As your vision slowly began to return you, the first thing you could make out was the dark green grass that was growing beneath you. You certainly didn't see things like that in Manehatten, no matter how many parks they have there. The next thing you were expecting too see would have been the familiar thatched buildings of Ponyville, but as you looked around, that wasn't what you could see.

"I don't think this is Ponyville..." Rainbow said, rubbing her eyes as she continued to recover from the blinding flash caused by your teleportation spell.

Instead of buildings, the next thing you saw were dark green bushes that circled all the way around you. As far as you knew, bushes of that colour weren't grown in Ponyville.

"Where are we?" Pinkie Pie asked, glancing around with a confused expression.

"Ah ain't no expert on geography, but if ah had to make a guess..." Applejack began, looking between the bushes towards a writhing thorn that connected to the ground.

You let out a loud gulp as you suddenly realised where you were, "The Everfree Forest."

Thankfully, you were in a clearing, allowing the sunlight to shine down onto you through the gap in between the trees, but the problem still remained. The six of you were lost in the Everfree Forest.
It seemed like the further the distance you teleported, the less accurate your magic became. The fact that you were teleporting multiple ponies probably didn't help either.

"T-the Everfree Forest?" Fluttershy stuttered, taking a step back.

"Oh, don't worry Fluttershy," Rarity consoled, understanding her fear of the forest, "I'm sure we'll be out of here in not time at all!"

The forest wasn't particularly dangerous to you, as evidenced by the fact that you and Rainbow once accidentally killed a Golem in it before, but being completely lost may have changed things a little. It was a well known fact that the forest was self-sustained, unlike the rest of Equestria. That could definetly have come with its own issues if you didn't find your way out of there fast.

"Rainbow!" Applejack called, "Think you and Storm can fly up and tell us where we are?"

"Sure can!" the blue Pegasus replied, lifting up into the sky a mere moment later. Quickly, you followed her up into the air until you eventually passed through the trees, getting a view over the entire forest.

Immediately you noticed how incredible a view over the entire forest looked when you were in the heart of it. You had seen over the Everfree Forest before, but never from this deep within it.

"It's a nice view." you said, looking off into the distance across the seemingly endless expanse of trees.

"Yeah, it is. I don't fly here much for... obvious reasons." Rainbow explained, looking in the opposite direction of you, "You see anything?"

Covering your eyes with a hoof to block the sun from shining down into them, you squinted in order to get a better view into the distance. At first you couldn't see anything noteworthy, until you noticed a tree that was much larger than the rest. Not only that, but the shade of green on its leaves was much brighter than those of the forest's trees.

"Is that..." you said, looking at the large tree intently, "The Golden Oak Library?"

Rainbow turned around, getting a good look at the tree in the distance, but she couldn't get a good enough view. Taking advantage of her wings, she flew up a little bit higher to see the structure more clearly.

"Yeah! It is! Nice job, Storm!" she said, flying down at playfully hitting one of your forelegs.

You couldn't help but smile as she flew down to tell the others. This big battle you were facing... You hadn't fought it quite yet, but you could honestly say that you were happy.
Still, there was no point in simply hovering around above the Everfree Forest, so you flew down to join your friends.

"I'm sorry, how far in that direction?" Rarity asked, an innocent smile on her face and a single hoof pointing in the direction of Ponyville.

"Like, half an hour of walking..." Rainbow explained, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

She couldn't help but show an amused smile as Rarity's face twisted into one of panic, as she realised the long distance that she would have to treck.

"Oh, this is the worst possible thing!" she cried, placing a hoof on her forehead, as if about to faint.

"Oh, don't be dramatic!" Rainbow replied, letting out a snicker.

"We should probably get going, ya'll." Applejack suggested, interrupting Rarity's slight breakdown, "If we don't start moving soon we're gonna be stuck out here in the dark."

She had a point. The few times you had ventured into the forest, it had always been day. You had no idea what kind of horrors awaited you at night time.

Each of your friends agreed, and finally you began making your way in the direction of Ponyville. Already you could see many obstacles before you, ranging from spikes brambles to-

"Are we there yet?" Pinkie asked, bouncing up and down cheerfully.

"I... don't think we are, Pinkie..." Fluttershy answered, gently hovering over a large thorn that blocked the path. Both you and Rainbow did the same, whilst Pinkie simply leapt over it.

"We've only just started walking." you reminded her, continuing in the direction of your home town.

"Yeah, I know," Pinkie said, happily, "I just like saying what's on my mind, you know?"

You definitely understood where she was coming from. The amount of things you had to hide in the few months you had spent in Equestria was unbelievable, and you were surprised you were even able to keep all of them.

The next few minutes passed by with little to nothing of interest happening. Occasionally you passed by a broken tree, it's decaying roots reaching up from the ground, and a pair of red eyes staring up at you from a hole in its trunk. Each of you simply stared at it, a little unnerved, before continuing onwards.

