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

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.

[unrecovered]

[And suddenly, Meow Wow coming through! Max sniffs his way right between the two of them, pausing for a moment to whuff in greeting before sticking to the scent, nose to the ground and rear high in the air. Hi! He's tracking!]

[Wash was right behind him, Melody hitching a ride on his back, though he at least had the sense to dodge around Luna's side instead of trying to go between them.]

He's tracking Theta. Come on.

[brodakota]

[North was following Wash, trying to keep Max in sight. Cactus trailed after him with Tank scuttling behind. The Kab Kannon looks especially determined. He failed in a mission and must make up for that.]

[guerriera]

He'll be--

[ One hoof hitched high immediately, clearing the way for Max, even as Carolina stared at the spirit with an unreadable expression, whatever her reply to Luna might have been forgotten.

Hopefully the meow-wow would remain on point. Tobin trotted back to the main party from where he'd been watching the shadows with occasionally quiet bleats, and followed at Carolina's heels as she moved to flank the spirit. ]

Either the forest likes hiding tracks or the nightmares North fought cleared them out. Lets hope he didn't move too far.

[raisethemoon]

[...well, she supposes that works. Luna moves to flank Max on the opposite side of Carolina, keeping her light on.]

At least baby dragons are not known for their speed...

[unrecovered]

[The tracking goes pretty well, actually, right up until they hit a field of flowers. Max snuffles his way into it and stops in the dead center. Wait, that doesn't make sense! He puts his nose to the ground and tries again, but the conclusion's the same. He sits up, barking in distress. The scent splits, right here! It goes two different ways! They're not tracking two Theta-lizards, are they?]

[Wash skids to a stop when the Meow Wow does, careful not to get in his way or into the flowers.]

Max? What is it?

[Melody, on the other hand, leaps off her person's back and joins Max in the tracking. Her nose isn't quite as sharp, but she still comes to the same conclusion: the scent splits. She follows one for a few feet, stops, turns back to her person, and meows loudly; then she traces it back, follows the other scent in a completely opposite direction for a few feet, then turns and meows again. It splits! It goes two ways!]

[brodakota]

[North comes thundering in to see the latest discovery, stopping right before the flowers. He'd gone back quickly to collect Xion and now was back, brain trying to catch up to what was going on.]

Wait...so he went two ways? That doesn't make sense?

Are you sure?

[guerriera]

Did he walk in a circle, perhaps? Or back the way he came?

[ That would account for a split in scent, certainly. ]

[raisethemoon]

[Luna moves past the group to lean over the flowers, carefully not stepping in them as her horn brightens briefly.]

No. These are Shadowsneeze flowers. Doubtless he wandered into them, fell prey to the spores, and then went one way whilst his shadow detached and went the other.

But fear not! Despite the illusions they create, they are not harmful.

[unrecovered]

His shadow detached.

[Just when Wash thought Ponyville couldn't surprise him anymore. He bites back a sigh.]

Max, keep following the left trail. Melody, you follow the right. Carolina, North, you're with Max. Luna, you're with me.

[Is he outranked by pretty much everyone but the Dream Eaters? Yep. Does he care right now? Not particularly. Plus, as far as he's concerned, it's a sound strategy, and it gets Carolina and Luna apart from each other. It would be win-win if they could find Theta.]

[brodakota]

[Well, this was never something North expected he'd have to deal with. He'd never really considered detached shadows or anything like that.]

Xion, you can come with Me and Carolina.

[He turns to go. At this point, he's not about to argue about groups. Theta is his priority, especially with the darkness of night spreading.]

[skysmirror]

[The explanations were all a lot to take in having arrived so late to the party, but Xion nodded in understanding.]

Barkley can help, too.

[There was a "whuff" of agreement. Barkley wasn't about to be left out of this.]

[guerriera]

[ It's a good thing that helping North find Theta is Carolina's priority right now. As it is, her ears flatten back against red mane, and there's an unfriendly look given Washington.

The fact she doesn't argue it now doesn't mean she won't hold it against him later - but the blue mare won't deny NOT being in Luna's team is a good thing for her peace of mind. Pivoting on one hoof, she follows in Max's waddling pawsteps immediately, mindful of the flowers. ]

That will help, if the trial splits again.

[In a forest like this, there's always more than one shadow.

The frost thaws a tiny bit when she nods to Xion, but she won't wait for anyone to keep up. ]

[raisethemoon]

There is a fair chance that it will. The flowers were of Discord's making originally.

[But that's all she says about that. Luna's not going to waste time arguing about groupings; without a way to tell which is the shadow and which is the true path, they will need to split up.]

Split the party y/y?

[unrecovered]

[Wash sees that look and really doesn't give a damn, given that his priorities are also set on helping North find Theta. If there was hell to pay later, he'd just deal with it.]

[He nods to Xion, then to Luna, and heads off to follow Melody, who's hot on the scent.]

Y

[brodakota]

[North sighed. Couldn't they all just get along? Although he appreciated that everyone seemed to be cooperating to help him out.]

Alright, Max. Lead the way.

[The Meow wow woofed and headed off, nose to the ground and bum in the air.]

[skysmirror]

[Happily oblivious to any tension in the air, Xion turned to follow North. She didn't know Carolina well, but they could probably manage to get along for a search.]

Right. Barkley, help Max.

[Said Meow Wow hurried off to sniff and search alongside Max, doing his best not to get in the way as he did so.]

[guerriera]

[ Wishes aren't horses, North. You'll have to make do with grumbly ponies, who are at least cooperating (which is more than might have happened had Theta disappeared the week before). Carolina's tamasheep merely sighed, before following in the first party's wake. Hopefully, they wouldn't have use for his spells. ..Hopefully.

Letting the Meow-Wows do their thing, Carolina kept her eyes and ears fixed on their surroundings. It was pretty dark, and the onset of evening wasn't helping either. She doesn't like to consider the reasons why Theta might have gone deeper into the woods.. ]

So far, no sign of additional nightmares. We'll have to take that as a good one. [For now.]

[brodakota]

Yeah. Let's hope it stays that way.

[North is feeling a little better now that the search is underway. He does his best to focus, trying to cast a little light from his horn.]

Sorry so late. >_<

[skysmirror]

[Conditions definitely aren't the best for a search (or recon, for that matter) but Xion is used to dark places. At least one of them has a light.]

I hope we find Theta fast.

[raisethemoon]

[Luna, meanwhile, lengthens her strides to come up alongside Wash with her light. It wouldn't do to walk into anything unpleasant.]

Do you know if Theta has learned to breathe fire yet?

[unrecovered]

[He appreciates the light, though Melody finds it entirely unnecessary. She can follow the scent without it, thank you.]

Unless someone taught him to, I doubt it.

[It hadn't exactly crossed Wash's mind either. After all, Sigma had been the fiery AI, not Theta.]

[raisethemoon]

Hm. Perhaps that would be a good future exercise. He would not produce a significant amount of flame at his age, but possibly enough to frighten foes.

[unrecovered]

Talk to North about it after we find Theta. I don't think either of them know he can do that.