Now, while it was generally accepted amongst ponies that you do not ever stray into the Everfree Forest, especially for trivial reasons, there was nevertheless certain ideas and concepts that were practically fused into the cultural mind-set of those ponies whenever they thought about it. They expected many things when the forest was concerned, from dangerous wildlife, to poisonous plants, to ancient ruins and just a general atmosphere of danger. What most of them wouldn't expect to see was a baby dragon hanging on for dear life on a rope that was dangling underneath a pinkish-purple hot air balloon. And yet, that was what exactly happened here in the forest today, as Spike now found himself in that perilous situation. Holding on as tightly as he could, he looked down at the vast forest land beneath him. Although clearly terrified, and for good reason, the young dragon soon found, to his utter relief, that the balloon was starting to descend. Perhaps it was running out of hot air or perhaps it had a leak or something, but whatever the cause, the young dragon felt nothing but joy from the knowledge that he was now approaching solid ground once more. He counted the moments as the grassy ground beneath him drew closer and closer. Soon afterwards, when it was finally close enough, he planted his feet down upon it, letting out a sigh of relief as he did so.

With the balloon's rope still in his clawed hand, the young dragon began scouring the area around him, narrowing his eyes so as to try and see better in the gloom of the forest. However, he seemed to be in luck, as there was a large rock nearby, causing his face to light up with a smile. Waking over, Spike dragged the rope, and thus the balloon, along with him, before kneeling down and tying it as tightly as possible to the cold stone. After doing that, he patted his hands together, getting rid of whatever dust he might have accumulated while doing that. Unfortunately, his smile faded somewhat as he finally began to take note of his surroundings. His reaction, that of a look of concern, was not without cause. After all, he knew from personal experience all of the dangerous things that usually happened in this forest. All the tales of monsters and dangerous mythic creatures abound, it was hard from him not to feel just the least bit fearful.

"Okay...next time Mom gives me a day off...I'll make sure I spend it with Sweetie Belle. Much less dangerous...usually."

Looking around he started to walk away from the tied-down balloon, nervously poking his two index fingers together as he did so. As he glanced around, he heard far-off sounds, screeching birds and the like, which did much to give this spot a rather foreboding feel. However, he had no time to dwell on that, as he soon found himself tripping over something, landing face-first in the grass below. When he finally lifted himself up, he found that he had a mouth full of dirt, leading to him bearing a look of great annoyance before spitting it out. After wiping away the remaining grass from his tongue, Spike looked around him, expecting to see some kind of hidden stone in the ground that he might have accidentally walked into to cause this. Although, he soon found that this was not the case, as a look of confusion crossed his eyes as he looked down to what he'd actually tripped over. It appeared to be a small log of some sort, covered in grass and moss. Something about it caused Spike to take a nervous step forward, after which he knelt down and placed his hand upon the log. The wood felt strange to him, and without really knowing why, he reached down with both hands and began to pull the thing out of the ground. It had apparently been in here a while, and so took some effort of Spike’s part. But, he eventually pried it loose, and now looked upon that strange object.

"What...what IS this?"

It was definitely wood, but it was shaped strangely. It was no tree branch and it was about as long as both of his arms put together. But, it was what he saw at the end of it that truly caught his notice. He knew it made no sense, but there, dangling off the end of the thing, was a paw, complete with wooden claws. Raising a hand, Spike scratched his head in a clear display of confusion, which deepened further when he looked at the other end of it. That part of the wood appeared to be blackened, as if it had been struck by lightning, or set ablaze. Reaching over, Spike placed a single claw against it, at which point he noted that some of that blackened wood began to crumble away. Although confused at all of this, a thought came to mind for him, and he began to look up and started scouring the area around him. Although there was the usual stuff he'd expected to find out here, like large boulders, trees and the like, he soon caught sight of something close by, and he narrowed his eyes at it. At first glance, it appeared to be a pile of wood, looking very much like what he'd picked up, and he made a few nervous steps towards it. Once he was close enough, his eyes widened with shock when he finally realised what it was. More claws. What appeared to be a tail of some sort. And, above all, there was a large, wolf-like head. There was no longer any doubt in Spike's mind as to what this was.

"A...a timberwolf?!"

Timberwolves. They were creatures of legend that supposedly roamed the Everfree in vast packs, forged of living wood. Ponies had gathered many a legend about those creatures, from the old mare's tales of them stealing away colts and fillies that didn't eat their vegetables, to the more practical first-hoof accounts of ponies who’ve had unfortunate run-ins with the beasts. In fact, Spike recalled hearing some of those very stories from Apple Bloom when he spent time with her and the other Cutie Mark crusaders. He remembered her telling the story of how her Grandmother, Granny Smith, used to fend off the beasts in her youth. The Apples have had dealings with these creatures for as long as they've been in Ponyville, and if what Apple Bloom said about them was true, then Spike knew in his heart that he wanted nothing to do with them. And yet, when he looked upon the one before him, he saw no vicious beast, nor ravaging creature of legend. This one in front of his was undeniably dead. Looking down, Spike saw that part of its front leg had been blown off, leading him to look at the wooden piece still in his hand, which, naturally, led him to dropping it in shocked disgust. But that soon gave way to curiosity, as the lifeless creature seemed to have more scorch marks all over it. Too many for some random lightning strike, not unless this was the unluckiest timberwolf in the world.

"Something...attacked it," he whispered.

