The path before them was carpeted with leaves, which rustled underhoof as the five Guards traveled deeper into the woods. The hornlights threw pale, shimmering light onto dark wood, pooling in front of them and illuminating a treacherous path pockmarked with holes and covered in tangled roots. A stream ran nearby, and the night was cold enough to watch mist roll off of its surface, spreading across the path in front of and behind them, a light coating that turned the ground fuzzy. The woods were thin here, and the moon shone through, pale yellow and distant, an oval of light in the night sky.

"Ouch! Don't the ponies out here maintain these paths?" Quick Trick said as she stumbled over a root, causing her light to flicker as she lost concentration.

"I don't think so. In fact, I don't think they come into the forest if they can avoid it." Rusty said. "Something's off about these woods. They're wild, untamed. Hay, I noticed it when we came out of town. The fields next to the forest were poorly maintained, like they spent less time there. If I lived next to this place, I wouldn't want to come near it either."

Running River nodded her head in accordance. "I've got a cousin over near Ponyville. They say that nopony goes near the forest because it's always been a bit...odd. But she didn't mention why they thought so, just that they did."

The captain cleared his throat. "Belay that talk. You're jumping at shadows, trust me. Sure, these woods are big, but I can promise you that it's nothing special. There're big, and they're old, and that's it. Not to say they aren't dangerous, you all heard those wolves earlier, but I guarantee that nothing here is going to hurt us. We're in a group, and we're well armed and armored, and nothing here is big enough to take us on save for a dragon or similar. Now, maintain silence unless it's necessary. We could still be heard if we aren't careful."

And with that, the group of five continued into the forest, leaving the open fields behind them and entering the forest proper. The forest was quiet, very quiet. Nothing was to be heard save for the hoofbeats of the ponies, and ther labored breathing. Not an insect buzzed, not a predator shrieked, and even the wind appeared to have stopped, leaving the air hanging still, as if the forest itself was holding its breath in anticipation. The trees pressed in closely, as if waiting for an opportunity to see these strange intruders, those who dared to disturb the sanctity of the forest with their light and metal and magic. And maybe the group was being watched, after all. Each of the five, though they would never dare to admit it, felt the very same thing, a sense of being observed. Not by anything, pony, predator, or prey, but by something...else. The same way a dragon might regard an ant atop its horde, should it notice one. Clinical, detached, and maybe even a bit amused at the audacity of such a creature, one who thought itself a match for a being of its might.

The gentle chatter of the stream faded away, though the path ahead was still strangely shrouded in mist, which licked and curled at their hooves as if tasting them before fading back into itself, coiling sinuously in mysterious eddies and billowing in strange shapes, almost giving the impression of being recognizable as a claw, an eye, a screaming face. The two unicorns swept the trees, seeing nothing save wood running with sap and withered bushes, thorny vines and the occasional stump and fallen log, hollow and rotten. Each had the same feeling, that something wasn't quite right here.

"Sir? I think something's off about the path." Quick Trick said, turning to make eye contact.

"What is it?"

"Sir, the path is...wider. And smooth. Not like it's well maintained or anything, but like it just sort of naturally gets wider."

Rusty snorted. "Is that it? The path's gotten easier, and you think that's news?"

The captain held up a hoof. "No, she's right. The path has gotten easier, but the trees are closer together. Somepony has come through here, and used magic. Powerful magic, too, if it's gotten the trees to grow apart. Can you detect any latent spells?"

Applewood shook his head. "No, sir. Nothing. It's like they're doing it on their own."

The Pegasus thought for a moment. "Alright. Keep an eye out, be careful. I'm willing to bet a trap has been set up nearby, so we need to keep alert. River, Rusty, watch each other's flanks, and let's form up into a file. Applewood, Trick, keep it together, I want us-"

Rusty pointed. "Sir! Look!"

There, on the path ahead, stood a figure, cloaked and hooded, feet planted firmly on the ground. It was pale, its bone white coat matted in places with some dark substance, hooves caked in mud and filth. Its cloak, a dark and tattered thing, melted into the darkness behind it, giving the illusion that this pony not only was comfortable with the night, but wore it calmly. When it spoke, its voice was the rustle of dry leaves and the creaking of dead boughs, a thing both utterly alien and disturbingly familiar, as if it knew everything about you, as if the pony in front of them had watched them since birth.

"Leave this place, else you wish to pay passage most dear. None return who enter here."

The captain stepped forward boldly, armor gleaming in the moonlight. "Not likely. We've come prepared, and we are going to find what we are looking for, whoever you are."

"Leave, or stay forever more. You may find what you're looking for."

"Right. In the name of Celestia the most high, I order you to tell me the whereabouts of Star Company, or face detention and interrogation by our party. Will you comply?"

"A final time, I tell you flee. You will not like the things you see."

"Sir, maybe we should consider this." River said nervously. "This place is not right. And whoever that is seems very serious. Maybe we should regroup and come back in the morning."

The Pegasus stomped one hoof. "You are out of line, River. I hereby order you to seize that pony for further questioning."

The hooded figure stepped back.

"You have been warned, you did not fly. And now you all will surely die. The harvest moon will help you see how you shall feed the Everfree."

River stepped forward, Rusty and Trick by her side. Three things happened. The figure turned its cloak in on itself, seeming to vanish into the night. The unicorns' horns flickered out. And from the woods all around them, there arose the dreadful howling of wolves.