open Exploration Team Of Equestria and Beyond

[Dakcka 182]

Destiny was terrified, she had never thought that already they would run into a....a.....okay she didn't know what it was, but she WAS terrified. She backed up, past the group. Everypony was a bit shaken up by the first thump, Destiny could see this. The second thump however is where some of the group started to look petrified. After a few more thumps, and being unable to run do to being paralyzed with fear, Destiny noticed Dax looking at her. She coughed and readjusted her position to look more confident. She was about to say something when Dax said it for her, good, she didn't have to speak. 

 

"Everypony, gather up!  Fighters on the outside, the rest of you inside!  Keep the circle closed!" Destiny backed up, she found herself inching toward Dax with every thump. She moved her mouth close to his head, and whispered into his ear.

 

"What is that thing? Do you know if it eats ponies? I don't want to be an appetizer for a huge beast, save me Dax." Destiny shakily whispered to him. The thing answered her question for her. 

 

Chew the bones and break the back

Give the stones the blood they lack

Eat the flesh and tear the skin

Hard without yet soft within

 

Chew, chew, chew

Critter stew!

Chew, chew, chew

Good for you!

Chew, chew, chew

Critter stew!

Chew, chew, chew

It's what we do!

 

Grind the bones up into paste

Flavor with the blood for taste

Eat it all and ask for more

Blood and bone and skin and gore

 

Chew, chew, chew

Critter stew!

Chew, chew, chew

Good for you!

Chew, chew, chew

Critter stew!

Chew, chew, chew

It's what we do!

 

Destiny was surprised her bladder remain- nevermind, it didn't. Destiny took her bow and arrow out, and was ready to shoot and hope she didn't take off somepony's head.

[Randimaxis 8,652]

"What is that thing? Do you know if it eats ponies? I don't want to be an appetizer for a huge beast, save me Dax." Destiny shakily whispered to him.

 

Dax gulped.  Save her?  I would love to, but... how?  He looked at her, about to voice exactly this, when he saw the look in her eyes.  He could smell the fear coming off her in wa-... wait.  No, that was the puddle forming beneath her.  He instantly felt embarrassed for her, and equally ashamed of himself for not standing to the defense before such a thing happened.

 

Daxter Blackwater, you should be fully and completely ashamed of yourself, he thought, with all the worries you've been having for yourself, you haven't even given a thought to everypony else.  Soooooooooooooooo worried about being found out that you've become a coward.  Shame on you - what would Father say?  Or Mother?  Oglevy would tease you anyway, but what about your big brother Harcourt?  He'd be ashamed to call you family, that's what.

 

Dax heard the ominous singing.  The lyrics were horrifying, but he was determined, now more than ever, to prove his worth.

 

Despite the knot of fear that sat like a cold, hard lump in his belly, Dax moved himself in front of Destiny.  He furrowed his brow, and tried to appear fierce.  Though he thought he was doing a pitiful job of it, he actually looked like he was ready for a scrap - and he might actually win it.

 

"Stay behind me, Destiny... I'll defend you to the death."  He wasn't even aware he'd said such a thing, but he stood firm anyway.  He looked into the woods ahead, seeing nothing but never registering such.

 

"... everypony, get ready."  

 

He then noticed Rose, standing stalwart in the front.  She looked as ready as he was trying to look.  She's a unicorn; she must be more than ready, he mused.  He looked over to her and said, "Got any magic tricks up your hoof that could win this?"

[Nova12 53]

The ominous chanting echoed through the forest, backed by the sound of a hundred trees crashing to the ground.

I'll be strong. I will be strong... Rose said to herself, her horn glowing bright as a star.

"Got any magic tricks up your hoof that could win this?" a voice spoke from next to her. She turned to find none other than Dax, looking at her with a determined glint in his emerald green eyes.

Rose smiled. "Maybe." she replied.

But her smile faded soon enough. Maybe? Maybe? More like not at all. The attack spell she had prepared was enough to take down a small dragon, but whatever was coming through those trees looked like it ate dragons for breakfast. Rose had no idea what to do with a creature so enormous.

