The human and former princess stood at the threshold of the the infamous Everfree forest. The trees stood tall as the road ahead seemed to cut off almost all light. Aaron could only behold the massive cluster of trees in awe, even though hated the outdoors. It was an ominous sight to behold.

Looking over to Twilight, he could see that she was absolutely terrified. Second thoughts of entering the Everfree plagued her mind the more she looked upon its tall foliage as memories of her past experiences came flooding back. Aaron just looked onward and waited for her to make a move. He waited for five minutes but Twilight didn't even budge and inch.

"Twilight, you okay?" Aaron asked a bit concerned.

"Y-Yes. I'm fine. I just... I-I have some memories of this place. A lot of them... were not happy memories." She took a deep breath and her first step forward into the forest. Trying her best to keep her wits about her and trying not to think of what could now live within.

As she took a few steps forward, her whole body shaking as she did so. She was like a walking earthquake.

"You know. It is pretty dark in there. Think we should make a torch or something?"

The question seemed to have snapped her out of her fearful thoughts as she jerked to look at him. "Y-Yeah. Yeah, that would be excellent. Can you spare some cloth?"

Aaron chuckled at that question. "I'd love to Twilight. But unfortunately," He motioned his arms in a presenting manner. "But I'm naked." He said as Twilight started to heavily blush. "Would you like to spare some of your cloak?"

She shook her head. "No... Sorry. Its a gift from my brother. He gave it to me when Dash and I went to hide out in the Crystal Empire two years ago. I haven't seen him since and this is the only thing I have left of him." She held onto the brown cloak like a safety blanket, thinking of her brother as she did.

Sighing, Aaron began looking around for something to use as fuel for a torch. A handle was easy, the trees had plenty of thick branches to use to their hearts content. But he still needed fuel for the flames. As he searched, he found a body with a towel on her head. Dry and crusty from being out in the sun for who knows how long, it would make excellent fuel for a fire.

Walking over to the corpse, the smell began to build the closer he got to it. Her coat was a shade of grey and small patches of fur were gone to show skin and wounds in the flesh. Flies buzzed around the body as he could see maggots in the rotted flesh from her side as a large gash with something sharp hanging out from the side of her torso.

Slowly and carefully, Aaron tried to remove the towel from the deceased mare's head, not wanting the dried body to do anything that would make him vomit.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the towel came free, along with her pale yellow mane as it fell to the ground to show a large crack in the back of her head. Shuttering, Aaron quickly came back to Twilight so he could make a torch to light their way. Dismissing what ever thoughts relating to the poor mare's fate.

Breaking a branch from a tree, he tore the towel in half and wrapped one of the halves on the branch and handing Twilight the other half. "Here. This is going to be a long walk, so might as well save some fuel for later."

Twilight wanted to protest to the request, having a dirty cloth touching her research when it had been taken from a corpse, but she did so regardless. Placing the extra cloth into her bag, she brought out two stones. Striking them a few times, the towel and stick was now ablaze.

"There. Think we can start walking now?" He said with an eager smile on his face.

She took the torch with a slight growl, walking into the forest with a confident stride. But the two of them knew that stride was only a front for her fear. It wasn't the forest itself that struck fear into her, it was what resided within it. It had been a long time since she had been in the forest and it has grown over time. Its borders expanding with the presence of dark magic tainting the land.

