Cutie Mark Crusader Treasure Hunters, GO!

[Lux]

Zecora raised an eyebrow seeing the young ponies who seemed very eager to leave. It wasn't that the zebra was offended by this nor did she think that she had done something to make their visit to her hut a rushed one. The three Cutie Mark Crusaders were in need of help to rid themselves of their encounter with poison joke, and that was first of Zecora's mind to do. Her place was just a stop over from wherever the group came from or where they were going. Still the zebra couldn't help like the group wasn't being totally honest about their intentions.

Meanwhile Scootaloo received a soggy hug to compliment her already soggy but now not silly looking and sounding self from Apple Bloom. The orange filly felt like things weren't going as smoothly as she expected them to be when finding treasure. Then again did Daring Do ever have things go smoothly in the novels Scootaloo devoured, ones packed with traps and deception, and enemies of all sorts willing to separate the mare from her treasure and perhaps end her questing once and for all. Those adventures were way worse than getting caught in a patch of poison joke, but nonetheless it was an experience the filly hoped not to repeat any time soon nor did she expect her friends to be. Their conditions may not have been severe compared to her transformation into... whatever she became but they still were bad.

"Thanks Apple Bloom. I'm glad to be back, and i'm glad to see you and Sweetie Belle are ok too. Let's try not to get into any more of those blue flowers again, ok?"

Seeing Sunrise Beach literally pushing Sweetie Belle out the door, Scootaloo felt like their time in Zecora's hut was at an end. But she, like Apple Bloom, would be remiss not to thank the zebra.

"Thanks Zecora for changing me back," she said giving the zebra a hug.

"You are welcome Scootaloo. And Apple Bloom yes in the future for potions lessons I will see you. And Sweetie Belle it would be a mistake not to tell that I am glad that you also are doing well. I hope your journey is safe and well and that you may share with your friends more stories to tell. Although the time or day I cannot tell when, perhaps soon we will meet again. Remember though the words to you that once spoke. Beware for that blue flower you encountered is no joke."

Zecora was about to leave it at that when something came to mind.

"One more thing I must say before you all are on your way. if it is treasure or adventure you seek, heed the words that now i speak. The forest you are in will only get stranger and if you are not careful you will be in danger. Let the forest path be your guide and if you see a creature be sure to run and hide. No treasure you seek is worth your harm, so keep your wits about you for any signs of alarm."

[Corsair]

Now that all three of the Crusaders were cured, Snips and Snails shared a look. The pair began backing ever so slowly out the door of Zecora's hut. The zebra hadn't yet questioned Snips' story about why they were out here in the Everfree, and he wanted to get out before she started asking. There was no surer way to ruin an adventure than to have an adult find out what you were doing...

"Well! Thank you for your help. Miss Zecora!" Snips said in a too loud voice. "But we really ought to get going. A lot of work to do, you know!"

​
"YAY! Now we can go back to the map!"

Snips' smile froze on his face. Deliberately not looking at Sweetie Belle, he said quietly through gritted teeth "Ixnay on the apmay!" Thankfully, Sunrise then jumped in, trying to rebuild their cover. He shot the unicorn filly a grateful look before returning to smiling at the zebra. Then, Applebloom went and ruined it again.

​
"Snips n'Snails, y'all ready to adventure? Ah bet y'all are as fit as a fiddle not bein' hit by the poison joke!"

Snips felt one of his eyes twitching. "Adventure? What adventure? Just working on a school project!" came from behind his forced smile. He looked back at Zecora, who didn't appear to believe a word of this. Snips deflated, waiting for the zebra to pass judgement. Her next words then came as a shock. She... was letting them go? All they got was a warning to be more careful?? A smile sprung back to his face, but along with it can a sense of urgency. "ThanksMissZecorawe'llbecareful!" tumbled out of his mouth as he turned and started pushing Snails out of the door. He didn't want to give the zebra time to change her mind!

​

[Lux]

"Ok will do," she said to Zecora before heading outside the hut and back into the wilderness around her. She was glad to be cured and being not far from Zecora's hut when she was infected by Poison Joke. But she needed to make sure that she and the rest of her treasure hunting party was safe as there may come a time when hiking back to safety wouldn't be an option.

"Let me see the map," Scootaloo said quietly to not arouse the Zebra's attention as she glanced over at the wrinkled and slightly ripped map. She could see where they started and where they were going, but the question was where they were now! The map had no image of Zecora's hut, and everything was a blur since she became... whatever that thing was.

"So... where do we go from here everypony? Zecora said to stay on the forest road, but I can't see it here on this map."

Zecora watched as one by one the ponies filed out of her hut, eager to start their adventure once again. She knew they were hiding something from her, some inner secret among the young ponies, but it didn't appear the group was up to no good. The zebra's concern was more for their safety. After all three of the ponies already encountered Poison Joke and there were far more dangerous things in the Everfree Forest that they may encounter. She thought about perhaps insisting on joining the group, acting as a shadow and guide to them, but she didn't want to ruin their fun.

