The Everfree forest, a place that darkness calls home, where all sorts of wild creatures run wild, and bad intentions can be felt in the air. In the center of it though, in the ruins of castle long forgotten by ponykind, a great power rested. The trees stayed away from the castle, almost as if afraid of the power that lurked within. Within those walls, the Elements of Harmony once rested, ready to be retrieved when they were needed. They are gone now though, resting in the hearts of six brave ponies until they are needed once more. However, in a room deep beneath the castle, a lone unicorn began to stir.

~

It was a dark and gloomy day in Ponyville. An unscheduled shower had made its way to the town and was now raining down upon the ponies scurrying about with a mighty downpour. In a mighty tree, carved out into a home, three ponies found refuge from the storm; Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.

"Thank you ever so much for allowing us to stay, Twilight." Fluttershy said, almost in a whisper. The pony was stressed to her wits end by the storm, jumping at the tiniest roars of thunder.

"It's no problem at all girls, you're lucky you were so close to my house when the storm hit." Twilight responded.

"Ugh, I could have this storm cleared in no time! It'd just take a few good kicks, hyah!" Rainbow dash yelled, kicking her hind legs into the air.

"Please Rainbow, you wouldn't even be able to see where you're flying in this storm. Why didn't the weather team say anything about this anyways?" Twilight asked as she looked out the window. She could only see a few inches out of her window before the view was pitch black.

"Dunno. It just came out of nowhere. By the time we noticed it, it was already here." Rainbow said, also looking out the window.

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, lighting up the pitch-black Ponyville for a split second. The lightning was soon followed by a loud crash of thunder that shook the house, and sent Fluttershy into a shaking frenzy.

"Fluttershy, stop being such a scaredy-horse!" Rainbow commanded.

"But it's so... Loud..." She said, closing her eyes tight.

"It's late girls, let's just get some sleep. I'm sure by the time we wake up, this storm will have passed." Twilight began making her way up the stairs, stopping once to look out her window again, "I hope..." she added, quietly.

~

In the Everfree forest, a young unicorn had just found his way out of a hidden room, deep within the now abandoned castle. His elegant white coat set him apart against the dark background that was the forest, but his black mane blended nicely. His mane appeared to be professionally styled upwards, undamaged from whatever put him in that room. His tail was short and trimmed, lacking the style his hair had. The most striking feature of the unicorn though, was his brilliant blue eyes, although their brilliance was diminished from the several veins in his eyes, making the appeared bloodshot.

He stumbled out of the castle into a doorway, now looking into the Everfree forest, his heart started pounding wildly, and his breath grew faster. Adrenaline pumped through him as he felt the claws of fear sink into him.

"Where am I?" He asked the night.

~

The next morning in Ponyville was not what Twilight had hoped for. The storm was over, but the clouds still lingered, darkening the village. As she looked out her window, she saw several ponies fixing whatever was damaged around the town; picking up stray branches, hanging up flags that had blown off, and re-opening several stalls that were closed for the storm.

Twilight made her way to her mirror and began taming her wild mane with a brush, levitating it easily with her magic. She caught the reflection as Fluttershy waking up in the guest bed behind her. "Good morning, Fluttershy." Twilight said in a cheery voice. "I hope you slept well."

"Oh, yes. I did, thank you again for letting me stay."

"It's no problem at all, you ponies are welcome here anytime you like. Hey, where's Rainbow Dash?"

"I believe she decided to sleep downstairs." Fluttershy looked to the ground, remembering the awkwardness Dash showed at the idea of the two sharing the same bed.

"That lazy pegasus is probably still asleep." Twilight began descending the stairs and found Rainbow Dash still asleep on the couch. Fluttershy followed Twilight downstairs to find Dash in an uncomfortable looking position.

"Ooh, I should of gave her the bed. She looks so uncomfortable." Fluttershy said, becoming upset with herself.

Rainbow Dash opened an eye at the noise. She rose from her sleeping position and stretched, causing several cracks to be heard in her back. "This is what I get for not sleeping on a cloud..." Rainbow Dash said, rubbing her back with a hoof.

