With the rain clouds finally vacant from the sky, Scootaloo unfurled her wings and watched the remaining droplets of water drip down from the tree branches above her, and into the small divot she dug into the ground. It was brimming with fresh water, which she eagerly sipped from to abate the hunger in her stomach. She felt the bed of moss and her fur, both of them were wet but she only sighed with relief on finding a place to rest that was even more relaxing than a cloud. The sun breached the trees and shined down onto the droplets, creating a field of intense morning light if she looked at it from the right angle.
The two days of stiffness that over took her was finally broken as she ruffled out her wings, drying them in the cool morning air while her joints popped as she stretched each leg, her neck, and her back. For the first time in the past three days, she felt calm. Her head wasn't pulsating with sorrow, anger, and the thoughts passed through without over thinking the small stuff. It was as if a clamp on her mind was finally being loosened.
The sensation made the forest seem surreal. The barks on the tree seemed much more vivid and detailed, for the time she spent staring at them while it rained, they were a brown blur. Now she could see the breaks in between the crevices that gave the trunks it protective shell. The ground was wet but firm because nopony had ever trodden this way. Birds calling from the tree tops echoed, singing because they were happy that the rain had finally passed and they were free to fly.
That last thought made Scootaloo look to the ground as it lingered for a moment longer than things that passed through her head. When she reached the edge of one hill, she saw the entire slope that lead down through ferns, trees, and fallen branches that were ripped off during the storm.
"How far did I go?" She asked, trying to find the easiest path down. A stream from the excess water still flowing downhill gave some hint to the path Scootaloo should take, and her stomach leaped at the sight of huckleberry bushes growing along the edges.
Devouring all the berries on the first bush, she ate them by the mouth full until she caught herself reaching for the branches of the second.
No. Somepony, somewhere had told her that eating to many wild berries could be bad for you."But they're so good! And Sweet! Besides, I only think that wild huckleberries are bad if you eat too many." Instinct fought for control in this uphill battle of needs versus obscure knowledge, but the tide turned when she felt her stomach drop, saliva pour into her mouth and her sense of smell recoil at everything around her. The sweet berry scent lingering on her hooves, lips, and bushes were overpowering, making her head spin, "Uh...oh..." She said, wheeling around towards the stream.
She leaned down towards the water, feeling the bile push up from her stomach and to her throat. She shuddered at the taste once it reached the back of her tongue.
Moving upstream a few steps, she plunged her head into the water and rinsed out her mouth as the aftertaste settled in. In a wave of symptoms, Scootaloo felt hot under her skin, but cold to the touch. Pouring the mountain stream water over her head and back of the neck, she sighed, looking back at the huckleberry bushes with a scowl.
She quickly wiped her mouth and looked down the hill where the stream lead, and then checked it against the sun, the stream lead southeast. "It's gotta go somewhere, right?"
---
Fluttershy was on the verge of crying when she heard from a robin that a young orange filly with purple hair was spotted in the forested foothills of the mountains, thirty miles east of Ponyville. Tears forced their way out when the bird told her that Scootaloo was spotted in this area before the storm.
Twilight laid out a map in front of the seven ponies gathered and pulled highlighters from her bag. "This is where Fluttershy's animal friends saw Scootaloo last." She said, drawing a large circle in yellow around the lowlands. "The area is a
"How in the hay does a little filly walk thirty miles in a couple a hours?" Applejack asked,
"Well, assuming she started walking around one in the afternoon at a pace of four miles per hour, and didn't stop until it was dark, which came pretty late- it was around 9:00. That's thirty two miles right there, then account for fatigue, slope incline, emotional state, and then the sudden realization that she's lost, which would've lead her to run around, going in circles until she finally settled down.
This was before the storm, in the evening, since then I've scried her and been able to see what she sees. The good news is that she's been keeping to a small area. She found a bed of moss, some cover, and has been sleeping most of the time. But now that the skies are clear, this morning she was moving west, meaning she knows what direction Ponyville is in- or we can only hope. Now that we know the area she's in here's the search pattern we're going to stick to. Pinkie, I want you putting up trail markers every two hundred feet once we start out, Fluttershy will be in constant communication with the animals to find Scootaloo. Applejack, Applebloom, Rarity and Sweetie Bell, you'll be on ground control. Your job will be to go on foot and walk east. The main thing to remember through is to stick with your sister, we don't want to be losing either of you two while looking for your friend." The two fillies nodded, while Pinkie saluted to her assignment.
"I'll be heading the farthest out, trying to find where she was or any sign that she went through an area, and then follow it west. I'm going to scry her one last time before we head out to get a bead on what direction she's heading. Any objections?"
The ponies shook their heads, allowing Twilight to quickly cast the spell. It was only a moment after a bolt shot out that Twilight dry-heaved and shook her head to clear the haze.
"What's wrong deary? Did the spell not work? Is Scootaloo alright?" Rarity asked,
"It did, but she got sick, too many wild berries."
"I though one a us told you three that if ya went out and had to survive in the forest, to not eat only berries- you need to balance it out or else it'll make ya sick."
"Rainbow Dash taught us that." Applebloom said, "I think it was a month ago or so when she said that." the yellow filly's response shattered the expressions of the five grown up mares. They had quietly forgotten some of the good things she had done for the cutie mark crusaders, and instead were so caught up with focusing on what she hadn't don. Each of Rainbow Dash's friends looked to each other, eyes briefly making contact before breaking away.