Whitetail Woods, a towering forest of ancient trees that has stood for as long or longer than the Princesses have been alive. A river winds through them; the sounds of the flowing water intermixing with the wind through the leaves to create a soothing background to the activities of the forest's denizens.
A white rabbit sniffed the air, frozen for a moment save for its twitching nose before scampering across a dirt path cutting between two trees startling a pegasus walking on the path.
The pegasus tensed as the rabbit began to move, before relaxing when he realized that it's just a rabbit. He called back to the carriage behind him and they continue to follow the path through the trees.
As the carriage and its ring of guards passed the trees, a soft whistle of birdsong cut through the air. Its sweet song faded after a moment before a second bird responded.
The pegasus leading the convoy held up a hoof to signal for the carriage and its guards to stop.
He took a step towards a rustling bush, hoof straying to the sword at his side, before jumping back in surprise as a pair of birds burst out of the bush and soar off.
His hoof fell back to the ground as he opened his mouth to call back to the convoy.
Before he could begin speaking, an arrow shaft sprouted from his throat, as if by magic. A second swiftly followed, burying itself in his chest a few inches below the first.
As he fell to the ground, he managed to gurgle a weak "Run!" before collapsing completely.
The remainder of the guards, taken by surprise, moved to draw their weapons as a hail of arrows rained down on them.
Two more guards fell to the ground in the first volley before the remainder of the guard managed to pull into a defensive formation around the carriage.
A second volley of arrows quickly followed, but the guards were prepared this time and managed to avoid them.
For a moment, the woods were silent, broken only by the rustle of leaves and the trill of birdsong. The five remaining guards scanned the woods, wary of any movement.
Suddenly, the woods exploded in a frenzy of movement as a dozen ponies charged out of the undergrowth, weapons poised and ready to kill.
The guards held their position until the bandits were within range and began hacking with their swords and spears at the ponies, trying to drive them away from the carriage.
The sounds of the woods are replaced by the clash of metal on metal as the guards and bandits hack, slash, and parry each other's strikes, trying desperately to get their blades past each other's guard and strike the deathblow.
The bandit's numbers and the element of surprise worked for them as the guards fall. First one, then a second guard, their blood soaking into the ground where they lay.
But the better trained and equipped guards slowly gained the upper hoof, felling nearly half the bandit's number.
One of the guards let out a sigh of relief as the bandits began to pull back. He raised his sword to deliver the deathblow to a fleeing bandit before a pair of arrows sprouted from his back. His sword hit the ground, followed quickly by his body.
The remaining two guards realized that the tide has turned as a shadow passed overhead and more arrows rained down. The bandits halted their retreat and threw themselves once more into the fray.
As the bandits fought the increasingly desperate guards, a pair of ponies, a unicorn and a pegasus, stepped out of the undergrowth close to the unmoving carriage. The unicorn stepped forward and grasped the door handle in his magic, preparing to pull it open when the pegasus noticed movement out of the corner of his eye.
He nudged the unicorn and pointed a hoof at a grey earth pony who was fleeing the scene of the battle, her elegant mane whipping through the air as she ran for her life.
The unicorn shifted his magic from the door handle to the bow and quiver strung across his back. With practiced ease, he strung the bow and nocked an arrow, drawing it back and sighting down the shaft at the fleeing pony.
He took a breath and held still, aiming the arrow at the back of her neck.
With the release of his breath, he let the arrow fly, whistling through the air before burying itself in her neck.
The unicorn paused, his bow still raised as he watched her crumple to the ground, blood already staining her elegant mane and fur. After a moment, satisfied that she is dead, he turned his attention back to the carriage.
The ringing of steel quickly fades and is replaced once more by the sound of rustling leaves and birdsong as the remaining pair of guards fall. The bandits turn their attention to the carriage and search it for valuables before fading back into the trees, another raid successful.