She waved goodbye as the group left, spotting Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle with a map, and the others covertly talking about treasure. Returning back inside she was about ready to drain the potion bath when a thought came to mind.

"I should bottle this potion just in case. But what if other dangers in their path they my face?"

Weighing the options, the zebra came up with a plan.

"Perhaps I should go for a little walk, only to see but mot to stalk. If they face a challenge as they pass by, then I will allow them to give it a try. But if they are hurt or in danger, then I will not ignore their pleas like some stranger."

Grabbing her cloak and several useful potions and items she would take with her on a journey through the forest, Zecora waited as the ponies disappeared from view before following behind at a safe distance.

So Zecora is going to be here in this RP, just not entirely. If the Treasure Hunters need her aid like they're in mortal peril she will come to their aid. Otherwise she's just following them at a safe distance to not be discovered.

[brianblackberry]

Sunrise beach stopped for a moment as the zebra uttered her warning; it was obvious even to a foal that their stripped benefactor had seen through their pathetically lame ruse. Why was she letting them go then? Most adults were more than justified in their minds to interfere and would force them to head back home before showing up the next day to tell their parents and guardians what had happened. Maybe because she had no real authority? That never stopped adults before. Maybe it was a zebra thing; Sunrise knew almost nothing about zebra culture, perhaps they were far more adventurous and this sort of escapade was normal for young zebra to do. "Well, like, we'll be careful looking for like, the leaves and junk, we swear! Kaythxbye!" Without further comment she help push the other ponies out the door, they needed to be away before Zecora had a change of heart!

Sunrise Beach made sure there was some distance between the group and Zecora's hut before saying anything more, "phew! Like, that was so close, how bogus would it been if Zecora found out what we were, like, really doing?" At least the Poison Joke problem was solved, and they all now knew what the pranking weed looked like. Of course it could have been even worse if Snips didn't go along with the whole ruse, including the Hypno Pig part. She wanted to thank him for it, mainly because he did put up with being tied up and all despite how clearly uncomfortable to stocky turquoise colt was with the whole situation. "Like, by the way Snips, like, thanks for being so radical about the whole Hypno Pig deal, I know how bogus that was that you were like, all tied up and stuff." She gave Snails a appreciative hug and even a kiss on the cheek, colts like being kissed by fillies, right?

Scootaloo mentioned they needed to find a road in the forest, unfortunately Sunrise wasn't really any good at reading the map and had to rely on her more literate companions, she wasn't without ideas though. "Well, like there is a path here from Zecora's place, right? Maybe it like connects to a bigger path or road, I mean it likes has to go somewhere doesn't it?" That made a lot of sense, at least to Sunrise. Then it dawned on her, Applebloom! The farmer filly has been to Zecora's before, she knows this part of the forest, at least a little bit, "say Applebloom, you like, know where this path leads, any connecting paths or roads, I bet like one of the crossings matches the map!"

[Bramble Rose]

Sweetie Belle took a bit to get her spirit back.  The Princess Tea Party had been a flop, and this wasn't turning out much better.  She'd hoped a great adventure would have everypony all excited and everything, but instead, they'd just ended up looking kinda silly.  They hadn't really found anything neat yet.  But all the same, she supposed that was just part of the journey.  There was still treasure to be found, and that would make everything better!  After all, this map had been hidden amongst Rarity's things, and Rarity loved fancy and expensive stuff, so it must be really, really special.  Sweetie Belle was determined to make this the best treasure hunt ever, and maybe, just maybe, the treasure they'd find would be their cutie marks!

After they got a short ways from Zecora's hut, Sweetie Belle pulled out the two halves of the map and laid them out.  "All right, everypony gather around!  That was a bit of a setback, but we're on the right side of the poison joke, now!  We know where this high rock is ... and the path says that the next landmark is after the high rock.  Then it has this little rhyme..."

She squinted at the fancy writing and carefully read out loud,

Fifty fix timef four, and another feventeen ftridef,
then turn to the left, and look to the fkief,
the mountain'f peak above if now your guide,
but watch your hoovef if you want to ftay dry.

She scratched her head.  "That doesn't make sense.  Oh, wait!  Riiiight, the secret code!  f's are s's!"

Sisty six times sour, and another seventeen strides,
then turn to the lest, and look to the skies,
the mountain's peak above is now your guide,
but watch your hooves is you want to stay dry.

Sweetie Belle rubbed thoughtfully at her chin ... "OK, I think it's a riddle... can anypony think of a story about six sisters that sometimes ... hrm... I think 'times sour' means when times get sour, like when they fight.  Six ponies who are like sisters that fight sometimes?"  She gasped softly, and her eyes widened as she turned to the others.  "Rarity and her five friends!  Do you think this is a PROPHECY?"
 

​

[brianblackberry]

Sunrise Beach was more than happy to put the whole poison joke experience behind them and focus once again on finding this certainly awesome treasure hidden away from all but the most dedicated fortune seekers.  Seekers like her and her friends!