No! Don't just give up! A little voice in her head urged her on. Come on, they're all counting on you! Rose glanced in front of her, then behind, her head darting between the fighters and the defenders. There was Destiny, Spellbind, Blaze, River, Pat, Serenity, and Dax. Rose looked at the green and black stallion, his eyes still focused intently on her, waiting for more of an answer. From the first day she met him, she'd been intrigued by Dax. Something told her there was more to him than met the eye, and she was determined to find out what. But beyond that, on a deeper level, she felt a sort of kinship with him. Though they were different ponies, he shared her timid shyness, and her determination to stay strong to defend her kind.

Another thump shook the forest, followed by the dreadful singing. Rose glanced back to the inner ring of ponies, at the ones not fortunate enough to be able to fight. Even Destiny, the leader of the team, had a look of absolute terror in her eyes as she gazed into the forest.

Protect them Rose, protect them like family. Protect them as if you had enough strength to fight, and maybe they'll believe you do. Her gaze hardened as she faced forwards. For the first time, fear no longer pounded in her head, and she instead began to think clearly.

That attack spell won't do anything, so I'll have to go for something else. I can't stun the thing, because it might crash down on top of us. I could freeze it, but I'm not experienced at that kind of spell, and probably couldn't stop it for more than a few seconds. Can't attack it, can't stun it, can't freeze it... maybe I could use the forest... yes! I'll see if I can control the plants, and use vines to tie it down! But... no, it's way to big. However, if I could whip up a spell powerful enough to wind the trees around it... that might just stop it long enough for someone else to attack! Or maybe, for me to attack...

Rose, with newfound confidence, began to channel her magic through her horn. She wavered for a second, but gazed at the ponies around her. Protect them Rose, protect them like family. Protect them as if you had enough strength to fight, and maybe you'll find the strength.

She was certain now, with no doubt in her mind. She would protect her team, or die trying. With the powerful forest spell ready to strike, she turned to Dax and gave an answer to his question.

Without even thinking, she smiled.

"But you'll see soon enough."

Edited August 10, 2015 by Nova12

[Randimaxis 8,652]

THUMP!

 

This time, a tree fell right in front of them.  Behind it was a shadow as big as a house.  The shadow grunted once, and a stench unlike anything ever known rolled past the group, making their eyes water in protest.  Then the shadow took a step forward...

 

Out of the woods came an ogre... but not just any run-of-the-mill ogre, oh no... it had to be one of the biggest, meanest, nastiest-looking ogres ever to come out of the Everfree Forest!

 

It had a sloping forehead that was drenched with sweat.  Its shoulders were huge, and its arms were rippling with muscles bigger than a pony's body.  It seemed to have no visible neck, but that may have been from its bulging jowls and triple chin.  Its torso was thicker than an apple barrel, and its stomach was huge, spilling over its crude belt and jiggling with fat.  It had tree-trunk sized legs, and feet that had apparently never seen a washtub... possibly because they were bigger than a washtub.  In its meaty left hand, there was an enormous axe, razor-sharp and wholly deadly.  Its face was the most gruesome thing about it, as it had two jutting tusks sticking out, and two tiny, beady little eyes ensconced behind a bulbous nose.  All this was covered with hairy warts, and its greenish skin seemed to be laced with veins of blue.

 

All in all, it was a truly terrifying  sight to behold.

 

It stopped, sniffed the air a couple of times, and then looked directly at the group of ponies.

 

In a moment, it was sure to have them for lunch!

[Pat.Rio.T. 305]

Pat's hope that whatever was tearing through trees and coming towards them, might be friendly, was crushed when it started singing it's song. He pulled out his staff and held it at the ready, in his mouth. River was becoming terrified to the point of tears, but she tried to hold it in, so as not to distract Pat. She knew that her crying would get to him, and she wanted him to concentrate on staying alive.

Then, an ogre stepped out from between the trees, and looked directly at them. Pat now began to wonder if this was a time to activate his suit, but he did not want to do that unless it was absolutely necessary. He decided to hope that the combined effort of the ponies would be enough to fend off the beast. 

He stood still in the line and waited for the ogre to make a move, meanwhile wondering if one of the other ponies in the group would make a move first. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he thought of how disastrous it could be. He knew he wasn't the leader; he knew he hardly was a leader, but he figured he ought to say something. At least it was something his hero would do.

 

"Everypony, please, fight as a group; not by yourself."

 

He said in a soft voice. He hoped he wouldn't become hypocritical.

