I estimate that we have been walking towards that stormy forest for like ... an hour now.
“Feels like we've been walking for a while now,” Moon gaze squeaks.
I roll my eyes. “Except for you.”
He squeaks. He probably wanted to snort.
Come to think of it, I've been walking quite a lot since I turned into a pony. I wonder if I can bring with me my leg muscles when I get home.
I sigh. No time for nonsense thoughts, me. We need to come up with a plan.
...
... ...
... ... ... Yeah, I got nothing.
I turn to Seri, who has been awfully quiet. I can't really blame her though, since it really looked like she and Twilight were really close. She's probably really worried about her.
I should probably say something. “Seri,” I say. “Um... You okay?”
She slowly nods her head, her sad gaze on the forest ahead.
“Wow,” Moon Gaze squeaks. “If it were any other day, her being quiet would have been a blessing.” He sighs. “But now it's depressing.”
The peaceful melody of rustling grass dancing with the cool breeze mixes with the thunderous roars.
I take a breath and sigh through my nostrils.
Right, so—
“Why are we going back there anyway?” Moon Gaze suddenly asks.
I ... forgot what I was about to think. Sighing, I open my mouth—
“The book's there,” Seri suddenly answers, startling me a bit. “Twilight said that it's there, right?”
“Right,” Moon Gaze replies. “The crazy mare says we go there, and here we are, going there.”
...So I guess the plan is to just go inside and search for the book?
“Looks like we're as crazy as you are now, Jay.”
“You're free to live your life as a rat, you know,” I say lamely.
“Not on your life,” he squeaks back. “Whatever you guys are looking for will probably get me back to normal.”
A flash of lightning.
We're getting closer to the forest now.
A mighty roar of thunder.
A squeaky sigh. “I can't believe we're going back in there.” I feel him squirming on my back. “There are dangerous predators in there.”
“You're alive,” I quickly reply.
“I got lucky,” he replies just as quickly.
I blink. “...How long were you in there anyway?”
“Longer than I liked.” He squirms. “And I turned into a rat for it.”
Only a few more minutes now and we'll be arriving at the edge of the Everfree Forest. From the looks of it, the trees are quite ... larger and thicker than the trees I've ever seen during my little adventure. There are gaps in between, which is good, but it's too dark.
I glance at Seri's fanny pack, noticing the slightly shining gem within. I guess that will be our makeshift flashlight as we wander around in there.
I blink. “Moon Gaze.”
He squeaks.
“How were you able to see while you were inside?”
“Lightning orb.”
I blink once again. “What?”
“Lightning orb.”
I roll my eyes. “I heard you the first time.”
“Then why did you ask me to repeat what I said?”
I stifle a groan. “...I was asking what a lightning orb is.”
“Ah,” he squeaks. “You should have said so.”
Sigh...
“Lightning orb is a ball-cloud of lightning we pegasi use for us to see in the dark,” he explains. “Especially while we're flying.”
“A ... ball cloud?”
“Yeah. We take a chunk of cloud, compress it into a small ball, and charge it with lightning.”
Huh... That sounds pretty cool.
He sighs. “Too bad I can't make one, for obvious reasons.”
Right, because it's my fault you've become a rat.
...We still don't have a good plan though.
I turn to Seri—
I blink and look ahead once again, and yep, I didn't imagine it.
There's a familiar vomit of color standing by the edge of the forest. I squint my eyes and ... yep, that's Rainbow Dash alright, facing the forest.
Her ears twitch. She turns her head enough to glance at us. She returns her gaze back to the forest.
A few more steps later, and we stop a few paces from the mare.
I hear Moon Gaze trying to whistle. “Now that's a pegasus I don't mind gazing all night long.”
“Shut it, dirt pony,” Rainbow Dash quickly replies.
I blink. “Wait, what? I didn't say that!”
She turns around mid-eyeroll. She frowns. “Oh, sure. So I guess the swan right there has the hots for me.”
Seri blinks at her.
I turn for her to see the white furball on my back. “It's this rat here.”
She arches an eyebrow. “...Right, and I'm the crazy mare.”
“Name's Moon Gaze,” furball suddenly introduces himself, surprising the colorful mare.
“The buck?!” RD exclaims, louder than the roar of thunder.
“If you want him,” I say, “you can take him. He's a good pet and his name his Tank.”
“B-but he just said—” she cuts herself off by wildly shaking her head. “You know what? I don't care.” She limps off ... slowly. “I don't—mmm-guh!—have time for this.”
Seri and I just stare at her slow retreat. Moon Gaze is just ogling at her.
My ear twitches to a roaring sound.
I lift a hoof and slap a panther cub before he can pounce me.
“Ow!” Reykan lands, rolls and stops in front of me. Wincing, he sits up and rubs his aching head. “You really like hitting my head so much, huh?”
Silence.
“...What are you guys staring at, anyway?” A pause. “...Oh hey, that pony looks really colorful.”
I'm not staring at her though. I'm staring at Seri with a worried frown. Not even Reykan's presence is breaking her sadness.
The swan is staring at the mare, yet it feels like she's not staring at her at all. She then slowly looks my way, blinks, and looks at Reykan. She cracks a small smile. “Hi, Reykan.”
The panther cub gives her a suspicious look.
She then looks ahead, and then does a double-take. “Wait, Reykan?!”
Said cub sits up straight. “That's me—EEE!” he shrieks as Seri suddenly grabs and pulls him closer, their heads now touching.
Serious swan eyes stares at frightened panther eyes. “Where's Twilight? Do you know?!”
Oshiet, Reykan was there, too! Why didn't I think of that?
The panther cub squirms. “Uuuhhh... She's...” He glances nervously at me, then back to the swan. “...dead?”
A roar of thunder.
Reykan's nervously shifting his paws on the ground.
...Twilight's...?
Seri slowly let's the cub go, her expression blank. “...Oh.” She slowly nods her head. “...Okay.”
Reykan nervously moves away from her.
Another boom of thunder.
Seri then looks ahead. After a short pause, she wobbles forward as she pulls out the gem. “Let's go.”
“Seri, wait...” I call lamely, but she isn't stopping.
Reykan and I watch the swan enter the forest, the shining gem on her wings lighting up the darkness.
The cub then looks at me, his sapphire eyes reflecting the cracks of lightning up above. “Jay?”
“Yeah?”
He looks back at the swan. “...she, um... S-she's...”
I sigh. I take a breath and take a step forward. We can't just let her go alone. “Let's go.”
We're gonna die...
Moon Gaze's dreamy sigh is drowned by a loud thunderous roar.