"Inigo, please wake up." A nervous voice called.
Instantly, his eyes shot open, making contact with the pair of eyes above him.
"Sakura?" He asked, slowly pushing himself up. "What happened? Where are we?"
"I wish I could answer those questions." Sakura spoke in her usual soft voice. "We're alive, though. So that's a plus, yes?"
"Only because the both of us are alive, wouldn't be much good if only one of us made it." Inigo said, taking a look around. "It's dark beyond measure in here."
"It's... Not scary, but it is a bit unsettling." Sakura said as she looked around.
It was clear that they were in a forest of some kind, yet the forest canopy was so thick that little to no light made it to the forest floor. The little light that did make it through however, was responsible for the strange green glow that the forest had.
"Well, we can't stay here forever, can we?" Inigo stood up, reaching for his hilt to find that Falchion was, thankfully, still there. "There has to be a way out."
"Which way is it, though?" Sakura asked, bow now in hand. "The way out, I mean."
"I'm not sure." Inigo noticed something, and wasn't sure what exactly it was, but it definitely wasn't a tree. "Let's just pick a direction and go with it, I'd rather not stay here long, if I can help it."
"Darling, have you felt anything strange, lately?"
"Like some sort of otherworldly magic?"
Rarity looked at Twilight incredulously. "How did you know?"
"You're not the only one who felt it." Twilight said as she turned to face Rarity, a letter from Celestia floating in front of her in her magic. "Although I'm surprised you felt it at all, since the Princesses and I are Alicorns."
"Maybe because I possess an element of harmony?" Rarity suggested.
Twilight thought for a bit. "I'll have to check on that some other time. Right now, we need to let the girls know the plan for tomorrow."
"Well, it is getting late." Rarity added. "What are we planning, exactly?"
"Princess Celestia says that the otherworldly magic came from the Everfree Forest." Twilight began, eliciting a cringe from Rarity. "So first thing tomorrow, we'll head in and investigate."
"Oh, do I ever detest that forest." Rarity said, sitting on her haunches. "If only I had knowledge as to why our ancestors thought it was a good idea to set up shop here of all places."
"Yes, well..." Twilight began, rolling up the letter and tossing it aside with her magic. "That's why I've made the decision to go in the morning, it's far too dangerous to go at night."
"I do so hope it isn't urgent." Rarity said, standing back up on her hooves and making her way to the library door. "I'll be off then, darling. Sweetie Belle will be home from her friends soon, and I'd like to have supper going."
"Have a good night, Rarity." Twilight said, floating a saddle bag to her back. "Spike?"
"Yeah Twi?" The dragon answered from the top of the stairs.
"I need you to watch over the place while I head out." Twilight already had the door open again.
"Don't need to tell me twice." Spike said with a chuckle. "Be back soon, okay?"
"I will, don't worry so much." Twilight said with a smile, closing the door afterwards.
"There we go, a proper camp fire."
They been traveling for quite some time, only taking a break now due to nightfall. Thankfully, they know they'll reach then end soon, since the forest canopy was far thinner now then it was before, since they could now see the moonlight properly.
"Those rations aren't the best tasting." Sakura said, looking straight at the fire.
"Well that's because I wasn't the one who made them." Inigo said with a smile. "As I've said before, I'm no slouch in the kitchen."
Sakura giggled. "Yes, your food always has that fanciful flair of yours."
Inigo chuckled as he sat down next to her. "I don't care what they say, that armor suits you well."
"Thank you, my love." Sakura began. "Honestly, I would've never known just how useful I could be when I took such a position. My siblings have always detested the idea of me carrying such weapons."
"You have a lot of untapped strength, on to of your substantial magical capabilities." Inigo began. "I didn't even know festals could be used for more then just healing."
"Well, you and Severa taught me the sword when my brother refused to." Sakura said, pulling out her Sun Festal as she did so. "and I still thank Owain for teaching me as much as he did about magic."
Inigo smiled, before briskly standing up.
"What's wrong?"
Inigo shushed her quietly, listening for that same noise, the sound of snapping twigs.
And it happened again.
This time, Sakura stood up, longsword at the ready, and took her position behind Inigo, her back facing his. Inigo as well, had Falchion in his hands, looking frantically for the source of the noise, or noises, as there now seemed to be multiple.
Before he could speak, a massive wolf of wood leaped at Inigo from the darkness. He hardly had the time to process what exactly it was the he was fighting before swinging Falchion with unmatched speed, connecting with the wolf and send it flying towards a tree, shattering it into splinters.
'Nani?! A wolf made of wood?! What sort of magic is this?!' Sakura thought before another wolf came charging at her. As it got close, Sakura gave a slow, heavy underhanded swing of her longsword, sending the wolf in the air, almost above the treeline. It landed on its spine, going limp before reducing into a pile of wood.
It became apparent to Inigo that there were more of these wolves then the ones they just fought, as not so distant howls could be heard.
"We're gonna have to fight like mad." Inigo said, resuming his battle stance.
"I'll do my best." Was all Sakura could say before another wolf charged at her.
(Morning)
"So girls, are we ready?"
"Yup! We're all here!"
Twilight looked around, silently counting everyone present. "I've been able to pinpoint where that magic came from within the forest, so it should be pretty easy to find it."
"Not much easier, ah take it." Applejack said, "ah'm almost certain we'll be attacked by whatever vermin crawling in that forsaken forest."
"Don't jinx it, AJ!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "I'm sure we'll be fine."
"Famous last words, darling." Rarity muttered under her breath.
"In any case," Twilight began. "I know a variety of defensive spells, should we run into trouble. So we shouldn't worry."
"Jus' havin' a sense of caution, Twi." Applejack said.
Twilight nodded. "Are you ready, Fluttershy?"
Said Pegasus only nodded.
"How about you, Pinkie?"
"I'm ready, Freddy!" Pinkie Pie shout, smiling.
"They're retreating." Inigo stated as the wooden wolves began running back into the forest.
"Th-thank... Naga." Sakura stuttered, sheathing her sword and sitting down by a tree. "I thought it w-would never end."
Inigo hummed as he looked up, only to gasp in surprise. "It's morning!?"
"Wh-what?" Sakura tiredly asked. "W-we've fought all, m-morn....ning?"
"Sakura?" Inigo looked down at Sakura to see that she had fallen asleep. 'She isn't used to fighting like mad for so long it seems.' He thought.
In many ways, that was a good thing. He was used to overexertion for such a long time thanks to the Risen, when they were still a threat in Ylisse. Sakura, thankfully, wasn't subjected to such an environment.
"Sleep well, my love." Inigo said, lifting her up to carry her, bridal style. As much as he wanted to let her sleep, they couldn't afford to stay in this forest any longer.
And so he continued the direction they were going the day before, hoping they would leave this place before nightfall. They needed to, or they wouldn't survive another night like that.