An Awkwardly Accidental Holiday - Starscape Quill, Ember Heart [OPEN]

[MyriadDreaming]

OoC: Room for perhaps three more than myself and Doc Hoof MD

Starscape Quill didn't think she was a workaholic at all. But still, the friends she ran her observatory with had marched her out of the observatory to a waiting coach with packed saddlebags of clothes and other necessities, enough bits to last her a good while away and her favourite small folding telescope, not to mention putting her sunglasses on and her favourite hat.

"'Take a break, Starscape. You've been working too long without taking a holiday.' " She snorted at the remembered words as she winged her way along the countryside near to Fillydelphia. Her work wasn't 'work', to her. She loved it. The stars and the night sky were amazing.

She grudgingly had to admit, though, that the break had done her some good. The last three days had been very nice, and the very nice mare who ran the very small hotel she was staying at was very nice to the gangling, awkward and more than a little strange Starscape.

Starscape looked at the horizon and noted how low the sun was in the sky. Winter days were not very long, and hadn't she promised...?

Starscape started and few closer to the ground. She had promised the nice mare that she would sit down with her and share a cup of tea - apparently she knew Starscape's mother, or uncle, or aunt. Starscape hadn't remembered which one it was, but she liked her nonetheless.

She veered past some trees and past a small outcropping of rock, in thought. She might just make it back in time if she flew really fast, and the cold was starting to get to her a little-

Something appeared right in her vision and she saw stars a moment before things went black.

The next thing she knew, it was night time, she was lying in a pile of tangled limbs on the ground in front of a tree, her right wing hurt terribly, and everything was swimming slightly. She shook her head and regretted it immediately, rubbing at her head. She righted herself and stood on shaky legs, sitting back down straight away before they gave out.

"Ugh. Ouch." She muttered and looked herself over. Her legs were fine, though she wasn't sure she could walk very far, and while her head felt like somepony had hit it really hard, there didn't appear to be anything too wrong. Her saddlebags seemed fine, though some things were scattered around, having fallen out.

Walking wouldn't be a problem as long as she could flap... her... wings...

Hmm. Starscape looked to her right and found her wing trapped somehow beneath a large and heavy branch, and on top of a large flat stone. She stared at it a moment. How in Celestia's name had she not noticed it before? Tried pulling her wing out from under it "Ow!" She shouted as pain lanced through it. She tried pushing the branch off, but couldn't summon the strength, nor would the branch budge if she tried to kick it, which only worsened the pain. And it was starting to get a little cold, thoug she did have a cloak in her bag at least.

Starscape wiped the tears of pain from her face and took a deep breath, shouting. "Help!"

[Doc Hoof MD]

Ember Heart carefully made his way down the hill. The cold, dry turf made it difficult for him to gain any traction as he made his decent. The lack of natural light made his task even more difficult. He was sure that most of the members of his team were already on their way back now that the sun no longer occupied the sky. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could go about it either. These late afternoon reports always worried him. It was nearly impossible to spot a pony from the sky and it was dangerous to walk about the woodland hillside at night. Ember Heart was determined to do as much as he could before the temperature dropped any further. The outlook was usually grim for ponies that got trapped at night during the winter.

Ember Heart staggered a bit as he neared the bottom. He lost focus of the lantern that was levitating before him, causing it to drop. The glass case around the flame shattered as it hit the hard turf below. The flame quickly burned out once its fuel was displaced. “No!” he shouted as he trotted up to the broken lantern. He surveyed the area around him to the best of his ability. The moonlight was of little aid as he searched through the darkness. ‘I can cut through the woods and make my way back if I hurry.’

A few sparks flew from his horn as he attempted to cast an illumination spell. It was the only thing he could think of in a time like this. A bright blue light exploded from the tip of his horn after a few moments. He couldn’t help but to let out an excited chuckle. It was the first time in a while that he was able to pull it off so quickly. He looked around as he tried to regain his bearings. He felt a small chill go down his neck; an indicator that he had to move quickly.

-------

Ember Heart made his way through the woodland hillside. He was nearly panting now as he did he best to maintain the spell. A noise echoed from the trees around him, a noise that he was all too familiar with.

"Help!"

Ember Heart wasted little time as he darted off in the direction of the cry. He galloped as quickly as he could through the shrubbery, doing his best to avoid any fallen branches. The cry for help was a good thing and it was fortunate that he was within a close enough proximity to hear it. He came to a halt after a short minute and listened carefully for another cry. A soft shuffling sound came from his right. He took a few careful steps in its direction, trying to muffle the sound of his movement as he progressed in case the sound was coming from a wild animal.

