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

[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.

[joyfulnoise]

"Awwwwwwwwwwww," says Joy. "Aww!"

[allcomplete]

"...Congratulations. Do you know a lot about manticores...?"

[follow_polaris]

"Well - no, but I was pretty sure we would be okay or at least not out of reach of your spells, right? And ponies don't come in here too much, so - it probably doesn't eat ponies every day -" She is licked again. "So it was probably mad about something else. And it was."

[clearthestorm]

"Nicely done," says Streak. "Shall we continue?"

[follow_polaris]

"Guess so!"

[allcomplete]

Once Guiding has managed to extract herself from the grateful manticore they proceed!

[joyfulnoise]

"That was really cute," says Joy. "Like, really."

[follow_polaris]

"I guess so!"

[on_what_wings]

"I'm with the dragon on this one," says Blaze. "Adorable."

[allcomplete]

Clarity chuckles.

[follow_polaris]

Guiding traipses, for one step, then hears a scary noise and stops.

[joyfulnoise]

Traipsing! Joy decides to start traipsing too. The scary noises do not affect him.

[pythbox]

Perhaps his feelings will change as the ponies progress into deeper, darker, and scarier woods, populated by older, taller, and...

...toothier trees? That can't be right. But there it is, lit just slightly better than its surroundings - a tree with gnarled knots in the shape of malevolent eyes and its trunk split into a jagged gaping maw appropriately sized to swallow somepony whole, surrounded by spiky branches like reaching claws.

It creaks ominously.

[clearthestorm]

...Streak's first impulse is skepticism, but she can't detect any inconsistencies or irregularities that point to an illusion at work. The tree has fangs. The fangs are moving.