Ectoplasm

Twilight left sweet apple acres; she could tell that Applejack needed some space after the news that Braeburn had gone missing. “Twilight” a voice shouted out, she turned her head to see her assistant Spike running up. “Twilight, did you see all those “missing” posters?” Spike asked after catching up.

“Yes, I did” she replied with a tone that she usually reserved for right before a journey, and Spike noticed this and asked Twilight a question,

“You’re going to try to find out what happened to them aren't you” he grimly remarked,

“I figure that if I can find out what happened to them I stand a chance of stopping these disappearances”, she confidently pointed out,

“But what if you go missing just like everypony else!?” Spike asked even more concerned than before.

“That’s a chance I’ll have to take.”

As they continued further outside of ponyville Spike remembered something. “Twilight” he sighed, “isn't everfree that way?” he pointed behind them towards the other side of town. Twilight looked behind them and then at Spike,

“Well I don’t remember the posters saying they were last seen in the everfree forest” she pointed out with a smirk, “besides, I saw a strange mist out here when I was leaving sweet apple acres” sure enough, she was correct as a white/grey fog began to envelop them. Spike shuddered

“And I thought that dark grey fog was bad, this is just plain creepy”,

“True” Twilight replied, “but we can’t stop now”. They both continued deeper into the fog until they had to hold each other’s hand/hoof so they wouldn't be separated. Soon they exited into a less dense patch of fog where an enormous forest lay in front of them, but this forest did not look friendly at all; the trees had no leaves on them and their bark was a charcoal black, the grass wasn't dead but it was instead long and a light grey color. “Well” Twilight gulped, “this must be where everypony has gone missing.” Twilight and Spike were too busy looking at the forest to see something creeping up behind them.

“YAAAH” they both screamed as they felt a hoof on their shoulders. They turned around to see an old Mare behind them,

“Yeesh” spike panted heavily, “don’t sneak up on us like that”.

“Oh, sorry” she apologized, “it’s just that, you weren't planning on going in there are you?” Twilight quickly answered,

“Yes we were, is there something we should know?” The old Mare thought for a second then turned to them,

“Well, all I know is that the trees are never in the same position in there”,

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked with a confused look on her face.

“I’m saying that if you go in there the trees around you will change, they will be in one spot one second and the next they will be elsewhere. You’ll never be able to tell if you’re going in a circle or not.” Twilight thought this over for a second,

“Anything else I should know?”,

“Just one, in the forest of illusion nothing is as it seems” the elderly mare slipped into the fog after saying this and vanished.

“Okay” Spike remarked, “Things have just gone way past creepy now”, Twilight looked over to Spike and saw the look of fear in his face. She sighed,

“Spike, you stay out here”,

“What?” he looked over at Twilight in surprise.

“If I get lost in there I’ll shout “help” and then I want you to call to me, I’ll use that to find my way out of there”, she knew that this would keep Spike safe and be her escape route too,

“Alright” he perked up, “I can do that”.

“Good” Twilight replied before turning to the forest, “here goes nothing” she gulped before walking into the forest, and out of Spikes sight.