Ember heart slowly approached from behind a rock and took a short rest to gather his thoughts before he looked around it. He dimmed the light coming from his horn and took a peak over the rock to see if he could identify the source of the shuffling. To his delight, the noise was coming from a mare that was sitting on the ground near a fallen branch. He let out a short sigh of relief. She seemed to match the mare from the description. He couldn’t tell if she was injured from his distance. The light from his horn brightened as he stepped around the rock to approach the mare. “Why hello there! Are you alright?” Ember Heart did his best to sound cheery.

[MyriadDreaming]

Starscape had shuffled around some more, trying to free her trapped wing to little avail. Eventually she had given up and sat on the ground again, her legs still shaky and weak-feeling. Shivering in the cold, she started as she heard hoofsteps and saw a light moving around nearby. She began to shake more - what if it wasn't a pony at all?

As the light approached and the definite figure of a stallion resolved itself, she let out a sigh of relief, holding back tears.

“Why hello there! Are you alright?” The stallion said oddly cheerfully. He was probably just trying to keep her calm.

Starscape nodded, not really trusting herself to speak for a moment lest she break into complete babbling. She swallowed and nodded her head at her wing.

"Thank Celestia! I'm... I'm okay, just bruised apart from my wing... It's trapped and I think it might be broken... Not that I've broken my wing before, so I don't know what it feels like but..." She shut herself up. Her rescuer didn't need to hear her rambling constantly.

[Doc Hoof MD]

((Sorry for the short post. I am a little under the weather at the moment ))

Ember Heart walked up to inspect the branch that was trapping the pegasus's wing while the mare explained her predicament. It appeared that the mare's wing was simply stuck underneath the fallen branch. The fact that she still had feeling was a good sign. The mare paused in mid sentence causing him to turn his attention back towards her. "Everything is going to be alright. I'll have you out of here in no time!" Ember Heart smiled at the mare and went back to his work. He was curious as to what the indigo pegasus was doing all the way out here. It wasn't often that a pegasus would find themselves trapped in the wilderness unless they had a flight problem. "The name's Ember Heart by the way."

He walked around the branch to see if he could see any of the wing sticking out on the other side. "What brings you all the way out here? Err. Well how did you end up like this?"

Edit:((Lol I picked the wrong chat color for him))

[MyriadDreaming]

((It's fine Hope you feel better soon ^_^ I apologise for Starscape's general discombobulatedness in advance))

Starscape nodded as the black Stallion checked the wing and introduced himself. "I'm Starscape Quill. Thank you for coming out here to look for me..."

She tugged at the wing some more as he looked about the log at it.

At his questions, she pawed the ground in an embarrassed way.

"I... Ah..." She swallowed and blushed slightly. "I flew into the tree, I think. It was sort of sudden - oh and I was out here because I was looking for a good place to come and stargaze tomorrow. I found a really nice hilltop where if the sky was really really clear you could probably see everything up there, but then I remembered that the nice mare who runs my hotel had asked me to come to tea with her, and she says she knows my parents or my aunt,or my uncle or somepony. So I turned around really fast and then it hit me. I suppose I wasn't watching where I was flying, my Mama would scold me something fierce." Starscape looked down and then back up again. "The tree I mean, well, I think it was the tree that hit me. Not the idea; the idea had already hit me before the tree did..." She pawed the ground again. "And then I woke up on my side, all tangled and my wing was trapped. And then it wasn't long until you came along, which is really good because it's getting cold and I-" Starscape shut herself up again with some effort. Maybe it was the stress making her babble even worse than usual than when she normally talked to somepony. She wondered if Ember was perhaps starting to think her a little strange.

[Doc Hoof MD]

((Well after a short battle with the cold I managed to get the upper hand with some chicken noodle soup. Sorry about the delay.))

"I'm Starscape Quill. Thank you for coming out here to look for me..."

"Not a problem all, Starscape!" Ember Heart said with a smile as he continued about his work. It seemed to him that the wing was simply pinned by the branch, something he was well accustomed to dealing with. He was glad to see that the mare was as calm as she was. It was a welcomed change from the ponies that would constantly fight him while he tried to help. The lack of help was what bothered him; not a lack of help from the mare but from his fellow team members. He understood their reasons for falling back but he wasn't sure what he was going to do once he freed the mare. It would be a difficult endeavor if he tried to help her back to town in the cold winter weather.

