I’m not entirely sure how to begin telling the story I plan to tell you. One would usually suggesting the beginning to be the most suitable starting point; however my memories of the night are still slightly vague. Perhaps my thoughts will collect and organise themselves as I begin to spin this yarn for you.
I suppose a more effective way of beginning would be to introduce myself. My name is Orange Thorn, a botanist. It has long been a favourite pastime of mine to collect a variety of plants from the wilderness of Equestria and examine them in the safety of my home. I have been the author of many textbooks regarding plants and their nature, and due to my chosen field of study I do a lot of travelling.
The events I am about to describe took place in the Everfree Forest, the supernatural forest that borders the small town of Ponyville. It has always been my favourite place to go hunting for specimens, due to the strange nature of the forest’s ecosystem. I wandered on into the forest, slowly yet confidently, with a strange sense of ambition. I remember being determined to venture deep enough to perhaps discover a plant that had not ever been seen by other ponies. I’m not exactly sure where that strange and apparently detrimental desire came from, but I did not question it. It drove me forward into the forest, deeper than I have ever been before.
That I ended up finding nothing of interest, I am certain. My search yielded not the exciting results I had hoped for, and I was forced to return to my accommodation with nought but a heart heavy with disappointment to show for my work. I vaguely remember becoming frightened at how deep I had travelled into the sinister forest. Perhaps I saw one of the renown monsters of Everfree, the kind that could swallow a grown pony whole and continue about its day as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
My journey back to Ponyville is where this story’s true beginning lies. The path I had taken had become blocked by fallen trees, suddenly overgrown shrubbery and twisted roots and vines. That this occurrence was unnatural became obvious to me instantaneously. The second the forest’s road blocks came into sight, I knew something was happening. With no choice but to turn and find a way around, I retraced my steps. I saw something up in the darkness. It was another pony. She was grey coated with a blonde mane, similar in looks to Ponyville’s chief mailmare, but with both eyes centered. About her was this strange, ethereal glow that I did not question at the time. It helped me pick her out from the darkness, which in hindsight was a curse disguised as a blessing. I had company in this terrible place.
Upon making eye contact with me, she turned to her right and ran into the forest proper, straying from the path and making her own through the trees and roots. I called out to her, “Hey! Wait! We should stick together!” but my plea remained unheeded. I had little choice but to follow her into the labyrinth constructed by the ever changing Everfree Forest. It was this chase that made me thank Celestia for this pony’s strange glow, as having to find a path through the damn near impassable roots would have been impossible without. She had stunning contrast against the pitch black backdrop created by the forest walls and canopy.
Eventualy she led me into clearings in the forest, where the path was much clearer and the danger of straying from it was obvious. The forest began to morph. The trees began to shape shift; they were changing from plants to sinister towers of twisted wood and leaves, leering down at me with threatening expressions on their imaginary faces. I paid them as little attention as I could, and continued chasing her through the clearings.
Up ahead there was an exit through which bright sunlight could be seen. At the time, I did not notice this little fact. So relieved was I at the prospect of freedom from this terrifying maze that I forgot that it was impossible for there to be sunlight. It was night. The skies above the canopy would be pitch black. The glowing pony vanished from sight when I wandered through the exit. I emerged on the other side of the forest wall, and walked slowly into a scene most peculiar. It was village, a very pleasant looking village. The sun was shining and the village appeared to be in the middle of a celebration.
I slowed my pace as I walked out into a small meadow, littered with tables upon which rested a large variety of food and drinks. I reiterate that it was not the fact that it was in the middle of the day in this town that disturbed me first. I remember becoming unsettled the moment I noticed how large a celebration had been planned for such a small population of ponies. Despite the extensive amount of catering, there was but one grey colt standing in the meadow. He approached me with a large smile on his face. It was a smile that made me very uncomfortable.
As for the words he spoke, I cannot clearly remember. I do know that he introduced himself as Grey Hoof, and mentioned that this town was rarely gifted with the presence of visitors. Unsurprising, considering their location. I excused myself from his company, which was delightful to the point of being unnerving, to wander further into the town. I vividly recall wanting to turn back. My brain was shrieking at my legs as loudly as it could to turn back, to turn and face the forest on my own. My legs, however, ignored the order completely. They dragged me, unwillingly, into the heart of the town, where there were nought but four or five other ponies. It was at that point, I can say for certain, that I first became properly frightened.
