_____*the next day on a forest trail. 10:21 AM*____
Dark walked through the forest next to Roxanne at a steady pace, currently Fang and Gwen were up front and Firefly was in the back.
As they moved through the forest Dark was deep in thought just like last night. "Dark, you alright?" Asked Roxanne.
Dark snapped out of her stupor and nodded quickly. "I'm fine." She replied.
Roxanne had a skeptical look for a moment before sighing. "Alright." She said.
Dark entered her world of thought again as Roxanne looked away.
' What is she anyway?, no fox that I know of is that large, same goes for Fang but he doesn't have that mechanical sound to his breathing, I'm going to have to keep an eye on them if I want to figure this out.'
Roxanne looked over at Dark and noticed that she had returned to her train of thought. 'what is with her?' she pondered.
Fang stopped and turned to face the group. "Alright everyone, I picked up the others' scent, let's move it." He ordered as he broke into a jog along the path.
The rest of the group followed suit and followed Fang.
Roxanne wondered why Fang was moving so slowly until she remembered Gwen's wing.
Dark decided to hold off on her thinking until later and kept her focus on following the group.
_____*ten minutes later*_____
Fang slowled to a stop and turned around. "Alright, they're just up ahead." He said.
Gwen nodded and walked forward. "Well then, let's group up eh?" She suggested.
Fang nodded and walked closer to the nearby clearing that four tents occupied.
Firefly sighed. "This is going to be problematic." She grumbled.
The group of five entered the clearing and noticed that something was wrong....very wrong.
Gwen looked around and concern began to arise. "Um, where is everyone?" She asked.
Fang sniffed the air and scratched his head. "That's odd, they should be here." He whispered.
Firefly flew up and searched the clouds for any sign of life.
Roxanne walked up to one of the tents and opened it, after a moment she sighed and walked towards another tent.
Dark looked around and felt something in the air. "Gwen, is there a unicorn in your group?" She asked before looking at Gwen.
Gwen looked at Dark and nodded. "Two of them, and three changelings, why?" She asked.
Dark's horn lit up and after a few moments she dimmed the light on her horn and sighed. "Well, they're not here anymore." She replied.
Fang looked at Dark. "What do you mean?" He asked.
Dark looked at him. "Because there is a faint magical scent here, hate to say it but they've been gone for a long time." She replied grimly.
Roxanne walked out from behind of one of the tents and walked up to Fang. "I agree, there isn't any sign of them here." She added.
Firefly flew down and landed next to Gwen. "Nothing In the sky." She said.
Fang sighed. "Alright then, looks like we are searching for the others, any ideas?" He asked.
The others all shared a look before Dark raised a hoof. "Well, I could try to search for a trail for us to follow with my magic." She suggested.
Firefly shrugged. "And I used to track for a few years." She added.
Gwen shook her head. "If I could fly I would suggest that." She said sadly.
Roxanne looked up. "I got nothing." She replied with an emotionless voice.
Fang nodded. "Alright then, let's get moving then." He said in annoyance.
The moment Fang finished his sentence, the entire group started walking away with Dark in the front, horn lit, Dark started search for a magic trail.
_____*a few minutes later*______
"I found something!" Shouted a voice.
Fang rushed over to the source of the voice and found Dark waiting for everyone.
Gwen walked up to Fang with Roxanne in tow. "What is it?" She asked.
Firefly landed nearby and walked over. "What's all the commotion?" She asked.
Dark motioned her head behind her. "There's a faint magical trail that leads that way, we should find out where it goes before it disappears." She suggested.
Fang nodded. "Alright, let's move." He replied calmly.
Gwen nodded and so did the others and so Dark lit her horn and started to follow the trail.
Fang sighed. "You better be alright." He grumbled.
_____*twenty minutes later (your not missing anything)*_____
Firefly groaned in annoyance as she walked. "This. Is. so. boring!" She complained aloud.
Gwen sighed. "It's been twenty or so minutes, and this important!" She snapped back.
Firefly huffed. "That doesn't mean I can't hate it." She countered.
Fang facepalmed. "Will you two be quiet?" He asked.
Dark had an unamused expression on her face. "If you want to find your friends, be quiet so I can concentrate." She ordered.
Firefly grumbled but remained silent while Gwen opened her mouth to speak but was silenced by a death glare from Roxanne.
Dark felt a small flare of magic and she walked in the direction it came from. "Just follow me." She ordered.
Fang nodded and motioned the others to follow. 'The sooner we find them the better.' He thought.
After another series of changing directions, the group finally found something.
"Hey! I found something!" Firefly shouted.
The group raced over to Firefly and found her looking at a green crystal.
Dark walked up to it and picked it up in her magic and scanned it. "It feels like this was recently put here." She stated.
Gwen took the crystal and examined it. "This is Dusk's crystal." She said.
Firefly raised an eyebrow. "Why would Dusk leave that behind?" She asked.
Gwen shrugged and looked at Dark. "How recent would you say this is?" She asked the unicorn.
Dark's horn lit up and the crystal was enveloped in a silvery aura. "I would say at least ten minutes." She replied.
Gwen nodded and tossed the crystal over to Firefly who gave her a brief look before nodding.