The mare dug at the ground lightly. Ember Heart looked up at her as she began to speak. "I... Ah..." He smiled at her, hoping to ease the mare's feeling of embarrassment. "I flew into the tree, I think. It was sort of sudden - oh and I was out here because I was looking for a good place to come and stargaze tomorrow. I found a really nice hilltop where if the sky was really really clear you could probably see everything up there, but then I remembered that the nice mare who runs my hotel had asked me to come to tea with her, and she says she knows my parents or my aunt,or my uncle or somepony. So I turned around really fast and then it hit me. I suppose I wasn't watching where I was flying, my Mama would scold me something fierce." The mare paused briefly. "The tree I mean, well, I think it was the tree that hit me. Not the idea; the idea had already hit me before the tree did..." Ember Heart looked up at the top of the tree, wondering if he could identify a point of impact. "And then I woke up on my side, all tangled and my wing was trapped. And then it wasn't long until you came along, which is really good because it's getting cold and I-" The Mare stopped herself mid-sentence.

Ember Heart turned his attention back to the mare stilling trying to take in everything the mare said. "That certainly is some story you have there." he chuckled. "Well, not the situation, but the way it was told." He turned his attention back towards the log that was trapping the mare. He was now aware of his own predicament. He couldn’t cast two spells at once. “Well you certainly came to the right place for a bit of stargazing. The sky is usually pretty clear during the winter around here.” he said, trying to procrastinate a little. “As for your mistake, I can’t really comment on that all the much. It was interesting, to say the least.”

Ember Heart finished his inspection and started to devise a plan. He couldn’t lift the branch without another light source. He was frustrated with himself that he lost his lantern. Another chill ran down his neck. The temperature was only getting lower. A fire could help him solve both problems but he was uncomfortable with the idea of starting one with his magic. “Well, Starscape, I have quite a bit of good news for you. By the looks of it you should be relatively ok once I lift the branch. Your wing might be injured internally but I am not sure. That’s not really my area of expertise.” Ember Heart bit onto his violet scarf and tightened it has best as he could; it wasn’t something that he was used to doing without his magic. “The problem is that I no longer have a lantern and I can’t lift the branch if I am casting this spell. I can start a small fire if you have a flame based lantern available. It would certainly solve two of our current problems.” Ember Heart was of course hinting at the slowly decreasing temperature. “If not I am sure we can figure out another way to start one!” he finished cheerfully.

[MyriadDreaming]

((Chicken noodle soup for the win Hope your cold is defeated soon! Also, long post is long. I have to stop making rambly characters.))

Starscape pawed the ground again as Ember spoke. "That certainly is some story you have there." She went slightly red again. "Well, not the situation, but the way it was told."

"Um, I'm sorry. I just ramble and talk and my friends say it's because I don't get out enough but the stars are really really amazing and it is a good place to stargaze? Wow, that's really-" She shut herself up again.

As he spoke again she winced at the pain in her head. "Interesting and more than a bit painful. Trees are not my favourite thing ever to run into - I mean, I've plowed into the ground before, or ran into something, but never flown into a tree. I suppose it's a first." She winced again and rubbed her face. "I certainly have never trapped my wing before..." She trailed off, aware he was talking again.

“Well, Starscape, I have quite a bit of good news for you. By the looks of it you should be relatively ok once I lift the branch. Your wing might be injured internally but I am not sure. That’s not really my area of expertise.”

She perked up instantly. "Oh, that's good, because I don't know how I could fix the mirrors and lenses at my observatory - that's where I work by the way, and live. Well, there really isn't much difference, but fixing the mirrors without wings is really hard because we have this one really really big telescope and it's very hard for one of my coworkers to reach up with scaffolding because he's an earth pony and-" She shivered. "Oh, it's getting colder. I like wintertime because it's longer nights and more stargazing but I don't like the cold. Mama says it's because I'm too thin but I just don't like being too cold..." She watched slightly enviously as the unicorn tightened his scarf. Why didn't she think to bring a scarf? Or buy one? She looked down. Then brightened as she remembered her cloak. She sat on the ground to check in her saddlebags again when she realised Ember was speaking to her again. Honestly, her mother would tell her she was being very rude to the nice young stallion that had rescued her. She focused her attention at him again.

“The problem is that I no longer have a lantern and I can’t lift the branch if I am casting this spell. I can start a small fire if you have a flame based lantern available. It would certainly solve two of our current problems.” Starscape nodded as she shivered again. Two problems? The only problem she could she was the lack of light if he didn't have his horn doing that glowy thing unicorns' horns could do... wait... The cold! He was talking about the cold!“If not I am sure we can figure out another way to start one!”

