After bidding farewell to Spike, the trio walked out of the library and set out on their way. For Tom, walking through Ponyville during the day seemed like a vastly different experience from traveling at night. Ponies of all sizes, colors, and races wandered through the busy streets on their daily routines.

The human felt a little uneasy from being stared at by so many people, though no one seemed to look at him harshly. They seemed more curious than judging as they gave him a quick glance before carrying on with their business.

Celestia noticed the human uncomfortably maneuver his body around any approaching onlooker. He seemed very anxious and predicted the movements of anyone that walked by him so he could avoid contact with them.

“Not used to seeing ponies yet?” The alicorn looked to the boy and smirked playfully. She figured that he would get used to his surroundings soon enough.

Tom looked at the princess with slight anxiety apparent on his face. “It’s not that… Although I must admit I didn’t expect talking ponies to be the dominant species after humanity was wiped out.” The boy chuckled at the prospect of his surroundings while still trying to wrap his head around the world he was in. “It’s just that I’m not used to so many people in one place. I lived in a small town for all of my life, and after I became slayer I didn’t go to many large cities or interact with many people.” He explained his behavior in as clear a manner as possible.

Twilight looked over to the human and chuckled lightheartedly. “It’s usually a lot less crowded around town, but we’re walking through a popular route in the morning. Lots of ponies walk through here to get to and from work, drop their children off at school, and to get to other sections of the town.” The purple mare smiled as she saw Tom loosen up and get more comfortable. She then thought about their mission for a moment. “I think we should take Rainbow Dash with us… She and Applejack got separated from me while we were being chased. They might be able to help us find something, and I’m sure that Applejack is busy at the farm this early, so Rainbow Dash seems like the only option we have.” Twilight said while thinking about where her friends would be this early.

The princess thought about it for a moment before turning back to her student. Whatever made the nervous pony more comfortable with their task was fine by her. And besides, the cyan pegasus would be in no danger.

“That seems like a good idea. Let’s swing by and see if she wants to help us.” Celestia stated with a compliant smile.

The purple unicorn was excited and relieved that Celestia agreed with her. On top of Rainbow Dash being able to help them with their investigation, Twilight would feel a lot safer with her pegasus friend around.

And so, the group set off toward Rainbow Dash’s house, which conveniently lay on their current path. After a few minutes of walking, the trio found themselves on the outskirts of Ponyville where the cyan pegasus made her home.

Tom looked curiously at the structure. It seemed to be made out of clouds and floated in the air. Various streams of colorful rainbows flooded off the sides of the building as if they were rivers. As the group walked to the edge of the mass of clouds, Tom looked up and studied the colors and textures of the clouds that made up the apparent ground in front of the house.

Twilight could see the expression of utter confusion on the human’s face. Though he had studied their architecture curiously before, he seemed to be in a state of disbelief at what he was witnessing.

“I take it humans never used clouds to build houses with?” Twilight smirked as the boy shook his head in silent bewilderment while still studying the underside of the house and how it actually cast a shadow on the ground.

After taking a moment to close his gaping mouth, Tom finally turned to the two and looked at them curiously. “So how do we get up there? I mean clearly such a structure would be designed for people with wings in mind, but I seem to be sorely lacking in that department.” The boy stated while looking back up to the odd puffy white structure.

Twilight lit up her horn and looked over to Tom in response. “We’re going to teleport up there… after I cast a cloud walking spell on you and myself of course.” She replied confidently while recalling the details of the spell. Celestia put her hoof on the unicorn‘s shoulder and gently pushed down.

“Don’t bother with that, Twilight. I will just fly up there and see if Rainbow Dash wants to come myself.” The alicorn suggested kindly while trying not to interrupt the purple pony teaching her human friend. The unicorn backed up and dimmed her horn. Celestia then spread her wings and flew up and out of sight as she disappeared inside the mass of clouds.

While waiting for the princess to return, Tom sat on the ground and looked to Twilight as she shifted her weight between legs and looked around.

“So uh… how exactly do you make anything out of clouds? They aren’t exactly solid… at least they weren’t when humans were roaming around.” Tom asked curiously while mulling over the concept of clouds evolving over millions of years.

Twilight looked to the human knowingly. It was new to her to have to teach someone the ways of Equestria. Despite her lack of training in dispensing knowledge, the unicorn enjoyed the opportunity to enlighten some curious visitor to her world.

