As the Timberwolves jumped out of the bushes, I heard at least two of the ponies scream. It reminded me of Apple Bloom, and memories instantly flooded back to me. I felt as if everything began to go in slow-motion, even though it was only about a few seconds long.

I pulled Ihsoylr out without a second thought and slashed at the first wolf, smacking it with the flat of my blade upside the head and knocking it over, dizzy. I turned the sword over to thrust into its torso to end it, but I was knocked away by a second wolf that began to tear at my skin. I punched it in the face (note to self: Timberwolves, though wolves, are made of wood, and punching wood hurts like hell) to knock it off, then rolled over, pulled out one of my knives, and stabbed it in its left eye.

The wolf howled in pain and I pulled the knife out, tree sap trickling out of its wound like blood. Picking up my sword from where it fell, I stabbed the wolf in the chest, ending it. I turned to the one I had knocked over before, only to find it had recovered and was preparing to pounce on Rarity, who was pushed up against a tree and unable to move.

I instantly knew I wasn't close enough to strike, nor would I be able to run over in time. Thinking quickly, I pulled my shield off my back and threw it, smacking the Timberwolf in the back of the head before it could jump. It fell to the ground and I ran for it, thrusting my blade into its back and killing it.

How many wolves were there? I quickly asked myself, having a feeling these two weren't the only ones. I didn't exactly count them earlier...

A scream from behind me told me all I needed to know. With speed that I would later jaw-drop at in surprise, I reached into my back, pulled out my bow and an arrow, and turned to fire. I shot perfectly, the arrow striking a third Timberwolf in the chest and causing it to stagger backwards, away from a cowering Fluttershy.

I knew the arrow wouldn't do much other than distract it, so I charged for the wolf and slammed it against a tree. I heard a crunching noise as I did so, and when I backed away the wolf crumbled to bits of bark.

Looking around, time seemed to go back to normal for me. The ponies (and Spike) were all safe, if mildly cut or bruised. I was bleeding quite a bit from my left shoulder where the Timberwolf had decided to slash at me, but it wasn't the worst injury I'd ever received. The wolves themselves were all dead, and there were apparently only three of them. That was good.

"Everyone okay?" I asked, just to make sure. They all nodded, breathing heavily as they tried to recover from the shock. "See what I meant by dangerous? Not even a fraction of the way through this forest and already we're being attacked."

"We know, Rylan," Twilight replied with a hint of annoyance. "We're fine, though. A little cut, but-" She cut herself off and gasped when she finally turned and looked at me. I instinctively looked behind me to see if there was another wolf, but thankfully there wasn't. "Rylan! Your arm!"

I looked at the wound she was referring to and shrugged, which sent a small twinge of pain through me from moving my injured shoulder. "I'll live. I've had worse." My reassuring words, however, did little to dissuade her.

"You need to get that patched up," she insisted. Using her magic, she pulled a first-aid kit out of her saddlebag.

"We haven't even been walking for two hours! We're too early on to take a break! We can't stop and bandage up every little papercut!"

"After what happened when Fluttershy got a papercut a while ago, it'd probably be best if we do bandage up every little papercut," Rainbow replied. I looked at Fluttershy with a raised eyebrow, and she blushed and hid behind her mane. I'll have to ask about that story later...

"Sit, Mr. Hero. You're not gonna be very useful to Equestria if you've bled to death before you've even reached Fillydelphia." Twilight made a valid point, unfortunately, and I sighed as I sat on a log. Twilight levitated the first-aid kit (I am seriously tempted to call it a medkit...) over to Fluttershy, who took the supplies and began fixing up my shoulder.

When that was finally finished, we continued on. My shoulder was patched up remarkably well, though it still hurt a bit. I'd have to take it easy for a short while. I kept Ihsoylr and my shield at the ready, and my bow hanging from my pack in easy grabbing range. I didn't want to be ambushed by any more Timberwolves – or anything, really. After who knows how long, we came to something that completely blew my mind.

There was a cliff edge, leading to what looked almost like a bottomless pit. The path continued on the other side of the gap, about twenty feet away, on another cliff. There was no bridge between the two, but on the other side, there was a tree with a target on it placed right in the middle of the path and near the edge. I instantly realized what this was.

"Puzzles?" I asked with a facepalm. "Why in the bloody name of Nayru does a natural forest have puzzles?!"

"It's not exactly a natural forest, you know..." Twilight reminded me.

"I get it, I get it! Ugh, this place sucks! It's more annoying than the Forest Temple!"

"The what?" Applejack tilted her head in confusion.

"...inside joke," I said for what seemed like the millionth time since I arrived. "Let's just try to figure this puzzle out."

Obviously, it wasn't too hard. I just had to shoot the target with my bow, which somehow caused the tree to fall in our direction and create a bridge. I didn't get it either, but since I was already in a world of talking ponies that could fly and use magic, I wasn't gonna start questioning weird things now. Even if it looked like the Everfree Forest was just ripping off some of my favourite video games.