[Love Doctor Blaze 536]

Blaze was very surprised by the huge orge that emerged from the woods. What in the world is that thing!? Thought Blaze. He was hoping that the beast wasn't evil, he hoped that it was just a neutral beast, that if remained unprovoked will not attack. But that how ever was not the case, the beast began singing a song about eating them.

 

Blaze sighed, and drew his blade. He took on a combat stance. "Alright everypony listen up!" Said Blaze trying to sound confident and brave. "Try to confuse this beast! It might be big, but it looks very stupid, try to run, and juke while someone backstabs the thing or something along the lines of that" said Blaze. He sighed. Looks like i might add a giant orge to my list of killed creatures Said Blaze with a frown crossing his features. Seeing that nopony dared to make a move, Blaze decided to do the first thing. He ran up to a bush, and set his blade on fire. He cutted the bush, so that it caught fire and picked it up. Wit hthe burning bush in hand blaze went airborne, and threw the burning bush right in the head of the assasulter. "I got it distracted! Do something lads!" Shouted Blaze while the beast chased him

[Nova12 53]

Midnight Rose gaped in shock as the ogre began to pursue Blaze. That's one way to get its attention... She thought. He has got to be the bravest pony I've ever met. Or maybe the dumbest. It wasn't likely though, as the distraction seemed to be a carefully calculated move. For the short amount of time that the ogre chased Blaze, any other member of the team was perfectly able to deliver an attack. But... no one did.

Midnight Rose began to sweat. That creature will only be distracted for so long... Even as she thought the words, the huge ogre began to lose interest in the galloping stallion, and instead turned towards the team.

No! Not now! If anyone tries to attack, they'll be eaten on the spot!  The giant lumbered towards them with a hideous grin on its face.

Come on! Thought Rose. Somepony do something! Her eyes darted between the fighters, silently pleading for one to attack. Her gaze fell on Pat, staring up at the ogre. What was it that he had said earlier? "Everypony, please, fight as a group, not by yourself."

Fight as a group... Wheels began to turn in Rose's head, her horn glowed brighter, and she made a decision. I will fight.

Without stopping to think twice, without even hesitating, Rose made a move. She unleashed her spell, and the forest listened.

Suddenly, the trees around the enormous ogre seemed to come to life. They twisted and grew, outstretching their branches towards the huge beast. At first, the ogre payed no notice, snapping through thick branches like twigs, but more and more trees grew taller and further, twisting their trunks and weaving their branches, entwining around the ogre like a net.

Two huge, thick trunks tied down his arms, and dozens of saplings wound around his feet. The moving branches kept coming, grasping for the beast like beckoning arms, shooting out from the forest and tying around him like rope. After just a few seconds, the ogre was completely trapped.

The glow around Rose's horn faded, and she slumped to the ground. She felt as if ever drop of energy had just drained out of her. It was such a steep fall from the exhilarating feeling that she got when she was one with the forest, she couldn't find the strength to stand.

But her work was done. The ogre was trapped now, roaring and drooling at the minuscule ponies. But her ropes wouldn't hold for long. Even now the branches creaked and trunks snapped, one of the ogre's arms nearly out. It would take a lot of strength to break free, but she wouldn't put anything past a beast of that size.

Someone readied their weapon. Rose couldn't tell who. She wanted to call out, to warn them, tell them that they had to act quick. Right now, the ogre was vulnerable, and could be killed in a single strike. But once it was free, there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Come on Rose, stand up! Her muscles straining to lift her, the young mare got to her feet. Her energy was returning, but not her magic. Well, that's that. Guess I'm useless. The ogre was nearly out now, and someone had to act quick.

Looks like we'll all get eaten unless- Rose was torn from her thoughts by the surprise of another pony, charging towards the ogre, ready to attack.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Nova12

[Randimaxis 8,652]

The ogre stood there, regarding the ponies on the road with quiet interest, when suddenly - FOOMP!  Blaze set a nearby bush alight with his sword.  The ogre looked at Blaze, a dull look on its face as a single eyebrow lurched upward.  With all his might, Blaze cut the fiery bush loose and threw it at the ogre's head.  That got a reaction.

 

"OWWWWWW!" The ogre yelled, and began frantically pawing at its face with its huge hands, tearing away the embers.  During this fracas, it dropped its massive axe, the massive head landing on the beast's foot.  It yelled out again, and after clearing just enough to see again, it left a hand across its ugly mug while it ran at Blaze, sputtering unintelligibly as it did.  