Fortunately Sweetie Belle was ahead of the curve, pulling out the two pieces of their map.  It was an old map, faded, worn, and yellowed, but still readable. It was difficult to figure out where things were on the map and its pegasus eye's view, once you were actually inside the forest and couldn't see all the landmarks.  And all the instructions were in rhyming poems, just like in the adventure magazines! Sunrise wondered if there was some special class for how to write clues and instructions in the "right way".

Sweetie swore it was in some kind of code, and as Sunrise looked at the expressive cursive writing, it was indeed difficult to interpret. She looked closely, tracing every letter in her mind slowly so she could understand, just like she was taught in remedial reading and writing class. "Like, wait a minute, like I don't think the f's are all s's!" Sunrise lit her horn and the two halves of the map lifted up together in a glowing pink aura. "Like before, some are s's, and some are f's.  Look here!"  Sunrise suddenly leaped back and forth between her fore and hind legs in excitement, "like I totally got it, I know what it totally like, says!"

Fifty six times four, and another seventeen strides,
then turn to the left, and look to the skies,
the mountain's peak above is now your guide,
but watch your hooves if you want to stay dry

"So, like, all we have to do is get to the high rock and take fifty six time four plus seventeen strides!" Sunrise magically lifted a stick and started writing numbers in the dirt, "so ummmm…. six times four is like, twenty four, move the two over the five here… Five times four is twenty, add two so it is twenty two… two, two, four, 224! It's 224! Well, like 224 plus seventeen…. So 241? I think? Uhh egghead stuff is hard! So, now where is this big rock and junk?"

[SteelEagle]

 

Apple Bloom loved adventure. More than adventure, she loved her friends. More than her friends, she loved her friends during an adventure and if there was anything that could surpass that love, it was a sense of wonderment at the silliness that had already transpired. Why, she had been just the silliest thing since forever all on account of a small little flower! Kinda made sense why Applejack was so wary of the Everfree, but Apple Bloom would just say that they were fine now and that was proof enough that it was more than okay to allow them to do whatever the hay they wanted in there! If Applejack could just see her little sister now, no doubt she'd be super supportive of further, more dangerous expeditions into the heart of Equestria's darkness.

Speaking of darkness, that was a bit of a mental fog she had to pull herself out of as they tried to solve the riddle. Like most things, ponies couldn't make something easy. Riddles like this though were almost deceptively easy. Sweetie Belle started strong and Apple Bloom's excitement grew at the possibility of PROPHECY, but Sunrise had to poopoo that idea with the harsh reality that whatever treasure they were going for likely wasn't foretold by prophecy but rather some weird adventurer or thief. Okay, so what was this next? Apple Bloom tapped her chin in thought as she stared above, the gears in her mind turning at a razor clip of pandemonium.

“Well, we know where the high rock is. After that, take those strides, look ta tha skies- but watc'out fer our hooves so they don't get wet? Huh...Ah know mah way 'round tha Everfree somethin' fierce. Hooves wet- a river? Stream? Lake? Pond? Marsh? Swamp? Wha...wait, Ah got it! That must be meanin' Froggy Bottom! Why, Froggy Bottom Bog's tha only area Ah know of anywhere nearby that has mountains and a clear line of sight ta any sorta good elevation from water! Most other places are just small clearings away from mountains or are just these small lil' streams and rivers, also no mountain. That's tha only place Ah can think of that fits the bill, anyway!” Apple Bloom got up and bounced in excitement. Why, she knew that area better than she knew her own orchard as a filly. She spent entirely too much time catching frogs there as a filly, something Applejack was very displeased about. But heck, if it meant she found treasure than all that frog catchin' would be worth it!

[Lux]

The group was finally on their way to finding treasure and maybe for some getting their cutie marks! 

 

"phew! Like, that was so close, how bogus would it been if Zecora found out what we were, like, really doing?" 

 

"I don't think she knows. She's probably busy with her plants and potions and other zebra things she does," Scootaloo said with a shrug to Sunrise Beach, "You're right though, if there was a path leading to Zecora's hut then there should be more paths to finding treasure." 

 

Scootaloo gathered with her friends and fellow classmates as they consulted the map. It was a good idea as not going by the map led to only disaster! The high rock was still an issue to find, but there was also this rhyme that spelled out where the group had to head next. The mountain part was easy to decipher, but the math was hard. Luckily there were ponies with Scootaloo that were better at that than she was otherwise the group would just be right back to getting lost. 

 

"So we need to walk about 241 steps then look West for a mountain peak. You're right Apple Bloom, it does sound like something big like a swamp or a lake. Only one thing though, how big does the map consider a step? I don't think this was meant for ponies like us to follow, so maybe we're talking adult steps. So hopefully our steps get us to where we need to be. We should all count out loud our steps just to be sure and try to walk together so we don't get lost again." 

[Corsair]

Once out of sight of Zecora's hut, Snips dropped to his haunches, breathing hard.  This treasure hunting thing was exhausting!  He glanced over his shoulder at the fillies, and scooted a bit further away from Applebloom.  You know, just in case she had any more... weird visions... or more rope.  "I can't believe Zecora let us go!" he panted to Snails.

