>Head back into town square
>Get Derpy’s attention before she delivers something down the road to your house and Sweet Apple Acres
>Get Report Cards from Derpy; you and Applebloom have received high marks
>—Ask Derpy if she will deliver a letter to LS; she says she can—
>Tell Derpy that you’ll meet her later with a letter ready to send; in a hurry, she takes off down the road
>**Check under the front door rug, find a letter from your Mysterious Friend**
>**Get Saddlebag pocket quickly repaired by Mary: can now hold a light item safely in damaged pouch**
>—Go inside to write some letters. Have Applebloom write a letter to LS—
>Write a letter to your Mysterious Friend
>—Correct Applebloom’s letter—
>Place your letter to your Mysterious Friend under the front door doormat
>—Make sure that Applebloom gets some lunch—
>?? Discover your letter has been partially removed from under the mat as you head out ??
>—Leave the house, knowing your shy friend will pick it up when you’re gone—
>Go to Derpy’s house
>—Applebloom gets bonked on the nose by the front door; she cannot see—
>xXx Forget about sharp crystals growing out of your back as Derpy leans in for a hug; Derpy is injured xXx
>—Have injured Derpy go and deliver your letter to ‘LS’; follow her—
>xXx Upon getting back into town, hear a large explosion in the distant mountains; Derpy confirms the explosion came from where LS’ laboratory was located (second tallest peak behind Sweet Apple Acres) xXx
>?? Ask Derpy about a package she just delivered to LS. She says it was from his “Mom and Dad” ??
>Head to your house to receive another letter from your Mysterious Friend
>Sneak inside of house to write another letter to your Mysterious Friend
>**Avoid speaking with your extremely worried parents; pass on by and head outside**
>Place letter underneath doormat
Watching as a plume of dark gray smoke bellows forth from the distant peaks beyond Sweet Apple Acres, Raisin and Applebloom know that their quest has only become more complicated. They sit down and devise a plan; clearly, the potential level of danger they shall surely face is a job that will take the combined effort of all of the Cutie Mark Crusaders in order to brave. The smoking mountaintop seems to be their next destination.
Raisin watches as a small flurry of pegasi investigate the source of the town shaking explosion. Small, colorful dots whisk around in the tumbling smoke, looking for any clues as to what might have caused it.
Inventory check:
>1 PM
Looking toward the mountains, you feel a certain sense of anxiety and determination. You feel as though your very actions and your investigations of the burnt up peak could reveal the one fact that could tie everything together for you. Surely, this explosion and assassination attempt on the elusive 'LS' has something to do with the Boulder Snakes.
A feeling of imminent adventure overwhelms you.
"Alright, now that we've got our letter in place, let's gather the Crusaders together. I'm sure Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are well rested by now."
Applebloom takes her golden eyes off the mountain top, taking in a deep lung full of air. "Okay, sounds like a plan. Where do ya think they're at?"
"Last I saw them, they were up at the Ponyville Hospital on Twilight and Spike's behalf. Let's head up there and see if those two are still around."
With little debate, you turn your tails to the smoking peak and head back into town, skirting around a cluster of ponies in Town Square. You see that the overwhelmed Mayor is addressing everybody, asking them to stay calm. Rainbow Dash is up on stage with her, telling everybody about what she had seen up at the peak. Nothing interesting immediately catches your attention as your heavy hooves hobble on by.
In a matter of minutes, you find yourself at Ponyville Hospital. You enter and immediately take a left to the visitation area, seeing a small orange pegasus napping on some of the chairs alongside an older couple.
"Hey, Applebloom… I know Scoots is a heavy sleeper. Could you just give her a quick bop and wake her up?"
Applebloom looks at you, knowing you'd do it yourself if it weren't for all the razor sharp crystals covering your body. "Roger, Raisin."
The crimson mane zooms over to the little curled up ball and gives her a gentle boop on the nose. "Hey, Scoots? Scoooooots~? Wake up sleepyhead!"
The little pegasus startles awake, nearly falling out of the chair. "Wh-Wha?! Whoa, Applebloom!" Her eyes turn to greet you. "Raisin! I was wondering whe- wait, what's with the crystals?" Scootaloo stops when she identifies the sharp, beautiful structures sticking out of your body.
"That… that would be a gift from the Diamond Dogs."
"Oh… looks kinda…. painful." She stares for a few moments before a thought springs up. "Oh! They said that Twilight and Spike are going to need some more rest. Apparently, Twilight had a cracked rib or something… her lungs weren't working right." She shrugs. "Spike just got knocked out. After he woke up, I decided to crash out here."