Spikey brambles were definitely in abundance too, as every few turns you were confronted by-

"Are we there yet?" Pinkie asked, just as cheerfully as the previous time.

"No, Pinkie, we ain't there yet..." Applejack said with a sigh. By now, you had cleared quite a few brambles and were simply on a straight path, winding between old, decaying trees.

You also saw the occasional flower, which confused you, as they were barely getting any sunlight under the thick foliage of the trees. That then lead you to wonder how many ponies it must have took to grow the many flowers around Equestria, as they couldn't grow without the help of them. Well, unless they were in the Everfree Forest of course.

"Are we there yet?" Pinkie asked one more time, breaking your train of thought. Rarity let out a heavy sigh, whilst Applejack simply rolled her eyes, a slight grin on her face.

"Pinkie, knock it off!" Rainbow exclaimed, seemingly irritated by her constant disruption, "You'll know when we're nearly there, ok?"

Pinkie Pie enthusiastically nodded her head, giving her a big smile in response. Rainbow turned around, and began flying back along the path at the same speed as the average pony could walk, before turning her attention towards you.

"Hey, Storm. I'm sorry, by the way..." she said, looking down at the ground with a worried look in her eyes.

"Huh?" was all you could say in response. Honestly, you weren't even sure what she was apologising for, let alone why she was doing it, "What for?"

"For being so... aggressive back in Manehatten..." she said, her voice sounding a little disappointed in herself. This was a big contrast to the confidence that she usually showed, but you had seen this side of her a few times before.

Such as that night on the hill below her house. The night that the two of you became something more...

"It's ok. You were just doing it to protect your friends." you said with a smile. Sure, the aggression hurt you a little, but it turned out okay in the end, even if you haven't fully won the battle just yet.

"I guess, but I don't just mean towards Null," she said, turning towards you as she continued flying forward, "I'm talking about towards you, too."

You nodded your head, as you already knew that was what she was talking about, "I know you had your reasons. You wanted to stop Null, and I stopped you from doing that. You were only being loyal to you friends, and your loyalty is one of the many things I like about you."

You gave her a smile, too which she reciprocated. You thought you heard her mutter the word 'thanks', but you weren't certain. From the way she continued to smile, though, you had a feeling that your ears weren't playing tricks on you.

It was strange how one of the worst days ever could end up turning into a moderately decent day, and only with a little help from your friends. Okay, you had a lot of help from your friends. If it wasn't for your friends, you would probably be dead by now, but the point still stood.

"Ooo! Glowey!" Pinkie exclaimed suddenly, staring into the foliage at something that you couldn't see.

"Pinkie, what are you looking at?" Rarity asked, turning to look in the same direction as her. As she looked deeper into the woods, her eyes lit up with a faint blue glow, "Wow..."

You glanced at Rainbow Dash, confused, and then gave Applejack a similar look. Finally, you walked back a few steps and looked into the foliage that both Pinkie Pie and Rarity seemed so enamoured by, and your blood ran cold.

Hovering in the bushes was a small flickering orb of blue light; A Will-ó-Wisp. It was potentially the very same one that lead you to the Golem all that time ago.

"Pinkie, get away from it!" you exclaimed, flying in front of her in an effort to block both her and Rarity's vision. The longer you looked at it, the stronger the urge to follow it became.

"Oh, not this thing again!" Rainbow cried, flying up to the orb, but not falling under its spell for she knew the danger.

"What's going on?" Applejack asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" Rainbow replied, hurriedly approaching the blue orb. The closer she got, the further away the wisp retreated, just as it had done the last time you encountered it, "Me and Storm have it covered!"

"Storm, move! You're blocking my view of that beautiful light!" Rarity whined, giving you a frustrated look.

You shook your head, continuing to block their view of the wisp as Rainbow chased it away, "It's not just a light. It's a trap."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake tremble, and the sounds of wood creaking could be heard from behind you. Applejack and Pinkie's face turned into one of horror as they stared up at something behind you.

As you turned around, all you were able to see was a large type of wooden beast. It was shaped like a tree, but it's branches formed arms and claws, whilst it's roots provided it with long and spindly legs. It's mouth and nose were jagged, carved into the bark that made up the original tree. And most terrifying of all, it's eyes glowed a menacing red, intimidating enough to pierce your soul.

How had you not noticed it before? The answer was simple. Rainbow hadn't been careful enough, and had gotten too close to the Will-ó-Wisp's trap, and this beast was the punishment, just as the Golem had been beforehand.

"Run!" Rainbow Dash cried as her wings fanned out, beginning to fly back towards the path.

You stared up at the creature as each of your friends turned to run down the path, but you didn't feel scared. Instead you felt intrigued by the creature.
That still didn't change the fact that it was going to kill you, though.

