This high up, the wind was rushing past about as fast as one would expect, causing Twilight some measure of grief as her mane continually flapped in front of her face. With every few seconds, she would devote some time to setting the stray strands back in their place, much to the amusement of Spike, who stood at her side. The gleaming royal carriage that carried them was moving swiftly through the skies, with clear blue and bright sunlight greeting them wherever they travelled. The young drake often looked over the edge, marvelled at the sights below. But as for Twilight, her current mane situation had finally reached its end, as a look of sheer frustration crossed her eyes.

"That's it!"

Her horn lit up, and a small blue scrunchie emerged from the saddle bags she carried upon her back. After taking a few seconds to force her mane into a bun atop her head, she levitated the scrunchie into it, holding her mane still at long last. Letting out a sigh of relief, she finally glanced to her son, worry now breaking out on her face.

"Keep a safe distance from the edge, Spike!"

The youngster did as told, taking a cautious step backwards, before giving his Mother a nervous smile.

"Sorry, Mom."

The mare sighed, regaining her smile and giving the youth a quick pat on the head.

"Don't worry about it. I guess I'm just nervous about this whole thing."

Looking to her, Spike took a step closer to her, his face looking far more confident than hers was right now.

"It'll be fine. You're the best there is when it comes to organizing stuff!"

A blush of modesty emerged on Twilight's cheeks.

"Thank you, Spike. But this is still going to take some time. There are plenty of ponies to speak to."

Spike opened his mouth to speak again, only to stop when, despite the rushing of the wind around them, both he and Twilight now heard the sound of somepony clearing their throat. They turned in unison to see that it was one of the royal guards, who raised a hoof to point ahead of where they were flying. Looking up, both passengers saw what it was; a small village some distance away. Once again, Spike returned to his earlier excitement, and briefly forgot his Mother's warning, grabbing hold of the edge of the carriage.

"There it is! Ponyville!"

Twilight nodded, a smile growing upon her lips, as she took a step to her son and placed a hoof on his shoulder. Unfortunately, owing to her eyesight, it strained her to see it properly. As such, she lit up her horn and put her glasses, which had been resting atop her head, fully onto her eyes. Now, she could see that it was indeed Ponyville. A quiet and peaceful sort of place, at least from the looks of it. Even from this distance, Twilight was able to see the many ponies there, all going about their day, even as they continued their approach. But, before she could think any further on the matter, her eyes drifted yet again to the young dragon, as the latter then spoke up.

"What's that?"

He raised a single claw and pointed to something just beyond Ponyville, causing Twilight to look up also. It was something that, quite frankly, she hadn't really given much thought to prior to Spike pointing it out. A vast forest, stretching from the borders of Ponyville, reaching out far into the horizon. Perhaps it was simply because they were descending by now, but even so, it seemed to go on forever. But that alone was not what caught the mare's interest. No. Because, for whatever reason, looking at that forest gave her a sense of uneasiness. Something she couldn't quite put her hoof on.

"I...I don't know what it is, Spike."

Her tone must have had a tint of nervousness to it, for Spike now looked to her with some concern. Recognising this, Twilight cleared her throat, giving him another reassuring pat on the head.

"Let's not dwell on it. We have a lot to...ah, there we go!"

Spike turned to see what she was looking at, and noticed immediately that there was somepony there in the centre of Ponyville. It was the same spot that they appeared to be aiming for to land in, so whoever it was, clearly they were there to welcome the two of them. Both Spike and Twilight made sure to grip the edge of the carriage as, at long last, the thing landed safely in the middle of town. After noticeably exhaling over this, Twilight smiled to her son, before then turning and hopping off the carriage. And it was here that the one waiting for them finally spoke up.

"Welcome to Ponyville!"

It was a mare, clearly older than Twilight, judging from the grey in her mane, who walked about with a pair of glasses. Twilight smiled, taking a few steps closer to the stranger.

"It's nice to be here, Miss...?"

The other mare let out a brief laugh.

"Oh, where are my manners? I am Mayor Mare!"

Twilight gave a nod.

"Twilight Sparkle. A pleasure to meet you."

The Mayor stretched out an open hoof, and Twilight instinctively took hold of it, giving a friendly shake before then glancing over her shoulder.

"Don't forget your bag, Spike."

The youngster gave a nod, reaching over for a small bag that had, until now, been quietly resting in the corner of the carriage. As he did this, the guards who had been pulling it began to unhook themselves from their bindings, giving themselves a quick stretch before giving each other a short nod. Twilight watched them go, no doubt to perform some other duties before the Summer Sun Celebration got underway. But, for now, she turned once more to the older mare.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what you and your townsfolk have in store for us, Mayor."

A look of pride crossed the latter's face.

"Oh, I assure you, Miss Sparkle, you will not be disappointed. Everypony here has been working tirelessly to ensure that Princess Celestia will be arriving to a spectacular celebration!"

Twilight nodded.

"I'm glad to hear it. With luck, she'll be arriving in a few hours."

The Mayor nodded silently, prompting Twilight to continue.

"I realise that it's tradition for her to make her public appearance during the night before the sun's raising, but she wanted to get here a little earlier this time."

The other mare regained her earlier smile.

"Ah! Hoping to see what Ponyville has to offer, I take it?"

Twilight nodded in response.

"Yes. As you know, she doesn't get this far from Canterlot very often."

But the Mayor simply raised a hoof.

"Say no more! We'll make sure we give her a good impression of our humble little hometown!"

Twilight smiled back in a polite fashion, even though anypony with even a modicum of talent in reading people could tell that she was simply accepting an obvious political courtesy right now. But, thankfully, the Mayor had not picked up on her insight, instead giving a sweeping gesture to the rest of the town around them.

"I take it you wish to inspect what we've done so far?"

The apprentice of the sun nodded, briefly looking down to Spike, who had been quietly standing beside her for some time now, before glancing back up to her host.

"Indeed. I believe it's...Sweet Apple Acres we have to visit first?"

The Mayor beamed.

"Of course! Please, allow me to escort you!"

Not one to refuse such an offer, Twilight gave a silent gesture, giving the Mayor all the permission she needed to get underway, heading towards what had to be the farm. However, no sooner had the three of them taken a few steps away from their landing spot when, for some reason, Twilight felt a sudden chill down her spine. She turned, looking around for what might have caused her to feel that way, only to stop when she spotted something through a gap between two nearby houses. It was that forest again, which, even now, seemed darker than she remembered. She didn't know why, but something in her just compelled her to ask.

"If I may ask...what is that?"

Mayor Mare stopped, and for a time, she didn't know what Twilight was talking about. But, as soon as she realised what had caught her attention, her smile faltered for the first time in this visit. The look on her face made it clear that she very much didn't want to talk about this, but even so, the question had nevertheless been asked. So, after taking a moment to properly compose herself, the older pony gave her answer.

"Ah...that would be Everfree Forest, Miss Sparkle. An ancient place, by all accounts. Not really the kind of wood you'd want to find yourself."

Twilight looked to her, a slight frown forming on her face.

"Dangerous?"

The Mayor hesitated, before giving her response.

"Let's just say...we've grown used to having it nearby."

There was fear in her words, Twilight could feel it. So much so that, for now, she decided to let the matter go, pointing ahead to their original path. The Mayor, clearly relieved, nodded right back, before starting to once more head off, with Twilight and Spike close behind her. But, all the way, the younger mare could not help but look back to that place.

For when she looked to it, there was something there that made her feel as if it was staring at her.