You look about, noticing that Sweetie Belle isn't anywhere to be seen. "Uh… where's Sweetie Belle at?"
"Oh, uh… I think she went home. I think. Did you see her at the Boutique?" Scootaloo tilts her head.
"Well, we needed to go back inta town anyway, right Raisin?" Applebloom adjusts her saddlebags.
"Right, right. Your saddlebags are still over at the Library, Scoots."
Rubbing some dust from her bleary eyes, the little pegasus gets up on all fours. "Oh man, I almost forgot!"
The receptionist shushes the loud little pegasus. "This is a hospital. Please be considerate."
Scootaloo glares over at the front desk. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going."
You take one last look around the visitation area, seeing if you could have possibly missed Sweetie Belle anywhere. You know she likes to take naps in weird places sometimes. The hospital is much quieter and calmer than it was this morning; in your little violet colored sitting area, a calm instrumental guitar plays over the ceiling speakers. Besides the old couple sitting nearby, you don't see any other ponies around.
You head out of the Ponyville Hospital and continue down the road. Scootaloo immediately notices that you're not moving anywhere near as fast as you normally do, so she walks on up ahead by Applebloom.
As you get closer to town, you can hear some growling coming from down the road to the school. A group of guards and pegasi stand at the ready, blocking the little road off almost completely.
"…What's going on over there?" Scootaloo asks.
The Boutique is just a little further on ahead, thankfully in the opposite direction of the now blocked off road. The Library is also closeby.
"Well… alright, you know how I said there were Diamond Dogs at the schoolhouse this morning?"
"Yeah? Are they really trying to come into town now?" Scootaloo shakes her head in disbelief. "Just wait until the Mayor calls the Royal Guard. Those bozos won't know what hit 'em."
Applebloom looks at Scootaloo with some concern. "Ah wouldn't be too sure 'bout that…" She looks down at a shard of one of the crystals sticking out of your upper foreleg.
You lead the group toward the Boutique in hopes of finding Sweetie Belle. The front door appears to be open. You can see Sweetie Belle walking around picking up a bunch of dresses that lay scattered about the floor. As you approach, she jumps. She's relieved to see that it's you, Scoots, and Applebloom.
"Whew! I thought Rarity had come back already…" She gathers up the little pile of dresses she dropped.
"What happened in here?" Applebloom inquires.
"Oh… um… well, I was sleeping by the yarn balls and… uh…" Sweetie Belle looks around. She doesn't look to sure as to how this mess came about.
"Listen, something really big is going down right now. We're going to swing by the Library to grab the rest of our saddlebags."
"We're headin' up the mountains to see what that big explosion was all about!" Applebloom adds.
"Oh! So that wasn't just a dream… that's what startled me awake earlier…" She giggles to herself. "…and kind of caused an explosion in here. Rarity would flip if she saw this place right now…"
"Don't worry about it right now…"
"…besides, Rarity is out right now, isn't she?"
"Yep! Thankfully." Sweetie Belle plops the dresses back on the floor. "She's probably delivering some dresses right now."
"Do you actually know where she went?"
Sweetie Belle shakes her head. "Not really… she was here this morning, but gone when I woke up. She could be delivering dresses or buying supplies… I don't know."
With the Crusaders assembled, you prepare to head out to the Library. As you make your way back through town, you see that the guards are using the butt end of their spears to jab at what you believe are the Diamond Dogs.
Seeing tensions rise with the guards and the Diamond Dogs, you make your way to the Library as quickly as possible. Most of the Town Square is pretty empty right now… beyond a few pegasi flying up above watching the roads, everypony else seems to be inside their homes.
Running up to the Library, you take care to gently open up the front door. You notice how sharp your crystal covered body really is; the gemstones easily slide through the wood, leaving a series of parallel cuts. Scootaloo gulps. "…glad I didn't hop up on your back earlier…"
Noticing that the main room is devoid of life, you decide to call out in hopes of finding the little dragon. "Spiiiike! Spike! Are you home?"
There is no response.
A small pile of saddlebags lie next to the sofa your friends napped on earlier this morning. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo rush over to equip them. Scootaloo notices her bag is a little lighter that it was before.
"…hey, where's all my stuff!?" She gets a bit ruffled when she discovers the bags are nearly empty.
