The forest hamlet of thicket had changed since Twilight last visited. Even Zecora was surprised by the dour new palisade that surrounded the town.

"I thought the deer of the Everfree looked down upon the cutting of trees." said Twilight as they entered the shadow of the imposing structure.

"They do." said Zecora. "At least, I had thought so too."

The gatehouse was even more oppressive, standing taller than the rest of the wall and manned by a pair of sentries. In the torchlight Twilight thought she could make out a familiar face.

"Blackthorn!" she shouted, looking up at the deer who had escorted her and her friends to Thicket after they parted ways with Bramble during her initial visit.

The deer did not immediately respond, as though he was unaccustomed to hearing his own name. When Zecora stepped forward and announced herself he spoke not a word, regarding the arrivals with a cold indifference.

A moment later gates opened inward on a dirt road completely devoid of life. There were no guards to greet them and no other familiar faces to be seen. It was as though half the town had gone missing.

"Not a friendly face in sight. Something does not feel right." said Zecora once they were through the gate.

The visitors had to make their own way to the audience chamber, following the road in eerie silence until they came to the steps leading up to a great pair of doors set into the trunk of a massive tree.

Once again the doors opened from the inside and without announcement, leaving the party to escort themselves inside, which is where they found King Aspen lounging on the dais, a discomforting smile on his face.

"Greetings, druid of the wood. And you too, Princess." said the king.

There was venom in his voice, Twilight thought, but at least he seemed to remember her. It did strike her as odd, however, that his son Bramble was nowhere to be found. She nearly brought it up, but for some reason decide to hold her tongue at the last second.

"I'm sure you know, O king of deer, the reason that we have come here." said Zecora, stepping forward and bowing her head.

The king raised an eyebrow but said nothing, then turned his gaze on Goldilocks.

"What have we here? You are no pony. Have you slipped through a crack?" said the king, tilting his head to the side, still wearing that crescent-moon grin.

Zecora stepped back in line with the others, obviously insulted.

Meanwhile, Twilight was growing weary of the whole charade. Something was definitely wrong, and she didn't like the feeling that she was being played for a fool. Still, there was nothing they could do but wait for the king to address them.

King Aspen lowered his head, placing his face right in front of Goldie's. His rack of antlers was impressive, and it felt like he was to intimidate her, which made Goldie angry.

The deer king must have seen something in her eyes as his grin suddenly disappeared. He stepped back, then turned his fickle gaze to Twilight.

"I have not forgotten why you have come. I will share with you what I know." he said at last.

Twilight, Zecora and even Goldie felt relieved, though Goldilocks couldn't quite let go of her frustration with the king. The Ursa had rubbed her the wrong way, but didn't seem to mean them any real harm. King Aspen, however, had intentionally tried to frighten her, and she could sense that he was making the others uncomfortable too.

"The barrier between worlds is upheld by certain anchors in the form of trees." said the king, beginning to pace back and forth as he spoke. "These hidden trees are nearly impossible to distinguish for any but us deer."

"All this time there were secret trees?" asked Zecora, rhetorically. "This is the first I have heard of these."

"Of course it is." said the king, stopping to puff out his chest. "No-pony was to know of them. Long have we kept this secret, and none but the mightiest, most intelligent, and most beautiful could possibly wrest it from us."

The three guests exchanged glances, uncertain what to make of the king's rant.

King Aspen cleared his throat, resuming his explanation when he was certain he had their attention once more.

"Be that as it may, I am sharing this with you in the hope that together we can discover the reason that the barrier is failing. I fear something is happening to the trees themselves.

"I dispatched a scout to inspect each of the trees, and all but one has returned. I believe that he may have encountered the source of the malady, and could very likely be in the gravest of danger."

Twilight wondered if that was where Bramble had gone. But if that were so, then why not mention him by name?

"I'll make this brief: I need you to investigate this tree. If something has happened to the scout I sent there, I want to know about it." said the king.

Goldie had a bad feeling about the king's request, but saw no reason to refuse given that it was their only lead, and it seemed that Twilight and Zecora had both reached the same conclusion.

"Fine then. Where is this grove?" asked Twilight, having abandoned all decorum.

"I will assign you a guide. Just make sure you return. It would be a shame to lose another and still be no closer to learning the truth of what has been happening." said the king.

A shame indeed. Goldie clenched her fists, the nails digging into her palms.

The escort wasn't Blackthorn, as Twilight had imagined, but some random deer she didn't know. Not that it mattered, considering how they had been treated until then. One guide was as good as any, and apparently just as unfriendly.

Nevertheless, the group left Thicket together and followed him North.

Author's Note

It has been some time since I last published a chapter of this story. It took me awhile to decide on how I wanted to proceed, and am hoping you (the reader) like what I have in store.