Saving the girl's Parents, Comes with many difficult Errands (CLOSED)

The Everfree forest stood as tall, dark and unwelcoming as ever. However, unlike most days, recently, it's been harder to see deep into the Everfree woods. The truth was, that there were traps, extra brushes, fallen logs, etcetera, strewn throughout. All of these traps.. they were about 50 yards away from the very ridge of the forest, so nopony could even come close to entering the forest these days. Pegasi usually didn't risk it either, because of the unreliable weather above the everfree forest.

These traps had been set by Inferno's minion. The strength of his team. Glitter Hail wasn't feeling all too well, due to his meeting with Pearl Facet, Inferno's new (and probably favorite) minion. The absurdly pink Crystal pony was hidden within a deep, dark green veil over his body, a cloak. He focused on the here and now, continuing to patrol past his traps. Nopony had tried entering the everfree yet, luckily. Glitter intended on keeping it that way. people coming in willingly had the risk of relaying information that Inferno might not want spread out to the world, although there was little of that information.

Glitter Hail remained hidden behind his traps. He had spent a long time setting these up, all his experience as a Royal Guard & Bandit had paid off though. His Strength and Bow's Accuracy definitly weren't to laugh at either.

Little did he know that in the near future, Two ponies would be attempting their entrance in the everfree forest. But the forest, And Glitter hail himself, were prepared for the happening. Perhaps those two needed to gather more information before they entered the forest, and it may take a day, but the time would be soon. And during that time, Glitter Hail continued patrolling the ledge of the Everfree.

To many, the Everfree forest was an avoidable unpleasantry. With the exception of the occasional wandering monster, the ancient trees caused no harm to any pony, save for those who wandered into it's depths. Of course, that was what Aero Dynamic, Bright Eyes and Ave were about to do.

Walking at a steady pace, Aero lead Bright towards the Everfree, having left what little sense of security of Ponyville had behind them. The pegasus had already asserted his belief that they would be fine. He and Ave had been in before and survived. Not to mention, he had run a couple of errands previously. Even if the task was daunting, Aero felt they had little choice in the matter. It was the best lead they had on finding Bright's parents.

Aero surveyed the forest, his frosty blue eyes scanning each and every branch, leaf and trunk for signs of danger or suspicion. He couldn't put his hoof on it but his gut was telling him to keep his wits about him.

"We'll wait for Ave. He shouldn't be long," Aero informed Bright, his gaze never breaking from the Everfree. His tone was even, and while it was not unfriendly, it was clear he was focused on the here and now.

Every gentle step closer to the forest’s edge brought a flurry of mixed feelings - but for now, the fear had faded into steady resolve. The expression Bright Eyes wore matched that determination, with a quiet, simmering anger broiling within her at the thought of the crime committed against her mother and father. The injustice, the mystery were all too much. And a rescue couldn’t wait.

The pale blue unicorn was a different pony than she had been a month ago. She wasn’t as innocent, or as optimistic as she had been only a week ago. She had been introduced to a darker side of life, one of ominous dangers that she had never experienced, only read about in old, dusty books. But she still had much to learn, and the forest would provide lessons she would not soon forget.

More than anything else, however, she was glad to be standing at Aero’s side. She knew she couldn’t do it alone. From the corner of her eye, she could detect the serious look on his features, standing close enough to touch with his icy blue eyes focused straight ahead. His familiar voice broke the silence, and she gave a slow nod. “I am ready. The sooner this is all over, the better.” Her voice didn't quaver as she spoke. Now was the time for bravery, for action.

The feeling of something being off persisted strongly. But the same feeling would dawn upon the absurdly pink Glitter Hail. He noticed ponies talking not too far off. He made his way to the sound, hiding nearby, by one of his traps. His Traps were mostly subtle, and now he was prepared to strike, aswell.