With a torch in her hand, Twilight found it much easier to travel into the dark forest. Her nerves were still getting to her, as she slowly walked into the dark atmosphere. A roar in the distance did nothing to ease her fears.

~~~

The torch was indeed a good idea. The trees were so thick inside, seeing a small beam of light from above was a miracle to see in of itself. Aaron made sure not to leave the light in fear of getting lost in such a vast and dark area. Not wanting to find out what lived in such a vast ocean of empty.

As they moved onward, Twilight's shaking grew slowly. Aaron wished he could say something to calm her down but she told him not to make a sound inside the forest in fear of attracting unwanted attention. That would have been a problem none the less with the signal light from the torch, but so far their journey was not met with any issues except Twilight's fear.

Twilight stops suddenly, Aaron accidentally running into her accidentally. Nearly dropping the torch, she looks back to him slightly annoyed. "Watch where you're going." She whispered.

"Sorry. Why'd you stop?"

He immediately gets his answer as she steps aside to show a large patch of blue flowers in the light of the flames. "Trust me. You don't want to step in this. Its got a nasty sense of humor." She said in a bitter tone towards the blue flower.

She shun the light of the torch on the ground to easily step around the large patch of blue flowers. Aaron followed but he was rather curious of the plant. He'd take some to examine why she was so hesitant to walk through the patch of flowers. But he would follow her lead regardless.

Twilight soon after began searching for the path once more. A frustrated growl came from her as she tried to find the path in the pitch black environment. Only to be met by an even louder roar in the distance. The sound startled Twilight a bit as she quickly began to spin around and search for the source of the sound. Even though it was probably miles from their position.

"Twilight, calm down. It wasn't close to us. Why are you so fidgety in this place? You seemed scared when those guards were chasing us, but now you look like Molder after dropping bad acid."

"What?" She didn't get the reference obviously. "Look, I'm just... This place is really dangerous. The local wild life are all carnivores and pony are a main source of meat for them. Hydras, Star Spiders, Manticores, all wanting to sink their teeth into any unfortunate ponies who strayed from the path."

Aaron sighed as he took a step forward, and grabbing the torch from her. "Look, if you're going to shake like like you have a fever, I'll carry the torch and you can shake to your hearts content. That way you won't accidentally drop the torch."

Twilight scrunched her face in anger. "Fine. But if we come across any danger and we die, its your fault." She turned her back on him and continued walking, only to trip and fall on her face. Aaron came to meet her and help her up.

"You okay there? That was a nasty fall."

She held her hand to her head as she sat up. "Ow! What was that? I think my prosthetic got caught in... some... thing." Her face went pale at the sight of what she was stuck to. It was a large and pale white rib bone. Aaron shined the torch around the bone and found that Twilight was sitting in the carcass of a very large animal. The bones were not picked clean as the pelt of the animal still remained and rotted meat still clung to the bones.

Along with the pelt and bones was a set of wings and a hollowed out scorpion tail. Aaron had no idea what this animal once was, but he had a feeling Twilight did. "Twilight. W-What was this thing?"

Twilight answered in a shaky voice. "I-It was a manticore. It w-was a dangerous predator native to the Everfree. In fact it was the second most dangerous next to dragons." She got up and moved out of the carcass and retook the torch to examine it further.

Aaron was terrified now. He knew about dragons from myths he had read but he knew that they weren't real. But here she was stating that they were real and that the body before them was a lethal killing machine almost as dangerous as a fire breathing reptile. "So, I suppose this is a dragon attack then?"

"No. Obviously if a dragon did this, there would be nothing left. Second, if a dragon supposedly did leave a body, don't you think there would be some signs of scorch marks around the area. Dragon's like their food cooked after all. Whatever did this was something else and I don't want to find out what." Twilight stood next to Aaron as they left the gruesome scene. Not looking back but the nagging question still plagued their minds. 'What could have done a thing to Equestria's second most dangerous predator?' Twilight thought to herself over and over.

~~~

A ways ahead after their encounter with the body, Aaron sat down to rest, much to Twilight's dismay. She was in a hurry to get out of the forest and rescue her friends and she wasn't getting anywhere at this rate if Aaron keeps stopping to rest on a constant basis.

"So, your home. What's it like?" Twilight asked the human as she scanned the area for immediate danger. Aaron looked up at her in confusion. Surprised by the question and of all times she asked now.

"Well. I lived in a place called El Paso, Texas. It was a desert city. Not much to tell really?" Aaron tried to deduce why she would ask the question. "May I ask why you are suddenly so curious of my home?"

Twilight turned back to him with a calm demeanor that was failing fast. "I want to know so I can... I-I can keep my thoughts off of this place. A strange world and place I've never heard of could do just that. So, more information please." She sat down while she waited for Aaron to talk more of his home and for when he was ready to continue once more.