Inventory check:
You sheepishly kick a hoof against the floor. "Uh… well, you see, last night… when me and Twilight went to investigate the schoolhouse, I kinda borrowed some of your supplies…"
Scootaloo breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness… okay, I thought that thief broke in here and took everything."
As Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle saddle up their supplies, you can't help but feel as though something horrible is about to happen. Applebloom sees it in your expression. "Something the matter, Raisin?"
"I think we should barricade the front door in case the Diamond Dogs break through the guard's barricade."
Scootaloo simply scoffs. "PFffff! There's no way they'll get through all of the guards. Reeelax, Raisin."
As you drag Twilight's extremely heavy table over to the door, you get the distinct feeling that someone is watching you…
>2:15PM
You watch the front door for a moment. When it doesn't immediately come bursting open with a swarm of Diamond Dogs chasing behind it, you turn your head and call out one last time.
"Spiiiiike~! Are you home, Spike?!"
There is no response.
"If he's not here, he's probably still up at the hospital." Sweetie Belle reasons.
"Makes sense." Applebloom nods. "He's probably watching over Twilight to make sure she's gonna be alright."
You walk into the Library's modest little kitchen area, scouting around for some food. You don't know if Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle have eaten yet.
"Hey, are you guys hungry?"
"Nope! I ate some carrots for breakfast this morning." Sweetie Belle calls over from the other room. The CMC are going over all of their supplies.
Scootaloo darts into the room. "You found some? I'm starving!"
Looking about, you see that Twilight has a few baskets of veggies sitting on the counter. They look like they were bought just yesterday; everything is very fresh. You figure that you can borrow some and pay her back later; she won't mind.
>3 Tomatoes
>5 Carrots
>2 Cucumbers
>1 Head of Lettuce
You grab the leafy green Head of Lettuce, hoofing it over to Scootaloo. "Here, put this in your bags."
Scootaloo looks mortified. "B-but… why can't I eat it now?"
"You can eat the rest of the stuff in the basket. I'll pay Twilight for it later. We need the Lettuce for just snacking and stuff while we're climbing."
Before you finish, the little filly is already devouring most of what's left in the basket. As she eats, you place your Broken Lamp into Scootaloo's bag. She pays you little mind as she continues chomping down a few carrots, flapping her wings every once in a while.
As Applebloom and Sweetie Belle start reorganizing their supplies, you grab the Stone Scale off of the table and place it inside an undamaged pouch. Surely, this thing will have some use on down the road.
Inventory check:
After confirming your inventories, you scan the library for a piece of parchment and an inked up quill. You manage to jot down a quick note:
Tell Princess Celestia everything. We're going to the mountains. Will be back soon.
-Raisin"
You feel as though you're chilled when you sign the letter. You leave it out in the open where it's sure to be seen.
"Ya'll ready?" Applebloom calls you from the kitchen as the CMC start heading outside. From the distance, you can hear an adult telling you to stay indoors. The reddish pink maned Earth pony promptly shuts her door after issuing the warning.
You maneuver around to the front of the tree, checking under the doormat. To your disappointment, there is nothing.
"Hmm… must have been too soon…"
"What are you doing?" Scootaloo tilts her head with confusion. Suddenly, you hear a plink against the flowerboxes just to your side.
"What was that?" Sweetie Belle jumps up at the noise.
In the distance, you can hear armor clinking about. You see a pegasus hovering up above. "Kids! Kids, get back inside! The guards are being pushed back!"
"Wh-Wait, but how?" Scootaloo looks a little frightened. "The Unicorns should be able to hold them back…"
"Ah don't know… we gotta get outta here quick!" Applebloom shouts.
Keeping your cool, you run over to the source of the light plinking noise. To your surprise, you see a wadded up ball of parchment with a rock inside it.
"Is that.. a letter?" Sweetie Belle asks with certain curiosity. "Who in Equestria could it be?"
You shake your head. "Beats me. They're helpful sometimes, though…"
The noise is getting louder. A sunny yellow pegasus with a peach mane swoops down next to you and pushes you the CMC closer to the door of the Library. "Quick! Get inside!" She's surprised when it doesn't open. She continues to fuss with it, trying to get your group to safety.
While she's distracted, you hightail it down the road out of town, carrying the hastily delivered letter in your damaged pouch.
Your heavy gait is much slower that it could be. The crystals embedded into your body seem to continuously grind and crackle with every stride you take. The sounds nauseatingly echo through your head.
"C'mon! Hurry!" Applebloom calls back to you. The group seems to be holding back a bit so that you don't get left behind.