He waited, the sound of his breath almost gone and his pupils narrowing slightly. The two were patient though and did not intend to come closer. He wondered if they were curious. Should he lure them in? Were they just staying around the edge or did they plan to go deeper? Many ponies feared the everfree. A lure would either scare them off, Goal accomplished, or move them into his trap. Goal accomplished. Glitter resumed his slow and stealthy movements throughout the thick woods. How to lure them? a passing Shadow? is that too mysterious? Just a sound? is that -too- inconspicuous? For Hoof's sake, I've always let my boss do the thinking, as bandit and now all the same... I'll do the Shadow. Should be frightening or alluring. He looked to his surroundings, deep in thought. He wasn't the smartest, but he'd need to do this perfectly. He moved to a new position, silently and still doing his best to stay out of their sights. He disrobed, getting his cloak off, forgoing his camouflage to place it on an Arrow.

He Notched the arrow and aimed. A long shot which wouldn't hit a tree. An arrow that wasn't sharp or magical, and would just fall down. Nothing lost. "thw-" Sounded the bow as his mouth opened and he directly hid the bow and himself behind a tree. The arrow with the cape on it flew past, a good 35 yards away from the two ponies, looking much like a fast moving shadow between the woods. The Arrow would make little sound as it flew, far away from the three ponies. Blood rushed to Glitter's body as he instantly dove elsewhere, the rustling of bushes sounding. He moved closer to his trap and hid there, hoping to catch them there. He wasn't as subtle without his guise, so he had to hide extra far and extra securely, which was hard for him.

(It was fired perpendicular to Aero & Bright, so it went past their sight horizontally.)

It was good to hear that Bright seemed ready and willing to enter the forest. Her voice was solid, carrying a sense of determination that masked her worries. She was unquestionably concerned about the possible dangers that might lie ahead - who wouldn't be? - but he had no doubt she could pull through. As he'd witnessed this last week, she was strong in a way he could only admire.

Waiting by the Everfree was raising Aero's nerves. It wasn't because of the possibility of monsters attacking but rather the delay in their journey. He wanted Ave here now so they could continue onwards to the castle. The pegasus forced himself to stay and wait. In the long run, the earth pony's company would be ultimately more useful to them than arriving slightly earlier.

Unaware of the trap about to be unleashed on them, a shadowy figure suddenly shot across their vision. The figure moved impossibly fast through the woods, shocking Aero. Instinctively, his wings flared out and he pulled Bright to the ground as they dove to cover on the ground, incase it burst from the forest to attack them.

His sharp eyes caught a glint of bright colour moving in his peripheral vision. Unnaturally bright for the Everfree forest. His head turned to focus on the sighting, his focus never leaving the Everfree. With the lack of further movement from the supposed creature, Aero's mind probed towards investigation.

"I think something has seen us," Aero stated, leaving 'something' ambiguously unspecified since it could be any number of possibilities. His mind turned to the archer pony Ave had mentioned. He gestured to where the shadow figure had moved too. "Let's head in now. We're sitting ducks out here."

Every second that ticked by without Ave’s impending arrival felt as if an hour had passed, and Bright Eyes shifted restlessly on her small hooves in anticipation of the unwanted adventure awaiting them.  She didn’t know many protection spells - and somehow, she sensed they would be useless against the magic within the forest. Ignoring the nagging sense of helplessness, she remained silent. A lifetime of studying couldn't fully prepare her for the forces they were up against.

A glimpse of motion caught her attention from the corner of her eye, and her head shot over in its direction.  In the same instant, a flash of silver feathers sent Bright Eyes down to the ground protectively.  Stunned for only a second or two, the mare staggered back to her hooves, a jolt of adrenaline coursing through her.

Aero was right - they were obvious targets where they stood, and turning back was not an option.  Not anymore. “Either somepony is trying to keep us out,” she guessed aloud, “or they are inviting us in.”  She didn’t like it, either way, but she inhaled sharply before beginning in the direction the pegasus stallion had indicated.  “I know the Everfree Forest is key to this mystery,” she stated with certainty.

Oh Hay, The mare's a smart one Rushed through Glitter's mind. He kept his breath and remained as well hidden as he could. The trap was an elaborate one. He hoped it would activate on his own, but he listened in closely for when they would be close to the trap. there were a few strings tied at hoofheight to the ground, and if one of them was stepped on hard enough, a few ropes would pull down some sticks and leaves to completely surround the ponies who triggered the trap. It wasn't the best trap, and any decent pony would be able to get out with some time, but that's what Glitter's patrolling was for.

