Keep Out of the Everfree Forest

Emerald Fire woke up and looked around the apartment for her roommate. In the kitchen she found a note addressed to her.
It read, “Dear Emerald,
I needed to meet Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner to get the run-down of the town and what I can do around the place. That’s where I’ll be if you need me. It’s not far from here.
PS: Your breakfast is in the fridge. I hope you like eggs.”
Emerald smiled and walked over to the fridge. She got her breakfast and sat down at the table.
“Well, Sapphire,” she said. “you came here to make ponies smile. You’ve done a good job so far.”
Emerald decided that she would go and see Sapphire and thank her for the breakfast. Along the way however, she saw a familiar face; Slash. He was wearing the same clothes as the night before and he was headed towards the Everfree Forest with an axe strapped to his back. As he walked, a low hanging branch pulled his beanie off his head. Emerald was surprised to see that he was completely bald.
“Unusual, but each to his own, I guess,” thought Emerald.
Slash quickly put his hat back on and hastily trotted towards the forest. He hadn’t seen Emerald. She shrugged and walked off.
When she got to Sugarcube Corner, she bumped into an older pony coming out of the store.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Emerald.
“It’s quite alright, dear,” replied the mare.
Two ponies Emerald recognized walked out of the store moments later. One was Pinkie Pie, the other was Sapphire.
“Sapphire, where are you off to?” asked Emerald.
“Walk with us,” she replied. “Mrs. Cake here will explain.”
Mrs. Cake explained how Mr. Cake had gone for a walk the night before, and how he hadn’t returned. The three ponies were headed out to look for him.
The four mares searched the town high and low all day. They asked everypony they saw if they had seen Mr. Cake, but nopony had. Mrs. Cake was getting desperate.
“It’ll be okay, Mrs. Cake,” said Sapphire. “We’ll head back to the shop and contact the police later.”
As the group walked along the edge of town towards Sugarcube Corner, something caught Emerald’s eye. She trotted over to the edge of the Everfree Forest to figure out what she had seen. As she approached one of the trees, she found what had caught her eye. Nothing that she had experienced in her entire life could prepare her for what was in front of her.