Risen landed on the soft grass in the Everfree forest, endless trees lined the edge of the clearing as she looked in front of her. It was dark against the never ending glow of the night. A chill ran down her spine as she looked into the darkness of the forest. Everything about that gave her feeling, something that said this place wasn’t right. It was like when she killed the sorceress, it felt like she was glimpsing into parts of her past life. It confused Risen, she wasn’t sure whether she should be happy or sad about what she had done.

To her right, Risen spotted a dirt path that had once lead to the castle. The bridge that had connect the two sides of the crevasse long since destroyed. Many parts of the path had been covered by grass, but was of course still slightly visible. It seemed weird for there to be a path out of this forest, or even for a castle to be here. She didn’t think about it that much. She had a way to go before she got to Ponyville, and this forest was most likely more dangerous than the castle.

Without further thought she made her way over to the road and followed it into the forest, nothing but the occasional chirping of crickets and the wind blowing through the trees. It was darker the normal, back in the castle light showed through the holes in the ceiling. Here that wasn’t the case. The trees completely blocked the moon leaving an even more unsettling feeling in Risen. She couldn’t see that far in front of her, and what she did was simply silhouettes of what was really there. She never even noticed that she had stepped off the path, heading into a much more dangerous part of the woods.

She didn’t realize that something was wrong until she came up to what seemed like a small swamp of sorts. She could smell the odor of the murky water, and it overwhelmed her nose. She tried her best to pinch her nose close, but gave up after using her hooves had proven unsuccessful at the task. She couldn’t describe just how bad it smelled, considering that any memory of something like this had long since disappeared. Still, she had a quest to take and it was important that she continued onward.

As she stepped in the water, she held back the urge to gag at the unsettling squish of the mud underneath her hooves. Thankfully, her hoof hadn’t gotten stuck in the mud, as it was just solid enough to not feel like glue. She slowly waded through the marshy water, taking slow steps just in case the mud sucked up one of her hooves. She had no idea what kind of creatures laid in this forest, and was glad she hadn’t met any yet. After about five minutes she finally reach a small little rise of land in the middle of the water, and the sound of movement catching her ears.

Before she knew what it was, something bit her back left hoof, and she howled in pain. Looking back, she saw a rockadile pulling her slowly into the water. Her reactions took hold as she grabbed her sword and started swinging it at the creature, only to see her attempts end up as useless. The scales of the creature were too thick for the sword, and every attempt to slice its throat ending in a clink as the scales and sword hit. As the Risen’s injured hoof hit the water, she changed her target, aiming at the creatures eye.

With all her force, she thrusted her head forward, sword held tight, and managed to successfully blind the creatures left eye. The rockadile opened its mouth, as it winced in pain from the strike, giving Risen just a enough time to crawl out of the creatures reach. She couldn’t fight it, not unless she found something that could possibly break the reptile’s scales. Of course, given the current condition of her leg, she knew she couldn’t out run the Rockadile. She tried to grab her elixir, but her enemy was faster. Before she could grab the potion, the Rockadile bit down on the same leg he had before. The pain drew Risen’s attention away from her potion, as the Rockadile quickly began dragging her backwards. That’s when a figure came out from the distance.

At first, she thought it was an enemy, before recognizing the teal fur of the unicorn’s muzzle under it. The unicorn rushed forward, seeing the on-going commission, pulling out a large weapon. Before Risen could get a good look at the weapon, the unicorns cloak flew off, revealing Lyra underneath it. Lyra charged forward, jumping over Risen and landing on the Rockadile, the large weapon held in her magic slicing right into the creature's stomach. It fell to the ground, it’s soul entering the unicorn’s body.

“You have to be more cautious,” Lyra told Risen as the pegasus sipped the love elixir. “It’s only going to be harder farther down the road, and ponies won’t be there to save you inside of Ponyville. The lamp posts may revive you, but the souls of those you have slain will escape. Souls give us power, and we need that power to take down the alicorns.”

Risen didn’t respond, simply watching as Lyra used the large weapon to cut the leather off of the Rockadile. Now that she had time to think, she could see that the unicorn’s weapon was a giant sword with strings in the middle of the blade. Looking from the blade to the Rockadile, Risen was curious as to what Lyra was doing. The blade easily cut through the monster's skin, and as Lyra looked back, she could see the look of confusion on Risen’s face.

“That skin of rockadile, while not the most comfy of stuff, makes for good protection,” She explained. “Applejack could probably make this into a fine shield or some heavy armor. Given only an earth pony would probably be able to use it, but with the risen out there trying to retake Equestria it might come in hand.”