“Pegasi can touch clouds with their hooves. They use this skill to manipulate the weather and build things out of clouds. Rainbow Dash built her house to resemble where she used to live… a city entirely made out of clouds by the name of Cloudsdale.” Twilight explained slowly while looking off in the distance towards the direction of the far off city.

“Cloudsdale huh...? Just who comes up with the names for these places?” Tom looked to the purple unicorn, hoping she would also realize the absurdity in the name.

Twilight looked at the human with confusion evident on her face. She had never thought of anything odd about the city or its name. “Why…? What’s wrong with Cloudsdale?” She tilted her head curiously. The boy looked back at her and twitched in disbelief.

“Umm… uhh… nothing, it’s just that… ugh never mind. I forgot that I was talking to the unicorn named Twilight for a minute there.” Tom sighed in defeat as he gave up on using his own logic to make witty comments. The unicorn chuckled to herself at the human’s statement.

“I suppose Twilight does sound a bit odd,” Twilight said lightheartedly while considering how ridiculous the name sounded. Tom was excited to see that she was at least aware of the odd nature of the names her culture used. “It’s ok, though, my friends just call me that for short. My full name is Twilight Sparkle.” She said with a naive smile. The human sighed in frustration while pinching his nasal root and rubbing it, he then regained his composure and looked back to the unicorn, who had a straight face on the whole time.

“That is a lovely name… let’s move off of the subject for a while, though.” Tom stated with undetectable sarcasm while ushering the conversation to its end.

The two sat in silence after that. Tom tried to avoid conversation as best he could for fear of discovering something else to make him question the logic of the new society he found himself in, while Twilight remained silent yet confused as to why the human was suddenly unwilling to talk. After a few minutes of waiting, the two looked up to see Princess Celestia flying down to them with Rainbow Dash in tow.

“Rainbow Dash! You decided to come after all.” Twilight smiled happily at the sight of her friend. The cyan pegasus chuckled as she hovered in the air a few feet off the ground.

“Like I’m going to turn down an offer to come and help the princess on a mission.” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a smirk. She then noticed Tom standing behind Twilight and smiled at the slayer in blue. “Hey, Tom, nice to see you again.” The pegasus greeted. The human smiled back and gave a friendly wave.

“Wow… that’s a pretty big wingspan you got there. Your wings look so small when you have them folded up.” Tom studied the feathered appendages further, having not seen them outstretched before.

Rainbow Dash looked to her wings and tried to keep from blushing. As proud as she was of her flying skills, it was always nice to hear compliments from someone, especially someone she had barely met before.

“Thanks… I’m glad someone appreciates a good set of flappers when they see them.” Rainbow Dash stated bashfully. The cyan mare then landed and walked over to the group. The ponies talked for a brief moment before deciding to set off for the Everfree Forest once more.

After a few minutes of walking, the group found themselves standing at the entrance to the forest. While it looked less threatening in the sunlight, Tom couldn’t help but worry as to the short amount of time it took them to get there.

“Why do you guys live so close to such a dangerous place? I mean, Fluttershy practically lives on the edge of the forest.” The human observed worriedly.

Rainbow Dash looked into the dark forest and couldn’t help but think about what sort of creatures lurked within. “Well, it didn’t used to be all that dangerous… granted it wasn’t the picture of safety before.” The cyan pony shrugged as she remembered the various times someone had gotten in trouble for wandering into the forest.

“Most of the creatures that lived in the forest before kept to themselves unless you wandered off of a path, but I’m not too sure about these new monsters that showed up last night.” Twilight walked up to the edge of the forest and turned to the group. She lowered her head with concern as she tried to comprehend how such evil things could exist, even in a dark place like the Everfree.

“Which is why we’re out here searching for clues about the origins of these monsters.” Celestia spoke up with a serious expression on her face. The ponies could tell that she was very adamant about getting to the bottom of the problem they were facing.

Twilight sighed and started walking into the forest on the path before them. Not much had changed in the forest overnight. Muffled noises of wildlife and branches rustling in the wind dominated the ambient noise around the group. And although they could see a little better, the ponies weren’t sure if that was good or bad. A thick fog seemed to linger in the distance on every side of them, leaving them a medium sized viewing window to the trees around them. Everything else seemed to fade into the white mist, leaving the ponies with only their imaginations to process what the hazy shapes in the distance were.

Twilight walked alongside her mentor Celestia while Tom and Rainbow Dash hung back a ways to chat amongst themselves. The purple unicorn suddenly turned to the princess and spoke up. “I think we should check up on Zecora. We need to swing by her place to get where we’re going anyway.” Twilight suggested with mild concern as she wondered if the zebra was safe. The alicorn nodded to her student in agreement.