You're Nervous, Glitter. This isn't like you. you've done this a million times. He thought to himself. He wasn't sure why, either he was afraid of Inferno, or he was ofput, with the memories of ...'home' suddenly fresh into his mind due to inferno's other minion. She really bothered him, clouded his vision and his Fighter like focus. He tried to clear his mind, but to no avail, not until the two came closer and he could hear their hoofsteps once more, his ears perking and adrenaline pushing away his thoughts, replacing them with the here and now. Just a few more steps and he trigger the trap if the wires didn't. He'd have to be ready to instantly jump into action when that happened.

As soon as Bright mentioned someone inviting them, Aero's immediately considered the idea of a trap. It seemed that could be obvious, so much so that he was surprised he hadn't considered it himself. Regardless, the options to him seemed that they either stayed easy targets or moved to some cover and dealt with what lay ahead. He moved with Bright towards the forest to enter through the tree line. No turning back now.

As soon as he reached the cover of the branches, his cold blue eyes surveyed the foliage for any sign of trouble. He couldn't see any signs of ponies, but that didn't mean they weren't sneaking around or covering their tracks. Aero tried to recall some pointers he'd been given by an experienced tracker out west but little else came to mind. Perhaps he should visit again to horn his skills more...

Aero froze instantly on his next step. He could feel a pressure on his hoof. An unusual pressure. A glance down at his forehoof confirmed his suspicions. There was some kind of wire against his leg.

"Bright, step back," he warned, still unmoving. "There's some kind of tripwire. I'm guessing it's for a trap. Tell me, can you see set up around me? A net? Spikes? Anything?"

A net?  Spikes?!  The mare stopped dead in her tracks, a dainty hoof left dangling mid-air.  The pair had scarcely stepped hoof into the forest, and already it was living up to the legends surrounding it - and beyond being spooky and strange, this was a danger she hadn’t predicted.  Bright Eyes inched backwards slowly, bespectacled eyes searching the forest floor near her own hooves for hint of a trap.  When she was certain she was clear, her gaze returned to Aero, who remained frozen, before flashing upward toward the forest’s canopy of dark green foliage and gnarled branches.

Luckily, she deduced from the situation before her, there were no spikes waiting to crush the gray pegasus below.  But she could see the attempted trap - barely, as the pony who had set them had taken care to be discreet.  “If you fly, you’ll certainly be caught.  If you step forward, I think the same will occur,” she guessed, miscalculating the distance and direction Aero would need to move to remain safe.  Still trying to cling to her self-assurance and bravery, she stated,  “Step back instead.”

It was impossible to suppress the feeling of unease… As if they were being watched.  A shiver ran up the mare’s spine.  If something were to happen to Aero Dynamic because of her, she was not sure she could forgive herself.  Every instinct screamed to flee, but she stood firm, watching tensely.

No! Do i Stay Hidden? Next Trap? what way are they going? Is there a Next Trap? Do i interrupt?! His breathing accelerated. Smart ponies, he hated them oh so much. He couldn't hide his breath anymore, the two could clearly hear worried, deep gasps of breath. she was right, he would be able to escape.
They couldn't get back to Ponyville, that was priority number one. Glitter Hail realized he ruined his position, and after a short mental swearing to himself, he leaped into action, brain once more cleared and in a rush of adrenaline. He ran to the position behind them and Fired Arrows of Ice into the Leaves of the everfree forest, the Ice covering between trees and creating a blanket, a small area where you could not fly out of.

He Bucked a tree with full force. Truthfully, This Tree was already part of one of his traps, thusly being weakened. He now just completely ruined that trap, knocking over the weakened tree to block off one direction of escape. He grabbed another arrow and aimed at them, Sweat rolling over his muzzle and by his lips, a great large pink pony holding an arrow in his mouth with the bow in one of his forehooves, Staring at them while taking deep breaths, his large and heavily coloured frame slowly moving up and down with his deep breaths. His yellow eyes pierced directly to them, staring them down as enemies. he didn't shoot them directly, Partially cause he wanted to see despair in their eyes, His happy thoughts slowly catching up on him, and his maliciousness slowly overtaking his nervousness.