I trundled through the town, submitting to the will of my legs, until I found another entrance leading into the forest. I came to a halt before it and stared it down for a few moments. It was darker than the night; I couldn’t see through it. Something told me that if I made my way through the entrance and back into the forest I would regret it. My brain was no longer shouting orders at my legs; it had turned to begging them. I wanted nothing more than to simply turn around and leave, forget anything had happened, but it was too late. I was no longer in control. My legs slowly pulled my body through the entrance, and just as I expected I found myself once again in the pitch black darkness of the Everfree Forest.
Ahead of me I saw her, the grey mare with the blonde mane. Her brilliant glow called out to me; it showed me the way forward like a beacon. I’m not certain as to why, but her presence just ahead of me was the most relieving sight I had seen that night. She led me on, through another clearing in the forest before approaching a house. She walked through the door and I stopped dead in my tracks and looked up at it. It was dark. It was old. Vines twisted their way up its decrepit walls and danced with each other in front of the ancient backdrop formed by its wooden exterior. A faint blue glow could be seen through the gaps in the boards over the windows and everything was silent. A slight breeze slithered through the leaves of the trees; it was the house breathing an epic, awful sigh. It was a sinister, foreboding sight.
Once again, my legs failed to listen to reason and I approached the door. The soft breezes continued to slide from the forest, and they soon developed a slight whistle. I walked into the structure, and immediately wished I hadn’t. The fire emitted a very light orange glow, but the house remained completely dark. The interior was hidden from me, but I could hear feint voices coming from nopony in particular, whispering sinister nothings to me from the shadows. The temperature inside the house was freezing; I could see the breath escaping through my lips in small clouds of steam.
Cold and afraid, I approached the fire for warmth. I began to shiver at the combination of cold ambience and the evident presence of ponies that I could not see. With each step towards the fire their voices grew in volume yet I was still unable to discern what they were saying and this terrified me. I stood in front of the fire, and turned to look at the doorway. At that moment I saw them, my company in this horrible structure.  Their shapes were faint, and I could make out no gender, but they were definitely there, their vague silhouettes standing out in the glow of the fire. They began to approach. The fire went out.
My fear escalated. I panicked. I began hyperventilating, and backed up towards the fireplace. They were breathing loudly, and speaking now instead of whispering. I heard words like “protect” and “forever”. I could hear their hooves slowly falling against the floorboards. That I would die if I remained there any longer I knew. Despite my already present inability to see anything in the darkness, I closed my eyes and lowered my head and ran for the door. I ran into it head first, and had to recover from the explosion of pain before opening it and leaving. I looked back into the house and utilised the light of the moon look into the room. My blood ran cold at what I saw. There were dark stains on the floor, and about six ponies all standing around them. Their eyes were empty. Their coats were black. They remained completely silent as they glared at me unblinking. My eyes widened, and I turned tail and ran.
My original target was nowhere in sight.  I found myself hoping more than anything to be welcomed by her ethereality upon rounding the next corner, but she was not there. I charged back into the town, only to be stopped dead in my tracks at the exit of the forest: The sun had gone out. The light that once the town bathed in was now no longer there. I proceeded with caution, slowly approaching the town. When I entered, my heart sank. My worst fears had been realised. The town lay in tatters. It was broken and desolate. The houses had fallen apart, and it played host to the same cold temperature and evil whispers with which I had been haunted inside the first building. I could see no shadows, however, and given the bright light of the moon this helped ease my nerves, and I continued on through the labyrinth of decaying debris.
The moon led me into a false sense of security. I realised this when I approached the turn in the path to take me back towards the meadow where I had met Grey Hoof. The ground in front of me began to change and distort, and a vortex of dank, black light formed upon the earth. From it came a creature of the likes that I had never seen before.  Once it would have appeared as a pony, but goodness knows how long ago that was. Now it was just jet black skin hanging loosely and gruesomely off the skeletal structure of a colt. It walked towards me, head pointed at me. I became paralysed with fear. Unlike the introductory words Grey Hoof spoke to me, the words of this monster ring through my head with unmatched clarity.
“There was no other way, she was going to spoil the party,” it said.
I looked at and tried to speak to it through stammering and stuttering. Eventually I found my tongue, and managed to ask the obvious question; “What are you talking about?”
