There seemed to be no explanation for this strange anomaly; three ponies – one with an orange coat and a blonde tail and mane, both of which are wrapped in a long ponytail, another with a multi-colored mane and tail somewhat unkempt with a sky blue coat and wings, and the last pony with long and flowing pink tail and mane with the wings and coat in a color similar to vanilla – were tasked with a journey to Everfree Forest in hopes of finding an explanation to why the forest itself seemed to function without anypony's assistance, but somehow they were transported to an unknown part of Equestria with massive, thick trees whose canopies seem to completely obstruct the sky itself, giving the appearance that the area is forever shrouded in darkness in spite of the cracks and snaps of a campfire.
"I don't think we'll figure out how we got here," the orange-coated pony said with a slight hint of confusion, "but this place is still creepin' me out just a little."
"Yeah, and this forest looks like it's huge," the sky-blue pony exclaimed, then turned to the pony with a pink mane, "I couldn't even find your little house from anywhere, Fluttershy." Fluttershy herself was focused on a fourth pony lumbering toward the campfire, and alerted the others to its presence... but not before hiding behind one of her friends.
"So you've stumbled upon this realm as well? This will be rather vexing..." This fourth pony, all black with a cracked horn, visible fangs, (one of which is chipped) shining light blue eyes with no visible pupil, an easily visible scar across the forehead, wings that resemble an insect, a large gap at the end of its tail, and legs that somewhat resemble swiss cheese. It was obvious it participated in many conflicts, but it did not deter the two standing ponies from glaring.
"What the hay is a changeling doing all the way out here?"
"I dunno, Applejack, but he's gonna get some bad news if-"
"Belay the hostility," it interrupted while turning to a side, "I am the least of your concerns here. Somehow, you've managed to wander yourselves into a haunted forest... and I can guarantee that the spirits here are not out for a cheap thrill."
"W-what do you mean?" The changeling noticed Fluttershy hiding behind her friends and walked toward her, and crouched in an attempt to be at eye level.
"This will be the biggest nightmare you'll have to face in your entire lives. The ghosts we have to defeat here take no mercy from anyone and will be more than elated to define terror in their own words."
"H-how... how many of them are there?" Fluttershy asked, barely managing to suppress her fear. At least one of the three "visitors" was willing to accept help, despite them being wary of the changeling. "There can't be a whole lot of them... right?"
"There's only four, and they will pursue us one by one." Applejack and the sky-blue pony just watch the changeling, expecting something to happen to Fluttershy. "One mistake, however, and you risk temporary expiration."
"Wait, what did you say?" Applejack asked. None of the ponies understood the changeling's last sentence at all. "Temporary what?"
"I'll have to explain the scenario more simply. If any of these evil spirits manage to get a hold of you, it will give the appearance that you have died, but the nature of this forest prevents you from... think of it as like playing a game: if you fail to perform a certain task, you 'restart', so-to-speak, to a specific point and try again from there. The major difference here is that you are actually in that 'game,' instead of-" At this exact moment, the campfire suddenly goes out, without any presence of wind blowing at all.
"Uh, hold that thought there," Applejack said with some concern, "the fire just went out."
"Hey hey hey, wait a minute, h-how are we supposed to beat these ghosts if there's nothing to fight them with?" Before anyone replied, they started to hear faint, but constant screaming that grew louder and louder by the second.
"Better find a rock on the ground, Rainbow Dash, and fast!" That's exactly what they all did. All, perhaps, except for Fluttershy, who buried her face in her hooves. The scream continued to grow louder as Rainbow Dash caught a glimpse of where it was coming from: a ghastly, odd-looking face with no eyes and one side almost covered in blood making a mad dash towards the ponies, but the changeling managed to find a rock and hurled it at the apparition, who disappeared instantly in a puff of smoke as the scream quickly faded.
"What the heck was that?"
"Something that will return shortly!" the changeling replied to Rainbow Dash while hurrying to retrieve the thrown rock. "Keep looking!" Merely seconds have passed before the screams returned, but Applejack managed to find a broken piece of stone and threw it at the wailing ghost, again disappearing in a smoke puff.
"W-what the hay? I thought we got him already!"
"Not until it falls!" There really wasn't much time to talk as the screaming ghost kept returning to the campsite shortly after its disappearance, but after the third attack it finally fell to the ground and started to crack in various places before burning away in a small circle of flame, all while still screaming to the very end of its existence. "Now it's gone, but we still have three more to go."
"Wait a second," Applejack said to the changeling as Rainbow Dash tries to tend to Fluttershy's fear, "how'd you know how to beat... whatever that thing was without a hitch? Have you done this before?"
"Now you are willing to tolerate me? It wasn't ago that you wanted to shove a hoof in my face, remember."
"Ah hate to admit it, but we ain't got a choice right now. How'd you beat it so easy?" The changeling turned its head towards Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, more concerned for the latter, then looked back toward Applejack.
"Putting it simply," it said, lowering its head slightly, "I have indeed done this already."
This information was rather interesting; the changeling has already endured the perils of this strange forest, yet it still remained here. Why is the changeling still here? "If you've already been to this... this place," Applejack said to the changeling, "then how come you're still here? Is this supposed to be punishment for something you did?"
"No," it replied stoically, "the 'game' has not yet been beaten. I've fought off three of the four spirits that I would believe to be inhabiting this forest, but the last one has been taunting my progress for... I'm not certain how long it has been."
"So... what, you've been trapped here all this time 'cause you couldn't beat the last ghost that's pushing you back?"
"Precisely." At that point, Applejack walked over to help Rainbow Dash calm Fluttershy, while the changeling merely turned towards them. "Such a fragile mind," it said to itself aloud while shaking its head, "already broken and not even halfway through this atrocity... I remember trembling in such fear on numerous occasions." There were now faint rattling sounds echoing through the forest that seemed to occur sporadically: sometimes it grew louder, other times it faded away. Everyone assumed it was another ghost trying to attack them, but they were completely unprepared. The next thing they heard was a loud screech, shortly followed by even louder snaps. Everypony was hoping the entity – a large, strange looking skull – ran into a tree, but there were none anywhere near this apparition. It had caught somepony within its jaws and proceeded to ensure its victim would not escape.