probably a good place to find a job, it's really close by the forest. And with that, I think I've got my situation figured out and under control...I'll just have to hope that my old Foster home will leave me alone. Hopefully I won't have to hide from them whenever I go to Cloudsdale.

...

Wow, look at that. I've written a lot more than I was thinking for just the first entry. There's nothing else to really say here, and I'm pretty tired, so I guess I'll go for now and catch some sleep. I'll update...sometime.

-Nightlock

Entry #2

Nightlock's Journal, Entry #2

Date: September 25th

Hello, journal. It's been...about four days. Seems like a reasonable bit of time to update.

The past few days have been...relaxing, exhausting, odd, normal, and kinda creepy all in one, depending on what day I refer to. I guess I should start with Monday, the day after I moved in and started this journal.

Let's see...it started off with the usual, getting up to go to school. Autumn was up just before me, practicing or training his fighting moves or whatever. Seems like it's his usual morning routine. Before I left for Cloudsdale to get to class, I watched him for a few minutes. It was particularly interesting...for some reason, at one point, it looked like he was actually sparring with somepony. There was no one else there of course, just him, but his movements just...seemed to imply there was another presence that I couldn't see or something. I guess that's just my imagination though, there's been one or two times through the week I thought I saw something that wasn't there. Like I said in the last entry, probably just the forest having it's natural scary effect on me. Anyways.

After watching him train for maybe 10 minutes, I said "see you later", flew off and went to school. And as usual, it kinda sucked. I got shoved into the lockers by the usual bunch, though I guess I should be expecting that. Aced a surprisingly easy quiz, napped through a class without even being noticed, and ate what I could of a not-so-good lunch. Bleh. Thought about flinging it at one of those stupid plots who shoved me into the locker, but considered the price I'd probably pay and decided against it. Overall just another "bleh" day at school...one of those days that really makes me miss her...

By "her", I'm talking about a mare I knew at school, Sunspot. One of the few people I ever really let in. She...I think it'd be a lie to say I didn't feel special about her. She was one of those people that kinda...made things suck less, you know? ...things really started to suck again when she had to move away. When was that...about a year ago? Not too long after the last school year started. Anyway, there's a bit of a story to tell about this, but I don't feel like recalling or writing it right now. Maybe some other time.

After flying home after school, I found that Autumn wasn't here. He left a note saying that he'd be back around 6. Not sure what he was doing...he's kind of odd, how he goes off secretively to do stuff he never wants to talk about. But I've been used to that for a while, so I didn't think much of it. I got home around 4:30, so I filled the time with some guitar practice and an hour nap (which was odd, I'm never able to nap). When I woke up, I went to find him drinking milk in the kitchen. He asked, "You all rested up? Because we're starting your training tonight." Seeing as I somehow let that slip my mind, I remembered how much I was looking forward to that, and so we began.

Outside, he taught me some basics of how he fights. Didn't give any specific names for the fighting style, but it didn't matter, I just rolled with it. For as long as I could, anyways. By the end of it, I was so bucking sore and tired I could barely stand. Maybe I should start focusing a little less on my wings and more on this pathetic weak body of mine. Build some endurance and strength up. Bleh, I got to stop being so lazy.

After practically killing myself for almost two hours and learning a few basics, we decided to call it a night and get some food. I dragged myself into the kitchen, and we had eggs and hay bacon. I thought it was odd, having what felt like breakfast for dinner, but he said the protein helps build strength, which I'll need for my training and conditioning. And that food like this is hard for him to come by, so I shouldn't waste it. Good enough a reason for me, I promptly devoured it all. Then all I could really think about was laying down and sleeping. Before I stood up to head for my room, Autumn energetically asked if I felt up for a flying race. I looked at him with what I'm sure was a look of dumbfoundedness. After that near-suicide session? Seriously? Where the bloody hell does he get all his energy? There's some things about him I just don't get...anyways, I told him I was too beat, maybe next time. If he said anything else, I don't remember. I was too busy half-consciously dragging myself to my room and passing out on my bed to hear him.