"Storm! Move it!" Rainbow called as she flew back and grabbed you. Now having sense knocked back into you, you quickly began flying down the path alongside your friends.

Behind you, the tree beast let out a terrifying roar. That with the sound of creaking wood and it's many footsteps as it gave chase was a combination that no one would ever want to hear. Taking a single glance behind you, the monster seemed to be gaining on you.
There was no way you were going to outrun it.

"In there, everypony!" Applejack called, gesturing towards a small cave not far from the path. Realising that there was no other choice, you followed your friends into the cave.
It was large enough to fit the six of you, and even had another exit on the other side, but it was still small enough to keep you safe from the beast outside.

A few moments passed before the creature reached one of the entrances to the cave, letting out a deep and foreboding roar as it reached a long, wooden claw into it. The three flight-less ponies hid behind one of the many loose boulders, whilst you and the other two Pegasi hugged the wall, maintaining your altitude.

The beasts claws scratched at the floor of the cave a few times, leaving long marks and a few splinters in its wake, before finally giving up. It gave a sigh of defeat, before slowly walking away back to it's trap.
The six of you remained completely still until its heavy, creaky footsteps were no longer in hearing distance.

"What... Was that?" Pinkie asked, panting for air.

"I have no idea," Fluttershy answered, "But I don't really want to see it again."

"Well, we're still alive and that's what counts!" Rainbow added, enthusiastically.

"By the way," Rarity began, changing the subject of the conversation, "How did you and Storm know what that orb was trying to do?"

You and Rainbow both looked at each other anxiously, remembering the time when the two of you had wondered into the Everfree Forest out of boredom. The time that Rainbow had caught the 'Pegasus Plague' from Tank, and had then passed it on to you and Fluttershy before Twilight finally found a cure.
Now that you looked back on it, exploring the Everfree Forest while Rainbow couldn't fly was probably not a very smart decision.

"We ran into one of them while we were getting those gems for you, remember?" you asked, recalling your accidental murder of the Golem. On the bright side, you did get the gems that Rarity needed.

Rarity nodded, before Rainbow Dash added to your answer, "We got into a similar situation. Only then it was with a Golem and not some weird... tree thing."

The unicorn nodded once again, seeming to understand. Admittedly, she still seemed a little guilty knowing that you risked your lives for the gems, even though you could have sworn you had already told her how you got them.

"Anyway, uh..." Applejack began, looking out of the cave and into the forest beyond. It now looked noticeably darker than it had done previously, so daylight must've been running short, "We should hurry back to Ponyville. It looks like it'll be night soon, and who knows what Null is doing right now."

Although she had a point, it would've been nice to just stay in the cave for a little while longer. From the looks on everypony else's faces, they thought so too.

"Do we have to walk all the way back?" Rarity whined, lifting one of her hoofs off the ground, "Sometimes I wish we all had wings..."

Hovering next to you, Rainbow Dash let out a sarcastic 'pfft', amused by Rarity's wish.

"Well, the longer we wait here then the longer it'll take too get back!" Pinkie exclaimed, joyfully bouncing out of the cave's exit. You weren't entirely sure that was how time worked, but by now you knew not to question Pinkie's logic.

Rarity let out an exhausted sigh, before the five of you followed the pink Earth pony out of the cavern. By now, it was entirely night outside, and the moon shone down on the Everfree Forest despite its princess still being trapped away in the dream world.

"Are we there yet?" Pinkie exclaimed, mere seconds after leaving the cave.

Rainbow Dash lifted to a hoof up to her face, letting out a defeated sigh. You were about to say something to her, before something stopped you.

The dark night sky lit up with a familiar golden yellow, its source glowing the brightest as it slowly faded the further away it got. The glow must have covered the entirety of the Everfree Forest and Ponyville, replacing the relatively calming night with one of slight unease.
But what you did know was what this light was, and you knew that it definitely wasn't coming from Ponyville.

"Maybe we don't have to go back to Ponyville just yet after all..." you said with a smirk, looking into the sky towards the source of the bright light.

The Castle of the Two Sisters...

Author's Notes:

This is technically a filler chapter, but also not. There's some important stuff in there, like Rainbow Dash apologising to Storm and the yellow light coming from the Castle of the Two Sisters, but this chapter is mostly just for some extra substance. Bring the Will-ó-Wisp back was an idea I had about half way through writing, since the last time we saw it was around the chapter 20 mark in the Everfree Forest, so I thought why not. It'll add some action to the chapter.

Unless I change my mind, this next chapter will be the most important chapter yet. It won't be the longest, no where close (probably), but in terms of lore, this next chapter means everything.
Again this is only if I don't change my mind which I tend to do a lot. I doubt I will though because I've had this chapter planned for a while.

Anyway, thanks for reading as always!