Evening in the Everfree [Open, RainbowDaringDash]

[RainbowDaringDash]

'Crystal' would spend the next few minutes digging up the crystal though once he had got it out he found it was a beauty. it was a blue sapphire. Ragnarok then looked at Eclipse. He was still wondering what her true motive was, she had to know that Changelings lived in the forest, so why bring along a flower that...

As 'Crystal' Thought that he suddenly realized her true motive for being in the forest. She is searching for us He would think.

"Need anything else?" He would ask Eclipse, wanting a excuse to leave the area. 'Crystal' did not want some Pegasus to capture him. At that he would think something else, why were the others their? Something about that hit him as odd, then he relized that like him, it was quite possible they were Changelings. He wanted to find out so instead of waiting for Eclipse 'Crystal' walked towards Spring and Flux

[PyroBlaze]

Flux simply returned Spring's smile as she continued her humming. She watched Crystal dig up a sapphire, and she let out a low whistle when she saw the gem. It certainly was pretty. She quickly lost interest in it though, and looked at Eclipse. That mare just had something about her that was driving Flux's instincts crazy. Maybe it was the scent of love in the air, or it could be something else, she didn't really know.

She stayed near Spring, waiting around until it was time to move. Her smile widened slightly as Crystal walked over to her and Spring. Yay! They were almost all together! Of course, if her hunch was correct, all the changelings were together now. Spring seemed to be looking around for the plants Eclipse had asked for, so Flux joined her in a way. She ended up bouncing in circles, examining the forest as it passed by. After a minute, she realized that she had no idea what these plants looked like.

"Yeah, what do these things look like?" Flux asked as she continued bouncing in circles.

[SymphonicFire]

"I already have love berries which were easy to find in Ponyville so i kept them in my saddlebag" Eclipse replied taking them out. "I may have too much but it'll do, Cerrok and Bildo bark are really important for the medicine, They can only be found in the everfree forest so i have to come here. It's good to have company since the love berries can attract creatures"

She hoped that would take out the suspicion of the love berries, it would make it too obvious to the changelings if they smelt it

"Cerrok is like a root you find under Pute flowers" Eclipse continued. "Bildo is a black tree that has really thick bark"

[DerpRavener]

'Spring Breeze' eyed Crystal as he approached the group. He didn't seem particularly eager to stick with the group, and she couldn't see anything that would have changed that. So him deciding to join them now caught her by surprise, particularly given that he looked like he was silently scrutinizing them now. However, as nothing about him seemed overtly threatening still, and 'Spring Breeze' figured one had to be at least a little paranoid to last in the Everfree, she didn't find it worrisome and instead turned back to the task at hand.

Glancing over at Flux, the unicorn seemed to be happy about Crystal's rejoining at least, so somepony was happy about it at least.

Crystal explained that she had already found one of the ingredients, love berries, in abundance. Apparently they could be found in Ponyville. It sounded convenient, though the information was a little irrelevant to the issue at hand, save the the berries might attract...something. The pegasus then described what she was looking for.

'Spring Breeze' gave Eclipse a look, and couldn't help a small sigh. If the mare was doing what 'Spring Breeze' thought she was doing, she needed to be a lot more subtle about it. If somepony as amateur as 'Spring Breeze' herself could spot it, she thought, sure a proper infiltrator would see it from miles away. She bit back any commentary however, and focused on the task at hand, deciding to start by looking for the root. She figured that would be the harder one to find, and thus the better one to start with. As she looked, she asked “ 'Love berries', huh? So what sort of creatures do you think they'll attract?”