Starscape brightened considerably at both Ember's cheeriness and the fact that she'd remembered something. Her lantern! Why hadn't she thought of getting it out before? "Well, ah, I definitely packed a lantern because it's sort of a habit for me because I tend to be really nocturnal. I hope it's okay, the lantern, not the fact that I'm nocturnal, not that I'm saying your opinion doesn't matter! I mean, I did crash quite hard, but my head took most of the impact, but I was tangled a bit when I woke up so-" She facehoofed and unbuckled her saddlebags from her side, shifting them in front of her and rooting through them. "Let's see... Water, snacks, starcharts, Ink, quills, hmmm."

She dug through a little longer, a small pile of objects growing next to the bags, and then she smiled widely. "Aha!" Starscape pulled out a small canvas bag from within the bag, which she lay reverently on the ground It opened and she sighed in relief once it was open. Inside was a decently sized fold up telescope and a fold up tripod for it. "Oh, thank Celestia my telescope is okay!" She then pulled another small bag out. "And the lamp!" She grinned widely. "Here you go..." Starscape shivered again as she put it on a clear part of the boulder her wing was trapped on. "I think there's a bottle of oil in the bag. Maybe some flint..." She said, picking the bag up and depositing it next to the lantern. She rummaged in her saddlebags one final time and brought out a thick woollen cloak, rubbing her face against it a second before wrapping it over herself. Not very well, but she'd fix it once her wing was free.

((Edit: Stupid font size thing... Sadface))

Edited February 17, 2012 by MyriadDreaming

[Doc Hoof MD]

((More long posts that are long. That took a long minute ))

"Well, ah, I definitely packed a lantern because it's sort of a habit for me because I tend to be really nocturnal. I hope it's okay, the lantern, not the fact that I'm nocturnal, not that I'm saying your opinion doesn't matter! I mean, I did crash quite hard, but my head took most of the impact, but I was tangled a bit when I woke up so-"

“Your head?” Ember Heart was a little amazed that this was the only thing he really took from the mare’s statement. He cringed when the mare facehooved, not wanting the think about much it must have hurt. He inspected the top of Starscape’s head while she started to sort through her belongings, worried that there might be some sign of injury. "Let's see... Water, snacks, starcharts, Ink, quills, hmmm." The mention of water caught his attention. He was rather thirsty and wasn’t usually the one on his team that brought the extra water. It was certainly something that he was going to have to worry about later.

He watched as the mare continued to sort through the contents of her bag. The contents of the bag started to pile up next to her. Ember Heart couldn’t help but to examine all of the different supplies out of curiosity. "Aha!" He jolted at the mare’s outburst. The mare pulled out a small bag from within the larger bag. An excited grin covered his face as the mare opened it and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Celestia my telescope is okay!" His grin quickly disappeared from his face as his jaw dropped in awe. Of all the things that she was worried about, the telescope was among them. His head dropped in disappointment. He didn’t even notice that the mare pull out another bag.

"And the lamp!" Ember Heart’s ears rose at the mention of the lamp. The mare set the lamp on the boulder next to her. "I think there's a bottle of oil in the bag. Maybe some flint..." said the mare, picking up the bag and depositing it next to the lantern. Ember Heart raced over to the bag while the mare went on with her rummaging. Everything that he needed was in the bag before him. A dull pain shot through his head. He wasn’t used to maintaining a spell this long, especially one that he hadn’t fully mastered. He foolishly shook his head hoping to clear his thoughts and focused his efforts on the lamp in from of him. He gingerly pulled the bottle of oil out of the bag with his mouth, setting it near the lantern in a way so that it did not roll of. He looked back at the mare who was now wrapping herself in a woolen cloak. She was obviously having a little bit of trouble with her wing still trapped. “Don’t worry; I’ll have you out in no time!”

Ember Heart managed to light the lantern after a few short moments of clumsy movement without his telekinesis to aid him. The lantern gave off a dim yellow light. It certainly wasn’t enough for him to see with. He scanned his surroundings, looking for several large branches for a bonfire. He spied a small depression not far from the mare that would be perfect for a small fire. “Uh. You might want to close your eyes for a brief moment.” He wasn’t sure how to drop the illumination spell properly so he was going to end it the only way he knew how; supercharging it. With an incredibly bright blue flash the spell discharged leaving his mane nearly standing on end.

Ember Heart let out a small chuckle as he shook his head causing his mane to fall back down. “Alright! Time for me to do what I do best!” He closed his eyes and used his telekinesis to lash out and grab hold of the four branches he spotted earlier and pulled them towards him. He rotated them in the air above him for a brief moment before driving them into the small depression. He opened his eyes to inspect his magical work. “A little uneven but it should get the job done." He pulled the lantern over towards himself and picked up a small stick off of the ground nearby. Carefully, he opened the lantern and stuck the small stick in until it caught fire. He slowly pushed the lantern away and set it down on the ground near the mare. He then placed the burning stick near the bottom of one of the branches until the branch caught fire, slowly spreading it to the others touching it.