 

Snails looked back toward the zebra's dwelling, a thoughtful look on his face.  Though, for him, a thoughtful look involved squinting his eyes his his tongue stuck out of the side of his mouth.  Before he could answer his friend though, Sunrise came up to them.  She thanked Snips for putting up with the 'hypno pig' thing, and Snails couldn't help but giggle a little at his friend's discomfiture.  But then, the filly gave Snips a hug, and kissed him!

 

Snips' eyes went wide at that.  The colt managed to stammer out, "I..it was nothing..." with a fake grin plastered  on his muzzle.  When Sunrise turned away to look at the map again, he locked eyes with Snails.  "Snails!  Help!" he hissed, the grin crumbling around the edges. 

 

Snails rushed to Snips' side, and grabbed his foreleg.  He began running his hoof in a pattern on the upper part of the leg.  "Circle, circle, dot, dot, now you've got your cootie shot!" he chanted urgently. 

 

Snips let out a relieved breath, and surreptitiously began wiping kiss off his cheek.  "Thanks pal," he whispered aside to friend.

 

Snails nodded, then pretended to pay attention what the others were discussing.  "Why'd she do that?" he asked in the same tone Snips had used. 

 

Shaking his head, Snips answered.  "Fillies are weird!"

 

The pair then focused on the discussion of the map.  The girls were planning out their next move, and Applebloom appeared to know where they needed to start next.  Something they said made Snails' ears perk up.  Foggy Bottom Bog...  Hmm...  Where had he heard that before?  He could swear somepony had told him something about that place, but he couldn't think of it at the moment.

 

Snips, on the other hoof, was just worried about a repeat of their last attempt at following this map.  "Just...  don't step into any more blue flowers when yer counting, OK??"

[Bramble Rose]

Sweetie Belle was disappointed that the sudden realization about prophecy turned out to be bogus ... but at least they knew what it meant, now!  She peered at the numbers that Sunrise was scratching into the dirt, her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth as she concentrated on the numbers... "I think you're right, Sunrise!  Wow, you're real smart!  If you didn't already have your cutie mark, I'd think you were meant for a treasure map following cutie mark!"

She listened to all the other advice and suggestions as to what it could mean.  "Well," she said, "I guess we'll find out!  I hope it's not ...-"  She paused.  She hoped it wasn't Froggy Bottom. She remembered the story Rarity had mentioned about their big sisters getting chased out of there by a Hydra.  But she'd also resolved to be braver, today!  "I hope it's something exciting!" she changed what she was going to say.  "But first we gotta get back to that rock!"

She hurried back down the path towards the patch of poison joke, though she took a nice, long route around it to get to the rock.  She could see the giggling and cackling spiders off in some distant trees, still loving the laugh they'd gotten off of the little colts and fillies.  She pulled down on the bottom of her eye and stuck her tongue out at them, then continued on her way.

The 'bit rock' was more of a spire, nearly twenty five feet tall and with all sorts of tricky little hoofholds, but it was no problem for someponies as practiced in many types of climbing as the Cutie Mark Crusaders!  She dropped her packs to the ground, pulled out their grappling gear, and hooked herself together with her two friends, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.  "Everyone wait here, we'll be right back!" she chirped.  "This is too dangerous a climb for somepony who's not experienced and using the proper safety gear!"  Then she put on her climbing helmet and assaulted the small, sloping cliff.

​

[brianblackberry]

Sunrise Beach had never been to Froggy Bottom -only hearing of swamp in stories heard around Ponyville.  It sounded rather dangerous, which meant it was going to be AWESOME!  Besides, there hadn’t been anything they couldn’t handle so far.  In fact, the legend of the Everfree was starting to feel a bit overblown now.  They got through the pranking giant spiders and the poison joke without much effort, thanks to their smarts and guile - not even Zecora had figured out their cunning plans.  This was going to be great!

 

Sunrise excitedly wrapped her forehooves around Snips and Snails as she stood between them, “how about you two guys?  Haven’t heard much from you about the map, or the rock, or the plan.  You’re like, in, right? ‘Course you dudes are!  You wouldn’t like chicken out or anything lame like that! ‘Specially you, Snails, the way you helped with crazy Applebloom an’ all!”  She pulled the short grayish opal unicorn closer as to give a friendly affectionate hug, as she was sure he would appreciate it.  Colts always like it when fillies paid attention to them, even if the filly doesn’t mean anything by it!  “Anyway, like, let’s be off and junk!”

 

Sweetie Belle seemed to have a pretty good idea how to get back to the rock the map spoke of.  When Sweetie mentioned that she thought Sunrise was smart, the turquoise filly blushed.  No pony had ever told her she was smart before!  Sure, she had gotten compliments, but it was always for physical skill.  Sunrise always worried that her peers saw her as dumb since she was pretty behind ponies her age on reading and writing, but she was practicing really hard!  “Like, uhhh… It was like, totally nothing and junk, it was just basic reading, like how we learned in school and stuff.  Actually I’m like, pretty happy with my cutie mark and all. Ya know, cuz’ I love sports! Especially hoofball and volleyball and junk!”