Standing as still as possible, Aero gritted his teeth as Bright Eyes stepped closer. He wanted to shout again for her to stay back, but he quickly realised she was analysing the trap to assist in his escape. If any pony could figure it out, surely it would be her. Instead, he resolved to stay calm as she examined his surroundings and the trap. The answer of flight not being a solution to his predicament annoyed him immensely but she confidentially advised him to step away.

Heeding her words, Aero prepared to leap backwards when something flew past them. Despite its speed, he recognised it as an arrow. He watched as it struck the woods behind them and formed a sheet of ice. It was shortly followed by the large tree trunk that toppled behind them to form a makeshift barricade. Judging an attack was imminent, Aero leapt back from the tripwire but to little avail. A cascade of formed sticks dropped from above and landed around him, like a makeshift cage.

A pony emerged from the foliage, a bow drawn in his hooves as he stood on his hind legs. Despite the horrible vibrant pink colouring of his coat, there was nothing inviting about this pony's expression. There was only hostile intent in his eyes as he stared them down, arrow at the ready. This must be the archer Ave had almost encountered around Ponyville.

Despite his severe disadvantage, Aero stared down the pony - a crystal pony, he noted with interest - with as much malice as he was receiving. His icy blue eyes locked onto the sickly yellow as the two ponies stood equally still and poised for battle.

"Don't try it," he growled threateningly. At least if the pony's attention was one him, Bright might have a chance to act...

The mare was startled when an arrow whizzed passed them with alarming speed.  The moment it made contact with the wood, it created an unexpected burst of ice.  Almost in the same instant, a large tree came crashing to the forest floor behind them, earning a surprised cry from the unicorn.

Aero followed her instruction - and the results were disastrous.  In a clatter of sound, sticks tumbled from above to trap the pegasus.   “Aero!” With a sick feeling in her gut, Bright Eyes realized: she had been wrong.  And now…

She began to rush forward to free Aero when the sight of a bright coat caught her attention.  Her expression, a mix of confusion and terror, was soon replaced by something entirely different.  Twin azure eyes narrowed in disdain.  Her heart was beating so fast, it felt as though it might burst through her ribcage.  Her lip curled in disgust for the magical arrow, and the obnoxiously pink archer pony, formerly of the Crystal Empire from the look of him.  It all made perfect sense: this must be the villain responsible for her parents’ disappearance.  And now, it seemed, they had been targeted as the stallion’s next victims.

She didn’t care who he was.  She only needed to understand the purpose of it all, and though her question could be easily ignored, she had to ask: “Why?  Why are you doing this?”  Her voice was an octave lower than usual, nearly a snarl as it parted her pursed lips.  This reckless pink pony held all the answers.  And she did not intend to leave with him, or leave without new clues to the whereabouts of her parents.

Bright Eyes had never been in a fight before, but as she addressed the crystal pony, her horn began to glow a vibrant golden hue.  She was not a warrior, but she would protect herself and her friend, no matter the cost - even if she was making it all up as she went along. She had never felt such hateful feelings as she was experiencing in that moment.

His eyes, Looking for worry and despair found only dedication and equal hostility. A unicorn with a spell prepared, his worst nightmare. She had a question, He would answer, but he'd not make it easy on her. He wondered how quick her reflexes were. She didn't seem like the strongest pony, But all you needed to stop an arrow was a quick levitation spell. Arrows weren't heavy, after all, so they were easily interrupted.

"For him. For Equestria's... to be ruler. Inferno." He said, voice sharp and heavy, but there were pauses in his voice. Not just any pauses, but pauses of doubt. In truth, the question was loaded for Glitter, but he didn't want to let it weigh him down. He fired an arrow, purposefully just alongside Bright's side, trying to make her drop her glasses or panic, and not just catch the arrow with levitation. He didn't really realize that he shot the cage that surrounded Aero, and that whatever magic arrow that was, it would weaken the trap and give Aero an opening.