Ember Heart took a deep breath as the fire quickly warmed him up. He turned to the mare with a smile. “Much better don’t yah think? Now how about we get you out of there now, huh?” He walked up past the mare and closed his eyes again. His horn glowed blue once again as he used his magic to locate the entirety of the wing underneath the large fallen branch. “A simple lift and throw it is then.” He whispered himself. He wrapped around the branch with his telekinetic hold, taking great caution not to move it until he was ready. “Don’t move until the branch is gone! No matter what!” he said with a far more serious tone. He reopened his eyes while remaining perfectly still. The branch slowly raised off of the boulder. Once he was sure that the branch was no longer a threat he gently set the large wooden branch down onto the bonfire as firewood. The mare was free.

((Why is the font failing me?))

[MyriadDreaming]

Starscape took a peek after the flash and let out a giggle at Ember's standing on end mane. When he lit the fire she felt the warmth wash over her and sighed in relief. It really had been too cold for her liking.

“Don’t move until the branch is gone! No matter what!” The stallion said, and Starscape nodded seriously. She held herself as still as possible while Ember lifted the branch off her wing. She breathed another sigh as it was set onto the fire.

She looked at the wing and slowly tried pulling it back up, giving it an experimental flap.

"Ouch!" she said loudly as it twinged somewhat painfully. She checked it over once more. There were bruises and the whole thing felt tender. She flapped it again. It seemed like it wasn't broken or too badly damaged, just sore and painful. Maybe a little swollen.

She sighed and flapped both of them, but it hurt a little too much at the moment for her to be able to fly.

She stood up properly again and moved away form the rock, revelling in being able to move again - her legs had been stiffening. Promptly, starscape sorted her cloak out, putting her wings through the specially designed holes in the side and folding them up again

"Thank you." She smiled and then sat near her bags, putting all her belongings back in them, except for the water flash, which she held out to Ember.

"Are you thirsty? Or hungry, or anything? I have a lot of snacks and a good amount of water, because I never know how long I'm going to be out I mean, it's probably obvious, but I can get really badly sidetracked and sort-of often end up missing dinner and stuff so-" She put a hoof on her mouth and calmed down. "I mean, I have food if you want some."

((It keeps going small for me too.))

[Doc Hoof MD]

Ember Heart relaxed by the fire while the mare inspected her wing; something he had forgotten to do. He was too exhausted to remember what the proper procedure was in their current situation. Maintaining a spell for the duration that he had was something he wasn’t entirely used to. It was incredibly taxing both physically and mentally. The flames danced before him while he took a moment to recuperate. He closed his eyes for a short moment and tried to collect his thoughts and think of his next plan of action. The two needed to head back to town so that the mare could get the medical attention that she needed, but he wasn’t sure if she was in any shape to make the trip. He wasn’t even entirely sure what direction the road was in. He cursed silently as he realized that he had left his compass back at the station.

"Thank you." said the mare. Ember Heart opened his eyes and smiled at the mare. “Not a problem at all.” The mare seemed to be better off than he had thought. She shuffled through her belongings for short time before offering water to him. “Yes, thanks!” He pulled it out of her hooves and quickly pulled off the top. The water certainly was refreshing. How could he have forgotten to bring some water or anything else for that matter? It certainly was a lesson learned.

"Are you thirsty? Or hungry, or anything? I have a lot of snacks and a good amount of water, because I never know how long I'm going to be out I mean, it's probably obvious, but I can get really badly sidetracked and sort-of often end up missing dinner and stuff so-" Ember Heart just blinked at the mare as he waited for her to finish. Starscape stopped herself for a moment to collect her thoughts. "I mean, I have food if you want some."

Ember Heart’s stomach rumbled a bit at the mention of some food. He hadn’t eaten since lunch time when he took a break to visit his mother’s bakery. It seemed to be a long shot that the mare would have visited the bakery before coming out here. Still, any baked good sounded great to him. “Some food would be nice.” He set the water flask down and pulled another branch and set it into the fire. “So you said you worked in an observatory, right?”

[MyriadDreaming]

Starscape reached into the saddlebags again and promptly brought out a box, which she set near to Ember. She rooted around in the saddlebags a bit more and brought out two apples. "There are muffins in the box from this really nice bakery in town. I found it when I first came to Fillydelphia and it was such a nice looking bakery that I had to buy something, and then I saw they had muffins and I love muffins so I bought loads and now I buy a small box every day, because I always seem to miss dinner time at my hotel and..." She shut herself up. She nudged the food closer to Ember. "Have as much as you like!" She said with a smile. "It's the least I could do for rescuing me, and I ate a small picnic before I set back off and I have a little food left and some more water because I always pack lots."

