Ectoplasm

The sun slowly peeked over the horizon illuminating the small town of ponyville; it cast its light like a blanket over the town which had just begun to wake up. The light stretched over rooftops and across the streets, just slightly off from the center of town laid the local library where a purple unicorn had just begun to stir. “Hmm?” Twilight groaned, wincing as the sunlight poured in through her bedroom window. She slowly sat up and stretched letting out a long and relaxed yawn. “Spike” she called,

“Yes Twilight?” he replied while hurrying upstairs,

“Could you please make us some breakfast?”

“Sure”. Twilight watched spike rush down to the kitchen, she let out a soft sigh as she looked out the window, and she thought to herself,

“Today is going to be a great day.”

After a filling breakfast Twilight trotted outside. As she breathed in the fresh morning air she sighed, “It feels great to be alive”. She smiled and strolled into town, everything was so peaceful. A day had never been better, the shops were bustling and everypony went about their business. “OK, let’s see” Twilight looked down to her shopping list, “not much, just some new quills, and some cupcakes” she tucked away her list and walked off to sugarcube corner for her first item.

The bells rang as Twilight opened the door signalling her arrival. “Oh Twilight, I’m so glad you’re here, what can I get for you” Pinkie Pie bounded over sporting a tremendous grin.

“Hi Pinkie” Twilight replied, “I’d like four cupcakes please” she levitated four bits onto the counter.

“Oki doki loki” Pinkie cheerfully answered before hopping into the kitchen. About 3 minutes later the kitchen doors opened again and she hopped back out with a box in your mouth. Twilight thanked her and then started talking,

“So Pinkie, how have things been going around here?” she asked.

“Oh, nothing too much, especially since all those reports of missing ponies” Pinkie tapped her hoof to her chin; Twilight shot her gaze over to pinkie upon hearing this.

“What reports?” she asked with a concerned tone,

“Oh, just yesterday afternoon I was making some deliveries when I came across several posters with ponies pictures on them and the word “missing” above the photos”. Twilight was frozen in shock, she had no clue this had happened, how did this happen, and where?

“Okay, so where did you see these posters?” Twilight asked Pinkie in a rush as they hurried down the street,

“Just over there” she answered. Twilight slowed down as she looked over the posters, “so many” she gasped while looking over the posters, she even saw some ponies she knew, “Thunderlane, Roseluck, Braeburn, all missing, and all last seen in the exact same location. Outside the unknown woods” Twilight thought over the photos for a while before darting towards sweet apple acres.

“Hey Twilight” Pinkie shouted, “you forgot your cupcakes”, “hold that order” she called back, “I need to ask Applejack about Braeburn, he lives in appaloosa and I need to find out more about this.”

When she arrived at sweet apple acres Twilight ran right up to the farmhouse and banged on the door as hard as she could. “Applejack, come out here, I need to talk to you about something” she called urgently; her calls weren’t answered by applejack coming to the door, but by her older brother Big Macintosh.

“Uh Twilight, next time try not to break down the door” he commented pointing to the crack Twilight's pounding made.

“Oh, sorry” Twilight responded with a sheepish smile, “do you know where Applejack is?”,

“Should be out in the barn”. That tip was all Twilight needed, she hurried to the barn where she found Applejack pitching hay.

“Applejack!” she called as she ran in,

“Whoa there Twilight” Applejack slowed Twilight down, “yall’re almost as panicked as a mouse in a cat show. Now what’s the matter?” Twilight took some time to calm down before asking what she had come to ask in the first place.

“Have you seen Braeburn lately?” she asked while trying to stay calm, “of course” Applejack replied, “he stopped by this mornin’ for a visit and then trotted off to town, did yall see him?”

“Well” she paused, “sort of”.

“Oh, is he alright?”

“I don’t think so”. Applejack looked over to Twilight,

“What do you mean “I don’t think so”?” Twilight then told her about the “missing” poster.

“Pinkie showed me a bunch of posters for missing ponies” Twilight looked down. “Braeburn was on one of them”, Applejack dropped the pitchfork and stared in shock

“But how, why, where?”,

“Hmm” Twilight tried to remember what the poster said. “well I don’t really recall seeing how or why, but I do know where. But that’s what puzzles me” Twilight remarked,

“I don’t care about the puzzle, I just want to know where he is” Applejack replied in a worried tone.

“But that’s the thing” Twilight commented remembering the posters, “there was one thing all the posters had in common, all the victims were last seen entering a place called the unknown woods.”