The companions looked left and right. From each side, more of those ponylike creatures were closing in. “Into the forest!” Zipp shouted. “They are more massive than us! We can loose them in there!”
The friends ran into the forest. Izzy was still bleeding from her wounds, but she managed to keep up without problem. Hitch, on the other hoof, stumbled about. His wounds may have been healed, but the blow to the head still influenced him. His friends slowed down to his pace, but this would allow their enemies to track them much easier. Still, their friend needed their help. Kept steady by them, Hitch didn’t stumble over any roots or twigs.
They went deeper and deeper into the forest. The closer they would have stayed to the road, the easier they could have been found, especially now that their opponents knew they were trotting through the forest. There was only one way: Through the deeper parts.
The trees grew denser and denser, their shapes twisting more and more into nightmarish monsters. “The Everfree Forest.” Pipp whispered, her voice filled with fear. “Do we really have to go in there?” Sunny nodded.
“Do you want to take your chance with those monsters back there, which we know will kill us, or the forest, which could also kill us?” Pipp sighed. Sunny was right, of course. “Then we have no time to waste. The sun is well past its zenith already. I don’t want to stay a night in the Everfree myself.”
Even though they trotted along until sundown, they didn’t get through the forest. They even needed to walk back multiple times because the undergrowth got so thick they didn’t get any further. Thus, they stayed in the lighter outskirts of the forest. Finally, they sat down to rest for the night. They didn’t dare to light a campfire, alerting their hunters of their position. Zipp took the first watch, Sunny second.
Hitch was still disoriented. The blow had been worse than they expected. Even though he didn’t take watch, he stayed awake. “Ponies with lesser headwounds have gone sleeping, just to never wake up again,” he had said.
As the night went on, Hitch heard something. Zipp, sitting just outside their camp, didn’t move. She hadn’t heard it. This got a smile out of Hitch. Zipp was proud of her abilities, and yet she managed to overhear something moving around the camp. His smile died down as his thoughts started to wrap around this. There was something moving around the camp! He jumped up and stared into the forest. His eyes caught a flash of white, yet before he could see what it was, it had vanished again. He strained his eyes. There, on the other side! He turned and turned around. Zipp watched this and put a hoof on his back. “Hitch. Go to sleep. You need to rest. Tomorrow, everything will be better.”
But Hitch shook off her hoof. “Look, over there! There’s something moving in these woods!” Zipp followed his pointing hoof, but saw nothing. She shook her head. “You don’t believe me, do you? But I know I’ve seen it,” Hitch said, his voice slightly trembling. “Something white! Like marble. Look, there it is again!” He started running into the direction he saw it.
Zipp let loose a swear. “Everypony up! Hitch is running into the forest!” The other companions jumped from their bedrolls. Within a few seconds, they took their most important things and followed Hitch. Izzy was the first to reach the stallion.
“Hey Hitch. What’s up? Did something scare you? I get scared easily too. No need to run away like that.” Hitch shot her a look that made her stop for a second.
“I’ve seen something. It looked like an animal, but it seemed to beckon me. We have to follow it!” He squinted his eyes. “Over there!” He changed direction slightly, dancing around the trees with a suddenly boost of dexterity that defied his headwound.
The further they followed Hitch, the deeper into the Everfree they came. No moonlight shone through the leaves at this point. Suddenly, Hitch stopped. “It’s gone. I can’t see it!”
His friends caught up to him, and Sunny hugged him. “Everything will be fine, Hitch. We’ll just go back to our camp, rest for the night, and tomorrow, we’ll find a way through the Everfree.” She turned around and gasped. “Wha- Where is the trail we left? We’ve run like all of Tartarus was chasing us, and yet, we didn’t leave a trail?”
Izzy nudged her. “We didn’t. But there is a path.” She pointed forwards. “And I don’t know what could have left that trail.”
She was right. A trail wound through the forest in front of them, yet no signs of anything ever walking it. No hoofprints, no nothing. No leaf lay on it, yet just besides it, the leaves were at least a hooflength high. Sunny gulped as a cold chill ran down her spine. Izzy danced forward. “I think we should follow it. Maybe Hitch was right all along!” So, Hitch and Izzy strode forward into the deeper parts of the Everfree. Zipp and Pipp followed. Sunny sighed as she lit up her lantern, following them at last.