 

About this time is when Rose's spell went off.  As trees began to respond, lashing out towards the lumbering beast, it slung its free hand from side to side, bashing its way through the vegetation like it was nothing more than a nuisance.  But as more flora began to respond to the powerful spell, the roots and vines began entwining the creature, until it was stuck fast in the magically charged growth.

 

As the group prepared for its final blow, the creature bellowed from within its floral prison:

 

"What's going on!?  Why are you doing this to me-he-he-he-heeee?"

 

The enormous, intimidating ogre was... crying?  

 

Yes, it was crying.  It bawled like a baby, and soon its face was a mess of sweat, snot and tears.  It lie there helpless, sobbing like a small child.  There was a look of sheer terror in its eyes, and it shook all over with fear.

[Dakcka 182]

Destiny could tell a lot of the team were about to run at this beast and probably cut its heart out and wear it as a necklace, but Destiny could see past his angry look. The crying sort of made it obvious, but she could see what kind of ogre he was. Destiny bit her lip and her legs shook a bit. If she didn't speak up this poor innocent creature could be killed or even worse get enraged. She didn't want to know she was the cause of the death of any of her team members. Destiny put her hoof in front of Dax, signalling him to stand still. She trotted through her team until she eventually reached the crying ogre.

 

"I'm Destiny Savvy, what's your name?" Destiny was too quiet to be heard and waited for an answer. She got none so she tried again. This time louder. "H-hey...stop crying! My ally here didn't mean anything of what he did! We thought you were an enemy! They thought you were an enemy. I saw past that though, Mr. Ogre. I saw a kind heart in you, one which couldn't be masked by your physical appearance any longer. I can tell you don't mean us any harm, neither do we mean you any. We're just passing through on our way to save somepony who is in danger. I really hope you're not angry with us." She put her hoof on the Ogre's hand. 

 

"Plus, Blazed here was just about to apologize! Isn't that right, Blazed?" She motioned to him.

[Randimaxis 8,652]

The ogre sniffled as Destiny spoke, tears running down his face in little streams.  

 

"I w-w-was out here in the forest just... *sniff* j-j-just chopping wood!  When I come out here, I g-g-g-get scared, so I sing the s-s-s-song my momma used to sing t-t-to me when I was little... *sniff* I was chopping wood for my sh-sh-shop..."

 

He blubbered a bit more, then looked toward the group.

 

"... when I smelled something besides the forest, I came to see what it was... then, I got hit in the face with FIRE!  I was trying to chase what done it down, and then the trees attacked me!  I don't wanna die!  I just wanna sell my stuff..."

 

His eyes rolled toward where he had been chopping at.  In the clearing, there was a cart loaded with tree trunks, and another one piled with all sorts of trinkets, doo-dads and gizmoes, barely held in by cords of rope.  The carts were gaily colored (though rather poorly painted), and one could see they were both tied to a large stump.

 

"I was gonna get enough wood to go to the next town, and set up a shop there.  I don't wanna hurt anyone... so could you please let me up?"

 

His tiny little black eyes looked at the group pleadingly.

[Love Doctor Blaze 536]

Blaze was EXTREMELY confused. His brain literally just gave up and left. Wait what!? The Orge is Crying!? The Orge is a good guy!? Didn't he just try to eat us a second ago!? Blaze had alot of questions in his  mind, but he didn't have the power to as any of them because of his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Destiny was talking with the orge, but he didn't really pay attention because of the sheer ridicilousness of the situation. He was only snapped out of it, by Destiny mentioning his name "I really hope you're not angry with us." She put her hoof on the Ogre's hand. "Plus, Blazed here was just about to apologize! Isn't that right, Blazed?" She motioned to him. Blaze looked at the orge. Guilt swelling up inside him. Suddenly the orge began to tell them about how he ended up here at the first time, and why he was singing the song. Blaze suddenlt became very guilty for throwing a burning bush in the eyes of an innocent creature, but he had a reason.

 

Blaze waled over to the orge "Terribly sorry about that good orge, for you know throwing fire in your face and stuff" Said Blaze with a sheepish smile, which turned into a serious one "But don't you understand that we also get a little defensive, when a giant orge that sings about eating ponies shows up?" Said Blaze

[Randimaxis 8,652]

The ogre gave Blazed a confused look.

