13. [Audio]

[brodakota]

[North's voice comes over the network, sounding rather panicked. Surprisingly so, especially to people who know him for his quiet, patient demeanor.]

Is anyone else in Ponyville right now? 

If you are, have you seen Theta? 

It's really important that I find him, and I think it's getting dark.

[That's new...and all the more worrisome.]

Comments

[Voice]

[guerriera]

Where are you.

[Voice]

[brodakota]

Ponyville. I'm heading towards the forest.

[threadjack voice]

[raisethemoon]

I will be there momentarily. Do not enter the forest alone, or engage with any unknown flora or fauna. The Everfree is quite deeply saturated with chaos magic.

audio;

[spaceracist]

I can search. What's he lookin' like? Where'd you see him last?

audio;

[brodakota]

We were fighting nightmares by the forest. When things finally finished, he was missing, so I think he might be in the forest somewhere.

He looks like a baby dragon, same colour scheme, blue and red.

audio;

[spaceracist]

Roger that. On my way.

[Of course the forest is big and a baby dragon is small, but Emile will be heading right over with his Dream Eaters in tow. Can't let an AI fall into enemy hands.

...Or, you know, get lost in a forest by himself. Same thing, right?]

[audio]

[juniorganymedian]

[This had been one of the more helpful voices, so Jeeves is willing to pitch in, even if he isn't in a position to offer physical aid. The mention of dark troubles him more than it reasonably should, but his recent dreams from the night before may be playing into this concern.]

Is Mr. Theta in possession of a communication device of any kind, sir?

[audio]

[brodakota]

[It's throwing North for a loop since there hasn't really been a proper night and day cycle like this for a while.]

I don't think so. I'm usually the one who has it.

[audio]

[juniorganymedian]

[He's noted that missive from Chell.]

Is Mr. Theta a noncombatant, sir? Or do you have reason to believe otherwise that he may be incapable to facing any nightmares he may encounter?

[statisticallyterrible]

gone how long?

[She's less worried than she is curious.]

[brodakota]

About half an hour, fourty-five minutes.

[Enough time for him to get well and truly worried]

[statisticallyterrible]

[To her, that sounds like a brief respite. But North's worried, so it's worth looking into.]

will look. you're ok?

[unrecovered]

How the fuck did you-

[Because Theta's a dragon in Ponyville and autonomous. Fuck.]

On my way.

[brodakota]

I'm by the entrance to the forest.

[He already feels bad. He should have been keeping track of Theta.]

Action

[unrecovered]

[He's there within ten minutes, galloping up and coming to a stop in front of North. His Spirits hadn't even bothered to try running to keep up with his pace, and they poofed into existence a moment later: Melody and Max. Much as it hurt to have York's Spirit with him, Max was their best bet for tracking.]

Do you have any idea which way he went?

In which Theta wakes up lost and alone and very scared.

[brokentrust]

[To say that Theta was terrified was an understatement.

Fighting the nightmares had been one thing. He'd felt pretty good about that, actually being able to hit a few of them with the slingshot before Tank finished them off. But then he'd been knocked off by a Tatsu steed and knocked around a bit before being rolled into the woods.

There were downsides to being a dragon, and Theta was learning all of them. And unfortunately, he had no idea where he had come from, or where he should go.

He was lost.

The very idea of that was terrifying to him. And the fact that it had actually happened scared Theta even more. He had no idea what to do other than try and find North.

But how was he going to do that in such a big forest.

After all, he was only one little dragon.]

[spaceracist]

[More or less completely disregarding Luna's advise to enter the forest alone (he's not alone, that's what his Spirits are for), Emile, Spikes the Hebby Repp, and Jorgie the Kab Kannon were making their way through the strange place. Unlike the other parts of Ponyville, Emile had only been in the forest very briefly, having decided that it was unlikely to be hiding the Elements of Harmony. Still, even he was capable of stealth, and though it might mean avoiding confrontation when all he wanted to do was seek it out, he was willing to try.

Now if only he could find that baby dragon.]

[brokentrust]

[Theta had, unfortunately, forgotten the most important thing one should do when they're lost, which is, of course, to stay in one place. Instead, he had taken to walking around the forest, calling for North as best he cold. It was tough though, as his little body was growing tired and the roots and other detritus of the forest floor made it difficult to walk through.

Not to mention it was getting dark. He was flinching at every noise and looking around with a tight grip on his slingshot.

Until he tripped and fell face first into a field of flowers. Mumbling encouragements to himself, Theta stood up, sneezed, and kept going. He had to find North.

He had no idea he was leaving something important behind.]

****

[Out of the corner of his eye, Emile might see something that could be the baby dragon in question fooling around in a mud puddle.]

[statisticallyterrible]

[Chell never liked Theta, purely on principle. However, she hadn't been aware that he separated from North in this world. It made things interesting--it opened up questions. It was her curiosity as much as her concern for North that inspired her to show up for the search.

She hadn't ever visited the forest much, simply because she didn't bother with Ponyville much in general. Elements of Harmony seemed largely something she couldn't help with, after all. It wasn't as if the looming, dark forest was hard to locate, though.

The orange pegasus arrived, looked over the search group that had gathered, then immediately took off to scout from above, her bat by her side. Any other winged ponies could take the chance to join her, but there was little point wasting time chatting about it.]

[brokentrust]

[If she's looking down, Chell might see a baby dragon hanging around in the treetops.

A curious thing, since Theta is not one to climb trees, much less jump from branch to branch.]

Group Search thread!

[guerriera]

[ Identifying the place that North and Theta had encountered nightmares had taken a little longer than anticipated. Even with the details that he had given her, Carolina had yet to find the rock that North had said he'd moved or signs of something being ripped from the ground. The only saving grace for that fact was that Luna didn't appear to have found any clues either.

But Theta was still missing, and it was getting darker.

Looking back the way they had come, Carolina grimaced, before glancing towards Luna. ]

If they're going to catch up, they'll have to make up the time themselves. We should move on.

[raisethemoon]

Indeed.

[There's really nothing here to indicate which direction he may have gone in, though Luna paces another circle around the area anyway to check again. Taking to the air wouldn't help much, with the darkness and the tree cover.]

Theta must be frightened, poor dear.

In which North receives news that Theta is found and a Reunion Joyfully Occurs.

[brodakota]

[The moment North received the call that Theta had been found, he shouted at Carolina and Xion that he was heading back and sped off. It wasn't the most polite thing he could've done, but at this point that didn't really matter to him.

He galloped towards where they had split off.]

[skysmirror]

I can be there soon. Where did you last see him?

[Gotta help big bro and little bro]

[brodakota]

Sort of by the entrance. He's in the forest somewhere.

I'll come back and get you. Don't come in alone Xion, it's dangerous.