[SunsetSombra]

The Everfree forest - few ponies dared venture it alone, and even fewer knew every secret and nuance that hid inside it's dense and wild depths, of the secrets kept hidden from all but the bravest of souls that would dare traverse it's treacherous paths. One pony in particular, who had the most experience dealing with this dark and dangerous wilderness, also had the priveledge of being one of the most long lived amongst those who would venture this far inside...and one of the more well known - this particular pony was none other than Princess Luna, who had been fond of exploring and walking within the Everfree ever since she had first encountered the forest so many years ago

On quiet evenings such as this, several hours before she was due to implement her nightly watch over the pony citizens of the world, Luna was prone to taking off to take some time to herself within the unpredictable forest of Everfree, always one to see if she could find anything of interest or unknown which might well be worth taking a closer look into. Her adventurous spirit had always driven her towards doing things her sister would not be quite as inclined to doing, and as a result she had gotten herself into a few scrapes and troubles as a younger mare. However, she was an older and wiser Alicorn as opposed to her younger filly self all those years ago, and experiences had taught her well to approach the forest with respect in equal parts alongside the desire to explore

There did seem to be something of a faint chattering taking place in the distance some ways away, and upon a little investigation, Luna could make out the presence of several ponies ...an event that drew the princesses curiosity somewhat. She didn't intend on simply investigating the scene of this gathering right away, but she did keep herself within earshot for a while longer - it wasn't her way to interfere with the activities of others without a good reason, and she needed to be sure that she could leave in good conscience without risk of incidents. For now, it seemed like the most prudent thing that she could do was to observe unseen from her current distance until she knew for certain that nothing was going to occur without her knowledge, and that these ponies would truly be safe.

[PyroBlaze]

"Thick black bark, got it." Flux said, giving Eclipse a mock salute as the Pegasus came into her view. She landed on three hooves, then bounced again as she continued her small circuit. She kept her eyes out for the tree in question as she gleefully bounced around and listened to the conversations around her. She giggled slightly at Spring's question about what the love berries would attract.

"Changelings, silly! I heard those things feed on love, it only makes sense that love berries might attract them." Flux said without even stopping her bouncing. What did stop her bouncing though, was the sight of the tree Eclipse was looking for. She walked over to it and stared for a couple seconds, a somewhat serious look on her face as she attempted to discern if it was in fact the right tree. Eventually, she shrugged and knocked on the tree to get some attention directed her way.

"Hey Eclipse! Is this the tree you're looking for?" Flux asked the mare, with her head tilted towards the tree and a hoof resting on it's trunk.

[SymphonicFire]

"Yep! Changlings, fire foxes, mole rabbits and owls" Eclipse replied to Spring. "That's why i needed company, but the hospital was all busy and they couldn't send anypony else"

Eclipse smiled when Flux saluted at her. When she heard Flux had found something, she walked over to her and looked at the tree.

"Nope, this is a Dew Drop tree. The leaves of a Bildo tree are thiner, but it's a good try" she said taking out a bottle and scrathing the tree, the dew flowed into the bottle and stopped when there wasn't anymore. Eclipse put a stopper on it and put it in her saddlebag.

If Eclipse stalled enough, her backup would come to search for her and the changelings. She hoped it would be powerful since there is a possibility that she is surrounded by three.

[DerpRavener]

'Spring Breeze' pawed at the ground periodically, pushing around bushes where she thought they might conceal something. She had an idea what the flower looked like, but it seemed it wasn't that common around here. The might have to get deeper into the forest to find any reasonable supply of the root.

She was only able to focus partially on the task at hand. Something else was bothering her at the moment. Both Flux and Eclipse seemed to think a changeling attack was a potential concern. 'Spring Breeze' asked an open question as she searched. “Do you really think there's a chance of a changeling attack here? I mean alright, 'love berries' might attract changelings in the area but, do you think there really are any around Ponyville? I thought they tried that, and it failed.” Her concern her was two-fold. It was a good way to judge how careful she'd have to be about keeping her secret hidden, but her reasons for asking were partially honest. If there were other changelings her, sooner or later she'd have to choose between escaping or driving them off, and that's not the sort of thing you want to let take you by surprise.

