Where are you running?

Sunny's hooves pounded into the ground, pushing him forward, pushing him away. His chest burned with pain as he gasped for air, but he couldn't stop, couldn't hesitate, not even for a moment.

Where are you running?

The voice haunted him, asking the same question over and over. He didn't answer, never had the breath to answer. All he could do was run in the suffocating darkness. Run towards...towards...

Where?

Away! Sunny screamed in his head. Away from this lonely darkness, away from you!

You don't even understand what you're running from. You can't even see...

He didn't want to see, didn't want to be here any longer. He didn't care if he didn't understand what he was running from, all he understood was that it was...wrong, and that was enough for him. He kept running.

You need to see, you need to open your eyes...

The voice in the dark was louder now, and closer...in front of him! He turned to run away, when he felt the ground fall away from underneath him. He fell into the shadows, and he didn't even have the breath to scream...

With a jolt, Sunny's eyes snapped open and he found himself nestled safely in his bed. His hooves were still tightly gripped around his glowing stone. Seeing its gentle light helped soothe his rapid breathing.

Everything was fine, it was just a bad dream, everypony gets them...right? He couldn't be the only colt with dreams of being chased through darkness by...something. He wasn't the only colt with dreams that sometimes felt like old memories, memories he would give anything to forget entirely....

Just don't think about it, don't worry about it. They'll have to stop eventually...

Sunny rolled over to see out of the window, it looked like the sun hadn't even started to rise. He thought about trying to get a bit more sleep, but knew it was useless. Going back to sleep might mean dreaming again, and he didn't want to risk that. Slowly, he pulled himself out of bed, making sure to store the stone beneath his pillow, and observed the quiet forms of Twilight and Spike in their own beds.

He wondered again if he should tell Twilight the truth about his dreams...but a part of him, deep down, knew that was a bad idea. He stepped away from the bed and headed downstairs. Maybe he could find a few books to help pass the time before school started. Maybe a few adventure books...yeah...those were always fun. Plenty of action to help distract his mind.

He quickly gathered a small stack of books, mainly Daring Do books, and had settled down in the kitchen when a noise grabbed his attention. Looking up, Spike walked into the room, pausing as his gaze met Sunny's. The two of them stared at each other for a few moments.

"Uh, morning Sunny, why are you up so early?" Spike finally asked, breaking eye contact and heading for the fridge.

"I thought I would do some reading before school," Sunny replied, partially true. "I didn't wake you did I?"

"What? Nah, don't worry about that. I figured I'd get an early start on today's breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day, you know?" after rummaging for a moment he pulled out a random assortment of food from the fridge, precariously perched on his small arms. "Do you want anything?"

"No, I'm not hungry," Sunny said before going back to his book.

"Hmm..." Spike pondered. "You aren't awake just for the books are you? Was it the bad dreams again?" he asked.

"How did you-?" Sunny started to ask.

"Hey, I've been Twilight's personal assistant for almost as long as I can remember. You don't come away from that without learning a few things," he replied, a bit smug, but his expression quickly softened. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Sunny admitted. "I mean...they're only dreams after all."

"Yeah..." Spike paused, a sandwich halfway to his mouth. "But still, bad dreams have a way of getting under your skin. Just...don't get too caught up in then, you know? Me and Twilight are always here if you want to talk about it."

"I know...thanks Spike," to talk would mean to admit it was a problem, and it wasn't. Just don't think about it....

He returned to his book while Spike gave him one last glance before digging in to his breakfast.

Another day in school, luckily today was focused more on mathematics, something he could think about without any problems. Cheerilee had just announced recess, but Sunny had stayed at his desk, puzzling over a few problems Ms. Cheerilee had assigned. He considered going to talk to Apple Bloom...but he had spent so much time with her yesterday, he didn't want to take the chance of annoying her.

"Psst," he heard someone whisper to his side, probably Silver Spoon trying to get the attention of Diamond Tiara. He ignored it and focused on the work in front of him.

"Psst," there it was again, he wondered what was so important. Maybe the two of them were throwing a party, but it wasn't really his business, back to work.

"Sunny!" he jumped in his seat and turned to see Apple Bloom standing next to him. "Sheesh, I never thought a pony could find math so interestin'. Are yah ready to go to Zecora's after school?"

"To try and get cuties marks in exploring?" he replied. He hadn't been sure the group would go through with it, especially after Applejack had scolded the idea.

"A'course, but we have to make sure mah sister doesn't find out," Apple Bloom explained. "Jus' tell Twilight we're gonna be at Sweetie Belle's house and then meet us at the entrance to the forest, got it?"

"Yeah," Sunny agreed, nodding at her. A surge of excitement flared up in his chest, he was going exploring in the Everfree Forest! But...he'd have to lie to Twilight to do it...