He prepared to charge and attack Bright if she showed any moment of weakness. It was a shame for such a fine lady to need to be hit, but he couldn't fight someone looking as sportive as Aero and a unicorn at the same time, not without risking one of them escaping.

Aero was not ready for Bright Eyes sudden hardening of character as she all but interrogated their attacker. The change in personality seemed to work, as they may finally have been given a name for their true adversary. Inferno. The name sent a slight chill down his spine. An new ruler, especially one attracting followers such as this crystal pony were not to be of the good sort.

But his true thoughts at this time were on Bright. Seeing her resolve, the fire in her eyes, was so unlike her that it gave Aero pause. Perhaps she wasn't holding out against the situation so much as he had thought. Maybe she was being affected by the stress and heart ache of this quest. The mare standing beside him didn't seem like the sunny spirited mare he'd grown to know and...

Aero was shocked out of the moment when the crystal pony fired on her. His heart stopped for a second as he pictured the arrow piercing Bright. Thankfully, it strayed wide of her and struck the makeshift cage. The pegasus dropped his head to avoid injury from the projectile or the splinters it sent flying. As Aero looked up, he saw a weakening. An opportunity. He took it.

His wings spread wide and pumping powerfully with the combined leap from his hooves, Aero torpedoed into the damaged wall of branches and broke free from his prison. In an instant, he'd spun to face the pink archer and hurled himself towards him. The stallion spun his hooves around in midair, propelling himself at his enemy with a flying kick.

Inferno.  Her features, ever expressive, contorted in confusion at the unknown name offered by the pink thug.  “I’ve never heard of any such pony,” she gasped between breaths, willing herself to keep eye contact with the yellow-eyed stallion.

Her mind hurried through her options.  A spell to melt the ice?  No, she wasn’t well versed in fire magic, or anything that was particularly destructive, and easily convinced herself it would fail.  If she focused all of her attention and energy on freeing Aero, she would be helpless to his attack, leaving them both prone.  If there was something large enough, laying close enough to the attacking crystal pony…

But before the unicorn had a chance to act, the bright stallion had set his sight squarely on Bright Eyes.  The arrow seemed to be flying directly toward her, and the mare lurched sideways to avoid it.  She could hear the arrow whistling by, but, to her surprise, she hit the solid earth unscathed, black rimmed glasses still firmly in place.  

She turned to look back as the sticks collapsed around Aero, leaving the silver stallion unscathed, and the pegasus was quick on the attack.  Bright Eyes climbed to her hooves, focus fixed on the ensuing battle.

((hope you two don't mind short posts, but now the real action's started, i don't have that much to say.))

Glitter Hail noticed the escaping Pegasus, and in preparation for attack, strangely enough turned sideways, actually putting a more vulnerable side forward to his opponent. He however, at the same time, was ready to strike with his bow, Adjusting it in his mouth so he could hit with it. He would take Aero's blow head on, likely staggering a small bit from Aero's impressive strength and quick movement inside such an enclosed space. Would Aero not lighten his attack, but go full force in Glitter's side, Glitter would strike Aero as hard in the side as well with the round tip of his powerful white wooden bow!

As the archer saw him flying in for the attack, he seemed to promote a better target of himself. Aero thought nothing of it as he came in for the strike. There was a great satisfaction when he landed his hooves on the pink assailant.The pegasus spotted the bow coming at him but there was little he could do except brace for the impact. The wood struck him hard, causing him to recoil away, as the crystal pony seems to stagger away as well.That was going to leave a bruise.

Ignoring the pain in his abdomen, Aero circled around the pony, waiting for his next move. He cast a look back to Bright, thinking only now of her involvement in the fight. A sign of relief was visible in his expression as he saw the unicorn mare was unharmed. His attention turned back to their attacker; so long as they worked together, he was sure they could best him without much harm coming to them.