'Spring Breeze' stopped suddenly, ears twitching. She could have sworn she'd heard something rustling the bushes nearby. However, listening intently for a moment she wasn't able to hear anything else at the moment, so she returned to her search, albeit now a little more on edge.

[PyroBlaze]

"But... But..." Flux sputtered slightly, her mood mellowing a bit at the news that she had found the wrong tree. "Stupid trees having to look like each other." Flux mumbled as she pouted slightly. Why did this have to be so hard? Flux grumbled as she walked away from whatever Eclipse was doing to the tree. If it was the wrong tree, why was she still collecting stuff from it?

Flux looked over at Spring as she questioned the probability of a changeling attack this close to Ponyville. Well, there was at least one changeling around. Flux tilted her head to the side slightly before responding.

"There was an attack on Ponyville? I heard about the Canterlot one, but I didn't know they went after Ponyville too." Flux said, confused slightly by the news. When had that happened?

[SunsetSombra]

Ponies in the everfree forest tended to be there for a few reasons - whether exploring and looking for resources or treasure, general walks during the day, or simply adventurous kids who dared stray too far from their parents for the sake of having a few stolen moments of freedom. the chattering between the gathered ponies here, it seemed, were of the kind looking for resources...but it was one word that gave Luna a cause for concern, as this particular word in and of itself brought back mamories of the Wedding invasion some time ago...

Changelings - few ponies were aware of Luna's own experience of dealing with some changelings during the wedding...a foolhardy gathering of overconfident shapeshifting demons dared to surround and taunt her with images of her sister laughing at her. She had, of course, beaten them back and managed to assist in evacuating several civilians during the invasion, which was part of why she had not been so immediately seen during the event itself. Still, she was very aware that there were still Changelings out there in the world, some of them even successfully managing to hide amongst the civillians without detection...some with good intentions, and some with not so noble thoughts in mind.

What it all boiled down to, it seemed, was that it appeared this group of ponies was clearly here to find something involving changelings...although why and what, she couldn't know - it may well have been something they had dealt with in the past, or perhaps they simply wished to be prepared in case of a future attack. Whatever the reason and their goals, Luna was not about to get herself into this groups line of sight until she knew there was a good cause to - admittedly, something about this situation wasn't sitting well with her, although it simply might have been the fact that it was approaching nightfall in the next couple of hours and they were quite deep into the forest where they oughtn't be.

Her hidden observations continue for a while longer - if it came down to it, she could intervene and assist them in this endeavour...whatever it's purpose might be. She could not, as it stood, simply leave these ponies alone until she had gotten the measure of the situation correctly...once she was confident in their safety, only then would she be able to leave them be.

[RainbowDaringDash]

(Im going to be off this for awhile, i have not got much inspiration to post with Ragnarok, il leave and when i find a spot i could slip back in il do it)

[SymphonicFire]

((Aww okay))

"I don't know about it, i must have moved in before the attack" Eclipse said thinking. She knew something about it since the department had told her but she still wasn't sure. She only knew that the changelings would blend into the crowd, eating the love out of couples or other ponies. Once they were found out, they would flee to the everfree forest and hide there for a few days. Then they would change their disguise and the whole process starts again

Eclipse looked around for the ingredients and said "Are you guys afraid of Changelings or Timberwolves? I haven't had much experience with them since this is my first time in the forest"

[DerpRavener]

Based on the others' responses, it sounded like none of them had heard about the Ponyville attack. 'Spring Breeze' supposed that left it up to her to inform them, at least what she'd heard of it. “Well, I wasn't in town at the time, so I didn't see anything first hoof, but I've heard on good authority that a group of changelings attacked on Nightmare Night, replacing the element bearers and generally making a mess of things.” She laughed darkly before adding, “you should ask Applejack if you get the chance, she could tell you a thing or two...” She shook her head, remembering the few times she'd asked about it and gotten an earful, then returned to her search.

Her ears twitched again, as she thought she'd hear something from the underbrush, but Eclipse asked another question before she could make anything of it.

