[Everfree Forest Outskirts] The Second Encounter [Open]

[Winter]

"Psht, Manticores and Ursas... We could always fly away, right? Let's just have fun!" She continued to walk through the forest, taking occasional stops to inspect a flower. She came upon a deep, blue-purple flower with yellow inlays and took a long look at it. "Wow... isn't it pretty?" Her gaze was consumed by the flower. She stared at it, not paying attention to anypony around her.

[SirShadowdeath]

"Hmmm?" Inkblot said, almost not paying attention. "Why yes...it's quite the flower..."

A couple of thoughts rushed through his mind, and suddenly he stopped moving. Could that flower be...what he thought it was?

"Wait...that flower might be...."

He regained himself. Poison Joke didn't have yellow on it.

"Nevermind then...almost mistaked that plant as being dangerous..."

He smiled and took his place, standing next to Storm.

"Such a...beautiful forest...well...once you get past the dangerous parts..." the pegasus said with a slight chuckle.

[Dunder]

Dunder started to get cautious of the flower when Ink said it was dangerous. He had never seen the flower before in his life. Though, he shifted to confusion when Inkblot didn't seem to really know if the flower was poisonous or not. "I think it'd be best to stay away from it." Dunder said.

[Winter]

Storm looked around her at the nearby pegasi. "Alright, if you say so... Best to be careful, right?" She asked rhetorically while giving Inkblot a little nudge. "After all, there could be a big scary flower monster..." She giggles at the notion. "Well, since we are out here... Who wants to have a contest to see who can find the prettiest flower?! It is a huge forest, there are bound to be tons!"

[SirShadowdeath]

Inkblot laughed a bit, and then returned the nudge.

"Yeah...! That sounds...like an interesting thing to do."

He looked at Corvus, still floating slightly above his head, and then back to Storm.

"I'm sure...we could find so great flowers..." the pegasus continued with a smile. "...Maybe we'll even discover something new, Miss Storm!"

[Dunder]

"Find the prettiest flower? Of course I will find the prettiest flower!" Dunder said. He was excited. He always got excited during a contest, "So are there any rules that we should know?" Dunder asked. It didn't seem like a contest like this really needed rules, but just in case. After all, Storm was making up the contest.

[Winter]

"Er... You have to keep safe. That is the number one rule. Second rule is..." She trailed off in thought, trying to think of the best way to run the contest. "None of us can have the same type of flower! That would be cheating. We will all vote on which flower is best after we all meet back up at the cave..." Storm looked down to the ground with a small ruffle of her wings. "Does that sound alright?"

[SirShadowdeath]

"Yes...!" Inkblot exclaimed. "It...sounds like fun."

Once the conversation ender, Ink took off to the east, walking a fair pace. He passed a couple of regulat flowers, and some odd trees. The pegasus even passed some streams and gatherings of animals. But nothing specifically caught his eye. A bit dissappointed,

he stopped walking and observed everything around him. Still nothing. Still determined nevertheless, Inkblot continued on.

[Dunder]

"Fine." Dunder said and started to hover, "I'll met you all back here when I've found the flower." Dunder said and took off in the opposite direction of Inkblot. As Dunder headed west through the trees. As he flew, he scanned the ground for any sign of a flower, if there was one, he'd stop and collect it if it was prettier than the last.

[Winter]

"The flower? And now I am alone..." Storm slowly walked north, since Ink had gone east and Dunder west. Hopefully she could remember her way back. Her strategy was to find a flower of a specific variety that she had seen here before. It was a rich blue flower with golden inlays along the edges of the petals. The middle of every petal, as it sloped inwards to the middle of the flower, would slowly turn a deep purple. The entire thing was shaped much like a bell, with a brilliant red center. She wished to find one again, she was sure it would win her the contest!

[SirShadowdeath]

Inkblot continued happily walking along the overgrown forest floor. He didn't feel like flying today, but instead just taking it easy. It wasn't a race, thank Celestia, but rather a simple contest. He liked to think of it as a scavenger hunt...or maybe a game of hide and seek. As the black pegasus continued to walk around, a couple of flowers caught his eye. He walked toward them, noticing thier dark red outline and almost pink petals. Despite their beauty, they were nothing special. Keeping this location in mind, Ink headed in a different direction than he had originally set foot in. From these flowers, he headed in what seemed like North.

[Dunder]

Dunder could only find a deep red flower with pink spots. It looked rather pretty... Dunder dropped the one he was currently holding and took off. Flying back east to go to the spot where they had begun. He was sure the others were beat, but he knew the competition would be tough.

[Winter]

Storm continued her hopeful search for the flowers in another direction, this time heading a little more east than before. She was searching low for this flower that, last time she had seen it, would grow in small clumps near running water. The golden rim of the petals were surely the easiest to spot, and Storm was on the look out for them. No small speck of yellow would go unnoticed!

[SirShadowdeath]

Inkblot continued searching, unaided by his friend Corvus. The raven has asleep upon his back, perched and silent. Ink smiled as he looked back at the bird, but his focus soon moved back to the flowers that lay upon the forest floor. He saw a couple different flowers. Some were red, blue, orange, purplr even. But none of them were special. Then, he saw it. A particularly unique flower caught his weary eye. The flower was a very light blue, and its pedals were lined with a shiny white. The colors radiated brightly from it, giving it a heavenly glow. The pegasus, happy to have found something, picked it up in his mouth and headed merrily back to the point where they had began.

