friendship is magic part 2

[allcomplete]

The forest is dark (Clarity and Guiding Star light their horns to see by, but it's almost worse than nothing, making the distant shadowed spaces darker by comparison; they soon give up). The plants that make it up are closely spaced, not all of them have friendly textures, and it is full of scary noises, only some of them the harmless snapped twigs and disturbed leaves of their own passage.

Before they've fully adjusted to the darkness, and are aware via anything but the feel of earth under their hooves that the path has sloped downward a little, it has given way under them, some of the flora and some distressingly large rocks along with it. Clarity can't even teleport. It's too dark to see where she might be going.

Comments

[joyfulnoise]

"Wargh," says Joy, blinking awake. "Hi, Clarity."

[allcomplete]

"Hi. Better?" she asks, dimming her horn and opening her eyes. "You caught the landslide worst."

[joyfulnoise]

"I'm good. How big a rock did I hit?" he wonders.

[on_what_wings]

Blaze points a hoof. The rock in question is bigger than Joy is.

[joyfulnoise]

"Whoa," says Joy, blinking. "Guess I'm pretty tough."

[allcomplete]

"Well, you do have scales. Okay, let's see if we can find Cordial, I guess - unless anyone else wants a healing spell?"

[clearthestorm]

Streak shakes her head.

[on_what_wings]

Blaze likewise.

[follow_polaris]

"I'm good," says Guiding. "Uh, everypony close your eyes again though, lemme see if we're going to be on the right track for finding Cordy." She shuts hers, and casts.

"Yeah, at - some time - I have no idea how to tell what time given the little eternal night problem - we are all back together again in a part of the forest we haven't been yet."

[clearthestorm]

"This information may not be as useful as it appears," says Streak. "One of those times when you look at the outcome before the plan is decided. I would have advocated for heading for the Elements as directly as we can; it seems Clarity would have advocated for finding Cordial first. Which choice would we have made?"

[allcomplete]

"I'm inclined to go ahead and follow your plan, since you'd be who I'd ask if I wanted to know how hard it would be to find her. The most obvious danger in the forest is wild animals and Cordial's better equipped to handle those alone than anybody else would be, and it could take hours if not days to find her."

[clearthestorm]

She looks at the other three.

[on_what_wings]

"I'm with you, Sis," says Blaze.

[joyfulnoise]

"Same," says Joy.

[follow_polaris]

"I mean, it sounds like we'll run into her if we do that, doesn't it? So let's."

[clearthestorm]

Streak nods, assesses the group, determines that everyone is ready, and starts walking. She pays close attention to the footing, but not so close that she might miss other dangers.

[alicornucopia]

Like that rampaging manticore up ahead? That kind of danger?

[clearthestorm]

"Our path is obstructed by a large, unhappy animal ahead," she observes, ears flicking, before the manticore has quite become visible.

[follow_polaris]

"This would be a reaaaally good time for Cordy to show up but I don't see that plant she was standing near in my vision anywhere..."

[clearthestorm]

"Yes," says Streak. And now she can see the identity of the creature in question. "Manticore," she says, for the benefit of anyone less able to see or interpret the silhouette.

[follow_polaris]

"Oh shoot... is there a way around it?"

[clearthestorm]

"No easy one. Also, it is likely to notice us soon."

[on_what_wings]

"So we do what," says Blaze, "fight it?"

[allcomplete]

"I have decent healing spells, not miraculous healing spells."

[follow_polaris]

When the manticore rampages into view, Guiding hesitates for a moment, watching it - then runs up to it. "It's okay it's okay," she says, trying to sound as much like Cordy as possible. "Let me see -"

The manticore is not rampaging; it's in pain. It is surprised by Guiding Star's approach - drops to three of its paws - and favors the fourth.

"Oh, you don't even want to eat anypony, do you?" says Guiding. "You're plenty good at finding food without ponies wandering in here. Okay - everypony close your eyes I have to do magic again -"

And she draws a thorn out of the manticore's paw.

The manticore licks her.