"Rylan?" I turned and saw Rarity looking at me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied, waving a hand in dismissal. "Just thinking is all."

"About what?"

About how this forest seems completely unoriginal. "Nothing important."

"Are you-"

"Yes, I'm sure." I was getting the hang of predicting questions. "Not everything someone thinks about is important."

"I just wanted to make sure, dear," Rarity sighed. I did the same.

"Sorry. This whole thing's just wearing on me. And having you seven force me to take you along isn't helping."

"We're just trying to help," the white unicorn explained. I chuckled dryly.

"Miss Rarity, I have three weapons within easy grabbing range. I don't really need help." I shrugged and looked at the path ahead. It branched off into two separate paths. "Spike, which path do we take?"

"Uh..." I looked over and saw Spike looking at the map in confusion.

"What's wrong, Spike?" Twilight asked, looking up at the baby dragon.

"This map doesn't show the fork," he answered, holding up the map for the rest of us to see. Sure enough, the map only showed one path at this point, not two.

"Maybe there's a super-secret third path that we have to take!" Pinkie suggested cheerfully. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow and she stared back in wide-eyed innocence. "What?"

"...Pinkie, do you see any third path around here?" I asked rhetorically.

"Of course not, silly! It's probably really well-hidden!" she grinned. I facepalmed.

"I suggest we split up and take different paths," Twilight spoke up, saving me from a bigger headache. "Rylan, Spike, Rainbow and I will go to the left. The rest of you go to the right. If either group finds something, they'll send Rainbow or Fluttershy to find the other group and let them know."

"Good idea," I nodded. The rest of the group agreed, and we split up as Twilight dictated.

I don't know exactly what happened in the other group, but I do know some interesting things happened to my group as we walked (or in Rainbow's case, flew, and in Spike's case, rode) down the path. The first thing was that we got attacked by a manticore.

Yes, I was confused by the apparent existence of mythical creatures, but again, pushed it to the back of my mind. Apparently the last time Twilight and her friends faced one of these, Fluttershy calmed it down and it left. Unfortunately, this beast didn't look like anything short of murdering a dozen or so ponies (and maybe a human) would calm it down.

"Rylan!" Twilight yelped as I dove to the side, dodging another would-be-fatal claw swipe. I hadn't even pulled out my sword or knives yet, I was so busy dodging.

"Hey, Twi! How about you try using your magic?!" I yelled back at her. She blushed, realizing she forgot all about it, and her horn started to glow. The manticore was engulfed in a purple aura and was unable to move, giving me time to pull out my sword.

However, just as I was about to charge the manticore, I noticed something...off. I paused and looked at it. Compared to what I read about them in the books Twilight gave me, this one looked mostly normal, but...

Its eyes! I suddenly realized that something was wrong with its eyes. I looked closely and saw that its eyes looked...empty. Like it wasn't alive. But it was...right?

"What are you doing, Rylan?!" Rainbow yelled at me, and I snapped back to reality. "Twilight can't hold it forever, you know! Do something!"

I stepped closer to the manticore and began to feel...darkness? It felt as though the manticore was giving off very slight waves of darkness.

True Force...he did something to this manticore... I realized. What do I do...hmm...well, it worked with injuries; maybe it'll work for this?

I sheathed my sword and stepped closer. The manticore roared at me and continued to struggle against its magic bonds, but I didn't flinch. When I got close enough, I reached my arm out, touching the beast, and focused. Thankfully, Twilight's magical hold didn't screw up my healing power.

I saw an effect similar to when I healed Apple Bloom; waves washed over the manticore and it slowly regained life in its eyes. When the waves stopped, I waited for the pain or the darkness or whatever to flow through my body.

Nothing happened. Instead, the manticore simply fell unconscious and Twilight released it. I looked at my arm and waited for the telltale wave to shoot up it or something, but nothing happened. At first.

Suddenly, my watch began to glow, and I turned my attention to it. It was glowing white at first, but then darkened into a light gray before the glowing stopped altogether. I looked at it in confusion. It looked exactly the same.

"What was that?" Twilight asked. I shrugged.

"Hey Twilight?" Spike called for the unicorn's attention. "Is this supposed to happen?" He pointed to the map he still had. At the spot where the map showed one path where there were actually two, a strange symbol had appeared. Twilight's eyebrows shot up when she saw this.

"How...how is this possible?" she asked, looking at it in shock. "Spike, did you do anything to it?"

"No! That just appeared when Rylan's watch started glowing!"

I looked at my watch, then at the symbol on the map. They don't appear related...

"Rainbow, go find the others and tell them to head back to the fork," I ordered the cyan pegasus. "I'm willing to hazard a guess that something, good or bad, happened there. I don't know why it magically showed up on this map, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Maybe Bastion enchanted it?" Rainbow suggested it. "I...think he was a unicorn."

