Everfree brambles give the worst hugs [Invite only]

[Halide]

The Everfree Forest wasn't a nice place to be at the best of times. Between knotted and gnarled roots underhoof and grasping branches sprawling from tree and bramble, it was a hazard to anything that wanted to move quickly through it - be it by ground or by air. To make matters worse, the cold, overcast grey of a solemn winter day only darkened the already gloomy locale. Overconfidence or an overly sure hoof could land somepony in very serious trouble very quickly. Unfortunately for Mirthbane, he had become such a victim of hubris; sure, it might have been his second winter living in the Everfree, but that hardly made him immune to the many chaotic and powerful tricks the forest had to offer. He'd managed to hit an ice-slicked root, stumbling hard enough to soundly knock his knee against something much harder than it, and in his moments of imbalance, he's landed fully in a rather sizable thicket.

If one had keen ears, they might hear the coal-coated unicorn with the snow-white mane thrashing worryingly in the rasping branches of the grasping bramble, struggling to free his limbs, his saddlebags and his cloak from the prickly entanglement. This might have been only an irritating matter anywhere else, but the Everfree was not a place anypony wanted to be stuck in, especially not as the sun began to wane and the nastier creatures began to roam. Occasionally, one might see bursts and flares of green light as he tried to work his magic on the bramble itself, but it would not be broken or torn asunder easily. True, he would probably free himself of the bramble in due time, but the question was whether or not he'd do so before or after something vicious found him. Despite his predicament, though, he had yet to call for help; after all, such calls for attention were more likely to be heard by monstrosities than anyone trustworthy. However, that didn't stop him from profusely expressing his sheer disgust for his current situation - at length, one might add.

"There are... no fires set upon or within this planet fit to fully extend my sheer loathing for you, you horrible pile of miserable barbed detritus. I hope beetles carve their way... nfgh, through your every heinous branch. And may their festering larvae devour your every root and stem. Rrrgh, just get... May all your seeds rot and ferment in their pods, bursting poison all over your completely and totally horrible thorns. And may all of your sprouts die forever. I am going... rfhfh, to ensorcel a spell specifically so that I can burn your roots with my hate, and once I have I will cast it on literally every member of your species I can find . Let... go!"

But, regardless of the reasons or his predicament, the facts still remained : in the Everfree there was a stallion, struggling to break free of a writhing thicket of ill-tempered branches and thorns. His horn, less useful than he'd hoped, and his hind right leg, in significantly more pain than he'd ever want. The only serious question on his mind was whether or not he'd make a proper escape before anything horrible found him.

​

[Gerrard]

The poor weather didn't go unnoticed on the outskirts of the infamous forest, the conditions possibly being markedly worse as the lack of trees did nothing to prevent the slicing winds from chilling ill prepared ponies to the bones. These conditions would have been bad enough on their own, but wild storm clouds had been gathering atop the forest as they decided if the forest needed a nice frigid shower to make the environment even less appealing. While hubris may have been abound in the dangerous forest, a local traveler seemed as paranoid as ever! A mysterious figure roamed the outer edges of the forest, their tall form garbed beneath a heavy cloak as their eyes scanned the area for any conceivable threat. While nothing was perceived, that didn't prevent them from taking a detour into the dangerous forest. If anyone was following them, the Everfree was a great way to lose those on your trail!

The sound of thrashing soon entered the ears of the mysterious figure as they ventured deeper into the thicket. Something seemed to be in trouble while it struggled to break free of a thorny prison. "Sir, I would advise against cursing the branches, while they can react to living creatures in some unknown manner, they are not intimidated, even if they should be. These thickets require a great deal of magic to be manipulated in any meaningful manner, please remain calm and I can free you," the cloaked figure warned while a glow of red magic enveloped their hood while they lowered it to reveal a black unicorn mare. She had a cold, almost uncaring expression on her face that was accented with a well trimmed scarlet mane. Her probing eyes noted the numerous icy patches in the area but focused on the tangled mess that was his entangled cloak.

"Can I trust you to remain still while I free you from the sharp clutches of these plants? I am familiar with the workings of this forest and am willing to free you, assuming of course that is something you want to happen at all. I am a local passerby and my services are available," the odd unicorn offered in an even stranger manner, suggesting that there was a possibility that he didn't want to be freed at all. It almost sounded like she was willing to charge for her assistance. While that was not her intent, the black mare didn't like to impose herself on others without their expressed permission unless help was immediately required. In regards to Everfree hazards, this was a small one, although she was not privy to his potential knee injury, the stoic unicorn not able to visually diagnose it with his limbs mostly obscured by his protective cloak.

The unicorn often came to this forest to avoid other ponies, not to meet them. This would probably have to go down in her thoughts as one of the oddities of the forest, assuming of course that everything went well enough for the pair to escape unharmed, or at the very least alive.

[Halide]

"Sir, I would advise against cursing the branches, while they can react to living creatures in some unknown manner, they are not intimidated, even if they should be."

Oh, yes, because the plant totally had aural receptors. Actually, it wouldn't be out of the question for the everfree forest, but honestly, his ranting had been to vent his sheer frustration, rather than any hope of direct communication and reprimanding of the flora in question.

"These thickets require a great deal of magic to be manipulated in any meaningful manner, please remain calm and I can free you."