Tuesday was a carbon copy of Monday, except for not training when I got home. Autumn said we'll train every other day, to let my body recover. Thank Faust, I was fearing another pain session. Instead we went into town to chill. I found that I love the dark chocolate cake at Sugarcube Corner. I also tried coffee for the first time, and I think I might be hooked.

Wednesday, however, was the odd and creepy day.

It was the same as Monday, training and all, except that this time Autumn went a bit easier on me, and we started a bit earlier. He didn't want me losing all my energy before he could show me something he said was important. He didn't mention anything about it before, so I was curious. When I asked him what it was, he didn't say much, except "Follow me".

Something felt a bit off...he seemed oddly more serious than he typically is. He went off deeper into the forest. I felt a bit uneasy, but I followed. He seemed to be a bit hurried...likely because it was towards the end of the day, about 6 o' clock, and he didn't want it to get too dark before I could see what he would show me.

As creepy (and dangerous) as the Everfree forest is, Autumn's not one bit intimidated by it. It's like a back yard to him or something. He navigated through it to a dirt path, and we continued along to our destination. I followed close, jumping slightly here and there at the various little sounds of the forest. Of course, I knew with Autumn I was safe. I'd seen him fight off a timberwolf pretty easily before, so I didn't worry too much about being attacked.

Soon, a clearing could be seen in the distant trees. As we approached, the evening sunlight lit the place up a bit more, in a slightly crimson-like glow. At going through the entrance and stopping to observe, I could see that it wasn't a natural clearing. It was circular, n an artificial, pony-made way. As I looked around, I saw 4 large pillars placed in 4 corners of the clearing, with a few rather crudely-drawn unfamiliar symbols etched on them. The longer I looked, the more my curiosity grew. I figured it must have been some kind of old religious site, a place where an old cult would meet up or something.

After we both stood there for a few moments, I looked over to him and asked what this place was. He looked back at me in the eyes, still with his serious expression, and said, "...a place that should be kept absolutely secret to most. But I figured, since I'm letting you live with me, and we're good friends...I think you should see it at least once. Just to know where it is I go sometimes. But...you don't need to be coming back here unless you absolutely have to. And I need you to promise me that you won't tell anypony about this place."

At that moment, I got strange chills. Something felt...almost threatening about the place. I couldn't put my hoof on it, but something almost made me feel very...in danger. Not from Autumn specifically, but...

Trying to put the feeling aside, I nodded. "I promise I won't tell...but, what is this place? What do you do here?" I asked. He looked away, shaking his head a little. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that much. But what I should tell you is...if for whatever reason you're out here on your own, in any sort of danger, and can't get back to the house, come here. This place wards off the creatures of the forest naturally. That's why this place feels so foreboding to those who aren't used to it. Like how it feels to you now, yes?"

A bit taken aback that he knew, I nodded slowly. "Y...yeah..." I wasn't sure what else to say. I was very curious about how it wards off creatures, like he said, but I figured it was just some kind of old spell that was cast by a unicorn in a cult long ago or something like that.

Autumn chuckled a little. "You'll get used to it if you stay here long enough. But like I said, after this, don't come back here unless you absolutely have to." he said again. He seemed very serious about it, so I made a mental note to not come back, despite a growing curiosity inside me to find out more about this place.

Autumn then gestured for me to follow him before making his way towards the center of the clearing. Following him, I took note of just how spacious this clearing is. Lots of room for a gathering. This distraction faded as my feeling of discomfort rose. I looked ahead nervously, this time taking notice of something sort of etched on the ground. Now, overall the ground of the clearing was covered in short grass. But what I saw in the middle of the clearing as I approached was...a large outlined symbol of hard dirt ground. Autumn stopped in front of it, and I trotted up beside him to get a better look.

It was a simple design. A large, oddly near-perfect circle, with an X in the center and extending out from it a small ways. Being this close to it, my discomfort level was at its highest. Making myself speak, I said, "I really, really don't feel right here, man...what is this?" I looked to him for an answer. He didn't respond at first, he just sort of looked into the symbol. After a moment, he looked back and said, "...nothing. Come on, we should get back. It's getting late." He turned and started heading for the exit.

