The warm rays of the midday sun peeked through the thick layers of the forest above; all else was cast in eerie, chilly shadow. Kevin rested in the pockets of sun when he needed to, in between the long stretches of cold air with just the pinpricks of sunlight on his back as a reprieve. He would have liked to have stayed for a while in the larger bright patches, reclining in the sun like some rich pony who could afford to do such things with their time, but time unfortunately was not something he had to waste. He needed to get to Dienna as fast as he could.

He still didn't know where the orange filly was, either, and he probably needed to find her. But it would be easier to do that once he was in town and could talk with his father's friend. Though that was dependent on the stallion still being alive, which Kevin couldn't even confirm. It was a long shot at best, but really all he had.

Kevin continued onward down the mulchy path. He wondered how long the road had been there, and if it was the same road he knew. He hoped.

The next time he stopped in a patch of sun, he looked backwards to check on his progress. Already the ship was far out of sight, and all he could see behind him was the stretch of the path in the distance in a straight line. Perhaps if there hadn't been so much foliage above he could still see the ship. He didn't know. It wasn't important—his focus was onwards. He turned his neck back towards the path in front of him, and continued walking.

The trees and bushes he passed on either side of the path were unremarkable to him, all looking pretty much the same. Clumps of leafy things near the ground, or thick trunks that supported leaves up above. The air felt thick; there was a particular moist yet cold quality about it that permeated his coat, sticking close to his body. After the nigh on sterile environment of the orange filly's ship, this felt absolutely disgusting.

The road ahead didn't look much different from the one behind. It curved to the right ever so slightly, but that was pretty much it.

Minutes passed. Hours, even. Maybe. Kevin couldn't really tell, but it couldn't have been that long because Solaris still shone overhead and its rays were as warm as ever.

Worst of all was the book Kevin carried alongside, levitating it with his magic. The thing was utterly useless to him and the very act of carrying it with him was sapping his strength, making him weaker. But he couldn't shake the feeling that this alien tome was important and that, if he could find the pegasus filly, she would be grateful that he'd saved it.

Kevin was pulled from his thoughts by a screeching sound above; in his surprise, he nearly dropped the book. He craned his neck upward, and saw a flash of black. It disappeared into the trees as soon as it had appeared. Kevin trained his gaze back towards the path in front of him once more, and resumed his walking.

But he heard the screech again. Instantly his gaze shot upwards and he saw an unmistakable blackness swooping across the ceiling of the forest. And another, and another. There were dozens of the things—Kevin could hardly tell the individual ones apart in the undulating mass in the sky.

And then, to Kevin's horror, the birds descended to the forest floor.