"Are you guys afraid of Changelings or Timberwolves? I haven't had much experience with them since this is my first time in the forest"

'Spring Breeze' shot Eclipse a skeptical look. "Really? First time in the Everfree and you think it's a good idea of just wander around by yourself?" The false pegasus shook her head. Now she'd have to stick around. Who knows what could happen to this mare if she was left on her own.

“Anyways. Afraid?” 'Spring Breeze' thought for a moment. “I dunno if I'd call if fear.” She pawed at a particularly large clump of bushes, turning up nothing yet again. “Cautious though, sure. Neither would make me panic, and I'll fight either of them if I have to, but I'm just one mare. If it comes melee, timber wolves have the size and changelings have the numbers. There's only so much I could do on my own.” She sighed. “Really though, I've been trying to avoid changelings as much as I can. Let's say I've got a history with them.”

[PyroBlaze]

Flux listened in silence, completely at a standstill as Spring talked about what had happened, at least what she knew of it. Why did they have to attack the ponies? Twice, even! It wasn't helping their reputation at all, her's either. She gave a heavy sigh as Spring finished, Flux's colors becoming a bit more muted as she stood there.

She didn't even move as Eclipse asked her question, simply listening to Spring's answer. When she had finished, Flux took her turn.

"At least you remember your history." Flux mumbled under her breath before continuing. "Afraid? Not of them. Timberwolves... The solution is obvious, if it came down to it." She said quietly, though still loud enough to be easily heard by the ponies near her.

After another minute or so, Flux visibly brightened, her colors returning to their previous vibrancy. Her smile returned as she once again started her bouncing circuit, looking for the tree Eclipse had wanted.

[SunsetSombra]

"Are you guys afraid of Changelings or Timberwolves? I haven't had much experience with them since this is my first time in the forest" "

Afraid? Not of them. Timberwolves... The solution is obvious, if it came down to it."

Upon hearing this particular discourse, Luna found herself frowning gently - the more she heard about these ponies and their journey, the less she was convinced that her direct presence wasn't required at least to ensure their safety...there were, she knew, a great many more things in the forest than simply Changelings and Timberwolves, and to be drawn aware to such naivete at this fact wasn't sitting well with the Princess at all, who knew all too well of what made Everfree so very unhospitable to the unprepared.

The Changeling attacks themselves, of course, gave luna much consternation as a subject - it reminded her that they still posed a threat to ponies and beings everywhere, and that she would need to be extra vigilant when dealing with unknown individuals...it almost felt like needing a more mistrusting attitude that, if ever it was presented to her directly, would only serve to draw her irritation at those who would demonstrate such a thing. It felt so very wholly heavy as a subject, and for a moment or two Luna pondered if Celestia felt such weight on her own shoulders - it surely must have some undesired feelings for her sister, afterall. Regardless, she decided to stay in the shadows for a little longer - it would serve no good to show herself without good cause, and there was no guarantee that they wouldn't simply think she was some changeling or other attempting to undermine their trust...no, she would simply have to keep her distance for the moment and approach when the situation best suited it.

Evening was settling into a darker shade in the sky, and the darkening woods were stirring to life even now - whilst more determined and experienced explorer ponies and those such as Luna were used to it's ways, there was no way of knowing just what it might do to those gathered here tonight...and thus, for the moment at least, Luna watches from afar.

The Princess didn't typically take it upon herself to do such a thing, but there was no way of knowing what might happen if she let them fend for themselves. For now, of course, staying in the shadows suited her observational status, but there was no avoiding the fact that, for any of this to matter, she'd need to make her presence more directly!

[SymphonicFire]

Eclipse heard what Spring said and asked "What kind of history? Did they attack you?"

She hoped that she could bring out some clues or information from Spring that might tell her that she is a changeling. She needed to piece together the evidence and keep them with her until back up comes.