I was granted no answer, only a silent stare. I took a cautious step forward, and when I became convinced that it would not chase me down, I continued on, constantly looking over my shoulder to ensure I was not being pursued. As I approached the meadow, another of the creatures approached me. It did not have the same shock factor as the first, but still I became paralysed. Again it spoke, and again I hear its words in my head this very moment, as if they are being spoken to me again.
“The curse had befallen her this very night. She had the mark! She had to go!”
It was then I vaguely remembered why Grey Hoof had been so strange a colt. I remembered that he had no cutie mark. His flank was blank. I didn’t get a good look at the rest of the ponies in the town, but I remember noticing this same lack of cutie mark on a couple of the others as well. My heart sank. Was I to be murdered for growing up to be a normal colt?
I stared the creature down. It needed no eyes for me to know it was looking right at me. The blank, skin covered eye sockets were pointed directly at my face. My breathing increased; my heart raced. Something about this one was different. I lifted a forehoof, slowly, and proceeded to take a cautious step forward. As soon as my hoof touched the ground again, I was charged down. I ran to my left and down the path to the first meadow as quickly as I could, throwing caution to the wind and screaming at the top of my lungs. Ahead of me I saw another, and my lack of silence seemed to spur him into action. I found myself fleeing from two pursuers, with tears of fear streaming down my face. I could hear their hoofsteps behind me, gaining on me. I was no athlete, and these supernatural terrors were running with demonic speed.
Upon entering the clearing, I was shocked into silence. A crowd of them stood in circles, whispering to each other. They were facing each other as if...
As if at a party. These monsters were at a party, the same party I had accidentally crashed upon entering the village. A pony approached me. I call this one a pony because it was slightly different from the others. It had some shape to it. I could make out a coat, a mane and a face on this one and as a result it was more terrifying than the others. It was crying. Tears poured from its eyes, and blood leaked from its lower lip as if it had bitten a hole through it in an attempt to subdue its weeping.
“Please, stay with us. We will never let the same happen to you.”
Again, I glared at the thing. The quivering of his bleeding lip increased and the tears flowed with more force. The soft crying turned into obnoxious weeping as the creature, the ghost, grew panicked at my imminent departure. I took one step forward, and it squealed like a banshee.
“PLEASE DON’T GO!”
Its words rang out through the forest, shaking crows from the trees and shocking me to the core. Its skeletal companions converged upon me, and walked slowly towards the center of the meadow in which I stood. I ran towards the ghost, around it, and into one of the clearings of the forest.
The ambience of the forest had completely changed. Now no longer black, it was bathed in an eerie red light, coming from no source in particular. The skeletal stalkers rose from the ground in swarms and walked slowly towards me. I found myself hyperventilating again. I ran through the clearings, dodging the black swirls on the ground from which my predators arose. Their speed increased with mine, and I found myself regretting my lack of sportsmanship. Their hoofsteps grew louder and closer with each passing minute. After each clearing, a new addition to the herd of murderous spectres joined the chase. I came to the first clearing in the forest I had ever entered, the one which the grey coated, blonde maned mare lead me into initially, and there I found her, standing silently, her beautiful glow calling to me as if it were a comforting lullaby sung by Celestia herself. I ran to her, and looked at her. Her eyes were just as empty as the monsters from which I fled, but there was something obviously different about her: She was beautiful.
“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to bring you into this. I was just curious,” she said. Her voice was layered, as if multiple ponies spoke at once. I shook my head. I finally understood who this mare was.
“It’s not your fault,” I said. I looked past her head and to her flank, upon which was a most fitting cutie mark: a magnifying glass. “I think I understand your curiosity.”
“It turns out I’m really good at finding things!” She said with a smile on her face. I nodded and waited for her to continue. “I’m going to find you a way out of this.”
I heard hoofsteps approach from all around us, but I was no longer frightened. Somehow, despite her lack of horn, a glowing ball of white light emerged from her skull and bathed me in warmth.
My memories cease there. I woke up on the border of the forest, with a matted coat and a dishevelled mane. From there, I made my way back into Ponyville, ignoring the concerned stares of passersby and arrived back at the room where I now sit.
I’m currently researching the happenings, hoping to find some mention of a settlement inside the Everfree Forest that played host to a tragic murder in a history book somewhere, but so far I have had no luck. Only time will tell, but I feel that if I continue looking, eventually I will find the answers I am looking for.