You try to keep your pace, but the harder you push yourself, the slower you seem to move. As you near the edge of town near the familiar dirt road to your house, a gaggle of Diamond Dogs cuts you off.
"Oh no…" Sweetie Belle's eyes widen up as the dastardly dogs make their approach. You notice that they're iron armor is now covered with an array of crystals much like the ones in your body.
"Small work horses! We'll make little carts for you to pull together!" One of the dogs barks.
Your group stands firm. Between you and the open road stand 3 Diamond Dogs. They're armed with lassos and covered with a brilliant gemstone armor. It seems haphazardly constructed.
Inventory check:
As the lumbering dogs make their slow approach and ready their lassos, you reach into your Saddlebags to withdraw your pouch of Sneezing Powder.
"Catch!"
With a quick throw, you nail the dog in the very center with the little brown bag. A brilliant orange dust lingers in the air. They all seem to catch a breath of it.
"CCCCHHHHHHEEEUU!" The dog that was hit directly cannot stop blinking his eyes. "UGH! GRRRUGHHH! WHAT IS THIS?" They all start covering up their faces, trying to rub the irritating powder off their faces. All three of the dogs are sent into a massive sneezing fit. They buckle over in agitation.
"Perfect!" Sweetie Belle takes the lead, walking a distance around the trio. Your group takes her lead. The dogs sound like they're starting to cry as they rub dirt in their faces… anything to rid themselves of the terribly itchy powder you hit them with.
Continuing down the road, you see that the Diamond Dogs haven't bothered with anything out here. The country side is peaceful as ever.
"That was some quick thinking, Raisin! I didn't know if we were going to have to bust out that TNT or something to get around those idiots." Scootaloo walks by your side. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle are a little distance ahead, thankful to have just avoided the dogs. "What about everyone else, though? Are they going to be okay?"
"Yeah, don't worry about that. We've got to stop that eruption from happening. If that happens, we're all done for."
Scootaloo looks a bit worried. "…but how do we stop the eruption?"
"…working on that. Hold up, guys, I want to see what our friend had to say…"
You sit down on the dusty road, pulling out the letter you got from your Mysterious Friend. You clear your throat to grab your friends' attention.
“Raisin,
I’m s-“
You can read ‘I’m sorry’ under a mess of ink. “…a theory, but I lo-“ Some more scribbles. “-nothing useful, but i-" Again, the sentence is interrupted by some crossed out words with a small ‘ignore this’ written above it. “LS is a dragon. I sa- seen- have seen him on-" The text is indecipherable. “Blackmail?” The word appears without any other legible ones nearby. “I don’t know abo-Wh- why he’s attr-interested in Applea-Applejack” You feel your stony teeth gritting slightly as the rest of the text is completely unreadable. “Understood, will deliver like this”
You notice that the ink is still wet; it seems to have run a little bit on the last few letters.
“They sure were in a hurry to get that to you…” Scootaloo arches a brow. "Are they all written that badly?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
You can hear something coming your way. It's still a distance off, but the distinct sounds of sneezing accompany a single demand. "GET BACK HERE!"
You notice the sneezing trio stumbling along the road a distance back. They're not close at the moment, but they're closing distance between their sneezing.
"Girls, let's move." You pack up the nearly illegible letter and continue your pace. Being a bit slower, you watch as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle keep a bit further ahead.
"C'mon, guys! We can't let 'em catch us now!" Applebloom calls back.
Scootaloo stays by your side. "Can you move ANY faster?! Pick up the pace, Raisin! They're gonna catch up!"
You can see your house materializing in the distance. You're not sure if you can make it there before the dogs catch up.
"You guys just get to my house! I'll catch up in a minute!"
"But what if they catch you?" Scootaloo asks.
You just give her a glance. "Uh… don't worry too much about that." You tap a hoof against your chest.
Without another word, Scoots just runs ahead, keeping an eye out over her shoulder. You can hear the dogs getting closer.
"WHICH ONE IS THAT!? I CANT SEE!" The dog you pelted has been running with one paw extended out and one rubbing his eyes. He sneezes intermittently.
You keep trying to run, but the gritting sound of the crystals embedded in your body becomes worse. You see a crystal loose itself from your back, spinning and sliding against the road. Your speed has deteriorated. The spot the crystal left is now making a stone-on-stone clinking sound…
"GET HER! GET HER! UCCCCCHHHEEEUUUU!" The dog jumps in the air with his sneeze.
"Applebloom! Light up one of my quarter sticks!"
You shout on up ahead. You're not quite certain if she heard you or not.