Though she wasn't sure about the other two, they seemed normal enough to be...normal yet they haven't talked much about them so it's safe to assume that they are normal for now

[DerpRavener]

Flux mumbled something about the solution to timberwolves being obvious. 'Spring Breeze' wasn't so confident, she remembered them being more unpredictable beasts in a few ways, but she didn't feel the need to bring it up. Sparing a glance at the unicorn, 'Spring Breeze' couldn't help but think her colours seemed a bit different, though moments later Flux looked completely normal so she wrote it off as a trick of the light.

"What kind of history? Did they attack you?"

'Spring Breeze' sighed. She supposed it was inevitable that this would come up, given the way the conversation had been going, but they weren't happy memories. She also knew she had to be careful in her response.

“I lost my family because of a changeling,” she said eventually, looking away from the group. “Some gone permanently, and the rest I can't ever go back to.” She'd had to obscure a few details, but every word she said was true, and she spoke with absolute sincerity. “I did something I shouldn't, so maybe I got what I deserved...” Guilt and shame warred for dominance of her expression for a moment. She grimaced, and pawed at the ground in silence. Then she shook her head. “I try not to think about it too much. Long story short, I'm hoping not to see any more changelings.”

Her ears twitched again, and this time 'Spring Breeze' grunted in frustration. There it was again. A sound faintly like some large animal stalking through the underbrush. Or maybe it was just the wind rustling leaves, at this point she couldn't say for certain. “Anypony else hearing that?”

[PyroBlaze]

Flux frowned again as Spring began talking about her history with changelings, and how she had lost her family because of one. Her story seemed to disprove the theory that she was a changeling, but Devil was saying her story had something about it that made him suspicious.

When she had finished, stating that she was hoping to not run into any more changelings, Flux frowned again, a little crestfallen that one of her own kind, possibly, wouldn't even accept her in her true form.

"That... That was a sad story." She said, giving a reasonable excuse for her sudden sadness. "Sorry you had to lose your family Spring."

"At least you remember yours." She added under her breath before Spring asked if they had heard something. Angel said something about there having been rustling in the bushes and such, so Flux nodded once, her cheerful smile back on her face.

"If you mean that rustling noise, then yes, I am hearing it." She said, closing her eyes again and listening for more.

[SunsetSombra]

And so it appeared as though the time for staying within the shadows had come to an end - Luna figured that they'd possibly pick up on something being close by in time, it was hard to truly hide in a place as unpredictable as the Everfree forest was...in that regard, she simply counted her blessings that they hadn't attempted to charge in foolishly like some other ponies might have done, assuming the worst automatically - Of course, they were still about to receive a shock one way or another - it wasn't exactly often that she would be seen in this area if she could help it afterall.

" Fear not, ponies of Ponyville! " Luna spoke calmly, deciding to simply eschew subtlety and stepping forward through the bushes to present herself to the group. " You are not as alone in the woods as you might have thought, but rest assured that there is nothing harmful about this particular interruption! " she continues, a small hint of a chuckle as she looks at each present pony as they come into her line of sight fully - as interesting an assortment of ponies close up as they were from a distance...but there was something off, as though not all was right. The everfree forest had a way of playing with a ponies mind, true, but sometimes instincts would be far more likely to play a part when picking up on something that wasn't making itself known - however, she shook it off for the time being, deciding that perhaps it was simply the oddness of finding such a troupe of ponies here in the first place.

" I could not help but overhear pieces of your discussion and felt compelled to offer some assistance if necessary! " the Nighttime princess offers, bluntly forgoing any particular introductions on her part at this particular juncture...there were not all too many ponies unfamiliar with her afterall, and it seemed rather more prudent to ensure they were given an immediate chance to accept help if they believed it needed themselves. " The forest here is not a friendly place for ponykind beyond a certain hour at night, and it would not do you well to be out here when the more...nocturnal hunting creatures make their presences felt! "

The Princess looks around for a moment and raises an eyebrow - the temperature was a little chillier than it had been perhaps a few moments ago, and the gloom was fast approaching - clearly delaying this group from their task would not be of any benefit...but it did seem like they may well have questions and comments amongst them. " of course, if you all desire to keep things simple, I could leave you to it...no need to consider my words final, afterall! "

Sometimes, Luna was well aware, it was better to step back if asked - there was no point in attempting to offer assistance if there was some level of a coherant plan here she had not yet heard of!