But, his mind then called back the one thing he remembered most about these creatures; they never worked alone. So, he spun around, expecting to see perhaps an entire pack bearing down on him. Burt instead, he looked on with yet further shock to see, nestled amongst the trees, that there were even more unmoving timberwolf bodies, most covered in moss, a clear sign of having passed on some time ago. Nervously, he approached them, one by one, seeing the devastated state they were in. Some had been hit so badly that there were more than half-burned away. Something out there really had it in for these creatures, that much was certain. There were limbs blown off, and in some cases even an entire head burnt to cinders. All-in-all, Spike counted about a dozen of the creatures now dead around him. Needless to say, the young dragon found himself rather concerned about all this. After all, what was to stop whatever did this from coming back and giving him the same treatment? And that was a fear that persisted even more soon afterwards, as Spike spun around at the sound of something rustling through the nearby bushes. He took a few steps backwards, worried about what he was about to see. But, thankfully for him, what emerged was not some dangerous beast, but rather, an orange mare wearing a Stetson, who looked upon the young dragon with confusion.

"Spike?"

The drake broke out into a massive smile upon seeing her.

"Applejack!"

Before the mare could react, the young dragon shot forth, embracing her in a hug.

"Oh Faust! I'm so glad you're here!"

Applejack looked down at him with uncertainty.

"Wha...what are y'all doin here?!"

Spike parted from her and began to recount his tale. Unfortunately, he was speaking in a rather nervous and fast-paced manner, so she was only able to get the barest idea of what really happened. Thankfully, she seemed to be understanding about the whole thing, and so began to walk past him and towards the tied-down balloon.

"Well, ya’ll were lucky ah was headin over ta Zecora's today. Doubt you'd have made it back on yer own."

Spike nodded frantically at that, before turning to the dead timberwolves nearby.

"Applejack...the wolves."

Turning, the mare narrowed her eyes as she looked upon the lifeless piles of wood beside them.

"Ah know. This ain't mah first time in the Everfree recently, Spike. This ere is just one of the packs ah've found in the last few months. All gone."

She looked away, gazing out at the gloom of the forest before her.

"Ah wouldn't be surprised if there ain't a single timberwolf left in this ere forest."

That statement caught Spike completely off-guard, that such infamous and fearsome creatures could have been decimated like this. Even so, it was too terrifying a concept to really think about, and so he stuck close to the orange mare after the latter had finally untied the rope and began to drag the balloon along with her. The two stuck together, watching out in case any other animals snuck up on them. After some time of travelling together, they made it beyond the Everfree's borders, and Spike leapt for joy at finally getting some rays of sunshine upon his face. The two of them seemed to be in luck soon afterwards, as the mare who owned the balloon was nearby, having apparently been looking for the thing for some time. Applejack offered it to her, with Spike giving his most apologetic expression in return. Fortunately, the balloon's owner seemed to be in a good mood, and didn't press the matter. With that issue settled, Spike and Applejack began to make their way into town, and soon afterwards, they looked upon the young dragon's home; the Golden Oak Library. As they approached it, they watched as the doors opened, and a very worried-looking Twilight started to charge out. Spike soon joined her, running towards her as fast as he could. Within moments, mother and son were reunited, with Applejack smiling at the sight of it.

"Oh Spike! When Rarity told me you weren't over at her place...I...I got so worried!"

Small tears began to form in the young drake's eyes as he looked to her.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I just..."

But he was stopped from continuing when Twilight began to barrage him with endless kisses upon his cheeks and forehead.

"It's alright! You're home now, and you're safe. That's what matters!"

Looking up from him, Twilight turned to Applejack with a genuinely appreciative look on her face.

"Applejack! Thank you so much for finding him! I don't know what I would have..."

But, much like Spike, she too was stopped when Applejack raised a hoof.

"Don't y'all mention it, Twi. It's the least ah can do."

The orange mare gave a tip of her hat and a smile to Twilight before starting to turn around, after which she began to make her way towards her own home. Now alone together, Twilight looked down to her adopted son and smiled, before gesturing to the library behind her. Spike nodded, and soon afterwards, the two were making their way inside. Once in, Twilight sat down in a nearby sofa, inviting Spike to sit beside her, which he did. After making sure he was comfortable, the young unicorn spoke softly to him.

"Now then, Spike...what happened? I thought you were spending the day with Sweetie and the girls?"

Spike nodded before answering her.

"I was...but then it turned out she and the others were given extra homework today, so I figured I should probably not disturb them. So...I wandered around Ponyville for a bit until...I got caught up in a balloon. It landed me in the Everfree, and that's where Applejack found me."

Twilight had been listening carefully to every word her son had said, nodding where appropriate. In time, she spoke up herself.

"You weren't hurt, were you?"

Spike shook his head, but looked up to her with concern on his face.

"Mom...I found dead timberwolves."

Immediately, the warmth of Twilight's face vanished, and she looked away slightly.

"Oh...I see."

Spike watched her, seeing all manner of emotions mixed in with her expression. Concern. Fear. Perhaps even some regret. Regardless of why she was feeling this way, Spike continued.

"Applejack said there might be something getting rid of all of them. Do...do you think we're in danger?"

Twilight looked back to him, seeing the worried look in his face, and once more put on a warm smile. Silently, she raised a hoof and placed it around his shoulders, in an attempt to keep him calm.

"No, Spike. We're safe."

Leaning forward, Twilight planted a gentle kiss upon the drake's forehead, to which he smiled back at her. The two moved closer, embracing each other in a hug once more. When they parted, Twilight watched as Spike began to move off, right up the staircase. He was no doubt going to get into bed and rest after his efforts today, and Twilight kept her eyes on him the whole time, smiling all the way. Spike gave her a final glance before finally going beyond where she could see him. Now alone, she waited until she heard the sound of their bedroom door closing, which wasn't long afterwards. With that done, her smile faded once more, and she looked down to the ground with a measure of guilt upon her face.

"So...he saw it. No matter. It was all for him. For them. They’re safe now, all of them. No longer at risk, nopony here or anywhere else in Equestria."

She sighed deeply.

"I may regret doing that for a long time...but they’re safe...they're safe."