 

It didn’t take long for the group to reach the rock, which was an outcropping with a very steep face.  Amazingly, Sweetie and her crusading friends were prepared for this!  Who the hay packs rock climbing gear?  Where would you even find that in Ponyville?!   Sunrise, though, wasn’t the one to just wait around - that was boring.  She turned to the two colts standing around with her, “I’m like, going to check around, not like this thing’s a mountain or somethin’.  ‘Sides, just waiting for them to climb it is lame-o.  I won’t go far, be right back.”

 

Sunrise trotted around the base of the outcropping, which from the front looked like it jutted straight out of the earth, but as she explored the back, she found it was slanted towards the cliff – the rear side was just a sorta steep, flower covered slope.  Why did they need rock climbing equipment again?!    Sunrise trotted up the slope to the top of the outcropping, peering over the edge of the edge of the cliff towards the climbing CMC, who were almost to the top by then.  “Hey there! Like you know you all can like, just walk up the back side and junk?”

[SteelEagle]

 

 

Scootaloo did have a pretty darn good point. This map wasn't designed with a bunch of adventurous little filliesand colts in mind, which seemed to a disappointing theme in adventures. What was it about adults that made them forget that it was the little ponies that tended to have the time and drive to actually investigate all this kooky stuff? When Apple Bloom left a bunch of treasure behind for ponies to find after she became super rich and famous, she would make darn sure the steps in her treasure map could be followed by ponies no matter their size or age. Maybe she'd get a cutie mark in proper adventure map making? Well, maybe not. That'd be a bit silly. She'd get jack for all that time until she got a cutie mark specifically made for setting up ponies to get her likely ill-gotten wealth? Yikes. Not what she wanted! Oh well. She'd just have to get a better and entirely unrelated cutie mark.

In any case, she didn't dally and wait around when the group started to move after Sweetie Belle, deciding it was best to get a move on. She took a wide berth of the poison joke this time, more than happy to not go through earlier events a second time. Wouldn't that have been simply the worst? She felt bad for Snips. She'd drug him around like a two bit piglet! Hehehe, hadn't been much of a challenge, either. She was pretty strong now! She'd have to make it up to him somehow later. Maybe she could arrange a visit with the Princess? Maybe he'd like that. Snips and Snails always seemed intrigued by her for reasons Apple Bloom didn't quite understand, but colts really were enigmas wrapped in riddles wrapped in lettuce wrap sandwiches. Maybe they'd especially like some of that fancy cooking Twi had going at the castle, yeah?

 

It wasn't that long before they found their way to the rock, with Sweetie Belle getting ready to climb it. “Ah think that's a mighty fine idea ya have thar, Sweetie Belle! Ready ta get yer cutie mark in rock climbing while treasure hunting with large parties, Scootaloo?” Now that was the right idea! Apple Bloom loved a bit of rock climbing. She got out the gear and started up it, Apple Bloom getting ready to follow suit. She was going to wait and allow Sweetie Belle to get some solid hoofing for safety reasons before she hopped up there herself. It was one of the basic tenets of rock climbing that y'all didn't just start up at once, since that could lead to tangled cords and a rocky climb- hehehe, get it?- with some heavy danger. Even with a unicorn and a pegasi it just wasn't the best idea! Once Sweetie Belle started to get up the rock a bit Apple Bloom started to link up, her tail swishing with mad excitement as she put one hoof in and-
“Hey there! Like you know you all can like, just walk up the back side and junk?”
Huh? Oh. Well, didn't they look silly. Despite that, Apple Bloom was now hooked up. She couldn't just hop off. “Err...we knew that! Yeah, didn't we girls? Yup! Just gonna get our cutie marks in...rock climbing smallish marks! Yay!” She said, finishing with a grunt as she made her way to the top.

[Lux]

Scootaloo thought that there would be an issue with getting to the mountain, not knowing how many steps would lead them there. But as luck would have it, the party arrived at their first destination. While Sunrise Beach seemed happy to continue, Snips and Snails looked like they were ruing the journey. Maybe it was because they weren't the most adventurous or maybe it was because there were more fillies than colts. Hopefully once they reach the treasure the two will see how great the journey had been. The orange filly looked up at the big spire like rock in front of her and her friends. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had adventures before jam packed filled with danger! Even though it looked intimidating, Scootaloo was ready for a challenge! 

 

“Ah think that's a mighty fine idea ya have thar, Sweetie Belle! Ready ta get yer cutie mark in rock climbing while treasure hunting with large parties, Scootaloo?” 

 

"You know it," she said and harnessed up and hooked herself onto the rope, "Cutie Mark Crusaders rock climbers!"

 

“Hey there! Like you know you all can like, just walk up the back side and junk?”

 

"Oh," Scootaloo said as her ears drooped just as she was about to climb, "How about that. Err...yeah, I knew about that but I though it would be cool to climb a mountain and all. You all can take that way and we'll meet you up there." 