[SymphonicFire]

"Princess" Eclipse gasped immediately bowing to her. "Of course it would be an honor to have you with us"

Finally! Someone to help her with if these guys where really changelings...unless Princess Luna was a changeling as well. Eclipse wondered if Luna knew what she was doing or knew the real situation yet seeing Luna in the Everfree forest was already peculiar. She didn't know much about Luna but this was the first time she was close to her.

Though having the Princess around would keep the Changelings in their pony form, they would think twice before revealing themselves.

[DerpRavener]

Flux seemed to take 'Spring Breeze's story particularly hard, saying that she thought it was sad story before muttering something about family. 'Spring Breeze' gave Flux a curious look, not sure what to make of the mare.

She didn't have much time to ponder it however, as something else suddenly had her full attention. Specifically, a dark blue alicorn that anypony would recognize strode out from the undergrowth. 'Spring Breeze' stood frozen, eyes wide, as Princess Luna commented on the dangers of the forest and offered her assistance. She had no idea that an alicorn roaming the woods was even a possibility, and it came as a nasty surprise. While she believed the princess' offer of assistance was genuine, and that she had no alterior motives for this particular group at least, it made her situation a whole lot more dangerous. It was one thing to escape from a group of (somewhat) regular ponies if it came to it, an alicorn would be a different case entirely. Now she could only hope she could keep disguise intact, as that was the only thing between her and a dungeon, or worse.

That wasn't the only thing going through 'Spring Breeze's mind however. Suddenly standing before her was the closest thing Equestria had to a queen, or at least one of them. There was a certain protocol which had to be to followed, 'Spring Breeze' used to be pride herself on her ability to follow protocol. Old habits, as it were, returned.

After a moment the false pegasus recovered from her initial shock, and gave the princess of the night a deep bow. “Your highness.” She returned to a standing position, with a faint thought somewhat forced smile on her face. “We would be happy to have your assistance, if you like.” She almost added that searching for herbs seemed a little beneath a pony of Princess Luna's position, but stopped as that might be seen as critical of the princess' decision.

'Spring Breeze' returned to her searching, if moving a little stiffly. On consideration, having Princess Luna around would make things drastically simpler. She wouldn't have to worry about the others' safety so much, and while she didn't exactly enjoy the added personal risk, more danger to herself for less than the others was a trade she could accept.

[PyroBlaze]

Flux looked over as an alicorn emerged from the foliage, then tilted her head to the side slightly as the alicorn spoke, offering assistance and saying they shouldn't be out here when it got dark. Flux remained perfectly still as the alicorn continued and both Spring and Eclipse accepted the princess's help. It took a moment for it to click that she was standing in front of Princess Luna, this being the first time she had actually seen Luna at all. At that, Flux's head returned to it's original position and a smile broke out on her face. This could prove to be a problem, should her disguise be blown, but there was no point in being nervous about it, that would probably just call more suspicion onto herself.

"Sure! Always nice to have another set of hooves helping out!" Flux said, beginning to bounce again as Spring went about her searching. "I'm looking for some tree that looks like that stupid copycat," Flux said, indicating the tree she had previously thought to be the correct one before she continued, "but the one we're looking for apparently has thinner leaves than that one."

With that, she turned mid-bounce and began examining the trees now in front of her, placing a hoof on her chin in mock thought. After a couple moments, she determined that none of the trees were correct and moved on to another section.