She sat down closer to the fire and nodded at Ember's question. "Oh, yes. I love the night time an the stars and all of the things up there. My observatory is between Cloudsdale and Trottingham and is in a nice little town. I don't know if it's very obvious but because I'm mostly awake at night I don't tend to speak to many ponies, but it's okay because I love the night sky and drawing star charts and painting night scenes and..." She shut herself up again and pulled a small sketchbook out of her saddlebags. "Here, have a look if you want! Oh, and the moon! The moon is very lovely too, but It wasn't very fun when the Mare in the Moon disappeared and I had to redraw all of my charts. That took a long time to do! Still, it's very nice and I love my work." She stopped and collected her thoughts before looking at Ember again. "What do you do? Besides rescuing silly pegasi, I mean?"

[SilverSwirl]

Silverbolt, a dark blue Pegasus stallion with a goggles bisected by lightning mark, was on the run. "why did that hydra have to show up..." he thought as he was flying as fast as he could, laden as he was with camping gear. Spotting the fire he shouted, "HYDRA!!!!", as he dodged one if it's heads. Diving, into the canopy at night was foolhardy but he had no choice, holding his lantern in one hoof, he breached the canopy of the trees near the campfire. Crashing through branches as he breached the canopy, he failed to spot a tree trunk and slammed into it. Hitting the ground with a thud, the lean Pegasus was stunned but able to shout, "HELP!".

[Doc Hoof MD]

Ember Heart watched as the mare shuffled through her belongings once more. She pulled out box that seem to be filled with something which she set near him. "There are muffins in the box from this really nice bakery in town. I found it when I first came to Fillydelphia and it was such a nice looking bakery that I had to buy something, and then I saw they had muffins and I love muffins so I bought loads and now I buy a small box every day, because I always seem to miss dinner time at my hotel and..." He expectantly waited for her to finish. The mention of a bakery peaked his curiosity. Which bakery? It was a question that could be answered later. Besides, he was hungry. The mare finished and nudged the food closer to him."Have as much as you like!" said the mare with a smile.

He pulled a muffin over to him and brought it up to his mouth before pausing. How could he have forgotten his manners. He must have been hungrier than he thought. "Thanks. These look great!" Without further hesitation he took a small bite from the muffin. The texture was amazing. Strangely familiar. Moist. It certainly was well baked.

"It's the least I could do for rescuing me, and I ate a small picnic before I set back off and I have a little food left and some more water because I always pack lots." The mare sat down by the fire before answering his question. "Oh, yes. I love the night time an the stars and all of the things up there. My observatory is between Cloudsdale and Trottingham and is in a nice little town. I don't know if it's very obvious but because I'm mostly awake at night I don't tend to speak to many ponies, but it's okay because I love the night sky and drawing star charts and painting night scenes and..." The mare paused and pulled out a small book. It appeared to be a sketchbook of some kind. She held it out to him. "Here, have a look if you want!" He pulled it towards him and levitated it before him. He took another bite out of the muffin before he started to carefully flip through the pages. "Oh, and the moon! The moon is very lovely too, but It wasn't very fun when the Mare in the Moon disappeared and I had to redraw all of my charts. That took a long time to do! Still, it's very nice and I love my work." He understood what she meant about the Mare in the Moon. He used to spend hours staring at it. He didn't actually believe that the Princess of the Night could have been imprisoned there. It must have been shock to everypony once the story broke.

He flipped through a few more pages. The detail in each sketch was amazing. Some of them were even better than the ones in his old school books. "These are really well done!" His horn glowed a brighter blue as he gave the book back to her. He quickly looked around for his muffin and chuckled when he saw it floating above him.

"What do you do? Besides rescuing silly pegasi, I mean?"

Ember Heart finished off the last bite of his muffin before responding. "Aside from rescuing silly pegasi, eh? Not much really. I work in my mother's jointly owned bakery for bits. I spend some of my downtime practicing my magic. Most of my spare time is spent with my friends. They always seem so pull me away from something." He chuckled a bit at the thought of it. "I really wouldn't have any fun if they weren't there to pull me away from whatever I am doing. Then again, there is always something fun to do in Fillydelphia!" He paused to pull another muffin out of the box. "My real goal is to st-"

"HYDRA!!!!"