 

Now there was no backing down as Scootaloo continued her ascent, using the crevices to hold onto as she brought up the rear of the Crusader climbing line.

[Corsair]

Snips and Snails stood with frozen grins on their muzzles and bulging eyes as Sunrise grabbed both of them.  The athletic filly was squeezing just a bit too tightly to be comfortable, but neither of the colts wanted to say anything... 

 

Sunrise's question struck Snips.  He realized that he and Snails hadn't done much but tag along behind the fillies during this whole adventure!  Both of the colts were fans of the Daring Do books, and so far, they hadn't been much like Daring.  With a shock he realized that he and Snails...  were the sidekicks!!!  "Err... well... yeah!" he said to Sunrise, thinking quickly.  "Snails and me... we go on adventures, like all the time!"

 

Snails looked over at his friend with a confused look.  "We do?" he asked quizzically. 

 

Snips lit his horn and held Snails' mouth shut.  "Of course we do!" the short colt said, looking back at Sunrise.  "We were just... you know... letting you girls take the lead this time!"  He smiled convincingly at Sunrise... at least he hoped it was convincingly.  When the filly moved off around the other side of the rock, Snips released his hold on Snails' muzzle, but then grabbed his head with his hooves.  "Snails!  We gotta be the ones to find the next clue!" he hissed.

 

Snails looked down at his friend, even more confused.  "Uh, how come?" he asked.

 

" 'Cause I don't want to be a sidekick!" Snips said emphatically.  "We gotta think like adventurers!  Like, What would Daring Do?"

 

Snails' face brightened a bit at mention of his favorite books, but he still didn't quite understand what Snips was getting at.  "So, you wanna, like, take the lead?" he asked.  "But...  Sweetiebelle has the map..."

 

"The map is half ours, isn't it?" Snips asked in reply.  "Now come on!  We gotta get up there first!" he added, pointing a hoof up to where Sunrise already waited.  The short colt then ran off around the rock.

 

Snails followed at a slower pace.  He had a bad feeling for some reason, but couldn't put his hoof on why...

[Bramble Rose]

Sweetie Belle, already most of the way up the side of the rock, paused as she saw Sunrise above them, having already reached the top.  She let out a little, disappointed, "Oh," ... and then Apple Bloom bumped into her non-moving flank.  She resumed climbing, pulling herself up the last couple of feet to get to the top.  "Well, it was a nice climb anyway!" she chirped, turning around to give Apple Bloom and Scootaloo a hoof up over the lip of the cliff.

As all the little colts and fillies gathered around once again, now at the top of the rock, Sweetie laid out the map, and looked around.  "The next landmark... look!  'The mountain peak above is now your guide!'  It looks like this on the map... and look up there!  That mountain over there has the same shape!  And you can only see it from the top of this rock!"  She pulled out her compass and laid it down, turning it so the 'north' marker pointed at the mountain, then marked where the little needle was pointing.  And conveniently enough, the route led straight down the sloping backside of the rock.  "All right!" she said cheerfully.  "So all we gotta do is follow this compass for 241 strides!  That seems pretty easy."

She gave Snips his half of the map back, grinning happily.  "Isn't this exciting, Snips?  What do you think we'll find next?"  And with that, she headed off down the hill, a bounce to her step as she took nice, long strides while counting out loud.  "One, two, three, four, five..."
 

​

[brianblackberry]

 

Sunrise Beach smirked lightly at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's transparent attempts to save face, but she was nice and didn't say anything further.  Instead, she just looked over Sweetie's shoulder at the mountain and nodded her agreement, counting along with the rest of them.  "six, seven, eight, nine, ten," she recited as she walked along with the smaller foals.  She knew she had to be the responsible one here - she was the oldest amongst all of them, and had to be the adult.  Keep them safe.  Things were going to be getting more dangerous, now.

 

The woods didn't seem all that horrible - lots of weird little critters went skittering away from them, more scared of them than she was of them.  It was the best kind of adventure - the kind where danger was eminent, but not actually THERE.  "... a hundred four, a hundred five, a hundred six ..."

 

It was a good thing that even though she wasn't a good reader, she was an excellent counter!  Cause this was a LOT of counting!  And she couldn't interrupt it for any of the really neat plants and animals she saw along the way.  She had to keep focused, and directed, and keep her eye on the trail, and not on that really big spider over there, or the shiny glowing flowers... what exactly made them glow?  "... two hundred nine, two hundred ten-"  Her hoof splashed into the edge of a river, and she quickly scrambled backwards.  "Oh!  Oh, hey!  Didn't it say something about getting our hooves wet?" she asked... "Two hundred ten... to get to two hundred and forty one, we'll need to get to the other side of the river..."

 

"And we can't just swim across, let me tell you.  I tried that once when I was young, like you fillies, and not an older young mare like I am now.  And I got swept downstream and caught up on a snag and hung on for what felt like HOURS before they were able to rescue me!  We can't let that happen while we're out here in the woods and nopony knows where we are!"