At this point, I'm not sure how I was feeling. Autumn was acting weird about this, and for some reason he didn't want to tell me anything else. Why was he showing me this, yet being so vague with me when I asked about it? I wanted to press him further, but I had a feeling I wouldn't get anything out of him anyways, and I really really wanted to get out of this clearing. I sighed a little as I turned to follow him. Then, I saw something that gave me the same chills from before. Or at least I thought I did.

At about halfway turned to Autumn, I saw a figure...out at the edge of the clearing. A figure of a pony that was too darkened to make out any features, save for...rectangular glasses? It made me jump and double-take, but when I looked again, there was nothing there. I stood there for a moment, confused, until Autumn's voice got my attention. "Night? You coming?" I shook my head and snapped out of it. "Y-yeah...sorry." I quickly turned and followed behind him. I'd had enough of this place and wanted to get the hell out of there.

We went back along the path and broke from it to the side-path we entered it on, heading back home. I almost wanted to mention that I saw something, or somepony, out in the clearing, but I figured it was just my nervous imagination seeing things and so tried to forget about it. We got back, and Autumn resumed his usual let go and fun attitude. "Feel like playing some video games?" he said as he gave me a relaxed smile. He likely wanted to help me forget about how foreboding that place was. Which I wanted, so I replied with a "sure thing" and returned the smile. We went inside and unwound with video games. By the time I ate and went to bed, I felt better. Though the curiosity of that place still lingered in the back of my mind as I went to sleep. Especially that figure with the glasses...

Today, Thursday, wasn't too bad. Class was easy, lunch was decent, no one picked at me or anything like that. And there's still no sign of my old foster home trying to find me and bring me back. Feeling kinda good for a change, I came home and just chilled out. Video games mostly. Autumn went out to take care of some kind of odd business, which makes me again think of that forest clearing. I'm still curious about it, despite him telling me not to go back and how oddly foreboding it is to be there. But I think it's best if I leave it alone.

And now that I look...damn, I've written a lot. I've lost track of the time it seems...it's already dark. I think it's time to turn in. Until next time I guess.

-Nightlock

Entry #3

Entry #3

Date: September 26th

Hello again.

Today was Friday. That means the weekend follows, so no school for me tomorrow. Yay. Today was a typical day, so there's not really much to write about it. Except, I do think training's getting a bit easier...I'm not as sore as I was last time, at least.

So...I guess with this entry I can tell a bit about some things. I think I should write about my friend I'm staying with, Autumn Wind. Not sure why I want to...I mean it's not like anyone else is gonna read this, right? Either way, I just want to write for some reason. So, here goes.

Autumn Wind's pretty much my best friend. A pegasus, like me. He's a slightly darker shade of blue than I am, with a purple mane. He's strong and really knows how to fight, for his age. He's as old as I am, 13. Actually, that's the peculiar (but awesome) thing: We share the same birthday, September 21st, and in the same year. Exactly the same age. We both took that as a sign that we were meant to be friends, I guess. As shown in the last entry, he can be a real mystery at times. Sometimes I don't fully understand him or his odd behavior, but that's okay. Mostly he's predictably let go and cool, though...he's been through a lot of bad things that you couldn't just tell right away by talking to him. I'm not going to get into all that though, as even I don't understand all he's been through.

Another interesting thing is, I didn't meet him in Cloudsdale, or at school. I met him down here, somewhere in the Everfree forest of all places.

It was about two years ago. I had a really, really bad day at school (bully problems) and didn't want to go home (Cloudsdale foster care at the time). I was really upset, and I decided to leave Cloudsdale and fly off. I guess you could call it running away, but I went back later when I realized I really had nowhere else to go. Anyway, I sort of glided down to the surface, not particularly caring about where I went exactly. I wasn't paying any attention, and so I clumsily crashed in the Everfree forest. And in the process, injured my right wing and forehoof. My day was just not getting any better.