 

"Eating ponies?  The song's about eating critters - you know, like squirrels, rabbits and snakes and stuff... ponies are too high in cholesterol."  He grinned at some unknown joke, but then continued on solemnly.  "But I guess I could see where you could think that.  I'm sorry I scared you all."

 

He looked around at the group, taking in each pony's face in turn as best as he could from his wooden prison.  He stopped shaking, and his tears ceased.  He gave a bit of a hopeful look as he began to accept that he wasn't about to be destroyed.

 

"My name's Unger - Ogre Unger.  I'm trying to make my own way in the world after my tribe threw me out..."  His face seemed to fall a bit at the mention of that, but he recovered quickly.  "... so I came out here to set up a curio shop in town.  Some of the ponies know me there, so they got the... uhm, the head pony in charge... to say it was okay.  Hey, tell you what - if you ponies help me get my carts to town, I'll call this whole thing even - and you can look through my wares before anyone else!  Maybe you could help spread the word about my shop, too!  Yeah - that could be good!  Plus, it would be good to have company; the forest gets kinda scary for me sometimes."  He gave a sheepish grin.

 

"So... uhm... can you let me go now?"

[Pat.Rio.T. 305]

@Nova12, 

 

Pat was also very surprised at the turn of events. It seemed certain that the ogre was hostile at first; at least they weren't in any danger. He hadn't had any dealings with ogres before, so he didn't know what to expect. But once the ogre finished explaining, it seemed pretty obvious that he meant them no harm. Pat turned to Rose,

 

"Let him up, please."

 

He asked of her. River, was relieved that they seemed to be in no danger, and she moved away from the group and up closer; however she did stay next to Pat just in case. Her eyes were still wet from tearing up.

 

"Hey, you okay?"

 

Pat asked River as he dried one of her eyes.

 

"Yeah... yeah I'm okay."

 

She replied as she dried the other one herself. Pat turned his attention back to the ogre. He wasn't sure how old he was. He was out on his own in the forest, making and running a business of his own, but he also seemed to act a bit childish. Maybe it was just the way ogres were; Pat had never met one. Both he and River enjoyed learning about new species.

 

"We're sorry, we attacked you. Perhaps we should introduce ourselves, I'm Patterson Tacitus, and this is my sister River Serene."

 

@Randimaxis,

[Randimaxis 8,652]

Dax felt a bit ashamed... no, more than a bit ashamed; he felt terrible.  he had been ready to bust the ogre's chops into pieces... and yet here he was, tears and all.  Dax slowly ambled to the rear of the group, not wanting to display his shame to the other ponies there.

 

Father would have been proud, he thought - which actually made him feel worse instead of better.

 

He glanced over at Destiny, then quickly dropped his eyes.  At least everypony's okay... and even the ogre isn't hurt too badly.  He looked at the ogre's burnt face, but even though Unger seemed to barely notice the char marks and soot, Dax still felt as bad as if he'd been the one who threw the fiery shrub.

 

His eyes roamed over the whole group: Blaze, Pat, River, Serenity, Spellbind, Rose... and of course Destiny.  He felt as if he had let them down, somehow.  He felt like he was prone to jumping to conclusions because of his family.  Mostly though, he felt like a grade-A heel.

 

Dax kept quiet, hoping that he wouldn't have to say or do anything for the rest of the day.  He hoped that the guilt would go away by tomorrow... but guilt and Dax were long time companions; it didn't seem likely.

[Nova12 53]

Midnight Rose's chest felt heavy as the ogre's tears splashed to the ground.

He wasn't a monster at all, and look what we did to him!

As he explained his story, she felt her heart melt. Rose had always loved the beasts of the forest, and he seemed to be one too. Just a lost little creature, like a squirrel or bird, falling victim to a crew of defensive ponies.

Poor beast, I hope we could a least repay him by helping him with his cart. Ugh, don't I just feel so terrible!

She felt an odd sort of kinship with the ogre, as he told them of his story. Thrown out of his tribe, trying to make his way in the world... why, he's just like me! And Midnight Rose knew more than anything how scary the world could be. And no less frightening when there strange ponies throwing burning shrubs in your face!