"Well, its a... desert town-"

"You already said that. Come on, more information." She said motioning her hands to give her more to work with. "What did you do there? What does your kind do for fun? What in a nutshell are you about?" her fears were starting to get the better of Twilight and it was painfully obvious to him.

Sighing to himself, he continued to talk about anything that crossed his mind. "I myself mostly stayed indoors. I was a hermit really. Never going out to interact with anyone or talking much in general. In fact, this is the most I've spoken in a few years. No one really takes an interest in me. As for what others did; sports, movies, games, all that stuff. Never got into the whole sports thing really. Not my thing."

Twilight took down every word that left his mouth. Trying to picture more beings that looked like him doing the things he spoke of. "Yes, that good, keep going." Her nerves towards the forest were starting to fade as she occupied her mind on other things. Specifically the world in which Aaron came from.

Aaron wasn't the best choice to tell about his people but he told her what he could. Their history, achievements, and blunders. For recent things, he was no help at all. He was a shut in and what went on outside his door he did not care for mostly. But he gave Twilight enough information to keep her nerves settled down and off the area around them.

Giving a sigh of relief, Twilight stood up and stretched her arms out. "Thank you Aaron, that will most certainly help me through this place. Now if you would be so kind, I would like to continue on." She said in a kind voice, no longer stuttering or shaky.

"Sure. I'm all rested. But, I have to pee first. Just give me a minute and we can continue." He got up and went over to a nearby tree to do his business while Twilight waited patiently. If there is one thing she didn't want to think about him, it was how his anatomy worked. She knew his body was almost identical to her own, but Twilight was not interested in learning how his body disposed of waste or more awkwardly, his reproductive organ.

But in the silent forest, Twilight looked around with her torch. Getting a tad anxious to move on. But as she did so, she found a silhouette before her. It was too dark to make out from the distance, but it seemed to be a pony of sorts. "A-Aaron. Is that you?"

"Almost done over here." He remarked from the opposite direction, cementing the fact that the creature before her was a pony of sorts. Its silhouette was drawing closer to her. Twilight's nerves were failing her as fear soon crept back into her mind as she slowly stepped back. "A-Aaron. Could you... h-hurry up please."

"Just a sec." Twilight was at her back from the tree Aaron was urinating on as Twilight began shaking like an earthquake when the creature came into the light. And what she saw made her eyes shrink to the size of pins and her purple coat pale at its sight.

Before her was a familiar creature. A black chitin with holes in its arms and hooves and insect like eyes and wings. It was a changeling. A creature long since forgotten except by her and her friends. But this one was different. Its wings were torn to ribbons and its insect like eyes seemed to have glossed over, giving the illusion of a dolls eyes. But most noticeably was its torso. It looked like it had not fed in a year. Its ribs and internal organs could be seen through its leathery skin along with the sight of a faint green glow flowing through its veins.

Its mouth began to slowly open, showing rows of rotten teeth and drool oozing from its mouth. Twilight knew that they feed on love, but at the sight of its rotted and also bloodied teeth, she was starting to believe that this was not the same creature she had encountered in the past.

Finally done with his business, Aaron came around the tree with a satisfied sigh of relief. "Okay, I'm done and we can... get..." Aaron saw the creature and Twilight as he too started to feel fear. With the addition of Aaron, the changeling began to turn its gaze over to look in his direction, the sound of bones creaking and breaking to move its head. Aaron could feel its eyes pierce his own as it stared into his very soul. Twilight made a slight peep as the beast's head quickly met her gaze once more. It's mouth wide open, it let out a blood curdling shriek and made a move to take a bite out of Twilight. But before it could do so, there was another sound. The beast stopped as it looked down at its lower torso.

There, sticking out of the changeling and dripping with a sickly green blood, was Aaron's fist. He pulled himself free from the changeling's new hole and smiled, but it soon faded when the changeling turned around to meet his face once more. It was unaffected in the slightest. It did not scream in agony nor did it show any signs of slowing down. Its hooves staggered forward as two dull claws struggled to reach for him. He did not know what this creature was, and he didn't want to.

