Finally realizing she was safe for the moment the pain of her injuries set in. Ginger clenched her teeth trying not to scream. Ow! It may only be a few cuts and bruises, but that is what the next step is for, first aid. I could just let the scratches heal, but I will want to treat it before… I wish I had listened to the class a little more. I was too busy thinking about what Daring Do would do at that moment. Probably jump out the window after the treasure. Ginger slaps herself, Need to focus! Alright, where can I find something to help me?
Looking around in the forest, she spots several kinds of trees but is unable to identify them. I know that I might want to find something that can help get me clean or make sure that the wounds are clean. I won’t last very long if I become sick. I will probably have to settle with a bath. The water might not be clean, but it is better than nothing. Besides, my mane is full of dirt now. How sad would I look if rescue came and I didn’t look great? I’ll show them! But first, I need to find some water for a bath. It won’t do me any good if I stay here.
Leaving the area, Ginger walked through the forest. It was dark for the most part, but the occasional bit of sunlight told her that it was still at least daytime, and that made her start moving a little faster, I don’t want to be out here when I can’t see… Who knows what lives in the Everfree at night?
The forest was full of different plants, all of which reminded Ginger of different ferns, vines, and willow trees. The trees weren’t too tall, but their tops seemed to absorb light, making some of the plants turn brown. Ginger was careful to avoid any plants that seemed painful or colorful. Just because colorful ponies are alright, doesn’t mean a colorful plant will be.
Seeing a small purple flower caught the attention of Ginger, as she moved towards it and promptly ate it. Finally, some food. I have been waiting for hours for something, and this flower will fill me up. It at least looks familiar compared to some of these other ones. As she moved away from the seemingly innocent flower, her face began to burn. What was that? Ginger looked closer, and saw that the leaves were lightly saw-shaped. Wait a second... Stinging nettle! How could I have not noticed this? Maybe because most of the other plants would only eat me or something!
Her pace quickened as she tried to find a way to relieve the pain from the stinging nettle. She kept looking at plants, but all of them seemed so dangerous. There were plants with thorns, sharp edges, and sometimes upon approach, covered in ants or other small insects. All the while, Ginger’s face kept burning from contact with the nettle.
Reaching a small clearing with a large pond of water, Ginger jumped in as soon as she saw the pond. Finally relieved from the pain, she also notices the dirt is gone. However, upon looking around, she sees that sleeping manticores surround her. Why are they hanging around here? Hmm… wait… I know this one. Some animals tend to stay around things called watering holes. They must be waiting for prey to wake them up…
Ginger takes note of the sun’s position, a little past midday, and slowly backs away, towards the forest edge. She keeps moving until she bumps a solid object, but it doesn’t feel like a tree or a thorny plant. Her head turns slowly, and she spots a large scorpion tail.
Quickly closing her mouth, she limps on three legs into the forest before breaking into a full gallop away from the watering hole. Why do I seem to have the worst luck? The survival class didn’t teach me anything about this!
Ginger hears a large roar in the distance, from where she just was, and strains to run faster. She leaps over a very large bed of blue flowers, and attempting to learn form last time, does not eat them.
The manticore runs into the clearing, ignoring the blue flowers, and jumps, landing in the patch intending to eat Ginger. However, once the manticore landed in the patch, it began convulsing. The manticore slowly gains composure, and tries to fly out of the patch of flowers, but fails as its wings shut tight. It runs into the forest, and all falls silent again. Ginger looks at the plants, then all around herself, and notices she is surrounded by the blue flowers, with no way to get out without touching them.
Alright, how am I going to get out? It seems they are extremely dangerous if you come into contact with them… Ginger looks at her sash, which is surprisingly whole after the entire ordeal. I’m sorry Sashy, but I guess you have to go. It was a pleasure serving with you. Ginger takes her sash, using her teeth tears it along one point, and tries to make a bridge out of it. It isn’t the best bridge, but it will have to do.
Using her sash, she slowly walks across the patch, being careful not to go off her sash, for fear of what happened to the manticore. At the end of her sash, she jumps. The flight for her was exhilarating, and frightening. She could feel almost as if she was the adventurer from her dream, soaring through the air reaching for her goal. She was fearful however, of the strange blue flower that caused a manticore to run in fear.
You learn something new everyday. Well, my cuts have been dealt with for the most part. I don’t think anything will come from it. Now, for the third step, finding help. I won’t get out of here if I don’t find a way to find others.
As she moved to look for help, she turned her head to take one last look at her sash. The last vestige of her home was trapped within a patch of blue flowers. She shed one tear, and she left. The tear hit the floor, and after a few minutes, once Ginger was long gone, a small blue bud sprouted from the ground. A small hope that a joke would brighten someone’s day and turn that frown upside-down.