"SHE'S BLUFFING! NAB HER!" The annoyingly high pitch voice screeches just a few feet to your rear. The dogs have caught up, it seems.
One of the bigger dogs jumps up in the air, preparing to land on top of you.
Quickly, you realize that the big dumb dog is wearing crystals that look almost exactly like the ones sticking out of your back. You grind to a halt, letting the dog overshoot you. The other two dogs slide to a halt by your sides as the big leaping bozo slams into the dirt road.
He grunts and sneezes when he crashes, but quickly gets back up. The other two, probably blind, are trying to tie you up with their lassos. Of course, the ropes are almost instantly severed by the sharp crystal embedded in your mane and the back of your neck.
"ITS NOT WORKING! GRAB HER!"
Suddenly, a massive explosion tears up some of the road a few feet ahead of you. The dogs all jump up and dash a few feet back, leaving you standing in the middle of the road. The blast was relatively close; you're certain that the brown casing of your quarter sticks must have blended into the dirt colors of the road. You breathe a sigh of relief out of habit, thankful you didn't run too much further ahead.
The Diamond Dogs get their bearings again, still sneezing every once in a while. The powder's effects seem to be wearing off. You can see the Crusaders up ahead standing with Mary. You swear she's got another stick inside of her mouth.
You take this opportunity to get some more distance between you and the bleary eyed dogs.
You take care to walk instead of gallop back to your friends. You swear that the crystal in your rear leg is nearly ready to explode; it's an odd sensation, but you can almost swear that you feel a pressure on your back leg. You keep a casual trot as your group entices you to move faster.
The dogs start to get back up. Because of your slow pace, they get their confidence back rather quickly. "HA! WE CAN STILL CAPTURE HER!". You crane your head back over your shoulder, watching as the dogs are running toward you once again. Mary lobs another lit stick of Dynamite down the road. They immediately pull into a full on retreat.
As you approach the group, the CMC almost make the mistake of hugging you.
"Oh thank Celestia… you're okay!"
Mary slides a nearly empty box of Dynamite back to Applebloom along with her Stompstarter. "Master Raisin, I am so sorry! I did not mean for zat first one to be so close! I have not thrown Dynamite in so long!" She looks genuinely worried. "Are you okay?"
"Thanks… I'm not sure what those idiots would have done had it not been for the… wait, you've thrown dynamite around before?" You catch Mary's interesting little tidbit of information.
She looks around. "Who hasn't?"
You roll your eyes, thankful to be back with your group. You can see your parents running your way wearing a look of joy that you've never seen before.
Inventory check:
As they get closer, you hear your mother's voice first. "Raisin! Oh thank Celestia! We thought you were involved in that mountain explosion!"
Before she's able to hug you, you pull back. "No! Careful; I'm covered in really, REALLY sharp gems."
Your dad collects himself and wears his normal, cool attitude. "I knew you were with your friends, but we had no idea you girls were getting involved with so much trouble."
Immediately, the CMC lower their heads.
Your dad continues. "Applejack said that you never arranged any sleepover with her over at the farm. I'm relieved to see that you're all okay… but you lied to your siblings and your parents." He looks at you, slightly disappointed. It's not often you've got that look; it feels miserable.
"I'm sorry, dad…"
He breathes deeply. "I'm just glad you are all okay." He looks straight at you. "What were those monsters chasing you girls down for? You didn't take anything from them, did you?"
"Uh, no… actually, those are Diamond Dogs. Recently, they kind of took over the schoolhouse and they just raided the town for slaves."
Your dad looks dumbfounded. "…I really gotta stop spending so much time in the vineyards…"
"The guards are in town, right?" Your mom looks incredibly worried. "What if our neighbors are under attack at this very moment?!"
Your dad tries to calm your mom down before he takes a closer look at the gems on your back. He pulls out his glasses to inspect them. "…what's this? Are these… these are stuck in your back!" He looks panicked now. "It doesn't hurt, does it? We need to get these out immediately!"
He gets behind you and starts pushing you back toward the house. "Excuse me, girls." The CMC move out of the way. "C'mon, we need to get you into the shop. I know I've got something down there to get these out."
"But… wait… what about the-" Sweetie Belle is suddenly interrupted by Scootaloo and Applebloom as they cover her mouth up.
As your dad tries to encourage you to budge an inch, you turn around and look him dead in the eyes. "Uh… how long do you think it would take to just remove the crystals in my legs?"
Your dad stops for a moment. "…do you have anywhere you need to be?"