Making a quick, decision, she tackled the changeling down and quickly stood up. "Run!" Aaron didn't have to be told twice. For the first time in his life, he wanted to start running. The two bolted from the scene as they heard another shrill screech. Undoubtedly from the changeling Aaron embedded his fist into. But a more terrifying sight soon showed itself to them.

In the light of the torch, the sight of more and more changelings rose from the bushes. Some looking the same as the first one they saw but others looked worse than they could imagine. Some with half of their faces melted, missing limbs or their jaw, and at one instance, their head hanging from strings of meat.

Aaron and Twilight ran through the trees, avoiding any sight of movement they saw. The moans and screams of the beasts soon filled the forest as more and more of the beasts tried to surround the two. More and more seemingly coming from no where, trying to encircle them.

The two seemed to run for hours. Completely defenseless and an army of changeling demons at their backs, Twilight was on the verge of tears at how terrified she was. Aaron was the same, but mostly because he was running for so long, and to make matters worse, they soon came across a wall of trees blocking their path. The spacing between the trees were too narrow for any of them to slide through. Looking back, the two could see an army of silhouettes surrounding them with no way out of forest or the on coming horde.

"A-Aaron... I'm sorry. I'm s-sorry I got you pulled into this." Her voice was crackling as tears began to form in her eyes. Sad that she had gotten the new creature to killed so soon in their quest and the unrelenting terror of the situation. Aaron was shaking as much as Twilight was a while back. "W-well... To be honest, I kind of saw this quest coming to an abrupt stop. I just never saw myself dying by a horde of insect zombie things." Aaron looked to Twilight with sad eyes as the torch fell from her hands.

Seeing the end near, Aaron grabbed the torch from the ground and looked at the on coming horde. He stepped forward and swung the flaming stick at them. Hoping for a reaction. "BACK! GET BACK!" There was no reaction. The best he could do was set one of them on fire. And yet that didn't seem to do much. Unflinching, and unstoppable. With no other options, Aaron rejoined Twilight at the wall of trees.

"Why did you do that? You knew that would not work."

Aaron just gave a shrug at the question."I thought I could get a reaction from them. Hoping they were afraid of fire. It was a thought but it was better than having us both die. Upside is we don't get to die alone." Aaron slid to the ground defeated as Twilight soon joined him on the ground, awaiting the staggering changeling horde to tare them apart. Twilight grabbed Aaron's hand and held tight waiting for the inevitable.

But in a glimmer of shear luck, something happened. One of the changelings soon found an arrow embedded in its eye and fell lifeless to the ground. Aaron and Twilight were shocked at the sight. But soon sat in disbelief as a few more arrows flew from the trees and hit their marks. But it wasn't enough. It was only a mere hindrance in the on coming army.

And soon enough, descending from the tree tops and landed on her hooves. Slowly standing as she brandished a bladed staff of sorts in one over her shoulder and a crossbow in the other. She immediately cut the closest changeling in half, its blood spilling onto the floor. Aaron and Twilight were amazed by the sight. Lifting the torch up, they got a better image of their savior. Her coat was an orange color. Her mane was long and flowed like golden wheat, matched with a short tail popping out of a pair of short shorts. Twilight's eyes shot open to the size of dinner plates at what sat on his head. It was a stetson, worn down and brown. "Y'all best get movin'. I'll make ya a path to escape. Once ah do, you two better run fur the hills." The voice was feminine with a southern ascent.

Aaron and Twilight stood up slowly as their savior turned back to show that she was wearing goggles with a green glow to them and a smile on her face. Aaron nodded in compliance as twilight stared in utter disbelief. "A-... A-..." Was all she could muster. Without warning, the orange mare went to work. Jumping, cutting, and slicing as one changeling fell after the other. She was mowing them down with utter ease while Aaron could barely hurt one. Heads, arms, and various other limbs fell to the ground with a thud. Within a matter of seconds, she had created an opening for them. "Go! Get outta here!"

Aaron didn't need any more incentive than that and he bolted for it. Still holding onto Twilight's hand, they ran fast but her mind was too transfixed on the sights she beheld. Aaron was just grateful to the mysterious mare for saving them. But as they ran, Twilight's mouth had finally uttered what it had been wanted to say. "...Apple...jack?"