"Let him up, please." Spoke Pat. Rose was immediately shaken out of her thoughts as she realized that she still had the poor ogre trapped in her enchanted trees.

Well, there's one more thing to add to my list of things I'm horribly guilty about. "Oh yes, of course..." she muttered.

Her horn glowing, she performed the counterspell. It didn't take nearly as much energy as the first enchantment did, but, seeing as she was already exhausted, it tired her out nonetheless.

As Rose felt the trees sink back into place and the prickly branches unwind, so did the knot of guilt in her stomach. The ogre was obviously relieved as she undid her trap, and she felt the weight on her shoulders lighten at his big, smiling face.

Clearing her throat, she spoke up. "Hello there, mister Ogre, um... Unger, sir. My name is Midnight Rose, of the Ponyville Midnight line. This group of ponies here is the Exploration Team of Equestria and Beyond, and all of us really are very sorry about attacking you. And if there's anything we can do to make up for it, it would be our pleasure."

[Randimaxis 8,652]

Ogre Unger grinned as the trees and vines gave way, and stood up after they had retracted enough.  He rubbed his face, smearing the soot and leftover tears together, then he unceremoniously wiped his face on his sleeve.  He looked at each pony in turn, then a big, goofy grin rolled across his features, making the ogre very much less scary.

 

"Oh, much better!  Thank you for understanding!  I'm glad nobody got hurt... especially me!"

 

He laughed, which made his tummy quiver in all sorts of funny ways.  He went over and scooped up his axe, carefully holding the axehead, which most certainly meant he had no intention of swinging it at anything.  Reaching over his vast shoulder, he set the tool into a holster strapped to his back.  He then motioned to the group.

 

"Okay now!  Since we're all friends here, let's get my stuff and make our way to town!"

 

He lumbered over to the two carts, and carefully untied them from the stump.  He looked at the straps for a moment, then gave another grin.

 

"The lumber cart's going to be the heavy one - I can take that, if you ponies can take the other one.  Just be careful; it has all my stock on it!"

 

He easily pulled on the strap, and the massively piled lumber cart moved forward as if it had been filled with kittens instead of tree trunks.  He handed the other reins to Blaze, who was the closest.

 

"Here you go... but no fires, okay?"  He laughed heartily at his little joke, and began to pull the cart down the pathway.

 

"Okay!  I met Blaze, and Destiny, and Pat, and River, and Miss Rose... who are the others?"  

 

He gave a curious, yet interested look to the other three members of the group as he walked.

[ThornFlare 14]

Serenity had stood dumbfounded at this whole conversation, and had put away his sword much to his own relief. He stood there continuing to listen to the ogre talk. He was caught of guard when Unger asked the remaining members of the group to introduce themselves.

 

Oh snap, that means me. Come on, you can do this... He slowly walked forward to speak.

 

"Um, hello, my name is Serenity. Nice to meet you." He has been shaking a bit the whole time. He had never met an ogre up close, and never heard of a friendly one. "I hope we can get along" He smiled as he backed up near Dax again. As he walked he thought about some of the things in his bag that he could tinker with. Just messing around with an object, trying to improve it calmed him down. He started flying low as he rummaged through his bags, and found an amulet that he was going to give to a friend for her birthday, which was in a few months. It has several runes engraved on it, older runes that would help her. He put it back, hoping nopony had noticed it. He saw some materials he could use later. He strapped his bags back on, landed, and kept walking.

[Randimaxis 8,652]

"Um, hello, my name is Serenity. Nice to meet you. I hope we can get along."

 

Unger smiled broadly, revealing lots of pointy teeth including two large & jutting lower canines.

 

"Good to meet you too, Serenity!  I hope we can get along, too - I hope we can all get along!  It's always good to have friends, right?  The mayor is my friend, too; he needed my help, and then I helped him, and he told me I could build my shop.  That's what friends do, right?  They help each other out!"

 

He reached back into the cart of trees he was pulling along and grabbed a jutting branch.  With no pretense whatsoever, he began chewing on it noisily, crunching and swallowing each bite as if it was no more than a carrot to him.

 

"And who are you, little pony?"  He looked toward the back of the group at Dax, a quizzical look on his face.  The black and green stallion at the rear of the group nervously looked around at the others, then gave a sigh of resignation.