“If you say so Twilight, we should be getting close to her house any minute now.” Celestia observed while struggling to recall their position from her limited knowledge of the area. Even though she was extremely familiar with most places in Equestria, the princess did not travel through the Everfree Forest often enough to take note of where everything was.

As if on cue to match up with the alicorn’s statement, the clearing of Zecora’s hut opened up into view through the fog. In the distance, Twilight could see that Zecora’s door was still missing, but it appeared as though she had moved it from the floor.

After walking up to the hut, the group could see that the two candles Tom had set up the night before were still burning brightly. And in the back of the house, Zecora was sitting at a table with small metal instruments while meticulously poking at the black substance Twilight had delivered the night before.

Upon noticing the visitors, the zebra placed the small tools onto a rag next to the petri dish that held the substance. She then got up and walked over to the front of the house and flashed a warm smile at the group huddled around her door.

“Ah, Twilight Sparkle and friends, it is wonderful to see you again.” Zecora said with a friendly smile. She then stepped between the candles, causing the blue aura to ripple around her form. Princess Celestia looked curiously at the odd barrier made of candles.

“What a strange looking ward… it doesn’t look like anything I have seen before.” The alicorn stated while examining the barrier. It was on odd sight to see that such a simple item could prove to be so powerful.

Twilight was surprised that her mentor was clueless about the type of magic employed by the candles but then reflected on her own knowledge of magic and how the strange barrier did not seem to fit anywhere into the realm of magic she was used to.

“Glad to see the candles are still lit. I don’t know what you would have done if Tom hadn’t come up with this quick fix.” Twilight said while taking note of her unintentional rhyme and who she was speaking to.

“These candles really do work like a charm. They did a good job of keeping away anything that would have caused me harm.” Zecora laughed heartily and looked back at the candles on the floor. The enchantress marveled at the brilliant blue flame of the candles as they danced in the breeze.

The purple unicorn was surprised at how well two candles placed in a row could keep the creatures of the forest at bay. She quickly regained her train of thought and looked to the zebra standing in the doorway.

“We’re investigating the area where we found the creatures last night. I figured that since your house was on the way, we could check up on you. Have you found out anything new about the black stuff Zecora?” Twilight asked quizzically. The zebra looked slightly disheartened as she peered over her shoulder toward the back of her house.

“Unfortunately even though I tried my best, I couldn’t seem to discover much of anything about that black mess. I just know that it is very cold to the touch, and it starts to numb your skin if you feel it too much.” Zecora explained while taking a mental note to be more careful of random substances and her own hands on nature.

The human perked up with interest at hearing the description of the odd substance. Last night during all the commotion, he neglected to think much of the substance in a jar that was lying around on a table.

“Can I take a look at it? I might have an idea as to what this stuff is.” Tom chimed in eagerly. Twilight looked at the human with intrigue. She was very curious to see what the odd substance in the jar from last night was. Zecora then nodded and stepped aside while motioning for Tom to follow her.

The group then walked over to the table where Zecora was keeping the substance. Twilight had not noticed before, but the zebra had kept this area of the hut as dark as she could to prevent the black mass from having any violent reactions to light.

Tom observed the dark blob that was undulating in its glass home. It seemed just as energetic as it was last night, although it wasn’t trying to jump around. The human then reached his finger forward and touched the black mass. To everyone’s surprise, the blob started to smoke at the slayer's touch. The mass shrunk in size around the human’s finger until nothing more remained of the black substance. Tom seemed to pay no heed to this seemingly unfruitful endeavor and nodded to himself in satisfaction.

“Just like I thought… what you have here is a small sample of dark matter.” Tom spoke up suddenly to enlighten the ponies to his findings. The group behind the boy looked as confused as ever while he gave them a matter of fact explanation on the odd substance.

Rainbow Dash tilted her head and looked at Tom with a confounded expression on her face. “Umm… For those of us without knowledge of the supernatural, what is that?” The pegasus asked in confusion as she failed to wrap her mind around the name of the substance.

The human looked to the group and sighed while realizing his own expertise on the odd subject matter. He then gathered his thoughts and prepared to explain the substance in simpler terms.