"Kinda, yeah… the world is in trouble again."
Your mother looks nervous. "A-Are you sure somepony else can't just… you know, do it this time? Just this once? Can't anypony else help just this once?"
"I'm pretty sure I have to figure it out."
The CMC decide to try and help. Scootaloo bumps your dad. "Mr. Merlot, we're just doing a little investigation right now. Sure, Raisin got a few… crystals… in her back… but we're not going to be doing anything completely dangerous."
Applebloom yanks Scootaloo back. Your dad continues. "It's probably going to take hours to get all of these out… then we've got to put some concrete 'bandages' in those gaps until your granite grows back in…" He stands back for a minute. "…it could take all night."
You have a terrible feeling that you don't have enough time as it is. "Dad… I promise that after I get back, I'll let you patch me up. I've got to go and do this."
Hesistant, your father holds his peace for a few moments. He looks down at the Royal Medallion hanging around your neck. He looks at the crystals on your back, then to your friends. Your mom seems horrified as she predicts his response.
"…Alright." He simply states. "I've got to see what I can do in town. The vineyard workers haven't even heard the news yet."
Respecting your dad's wishes, your mom hesitates before giving you a kiss on the forehead. "You be careful… oh my goodness, you be careful. Be home by 9 tonight."
"I'll try, Mom." You gulp.
As you and the Crusaders start heading down the road towards the farm, they all seem taken aback.
"Your parents are so… understanding." Sweetie Belle comments. "Mom and dad would have NEVER let me adventure after hearing about all the stuff in town… I know Rarity wouldn't either."
Applebloom chimes in. "Ah just can't believe it. We should be holdin' meetings over at yer house more often."
Scootaloo stays extremely quiet, just following your lead.
You're right at the split in the road between Sweet Apple Acres and the mountain trail. The sun still hangs in the sky, lighting up the big red barn up ahead. You see Applejack wearing some bandages while tugging around a cart. You're rather positive she hasn't heard about the news in town.
You ponder telling Applejack about all that has transpired in town. She seems completely oblivious to the recent happenings… though she probably heard the giant explosion or looked up at least once since noon to see the dying plume of smoke coming off the distant mountain tops. You decide it best not to confront her; you could potentially lose Applebloom from your party.
"Let's keep going…"
"Agreed." Applebloom nods, staring at Applejack's bandages.
You take a left and head down the beautifully lit trail. You've been back here quite a few times with Applebloom looking for beehives. This trail almost never sees any heavy traffic; during the summer, there's only a handful of ponies going either way. It's very peaceful back here. You march along over a bridge, thinking about the crystals embedded in your body.
"Where's the actual path up the mountain start? This LS guy had to get up there somehow, right?" Scootaloo looks around for a turn off toward the mountain base.
"Well, he's a dragon, right? Coulda just flown up there…" Applebloom comments.
Scootaloo seems to take some offense to the comment, thinking it as a slight against her inability to fly. As your two friends argue a bit, Sweetie Belle hangs back to match your speed.
"Is 'LS' up on the smoky mountain?" Sweetie Belle asks. "We could hear the explosion all the way in Ponyville… do you think he's going to be okay?"
Before you can answer, Scootaloo points out the mountain trail. "See? Told ya there was a trail up there!"
You notice a sign that says "DANGER: UNSTABLE PATH. DO NOT ENTER"
With some slight hesitation, you approach the sign and the path right next to it. "Well.. huh. This looks pretty dangerous."
Looking ahead, you see the path beyond a cropping of rocks. To either side, there's a rather sharp slope along the path leading to the side of the mountain. You think there may have been a rockslide or something at some point in time that knocked out the trail.
Beyond that, the path leading higher up seems to be missing a few sections. The gaps are jumpable.
"Looks like this is doable… probably…" You turn back to Scootaloo. "Hey, do you think you can scout ahead and check the path more closely?"
"What? Why me?" Scootaloo looks a bit anxious. "I mean, I'm not afraid or anything, but…"
"You're a pegasus. Pegasi have excellent balance. You're the least likely to slip off the path." You try to bolster her confidence a little bit.
She rolls her eyes. "Alright, fine… here we go…"
She walks ahead, keeping her wings completely spread. They jitter every once in a while as she nearly tightrope walks up the dangerously narrow path. She nearly slips near the end, getting to the rocky wall.
"Does it look… well, not safe, but could we all cross the path ahead up there?"
The little pegasus shakes in place. "Y-yeah… I th-think?"