//------------------------------//
// chapter 5: Obstacles 
// Story: MLP- Wizard of Oz 
// by Votederpycausemufins 
//------------------------------//

	Applejack woke up to her stomach growling. She reached for her saddle bags only to remember she was out of food. Last night, she and Winona had eaten the last bit of bread for dinner. Lion Dash had offered to go into the forest and bring back an animal for her to cook on the fire that had been built the previous night, but was quickly turned down by Flutters as she feared she would cry seeing the dead animal and they would have to use more oil. Applejack sided with her, but that was mostly because she couldn’t eat the meat. Dash later left and got her own meal, never mentioning what it was.
A.J. got up to find a river to wash up in when she saw a large pile of nuts that Twilicrow was adding to. It turned out that she had been doing this all night as the fire burned so she would not be near the sparks.
Twilicrow, noticing Applejack, picked up some of the pile and tried to put it in her saddlebags. A.J. snickered a little while helping Twi as she was doing a clumsy job picking them back up. By the time they finished, Winona had woken up and found them, while Flutters had added a few fruits she had found.
When Applejack and Winona were all cleaned up and Flutters oiled as a precaution, the group set off once again onto the road. Not even an hour later, the group had to stop for a large ravine. The remains of a bridge were able to be seen on each side. The ravine went on for as far as they could see and there were jagged stones at the bottom. For at least a few minutes, it seemed like their journey was over.
Twilicrow spoke up, “Lion Dash is the only one of us that can fly, right?”
“I used to, but then I became tin.” Mentioned Flutters
“Well maybe she could take us over one by one.” Twilight suggested
“It might work,” said Dash. “ My wings aren’t strong enough to fly us over, but I could jump and they could give me a boost.”
“But who’d go first? Ah mean, what if it didn’t work.” Applejack asked
“I would!” volunteered Twilicrow. “Applejack and Winona could be killed and Flutters badly dented while you could still save yourself. I wouldn’t be hurt at all from the fall.”
“I-I suppose so, but I’m still a little afraid of falling myself… Okay, let’s try!”
Lion Dash helped Twilicrow onto her back and then walked up near the edge of the cliff of the ravine so she could jump.
“Why not take a running start?” asked Twilicrow.
“That’s just no how I do these things.”
And with that, Lion Dash jumped across the ravine. She waited a few seconds before putting her wings out and flapping for a small boost. The pair landed on the other side and Twilicrow toppled off, but only because she didn’t know how tight she had to hold on.
Lion Dash jumped and flew back over to Applejack, Flutters, and Winona. She took to more trips (one of them she took both A.J. and Winona) and then collapsed from exhaustion. After a while of resting, Dash was able to travel again.
“Is it just me, or is the forest a bit more menacin’ to y’all too?”
“Th-th-this is the part of the forest ka-ka-kalidahs live in!” stuttered Lion Dash.
“What’re they?” Applejack asked.
“They’re beasts with bodies like bears, and heads like tigers, long teeth and claws sharp enough to cut me in half. They scare me terribly.”
“They sound pretty bad. Ah’ve faced worse before, but Ah had a ton a help then.”
“Well they are pretty-”
Dash stopped, both walking and talking. She was looking ahead with her mouth agape. In front of her was another ravine, much wider than the first. Lion Dash was only barely able to cross over the other one, and she was still a little bit tired from earlier. There was no way she could take them over this one.
“What are we going to do? There’s no way for us to cross this!” Flutters exclaimed.
The group thought for a bit until Twilicrow spoke up.
“Look at that tree,” She said, pointing to a large tree near the edge of the ravine. “It looks like it’s taller than the ravine is wide. If we could cut it down, we could cross. The only problem is how we cut it down. All I see that might do it are Dash’s claws.”
“And I don’t want to use them to try and cut that tree down.”
The group that had looked happy at first looked down at the ground from the failed plan. Well, all except Flutters, who popped open a hatch in between her metal wings. Her tin hoof reached in moving around as if searching for something. When it came out, it brought out a metal cube with hearts on it. “Nope.” Said Flutters.
Next was a red and white orb with a black strip dividing the colors and a silver button. Then out came a jellyfish looking thing with what looked like teeth where it’s tentacles should have been.
After a few other strange objects. (including a green mushroom with eyes and white spots and a blocky green creature that exploded after she threw it away; to name a few.) She pulled out an ax. 
“I would sometime have to cut down dead trees that if they fell might harm other plants. Ever since I became tin, I’ve had all my tools stored in my casing.”
With that, Flutters went over to the tree and started chopping at it. Her ax was sharp enough that within a few chops, the group was able to push it down. The tree was able to make a bridge to the other side so the group started on their way over.
“Why, Twilicrow from that plan Ah’d recon you have brains after all.” Applejack complemented
“No, no brains. One of you would have thought of it eventually.”
Just as Flutters (who had gotten on the tree bridge first) reached the other side, there was a sharp growl from behind them. The group turned to see, two kalidahs! The beasts were heading straight for them. By the time they reached the bridge, Lion Dash still had a fourth of the bridge to cover. The first kalidah tested the bridge, then got on with it’s partner going faster than Dash was running.
“Hurry, start chopping the tree again!” exclaimed Twilicrow. “If you cut it, the bridge with fall with the kalidahs.”
“What about Lion Dash, She might not make it!”
“Flutters, she can fly! Ah don’t think they can. Now, HURRY!”
With that Flutters started about chopping the bridge. Dash knew what was going on. For a little bit she was also afraid of falling when she remembered she had wings. With that she turned around and… “ROAR!” The Kalidahs stopped in their tracks as the final blow came to the tree. Lion Dash was able to run a few more steps before she jumped and flew into the air. Within a few flaps, she landed at the other side. The group watched as the tree and the kalidahs crashed at the bottom of the ravine, then quickly continued on their journey. 
The group came to a river that afternoon. on the other side was the end of the forest. Flutters started chopping old trees down while Applejack and Winona gathered vines and Twilicrow and Lion Dash made poles to use. 
As the sun was setting, the group finished making a raft that could help them cross. Applejack decided they needed to rest first, as it was late and the river’s currents strong so they would need their energy.