“Dark matter is formed in areas that have had a large amount of negative energy. This can happen over time, or it can happen suddenly for a wide range of reasons. A lot of people could have died in those areas, or someone could even form dark matter by more magical means.” Tom looked back to the petri dish and observed the last escaping puffs of smoke leaving the area. “However it happens, what you get is this black substance that appears to be moving even when stationary. Because of its appearance and its tendency to form in dark areas with little to no light, dark matter has been given the nickname of living shadows. It reacts violently to light, and direct sunlight or positive energy can destroy it, which is why it disappeared when I touched it.” Tom explained while motioning towards the empty petri dish.

The purple unicorn grew more intrigued by the minute as she listened to the explanation of the black mass. But she was confused about a few things. “If positive energy destroys it, then how did this small sample get in here? I’m no expert on alchemy or anything else Zecora practices, but I’m pretty sure she has a couple of wards in place to detour anything evil that might wander in from the forest.” Twilight looked to Zecora for confirmation of her suspicions. The zebra nodded as she too wondered about the failure of her own magic to protect her home.

Tom looked around at the interior of the hut. It was clear that Zecora practiced what humans would have called voodoo or alchemy. Many objects lay on shelves that resembled ingredients for magical charms, hexes, or alchemical potions.

“Dark matter can come in different variations depending on how much negative punch it packs. This particular sample seems to have been strong enough to negate any wards you might have had in place. Thankfully the sample also seems to have been small enough to not form into anything larger or more dangerous.” The human said optimistically while pointing out the fortunate occurrence.

Princess Celestia looked concerned at the news that the substance posed any danger in large quantities. She never imagined the odd substance could pose a threat when she first laid eyes on it. “Wait, so this dark matter is dangerous?” The alicorn asked nervously. Tom looked somber as he thought about the possible abilities of the shadowy substance.

“In large enough masses and with enough negative energy behind it, dark matter can do a lot of nasty things. Like draining energy from living things in contact with it, hence the cold feeling you get from touching it. It can also form into any number of intelligent shadow monsters, like darklings for instance.” The human explained grimly.

“So that’s how those monsters are forming… but there were many large clusters of this substance scattered around Canterlot and several other cities…” Celestia said in a stunned tone. She sounded more concerned as she realized the threat to her kingdom and its subjects.

Tom nodded with a more serious expression. “Given the lack of other unique circumstances, that seems like the most logical conclusion as to the sudden appearance of monsters you have never seen before.” The human explained somberly. He felt bad that the ponies had such a problem on their non-existent hands, but he wasn’t sure about what he could do to help them at the moment.

Celestia grew slightly pale as she thought further about the possible worst case scenario. She had never come across any problem this severe that posed such a real and immediate threat to her kingdom.

Twilight noticed that her mentor was struggling internally over what to do next. “Don’t worry, Princess…” The purple unicorn placed a reassuring hoof on the alicorn’s shoulder. “I’m sure we can fix this, we just need to find a reasonable place to start.” She suggested optimistically to lift her mentor’s spirits.

The princess looked at her student with a surprised expression. The unicorn was trying to reassure her, but she also had a bit of hidden fear and concern behind her bright and cheery expression. Celestia suddenly remembered that she would have to be strong for those around her. She briefly took a moment to restore her confident appearance before sighing and turning to Tom.

“I think we should start by finding out where the monsters are forming in the forest. Maybe we can find more information about the cause of the problem there?” Celestia nodded in determination as the human returned a nod of agreement.

The group waved farewell to Zecora as they prepared to set off again. Twilight led the others out of the hut and around the back where the trail led off into the forest. The purple unicorn hesitated for a moment while staring apprehensively at the thick woods that lay before them.

Even though it was still morning, not much light seemed to penetrate the canopy of branches and leafs that stretched above. Despite the dim atmosphere, the white fog still loomed in the distance. But due to the lack of light, the eerie white mist seemed to have changed into an ominous gray cloud.

“Uhh…” Twilight whined uncomfortably. She tried her best to calm herself down, but memories from the encounter last night flooded through her mind causing her to stiffen up in fear. Rainbow Dash walked up to her shaking unicorn friend and placed a hoof on her shoulder. Although the dark woods ahead of them made chills go up her own spine, the cyan pegasus tried her best to comfort her friend.

“It’s ok, Twilight. We have nothing to worry about with Tom and the princess here with us…” Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously while staring into the gray void along with the lavender pony.

Twilight smiled weakly at the pegasus huddled next to her. Despite the reassuring look she was giving, the unicorn could tell that Rainbow Dash was just as scared as she was. The purple pony gulped audibly and slowly inched her way onto the path before her. Celestia and Tom hovered close to the two shivering ponies in order to make them feel a little more comfortable.

