Nightmares, horrors, evils beyond anything the world has seen... and a socially awkward unicorn. When Innocent Sun moves into the sleepy town of Ponyville, she is unexpectantly sent down a path filled with dangerous enemies, new friends, and a monst...
One dark, moonless night, in a cramped alleyway in Vanahack, two ponies of the kingdom's secret police were just about to find their strangest criminal yet.
"So..." gruffly sighed the stallion, a tall, cocky mantis green and azure blue pony named Beetlewing. "...Mind giving me a reminder of what we're dealing with, Bede?"
The face of his partner twisted into one of cringe and disgust as the two continued walking. She was a unicorn mare with a dark orchid coat, a mane of moderate rose, and, her most glaring trait... her broken horn. "Cute..." she replied, through gritted teeth. "But don't go any further. My name is Tempest. Tempest Shadow. And yours is Beetlewing. Got it?"
"Yeah, yeah..." the stallion groaned, rolling his eyes.
"So, about our target... Her name is Winewood. She's an earth pony, middle aged, comes from the Magnolia family, works as a painter, and that last part is something that's important."
Beetlewing raised an eyebrow, somewhat intrigued. "How so? What, does she use some kinda forbidden magical substance to paint, or..."
"You could say that. Of all the flowery, pretentious descriptions I've heard from ponies who bought her paintings, I've gathered that they seem to suck your soul out while you look at them. Once someone sees that the black paint she frequently uses in her art isn't paint at all, they seem to lose any motivation to look away. Some even say they see a face staring back at them in the deep, dark black of the paintings. I've heard them be called 'the shadows of the Devil'. That's a sign that we're not dealing with some everyday criminal... which is why they sent us."
Beetlewing's face suddenly lit up, and he bared an excited smile. "Yeah! This is the day I've waited for! Finally, I'll show the princess that I've really turned for the better!"
"Calm down," Tempest hushed, "I think I see Winewood up ahead."
At the further end of the street, there was a single mare, walking toward the door of a house that likely was her residence, or perhaps even her own personal art studio. She paused, suddenly, and her head moved slightly, as if she was questioning whether or not she'd heard someone talking. She turned around, and oddly, she had no visible reaction to the two, but her ears twitched as she heard the sound of their hooves clopping against the cobblestone street.
Winewood was a mare with an odd, but hardly suspicious-looking appearance that only subtly hinted at the bizarre secrets she hid. Her coat was a light off-white, with a mane of wine red. Her lush bangs covered her vision entirely, and the sides of her mane flowed freely down, as did the back of her hair. Perhaps her most interesting physical trait was the tattoos in several places on her body. They all had the same simple design, being a thorned vine colored a very dark green. One of them was on her neck, and all of her legs, front and back.
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"Oh, hello..." Winewood greeted in a laid-back, almost sleepy voice, and with a friendly smile on her face.
"Hello, Miss Magnolia." Tempest greeted back, her eyes narrowed and staring. "We've heard quite a lot about your paintings. You wouldn't mind telling us about them, would you? We're quite interested."
