//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14 - Crusade 
// Story: Facing Consequences, Making Choices 
// by 1Bit 
//------------------------------//

Even without being attacked, the forest still was bearing down upon the five ponies. Hearts raced and paces quickened. Five sets of eyes constantly darted between each tree they passed, carefully watching out for anything that might try to jump on them. Twilight had a new sense of urgency at the front of the group, with a stoic expression and a powerful posture. She didn't once deviate from the tracks that they followed, and more often than not, the rest of the group would have to gallop to catch up to her. In her mind, only one thought constantly reared its ugly head at her; Pinkie could be hurt, she could be seriously injured, we don't know what's happened, she could even be- Twilight desperately shook the thoughts out of her subconscious and returned her gaze onto the tracks ahead of her. 

However it wasn't long before the unicorn came to a sudden and sharp halt, causing the ponies following her to each bump into the ponies' in front respective flanks. Each of their stares joined Twilight's. Through the thick layer of muddied leaves, the partially visible tracks seemed to go off in two directions, one direction looking little different from the other; only rows upon rows of trees, bushes and low hanging branches and vines.

"Well which set of tracks do we follow?" Rainbow brought up a very good point and Twilight merely looked back glumly. It didn't matter how many times she looked between the two tracks, there was no way she could tell which way to go. Both tracks were identical in size and markings, and somehow both were also strewn with confetti.

"I don't know, it just doesn't make any sense." Twilight huffed in annoyance. "How can both sets have confetti? There's no way to tell which goes where."

Rainbow sighed. "Well we could always split up-"

"Absolutely not." Twilight snapped, frustration clearly building inside of her. "We stick together. We're already a pink earth pony down and we aren't going to let this forest take any more of our friends." Rainbow Dash had recoiled slightly at Twilight's sharp words. The unicorn took a deep breath. "Sorry Rainbow, I didn't mean to snap like that, I'm just stressed. That's all."

"It's cool. But what are we going to do? I mean, we've got to make a decision somehow." 

Subtle rustling coming from the right side of the group made their decision for them. All at once, more vines came hurling down at them like vicious snakes preparing to coil around their victims. With little other choice, Twilight led the group running down the left set of tracks, desperately containing any screams that tried to escape her mouth.  The tracks seemed to go on for miles through more and more thick forest. On a multitude of occasions, they found themselves crawling and weaving through puzzling combinations of roots and branches. Applejack even had to use her hindlegs to buck her way through a cascade of branches that tried to block her path. The first attack may have been sudden, but this felt much more planned and much more deadly. Rainbow yelped as her forelock was attacked by a deformed branch, leaving all manner of horrible cuts and scrapes running up and down it.

"I hate this forest!" She screamed in both pain and fury. She beat her wings faster, as if she was trying to escape from a prison cell that refused to let her out. 

"I'm afraid I have to agree with you, Miss Dash. This place is horrible!" Rarity replied, also running for her life directly beside a dishevelled Twilight.

The tracks were long gone now, the path ahead merely damp, dark and ice cold. Trees were replaced by rocks as they suddenly came up to a massive rock face that lay directly ahead of them. The ponies had been so focused on just running, they hadn't taken time to notice the change in scenery and those few seconds of delay allowed their hunter to catch up. Everything became a frantic dash up the side of the cliff. They tumbled over one another but kept on persevering. On and on they pushed, powered by only adrenaline and fear. Any optimism for finding Pinkie Pie in all this mess was drained out of them and now there was only one objective; survival.

The steep incline soon began to level out and Twilight hazarded a look back to see the forest retreating from the pursuit. She put out her forehooves to stop everypony's advance and ended up in a collapsed heap of exhaustion with the other four ponies bearing all their weight down upon her as they all crashed into one another after the sudden halt.

"It's fine girls..." Twilight's raspy voice was barely heard above the low hum of ponies spluttering and coughing. Their sudden chase through the forest had taken a larger toll than expected on them. "We're all fine..."

Gradually, each pony got off one another and patted themselves down. Rainbow clung to her forelock, grinding her teeth together as the pain shot through her body. "That stupid thing got a piece of me- AH!" She squealed when she applied pressure to one of the cuts, and curled up even tighter than before. "Maybe more than just a piece, that friggin' hurts!"

"Don't worry Sugarcube, it's nothin' too serious." AJ lowered her head down and investigated each cut. "Nothin' cuts particularly deep. Hopefully it won't get infected." AJ turned to look at each of the other ponies trying to muster the strength to stand on all four hooves. "Anypony else hurt badly? Anything we might need to tend to because I doubt we'll have long before we'll have to start moving again-"

Like a cold assassin, a single vine slithered up the cliffs and wrapped its sticky and slimy form around Applejack. She had no chance.

She was helplessly tossed about like a ragdoll in front of her horrified friends and then pulled downwards into the forest fog below. Almost. In the split second they had to react, two cyan forehooves latched onto Applejack and clung onto her. Her emerald eyes darted upwards to see the four mares all forming a line clinging onto one another over the cliff edge. A pair of magenta eyes stared back at her, full of terror with tears beginning to form.

"Just hold on AJ, we'll get you back up!" Rainbow tried to crane her head back up the line. "Twilight, can't you get us back up there with your magic?"

Twilight was focusing every effort on holding onto a small piece of jagged rock and keeping them all from falling into the damp fog below. "I c-can barely hold on as it is, R-Rainbow..."

More panic swept across the pegasus. "Don't worry, we've got you Applejack." The smile she offered was clearly disingenuous.

"Let go."

"W-what?"

"You ain't goin' nowhere like this. You expect me to believe y'all can pull me back up? You ain't gonna find Pinkie Pie and you certainly ain't gonna stop this gosh darned forest if we hang around like this...let go." Applejack's voice was so shallow yet so demanding, so emotionless and yet so painful. "I love you Rainbow, but you have. To let. Go."

Nothing stopped the tears now. No matter what she tried, tears came flooding out of Rainbow Dash's eyes. Their lips met and Rainbow held the farm pony she loved so much close to her. "I love you too." 

And before anyone could protest, she let go.