The mare winced visibly as Aero took the brunt of the stranger's attack, eyes narrowing at the bright pink pony.  This was unacceptable.  Bright Eyes would not stand by helplessly watching her closest companion, somepony she cared so deeply for, take a beating from this maniacal archer.

She could feel the fury resonating throughout her very being, consuming her mind with disdain for their newfound enemy.  

If using magic, she realized, there was a chance that it would impact Aero and his next attack.  But she knew now was her chance to unleash all the angry magic she could summon.  She cast the silvery stallion a look, willing him silently to watch out.

Recalling their time spent playing around at the Running of the Leaves, she focused her attention on the jumble of twigs and branches that had once imprisoned Aero.  Her horn's gold shine glared brighter as the former trap began to levitate from the forest floor. With a furious cry, she pointed her horn, bodying lowering and head ducking as she sent the pieces of wood, some quite sharp, flying straight for the pink crystal stallion. Bright Eyes could only hope that Aero managed to stay clear of the onslaught.

Glitter hail noticed the magic, and attempted to protest,, but was distracted by the rattling and shaking of the trap he had made. It disassembled itself and launched off towards him with dangerous force! Many different objects, sharp or not were included in an onslaught towards him.

Glitter Hail however, was a determined show-off. Making a horrible estimate, he decided that despite these bad odds, It was now the time for his attack! His pink body rushed forward towards Bright Eyes, taking a few hits on his way there, but turning with quick skill, hoisting up his hooves and unleashing a mighty buck towards her! however, his aim was badly interrupted by the variety of wood flying towards him, the buck would still (likely) connect, but not hit her squarely!

the failure of his attack and bright eyes' furious magic left him with little to do! He had to run away. Dashing off into the woods, he stumbled and yelled out painfully, his thick voice echoing through the everfree as he limped every few gallops, but his strength remained impressive, as he ran away with great speed. To make sure they could not follow him, he made his way to his other traps, narrowly avoiding those traps as he went deeper inside, hoping the two would not follow him now!

Aero's steely focus shot between the archer and Bright Eyes but he found his attention drifting more towards the mare. The fiery determination in her eyes was still there, but joined now by something he hadn't seen before; a fury like no other. He thought that she seemed different before, but this almost seemed like a different mare entirely. As she utilised her magic, he could only watch in surprise as she uprooted the trap and practically launched it at their attacker.

The only thing more shocking was how the crystal pony decided not to evade but rather charge at her. While Aero dived away from the cascade of branches, splinters and shards of wood, the archer launched a fearsome buck at Bright Eyes. While he seemed to take several hits from her attack, it looked like he landed a decent kick to her before scarpering off into the Everfree forest like a dog with its tail caught between its legs.

Aero was seriously tempted to chase the varmint - logically, it seemed right to follow and neutralise the threat - but his mind prioritised Bright Eyes. The pegasus rose to his hooves, brushing himself off as he ignored the faded pain of the bow swipe he'd received, and galloped over to his companion.

"Are you okay?" he inquired, a rare look of raw concern showing on his face. He quickly seemed to cover it with a review of her actions in the fight, "That was impressive. What you did with the trap."

Pale blue eyes never broke away from the enemy as he was bombarded with shards of wood and branches - but to her great (and obvious) surprise, the bright stallion came charging toward her, through the debris field.  It took all of her mental effort to keep her attack up as he hurdled closer, and she saw a pair of pink hooves  coming too late.  The buck landed just below the mare’s left shoulder, earning a squeal of pain and surprise, and while it was not with full force, she was not a pony accustomed to fighting - either attacking or being attacked.  The aura that surrounded her horn faded away.

She was further surprised to see the crystal pony villain dashing away at full speed, her head turning to watch him vanish into the forest.  The unicorn was more shaken and disturbed than injured, though her shoulder throbbed where hooves had grazed her pelt.

When Aero spoke, Bright Eyes looked over at the stallion as her hurried over.  The anger melted from her features into concern. “I am fine.  Are you hurt?”  She found that she was shaking uncontrollably now, every limb like rubber beneath her, the stress of the situation beginning to seize her fully. “I’ve never…” Her words came out in short gasps.  “I’ve never used my magic to hurt somepony before.”  She snorted.  “Even if said pony certainly deserved it.”  