"No, earth pony. But maybe he got a unicorn friend to put a spell on it." I shrugged. "For now, let's just head back. Rainbow, go find the others. Twilight, start walking. Spike, keep an eye on that map in case something else happens."

The three of them nodded and followed my orders. As we were walking back to the fork, Spike started to slowly freak out. Apparently the symbol on the map kept disappearing, then reappearing a second later. I eventually snatched the map from him and kept an eye on it myself.

When we got back to the fork, the other five mares were already there, looking at something on the ground. I ran up to take a look, and what I saw nearly took my breath away.

On the ground was a giant circle, with the symbol on the map in the middle of it. The circle looked like it was part of the ground, except it was glowing. I wasn't surprised when the ponies and dragon made sure to stay a few feet away from it.

"Rylan, do you know what this is?" Rarity asked. I shook my head. Suddenly, the glowing circle and symbol vanished, causing us all to gasp. I flipped open the map on a hunch, and sure enough, it had disappeared from the map as well.

A second later, the symbol came back on the map and the circle appeared again on the ground. We all looked at each other in confusion.

"Ah, there you are! So it was true, what I saw just now in my special brew!" a familiar voice rang out. We turned and saw Zecora trotting up. I remembered having gone to see her after the incident with the Timberwolves, this time with Rainbow Dash rather than Apple Bloom. The only thing about Zecora that annoyed me was her constant rhyming, since it sometimes rubbed off on you.

"What brew?" Pinkie asked. Zecora trotted up to the circle, rather close, but without touching it.

"I discovered some rare herbs that create a special mixture," Zecora explained. "When made just right, of the future it paints a picture."

"Sounds cool," I remarked. "Zecora, do you know what this is?"

The zebra nodded. "Its purpose I do know, do not fret; but how it was created, I don't know yet."

"All we really care about is what it does," Rainbow shrugged.

"These are rare panels throughout the Everfree, making getting around the woods rather easy. They are called Warp Acres, and as their name suggest, they transport you to another part of the forest."

"So they're like teleporters," I said, mostly to myself. "Where would this one take us?"

"And why is it vanishing like that?" Rarity added.

"Where it takes you, I'm afraid I'm not sure," Zecora admitted. "And it is disappearing, because this area is not yet pure."

"Pure?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Warp Acres used to be all over the place, allowing you to travel through the woods at a very quick pace." Zecora gestured around her. "Recently, however, they have begun to disappear. The cause is likely the True Force that the ponies all fear."

"True Force is removing Warp Acres? Why?" Spike questioned.

"Probably to make it harder for us to get through this damn forest," I suggested. "Though I still don't know what you mean by 'pure', or why this one just suddenly appeared."

"Just a few seconds before this Warp Acre came," Zecora turned to me. "Was there a creature of darkness you managed to tame?"

I thought about the manticore. "You could say that."

The rhyming zebra nodded. "True Force has cursed the creatures of these woods. The darkness within them shall do no good. The evil within has the power to hide these warps. By removing the darkness, you have put them back on course." Zecora looked down at the constantly fading warp. "However, just defeating one being won't bring it right back. There is not one creature of darkness, but likely a pack. You have opened the warp for a short time, but the darkness could cover it back up anytime."

"You just rhymed 'time' with 'time'," I remarked. Zecora glared at me. "Fine, never mind. So should we try taking this?"

"If my calculations are right, the warp will soon fade," Zecora nodded. "I suggest you take it now before there is nothing but shade."

I nodded. "Just one question, though." I pulled out the map. "Why did the warp appear on this map? And why does the map only show one path when there are clearly two?"

Zecora studied the map for a few seconds. "This map is very old, and that path is rather new," she said, pointing to the path not on the map. "However, it has advantages to being old, mind you. Maps from long ago were enchanted by unicorns, showing the locations of any nearby warps."

I shrugged. "Makes sense to me," I decided. I looked back at the Warp Acre, which was looking weaker by the minute. "Well, see you later. We better get through this. Thanks for the help!" I called back as I jumped into the warp, the mares and dragon behind me.

A light filled my vision for a few seconds. When it faded, we were in a completely different part of the forest. There was one path and no danger around, so it looked like the warp did us good.

"That was helpful," I said sincerely, looking around. The ponies and dragon were standing up, apparently having fallen over during the ride. "C'mon, let's see what happens next. As long as it's not more puzzles, I'm fine."

I stared ahead, five minutes later, as we stood in front of a giant clearing filled with big coloured blocks on a checkered indent in the ground, looking very much like what I was dreading. I facepalmed.

"Why..."

Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay! I'm pretty sure I've posted enough blog posts, plus that announcement chapter, to let you know why, but just in case: dead computer, sickness, forgot to plan this chapter beyond "Everfree Forest", laziness, and writer's block; in that order. All better now though, and HOPEFULLY I can get chapters out at a better schedule now. (Totally jinxed it right there, I bet.)