[SunsetSombra]

Luna glanced around the ponies as they spoke - it seemed as though they were all rather relieved or at least intrigued to see her here, and that much was to be expected...regular ponies didn't often get direct contact with her as much these days, despite that being something she had been trying to fix more with time. Her sister, of course, was the more public face and the one who was the most likely to be seen during the day considering she took on many of the heavier roles of leadership for Equestria. Luna couldn't help but admire that about Celestia now - she had truly become the leadership principle of Equestria, a mare to look up to and learn from...her patience, wisdom and manner were well established as of a kind and trusting nature, with a mind for her position and a heart for all ponies found in Equestria. Whilst Luna herself did not necessarily hold that particularly lofty image, she was working towards ensuring all ponies in Equestria looked upon her with much the same admirations and respect...it was going to take time, of course, but there was plenty of it to be had.

Still, this situation was nonetheless one that called upon the Nightly Mare to be cautious - if something was amiss at all in the forests, then it would fall to her to make sure these ponies got back home in one piece and with the minimal of troubles. Luna had, admittedly, not done anything quite like this in a long time...but seeing as it was clearly beneficial to her long-term goals of being an active part of Equestrian leadership and a figure deserving of respect in the eyes of the populace, then she would simply put her best hoof forward and do whatever she could to keep things as they needed to be here.

" I recall such a tree that grows here, yes! " she says with a small nod of affirmation. " It is not commonly sought after by many outside those requiring it for medicine and potions...but I have seen it in a direction not too far from our current location, although I do not believe we shall be entirely 'alone' there - one has heard tale of a group of timberwolves in that direction, which may make things not without some difficulty. "

Truth be told, she wasn't fond of the idea that such a small number of ponies intended on traversing ever deeper into the wild woods, but since she had no intentions of leaving them to fend for themselves now, she was going to do everything she could to at least ensure they didn't meet an unfortunate end. It would not do well for them to be lost in the darkness and left to be devoured by some creature or another, and it would not serve HER any better to be heard of having left them to fend for their own survival; no, she was going to play her part and take care of this little ill-planned pony gathering, regardless of how long she had to spend doing so and whatever she had to do to achieve it.

[SymphonicFire]

"Thank you princess! I need these ingredients because there are patients with the Ular fever that need the medicine. I need to collect the bark and the roots of the Cerrok flowers so that the doctors can start making their medicine" Eclipse said.

She had a feeling that Luna would be suspicious which she understood why. But she hoped that the princess wouldn't think that she is a changeling and think the others weren't which raises another problem; she still wasn't sure if the others where changelings

[DerpRavener]

This whole thing was starting to feel increasingly surreal to 'Spring Breeze'. Back within the hive, leaders were always distant individuals, to a degree where at least for a drone like her merely approaching them was a hazard. Even if Equestria had leaders who were more open to intrusion, something she couldn't have assumed before now, they still had large populations to manage. Not to mention, strictly speaking she was the enemy, and should she be exposed the last place she'd want to be is near an Equestrian princess.

So it 'Spring Breeze' was finding it strange to not only be in the presence of of one such pony, but to actually be receiving assistance from her. She continued to search, though she was evidently a little lost in thought. Fortunately, a search such as this didn't require the most focus, so her ability to function wasn't impaired even if she was lost in thought.

In fact, there were a number of things about her current situation that confused her at the moment, the foremost being why Princess Luna would be in the Everfree Forest in the first place. Not, 'Spring Breeze' supposed, that she could particularly stop the alicorn if she even had the inclination. Indeed, she imagined there were very few ponies would could turn a way a princess with such a desire. What she didn't understand was why royalty would bother coming here at all.

Not finding any of the aforementioned flowers at the at the moment, with a frustrated sigh 'Spring Breeze' concluded that she probably wouldn't find any except deeper into the woods. She took a break for a moment, though staying with the group and keeping alert for possible threats, and addressed her current interest. Looking toward, though not directly at Princess Luna, 'Spring Breeze' asked “Your Highness, if I may ask, what brings you to the forest this evening?”