Since I couldn't fly and could hardly walk, I looked around to find a safe place as quickly as I could. I had heard all the bad things about the forest, so safety was the first thing I looked for. Luckily, there was a clearing nearby where I could see more clearly and have more space. Scared as I was, I limped my way over there as quickly as I could, and decided to wait and see if my wing would recover soon. Unfortunately for me, it didn't heal fast enough.

After getting in a comfortable spot against a large rock and resting my wing and forehoof for about 30 minutes, I heard a growl from outside the clearing. I instantly tensed with fear. When I looked for the source of the sound, I saw a pair of glowing eyes looking at me from the trees. Soon, the eyes grew larger as their owner approached out of the trees.

A timberwolf.

I was completely frozen with fear. Thoughts of being ripped apart and eaten up came over me, along with the fearful realization that there was likely no escape. I couldn't fly away, and I couldn't run away. Not with my hoof like it was. I thought of screaming out for help, but I knew that would just attract mroe dangerous attention. My fear only intensified as the beast drew near, growling ravenously at me.

I cowered back in fear, and soon shielded my eyes, awaiting my now-accepted doom.

Pathetic...

Then, just as I considered praying to Celestia or something, the growling turned to whimpering. I looked up, and the timberwolf was on its side, whimpering as though it was struck. A few pieces of its wooden body were on the ground. Something attacked it, and it wasn't long before I saw what, or rather, who it was.

It barely had time to get up before it got struck in the face by the attacker. My rescuer, had some kind of outfit on...a hooded outfit that covered his eyes with the hood up. He had some kind of knife out in a hostile defensive position. He made a movement threatening to strike it again, and the timberwolf fled.

While my heart was pounding from fear, he soon knelt down and turned to face me. I still couldn't see his eyes. He spoke. "Lucky for you I was around. Are you okay?"

After what just happened, it took me a moment to recollect myself and answer him. "Y...y-yeah...I...I'm fine..." I barely responded. I took deep breaths to calm myself. "Th-thanks...if you hadn't come along I'd have been...been..."

He smiled a little and simply responded, "No need to thank me. I couldn't just stand by and let you get eaten. But I'm questioning whether you're all okay upstairs." he said as he gestured to my head with a chuckle. "Why in Equestria are you out here by yourself?"

Now, as shy as I was (like, shy as that one mare I remember from flight school...Fluttershy-shy), I barely spoke loud enough. I was instinctually hiding behind my long mane, looking back at him shyly. "...I...fell...accidentally..." I also cringed at a pain at my extended wing, clearly showing myself in pain. He picked up on this.

"Well I don't think you'd have fallen in here on purpose!" he chuckled again. His tone was rather easy-going, despite how serious I'd have expected him to sound. Before he spoke again, he took the hood off, revealing a purple mane and blue eyes. "It's not safe here...and you look like you need some help." He lowered himself down. "Here, climb on and I'll take you to my place. It's not too far from here."

"O-okay..." I managed to get myself up and climb onto the blue colt's back, and he carried me through the forest towards what he said was his home.

"My name's Autumn, by the way...Autumn Wind. What's your name?" He certainly didn't lack for friendliness.

"N...Nightlock..." I said quietly.

He grinned a little. "Named after the poison, huh? That's pretty cool! Nice to meet ya." As generally no one's this nice or kind to me, I was a bit taken aback. I also noticed now he seemed to be about my age, and a pegasus, yet I was sure I'd never seen him at school before, or anywhere in Cloudsdale. Odd. Maybe he wasn't from Cloudsdale. Then again, I'm not from there either, I'm from Manehatten. Also, I had no idea what poison he was talking about.

I responded, "You too...and again, thanks..." in response, he smiled and just said "it's nothing, really".

Soon we came to a clearing towards the edge of the forest, where a good-sized house stood. I was a bit surprised to see something like that out in here. I managed to speak. "You....live out here?"