 

[SteelEagle]

 

It was a nice little stroll down to the next spot on the map. Apple Bloom knew her Everfree pretty well and it was a good thing she knew what to avid, gently gliding behind Sunrise's larger trots to avoid what few things worried her. There were so many cool things out here in the Everfree that she had started keeping journals based off what she had seen! It was always good to keep notes after all, that was what Twilight had taught her and Twilight was a Princess. And if that wasn't enough, her sis said the same thing and Applejack was usually even more right than Twilight! Apple Bloom almost missed the waterline, she was so caught up in all the small wonders. A few species of spiders there, some fauna here, even a glowing little ol' tweety bird.

Splash splash splash, hooves on the waterline. Apple Bloom's eyes lit up. They were following the map so darn good, they were gonna find this treasure for sure. But Sunrise was right. They couldn't swim across! The current was too fast. Hmm. “Well, we could see about getting' a big ol' tree and havin' it span tha way, and jus' walkin' across. Or if we can find some skippin' stones that give us a path across. 'Course if we did that we'd have ta go slow and have some rope ready just in case, ya know, Sweetie Belle fell in or something,” Apple Bloom said with a grin, looking at the river. She gave a low whistle- this'd be tough. “Hehehe, well, this should be a doozy! Y'all got any ideas?”

[Lux]

"Thanks," Scootaloo said to Sweetie Belle after getting assistance making it over the edge of the mountain. So what if she made the climb for nothing? What mattered was that she had fun doing so! At last the rest of the group were up at the top as Sweetie Belle looked over the map for the next clue. Strangely Snips and Snails were whispering something among themselves. Maybe it was some weird colt talk. They did that sometimes in school when they didn't want a filly to listen in. Oh well...

 

"Alright, well at least our counting is on track. You ok there Snips and Snails?"

 

The Pegasus alternated her gaze between the map and the mountain ahead which was their next landmark. It looked like a fairly straight shot to the next clue and it wasn't like finding some strange like a certain tree in the middle of a forest! 

 

"Here we go then" Scootaloo said as she began counting her steps towards her goal. The good news was that even if she messed up there were five other ponies there she could tag along. She was so busy counting though that she failed to see the big river in front.

 

Splash! 

 

Scootaloo felt her hooves get wet and the pull of the water threatening to drag an unsuspecting pony away if they weren't careful. 

 

Oh!  Oh, hey!  Didn't it say something about getting our hooves wet?" 

 

"I don't know Sunrise. We did the count right I think and went in the right direction. Sweetie Belle, was there anything on the map about a river?"

 

"And we can't just swim across, let me tell you.  I tried that once when I was young, like you fillies, and not an older young mare like I am now.  And I got swept downstream and caught up on a snag and hung on for what felt like HOURS before they were able to rescue me!

 

"Yikes! I don't think I want to try doing Cutie Mark Crusaders River Rescuers today! It doesn't look like there's a shallow spot or a narrow area where we can cross either."

 

“Well, we could see about getting' a big ol' tree and havin' it span tha way, and jus' walkin' across. Or if we can find some skippin' stones that give us a path across. 'Course if we did that we'd have ta go slow and have some rope ready just in case, ya know, Sweetie Belle fell in or something,” 

 

​"It would have to be a big sturdy tree that fell down already, because I didn't remember us packing an ax, did we Apple Bloom? Maybe we can do both ideas though, put stones into the river and then connect them with smaller trees. Then we'll have a bridge to cross the river!" 

[Corsair]

Snips fretted with impatience as he was forced to follow Sunrise.  The filly was the oldest of the group, and closest to the height of an adult pony, so they had to follow her paces.  The colt looked down at his own short legs in frustration.  Snails, with his long legs, probably could have done it, but those same legs made him kinda clumsy at the best of times, and if he had to count his steps at the same time...  well it wouldn't have been good.  So, because he couldn't take the lead, he stayed close to Sunrise's hocks.

 

When the tall filly suddenly stopped, Snips ran into her tail, and Snails, who was following Snips, tripped over the shorter colt, leaving the two boys tangled on the ground.  "Hey!  Watch yer hooves, Snails!" Snips called out.

 

"Getcher horn out of my side!" Snails complained, struggling to get back to his hooves. 

 

The colts sorted themselves out as the fillies talked about their options.  Snips glared at the river balefully.  Dumb river...  How could he be an adventurer like Daring Do if a lousy river was all it took to stop them!

 

Snails, on the other hoof, approached the river and crouched down low.  In a still section of the water, he noticed some insects that appeared to be walking on the surface of the water.  "Hey Snips, look!  Gerridae!"

 

Snips rolled his eyes.  Normally, he was more than glad to help his friend on his bug-hunting trips, but now wasn't the time!  "Snails, come on!" he started, impatiently.  "We need ta think of a way across this river, not look at water... striders..."  The last few words slowed down as Snips' eyes lit up.  He ran over to his friend, picking up the taller colt's head.  "Water striders!  Snails!  Remember that spell we were trying?" 