Well, it was just a small lie, and he'd be with the Crusaders! They were the toughest ponies around, nothing bad could happen while he was with them.

"Okay, I'll see you there with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. An' remember, ixnay on the lettin' mah sister find out about this...ay," Apple Bloom paused awkwardly and then walked away.

Well now all he had to do was wait for school to get out...

Sunny didn't understand why Ms. Cheerilee had taken that moment to start teaching everything so slowly. It had felt like years had passed by the time she had let them all trot out of the school doorway.

Free of the room, he had run off to the library as fast as his hooves could carry him. He stuck his head into the house, quickly telling Twilight what he was doing, and ran back off before she had a chance to respond.

Now he was headed for the forest, already imagining the amazing thing he might discover within there with the Crusaders. Still, he made sure to stay off of the main roads, if somepony saw him walking towards the woods they might tell Twilight who might tell Applejack, and then the whole adventure would be ruined!

Finally, he arrived at the edge of the woods, appreciating the coolness that the shade of the trees provided. Following the treeline he was soon able to hear the Crusaders.

"Okay!" announced the tough voice of Scootaloo. "Do we have rope?"

"Check!" he heard Sweetie Belle say.

"Snacks?"

"I got some apples from the farm," moving forward he was able to see the three fillies.

"And our Crusader cloaks?"

"Check!" they all agreed at once.

"So I guess we're ready..."

"Cutie Mark Crusader Explorers! YAY!" Sunny was almost driven back as the group yelled as loud as they could. Clearly, they weren't as worried about stealth as he was.

"Um, hello everypony," he greeted, walking closer towards the group.

"Hello Sunny!" Sweetie Belle asked. "Are you ready to go exploring?"

"And go into dark scary caves and face the most dreadful of Equestria's monster?" Scootaloo added, a gleam of anticipation in her eyes.

"Uh...something like that," Sunny replied.

"Well that's good enough," Apple Bloom accepted. "Now c'mon, we better get to Zecora's soon." The group of fillies started into the forest, Sunny himself walking alongside Apple Bloom.

"Oh yeah! Here you go Sunny, some rope, this way we all have some," Apple Bloom pulled out a short coil of rope from her saddlebag and passed it to Sunny. He grabbed the rope and quickly stored it in his own saddlebag...well, one of Twilight's older saddlebags. The clasp on it was still shaped after Twilight's cutie mark, but he didn't mind, nopony had ever made fun of him because of it.

Under the trees, he was surprised as how darker the world appeared, if he didn't know better Sunny would have guessed int was near nighttime, rather than mid-afternoon. Also, everything seemed...quiet, like the the world was holding its breath in anticipation.

"So...is there anything else in the forest to worry about besides the monsters?" he asked in an attempt to break the silence.

"Well there's quicksand and mosquitoes and thorns and sharp rocks," Sweetie Belle started to list off.

"An' don't forget about the poison joke," she turned to Sunny. "It's a bright blue flower that grows in big patches. Whatever you do, don't touch it. It's all weird and magicky. It could turn yer coat bright pink or shrink you down to half yer size, anythin' that's sure to get other ponies to laugh at you." Apple Bloom explained, and Sunny quickly found himself scanning for any flower that could be remotely described as 'blue.'

"Just don't worry about it Sunny, if you spend this whole trip being afraid we won't get any exploring done," Scootaloo chided.

"I'm not afraid, I'm just...cautious," Sunny muttered, but Scootaloo didn't seem to notice. The group of them continued to follow the path and soon Sunny spied a massive tree with a door set into the front of it. Strange ornaments hung from its many branches, swaying in the gentle breeze. The whole thing looked rather...ominous.

Undaunted, Apple Bloom waked up and knocked at the door. In a moment, the door swung inwards to reveal a surprised looking zebra staring down at them.

"It is good to see you little Apple Bloom," Zecora said. "But I did not expect to see you this afternoon."

"Well me an' the Crusaders wanted to get our cutie marks for exploring, we thought, since yah live out here, you could help us," she explained.

"To help with that task I surely could," Zecora looked over Apple Bloom's shoulder. "But who is this new pony you bring into the wood?"

"That's Sunny, he's Twilight's cousin and we're helping him find his cutie mark too," Sweetie Belle said. Zecora continued to stare at him, her gaze strange and...powerful.

"You have seen much, haven't you Sunny? You've many stories to tell, and I doubt they are funny," the zebra observed before shrugging and looking back to the crusaders. "While I can help you explore this wooded zone, I believe your talents lie closer to home."

"Please Zecora? We went through so much work to get ready for this, couldn't you just give us a tiny bit of help?" Scootaloo asked, staring at her with pleading eyes.