"Yep!" he responded. As if that's not weird at all. I decided to not ask where he was actually from. No need, he told me anyways. "I wasn't born here though...I'm actually not from Equestria at all. I've lived here a while, but I'm actually from this place called Geomania, a country just beyond the Frozen North. I had a hometown called Hoofterwitz." Something told me to not ask why he said "had" instead of "have". He went to his door, opened it and carried me inside.

It's a simple, decently spacious, yet cozy house, as I noticed when I looked around. He took me to the couch in his living room and let me sit. "I'll get something to help you heal that right up...you hungry at all?"

After all that, I was sure that anything I ate I'd just toss back up. "N-no, thank you", I declined with a weak smile.

"Alright then. Just stay here for a sec." He headed off to get something from another room. While he was away, I simply stared at the floor. Some thoughts were rolling around in my head.

What in Equestria was I thinking? I mean I know I was upset, but...did I really have to let myself fall and get injured in the Everfree forest? Not the brightest thing to do, Nightlock. Idiot. And someone else had to put their life on the line to save little, scared me. Such a liability I am. As he came back I looked back up. He had a glass bottle of something in his hoof.

"This is what's gonna do the magic and heal you right up." He came up to me. "Let me show you. Hold out the hoof that hurts."

Really confused as to how some measly ointment would help what's likely broken bones, I complied anyway and held out my right forehoof. He dabbed his own right forehoof in the gel and applied it to my mine, spreading it. To my amazement, within a minute I could feel the pain dissipating. And soon, my hoof felt good as new. "Good stuff, huh?" he said in response in what likely was a stunned expression on my face. "Here, now for your wing".

I held my wing open, cringing a little as he handled it. He applied the gel to my wing, and soon, my wing too felt good as new.

"W-wow...what is that stuff?" I asked, intrigued.

"Not sure. All I know is it works amazingly with just a little bit. I'd say it's magically enhanced or something". He indicated the lack of label on the bottle. "Either way, you should be good to go." He sat the bottle aside. "And next time, be a bit more careful, yeah?"

I nodded quickly. "S-sorry...I wasn't paying attention..." I sounded way too apologetic, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Why's that?"

"Dunno...I guess today's just been a bad day..."

He frowned a bit as he shrugged. "Well at least t's all good now?"

"Yeah..."

We then made some small talk for a bit. I told him where I was from and some little things about me (from whatever little there was to tell). When he asked why I was above the forest and not at home, I said I guess I needed to just get away for a while. It was then I looked up at a clock and realized that it was getting late. As much as I didn't want to, I knew I should go back. I stood up.

"Well...again, thanks. I owe you my life."

"Nah. You don't owe me. Don't worry about it. I wouldn't have just let you get eaten. " He smiled friendily at me. "Looks like you need to get back though...see you around?"

It was at that point I realized, that maybe...I was actually making a friend.

I looked back at him, and soon gave a slow nod. "Yeah...sure." I tried to give a decent smile before I opened the door and left. To my left was the forest exit that led towards Ponyville. I quietly left the forest before taking off, flying back towards Cloudsdale. On the way, I went over the day's events in my head.

First I considered the fact that I about got brutally killed and eaten. Then I considered that I think I made a friend. While most of the day sucked, and was extremely dangerous...I actually felt good, despite it all. Hell of a backwards and twisty day. Not even the scolding of coming home late got me down. I didn't even bother with telling my ridiculous-sounding story, I just went to my room as soon as I could and went promptly to sleep.

Next chance I got, I decided to go down and see him again. We hung out, usually somewhere in Ponyville (he never wanted to go to Coudsdale, which was fine by me). And we did it again next opportunity. And the next. And soon, me and him had become good friends. With all this, I felt better. Things got better.

I made a friend.

There it is...the story of how I met my best friend. Ridiculous-sounding, yeah, but there it is. Man, this journal's starting to feel like a re-telling of huge past events, not a consistent journal.

Sleep time. I think tomorrow, since I have it to myself, I'm gonna go into Ponyville and take a look around. Explore. Maybe I'll find something new of interest.

-Nightlock