 

Snails looked at Snips, confused.  "Spell?  Which spell?"  The two magic-obsessed colts tried out new spells all the time.  Most of them didn't work, but they tried anyway.  So it took Snails a moment to grasp what Snips was talking about.  "You mean the Water Walk spell?" he said, finally.  "B-but we only got a couple of steps out of that!"  He looked around at the group and said, "And I don't think we could cast it on everypony."

 

Snips pondered that a moment, before looking at the packed saddlebags the Crusaders were carrying.  "Well... what if one of us took the end of a rope across?" he said, finally.  He looked back at the fillies, and asked "What do ya think?"

[Bramble Rose]

Sweetie Belle's little legs were starting to get sore from all this walking, but there was no way she was going to give up anytime now.  The rushing river, though?  That almost got to her.  Come on!  Couldn't anything be easy?  They couldn't cross a field or walk in a straight line without it turning into an ordeal!  "It does say something about being careful about getting your hooves wet or somethin', yeah," she said, sliding her saddlebags off her back.

Still, while they were all thinking of how to get across, at least she could sit down and rest her hooves for a little bit.  "HEY!" she cried out as Apple Bloom teased her.  "Why is it me who's gonna fall in?  I don't-"  the rock she was sitting on suddenly moved, sliding down off of the shore and into the water, and almost dumping Sweetie in with it.  She squeaked and scrambled further away from the water, recovering for a few seconds, then breathed a sigh of relief.  "See?  I didn't fall in!" she declared with a confident little *hmph* and a stomp of her hoof.

She sat down on a *different* rock.  further from the water.  And then opened her bags to pull out the two halves of the map.  "I think everypony's right... we gotta get to the other side!  And..."  She couldn't believe she was saying this ... "I think Snips and Snails have a good idea!  One of them can go across the river with their water-walking spell ... and if something goes wrong with it, then we can use the rope to pull them back!"  And with that, she pulled a rope out of her saddlebags and presented it to the two intrepid colts!

 

[brianblackberry]

 

Sunrise Beach was determined to get across the river, somehow.  She wanted to appear adventurous and brave, besides, treasure!  The memories of getting swept up by the current while trying to swim across when she was smaller made her hesitant to try such a feat again, even if the river didn't seem as wide or fast.  Maybe there was a fallen tree nearby, or a shallow part where one could just walk across or skip across using stones sticking up out of the water?  Nothing at a glance, and who knew how long one would have to walk along the river bed to find something like that, if there even was one!

Surprisingly, the answer to the dilemma came from the two colts.  So far, they hadn't really seemed to have much in the idea department, and she wasn't sure why they came along at all, except that half the map belonged to Snails.  Still, if they could deliver, she'd be willing to admit she'd been wrong about them!  You never could trust first impressions.  Princess Twilight always did try to teach her that she needed to give ponies a second chance.

"You, like, know a water walking spell?!  That's advanced magic!  That's sooo radically awesome!"  She could barely lift things.  How and where did two little goofballs like them learn something like that! She had to admit, she was more than a little jealous, but she shouldn't let that show. "Here, like, I'm really awesome at tying knots, I'll, like, tie this end for safety, so that just in case something goes grody, we can, like, totally pull you back in!"
 

[SteelEagle]

Normally it wasn't Snips and Snails who came to the idea-making rescue. Did they even have the capabilty of pulling it off? She wasn't sure if they did or if it
was the best idea, but she figured it couldn't hurt. If they failed, they'd try something else. The pair weren't ones so far to offer themselves when they didn't
have something to add, so by and large she was excited to see how it all went down. Though she'd keep her legs ready just in case she was needed for
something more dramatic. Like a rescue. Or bucking a tree until it broke in half over the river. No matter what, she was prepared to see where this all took her.
Talk about an exciting day!

"Well, Ah think Snips an' Snails have one heck of a good idea. Ah'll help tie tha knot with Sunrise here and then you two can get us ip and goin' so we can find
this here treasure and be tha richest and most famous ponies of all time!" she said excitedly, deciding to get to work as Sweetie was almost swallowed whole
by the river due to an acute case of rock falling. She proved her...agility, Apple Bloom guessed, and sure stuck it to Apple Bloom's assertion that she would be in the one to fall in. Well, maybe. Kinda. After all, she had come the closest. She loved Sweetie Belle, and she loved playing with her too. "Well ta be fair Sweetie Belle, you have been the only pony who almost fell in...so maybe I *am* right after all," she teased, shooting her friend a wink. 

[Lux]

"A water walking spell?" Scootaloo said never hearing such a thing. Then again she was a Pegasus and it seemed that unicorns were always making a new spell. It sounded like a legitimate spell from Sunrise Beach, but how did Snips of all ponies learn one like that? 

"Well, if you're volunteering to try and get to the other side then that would be great. We'll make sure to pull you back if you get in trouble." 

With the rope secured to the post Scootaloo waited to see what would happen next, ready to grab the rope at a moment's notice.