Shining Armor stood before the entrance to The Everfree Forest. Rarity and Pinkie Pie stood (and in Pinkie's case, the term is used very loosely) to one side of him, Applejack and Fluttershy on the other, and Rainbow Dash floated somewhere above.

"Alright," Shining said, turning to face the five of them best he could, "This is the last chance to turn around. This is not a certain thing and pretty dangerous. Nopony will blame you. So if you don't think you can do this, you can just go home and be with your families."

The five mares looked back and forth between at each other, and then at the stallion. Without saying anything, they started moving forward, past Shining Armor and into The Everfree Forest. The stallion watched them go, then took a deep breath and followed.

The group of six walked through the woods for a while. None knew how long exactly since none had a watch and there was no sun to keep track of the time. Most of it had been in silence.

"Something on your mind, Sugar cube?" Applejack asked, getting Shining Armor's attention. "Seems to me you been a might quiet since we left the farm."

"Huh?" Shining Armor blinked, looking at her a moment. "Oh. I was just thinking about something Nightmare Moon said. You ever feel jealous of your brother?"

"Big Mac? Can't say I ever have."

"What about Apple Bloom?" he continued. "You ever worry she might be jealous of you?"

"Not that I know of, and I hope she'd talk to me if she did. Now what's this 'bout?"

"You were there when Nightmare Moon first appeared," Shining responded. "Did you hear what she said I pulled Twilight away?"

"You mean about lettin' your sister be her own pony?" Applejack asked.

"You mean that weird rant?" Rainbow Dash added.

"Yes," Shining replied. "More specifically at the end when she talked about living in the shadow of her sister."

"Is that significant?" Rarity asked, moving to catch up with the others. "After all, the story does say it was jealousy which made her Nightmare Moon, does it not?"

"Yes," he answered, "but the story makes it sound like she was jealous that ponies slept through her nights and not enjoyed the beauty of it. The way she said it, sounded like she was actually jealous of her sister. Like she felt she was always being compared to her sister."

Before the conversation could go any further, a howling sound echoed through the woods.

"What was that?" Shining asked, looking around.

"Sounds like a Timber Wolf," Applejack replied. "Reckon we should move a little faster just in case they're nearby."

"You seem worried," Fluttershy said. "Is there a problem?"

"Depends on how many of 'em there are." Applejack looked around as she continued to walk. "If there's just one or two of 'em we should be fine. The varmints have a tendency to travel in packs though."

Taking the farm mare's lead, the other ponies sped up, keeping pace with her. Time and again, some of them looked around to check for signs of the creature that they had heard.

As they tried to make their getaway, a massive creature jumped out to block the path in front of them. It towered over them, standing twice as tall as even Shining Armor. The creature had the basic shape of a wolf, if on a grander scale, and the entirety of it was made of wood and leaves. It looked at the group of ponies with glowing green eyes, the muzzle open to expose large wooden fangs.

"Stand back," Applejack said as she started to walk forward. Reaching into her saddlebag, pulling out a length of rope.

"Applejack?" Shining shouted after her. "What are you doing?"

"No time to explain," Applejack replied. "Just trust me and be ready to run."

Pulling the rope out all the way, she held one end while the other ended in a large loop. Adjusting her grip with her teeth, she began to twirl the lasso, letting the end take to the air. Applejack's front legs spread wide as she lowered her chest. The mare's eyes narrowed as she watched the Timber Wolf from beneath the brim of her hat.

The Timber Wolf stopped growling, tilting its head to one side as it looked down at the pony in front of it. It sniffed at the air then let out a snort. This was followed by a growl as it bared it fangs once more, moving its head closer toward the pony. When the pony continued to stand there, the Timber Wolf lunged forward, snapping its jaws.

As the creature lunged, Applejack jumped back. As soon as she landed, she flicked her neck to send the lasso flying. The loop of rope landed on the wolf's muzzle. With a hard yank, the mare pulled it tight, tying the creature's mouth shut. With a snarl, it reared back, jerking its head up and trying to free its mouth.

Applejack held onto the other end of the rope as tight as she could. Watching the Timber Wolf, she jumped off the ground as it reared back and yanked the rope. With the energy of her jump combined with the creature's pull, the mare was able to get up over the wolf's head and onto its back. Adjusting her grip on the rope, Applejack pulled hard, causing the head to snap back and the Timber Wolf to rear up and buck. With it thrown off balance, the mare jumped down and slipped under the creature. Fast as she could, she ran back and between its hind legs. Taking a hard turn left, she wrapped the rope around one of the legs. Applejack then went back under the Timber Wolf and back to get the other as well.

With a hard yank, the rope pulled tight and sent The Timber Wolf spinning. With a yelp of surprise, the creature hit the ground, and immediately fell apart into a pile of wood.

"Come on, ya'll," Applejack shouted. "We only got a few minutes before it pulls itself back together." Pulling the rope back and coiling it around her neck in one swift motion, she started running. As soon as she did, the others started chasing after her as fast as they could go.