The group of ponies set out into the forest for the second time, only this time with the Princess and her two loyal body guards. Twilight and the Princess had gone and rounded up their friends again to look again for Rainbow Dash. Like last time, Fluttershy was flying above the treeline, but this time she had a companion, Philomena. The Princess opted to bring her pet along do to its sight and magical attunment.

"Okay Philomena, lead the way!" Princess Celestia shouted up. The majestic bird caw'ed in response, and took off low over the forest, circling back every so often to allow the group to catch up.

"Did you guys happen to check Zecora's home when you out last time?" Twilight asked her friends. Applejack and Rarity swapped glances.

"Well...Uh-," Applejack stammered out until Rarity cut her off mid-sentence.

"What she means to say is...no, we didn't. We figured that, if Rainbow Dash couldn't remember any of us, she would have no need to go to Zecora's, or even remember how to get there," Rarity said, a little ashamed to hear it out of her own mouth.

"Well, I suppose I see where you guys are coming from, but that would have been the first place I would have checked. Knowing Zecora, if she found Rainbow Dash lost in the forest, she would have taken her in," Twilight said, a hint of scold in her voice. The other two ponies hung their head in shame.

Pinkie Pie was bouncing behind the group, stopping to look at anything that caught her attention. The Princess was heavily focused on watching her pet, trying to determine where she might find the cause of the trouble in her land. "It's been awhile since I have set hoof into the Everfree Forest, and now I remember why," Celestia said with a slight shudder. Twilight looked on her mentor.

'Even the Princess is afraid of the forest,' she thought to herself. She didn't blame her, especially now with the two worlds closing in on each other. She had yet to actually tell her friends the urgency of the situation, but she didn't want to scare them. She was hoping it was the right thing to do. "Princess, how many times do you think Rainbow has opened the portal to the other world?" Twilight said as she turned around to face the princess.

"Well Twilight...-" Suddenly the princess stopped dead in her tracks, the others were soon to follow. A look of shock adorning each of their faces. As Twilight froze too, she summoned all the willpower she could muster to turn back around. What she saw she couldn't comprehend.

"...She must of opened it more than once that is for sure..." The Princess said.

"Yeah, this is like my fifth time here."