Bright tried, failing, to steady her breaths, but the gravity of the situation became too much.  Like an avalanche, she realized - this was only the beginning.  And already, Aero was suffering because of it.  And if she had to fight again…

Her chin trembled before she could stop herself, and the tears began to flow freely down her azure face.  Her head snapped away.  “I'm so sorry this is happening, Aero.”

((skip))

"I'm fine, let's take a look at you," Aero said dismissively, noting her shoulder had been grazed in the attack. It didn't seem so bad as he examined it while listening to her speak. The sound of grief entering her voice took him away from the injury to see Bright as a whole. The unicorn was past upset as he saw tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Bright, don't..." Aero began, but it was too late.

It was a heartbreaking sight. This whole situation had pushed her beyond her breaking point. Gone was the sweet and cheerful mare he'd known. Gone was the friend who'd joined him in the Whitetail Woods and Cloudsdale. Along with her had gone the world she had known of peace and quiet. Aero knew the world wasn't always nice or fair. He'd seen things that most ponies would shy away from and that were not for common conversation, but even what they had discovered so far had been disturbing to him.

It must be almost incomprehensible to someone like Bright Eyes, a more innocent and caring mind than his own. Aero's thoughts clogged up. He wanted to tell her everything would be okay, or to try to justify her self defence against the archer. He was completely unable to process any words or comfort or reassurance to give to the poor mare. Instead, he did the one thing that came to mind.

Sitting down, his forelegs wrapped around Bright and pulled her into a hug. Aero clung tightly to the mare, his head next to hers so close that he could feel her shivering breathes on the back of his neck. He held her for a long time in silence. He didn't utter a word, nor did he cry or even sniffle. It seemed she needed a shoulder to cry on right now, so he would be here for her.

The surprising day took yet another turn as Bright Eyes felt herself pulled into an embrace as she began to sob silently, wrapping a single foreleg around the pegasus, hoof resting gently on his wing.  His body against her own smaller frame felt steady, safe, and though she had first tried to suppress the tears, she felt she didn’t have to now.  There was no stopping feelings that simply needed to escape.

Perhaps later, she would be terribly embarrassed by it all, to allow herself to show vulnerability in a horrific moment, but for now, she was more grateful than ever to have Aero Dynamic there with her.  Even without words, his comforting touch was more than the unicorn could have hoped for.  It offered some semblance of hope in an otherwise bleak instant.  She nuzzled her cheek against the stallion’s neck as the tears stopped.

She inhaled once more, deeply, as her nerves began to settle and the physical reactions she had suffered slowly subsided.  Her heart still raced - she found that she didn’t want to move away from the stallion’s warmth, but Bright Eyes knew there was still business to attend to. Slowly, she pulled away from the embrace, eyes cast downward.

After a moment of quiet, she offered softly, “I’m glad you’re not hurt.  That was… That was scary.  But at least now we know…”  Her words tapered off.  The pink pony had, at the very least, given them their best clue yet.

A 'humph' interrupted the two. Ave revealed himself from behind a closeby tree, after bright was done crying. He had his most kind and sympathetic expression on, down to the eyelids slightly lowered to emanate worry. "i... Do hope i'm not interrupting, i arrived here a minute ago, but it seemed like a bad time." he carefully said. he had apparently hidden behind a tree in said time. What tact he had... He closed in on them, noticing they were already hurt and there were wood splinters everywhere. His worried expression grew. "i-.. What happened? Did timberwolves attack?" Ave asked in a soft and kind tone. He put down his saddlebags and started rummaging for bandaging...

He offered the two some bandaging they might be able to use. "Will you two be alright?" he carefully asked as he looked around. He'd need an expanation for exactly what happened. Not only so he could understand the gravity of the situation. But so he could plan out a proper route across the everfree. He tapped the fallen tree with his hoof and noticed the strange pinkish gray mane hairs stuck on the branches laying around. He was utterly confused at the sight of this all, his brown eyes narrowing as he thought it all over.