 

"... I'm, uhm... I'm Dax... hiya... sorry about earlier.  We... we were scared..."

 

The ogre nodded, and gave a slight chuckle.  "Ducks is a funny name, but so is Ogre Unger, I guess!  Nice to meet you, Ducks!"

 

"... it's Dax..." 

 

He tried to correct the lumbering fellow, but his voice barely registered over a squeak.  Unheard by Unger, Dax simply faded back into the rear of the group.  The ogre just smiled, and looked around at the rest of the group.

 

"Is that all of you?"  

[Dakcka 182]

Destiny lead the group ahead, she was extremely embarrassed because of that whole pee incident. She was completely silent until they reached a large cliff, the cliff was broken at the edges, it was an easy matter for the group to reach the bottom, but the rubble from the cliff was going to be a problem. A few boulders and large chunks of dirt, too large for a pegasus to fly a unicorn over. That ruined Destiny's first plan. She definitely could not lift that with her magic, second plan shot down. She looked behind her, off into the distance to the two paths leading different ways. 

 

Maybe if I take Dax back with me to get the ogre...he could probably help...I'm useless though, I would be more useful doing something like trying to push the boulder, because that matches me; useless. 

 

"Listen, everypony partner up. We're going to split up. Dax and I will go back to get the Ogre, seeing as he might be useful in this situation" Destiny looked at the ground before running off, she knew that those two paths probably each had danger on them, but she knew the team even when separated can be strong. 

[Randimaxis 8,652]

Dax had been quiet for some time.  

 

He'd been just trying to blend into the back of the group, keeping to himself after the ogre incident out of sheer embarrassment.  He had felt himself trying to be a hero during the whole thing, full of bravado for somepony besides himself and trying to actually be of use... then it turned out to be a false alarm, and he felt his confidence deflate like a whoopie cushion with a leak.

 

He felt bad for the ogre; he figured that reaction was probably commonplace for a being who looked like him.  The fact that he had jumped to the same conclusion really bothered him, and he really wouldn't have blamed him if he HAD attacked them; Dax felt even worse that he'd been forgiven for it.

 

When Destiny spoke up about going back for help, he was kind of surprised - he figured he'd made such a fool of a foal of himself, he would probably be better off just keeping his mouth shut from here on out.  He was actually taken quite by surprise that she'd even mentioned him.

 

He looked at Destiny and slowly, shyly nodded.  He was glad that he could, at the very least, do something useful - even if it was just being an extra set of hooves on the journey - and this would certainly put him away from the group for a bit.  Maybe they'd even forget about his stupidity.

 

I just hope Destiny doesn't chew me out; but if it IS coming, I'm glad she isn't going to do so in front of everypony else.

 

He followed along without question, trying to look helpful... waiting for the other horseshoe to drop.

[Pat.Rio.T. 305]

'Splitting up? I hope not for too long'

 

Pat was wondering in his head.

 

"Um, okay... well, how many are we?"

 

Pat began to count everyone left in the group, minus Destiny and Dax, realizing that he hadn't paid attention to the number at the start. He counted himself, River, Blaze, Spellbind, Rose, and Serenity. Sooo three each way? Destiny and Dax were getting ready to start back to get the ogre. Now that Destiny would be gone, somepony should probably take charge temporarily. But Pat already knew that none of the others would really be inclined to, excepting maybe, Blaze. 

 

"Well, we can split into three each way. So, who wants to come with River and I?"

 

He asked openly. He figured it would be best for Blaze to go with the other group, but he wasn't about to tell anypony what they should do. River looked down both paths, neither one of them looked any more inviting than the path they were already on. At the moment, the only other thing they could do in the meantime was just to wait, but was splitting up like this the best idea?

[Love Doctor Blaze 536]

Blaze did not like the idea of splitting up. What if they encountered something dangerous? But it was not his choice to make. He looked at the other ponies. He heard Pat ask if anyone wanted to join him and River. Blaze thought about his next move carefully. He was about to give a speech, but decided against it. He wil save his speech for a time were they'll need it more. But suddenly Blaze remembered...They have no leader! He shook his head. They got an objective, and he'll be damned if he didn't complete what he was ordered to do.