"If I say I no, you will continue anyway. I will help you but listen close to what I say," Zecora leaned down and intensified her gaze. "As the woods go deeper the dangers grow stronger. You must stay close to me or you may not be around much longer. Stay close and stay silent is what I ask of you, you must swear to me that what I have said, you will do." The four young ponies back away slightly, cowed by Zecora's serious tone.

"We swear," they all said in unison.

"Good, this is not something at at which you should scoff," Zecora's mood brightened immediately. "Let me gather a few things and we will be off." She stepped back into her hut, grabbing a large empty bag and a scroll of paper, probably a map, Sunny guessed, before joining them back outside. She started off down the trail without a word while Sunny and the crusaders quickly followed.

Trotting behind the strange zebra, Sunny began to question exactly what he had gotten himself into.

"While the forest is not completely safe in the light, the real dangers come out at night," Zecora narrated quietly as she led them along. "Many creatures come out of their dens, for they can see you, while you can't see them." Sunny was starting to suspect Zecora was deliberately trying to frighten them, but he wasn't sure. He felt that there was some truth in everything she was telling them.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were completely enraptured by the zebra, hanging on to her every word. Where exactly was Zecora going to take them? Was it going to be a-

What was that noise?

Sunny stopped immediately and began looking around. He could have sworn that he'd heard a rustling noise very close by, but he couldn't see anything. The rest of the group quickly noticed and turned to face him.

"What is it?" Sweetie Belle whispered, glancing around. "Did you see something?"

"Was it a...a monster?" Scootaloo guessed, sound just a little bit excited.

"I don't know," Sunny replied. "Just...though I heard something."

"Well then stay close now little ponies, you don't want to be caught by those hiding among the trees," Zecora said with dark chuckle. The four of them quickly obeyed, circling around her, though Sunny still found himself glancing into the thick forest. He knew there was...something nearby. He focused his ears, just in case there was something to hear...

He was falling behind, but not that far, nothing to worry about...

There it was again, fainter now, but it was there. Close...very close. He steps slowed and he fell further, but he was still close, close enough to the group. No need to worry...

The noise...so near he would guess that it was...

Right next to him!

He turned his head and saw that his bag was open, and snaking out of it, was his rope! He tried to shout, to do something to grab his friend's attention, but it was too late, the rope was too fast. It wrapped over his mouth, snapping it shut before any noise could escape.

He tried to run to run, to catch up to the group, but the rope seemed to sense what he was thinking. His front legs were immediately tied together, sending him crashing to the ground. His back legs quickly followed, leaving him helped less on the forest path. Then, the rope began to drag Sunny away, towards the trees.

He tried everything he could, struggling beneath the rope, trying to scream through his gag. Surely one of his friends would turn around, would notice him.

They'd all run over, free him from the possessed rope, and everything would be good again. Any moment, they would have to see, why couldn't they see?

He was pulled further and further, until he could no longer see the path, only the trees and their thick foliage. The plants blocked nearly all of the afternoon light, Sunny couldn't see a thing. Still he didn't stop moving, the rope continued to pull, eventually dropping him down in what felt like a soft patch of grass. Terrified, he tried to turn his head, tried to see just who, or what, had taken him here.

"I've got you..it's okay..." a voice reached his ears, a voice he didn't recognize. "Everything's going to be okay again..." he heard hoofsteps, they were walking towards him. What was happening? What were they going to do to him? Why was this happening to him?

Something tapped against his forehead, and everything went silent. Silent...and completely black.

He was alone.

"Hey...where did Sunny go?" Apple Bloom asked quietly. She could've sworn he'd been right next to her a second ago, how could she had missed him moving away?

"He's right...here..." Sweetie Belle turned her gaze and just seemed to notice that Sunny was no longer among them. Zecora, hearing them, stopped and turned, obviously worried.

"Sunny, please come back if you are near! Let us know there is nothing to fear!" Zecora called into the dim lighting of the woods, but there was no response.

"Sunny, you can stop hiding now, this isn't very funny!" Scootaloo yelled, warily watching the foliage for any sign of movement.

"Ah don't think Sunny is the type of pony to make a joke like this..." Apple Bloom said. "He probably just got...lost or somethin.' Isn't that right Zecora?"

"While I wish that that was true, I cannot bring myself to agree with you," Zecora replied, doing little to lighten the mood. "We must continue to search these woods, but we may need help before he is lost for good. Strong and fast, Apple Bloom and Scoot, from the town bring all the ponies you can recruit." She ordered the two fillies, who only nodded.

"And what about me?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Your eyes will join mine as we look though the wood. To start searching now would truly be good," she explained.

"Okay Zecora, you can count on us, come on Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo promised.

"Sure thing Scootaloo. Be careful Sweetie Belle, we'll be back as soon as we can, I promise!" Apple Bloom told her friend before charging off down the path, straight towards Ponyville.