Tossing the muffin aside, Ember Heart jumped up and peered into the darkness outside of the light of the bonfire, trying to identify the source of the cry. Without any warning another pegasus smashed into a tree not far from the two ponies. "HELP!" shouted the stunned pony.

"Starscape, kill the fire if you can. Leave your things. We can fetch them later." Ember Heart turned and rushed over to the fallen pegasus. He knew putting out the fire wouldn't do much to help them against something like a hydra, but this thing definitely wasn't in any of his manuals. There weren't any procedures that he knew about. He stopped next to the downed pony and did a quick look over to see if the pony was severely injured. "Are you ok? What is going on?" He desperately looked into the treeline searching for any sign of an impending danger.

[SilverSwirl]

Silverbolt looked up at the unicorn that stood over him and replied, with a groan of pain, "I've had worse. I'll be okay in a moment. My name is Silverbolt and I was just setting up my campsite when a Hydra attacked! I was fleeing from it when I crashed into this tree.".

Getting to his feet, he dusted himself off and had a splitting headache. "uh, I didn't get your name and thanks for coming to see if I was alright." with a friendly smile on his face.

[MyriadDreaming]

Starscape smiled at the praise for her drawings. If somepony actually enjoyed them then that made the entire effort worthwhile, at least in Starscape's eyes. Her mind rambled to itself about future drawings before she realised Ember was answering her question.

"Aside from rescuing silly pegasi, eh? Not much really. I work in my mother's jointly owned bakery for bits. I spend some of my downtime practicing my magic. Most of my spare time is spent with my friends. They always seem so pull me away from something." The Stallion chuckled. "I really wouldn't have any fun if they weren't there to pull me away from whatever I am doing. Then again, there is always something fun to do in Fillydelphia!"

Starscape nodded as Ember pulled out another muffin. He really must have been hungry, but the muffins were also very delicious. Hadn't he said that he worked in his mother's bakery? Perhaps they were from said bakery... Maybe inadvertently she had given him food that he had baked himself. What a small and strange world it was. Or perhaps it simply wasn't and she was being silly again. She returned her attention to him, realising she was being rude again.

"My real goal is to st-"

"HYDRA!"The shout nearly made Starscape jump out of her skin and she stood up in fright, looking about for the aforementioned beast. When the tree nearby was suddenly filled with another Pegasus, Starscape jumped again and spread her wings, trying to flap them and failing, crashing back ground to earth with a light 'thud'. She shook herself and looked up at the Pegasus a moment.

"It seems to be raining Pegasi today." She commented to herself. "Either that or everyone suddenly became really clumsy. Maybe it's because it's..." Ember was talking again. Starscape made sure to pay attention.

"Starscape, kill the fire if you can. Leave your things. We can fetch them later."

She nodded and started kicking dirt onto the fire, slowly putting it out. She looked at her things and then looked unsure. "But... my telescope... My..." She shook her head, realising that Ember was right. He was an expert in rescuing after all. Were Hydras a normal part of rescuing? She didn't know, but maybe! He certainly seemed to know what he was doing. "Okay..."

She ran along towards Ember and the Pegasus and stopped behind Ember, looking curiously at the newcomer.

"That looks like it hurt. Which is probably right as I flew into that tree over there a while ago and that hurt and Ember found me and helped me up which was good ebcause it was getting cold and I needed my cloak and it was dark as well, but I love the night sky, and my name's Starscape Quill, what's yours?"

She put a hoof on her mouth and looked frightened a moment.

"Oh, I rambled again and that's not good because we need to be quiet." She closed her mouth and looked down. "Sorry." She whispered.

[SilverSwirl]

Silverbolt smiled at the other Pegasus and replied softly, "A pleasure to meet you Starscspe and I dont mind your rambling at all. My name is Silverbolt and I am from Cloudsdale. I came out here to go camping and do a little fishing. Which reminds me, I need to check my gear!".

Looking at his saddlebags and not seeing anything damaged, especially his prized rod and reel that was a gift from his grandpa. He snorted in anger at his shattered lantern, but pulled a second one out of his left saddlebag. Looking at the unicorn, he asked, "Do you have flint and steel?".

[Doc Hoof MD]

It certainly wasn’t a situation that he wanted to be in; deep in the woods with two injured pegasi with the potential threat of a Hydra bearing down on them. To top it all off, the temperature was dropping. Whatever they were going to do, they needed to do it fast. What if this newcomer was bad off? What if he couldn't move?

"I've had worse. I'll be okay in a moment. My name is Silverbolt and I was just setting up my campsite when a Hydra attacked! I was fleeing from it when I crashed into this tree." groaned the injured newcomer. Ember Heart gave a sigh of relief and took a couple steps back as Silverbolt got up and dusted himself off. "uh, I didn't get your name and thanks for coming to see if I was alright."