As the group walked along the path, Twilight looked around meticulously at her surroundings. She wanted to be sure that she did her part and lead them to the right place in order to shorten their time spent in the forest.

The troop followed the lavender pony through the twists and turns of the forest path. Before long, the group had wandered off of any recognizable path. Regardless of their gloomy surroundings, the three had confidence in their purple leader to find their way through the dense vegetation.

However, as she searched through the trees around them, the unicorn found no familiar landmarks anywhere near the group. She paused for a moment and studied the area further. Frustrated and annoyed at her lack of success, Twilight mumbled to herself as she grew more worried at the thought that she had gotten the group lost.

“I don’t recognize where we are anymore. This must be around the area where I was running through. Rainbow Dash, do you recognize the area?” The unicorn anxiously turned to her pegasus friend in the hopes that she might have an idea of where they were.

“I’m not sure… we were pretty focused on running ourselves when we separated from you Twilight.” Rainbow Dash shrugged while eyeing the surrounding tree’s to search for any familiar sights. Twilight grew even more anxious as she nervously looked around her. Suddenly, Tom walked up to her and looked back to the group confidently.

“Don’t worry. I have been paying attention to where we have been going once we left the path. As far as where we need to go, I think I might be able to save us from needlessly scouring the woods for hours.” The human said with a confident tone.

Twilight looked at the human curious as to what he had in mind. The boy walked in front of her and looked around meticulously. He then exhaled as blue mist came from his mouth like before. He seemed to be more in control of the phenomenon as he did not gasp or flinch while summoning the blue mist.

Celestia looked intrigued at the occurrence. Although Twilight had mentioned the way that Tom sensed evil creatures, it was still a surprise to see the event in front of her.

Rainbow Dash watched Tom curiously as he walked around while letting the mist out every few steps. She was unsure of what he was doing, but anytime he had used his senses before, bad things happened. “What are you sensing? Is it more of those things?” The cyan mare asked nervously at the thought of more of the creatures being nearby.

Tom looked back to the confused group for a moment before returning to his search. It was normal for them to be in the dark about what he was doing, but he still wasn’t used to explaining every action he took.

“I can use my sensing abilities to pick up on negative energy. Hopefully, I can get a trace of the darklings that were here last night and follow their energy to where they came from.” The boy explained before returning to his search. He continued walking around the area and looking around seemingly at random. He suddenly perked up at looked back to the others. “Aha...! Found something,” Tom announced excitedly. The boy stood still for a moment and looked off to the side while letting his senses go off a few more times. “Feels like… darklings for sure… definitely the ones from last night. Let’s see here.” The human motioned with his arms as if to trace some animal only he could see.

“Lot of movement in a straight line over here… must be from where you were chased last night. That seems to go on for a while in that direction before spreading out… must be where they caught you and fought with me.” The boy muttered to himself. He then followed a seemingly random path with his hand while looking down to the ground. The group looked slightly confused as they watched the human wander around them while looking in various directions. They could only stand out of Tom’s way and trust that he knew what he was doing.

The boy concentrated for a moment while tracing the beasts back to where they found the ponies, and where they came from before that. “Ok, I think I know where they came from. I can sense a trail from the ones that I presume chased Twilight that leads back to where they were before they came across you guys.” Tom stated, confident in his ability to follow the trail.

Twilight smiled excitedly at the news. She was glad that someone finally knew where they were going. The group anxiously followed Tom as he led them off to the side from where they were going originally. After a few minutes of wandering through the thick woods, the ponies were beginning to wonder if the human was just leading them on a wild goose chase.

Rainbow Dash sputtered disgustedly as she walked into a spider web anchored to a nearby branch. She feverishly wiped the web from her face and shook her head to rid the tingly sensation from her skin. “Tom, are we almost there? We have been walking for a while now and we haven’t found any… thing.” The pegasus was cut off suddenly as the group burst through a clearing in the trees.

The area in front of them was almost clear of any obstruction for several feet. Thick trees sat on either side of the group at the far edge of the clearing, and in front of the group in the middle of the clearing sat a rather large cave.

The group was awestruck at the sight of the cavernous opening that made up the mouth of the cave. The opening sat on a stretch of rock so large that it seemed almost impossible to miss even through the thick vegetation of the forest.

Tom looked back at the group as they stared at the large landmark with their mouths agape. He didn’t know anything about the forest they were in, so he had no way of knowing how strange the sight of the cave was.

“Well, I’m no expert detective, but I think we might find something interesting in there.” The human said jestingly.