Just what was going on? Where had Sunny disappeared to?

And worst of all...what was her big sister gonna do when she found out what happened?

Shadows...it was a world of nothing but shadows...

But that didn't make any sense, for there to be shadows there had to be light, there was no light here...

Wait, there was something, a small light in their arms. They looked down, and held in their arms were tiny orbs of light. The lights almost seemed to dance in their grip. The orbs were beautiful, happy, they wanted to hold on to their radiance forever.

But that wasn't allowed, the lights were not meant to remain here, remain with them. They released their grip, letting the lights flow onward, and letting the shadows fade into blackness.

They were alone now, alone until their next chance to experience something...more...

"Twilight! Twilight!" Spike loud voice woke Twilight from her nap. Groggily, she was surprised that she had managed to doze off over one of her books...

And that dream of hers, something about it had been...hauntingly familiar. She could swear she had seen that place before, if she could just have a moment to focus she could...

"Twilight!" Spike called again, breaking her concentration. He ran up next to her and Twilight noticed that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were close behind him.

"I was going over to Rarity's when I ran into them-" Spike started.

"We were exploring the Everfree Forest with Zecora-" Scootaloo continued.

"Please don't tell Applejack! We just wanted to get out cutie marks," Apple Bloom begged.

"Zeocra said they needed as many ponies as we could find to help-"

"I'm pretty sure there were monsters everywhere and-"

"I though we were all gonna be safe with Zecora but-"

"Everypony, stop!" Twilight finally shouted, making all three of them quickly close their mouths. "I can't focus with all of you talking at once. Now, Apple Bloom, start at the beginning." she ordered. Apple Bloom looked around for a moment, nervous, before letting out a sigh.

"Well ah guess you could say it all started yesterday..." she quickly explained the story, looking even more nervous as she explained what had happened in the Forest. It didn't help that Scootaloo kept jumping in to explain just how creepy and dangerous the woods were. Finally, as Apple Bloom finished, Spike started talking.

"I ran into them coming out of the woods, they told me what happened so I brought them to you right away," he said.

"Good job Spike, using my magic, finding Sunny should be no problem at all," Twilight stood up, shaking away her drowsiness. "But just in case, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, go and gather up Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. With all of us together we'll be able to fund Sunny even without my magic."

"Right, I'll get Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, Apple Bloom, you get your sister and the others. We'll meet you back at the forest!" Scootaloo declared, quickly running back out of the library.

"I'm so sorry this happened Twilight, but ah promise we'll find Sunny!" Apple Bloom said before running after Scootaloo.

"Okay, Spike, you're coming with me. We need to get to Zecora as soon as possible," Twilight said, heading for the front door herself.

"Okay, but don't you think we should send a letter to the Princess?" Spike asked.

"No, this is just a lost pony, nothing to worry the Princess about. Nothing to worry about at all..." she trailed off before walking out the library, Spike following behind.

Twilight broke into a run, heading directly for the woods. She wanted to believe, really wanted to, that Sunny had simply gotten lost while exploring. But, given who he was, or rather, what he had been, that was unlikely. This whole situation just seemed...wrong. Traveling in the forest, with Zecora as a guide, shouldn't have been dangerous at all...

She silently wished that Sunny was safe.

Sunny opened his eyes, and it was still dark. It was dark, and he was alone.

Sunny reached out, searching for his light stone, when he remembered. He wasn't safe back in the library, he was lost in the Everfree Forest!

The darkness seemed to grow with the realization, growing heavier, choking him. He needed something, something to drive the shadows away, something to prove that he wasn't alone out here!

His hooves scrambled across the ground desperately looking for something, pulling himself across the grass. He had made it a few feet when he heard something nearby. It was a tearing noise, tearing, and muttering.

"Stupid mark, doesn't mean anything, thought she was so great, but she was nothing," somepony was muttering to themselves...it sounded like a mare. Sunny stood up and inched toward the voice. "Just need a little more time, and then we'll show her, we'll show everypony. All we need is that colt..."

His eyes began to adjust to the darkness and he was able to make out the shape of a unicorn ripping something apart with their hooves.

Was that his...saddlebag? Why was she doing that?

Sunny wasn't sure if he should move any closer, but the unicorn was the only pony around, he didn't think he would be able to find his way out of the woods on his own.

"Uh...hello?" he said, walking up to the pony. "Who are you? Can you help me?" Her head snapped to face him, her horn igniting in a blaze of light, illuminating the area. She was a blue unicorn with a startling white mane. The expression on her face was nothing short of commanding.

"You dare ask who I am? Who else could I be? I am Trixie! The Great and Powerful!" she glared down at him. "And you are the one who's going to help me."