 

I need to find myself somepony to partner up i should probably go with spellbind and Rose, they have a really low selfasteem Thought Blaze. He then approached them "Hey Spelly, Rose. Wanna partner up?" Asked Blaze with a friendly smile. He then looked at Pat. "We should probably get a temporaly leader, wanna share that role?" Asked Blaze "If that's ok with everypony else" Added Blaze. Hoping that he didn't offend anyone. It got awfully quite when no one answered, so Blaze was a bit nervous.

[Dakcka 182]

Destiny went from sprinting to stopping dead in her tracks, she was thinking about what they would even say to the Ogre to get him to come along. She wouldn't want to sound too demanding, nor would she want to sound too laid back. She didn't know what to do, and figured she couldn't get Dax to do it cause he was too afraid to talk every time the Ogre spoke to him. She really only brought Dax because....she didn't know why she brought Dax. She knew it was too early to pick favorites and didn't want to think about this anymore, so she turned to Dax and said;

 

"Dax, do you know where we are?" Realizing in her thoughts, she had gotten herself lost. Destiny really didn't know what to do at this point, she already looked like a terrible leader and her skill that she lied about to the group was falling apart too; problem solving. She knew she wasn't making the best leader for their group, and that eventually somepony might actually realize her talent isn't what she says it is...but something much less helpful. 

 

"Ahem....nevermind...I think I've got it." She continued to trot in what she figured was the right direction. She had no clue where she was going, and really felt bad for dragging Dax down with her. They eventually reached a cave, a snoring could be heard inside. 

 

"Whelp, this must be it.....he must be asleep....let's go in...." She trotted into the cave which looked kind of promising. Truth is, maybe she should have chosen somebody else to get lost with because of what awaits them.

[Randimaxis 8,652]

It's amazing, Dax pondered, that she still hasn't cracked yet.  So confident, she just waltzes right into the cave.  Didn't take her long to find it, either.  She might have seemed lost for a moment, but I'm fairly certain she just did that to make me feel better.

 

He wasn't certain that she had ALL the answers, but she still seemed more confident than he was - which, to him, was a relief.  He had followed her through the Everfree because she was in charge, and they were all still alive.  Granted, they may have been in a better situation, but that's part of the idea about adventuring, isn't it?  

 

"Uhm, Destiny?"

 

He watched her trot right into the cave... and followed right behind her.  After all, he'd followed her this far; hopefully, things would work out, one way or another, with the two of them being safe and sound.  

 

"I... "  He sighed, then stood up a little straighter.  "Destiny, I wanna take a moment to tell you that I'm... I'm rooting for you.  I've been behind you all the way ever since we first met, and that hasn't changed.  I have faith in your abilities to lead, and you're doing fairly well.  It doesn't matter that the group got stuck - we're here finding a way to UNstick ourselves, right?  That's FAR better than sitting around waiting for things to get better on their own, right?  So, being proactive in this measure is what a leader should be doing... and we ARE here, aren't we?"

 

He smiled.  "I just wanted you to know that; I might have kinda... I dunno... overstepped my boundaries when I jumped between you and Unger earlier, but I was... well, I was just wanting to keep you safe.  You're the one who put all this together; you're the one who cared enough about going to find these lost ponies; you're the one who stood up and said something.  I have confidence in you, Destiny... or I wouldn't have followed you in the first place."

[ThornFlare 14]

Serenity stood there for a second. So they were splitting up? He saw Blaze approach Rose and Spellbind, so that ruled any of them out.

 

"So, who wants to come with River and I?" He heard that and looked over. He hadn't really talked to Pat or River at all, but they were the only ponies left to partner with. He began walking slowly towards them.

 

"Um..hello. I guess with the others making a group, that means I'm with you two." He half smiled, hoping he wasn't coming off as rude. He had never been good with introductions. He looked at the paths back into the forest. Since they were splitting up, that meant there size and combat power would be reduced drastically, so hopefully they didn't run into any trouble. Just in case though, he pulled his sword, still in its scabbard, out of his bag and slung it over his back. That way, he could easily pull it out since it faced his mouth. He took the time to put on a sort of glove, that had a strap on it for the short-sword to fit into. That way his mouth would be free to talk and he could swing with his hoof. with everything assembled, he looked at Pat and River.

 

"I'm all ready. Well, as ready as I can be." He did another sort of half grin, although it was more genuine this time. He didn't want to sound bossy by saying to go, so he sat and waited for Pat and River to respond.