As if he hadn't been trying that already. Sadly, though, he only had the focus to grab one or two offending branches at a time, and whenever he might lax in his efforts, the plant stalwartly undid his progress. Worse still, his attempts at teleporting had only caused the plant's tendrils to writhe and tighten, the sting of its barbs ruining his concentration whenever he gathered power. Still, the green glow about his horn was faltering a bit here and there, a bit of sweat beading above his brow. He might have been a talented alchemist, but his stamana when it came to spells and magic wasn't terribly excessive. If the intrepid mare wanted to expend her own reserves where he'd already thrown the majority of his own power, then he was mostly fine with letting her do so. But, she seemed keener to introduce herself than to make any immediate motions.

"Can I trust you to remain still while I free you from the sharp clutches of these plants? I am familiar with the workings of this forest and am willing to free you, assuming of course that is something you want to happen at all. I am a local passerby and my services are available."

And now a tourist was offering to pry him out of the wretched plantmass. Surely this would be a completely dignified transaction between unicorns, and he was more than merry for the assistance, which would certainly come with no catch or request for reimbursment whatsoever. However cynical his sense of id might have been, though, there was no serious liklihood that this fellow unicorn's arrival could possibly be worse than the arrival of a timberwolf, bramblewyrm, hydra, or any other monstrosity the magical forests had to hurl at a wayward equestrian. So, rather than let his personal sense of pride override his sense of self-preservation, he bit back his sharp tongue in favour of being significantly more co-operative, his own emerald eyes meeting her own.

"It would be presumptuous to assume..." He uttered, his visage smattered with malcontempt - mostly aimed at the plant around him, "That I might suddenly free myself without assistance when my last ten minutes of effort have yet to yeild total success. Just mind my back leg, whatever your plans are; I believe I might have sprained it."

He offered no pleasantries or introductions of his own - in fact, he rather hoped she wouldn't inquire; he was far more accustomed and comfortable with prying some wayward ponyvillian from a bad situation, and was proud enough of being fairly self-sufficient. He didn't want to simply admit he'd been living in the locale for over a year, only to stumble himself into this particularly indignified mess.

​

[Gerrard]

Her cold, almost heartless, eyes watched as the entangled unicorn seemed to snort in anger and disbelief of his current situation. It was unclear to her what he was mad about, although she speculated it may have had something to do with his entrapment. "Perhaps he is mad at himself for getting caught in such a situation. Perhaps he is angry that he carelessly injured himself. Perhaps he is pride is just hurt having a total stranger helping him get free," she thought to herself, the black mare knowing some proud individuals saw asking for help as a sign of defeat. Her crimson eyes looked away from the trapped pony for just a moment as she surveyed her surroundings in an almost paranoid manner as she took a few steps to get completely behind the stallion for a better perspective. "My number one tip, especially when dealing with creatures that react negatively to magic is to simply avoid using magic on them, and to limit the amount of magic that is exposed around them," she explained in a simple manner that almost seemed too obvious.

"In this particular situation, it is unwise to manipulate the vines at all. I would suggest that you manipulate the cloak, and as precisely as you can," the stoic looking mare explained as her long back horn glowed a deep shade of red and lightly emitted a barely visible stream of magic. The tint of the trapped unicorn's cloak subtly changed as she seemed to manipulate the object in some strange manner. The cloak almost seemed to writhe as it slowly spun opposite the direction of it's entanglements. The dark branches slowly began to react, but in such a manner that their movements couldn't alter the deft untangling of his cloak. In a matter of seconds, her work was done as she expertly untangled numerous knots and snags that had formed around his piece of clothing. After pausing for a second to look over her work, Asteria neatly folded up and tied the cloak tightly for her male counterpart to prevent any future tangles before he escaped.

"You only need to slide free of your plant bonds now. A cloak is much easier for the vines to grab onto than the legs of a pony. Do you need assistance in sliding free of your bonds as well, you mentioned that your rear leg may have been sprained Sir," she politely remarked, opting against using magic to manipulate his body or that of his captors. It was almost as if she were giving him the chance to spare a portion of his dignity and escape from their barbed clutches under his own power. The odd mare patiently waited and watched the stallion, giving no immediate indication on her own personal thoughts as she watched his movement with a virtually static expression on her face.

[Halide]

For all that Mirthbane had thought himself to be a fairly expert herbologist, he wasn't quite able to explain the manipulation the mare pulled off. There was a distinct sense of unsettlement and disconcertion about him as the lady unicorn manipulated his trappings this way and that, twisting his own cloak and saddlebags as she saw fit. Under just about any other circumstances, he'd have put up a quick counterspell and a stern expression for having his personal space so aerthically invaded. But, once again, he kept his jaw clamped shut, trapping whatever yammerings of indignity he might have otherwise unfurled. Having her stand behind him, where she was harder to keep eyes on, only compounded his lack of comfort with the current situation.

But still, through methods he hadn't much expected, she managed to pull his cloak free, almost lulling the plant into a state of relaxation as she did so. Did the flora simply relax under a certain rhythm, as a snake might be persuaded by certain motion and sound? He wouldn't have put it past the rather strange biodiversity of the everfree forest. Yanking his burr-snagged limbs free of the the thorny vines, he managed to quickly stagger his way out of the thicket with more ease and discomfort than he might have liked; rather immediately, he turned about, staggering a little as he properly faced the mare, the thicket sitting unhappily between the dark-coated ponies.

"I suppose this is what I get for leaving home without my good threshing sickle." He remarked dryly, his ears turning and twitching a bit as he listened for anything else that might be on its way over. Fortunately - or unfortunately - he didn't hear anything suspicious, which at least discounted the worst of it.

(( I'll finish this post later today ))