"You could of slept on the bed, ya know?" Was Twilight's response.

Rainbow Dash's face grew a shade redder, "I... Kick in my sleep. I didn't want to hurt Fluttershy. We all know how fragile she is, aheheh."

"Whatever you say, it looks like the storm's over now. I think we might have to get to work around town; there's quite a mess out there." Twilight said, once again looking out her window, hoping to see a different scene than the dreary one laid out before her.

"Those pegasus ponies must be getting lazy. It still looks so dark out." Rainbow Dash joinedi n looking out the window.

"How ironic..." Twilight said.

"I'd better get out there and show them how it's done. Thanks for letting us stay over Twilight." And with that Rainbow was out the door and in the sky.

"Uhm, I'd better go too. I'm sure all the animals are worried. Thank you very much Twilight."

And with that, Twilight was alone, she sighed at the clouds that still lingered. She had a sick feeling in her stomach. She pushed on though, she knew she had work to do around the town. She put on a pair of boots, and then headed out, closing the door behind her. There was a lot to do today, and she intended to help as much as she could.

~

The unicorn had finally made his way down the steps to the forests ground. His vision blurred in and out, and his ears rang. The unicorn pressed on though determined to find out where he was, and what had happened to him. He couldn't remember anything at all though, everything was a blank to him. The more he thought back, the more his ears rang, and the more a headache threatened to make him pass out again. He pressed the thought from his head, the very idea of sleep frightened him. His hooves moved clumsily through the forest and he felt weak. Trees were his only support through the forest, and he often found himself leaning on them to catch his breath. With no sense of direction, or destination, he set off into the Everfree forest.

~

Ponyville was finally getting back on track. Shops were opening back up, and the town was getting cleared of all the debris. Twilight Sparkle galloped through town with a pair of saddlebags on her back. She was on her way to Fluttershy's house, whom had requested her help with searching for a rare mushroom.

"Sorry I'm late Fluttershy. I had to organize a few books." Twilight said, a little out of breath.

"Oh no, It's no problem at all. You really should have taken your time."

"So, what are we looking for exactly?" Twilight said as she levitated a book all about plant-life out of her saddle bag.

"Oh, it's a purple mushroom with white dots on it. I need a few of them to mix up into Angel's food. The poor bunny has came down with a tummy ache, and the mushroom is a powerful medicine."

"Ah, here it is. the 'Goaway Mushroom.' Named for making pain 'Go away.' Is this what it looks like?" Twilight asked, turning the book for Fluttershy to see.

"Yes, that's the one." She said with a simple nod.

The book turned back to Twilight, "OK, it says here it grows in damp, dark places, like most mushrooms. It's most common place is in... The Everfree forest." Twilight said as a chill slid up her spine.

"Now you see why I couldn't go by myself." Fluttershy said, kicking at the ground with her hoof.

"It's no big deal, we'll just pop in, grab a few mushrooms, and then pop out. No problem at all." Twilight in a cheery and assertive tone, trying to calm the now frightened pegasus.

"Right." Was all she said.

~

The white unicorn pressed on, turning back every now and again to check the progress he had made form the castle. He had been at his forceful trek for what felt like an hour, but he had put barely any distance between him and the abandoned castle. He turned away from it, and then kept pushing his hooves forward. Each step made his legs heavier, and his vision blur more. He stopped to lean on a tree, but soon found this was as far as he was to go. His vision went black all at once, and his body went numb. His mind screamed at him to stay awake, but his body just wasn't able to push any harder. The unicorn collapsed into a still pile in the forest, his breathing, and his heart, began to slow.

~

Fluttershy and Twilight had just arrived at the edge of the Everfree forest. A chill could be felt coming from the forest that would make a ponies mane stand on end. "No big deal, just in and out." Twilight repeated, this time attempting to calm herself down. The two ponies pushed themselves forward into the forest, and into the darkness. What they didn't notice though, were the clouds over Ponyville beginning to break, and disappear.