“Huh, interesting,” Risen said. “Thanks for saving me, but I have a duty to fulfill. Maybe we will might again.”

“Before you go, I want you to have something,” Lyra said, reaching into a saddlebag. She pulled out strange looking item, the same color that the souls had when they entered her body but in the shape of a amulet. “It’s called the soul amulet, you can use it to call other ponies who have risen from the grave. Of course, sometimes those ponies aren’t so friendly, so be careful about using it.”

“Thanks,” Risen said, with a smiling. “I must be going Lyra, but I wish you the best of luck.”

Lyra smiled back. “I wish you the same. Let the Princess of the Night guide you to victory.”

With that, Risen made her way farther into the Everfree, now checking more cautiously for anything that might attack her. She looked at her sword, the previous encounter still on her mind. Her sword had done nothing to that creature, and it became clear through that she would need more than just this weapon to guide her to victory. She would have to use a lamp post to get back to the castle. She remembered what Applejack had told her, and the broken bottle that the sorcerous had dropped on defeat. Risen couldn’t help but slightly confused on how Applejack was going to get more Love Elixir for her.

A few minutes after leaving Lyra, Risen spotted a light in the distance. It wasn’t a lamp post, as the was yellow instead of the faint white glow one of the lamp posts gave off upon touching them. She trudge through the swamp, slowly making her way to whatever light it was she saw in the distance. The forest was uncomfortable silent, and she watched everything with alertness. She could hear the howl of something in the distance, which she recognized as the howl of a Timberwolf.

As she reached dry land, Risen tried to get as much of the mud on her body off as possible. After most of the dirt was off her body, she started towards the light that no longer seemed so far away. She galloped in the direction of the light hoping for a pony to be at the location. She looked around her, making sure nothing was watching her. As the light came within just a few feet from her, she suddenly felt the warmth of safety. Pushing one more bush out of her way, she looked at the source.

What she saw a small hut with a lamp post in front of it. There was light inside of said hut with the silhouette of someone inside looking at Risen. The silhouette disappeared not long after Risen saw it, and decided to light the lamp post first before investigating. Like the other lamp posts it burst to life at the touch, and when the light faded the sound of a door creaking open filled her ears. She turned around to be greeted by a zebra.

“Ah, another Risen passing by,” The zebra said. “Haven’t see your kind, let alone a newly risen, come this far.”

“How do you know what I am?” Risen asked.

“Your kind have happened to visit hear before, but it was a many years ago,” The zebra respond as she approached the lamp post. “My ancestors were shamans, and I have been named after the first to accompany this lonesome place. I am Zecora, though not the one known by the memory of your Princess of the Night,” Zecora sat down next to the lamp post. “Tell me newly risen, does thou wish to venture forward into ponyville?”

“It is my plan,” Risen answered, sitting down next to Zecora. “Why do you ask?”

“In the past, my ancestors have refused to help in what they deemed ‘cruel acts on the misfortunate’,” Zecora explained. “How, I feel different than they do. Poisons, potions, and many other things are a trade of mine. I also happen to keep talismans, written spells usable to earth ponies and pegasi.”

As Zecora told of what she could do, Risen thought about the dangers ahead. She had no idea what could be ahead of her, but that armored pony back in the palace mentioned challenges outside the forest. She would need the help of others, even if she must fight alone. Those willing to give things in aid were exactly what she needed.

“Your help would be greatly appreciated Zecora,” Risen responded, nodding.

“Than I shall make my way to the Palace of the Two Sisters, where I shall store my goods,” Zecora told Risen with a smile. “You must bring souls in return. Nothing is free and I have uses for them even if not undead,” She rose to her hooves and started walking away, only turning her head to say. “I wish you safe travels, wherever the may be.”

When Zecora vanished into the forest, Risen rose from the ground. She wished to not be idle, knowing she had a destination. As she past by the small hut that belonged to Zecora, she could see the clearing of trees far in the distance. She was getting close. The outskirts of Ponyville were in sight by this point. She picked up her pace for some time, heading for the treeline…

… all until she heard the familiar howl of something in the distance. What worried her, however, is that there was more than just one.

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long, and that it was so short for how long it took. I really didn't know what to do with the Everfree considering that it wasn't overly plot relevant other then being the way to outer ponyville. Still, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Please like, comment, and follow to show feedback for this story and others. No telling when the next chapter will be up, but I have no plans on quitting this story. In that case I'll see you all sometime in the future.