Books and Branches Library

So.

The Great and Powerful Trixie is back in town, with a few new tricks up her sleeve. Enough new tricks to get Twilight banished from Ponyville and set up a magical forcefield to keep anypony else from getting in or out.

And on top of that, the forest path Twilight usually takes to Milliways appears to have chosen the worst possible time to go missing. She won't be getting any extradimensional backup on this one.

For lack of anything else to do, Twilight is pacing restlessly at the borders of the Everfree Forest, practicing the age spell on random plants she passes by. It's not going well. She almost got a daisy to close back into a bud, but she lost her concentration and it sprung back into bloom instantly.

"Augh! It's impossible!" Twilight shouts at the empty air. "How could Trixie know such advanced magic? Without Spike, I can't get a message to the Princess in Saddle Arabia, so who else do I know who understands strange and powerful magic?"

The moment the words have left her lips, she hesitates. Huh. Maybe there is somepony she can turn to.

Or rather, somezebra.

As Twilight leads the little foal down the path, the character of the woods around them changes. The trees are bigger, the brambles thicker, and the few plants that are still growing look considerably more... exotic than what one generally sees around Milliways. The most noticeable change, though, is in the weather. The thin layer of snow and frost on the ground is replaced by thick snowdrifts that crunch under their hooves, and the leaden sky of a Scottish winter gives way to a clear dark blue. The setting sun makes the snow gleam gold and pink as the trees thin out and give way to rolling hills.

"Alright. If anyone asks, your name is Sharp Tack and you're a friend of the family visiting from Canterlot."