Ember Heart smiled and nodded. “The name’s Ember Heart. I am volunteer member of the Fillydelphia Disaster Response; F.D.R. works too.” he said quietly.

Starscape finished putting out the bonfire and ran up to join them. The absence of light left Ember Heart feeling slightly uneasy."That looks like it hurt. Which is probably right as I flew into that tree over there a while ago and that hurt and Ember found me and helped me up which was good ebcause it was getting cold and I needed my cloak and it was dark as well, but I love the night sky, and my name's Starscape Quill, what's yours?"

Ember Heart turned his attention away from the two while they had an exchange. His instincts were telling him that they should move but he wasn’t really sure where they should go. He didn’t want them to get trapped near the river, but he also didn’t want to lead the two potentially injured ponies through the thicker part of the woods.

"Do you have flint and steel?" Ember Heart’s attention returned to the two pegasi. “No time. Sorry. Starscape’s lantern should be enough for now. We can decide on our next plan of action once we are a safe distance away from the hydra. What details can you give me on the hydra, Silverbolt?”

[SilverSwirl]

He listened to his introduction and smiled, "A pleasure to meet you Ember Heart.", he replied. Ember Heart asked him about the hydra and Silverbolt answered, "From the short look I got at it before I took off, it appears to be a juvenile on the cusp of adulthood. It should be getting winded as I have been flying for at least a few miles.".

[MyriadDreaming]

Starscape looked worried for a moment. "I hope it goes away soon, it's getting too cold to be out here and I still can't fly..." She looked about nervously. "How far away was it?"

While waiting for Silverbolt's answer, Starscape turned to Ember. "Do you know what direction we should head in to go back to town?"

[SilverSwirl]

Silverbolt replied to Starscape, "Sadly, it was right on my tail, I nearly got eaten!". Hearing a roar and trees crashing to the ground, his eyes widened in fear as he said, "I think he's gonna find us. We need to get moving, right now!".

[Thrylos]

(OOC: Plan on coming in at the right time. Probably will be using Captain Dusk Heart, or Ink Soul because hes already in the area)

[Doc Hoof MD]

"Do you know what direction we should head in to go back to town?"

“I am not entirely sure.” Ember Heart closed his eyes for a brief moment and tried to visualize an aerial view of the section of the hillside they were on. It wasn’t very safe to blindly head through the trees and shrubbery without a sense of direction; something he didn’t have. If only he could remember which direction the trail was in.

"Sadly, it was right on my tail, I nearly got eaten!" said Silverbolt in response to Starscape’s other question.

A loud roar followed by the crashing sound of falling trees made Ember Heart nearly jolt out of his coat.

"I think he's gonna find us. We need to get moving, right now!"

“Wait.” A faint blue light illuminated from Ember Heart’s horn as he quickly pulled Starscape’s idle lantern over to the trio. “We can’t just run blindly through the trees. This hillside can be incredibly dangerous if you don’t know where you are going.” He set the lantern down in front of Silverbolt. “Silverbolt, you take it.” he said calmly. He turned to the other pegasus after an idea popped into his head. “Starscape, you are good with stars and their placements, right? Which direction is north? If we can safely get to the main trail we can make our way back to Fillydelphia from there.” He took a cautious step backwards towards the tree line. The sounds were getting closer; too close. “Sooner would be far better than later.” he pressed urgently.

[SilverSwirl]

Silverbolt grabbed the lantern and replied, "Understood. I guess I will be in the front then with the lantern?". He shifted on his hooves a bit as Ember Heart asked Starscape to navigate using the stars as a guide to help them reach fillydelphia. He could the crashing of trees and roars of the hydra were extremely close now. Tapping Ember's shoulder he whispered, "We are almost out of time. If we stay here much longer, we are gonna be hydra food.".

[MyriadDreaming]

OoC: Sorry for being gone for a while, life got hectic and I spent most of the last week offline.

Starscape started trembling when Silverbolt mentioned how close the hydra would be, but was luckily distracted by Ember asking her to navigate. "Yes, I can. Ah..." She looked up at the stars. "North is... um, that way. Thank Celestia it's a clear night."

Starscape looked about. She pointed slightly to the left of where they were. "We should head that way to Fillydelphia!" She pawed the ground. "Ah, I think we should run. I'm not sure, but I think I can hear it coming."

[Thrylos]

As if in answer, an ink black unicorn crashed through the trees, screaming wildly as he wrote something on a paper. "You guys should run, really." he managed before he disappeared into the trees.