[Dunder]

Dunder was sitting at the opening where they had all left with the flower in his mouth. He waited for them all to come back when he saw Inkblot come, "Hey." He said to Inkblot. "What did you find?" Dunder asked before catching sight of the flower. "Hmm... looks pretty." He said as he dropped his. "But mine is prettier." He said with a smile as he looked down at the red flower with pink spots. He hopes Storm had found something better than both of theirs, that way the mare could claim victory and move on.

[Winter]

A flash of yellow caught Storm's attention and she leaped towards it! She looked down and sighed. Just some plain old yellow daisies. She looked up slowly and saw what she had been looking for! Her heart started to flutter with joy as she slowly picked three of the flowers from their long stalks rooted next to a sparkling spring. I it a pity I have to take these from here... She thought as she walked back the way she came. Storm finally stepped slowly into the clearing holding the three flowers by their stalks in her mouth. She looked at the two pegasi waiting for her. Inkblot had some nice looking blue and white flowers, whereas Dunder had red flower with pink spots. Interesting choices... She dropped her own flowers into her claw and held them there delicately. "Hey, nice to see you guys! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long... Nice flowers. So, I guess we all get to vote now... Which flowers are your favorite, Ink?"

[SirShadowdeath]

"Anyone but mine," he said with a laugh. "I picked mine out of sheer desperation."

He took a breath.

"Hmmm..."

He observed all the flowers around him. Dunder's flowers were quite nice. So was Storm's.

"...It's a hard choice..." the pegasus started. "...But...I have to go with Dunder's. His...is quite nice. Much better than mine. Yours is nice too Storm! Very beautiful in a simplistic sort of way...kind of a decorative flower."

He smiled and turned to Dunder with a nod.

[Dunder]

"I'm going with Storm's." Dunder said. WOW! This pony isn't even going to vote for his girlfriend's flower... This pony needs a wake up call.... Dunder thought as the plan started to formulate in his head. He grinned for a second when it came to him.

"Well..." He said, "We should just compare them side by side! I'm sure that Ink will maybe change his mind." Dunder said as he picked up the flower. He started to trot over beside Storm, when he suddenly tripped over a rock. "Woah!" He said as he landed on top of Storm, his lips locked with her beak. He pulled up quickly, "Urrghh... I'm so sorry!" He said to Storm with a horrified look on his face.

[SirShadowdeath]

Now, anyone could tell that this pony was trying to make him mad. For reasons unknown, of course. Inkblot had dealt with some pretty idiotic ponies before, but none as "unique" as this fellow Dunder. If this pegasus was an idiot, he would fall into Dunder's clear trap. However, Ink was more educated than that. He also realized that it would not be wise to start anything with this more muscular pony...but....it would seem that Dunder WAS TRYING to start something. Instead of moving swiftly, Ink sighed and rubbed his eyes. Although he was trying to avoid conflict, Ink was a loss of words. Until a couple slipped by accident.

"Are you...an idiot?"

[Winter]

"What in the-!" Was all Storm could muster before her beak was otherwise... "occupied." She pulled out away from under him as hard and fast as she could. She scrambled her legs, kicking the ground and Dunder away while pulling back with her arms. Even if it was an accident, she was still pissed! How often does a pony just land on you? Storm would have been mad at any pony, but especially a heavy one like Dunder. Once out, she roared at him, "Watch where you're going!!" After a few seconds of heavy breathing her face got a bit calmer and she added on, "That was *NOT* cool, Dunder. Seriously."

[SirShadowdeath]

Inkblot went to Storm's aid, trying to help her up. Ink was a bit nervous, and being tired sure didn't help. The pegasus had never honestly seen Storm angry, and he sure never planed on ever getting her mad to begin with. Again, rushing to the hippogriff's side, he did all he could to help her.

"I...I'm sorry I let this happen...Storm..." he began. He looked to the ground, a bit disheartened and somewhat sad.

"...Are...you okay?"

He tried to smile, but he found this situation to be quite akward.

[Dunder]

AWWW DANGIT! This backfired hard... Dunder thought as he smiled nervously and started to blush. "Uhhh... c'mon! Guys... It was an accident! I didn't mean it, honestly...." He said. "Just... don't yell, please, I'm sure we could all talk this out..." Dunder said. His stress levels increased as well as anxiety. He backed up and sway from the two ponies.

[Winter]

"Don't yell, you say? This isn't yelling, that wasn't yelling, THIS IS YELLING!!!!" Storm screamed at the top of her lungs. She put on a poker face before continuing. "Dunder... Don't you ever do that again... It was just... Even if it was an accident, you need to be careful and watch yourself..." She stared him down hard with a glare.

[SirShadowdeath]

Inkblot moved closer to Storm, farthering himself from Dunder. Storm's yelling had awoken Corvus, who looked around the forest in an annoyed fashion. Ink kind of liked the fact that Storm was so bold. It was something which he wasn't. Strong...Bold...He wasn't any of those. But it was nice to be so close to someone who was.

"Hmm..." Ink wondered as he looked around nervously.

"Should we...Hmmm..."

He found himself at a loss of words.

"Well...what shall we do now, Storm...?" he said with half of a smile.

[Dunder]

Dunder flinched when Storm yelled at him. He looked up and met her gaze, "Don't look at me like that." He said simply. WhenInk spoke, Dunder couldn't help but feel like he should leave. They were obviously mad... but no, he wouldn't run away. He would stay and try to sort it out.