Fang sniffed the air and caught a whiff of a familiar scent. "Come on!" He ordered as he charged off.
The others were shocked but nevertheless, they followed the wolf.
Roxanne dropped to all fours and ran after her partner at great speeds. 'He has got to stop this.'
_____*four minutes later*______
Fang came to a halt as he approached a river. "Alright, let's stop here." He said as Roxanne ran up next to him.
Firefly landed on the ground and looked back at Gwen and Dark. "You two alright?" She asked teasingly.
Roxanne stood up and walked over to the river and took a drink as Gwen and Dark walked up to them.
Gwen looked at her sister and nodded before joining Roxanne at the river.
Fang looked around the area for any sign of the others as Dark sat down on the grass, she lit her horn and after a moment it dimmed. "They should be nearby." She said.
Firefly looked around and quickly noticed something odd. "Hey uh guys." She said.
Fang looked at her. "Yea?" He replied.
Firefly pointed at a nearby spot on the ground near the lake, which had a layer of leaves in a circle, Fang rushed over and Firefly met him there.
Fang examined the leaves and noticed that some of them had blood on them. "Firefly, look at this." He held up a leaf and Firefly bit her lip.
"Someone got injured by the looks of it." Fang said.
Firefly nodded and examined the nearby area for additional clues. "Look around for something out of the ordinary....other than yourself." She ordered.
Fang nodded and looked around the area for something to lead him to the others when his vision changed.
His vision was now that of a world on fire, much like before at the pond that he was at, but this time he heard a dark laugh from behind him, he turned around and saw a tall figure looking straight at him....no THROUGH him.
Fang couldn't make out its features other then it was standing on two large feet before his vision returned to normal.
".....hey Fang you in there?" Asked a rough voice.
Fang looked down and saw Firefly giving him a concerned look, Fang nodded and ruffled the mares hair. "Yea I'm fine, just a bit tired." He lied.
Firefly and Fang shared a look for a moment before she sighed and walked away. "Alright, now come on I found a clue." She said dismissively.
Fang nodded and followed the mare closely.
Firefly walked up to a drag in the dirt and Fang knelt down to examine it.
Fang noticed quickly that the drag was the size of a hoof, and it looked like someone dragged it through the dirt for a second or two before walking or running straight.
Firefly picked up a nearby leaf and showed it to Fang. "This look familiar?" She asked.
Fang grabbed the leaf and noticed that there was a large hole through the middle like it was caught in the crossfire of something. "We have to find them." He said urgently.
Firefly nodded and walked along the direction the drag was and looked for clues.
Fang signed and looked at the other three who were currently resting up....by sitting along or IN the river, he then looked at Firefly and walked up to her.
"Mind if I talk to you?" She asked catching Fang off guard.
"Sure." Fang replied.
Firefly gave a small smile and continued her work. "You remember last night? with the story?" She started.
Fang nodded. "Yea." He replied.
Firefly stopped and looked at Fang. "I heard from Gwen that you and Roxanne were formerly animatronics......right?" She asked.
Fang nodded slowly. "What about it?" He countered.
Firefly sighed. "Were you there when it happened? the bite?" She asked.
Fang paused for a moment before biting his lip. "Yes and no." He replied.
Firefly gave him a confused look. "Eh?"
Fang had a grim look on his face. "I was offline when it happened, but I was nearby." He said sadly.
Firefly closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "So, what would you have done if you were online?" She asked
Fang's face became sad. "Nothing." He replied.
Firefly's eyes snapped open and they were wide. "Why!?" She snapped.
Fang sighed and he continued working. "Because i was just a mindless robot at the time." He replied.
Firefly gave him a unconvinced look but continued working. "I have the feeling that you wanted to talk to me." She changed the subject to both of their relief.
Fang nodded. "Yea, i wanted to ask you about what happened in that cave." He said.
Firefly groaned In annoyance. "Ugh, that maze." She hissed.
Fang raised an eyebrow.....then he laughed.
Firefly gave him a death glare that went unnoticed. "What's so funny?" She asked.
Fang slowly stopped laughing but still found the odd chuckle. "You are just like Roxanne." He replied.
Firefly thought on this a moment before shrugging. "Guess I am." She said.
Fang nodded and the two silently continued their search.
_____*two minutes later (seriously Pinkie, no one is missing anything!)*_____
Firefly walked over to Fang who had called her over.
Fang was standing near an olive green feather in worry as Firefly approached him. "Firefly, look what I found." He showed her the feather and Firefly sighed.
Firefly looked away from the feather and found a trail of them leading towards a bush. "Fang." She bumped his shoulder.
Fang looked and noticed the trail. "Come on, let's move." He ordered.
Firefly nodded and followed the now running wolf.
Fang ran up to the bush and slowed as he reached it until he was at a fast walk.
Firefly approached Fang and watched as he slowly walked up to the bush.
Fang suddenly lunged forward at the bush and ended up getting pulled in fiercely.
Firefly gasped and jumped in after him and found herself coming to blows with something.
Grunts and groans came from the bush until a few figures flew out of the bush, Firefly among them.
Firefly grunted as she hit the ground, she stood up quickly and faced the figures that she was fighting only to be shocked.
.......It was them.