They haven’t walked more than a few minutes, when the air grew cold around them. Mist rose from the ground, and ghostly lights shimmered inside. The companions drew their weapons. Out of the mist stepped a pony. Or rather something that had been a pony a long time ago. The body was not any more solid than the mist it stepped out of, and the armor it wore bore signs none of the companions had ever seen. Sunny looked behind herself, only to see more of those ponies stepping out of the mist. They were surrounded by an army of ghosts!
Another ghost, bigger, greater than the others, stepped into the mid of the ring. Clad in the same heavy armor, helmet on its head, an ancient looking sword on its side, it opened its mouth, but no sound was made.
Izzy was the first one to break out of the paralyzing, chilling fear. “Hello there! I’m Izzy Moonbow! And who are you?” The ghostly knight turned its head to face her, and suddenly, they all heard a voice deep inside their heads. It doesn’t matter who I am. Not anymore. But what matters is why YOU are here. No living being has entered these woods for decades, and for a good reason. Death lingers here for those who dare to desecrate its holy grounds! The other ghosts drew weapons. How do you dare to come here?
And much to everyponies’ surprise, Izzy started laughing. “Oh, mister ghost, we didn’t know anything about this! As to why we are here, it’s easy! See, these are my friends, Sunny Starscout, Hitch Trailblazer, Zipp Storm and Pipp Petals. We had just met again in Solace, when we got into a bit of a trouble, and then Sunny hit Phyllis with her lantern, and the crystal in it made a rainbow light-”
A crystal? SHOW US! The knight strode through their group, radiating an aura of otherworldly cold. He looked at the lantern for half a minute before he bowed down. We swore to protect this wood a long time ago, but we abandoned our vow when the Cataclysm struck. We fled, just to be buried by the very forest we protected. Now we will guard it forevermore. But you brought hope to us. The ghosts opened up a path in front of the companions. Go forward, you who carry Unity. You will find that you are welcome.
The companions looked at one another, before they bowed their heads. “Thank you, noble warrior. I hope this 'hope' you talk of also applies to us. Farewell.” Sunny rose and stepped forward. And with that single step, she dissappeared.
“Su-Sunny!” Hitch screamed. “What have you done to her? Where is she?” he asked the ghosts, but they only pointed towards the path. With a heavy sigh, Hitch stepped forward too, ready to face whatever may lie in the dark.
Sunny stood in a clearing in a very lively forest. Squirrels were chasing one another up and down the trees, bunnies hopped across the green grass. Everything was so...peaceful. She heard steps behind her. Hitch. Izzy, Zipp and Pipp followed close behind. “Sunny...where are we?”
She didn’t answer. She just took in all of it.
“Didn’t they say we would be welcomed? By the bunnies? The squirrels?”
“By me.” A deep voice reverberated across the clearing. The friends looked around, but didn’t see anyone. “It is a rare occurrence that the guardians let someone pass, and even rarer that they open the path to this place. It has been far too long since somepony visited me.” From behind a tree stepped a shining white deer, wearing a golden necklace with a golden butterfly. “I am the guardian of this place. Once it was a sanctuary for all living things. A place filled with kindness. And although it still is, it is unknown to those outside, for if it became known, dark forces would seek to destroy it. The burden has been passed down my bloodline since the Cataclysm. But I see that you are in desperate need of rest. Sleep here, and tomorrow, we shall speak about your travels, wanderers.” He lowered is head.
The companions, who had been fully awake a minute ago, suddenly felt a surge of tiredness and warmth wash over them. “We should...decide...yawn...who takes watch…” Zipp whispered, falling asleep with the last word. Pipp lay down besides her, snuggling with her big sister. Izzy, Sunny and Hitch lay down in a circle around them, and in less than a minute, all of them were fast asleep.
The deer smiled. “Sleep well, little ponies. It may very well be your last good sleep for a long time.” Then he walked into the nightly forest.